Randy Crewse cares deeply about two things: his community and music. He has combined these two passions by using an AI program to create a song about an issue that he sees as critical for his hometown of Sedona, AZ. “I live here, my family is here, I worked here, and I volunteer here,” he said. “A lot of what I love about Sedona is possible because of Home Rule.” Randy is referring to Prop 400, a local government spending measure that goes before the City’s voters every four years and will be on the July 21 ballot. The Alternative…
Author: Tommy Acosta
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By Amaya Gayle Gregory Somewhere along the line, caring about others, any others beyond our immediate family, and not always them, went out of vogue. I am puzzled by the wanton willingness to kick people to the curb. I shouldn’t be. I walked away from a son nearly 6 years ago. God, has it been that long? I chose to forgo a relationship in hopes that taking myself out of the picture would engender change, even if that change meant I would no longer be a part of his, or my grandson’s life. I would guess that his version of…
By Rabbi Alicia Magal Sedona, AZ — The Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley, located at 100 Meadowlark Drive off Route 179 in Sedona, is a welcoming, egalitarian, inclusive congregation dedicated to building a link from the past to the future by providing religious, educational, social and cultural experiences. The JCSVV offers soul-enriching services, programs, concerts, and classes, all listed on the synagogue website, jcsvv.org. Office telephone: 928 204-1286. Visitors are welcome to attend services after a security check. Those who cannot attend in person can access the service through zoom. All are invited to Erev Shabbat service on Friday, June…
By David Stephen Sedona, AZ — There is a recent [June 8, 2026] analysis in Nature, Why are so many young people getting cancer? What researchers do and don’t know, stating that, “Colorectal cancer is one of the clearest examples: in the United States, the incidence of advanced colorectal cancer has increased by about 3% each year since around 2010 in people between the ages of 20 and 49. In 2023, colorectal cancer became the leading cause of cancer death in this age group.” “And Ng pointed to research published this year that analysed changes to chemical groups attached to DNA…
By Jack E. Koepke Sedona, AZ — Arguments for continuing Home Rule often rely on mischaracterizations of legitimate efforts to restrain the City’s increasingly aggressive pursuit of tourism through ever-expanding and excessive budgets. If Home Rule fails on July 21, Sedona will not descend into the dystopian scenario portrayed by Home Rule advocates. The City’s current operations are already funded through June 2027 under the Home Rule authorization approved in 2022. Police protection, essential services, street maintenance and day-to-day operations would continue uninterrupted. Existing capital projects could be temporarily paused while the City determines its next funding path. Several realistic…
By Joseph Rittenhouse SEDONA, Ariz. — In a Sedona election year already marked by debate over growth, spending, and the future direction of Sedona, one issue continues to reverberate through the community: the city’s unsuccessful attempt to keep Proposition 403 off the ballot. Proposition 403, or the “Sedona Cultural Park Preservation Act,” is a voter-led initiative on the July 21, 2026 ballot that seeks to designate the 41-acre city-owned Western Gateway property (formerly the Cultural Park) as a Parks and Recreation facility On March 31, the Sedona City Council voted to retain Phoenix law firm Herrera Arellano LLP to challenge…
By Tommy Acosta — Forget about it. There is just no way around it. The Home Rule concept is one of those ideas that taps into something deeper than budgets, formulas, and government accounting. Think about it. Why did the American colonies rebel against England? At its heart, it was a struggle over self-government. People wanted a say in how they were governed and how their money was spent. They did not want to be ruled by a monarch across an ocean telling them what they can or can’t do. Americans have always had a powerful attachment to freedom and…
Sedona, AZ –Sedona is unlike most rural communities in Arizona. While our permanent population is fewer than 10,000 residents, the responsibilities of managing and maintaining our city extend far beyond serving the needs of our year-round population alone. As one of Arizona’s most recognized and visited destinations, Sedona welcomes millions of visitors each year who come to experience our extraordinary natural beauty, outdoor recreation, arts, culture, and hospitality. This level of visitation places demands on public infrastructure, roads, public safety services, parks, trail systems, transit, environmental protection efforts, and community facilities that are more commonly associated with much larger municipalities.…
