Fuzzy photo; yummy shrimp by Sarah Fenske It’d been miserably hot and I felt like my brain was fried. I needed a pick-me-up. So of course I chose Zest. This stand-alone restaurant, at 16th Street and Indian School, is practically my favorite place in all of Phoenix. I love those…
I still don’t know what the stupidest part was. Was it the Maricopa County sheriff’s officer waving a public record at a reporter, daring him to touch it — making it clear that he’d have the reporter arrested if he did? Was it the sheriff’s deputies using a portable…
Even if the Supreme Court decides not to intervene, the Bar says, it will “appoint an independent investigator and probable cause panelist to assume the investigation.”
By Sarah Fenske We at New Times have never been the biggest fans of the lame moniker for downtown Phoenix pushed by the Downtown Phoenix Partnership. When we hear “Copper Square”, we think “lame suburban shopping mall,” “focus group,” or “Jerrry Colangelo”, not “vibrant downtown.” Not that we have a…
When our waiter lit the cheese this time, we all shouted the magic word. And of course the dish was perfect: salty, savory, the crust seared and the center soft. We all cut thick slabs and scarfed it up on the excellent house-made pita.
By Sarah Fenske Waah, waah, waah! That’s the sound of Maricopa County Sheriff’s Captain James Miller, whining in an internal memo about the Phoenix Police Department’s refusal to come to the MCSO’s aid when it tried to keep a New Times reporter from (gasp!) looking at public records. Captain James…
By Sarah Fenske Here’s news that’s sure to strike fear in the hearts of misogynist golfers everywhere. The state’s chief law enforcement officer has ruled that you can’t ban women from the dining room of your country club, even if you give them a smaller, crappier dining room to use…
The number one purpose of the Missionette program, according to its Web site, is “to win girls to Jesus Christ through love and acceptance.” It’s the Girl Scouts, only sponsored by your local evangelical church: uniforms, merit badges — and lots of talk about Jesus’ edict to “go and make…
Look at the pretty cocktail! By Sarah Fenske I’m a sucker for good lighting. I have certain thrifty friends who will take one look at the menu and back out of a restaurant, howling, “$28 for an entree?!?” Or, “$15 for a cocktail? What is this, highway robbery?!”? Not me…
By Sarah Fenske I’m not much for press releases, but I have to admit that the title on one today caught my eye: “Father appeals to PVSD to retain son in middle school.” Turns out some Scottsdale dad wants New Times readers to know about his efforts to convince school…
By Sarah Fenske Any time I write about law enforcement issues, I get a spike in my inbox — there are lots of you New Times readers who take civil liberties seriously, which is heartening. (There are also apparently a boatload who’ve been wrongfully arrested, which is not heartening at…
Heather Squires was the designated driver. Never exactly a fun thing, but a college buddy of her husband’s was driving up from Tucson to celebrate his acceptance into law school. So when her husband, Jason, asked, Heather said yes. At Chuy’s in Tempe, Heather’s brother and her husband and the…
This week’s fried food is a BLT at Drip. And, yes, I had to take a bite before taking the picture — I was starving. by Sarah Fenske There is nothing more sublime than a BLT: Think crisp salty bacon, ripe tomatoes dripping with juice, a sheet of crisp iceberg…
By Sarah Fenske This just in: Carlos Mendoza is retiring. Now, the idea of “retirement” may sound a little fishy to you. After all, Mendoza, a justice of the peace in the Downtown Justice Court, was facing charges from the Arizona Commission on Judicial Conduct for some pretty serious stuff:…
Construction has nearly finished on most of the Valley’s inaugural 20-mile light-rail track. Thank God. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the trains will be ready to run on time. Here’s why. Union officials tell me that the for-profit company that’s supposed to be hiring and managing rail staff has frittered…
By Sarah Fenske We’re not in the market for a Beemer, but we couldn’t help but notice this ad on AutoTrader.com. The seller, who’s apparently one of those of shiny-shirted Scottsdale boys, claims that this seven-year-old BMW “has gotten me laid so many times it’s ridiculous … I’m not saying…
This week’s fried food: Calf fries at the Stockyards By Sarah Fenske I’ve never been a particularly healthy eater. For one thing, I’ve got a fast food jones to rival the Hamburglar’s — I go through the drive-through at least four times a week. And even when I take the…
By Sarah Fenske Do Arizona homebuyers have the right to sue builders for shoddy construction? That was the question before the Arizona Supreme Court this morning, as that august body heard arguments for the Lofts at Fillmore case. I wrote about this one earlier this year, but for those who…
By Sarah Fenske No one said it was easy to fight The Man. But in the latest skirmish in its battle to stop corporate welfare in Arizona, at the least the Goldwater Institute doesn’t have to go it alone. Last year, I told you about the libertarian think-tank’s bold play…
When Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon spoke out against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, he had to know that retaliation would be swift. After all, past critics of the sheriff’s office have been investigated, smeared, even jailed. It didn’t take Gordon long to join the list. On April 24, four weeks…
By Sarah Fenske Yeah, yeah, I know… We at New Times already have confessed to more than a shade of Green Fatigue (see our 10 zillion word analysis of overly trendy environmentalism here.) But we have to admit, we still plan to watch tonight’s Wife Swap, which pairs an “eco-friendly…
By Sarah Fenske Nearly a year ago, I wrote up the sad tale of Robert Stempkowski and Stephen Wolff, the entrepreneurs behind an about-to-open upscale barbecue joint in Tempe called Urban Campfire. Stempkowski and Wolff had bought a liquor license from another restaurant owner, but instead of completing the transfer,…
