Doctors and clinicians across the state are preparing for what one official called the “fairly inevitable” discovery of a new strain of swine flu in Arizona.See: Shots of the Swine Flu’s impact on Mexico City in this slide show. No sign of the virus that has killed 103 and sickened…
After a couple of truly dismal games on Friday and Saturday, the Arizona Diamondbacks showed Sunday why we can’t quite write them off and why there’s still reason to believe (though they’ll probably continue to drive us crazy all season long) in a team loaded with some of the best young talent…
Although no cases of swine flu have been reported in Arizona, officials are taking precautions: The Arizona Department of Health is talking with Centers for Disease Control, doctors are urging people with flu-like symptoms to stay home from work, and US Airways is waiving its change fees for passengers flying to…
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: Redflex Speed Camera Firm Still Evaluating Program Safety for Employees;…
Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas touted his 1,000th conviction for an illegal immigrant under the state’s three-year-old human-smuggling law. The number was reached only because Thomas has prosecuted nearly 900 illegal immigrants for conspiring to smuggle themselves into the country. Lawmakers who wrote Arizona’s human-smuggling law intended it only…
We thought Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas was acting like his teeth had been pulled out in recent letters to the Board of Supervisors suggesting mediation on an intra-county lawsuit. Turns out he’s not totally belly-up. After suggesting to county leaders that the best way to resolve their dispute was through…
Footage shot by civil rights activist Salvador Reza of “the cone incident.” Despite everything, I try to keep an open mind when it comes to Joe Arpaio’s boys in beige. As I’ve mentioned previously in this blog, I’ve met numerous ex-sheriff’s deputies who seem like decent human beings, emphasis on…
Redflex Traffic Systems is still in the process of evaluating the safety of photo radar vans for its employees as the company mourns the death of shooting victim Doug Georgianni (at right), says a statement from the firm. Photo radar vans from Redflex and other photo enforcement vendors were pulled…
Three state agencies put out a serious-sounding mercury advisory today for fishermen using Roosevelt Lake and Lake Pleasant, the state’s biggest lakes. Troubling levels of mercury have been found in largemouth bass and channel catfish (pictured below) at Roosevelt, and in largemouth bass at Lake Pleasant, according to an announcement…
The FBI released photos of a “crew” of robbers who’ve hit 13 Valley banks in recent weeks, 11 of which were at Safeway grocery stores. The crew has become far more prolific lately — nine of the 13 have been since March 30. So far, the robberies have been…
Far fewer reporters are covering their state capitols, but at least Arizona has the Guardian. That seems to be one of the themes in an article by the American Journalism Review about statehouse coverage by the news media. A survey by the renowned publication shows far fewer traditional reporters covering their state…
Who says pot makes people lazy? The Marijuana Policy Project’s effort to legalize medicinal use of the plant in Arizona will be the “first major petition on the street” for 2010’s election, says Andrew Myers, local spokesman for the Project. “We’re very much in need of people to help us…
Anybody else get the feeling it’s gonna be one long-ass summer? So the D-Backs finally won a series, and Dan “Hard Luck” Haren finally won a game (while lowering his ERA to a Bob Gibson-like 1.38). If their two-out-of-three set against the Colorado Rockies that concluded Wednesday provided a much-needed…
An Iraq war veteran who says he was stabbed multiple times by a Mesa police officer during his arrest has filed a lawsuit, and is preparing an expert witness list for a federal judge. The veteran, Keith LaVoie, got into an altercation with officers in January, 2007, after a night…
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: Backhoe-Driving Thieves Excavate Mesa Walgreens, Rob ATM Cashbox Teachers to…
Governments often choose the lowest bidder for products and services to save precious taxpayer funds. But as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. Tom Crider of the City of Phoenix’s Public Works division didn’t like the way the city’s low-bid tire was performing on municipal vehicles, so he decided…
What’s the first thing that Rage Against the Machine frontman Zack de la Rocha is gonna do when he touches down in the PHX May 1 — a day before the big anti-Arpaio march from the Wells Fargo Building downtown to Joe’s Estrella Jail on May 2? Kick it with…
KTAR 92.3 FM, the unofficial PR arm of Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s MCSO, has announced that the sheriff’s department is conducting one of its notorious anti-immigration sweeps in the West Valley town of Avondale today and Friday. According to an article on KTAR’s Web site, the command post for the sweep will be at the sheriff’s command substation near…
Espresso Pundit picked up on a goodie yesterday — an article about Janet Napolitano entitled “The border for dummies,” by the editorial board of the Canadian newspaper, National Post. The article repeats an embarrassing CBC radio moment for Arizona’s former governor, now Homeland Security Secretary, after she repeated a disproven rumor that some of the…
The parent company of the East Valley Tribune, Freedom Communications, is testing a free, ultralight newspaper for busy people in Colorado, announcing the concept could spread if it works. The Colorado Springs Gazette will distribute the four-day-a-week bulletin, known as Ink, in downtown areas. “This is meant to be a…
Dozens of teachers will spend this morning playing video games tomorrow as part of a state conference on Internet safety.Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard has partnered with Web Wise Kids, a non-profit education group and the Entertainment Software Association for a program that uses specially designed games that make it…
This is the modern version of digging for treasure: Someone used a backhoe early this morning to claw through a Mesa Walgreen’s and drag out the store’s ATM. The machine then made quick work of the ATM, smashing it apart until the cashbox was freed. A news release by…
