There is a wonderful melding of art and cuisine happening in Tucson.

When I spoke to David Aguirre of Dinnerware Artspace last year he said the creativity of many local artists extended beyond the studio and into the kitchen, and he saw it as a great way to help artists supplement their income while developing another creative talent. His idea was to buy a food truck so those artists could have a mobile kitchen with which to express themselves. The truck was purchased and used at one event that I know of. It should also be noted that Aguirre is heavily involved in and a huge supporter of the local food-truck movement at large, and that the Food Truck Round-Ups benefit Dinnerware Artspace.

Dinnerware Artspace also shares a physical space with the new Borderlands Brewing Company, which has been steadily gaining momentum since opening its doors a few months ago.

Now Aguirre is once again delving into the culinary side of things with a new event called Neighborhood Chef. The first one is loosely scheduled for Tuesday, March 6, at Ralph's Gas Station on the corner of South Fourth Avenue and 19th Street, in Armory Park, and will feature cuisine by Jamie Castro of food truck Jamie's Bitchen Kitchen. There will be music and maybe live art performances. Aguirre, good man, you are a genius.

It should also be noted that a group of artists associated with Aguirre also hold amazing underground supper clubs. The underground supper club is a concept that is big in other places, but hasn't really taken off here. They typically include multi-course meals, sometimes with copious amounts of good wine and libations, in intimate and sometimes unusual settings. My prediction is that this will be the next hot thing to hit the Tucson dining scene. Actually it's sort of happening already, but very few people know about it because it is, well, underground. So far we've got a couple of them we can tell you about, but more are in the works. You can click over here and here for more on those.

This week on Arizona Illustrated's Political Roundtable: Pima County Democratic Party chairman Jeff Rogers and GOP strategist Sam Stone talk about the race to finish Gabby's term, the ongoing battle between Pima County and Marana, and the latest at the Arizona Legislature, including higher reform (aka guns on campus and mandatory fees for students). Plus, an interview with Pima County Bond Advisory Committee chairman Larry Hecker about proposed legislation to give suburbs veto power over county bonds.

• Jim Nintzel

Lots and lots and lots of stuff happening downtown this weekend, including rides ($4!) on this Ferris Wheel, captured in Hipstamatic form by Jim Nintzel.

We love democracy, so we're offering Arizona Presidential Primary candidates the opportunity to share their views here on The Range. Today, we're sharing the unedited perspective of Simon Bollander, Republican candidate for President.

Simon Bollander the adminstrator of Worlds Masterminds is extremely upset in the way our Country is managed. You will not believe this I Love the law proffession & if I had a second life I would be an attorney. Law is fun & is the foundation of our great country. But when it comes to our country being violated by our Congress that is of 70 percent of law degrees. Im very angry.

• Tricia McInroy

Republican Ray Carroll was appointed Pima County District 4 Supervisor in 1997 and was elected in 1998. In the 13 years Carroll's been in office he's been reelected every election in 2000, 2004 and 2008 — all without opposition. Until now.

According to the Quail Creek Republican Club newsletter, Carroll's challenger for the District 4 seat is Sean Collins, a U.S. Air Force veteran who owns the Vail Dairy Queen with his wife Tracy. "Collins was in the Air Force for almost 22 years, stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base from 1999 until he retired as a senior non-commissioned officer in 2003." (He'll be speaking at the group's meeting on Friday, Feb. 17, 9 a.m. at the Quail Creek Madera Clubhouse).

We called Collins and are waiting to find out more from him regarding his interest in running or politics. However, political buzz is that this is what happens when you take a stand against Rosemont Copper Mine. Running what some say is a final lap to a doomed project, so the company continues its efforts to make friends and influence folks with community donations, and now a political race.

Arizona's current tea bag political climate could make Carroll more vulnerable than previous campaigns. We were told Rick Grinnell, a failed mayoral candidate, self-described Rosemont lobbyist, and a member of the delusional state-appointed Rio Nuevo board, along with failed gubernatorial candidate John Munger, are driving the Collins' campaign boat and raising thousands of dollars to put Carroll down.

However, Grinnell told us today that he's not involved in Collins' campaign. Still waiting to hear back from Munger.

Perhaps Collins will take the jobs argument on behalf of Rosemont. After all he and his wife are entrepreneurs who provide jobs at their new Dairy Queen — a business they opened with the help from a Small Business Administration Patriot Express loan specifically for veterans. Although, for others water is still going to be considered this desert's most precious resource.

