Apache Junction

Dead or Alive? Paul Babeu's Wilderness-Rescue Unit Once Again Proves Inept

Tonya Hensley's asking herself if her husband would still be alive if she'd relied initially on the crack Superstition Search and Rescue team rather than Paul Babeu's unit.

Pinal County Sheriff's Office Criticized Over Handling of Search for Missing Superstition Mountain Hiker

"Is daddy living in the mountains now?" It's a heartbreaking question that 5-year-old Alexa has been asking her mom, Tonya Hensley. It's been nearly two weeks since members of the Superstition Search and Rescue (SSAR) traced Chris Hensley's steps into the Superstition Mountains and located his re ... More >>

Christina Black, Convicted of Killing Grandma With a Piece of Fruit, Kills Herself in Prison

The Arizona Department of Corrections says convicted murderer Christina Black apparently killed herself on Tuesday.Black, a 52-year-old former Apache Junction resident, had been in prison since 1999, when she was sentenced to life after fessing up to murdering her grandmother with a piece of fruit.

Attention Arizona Secessionists: Some Considerations for Your Brilliant Plan

With President Obama's re-election, the empty threat from the people who just loathe the Leader of the Free World has changed from "I'M MOVING TO CANADA" to "WE'RE SECEDING."By "we're seceding," we're referring to the roughly 18,500 people who signed a petition on the Internet, asking the White Hous ... More >>

Top Five Must-See Shows This Week

Yeah, yeah, yeah...we get it Mondays suck (we've read Garfield). But it means the start of a new week, which means a bunch of killer shows in and around Phoenix. And here are a few of the coolest, our top five must-see shows this week.

These United States: Rambling Americana That Melts Into the Arizona Desert

Somewhere north of Apache Junction, there's a long road leading to a rock on the edge of the Salt River that Jesse Elliott still needs to see. For a songwriter who makes the most out of near-endless traveling, that rock represents just another one of those tempting little side roads in life. "Wh ... More >>

New Bike-Friendly Beer Garden Coming to Tempe

Tempe-sians who like a little bicycle with their brats and booze will want to get their chainwheels checked before cruising down Mill Avenue in September. That's when the city's new bike-friendly beer garden, Handlebar & Grill, opens for business. The concept comes from restaurateur Julian Wright, ... More >>

Page the Village Idiot @ Long Wong's at the Firehouse

Sheriff Paul Babeu's Apologists Make Light of Student Abuse to Defend the Embattled Sheriff

We recently came across a February 27 segment from Jim Sharpe's talk show on KFYI about Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu's time as headmaster at the DeSisto School in Massachusetts -- a school for troubled teens where state officials found sexual and physical abuse was occurring. Sharpe and his on-a ... More >>

Ten Favorite Metro Phoenix Craft Beer Bars

​Let's discuss craft beer bars. We're not just talking about one or two handles here. We're taking about the bars that have devoted just about every handle to the art of craft beer; the folks that know that power of a freshly tapped keg of Hopslam and who would sell a large part of their soul to ... More >>

Sanctuary Crew Streams Live Gaming from the East Valley

​Perhaps I overstated my affinity for the NES last week. Chalk it up to holiday nostalgia and one too many peppermint (schnapps) mochas. Yes, without any irony, I can say that Nintendo changed my life. My time in the company of 8-bit wonderment gave me great insight into myself and it also t ... More >>

New Year's Eve Guide: What Do to Do on the Biggest Night of the Year

Five Local Lectures That'll Up Your IQ in December

​Whether you're looking to become an expert on a subject or just want to have something to wow your pals with over drinks, here are five lectures for aspiring poindexters during December.5. The Sweet Science of BakingAvid bakers and aspiring Betty Crockers prepping for holiday bake-athons will g ... More >>

Congressman Jeff Flake Announces Senate Run

Congressional beefcake Jeff Flake wants to be a senator.​It's official: Republican Congressman Jeff Flake will run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Senator Jon Kyl.Flake made his announcement this morning at the same Phoenix hotel where Kyl announced his upcoming retirement last week. Fla ... More >>

Denim & Diamonds Opens This Weekend

When the nightlife gods taketh away a country bar in Mesa, they ultimately giveth one as well.Mere weeks after AZ Country USA closed its doors, the good ol' folks behind Graham Central Station are opening a brand new boot-scootin' bunker this Friday on the opposite end of the city. It's called Denim ... More >>

Hot Links: Hostage Situation, Lay Offs, and 700 Fake Gift Cards

​Peoria police are working the scene of a barricade and possible hostage situation this morning. Officers responded to a call about a burglary in progress at 71st Avenue and Corrine Drive at about 4:30 this morning. When they arrived, they found a man on the first floor, who informed them that bet ... More >>

