News

Members of a trust fund set up to help pay legal expenses of embattled County Supervisor Don Stapley are being systematically harassed by deputies. Mark Flatten, (one of the few remaining reporters at the gutted East Valley Tribune), broke the latest chapter in the Stapley saga this morning. It’s interesting stuff,…

Jeanine L’Ecuyer, former Governor Janet Napolitano’s spokeswoman, has been hired at at a local lobbying and public affairs firm that represents mining interests, Magellan Health Services and Arizona State University. We figured L’Ecuyer would end up with some cushy Washington D.C. with Napolitano, like corrections department director Dora Schriro got. But with…

The county pathologist who performed the autopsy on alleged murder victim Faylene Grant in 2001 told a rapt jury yesterday afternoon that he could find “no evidence to support this being a homicide.”   Dr. Arch Mosley, a former Maricopa County assistant medical examiner now working in Coconino County, made the startling comment at the end of an…

A female PETA volunteer will strip to almost nothing but body paint and lie on a pretend barbecue grill on Thursday for a protest at the cattle industry’s Phoenix convention. PETA seems to enjoy using human flesh to make their point — the group just received a bunch of publicity…

A West Valley Justice of the Peace says he issued a court order declaring photo enforcement invalid because the fines are much lower than a regular speeding ticket. It’s doubtful he’d love the system much more if the fines were raised, though. The government’s findings on last year’s news chopper…

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: Mayor Phil Gordon Kills Plan to Give Self Two More…

Two whistle-blowing Tucson sector Border Patrol agents got their jobs back last week thanks to efforts by the American Civil Liberties Union.After Juan Curbelo and William Leafstone revealed the practice of “shotgunning” in the Border Patrol, in which vehicles were pulled over despite the lack of any legitimate reason to…

This tire shop at 10th Street and Broadway Road still appeared to be open for business when we drove by a couple of weeks ago, despite the heavy criminal charges police say are still pending against the owner, Manuel Torres. We wrote previously about meeting several employees at the shop…

Things have been a little out of whack at Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s public information office since just after the election, when Paul Chagolla was moved out. Still, we were amused by the anonymous “letter to the editor” posted on Saturday in the news release section of the sheriff’s…

  Saying it was a “distraction,” Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon has asked supporters to back off a plan that would have kept him in the mayor’s office until 2014. The plan, first revealed by New Times in this blog, would have consolidated municipal elections in Phoenix. Currently, half the City Council…

The wicked flash of a photo enforcement unit sears to the bone, sending out a beam of emotion — indignation, denial, anger, guilt — as it lights up the picture they’ll use to prosecute you.Then, when the ticket comes, it’s like junk mail that bites.Nobody likes getting a photo enforcement…

Obama goes on Arabic TV with a message to Muslims, calling Al-Qaeda’s ideas “bankrupt,” and later sending his special envoy, George Mitchell, to the Middle East for a “listening tour.” Eternal peace can’t be far behind. Jan Brewer’s new budget director — she’s more than just a pair of scissors…

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: Arizona Cardinals Send Off In Video Arizona Cardinals Get Big…

[jump] Anytime an officer is suspicious someone is carrying drugs or other illegal contraband, the person can be searched for “weapons.” The officer has nothing to lose, now that the Supreme Court has spoken: If the search produces no weapons, there’s no legal foul ball. But if it produces drugs, the cop is…

Have you ever been treated at the “We Care Clinic” in Phoenix, at 3620 West Bethany Home Road? If so, you may want to get a second opinion on, well —  everything. The place had a real-life quack on staff, Olena Kulakova (right), who pretended to be a physician at the clinic…

This morning 1,800 Cardinals fans witnessed their Super Bowl-Bound team climbing into a plane and taking off for Tampa. Among those enjoying the festivities were Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, Glendale Mayor Elaine Scruggs, and Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon. Check out the above video to see Mayor Gordon throw down a…

Irony of the Day: A Tucson police lieutenant stole $560,000 in money seized from criminals under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act over the course of four years, gambling most of it away. Richard Garcia, 47, admitted to the crime in federal court today, pleading guilty to “theft from an organization receiving…

Governor Jane Hull and most Arizona lawmakers in 2000 were responsible for one of the state’s grandest screw-ups, the so-called “Alt Fuels Fiasco.” But it was Tempe resident Amanda Ormond who got fired over the wasteful subsidy program. The scandal’s scapegoat talks about the 2000 debacle and the future of alternative fuels…