Who really knows how much endorsements mean, but it's a stunning blow to Sarah Palin to have her home state endorse the other team.

Read the Anchorage Daily News endorsement. 

In other newspapers, Obama leads McCain 3 to 1 or so says the Editor and Publisher.

Thursday was the Tucson Culinary Festival's first event, the margarita championship.

First the disclosures -- I was comped as a guest as was Rita Connelly, the Weekly's restaurant reviewer.

What a great event. It was held outside at the historic train depot. You couldn't ask for anything better -- good music, room to mingle, cool temperatures, an occasional train or two and lots of tequila.

People paid $35 to taste a dozen different margaritas and sample food from four restaurants -- Barrio, Enotecca, El Charro Cafe, and Cafe 54.  

My personal favorites of margaritas were JAX Kitchen. Wow! That margarita stood out as it was creamy (almost) and popped with a melange of mint and basil overtones.

My other favorites were Flying V. Damn. I cannot read my writing but they used a respado tequila that began with the letter C and came in a beautiful bottle. Cuvee Bistro was last year's winner; this year they too offered a distinctive margarita made with simple syrup and zest and a tequila that was permeated with caramel overtones. The tequila was Tequila Diego Santo. Bluefin's margarita had pulp and pucker and I wrote down Lodge in the Desert but now cannot remember why I liked it.

Enough, I cannot remember much more.

JAX Kitchen won the people's choice award. I believe Jonathan's Tucson Cork and El Charro Cafe were not far behind. Jonathan's was pulsing with booze; men seemed to really like it.

Then there were the judges. I cannot remember who they were ... some couple from New Orleans, a Cointreau representative, Jennifer English from the Radio Food & Wine Network and Edie Jarolim who writes for Tucson Guide and other esteemed publications.

I forgot to mention that Cointreau was a sponsor so everyone had to use that ingredient as well as a tequila of their choice.

The judges voted for the Cup Cafe in 2nd place and El Charro Cafe won 1st place for the alcoholic version and JAX Kitchen won 1st place for the the virgin Guadalupe version.

A good time was had by all or so it seemed. Rita made the astute observation that she could tell how old women were by what kind of shoes they were wearing. Hmmm, I'm going to tiptoe out of here now in my sensible shoes...

Ignore our TQ&A this week. Bill Delfs (Mr. Grievesley RavenHearse) called yesterday to say the Evergreen Cemetery Halloween Tours have been cancelled. He didn't sound too happy, and after reading the morning daily I can understand why. But I still don't understand why the event was cancelled. Evidently some folks called and complained the tours were disrespectful to the dead and another excuse was lack of reservations (although it was reported they had 65 reservations so far - and I know we were planning on going this weekend).

I finally talked to Bill this morning. Evidently he received a call from a woman whose son is buried at Evergreen and she was upset about the tour. Bill said he felt terrible and didn't want to go on with the tour if it was going to hurt someone. The woman felt the tour would be dark, and while Bill tried to explain that wasn't the goal since they were working hard to make sure it was family friendly, he felt terrible and decided to cancel.

As for the dead - I just don't think they really care that much. We have a relative buried at Evergreen - E.D. Herreras - an architect who became the city's first Mexican-American city engineer who is credited for saving San Xavier Mission and with his brother Andy coming up with a technique to save some of the historic adobe buildings in the Tucson barrios. He seemed to be a cool guy and the only reason he's buried at Evergreen and not at the Catholic cemetery next door is because his wife was not Catholic and he wanted to be buried next to her. I understand she was a hoot, and I heard lots of family stories about her getting into a brawl in the ladies room at the Chicago Democratic National Convention in the '60s. Sounds like someone I wish I got a chance to know.

So, see, there is history at Evergreen... Perhaps they can pull it off next year.

If you have wee ones that like science the Flandrau is hosting five days of Halloween fun that started yesterday.

"Each night of the event offers something a little different, including a haunted asteroid cave, hands-on science activities, slime, telescope viewing, liquid nitrogen, and brain science, foggy bubbles, live sky shows in the planetarium, glow science, arts and crafts and more. There will also be plenty of treats and trinkets and a special Halloween gift for kids wearing costumes."

Flandrau: The UA Science Center is open 4 days a week - Thursday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with evening hours on Friday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. The science center is located on the northeast corner of University Boulevard and Cherry Avenue on the UA campus.