Phallic Foods and Other Tasty Treats at the Arizona Renaissance Festival

If you've been to the Arizona Renaissance Festival before, you know how the shows work. Most are wholesome, family-friendly entertainment: comedic storytellers, singing nuns, a prankster hypnotist. Then there are the shows labeled LC for "Loose Cannon" -- i.e. bring the kiddies at the risk ... More >>

Hot Links: Plane Crash, Crazy Cities, and Tuition Rate Hikes

​A Chandler man died in a plane crash at Chandler air park yesterday. Nazzi Hirani was flying his World War II plane when it cartwheeled and crashed into a building at Stellar Airpark. Officials have not yet determined the cause of the crash...The Catholic Diocese of Phoenix has laid off 12 worker ... More >>

Hot Links: Ballot GPS, Phoenix Suns, and NHRA Spectator Death

​Maricopa County elections officials are launching a new program to track ballot boxes with GPS. The goal is to be able to track all 17,000 pieces of voting equipment in the Valley. The program will be tested in March during school-district elections, and is expected to be fully ready for the elec ... More >>

Hot Links: Toddler Traded, Fake Grass, and Go Daddy

​Police are warning residents of Phoenix and Scottsdale about a carjacking suspect who is still on the loose. The carjacker struck twice last night -- at 10 p.m. in an Albertson's parking lot in Scottsdale, he demanded a woman's car and was fought off before jumping into a green 1998 Chevy Trailbl ... More >>

Page the Village Idiot Is Anything But

Phoenix Public Library Issues "Top Five Reasons" to Get Card

​ Are you broke, unemployed or just looking for cheap intellectual thrills? The Phoenix Public Library system is the perfect antidote to the bad economy. Even if you live in east Mesa or Fountain Hills, you can still get a Phoenix library card. (Sorry Apache Junction -- you have to be a Maric ... More >>

Summer Guide: Checking Out the Library

Nurse Claims Arizona Heart Hospital Violated Her Rights by Demanding "Unholy" Immunizations as Hiring Condition

  An Apache Junction woman claims the Arizona Heart Hospital violated her right to religious freedom by demanding she be immunized as a condition of employment. Melissa Allen, a licensed nurse, applied at the Phoenix hospital two years ago as a patient care assistant and was told ... More >>

Hot Links: Solar Power, Polygamist Prophet Warren Jeffs, and Arby's Assaults

Phoenix may get its first solar power plant, if the city can procure about $1 billion in private investments. The proposed site for the plant is 1200 acres at the Valley's only active landfill, between Buckeye and Gila Bend...A Phoenix couple came home to find a body in their kitchen, and the murder ... More >>

Andrew Thomas Calls Joe Arpaio's Hispanic Tent City "Unconstitutional"

You know, I think I liked him better when he had this Dirty Sanchez/porn star 'stache...KTAR's reporting that Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas called Arpaio's jail segregation of undocumented Hispanics "unconstitutional" in a press conference today. Apparently, Thomas cleared the statement wit ... More >>

St. Patrick's Day Guide

J.C. Loves Rodeo. Amen.

Location, Location, Location

Deadline, deadline, deadline

Patriot Games

The grass has got to be greener someplace else

Indian Takers

A war for custody of 4-year-old Raven Laws includes a spurious Alabama tribe

Letters From the Issue of Thursday, November 2, 2006

Hell's Belle

Satan's Angel has taken her flaming tassels out of retirement, to the delight of a new generation of burlesque fans

Letters From the Issue of Thursday, November 17, 2005

Gay Old Time

Vern Johnson's rest home for homos is good news for the gay and gray

You like us, you really like us

A week in which we bask in the all-too-temporary glow of readers' compliments

Letters

Week of October 12th

Letters

From the week of May 27, 1999

Night & Day

December 17 - 23, 1998

Grazing in the Grass

Flashes

The Trashman

Where unit-shifting heroes of rock are exposed as the passionless poseurs they really are

Second Helpings

Letters

The High-Res Chaparral

Wear a star, be a star, in Western video-for-hire

Say, What?

GIVE 'EM HAIL, HURRY!

FOR THE ARIZONA THUNDERSTORM CHASERS, THE SKY'S THE LIMIT. AND THEREIN LIES THE RUB.

DEAF AND TAXES

NOBODY WANTED TO HEAR HOW THE RUN-DOWN ART COLONY WAS VALUED AT $10.5 MILLION

THE HEMP IRE STRIKES BACK

CANNABIS CLOTHIER, ACCUSED OF MARIJUANA SMUGGLING, IS ON THE LAM

THE RED RIVER'S MAIDEN VOYAGETEMPE'S VERSION OF HEE HAW LIVES AT NEW OPRY HOUSE