Phoenix News Blog

Elvis Amir Saloum

​A prolific Valley speeder wasn't quite fast enough to escape the long arm of the Department of Public Safety.

DPS officers had been looking for 29-year-old Elvis Amir Saloum since July and finally caught up with him Thursday at a mall near his Peoria home.

www.betterlifestylesinc.com

​There seems to be a day designated for just about everything, and toilets are no exception.

Today, November 19, is "World Toilet Day" and a group called "The World Toilet Organization" is encouraging Phoenicians to participate in a global event called "The Big Squat."

www.politicsforum.com

​On Tuesday, the Department of Public Safety Announced it had arrested three people after finding 23 grenade casings and one live grenade in their possession.

The weapons are suspected to have been headed to Mexico to fuel the drug wars going on between rival cartels.

Coincidentally, a similar bust was made Tuesday in Pearl, Mississippi and as luck should have it, the person arrested is a Phoenix resident.

 

​Yesterday, we pointed out errors, ommissions, and outright deceit in one of the proposals for cab service at Sky Harbor International Airport. We asked if City Council members were listening.

After today's council meeting, we have our answer. They weren't.

Now, technically, the council did pay lipservice to some of the issues we raised, asking city staffers to give explanations for what we reported. But when it came to satisfying skeptics (like us) who bother to actually look into this stuff, the answers they got were far short of illuminating.

Yet the council still voted to approve the new contracts with Visum Investments, Apache Taxi, and AAA Cab -- and members did it unanimously.

www.smartassstore.com

​The Arizona Department of Transportation announced today that it has laid off 90 employees and that 25 more workers should expect to get the ax by the end of the year.

"This is a perfect storm -- our revenues are down, we are suffering from the use of state transportation funds for other purposes, and the needs of the state are not decreasing," ADOT Director John Halikowski says in a press release.

Earlier this week Halikowski sent a letter to 90 ADOT employees, informing them that they no longer had a job, and he announced today that 25 more employees will meet a similar end before the year is out.

www.slatecard.com

Congressman John Shadegg

​It certainly didn't take long for Arizona Congressman John Shadegg to eat his words after the fallout from his latest rant on the floor of the House of Representatives.

As we reported yesterday, Shadegg stood in front of Congress Monday night and warned New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg of a potential kidnapping attempt against his daughter if the trial of suspected 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed were to take place in New York City.

Here's the video.

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We broke the news yesterday that one of the three companies that Phoenix is preparing to contract with for cab service at Sky Harbor, Visum Investments, has serious problems with its proposal: Its references don't check out, and its general manager's resume appears to be inaccurate.

Today we're discovering a potential problem with a second company, Apache Taxi -- a problem that suggests Apache also may have given inaccurate information to the city. And thanks to what we're learning, it appears possible -- though we can't prove it yet -- that Apache also doesn't actually qualify under Phoenix's requirements.

City staff wrote their request for proposals, or RFP, so that winning companies were chosen based on how much they were willing to pay. Companies offered as much as $19,777 per cab for the rights to pick up passengers at Sky Harbor.

But the city also mandated, wisely, that companies employ a general manager with at least three years' experience running a fleet of at least 20 vehicles.

Based on our research, Visum's general manager doesn't have that. But now, we're learning that it's possible Apache's general manager doesn't have that either.

www.azfop5.com

Former Maricopa County Sheriff and Long-time Arizona Congressman Carl Hayden

​The old boys club just got a little older.

Today, West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd surpassed former Arizona Congressman Carl Hayden as the longest serving congressman in history.

Hayden served the state of Arizona in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate for 57 years (20,773 days). After his retirement in 1968, he was succeeded by Conservative golden-boy Barry Goldwater.

Before his gigs in Congress, Hayden was the territorial sheriff of Maricopa County, where he claimed he was made popular for extraditing prisoners and welcoming extradition officers from other jurisdictions.

It was too early for him to have his own reality show to help make him popular, like our current top constable?

Byrd, who turns 92 this week, broke Hayden's record today and was honored by his Senate colleagues.

​The fourth annual Stylos award ceremony took place without a hitch.

