HistoryUnfiltered Camels
M.V. MoorheadAugust 16, 2013
For a brief spell in the 1800s, the drought-resistant beasts took their lumps in the Arizona heat.
Valley NewsParking Problem
Matt ColeAugust 9, 2013
The recession and diminished public funds have left many Valley cities park poor. Remember when you were a kid and spent countless hours scaling the jungle gym and smacking a tetherball at your local park? Or, maybe you have fond memories of your parents pushing you on the swings or catching you at the bottom of the slide. Neighborhood parks play a multifaceted role in the lives of Valley residents, according to Dale Larsen, a professor at Arizona State University’s College of Public Programs and former Parks and Recreation director for the City of Phoenix. Parks provide nature in an urban environment, a place for children to play, a property-value boost for residents and a gathering place for the surrounding neighborhood, he says. “What we need are safe, citizen-driven neighborhood parks that reflect the needs of that community.”
Valley NewsHot Neighborhoods
Editorial StaffAugust 1, 2013
Thinking about a home upgrade? You’re not alone. Real estate is back, and it’s time to buy and sell again. Get the lowdown on the facts, figures, school districts and culture in our guide to hot Valley ’hoods.
Real Estate Rising
Five years after the housing collapse, Phoenix-area real estate is once again on fire. Rebounding home prices, combined with fewer available
HistoryDromedary on Aisle 12
M.V. MoorheadAugust 1, 2013
In early 2007, Brad Archer, then curator of ASU’s R.S. Dietz Museum, got a call from a friend at the construction site of a new Walmart store in Mesa.
Valley NewsSplit Decision
Craig OuthierAugust 1, 2013
Dina Romano Shacknai wants to reform child-custody laws – not just in Arizona, but nationally. And abroad.
Valley NewsAbout a Mural
Editorial StaffAugust 1, 2013
When Phoenix Hostel owner Mary Stephens got permission from the owners of a vacant lot near Seventh and Roosevelt streets to turn the dirtscape into a community art project, one of her ideas was to have murals painted all along the brick wall that girdled the field. Unfortunately, she never got farther than the first mural – a desert landscape done in the colors of the Arizona flag, sprayed with the words “Derechos Humanos” (“Human Rights” in Spanish).
Valley NewsHostel Territory
Niki D'AndreaAugust 1, 2013
A converted home in central Phoenix offers a much-needed cultural exchange with international visitors.
Valley NewsPoint-and-Click Activism
Amanda KippertAugust 1, 2013
Do online petition websites like Change.org have any effect on Arizona lawmaking?
Valley NewsDanger DNA
Suzanne HeynAugust 1, 2013
A high-profile diagnosis sheds light on the high rates of a deadly breast cancer gene among Hispanic women.
Valley NewsBack to the Beach
Craig OuthierAugust 1, 2013
Though statistically safe, Rocky Point paid for cartel violence like any other stigma-plagued Mexico tourism town. But some Valley sun-lovers are reclaiming “Arizona’s beach.”
HistoryGutter Ball
Douglas TowneJuly 1, 2013
Spanish Trails was to be Dr. Kenneth Hall’s pièce de résistance, the first in a nationwide chain of massive bowling alleys...
HistoryDiagnosis: Bananas
Douglas TowneJuly 1, 2013
Dr. Kenneth Hall operated a Sunnyslope hospital with a primate zoo until unauthorized medical surgeries used to illegally finance a nearby bowling alley led to his downfall
Valley NewsHigh Times for Helium
Editorial StaffJuly 1, 2013
Though helium is the second most common element in the universe, the gas is hard to find in commercial quantities here on planet Earth. Exception: northeastern Arizona. The region supplied the U.S. with some of the richest deposits of helium in the 1960s and 1970s, and could do so again.
Valley NewsFrack Attack?
Editorial StaffJuly 1, 2013
The profitable – and controversial – mining practice could be coming to our state.
For a long time it seemed hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, would bypass Arizona. The state is poor in natural gas, so there seemed little need for the process of injecting a pressurized chemical cocktail into the ground to pulverize rocks and extract the fuel trapped within. But New Mexico Tech researchers’ March announcement that their state shows strong potential for gas and oil production indicates that Northeastern Arizona might also be sitting on a fortune in shale oil. It’s part of the Mancos Shale, a 90-million-year-old, 60-billion-barrel formation spread under much of the West.
Valley NewsTasing Arizona
Tom MarcinkoJuly 1, 2013
The Taser’s Valley-based manufacturer claims the stun gun has saved more than 100,000 lives. But how safe is the revolutionary “less lethal” electric weapon?
Pickering, Ontario: Responding to a domestic dispute, police fire a Taser to subdue a naked, barricaded man who threatened to stab himself. The man survives.