Company Activities and Information

Eddie Basha Jr. Spent Golden Years Fighting Greedy UFCW Labor Union; Philanthropist Grocer Dead at 75

Eddie Basha Jr., an Arizona legend who used profits from his successful grocery chain to fund countless charity causes, spent the last years of his life fighting allegations of racism, mistreating employees and even hurting babies by a labor union bent on domination. Though Basha, the grandson of A ... More >>

Foursquare and Voice Media Group Announce Partnership

Hey, Phoenix Foursquare peeps, Phoenix New Times is getting its own Foursquare badge as part of our just-announced partnership with the social media company. Follow us on Foursquare here, and make sure to leave a comment when you've unlocked the special Phoenix New Times badge. To unlock the badge ... More >>

Push Play

Voice Media Group Agrees to Purchase Village Voice Media, owner of Phoenix New Times. Backpage.com Not Part of the New Company

A new holding company out of Denver, Voice Media Group, announced today that it has agreed to purchase Village Voice Media, owner of Phoenix New Times and 12 other alternative newspapers across the country. The purchase includes the newspapers, their websites, and VVM's national-advertising componen ... More >>

What Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Means for Cowboy Ciao, Kazimierz and Peter Kasperski

See also: Cowboy Chow files for Bankruptcy See also: Cowboy Ciao's Marianne Belardi Says Goodbye After Fifteen Years Chow Bella reported last week that Peter Kasperski of Cowboy Ciao and Kazimierz World Wine Bar filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy under Cowboy Ciao LLC on June 29th. In the comment se ... More >>

Scottsdale Owners of 54 Arby's File for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

​The slogan "It's Good Mood Food" doesn't appear to be case with several Arby's restaurants in Arizona. In fact, the mood's downright depressing. The Republic reports three related Scottsdale limited-liability companies, all led by Scottsdale businessman Charles Harmon, that operate 54 Arby's ... More >>

Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon Recommends Girlfriend for City Aviation Board -- Then Pulls Recommendation

Elissa Mullany and Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon​Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon has reportedly pulled of today's City Council's agenda his recommendation to appoint his girlfriend, Elissa Mullany, to the Phoenix Aviation Advisory Board.Gordon wanted to appoint her to the aviation board to replace Art Hamil ... More >>

CLOSED: EVERY Marie Callender's in the Entire State of Arizona

​Can't say we didn't see this coming. We haven't actually stepped foot inside of a Marie Callender's since sometime around 1998 but we have heard the restaurant chain has been slowly going down hill for quite sometime -- our grandmother was the source. Get the rest of the pie after the jump.& ... More >>

Lara Mulchay and Joel LaTondress Pop Up in Tucson This Weekend with HotDish

​If you happen to be in Tucson this weekend, you might want to stop by the Mercado San Agustin for "HotDish in the Old Pueblo," a pop-up venture by Phoenix's Lara Mulchay and Joel LaTondress. You might remember Mulchay from Petite Fromage, her (sadly) now-defunct Phoenix cheese shop. The se ... More >>

Moody's Credit-Rating Service Lowers Arizona's Outlook to "Negative," Worries About Expiration of New Sales Tax

  ​Arizona looks like a potential deadbeat to the world-famous Moody's credit-rating service. Citing concerns over a sales-tax increase set to expire in mid-2013 and a budget that relies on the federal government to make changes caused Moody's to downgrade Arizona's outlook this week f ... More >>

Grigio Apartments at Tempe Town Lake Go Bankrupt; "First Class" Units Said to Be Valley's Priciest

www.grigio.comThe luxurious Grigio apartment complex on the north shore of the Town Lake in Tempe has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy​ The snazziest apartment complex in the Valley, Grigio Tempe Town Lake, has filed for bankruptcy and is seeking an emergency court ruling that will ke ... More >>

Doug Lingner to Resign from Housing Authority of Maricopa County

Doug Lingner will be leaving the Housing Authority of Maricopa County by Monday -- or else.​Doug Lingner, executive director of the Housing Authority of Maricopa County, will be resigning his position.Lingner, a former Phoenix City Councilman, was the subject of a New Times cover story just five w ... More >>

Trib Food Critic Jess Harter Among Today's Layoffs

East Valley Tribune food critic Jess Harter's Twitter post an hour ago was quite a stunner: "EV Trib had another massive round of layoffs this morning, including yours truly. My final day will be when sale is finalized next week." The layoffs followed yesterday's announcement that the newspaper's sa ... More >>

Stoudemire's Downtown Takes a Hit

You've been holing up and watching too many Phoenix Suns games on TV, folks. Meanwhile, Stoudemire's Downtown has been hurting for business (as well as dealing with a rent dispute with its landlord, according to ABC 15). The restaurant just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The eatery is ... More >>

Sal DiCiccio’s Loop 202 Problem: Phoenix Councilman Would Benefit from Reviled Ahwatukee Freeway Extension

Jenna Jameson Accused of Screwing Business Partner...Figuritively, This Time

www.wireimage.com Former porn star Jenna Jameson screwed former business partner out of $400,000, according to court documents​If you can't trust a former porn star, who can you trust?A former business partner of famed porn legend Jenna Jameson is claiming in Maricopa County Court that Jame ... More >>

