Blogs

By John Dickerson

New Times founder and executive editor Michael Lacey was honored over the weekend with the Arizona Press Club’s Distinguished Service Award. The lifetime accolade was given for Lacey’s 38 years as a writer, editor and newspaper owner in Arizona. It was one of 17 awards New Times earned for its journalism during 2007.

Lacey and the New Times editorial staff were among about 240 journalists from across the state at the Heard Museum near downtown Phoenix on Saturday, May 10 for the annual press club awards – the most competitive journalism contest in the state.

Lacey, with New Times co-founder Jim Larkin, also won the John Kolbe Politics and Government Reporting Award for the story “Breathtaking Abuse of the Constitution.” Lacey and Larkin were jailed for several hours by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's Selective Enforcement Unit after they detailed abusive grand jury subpoenas against New Times and its readers in the article.

Staff writer Ray Stern won the coveted Don Bolles Investigative Reporting Award for his story “What Happened In Vegas…,” an intensive look at the questionable dealings of a large national identify-theft-prevention company (headquartered in Phoenix) and the unsavory antics of its owner.

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By Megan Irwin

New Times founder and executive editor Michael Lacey accepts the Payne Award.

New Times was presented the Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism at ceremonies at the University of Oregon in Eugene.

The award goes to journalists who “encourage public trust in the media by courageously practicing the highest standards of the profession in the face of political or economic pressures.”

New Times won for its investigation of how Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and County Attorney Andrew Thomas habitually abridge the constitutional rights of almost anyone who opposes them or their policies.

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By Jonathan McNamara

Gustavo Arellano of Ask a Mexican signed autographs and fielded questions from Marcos Najera at Changing Hands Bookstore on Friday.
One of the questions that came up was whether or not The Mexican has ever been stumped. Arellano says it's impossible, read more to find out if Marcos Najera is up to the task.

The Brickhouse opened its doors to three ultra-manly rock acts on May 9. Hogjaw started the show with a wave of southern rock akin to Nashville Pussy.

Jack Ripper
Next up was 11-year-old Jack Ripper who defended his rock prodigy title with ease. Jackyl front man Jesse James Dupree ended the night with songs including "Lumberjack" in which he plays an actual chain saw.

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Jonathan McNamara

Between Gustavo Arellano spouting Latin wisdom at Changing Hands Book Store, Angela Johnson's pool side fashion show at the Clarendon, and all the other crazy happenings that went down this weekend, it wouldn't be hard to miss a few of the other gems around town.
Lucky for you, one of those gems merely started this weekend. That's right! If you didn't catch "Gardians of the Camargue: The French Buckaroo Tradition" when it opened at Burton Barr Central Library on Friday, why don't you put things right by wrasslin' up your best hombres and takin' a look-see at this French cowboy exhibition tonight?

The event runs daily until July 31 at Burton Barr Central Library, so saddle up.

By Marcos Najera

Last night was a trip. Nuts-and-bolts details in a moment, but first here’s the back-story. Cindy Dach popped into her office to check in with Gustavo Arellano and me. She goes “Okay, so I know I am a Jew so you are going to have to help me with this. Na-here-ay? Nah-hair-oh?” And I’m all “NAH-head-uh” She goes “nah-HADE-uh.”

And then Gustavo goes (with perfectly rolled R’s) “NAH-heda.” I straight-up squealed “Oh, nice! Good job Mexican! But don’t do that again, you are giving me a hard-on.” [Queue: Record needle scratching to a stand-still] The dude totally froze, eyes all buggin’. Cindy shrieked. That’s right people. This Mexican managed to say the one thing on the planet to the one dude that anyone on the planet can say anything/ask anything of/to the one dude that you’d think has heard it all. Apparently he never heard that. God bless me. Only I wield that power. You think I would have asked Gustavo Arellano to suck it in front of the pope. It was kinda funny, kinda not. But that’s how last night started.

Here’s the set-up. The scene was Tempe’s Changing Hands Bookstore. Friday night. The event: A Mexican Asks a Mexican. Cool ass Cindy Dach, the store’s marketing director, asked me to come and interview OC Weekly Columnist Gustavo Arrellano in front of a live audience. Gustavo writes the wildly popular nationally-syndicated column ¡Ask A Mexican! (And don’t play, I had to stare at my keyboard for an extra second right to try and remember how to type an upside down exclamation point.) It was a lot of fun. And the turnout was grand. Gustavo is smart, delightful and a big ol’ nerd like me.

