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HavenWorks.com/arizona/phoenix Phoenix News, Phoenix AZ |
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PHOENIX ARIZONA State
Capitals
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Phoenix
 John
McCain -  Racist
-  Terrorism
-  Money
-  History
- 2008
Election - Phoenix
-  Arizona
-  US
-  Military
-  Law
-  Foreign
"Why McCain's Time With Council Of World Freedom Matters." ... "Since Sunday, Democrats have been buzzing about the re-revelation that during the 1980s, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain served on the board of a far-right conservative organization that had supplied arms and funds to paramilitary organizations in Latin America." ... "Democratic strategist Paul Begala lit the fire when, during an appearance on Meet the Press, he warned that this relatively obscure detail from McCain's past could draw him into a guilt-by-association game he was bound to regret." ... ""John McCain sat on the board of...the U.S. Council for World Freedom," said Begala, "The Anti-Defamation League, in 1981 when McCain was on the board, said this about this organization. It was affiliated with the World Anti-Communist League - the parent organization - which ADL said 'has increasingly become a gathering place, a forum, a point of contact for extremists, racists and anti-Semites.'"" ... "But McCain's involvement in the U.S. Council for World Freedom, which extended from 1981 through, possibly, 1986 is significant -- not merely because it ties him to unsavory characters but because it firmly associates him with a foreign policy that was, at the time and still, controversial." ... "The USCWF was founded in Phoenix, Arizona in November 1981 as an offshoot of the World Anti-Communist League. The group was, from the onset, saddled with the disreputable reputation of its parent group. The WACL had ties to ultra-right figures and Latin American death squads. Roger Pearson, the chairman of the WACL, was expelled from the group in 1980 under allegations that he was a member of a neo-Nazi organization." ... "It [The USCWF] claimed to support "pro-Democratic resistance movements fighting communist totalitarianism." And during the 1980s it became a vehicle for the [Republican President] Reagan administration to prop up some of the more totalitarian, anti-communist efforts in Central America." ... "The funders of the U.S World Council of Freedom read like a who's who list of prominent conservative figures. Joe Coors, the Republican Beer baron was reportedly a big donor. Time Magazine wrote that the Christian Broadcasting Network was a backer as well. The Washington Times newspaper, owned by the controversial Reverend Sun Myung Moon, started a fundraising drive of its own." ... "Through it all, McCain was a member." ... "... McCain's association with a group that reportedly circumvented law, financed right-wing military institutions, and engaged in sometimes brutal anti-communist tactics, could be telling for some voters." -By Sam Stein -HuffingtonPost.com
 Cindy
McCain - John
McCain -  Barack
Obama - 2008
Election - Phoenix
- Arizona
-  Family
"Cindy McCain's Half Sister: "I'm Voting for Barack Obama"." ... "Cindy McCain's half sister is planning on voting for [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama, she tells Usmagazine.com." ... ""I'm not voting for McCain," Kathleen Hensley Portalski tells Us. "I have a different political standpoint." ... ""I'm voting for Obama," the Phoenix [Arizona's capital] resident says. "I think his proposals to improve the country are more positive and I'm not a big war believer."" ... "Portalski, 65, and the potential first lady, 54, have the same father: Jim Hensley, the founder of the beer distributor Hensley and Co. that Cindy McCain now chairs." ... "In an interview with NPR News' All Things Considered last week, Portalski said she felt "like a non-person" after Cindy McCain described herself as an "only child."" ... "Portalski's mother is Hensley's first wife; Cindy McCain's mother, Marguerite Hensley, also had another daughter from her first marriage." -UsMagazine.com 
John
McCain - Money
-  Politics
- Phoenix
- Arizona
-  Condo
- 2008
Election
"Two Become One." ... "I was wondering yesterday how it is that you manage to spend almost $4.7 million on a condo in Phoenix [Arizona], and the answer turns out to be that the McCains bought two luxury condos and combined them. The $4.66 million figure is the combined price of his cribs. What’s more, at 2211 Camelback you’re not just paying for a swanky pad, you’re getting top-notch amenities like an edgeless rooftop pool and a concierge staff prepared to cater to your every whim:" "* Laundry and dry cleaning service with pick-up and delivery"" -By Matthew Yglesias -ThinkProgress.org/Wonk Room 
