It’s time to break out the uglies.
Midnight cravings? Totally Baked Cookie Co. delivers in Phoenix until 4 a.m. (!) totallybakedcookie.com
Winter restaurant openings! MATCH Cuisine & Cocktails, Chico Malo and the relaunch of Binkley’s at Midtown all due by the end of the year.
Swipe right on hot… real estate? Opendoor launches Tinder-like app for Phoenix home buyers.
Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community announces plans for a 20K seat sports arena. Gee, what could that be for?
First phase of $600M “Operation Beautify Sky Harbor’s Terminal 3” nears completion. Does it include new uniforms for those poor Southwest Airline attendants?
Defection of top leaders at the University of Arizona medical school program results in a massive audit by AZ Regents. Note to Skip Garcia: Lose the limo?
After the most annoyingly summerlike “fall” we’ve seen in a while, winter is coming. We hope.
350-plus pumpkins stolen from a farm in Buckeye. No. 1 suspect: Starbucks.
STD cases reach record nationwide highs in Arizona according to CDC. Thanks a lot, Scottsdale.
KKK formed on December 24, 1865. The worst white elephant gift of all time?
Ballerina Mimi Tompkins
Not sugar, but sugar plum fairies. Perhaps that’s what little girls are made of – at least as far as Mimi Tompkins, principal dancer at Ballet Arizona, is concerned. The 22-year-old has been dancing in The Nutcracker productions since toddlerhood in the Washington, D.C., area. Last season, she gracefully pirouetted her way through Tchaikovsky’s iconic score as the supreme queen Sugar Plum Fairy for the first time at Symphony Hall, which she’ll tell you is #goals for ballerinas. We caught up with Tompkins between rehearsals for the 2016 season, running December 9-24.
Why is The Nutcracker such a tour de force in the ballet world?
“It celebrates the holiday spirit and a lot of people are familiar with it. It’s kind of a tradition for people, which is great because it reaches a lot of different people and shows them ballet… Ballet Arizona was ranked among the top three Nutcracker productions in the country [by The New York Times in 2010], so that’s pretty major.”
With Ballet Arizona, you not only dance in large theaters like Symphony Hall, but also IN outdoor venues. what’s been your favorite experience?
“Being able to perform so close to the audience and feel their energy is really special… I really liked performing at Desert Botanical Garden. That was a really great experience to be with the scenery. It rained! It was cool.”
As a second-generation ballerina – your mother danced professionally with the Tokyo Ballet – what has ballet taught you about life in general and your mom specifically?
“Ballet has taught me that you have to work hard to get what you want… I moved away from home when I was 15 when I got a full scholarship to the San Francisco Ballet School… I sacrificed a lot. A lot of family time. I think I missed out on the normal growing up. But having a mom who directly understood, it was really helpful because she was very honest with me, and all the advice she gave me, I really valued because I knew she knew firsthand. Now for her to see me dance, I think it’s exciting for her, too – she gets to relive it.”
You said you go through two pairs of pointe shoes per week, on average. What are your top three tips for keeping your tootsies in tiptop shape?
1. “Don’t let your calluses get too big.”
2. “Moisturize.”
3. “Keep your toenails short.”
You landed in Arizona after completing an apprenticeship with the National Ballet of Canada. What’s been the most surprising thing about living in the desert?
“One thing from moving here that I fell in love with are the sunsets. Honestly, every night seeing it fills me up with so much happiness and peace.”
We all know the rumors of how strict a ballerina’s diet can be. But what about when you want to be naughty and pig out?
“I’m lucky that I have a pretty good taste, I like healthy foods… But there’s no sense in depriving yourself, because I think being happy in your life reflects as an artist and person. I love chocolate… I really like Snoh [Ice Shavery] crushed ice, and the cookies at Phoenix Public Market [Café] are really good.”
How do you feel when you’re dancing and what are your favorite steps?
“There’s honestly nothing better. Before I dance, every time, I ask myself, ‘What do I want to say?’ Because it is a form of communication, and I try to think about what I want to make the audience feel… My favorite steps are:
1. Arabesque [one leg on ground, the other extended behind the body]
2. Adagio, or slow movements
3. I like to turn. I like to spin around. It’s fun.”
O'pinion
Voting is Silly. Sometimes.
We just had a contentious election in which people were elected to some very important offices. It was “important” voting. Conversely, I’d like to discuss some offices that make the democratic process seem nutty as a fruitcake.
