As we’ve noted, the number of riders on the new Metro light rail system can be seen as either a train half-empty or half-full. There’s no debate, however, on the idea that ridership should keep increasing. But now, Valley Metro has cast doubt on light rail’s ability to hit…
We were in Oklahoma City the last time the ASU men’s basketball team took the floor in the wonderful event known to all as March Madness. Led by Ike Diogu, the Sun Devils got stomped by a championship-level Kansas team in the second round after upsetting Memphis a few days earlier…
The Dallas Mavericks haven’t exactly placed a foot on the Phoenix Suns’ throat and stood upright with all of their weight during the battle for the eighth and final playoff spot. See a 119-110 loss to the Golden State Warriors on March 13, a team that the Suns stomped 154-130…
As temperatures go up in the Valley this summer, so will bus and light rail fares. Valley Metro announced that starting July 1, fares will be raised from $1.25 to $1.75 for a one-way ride, and all-day passes will leap from $2.50 to $3.50. (Or $5.25 if you purchase the…
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:Sheriff’s Office Still Won’t Release 2008 Report on Deputy Investigated for…
Just got word that the cease-and-desist motion filed by Maricopa County Andrew Thomas to stop the county from taking over civil litigation matters has failed. Superior Court Judge Donald Daughton rejected the motion. As we were the first to report on Monday, the county Board of Supervisors voted to…
Speaking of warrants… All that talk of warrants last year spurred several agencies — yes, even the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office — to round up a few fugitives. About 70,000 felony and misdemeanor warrants could be served in the Phoenix metro area on any given day. One of the…
Whether Sheriff Joe Arpaio is using his resources correctly when it comes to serving felony warrants will be among issues discussed at a legislative hearing on Monday. The State Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hear testimony starting at 1:30 p.m. on the subject of felony warrants — a topic well known to…
Last year, when the city of Phoenix still had money, Earth Hour was all fun and games. Then came the recession, which forced the city to start making nine-digit budget cuts and laying off hundreds of people. New Times has confirmed that, this year, Phoenix won’t be spending thousands in public funds to…
Just got off the phone with Senator Linda Gray — who almost made us feel bad that we gave her a cyber-slapping in our previous blog post. Gray was brimming with apologies for her critical letter to local high school sophomore Ana Garcia. In fact, she’s hoping to visit Garcia’s school next…
State Senator Linda Gray slams a high school student for poor writing and displaying “ignorance” in a biting letter that was first published in the Daily Kos today. The worst part: Gray’s own letter contains poor grammar and typos. What a friggin’ hypocrite — and she claims the student’s the one…
It’s been exactly two weeks since the jury in the Doug Grant murder case began to deliberate his fate. The panel returned to work this morning, and some close to the case suspect that a verdict finally may be near. The basis for that belief are questions the jury has had in the past…
Despite the many tales of abuse, we know of only two cases in which one of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio investigated his own deputies for alleged racial profiling incidents. One is the investigation of deputies related to the traffic stop of Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon’s aide, Jessica Rodriguez. As…
The California man arrested by police thanks to a tip by a concerned alleged pimp served time previously for forcibly raping a 13-year-old girl. The vicious 1996 crime by Dell Rainbow Vanderschuit, (pictured), is mentioned in a police report obtained by New Times that also records how the perv…
Just when you thought the Phoenix Suns’ luck was improving, another player gets injured. This time it happened at the end of the first quarter of the Suns’ game against the Philadelphia 76ers when Leandro Barbosa went down with a hyper-extended left knee. It was sickening even to watch, but…
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer’s still pushing her budget-rescue plan to state lawmakers, which includes a proposed temporary tax hike. Legislators haven’t exactly received Brewer’s plan with open arms, and she says their reluctance may delay a special spring election which puts approval for the tax hike in voters’ hands. A…
Why is it that when I go to the Mexican supermarkets to buy productos femeninas, fully 98 percent of the aisle provided for such things is composed of maxi pads and the limited selection of tampons are in dusty boxes with a sell-by date of 1986? I assume it has…
JUST DESERTERS Pardon them: The point in “No Canada” about this being a “poverty draft” is a good one. Though these people enlisted and weren’t drafted, their pitiful circumstances at home made the military the best job option they could find. Then they get to Iraq and find out what…
BAD BREAK Why did six of Joe Arpaio’s goons break the arm of a Mexican house-mom? The answer seems to be that MCSO corrections officers are brutes empowered by a barbaric law enforcement entity that’s rewarded with federal immigration power under the 287(g) program. What The Bird has learned about…
An attorney who recently left a top spot at the State Bar of Arizona says Maricopa County sheriff’s detectives recently questioned him in Flagstaff about his alleged “intimidation” of another lawyer with close ties to Andrew Thomas. That attorney, Bob Van Wyck, says he was baffled by the unannounced visit…
Elaine Sanchez understands Guadalupe, Arizona, as well as she understands her six children. She was born and raised in the village of 5,500 souls hard by the freeway and the conventional suburbs of Tempe and Phoenix. Sheriff Joe Arpaio put Guadalupe on the nation’s map during his anti-immigrant sweep last…
Rusty Brown isn’t your typical civil rights hero. For starters, he’s a white male. He’s also a lawyer and a really good golfer: a six-time tournament champion at the Phoenix Country Club. (His handicap is a plus-2 — which tends to elicit gasps of envy from people who know about…
