Infighting by Maricopa County officials worsened today with a storm of insults and budget-cutting.Earlier today, County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox and Don Stapley voted against allowing County Attorney Andrew Thomas’ office to receive $1.4 million in state funding for enforcement against illegal immigrants. The votes blocked the funds in a…
Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Captain Joel Fox has until the end of the month to cough up information about the people behind last year’s shadowy $105,000 donation to the Republican Party, says the elections department.”We believe if he goes past July 1st in the timing of all this, then the…
Jarret Maupin II, in an impassioned phone call to New Times and in a comment posted today on our blog, now says that he “unequivocally” believes the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office commits racial profiling. Maupin claims his quotes to the contrary that turned up in a deputy’s report were “completely…
It promises to be more scintillating than the Thrilla in Manila, though, sadly, this verbal donnybrook will mostly behind closed doors, according to the Rev. Al Sharpton’s camp.I’m talking about the news fresh from Rev. Al’s flack Rachel Noerdlinger that Sharpton’s taken up an invite from Joe Arpaio to visit…
Disgraced local activist and former Phoenix school board member Jarrett Maupin II was once Al Sharpton’s treasured Arizona connection. We’re not sure what Sharpton, who’s coming to Phoenix on Friday, thinks about Maupin’s shameful conviction for lying to the FBI about Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, Maupin’s former political opponent. But…
Governor Jan Brewer has appointed a new student representative to the Arizona Board of Regents. Jennifer Ginther, a graduate student in biology at Northern Arizona University, comes with an impressive resume. We can’t tell you how she’ll do as a regent, but the 4.0 student knows a thing or two…
As we mentioned in a previous post, ridership for the light-rail system fell in May. Today, Metro released the official figures: PHOENIX — METRO ridership totaled 928,259 boardings in May 2009. The average weekday ridership was 33,553, average Saturday ridership was 27,176 and average Sunday and holiday ridership…
Tuesday morning cop news releases:*Mesa police and Pinal County air units began searching for a lost 85-year-old woman before dawn this morning. Mesa police Sergeant Ed Wessing states, “Cell phone contact was made last night and it is believed she is in south Pinal County.” The search was still going…
Gross, dude. The Royals, a team that’s been irrelevant since 1985 (a World Series-winning season that also marks the last time they finished first in their division), made the sinking-ship-like D-Backs look like the irrelevant one. For example, Arizona’s line score in the team’s 5-0 loss at KC’s Kauffman Stadium…
A Valley man found a pipe bomb his mailbox Tuesday night. The bomb squad arrived at his home near 7th Avenue and the Loop 101, where they determined the device was indeed an explosive. The postal inspector is investigating the incident, and the man’s mailbox was taken as evidence…Police say…
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: Up on the Sun: Revolver Records Relocating to Roosevelt Row AZ Ghostbusters Raise Money for Salvation Army…
People who plan on attending July 4 events in Phoenix or Tempe can buy their light rail passes now, allowing them to avoid long lines at fare boxes to validate tickets. Buying before the July 1 fare increase (an all-day pass is going to $3.50) will also let riders…
Maria Baier, who won a hard-fought race for Phoenix’s District 3 City Council seat in 2007, will leave her post to become State Land Commissioner, Governor Jan Brewer’s office announced today. The land commissioner oversees the sale of state trust land, which pays for school construction. Seems like a short…
Three years after getting busted by the state for making false claims, Scottsdale-based Liberty League International is being sued in federal court over claims that the company is running a pyramid scheme. The class-action suit, first reported by courthousenews.com, accuses Liberty League, at 14300 North Northsight Boulevard, Suite 210, in…
Is Phoenix Suns forward Amar’e Stoudemire blind to the truth about Sheriff Joe Arpaio?Apparently so, and in more than one eye. According to recent news reports, Big Stat was sworn in this afternoon as a “special deputy” for the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. For Sheriff Joe, it’s a publicity coup,…
A Phoenix neighborhood activist in failing health will get a home makeover, courtesy of Home Depot and Phoenix police. Guadalupe Arenazas played a major role in ridding her neighborhood of criminals and scofflaws, also working with the Phoenix City Council on improvement issues. Now she’s in need of help: Worsening…
Don’t you hate when the facts get in the way of a good story? Turns out the Mesa stripper’s kid didn’t eat dog food, after all, Mesa police say today. At least, no one actually saw the kid dog food. Detective Michael Melendez says that the dog-food-eating part of the…
A bill that would’ve brought Arizona’s public-records law into the digital age has gone into sleep mode. Elizabeth Hill, (pictured), state public-records ombudsman, says the League of Arizona Towns and Cities launched a late lobbying effort this week and had the bill scuttled for this year’s legislative session. She doesn’t…
Governor Jan Brewer is keeping up the pressure on lawmakers today to send her a budget plan, calling a news conference this morning at 11 a.m. on the steps of the Arizona Supreme Court. Brewer told reporters yesterday she is asking the Supreme Court justices to force State Senate President…
Unlike football (Arizona Cardinals) and basketball (Orlando Magic), Major League Baseball is stingy with its surprises. Sure, the perennial-doormat Tampa Bay Rays made it to the promised land last year, but that was the rare exception to a longstanding MLB rule that separates contenders from also-rans. Though that unwritten baseball…
The Phoenix Coyotes will stay in Glendale — for now. Yesterday, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge ruled against a proposal to let Blackberry CEO Jim Balsillie buy the team and relocate it to Canada. The NHL hopes for a September 10 auction for bidders who’d like to keep the Coyotes…
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: Barack Obama’s Shame: Joe Arpaio Wrecks Families, Wounds a Business, Makes a Little Girl Cry,…
