Call it the house that classified ads (and Sheriff Joe bashing) built. Yes, sources tell us that the owner of this sleek-yet-woodsy abode featuring million dollar views of the Phoenix skyline is none other than Michael Lacey, the famously hard-nosed editor/co-owner of the Phoenix New Times.

Perched on a rocky rise straddling the Paradise Valley-Phoenix border, this custom manse appears to be at least a $1-2M project. Which, crazy as it sounds, is just a drop in the bucket compared to the approximately $22M in fines Lacey and his Village Voice Media just paid out following a bitter court battle with a rival paper in San Francisco, in what media pundits are calling the Last Great Newspaper War.

After the jump, take in a full slideshow of what 40 years of sticking it to the man will buy you. Plus, learn a little more about how Lacey, an ASU dropout and self-described ‘foul-mouthed son of a sailor,‘ transformed a single newspaper into the nation’s largest chain of ‘alt-weeklies’ once valued at $400M. All while giving away his products away for free.

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Some of you may find this shocking, but there was a time when people looked to actual professional writers to figure out which new restaurants to try. We’re talking as far back as three or four years ago. And now that there’s officially one old-school food critic still standing in a town of 4.5 million people, we thought we’d dig up this Q&A with longtime local food critic, Nikki Buchanan.

Best known for her nearly two decades at Phoenix Magazine, Buchanan’s recent career is a perfect snapshot of the demise of this once prestigious profession. After dabbling in food blogging, and a brief stint at the AZ Republic, she jumped ship to co-found a PR/Marketing agency.

(Click here to learn why the Phoenix New Times‘ longtime critic just walked away. Hint: If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.)

When we broke bread with Buchanan, she spoke candidly about her messy exit from Phoenix Magazine, which places in town she’d actually pay to eat at, and the drawbacks of eating out for a living. Hint: she calls her fridge (pictured) the International House of Leftovers.

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As chosen by you, here are the most popular stories OF ALL TIME (aka last week). Just in case you missed it.

Whoa! Big shakeup in the local food scene as Michele Laudig, longtime food critic at the Phoenix New Times has quit/resigned/been fired. We’ve put in a call Tweet to her and will update you as soon as possible.

Jess Harter, a fellow former food critic (he was laid off when the East Valley Tribune nearly-imploded), broke the story on his Mouth By Mouthwest blog, writing:

“It looks like the Valley is down to one fulltime restaurant critic – at least temporarily. Michele Laudig, restaurant critic and blogger for Phoenix New Times, has resigned after a decade at the paper, according to a memo that just went out to staffers.”

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Calling all gossip girls and dirty laundry-loving dudes, it’s DLT’s column dedicated to the Valley’s juiciest rumors, spottings and innuendos. Check in regularly for the latest (unconfirmable), but too-good-to-not-be-true tidbits.

Hey hey, everybody. Long time no chat, but we’re back with a tasty scoop on the media shakeup du jour. In case you missed it, local foodies are still in shock over the sudden departure of one of the Valley’s two remaining full-time food critics. Yes, Michele Laudig, the Phoenix New Times‘ longtime Chow Bellista up and left the table on Tuesday, writing only that, “It’s been a blast, but I’ve decided to embrace the future – just wait until you see what I’ve got in the works.”

Well, we’ve also seen the future and think we have a pretty good handle on where Laudig is planting her flag fork next.

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Whoa! Big shakeup in the local food scene as Michele Laudig, longtime food critic at the Phoenix New Times has quit/resigned/been fired. We’ve put in a call Tweet to her and will update you as soon as possible.

Jess Harter, a fellow former food critic (he was laid off when the East Valley Tribune nearly-imploded), broke the story on his Mouth By Mouthwest blog, writing:

“It looks like the Valley is down to one fulltime restaurant critic – at least temporarily. Michele Laudig, restaurant critic and blogger for Phoenix New Times, has resigned after a decade at the paper, according to a memo that just went out to staffers.”

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It’s over. After 15 years, the (last) great print newspaper war has ended and the winner is, the internet? In case you missed our earlier coverage, the Phoenix New Times‘ parent company, Village Voice Media, has finally settled a crazy-ugly lawsuit in San Francisco that ended with this Phoenix-based media company being slapped with a $21 million fine!

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Two weeks ago we reported on the New Times‘ $22 million death feud with a rival publication. (Long story short, the NT‘s parent company was found guilty of using “predatory pricing” to try to bury a competitor to its SF Weekly, and now owes more than $22M and counting in fines and legal fees.)

It’s a surreal story about two print dinosaurs battling it out for the domination of the same city that’s worked tirelessly (and successfully) to make them completely irrelevant, thanks to this little thing called the Internets. And now the original print dinosaur, the NY Times is weighing in.

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Crazy news coming out of California yesterday as the Phoenix New Times‘ parent company lost its appeal of a $21,000,000 fine. Yes, you read that correctly. So who or what succesfully sued the NT, and is Sheriff Joe popping Champagne as you read? Answers to at least one of those questions after the jump.

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