We’re not going so far as to predict another Thrilla in Manila, but we will say this: the fight for the chairmanship of the state Republican party is getting good — in a juicy, knockdown, drag-out kind of way. Just how we like it! Here’s the background for all you non-political animals…
When it comes to travel, we will admit to being a total geek. Forget about a beach in Cabo or a schmancy resort: We want to see where important stuff happened! We’ve been to Paul Revere’s house. We’ve stood in the room where Winston Churchill was born. We even…
City officials are weighing a plan to consolidate elections in the city of Phoenix — one that could give Mayor Phil Gordon and certain council members an extra two years in office without being forced to run for reelection, New Times has learned. On January 9, a group called “Phoenix…
This just in: Greg Stanton, a Phoenix city councilman for eight years, will be resigning his seat to work for the Arizona Attorney General’s Office. The news has generated significant buzz, not just because of the game of musical chairs it could trigger at City Hall. No, insiders believe Stanton is…
Last year, Kym Pasqualini’s nonprofit agency ran out of money. For 15 years, the National Center for Missing Adults helped track the thousands of adults who go missing in this country every year — and did its best to reconnect them with their families. The agency operated on roughly $1…
It’s true: We’ve had an ongoing chuckle at the expense of Lisa Aubuchon, the hapless prosecutor assigned to the Don Stapley case. But Aubuchon’s most recent filing in this case isn’t so much funny as pathetic. For one thing, she disses us. (Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas’ office, dissing us?…
Occasionally, as a service to readers of this blog, we intend to brief you on the important political books that we have time to read, but you (almost certainly) do not. Hey, we get paid to peruse this stuff — we might as well share the wealth in a…
Last week, we told you the bizarre story of how the Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities voted to remove one of its members. Jon Hinz (pictured), the father of a 30-year-old with Down Syndrome, is a former executive director of the Council and a longtime advocate for families dealing…
We were scared even before lunch. The state’s economy’s in freefall, and, as she heads to Washington, D.C. in hopes of becoming the nation’s Homeland Security honcho, Governor Janet Napolitano leaves behind a giant budget deficit. But after attending the annual Legislative Forecast Luncheon hosted by the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry,…
In the world of Arizonans dealing with developmental disabilities, Jon Hinz is a rock star. Sounds funny, I know, but he’s been one of the community’s strongest advocates for three decades. Hinz’s 30-year-old daughter, Missy, was born with Down syndrome. Rather than let her condition embarrass him, or accept the…
In these harsh economic times, it’s easy to start crying. But yesterday, while perusing the unpaid bills of the West Valley’s fallen bigshot developer, Jack Rose (pictured), we found ourselves laughing. Rose, as loyal New Times readers will remember, was the boy wonder whose greed brought down a corporation commissioner — and…
We know it’s very bad karma to laugh at people in over their heads, but when it comes to Deputy County Attorney Lisa Aubuchon, we just can’t help ourselves. We have nothing against Aubuchon personally; it’s just that County Attorney Andrew Thomas appointed her to run his pre-trial division — and…
Behind the year’s most shocking indictment — 118 criminal counts filed last month against Maricopa County Supervisor Don Stapley — is a bizarre tale of a land deal turned ugly, a $360 million jury verdict reduced to nothing, and a political fundraiser hosted by one of the Valley’s most influential…
Maricopa County Supervisor Don Stapley now faces118 criminal counts of failing to properly disclose his real estate dealings on public disclosure forms — but Stapley apparently isn’t the only guy who forgot to disclose all his real estate transactions. A New Times investigation reveals that Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who led the probe…
My significant other is a notorious grump — which has never been more evident than in his initial response to Hanny’s, Karl Kopp’s new downtown Phoenix hotspot. Here we have a gorgeous old building transformed into a stylin’ new space, courtesy of the same people behind Scottsdale’s AZ88. Here was…
This was supposed to be a Democratic Party year, even in Arizona. Barack Obama was energizing young voters. The state party was flush with cash — eventually spending $1.4 million on state and county races. Meanwhile, the Republican Party couldn’t seem to raise any dough. But the GOP kicked ass anyway…
The world’s pettiest law enforcement duo is at it again. Sheriff Joe Arpaio and County Attorney Andrew Thomas have socked Maricopa County Supervisor Don Stapley with 118 felony counts for — gasp! — failing to fill out paperwork properly. I’m not exaggerating. The 39-page indictment issued against Stapley last week…
My new favorite at Sam’s Cafe. Loyalty is not my strong suit. I like to try new places and new things; ask me what my favorite restaurant is, and it’s probably one that opened last week. But with the economy collapsing, the newspaper industry in a particularly awful place,…
For all you Republicans out there hoping that a new governor means the end of Janet Napolitano’s highly irritating plot to balance the state budget by putting photo enforcement cameras everywhere, we have a little warning for you: Don’t get your hopes up. We couldn’t help but notice that, like…
I went shopping last week. I’ve been trying to spend less money — if this country’s really about to enter its next Great Depression, I don’t want to be the idiot who wasted her last paycheck on champagne and a new cocktail dress. But my resolve evaporated when I read…
Four of us — my sister-in-law and my brother and my dad — had just decided on pizza for lunch when another brother piped up. “Pizza?? I have a sore throat! I can’t eat pizza.” This is life in the Fenske family. There is never consensus. Nothing can ever…
The Goldwater Institute has released a harsh critique of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his office — concluding that the office “falls seriously short in all three of the core components of its mission” and calling for policy reform. Among other things, the Phoenix-based libertarian think tank calls for the incoming…
