Email Author Monica Alonzo

Awards

• 2011 - Best of the West/First Amendment Funding, Inc., published December 16, 2010

  "Cloaked Brutality"

• 2011 - Best of the West/First Amendment Funding, Inc., published August 12, 2010

  "Seized"

• 2011 - Arizona Press Club Awards

  Valley Fever

• 2011 - Southern California Journalism Awards/LA Press Club, published December 16, 2010

  "Culture of Cruelty"

More

2010 Stories by Monica Alonzo

• Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon's Involvement with Veolia Transportation Contract Questioned by Federal Transit Administration

  published Dec 29, 2010

  rA New Times story about Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon advising a transit company that employs his girlfriend on how to muscle nearly $30 million from Phoenix has prompted an inquiry from the f... More >>

• Wes Gullett, Phoenix Mayor Hopeful, Getting Fund-Raising Help From Arizona Cardinals

  published Dec 28, 2010

  Candidates in the race for Phoenix mayor are tapping pockets across the Valley to build their campaign war chests.The Arizona Guardian reported that one candidate, Wes Gullett, is getting a little hel... More >>

• Camel Square (Off): Phoenix Neighborhood Leaders Contemplate Referendum Over City Council Repeal of Building Restrictions

  published Dec 22, 2010

  Many neighborhood leaders and homeowners are sorely disappointed with a City Council decision that stripped building restrictions from Camel Square, a 17-acre site on the northwest corner of Camelback... More >>

• Phoenix Police: There Is No Criminal Investigation of PD Over Kidnapping Stats, Feds Conducting Standard Audit

  published Dec 20, 2010

  rKidnapping statistics tallied by the Phoenix Police Department are getting called into question --again. Two Valley news stations have reported that the Phoenix Police Department, including Publi... More >>

• Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry: Fifth Suspect in Agent's Murder Still On The Loose

  published Dec 17, 2010

  U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian A. Terry was in the desert canyons of southeastern Arizona on Tuesday hunting down bajadores, or bandits, who lurk in the shadows and prey on the illegal border-crossers... More >>

• Camelback Corridor: Phoenix City Council Deciding Whether To Strip Building Restrictions From 44th Street & Camelback Road Project

  published Dec 15, 2010

  rThe Phoenix City Council is expected to vote later today on whether or not to strip the northwest corner of 44th Street and Camelback Road of zoning restrictions that now limit the building hei... More >>

• 

  FEATURED STORY

  Phoenix Coyotes: Glendale Approves Nearly $200 Million Deal to Keep NHL Team

  published Dec 15, 2010

  rThe Glendale City Council approved in a 5-2 vote a deal to pay $197 million to Matthew Hulsizer, a Chicago businessman poised to buy the Phoenix Coyotes from the National Hockey League. Of that m... More >>

• Glendale City Council Voting Tonight Whether to Shell Out Nearly $200 Million to Keep Phoenix Coyotes In Town

  published Dec 14, 2010

  It's a simple yes or no. Will the Glendale City Council vote to shell out nearly $200 million in a deal aimed at keeping the Coyotes in town for at least 30 yearsrBut there is nothing simple about the... More >>

• 

  COVER STORY

  Cloaked Brutality: The Feds Bury Border Patrol Abuses of Immigrants, But What's Been Unearthed Reveals a Culture of Cruelty

  published December 16, 2010

  Anastasio Hernandez Rojas screamed in agony as U.S. border agents rained blows on him and delivered 50,000 volts of electricity to his body... More >>

• Veolia Transportation Finally Reaches Contract Agreement With Teamsters; Two Unions Down, One to Go

  published Dec 14, 2010

  rVeolia Transportation and Teamsters Local 104 finally have agreed on contract terms for the more than 60 workers who fuel, clean, and maintain tires on Phoenix city buses.The tra... More >>

• Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon's Global Travels Tied to Girlfriend's "Global Connections" Companyr

  published Dec 13, 2010

  rPhoenix Mayor Phil Gordon wasn't always a travelin' man. Believe it or not, the man who is now jetting off to places like China, Qatar, Dubai, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia, was once known for his ave... More >>

• Veolia Transportation Executives Asked Phoenix For $2.3 Million To Help Settle Union Contracts

  published Dec 01, 2010

  Veolia Transportation executives want the cash-strapped City of Phoenix to shell out more than $2 million to help bail out the transportation company as it tries to negotiate contracts with two remain... More >>

