Our cover story this last week told you about the unexpected consequences of Arizona’s Clean Elections experiment: a more polarized legislature, a fair amount of gratuitious spending, and dirty tricks aplenty. But one of our sources recently pointed us toward an interesting phenomena potentially related to Clean Elections –…
Senator John McCain grew visibly angry during a discussion about immigration issues with Hispanic business leaders, telling them “you people” made the choice in the presidential election, says a report by the National Journal Magazine. A spokesman for McCain called the accusation a form of “character assassination,” but the alleged quotes from…
Two former executives of the company that owns Checker Auto Parts — both local men — have been charged in a 31-count federal indictment with falsifying reports, lying to an auditor, and other schemes intended to manipulate the company’s reported earnings. Former CSK executives Martin G. Fraser, 53, of Glendale,…
Part one of Sharpton and Lewis vs. TV minuteman Lou Dobbs I don’t know what CNN’s resident nativist Lou Dobbs thought he was doing when he invited the Rev. Al Sharpton and ACORN’s Bertha Lewis on his program yesterday. But suffice it to say that the bottle-blond senior citizen got…
The pair of robbers entered the credit union suddenly, yelling at employees, waving a gun.Police say the robbery of the Sun West Federal Credit Union yesterday was more like Point Break than the average pass-a-note-and-run kind of bank stick-up.But it was also like America’s Dumbest Criminals: The gang took a…
A free pet spay and neuter program by Maricopa County will become more limited this year because of a deluge of customers.The national Big Fix Program is the main source of funds for the service, which is offered by Maricopa County Animal Care and Control. The county started the program…
In the “must be nice” category, local public relations guru Jason Rose and his wife, local attorney, Jordan, made the paper this morning with their new home purchase.Topping the list of this week’s priciest home sales in the Arizona Republic’s real estate round-up is the Roses’ acquisition of a $3.4…
If you’re in Mesa today and looking for something to eat, why not stop by a fundraiser for a police family suffering a tragedy?Mesa cops and members of the Fraternal Order of Police will be hosting an event from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. today at the FOP Mesa Lodge…
The New York Knicks were eliminated from the playoffs last Saturday, less than 24 hours before the Phoenix Suns were in every way but mathematically terminated by the Dallas Mavericks. Anyone but a Mike D’Antoni/Planet Orange hardcore might see humor in that ironic turn. Probably not Mike D’Antoni himself. He’s a…
Along with spotty defense, the Arizona Diamondbacks’ biggest issue to rectify in the 2009 season is scoring production. Yeah, looks like they should have saved some of Monday’s offensive firepower for last night’s game against the Colorado Rockies. Facing right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez (1-0) — armed with a fastball that consistently…
ASU sophomore James Harden, the Sun Devils basketball star recently named Pac-10 player of the year, has decided to skip his last two years of college and declare for the NBA draft…Fatality rates on roads in Arizona are at a record low, and officials partially credit the use of seat…
We understand that in the 24-hour news cycle it can be difficult to keep up. Worry not! We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times’ blogs. Today’s entries: Valley Fever: County Attorney Andrew Thomas Smears Judge Timothy Ryan — Again…
Hundreds of people are expected to show up on the State Capitol lawn on April 15 to protest taxation, including Republican Congressman John Shadegg (at left), say organizers of the “Tax Day Tea Party.” The shin-dig, which takes place from 5:30-7 p.m., is being led by American for Prosperity and right-wing…
Phoenix police confirmed on Tuesday that a local photographer was questioned in late March for taking pictures at a transit station — and that such questioning is routine. Following a police memo put out last May, Phoenix security officers have been contacting people observed observed taking pictures at Central Station…
Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas is throwing the book at two 18-year-old girls who made bomb threats at their Tempe high school, Corona Del Sol. Laurin Godson (mugshot on the left) and Lauren Tamburrelli (on the right) were charged by Thomas’ office late last month for hoaxing a terrorist attack, a class…
Last year, prosecutors working for Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas angrily accused Superior Court Judge Timothy Ryan of “a persistent pattern of conduct that indicates bias and prejudice” against his office — and demanded that he be removed from all criminal cases. That attempt failed. Yesterday, the office impugned the…
In a sign that TV stations aren’t much better off in this new media world than daily newspapers, Fox and Scripps stations in Phoenix, Detroit and Tampa are now working together to produce news. Locally, the collaboration means that news teams for “My Fox Phoenix,” (KSAZ-TV), the local Fox affiliate…
GM and Segway unveiled a “reinvention of urban transportation” today — the PUMA vehicle. If these things ever see mass production, it’s a safe bet you won’t see too many on Valley streets (see picture below). With a motorcycle, at least you can throttle your way out of trouble. These…
As I promised in a previous blog post, I participated in a national conference call this morning, which featured the Rev. Al Sharpton of the National Action Network, ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis, Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox, Pablo Alvarado of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, Rev. William Barber…
A man named “Eddie” who responded to a Craigslist ad for a car on Monday drove his own vehicle into a toddler at the seller’s Phoenix home, then fled the scene, police say. The would-be buyer, who allegedly carried the injured 16-month-old boy to his parents while saying the kid had fallen down in the driveway,…
He said, she said: Arizona Governor Jan Brewer and Attorney General Terry Goddard have butted heads over a U.S. Supreme Court case. Brewer wants Goddard to file a legal brief in support of a 2006 state law on funding for students who are learning English, and Goddard says Brewer has…
We understand that in the 24-hour news cycle it can be difficult to keep up. Worry not! We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times’ blogs. Today’s entries: Valley Fever: Don Stapley Case Bombshell: Andrew Thomas Refers Prosecution to Yavapai…
