Four months ago, ASU’s journalism school moved into its spiffy new home in downtown Phoenix. But the school’s public television affiliate didn’t come with it. Arizona’s biggest PBS station had failed to raise enough money to pay for its move. Today, KAET, known as “Channel Eight” to old timers and…
An independent law firm investigating whether a Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office commander illegally funneled money to the Arizona Republican Party is demanding that the commander produce a list of donors by December 1. But, in a letter to that investigator, Commander Joel Fox (pictured above) insists he’s done nothing wrong — and needn’t turn…
A true feast … If there is anything worse than moving — and I’m not certain there is — it may well be attempting to move in that frantic time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. But I’m nothing if not stupid, so my movers are scheduled to arrive bright and early December 3. In the…
Fifteen months ago, a small business owner named Mickey Gutier got a call from a lawyer in New York City. The lawyer represented a company seeking permission to use some names that Gutier had trademarked for his Phoenix-based startup men’s cosmetic’s company in 2005: XY Skin Care and XY Cosmetics…
So things are really bad with the Arizona economy. So bad, in fact, that Janet Napolitano has set up a Web site to solicit ideas on how the state government can save money. Unfortunately for us, those ideas aren’t online for public consumption. (We can only imagine just how many…
Cyclo is so freakin’ cheery — doesn’t this wall just make you grin? By Sarah Fenske I have these fabulously cool neighbors. I know, I know, it’s Phoenix, and no one is supposed to know their neighbors. But Daniel and Bobby both moved here from farflung places (Argentina for Daniel,…
By Sarah Fenske The Arizona Secretary of State has found “reasonable cause” to believe the Arizona Republican Party broke the law by accepting $105,000 in contributions from a high ranking member of Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s staff. The finding came last week, according to public records obtained by New Times, and…
It has all the ingredients of a good mystery novel. An elderly widow who donates $1 million, hoping to turn a beloved book into a movie. A glamorous author, determined to make a shoot happen in the scorching Arizona desert, despite squabbling between local talent and Hollywood pros. The startling…
By Amy Silverman and Sarah Fenske Like John McCain, we’re going to keep this one short and sweet. Barack Obama is the next president of the United States, and while there are a lot of Republicans here at the Biltmore who aren’t happy about that, many were as gracious as…
By Sarah Fenske and Amy Silverman Okay, dont tell anyone, but we snuck into the McCain party. Sadly, this is a little bit B-list — us and the foreign media and some really bad outfits. And Grant Woods, inexplicably, and at least three Congressmen. (As in Shadegg, Flake, and Franks…
By Sarah Fenske and Amy Silverman So here we are, armed with the world’s smallest laptop and the world’s largest cocktails (hey, when in Rome — we’ve gotta blend in here), ready to cover history as it unfolds. Well, as it unfolds behind the ginormous bleachers reserved for paying guests…
By Sarah Fenske This just in: Congressman John Shadegg’s campaign appears to be using some pretty shady surrogates. And no, I’m not talking about Shadegg’s fellow Republican congressman, Rick Renzi, who’s awaiting trial on a host of felony counts. Or former Arizona Attorney General (and fellow Republican) Jack LaSota, who’s…
The most important political race in the state this year is one you know nothing about. The five elected directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System toil in unpaid anonymity. Yet their actions will determine the future of Arizona’s only public hospital at a critical time. And that’s not hyperbole:…
So Chagolla clearly stated that the sheriff’s office consulted with the special prosecutor. And one of the assistant special prosecutors, William French, clearly stated that the sheriff’s office consulted with the special prosecutor.
And Hendershott is now claiming that he acted unilaterally? Beyond that, he’s claiming he never consulted with either Andrew Thomas or Special Prosecutor Dennis Wilenchik?
Technically, sure, maybe Hendershott did not consult with Thomas or Wilenchik. But someone from his office clearly consulted with someone from their office.
By Sarah Fenske Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas went to bizarre lengths yesterday to pressure radio stations from playing a Democrat-funded ad that compares his tactics to those in police states from Soviet Russia to “Castro’s Cuba” — going so far as to threaten lawsuits against the stations if the…
By Sarah Fenske The top aide to Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Chief Deputy David Hendershott says he ordered the late-night arrests of New Times executives Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin last October. Hendershott (pictured) apparently made the startling admission in an affidavit at the behest of Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas…
Three hundred and fifty calories … By Sarah Fenske This morning, some time after breakfast but before lunch, I ate 54 percent of my daily allotment of saturated fat. Fifty-four percent! Do you know how little that leaves for french fries at lunch, for butter at dinner, for any sort…
By Sarah Fenske This just in: The Arizona Republic will be laying off 10 percent of its staff in December. The move was apparently announced to staffers today — and, judging by this post on Gannett Blog, is happening at all 83 of the Republic’s sister newspapers. The newspaper’s parent…
By Sarah Fenske Mark Jacoby, who New Times first linked to fraudulent signature-gathering in Arizona, has been arrested in California. The Los Angeles Times reports Jacoby was arrested in Ontario, California October 18 on “suspicion of voter registration fraud.” Jacoby, police there are alleging, used a former address to register…
By Sarah Fenske For anyone who’s been watching the collapse of Jack Rose’s West Valley empire, here’s an interesting piece of news: The notorious entrepreneur has resigned from the bank he helped to charter. Candace Wiest, the president/CEO of West Valley National Bank, confirmed in a phone call today that…
I never really thought my marriage would last, not even when I was standing there in a frumpy white dress saying, “I do.” But I never thought I would leave the Republican Party. That, for me, was a constant. That was sacred. But in the past three weeks, the Arizona…
My favorite place, but not my favorite dish… By Sarah Fenske I have been in the worst mood lately. For some reason, fall always makes me depressed, in a “Remembrance of Things Past” kind of way. Like I can’t stop thinking about past autumns — better autumns — and my…
