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Has Medicaid Fight Changed Opinions of Brewer?

By Ray Stern
No One Bothers to Bid on Air Force One

By Matthew Hendley
State Representative Steve Smith Says Extra...

By Matthew Hendley
Meet the Three Women Currently on Arizona's...

By Matthew Hendley
Jodi Arias Jury Disagrees on Death Penalty

By Ray Stern
No Tough Questions for Arias in Interviews

By Ray Stern
Mesa Woman, 78, Drives Into Fabric Store, Runs...

By Matthew Hendley
Atheist State Representative Juan Mendez's...

By Matthew Hendley
Will Jodi Arias Get the Death Penalty?

By Matthew Hendley
Phoenix SWAT Team Rams House, Kidnapping...

By Weston Phippen

Awwww

MaryEllen Sheppard Billboard was Sheriff Arpaio's Idea; Had His Spokeswoman Pay

By Ray Stern Fri., Jul. 27 2012 at 2:18 PM

Categories: Awwww

MaryEllen Sheppard

The high-profile farewell announcement to a longtime sheriff's office employee on a downtown Phoenix billboard was Sheriff Joe Arpaio's idea, it turns out.

We just found that the sheriff tweeted on July 25 how he "wanted to say goodbye in a unique way to our 1st female Detention Chief with a billboard on 1st Ave and Jefferson."

But if the sheriff was the one who wanted it, why did Allen, his spokeswoman, say that she paid for the ad with her own personal check? Are we supposed to believe that Allen shelled out a couple grand (or whatever it cost -- she wouldn't divulge the amount) for that ad without being reimbursed?

Allen denies that she received a bonus or received any compensation for the ad.

Tags:

arizona, billboard, cvs, lisa allen, maricopa county, maryellen sheppard, sheriff joe arpaio

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Awwww

MaryEllen Sheppard, Longtime Sheriff's Office Employee, Gets Billboard Farewell by Lisa Allen, Arpaio's Spokeswoman

By Ray Stern Fri., Jul. 27 2012 at 12:10 PM

Categories: Awwww

Longtime sheriff's office employee MaryEllen Sheppard got a nice send-off from Lisa Allen, Sheriff Arpaio's spokeswoman, in the form of a digital billboard message.

MaryEllen Sheppard's apparently one of the more likeable chiefs at the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.

Last year's departure of two of Sheriff Joe Arpaio's top administrators, Dave Hendershott and Larry Black, was a shameful episode for Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who claimed he was "duped" by their corrupt ways.

But Sheppard, the latest deputy chief to leave Arpaio's staff, got a nice send-off via a prominent digital billboard message at the corner of 1st Avenue and Washington.

Tags:

arizona, billboard, human resources, lisa allen, maricopa county, maryellen sheppard, phoenix, sandi wilson, sheriff joe arpaio

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Author! Author?

Ray Bradbury Gave Us Great Advice One Night At ASU--We Should Have Listened

By Paul Rubin Wed., Jun. 6 2012 at 4:55 PM

Categories: Author! Author?, Awwww

We had the pleasure several years ago of attending a talk in Tempe by one of our all-time favorite writers, Mr. Ray Bradbury. He was a terrific speaker, funny, topical and full of piss and vinegar about the sorry state of things in modern-day American culture.

Portrait of the writer as a young man.

He spoke eloquently about the genesis of some of the books that had thrilled us so in our teenage years and beyond, Something Wicked This Way Comes, The Martian Chronicles and, of course, Farenheit 451.

But what we remember most about that night (and a story we have oft repeated over the years) came during an extended question-and-answer session after his talk.

Tags:

farenheit 451, martian chronicles, ray bradbury, something wicked this way comes

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Media, Schmedia

ABC15 News-Hounds Confront 81-Year-Old Woman About Eating Cats (Video)

By Matthew Hendley Fri., May 25 2012 at 12:16 PM

Categories: Animal Use and Abuse, As Seen on TV, Awwww, Media, Schmedia

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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Tags:

abc15, animal abuse, arizona, cat hoarding, cat lady, cat stew, lucienne touboul, maricopa county sheriff's office

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Awwww

Serial False-Reporter Linda Ruiz-Rodriguez Called 9-1-1 129 Times Because She Wanted Some Attention

By James King Wed., Jul. 27 2011 at 4:55 PM

Categories: Awwww

MCSO

Linda Ruiz-Rodriguez

Poor Linda Ruiz-Rodriguez. All she wanted was a little attention, and now she's charged with multiple felonies.

Since January 1, 60-year-old Ruiz-Rodriguez has called 9-1-1 129 times to report various emergencies in her 36th Street Phoenix neighborhood. The problem, however, is that in none of those 129 instances was there an actual emergency.

Ruiz-Rodriguez, who suffers from a mental illness, according to court documents obtained by New Times, made the calls because she wanted some attention.

As sad/adorable as it sounds, it has been a real problem for Phoenix police and firefighters.

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