Tom Horne, the state Attorney General, inherited the SCA case from his predecessor, Terry Goddard. The case is all about the dirty politics played by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office and the state Republican Party. Briefly, it involves a secret slush fund of money solicited from fat-cats around the country…
More humor from the secret recording of a command staff meeting at the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office made on July 27, 2009 by Frank Munnell: Joe Arpaio is grousing over a quip made by longtime Valley reporter Howie Fischer on a PBS Horizon roundtable that Arpaio was “bulletproof” and would be re-elected unless he was…
Boy, is this SCA report paying off! We’re still trying to read it all and put it in context. But we keep getting stuck in the rich detail. The chuckle factor on this one is too high to wait for context: All that ignominious sucking up former Maricopa County Andrew Thomas did to the Sheriff’s Office,…
We’ve only just begun looking through a large report on the state Attorney General’s SCA investigation, and already we’re finding interesting stuff. But it’s hundreds of pages long and, honestly, we don’t have time to sift through it and cobble the highlights for you tonight. So, rather than sit on…
Glendale eighth-graders who were the subjects of a controversial letter written by a substitute teacher were not “perfectly behaved” in the sub’s class, a school district official admits. But after interviewing the students, district officials don’t believe the class expressed any sort of anti-American sentiment, says Jim Cummings, spokesman for the Glendale…
The Arizona Court of Appeals has agreed that Maricopa County Supervisor Don Stapley did not violate any financial disclosure law, ending a tainted criminal case against him. The ruling today is another major blow to former County Attorney Andrew Thomas, who could be disbarred in an upcoming discipline hearing related to his…
A Kingman-area man fell off a 150-foot cliff near his home and was stranded for four days in rainy, cold weather before being found. Merideth Isom, 66, was walking on his property about 10 miles north of Kingman, intending to give treats to his dog, when he fell off…
An exit report given to the Glendale Elementary School District by substitute teacher Tony Hill backs up — in part, anyway — a letter he wrote that criticized his students’ behavior. Hill’s letter created quite a stir since it was sent to State Senator Russell Pearce a couple of weeks ago…
Arizona’s conservative, anti-immigrant politics help make it a “failed state,” says the Boston Review in a lengthy article published today. The piece makes plenty of good points, but gets watered down by writer Tom Barry’s overly simplistic solution. If Arizona simply raised taxes, elected liberal leaders, embraced the federal government as…
Arizona apparently deserves its reputatation as a mecca for low-paying jobs, ranking 40th in an economic analysis among states for per-capita income. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reports, according to the Biz Journal this morning, that the average income for state residents if $34,999 — “well below the national average of $40,584.”…
Put to rest any skepticism you still harbor that the Centerpoint towers (now called West Sixth) will remain unfinished despite a recently closed sale. Okay, we were one of the skeptics — but only because we drive by the project (now called West Sixth) nearly every day and hadn’t seen much…
Of the six dirtiest eateries on Maricopa County’s latest restaurant-inspection list, three have the word “super” in their names. Call it a not-so-delicious irony. At the very bottom of the list of 1,086 food joints is the restaurant of La Mexicana Super Carniceria at 5045 West Thomas Road in Phoenix, where…
A former altar boy who now lives in Arizona has filed a lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, claiming church leaders ignored complaints of a pervert priest. It’s the fourth lawsuit against the archdiocese since a grand jury report came out last month that sparked the indictment of three priests. “John Doe” alleges…
The Arizona Department of Education is paying more than $170,000 to a Texas company that will research whether Tucson’s Raza Studies program violates a new state law. A bit of a brouhaha caused the lead researcher contracted with the company, Steve Gallon, to step aside due to revelations of a past…
The Valley’s big dietary supplement chain, Hi-Health, faced a dilemma this week: The experts say people shouldn’t take potassium iodide out of fear of radiation from Japan, but demand for the stuff has been huge. So, after thinking about, company officials decided to restock its shelves with large quantities of…
The Hi-Health clerk shakes his head at our request for potassium iodide. “We’re all out,” he says, confirming what we’d already learned from news reports of the last couple of days. “But the plume’s coming!” we plead. He laughs at our smarminess, then mentions that stores will be resupplied…
Members of the Carpenters Local 1506 finally let us know why they were demonstrating last week on a prominent Tempe street corner. A statement signed by Alan Cahill, the union’s special representative, and faxed to New Times says that 1506 “is involved in a long standing labor dispute with Adobe Drywall,…
Radiation from Japan shouldn’t be your worry — but maybe the sources of radiation here in Arizona should. Health stores have reportedly seen a run on potassium iodide in the last couple of days. But experts including Aubrey Godwin, director of the Arizona Radiation Regulatory Agency, say Arizonans wouldn’t need the…
A news release this morning from state Attorney General Tom Horne states that his office released a video of Raza studies supporters this morning. That statement’s not correct. And that’s just the first weird aspect of many surrounding this story. If you’ll follow the link to the video in the…
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer won’t let a lawsuit deter her from proclaiming another state Day of Prayer, says her spokesman. As we mentioned in a previous blog post today, local freethinkers — including two lawyers working pro-bono — want a federal judge to stop Brewer from calling Arizonans to prayer…
A group of Valley freethinkers want Arizona Governor Jan Brewer to stop calling on Arizona residents to pray about the budget or anything else. Two attorneys and several area residents, all members of the national Freedom From Religion Foundation, filed a lawsuit in federal court this week in hopes of ending proclamations for state prayer…
The Homolovi Ruins State Park near Winslow should change its name to better reflect its ongoing connection to native peoples, say members of the Hopi tribe. The tribe is petitioning the state to drop the word “ruins” from the name. But the part of brain that’s stagnated since junior high…
