Under the gleam of an electronic billboard, family and friends gathered in a circle, holding candles and saying prayers. Looking down on them was the image of two smiling 27-year-old women captioned with a question: “Who killed Melissa Mason and Nicole Glass?” It was the fifth year family and friends…
It wouldn’t be a corporate-funded convention for conservative state legislators if Greenpeace activists didn’t try to crash the party, and this week’s three-day meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council in metro Phoenix is no exception. A few times a year, ALEC brings together corporate lobbyists and state legislators from…
Detective Sean Pearce has been disciplined following an internal investigation for his role in an on-the-job crash that killed a citizen, but the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office refuses to elaborate further on the action. Brandon Jones, a spokesman for Sheriff Joe Arpaio, says details may be released when Pearce —…
If former Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon is the Democratic alternative to Sheriff Joe in 2016, I will vote for Arpaio. Laughable? Of course, I would never do that. But any vote for “Sheriff Phil” also would be ridiculous. Gordon for sheriff ain’t gonna happen. No way, no how, regardless…
In two new videos posted on Facebook, the leader of Arizona’s anti-Islamist movement, Jon Ritzheimer and his good friend, Blaine Cooper, mock a flurry of recent news reports alleging that the FBI “lost track” of Ritzheimer as he drove across the country and that it was “on a manhunt” for…
Less than two years after a court ordered Phoenix to allow gun-rights activists to plaster city bus shelters with the slogan “Guns Save Lives,” officials have once again attempted to censor advertisements containing the emotionally charged phrase. The new ads, much like the signs that sparked a four-year legal battle…
Check yourself before you start cursing at that out-of-town driver. Arizona drivers are among the worst in the nation, according to a new analysis of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics conducted by the website CarInsuranceComparison.com. The state ranked sixth for most-dangerous drivers in 2015 after Montana, South Carolina, New…
As a steady stream of taxi cabs, hotel shuttles, and cars with tinted windows chauffeured corporate officials and elected state legislators into the Phoenix Westin Kierland Resort and Spa for the kickoff of a secretive retreat this week, a theatrical group of protesters demonstrated outside with glittery signs, costumes, and…
With the Arizona Supreme Court refusing to intervene in the case, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Jose Padilla on Wednesday set a start date of April 4 for the trial of former minuteman and accused child molester Chris Simcox. “We need to get this to trial,” Padilla said during a…
Abengoa, the Spanish company that built the expansive $2 billion concentrated solar plant near Gila Bend, is broke and headed toward a possible bankruptcy filing. It’s the latest solar scandal for the Obama administration, which picked Abengoa for billions in lucrative loan guarantees. This week, Abengoa filed in Spain for…
State Senator Martin Quezada plans to introduce legislation early next year targeting fraudsters who deceive undocumented immigrants by falsely claiming they’re authorized to provide legal advice or services concerning immigration. Quezada said he’s taking action because he’s tired of seeing immigrants getting scammed by “notarios” who pose as attorneys. Typically,…
Jane was certain the police officer was about to hurt or kill her. She sat handcuffed and sobbing in the back of his patrol car in a corner of a dark Walgreens parking lot in the middle of a hot night in June. Phoenix Police Officer Timothy Morris isn’t particularly…
Arizona voters are split nearly 50-50 on adult-use marijuana legalization, according to a new poll showing the need for supporters to work together if they want to end pot prohibition next year. Overall, 49 percent of voters support and 51 percent oppose the idea of “recreational” marijuana legalization, says the poll…
The leader of Arizona’s grassroots anti-Islamist movement, Jon Ritzheimer, can’t seem to escape the attention of local and national law enforcement. He left Arizona about a week and a half ago to drive across the country with Tyler Zarr, a friend who was moving to New Hampshire, and having decided…
A Democratic “dark-money” group finally registered with the state as a political committee to avoid getting slapped with a contempt charge, the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office announced today. Problems for the group, the Committee for Justice and Fairness, began when it ran TV ads in 2010 attacking then-Attorney General…
Elizabeth Ferszt, an Arizona State University English instructor, writes in a recent blog post how a small dose of THC edibles reduced to her to babbling, convulsing mess one afternoon a few weeks ago in Los Angeles. The short, dramatic narrative is peppered with information she researched afterward and concoudes…
Tempe police hit the social-media jackpot today with a clever meme based on the true tale of a guy who may now regret going that extra mile for his girlfriend. “CHIVALRY,” reads the caption of a picture of a white, four-door pickup truck in the parking lot of the Tempe…
Sure the calendar might say it’s December, but as everyone in Phoenix knows, that’s not the best indication of the season. The 12th month is a funny time — one day the temperature’s in the 90s, and the next, the high is 65 degrees. Because the Christmas music has been…
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced during a press conference this morning that his office had filed a petition with the Arizona Supreme Court to remove the embattled Arizona Corporation Commission Chair Susan Bitter Smith from office for alleged conflicts of interests. In strident language, Brnovich said his fellow Republican…
Researchers in Phoenix have found genes identified with Broken-Heart Syndrome, a severe heart condition that appears during times of intense stress. The discovery could lead to better treatments for patients who are at risk for the problem, officially known as stress-induced cardiomyopathy, (SIC), say scientists at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix…
A new video from the Great American Petting Zoo shows Gusgus the goat playing at his new home on a Texas ranch following his brief kidnapping earlier this month. The adorable, fuzzy goat was stolen from the Arizona State Fair at 1826 West McDowell Road on November 4. How the thief…
Questions by New Times about statistics related to marijuana and driving have caused Arizona officials to make changes to state traffic-accident reports. New check-boxes referencing marijuana will be added to accident forms, possibly as soon as next year, says Alberto Gutier, director of the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety…
