The Tucson Police Department's photo-radar vans will be in the following areas on Saturday, Dec. 1:

• 7 to 9 a.m.: At Davidson Elementary School, 3950 East Paradise Falls Drive
• 9:30 to 1:30 p.m.: On 22nd Street near Wilmot Road
• 2 to 4 p.m.: Near Desert Sky Middle School, 9600 Block East Rita Road
• 4:30 to 8 p.m.: On Nogales Highway near Valencia Road
• 4:30 to 8 p.m.: On Dodge Boulevard between Glenn Road and Fort Lowell Road

Save the Scenic Santa Ritas needs you to step away from the blog for an afternoon, or at least take an extended lunch, on Dec. 5.

According to SSSR, the Arizona Corporation Commission will take public comments at a meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 5, at 1 p.m., on the Green Valley CAP pipeline proposal from Augusta Resource, the company that wants to develop a copper mine--yet another source of mine-tailings piles. How lovely.

The spot Augusta Resource plans to mine can be seen from DESIGNATED SCENIC HIGHWAY State Highway 83, and from I-10 to Sonoita.

Augusta Resource submitted their Mine Plan of Operations to the Forest Service on July 11, 2007. On Oct. 19, the Forest Service requested more information from Augusta Resource. It remains up to the Forest Service to make the right decision.

The Community Water Company is supporting the proposal. A recent article from the Green Valley News states the Dec. 5 meeting is a presentation only, although it should also offer a glimpse into how this project plays out locally in Green Valley and in Pima County politics.

The meeting takes place at the American Legion Hall, 1560 W. Duval Mine Road in Green Valley. For more info, call Save the Scenic Santa Ritas as (520) 495-4339.

FYI ... I just turned on comments moderation due to some inappropriate, off-topic comments that were aimed at harming individuals' reputations.

Folks: If you have a problem with someone who may be unethical or is doing bad things, e-mail us with evidence, and we'll nail 'em. But don't go around posting unsubstantiated accusations.

Thanks. If all goes well, we'll turn off comments moderation tomorrow.

We received a revised schedule after our Nov. 29 issue was printed. Please note the revised times for these films:

• Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

  Tuesday through Thursday: 12:30 p.m., 3 p.m., 5:20 p.m.

• The Darjeeling Limited

  Monday through Thursday: 2:45 p.m., 10 p.m.

The Loft is located at 3233 E. Speedway Blvd. Call 795-7777 for showtimes.

Here are a few events received too late for inclusion in our Nov. 29 issue. We recommend calling event organizers to check for last-minute changes in location, time, price, etc.

• Thursday, Nov. 29 at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, Nov. 30 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 1 at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Dec. 2 at 1:30 p.m.

  Beowulf Alley Theatre

  11 S. Sixth Ave.

  Stones in His Pockets. A tale of two local, down-on-their luck Irishmen who have been cast as extras in a Hollywood movie. Tickets are $16 on Thursday; $19 Friday to Sunday with online discounts at www.beowulfalley.org. Call 882-0555 for info.

• Saturday, Dec. 1 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

  Northwest Neighborhood Center

  2160 N. Sixth Ave.

  Community Forum on Impeachment. A video on the impeachment issue will be followed by panelist presentations and questions and answers. Panelists include attorney Bill Risner and professor Bill Boyd. Representatives for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and Congressman Raul Grijalva are expected to attend. Free. Donations accepted. E-mail dfatucson@gmail.com for more info.

• Saturday, Dec. 1 and Sunday, Dec. 2 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

  Cascabel, on the banks of the San Pedro River

  27th Annual Cascabel Christmas Fair. Local river and area artists show a variety of work featuring pottery, fiber, wood, jewelry, paintings, photographs, rustic furniture and more. Take Interstate 10 through Benson to exit 306. Head north through Pomerene. Follow the signs for 20 more miles. Note five miles will be on gravel roads. Call (520)212-2529 or visit www.cascabel.org for info.

• Monday, Dec. 3 at 7 p.m.

  Dinnerware Artspace

  264 E. Congress St.

  7 UP Performance Night. An evening of performance art from seven artists or duets, each having 10 minutes to perform in an eight-foot by eight-foot space. Call 792-4503 or e-mail dinnerware@dinnerwarearts.com for info.

When locked in the arms of a carnitas burro, I recommend you stay away from old weekly magazines you usually read, but have put aside until the doldrums go away.

