The caravan of mobile eateries that make up Tucson's food truck scene will cruise into the International Wildlife Museum at 4800 W. Gates Pass Road for an event this Saturday.

The Lion's Den Outdoor Dinner will feature food by Street Delights, Smokin' Hot BBQ, Jamie's Bitchen Kitchen, Red Wagon Steak and Subs and several other food trucks. Admission to the food truck event is free; regular admission to the museum applies.

The event takes place from 5 to 8 p.m. There's a bit more information over here.

Oro Valley's loss may just be Pima County's gain.

Mark Napier, who in March finished fifth out of six candidates in an impromptu bid to join the Oro Valley Town Council, now finds himself as the strongest challenger in years for longtime Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik.

The 50-year-old former Tucson Police Department captain, 50, blew away a crowded field to win the GOP nomination for sheriff, getting more than 43 percent of the 59,199 votes counted as of Wednesday. That is just barely fewer than the candidates who finished third, fourth and fifth—combined.

"If somebody said we would pull almost 28 points in a five-way race I’d say I don’t think so," said Napier, who credits a strong ground game orchestrated by his support staff, as well as a commitment to keep his campaign positive. "And I think the message stays the same, it’s one of positive. It’s simply time for a new sheriff. I think most people in Pima County realize that. They want a visible, engaged, dynamic sheriff, and we've missed that."

Dupnik, a Democrat seeking an eighth term, is rumored to be planning to step down sometime during the next four-year period if re-elected. Sticking to his avoidance of negativity, Napier wouldn't speak to that allegation, instead directing the person it reflects to do so.

"Sheriff Dupnik needs to speak to that; he needs to convince voters that they’re choosing him for a four-year term," Napier said.

The general election is Nov. 6, and until then, Napier said he will continue to burn the candle at three ends, so to speak. In addition to campaigning, Napier is associate director of operation for the University of Arizona's Parking and Transportation Services, and he also runs the online criminal justice program for Boston University.

"I typically work from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.," he said. "But I've got to balance it. I'll take some vacation here and there."

Sad news from the Animal Farm Facebook page:

We are sad to announce that Animal Farm is closing. Thank you all for your support and patronage. We are planing a final event in the coming weeks, we will keep you posted.

What’s so special about the Sausage Shop Meat Market and Deli at 1015 W. Prince Road? Everything, that’s what.

Some days, you might come in wanting a bit of breakfast sausage, only to find the Sausage Shop has a big hunk of it molded to look like the head of a pig. There’s also the store’s ongoing mission to see how many different meats it can wrap in bacon and sell by the pound.

About that bacon: They make many kinds of it, and you won’t want that flimsy shit they sell at Safeway once you try the Sausage Shop version. They also make tons of different sausages—Texas hots, Cajun boudin and too many others to list here—and carry just about any sort of meat you might be considering charring on the Weber this weekend.

They also cut dry-aged steaks to order.

So if you’re throwing down some barbecue action this coming weekend, you might want to check out what the Sausage Shop has going on. Grill on, my friends.

If you dig science, you're likely already familiar with XKCD, the witty, physics-and-language filled webcomic. Now the comic's creator, Randall Munroe, has taken to answering hypothetical questions with physics and philosophy once a week, with topics ranging so far from "What if a glass of water was, all of a sudden, literally half-empty?" to "How much Force power can Yoda generate?"

This week's question: "What if everyone actually had only one soul mate, a random person somewhere in the world?"

The new Total Wine and More store at Park Place Mall holds its grand opening at 6 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 30. There will be complimentary wine, opening remarks by the president of Total Wine and More, and a ribbon-cutting featuring Tucson City Councilman Steve Kozachik. Now that's entertainment!

Anyway, this new store is packed with little details like in-store iPads that help with wine-food pairings; flat-screen televisions playing important booze-related things; an education center; and complimentary Wi-Fi throughout the store. The store is also putting out an app that will help shoppers compare prices with what's available at other stores.