Cindy
McCain - Family
- Phoenix
- Arizona
- John
McCain -2008
Election
"Cindy McCain's Half Sister 'Angry' She's Hidden." ... "Last Tuesday, NPR broadcast a story about [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain's wife] Cindy McCain's business and charity work. In it, Ted Robbins described McCain as the only child of Jim Hensley, a wealthy Arizona businessman. The next morning, NPR received an e-mail from Nicholas Portalski of Phoenix [Arizona], who heard the story with his mother." ... ""We were listening to the piece about Cindy McCain on NPR, All Things Considered, and it just struck us very hard," Portalski said." ... "His mother, Kathleen Hensley Portalski, is also Hensley's daughter." ... "McCain herself routinely uses the phrase "only child," as she did on CNN last month. "I grew up with my dad," she said then. "I'm an only child. My father was a cowboy, and he really loved me very much, but I think he wanted a son occasionally."" ... ""I'm upset," Kathleen Portalski says. "I'm angry. It makes me feel like a nonperson, kind of."" ... ""The fact that we don't exist," he says. "The fact that we've never been recognized, and then Cindy has to put such a fine point on it by saying something that's not true. Recently, again and again. It's just very, very hurtful."" -By Ted Robbins -NPR.org 
Homes
-  Nevada
-  Florida
- Phoenix
- Arizona
- Los
Angeles - San
Diego - San
Francisco -  California
- Florida
-  Michigan
-  Minnesota
-  Illinois
-  Ohio
-  Georgia
-  New
York - Seattle
-  Washington
-  Massachusetts
- Portland
-  Oregon
-  Colorado
-  Texas
-  North
Carolina
"Home prices down 15.8% in past year, S&P says: Seven of 20 cities tally monthly price gains in May, Case-Shiller data show." ... "Prices in 10 cities fell 16.9% in the past year." ... "Prices thus are at the same levels as they were in the summer of 2004, which means four years of appreciation have been effectively wiped out. Prices are down 18.4% from peak levels seen two years ago." ... "Here's a list of the 20 cities in the Case-Shiller index with the annual decline through May: Las Vegas [Nevada], down 28.4%; Miami [Florida], down 28.3%; Phoenix [Arizona], down 26.5%; Los Angeles [California], down 24.5%; San Diego [California], down 23.2%; San Francisco [California], down 22.9%; Tampa [Florida], down 20.2%; Detroit [Michigan], down 17.4%; Washington [DC], down 15.4%; Minneapolis [Minnesota], down 14.8%; Chicago [Illinois], down 9.4%; Cleveland [Ohio], down 8%; Atlanta [Georgia], and New York [City, New York], both down 7.9%; Seattle [Washington], down 6.3%; Boston [Massachusetts], down 6.2%; Portland [Oregon], down 5.2%; Denver [Colorado], down 4.8%; Dallas [Texas], down 3.1%; and Charlotte, N.C. [North Carolina], down 0.2%." -By Rex Nutting -MarketWatch
John
McCain -  Czech
Republic -  Slovakia
- History
-  Russia
-  Energy
- Military
- Phoenix
- Arizona
- US
- 2008
Election - Politics
"Note to McCain: Czechoslovakia doesn’t exist anymore." ... "This is almost certainly going to sound nitpicky, if not actually petty, but bear with me. It’s not unreasonable to note that [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain continues to make references to a country that doesn’t exist." ... "At a press conference in Phoenix [Arizona] today, for example, McCain referenced Czechoslovakia. Again." "“I was concerned about a couple of steps that the Russian government took in the last several days. One was reducing the energy supplies to Czechoslovakia. Apparently that is in reaction to the Czech’s agreement with us concerning missile defense, and again some of the Russian now announcement they are now retargeting new targets, something they abandoned at the end of the Cold War, is also a concern. So we see the tensions between Russia and their neighbors, as well as Russia and the United States are somewhat increasing.”""On first blush, this sounds like more antagonistic rhetoric towards Russia — which McCain wants to kick out of the G8 — which isn’t especially helpful." ... "But more importantly, Russia can’t “reduce energy supplies to Czechoslovakia.” Czechoslovakia, of course, doesn’t exist. It split into two countries more than 15 years ago. McCain has actually been to the Czech Republic and Slovakia since they became independent countries, and he’s met with their leaders." ... "First, as Greg Sargent noted, McCain has made this same mistake more than once during the campaign. About three months ago, McCain vowed to “work closely with Czechoslovakia” on missile defense. Last fall, during a Republican debate, McCain said: “The first thing I would do is make sure that we have a missile defense system in place in Czechoslovakia and Poland, and I don’t care what his objections are to it.”" ... "Second, before Republicans condemn Dems for being picky on this, let’s not forget that in the 2000 campaign, when McCain also screwed up Czechoslovakia, it was none other than [Republican] George W. Bush who said it deserved to be a campaign issue: “A guy gets up and quizzes me [on world leaders] … but John McCain says something about the ‘ambassador to Czechoslovakia.’ Well, I know there is no Czechoslovakia [there’s a Czech Republic and a Slovakia], but yet it didn’t make the nightly national news." ... "But the raison d’etre of John McCain’s entire presidential campaign is the notion that he’s an expert on foreign policy, thanks to his decades of experience as a Washington insider. When the foreign policy expert keeps referencing a non-existent country, it’s not unreasonable to mention that maybe his expertise isn’t quite as impressive as his campaign and the political media establishment would like us to believe." ... "McCain, meanwhile, makes mistakes like this all the time, almost always with no media scrutiny at all.” -By Steve Benen -TheCarpetbaggerReport.com |
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John
McCain - 
Rick
Renzi - 
Jon
Kyl - Money
- Politics
- 
Federal
- 
Investigation
- Phoenix
- Arizona
- Real
Estate - 
Land
- Legislation
- Nevada
- "FBI
interviews Arizona staffers." ... "Federal agents
interviewed staffers for likely [2008 Election] Republican presidential
nominee [and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain (Ariz. [Arizona]) as part
of their corruption case against [Arizona Republican
Representative] Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.[Republican-Arizona])."
... "[United States] U.S. Attorney for the District
of Arizona Diane J. Humetewa and fellow prosecutors disclosed the interviews
with aides for McCain and fellow Arizona Republican [Senator] Sen. Jon
Kyl in a written response to Renzi’s attorneys, who asked for the contents
of the interview to help prepare for Renzi’s upcoming trial, which is scheduled
for October [2008]." ... "The aides
were interviewed about land exchanges, according to an April letter from
Humetewa filed with the U.S. District Court of Arizona late last week."
... "A federal land swap critical to developing a $3 billion copper mine
southeast of Phoenix [Arizona] is at the heart of the case against Renzi,
who is facing 35 public corruption charges, including conspiracy, money-laundering,
extortion and insurance fraud." ... "Renzi is alleged to have told executives
for Resolution Copper Mining that he would not support a land deal the
mining company was interested in unless they bought his former business
partner’s property as part of the deal, according to the [February] Feb.
22 federal indictment." ... "Under the deal, 5,000 acres of non-federal
land owned by Resolution Copper were to be exchanged for 3,025 acres of
federal land. The federal land sits on a large copper deposit, and the
exchange would have allowed mining on land for the first time since a 1954
executive order by [Republican] then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower." ...
"Renzi allegedly wanted land owned by a business partner who owed Renzi
money to be included in the deal. If the land had been included, prosecutors
charge, it would have allowed the business partner to pay a debt to Renzi."
... "Resolution Copper refused to cooperate, but another company, Preserved
Petrified Forest Land Investors LLC [Limited Liability Company] of Las
Vegas [Nevada], agreed to buy the land. Prosecutors allege this netted
Renzi more than $700,000." ... "Renzi twice introduced a land swap bill,
in 2005 and 2006, before taking his name off of the measure after the FBI
[Federal Bureau of Investigation] raided his family business in April 2007.
[Arizona Democratic Representiave] Rep. Ed Pastor (D-Ariz.[Democratic-Arizona])
then introduced the legislation on [August] Aug. 1, 2007, along with Arizona
[Republican Representatives] Reps. Jeff Flake and John Shadegg, both Republicans,
and Democrat[ic Representative] Harry Mitchell (D[Democratic])." ... "Sens.
McCain and Kyl introduced companion legislation in the Senate, most recently
in July 2007. " (1, 2)
-By Susan Crabtree -TheHill.com
Home
- Prices
- Nevada
- Florida
- Phoenix
- Arizona
- NC
- "S&P:
US home prices tumble a record 14.1 pct in 1Q." ...
"Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller said its national home price index
fell 14.1 percent in the first quarter compared with a year earlier, the
lowest since its inception in 1988." ... "However, the index is still up
60 percent versus 2000." ... "Nineteen of the 20 metro areas reported annual
declines, with 15 of them posting record lows. Six metro areas lost more
than 20 percent." ... "Las Vegas [Nevada] had the worst performance in
March, falling 25.9 percent from a year earlier, followed by Miami [Florida]
and Phoenix [Arizona]. Only Charlotte, N.C. [North Carolina], stayed above
water, gaining less than 1 percent over the previous year." -By
J.W. Elphinstone -AP
via -SFGate.com
John
McCain - 
Jet
- Vacation
- Homes
- Phoenix
- Arizona
- California
- 
Va
- Political
- 2008
Election - "Beer
heiress could be next first lady: [2008 Election
Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain's
marriage has mixed business and politics from beginning." ... "As heiress
to her father's stake in Hensley & Co. of Phoenix [Arizona], Cindy
McCain is an executive whose worth may exceed $100 million. Her beer earnings
have afforded the GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican 2008 Election] presidential
nominee [John McCain] a wealthy lifestyle with a private jet and vacation
homes at his disposal, and her connections helped him launch his political
career — even if the millions remain in her name alone." ... "Within a
few years of marrying Cindy Hensley, the daughter of a multimillionaire
Anheuser-Busch distributor, John McCain won his first election. He was
new to Arizona politics and fundraising in the 1982 House race, and his
campaign quickly fell into debt. Personal money -- tens of thousands of
dollars in loans to his campaign from McCain bank accounts -- helped him
survive." ... "Cindy McCain's father, James Hensley, and other Hensley
& Co. executives gave so much the Federal Election Commission ordered
McCain to give some of it back." ... "Beverage industry analysts estimate
Hensley's value at more than $250 million and its annual sales at $300
million or more." ... "Assets held by Cindy McCain alone or with her children
also include Anheuser-Busch stock; two condominiums along the California
coast worth a total of at least $3 million and Arizona investments in rental
medical offices and a parking lot, according to property records and John
McCain's latest financial disclosure reports." ... "Cindy McCain, through
a family trust, sold the family mansion in Phoenix for $3.2 million and
bought a $4.6 million Phoenix condo in 2006. The couple may also jointly
own a condo in Arlington, Va. [Virginia], assessed at $847,800." ... "John
McCain held a barbecue recently for reporters at a two-story cabin near
Sedona, Ariz. [Arizona], that sits on 15 acres owned by his wife's family
trust and a real estate partnership in her name. The property includes
four single-family homes and is worth nearly $1.8 million." (1, 2)
-AP via -MSNBC
Home-Prices
- History
- Seattle
- Washington
- Portland
- Ore
- Nevada
- Florida
- Phoenix
- Arizona
- San
Diego - California
- Michigan
- NC
- "U.S.
home prices fall 10.7% in January, Seattle's drop 1.3%."
... "U.S. [United States] home prices fell 10.7 percent in January from
the same month last year, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller
home-price index of 20 cities, which saw the steepest decline in the two-decade
history of the index." ... "Seattle[Washington]-area home prices were among
the decliners, although the annual drop was a slight 1.3 percent. Only
Portland, Ore. [Oregon], posted a smaller annual decline, 0.5 percent."
... "Worst hit were Las Vegas [Nevada] and Miami [Florida], both reporting
19.3 percent drops, as the regions are still paying the price for rampant
speculation and overbuilding during the boom years. Those cities and 14
others — including Phoenix [Arizona], San Diego [California] and Detroit
[Michigan] — posted record lows." ... "Only Charlotte, N.C. [North Carolina],
squeaked by as a gainer in the Case-Shiller index, with a 1.8 percent increase
in January compared with a year earlier." -By Vinnee
Tong with contributions by Dan Caterinicchia
-AP via -SeattleTimes
Rick
Renzi
- John
McCain
- Money
- Politics
- Real
Estate - Federal
- Land
- Phoenix
- Arizona
- 2008
Election - "Rep.
