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This national monument may be Maricopa’s biggest secret - literally
It’s one of Maricopa’s best-kept secrets, even if it’s a massive half-million acres with three federally protected desert wilderness areas. Sonoran Desert National Monument is a huge but lesser-known attraction in the 85139 ZIP code, with 26 miles of hiking trails in wilderness settings. Even the federally designated park’s visitor center, which is in the city of Maricopa, gets few inquiries about the monument from hikers exploring the area, said people who work there.
How to Travel Sustainably | 10 Best Tips for Green Tourism
People all over the world travel for different reasons: adventure, leisure, visiting families/friends, etc. Hence, global travel as a system has seen huge growth in recent times, with the number of international tourist arrivals being said to have doubled over the past two decades, surpassing 1.4 billion in 2018. Also, it is said that after the pandemic, in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, people have been extending their travel time for at least two more days longer than before the pandemic.
Top 10 Countries for Press Freedom: Most Media-Independent Nations
Reporters Without Borders (RSF), in its World Press Freedom Index 2024, ranked countries’ press freedom based on five indicators: political, economic, legislative, sociocultural, and security. Here, we talk about the top 10 countries that promote press freedom. We hope that as we share the deeds of these ten countries, the world will be inspired to exercise press freedom. Top 10 Countries for Press Freedom Below, we’ll go over the top 10 countries that rank at the top of RSF’s press freedom index.
New school board rep joins top Dems in letter attacking 'fascist' Laken Riley Act
Newly elected Maricopa Unified School District Governing Board member Shawnté Rothschild is one of 200 Arizona Democrats opposing the proposed Laken Riley Act and calling for resistance against mass deportation. The U.S. Senate on Friday advanced the bill, co-sponsored by Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), 61-35, putting it on track to be the first bill passed out of the 119th Congress.
Homestead counselor: Avoid getting sucked into SR 347 road rage
So, you’re ready to kill the inconsiderate State Route 347 motorist who just cut you off and is weaving in and out of heavy commuter traffic like a ricochet roach on meth. Or you’re stuck in a line of crawling, stalling traffic as long as the eye can see and you’re white-knuckling the steering wheel, ready to scream. Instead of getting road-rageous, like far too many Arizona drivers, inhale and breathe. Just breathe.
Smells like team spirit: Journeying inside the big, foam head of a Maricopa mascot
What’s big and furry on the outside, has a fan in its head, a peephole in its face and smells like a ripe Maricopa dairy farm on the inside? That would be the costumes of Rammy the Ram and Gary the Golden Hawk after a pepped-up performance. Rammy and Gary are the beloved mascots for Maricopa and Desert Sunrise High Schools.
Maricopa DJ for Texas radio The Big Beat raises bucks for youth music-ed
A Homestead North retiree has left his military and government career behind and today he’s an internet rock ’n’ roll DJ for Texas-based radio station The Big Beat FM. Donald Forrest, better known as Don Jr. (no, not that Don Jr.) on The Big Beat, is on his first radio DJ outing. He volunteers for the nonprofit, volunteer-based radio station with a mission to preserve the “freeform” style of broadcasting, and to support childhood music education.
Via MAG, Maricopa defends 'Prop 347' from GOP lawsuit
The Maricopa Association of Governments Regional Council has joined Maricopa County to argue for dismissal of a Maricopa County Republican Committee lawsuit challenging the successful outcome of Proposition 479. The GOP has already filed a motion to dismiss its Maricopa County Superior Court lawsuit. The City of Maricopa is one of the MAG members. Voters passed Prop 479 on Nov. 5 in a 20-point, 80,000-vote landslide.
Plan to blanket county with internet service involves MUSD partnership
Pinal County supervisors on Wednesday approved building a radio network that will fill in the internet service void throughout the largely rural and mountainous county. The proposed wireless network will include the construction of 32 towers, all under 50 feet high, on properties owned by the county and school districts within the region including two districts serving Maricopa. It allows the location of radios on existing towers.
Roots is not Roost, ‘unless you’re dyslexic’
Chris Spear, owner of Roots Eatery, has a bone to pick with some mistaken Maricopa residents. He’s got a P.S.A. for that crowd: Roots is NOT in any way connected to The Roost Sports Bar & Café. Roots Eatery is NOT closing, Spear emphatically adds. Besides, it’s a restaurant, not a sports bar. Roots Eatery will remain open at 20046 N John Wayne Parkway, Suite 104. “Roost and Roots, if you say it quickly and you’re dyslexic, I guess you can get it mixed up,” said an openly annoyed Spear this morning.
