Though 95 law enforcement officers who died during a cop-related accidents or while chasing down some criminal activity during 2012, there were 125 deaths in 2011. And there were 128 intentional or accidental deaths in 2010. Arizona made the unfortunate list in 2012 with the death of William “Bill” Coleman,…
My hometown of El Paso is getting a new AAA baseball team. The owning group just announced the name: the El Paso Chihuahuas. Reasons given? The origins of the dog and the city’s location in the Chihuahua desert, and that it was family-friendly. Many in this city are saying the…
No one can say Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery lacks chutzpah. For years now, Montgomery has exploited anti-Latino bigotry to obtain and retain public office. When he campaigned for attorney general in 2006, Montgomery was one of many politicians who snuggled up to the racist minuteman movement. In 2010, he…
Justin Johnson and Laura Pastor, the legacy candidates in Phoenix’s 4th District, have spent considerable time and money delivering political jabs in their bids to win a spot on the City Council in the November 5 general election. The upcoming election also will decide whether Warren Stewart, pastor of First…
No witnesses saw the gruesome end of a road-rage clash between Scottsdale lawyer David Appleton and ex-rodeo cowboy Paul “Tom” Pearson in the dark parking lot of a CVS Pharmacy on the evening of November 10, 2011. As Appleton tells it, speaking publicly for the first time about the incident,…
Don Purse, a Scottsdale resident and owner of several Valley mobile home parks, claimed he was in fear of his life last year after he shot his former tenant, Danny Morales. Morales, 51, was 20 years younger than Purse and bigger when he allegedly attacked Purse on December 11, 2012…
A Phoenix man arrested on Tuesday for raping his wife admitted to the act in a confrontation call, police say. Francisco Ortiz Martinez, 53, grabbed his wife about 3 p.m. on August 25 and dragged her into the master bedroom of their Phoenix home, records state…
Joseph Hui , an Arizona State University engineering researcher, is more educated than we are about energy issues, as he reminded us in a recent email exchange. But we can’t help but stick to our “uneducated” opinions when it comes to some of his claims. Like his prediction that in…
Purdue Pharma is offering a hefty reward of up to $5,000 for information on a pair of bandits who’ve been plaguing Valley drugstores. The pair have struck seven “mom-and-pop” pharmacies between July 22 and October 21, according to Silent Witness. Bold and often sticking guns in the faces of employees,…
Here’s a free piece of advice for all you journalism majors out there: Go to law school. As a lawyer, the hours are the same, you can read and write to your heart’s content, and you get paid a pant-load to make a phone call. No kidding. Reading through invoices…
Before she landed at Go Daddy, the company that made her famous, Arizona gubernatorial candidate Christine Jones co-wrote an important article on necrophilia law. The candidate who made headlines last week after the media discovered her 2004 DUI also publishes a lot, we found, on a blog she keeps called…
Tuesday’s triple-fatality pileup on Interstate 10 near Picacho Peak wasn’t the worst in Arizona history. Dust-storm collisions are a fact of life here in the desert, ever since our forefathers laid down the superhighways. At the average cruising speed on Interstate 10 — about 90 mph, most days — being…
A move by Arizona’s Democratic senators that booted Senator Leah Landrum Taylor from her post as the Senate minority leader on Tuesday has infuriated leaders of the black community. The decision is causing further strain on the relationship between black and Latino leaders in Phoenix…
Several DREAMers burned copies of their high school diplomas at the state Attorney General’s Office today to protest a lawsuit that would deny them in-state college tuition. Dressed in graduation garb, four group members then tried to deliver a burrito from a food truck to Horne, hoping to symbolize their…
Don’t you hate when you misplace your car keys? Especially when you just robbed a fast-food joint, and you need to start that getaway vehicle? Nathan Heredia Perez and his brother know exactly how it feels, cops say…
For whatever reason, (though probably nothing more than he knows it’ll get him publicity), Arpaio’s got it in his head that his office needs drones. Not Heron TP-style Iran-busters, and not the all-purpose Predators., but those that more resemble remote-controlled multi-copters for sale at the mall. He’s waiting for approval…
Federally appointed “navigators” are offering free help at Phoenix libraries for people who want to learn more about the new health-insurance regulations passed into law with the Affordable Care Act, which most people call Obamacare. Assistance is available at the Burton Barr Central Library on Mondays for individuals who want…
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on Monday in Maricopa County Superior Court to resolve the issue of medical-marijuana extracts for a seizure-plagued boy. Saying an oil from a low-THC strain of marijuana has dramatically reduced the seizures suffered by 5-year-old Zander Welton, the ACLU and the Weltons…
A DUI can happen to anyone who drinks and has a driver’s license. And it’s happened to a lot of our fellow Arizonans: 656 last Labor Day alone. That doesn’t stop us from digging stories about politicians, celebrities, pro athletes or other notables who found themselves wasted and in handcuffs…
Black leaders are holding a press conference today to urge voters to cast ballots on November 5 and to speak out against what they say are attempts to “turn back the clock on political representative equality.” Standing on the steps of the Calvin C. Goode Municipal Building, representatives are planning…
With just a couple weeks remaining until Election Day, a final round of mailers in support of District 4 council candidate Laura Pastor are arriving in Phoenix mailboxes. They feature quotes from Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton and State Representative Debbie McCune Davis, both who have endorsed Pastor’s campaign. The fliers…
A 16-year-old boy described by a classmate as a “giant teddy” allegedly beat and choked his mom to death on Saturday morning, then attacked his stepdad. Michael Roy Helms and his accomplice, 17-year-old Christian Lee Blakely, were being held on $1 million bonds and charged as adults by the Maricopa…
