The Tucson Police Department's photo-radar will be in the following areas on Friday, Sept. 14:

•  7 to 9 a.m.: Carrillo Middle School, 400 Block S. Main Avenue
• 9:30 to 1:30 p.m.: On Speedway Boulevard near Silverbell Road
• 2 to 4 p.m.: CE Rose Elementary on 12th Avenue near Michigan Drive
• 4:30 to 8 p.m.: On 22nd Street near Craycroft Drive

The Bookmans on Grant Road and Campbell Avenue--rumored to be moving--is in fact staying put, according to this here press release:

Bookmans Entertainment Exchange signed a lease agreement retaining its current location at 1930 E. Grant Road at Campbell Avenue. Previously there was question that the corner location would be slated for re-development, however the new lease option secures that the city landmark will stay put through 2013. Bookmans on Grant averages 1,800 customers a day, more than 670,000 every year.

"It is great news for us, and great for our customers who were concerned that we may need to relocate," said Sean Feeney, Bookmans executive vice president. "We have a steady stream of regular customers who have come to this location to read, listen to music, and use our community room for events for more than 20 years."

The Grant location opened in September1976, and since that time the local chain of used books, music, movies, electronics and free wi-fi has grown to six locations in Tucson, Flagstaff, Mesa, and Phoenix.

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

• Friday, Sept. 14 at 7 p.m.

  Armory Park Community Center

  220 S. Fifth Ave.

  Benefit Potluck. Coalicion de Derechos Humanos presents a benefit potluck for Cananea Local 65. The miners have been on strike recently. $5 suggested donation. Bring a dish to share. Call 770-1373 for info.

• Saturday, Sept. 15 at 7 a.m. and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

  San Xavier Recreation Center

  8549 South J. Mayor Drive

  Red Road and Wellbriety Gathering. Local Native American groups will celebrate drug and alcohol addiction recovery. A fun run/walk takes place at 7 a.m. Resource tables, activities and meetings will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Call Cynthia at 349-2524 for info.

• Saturday, Sept. 15 at 1:30 p.m.

  University of Arizona Museum of Art

  Park Avenue and Speedway Boulevard

  Los Disparates. A multimedia presentation of Francisco de Goya's Los Disparates will include sound and projected images. Free. Call 621-7567 or visit www.artmuseum.arizona.edu for info.

• Tuesday, Sept. 18 from 1 to 5 p.m.

  TIHAN

  1011 N. Craycroft Road, No. 301

  Volunteer Training/Orientation. The Tucson Interfaith HIV/AIDS Network will conduct volunteer orientation/training. Open to all. Call 299-6647 to sign up.

The Tucson Police Department's photo-radar van will be in the following areas on Thursday, Sept. 13:

• 7 to 9 a.m.: Desert Willow Elementary, 9600 Block E. Esmond Loop
• 9:30 to 1:30 p.m.: On Tanque Verde near Sabino Canyon
• 2 to 4 p.m.: Mesquite Elementary, 9400 Block E. Rita Ranch on Rita Road near Rankin Loop

Last week, Osama bin Laden said one way to get al Qaeda to cease hostilities against the United States would be for all Americans to convert to Islam.

We don't see it happening, but he did offer an incentive to the anti-tax types on the right.

“There are no taxes in Islam, but rather there is a limited Zakaat (alms) totaling 2.5 percent,” Osama said, according to the Fox News translation.

That’s got to have folks like Tom Jenney of the Arizona Federation of Taxpayers wondering what direction Mecca is in.

Last week, Jenney’s organization released a survey of county and local governments throughout Arizona regarding tax burdens. Turns out most local officials are Allies and Friends of Big Government and very few are Allies and Friends of the Taxpayer.

We have to admit that Jenney and his crew have done a lot of research into governments across the state. Too bad it’s basically a useless measuring stick because there’s no corresponding analysis of how those tax dollars are being spent.

Pima County Supervisor Ray Carroll got the organization’s Local Hero award for blocking a half-cent sales tax. Carroll’s fellow Republican, Ann Day, was also honored by the organization as a Champion of the taxpayer, while the Democrats on the board—Sharon Bronson, Richard Elias and Ramon Valadez—were called Champions of Big Government.

