News

By Ray Stern A Border Patrol checkpoint nailed Paul Newman, an Arizona Corporation Commission candidate and current Cochise County Supervisor, for driving with pot residue in his county car four years ago. According to the article by Arizona’s one-man news service, Howard Fischer, a report by Border Patrol agent Joe…

By Stephen Lemons McCain claims he’ll kick Obama’s keister. Tucson Citizen endorses Gabby Giffords over Tim Bee. Bristol Palin’s hockey stud baby-daddy gets all Oprah on us. Cards beat Cowboys in overtime. Trojans decimate Sun Devils. Ducks devoured by Coyotes. (What is this, Animal Planet?) Suns eclipsed by Nuggets. South…

By Stephen Lemons Joe Arizona decries Joe Arpaio in new ads. Republican and ex-County Attorney Rick Romley backs Tim Nelson over Candy Thomas. Former U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton says Arpaio’s sweeps are illegal. Wall Street takes another tumble. Phoenix city government slashes $100M-plus from budget. Suns quash Jazz, 96-89. Cowboys…

By Paul Rubin A Maricopa County jury a few hours ago convicted onetime Phoenix divorce “mediator” Gary Karpin of 24 felony counts. The 57-year-old Gilbert man is facing a sentence that probably will keep him behind bars until he is a geriatric. He will remain locked up inside the Maricopa…

By Sarah Fenske Former County Attorney Rick Romley, a Republican who endorsed Andrew Thomas in 2004, announced today that this year he is endorsing Thomas’ opponent, Tim Nelson, instead. In a sharply worded statement released at a press conference in front of Thomas’ office, Romley, a 16-year veteran of the…

By Stephen Lemons Channel 12’s Joe Dana catches Arpaio with paw in cookie jar. Feds consider ownership stakes in U.S. banks. NRA endorses McCain. No surprise there. McCain likes to shoot his mouth off. Valley bus driver passes out, plows bus into wall. Hawks eat up Suns in preaseason opener…

For a time, Jack Rose was the most notorious person in Arizona government. I know, I know: You’ve never heard of him. But even if he’s forgotten, the damage was clearly done. Rose’s selfish actions not only left the taxpayers on the hook for an unprecedented $60 million jury verdict,…

I don’t like to rerun columns ’cause it makes me look like a lazy Mexican, but I realize that, as my column invades foreign terrain (Chattanooga! Columbia, South Carolina! Steamboat Springs, Colorado!), new readers might not understand some of my commandments. Following, then, are the two most-frequently asked questions about…

LOVE IT, LEAVE IT What about all the great Phoenix writers?: As a fan of Robrt L. Pela’s superb theater reviews, I was eager to read his article (“Has Phoenix Arrived? Feel the Love,” September 25). But I was very disappointed because it seems to refer to trendy business interests…

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s jail accreditation was terminated last month — even as he awaited a federal court ruling that could take his jails out of his control. Now, an examination of public records reveals that Arpaio failed for years to demonstrate that he had the proper credentials to…

On September 23, 2001, Faylene Grant wrote a letter to her husband Doug and his ex-girlfriend, Hilary DeWitt. “I know I will be here with my body until it is buried,” the 35-year-old Gilbert mother of four said. “I have held a secret hope and desire for several weeks that…

By John Dickerson Dennis Wilenchik A federal judge has dismissed certain claims in a lawsuit filed by New Times against Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas and Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Other claims in the complex suit were not dismissed, and New Times has until October 31 to file an amended complaint…

Contrary to newswire accounts, our lawsuit against Sheriff Joe Arpaio, County Attorney Andrew Thomas and former special prosecutor Dennis Wilenchik is not dead, though parts of it have been compromised by the latest ruling. What is true is that Federal Judge Susan Bolton found little wrong when this cadre of…

By Stephen Lemons Obamarama edges out Old Man McCain in town hall, claims CNN poll. U.S. retirement funds fall by 20 percent. Local Dems fault County Board of Supervisors for jail accreditation loss. Federal judge tosses New Times suit against Candy Thomas. Chief Gascon says crime’s down in Mesa. Big…

By John Dickerson New Times filed a complaint for special action this week against Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Maricopa County Superior Court, asking that a judge order Arpaio to hand over public records that his office has refused to produce despite public records requests. The disputed records include video footage…

By Stephen Lemons GOP consultant Sproul says Republicans could lose state House, Senate. Obama camp resurrects Keating Five ghosts for McCain. Obama, McCain verbal cage match tonight. Burglars prey on Valley snow birds. Arpaio claims accreditation loss not his fault. (Way to pass the buck, Joe.) Trib sacks 40 percent…

By Ray Stern Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio urges the public to trash the Valley’s two largest daily newspapers in his new campaign ad (above). Wonder if the Arizona Republic’s strongly endorsing Democrat Dan Saban, his opponent for sheriff in the upsoming election, had anything to do with this? “You…

Jim Ripley, the Trib’s executive editor, will reportedly retire in January. By Ray Stern The layoffs at the East Valley Tribune went deep, affecting some of the most prominent bylines at the paper, sources say. The most notable: Executive Editor Jim Ripley announced he will retire in January, the month…

By Ray Stern The East Valley Tribune will publish just four days a week, lose its Scottsdale and Tempe coverage and undergo massive layoffs, according to sources who just attended a meeting with the paper’s publisher. Trib publisher Julie Moreno addressed the staff at a highly anticipated (and not in…

Sheriff Joe may not have much of a sense of humor (witness his gauche “They call it the U.K.K.K.” joke at the beginning of the video below), but somebody else has managed to turn Arpaio’s nasty tacks into a little song-and-dance number.