When it was learned that the Supreme Court would soon hear at least two cases involving new state laws restricting abortion, citizens on both sides of the abortion debate thought that Roe v. W…
My nephew Ryan and his wife Aga are getting a new puppy. A golden retriever. They live in Chicago. They found a good breeder in Utah. They recommended the breeder to Cathy and Joe, my sister and her husband in Maricopa.
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Career exploration is the specialty of Central Arizona Valley Institute of Technology (CAVIT). With seventeen technical programs to choose from, students have access to countless career paths right at their fingertips. And with the wide variety of courses offered, a student may ask themself:…
On Jan. 27, 1956, a young 26-year-old pastor had just finished an eight-week bus boycott. His wife was home alone with their 10-week-old daughter, and he was receiving 30-40 death threats per day. He couldn’t sleep and he had just been released from jail for a minor traffic violation. “And I…
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CASA GRANDE — Frank Mejia parked his pickup along Peters Road, on the north side. Not quite a half-mile west of Burris Road, just outside Casa Grande.
The effects of domestic violence are far-reaching; not only for the partners involved but also for the children who have witnessed it. Witnessing violence by seeing, hearing or observing the aftermath can leave children feeling anxious, fearful or angry. In some cases, when domestic violence…
Google apparently thinks I’m interested in being cremated. I am of an age where I might soon be eligible for it.
When I worked in the pharmacy one of the most frequent complaints I heard from frustrated patients was about childproof caps. The following year my neighbor’s husband pulled into the driveway, got out of his car and collapsed dead. I helped John’s 85-year-old wife Freida by picking up her pr…
There is no question that a primary function of state government is the collection and spending of tax revenues. This function can result in meaningful responsibility or the wasteful spending of other peoples’ money. Residents of the City of Maricopa are located in Legislative District 11, a…
SIGNAL PEAK — Adel Diego remembers her early childhood in rural Mexico. She lived on an hacienda. She remembers playing in the river. She remembers the fruit trees.
Currently the city of Coolidge has 8,000 acres of irrigated farmland slated for conversion to solar farms. Soon, we will be considering converting an additional approximately 1,800 acres of irrigated farmlands to solar also. These additional acres are located almost entirely along the north …
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Flying, building, and programming drones might not sound like your average day at school, but it’s a reality with the new Drone Technology and Automated Industrial Technology (AIT) programs at Central Arizona Valley Institute of Technology. The programs have many skill sets, and career paths…
Before I begin my response to Supervisor Stephen Miller taking a knee in support of the CDC’s bad policy, I would like to address him attacking my staff. I hired four of the hardest working people in Pinal County. Each week they read over 1,000 pages of law, regulations, opinions and researc…
I was all ready for normal. For a few weeks last June, I went shopping without a mask. The grocery store. The hardware store.
Recently, I have been thinking back to the summer in the early 1950s. School was out and I was ready to play, yet my mother prohibited me from going to the beach or playing with my friends. This was her attempt to save me from the scourge of polio. Then I lined up in the gym of my elementary…
For more than 60 years, the Coolidge Chamber of Commerce has worked to promote local businesses and drive economic development in our city. Over the generations, Coolidge businesses of all sizes have overcome extraordinary challenges, including the most recent economic slowdown following the…
On Sept. 1 the Pinal County Board of Supervisors, acting as the board of directors for the Public Health Services District, turned down $3.2 million of federal grant money to help the county with the COVID-19 pandemic. In my opinion, this decision was shocking and disappointing. I’m sorry.
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SIGNAL PEAK -- Heather Moulton and Susan Tatterson tell a story of people long buried in Arizona’s dry desert soil. The pioneers. The cowboys. The ruffians. The prostitutes. Even the children.
I wasn’t born yesterday, but I did have a birthday last week.
Some items to consider before taking to heart Jack Dixon’s guest column of Aug. 3 about how farmers could conserve more water.
The start of a new school year is an exciting time for most children. But for some, the beginning of school could reveal dark secrets when signs of abuse and/or neglect are noticed by teachers, staff or other parents.
Arizona and California have plenty of water, but only if we use it wisely. This water shortage is as real as it gets, and if we don’t do something about it right now, you better believe in the very near future you will see huge water rations and home water bills reaching as high as $250 mont…
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CASA GRANDE -- Dick Powell knows Pinal County farmers. His father, Dewey, opened Powell Feed & Supply in 1951. Dick took over later. He ran the store until it closed for good in 2019.
My laptop rests on a desk my father made. It might be made of oak. It’s very sturdy in any case.
