Email Author Robert Nelson

Awards

• 2006 - AAN AltWeekly Awards, published February 24, 2005

  "Cross to Bare"

• 2006 - Arizona Press Club Awards, published October 13, 2005

  "Mold Attacks!"

• 2006 - Arizona Press Club Awards, published July 7, 2005

  "Altar Ego"

• 2006 - Arizona Press Club Awards, published August 25, 2005

  "Hardball"

• 2006 - Arizona Press Club Awards, published April 21, 2005

  "About Face"

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2003 Stories by Robert Nelson

• The Trial

  published December 25, 2003

  I've been here too many times before to muster much outrage or amazement. Watching Joe Arpaio's guys dismantle a little guy through gross abuse of... More >>

• Unfriendly Skies

  published December 11, 2003

  Frank Nickman, formerly Farzin Nikmanesh, knew he would be your devil the moment he stepped back into the terminal in Farmington, New Mexico, the... More >>

• Locked Up

  published November 27, 2003

  Once again, Arizona taxpayers have been stung with a classic bait-and-switch. This time, the financial ruse comes under the guise of prison... More >>

• Bladder Problems

  published November 20, 2003

  The message was as clear as the image indelible: The inhumanity of Officer Jason Schechterle's tragically burned face was a product of the... More >>

• Space Invaders

  published November 13, 2003

  The sheriff's deputies at the door told Richard Schmidt that he and his four kids had 10 minutes to vacate their home near Central Avenue and... More >>

• Redact Attack

  published November 6, 2003

  If you ask Child Protective Services officials to see copies of complaints made against the agency, you will receive pages of reports that look... More >>

• Ice Creamed

  published October 30, 2003

  "Town of Paradise Valley Police," the dispatcher answers the radio. "This is Buck," Sergeant Buck Boehm says. "Yes, Buck." "You know... More >>

• Clink!

  published October 23, 2003

  Arizona's prison system is in crisis. The state's prisons are built to hold 26,000 inmates. They now hold more than 30,000. Under... More >>

• Out Foxed

  published October 23, 2003

  On America's top 45 AM radio stations, 310 hours of every week is occupied by bilious chatter from conservative talk show hosts. By... More >>

• The Gay Blade

  published October 16, 2003

  Lame duck mayor Skip Rimsza screwed up taking roll call for the new version of the Phoenix City Council at a recent council meeting. "Vice... More >>

• Personal Foul

  published October 2, 2003

  In this job, it's difficult not to maintain a mental "coaches' poll" of the state's top scumbags. Sociopath Sheriff Joe is a perennial... More >>

• Deadly Force

  published September 11, 2003

  I had been in this situation before. Last time I got a call about a mom and a young daughter arguing in a park, I nearly got my head blown off. I... More >>

• Dishonor Among Thieves

  published August 28, 2003

  I don't get the adrenal cascade of rage much anymore, and I can't even remember the last time I saw the thin veneer of civil society collapse... More >>

• The Invisible Man

  published August 21, 2003

  Thank God I'm having 40-weight coffee with Phil Gordon at Starbucks. Because taken straight, Gordon can make a guy awfully sleepy. The... More >>

• Deadly Politics

  published August 14, 2003

  The call came into the Phoenix alarm room at 6:38 p.m. last Monday. Within seconds, Phoenix notified Rural/Metro Fire Department to respond... More >>

• Young Guns

  published July 10, 2003

  I find myself on the couch excited about watching the last few innings of an Arizona Diamondbacks game. I haven't felt this way since the... More >>

• Dead End

  published July 3, 2003

  I still see you in your googly-wheeled Escalade, alone, cruising down the HOV lane at rush hour sporting your sky-blue "alternative fuels" license... More >>

• Second coming

  published June 26, 2003

  For the last decade, Archbishop Michael Sheehan has been a leader in a little known clique of American Catholic prelates known as the "fixer... More >>

• Heir Apparent

  published June 12, 2003

  I was ecstatic when the press release arrived on my desk two weeks ago. It meant I didn't have to run for sheriff of Maricopa County.... More >>

• Judgment Day

  published June 5, 2003

  Newspapers are notoriously short of institutional knowledge. Writers, typically wandering iconoclasts inclined toward the negative, usually grow... More >>

• Ant Farm

  published May 29, 2003

  Evelyn Garcia stood behind her half-open door holding her two-month-old daughter Yanel as she answered my questions. She said she hasn't let her... More >>

• Death Road

  published May 22, 2003

  Ray Krone is nervous about spending much time in Arizona. He admits he might be a bit paranoid, but he's concerned that when he comes back for... More >>

• Legal Sleaze

  published May 15, 2003

  There was a public service advertisement on TV as I walked out the door at noon to do some lawn work. Something about the summer heat beginning in... More >>

• Street Fight

  published May 8, 2003

  Leon Woodward was expecting an apology when he picked up the letter from city zoning officials in late March. After all, city officials had... More >>

• Article of Impeachment

  published April 24, 2003

  Like cockroaches and Tom Arnold, the only good thing that can be said about Jim Irvin is that he's a survivor. Who else could remain in office... More >>