The Week in Review
MAY 4-8
These were among the most-read stories last week.
MONDAY
Gunmen in Texas shooting were Phoenix residents
Federal agents had Phoenix resident Elton Simpson in their sights for years before authorities say he showed up with an assault rifle at a cartoon contest held to mock the Prophet Mohammed in suburban Dallas on Sunday.
Court documents indicate that the FBI in Arizona targeted Simpson for a criminal investigation as early as 2006, when agents paid an undercover informant to befriend him and act like he wanted Simpson to teach him more about Islam.
Federal agents grew more concerned about Simpson’s plans to travel to Africa, study at a religious school and join a jihad, according to court records. He was eventually arrested and charged with lying about his intentions.
He was convicted and sentenced to probation because a judge determined that agents could not prove a connection to terrorism.
Simpson and another Phoenix resident, Nadir Soofi, were identified as the two gunmen who were shot and killed Sunday night after they tried to approach the cartoon contest in Garland, Texas.
TUESDAY
Frank Lloyd Wright house in Phoenix turns neighbors into foes
Until recently, Zach Rawling has been a little mysterious, much like the David and Gladys Wright house he bought more than two years ago to rescue it from the wrecking ball.
The native Arizonan grew up less than three miles from the futurist concrete-block home that Frank Lloyd Wright, America’s most famous architect, designed for his son, David.
Rawling was lauded by the design community as an anonymous hero when he quietly closed on the house for nearly $2.4 million just before Christmas 2012. But his David and Gladys Wright House Foundation is now facing some resistance from powerful neighbors.
A 33-year-old former homebuilder with a law degree, Rawling is stepping, a bit reluctantly, into the fray and limelight as foundation president. For two years, he has been restoring the house and its interior to its 1952 glory.
But his vision is larger. Rawling, supported by a network of Wright experts and local art enthusiasts, wants the site to be a museum, a cultural hub for the community, a celebration of architecture and the arts that can inspire future generations.
WEDNESDAY
Phoenix, Scottsdale summer resort deals
Staying in town this summer?
Ditch the kitchen for room service and crank up somebody else’s air-condi- tioning for a few days by checking into one of the luxury resorts that make greater Phoenix a vacation and convention haven all winter long.
Deals abound from Memorial Day through Labor Day as resorts try to fill rooms, restaurants, spas and golf courses with bar- gain-loving guests who don’t mind the heat.
The hardest part is picking the right palace of pampering. Stick with the family favorite or try something new? Go for that package with a bunch of perks or book a room-only rate?
This year we’re sorting the deals by starting rates so you can shop by budget. These aren’t the hotels’ only summer offers, of course, and the lowest prices aren’t available on every date.
In many cases, the best offers must be prepaid and are non-refundable. Weekend rates are generally higher, especially for holiday weekends.
THURSDAY
Cooking Light: Uptown Farmers Market among best in U.S.
The new Uptown Farmers Market in Phoenix has made Cooking Light’s list of 50 best farmers markets in the U.S.
The market opened in January in the North Phoenix Baptist Church parking lot on Central Avenue south of Bethany Home. Nearly 60 local farmers and food makers sell locally harvested flour, fresh picked kale, baked goods and salsas.
Cooking Light’s 50 Best Farmers’ Markets across the country is in the magazine’s June issue, which hits newsstands Friday, May 8. Each market has been selected by the experts — chefs and food authorities — who live and work in each state.
In the magazine, chef Charleen Badman of FnB in Scottsdale said “that in addition to a great array of produce and prepared goods produced entirely in-state, the market uses local high school culinary students to clean, peel and chop fresh produce for shoppers on request.”
The Saturday and Wednesday market includes produce grown by prolific organic farmer Bob McClendon of McClendon’s Select.
FRIDAY
MCSO, Arpaio case: More victims? New trial? CIA review?
A racial-profiling case against the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office that has already spanned eight years and promised tens of millions of dollars in operational overhaul is now almost guaranteed to expand.
A Friday status conference addressed a broad range of topics with varying degrees of relevance to the case and its offshoot — ongoing contempt proceedings against Sheriff Joe Arpaio and four of his top aides.
Status conferences, typically reserved for on-therecord housekeeping matters, have evolved into their own sideshow in a case that becomes more convoluted by the day.
U.S. District Judge Murray Snow seemed undeterred by the growing distractions to the case, promising Friday to exhaustively flesh out each topic in the upcoming months.
The biggest developments from Friday’s hearing:
There may be more plaintiffs.
Hundreds of new residents could join those considered victims of the sheriff’s racial-profiling from the original trial. The original case centered on those stopped or detained by deputies during traffic patrol operations, but plaintiffs’ attorneys say the scope should also include those who were contacted during Arpaio’s trademark worksite raids.