Horseshoe Chamber Blog

Arizona’s growing craft beer industry had some newly won liberty to celebrate over the 4th of July weekend, as a law giving more latitude to small producers went into effect July 3. SB1030, popularly known as the “Arizona Beer Bill,” was signed into law in April, after extensive campaigning by breweries, beer drinkers and small business supporters. It has two major provisions: First, it allows small breweries to increase production (up to 200,000 barrels a year) under a microbrewer license, and to operate up to seven retail shops. Second, it allows breweries to carry one another’s beers on tap. That will essentially allow breweries to cross-promote and sell more beer, as well as offer more choices to Arizona’s beer aficionados. Beer is the most popular alcoholic drink in the U.S., and i...

Opening a small business is no easy feat, and no one knows that better than Tamara Read. Closing it, however, it also heart-breaking. Read was the owner of the Chatilly Tea Room in Tuscon, AZ, for the past 13 years. But the quaint Victorian business will serve its final cup of tea on August 13. A boutique which is also part of the business will remain open until September 12. Read, who opened the business at age 33, had worked in bakeries, for the Red Cross in Southern Arizona and at an assisted living facility before she opened her business. Read's vision for the business was to create a proper Victorian tea room, despite living among adobe houses in the Southwest desert. But Read's business flourished for years, and she was well prepared for business ownership even when she first beg...

Sometimes it’s only by looking at things on a smaller scale that scientists can solve the world’s biggest problems. That’s the approach taken by Arizona State University professor Karl Sieradzki and his team, whose recent study has revealed important new information about the stress-corrosion cracks that form in metal alloy pipes used to transport water, fossil fuels and natural gas -- and the alloys used in nuclear power plants and aerospace frameworks. These components are often subject to so-called “season cracking” that can threaten their integrity and present a serious engineering challenge. The researchers used ultra-high-speed photography to observe how stress-corrosion fractures form in a silver/gold alloy. They found that cracks moved at around 200 meters per second, a speed tha...

One Tucson-area campground is trying to turn one of their biggest obstacles to attracting visitors into fuel for family fun this summer. This June, a Kampground of America location in Tucson broke ground on new 28-foot solar structures that will provide both shade for campers and help power facilities. In addition, the campground will provide solar power to guests with large RVs parked at the site, while excess electricity will be diverted back into the Tucson power grid. PowerParasol is a Chandler solar power company that previously installed large solar panel installations for Arizona State University's parking structures. Bob Boscamp, president of PowerParasol's parent company, says the Arizona sun and heat keep many visitors away from the campground during the summer, and that his com...

Yavapai County authorities report that a Publisher's Clearing House scam has stolen $3,500 from a 77-year-old Chino Valley resident. On June 15, the elderly man reported that he'd received a call from a number with an 876 area code. The suspect said that the man had won a Publisher's Clearing House contest, and needed to send $3,500 for "processing fees" in order to claim his winnings. The man went to the bank, got a cashier's check, and sent the money to the Wisconsin address he'd been given before realizing that he'd been scammed. The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office is now reminding Arizonians that any number beginning with an 876 area code will probably involve a scam. This sort of scam is quite common. Sweepstakes have to be free to enter. Sometimes, contests may ask participants to...

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, moving fraud is a growing problem around the nation, but this June the Arizona Attorney General's office helped one family fight back. An Illinois family who recently moved to Arizona faced a discouraging welcome when their moving company held all of their belongings for ransom. American Home Movers from Las Vegas allegedly demanded the family pay them an additional $3,100, or else they would never receive their belongings. The family contacted the Better Business Bureau, who contacted the Arizona Attorney General, who sent state investigators to assist the family. Investigator J.J. Stroh helped set up a sting operation, and when the moving truck finally arrived, the family had their possessions unloaded free of charge. Stroh ...

Twenty-four-year-old Danielle Jacobs is one of 3.5 million Americans with an autism spectrum disorder -- in her case, Asperger's Syndrome. But she also has a service dog to help her in her daily life, and together they went viral in a video that Jacobs filmed to show people what it's like to have Asperger's. On June 1, Jacobs posted a video of herself having a depressive episode, or "meltdown," on YouTube. But her 120-pound Rottweiler, Samson, is trained to respond to certain behaviors typical for Jacobs and others like her on the autism spectrum. Just a couple of weeks later, the video has gone viral and been viewed more than 3.6 million times. In the video, Jacobs is seen crying and hitting herself, but Samson uses his paws to stop her from self-harming and then rests on her when she ...

At an event on Tuesday, June 9, Gov. Doug Ducey offered praise for Arizona's past water planning and conservation efforts while also urging the importance of addressing water levels in Lake Mead, which continue to drop. According to the Arizona Daily Star, Ducey also reinforced the need for federally-financed water saving efforts to help avoid over-tapping the Colorado River. “Uncertainty and vulnerability surrounding our water supply remain," Ducey explanied. “Despite the uncertainties, vulnerabilities and challenges we face, Arizona does not face an immediate crisis. And we won’t, as long as we follow the examples of those before us: good planning, good management and good policy.” But are Arizona's farms -- 97% of which are family-owned and operated -- ready to cut down on their water u...

Many people in Arizona have already begun a campaign to legalize marijuana. Proponents are working hard to collect enough signatures to get it on the ballot in 2016. There's just one issue. Matforce, a substance abuse coalition, has put up billboards warning that using marijuana could be dangerous. One billboard near the highway I-17 claims, "Regular long-term marijuana use, lowers IQ, marijuana harmless? Think again." Another says "Would your child know if this cookie has pot in it?" Some believe that the billboards are an effort to oppose the ballot initiative to legalize marijuana, but Matforce claims they're not against it. The group insists they're only focused on youth substance abuse. Whatever their intention, the billboards are definitely going to influence the public. Accordi...