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By Jonathan McNamara

Not only will you be able to see cars crush each other like wheeled beer cans against so many foreheads at Hellzapoppin' Demolition Derby this weekend, you'll also bear witness to lawn mower races and tire pushes. If you're looking for a dose of manly excitement, you won't find anything any better than this!

It's hard to believe that automobile annihilation wouldn't appeal to everyone, but just in case you're looking for something a little less violent try Angela Johnson's Vaudeville Style Mystery Menagerie Fall 2008 Collection Fashion Show. It's going down at the shiny, new catwalk at the Clarendon Hotel.

By Jonathan McNamara

Giulio Sciorio has invited complete strangers to his photography studio 13 times now to have their portraits immortalized on film mid-orgasm.

After bringing them in, Giulio positions them and sets up his lighting gear. He chooses a backdrop and takes a few shots to determine that everything is just right. He makes sure that his subjects have blankets and towels if they need them. He plugs in any toys they may have brought and establishes whether they will give him a verbal cue or rely on a discreet hand signal to let him know that the magic is happening.

“When they’re ready they just yell out whatever they yell out,” he says. “I know…it’s pretty obvious.”

Sciorio’s portraits comprise a work in progress he calls Faces of Ecstasy, which is currently on exhibit at Perihelion Arts. These 13 faces are only the initial stage of a larger project which Sciorio hopes will one day turn into a book. For now, his immediate plans revolve around expanding the number of portraits and taking the show to other cities, where proceeds raised will benefit a local AIDS charity. This month’s showing at Perhelion Arts benefits Body Positive.

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By Sarah Fenske

Nearly a year ago, I wrote up the sad tale of Robert Stempkowski and Stephen Wolff, the entrepreneurs behind an about-to-open upscale barbecue joint in Tempe called Urban Campfire.

Stempkowski and Wolff had bought a liquor license from another restaurant owner, but instead of completing the transfer, the owner cashed their check even as his son sold the license to someone else. Pretty sordid stuff -- and costly. For Stempkowski and Wolff, the aborted purchase was $46,500 down the drain. It also meant that they had to open without a full bar.

It's certainly been a case of justice delayed, but fortunately justice has not been denied. Last month, court records show, the owner's son was indicted on one count of felony theft.

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By Ray Stern

The nephew of a woman killed in a Mesa DUI crash persuaded prosecutors and a judge today to cut Savannah Sutherland, whose parents founded Cold Stone Creamery, a break.

As reported in this blog on Wednesday, Sutherland had reached a plea deal in her case two months ago that stipulated five-to-10 years in prison.

But Genovena Tepec-Juarez's nephew appeared at the sentencing this morning, telling Maricopa County Judge Andrew Klein that he wanted Sutherland to get less than five years, but with lots of community service.

Prosecutors had already tentatively accepted the new deal before the hearing. And when all was said and done, Klein sentenced Sutherland to three and a half years behind bars.

Sutherland also got 1,000 community-service hours, to be spent educating youth on the dangers of drunk driving, and five years' probation. But that's obviously better than rotting in prison for a decade. Which, under Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas' system, is what a couple of Mexicans -- who committed the same crime as Sutherland -- will do.

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By John Dickerson

The best way to avoid rancid “mystery meat” in Arpaio’s jail is to claim you’re Hindu and need a vegetarian diet. That’s precisely what inmate Shaun Attwood did. He lists this and other gems of jail survival on his blog.

If you're steering clear of the slammer, you can print the tips and mail them to your incarcerated loved ones. If they can't make bond, these tips might keep them from bonding undesirably with other inmates. Besides, you never know when "America's Toughest Sheriff" might arrest innocent folks like yourself (or say the owner of a newspaper) for no good reason.

Other Maricopa County jail tips include wrapping a towel around your face during riots (because everyone gets maced) and being the last to sit in the cafeteria on your first day (so you don’t get pummeled or sit at another race's table).

New Times named Atwood’s blog the “Best Prison Blog” in 2005. Since then, more than 400,000 readers have visited his online journal. New as of today is the video version of Atwood’s jail survival tips, available here on YouTube.

