Under pressure from supporters of professor Ersula Ore, Arizona State University announced on Wednesday that the officer who arrested her in May has been put on leave. The power of a viral video seems to be at work here, since ASU had previously ruled that the actions of ASU police…
Putting the jerk in knee-jerk, Arizona State Treasurer and Republican gubernatorial hopeful Doug Ducey has rolled out a new TV ad, trying like heck to look tough on the border. That’s no small task for a guy who either has the world’s worst barber or the world’s worst toupee, I’m…
The tragedy currently playing out on the U.S. southern border has reminded me to once again ask my three-years-ago-posed and perhaps-more-relevant-than-ever question (slightly tweaked): If the U.S. had sponsored and funded infrastructural, educational, social, and economic development in Mexico and Central America during the 1950s to the 1980s in the way the more…
At the time of his death, in May 1981, Bob Marley was 36 years old and reggae’s biggest star. He was not, however, a big seller. For Dave Robinson, this presented an opportunity. Two years after Marley’s passing, Chris Blackwell, founder of Marley’s label, Island Records, brought Robinson in to…
Why Marriage Matters Arizona, a coalition of gay-rights advocates, is calling on state residents to urge Attorney General Tom Horne “to stop wasting taxpayer money defending our state’s harmful constitutional amendment banning marriage for same-sex couples.” The group calls on Horne to “respect all Arizona families,” which is ironic because…
A Navajo woman was sentenced to about 14 years in prison on Tuesday for a horrific attack committed against a child she reportedly believed was “evil.” Shonya Tanya Sam and her brother, both of Many Farms, put the 7-year-old girl through a bizarre, hellish experience for several days in early…
A 6-year-old Phoenix boy was molested last week after his meth-using mom left him alone in a house with other drug users. Police arrested Dale Brian Simmons, 50, of Phoenix, on Friday , the day after the boy reported to his mother that the man had assaulted him. He’s been…
The University of Arizona isn’t saying much about the firing of medical-marijuana researcher Sue Sisley, but officials deny any political motivations. In an email sent to the Phoenix New Times in response to our questions this morning, a U of A representative also notes that the university has “championed” medical-marijuana…
Dr. Sue Sisley, the outspoken physician and medical-marijuana researcher, has been fired from a University of Arizona job, possibly due to political pressure. Joe “Skip” Garcia, the University of Arizona’s senior vice president for health sciences, who happens to earn $810,000 a year, is being trounced in the news this…
Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Ducey is praising the US Supreme Court’s decision on the Hobby Lobby case, calling it a “win for religious freedom,” even though he said just a few months ago that he would, as governor, veto an Arizona measure with the same underlying principles. We’ve got a…
Former Mesa Mayor and GOP gubernatorial candidate Scott Smith, known as a relative moderate on immigration, is joining in the inflammatory anti-immigrant rhetoric of his colleagues in a bid to score campaign contributions. In an e-mail fundraising blast sent out to potential contributors on Monday, Smith bashed Barack Obama, unnamed…
Our December article about the exaggerations concerning Arizona’s water supply wasn’t read by everyone, it seems. “Arizona Could Be Out of Water in Six Years,” screams a recent headline from the esteemed Smithsonian Institution’s web site. Yes, that’s total nonsense…
The golf-cart driver involved in a downtown-Scottsdale crash on Sunday that broke a passenger’s neck has been cited for at least seven other driving infractions since 2006. Police say Akop Akopyan, 34, was operating a for-profit, downtown-Scottsdale shuttle service with his golf cart when the accident occurred just after 3:30…
Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu raised about $26,000 in the first five months of the year for his political action committee dubbed “Paul Babeu for Arizona.” You might wonder who’s donating to the border hawk Republican who derailed his own Congressional campaign by sending half-naked photos of himself and sexually…
While Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne recovers from a four-night hospital visit for what his spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham says was a “minor procedure,” his re-election campaign is dead in the water. According to recently-filed documents with the Arizona Secretary of State, the embattled AG, who is facing active investigations from…
In order to make up a $38 million budget deficit, the Phoenix City Council approved a new city services tax — $1.50 for most of the city’s residential water customers — that will take effect on July 19. (The tax is higher for commercial customers.) The water tax is expected…
King George III was “a Tyrant… unfit to be the ruler of a free people,” Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence exactly 238 years ago this week. Tommy had it right. Ever since then, Americans have been calling out their leaders. “Tyrant” was just the start. We’ve moved…
Mary Rose Wilcox, a candidate seeking election in Arizona’s Seventh Congressional District, says she is “dismayed to hear that President Obama still has no concrete plan to pass comprehensive immigration reform and stop the devastating deportation policy that breaks up families and breaks our hearts.” Her statement comes after President…
President Barack Obama, whose administration has already deported more than 2 million people since he took office, wants to send back children coming to the U.S. from Central America as soon as earthly possible. Today, the White House made public a letter to Congressional leaders seeing additional funds to deal…
Two recent policy decisions in Arizona regarding solar energy make leased rooftop panels a poor deal in the state, says an energy-news website dedicated to promoting the technology. Greentech Media’s research into the impact of the Arizona Corporation Commission’s November decision to add a new, yearly fee to the bills…
The United States Supreme Court sided today with Hobby Lobby and other privately owned corporations that argued they should not be required to provide access to contraceptives in employee health plans — as mandated by the Affordable Care Act — if doing so violates their closely held religious beliefs. The…
Are you serious? Police dash-cam video of the action-packed, May 20 arrest of Ersula Jawanna Ore, a 33-year-old rhetoric and English assistant professor at Arizona State University, has gone viral, feeding claims of racism and police brutality. As publicity grows along with an accompanying firestorm of criticism leveled at ASU,…
