'Tis the time of the season when a lot of people need a lot of things.

The Community Food Bank has an urgent need for volunteers to help sort food and prepare emergency food baskets for the needy. This is an excellent opportunity for community groups, neighborhood associations, church groups, and individuals or families who want to give back.

Volunteers will work at the main warehouse sorting the thousands of pounds of food that comes in during this time of year. Volunteers must be at least 16 years old and must be available to work at least 3 hours per shift from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays. The main warehouse is located at 3003 S. Country Club Road.

If interested, contact the volunteer services manager at 622-0525 or visit the Web site for more info.

Though I never had a doubt, my Viper crew was a little skeptical about the promos for last night's Battlestar Galactica episode, "Unfinished Business."

"Boxing?" Athena asked.

"That sounds stupid," added Helo.

Oh ye of little faith. "Unfinished Business" was centered around a series of bloody boxing matches, but the real meat of the episode was found in the flashbacks to life on New Caprica, where we learned, among other things, just what went down between Apollo and Starbuck that led to all those harsh feelings on display after that little jump in time at the end of last season. It was a meditation on bad choices, missed opportunies, lost love and all that heartbreaking jazz. You couldn't help but feel so sad about Lee and Kara, left with nothing to give one another except brutal and punishing blows in the ring, until that final, weary embrace and moment of raw honesty.

I remain eager to see what's up with Baltar's new, complex relationship with D'Anna and Caprica Six, particularly D'Anna's erotic indulgence with recreational suicide, but a visit to the Cylon Basestar would have been a distraction from the powerful storytelling we saw last night. BSG, with all its exploration of what it really mean to be so flawed and so human, remains my favorite hour of TV these days.

I just got this email from my husband that I just have to share with y'all:

Is anybody in need of a donkey and also happen to have a gas golf cart that they are willing to trade for it?  If so, then this is your lucky day ...

Boy, I like fish tacos these days. Yum! My favorites can be found at Pastiche and El Charro--bahia-style, flour tortillas, sauce on the side. A smokin' bargain can be found Tuesdays at Rubio's, when a fish taco can be had for just one buck, but I'd rather have 'em without the breading.

Anyway, looking for suggestions: What other fine dining establishments have good fish tacos? Lemme know.

I am now informed that the County Board of Supes agenda item on the Santa Ritas has been postponed until Jan. 16, 2007.

In the meantime, call your supe and tell them to take a stand against this.

Rick Favreau who hauled 100 to 200 greyhounds away most likely to their death was supposed to be at the AZ Dept of Racing hearing (via phone) on November 29. He didn't show and his phone has been disconnected. What a surprise!

According to the two most recent articles this week in the Arizona Daily Star and the AZ Republic, the AZ Department of Racing has 20 days to make their final ruling. I hope Geoffrey Gonsher fines him $5,000 (the maximum fine) and suspends his license in which case Colorado will most likely follow suit. However, I wonder if either state will ever collect their money? Can they put a lien on his farm?

But at the very minimum, it might send a message to anyone else greedy enough to haul dogs away. Perhaps TGP hired him and paid him handsomely to boot expressly for that very reason. There are still medical schools and plenty of pharmaceutical companies that do animal testing.

What I consider the best news is that AZ Department of Racing is going to look into the Tucson Greyhound Park because they knew of Favreau's previous reputation of hauling hundreds of dogs to their death to research labs in 1998. Most other greyhound tracks work with adoption groups. The Phoenix track provides support for its local adoption groups, gives them onsite kennel space, and provides tours for prospective adopters at kennel space on the track. The local media cannot even interview TGP personnel much less get a tour.