Pima County Supervisor Sharon Bronson has hit her Republican challenger, Tanner Bell, with an 11-page complaint last week alleging a number of campaign-finance allegations, including coordination with an independent-campaign committee.

Bronson, who is seeking a fifth term on the Board of Supervisors, said that she filed the complaint with Arizona Secretary of State on Friday, Oct. 26, because she was concerned about the way that the independent committee has been raising money from unknown backers and running negative ads against her.

“I’m fed up with this kind of politics,” said Bronson. “We don’t have real debates. We have mudslinging. And we don’t know who’s behind anything. … There’s no transparency and there’s no informed debate. And at some point, the voters have a right to know.”

Bell, a former UA football player who is making his first run for public office on the GOP ticket in the Democrat-leaning District 3, called the allegations a “politically motivated” effort to avoid discussion of issues facing Pima County.

“Unless and until I have a request from the requisite governmental agency requiring a response I have no response today except that the claims are baseless,” Bell said last week via email.

The campaign-finance complaint, which was a subject of much discussion on Friday's edition of Arizona Public Media's Political Roundtable, builds on stories first reported in the Tucson Weekly in July and August of this year. (See “Whose Bright Idea,” July 19, and “The Bright Stuff,” Aug. 2.)

In the U.S. Senate race, Republican Jeff Flake and his allies have doubled down on their efforts to destroy Democrat Richard Carmona’s character—which tells us that they’re worried that Carmona’s reputation as an independent maverick is capturing the support of voters.

Carmona capitalized on the support he used to enjoy with Republicans by releasing a TV ad that repeated the praise that Sens. John McCain and Jon Kyl heaped upon him during his confirmation hearing to the job of U.S. Surgeon General.

McCain called Carmona’s story “the living embodiment of the American Dream,” while Kyl said Carmona could be described as “a man for all seasons” whose “unique background will serve him well and serve us well.”

Even though the 30-second spot includes a note that the comments were made in 2002, McCain and Kyl were hopping mad about the Carmona campaign’s decision to remind voters of their words of praise, especially since they’d like to see Flake win. They released a joint statement calling the ad “deeply dishonest”:

Just in time for Halloween: Joss Whedon's endorsement of Mitt Romney because "Romney is ready to make the deep rollbacks in health care, education, social service, reproductive rights that will guarantee poverty, unemployment, overpopulation, disease, rioting—all crucial elements in creating a nightmare zombie wasteland." Fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Browncoats everywhere will enjoy this.

• Jim Nintzel

Gabby Giffords has found herself in the center of a minor controversy in Congressman Ron Barber’s race for reelection against GOP challenger Martha McSally.

The Washington Post reported last week that McSally told a Tucson crowd that she thought she had a shot at unseating Barber because she's more like Giffords than Barber is:

“We are rugged individuals,” she says at an event in Tucson. “We elect unique people to represent us in this district—Mo Udall, Jim Kolbe, Gabby Giffords. I resemble Gabby Giffords more than the man who worked for her, although I am grateful for his service.”

That brought the following response from Gabby's husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly:

Let me tell you about Gabby Giffords. In Congress, Gabby was always straightforward with her constituents even when it wasn’t politically convenient. She was well-informed, well-read, and prepared to tackle the tough questions of the day, and she was not shy about standing up to her party's leadership.

Martha McSally is no Gabby Giffords. Time and time again, she has refused to give a straight answer when asked directly about the most important issues facing Southern Arizona. When someone points out how she changed her position on an issue from August to October, McSally complains that politics isn’t fair. But when she talks to the tea party, she toes their line, spouting their policies on everything from health care to women’s rights and Social Security.

Gabby and I are proud to support Ron Barber. Ron has been serving the people of this community for his entire life and in his short time in Congress he has already proven himself to be a strong voice for middle class families, seniors, veterans and women.

Martha McSally may share Gabby’s gender, but Ron Barber shares Gabby’s values.

