Correction The lead item in the Arizona Republic’s “Political Insider” column on October 8 told how U.S. Senator John McCain was displaying “his notorious sense of humor” to win friends and disarm enemies in his quest for the White House. It reported: “Republicans had lost ‘a good man in Dan…
Haikus are the bonsai trees of observation. They’ve been a way of writing for at least 3,000 years. Old school. Free style, but not free form. The usual structure is 17 syllables on three lines: five-seven-five. Like this: Put down that dildo! By order of Skip Rimsza! No sex after…
So you say that you’re born to run, blinded by the light and more than just a little bit on fire to read more about The Boss? That until you make that human touch with other fans there’ll be a darkness on your edge of town? Here, then, are 10…
A few years ago, U-Haul founder L.S. Shoen finally stopped sending me copies of his interminable missives to his dozen children. I’d gotten on his extensive mailing list in the late 1980s, while preparing a story about the haunted House of Shoen. Written before the word “dysfunctional” became vogue, the…
Felix Medina sat in the corner of a filthy room, inhaled another hit of crack cocaine and kicked back, savoring his success. There were feces smeared on the walls and used condoms scattered across the floor of the dilapidated shack, but the then-23-year-old Medina basked in decadent adulation during the…
The killings are what stick in the minds of teachers and administrators. “I always listen when I hear of shootings on the news,” says Virginia Alcocer, principal of the Garcia School in the Murphy Elementary School District. “And I say, ‘Please don’t let it be our area, please don’t let…
In March, Janet Mohr decided to landscape her property. What she did won’t make the cover of Better Homes and Gardens, but she’s a real estate agent, not a landscaper. At the base of Continental Mountain, Mohr rolled pumpkin-size boulders onto an unpaved road, technically called Fleming Springs Road, that…
Mild, Mild West After an incessantly brutal summer of terminal hipness, the Flash’s coolness meter was quavering on the E sign. So the Flash had no choice but to escape for a few days to a very cool place, which turned out to be Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Wyoming is a…
I’d never tasted Creamsicle punch until the City of Scottsdale served it to me during a recent forum on the Los Arcos redevelopment project. Orange juice mixed with 7-Up and vanilla ice cream is a lot easier to swallow than the sugary half-truths developers ladled out. Their caldron of crap…
Until this fall, the only thing that Republican John McCain and Democrat Claire Sargent had in common was the fact that both ran for the United States Senate in 1992. Now they’ve both published memoirs. McCain prevailed as a candidate, and he prevails again as an author. This weekend he…
Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers Honky Tonk Union Real to Reel (Emma Java Recordings) Roger Clyne obviously didn’t like the prospect of forever being cast as the smirking musical bard who fronted the Refreshments. That, more than anything, may explain both the faults and the merits of the debut album…
On my belly they lay the blue strings You know what that means Here comes my family On their faces I see pain Thinkin’ in my head I’m the one to blame And now it’s over They close the casket And my son just became a goddamn bastard How many…
What calls itself a hospital, has acted like a hospital since its formation 16 years ago, is licensed as a general hospital in the state of Arizona, but isn’t really a hospital? According to federal authorities, the answer is: Phoenix Children’s Hospital. In a development that surprised those who have…
They have at least two things in common. First, Paradise Valley cartoonist Bil Keane, 76, and Chicago Web developer Greg Galcik, 29, attended the same Philadelphia high school. And second, neither thought Keane’s recent cease-and-desist letter to Galcik would prompt so much attention and outrage. “I just thought it would…
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme Humble John McCain officially kicked off his presidential campaign on Monday in New Hampshire. The Snowy-Haired Senator was downright jocular with reporters on his campaign plane, commandeering the PA to announce, “We haven’t raised as much money as we had hoped to, so I’m going to have…
Dope pushers lurking around playgrounds? I don’t think so. Dentists are more to blame for turning America’s children on to the perilous joys of getting high. My dentist introduced me to drugs when I was just 9 years old. A white-haired, kindly man, he laid me back in a soft,…
All is deceptively quiet on the Arizona political front. There are some rumblings — to the east, as Scottsdalians wonder who might challenge Mayor Sam Campana, and farther east, as presidential contender John McCain pounds the New Hampshire pavement — but for the most part, no one’s talking much about…
ANTHONY PERRI IS QUICK TO TELL PEOPLE THAT he’s not an educated guy. He dropped out of high school on the first day of his freshman year, after attending Italian (the one class he figured he could pass) and lunch. He’s a little fuzzy on history (he refers to General…
SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO HAS INVITED critics and fans and, of course, reporters, to help him commemorate this week’s third anniversary of his world-famous, “first and only” all-female, gravedigging chain gang. The sheriff’s September 19, 1996, start-up of the all-girl gravedigging chain gang so enraged some ministers that they stopped performing…
While an increasing number of investors speculates that the Baptist Foundation of Arizona will soon file for bankruptcy, outraged Christians who say they got fleeced by BFA are filing more actions against the financially troubled BFA in Maricopa County Superior Court. James Cook, a former BFA director, filed suit against…
As the Arizona Diamondbacks inch closer to the National League West pennant, questions are swirling about the financial health of the franchise. According to a front-page story in Sunday’s Arizona Republic, the Diamondbacks face a “cash crunch” caused by skyrocketing payroll and a dropoff of 9,000 in 1999 season ticket…
They’re Not Saying “Bruuuce” Arizona State University football fans have seen plenty of disasters at Sun Devil Stadium during Bruce Snyder’s tenure as head coach. But nothing comes close to Saturday’s debacle against 28-point underdog New Mexico State. Not even last year’s 42-38 opening loss to Washington, a game lost…
