We will admit to being a glutton for the sort of details that most people (wisely?) dismiss as boring. And so, while reporting this week’s feature on the SCA campaign finance scandal now plaguing the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, we literally spent two days studying Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s campaign finance…
In a way, it was a sad night for Arizona Diamondbacks fans, because the team’s 11-4 shellacking of the Pittsburgh Pirates at Chase Field demonstrated how good this team could be. If the offense showed up more than once out of every two or three games. If the bullpen showed up…
52 people will become new U.S. citizens today in a naturalization ceremony in Phoenix. The soon-to-be citizens range in age from 20 to 75, and come from countries including Lebanon, the Philipines, and Mexico. As part of the ceremony, which takes place this afternoon at Burton Barr Central Library, Valley…
In the 24-hour news cycle it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times’ blogs. Today’s entries: Feathered Bastard: Bill Maher Interview of Janet Napolitano Focus of Demo by Immigration Activists Barack Obama, Hypocrite…
You don’t have to be a Harvard prof to note the smiling hypocrisy of President Barack Obama’s comments last night on racial profiling. Just hours after Obama defended his Cambridge pal Henry Louis Gates, Jr. in a presidential press conference, and spanked the Cambridge cops for acting “stupidly” in arresting the…
Speaking of light rail, Tempe police plan a one-day crackdown on motorists who play games with light-rail trains. On Wednesday, July 29, cops will be swarming near light-rail crossings, busting drivers who fail to stop for red lights, make “hazardous u-turns in front of the trains,” stop on…
Two New Times writers will participate in a panel called “Publishing and Getting Paid in the Digital Age” at Changing Hands Bookstore tonight. The panel will be hosted by KJZZ’s Rene Gutel (who is also a frequent contributor to our dining blog Chow Bella). Also in attendance will be New Times staff writer…
The Arizona Disability Advocacy Coalition, which has numerous Valley organizations as members, is giving Metro Light Rail and Valley metro an award for helping the disabled. Valley Metro runs the Valley’s buses and oversees the light rail system. The public transportation agencies were chosen for the group’s American Disabilities Act…
Cigarettes are bad for you and can cause cancer — even if they’re electronic, according to an FDA report released earlier today. The study analyzed the chemicals contained in the electronic nicotine cartridges from Smoking Everywhere Inc., and NJOY, a Scottsdale-based company. “These tests indicate that these products contained detectable…
The National Day Laborer Organizing Network has announced a demonstration outside the studios where Bill Maher will be interviewing Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano for Friday’s episode of Real Time with Bill Maher. I blogged about Napolitano’s appearance yesterday, and hoped that Maher would question Napolitano about creating a national immigration…
The Securities and Exchange Commission is breaking new ground by trying to force the former CEO of a corrupt company to pay back $4.1 million in bonuses — even though he had nothing to do with the corruption. Maynard Jenkins, 66, who lives in Scottsdale and also has an address in Sedona, collected the…
Where is Governor Jan Brewer these days? Well, we know where she’s not, and that’s participating in budget talks with the Arizona Legislature. On Wednesday, members from both sides of the aisle met for the third time this week to try to hash out a plan to pay for this years…
Five blog posts over 10 days led up to Sarah Fenske’s cover analysis this week on the SCA (Sheriff’s Command Association) scandal. A 2007 cover story on the smear of Arpaio opponent Dan Saban was an omen of what was to come — state Republican Party ads further smearing Saban financed by the SCA. A Fenske…
He’s baaaaaaaaack!Four months after a Superior Court judge unceremoniously tossed a libel suit filed by an unhappy U.S. Airways pilot, we’ve gotten word that the pilot, Ed Gannon, will be appealing the decision.Can’t this guy take a hint already?As we first reported in January, Gannon sued three of his company’s…
With the current state of the United States economy being, well, horrifying, Mexican immigrants here are running for the border. A study released Wednesday by the Pew Hispanic Center shows that the number of Mexican’s entering the United States illegally has dropped nearly 40 percent in 2009, and found that nearly…
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office is conducting some kind of operation in the east Valley today, though exactly what it is we’re not sure. A source we trust called us this morning to say Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s forces were engaged in another immigration/crime sweep in Chandler this morning…
We’re still waiting for info from the Peoria Police Department on this one, but the Arizona Republic has a story on it already: A 27-year-old woman has been arrested for killing her boyfriend’s 3-year-old niece. This is yet another truly heinous case of child abuse, whoever did it: The…
Image: www.americanpie.ugo.com While searching for real news this morning, it was impossible to miss the front-page story in the Arizona Republic about dating “cougars.” You know, older women, MILFs — Mrs. Robinson, Stifler’s Mom. The funny, feline-flavored fluff article by reporter Megan Finnerty is based on an upcoming “event’ at a Scottsdale resort called MEOW: Men…
Think your Diamondbacks stink? What to make, then, of the Pittsburgh Pirates, who, before their 8-5 victory against the Brewers on July 20, had been Milwaukee’s bitch for more than a year? Before that W, the Pirates had choked away 17 straight to the Brewers (the Brewers!) over 14 months. It…
To try to fill vacant homes and revitalize neighborhoods, the city of Phoenix is offering residents a $15,000 loan toward a down-payment on a foreclosed home. The stipulations are that loan recipients must live in the house and arrange their own mortgages…More than 150 Arizona soldiers from the 366th Support…
The mainstream media is making big noise of Sonia Sotomayor’s likely being the first Latina Supreme Court justice, and that all Latinos should be proud. But Puerto Rican ain’t Mexican! The Supreme Court won’t have a shade of brown until a Mexican is among Roberts and Scalia. What does the…
JOE’S ALL WET Lots of us are praying: Another Arpaio/Thomas publicity stunt revealed in your “Down on Brown” story. When will it all stop? Maybe never. But I felt better recently when [U.S.] Homeland Security came up with a new 287(g) plan in which police agencies with the federal authority…