Renzi indicted on fraud, finance charges." ... "Republican
[Representative] Rep. Richard Renzi of Arizona was indicted on 35 criminal
counts, including conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering and official
extortion stemming from land deals in his state, Justice Department officials
said on Friday." ... "The indictment stemmed from plans by Renzi and an
associate, a real estate investor, to benefit from a land-exchange deal
in Arizona in return for Renzi's support for necessary federal legislation,
court documents said." ... ""It was an object of the conspiracy for Renzi
to enrich (his associate) and personally benefit himself," according to
the 26-page indictment handed up by a federal grand jury in Phoenix [Arizona]
that the Justice Department released in Washington." ... "It also accused
Renzi, a three-term congressman who was a state co-chair for [2008 Election
Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain's
presidential campaign, of embezzling premiums from clients of an insurance
business to fund his congressional campaign." (1, 2)
-By Randall Mikkelsen, James Vicini, Rick Cowan and
Thomas Ferraro, with contributions by Eric Walsh
-Reuters
Rick
Renzi
- Money
- Politics
- Real
Estate - US
Attorneys - Investigation
- Phoenix
- Arizona
- Federal
- Land
- "Rick
Renzi, Republican Congressman, Indicted by U.S. (Update3)."
... "Representative Rick Renzi, a Republican from Arizona who isn't seeking
re-election, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in an alleged scheme
to profit from a land deal." ... "Renzi, 49, who was first elected to the
House in 2002, was charged along with James Sandlin, 56, a real estate
investor and one of his political backers, and Andrew Beardall, 36, an
attorney who had been general counsel of Renzi's family insurance business.
Renzi and Beardall are accused of embezzling money from insurance clients
to fund the lawmaker's congressional campaign." ... "``Congressman Renzi
misused his public office by forcing a land sale that would financially
benefit himself and a business associate, and in so doing, he betrayed
the trust of the citizens of Arizona,'' said U.S. Attorney Diane Humetewa
of Phoenix [Arizona] in a statement." ... "The U.S. alleged that Renzi
offered to sponsor legislation to help a company seeking to swap land with
the federal government if it purchased property owned by Sandlin. Renzi,
who sat on a committee that approved such deals, told the company in early
2005 that he wouldn't support the request if it didn't buy the land, according
to the indictment. No deal was made." ... "Later, Renzi pressured a separate
investment group, also looking for approval of a land exchange, to purchase
the property, prosecutors said. That group agreed to buy 480 acres from
Sandlin for $4.6 million in April 2005, the government said." ... "The
Renzi investigation was highlighted during a congressional inquiry last
year into the [Republican President] Bush administration's firings of nine
U.S. attorneys. One of the dismissed prosecutors, Paul Charlton, had been
in charge of the probe." -By Robert Schmidt
-Bloomberg
John
McCain
- 
Vicki
Iseman - Corporate
- Government
- Vacations
- Jets
- Real
Estate - Television
Networks - 
Media
- 
Communications
- Law
- Politics
- History
- Phoenix
- Arizona
- 2008
Election - "For
McCain, Self-Confidence on Ethics Poses Its Own Risk."
... "Even as he [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona
Senator John McCain] has vowed to hold himself to the highest ethical standards,
his confidence in his own integrity has sometimes seemed to blind him to
potentially embarrassing conflicts of interest." ... "Mr. McCain promised,
for example, never to fly directly from Washington to Phoenix [Arizona],
his hometown, to avoid the impression of self-interest because he sponsored
a law that opened the route nearly a decade ago. But like other lawmakers,
he often flew on the corporate jets of business executives seeking his
support, including the media moguls Rupert Murdoch, Michael R. Bloomberg
and Lowell W. Paxson, Ms. [lobbyist Vicki] Iseman’s client. (Last year
he voted to end the practice.)" ... "Mr. McCain helped found a nonprofit
group to promote his personal battle for tighter campaign finance rules.
But he later resigned as its chairman after news reports disclosed that
the group was tapping the same kinds of unlimited corporate contributions
he opposed, including those from companies seeking his favor. He has criticized
the cozy ties between lawmakers and lobbyists, but is relying on corporate
lobbyists to donate their time running his presidential race and recently
hired a lobbyist to run his Senate office. " ... "During Mr. McCain’s four
years in the House [of Representatives], Mr. [Charles] Keating, his family
and his business associates contributed heavily to his political campaigns.
