On Friday evening, a group of self-proclaimed “patriots” will demonstrate outside of the Islamic Community Center in north Phoenix to “protect [their] Constitutional rights to freedom of speech.” According to the event’s Facebook page, the rally “is in response to the recent attack in Texas where 2 armed terrorist, with ties…
Oral Arguments will begin this afternoon over a motion to dismiss Rodriguez v Swartz, a widely publicized lawsuit concerning the shooting of 16-year-old Mexican national Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez by U.S. Border Patrol agents on October 10, 2012. In question is whether, and under what circumstances, U.S. Constitutional protections and laws…
“This guy is dying. He might be — this guy is dying!” the woman screams into the phone. Her voice is panicked. Her breaths are raspy. “Is he breathing?” the 911 emergency dispatch operator asks. “I don’t think so.” “Bring the phone over to the patient — bring the phone…
The first weekend of downtown Phoenix’s new overnight accommodations for the hundreds of men and women who would normally sleep in the East Lot parking lot was a success. On Friday evening, two buildings on the Human Services Campus, the Lodestar Day Resource Center and St. Vincent de Paul opened…
The City of Phoenix and police Officer Mark Rine are getting sued in federal court for the death of Rumain Brisbon, a 34-year-old unarmed black man who was fatally shot by Rine on December 2, 2014. The plaintiffs include Mykel Chambers, mother of one of Brisbon’s three daughters and the…
Thomas Michael Murphy, a Phoenix resident and U.S. Army veteran, took his own in the parking lot outside the VA Phoenix Regional Benefit Office. Murphy, 53, e-mailed a suicide note to his siblings and New Times at 7:34 p.m. Sunday and shot himself a few minutes later. The same note…
The Federal Aviation Administration recently announced its intention to study the impact airplane noise has on communities around the country. You might think this would be cause for celebration in Phoenix because hundreds of households are suffering from noise associated with the flight paths changes made last year at Sky…
The Arizona Chapter of the Sierra Club released its 21st annual Environmental Report Card for the state Legislature and governor, concluding that the two are “moving Arizona backwards, one bill at a time.” The club gave all but one Republican legislator an F, and Governor Doug Ducey a D. At…
A coalition of environmental groups is joining the Havasupai Tribe in appealing a U.S. District Court decision last month that Energy Fuels Inc. can resume uranium mining at Canyon Mine in Northern Arizona. The groups had filed a preliminary injunction in March 2013 to stop the company from completing construction…
After months of Phoenix and Maricopa County officials promising that the East Lot will remain open indefinitely, the asphalt parking lot that’s served as a de facto overflow shelter for up to 400 men and women in downtown Phoenix is officially closing. “The East Lot’s last night of providing low…
Phoenix City Manager Ed Zuercher has sent a strongly worded letter to the FAA, admonishing the agency for falsely characterizing its intent to work with the city and correct the noise problems associated with last year’s flight-path changes at Sky Harbor Airport. “I regret to say that the FAA has…
“Arizona [Governor Doug Ducey] may hate the environment, but that doesn’t mean YOU have to!” That’s the message behind the reusable Doug DoucheBAG campaign. Conceived by Stacey Champion of Rogue Green — a Valley-based environmental group — and designed by one her friends, these canvas bags were a big “F…
When it comes to the environment, we don’t often get a lot of good news in Arizona. But in honor of Earth Day, here’s one victory to celebrate: Governor Doug Ducey vetoed two important “land-grab” bills. Earlier this month, the Arizona Legislature gleefully passed a series of bills that demanded…
Phoenix is once again throwing its support behind the pre-September 18 departure flight paths out of Sky Harbor Airport. The decision comes after the city Aviation Department modeled multiple alternatives, calculated the noise impact each would have, and proved that the original paths are in fact the least disruptive options…
Phoenix just got one step closer to suing the FAA over last year’s flight-path changes at Sky Harbor Airport. Mayor Greg Stanton said the city could file as lawsuit as early as May 1. “I have always said throughout this process that we would reserve litigation as a last resort…
It’s official: the final portion of $2.5 million requested by a small group of dedicated city/county officials, along with the Valley of the Sun United Way, to fund rapid re-housing vouchers for 250 homeless men and women received unanimous approval Tuesday by the Maricopa County Industrial Development Authority. The group…
A Department of Public Safety officer who taught other cops to spot substance-impaired drivers resigned several months after he was arrested for a drunken rampage in Tennessee — where he was attending a national conference on highway safety. Timothy Merrill was arrested on April 29, 2014 for assault, vandalism, and…
A U.S. District Judge has ruled that the uranium mining company, Energy Fuels Inc., can resume operations at Canyon Mine in Northern Arizona. The decision comes after environmental groups and the Havasupai tribe filed a lawsuit in March 2013 to stop the company from completing construction of the mine and…
Governor Doug Ducey has until the end of April 15 to decide the fate of four important bills. Though each is different in its specific intention and scope, when taken together, they depict a Legislature determined to control — and often make money off — every parcel of federal land…
Against a backdrop of purple and orange-banded clouds, a line of people slowly entered the Men’s Overflow Shelter on Madison Street in downtown Phoenix for the last time. The area was eerily quiet for that time of day. No one shouted, no fights broke out in the street — even…
Late Monday afternoon, Governor Doug Ducey vetoed state Senate Bill 1445, which would have prevented Arizona police departments from revealing the names of officers involved in violent incidents for 60 days. After successfully passing through the state Legislature last week, the bill was transferred to the Governor’s Office, and action…
The trial for Jessica Burlew, a 17-year-old autistic and schizophrenic teen charged with second-degree murder, was slated to begin this week but has been pushed back to July 8. Burlew’s case made headlines last year after she was arrested for strangling a 43-year-old man, Jason Ash, during what she says…
