abc15.com

Sometimes it's hard to ignore how adorable local TV reports are -- like the endless chupacabra chases from KPHO.

This time around, it's ABC 15, which sent its reporters northwest to Wittmann to find out if serial cat-hoarder Lucienne Touboul -- an 81-year-old woman -- was really eating her cats.

For the third cat-bust at Touboul's house in recent years, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office found more than 60 cats at her place, just two years after deputies found more than 100 cats there -- more than half of them dead.

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Image: http://fortheloveofcavecreek.blogspot.com

Steven LaMar, Cave Creek councilman and former attorney for Maricopa County defending against the Mary Rose Wilcox lawsuit.

Maricopa County has dumped Cave Creek Councilman Steven LaMar following his failure to convince a federal judge that a $975,000 payment to Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox might need further authorization.

LaMar was appointed to defend the county in late 2010 against the claims and subsequent lawsuits by county employees, former judges and Supervisors Wilcox and Don Stapley.

The lawsuits arose from the unethical actions of former County Attorney Andrew Thomas and Sheriff Joe Arpaio in their politically motivated, incompetent attempted prosecutions of the officials on trumped-up charges. Thomas was disbarred last month along with one of his top lieutenants, Lisa Aubuchon, by the Arizona Supreme Court following a lengthy series of disciplinary hearings.

The new lawyers for Maricopa County in the lawsuits are Jeffrey Leonard, Sharon Shively, Helen Holden and Daniel Mestaz of the law firm of Sacks Tierney P.A.

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There's a source to the religulous bills in the Arizona Legislature every year, and that source is called the Center for Arizona Policy.

The atheists over at the Secular Coalition for Arizona have a problem with that, but it -- and other groups -- want Uncle Sam to see if there's a problem with their books.

Secular Coalition for Arizona filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service this week, claiming the Center for Arizona Policy is a lobbying organization, not the tax-exempt charity organization it tells the IRS it is.

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The exploding flashlights, including the one found in Phoenix yesterday, look like this.

The dolt dropping off improvised explosive devices around Glendale in the form of flashlights may have delivered his third yesterday -- this time in Phoenix.

Someone dropped a flashlight in the donations at a Salvation Army in Phoenix yesterday, and when an employee clicked it on, it blew up.

Phoenix police say two employees were hurt, but they sustained only "very minor injuries."

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The defending national champion ASU Sun Devils softball team will have to beat tough Louisiana-Lafayette twice tonight to advance to the College World Series in Oklahoma City.

Dallas Escobedo got hit hard last night. Who will start tonight for the Devils?

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Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Bruce Cohen reversed field yesterday, ruling that I can sit in his courtroom and report on what's happening in the quirky arson case of State of Arizona v. Michael Marin.More >>

thecorruptionblog.blogspot.com

A filing submitted in federal court Wednesday in the bribery, fraud, attempted extortion and false statements case of state Representative Ben Arredondo explains that the feds don't want a bunch of information to be publicly disclosed in the case because of "other investigations," which are "both closed and ongoing."

Who or what they're looking into isn't disclosed, or even hinted at, but the filing submitted by the Justice Department attorney says Arredondo has "no objection" to keeping this stuff out of the public eye.

"If this information were to be publicly disclosed, such disclosure might impede those investigations which are ongoing and/or impair the privacy rights of third parties whose conduct is or was at one time under investigation," the filing states.

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Photo by Matthew Hendley

Randy Parraz (center, black shirt) and company want to go to Hawaii too.

The best way to respond to a publicity stunt is with another publicity stunt, so the news that taxpayers are funding a Maricopa County Deputy Sheriff's trip to Hawaii for "birther" purposes led activist Randy Parraz and friends to hold a little luau at Arpaio's office in downtown Phoenix today.

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Ben Arredondo

If you're doing shady stuff at the City of Tempe or the Arizona Legislature, go buy a shredder, or book a ticket to Morocco or something.

A filing submitted in federal court yesterday in the bribery, fraud, attempted extortion and false statements case of state Representative Ben Arredondo explains that the feds don't want a bunch of information to be publicly disclosed in the case because of "other investigations," which are "both closed and ongoing."

Who or what they're looking into isn't disclosed, or even hinted at, but the filing submitted by the Justice Department attorney says Arredondo has "no objection" to keeping this stuff out of the public eye.

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Image: Yuma Daily Sun photo loaned by Karen Bowen

Sally Nakasawa is one of the Yuma farmers suing the DEA over the loss of a $12 million crop of poppies intended for use as floral decorations.

Yuma farmers Sally Nakasawa and Robert Nickerson have been major growers of poppies for years, selling them for use in floral decorations.

Their flowers could be seen by the public off U.S. Highway 95, and in 2008 a photo of them were featured in a Yuma Daily Sun article that pegged poppies as the "crop of the week."

Then, in the summer of 2010, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency showed up and wiped out the entire crop, claiming they were an illegal variety known as Papaver somniferum, a.k.a., the opium poppy.

No allegation has ever been made that the farmers sold their poppies to drug dealers or for any purpose besides to look pretty in a vase. No criminal charges were ever filed.

