You can get a glimpse of a real fox in downtown Tempe near Arizona State University — we’re not talking about the college girls, but rather the small, predatory canines. Urban coyotes have been getting all the attention in recent years, but it appears that at least some native…
A retired police chief from Montana racked up six perfect games of bowling during his league season in Sun City West. Greg Waldon, who retired last year from the Belgrade Police Department and bowls in a pro senior circuit, accomplished the feat in three different leagues between September and April at…
It was a close shave for two people shot and wounded last night in Mesa barber shop. Cops say a guy walked into Horacio Styles, 724 E. University, just after 9 p.m. — when the shop usually closes. He “exchanged words with employees and customers.” Then he pulled out a…
PBS Channel 8 (KAET-TV) is crying wolf over its financial situation, but it’s a real wolf. Make that a metaphorical real wolf. Whatever — they’ve got a cute, little drawing of it on an e-mail sent to potential donors and a Web page. Money problems plague the station because the public is donating less, what…
A Mesa father and engineer has pleaded guilty to charges of lying to the FBI about his involvement in a charity organization tied to Hamas. Between 1994 and 1997, Akram Musa Abdallah, 54, raised funds for the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, which the federal government accuses of…
The Department of Public Safety just announced why Brett Mecum, the 30-year-old executive director of the Arizona Republican Party, was arrested this morning at party headquarters: Mecum, the glum-faced guy in the picture, was caught by a freeway speed camera on April 10 doing 109 mph in his sports car,…
Arizona State University’s Barack Obama scholars program, which is named after the President because ASU had to do something after denying Obama an honorary degree, is one generous spending package.The university just ramped up the qualifying family income ceiling to $60,000 for students awarded the Obama ride. The ceiling had…
Talk about a party foul. The executive director of the Arizona Republican Party, Brett Mecum, was arrested today at party headquarters in Phoenix.Later info from an Arizona Republic blog is that Mecum was taken down for speeding, possibly because of a photo-enforcement violation. New Times’ rumor patrol has heard the…
The computing capabilities of law enforcement upgraded today with the “completion” of AZLink, an Internet-based system of sharing federal and local data about criminals and illegal immigrants. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Phoenix says the program: …allows connected partners to share investigative, booking, incarceration, weapon, drug, warrant, immigration status, and…
You probably noticed it was getting warm outside, and so have officials with the City of Phoenix. According to a lengthy news release and online guide to surviving the annual heat wave, municipal workers are training senior citizens and passing out water to the homeless. They also want you to…
The Business Journal of Phoenix shed a “handful” of employees this week after its parent company, American City Business Journals, announced a nationwide hiring freeze and salary cuts. That sounds gentler than the gouging that’s been going on at the East Valley Tribune and Arizona Republic, but the local Biz…
A topless photo of Miss California published yesterday (that’s part of it, at the right) on the locally run gossip blog, “The Dirty,” could be the tipping point for pageant officials who are considering taking away her crown. The officials are also ticked Carrie Prejean has been shilling for Jesus…
The state Department of Health Services released a slew of news releases this evening about swine flu. Here are the highlights:*Maricopa County — Eleven new cases, bringing the total to 20. One hundred more suspected swine flu samples have been sent to the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control for…
Phoenix police announced the arrest Tuesday of a person suspected of shining a laser beam at airplanes flying into Sky Harbor International Airport, as well as a police helicopter.Common sense suggests this kind of crime could cause a full-blown catastrophe, though we’re not aware of any case in which an…
Does this count as bad PR, or good? John Paul Mitchell, a Republican candidate for governor, shares a Flickr photo account with his female roommate, and — according to him — she uploaded a picture of herself posing topless. A political consultant found the picture and published it along with…
Bling out your car with a Phoenix Sun license plate and you’ll be helping the basketball team’s charity organization.Arizona law requires that $17 of the $25 fee paid by people who buy specialty plates must go to charities. Other specialty plates in Arizona include: the Arizona Diamondbacks, child abuse prevention,…
The Arizona Theatre Company is asking potential customers to buy tickets online or from its Tucson box office after a fire at state Attorney General Terry Goddard’s house knocked out phone lines.Jennifer Spencer, spokeswoman for the company, writes in a comment on our post about the cause of the fire…
The early-morning fire at Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard’s downtown Phoenix home was caused by a refrigerator in his detached garage or an outlet the fridge was plugged into, fire officials tell New Times.Neighbors reportedly saw 40-foot flames at the structure. The garage is used as a workshop and “storage…
Sure, we realize you can catch a Mexican soap opera anytime just by turning on the TV. But if you want to watch something a bit more artful, check out the “Golden Mexican Film Review” this Saturday at the Burton Barr Library. The Phoenix library, in conjunction with the Consulate…
We just received word from the Saudi Arabian embassy following our inquiries about the all-male mayors junket of U.S. Mayors in which Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon taking part.Interestingly, we hadn’t e-mailed the embassy (though perhaps, in hindsight, we should have). Rather, our e-mail to the U.S. Conference of Mayors was referred…
A 39-year-old Douglas man was arrested after being stopped on Interstate 10 near Benson while hauling a half-ton of pot. The Department of Public Safety says “Manny,” a narcotics detection dog, found the bundles of buds in a false compartment in the trailer.Authorities have been seeing a general increase in…
Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon and nine other mayors will travel to Saudi Arabia this month on a junket paid for by the Saudi government, Arizona Republic reporter Scott Wong reports this morning. When we looked at the list of mayors Wong published, though, something struck as odd: They were all…
