Phoenix’s Next Councilman: Jon Altmann? Or Jim “Burgundy” Sharpe?

When the Phoenix City Council gathers this afternoon to choose a replacement for outgoing Councilwoman Maria Baier, they’ll have a wealth of candidates to choose from: 19 applicants are seeking the job.The frontrunner, we suspect, is Jon C. Altmann. Altmann, a Navy veteran and public safety consultant with ties to…

Phoenix Police Raid a Local Pastor’s Home For Holding Church Services

Last Thursday, a swarm of police officers descended on Michael Salman’s northwest Phoenix home. Armed officers herded Salman, his wife Suzanne, their five young daughters, and their visiting friends into the living room — and kept them under watch for 90 minutes while other city officials searched the grounds. And…

Summer Guide: Shaking it Up with Valley Mixologists

When I was young, a drink was just a drink — and the cheaper it was, the better. In those days, the dude who made your drink was a bartender. If you were really desperate (and sometimes I was), you might opt for a frat boy with an empty garbage…

Supreme Court to Hear Phoenix Appeal in CityNorth Case

This just in: The Arizona Supreme Court will revisit the appellate decision that struck down the city of Phoenix’s $97 million subsidy of the CityNorth development.Today’s decision to grant review is a victory for the city, which had fought for the right to give the project’s developers half of all…

Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman Will Also Urge Council to Oppose CityNorth

One day after the Scottsdale City Council voted to oppose the city of Phoenix’s $97 million CityNorth subsidy, Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman said he’ll ask his Council to consider taking the same action. Challenged by the Goldwater Institute as unconstitutional, the tax giveaway was struck down by the appellate court…

Scottsdale to CityNorth: Drop Dead!

Last month, the Arizona League of Cities and Towns defended the city of Phoenix’s $97 million CityNorth subsidy — going so far as to file an amicus brief asking the Arizona Supreme Court to overturn the appellate decision that struck down the subsidy as unconstitutional.But last night, the city of…

Arizona Supreme Court Upholds Legislative Districting Plan

This just in: The Arizona Supreme Court has upheld the state’s legislative districting plan, nearly seven years after it was initially adopted.A group of left-leaning advocates, including Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox, State Representative Pete Rios and the Hispanic Bar Association Los Abogados, had originally challenged the plan in…

Bryant Wilkerson Sentenced to Probation — Prosecutor Asked for Prison

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Teresa Sanders had never seen anything like it.Sanders was in court Friday morning to sentence Bryant Wilkerson, a 30-year-old Fountain Hills postal clerk whose cause was championed by both New Times and the NAACP. Wilkerson was involved in an accident in May 2007 that killed 15-year-old…

Doug Quelland Out: Clean Elections Removes Legislator Over Violation

State Representative Doug Quelland, accused of infusing his campaign with extra funds despite agreeing to Clean Elections limits, has been ordered to leave office.The Citizens Clean Elections Commission made the decision to remove Quelland at its meeting this morning, two weeks after tabling the issue.You can read more Quelland’s skullduggery…

Judge Bars Divorced Man from Taking His Kids to Mormon Services

Two years ago, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Robert Budoff decreed that Richard Franco could not take his children to a Mormon church. Never mind that Franco had been a Mormon his whole life. Or that on weekends when he had custody of his 14-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter, the…

Campaign Finance Update: AZ AG to Cease Enforcement of Trigger Reports

  For all you eggheads who like to stay on top of the latest/greatest in campaign finance law, this just in: Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard says he’ll no longer enforce the state law that requires self-funded candidates to make special funding reports. Those so-called “millionaire candidates,” whose campaign funding…