Seated in the waiting room of his empty Phoenix office, defense attorney Kirk Nurmi appears beaten and battle weary. Since gaining notoriety defending convicted murderer Jodi Arias, Nurmi has lost 75 pounds, and his clothing drapes loosely on his deflated frame. Yet, at 6-foot-2 and still rotund, he remains an…
A group of Arizona lawmakers are using a new bill to take aim at the educational and leadership qualifications of Greg McKay, director of the Department of Child Safety. House Bill 2662 spells out new minimum requirements for the position — none of which McKay satisfies — that will limit…
Arizona House Majority Leader Steve Montenegro insists that all prayers that begin the day at the Legislature must include a reference to God. In an apparent effort to stop blasphemies, Montenegro issued a proclamation to House membership on January 27 that a prayer, which is the second order of business…
Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders, who’s already received the nod from Democratic Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva, has scored more endorsements from Latino leaders here. State Senator Martin Quezada (D-Phoenix) and Maricopa County Supervisor Steve Gallardo joined about a dozen other Latinos — most of them members of the Arizona Legislature —…
Talk about a never-ending local controversy: Shortly after the Phoenix City Council voted 5-4 to start its meetings with a moment of silence instead of a religious prayer so that it wouldn’t have to decide whether to allow the Satanic Temple to give the invocation at an upcoming meeting, not only…
A Scottsdale firefighter accused of starting a chaotic fight while off duty, has been docked 24 hours at work but avoided a criminal record following a deferred-prosecution deal. Chad Preslar, 28, was considered a primary instigator in the initial fight after police talked to witnesses and reviewed surveillance video, including…
If Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton gets his way, all police officers in the city will be outfitted with body-worn cameras within the next three years. In a joint statement with Councilwoman Thelma Williams, Stanton said he is officially asking City Manager Ed Zuercher to include the funding for such a…
Geocachers across Arizona are celebrating today after an executive action by Arizona Governor Doug Ducey recognized their activity and made it legal, with certain rules, on state land. Geocaching is an outdoor game that involves placing objects in small containers, marking their exact coordinates with a handheld GPS receiver, and…
What’s in a name? If you’re talking about monikers of the various cities and towns that make up the sprawling Phoenix area, it all depends. Some were named for founders. Others got their monikers from nearby landmarks, historical references, and even a few twists of fate. Here’s how 20 Valley…
New reports show the finances of an anti-marijuana group lag well behind a pro-legalization campaign. Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy (ARDP), led by Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk, collected $90,095 in contributions from November 25, 2014, to December 31, 2015, according to campaign-finance reports released last week. After spending $19,000…
At some Arizona schools, more than 30 percent of children haven’t been vaccinated against such dangerous infectious diseases as whooping cough and measles. Parents, state Representative Juan Mendez says, have a right to know which ones. The Arizona Department of Health lists vaccination rates for kindergarten and sixth-grade children online for…
Advocates for transgender rights set the Internet afire with rage this weekend after Mesa police identified a 24-year-old transgender man who was shot and killed by police as a woman. Kayden Clarke, named by police and, subsequently, the media (Including New Times), as Danielle Jacobs, started asking friends and family to…
Two Mesa police officers who shot and killed a 24-year-old woman with Asperger’s syndrome have been placed on administrative leave while officials investigate, it was announced today. “We don’t know at this point why they made the decision to go lethal,” police spokesman Esteban Flores told reporters. Three officers went…
Two trouble-making teens from a Tempe trailer park stand accused of nearly killing passengers in two cars with rifle fire. Ivan Dominguez, 18, and an unnamed 15-year-old were arrested and booked into jail on Thursday night in connection with the crime. Detective zeroed in on the boys one day after…
About four months too late, Dotty the wild Salt River horse, left to rot headless on a sandy bank by Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s crack team of animal investigators, will finally be buried this weekend by a group of spade-wielding volunteers. Simone Netherlands, president of the non-profit Salt River Wild Horse…
Facebook shut down the pages of state-authorized medical-marijuana dispensaries this week in Colorado and elsewhere, including today in Arizona. “I don’t fully understand it, and I can’t explain it,” says J.P. Holyoak, principal of Arizona Natural Selections in Phoenix. “We got a notice this morning saying our account had been…
An unknown shooter targeted two cars randomly on a Tempe street on Wednesday night, Tempe police say, injuring no one but sparking a call to the public for information. The shootings come several months after Governor Doug Ducey famously tweeted “We got him!” following the arrest of a suspect accused…
Mesa Mayor John Giles announced in his State of the City address today that Arizona State University will open a new campus in downtown Mesa. Joining him to make the big announcement was ASU’s mascot. “Sparky and I are here to announce very, very exciting news,” Giles said. “We are…
Dennis Hof, HBO reality TV star and owner of the Bunny Ranch, a successful chain of Nevada brothels, testified this week in the drawn-out trial of Tracy Elise, founder and lead priestess of the now-defunct Phoenix Goddess Temple. In an attempt to draw a sharp contrast between the inner workings…
Don’t freak out, but the Zika virus is more than likely headed to Arizona. So far, about 30 cases have been reported in the United States, but all but one (an unlucky Texan who appears to have contracted the disease through sexual intercourse with her infected husband) were travelers who…
Here, kitty, kitty! That sound you heard outside the tent while camping near Tucson? It could have been a jaguar. New wildlife-camera footage shot in the Santa Rita Mountains a few months ago shows off one of Arizona’s rarest and most beautiful mammals — Panthera onca, the native jaguar. This…
In a move that blocks a Satanist group from giving the invocation at the next Phoenix City Council meeting, the council voted 5-4 Wednesday night to no longer open every meeting with a prayer. It instead will call for a moment of silence. A member of the Satanic Temple from…
