In more than 1,600 Arizona households with children, families are wondering how they’ll cope with losing welfare benefits starting July 1. They’re facing tough decisions because of Arizona’s draconian cuts to lifetime welfare benefits, now the toughest in the nation. States are allowed to use federal Temporary Assistance to Needy…
A drunk British woman saved from a Grand Canyon cliff edge late Sunday night greeted her rescuers with scorn and spit, rangers say. Charmaine Isaacs, 36, whose hometown was listed as the small village of Ilton, England, was arrested by National Park Service rangers on suspicion of disorderly conduct (creating…
LifeLock announced today that it reached a new agreement with the Federal Trade Commission over allegations that it violated terms of a 2010 settlement plan. Back in 2010, the ethically-challenged company was ordered to pay $12 million to the FTC for engaging in deceptive advertising. The company clawed back to…
In the latest sign of marijuana going mainstream, a three-day marijuana-industry conference at the Phoenix Convention Center kicked off this week with a well-attended job fair. The main events of the Southwest Cannabis Conference and Expo will take place today and Wednesday, featuring about 300 exhibition booths, guest speakers and…
A detective in a massage-parlor sting was nude when he began receiving what court records call a “hand job” from a suspect in May, but Glendale police insist the officer stayed within policy. The incident during an undercover operation demonstrates the fine line officers have to walk to make busts…
A Glendale police detective started getting a “hand job” from a suspected prostitute while engaging in a sting operation at a massage parlor, according to court records. After the Arizona Attorney General’s Office announced the raids and arrests of five Chinese suspects in the case, AG Mark Brnovich’s spokeswoman, Mia…
The lawyer for a Phoenix man accused of helping plan the botched, May 3rd terrorist attack in Garland, Texas, says computer evidence against his client should be ignored because it was obtained unlawfully by police. Abdul Malik Abdul Kareem, 44, is being held in Arizona on a four-count indictment charging…
A new billboard in Phoenix promoting a ballot initiative that would legalize marijuana for adults in Arizona is receiving mixed reviews on social media by cannabis supporters, some of whom declare it conveys the wrong message.. The advertisement near 7th and Lincoln streets is meant to poke fun at pot prohibitionists,…
Arizona Department of Economic Security Director Tim Jeffries doubled down on his blunt comments about 72 employees fired from the agency in the past three months, taking to New Times’ website comments section to answer readers’ points personally. But under criticism from some readers, he attempted to clarify: “I have referred…
The county’s top prosecutor, an avid marijuana prohibitionist, has issued a “polite” waning to business owners, community members, and pot aficionados planning to attend the Southwest Cannabis Conference and Expo at the Phoenix Convention Center later this month: We might be watching you. During a presentation on drug abuse this…
A new public-service announcement from the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office about the evils of heroin curiously shows an image of people apparently smoking marijuana. The short, publicly funded PSA begins at three minutes, 57 seconds into the 44:21 video of Montgomery’s semi-weekly news conference. With a striking graphic of the…
Ever wonder why the Republican Party has trouble attracting minority voters? Could it be because of inflammatory and stupid comments about blacks and Hispanics by respected GOP leaders like former Arizona Republican Party Chairman Randy Pullen. While watching Tuesday night’s Democratic presidential candidate debate, Pullen tweeted that black people are…
Tim Jeffries, the crusading, new director of the Arizona Department of Economic Security, is on a mission to rid the agency of employees he calls “bullies… liars and multi-year bad actors.” In the past 90 days, 72 DES employees have been fired in Jeffries’ crackdown on negativity and “unworthy” employees…
Halloween’s a great time to relax your inhibitions and dress up as anything or anyone you want. Or not. Thanks to cell-phone cameras and social media, wearing the wrong costume now is a potentially Google-able faux pas that may haunt you for many Octobers to come. On the other hand,…
Critics of Hickman’s Family Farms filed an air-quality complaint this week with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in their latest attempt to shut down the company’s massive egg-producing facility in Tonopah. Since Hickman’s opened the plant a year ago at Indian School Road and 415th Avenue, critics say, the air…
The blunt realities of the state’s medical-marijuana industry are exposed in a remarkable ruling on a lawsuit between business partners that features allegations ranging from a “lack of financial controls” to a shady seed deal in a parking lot. The lawsuit’s between the two partners of Uncle Herbs of Payson,…
Eyeglasses must now come off for Arizona driver’s license and identification photos, but religious head scarves or hats are okay if worn “daily,” according to state Motor Vehicle Division policies designed to meet national REAL ID Act requirements. The latest rules make it easier for a new, digital facial-recognition system,…
Phoenix police raided the home of a man suspected of raising roosters for cockfighting, finding about 45 birds and other evidence of the banned blood sport. Carlos German Vasquez-Morales, 30, was booked into jail on suspicion of 45 felony counts, then released with a pending court date. The investigation began…
Immigration advocates vow to appeal the so-called “papers, please” provision of Arizona’s controversial SB 1070 immigration law, which was upheld last month in a trial court ruling. SB 1070 was born as the state’s anti-immigrant sentiment flared in 2010. With state Senator Russell Pearce — who was later recalled from…
The last time Republican Pinal County Sheriff Babeu ran for Congress on an anti-illegal immigration platform, his Mexican lover outed him as a gay man and accused him of blackmail in a bombshell tale reported first in New Times. Babeu pulled out of the 2012 race in the middle of…
At the beginning of this month, Oregon became the third state where adults 21 and older can buy marijuana at retail stores — and Arizona may not be far behind. But the pro-legalization movement and even Arizona’s medical-marijuana program could still be derailed in the next few years by court rulings…
Tia Oso, the Black Lives Matter activist — and convicted embezzler — who interrupted a town hall meeting for Democratic presidential candidates in July, will be a guest speaker at an Arizona State University event on Tuesday as part of Ethnic Studies Week. Oso’s scheduled to appear with H.L.T. Quan,…
