Maricopa County Sheriff’s Captain Joel Fox will argue before a Superior Court judge on Tuesday that he shouldn’t have to turn over the names of donors behind a nebulous $105,000 contribution to the Arizona Republican Party. The county elections department has wanted to see those names since election season, but…
Border Patrol checkpoints and their impact on civil rights will be discussed at a forum next week in Green Valley hosted by the American Civil Liberties Union. The topic is a hot one in the southern Arizona community, where some residents have fought plans to install a permanent checkpoint on…
Bret Tarver A 24-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of starting the 2001 fire that killed Phoenix firefighter Bret Tarver. Chris Benitez was 15 when he started a fire in a trash mound next to a westside Southwest Supermarket, investigators believe. Tarver was helping to battle the inferno…
A Phoenix woman who coached boys — including her teenaged sons — on the fine art of armed robbery wasn’t quite as bad as the real Ma Barker, says a weekend story by the Associated Press. We covered the case for you last month after police announced the arrests…
Police made two more arrests last night in the case of a fatal arson fire last month at a Phoenix business, Young Champions of America. Josh Robinson, 28, a karate instructor at the company, was killed in the blaze that he helped start, police say. Jeffrey Otto, 19, and Moniza Murillo,…
Our blog posts about beating photo-enforcement tickets have spurred a few comments like this one: Walt says: Hello. My wife made a right turn on red at one of Avondale’s traffic lights. Received a violation notice in the mail to me since the vehicle is only registered to me. The…
Elsa Lynch, Paradise Valley’s longtime judge and court manager, will retire July 15.Her position is so unusual, the town might need two people to replace her. She’s the only court administrator we’ve ever heard of who is also a municipal judge. The town’s Web site says she’s an “Arizona Supreme…
Elsa Lynch, a judge and court manager in Paradise Valley, tells us that only 40 people who received bad red-light camera tickets took defensive-driving class. None had yet taken the state-mandated Traffic Survival School class for red-light runners, and no hearings had been yet held for people with the tainted…
The most valuable slugger on the Arizona Diamondbacks this season is not going to play in the All-Star Game in St. Louis next week — not yet, anyway. The fans still have an opportunity to vote Mark Reynolds to be the final player named to the National League squad, but…
A Biltmore Estates mansion was destroyed by fire over the weekend. Authorities believe the $3 million home caught fire on the first floor. A man was trapped on the second floor, but used scuba gear and a rolling ladder to escape. He was treated for smoke inhalation…DUI task forces across the state…
In the 24-hour news cycle it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times’ blogs. Today’s entries: Feathered Bastard: Shawna Forde Associate a Former Pima County Sheriff’s Deputy in Training? Up on the Sun:…
Q. Why did the chicken cross the road? A. To help make traffic even worse today on northbound Interstate 17. The Department of Public Safety announces today that not only is traffic heavy for the start of the holiday weekend, but a rooster made it even worse. The cock attempted…
Sixteen suspected illegal immigrants were arrested Wednesday night at a west Phoenix house. Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio says the suspects were all found to have entered the U.S. illegally…A Tucson mother of three was arrested after police officers discovered 1100 pounds of pot in her home. Officers were alerted…
In the 24-hour news cycle it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times’ blogs. Today’s entries: Feathered Bastard:Shawna Forde Associate a Former Pima County Sheriff’s Deputy in Training? Up on the Sun:Obama on…
The East Valley Tribune’s executive editor writes in a column today that the newspaper will no longer run columns submitted by a local woman who didn’t actually write them. The column often appeared with a picture of the supposed author, Rebecca Warren [pictured] of Warren Financial Services, which made it…
The Arizona Republic’s Ceceilia Chan has an amusing story today about a meeting of west Valley mayors that was supposed to be for their ears only, and a mischievous mayor who brought a tape recorder. The meeting was pushed by El Mirage Mayor Fred Waterman, (pictured), whose town has been…
Phoenix resident Antwone Coleman, 28, was booked into jail this week on grand jury charges of first-degree murder and aggravated assault, though we’re still trying to find out details of his alleged crime. The Maricopa Superior Court and County Attorney’s Office had no details for us yet, but a bit of Googling came up…
Justin Derrick Draper, 21, has been arrested and charged with manslaughter following a 2006 collision that killed three teenagers. Draper works in construction and lived with his wife and in-laws in their Surprise home before his arrest, court records state. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Web site shows that Draper…
Really? The Arizona Diamondbacks’ bullpen — nay, their closer! — let this one get away? Really?! Forget about Clay Zavada’s losing Thursday’s game, a 3-2 defeat at the hands of the Cincinnati Reds, in the 10th inning. No, the goat here is closer Chad Qualls, who couldn’t make Doug Davis’…
The Norwegian video interview of Shawna Forde and a fella by the name of Todd Hezlitt Someone recently sent me a link to the blog Immigration Talk with a Mexican American, which in turn links to the blog Crooks & Liars and a Norwegian news video featuring the infamous Shawna…
Earlier this week, a New Times reporter was shocked when a clerk at Justice Court charged her $24 to view a court file. Under Arizona’s public records law, isn’t access to public records free? Not always. The file requested by the New Times reporter would have taken the clerk two…
Police have arrested 19-year-old Antonio Loren Reid on suspicion of shooting another man to death in the street just outside of a house party. Valley Fever featured Reid and his alleged getaway car driver, Brittany Lemons, in a post earlier this month after police put out a bulletin. Today, we…
