The rumor mill had Janet Napolitano as a potential Supreme Court justice nominee, but President Barack Obama today announced Sonia Sotomayor was his choice. Looks like the former Arizona governor will have to to slog it out with border-reform activists and angry conservatives for a while longer as Homeland Security secretary…
“Blood” in the streets. Scorched landscapes of foreclosed homes. Snarky bidding wars among investors. This is the Phoenix metro area readers of the New York Times knew over the weekend. In case you missed it, “Amid Rubble of Housing Bust, One City Bigins a New Frenzy,” is a breezy but fun romp…
Do you have a friend who either doesn’t give two poops about baseball or doesn’t know jack squat about the game? Or perhaps you’re entertaining some English blokes who would rather sip a spot of tea while watching the cricket than checking out a game of “rounders,” as those British…
A 16 year-old boy is dead after diving from a cliff into Lake Pleasant. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s office has recovered the body, and believes another diver may have landed on top of the teen once he was in the water…Former boxing champion and Phoenix resident Mike Tyson’s daughter is…
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: Joe Arpaio Declares End to Jail Lockdown, Admits Hunger Strike Involved 1800 Inmates Joe Arpaio,…
Statistics that showed Arizona had a seat belt usage rate of more than 95 percent a few years ago were probably bogus, says Alberto Gutier, director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. Gutier, who was fired by Governor Janet Napolitano as highway office director in 2003, was reappointed…
Sheriff Joe has just declared the jail lockdowns caused by massive hunger strikes ongoing in his vast incarceration complex to be over. The MCSO issued a press release on the matter, stating that, “Effective today, May 22, 2009, the Maricopa County jails that have been on indefinite lockdown [sic] will…
Peoria police will man a DUI checkpoint at the entrance to Lake Pleasant on Castle Hot Springs Road on Monday, and Tempe will host a DUI task force. The enforcement efforts are aimed at reducing vehicle collisions on what is considered “one of the most deadly holidays for motorists,”…
I was up too late the other night watching a documentary on the National Geographic Channel about Hoover and his many, many sins. And aside from Hoover’s reported penchant for getting himself up in drag, the similarities between the iconic FBI chief and our own Sheriff Arpaio are unavoidable. One in particular struck me as a…
Terry Goddard says the presence of a Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office patrol car near his Phoenix home Friday morning made his family “uncomfortable.” “This is not typical, and it made my wife and son uncomfortable,” the attorney general said in a prepared statement. “I hope the deputy was engaged in…
Phoenix police arrested three members of an Ahwatukee street gang in connection with an aggravated assault that left a man with a ruptured ear drum. Cops believe the gangbangers have committed armed robberies and other crimes. What’s the name of this suburban gang, which — judging by the suspect pictures…
Mark Flatten, an investigative reporter with the East Valley Tribune for more than 20 years, is leaving the newspaper on June 5 to start work as an investigator for the Goldwater Institute.Flatten helped the newspaper on many of its biggest stories and won numerous awards over the years. According to…
Although the decision on Maricopa County Sheriff’s Captain Joel Fox and the SCA donation is scheduled for Monday, we think it will probably be announced on Tuesday, after the holiday. Either way, we imagine there’s still time for Fox to reveal the identity of these secret contributors.But if he doesn’t,…
Rookie relief pitcher Clay Zavada got a shaving-cream pie in the face, courtesy of catcher Chris Snyder, after the Diamondbacks beat the Florida Marlins 4-3 at Land Shark Stadium Thursday night.Zavada — who sports a big, dark moustache reminiscent of Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata’s — had pitched brilliantly in his Major League debut, popping up…
Two buses from the Roosevelt School District collided near 23rd and Southern avenues yesterday. According to police, one bus rear-ended the other while it was stopped at a stop sign. Sixty students were on the buses, but police say there were no major injuries…Inspectors have found that in the past…
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:ACLU Slams Joe Arpaio Over Jail Lockdown, and Channel 3’s Marissa Wingate Digs Joe’s Slop Up…
A former Maricopa County jail inmate who was stripped to his underwear and felt up by a female guard-in-training during a search did not have his rights violated, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. Charles Byrd, who was convicted of trafficking in stolen goods, was in the…
All those long hours on the Nintendo DS will pay off for the “trainer” who wins the regional Pokemon video game competition this Saturday in Phoenix. We confess we’ve never played the Pokemon game, though we’re not too bad at Call of Duty 4. Like the television cartoon, Pokemon seems to be all about…
This anti-meth artwork of three Valley kids will be incorporated into a widely distributed poster following a contest by the state Attorney General’s Office: First Place: Alison Calabrese, Wigwam Creek Middle School, Litchfield Park (above)…
The story: Arizona Republic reporter Eugene Scott is arrested in August for leaving his puppy in a hot car. The dog wasn’t hurt, but Scott was charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty. The follow-up: Scott was placed in a Chandler court diversion program, which usually involves taking some kind of civic-lesson…
This is what you’ve been waiting for, drinkers: By July 1, light-rail train service will be extended past 2 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. This means you’ll be able to get wicked-drunk at local bars — without the danger of potentially killing someone with your car. We can only assume…
The ol’ SUV was in the shop yesterday in Mesa, giving us a chance to use light rail for more than just an experimental commute or novelty ride. In fact, we put the Valley’s urban transportation to the test with a mix of trains, Valley Metro’s DASH bus and a taxi…
