Phoenix (Arizona)

MLB Hits Back after Dodgers Dbacks Fight, Suspension all Around

The long wait is over. The Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks had a knock down drag out fight Tuesday night in Los Angeles, and a mere three days later, Major League Baseball has decided what to do about it. MLB generally hands out fines and suspensions the day after an on-field incident, but with a ... More >>

Gibson Amphitheatre To Shut Down

Gibson Amphitheatre, the mainstay mid-size concert venue at Universal City, will close its doors in September, according to its operator Live Nation Entertainment. As announced in December 2011, the 6,200-capacity amphitheatre is expected to be demolished to make way for The Wizarding World of Har ... More >>

Henry Rollins: The Column! How I Spend My Nights Off

[Look for your weekly fix from the one and only Henry Rollins right here on West Coast Sound every Thursday, and come back tomorrow for the awesomely annotated playlist for his Saturday KCRW broadcast.] It is a night off. I am in Boise, Idaho, sitting in the Crux, a coffeehouse on Main Street. No ... More >>

School's Out Forever

Who knew? Alice Cooper actually had a great time in high school

Barbarians in the Ivory Tower

America's for-profit colleges use students in their greedy quest for federal bucks -- then leave them holding the debt.

Rollins Announces "Capitalism" Tour, Will Hit Each State Capital

[Look for your weekly fix from the one and only Henry Rollins right here on West Coast Sound every Thursday.] Henry Rollins doesn't keep his political opinions quiet; in a column last fall about the Occupy protesters he recounted how senator Rand Paul "made a fool of himself trying to compare them ... More >>

America's War on Mexicans — Embodied in Arizona's S.B. 1070 — Has Gone Too Far

James Beard 2012 Award Winners

The James Beard awards are the food equivalent of the Oscars: prestigious golden whatsits, fancy dress event, silly acceptance speeches, requisite grouching about the whole thing being rigged. Oh, yes, and lots of highly talented people getting much-deserved recognition. This year's awards ceremony ... More >>

Arizona Nutjob Sheriff Joe Arpaio Bringing His Drivel to Beverly Hills

There goes the neighborhood. Self-proclaimed "America's Toughest Sheriff" and aging crackpot Joe Arpaio will be bringing his special brand of media whoring from Phoenix, Arizona, to Beverly Hills on Friday. Arpaio's endorsing Phil Liberatore, a mustachioed conservative facing off in the Republican ... More >>

James Beard Awards 2012: Semifinalists Announced

Los Angeles chefs made a strong showing among the semifinalists for the 2012 James Beard Awards, which were announced today. Local nominees for the Best Chef, Pacific award include Josef Centeno (Lazy Ox Canteen), Michael Cimarusti (Providence), David Feau (The Royce at the Langham), Matt Molina (M ... More >>

Free Condoms in Venice Just in Time For Valentine's Day

AHF​L.A.'s AIDS Healthcare Foundation is trying to transform the porn industry by having the government require condoms for adult actors. Now it wants inside your bedroom for Valentine's Day. Ah, so romantic. Well, it is "International Condom Day" and, as such, the foundation is, er, rolling ... More >>

The Super Bowl Prostitution Hoax

Indianapolis mobilizes for an epic battle with an urban legend

Stopping 2,000 Barking Dogs

Obnoxious L.A. pet owners face $250 fine

John & Ken Broadcast Cellphone Number of L.A. Immigrants Rights Director, Invite Onslaught of Racist Voicemails

Did John & Ken take the skewerfest too far this time?​KFI radio personalities John & Ken, who spoon-feed SoCal's uber-conservatives (and, unfortunately, 1 million more Americans) exactly what they want to hear for a living, are usually pretty harmless. Perpetuating a culture of hate and fear f ... More >>

Magic Trip Review

405 Closure Got You Down? Check Out the Five Craziest Design Ideas for Saving Our Transportation System

Courtesy Van Alen Institute.​ Without harping too much on that inconvenient thing happening on a big road somewhere in West L.A. this weekend, let us begin this modest post by agreeing that transit in L.A., in California, and in the vast majority of the US, could stand a few more efficient alt ... More >>

Cocaine Flows Through L.A. Despite Drug War, Border Beef Up

Max Sparber​If the celebrity nightlife scene seems as giddy as ever and your favorite party girl remains quite chatty, you know why: Cocaine is economical and plentiful in these here parts. And despite a build up of more than 40,000 of agents along the U.S.-Mexico border, bloody Latin America ... More >>

EXCLUSIVE Interview: Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull Talks About Aqualung, His Duet with an Astronaut and Why He Doesn't Attend Concerts

Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull.​In 1967, Ian Anderson traded a Fender Stratocaster that previously belonged to Lemmy from Motorhead for a flute, since he felt he would never be as good of a guitar player as Eric Clapton. The rest is history. We caught up with Anderson to chat about the album Aq ... More >>

High-Speed Train to Vegas From Victorville

Just one hitch: You have to drive to Victorville

Hannah Bartle, 21-Year-Old Arizona State University Grad, Dies in Day's Second Fatal Stall on 405 Freeway

​In the second fatal crash of its kind in 24 hours, 21-year-old L.A. resident Hannah Bartle died when her 2004 Suzuki Aero came to a standstill on the 405 freeway at 11:10 p.m. last Friday. Just the night before, at 11:45 p.m., 23-year-old Vanessa Fulladosa of Palmdale was killed when her veh ... More >>

Page Two: EsotErykah

Giffords Tragedy: Nine-Year-Old Victim Christina Taylor Green Was Daughter Of Dodgers Scout John Green

APChristina Taylor Green.​The youngest victim of the weekend massacre in Arizona, 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green, was the daughter of Dodgers East Coast scout John Green. Green told a reporter that he has a lot of anger over the attack would like to spend some one-on-one time with suspect ... More >>

L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa Calls Shooting Of Ariz. Congresswoman Giffords 'Senseless'

Suspect Jared Loughner.​L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa reacted to Saturday's shooting of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and 18 others at a Tucson supermarket, saying the violence was "senseless." Six people, including a 9-year-old, were killed, and 13 others, including Gifford, sur ... More >>

The Growlers Debut New Live Videos, Announce Dec. Tour Dates

Long Beach-OC-ish band the Growlers bring to mind Jonathan Richman's famous quote about the Velvet Underground: "They made an atmosphere, and I knew then that I could make one too," he said way back circa the banana LP, and the Growlers now exist amid the same strange fog and smoke. Listen yours ... More >>

Arizona Doesn't Want Illegal Mexicans But, As It Legalizes Medical Pot, Illicit Mexican Weed Might Be Another Story

Arizona says yes to medical pot.​While California couldn't muster the votes to pass full legalization of pot, our friends to the east in Arizona got word over the weekend that its medical marijuana effort, Prop. 203, passed by the thinnest of margins. That would make Arizona the 15th state in ... More >>

Grinding Justice

Operation Streamline Costs Millions, Tramples the Constitution, Treats Migrants Like Cattle, and Doesn't Work

Crocodiles Under Fire For Song About Controversial AZ Sheriff: "Kill Joe Arpaio"

Crocodiles Under Fire For Song About Controversial AZ Sheriff: "Kill Joe Arpaio"

Pinalcchio: Renowned Forensics Experts Say a Pinal County Deputy's High-Profile Tale About Getting Shot After Encountering Drug Smugglers Doesn't Add Up

Does Hollywood Film 'Machete' Depict Arizona's 'Sheriff Joe' As Racist Fetus Killer?

Fox / vivamachete.comDon Johnson as Sheriff Joe?​Maricopa County's controversial "Sheriff Joe" Arpaio, the man who for many personifies Arizona's anti-immigration stance, is mad at Hollywood and, in particular, the Hollywood Reporter, for suggesting a fetus-killing racist cop in the new grindh ... More >>

Los Angeles Is One of the Worst Places To Live, According to Web Site For Geezers

​ Los Angeles is ranked the 6th worst place to live in the country, according to a study by AOL's Wallet Pop. The website compiled a list of the top 10 worst cities to live in the country and using factors such as unemployment rate, pollution, crime, health data and other factors that would ma ... More >>

Sprouts Farmers Market Opens in Pasadena: Your Circuit City, Repurposed

A. ScattergoodSprouts Farmers Market in Pasadena​ Sprouts Farmers Market, the Phoenix-based chain of supermarkets, opened another store in Pasadena this past Wednesday. Sprouts is owned by the Boney family, who owned the Henry's Marketplace chain before it was sold to Wild Oats (now owned by W ... More >>

EXTRA!: The Gays Urge Lady Gaga to Cancel Arizona Show

Photo via Domain Barnyard's Flickr stream.​Will Lady Gaga show her p-p-p-pokerface in Phoenix this Saturday night? The Fame Monster, who is scheduled to play the US Airways Center, has been singled out via online petition to honor her LGBTQ compadres and boycott Arizona. With a banner across ... More >>

Parts Of Arizona Immigration SB 1070 Law Blocked; L.A. City Council Won't Remove Boycott Yet

Steve La​ Updated with reaction from labor leaders and the mayor. Local labor leader Maria Elena Durazo declared victory in response to today's decision by a federal judge to stay the more controversial aspects of Arizona's SB 1070 immigration measure. Durazo, head of the county labor fede ... More >>

