Highway Robbery? Toll Roads Coming to Arizona

  There are few things in life more wilting than a blast of 115-degree air, like the one we get when we open the car window in mid-July. Now, thanks to Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, Phoenicians will get to experience that little joy far more frequently.   Monday, as part of…

Social Security Administration Defends Lavish Arizona Biltmore Blunder

    How about just saying “oops?” The Social Security Administration today defended its decision to hold a “training conference” at the lavish Arizona Biltmore last week that cost taxpayers roughly $750,000. Mark Lassiter, spokesman for the SSA, tells Federal Times.com that the three-day retreat was just your average training…

Brewer on Brew: Microbreweries Can Now Make Twice as Much Beer!

  Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has enacted a temporary solution to the economic crisis in the state: Try and make everyone forget it exists via — beer. On Monday, Brewer signed a bill that allows Arizona microbreweries to brew twice as much beer as they are currently permitted. At the…

Bill Signed by Governor Jan Brewer to Allow Guns in Arizona Bars

  So you’re sitting at a bar in Scottsdale when two testosterone-driven, Jagermeister-and-vodka filled 20-somethings start arguing over a girl, or bump into each other (the odds are good in a crowded bar) and you think, “What’s missing?” The answer, if you ask Governor Jan Brewer, is handguns. On Monday, the governor…

Horse Tripping to be Outlawed by Governor Brewer

Its practice is even dumber than its name. “Horse tripping,” a “sport” where “cowboys” track and literally trip a running horse, is expected to be outlawed by Governor Jan Brewer today. “Few horses survive, and it usually results in broken legs, internal damage, and death,” Phoenix Councilwoman Thelda Williams tells the Arizona…

AZ Governor Jan Brewer Signs Booze-Friendly Bills Into Law

With a few strokes of a pen, it became official: On a 115-degree day, partygoers in Arizona parks can exchange a refreshing cold beer for a steaming plastic cup of merlot. Governor Jan Brewer Friday signed House Bill 2441, which clarifies crucial language in a statute that affects office party-planning committees across the…

FALCON Rounds Up 600 Arizona Criminals, but Where Are They Now?

Everyone can rest easier now, right?   The U.S. Marshals Service, in collaboration with various law-enforcement agencies, including the Maricopa County Sherriff’s Department, took more than 600 criminals off the streets in Arizona during June. Or did they? In reality, Federal and Local Cops Organized Nationally (FALCON), a month-long effort by…

GOP Infighting Could Be Just What Governor Brewer Ordered

State Senate President Bob Burns ousted two of his Republican colleagues from their leadership postions Wednesday, after the pair attempted to sabotage a bipartisan budget agreement the Legislature reached Monday. Senators Thayer Verschoor and Pamela Gorman got the boot from Burns after they voted against him in the rules committee,…

Nightmare Nurse Faces Maricopa County Charges Including Attempted Murder

A nightmare nurse who allegedly stabbed and beat an elderly couple he was hired to care for will be charged with attempted second-degree murder, aggravated assault, and armed robbery, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office says. In late June, Benny Peralta allegedly attacked the elderly couple in the midst of their…

AZ Governor Jan Brewer Signs Bills to Restore Education Funding

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed four bills today to restore much of the roughly $600 million cut from education programs in the Legislature’s initial budget proposal, which she vetoed. Monday, after an exhaustive special session, the Legislature passed a new budget to appease the irritated executive, and re-include her pricey passion projects…

Stephen Colbert to Give ASU Commencement?

The class of 2009 had Obama, but Arizona State University’s class of 2010 is recruiting the leader of a different sort of nation to deliver their commencement address: The Colbert Nation. More than 3,000 ASU students have joined a group on Facebook with the goal of landing Stephen Colbert and…

How Many Legislators Does it Take to Change a Budget?

How many Arizona legislators does it take to change a budget? All of them; as long as they’re locked in a room together, not getting paid, and not allowed to go home until they do it. The Arizona State Legislature unanimously passed a budget package Monday that would restore funding…