Saturday morning began like any other on Camelback; then normal stopped. Just past the longest handrail section on Camelback Mountain’s Echo Trail, I saw a full-grown, stark naked man (no shoes, either) having a conversation with himself on his way to the summit. “I’m sorry, Daddy,” he said (switching voices from child to…
Media entrepreneur Alki David says his pay-per-view Celebrity Fight Night this Saturday will distinguish itself from a similarly named Valley charity foundation to settle a lawsuit.The oddball celebrity boxing match will change its name in the future, and announcements will be made in the beginning, middle, and end of the…
The rate of Arizonans applying for medical-marijuana cards has slowed down in the last couple of months, a stat that could indicate public confusion about pot’s newfound legality. A quick look at a recent update on the state Department of Health Services website shows that 14,852 people have been approved to legally possess…
An Arizona non-profit company that hosts a yearly event to benefit Phoenix’s Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center is asking a federal judge to stop a pay-per-view boxing event from using its name.The Celebrity Fight Night Foundation wants a restraining order issued against FilmOn.com before its November 5 broadcast. Also called Celebrity…
An unnamed Maricopa County employee is in hot water after releasing records relating to the firing of former Sheriff’s Office Deputy Joel Fox.The Arizona Republic’s JJ Hensley reported this morning that documents obtained by “county administrators” last week detail why Fox was fired. The reasons for the termination should have…
The public can be forgiven for not fully understanding the ongoing mess of Maricopa County politics, and why a former county attorney stands to lose his law license. But, dang it, people who publish articles on the subject ought to come close to showing they understand it — or at…
Richard Valdemar believes the central character of his medical-marijuana story would be executed by a Mexican drug cartel if he was named, so he refers to him as “Winnie.”As Valdemar relates in newly released cable-and-Internet-show video and recent article in a police magazine, Winnie is the son of two Northern…
The Arizona State Bar’s disciplinary proceeding against former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas and two of his former employees wrapped up today. The three-man panel that oversaw the case is expected to make a decision on their findings — and the punishment, if any — by March. Thomas and former deputy…
Former Arizona U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton says he trusted the word of a federal firearms officials who told him in 2006 that a gunwalking operation wouldn’t result in missing weapons.The President Bush-era operation, known as Wide Receiver, reportedly lost about 400 guns in a manner similar to that of the…
Immigrants are just like viruses — they get here, adapt, and infect the rest of us.At least, that’s according to a politically incorrect lede in a San Jose Mercury News article from last Wednesday about the West Nile Virus. The lede, written by reporter Lisa Krieger, is making the rounds…
The race will go on!After playing the heavy in a legal fight against a local promoter of an upcoming obstacle-course race, the publisher of Men’s Health magazine, has relented and dropped a demand to stop the November 5 event.A consent judgment signed by U.S. District Judge Neil Wake yesterday shows…
Cops trashed James Patock’s trailer, which served as his home.They threw him in jail for 45 days, where he was pelted with excrement.They even seized his 10-year-old German Shepherd, Lobo, and gave it away for adoption.All because police searched his trailer, thinking incorrectly it was a bomb, and found a…
Christopher Quaratino, who was 7 when he lived in the home made famous by his parents’ stories of a demonic haunting, has a spooky story to share.We profiled the 43-year-old Phoenix man in this week’s edition of New Times and mentioned his plans to tell the story in a live…
Lieutenant Colonel Jack Hegarty has been replaced as Highway Patrol chief for the Arizona Department of Public Safety, in part due to concerns about his perceived effect on employee morale.The new boss of the DPS’ Highway Patrol division is Major James McGuffin, says DPS spokesman Bart Graves.Hegarty, as we reported…
The Arizona State Bar’s independent counsel team rested its case today in the disciplinary proceeding against former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas and two of his former employees. The Bar’s lawyers announced their decision after Thomas gave his second day of testimony in the case that could cost him his…
New setting, same old story.Under oath while on the stand this morning in the his disciplinary “trial,” former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas claimed that a TV reporter gave his office a great tip in its quest to investigate county “corruption.”The former Channel 15 (KNXV-TV) reporter, Josh Bernstein, did an…
Former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas is back on the stand this morning in the State Bar’s disciplinary proceeding against him.Here’s the link to the state Supreme Court’s Web page on the hearings. Click there, then click on the live proceeding. Don’t forget — later you can access Thomas’ testimony…
The 28 days Christopher Quaratino spent in a spooky-looking house in Amityville, New York, defined his life. Quaratino was just 7 when he and his family moved into the 4,000-square-foot Dutch Colonial home on Ocean Avenue in the Long Island town in 1975. Now, at 43, he’s still creeped out…
AZ Urban Race, formerly AZ Urbanathlon, has yet to clear all the hurdles in a lawsuit filed by the publisher of Men’s Health magazine.As we reported on October 18, the obstacle-course race hosted by Mountainside Fitness was slapped with a lawsuit by Rodale, Inc., the magazine’s publisher. Men’s Health has…
We’re biased on this one.Gotta admit it.We watched hours and hours of testimony by former Maricopa County Andrew Thomas today, and the guy definitely seemed to have an answer for everything — but only in the way our mother used that phrase on us in our most smart-alecky moments. Thomas…
Andrew Thomas certainly seems to believe his own theories as he defends himself today against a State Bar complaint that could cost him his law license.In the former Maricopa County Attorney’s world, County Supervisor Don Stapley is “corrupt,” whose motive to commit crimes was the money he was being paid…
Part Two of the morning testimony by former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas brought out even more of Thomas’ apparently hypocritical thought processes.We say hypocritical because it’s difficult for us to believe that Thomas believes the words coming out of his mouth.As we noted in our last post about today’s…
