The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office busted two guys — one of whom was an elementary school music teacher — last month who allegedly used Craigslist to try and have sex with a dog, and the sheriff seems to think it’s becoming a trend — despite it only happening once.Sheriff Joe…
Despite what your journalistic ethics professor may tell you in J-school, plagiarizing won’t get you fired from a newspaper — as long as you work at the Washington Post, anyway.Yesterday, the WP published a formal apology to the Arizona Republic admitting that portions of two articles it published about the…
Arizona’s economy is in the tank, the state has a pesky $1.15 billion budget shortfall to deal with, but fear not, Arizonans, Governor Jan Brewer’s got a plan: prayer.In January, the governor proclaimed a “Day of Prayer for Arizona’s Economy and State Budget,” which happens to be Jan’s best idea…
New Times has an immediate opening for a food critic/blogger. We’re seeking a stylish, opinionated writer who can produce a weekly review for print and multiple daily posts for our Chow Bella blog. The ideal candidate will have an extensive knowledge of food, experience writing about restaurants, and knowledge of…
Why is it que cada vez that I talk to a Hispanic (not many Mexicans in New York, yet), it seems he thinks a fantasma lives in his house? I know that Carlos Mencia has used this in his material, but I wonder if la raza is more liable to…
FIRE SIGNS No good neighbors in this story: Wow! There are no actual “good” guys in your “Good Neighbor” story (Paul Rubin, March 3). I’m sure the title was your little joke. And it’s a “good” one, since State Farm made a mockery of its slogan by trying to get…
Phoenix City Manager David Cavazos wants to rebuild public trust in the wake of allegations that police officials inflated border-related-kidnapping statistics to secure about $2.45 million in federal funding. Cavazos’ strategy has involved stripping Phoenix Public Safety Manager Jack Harris of his duties as police chief and assembling a panel…
Brad Pfirrman slaps the snooze button for the third and final time. It’s just after 5:30 a.m., which means he needs to drag his ass down to the gas station around the corner from his Glendale home. On arrival, he buys a shot of Redline — an energy drink so…
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:…
The Arizona Senate passed legislation yesterday that would eliminate Spanish translation of election materials in information booklets distributed by the Secretary of State, first reported by the Yuma Sun. Russell Pearce acolyte — or is it wannabe? — Sen. Steve Smith, R-Maricopa, introduced the measure. Aside from it being an…
Readers of New Times’ cover story last week remember Fausto Soto as the Rocky Point official who spoke with us about problems facing the Mexican town’s tourism industry. New Times contacted him last week to ask about the then-rumored shooting of a man at the start of Spring Break, which…
Since our earlier post about Tiberias Foster, the 25-year-old alleged public masturbator/flasher extraordinaire who managed to get away from Tempe police officers three times yesterday before he was found hiding in a bush at an apartment complex by a police K-9, the Tempe Police Department provided New Times with his…
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer won’t let a lawsuit deter her from proclaiming another state Day of Prayer, says her spokesman. As we mentioned in a previous blog post today, local freethinkers — including two lawyers working pro-bono — want a federal judge to stop Brewer from calling Arizonans to prayer…
Bunny boiler. Sorry, all I could think of as I read through Maricopa County Hearing Officer Harold Merkow’s report on former Deputy County Attorney Lisa Aubuchon and her ongoing appeal of her dismissal, was Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction. What will it take, I wonder, for the county to be…
The Washington Post has a little egg on its face today — this morning, the newspaper admitted to the most serious offense in the news biz: plagiarism. The victim: the Arizona Republic.The WP published a formal apology to the Phoenix-based newspaper today, admitting that portions of two articles it published…
Tiberias Foster, a 22-year-old Tempe man, is a slippery character — he managed to get away from Tempe police officers three times yesterday before he was found hiding in a bush at an apartment complex by a police K-9.What did Foster allegedly do to warrant so much attention from police?…
A group of Valley freethinkers want Arizona Governor Jan Brewer to stop calling on Arizona residents to pray about the budget or anything else. Two attorneys and several area residents, all members of the national Freedom From Religion Foundation, filed a lawsuit in federal court this week in hopes of ending proclamations for state prayer…
Baseball America reported earlier this week on the strange story of former Arizona Diamondbacks prospect Juan Carlos Collado, a Dominican pitcher who signed with the D’Backs in May 2009 for $17,000. He was 19 years old at the time. After Major League Baseball investigators discovered that Collado was not his…
The Homolovi Ruins State Park near Winslow should change its name to better reflect its ongoing connection to native peoples, say members of the Hopi tribe. The tribe is petitioning the state to drop the word “ruins” from the name. But the part of brain that’s stagnated since junior high…
Vanity, vanity, saith the preacher, all is vanity.And what more can it be than vanity that Phoenix’s Arizona Christian University is feting former President George W. Bush at a $500 a plate dinner so the Torturer-in-Chief can blather on about his “faith-based presidency”?I reckon there’s also hypocrisy and greed, both…
A nurse at a Valley hospital who’s alleged to have tried to have sex with a child he believed to be a 15-year-old girl has pleaded not guilty to charges that he tried to lure a minor for sexual exploitation — despite having already admitted to police that’s what he…
A Pima County girl is missing and authorities believe she was taken to Utah by a 19-year-old man she met online.Ashley Kingsbury, 13, was reported missing Monday, and is believed to have been taken to Utah by 19-year-old Jordan Anthony, with whom she’s reportedly been chatting on social networking websites…
