Awards Honor the Year’s Best Literature By Elizabeth Cate, Collection Development Librarian Sedona AZ (November 21, 2011) – The 2011 National Book Award winners were announced last week at a ceremony in New York City. Jesmyn Ward won for fiction for her novel Salvage the Bones; Stephen Greenblatt, author of The Swerve, took the prize for nonfiction; the poetry prize went to Nikky Finney for Head Off and Split; and Thanhha Lai received the young people’s literature award for Inside Out and Back Again. A considerable number of literary prizes are given each year internationally. American writers are eligible for dozens of…
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Tom and Shondra’s Inspirational Holiday Show Sedona, AZ (November 17, 2011)
Celebrating Thanksgiving By Jan Aranoff, Member of the Board of Trustees Sedona AZ (November 15, 2011) – Perhaps it’s because I grew up in Massachusetts, the site of the first Thanksgiving, that this holiday has always held special meaning for me. After all, I visited Plymouth Rock many times, and even had Thanksgiving dinner at Plymouth Plantation once. Then, too, elementary schools elaborately celebrated this holiday while I was growing up. I guess my affinity for this holiday may also have something to do with the fact that my birthday falls on Thanksgiving Day every so often.
What Does the NO (on 410) Vote Really Mean? A Sharing With Barbara Mayer {Author’s Note} I originally agreed to write this Sedona SCENE – Sedona SOUL column with the intention of offering some kind of healing for all aspects and factions of the Sedona community. The word “heal” means “to make whole”, and as a woman who is following a dedicated spiritual path, I want to be a positive voice for all residents and visitors alike who love this city and who want to make her the best she can be – so that she in turn can provide…
Political Signs: Is Bigger Always Better? by City Attorney Mike Goimarac Sedona AZ (November 8, 2011) – Ahhh, it’s fall again; football, autumn leaves, and, yes, a gauntlet of campaign signs filling our boulevards and demanding our attention. And with another election coming this next spring, we can expect a plethora of bigger and more plenteous super-sized signs thanks to our State legislature. Apparently our State lawmakers thought that local governments were stifling the ability of politicians to be noticed because they have chosen to override local restrictions on the size, duration, and placement of political signs.
Veterans History Project at Sedona Public Library by Jolene Pierson, Coordinator for the Veterans History Project at Sedona Public Library On Veterans Day we Americans take time to give special recognition to our veterans and to honor your service to our country. Thank you! The Veterans History Project was established in 2000 as a mandate of the Library of Congress. Its purpose is to record and preserve the individual oral histories of those who served our nation in times of conflict in the US military or as civilians who worked in supporting industries and organizations such as the USO, Red Cross,…
Negative Effect of Driving from a Lighted Street is not Bogus by Rod Veach, West Sedona Sedona, AZ (November 5, 2011) – On Thursday November 3, 2011 Dr. Serge Wright (speaking for Let The People Vote) at formal public debate (OLLI Lunch and Talk) used the term BOGUS when asked to address the potential negative effect of driving from a lighted street (potentially W 89A if Continuous Roadway Lighting is installed) onto a totally dark street (all of Sedona’s side streets). Mr. Wright provided an explanation of why transitional lighting is not an issue. To an unknowing person what Mr.…
From Order to Chaos By Mel Copen Sedona, AZ (November 2, 2011) I’ve often written about a concept from the world of physics that fascinates me: entropy. One simple definition is that “things left to themselves tend to disorder (or ‘chaos’ if you prefer).” It requires outside infusions of energy to restore order. The concept seems to apply to almost everything from an expanding universe to the appearance of your front yard. But what happens the energy that is added contributes to further chaos as it seems to, if one extends the concept to political systems or, in the case…
by Virginia Volkman, Library Director Sedona AZ (November 1, 2011) – Marvin Hofmann, past President of Sedona Public Library’s Board of Directors, passed away recently and will be missed by each of us who worked with him. When Marv and his wife, Barbara, moved to Sedona seven years ago to be closer to their daughters and grandchildren, they immediately became involved in the community. Marv was active in the Sedona United Methodist Church and the National Alliance on Mental Illness. He was also a group moderator for a program that helps juvenile offenders reconcile with their victims. When the library was…
By Mel Copen © Mel Copen, October, 2011 Educationally speaking, we are in a mess! And as one who has spent much of his career in higher education, the situation is especially painful. Merriam Webster’s first two definitions of the word “education” are: 1: the action or process of educating or of being educated; also: a stage of such a process b: the knowledge and development resulting from an educational process 2: the field of study that deals mainly with methods of teaching and learning in schools The first is gobbledegook – which, unfortunately seems to characterize much of the…
Sedona SCENE – Sedona SOUL A Sharing With Barbara Mayer Sedona, AZ (October 30, 2011) – The word “Politics” has become associated with all sorts of sleaziness, underhanded dealing, ego-driven lies and fear-mongering, illegal antics and various kinds of “dirty tricks”. And here I state with some kind of civic pride that I’m originally from Chicago, even though it still carries the reputation of being a city where, on election day, people vote “early and often”. In fact, as editor of my high school newspaper, I once had the honor of a personal interview with Chicago’s original “Hizzoner”, the first…
Opposition is Consistently Exhibiting Unethical Behaviors Sedona, AZ (October 28, 2011) – The Sedona Police Department received several calls on Thursday evening, October 27, 2011, reporting theft of magnetic car signs and yard signs supporting a YES vote on Proposition 410. According to Lin Ennis, co-chair of Voice of Choice for 89A which supports a YES vote and local control of 89A, “The magnetic signs were stolen from the cars parked at the library where a Prop 410 seminar was taking place. It may have been a coordinated strike from the opposition, since signs were stolen from at least four…
Campaign Nastiness in Sedona Just Reached a New Level Sedona, AZ (October 27, 2011) – On Thursday evening, October 27, while conducting a public information seminar on the referendum issue at the Sedona Library, six vehicles belonging to Voice of Choice for 89A members were vandalized and magnetic campaign signs attached to each vehicle were stolen. In addition, in another part of this clearly coordinated act, VOC campaign signs along Dry Creek Road and Thunder Mountain were also taken.
by Councilor Barbara Litrell Sedona AZ (October 26, 2011) – As a councilor I receive e-mails from the public on a variety of topics affecting our lives in Sedona. Email is a good way to know what’s on peoples’ minds and responses to e-mails and this City Talk column are excellent ways to provide information to the public. Recently several e-mails have erroneously described the city’s financial status as “strained”, “broke”, “with unfunded urgent capital projects” and other words implying that the city can’t afford to provide the services required by residents or invest in projects that will enhance our…
By Marcela Saldivia, Ph.D., Latino Services Librarían Sedona AZ (October 26, 2011) – Sedona has its own literary hall of fame. Local authors come from diverse segments of the community, from teenage poets to more mature, experienced writers. They cover a variety of themes and genres – including fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. Sedona Public Library supports local authors by acquiring their books and providing a space for workshops, readings, and book presentations.