Fans of tattooed faces and tear-streaked mascara will be disappointed to learn that Sheriff Joe Arpaio has canceled his controversial “Mugshot of the Day” series. Since April 2011, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office website feature had allowed the public to cast votes on the mugshots of people booked into the…
Spending by Latinos in Arizona is on the rise. They are projected to spend $42.5 billion by the end of this year. That’s according to the 20th edition of the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s “DATOS: The State of Arizona’s Hispanic Market” report. It finds that Latinos spent $38.3 billion…
It’s April 2016, and I’m at the Sheraton Grand in downtown Phoenix, trying like crazy to stay engaged with Mayor Greg Stanton’s state of the city address. He got my attention with an opening nod to Mexico consulate general Roberto Rodriguez Hernandez, with whom he’s signed an agreement to promote…
Tim Jeffries, the outspoken director of the Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES), wants people to vote no this November on Proposition 205, the ballot measure that seeks to legalize recreational use of marijuana in the state. Jeffries has donated a total of $1,500 personally to the opposition group, Arizonans for…
With polls showing Sheriff Joe Arpaio trailing in his head-to-head race with Democrat Paul Penzone, and with the first date in Arpaio’s criminal case in federal court scheduled for October 11, Arpaio’s campaign has gone negative against his rival, regurgitating a nasty, untrue accusation from their 2012 contest in a…
Sports team mascots are more than warm bodies inside furry costumes. They’re athletic, outgoing, comedic, and highly competitive characters who do things like leap through flaming hoops, allow strange children to pull their tails, and shoot stuff out of cannons. Their over-the-top aesthetic and stunts form the basis for comedy…
Churches aren’t supposed to endorse federal candidates, but it’s easy to see from a recent political screed which way a Tempe Catholic church pastor wants his flock to vote. Pastor John Bonavitacola, leader of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church in Tempe, doesn’t refer to the candidates by name in his…
The Reverend Jarrett Maupin was dragged away in handcuffs by Tempe police Monday morning during a nonviolent protest of police shootings that closed down both sides of Mill Avenue Bridge for about an hour. Maupin had just finished leading a small but vocal crowd of about 50 to 75 to…
Dear Stoner: I’ve been smoking pot for a few years, but in the last six months I’ve started smoking more as I drink less (I’m 25). My parents have always been against marijuana, but I want to be honest with them if I continue to partake. How should I break…
The recent bankruptcy filing by e-cigarette maker NJoy might bode ill for the vaping industry. Scottsdale-based NJoy filed for Chapter 11 reorganization last week, announcing it was $32 million in debt and would sell off assets to help pay creditors. It is unclear whether the company will be able to continue selling…
The Reverend Jarrett Maupin catches a lot of flak for leading protests of police shootings in greater Phoenix. But nature abhors a vacuum. And love him or loathe him, Maupin remains the point man for direct action in the Valley, keeping the pressure on law-enforcement agencies with marches and demonstrations…
Do you live under a rock? No, right? So you’re aware that Monday night, September 26, brings the first of three presidential debates between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. The event is already being billed the most-watched television event in U.S. history, which, given the complete and total lack of uncertainty…
Republican vice-presidential candidate Mike Pence largely sidestepped politics at a low-key question-and-answer session at a Mesa megachurch on Thursday, choosing instead to focus on more personal matters. Before a crowd of about 900 people at Living Word Bible Church, the Indiana governor described Republican running mate Donald Trump as a…
The Solana Generating Station — the large concentrated-solar plant near Gila Bend — was knocked out by a microburst for a few days in late July and won’t generate power normally for months, a new report reveals. The severe problem comes on top of generally poor performance from the $2…
The number of undocumented immigrants living in Arizona has slightly increased over the past few years, while the number nationwide has remained relatively the same, according to a new Pew Research Center study. In 2014, the year for which the most recent numbers are available, there were 325,000 undocumented immigrants living in…
When Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is under oath, in a deposition or during a trial, he invariably describes his management style in Reaganesque terms, asserting that he delegates the responsibilities of his office to underlings. This allows Arpaio to pass the proverbial buck to subordinates, keeping the sheriff insulated,…
Hickman’s Family Farms’ Tonapah egg ranch stinks — in a literal sense. And that, a group of downwind residents argue, should preclude the farm’s vice president of sales, Maricopa County Supervisor Clint Hickman, from having a say in the county’s air-quality control. Hickman was appointed to the five-member Maricopa County Board of Supervisors…
Despite an Arizona Supreme Court opinion and sensational news articles, Arizona parents and caregivers can rest easy: Nobody’s going to be charged with child molesting just for changing a baby’s diaper. But the fear is real — and so is the embarrassment Arizona is once again facing nationally because of poor…
In an era of hyperpartisan debate, it’s feels rare for an issue to generate broad consensus or cut across political, geographic, and demographic lines. But apparently the Grand Canyon, one of the country’s oldest and most iconic national parks, is that issue. According to a new bipartisan poll released this…
A street preacher infamous for condemning yoga pants and tramping around the University of Arizona campus hollering “You Deserve Rape” was arrested Tuesday after allegedly kicking a woman in the chest. Dean Saxton, a Christian who calls himself Brother Dean, was booked into the Pima County Jail, charged with misdemeanor assault,…
Republican Congressman Matt Salmon is teaming up with a liberal Democrat colleague to save the popular pain-relieving plant known as kratom from the government’s blacklist. Salmon, who will retire from representing Arizona’s Fifth Congressional District in January, has co-authored a letter with progressive Wisconsin Rep. Mark Pocan, asking the U.S. Drug…
Mayor John Suthers of Colorado Springs, Colorado, is an outspoken opponent of marijuana legalization — but even he doesn’t support Arizona’s felony-possession law. Suthers — also a former Colorado Attorney General — came to Arizona this week to denounce Prop 205 on behalf of the opposition group Arizonans for Responsible…
