In the “where are they now?” category, a former Air Force officer and realtor who served for two years as state real estate commissioner now offers his services as a formulator of “P3” public-private partnerships.Squeezed out by the new administration, Sam Wercinski recently announced he’s joined the 17-member board of…
www.mlb.com Justin Upton hits two homers in as many days this weekend, but the D-Backs lose Sunday. It was a four-game series that ended on a shadowy Texas Leaguer by Milwaukee Brewers center-fielder Mike Cameron. The Arizona Diamondbacks won two of three over the weekend behind the pitching of Jon…
Weekend revelers in the Valley might be pleased to know that Metro light rail may be extending its weekend hours. The last train currently leaves at 11 p.m., but officials are considering extending the last run on weekends until 2 a.m….ASU announced on its Web site that two students have…
Zack de la Rocha at the anti-Arpaio rally Saturday in front of Tent City — footage by Dennis Gilman If you only read the coverage of Saturday’s anti-Arpaio march in Phoenix’s paper of record, and/or watched it on our local news channels, you wouldn’t know that neo-Nazis were present in…
Before today’s successful march of thousands from the Wells Fargo building in downtown Phoenix to Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s gulags, many in the Phoenix activist community tried to dissuade civil rights leader and march organizer Salvador Reza from taking on Arpaio in such a bold, uncompromising way. They feared violence. They…
Apologies for leading with my stomach (something I do in real life, physically), but the mole sauce at Garibaldi’s Real Mexican Grill — the site of a fundraiser Friday night for the Macehualli Day Labor Center — played like a tejano band in my mouth and made me long for my…
We understand that in the 24-hour news cycle it can be difficult to keep up. Worry not! We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times’ blogs. Today’s entries: Valley Fever: Espresso Pundit Blog Trying to Go “Professional;” Former Lawmaker Seeks…
Renee Bahl, the new executive director of the Arizona State Parks Board, carved her name 10 years ago in a historic adobe wall at the San Rafael Ranch in Santa Cruz County. And that doesn’t sit well with one state legislator who says the act should have kept her from being selected by…
It’s unusual when a woman murders a little kid, but not unheard of. California has Melissa Huckaby, accused of raping and murdering an 8-year-old girl. And Arizona has Mercedes Howard, 29, who sentenced on Wednesday to 17.5 years in prison for abusing and killing her live-in girlfriend’s 3-year-old son. An investigation showed that Howard,…
Sheriff Joe Arpaio is officially freaking out over the May 2 anti-Arpaio Walk for Respect, which will begin at 9 a.m. tomorrow at the Wells Fargo building downtown (100 West Washington Street) and continue on to Estrella Jail, site of a litany of abuses against female inmates. A press release…
Health officials are starting to suspect the swine flu virus first reported in Mexico won’t hurt people more than a regular flu. If officials can confirm that, the news might end the rash of recent school closures. Bob England, director of the Maricopa County Department of Public Health, says data trickling in from Mexico on…
An employee with the state Department of Environmental Quality who also teaches for the University of Phoenix has been been indicted for mortgage fraud.Kailash Bhatt tried to sell the granite countertops and appliances of a foreclosed home in direct violation of the mortgage contract, says Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas…
It’s another boring day working at Fiesta Mall. What to do for excitement? If you’re Jose Gonzalez, a mall employee who’s in a peck of trouble right now, you write a scary threat on a bathroom wall: A bomb will go off at 7:34 p.m. The time sounds too precise…
Pinal County Recorder Laura Dean-Lytle’s political career is in doubt after she hired her daughter’s ex-con boyfriend and promoted him to sensitive position despite disciplinary actions and poor work performance. The employee, Albert Robbs, used his position to obtain bank account information on Pinal County residents, which he sold to…
One of former lawmaker Greg Patterson’s schticks on his blog, Espresso Pundit, has been to bash daily newspapers. Now he wants to be one — or an online version, anyway.The popular local blogger is shilling for subscribers on his Web site, saying he’ll produce a new cyber-product called the Espresso…
We can’t say for sure, but we’re guessing you’re sick of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ bullpen going all Gregg Olson nearly every game. The latest debacle occurred last night during game one of the D-Backs’ four-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers. Behind a boisterous Miller Park contingent, the Brew Crew rallied…
Goodyear’s director of engineering and his wife are arrested for child abuse after their daughter ends up with two broken legs and a broken arm. Help not wanted: The unemployment line awaits for tens of thousands of Arizonans, says a state Commerce Department report… An estimated 2,000 people are expected…
We understand that in the 24-hour news cycle it can be difficult to keep up. Worry not! We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times’ blogs. Today’s entries: Valley Fever: Spy Cameras in Downtown Chandler Chase Off Employers of Day…
The Maricopa Medical Center and Banner Hospitals are among the health care facilities restricting visitors for the duration of the swine flu outbreak. It’s nothing dramatic — just an extension of seasonal flu guidelines put in place each year. They include: *No hospital visits at all by kids under 12…
Joe Arpaio has always bragged that he wants the feds to “come on down,” like in The Price Is Right. This week, they’re taking him up on his offer. One of the news outlets Joe loves to leak stuff to, aka the Arizona Republic, just posted a little ditty on its…
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is directing $82 million in Recovery Act Funds to Arizona water projects. The money will “create jobs, boost local economies, improve aging water and wastewater infrastructure and protect human health and the environment,” says the EPA. The money will come mostly in two big chunks: $55.3…
Image: Wikicommons Two more Valley schools will close for seven days after students were found to have swine flu, but health officials say all four known Arizona swine flu cases have been mild. (Note: This article was updated at 3:40 p.m.) The two schools are Tarwater Elementary and Hartford Sylvia Encinas Elementary schools, both…
