How much power do Republicans in Arizona need, for cryin’ out loud? They own every statewide office in Arizona, including the governor’s, and they have majorities in both chambers of the legislature, squirting out crazy bills with astonishing regularity. The Rs currently boast a 5-4 advantage in U.S. House members…
State workplace-safety investigators didn’t recommend any serious safety citations against an Arizona gun range where a 9-year-old girl accidentally shot and killed an instructor last year. The 9-year-old girl was being instructed on how to fire the gun at a gun range called Sam’s Shooters Emporium II in White Hills,…
An outright ban on photo-radar cameras in Arizona was shot down this week by lawmakers. Senate Bill 1167, the latest of several attempts by some lawmakers to severely restrict or eliminate the photo-radar systems, failed on a preliminary vote in the Senate, with 13 in favor of the ban, and…
Sarah Palin’s new video ad for the Sportsman Channel’s Amazing America show shows the former vice presidential candidate hitchhiking in the middle of the desert. Except as every Phoenician would know, the right-wing celeb is actually in Central Phoenix, at Papago Park…
Arizona lawmakers may prevent police from forcing someone to unlock their phone with a fingerprint without a warrant. A recent court case in Virginia brought up the possibility that there are situations in which police could force someone to unlock their phone with a fingerprint, like with Apple’s TouchID, but…
Leaders of Occupy Oak Flat say they won’t give up until the U.S. government repeals the Southeast Arizona Land Exchange. The San Carlos Apache Tribe, leading a three-week protest at the Oak Flat Campground, vows to remain there until the federal government bends. The controversial exchange gave Australian-British mining company…
On Monday, the Arizona State Senate approved a bill amendment that would legalize nunchuks, firearm silencers, and sawed-off shotguns. Since silencers don’t work Hollywood-style and most people wielding nunchuks are more likely to injury their testicles than an assault victim, it’s the sawed-off shotgun part that really got our attention…
The Arizona Senate yesterday passed a bill that would significantly delay the release of the identities of officers involved in deadly shootings. Senate Bill 1445 would keep the officer’s identity under wraps for 90 days following any incident “that involves the use of deadly physical force,” and results in the…
A Maricopa County Superior Court Judge will allow former Minuteman leader Chris Simcox to represent himself during his upcoming trial on allegations that he molested two young girls, one his own daughter, in 2013. During a pretrial hearing Monday morning in Phoenix, Judge Jose Padilla summarily granted Simcox’s request, which…
A 16-year-old girl was shot and killed while sitting in the passenger seat of a car in Phoenix on Friday night. Niani Allen was with three other people in a car that was stopped at a red light at 67th Avenue and Broadway Road when an SUV pulled up alongside…
Three foreign nationals arrested in Arizona last week are accused of hiding their past membership in an Iran-trained Iraqi militia. A 10-count federal indictment filed on February 18 states that Hadi Assi Mubarak and his two sons, Haidar Hadi Assi Mubarak and Ali Hadi Mubarak, (a.k.a. Jihad Hadi Mubarak), failed…
For nine years running, state senators Steve Farley and Andy Biggs have been duking it out over a ban on texting while driving. Farley, who’s authored a proposal annually since 2007, insists that Arizona needs a law to pressure people to quit texting behind the wheel — a habit that’s…
Despite Arizona having some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country, abortion is still on the minds of lawmakers. The Arizona Senate on Thursday passed a bill, Senate Bill 1318, to prevent health insurance coverage of abortion if the coverage was purchased through the Affordable Care Act. Jodi…
My, how the canine crazies will howl. Actually, they’re howling already, because on Thursday, Austin and Logan Flake, the son and daughter-in-law of U.S. Senator Jeff Flake, submitted a notice of claim to Maricopa County and Sheriff Joe Arpaio, demanding $8 million for their wrongful indictment in last year’s Green…
Everything you’ve heard about teen gangs is wrong. That’s the basic conclusion of a new study from Arizona State University. “You think gang and you think ‘boys in the hood’, urban, minority boys living in bad neighborhoods,” said Gary Sweeten, an associate professor of criminology and co-author of the report,…
Mark Brnovich wants to put the brakes on driver’s licenses for Arizona’s Dreamers. The newly elected Arizona attorney general launched an appeal today to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, hoping to overturn an order last month that forces compliance with President Obama’s executive action on immigration…
Arizona has carried out some of the most high-profile, newsworthy or just plain messed-up executions in the country.
At the end of the week, we bring you a roundup of visitors to the desert’s own Fourth Avenue Jail. To be considered for our Maricopa County mugshots of the week, get arrested, strike a pose, and we’ll take care of the rest. This week, we’ve got some real signature…
Three new videos of the arrest of Ersula Ore have surfaced, showing different perspectives of the infamous take-down and allowing viewers to hear the concern of witnesses. Arizona State University released the videos following a public-records request by New Times. Last week, ASU Officer Stewart Ferrin resigned, allowing the university…
Big-time reforms are in store for Arizona prisons after a federal judge approved a settlement in a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of 34,000 prisoners in the state. The lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Prison Law Office over the conditions at Arizona’s prisons was set…
An effort is under way by Arizona lawmakers to ban the state’s implementation of the controversial Common Core curriculum in schools. Arizona’s House Education Committee voted Wednesday to approve such a ban, and, of course, such a ban was the cornerstone of the campaign run by newly elected Superintendent of…
As you’ve said before, Mexicans lack education. Why do they? Why don’t they care that a high school education is not enough in the 21st century? I see exceptions to the rule, but the rule seems to be “No More School After High School.” I don’t get it. Educated Gabacho Misquote…
