Three high-profile Arizonans are finalists for the “Time 100,” Time Magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people of the year. They are: *Stephenie Meyer, Gilbert resident and author of the popular novel, Twilight. Read about Meyer in New Times’ 2007 feature story about her. *Danica Patrick, the short-but-sweet Indy…
Arizona Supreme Court Justice Ruth McGregor announced today that she would leave office and retire at the end of June to spend more time with her family. McGregor, a 1974 graduate of the Arizona State University College of Law, has a solid reputation in the legal community and a long history of community service…
The latest issue of the League of American Orchestras’ trade magazine Symphony features a cover story on Michael Christie, the 34-year-old conductor of the Phoenix Symphony and the Brooklyn Philharmonic. As is the case with most trade magazine stories, the article is flattering in the extreme. So much so, Christie…
One employee of the Arizona Republic noted wryly in a Facebook status update that he was at home on a mandated, unpaid leave when news came of a second round of Gannett furloughs. The new mandate requires most of Gannett’s 41,000 employees — including those at the state’s largest newspaper and Channel…
Lawyers in a major lawsuit that sought better conditions for Maricopa County Jail inmates want the county to reimburse their $1.4 million in fees since a judge ruled in their favor. In October, U.S. District Court Judge Neil Wake ordered the county to allow pretrial inmates to take their prescribed medications, to give…
With so much county news going on, we had temporarily overlooked this fascinating tidbit: Dave Hendershott Thomas Irvine, the lawyer hired by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to help backhoe the rift between top county leaders, has been appointed as co-counsel to assist in the county’s defense of a major lawsuit…
Lisa Gopalan heard several stories of alleged racial profiling while working for the Arizona branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, and now she’s got one about herself. The former office manager and spokesperson for CAIR-AZ was pulled over by Gilbert police and arrested last month on suspicion of driving while impaired,…
Don’t pet the fox with the foaming mouth: Since January 1, 59 animals in Arizona have tested positive for rabies, prompting officials to issue warnings to Arizonans to stay away from wild animals. So far, the rabid animals have exposed 29 domestic animals and seven people to the virus…Speaking of…
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: Metro Light Rail “Concerned” About Fare Increase’s Impact on Ridership;…
Laying off 40 percent of the employees at the East Valley Tribune wasn’t enough for Freedom Communications, the local paper’s Orange County parent company. The Trib’s publisher, Julie Moreno, announced this morning that remaining employees must take five days of unpaid leave between April 1 and June 30, says an article on…
A case of a Phoenix gun dealer whose sales were allegedly tied to Mexican drug cartels fell apart yesterday after a judge decided the state didn’t have enough evidence. The prosecution of George Iknadosian, (at right), of Glendale, had been heavily promoted to the news media by authorities who wanted to…
Who would have thought that the Arizona State Sun Devils could win an NCAA game with star James Harden held to just nine points? Well, they just did, beating the Temple Owls in Miami by a score of 66-57 (we predicted a 62-57 ASU win in a blog post just…
Can the Phoenix Suns make the playoffs without shooting guard (and sometimes point guard) Leandro Barbosa, who went down with a hyper-extended left knee the other night against the Philadelphia 76ers and is now expected to be out for as many as 10 games? The answer is probably not. The…
President Obama is giving Air Force One another workout with his second schlep to the Valley in four months. Obama plans on giving the spring commencement address to about 8,000 Arizona State University students at 7 p.m. on May 13. More people will see the celeb-president than during his visit…
I’ve gotta give a shout out to our sister paper Miami New Times’ Riptide blog for this disturbing post about the medieval health care female immigrant detainees receive in ICE’s countrywide gulag archipelago. In it, reporter Tim Elfrink covers a news conference in Miami where the results of two studies…
With thousands out of work, Golfland Entertainment Centers will likely host a good-sized crowd at its Saturday job fair for seasonal workers. But, to quote from a New Times headline this week, applicants better have their papers in order. If you’ll recall, Golfland was the site of a safari-hunt for…
How much you wanna bet Sheriff Joe pulls a raid during this meet-up next week of many of the organizers, lawyers, and activists involved in the pro-immigrant movement nationwide? Then again, if something like that happens March 27-28 during Somos America’s Reform Not Raids Summit, maybe they should adjourn to wherever…
As we’ve noted, the number of riders on the new Metro light rail system can be seen as either a train half-empty or half-full. There’s no debate, however, on the idea that ridership should keep increasing. But now, Valley Metro has cast doubt on light rail’s ability to hit…
We were in Oklahoma City the last time the ASU men’s basketball team took the floor in the wonderful event known to all as March Madness. Led by Ike Diogu, the Sun Devils got stomped by a championship-level Kansas team in the second round after upsetting Memphis a few days earlier…
The Dallas Mavericks haven’t exactly placed a foot on the Phoenix Suns’ throat and stood upright with all of their weight during the battle for the eighth and final playoff spot. See a 119-110 loss to the Golden State Warriors on March 13, a team that the Suns stomped 154-130…
As temperatures go up in the Valley this summer, so will bus and light rail fares. Valley Metro announced that starting July 1, fares will be raised from $1.25 to $1.75 for a one-way ride, and all-day passes will leap from $2.50 to $3.50. (Or $5.25 if you purchase the…
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:Sheriff’s Office Still Won’t Release 2008 Report on Deputy Investigated for…
