We all know the Danish tale about the emperor whose men and subjects stroke him in admiration over his new clothes. Of course, as the story goes, the emperor actually is naked. Instead of questioning the obvious, everyone basks in a collective ignorance. Until a little boy in the crowd…
Since Governor Jan Brewer hasn’t given up on her interpretation of the Arizona Constitution that two terms really means three terms, Democratic State Senator Steve Gallardo has proposed changing the wording of that section.There’s a big problem with Gallardo’s proposal — since he’s proposing a change to the state Constitution,…
One week after the ACLU declared that federal officials had essentially contradicted Governor Jan Brewer’s executive order preventing deferred action beneficiaries from getting driver’s licenses, the governor hasn’t decided how to respond.Brewer’s August order says that participants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program do not have “any…
Earlier this week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave testimony at both House and Senate committees on the September 11 attack on the on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.Finally, Republicans got what they were waiting for — although not quite everyone was effective in their opportunity to question Clinton…
A group of medical-marijuana dispensary owners at the State Capitol yesterday afternoon urged authorities to shut down unregulated cannabis clubs. Meanwhile, up the road in a small, west Valley strip mall, medical-marijuana patients toked up openly in a “lounge” that has the look, feel, and scent of a Dutch coffeeshop…
Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu once again is trying to get on the conservative media circuit promoting himself his anti-Obama, anti-gun-control campaign. Babeu is joining a chorus of sheriffs criticizing President Barack Obama’s gun-control efforts. Conservative blogger for right-wing cnsnews.com, notes that this is the trend from Florida to California…
Out of all the parenting methods used to keep an kid from leaving the house, keeping him zip-tied in the backyard probably isn’t the best way.According to the Mesa cops who found a bloody 11-year-old boy with his feet zip-tied together, and his hands zip-tied to a porch in his…
Just about every 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 criminals brought some questionable material along…
Former state Representative Ben Arredondo ended up receiving no prison time for his charges related to his ticket-bribery exchange and scholarship scam.Instead, Arredondo — a 65-year-old Republican-turned-Democrat who served on the Tempe City Council for 16 years before making it into the state House of Representatives in 2010 — was…
A “truck driver” from Altar, Mexico, tried to hide reporting requirements for about $800,000 he put into an Arizona bank over nine months, court records state. Last week, the federal government seized about $82,000 from the account of the Mexican suspect, Ricardo Monteverde-Palazuelos. The action prompted the suspect and his…
As Jennifer Campos correctly stated in November, 2011, giving her 2-year-old son methadone to treat a toothache was probably a “bad idea.”Campos was sentenced today to 10 years of prison and a lifetime of probation for charges related to that incident.See also:-Jennifer Campos: Giving 2-Year-Old Methadone For Toothache a “Bad…
It looks like U.S. District Judge Frederick Martone had some reasons for sparing former state Representative Ben Arredondo from prison on his felony mail-fraud convictions.For one, Martone wouldn’t really peg Arredondo as the kind of guy who would use the entrails of hookers as decorations.See also:-Ben Arredondo Gets a Grand…
After more than a year of trade rumors involving Arizona Diamondbacks right-fielder Justin Upton, he’s actually being traded.The Diamondbacks traded Upton and third-baseman Chris Johnson to the Atlanta Braves for five players, including Martin Prado…
After all that, a federal judge sentenced former state Representative Ben Arredondo yesterday to zero days in jail.This, less than a year after being charged with bribery, extortion, and lying to FBI agents in a ticket-bribery exchange, then eventually pleading guilty to a mail-fraud charges, related to running a scholarship…
A 10-year-old 5th-grader at Guadalupe’s Frank Elementary learned a valuable lesson about “snitches” on Tuesday.See, the boy had enlisted help in stabbing one of his classmates for “snitching,” but the classmates ended up ratting him out to the teacher, according to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. He also learned how…
As we outlined yesterday, Republican state Representative Steve Smith is sponsoring some legislation that makes no damn sense to the rational mind.For one, consider his sponsorship of a law that only allows public-school children to avoid reciting the pledge of allegiance if they have consent from their parents.See also:-Republican State…
Phoenix Police Chief Daniel Garcia is mulling whether to fire Sergeant Phil Roberts, who investigators say lobbed numerous false allegations against fellow cops and city officials — and did so in a very public way. Roberts gained notoriety in 2010 after accusing former Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, former Public Safety…
In 1983 or 1984, I was walking home from work down Haight Street in San Francisco one evening and stopped into Watusi Records to look through the dollar cutout bin. I flipped through it for a bit and then stopped dead when I saw the Jonny Chingas Pachuco LP. I looked…
Julie Orr has plenty of reasons to bounce a check. In just a few years, she’s gone from running a successful advertising business to being a single mom on disability. Hers is a dilemma of American life: A leg injury keeps her from working, but she can’t afford the surgery…
Paul Penzone, former candidate for Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, is supporting Lawrence Robinson for Phoenix City Council’s District 8 seat. The race promises to be interesting, if not contentious. Robinson is vying to represent South Phoenix against Kate Gallego and Pastor Warren Stewart — all candidates with impressive resumes…
The Tucson Police Department says a 22-year-old high school teacher’s aide was involved in a sexual “incident” involving six male students.We’d love to tell you exactly what happened, but the cops were first to discover the video of the incident, filmed by one of the six students involved…
With the news that Republican state Representative Steve Smith is again trying to get the public to cut a quarter-million-dollar check to ousted Senate President Russell Pearce, we took a look at all the bills Smith’s sponsoring this session.To describe the list of Smith-sponsored bills in one word: nutso.See also:-Russell…
