At the beginning of the year, computer hackers calling themselves Anonymous took over the Church of Scientology's network in reaction to Scientology officials trying to get a Scientology promotional video of Tom Cruise off the Internet.

The group also began a series of international protests last month in front of Church of Scientology centers, with the first in memory of Lisa McPherson, a Scientology member who died in the organization's care, as well as others Anonymous documents in several of its Web sites, along with other anti-Scientology sites such as Operation Clambake. In keeping with the Anonymous theme, those who arrive to protest disguise themselves with masks or cover their faces with scarves and what not. At more overseas locales, the masks worn in V for Vendetta are the most popular.

Tucson has been involved in these protests, with a group showing up last month across the street from the Scientology building at 1703 E. Fort Lowell Road. According to Ronald Krizp, a Tucson resident, he is one of two public information officers for Anonymous Tucson. There are no formal organizers, he adds.

Krizp says the first Tucson "raid" was February 10 as it was in many other cities. There was a small protest on February 2 outside the Orlando and Santa Barbara centers. Feb. 2 is Lisa McPherson's birthday, so that's why it was picked and the raid was in her memory.

This weekend, other protests will take place across the country, including Tucson, on Saturday, March 15. This raid is dedicated to the memory of Elli Perkins.

In a series of e-mails, I asked Krizp if there has been any reaction to the raids from Tucson's Scientologists. Krizp says fliers they've put up at the UA have been covered by Scientology "free personality tests" fliers, and at the Feb. 10 raid, the Scientologists "hired a freelance videographer to video tape our protests and attempt to get our faces undisguised on camera. This goes with the policy that Scientology practices called 'Fair game.'"

Anonymous gained its anti-Scientology-hero status with its video that has a V for Vendetta and Matrix style with a computer voiced narrator. The computer hacking, the videos and the raids have resulted in Scientologists accusing the group of being a hate group and taking legal action to remove the videos and prevent the protests.

"When Anonymous has said that we come from different walks of life, we mean completely different walks of life. I turn 30 years old this year, and I have my bachelor's degree, so I'm definitely not the 'hacker kid' that Scientology would like everyone to believe I am," Krizp says.

Krizp says the other focus of Anonymous' efforts is getting Scientology's tax-exempt status revoked. Unlike other "churches," the Church of Scientology is a nonprofit 501c corporation that gets their status based on "religious education," according to Krizp.

In one video, Scientology officials compare Anonymous to the KKK. The raids are certainly an exercise of free speech.

What I happen to find interesting is the use of the Internet that has propelled Anonymous into an international cause. There have been dozens of Internet sites documenting Scientology abuses and its secrets for years. What makes this different?

Folks from Save the Scenic Santa Ritas (SSSR) want you to know the NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) process began this week regarding the Rosemont Mine. The group circulated a Forest Service press release announcing the process and public meetings that begin next week.

According to the press release, Coronado National Forest Supervisor Jeanine Derby submitted a Notice of Intent for publication in the Federal Register to initiate preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed Rosemont Copper Project.

Three initial public open-house meetings are scheduled this month, as follows:

1. March 18, 2008, Pima Community College Desert Vista Campus, 5901 South Calle Santa Cruz, Tucson, Arizona. 7-9 p.m.

2. March 19, 2008, Canoa Hills Recreation Center, 3660 South Camino del Sol, Green Valley, Arizona, 6:30-8:30 p.m.

3. March 20, 2008, Patagonia Union High School, Highway 82, Patagonia, Arizona, 6-8 p.m.

Public comment period runs through April 18, 2008. Agencies or individuals can submit comments by mail, FAX, or email. Mail comments to Team Leader, Rosemont Copper Project, Coronado National Forest, 300 W. Congress St., Tucson, Arizona 85701. FAX comments to (520) 388–8305, ATTN: Rosemont Team Leader; or e-mail to [email protected].

For questions about the public meetings or the comment period, call 388-8300. Questions about the EIS process should be directed to Ms. Andrea Campbell, Forest NEPA Coordinator, at 300 W. Congress St., Tucson, AZ 85701, or 388-8300.

Hey Michael Chertoff, folks in Yuma got themselves a nifty little plan to curb the immigration migration frustration. They've decided a moat is the best way to go, kinda like them castle days with knights and stuff. The plan is to take the 23-mile stretch of the Colorado River near Yuma and bring back water to this part of the river that's dry.

I wonder if these guys know what's going on with water and all, and why that stretch of the Colorado is dry to begin with. Do you think they forgot about the Rio Grande, and that crossing rivers or moats, or whatever you want to call it, has been happening for a long, long time? And maybe, just maybe, a few people crossing this new moat will either know how to swim or come prepared with inflatable kayaks.

That's where crocs could come in handy.

So what if state lawmakers decided that it might help bridge the growing budget gap if they suspended Tucson's Rio Nuevo financing? Those downtown redevelopment funds come from sales taxes diverted from the state treasury.

Nah, legislators never suggest something like that. Would they?

OK, here's what you do:

1. Read this week's fine issue of the Tucson Weekly.

2. Comment on its contents here if you so choose.

3. Then watch this week's online "Ask a Mexican," right here!

4. Sit there and feel smarter, enlightened and full of joy!

The Haggerty family, which has been peddling jewelry, beads and such at Piney Hollow for more than three decades, are closing their doors next month. The Fourth Avenue shop's closing sale starts April 1.

The release:

Piney Hollow was established as a jewelry craft workshop in August of 1972. First located on 6th Street in the University area, the store was moved to Fourth Avenue as a retail store, maintaining jewelry while adding gifts and crafts by Tucson artists.

During this period, an adjoining bead shop inventory was purchased beginning a relationship with Tucson beaders that has continued to this day.

