Phoenix News

A spectator at the Waste Management Phoenix Open was cited after he jumped into a lake at the TPC Scottsdale course Sunday during the final round of the tournament, police said.

Police identified the man as Rigoberto Polanco, 23, of Mesa, who jumped into the water from the public venue side of the course about 3:30 p.m., said Scottsdale officer David Pubins.

Lawyers in Arizona for the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office and attorneys from the U.S. Justice Department plan Monday to meet for the first time to resolve federal accusations of civil rights violations against the department run by Sheriff Joe Arpaio. More >

The first round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open tees off Thursday and is expected to cause major traffic delays with hundreds of thousands of people expected to swarm the TPC Scottsdale Golf Course, the Greatest Show On Grass will turn north Scottsdale into the greatest traffic jam.

If you’re not going to the tournament, the best advice is to avoid the area. “If you don’t have business there, you will certainly be faced with some traffic,” Sgt. Mark Clark with Scottsdale police said.

Phoenix police on Wednesday released the identity of a suspect who was shot by a smoke shop owner Tuesday night.

Brandon McDermott, 22, was arrested on suspicion of attempting to rob a smoke shop near North Cave Creek Road and East Union Hills Drive, said James Holmes, spokesman for the Phoenix Police Department. McDermott is also suspected of two other robberies in the area, a cleaners on East Saguaro Drive and a coffee store on East Bell Road, police said.

A Phoenix commission that focuses on equality issues voted unanimously for Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio to resign and it wants Phoenix City Council members to take a stand. More >

Phoenix officials have tried to thwart a city commission’s vote that may call for Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio to step down.

Recently, the executive assistant to the city manager, Lisa Takata, and head of the city’s Equal Opportunity Department, Lionel Lyons, spoke on the phone with Human Relations Commission Chairwoman Diane D’Angelo and tried to discourage her from asking her fellow 15 commissioners to vote on the issue.

City officials are afraid the commission’s vote could affect a contractual relationship with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.

Teenager Cameron Lindsay is set to make his A League football debut for the Wellington Phoenix on Sunday, when they host the Melbourne Heart. Lindsay who grew up in Auckland joined the club this season from English Premier League club Blackburn Rovers.

He can play in defence or the midfield and is likely to replace defender Manny Muscat who’s back home in Melbourne with his partner expecting their first child.

As much as Suns coach Alvin Gentry has implored his team to run more with the ball, winning the past two games with a total of 170 points for the first time since November 2002 just might say more about who this season’s Suns are as they hit the quarter pole in Dallas Monday night.

Between heavy roster turnover since the 2010 conference finals team and a lockout dragging down the league’s offense, the Suns play at a pace that is below the NBA average and score 12.1 fewer points per game than last season. But with two wins in a row, there is less reason to panic and hit the offense’s fast-forward button.

Wellington Phoenix chairman Rob Morrison is pleased with the response in the club’s search for a new chief executive but it appears unlikely the incoming boss will be in charge after Nathan Greenham steps down on January 20. More >

Arizona authorities hope to get ballistic results back Monday to determine if a deputy sheriff fatally shot while answering a burglary call and a New Hampshire couple found dead in their car were killed by the same gunman.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said investigators are examining a possible link between the shootings because similar guns are believed to have been used in both cases. “Because of the type of weapon used up in Sedona, he could be the guy,” Arpaio said.