10 Jan 4th–Jan 10th, 2024 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | JIM LARKIN July 31 Jim Larkin fought for decades. For free speech. For immigrants. For the victims of police brutality. The co-founder and longtime publisher of Phoenix New Times helped build a company that at its pinnacle owned alt-weeklies across the country. Larkin joined New Times in 1972 thanks to a handwritten note to co-founder Michael Lacey. They teamed up to create a legacy of challenging public officials and taking on the powerful. “He never stopped being a journalist at heart. In the fiber of his being, he had the DNA of doing what these papers did,” Tom Finkel, editor-in-chief of Miami New Times and a longtime colleague of Larkin’s, told New Times in August. Larkin and Lacey sold their company — since renamed Voice Media Group — in 2012 to a group of company executives. After the sale, the pair continued to run Backpage, which they launched in 2004 to compete with Craigslist. It was Backpage that haunted Larkin until his death. Larkin and Lacey sold the site in 2015, though when federal officials seized it and shut it down in 2018, the pair faced a host of charges for what federal prosecutors said was a case about human trafficking facilitated through ads on the site. A trial in 2021 ended in a mistrial. In 2023, federal prosecutors tried again. But a week before the trial, Larkin took his own life at age 74. — Matt Hennie ZUHIER MAHMOUD KHATIB Feb. 4 Students at Arizona State University, Tempe residents and Valley visitors alike have frequented Haji-Baba on Apache Boulevard for decades. The market and restaurant is a staple in the community, and for 33 years, it was run by friends and business partners Zuhier Mahmoud Khatib and Nabil Torfa. On Feb. 4, Khatib died after spending three weeks in the hospital with COVID-19. He was 66. While customers will remember Khatib for his contributions to the Valley’s food scene, his wife and four children remember him as much more. After immi- grating from Syria in his 20s, Khatib studied at ASU and opened a print shop. He also was an avid photographer. Later, he opened Haji-Baba with Torfa to share their Syrian culture and cuisine with Tempe customers. In addition to being a grocery market stocked with spices, tea, candy and other ingredients, Haji-Baba is home to a small restaurant that serves shawarma, gyros, falafel and hummus. Torfa continues to run the business without his late business partner and friend. Following Khatib’s passing, Tempe Mayor Corey Woods declared Feb. 4 “Zuhier Mahmoud Khatib Day.” — Tirion Boan RHONDA WALDEN May 11 The guests who danced beneath the glowing lights of Rhonda Walden’s LGBTQ+ bars have mourned the loss of their friend, confidante and community leader since her death in May. The restaurateur opened a series of LGBTQ+ hang out spots throughout her lifetime. Born in Texas, Walden moved to Arizona just in time for her senior year of high school. At the age of 21, with years of experience in the hospitality industry, she embarked on her first business pursuit, opening Happy Gardens in North Phoenix. Over the next 40, years she owned several bars, including Country Club Bar and Grill, which is now Pat O’s Bunkhouse Saloon, and Talk of the Town, which she renamed Desert Rose. Walden’s communal spaces were imbued with the culture of her travels. Growing up as part of a military family, she had spent time in Germany and other European countries. Aside from perme- ating her restaurant’s menus, inspiration from Walden’s life abroad infiltrated her time off, as well, and she frequently would spend time with her partner trying different cuisines around the Valley. Despite her worldly knowledge, Walden was a lover of good ole’ country music, and in 1987, she opened Cash Inn Country with Carol Shearer. On any give night, diverse couples could be seen line dancing or singing karaoke under red lights. One review on the now closed locale’s Foursquare called it “the friend- liest gay bar in Phoenix.” We dubbed it Best Lesbian Bar in our 2008 Best of Phoenix issue. Walden may be gone, but the legacy and community she made space for in Phoenix won’t be forgotten. — Itzia Crespo PETERSON ZAH March 7 On March 7, Peterson Zah died at age 85 in Window Rock, the capital of the Navajo Nation. The location was significant for the politician and tribal advocate, who was the first elected president of the Navajo Nation. Zah initially led the Nation for a four-year stretch in the 1980s as tribal chairman, which was, at the time, the highest recognized position. In the 1990s, he again took office, this time as president. Throughout his life, Zah was ingrained in tribal politics, working to reduce the impacts of mining and fighting for compensation for workers who suffered health issues from their time in the uranium mines. He also worked with the Hopi Tribe on a historic land dispute, pushed through an amendment allowing peyote to be used for religious practices and was a special assistant to the president of ASU, helping to enroll more Native American students. In a statement posted by the Navajo Nation’s Office of the President, current President Buu Nygren expressed his condolences. “The Navajo Nation lost one of its iconic leaders last night, Dr. Peterson Zah,” Nygren’s statement said. “It’s a big loss for the Navajo Nation. I want to let Indian Country know, as well. He was a huge tribal advocate across Indian Country and America.” — Tirion Boan >> p 12 The Departed from p 9 Illustration portraits by Luster Kaboom
