From what I’ve seen and heard, Mexicans are very family-oriented. They take the names of their mothers and fathers, live with extended family, take carpooling to the nth degree, and tattoo the names of their children across their bodies. We recently had a party and invited one of our Hispanic friends. She showed up with her grandmother, mother, sister, and her two kids! What the hell was that all about?
Among the masses of men in cowboy hats and steely-eyed women in “Babes with Bullets” T-shirts at the Crossroads of the West Gun Show in Glendale, a petite, suburban mom with a blond bob, yoga pants, and a Prada purse wanders from booth to booth picking through rhinestone-studded Glocks, gas…
Perhaps Ken and Terri Johnson of Tempe need to get out more. After recently witnessing a fight on the light-rail train car they were riding in, the elderly couple has sworn off the Valley’s 20-mile choo-choo line for good. They decided to tell the whole world about their paranoia by…
Ann Kirkpatrick, a moderate Democrat and Arizona Congresswoman, announced on Tuesday that she would run against John McCain for the U.S. Senate in 2016. In a video published this morning, Kirkpatrick says she’ll take on challenges from education to the economy, and mentions her famous rival by name. “I respect…
The U.S. Border Patrol caught 18 camo-wearing men trying to smuggle 659 pounds of marijuana in backpacks last week through the desert near Gila Bend. Fourteen of them landed in the Maricopa County Jail’s mugshot section, where they stood out for their makeshift uniforms. These guys, no doubt connected to…
Oral Arguments will begin this afternoon over a motion to dismiss Rodriguez v Swartz, a widely publicized lawsuit concerning the shooting of 16-year-old Mexican national Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez by U.S. Border Patrol agents on October 10, 2012. In question is whether, and under what circumstances, U.S. Constitutional protections and laws…
Attorney Mel McDonald, Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s personal Bruce Cutler, rode on the coattails of Birther lawyer Larry Klayman Friday morning by filing a motion in Phoenix federal court to have Judge G. Murray Snow recuse himself from the contempt proceedings in the civil rights case Melendres v. Arpaio. Klayman’s move to…
At the end of the week, we bring you a roundup of visitors to the fun-filled Fourth Avenue Jail in downtown Phoenix. To be considered for Mugshots of the Week, get arrested, strike a pose, and we’ll take care of the rest. This week: The sequel to our February 2014…
Pinal County Attorney Lando Voyles states in a recent news release that marijuana usage has increased statewide because of “looser” marijuana laws that help drug cartels, but can’t or won’t back up the claim. He’s the latest public official to use his and his staff’s time, on the public dime,…
Talk about chutzpah. If a well-dressed moocher were to approach you and ask for money to fight a serious criminal allegation, would you give it to him? What if he admitted that he might kinda-sorta be guilty? And, oh, he has a well-paying job (six figures), owns loads of pricey…
Criminal charges have been dropped against Cary Cole, the 10-year-veteran of the Phoenix Fire Department allegedly caught with 20 pounds of marijuana last year. The motion to dismiss his case, filed by federal prosecutors last week and approved by a judge, means Cole currently faces no legal problems related the…
A Glendale woman who had sex with a 13-year-old boy after she pretended to be a teen online has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. Anna Areola-Hernandez, now 24, used the handle “Tiny Hernandez” as she plied the Internet for young men to date. She was arrested in March…
Paranoia over the massive “Jade Helm 15” training exercise by the U.S. Army planned for July has taken a left turn, with concerns emerging about the potential environmental damage and perceived militarization of America. Carol Miller, a community activist and former health official under Presidents Reagan and Clinton, raised the…
“This guy is dying. He might be — this guy is dying!” the woman screams into the phone. Her voice is panicked. Her breaths are raspy. “Is he breathing?” the 911 emergency dispatch operator asks. “I don’t think so.” “Bring the phone over to the patient — bring the phone…
If you’re chasing the American dream, get out of Pima County — quick. Among the country’s 100 most populous countries, Pima ranks 91st for economic mobility, just ahead of Bronx County in New York, according to new research from Harvard professors Raj Chetty, Nathaniel Hendren, and Lawrence Katz. Low-income children…
A Rocky Point condo owner who may lose her investment didn’t follow Mexican rules for American buyers, another condo owner says. Neal Harris, who tells us he’s on the homeowner association board at Bella Sirena and owns “multiple properties” in the condo tower, contacted us this morning to criticize the…
The first weekend of downtown Phoenix’s new overnight accommodations for the hundreds of men and women who would normally sleep in the East Lot parking lot was a success. On Friday evening, two buildings on the Human Services Campus, the Lodestar Day Resource Center and St. Vincent de Paul opened…
The Arizona woman who gained fame by earning $114,000 in donations after her arrest for leaving her two kids in a hot car will appear on the “Dr. Phil Show” this Thursday. Shanesha Taylor’s appearance on the popular, nationally syndicated TV show comes a week after a Maricopa County Superior…
Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s racial profiling ways are making a serious dent in Maricopa County’s budget, to the tune of $44.5 million, and counting. Maricopa County’s fiscal year 2016 budget, which was approved by the Board of Supervisors on Monday, allocates $23.8 million for costs associated with complying with a federal court’s…
A former Scottsdale woman is making a last-ditch effort to avoid losing her Rocky Point condo over a fight between a developer and construction workers. Donna Peckenpaugh faces imminent eviction from her condo at Bella Sirena on Sandy Beach, as well as the total loss of the $350,000 she paid…
A Tempe man received an urgent text message from his roommate on Thursday: Your girlfriend broke into the house, and she’s upset. Not exactly the sort of news anyone wants to hear. Claudia Rose Drinnan, an Arizona State University student and sorority sister, was ticked over something — it’s not clear…
Democratic Congressman Ruben Gallego’s proposal to let “dreamers” serve in the military was shot down by the House of Representatives yesterday. The House voted 221-202 in favor of an amendment proposed by Republican Congressman Mo Brooks, of Alabama, to strip Gallego’s proposal from the National Defense Authorization Act. “There was…
