And you have to love the shot of the empty House that Shadegg was addressing at the time.

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• White Hots cooking alongside their more commonly colored counterparts.

I honestly thought someone was messing with me when I opened the e-mail at 4 a.m., but it must be noted that I was only on my third cup of coffee of the day, which is a vulnerable state for me. Within moments, I was embarking on a Google journey into white weinerdom that left me stunned and mystified.

Stopani says he flys the white hots—which are native to Rochester N.Y.—in about three times a year. Apparently the white color is a result of using meat that is neither smoked or cured. This made it the "poor man's hot dog" back in the 1920s, according to some accounts. Conversely, the pale sausage is considered an upscale tube steak in these modern times.

Check out the Wikipedia entry on these colorless hot dogs here.

Check out Zweigle's Web site here.

An interesting tidbit that shows the growing split within the GOP:

Hayworth, a conservative former U.S. congressman who now is a popular radio talk show host in Phoenix, is reportedly interested in the race but has not formally declared for it. He captures 59% of the male GOP vote, while McCain wins 58% of female voters.

Younger GOP voters like Hayworth more than their elders. McCain has a solid lead among the relatively small number of moderate and liberal Republicans in the state while Hayworth picks up a plurality (48%) of conservatives.

If the ongoing purge within the GOP were to claim McCain—McCain!—and J.D. were to become the nominee, that puts Democrat Rodney's Glassman's hopes of claiming the Senate seat in a whole new light.

ETA: On the other hand, Rodney probably can't be too happy about this line from Rasmussen:

For McCain, the GOP Primary appears to be his biggest challenge since no major Democrats in the state have stepped forward yet to run against him.

Not so much: The plan to snip some spending has collapsed in the Senate. Rhonda has details.

If they can't even get it going with this (relatively) simple stuff, how are they ever going to be able to fill a $2 billion hole?

Here's part of a press release with more details:

Over the years, Enchanted Earthworks Gallery has changed its look and merchandise mix to adapt to the changing market and economy. Artist/owners, Val and Gordon Mustain, started the store as a metaphysical gallery featuring their own unique jewelry designs along with a variety of art and natural stones. Today, the gallery features an impressive variety of art from regionally and nationally recognized artists, as well as the Mustain’s hand-crafted jewelry designs including Gordon’s signature wire-wrapping and Val’s designer gem-stone-beaded creations.

A new gallery opening show of artists takes place on Friday, Nov. 20 with an open house from 4 to 7 p.m. Twenty artists will be present including featured artist, Keith McRoberts (14K & 18K designer gem rings); Margaret Shirer (fused dicroic glass), Nancy Dimock (encaustic wax painting), Ron Karluski (wood carving), Marianne Hopkins (Seed bead jewelry), Robin White (fiber artist), Sherri Henderson (Bronze equestrian sculpture), Betty Dougherty (dimensional acrylic painting) and other nationally known artists and jewelry designers. The featured opening for these artists will continue through Thursday, Dec. 24.

Several speakers blasted the Downtown Tucson Partnership's efforts to sell the Coronado Hotel, which has provided 42 units of low-income housing since 1991.

The Tucson City Council is now scheduled to discuss the plan at its next meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 24.

Almost 20 years ago, the building, located at Fourth Avenue and Ninth Street, was renovated, in part with local and federal tax dollars.

Glenn Lyons, who heads the Downtown Tucson Partnership, could not be reached for comment. But earlier press reports indicated Lyons thought the building could be turned into offices or even a hotel.

Ward 1 Councilwoman Regina Romero said today that the city needs to ensure that there are affordable housing options downtown.

"Slowly but surely we're losing them," Romero said.

Pima County Supervisor Richard Elias echoed that concern.

"We need to save the Coronado as affordable housing," Elias said.

Attorney Bill Risner said the Downtown Tucson Partnership was a "con game" and predicted the proceeds from the sale would go to help developers.

"We need to give the City Council a spine," Risner said. "They need to say no."

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., The UA Press is celebrating 50! years of publishing with a sidewalk sale. They will offer deep discounts on scratched and dented books. Prices start at $5, and an all-you-can-stuff bag o' books is $25. Selected new titles will be 50 percent off. Music and refreshments will be on hand. 355 S. Euclid Ave. parking lot.

