Ex-Tempe police officer Jessica Dever-Jakusz received probation last week for sleeping with an Ecstasy dealer she was supposed to be setting up for a sting. Still, the daughter-in-law of the late Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever is by no means the worst cop we can think of in recent Arizona…
Arizona’s new schools chief Diane “Repeal Common Core” Douglas and new Governor Doug Ducey have entered into an unusual public spat that, if nothing else, is highly entertaining. Earlier this week, Douglas fired two employees of the State Board of Education over their alleged support of a new standardized test…
In life, Kayla Mueller was a humanitarian and a peacemaker. In death, she’s becoming a rallying point for ramped-up military action in the Middle East. One day after U.S. officials confirmed reports that the 26-year-old Prescott native had been killed in Syria, a captive of the Islamic State of Iraq…
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. We know it’s late notice, but if…
Talk about a missed opportunity. On Wednesday, Phoenix city leaders gathered for a press conference at City Hall to announce that February is “Graffiti Free Awareness Month,” and to pat themselves on the backs for all the great work Phoenix does in combating graffiti. The media event included City Council…
An investigation into a sophisticated baby-formula theft ring in the Phoenix area has resulted in the arrests of 17 Arizonans. Alleged ringleader Deborah Lynn Russell shipped thousands of baby-food cans to mom-and-pop retail shops on the East Coast, Bill Montgomery, Maricopa County Attorney, said at a news conference today. Local…
Arizona’s Democratic lawmakers received a bizarre e-mail from the College Republicans at Arizona State University at 2:58 a.m. Monday morning. The purpose of the e-mail from College Republicans VP James Malone isn’t really clear, but it’s generally insulting and seems to be asking for money for the club to attend…
The Arizona ACLU has teamed up with its San Diego counterpart and a private law firm, Cooley LLP, to file a federal lawsuit against multiple U.S. agencies for failing “to produce records related to the abuse and mistreatment of children in the custody of Customs and Border Protection and its…
Leaders in Arizona’s atheist community gathered Wednesday to strongly condemn the fatal shooting of three Muslim students in North Carolina. Much has been made in the news that the shooting suspect, 46-year-old Craig Stephen Hicks, had a history of anti-religious comments, but the local atheists wanted to make it clear…
Can you please explain to me why some Chicanos and mexicanos get offended when you speak to them in Spanish? As a fellow Chicano, I find it hard to believe that raza gets offended by this genuine approach to them. Have you noticed this behavior yourself? That little dirty look…
Like a bad case of shingles, dealing with Rim Country crackpot and state Senator Sylvia Allen is both painful and seemingly without cure. In 2012, in the wake of redistricting, Allen chickened out of a run in a newly-drawn Legislative District 6, following a poll’s showing her with a 22…
The young basketball scout was embarking on one of his first big assignments. Ryan McDonough, 24, was visiting the Washington, D.C. area to see the Michael Jordan Classic, in which top prep stars (who then could go directly to the pros) would be scrutinized by NBA decision-makers. He was accompanied…
Interim Phoenix Police Chief Joe Yahner was appointed as the city’s permanent police chief. Yahner, who’s been with the department for nearly 30 years, was tapped as interim chief late last year after city management fired Daniel Garcia after just a few years on the job. Yahner won’t hang on…
Professor Ersula Ore, convicted for resisting arrest and suing ASU for $2 million, is defiant as ever in a new statement that blames Officer Stewart Ferrin for her troubles. “While I requested he respect the exercise of my constitutional rights, his anger clearly grew to frightening proportions. He unjustifiably grabbed me and threw me to the ground with the excessive force that he…
If you believe the stereotypes about Arizona, then pigs are flying around the state Legislature. Republican and Democratic lawmakers are coming together to form a science and technology caucus to work with the scientific community in promoting research in the state. “We should do a lot of work with the…
A week after two Arizona agencies were implicated in a federal class-action lawsuit because of the state’s “dangerous, severely deficient foster care system,” Governor Doug Ducey’s office finally made a move. On Tuesday afternoon, Ducey announced that he was firing Charles Flanagan, head of the Department of Child Safety, and…
An Arizona aid worker who spent the past 18 months as a hostage of the Islamic State in Syria is dead, the 26-year-old’s family said today. “We are heartbroken to share that we’ve received confirmation that Kayla Jean Mueller has lost her life,” Mueller’s parents, Carl and Marsha, and her…
The mother of a mentally ill woman who was fatally shot last year by a Phoenix police officer is seeking $7 million from the city. A notice of claim filed by attorneys for Frances Garrett contends that the officer who shot her daughter, 50-year-old Michelle Cusseaux, mishandled the situation leading…
Phoenix just got one step closer to becoming the global center for diagnosing autism after an iPhone app called NODA™ opened to the public yesterday– and no, this has nothing to do with the measles vaccine. NODA, for Naturalistic Observation Diagnostic Assessment, allows parents to upload videos of their children…
Some Arizona lawmakers want to take a statewide inventory of untested sexual-assault kits collected by law enforcement agencies. In late 2012, an investigation by ABC 15 found that there were at least 3,000 such untested kits just in the Phoenix area, half of which were from the Phoenix Police Department…
As U.S. officials scramble to corroborate the Islamic State’s reports last week that an American hostage died in a Jordanian air strike, the woman’s family is trying to stay positive. “This news leaves us concerned, yet, we are still hopeful that Kayla is alive,” wrote Kayla Mueller’s parents, Carl and…
Two members of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club were shot while riding their motorcycles in Phoenix on Saturday night. One man died as a result of his injuries, while the other was hospitalized with serious injuries. The bikers apparently didn’t see who fired the shots, police say. “We don’t know…
