Signs of the Times

These Businesses Closing Early for Trump's Rally Downtown

These Businesses Closing Early for Trump's Rally Downtown

Someone Turned the Confederate Memorial at the Capitol Into a Participation Trophy

Someone Turned the Confederate Memorial at the Capitol Into a Participation Trophy

Plan a Protest, Lose Your House: Arizona Senate Passes SB 1142 Charging 'Provocateurs' With Racketeering

By Ray Stern
Feb 23, 2017

The Arizona Senate passed a bill on Wednesday that would allow the government to seize the property of people who help plan a demonstration that turns violent.
Internet Goes Nuts for Arizona 'Demon' Photo — Are People Really This Stupid?

By Ray Stern
Jan 10, 2017

A viral photo of a "demon" from Arizona has people around the world wondering about the mysteries of our universe. Are you freaking kidding? Reportedly, Phoenix resident Richard Christianson snapped the picture while in Tucson, then loaded it to his Facebook account on New Year's Day. "What the hell do...
Arizona's Top Baby Names of 2016

By Niki D'Andrea
Jan 3, 2017

The Arizona Department of Health Services has released its list of the top 100 names given to babies born in Arizona in 2016. The department has been publishing the annual list – which is based on birth certificates submitted to the AZDHS Bureau of Vital Records – on its website...
The 16 Arizona News Stories That Best Define 2016

By Miriam Wasser
Dec 30, 2016

Here are the best Arizona news stories of 2016, as chronicled by Phoenix New Times.
Planned Parenthood Arizona Receives Outpouring of Support After Election

By Miriam Wasser
Nov 15, 2016

Donors are keeping Planned Parenthood busy in the wake of the U.S. presidential election.
Jan Brewer Reaffirms Support for Trump, Social Media Has a Thing or Two to Say About It

By Miriam Wasser
Oct 10, 2016

From the hot-mic recording of Donald Trump bragging about sexual assault to the new WikiLeaks revelations about Hillary Clinton's Wall Street speeches to last night's bizarre 90-minute debate, it's fair to say this weekend was a game changer in the 2016 election campaign. But as prominent Republican figures like Senator...
CAIR Asks Law Enforcement to Investigate Arson Incident Outside Tucson Mosque

By Miriam Wasser
Jul 14, 2016

One day after an unknown suspect set fire to a recycling bin outside of the Islamic Center of Tucson, the Arizona Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (the largest Muslim Civil Rights organization in the country) is asking local law enforcement to investigate the incident as a possible hate...
Video: Phoenix Police Drive Back "Rally for Justice" Protesters With Pepperballs and Pepper Spray

By Ray Stern
Jul 9, 2016

Anger and activism met with the blunt reality police force on the streets of Phoenix on Friday night in a dramatic, hours-long confrontation filled with tear gas, pepper spray, and pepperballs. New Times was, at times, at the heart of the action that stretched into early Saturday along Seventh Street...
AZ Pro-Choice Movement Optimistic After SCOTUS Strikes Down Texas Abortion Law

By Miriam Wasser
Jun 28, 2016

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to strike down a draconian Texas abortion law appears to be more than a symbolic win for Arizona's pro-choice movement. At a Monday afternoon press conference, Jodi Liggett, vice president of public affairs for Planned Parenthood Arizona, called the ruling a landmark victory that "establishes...
Donald Trump's Rally in Phoenix Was Kind of a Bust

By Miriam Wasser
Jun 19, 2016

You know what they say: Fourth time's...a bust? Donald Trump's rally on Saturday at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix was perhaps most notable for being nothing special. With promises of protesters and biker-gang militias patrolling the parking lot, the afternoon event seemed poised to become yet another headline-grabbing Arizona...
Arizona Lawmaker Likens Oregon Standoff to Occupy Wall Street, Demands New Probe of Militiaman's Death

By Miriam Wasser
May 26, 2016

Seven Arizona lawmakers are asking the attorneys general of Arizona and Nevada to file a civil-rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice over the handling of the shooting death of 54-year-old Arizona resident Robert "LaVoy" Finicum, one of the men who occupied a wildlife refuge in Oregon earlier this...
Readers Rail at 'Sexist' Story in Arizona Capitol Times

By Miriam Wasser
May 25, 2016

Some readers of the Arizona Capitol Times are calling a recent article about the Democratic primary race (subscription required) in Tempe's Legislative District 26 sexist, if not outright misogynistic, for the way it repeatedly refers to the one of the candidates as the girlfriend of one of the other candidates. The story,...
SRP Removes Mystery Box From Power Pole After Phoenix Homeowner's Complaint

By Ray Stern
Mar 29, 2016

A mysterious box removed from a power pole in Phoenix last week may have been a police surveillance camera, but Salt River Project won't go into detail about it. Phoenix resident C. O'Brian alerted New Times to the weird "black box" in an e-mail last week and sent along the...
Hundreds of Protesters Descend on Donald Trump’s Arizona Rally, Three Arrested

By Miriam Wasser
Mar 19, 2016

Every time Donald Trump comes through Arizona, his political rallies get larger, his protesters get braver, and the interaction between the two groups gets more intense. Today’s rally in Fountain Hills certainly was no exception. Hours before Trump even arrived, hundreds of protesters stormed the only two roads leading to...
Marco Rubio Picks Up Steam in Arizona Following Jeb Bush’s Withdrawal

By Miriam Wasser
Feb 24, 2016

The latest poll numbers are in, and even though Donald Trump is still maintaining his lead in Arizona, it appears U.S Senator Marco Rubio is rapidly gaining momentum. The political consulting firm MBQF, which has been tracking Republican voter preference in Arizona trends since July, reports that Rubio jumped 11.3...
John McCain Says Next President Should Appoint Supreme Court Justice; Twitter Tells Him to Go Read Constitution

By Miriam Wasser
Feb 16, 2016

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...
Another Arizona Militant Arrested by FBI for Connection to Oregon Occupation

By Miriam Wasser
Feb 11, 2016

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...
Phoenix Has a Serious Hate Problem (Letter to the Editor)

By Miriam Wasser
Feb 3, 2016

Whether it's protesting Islam at a mosque or trying to bar a Satanist religious group from participating in public city council meetings, Phoenix has made national headlines continually in the last year for acts of intolerance, bigotry, and hate. And as Phoenix Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz explains in a letter to the editor,...
Oregon Occupation Puts Arizona Public Land-Grab Mania in Focus (Letter to the Editor)

By Miriam Wasser
Feb 1, 2016

The movement demanding the U.S. Federal government "return" all public lands to state ownership may not be anything new in Arizona, but last month's occupation of a federal building in Oregon has put the issue front and center in the public conscious. The occupation, led by Arizona's own Ammon Bundy,...
Police Open Fire on Arizona Militants in Oregon, Killing One; Several Arrested

By Miriam Wasser
Jan 27, 2016

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...

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