Some new information has been released about the people busted as part of the Department of Public Safety’s “Operation Triple Threat” last week, including the names of some of the members of the “Fluffy Bunny” party crew.The DPS has released the names of 12 of the 22 people arrested in…
Scottsdale snapped up an additional 400 acres for its McDowell Sonoran Preserve today, taking advantage of a state grant to pay half of the cost. At least someone’s buying big chunks of Valley real estate in this depressed market, right? Scottsdale, which is full of relatively rich folks, made the committment a few years ago…
An employee made a stunning discovery when she was processing a heating pad brought into A Second Look Consignment Superstore in North Phoenix last week — $9,080 in cash.After finding the loot, rather than doing what many would have done — keep every last penny — Rose Wingo told her boss, and the…
If the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety hasn’t made itself abundantly clear that it won’t be tolerating drunk drivers this holiday season, the shear number of drunk drivers it has nailed as part of the Holiday DUI Task Force should probably clear up any misunderstandings. Since the task force began…
For anyone who watched the Arizona Cardinals beat down Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings last week and then saw the Redbirds get crushed by the San Francisco 49ers last night, you may have the same reaction we did: What the fuck happened? The Cardinals made history last night in…
The Arizona Corporation Commission will vote today on a possible rate hike for Arizona Power Systems (APS) customers. The proposed increase would raise customers’ rates by an average of more than $6 a month. An administrative-law judge has already recommended approval of the rate hike…A judge in Window Rock issued…
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: Joe Arpaio’s Goon Squad Blasted by Chicanos Por La Causa, MCSO Fishing Expedition Under Way…
It seems as though America’s self-proclaimed “toughest sheriff” can’t live without hearing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer in his jails this holiday season.Sheriff Joe, despite being sued six times in the past two years for doing so, will again force inmates in the county jails to listen to Christmas carols…
[jump] “What the State Bar ultimately chooses to do, if anything, is almost certainly out of our hands. That is as it should be. In fact, I think almost all of us would agree that the process and rules to which the county attorney and all of us are subject…
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Phoenix and Tucson rounded up nearly $800,000 worth of bootleg clothing last week, including more than $8,000 worth of phony football jerseys, as part of a national campaign called “Operation Holiday Hoax.”Two weeks before Christmas? Talk about bah, humbug.”Operation ‘Holiday Hoax’ struck the counterfeiters…
Jim Belanger, a Phoenix lawyer who specializes in working white-collar crime cases with the firm of Coppersmith, Schermer and Brockelman, sent the following E-mail to many of his brethren. The subject line reads: Do you believe in Andy Thomas? “On December 21, 1946, the United States Supreme Court reversed the conviction of…
Deputies seized general computer equipment at Chicanos Por La Causa’s Phoenix headquarters, in addition to paperwork related to an indicted County Supervisor, records show. Search warrant returns reviewed by New Times back up claims by the social service agency’s representatives of a fishing expedition by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office…
Redflex, the company responsible for the widely unpopular speed-cameras that, um, patrol Valley roads, has banned guns in its downtown Phoenix offices — probably not a bad decision considering the company is in the business of pissing off motorists on a daily basis.However, unless Redflex has a killer margarita recipe, or…
Nightline’s piece on our corrupt top constable runs tonight — you know, the one ABC was working on when they sent Nightline talking head Martin Bashir to Phoenix to cover one of Arpaio’s anti-immigrant sweeps last month. The speculation at the time was that Arpaio had coordinated the sweep with the aim of providing…
On October 2, Valley Fever featured a post about rapper Lil Wayne’s latest brush with the law. In the comment section of the post, fans and critics voiced their opinions on the matter, and it seems the majority of Lil Wayne fans may have learned the English language by reading graffiti…
Deputies with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office paid visits to at least seven rank-and-file county employees over the weekend, attempting to question them about the court tower project, county spending, and other topics apparently somehow connected to the sheriff’s wide-ranging “corruption” probe. That investigation has already resulted in indictments for two county…
A group of business fat-cats in Naples, Florida, are hosting a private reception this afternoon in what is the state of Florida’s latest push to rob Mesa of Chicago Cubs spring training. The reception is hosted by big-wigs from Fifth Avenue Advisors and Esmark Inc. — two companies leading the charge to bring…
When the Arizona Cardinals take the field tonight, the team has a chance to do something it hasn’t done in 34 years — win two consecutive division titles. Standing in their way — the lackluster but troublesome San Francisco 49ers. The two teams have met 36 times, with the Niners winning…
21 turnovers were the culprits in the Phoenix Suns’ 105-99 road loss to the Denver Nuggets, a night after they’d stunned the second-best team in the Eastern Conference, the Orlando Magic,106-103 at US Airways Center. Aside from the outcomes, the games were almost identical. The Suns ran up big leads (19 points in…
Despite being millions of dollars in debt, Valley governments are giving some employees hefty bonuses. At least three Valley cities — Mesa, Phoenix, and Glendale — will pay out more than $18 million in combined bonuses, despite expectations that there will be more layoffs in the coming year…Today is considered the busiest day of…
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: Dennis Burke Admits There’s “a Problem” with Joe Arpaio’s Rampage, Source Says the U.S. Attorney’s…
The squabble between Maricopa County officials took yet another turn today as deputies raided the offices of a local computer firm, looking for evidence of fraud and other crimes. For close followers of the circus acts that pass for county news these days, you’ll need another branch for the flow…
