Thoughts and Considerations

A few things are rattling around inside my head this week --

· A reminder to anyone with military friends or loved ones from Tucson serving in a combat zone: We're offering free mail subscriptions to The Weekly to these men and women in order to give them a taste of home as they serve their country. If you think they'd enjoy The Weekly, send me their domestic APO addresses, and we'll get them on the list.

· Our newest comic strip, "Boondocks," seems to be a hit. I've received a handful of messages from readers since the paper hit the streets last week, and all of them so far have been of the "We like this!" variety. If you have any thoughts, feel free to let me know.

· Finally, the Best of Tucson 2003 and Tammies ballots are starting to roll in. Thanks to everyone who has voted and who will vote. However, I'd like to say one thing to all the businesses, bands and individuals who would consider ballot stuffing: Don't do it. It's cool to encourage friends/fans/customers to vote, but if you go as far as handling ballots yourself--providing envelopes, postage, etc.--that's just stupid and dishonest.

And if we catch you--and there's a good chance of that, as we'll be scrutinizing ballots closer than ever before--you/your band/your business will be disqualified.

Don't do it!

jimmyb@tucsonweekly.com