That was Carroll's argument when the mine's proposal first came before Pima County three years ago when he beat the Democratic majority in defending water forcing the county to get into a needed defense mode. So, Carroll may be vulnerable this year because ultimately he's not a tea bagger?

Of course that doesn't mean he doesn't have those classic Republican ideologies that have sometimes made life miserable for Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry and the Democratic majority on the board. The annual process to approve the county budget is a great example of this.

However, Carroll's work to defend the Santa Rita's and the Davidson Canyon aquifer, and at the same time fight for taxpayers during the budget season, have helped him create a wide base of support and he's been recognized for those efforts — in 2007 he received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Outstanding Achievement Award for Public Service; in 2007 he received the Hero of the Taxpayer Award by the Arizona Federation of Taxpayers; in 2008 the Sky Island Alliance Award for Public Service for his leadership in opposing the proposed Rosemont; and in 2009 the Governor Howard Pyle Award by the Republican Party of Arizona for his political leadership in Southern Arizona.

A new oxygen bar and tea room called Breathe, Drink & Design has opened at 416 N. Seventh Ave. St., right down the street from Che's Lounge. The place serves tea and oxygen for two for $20, and the oxygen is apparently infused with various scents. Facebook tells us more:

Our O2, or in lay-man's terms, "Oxygen", is derived from a very special and rare part of our planet that we like to call "The Atmosphere." Using complicated machinery handed down to us from ancient, yet technologically-advanced race of Space-Mayans (basically Mayans that became astronauts and come back to Earth every so often. Ironically, they might be the origin for the Quetzalcoatl myth, but that's a story for another time...). So, anyway, they gave us this machinery that allows us to harness the atmosphere and draw in it's precious O2 and use it for evil, capitalistic reasons... I mean, pleasant, altruistic reasons. Yeah... that's it... they're buying it... move on... *AHEM* So, as I was saying, we infuse delicious and soothing scents into the O2. The infused O2 then travels into your nose-holes (technical term) and into your brain making you feel "all sorts of good." Do that for anywhere between 10 and 20 minutes and you are solid. Good to go.

A friend of mine started one of these places in Flagstaff like a decade ago, and although the business was short-lived he swore by the effects of the oxygen.

• Zachary Vito
• Noam Chomsky speaks on the importance of education in society at Centennial Hall on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012.

Noam Chomsky gave a free lecture at the UA's Centennial Hall on Wednesday, Feb. 8, about the importance of education in our society and explored the the controversy surrounding ethnic studies in Tucson.

Some more photos from the event, below the cut:

Although there's apparently a bit of controversy (these type of ships are generally named after cities), Navy Secretary Ray Mabus announced today that a new Littoral Combat Ship set to be built in Mobile, Alabama will be named for Gabrielle Giffords:

“Giffords and the ship’s sponsor, Roxanna Green, are sources of great inspiration and represent the Navy and Marine Corps qualities of overcoming, adapting and coming out victorious despite great challenges," Mabus said...

The Navy is building 55 LCS ships. The original naming scheme for the type was for patriotic-sounding place or regional names. But after the first two ships were named Freedom and Independence, the scheme was changed to small or mid-sized cities, and the last two LCS names announced were for Montgomery and Little Rock.

Mabus, who as Navy secretary has the authority to name its ships, has garnered criticism for some of his choices. In particular, some conservatives took umbrage when the decision was announced in May 2011 to name a dry cargo and ammunition ship after Latino civil rights and labor activist Cesar Chavez....

The future Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10) will be an Independence LCS 2-class ship. Funded in the 2012 budget, its construction contract is expected to be awarded in the first half of this year to Austal USA in Mobile, Ala.

Tonight on the Arizona Illustrated Political Roundtable: Pima County Democratic Party chairman Jeff Rogers and Republican strategist Sam Stone stop by the studio talk about Ron Barber's entry into the race to complete Gabrielle Giffords' congressional term, the crowded GOP field in CD8, the ongoing battles between Marana and Pima County over a sewer plant and some the latest bills at the Arizona Legislature, including looser restrictions on guns and tighter restrictions on abortion. Tune in at 6:30 on KUAT-TV, Channel 6.

Disaster averted, but seriously, you should go to this event. These kids have made a bunch of art and videos expressing what they’ve learned about how farming can make this city better. There will also be food, and it’s free.

The event takes place from 5:30 to 8 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 11, at the Dragonfly Gallery at 146 E. Broadway Blvd.