Author: Tommy Acosta

… yesterday we scored some amazing shots on Lake Mary … last week we checked an Osprey nest, and the kids were still hanging around on the edge of the nest and not flying. Yesterday when we got in their neighborhood they were on the edge of the nest and going out on the limbs of the tree that the nest is built in … lots of wing flapping like the Red Tails that I shot just before they fledged and then it happened, one of the Osprey chicks spread his wings and went airborne over his sibling in the…

Sedona News – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the Northern Arizona premiere of “Cat Video Fest 2024” showing Aug. 2-7 at the Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatre. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wjv6qZ_1oME Join us for a family-friendly escape to the movies and celebrate everything CATS! Cat Video Fest is a compilation reel of the latest and best cat videos culled from countless hours of unique submissions and sourced animations, music videos, and classic internet powerhouses. “Watching silly cat videos is good for you.” — The Wall Street Journal Cat Video Fest is a joyous communal experience, only available in theaters, and raises…

Arizona News – Due to increased precipitation received across the Coconino National Forest, fire restrictions will be lifted at 8 a.m. tomorrow, July 26, 2024. While forest-wide restrictions have been lifted, several areas of the Coconino National Forest are subject to permanent year-round fire restrictions, which will remain in effect. Additionally, forest visitors are asked to adhere to best practices while building a campfire. Where fires are permitted, use established fire rings, fire pans or mound fires, and keep fires small. Never leave a campfire unattended. Use at least 6 gallons of water and a shovel to completely extinguish a campfire. Before…

Sedona News – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present “Touch” showing Aug. 2-8 at the Mary D. Fisher and Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatres. A romantic and thrilling story that spans several decades and continents, “Touch” follows one widower’s emotional journey to find his first love who disappeared 50 years ago, before his time runs out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5fXuZ3ns_c After receiving an early-stage dementia diagnosis at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, widower Kristofer leaves behind his Reykjavik home hoping to solve the greatest mystery of his life. As a student in London five decades earlier, Kristofer had fallen in love…

Sedona News – Beginning on July 29, 2024, the city and contractor HT4 Construction, will start construction to realign a small portion of Dry Creek Road, as shown in the map below. This work is being done in conjunction with a shared-use path that is being constructed along the west side of Dry Creek Road, between Two Fence Trail and Thunder Mountain Road. The road realignment will allow the pathway to stay within the city’s right of way and is necessary for the pathway project to move forward. Roadway realignment work consists of the removal and replacement of the existing…

By Rabbi Alicia Magal The JCSVV offers services and classes which are life-affirming and soul enriching. All are listed on the synagogue website, jcsvv.org. Visitors are welcome to attend services after a security check. People who cannot attend or who live far away can access the service through zoom. Erev Shabbat services begin on Friday evening, August 2, 2024, beginning at 5:30 pm in person and on Zoom led by Rabbi Alicia Magal. The Rabbi will chant a selection from the double Torah portion Mattot, (Numbers 30:2 – 32:42) and Masei (Numbers 33:1 – 36:13) which deal with the last…

Sedona News – The Sedona International Film Festival is taking its show on the road with its new “Movies on the Move” mobile movie truck and outdoor film experience … now heading to The Wilde Resort and Spa in West Sedona! Join us on Wednesday, July 31, at The Wilde Resort and Spa for “Wilde Wednesdays” — an outdoor under-the-stars movie experience. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tC1yOUvvMo “Jersey Boys” will be screened in The Grove Fire Pit Garden at The Wilde Resort and Spa. “Jersey Boys” — the hit musical biography directed by Clint Eastwood — tells the story of four young men from…

Sedona News – Starting in August, city of Sedona City Manager Anette Spickard invites residents to participate in a new program, called Monthly Meetup with Anette, in which once a month, they can sit down with Spickard to discuss any topic of their choice. More specifically, residents are welcome to ask any question, bring up any concern or raise any issue they would like to talk about, with the goal of the program being that residents have direct access to the City Manager. Generally, the program will occur the third Tuesday of every month and will be held in the…

Sedona News – The first installation of a new “off the trail trailhead” concept is the result of a collaboration between the proprietor of Sedona Beer Company, Mac Crawford, and the Sedona Red Rock Trail Fund (SRRTF). Dubbed the Trail Mapper program, it provides trail users with adventure planning info, businesses with a highly visible way to connect with customers, the USFS with a new educational touchpoint and the Trail Fund with needed funding for trail maintenance. In 2023, Crawford approached the SRRTF with the idea as their new beer garden on Dry Creek Road was under construction. Given the…

Verde Valley News – Imagine connecting with a community of curious minds, inspiring others –and having a blast while doing it! The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Yavapai College’s Sedona Verde Valley Campuses announces a call for class proposals for its upcoming Fall 2 Session. The Sedona/Verde Valley OLLI program is seeking enthusiastic individuals, eager to share their knowledge and skills in a variety of subjects, including History, Art, Technology, Wellness or any unique talents you might propose. The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Yavapai College is a member-led program that offers academic, not-for-credit programs designed for adults 50…

Arizona News – It’s summer in Arizona and with that comes blistering heat and wildfires that can cause travelers delays when there’s an unplanned highway closure. During these highway closures, the Arizona Department of Transportation sometimes receives questions on social media that ask a variation of: The wildfire isn’t near the highway so why is the road closed? ADOT and the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management want people to know that the answer is safety — for the traveling public and first responders. When a brush fire ignites, there are a few reasons for a full highway closure…

Sedona News – The Sedona International Film Festival is taking its show on the road with its new “Movies on the Move” mobile movie truck and outdoor film experience! The next event of the summer will be Tuesday, July 30 at Hillside Sedona, featuring the blockbuster big screen sensation “Dirty Dancing”. Showtime will be at dusk (approximately 7:45-8:00 p.m.). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIcmQNy9FsM Bring your lawn chairs and your family and friends and enjoy “Starry Night Cinema” under the stars on the festival’s giant outdoor screen with state-of-the-art projection and sound! The festival’s mobile concession stand will have movie treats available. “Dirty Dancing”…

By Stephen,David Sedona, AZ — Mass can give off energy and energy can give off mass—only in the presence of the speed of light, squared—is a principle of fusion in particle physics. However, can this be remotely used to explain an aspect of the human mind, for rough similarities, towards how the brain works? Although the human brain does not have the speed of light, electrical signals have conduction velocity. While both are not equivalent, might a parallel apply partly, to explaining a mechanism of the human mind? In the brain, there are two common elements, electrical and chemical signals.…

… prowling through the older folders again reaped rewards as I explored the photos shot with my early Olympus digital cameras … above is one of the first shots I took of the Confluence of the Colorado River with its emerald, green water and the Little Colorado River with its turquoise water. Cape Solitude is near the upper left corner of the photo … taken with the Olympus E-1 camera. I have hundreds of photos that are variants of this shot, but none of them have the qualities of this one … perhaps the softness of the light or a…

Sedona News – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to join theaters around the world to present the global premiere of “Man and Witch: The Dance of a Thousand Steps” showing July 28 and 30 at the Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatre. Tami Stronach — the iconic Childlike Empress in “The NeverEnding Story” — makes her long-awaited return to the big screen in the new fantasy film “Man and Witch: The Dance of a Thousand Steps”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epO0p7ClaYU When a lonely goatherd discovers that he has been cursed at birth to never take a wife, he makes a bargain with a reclusive…