George Leckie’s fund-raising expertise helped put J. Fife Symington III in the Governor’s Office. Leckie is once again seeking donations, but this time it’s in an attempt to stay out of prison. With his federal criminal trial scheduled to begin July 23, the former gubernatorial aide is quietly soliciting cash…
One Spirited Adversary Jerry Colangelo and his partners may want to consider voodoo economics. Remember Beatrice Villareal, the frail, elderly woman who lived in a meager home on the future site of Bank One Ballpark parking garage? Who can forget? She had lived on the site for more than 80…
Dirty Pool I’m appalled at John Dougherty’s article about Olympic swimming not being what it used to be (“Slow Strokes,” June 13). It saddens me when Americans such as Dougherty bash our nation’s best. Gary Hall Jr. is one of our nation’s most talented, and, according to Dougherty, it sounds…
The song begins almost imperceptibly, two notes of languid bass wafting in, back and forth on each other. Then, from somewhere off in the distance, comes a high tenor voice bearing a soft chant in some mysterious, romantic tongue. It’s joined–just barely–by a native chorus and a steel guitar line…
YOU ARE HEREBY INVITED TO ATTEND the celebration of the completion of our first ASU Law School semester. It will be the “Mother of all 1L Post-Exam Parties” (herein known as the “Mother”). This “Mother” will be held on Wednesday, December 14, 1994, commencing at 11:30 a.m. You, along with…
Wade Hutchins’ day of reckoning has arrived. The former teacher was to be sentenced June 19 for molesting more than two dozen boys at north Phoenix’s Cactus View Elementary School. A long prison sentence is a certainty. The incarceration of a criminal–especially in such an emotion-charged case–often marks a turning…
Hey, Anyone Can Have an Off Decade The Flash has been accused of being an uncompassionate, callous guy–probably justifiably–but even he can’t help but feel a twinge of pity for our pathetic, indicted, bankrupt Governor J. Fife Symington III. Let’s face it–the Fifester is refusing to quit his job because…
Aftershocks from Governor J. Fife Symington III’s 23-count federal indictment are shaking foundations at the state’s most powerful law firm. Phoenix-based Snell & Wilmer already has confirmed its long-term relationship with Symington is under federal criminal investigation. Now, records obtained by New Times reveal that Snell & Wilmer senior partner…
RoxSand in Your Face Having read the positive review of Morton’s of Chicago by New Times, it came as quite a surprise to pick up the June 6 issue and find RoxSand Scocos’ vitriolic slap at our restaurant and staff (“Menu for a Small Planet”). Obviously, Morton’s of Chicago is…
In chess, one player may be able to position his pieces to win in a set number of moves, regardless of the countermoves made by his opponent. Once this position is reached, skill and experience are meaningless. There is simply no way the opponent can protect his king from capture,…
It had not been a good month for Bob. First it was the woman, his girlfriend of a year and a half, who gave him the heave-ho. Then his truck broke down. Then somebody shot him in the head. That was eight months ago. Ask him about it now, and…
The 23-count federal indictment of Governor Fife Symington is a positive step for democracy in Arizona. The trial will make public, and notorious, business dealings that prosecutors have exposed in grand jury confidentiality. The only thing better than the indictment will be Symington’s conviction. Do not be misled by the…
At 11:45 a.m. on Thursday, June 13, the sound from four knocks on the inside of a wooden door bounced down a long hallway on the seventh floor of the U.S. District Courthouse in downtown Phoenix. They were the sounds of destiny. Outside the door, three assistant U.S. attorneys had…
As an eligibility clerk for the Arizona Department of Economic Security, Gloria-Jean Clarke spent her days with poor people, signing them up for welfare and inclusion in the state’s indigent health-care system. Although Clarke certainly didn’t qualify for food stamps, she always found it difficult to save on a $21,000…
Long Beach, California. The 1976 Olympic swimming trials. Hoisting his 20-month-old son above his head, Gary Hall swims a victory lap and salutes a cheering crowd packed into the Belmont Plaza swimming pool. At age 24, Hall has just become the second man to make the U.S. Olympic swim team…
Bill Mahoney is a real estate agent by trade, and, being a real estate agent, he talks to a good amount of people and can hold forth on many subjects. Tell you what, he says, and, next thing you know, you’re wrapped in gab and squirming for freedom. Before long,…
Competitive swimming at its highest levels contains a certain measure of magic. Superpowered performances happen only when a great number of elements are in perfect mixture. And the window of opportunity for unforgettable swims is extremely narrow. It is usually no more than a few days, once or twice a…
New Times staff writer Paul Rubin has received the State Bar of Arizona’s annual Award of Appreciation. The award is given “in recognition of outstanding service toward creation of a better public understanding of the legal profession, the administration of justice, the judiciary or the legislative process.” The 1995 award…
When the U.S. Department of Justice asked Arizona elections director Lisa Daniel for a progress report on a new law designed to get low-income citizens to vote, Daniel did what Arizona Republicans love to do. She told the feds to get lost. It’s true that the Department of Justice has…
All the News That Fits, They Print Those easternliberalmediaelite have done it again. They come into town with their fancy luggage and black turtlenecks and fat expense accounts, interview a few chamber-of-commerce types, then write some blind-boosterish fluff. The New York Times is the latest offender. A May 26 Times…
Smashing Punkin Regarding Michael Kiefer’s article in the May 30 issue about the Lone Fire (“Time to Burn”): As residents and business owners in Punkin Center, we think Kiefer should visit our town and see what we have here, or at least look at an Arizona map and find out…
You don’t have to be an enlightened sensualist to realize that railroad trains are romantic. The train is a streamlined fist of American steel and spirit that has punched its way across this nation in movies, paintings, photographs, songs, stories and real life. Trains brought the coasts together. Trains begat…
