The former director of the Phoenix Veterans Affairs Medical Center pleaded guilty today to failing to disclose large gifts she received from a VA lobbyist. Sharon Helman, 45, of Surprise, admitted to one felony count of filing a false financial disclosure to the federal government, and will be sentenced to…
From the spare prose of a Glendale Police Department report emerges the macabre scene that confronted police officers and students at Independence High School, a little before 8 a.m. on the morning of February 12. That’s when police, responding to reports of shots fired, rushed through morning traffic and parents…
Ever since the presidential election season really kicked off last summer, pollsters in Arizona have tracked voter preference among the state’s Republican voters, but they have paid little attention to the Democrats. Not any more. Two political consulting firms, MBQF and Marson Media, conducted a phone survey of likely Democratic…
Arizona is the land of guns, with some of the most permissive firearms laws in the country, plus plenty of wide-open spaces to unleash lead. These are some of modern cowboys’ and -girls’ firearms-of-choice, judged by overall popularity and cool-factor, plus over-the-top ability to kill and wound. Whether you take…
The heated political race for one of Arizona’s seats on the U.S. Senate just got a little hotter today as the Democratic frontrunner, Ann Kirkpatrick, unveiled her first political ad of the election season. The ad targets her main Republican opponent, U.S. Senator John McCain, by making a mash-up of…
Former Arizona Lottery Director Tony Bouie often took advantage of free luxury box seats at sports games, records show — and he sometimes took family or friends. Bouie, a former NFL player appointed to his post in February 2015 by Governor Doug Ducey, resigned in January two days after publication…
A bill decried by critics as another assault on public education is advancing in the Arizona Legislature. It would allow every Arizona public school student to attend a private school at the expense of taxpayers. Currently, only a limited number of students can attend private schools using state money through…
After four months of colorful or otherwise sexually explicit testimony from a wide array of witnesses, the criminal trial against Tracy Elise – founder and head priestess of the Phoenix Goddess Temple – is scheduled to end Tuesday afternoon, and her fate will be placed in the hands of a…
Glendale police say they’re submitting felony charges against the teen who provided the gun in the pre-Valentine’s Day murder-suicide of two teen girls at their high school. The families of both of the deceased 15-year-old girls in the February 12 incident at Independence High School don’t wish the boy, who’s…
Cacti are hard to resist, we get it. So fluffy, smooth, almost cuddly. How could you not want to embrace a giant saguaro, or roll around in jumping cholla? Here are 10 people who clearly didn’t get the memo and got injured. “Injured Bad.” 10. Pro tip: Just. Don’t. Do. This…
Environmentalists are celebrating an order from a federal court that the state of Arizona must comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s pollution reduction plan for coal-fired power plants in the state. At the center of the case is the cloud of haze that often hangs over the Grand Canyon and…
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been aware for years that poor medical care in its detention centers is contributing to in-custody deaths, but has systematically overlooked it, according to a new report by a coalition of advocacy groups. The American Civil Liberties Union, Detention Watch Network, and the National…
Arizona Senator Jeff Flake said this week he “finally got a little worried” about Donald Trump. “I kept dismissing it and dismissing it,” Flake told the Phoenix New Times on Thursday of the possibility that Trump would carry the Republican nomination for president. Then came Trump’s crushing victory over GOP…
The former Scottsdale beauty salon owner convicted in 2002 of killing and dismembering her husband is awaiting deportation to France following her release last month from prison. Valerie Pape, 63, became a celebrity murderer after her arrest in 2000 for the gory slaying of her husband, Ira Pomerantz. The case…
Six former and current Arizona State University police employees have filed a lawsuit accusing the university of falsifying crime statistics and retaliating against employees who objected. In the civil suit, filed this month in Maricopa County Superior Court, four police officers and two police aides, one of whom is still…
Arizona Senator Jeff Flake released a video today of his vehicle convoy in Africa that was charged by elephants. Flake and a delegation of Congressmen were on a mission to several African countries last week to learn more about the devastating effects of wildlife poaching. He and U.S. Representative Chris…
In some Arizona cities, calling 911 several times a month may be grounds for eviction. City policymakers push such policies, often called nuisance ordinances, hoping to promote crime-free neighborhoods. But state Representative Celeste Plumlee (D-Tempe) argues they have an “unacceptable” side effect: They discourage victims of domestic violence and sexual…
Does a marijuana-legalization initiative expected to be on the ballot this November allow cities and towns to ban adults from growing their own marijuana? Under the initiative, adults 21 and older could grow up to six plants, with a 12-plant-per-household maximum. Ryan Hurley, a lawyer for the Campaign to Regulate…
In this weeks’ cover story, Sugar U., New Times writes about the growing number of Arizona college students dating sugar daddies (older wealthy men) to cover the exorbitant cost of tuition. In some ways these “mutually beneficial relationships” are like traditional romantic relationships, but in other ways, they’re quite different. …
There are quite a few roads in Phoenix that are beautiful, relaxing, and just plain fun to drive. The streets we’re about to mention are NOT these streets — in fact, the thorughfares around Phoenix that we’re about to describe are no fun to drive. Indeed, they’re just plain terrifying! 10.) Seventh…
Anyone remember Tom Horne? You know, the Republican political zombie and onetime Arizona Attorney General who hired his girlfriend, Carmen Chenal, as an assistant attorney general, got himself investigated by the FBI, and was witnessed riding around town with Chenal, wearing a trucker hat as a disguise, as he pulled…
The latest poll numbers are in, and even though Donald Trump is still maintaining his lead in Arizona, it appears U.S Senator Marco Rubio is rapidly gaining momentum. The political consulting firm MBQF, which has been tracking Republican voter preference in Arizona trends since July, reports that Rubio jumped 11.3…
