Federal Judge G. Murray Snow, who’s presiding over the racial-profiling case against the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, did not seem too happy yesterday. MCSO and Arpaio’s side of the courtroom got a talking-to from Snow yesterday at a hearing to discuss some of Arpaio’s public comments, plus the investigation surrounding…
Several Arizona Republic editorial staff members failed to land a job after being forced to reapply for a position at the state’s largest newspaper. Veteran journalists were among those who did not make the cut when the dust settled. The layoffs follow news in August that the paper’s parent company,…
A Red Mountain Tea Party event headlined by notorious anti-Islamic speaker Pamela Geller went on as planned last night despite a Muslim civil-liberties organization’s call for the event’s cancellation. The Arizona chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations called on East Valley High School in Mesa, which hosts the Red…
Glendale firefighters cussed and made threats during an altercation in the driveway of a home on Sunday, as captured by a neighbor’s video camera. “You motherfucker. You’re fucking dead meat, bitch!” a firefighter yells at a patient in a gurney, as can be seen in the video uploaded to YouTube…
The activist group Citizens for a Better went to the state GOP headquarters in Phoenix to demand an apology after Maricopa County Republican Party chairman A.J. LaFaro accused the group of voter fraud. LaFaro drummed up nationwide controversy by implying he witnessed voter fraud when someone with Citizens for a…
The dangers of fire and explosions related to “hash oil” may be newsworthy, but Friday’s Arizona Republic story on the cannabis concentrate reads more like pro-prohibition propaganda. “Dangerous hash-oil blasts are an increasing concern,” according to the headline of the Valley & State story. A sub-head continues, “In markets with…
An Arizona state Representative who is a member of the Navajo Nation says the Washington Redskins’ name is offensive and should be changed. Just weeks after Native Americans protested in Glendale outside an Arizona Cardinals game against Washington, Democratic Representative Jamescita Peshlakai has publicly called on Arizona’s congressional delegate to…
Shanesha Taylor, the Scottsdale mom who left her kids in a hot car in March while on a job interview, has blown today’s deadline to fund trust accounts for her kids. In July, Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery signed off on the deal to keep Taylor out of jail as…
The Arizona chapter of America’s largest Muslim civil liberties group is calling for the cancellation of an event tonight at a Mesa high school. Pamela Geller is scheduled to speak at 7 p.m. at East Valley High School in Mesa at an event planned by the Red Mountain Tea Party,…
UPDATE October 28, 11:25 a.m.: The above video has been updated to include exclusive video of the incident, plus an interview with one of the people arrested. Phoenix police shot protesters with pepper balls and arrested six people downtown on Saturday night. The 40 to 50 protesters who were demonstrating…
Ebola may have the nation on high alert, but the deadly virus hasn’t yet made its way to Arizona. With the late summer’s heavy flooding, locals should be more concerned about mosquito-borne diseases, officials say, especially the West Nile virus. “West Nile virus is here; we know it’s here, and…
Arizona can be unpredictable sometimes. From legal gay marriage to a Phoenix snow day, here are 10 things you never thought you’d see in Arizona:…
The official investigations into the deaths of medical-sector executive Jonah Shacknai’s girlfriend and young son have long been over, but not everything is settled. According to authorities, 6-year-old Max Shacknai died from an accident under the care of his father’s girlfriend at his Coronado, California, mansion in 2011. Rebecca Zahau,…
Armando Jay Ramirez, a former Phoenix cop and state medical-fraud investigator, has been indicted on suspicion of defrauding veterans’ groups and state and federal agencies. Ramirez, 40, worked for the Phoenix Police Department’s South Mountain Precinct for about five years until his 2011 domestic-violence arrest in Casa Grande. Despite a…
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, our inmates are the types…
Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery wants “full and fair opportunity” to prove in court why a recent ruling allowing bail for jailed undocumented migrants should not stand. The Republican politician put out a news release on Thursday evening saying he’s filed an emergency motion with the U.S. Ninth Circuit of…
Arizona’s legalization of same-sex marriage last Friday has led to a drastic increase in the number of marriage licenses issued, but one conservative group argues that clerks opposed to same-sex marriage shouldn’t have to take part in issuing them. In the Maricopa County Superior Court Clerk’s Office, 292 marriage licenses…
A YouTube video with more than 400,000 views purporting to show “ballot box stuffing” in Arizona actually shows a completely legal practice. A.J. LaFaro, the chairman of the Maricopa County GOP, has been drumming up controversy by implying he witnessed voter fraud when an activist for the group Citizens for…
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office is prosecuting a college student with a medical-marijuana card for felony possession of less than a gram of weed. Andre Lee Juwaun Maestas, a 19-year-old Arizona State University student, could end up with a felony on his record, probation and stiff fines because of the…
About a month after a Phoenix police officer fatally shot a mentally ill woman, city leaders have announced a plan to change how the police department deals with the mentally ill. Michelle Cusseaux, 50, was fatally shot by Phoenix cop Percy Dupra on August 14, after police say she threatened…
What do Mexicans in the United States think of the violent drug cartel problem currently in Mexico? Do local Latinos cringe with disgust or fear when they hear another drug cartel story on the news . . . or do they feel a sense of disconnect because they are living…
Like a visual version of an earworm — you know, those songs that get caught in your head and you can’t get out — I’ve been thinking a lot lately about a famous 18th-century etching by the Spanish artist Francisco Goya called The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters. It features…
