Governor Jan Brewer has now acted on all six gun-related bills passed by the Legislature this session — and vetoed half of them.Earlier this week, Brewer vetoed two of the bills, one that would have allowed guns in more public buildings and another that would have created more restrictions against…
Sometimes I hate to be right. For instance, in a recent blog post about Sheriff Joe Arpaio traveling to Los Angeles for a Hollywood screening of producer Randy Murray’s documentary The Joe Show, I noted that Murray’s idea of inviting Joe along for the ride was a bad one, unlikely…
One of the most memorable lines from Office Space would be a pretty good question for your state lawmakers: “What would you say you do here?”The Arizona Legislature adjourned at 1:46 a.m. today, and more than 200 bills have been signed into law by Governor Jan Brewer, while still more…
By now, you’ve probably heard about the case of Cliven Bundy, the Nevada rancher who refuses to pay grazing fees and who is backed by an armed militia.The story took an interesting twist Wednesday when Bundy made racist remarks against black people, causing some people who previously had treated him…
Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake are requesting that the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee investigate claims that as many as 40 veterans died while waiting for care at the Phoenix VA healthcare system.Florida Congressman Jeff Miller, the chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, has claimed it appears that Phoenix…
Our grandparents came from Mexico. The entire next generation spoke Spanish. However, in my generation, pretty much none of us do. One cousin’s daughter does because the cousin married a fluently bilingual spouse. Most white people I know have long ago lost , generally, both awareness of what their actual…
Chris Wilson sits quietly in a small, gray room. He’s slouched forward, his forearms resting on his lap, his wrists handcuffed. It’s August 7, 2012, almost 9 p.m. Wilson is tense, antsy. A Phoenix police detective walks in, greets him, and explains that he has been accused of engaging in…
Among other things, Sheriff Joe Arpaio is a liar and a coward. To prove my point, I could go into Arpaio’s history of dodging debates with re-election rivals, his opportune moments of amnesia under oath, and his sloughing off responsibility for MCSO scandals onto subordinates. But let’s examine more recent…
A local mixed martial arts trainer who once fought in a UFC event was arrested on Monday for his alleged involvement in a 1999 murder in Mesa.Homer “Rock” Moore, 42, was arrested by Tempe police and the U.S. Marshals Service on a charge of first-degree murder in the death of…
Chris Wilson sits quietly in a small, gray room. He’s slouched forward, his forearms resting on his lap, his wrists handcuffed. It’s August 7, 2012, almost 9 p.m. Wilson is tense, antsy. A Phoenix police detective walks in, greets him, and explains that he has been accused of engaging in…
Among other things, Sheriff Joe Arpaio is a liar and a coward. To prove my point, I could go into Arpaio’s history of dodging debates with re-election rivals, his opportune moments of amnesia under oath, and his sloughing off responsibility for MCSO scandals onto subordinates. But let’s examine more recent…
The East Valley Tribune is a pale reflection of its former Pulitzer Prize-winning self, thanks to the journalism-light business model of its current owner, 10/13 Communications. That’s why we were initially stunned when we saw a Trib reporter had penned an article about a murder mystery a couple of weeks…
Arizona Cardinals linebacker Daryl Washington was sentenced today to a year of supervised probation for aggravated assault.Washington, 27, was arrested in May after getting into a fight with the mother of his child. Washington was accused of choking the woman and breaking her collarbone after an argument at the woman’s…
Governor Jan Brewer has vetoed a bill pushed by the Center for Arizona Policy that would have created new property-tax exemptions for religious groups.Legislative budget analysts predicted the bill could have cost the state an additional $2.1 million starting in 2016…
People who text and drive are notoriously bad drivers, but according to recent crash statistics, most accidents caused by distracted driving don’t involve cell phone use.As part of Distracted Driving Awareness month, the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) released the results of car accident information they collected from November…
Governor Jan Brewer vetoed a pair of pro-gun bills, just a few days after she signed two other pro-gun bills.The two she vetoed yesterday were House Bill 2339 and House Bill 2517. The first was another version of a bill she’s vetoed before, which would have allowed people to carry…
Today in Found at the Border: Three Phoenix residents were caught trying to bring back more than 1,200 pounds of marijuana to the United States in RVs, on the pot holiday of “4/20.”If the more seasoned drug-smugglers can get caught crossing the border by hiding drugs in specially fabricated compartments…
A Mesa man came home from work Monday afternoon and found his wife and 12-year-old daughter dead, according to police.A police spokesman says the circumstances of their deaths suggest a murder/suicide…
Arizonans no longer risk getting a DUI for driving with an inactive metabolite of marijuana in their blood following a ruling by the state’s high court. The Arizona Supreme Court announced this morning that it was reaffirming the trial court’s decision to dump the case of Hrach Shilgevorkyan, who was…
Should it surprise anyone that Sheriff Joe Arpaio, once called a “media whore” by his own PR flack, will be flying to Los Angeles for the red-carpet screening of a documentary that’s highly critical of him? Still, I’m a little annoyed by news of Arpaio’s attending a showing of director/producer…
The Arizona Legislature has passed a bill that would replace the words “disabled” and “handicapped” in state law.Democratic Representative Stefanie Mach, who was seriously injured in a car accident nearly two decades ago, says in a statement that the current language is “offensive.” House Bill 2667, which passed the House…
The Arizona Senate approved a bill that would make it a felony to share someone else’s nude pictures without his or her permission.Although the House already approved the bill, it was amended in the Senate to classify the sharing of “revenge porn” as a domestic-violence crime, which essentially makes the…
