Contagious and Infectious Diseases

Dining Out for Life: Help Fight HIV and AIDS on April 25

We love dining out at local restaurants. Not only do we get to nosh on good eats, we also leave with a nice case of the warm fuzzies for giving our hard-earned dollars to a local business owners. See also: - Mark Tarbell, Beau MacMillan, and Barbara Fenzl to Team Up with Childsplay on April 13 - G ... More >>

The Flu Shot at Kaleidoscope Juice in Scottsdale: No Needle, but a Lot of Garlic

Welcome to Picky Eaters -- where Chow Bella will introduce you to different ways of eating, and where to get the goods. If you never did have time to get a flu shot but you're still worried about getting caught by the tail end of flu season, you might want to consider a different option: Kaleidosc ... More >>

McDowell Mountain Music Festival 2013 Announces Local Lineup Featuring Kongos, Fayuca, and More

McDowell Mountain Music Festival's 2013 lineup, featuring The Shins, The Roots, Deer Tick, Les Claypool's Duo de Twang, and more, has expanded to include a host of local Phoenix-based acts. The weekend festival will now Kongos, Mergence, Banana Gun, Fayuca, The Veragroove, Yellow Minute, Decker, and ... More >>

Valley Fever Friday @ Crescent Ballroom

Deer Tick's John McCauley on Hanging Out With Brian Williams While Hungover

Alt-country stumblers Deer Tick know how to keep up the pace. Songwriter John McCauley started the band back in 2004, and since then it's morphed from a solo project into a full-fledges rock 'n' roll machine, spitting cheap domestic beer and rangy Americana fury. Back in October they released Divi ... More >>

Cheerleader's Defamation Lawsuit Against Nik Richie: Game On

​A federal judge in Kentucky has a set a trial date for the defamation lawsuit a Cincinnatti Bengals cheerleader filed against Scottsdale's own Hooman Karamian, a.k.a. "Nik Richie," of The Dirty (ahem) fame.U.S. District Judge William Bertelsman set a June 4 trial date for the lawsuit, which claim ... More >>

So-Called "Lyme Disease" Victim's Lawsuit Against East Valley Clinic Moves Forward

Not a week goes by that we don't hear from someone around the nation about our story last year entitled "Lyme Aid," (here it is). Lyme disease is extremely rare in Arizona, according to the CDC and other sources​The piece concerned an ailing young Gilbert woman whose parents spent thousands o ... More >>

Rick Perry's Texas Is a Fantasy Land

The Best Songs to Listen to During an Arizona Monsoon

In anticipation of this weekend's (forecasted) rainy weather, I have compiled a list of the best locally generated songs to listen to during an Arizona monsoon. While plenty of bands nation and worldwide have created excellent songs to listen to during a storm, I am looking to some of Arizona's fin ... More >>

March 16 In Blogs: Phoenix Sports Fans, Tempe Tavern, Torture, Vegan Food, and Jan Brewer

In the 24-hour news cycle, it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries:

Valley Fever

Jared Lee Loughner and the Gun Nuts

A note for friends and foes of the Feathered Bastard: For the time being, posts directly related to the Tucson massacre that I write will be posted in Valley Fever. For instance, I just posted one that responds to a pro-gun editorial by my colleague Ray Stern.The title of my piece is "Mental Health ... More >>

Deer Tick Hits up Sail Inn Before Auctioning Off Tour Bus

Deer Tick with The Flagship, the tour bus the band is auctioning for charity.​Benefit shows can be a dime a dozen. And, due to their ubiquity, that can be about as much as they raise sometimes. Rhode Island band Deer Tick's taking another route, auctioning off a tour bus to raise funds for OxFam I ... More >>

Agua Fria Special Education Director Accused of Raping and Threatening Special Needs Student

Brian Willner is accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl with special needs.​The Avondale Police Department -- after a two week investigation -- has arrested the director of the Aqua Fria High School's special education program after a 15-year-old student with special needs told her moth ... More >>

Rabies in Maricopa County: Why You Should and Shouldn't Be Terrified; Plus, Here's a Free Pets-Vaccination Spot

www.deviantart.com​As we reported back in January, 2009 was the most rabid year in Arizona history, with 261 animals testing positive for the disease, which is an alarming 85 more than 2008.The outbreak got so bad in Santa Cruz and Coconino counties that county-wide quarantines were issued. ... More >>

Deer Tick Heading Back to Phoenix!

