The comment by Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell about Janet Napolitano having “no life” was all the rage today on talk radio and blogs as many people wondered whether it was sexist. Famous blogger Ariana Huffington wondered in a high-profile column today whether it was good to be a workaholic, honing…
Late Wednesday night, a motorcycle officer with the Department of Public Safety heard a lot of banging noises while he was staked out under an overpass. When he went to check it out, he saw Travis Munroe Townsend, 26, whamming a box containing a photo enforcement camera, states a DPS news…
The latest shake-up at the Arizona Republic that resulted in numerous layoffs this week also includes the elimination of one day of publication for the six-year-old Scottsdale Republic insert, sources tell New Times. The insert, originally designed to better compete with the East Valley Tribune’s Scottsdale edition, previously ran five days a week but…
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office is preparing to release a video interview by sheriff’s deputies of Don Stapley, who was indicted this week on multiple counts of failing to disclose financial transactions on campaign forms. Michael Scerbo, spokesman for county attorney Andrew Thomas, writes in a news release that the county supervisor made…
An anonymous local political blog has been getting some right-wing attention this morning with its claim that the conservative Goldwater Institute has “gone way off the deep end” with their critical report on Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Liberty’s Apothecary has many problems with the Institute’s report, but a big one is that…
Are we expecting company? As many as 20,000 soldiers may be stationed in the western United States — with a “significant” number going to Arizona — to serve as a terrorist-fighting force. The idea is to stop any bad guys from trying to storm the Palo Verde nuclear power plan and other…
Look, up in the sky! It’s the mayor! Despite a crash landing in September while trimming a tree, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon will climb aboard a WWII-era bomber on Thursday for an exhibition flight. A new release by the mayor’s office doesn’t state any particular purpose for the flight, but the…
A Tempe used car salesman who the National Enquirer calls “Cindy McCain’s Secret Lover” accuses the gossip rag’s reporter of “extortion” and intimidating his family in an injunction against harassment petition. Dino Castelli filed the petition (see link to actual document below) with the Maricopa County Superior Court on November…
The right-leaning American for Prosperity group is bringing its Hot Air Tour to Phoenix on Saturday, offering tethered hot air balloon rides and speeches on the huge costs of trying to solve global warming. Tom Jenney, director of the AFP’s Arizona chapter, says the tour doesn’t directly address the science behind climate change theories. Rather, it focuses on the pricetag of the…
A 28-year-old woman shot in the stomach while driving on Interstate 10 early Sunday may have jumped off the westbound 19th Avenue off-ramp to escape her would-be killer. The woman, a caregiver for the elderly, fell 21 feet, breaking bones in her face, wrists and a leg. Despite her injuries, she’s expected to survive…
The latest round of layoffs at the Arizona Republic includes numerous editors and photographers, sources in the know tell New Times. Here’s a partial list of those who got the axe, according to the latest scuttlebutt. (Please let us know if anything is incorrect!):…
Photo radar companies do battle in court…
Ever wanted to sail above the curve of blue Earth in a spaceship? Now you can — though it’ll cost you $95,000. Phoenix-based RocketShip Tours announced today it would begin offering suborbital flights in 2010 through a partnership with the builder of the Lynx vehicle (pictured at left). The cool-looking,…
newspaper stories from the early 2000s, Maricopa County finally took action against shady county supervisor Don Stapley. A grand jury has indicted Stapley on 118 criminal counts, alleging he failed to publicly disclose land deals and other business activities going back to when he was first elected in 1994. The charges include perjury, forgery, false…
Beautiful Fossil Creek just northwest of Payson was given the status of “Outstanding Arizona Water” today by state officials, mandating that government must protect it from harm. In a 3-1 vote, the Governor’s Regulatory Review Council approved new state water quality standards that protect both Fossil Creek and the…
A post in this blog about the fake snowfall each night at Tempe Marketplace received the following comment: My family ended up coughing our way out of the mall along with others trying to flee the snowy scene. Not sure it’s exactly “safe” to breathe so I’m wondering what the other…
Outgoing State Senate President Tim Bee’s says he decided to move the media out of offices in the senate building they’ve inhabited since the 70s because reorganizing offices is “normal.” In a statement to New Times (reprinted below), which blogged about the relocation yesterday, the Republican senator from Tucson doesn’t…
A self-published book author who spent the last four years living as a hermit in a southeastern Arizona fire lookout has won a prestigious international literary award.Glynn E. Thompson’s book, The Raving Eunuch Monks, sold 500 copies by word of mouth alone after he published it last year, according to…
Scottsdale’s Motor Mile to get large used car lot Sick puppies thrown out with trash…
Tempe used car salesman Dino Castelli tells New Times today that a National Enquirer article claiming he and Cindy McCain are having an affair is “all bullshit.” As covered in this blog last month, the infamous weekly gossip rag claims Castelli and the senator’s wife can be seen smooching in a low-res…
State Senate President Tim Bee told capitol reporters last week to vacate offices in the state senate building that they’ve worked in since the 1970s. As first reported on Friday by the Arizona Republic’s capitol reporter, Matthew Benson, Bee sent an eviction letter (reprinted below) to Howard Fischer, the capitol’s one-man news wire service. Laura…
[jump] Dear Friend, This morning I was proud to accept an offer from President-elect Barack Obama to become Secretary of the United States Department of Homeland Security. I believe that when called upon to serve – particularly at such a critical time in the history of our country -…