It sounds cool, but I think I'll be staying with Plaza Liquors. These big-box stores are good as far as prices, but they've got zilch in the character category.

It appears NoRTH Modern Italian Cuisine at 2995 E. Skyline Drive is getting a new name and a new look.

An online advertisement has been soliciting help for a new restaurant called North Fattoria Italiana. That's the name of a restaurant in Phoenix that's part of the Fox Restaurant Concepts family, which also owns NoRTH Modern Italian Cuisine.

I should also add that this new North restaurant is going to be located at 2995 E. Skyline Drive, where the other NoRTH is currently located.

So, long story short, I called up there, and the lady who answered the phone says that not much is changing except the name and the interior, which she described as "a little less fancy."

Sounds to me like an attempt by Fox Restaurant Concepts to update a concept by backing it away from the high-end vibe that seems to fall more and more out of favor each year.

Republican Senate candidate Jeff Flake is out this morning with a new web video linking Democratic opponent to President Barack Obama. It's adopting the "rubber stamp" model that the National Republican Congressional Committee tried to use against Democrat Ron Barber, who beat Republican Jesse Kelly in the June special election to complete Gabby Giffords' term.

Meanwhile, the Carmona campaign (which rolled out its own bio spot of Carmona yesterday) announced that it had snagged the endorsement of family members of legendary Republican senator Barry Goldwater. The release from the Carmona campaign:

Joanne Goldwater and members of the Goldwater family endorsed Rich Carmona for U.S. Senate on Wednesday. Joanne is the oldest daughter of late-Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater.

Family members Joanne Goldwater, CC Goldwater and Ty Goldwater announced their support for Carmona—a Special Forces veteran, Pima County Deputy Sheriff and 17th Surgeon General of the United States—on the first day of the general election campaign at Barry Goldwater Memorial Park.

"There’s no doubt that my dad viewed himself as a conservative, but he put serving Arizona over serving any ideology. I don't see the same from Congressman Jeff Flake. Congressman Flake has tried to claim the 'conservative' mantel, but my dad's brand of conservatism is not reflected by Flake or the modern-day Republican Party," said Joanne Goldwater.

Granddaughter CC Goldwater said, "Conservatives insist they believe in freedom, as long as it's not a woman's freedom to make her own health choices. Congressman Flake has voted to defund Planned Parenthood, block access to contraception and even partnered with Congressman Todd Akin on a bill attempting to redefine rape."

"Our family has always believed in equality for all Arizonans," said Ty Goldwater. "My grandfather believed that no matter your race, ethnicity or sexual orientation, you’re no less deserving of your full constitutional rights. We need Arizona's next Senator to be committed to the same set of beliefs."

Now that primary Election Day has passed, it may no longer matter who Carlos Sierra is, or the Opportunity for All PAC that funded a recent campaign mailer in support of U.S Congressman Raul Grijalva's opponent Amanda Aguirre.

Why not toast the super-PAC and take one last look at Opportunity for All? Perhaps we'll see them again for the general election, but since we haven't heard back from Sierra, we can't be sure.

On Saturday, Aug. 25, Grijalva held a press conference from his campaign headquarters about the mailing, that a former McCain staff was involved (Sierra), the PAC address was an empty El Paso lot, and the mailing could be in violation of Federal Election Commission rules and regs.

The next day, Grijalva's campaign sent out another press release saying further investigation linked Sierra to Aguirre through Tequila Party "foundress" DeeDee Blase - remember Somos Republicans? Blase had volunteered for the McCain campaign, and when she started the Tequila Party she cast away her Republican Party affiliation and became an independent.

The press release included three photos — two with Blase and Sierra, and the third with Blase and Aguirre. That's it, which honestly, just really isn't enough.

From the Grijalva press release:

We interrupt your post-election coverage to bring you this:

Holy crap.

The Venezuelan Poodle Moth has the distinction of being both something that I would run away in terror from, as well as something that I want to capture and train to battle other frightening creatures with inexplicable elemental powers.

Below the jump, the story behind the moth's Internet fame.