Personal Finance

Republic Monetary Exchange Putting Some Precious Metals Buyers at Risk, Says IRA Document Preparer

Republic Monetary Exchange, a precious metals firm founded by two ex-cons that's the subject of a New Times' feature article this week, is putting some customers at risk, says a Phoenix document preparer. Tim Schubert of Blue Diamond Documents says he's helped people prepare Individual Retirement A ... More >>

Two Ex-Cons Fight for Stakes in a Gold-for-Cash Business

Gilbert's Romeo Taus Versus Mesa's John Wong at Next Monday's Chef Off (Kind of Like Shark Week, But the Food's Better)

In a pot boiling battle of top-notch fare and culinary prowess (and maybe a bit of playing the dozens), would your money be on chef Romeo Taus of Romeo's Euro Cafe in Gilbert with his Mediterranean-inspired flavors, or the eclectic Asian stylings of chef John Wong of the restaurant Asia in Mesa? At ... More >>

Education Only a Con Man (or Congressman) Could Love

While We're Up's Steven Rouk and Trever McCoy Discharged From Hospital; Memorial Services Set for Zach Booher

See also: Zach Booher of Pop-Punk Band While We're Up Killed in Car Accident Steven Rouk of Tempe acoustic pop-punk outfit While We're Up, and Trevor McCoy have been released from the Luther Hospital in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, following the fatal accident that claimed the life of Mesa-native Zach Bo ... More >>

Arizona Congressmen Repeat "Lie of the Year" About "Obamacare," and Vernon Parker's Set to Run It on TV

The thought that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act -- also known as "Obamacare" -- is a "government takeover" of health care has been repeated over, and over, and over again since the spring of 2009.That thought earned the label of "Lie of the Year" by PolitiFact, a fact-checking outlet ... More >>

Hospital Association "Optimistic" as Hardline Stances Emerge on Obamacare Ruling

Governor Jan Brewer said Thursday's Supreme Court decision on health care will lead to the "erosion of individual liberty." Congressman Ben Quayle said "[Thursday's] decision was a disaster for the American people and the American healthcare system." Beyond the expected trigger-happy partisan rhet ... More >>

Jan Brewer Investigated by Feds Over Criminally Insane Son's Social Security Benefits

Governor Jan Brewer​Federal authorities spent more than a year investigating Governor Jan Brewer's role in collecting Social Security benefits intended for her mentally ill son, Ronald, who currently is in a state hospital after being found not guilty by reason of insanity in 1990 on kidnapping an ... More >>

Trend Setters

J.D. Hayworth Blames Arizona's Medicaid Shortfall on Illegal Immigrants

J.D. Hayworth's rumored to be considering another Senate run. Let the brown-bashing commence.​Former TV pitchman J.D. Hayworth thinks the reason Arizona's medicaid program is in such bad financial shape is because it covers people who are in the country illegally. The only problem with that is Ari ... More >>

Ralphie May-Day

Big comedian brings largelaughs to Tempe

Game

Fraud Alerts Don't Hurt Credit Score, NY Times Reports; LifeLock's Critics Made Claim in Lawsuit

Does setting a fraud alert on your credit file every three months hurt your credit score? Critics of a Tempe-based identity-theft "protection" company, LifeLock, claimed in lawsuits that it does -- a fact that we noted in this month's feature story about the truth-challenged firm. But a blog po ... More >>

LifeLock CEO Todd Davis Tries to Spin Story on Frequent Identity Thefts; No Explanation for Why Davis Hid Thefts From Customers

LifeLock has finally responded to our feature article this week about the Tempe-based company, and the revelation that its CEO, Todd Davis, has had his identity stolen at least 13 times. We offered Davis and LifeLock the chance to come clean about Davis' problems with identity theft before we publi ... More >>

Cracking LifeLock: Even After a $12 Million Penalty for Deceptive Advertising, the Tempe Company Can't Be Honest About Its Identity-Theft-Protection Service

Texas Invasion Tour

This Just In: The AZ Economy Really, Really Sucks

​We didn't exactly need a think tank to tell us how bad things have gotten here in Arizona, but what the heck -- if one wants to quantify our state's woe, who are we not immerse ourselves in the sad details?This week's bad news comes from this month's Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government' ... More >>

American Casino

If John Shadegg Wants People to Take Him Seriously, He Should Give Drug Companies Their Money Back