Another huge housing development approved for Hidden Valley
The largest housing development in unincorporated Maricopa was approved yesterday. The Pinal County Board of Supervisors in a 4-1 vote approved a 374-acre housing development and a rezoning for 1,519 homes at the southeast corner of Val Vista Road and John Wayne Parkway.
Widow: Biker who died on Riggs was beloved husband, dad of 4
Dustin Michael Tappe, 38, the Maricopa Meadows motorcyclist who died Monday in a crash on Riggs Road, leaves behind a widow and four children, including a month-old infant. “Honestly, I don’t know what to say right now,” Melody Rose Tappe told InMaricopa on Wednesday. “I just lost the man that I have loved since I was 12 years old, and he was 11.” Melody said she is desperate to get details of the crash.
Maricopa ranks No. 1 as state’s most affordable burb
Maricopa is the most affordable suburb in Arizona. That’s according to a recent ranking from the Athens, Ga.-based relocation data clearinghouse moveBuddha. The firm analyzed more than 200,000 relocation searches made in 2024 to find this year’s 43 hottest Booming ‘Burbs, suburbs where job growth and inbound relocation interests are well above national averages.
The Roost is closing after 10 years. Who will take its place?
After 10 years in business, The Roost Sports Bar & Café is closing its doors for good this month. Owner Ralph Skrzypczak on Monday announced the restaurant’s plans to close after a last day of operation Dec. 22. “And that’s a wrap! Dad and I are leaving the restaurant and bar game,” Skrzypczak said.
'Ding dong ditch' ends with illegal citizen arrest in Acacia Crossings
An Acacia Crossings man accused of illegally detaining a child ding-dong-ditch suspect faces aggravated assault charges. Shawn D. Hajek, 58, chased and pulled the youth off his bike, then pinned him to the ground, Maricopa police said in a probable cause statement. The juvenile told police Hajek struck him in the head three times. “Shawn told the juvenile to sit down, near the front door of the residence and called police,” the police report said.
Today could bring record-breaking warmth to Maricopa
Maricopa temperatures are running nearly 15 degrees warmer than this week last year. Yes, it’s not your imagination. Sean Benedict, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Phoenix, confirmed that Maricopa heat is running just behind Sky Harbor International Airport where the temperature is expected to break the all-time record of 81 today. Since NWS has no historic records for Maricopa, the weather-tracking agency can only go by recent numbers, Benedict said.
Texas developer excavates land for new Hidden Valley subdivision
A 544-home subdivision near the corner of Papago Road and John Wayne Parkway is now under construction. A brick wall and mounds of excavated dirt mark where utilities are being installed at Houston-based LGI Homes’ Verida 1 community in Hidden Valley. It is the first subdivision to go up since Amarillo Creek was established further west on Papago Road last fall, and the second HOA subdivision to be built south of city limits.
Watch: How investigators unraveled the war over ‘chicken nuggies’ at Burger King
It started with a drink being hurled at a Burger King drive-thru employee, and it ended with destructive mayhem inside the restaurant on John Wayne Parkway. The fight escalated after a customer said she wasn’t getting chicken nuggets her way. Maricopa Police Department recently released bodycam footage showing how a woman and her husband got arrested back in September 2023 with police officers carefully questioning the suspects and witnesses, some who couldn’t believe what they saw.
AARP senior volunteer tutors share love of reading with Maricopa students
A program that connects AARP tutors with student readers around Pinal County is now serving Maricopa Unified School District. Kaitlin Burks, volunteer manager with Achieve Pinal Experience Corps, said the program has signed on with three MUSD elementary schools but hopes to serve all elementaries here.
Meet Maricopa’s migrant farmers
In a melon field near Papago Road, migrant farmworkers are picking and boxing ripe Golden Honeydew on a mobile packing platform. It’s the dawn of another October harvest day in Hidden Valley. The vermillion sunrise backlights workers’ laboring profiles gently stepping through the melon veins.
Santa's visit to Maricopa CAC campus a Claus for celebration
When Santa Claus books a one-way sleigh ride from the North Pole to Maricopa for a photography session, call it a freeze frame. Kids and families swarmed into the annual “Photos with Santa” event at the Maricopa campus of Central Arizona College, with the famous bearded man in red listening to Christmas wishes. The free all-ages event took place Wednesday at the campus and was intended to attract families and donations of non-perishable foods and for needy Maricopa children during the holidays.
Palo Brea student, 16, to sing a cappella at Carnegie Hall
Josh Foster, a junior at Arizona Lutheran Academy and a Palo Brea resident, will be hitting a high note in his life starting in late May. Foster, 16 and a bass singer with the Phoenix high school’s A Cappella Choir, will be traveling with about 30 other singing colleagues to New York City. There, they will perform at world renowned Carnegie Hall in Manhattan. “It’s a very prestigious opportunity,” said Foster.
