Free Republic

Two Utah congressmen say the public needs more time to weigh in on a "sweeping" proposal to designate more than a half-million acres as critical habitat for the Western yellow-billed cuckoo. Republican Reps. Jason Chaffetz and Chris Stewart are among 17 members of Congress who urged U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe to extend the comment period on the designation beyond Oct. 14. "While we oppose this listing proposal, we find it completely unacceptable that the (agency) has proposed only 60 days of public comment with no public hearings, effectively shutting out meaningful comment on a sweeping critical...

Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly's gun control group--Americans for Responsible Solutions (ARS)--continues to target Republican Congressional candidate Martha McSally (R-AZ-2) as part of their attempt to force the passage of more federal gun control for stalking-related convictions.

A Payson man just back from Liberia says he's doing everything he can to make sure there's no chance the virus can spread. While Allen Mann doesn't think he has the disease, he's taking precautions to protect the community. Since September 20, he has quarantined himself with his family inside his home and they'll stay there for 21 days -- the length of Ebola's incubation period.

SIERRA VISTA — Pelted by the remnants of not one, but two tropical storms in September, Cochise County ended a wet summer with gusto, making it a banner monsoon for rainfall totals. After receiving just over an inch of rain from moisture tied to Tropical Storm Norbert, Sierra Vista saw more than 3 inches within a day when the remnants of Tropical Storm Odile took a beeline through Cochise County. These deluges helped nudge Sierra Vista’s monsoon total to 15.09 inches, as measured at the fire station on Fry Boulevard, making it the wettest monsoon in the National Weather Service...

Larry and Linda Gray were surprised to get the letters from their bank asking for additional information about their financial affairs. They were offended when they saw what information was requested. So, they went to see their local BofA branch, toting the letter with them. The Assistant Manager Lucas Flood said he had not ever seen a letter like this, but after he made a few phone calls, he told the Grays that yes, it was legitimate. The accompanying letter explains, "Due to the prominent nature of your occupation or position held currently or in the past, we now require...

Pot is one thing, but three ounces is a lot for a casual user and is usually reserved for dealers. Wait…. You weren’t selling that weed were you, Mark? And, then, amphetamines? Really? It’s no secret in Colorado that Sen. Mark Udall has some problems telling the truth. It’s probably also relatively well-known that Mark Udall admitted to The Rocky Mountain News (RIP) that he was arrested for possession of marijuana. But, here’s Sen. Udall’s dirty little secret – it wasn’t just marijuana and it was a little more complicated than he shrugged off in the Rocky. ... The punishment...

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) said Wednesday that any distinction between illegal immigrants and those who obey U.S. laws and enter the country legally “doesn't exist.” CNSNews asked the Arizona Democrat, who supports a movement by a growing number of churches to provide sanctuary for illegal aliens facing deportation, what he would say to those who entered the U.S. legally. "That the issue here is about family," Grijalva replied. "That the issue here is that the people that are seeking the support and the protection of sanctuary are people that are hard-working, families, blended family many times, with citizens and children,...

Sen. John McCain, 78, is starting to make moves that he’s interested in a sixth term — but tea party types are saying not so fast, that if he runs he can expect some stiff competition from the limited government crowd. “I’m leaning toward it,” Mr. McCain said, when asked about his thoughts for a re-election, The Hill reported. That’s a notable switch from a month ago when he told The Wrap that he wasn’t sure about another Senate term — that he didn’t “want to be one of these old guys that should’ve shoved off.” Nowadays, the Arizona senator...

BISBEE — At a special meeting held Wednesday, the Cochise County Board of Supervisors declared a State of Local Emergency in the county, which includes municipalities. Supervisors Pat Call, Ann English and Richard Searle agreed that due to the heavy flooding caused by last week’s rains, which resulted in extensive damage and flooding to public facilities, roadways and infrastructure, it is in the best interest of the county and cities to declare an emergency. “The flooding has resulted in a condition of extreme peril to the public health and safety of its citizens,” states the resolution the supervisors adopted at...

I’ve never been one for spirit—team or school. I went to Wayne State University in Detroit, and I had to Google what the team nickname was. It used to be the “Tartars,” not just a sauce but an ancient tribe. But it apparently was changed in 1999 to “Warriors.” I was there from 1996 till 2000, but I had no idea what it was before and wasn’t aware that it changed. But to many their “team” is way of life, their love and loyalty, their “gang.” I just don’t get it. In high school, when I saw friends or coworkers...

The Navajo Nation is poised receive $554 million from the federal government over mismanagement of tribal resources in the largest settlement of its kind for a single American Indian tribe. Much of the land on the 27,000-square-mile reservation has been leased for things like farming, grazing, oil and gas development, mining and housing. The leases once were largely overseen by the government, which mismanaged the revenue and failed to properly invest and account for it, according to the tribe. …

Vitriolic attacks will degrade her appeal, not help her cause.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has begun to have serious conversations with state officials and local powerbrokers about running for a sixth term in the Senate. The longtime Republican senator is expected to face a tougher challenger and would be a major target for Tea Party groups given his support for a Senate immigration bill granting a path to citizenship for undocumented workers. And McCain, who turned 78 last month, has at times suggested he’s willing to hang it up, telling the entertainment website The Wrap earlier this year that he didn’t “want to be one of these old guys that...

SIERRA VISTA — The annual Marine Corps League Toys for Tots Drive has begun. The event kicked off Saturday with the awarding of raffle prizes drawn on Sept. 13 during the Sierra Vista Oktoberfest. The prizes were officially presented at the Toys for Tots headquarters in Sierra Vista, while at the same time a recent participant in the Honor Flight program — Ralph Graves — made an appearance. It was an early Christmas for sister and brother Liberty West, 9, and Lincoln West, 5, winning a special 360 degree racer stunt bike and for 9-year-old Annamae Buhr, the recipient of...

CANANEA, Mexico (AP) - Authorities in a northern Mexican state issued a binational alert Monday after contaminants from a copper mine spilled into a river that flows into the U.S. state of Arizona.

Vile ad bounces off McSally, sticks to Gabby Giffords

Rod Coronado, a convicted eco-terrorist, is the leader of the controversial “Yellowstone Wolf Patrol,” a new environmental group that plans to shadow legal Montana wolf hunters during the state’s fall and winter wolf season and document the hunts with a video camera. Coronado, a resident of Michigan, is a radical environmentalist who “sank whaling ships nearly 30 years ago in Iceland and later went to prison after torching a Michigan State University lab in 1992 for conducting research for the fur industry” according to The Buffalo News of Buffalo, NY. He also serves as a spokesman for the radical, militant...

The owners of 23 dogs found dead on June 19 at a home-boarding business in Gilbert are suing the four suspects in the related criminal case, including the son of Senator Jeff Flake. Twenty-one people, represented by four local lawyers, filed a 23-page complaint today in Maricopa County Superior Court alleging they were defrauded by the owners of Green Acre Cage Free Dog Boarding, MaLeisa and Jesse "Todd" Hughes, MaLeisa Hughes' daughter, Logan Flake, and her husband, Austin.

Odile will unload tremendous rainfall over a large part of the Southwest United States that will run off the mountains and into the desert valleys and plains through the end of the week. While the rain will continue to ease the long-term drought in the region, too much rain will fall too quickly for the landscape to absorb.

Medical Office Cancels Health Plan After ObamaCare Doubles Premiums (September 10, 2014) - click link to view