Gila Bend

U.S. Court of Appeals Decision Favors Tohono O'odham Nation but Requires Feds to Better Explain Decision to Approve West Valley Reservation

If you're keeping score in the Tohono O'odham Nation's epic -- and seemingly endless -- battle against state and local officials to build a resort-style casino in the West Valley, chalk up another point for the Nation. The Nation unveiled in 2009 plans to build the West Valley Resort and Casino ne ... More >>

Garbage-to-Electricity Plant Coming to Glendale; $110M Project Will Convert 180K Tons of Trash Yearly, Says Abengoa

Abengoa, the Spanish renewable energy giant, will build a $110 million garbage-to-electricity plant in Glendale for Chicao's VIESTE Energy, Abengoa announced yesterday. The plant, which will be sited at the Glendale Municipal Landfill at 11480 W Glendale Avenue, will convert about 180,000 tons of s ... More >>

Trent Franks, Arizona Congressman, Proposes Narrow Special-Interest Measure to Block Tohono O'odham Nation's Proposed West Valley Casino

Arizona Congressman Trent Franks introduced -- again -- legislation on Tuesday that, if signed into law, effectively would prevent the Tohono O'odham Nation from building a casino in the West Valley. There are a few bits about H.R. 1410, this latest bill, that are worth pointing out. See also: Tre ... More >>

Trent Franks, Arizona Congressman, Expected to Propose Law -- Again -- to Block Tohono O'odham Nation's Plans for West Valley Casino

Arizona Congressman Trent Franks is expected to introduce another bill aimed at blocking the Tohono O'odham Nation from building a West Valley casino. Congressional insiders say it may happen this week. See also: Tohono O'odham Nation Continues Defending Plans for West Valley Casino See also: W ... More >>

MCSO Gets 4,000 Pounds of Free Weed That Was Left in the Desert

If you happened to leave about 4,000 pounds of weed in southern Maricopa County, you're about to be very disappointed.The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office says deputies in a helicopter spotted two trucks covered in camouflage tarps in a desert area near Gila Bend, which were "stuffed so tightly with ... More >>

The Parlor Offers Nose-to-Tail Dinners Wednesday Through Saturday Starting February 6

Matt Carter started the local nose-to-tail trend four years ago, slow-roasting a whole pig in La Caja China for Sunday brunch at The Mission. Kevin Binkley jumped in whole hog last fall, offering an all-you-can-eat pig dinner on Saturday afternoons and evenings at Cafe Bink. Now Jared Porter is get ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Throws Another Fit After ICE Says No Thanks to Attempted MCSO Delivery

For the second time, Sheriff Joe Arpaio's office put out a press release to complain that Immigration and Customs Enforcement "refused" to take custody of a suspected illegal immigrant.The story from the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office is that the Human Smuggling Unit pulled over a car, and th ... More >>

Jan Brewer Comments on Border Patrol Agent's Death by Going After Feds, Obama

You probably could've seen this coming, but Governor Jan Brewer just couldn't issue a comment on the killing of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Nicholas Ivie without mentioning President Obama or his administration.While most public officials remained cordial with their remarks (for example, Attorney Gener ... More >>

Joe Arpaio or ICE: Whose Story Do You Believe?

Late last week, Sheriff Joe Arpaio claimed Immigration and Customs Enforcement "refused" to take custody of two suspected illegal immigrants that MCSO deputies found in the desert.Arpaio suggested that he saw this was coming, and had discovered a back-up plan to keep turning over immigrants to feder ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Tells Tale About Fooling the Feds; ICE Calls Sheriff's Bluff

Sheriff Joe Arpaio put out a press release today boasting about how he outsmarted Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which "refused" to take custody of two suspected illegal immigrants that deputies found in the desert yesterday.In reality, ICE didn't refuse to take custody, and Arpaio's boys actu ... More >>

Appellate Court Opinion Favors Creating West Valley Reservation for Tohono O'odham Nation

See also: Gila River Indian Community Attacks Sister Tribe With Federal Lawsuit See also: Glendale Officials Ordered to Pay Tohono O'odham Nation's Legal Fees See also: Wanna Bet? The Tohono O'odham Want to Build a West Valley Casino Glendale officials should start baking cookies to walk over to th ... More >>

Is Trent Franks Just Wasting Congress' Time?

