There has been a firestorm of reaction from Phoenix officials over admissions that the kidnapping statistics generated by the Phoenix Police Department are inaccurate.Phoenix Police Chief Jack Harris is steaming over reports that the he will be reassigned, and it remains unclear what exactly will happen with his post.However, change…
Arizona State Senator Scott Bundgaard apologized to his fellow lawmakers today for any trouble his public fight with his girlfriend might have caused them. But if police are correct that Bundgaard cried “immunity” after police showed up at the scene, he probably should also apologize to Arizonans for abusing a…
The Tea Partiers were in Phoenix over the weekend for the group’s first ever “American Policy Summit,” and according to a straw poll conducted during the conference, Georgia businessman Herman Cain, a black guy, is favored to be the allegedly racist Party’s candidate for president in the 2012 election.Cain, 65,…
Two bizarre/completely unnecessary bills regarding abortion go before the full House in the Arizona Legislature today.Last week, the House gave initial approval to a bill that would require women getting an abortion to sign a document promising they aren’t aborting the pregnancy based on sex, and another promising they aren’t…
The word “suck” is apparently too offensive for Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman to utter — at least in the middle of a city council meeting.At last night’s meeting of the Tempe City Council, Hallman presented two Phoenix New Times “Best of Phoenix” awards to the city-owned Ken McDonald Golf Course…
While a federal audit of the Phoenix Police Department’s kidnapping statistics is under way, Police Chief Jack Harris has ordered his troops not to spend any of the $700,000 they collected from the feds to combat border-related kidnapping cases.The Department of Justice’s Office of Inspector General reportedly is looking into allegations that Phoenix…
During the 2010 Senate primary against former TV pitchman J.D. Hayworth, Senator John McCain insisted he wasn’t “the Maverick” — willing to cross party lines for crucial votes — he once was. According to a study by the National Journal, he wasn’t kidding.The study finds that McCain, once considered a…
Announcing that you’re considering running for U.S. Senate after telling a story about fatsos and their love of cream cheese is an interesting campaign tactic — and it’s one Former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods pulled out this morning on live TV.Woods, a.k.a. the best “Twitterer” in Phoenix, said this…
We haven’t heard much from former TV pitchman J.D. Hayworth since Senator John McCain mopped the floor with him in the 2010 GOP Senate primary, but there’s a Senate seat opening up in Arizona — so “free government money’s” number one fan has crawled out of the woodwork to bash…
Only in Arizona (and maybe Utah)…More than 40 Arizona state legislators have signed on to a bill that would make the Colt single-action Army revolver the official state firearm. Like many actions taken by the Legislators this legislative session, the move seems to defy all logic.In case you forgot, there…
Cartel members aren’t really turning Pinal County into something more like Afghanistan, despite what Sheriff Paul Babeu wrote in a letter last week to the mayors of several Arizona border cities.Ironically, the sheriff had written in response to the mayors’ urging that he stop putting out inflammatory, inaccurate statements about…
Several bills that would place stricter regulations on abortions will be heard in the Arizona state Legislature later today, and pro-choice groups aren’t happy about it. In fact, one group calls the bills an “assault [on] a woman’s dignity.” Aside from forcing abortion doctors to offer patients the opportunity to…
Former Arizona governor and current Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced today that she will not seek the Senate seat being vacated by Senator Jon Kyl.Napolitano is the latest politico to announce she won’t be running. Congressmen Ben Quayle, and Raul Grijalva, as well as former Congressman John Shadegg, have…
Senate hopeful Jeff Flake is a refreshing voice of sanity in a state filled with lunatics.Unlike several GOP members of the Arizona state Legislature (see all their names right here), Flake doesn’t see President Barack Obama as a Kenyan version of the Manchurian Candidate, and has a message for those…
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has seen better days — what with those allegations of corruption and criminal activity in his office, that scandal with the Sheriff’s Command Association, those politically motivated investigations against judges and county supervisors by him and his pal, ex-County Attorney Andy Thomas, and … Well, all that…
There’s good news: Congressman Raul Grijalva won’t be running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Senator Jon Kyl. He also says there’s a “distinct possibility” that Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords will mount a Senate campaign.Grijalva, as you may recall, encouraged people to boycott all things Arizona after Governor Jan…
Maricopa County’s self-proclaimed “toughest sheriff in America,” Joe Arpaio, says he’s considering running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Senator Jon Kyl.That said, New Times guaran-damn-tees he won’t actually run.”The issue is whether I want to leave this office and go to Washington and try to make a…
Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon and his girlfriend, Elissa Mullany, have evolved over the past year – and not in a good way.The couple used to try and hide the fact that they were using the Mayor’s Office to funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars to Mullany’s company. She was getting…
We are happy to report that the “Birther Bill” has failed in the state Legislature — yet again.Jeanette Tejeda de Gomez, spokeswoman for state Senate Democrats, confirms to New Times that the “Birther Bill,” proposed by numb-Skull Valley Republican Judy Burges, has failed in the Senate Judiciary Committee, thus sparing…
It’s official: Republican Congressman Jeff Flake will run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Senator Jon Kyl.Flake made his announcement this morning at the same Phoenix hotel where Kyl announced his upcoming retirement last week. Flake, who has represented Arizona’s 6th Congressional District since 2001, which includes parts…
Several members of Congress — Democrat and Republican — have been sleeping in their Congressional offices in Washington D.C., as oppose to finding permanent lodging in the nation’s Capitol, and a government watchdog group isn’t happy about it. Three of those members of Congress happen to represent Arizona.The executive director…
U.S. Senator Jon Kyl is expected to announce his retirement from the Senate at a news conference scheduled for 10 a.m. today, according to multiple news outlets, and speculation as to who will replace him is already running rampant.The obvious choice is Congressman Jeff Flake, who has already told the…
