Brian Sands, a former top-ranking deputy under Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, describes Arpaio’s current chief deputy as a bigot in a new, dirt-dishing book. Our colleague Stephen Lemons first brought you news of Sands’ book on Saturday. We ordered a copy for ourselves, and the typo-ridden, apparently self-published, 177-page…
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, we’ve got a bit of…
The Ice Bucket Challenge has raised millions of dollars for the ALS Association, but some people question whether it’s safe. One local teacher/business owner has banned her employees from participating after one of her students experienced adverse health effects following the challenge…
Robert Ramirez carried a sign that said: “Hands Up Don’t Shoot.” He was among a throng of protesters gathered in Eastlake Park in Phoenix as part of the Nationwide Day of Rage, a nationally coordinated effort to protest the shooting death of Michael Brown and subsequent turmoil between police and…
Ruben Gallego’s campaign is touting an endorsement from Jayme Valenzuela, mayor of Superior — and making sure to note that that’s Mary Rose Wilcox’s hometown. Gallego and Wilcox both are running for Arizona’s 7th Congressional District seat. Valenzuela says Gallego “has a record of honest and true public service we…
A Maricopa County judge has ordered the state to fund public school districts to the levels mandated by voters, meaning Arizona has to pay up about $300 million this year. The courts have sided with school districts that argued the Legislature was under-funding schools, based on a 2000 voter-approved law…
Arizona schools chief John Huppenthal is asking the federal government to pay the costs associated with educating unaccompanied immigrant minors here in what Latino activists say is brazen political posturing. At a press conference, Huppenthal released a letter he penned to Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education, asking for the…
Phoenix officials are considering a new plan that would make hikers move faster up and down the trails: Parking meters. Paid parking for mountain preserves and parks was authorized by the city’s Parks and Recreation Department in 2010, but so far the city has never charged users. That could be…
Campaign signs are the absolute worst — any claims made on them are typically irrelevant or false to a certain extent, and nobody wants the signs littering their neighborhood. Even worse, the signs seem to turn politicians and their staffers into juvenile delinquents every single election cycle, with sign theft…
The Mexican just got married to a chica caliente, so he’s taken her on a honeymoon to the motherland so she can learn the proper art of tortilla-making. In the meanwhile, I offer this Best Of edition, because I plan to do all of my work this week en la…
It’s “Candidates Day” at North Scottsdale Christian, a conservative, non-denominational place of worship just north of Pima Road and Dynamite Boulevard, where about 60 Democratic, Libertarian, and Republican candidates have assembled on a recent Sunday to introduce themselves. The politicians are allowed to set up tables with campaign literature in…
In response to a letter-writing campaign promoted by an anti-abortion organization, Democratic congressional candidate James Woods is mailing back condoms — campaign condoms. The form-letters sent to Woods, who’s running for the Congressional District 5 seat currently occupied by Republican Congressman Matt Salmon, asked him to sign a pledge to…
The three-way race for a District 5 seat on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors is winding down, but the candidates are not. Campaign activity is bustling with volunteers making phone calls, knocking on doors and picking up early ballots. Steve Gallardo, a former state senator who left his post…
A Glendale man has been arrested after yelling racial slurs and hitting a man over the head with a beer bottle. Joseph David Burgoyne, 28, was at Denim and Diamonds Bar in Mesa when he allegedly yelled “white power” and “nigger” at the victim. When the victim confronted Burgoyne, Burgoyne…
Tonopah residents who are fighting a new Hickman’s Family Farms facility in the town are taking the fight to Clint Hickman, a co-owner of the company and Maricopa County Supervisor. A lawsuit filed against Hickman alleges that some of the signs used by Hickman in his re-election campaign — featuring…
When Arlin Troutt was sentenced in February 1996 for a marijuana-selling conspiracy, a crowd of supporters came to the Minneapolis federal courtroom to cheer him on. The Arizona resident and former frontman for a line of hempwear affiliated with country singer Willie Nelson had been convicted of conspiring to transport…
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office last year initiated an intense traffic stop on an innocent Prescott Valley family while deputies were helping Major League Baseball chase a suspect in an alleged game-fixing scandal. Plainclothes MCSO deputies went to Prescott Valley — in Yavapai County — at the request of the…
As if there wasn’t enough traffic on Phoenix-area highways from people crashing into each other, there are also some weirder things that land on the highways and ruin your commute. Thanks to the Arizona Department of Transportation’s traffic cameras, we can show you the most bizarre things that have messed…
A 23-year-old Phoenix man was seriously injured last weekend after jumping from a moving golf cart, police say. The accident occurred in Scottsdale during the early morning hours of Sunday, August 10. The man, who is believed to have been intoxicated, sustained serious head injuries after jumping from the back…
Another day, another payout by taxpayers for a screw-up in the Maricopa County Jail. The county has paid millions to victims of jail staff over the years, but the problem seems never-ending. In this case, a career burglar who ordinarily wouldn’t deserve a dime from taxpayers is receiving a $10,000…
The day before two dead immigrants were found in the trunk of a California man driving into the United States, Arizona officials rescued two Mexicans from nearly befalling a similar fate. Ryan Alitz, a 30-year-old meth addict who moved to Arizona from Iowa this year, was arrested on August 11…
List-centric website Livability.com has rated Tempe as one of the top 10 college towns in the country for 2014 based on employment and recreational opportunities. No one would mistake the site for a peer-reviewed scientific journal — it’s owned by moving-van companies, and it began its survey by breaking college…