The banker gave Mr. McCain free rides on his private jet, a violation of
Congressional ethics rules (he later said it was an oversight and paid
for the trips). They vacationed together in the Bahamas. And in 1986, the
year Mr. McCain was elected to the Senate, his wife joined Mr. Keating
in investing in an Arizona shopping mall." ... "Mr. Keating had taken over
the Lincoln Savings and Loan Association and used its federally insured
deposits to gamble on risky real estate and other investments. He pressed
Mr. McCain and other lawmakers to help hold back federal banking regulators."
... "For years, Mr. McCain complied. At Mr. Keating’s request, he wrote
several letters to regulators, introduced legislation and helped secure
the nomination of a Keating associate to a banking regulatory board." ...
"By early 1987, though, the thrift was careering toward disaster. Mr. McCain
agreed to join several senators, eventually known as the Keating Five,
for two private meetings with regulators to urge them to ease up." ...
"When Lincoln went bankrupt in 1989 — one of the biggest collapses of the
savings and loan crisis, costing taxpayers $3.4 billion — the Keating Five
became infamous. The scandal sent Mr. Keating to prison and ended the careers
of three senators, who were censured in 1991 for intervening. Mr. McCain,
who had been a less aggressive advocate for Mr. Keating than the others,
was reprimanded only for “poor judgment” and was re-elected the next year.
" ... "A champion of deregulation, Mr. McCain wrote letters in 1998 and
1999 to the Federal Communications Commission urging it to uphold marketing
agreements allowing a television company to control two stations in the
same city, a crucial issue for Glencairn Ltd. [Limited], one of Ms. Iseman’s
clients. He introduced a bill to create tax incentives for minority ownership
of stations; Ms. Iseman represented several businesses seeking such a program.
And he twice tried to advance legislation that would permit a company to
control television stations in overlapping markets, an important issue
for Paxson." ... "In late 1999, Ms. Iseman asked Mr. McCain’s staff to
send a letter to the commission to help Paxson, now Ion Media Networks,
on another matter. Mr. Paxson was impatient for F.C.C. approval of a television
deal, and Ms. Iseman acknowledged in an e-mail message to The Times that
she had sent to Mr. McCain’s staff information for drafting a letter urging
a swift decision." ... "Mr. McCain complied. He sent two letters to the
commission, drawing a rare rebuke for interference from its chairman."
(1, 2,
3,
4)
-By Jim
Rutenberg, Marilyn W. Thompson, David
D. Kirkpatrick and Stephen
Labaton with contributions by Barclay Walsh and Kitty Bennett
-NYTimes
Michael
Elston
- 
Alberto
Gonzales - US
Attorneys - Law
- Politics
- Seattle
- Washington
- Phoenix
- Arizona
- San
Diego - California
- Little
Rock - 
Arkansas
- "Justice
Dept. Official To Quit: [Michael] Elston Had Role
in Prosecutor Firings." ... "Former U.S. attorney John McKay of Seattle
[Washington] told Congress that on Jan. 17 -- before McKay stepped down
-- he received a call from Elston that he "greatly resented." He said Elston
attempted to "buy my silence by promising that the attorney general [Alberto
Gonzales] would not demean me in his Senate testimony."" ... ""My handwritten
and dated notes of this call," McKay told Congress, "reflect that I believed
Mr. Elston's tone was sinister and that he was prepared to threaten me
further if he concluded I did not intend to continue to remain silent about
my dismissal."" ... "Paul K. Charlton, who was the U.S. attorney in Phoenix
[Airzona], said that he, too, received a call that day in which Elston
offered "a quid pro quo agreement: my silence in exchange for the attorney
general's." Another former prosecutor, Carol C. Lam of San Diego [California],
said Elston accused her of "leaking" word of her dismissal to the press
"and criticized me for talking to other dismissed U.S. attorneys."" ...
"Former U.S. attorney Bud Cummins of Little Rock [Arkansas] also recounted
a Feb. 20 conversation with Elston that Cummins said contained a "threatening
undercurrent" warning that Justice Department officials would retaliate
if he or his colleagues spoke to journalists or volunteered to testify
in Congress." -By Dan Eggen and Amy Goldstein
-WashingtonPost
Renzi
- Phoenix
- Arizona
- Real
Estate - Money
- Politics
- Law
Enforcement - "Lawmaker's
Influence in Land Deals Probed." ... "U.S. prosecutors
in Arizona have opened a preliminary investigation into whether [Republican]
Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.) twice pressured landowners to buy a 480-acre
parcel owned by his former business partner, a major backer of Renzi's
political campaign, according to federal law enforcement sources." ...
