Phoenix News Blog

We understand that in the 24-hour news cycle it can be difficult to keep up. Worry not! We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries:

Valley Fever:
Charles Barkley Sweats DUI Arrest in Unflattering Mug Shot

Local Man Who Turned in Suspected Would-be Child Molester Says He's Not a Pimp

Up on the Sun:
Local Indie Record Store Owners Weigh In With Their Favorties of 2008

Bounty Hunter: Post-hangover spa deals

Chow Bella:
Pop Culture: Strawberry Crush

Feathered Bastard:
New York Times Editorial Blog Names Joe Arpaio, "America's Worst Sheriff"

Uh-oh. The light rail system has been operating with passengers for just four days and it's already been involved in a vehicle collision.

That doesn't seem to bode well for the on-street system, which logged another minor accident earlier this month during its test phase. Whether the accident rate will pick up remains to be seen. Valley Metro has studied safety from other cities that had to learn the hard way, like Houston and Los Angeles, but knowing the Valley's drivers like we do, it's obvious some folks are going to get creamed.

You may have heard about Scottsdale resident Danica Patrick today, because it's big news when hot, young female race car drivers get speeding tickets.

We were going to pass along this tidbit to you with little more than a smokin' picture of Danica, 26, (at left) from her official Web site. Then we looked up Patrick's other speeding tickets on the Arizona Supreme Court's useful court info search site and found an interesting one from 2005.

It seems this latest speeding ticket is Patrick's sixth in three years, and three of those tickets were from photo enforcement sites in Scottsdale. The IndyCar star and Godaddy.com spokeschick paid two of the photo tickets, but blew off a third.

Courtesy of the Sergeant Tommy Thompson,  public information officer for the Phoenix Police Department, we bring you this warm holiday tale.

Thompson did such a fine job writing this one up, we'll pass it along as is:

MEDIA ADVISORY

Last night and today a story has been running in the media concerning a Phoenix Police Officer and the rescue of a cat from a tree in his yard. There is some information that was not presented in the story.

Due to the lack of this information, the department has received negative phone calls and e-mails attacking the officer. The officer has even had derogatory things written on his sidewalk. In an effort to set the record straight, here is some information that was not presented.

On Tuesday, December 23rd, the owner of the cat contacted his neighbor, who is a Phoenix Police Officer, and told him he was staying with some friends and his cat was in the officer's tree. The officer said there was nothing he could do and believed the cat would come down on its own.

Later that night, the officer and his wife were wakened at about 11:30 p.m. to the sound of the cat owner in his yard calling, "Brutus, Brutus." The officer's wife spoke to the man and told him she was trying to sleep and needed to get up early in the morning. The man stopped calling until approximately 2:00 a.m. in the morning that same night, when the man starting calling again, "Brutus, Brutus." This time the family ignored the man.

His life on the run finished for now, DMX pleaded guilty to a charge of animal cruelty today, finally 'fessing up to the fact that he treated his dogs poorly.

As reports from the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office show, DMX -- whose real name is Earl Simmons -- left a veritable kennel of dogs in the hot sun last year at his Cave Creek house without enough food or water. The busy entertainer claims he had hired someone to take care of the animals, and that person is to blame.

State Treasurer Dean Martin just put out a helpful list of New Year's resolutions that anyone could use to keep their finances in check -- especially state lawmakers.

State budget watchdogs like Martin and others have been sounding the alarm, but outgoing Governor Janet Napolitano and a fiscally irresponsible state Legislature have allowed government spending to grow way out of control. Sure, all those social programs are wonderful -- and there's no lack of needs out there -- but simply piling on more debt doesn't work.

Which leads to Martin's Number One resolution: Spend less than you make.

Excellent advice. But that sage wisdom and Martin's other resolutions have major shortcomings when applied to the real world, as we point out:

We remember Glendale cop Matt Brown as one of the better public information officers. Brown always was straight-forward and responsive, and had a sense of humor. Even when was in a hurry, all you had to do was mention Ohio State football and he'd suddenly find all the time in the world to chat. 

