Swine Flu Causes US Airways and American to Relax Ticket-Change Policies

US Airways announced today it will relax ticketing policies for passengers scheduled this week to fly to, from, or through a slew of cities in Mexico. The Wall Street Journal reports this morning that American Airlines is making a similar move. The Phoenix-based airline’s Web site says passengers scheduled for…

One-Thousandth Illegal Immigrant Prosecuted Under State’s Human Smuggling Law

  Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas touted his 1,000th conviction for an illegal immigrant under the state’s three-year-old human-smuggling law. The number was reached only because Thomas has prosecuted nearly 900 illegal immigrants for conspiring to smuggle themselves into the country. Lawmakers who wrote Arizona’s human-smuggling law intended it only…

Thomas Files Motion With Court to Order County Leaders Into Mediation

We thought Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas was acting like his teeth had been pulled out in recent letters to the Board of Supervisors suggesting mediation on an intra-county lawsuit. Turns out he’s not totally belly-up. After suggesting to county leaders that the best way to resolve their dispute was through…

FBI Seeks Prolific Robbers of Grocery-Store Banks

  The FBI released photos of a “crew” of robbers who’ve hit 13 Valley banks in recent weeks, 11 of which were at Safeway grocery stores. The crew has become far more prolific lately — nine of the 13 have been since March 30. So far, the robberies have been…

Tire Change Saves City of Phoenix $275,000; Employee Honored for Idea

Governments often choose the lowest bidder for products and services to save precious taxpayer funds. But as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. Tom Crider of the City of Phoenix’s Public Works division didn’t like the way the city’s low-bid tire was performing on municipal vehicles, so he decided…

Napolitano: “The Future is We Have Borders”

Espresso Pundit picked up on a goodie yesterday — an article about Janet Napolitano entitled “The border for dummies,” by the editorial board of the Canadian newspaper, National Post. The article repeats an embarrassing CBC radio moment for Arizona’s former governor, now Homeland Security Secretary, after she repeated a disproven rumor that some of the…

Teachers to Use Video Games to Help Kids Learn How to Avoid Internet Traps

Dozens of teachers will spend this morning playing video games tomorrow as part of a state conference on Internet safety.Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard has partnered with Web Wise Kids, a non-profit education group and the Entertainment Software Association for a program that uses specially designed games that make it…

Backhoe-Driving Thieves Excavate Mesa Walgreens, Rob ATM Cashbox

This is the modern version of digging for treasure:   Someone used a backhoe early this morning to claw through a Mesa Walgreen’s and drag out the store’s ATM. The machine then made quick work of the ATM, smashing it apart until the cashbox was freed. A news release by…

Speed Camera Killer: First Degree Murder Charge From County Attorney

Thomas Destories, the man accused of killing a photo radar van operator, is being charged with first-degree murder. “This victim was doing his job when he became the victim of a murder that the State alleges was premeditated,” Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas stated in a news release following an…

Grand Canyon Builder Loses Big in Government Fraud Case

The owner of a California construction company that worked on cabins and campgrounds at the Grand Canyon and Lake Mead must pay a hefty $2.3 million fine after losing a fraud case, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Phoenix announced today. Ernest Robert McFarland, Jr., 68, conned the government out of…