An investigation into a sophisticated baby-formula theft ring in the Phoenix area has resulted in the arrests of 17 Arizonans. Alleged ringleader Deborah Lynn Russell shipped thousands of baby-food cans to mom-and-pop retail shops on the East Coast, Bill Montgomery, Maricopa County Attorney, said at a news conference today. Local…
Professor Ersula Ore, convicted for resisting arrest and suing ASU for $2 million, is defiant as ever in a new statement that blames Officer Stewart Ferrin for her troubles. “While I requested he respect the exercise of my constitutional rights, his anger clearly grew to frightening proportions. He unjustifiably grabbed me and threw me to the ground with the excessive force that he…
Kristen Keogh, spokeswoman for Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, has been named by a local magazine as one of the Valley’s “Most Eligible” singles. The award isn’t surprising to us a for a couple of reasons: Keogh is a a former Arizona Coyotes cheerleader and TV news reporter who just…
A new Pew Research Center survey shows a serious disconnect between what scientists and the public believe about nuclear energy and climate change. Members of the public generally don’t believe climate change is man-made, as scientists do, the poll showed. This is what the news media focused on when the…
If you did this Super Bowl thing right, you’re one of the many visitors flying home from the Phoenix metro area in your private jet. The FlightAware website this morning shows what one blogger calls a “swarm” of posh personal airplanes leaving the Valley. Accessing the site’s general-aviation listing for…
Last year, the press and marijuana-legalization opponents gave a lot of attention to a study suggesting that daily marijuana causes abnormalities in the brain. New research, reportedly using better techniques, indicates that claim and other reports of cannabis-caused changes to brain structure simply aren’t true. The authors of the new…
A Romanian citizen who lives in Phoenix smuggled firearms and night-vision scopes over a period of several years from Arizona to his home country, federal authorities say. Florin Ianc, 42, drew attention to himself with a claim that his truck had been stolen after he’d filled it with numerous guns…
A few Republican lawmakers are trying to sneak past the Voter Protection Act with a draconian DUI bill that targets the state’s medical-marijuana users. State Representative Sonny Borrelli, R-Kingman, is the prime sponsor of HB 2273, a bill that could result in DUI convictions for medical-cannabis users who aren’t impaired…
Sure, they can design computer hardware or launch a startup company, but do they know the number of U.S. Supreme Court justices? New Times put Arizona State University students to the test last week to find out if they’d have trouble passing a civics test that’s soon to be a…
A federal judge has sided with the challengers to Arizona’s denial of driver’s licenses to young immigrants shielded from deportation by Obama’s executive action. Last month, the DREAMers began obtaining their first Arizona licenses after the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the state to stop enforcing the ban put in place…
Guido Puccini, the Florida man whose kidnapping last month led to his arrest as an Arizona fugitive, escaped justice for 23 years. In 1992, Puccini admitted to having sex with a young girl, molesting her repeatedly and telling her “this is what people do when they love each other,” according…
Arizona State University Police Officer Stewart Ferrin wasn’t fired as expected today, and it sounds like it’s possible he may get a reprieve. Ferrin whose high-profile, video-recorded arrest of ASU professor Ersula Ore caused a public-relations nightmare for the university, will be employed for at least a little while longer,…
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Katherine Cooper’s live-in boyfriend of two years is a convicted sex offender under indictment for extortion in New York. After Donna Rossi, reporter for Channel 5 News, (KPHO-TV) broke the story on Monday, Cooper issued a brief statement saying she’s booted her boyfriend out and…
A 75-year-old Litchfield Park woman was arrested on Monday for trying to run over a neighbor with her SUV. She admitted that she “hated” him and wanted to scare him, court records state…
A Scottsdale Police Department parking lot became the arena for a dust-up today between pro-police and anti-police brutality demonstrators. We’re talking shoving, shouting, bullhorns, goose-stepping, leather-wearing cop-biker club members, plus the police chief, mayor and professor-busting college Officer Stewart Ferrin, all within a few feet of each other. See our…
A viral video of a “stoned guy” reacting to a giant bug in his front yard is helping the Arizona cannabis-legalization movement. Dave Wisniewski, chairman of Safer Arizona, made the video about two weeks ago, after spotting a large grasshopper while taking out his recycling garbage. It’s attracted more than…
The judge in the Jodi Arias penalty-phase trial tossed out a slew of defense motions on Wednesday, including those that suggested prosecutorial misconduct. That means the most popular courtroom drama in the world right now will go on, for the time being. Arias, convicted of first-degree murder in May 2013…
A Florida man was kidnapped with his ex-wife last month, beaten, held in a trunk overnight, released — then arrested as a fugitive for a 23-year-old Mesa kidnapping. Guido Jesus Puccini, 56, now enroute to Maricopa County following extradition proceedings, Florida police confirm. The December 4 kidnapping has no connection…
Who does Jeffrey Otto know in state government? That’s the question on our minds after learning that ex-Governor Jan Brewer, just before leaving office, granted a rare commutation to convicted “Young Champions” arsonist Jeffrey Otto, knocking three years off his 10-year sentence. New Times reported extensively on the 2009 arson,…
Arizona State University nearly begged Professor Ersula Ore to sue over her high-profile May 20 jaywalking arrest, and now she’s gratifying the university with a $2 million lawsuit. Last week, ASU responded — albeit indirectly — to her November 12 notice of claim by notifying the arresting officer, Stewart Ferrin,…
Dozens of cannabis supporters rallied at the Arizona State Capitol today in an effort to bring their message to lawmakers. Pro-marijuana activists with Safer Arizona and other groups held signs and chatted with reporters and legislators about their goal to end pot prohibition in the state…
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this morning in the case of a small church blocked from putting up signs around Gilbert that advertise its Sunday Services. The case of Reed vs. Town of Gilbert is getting a lot of press today, being billed as a major free-speech or religious…
