UPDATE January 29: The state health department estimates more than 1,000 people could have been exposed to measles statewide. Click here for details. A second case of measles stemming from the outbreak at Disneyland has been confirmed in Maricopa County. County health officials say the infected, a woman, may have…
A proposed tax break for some religious groups could be the first test of Governor Doug Ducey’s allegiance to the state’s powerful Religious Right forces. Former Governor Jan Brewer last year vetoed a bill that would have made a property-tax exemption for religious groups that lease their places of worship…
Google announced today that four more U.S. cities will be getting Google Fiber, and Phoenix isn’t one of them. The company had announced nearly a year ago that Phoenix was one of nine metro areas in the United States where it wanted to bring Google Fiber, its Internet service advertised…
In a final vote Monday afternoon, the ASU Faculty Senate passed a new student-faculty “amorous relationship” policy. The vote was 76 to 11, with four abstentions, and came after months of vigorous and contentious debate…
Advocates for GMO labeling are getting another shot in the Arizona Legislature. Six representatives submitted a bill to require food containing even just one genetically engineered ingredient be labeled as such. Modeled after Vermont’s legislation, HB 2462 will also prohibit manufacturers from advertising GMO products as “all natural.” (Prepared food…
Democrats in the Arizona House and Senate have unveiled a package of bills aimed at regulating so-called “dark money.” Arizona’s been a hot-spot for the “dark money” issue, which involves organizations being able to dump millions of dollars into elections without having to reveal their donors — so much so…
The national “do not call” registry can protect you from telemarketing calls, but one Arizona lawmaker wants you to have the option to avoid calls from pesky politicians, too. Republican Senator John Kavanagh is proposing a political “do not call” list in the state, which would allow citizens of the…
Sure, they can design computer hardware or launch a startup company, but do they know the number of U.S. Supreme Court justices? New Times put Arizona State University students to the test last week to find out if they’d have trouble passing a civics test that’s soon to be a…
2014 was a myth-busting year for Arizona. In the last year, we saw some stereotypes and myths about Phoenix and Arizona go down the drain. Check out 10 such examples:…
What’s former Attorney General Tom Horne doing these days? Apparently, he’s joined up with his former law partner, Scottsdale attorney Sandra Slaton. His mug is on Slaton’s website and the State Bar of Arizona now cites Slaton’s office as his professional address. Slaton, you’ll recall, briefly represented Horne in an…
One of the most basic rules of air travel is that you can’t bring your gun with you on a commercial flight. And yet, here we are again to let you know that Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport made the annual list of airports with most attempts to carry guns…
Hey there, Phoenix! We’re rolling out the grassy green carpet in honor of the biggest event to hit town since – well, since the last Super Bowl rolled through. The 49th annual celebration of all things professional football promises to be the grandest yet, and Phoenix New Times has it…
Arizonans have signed up for national healthcare to the tune of 169,178 since November 15, and time’s a-ticking for anybody else who wants coverage. Open enrollment ends February 15. The latest statistics are encouraging. Governor Doug Ducey may have called the Affordable Care Act “a monumental failure” and “one of…
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, it’s party time. Enjoy!…
A federal judge has sided with the challengers to Arizona’s denial of driver’s licenses to young immigrants shielded from deportation by Obama’s executive action. Last month, the DREAMers began obtaining their first Arizona licenses after the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the state to stop enforcing the ban put in place…
The Maricopa County Department of Public Health has confirmed a case of measles in the county, which is being linked to an outbreak in Disney theme parks in California. The woman with measles in Maricopa County wasn’t identified by county officials, but the woman, in her fifties, has since recovered…
Guido Puccini, the Florida man whose kidnapping last month led to his arrest as an Arizona fugitive, escaped justice for 23 years. In 1992, Puccini admitted to having sex with a young girl, molesting her repeatedly and telling her “this is what people do when they love each other,” according…
There’s a complicated legal situation at the Grand Canyon these days because a private concessionaire, Xanterra Parks and Resorts, has accused the National Park Service of mismanagement. Trying to follow the situation without an economics degree or a legal dictionary is tough so we’re going to break it down for…
A Democratic state representative is proposing mandatory body cameras on every police officer in the state, plus external reviews of any police shootings. Representative Reginald Bolding, who represents parts of Phoenix, announced the legislation yesterday in response to constituent concerns about police shootings in Arizona and elsewhere. “After having conversations…
I have a hard time believing that the immigrants we see at Home Depot are the best Mexico has to offer. Why can’t we entice more of the cream of the crop of Mexicans to come up north? (Mexico has the richest man in the world, so someone has to…
Arizona State University Police Officer Stewart Ferrin wasn’t fired as expected today, and it sounds like it’s possible he may get a reprieve. Ferrin whose high-profile, video-recorded arrest of ASU professor Ersula Ore caused a public-relations nightmare for the university, will be employed for at least a little while longer,…
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office has really trumpeted its new video-visitation system for jail inmates, but such systems are heavily criticized in a new report from incarceration policy researchers. According to a national look at the systems by the Prison Policy Initiative, this “technology is poorly designed, does not work…
