“Pork” fighters Jon Kyl, John McCain and Jeff Flake don’t bring home the bacon for Arizona, and they aren’t very successful at bumping other senators or congressmen from the trough, either. Flake, a Republican, just lost a battle to stop $250,000 in an appropriations bill from going to a planned…
Speaking of light rail, Tempe police plan a one-day crackdown on motorists who play games with light-rail trains. On Wednesday, July 29, cops will be swarming near light-rail crossings, busting drivers who fail to stop for red lights, make “hazardous u-turns in front of the trains,” stop on…
The Arizona Disability Advocacy Coalition, which has numerous Valley organizations as members, is giving Metro Light Rail and Valley metro an award for helping the disabled. Valley Metro runs the Valley’s buses and oversees the light rail system. The public transportation agencies were chosen for the group’s American Disabilities Act…
The Securities and Exchange Commission is breaking new ground by trying to force the former CEO of a corrupt company to pay back $4.1 million in bonuses — even though he had nothing to do with the corruption. Maynard Jenkins, 66, who lives in Scottsdale and also has an address in Sedona, collected the…
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office is conducting some kind of operation in the east Valley today, though exactly what it is we’re not sure. A source we trust called us this morning to say Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s forces were engaged in another immigration/crime sweep in Chandler this morning…
We’re still waiting for info from the Peoria Police Department on this one, but the Arizona Republic has a story on it already: A 27-year-old woman has been arrested for killing her boyfriend’s 3-year-old niece. This is yet another truly heinous case of child abuse, whoever did it: The…
Image: www.americanpie.ugo.com While searching for real news this morning, it was impossible to miss the front-page story in the Arizona Republic about dating “cougars.” You know, older women, MILFs — Mrs. Robinson, Stifler’s Mom. The funny, feline-flavored fluff article by reporter Megan Finnerty is based on an upcoming “event’ at a Scottsdale resort called MEOW: Men…
Scorpions: 2 Sky Harbor travelers: 0 Last week, a local guy got stung on a plane from Phoenix to Indianapolis. Yesterday, a New Jersey man was stung in the neck as he waited in line at Terminal 2’s security checkpoint. Just a coincidence, says Alisa Smith, spokeswoman for Phoenix Sky…
Four boys ages 9, 10, 13 and 14 lured an 8-year-old neighbor into a shed at a Phoenix apartment complex, then sexually assaulted her, police say. The crime happened last Thursday evening, and police were called to the scene after reports of a young girl running out of the shed,…
Image: Wikimedia Commons Computer hackers inadvertently came to the rescue of ESPN sportscasting hottie Erin Andrews, scaring off would-be voyeurs from downloading a peeping Tom’s video because of a threat of computer viruses. Confession: We found this out on the Internet while searching for the video. Not that we ever would have downloaded…
The Arizona Game and Fish Department is offering a free, two-hour workshop next week on how to “find, stalk, call, judge, and harvest” black bears in Arizona. The class is designed for hunters, but you can always just skip the “harvest” part if you spot one of these amazing mammals in…
A former schoolteacher from Tolleson walked out of a Buckeye prison a free man on Tuesday following a successful appeal of his conviction in a shooting he says was in self defense. The West Valley View describes how Harold Fish, 62, (at right) plans to go camping and fishing, and that…
Federal handouts come with long, twisted regulatory strings attached. Now, thanks to a series of new Arizona State University classes, stimulus-grabbing businesses can prepare for the bureaucratic onslaught.The classes are being offered by a side-gig of the ASU’s Ira A. Fulton’s School of Engineering called the Alliance for Construction Excellence,…
New Times writer Paul Rubin’s detailed analysis earlier this month of the 2008 bust at Waterworld Safari (now Wet & Wild) demonstrates just how tough it’ll be to get a conviction against one of the company’s managers. To make this employer-sanctions case stick, prosecutors working for Maricopa County Attorney Andrew…
The Arizona Republic published a lengthy piece on Sunday about MACE, the Maricopa Anti-Corruption Effort, run by Dave Hendershott, Chief Deputy of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. One question we didn’t see raised or answered in the piece, though: How does Hendershott’s involvement with the SCA scandal affect his role…
Max Dunlap, who was convicted in 1993 of masterminding the 1976 fatal carbombing of Arizona Republic reporter Don Bolles, died in prison today at the age of 80. Dunlap, a jury concluded, ordered the attack on Bolles. Dunlap always asserted his innocence, and the Republic story linked above notes…
We asked for comment, we got comment — from the Sonoran Alliance blog, anyhow. Turns out Shane Wikfors (pictured), who runs the blog, considers church-mate Dan Saban a friend. Who knew? Wikfors slams the infamous attack ad on Saban as “disgusting.” And although the blog’s only unmasked cowboy (there’s also one unmasked cowgirl) doesn’t…
A cop who filed a complaint against Mesa Police Assistant Chief Mike Denney (pictured) last year apparently has a grudge to bear. Still, it’s hard to tell how deep the bad blood runs between Denney, named as a possible successor to departing George Gascon, and police Commander Fred Ruhland. When…
At his last news conference before heading out to lead the San Francisco Police Department, Mesa Police Chief George Gascon said today that “political pressures” made his time in Arizona more challenging. That’s sort of an understatement. In fact, the political realities in Maricopa County and Mesa may very well have spurred…
We don’t know about you, but we often get our best sleep in the dark hours just before dawn. We’re pretty sure you heard what was going on at about 4:30 this morning if you live in the central Valley area. Brilliant flashes of light. Startling cracks of thunder…
With the SCA scandal breaking wide open last week, we figured it was time to make another call to Bruce Ash, the Republican National Committeeman for Arizona. This time we got him on the phone, and as you’ll see, he helped clear up a couple of nagging questions we had…
Arizona Senator John McCain is getting credit from Merriam-Webster Inc. for the company’s inclusion of a new definition of “earmark” in the dictionary. The company recently added about 100 words to its dictionary, including “sock puppet,” “staycation,” and “zip line.” Arizona may have missed out on some of its own…
