Adrian Cruz Still at Large; Officials Say Reports of His Capture Erroneous
| Adrian Cruz: Still on the run. |
Whoops!
| Adrian Cruz: Still on the run. |
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Image: Ray Stern Demonstrators in front of the Wells Fargo building in downtown Phoenix
Wells Fargo informed Maricopa County in a recent letter that the Sheriff's Office needs to vacate the office space it has inhabited in the bank's downtown Phoenix building since 1998.
One of our trusted sources read us the letter this evening -- we
don't have it yet, but we'll post it here as soon as we do. Here's what we can tell you in the meantime:
The letter to Dennis Lindsey, county real estate manager, from a Wells Fargo vice president, Leo Bauman, states that the bank needs the space for its own use, says our source. We're not sure of the timeline -- the letter refers vaguely to details already discussed -- but Bauman says the bank will waive the contract's penalty fee of 12 months' worth of rent for early termination. Ain't that sweet of them?
The five-year contract, which was renewed two years ago, should have run through September 30, 2013. But the bank's been the target of protests for more than a year: Anti-Arpaio demonstrators have been staking out the corner of 1st Avenue and Jefferson in earnest since September of 2008.
Looks like Wells Fargo finally caved. It seems like a significant blow to Arpaio, marketing-wise, and the sheriff's supporters aren't likely to be amused. Why does Wells Fargo need all that space, all of a sudden, anyway?
When we contacted the bank this evening, here's what we heard from spokeswoman Marjorie Rice:
Phoenix fire Captain Willie Nelson, a dogged sleuth who knows how to tell arson from accidental, has been named the department's top investigator for 2009.
Nelson (alas, no relation to the famous country crooner pictured in this long-ago photo) has been with Phoenix Fire since 1986 and a captain since 2004.
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Captain Nelson was honored for his body of work. However, his supervisor, arson chief Jack Ballentine, listed three specific investigations in nominating him for the honor.
| www.lyricsmusic.com |
| Country music star Jimmy Wayne |
| "Spiritual warrior" James Arthur Ray |
| www.abc15.com |
| Daniel Green, after he was detained and re-robed at Sky Harbor Airport. |
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| Devin Fleenor, founder of the Facebook group People Against Sheriff Arpaio |
| www.painlessstorm.com |

Image: www.patdollard.com
Nothing makes us feel stupider than getting a city of Phoenix parking ticket.
For one thing, it's never a surprise. The only surprise comes when, after knowing full well that we blew through the metered time, we don't see one of those piss-yellow tickets on our windshield. Worse, we're ashamed to admit, more than once we've let the grace period for the lower price run out, turning a $16 ticket into $31.
But now it's time to turn over a new leaf: The city's raising the stakes -- big-time.
As of this month, the cost of a parking ticket in Phoenix has nearly doubled. A typical $31 ticket will now be $57. The $15 discount for paying early will go up to $20; early birds will pay $37 during the grace period instead of $16.
That's right -- the city's trying to balance its broken budget on the backs of us scofflaws. The nerve! And this is after nearly tripling the hourly cost of parking at one of those @$^!#$^ meters in the first place. (The city council raised the price from 60 cents an hour to
$1.50 an hour in December 2008).
| Rufus Crump |
| www.mredirect.com |
| www.shavarross.com |
| Yes, this year's census form actually uses the term "Negro" |
| www.ilovefunnygames.com |
The story was almost as infuriating as it was tragic:
The driver of the car has an outstanding warrant for his arrest, and has served time in prison for committing violent acts.
The driver shoots the officer in cold blood and flees, only to be captured in due course.
It was the sickest case of deja vu all over again. And get this -- the two assassins (one only "alleged" at this point, though the evidence seems overwhelming), as it turns out, are apparently old friends from up in the old mining town of Globe.
First, there was Ernest Martinez -- and the August 15, 1995, murder of Arizona Department of Public Safety Officer Robert K. Martin, a 27-year veteran of the agency.
Late that morning, Officer Martin pulled over a speeding, swerving car heading south on the Beeline Highway toward Phoenix.
| James Ray looking not so "spiritual" in his booking photo |
Rabbi Albert Plotkin, known far and wide as one of the greatest (and most egalitarian) spiritual leaders to lead a congregation in these parts, died on Wednesday. He was 89.
Plotkin was a remarkable man.
He was in the forefront of the civil-rights movement of the 1960s, and worked until the end of his life (friends say he was "with it" until he died of a heart attack yesterday morning) at trying to bridge the ecumenical gap between his faith and all others.
Heck, for years the diminutive Jewish guy from South Bend, Indiana, was the Rabbi-in-Residence at All Saints Episcopal Church. The Lord does work in mysterious ways, huh?
| www.boingboing.com |
| "Spiritual Warrior" James Arthur Ray |
You're Mexican. You're been arrested and accused by Arizona authorities of being part of a crime ring that spawned a 102-felony-count indictment. You've got access to a fortune in Mexico. Pretty slim chances that you'll be freed from the Maricopa County Jail, right?
