Hello neighbors. I am Allan Affeldt, owner of La Posada Hotel, long-time Sedona resident, and long-time advocate for social justice and good government. The following analysis of our workforce housing crisis in City of Sedona has been shared with our City Council. Council referred the matter to City Manager Spickard for follow-up. I then met with the City Manager, who informed me that the City was doing enough for workforce housing, and in any case nothing was going to be considered at the Dells, for several years at least. In my opinion this is an entirely inadequate response. Workers in…
Author: Tommy
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Sedona News – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the encore and theatrical release of “The Kiss” showing May 16-21 at the Mary D. Fisher and Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatres. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1fsHJbS1x8 “The Kiss” was one of the top audience-rated films at the recent Sedona International Film Festival. From the Oscar-award winning director Bille August and based on Stefan Zweig’s classic short story Beware of Pity, “The Kiss” is a romantic drama set against the backdrop of 1913 Denmark at the start of World War I, following the journey of Anton Abildgaard, a noble cavalry officer, hoping to complete…
Yavapai County News – Yavapai County Attorney Dennis McGrane announced that on May 5, 2025, Yavapai County Superior Court Judge Krista Carman sentenced Darrell Ray Lavery a.k.a. Darrell Ray Bragg, Jr., 25, of Paulden, Arizona, to 20 years in prison to be followed by five consecutive lifetime sex-offender probation terms. Lavery previously plead guilty to Sexual Conduct with a Minor, Attempted Sexual Conduct with a Minor, and four counts of Luring a Minor for Sexual Exploitation, all Dangerous Crimes Against Children. Yavapai County Attorney Dennis McGrane commended the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office (“YCSO”) and the Prescott Police Department for an…
Sedona News -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 June 29, 2025. “Since the on-demand service began, we’ve had requests that it run into the evening, so residents and visitors could use it to go out for dinner. We decided to pilot evening hours during spring break, when the Sedona Shuttle operated seven days a week. We saw a good increase in use of the on-demand service throughout the day and would like to see more ridership in the evenings. While we’ve…
Sedona, AZ — Do the math. In 2024 the Department of Homeland Security and ICE deported an average of 350,000 illegal immigrants a year. Reportedly, there are 16 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. right now. It would take 45 years to deport them all, providing no more enter our country during that time Further, there are currently 3.6 million cases pending in immigration court, according to the Migration Policy iInstitute. And it takes months, maybe years for an initial hearing. It has just been reported that it costs an average of $17,000 dollars to deport one illegal immigrant. Multiply…
Sedona News – The Mary D. Fisher Theatre is thrilled to announce that internationally renowned guitarist Esteban has been named Artist-in-Residence for 2025. Beginning on Saturday, May 17, Esteban and his acclaimed band will perform live at the theatre every third Saturday of the month throughout the year, bringing a regular series of world-class performances to Sedona’s premier venue for arts and culture. Known for his passionate blend of classical and flamenco-inspired guitar, Esteban has captivated audiences around the world with his extraordinary technique and deeply emotional performances. A student of the legendary Andrés Segovia, Esteban has topped the Billboard…
… going through folders of shots today with the intent of wholesale deletion, and then I spotted this photo of a Great-tailed Grackle along with two others of it. Normally it would be a throwaway shot, but then I took a closer look and behold, it looked like a character out of Al Capp’s parody strip, Fearless Fosdick, of Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy with a hole in his head! The strip would appear in Al Capp’s Lil Abner. Yes I actually read all of those strips and comic books … we did not have a television set, but we did have comic books, listen to The…
Sedona News – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the Sedona premiere of “On Swift Horses” showing May 16-22 at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre. How much would you gamble for love? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MW146Iezoo Muriel and her husband Lee are beginning a bright new life in California when he returns from the Korean War. But their newfound stability is upended by the arrival of Lee’s charismatic brother, Julius, a wayward gambler with a secret past. A dangerous love triangle quickly forms. When Julius takes off in search of the young card cheat he’s fallen for, Muriel’s longing for…
Verde Valley News – Yavapai College honored its graduates of the Verde Valley campus during the Verde Valley campus commencement ceremony on Sat., May 3 in Clarkdale. Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Tania Sheldahl opened the event by welcoming the graduates, their families, and members of the faculty and college leadership. Keynote speaker Meredith Dunlap-Sterrett, graduate of Yavapai College and Senior Vice President for National Bank of Arizona, addressed the graduates by reflecting on her time as a student at YC. “Yavapai was more than a college to me – it was a place where…
Sedona News – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the Northern Arizona premiere of “We Were Dangerous” showing May 16-22 at the Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatre. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C1eFs3Avu0 In 1954 New Zealand, rebellious teens Nellie (Erana James) and Daisy (Manaia Hall) make a daring escape from an institution for delinquent girls — only to be caught and sent to an even more remote facility on an isolated island. There, they are joined by Lou (Nathalie Morris), a well-to-do newcomer, and together they navigate a harsh new world under the strict rule of a devout and domineering Matron (Rima Te…
Hello my faithful followers, fans, and nosey neighbors… It is I, Allen Elfman — your ever-dedicated, occasionally caffeinated, and always dramatically passionate Verizon Manager for the Village of Oak Creek. Important News! Brace yourselves: I will be gone for three whole days (May 6–8) as I venture to the exotic land of California. No, not for a beach vacation (I wish), but for the thrilling world of Russell Cellular’s Manager Training — because apparently, my overwhelming charm and deep knowledge of phones still need fine-tuning. Yes, this is our semi-annual corporate ritual to ensure that we, as a Verizon Authorized Retailer under Russell Cellular, are polished, prepped, and packing…
By Amaya Gayle Gregory Throughout the years, we have been trained. Part of the training is to see others as trained, but not ourselves. Even though we are the others that others are trained to see as trained, we tend to miss that little nuance. The training says we must know what’s right and speak out when we see something that runs contrary to our understanding of rightness. We don’t stop to realize that what we see as right isn’t exactly right or it would be the right version that everyone in their right mind knew as right. There are…
Sedona News – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to partner with the Sedona Artists Consortium to present the first-ever in-person Sedona Sculptors Symposium on Tuesday, May 13 at 10 a.m. at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre. Famed, award winning sculptors will discuss the bronze craft, their motivation, techniques and vision for the future market. Attendees will also observe a narrated video showing the multiple steps taken when shaping clay into solid bronze pieces. Curator Linda Goldenstein will moderate the panel featuring James Muir, Ken Rowe, Susan Kliewer, Chris Navarro and Erik Petersen. Questions from the audience are encouraged.…
Sedona News – The Sedona Women (TSW) are pleased to present the science behind energy healings and some of the most effective treatments capable of addressing ailments inadequately treated by traditional medicine. “The Power of Energy Healing Modalities” will be presented on Thursday, May 8th, at the Community Library Sedona, where TSW programs are scheduled monthly every second Thursday from September through May from 9:30 a.m. to noon. People often dismiss alternative medical methods. Some of the most misunderstood practices are energy healings. However, recent advances in physics are beginning to provide scientific evidence to support the effectiveness of these…
Yavapai County News – Yavapai County Attorney Dennis McGrane announced that on April 30, 2025, Bridget Marie Nelson, 60, of Cordes Lakes, Arizona, entered a plea of guilty in the Yavapai County Superior Court to premeditated first degree murder, aggravated domestic violence, theft, possession of drug paraphernalia, and three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Yavapai County Attorney Dennis McGrane stated, “This plea agreement follows an extremely thorough and all-around excellent investigation by the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office into the savage murder of an elderly man. This plea ensures Ms. Nelson will spend the rest of her life…