SEDONA, Ariz. — The city of Sedona celebrated a major milestone on June 11, 2025 with the groundbreaking of Villas on Shelby, a new deed-restricted affordable housing complex that will provide 30 rental apartments to those earning an average of 60% of the area medium income (AMI), meaning rent for a 1-bedroom unit will be approximately $862 per month and rent for a 3-bedroom unit will be approximately $1,188 per month. The complex is expected to be completed in mid-2026. City officials, housing partners and community members gathered on the construction site, located at 2250 Shelby Dr., to celebrate the…
Author: Tommy
SEDONA, Ariz. – The city encourages residents and visitors to take advantage of continued evening hours of the Sedona Shuttle Connect on-demand service, which will be offered until September 1, 2025.The on-demand transit service will run Thursday through Sunday, from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. The Sedona Shuttle Connect picks you up and drops you at the curb in cool, comfortable vehicles. That means that this summer, residents and visitors can leave their cars parked at home or the hotel and hop into an air-conditioned van for a quick ride to dinner, happy hour, shopping or gallery row. The Sedona…
By Bear Howard Sedona, AZ — I’ve been on vacation, spending time enjoying the great outdoors, but this article that appeared in the Red Rock News, our local Sedona pulp newspaper, got my attention. With a little research, I have put together this rebuttal. Read it and then read the article in question and see which “reality” you prefer. Reframing the Narrative: When Sensationalism Undermines Public Safety The article in question presents Sedona’s modest deployment of 12 automated license plate recognition (ALPR) cameras as a sweeping act of Orwellian overreach. But beneath the provocative headlines and selective quotes lies a…
By Tommy Acosta Well, well, well, it looks like Trump may have pulled off the coup of the century, forcing Iran to the bargaining table and calling for a ceasefire while the players work it out. I guess I was right once again predicting Iran would crumble and capitulate in the face of America’s annihilating force. The Ayatollah and his minions knew their days of existing as a human being were soon to be cut short if they did not gracefully give up. So mission accomplished for those who would not allow Iran access to nuclear weapons.And who knows, maybe…
By Tommy Acosta Sedona, AZ – It was belief that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction that led us into war with Iraq. It’s suspicion that Iran seeks to build a nuclear warhead that has led us into war with them. As it turned out, Saddam had no weapons of mass destruction. Will it be the same with Iran? It really makes no difference. The die is cast. The trigger has been pulled. The bombs have been dropped. Devastation looms over Iran, and they had best capitulate rather than escalate and dance to the drummer’s Trumpian beat. If Iran is…
By Tommy Acosta Sedona, AZ –Were it not for the excellent reporting by Red Rock News Managing Editor Christopher Fox and RRN reporter Tim Perry, I might have never known about the City’s plan to place automated license plate reading surveillance cameras throughout Sedona. According to RRN, the decision to install a total of 12 of these cameras—which not only read license plates but provide a plethora of information about drivers, their names, where they live, etc.—was made by city staff with no public input or council approval. One would think that such a decision would require the public and…
By Amaya Gayle Sedona, AZ — It takes a lifetime (perhaps lifetimes) of stretching and expanding, ripping and tearing, just to move through one’s predispositions, to meet one’s inbred resistance and evolve to the grace of simple tolerance. During this precious part of the journey, it feels like you are taking the steps, are choosing right, left or straight ahead, that you are in the game. It is a true gift to live through such change. Many will not take the step, will remain stuck in victimhood and resistance for their entire lives. Once the step is taken that is…
The powerful true story about journalist Anna Politkovskaya’s brave crusade Sedona, AZ — The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the Northern Arizona premiere of “Words of War” showing June 27-July 3 at the Mary D. Fisher and Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatres. From executive producer Sean Penn comes the powerful true story of journalist Anna Politkovskaya. In a world silenced by fear, her truth was unstoppable. Journalist Anna Politkovskaya’s brave crusade — fighting to be an independent voice of truth for the Russian people — puts her life in jeopardy. She refused to give up reporting on the war…