Two weeks ago, I finally picked up an old Rolling Stone I had barely read the week before. After that last bite of carnitas, I decided to lounge with the politics section, because, you know, I was feeling better and now fully medicated. 

This particular issue had an interview with climate scientist James Lovelock. Mr. Locklock, an elderly fellow who will probably die any day now, says not to worry: Global warming can't be stopped. Going green is just a mechanism of our capitalist ways, and by 2040, about 6 million people will be dead. But he does say that those who survive will find it to be an exciting time.

So, if my son hangs on and procreates, the next generation of my family is in for one big party. An excerpt:

Until recently, Lovelock thought that global warming would be just like his half-assed forest -- something the planet would correct for. Then, in 2004, Lovelock's friend Richard Betts, a researcher at the Hadley Centre for Climate Change -- England's top climate institute -- invited him to stop by and talk with the scientists there. Lovelock went from meeting to meeting, hearing the latest data about melting ice at the poles, shrinking rain forests, the carbon cycle in the oceans. "It was terrifying," he recalls. "We were shown five separate scenes of positive feedback in regional climates -- polar, glacial, boreal forest, tropical forest and oceans -- but no one seemed to be working on whole-planet consequences." Equally chilling, he says, was the tone in which the scientists talked about the changes they were witnessing, "as if they were discussing some distant planet or a model universe, instead of the place where we all live." 

As Lovelock was driving home that evening, it hit him. The resiliency of the system was gone. The forgiveness had been used up. "The whole system," he decided, "is in failure mode." A few weeks later, he began work on his latest and gloomiest book, The Revenge of Gaia, which was published in the U.S. in 2006. 

OK, then. As you can imagine, I felt loads better, no longer guilt-ridden that I haven't gotten around switching those light bulbs or buying a Prius.

I've hung on to his whole theory of it being an exciting time for those still around. I thought about Eugene O'Neil and his friends getting all creative during the New Deal, and how I've wished I was around then. Seems like I'm always missing the boat.

But most likely, I'll at least have the pleasure of being around when Tucson runs out of water. That will be exciting indeed.

The Tucson Police Department's photo-radar vans will be in the following areas on Friday, Nov. 30:

• 9 to 2 p.m.: At Safford Elementary School on Fifth Avenue near 13th Street
• 9:30 to 1:30 p.m.: On Starr Pass Boulevard near La Cholla
• 2 to 4 p.m.: Los Amigos Elementary, 2200 Block East Drexel Road
• 4:30 to 8 p.m.: On Valencia Road near Kolb Road

Due to an error by the bonehead editor of this newspaper, the time mentioned in TQ&A for the dog-park dedication on Saturday, Dec. 1, was incorrect. The dedication will happen at 11:30 a.m., not 11:30 p.m.

The bonehead editor apologizes for the mistake. The error has been corrected in our online version.

Working at a weekly newspaper can be weird sometimes.

Take the new cover story, on the UA basketball team. The story largely focuses on the fact that head coach Lute Olson is/has been away from the team on a mysterious leave of absence. The piece, by Tom Danehy, was originally slated to run last week, but we bumped it to this week so we could give Project White House some extra time.

Anyway ... after Danehy made some additions late Sunday (Nov. 25) to the story following the UA's close road loss to Kansas, the story was all ready to go. Then came the news Monday night (Nov. 26) that Olson showed up to practice and was talking about maybe possibly perhaps coming back. The team promised statements would be released the next day, on Tuesday. Our deadline day.

Thus, we prepared to rewrite our piece on the fly, on deadline, depending on whatever the announcement(s) was/were about Olson's return.

Except an annoucement never came, really. Finally, at the basketball team's late-afternoon press conference, interim coach Kevin O'Neill said, basically, that everything remained the same. Olson remained on leave indefinitely, he said (although Olson may show up to some practices. Or something.).

Thus, other than a few rewritten sentences, we went forward with Danehy's story as-is, hoping that nothing major changed between our Tuesday-evening deadline and the time the story ended up in the hands of our readers.

So, with that, here is the new issue. Enjoy, and feel free to comment on its contents here.

The Tucson Police Department's photo-radar van will be in the following areas on Thursday, Nov. 29:

• 7 to 9 a.m.: Whitmore Elementary, 5300 Block E. Glenn Street
• 9:30 to 1:30 p.m.: On Golf Links Road between Swan Road and Aviation Parkway
• 2 to 4 p.m.: Alice Vail Middle School crossing on Craycroft Road
• 4:30 to 8 p.m.: On Fifth Street near Craycroft Road