At 3 and 7 p.m., The Tucson Boys Chorus will perform an original piece called "Songs for the Ark," written by Frederic Balazs, at the Benedictine Monastery. Danish pianist Torsten Juul-Borre will also perfrom pieces from Chopin, Grieg and Liszt. Tickets are $50, and proceeds go to the "Preserving Our Heritage" campaign, which helps repair and restore the 70-year-old monastery. 800 N. Country Club Road.

The memorial is being held from 3 to 6 p.m., at the Joel D. Valdez Main Library, 101 N. Stone Ave.

Read more about Alan Ward here:
http://www.tucsonweekly.com/TheRange/archives/2009/10/19/good-bye-alan-ward

• City of Tucson
• Tucson Ward Map (At Red Star's Request)

The big takeaway: We live in a divided city.

As we suspected, Republican Steve Kozachik pulled off his upset of Democrat Nina Trasoff by driving up turnout on the east side, while Democrats failed to get their voters out on the west and south sides.

That’s been the formula for GOP success in city elections for more than a decade.

Republicans clobbered Democrats in east side Ward 2 and Ward 4, while Democrats whipped Republicans in wards 1, 3, 5 and 6.

Kozachik, who beat incumbent Democratic Councilwoman Nina Trasoff by 1,756 votes citywide, lost his own ward. Kozahick picked up just 40 percent of the vote in midtown Ward 6.

While the final margin that separated Kozachik and Trasoff citywide was close, the margins within the individual wards are big in the Ward 6 race.

In addition to losing Ward 6, Kozachik didn’t fare well in Ward 1 (40 percent), Ward 3 (42 percent) or Ward 5 (38 percent). But in Ward 2, Kozachick captured 61 percent of the vote. In Ward 4, he got 65 percent.

In those two eastside wards, more than 35,700 voters cast ballots, accounting for about 48 percent of the roughly 74,000 votes that were cast in the election.

Citywide turnout was 33 percent, but it was higher

New campaign-finance reports show through Nov. 9, McClusky spent $90,211, compared to Fimbres’ $78,526.

McClusky, a political rookie, also managed to outraise Fimbres, despite Fimbres’ deep community ties.

McClusky raised a total of $49,649, which was matched by $45,822 in city matching funds.

Fimbres raised just $44,837, which was matched by $38,442 in city matching funds.

McClusky had trailed Fimbres in fundraising until the final weeks of the campaign. Between Oct. 15 and Nov. 9, McClusky raised $15,420, while Fimbres raised just $5,936.

McClusky spent a staggering $82,330 after Oct. 15, according to his campaign finance report. The spending included roughly $15,000 on robocalls and $54,500 on a mailer accusing Fimbres of mishandling money when he headed up the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.

Those campaign expenditures were paid to Lincoln Strategy Group, which is run by Phoenix political consultant Nathan Sproul.

Here's McClusky's most recent report: McCluskyFinal.pdf

Here's Fimbres' most recent report: FimbresFinal.pdf

A press release put out today says the restaurant will begin serving dinner on Friday, Nov. 20, with lunch service beginning on Monday, Nov. 30.

The place has named Ryan Clark, the former sous chef at The Dish, as its new chef. Clark—a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America who has also worked at Canyon Ranch and Fuego—has redesigned the menu with a focus on "the freshest products and ingredients, most locally grown and locally sourced," according to the release.

"And we believe our guests have a right to know the source of the food they are enjoying as well as the methods used to prepare it. Our role is to facilitate the food’s journey from farm to fork,” Clark stated in the release.

Reopening the restaurant is the final touch on a $15 million renovation. Originally a private residence, Lodge on the Desert first opened as a business in 1936.

Call 320-2000, or visit their Web site for more information.

In 2008, we had the seven-way super-slam in Legislative 29, where seven Democrats jumped into a primary for two House seats.

Something similar may be brewing for next year in midtown Tucson, where District 28 Rep. Dave Bradley is hitting his four-term limit.

