So, a new batch of thousands of mentally ill Arizonans are going to lose most, if not all of their current benefits (counseling, transportation, etc.), ostensibly because of the state’s ongoing fiscal crisis. We wrote about the dire situation a few weeks ago in “Hindsight,” and would rather leave a…
The search for a missing Tempe man resumed this morning at Tempe Town Lake after dogs searching the lake picked up a scent indicating a human body could be under the water.Rescue teams suspended the search last night after finding nothing in the water related to Willie Jigba, who was…
Drug smugglers trying to get weed across the U.S./Mexico border are getting even more creative than simply loading watermelon trucks with marijuana — National Guard troops found a catapult a drug cartel’s using to launch bundles of marijuana over the border fence.National Guard troops near the Naco Border Patrol Station…
The Phoenix Suns lost their third game in a row yesterday to the Charlotte Bobcats, getting outscored 114-107 by a team that’s lost 25 of 44 games this season. Steve Nash played his heart out against the Bobcats, going 11-15 from the field with 27 points, 5 rebounds and 15…
A few years ago, I moved to Tucson. In said city, I noticed that there were little piles of stuff accumulated on the medians of the main roads. It looks like what was Dia de la Muertos paraphernalia — I’m not so gringo as to not know what’s up. These…
FIRING LINE Fitting tribute to Judge John Roll: This is a thoughtful and informative piece of journalism that attempts to put immediate events in much larger contexts (“Unbalanced,” Paul Rubin and Amy Silverman, January 20). Wouldn’t it be something to know how murdered victims in the January 8 Tucson massacre…
The Arizona Democratic Party’s reorganization meeting on January 22 at the Wyndham Hotel in downtown Phoenix was tailor-made to bolster that oft-repeated Will Rogers saw: “I don’t belong to any organized political party, I’m a Democrat.” Ultimately, former state treasurer candidate Andrei Cherny beat out last year’s Democratic U.S. Senate…
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:…
Divers from the Tempe Fire Department are currently searching Tempe Town Lake for Willie Jigba, the 24-year-old Tempe man reported missing nearly two weeks ago.Tempe police tell New Times that police dogs got a “hit” while scouring the lake in search of Jigba. The “hit,” police say, is not specific…
“Spiritual Warrior”/snake-oil salesman James Arthur Ray — accused of manslaughter in the deaths of three participants in a 2009 sweat-lodge ceremony in Sedona — doesn’t want the jury in his upcoming trial to hear what two experts on cult behavior have to say about his “self-help” retreats.Attorneys for the “self-help guru”…
the Chandler Police Department’s release this morning of details of the relationship between Susan Brock, estranged wife of Maricopa County Supervisor Fulton Brock, and a teenage boy, the supervisor tells New Times he knew nothing of the sexual encounters before his wife’s arrest in November. “My wife was untruthful to me. She was untruthful to…
The widow of slain Phoenix police Sergeant Sean Drenth has purchased her husband’s department-issued gun from the city of Phoenix, according to minute entries from the Phoenix City Council’s December 8 meeting.The gun is the same Glock pistol found just feet from Drenth’s body when he was discovered shot to…
www.mlb.fanhouse.com Micah Owings: Is he a hitter or a pitcher — or neither? The Arizona Diamondbacks announced yesterday that they’ve re-signed former pitcher Micah Owings to a minor league contract and hope to play him at first base next season. Here’s the backstory on Owings: In 2007, his rookie…
Turns out that she, her county supervisor husband, Fulton Brock, and the parents of the victim of her bizarre sexual trysts met with leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in October 2009 to discuss “frustration with Mrs. Brock’s interference in [their] son’s life.” The report goes on…
Republicans are anti-marijuana and anti-tax. Unless there’s a buck to be made. Tom Horne, the state’s new Attorney General, just came out in favor of taxing the medical marijuana soon to be sold in Arizona. True, a small tax on the product isn’t such a bad idea. The pot shops…
Kudos to KPHO/Channel 5 for reporting on allegations of child abuse involving state Senate president Russell Pearce’s son Joshua Pearce, which I first reported on a month ago.Reporter Jason Barry dogged Pearce at the state Capitol, seeking a quote from Mr. Rule of Law, himself.A clearly uncomfortable Pearce declined comment,…
Remember that publicity stunt job offered to Bristol Palin to co-host a morning radio show in Phoenix? About that… Palin’s reportedly met with management at Clear Channel’s Phoenix-based Mix 96.9 (KMXP-FM) about the gig and apparently “seems interested.” If you missed it (or tried desperately to forget) Palin inexplicably bought…
Doctors treating Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in Houston have upgraded the congresswoman’s condition to good, another milestone in her miraculous recovery after being shot “through the brain” less than three weeks ago. Giffords was moved from the Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center Hospital — where she’s been in intensive care since…
Arizona State University announced the formation of a new initiative to develop aerospace and military applications to build the military-industrial complex “partnership between higher education and industry” in Arizona. The Aerospace and Defense Research Collaboratory will host its launch ceremony in February, the school says. It’s being funded by Science…
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:…
Alleged Tucson shooter Jared Loughner’s next court appearance will be in a Phoenix courtroom, not in Tucson, as prosecutors handling the case had requested.Loughner appeared in a Phoenix federal court yesterday where a plea of not-guilty was entered on his behalf for the attempted murders of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and…
As we reported yesterday, Phoenix police still have no suspects in a triple homicide in the west Valley earlier this month, but they have some new leads, including images of two vehicles seen following the Jeep driven by the victims the day police suspect they were murdered.Newly released video recorded…
