Author: Tommy Acosta

Tommy Acosta is the publisher, editor, and lead opinion writer of Sedona.biz, the hyperlocal cyber magazine known as "The Voice of Sedona and the Verde Valley." He writes on local issues, politics, national affairs, culture, and personal reflection, often with a provocative or satirical tone.In addition to his work as a writer, Acosta is a working musician and reflexologist. He has written extensively about the challenges Sedona's musicians face, noting their low pay despite the town's vibrant music scene.Acosta describes himself as a "political actualist," rejecting strict party affiliations and instead focusing on how people are manipulated by political processes. His coverage spans local Sedona issues, tourism, short-term rentals, cultural events, community building, as well as national commentary and critiques of political figures, sometimes through imaginative pieces like "What Would Tommy Do?"Acosta is deeply engaged in Sedona's cultural and spiritual community, advocating for local musicians, artisans, and businesses, and writing about Sedona's unique identity as a spiritual and artistic hub.

Sedona, AZ — To plunge into the depths of existence and non-existence takes the courage of an astronaut exploring the outer and inner limits of a limitless universe. In her book “Actuality: infinity at play,” local author and Sedona.biz columnist Amaya Gayle takes us on a playful romp through the ever-changing what is, what’s not, what was, and what may be of one’s eternal journey in the knowing of self and beyond. Brutal honesty, loving playfulness, a rapier wit, and absolute fearlessness arm this author and metaphysicist with the tools one needs to face any monster or challenge encountered when…

Read More

By Amaya Gayle Gregory My religion is experiencing, experiencing all there is to experience, all that my life lays before me, savoring its taste, breathing in its scent, reveling in its touch, arms spread in awe of its vistas of glory, its spectacles of suffering, smitten by the music of its spheres. My religion sits on the bedrock of uncertainty, that lies in the field of unknowing. Realizing that nothing found can be ultimately true, I am relieved … of the pressure to get it right, the need to achieve, the push to conform. My religion is curiosity, rampant and…

Read More

Sedona News – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the Northern Arizona premiere of “Coup de Chance” showing May 3-9 at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ohcoh0KRvxg “Coup de Chance” — written and directed by Woody Allen — is about the important role chance and luck play in our lives. Fanny (Lou de Laâge) and Jean (Melvil Poupaud) look like the ideal married couple — they’re both professionally accomplished, they live in a gorgeous apartment in an exclusive neighborhood of Paris, and they seem to be in love just as much as they were when they first…

Read More

By David Stephen The National Library Week for 2024 was held from April 7 – 13. The American Library Association themed it “Ready, Set, Library!” The State of Arizona has over 200 public libraries and branches. There are college libraries as well as several private libraries available for public use. A path for libraries in Arizona that could kickoff a national and global trend is book flipping. This means that registered members of the libraries are assigned shelves or sections, where they would have to flip the books in a time frame, say a month, a quarter or a semester. The purpose…

Read More

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 security check. People who cannot attend or who live far away can access the service through zoom. Several classes, holidays, and special events are coming up in April. Check the website and plan to join us! Erev Shabbat services begin on Friday evening, May 3 beginning at 5:30 pm in person and on Zoom led by Rabbi Alicia Magal. We will light 6 candles in commemoration of the six…

Read More

… it’s true, all we did was cruise by a little sand spit in the lake occupied by a Great Blue Heron and as you can see … we got flashed! Kind of a funny look on his face too! Below is a shot of a Snowy Egret departing the area and love the way he is just rolling out as he departs the area … this has been a very productive week down at the lake. Weather moving in for a few days and will not return to the lake (Lake Pleasant) until Monday morning and then in the…

Read More

Sedona News – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the Northern Arizona premiere of “A Cat’s Life” showing May 3-9 at the Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatre. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfjK6ar4uY4 Clémence rescues a kitten named Lou in her Parisian attic, and they form an unbreakable bond. They venture to the countryside for her family’s vacation, where Lou’s curiosity leads to thrilling adventures in the woods. Amidst new friendships and dangers, Lou’s journey unfolds, marking a transformation from a curious kitten to a brave and adventurous cat. “A Cat’s Life” will be shown at the Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatre May 3-9. Showtimes will…

