Trial of TearsNo reservations: I am a 73-year-old tribal elder from the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation. For nearly 15 years, I worked as the head cook for the tribal jail facility and I learned about the law and order on our reservation (“Tribal Belt,” Robert Nelson, December 14). I…
Debbie Jardine of Sun Lakes was preparing a dinner of liver and onions for her visiting grandson, Joey, on March 30, 1999. Joey had never had liver, and his doting grandmother was pleased to oblige. “The phone rang about 6:45,” Debbie recalls. “A lady comes on and says, ‘Mrs. Jardine,…
In The Old Man and the Sea, Santiago, the aged Cuban fisherman, redeemed himself through long-in-tooth courage in the face of defeat. A triumphant allegory, sure, but Ernest Hemingway had it wrong about one thing: No one lives long enough on the sea to become an old man. You just…
Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox appears to have violated state conflict-of-interest laws by repeatedly voting in favor of construction expenditures for Bank One Ballpark that benefited her brother-in-law’s business, county records reveal.ATL Incorporated, which is owned by Wilcox’s brother-in-law Frank Rivera, won at least four subcontracts from primary contractors…
At a downtown car wash, the pastor’s pimp-daddy Caddy is getting a final once-over by the Latino buff crew. The chestnut-colored 1977 El Dorado gleams with an optimistic glint that suggests its owner is up-to-the-moment, a person who views himself as better at setting fashion than following it. The pastor…
Vassiliy Jirov is on his own. Jirov, the International Boxing Federation cruiserweight champion of the world, is working without a trainer and without a sparring partner, shadowboxing in a makeshift boxing ring hidden in the back of the AZ Fitness gym in Mesa. For the past two years, Jirov’s been…
Maria Hernandez was 18 when a young man filled her head with exciting stories about the world that awaited them to the north. She slipped across the border with her first love, leaving behind her family’s Guadalajara farm and the dirt floor where she slept with 12 siblings under one…
In the drug trade, the Sinaloan Cowboys are said to be the kings of the stone-cold killers. In fact, though, when the Sinaloans need an unsavory hit, they call the hillbillies from Michoacán. “The guys from Michoacán are known in Sinaloa for not losing any sleep over anything,” says a…
In-N-Out Burger has been open in north Scottsdale for two months, and it’s still an hourlong wait for the fast-food chain’s popular Double Double — two meat patties and two slices of American cheese.But long lines aren’t the only concern at In-N-Out these days. The company says its trademark sandwich…
The Common Good Just cause: In response to your article about changes at Arizona Common Cause (“Lost Cause,” Amy Silverman, December 7), I would like to correct and clarify some points on behalf of that organization’s board. Arizona Good Government Association, in leaving the Common Cause family, left no unpaid…
I got shot on a fall day in 1974. I was on the Dakota prairie, hunting pheasants with fellow college students. A friend and I were “blocking” — standing at the mouth of a draw that drained a dry marsh. The rest of our party crashed through the dense, brittle…
Dimpled CandidateThe 2000 election is barely history, yet the horses are already lining up for the next race — in 2002. The latest filly to float her name for public office is Jordan Rich Rose, who confirms that she is “considering” a GOP bid for Arizona Secretary of State.That could…
Rick Shea recently began serving time as one of Dave Alvin’s Guilty Men, but he’s no prison fish: Sawbones is his third solo album. Shea’s own musical style, like Alvin’s, is a mix of influences — a little contemporary folk here, a bit of George Jones over there — but…
Considering the head-spinning frequency of its lineup changes and the sole authorship of its songs, Whiskeytown has no reason to continue now that leader Ryan Adams has released a solo disc, other than its cool name and the fact that there’s probably a contract somewhere with Adams’ signature on it…
“URGENT NEW INFORMATION!! PLEASE FORWARD TO RESPONSIBLE PARTIES OF THE BANK ONE BALLPARK SAFE OPERATION AND MANAGEMENT!!” So began a stark, and somewhat bizarre, letter that was faxed on May 16 to Arizona Diamondbacks attorney Brad Holm. Ramon J. Cook, a construction engineer from Texas, had been hired to review…
San Carlos — Margarite Faras sits at her dining room table weighing the cost/benefits of her weaponry. The old snub-nose .38 is handy but about as accurate as a blunderbuss. The high-powered rifle is deadly beyond 30 yards but worthless in close quarters. A sawed-off 12-gauge would be best, but…
News that the Arizona Board of Accountancy took serious action last week against Arthur Andersen LLP, a multinational accounting firm, for allegedly ignoring and covering up fraud within the failed Baptist Foundation of Arizona was “the first ray of sunshine” in a year for Fred and Betty Ordorica. The Ordoricas,…
The final act in Judge James McDougall’s career occurred last month, when a state disciplinary body reprimanded the former jurist for having been derelict on the job. “[McDougall] admitted there was evidence of delay in matters pending in his court, and such delay resulted from his inadequate supervision of his…
Cause and EffectCommon ground: I want to let you know that I think your article about Dennis Burke and Arizona Common Cause was unfair (“Lost Cause,” Amy Silverman, December 7).In my 3,200-mile walk across the U.S. that ended earlier this year, just after my 90th birthday, Dennis and others in…
Have you noticed the haze hovering over the Valley? Attribute it to exhaust venting from smoke-filled rooms where bureaucrats, civic boosters, lawyers and business types are plotting to get a $335 million football stadium built on their turf. Voter approval of Proposition 302 has triggered furious competition among communities that…
Feathered FiendsTitanium — one of the Air Force Academy’s peregrine falcons — zips just over the heads of students from Tempe High School’s honors biology class. The raptor is about to snag a piece of meat on the end of string being swung by his handler when all hell breaks…
Desolation is available in bulk around much of Riggs Road, that stretch of two-lane highway south of Phoenix that cuts a path through the Gila Indian Reservation. Too long on a desolate road can do something to you. Objects start to look inconsequential and hollow. Polished cars become rushing blurs…
