three of our young metro reporters, on their day off, left LA at 3am to drive to phoenix so they could cover the story that wont end up in the paper (though it did get posted to our killer music blog, Pop & Hiss last night), but it was too important to miss. yes there still are a lot of journalists who care about the story first and know that if it’s newsworthy it will reach an audience, but the first step is to go and then write it down.

the first four graphs:

Reporting from Phoenix — Zack de la Rocha, lead singer of the rock band Rage Against the Machine, helped lead a rally through the streets of Phoenix today in a bid to end the practices of an Arizona county sheriff who Rocha said had “deputized vigilantes” and created a “state of terror” for local Latinos.

Thousands of people marched about four miles from the Steele Indian School Park to the U.S. District Court of Arizona on Washington Street, chanting “No more Joe” and “Arpaio escucha, estamos en la lucha” –- which translates from Spanish to “Arpaio listen, we’re in the struggle.”

At issue is Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s enforcement of federal immigration law. Some activists say he has unfairly targeted the Latino community. Arpaio says he is simply doing his job and told The Times in a phone interview that today’s protest would not “deter” him from fulfilling his duties.

“Without the proper warrants, he raids the homes and workplaces of janitors and gardeners,” De la Rocha told demonstrators at the end of the rally. “At routine traffic stops he detains and deports mothers, violently separating them from their children, who are left abandoned.”

often times without the press being there to document events and protests like these, important stories dont get reported, so hats off to Ari B. Bloomekatz, Paloma Esquivel and Nathan Olivarez-Giles for their extra effort and commitment to their trade.