Backers of an Arizona marijuana-legalization initiative blasted pot-prohibitionist Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery for taking alcohol-industry cash. J.P. Holyoak and other representatives of the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol in Arizona gave a news conference at Montgomery’s downtown Phoenix office, using an over-sized, symbolic refund check for $8,050 to…
Paul Penzone, a former cop who came closer to dethroning Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio than any candidate before him, will be taking the sheriff on again this year. Penzone announced his fresh bid for the sheriff’s spot in an email to the news media today headed, “It’s time.” And…
In a case of politics making strange bedfellows, Arizona’s top pot prohibitionists and supporters of a grassroots, pro-cannabis effort agree on a legalization bill p[robably will appear on November’s ballot. In fact, the hardcore stoners who support the spoiler group Arizonans for Mindful Regulation would spit up their dab hits…
In a nod to the non-motorized world, the new South Mountain Freeway in Phoenix wi3ll include six miles of multi-use path in Ahwatukee when it’s completed in late 2019. The path parallel to the $2 billion, 22-mile Loop 202 extension was needed because the freeway will wipe out most of…
The fallout’s still coming down from the bungled March 22 Arizona Presidential Preference Election: Besides the fact that yet another protest took place at Arizona Secretary of State Michele Reagan’s office, it turns out the feds are investigating — sort of. On Monday, county officials revealed that a letter was…
An alternative Arizona marijuana-legalization campaign made up of passionate cannabis users is aiming sky-high with its permissive proposal, but would voters really go for it? Arizonans for Mindful Regulation, a grassroots organization that has a small army of volunteers but little money, is making a final push to make the…
Most Arizona photo-enforcement cameras across the state have stopped issuing tickets since a March 16 opinion by state state Attorney General Mark Brnovich. The equipment still is up at intersections and along roadways in cities with red-light and speed cameras, including Scottsdale, Phoenix, Chandler, Mesa, and El Mirage. Motorists will…
New Times blew it, dear readers. In a March 22 article entitled “How to Vote in Arizona’s Presidential Preference Election Today,” it states that voting that day would be “super-easy.” As the whole world now knows, voting in that election in Maricopa County wasn’t “super-easy.” It was a complete cluster-f#$%. If there’s…
The protester arrested at the Arizona State Capitol on Monday had a safety pin in his pants that pricked an officer who searched him, and now police want him charged with aggravated assault. Jonathan Mcrae, 23, of Paulden, “was observed yelling and causing a disturbance in the gallery of the…
A mysterious box removed from a power pole in Phoenix last week may have been a police surveillance camera, but Salt River Project won’t go into detail about it. Phoenix resident C. O’Brian alerted New Times to the weird “black box” in an e-mail last week and sent along the…
The fallout of last week’s bungled Presidential Preference Election in Arizona continued this week as officials and angry voters packed a hearing at the State Capitol. Many of the voters were among those who spent hours in line last Tuesday waiting to vote. Yesterday, they spent hours giving election officials…
Zoned Properties, a medical-marijuana real-estate company, is developing what it bills as the state’s first “medical-marijuana business park.” The Scottsdale-based company announced on March 17 that it had signed a deal to lease 25,000 square feet of space in a building near 52nd Street and University Drive in Tempe, with an…
Supporters of Arizonans for Mindful Regulation have fought the good fight, but chances look slim that their cannabis-legalization measure will make November’s ballot. Even if the group has gathered 100,000 signatures, it has to collect another 100,000 in five months to ensure a ballot spot. The enthusiastic volunteers and their…
The Arizona Diamondbacks are threatening to sue Maricopa County unless they’re allowed to escape their lease because the county won’t pay for $187 million in Chase Field renovations. In a letter obtained by 12 News (below) that was sent from the county to the team’s executive officer, Derrick Hall, County Supervisor Clint Hickman…
The wait times in Maricopa County for voting in Tuesday’s Presidential Preference Election varied greatly in some areas, sometimes between nearby polling locations, a county report shows. The sheer scarcity of polling locations was one problem. Where they were located was another. Eighteen of 60 locations — nearly a third —…
An 18-year-old girl had to be airlifted off of Camelback Mountain in Phoenix on Tuesday after she fell while rappelling from the Praying Monk formation. “She had some broken bones and couldn’t get down the mountain, and we flew her off,” said Phoenix Fire Department Captain Reda Bigler. The teen,…
A group of about 40 people gathered outside of Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell’s Office today, angry at the seven-term Republican politician and demanding change. Some held signs like “Hey Hey Ho Ho Helen Purcell has to go!! Feel the Bern!” and “Stop Voter Suppression.” Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, meanwhile, called…
Donald Trump destroyed his competition in the Arizona’s Presidential Preference Election on Tuesday to mixed reviews by some in the Republican Party. The race was called for Trump early in the night even as some voters still waited in line at polling places. The controversial businessman and political outsider had…
Polling places in Maricopa County were swamped with enthusiastic voters today, spurring gripes and a possible election complaint over party identification problems. While some polling spots experienced wait-times as short as 15 minutes during Tuesday’s Presidential Preference Election, waits of an hour to 90 minutes to vote were typical. Some…
If you’re not registered as a Democrat, Green Party member or Republican, you’re not voting in today’s election. Independents can relax, take a day off, and see what the partisan voters do. That’s the first thing you need to know about today’s important Presidential Preference Election in Arizona. If you are…
Massive environmental destruction promised by the Resolution Copper Mining project at Oak Flat campground near Superior in theory could be halted by findings from an upcoming study. The federal process of producing an environmental impact statement on the project can’t stop the planned mine directly, anti-mining activists admit. But depending…
Tempe police are on alert for possible trouble on Saturday at a theater where Hells Angels’ members are scheduled to screen a movie about the club. The 1983 film “Hells Angels Forever” will be shown at noon at Pollack Tempe Cinemas, theater representatives confirm. Police have taken notice and will…
