Sign In
Free Newsletter
Lawmaker proposes 911 tax for cellphone users with prepaid plans
A state lawmaker wants the one in four Arizona cellphone users who are on prepaid plans to join customers with monthly bills in paying toward 911 service. Legislation by Rep. Bob Robson, R–Chandler, would establish a tax of eight–tenths of 1 percent on prepaid wireless plans that would go into the state’s Emergency Telecommunication Services Revolving Fund.
Lawmakers warned of political ‘firestorm’ as they approve anti-union measures
A group of conservative lawmakers backed by an influential policy think tank are picking a fight with public unions -- and the unions are fighting back.
Biggs, father of demoted ex-cop, seeks to allow disciplined officers day in court
Senate Majority Leader Andy Biggs, whose son was stripped of his duties as a Gilbert police officer for shooting an unarmed man in the groin while off-duty in 2009, is sponsoring a bill to give disciplined cops a chance to take their cases to court.
Trio of bills target unions
A major push is underway in Arizona to strike at the very heart of public unions by eliminating their ability to negotiate collective bargaining agreements. As envisioned, the prohibition would extend to all public-safety unions, including firefighter and police associations.
Phoenix Police expert: Polygraph test Bundgaard took was inconclusive
A polygraph examiner from the Phoenix Police Department told a committee investigating an ethics complaint against Sen. Scott Bundgaard that a polygraph test the senator took could not conclusively show whether he was the telling the truth.
What’s problematic is the test itself, the expert said.
Victor Bell, who supervises the police department’s polygraph unit, said he wouldn’t ha[...]
Senate lawyer seeks Bundgaard’s expulsion
Arguing that Sen. Scott Bundgaard exercised poor judgment and put the lives of several people in harm’s way, one of the lawyers hired by the Senate Ethics Committee is seeking the gravest penalty for breaching ethical rules — expulsion from the Legislature.
In his opening statement in the Jan. 5 ethics hearing, Attorney Michael Liburdi said Bundgaard assaulted his then-girlfriend, A[...]
Critics: ‘Tough’ sheriff botched sex-crime cases
More than 400 sex-crimes reported to Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's office during a three-year period ending in 2007 a�� including dozens of alleged child molestations a�� were inadequately investigated and in some instances were not worked at all, according to current and former police officers familiar with the cases.
Mesa police taking unusual step in Lewis’ padlock investigation
Mesa police are giving special treatment to the investigation on the assault of recall candidate Jerry Lewis.
The department is going to check a padlock apparently thrown at Lewis on Saturday for fingerprints and DNA evidence, a step that normally wouldn’t be done in most other simple assault cases.
Political quagmire in Quartzite; mayor facing recall
A political feud in the tiny western Arizona town of Quartzsite that captured national headlines has been years in the making, with accusations flying between the mayor and town council and the second recall election of the year on the horizon.
New law may miss mark on speeding up police misconduct cases
A new law that goes into effect later this month is aimed at speeding up police misconduct investigations, but cases that involve criminal acts will continue to be prolonged, allowing accused officers to collect paychecks while awaiting the outcome of their cases in court.
Phoenix prosecutor charges Bundgaard over freeway incident
Four months after police detained him in a late-night altercation with his girlfriend on the side of the freeway, Phoenix city prosecutors filed misdemeanor domestic violence charges against Sen. Scott Bundgaard.
A few ‘bad actors’ cost all police officers, firefighters and teachers big time
State government in Arizona in the past three years has made massive cuts to education, given away our money to big corporations, chose to do nothing about foreclosures and hasn’t created a single job. Arizona’s middle-class families are struggling, and Republicans, who control all of state government, went even further to harm middle-class police officers, firefighters and teachers.
