Arizona is a tough-on-crime state. Between 1977 and 2003, the number of Arizona prison inmates increased nearly 1,000 percent, from 3,229 to 30,083. But as legislators and policy leaders toughened sentencing requirements, they failed to provide enough money for housing these prisoners. As of February 2003, the Arizona Department of…
Dr. Arnie Serota was furious. On February 27, 2002, a young man had fallen while rock climbing at Mount Lemmon near Tucson. He died of a head injury a few days later at Tucson Medical Center. The death was tragic, the 19-year-old strong and healthy. As medical director of Donor…
At last, The Spike has finally found something to watch on TV besides Celebrity Fear Factor. This show, which airs on most channels and practically around the clock, is called The War in Iraq. Yep, nothing better than coming home after a hard day at the office, plopping on the…
I feel naughty about my respect for Evan Mecham, so I’m badly conflicted when I see him walking toward me through the Capitol Mall between the Arizona House and Senate buildings. Should I scold him for the Bircher-right idiocy he helped galvanize in Arizona over the last half a century,…
Charles F. Long II, the controversial director of a boot camp for wayward youngsters who’s facing murder charges, has lost his private defense attorney apparently because he can’t pay the $50,000 fee. Earlier this month, Superior Court Judge Ron Reinstein allowed prominent defense attorney Ulises Ferragut to drop out of…
Brian Callan, the Marine Corps war veteran whose life ended tragically last year in the parking lot of a Phoenix car dealership (“Welcome Back, Warrior,” November 21, 2002), has been awarded a posthumous service medal. Greg Aurand, an old Marine buddy of Callan’s who lives in Idaho, enlisted the aid…
You’re hopping mad and thirsting for retribution. Little Bush has launched his dirty war, and the fatwah is really on! But before you go driving a truck full of fertilizer or strap on a chest full of explosives, think twice about what you plan to blow up. Hoover Dam or…
Jumping Through Hoops The Devil and Mr. Ruiz: What a story on the ASU basketball program and its excellent coach, Rob Evans (“Devils’ Advocate,” Paul Rubin, March 20). I am not a big fan of the team, but reading about the ups and downs of this year grabbed me and…
Rob Evans faces his basketball team in the locker room at Wells Fargo Arena. It’s mid-November, 10 days until opening night, and Arizona State University has just finished a dress rehearsal for the 2002-2003 season, an intersquad contest in which the prospective starters got thumped by the second team. The…
It’s one day before Arizona State University’s first official practice of the 2002-03 season. The basketball staff meets at Rob and Carolyn Evans’ beautiful Ahwatukee home at 8 a.m. to discuss the upcoming season. The gathering includes the three assistant coaches Russ Pennell, Tony Benford and Dan O’Dowd. Derrick Wrobel…
The leader of a renegade branch of the Mormon Church, now 47, had sexual relations with an underage girl who bore him a daughter in July 2000, records obtained by New Times indicate. Warren Jeffs, Prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints (FLDS), apparently lives…
Sex and the City Mr. “Plig”: John Dougherty’s article about polygamy was great (“Bound by Fear,” March 13). He should get a Pulitzer for the way he’s dug into the dirt in this filthy corner of the planet. What keeps being missed is that the “pligs” have been allowed to…
In a predawn raid on February 24, 30 local agents from the federal Drug Enforcement Agency, acting on a directive from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Pittsburgh and Attorney General John Ashcroft, roused three local business owners from their beds and charged them with felonies. Mary Louise Stone, 58; her…
Sixteen-year-old Ruth Stubbs wanted to marry the boy down the street. So she revealed her desire to a religious leader, a man held in the highest esteem in her rural, isolated community straddling the Arizona-Utah border. On a December morning four years ago, Ruth sought the advice of the Prophet…
Joseph Smith, a 24-year-old New York farmer, founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 6, 1830. Relying heavily on Old Testament teachings, Smith introduced polygamy to fellow “Saints” in 1843 in Nauvoo, Illinois. A year later, Smith was assassinated in Carthage, Illinois. Polygamy became a fundamental…
Have you ever gotten behind the wheel and done a California roll you know, slowing to a crawl but not coming to a dead stop at a marked intersection? Of course you have. Luciano Arriaga Jr., 35, was accused of this minor moving violation. It cost him 10 years in…
My favorite nickname for breasts is “begonias.” My least favorite is “pimples.” Rounding out my top 10 are “umlauts,” “sweater puffs,” “kettle drums,” “ottomans,” “waldos,” “earmuffs,” “eggplants,” “angelfood,” “Mrs. Doubtfires,” “thingamajigs,” “squirt guns,” “milk shakes,” “mushmelons,” “schooners,” “jiggly bits,” “floats” and, although it has lost some luster with overuse, “hooters.”…
The Spike is no judge. The Spike is only an arbiter, an ambassador, a weapons inspector. But you readers decided to write like a pack of damn dirty apes. A quiet little contest offering small bits of South African gold turned into a major pain in the butt because you…
Master Plan Code warrior: I’m glad someone is finally giving the issue of building codes some attention (“Code Squawkers,” Amy Silverman, March 6). I have worked in this industry for the past 15 years, first as a designer and now as a plans examiner. I have had the pleasure of…
It’s midnight on a Friday as a limousine pulls up to Ain’t Nobody’s Bizness, a gay club on Indian School Road. Four corseted women in satin gloves, glittery go-go boots and fur coats emerge from the stretch. With deliberate grace, they strut sensuously toward the entrance. Their makeup is heavy…
For our recent arrivals, a summary of big stories, events and news you can use from your home state. CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES The L.A. Times reports that District Attorney Steve Cooley let the Newhall Land & Farming Co. off the hook after he bungled an investigation into the rich developing…
In a legal maneuver apparently designed to honor yours truly while offering up a barrel of fish for shooting, stunningly shameless attorneys for Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio filed a motion in U.S. District Court to prohibit anyone involved in a pending civil case against the sheriff’s office from speaking…
