Maricopa County bureaucrats again are dogging the handful of folks who make a living by selling wieners around the downtown Phoenix courthouse. Ed “The Hot Dogger” Haramina and his food-cart competitors recently learned that the county has canceled the vendors’ two-year contracts at the four sites, even though more than…
Joe Arpaio is a psychopath. Arpaio is considering running for governor of Arizona. He’ll announce his decision March 27. If he runs, he’s the front-runner. Recent polls show voters view him more favorably than any other candidate. His name recognition is at 94 percent, 10 percent higher than the leading…
Roller Rugby When the tough get going: Fantastic article (“Murderball,” Susy Buchanan, February 28)! These guys are great! Anyone with half as much body function and twice as much ambition is 10 times the man I will ever be. I had no idea that this sport was growing so fast!…
On a recent Saturday afternoon at the Arizona State University gym, Andy Cohn of the Phoenix Heat lowers his head like a charging ram and powers his way across the floor. Gleefully, he smashes into one of his teammates, an unsuspecting Mike Gilliland, and the clash of metal on metal…
Star StrickenThe Spike is not the most discerning of television viewers. Other than The West Wing and 24, which are actually entertaining, the Spike is usually happy to flop on the couch for Everybody Loves Raymond reruns until it’s time to shop the 10 o’clock news for something that’s not…
As a fierce competitor myself, I can’t help but respect, if not admire, a player who leverages the strength of his opponents in an all-out effort to win the game. Because that’s what Phoenix Coyotes owner Steve Ellman has been attempting to do — use his old enemies in Scottsdale…
Fresh from the Winter Olympics, Dr. Bob Harmison has resumed teaching at Phoenix’s Argosy University, where he is a professor of sports psychology. But he’s still stoked, to borrow a word Harmison heard a thousand times in Salt Lake City during his two-week stint. Harmison served as a mental-training counselor…
Fire StormGreed screed: I was not surprised at all to see the article on Rural/Metro in your paper (“Burned,” Amy Silverman, February 14). Having almost been a “victim” of a career with Rural/Metro, I found your article was too compassionate in its coverage of the company. Rural/Metro has long been…
Let this be stated for the record: Ulises Ferragut Jr.’s mother loves him. Marie Brito says she knew her older of two children was special, even when she and her then-husband, Ulises Sr., were raising him in their native Cuba. She says her son had a rare combination of great…
Squaw Peak PotfallsThe Spike almost hates to break this news since there’s a good chance the uproar will again drown out the reality. But here goes: The Squaw Peak pots are probably coming down off the Highway 51 retaining walls. And, depending on how the state Department of Transportation rebuilds…
Up in SmokeFighting to retire: I loved your article on Rural/Metro and the screwing of its employees (“Burned,” Amy Silverman, February 14). I did not enjoy the treatment the firefighters received; I enjoyed Rural/Metro being exposed for the liars and cheats they are. I worked for them as a paramedic…
One morning not long ago, several firefighters gathered around a kitchen table to lament their impending old age. It’s a lot tougher to slide down that pole than it used to be. Heck, just getting out of bed can be a challenge. Those 3 a.m. bells clang louder than they…
Big BirdSome days, The Spike just wants to cry. Like last week, when the National Audubon Society announced it had hired former Scottsdale mayor Sam Campana to head a new statewide effort by the group, one of the largest and most prestigious environmental organizations in the country. Huh? A pro-development,…
I’ve asked the promotions staff to hurry up with my tee shirt idea. The shirt will show a convict getting barbecued in the electric chair. The convict’s sassy brunette hair will be aflame as gobs of milky eyeball juice squirt through the leather shroud. A banner above the human fireworks…
The vote passed so quietly, it didn’t even seem newsworthy. On January 16, the Phoenix City Council agreed to partner with the town of Buckeye to develop and operate a new city landfill, capable of holding all of Phoenix’s solid waste until the year 2055. The city had considered three…
In his first moments of freedom in almost nine years, Victor Donald bought coffee and sunflower seeds at a Circle K, then asked his wife, Leticia, to cook him a bowl of grits. Superior Court Judge Frank Galati had just released the 34-year-old Phoenix resident from prison after an extraordinary…
For six weeks in the summer of 1999, national media congregated at the Maricopa County courthouse to observe the Scott Falater “Sleepwalking Murder” trial. The Phoenix case attracted such attention because of its peculiar facts and even more peculiar defense (“Wake-Up Call,” Paul Rubin, July 1, 1999). That June, local…
Big LeagueNot good neighbors: I appreciate your reporting in regard to the Cardinals stadium (“National Football Cartel,” John Dougherty, January 31). I am an individual who lives south of the alternative site being considered for the stadium at 40th Street and Loop 202. Thanks for the information regarding the politics…
The failed hockey arena. The lost sales tax. The redevelopment projects delayed or defeated. The supposedly smoldering ashes of ruin in Scottsdale are legendary. That one man somehow supposedly undermined so much, all on his own, in less than four years, only adds to the legend that has become George…
People who live in the big homes that line the Arizona Biltmore golf course recently spent several weeks brushing their teeth and making ice for their vodka tonics with pond water intended for the nearby greens. Diners at Biltmore Fashion Park and nearby locales might have sipped the bad water,…
Every day, about 1,000 people go to work for the City of Phoenix’s Water Services Department. They drive the trucks. They work at the city’s water and wastewater treatment plants. They monitor the water quality. All crucial jobs in making sure the tap water that flows daily into more than…
Elephant ManThe Spike is really starting to like the way this election season is shaping up. Infighting. Back-stabbing. And it’s not just the Democrats this time. Instead, rumblings and grumblings from state Republican headquarters are so persistent these days, they’ve even reached The Spike’s e-mail. February 1 was Arizona Republican…
