Morning Poll: Who Won Last Night’s Gubernatorial Debate?

Arizona has had more than its fair share of bad characters in the governor’s chair for too many years. Ev Mecham: Impeached. Fife Symington: Convicted. Jane Hull: Alt Fuels. Napolitano: Credit Card’s Maxed Out — Time to Quit. Now we’ve got these bozos to choose from…

Patrick Chorpenning, Former Arizona Veterans Services Director, Pleads Guilty to Corruption-Related Charges; Must Pay Back $451,351

Patrick Chorpenning, the former director of the Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services, pleaded guilty today to two corruption-related felony charges. He’ll be sentenced on October 6 by Judge Susan Brnovich, but prosecutors have already agreed to a sentence that includes only probation. However, Chorpenning also agrees to pay back $451,351…

Mormon-Owned Deseret News in Utah Lays Off Nearly Half Its Staff

Utah’s oldest newspaper, the Mormon-owned Deseret News, is laying off nearly half of its staff in a major restructuring based on financial problems. Jay Evensen, the News’ editorial page editor, writes in a blog post today that the cuts are due to a loss of advertising dollars. The paper was bleeding out money despite holding steady…

Homeowner Association Won’t Budge in Laveen Flap Over Gadsden Flag

If you don’t like rules, you shouldn’t have moved in. That’s the message, roughly speaking, from a Laveen homeowner’s association in regards to its ban on the historical, “Don’t Tread on Me” Gadsden flag. Following our article yesterday about Andy McDonel, the non-Tea-Party member who likes flying the snake, we received an open…

Gadsden Flag Shouldn’t be Banned by Laveen HOA, Says ACLU

A Laveen homeowner’s association is wrong to prohibit the historic Gadsden flag from flying in front of a home, an ACLU representative says. “We believe that (HOAs) don’t have the power to hijack people’s free speech rights,” says Alessandra Soler Meetze, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Arizona…

Uncounted Vote Total Rises to 133,000 in State; Counting to Begin Again on Thursday

  About 12,000 provisional ballots were amassed today at the Maricopa County Elections department, officials say, bringing the total number of uncounted votes in Tuesday’s primary to at least 133,000. The provisional ballots are from voters who didn’t have proper identification at the polls, recently moved or had some other minor technical…

Sherman Unkefer’s $7.5 Million Restitution in 1988 Criminal Case Waiting on Court Decision; XanGo Juice Star Once Convicted of Fraud

Days before North American Coin and Currency collapsed in 1982, Robert Bartemus received a check for about $8,000 for the silver he had stored with the precious-metals company. The check bounced. “I was just devastated at the time,” says Bartemus, an 85-year-old Florida resident. Amazing it sounds, Bartemus might just see that $8,000 again…