Everybody, Just Calm Down

Valley Fever's 12 Most Popular Arizona News Stories of 2012

By Eric Tsetsi Tue., Dec. 25 2012 at 9:00 AM
Categories: Everybody, Just Calm Down

Sheriff_Paul-Babeu_MG_4309.jpg
Photo by Jamie Peachey
It seems like every year there's one local story that defines the news more than others. Last year, it was the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson (which we got a horrific reminder of with the recent mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary). This year, as far as actual readership goes, it was by far the scandal involving Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu.

But each month had it's own particularly popular story with readers. We've done the math and gathered those stories in one place for your reading pleasure. Enjoy.

See Also:

- Sheriff Joe Arpaio: The 25 Most Read Stories of His Previous Term


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Everybody, Just Calm Down

Goldwater Library Proposal Prematurely Celebrated? Proponents Have Millions to Raise and Don't Own Goldwater Documents, Archives

By Monica Alonzo Mon., Nov. 5 2012 at 4:49 PM
Categories: Everybody, Just Calm Down

Barry Goldwater.jpg
The late Senator Barry Goldwater
Phoenix has been blasted by The Republic because it believes the city wrecked its chances to house a Barry Goldwater Library. There's been considerable angst over the city not jumping on a project that bears the Goldwater name.

"Phoenix's dropped ball is now in Mesa's hands, and Mesa deserves great credit for pulling off this coup," wrote the Republic on October 25.

Dropped ball? Coup?

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Tags:

arizona state university, barry goldwater, greg stanton, library, tom simplot, virgil renzulli
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Everybody, Just Calm Down

Helen Purcell: Accusation About Spanish Errors a "Malicious Lie," Says Office Will Publicize Election Date of Martes, 6 de Noviembre

By Matthew Hendley Wed., Oct. 24 2012 at 8:46 AM
Categories: Election 2012, Everybody, Just Calm Down
calendar-office-side.jpg
Photo by Matthew Hendley
Activists brought a calendar to the county recorder's office yesterday to make an issue of Spanish-language errors.
As our colleague Stephen Lemons reported last night, Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell set the record straight about the early-ballot collections -- it is not illegal for someone to deliver your early ballot to the elections office for you.

Purcell also addressed the multiple errors on county elections office materials, which gave the wrong date of the election in Spanish only -- and she doesn't sound happy about people claiming it was some sort of voter-suppression tactic.

See also:
-Maricopa County Elections Office Had More Materials With Wrong Election Date
-Maricopa County Elections Department Prints Wrong Date in Spanish
-Helen Purcell Corrects KPHO's Error, Chad Willems Issues Voter-Suppression Robocall
-Helen Purcell Urged to End Confusion Over CBS 5 Early Ballot Report
-CBS 5 Report Regarding Early Ballots Incorrect, Sets Off Firestorm (w/Update)


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Tags:

arizona, citizens for a better arizona, election 2012, hellen purcell, maricopa county elections department, randy parraz, spanish
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Everybody, Just Calm Down

Paul Babeu, Pinal County Sheriff, Tosses Armed Militia into Tense Border Environment With Poorly Trained Border Patrol Agents

By Monica Alonzo Sat., Oct. 20 2012 at 8:00 AM
Categories: Everybody, Just Calm Down

Warning.jpg
A recipe for disaster:

U.S Customs and Border Patrol's lax policies over the use of lethal force.

Inadequately trained agents sent to patrol rough desert terrain blanketed with fear and tension that's fueled by potential danger.

A border-hawk sheriff putting weapons in the hands of unpaid civilians who want to play detective in the desert and hunt down drug smugglers.

See also: Cloaked Brutality: The Feds Bury Border Patrol Abuses of Immigrants See also: Mexican Smugglers Exploit the Corrupt Reputation of U.S. Border Officers See also: Border Patrol Agent Killed, Another Wounded in Shooting Near Bisbee See also: Homeland Security probing Border Patrol's use of force policies
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Tags:

armed guard, border patrol, hugo salazar, mexico, nicholas ivie, paul babeu, sylvia allen
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Everybody, Just Calm Down

Ben Quayle Confirms He Was in the Israeli Lake to "Secure a Jar of Water"

By Matthew Hendley Tue., Aug. 21 2012 at 8:51 AM
Categories: Election 2012, Everybody, Just Calm Down
See also: Ben Quayle Accused of Swimming, Which Is a Scandal or Something

quayle-face-side.jpg
YouTube
Congressman Ben Quayle.
The non-scandal involving Congressman Ben Quayle is even less scandalous than it sounds, according to Quayle's recollection of events.

Congressman Kevin Yoder, of Kansas, hopped in naked during a Republican congressional delegation's trip to Israel last year, and at some point that night, Quayle got in the water too -- which somehow ties him to the event, according to an article Politico posted over the weekend.

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arizona, ben quayle, cd6, david schweikert, dirty scottsdale, election 2012, israel, kevin yoder, politico, sea of galilee, the dirty
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Everybody, Just Calm Down

Ben Quayle Accused of Swimming, Which Is a Scandal or Something

By Matthew Hendley Mon., Aug. 20 2012 at 11:52 AM
Categories: Election 2012, Everybody, Just Calm Down
ben-tiffany-quayle.jpg
Photo by Matthew Hendley
Congressman Ben Quayle -- not a drowning victim.
Republican Congressman Ben Quayle is accused of swimming in a lake.