In 1986 the store moved from the corner of 5th Street and Fourth Avenue to 427 N. Fourth. Within a few short years, Mike and Mimi Haggerty and Shannon Harrison, their daughter, purchased the building and have been serving Tucson and regional customers as well as maintaining relationships with repeating visitors since that time.

In December of 1986 Mike became director of the Fourth Avenue Street Fair and Shannon became the store manager. Mimi continued crafting jewelry and serving as bookkeeper for the business. When city council member George Miller ran for Mayor, Mike was appointed by the council to replace him and served the remainder of the Ward 3 term.

Shannon has worked behind the counter since age twelve and in the ensuing years has become a beading teacher for the local school districts and retirement communities. Her daughter McKenzie died in an auto accident three years ago. Her two boys, Trevor and Gentry, have completed their education and moved on, Trevor to the coast of Oregon and Gentry currently working on a film production in New York. With reduced parental duties she is exploring options as a bead buyer, traveling teacher and considering offers from contacts she has made over the years.

Mimi has developed a following of customers for her crafted jewelry and her design skills with beading. Having kept their financial affairs for years she is looking forward to spending that time at her studio workbench.

Well beyond retirement age with children and grandchildren scattered from Alaska to Florida with stops on the Oregon Coast, Mike and Mimi plan to take more time rambling between optional family encampments while maintaining their home of 35 years in Tucson.

They have enjoyed their contact with customers over the years, many of them having become friends in the process. The many talented young women who have done duty over the counter and as repair experts remain close to one another and their apprenticeship. Known as the 'Piney Hollowettes' many have gone on to become artists and craftspeople on their own. It is these contacts and friendships that will be missed.

The Piney Hollow closing sale will begin on April 1.

Here's the most disturbing story we've come across in weeks, courtesy of the Associated Press.

An excerpt:

Ness County Sheriff Bryan Whipple said it appeared the 35-year-old Ness City woman's skin had grown around the seat. She initially refused emergency medical services but was finally convinced by responders and her boyfriend that she needed to be checked out at a hospital.

"We pried the toilet seat off with a pry bar and the seat went with her to the hospital," Whipple said. "The hospital removed it."

Whipple said investigators planned to present their report Wednesday to the county attorney, who will determine whether any charges should be filed against the woman's 36-year-old boyfriend.

"She was not glued. She was not tied. She was just physically stuck by her body," Whipple said. "It is hard to imagine. ... I still have a hard time imagining it myself."

He told investigators he brought his girlfriend food and water, and asked her every day to come out of the bathroom.

"And her reply would be, `Maybe tomorrow,"' Whipple said. "According to him, she did not want to leave the bathroom."

Our very first Tucson Weekly TV special report debuts today on YouTube! See for yourself as the Meet Rack sign comes crashing to the ground.

As we debate the future of adequate water in the desert, out comes a study issued Sunday by The Associated Press that will make you look twice at our already endangered tap water. 

The study looked at 24 metropolitan areas in the United States, including Tucson. The conclusion? Water delivered to homes through city water utilities isn't as pure as expected. The impurities aren't nitrates or other pollutants, but things like Prozac, antibiotics and sex hormones--in the drinking water of about 41 million folks, according to the AP investigation. 

Just so folks don't go off in a panic; The concentrations are measured in quantities of parts per billion or trillion--nowhere near medical doses. And utility companies insist the water is safe: 

"Water providers rarely disclose results of pharmaceutical screenings, unless pressed, the AP found. For example, the head of a group representing major California suppliers said the public 'doesn't know how to interpret the information' and might be unduly alarmed." 

Alarmed! Alarmed! Well, after all, we have ourselves to blame. The drugs come from us when we pee them out and flush them down the toilet. The treated water goes into reservoirs, rivers or lakes for natural filtration--but that's evidently not enough.

Tucson attorney Bill Risner will join David Earnhardt, the filmmaker of Uncounted: The New Math of American Elections, for a Q&A session at a screening of the film at the Loft Cinema tonight at 7:30 p.m. Evidently Bradblog's Brad Friedman, loved by election integrity activists everywhere, will be there, too.

According to a press release, Earnhardt's film "examines how the fraud that changed the outcome of the 2004 election led to even greater election fraud in 2006 and now looms as an unbridled threat in 2008."

"Arizona saw many problems on Super Tuesday that made it confusing and frustrating for those trying to participate in our democracy," Earnhardt says in the press release. "There were reports of voters who were turned away because their names did not appear on the rolls or who walked away because their polling place was ill-equipped to handle a large turnout. This is unacceptable."

Risner has been a busy man lately, continuing to take on Pima County on behalf of the Pima County Democratic Party.

If you haven't been to a Pima County elections integrity hearing as of yet, go this Friday as Risner goes to court to fight a Motion for a Protective Order and For Sanctions filed by Pima County. The motion is in reaction to Risner scheduling a deposition for Pima County.

Risner's request for a deposition is important to his case to get the county to answer questions as to why they think there is a security risk in providing the remaining data files to the Democratic Party.

The Friday, March 14 hearing is in front of Judge Michael Miller at 1:30 p.m. in Superior Court. The Pima County Attorney’s Office will argue the Democratic Party should be sanctioned--meaning, the county is turning the table asking the party for attorneys fees.

Last week, the Tucson Weekly ran an interview with Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry and comments from Pima County Democratic Party Chairman Vince Rabago challenging Huckelberry's statements that the Democratic Party partially caused the delay in early ballot counting. Rabago sent us a series of e-mails he exchanged with Elections Division Director Brad Nelson, and a series of county memos that further provide explanation on early ballot policy coming from county officials.

Here’s another memo issued by Huckelberry regarding ballot screening and where the county may go next in this process.