One step forward, two steps back. That was the story of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ three-game weekend series against the Houston Astros. In Friday night’s 8-1 win, the D-Backs played what might have been their best all-around game of the year. In Saturday’s and Sunday’s losses, the D-Backs were simply outpitched…
A fire burning in the Baboquivari Peak Wilderness area near Tucson has grown to 5200 acres. The blaze, dubbed the Elk Horn Fire, was about eight percent contained by Sunday…A Valley man is in critical condition after he was stabbed at a trailer park in Glendale. The man, 53, was…
Dennis Gilman’s account of Joe Arpaio’s car wash raid, and an interview with one of Arpaio’s littlest victims. This Saturday, while real cops were out hunting down murderers, rapists, burglars, and so on, Sheriff Joe Arpaio — true to his nickname, “Nickel Bag Joe” — was at Lindstrom Family Auto Wash in Phoenix as…
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: Arizona’s Apartheid: Anti-Immigrant Legislation Advances in Arizona State Senate Up on the Sun: Lifted Triumphs…
A card dealer at an “illegal poker room” in Scottsdale was found guilty last week of gambling-related charges, one of five people in legal trouble over the business. Dealer Brian Sitko, who was also employed at Casino Arizona when he was arrested earlier this year, was convicted of benefiting from…
Maybe this Phoenix police recruitment billboard does wonders for recruitment… … but it sure as heck doesn’t inspire confidence in the police force…
The process of ethnic cleansing in Arizona is a step closer to fulfillment today thanks to neo-Nazi-hugger and state Senator Russell Pearce and his allies. Pearce’s Senate Bill 1175, which passed the Committee of the Whole and is likely headed for its third and final read on Monday, will force law personnel in all…
A company transforming a 160,000-square-foot building into a massive data-management center touts Phoenix as “one of the few disaster-free areas in the world.” The local company, Global Datacenter Trust, hopes the tag will make future customers feel secure enough to store their most sensitive computer data in the “Phoenix NAP” facility, which is slated…
If things weren’t bad enough for Doug Grant, now serving a five-year prison term after a jury convicted him of manslaughter in the death of his wife Faylene, get this: Jenna Stradling, his 19-year-old stepdaughter (and a key witness against him in the controversial, high-profile case) has filed a lawsuit against…
Robert J. Maynard Jr., the LifeLock founder who resigned from his own company after New Times revealed his lies and shady past, is now the CEO of an ocean adventure business in Waikiki. A Federal Trade Commission order from the 1990s apparently bars Maynard Jr. from returning in an official capacity to the…
The East Valley Tribune is losing another member of its Pulitzer-prize-winning team: Reporter Ryan Gabrielson (right), the lead writer of the award-winning series on Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, is heading to UC-Berkeley to work as a journalism fellow…
The 1930s-era post office on Central Avenue and Van Buren Street is preparing to undergo at least $2 million in renovation by its owner, Arizona State University, in collaboration with the city of Phoenix. As New Times writer Robrt L. Pela explained a few months ago, the stylish building was purchased…
After more than 56 years, GM is closing its Mesa test track, the Desert Proving Ground. Most employees have already moved to a new facility in Yuma. The move is termed “only coincidental” with GM’s recent bankruptcy…A Valley street was closed last night after a group of people fired guns at…
Some of you may be familiar with the legal donnybrook Scottsdale’s 944 Magazine is engaged in regarding the handling of its 2008 Super Bowl party, which 944 hosted along with its business partner in the venture, California-based Explosive Productions. On March 27, Explosive Productions filed suit against 944, alleging that…
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: Up on the Sun: The Valley’s Biggest Beatsmiths Battle for Supremacy Tonight at PHX Nightclub Summer of…
Granted, the Arizona Diamondbacks are not a well-oiled machine. We’re just not sure why. (Bad coaching? Poor team chemistry? Dodgy bullpen? Take your pick.) But there is one thing we know for certain: Thank goodness for Justin Upton. In the third, the should-be All-Star selection nailed a solo shot over…
> The New York Supreme Court approved the use of shocking a suspect with a Taser to force him to comply with a court order to give police a DNA sample. An article by Courthouse News about the decision makes it clear the Taser — made by a Scottsdale company…
Semper fake! A Scottsdale man is in big trouble for playing dress-up. Authorities say John William Rodriquez, 31, (pictured) presented himself at several local functions as a highly decorated U.S. Marine. A list of possible charges (see below) indicates Rodriquez may have been trying to earn money with the ruse,…
Chance may crown her. Thanks to missteps by Carrie Prejean that led to her firing by Donald Trump, Miss Arizona 2009, Alicia-Monique Blanco, could become Miss USA by default — as we suspected. It’s a longshot that depends on what happens to the current Miss USA, Kristen Dalton, say Miss Universe…
A couple of weeks ago, we asked Jay Heiler, spokesman for the Scottsdale office of the Australian speed-camera firm, Redflex, about the situation of out-of-state violators being visited by process servers. Heiler (at left) told us that Redflex wanted to be “transparent” about the issue and would get back to us. We…
Antonio Reid Cops want the public’s help to find two people suspected of involvement in a March murder. About 4 a.m. on March 14, Christopher Smith, 20, had been hanging with other partiers in front of a house near Indian School Road and 7th Avenue…
Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, Councilman Claude Mattox and officials with the Sister City program will kick off a fundraising effort this morning to benefit families of children burned in a Mexico day-care facility fire. At least 44 children were killed in the blaze. About 142 kids aged 6 months to…
