The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office’s investigation of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association and its president Mark Spencer, the subject of this week’s Bird column, produced a nice doorstop pile of documents for me to dig through.I have limited time to scan the ginormous file that I obtained from the MCAO…
It wasn’t very fun to be a member of the Phoenix Suns last night. Despite a pimp effort from Marcin Gortat (18 points), Planet Orange was soundly thumped by the Denver Nuggets in a 116-97 loss on Thursday evening at US Airways Center.The Suns were eviscerated from start to finish,…
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer’s most memorable quote isn’t a quote at all — it’s about 12 seconds of painfully uncomfortable silence, which the governor recreated Wednesday night in Mesa.Jan was discussing economic development and education when it happened…again.”As we limit the growth of the public sector and restrain unnecessary regulation,…
As we mentioned yesterday, HBO’s making a movie based on John Heilemann and Mark Halperin’s bestselling book, Game Change, in which the authors air some of the McCain campaign’s dirty laundry — namely, Sarah Palin and her continual battles with campaign staffers. The role of Palin will be played by Julianne…
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:…
Pinal County Assessor Paul Larkin had a .11 blood alcohol level the night he was arrested on suspicion of DUI last month. The elected official was arrested February 7 following a tip to a Pinal County Web site that he often hits a bar after work and drives home “inebriated,”…
It’s only been about two months since Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot “through the brain” during the January 8, shooting rampage in Tucson, but her staff confirms today that she plans to attend her astronaut husband, Mark Kelly’s, April shuttle launch.Kelly is pegged to serve as the mission commander aboard…
The U.S. Census Bureau released Arizona’s detailed population totals Thursday, revealing a 46.3-percent increase in the Hispanic population over the past decade. According to the Census Bureau press release (conveniently written in Spanish), nearly 600,000 more people identifying as Hispanic live in the state — bringing 2010’s total to nearly…
Just last week, Arizona State laid a hurtin’ on the Oregon Ducks over in Tempe, and the rematch looked favorable for the Sun Devils in the first round of the Pac-10 men’s basketball tournament in Los Angeles. Not nearly enough horses to compete night after night in a top-drawer Division…
Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports that the Arizona Diamondbacks are trying to trade for Texas Rangers infielder Michael Young. There are more problems with that potential trade than there are holes in the Diamondbacks’ lineup. Young is 34, plays shoddy defense, and earns his paycheck at the Ballpark in Arlington…
Arizona State University police and a task force from the U.S. Marshals Service arrested a wanted California parolee for allegedly robbing an ASU student at gunpoint last week. Police say Shelven Jason Gasaway Jr., 26, held an ASU student at gunpoint in the University’s Rural Road parking structure in Tempe…
scrapetv.com In case anyone in the Valley needed a reminder that you don’t make enough money and the recession put your retirement fund in the crapper, Forbes reminds us that five of the world’s 1,210 billionaires are Arizonans. Forbes put out their annual list of worldwide billionaires Wednesday, and in…
Hollywood actually has taken an interest in Senator John McCain’s failed bid for the presidency in 2008, which raises an interesting question: who’s going to play the role of “The Maverick?”The movie is getting produced by HBO, and is based on John Heilemann and Mark Halperin’s bestselling book, Game Change, in which…
allegedly being responsible for the deaths of three people in a make-shift death tent, snakeoil salesman James Arthur Ray reportedly told participants of his “Spiritual Warrior” self-help retreat near Sedona in 2009 that, when they emerged from the sweat lodge, they will have “faced [their] own death.”He also apparently considers…
Photo by Matthew Hendley In a DUI even Governor Jan Brewer probably couldn’t get away with, police say an allegedly drunk 56-year-old man crashed his truck straight into Phoenix police headquarters early Thursday. Phoenix police Sergeant Tommy Thompson tells New Times the man was driving his 2003 half-ton Chevrolet truck…
Phoenix resident Mike Aley is the proud owner of a 4-year-old Staffordshire Terrier named Lexy, who happens to be one of the worst guard dogs in the world.On February 24, Aley’s house near 64th and Voltaire streets was burglarized. The thieves, Aley tells New Times, stole a watch, a laptop…and…
About 50 demonstrators from the Carpenters Union chanted and marched on the corner of University Drive and Mill Avenue in Tempe today — but don’t ask why. A man with an orange safety vest who claimed to be one of the leaders of today’s demonstration says he doesn’t talk to…
Following this week’s New Times feature about Rocky Point, Mexico’s tourism industry (which can be read here) and New Times’ own (less-restricting) guide to travel in Mexico, which can be read here, the Arizona Department of Public Safety issued a travel warning for people going to Mexico for spring break.The…
What would you call law enforcement union leaders who claim to battle for their members’ public benefits during tough economic times, while handing out endorsements to lawmakers hell-bent on wiping out those benefits for good?Hypocrites? Backstabbers? Secret scabs? Something worse?Whatever it is, it applies to Mark Spencer, president of the…
The man fatally shot by Phoenix police officers early yesterday morning has been identified as 26-year-old Ernesto Lopez. And Lopez, it appears, left two women in charge of the getaway car as he attempted (and failed morbidly) to rob a 7-11 convenience store.Those women, Lopez’s girlfriend, 26-year-old Jennathea Nozie, and…
Embattled state Senate Majority Leader Scott Bundgaard had a interesting yarn for his GOP colleagues in the Senate on Tuesday: he now claims that in addition to giving him a black eye during last month’s scuffle on the side of a highway, his now-ex-gal-pal Iron Aubry Ballard pulled out a…
When the Second World War ended, the Germans and Japanese had to return all territories they had acquired by force. The United States acquired most of the West by force from Mexico, due to the war with Mexico. Agreed the U.S. won the war with Mexico, but did that make…