See also: Trent Franks Successfully Wastes Everyone's Time as His Abortion Bill FailsWhen Republican candidates for the House of Representatives campaigned in 2010, just about every single one of them talked about these things called "jobs."As Congressman Trent Franks passed the 90-minute mark of ti ... More >>

Louie Puroll, Fired Pinal County Sheriff's Deputy, Demands That His Reinstatement Hearing Be Closed to Public

Just back from a trip to Pinal County, where former sheriff's Deputy Louie Puroll is seeking reinstatement to his job at a hearing of the county's Merit Commission. Bottom line: Puroll this morning in Florence exercised his right to have the hearing closed to the public. This meant ... More >>

MCSO Deputies Find Six "Illegals" in the Desert; Joe Arpaio Takes Credit for Saving Their Lives

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio says he may be taking heat for breaking up families and going on illegal-immigrant hunts, but when he gets the chance, he'll still save the lives of illegal immigrants.The sheriff's office says it got a hot tip on Saturday about six illegal immigrants, abandoned by ... More >>

Prince Harry Remark by Gila Bend Mayor Ron Henry was Made Up, Tabloid Admits; Mayor Releases Letter by Prince

Gila Bend Mayor Ron Henry didn't really say he was worried about Prince Harry "fornicating" in his town, a British tabloid admits. The Daily Mail published an apology and correction on December 11, after Henry took the young prince's advice in a handwritten letter to lodge a comp ... More >>

Five Phoenix Hot Spots for a Potential Prince Harry Sighting

Hey, Harry! We're ready for our fairy tale to begin! We hear that Prince Harry, a.k.a. The Real Prince Charming, is now just an hour and a half away near Gila Bend for the final leg of his Apache helicopter training. We know he's already made a couple road trips to San Diego during his st ... More >>

Gila Bend Mayor Ron Henry's "Fornicating" Quote About Prince Harry's Visit Makes Headlines Worldwide; Town Manager Says UK Reporter Got It Wrong

Gila Bend Mayor Ron Henry​ "Fornicating" is a great word that probably doesn't get enough use these days, but did Gila Bend Mayor Ron Henry say it while talking about Prince Harry?Britain's Daily Mail quotes Henry as saying about the son of the Prince of Wales: 'There are probably some fa ... More >>

Cops Think "Uncle Jerry" Morrow Molested Nearly 20 Young Boys

MCSO"Uncle Jerry" Morrow.​If there was a pervert hall of shame, "Uncle Jerry" Morrow would certainly be a first ballot inductee -- he admitted to being a pedophile, and police suspect he's molested nearly 20 kids dating as far back as 1976.Morrow was arrested last night at his home at 4807 South 3 ... More >>

Roommate Arrested in Murder of Man Found Buried Near Gila Bend

​Eric Morales, 26, was found murdered and partially buried in the desert North of Gila Bend last month, and yesterday the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office announced it's arrested a suspect: a man who was living in Morales' house at the time of his disappearance.Morales was last seen alive by famil ... More >>

Border Agents Killed by Train Were Tracking "Drug Traffickers," According to AG Tom Horne -- Which is News to Border Patrol Authorities

James KingTom Horne apparently knows something Border Patrol doesn't. That or he's making things up.​Two Border Patrol agents were killed this morning when their unmarked SUV was hit by a train near Gila Bend, and Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne is already implicating illegal drug traffickers i ... More >>

Arpaio's Deputy Claims a Slight, 50-Year-Old Latino Attacked Him

Sheriff Paul Babeu Vs Feds In Endless Jibber Jabber

So, according to Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu, armed conflict between his deputies and members of the Mexican drug cartels are imminent, probably "in the next 30 to 60 days."Paul Babeu​Yet, on the heels of that prediction, here's a concurrent story in which Alan Bersin, the head of the fed ... More >>

Louie Puroll Firing Put in Second Place by Chandler Mall Standoff

The best thing that happened to Louie Puroll and the Pinal County Sheriff's Office yesterday was the standoff out at the Chandler Mall, a made-for-TV incident that put the deputy's firing deep into second place, news-wise. ​ Still, by now everyone who follows local news knows Pinal County S ... More >>

