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By Jonathan McNamara Photo by Sherri Diteman Pianist Thomas M. Lauderdale wants you to know that the lyrics in Pink Martini’s songs are not to be picked apart. In fact, to do so you’d have to know several languages. The band’s latest album Hey Eugene! features songs in Arabic, Japanese,…

By John Dickerson New Times founder and executive editor Michael Lacey was honored over the weekend with the Arizona Press Club’s Distinguished Service Award. The lifetime accolade was given for Lacey’s 38 years as a writer, editor and newspaper owner in Arizona. It was one of 17 press club awards…

By Megan Irwin New Times founder and executive editor Michael Lacey accepts the Payne Award. New Times was presented the Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism at ceremonies at the University of Oregon in Eugene. The award goes to journalists who “encourage public trust in the media by courageously practicing…

By Jonathan McNamara Gustavo Arellano of Ask a Mexican signed autographs and fielded questions from Marcos Najera at Changing Hands Bookstore on Friday. One of the questions that came up was whether or not The Mexican has ever been stumped. Arellano says it’s impossible, read more to find out if…

Jonathan McNamara Between Gustavo Arellano spouting Latin wisdom at Changing Hands Book Store, Angela Johnson’s pool side fashion show at the Clarendon, and all the other crazy happenings that went down this weekend, it wouldn’t be hard to miss a few of the other gems around town. Lucky for you,…

By Marcos Najera Last night was a trip. Nuts-and-bolts details in a moment, but first here’s the back-story. Cindy Dach popped into her office to check in with Gustavo Arellano and me. She goes “Okay, so I know I am a Jew so you are going to have to help…

By Jonathan McNamara Not only will you be able to see cars crush each other like wheeled beer cans against so many foreheads at Hellzapoppin’ Demolition Derby this weekend, you’ll also bear witness to lawn mower races and tire pushes. If you’re looking for a dose of manly excitement, you…

By Sarah Fenske Nearly a year ago, I wrote up the sad tale of Robert Stempkowski and Stephen Wolff, the entrepreneurs behind an about-to-open upscale barbecue joint in Tempe called Urban Campfire. Stempkowski and Wolff had bought a liquor license from another restaurant owner, but instead of completing the transfer,…

By Ray Stern The nephew of a woman killed in a Mesa DUI crash persuaded prosecutors and a judge today to cut Savannah Sutherland, whose parents founded Cold Stone Creamery, a break. As reported in this blog on Wednesday, Sutherland had reached a plea deal in her case two months…

By John Dickerson The best way to avoid rancid “mystery meat” in Arpaio’s jail is to claim you’re Hindu and need a vegetarian diet. That’s precisely what inmate Shaun Attwood did. He lists this and other gems of jail survival on his blog. If you’re steering clear of the slammer,…

By Jonathan McNamara In his teen years, celebrated director George Lucas wanted to be a drag racer when he grew up. Fate had other plans however, as the young Lucas found himself in a terrible car crash shortly after his high school graduation that made him think twice about his…

By Jonathan McNamara Sometimes you just need a shot. Maybe your parents are parents are coming to visit. Maybe you’re three weeks late on rent. Maybe your buddy just kicked your ass in some multi-player video game action and the only thing that will make it better is a short…

Whenever I see COPS, why is it that every time a cop tries to pull over a Mexican for a bad tail light or some other minor infraction, it turns into a high-speed chase, until all the tires are shot out and the wheels fall off, and then the Mexicans…

It’s a warm night in March, and the city of Scottsdale is under siege. Under cover of darkness, a fanatical force more than a dozen strong moves through the suburb, with the intent of converting others to their cause. Terrorists? Hardly. More like sticker-wielding supporters of local hard rockers Digital…

By the time my mother was my age, she’d already had three children. Me, I’ve yet to figure out how to keep a plant alive. This has been freaking me out a bit lately, and not in a my-biological-clock-is-ticking kind of way. (It isn’t.) It’s more like it suddenly occurred…

DYING SUNS It wasn’t Kerr’s fault: Okay, it’s over for the Phoenix Suns, but I still think your story on Steve Kerr was an important one to tell (“Running Down a Dream,” Paul Rubin, April 24). It’s moving how Kerr overcame the death of his father to become a legendary…

By Jonathan McNamara In addition to Benjamin Leatherman’s cover story on Digital Summer, New Times is proud to present not one, but two slide shows featuring the popular Valley band (if having 48,614 friends on myspace isn’t popularity, I’m not sure what is). Making the Cover: Digital Summer Ask New…

Tepec wants Sutherland to serve 1,000 hours or more of community service, in addition to a term of probation when she gets out of prison.

By Lilia Menconi San Felipe’s Cantina on Sunday, May 4 Wipe off your drool and click through our San Felipe’s Cantina slideshow. Whatever your opinion on immigration laws, there’s one Mexican import that all Zonies seem to agree on. OK, two: burritos, and the cerveza- and margarita-filled extravaganza that is…

In an unassuming corner of a Tempe strip mall lies every coffee drinker’s dream. The Cartel Coffee Lab and its coffee-obsessed owner, Jason Silberschlag, is turning out the best cup of Joe in the city and for less then you pay at Starbucks. Silberschlag’s attention to detail is evident the…