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Casino del Sol's AVA is pretty much dark from the time it concludes its annual concert series in October or November to the week after Easter.

Easter fell on Sunday, April 9, this year and the AVA is wasting no time filling its open-air stage with artists of all genres, from cumbia to comedy and the final outing of a legendary bluesman.

Not far away at Desert Diamond Casino, the concert lineup is coming together with a couple of popular country artists, a flamenco/salsa band that's made its mark in premiere venues here and abroad on the big screen, and a legendary R&B band whose story has been made into a musical that Broadway in Tucson is bringing here next fall.

Tickets for shows at the AVA, 5655 W. Valencia Road, are available through casinodelsol.com.

Tickets for Desert Diamond, which holds its concerts in the Diamond Center at 1100 W. Pima Mine Road, are available through ddcaz.com.

Both venues are expected to announced additional concerts. Check their websites for updates.

AVA at Casino del Sol

• Los Angeles Azules de Iztapalapa, which fuses cumbia sounds circa 1950s-70s with 1990s electronica, kicks things off on Saturday, April 15. Most of the $65 reserved seats are gone but there's room in the lawn ($40).

• The hot country band Old Dominion is here April 28. The band, currently on it national "No Bad Vibes" tour, recently called off a few dates after frontman Matthew Ramsey suffered a pelvis injury in an ATV accident in late March. So far, the Tucson date is not affected; we are, in fact, the first date listed on the band's website. Tickets start at $45.

• Mexican singer-songwriter Pancho Barraza is here May 5. Tickets are $45-$125.

• Rappers Ice Cube and Too Short are here May 27. Lawn tickets are $40, reserved seats start at $52 and standing room in the pit is $80-$100.

• Comedians include Franco Escamila (June 4, tickets start at $35), George Lopez (June 17, $36-$100) and Gabriel "Fluffy" Iglesias (Aug. 26, $40-$100). Lopez and Iglesias have been regulars on the AVA stage for several years

• You're out of luck if you want to see Mexican singing legend Marc Antonio Solis when he brings his "El Buki" World Tour 2023 to the AVA on Sept. 8. That show is long sold out.

• Legendary blues guitarist Buddy Guy brings his "The Legend, Damn Right Farewell Tour" to Tucson Sept. 9. The 86-year-old (he'll be 87 when he comes here) announced last October that he was retiring from touring. Tickets are $25-$150.

Desert Diamond Casino Diamond Entertainment Center

• Country singer Dylan Scott ("My Girl," "Nobody") kicks things off May 18. Tickets are $20-$40.

• 1970s British pop-rockers Ambrosia ("How Long," "You're the Only Woman") known for their soft rock ballads joins 1970s American country rock band Firefall ("You Are the Woman," "Strange Way") on June 3. Tickets are $20-$45.

• Neo-trad country artist Easton Corbin ("A Little More Country," "Roll With It") has a deliciously warm baritone that may remind you just a little of a famous country George. Tickets for his June 30 show are $20-$40.

• Hop on Grand Funk Railroad July 22 for a trip back to the 1970s when "We're An American Band" led America in a funky dance called "The Loco-Motion." Tickets are $30-$55.

• The French-born Gipsy Kings with leader and co-founder Nicolas Reyes play an infectious blend of flamenco, rumba, salsa and pop that will have the audience at their Aug. 5 show abandoning their seats and dancing in the aisles. Tickets are $35-$65.

• Back in the 1970s-80s, Australian-born Little River Band was the jam for folks who liked their pop music on the soft side. The band set a record for having landed songs on the Top 10 for six consecutive years and saw its hit "Reminiscing" rack up 5 million airplays on American radio, followed by 4 million spins of "Lady." They are here Aug. 12; tickets went on sale Friday, April 7.

• Motown greats The Temptations are here Sept. 8, roughly three months before Broadway in Tucson brings the Temptations bio-musical "Ain't Too Proud" to Centennial Hall Nov. 28. Only one member, Otis Williams, of the band's so-called "Classic Five" era is still performing with the band. Tickets went on sale Friday, April 7.

It’s official: Adia Barnes’ coaching staff is set for next season.

Last month, Bett Shelby slid over from her role as special assistant to the coach into one of the open assistant coaching spots for the Arizona women's basketball team.

On Friday, Anthony Turner filled the other spot.

Turner has Pac-12 experience and knows West Coast basketball. He’s coming in from Weber State and has had stops at Oregon State, Boise State, San Diego State, UNLV, New Mexico and Utah Valley. He started his career as a student assistant at Colorado.

“Anthony has a tremendous amount of experience, has a really good basketball mind, a hard-working recruiter and a great person,” Barnes said.