Matt dropped a copy of his new self-published memoir, Hats And Ties: Police Stories From Glendale, Arizona, And Other Excerpts From My Life (the cover of the book's pictured) by New Times' offices recently and we just got a chance to spend some time with it.

It's a hoot!

 Soon after I moved to Phoenix to work for this paper a generation or two ago, I asked a colleague named Andy Zipser about the competition down the street at the Republic and its then-sister paper, the afternoon Gazette. Zipser was a kick-ass reporter who recently had won the state's Don Bolles Award for Investigative Reporting (that's Bolles pictured, a few years before he was assassinated in 1976).

  I remember him mentioning a few names: Chuck Kelly, Sam Stanton, and Andy Hall immediately come to mind. Zipser -- who had been a star at the Gazette before Mike Lacey recruited him for what became a very successful, if mercurial stint here -- also mentioned Al Sitter, whom I had been reading for years.

Sitter was but a few years from retirement then (okay, this was the mid-1980s), but, quite accurately, Zipser described him as an old-school curmudgeon who still could fixate (for better or worse) on a target like nobody's business.

Over time, he had done yeoman's work on such classic Arizona topics as land fraud, government waste, and dirty politicians and their minions.

The Boston Celtics bought themselves an NBA Championship in 2007-08. The Los Angeles Lakers nearly stole one by snookering away the rights to All-Star forward Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies last February 1 for the NBA equivalent of nothing.

Oh, Memphis Coach Marc Iavaroni, a former Suns assistant, called Marc Gasol (pictured), Pau's younger brother, the key to the trade. Whatever you say, Marc.

Phoenix Suns fans spent the remainder of the season gnashing their teeth and hatching conspiracy theories - Lakers and Celtics in the NBA Finals? Can you say "power ratings"? Uh-huh. Told ya so - until Suns GM Steve Kerr did a little snookering of his own last month (at the expense of his former teammate Michael Jordan, no less) by sending a boatload of hooey to the Charlotte Bobcats for shooting guard/three-point champ Jason Richardson.

  The Phoenix Suns played all but nine minutes of Monday night's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder without Steve Nash, and the team seemed to pick up steam after its floor leader went to the locker room with back spasms.

Even if it was against the team with the worst record in the NBA, the Suns were solid on the road in their 110-102 victory.

Shaquille O'Neal led the way with 28 points, 12 rebounds, and two blocks. He was 10 of 12 from the field and -- amazingly -- 8 of 12 from the free-throw line.

Like we keep saying, give Shaq four days rest (the Suns last played on Christmas Day in that one-point heartbreaker against the Spurs) and he's a monster.

Coach Terry Porter seemed to have it all working against the 3-29 Thunder -- 60 points in the paint and 18 on fast-breaks.

We understand that in the 24-hour news cycle it can be difficult to keep up. Worry not! We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries:

Valley Fever:
Street Morals: Phoenix Pimp Squeals on Client Who Requested Child Sex

Trent Franks On Why We Should Support Israel Against Hamas: The Bible Tells Me So

Up on the Sun:
Over the Weekend: Light Rail, Club Candids, Night Train and More

Concert of the Year Countdown: #3 Blue Man Group

Chow Bella:
Monday Night Martha: Almond Joy

Light Rail Cream Ale, Anyone?

Feathered Bastard:
Why the Huffington Post Needs to Get Over Chip Saltsman and "Barack the Magic Negro"

Slide Show:
Light Rail Launches

Of the reasons someone might choose to support Israel, "God says so" would obviously count among the most irrational.

Yet Trent Franks, a Republican Congressman from Arizona, espoused this kind of rank superstition last night on KTAR (620 a.m.) radio in reference to the Jewish state's current war with Hamas:

"There's an old Abrahamic covenant that says, 'I will bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse it,' and so I feel pretty confident it's a good idea to be on Israel's side," Franks said Sunday night on News/Talk 92-3 KTAR's "Jay Lawrence Show."

Franks, a Republican, added that Israel "is very much like we are and, if we turn our back on Israel, I believe that the equation will be so bad for America, so bad for the world, that we simply don't understand."

Franks has been a prominent supporter of Israel -- and now we know why. It's his religion, first and foremost.

