The sanitizing of Fife Symington was going so incredibly well. He had enjoyed an April 23 spread in the Arizona Republic’s “Food & Drink” section, in which he was pictured grinning over the “Governor’s Cake” he’s created in his new role as pastry chef at Franco’s Italian Caffé in the…

Charlie Collins wouldn’t shut up about how much he hates Mexicans. A crowd within the crowd at Patriots Square Park downtown was gathering around and jeering him, despite the fact that he held a placard telling George W. Bush to: “Go Straight to Hell Instead of Iraq.” The 59-year-old Tucson…

It all started back in ’96 when Michael Lacey called me at the L.A. Times and asked me to meet him at a bar a block away. After more than a few cocktails, he asked me to leave what I thought was the high-and-mighty daily and help him start a…