U.S. Department of the Interior

Daniel Patterson, Disgraced Ex-Legislator, Already Talking About Getting Back in Office

Former Democratic state Representative Daniel Patterson, who resigned from the House last year before a vote on his expulsion could take place, is already talking about getting back into office.Patterson's not talking about a 2014 run, but rather filling a potential vacancy in the near future.See al ... More >>

Tohono O'odham Nation Continues Defending Plans for West Valley Casino; Opponents' Lawsuits Haven't Let Up

A U.S. District Court judge has scheduled a hearing on April 9 in an ongoing legal battle to block the Tohono O'odham Nation from building a casino in the West Valley. Despite several back-to-back legal victories for the Nation, its opponents are not backing down. "Throughout this process, the Nat ... More >>

Two Thousand Acres of Desert in Southwest Valley to be Destroyed for Solar Plant -- So Why are Conservationists Happy?

​ The federal government just approved the destruction of 2,000 acres of Sonoran Desert land in the southwest Valley for a new solar plant, but conservationists aren't complaining.This time, anyway.Thomas Hulen, executive director of Friends of the Sonoran Desert National Monument, was one of ... More >>

James Patock Files $20 Million Defamation Lawsuit Over National Mall Arrest for Guns in Trailer; Demands Return of Dog

Washington D.C. cops trashed James Patock's trailer, which served as his home.They threw him in jail for 45 days, where he was pelted with excrement.They even seized his 10-year-old German Shepherd, Lobo, and gave it away for adoption.All because police searched his trailer, thinking incorrectly it ... More >>

Tohono O'odham Nation Scores Major Legal Victory Over Glendale; One Step Closer to W. Valley Casino

An artist rendering of the Nation's proposed West Valley casino.​The Arizona Court of Appeals has delivered a blow to Glendale officials trying to block the Tohono O'odham Nation from building a resort-style casino near the city's border.The court ruled on May 3 that the Nation's entire 135-acre p ... More >>

Tohono O'odham Nation One Step Closer to West Valley Resort-Style Casino

Artists rendering of the proposed West Valley Resort​United States District Judge David Campbell ruled today that the Tohono O'odham Nation's 54-acre property in the West Valley must be taken into trust.And that means that the Nation is one step close to building the West Valley Resort, a casino t ... More >>

Governor Jan Brewer Signs Law That Allows Forcible Annexation of Land, Leaves Property Owner Without Any Say

www.westvalleyopportunity.com The latest rendering of the West Valley Resort, a casino that Glendale officials and state leaders are trying to derail.​Governor Jan Brewer signed into law a measure that allows local governments to annex property without a property owner's consent under certa ... More >>

Russell Pearce Suing the Feds to Derail Tohono O'odham's Proposed Casino ... and Glendale's Picking up the Tab!

Russell Pearce ​State Senator Russell Pearce, best known for his immigrant-loathing views, is taking on the Tohono O'odham Nation, an Indian tribe that plans to open a resort-style casino in the West Valley.Pearce and state Senate-hopeful Scott Bundgaard, now joined by about a dozen Ari ... More >>

State Senator Russell Pearce's Lawsuit to Derail West Valley Casino Tossed By Courts

Russell Pearce ​U.S. District Court Judge David G. Campbell has denied an attempt by Senator Russell Pearce to join a lawsuit filed by the City of Glendale and the Gila River Indian Community against the Department of the Interior.Glendale and the Gila are suing the Interior Department ... More >>

Glendale Mayor Pledged to Work With Tohono O'odham if Feds Gave Nod to West Valley Reservation; City Instead Plans Legal Challenge

Elaine Scruggs making her pledge during April 2009 City Council meeting​Glendale Mayor Elaine Scruggs once pledged to work with the Tohono O'odham Nation if the federal government approved the tribe's application to create a West Valley reservation.But nearly two months after the feds approv ... More >>

Blood's Thicker Than Water: As Thousands Die in the Arizona Desert as a Result of U.S. Border Policy, an Army of Activists Intervenes

Hot Links: RSV Virus, Solar Power, and Money for Eggs

​Health officials at children's hospitals around the Valley say that hundreds of Arizona kids have been diagnosed with a potentially life-threatening respiratory virus. The virus, known as RSV, is a common cause of inflammation in the airways of the lungs and pneumonia, and its symptoms are simila ... More >>

Feds Claim Criminal Wrongdoing in Death of Macho B, Arizona's Last Known Jaguar

​The Arizona Game and Fish Department may have some explaining to do over the death of the last known jaguar in Arizona. A report filed by the Department of the Interior alleges that the initial capture of the cat, known as Macho B, was probably intentional and violated the Endangered Species ... More >>

Not So Slick, Rick

Congressman Renzi's big land-swap fibs are finally catching up to him

Deal Breaker

Congressman Rick Renzi and the very strange coincidence

Raging Bull

Kerry's a wuss. Dubya's a doof. How can anybody vote for either of these clowns?