• Billy Shields Says His Family's "Stunned and Saddened;" Police Investigating Embezzlement Allegations Against His Daughter

  published Nov 29, 2010

  rUPDATE: Billy Shields tells New Times that he's "stunned and saddened" as Phoenix police investigate allegations that his daughter, Mindy, embezzled money from a campaign account belonging to G... More >>

• Gerardo Higginson Leaving Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon's Office; Senior Aide Taking Job at Univision

  published Nov 29, 2010

  rGerardo Higginson, a senior aide to Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, is heading back to his broadcasting roots. After about seven years of working for Gordon as a liaison to the Latino, immigran... More >>

• 

  FEATURED STORY

  Mindy Shields, Daughter of Influential Phoenix Lobbyist, Under Police Investigation for Allegedly Taking Money From Political Fund

  published Nov 29, 2010

  rPhoenix police are investigating the alleged embezzlement of more than $75,000 from a campaign fund that belongs to Deputy Attorney General Greg Stanton. The fund, which has no ties to Sta... More >>

• Judicial Watch To Appeal Court Decision Allowing Mayor Gordon To Withhold Bodyguard's Records

  published Nov 23, 2010

  Judicial Watch is planning to appeal a November 4 decision by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge John Rea that allows Gordon to keep secret two years' worth of his security-detail logs.Jim Peterson,... More >>

• Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon Blasts Councilman Sal DiCiccio for Twisting Truth About Employee Pay

  published Nov 17, 2010

  rPhoenix Mayor Phil Gordon just posted a blog titled, "The Truth ... For A Change."In it, Gordon blasts DiCiccio for his creative (that is, false) interpretation of budget figures to propel the ... More >>

• Greg Stanton Leaving AG's Office at End of Month; Expected to Announce Run for Mayor

  published Nov 17, 2010

  rSince Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard's days are numbered, it's likely that Deputy Attorney General Greg Stanton will put himself on the short list of politicos who plan to run for mayor... More >>

• Phoenix Councilman Sal DiCiccio On Sunday Square Off Discussing Private Meetings With "High-Powered Individuals"

  published Nov 15, 2010

  In case you missed it ... Phoenix Councilman Sal DiCiccio appeared on Sunday Square Off to talk to 12 News' Brahm Resnik about the committee of "high-powered individuals" who had been meeting quietly.... More >>

• Rogue Columnist on How Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon Contributed to "Phoenix's Collapse"

  published Nov 15, 2010

  rJon Talton, author of Rogue Columnist, reminisces in his latest blog post that, once upon a time, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon "got it." But no more. Talton writes that if "any historian car... More >>

• Phoenix Councilwoman Thelda Williams Says She's Not a Member of Private Committee Organized by Councilman Sal DiCiccio, Firefighters Union Boss

  published Nov 09, 2010

  rPhoenix Councilwoman Thelda Williams tells New Times that she isn't part of a private committee pulled together by Councilman Sal DiCiccio, Pete Gorraiz, president of the firefighters unio... More >>

• Councilman Sal DiCiccio, Nearly Two Dozen Phoenix Insiders Gathering For Secret Meetings; Want Change in Phoenix Government

  published Nov 08, 2010

  An influential group of individuals -- including three elected Phoenix officials, members of the Goldwater Institute and the firefighters' union boss -- have been quietly meeting over the past month a... More >>

• Judicial Watch Loses Phoenix Lawsuit: Mayor Phil Gordon Does Not Have to Release Security Detail Logs

  published Nov 04, 2010

  rMaricopa County Superior Court Judge John Rea has denied Judicial Watch, a conservative think tank, access to two years' worth of security-detail logs kept by Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon's bodygu... More >>

• Claude Mattox Reports Screamin' Javelinas Are Still Together

  published Nov 03, 2010

  Although Phoenix City Councilman Claude Mattox is the only one listed for a Sunday afternoon musical performance at the CityScape Block Party, rest assured that the 90-minute set also includes the res... More >>

• Claude Mattox To Perform At CityScape Block Party; No Word Yet On Whether Phoenix Councilman's Band (Screamin' Javelinas) Will Join Him

  published Nov 03, 2010

  The CityScape Block Party is taking over downtown Phoenix starting Thursday night ... and the musical lineup is mind blowing.Macy Gray! Third Eye Blind! And Phoenix City Councilman Claude MattoxrYep. ... More >>