As a quadriplegic who relies on a wheelchair to get around, Phil Pangrazio doesn’t know whether to applaud or condemn a new advocacy group that is patrolling Phoenix parking lots, taking a measuring tape to their handicap-accessible spaces, and suing businesses that don’t comply with the standards outlined in the…
A new five-kilometer fitness trail in Papago Park is drawing outrage from mountain bikers and others who worry the treasured slice of desert in the city has been needlessly ravaged. After spending $323,000 on the trail without first holding a public hearing, the city is now considering changes following complaints…
Is Senator John McCain trying to deceive Latino voters by pandering to them in Spanish? According to a new television ad from McCain’s Democratic rival, Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, the answer is a resounding yes. In the ad, which begins airing today on nine different Spanish-language television stations in Phoenix and…
If you want a guaranteed spit-take, take a gulp of coffee while watching Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s first campaign commercial of the general election, which just began running on local TV stations. It opens with images of brown and black men in orange jumpsuits with a faceless narrator, explaining, “Some cities…
There was a moment during Donald Trump’s rambling and free-associative speech at Fountain Hills back on March 19 that seemed to sum up his appeal to a certain stripe of Arizonan. “They just approved a budget, which is a disaster, the omnibus, they call it the omnibus budget,” he said…
When employees of the Arizona Department of Economic Security turn on their computers in the morning, the first thing they see is an inspirational video, often made fresh daily. “Man, I wear this cowboy hat, I have flashbacks. I thought I was riding a mechanical bull,” DES Director Tim Jeffries…
Phoenix Democrat Joe Downs easily has the coolest campaign pledge of this election cycle. “If you elect me county treasurer,” he promises in a recent YouTube video, “Russell Pearce is fired on Day One.” For those new to school, the 35-year-old Downs is referring to former state Senate President Russell…
Maricopa Strong, a recently-formed independent expenditure committee with a Phoenix address, has been sending anti-Sheriff Joe Arpaio mailers to Republicans in Maricopa County over the last couple of weeks. According to sources with knowledge of the committee, Maricopa Strong is the creation of BerlinRosen a liberal political consulting firm with…
About 600 people gathered in the Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza at the Arizona state capitol on Saturday afternoon to show support for those protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), a controversial project intended to transport oil from North Dakota to a refinery in Illinois that critics say will threaten the…
Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell is sending the results of the August 30 primary election for certification this morning, without first checking to see if she actually lost her job. In theory, a judge’s ruling on Friday in the lawsuit by Congressional District Five candidate Christine Jones could have meant…
Dear Stoner: Why does smoking weed make you hungry? Like, does science know why? Stewie Dear Stewie: The munchies are real, man. Although no one could definitively point to a brain reaction and say “There it is” for a long time, by 2015 marijuana’s ability to increase appetite was already…
Doubts as to whether the Democratic Party sincerely believes it has a strong future in Arizona – not just this November but in elections beyond – might be put to rest later today, when, New Times has learned, the national party will announce a new, long-term effort to strengthen its place in Arizona…
The lawsuit against the state by Arizona Congressional candidate Christine Jones has exposed a serious flaw in Maricopa County election policy, and more votes will be added to the total, a judge ruled on Friday. Jones, who is running in Congressional District 5, sued the state and county after last…
Third-party candidates rarely impact the outcome of a presidential election, yet in almost every political cycle, they’re typically cast as “spoilers,” and their supporters are chastised for “throwing away” their votes. But in a year like 2016 — a year that is anything but typical and one in which both…
A Chandler drug firm under investigation for its aggressive sales of a lethal painkiller claims that a large donation to a group opposing marijuana legalization was made to protect the public’s safety. Insys Therapeutics, which has made billions selling an opiate-based Fentanyl drug called Subsys, expects to soon launch a…
The Log Cabin Republicans are accusing the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee of bullying their pal Sheriff Paul Babeu, and they want it to stop, like, right now. Yep, the nation’s pre-eminent gay GOP organization is seriously peeved that, the day after Babeu emerged victorious from the August 30 Republican primary…
A push earlier this year to allow concealed guns on college campuses ignited a firestorm at the capitol, before, following frantic pushback from the Arizona Board of Regents, ultimately falling short. Meanwhile, according to a new opinion from Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, it’s been legal to carry a concealed…
A ballot initiative that aims to give adults the freedom to use, possess, and grow marijuana in Arizona might pass if the vote were held today, a new poll shows. About 600,000 Arizonans 21 and older use cannabis, research from the State Legislature has shown. All face potential felony charges…
The 2,700 revelers who attended Arizona State University’s most recent staff barbecue cast aside more than 580 pounds of soda bottles, plastic cutlery, leftover food, and other assorted trash. But less than .03 percent of that, or what Mick Dalrymple, ASU’s director of sustainability practices, describes as “about half a bag,” was actually…
There are two portraits on display in Jennifer’s Mesa living room. Two little boys. Dark-eyed with chubby cheeks, impish grins, and thick, black hair. They look so alike in their striped shirts, it’s easy to mistake them for the same child. Even Jennifer’s toddler, Jacob, the subject of one of…
Some people were upset to see that late U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater’s name is no longer on the state Republican Party headquarters in central Phoenix. One concerned citizen went as far as to contact the Arizona Republic to investigate, curious if the missing moniker might be a political statement about…
Christine Jones, candidate for Arizona’s Congressional District Five, has no intention of going gently into the good night. Her loss by nine votes in the primary election last week to Republican competitor Andy Biggs is so close, it’ll trigger an automatic recount — but Jones is already on the offensive. Jones and…
