One of Arizona’s most enduring murder mysteries resurfaced recently when the convicted killer of Phoenix heiress Jeanne Tovrea returned to court for his re-sentencing. Now 51, James “Butch” Harrod has been incarcerated on Arizona’s death row since shortly after he was sentenced in November 1997 for first-degree murder. Though the…
There’s a whiff of brimstone in the air, or is it that I forgot to bathe? Sniff. No, it’s definitely brimstone. The fires of hell lap around me, and there are a number of hot devil chicklettes naughtily flashing their pointed tails as I await the arrival of the Jettster,…
Mold School Truth, moral values and justice: I’m appalled at the Gilbert Public School District’s denials and inaction regarding black mold at Mesquite Junior High School (“Mold Attacks!” Robert Nelson, October 13). The district should model truth and moral values, not dishonesty and evasion. Hopefully, a good lawyer will be…
Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas stood before an eighth-floor conference room packed with reporters recently and invoked the disgraced name of Gary Jay Karpin. Thomas gestured toward an easel holding a large placard that featured a color jail-booking photo of the 54-year-old erstwhile mediator whose main business, “Divorce With Dignity,”…
Dead Man Talking Questions aplenty: I’ve got a theory as to why city of Phoenix CFO Kevin Keogh killed himself by jumping off the top of his moving Mercedes: He wanted to check out, sure, but he also wanted to make sure his death would draw the attention of a…
Jeff Corn didn’t have a doctor before 1988. Never needed one. He may have been the healthiest health nut in Gilbert. The former collegiate runner coached Gilbert’s junior high and high school cross-country teams by running out ahead of his athletes, playing rabbit to make his greyhounds stronger. He ate…
“Kreme, we’ve gotta check out Axis/Radius this Thursday,” the Jettster insists as I’m finishing off a plate of chocolate-chip brownies in my office. “DJ AM’s gonna be there and he’s like the hottest DJ on the planet right now.” “Yeah, he’s a big name,” I reply, brownie crumbs spilling. “But…
On July 18, a cruel day in Phoenix when the temperature reached a record-tying 113 degrees, fire paramedics responded to an emergency call from a downtown apartment-dweller. The caller was a woman who lives at Ninth Avenue and Grant. She said a man was on the ground in her front…
Like other Valley residents glued to the nightly news in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Kaydee Thomas saw how quickly and efficiently Governor Janet Napolitano worked to get Phoenix’s shipment of Gulf Coast evacuees into immediate housing around the city. “It was made so sunshiny and nice on television,” says…
Tearing Down the Walls Corrupt, sickening creep: Finally, after John Dougherty’s tireless reporting for the better part of five years, state and local authorities move in on Colorado City, Arizona! Never has anything been so eagerly awaited by right-thinking residents of Arizona and Utah (“Under Siege,” September 22). All I…
I really wanted to see Joe Arpaio get roasted on October 1, during an event to raise money for the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office’s animal posse. I called the MCSO and asked how to buy tickets for the shindig. A posse man who identified himself only as Commander Tom told…
Less than an hour into our survey of the sprawling Scottsdale party palace Barcelona, and already Jett’s bent over with a black gent’s teeth in her pretty posterior. And sadly, that black gent ain’t me. It’s tamer than it sounds. The ambisexual Giselle of the PHX still has her jeans…
It’s sometime between 11 and midnight, and I’m seated at the bar of the “air patio” at e4 (www.e4-az.com), Scottsdale’s new epicenter of wickedness, a Vegas-style nightclub with four theme rooms based on the elements: fire, water, air and earth. Next to me is the devil in the flesh herself,…
Bill Rudy takes a slurp of the melted ice and Coke at the bottom of his cup. He cradles his last 1,400 in chips, takes another peek at the pair of cards he’s been dealt, mumbles to himself, and then makes the call. “What the hell,” he announces, pushing all…
Hours after the bizarre death last December of the City of Phoenix’s chief financial officer, city officials blamed a brain parasite contracted in Mexico for his bizarre demise. Now, nine months of extensive testing have eliminated the possibility that such a parasite caused Kevin Keogh, 55, to crawl out the…
In retrospect, it wasn’t exactly a brilliant move for an AIDS charity to bring on arch-conservative Congressman J.D. Hayworth as its partner. Hayworth, after all, has repeatedly refused to sponsor legislation that would prohibit workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation. In 2001, he voted to bar the District of Columbia…
Girl-on-Girl Reaction Curious no longer: Your thesis on bi-curious women is something I’ve always observed, but I’ve never seen anything written about it before in the press (“The Vagina Dialogues,” Sarah Fenske, September 15). The fact is, women are almost always more attracted to other women’s bodies than to men’s…
Fundamentalist Mormon polygamists along the Arizona-Utah border are steeling themselves against law enforcement agencies coming at them from several fronts. Formidable eight-foot walls — built from blocks, wood and steel, and occasionally mounted with surveillance cameras — are under construction around the homes of many of the followers of Warren…
Elton Bush loves Arizona. He’s not too fond of his ironic namesake, the president, for taking his time mobilizing the guard while Elton and his wife waited for a helicopter on the interstate for three days. He’s also not too happy with the mayor of New Orleans, for not having…
Funny Business A “Wonderful Russ” sighting: Really great article on the Valley’s comedy scene (“Jokers Wild,” Jimmy Magahern, September 8)! When I saw the cover of New Times, I just had to read this, having personally done standup comedy a decade ago. Dan Mer still knows better than everyone else…
“Jesus H. Christ on a crutch!” I cry as I ease our whip a block south of the downtown Phoenix arts venue .anti_space at 815 West Madison Street. “It looks like a freakin’ Rob Zombie flick down here.” “Oh, Kreme, they’re just crackheads,” sputters the J-unit, pooh-poohing my dismay at…
Jen Sincero was having the best sex of her life. And while that should have been cause for celebration, it wasn’t quite that simple. After all, in the age of Oprah, you can’t simply live. You need explanation. Analysis. Most important, you need written assurance that your life choices fit…