Bashas' Announces More Store Closings; Terminating Leases as Part of Bankruptcy

​ Bashas' announced the locations today of all 14 stores it plans on closing by October 10. The family-owned chain filed for bankruptcy last month, but vows to stay afloat as a company and even improve its remaining 130 stores. As the Arizona Republic reported last week, the company is u ... More >>

Bloody Brit

Foreign DJ brings breakbeat blitzkrieg to Cream Stereo

Howl at the Moon Takes Over Old Lyte Lounge Location

A couple days ago, I reported that Old Town Scottdale's Lyte Lounge had just closed, and that a dueling piano might be filling the void. Yep, it's true. Former Lyte operator Robert Burghart tells me that he's involved in a joint venture called Howl at the Moon, a "rock and roll dueling piano sh ... More >>

Opening Friday: Afterlife in Scottsdale

Really, really late-night eats are hard to come by no matter what part of the Valley you're in, but in Old Town Scottsdale, where there are plenty of places to go boozing, there definitely aren't enough places to grab a bite and soak up a night's worth of sake bombers. The folks ... More >>

Restaurant Revamp: From Imagine Spain to Poco

Change can be good. That seems to be the case for Poco, the Scottsdale Spanish restaurant formerly known as Imagine Spain (7000 E. Shea; 480-991-3170). When I checked out the place last fall (read my review), I liked the paella but couldn't stand the soulless surroundings. I wrote, "Imagi ... More >>

The Curse of Randi Rhodes: Nova M's Successor "On Second Thought" Padlocked in Phoenix (w/Update)

The padlocked doors of On Second Thought Radio Network, formerly the lefty talk radio enterprise Nova M. Photo taken this afternoon. I'd been tipped off that KNUV 1190 AM, formerly the flagship station of the liberal Nova M radio network, and briefly, the home of Nova M's successor network, On ... More >>

Flier of the Week: The Human Mirror

By Martin Cizmar This week we're gonna get artsy with our Flier of the Week. Human Mirror is an electronic duo that uses a laptop, electronics, drums and more to make a sound that's very eclectic, but has strong strands of world music and dub. They're Phoenix based, but planning to play and recor ... More >>

Local ICE Office Removed a Record 72,955 Illegal Immigrants in 2008

Roka Nights

Phoenix Country Club board member Mike Hayes turned a sex-segregation issue into a juvenile shouting match

Oregano's Pizza Bistro goes national with merger

Local Bands Jam at Mill Ave. Inc. Screening

Head Rolls Finally

A Valley Metro Rail manager's fired after New Times confronts the agency about ignoring complaints that she'd pressured contractors to hire a particular firm

New Times To Merge With Village Voice

Combination creates nation's premier alternative media company

Family Secrets

Sally Carbajal predicted her husband, Danny, would never let her get the money. She never did

Mush Records Tour

No overdubs for AZ's underground hip-hoppers

Mission: Impossible

The Arizona Legislature may prove to be too much for ASU's unsinkable Michael Crow

The Big Stink

Fur is flying over whether one of the most popular animal charities in town has gone to the dogs

"This Has Wrecked My Career"

Jack Rose was a golden boy, a precocious businessman and political insider. Then he ran into a buzz saw at the Arizona Corporation Commission.

Straits of Magellan

Canadian investors in a Phoenix-based company say they are victims of an international incident

Accountants Payable ?

Convicted con man Ben Friedman tells Phoenix accounting big shots Leonard Miller and Carlos Wagner to check their balance

Letters

Details, Details

The prosecution's evidence seems convincing--but will the jury grasp it?

Children of Synanon

An acclaimed Tucson drug-treatment program went suddenly, mysteriouly bankrupt. Administrators blame the board of directors. But others are questioning the administrators and their history at the notorious drug-treatment empire known as Synanon.

Will America West Fly Away?

Prospectus' fine print reveals that if America West decides to sell, Continental is in the pilot's seat

Shelter Skelter

The Open Door is supposed to be a haven for battered women. Instead, the operators have wasted much of their energy--and money--abusing one another.

INSIDER CONNECTIONSA MULTIBILLION-DOLLAR PUBLIC PENSION FUND CAN BE A READY SOURCE OF FINANCING--IF YOU KNOW THE RIGHT PEOPLE

THE STEALTH IRAQI

JAWAD HASHIM CLAIMS HE'S A BANKRUPT VICTIM OF A VENDETTA BY HIS FORMER BOSS--IRAQ'S FEARED PRESIDENT, SADDAM HUSSEIN. A WEALTH OF EVIDENCE SUGGESTS HASHIM'S JUST ANOTHER SCAM ARTIST WHO WOUND UP IN SCOTTSDALE.

CHARITABLE TAKING THE ARIZONA DIVISION OF THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY EATS UP 95 PERCENT OF ITS BUDGET WITH SALARIES AND OVERHEAD. CANCER VICTIMS GET THE LEFTOVER CRUMBS.

PERHAPS THEY'LL CALL IT A CEILING POSTUREPEDIC

GOVERNOR'S FINGERPRINTS LEAVE GREASY TRAILSCREWED PENSION FUND IN '91

FIFE'S NEW TUNEGOVERNOR'S JIHAD AGAINST THE RTC HAS BECOME A TECHNICAL DEFENSE

POCKET CHANGEBANKRUPT AMERICA WEST SHUFFLES ITS DEBTS, BUT NEEDS MORE THAN FRANKE TALK TO SURVIVE

Sell, APS, Sell!

Experts say Arizona would be lucky if an outsider bought its largest utility company