This outrageous quote proves what Gabby and I have known all along - Ron must win this election.

The chaos of Hurricane Sandy has produced a number of fantastic images sent in by people marveling over the storm and its effects. Some, unfortunately, have been mis-attributed, such as this blatant Photoshop job, and this photo which was revealed was actually taken in September.

That's a shame.

What isn't a shame, however, is the below photo. It was taken today and posted to Facebook by the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment—those who have been assigned to watch over the Tomb of the Unknowns.

• U.S. Army Sgt. Jose A. Torres Jr.

This is a man, jogging through the streets of Washington, D.C., shirtless, wearing what appears to be a rubber horse mask.

Washington, D.C. blog DCist was able to get a hold of the HorseMan (also known as Jimmy Kruyne), who told them that "he just wanted to brighten people's moods on a dark, doom-filled day. 'Little spontaneous jogging hopefully put a smile on people's face before this awful storm,' he says."

I can only hope that the image of him high-stepping his way through an on-location shot by D.C.'s channel 4 is the enduring photograph of this whole "Dr. Frankenstorm's Monster" mess.

You're the centaur we needed on this day, Mr. Kruyne.

(h/t to Gaby Dunn for "Dr. Frankenstorm's Monster")

Needing a diet with moderate protein, low fat, high fiber and water, captive desert tortoises will eat flowers such as pansies, violets, nasturtiums, hibiscus, geranium, evening primrose and globemallow.

The diet can be supplemented with vegetables like spinach, green beans, and lettuce.
Herb flowers including thyme, sage, and rosemary, all of which grow well in Tucson, can be grown around their habitat.

Greens are an important part of the tortoise's diet and provides much-needed fiber. Grass is an option for those who want a small patch of green and the leafy greens from many fresh vegetables including carrot, collard, mustard and turnip greens, provide high amounts of protein and extra water.

Have a question? Email Marylee
Sign up for our Potted E-News today. Receive monthly potted garden information as well as SW Arizona freeze alerts, heat and wind advisories.

For more information on Desert Tortoises, check out this article by Cheryl Losch, eHow Contributor

Google.org's Crisis Response team has updated its crisis map to follow Hurricane Sandy in real-time, in an effort to help folks prepare for the the forthcoming storm, set to hit land this evening.

The map, which you can see here, has layers, projections and alerts based on data from the National Hurricane Center, the National Weather Service, weather.gov and others. Among the information included is a 3-day forecast cone; the hurricane's projected path; and links to webcams, related YouTube videos, and (most importantly) contact information for area emergency shelters.

Tucson, if you know people in the path of the hurricane, this looks to be a quality tool to help them stay safe.

Be careful out there, friends.

The appliance that heats your day-old Chinese food could hold the key to making solar energy mainstream. Engineers at Oregon State University have applied microwave heating to solar energy technology in a way that could lead to a manufacturing process that uses less energy and fewer resources.

The engineers opted for microwave heating—as opposed to conventional heating in an oven—to reduce the time it takes materials to bond into a working solar cell. While the reaction time with conventional heating can be anywhere from 30 minutes to 15 hours, microwave heating can achieve the same results in minutes or seconds, said head researcher Greg Herman.

This innovative approach, paired with a compound of non-toxic elements, enabled the OSU engineers to create thin-film photovoltaic products that turn sunlight into power.

On tonight's Political Roundtable: Michael Farley of Arizonans for a Brighter Future and Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry discuss the future of the Kolb-Valencia intersection, which has ignited Farley's interest in changing the political leadership on the Pima County Board of Supervisors. Then Farley joins Republican National Committeeman Bruce Ash, Pima County Democratic Party Chairman Jeff Rogers and Tucson City Councilman Steve Kozachik to talk about campaign efforts of Arizonans for a Brighter Future, whether it can help unseat Supervisor Sharon Bronson, the campaign-finance complaint filed by Bronson against the group and GOP candidate Tanner Bell, and whether the public should know who is funding the committee.