Sedona, AZ — The Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley, located at 100 Meadowlark Drive off Route 179 in Sedona, is a welcoming, egalitarian, inclusive congregation dedicated to building a link from the past to the future by providing religious, educational, social and cultural experiences. The JCSVV offers soul-enriching services, programs, and classes, all listed on the synagogue website, jcsvv.org. Office telephone: 928 204-1286. Visitors are welcome to attend services after a security check. Those who cannot attend in person can access the service through zoom. Friday evening services on June 27, led by Rabbi Alicia Magal, will begin at 5:30 pm including…
VERDE VALLEY, Ariz. – Northern Arizona Healthcare (NAH) announced that Jennifer Graff, MD, FACOG, has joined the Center for Women at Verde Valley Medical Center (VVMC) in Cottonwood as a general obstetrician and gynecologist. She treats patients of all ages, and is accepting new patients now. Dr. Graff joins longstanding NAH OB-GYN, Dennis Reed, MD, at the office, as well as two midwives, Kelly Hosner, CNM, and Katie Moore, CNM, who help the community by offering personalized women’s health care. “We are so pleased to welcome Dr. Graff to the Center for Women team at VVMC in Cottonwood,” said NAH Medical Group President…
Recognized with a 2025 Arizona Travel Award and 2024 MICHELIN Key, El Portal continues to set the standard for boutique hospitality in Sedona. SEDONA, Ariz – Hotel El Portal Sedona is proud to announce two distinguished accolades celebrating its commitment to providing outstanding hospitality and a one-of-a-kind experience for each and every guest. The boutique hotel in Sedona’s vibrant art district recently received a 2025 Arizona Travel Award in the Hotel – Small Market category. This honor follows a 2024 Michelin Key Award – an elite designation held by only seven hotels in Arizona. “We’re incredibly proud of these honors and the team that makes…
Award-winning film from recent festival returns for special encore screenings Sedona, AZThe Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the encore of “A Photographic Memory” showing June 27-July 3 at the Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatre. “A Photographic Memory” was one of the top award-winning films at the recent Sedona International Film Festival, garnering the Directors’ Choice for Best Indie-Spirit Award and rave audience reviews. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtcZiEvyG1A Winner of the Truer Than Fiction Award at the 2025 Film Independent Spirit Awards and a New York Times Critic’s Pick, “A Photographic Memory” is an intimate, genre-bending portrait of the filmmaker’s trailblazing mother, Sheila…
SEDONA – (June 16, 2025) After consulting with local County Emergency Managers and District Rangers, it has been determined that effective Wednesday, June 18th, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. Sedona Fire District (SFD) is moving into Stage II Fire Restrictions. Sedona Fire District joins Coconino County, Yavapai County, Coconino National Forest, and other local fire jurisdictions in this action. These restrictions prohibit all solid-fueled open fires, fire pits, and campfires. During the fire restrictions, no burn permits will be issued, and existing burn permits are hereby suspended. Fireworks and other pyrotechnic displays are prohibited unless permitted by the Fire Marshal. These…
By David Stephen Sedona, AZ — How much is significant in all the research that was done at Harvard and Columbia neuroscience in the last decade that moved the understanding of mental health forward? Little. So, what have they been doing? This question is important because there are perturbations in funding pipeline for them and they are displeased. However, they refused to ask themselves that for every paper, how does this explain a mental state? This means that if there is a state of disorder, what is the difference between that mental state and another? What—in the brain—can be specifically…
Sedona, AZ – Before you head to your favorite fireworks show or backyard barbecue, stop by Rowe Fine Art Gallery on Friday, July 4, at 4 p.m. for an interactive paint-out that begins outside the gallery and continues indoors. Free Spirits, a show that salutes artistic creativity and determination, gets started with a bang when painters Jen Farnsworth, Lynn Heil and Gary Jenkins set up their easels and demonstrate their craft for all who wander by. Inside the gallery, see new works from award-winning painters, sculptors and jewelers. The show runs through July. In addition to demonstrating, Jen Farnsworth will…