Local lawyer Mark Goldman’s alleged actions in the investigation of Maricopa County Supervisor Don Stapley have become evidence against former County Attorney Andrew Thomas and Thomas’ political go-to girl, Lisa Aubuchon. Goldman also helped Aubuchon fight her State Bar complaint. Now bad-boyfriend and state senator Scott Bundgaard is counting on…
We just saw some of the video footage trickling in from the epic disaster that hit Japan last night. Unbelievable. Gut-wrenching. Scary as hell. Nice to be safe here in the deep desert. Just called a friend who lives near Half Moon Bay — he says they’ve reported an eight-inch…
Pinal County Assessor Paul Larkin had a .11 blood alcohol level the night he was arrested on suspicion of DUI last month. The elected official was arrested February 7 following a tip to a Pinal County Web site that he often hits a bar after work and drives home “inebriated,”…
About 50 demonstrators from the Carpenters Union chanted and marched on the corner of University Drive and Mill Avenue in Tempe today — but don’t ask why. A man with an orange safety vest who claimed to be one of the leaders of today’s demonstration says he doesn’t talk to…
Two weeks before the start of spring break and despite good weather, the beaches and resorts in Rocky Point, Mexico, are deserted. Reservations for the annual sojourn are reported to be minimal — resort staff and tourism officials expect another slow year. American tourists are sparse throughout town, from Cholla…
Traveling to and around Mexico can be a fun experience, but you should use your head if you’re planning on going there for spring break. It’s not as simple as driving to Lake Havasu or San Diego, and — as we detail in this week’s feature article on Rocky Point…
Image: Arizona DPS Arizona Department of Public Safety Director Robert Halliday has won a lawsuit filed against him by a former officer who once dated his daughter. Robert Halliday, director of the Arizona Department of Public Safety, has won a federal lawsuit filed against him by a former DPS officer…
Arizona’s new medical-marijuana law protects qualified patients from discrimination by their employers, a progressive feature that sets it apart from similar laws in other states. A legislative bill we told you about last month aims to dilute that protection, however, and it has solid support among state lawmakers. The Patient Discrimination Act, is…
Illegal immigrants about to step over the line back into Mexico are increasingly pulled back for a short time so they can be arrested and tagged by U.S. authorities. “We don’t wave them through anymore,” Brian Levin, an Arizona spokesman for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, tells New Times…
Arizona State Senator Scott Bundgaard apologized to his fellow lawmakers today for any trouble his public fight with his girlfriend might have caused them. But if police are correct that Bundgaard cried “immunity” after police showed up at the scene, he probably should also apologize to Arizonans for abusing a…
Serial stabber Jeff Hausner’s hope for leaving prison early has just been thwarted by the state Court of Appeals. This morning, the court upheld the conviction of Hausner on attempted murder and aggravated assault charges for a 2006 stabbing he committed with serial shooters Dale Hausner (his brother) and Samuel Dieteman. Among Jeff Hausner’s…
Your south Phoenix kindergartener speaks perfect English? That’s her classroom over there — the one with the tired-looking teacher and so many kids that you can’t see the carpet. According to an article by the Cronkite News Service’s Jolie McCullough, published today in the East Valley Tribune, English speakers are being screwed out of a decent…
Cartel members aren’t really turning Pinal County into something more like Afghanistan, despite what Sheriff Paul Babeu wrote in a letter last week to the mayors of several Arizona border cities.Ironically, the sheriff had written in response to the mayors’ urging that he stop putting out inflammatory, inaccurate statements about…
Welcome to “West Sixth.” The Centerpoint Towers in Tempe have been sold, and construction on the unfinished project will resume “immediately” in order to have occupants living there by August. Zaremba Group, which came close to buying the towers and five-acre property, closed the $30 million deal today, confirms Mark…
While chatting with Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu today about border issues, we asked about his months-long investigation into allegations by Maricopa County deputy chief Frank Munnell. As Valley Fever reported on February 3, the report had been completed and was expected to be released no later than today. The situation…
Dealing with the ruling royalty in far-flung parts of the globe could have possible benefits for Arizona, but these non-democracies can be brutal, as Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon is finding out this week. Gordon inked a five-year deal with Bahraini government officials on Monday aimed at developing stronger economic ties. The same Bahraini government,…
A Loop 101 collision in December that killed a Glendale mom and her 6-year-old son “appeared to be a suicide,” according to one witness. The witness statement and other clues that support the idea of a suicide appear in a state Department of Public Safety report reviewed today by New Times. The report details…
In a creative yet another case of people making illicit Build-A-Bears, a former Arizona resident has been arrested in Iowa for mailing teddy bears filled with pot. At least one was mailed from Tempe, authorities say. Douglas Duane Hoffman, 53, was arrested on Monday and slapped with marijuana distribution charges…
A state lawmaker wants to scratch out the anti-discrimination clause in Arizona’s medical marijuana law and give immunity to employers who fire qualified patients. The callous bill by State Representative Kimberly Yee, R-Phoenix, also seeks to ban people from using medical weed “in a condominium or planned community common area that…
A billboard truck that began rolling across the country today advertises the estimated number of gun-related homicides since the January 8 massacre in Tucson. It’s the latest gun-control propaganda tactic by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, an East-Coast group spearheaded by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas Manino. The number on the truck,…
Most Arizona residents prefer larger cultivation facilities for medical pot and residency requirements for dispensary owners, says a poll commissioned by the folks who brought you Prop 203.Joe Yuhas of the Arizona Medical Marijuana Association spoke of the poll results today at the medical marijuana rules hearing in Tempe, and…
This is Part Two of our live-blogging from the Department of Health Services medical marijuana hearing in Tempe. Click here for Part One. This is sort of like posting raw video — if you see something useful or interesting here, great. Without further ado, on to the comments:…
