Author: Tommy Acosta

Sedona News – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the Northern Arizona premiere of “Wildmen” showing June 24-29 at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre. In a desperate attempt to cure his midlife crisis, Martin has fled his family to live high up in the Norwegian mountains — hunting and gathering like his ancestors did thousands of years ago. Armed only with a bow and an ensemble of animal skins, Martin sets off into the forest in a misguided attempt to overcome his midlife crisis. A chance meeting with a fugitive named Musa leads to an adventurous trip…

Election News – Yavapai County Recorder, Leslie Hoffman would like to remind voters about important information regarding the upcoming 2022 Primary Election being held Tuesday, August 2, 2022. All registered voters are eligible to vote in the 2022 Primary Election.  If you are a registered Independent, Other, or Party Not Designated, and are on the Active Early Voter List, you must tell us which Party Ballot you want mailed. Call 928-771-3248. To be eligible to vote, you must register/update your voter information by Tuesday, July 5, 2022. Please visit the Yavapai County Recorder’s Office at 1015 Fair St. Rm 228,…

Sedona News – The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) would like to remind drivers of trucks over 30 feet not to enter the switchbacks on State Route (SR) 89A in Oak Creek Canyon during its current construction project.  Construction is taking place near Pumphouse Wash Bridge in the switchback section of Oak Creek Canyon as part of the SR 89A Oak Creek Canyon Improvements. Because of this, there are 8-foot width and 30-foot length restrictions in the work zone. Any vehicle traveling north or south along SR 89A that exceeds the width and length restrictions will not be permitted to…

Sedona News – Keep Sedona Beautiful (KSB), Northern Arizona Climate Change Alliance (NAZZCA) and the Sustainability Alliance will co-host a CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATE FORUM: ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES AND SEDONA’S CLIMATE ACTION PLAN on June 21 at 6:00 pm at KSB, 360 Brewer Rd, Sedona. The City Council Candidate Forum will address the City’s response to the threats of climate change. Sedona adopted its Climate Action Plan (CAP) in July 2021. The Climate Action Plan (CAP) “sets a goal to cut Sedona’s greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030. Reaching this target—which aligns with the international scientific recommendation for preventing the worst climate change impacts—will…

Sedona News – One last time, “The Art Camp for Kids”, Camp Bear Wallow, will open its doors for the summer with fun art projects like  balloon art, bird houses, Lego sculptures, fiber clay sculptures, paint brush making and more!  The camp will open July 4th at West Sedona School and is accepting ages  6-11; from 10am to 1pm, Monday thru Friday.   The mission of this camp is  to inspire and encourage  children  to explore, create and  invent  using artist’s tools and the artist’s eye in the hopes of developing a joyful well rounded  creative young adult. The goals of the…

By Amaya Gayle Gregory You see change coming — a sea change — transcendence, a new earth, a better place to raise your family, a you who fits sweetly into the picture.  What if there is no pending apocalypse, no rapture escape route, no heaven to find, no hell to escape, no afterlife at all?  Maybe, humanity isn’t ascending to a higher state, and the idea that all this pain is worth it because of where it is taking us is just another story.  What if thinking you’re on top of it, the genius at the front of the wave,…

… or any other time of day for that matter, but there is something special about the mornings as all of life is preparing to live another day on this remarkable little planet we call home … and we get to choose what kind of day we will have and how we react to what others say and do. Mornings have been special since I was a little kid and joined my dad, brothers and friends in the sloughs and river bottoms before dawn, drinking coffee and sharing stories as we awaited the sun and legal hours to begin the…

Sedona News – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the Northern Arizona premiere of “A Cowgirl’s Song” showing June 24-29 at the Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatre. An inspiring family film, “A Cowgirl’s Song” stars Cheryl Ladd, Savannah Lee May and Darci Lynne. Family is instrumental. Two teen sisters, Hailey and Brooke, go to live with their grandmother (Cheryl Ladd) when their father is arrested for a crime he didn’t commit. Their grandma used to be a country music star but she retired after the death of their grandfather in a car accident. Hailey wants to be a country…

Pipeline Fire continues burning north of Flagstaff, Two additional fires reported northeast of Pipeline Fire (June 13, 2022) – Strong winds continue to move the Pipeline Fire toward the northeast, as two additional wildfires–the Haywire Fire and Double Fire–are reported about 6 miles further ahead. The exact size the the Pipeline Fire is unknown due to the inability for an overnight infrared flight. However, fire managers estimate the fire to be about 5,000 acres currently. Firefighters are working to suppress and keep fire from entering areas near communities, while deflecting the fire along the San Francisco Peaks toward the northeast…

… closing out another day on the deck and enjoying feeling the temperatures plummet after the sun goes down behind House Mountain, strong breezes have a cooling effect and One and I enjoy an hour or so on the deck during the transition from day to night. A time to reflect on the day, remember pleasant moments, visit with friends walking by and always looking for wildlife with or without wings. Not so much out tonight, but I took this bunny’s portrait as he was dining on the beautiful green grass that the golf course provides him … and One…

Sedona News – Join the Sedona International Film Festival in a special Grand Opening Celebration of its Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatre — the festival’s new 43-seat, state-of-the-art cinema — on Sunday, June 19 at 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.  The Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatre joins the festival’s Mary D. Fisher Theatre, which has become the “Cultural Heart of Sedona” since its opening 10 years ago. The support from the community, festival members and patrons and sponsors, have given the organization the opportunity to create a second, smaller theatre which will create greater flexibility for additional independent film and live entertainment options.  The…

By Terry Hansen Sparta WI The charge of radicalism is the default response by many in the GOP to any substantive climate action.  Regarding Biden Administration climate policies, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell recently claimed: “Democrats say your financial pain is the necessary cost to make America more to the liking of the radical environmental left.”  But George W. Bush’s Treasury Secretary, Henry Paulson, who calls climate change the single biggest risk to the global economy, is not a part of the radical environmental left. Nor are members of Freddie Mac’s Economic and Housing Research group, which reported: “(R)ising sea…

Sedona News – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to officially open its new theatre — the Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatre — with the encore of “The Duke” showing June 20-22. “The Duke” stars Academy Award-winners Helen Mirren and Jim Broadbent, along with Fionn Whitehead, Anna Maxwell Martin and Matthew Goode. In 1961, Kempton Bunton, a 60-year old taxi driver, stole Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London. It was the first (and remains the only) theft in the Gallery’s history. Kempton sent ransom notes saying that he would return the painting on condition…

By Rabbi Alicia Magal Shalom and greetings from the Rabbi, Board of Directors, and congregation of the Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley. All the services, classes, and programs are listed on the synagogue website. Come join us either in person or online. See jcsvv.org for instructions to register for in-person services or online links. On Friday, June 17, a Friday evening service, led by Rabbi Alicia Magal, begins at 5:30 pm both in person and on Zoom, and livestreamed for members and their invitees. Congregants participate by lighting candles, doing a reading, or having an Aliyah for the Torah…

By Amaya Gayle Gregory What if we aren’t matter at all but a projection, a holy fractal graphic hologram, projected through held crystalline beliefs. Some we come in with — life karma. Some are collective. Some are deeply hidden, entombed within the psyche … and some are hiding in plain sight, out in the open, sitting on the landscape of our lives like sparkling diamonds just waiting to be plucked up … each one a prism that reflects and projects reality. Many get a piece of this. You see it in the words and programs of the positive thinking proponents.…