Mesa officials are considering allowing off-track betting on horse races at Phoenix track Turf Paradise. Mesa Mayor Scott Smith says it would bring in more tax money, but expressed concerns about other problems wagering might bring. Several sports bars in Phoenix, Chandler, Tempe, and Scottsdale currently offer off-track betting…The Chandler…
Robert Halliday, the newly-appointed director of the Department of Public Safety, criticized the photo enforcement cameras on Arizona streets and highways, saying the system needs to be restructured or scrapped altogether. Halliday says he’d rather see more officers on the highways instead of the cameras, and a restructuring would mean…
Nick Mathison leans over the glass display cases at Trader’s Smoke Shop in Peoria and spreads a pile of flaky green herbs across the counter. “I smoked some of this one night when I was watching a movie,” he says, tucking tufts of his red hair under a black baseball…
Three women who worked at a massage parlor in Yuma have been arrested for allegedly running a prostitution ring out of the business. Won Shil Shim, Muae Park, and Hyun Joo Song, all Korean citizens, were charged after an ongoing investigation into the Somerton parlor. Shim was released on more…
Sometimes, jokes go too far — especially when they’re sarcastic letters distributed by a school principal about the ineptitude of students that land in the hands of pissed-off parents.Ron Sterr, principal of Litchfield Elementary School, was trying to be funny when he sent a parody “field-trip-permission” letter to teachers last…
The Fiesta Bowl canceled its plan to ask the state for a $300,000 subsidy after the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority said it would be illegal. The Fiesta Bowl wanted expenses capped for next year’s national championship college football game, with some expenses reverting to the sports authority. But the…
When it comes to Cappuccino, there’s really only one thing that matters: froth, and lots of it. Toast, a tiny, locally-owned coffee shop recently opened in the old Drip building on Seventh Street, knows this, and their cappuccino froth is so huge it’s either divine or ludicrous, depending on who…
A Phoenix woman is facing jail time after trying to help a cat. ILeen Kay Barner has been in a dispute with a neighbor in the 2100 block of west Union Hills Drive, and had been served with a court order to stay away from the neighbor’s property. But when…
A veteran Gilbert police officer was shot and killed last night during a traffic stop. According to police, Lieutenant Eric Shuhandler was pursuing suspects during a high-speed chase with other officers along the U.S.-60. Police fired several shots at the vehicle, and the suspects returned fire. Shuhandler was reportedly hit…
Two workers at the Raytheon Missile Systems plant in Tucson were treated and released from a local hospital after exposure to hazardous chemicals. A Raytheon spokesman says workers were handling chemical waste just before noon yesterday when they saw smoke. The fire department responded, but there was no fire. The…
“Who are you? What are you guys doing here?” The blonde poking her head out of the motel bathroom door looks genuinely startled. It’s almost midnight on a Tuesday, and five people just entered the room. One of them — a burly bald guy in a black suit — is…
Phoenix police are investigating a home invasion where men dressed in police-type gear and forced their way into a West Valley home. Five to six bad guys reportedly wore black clothes and body armor and were armed with handguns and rifles. No one was harmed in the incident, but the suspects…
Two teenage girls made history at a border checkpoint in Yuma, but it’s hardly a record that will make their families swell with pride. The two unnamed girls, ages 18 and 19, were arrested by border patrol agents for attempting to smuggle 47 pounds of meth into Arizona — the…
Phoenix police officers continue to work, despite imminent layoffs. This week, Phoenix will eliminate some officers’ jobs, in an attempt to balance the city’s $245-million deficit. Phoenix PD already cut about seven percent of its positions last year…The Gilbert Unified School District is considering cutting students’ elementary music time. Under…
The last time I visited Lola Coffee, it was the location on Central Avenue, and I gulped down a quadruple-shot espresso that kept me buzzing throughout the day. I always enjoyed the quaint, social atmosphere of the coffee shop, but since it was a bit of a drive for me,…
A main broke on Sunday and flooded several central Phoenix businesses and homes with thousands of gallons of water. The owner of one of the damaged buildings, Phoenix Rising Now photography studio, says the water filled his basement from floor to ceiling. Crews were working on repairing the water-main Sunday…
Energy drinks come in all kinds of flavors, but we’ve got to admit, the Molotov line of energy drinks contains some of the most eclectic: tamarind, mango, and pineapple — the latter two combined with Tapatio hot sauce and lemon.We were unsure how a fruity, carbonated drink would taste with…
An ASU student has been awarded a 2010 Martin Luther King Servant-Leadership Award. Dominck Hernandez is a senior business major from ASU’s Polytechnic campus, and he was recognized for founding student groups for sustainability and leadership and success, as well as his activism in protesting the university’s budget cuts…Chad Biggs,…
An ASU student lost a leg in the recent Haiti earthquake. Graduate student Christa Brelsford was volunteering to teach literacy in Haiti when the quake hit. She is currently recovering at the University of Miami Jackson Memorial Hospital and says she’s thankful to be alive…Higley Unified School District Supervisor Denise…
Police are warning residents of Phoenix and Scottsdale about a carjacking suspect still on the loose. The carjacker struck twice last night — at 10 p.m. in an Albertson’s parking lot in Scottsdale, he demanded a woman’s car and was fought off before jumping into a green 1998 Chevy Trailblazer, which…
Former Phoenix police Officer Carl Ramirez, fired after testing positive for steroids in November, is appealing his termination. Ramirez tested with one-tenth of a nanogram over the allowed limit of nandrolone, a popular steroid among athletes. Experts say nandrolone naturally occurs in the body…Powell Junior High School in Mesa will close…
A teacher in Fort Mohave faces five counts of aggravated assault on a child, after allegations that he touched female students’ backs in class. The fifth-grade teacher, 70 year-old William Temple, is not accused of touching the students’ genitals or chest…Mesa police arrested Andrew Richardson, 22, after catching him walking out…
