Two years ago, television sportscaster-turned-congressman J.D. Hayworth was just one more name on Arizona’s list of political embarrassments. The Gingrich-ite made headlines for overnighting in his office and picking fights with seasoned House members like Maryland’s Steny Hoyer and Wisconsin’s Dave Obey. The Progressive called him one of the 10…
Like a bowl of granola laced with prune bits, I know I am supposed to like Janet Napolitano. But, damn, it’s a dry chew. Here in Arizona, amongst a certain crowd that came of age during the civil rights and Vietnam protests, it is gospel that Napolitano must be our…
I’ve known Tony West for years, and privately, West can be a very charming and nice guy. But if West is elected to the Arizona Corporation Commission, the agency that regulates securities and utilities could suffer an ethical meltdown. Here’s why: Tony West, Arizona’s current state treasurer, is impressed by…
Midnight. A blues song plays, scratching the air with the romance of desolation. A few people are still here. My feet rest on the table. I’m drinking Jack Daniel’s from a glass. On the other side of the table, Dale Baich has a glass of his own. Baich is a…
None of this happens in Arizona. An unassuming health-food salesman from Scottsdale does not craft a law designed to separate elected officials from the campaign contributions they glean from the lobbyists who wield influence at the state Capitol. A grandmother from Sun City West certainly does not organize and nurture…
The morning’s newspapers have nuked him, and Paul Johnson is dealing with the fallout. On a warm morning in early October, Johnson’s tall, lanky body is folded into the passenger seat of a speeding red Honda Passport. He juggles two different cellular phones and a pager with his driver, who…
Janet Napolitano plays it straight. While her opponent, Republican Tom McGovern, is chasing down the soccer moms and dads with boomer-ready buzz words, the Democratic candidate for attorney general stumps on her legal and managerial experience as a U.S. attorney and a private lawyer, and on her vision for the…
Each day, a squadron of earthmoving machines tears through rolling Sonoran desert 30 miles north of downtown Phoenix, ripping out native plants, destroying wildlife habitat and preparing open space for development. The planned residential community dubbed the Villages at Desert Hills is bisected by Interstate 17 and is being reshaped…
The Secret Files of BOMEX The Arizona State Board of Medical Examiners (BOMEX) voted last month to cut off public access to thousands of complaints filed against doctors. Until now, citizens could call BOMEX and find out how many complaints had been filed against a doctor, what the complaints were…
The Joke’s on Katie Sheriff Joke Arpaio made another stellar showing in his ongoing campaign to promote all-that-is-backward about the great state of Arizona. On Columbus Day, NBC’s Today show pitted the Crime Avenger against Amnesty International U.S. director William Schulz on the occasion of Amnesty’s first report in its…
Arizona Veterans Service Commission executive director Norman Gallion retired last week–hours after a New Times story reported on continuing problems in the troubled state agency. AVSC board chairman Carroll Fyffe says Gallion announced his surprise retirement–which is effective November 1–in a faxed letter sent to Fyffe’s home in Sierra Vista…
The City of Tempe is about to serve notice on the “crusties,” or homeless youths, who flock to Mill Avenue for the winter: “Watch your butts. Literally.” The Tempe City Council, in conjunction with the business district’s management company, Downtown Tempe Community Inc., is preparing to pass a municipal “sidewalk…
“Live by the mascara wand, die by the mascara wand.” If that’s not the official motto of a new Valley business catering to the cosmetology needs of the dead, it’s probably because the founders haven’t thought of it already. “Whether you’re alive or whether you’re gone, you have to wear…
Fowl Play As the No. 1 ranked Scrabble player in Arizona, I feel forced to respond to Jamie Massey’s flip comments dismissing Scrabble as a genteel alternative to cockfighting (“Out, Out, Damn Sport!” David Holthouse, October 8). At least on this end, there is no vicarious avian schadenfreude. The emotional…
They’re not in the motel room anymore. When I knock on the door no one answers, and later I find out they’re both gone. I already knew she had left but I thought he’d still be around. He isn’t, and I’m relieved. I didn’t enjoy the company of Jose the…
The luncheon appears to be nothing special, just another stop on the rubber-chicken circuit for some of the state’s true power brokers–the heads of Arizona’s utility companies. But for Paul Newman, it’s like entering the lion’s den. At the annual gathering of the Arizona Utility Investors Association, Newman, a Democrat,…
Get Dave Kleespies talking about his job and you’re listening to a driven man. On second thought, make that a “pedaled” man. A What’s My Line? panel-stumper just waiting to happen, the Ahwatukee kiddie-car craftsman operates a high-end restoration service, catering to collectors of juvenile pedal-powered jalopies dating back long…
The longtime attorney for the Arizona Veterans Service Commission is calling it quits, saying serious mismanagement and shoddy leadership have destroyed the agency’s credibility and its ability to serve veterans. Harold Merkow is attaching a scathing letter of resignation to court papers involving dozens of veterans to support his claims…
The Arizona Boys Ranch is back in business despite concerns over the death of a 16-year-old in March at the campus near Oracle. The state Department of Economic Security pulled the license of the controversial juvenile boot camp in August. But state officials and ranch operators reached a settlement last…
Quayle to the Rescue With the race for attorney general a dead heat, Democrat Janet Napolitano and Republican Tom McGovern are looking for cash–and cachet–wherever they can find it. McGovern sort of scored on both fronts when he snagged former veep and current Paradise Valleyite Dan Quayle as the main…
Chicken Chronicle I must say I am shocked by the laughable one-sidedness and aggressive tone of the cockfighting cover story (“Out, Out, Damn Sport!” October 8). And shame on David Holthouse for going to such great lengths to portray this as a question of socioeconomic class rather than one of…
Big Red is back. Governor Jane Hull shed her Granny Hull get-up and came out swinging last week after her Democratic challenger, Paul Johnson, accused her of taking campaign cash from Nevada developers thirsty for Arizona’s water. Hull has a 30-point lead in the polls. She could have scoffed at…
