Arizona needs to start up the 2010 Medical Marijuana Act as voters intended, but without several of the rules designed to restrict dispensary applicants, a judge has ordered.Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Richard Gama ruled on the Compassion First, LLC, lawsuit yesterday, noting that voters wanted the Act implemented 120…
As you may know, the Internet is “on strike” today. Well, not the entire Internet — just Wikipedia. Several other big-name, high-traffic websites — including Google and Craigslist — have “blacked out” their websites today in protest of a bill currently making its way through Congress that they say would…
We’re not sure what’s more disturbing: the fact that Anjelica Jimenez allowed her boyfriend to use a 4-month-old as an ashtray, or the fact that the baby was placed in Jimenez’s care by Child Protective Services.Regardless, Jimenez, 25, was in a Maricopa County court this morning where she pleaded guilty…
Jennifer Schuerman, the daughter of Maricopa County Supervisor Don Stapley’s secretary, will appear on the Dr. Drew “Lifechangers” Show today to talk about her recovery after a stroke.Schuerman was celebrating her 21st birthday in Las Vegas when an undiagnosed hole in her heart allowed a blood clot to pass through…
Fred Knadler, the owner of Phoenix-based Arizona Shower Door, is looking at a pretty pricey divorce from his wife of 17 years. So, police say, he concocted a scheme to make her “go away.”Things didn’t quite work out as planned — a man he enlisted to help carry out the…
Sadly, many of us who followed Muhammad Ali’s (aka Cassius Clay) boxing career and life for about a half-century suspected that he wouldn’t see a 70th birthday. Surely, we told ourselves privately, he never would outlast his nemesis, Smokin’ Joe Frazier, the Philadelphia fury who died late last year. Ali fought 41…
Olivia Cortes, the sham candidate the Tea Party fronted in order to dilute the vote in the 2011 recall of ex-state Senate President Russell Pearce, will face no fines or orders to comply in regards to the work done on her behalf by signature-gathering company Petition Pros.Gila County Attorney Daisy…
The Department of Justice’s investigation into the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office’s alleged racial-profiling practices officially has become a PR showdown — in response to the the DOJ’s response to Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s response to the DOJ’s investigation, the MCSO has now issued (you guessed it) its response…kinda.The MCSO’s response: it…
State Senate Minority Leader David Schapira, a Democrat, announced yesterday that he’s running for Congress in Arizona’s newly formed District 9.Much to the minority leader’s chagrin, we’re sure, he’s not the only lefty with his eye on the seat — former state Senator Kyrsten Sinema also has announced that she…
Despite starting with a great quote from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the closing argument released today in the discipline case against former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas isn’t a fun read.The 91-page document filed with the Arizona State Bar, which brought the case against Thomas, trots out the…
Police in Mesa have a problem: a man was fatally stabbed and authorities have no idea who did it.About 11:30 p.m. Friday, police responded to a call about a car that crashed into a home on East McLellan Road.The person who called 9-1-1 told dispatchers that the driver of the…
The Department of Justice this afternoon sent a letter to attorneys representing the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office in response to demands Sheriff Joe Arpaio made earlier this month regarding evidence the feds claim to have that shows the MCSO is guilty of the worst racial-profiling practices in U.S. history.The sheriff’s…
An inmate at the Durango Jail died last night — and it wasn’t at the hands of a Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office detention officer, according to the MCSO.MCSO Officer Chris Hegstrom tells New Times the death is being investigated as a “natural causes death.”Hegstrom says he won’t identify the dead…
Time was, when Rick Renzi was an up-and-comer in Arizona’s (even national) Republican circles, a staunch conservative from Flagstaff who first won election to Congress in 2002. These days, however, Renzi is just another schlub facing a big-time criminal corruption rap, in his case that he (among other charges) tried…
As predicted, former state Senator Kyrsten Sinema’s not the only Democrat with her eye on Arizona’s new Congressional seat — this morning, state Senate Minority Leader David Schapira announced that he, too, will run in Arizona’s newly formed 9th Congressional district.Schapira’s announcement isn’t exactly a surprise to those familiar with…
There’s good news and bad news…The good news: the Scott Bundgaard freeway fight fiasco is finally over. The bad news: he might be replaced by state Representative Judy Burges — one of the first sponsors of Arizona’s humiliating “Birther Bill,” and the author of the “I didn’t pay enough fund”…
Roger Garfield, the former antiques dealer who shot and killed an unarmed homeless man in 2006, has been released from prison and granted a new trial based on a change in self-defense laws. As we explained in our March 11, 2010 article, Shoot to Kill, the prosecution of Garfield for…
It’s baaaaack!Remember last year when the Arizona Legislature passed the infamous “Birther Bill?” And then Governor Jan Brewer — in a rare moment of sanity — vetoed it? Well, an amended version of the bill is heading to the Legislature — compliments of Republican state Representative Carl Seel.In case you…
As a result of the four-game skid, Planet Orange is lingering near the bottom of the Pacific Division and Western Conference standings with a 4-8 record. The first loss of the weekend came on Thursday night when the Cleveland Cavaliers came to US Airways Center on conquered Phoenix 101-90. While…
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio — at 79 years old — has made it clear that despite being youthfully challenged, he plans to run for another four-year term as sheriff.The good news is he already has two potential opponents: Scottsdale Lieutenant Mike Stauffer, who’s been actively campaigning for Arpaio’s job…
Why are non-loony Republicans always on the outs in the county and state GOP, with the insaniac Mexican-haters firmly in control?In her blog on Sunday, moderate Republican Paula Pennypacker described one of the main tactics of GOP county chairman Rob Haney’s nativist cult: The gaming of the proxy system, which…
When I saw the headline in the Arizona Republic, “Democrats plan to introduce legislation to repeal SB 1070,” let’s just say I smelled a fish, and fresh it was not.The only Democrat I know of down at the state Legislature with the huevos to do something so bold as to…
