A Gilbert town official recently sent us an e-mail with a “signature” at the bottom that read: “Beginning July 11, 2011, Gilbert will offer extended customer service hours for most Town services, of 7 a.m. – 6 p.m. Monday – Thursday…” In government-speak, though, “extended” hours also means a lot…
The Fiesta Bowl fiasco has raised questions about elected officials’ judgement in accepting tickets and travel to football games, especially when the sports organizations inevitably wind up before the same officials asking for financial support. Now, as Arizona prepares its bid to host the Super Bowl in 2015, we asked…
To former Phoenix Mayor Skip Rimsza, union is a four-letter word.Rimsza, mayor from 1994 to 2004, wrote a letter for one mayoral candidate that blasts three others who he claims are preferred by “out of control” union bosses. Rimsza believes that “Greg Stanton, Claude Mattox, and Wes Gullett all have…
Phoenix Councilman Claude Mattox has shifted his message of support for CityNorth — flip flopping in that he voted for it, said at one debate that he wouldn’t have voted for it given today’s public reaction and later told 12 News that he would vote for it again.Wes Gullett, one…
The Arizona Legislature’s not in session, but the State Capitol is still swarming with rats. Not the usual elected rats, but actual rodents that are apparently “invading” the building.According to the Arizona Republic, “The House of Representatives, the Senate and the executive tower where the governor works have been magnets…
Greg Stanton, a leading candidate for Phoenix mayor, pulled in more campaign contributions in the past five months than his political challengers.A first glance at campaign finance reports reveals that he raised more than $250,000 between January 1 and May 31. During the same period, former Councilwoman Peggy Neely raised…
A Democrat, Phoenix mayor wanna-be and Republican walk into a campaign fundraiser … Now here’s a trio of politicos you wouldn’t expect to see hanging out together. But political campaigns make for strange bedfellows.Standing on the left is Phoenix Councilman Tom Simplot, an openly gay elected official, a longtime Republican…
Disgraced former Nogales Mayor Octavio Garcia Von Borstel, and his father, were in Pima County Superior Court yesterday where they pleaded guilty to corruption charges stemming from a scam targeting Nogales businesses.Initially facing multiple charges of bribery, theft, fraud, and money laundering, Von Borstel pleaded guilty to one count of…
State Senator Scott Bundgaard’s attorney was in Phoenix Municipal Court yesterday where he pleaded not guilty on Bundgaard’s behalf to charges stemming from a February fracas with then gal-pal Aubry Ballard on the side of a Valley freeway.Bundgaard’s been charged with one count each of reckless assault and endangerment for…
The United States Supreme Court yesterday ruled that the matching funds provision of Arizona’s Clean Elections law is unconstitutional.The matching funds portion of the law was designed to give the little guy a fighting chance in state and local elections when faced against a candidate capable of raising a lot…
Dozens of community organizations have been hosting mayoral forums to hear from the slate of candidates running in the most competitive mayor’s race in recent Phoenix history.Most candidates safely cling to their talking points and offer little more than what voters would find on their campaign website. With cameras rolling…
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled this morning that the matching funds portion of Arizona’s “Clean Elections” system is unconstitutional, meaning candidates in next year’s election will not be given taxpayer money to match funds raised by their opponents.Under the matching funds system, publicly funded candidates are given lump sums for…
Immigrant-rights activists are planning to hold a protest vigil at the Pinal County Jail July 7 in hope of pushing the federal government to end its immigrant-detention contract with the county. It’ll start at 6:30 and end at 9:30. Their demonstration follows our cover story on the terrible treatment of…
The Arizona ACLU released a report on conditions in Arizona immigrant-detention facilities today alleging serious abuses of detainees in the custody of private prisons and the Pinal County Jail. It is titled, “In Their Own Words: Enduring Abuse in Arizona Immigration Detention Centers,” and you can read it here,…
Rick Renzi, the disgraced former Arizona congressman, can be prosecuted for his alleged crimes related to a corrupt land-swap deal, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has decided.The 45-page ruling issued today could have an impact on the President and other members of Congress, because Renzi had appealed to the Speech and…
[jump] Dear Mr. Arpaio, In reading your press release dated June 21, 2011, regarding the “exceptional times” MCSO is experiencing, I noticed that you neglected to mention numerous and significant details: To begin, you failed to mention the approximately 500 sex crime cases that your office failed to…
New York Times “We’re not always who you think we are,” Vargas writes of illegal immigrants. “Some pick your strawberries…[others] write news articles you might read.” An illegal immigrant on the Washington Post reporting team that won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the Virginia Tech shootings in 2007…
It’s official: undocumented students enrolled in Maricopa Community Colleges this fall will have to pay $317 per credit hour. The Community Colleges Governing Board voted to implement its tuition increase targeting undocumented students in the fall by a 3-2 vote last night. The tuition increase was first passed in March but…
The Republicans won’t invite Phoenix Mayoral Candidate Greg Stanton to their candidate forums. And they, along with Phoenix Tea Party-types, are branding him as “the real enemy of the citizens of Phoenix.” Why? It’s because Stanton is “the candidate to beat for Phoenix mayor” and the “front runner” in the…
Griselda Nevarez Maricopa Community Colleges’ Board Members are backpedaling on their tuition hike despite General Counsel Lee Combs’ fearmongering. The Maricopa Community Colleges Governing Board will hold a special meeting tomorrow evening, called by Chancellor Rufus Glasper, to discuss delaying the tuition increase it approved in March targeting undocumented students,…
Phoenix Councilman and mayoral candidate Claude Mattox’s is hosting a mayoral forum for himself on Facebook and Twitter — using social media to connect with his constituents.Mattox’s online mayoral forum, at first glance, seems innovative.Individuals get to pose questions for him for a week on either his Facebook or Twitter…
The Mormon church announced last week that it advocates a type of amnesty for illegal immigrants who “square themselves with the law and continue to work” in the United States. The statement, published on the church’s website, also takes aim at harsh anti-illegal-immigrant laws like those passed in Arizona and…
