Become a fan of Heat City on Facebook

By Nick R. Martin | September 3rd, 2010 | 10:00 pm | No Comments »

facebook_iconHeat City has launched a new Facebook fan page. Now you can become a fan of the site that Phoenix magazine recently called “a true marvel of D-I-Y journalism.”

Heat City has become recognized as an independent and award-winning source for news from Phoenix since it launched at the beginning of 2009. That’s happened because of the strong and continued support from its readers. Thank you. Let’s keep it going.

Republic shuts down ex-cop's blog

By Nick R. Martin | September 1st, 2010 | 12:05 am | 51 Comments »

Bill Richardson photo
Bill Richardson

Of the many blogs written by outside contributors to the Arizona Republic‘s website, Bill Richardson’s was perhaps the most critical of the region’s police and their practices.

Now, the retired Mesa police officer says the the state’s largest newspaper has given in to outside pressure from those who wanted his criticism silenced. The newspaper closed down his blog, deleted all his old posts and blocked him from even commenting elsewhere on its website.

Read the full story…

No arrest in news crew attack after all

By Nick R. Martin | August 27th, 2010 | 6:29 pm | 14 Comments »

Pat McReynolds photo
Pat McReynolds

Heat City was hoping to get its hands on a nice, colorful police report about the attack on a Phoenix television news crew earlier this week. But we found out Friday it’s not going to happen.

It turns out the KPHO (Channel 5) crew never pressed charges against the man who threw some large rocks at them Wednesday while they were on assignment in Casa Grande.

Read the full story…

Angry guy throws rocks at TV news crew

By Nick R. Martin | August 26th, 2010 | 3:38 pm | 1 Comment »

CBS 5 (KPHO) News Crew gets rocks thrown at it

File it under the dangers of being a journalist. In this must-watch video, Phoenix television news reporter Pat McReynolds and a videographer dodge rocks being thrown at them by a man they were hoping to interview.

Read the full story…

Montgomery pulls out upset win in Maricopa County attorney's race

By Nick R. Martin | August 25th, 2010 | 2:33 am | 7 Comments »

Bill Montgomery photo
Bill Montgomery

Challenger Bill Montgomery pulled out a major upset in the Republican race for Maricopa County attorney on Tuesday by unseating one of the most familiar names in Arizona politics, Rick Romley.

Romley conceded the race within hours of the polls closing after unofficial results showed him down by almost 12 percent. Montgomery was leading 50 percent to 38 percent.

“In a way, it feels very satisfying to have hard work pay off like this,” Montgomery said in an interview afterward.

Read the full story…

McCain weighs in on Maricopa County feud, backs Romley

By Nick R. Martin | August 20th, 2010 | 5:20 am | 9 Comments »

Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley
Rick Romley

Onetime presidential nominee Sen. John McCain weighed in on the fierce political feud in Maricopa County on Thursday by endorsing Rick Romley in the Republican primary for county prosecutor.

In an email to Romley’s supporters, the Arizona senator praised the interim county attorney as a prosecutor who has the wherewithal to help sort out a nearly two-year political feud that has plagued the local government here.

Read the full story…

Phoenix magazine names Nick Martin best blogger in Valley

By Nick R. Martin | August 20th, 2010 | 12:30 am | 12 Comments »

Best of the ValleyI was pleasantly surprised Thursday to see a message on Twitter from Phoenix PR pro Charlotte Shaff, telling me some good news: “Congrats, Nick on your recognition by Phoenix Magazine!”

Turns out the editors over at Phoenix magazine named me the best blogger in the Valley for my work here on Heat City. Here’s what they wrote in their annual Best of the Valley issue:

Read the full story…

Nick Martin leaves the Arizona Guardian

By Nick R. Martin | August 19th, 2010 | 3:30 pm | 6 Comments »

Well, that was fast. My stint with the Arizona Guardian, the startup website covering politics and news from the state Capitol, has come to a end sooner than any of us expected.

We parted ways amicably last week, about a month and a half into my tenure there. In that time, I wrote a few good stories, offered some ideas on technology/social media and got to work with some seriously talented journalists.

Read the full story…

Arpaio's spending passes $1 million mark

By Nick R. Martin | August 19th, 2010 | 8:00 am | 12 Comments »

Joe Arpaio photo
Joe Arpaio

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio continued dishing out huge amounts of campaign cash during June and July, surpassing the $1 million mark in total spending with more than two years still to go before he is up for reelection.

Arpaio, a Republican who has now raised nearly $3 million for his 2012 reelection campaign, spent just shy of $400,000 during those two months alone.

That brings his total campaign spending to $1.07 million since starting his fifth term in January 2009, according to reports he filed last week with the Maricopa County Elections Department.

Read the full story…

Nick Martin joins the Arizona Guardian

By Nick R. Martin | July 13th, 2010 | 2:22 pm | 16 Comments »
Arizona Guardian logo

Starting this week, my work will be appearing regularly on the political news site, the Arizona Guardian. The specifics are still being worked out, but the broad outline was hatched over the long Fourth of July weekend. I’ll be covering a number of political races as well as helping the Guardian grow as a company. This is a great opportunity to work with a fledgling company that has a bright future.

Yes, the Guardian is a paid-subscription site, which means you’ll have to pony up some cash to read it. You may remember I wrote a fairly in-depth profile about the company last year in Phoenix magazine. At the time, I said it was too expensive for most people, but the company’s target readers — lobbyists, lawyers and politicians — were often willing to pay the price because it gives them the kind of news they need for success.

That model has worked for the Guardian so far. Now, the founders are hoping to build on that accomplishment. They are open to new ideas and experiments, and that’s where I’ll be playing a role. What does that mean specifically? I’ll let you know once we figure it out.

Heat City will still be here. This site will remain a place for me to write stories that don’t have a home anywhere else. The only difference now is that my political (and sometimes legal) stories will be appearing in the Arizona Guardian.

As a special offer for readers of Heat City, the Guardian is also offering a 60 percent discount to new subscribers. This means individual readers can get access for just $12 a month (down from $30) and businesses, such as law firms, news organizations and creative agencies, can give all their employees access for just $60 a month (down from $150). When you sign up, simply enter the coupon code heatcity for your discount.

Finally, if you’ve been one of the generous people who has financially supported Heat City over the past year and a half, we are planning something special for you. Look for it in your email box over the next week.

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