Starting off with a group of bandanna-clad hip-hop dancers, Furious Styles Crew, busting out break-dancing moves and head spins on on the gleaming floor of the Phoenix Art Museum, it was pretty clear that the award ceremony was going to be a hit.

Founded in 2005 by El Break Productions, the awards aim to recognized local talent and leaders who've made a difference in the Valley and Latino community. This year, all 16 award-winners were voted on directly by the community via online surveys courtesy of El Break, Facebook and Myspace.

"Athlete of the Year" went to Arizona native Cynthia Moreno,19, who aims to represent the United States in the 2012 Olympics for women's boxing. Raquel Teran was awarded "Activist of the Year" for her efforts to protect human rights amid Sheriff Joe Arpaio's endless raids, and Danny Ortega -- local activist and immigration lawyer -- won "Personality of the Year" for his work in the community.

Pete Van Winkle (left) and his victim, Robert Cotton (right)

​A Maricopa County Jail inmate convicted of the beating and strangling death of a fellow inmate has been sentenced to death.

This afternoon, 27-year-old Pete Van Winkle learned his fate in Maricopa County Superior Court after he was convicted of first-degree murder earlier this year.

Van Winkle was convicted of the infamous jailhouse murder of 28-year-old Robert Leroy Cotton, while the two were inmates at the Fourth Avenue Jail. The inmate's death ended up costing the county $500,000, but we'll get to that later.

www.necn.com

Congressman John Shadegg talking baby-speak the other day.

​Congressman John Shadegg's theatrics on the floor of the House of Representatives are becoming almost legendary. By legendary, we mean borderline insane.

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The Phoenix City Council is scheduled to vote tomorrow on contracts with three cab companies to serve passengers at Sky Harbor International Airport.

But a New Times' review of public records associated with the city's selection process reveals shocking irregularities with one of those company's proposals - omissions and misrepresentations so bad, the city should have no choice but to halt the process.

The records, which we finally obtained yesterday, show that one company, Visum Investments, has failed to comply with the city's requirements. Visum's references don't check out. Its proposed general manager appears to be lying on his resume. And, even though the city has insisted that there's no collusion between the two upstart companies recommended for selection tomorrow, Visum's proposal actually uses its supposed rival, the owner of Apache Taxi, as a reference.

And here's the worst part.

The Apache reference appears to be the only one on the proposal that's actually legitimate.

Phoenix New Times

(From left) Tempe City Councilman Ben Arredondo, Representative Ed Ableser, some kid, Representative David Schapira, and Senator Meg Burton-Cahill

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The Democratic Party is mixing things up a bit.

At a press conference this afternoon, state Senator Meg Burton-Cahill announced she was retiring from the Senate, Representative David Schapira announced he will begin "exploring" a run for her Senate seat, and, straight out of left field, Tempe City Councilman Ben Arredondo, a Republican, will be running for Schapira's seat as a Democrat.

www.chicagonow.com

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman

​The NHL's head-honcho, Gary Bettman, met with the Coyotes top brass and other community leaders in Glendale to discuss the sale of the bankrupt franchise and vowed to do whatever it takes to keep the team in the Valley.

www.babble.com

​Will Sarah Palin be coming to the Valley to promote her new book? You betchya!

On December 1, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the former GOP vice-presidential candidate will be at the Costco in Tempe to promote her new tell-all, Going Rogue. 

Palin began her book tour on Oprah yesterday (where else), and it will be rolling across the country for the next month.

www.ebaumsworld.com

​The newest data is in: Burning piss and itchy bumps are on the rise in the United States -- again.

The Centers for Disease Control announced today that reported sexually transmitted diseases increased to record levels in 2008.

www.barrystreetbeacon.com

"You Betchya!"

​While John McCain has remained tight-lipped over former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin's new tell-all, his campaign staff isn't following suit.

Brian Williams

​NBC talking-head Brian Williams will be in the Valley Wednesday to accept the 26th annual Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism.

Williams, who just had a guest spot on the NBC comedy 30 Rock as the wise guy "Nicki Malarulo from Scotchdale, New Jersey," is well known for his admiration of the late Cronkite.

Image: Wikimedia Commons

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Management of Arizona and New Mexico's small population of re-introduced Mexican gray wolves will be returned to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service following a lawsuit by environmentalists.