Bradley’s seatmate, Rep. Steve Farley, will be seeking reelection, although he tells us he may not be using Clean Elections this time out because the publicly financed election program is facing a constitutional challenge that may eliminate matching funds, which would leave candidates who use the system in a bind should another candidate or an independent expenditure committee decide to spend a lot of campaign cash.

At least five other Democrats are looking at the race:

• Local Ted Prezelski, who made a run for the seat in 2006, has gotten a much earlier start on his campaign. Prezelski’s brother, Tom Prezelski, lost a House seat in the aforementioned seven-way super-slam.

• Democrat Tim Sultan, who lost a 2004 congressional primary to Eva Bacal back in the Age of Jim Kolbe, has lowered his sights to the state Legislature.

• Mohur Sidhwa, a former Democratic chair of LD28 and a current vice chair of the Arizona Democratic Party, is making her first run for a major office.

• Former LD28 House member Ted Downing is making noises about running, although he has not formally filed for the race. Downing now has an exploratory committee for an unnamed office.

• Bruce Wheeler, a former Tucson city councilman and a one-term lawmaker waaay back in the 1970s, is talking about making a political comeback.

Andrew Sullivan, as you might expect, is having a field day:

As this blog persistently demonstrated in last year's campaign, Palin is a delusional fantasist, existing in a world of her own imagination, asserting fact after fact that are demonstrably untrue, and unable to adjust to the actual reality after it has been demonstrated beyond any empirical doubt. The campaign's media strategy of making sure she was never in a position to be asked anything in an uncontrolled setting, and of never holding an open press conference (unprecedented in the history of presidential campaigns) were a response to this. The only interview that dared stray even a little from this fawning celebrity-deference, Katie Couric's, revealed Palin to be an astonishingly inept know-nothing, camouflaged by incessant victimology.

She is a deeply disturbed individual whose grip on reality is very weak, and whose self-awareness is close to nil. This much is not a leap, let alone unfair. It is simply unavoidable if one examines her surreal invention of reality - even when she must surely know that the evidence exists out there to contradict her.

As I have long noted, this is not the usual political mendacity and spin. It is far weirder and more disturbing than that. She creates her own reality. And the fact-indifferent, editor-free marketing company, HarperCollins, is only too willing to make some money off it.

The place has piped in images of deep space and other planetary goodness going on throughout. A planetarium with a full bar? Be still my cosmological heart.

• Kimchi is awesome.

The place opened a few weeks back at 4951 E. Grant Road. It's a family-run eatery with 10 or so tables and a simple décor. It seems to pull in a pretty steady crowd and was relatively busy on a recent Wednesday night.

Korean food had always been a mystery outside of my obsession with kimchi, so I was flying blind. When this is the case, I just order whatever is the most fun to say. That turned out to be "be bim bap," a variety of vegetables topped with a fried egg. I didn't really know what to do with it when it arrived, but the owner sensed my confusion and helped with instructions on how to enjoy it properly.

The meal was preceeded by miso soup (included in the price of the meal) and came with two types of kimchi (also included). Both the kimchi, and the be bim bap (damn, that is fun to say) were hotter than summer asphalt, but in a way that was less painful than many spicy dishes I've tried.

The nicest touch though was that the bill came with a tiny, chilled yogurt drink that all but extinguished the spicy oral wildfire that lingered after the meal. Nice touch.

Prices are in the $5 to $12 range. Call 881-7777 for more information.

The Yes Men Fix The World opens tonight at the Loft Cinema. You can read about these Merry Pranksters, who specialize in media and corporate hoaxes, right here.

One of the Yes Men, former Tucsonan Andy Bichlbaum, will be visiting the Loft to talk about his work at a special screening at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 16.

Details on the Loft run here.

Maeveen Marie Behan was a renaissance woman whose drive to protect the Sonoran Desert was fed by love and a sense of justice.

She was a lawyer who knew that the best way to reach people on a wonkish subject such as the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan was by telling stories.

She was a thirsty learner who earned three degrees but knew little about the Endangered Species Act until she started putting it into practice in 1998. Three years later, she taught it to lawyers at a continuing-education class. She also was an unsung visionary, shunning publicity as a top aide to County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry.