Strictly for the Birds

Governor's budget knife forces state habitat restoration fund onto endangered list

Land Sakes!

Clinton Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt lays claim to an environmental legacy. Too bad it's a monumental disappointment.

Raptor Rapture

Jerry Ostwinkle's life fell apart when the government seized his golden eagle; now he's fighting for Rex and the rights of falconers.

Tribal Belt

Margarite Faras tried to fix what she thought was wrong with the San Carlos Apache Reservation. Instead, San Carlos fixed her.

Road Warrior

Ranch owner's feud with feds has been dragging on for 10 years

Subversion of Guadalupe

Town and tribe fight over land, accountability

Power Struggle

Top state officials clash over Salt River Project

Letters

Government by Litigation

Increasingly, public officials ignore laws they're paid to uphold. Citizens and interest groups regularly drag these same bureaucrats into court, trying to ensure that the laws of the land are enforced. But now even the courts, once bastions of authority,

Letters

Babbitt's Department of Ulterior

When wealthy casino tribes sought to derail a would-be competitor, campaign donations were the currency of the day

A People Betrayed

Recently discovered documents indicate that the lawyer who represented the Hopi Tribe in crucial negotiations with Peabody Western Coal Company was working for the mining company at the same time

Dark Days on Black Mesa

The Hopi want one of the largest coal mines in North America to stop using their groundwater. If springs and wells continue to dry up, they say, their ancient culture may disappear, too.

Water Over the Dam

Dave Wegner's career with the Bureau of Reclamation seemed to be at peak flow. He had no idea it was about to run dry.

A Hostile Environment

Witnesses say a Justice Department attorney physically attacked a lawyer for environmentalists

Babbitt's Interior

As the White House flips and flops, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt takes his environmental losses and victories in stride. Is his stoicism a necessary virtue or a political vice?

Owl See You in Court

From spikedaces to spotted owls, the Southwest Center for Biological Diversity has logged the legal system and rewritten the book on environmental activism

The Museum That Couldn't Think Straight

It's named after Kemper Marley, the apparent inspiration for the murder of newsman Don Bolles. It's full of inaccuracies, racism, Chamber of Commerce blather and third-rate gimmickry.

Park Rancher

How 84-year-old Paul Webb and a handful of cows have buffaloed the bureaucrats and trampled an Arizona national monument

FLASHES

NO MINER CONSIDERATION

A CANADIAN MINING COMPANY WANTS TO DIG A 300-ACRE HOLE BEHIND DONNA GOODALE'S HOUSE. ALTHOUGH MOST ALL OF THE GOVERNMENT AGENCIES INVOLVED THINK IT'S A TERRIBLE IDEA, THEY MAY NOT BE ABLE TO STOP THE EXCAVATION.

WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE

DEL WEBB'S 5,600-ACRE NEW RIVER DEVELOPMENT HAS SPAWNED CONTROVERSY. BUT NEWS COVERAGE HAS IGNORED THE WATER WHEELING AND DEALING THAT COULD CARPET ARIZONA'S VIRGIN DESERT WITH SUBURBAN SPRAWL.

WHEN SOMEONE DIGS YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD

MINERS--SPURRED BY NEW TECHNOLOGY AND INPENDING REGULATORY REFORM--SCURRY TO LOCK UP MINERAL RIGHTS. RESIDENTS OF WALKER, ARIZONA, FEAR THEY'RE ABOUT TO GET THE SHAFT.

A RIVER RAN THROUGH ITA TANGLED DEBATE SURROUNDS THE SAN PEDRO RIVER, ARIZONA'S ECOLOGICAL STOREHOUSE

ARIZONA'S ISLAND PARALYZE

THE STATE HAD GRAND HOPES FOR DEVELOPING ITS $80 MILLION ISLE IN LAKE HAVASU. IT'S BEEN A REAL BEACH.

DEATH OF AN ECO WARRIOR

LEROY JACKSON TRANSFORMED HIMSELF FROM A PHOENIX STREET WINO INTO A CHARISMATIC NAVAJO ENVIRONMENTALIST. HIS FRIENDS THINK HE WAS MURDERED FOR HIS EFFORTS.

ANATOMY O

WHEN BRUCE BABBITT SURFACED AS THE TOP CHOICE FOR THE U.S. SUPREME COURT, A WASHINGTON, D.C., NEWPAPER PLAYED FAST, LOOSE AND SLOPPY WITH HIS PAST

HOME OF THE BRAVE

A REVOLUTION ERUPTS ON THE CHEMEHUEVI INDIAN RESERVATION.

NORTHERN ARIZONA EXPOSURE

J.D. RAN HIMSELF UP A FLAGPOLE. BUT NOBODY SALUTED.