For starters, most city governments have a middle management position called a city clerk. When a city manager needs a competent person to keep city records, that’s whom he or she hires: the city clerk. But on the state level, we call this person secretary of state, and it’s an elected position. Why? Is there a Democratic or a Republican way of keeping records?
The secretary of state has a second function: to serve as the state’s chief election officer. This seems to be an inherent conflict for someone elected to office in a partisan election. (Remember Florida in 2000?) In Arizona, we already have a logical alternative structure in place: Let the Citizens Clean Elections Commission, an appointed body in which no party has a majority, do the job.
I interviewed current Arizona Secretary of State Michele Reagan on my radio show, and she acknowledged that the idea of a non-elected elections officer had merit.
Here’s a more ridiculous elected office: Arizona mine inspector. Do you even know his name? I don’t. I’m not even sure he’s a “he.” Some years ago, we had a mine inspector who got in trouble for the way he spent funds. But he couldn’t be fired, because he was elected. Subsequently, most of the office’s job duties were assumed by the federal government. Wouldn’t it make more sense for the governor to appoint someone with professional qualifications in mine safety – and get rid of them if they screw up?
Similar deal with the state treasurer. They manage a huge pile of our money. Shouldn’t we hire a professional money manager and hold him or her accountable, rather than elect a political hack with designs on a higher office?
But the worst cases of election bloat involve local elected functionaries – many legacies from the 19th century when the townsfolk chose the meanest hombre in town to chase out the outlaws.
Our county sheriff runs the jail and is, in effect, the county police chief for unincorporated areas. Why do we vote for this position instead of hiring for it the same way we hire the Phoenix police chief, the head of the Arizona Department of Public Safety or the head of the Arizona Department of Corrections? This is not just a Sheriff Joe thing. One of his predecessors’ previous jobs was selling lawn mowers.
Or what about constables? Does anyone know what they do? Can you name anyone who ran for this position? Here’s a thought: If you look at a ballot and don’t recognize any of the names on it for constable, I suggest you write in a name. How about Wyatt Earp? Or Tom Selleck?
Finally, let me tell you the nuttiest elected office of them all: justice of the peace. These are community judges. Now let me read you the minimum qualification to be elected a judge at this level in Arizona: “Anyone over 18 who can read and write English.” I’m not lying. That is it.
I’ve got a really funny idea – my doctor needs to have a medical degree, and my dentist had to go to dental school. So sue me if I’d prefer to stand in front of a judge who knows something about the law.
Here’s the real reason why these positions exist: They are favorites for termed-out state legislators who are looking to fatten their retirement benefits. Arizona senators and representatives make a measly $24,000 a year. But justices of the peace get six-figure salaries. Politicians’ retirement pay is based on their highest three years of employment in an elected position. A quick scan of a partial Arizona JP list and I recognized former Arizona legislators Keith Bee, Clancy Jayne, John McComish, Cecil Ash and Cody Williams. This was based on just a cursory look. It’s really widespread.
So work as a JP for three years, and you more than quadruple your retirement pay. Good deal, huh? Well, it is for them.
Middle managers and people who fill jobs requiring very specific technical skills should be hired for those duties, not elected.
We should focus on electing governors, attorneys general and legislators who set policy that reflects the voters’ values – not on people to keep our streets safe, or our voting precincts working. That’s like voting for your plumber.
Mike O’Neil is a sociologist and pollster who hosts the public affairs program The Think Tank on KTAR-FM 92.3.
“Growing up in New England, I was surrounded by history. Moving to Phoenix in high school was quite the culture shock. ‘Old’ went from 1700s to 1970s. I was happy to discover Phoenix’s historical neighborhoods.
Now, as a mom, I want my children to see that not everything is a shiny new stucco box. I find that taking a walk through the past on an historical home tour is a fun way to accomplish this. More engaging than a museum, an historical home tour truly captures the flavor of life from days gone by. My children (4 and 6) really enjoy the experience. It gives us a chance to strike up a vibrant conversation about what they see, what they think it is, and what they think life would have been like back then. The telephone niche, the ice box, the milk and mail delivery doors spark their interest and curiosity.
A favorite moment was discovering the 1941 WPA stamp in the sidewalk on the historic Coronado Neighborhood Association Home Tour. We got to discuss what that meant and how it was a part of our history.”
Jeanette macleanpediatric dentist and mother of two. follow @downtownphoenixkids on instagram. Visit downtownphoenix.com and check out the F.Q. story home tour Dec. 3-4. fqstory.org
