The retirement of veteran Maricopa Superior Court Judge Michael D. Jones this year left a vacancy that’s seen no shortage of applicants. Thirty-five lawyers hope they’ll be the one Governor Jan Brewer selects to fill the job opening for a new judge. Before that crucial step, though, the Maricopa County…
For some reason, a few legislators weren’t fans of Arizona Congressman Trent Franks naming his bill for a federal ban on race/gender-based abortions after Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony.The bill was submitted by Franks under the name “Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass Prenatal Non-discrimination Act of 2011,” but…
Paul Fischer is a “family and marriage counselor” in Downtown Phoenix.What allegedly assaulting a woman during a counseling session had to do with therapy is anyone’s guess.According to court documents obtained by New Times, the woman told the cops about the incident that occurred on February 3 at Fischer’s 7th…
Congratulations to the New Times reader known as HermanKain, you’ve won this week’s New Times You Write the Caption contest.On Monday, we asked readers to write their own caption for the photo above, a self-portrait of Pinal County Sheriff Paul “studboi1” Babeu, which accompanied the New Times story Friday that…
GOPer and State House Speaker Andy Tobin’s turning into a regular Russell Pearce clone these days.Earlier in the year, there was his support of new restrictions on freedom of speech at the Arizona Capitol, and today, according to Channel 12 reporter Melissa Blasius, Tobin’s officious flack Rey Torres booted her…
Pearce telling his “scrotum” jokeDuring a Lincoln Day Luncheon today in Phoenix televised live by C-Span and featuring a keynote address by GOP presidential hopeful Rick Santorum, recalled state Senator Russell Pearce regaled an audience of fellow Republicans with a weird tale about some fella’s “crushed scrotum.”Talking Points Memo posted…
Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu officially became part of late-night comedy TV yesterday, as The Tonight Show’s Jay Leno took up the sheriff’s situation as an opportunity for some Leno-esque jokes.Off the late-night laugh track, it looks like Babeu may have to deal with the state’s Public Integrity Task Force…
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio announced today that the FBI’s Portland, Oregon office raided a house belonging to the person they believe was running a website that glorified killing cops and “threatened to kill” the sheriff.The suspect, 35-year-old Clifton Dawayne Brooks, wasn’t arrested, but FBI Special Agent James Turgal said…
It looks like Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu — along with allegations that he abused his power — is headed for the PITs, a state Public Integrity Task Force, that is. Read all about those allegations in New Times’ feature story. New Times has learned that Pinal County Attorney Jim…
Millions of people will tune in to the Republican presidential candidate debate in Mesa tomorrow, an event that could help decide the outcome of the upcoming primary election.Yet it’s possible (and just about as likely as a summer snowcap on Piestewa Peak) that voters have made up their minds based…
Embattled Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu is reaching out to Gila County officials to conduct an independent investigation into abuse-of-power allegations that Jose Orozco, his Mexican ex-boyfriend, has leveled against him. Babeu claims that Orozco “hacked” his campaign websites and social media accounts and impersonated him. (More details on that later.)…
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio took the stage today in an event hosted by the county’s Republican Party, saying — among other things — that President Obama should thank him every time the sheriff’s office goes on an illegal-immigrant roundup “employer sanctions operation.”Arpaio didn’t exactly stick with a topic during…
The old saw that he who represents himself in court has a fool for a client carries weight with us, having seen the usually sorry outcomes of such endeavors. But an Arizona Court of Appeals decision filed last week gives a local woman hope that her self-composed lawsuit against…
Michael Crane — who’s facing first-degree murder charges for the deaths of Paradise Valley couple Glenna and Lawrence Shapiro, as well as Phoenix man Bruce Gaudet — “refused” to be transported to his court date today, according to a Maricopa County Superior Court spokesman.Crane was scheduled to be in court…
Former U.S. Senator and presidential candidate Rick Santorum is meeting with Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio today — at least, according to the sheriff — to become the next in the line of GOP candidates to come kiss Arpaio’s rings.According to Arpaio, or his flak, presidential candidates Mitt Romney and…
This whole Jeremy “Linsanity” Lin thing is out of control, and the NBA is far better for it, a one-off feel-good, out-of-the-box, unexpected story that transcends the game itself. If Lin had arisen from nowhere in, say, Sacramento, Salt Lake City or right down the street here in Phoenix,…
A local Fedex worker claims in a federal lawsuit that he was attacked without provocation by a Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office deputy during a routine inspection of packages.FedEx doesn’t appear to be backing employee Larry Strickler in his lawsuit, though the complaint states that Strickler’s co-workers witnessed the violent incident…
The Suns (14-19) scored first — via a 25-foot Channing Frye three-pointer — and maintained a lead for a majority of the game, save for a minute-long stretch in the third quarter when the Wizards (7-25) battled back for a very brief one-point advantage. Unlike in recent games (and pretty much…
Yesterday, we asked readers to write the caption for the above photo, a self-portrait of Pinal County Sheriff’ Paul “studboi1” Babeu.The photo came out after New Times broke the story of Babeu’s ex-boyfriend claiming he was threatened with deportation if he disclosed the details of their relationship, which you can…
Above is videographer Dennis Gilman’s take on the state GOP meeting in January, which I covered in a previous post.As you’ll see, a lot of Arizona Republicans, not unlike their national counterparts, define themselves by what they hate: President Barack Obama, minorities, gays, and the undocumented.Which makes Pinal County Sheriff…
Chuck Coughlin — a.k.a. Governor Jan Brewer’s “brain” — defended Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu while taking lame potshots at New Times in a weekend rant on his PR company’s blog. We were among the recipients who received an e-mail version of the post from the Republican campaign strategist and former Fiesta Bowl lobbyist — which was…
Lydia Guzman, a prominent immigrant rights’ activist, has asked Deputy Assistant Attorney General Roy L. Austin of the U.S. Department of Justice to launch an investigation into the allegations against Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu. Read details of those allegations leveled by his ex-boyfriend, Jose, in New Times’ web exclusive…
