Four state and federal authorities had the power to investigate Mortgages Ltd. before the company declared bankruptcy. At least two of the four were warned in writing about the company’s practices. None of those authorities opened public investigations into Mortgages Ltd., which was one of the largest pools of investor…
POLICE STATE Landscapers and lawyers. Cops and candle makers. Reporters and corn vendors. Undocumented immigrants and ordinary schmucks. You. What does everyone (The Bird included) have to fear in Maricopa County? Trumped-up charges. Getting arrested and having to cool your heels in stir. Bogus allegations costing thousands of dollars in…
Stacy Lee, a middle-aged African-American pastor, is standing in the entryway of the Covenant Christian Center in Peoria. He’s wearing a four-button suit with a tie and describing his church’s deal with Mortgages Ltd. “We just wanted to find out what would happen if we got to the end of…
MCSA’s Randy Parraz and Raquel Teran address reporters after the BOS lockout. It was a Magic Mountain-size roller coaster ride at the Board of Supervisors today, with the Maricopa Citizens for Safety and Accountability taking over the meeting from Supervisor and acting Chairman Max Wilson, and walking out when it…
By Amy Silverman If Tom Fitzpatrick were alive today, the guy wouldn’t believe his eyes. In 1991, the late New Times columnist devoted one of his classic diatribes to the notion that no one would ever forget the role Arizona’s U.S. senators, John McCain and Dennis DeConcini, had played as…
By Stephen Lemons Supes ready to rip up Guadalupe contract today. Goddard sues Phoenix Country Club over gender discrimination. U.S. Citizen claims MCSO asked her for green card because of car’s Canadian flag. The Phoenix cop who collapsed after that charity boxing match is dead. Sheriff hopeful Dan Saban promises…
The kids ain’t the only ones who need to lay off the Snickers, Joe. While Democrat and sheriff’s office candidate Dan Saban was laying out a plan today to put more deputies on patrol and reduce response times from the 16 minutes it sometimes takes for the MCSO to get…
By Ray Stern Phoenix Police Officer Barry Scott, [pictured], who was collapsed after competing in a charity boxing match at the Fort McDowell Casino on Friday, died Tuesday. Scott had been in critical condition since his amateur fight with a local firefighter. As New Times reported today, one spectator says…
By Ray Stern Blair Roberts and his wife rose to their feet in the third round of a charity boxing match on Friday between a Phoenix police officer and a local firefighter. But it wasn’t to cheer. “I stood up and started waving my hands, saying ‘Stop the fight!'” says…
The anti-Arpaio protest at the Well Fargo building, that pricey pad Joe’s upper echelon calls home, continues into its third week amid a virtual media blackout. Well, save for in this blog and in the current Bird column. Last week there was reportedly a similar demonstration at a Wells Fargo…
By Stephen Lemons Stock market plummets. E.J. Montini bops Arpaio on unconstitutional raids. Arizona Secretary of State Jan Brewer says election day turnout could hit 80 percent. Car dealer blames employer sanctions law for closure. Phoenix police officer collapses following boxing match. D-Backs topple Giants. UA’s Coach Olson under investigation…
By Ray Stern Phoenix Police Officer Barry Scott [pictured] was “fighting for his life” Monday after an unsanctioned boxing event on Friday night at Fort McDowell Casino, police say. Sergeant Andy Hill, spokesman for Phoenix police, says it was a “tragic twist of fate” that Scott was injured while competing…
Dan Saban making his case before a Sun City crowd in August. So I’m watching a repeat of Friday’s KAET Horizon roundtable of local journos — mainly because I’d heard that they’d mentioned last week’s Joe Arpaio fake poll controversy (reported in this blog with the help of you the…
By Jonathan McNamara Houston Press, part of our Village Voice Media family, has shown true fortitude in its coverage of Hurricane Ike over the weekend. Read the Press’ stories, see its photos and pass on the news about how our Texas neighbors are faring with the links below. Hurricane Ike…
The Wing-nut from Wasilla, reporting as unfit for duty. Anyone who hasn’t watched the Sarah Palin interviews by ABC News’ Charlie Gibson should log onto YouTube or the ABC News web site and tremble in fear. That’s what I did after missing the initial broadcasts, as I was out both…
By Stephen Lemons Arizona’s in a recession, and business moves to Mexico due to employer sanctions law. Still think it was a good idea? UNLV Rebs surprise Sun Devils in overtime. Cards devour Dolphins. D-Backs done in by Reds. Bill Heard Chevrolet shuttered. Bomb explodes at Scottsdale restaurant Dickie’s Dogs…
The gang was all there, and then some, to hear Ventura speak in Mesa. You’ll have to await next week’s Bird column for a full accounting of Jesse Ventura’s appearance at the Mesa Convention Center Thursday night. As you can see from the photo above, the Peter Boyle-lookalike packed the…
Since I reported yesterday on the fact that Sheriff Joe was losing his own fake poll on his own Web site, all kinds of shenanigans have been goin’ down at the loony lawdog’s campaign site sheriffjoe.org. First they take the poll down, then they put it back up. And now…
By Sarah Fenske Last week, I told you about the war about between pilots at the old America West and the old US Airways. Even though the airlines merged three years ago, the two groups of pilots are still operating under different contracts — and are facing off on the…
By Stephen Lemons Arpaio probed by three federal agencies. Jesse “The Bonehead” Ventura spews 9/11 nuttiness at memorial. Teacher quits over porn projection. Fire marshal resigns over lap dance flap. Woman accused of stabbing boyfriend 27 times gabs on-air, proclaims innocence. Under Sarah Palin, rape victims paid for own exam…
By Sarah Fenske It was an interesting idea. It just couldn’t work. Scottsdale gadfly Michael Merrill has long made no secret of his antipathy toward the Arizona Republic. The paper’s editorial staff tends to side, almost always, with the Chamber of Commerce crowd — and Merrill, suffice to say, has…
By Amy Silverman Tom Gosinski has surfaced. The guy who blew the whistle to New Times on Cindy McCain’s prescription drug theft surfaced this week at a Holiday Inn in the Washington, D.C. area, telling his story again. Here’s our original story, published in 1994. I spoke briefly to Gosinski…