Pinal County Sheriff's Deputy Louie Puroll To Be Fired, Agency Sources Say

Sources inside the Pinal County Sheriff's Office tell me that Sheriff Paul Babeu is prepared to fire controversial deputy Louie Puroll tomorrow.​These sources say that an internal affairs investigation sustained all of the allegations against Puroll stemming from a series of wide-ranging interview ... More >>

Two Suspected Illegal Immigrants -- Both Children -- Feared Drowned in Canal Near Gila Bend After Running From MCSO Deputy

​The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office fears that two suspected illegal immigrants -- both under the age of 18 -- drowned in a canal near Gila Bend after fleeing a car pulled over by a sheriff's deputy last night.MCSO spokesman Jeff Sprong says the sheriff's dive team is headed to an area of the ca ... More >>

Suspected Pinal County Church Shooter Found Dead in Desert

Dominic Donatella​The man who police say shot his ex-wife in a church parking lot on Tuesday was found dead in the desert from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.We hate to say it, but we kinda had a feeling this was how this story would end.The Pinal County Sheriff's Office found the body o ... More >>

Space Age Lodge Has a Burger That's, You Know, Out of This World

The Space Burger: A Cosmic Experience on the Road to San Diego

​You've seen this, right? If you've driven to San Diego, you have. Right off the main drag through Gila Bend, the Best Western Space Age Lodge and Restaurant was opened in 1965 by Al Stovall, a friend of President Eisenhower and supplier of metals and plastics to the federal government during WW ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Takes .50 Caliber Machine Gun To Desert, Looking for Undocumented

Oh, jeez, it's too hot for da tank... This just in: MCSO's fearless leader Sheriff Joe is heading into the desert today to hunt for illegal aliens in the oven-like temperatures. And he's breaking out the big guns, or at least one of them -- a .50 caliber machine gun, in case they run into ... More >>

Guitar Hero Controversy, Courtesy of Tucson's Loren Dircks

Loren Dircks takes aim at the Guitar Hero generation​Loren Dircks has been a fixture in Tucson's music scene for more than two decades, first as a founding member of "country metal" stalwarts Gila Bend and currently as a solo performer and frequent collaborator with fellow Tucsonan Al Perry. Dirck ... More >>

Gila River Indian Community Sues Tohono O'odham Nation Over Proposed West Valley Casino

Ned Norris, chairman of the Tohono O'odham Nation ​The Gila River Indian Community filed suit in federal court against the Tohono O'odham Nation in a bid to prevent it from building a West Valley resort-style casino.The Tohono O'odham bought 135 acres near 91st and Northern avenues ... More >>

Wanna Bet? The Tohono O'odham Want to Build a Casino in the West Valley -- Now It's Up to the Feds to Make It Happen or Break Another Promise to the Tribe

Lisa "I'd Indict A Half-Eaten Ham Sandwich" Aubuchon To Be Sheriff Joe's New Towing Program Czarina? Priceless, but Doubtful

We recently wrote half-kidding (just half) that Andy Thomas henchwoman deputy county attorney Lisa Aubuchon would be on her way to a new gig with Sheriff Joe Arpaio in no time. ​  Then, late last week, we got word that this failure of a prosecutor had been  ... More >>

Feedback from the Issue of Thursday, July 30, 2009

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 >>

Farmers, Ranchers, Foodies Party At Tapino Kitchen Wine Bar Shindig

Letters From the Issue of Thursday, April 27, 2006

Letters From the Issue of Thursday, March 30, 2006

Gila Bound

In its way, hellish Gila Bend's in a real estate boom like the rest of the county. Could it be Phoenix's next big bedroom community?

Contaminated Splendor

Painted Rock Reservoir's beauty is deceiving. It's one of the most toxic sinkholes in America

Street Brawl

Dragsters wage war at "Battleground AZ"

Get Over It

Believe it or not, we're walking on air

Here's Ropin'

Memorial Rodeo hits the ring

Run of a Bitch

FOOT WORK

A System Gone Mad

Two agencies were supposed to be taking care of Donald Ellison. Instead, they were missing in action--and the mentally ill Vietnam veteran was left to die on the street.

HEALTH'S KITCHEN

SECOND HELPINGS

COMPILE DRIVERS ARIZONA MUSICIANS SHINE ON THREE NEW, DIVERSE COLLECTIONS

GILA BENT HAS SUFFEREDLIKE JOB BUT WITH MORE COMPLAINING