"The deal ultimately netted the business partner a $3 million profit, according
to Arizona land records." ... "The Arizona transaction has drawn the interest
of the U.S. attorney's office and the FBI's Phoenix field office. Three
law enforcement officials said both are investigating Renzi's involvement
in two land deals -- one of which was not completed -- designed to put
the 480 acres under federal protection from development in exchange for
land more fit for commercial development." ... "According to sources, the
investigation is focusing on whether, in exchange for political contributions
and business support, James Sandlin received special treatment from Renzi
for a parcel of land that earned him a $3 million profit." ... "Sandlin
bought into Renzi's real estate firm in 2001, then paid about $200,000
for half the business and, after he was elected to Congress, $1 million
to $5 million for the rest." ... "Investigators want to know whether Renzi
twice attempted to arrange deals for Sandlin, including once by proposing
legislation, two sources with knowledge of the investigations said." -By
Jonathan Weisman and Dan Eggen -WashingtonPost
-
- Phoenix
- "Seven
possible heat-related deaths in Arizona: Temperatures
even higher than usual." ... "Temperatures have been above average every
day since June 29 in Phoenix, where the normal high in the middle of July
is a sizzling 107." ... "The city hit 116 degrees on Sunday, 2 degrees
above the old record for the date, set in 1936. Phoenix was almost mild
compared with the Colorado River Valley, where Bullhead City reached 124
on Sunday and Needles, California, hit 125."
-AP via -CNN
Mother's-Day
- Homes
- Florida
- Georgia
- Austin
- TX
- IL
- Des-Moines
- 
IA
- Connecticut
- Oklahoma
- WA
- Nebraska
- Phoenix
- AZ
- Virginia
- CA
- Utah
- North
Carolina - "Women
helping build homes." ... "Women Build is a partnership
of Habitat for Humanity and the Lowe's chain of home improvement stores.
It is an annual event that gives women a chance to help needy families.
Female crews have built 650 Habitat houses in the United States." ... "[Along
with Pensacola, Florida] Other cities with Mother's Day Women Build projects
are Atlanta [Georgia]; Austin, Texas; Chicago [Illinois]; Des Moines, Iowa;
Hartford, Conn. [Connecticut]; Oklahoma City [Oklahoma]; Olympia, Wash.
[Washington]; Omaha, Neb. [Nebraska]; Phoenix [Arizona]; Richmond, Va [Virginia].;
San Francisco [California]; Salt Lake City [Utah]; Tacoma, Wash. [Washington];
and Winston-Salem, N.C. [North Carolina]" -By Bill
Kaczor -APvia
-NJ.com
- "Cost
cuts rescue services on Phoenix's budget block: $1
mil trim saves senior centers, park programs." ... "City officials have
found just over $1 million in cost savings, which will allow them to spare
some programs from the chopping block as they try to balance next year's
budget." ... "Among the services being saved: the Senior Services East
Senior Center and the Shadow Mountain Senior Center, both of which are
being kept open in part because of residents' concerns." -By
Ginger D. Richardson -azcentral.com
Autos
- "Phoenix
Diocese ordered to pay $2.4 million in van crash."
... "The Riverside County [California] jury found that the driver of the
15-passenger van, who was working for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix
acted improperly in reacting to the failure of the van's left rear tire."
-AP
via -MercuryNews.com
Nathan
Sproul - Criminal
- Politics
- 2004
Election - Oregon
- Nevada
- Phoenix
- Arizona
-
- "Arizona
bishop convicted in hit-run death." ... "Bishop Thomas
O'Brien, the former head of Arizona's largest Roman Catholic diocese, was
convicted yesterday of leaving the scene of an accident in which the car
he was driving struck and killed a pedestrian." ... "O'Brien, 68, is believed
to be the first Catholic bishop in U.S. history to be convicted of a felony.
He stepped down as head of the Phoenix diocese last summer after he was
charged in the accident, which came two months after authorities agreed
not to prosecute him for covering up allegations of sexual abuse by priests."
-WashingtonPost
and -AP via -Reuters
via -SeattleTimes.NWsource