The blanket of speed cameras on Arizona's freeways and highways has saved three lives a month, according to state estimates.

The Department of Public Safety, which runs the state's photo enforcement program, says

No question about it: Photo enforcement has a Big Brother feel that breeds disrespect and even acts of vandalism.

But the safety angle cannot be ignored. Vehicles on the freeway have been driving slower in and around the speed camera zones -- as any local motorist could tell you -- and that has apparently been affecting the rate and intensity of collisions.

Thunder star Kevin Durant after a dunk.

What's a surefire cure for depression? For the Phoenix Suns -- losers of a brutally heartbreaking game on Christmas Day to the San Antonio Spurs -- a cupcake; namely, the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Finally, we get to report good news about the Arizona Cardinals, who finished the regular season 9-7 -- just as we predicted they would when we named Ken Whisenhunt top head coach in the PHX in our 2008 Best Of edition.

Our prediction was based on the Cardinals going 8-8 last season behind injured-for-half-the-year Kurt Warner. Finishing .500 was a miracle.

In the Cardinals' 34-21 home win over the 4-11 Seattle Seahawks on Sunday afternoon, a healthy Warner threw four touchdown passes and went 19 of 30 for 263 yards.

On top of that, Edgerrin James (pictured above) -- who'd been benched for half this season -- rushed for 100 yards (he moved ahead of legendary Pittsburgh Steeler Franco Harris, he of "immaculate reception" fame, on the all-time list).

It was good to see Whisenhunt (pictured below) live up to our best coach honor by inspiring his offensive line to play well enough to establish some semblance of a runnng game, something that's been missing from the team's repertoire almost all year.

We understand that in the 24-hour news cycle it can be difficult to keep up. Worry not! We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries:

Valley Fever:
Maryland Congressman Elijah Cummings "Troubled" by AIG Hiding of Name at Phoenix Conference; Calls for Hearings

Local Politicians and Journalists Help Test Out Light Rail Before Tomorrow's Grand Opening

Up on the Sun:
Golden Cousins Record Song for Playoff-Bound Cardinals

Just Announced: Eagles of Death Metal, Hank Williams III and More

Chow Bella:
Meaty Girl: German Sausage Company's Landjager

New Cajun Restaurant Opens in Avondale

Feathered Bastard:
Arizona Civil Rights Advisory Board Asks BOS to Terminate Joe Arpaio's 287(g) Agreement with ICE

Slide Show:
Phoenix New Times Year in Photos

From left: Mesa Mayor Scott Smith, Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman, and light rail CEO Richard Simonetta.

Mesa Mayor Scott Smith called Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman a game show host, light rail CEO Richard Simonetta called Spawn's Todd McFarlane "Scott," and Hallman called potential light rail vandals pigs - all before dawn at the METRO media preview held this morning in Tempe.

Don't tell us that you're surprised. Really, did y'all expect anything different besides the same ol' bloody Cardinals?

Since the team's division-clinching victory against the lowly St. Louis Rams on November 2, your Arizona Cardinals have lost four of their last five , including the previous two against the Minnesota Vikings and New England Patriots by a combined 82-21. During the laugher in Foxboro, Massachusetts., Cards QB Kurt Warner threw for only 30 stinkin' yards, leading the offense to four first downs and 45 total yards through three quarters.

Gross.

This year's Phoenix Suns are playing better than ever. They've looked good in the last six games. Unfortunately, they're 3-3 in those contests against (save for the New York Knicks) good teams.

Turnovers have killed the Suns all season, and while they've gotten better at protecting the basketball lately, ham-handed botches are the main thing separating them from the NBA's elite.

Their 16 turnovers last Saturday were good enough against the Denver Nuggets, who had 21. But not good enough against the San Antonio Spurs on Christmas Day.

Phoenix committed the same number of turnovers, 16, against Tim Duncan (pictured) and the Spurs in Thursday afternoon's nail-biter at US Airways Center, but the Big Fundamental's team only committed eight.

If not for the difference in turnovers, the Spurs wouldn't have been in any position to break our hearts and win the game on a three-pointer at the buzzer, 91-90.