‘We’re not the place’: Yuma County residents fight hazardous waste permit
An online petition to stop a Yuma waste company’s proposal to start managing hazardous materials has received more than 4,300 signatures just weeks before Yuma County officials are scheduled to vote on a special use permit for the company.
Apaches get new chance to argue mine will harm sacred sites
An Apache group battling a foreign mining firm that wants to build one of the largest copper mines in the United States on what tribal members say is sacred land will get a new chance to make its point Tuesday when a full federal appeals court panel takes another look at the case.
Apache-Sitgreaves horse slaughter highlights friction between animal, environmental concerns
At least 30 horses were found shot to death in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests in October, highlighting the tensions among scientists, hunters, government agencies and horse advocates.
Arizona students lobby as courts, Congress, fight over Oak Flat
A group of Arizona high school students and alumni in Washington last week lobbied for a bill that would block development of a copper mine proposed for Oak Flat, land that is sacred to the San Carlos Apache.
Rising Halloween costs amid inflation make trick-or-treating less of a treat
The only thing scarier than ghosts, ghouls and goblins this Halloween may be the rising prices for candy, costumes and pumpkins. Candy is up 13% over last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and pumpkins were also about 13% costlier in the Southwest by mid-October of this year compared to last, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.
State, feds work to protect watersheds
Wildfires both leave scars in their wake that threaten the rural communities around them with deadly floods and threaten both wildlife habitats and human drinking water that depends on healthy watersheds.
State justices end tribal dispute with ski area
The Arizona Supreme Court has squashed what could be the last legal maneuver to block the use of treated effluent to make snow on the San Francisco Peaks.
School’s out, need isn’t: Trying to boost summer meals after sharp 2014 drop
Arizona had the nation’s biggest drop in kids getting free summer meals between 2013 and 2014, a time when most states saw increases in the number of children reached, a recent report says.
Advocates push for junk-food tax on Navajo Nation
Facing a high prevalence of diabetes, many American Indian tribes are returning to their roots with community and home gardens, cooking classes that incorporate traditional foods, and running programs to encourage healthy lifestyles. The latest effort on the Navajo Nation, the country's largest reservation, is to use the tax system to push people to ditch junk food.
Drought declaration now covers all of Arizona
All of Arizona's 15 counties are now designated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as natural disaster areas for drought, making farmers and ranchers eligible for federal low-interest emergency loans.
Brewer appeals FEMA rejection of Yarnell aid
Gov. Jan Brewer is asking the Federal Emergency Management Administration to reconsider its denial of disaster aid for the Yarnell Hill fire, saying new information proves that it’s needed and that the deadly-but-relatively-small blaze was destructive enough to warrant federal assistance.
Feds trying to help Arizona farmers and ranchers
Arizona's San Carlos Apache Reservation has been designated as a primary natural disaster due to losses caused by drought, high winds, excessive heat and wildfires this year.