State Parks Reeling From Budget Cuts

You heard it as a kid, "Don't be a penny-wise but a dollar-foolish!" Yet when adults who are in position of power make the above mistake - the statewide community suffers. Read the below to see how it happen to Arizona.

Leonardo

www.AcrossArizonaTours.com

By Laurel Morales

Thursday, January 5, 2012 

FLAGSTAFF — State parks across the southwest are reeling from budget cuts. 

California officials plan to close 70 parks by next summer. In Arizona, parks closed and reopened with the help of community partners. The Texas Wildlife and Park Foundation is asking for more than $4 million in donations to keep its parks open.

Two years ago, when Arizona closed 15 state parks to save money, tourism suffered.

"No one really differentiates between state parks, county parks or national parks. They just assume Arizona is closed," said Jay Ream, assistant director of Arizona State Parks. "When the message ‘All the parks are open’ got out, it didn’t get near as much national attention as all the parks closing..."

http://www.fronterasdesk.org/news/2012/jan/05/state-parks-reeling-budget-cuts/

Gila River Community to vote on South Mountain freeway

Let us not forget our city parks which contributes to Arizona's tourism too. Thus, keep an eye on this important vote which if pass, will change South Mountain Park/Preserve (largest municipal park in the country) forever.

Leonardo A. Gem
www.AcrossArizonaTours.com

by Allie Seligman - Jan. 2, 2012 10:39 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com

Residents of the Gila River Indian Community will vote Feb. 7 on whether to allow the controversial South Mountain Freeway extension on tribal land.

While a favorable vote on relocation wouldn't necessarily guarantee the freeway would be put there, the vote offers likely the last best hope to Ahwatukee Foothills opponents of the project, as well as to tribal leaders who contend the currently proposed freeway path would damage sacred land.

The vote also would likely bring some finality to planning a project that was first proposed in 1985.
Current plans for the $1.9 billion extension of Loop 202 would link west Phoenix to Chandler with a 22-mile, eight-lane freeway along Pecos Road.

The freeway would take out a church and more than 100 homes in Ahwatukee. It would also cut through three ridges in the South Mountain preserve, which are religiously and culturally significant to the Gila River tribe...

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/12/30/20111230gila-river-tribe-vote-freeway.html

Northern Arizona University study concluded Verde Valley wine tourists spend an average $185

Tourism is not only important for the Phoenix Metro economy but also for the heart of the state. Here is a short article by the Campe Verde Journal. To see photos of Arizona, check out my website: www.AcrossArizonaTorus.com

Saturday, 31 December 2011 00:00

Economy

In February, a University of Arizona study concluded the wine industry added nearly $4 million to the Verde Valley economy in terms of sales tax revenue and wages paid to local workers.

In August, Yavapai College announced plans to create a Southwest Wine Center on its Clarkdale campus to offer viticulture and ecology educational programs, a full production teaching winery and a 20- to 30-acre vineyard.

In September, a Northern Arizona University study concluded Verde Valley wine tourists spend an average $185 when they visit and an average $382 when they stay overnight. Usually arriving in pairs, wine tourists dole out $48 on food, $32 on transportation, $33 on merchandise, $22 on entrance fees and $50 on miscellaneous items. Most of that money ends up in the pockets of Verde Valley merchants, restaurants and the people they employ...

http://www.journalaz.com/News/2011-crime-a-courts-tempered-by-hope-a-growth.html

TRAVEL: Scottsdale, Ariz.: Oasis in the Sonoran Desert

Here is an article written about our city tour, and I was the guide!

www.AcrossArizonaTours.com

By RUTH ROVNER
Special to the Times

Located in the heart of the Sonoran Desert, Scottsdale hardly looks desert-like. Instead, it has a landscape of lush greenery, flowering plants and mountains in the distance.

What began as a sleepy Arizona town is now a major resort, especially in winter, when the temperature is sunny, mild and dry. In all, the area gets more than 330 days of sunshine. No wonder the entire Scottsdale-Phoenix area is deservedly known as the Valley of the Sun.

