There’s not much that would get me out on a hot Arizona afternoon to watch a high-school soccer match, but Sal Reza as “coach” is one of them.Reza, the bane of Sheriff Joe Arpaio and former state Senate President Russell Pearce, the guy who’s led thousands in marches protesting both…
Tori Vance, who was crowned Miss Arizona Teen USA in 2010, was arrested on suspicion of DUI in Los Angeles last weekend. Media reports state that Vance, who’s from Ahwatukee, made an illegal U-turn in Hollywood on Saturday night and was pulled over. Her blood-alcohol level tested at higher than…
The state opened the door for medical-marijuana dispensary applications yesterday, receiving 15 by the end of the day. Hopeful pot-shop owners will have until 5 p.m. on May 25 to submit the applications. Besides paying a $5,000 application fee, weed-trepeneurs must include a business plan and details on how they’ll…
Daniel Garcia, the new Phoenix police chief sworn in yesterday, promises to bring “love” to the department.Garcia’s a former assistant police chief from the Dallas Police Department. He’s a 30-year police veteran and speaks Spanish. Yesterday, he told the news media: “I promise you… I will take the love I…
Michael King, who was wanted in the rape of a Pleasure Palace porn shop employee — that is, until he was caught robbing a bank, and tossed the stolen cash all over a Phoenix backyard — took a plea agreement today that’s sending him to prison.King, 23, pleaded guilty today…
For the strange public-service announcement of the day, the Glendale Police Department urges that you not pick up any random flashlights you find around the city.Even stranger is the reason why — two citizens have discovered that the flashlight they found was actually an improvised explosive device.According to Glendale police…
If you’ve heard Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s explanations for why negotiations with the Justice Department broke down, he makes it sound as if Attorney General Eric Holder himself wants to be the new sheriff.It’s the proposed Justice Department “monitor” that people in the MCSO’s corner are objecting to –…
In early March, shortly after the sex-and-‘deportation’ scandal that enveloped Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu hit the news, his chief deputy, Steve Henry, fulfilled a speaking engagement in Las Vegas at the annual convention of the Western States Sheriff’s Association. At the time, the telegenic and articulate Henry was heir…
Juan Garcia — who’s accused of killing his girlfriend’s 2-year-old son in February — turned himself in to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents near the border crossing in Lukeville on Friday, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department confirmed.Garcia, 18, has been wanted by Phoenix police since going on the run after…
Phoenix Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith made somewhat of a prophetic comment the other day, but his prediction — like Sunday night’s game in Glendale — didn’t turn out in the Coyotes’ favor.”The first five, 10 minutes is obviously going to be a huge part of momentum swings in the series,”…
Our colleague Monica Alonzo reported late last week that Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu’s dropping his congressional bid, which might not exactly come as a surprise.What may come as a surprise is his explanation why he’s dropping out of the race, which happens to exclude anything about the abuse-of-power allegations…
I know as much about Chilean hip-hop as I do Bolivian death metal or Finnish free jazz. That said, you don’t need a translator to be able to see or hear that French-Chilean MC Ana Tijoux is talented. Just sample any of her music videos online and you’re sure to be…
Think Pearce will laugh? Yeah, probably notMy good friend Dennis Gilman was kind enough to upload this delicious new parody for me of the much-spoofed “raving fuhrer” scene from the 2004 German film Downfall, starring Bruno Ganz as Adolf Hitler.Long have I dreamed of having one of these Downfall spoofs…
Soft and cuddly this Mesa muttonhead will never beI sure hope recalled ex-state Senate President Russell Pearce doesn’t bow out of the GOP state Senate primary in Legislative District 25, as some have been speculatin’ in the blogosphere.Why? Well, because that would rob me of the immense pleasure of watching…
Rachel Alexander, acolyte of former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, has filed a notice of claim against Maricopa County for $67,000 to cover the legal fees of the appeal of her law-license suspension.Alexander, along with Thomas and former deputy county attorney Lisa Aubuchon, was disciplined for their bad ethics in…
The above video (posted by a reader) is our best, hilarious guess as to how the conversation went between Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu and Chief Deputy Steve Henry, as Babeu essentially had to let Henry know he was reducing his shot at becoming Pinal County Sheriff to zero. You know,…
The battle between supporters of Tempe mayoral candidates Mark Mitchell and Michael Monti over whether “your” public employees can endorse people in campaign signs seemed to end with City Manager Charlie Meyer’s ruling that it was all pretty much OK.That question apparently has not been completely answered, thanks to a…
When the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office announced yesterday that a six-month “bootlegging” investigation ended with 10 arrests, we were thinking it was a trip back to prohibition, involving Tommy guns, fedoras, and the phrase “G-Men.”Nah, we checked out the criminal complaints, and it took six months to round up…
Of some of the more controversial ideas tossed around the Arizona Legislature, the “birther” bill is the most popular to voters, according to a recent poll. The Morrison Institute for Public Policy quizzed Arizona voters on five of the more controversial bills brought up by the right-hand side of the…
Some would say that Grant Goodman caught a break yesterday when a disciplinary hearing panel suspended him from the practice of law for only two years after finding that the Phoenix attorney violated several Rules of Professional Conduct–exploiting “vulnerable individuals” and lying to the court among them Readers of our paper…
Tom Perez blasts Sheriff Joe in Phoenix yesterday Hey, did you hear that the U.S. Department of Justice is suing Sheriff Joe Arpaio?Well, in case you were hibernating beneath a saguaro on Thursday, Assistant U.S. Attorney General Tom Perez was in town to blast everyone’s least-favorite sheriff for his racial-profiling,…
Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu dropped out of his Congressional race early this morning and plans instead to run for re-election as sheriff — despite recent assurances by his camp that he planned to continue his Fourth District run. Babeu would have us believe that his decision has nothing to do with the…
