This NPR story got me thinking: If one-eighth of the seafood consumed in this country comes from the now-tainted waters of the Gulf of Mexico, would the effects of the spill be felt in Tucson anytime soon?

According to Don Garrot, the owner of Don's Bayou - Cajun Cookin' at 8991 E. Tanque Verde Road, he's already feeling the effects. He said he's out of the oysters that he typically orders via overnight delivery from a major seafood distributor in Louisiana. He ordered two gallons a week or so ago, and his distibutor said he won't be able to provide any more.

He said he's also unsure if he'll be able to get blue crabs, which also live in the briny marshes along the coast of Louisiana.

Garrot may try ordering oysters from the Pacific Northwest or the Gulf of California, but for a native of Baton Rouge, that's bordering on sacrilege. Plus, they don't taste the same.

The rest of the foods Garrot serves—frog legs, crawfish, catfish and others—come from freshwater farms that are unaffected by the spill.

Update: Fred Harris of Kingfisher says they've also been out of fresh Gulf of Mexico oysters for about two weeks. The oysters typically top the list of offerings at their popular oyster bar.

Nimbus Brewing Company is opening a new location called Nimbus Ice House in the old My Big Fat Greek restaurant building at 95 W. River Road.

Kevin Brown, a manager at Nimbus Bistro and Brewpub, a joint venture with Metro Restaurants that opened last September at 6464 E. Tanque Verde Road, said he expected the new location to be open in eight to 10 weeks. He said more details will be available when company officials finalize the plans next week.

Metro Restaurants will not be involved with the new Nimbus location, according to a company official.

Political blog PocoBravo (Luke Knipe) filed an interesting report yesterday on mini-dorm housing czar Michael Goodman. Evidently, a recent purchase Goodman made in December is now under the limited liability corporation name Arturo Peralta LLC.

According to Knipe's report, Goodman told him he made up the name and the names of 14 other LLC's for other properties he owns in order to hide the fact that the unpopular UA-area developer could own a house right next door to you.

He acknowledged his LLCs weren't named for real people, explaining "it's harder to collect property when your name's all over everything."

Besides Arturo Peralta, there's Margarita Y Antonio Otero LLC, Casa Ramirez LLC, and Salazar Niños LLC, although Knipe pointed out the house at 1036 E. Waverly is under the name Bonhomme Family LLC, but is also owned by Goodman.

Los Lobos has canceled a scheduled Phoenix-area performance, and you'll never guess why!

Here's an excerpt from the press release we received:

Grammy Award winning roots-rock band Los Lobos has decided to cancel their scheduled performance at The Talking Stick Resort on June 10th, 2010. The band has made this decision based on the current call to boycott Arizona in response to SB 1070.

"Through their management, Los Lobos issued the following statement: 'We support the boycott of Arizona. The new law will inevitably lead to unfair racial profiling and possible abuse of people who just happen to look Latino. As a result, in good conscience, we could not see ourselves performing in Arizona. We regret the inconvenience this may have caused the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community, Casino Arizona, Talking Stick Resort and our fans, but we feel strongly that it is the right thing to do.

Still no word on whether the group will perform at Hotel Congress' Hoco Fest over Labor Day weekend, but needless to say this does not bode well.

Oro Valley resident D.R. Wise has won the 2010 national Indie Excellence Awards in the gift-book category for The Dreamzappers, $19.95, hardcover, 36 pages, Golden Impact Press.

Per a press release:

The Dreamzappers is the first in a series of gift books to be released one per year. The second book, The Fine Arts of Life, was recently released. Both books are available at the Barnes and Noble site by special order or at various independent booksellers throughout Tucson.

Sweeney discovers YouTube.

His slogan this year: "Elect Yourself....Elect Joseph Sweeney!!!"

The National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund announces an endorsement of John McCain. That can't help J.D. Hayworth's insurgent campaign.

From the release:

The National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) is endorsing U.S. Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) in the August 24 Republican primary.

“John McCain has steadfastly voted against every gun and ammunition ban in Congress,” said Chris W. Cox, chairman of NRA-PVF. "This along with his commitment to preserving our hunting heritage has earned him the NRA-PVF’s endorsement.”

Sen. McCain voted to end reckless lawsuits against gun manufacturers and to

If there's one thing that the four Republicans who have been campaigning for the chance to take on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords have in common, it's their attacks on Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama. They really, really hate Washington under Democratic control.

Tom Dollar over at fivethirtyeight.com notes that similar efforts to turn races into referendums on Pelosi haven't fared so well:

Nancy Pelosi is not a political celebrity, nor is she as confrontational as Gingrich. She is a polarizing figure, but polarizing for voters who have already been polarized one way or the other. If Tim Burns, Doug Hoffman and Jim Tedisco have taught Republicans anything, it should be that they can't count on a tide of anti-Democrat fervor at the expense of ignoring local issues. Contrast these two ads from last November's NY-23 election: the Conservative Hoffman plays up his anti-Pelosi, anti-Washington credentials, while the Democrat Bill Owens talks about bread and butter issues—literally. (The dairy video was removed for unlicensed use of the Got Milk? trademark.) Hoffman's stances made him the darling of Fox News and Rush Limbaugh, but his attacks on big government were tone-deaf in a district whose economy is dependent on an army base, the Border Patrol, and several state prisons and universities.

All politics is still local, and the Democrats have succeeded in the last dozen special House elections (with the exception of the Hawaii anomaly) by running candidates attuned to their districts. Republicans have run a uniform anti-Pelosi/Washington/Democrat/spending/stimulus/health care campaign—and lost. Even in a wave election, the House is not the British House of Commons: Americans vote for their Congressperson, not the party leader. 2010 may yet be a great year for Republicans (and Nate still thinks it will be), but they might want to start worrying less about Nancy Pelosi and more about the price of milk.

There are unique issues at play in CD 8, particularly the border strife. We'll see how well the strategy plays out here in November.

BTW: Poll-cruncher Nate Silver has landed a gig with the NY Times.

Democrat Raúl Grijalva has no primary challenge in this heavily Democratic district, but there is no shortage of Republicans who want to take him on. Perennial candidate Joe Sweeney is back, along with political newcomers Ruth McClung, Christopher Flowers, Terry Myers and Robert Wilson.

The winner of the Libertarian primary between Andrew Ibarra and George Keane will also be on the November ballot, as will independent candidate Meyer Harley.

Democratic Congressman Raul Grijalva's Web page here

Republican Ruth McClung's Web page here

Republican Terry Myers' Web site here

Republican Robert Wilson's Web site here

Republican Joe Sweeney's Web site here. For more on Sweeney, here's a profile I wrote a few years back.

Here's a conversation that Sweeney had with the Tucson Citizen editorial board about gay marriage and "genital drives."

It's buck-beer night at Hi Corbett Field! Plus, you can see Toros baseball. Details here.