Maricopa County

Want to Start a Farm? This Workshop Will Teach You How

Starting a farm sounds really good -- in theory. Fresh produce, fresh eggs, lots of furry friends running around? Not to mention the beauty of green open spaces and plant life. On the other hand, the practical knowledge required -- you know, things like how to acquire land, buy equipment, and irriga ... More >>

Maricopa County Mugshots of the Week: Awards Ceremony

Just about every week, we bring you a roundup of visitors to the desert's own Fourth Avenue Jail. To be considered for our Maricopa County mugshots of the week, get arrested, strike a pose, and we'll take care of the rest.This week, our alleged criminals look like they deserve awards -- and probably ... More >>

Ken Bennett Says 342,936 Ballots Left, 215K from Maricopa County

Like the Beatles once crooned, "It's getting better all the time...." Both Maricopa County and the Arizona Secretary of State's Office updated their elections results this afternoon, and the number of remaining ballots is declining at a steady pace. SOS Ken Bennett reported that statewide 342,936 ... More >>

Paul Penzone (Video), Rich Carmona Still in Play, and the Problem with Provisionals

Dennis Gilman and I talk to Penzone following his concession Above is a video from election night of Democrat Paul Penzone, shortly after he conceded in the sheriff's race to Joe Arpaio. Needless to say, Penzone looks like he's been through the proverbial ringer. I know there are those who disagre ... More >>

Spy on the Maricopa County Elections Department if You Have Nothing Better to Do

If you're bored, and you want to be as bored as you were five seconds ago, we've got the perfect thing for you: watch Maricopa County Elections Department workers tabulate votes -- live.Maybe you'll be the hero of the community for catching some voter fraud live on the air. Maybe you'll catch the gu ... More >>

Arizona Secretary of State Reports 631,000 Ballots Uncounted

The Arizona Secretary of State is reporting that "as of Thursday afternoon, there are an estimated 631,274 early and provisional ballots" yet to be processed statewide. Seems some counties, like Mohave and Yavapai, didn't report their numbers yesterday. Adding to the confusion is the fact that ... More >>

Is the Maricopa County Elections Department's Spanish Campaign Enough?

After some uproar was caused with the Maricopa County Elections Department printing the wrong election date in Spanish on a few materials, it's now spending money on a Spanish-only campaign to tell voters the correct election day.Two items distributed by the elections office listed Election Day as N ... More >>

Are the Maricopa County Elections Department's Spanish Errors Getting Suspicious?

For the second time, materials from the Maricopa County Elections Department have been discovered with the wrong election date in Spanish, but the correct one in English.After the second instance was found -- and due to other controversies regarding the county elections office -- Randy Parraz and Ci ... More >>

Helen Purcell: Accusation About Spanish Errors a "Malicious Lie," Says Office Will Publicize Election Date of Martes, 6 de Noviembre

As our colleague Stephen Lemons reported last night, Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell set the record straight about the early-ballot collections -- it is not illegal for someone to deliver your early ballot to the elections office for you.Purcell also addressed the multiple errors on county el ... More >>

Helen Purcell Corrects KPHO's Error, while Joe Arpaio-Pimp Chad Willems Issues Voter-Suppression Robocall

Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell today issued a clarifying statement regarding an erroneous report on early ballots by CBS 5/KPHO's Donna Rossi last week. That report misquoted Purcell as saying that having an early ballot in one's possession is a Class 5 felony. After I wrote a blog item p ... More >>

Maricopa County Elections Office Error a "Dark Political Art," Declares Rachel Maddow

It's elections season, which means it's time for claims of "voter suppression" across the country -- claims that will also become convenient excuses after a given candidate loses their election.That said, it's not too surprising that MSNBC jumped on the Spanish error printed on a handful of election ... More >>

Death-Penalty Lawyers Are Making a Killing Off Maricopa Taxpayers

Maricopa County Mum on Taxpayer-Funded Lawsuit Settlements by County Officials

Several former and current Maricopa County officials received settlements in their lawsuits against Maricopa County last night -- but the county isn't giving up the amounts. No news release for this one -- and it's not hard to understand why. The issue of payoffs is sensitive because public mon ... More >>

Skinny on Dippin'

Maricopa Teen Caught With 500 Child-Porn Videos and Pictures After Year-Long FBI Investigation

Image: www.fbi.gov​A year-long child-porn investigation led FBI agents this summer to a Maricopa teenager with a personal stash of 500 videos and pictures of sexually exploited children.The case was outlined in court records filed yesterday by the Arizona U.S. Attorney's Office, which requests the ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Opponent Mike Stauffer to Run For Sheriff as an Independent