“Best Prison Blog” wasn’t the first time New Times mentioned Atwood – a British stockbroker turned rave god. We detailed the collapse of his Phoenix rave empire, back in 2002.

Attwood now says he ran Phoenix's underground rave scene for a few years, complete with piles of ecstasy and Ketamine. You can learn more about his life now on his personal Web site.

By Jonathan McNamara

In his teen years, celebrated director George Lucas wanted to be a drag racer when he grew up. Fate had other plans however, as the young Lucas found himself in a terrible car crash shortly after his high school graduation that made him think twice about his career choice.

Sometimes the universe gently pushes you in the right direction; other times it uses a sledge hammer.

Local comedian Anthony Padilla knows this only too well. He moved to Phoenix from Albuquerque during the baseball off season to pursue his dream of becoming a pro ball player. By the time try-outs rolled back around, Padilla was dealing with a shoulder injury that would take over two years of rehabilitation to get over.

Padilla found the silver lining of his debilitating setback when he got into writing. He started with a monthly sports column called In the Zone published in Grand Season magazine. Eventually, writing would lead to thoughts of acting and finally writing comedy as a way to bridge his two interests.

In an industry where many get their start before they are legally allowed to tip their wait staff, Padilla jumped in just before turning 28 years old.

“For me, not starting until I was almost 28 actually, I’ve already seen life a little bit and I feel like I can handle situations a little differently. I feel like I learn things a little bit quicker,” he said.

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By Jonathan McNamara

Sometimes you just need a shot. Maybe your parents are parents are coming to visit. Maybe you're three weeks late on rent. Maybe your buddy just kicked your ass in some multi-player video game action and the only thing that will make it better is a short glass of the good stuff taken in one gulp.

Tonight you can libate yourself for one red cent.

Too good to be true you say? Here's the rub: You've got to take off your shirt. Sometimes life is harsh, but don't let that stop you from getting your pasty, third nipple sportin' chest down to Monkey Pants Bar in Tempe tonight to take advantage of this once-a-day deal at 1 a.m.

By Jonathan McNamara

In addition to Benjamin Leatherman's cover story on Digital Summer, New Times is proud to present not one, but two slide shows featuring the popular Valley band (if having 48,614 friends on myspace isn't popularity, I'm not sure what is).

Making the Cover: Digital Summer
Ask New Times Art Director Peter Storch and he'll tell you that a lot of work went into not only creating this week's cover image, but the inside photos as well. Here's your chance to take a look at images that didn't make the cover and peruse some of the featured photos.

Stuck on Digital Summer
A group of fans and a thousand or so black-and-white adhesive logos are all Digital Summer needs to increase their visibility on what has come to be known as "Sticker Night." These images are taken from Digital Summer's myspace page, for which sticker night participants have sent in photos of the band's logo from all over the Valley.

By Ray Stern

Savannah Sutherland, daughter of the founders of Cold Stone Creamery, hired top-notch attorneys after she plowed into a small motor scooter late one night while drunk, killing another woman.

But it's actually a "different idea of justice" from the dead woman's nephew that will get her off with a relatively light sentence, says a source close to the victim's family.

When Sutherland, 23, is sentenced at 8:30 a.m. Thursday morning before Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Andrew Klein, she's expected to get only three or four years in prison, less than the five years' minimum her plea deal calls for.

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By Lilia Menconi

San Felipe's Cantina on Sunday, May 4

Wipe off your drool and click through our San Felipe's Cantina slideshow.

Whatever your opinion on immigration laws, there’s one Mexican import that all Zonies seem to agree on. OK, two: burritos, and the cerveza- and margarita-filled extravaganza that is Cinco de Mayo. We’ll gladly join any celebration that calls for heavy drinking. Since we were so pumped, we got a good head start at the “Cinco de Drinko” party on Sunday, May 4, at San Felipe’s Cantina. It was the first night of the two-day shindig, and the place sported a healthy crowd munching on nachos and watching live bands. The vibe was pretty relaxed because we’re betting most folks had to work the next day. Sure enough for us, Monday morning was brutal. But it was nothing a shot of tequila couldn’t fix.

San Felipe's Cantina at Tempe Market Place, 2000 E. Rio Salado Pkwy, 480-736-8226, www.sanfelipescantina.com