The City of Sedona took one on the chin with the courts demanding the city pay the Save Sedona Committee $33,872.50, plus $320.29 for its legal costs defending itself against the city’s lawsuit attempting to prevent an initiative from appearing on the ballot for this coming election. Below is a copy of the court’s Summary Judgement: According to Bill Noonan, Save Sedona Committee member: The City Must Pay the Legal Fees of Prop 403. The City sued Prop 403 and lost. Now the judge has told the City it must pay $33,872.50 in legal fees to the attorneys who defended…
Author: Tommy Acosta
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By Sedona City Council Member Pete Furman Sedona, AZ — I have been on the Sedona City Council since 2022, and I know that budgeting is a very complex process in Sedona. I believe a well-structured city budget is essential to keep city services running at optimal levels while continuing to help fund the library, the recycling center, and many other community-serving nonprofits. Setting the budget involves every city department, staff, the city manager, the finance director, the council, the mayor, a citizens’ budget committee, and several public hearings. It takes many months to complete. And many say it’s a…
Comedians Peter Sers and Priya Guyadeen take the stage for evening of hilarity Sedna, AZ — The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present Stand-Up Comedy Night live onstage at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre on Sunday, July 12 at 7 p.m. The show will feature headliner Peter Sers with Priya Guyadeen opening the evening. PETER SERS Peter Sers is a comedian from Los Angeles, California. He began his entertainment career as a professional dancer, and later transitioned into acting, and eventually stand-up comedy. He has been an entertainer his whole life, but what he loves most is making…
By Rabbi Alicia Magal 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, concerts, 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. All are invited to Erev Shabbat service on Friday, July 10 at 5:30 pm…
Sedona AZ — The Sedona Heritage Museum will commemorate National Day of the Cowboy on Saturday, July 25, with a special screening of the 1953 western film “Gun Fury.” The screening will take place at Mary D. Fisher Theatre at 3 pm. “Gun Fury” follows the story of Ben Warren (played by Rock Hudson) who tracks down outlaw Frank Slayton (Philip Carey) after Slayton shot him and kidnapped his fiancée, Jennifer Ballard (Donna Reed). Most of the film was shot in and around Sedona over the course of 19 days. Hudson took meticulous notes of every shooting location each day. …
by Amaya Gayle Gregory Sedona, AZ — The problem with manifestation gimmicks is sometimes they appear to work. If they never did, you wouldn’t beat yourself mercilessly when your personal ship of state appeared to float or sink. Success now and again, even success a great deal of the time, doesn’t mean you figured it out, that you did it, or that you’re a success. It also doesn’t mean that you didn’t figure it out, you didn’t do what you needed to do, or that you’re a failure. It means that those times when you appeared to be a success,…
Universal vouchers are draining public education dollars into private hands, creating a two-track system where the well-positioned get options and everyone else gets what is left. By Bear Howard Sedona, Az — Arizona has become a national test case for what happens when “school choice” moves from a targeted safety valve into a universal privatization system. The conservative argument sounds attractive at the household level: parents should be able to choose the best school for their child. But the system-level result is very different. Public dollars are increasingly pulled into private, religious, homeschool, microschool, and alternative education markets, while the…
By David Stephen There is a recent [July 4, 2026] feature on Space Daily, Physicist Roger Penrose has spent decades arguing that consciousness isn’t something the brain produces, but that explaining it will require physics we haven’t yet discovered, stating that, “Roger Penrose does not think a computer will ever be conscious, and he does not think a brain running on ordinary neural computation would be conscious either. For close to forty years, the Oxford mathematical physicist has argued that consciousness cannot be the product of algorithmic processing at all, and that explaining it will require physics we have not yet…
By David Stephen What is known about how the brain works or does not that should determine if mental illness should be added to medical assistance in dying in Canada? Simply, assuming an individual makes a request for assisted dying because of a serious mental illness, what does the individual and loved ones know about how the brain works that should make the decision seem parallel with the best possible information given all scenarios? This is the question that must be answered by the Government of Canada, before determining if assisted dying should be added to MAID, or if mental illness might make…
SEDONA, Ariz. – The city of Sedona promoted Roxanne Holland as Public Works Director/City Engineer, effective yesterday, July 1, 2026 following the retirement of the previous Public Works Director/City Engineer Kurt Harris. Holland has served the city for nearly 14 years, most recently as the Wastewater Director for seven years, in progressively responsible engineering and leadership roles. A registered Professional Civil Engineer in Arizona, she holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Northern Arizona University. Throughout her career with the city, Holland has successfully managed numerous major capital improvement projects, including wastewater treatment plant improvements, major sewer rehabilitation…
Sedona, AZ — A perfect way to spend a summer Monday is to join Shondra Jepperson and the Sedona International Film Festival at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre on July 13 at 7 pm for an evening of great tunes and personal conversation. The “In the Living Room” Music Series is known for its signature interactive format, where the audience is invited to ask questions and connect with the performer during the show, making it a uniquely fun experience for every music lover. https://vimeo.com/1201813284?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci In the Living Room Music Series, Shondra Jepperson welcomes the incredibly talented guitarist Steve Estes. With…
SEDONA, Ariz. – The Greater Flagstaff Region Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) Core Team will host a public meeting on Wednesday, July 8, 2026 from 5 – 8 p.m. at the Hub at Posse Grounds Park, to solicit public input regarding an update to the CWPP. The CWPP is a community-driven planning effort that assesses wildfire risk across the Greater Flagstaff Region, including Sedona, and identifies strategies to improve wildfire preparedness, mitigation, response coordination and recovery. The Core Team – consisting of representatives from local (including the city of Flagstaff and the city of Sedona), state and federal stakeholders -…
By Mike Schroeder I am responding to my friend Shaeri Richards piece a couple of days ago. I considered posting a “reply” to the article but felt it better to do a new piece and reference some of Shaeri’s comments. Shaeri is a detailed person and an asset to our community. The reason for my review and response, is that from a historical perspective. No one knows more about Home Rule, and Permanent Base adjust that I do along with Dwight Kadar from our 2018 experience with the state. Our experience stems from being the only 2 citizens to EVER…
Sedona, AZ — Sedona voters are facing another “Home Rule” campaign, and if the “No” arguments feel familiar, that’s because they are. Same arguments, largely the same voices, every four years, for over a decade. The villain changes each cycle – roundabouts, housing, roads, a particular councilmember – but not the rhetoric. It’s like shouting “fire” on a four-year cycle. It’s strange and frustrating because each time since 1996 the majority has approved Home Rule. They understand the difference between “I’m unhappy with a specific decision” and “let’s kill the mechanism that pays for police, roads, parks, and non-profits to…
The city’s challenge was not an attack on voters, but a responsible effort to determine whether the initiative was a backdoor zoning measure with consequences beyond Sedona. By Steve Segner, Sedona Resident for 26 years The first useful distinction is this: questioning whether an initiative is legally eligible for the ballot is not the same thing as opposing the public’s right to vote. The city’s case turned on Arizona’s long-running rule against using initiatives to bypass zoning procedures. Yes. The city’s court action looks reasonable and responsible, not anti-voter, because Proposition 403 was not merely an advisory “let the people…