The proposed new chief of America’s Homeland Security never completed an anti-terrorist plan in her own state — maybe she just needs a bigger challenge. Asbestos fibers may have been released into ASU’s Memorial Union, say officials who are fining the university big-time. It’s safe to say that when you…

A Valley woman is using YouTube and a Web site to accuse local doctors and hospitals of fraud and of CPS of wrongly removing her child from her home.Leanna Roberson-Smith writes on her site that CPS officials accused her of Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy and placed her daughter in a foster…

Go figure.The U.S. Customs and Border Protection grants some foreign companies the right to less frequent random inspections at the border, and some of those companies seem to be abusing the privilege in a big way.Yesterday, a vehicle tied to one of the companies enrolled in a CBP program known…

About 10 percent of black women were reported to have chlamydia in 2007, but officials believe that only represents about half of the actual cases among that demographic group.The data comes from a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that also showed about six percent…

Sheriff Joe Arpaio just doesn’t get it: Accreditation remains withdrawn from the jail system following the loss of an appeal by the county. Valley residents killed each other less in 2008 — isn’t that nice? Foes of speed cameras have launched a signature-gathering drive in hopes of putting a proposed law before…

Big girls don’t cry, as the song goes. But Janet Napolitano came close on Monday during what was surely her last state-of-the-state speech as governor. On the verge of leaving for the wilds of Washington D.C. as Barack Obama’s Homeland Security secretary (assuming she’s appointed), Napolitano grew misty-eyed and her voice cracked as she…

It’s a fact: Jack Harris and Phil Gordon are registered sex offenders. Oh, wait a minute — you thought we meant our Jack Harris and Phil Gordon? The police chief and mayor of Phoenix? Actually, the Harris and Gordon who are sex offenders don’t live in Arizona. And neither of…

Reporters use public records to keep the public informed about the community around them, so naturally many journalists in town — us included — were dismayed when Phoenix police decided to blow a hole in the state’s public records law. Not some of the hacks at the Arizona Republic, apparently:…

Butt cheeks sagging? Zap them with the new Thermage 16.0 “laser,” says a local skin doctor. It seems people will do just about anything for the chance of looking a few years, or even months, younger — getting sliced up in surgery, injecting poison under the skin or being shot with…

And the State of the State is — I’m outta here! No doubt, Janet Napolitano won’t keep her yearly address this brief, though her words will be drowned out by the zipping sound of her suitcases. The Cards’ next home game is likely to be the rowdiest, loudest, happiest ever…

                   VS. The Thomas J. Klutznick company recently found out that a planned $100 million subsidy from the city of Phoenix for the highly touted CityNorth project had been nixed by a judge. Now the company stands to lose another $100 million — that’s the skyscraper-sized judgment being sought…

This puts a different twist on the phrase “grabbing a smoke.” Twice in late December, these two yahoos pictured at right walked casually behind the counters at separate Circle Ks in Mesa and cleaned out the cigarette shelves. Maybe they were desperate for a massive nicotine fix, but it seems more likely…

Charles Barkley’s mugshot met the definition of “shitfaced,” and so did his blood alcohol level on the night he got caught for driving drunk in Scottsdale. The former Suns b-ball player’s blood registered .149 on the alcohol dial, say reports, just barely missing the state’s .15 threshold for “extreme DUI” penalties. A conviction on…

[jump] Worried about crashing into a light rail train? This company’s got you covered. We spotted this sign at a repair shop near 28th Street and Washington, along the light rail line. This probably isn’t what light-rail boosters had in mind when they said the train system would help businesses in the…

 The new but not-so-improved East Valley Tribune began the year with only about half of its staff, but it’s the layoffs in the Web department that are most obvious to the online reader. You could definitely say the Trib’s new home page is, ahem, well red:…

Sam Wercinski sees the writing on the State Capitol wall.Wercinski, the state’s Real Estate Commissioner, today announced his intent to resign when Governor Janet Napolitano leaves for her new job as Homeland Security secretary.Wercinski served two years, having been appointed by Napolitano in January of 2007. Click here for his…

In a  Yet the news release was sent only to a select few in the media — New Times obtained it only by other means. Despite being under court order to post his news releases on his Web site when he sends them to his favored bunch, this information –…

We snuck onto the SkySong construction project today to check out those gigantic tee-pees they’re putting up. Probably should have worn a hardhat. We waved at some workers before taking these shots — they didn’t seem to mind. Though somewhat garish, like an Indian casino suspended by steel cables, the…

In a belated Christmas present, the Arizona Department of Public Safety announces it will raise the trigger of photo enforcement units by one mile per hour. Until now, DPS had its Valley cameras giving people tickets if they sped 10 mph over the posted limit — now, it will be…

How do folks do it these days? You know, run a small business, keep a stable of thugs in line, figure out which home to invade next and still save energy for Saturday night’s big cockfighting event? Just thinking about all the work that police say went into operating a…

The Arizona Guardian, a Web site begun this week by former East Valley Tribune reporters, is already running into trouble with its plan to cover State Capitol news.  The site reported yesterday that its reporters have been banned from working in the Capitol press room, which is in the Senate building, because they…