Free Republic

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MESA - The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Special Victims Unit arrested and booked into jail 24-year-old Jesus Martinez (DOB 06/15/84) on 1 count of child molestation, a class two felony and on four counts of sexual abuse, class three felonies. Sheriff’s deputies began investigating the sexual abuse and molestation after the young victim’s mother found the 24-year-old illegal alien and the child kissing after the twelve-year-old left home, without permission to meet with him, at a late hour. The victim told her mother that Martinez took her next to a tractor and began kissing her on the mouth and neck....

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office reports that at least a dozen undocumented immigrants have been detained after wandering near a US Air Force Base in southwestern Arizona Sunday. Sheriff's deputies are working with border patrol agents and DPS officers in an effort to locate five to seven more undocumented immigrants who are believed to be in the area of the Barry M. Goldwater Range about 13 miles south of Gila Bend. Two undocumented immigrants have died, likely from dehydration, according to MCSO. The range, which is active with armed military aircraft, has been shut down as authorities search for other...

GLENDALE, AZ -- A plane carrying a pilot and two United States Secret Service agents for Senator John McCain crash landed in a West Valley field on Tuesday morning, according to officials from the Arizona senator's campaign. No serious injuries were reported at the scene near 99th and Northern avenues. Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said the single-engine Cessna 206 took off from Glendale Airport just after 10 a.m. The pilot noted a rough-running engine and tried to land in a vacant lot two miles from the runway, but hit a fence. The plane sustained substantial damage. According to...

Jesus Navarro Montes, the man accused of running over and killing Yuma sector border agent Luis Aguilar, has been set free by an unidentified Mexican judge. On January 19th, Aguilar was killed while attempting to stop two vehicles that illegally entered the country. Shortly after the incident, Montes was quickly apprehended by authorities and sent to a jail in Mexico. Upon learning the news that Montes was let go, Yuma Sector Chief Patrol Agent Paul Beeson expressed his disgust with the decision saying in part, "I am outraged that this suspect was released from custody. The men and women of...

Tucson, Ariz. (AP) -- Four Mexican soldiers crossed into a remote area of Arizona and briefly held a U.S. Border Patrol agent at gunpoint before realizing where they were and returning to Mexico, U.S. authorities said. Border Patrol spokeswoman Dove Crawford said the incident early Sunday on the Tohono O'odham Indian Reservation, about 85 miles southwest of Tucson, was in an area where the border likely was marked only with barbed wire.

Close To You Summers in Tucson, Arizona can be pretty hot, and so can political passions. But sometimes the level of political rhetoric can go beyond passionate, beyond vitriolic and even beyond reason. Yet it was with a cheerful heart that I pulled up to 2302 E. Speedway on a bright Wednesday morning on July 30, 2008 at about 7:00 am. The weekly mission? Support the troops, counter anti-recruitment protesters and stand up for America. The regular weekly troop supporters were mostly set up when I arrived at the Tucson Military Recruiting Center strip mall but I was able...

Phoenix, Arizona, August 1, 2008. In Arizona, the contest for President of the United States between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain could prove to be a dilly and is most likely to be decided by which candidate carries Maricopa county where nearly six out of ten Arizona voters reside and which is generally conceded to be the heartland of Republican strength in the state. Yet here in Senator McCain’s back yard, his lead which was a comfortable 15 to 17 points for most of last and this year, has shrunk significantly. In late July, a survey of 401...

July 4, 2008 The City Attorney's Office for Phoenix has banned City Employees from signing the recall petition. A clear violation of a person's Constitutional Rights. Please be sure to let the mayor and the attorney, Gary Verburg know what you think. http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/2008/07/04/20080704phx-cityhall0705.html http://seeingredaz.wordpress.com/2008/07/05/phoenix-mayor-and-city-attorney-bend-the-constitution/

PHOENIX — Last-minute legislative action that led to placement of a constitutional ban on gay marriage on the November ballot has triggered a rare state Senate Ethics Committee investigation. On a 3-2 vote, the committee agreed Monday to hold hearings on whether Sen. Jack Harper, R-Surprise, intentionally broke the Legislature's rules by cutting off a filibuster attempt last month, a move that paved the way for the issue to win ballot approval in the Senate. The hearing will not affect the ballot measure but could result in a formal reprimand for Harper if the committee upholds a complaint by Sen....

