Monday’s record rainfall in the Phoenix area spurred officials to warn parents against letting their kids play in standing water. But with many schools closed across the Valley ’cause of the historic deluge, what else is there to do? At Harmony Park in Mesa near Val Vista Drive and the…
A new permit fee and restrictions for day hikers below the rim of Grand Canyon could “crush” travel plans for some Boy Scouts, a leader for the organization warned. On Thursday, the National Park Service published new rules for what it calls “extended day hiking” and rim-to-rim trips by non-commercial…
Arizona Public Service’s apparent “dark money” spending for two Arizona Corporation Commission members appears to have paid off. Four Republican candidates were vying for two open seats on the commission in Tuesday’s primary election, and the two who APS allegedly preferred were comfortably in the lead…
Doug Ducey promised on Tuesday night to “set Arizona on a better path” following his decisive win in the state’s GOP primary for the governor’s race. Ducey spoke to an excited crowd of Republicans at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Phoenix after his closest competitor in the six-way primary race,…
Doug Ducey has a lock on the Republican primary race for Arizona governor, judging from early results that show him trouncing his closest contender. With about one third of voting precincts reporting statewide at 9 p.m., Ducey had 36.7 percent of the vote compared to 23 percent for former Mesa…
Jerry Sheridan, chief deputy for the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, is said to be contemplating his legal options following the release of an ex-deputy chief’s gossip-filled book. Sheridan didn’t call New Times back after we called him for comment before printing Friday’s article about the newly released book by former…
Brian Sands, a former top-ranking deputy under Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, describes Arpaio’s current chief deputy as a bigot in a new, dirt-dishing book. Our colleague Stephen Lemons first brought you news of Sands’ book on Saturday. We ordered a copy for ourselves, and the typo-ridden, apparently self-published, 177-page…
Phoenix officials are considering a new plan that would make hikers move faster up and down the trails: Parking meters. Paid parking for mountain preserves and parks was authorized by the city’s Parks and Recreation Department in 2010, but so far the city has never charged users. That could be…
When Arlin Troutt was sentenced in February 1996 for a marijuana-selling conspiracy, a crowd of supporters came to the Minneapolis federal courtroom to cheer him on. The Arizona resident and former frontman for a line of hempwear affiliated with country singer Willie Nelson had been convicted of conspiring to transport…
Another day, another payout by taxpayers for a screw-up in the Maricopa County Jail. The county has paid millions to victims of jail staff over the years, but the problem seems never-ending. In this case, a career burglar who ordinarily wouldn’t deserve a dime from taxpayers is receiving a $10,000…
The day before two dead immigrants were found in the trunk of a California man driving into the United States, Arizona officials rescued two Mexicans from nearly befalling a similar fate. Ryan Alitz, a 30-year-old meth addict who moved to Arizona from Iowa this year, was arrested on August 11…
List-centric website Livability.com has rated Tempe as one of the top 10 college towns in the country for 2014 based on employment and recreational opportunities. No one would mistake the site for a peer-reviewed scientific journal — it’s owned by moving-van companies, and it began its survey by breaking college…
A Kansas man who grabbed a woman’s breast on a Tucson-bound flight in 2012 had his criminal case dropped this month after completing pretrial diversion. Christopher Lewallen, now either 21 or 22, had been charged with abusive sexual contact under federal law in the July 17, 2012, incident on a…
In the this-is-what-politics-has-come-to category, an Arizona congressional candidate has received national attention thanks to a giant horse penis. Hundreds of thousands of Internet readers from coast to coast now know the name of Arizona hotelier and rancher Gary Kiehne, a GOP candidate for Congressional District 1 — but not due…
Medical-marijuana patients from Arizona and other states could shop legally at as-yet-unopened Nevada dispensaries under a plan being developed by Nevada authorities. Chad Westom, bureau chief of the Nevada Division of Public & Behavioral Health, said on Monday that his state’s new medical-marijuana program will honor Arizona registration cards…
Matt Nelson’s slashing prices on new Justices of the Peace! That’s right, for a limited-time only, Tempe and Chandler voters can elect a new JP for 25-percent off the current price. Maybe. County officials say they aren’t sure taking a pay cut is legal; Nelson admits he didn’t research that…
Off-duty Phoenix firefighter Gary Johnstone was killed and two teenage boys were hurt after falling from a popular rappelling site Friday morning at Camelback Mountain. (See below for update and details about the second victim who succumbed to his injuries Friday night.) Johnstone, 50, had been with the fire department…
Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery’s new campaign to prevent people from leaving kids and pets in hot cars leaves one interesting thing out — Montgomery’s name. Not one to turn a serious crisis into opportunity, Montgomery says he doesn’t want “to mix up the message” by making it look like…
Marijuana use by teens continues to decline in Colorado since the proliferation of retail medical-pot stores, but the state’s health department would rather focus on perceptions over reality. A news release put out today by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is headlined, “New survey documents youth marijuana…
The upcoming Arizona Attorney General’s Republican primary is chiefly about the character of Tom Horne, the scandal-ridden incumbent. But opponent Mark Brnovich’s campaign can’t simply hang a scarlet “A” on Horne’s chest and call it a day. He has to convince Republican voters around the state that he can not…
Christine Jones and her former boss, GoDaddy founder Bob Parsons, together have contributed the vast majority of the money raised to help Jones get elected Arizona governor. State campaign finance reports show that as of May 31, Jones has contributed $2.1 million of the roughly $2.3 million she’s raised. Parsons…
Thomas has nearly as many skeletons in his closet as the Catacombs of Paris, and he’s hoping if he can just keep yammering about “illegals” and “the gay lobby,” he’ll avoid having to talk about them. Thomas isn’t considered likely to win even the Republican primary, despite the crowded field…
