When I was a kid, a cat lady lived near my grandparents. The cat lady’s cheeks were rouged in perfect round circles and she muttered to herself. Everyone said she was crazy, and that she smelled funny because she had hundreds of cats in her house. Sometimes, I would sneak…
Murder, He Wrote I was delighted to read Paul Rubin’s series about the Jeanne Tovrea case as I lived in Phoenix at the time of her murder (“Tovrea Murder–a Series,” February 27, March 6 and 13). While no one has been tried or convicted, I am glad to see that…
Governor J. Fife Symington III’s family has extensive personal and financial ties to a Mexican businessman who cannot enter the United States because of persistent drug-trafficking allegations, New Times has learned. The U.S. Customs Service has compiled intelligence that Alejandro Canelos Rodriguez, a Sinaloa produce farmer, shipper and distributor, may…
U.S. law enforcers face an overwhelming task in staunching the flow of illicit drugs from Mexico into the United States. At border towns such as Nogales, a handful of officers is confronted with a huge volume of cross-border pedestrian, automobile and truck traffic each day. And this doesn’t include the…
Eleven years ago, after her father suffered a stroke, a middle-aged housewife and mother named Charlotte Walton suddenly found herself at the helm of Maroney’s, the family dry-cleaning and laundry business. Walton put in long hours at Maroney’s, which has two locations in Phoenix. As company president, she rarely took…
Longest Flash on Record The Flash couldn’t help enjoying the view as Sheriff Joke Arpaio went into complete spin-and-fluster mode last week after questions were raised about his investigation into the June death of inmate Scott Norberg. Equally amusing, however, was the source of the sheriff’s consternation: stories by Arizona…
Geochemist Wallace Broecker once voiced this astute observation about Biosphere 2: “To run three acres of land without God is really complicated.” There’s no debating a statement like that, but getting into the minibar in Room 16 at the Biosphere Hotel is not without its own level of complexity. And…
Priority Mail New Times’ cover for March 6 is disgusting! A child with a cigar in his mouth! It is illegal for children to smoke, even those in rock bands! This boy is a role model, and New Times is blatantly supporting a sick message (“Straight Outta Scottsdale,” David Holthouse)…
Part 1 of this series established that animosity between Jeanne Tovrea and her stepchildren led to estrangement and litigation. It showed how James “Butch” Harrod, the man accused of killing her, continues to proclaim his innocence despite the damning presence of his fingerprints at the crime scene. Part 2 examined…
Peering over the podium at a Washington, D.C., fund raiser last July, the tiny dark-eyed child in the white satin dress flashes her audience a disarming smile–then proceeds to annihilate them with comic timing worthy of Johnny Carson. “Right now I know exactly how Susan B. Anthony felt,” announces the…
James “Butch” Harrod contacted New Times through his sister, June Barney, a few months after his September 1995 arrest. Barney said her brother was unhappy at the time with his attorney, a Maricopa County deputy public defender. She said Harrod wanted to tell his story publicly, no holds barred. New…
Descriptions that weren’t heard at a memorial service for Phoenix attorney Mike Scott last Saturday morning: Elegant. Subtle. Wimpy. Pompous. Mellow. Slick. Those who paid their respects at Phoenix’s St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church ran the gamut. Cowpokes wearing blue jeans and garish belt buckles mingled with barristers in Brooks…
Janet Reno, U.S. attorney general, made good on a threat by filing a civil rights lawsuit against the State of Arizona on Monday. The lawsuit could result in yet another instance in which a judge will oversee certain aspects of the prison system–an arrangement loathed by Governor J. Fife Symington…
Oscar Fuchslocher is still behind bars at a U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service detention center in Florence, but a federal court decision means he should be reunited with his wife in Phoenix as early as this week, according to Fuchslocher’s lawyer, Patsy Kraeger. Fuchslocher is a Chilean citizen who has…
Have Money Will Sing I must say I wasn’t at all surprised by the article about Chronic Future (“Straight Outta Scottsdale,” David Holthouse, March 6). Before I continue, let me just say that I have listened to the band’s CD and, after reading the piece about the group, I realize…
Visions are real, they do exist. Visions arise in intelligent brains. Every intelligent brain has the prerequisites for creating visions. The impulse for producing visions is of extraterrestrial origin. –Erich von Daniken What you are about to read may shock and disturb you. You may find it difficult to believe…
Willobee Carlan marches around the main floor of the Dragonflye, clutching a guest list that reads like a headhunter’s guide to music-industry lawyers, agents, A&R reps and midlevel record-company managers. His hair is slicked back. He is wearing sunglasses. He looks tense. Willobee manages a rock band. The band calls…
The lead news story in Arizona on April 1, 1988, was a grabber. “Socialite found slain,” the headline in a Phoenix daily blared. The crime could have been taken from a Columbo script–a millionaire heiress to a cattle fortune is executed as she sleeps in her home. Phoenix police had…
Let’s say you’re a pot smoker. Or a pot dealer. To you, a joint is probably no more odious than a six-pack of beer. If you weren’t too busy staring into your Lava-Lite this past Election Day, you even may have turned out to vote for Proposition 200, which, among…
Federal investigators say they have found an “unconstitutional pattern or practice of sexual misconduct” in Arizona women’s prisons, and the U.S. Department of Justice may sue the state over it. Assistant U.S. attorney general Deval Patrick directed a study of women’s prisons that lasted for 18 months, from February 1995…
It’s Only $2 Billion Before Governor J. Fife Symington III seized power, state retirees knew their $13 billion nest egg at the Arizona State Retirement System was safely invested by reputable Wall Street money-management firms. But Symington, whose real estate development company once borrowed–but did not pay back–a six-figure loan…
Japanese animation icon Speed Racer does many extraordinary things. He has fantastic driving skills. His car can perform amazing feats. He is adept at throwing a punch, and getting himself into and out of incredible jams where evil lurks just around the next hairpin turn. But one thing the hot…