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MCSO

Jonathan Knight

Jonathan Knight -- who taught Tae Kwon Do to children in Gilbert -- will be updating his address to a prison cell for sending pictures of his penis to a 12-year-old former student of his.

Knight pleaded guilty last month to two counts of furnishing obscene or harmful items to a minor, and one count of luring of a minor, and was sentenced this morning to three years in prison, as well as a lifetime assignment of a sex-offender label.

According to court documents previously obtained by New Times, the girl's father discovered text messages Knight had been sending his daughter and confronted her about them in October, including a message from Knight telling the girl she was "gorgeous" and saying he loved her.

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Sarah Walker

Sarah Walker's doing a rare and brave thing -- going public as an alleged victim of a sexual assault.

Walker wants any people who believe they're also victims of Lee Lubonne -- the self-described "sex pig" currently jailed on suspicion of two sexual assaults -- to come forward to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. MCSO has said Lubonne, a 44-year-old father of two, "may" be a suspected serial sexual predator, and detectives have said there's a "possibility" more victims are out there.

With that, Walker also tells New Times about her unusual story up to this point, which began with drawing the ire of Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

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DC Votes

Congressman Trent Franks' other constituents tyring to get his attention.

Congressman Trent Franks -- the "self-appointed Mayor" of Washington D.C., as an area advocacy group calls him -- didn't really want to meet with his new-found "constituents."

As you may recall, a group called "DC Vote" isn't quite pleased Franks -- the Arizona Congressman -- is taking it upon himself to try to tell the District of Columbia what its laws ought to be. (Of course, Franks' bill is for tighter abortion regulations.)

DC Vote decided to invite their new "mayor" to head up a constituent service day to address other problems in the District, but the group has informed us Franks didn't play ball.

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Everyone on the Arizona Diamondbacks had a float in the hit parade last night at Chase Field, as the Snakes drowned the division-leading Los Angeles Dodgers 11-4.

Sure, 36-year-old Ted Lilly was on the mound for the Dodgers, but the D'Backs handed him his first loss of the season as he made it just one out into the fourth inning last night.

Ryan Roberts and Justin Upton both went yard for the D'Backs, which is a rarity these days, if you've been keeping up with the team.

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Photo by Matthew Hendley

Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett

We're not even through the 2012 election season, but let's talk 2014.

Secretary of State Ken Bennett was the highlight of Arizona news this week, after taking up the request of "birthers" to ask the State of Hawaii to verify President Obama's birth certificate.

The end to that was not so controversial -- Hawaii ended up having to explain yet again that yes, the president was born there, while Bennett took to KTAR to say that he apologized if he embarrassed the state.

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leftaction.com

Alleged unicorn Mitt Romney.

Is GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney a businessman? Or is he really a unicorn?

At the time of this post, more than 17,000 people would like Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett to find out.

In response to the 1,200 "birthers" who asked Bennett to verify with the state of Hawaii -- yet again -- that President Obama has a birth certificate there, the left-wingers would also like Bennett to check out their conspiracy theory.

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MCSO

Robert Fischer

Robert Fischer, the California divorce lawyer accused of murdering his stepdaughter's husband in Queen Creek in 2010 and staging it as a suicide, pleaded not guilty today.

Fischer -- not to be confused with the Scottsdale man of a similar name who blew up his family -- is accused of shooting and killing 49-year-old Norman "Lee" Radder at a Queen Creek home on December 30, 2010, and was arrested by Orange County Sheriff's deputies on a grand jury warrant a couple weeks ago.

Fischer, 52, was brought back to Maricopa County and jailed last week.

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Photo by Matthew Hendley

Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett

Believe it or not (the "birthers" still won't), President Obama was born in Hawaii, according to the Hawaii Department of the Attorney General.

Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett's appears to have convinced the State of Hawaii to "verify" the president's birth certificate, and as has been the case since 1961 -- and subsequently verified in 2008 and 2011 -- Obama's from Hawaii. Ya know, America.

"Regarding the inquiry from the Arizona Secretary of State, Ken Bennett, requesting a verification of birth for President Obama from the State of Hawaii, Department of Health, the matter has been resolved," writes Joshua Wisch, an assistant to Hawaii's Attorney General. "We have received information from Secretary Bennett that satisfied our requirements, and have therefore provided his office with a verification of birth for President Obama."

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The Phoenix Coyotes' season came to an end last night, in the form of a 4-3 overtime loss at home to the Los Angeles Kings in game five of the Western Conference finals.

It was really only a slightly disappointing end to what was the greatest Coyotes season in franchise history.

The Coyotes got on the board first, as Martin Hanzal took a shot on a power play early in the first period that deflected in off of Taylor Pyatt.

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MCSO

Adam Cox, a guy who says stupid things on the Internet.

Remember the Tennessee weirdo who said Satan "ordered" him to kill "birthers" to spark a war between political parties in order to decrease the population in America?

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio issued a cry for attention press release saying that guy might be Arizona-bound.

Arpaio has claimed Adam Eugene Cox is an "Obama fanatic" who threatened to kill the sheriff -- intel the sheriff says came from evident from what he posted online, and according to the guy's mother.

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