An Arizona lawmaker’s proposal to stop dispensaries from moving out of their state-designated areas highlights the need for updated medical-marijuana program rules. The Arizona Medical Marijuana Act that voters approved in 2010 requires the state to adopt rules that govern what was then a fledgling program. Besides a few court-ordered…
A bill targeting notary publics who prey on immigrants by pretending to be lawyers and providing legal services cleared its first hurdle at the Arizona Legislature on Wednesday. Senate Bill 1271 passed out of the Senate Government Committee with a 6-1 vote. The measure would allow county attorneys, not just…
Dannie Kramer says she still doesn’t know why her son Anthony Singleton died in Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s notorious Fourth Avenue Jail. Singleton, 27, was picked up by Phoenix police at his mother’s home on October 21 on a bench warrant, after his failure to appear for a court date related…
Citing concern about terrorism, an Arizona House of Representatives committee passed two bills Wednesday attempting to encumber federal efforts to resettle refugees in Arizona. The first, House Bill 2370, sponsored by Representative Bob Thorpe (R-Flagstaff), prohibits the state from using resources to enforce, administer, or cooperate with federal efforts to…
A controversial proposal to give the Arizona Department of Agriculture authority over a herd of horses that runs free along the Salt River will be debated on the legislature floor, it was decided today. The Federalism and States’ Rights Committee voted 5-2 to move House Bill 2340 on to the…
Vanessa Hudgens, star of the 2006 hit movie, “High School Musical,” is under investigation with boyfriend Austin Butler for allegedly defacing a rock with their names in Sedona. Hudgens’ Instagram page documents some of her recent trip to Arizona’s Red Rock country, but the Valentine’s post featuring her and Butler’s…
The Arizona Chamber of Commerce is offering an anti-cannabis workshop next month with prohibitionist county attorneys Bill Montgomery and Sheila Polk to help “sound the alarm” on a proposed legalization initiative. The Chamber will offer the March 2, invite-only workshop to corporate legal advisers, human-resources professionals, risk managers, and compliance…
A girl suspected of killing her friend and then killing herself at Glendale’s Independence High School on Friday borrowed the murder weapon from a classmate, who took it from his home, police said this afternoon. Glendale cops released scant new details about the tragedy today, continuing to refuse to name…
Arizona lawmakers have backed off a controversial plan to prohibit pregnant women from consuming medical marijuana — instead they want dispensaries to warn them of alleged pot risks. The original proposal, House Bill 2061, was replaced this week with a strike-all amendment that forms the basis for a new bill…
After Senator John McCain chimed in on whether President Barack Obama should be allowed to appoint a Supreme Court justice in the wake of Justice Antonin Scalia’s death this past weekend, social-media users shot back with vengeance. “I believe we should wait until after the next election and let the…
The other day, Tiffany Diba’s 5-month-old dog, Colby, followed her command to “sit” and “stay” in a busy store for the first time. The curly-haired shepherd-labrador-retriever mix perked up his ears as she slowly backed away — 5 feet, 10 feet, 15 feet. He squirmed with the urge to bound…
A mother and her lawyer are hoping that the U.S. Supreme Court shows more common sense than Arizona courts have so far in the case of accused child molester Chris Simcox, who is bound and determined to personally cross-examine his child victims, two girls, ages 8 and 9. Phoenix attorney…
Many questions remain in last week’s tragic murder-suicide at Glendale’s Independence High School that left two 15-year-old girls dead, including who pulled the trigger. The bodies of Dorothy Dutiel and May Kieu were found near an administration building on Friday morning, prompting a security lockdown and early release. Glendale police…
After a drug overdose, minutes matter. But, often, witnesses hesitate to call for paramedics because they, too, are hopped up and are afraid of arrest. State Representative Randall Friese wants to change that so he’s proposed a bill that would prohibit authorities from pressing drug use or possession charges against…
Tom Horne, John Huppenthal and two other Republican former Arizona Superintendents of Public Instruction came out strongly against marijuana legalization in a Sunday column that fails the take full account of the issues. Horne, Huppenthal, Jaime Molera and Lisa Graham Keegan claim in the op-ed published in the Arizona Republic that…
Ever wondered what the Spanish-language street names in the Phoenix area actually mean in English? (Particularly if your Spanish game isn’t quite up to par, and you don’t recognize half the words on the Filiberto’s menu.) We’re here to help, as we’ve made very literal translations of some of greater…
Two teenage girls were found shot to death at Glendale’s Independence High School today in what police called an “isolated” incident. Police said the shooting occurred about 9 a.m. and released few details, saying only that the bodies of the two 15-year-old girls were found near an administration building and…
If last night’s Democratic Presidential debate was any indication, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders are in a tight race for the party nomination. Whether you paint the rivalry as a choice between the establishment v. anti-establishment candidate or the progressive v. the “real”…
Some members of the Arizona Legislature apparently think the people of the state can’t handle the responsibility of direct democracy, especially when it comes to legalizing marijuana. Four new measures, authored primarily by Republican state representatives Bob Thorpe and J.D. Mesnard, chisel away at the power of the people to…
Video evidence of former Arizona Lottery Director Tony Bouie’s misuse of a state vehicle was released by the state, along with records that detail the extravagant renovation he had done on his office area. Bouie, a businessman and former Tampa Bay Buccaneers professional football player, was appointed to his post…
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio says he wants to meet Pope Francis while the pontiff is in Mexico for the next five days. Initially, he told the press that what he wanted to speak to the pope about was “confidential.” A day later, he grew a little bolder, telling local media…
Well, folks, after 41 days it appears the occupation of a federal building on a wildlife refuge near Burns, Oregon is finally over. Not only did the FBI arrest the final four holdouts holed up in the building today, but they nabbed seven others affiliated with the occupation — including…
