Former newspaper reporter and accused armed robber Joe Watson is competent enough to stand trial, after all. Call it temporary insanity: Back in November, Watson — who’s accused of ripping off tanning salons — was deemed too whacked to understand what was going on around him. A judge ordered a…
Here’s a sign of the times: The mayor of the fifth largest city in the country was seated in first class for a flight home from Washington, D.C. — and not only did an anonymous tipster contact us, horrified by the scandal, but we also raced to the phones to…
President Barack Obama told a cheering crowd at Dobson High School in Mesa that the $787 billion stimulus act he signed into law yesterday will create jobs and restore the housing market to stability.Though the speech was loaded with vague rhetoric, Obama focused on a few of the details he…
According to the East Valley Tribune this morning, President Obama’s organizers gave the waiting crowd of visitors at Dobson High School a long list of items that were forbidden to take inside, including “pens and paper:” A steady flow of people trickled in last night, and about 2 a.m. the…
Opponents of the massive $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act expressed their frustration with a small protest and signs on roads and intersections surrounding Dobson High School in Mesa. The signs leave no clue as to the organization or individual who placed them, but it the message is undeniably…
It was a game in which Goran Dragic slam-dunked. Goran who? You know, the highly touted backup point guard whom fired Suns Coach Terry Porter used to ream a new one from the sidelines everytime he made a blunder. The Slovenian rookie (pictured) played with reckless abandon in the Suns’ 140-100 rout of the…
President Obama has arrived in the Valley, and he’s cooling his heels at the new Montelucia Resort & Spa in Paradise Valley. The resort is a change from the Biltmore, which has traditionally been politicos’ resort of choice (except for George W. Bush, who always preferred the Royal Palms)…This spring,…
We understand that in the 24-hour news cycle it can be difficult to keep up. Worry not! We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times’ blogs. Today’s entries: Valley Fever: “TheEroticReview.com” Founder David Elms Arrested in Phoenix, Suspected of Trying…
I was planning to save most of this for my Bird column this week, but the news is coming too fast and furious today not to follow up on my recent post concerning Randi Rhodes’ disappearance from Nova M radio. Indeed, that lefty AM talk network seems to be going down…
Two weeks ago, we told you the shocking story of three local flight attendants facing a lawsuit from a US Airways pilot. Their crime? Daring to report their safety concerns to federal regulators. Now New Times is getting sucked into the litigation. Henry Stein, the Mesa-based attorney representing First Officer Ed…
California nearly faced a revolt last month when officials announced that state tax filers would get IOUs instead of refunds.Arizona residents, however, can expect to receive state refund checks that banks will cash, says State Treasurer Dean Martin. Click here to read an MS Word version of Martin’s news release.Like…
Disaster will strike the Valley on March 10, 2009.No, that’s not a prediction from the Mayan calendar. It’s a mock event being held on or near Arizona State University’s Tempe campus to test the disaster readiness of local public safety officials and health care workers.The “Coyote Crisis Campaign” is a…
Forget the expensive business conferences: The greatest example of government bailout excess may just be Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver, whose banks have taken $140 million in Troubled Asset Relief Program funds.Yeah, it must be nice to be the CEO of a couple of banks that need massive public assistance…
We’re still getting plenty of responses to our popular blog post on how to beat photo enforcement tickets without feeling guilty — most of them questions from people who were recently flashed. Though many of the new questions were answered in that post and a subsequent follow-up, we thought this…
Former state legislator and corporation commission member Jeff Hatch-Miller has been appointed director of the Arizona Lottery. (Click here for a MS Word version of the news release from Governor Jan Brewer’s office). Hatch-Miller replaces Art Macias, who had in the position since 2005.Hatch-Miller’s fortune comes in the wake of…
The founder of theeroticreview.com, a Web site the New York Times calls the Amazon.com of prostitution, has been arrested in Phoenix on suspicion of trying to kill one person and seriously injure another, selling drugs and misconduct with weapons.David Elms, 38, was booked into the Maricopa County jail early this…
I don’t think Carson Daly or Jay Leno’ll be breaking a sweat over this one any time soon, but I just got a little promo e-mail in my in-box announcing the launch of ex-Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods’ “new interactive website and online talk show” grantwoods.com. What’s next, Terry Goddard…
This just in from Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver and general manager Steve Kerr: Oops. Our bad. Terry Porter, we hardly knew ye. Here’s a sack full of cash to salve your wounds. Amar’e — ha ha. Those trade rumors? We were just kidding. Ya know we love ya, ya…
President Obama will give his speech on economic woes at Dobson High School tomorrow, reportedly because he wants to see an area hit hard by home foreclosures, and for its easy access to the US 60 freeway and Sky Harbor Airport. Never hurts to have a quick getaway route, we…
We understand that in the 24-hour news cycle it can be difficult to keep up. Worry not! We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times’ blogs. Today’s entries: Valley Fever: 2009 NBA All-Star Game: Defense (For a Change), Jumpshots, and…
On the heels of our post today about rap producer “Suge” Knight catching some punches over the weekend is another rap-and-basketball-related fight story — this one involving an aspiring star from Cleveland named Kid Cudi. Reportedly, Cudi (real name: Scott Mescudi) started the fight at Scottsdale’s Canal restaurant, where he was scheduled to perform…
With every statement uttered from her perch as Homeland Security czar, in every action she takes each day her fanny remains in its cozy D.C. seat, ex-Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano reaffirms that she’s Barack Obama’s token nativist. Best to think of her as a chunky, skunk-haired version of the Child…
