Email Author Ray Stern

Awards

• 2011 - Arizona Press Club Awards, published July 8, 2010

  "Gold Rush"

• 2011 - Arizona Press Club Awards, published November 25, 2010

  "Chronic Future"

• 2010 - Arizona Press Club Awards, published October 15, 2009

  "Concrete Bungle"

• 2010 - Arizona Press Club Awards

  SCA Scandal

• 2010 - Arizona Press Club Awards

  Valley Fever

• 2008 - Maggies: The Magazine Awards of Western Publishing, published July 19, 2007

  "Money for Nothing"

• 2008 - Maggies: The Magazine Awards of Western Publishing, published May 31, 2007

  "What Happened in Vegas..."

• 2008 - Arizona Press Club Awards, published May 31, 2007

  "What Happened in Vegas..."

• 2008 - Arizona Press Club Awards, published February 8, 2007

  "Gotcha!"

• 2007 - Arizona Press Club Awards, published November 16, 2006

  "ICE Meltdown"

More

2012 Stories by Ray Stern

• 

  FEATURED STORY

  Michael Columbia, DJ From Gilbert, Jailed in Arkansas for Allegedly Defrauding Company

  published Nov 07, 2012

  A 27-year-old Gilbert DJ who runs a capital investment company out of Scottsdale has been jailed in Arkansas after being indicted in a fraud scheme. Michael Brace Columbia, when not entertaining loc... More >>

• Races for Maricopa County Supervisors, County Attorney, had No Surprises in End

  published Nov 07, 2012

  Sheriff Joe Arpaio wasn't the only candidate who sailed to easy victory in Maricopa County on Tuesday. Up-and-coming right-wing icon Bill Montgomery creamed his Libertarian opponent, Michael Kielsky... More >>

• 

  FEATURED STORY

  Marijuana Legalization Passed in Colorado and Washington; Massachusetts OKs Medical Marijuana

  published Nov 07, 2012

  Marijuana wasn't on the ballot again in Arizona this year, but historic elections concerning the intoxicating plant could affect how it's handled nationwide. Colorado and Washington have become the f... More >>

• "Solar Team" Goes Dark; Voters Choose Three Republicans Instead for Arizona Corporation Commission

  published Nov 07, 2012

  Voters turned out the lights on the self-described "solar team" of three Democrats who hoped to control the Arizona Corporation Commission. The commission, which regulates public utilities, cor... More >>

• 

  FEATURED STORY

  Tax for Schools, Plan for Open Primaries Shot Down; Voters Limit Property Assessments

  published Nov 07, 2012

  Arizona voters have rejected soundly the retention of a one-cent sales tax passed in 2010 that would have provided education funding and scholarships. The state already spends less on a per-stud... More >>

• Terry Goddard Back in Business as Elected Official; Wins Most Votes in CAP Canal Board Race

  published Nov 07, 2012

  Terry Goddard may not be governor, but he'll make a heck of a board member for the Central Arizona Water Conservation District. Maricopa County voters gave Goddard the most votes of any of the ... More >>

• 

  FEATURED STORY

  Steve Chucri, Denny Barney are Expected New Faces in Maricopa County Supervisors' Races

  published Nov 06, 2012

  Changes are coming to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, a governing panel that has become better known in the last few years because of to some serious scandals. The five-member Board curren... More >>

• 

  FEATURED STORY

  Dave Hendershott, Lisa Aubuchon and Lawyer Ed Moriarity Face Large Sanctions in Failed Lawsuit Targeting County Officials and Others

  published Nov 06, 2012

  Dave Hendershott, Lisa Aubuchon, and their lawyer, Ed Moriarity, face about $210,000 in sanctions and fees stemming from a failed lawsuit related to their long fight with the county. Hendershot... More >>

• Nancy Selover, State Climatologist, Doesn't Really Expect 100-Degree Winters in Phoenix, Despite Republic Article

  published Nov 05, 2012

  We had a temporary, though intense, urge to flee the state after reading Michael Clancy's climate-change apocalypse story in today's Arizona Republic. Clancy's story describes how climate change cou... More >>

• Linda Brickman, Water Board Candidate, Doesn't Think All Muslims are Bad

  published Nov 05, 2012

  Two years ago, a slate of five tea-party candidates ran for the non-partisan, 15-member Central Arizona Water Conservation District board with the aim of promoting limited government. Two won: Cynthi... More >>

• Paradise Republican Women's Club Fibs About Andrew Thomas, Says Feds "Exonerated" Him; Disgraced Ex-Prosecutor to Speak at Club

  published Nov 05, 2012

  Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas may be a political loser, but he's still popular with the women -- of the Paradise Republican Women's Club, anyway. The venerable Valley club has scheduled Tho... More >>

