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: John Travolta Being Tracked Like Bigfoot by the Arizona Republic…
The 12-person jury in the Doug Grant Mormon murder case has gone home for the weekend, and it appears that members are nowhere close to reaching a verdict. The best indication of that is a “deliberation schedule” the panel sent out a few days ago to Judge Meg Mahoney, who…
Why do I bother with a middlebrow muttonhead like the Republic’s E.J. Montini? After all, this smug little scribbler is known for his milquetoasty opinions, his aversion to rocking the proverbial boat, and his kowtowing to authority. No doubt he’s well-paid for his snooty simpering, the kind that doesn’t upset…
The plot thickens:Following our report on an e-mail distributed by the journalism director at Scottsdale Community College, two of the five governing board members of the Maricopa Community College District have written in comments (reprinted in this post), and we’ve had a chance to talk to Tom Gariepy, district spokesman.The…
After 11 days of deliberating, a jury has returned guilty verdicts on multiple first-degree murder counts for serial shooter Dale Hausner.Here are a few links to the coverage:Arizona RepublicEast Valley TribuneChannel 15 (KNXV-TV)heatcity.orgHere’s an official response from Phoenix police:…
Drool away at this big-buck seizure. The Arizona Department of Public Safety today released photos of cash seized in traffic stops by state troopers, including one of a stop that netted a duffle bag containing $248,249 in cash. The evidence shows what law enforcement is facing, DPS says. The large cash…
Call it a celebrity-airplane sighting. The Arizona Republic is reporting that an airplane is parked at Deer Valley Airport that might be John Travolta’s. Even more astonishing: Some folks may have even seen John Travolta! Sure, Republic writer Betty Reid got our attention with her piece; she’s even got a nice…
The dumbing down of society has reached a new depth: The Associated Press reports this morning that a daycare worker in Arkansas accidently served 10 kids bright blue windshield wiper fluid, believing it was Kool-Aid. And we thought turning on the dryer with your kid inside was bad…
The ASU men’s basketball team has one last chance at 6 p.m. tonight to beat one of the Washington schools this season, when they meet the Washington Huskies in semi-final action at the Pac-10 basketball tournament here in L.A. The Sun Devils are fresh from completing a trifecta of victories…
What do the Phoenix Suns have left to play for, following their epic, disheartening, and potentially playoff killing losing streak? If the Suns catch fire and the Mavs majorly choke, perhaps a postseason berth, a not-impossible-but-improbable scenario. Or what about pride? Naw, this isn’t college ball, so all that hokey…
The Balsz Elementary District in the Valley has added 20 days to the school year, giving students four more weeks at school. The extension is an attempt to improve student achievement in the district, which lost 300 pupils last year…The Phoenix Suns lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers last night, with…
Immigration and Customs Enforcement released a suspected illegal immigrant Thursday night after it was determined that her arm had been broken while she was in MCSO custody. Maria del Carmen Garcia Martinez was released on her own recognizance, her left arm slung in a cast after she received treatment at…
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: Arizona Republic Absent From List of 10 Newspaper Likely to…
Talk about huevos.Last June, a man strolled up to Phoenix police officers at Sky Harbor International Airport and tried to talk them into releasing into his custody another man they were holding on an FBI warrant, says the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. In a news release put out this afternoon,…
Arizona State’s 68-56 win over the boys from Tucson in a Pac-10 tourney game that ended a few minutes ago can be attributed to one player’s piss-poor performance: Arizona’s Chase Budinger. The highly touted Wildcats’ forward played as soft as a cushy little pillow for the entire contest, finishing with…
Light rail ridership went up slightly in February, driven by an apparent increase in the number of commuters using the 20-mile system. The estimated daily average of boardings in February was 32,430, higher than January’s estimate of 29,415. Helping the system out was about 5,000 extra riders each weekday, according to a Metro…
Ponzi-scheme king Bernie Madoff got the cuffs slapped on him today and a one-way ticket to the no-frills Manhattan Correctional Facility, after pleading guilty to 11 felony counts involving his $64 billion empire of fraud, which has bilked thousands of investors. The courtroom cheered as the judge sent him on…
A widely disseminated article by 247wallst.com, a financial news blog, that lists 10 newspapers likely to fold or go all-digital in 2009 is notable locally for one reason: The Arizona Republic isn’t on it. The alleged analysis of the health of major newspapers left the state’s largest newspaper off its list despite the toilet-swirl…
Controversy over an editorial cartoon that some say makes President Obama look like a monkey is blowing up into a fight over control of student newspapers at local community colleges. At a Tuesday meeting of the Maricopa Community College District Governing Board, “all but one” member of the five-person panel “decided that all student newspapers in the…
Hellfire and damnation came to a Mesa Kingdom Hall last month in the form of an arsonist who lit up the place. The fire caused $500,000 in damage to the building, a church for Jehovah’s Witnesses. As it turns out, this wasn’t retribution by a jealous god, nor the devious…
Following the Phoenix Suns’ figurative demise in their do-or-die game versus the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night, the dudes in orange have about as much chance of making the playoffs as did Don Quixote of slaying a windmill. But that doesn’t mean the end of championship-caliber NBA hoops at US…
The National Alliance on Mental Illness gave Arizona’s mental health care system a grade of “C,”which, sadly, is higher than the national average of “D.” Governor Jan Brewer has formed a special panel to address the subject at a hearing in May…A massive house fire near 47th avenue and Glendale…