Politico published the story last night, claiming several Republican congressmen jumped in a lake last year in Israel during a trip funded by a pro-Israel lobbyist organization.

Congressman Kevin Yoder, of Kansas, hopped in naked. Quayle was in that exact same lake at some point that evening, thus tying him to the report, or something.

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Tags:

arizona, ben quayle, cd6, david schweikert, dirty scottsdale, election 2012, israel, kevin yoder, politico, sea of galilee, the dirty
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Everybody, Just Calm Down

Tom Horne Wants Everyone to Know There's No "Direct Evidence" Against Him

By Matthew Hendley Wed., Apr. 4 2012 at 12:15 PM
Categories: Everybody, Just Calm Down
Thumbnail image for tomhorneelectionnight.jpg
James King
Attorney General Tom Horne
Given the headlines about an FBI investigation into Attorney General Tom Horne, he's requesting the same "media prominence" be given to the fact his accuser said his complaint was not based on "direct evidence."

There ya go.

The news came Monday from the Arizona Capitol Times that Horne was being investigated by the FBI over his alleged involvement in an independent expenditure committee during his 2010 campaign, based on a complaint by one of Horne's employees.

The complaint from Don Dybus -- who works in Horne's Tucson office -- alleges Horne, his brother-in-law, political consultant Nathan Sproul, and one of Horne's current employees, Kathleen Winn, violated various campaign laws.

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arizona, attorney general's office, campaign violations, don dybus, fbi, tom horne
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Media, Schmedia

Power Company Confirms Space Aliens Had Nothing to Do With Flashing Light Behind Fox 10 Reporter

By Matthew Hendley Tue., Mar. 13 2012 at 8:39 AM
Categories: Everybody, Just Calm Down, Media, Schmedia, Weird Science
ancient-aliens-it-was-aliens.jpg
weknowmemes.com
Local news reporter
A light flashed during Fox 10's traffic report last week, and since it's Arizona, it turned into a nationwide international story.

Example headlines: "Mystery surrounds bright light explosion caught on live television in Phoenix" from Fox Los Angeles, "Unexplained 'Phoenix Lights' explosion caught live on news broadcast" from Yahoo! News, and "Mysterious Light Appears in KSAZ Live Shot, 15 Years After UFO Visited Phoenix," from Media Bistro.

And wouldn't you believe it -- the power company says the light had nothing to do with extra-terrestrials making a wrong turn into Arizona on their spaceship and turning on the high-beams.

Arizona Public Service Co. says the "ball of light" came from an electrical breaker.

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Tags:

flashing light, fox 10, hysteria, ksaz, phoenix lights, space aliens, ufos
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Election 2012

Congressional Candidate Wendy Rogers' House Vandalized; Campaign Cites Left-Wing Blog Commenters

By Matthew Hendley Thu., Mar. 8 2012 at 11:19 AM
Categories: Election 2012, Everybody, Just Calm Down, Republicans
wendy-rogers.jpg
Facebook
Wendy Rogers isn't saying lefties vandalized her house, but her house was vandalized, and lefties have been rude.
​Republican Congressional candidate Wendy Rogers says her house was vandalized the day she announced her candidacy, and one of her campaign staffers thinks "the Left" might have something to do with it.

An email from the Rogers campaign says her Tempe home was vandalized on Saturday night, about 12 hours after the Air Force vet sent out an email saying she's running for Congress in the state's newly formed Ninth District.

Aside from noting the shooting of former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords "weighs heavily on everyone's mind," the campaign adds, "Police recommended they investigate because of the coincidental timing of this attack with Rogers' campaign announcement amid the backdrop of recent history of political violence in Arizona."

One of Rogers' campaign staffers has an opinion.

"I have been around campaigns for two decades," campaign official Joe Giardiello says. "I thought I had seen it all. But attacking a candidate's home and family is something we would expect in a third-world dictatorship. The hatred and anger already coming from the Left because of Wendy's unwavering commitment is downright frightening. In light of recent events in Arizona, we can't be too careful."

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Tags:

arizona, cd9, congress, election 2012, gabrielle giffords, tempe, vandalism, wendy rogers
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Everybody, Just Calm Down

Phil Mickelson Seeks Real Name of Anonymous Online Hater by Suing Internet Provider

By Paul Rubin Mon., Feb. 6 2012 at 1:49 PM
Categories: Everybody, Just Calm Down, Law and Order

Phil Mickelson, who remains one of the world's most popular golfers even as his game slowly fades, was cordial, yet short, when we asked him at the Waste Management Open about his new lawsuit.

 

Phil Mickelson.jpg
Phil and Amy Mickelson made the front pages after the first Masters' win
​"I support freedom of speech 100 percent all the way, but I'm not going to stand for someone defam[ing] me and my family," Lefty said shortly after a decent round that left him within striking distance of the leader (he finished tied for 26th place, earning $43,310). 

Mickelson was referring to a curious January 25 defamation lawsuit he filed in a Canadian courtroom against Internet service provider giant Videotron.

The future Hall of Fame golfer already has persuaded a Quebec judge to order the ISP to turn over (within 10 days) identifying info about two anonymous posters who slimed him and his wife, Amy, on the Yahoo! Sports site late last year.

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Tags:

amy mickelson, michael jordan, pga tour, phil mickelson, videotron, waste management open
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