Stephen Lemons Column

South Phoenix Mom-and-Pops Fear Light Rail Expansion

South Phoenix Mom-and-Pops Fear Light Rail Expansion

Gannett Mulls Megamerger; Republic Staff Mulls Union

Gannett Mulls Megamerger; Republic Staff Mulls Union

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Commentary: After Omni Ruling, Brnovich Stands a Chance to Rein in Cap'n Crow

By Stephen Lemons
Jul 18, 2019

An Arizona tax judge hands AG Mark Brnovich's a partial win in his lawsuit against ASU, which claimed the college misuses its tax exempt status and has violated the state constitution's gift ban.
Bisbee Blogger Once Again Clobbers Cochise County Prosecutor

By Stephen Lemons
Jun 20, 2019

On June 13, a three-judge panel of the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the former publisher of the Cochise County Record.
(UPDATE) Commentary: In the Battle Between Gannett and Digital First, Root for Neither

By Stephen Lemons
May 16, 2019

Journalism geeks love to hate Gannett, but Digital First is worse. Still, neither can save the news biz.
Mueller Report Aside, Julian Assange's Arrest Is a Danger to Us All

By Stephen Lemons
Apr 19, 2019

Too many on the left want to punish the WikiLeaks founder for hurting Hillary Clinton's campaign, forgetting the greater good he did before 2016.
Mark Brnovich Aims to End Michael Crow’s Crony Capitalism, and That’s a Good Thing

By Stephen Lemons
Apr 4, 2019

Even liberals should cheer on the Republican attorney general in this fight against Arizona State University's president.
New Zealand Shooter Loathed 'Invaders'; So Do Trump and Too Many Arizonans

By Stephen Lemons
Mar 20, 2019

No wonder Brenton Tarrant refers to the U.S. president as “a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose.”
The Column We've Been Waiting For: Bruja's Gotta Brand-New Gig, Bitches

By Jan Brewer (okay, it's Stephen Lemons)
Mar 6, 2019

We couldn't resist as we welcome back Stephen Lemons as a semi-regular columnist.
Steve Smith Uses "Alternative Constitution" to Target Undocumented; President Trump Out-Scapegoats Them All

By Stephen Lemons
Feb 7, 2017

Arizona politicians are back at it, scapegoating the undocumented, but President Trump out-scapegoats them all.
Liberal Fascism Checked: California Attorney General's Backpage Prosecution Hits a Roadblock

By Stephen Lemons
Nov 22, 2016

Even liberals can cop a fascist line: Take California Attorney General Kamala Harris whose Backpage prosecution hit a roadblock last week in Sacramento, the capital of the bluest of blue states.
The California Attorney General Wants to Imprison the Owners of Backpage.com and Curtail Internet Freedom

By Stephen Lemons
Nov 15, 2016

Columnist Stephen Lemons lays out how felony pimping charges against the founders of online-classified giant Backpage.com are the product of a prosecutorial overreach that might seem ridiculous if it didn't have such serious ramifications for defendants, for the internet as we know it, and for the First Amendment.
Donald Trump and Janet Napolitano Visit Phoenix, and I'm Not Sure Whom I Despise More

By Stephen Lemons
Oct 31, 2016

It doesn't give me a lot of faith in Hillary Clinton's campaign in Arizona to know that it touted former governor Janet Napolitano's return to the state on Sunday to stump for HRC at the Democratic Party headquarters in Phoenix before heading over to the memorial service downtown for former...
Kratom Madness! The Head-Shop Staple Remains Legal — But for How Long?

By Stephen Lemons
Oct 5, 2016

Cracks have appeared in the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s plan to outlaw kratom, a popular plant-based pain reliever that’s sold online and in smoke shops in powder, liquid, and capsule form. This past Friday, September 30 — the day the ban was expected to take effect — Wisconsin Congressman Mark...
Dems Hope Hillary Clinton Will Turn Arizona Blue, but Reality Argues Otherwise

By Stephen Lemons
Sep 7, 2016

Delusion is a powerful force. After all, life is often bleak — and obsessively pondering that bleakness can incapacitate one's ability to endure. Take this idea that rolls around every four years among local Democrats — and, often, folks who don't have to live here — that this political cycle...
Arpaio Rolls the Dice, Betting The Donald Will Save Him from the Slammer, if Trump Becomes POTUS

By Stephen Lemons
Jul 27, 2016

Talk about a metaphor. Sheriff Joe Arpaio was limping toward me on his way out of federal Judge G. Murray Snow’s courtroom in downtown Phoenix, following a recent hearing before the jurist. Snow, the trial judge in the landmark civil-rights case Melendres v. Arpaio, had signaled, for what seemed like...
Paul Babeu's Tenure as DeSisto School Headmaster Haunts His CD1 Campaign

By Stephen Lemons
Jul 20, 2016

Perhaps the only thing that can halt Pinal County’s ethically challenged sheriff, Paul Babeu, from winning the Republican primary for Arizona’s First Congressional District is a concentrated campaign of political carpet bombing. By carpet bombing, I mean a deluge of robocalls, mailers, and/or TV ads aimed at bringing voters up...
County Attorney Bill "The Little General" Montgomery Should Be Cited for Dereliction of Duty in I-10 Shooter Fiasco

By Stephen Lemons
Jun 22, 2016

First they try to frame you, then they don’t want to give your property back. So it goes in the Kafkaesque saga of Leslie Merritt Jr., the guy the Arizona Department of Public Safety tried to paint as “the I-10 shooter” after he was arrested last September 18 for four...
Dear Judge Snow: Joe Arpaio Needs Some Time in the Pokey for Direct Contempt

By Stephen Lemons
May 25, 2016

For years, I and other critics of Joe Arpaio have borne witness to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s trashing of people’s constitutional rights, his violations of the law, his general megalomania. And we all want one thing: justice. That has been difficult to obtain, even as Arpaio’s support has eroded, as...
Donald Trump v. Ted Cruz Battle over Arizona Delegates Pales Next to State Republican Party Feud

By Stephen Lemons
Apr 20, 2016

One of the many bouts of culture shock I endured during the years I lived in New York City was watching two grown men get into a fist fight over a dime lying on the sidewalk near the building where I worked. They both reached for it about the same...
Joe Arpaio's Ex-Mouthpiece Tim Casey Targets 20-Year-Old Paradise Valley Woman; Local TV Takes His Bait

By Stephen Lemons
Apr 13, 2016

Here’s a piece of advice to local newshounds: Whenever Tim Casey is kvetching about “abuse of power,” then your bullshit detector should be flashing fire-engine red. Casey, you’ll recall, has made defending various abuses of power by the satraps of Maricopa County into his personal gravy train. He’s best known...
Joe Arpaio's Barbaric Fourth Avenue Jail and the Sexual Assault of a 21-Year-Old Man

By Stephen Lemons
Mar 30, 2016

During a recent hearing at the Arizona House over Maricopa County’s elections fiasco, chaired by state Representative Michelle Ugenti-Rita, there was more podium-pounding and fist-pumping than at a pro-Bernie Sanders pajama party. People rightly were pissed that they had to stand in long lines to vote in the recent presidential...

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