L.A., You're Not As Smart As You Think: San Francisco And New York Are More Educated

​Los Angeles is the land of UCLA, USC and those brainiacs at Caltech, not to mention President Obama's alma mater Occidental College, the Claremont Colleges, Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount, Cal States ad infinitum, etc. So one might might think that the nation's second-largest metropolitan area ... More >>

Lakers Win: Thanks to Ron Artest & Artichoke Dip

The Lakers won at the buzzer last night on a Ron Artest put-back off of a Kobe Bryant air ball. But that, it turns out, is not what made Suns coach Alvin Gentry sick to his stomach. In fact, Gentry threw up in the first half, and claimed to feel much better afterward. So what was the cause of his il ... More >>

Short Attention Span Dinner Theater: Your Week in Food, 5/24-5/28

In which we highlight the past week in food, either at home or abroad. "Someday soon, we are promised, LAX will be a magical fairyland of cuisine, where the terminals will fairly bristle with the best that Los Angeles dining has to offer, where the enchiladas, pizzas, and exquisite regiona ... More >>

Picketing Planed For Lakers Game Against Arizona Team

Activists opposed to Arizona's controversial immigration law plan to picket the Lakers Western Conference finals game against the Phoenix Suns at Staples Center Monday. They've expressed particular ire for Lakers' coach Phil Jackson because he hasn't voiced opposition to the law. "We are not happy ... More >>

Phil Jackson Wants To Be Seen As Neutral On Arizona

​Following tons of press Monday about his statements earlier this month expressing some understanding of Arizona's controversial immigration law, Lakers coach Phil Jackson stated that he wants to remain neutral on the topic. " ... It is my wish that this statement not be used by either side t ... More >>

L.A. Groups Sue Arizona Over Immigration Law

​A coalition of civil rights groups, including Los Angeles-based Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) and Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC), filed suit in Phoenix federal court challenging Arizona's controversial immigration law, the organizations announced Mo ... More >>

Los Angeles Residents Have Less Debt Compared To People In Other Big American Cities

​Yesterday we told you about how global trade at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach is looking up. More good news: L.A. ranks at the bottom of the top 20 metropolitan areas in the United States when it comes to personal debt.

Councilwoman Hahn Asks Lakers Not To Spend Money In Immigration-Embattled Arizona

Councilwoman Janice Hahn.​With a sweep of the Utah Jazz Monday, the Lakers would be facing a team from Arizona, the state in the cross-hairs of the Los Angeles City Council for its new law that allows cops to ask people they stop for proof of immigration status. In the face of a proposed city ... More >>

Top Ten Musicians Who Cannot Tour Arizona Without Proving They're "Legal"

Carlos Santana: Papers please!​We don't know if you're aware of this, but Arizona has recently passed a little law demanding that every cop, security guard or random person in some kind of uniform and in possession of a Tazer stop anyone "suspected" of being an illegal immigrant and demand tha ... More >>

Big City Blues: L.A. Ranks 17th In Penis Size

Ron Jeremy couldn't carry the team.​Los Angeles might be the adult video capital of the world (as Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa might say), but when it comes to penis size, the city doesn't quite measure up. The chain store and prophylactic-maker Condomania states that it analyzed its sales of di ... More >>

Nikki Finke Leaves L.A. Weekly

PHOENIX, AZ -- (Marketwire - June 23, 2009) - Village Voice Media, publisher of 15 alternative weekly papers in major metro areas throughout the U.S., today announced that Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood Daily blog, which has been anchored out of Village Voice Media's (VVM) LAWeekly.com for close t ... More >>

Remembering Bea Arthur's ... Leg of Lamb Recipe. The Food-Obsessed Actress Started Her One-Woman Show With a Recipe for It

A Golden moment with Arthur When I heard today's news that Bea Arthur had died, the first thing I thought of was roast leg of lamb. This isn't as odd as it might seem at first. Arthur's one-woman show, Bea Arthur On Broadway: Just Between Friends began with a recipe for leg of lamb. According to h ... More >>

Mika Miko Announce Release Date for We Be Xuxa on PPM Records

Mika Miko: They be xuxa. Given that they've been around since 2003, it's kinda shocking that LA's Mika Miko have released only one proper full-length. Yeah, they've had their cassettes and demos and 7-inches and compilation appearances and their fantastic 666 EP on Post Present Medium. Last year's ... More >>

Dead in Their Tracks

In America's latest border wars, Samaritans are arrested as smugglers and migrants keep dying.

Roger’s Nest

So what keeps this cardinal from flying away?

Letters

Letters