Arizona lawmakers this year proposed a lot of changes to the state’s driving laws, though only a few of them actually made the cut. Below, check out seven changes to Arizona’s driving laws that could affect you:…
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, is celebrating Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s jails. Of course, PETA’s not celebrating the jails for its treatment of human beings, but for how Arpaio’s compassionate to animals for implementing a vegan diet at the jails. Never mind the photo at…
It’s official: the final portion of $2.5 million requested by a small group of dedicated city/county officials, along with the Valley of the Sun United Way, to fund rapid re-housing vouchers for 250 homeless men and women received unanimous approval Tuesday by the Maricopa County Industrial Development Authority. The group…
Twelve Tucson activists who used their bodies to block two busloads of undocumented immigrants headed to expedited deportation proceedings in 2013 have been convicted of obstructing a highway and causing a public nuisance. Pima County Justice of the Peace Susan Bacal is expected to dole out sentences in July. The…
Arizona cities and towns will not be able to ban or tax plastic bags. Governor Doug Ducey has signed Senate Bill 1241, which declares that regulation of plastic bags is a matter of statewide concern and thus not subject to regulation by local authorities. Some states and cities around the…
A Department of Public Safety officer who taught other cops to spot substance-impaired drivers resigned several months after he was arrested for a drunken rampage in Tennessee — where he was attending a national conference on highway safety. Timothy Merrill was arrested on April 29, 2014 for assault, vandalism, and…
Republican Senator John McCain again may face a primary challenge from the right. State Senator Kelli Ward of Lake Havasu City sent an e-mail to supporters saying she’s going to “test the waters” to see if she can drum up enough support to be a viable challenger to McCain. “As…
Larry Klayman, a lawyer who claimed he’d been defamed by two newspapers, including Phoenix New Times, lost his case in a recent ruling by a Florida federal judge. Quoting frequently from Alice in Wonderland, U.S. District Judge Anne C. Conway concluded in her 34-page decision that Klayman’s case failed to…
Raul Castro, Arizona’s first and only Hispanic governor, died last week at the age of 98. Several years ago, New Times’ Stephen Lemons went down to Nogales to interview the former governor and U.S. diplomat at his home. The video above is essentially the highlight reel of that interview, as…
Infamous boyfriend-killer Jodi Arias was sentenced today to spend the rest of her natural life in prison for the 2008 slaying of Travis Alexander. The sentence handed down by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Sherry Stephens comes after two juries deadlocked on whether Arias deserved a death sentence. Stephens could…
“I don’t know what’s going on,” said Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio after police busted into a squalid Wittman mobile home Wednesday to find 54 dogs and 18 cats crawling over urine-stained furniture. One striped cat, nestled inside an old, cardboard produce box, was nursing three Chihuahua puppies. Another lay…
Three people were shot early this morning in a drive-by shooting in Phoenix. According to Phoenix police, the three adults shot were hospitalized, but are expected to survive. Though police haven’t tracked down the shooter, Phoenix Police Sergeant Trent Crump tells New Times the victims know him…
A Cottonwood police dash-cam video released today shows the chaos of a deadly March 21 melee between cops and a “close-knit” Idaho family of eight. Enoch Graver, 21, was shot fatally by police in the brawl, and his 18-year-old brother was shot in the abdomen. Police Sergeant Jeremy Daniels was…
Raul Castro, the first and only Hispanic to serve as Arizona’s governor, has died at age 98. In a Facebook message last year in support of David Garcia as state Superintendent of Public Instruction that it was “hard to believe” that since being elected 40 years ago, “no other Latino…
At the end of the week, we bring you a roundup of visitors to the desert’s own Fourth Avenue Jail. To be considered for our Maricopa County mugshots of the week, get arrested, strike a pose, and we’ll take care of the rest. This week, we look for the folks…
The trial of ex-Minuteman leader Chris Simcox on allegations that he molested two young girls in 2013 was put on hold Thursday by an Arizona Supreme Court Justice, at least till the end of this month. At issue is whether the 54 year-old Simcox, who is representing himself, will be…
Videos released by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office show a jail inmate beating up multiple detention officers and the foul interior of a Wittman hoarder’s home. Both are newsworthy and, well, just darned interesting to watch. In the first, shot two weeks ago by a surveillance video in the Lower…
A U.S. District Judge has ruled that the uranium mining company, Energy Fuels Inc., can resume operations at Canyon Mine in Northern Arizona. The decision comes after environmental groups and the Havasupai tribe filed a lawsuit in March 2013 to stop the company from completing construction of the mine and…
A hiker shot at South Mountain Park in February had been on a maintained trail just south of a public shooting range, the man’s lawyer says. The bullet passed through the right leg of Thomas Sawyer, 35, and lodged in his left thigh. He’s recovering. But his lawyer, Garvey Biggers,…
Maricopa County will pay $3.5 million for one of Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s mishandled rape investigations. The county Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 on Wednesday to approve the settlement for a Valley family who sued in Superior Court over the botched case. The case of Sabrina Morrison was one of hundreds…
Within a week, Governor Doug Ducey is expected to say yay or nay to a proposal that would block the state from cooperating with the Affordable Care Act. Among other things, House Bill 2643 would prohibit Arizona from building a state-run healthcare exchange — a move that some say could…
I’m a 23-year-old Latina attending a Texas university. I’m taking a class that is centered around Latino culture and history. I’m a first generation Tex-Mex kid, and lately all of the documentaries and other course work have been making me “feel some type of way” angry/sad and overall confused, for…
