A decision expected today in the case of an alleged theft of a campaign sign by longtime Chandler politician John Huppenthal has been put off until Thursday. Huppenthal’s case is another leftover of the messy 2008 election season. If you’ll recall, Chandler police recommended charges of theft and tampering with…
President Obama popped into a meeting today between government officials and immigrant advocates, saying he wants local 287(g)-authorized agencies “held accountable,” a pro-immigrant group said today. Reform Immigration for America stated in a news release that the president wasn’t expected at the meeting in Washington D.C. on immigration reform, which was…
Veteran Arizona Capitol Times reporter Phil Riske has been fired from the Yellow Sheet, a paid-subscription politics rag, says an Arizona Republic blog post by Matthew Benson. Riske had been with the Cap Times for seven years and planned to retire at the end of August, but he got in…
The state’s having a bit of a yard sale right now, and what’s on the lawn? How about a hospital, a state park, and, oh yeah, the state capitol.We reported on this a few weeks ago, and believe us, we can’t believe this is actually happening either.In the last few…
Captain Joel Fox had to ‘fess up and spill the names of the cagey SCA donors behind a Republican Party smear campaign, but he still hasn’t turned over the contribution checks. Today’s the big day, according to Jeffrey Messing, the lawyer hired by the Maricopa County Elections Department to hold fire to the feet…
As we reported Tuesday, when you’re the Arizona State Senate majority leader, and your state is in the midst of heated budget negotiations, taking a Caribbean cruise is probably not your best course of action. Apparently some members of the Republican caucus agree. In a closed door meeting of Senate…
A California congressman has asked White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel to answer to allegations that he attempted to bully our very own Governor Jan Brewer. In a scathing letter today, Congressman Darrell Issa accused Emanuel of “resorting to the playbook of the Chicago political machine” when he directed…
When we read the headline to the latest news release from the Department of Public Safety, “Officer makes a traffic stop and discovers 97 undocumented aliens inside of a refrigerated commercial trailer,” our first thought was — good thing it was refrigerated, cause it’s dang hot out. Reading further though,…
Arizona lawmakers are considering “racinos” — maybe they should figure out a way to tax a new video-game-betting Web site that’s already legal in 39 states. The Associated Press reports that BringIt.com, founded by 30-year-old Woody Levin, is preparing to end its months-long “beta” phase sometime in the next few…
Valley developer Steve Ellman must feel a bit of deja vu. Years before we broke the story about his big contribution to the SCA, Ellman knew what it was like to be under suspicion of using the Republican Party to funnel money toward a specific political candidate. “The recent revelation is…
Deputies with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office busted two undocumented workers today after a cafe owner let the employees’ secret slip. The owner of Peppersauce Cafe, Denise Kimball, “blurted out” to a table full of lawmen — including a deputy — that “her cooks and dishwashers working in the back…
We can’t tell you much more than what’s in the headline. Local PR whiz Jason Rose put an interesting, though cryptic, tweet on his Twitter account yesterday about one of his clients, Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas: Major announcement from maricopa county andrew thomas quite possible in next 45 days…
With the current state of the United States economy being, well, horrifying, Mexican immigrants here are running for the border. A study released Wednesday by the Pew Hispanic Center shows that the number of Mexican’s entering the United States illegally has dropped nearly 40 percent in 2009, and found that nearly…
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office is conducting some kind of operation in the east Valley today, though exactly what it is we’re not sure. A source we trust called us this morning to say Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s forces were engaged in another immigration/crime sweep in Chandler this morning…
New Times writer Paul Rubin’s detailed analysis earlier this month of the 2008 bust at Waterworld Safari (now Wet & Wild) demonstrates just how tough it’ll be to get a conviction against one of the company’s managers. To make this employer-sanctions case stick, prosecutors working for Maricopa County Attorney Andrew…
We asked for comment, we got comment — from the Sonoran Alliance blog, anyhow. Turns out Shane Wikfors (pictured), who runs the blog, considers church-mate Dan Saban a friend. Who knew? Wikfors slams the infamous attack ad on Saban as “disgusting.” And although the blog’s only unmasked cowboy (there’s also one unmasked cowgirl) doesn’t…
With the SCA scandal breaking wide open last week, we figured it was time to make another call to Bruce Ash, the Republican National Committeeman for Arizona. This time we got him on the phone, and as you’ll see, he helped clear up a couple of nagging questions we had…
Arizona Senator John McCain is getting credit from Merriam-Webster Inc. for the company’s inclusion of a new definition of “earmark” in the dictionary. The company recently added about 100 words to its dictionary, including “sock puppet,” “staycation,” and “zip line.” Arizona may have missed out on some of its own…
Tim Nelson Twelve attorneys and 17 support staff members at the Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard’s office will get pink slips, but not the three high-profile hires made this year by Goddard. Anne Hilby, Goddard’s spokeswoman, confirmed for New Times that among those who won’t be losing their jobs are:…
We’re not saying Captain Joel Fox is wrong about everything. Turns out he’s right on the issue of whether the SCA contributions were, in fact, “payroll deductions.” Although the reports filed by Fox say “payroll deductions,” Fox says in comments to this blog that they were actually nothing more than…
Captain Joel Fox hasn’t been honest with us. Here’s what Fox posted to our blog in February about the $105,000 contribution to the Arizona Republican Party that came from the SCA: None of the money came from Arpaio,or Hendershott or Arpaio’s campaign, or anyone associated with Arpaio’s campaign, nor did…
Just hung up from one of our trusty “Deep Throat” sources who tells us the FBI is highly interested in the Sheriff’s Command Association case. Our source says New Times articles this morning about the men behind the SCA donations were forwarded to the local FBI office. An FBI agent soon…