Of course, Day actually supported the half-cent sales tax, agreeing with Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry’s proposal that enacting a sales tax could allow the county to reduce its property tax burden while allowing the county to collect taxes from tourists and residents of outlying counties who shop in Pima County but don't pay property taxes. But again, that’s a detail that’s too complicated for the Arizona Federation of Taxpayers to work into its analysis.

That's the problem with an analysis that only gives you half the picture--the taxing, not the spending. Here in Tucson, Mayor Bob Walkup and the Democrats on the City Council all got labeled Allies of Big Government. And what’s that big, bad government doing with those spending increases? Well, it’s hiring cops and firefighters and paving neighborhood streets for the first time in too long. Does that mean government is out of control? Your mileage may vary, but we'd argue no.

Bottom line: Under AFT's standards, Osama is a Champion of the Taxpayer.

Jonathan Chait has a new book, The Big Con: The True Story of How Washington Got Hoodwinked and Hijacked by Crackpot Economics, that examines how this whole "taxes = bad" zeitgeist came to rule the Republican Party. The New Republic has an excerpt, along with a lively debate between Chait and anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist.

To no one's great surprise, Democrats Regina Romero and Rodney Glassman handily won their respective primaries Tuesday.

In the race to replace retiring Councilpunk Jose Ibarra in westside Ward 1, Romero crushed Ken Green, winning 80 percent of the vote. There's no Republican, but Green candidate Beryl Baker did land enough write-in votes to make the general-election ballot, so we'll be hearing more about the 10 Key Values between now and Election Day.

In Ward 2, where Councilwoman Carol West is retiring, Glassman beat Robert Reus with more than 83 percent of the vote. That sets up a battle between Glassman and Republican Lori Oien in November.

Since no Democrat challenged Mayor Bob Walkup, he'll face no opposition in his run for re-election, other than longshot Green Dave Croteau.

The other race in the general election will pit incumbent Councilwoman Shirley Scott against GOP challenger Dan Spahr.

Although Democrats enjoy an overwhelming voter-registration edge in the city and Republicans are hardly ascendant in the political zeitgeist, both Oien and Spahr are taking heart in the fact that they had respectable voter support within their wards, even though they faced no opposition.

While some votes remain to be counted, it's clear that most voters just didn't care about Tuesday's primary. In Ward 1, turnout among Democrats was about 18 percent; Romero got about 3,000 votes; Green got roughly 700. In Ward 2, about one in four Democrats voted. Glassman got about 3,900 votes; Reus got about 750.

Thanks to a push from the City Clerk's Office, the city set a new record in early voting. In Ward 1, about three out of four Democrats voted early; in Ward 2, about 79 percent cast early ballots, with only one in five going to the polls on Election Day. (Tom Danehy is not going to like that at all!)

More in next week's Skinny!

The Tucson Police Department's photo-radar van will be in the following areas on Wednesday, Sept. 12:

• 7 to 9 a.m.:  Nosotros Academy on Grande Avenue near St. Mary's Hospital
• 9:30 to 1:30 p.m.:  On Grant Road near Oracle Road
• 2 to 4 p.m.: Roskruge Elementary on 6th Street near 5th Avenue
• 4:30 to 8 p.m.:  On Silverbell Road near Ironwood Hills Drive

The Tucson Police Department's photo-radar van will be in the following areas on Tuesday, Sept. 11:

• 7-9 a.m.:  Reynolds Elementary on Stella Road near Prudence Road
• 9:30-1:30 p.m.:  On Golf Links Road near Wilmot Road; On 22nd Street near Wilmot Road
• 2-4 p.m.:  Doolen Middle School on Country Club Road near Grant Road; Duffy Elementary School on Fifth Street near Craycroft Road
• 4:30-8 p.m.: On Fifth Street near Alvernon Way

The Tucson Police Department's photo-radar van will be in the following areas on Monday, Sept. 10:

• 7-9 a.m.: Walter Douglas Elementary School on Flowing Wells Road and Prince Road
• 9:30-1:30 p.m.: On Grant Road near Oracle Road
• 2-4 p.m.:  Tolson Elementary on Greasewood Road near Starr Pass Boulevard
• 4:30-8 p.m.:  On 22nd Street near Swan Road

This short YouTube video is worth watching. I even laughed aloud even though the subject matter is dead serious.