At least one 'coyote' was taken into custody after 50 suspected undocumented immigrants were found in a west Phoenix home early Tuesday. Phoenix police said they were tipped off to the home when neighbors called about people running through the neighborhood. Inside the home near 59th Avenue and Thomas Road, officers found the immigrants, including from 15 to 20 women and young children. The people being held in the home had their shoes taken from them by the 'coyotes', according to authorities. Phoenix Police Sergeant Andy Hill told ABC15, "Typically the coyotes will keep them shoeless so they don't run...

Latino neighborhood slowly disappearing in central Mesa Cannot quote or excerpt so here is the link http://www.azcentral.com/community/mesa/articles/2008/07/29/20080729mr-neighbor0730.html

Sounds like somebody in the McCain camp recognized that they will probably get the votes of Clarence Thomas and Condi Rice, and that's it, from the black folks this year, so there is no use in pandering on the issue. White folks, to include Hillary's supporters, are the ones who get screwed by Affirmative Action, and this position will maximize the votes from the people who disagree with the policy.

(English-language translation) Police in Glendale County, Arizona confirmed yesterday that 44-year-old Glendaly Vigoreaux Echevarría, daughter of the late [Puerto Rican] TV producer Luis Vigoreaux and actress Lydia Echevarría, was found dead by her husband Paul Hacker in their home on Frier Drive in Glendale, Arizona. According to Glendale Police report PD 08-77459 signed by Sergeant Jim Toomey, agency detectives are investigating Glendaly Vigoreaux's death as a suicide, as confirmed by the autopsy performed by the Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office. The report indicated that officers responded to a call on Tuesday, July 15 at 9:58 AM from the residence of...

After careful consideration, I have decided to create a ping list. FReepmail me to join the list if you find it at all interesting.

Title says it all. AP...so can't post. John McCain...Hispandering 101.

Your states have passed significant changes in enforcement of immigration laws. What do you see around you? Have you observed changes in your schools, workplaces, markets?

Sheriffs in Phoenix, Ariz., have launched an aggressive crackdown on illegal aliens as part of a growing movement by local officials to help prevent illegal immigration. Maricopa County sheriffs have instituted a zero tolerance policy — knocking on doors and arresting those suspected of living in the country illegally. Sheriff Joe Arpaio said the law is clear cut. “Our policy is if we come across any illegal ... you are arrested. You don’t get a ticket. You get to appear before a judge later on.” In the wake of two unsuccessful attempts at passing a comprehensive immigration reform bill in...

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- Two medical helicopters collided in mid-air Sunday afternoon in Flagstaff less than a mile from a medical center, killing seven people, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said. All three people on one of the helicopters were killed, including a patient and the pilot, said FAA spokesman Ian Gregor. Four others were killed and three critically injured in the midair collision, Gregor said. Tom Boughner with the Flagstaff Police Department said he wasn't sure if they were all on the second helicopter or whether some were on the ground. The FAA said one of the helicopters was operated...

Six men in police tactical clothing are suspected of shooting a man to death, firing more than 100 rounds into his Phoenix home in what some are calling a Mexican drug cartel hit. Special Assignments Units heard shots coming from a nearby neighborhood and began to drive toward the noise Sunday. Detectives said once police gained entry into the home, they found the body of Andrew Williams, 30, shot numerous times, according to Arizona Daily News. "We have seen an increasing amount of these type of violent crimes in the past five months," Phoenix Police Sgt. Joel Tranter said. "We...

home invasion suspects (3 caught) may be mexican military or police they may have been trying to ambush phx police the home invasion killed one, drug trade suspected at least one person, in full-body armor and up to three (3) still on the loose

Vest, shirt, badge - check. Pants, boots, gun belt - check. About 800 Phoenix police officers and up to 400 Mesa officers believe changing into and out of their uniforms each day is doing work, so they've sued in federal court to be paid for their time. U.S. District Judge Neil V. Wake ruled in April that the Mesa Police Association shouldn't receive any money, according to court records, but the union has recently appealed the ruling to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The lawsuit has cost Mesa more than $187,600 to fight so far, according to public...

Frustrated by a steady flow of illegal Mexican immigrants into Arizona, Sheriff Joe Arpaio has decided to take matters into his own hands. He has drawn support and opposition in equal measure for his treatment of prisoners, which includes re-introducing chain gangs and making prisoners wear pink underwear. Now he's under fire for dispatching teams of sheriff's deputies into Hispanic communities where they stop people and arrest anyone who cannot prove he or she is a legal U.S. resident. It has brought an onslaught of criticism from Hispanic activists, local lawmakers and the Phoenix mayor, who call his crackdown on...

