By Michael Ryan, Sedona Resident(August 10, 2020)The prestige of being a Dark Sky Community comes with responsibilities, lighting regulations, enforcement rules, and community commitment. When the designation was granted, Big Park seemingly had everything in place but, perhaps not.Strike one: The developers of the Element Hotel had no awareness of the Dark Sky ordinance. The County should have been proactive, given the brand’s typical lightbox architecture. They were not.
Author: Tommy Acosta
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Clarkdale AZ (August 9, 2020) – On Saturday August 8, 2020, at approximately 12:25 PM, the Verde Valley Fire District responded to the report of a wildland assignment in the area of Cement Plant Road and the Rail Road Tracks.VVFD was dispatched to the report of a fire along the rail road tracks and spreading. On arrival crews deployed hand lines to the fire in order to control the fire’s spread. The fire was controlled and extinguished with the use of hose lines and hand crews. Nearby organizations Cottonwood Fire and Medical, Jerome Fire Department, U.S. Forest Service and Verde…
Camp Verde AZ (August 9, 2020) – The next Music in the Stacks, a free monthly concert series, will take place on Thursday, August 13th at 5:30 pm, “Out of the Stacks”, at Redinger Ramada at the Town Campus on Hollamon Street. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , special precautions will be taken for everyone’s safety, including sanitizing the existing seating areas. Attendees will need to practice physical distancing and are encouraged to bring their own chairs to assist with this. Face masks are highly encouraged, and there will be some available for those who do not have them.
By Ted Grussing… we’ve all traveled down a road like this either in our lives or on the actual road … it is evening and there is no one else around … for miles and miles. A time when we look at who we are, who we want to be and resolve to make it so.
Drivers should plan for delays and allow extra travel timeClarkdale AZ (August 7, 2020) – The Arizona Department of Transportation advises drivers to plan for daytime rolling lane closures on northbound State Route 89A while shoulder repair work is underway. The work will occur between Robert Road (milepost 324) and Hopewell Mountain Road (milepost 348).Northbound SR 89A will be narrowed to one lane from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 11, and Wednesday, Aug. 12. Lane closures will be 1 to 2 miles long with delays of approximately 15 minutes. Flaggers and a pilot car will stop and direct…
Deputy’s expertise in Pyrotechnics Aids InvestigationCottonwood AZ (August 7, 2020) – On August 1, 2020, about 1 AM, deputies were dispatched to a reported wildfire near Eastern Drive and Roundup Trail, Cottonwood. Verde Valley Fire personnel were already on scene fighting fires near several homes (see photo) in heavy smoke. Residents told deputies they heard one or more explosions, some shaking their house. Deputies eventually found the likely area where an explosion took place at the intersection of Eastern Drive and Valley Drive and recovered evidence.One of the deputies on scene with extensive training and experience in the pyrotechnics field…
Free, personal accounts make most MVD service available anytime Phoenix AZ (August 7, 2020) – The usage of online Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division services has skyrocketed over the past four months as more than one million Arizonans have activated their free online AZ MVD Now accounts at azmvdnow.gov.“AZ MVD Now couldn’t have come at a better time,” MVD Director Eric Jorgensen said. “With the limitations placed on our in-person office visits due to the public health emergency, providing more services online through AZ MVD Now has meant we can offer more web-based options to customers on their…
Phoenix AZ (August 7, 2020) – Attorney General Mark Brnovich today announced that the Arizona Attorney General’s Office (AGO) obtained a $22.5 million judgment and a permanent injunction against vaping peddler Eonsmoke, LLC. “Eonsmoke is being held accountable for its unlawful conduct in Arizona, including marketing flavored vaping pods to children,” said Attorney General Mark Brnovich. “If you are an Arizona retailer and have Eonsmoke products on your shelves, they are illegal. This final judgment includes comprehensive injunctive relief, and our office will continue to monitor Eonsmoke’s presence in Arizona and ensure its compliance with all state and federal laws.”
By Darcy Hitchcock Co-Founder, Sustainability AllianceSedona AZ (August 7, 2020) – Hopefully the Black Lives Matters protests have made us all more sensitive to inequality in our society. Business owners and managers may be wondering how to make their workplaces more inclusive. McKinsey just released an interesting report that uncovers what makes a workplace feel inclusive. Learn how to make your workplace more inclusive.
By Viviane Kraus, Youth Services LibrarianSedona AZ (August 7, 2020) – Summer Reading Program News… We are excited to announce that all children who participated in the 2020 “Imagine Your Story” Summer Reading Program can stop by and pick up their prizes–a free set of Disney comics–or let us bring them out to your car during curbside pickup hours. These comics were donated by the Bruce Hamilton Company.The summer reading program closed on August 1, 2020, and all our lucky prize winners will be notified via phone or email. Thank you to Tlaquepaque Toy Town, Bearizona Wildlife Park, and Arizona…
By Ted Grussing… along the shore line for this Great Blue Heron as he drops in to do some feeding along the shoreline with these two snowy egrets. The shooting was as good for us as was the fishing for them. Most of the action is along the shores on the SE end of the lake … it is shallower and an abundance of food is there and easy to reach.Hoping to be back out on the lake by next week and begin getting these beautiful birds again.
Prescott AZ (August 6, 2020) – In the mid-afternoon hours, of July 26, 2020, an unidentified subject called the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch Center and stated, “there is a bomb in the building,” and quickly hung up. Due to the broad, nondescript nature of the threat, operations at the Yavapai County Jails in Prescott, and in Camp Verde, as well as the Chino Valley Police Department were severely diminished or shut down for several hours. A Specially trained group of Yavapai County Sheriff’s deputies in the Terrorism Liaison Officer (TLO) Program were assigned to investigate the origin of the…
Sedona AZ (August 6, 2020) – Third generation photographer Marc Muench will present to the Sedona Camera Club starting at 6 p.m. on Monday, August 31st. Due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns, Marc’s online presentation will be via a Sedona Camera Club webinar.Photography combines the sciences and arts in a unique way that motivates creativity, emotion, and art. The elusive aspects of the craft are the elements that make it an art and simultaneously make it challenging to master. During his webinar, “Creative Thinking”, Marc will break parts of this down into bite-size pieces. There are many ways to improve your…
Phoenix AZ (August 6, 2020) – The Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) will virtually broadcast this year’s High Country Hummingbird Festival at 8 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 8.The 17th annual event will be livestreamed from the Sipe White Mountain Wildlife Area on AZGFD’s Pinetop regional Facebook page at Facebook.com/AZGFDPinetop/. No public events are planned. Read more→
Will Serve as a Guide for Schools as They Determine Plans for ReopeningPhoenix AZ (August 6, 2020) – With the health of students, teachers, and staff as their top priority, the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) and the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) have partnered in the development of guidance to support the safe reopening of in-person learning in Arizona schools. Per Governor Ducey’s June 23 Executive Order, Arizona: Open for Learning, ADHS has established benchmarks in collaboration with local public health officials and education partners to guide decisions by public school districts and charter schools on when to offer virtual,…