May I also recommend via our 7-year-old: Valley of the Moon, Screamers at Breakers (He loved the voodoo room), and Nightfall (the manimal lab is very cool - we went through it five times... yes five times). Yes, obviously Halloween is our favorite holiday. I'm sorry the Evergreen event isn't going to happen... perhaps next year. Happey Scares!

So, I have to admit meeting and talking with Mike Hayes for this week's cover story made me think about the growing distrust people of Pima County have regarding elections. Nov. 4 is right around the corner. Today, Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry issued a memo today to the Supes on all precautions taking place to prepare for Election Day. The polls show the small gap between Obama and McCain getting smaller, and McCain is sitting smug - talking about being an Underdog and all (my mother is pissed - she's a veteran - don't get her started ranting about McCain).

At the Attorney General town hall meeting last week in which Bill Risner asked Goddard to look at counting the RTA votes differently - no court order needed - election integrity activist John Brakey recommended everyone watch Bill Moyers on PBS with his interview with professor and election integrity activist Mark Crispin Miller. I taped it, watched it. While he warns that the state of elections in this country tied to electronic systems remains precarious - he was steadfast that folks could do something about it. I posted the Black Box Voting video because I'm intrigued by this idea that more citizens be involved in counting and observing the vote and the count. We continue to remain dependent on the same group of people who work as observers in both parties, when the reality is that more people need to be involved and more people need to care about the vote.

So here are a few things to check out:

First, check out Mark Crispin Miller's blog: http://markcrispinmiller.blogspot.com/, he recommends getting as many people out and about on Election Day, not just to vote, but to observe the voting. He's working with these folks: http://www.videothevote.org/, an effort to organize voters across the country to video tape the process at the polls, be witnesses to machines that breakdown, to closing procedures, any long lines, provisional ballot issues, or anyone being turned away and why, as well as watching where those blue bags go from poll to tabulation center.

And then yesterday I came across two UA law school students who want to organize an effort to poll watch. See http://uanews.org/node/22084. If you're interested, why not join their Election Protection Team at the UA, e-mail [email protected] or [email protected].

The next thing to do is to call Attorney General Terry Goddard and urge his office, as part of their criminal investigation of Pima County's Elections Division - get the ballots, count them and let's move on. AG contact information: http://www.azag.gov/contact.html

The alternative could very well be to start wearing a tin-foil hat at meetings and if you're an election observer this year, why not wear one as a sign of pride or protest, or send a tin-foil hat to Goddard.

This Swiss restaurant owner wants to make sure adults get breastfed, too. No worries - not the old fashioned way, but in the food he prepares (sauces and stuff). I'd like to find out if he's still open for business. He mentions he started cooking with human milk when his daughter was born. You know, even if I was married to Jamie Oliver, I don't think I'd agree to that - plus wouldn't the heat kill everything that's good about mother's milk? Just thought you should know dear blog readers - because you're so wonderful.

The latest Weekly is now online for your reading pleasure. Enjoy and feel free to comment here.

Betty got down and dirty on Craig's show recently.

The folks with Prop 403 have put together a video that gets to the heart of the tax initiative with faces of some great local kids. Hopefully its message is enough to melt the hearts of anyone out there still wondering if they should support the TUSD override or thinks it foolish to pay more to improve schools.

Supporters of the initiative, Invest In Our Kids, are still organizing walkers in Tucson neighborhoods this weekend and next:

Join us every Saturday leading up to the Nov. 4 election to walk precincts and talk to voters about Prop. 403.

We gather at 8:30 a.m. and walk until noon from these two locations:

The TEA offices, 4625 E. Second St. (Turn west on 1st street off of North Swan between 6th St. and Speedway and then turn left on Benton St.) or Congressman Raul Grijalva’s HQ, 452 S. Stone Ave.

Our old friend Dr. Knowledge, whose poetry has graced the back of TW for many years now, is expanding his audience to the whole wide world by moving to the TW blog. Here's his first installment, about a certain Alaskan governor:

She's No Brunette

On that you can bet.

And she's no redhead either.

For I've heard her speech, and it's not that deep.

Now I'm thinkin’ a blonde lives inside her.

--Dr. Knowledge

Came across this photo and I had to wonder?

What is the Republican Presidential Candidate doing?

The winner gets absolutely nothing, but a lot of laughs.