A bill that would put an end to a nearly five-year ban on payday lending is languishing in the Arizona Senate after narrowly slipping through the House with a 31-29 vote. Still, about two dozen legislators, faith leaders, and community activists gathered in a gravel parking lot sandwiched between two…
During a hearing in federal court in Phoenix on Friday, Judge G. Murray Snow said more than once that Sheriff Joe Arpaio would have to have “skin in the game” as part of any settlement agreement in contempt allegations against Arpaio and four current and former high-ranking MCSO deputies. Snow…
So what do you do if you’ve just undercut more than two decades of selling yourself to the public as “America’s Toughest Sheriff” with a groveling admission to a federal judge that you’re guilty of civil contempt and are ready to bend over for punishment? If you’re Sheriff Joe Arpaio,…
Arizona lawmakers yesterday rejected another attempt to ban the practice of people collecting others’ election ballots to turn in. Such a practice was utilized by the group Citizens for a Better Arizona during the successful 2012 recall of then-Senate President Russell Pearce. CBA workers collected early-voting ballots from voters who…
An employee with the Phoenix Aviation Department might have known more about the Sky Harbor flight path changes than was originally thought. In a memo sent to the mayor and City Council members yesterday, City Manager Ed Zuercher wrote that the city was “told that there was no authorization or…
“The East Lot is going to continue as long as we need it.” That’s the message Bruce Liggett, director of the Maricopa County Human Services Department, wants to make loud and clear. He’s aware of the rumor that the Central Arizona Shelter Services, the nonprofit that manages the Men’s Overflow…
Deputy Sean Pearce’s speeding case went into overtime last week after a Glendale city judge said he discovered only recently that a death was involved. Pearce, a veteran Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office detective and the son of recalled State Senator Russell Pearce, was on duty when he plowed into a…
At the end of the week, we bring you a roundup of visitors to the desert’s own Fourth Avenue Jail. To be considered for our Maricopa County mugshots of the week, get arrested, strike a pose, and we’ll take care of the rest. This week, our alleged offenders all have…
Some hot, Republican-on-Republican action broke out Wednesday in a state Senate Government Committee hearing, as Senator John Kavanagh offered a “strike all” amendment to House Bill 2420 that creates a state Inspector General’s Office, with wide police powers, beholden only to the governor. As I recently reported, the Ducey administration…
An Arizona House committee passed a bill Thursday that would prohibit state agencies and employees from enforcing any new federal “act, law, order, rule or regulation” restricting gun ownership or ammunition. Senate Bill 1330 prevents the federal government from forcing Arizona to use resources and manpower to enforce federal laws,…
Court records show that violence and meth use are constants throughout the life of Ryan Giroux, the man accused of shooting six people in Mesa, killing one, on Wednesday. After an arrest last year, Giroux’s probation officer wrote to the court that Giroux “took it upon himself” to get mental-health…
The Arizona Senate yesterday passed a bill that creates a new tax break for certain religious groups. A version of the bill, which is being pushed by the notorious Center for Arizona Policy, was vetoed by Governor Jan Brewer after it was passed by lawmakers last year. Now it’s up…
Why do wabs, regardless of age and body size, always have one hand rubbing their bellies under their shirts? Is this something that is inherent in all wabs? Because they all do it, especially the “fresh from the border” ones. I don’t get it. I’m a pocho, and I’ve never…
A man with white-supremacist tattoos on his face is the man police believe shot six people in Mesa today, killing one person. Ryan Giroux, age 41, has been identified as the suspect, and was arrested by Mesa police this afternoon after an hours-long manhunt…
Update 3/17/15 7:30 p.m.: An amendment to SB 1445 passed in the House Wednesday afternoon. The vote was 44 to 13, with three members not voting. (View the full voting breakdown here) Original story follows: Community leaders and members of the ACLU gathered on the capital lawn this morning to…
Without abortion and gay sex, Cathi Herrod would cease to exist, melting like the Wicked Witch of the West hit with a torrential downpour. Why, the more sodomy, scissoring, and pregnancy terminations there are, the better off Herrod, president of the Center for Arizona Policy, is. See, her six-figure salary…
Those allegedly small-gub’mint Republicans are at it again in the state legislature, proposing a brand spankin’ new law enforcement agency, beholden only to the governor, and apparently exempt from state public records law. The proffered legislation comes in the form of a “strike everything” amendment from state Senator John Kavanaugh…
UPDATE: The suspect has been caught. Click here to read the latest about the suspect, a white supremacist. Six people were shot in Mesa this morning, killing one person, and police are still searching for the shooter. Mesa Police Detective Esteban Flores says there were four shooting scenes, starting with…
The Arizona Department of Education is throwing out 84 standardized math and reading assessments after an investigation at a Santa Cruz County middle school revealed irregularities in answer patterns. But the state isn’t accusing the kids of cheating. It’s pointing at teachers. An analysis of eraser marks on AIMS tests…
The Arizona Senate Committee on Rural Affairs and Environment recently advanced three bills and one memorial demanding that all federally owned public lands in Arizona be transferred to the state immediately: • HB 2321 tells the federal government to give up the title to all public lands in Arizona; •…
Before you buy into the line that “Politics is showbusiness for ugly people,” take a look at these 10 bold-and-beautiful women pols from the Grand Canyon state. Not too shabby, eh? Feminists, spare us, please. Coming soon is a list of top-10 hot politician dudes for you to peruse…
Arizona’s highest court won’t be overturning a decision to prevent putting Debra Milke on trial again for the murder of her 4-year-old son. Milke spent 23 years on Arizona’s death row for the murder of her son Christopher, before finally being released in 2013 after a federal appeals court ruled…
