PetSmart laid off 176 employees at its Phoenix headquarters yesterday. Company spokeswoman Erin Gray confirmed to New Times that the layoffs came as part of PetSmart’s “broad cost reduction program.”…
One of the things I have found enjoyable and profound is the use of language by Chicanos, mexicanos, and Mexican-Americans. Humor and a sardonic sense of history are encapsulated in many everyday expressions. Two examples I can think of are the use of huey (or perhaps buey), and rollo. In…
An unoccupied pickup truck on a farm near polygamist enclave Colorado City was blown to bits Sunday evening in an explosion being investigated by federal agents. A commercial explosive like dynamite is believed to have been used in the blast, says Tom Mangan, spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol,…
Neither Mary Rose Wilcox nor Pastor Warren Stewart reached their respective goals of winning a seat in Congress or on the Phoenix City Council, but they vow to continue serving as community activists. Both are aiming to stir their communities to make changes through voting, and they’ve timed it align…
One rule of McCarthyism is that anyone critical of scurrilous activity by its practitioners instantly is suspect. In the 1950s, communists and communist sympathizers were the bugbears of infamous Wisconsin U.S. Senator Joe McCarthy, whose name has become synonymous with the unscrupulous ruining of reputations. For Maricopa County Attorney Bill…
On the heels of U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder’s establishing a task force aimed at easing racial tensions between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve, the attorneys for a pair of former Florence Police Department detectives are renewing their call that Florence and the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office…
Note: This post has multiple updates below, including a response from APS. On the heels of Reverend Jesse Jackson demanding workforce diversity statistics from Silcon Valley tech companies, there’s a push to get the same stats out of Arizona’s biggest power company. In Phoenix, activist Revered Jarrett Maupin is organizing…
Recalled state Senate President Russell Pearce is one of those guys who can lie and then believe his lie, almost immediately after he’s said it. Problem is, he’s a really bad liar. In fact, his lies remind me of that quote from the Old Testament, “Be sure your sin will…
Two Valley women — Maritza Miranda Saenz and Celia Carbajal — are hosting Ben Miranda Boxing Promotions’ inaugural match up on Friday in downtown Phoenix. “Phoenix Fight Night” is slated for the Phoenix Convention Center at 7 p.m. Saenz, the daughter of the late lawmaker and attorney Ben Miranda, and…
Recalled ex-Senate President Russell Pearce still has his taxpayer-funded $85,000-a-year job with the Maricopa County Treasurer’s Office, and the protesters have not gone away. Activists with Citizens for a Better Arizona, plus elected officials and representatives of other groups showed up to Treasurer “Hos” Hoskins’ office yesterday to continue demanding…
Arizona’s so-called “revenge porn” law criminalizes much more than sharing an ex-lover’s nude photos, states a lawsuit filed by several publishing and media organizations. The law, passed earlier this year, essentially makes it a felony to share a nude photo of someone without the person’s consent. According to the plaintiffs,…
A bloody fight between fans at Sunday’s Arizona Cardinals game was caught on video. The Cards beat the San Francisco 49ers 23-14 at the University of Phoenix Stadium. Plenty of action also took place in the stands, as the video shows…
Convicted killer Jodi Arias won’t be the center of attention again in the sentencing phase of her trial. Arias was convicted of the 2008 killing of ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander in last year’s nationally televised trial, but the jury couldn’t come to a conclusion on whether to sentence Arias to death…
The Arizona Democratic Party is comparing the way Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Ducey ran Cold Stone Creamery to a Ponzi scheme. To push the point, the party held a bit of an ice cream party at its Phoenix headquarters today, showing off gallons of ice cream labeled: “Doug Ducey’s Pistachio…
Details released in the Rex Chapman shoplifting case show that North Scottsdale Loan and Gold paid the ex-NBA star thousands for the brand-new goods he brought in. Alfonso Larriva, owner of the Scottsdale store as well as other Valley pawn shops, tells New Times that the store’s employees didn’t find…
Immigrant-rights protesters held a demonstration outside the Arizona Democratic Party headquarters in Phoenix last week, blasting the Dems for being the “deportation party.” Videographer Dennis Gilman was there to capture the action, as protesters were particularly upset with recent news that President Obama would delay taking executive action on the…
Here it is: The definitive ranking of every single city and town in Maricopa County. We factored in things like livability, location, attractions for visitors, and any number of X-factors in ranking all 24 cities in towns in the county from worst to first…
In case you missed any news action this week, we’ve got you covered. Here’s our recap of the most-read news stories of the week:…
Rex Everett Chapman, a former star Phoenix Suns player, was arrested today by Scottsdale police in connection with an Apple Store shoplifting scheme. Chapman was transported to the Maricopa County Jail, suspected of nine counts of organized retail theft and five counts of trafficking in stolen property, all felonies…
Proponents of a 2016 citizens’ initiative in Arizona that aims to legalize marijuana for adults 21 and older filed paperwork with the state on Thursday, the first step in their campaign. The Marijuana Policy Project of Arizona initiative still has a long way to go before becoming a law. But…
A Kingman couple is fighting to keep the children they adopted in 2012. “It’s a hot mess,” says Tracie Hirz, the children’s foster mother…
A marijuana deal gone bad at a Tempe gas station eventually led to a three-hour lock-down of a terminal and 25 flight cancellations at Sky Harbor airport yesterday. A group of three people showed up to a Shell gas station near Broadway Road and Price Road in Tempe around 2:45…
