Prop 469 vital to easing worsening Pinal traffic, local leaders say
A map of proposed transit improvements.(Pinal Regional Transportation Authority) (Pinal County, AZ) From miles-long backups on SR-347 to the lack of public transportation options, getting around largely rural Pinal County can be difficult at times if not almost impossible – even if your vehicle has a siren and flashing lights.
Read full storyMexican Independence Day celebration in Eloy surges as COVID deaths plummet
A brave festival attendee faces off with a Dino Crew Entertainment performer.(Jeff Kronenfeld) (Eloy, AZ) More than two centuries after the Cry of Dolores signaled the beginning of Mexico’s War of Independence, Eloy’s annual celebration of that fateful day, the Fiestas Patrias, filled the town’s Central Park with music, laughter, and even a dinosaur’s roars.
Read full storyFormer mining town looks to new multigenerational center to help revive community
The historic former Superior High School.(Arlynn Godinez/Superior Enterprise Center) (Superior, AZ) The Copper Corridor’s future looks a little brighter after residents of Superior got a first peek at their multigenerational center last night – one of the most notable examples of how a historic Arizona mining town is trying to combat population declines.
Read full storyPinal heat relief still hobbled by COVID
Water bottles and other drinks for distribution by the Pinal County Heat Relief Network.(Braden Biggs) (Pinal County, AZ) As a scorching heatwave baked much of Arizona over the last week, Pinal County offered sweaty residents some respite through heat refuges and hydration stations – even as many groups are still not able to offer the level of assistance they did prior to the pandemic. .
Read full storyScandal-hit AZ-based electric truck maker seeks more capital amid stock price drop
A Nikola truck drives by the U.S. Capitol.(Nikola Corporation) (Pinal County, AZ) Like a truck rolling downhill, Phoenix-based electric and fuel cell vehicle manufacturer Nikola saw its stock price drop by 3.98% Tuesday -- down 48.74% since the beginning of the year.
Read full storyCourt rejects recount for primary where 3 candidates are within 2 votes of each other
A Pinal County Board of Supervisors meeting about problems with the recent primary election.(Pinal County) (Pinal County, AZ) The Pinal County Superior Court ruled against a recount for last month’s Coolidge City Council primary election even though three candidates are within three votes of one another.
Read full storyWater park in Pinal County moves ahead as farmers faces steep water cuts
A rendering of the PHX Surf water park in the city of Maricopa.(PHX Surf/AO) (Maricopa, AZ) As Pinal County farmers struggle to cope with the recently extended cut-off of Colorado River water, others in the region have responded to the historic drought more leisurely.
Read full storyWhat to do about Sonoran Desert toads emerging from hibernation
A Sonoran Desert toad.(Arizona Game and Fish Department Photographer George Andrejko) (Pinal County, AZ) Have you noticed any giant amphibians hopping around your yard or street lately?
Read full story11th annual prickly pear festival saved from poor harvest
Sonoran Scavengers sell their wares at the Prickly Pear Festival.(Jeff Kronenfeld) (Superior, AZ) Despite monsoon thunderheads threatening from atop the steep rock walls to the east, below in Superior, the 11th annual Prickly Pear Festival stayed dry and saw a strong turnout, with visitors taking advantage of the day’s unseasonably cool temperature of 82 degrees.
Read full storyWest Nile Virus detected in mosquitoes in Pinal County
An enlarged view of a female Culex quinquefasciatus mesquito that had landed on the skin of a human.(CDC/James Gathany) (Pinal County, AZ) When Pinal County Public Health Services District detected mosquitoes infected with West Nile Virus (WNV) last week, Environmental Health District Manager Chris Reimus was not surprised.
Read full storyBurrowing owl habitats at risk in Pinal County
A tent containing a pair of relocated burrowing owls and an artificial burrow setup by Wild at Heart.(Arizona Wildlife Resource ) (Pinal County, AZ) Last month, Valerie Motyka’s organization, Arizona Wildlife Resource (AWR), received a call that burrowing owls near a construction site in San Tan were in trouble. From AWR’s headquarters in Eloy, she reached out to the landowner.
Read full storyLife on Mars: Arizona startup simulates off-world habitats
A screenshot from SIMOC.(Over the Sun) (Oracle, AZ) The Arizona-based company Over the Sun, LLC, has developed software for simulating off-world habitats, which it continues to improve and find new uses for on Earth.
Read full storyMonastery in Florence, Arizona raises funds to honor Arizona religious leader
One of the many buildings at St. Anthony's Greek Orthodox Monastery.(Jeff Kronenfeld) (Florence, AZ) The late Arizona religious leader who founded St. Anthony’s Greek Orthodox Monastery in Florence, Arizona, the largest monastery of its kind in the U.S., will be the subject of five books.
Read full storyPinal County names new recorder following election problems
Dana Lewis is sworn into office by Clerk of the Board Natasha Kennedy.(Pinal County Communications and Marketing) (Florence, AZ) Air Force vet Dana Lewis was unanimously appointed by the Pinal County Board of Directors as the county’s new recorder today, a day after her former boss stepped down before being named Election Director.
Read full storyCould water wars in other parts of Arizona spill over into Pinal County?
Fissures in the Parker Ranch Road area of the Willcox Basin attributed to by groundwater depletion by Arizona Water Defenders.(Mark Levy/Sierra Vista Herald) (Pinal County, AZ) A group of Arizona citizens concerned about wells drying up inched closer to making history last week.
Read full storyRock of Oracle: Sue and Jerry's Trading Post helps lead community revival
Sue Parra, co-owner of Sue and Jerry’s Trading Post.(Jeff Kronenfeld) (Oracle, AZ) Sue Parra, a miner’s daughter, has called Oracle home since 1970. She has seen the small community’s fortunes rise and fall with the flow of copper and other minerals from the San Manuel Mine, once North America’s largest underground mining operation.
Read full storyAs D&D has national resurgence, Casa Grande players prepare to go live
An image of Dungeons and Dragons characters battling a dragon.(Wizards of the Coast) (Casa Grande, AZ) The druid, rogue elf, bulky barbarian, even bulkier eight-foot-tall cleric, and other adventurers have been battling undead monsters for nearly a half-hour. Then, finally, the druid Alesa’s eyes glow red, and the remaining vampire spawn flee, only to be incinerated as a wall of flames explodes from the earth.
Read full storyWar in Ukraine sends refugees and economic disruptions to Pinal County
High Commissioner Filippo Grandi visits the destroyed home of Liudmyla, 65, in Makariv in the Bucha district of Kyiv Oblast(Andrew McConnell/UNHCR) (Pinal County, AZ) No place is immune to the fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, including Pinal County.
Read full storyArizona's effort to save thick-billed parrots in Mexico preserves biodiversity in Pinal County skies
Thick-billed parrots on a branch.(OVIS) (Pinal County, AZ) Arizona was once home to one of two parrot species occurring naturally in the contiguous U.S. Though the last known Carolina parakeet died in 1918, thick-billed parrots live on in Mexico, some tantalizingly close to the Arizona border.
Read full storySelf-exclusion programs help Arizonans quit gambling
Division of Problem Gambling Director Elise Mikkelsen.(Division of Problem Gambling) (Pinal County, AZ) Two to three percent of Americans admit to struggling with problem gambling, according to Arizona Division of Problem Gambling (DPG) Director Elise Mikkelsen. She noted Arizona’s numbers fall in line with national figures, though no specific information on Pinal County’s rate was available.
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