A Gilbert woman is a suspect in four separate hit-and-run collisions Monday that involved six vehicles. Kristen Rowley, 29, was driving on the 51 South approaching the Interstate 10 when she struck the first vehicle. She continued east on the freeway and struck a second vehicle, then exited and headed west…
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: Up on the Sun: Tea Leaf Green Plays The Compound on New Year’s Eve Incoming: Phoenix at…
The far-right wingnut blog Sonoran Alliance just posted a whiny e-mail from Sheriff Joe begging for campaign contributions, even though his next run for sheriff wouldn’t be until 2012. At times, he makes it sound like it’s some sort of legal defense fund. Yet Joe’s Web site notes that donators’…
In an emergency cabinet meeting today, Governor Jan Brewer laid out her latest plan to help bridge the state’s multi-billion-dollar budget gap: Releasing non-violent illegal immigrants held in the state’s prisons. Following the meeting, Brewer ordered the state’s prison director to begin releasing prisoners — a move that the governor believes will…
An estimated 300 people turned out to protest the reign of Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas in front of the county courthouse today — at least two-thirds of them local attorneys.The noon rally was a surprising show of strength from a profession that generally prefers filing motions to openly agitating…
The lawyer for indicted Maricopa County Supervior Mary Rose Wilcox wants a guarantee that County Attorney Andrew Thomas won’t accuse the Pima judge assigned to the case of conspiring against him. In a motion filed today, attorney Colin Campbell asks the Superior Court to force Thomas to state publicly he won’t…
After much agonizing and gnashing of teeth, our illustrious legislators managed to give final approval to a special session bill on Saturday that will shave an additional $193 million off Arizona’s $1.6 billion state budget deficit. Good job, guys. Now just figure out what to do with the remaining $1.4…
Glendale Police are investigating an early-morning shooting that left a woman dead, and appealing to the public for help in identifying the woman and finding her assailant. Details are sketchy at this point, but Glendale police officer Karen Gerardo has confirmed police began receiving 911 calls at 5:45 a.m. today, after…
The fallout out from Sarah Palin’s latest, um, scandal, isn’t nearly as devastating as gossip rags everywhere had probably hoped. Last week, Palin was spotted on a Hawaiian beach wearing a John McCain campaign visor with the senator’s name scribbled out with black marker. The incident was caught on film…
Grammy winning rapper Lil Wayne, despite awaiting a probable one-year jail sentence for gun charges in New York, a trial for drug and gun charges in Arizona, and coming off the heals of a small brawl in a Phoenix parking lot, was detained by police yet again Friday in Texas…
Arguing that there’s no way their client can get fair treatment with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office prosecuting the case against her, attorneys representing Mary Rose Wilcox have filed a motion asking Judge John Leonardo to disqualify the office from further involvement in the case. They also asked Leonardo to…
The Arizona Cardinals will be heading to the playoffs again this season thanks to a 31-24 win over the Detroit Lions yesterday in the dreary Motor City. Unfortunately, that’s about the only good news coming out of Sunday’s narrow victory. For the second week in a row — and despite…
The University of Arizona plans to shut down its nuclear reactor by mid-2010. The license for the 51-year-old reactor, used for research, expires next year, and Director John Williams says it isn’t used enough to warrant a vigorous re-licensing process with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission…The city of Mesa is trying to eliminate all the…
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: DOJ Committed to Investigation of Joe Arpaio, According to Spokesman Joe Arpaio Henchman Jack MacIntyre…
The infestation of chihuahuas at animal shelters across Maricopa County has been contained.Shelter officials say that because of an “overwhelming response and generosity of the community” all of the adoptable chihuahuas have been scooped up — and just in time for the holidays…
John McCain’s former rogue running-mate, Sarah Palin, was photographed on a Hawaiian beach this week wearing a McCain campaign visor with McCain’s name scribbled out with black marker.Check out the photos here.Palin says the gesture was no jab at Arizona’s senior senator but just her best effort to keep the paparazzi…
Maricopa County Sheriff’s Captain Joel Fox testified earlier this week before the grand jury probing the SCA campaign finance scandal — triggering speculation that an indictment in the case could come as early as next month.Grand jury proceedings are secret and, typically, the subject of a probe doesn’t make an…
Back in July, Captain Joel Fox, frontman for the SCA fund, wrote the following comment on our blog: There has never been a “meeting” of SCA donors. How you figure you could get all the people on that list into one room is beyond me. I can hardly get in…
Earlier this year, the county took away the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office ability to represent the board of supervisors — setting up a separate “civil litigation” department that answers to County Manager David Smith instead of County Attorney Andrew Thomas.Now, if a group of defense attorneys have their way, Thomas…
You’ll recall that in November, I reported that MCSO deputies had admitted under oath to destroying documents requested by the plaintiffs in the big Melendres vs. Arpaio racial profiling lawsuit now in federal court. In an excerpt of a deposition made public as part of a request for sanctions against…
The reward for the Peoria Pill Bandit has been upped from $2,000 to $5,000, because despite having a clear-as-day picture of this guy’s mug, police still can’t track him down.Bandit — if you’re reading — 2K may seem like chump-change but think of all the pills you could get with…
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a much-anticipated nationa- autism-prevalence report today, and it says the number cases of autism among children in Arizona’s Hispanic community has increased by 144 percent of the previous national average.The study, conducted by the CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, focused on 11…
