There’s a new face in the Democratic race for secretary of state, and he may have an early leg up on his probable opponent in the Democratic primary.Sam Wercinski, former Governor Janet Napolitano’s real estate commissioner from 2007-2009, has entered the race, and he’s already got more than enough money…
Lock ‘n’ load, Arizona. A state Senate panel has approved a measure that would allow any adult in Arizona to carry a concealed weapon without a background check or Department of Public Safety mandated training.Yippie ki-yay!The bill, SB 1102, was introduced by the Senate’s resident red-neck, Senator Russell Pearce, and would…
He’s baaack!The Chandler makeup thief known to Chandler cops as “the blue basket bandit” has struck again, after being dormant for nearly six months.For the last 2 1/2 years, an unknown man has been stealing makeup and other cosmetics from Walgreens drug stores in Chandler and neighboring cities.In August, the…
The DREAM Act should be a no-brainer for even those anti-immigration types out there. Why shouldn’t we try to keep smart, law-abiding kids here in the U.S. after we’ve educated them? Talk about model citizens and patriots! Many of these young men and women are even willing to serve in…
After only a few short weeks of “recovery” at a sex-addiction rehabilitation center in Mississippi, it appears Tiger Woods may be cured of his desire to nail everything that moves and is ready to return to the links in about two weeks.That, like everything else Tiger-related, is the rumor, anyway.According the Melbourne…
The Phoenix City Council approved a new tax yesterday that will increase the price of the most basic necessity: food.In a 6-3 vote, the council approved a 2 percent tax on basic grocery items like milk, meat, vegetables, and all the other basics that people need to live.The move is…
We don’t expect it to break any box-office records or raise the bar for cinematic genius, but the Phoenix Suns have created their own version of James Cameron’s 3-D masterpiece, Avatar, featuring the injured Leandro Barbosa as a blue-faced Na’vi. We’re assuming the team’s budget for the film was slightly smaller…
Three women who worked at a massage parlor in Yuma have been arrested for allegedly running a prostitution ring out of the business. Won Shil Shim, Muae Park, and Hyun Joo Song, all Korean citizens, were charged after an ongoing investigation into the Somerton parlor. Shim was released on more…
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: Joe Arpaio and ICE’s Joint Victim: Maria del Carmen Garcia-Martinez, and Why ICE Should Not…
A Scottsdale man accused of ripping off the Steve Miller Band for more than $90,000 is expected to cop a plea deal later this month after originally pleading not guilty to check fraud.Robert Alfred Green, 48, entered the not-guilty plea in October to one count of felony check fraud after there…
I’ve always dreamed of riding a nuclear payload right into enemy territory a la Slim Pickens in Dr. Strangelove (whatever “enemy territory” is these days), and I’m a step closer because of the efforts of former East Valley Tribune columnist Le Templar and his new bosses at the Goldwater Institute here in Phoenix. See,…
A U.S. District Court Judge has dealt Debra Milke (pictured in a 1991 photo) a big legal setback, ruling that the death-row inmate did validly waive her Miranda rights against self-incrimination before she allegedly confessed to having her son murdered in 1989. Judge Robert C. Broomfield’s 21-page ruling comes two weeks after hearing…
Some people like dogs, some people like horses, and some people opt for something in between, which seems to be the case for a Tucson man whose behemoth pooch is possibly the tallest dog in the world.David and Christine Nasse are the proud owners of a 4-year-old great dane named…
In the late 1960s, Millie C. Bloodworth was a city boy from Detroit who didn’t like guns, the Army, snakes on field trips, or the looming prospect of getting shipped off to Vietnam. What he really wanted was a sex-change operation and a wardrobe of pretty dresses. Bloodworth, who describes…
A Chandler mom has been arrested on four charges of child abuse stemming from injuries to her 2-month-old son.Police say 25-year-old Aubree Lewellen abused the infant for weeks resulting in several injuries.On an initial investigation, police noticed the baby had a swollen leg, which turned out to be the result…
Tempe police arrested the woman who had hoped to adopt Gabriel Johnson before the 8-month-old went missing more than six weeks ago.Tammi Smith, 37, was labeled a person of interest by the Tempe Police Department in mid-January after police felt that she and her husband, Jack Smith, were less than…
Sometimes, jokes go too far — especially when they’re sarcastic letters distributed by a school principal about the ineptitude of students that land in the hands of pissed-off parents.Ron Sterr, principal of Litchfield Elementary School, was trying to be funny when he sent a parody “field-trip-permission” letter to teachers last…
As outlined in President Obama’s State of the Union speech, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced today that his office is beginning a year-long study on how to best remove the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gays in the military. John McCain, however, is against the idea altogether.McCain, the top…
This is Groundhog Day, and Pennsylvania’s most famous marmot emerged from his hole in Punxsutawney this morning to see his shadow, which, of course, means there will be six more weeks of winter.Normally we would rely on morning shows like Good Morning America to broadcast Phil’s findings, but this year…
We appreciated former Arizona State University baseball coach Pat Murphy before the school controversially dismissed him a few months ago, after the 51-year-old had been chosen as the Pac-10’s Coach of the Year for the third straight season. Murph (the burly fellow in the photo) always was a great…
A pack of MCSO detention officers — some of them 287(g)-trained — walk Garcia-Martinez into a room to get her fingerprint on an ICE document.I recently watched with great skepticism and annoyance ICE honcho John Morton’s videotaped remarks to the Migration Policy Institute in Washington. There, on January 25, the…
In a season dominated by headlines regarding attendance issues and bankruptcy hearings, what the Phoenix Coyotes are doing on the ice has often gone unnoticed. All of that aside, the team itself is pretty damn good.We’ve been critical of the support the Coyotes have received from the team’s shallow fan-base…
