Following a brief decline in ridership, people boarded the Valley’s light-rail trains more than a million times in April.Metro Light Rail doesn’t know precisely how many folks get on its trains, but estimates that last month saw 1,044, 135 boardings. That works out to a daily ridership of 34,805 –…
The Ford Shelby GT Mustang that helped cause the arrest of the Arizona Republican Party director Brett Mecum was made for people who love a good thrill.Though the DPS news release on Mecum’s alleged April 10 speed-camera violation states his car is a GT 500, the body style — judging…
A federal judge is scheduled to hear arguments by the state Attorney General’s office this morning as to why the Tucson Citizen should stay closed, says one of the newspaper’s would-be buyers. Stephen Hadland, CEO of the Santa Monica Media Group, publisher of the Culver City Observer, sent the following…
The judge was just playin’.Amazing at it sounds, Maricopa County Criminal Presiding Judge Gary Donahoe told the East Valley Tribune that his e-mailed threats to release jail inmates early should not be taken seriously by the Sheriff’s Office. “I guess maybe it was frustration and maybe trying to get their…
Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard filed a special action in federal court today to block Gannett Inc. and Lee Enterprises from stopping publication of the Tucson Citizen.An Associated Press article on azcentral.com tonight says Goddard filed the motion for a restraining order just before the court closed. The two companies,…
After being embarrassed for not giving Barack Obama an honorary degree, Arizona State University expanded a financial aid program that gives qualifying students a full ride for four years. Now you don’t even have to be “poor” to qualify. As we’ve previously covered, it’s not like ASU is paying…
A candidate for the job of San Francisco police chief has dropped out of the competition following reports by the news media that Mesa’s police chief applied for the job. The development has San Franciscio’s Police Commission president fretting that more leaks could hamper the city’s ability to find the…
Legendary supermodel Cindy Crawford will be at Banner Desert Medical Center in Mesa next week to help celebrate a $10 million donation to a children’s hospital. The donation was made by local real estate company CEO Wil Cardon, and will help support the Banner Children’s Hospital at the medical center, 1400…
The Tucson Citizen is reporting today that it will publish its last print edition tomorrow. The newspaper, nearly 139 years old, is being closed by its parent company, Gannett, which has suffered severe drops in stock prices. The paper had been scheduled to close in March, but Gannett left it…
Maricopa County Superior Court Presiding Judge Barbara Mundell accuses Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s office of spying on her, a claim the MCSO says is “ludicrous.” In an exclusive interview Mundell gave to Channel 12 (KPNX-TV), the judge says workers at her home have noticed marked sheriff’s vehicles driving by, and…
Julie Amparano knows something about creative writing. The former Arizona Republic writer was fired in 1999 after her bosses accused her of inventing people to quote in her columns. Now her byline’s back — this time on a play featured Sunday at the Arizona Women’s Theater’s Pandora Festival this Sunday…
Earl Simmons, better known as Rapper DMX, left the Maricopa County Jail after serving 90 days on theft and animal cruelty charges. He could be back soon. While in jail, DMX allegedly assaulted a guard, resulting in another criminal charge. Though the sentence on those charges has been fulfilled,…
There’s a lot of baloney riding on their tires.Michelin North America is being forced to cough up $375,000 — of which Arizona gets $22,500 — because of ads that claimed its tires were fuel-efficient. The company was sued by 17 state attorney generals, including Terry Goddard…
Here’s something to keep your brain hopping for a few minutes:The Phoenix Zoo wants you to guess how many tadpoles will hatch out of an egg mass it received last week as part of a conservation effort. Winners get a cute plush toy and other prizes.Though perhaps not the intention,…
Following a court order, the Tempe City Council will discuss at its meeting tonight what to do next with a the case of a tattoo parlor that had its business license revoked after neighbors complained it might make the area seem seedy.The Tempe City Attorney’s office confirmed the court decision…
Usually, when cops talk to Rodney Hapney, 42, it’s because they’re arresting the transient for trespassing or some other minor, though troublesome, offense. Police went looking for Hapney yesterday for a different reason — to thank him.Hapney, who lives occasionally in a homeless shelter at 35th Avenue and Buckeye, recently…
Politicians waste millions of your tax dollars pumping up their own names for illegitimate purposes, says a new report by the Goldwater Institute.The author of Shameless Self-Promotion, How Politicians Use Your Money to Get Re-Elected, is Shawnna Bolick, wife of the Goldwater’s director of litigation, Clint Bolick. (The institute does…
President Barack Obama deftly turned an embarrassment for Arizona State University into a theme for his commencement speech on Wednesday, urging students to never stop “adding to your body of work.” The reference was to a statement made by ASU spokeswoman Sharon Keeler when asked why the university was not…
We heard from Maricopa County Sheriff’s Deputy Chief Paul Chagolla following our post this afternoon about his office’s request of public records from the county: He takes issue with our quip about him wanting the media to rally behind its request.”I wasn’t looking for anybody’s support,” Chagolla says of his…
An Arizona prosecutor considered a “pioneer of asset forfeiture” will brief U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner today about efforts to target smugglers of illegal immigrants.Cameron “Kip” Holmes, a longtime prosecutor with the state Attorney General’s office, was recently profiled on a Web site for the Association for Certified Asset Forfeiture…
Paul Chagolla a champion of Arizona’s public records law? Please! Chagolla was a former top flak for Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and we had to laugh after reading his comments following an opinion column by the Arizona Republic. The column suggests Arpaio should “scale back” his large records request…
Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCiccio says fellow Councilman Mike Nowakowski committed an “illegal act” by suggesting to a city official that the police chief be fired.Nowakowski has responded by calling DiCiccio a “liar.”The Arizona Republic’s Scott Wong covers the city soap opera today in an article that suggests Nowakowski could…
