Former Phoenix New Times reporter and U.S. Senate candidate John Dougherty get a $40K check from Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio—sorta. New Times has the details and a great photo.

The check was actually for legal fees expended by New Times in the pursuit of public records requested by ex-New Times reporter John Dougherty in 2004. (And, technically, county Board of Supervisors chairman Don Stapley and clerk Fran McCarroll signed on Arpaio's behalf.)

Dougherty, now a candidate in the Democratic primary to determine a challenger for Republican U.S. Senator John McCain (assuming McCain gets past GOP rival J.D. Hayworth), left New Times in 2006.

But in 2004, he was hard on Joe's ancient heels and had submitted numerous requests to the MCSO seeking information about such matters as a jail death, jail canteen funds, and the MCSO's East Mesa facility (otherwise known as the "Mesa Hilton," for its use in housing such high-profile former offenders as Glen Campbell and the daughter of sports mogul Jerry Colangelo).

The MCSO's highly paid public relations unit, headed by Joe's top flack,

California voters embraced non-partisan primaries yesterday. Marc Ambinder of the Atlantic:

The biggest news out of California last night was not an election: it was the endorsement of a ballot initiative, Proposition 14, that might radically change the type of candidate who seeks and wins congressional and statewide officers. The "Top Two Primary Act" allows voters of any political party to pick anyone who qualifies for the ballot for a particular race regardless of party. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sees Prop 14 as a big piece of his legacy.

The practical effect will be incentivize candidates to avoid the trap of having to run one type of campaign to win base voters and another type of campaign to win the general election. It is conceivable that, with such a system in place, Senate candidate Carly Fiorina wouldn't have felt it necessary to sharply tack to the right. But the same system would have required a lot more energy and expenditure from the incumbent, Barbara Boxer.

Who funded the initiative? Chamber of Commerce types, who know that pragmatic candidates won't want to alienate business interests in the state. It was opposed by activists from both parties, who believe it to be an incumbent protection measure of first order.

This is the same type of "jungle primary" we'll have in Tucson elections in the future, so we'll see how it plays out on the local level here.

How would it change state politics? Given how polarized the GOP has become, we can't imagine it would make things any worse. But we're been wrong about that kind of thing before.

Former state lawmaker Ted Downing, who is running as an independent this year

In the wake of the Supreme Court's blocking of matching funds, the Clean Elections Commission has rejected a call from Gov. Jan Brewer to allow her to raise private funds to match Republican gubernatorial candidate Buz Mill's big wallet. Howie has details here.

But the commissioners have an alternative idea:

Instead, the commissioners approved a motion urging lawmakers to come into a special session immediately to increase the amount of money given to all publicly funded candidates. That session would have to be called by Brewer, who would benefit from the move.

Lotsa luck with that. Forget the merits, whatever they may be; in this anti-incumbent atmosphere, can sitting lawmakers really vote to give themselves more money for campaigns after cutting funding for everything else in the state? Just calling the session would bring Brewer more than a million dollars' worth of bad publicity.

Our friends at Arizona Public Media profile local musician Brian Lopez.

If you don't want to watch it on your computer, it airs at 6:30 p.m. tonight on KUAT's Arizona Illustrated on Channel 6.

Rasmussen runs the numbers:

Given a 2012 election contest for president between Obama as the Democratic candidate and Brewer as the Republican, 44% of all voters support the incumbent, while 39% prefer the governor. Nine percent (9%) like some other candidate, while eight percent (8%) more are undecided.

But they do add a caveat:

But since 54% of voters don’t know enough about Brewer to venture any kind of opinion of her, this finding is more of a reflection on the president than any possible match-up with Brewer.

Also:

Fifty-six percent (56%) of U.S. voters say their views on illegal immigration are closer to those of Arizona Governor Jan Brewer than to the views of President Obama. The two finally met last Friday at the White House to discuss Arizona’s tough new immigration law which the president opposes.

And:

Eighty-one percent (81%) of the Political Class say their views are closer to Obama’s, while 72% of Mainstream voters say they think more like Brewer.

The usual Rasmussen disclaimers apply.

With two open House seats—Rep. Olivia Cajero Bedford is running for the state Senate, while Rep. Phil Lopes is retiring that ol' bow tie—the Democratic primary in Legislative District 27 is a crowded affair. Eight candidates have lined up to be the next state Representatives and Skinny 2010 would like to introduce you to Bob Gilby, a Democrat running his first campaign for public office.

Bob Gilby, a math teacher at Marana High School and Pima Community College, says the decision to run came about three years ago, when Rep. Phil Lopes, a close friend, suggested Gilby take the seat when Lopes hit his term limit.

“Everyone in this district loves Phil Lopes,” he says. “That’s part of what gives me access at the door: (I say) ‘I’m a teacher, I’m a Democrat and Phil Lopes is my campaign chair’ and people go ‘cool.’”

Gilby is coming out of the gate at full speed. He he filed the most nominating petition signatures of any candidate in the race and

Get yourself out of that music/comedy/dating rut tonight (and support a good a good cause!) by heading out to Club Congress' benefit for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Word on the street is that there will be some sexy studs to bid on, stand-up comedy as well as music by the Provocative Whites (above), Bajo Turbato and more. Get all the details here.

Roger Clyne and The Peacemakers are set to perform the annual "Circus Mexicus" at Rocky Point, Friday, June 11, through Sunday, June 13. Tickets are $30 in advance available here and $35 day of show. The event will benefit the Esperanza Para Los Ninos Orphanage in Mexico (www.esperanzaparalosninos.com). For more information on Circus Mexicus, click here.

Event details, per a press release:

“Circus Mexicus Weekend” officially gets underway in Rocky Point on Friday, June 11th at JJ's, the inspiration for many of RCPM's beloved songs. RCPM band members Roger Clyne, PH Naffah, Nick Scropos and Jim Dalton believe you need to give away what you want to receive. After all, every time you give a dollar away, you find two more on the way. In keeping with their tradition of giving back to the community, PH is once again hosting his “Hot Dog & A Smile” charity concert and BBQ with all proceeds to benefit Esperanza Para Los Niños Orphanage (www.esperanzaparalosninos.com). PH will also be collecting any household items to donate to the orphanage (no food donations or perishable items will be accepted). In addition to PH keeping the grill warm all night, The Railbenders, Jason Boots and Random Karma will take the stage and heat the summer night up even more with several hours of country and rock.

Amateur Motocross rider Cody Briner talks about the path he's taken to get to where he is now in this audio slideshow by Joshua Morgan.

D and D Island Grill JA is a food truck parked in a parking lot at 6245 E. Broadway Blvd. Owners Duwayne Hall and Danny Heath serve fried fish, curried goat, jerk chicken, oxtail, beef patties and delicious fruit-juice concoctions.
We stopped in last weekend and found Hall working away in the kitchen as his kids played in the nearby grass. A steady stream of visitors stopped in to eat or just say hello. Reggae music throbbed and a flag bearing the lion of Judah flapped in the hot breeze.

The food was great, and the fruit drinks they make from pineapple, carrot, ginger, apple, banana and mango were heaven. Another drink made from sour sop is purported to calm the nerves, and was equally heavenly. There are palm trees to dine under, icy Jamaican sodas and a calming island vibe that is a nice counterpoint to the hectic pace of city life.

It can be difficult to find D and D's, so here are some directions: Get on Broadway Boulevard until you hit Wilmot Road; turn north; take the first U-turn and head back toward Broadway until you see a brightly painted truck in a parking lot on the northwest corner of Broadway and Wilmot, or you smell curry, whichever comes first. Hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., every day but Sunday. They also cater. Call 867-0100 for more information.