Whether you’re concerned about the impact uranium mining has on the air quality of the Grand Canyon or think the issue has been blown way out of proportion, you have one week left to share your thoughts with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality before the agency renews permits for…
A Maricopa County Superior Court judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging thousands of signatures gathered in support of an initiative to increase Arizona’s minimum wage, clearing the way for it to appear on the ballot. Given that it hinged on the minutiae of Arizona law concerning ballot initiatives, it was…
A Mesa police supervisor was facing termination before he retired last week following his recent conviction for super-extreme DUI, a police spokesman says. Richard “Rick” Van Galder, who had more than 20 years on the force, was stopped in February with his wife, Teresa, a Mesa PD homicide detective, as…
Health officials have issued their second alert of the summer about a microscopic parasite that is spread in feces, can survive in chlorinated pools, and induces a nasty case of infectious diarrhea. The 100 victims officials know about are just the tip of the iceberg, warns Dr. Rebecca Sunenshine, medical…
Social scientists have a term for young people between the ages of 16 and 24 who aren’t in school and don’t have jobs: disconnected youth. Starbucks has a plan for them. Late last week, the Seattle-based caffeinater to the masses held a press conference to unveil a free job-training program for…
Winter has come early for Sheriff Joe Arpaio, with a hard snowfall in August. Late Friday afternoon, federal Judge G. Murray Snow issued his long-awaited ruling on possible criminal contempt charges for Arpaio, his Chief Deputy Jerry Sheridan, the MCSO’s former Professional Standards Bureau Captain Steve Bailey, and ex-Arpaio attorney…
On Thursday, a Maricopa County judge threw out a lawsuit challenging the pending Arizona ballot initiative to legalize marijuana for recreational use. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Jo Lynn Gentry ruled that the plaintiffs had no legal standing and made no legitimate claims. The ruling appears to clear the way for the initiative,…
Advocates of criminal-justice reform in Arizona enthusiastically praised the U.S. Department of Justice’s announcement this week that it will phase out all federal private prison contracts. But proponents of privatization reached by New Times are equally quick to criticize the decision and to emphasize that it won’t affect state policy…
Clipboards in hand, they wave down grocery shoppers and fairgoers, sweat dripping down their faces in the 120-degree Phoenix sun. “Hey, can you sign a petition?” In what appears a noble testament to the cause of the day — raising the minimum wage, legalizing marijuana — they keep at it…
If you’re a Republican, you know things are bad when Democrats throw you a lifejacket by attacking your opponent. Democratic Congresswoman and U.S. Senate hopeful Ann Kirkpatrick and the über-liberal, pro-choice advocacy group Emily’s List recently stuck their noses in the Arizona GOP primary for Senate in support of Kelli…
Arizona Department of Economic Security Director Tim Jeffries has followed up controversy over his Lady of Lourdes e-mails by sending an e-mail to all DES staff calling out his “haters.” In an e-mail he sent out on Saturday to all 7,000-plus DES employees, the former businessman, whom Governor Doug Ducey…
As Arizona aspires to become a leader in the nation’s tech industry, a new school in Phoenix is set to help students from low-income families gain the skills they’ll need to take advantage of an emerging industry. The Phoenix Coding Academy is focused on computer coding and technology. Located just…
Muslim-bashing conspiracy theorist John Guandolo must reckon that Arizona’s cop shops are lined with gold. In June, New Times reported that a 2014 visit to the Valley by Guandolo and a couple of fellow anti-Islam lecturers for a one-day “training” session hosted by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office cost the county about…
An employee of the Grand Canyon Lodge at the North Rim faces a detention hearing this morning on a charge that he choked and raped another employee after a dorm party. Jeremy Ean Bird has been held in detention since his August 11 arrest in connection with the assault, which…
Beginning September 5, Tempe will offer a rebate of up to $300 to residents who build and stock tiny libraries on their property. Mini libraries, most of which are registered with the nonprofit group Little Free Library, are publicly accessible containers of books that are available for anyone to borrow…
You would be forgiven for not recognizing the nondescript brick warehouse in Phoenix’s Grand Avenue industrial district as the site of a high-tech agricultural facility. But as soon as you step inside, the smell of hundreds of marijuana plants is overwhelming. As you make your way through the small…
The only way Mesa residents will see their police department receive a sorely needed infusion of cash is to approve a sales tax in November that will also fund an Arizona State University campus in downtown Mesa. Mesa leaders and ASU president Michael Crow hope that by putting both the public-safety…
One year after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency spilled 3 million gallons of toxic mining waste into the Animas River, the Navajo Nation is suing the agency in federal court for the millions of dollars’ worth of damages it has incurred. On August 5, 2015, a contractor hired by the…
New evidence shows that a few weeks before a teenager held in solitary confinement at Perryville Prison died in what appears to be an act of suicide, the Arizona Department of Corrections had been specifically warned about her deteriorating mental health and notified that the conditions in which she was…
An inmate who raped a teacher at an Arizona state prison in 2014 may be forced to pay her $10 million — in the unlikely event that he gets out of prison and/or inherits a boatloads of cash. A federal magistrate made the recommendation earlier this month after Jacob Harvey, 22,…
For a hardcore anti-immigrant like Sheriff Paul Babeu, who refers to the undocumented simply as “illegals,” the support of pro-“illegals” former Arizona Congressman Jim Kolbe might seem odd. But Kolbe and Babeu share a great deal when it comes to their personal histories — far beyond the fact that both men…
It’s hard to dismiss the possibility that cupping, an ancient medicinal practice involving suction on the skin, has real benefits, after Michael Phelps won his 23rd gold medal on Sunday. Yet only a handful of credible studies back up its advocates’ claims. And its pseudoscientific underpinnings mean that the more questions…