Together, those traits allowed her to change the face of Pima County, friends, family members and colleagues said after her death of cancer last week at age 48.

The community owes a tremendous debt to this unsung hero of the Southwest.

Maeveen, you'll be missed. Thanks for all you did.

The event features 40 local authors. David Fitzsimmons, editorial cartoonist for the Arizona Daily Star, will do cariacatures and sign autographs beginning at 2 p.m.

There will be plenty of books to purchase, and authors will be available to chat with the public. Admission is free. For more information on the Society of Southwestern Authors, visit www.ssa-az.org.

So Giffords has had the benefit of running in two elections in which Democrats have done very well. Now in 2010, the mood has shifted and the turnout will drop.

Trasoff's gone, and if Republicans can field the right candidate in 2010, there will be no Trasoff Giffords.

The Skinny's take here.

BY ROBERT WICK AND WALTER WICK

Aside from war and death, Americans face few issues as immediate as access to health care, particularly during times of economic hardship and its accompanying stress. More than 47 million Americans younger than 65 lack health insurance.

All other major industrialized nations provide universal health care.

How many people do you know who are unemployed, self-employed, partially employed or retired who choose not to go to the doctor when sick, because they cannot afford to go?

The bills now before the House and Senate, if passed and reconciled by both houses of Congress, will be signed into law by President Obama. They are not terribly different and reflect many compromises, so reconciliation is likely.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, they will both slightly reduce the national deficit over the next 10 years and, with luck, pay for themselves.

Both bills would offer health care to more than 95 percent of Americans not already on Medicare. The proposals are actually less comprehensive as those made by President Nixon in the 1970s when bipartisanship was more of a reality. Democrats are often blamed for killing Nixon’s plan; Republicans will mostly be blamed if this reform fails.

Health-care reform is on the brink of reality, and for the first time in our nation’s history, this country has a chance to offer a health-care safety net to the vast majority of Americans.

What won’t either of these bills do?

They will not take away the federal Medicare program. The Medicare Commission proposed in the more-conservative Senate bill could, indeed, help stabilize it.

They will not force patients to go to some government-selected physician, although a public-health option may or may not be efficient, and may or may not prove to be less-expensive than private insurance. Neither program should impact the time patients wait to see a physician.

They will not force starving health insurance companies into bankruptcy.

For those who fear socialism, neither bill provides universal health care.

What will the law do? The public plan would negotiate payment rates for those who want to try it. In one bill, states can opt out of having a public plan; conservative states may do so if that is the law.

Both bills will make it possible—through government subsidies—for lower- and lower-middle-income families to pay for private or public insurance. Assisted living and nursing homes will be more accessible than they are today for the disabled and elderly. And employers will have to provide health insurance.

There would be and should be insurance portability, which means those who have insurance cannot be without insurance when they lose their job or move from one job to another.

Those who like their health insurance may keep it. The example for health reform is Massachusetts, where three years ago, similar legislation passed while being criticized as being clumsy and complicated. Today 79 percent of Massachusetts residents want to keep the state’s public plan, and only 11 percent want it repealed. And 98 percent of the state’s residents have health insurance.

How would national reform be paid for? The Senate bill envisions charging a fee for extremely comprehensive coverage, thus making it something available only to those willing to subsidize giving everyone the opportunity to have decent, basic health insurance. The House wants to tax individuals earning $500,000 or more and couples earning $1 million or more.

We are at a vital crossroads. We should call our senators and representatives and ask them to vote for the bills moving to the floors of both chambers, and for whatever comes out of each chamber.

If a reconciled bill becomes law, it will not be perfect. Unfortunately, given the political volatility of the United States, this opportunity to protect the health of our country may not come again.

Robert Wick is secretary-treasurer, and Walter Wick is vice president of Wick Communications Co., owner of the Tucson Weekly.

Sources tell the Weekly that another half-dozen or so Arizona Daily Star employees were laid off or otherwise given their walking papers today. We're hearing that those employees include much of the library staff, online dude Eric Hess and metro team leader Ignacio Ibarra (who took a late buyout).

If anyone else out there has additions or clarifications, let us know!