Ray Chatman has been behind bars since 1970, when he was convicted of killing a Circle K clerk in a robbery at age 17. He was supposed to spend the rest of his life in prison, but he’ll soon get out because of efforts by prosecutors at the Maricopa County…
Arizona State University engineering student Jason Kerestes’ jetpack won’t let its wearers fly — but running like the wind may be the next best thing. Kerestes, a graduate student and welding expert, is the “mastermind” behind the 4MM project, a combined effort by ASU and the Defense Advanced Research Projects…
Note: Please see update below. Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery’s desperate attempt to gin up controversy and milk the just-passed anniversary of 9/11 by employing a controversial ex-FBI agent to teach cops and prosecutors about Muslim extremism has taken a wacky turn. John Guandolo, the ex-FBI agent who reportedly left…
A group calling itself “Glendale Citizens for Voice and Choice” reportedly turned in more than 13,000 signatures on a “petition protesting the way the Glendale City Council approved the gaming Casino at 91st Avenue and Northern without notice to the citizenry.” We reached out to Timothy Schwartz, a spokesman for…
Just as soon as the Glendale City Council voted to support the Tohono O’odham Nation’s efforts to build a casino near the city limits, an effort got under way to collect signatures to try to stop it. The group calls itself Glendale Citizens for Voice and Choice and has embarked…
David Garcia wants to become Arizona’s next Superintendent of Public Instruction. And if he beats his challenger, Republican Diane Douglas, Garcia would be the first Latino elected to statewide office in about four decades. The Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce hopes that happens. The business association is giving its support…
Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery lowered expectations for charges in the Green Acre dog-death case this week, sparking a brief tiff with Sheriff Joe Arpaio. A Republican elected in 2010 and 2012 with Arpaio’s support, Montgomery apparently sounded too uppity for the sheriff in a news conference on Wednesday and…
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office can no longer obtain military surplus gear through a federal government program after losing nine firearms. The Sheriff’s Office obtained the equipment through what’s known as the 1033 program, which has come to national attention recently amid concerns of police militarization, especially during protests in…
At the end of the week, we bring you a roundup of visitors to the desert’s own Fourth Avenue Jail. To be considered for our Maricopa County mugshots of the week, get arrested, strike a pose, and we’ll take care of the rest. This week, our alleged offenders all have…
Sheriff’s deputies arrested a Colorado man on Wednesday on suspicion of conspiracy to commit bestiality after he put an ad on Craigslist that was answered by a police officer. Terry Wayne Haupt, 52, apparently thought his dreams of puppy love had come true when a woman answered the ad he…
Another poll of the race for governor shows a tie between Republican Doug Ducey and Democrat Fred DuVal. This poll released this week by the New York Times, CBS News, and YouGov is now the third poll since the primary election to show a tie between Ducey and DuVal…
During his regular Wednesday press conference, Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery reaffirmed his commitment to bringing a crew of Islamaphobic crackpots to town on the taxpayer’s dime, supposedly to instruct prosecutors and law enforcement on threats presented by Muslim extremists. The training session, titled “Understanding the Threat,” which is to…
Last night’s first gubernatorial debate between Republican Doug Ducey and Democrat Fred DuVal largely focused on the two candidates’ bread-and-butter issues: business growth for Ducey, and education for DuVal. The most contentious parts of the debate were over DuVal’s record on the Arizona Board of Regents, as Ducey repeated lines…
The Mexican-American community is the most adversely affected by the influx of illegals. Only the politicians have any gain from lumping all Hispanics into the Latino category. Are proud, hardworking Mexican-Americans actually willing to continually diminish their own children’s American future purely to facilitate the radical Chicano politician’s dream of…
Sue Sisley, M.D., is nearly blind. She can’t see out of her left eye and has minimal vision in her right, resulting from amblyopia, a condition she’s had since birth. Her remaining eyesight “doesn’t seem to be deteriorating further,” she says. But in recent months, Sisley’s been trying to train…
Tuning into The Russell Pearce Show on Saturday nights on Phoenix talk-radio station KKNT 960 AM can be illuminating. For example, on one recent episode, the recalled former state Senate president got off on the subject of public assistance in all its various forms. He suggested that if people would…
Governor Jan Brewer’s executive order creating the “Governor’s Office of Faith and Community Partnerships” is not sitting well with some atheist and civil-rights groups. Leaders of these groups, along with a couple of atheist politicians, delivered a letter to Brewer’s office this morning, asking for certain “safeguards” and “balance” in…
Dozens of allegations of widespread problems in the Arizona Department of Corrections’ health care system were made public yesterday. The claims come from the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona’s big class-action lawsuit against the state prison system, which claims that the ADC’s health care services are wholly inadequate (to…
Four suspects in the Green Acre dog-death case, including the son of Arizona Senator Jeff Flake, should be charged with 21 felonies each, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said on Tuesday. “I’m confident that we have the proper evidence” for criminal charges, Arpaio told reporters at the office’s headquarters in…
Maricopa County officials violated the rights of a former deputy county attorney by firing her after she spoke to a local newspaper, a federal judge confirms. In an eight-page ruling last week that upholds February’s $638,148 jury verdict in the case, U.S District Judge Frederick Martone wrote that “more than…
The storm that caused record rainfall around Phoenix yesterday caused enough damage to force some homeowners out of their houses. There’s no way of telling exactly how many people were displaced from their homes because of flooding, but Red Cross officials tell New Times that a dozen people sought shelter…
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office is sponsoring a training session for its prosecutors and other law enforcement officials on Muslim extremism, taught by individuals described as having an anti-Muslim agenda by various civil rights organizations. The all-day event, scheduled for September 19 at a hotel in Tempe, is titled “Understanding…