Not if you're Mario de la Fuente Manriquez or his son, Mario de la Fuente Manriquez Mix, who are pillars of their community in Nogales, Mexico, and is related to former Mexican president. Manriquez owns a newspaper and cable TV company. Superior Court Judge Gary Donahoe today ordered both men to be released on their own recognizance. Of course, there's a catch.
Police have seized and estimated $8 million to $12 million in assets from the pair -- money that's supposedly tied to the alleged crime ring's illicit deals. As we reported last month, cops accuse the pair and other suspects of bringing millions of dollars into the country from Mexico -- money that police believe was earned legitimately -- and using it to open and run nightclubs and high-end car dealerships.
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Phoenix PD released this flow chart at a January 25th news conference
As dozens of friend and supporters waited in the courtroom, lawyers struck a backroom bargain with Donahoe, convincing the veteran judge that their clients would show up to future court hearings. The deal: If either man fails to show up to a court hearing in the case without a legitimate excuse, Arizona can keep the money. Both are to surrender their Mexican passports and live in their Tucson homes.
They've been held since their arrests on $5 million bonds. But clearly, these aren't your usual suspects, and authorities haven't made a strong case against the pair -- publicly, anyway.
A U.S. District Court Judge has dealt Debra Milke (pictured in a 1991 photo) a big legal setback, ruling that the death-row inmate did validly waive her Miranda rights against self-incrimination before she allegedly confessed to having her son murdered in 1989.
Judge Robert C. Broomfield's 21-page ruling comes two weeks after hearing from both Milke and former Phoenix homicide Detective Armando Saldate during an evidentiary hearing in his courtroom.
The hearing had been ordered by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals after it ruled that it could find no evidence that Milke had waived her rights.
Broomfield's decision now returns to the appellate court for evaluation. The panel still may reverse him and rule that Detective Saldate illegally elicited Milke's incriminating statements, and order a new trial.
Then again, they may not.
But the judge's ruling left little to the imagination about his position.
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| Giant George taking a load off |
| Tammi Smith during an appearance on The Today Show |
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Wikimedia Commons
Famous satirist Jonathan Swift proposed eating poor children. Apparently, that's funnier than joking that students are stupid.
Sometimes, jokes go too far -- especially when they're sarcastic letters distributed by a school principal about the ineptitude of students that land in the hands of pissed-off parents.
Ron Sterr, principal of Litchfield Elementary School, was trying to be funny when he sent a parody "field-trip-permission" letter to teachers last week berating students who didn't finish their homework and making sarcastic comments about the drastic measures the school must take to deal with peanut allergies. But one of the teachers apparently mistook the letter for a serious missive and sent it to students' parents.
Which brings up the question: who's the stupid one(s) at Litchfield?
Litchfield Elementary School District Superintendent Julianne Lein said the school district's been barraged with calls from angry parents. In a press release, Lein writes, "The Litchfield School District renders its most sincere apology to our students, parents, community and staff for this incident. We are taking specific steps to remedy this situation."
It is unclear who actually wrote the letter that Sterr sent, but he's the one placed on administrative leave.
So what's everybody so ticked off about? Check out the controversial letter, in its entirety, after the jump:
As outlined in President Obama's State of the Union speech, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced today that his office is beginning a year-long study on how to best remove the "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military.
John McCain, however, is against the idea altogether.
McCain, the top Republican on the Armed Services Committee, says he is "deeply disappointed" with the assessment and that it is biased because it suggests that the law should be changed.
In other words, if you're in the military and gay (not that there's anything wrong with that) McCain would prefer that you remain in the closet -- so you won't make any of your fellow soldiers blush.
Looks like his daughter isn't rubbing off on him as much as she thought.
| Jay J. Armes |
We have been a huge fan of Dr. Howard Zinn since the late 1960s, which dates us, but WTF.
Whether or not you agree with everything he writes, his mind-expanding 1980 book, A People's History of the United States, should be required reading for all high-school students and beyond.
We recall in the late 1990s, when the Matt Damon character in the movie Good Will Hunting implores the Robin Williams character to read the book. Turns out that Damon was a neigbor of Zinn's growing up in the Boston area.
| www.fannation.com |
| Spike Lee pestering referees at a New York Knicks game |
Spike Lee, film director and prolific NBA pest, was in Flagstaff last week, where he spoke to students at Northern Arizona University about education and race.
Lee, who is responsible for "joints" like Get on the Bus, Do the Right Thing, and Bamboozled, told students that Latino and African-American students needed to "wake up" and break the stigma that getting an education often has in poor minority communities.
Sounds like the plot of every "hood" movie Spike's ever made.
Lee was the guest speaker for NAU's International Holocaust Remembrance Day hosted by the Martin-Springer Institute, where he spoke for 40 minutes about himself, the state of race relations in America, and offered advice.