One of the hottest topics in Arizona these days involves the case of Claude Maturana. He’s the man who was convicted of murder and sentenced to die, until state doctors declared him mentally incompetent. The doctors refused to medicate Maturana and make him mentally competent — just so he could…
On a sunny winter morning not long ago, Don Sorchych — editor and publisher of the weekly Sonoran News — doused his lox, eggs and onions with hot sauce and talked about how he came to live in Cave Creek. Hybrid wolves. He breeds them, crosses wolves with malamutes and…
Celia “CeCe” Margaret Doane is best known for her 1971 Miss Arizona title and the Rolls-Royce she drives around Paradise Valley, but the town’s police also know her for her frequent calls — sometimes to 911, often to Police Chief John Wintersteen on his cell phone or at home. When…
Most people who feel they’ve been wronged by the cops file a lawsuit or a complaint, or ignore the incident. Joe Soldwedel created a newspaper.The Tiempo-Times won’t roll off the presses ’til March, but it’s already making news in Yuma County — both for its news-gathering methods as well as…
Arizona Common Cause — the local affiliate of the national watchdog organization — quietly closed its doors December 1. The abrupt end to the longtime Arizona grassroots lobby raises questions about who really made the decision to close Arizona Common Cause, and, given its lack of effectiveness in recent years,…
Karl Whitmire takes in strays. Cats, usually, but sometimes a dog. Once in a while, even a person. Billy Lyster was a stray of sorts — cute and sweet but not too quick, Karl remembers. And young. That was 13 years ago. Karl was 35, Billy 21. A friend asked…
Lawyer Steve Silver has spent two decades in the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, but he’s better known in some Phoenix legal circles for his white chocolate chip cookies. Silver’s wife, U.S. District Court Judge Roz Silver, brings a batch of her husband’s baked goods each week to a regular meeting…
Jim Pederson has a dream. He wants to make the Arizona Legislature safe for democracy. That’s a lofty goal for a man who’s spent his career building shopping centers rather than political agendas. Then again, this is the guy who’s bringing the In-N-Out Burger to Arizona. Pederson is chairing the…
On August 2, the Arizona Republic reported that its new CEO had resigned her position as a member of the board that runs Harrah’s casinos, in preparation for her move to Arizona from Nevada. But more than five weeks later, Susan Clark-Johnson has yet to leave the board of directors…
In the quest to be noticed — and, ultimately, elected — some candidates hand out the strangest things. Two campaign seasons ago, the well-coifed and ultimately unsuccessful Steve Owens, a Democrat, handed out combs to potential constituents in the Sixth Congressional District. This year, CD1 GOP hopeful Tom Liddy is…
With less than a week to go before the primary, the hottest local story of this campaign season is one wholly created by the media. Last week, the East Valley Tribune ran an exclusive front-page, top-of-the-fold story reporting that one congressional candidate’s investigation into the personal finances of another candidate…
Usually it’s the special interest group that has trouble getting face time with the elected official. Not so when it comes to cats and dogs, according to Bill Lally, executive administrator to Maricopa County Supervisor Fulton Brock. Lally says he and his staff have spent the past six months trying…
If you’re waiting for a civil trial in Maricopa County Superior Court, you may not get to tell it to the judge any time soon. The courts’ new presiding judge, Colin Campbell, decreed July 26 that no civil trial will be held in Superior Court while a criminal trial is…
Last week, the nation’s largest newspaper chain took ownership of the Arizona Republic. The first day was quiet, the only news the appointment of Susan Clark-Johnson as CEO and president of Phoenix Newspapers Inc. The petite, salt-and-pepper pageboyed fiftysomething is considered a star within the Gannett chain, and the lead…
Last year, an alleged assassination attempt by gang members against state department of corrections chief Terry Stewart led to the creation of the DOC’s Protective Services Unit. Stewart was so concerned for his safety, according to documents released by the DOC, that he requested a “behavioral plan that would cover…
Jay Blanchard is exhausted. “Please excuse the bags under my eyes,” he says as he slaps a piece of lettuce on his lunch, tuna on whole wheat. Blanchard was up long before dawn on this late July morning, putting up signs for his legislative campaign. Most candidates would hire out…
After a decade in the Vaginal Vault — Dr. Brian Finkel’s nickname for his medical office — the Phoenix abortion provider is packing up his Elvis memorabilia and his stirrups, his stuffed antelope heads and his speculums, his fertility goddesses and his cases of birth control pills, and moving to…
In the wee hours of June 17, 1972, G. Gordon Liddy slipped into his bedroom and undressed quietly in the dark, hoping not to wake his wife, Frances. “Is that you?” Frances asked, as Liddy would recall years later in his autobiography, Will. “Yes.” “. . . Anything wrong?” “There…
Karla Elling wanted to show her appreciation to the nurses at Scottsdale Village Square who had treated her father with dignity during his final days, as he struggled with dementia. Most people would have sent a fruit basket. Elling sent poets. Elling — a spirited woman with hippie-long gray hair…
Like any good teacher, David Wadding wrote lesson plans, made up tests and offered seventh, eighth and ninth grade students one-on-one instruction in math and science at Dragonfleye Charter School in northwest Phoenix. Only problem, David Wadding was an eighth-grader at the school himself. Wadding says his incredible stint as…
A word of warning, my fellow Arizonans: The Legislature adjourned last month, which means it’s high season for fund raising. The next time a candidate comes begging for your hard-earned cash, don’t just ask what he or she plans to do, if elected. Ask what he or she plans to…
Last week, the Arizona Reform Party suffered a setback in its quest to qualify for November’s ballot when Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell refused to certify thousands of signatures turned in by the party. Purcell says the Reform Party’s petitions — which included scores of non-registered voters, duplicates and possible…
