Local News

Even in a relatively healthy year, anywhere between 5% and 20% of all Americans are likely to come down with the flu -- and after the severity of the 2014-2015 influenza virus, more people are starting to look for preventative ways to ensure better health. In a new study conducted by the University of Arizona (UA), researchers are hoping to prove that staying healthy might be as simple as becoming a dog owner. As explained by Kim Kelly, an anthropology doctoral student at UA and one of the primary researchers in the study, humans have "co-evolved with dogs over the millenia," and although there had been little research conducted about why humans have chosen to keep dogs as pets, there's no denying that these fluffy companions simply make life more enjoyable. But the reasons behind the heal...

For years, entrepreneurs and customers alike have tolerated noisy, obstructive construction, understanding that such public projects will likely improve their business and shopping experiences in the future. But what about the toll this construction takes on businesses while work is ongoing? Several companies in Safford, AZ have noted that their city's decision to redesign its Main Street is beginning to take a toll, making some wonder if the ends will justify the means. Most of Safford's Main Street businesses say that their primary concerns are the road closures and limited parking: for example, John Fitzgerald of Carpet, Tile and More told the Eastern Arizona Courier News that the frequent road closures and loss of parking near the store had caused his business to decrease at least a...

Arizona might have legalized medical marijuana years ago, but a recent poll found that people in the Grand Canyon State want more, which a new bill may give them. According to researchers from Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy and the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, 45% of the Arizona adults polled said they would like to see the state "make all marijuana use legal for those 18 years-of-age and older," and 42% said that they support full legalization of medical marijuana. Only 13% of those surveyed opposed making any form of marijuana legal for any reason. In 2010, Arizona legalized medical marijuana, which can be used to help scores of people who suffer from alcoholism, the number one drug problem in the United States. A study ...

A six-hour Internet outage that left thousands across northern Arizona without access to the web, cellphones or land lines is now under investigation, with Phoenix police believing an act of vandalism to be the cause. According to the Guardian, businesses from north of Phoenix to Flagstaff were unable to make credit card transactions, ATMs couldn't function, weather forecasts went off the air, 911 systems experienced issues, and students at Northern Arizona University were unable to finish their school assignments during the outage. All of this chaos took place -- along with countless other disruptions to everyday life -- because of vandals unearthing and severing a fiber-optic cable that had been buried underground. The brief blackout isn't just an indicator of our modern-day dependenc...

Former Major League Baseball player Aaron Boone has put his 5,850-square-foot Scottsdale home up for sale, with an asking price of just under $2.7 million. Built in 2006, the house has six bedrooms and six bathrooms, as well as ample living space. “It’s a huge house,” Boone’s listing agent, Natasha Greenhalgh, told Realtor.com. “The house has a lot of spaces, so you have a lot of flexibility to make those spaces however you want.” Design-wise, the home features wood-beamed ceilings, arched doorways and a neutral, desert-inspired palette. The house, located in the exclusive Silverleaf village, is nestled at the base of the McDowell Mountains on a nearly half-acre lot offering unobstructed mountain views. The gated community offers parks, a golf course, a pool and a spa. “It’s very much ...

The United States home remodeling industry generates an estimated $47 billion in revenue. However, in recent years, the projects that have generated these profits have begun to focus more on smaller homes, rather than the large McMansions that were popular in the past. Few homes illustrate this shift as well as a renovated bungalow in Coronado, AZ's Historic District, which was recently featured on a number of architectural websites for its mix of historical and modern features. Real estate agent and designed Joel Contreras says he started remodeling homes after being disappointed by many of the investor flips he saw in Phoenix's housing market. Several years after this decision, he has a proven track record of renovating homes in Phoenix's historical downtown neighborhoods. His style ten...

A recent study has found that Arizona is the hardest state to get occupational licensing in, which has led to a decrease in the number of low-income workers starting their businesses in the state. YourWestValley.com, an Arizona online news source, reports that the study was conducted by the Goldwater Institute. The Goldwater Institute is an Arizona-based organization, sought to study the effects of licensing practices on small businesses in the state. Overall, the Goldwater Institute found that the low-income entrepreneurship rate in Arizona is lower than the national average. Low-income entrepreneurs are defined as those who earn less that $36,657 annually. The low-income entrepreneurship rate is 38% nationally, while it is only 36% in Arizona. The issue is that occupational l...

Urgent care clinics around the country usually treat nausea, dizziness, flu symptoms, and anxiety as well as other non-life-threatening conditions. Measles, therefore, are not their forte. Unfortunately, fears about a serious outbreak of this highly contagious condition occurring in Arizona were fueled when a woman sought care at one of these walk in medical clinics, exposing 190 people to the disease. However, while officials are reluctant to make a definitive statement, the Arizona measles outbreak is believed to be over. Following the heavily-publicized outbreak of measles at Disneyland, two cases of the illness were reported in Arizona. The second case was discovered in late January, after a woman with measles visited Phoenix Children's East Valley Center, an urgent care facility in M...

According to one recent survey, people garden for a variety of reasons: to spend more time outdoors (44%), to enjoy beauty (42%), to escape life’s pressures (39%) and to get exercise (35%). Gardening is typically associated with lush greenery, but Arizonians are proving that gardening using native plants can accomplish all these goals in both private and public outdoor spaces that aren't particularly green -- but this type of gardening is actually more "green," since it effects less of a drain on the environment. “Xeriscape came up as a water-saving principle,” landscape contractor Chris Niccum told the Arizona Daily Star’s Tuscon.com Jan. 17. “[But] I believe it has developed into a landscaping style.” According to the University of Arizona, about half of the per-capita water use in urb...

South Pittsburg is a small town in Tennessee with a population of 2,992. Perhaps best known as the site of the National Cornbread Festival, the town is typically devoid of any scandal or excitement that might attract national attention. However, thanks to an ill-advised ruling, South Pittsburg is now drawing ire from social media enthusiasts around the country: the city council recently voted to ban negative comments about the town from appearing online. South Pittsburg's town commissioners recently voted 4-1 in favor of an "all-inclusive" social networking policy. This policy would prohibit all elected officials, appointed board members, employees, volunteers, and contractors from making comments about the town's boards, officials, and organizations on social media sites. City employees ...