Last year, the press and marijuana-legalization opponents gave a lot of attention to a study suggesting that daily marijuana causes abnormalities in the brain. New research, reportedly using better techniques, indicates that claim and other reports of cannabis-caused changes to brain structure simply aren’t true. The authors of the new…
ASU is taking a hit in the news for offering a senior-level English class next semester called U.S. Race Theory and the Problem of Whiteness. The controversial 18-student class will be taught by assistant professor Lee Bebout, whose expertise is critical race theory, American studies, and Chicano studies. Critics of…
Phoenix is often thought of as a land of sunshine, but that’s not always the case. Although Phoenix has better weather than most American cities, here are the less-than-ideal weather conditions we deal with:…
A Romanian citizen who lives in Phoenix smuggled firearms and night-vision scopes over a period of several years from Arizona to his home country, federal authorities say. Florin Ianc, 42, drew attention to himself with a claim that his truck had been stolen after he’d filled it with numerous guns…
With seven confirmed cases of measles in Arizona, and perhaps 1,000 people in the state exposed to the disease, health officials are urging everyone to get vaccinated against the disease if they haven’t already done so. At the same time, other individuals and groups are using the outbreak as an…
Cross Super Bowl XLIX madness with the insanity of the Green Acre dog fanatics, and you’ve got yourself one hothouse loony bin. The canine crazies are online crying for revenge again, riled up this time by the news that New England Patriots’ defensive tackle Alan Branch lost four dogs at…
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, we found some folks who…
On Monday afternoon, Arizona State University approved a new student-faculty “amorous relationship policy.” Faculty members applauded when the vote was tallied, and Faculty Senate President Helen Ossipov told New Times she was “very glad this passed.” The university called it “an important step” toward “[ensuring] that faculty members and lecturers…
With seven measles cases now identified in Arizona, health officials estimate that more than 1,000 people in the state may have been exposed to the highly contagious disease. Five of those confirmed cases, including a family of four who lives in Pinal County, were linked to the December measles outbreak…
In the future, your Arizona driver’s license could be kept in an app on your smartphone. A bill proposed by Republican Senator Jeff Dial would allow the testing and implementation of an electronic driver’s license system, which is under development already in Iowa. “I think government shouldn’t be in the…
Why is rock en español so mellow? You’d think that with so much injustice, Mexican rock bands would sound angrier. El Gigante de Anaheim You’d think so, right? Back in the Mexican’s rockero days, groups like Maldita Vecindad, Café Tacuba, El Gran Silencio, and so many more were laying down…
A few Republican lawmakers are trying to sneak past the Voter Protection Act with a draconian DUI bill that targets the state’s medical-marijuana users. State Representative Sonny Borrelli, R-Kingman, is the prime sponsor of HB 2273, a bill that could result in DUI convictions for medical-cannabis users who aren’t impaired…
Anyone can tell by looking at Kyle Middlebrooks’ battered practice helmet that the guy has taken some hard knocks. The Arizona State University senior running back sustained several serious injuries during his four-year college football career. Just months after recovering from surgery to repair a dislocated shoulder, Middlebrooks tore his…
UPDATE January 29: The state health department estimates more than 1,000 people could have been exposed to measles statewide. Click here for details. A second case of measles stemming from the outbreak at Disneyland has been confirmed in Maricopa County. County health officials say the infected, a woman, may have…
A proposed tax break for some religious groups could be the first test of Governor Doug Ducey’s allegiance to the state’s powerful Religious Right forces. Former Governor Jan Brewer last year vetoed a bill that would have made a property-tax exemption for religious groups that lease their places of worship…
Google announced today that four more U.S. cities will be getting Google Fiber, and Phoenix isn’t one of them. The company had announced nearly a year ago that Phoenix was one of nine metro areas in the United States where it wanted to bring Google Fiber, its Internet service advertised…
In a final vote Monday afternoon, the ASU Faculty Senate passed a new student-faculty “amorous relationship” policy. The vote was 76 to 11, with four abstentions, and came after months of vigorous and contentious debate…
Advocates for GMO labeling are getting another shot in the Arizona Legislature. Six representatives submitted a bill to require food containing even just one genetically engineered ingredient be labeled as such. Modeled after Vermont’s legislation, HB 2462 will also prohibit manufacturers from advertising GMO products as “all natural.” (Prepared food…
Democrats in the Arizona House and Senate have unveiled a package of bills aimed at regulating so-called “dark money.” Arizona’s been a hot-spot for the “dark money” issue, which involves organizations being able to dump millions of dollars into elections without having to reveal their donors — so much so…
The national “do not call” registry can protect you from telemarketing calls, but one Arizona lawmaker wants you to have the option to avoid calls from pesky politicians, too. Republican Senator John Kavanagh is proposing a political “do not call” list in the state, which would allow citizens of the…
Sure, they can design computer hardware or launch a startup company, but do they know the number of U.S. Supreme Court justices? New Times put Arizona State University students to the test last week to find out if they’d have trouble passing a civics test that’s soon to be a…
2014 was a myth-busting year for Arizona. In the last year, we saw some stereotypes and myths about Phoenix and Arizona go down the drain. Check out 10 such examples:…
