The press packet makes it sound exciting. Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, it says. That’s the name of the Washington, D.C.-based organization that’s in Phoenix to discuss initiatives aimed at preventing kids from becoming criminals. “Arizona could cut crime–perhaps by half or more–by cutting the enemy’s most important supply line:…
In 1953, eating out was simpler than it is today. Remember the icy sweetness of a tall Root Beer Float or a super thick chocolate shake on a lazy summer day? Remember the juicy goodness of a grilled patty melt sittin’ next to a big mound of fries . …
Where do racist white gangs allow black people to be members? In Arizona, according to a news release by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. At least that’s what the Reverend Oscar Tillman, president of the Arizona NAACP, was saying at the news conference he called last…
Perhaps this is what’s meant by “cultural diversity.” There are guys with tattoos, guys with guns, guys dressed as Klingons. There are women, too, but they belong mainly to the tattoo group. It’s June 6, and there are three conventions at the Civic Plaza in downtown Phoenix, and they don’t…
The woman I’m talking to is white, middle-class, in her early 30s. She’s telling me about a recent vacation she took, a camping trip. During it, she met a guy, liked him, and slept with him that same night. Neither of them had any condoms, but they went ahead and…
Students of human suffering will enjoy this. If you’ve explored the psychological chasms of Edgar Allan Poe and journeyed to the end of the night with Celine, then you’re probably ready for the experiences contained herein. I, dear reader, have suffered a pain too awful to recount, too terrible to…
It was an ordinary day in Scottsdale, business as usual. Nothing unusual happened. Real estate appreciated. The sun shone. A black guy was viewed with suspicion and got hassled by the cops. Nothing unusual. You could believe it hadn’t happened, if not for all the people who saw it. One…
On November 12 last year, it became official: Arizona is not safe for children. In a report released that day by the state auditor general, the Department of Economic Security is found to be failing the abused or neglected children it’s supposed to protect. The report, “A Performance Audit of…
She looks as though she’s going to a prom. Elegant, well-groomed, hair shining in the morning sunlight. The guy she’s with is understandably proud of her, and the spectators are impressed. She’s the hottest little sheep I’ve ever seen. No, this isn’t a sex show for rednecks. It’s the livestock…
Lloyd Vacovsky used to deal in alcohol-based fuel. Now he deals with alcohol-based people. His name isn’t well-known, and probably never will be. But he’s as important a figure as any of the movers and shakers who appear in the local papers every day. Vacovsky’s job is to help the…
The nature of this column demands that I begin by explaining my reason for writing it. I have written before about abuses of power by police and courts, and now I’m going to write about it again. But in this case the victim was me, and I want to state…
The girl is 12, but looks older. She wasn’t born here, but she’s American. She sounds like an American. She left Nigeria when she was an infant, and has no memories of the place. She attends school in Phoenix. Xaviera Makinde has a long, thin body, large eyes and a…
Seamus McCaffrey is a man who loves sport. He loves it so much that he once moved to another country to see a soccer team. As you read this, the Phoenix publican and noted Irishman is in Glasgow, Scotland, watching that team–Celtic Football Club–play at Ibrox Park. It’s to be…
It’s in a labor union hall on a residential street in Tucson. The Plumbers and Steamfitters local. This cold and rainy Saturday night, no one here is plumbing or fitting steam. It’s the Arizona Democratic Party’s “Campaign-98 Kick-off,” and the hall it’s being held in could serve as a perfect…
It’s around 10:30 on a Monday night in Joe’s Grotto, a bar at 32nd Street and Thunderbird. It’s open-mike night, and the guy currently onstage is Christophe Leininger, former U.S. national judo champion, and Ultimate Fighting Challenge contestant. Leininger sits with an acoustic guitar on his lap, and finger-picks gently…
Ranchers are the welfare mothers of the Western economy. Everybody picks on them. They’re easy to pick on. Ranching is an anachronism. In Arizona, it’s not economically viable. Raising cattle here makes about as much sense as growing palm trees in Alaska. The Arizona Cattlemen’s Association is unable to say…
It’s beautiful, it really is. The weather is fine, and so is the irony. It’s Phoenix, a city whose explosion of uncontrolled development has been accompanied by an explosion of uncontrolled violence. All proceeds from today’s carnival are being donated to children of deceased police officers, people who died in…
What should you do if you’re a police officer and you’re called to the scene of an allegedly violent domestic dispute? The answer depends on where you work. If you’re with the Scottsdale Police Department, you’ll probably want to take the victim into her bedroom, rough her up, then subject…
The word “legend” is employed too often by journalists, but a search through a thesaurus yields no word that better describes Marcel Marceau. It’s unfortunate that the world’s greatest mime is the master of an art that’s become regarded as a joke, a favorite target of comedians and vacuous skits…
It’s the kind of setting that makes you want to be cynical. I’m trying my hardest, but it’s not working. Friday night, and the Scottsdale Center for the Arts is almost full of people who’ve come to see a bunch of Tibetan monks perform sacred music and dance. Consider that…
Last month was the 25th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, and the war over women’s right to abortion is no nearer to being over than it was in 1973. The discourse has been pretty static, barely moving on over 25 years. It’s an ideological war in which I walk through…
This is what Jose Jesus Ceja did to Linda and Randy Leon. I wasn’t there. On June 30, 1974, 18-year-old Ceja went to the Leons’ home, planning to steal 70 pounds of pot. He didn’t think they’d be at home. When he got there, he found Linda, 22, alone. They…