Province: Where people go to pay Maricopa’s highest HOA fees
With the steepest HOA fees in the city of Maricopa, the gated Province Community Association plans to raise them once again, board members told homeowners there recently. Province homeowners, most of them retired snowbirds, were notified by PCA Executive Director Carl Rygg that the board of directors took the cue from its budget and finance committee to raise the quarterly fee to $856, a 3.5-percent hike, on Jan. 1.
Morgan has a deal for you: He pays for upgrades to better market your home
Want to make your home more valuable and marketable before you put it up for sale? Sure, you’d love to, but the expense? Yikes! Maricopa Realtor Dayv Morgan of HomeSmart Success has the remedy. Morgan covers the costs of renovating and updating a home before putting it on the market. All homes experience wear-and-tear over the years, and Morgan counters that by installing new carpet, fresh paint and even full kitchen remodels when necessary.
Retooled Harbor Freight store opens to long line of customers
Harbor Freight Tools opened its doors to customers for the first time this morning, drawing a steady stream of people looking for deals on anything from table saws to car jacks. For Nick Ayala, from The Villages at Rancho El Dorado, and Steven Weisenbach, from Acacia Crossings, Harbor Freight Tools’ grand opening was a welcome sight. “I will come here for the prices,” Ayala said when asked what drew him to the store’s grand opening. Weisenbach expressed a similar sentiment.
With red, orange and green stripes, 7-Eleven proposed on White and Parker
Some convenience store regulars may thank heaven for Maricopa’s first 7-Eleven. It would also be the first commercial operation built on White and Parker Road. Scottsdale-based De Rito Partners Development Inc. proposes placing the 4,600-square-foot convenience store and gas station on 1.61acres at the southwest corner of White and Parker and Honeycutt Roads, according to a pre-application request to the City of Maricopa. The site would include store parking and six gas-pump islands.
Juggernauts take tough title loss, but still make history
The Maricopa Juggernauts were crushed by the Scottsdale Firebirds, losing the Arizona Youth Football League 12U championship. Still, the team’s coaches said they went farther this season than any time in Juggernaut history. The Firebirds defeated the Juggernauts 46-6 on Saturday to secure the Division I championship at Lajoya High School’s field. “I’ve been around football for a long time, and I’ve never seen a group come together like this one,” Juggernauts head coach Ronald “Gee” Gordon said.
PAC members celebrate, reflect on success of MUSD bond win
Members of the Prop. 488 Political Action Committee celebrated the success of Maricopa Unified School District’s bond election tonight. The PAC that helped pass the $70 million bond issue for new and expanded schools discussed what worked and where support was lagging. The bond won by a 438-vote margin, 14,938 votes in favor, or 50%, to 14,500 opposed, or 49%. Chad Whittle, Prop.
Avoid Smith Enke at JWP overnight Nov. 19-20 for light pole install
Overnight work on the intersection of Smith Enke Road and John Wayne Parkway to install new traffic poles begins in a week. City of Maricopa officials said work begins at 8 p.m. Nov. 19 and runs until 5 a.m. Nov. 20. Motorists at the intersection can anticipate delays. The work is part of a six-month project to improve traffic flow in the busy intersection. Most of the work has taken place to the east of John Wayne Pkwy on Smith Enke Road.
2-car crash blocks traffic on Smith Enke at Santa Rosa
A wide turn was cited as the cause of a two-car crash today at West Smith Enke Road and Santa Rosa Drive. No one was injured in the crash but at least one motorist was examined at the scene. Traffic was being directed around the crash, an InMaricopa reporter at the scene said. Three vehicles, initially, blocked the right westbound lane of Smith Enke. However, it appears only two of them sustained damage in the collision.
Gun threat leads to Hidden Valley man’s arrest
A Hidden Valley man is accused of pointing a gun at and threatening a woman in connection with a confrontation between family members. The woman was not injured. Pinal County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the domestic violence incident in the 6000 block of North Sage Street last week to find a victim who reported the details. The suspect was taken into custody after a traffic stop and admitted to the offenses, deputies reported.
City to bring back Wild West Music Fest in April
After their first music festival netted some $250,000 in losses, City of Maricopa officials are back at it, announcing the second annual Wild West Music Festival April 4 to 6. No music lineup was announced. City officials did not say when tickets will go on sale. Ticket prices for the first fest were $15 for ages 5 through 12, general admission adult tickets at $30 and limited VIP tickets at $125.
