Bill Montgomery, the candidate for Maricopa County Attorney backed by Sheriff Joe Arpaio, strongly questions Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s mental fitness and leadership ability in a secret tape made by county officials. New Times broke part of this story yesterday based on second-hand comments from the county official who made the recording, Don…
As most of you have no-doubt heard, there’s strong speculation that Sheriff Joe Arpaio will announce his run for Arizona Governor on Monday. Personally, I hope he does run. He’ll have to resign to do so, and the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors will get to appoint a replacement. That…
Tired of traffic? Then lobby your government to add more toll roads, ditch long-range transportation scams, and buy more express buses instead of laying more railways. That’s the educated opinion of Cato Institute scholar Randal O’Toole — and if you want to argue with him, you’d better bring a spreadsheet with hard…
There is a report circulating right now, which — if true — confirms what many Arizona residents have been dreading for years: Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio will run for governor of the state of Arizona…
Florida Governor Charlie Crist did the unthinkable yesterday by bailing on the Republican Party and announcing that he will be running for the U.S. Senate as an Independent.The move comes after it became clear that Crist would not be able to fend off his opponent in the GOP Senate primary,…
We have fretted for some time about the Neanderthals in control of the Arizona Legislature, a powerful political body that enacts laws by which we are supposed to live our lives. Could it really be true, we have pondered deep into the night, that the likes of this bunch — the…
There’s a photo making the rounds in e-mail inboxes across the Valley of a rattlesnake den that was supposedly taken at South Mountain.If you’re not a snake person, the photo’s reminiscent of an Indiana Jones movie and is probably enough to make you wanna cry — check it out above.It…
Ricky Martin’s joined the ranks of Latino entertainers blasting Arizona’s new “papers please” legislation.At the Billboard Latin Music Awards yesterday in Puerto Rico, he deviated from his scripted remarks to denounce the law, with a shout out to Sand Land.”You are not alone. We are with you. Put a stop…
The Arizona Legislature finally has tackled the super-cereal business of making sure that the likes of South Park’s infamous “ManBearPig” have no place in the Grand Canyon State.A ManBearPig — as described by “Al Gore” on the show — is half man, half bear, and half pig.While there may be a minor…
Fermin Leon and “Jane Doe 1” are worried about the impact of Arizona’s new immigration law and teamed up with the http://www.conlamic.org/ to sue Arizona in a lawsuit filed yesterday. They’re among the dozen individuals claiming, with the religious group, that SB 1070 will mean racial profiling by police, and…
Big ups to Arizona’s junior senator, Senator Jon Kyl, for being named one of Time magazine’s 100 people who “most affect our world.” Lady Ga-Ga, and Simon Cowell are also on the list, although, in a different category, so the distinction may not be as distinguished as the title might suggest…
For some reason, moving weed with trucks full of watermelons is a big hit with drug dealers. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be a very effective method of transport. For the third time in less than a year, a huge amount of marijuana was found hidden among watermelons in the back of…
Steve Nash played his worst game of the season and was still the hero of the Phoenix Suns’ 99-90 victory over the tenacious Portland Trail Blazers last night. Nash seemed out of synch for much of the first-round series against the Blazers, and game six was no exception. The previously mighty…
A husband and wife each sustained numerous stab wounds during a domestic dispute in Avondale yesterday. When police arrived on the scene, they heard screaming and a woman crying for help from inside the house. They forced entry and found the wife with numerous stab wounds on her body. The husband…
Colombian pop star Shakira shook Phoenix from the mayor’s office to the barrio, blasting Arizona’s new racial profiling law SB 1070 as promoting “discrimination” and “division,” and contrary to the American values she said she admires.”I’m not an expert on the [U.S.] Constitution,” she told the throng of reporters present…
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: Feathered Bastard: Paul Rodriguez Cancels Arizona Comedy Show in Protest Over SB 1070, and Denver Public Schools…
Just maybe, the furor over Arizona’s over-the-top illegal immigration bill, SB 1070, has had an unintended positive effect on our local major-league baseball team. The D-Backs scored in double digits for the second straight game today, crunching the Chicago Cubs 13-5 in an afternoon tilt at venerable Wrigley Field, disappointing…
Has common sense prevailed in the Arizona State Senate?That may be a stretch, but one of the more embarrassing pieces of legislation to find its way through the Arizona House this session won’t get a vote in the Senate — this session anyway.The controversial “birther” bill was sidelined today because…
We had a momentary heart palpitation after reading this headline on the AzCentral site today: …
Former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods confirmed today in a phone interview with New Times that he is seriously contemplating a run for mayor of Phoenix.Woods, a Republican who served two terms as attorney general from 1991 to 1999, refused to put odds on the likelihood of his running –…
With Arizona’s new immigration law, SB 1070, causing certain groups to call for a boycott of all things Arizona, AriZona Beverages — the company that makes AriZona Iced Tea — is probably kicking itself right now for choosing Arizona as the state for which they named their company.Especially since the company is…
Yesterday, we posted a story about a man who was murdered by a man he met on what we were told by the Phoenix Police Department was an iPhone application called Grindr. Grindr is a social-networking site that links gay men with other gay men in their area using GPS…
