Joe Arpaio

​At a hearing last week in San Francisco, federal appeals court judges grilled a lawyer representing Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio in a First Amendment lawsuit filed by VVM owners Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin. Lacey and Larkin sued Arpaio, along with former county attorney Andrew Thomas and a special prosecutor, after they were arrested by Arpaio's deputies on trumped-up charges. The newspapermen alleged that the arrests were part of a vendetta conducted by Arpaio and Thomas against VVM's Phoenix New Times, which for years has run stories critical of the sheriff and his cronies. In fact, New Times' work on Arpaio essentially provided a road map for the U.S. Department of Justice in its recent report about Arpaio's racial profiling of Latinos. Though Lacey and Larkin's suit was initially rejected, in a rare move the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit agreed to rehear the matter in an en banc session. Writing on the law.com website, Kate Moser noted that the justices took exception to several arguments posed by Arpaio's ill-prepared attorney. And VVM's own Peter Jamison, writing in SF Weekly, quoted one justice as saying the facts alleged in the case could provide a basis for the criminal prosecution of "America's toughest sheriff." If the Ninth Circuit should ultimately rule in Lacey and Larkin's favor, the lawsuit could proceed to trial in Arizona.

​He came into office on a wave of progressive sentiment. So why is President Barack Obama waging a veritable jihad against medical marijuana? At a time when the med-pot industry is one of the few bright spots in the American economy and polls show strong support not just for medical weed but the legalization of pot generally, federal law enforcement officials continue to behave as if it's 1956 and Reefer Madness must be stopped at all costs. As Phoenix New Times staff writer Ray Stern reports, a president who once famously inhaled is now blowing it big time.

​In an interesting reporting exercise, four VVM publications have similar--but not identical--stories this week about NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal's surreal war with a Miami cybergeek. Miami New Times, New Times Broward-Palm Beach, OC Weekly and Phoenix New Times all have the story, which was written by Gus Garcia-Roberts in Florida and Paul Rubin in Phoenix. Garcia-Roberts and Rubin cover much of the same material. But the Miami/Broward version puts a special focus on how O'Neal's salacious personal emails are being used against him by a convicted con man he hired in Miami as an IT consultant, while the Phoenix version details the bizarre relationship that developed between O'Neal and starstruck Arizona law enforcement agencies, who were only too eager to give the randy sports celeb a badge. We recommend that you sample both renditions of an exquisitely odd set of events.

​Two of VVM's award-winning food critics have been selected for inclusion in the 2011 edition of Best Food Writing, the popular anthology published annually by Avalon. Jonathan Kauffman of SF Weekly was recognized for "Shark Fin's Soup," a fascinating story that helps readers understand exactly why so many people around the world covet the controversial dish. Laura Hahnefeld of Phoenix New Times was the other VVM winner, honored for "Fry Girl's Year of Eating Dangerously," a darkly comic description of how her job description--to eat huge amounts of fried food and then write about it--came back to haunt her. Best Food Writing is on shelves now.

​The Village Voice has received eight nominations in this year's AltWeekly Awards, more than any other publication. Miami New Times, LA Weekly and the Riverfront Times each received five nominations, while the Dallas Observer, the Houston Press, Phoenix New Times and SF Weekly will each take home four awards. Winners will be announced later this month at the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies' annual convention in New Orleans. All VVM publications compete in the "large circulation" category, and this year swept the Public Service, Long-Form News Story and Cover Design categories.

​An even dozen VVM writers received awards in the recently announced Best of the West awards, which honor journalistic excellence in the thirteen states west of the Rockies. Westword staff writer Alan Prendergast was a multiple winner, taking first place in Arts and Entertainment Writing and second for Growth and Environment Reporting. Other first-place nods went to Peter Jamison of SF Weekly (Sports Reporting), Monica Alonzo of Phoenix New Times (Immigration and Border Reporting), and Chris Vogel and Craig Malisow, both of the Houston Press, for Growth and Environment Reporting and Long-Form Feature Writing. Other second-place winners were Jim Schutze and Alex Flores of the Dallas Observer (Long-Form Feature Writing and Page Design) and Gustavo Arellano of OC Weekly (Column Writing). Third-place winners were Daniel Rodrigue of the Observer, Beth Barrett of LA Weekly, Joel Warner of Westword, and Charlotte Hsue of LA Weekly, who completed a VVM sweep in Long-Form Feature Writing.

Joe Arpaio: America's looniest sheriff.

​Phoenix New Times will appeal a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that let Maricopa County sheriff Joe Arpaio off the hook for the illegal arrest and jailing of the newspaper's founders. Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin were arrested by Arpaio's deputies four years ago after New Times published a story revealing that the county attorney's office, at Arpaio's urging, had issued subpoenas demanding that the newspaper turn over any notes or documents involving Arpaio, and also reveal the Internet browsing habits of its online readers. After New Times sued Arpaio, County Attorney Andrew Thomas, and special prosecutor Dennis Wilenchik, the Ninth Circuit ruled that Arpaio and Thomas had absolute immunity, and that the case could proceed only against Wilenchik. Stephen Lemons has full coverage of the new developments, including reaction from Lacey.

Jim Larkin (left) and Michael Lacey

​The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has let Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio off the hook in a lawsuit filed by Phoenix New Times over the illegal arrests of its founders. Those notorious late-night arrests by Arpaio's deputies led to the 2007 jailing of New Times founders and Village Voice Media executives Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin, and caused a public outcry in Arizona. Lacey and Larkin later sued, alleging violations of their constitutional rights. However, in a ruling issued yesterday, the Ninth Circuit, often thought of as a liberal court, lined up dutifully behind Arpaio and former county attorney Andrew Thomas, declaring them immune from prosecution because of the "absolute immunity" they enjoy as public officials. The three-judge panel did say that New Times could pursue its case against special prosecutor Dennis Wilenchik, who was appointed by Thomas to investigate the newspaper. Despite Arpaio's campaign against New Times, the paper continues to provide complete coverage of the sheriff's reign of error.

Livingston winner Sarah Fenske

​Longtime VVM writer and editor Sarah Fenske has won the 2010 Livingston Award for local reporting. Fenske, now the managing editor at the Riverfront Times in St. Louis, received the honor for "Mr. Big Stuff," an expose she wrote while working as a staff writer at Phoenix New Times. Her articles revealed nepotism and cronyism at the Housing Authority of Maricopa County, and ultimately forced the resignation of the authority's director. Fenske's award was announced by Dean Baquet, Washington bureau chief of The New York Times, who was one of this year's Livingston judges. Also honored as Livingston finalists this year were Peter Jamison of VVM's SF Weekly and Kristen Hinman, formerly a staff writer at the Riverfront Times and now a special contributing writer to the company. The Livingstons are the largest all-media, general reporting prizes in the country; since 2000, four VVM writers have won the Livingston and 22 have been named finalists--more than any other American media organization.

​The Livingston Awards for Young Journalists, the nation's preeminent all-media reporting contest, has named three VVM writers finalists in this year's competition. Phoenix New Times staff writer Sarah Fenske (now managing editor at the Riverfront Times in St. Louis) joined former RFT staff writer (now VVM contributing writer) Kristen Hinman and SF Weekly staff writer Peter Jamison on the list of honorees. Winners will be announced on June 7, and will receive $10,000 prizes. In the past decade, VVM has had more Livingston winners and finalists than any other American media organization.