On my recent visit, Scottsdale was a good base to explore the scenic beauty of the area, visit a few selected sites in nearby Phoenix and enjoy the varied varied attractions and amenities of Scottsdale itself...

http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2011/12/24/life/doc4ef68297dc081981305944.txt?viewmode=fullstory

 

McCain changes tune on support for Grand Canyon air tours

Read more about important issues concerning the Crown Jewel of our National Parks - The Grand Canyon. www.AcrossArizonaTours.com

Photo by Micheal Quinn, NPS

Tour operator a major campaign supporter

By Rita Beamish

6:00 am, December 26, 2011 Updated: 6:21 am, December 26, 2011 

A quarter century has elapsed since Sen. John McCain championed a new law to restore “natural quiet” in the majestic Grand Canyon where the clatter of choppers and small planes reverberated as they ferried sightseers over the national park...

In the current public comment period, the Park Service is taking heat for its proposals not only from the air tour industry but at the other end of the spectrum from environmental advocates who want fewer flights permitted. Both sides cite laws and policy arguments to back their cases, so whatever the administration’s final decision, the battle may not end there...

http://www.iwatchnews.org/2011/12/26/7698/mccain-changes-tune-support-grand-canyon-air-tours

Courthouse News Service

Truthfully, the history between the US Government and the First Americans has been a sad one.

www.AcrossArizonaTours.com

Navajo Say U.S. Sacked Canyon for Bones & Art

By TIM HUL

PRESCOTT, Ariz. (CN) - The Navajo Nation claims the National Park Service sacked more than 300 sets of human remains and cultural artifacts from Canyon de Chelly National Monument, in violation of an 1868 treaty and the U.S. Constitution.
     

The Navajo, who refer to themselves as Diné, meaning "people," sued the National Park Service, the Department of Interior, the two agencies' top officials and Canyon de Chelly National Monument Park Superintendent Tom Clark, in Federal Court.
     

Canyon de Chelly National Monument is on the Arizona portion of the vast Navajo Reservation. Famous for its dramatic rock formations and ruins of ancient cliff dwellings, the monument is one the of reservation's top tourist attractions, and has been featured in countless cowboy movies...

 http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/12/21/42433.htm

Casinos muscle in on ‘Five Cs’ behind Arizona economy

www.AcrossArizonaTours.com

The west valley might soon have a casino near the University of Phoenix football stadium,  Group that are hoping for such a Casino come not only from the  Tohono O'odham Nation  but from Teachers at Glendale Elementary who are very concerned with recent lack of funding negatively hurting the future of their students, said Langer, who has taught 18 years in Glendale. Schools no longer can afford art supplies and physical-education equipment, she said. To make matters worse, she said, the city has cut library hours, recreation programs and now charges a fee for an after-school program...She urged the council to let the Tohono O'odham Nation build its casino and resort and bring in the estimated 6,000 construction jobs and more than 3,000 permanent jobs. Having a casino would mean extra revenue for community programs, she said. Arizona's gaming compact requires tribes to share a portion of gaming revenue with the state for areas such as education. Langer said the board of the Glendale Elementary teachers union informally voted to support the casino.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/community/glendale/articles/2011/06/17/20110617glendale-elementary-education-association-union-supports-casino.html#ixzz1h6hdyACQ

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/community/glendale/articles/2011/06/17/20110617glendale-elementary-education-association-union-supports-casino.html#ixzz1h6hDc6Dj

By Joshua Armstrong / Cronkite News
WASHINGTON - The "Five C's" that traditionally made the bulk of Arizona's economy – copper, climate, cattle, cotton, citrus – may need to make room for a sixth: casinos.
Revenue from Arizona's 22 casinos far surpassed cattle, cotton and citrus in the most recent figures available for each. Casinos took in nearly $1.7 billion during fiscal 2011, which ended June 30, according to the Arizona Department of Gaming's annual report...

 http://www.kold.com/story/16346307/casinos-muscle-in-on-traditional-five-cs-behind-arizona-economy