In December, we told you about a New Times employee who received a photo enforcement citation from Scottsdale with rather suspicious phrasing choices. We took the court to task for implying our colleague would certainly have his license suspended if he ignored the ticket. This patriot chose not to waive…
The electric bill for the Metro light rail system is slightly different than yours, naturally. For one thing, it’s not just one bill — it’s about 125 separate bills. There are bills for each station, bills for the juice in the overhead lines that make the 90-foot-long, 50-ton rail cars…
If only there could be these kind of Watchmen around for every criminal:Mesa police say a bicyclist who saw a young girl being accosted Wednesday morning charged into the situation and shoved the suspected kidnapper to the ground.Police say a 15-year-old girl on her way to Mesa Junior High School,…
Police arrested three men today in connection with the slaying of an aspiring law student who was apparently the victim of mistaken identity in a home invasion.Bilal Russell, 24, was gunned down on January 14 after opening to the door of his home near 500 E. Euclid to three strangers,…
The founder of a Web site for finding and rating prostitutes has been fired from his own company following accusations by Phoenix police that he tried to have someone killed.David Elms was scheduled to appear before a judge at Maricopa County Superior Court for a hearing on various criminal charges…
Soaking your feet in a bucket of fish that want to nibble your dead skin is supposed to be relaxing. But the treatment — currently being performed at Cindy Vong’s LaVie Nails & Spa in Gilbert — has created tension with the bureaucrats at the state Board of Cosmetology. According…
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors agreed today to delay the taking of more than $24 million from special funds to help balance the county’s budget until a judge decides if the transfer is legal. The action was the first in a new lawsuit brought against the county by County Attorney…
The Government Accountability Office’s report on a program that gives local cops federal immigration powers tells Valley residents something they already knew: Some local law enforcement departments are using their 287(g) powers to bust illegal immigrants suspected of minor infractions instead of the major crimes the program was designed to…
The new, $29 million Polly Rosenbaum State Archives and History Building Reading Room that opened late last year has closed until further notice — another victim of state budget cuts. “I’m hoping something is going to happen so that we can re-open it,” says GladysAnn Wells, (pictured), state librarian and…
Nathan Gray, a veteran lawman with experience in counter-terrorism and big-time drug smuggling, has been selected to head up the FBI’s Phoenix office. The FBI didn’t put out a picture of Gray, but posted a bio of him today on its Web site. Gray previously worked here in 2002 as…
John McCain’s daughter, Meghan, complains in a blog post today that she can’t find a date. The mixed-up young blonde gets turned off by supporters of President Obama, but finds it even more disturbing when guys are enamored by her father or mother, she writes in the Daily Beast: Any…
The public war of words (and lawsuits and public records requests and criminal indictments) between county officials has been going on behind the scenes, too. One of our much-appreciated leaks at the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office forwarded to New Times an internal “Briefing Board” memo from Arpaio in which he…
Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas says it’s hypocritical that “county management” complains about the attempted prosecution of Don Stapley, yet wanted a county employee investigated for alleged bribery charges. Kathleen Graf, a former supervisor at the county’s air quality department, had been accused of failing to hire the right engineers…
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors say their careful budget plans are being “sabotaged” by a new lawsuit brought on by the county attorney and sheriff.As we reported earlier today, County Attorney Andrew Thomas and Sheriff Joe Arpaio are suing the county to try to stop a “raid” of $11…
The Z Gallerie stores on Mill Avenue in Tempe and at Scottsdale’s Fashion Square Mall closed over the weekend after huge sales that saw quality home furnishings going for 75 percent off.While the mall still has big-name anchors like Nieman-Marcus and Dillard’s, the funky furniture store was itself an anchor…
The Maricopa County Attorney’s and Sheriff’s offices have filed a lawsuit against the county Board of Supervisors in a bid to block the use of $11 million allegedly designated only for law enforcement purposes. The source of the latest squabble is simple to sum up: Money. According to the news…
City boosters want downtown Phoenix to have a “brand” — as soon as someone can figure out what it might be… The jury is still out this morning in the trial of alleged serial shooter Dale Hausner after deliberating all day Friday — is it really that hard?… Illegal immigrant…
Scottsdale has quietly begun to thwart photo enforcement violators who try to dodge process servers, repeatedly motioning the city court to allow tickets to be mailed or posted to a scofflaw’s front door. Thanks to efforts by New Times and others, most Arizonans now understand the limitations of photo enforcement tickets. Unless the violator is…
Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas is dead wrong about the state’s inability to prosecute criminal speeders using photo enforcement evidence, says State Attorney General Terry Goddard. In an official memo to Roger Vanderpool, director of the Arizona Department of Public Safety, Goddard explains that “Mr. Thomas’ conclusions do not appear…
A bogus news story about college students getting herpes from a drinking game contained a fake quote from Arizona State University president Michael Crow, according to a correction by the Los Angeles TV station KNBC.The erroneous article claims the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control has concerns about the herpes…
The lawsuit filed against the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors by County Attorney Andrew Thomas can proceed, a judge has ruled, but Thomas must disclose any potential conflicts of interest in the case. Retired Superior Court Judge Donald Daughton also kicked Sheriff Joe Arpaio off the lawsuit, which Thomas and…
A woman crawling on the U.S. 60 freeway was hit by three cars and caused a collision — police don’t know what she was doing there; she probably didn’t know, either. Tempe’s photo enforcement program is raking in dough. Navajo down: Phoenix Symphony releases CD of oratorio inspired by a…
