Here are a few events that were received too late for inclusion in our print issue.

• Thursday, Aug. 16 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

  Church of the Brethren

  2200 N. Dodge Blvd.

  Neighborhood Meeting. The Palo Verde Neighborhood Association monthly meeting will feature a presentation of water harvesting and grey water use by Kathryn Hahne of the Pima County Cooperative Extension Service. Free. Call 319-0345 for info.

• Saturday, Aug. 18 from 7 a.m. to noon

  BorderLinks

  620 S. Sixth Ave.

  Fundraiser and Yard Sale. BorderLinks will hold a large yard sale to raise funds for its various programs and special events. Free. Call 628-8263 for info.

• Saturday, Aug. 18 at 7:30 p.m.

  Conrad Wilde Gallery

  210 N. Fourth Ave.

  Namoli Brennet. Singer/songwriter Brennet will perform both old and new material. $10. Call 622-8997 for info.

• Wednesday, Aug. 22 at 6 p.m.

  Viscount Suites Hotel

  4855 E. Broadway Ave.

  American Business Women's Association. The El Sol chapter of ABWA will hold its monthly meeting. Call Lois at 296-9362 to reserve a spot.

Check out this YouTube video. Dick Cheney was being interviewed in 1994 and said that the United States should NOT go to Baghdad, because there would be too many casualties.

At that time, he seemed to be thinking clearly.

The U.S. comptroller general has issued a report that says "the U.S. government is on a 'burning platform' of unsustainable policies and practices with fiscal deficits, chronic healthcare underfunding, immigration and overseas military commitments threatening a crisis if action is not taken soon," according to the Financial Times.

There's an article in today's Star about how Central Bistro at the Historic Depot is asking the city to continue subsidizing the restaurant by paying for 18 more months of rent and granting/loaning the restaurant $100,000.

Say what?

In the current Noshing column, I posed a question to the city, asking them why they made such a deal with unknowns like the Economus? True, they may have chefs' experience, but they did not have a restaurant following.

Did the Economus ever have to give the city a marketing or business plan, and if so, was it ever followed up on to make sure things were progressing or were they just handed everything on a proverbial platter without any follow up? Is this latest development any surprise to anyone? Among fellow restaurant writers, it's no surprise.

I'd also like to know if other restaurateurs were offered to likewise bid on the space or privy to such privileged subsidies. It seems to me that once again the city created this problem.

Prior to this mess downtown, were the Economus turning a profit or packing them in for lunch, dinner and special events?

The gravy train--hopefully--has come to the end of the line for this venture.

Healthy Arizona, which bills itself as "a grass-roots organization focused on fixing the health care system in Arizona by placing an initiative on the ballot for the 2008 general election," went live with their Web site about a week ago. I'm told by Dr. Matt Heinz, Healthy Arizona's treasurer, that the group is "actively drafting the initiative based on input from a broad base of stakeholders and coalition partners." In other words, they're writing it--and they want you to share your health care horror stories with them.

If you're worried about how unjust the system is in this country (and if you're not, you really should be), then check out their site.

We don't often find ourselves nodding in agreement with Newt Gingrich, but he's dead on when he says the current presidential campaigning process "verges on insane."

An excerpt:

The former House speaker from Georgia said he will decide whether to enter the GOP presidential field in October. But in a wide-ranging speech at the National Press Club in Washington, he ridiculed campaign consultants and spin doctors who he said are extending the 2008 campaign. He said presidential debates have become "almost unendurable."

"These aren't debates," the former Georgia congressman said. "This is a cross between (TV shows) The Bachelor, American Idol and Who's Smarter than a Fifth-Grader."

This week's cover story discusses the murder of Indymedia journalist Brad Will, last year in Oaxaca. He was videotaping an uprising--and the camera rolled as he died.

Here is a copy of his video.

Hey, leadfoots: TPD has announced the locations of the photo-radar van that will pop drivers doing more than 11 mph over the speed limit.

More details on the program here and here.

John Kromko filed a campaign-finance report with the City Clerk's Office today that reveals that he spent only $4,684 getting the Tucson Water Users' Bill of Rights on the November ballot. The bulk of that--$3,380--was paid to a petition coordinator and three signature gatherers.

The biggest contributor to the campaign, as of Aug. 6, was Kromko himself, who lent the campaign $2,000. The rest of his contributions have come mostly in $50 checks.

That's a bargain compared to the $70,013 spent by Wal-Mart on the Consumer Choice initiative, which would have overturned the city's ban on grocery sales in big-box outlets. That effort was rejected because City Attorney Mike Rankin concluded that zoning law couldn't be amended through the initiative process.

Wal-Mart funneled the $70K through the political consulting firm Zimmerman and Associates. Hey, next time, the company should consider using Kromko. He seems to be the low-price leader in that arena.

Former state lawmaker John Kromko tells us that he's not going to run for mayor after all.

Kromko, who had registered a write-in candidate for the Green Party nomination last week, says he realized he couldn't raise enough money to run a viable campaign against Republican incumbent Bob Walkup.

"I didn't want to get into a race where I had no chance," Kromko says.

More in this week's Skinny!