Village Voice Media puts up the money in Arizona

The parent company of the LA Weekly and OC Weekly, and more pertinently of Phoenix New Times, has battled through the years with the out-of-control local sheriff Joe Arpaio. Now, in a note to readers, Village Voice Media executive editor Michael Lacey and CEO Jim Larkin say they are underwriting the cost of the ACLU's legal challenge to the new Arizona immgration law. "Arizona has chosen to insist that all law enforcement in the state adopt the police-state tactics of infamous Sheriff Joe Arpaio," write Lacey and Larkin. "We would like to extend an invitation to you, our readers, to join in this struggle against the cracker policies of Arizona politicians and certain elements within law enforcement typified by Sheriff Arapio."

Beyond the issue of immigration, Village Voice Media's journalists in Phoenix have been targets of the sheriff. Writers, editors, and our publisher have been stonewalled and harassed. The pursuit of public records has led to the filing of criminal charges against a reporter. The entire editorial staff was the target of a criminal grand jury, and the identities of our online readers were the subject of a subpoena. That particular fight led to the arrests and jailing of New Times founders Jim Larkin and Michael Lacey.

The lawsuit from those arrests is in the appellate court.

VVM papers are also running a national series "telling the stories of Hispanics amongst us, the struggle they face, the groundswell of anti-immigrant sentiment, and the problems that drive immigrants from south of the border. The project examines the consequences when federal authorities lack a coherent immigration policy."