The autonomous Lexus RX450h by Waymo cruised around the mostly-residential area in Chandler like a soccer mom would, stopping at all the stop signs, never exceeding the speed limit, and taking turns gently. Then the perfect driver met its match: a street sweeper. What to do? The city truck was…
A Twitter search for tweets hashtagged #Backpage reveals that most who voiced their opinions about this week’s U.S. Senate hearing on Backpage.com’s role in the illicit sex trade criticized the proceedings as misguided and hypocritical, and harmful to sex workers.
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey’s pro-education State of the State Address must be followed with specific funding plans, public-school advocates said on Wednesday. Members of AZ Schools Now, a coalition of interest groups that includes the Arizona Education Association, met with reporters at the state capitol to explain why Ducey and the…
More Arizona children are drowning, a government safety commission reported late last week, prompting a new call for parents and caretakers to be extra-cautious. “Watch your children around water” is a message Arizonans — who have higher-than-average swimming-pool ownership — have heard repeatedly over the years. But according to new…
In-laws flinch every time you bring up weed? Here’s how to get them to shake off those views.
Backpage executives, current and former, took the Fifth today at a hearing of the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations into child sex trafficking. The Senators say they proved Backpage’s criminality, but that remains to be seen.
Scottsdale officials plan to keep up the pressure on photo-enforcement scofflaws, despite a new Arizona law that limits the city’s power to punish people who ignore mailed violation notices. Signed by Governor Doug Ducey last year, the law — one of several that took effect January 1 — effectively rewards violators…
A viral photo of a “demon” from Arizona has people around the world wondering about the mysteries of our universe. Are you freaking kidding? Reportedly, Phoenix resident Richard Christianson snapped the picture while in Tucson, then loaded it to his Facebook account on New Year’s Day. “What the hell do…
In a bombshell development on the eve of a January 10 hearing convened by the U.S. Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations that was to include testimony from the creators of Backpage.com, the the online classifieds giant has shuttered its controversial adult listings section. “The government has unconstitutionally censored this content,” every “Adult”…
On a tense afternoon filled with anger and tears, Andy Gary Barrios, the driver of the car that killed local rapper Jose “Low Key” Hernandez and two other men a few hours after Christmas Day 2015, pleaded guilty in Phoenix municipal court on Friday of one count of causing death…
Rep. Raul Grijalva announced in a written statement today that he has received word from the White House that President Barack Obama does not plan to designate the Greater Grand Canyon National Heritage Monument in the few days he has left in office. “I can only express my profound disappointment,”…
Ignorance of the laws — and election news — wasn’t a valid excuse for an aging Arizona toker arrested this week in Golden Valley. After allegedly resisting arrest, Victor Post, 54, told deputies early Wednesday morning that he thought the state had legalized marijuana, according to the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office…
One week after President Obama designated two new national monuments, supporters of the proposed Grand Canyon monument remain optimistic that he’ll declare at least one more.
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Stuart Warner will become editor-in-chief at Phoenix New Times on January 23. Warner has more than 30 years of management experience at news organizations, most recently as senior content coach at the Arizona Republic, where he supervised reporters covering immigration, the border, the environment, the legal system,…
Arizona highway workers will continue installing signs this month designating 63 miles of roads as high-profile “Safety Corridors” in which state troopers will practice so-called zero tolerance enforcement. Officials say that with the help of an airplane and two new unmarked patrol cars, state troopers will pull over motorists in these zones…
The Arizona Republic has said goodbye to two of its best-known sportswriters, leaving a hole in the paper’s sports desk that won’t easily be filled. Paul Coro left his longtime gig covering the Phoenix Suns late last month, leaving co-workers and Suns fans wondering what happened.
Dear Stoner: I think pot will help my grandfather’s arthritis. Is there a kind of pot product — flower, edible, whatever — you’d recommend? Scott Dear Scott: According to science, you’re probably right. A study by the University of Oxford showed that cannabis-based medicine administered orally helped reduce rheumatoid arthritis…
Boaters and wake surfers on Arizona lakes would face tougher restrictions this coming fall under proposed Game and Fish Department safety rules. The state Game and Fish Department proposed the rule changes last month following a five-year study. The proposals, which require approval by the State Legislature, include: * Requiring…
The Arizona Department of Health Services has released its list of the top 100 names given to babies born in Arizona in 2016. The department has been publishing the annual list – which is based on birth certificates submitted to the AZDHS Bureau of Vital Records – on its website…
East Valley lawmaker Kelly Townsend has sparked outrage on social media this week with a Facebook post declaring that celebrities have been “dropping like flies” because “they were druggies.” A Republican state representative for District 16, which includes east Mesa and Apache Junction, Townsend deleted the post soon after the…
Chandler police are trying to determine who turned a family’s homemade menorah display into a swastika. Naomi and Seth Ellis, along with their three young sons, used PVC pipe to build the seven-foot-tall menorah in their front yard. They crafted the menorah in celebration of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah,…
Here are the best Arizona news stories of 2016, as chronicled by Phoenix New Times.