"Obama-care" Has New Opponent: Mesa-Based "No Insurance Club"

www.roflrozzi.com​In case you've been living on Mars for the last several months, the nation is in the midst of an intense debate over healthcare. Sick of it yet (no pun intended)? Well, a Mesa man claims to have the solution: Don't bother getting health insurance at all.Chad Harris, chief e ... More >>

SCA Contributions Technically Not "Payroll Deductions," County Says

We're not saying Captain Joel Fox is wrong about everything. Turns out he's right on the issue of whether the SCA contributions were, in fact, "payroll deductions." Although the reports filed by Fox say "payroll deductions," Fox says in comments to this blog that they were actually nothing more t ... More >>

Obama Scholarship Program at ASU Really a Financial Aid Program; Draws From Federal Grants and Scholarship Programs

  The "scholarship program" at Arizona State University to be named after President Barack Obama really isn't a "scholarship" at all. The nod to criticism of the school's denial of an honorary degree for Obama turns out to be a financial aid program called "ASU Advantage" that pools&n ... More >>

Obama Says Plan Will Shore Up Foreclosures, Create Incentives in Housing Market

President Barack Obama told a cheering crowd at Dobson High School in Mesa that the $787 billion stimulus act he signed into law yesterday will create jobs and restore the housing market to stability.Though the speech was loaded with vague rhetoric, Obama focused on a few of the details he said ... More >>

New Year's Financial Resolutions a Good Idea for State Residents and Government, Says Treasurer

State Treasurer Dean Martin just put out a helpful list of New Year's resolutions that anyone could use to keep their finances in check -- especially state lawmakers. State budget watchdogs like Martin and others have been sounding the alarm, but outgoing Governor Janet Napolitano and a fiscal ... More >>

AIG Now Claims 90 Percent of Local Conference Costs to be Paid by "Sponsors;" NFL Star Speech Canceled

Ban on Same-Sex Marriage Wins; Other Propositions Don't Fare as Well

Two Deceptive Proposition Campaigns to Watch Out For

A legal battle with Wal-Mart over injury benefits broke this elderly store greeter’s spirit

Nine tips to take your strip club experience to the next level

Consumer Alert from reporter Ray Stern: LifeLock being sued by credit agency Experian (w/UPDATE).

Brother's Keeper

Phoenix boxing great Michael Carbajal says his big brother and manager, Danny, stole every penny he had

Money for Nothing

Don't fall victim to the identity-theft protection scam

What Happened in Vegas...

Clients nationwide are entrusting private financial information to a Tempe anti-identity-theft firm that’s based on a bluff

Loan Sharks

The governor's chosen loan authority is determined to keep its monopoly

Bonds. Big Bonds.

It's officially a nonprofit, but the company Governor Napolitano picked to handle millions in student loans is making big bucks for one of its original founders

Manet, You Corrupt Biddy...

Bonds. Big Bonds.

It's officially a nonprofit, but the company Governor Napolitano picked to handle millions in student loans is making big bucks for one of its original founders

Campus Strife

A free-speech battle at ASU centers on enormous posters of aborted fetuses

Where Eagles Dare Benefit Show

Help them stay posi

In God We Trust

Big banks and desperate debtors have made an East Valley ministry millions

Burned

Aging Rural/Metro firefighters can't afford to retire

Straits of Magellan

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

Auto Lock-up

Face Lift

Bankruptcy officials say People's Paralegal owner is up to his old tricks with a new partner

Fife's Myth

Symington's tax cuts had little or nothing to do with Arizona's economic boom, which isn't as robust as it's made out to be

Bob Hartle's Identity Crisis

A con man stole his good name and good credit; the law wouldn't help him get it back

Class Reaction

Legal aid to farmworkers and Indians slashed as Congress seeks end to mass lawsuits

THE GRIM RED LINE

MINORITIES ARE REFUSED MORTGAGES. BANKS WON'T LEND IN LOW-INCOME NEIGHBORHOODS. IT'S CALLED REDLINING, AND IT'S STILL THRIVING IN PHOENIX.

RESOLUTION TRUST CORPSE

THEIR INCOME WAS FIXED, THE BANK'S PROMISE WAS BROKEN, THE RTC WAS RUTHLESS

Charge It To Bad Luck

What happened when Karen Law bumped into Karen Law? Financial disaster.