​Scottsdale Lieutenant Mike Stauffer, the man who hopes to unseat Joe Arpaio as Maricopa County sheriff, announced Friday that he's switching party affiliation to run as an Independent.It's probably a pretty good move -- Stauffer originally was running as a Republican, which means he would have ha ... More >>

Haboobs in Arizona Known for Centuries to Pimas as "Jegos"

Image: @jeffgokeeCheck out this and other shots from readers of last night's "jegos" on the New Times site.​ Nothing against the Sudanese, but "haboob" is a dumb-sounding name to English-receiving ears. It inspires more ridicule than the awesomeness these wind-blown monsters deserve.The news m ... More >>

If You Spend Time in Joe Arpaio's Jails, There's a Good Chance You Have Chlamydia

www.someecard.com​According to a recently released study from Arizona State University's Center for Violence Prevention and Community Safety, if you've been booked into a Maricopa Count jail, you're much more likely to catch a sexually transmitted disease than members of the general public.Accordi ... More >>

Joe Arpaio: Illegal Immigrants Avoiding Maricopa County -- Except for the 10 Arrested Last Night in North Valley

According to Joe, his tough guy antics are causing illegal immigrants to avoid Maricopa County -- which is funny considering 10 were busted last night.​Maricopa County's corrupt top cop, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, claims smugglers transporting drugs and illegal immigrants are avoiding Maricopa ... More >>

City of Maricopa Not "Closing Down" as British Tab Reports

Got a call from a pal who works for the city of Maricopa, you know, that wildly overbuilt burg about 15 miles off Interstate 10 down in Pinal County. The oil fields of Maricopa, Arizona---Not!​He told us that a British newspaper was reporting that the city of about 40,000 was about to ... More >>

Maricopa County Animal Shelters "Overflowing" With Chihuahuas

James King "B-Nasty"​Maricopa County has a problem: It's animal shelters are "overflowing" with chihuahuas.An earlier chihuahua infestation hit the Valley in December 2009. More on that here. According to Maricopa County Animal Care and Control, there are about 200 chihuahuas curr ... More >>

Morning Poll: Is Asking County Employees to Submit to Saliva Swabs for Nicotine Analysis an Invasion of Privacy?

www.sonofthesouth.com​The Arizona Republic yesterday got the scoop that several Maricopa County employees are getting fussy over having to submit to saliva swabs for nicotine analysis to prove that they don't use tobacco products in order to be eligible for lower insurance premiums than non-tobbac ... More >>

Measles: Apparently That's Still Around

www.aspiresrelationships.com​State and county health officials have confirmed a case of measles in Maricopa County.Authorities say the disease was contracted by a man living in the area who recently traveled abroad. They say he spent time in the community before being diagnosed, and county health ... More >>

MCSO Detention Officers Accused of Assaulting Inmates

​Two Maricopa County sheriff's deputies were arrested today for allegedly assaulting two jail inmates.The deputies each have been charged with aggravated assault.

DMX Blames Probation Violation on a "Sip" of Booze. Court Records Claim it Was a Little More Than That

MCSODMX says he violated his probation by taking a "sip" of alcohol.​As we reported last week, legally challenged rapper DMX is back behind bars in Maricopa County, this time for violating the terms of his probation. He's now saying the reason for his violation was a sip of alcohol at a performanc ... More >>

UPDATED: DMX Arrested -- Again (and Again) -- in Maricopa County

MCSODMX is running out of fingers on which to count the number of times he's been arrested in Maricopa County.​UPDATE (3:31 p.m.): We obtained court documents that show DMX's probation violation was the result of cocaine use, not only failing to check in with his probation officer, as stated in th ... More >>

Prop 203: Friday Deadline More a Suggestion Than Deadline. Results Not Expected Until Next Week

​If you were expecting to learn the fate Prop. 203 -- Arizona's medical marijuana initiative -- tomorrow, don't hold your breath. Election officials don't expect to be done counting ballots until next week, which violates election statute, but, as we just found out, is not that big a deal.From ... More >>

Prop 203 Update: Closer, but No Cigar -- Yet

​Proposition 203's chances of passing rose a bit today, then fell some.With 89,000 early ballots and provisional ballots left to be counted, the game isn't over yet.But the "yes" votes just can't seem to get a solid break.Just before 4 p.m., the gap between "yes" and "no" votes closed further than ... More >>

Prop 203 Closes Gap -- But Isn't Quite There Yet; Latest Vote Count Shows Medical Marijuana Still in Running

​Proposition 203 seems to be gaining an edge as officials continue to count votes.The ballot measure that would legalize medical marijuana in Arizona was about 6,500 votes behind as of last night.It's closing the gap: The difference now is only 3,870 votes.

