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.

Encore of lecture series featuring Beatles historian Scott Freiman at Mary D. Fisher TheatreSedona AZ (October 12, 2019 – Sedona International Film Festival is proud to be the official host of the “Deconstructing the Beatles” series, joining hundreds of theatres around the country for this special event. “Deconstructing The Beatles: Revolver” will show in Sedona on Monday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. at the festival’s Mary D. Fisher Theatre.In “Deconstructing The Beatles: Revolver”, composer/producer Scott Freiman takes Beatles fans young and old into the studio with The Beatles as they create their seminal 1966 album, Revolver.

Read More

Cottonwood AZ (October 12, 2019) – Climate Change is real: it is here, affecting our lives, now. What do we do about it? Is the best strategy personal actions or national policy? Is it too late to make a difference?  We will explore both personal and policy solutions on Saturday, November 2 @12:30 pm – 1:45 pm at the Cottonwood Public Library, 100 S. 6th Street in Cottonwood, including the Green New Deal and the book “Drawdown” followed by audience questions and discussion. The presentation is free and open to the public.

Read More

Emphasis on helping adults lacking means and/or access to eye care servicesCamp Verde AZ (October 12, 2019) – Thursday October 24th from 9:00a-3:30p the Lions Club of Yavapai County will bring eye care services through their mobile doctor’s office to Camp Verde community members. The Lions Mobile Eye Care Van is a fully equipped eye doctor’s examination room used by volunteer eye doctors to give screening eye exams and write prescriptions for eye glasses. It is the mission of Lions Clubs to use this mobile doctor’s office to bring eye care services to all of Yavapai County, with particular emphasis on…

Read More

Sedona AZ (October 12, 2019) – Grasshopper basketball registration opens Oct. 21. Grasshopper basketball league is for youth in grades 1-6. This is a low-pressure co-ed league with an emphasis placed on skills development, good sportsmanship, positive encouragement and teaching the rules and fundamentals of basketball. Whether you are a player, coach or parent, we offer a fun and fulfilling season for all.  

Read More

Cornville AZ (October 12, 2019) – Saturday, October 26, experience a rare opportunity to soak in the rugged beauty and magical inspiration of a working studio burnished with years of art, sculpture and performance. Down a backroad into a quiet valley in the Verde Valley, you are invited to participate in Engaging the Muse, a unique afternoon event in the Waddell Studio in Cornville. Beginning with a new presentation by local performance artist, dancer, and artists’ model, Pash Galbavy, using archetypal masks, movement, and storytelling to offer an insider’s view of how she got into modeling for artists and what…

Read More

Keira Knightley, Matt Smith and Ralph Fiennes star in film at Fisher TheatreSedona AZ (October 11, 2019) – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the Northern Arizona premiere of the audience and critically-acclaimed new thriller “Official Secrets” Oct. 18-23 at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre.“Official Secrets” features an all-star ensemble cast including Keira Knightley, Matt Smith, Matthew Goode and Ralph Fiennes.Nothing is more dangerous than the truth.She risked everything to stop an unjust war. Her government called her a traitor.

Read More

Cottonwood AZ (October 11, 2019) – Come to OTCA and take a trip back in time.  Enjoy the timeless music of Peter, Paul and Mary with MacDougal Street West, on Saturday, October 19th at 7:00 PM.‘Peter, Paul and Mary’ has become an iconic American folk group formed in New York City in 1961, during the American folk music revival phenomenon. The trio was composed of tenor Peter Yarrow, baritone Noel Paul Stookey and alto Mary Travers. The group’s repertoire included songs written by Yarrow and Stookey, early songs by Bob Dylan as well as covers of other folk musicians. Their music is revived and lives on in the Arizona based group…

Read More

Sedona AZ (October 11, 2019) – World renowned and prolific guitarist, Jennifer Batten, will grace the showroom at Sound Bites Grill this Friday and Saturday, October 18 & 19 at 8:00pm.  Sedona locals and tourists alike will find this multi-media show to be one they will never forget. Batten’s musical career is quite impressive most notably for her performances, for more than ten years, as the lead guitarist and rhythm guitarist for Michael Jackson on three of his world tours including Bad (1987-1989), Dangerous (1992) and HIStory (1996-1997), not to mention his 1993 Super Bowl halftime performance that aired to over 1.3 Billion people in 86 countries.  This…

Read More

Sedona AZ (October 11, 2019) – The Sedona Heritage Museum will feature a chair caning demonstration on October 21, 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. Dale Compton will demonstrate the steps for hand caning a traditional chair seat, a hobby that requires time and patience, but very few tools. Dale has been hand caning chairs as a hobby for eighteen years and has caned nearly 50 chairs. He obtains the chairs from flea markets, garage sales and friends, often as derelicts in poor condition. He then repairs, rebuilds and refinishes the chairs prior to caning so that the final product is both…

Read More

Sedona AZ (October 11, 2019) – The Sedona City Council, in conjunction with the Cottonwood City Council is pleased to announce expanded Lynx transit hours Monday through Friday, with additional service on Sunday. The new hours are in effect immediately.Lynx will run every 45 minutes beginning at 6 a.m. From 7:30 p.m., the bus will run every 90 minutes, with the last bus leaving the Sedona Municipal lot at the corner of Schnebly Road and Peach Lane in Uptown, headed for Cottonwood, at 10:30 p.m. And there are new times on Sundays: from Cottonwood to Sedona buses will run approximately…

Read More

Camp Verde AZ (October 11, 2019) – Traditional Hawaiian songs are Classics to many of us.  They’re the songs Hawaiians grew up with that they sang and danced to throughout their childhood.  New music artists create songs that may one day become Classics themselves.  At the 16th annual Ho`ike (hula exhibition show), Halau Hula Napuaokalei`ilima presents both the New and the Old songs (mele) and honors the talent of all these fine composers with their authentic Hawaiian Hula, culture and music. This year’s theme for the annual show is “New Compositions and a Few Classics”.  Kumu Hula Kehau Chrisman invites you to join the Halau (school) on a Saturday, November 2, 2019 at the Phillip England…

Read More

By Karen Mack, Youth Services LibrarianSedona AZ (October 11, 2019) – Remember Humpty Dumpty and his great fall? Well, that poor old egg gets back up again in Sedona Library’s new StoryWalk® selection “After the Fall,” a 2017 picture book by Caldecott medalist Dan Santat. The tale begins at the Sunset Park playground and provides a 15-minute outdoor reading adventure for all ages. What is StoryWalk? Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, Vermont, created and trademarked StoryWalk in 2007, and, as she describes, “The idea was quite simple—take the pages from a children’s picture book, attach each one to a stake, and line them…

Read More

By Ted Grussing… and this hen mallard has turned final, landing flaps deployed and gear on the way down to prepare for the splash in near several other ducks. A quick trip to the ponds late afternoon and It was a fun way to close out the day. I had planned to go home via Sedona and stop at Senor Bob’s and get a hamburger, fries and diet Pepsi, but headed home and made hotdogs and beans with a salad. Think I’ll do Senor Bob’s tomorrow as it will be an improvement over the fare I chose tonight … plus…

Read More

Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams and Billy Crudup star in film at Fisher TheatreSedona AZ (October 10, 2019) – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the Northern Arizona premiere of the audience and critically-acclaimed new film “After the Wedding” Oct. 18-23 at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre.“After the Wedding” features an award-winning ensemble cast including Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams and Billy Crudup.

Read More