In 1994, the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich, ignited a firestorm when he suggested that welfare reform might require a good dose of Father Flanagan’s Boys Town–in other words, institutional homes, orphanages!–to deal with the children of the poor. Gingrich’s solution was not politically adept, but…
The taxi comes to a halt on a two-lane paved road bisecting Villa Juarez, a bustling, peasant farming town in the heart of one of Mexico’s most fertile farming valleys. A herd of cattle blocks the road, paralyzing traffic on this busy farm highway about 25 miles south of Culiacan,…
Before going to bed at night, Richie Blandon usually took his school clothes to the kitchen sink. He washed the blue slacks and the white shirt as best he could. Richie never quite got the hang of planning out how long his one set of school clothes took to dry…
Why Ignorance Is Bliss On a recent Southwest Airlines flight, The Flash dug deeply into the seatback pocket and struck gold: a copy of the airline’s Chief Pilot’s Newsletter, which provided riveting, if not reassuring, reading. “Before we get carried away in our euphoria,” an unnamed pilot writes, “consider that…
In the wake of a report that Scottsdale served 70,000 residents drinking water laced with illegal levels of a suspected carcinogen, city officials have responded by lobbying Governor J. Fife Symington III and one of his appointees, Russell Rhoades, director of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. The New Times…
Big Bong Theory Thanks, New Times, for publishing “Tokin’ Resistance” (Howard Stansfield, December 12). I had a friend who passed away from cancer at age 21. He lived with cancer for 10 years. He often spoke of his chemotherapy sessions and how consuming marijuana helped him through the ordeal. He…
I’m feeling real warm inside right now. I don’t know, maybe it’s the wonderful scent of burning wood that’s in the crisp, wintry air. Maybe it’s the way everybody seems to be wearing a big Christmas smile, the way good cheer and happiness seem to be all around us, like…
A few months ago, a telemarketer working out of a west Phoenix office made her pitch to an elderly Pennsylvania woman. “I’m calling from the American Indian Relief Council,” Sharon A. began, her accent straight out of New York City. “Currently, we are working on our food-baskets program. For $35,…
Every Rep At the Capitol Likes Lawmaking a lot. But the AldGrinch, Who lives just north of the Capitol, Does NOT! The AldGrinch hates Lawmaking! The whole statute season! Now, please don’t ask why. No one quite knows the reason. It could be his new kidney–was it put in all…
Gail Battistella is a diminutive woman, 50-something, with crisp gray bangs and a tiny, high-pitched voice. But she holds within her an explosive potential that could be measured in megatons, a force that hums and sputters and draws people to her almost as powerfully as it blows them away. Battistella…
In charter schools’ second year of existence, Arizona already has more of them than any other state. About 17,000 Arizona students are enrolled in these publicly funded but privately owned bastions of education at 168 individual school sites (maintained by a slightly smaller number of charter holders). To date, only…
The King of Mean As the senior member of the House of Representatives, Don Aldridge has had more time than any of his colleagues–14 years, to be exact–to earn his reputation as a petty, vindictive, ignorant legislator. Aldridge once filibustered a bill that designated nonsmoking areas in government buildings. He’s…
A state agency has concluded that ComCare failed dismally in its treatment of a mentally ill Vietnam veteran who died after collapsing on a Phoenix street. The investigation by the Division of Behavioral Health Services came in the wake of New Times stories about the life and death of Donald…
Another Poseur in the Posse With the city abuzz over the news of an impostor inside Sheriff Joke Arpaio’s sanctum, The Crime Avenger’s chief spinmeister, Tom Bearup, took to the airwaves December 7 to ease the fears of an anxious public. The highly paid “public affairs coordinator” told listeners of…
In 1995, a jury awarded Jason Scott $5 million, ruling that his civil rights had been violated during an involuntary “deprogramming” by Rick Ross, a Phoenix resident and well-known cult expert. That judgment eventually forced Ross into bankruptcy court, put an anticult group out of business and made national news…
“Hold on, I just took my pants off–it’s kinda hot in here!” This is what Les Payne yells from inside the camper that rides piggyback in the bed of his ’83 Chevy Custom Deluxe pickup that sits on the sloping edge of a dirt parking lot in Nothing, Arizona. According…
Sentence Fragments I must state that the “Letters From Jail” story (December 5) really hit home with me. I’ve been there and done it, trust me when I say that it’s all true, and then some. It is quite a system that “Uncle Joe” Arpaio has come up with. The…
A decade ago, it was perhaps the ultimate experience for an American Anglophile: What better way to indulge one’s fascination for things English than to join one of that country’s most storied, exclusive clubs? To become a “Name” at Lloyd’s of London–to become an investor in the 300-year-old insurance institution–gave…
The stoop-shouldered man slouches behind a coffee table that is really a marijuana table. It practically bows beneath the collective weight of pot and things pot-related. The place looks like Cheech and Chong’s version of the afterlife. On the table, bags of pot and a jar brimming with half-smoked joints…
In an unprecedented action that runs counter to some available evidence, the state’s top liquor regulator has ordered a Tempe nightclub to close, based partially on criminal allegations that the county attorney deemed unworthy of prosecution. Late last month, Howard Adams, director of Arizona’s Department of Liquor Licensing and Control,…
The State Bar of Arizona has asked a retired judge to investigate allegations of sexual harassment against Bruce Hamilton, the agency’s longtime executive director. On Monday, Bar officials confirmed rumors that have circulated widely in Arizona’s legal community since a heated Board of Governors meeting November 22: Hamilton is on…
Those Amazing (Former) Suns While the Phoenix Suns are emerging from their torpor–Danny Ainge’s pained pouts apparently making all the difference–The Flash can’t help but marvel at the excellent team the Suns have fielded for other NBA franchises. Consider this lineup: Charles Barkley (41 minutes per game for the Rockets,…