Election Day: Crawling Over Broken Glass Not Required

​Um, we're pretty sure that the Maricopa County Election officials aren't scattering broken glass -- or hot coals, bear traps, or land mines for that matter -- in front of polling sites.(This is one of the photos that greets you on LD5 Congressional candidate David Schweikert's campaign website.)& ... More >>

Maricopa County Hospital Resident Makes Cool Video of Life in the ER

Here's a short, "home" movie that won't bore you, courtesy of one of the doctors-in-training at the Maricopa Medical Center:

Uncounted Vote Total Rises to 133,000 in State; Counting to Begin Again on Thursday

  Image: Ray Stern Helen Purcell, Maricopa County Recorder, expects to put out a news release at about 5 p.m. on Thursday with updated vote counts.​About 12,000 provisional ballots were amassed today at the Maricopa County Elections department, officials say, bringing the to ... More >>

Maricopa County Elections Sued Over Alleged Voting Violations

What does Pac-Man have to do with voting irregularities? Well, read on... A group of diverse individuals including Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Barry Hess, former Republican state Senator Karen Johnson, and voting activist John Brakey are suing Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell, al ... More >>

Joe Arpaio's Not the Only Arizona Cop Enforcing Immigration Law

This disturbing video comes to us from Pan Left Productions, and purports to show a woman being turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol after a traffic stop by the Tucson Police Department. I've put in a call to the TPD, but have yet to receive a call back. On its face, the video shows that what happ ... More >>

DMX Headed Back to Jail. Latest Lockup: Los Angeles

www.contactmusic.comDMX​Rapper DMX, fresh off completely a four-month jail sentence in Maricopa County, is headed back to the clink. "X's" latest stop on his tour of southwestern slammers: Los Angeles.The legally challenged rapper has 90 days to turn himself in to authorities to begin serving time ... 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 >>

Rural Routes

Eat a pie and chase a pig

Earth Hour Event Planned by Maricopa County; Costs of Climate-Change Awareness Program Unclear

​ Maricopa County is celebrating Earth Hour this year by shutting off "non-essential" lights for one hour at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday. We decided to spend part of our Friday afternoon bugging county officials about this feel-good event, because our past research shows it typically costs governme ... More >>

Hot Links: Smoking Bans, Marijuana Tax, and SRP Vandalism

​In the next month, student groups at all four ASU campuses will vote on a proposed smoking ban. The ban would prohibit smoking anywhere on campus, and university administration says it is likely to accept the votes. If the ban passes, ASU would join about 381 colleges in the U.S. that prohibit sm ... More >>

Hot Links: Cremation, Fish on Feet, and Ranch Market Blaze

​Some counties in Arizona have turned to cremating the indigent. Citing budget woes, lack of space, and the high cost of burials, Yavapai, Navajo, and Yuma counties have begun cremating the indigent rather than burying them in paupers' graves. Indigents are still buried in Maricopa County, but off ... More >>

From Brewer to Arpaio, No One's Listening to the Experts About How to Save Money or Protect Civil Rights and Public Safety When It Comes to Juvenile Corrections

Andrew Thomas Caused a "Cancer" on Our Justice System with His "Appearance of Impropriety" in Cases Against Supervisors and a Judge

Experimental Phase

PVCC goes off the deep end

Maricopa County No. 2 in the Country When it Comes to Job Losses, According to Latest Statistics

www.bp.com​In the most recent blow to Maricopa County's reputation throughout the country, the latest jobs report is out and it aint pretty for the Valley.Among the county's other embarrassing, um, problems -- law enforcement and prosecutorial, mainly -- Maricopa County is now the number two count ... More >>

Wipe Out

Dirt biking returns to Maricopa County

Arpaio's Office's Latest Crack at Reality Television: Police Women of Maricopa County Coming in February on TLC

www.icanhascheezburger.com​The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, though it's a taxpayer-funded law enforcement agency and not a network studio, is no stranger to flaky reality television, and its latest venture into the world of docu-drama promises to be as tacky as they come.Starting next m ... More >>

Maricopa County's Chihuahua Infestation Has Been Contained; Shelters Out of Adoptable Chihuahuas

​The infestation of chihuahuas at animal shelters across Maricopa County has been contained.Shelter officials say that because of an "overwhelming response and generosity of the community" all of the adoptable chihuahuas have been scooped up -- and just in time for the holidays.