It seems there’s a good reason for why Maricopa County Andrew Thomas won’t return County Supervisor Max Wilson’s phone call: Wilson’s attorney ordered him not to. As we reported yesterday, Wilson wrote to Thomas yesterday that he was surprised greatly to read an explanation by Barnett Lotstein, one of Thomas’ special assistants, for…
A local naturopathic doctor, taking advice from Rahm “Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste” Emanuel, announced today she’ll give swine flu patients a 10 percent discount.In an e-mail to news media around the Valley, including New Times, Heather Wdowin of Ambrosia Medical in Scottsdale writes that she’s “offering…
Like a king-sized overdraft protection program, Treasury Warrant Notes helped cover Arizona’s daily living expenses for 12 days starting April 15. But now the state is “back in black,” reports state treasurer Dean Martin.Martin announced today that the state had spent about $38,000 in interest for the notes, used to…
Health officials closed a Phoenix elementary school today following a confirmed case of swine flu, but experts say they’re not “overly worried” because United States illnesses have been mild.A child from Moon Mountain Elementary School in Northwest Phoenix showed flu symptoms before news of the virus broke, and tests later…
The latest Internet news on the swine flu:* The first case in Arizona has been confirmed, and three other cases are suspected. None of the victims were “gravely ill or hospitalized,” health officials say.* The state schools chief says schools reporting a case of swine flu should close the campus…
An employee at Dick’s Cabaret, an all-male strip club in Phoenix, accidentally shot another worker dead while he was unloading a handgun, police say.At about 7:30 p.m. last night, Gordon Bryan, 32, had been working on a camera fixture when the bullet flew toward him — just a random, tragic,…
Jill Johnson found writing her latest press release “hard, awkward, proud yet healing.”The marketing director for the Wrigley Mansion in Phoenix was trying to help the business advertise a May 8 fundraiser for the 100 Club, an organization to help the families of fallen police officers. But it’s impossible to…
“Alien in possession of a firearm” sounds a tad like science-fiction poetry, but it’s also the title of a federal statute – and one that’s putting a Mexican national behind bars for about five years. While gun ownership is an Arizonan’s birthright, (the state constitution goes well beyond the Second…
Most Arizona voters hate the idea of cutting education to help balance the state’s budget, says a new poll by KAET-TV and the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism. Sixty-nine percent of respondents answered “education” to the question, “The one area in which I think cuts should NOT be made in is…” The second runner-up was public…
Another day, another diss. The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors can’t seem to communicate with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. In a letter to County Attorney Andrew Thomas (see below), Max Wilson, the chairman of the board, repeats his earlier offer to have Thomas call him to discuss mediation of…
Souring relations between Phoenix Police Chief Jack Harris (pictured at right) and members of the department’s union were the source of a squabble at a City Council committee meeting today. As KTAR news (92.3 FM) reports, union president Mark Spencer and other union members wanted to tell a council sub-committee…
Jarrett Maupin II pleaded guilty today to a felony count of making a false statement to a federal law enforcement agent. Prosecutors are recommending probation for the former candidate for Phoenix mayor; his sentencing is scheduled for late July. U.S. District Court Judge David Campbell has the final word on…
A story today in the Arizona Republic touts the fact that the paper’s Sunday circulation rose a tiny .2 percent, but leaves out a significant drop in daily circulation: Sunday circulation for The Arizona Republic increased slightly for the most recent six-month period, helping the newspaper join the ranks of…
A Glendale man will serve more than four years in a federal prison for his role scamming investors in Valley medical facilities, while one of his associates from Surprise will serve a year and a half. The scheme also involved several other men, two of whom are scheduled to be…
Teachers who excel among their peers ought to be rewarded with high pay, says a new report by the Goldwater Institute.The paper sets the tone by kicking off with a quote from New York Times columnist Bob Herbert. After praising “diligent” teachers, Herbert notes:But there are many, many others who…
The swine flu situation in Arizona hasn’t changed much since yesterday’s post, except for a stockpiling of antiviral medications.Officials are telling Tucson media that Arizona still hasn’t reported any cases, and neither has the Mexican state that borders us, Sonora. Nobody’s been detained at the international border. Governor Jan Brewer…
The Maricopa Community College District Governing Board seems to have backed down on plans to research how to take control of student newspapers. The board, which oversees the county’s popular community colleges, makes no mention of the newspaper issue on the agenda for this evening’s meeting. Julie Knapp, director of…
Stating cheesily that, “Wolverine wouldn’t stand for bootlegged copies of his new movie and neither do we,” Maricopa County Andrew Thomas announced several recent digital piracy prosecutions involving the upcoming movie. That’s actually the funniest damned thing we’ve ever read from Thomas, who’s usually all prim and proper. He must…
A swarm of bees attacked a New River family barbecue Sunday evening, possibly stinging one man hundreds of times. Fifteen people and a dog were stung repeatedly — the guy stung the most went to the hospital. The dog “took the brunt of it,” according to the Daisy Mountain Fire…
Pumpkinville was a small town in the desert, misnamed for local buffalo gourds that grew in the area. Then a local Englishman, drunk on “red-eye whiskey,” invented a new name that better described the community being built on top of long-abandoned Indian dwellings: Phoenix. The tale of P-town’s christening’s just one…
Channel 10 news (KSAZ-TV) aired a jailhouse interview last week with Chad Kerns, the tattooed white supremacist accused of stabbing a black man at a Walgreen’s store. Without ever getting too specific, Kerns says he was at the scene of the crime with other suspects but didn’t assault anyone. Kerns,…
State troopers last week caught up to a local ex-con wanted for alleged weapons violations who had eluded capture on April 13. Angel Valenzuela had vowed to shoot at anyone trying to take him back to prison, but it didn’t turn out that way. Detectives with the Arizona Department of Public Safety figured out…
