Did top Maricopa County officials fire Maria Brandon, a longtime county lawyer, because she appeared to side with disgraced former sheriff’s official Dave Hendershott in a newspaper article? Or, as the county says, was Brandon fired solely because she instigated a catfight with a paralegal at the office in which…
Check out this awesome new video from Phoenix videographer Dennis Gilman, catching some of the action from a demonstration at the state Capitol, where protesters denounced the Arizona GOP’s asinine “religious freedom” bill, aka Senate Bill 1062. That bill would allow business people to discriminate against the LGBT community, and…
The clock is ticking … and many are waiting to see whether Arizona Governor Jan Brewer will sign into law the so-called “Religious Freedom” bill. The measure, SB 1062, aims to give expanded protection to business owners who refuse to provide goods or services in situations or to individuals that…
Arizona legislators have proposed regulations for ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft, which would help legitimize their operations in the state.The system of using an app to find a ride from a private driver might sound like a taxi service, but these companies aren’t registered with the state as taxi…
Recalled, disgraced former state Senate President Russell Pearce’s never been known as a friend to gay folks. Well, save for one: Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu. Ironically, Babeu — who embraced his sexuality in 2012 after New Times exposed claims of harassment made by his undocumented Mexican ex-boyfriend — legally…
A caseworker for Child Protective Services is accused of trying to buy heroin through a woman who was part of a CPS case.According to court documents obtained by New Times, 35-year-old Leyla Sadikovic was in charge of the CPS case the woman was involved in, yet she asked the woman…
Governor Jan Brewer has just been handed a gem of an opportunity: The ability to look good in the eyes of liberals by rejecting a bill widely seen as blatantly discriminatory, while retaining her conservative base. Or in the alternative, the chance to win wider support from conservatives. Either way,…
Now why would Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne want to make it difficult and costly for reporters and regular citizens to obtain public records? Given the trouble Horne’s gotten himself into regarding public records requests to his office — resulting in an FBI investigation, two county attorneys concluding that Horne…
The Arizona House of Representatives passed the anti-LGBT “religious freedom” bill, which now heads to Governor Jan Brewer for her approval.Despite House Democrats putting up a strong fight against the bill, just three of their colleagues on the other side of the aisle voted against the bill, which the rest…
Phoenix City Council members this week amended labor agreements with two unions to comply with a court ruling that found the city’s longstanding practice of including “release time” in its contracts violated the state’s gift clause. That clause prohibits gifts of public money to people or businesses unless the government…
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, all of our alleged offenders are…
The large plume of smoke over Phoenix is coming from a big fire in an industrial area downtown.The listed address, near the Interstate 10/Interstate 17 stack, is a distribution center for a company that sells electrical, welding, plumbing, and other industrial products…
The sponsor of Arizona’s controversial Senate Bill 1062, Republican Senator Steve Yarbrough, insists his bill is not a license for businesses to discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.Through a bit of trolling, a pair of Democratic senators set out to prove the bill — which has since passed…
Ed Zuercher, a longtime city of Phoenix employee, has been selected as new city manager.Zuercher had been acting city manager since David Cavazos left the post to take the city manager’s position in Santa Ana, California, in October…
Google announced Wednesday that Phoenix is one of nine metro areas in the United States where the company would like to bring Google Fiber, its Internet service advertised as being “100 times faster than today’s basic broadband.”Google’s announcement explained that it needs a lot of cooperation from the cities in…
Do you agree with gente that think you can’t be vegetarian if you’re Mexican ’cause meat is an essential part of our diet? I’ve heard this argument three times within the past 24 hours from two blogs and The Today Show this morning. I think it’s babosadas. Like, my parents…
Dusk is falling quickly as Dagoberto Bailón steps forward and stands in the middle of a circle of people gathered outside the state Capitol on a Friday last October. He asks those around him if anyone would like to go first. It’s National Coming Out Day, and Bailón assures them…
Most places in the United States aren’t dominated by a single personality. Sure, in Washington, President Obama’s every movement is news, and in New York, it’s Gotham’s mayor who garners the most media time. Yet here, in the nation’s sixth-biggest city and fourth-biggest county, not a week goes by that…
Arizona bureaucrats could earn cash by stalling requests for public records under an amended bill sponsored by a Republican state lawmaker. More ominously, the proposal by Representative David Stevens, a Republican from Sierra Vista, has the potential to destroy Arizona’s stellar open-records law by making the cost of obtaining records…
Good news: By one measure, you need to make only about $33,000 a year to buy an average home in Phoenix.Bad news: In reality, you’re probably going to need a lot more than that…
With almost no discussion, the Florence Town Council on Tuesday unanimously voted in favor of putting a plan to purchase Johnson Utilities, the company that provides water and sewage services for much of the San Tan Valley and parts of Florence, to a May 20 vote of the Florence electorate…
Phoenix is among nine U.S. cities that Google has selected as a potential location for Google Fiber.According to Google, the Internet service provided by Google Fiber is “100 times faster than today’s basic broadband.”…