All things that were important for Barnes. Still, this time around filling her assistant roles, Barnes was looking for much more. That’s why, in addition to the usual due diligence, Turner came to Tucson and was involved in some individual training with the Wildcats.

“When he came here and spent some time with us (Barnes, Shelby and UA assistant Salvo Coppa), he was a good balance because we are all very different,” Barnes said. “He’s been a West Coast guy for many years. He had a lot of great connections on the West Coast. I've seen him work on the court. I saw him interact with our players, and they really liked him.

"I thought he’d be a really good fit. A family guy, which goes along with our family and our culture. A great faith-based guy with a really good foundation of values. ... He was aligned with me.”

Shelby, who Barnes called “one of the hardest working coaches in the country,” was an easy call to move into the other assistant position. Barnes had seen the value Shelby brought to the staff last season and said it was a “no-brainer” to ask Shelby to move into the assistant role.

Shelby took on whatever needed to be done, no matter what the task was.

“That's the type of coach that you want,” Barnes said. “A coach that is willing to do whatever it takes and whatever you need. One that fills in different areas and who was humble and would do that.”

Shelby brings a lot of experience from serving as an assistant at Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina, Virginia Tech and other spots. One of her main strengths has been recruiting. Barnes saw that up close competing over top players prior to Shelby coming to Tucson.

“There's a tremendous amount of value having Bett out on the road,” Barnes said. “She's a great evaluator. … I would have been doing a disservice to the program if I wouldn’t have put her in the coaching role. Her on the road recruiting really helps us.

"She has a tremendous amount of connections, and she’s recruited across the country. There’s a tremendous amount of value with that. Then, on the court, she brings experience, she brings energy — something we were missing.”

That experience counts. No one on this staff has less than 15 years of coaching on their résumés. In the past, Barnes has taken on younger coaches to give them the opportunity to learn from her and Coppa, who has won championships and gold medals internationally.

After the 2022-23 season ended, Barnes parted ways with former assistants Erin Grant and Ashley Davis, who had both been with the Wildcats for two seasons. Grant landed as an assistant at West Virginia, while Davis returned to Oklahoma State, where she was before joining Barnes' staff.

“I knew it was time for change,” Barnes said. “I knew I was going to make some changes to the roster, and it was really necessary to make changes on the staff too. We’ve upgraded in every position.”

Barnes also shared that she has hired a new video coordinator, Kyle Hutson, who is a UA alum. He has worked for the NBA and most recently was a director of video and analytics at Columbia University.

Barnes said he is a “guru in analytics and a great basketball mind.”

Lauren Flaum has joined the Wildcats from Tulane as director of operations.

Barnes still has a few openings to fill, including the graduate assistants for next season and the special assistant to the coach.

Contact sports reporter PJ Brown at [email protected]. On Twitter: @PJBrown09

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Storytelling and photography exhibit showcase the centers cultural and historical significance.

“¡Fiesta Fotografica! celebrates the importance of El Pueblo Neighborhood Center

Published: Sun May 07 2023|Updated: 6 hours ago

TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) - Representative Raul Grijalva and members of the community gathered to celebrate “¡Fiesta Fotografica” El Pueblo Celebration! at the El Pueblo Neighborhood Center.

The event recognized the Center’s past, present, and future.

“I really believe that its places like this, that have a connection to a community, that are very important,” said Rep. Raul Grijalva.

For Representative Grijalva and many in the community, this center is considered home.

“Our kids went to the day care here. I worked here for 17 years. Mona my better half worked in the library as well here. And I grew up on this side of town maybe two miles from here so for me it is home,” said Grijalva.

The El Pueblo Neighborhood Center was built in 1975 and has continued to provide space for community gatherings and other events. It currently is home to Representative Grijalva’s office, the Emerge Center, Interfaith Community Services, El Rio Community Health Center, El Pueblo library, and other agencies.

And since opening its doors, the center has served as a resource and safe space for Tucsonans on the southside.

“Here at El pueblo, it really started from the very inception as a resource center for the community,” said Tucson Mayor Regina Romero.

The event showcased the center’s cultural and historical significance to the community. Students from the University of Arizona’s Public and Applied Humanities Department in partnership with the Sunnyside Foundation helped showcase what the center was and can become.

“When you into there, you’ll see what the past was, what this place used to be and where we want it to become again due to the fact that it is different times,” said Grijalva.

Through photography, storytelling, and designs, they were able to bring the center’s importance into the public eye.

“This place was basically abandoned and considered a relic of other times. I think what these students and what the community is saying is, reinvest in it, bring it back to life with the changes for these time that need to happen,” said Grijalva.

And Grijalva hopes this project will be part of the process in reclaiming what the El Pueblo used to be and what it can become for future generations to enjoy.