Read More

Verde Valley News – Governor Katie Hobbs in partnership with Arizona’s 10 public community college districts has created the Arizona Community College Workforce Scholarship program to help Arizonans earn a credential, degree or build advanced skills that lead to jobs in high-wage, high-growth occupations. The scholarship is designed to provide Arizona students with the incentive to pursue a higher education certificate, degree, credential or license resulting in a skilled workforce equipped to meet the demands of the state’s economy. Governor Hobbs has allocated $4.5M in EANS federal funding to get the program started with public or private funding helping to…

Read More

Sedona News – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to join theaters around the world to present the global premiere of “Jeanne du Barry” showing May 2-6 at the Mary D. Fisher and Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatres. Johnny Depp stars as King Louis XV in the story of the entrancing Jeanne du Barry, a French peasant woman whose meteoric rise through the royal court to become the King’s last mistress creates a scandal of epic proportions. “Jeanne du Barry” is based on a true story. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGDk1Pekn-A “Jeanne du Barry” follows Jeanne Vaubernier (Maïwenn), a working-class woman determined to climb the…

Read More

Arizona News – Navajo County Board of Supervisors and eX² Technology joined together with Governor Hobbs, community members, elected officials, and local, state and national leaders to celebrate the official groundbreaking and construction of a more than 100-mile open-access, dark fiber middle-mile network infrastructure to expand broadband throughout Navajo County, Arizona. The network will provide Navajo County with the ability to sustain the broadband capacity to support municipal fiber, telehealth, education, and Fiber to the Premises (FTTP) for homes and businesses. Additionally, it will interconnect with existing fiber networks in the region as well as facilitate future connections to Phoenix,…

Read More

Sedona News – Sedona Police Department’s K9 Sam has received a bullet and stab protective vest thanks to a charitable donation from non-profit organization Vested Interest in K9s, Inc.  K9 Sam’s vest was sponsored by Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. and embroidered with the sentiment “In memory of K9 Hobbs, Des Moines, IA – EOW 12-12-23”. Vested Interest in K9s, Inc., established in 2009, is a 501(c)(3) charity whose mission is to provide bullet and stab protective vests and other assistance to dogs of law enforcement and related agencies throughout the United States. This potentially lifesaving body armor for four-legged…

Read More

Sedona News – The Art in the Roundabouts Committee (AiR) of the Big Park Council announced that three years of steadfast effort has resulted in five artwork proposals that meet the established criteria for enhancing the four SR-179 roundabouts in the Village. The community is invited to a grand reveal event on May 1st from 4-7pm at the Village branch of the Sedona Public Library to view for the first time five proposed artwork designs. Attendees will have the opportunity to view exhibits depicting and explaining the artworks, speak with the artists in person, and personally comment on the proposals.…

Read More

Sedona News – One-time local Kathleen Bryant has written OVER THE EDGE, an upcoming mystery-thriller that will lead readers along Sedona’s bumpy forest roads and remote canyon trails. “Bryant weaves a rich tapestry out of all things Sedona,” says Margaret Mizushima, author of the award-winning Timber Creek K-9 Mysteries. “Loaded with details about the area’s people, its history, and the mystical beauty of its landscapes, OVER THE EDGE delivers a unique and compelling outdoor mystery.” A resident of Sedona for twenty years, Bryant drew on her experiences as a travel writer and Coconino Forest volunteer, blending fact with fiction, adding intrigue from ancient…

Read More

… and what a week it has been so far … most of it spent in nature exploring the back waters of Lake Pleasant searching for wildlife … even better finding it in abundance! The top photo is of a Gilded Flicker that decided to play with us for a while at the end of a very narrow finger of water about a mile in from the main lake. We first spotted him perched on top of a Saguaro Cactus above the little canyon we were in, thence to a branch close to us and then down to the water…

Read More

Sedona News – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to join cinemas around the world to present the global premiere of “Macbeth” on May 2 and 5 at the Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatre. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGMhZyNKCqE Tony and BAFTA Award winner Ralph Fiennes and Olivier Award winner Indira Varma star in a brand-new full-voltage visceral production of William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”. Filmed live at Dock X, a custom-built theatre space in London, this critically-acclaimed staging of Macbeth will be unmissable on the big screen. Directed by Simon Godwin with set and costume design by Frankie Bradshaw, this is a cinematic and beautifully staged…

Read More