The July 21 election will show whether Sedona still believes in representative government — or whether organized outrage has become the city’s new political force. By Bear Howard & Associates Sedona, AZ –The July 21 election will reveal whether voters trust representative government, or whether direct-democracy outrage has taken control of the city’s future. There is an old American argument hiding inside Sedona’s 2026 election. It is the argument between representative government and direct democracy. Do we elect people to study hard issues, sit through endless meetings, hear from experts, balance competing interests, and make decisions for the long-term health…
SEDONA, Ariz. – The city and their contractor, Cactus Asphalt, will execute an asphalt pavement preservation project starting the week of June 8, 2026 and extending until the end of the month, on the following streets: Roadrunner Drive White Bear Road Cardinal Lane Sinagua Drive Apache Trail Navajo Trail Tonto Road Elberta Drive Orchard Lane Blue Horizon Road Rhapsody Road Pastoral Place Windsong Drive Harmony Drive Concord Drive N Star Lane Mule Deer Road Pinon Jay Way Moonglow Drive Raven Road Grey Mountain Drive Stardust Lane Rainbow Drive Rim Shadows Drive Rim Shadows Circle Canyon Shadows Drive Pinon Shadows Circle…
By Amaya Gayle Gregory Sedona, AZ — A thought has been niggling at me for the past couple of days. I can see the bigger picture, the hurt and pain, the wounds, the raw open sores people carry, so I tend to tread lightly. I understand the wounds are speaking not the true being, so I am kind as best I know how. But this thought has been hanging around: If I was standing in Nazi Germany in 1930s with the ability to see where our lives were headed, would I be kind to those who supported the new dictatorship,…
By Rabbi Alicia Magal Sedona, AZ –The Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley, located at 100 Meadowlark Drive off Route 179 in Sedona, is a welcoming, egalitarian, inclusive congregation dedicated to building a link from the past to the future by providing religious, educational, social and cultural experiences. The JCSVV offers soul-enriching services, programs, concerts, and classes, all listed on the synagogue website, jcsvv.org. Office telephone: 928 204-1286. Visitors are welcome to attend services after a security check. Those who cannot attend in person can access the service through zoom. We offer support in times of sorrow, and celebrate…
By David Stephen June, 2026 is Brain Awareness Month. The biggest opportunity in psychiatry is to explain mental disorders, addictions, withdrawal effects, side-effects by electrical and chemical signals in the brain. This will also explain human intelligence. How does the brain organize information? Or, whatever is in the external world, what makes up the configuration or formation of it, within the cranium? And how can it be used to explain everything through psychiatry, neurology and human intelligence? There are two options to — conceptually — define how the human brain works: ions and molecules. How so? If the passages [channels] of…
Enjoyable, fearless and unexpected whodunit fights patriarchy in surprising ways The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the Northern Arizona premiere of “Unidentified” showing June 19-25 at the Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatre. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jijpvDnis-o “Unidentified” is a Saudi murder mystery from the award-winning director of “Wadjda”. Sparked by the discovery of the lifeless body of a teenage girl in the desert; When no one claims the body, Noelle Al Saffan — a newly divorced, true crime aficionado who recently lost a child of her own — gets obsessively involved. Despite a ticking clock that seemingly guarantees the girl’s senseless death…
A small-town community joins together to celebrate patriotism over partisanship Sedona, AZ — The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the Northern Arizona theatrical premiere of “Flag Day” showing June 12-18 at the Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatre. One flag. Many voices. In “Flag Day”, a small-town community joins together to celebrate patriotism over partisanship. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1n6d5ZJCt8 Set in the small farming community of Three Oaks, Michigan — home to the nation’s largest Flag Day parade — “Flag Day” is a verité portrait of ritual, identity, and belonging in an era of deep political division. Somewhere between tradition and transformation lies…