Richard Taylor, Owner of Arizona Trailer Manufacturing, Convicted and Fined for Hiring 10 Undocumented Workers

A Buckeye trailer manufacturing firm and its owner were ordered by a federal judge to pay $30,000 in fines and received two years’ probation for hiring undocumented workers. Richard Taylor and his company, Arizona Trailer Manufacturing, was convicted in U.S. District Court and sentenced on Wednesday. Dennis Burke, Arizona U.S. Attorney and Matt Allen, special agent in…

Morning Poll: Should Amazon.Com and Other Online Retailers Pay Sales Tax?

Online bookselling giant Amazon.com has three distribution facilities in Phoenix and is planning a fourth. Despite the massive movement of sold books through Arizona, Amazon — like most other online retailers — neither collects from its customers nor pays, according to the state, any state sales tax.That’s one of the…

Amazon.com Plans for Fourth Facility Touted by Governor Brewer, State Revenue Department Says Company Cheats Tax Laws

Governor Jan Brewer today celebrates the arrival of Amazon.com’s fourth major facility in Arizona today, yet the state’s revenue department calls the company a tax cheat.Brewer and the online bookseller’s representatives are touting the estimated 3,000 jobs created by the company’s other three Phoenix locations, including a 1.2 million square-foot…

Gilbert Town Offices Switch to Monday-Thursday Hours Next Week

A Gilbert town official recently sent us an e-mail with a “signature” at the bottom that read: “Beginning July 11, 2011, Gilbert will offer extended customer service hours for most Town services, of 7 a.m. – 6 p.m. Monday – Thursday…” In government-speak, though, “extended” hours also means a lot…

Drought Eases in Arizona; Phoenix Area Now “Moderate”

After the storm like the one the Valley had last night and all the wildfires, you’d think Arizona was one giant dust bowl.You’d be wrong.Despite “exceptional,” bone-dry conditions in the southeastern part of the state, the latest U.S. Drought Monitor Web site shows that some parts of western Arizona are…

Scottsdale Police Retirees Sue City Over Medical Leave Pay Foul-Up

Ten retired Scottsdale police officers are suing in federal court over tens of thousands in medical-leave pay they claim to have been shorted.The employees include: former Scottsdale police public information officer Sam Bailey; Bill Zeller (who once made the news for arresting a Scottsdale high school student because he disobeyed…

Epic Dust Storm Sweeps Through Valley

[jump] Visibility as low as 50 feet. Muddy rain. Powdery stuff on teeth, in lungs. Blacked-out neighborhoods — until you got close enough to see that the lights really were on.Tonight’s dust storm was dustier than the typical Arizona haboob, with fine particles just hanging in the air even during…

Three Maricopa County Employees Heading to Mediation on Monday for Possible Settlement of Multi-Million-Dollar Claims Vs. Sheriff Arpaio and Andrew Thomas

Three Maricopa County employees are heading to mediation talks on Monday with the possibility of settlements in their multi-million-dollar claims against Sheriff Joe Arpaio and former County Attorney Andrew Thomas.This will be the first round of what are sure to be other mediation talks — and potentially quick and lucrative…