“That it be hopping, that it be active, that people feel comfortable and safe taking back their space and that we have a commitment to keeping the center at that level once again,” said Grijalva. “Its an opportunity to give something to the community that is comprehensive and good.”

This project was paid for with funding from the American Rescue Plan Act and the 2023 federal Community Project fund secured by Representative Grijalva.

Copyright 2023 13 News. All rights reserved.

TUCSON, Ariz. — The Arizona Wildcats (24-20) dropped game two of their three-game set with the Air Force Falcons (23-25) on a final score of 5-0 on Saturday night at Hi Corbett Field.

Starting pitcher turned in a quality start for the Cats, limiting the Falcons to four runs (two earned) on seven hits across 6.1 innings. The left-hander struck out four and issued only one walk but was tagged with the loss to move to 4-4 on the year.

Freshman right-hander posted his fifth straight scoreless appearance out of the Arizona bullpen, logging 1.2 innings of shutout work while allowing just one hit.

Left fielder (1-for-2, 2 BB) and catcher (1-for-2, BB) both reached base multiple times to lead the Wildcats offensive efforts.

Arizona WildBATS

Bullpen Bullies

Number of the Night

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Social Media Coverage

Great effort from Z tonight to keep us in it ?? #BearDown His line: 6.1 IP, 2 ER, 4 K pic.twitter.com/0RkEuZqlmm

— Arizona Baseball (@ArizonaBaseball) May 7, 2023

Breaker got 'em lookin' ????? @caseyhintz04 strands a Falcon at second! #BearDown ?? https://t.co/oHR2gFtwA9 pic.twitter.com/BCaf9C33fl

— Arizona Baseball (@ArizonaBaseball) May 7, 2023

EMOOOOO!! @emiliocorona0 lays it all out to save a run! ?????#SCTop10 x #D1Top10 pic.twitter.com/mmqeCrod8W

— Arizona Baseball (@ArizonaBaseball) May 7, 2023

Next Up

The Wildcats and Falcons square off in the series rubber match on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. MST. The pregame military flyover is scheduled for approximately 12:50 p.m. MST. Tickets are available for purchase and can be secured by visiting ArizonaWildcats.com/BSB or by calling 520-621-CATS.

A new $1 billion contract for Javelin anti-tank missiles — used to great effect by Ukraine against Russian tanks — will keep Raytheon’s Tucson missile factory busy for years.

A joint venture of Tucson-based Raytheon Missiles & Defense and Lockheed Martin was awarded a four-year, $1.02 billion contract by the U.S. Army to produce Javelin anti-tank missile systems and related equipment, as part of a deal potentially worth up to $7.2 billion, the Army says.

The Pentagon did not say how many missiles are to be produced under the contract. Javelins cost about $200,000 and their launch units cost about $250,000 each, budget documents show.

The U.S. and its allies have sent some 7,000 Javelins to Ukraine to help fend off the Russian invasion since 2022, and the Pentagon has been ordering thousands to replenish U.S. stocks.

Last year, the Tucson-based Javelin Joint Venture was awarded Army contracts worth more than $300 million to produce Javelin missiles and launchers.

Much of the Javelin work is performed in Tucson, where Raytheon is the biggest private employer with about 13,000 workers. Lockheed performs its Javelin work in Orlando, Florida.

Army Assistant Secretary Doug Bush said the Army and its industry partners are striving to shorten the production lead time for production and delivery of Javelin systems.

“This contract award further illustrates the urgency the U.S. government is applying to the acquisition of systems and replenishing munitions stockpiles,” Bush said in a statement announcing the latest contract.

First fielded in 1996, the FGM-148 Javelin is a “fire-and-forget missile” that locks on targets before launch and guides itself to target with an imaging infrared seeker, allowing operators to quickly move off after launching to avoid counterstrikes. It is man-portable and also can be mounted on a variety of combat vehicles.

Equipped with an imaging infrared seeker and tandem warhead, the missile can be configured in a top-attack flight arc to hit armored vehicles where they are most vulnerable, and it can also be used in a direct-line mode against buildings, fortifications and helicopters.

The Army plans to buy 541 Javelin missiles in fiscal year 2024 and more than 800 in fiscal 2025, then more than 500 annually through 2028, according to Pentagon budget documents.

The Marine Corps also fields Javelins, as well as the United Kingdom and more than 20 other allied nations.

Ukraine has used Javelins to destroy hundreds of enemy tanks and vehicles since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and its success led to a popular meme of “St. Javelin” fashioned after a religious icon.

Besides the Javelin, Raytheon produces several weapon systems that have been provided to Ukraine in its struggle against Russian, including Stinger portable air-defense missiles, TOW (Tube-Launched, Optically-tracked Wire-guided) anti-tank missiles and the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System, which Raytheon makes with Norwegian partner Kongsberg Defence.