If you’re wondering why you haven’t seen media hog Mark Spencer flapping his lips on TV in a while, it’s because Spencer is no longer president of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, the union that represents rank and file Phoenix cops.His second term expired September 1. That’s when longtime PLEA hack…
Phoenix police have identified the victim in a fatal shooting last night on the I-10 — which forced the highway to be closed until about 8:30 this morning — as 49-year-old Michael Arvallo.Phoenix Sergeant Steve Martos says the shooting happened about 10:30 p.m. yesterday as Arvallo was driving on the…
No good deed goes unpunished — for example, you could let a panhandler borrow your cell phone, only to have him stab your friend in the neck almost immediately afterwards, which is apparently what happened to a Phoenix man last weekend.According to court records obtained by New Times, a woman…
Getting stopped for DUI seems to be all the rage at the Pinal County Assessor’s Office these days — just seven months after County Assessor Paul Larkin got pinched for driving tipsy, Assistant County Assessor Jacqueline Minto was nabbed for extreme DUI.Last night, Minto was involved in a serious injury…
Wes Gullett’s has built his mayoral campaign on being an outsider, not part of the status quo and on not being beholden to “big labor” (um, unions).In fact, Camp Gullett put out a press release today knocking Greg Stanton for winning the endorsement of the firefighters’ union. One glaring omission…
Brian David Mitchell, the Utah street preacher convicted of kidnapping Elizabeth Smart, has begun serving his life sentence in an Arizona prison.Mitchell, who kidnapped Smart — who was then 14 — from her bedroom in 2002, was brought to a prison about 10 miles south of Tucson. The prison is…
I missed ex-Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard’s recent appearance on Horizon, wherein he criticized current AG Tom Horne’s investigation of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, particularly Horne’s grandstanding statements to the media about the probe. Oddly, I caught it as I was checking out the far right Sonoran Alliance Web site,…
In honor of Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann’s recent trip to the Valley — to plant her lips on the ass of America’s self-proclaimed “toughest sheriff” — we decided to go with a photo Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s ghost “tweeters” posted on his Twitter page for this week’s You Write…
Scott LaFonte, 35, tried to steal beer and cigarettes from a Prescott mini-mart Wednesday night. It didn’t quite go according to plan — not only didn’t he get the beer, but the clerk at the store shot him several times.Read the whole story here.We reached out to the clerk, Michael…
In the 24-hour news cycle, it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times’ blogs. Today’s entries:…
If you plan to steal beer from Mike’s Mini Market in Prescott, you better bring a gun — there’s a chance you’ll get shot. Scott LaFonte, 35, learned that lesson the hard way — he only brought a knife when he attempted to steal a 12-pack of beer last night,…
Peter Normann, the Anthem doctor convicted of murder in the deaths of two of his patients, and manslaughter in the death of another, was supposed to be in court this afternoon for his sentencing hearing. The hearing, however, has been delayed, a court spokesman tells New Times.Normann was convicted in…
The “mysterious” fireball that was seen in the skies over Phoenix last night probably was just a meteor, according to NASA scientists.The strange flash happened about 7:40 p.m. and was seen as far away as Los Angeles.If you missed it, we tracked down some video of the flash, which you…
Most Phoenix voters don’t like the city’s 2 percent temporary tax on food. That was the big reveal in a poll conducted by Summit Consulting Group of likely Phoenix voters — 58 percent of those surveyed oppose it, 41 percent of them “strongly oppose” it. Chad Willems, President of Summit…
Governor Jan Brewer’s BFFF is coming to town…Next month, Greta Van Susteren — Jan’s number one gal pal — will broadcast her show, On the Record With Greta Van Susteren live from Phoenix as part of the Fox News Channel’s 15th anniversary tour.It could have been worse, Phoenicians…much, much worse;…
Governor Jan Brewer announced yesterday that she’s appointed Valley PR honcho/charter school advocate Jay Heiler to the Arizona Board of Regents to replace outgoing ABOR Chairman Fred DuVal.Heiler’s education background includes work with the Great Hearts Academies, a network of charter prep schools in Phoenix, and he serves as President…
Gerardo Parra might be a hero to the Arizona Diamondbacks faithful at Chase Field, but at Chavez Ravine he was pretty much public enemy number one last night. Fans of the Los Angeles Dodgers treated the D-Backs outfielder to a chorus of boos while their team defeated Arizona 3-2 on…
When Republican candidates for president meet the pope, they only have to kiss his ring. As has apparently been decided by GOP political strategists, when they meet Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, they have to kiss his ass.According to Arpaio, four GOP presidential candidates have reached out to the sheriff…
PRISON BLUES Prison not fit for the mentally ill: Mental illness and our Arizona state prisons are not a good mix (“Hell Hole,” Paul Rubin, September 1). We need healthcare reform with accessible mental-health care for those who are seriously mentally ill. We also need to repopulate our state hospitals…
I live in upstate New York (that’s any part of the state north of the city, for you West Coasters), and though we have a relatively small Mexican population, we have a large number of Puerto Ricans, especially in the community where I live. Here’s my question: A number of…
It’s worse than I thought regarding Carmen Chenal, confidante of Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne, who followed Horne from the Arizona Department of Education, where she served while Horne was state Superintendent, to the AG’s Office. As I detailed in my July 14 column (“Horne Hired Carmen Chenal ‘Cause . . . She’s His…
In a place where people go to die, four women have come to sing. On a hot day in July, natural light floods Carol Beck’s room at Dobson Home, the Chandler branch of Hospice of the Valley. A few personal touches remind the occupant of home: framed family photos, flowers,…
