An hour-long hearing at the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco signals a mixed bag for both supporters and opponents of Arizona’s harsh anti-illegal-immigrant law. A story in the Washington Post claims that “deep skepticism” by one judge about the Obama Adminstration’s challenge to the law makes it “uncertain” that the…
Eager entrepreneurs who want to get moving on their marijuana dispensary business have been denied corporate status by the Arizona Corporation Commission. Rebecca Wilder, spokeswoman for the commission, tells New Times that at least three would-be dispensary companies have recently been sent form letters informing them they’re just too early. Selling marijuana to qualified medical patients…
A Peoria father of three boys who creamed a bicyclist in 2008 while drugged up on Soma was sentenced last week to seven years in prison. Aaron Chubick pleaded guilty in September to manslaughter and hit-and-run in the collision that killed Richard Markarian, a retired lab tech for General Electric…
Can it still be called a recession if Arizonans are dropping wads of cash into tribal casinos? The state’s still chock-full of empty storefronts and foreclosed homes, but state officials report the first increase in tribal gaming revenue since 2007. After 10 consecutive quarters of negative numbers, the amount of…
What some see as the last remaining obstacle for State Bar action against former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas and former Deputy County Attorney Lisa Aubuchon has come down. John Gleason, a Colorado lawyer assigned to probe allegations of prosecutorial abuse by Thomas and Aubuchon, has been working on the case…
Another week — another failure to close the sale of the high-rise Centerpoint Towers in Tempe. The deal, which was announced to great fanfare and media attention in early September, was expected to close no later than October 15. That didn’t happen, as we reported last week. As of this…
Nationally recognized mediator Kenneth Feinberg won’t handle the politically delicate claims by Maricopa County officials against the county after all. Feinberg tells us this morning that the plan to have him mediate the claims “never got beyond the discussion phase. We never finalized anything.” Nor was he paid anything, he added. In…
A fictional sheriff whose policies bear an uncanny resemblance to those of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio was featured as a child rapist/murderer last week on CBS’ Medium show. At least one Arpaio-lovin’ blogger blew a gasket over the depiction, which comes a few weeks after news that a racist character in the movie Machete…
Bill Montgomery hasn’t been elected Maricopa County Attorney yet, but he’s already formed a transition team and has been meeting with elected officials. Can’t say we blame him, since there isn’t a snowball’s chance in Phoenix that he’ll lose November 2’s general election to Libertarian Michael Kielsky. Montgomery won the Republican primary election…
Perhaps it was seeing Justin Draper’s 1-year-old boy scream for his daddy in the courtroom. Or that four years have gone by. Or maybe even that “angels were in the room.” Whatever it was, something changed in Jane Draycott’s heart on Friday during Draper’s sentencing hearing. And it happened right in the middle…
The $30 million sale of the Centerpoint Towers in Tempe was supposed to close on Friday, but has been delayed. Kent Chantung, a vice president of Zaremba Group, the Ohio company purchasing the beleaguered property at 6th Street and Maple says the inability to finish the deal last week isn’t…
Of the all the cockamamie things we’ve heard Lisa Aubuchon did while at the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, this has to be the weirdest. And yet, it seems so — Lisa. Five years ago, the story goes, while building the case against the disgraced, defrocked priest, Dale Fushek, Aubuchon wanted to use…
We’re still waiting on public records to shed more light on the disturbing news that backed-up toilet water dripped from the ceilings as surgeries took place at the Phoenix VA hospital. (See our original piece from last week, reported nowhere else, in which officials at the hospital admitted to the…
Medical marijuana has the most support of any ballot proposition for the November 2 election, a new survey of likely voters shows. Fifty-four percent of registered voters, and 52 percent of likely voters, would vote “yes” on Proposition 203, says the latest Rocky Mountain Poll. If you’re thinking, “There’s no way it…
Arizona’s not really “Rethinking Open Range Laws,” despite a New York Times article published on Monday with that headline.The article by Marc Lacey offers only one source to back up that headline, Democratic State Representative Daniel Patterson of Tucson, who Lacey says has introduced a bill “pushing for an end…
An apology for offending people with a political smear isn’t the same as apologizing for the smear, but that’s the best anyone’s getting out Chuck Coughlin, Governor Jan Brewer’s campaign advisor. Following his random, gay-baiting smear against Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry Goddard yesterday, Coughlin posted the smarmy “I’m sorry” message on his…
A chain of small costume jewelry stores found in Valley malls is being sued by fashion giant Chanel, Inc., over alleged counterfeit items. The lawsuit, filed last week in the U.S. District Court of Arizona, states that Tinkerbell stores are stealing Chanel’s trademark and earning rights by selling the fake goods…
We cornered Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox after a news conference last month at El Portal, the downtown Phoenix restaurant owned by her and her husband, Earl. “When are you going to clean this place up?” we asked snottily. El Portal, located at 117 West Grant Street, may serve tasty…
Jan Brewer’s campaign fought back hard today against rumors that the Arizona governor’s health is in question — by questioning the sexuality of her opponent. Brewer issued a strong statement today denying rumors that she might be too ill to serve a four-year term. Former New Times reporter John Dougherty repeated the rumor on…
Dennis Wilenchik’s ties to his former employee, failed political candidate and former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, has brought him lots of dough. But in raking in his taxpayer-assisted fortune, he’s more than earned his reputation as a shady lawyer. We remember him well as the disgraced special prosecutor whose…
Eight congressmen and congresswomen from the Bundestag, Germany’s parliament, will be in Arizona this week as part of a delegation to study immigration and security issues. The delegation will be traveling to the U.S.-Mexico border, naturally, but will also meet on Thursday evening in Phoenix with business leaders, government officials…
Backed-up toilet water on the fifth floor of the Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center in Phoenix dripped into rooms where surgery was occurring this summer — twice.The dirty secret was revealed in an anonymous letter we received yesterday that outlined less-than-admirable conditions at the hospital complex, which is located…