A news release by the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the groups that sued, states that wolf management had been heading in the wrong direction under a private committee set up to oversee the wolves' reintroduction to the wild in 1998. As part of the lawsuit settlement, Fish and Wildlife agreed to eliminate a rule made by the committee that required any wolf that killed local livestock three times to be euthanized.

The Mexican Wolf Adaptive Management Oversight Committee seemed more interested in "appeasing anti-wolf interests" than helping the animals, according to the release.

​Last week, the librarian at Camelback High School got an unexpected package in the mail -- two books that were checked out in 1959. Along with the books, a $1,000 money order for "late fees."

When she got the package, librarian Georgette Bordine thought "here we go again."

www.pulitzer.org

Giblin (center) accepts the Pulitzer Prize with co-winner Ryan Gabrielson

​Former East Valley Tribune scribe and co-winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Paul Giblin, is heading to Afghanistan.

The Arizona Guardian announced this morning that Giblin will be working in Afghanistan for a year as a civilian spokesman for the U.S. Military.

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A writer at a Web site called Examiner.com has a beef with New Times and has called for our (gasp!) expulsion from the state of Arizona.

Get in line: Many have demanded this over the years.

In an article written yesterday, the Examiner's  "libertarian examiner," Daniel Heller, got pissy over an event notice for a book-signing written by Night & Day Editor Clay McNear.

In the opening of McNear's piece, he says, "For a place with an overall IQ of about 32 -- to judge by all the shotgun-toting boobs sporting Sheriff Joe bumper stickers -- Phoenix has an ace literary scene."

Heller, a "fourth-generation Arizonan," was all butt-hurt.

Cards Receiver Sean Morey

​Arizona Cardinals receiver Sean Morey, who has already committed to donate what's left of his concussion-rattled brain to science, admitted Thursday that he played in last week's game against "Da Chicago Bears" with another concussion.

Jose Francisco Arias Fernandez

​Yesterday morning, Scottsdale police got a call from the Paiute Neighborhood Center saying a man was exposing himself to kids at a bus stop in the  6600 block of East Osborn Road.

When they got there, he was gone.

This morning, police figured they would watch the area, just in case the perp came back. According to police, he did.

www.tusd.k12.az.usa

TUSD Superintendent Elizabeth Celania-Fagen

​The superintendent of the Tucson Unified School District did something this week that may sound nuts -- she gave back a $20,000 bonus.

Superintendent Elizabeth Celania-Fagen is in her second year as head of the district and evidently doing a good job, so the district's governing board gave her a $20,000 bonus.

In a move that could either be categorized as admirable or insane, Celania-Fagen gave the money back.

We called the superintendent's office to try to gauge her sanity -- turns out, she doesn't have a screw loose after all.

www.asu.edu

ASU President Michael Crow

​Time Magazine has named Arizona State University President Michael Crow one of the 10 "best college presidents" in the country -- in part, because he ruined what was traditionally a perfectly good party school.

Tyson's mug after being booked into Maricopa County Jail

​One thing we failed to point out in our previous post about Mike Tyson's latest brush with the law is that the former heavyweight champ is currently on probation here in Arizona.

In case you forgot, in 2007, Iron Mike was convicted of misdemeanor DUI and felony cocaine possession.

www.indnslist.org

Representative Chris Deschene

​Window Rock Democrat Chris Deschene announced Wednesday that he will file paperwork to form an exploratory committee for a possible run for Secretary of State.

The office is Arizona's second highest and is currently held by Republican Ken Bennett, who is expected to run for reelection.

Described in his House of Representatives bio as a "community organizer at heart," Deschene says in a statement he is running to transform the office into something more than just storage space for government documents.

Deschene says the office should be used to criticize broader state-related issues.

www.bossipfiles.com

​One month to the day after telling Oprah he was done using violence to resolve his "issues," Iron Mike Tyson seems to be at it again.

Sun Devil cornerback Terell Carr

​As if Saturday's loss to USC wasn't enough, ASU's secondary is now in trouble -- legal trouble.

ASU cornerback Terell Carr was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of three different misdemeanors.