• 

  FEATURED STORY

  Bill Montgomery Prosecuting Fewer Illegal Immigrants for Smuggling Themselves Into Country

  published Nov 05, 2012

  Maricopa County Bill Montgomery has prosecuted far fewer illegal immigrants for conspiring to smuggle themselves than his predecessor, Andrew Thomas. Thomas, who was disbarred earlier this year for ... More >>

• Ninth Circuit Court Grants Time to Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall in Monday Hearing on Abortion Law

  published Nov 02, 2012

  The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court has decided to make Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery happy and grant more time to both sides in a hearing on Monday related to Arizona's ban on late-term abortion... More >>

• Bill Montgomery Says Pima County Attorney is Stealing His Time in Abortion Hearing at Ninth Circuit Court

  published Nov 01, 2012

  Testy, testy! "I think there's a 'Deputy' in front of your title," Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery tells one of the Pima County Attorney's underlings in an October 31 e-mail. Montgomery ma... More >>

• Camelback Rock Climbers Have Few Options in Bee Attacks -- We Suggest Anti-Bee Kit

  published Nov 01, 2012

  New, temporary signs have gone up at Camelback Mountain to warn people about the danger of bees following the death on Monday of a 19-year-old hiker. Signs on sandwich boards were placed at the trai... More >>

• Ninth Circuit Rejects New Hearing on Whether Medical Marijuana is Protected by the ADA

  published Nov 01, 2012

  The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected a petition to re-hear arguments that medical marijuana is protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act. In a split decision in May, a three-j... More >>

• Brett Mecum: Speeder, Alleged Stalker, Fired GOP Director, and Now, Water Board Candidate

  published Nov 01, 2012

  Brett Mecum wants your vote for the Central Arizona Water Conservation District board. Never mind that he's no water issues expert. Or that he was fired in the spring of 2011 as the executive direc... More >>

• Bill Richardson Takes DPS to Task for Baseball-Tickets Scandal and Other Possible Signs of a "Failed Agency"

  published Nov 01, 2012

  In a column today in the East Valley Tribune, former police officer Bill Richardson takes the Arizona Department of Public Safety to task for a baseball-ticket scandal and other possible signs of a f... More >>

• 

  FEATURED STORY

  Tasha Kunzi, Former ASU Student, Sues for Harassment and Retaliation After Soured Affair With Professor Travis Pratt

  published Oct 31, 2012

  A former doctoral student says in a federal lawsuit that she was harassed and forced to leave an Arizona State University criminal-justice program after a soured love affair with a married professor.... More >>

• Oro Valley Police "Floored" by Blood Test Results in Fatal Motorcycle Crash; Case Dismissed Against Suspect Who Seemed Impaired

  published Oct 30, 2012

  Police believe Francisco Villalpando's pickup truck didn't even slow down before smashing into a motorcyclist waiting for a red light in a Tucson suburb on August 11. John Kostelny, a 62-year-old mo... More >>

• Joshua Ruzsa, 19, Identified as Victim of Fatal Fall in Camelback Bee Attack

  published Oct 30, 2012

  Phoenix police have identified Joshua Ruzsa, 19, as the victim in a fatal fall that was the result of bee attack yesterday at Camelback Mountain. Ruzsa's Facebook site says he was a 2011 graduate of... More >>

• 

  FEATURED STORY

  Camelback Mountain Hiker Dies After Fall During Bee Attack, Two Others Stung 300 Times Each; Off Main Trail on Climbing Route

  published Oct 30, 2012

  Three Camelback hikers who decided to take a side route up a climbing trail encountered a swarm of bees on Monday afternoon, and one man died after falling 60 feet. The other two men were stung abou... More >>

• Camelback Mountain Bees on the Attack: UPDATE -- Stung Hiker Takes Fatal Fall

  published Oct 29, 2012

  Bees at Camelback Mountain attacked several hikers this afternoon, causing at least one person to become injured die in a fall, authorities say. (See today's update by clicking here.) "A bunch of hi... More >>

• 

  FEATURED STORY

  Mesa Medical-Marijuana Club Busted by Gilbert PD; Paul Bellesen, Chad Czarnecki and Robert Ryan Face Charges

  published Oct 29, 2012

  Valley marijuana patients lost another over-the-counter source for their meds earlier this month when Gilbert police raided Arizona Natural Solutions in Mesa. The cannabis/compassion club at 1055 No... More >>

• Monica Parra of Ajo Stopped on Way to Mexico With Guns and 66,000 Rounds of Ammo

  published Oct 26, 2012

  U.S. Border Patrol agents stopped an arsenal and about 66,000 rounds of ammunition from entering Mexico through a border gate intended only for Native Americans. Monica Parra, 41, was in a red Chevy... More >>