Arizona’s favorite Pope-boycotting congressman, Paul Gosar, had harsh words for employees of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, headed by probably his favorite Obama administration target. Apparently lumping all 15,000 EPA employees across the country together, he charged that they are a “collection of porn addicts, office thieves and drunk drivers… not fit to…
A bill targeting notary publics who prey on immigrants by pretending to be lawyers and providing legal services cleared its first hurdle at the Arizona Legislature on Wednesday. Senate Bill 1271 passed out of the Senate Government Committee with a 6-1 vote. The measure would allow county attorneys, not just…
Citing concern about terrorism, an Arizona House of Representatives committee passed two bills Wednesday attempting to encumber federal efforts to resettle refugees in Arizona. The first, House Bill 2370, sponsored by Representative Bob Thorpe (R-Flagstaff), prohibits the state from using resources to enforce, administer, or cooperate with federal efforts to…
A controversial proposal to give the Arizona Department of Agriculture authority over a herd of horses that runs free along the Salt River will be debated on the legislature floor, it was decided today. The Federalism and States’ Rights Committee voted 5-2 to move House Bill 2340 on to the…
After Senator John McCain chimed in on whether President Barack Obama should be allowed to appoint a Supreme Court justice in the wake of Justice Antonin Scalia’s death this past weekend, social-media users shot back with vengeance. “I believe we should wait until after the next election and let the…
After a drug overdose, minutes matter. But, often, witnesses hesitate to call for paramedics because they, too, are hopped up and are afraid of arrest. State Representative Randall Friese wants to change that so he’s proposed a bill that would prohibit authorities from pressing drug use or possession charges against…
If last night’s Democratic Presidential debate was any indication, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders are in a tight race for the party nomination. Whether you paint the rivalry as a choice between the establishment v. anti-establishment candidate or the progressive v. the “real”…
Video evidence of former Arizona Lottery Director Tony Bouie’s misuse of a state vehicle was released by the state, along with records that detail the extravagant renovation he had done on his office area. Bouie, a businessman and former Tampa Bay Buccaneers professional football player, was appointed to his post…
Well, folks, after 41 days it appears the occupation of a federal building on a wildlife refuge near Burns, Oregon is finally over. Not only did the FBI arrest the final four holdouts holed up in the building today, but they nabbed seven others affiliated with the occupation — including…
The Arizona Attorney General’s Office has confirmed that former state Lottery Director Tony Bouie is under investigation, but Mark Brnovich people won’t give out won’t divulge details. Meanwhile, New Times has uncovered more information about Bouie’s use of a state vehicle — which seems to prove that Bouie misrepresented the…
On the heels of Phoenix’s eliminating the opening prayer at City Council meetings rather than cave to Satanists, a member of the Satanic Temple now it scheduled to give the invocation at a Scottsdale City Council meeting in April. “The Satanic Temple requested to deliver an invocation at a City…
Arizona House Majority Leader Steve Montenegro insists that all prayers that begin the day at the Legislature must include a reference to God. In an apparent effort to stop blasphemies, Montenegro issued a proclamation to House membership on January 27 that a prayer, which is the second order of business…
Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders, who’s already received the nod from Democratic Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva, has scored more endorsements from Latino leaders here. State Senator Martin Quezada (D-Phoenix) and Maricopa County Supervisor Steve Gallardo joined about a dozen other Latinos — most of them members of the Arizona Legislature —…
Talk about a never-ending local controversy: Shortly after the Phoenix City Council voted 5-4 to start its meetings with a moment of silence instead of a religious prayer so that it wouldn’t have to decide whether to allow the Satanic Temple to give the invocation at an upcoming meeting, not only…
In a move that blocks a Satanist group from giving the invocation at the next Phoenix City Council meeting, the council voted 5-4 Wednesday night to no longer open every meeting with a prayer. It instead will call for a moment of silence. A member of the Satanic Temple from…
Ann Kirkpatrick is tied with John McCain in a new poll among state voters with an opinion about the upcoming U.S. Senate election. The Democratic congresswoman from Arizona’s District One still has an uphill battle, though, according to Earle de Berge, whose company, Behavior Research Center, conducts the Rocky Mountain Poll…
Don Harris is no longer the leader of Arizona’s largest NAACP chapter due to a sexist comment he made last week following a community meeting about six Ahwatukee teenagers’ use of a racial epithet. Harris, a local lawyer and former U.S. Marine Corps officer, had been under fire for several…
A family video of Paul Babeu soon after he became headmaster at a boarding school for troubled teens proves he knew of the perverse and abusive discipline at the school. Babeu, a former Chandler police officer and the sheriff of Pinal County since getting elected in 2008, is running for…
Don Harris, head of the Maricopa County chapter of the NAACP, is concerned about the lack of sensitivity to black people. He was one of 40 or 50 community leaders and educators invited by the Tempe Union High School District to attend a private meeting on Tuesday about a widely…
The 25-day armed occupation of a federal building on the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in Burns, Oregon ended last night when law enforcement intercepted a convoy of militants about 20 miles away from the building. After weeks of pressure on the federal government to do something – arrest the men, raid…
Arizona legislators have made a name for themselves nationally with their creative, seemingly endless ideas for expanding access to firearms (including, this year, a proposal to offer tax credit to those who obtain a license to carry a concealed weapon). But there are also a few bills on the table…
The Islamic community has grown and prospered in Arizona even with fervent anti-Muslim sentiment across the United States, says the publisher of the newspaper serving the Muslim community. “I think the Muslim community is resilient,” says Wafa Unus, the 28-year-old owner of the Arizona Muslim Voice. “Despite very well-publicized rallies and…
