El Mirage firefighters emerged victorious this week when the City Council voted 4-2 to reinstate the firefighters that City Manager B.J. Cornwall laid off in August.But they knew their victory was merely symbolic.The vote in firefighters’ favor may have sounded like an order — directing Cornwall to reinstate the firefighters…
If you read the headline to this post and think you’re experiencing a case of deja vu, we assure you, you’re not. Leaders of a church being accused of molesting kids is nothing new, to say the least, and the latest member of the cloth accused of feelin’ up kids…
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office has chosen not to prosecute Arizona Department of Corrections staff in the death of inmate Marcia Powell. Powell, 48, died May 20, 2009, after being kept in a human cage in Goodyear’s Perryville Prison for at least four hours in the blazing Arizona sun. This, despite a…
Things are looking up for the Arizona Diamondbacks.Although the likelihood of a trip to the postseason is infinitesimally small at this point, the D-Backs have been playing some relatively solid baseball over the past few weeks and quietly amassed a 16-13 record during the month of August.They’ve also won five…
One look at the tax plan of Democratic Congressional candidate Jon Hulburd and you’d think the guy’s a Republican.Hulburd’s plan includes things like extending the Bush tax cuts through 2012, permanently lowering the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent, and making permanent the current tax rate for…
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:…
No recounts will be needed in any state or county race following last week’s primary election, says Matt Benson of the Secretary of State’s office. As of late-afternoon Tuesday, all the votes statewide have been counted. Some races got within a rat’s hair of forcing a recount, like the Democratic one for…
Utah’s oldest newspaper, the Mormon-owned Deseret News, is laying off nearly half of its staff in a major restructuring based on financial problems. Jay Evensen, the News’ editorial page editor, writes in a blog post today that the cuts are due to a loss of advertising dollars. The paper was bleeding out money despite holding steady…
Congressional candidate Jon Hulburd, who’s squaring off with Ben Quayle in the District 3 Congressional race, went On the Record with Greta Van Susteren last night, and he would have looked great — if he were a Republican.Hulburd’s appearance with Greta came on the same day we received a press…
Abandoning a sinking ship — more times than not — is a good decision. Jumping aboard, not so much.That’s what crossed our minds yesterday when we heard U.S. Senate candidate Rodney Glassman’s campaign manager had bailed on the campaign and had been replaced. Today, just a day after announcing he…
Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon isn’t supposed to be meddling in discussions or matters involving Veolia Transportation, the company that operates most of the city buses and has Gordon’s girlfriend on its payroll. Gordon declared a conflict of interest during several public meetings and abstained from voting on (most) council agenda…
As far as easy jobs go, bank robber — it’s beginning to seem — may be the easiest.Over the past several months, it’s almost a daily routine that we get word of a robbery at a Valley bank, and the stories never have the pizazz people often associate with the…
It’s been fairly clear the past few days that former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas was gonna lose the Republican primary for state attorney general to Tom Horne. But he refused to concede.Can’t blame the guy for not throwin’ in the towel — it was a close race. But today…
The collection of creditors who own the unfinished Centerpoint condo towers in Tempe haven’t decided yet which of several bidders will be the new owner of the foreclosed project, but reportedly will soon. “I don’t have anything to report,” Mark Winkleman, chief operating officer for ML Manager, writes in an…
Today is a red letter day in former County Attorney Andrew Thomas’ life. From here on out, barring a bolt of lightning, he’ll have oodles of free time to pursue other interests. So here are some suggestions for “Candy.” Feel free to add your own. I did leave out him…
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart was scratched as the starter in last weekend’s pre-season game, leading many to wonder whether he’ll be holding the clipboard for most of the season as Derek Anderson, the guy brought in to back up Leinart, takes the majority of the snaps.Leinart, obviously, is not…
Yesterday, we got our hands on some court documents describing the disgusting conditions of the apartment of the man suspected of putting his 7-month-old son in the freezer while he was high on crystal meth.Of the several disgusting items found in Chance and Leanna Kracke’s apartment, we narrowed them down…
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:…
Just to keep you updated, as of 5:54 p.m. Monday, state Schools Superintendent Tom Horne had a comfortable 887 vote lead over ex-Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas in the GOP primary for state Attorney General. According to spokesman Matt Benson at the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office, there are only 900 provisional ballots…
Something isn’t right in El Mirage. City Manager BJ Cornwall laid off six firefighters on August 6 even though firefighter union reps came up with enough money to bridge more than their share of the city’s $1.2 million budget shortfall. Cornwall first told New Times that the firefighters were laid…
Almost immediately after interim Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley’s devastating loss in the GOP primary to Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s pick for the position, Bill Montgomery, Democrats and disaffected Republicans alike began to whisper about Romley running as a write-in in the general election. The theory, albeit farfetched, went like this: Sure,…
Rodney Glassman, the Democratic Senate candidate hoping to unseat Senator John McCain, has filled one of the several holes that were left in his campaign staff following the alleged “jumping ship” of three of his top aids.The new kid on the block over at Glassman HQ is veteran Democratic strategist…