​Okay. We've received complaints that New Times makes a point of mentioning all the good bands that don't come to Phoenix yet rarely, if ever, mention it when they do. So . . . Deer Tick will be coming to the Trunk Space on April 14. Last time Deer Tick were in town, they ... More >>

The Hottest Teas for Cold & Flu Season

​Everyone around us seems to be sniffling, sneezing or coughing these days. Right before the holidays, we were standing on a long, seeming never-ending line at the post office behind a woman who kept hacking up a lung in our direction. "I'm not contagious," she kept assuring. Uh-huh. Two ... More >>

Health Department Turns to Google to Help Stop the Spread of Pig Flu. Is There Anything Google Can't Do?

wwwuthpastor.com ​ Google has made it possible for the average person to see their house from space, get a 360 degree view of almost any street in the country, and now the company is taking on swine-flu. The Arizona Department of Health Services announced today that it is partnering with ... More >>

Arizonans Know Pretty Much Nothing about H1N1, ASU Survey Finds

​You'd think that close to eight months into the H1N1 epidemic, Arizonans would take a little time to educate themselves about the bug that could potentially kill them. We're talking the basics here -- like what the disease is, and how to avoid getting it. You'd be wrong. Researchers at ASU ... More >>

Hot Links: Strikes, Mesa Schools, and IRS Checks

​Nearly 20,000 workers at Valley Fry's and Safeway grocery stores could go on strike if a contract deal between the companies and workers' union is not reached by 6 p.m. next Friday. Spokesmen for the grocery chains say the companies have tried to negotiate a fair deal, and plan to hire tempo ... More >>

November 3 In Blogs: Yucca Tap Room, Smeeks, Jan Brewer, and Kenny G

​In the 24-hour news cycle it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries: Up on the Sun: Club Candids: Yucca Tap Room on Halloween Night Kenny G and Weezer Collaborate, Plan to Conq ... More >>

Beware of Buying Phoney H1N1 "Cures" Online, Attorney General Terry Goddard Warns

​ Don't buy flu products online without your doctor's advice, or you'll probably get scammed. That's the message today from Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard. Flu cases are at epic levels in Arizona. Last week alone there were 1,588 new cases of swine flu -- totaling 5,226 since April, ... More >>

Las Vegas Man Busted Here With 660 Boxes of Meth-Making Ingredient Pseudoephedrine

www.funnyaussiephotos.com​What could someone possibly need with 660 boxes of pseudoephedrine? That was the question Arizona Department of Public Safety officers were asking a Las Vegas man after they found an absurd amount of cold medicine in his car, and it didn't take long for them to figu ... More >>

Public Spirits

Get schnockered in a good cause

Anti-Vaccine Ron Paul Insaniacs (aka, "Ronulans") Rousted by Phoenix PD, and Man Could I Care Less

Well, at least they weren't using old bedsheets this time around Normally, I could give a flip if someone hangs a banner off a freeway overpass. But these Ron Paul-worshipping hosers so annoy me with their conspiracy-a-minute mills and their wack, home-made signs spouting the nonsense that "vaccin ... More >>

Deer Tick Gets Sweaty At Modified

Despite sweltering heat and scarce air conditioning, about 160 folks crammed into Phoenix's Modified Arts last night to watch the much-hyped Deer Tick as they rolled into town in their converted school bus to support their new record, Born on Flag Day.  The boys, lead by singer/songwriter John ... More >>

Deer Tick

Swine Flu Arizona: No Travel History on Four Confirmed Cases; School Closure Policy Could End Soon

Dr. Bob England Health officials are starting to suspect the swine flu virus first reported in Mexico won't hurt people more than a regular flu. If officials can confirm that, the news might end the rash of recent school closures. Bob England, director of the Maricopa County Dep ... More >>

Rhythm and Malady

Biannual arty party has the cure for what ails you

Gross Out: Roaches, Slime and Bad Hand Washing at Texas Roadhouse on Stapley

Things That Make You Say Oh!: Faces of Ecstasy

Designated Drinking

The Crying Game

Despite a celebrated history, Native American transgenders struggle in the modern world

Homo for the Holidays

When "gay bash" does not mean "festive party"

Hog Heaven

Lucy never made Ricky Ricardo puerco so pleasing to the palate

Summer Camp

Alternative Theatre Company gives Jeffrey a comic boost

Love Boat

The true story of a child artist facing death, The Yellow Boat triumphs without sentimentality

Crazy Quilt

The Valley's newest troupe tries mightily to make mediocrity entertaining

Perverse Case Scenario

Form follows dysfunction in uproarious Pterodactyls

C Notes

There's nothing hep about hepatitis C -- as too many friends can attest

Letters

Second Helpings

Unchained Malady

Baltimore Waltz choreographs new twist on AIDS

Letters

Deadly Panacea

What led an AIDS patient to inject a substance manufactured from common dirt into her blood stream?

Life With a Dying Liver

Seven years ago, doctors gave Hepatitis C its name. It had already condemned 3.9 million Americans to limbo.

Felix, the Stabilized Cat

CONCEIVED IN LIBERTY AND DEDICATED TO WHAT?

THREE ON YOUR SIDETV NEWS TRIO NABS COVETED BILL CLOSE AWARDS

WHAT ABOUT THE FAMILY VALUE OF BROTHERLY LOVE?