I imagine my nativist callers look something like these guys..I’m not sure why the nativists bother to call me up and leave anonymous, racist messages on my phone mail. I mean, if they knew how to type — even hunt and peck — they could e-mail in a letter the whole…
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: Up on the Sun: Tim Burton Looks to Blink-182 and Fall Out Boy? R.I.P. These Arms Are…
Speculation that Arizona Treasurer Dean Martin would be throwing his hat in the ring for a shot at the state’s top spot has been in the air for months but tomorrow may be the day he makes his run for governor official.We got an email today from Tim Gaffney, communications…
The group Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety has given Arizona highways a new, um, honor as one of the least safe highway systems in the country.In its latest rankings, the AHSF ranks Arizona 49th in the country when it comes to highway safety based on several different criteria.AHSF looked…
Spent some of the morning in the federal courtroom of Judge Robert Broomfield, who is considering whether to order a new trial for longtime Arizona death-row inmate Debra Milke, convicted two decades ago of orchestrating the execution-style murder of her 4-year-old son Christopher. If Judge Broomfield rules that Milke’s alleged confession…
Victoria Aguayo was arrested, indicted, and nearly prosecuted for her “role” in the infamous “Desert Divas” prostitution ring, according to a lawsuit she’s filed in Maricopa County Superior Court.Problem is: Aguayo was not a “desert diva,” and the evidence suggesting she was is laughable.On one of the “Desert Divas'” many Web sites,…
The fallout from last October’s “Spiritual Warrior” sweat-lodge fiasco that left three people dead and dozens injured continues to play out but still with no indictment of the leader of the event, James Ray.The Yavapai County Attorney’s Office released transcripts today of interviews detectives had with participants in the event…
We predicted nearly a year ago that — thanks to a lawsuit from those principled conservatives over at the Goldwater Institute — matching funds could be history for this year’s state elections.But either Governor Jan Brewer didn’t read the story, or she doesn’t buy our legal analysis. According to a…
In case anyone’s been living on the moon for the past week, the latest scandal rocking the U.S. Senate these days involves racial comments made by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and “the maverick’s” not sittin’ this one out…
Political rookie and Paradise Valley Mayor Vernon Parker criticized Governor Jan Brewer’s State of the State address live yesterday, 140 characters at a time — and he did it 34 times in about 38 minutes. Frankly, we don’t know how he found time to listen to the speech and tweet so…
When haven’t the Phoenix Suns blown a double-digit advantage in a game this season? Damned if we can remember. Often they’ve blown a big lead and lost, as they did Friday night at US Airways Center. After leading the Miami Heat by 13 points early in the second period, the Suns…
A teacher in Fort Mohave faces five counts of aggravated assault on a child, after allegations that he touched female students’ backs in class. The fifth-grade teacher, 70 year-old William Temple, is not accused of touching the students’ genitals or chest…Mesa police arrested Andrew Richardson, 22, after catching him walking out…
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: Feathered Bastard: Federal Witnesses Against Joe Arpaio Still Fear MCSO; U.S. Attorney’s Office Suggested They Go Public…
In what teacher Alex Chambers describes as actions leading to the ultimate failing grade for breaking and entering, an alleged copper thief is in critical condition after falling through the ceiling at Bret Tarver Elementary School in Phoenix. Teachers at the school found the F-getting thief unconscious on the floor in one…
Readers may remember our story on the so-called “assisted case” of Jana Van Voorhis, a 58-year-old Phoenix woman who died mysteriously in her bed in the spring of 2007. It was a particularly sad and bizarre yarn (even by our standards), and had a slew of dicey legal and ethical issues…
Officials at the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals are pleading with authorities in Arizona to confiscate two giraffes that used belong to Michael Jackson but are now held at a wildlife preserve near Page. Lisa Wathne, the organization’s “captive exotic-animal specialist” sent a letter to Page Police Chief Charlie…
Arizona Senator Jon Kyl isn’t letting Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (pictured above) get away with racially charged comments he made about Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign.According to the recently released book Game Change, written about the 2008 presidential campaign by political reporters John Heilemann and Mark Halperin, Reid…
For the second time in less than a month, an inmate at the Arizona State Prison Complex-Eyman at Florence apparently has committed suicide, according to prison officials. Or, to put it in prison-speak: he allegedly “hung it up.”Corrections officials announced today that 28-year-old Jesus Cota was pronounced dead at 3:50 p.m…
When John McCain tapped Sarah Palin as his running mate for the 2008 presidential election, he took a relatively unknown conservative governor and created what some call a monster. If you’re one of those people, you might find it interesting to know that the “monster” is teaming up with what…
We spoke last week to a north Phoenix high-school class about our “experiences in journalism.” It was early in the day, and the majority of the students were, shall we say, less than engaged in the, um, dialogue. But the class of about 25 boys and girls gathered a pulse after someone asked about Joe Arpaio. The question was: how…
Mark Weaver, the top campaign strategist for Senator John McCain, believed rumors that McCain’s wife Cindy was having an affair with a Tempe man, according to a new book hitting stores this week.Game Change, the new behind-the-scenes look at the 2008 presidential campaign by veteran reporters Mark Halperin and John…
If Cardinals kicker Neil Rackers left University of Phoenix Stadium in anything other than a body bag after yesterday’s 51-45 win over the surging Green Bay Packers, he probably owes it to Karlos Dansby. After the Packers clawed their way back from a 17-point deficit in the first quarter, the game was…
