Part of the landscape at Catalina State Park is in ruins.

Not to worry. We're talking about an archaeological site - not environmental damage.

The Romero Ruin Interpretive Trail at the park north of Tucson winds past the scant remains of ancient dwellings built by Indians known as the Hohokam. The three-quarter-mile loop route also takes visitors to the crumbling walls of a house built by rancher Francisco Romero in the mid-1800s.

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Incredible Italiano dining

Brothers Vincenzo, Franco and Giuseppe Ali prepare food at their Michelangelo Ristorante Italiano as if the very reputation of their family is at stake - and it shows in nearly every bite.

Specialities at the restaurant are picture perfect on the plate and pure, authentic Italy on the palate. We're not the first to notice.

On a recent Saturday night the place was packed, and we could have faced a serious wait if we hadn't made a reservation.

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• Where: 420 W. Magee Road.
• Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. Closed Sundays.

There's no use sugar-coating it; 2009 was a dismal year for big-bang concerts in Tucson.

In fact, the biggest and most memorable concert of the year - the Last Smash Platinum Bash with Jay-Z on April 29 at Arizona Stadium - was also the biggest financial failure.

You could blame the economy to some extent for the area's concert drought, or you could blame the lack of a suitable arena - the antiquated Tucson Arena was mostly a ghost town for concert action the last 12 months.

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More:
• 10 to look forward to in '10
• Here's what nine music fans had to say about their favorite concert of 2009