Toughest sheriff in US vows no let up in immigration fight      He's been described as Hitler and a member of the Klu Klux Klan by Hispanic critics and immigrant rights groups, but Sheriff Joe Arpaio prefers to see himself as an equal opportunities advocate. "We lock everybody up," he says. Arpaio, the self-styled "toughest sheriff in America" has ruled his fifedom in Arizona's Maricopa County with a steely, zero-tolerance that has enraged human rights activists but delighted headline-writers the world over. Demonstrations and picket lines follow his sweeps of largely Hispanic neighborhoods. He's been criticized by mayors...

Last week was tempestuous among defenders of the embattled school choice programs for disabled and foster children. Following an East Valley Tribune report and an article published here by Tim Keller of the Institute for Justice reporting that Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne had decided not to award vouchers next year, Horne responded with a memorandum provocatively entitled “Lies from the Goldwater Institute” denying that he had done so. The Arizona Republic weighed in for Horne, blasting Keller and the Goldwater Institute for assertions that were “insulting” and untrue. Horne and the Republic simply are wrong. Though the Court...

Two political rivals have united behind the idea of putting more information in the hands of taxpayers. John McCain and Barack Obama have joined with two other senators to introduce S 3077, the Strengthening Transparency and Accountability in Federal Spending Act of 2008. This follows on the heels of a law passed in 2006 that created the website, USASpending.gov, up and running right now and full of good information, as the Arizona Republic has pointed out. Among other pieces of information is that Arizona benefitted from $5 billion in federal contracts in 2000. By 2007, that had doubled to more...

Arizona's scholarship programs for children with disabilities and children in foster care have given hope to hundreds of children. Hope for a good education. Hope for a better future. For hundreds of children receiving scholarships this hope has become reality. Sadly, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne told the East Valley Tribune that their hopes are coming to an end: No new scholarships will issue for next school year. This comes on the heels of a May 15, 2008, decision from the Arizona Court of Appeals saying that the scholarship programs violate the Arizona Constitution. But the Court of Appeals...

A number of veteran events are coming up in the Sierra Vista area. “The one-year clock is ticking and the name of the game is fundraising,” said Joe Larson, administrator of the Southern Arizona Veterans Memorial Cemetery. He was speaking about next May’s reburial of remains of soldiers from the late 1800s from a Tucson cemetery to the Sierra Vista site. Larson spoke at the monthly meeting of the Grater Sierra Vista Area United Veterans Council meeting on Saturday. The Historic Soldiers Relocation Project will involve the reburial of 70 sets of remains, of which 53 are known, in an...

arizona: 8.3% population illegal immigrants

Arizona is awash in federal money. In fiscal year (FY) 2007, Arizona received close to $8.5 billion in federal funds. This money funds programs that most Arizonans are familiar with, such as Medicaid and the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Even though the inflow of federal dollars appears attractive, there is a catch: As federal dollars flow in, state dollars are fixed to ever-growing demands connected to these programs. In 2000, the State of Arizona used general funds at close to $463 million for Medicaid alone. By 2005, that figure had risen to $914 million, and it is projected...

It is inherently dangerous to confer the coercive powers of government upon a guild. Exhibit A: the Arizona State Bar, which is on a rampage to suppress free-speech rights. The Bar has initiated several complaints against Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas in regard to his critical comments about Superior Court judges and his office’s efforts to recuse a judge for allegedly failing to enforce a voter initiative. Wise and temperate or not, such criticisms are at the core of constitutionally protected speech, and the Bar’s campaign against Thomas is sure to chill the exercise of those rights. Thomas enlisted several...

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer assigned to the San Luis, Ariz., port of entry and four others face various immigrant smuggling charges in a 22-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury. The officer, Jose Carmelo Magana of Yuma, is accused of accepting bribes from four others to allow illegal immigrants to be smuggled through the port of entry from October 2007 through May of this year. Also charged are Ana Calderon, 28, of San Luis, Ariz., and four residents of neighboring San Luis Rio Colorado, Son., identified in the indictment as Jesus Gastelum-Rodriguez, 41, Guadalupe Milan de...

Arizona's scholarship programs for children with disabilities and children in foster care have given hope to hundreds of children. Hope for a good education. Hope for a better future. For hundreds of children receiving scholarships, this hope has become reality. Sadly, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne has decided to take away their hope. Tom Horne has decided to put the programs "on hold." He says he does not intend to issue scholarships to any families next year. Horne's justification is a May 15, 2008 decision from the Arizona Court of Appeals, which ruled that the scholarship programs violate the...

