Mother of a Problem Adding insult to injury: Good story on Amaré Stoudemire’s mother (“Amaré’s Burden,” John Dougherty, March 30)! No wonder Amaré isn’t mentally ready to come back to the Phoenix Suns and kick ass. Family problems like that can be debilitating. Even though he has his millions of…
Look Out Above Livestock and laughingstocks: I hadn’t picked up New Times much in several years until I grabbed one late last year and saw your column The Bird. At that time, I think The Bird was writing about Donald Trump’s wanting to build a high-rise at 24th and Camelback,…
By now, even the casual professional basketball fan knows that Amaré Stoudemire is making a very risky comeback from October 11 surgery on his left knee. Eight days after signing a $73-million, five-year contract extension, the Phoenix Suns superstar underwent the tricky “microfracture” procedure that has ended the careers of…
Good help’s hard to find, it seems, particularly at the Maricopa County Department of Public Health. Now, The Bird’s always considered “Public Health” an oxymoron, so this inquisitive quail’s eyebrow arched a few months ago when word began to spread that not all was right with Jacquelynn Meeks, the department’s…
A federal jury awarded $9 million to the family and estate of a 33-year-old man who died after Maricopa County detention officers improperly strapped him in a restraint chair inside a county jail. Mentally retarded and high on methamphetamine, Charles Agster III was forcibly placed in the chair inside the…
It used to be that when they talked about meth, they talked about cold medicine. Politicians from Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard to State Representative Tom O’Halleran — a Sedona Republican and former cop — were convinced that if this state could only cut the supply of the ingredients used…
House of cards. Since homebuilding is the state’s main economic engine — and since a home is the biggest investment that most local families will make — you might assume Arizona government officials take great pains to make sure construction here is done right. You’d be wrong. The state Legislature…
In 2003, when J.D. Power and Associates released its annual survey of new home buyers’ “customer satisfaction,” buyers in Phoenix topped the list — a fact the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona was quick to tout whenever anyone questioned the quality of construction in Arizona. But in 2004, Phoenix…
This just in from the How Stupid Is Andy Thomas Department: Everybody’s favorite local race-baiter had a pile of angry motions filed against him the other day from at least four Phoenix defense lawyers, who argued that the Maricopa County Attorney unintentionally disqualified his staff from prosecuting Superior Court cases…
Paco Paco might’ve been a drive-thru likker store back in the day. Something about the slanted roof, pointy lit-up sign, and the way the squat structure juts out to the south of Earll Drive on 16th Street with a little driveway off to the side. Whatever its original use, it’s…
Wool Power Just give him time: Jeez, way to go in turning the story of that Mesa fire chief guy and the lamb into a justified slam on Sheriff Joe Arpaio (“Baa-aaaaad News,” The Bird, Robrt L. Pela, March 16)! The foul fowl is such a funny writer! Even though…
Inspectors at the Arizona Registrar of Contractors get stuck dealing with bad homes after they’re built — when it’s too late to fix big problems easily. Homes under construction, however, are supervised by a different group: municipal building departments. And if you thought the state inspectors were busy — they…
Shari Wilson’s house is falling apart at the seams. And her life isn’t so great, either. You’d never know it to look at her. At 32, Wilson has the wholesome good looks of a sitcom mom. Juggling 3-month-old Teagen in her kitchen in suburban Surprise, she might be starring in…
Firefighters! You gotta love ’em. They save lives, they put out fires, they make a nice pot of chili. And one of them tried to bone a sheep, too. Now, The Bird tried desperately to fly above this story, which the Arizona Republic played straight (natch) in two tiny, buried…
How would you like to sit inside a federal courtroom for seven weeks watching a grainy videotape repeatedly document the final moments of your mentally ill son’s life inside one of Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s county jails? What would go through your mind as you saw the jailhouse video of Arpaio’s…
Four hours before showtime, and Justin Warfield, the lead singer of the neo-New Wave band She Wants Revenge, has his hands all over some chick’s panties. Okay, several chicks’ panties, to be precise. Apparently, this is what some Rock Gawds do in their spare time. Um, you know, prep merchandise…
Holy War The Muslim Mafia: In the article “The Chosen One” (Joe Watson, March 2), Deedra Abboud, who converted to Islam, fails to say why she believes and accepts as factual the Koran’s claims, such as: Non-Muslims are friends of Satan and enemies of God, the numerous (ad nauseam) commands…
Gabe Cruz was pumped as he left work at 3 a.m. on the morning of March 3, 2005, a Thursday. Gabe had put in a long shift as a “bar back” at Graham Central Station, a popular Tempe establishment. He’d hustled all night, cleaning tables and stocking the bar at…
The Bird’s nesting better at night knowing that, while local politicians wrangle over how and why to secure the Arizona-Mexico border, someone’s keeping an eye on the opportunistic bums who’ve taken policing the border into their own hands. In fact, Democratic state Representative Kyrsten Sinema has done more than spy…
You’d think that the great real estate boom engulfing the Phoenix metropolitan area would bypass the dusty, decrepit town of Gila Bend. The main drag bisecting this wayside of about 2,000 folks 60 miles southwest of downtown Phoenix is littered with crumbling commercial buildings, abandoned motor inns, half a dozen…
The Candidate Throw the rascals out: I just saw your article, and I enjoyed your unique perspective (“Load of Crappioppoli,” The Bird, Robrt L. Pela, March 2). I’m glad there is a paper in Phoenix that gives a different point of view and doesn’t just march in lockstep with the…
The only thing The Bird hates more than a bag of seeds and stems (see the recent column on bong laws, dude) is a bag of hot air. Which’s why it loves politicians so much. Especially ones who cultivate the appearance of getting all puffed up about the deep injustices…
