By JJ Hensley
The Tucson Citizen
PHOENIX — For all the worksite raids, immigration sweeps and animal-cruelty cases that have made Sheriff Joe Arpaio one of the most notorious and popular figures in Arizona history, it likely will be a compound of military-style tents housing more than 1,000 inmates that is his lasting legacy.
The compound in southwest Phoenix has housed more than 500,000 people – including a handful of celebrities and corporate executives in addition to more common criminals – since it opened in the summer of 1993. Arpaio will commemorate its 18th year in operation with a “celebration” today, though few who live there will likely want to join the party.
“This is hard time,” said Corrine Welling, a jail inmate who has also served time in the state Department of Corrections’ tents.
“You get doors on those tents, you get cable, you get AC,” Welling said of the state facilities. Arpaio’s facilities are the bare minimum – including no air-conditioning.
Full Story: Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s Tent City turns 18