Arizona State University failed to release crucial information related to the controversial sale of the ASU president’s house when it didn’t give New Times the transcript of a telephone call from a real estate broker who alleged serious misconduct in the sale of the property. Rather than coming clean about…
You’ll recall this squawker’s scribblings regarding the whole Pink Taco brouhaha a couple of months ago. Scottsdale Mayor Mary Manross objected to the gynecological name of the Mexican-themed grub shack, which was setting up its second location at Snottsdale’s new highfalutin shopping/condo complex the Waterfront (“Raising Manross’ Hair,” April 27),…
Evidence is mounting that Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas are working together to undermine Arpaio’s chief political rival while enriching Thomas’ former law firm. And Thomas and Arpaio are using taxpayer funds to accomplish their skullduggery. The primary financial beneficiary is Phoenix law firm Wilenchik &…
I caught your appearance on the June 19 edition of The Colbert Report. You mispronounced the Spanish word “patience.” You told Colbert that the word was pacencia instead of paciencia. Why do assimilated Mexicans find Spanglish acceptable?El Erudito Dear Wab, Indeed, I did appear on the pinche hilarious Colbert Report,…
The Mexican Knowledge Honky please!: I love your new “Ask a Mexican!” column. I’ve noticed that there are New Times readers who completely miss the point about the column. These well-meaning, liberal Anglo idiots seem to think the column’s demeaning to Mexicans (for example, “Distant Relations,” Stephen D. Saulka, Letters,…
At the Thomas J. Pappas School, needy students can get free clothes, shoes, food, and dental work, all without leaving campus. What they can’t get is much of an education. For more than a decade, Maricopa County’s Pappas School has nurtured a national reputation as a place that delivers life’s…
At the intersection of First Street and Garfield, near a health clinic for indigents and an Arizona Public Service substation, there’s a burnt-orange brick building that stops pedestrians. Most of the time, you don’t see many people walking this part of town, but it’s the First Friday in May, and…
A Tempe engineer is preparing to sue the Arizona Department of Transportation, alleging that the state improperly favored minorities when awarding contracts. This isn’t just any lawsuit, because Paul Braunstein, the engineer, isn’t just any guy. He’s already sued ADOT twice, alleging corruption. The first time, he settled for almost…
I don’t know who’s been peeing in God’s Rice Krispies lately, but too many people I know have been dying. Seems like every time I turn around, someone cool has keeled over here in P-town, usually way before their time: a pal’s stepdaughter, a friend of a friend, or someone…
New Times staff writer John Dougherty is the winner of a 2006 Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism for his series “Polygamy in Arizona.” A 14-year New Times veteran, Dougherty will be awarded the medal for non-daily publications, along with a $1,000 prize, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.,…
I know this might be a seasonal question, but why do Mexicans like swimming in their clothes? Is it a Catholic thing? I remember as a child growing up in the San Fernando Valley that my pocho Catholic cousin even bathed at home in his tee shirt and underwear through…
Club Hell, Indeed Sinking to a new low: As a longtime advertiser and reader of New Times, I can honestly say that you have succeeded in sinking to a new low with your article on the event at Club Hell (“Lucifer’s Lookyloos,” Inferno, Stephen Lemons, June 8). Writer Lemons’ judgmental,…
Leesa Stuck’s house is where birds go to kill themselves. “They fly directly into the glass walls,” Stuck says, pointing a bare foot at one of the several floor-to-ceiling windows in her Paradise Valley home. “Mostly sparrows. You know, the little brown kind. They don’t know about glass. They’re just…
By now, if you follow the news, you’ve no doubt heard of Lawrence R. Pargo, a.k.a. The Poor Kid Who Police Claim Was Driving a Hyundai at 147 Freaking Miles Per Hour. But for all you cave-dwellers out there, here’s the recap: Scottsdale PD arrested Pargo, 26, in late May…
Published online June 13, 2006, 5:21 p.m. MST Maricopa County paid more than $326,000 over the past year to a private law firm that employed Andrew Thomas immediately before his election as county attorney. The county payments to Wilenchik & Bartness began in May 2005, four months after Thomas took…
Why do Mexican soccer fans chant “Osama! Osama!” when their side plays the United States? You don’t hear American soccer fans yell “La migra!” White Boy Dash Dear Gabacho, You think hurling Osama bin Laden’s name is tasteless? How about the Daily Mail columnist who, on the day England faced…
On the Road Deals made in the shade: Kudos to Sarah Fenske for taking the time to listen and investigate Paul Braunstein’s allegations (“Friends at Work,” June 1). The Arizona Department of Transportation’s shady practices are why Arizona will always be the “pothole” of the country. Shame on James Romero…
The hell with whistle-blowing! The Bird is squawking loud and clear on behalf of workers who toil on the printing presses at Phoenix Newspapers (the company responsible for inking the Arizona Republic), who are being forced to work triple shifts — or else. That’s almost 24 hours straight, folks. And…
Published online June 13, 2006, 5:21 p.m. MST Maricopa County paid more than $326,000 over the past year to a private law firm that employed Andrew Thomas immediately before his election as county attorney. The county payments to Wilenchik & Bartness began in May 2005, four months after Thomas took…
Aside from the fetish festivities this evening, which I’ll describe in a sec, Chasers in Scottsdale looks like everyone’s friendly neighborhood dive, with pool tables for the cue-ballers, a low stage for musical acts, and an abundance of TV sets, which I’m guessing on most nights feature sporting events. But…
What is it with you Mexicans who want to take back California? Is it that conquistador blood that’s driving you? Go Back to Granada Dear Gabacho, Besides beards, light skin and bad wine, the Spanish conquistadors brought with them to Mexico the legacy of reconquista, which has replaced WMDs as…
Dear Gabachos, Bienvenidos to Ask a Mexican!, the world’s foremost authority on America’s favorite beaners! The Mexican can answer any and every question on his nationality, from why Mexicans stick the Virgin of Guadalupe everywhere to our obsession with dwarves and transvestites. In the course of his answers, The Mexican…