Is there such a thing as a good tax? Some would claim that all taxes are bad, and that government should strive to make taxes as low as possible. Other believe that any tax is good provided that it is paid by wealthy individuals and large businesses. Both points of view are incorrect.
CASA GRANDE — I fell in love with Haiti a long time ago.
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CASA GRANDE — PinalCentral and the Casa Grande Dispatch have a new sports editor, though most of you probably know her already.
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Critters often gather at the small pond out front.
In this hot and crazy real estate market, the rental population has really been hurt. Many renters have been ousted right out of their home. Some renters have lived in their home 5 to 10 years and are finding not only that rental prices have increased but also that there are very few rentals…
The May 27 issue of the Dispatch included an article covering the rehabbing of an abandoned Wendy’s for use as a kitchen to provide food for Meals on Wheels and senior centers under the auspices of Pinal-Gila Council for Senior Citizens. I was honored that they attached my name to it as a re…
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CASA GRANDE — Every table at the CookEJar had salt and pepper shakers. No longer stored away, as a pandemic caution.
Despite energetic protestations, the prime objective of an American politician is to get re-elected. Currently, both parties are trying to solve the problem of winning the vote by taking steps that will surely lead to serious future problems. Republicans believe that they can win if laws can…
Rep. David Cook has always fought to protect the interests of the residents of Pinal and Gila counties, whether by securing resources to build roads or to develop water supplies, and we are very grateful to see his hard work to ensure that any tax reduction package passed by the Legislature …
I started out as an assistant in a mom-and-pop textile mill. It’s been some years now. I worked my way to second in charge.
No clown car for the Three Stooges. Larry, Moe and Curly pull up to the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in a 1937 DeSoto.
In today’s government, especially at the local level, the demand for enhanced services and reduced taxes remains the standard bearer. As city leaders, we must look introspectively into our daily actions and cast aside old actions that no longer serve the community purpose.
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ELOY -- Once a year, I’d head east on Jimmie Kerr Boulevard, turn off at Toltec Road. A block or two more and I’d end up at the Old Toltec Elementary School. Dick Myers would be there. He was there most days. Or so it seemed.
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CASA GRANDE -- Last December, we bought an Arizona yellow bell. We made it our Christmas tree, though it’s more of a bush.
Residents are starting to receive their mail-in-only ballots to vote on their 2030 city of Casa Grande General Plan. The plan is required by state law to be updated once every 10 years. If adopted, it will help to shape and manage Casa Grande’s future growth and water resource management, su…
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CASA GRANDE — Jim Dalton had a layover at Union Station in St. Louis. It was December 1943, well into World War II. Dalton, 18, was a sailor on a troop train. He had eight hours to kill and decided on a snack.
One thing this last year did was create a desire in people to get out in nature more. RV and camper sales have soared as people engaged more in the great outdoors desiring more personal space. The same has happened with land and non-HOA subdivisions. People want space and they are willing to…
It is a common error among people attempting to solve a problem to identify the symptom and offer a solution, without knowing what the actual problem is. Usually the solution involves spending money. An example would be a company has reduced sales and a sales executive decides that more must…
I recently shopped for paint at one of the mega-hardware stores. Enough to cover a plank for a gate falling off the hinges. A pint would do it.
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The question was: What kind of fish can you catch in a canal? So asked Andy Howell, PinalCentral’s assistant managing editor.
HOAs are a business anomaly. Anyone living in one knows that. They don’t operate like other multi-million-dollar corporations, and no two are identical. However, they share similar challenges and concerns, so let’s look at a few of the most common.
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CASA GRANDE -- Terri Topmiller was married to a Vietnam War veteran. The war was something he never got over. It was something she never got over.
Dana Allmond knows a great deal about living up to an oath. For four years, as a cadet at the U.S. Military Academy, she lived under the West Point Cadet Honor Code and by the West Point motto “Duty, Honor, Country”. Upon graduation, in 1994, she was commissioned a second lieutenant in the A…
February was a big month for health care.
CASA GRANDE — I hired on with the Dispatch in the summer of 2010. My job was to write feature stories. I preferred face-to-face interviews.
I would like to say that 2021 started off with a bang but really it is more like a crawl, at least in terms of available homes for sale in the city of Maricopa. Our inventory remains painfully low and homes that do come on the market are gone in a minute. It is very common for sellers to hav…
It is apparent to any citizen who cares about the success of our republic that it is vital to have two strong, competitive national political parties. Having only one party leads to dictatorship and more than two requires coalitions which are temporary and can be counterproductive. Currently…
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