Sunday’s Arizona Republic had a cover story on Phoenix-area traffic congestion that reaffirmed my belief that we’re stuck in traffic because we’re stuck in some very limiting ways of thinking. The article described four major traffic bottlenecks and the improvements that are planned to alleviate them. Funding for each project, or lack thereof, was shown. The article was so depressing that desperate readers (and commuters) could easily reach the wrong conclusion that a tax increase to fund transportation improvements is a good idea. By focusing on the trees--four very real bottlenecks--The Arizona Republic missed the forest, which is that Phoenix...

AIMS has suffered what ought to be its final indignity. The legislature passed "AIMS Augmentation" in order to allow 6,000 high school seniors to graduate despite an inability to pass what at most amounts to a test of basic skills. If you can't pass a tenth grade level test, the original thinking went, you don't deserve to graduate from high school. A diploma should mean something, and students need an incentive to work hard. After delaying the graduation requirement several times, the legislature has effectively killed it through easily obtained bonus points. Using AIMS as an exit exam was never...

In "'Stimulus' and the States" (Wall Street Journal, April 24), Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano blames Congress for state budget deficits: "Even if the federal government paid up on only a few of its debts mentioned here, Arizona would not be in deficit this year." Without question, unfunded federal mandates have plagued the states for years, but overall they constitute less than 2% of state budgets. Most state spending rests squarely in the hands of our state capitols. Like most of the southwest, Arizona has been rolling in cash thanks to historic economic expansion. Three of the past five years saw...

When will we learn that expensive, politically easy reforms to fix our failing schools just don't get the job done? The Roosevelt School District in south Phoenix, now officially designated a "failing" district, is facing a takeover by the state Board of Education. How could this happen? A decade ago, Roosevelt was the prevailing party in the landmark court decision that led to the state taking on the primary responsibility for school capital funding. Advocates claimed, with little opposition, that it was "obvious" that inadequate facilities were a significant cause of Roosevelt's academic problems. Roosevelt won its case but lost...

FORT HUACHUCA — B Troop, 4th U.S. Cavalry Regiment (Memorial) hosts a Cavalry Riding School Graduation Ceremony at 3 p.m. Friday on historic Brown Parade Field. The public is invited to attend the ceremony, which highlights Fort Huachuca’s Old West cavalry heritage. Graduates of the cavalry riding school will be presented brass spurs. Graduates are: • Capt. John Mark, Staff Judge Advocate’s Office • Capt. Franklin Kessler, 309th Military Intelligence Battalion • Spc. Andrew Tehvand, U.S. Army Medical Activity • Pfc. Kenneth Burcaw, 111th Military Intelligence Brigade Following the presentation of spurs, the graduates will conduct their first open field...

Henry Joseph Dillon, Jr. April 4, 1955 – May 24, 2008 Henry Joseph “Hank” Dillon, Jr., 53, a 14-year resident of Sierra Vista, Ariz., passed away Saturday, May 24, 2008. He was born April 4, 1955, in Colorado Springs, Colo., to Henry Joseph Dillon Sr. and Christine (Eitzen) Dillon. Hank served his country in the U.S. Army, retiring April 30, 1998, after more than 20 years, with the rank of staff sergeant. He was employed for 10 years by ILEX at the time of his death. Hank is survived by his mother, Christine Dillon; daughter, Tamara Dillon; wife Yang Dillon;...

The Arizona Republic reports that a recent study shows Arizona has a relatively high share of "bad" jobs. These are jobs that pay less than $34,000 per year and have no health or retirement benefits. This study complements another study concerned with income inequality that points out how income in Arizona has become more unequal in recent years than in the 1980s. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities recommends higher minimum wages and more spending on unemployment insurance as ways to reduce inequality. The facts don't support that assumption, however. Income inequality has generally increased in Arizona, and the...

FORT HUACHUCA — On July 20, 1968, 2nd Lt. James Leland Weeks was leading his first patrol when he was killed. Weeks had not reached his 22nd birthday. He hadn’t been in the Army for too long — less than six months. And, no it wasn’t in South Vietnam — for Weeks was killed while on patrol in the demilitarized zone between South and North Korea in a time when the communist regime in the north were flexing their disdain for the United States — 1968 was the time North Korea captured the U.S. Navy’s spy ship Pueblo. Weeks, an...

