Commentators gnashed their teeth and wrung their hands when Governor J. Fife Symington III was convicted last week on seven felony counts, but the rest of us rather enjoyed ourselves. I mean, before Symington, who amongst us could actually say we knew a bank robber? Yet we all know the…
Live and Let Di Barry Graham’s “Absence of Palace” (September 4) sounds more like a grown man with a giant chip on his shoulder because he grew up as “white trash.” His column calling Princess Diana everything from airhead to media whore infuriates me! He also goes on to say…
The bailiff read the jury’s verdict: Defendant John Fife Symington III was guilty on seven counts of fraud. Last Wednesday, as Judge Roger Strand began wrapping up the most important white-collar-fraud trial in Arizona history, the governor was impassive. Still as a rock, Symington listened to Judge Strand announce his…
We’ve been fretting for nearly a week, waiting for a verdict that never came. Now it’s late on Wednesday morning, and without warning it’s announced that the verdict will come in today. The judge has decided to throw out the 11 counts the jury can’t agree on, and go with…
I know that you, the reading, voting, taxpaying public, have many questions regarding the fate of our fallen governor, J. Fife Symington III. Some of these questions are profound. Others are profane. As a public service, I will employ the handy Arizona Republic-style Q and A format to address a…
The message from the president was not memorable, an obligatory platitude on the occasion of the judge’s retirement, a well-deserved thanks for 36 years of service to his country, but it brought tears to the old man’s eyes. “I have a tendency to cry on certain occasions,” the judge said…
Six East Lounge. “The Beast.” People in Tempe have called it that since the late ’70s, when it was still a biker bar. Today, it’s easy to see–and smell–why the nickname stuck. When you walk in, rancid piss and cleaning chemicals mingle with whiskey, smoke and a musty, old-house smell…
On August 14, chief United States Bankruptcy Judge George Nielsen Jr. issued a stern order against Valley document-preparation king Dick Berry: “Richard S. Berry shall pay . . . $172,103 within ten days. This amount represents the fees received in Chapter 13 cases in violation of this court’s order entered…
His Holiness Pope John Paul II is expected soon to plumb deep into his papal infallibility. Some four million Roman Catholics–many of whom are Europeans and are inspired by recent sightings of the Blessed Virgin in places like Bosnia-Herzegovina–are lobbying John Paul to proclaim that the Virgin Mary is “Co-Redemptrix,…
This column is about the death of a 36-year-old woman, white, divorced, with two kids and no financial problems but plenty of emotional ones. She was also a member of the British Royal Family, and so it’s necessary to define my own vantage point. I am 31 years old. I’ve…
Hit and Miss Barry Graham’s straight-from-the-hip commentary on the Mary Rose Wilcox shooting (“Assailing,” August 21) came close to a bull’s eye. However, I think he misses center by attributing the random violence of “wackos” mainly to feelings of political powerlessness. Although these social dysfunctionaries do “reflect the society they…
The governing board of the Maricopa County Regional School District convenes monthly. A quorum call is never necessary. And no one ever takes attendance. The Maricopa County Regional School District Governing Board has only one member: Maricopa County Superintendent of Schools Sandra Dowling. The Maricopa County Regional School District is…
Federal officials investigating the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System are questioning billions of dollars in payments and the eligibility of thousands of clients in the system. The federal inquiry into the state Medicaid agency has mushroomed into a massive probe since questions were first raised about the agency two…
Anchor Steamy, the Sequel Here’s a hot VCR alert for all you Jineane Ford fans out there. Just weeks after The Flash printed revealing shots of the Channel 12 anchor as she appeared in the 1983 drive-in flick Chattanooga Choo Choo, rival station KPHO Channel 5 will air the movie…
John Dowd, Governor J. Fife Symington III’s lead defense attorney, long ago mastered the art of media manipulation. His strategy is simple: Intimidate reporters who challenge him; reward those who go along. Although his skills were evident last week, legal experts say the media firestorm Dowd stoked in the aftermath…
Open Season I want to thank Barry Graham for saying in his column “Assailing” (August 21) what, I know now, I wasn’t the only one thinking. When I saw on the TV news that Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox had been shot in the buttock by a man angry…
When is news not news? When you don’t get it from the Arizona Republic. Last week, through the wonders of modern media, Arizona was transfixed by Juror 161, a 74-year-old woman named Mary Jane Cotey. Cotey’s 15-minute fame meter hummed into action as she was excused from service in Governor…
One of the hippest magazines in Britain is The Big Issue. It mixes news features with coverage of sport and the arts, and reviews of local events. It has different editions in the capital cities of England and Scotland. But you can’t buy it in any store or newsstand. If…
James Warne III called a press conference earlier this month to whine about his company, Westech, once again. Warne told reporters about the injustices done to his family business by the Arizona Department of Health Services. A fourth-generation Arizonan, Warne is the former president of the now-defunct Westech Laboratories Inc.,…
Veteran prosecutor Randy Wakefield greeted a supervisor in his office on the morning of June 4. It wasn’t unusual for Jim Blake, the Maricopa County Attorney’s criminal division chief, to exchange a few friendly words with Wakefield. The pair had worked in the same shop for more than a decade…
It was Sunday, and God’s chosen representative to a few square miles of west Phoenix was about to address his new flock for the first time. Longtime parishioners of St. Jerome Catholic Church remember that 1993 morning well. It wasn’t every day that the diocese sent them a new pastor,…
He’s Not Just a Member … Arizona millionaires aren’t known for breaking ranks over social issues. In fact, if they have pet causes, they’re usually self-serving. Golf-course and movie-theater preservation come to mind. Into this staid company marches John Sperling, who has made the burning issue of marijuana legalization his…