The businessman was meeting with clients for lunch at Mimi's Café when he noticed the woman. Sitting a few tables over with her 4-year-old boy, she seemed groggy — yet she was drinking a mimosa. It got worse. The woman ordered a glass of white wine, then another. She was so out of it, the businessman would later write in a statement to police, that she looked ready to fall asleep at the table. When the woman paid her bill and left the restaurant, the businessman was right behind her, cell phone in hand. When she ran a stop sign...

<p>Hundreds of legal and illegal immigrants in Arizona are being sent back to their home countries, sometimes against their will, for medical treatment because they lack insurance.</p>

Photo: Brant Clinard, Ahwatukee Foothills News Although many politicians are dumb schmucks, they aren't keen to advertise the fact. Unfortunately for one aspiring legislator in Phoenix's Ahwatukee neighborhood, he can hardly help it. Frank Schmuck's campaign signs have become quite the collector's items: "I put them up on Saturday and by Monday they were all gone. The only one left up is in my yard," said local attorney Guy Wolf, who volunteered to help Frank Schmuck in his bid for the Arizona Legislature. Wolf put up the signs along Desert Foothills Parkway, Pecos Road and on Chandler Boulevard... "I...

Since Arizona’s local law enforcement began enforcing illegal immigration laws and an employer sanctions law went into effect, illegal immigrants have been fleeing the state in large numbers. The effects have been far-ranging. Commuters are reporting fewer vehicles on the freeways, shortening their rush-hour commutes. What had become a serious transportation problem in Arizona is losing its urgency. English Learner Language (ELL) students started dropping out of school. This helped end a confrontation between the state legislature and a liberal federal judge who had ordered the state to spend more money on ELL classes. Fewer illegal immigrants are using hospital...

Since Arizona's local law enforcement began enforcing illegal immigration laws and an employer sanctions law went into effect, illegal immigrants have been fleeing the state in large numbers. The effects have been far-ranging. Commuters are reporting fewer vehicles on the freeways, shortening their rush-hour commutes. What had become a serious transportation problem in Arizona is losing its urgency. English Learner Language (ELL) students started dropping out of school. This helped end a confrontation between the state legislature and a liberal federal judge who had ordered the state to spend more money on ELL classes.Fewer illegal immigrants are using hospital emergency...

PHOENIX -- Gov. Janet Napolitano has ordered the state to end an anti-illegal immigration contract with the Maricopa County sheriff so she can pay for a larger effort to track down thousands of felons around Arizona. The sheriff, Joe Arpaio, on Tuesday criticized the governor's decision as a maneuver to thwart his efforts against illegal immigrants. "Dirty politics are at work right now," said Arpaio, who was flanked by Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, state House Speaker Jim Weiers and state Rep. Russell Pearce at a news conference. All four men have staked out hawkish positions on illegal immigration...

RAINBOW VALLEY, Ariz. -- An 18-year-old illegal immigrant has been arrested in connection with the rape of an 11-year-old girl, Maricopa County sheriff's deputies said.Enrique Jacobo-Valdez was booked into the Fourth Avenue Jail on two counts of sexual conduct with a minor.Jacobo-Valdez is currently unemployed and had a warrant out for his arrest from Pinal County for possession of dangerous drugs, deputies said.He was living with the child's family at the time of the alleged incident. The sheriff's office said it dispatched deputies after receiving a phone call Thursday from the victim's grandmother indicating that she found the 11-year-old locked...

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio still isn't saying when he will take his crime suppression patrols to Mesa. He says there's a reason for the delay -- he's giving illegal immigrants a chance to get out of town. ``I'm giving them a chance to pack up and leave, so when I do go in there, there may not be a big problem," he said. If an illegal immigrant needs a ride, Arpaio says, ``Call 602-876-1000 and we'll make arrangements. Maybe we'll even pick them up." Mesa Police Chief George Gascon has asked the sheriff for two days notice before he...

Blaming Feds for Budget Deficit Passes the Buck Darcy Olsen, Goldwater Institute Daily Email, May 01, 2008 In the opinion column "'Stimulus' and the States" (Wall Street Journal, April 24), Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano blames Congress for state budget deficits: "Even if the federal government paid up on only a few of its debts mentioned here, Arizona would not be in deficit this year." Without question, unfunded federal mandates have plagued the states for years, but overall they constitute less than two percent of state budgets. Most state spending rests squarely in the hands of our state capitols. Like most...