Final vote count fortifies wins for bond, 3 on school board
Today’s final tabulation of Pinal County votes in the Nov. 5 general election has Maricopa Unified School District’s bond vote in the win column and elects three new school board members. Shawnte’ Rothschild was still leading Nicolas Yendrzeski after the final count, 11,185 votes, or 20.8%, to 11,022, or 20.5%. Rothschild is a local educator and Yendrzeski is a 2024 graduate of Maricopa High School now attending Arizona State University.
School board halts action after closed meeting over student expulsion
Maricopa Unified School District Governing Board took no action last night after an executive session to consider a student’s expulsion. Board leaders declined to comment on the matter, citing Arizona law protecting the identity of minors. However, they said they would vote on the expulsion at a future meeting. A former MUSD Governing Board member said such votes virtually always result in an expulsion.
DSHS underage drinking probe may result in charges
Maricopa police are reviewing charges of underage drinking involving students at Desert Sunrise High School. Maricopa Police Department spokesperson Monica Williams said on the week of Nov. 4 in the early morning, the DSHS school resource officer conducted an investigation “for a minor consuming alcohol brought to school by another student.” “At this time, charges are under review for a minor in possession of alcohol,” Williams said. One student was confirmed to have been suspended.
Bollard averts potential disaster at Walmart entrance
You’ve probably seen or read some weirdness inside Maricopa Walmart’s miles of aisles. It’s where one violent crime-gang shoplifter recently beat a superstore employee with a BB rifle, sending him to the hospital. This time it was out in the parking lot fronting the discount superstore in the Maricopa Wells shopping center, and fortunately no one was hurt in last night’s 8:49 p.m. crash. A motorist can both thank and curse the bollard that prevented her SUV from crashing into Walmart last night.
Pinal highway authority suspends operations, says SR 347 improvements 'not feasible'
Pinal Regional Transportation Authority’s board of directors today suspended operations of the 9-year-old agency with one director saying “there is no viable path forward for construction of highway projects.” Board members represented by mayors and city council members from around Pinal County took the action during a special meeting this afternoon.
Bogus SR 347 toll road proposal gets social media traction
Even though it’s got all the skid marks of an artificial intelligence prank, Facebook posts on Maricopa 347 Rants and the InMaricopa.com group proposing a State Route 347 alternative highway has gotten some serious social media mileage. Maricopa resident Alex Solomon on Monday posted a website link to the proposed (fake) toll road, Indian Route 347, a so-called toll road that would bypass Maricopa motorists’ much maligned SR 347 altogether. It’s an early April Fool’s Day, for sure.
Entire DSHS swim team qualifies for state finals, a first
Desert Sunrise High School’s swim team has made history. It’s the first time that all the team’s athletes qualified for state finals. “It’s a huge accomplishment,” said swim team Head Coach Kate Dove. The team is also the only one to receive all academic honors for the first quarter, Dove said. Student-athletes Chloe and Ethan Armstrong, Isabella Owens and Adrian Williams all scored 4.0 grade point averages. “This is a small but amazing team in every sense of the word,” Dove told InMaricopa.
Teen faces sex assault, coke, LSD, underage booze charges
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified Brayden Petersen as a student of Arizona Christian University. Brayden Miles Petersen, 19, was found by Maricopa police to have an arsenal of weaponry, drugs including cocaine and LSD, an open bottle of Jack Daniels, and an underage girl who got him charged with sexual assault. All this at 3:30 a.m. yesterday inside a bread box on wheels, the Toyota Scion. Add the Copper Sky Recreation Complex parking lot to the scenario.
$70M school bond passes by just 88 votes
Maricopa Unified School District voters passed a $70 million bond issue by a razor-thin 88-vote margin. Nearly 26,000 people voted. With 100% of the MUSD precincts reporting last night, news outlets and stakeholders could officially declare that Proposition 488 had won. In the end, there were 13,021 votes in favor, or 50.71%, to 12,933 against, 49.83%. In many states like Washington and Florida that require a 60-percent threshold to pass bond measures, such an issue would have failed.
School board candidate, 18, pulls ahead the morning after
Nicholas Yendrzeski, believed to be the youngest school board candidate in Maricopa Unified School District history, has pulled ahead of Shawnte’ Rothschild for one of three seats on the district’s governing board. Yendreski, 18, who graduated from Maricopa High School in June, pushed ahead of Rothschild by a 62-vote margin, 8,114 votes to 8,052, following the latest Pinal County ballot drop at 8:30 this morning.
Twenty votes separate winner, loser in school board race
Carolyn Lopez, Ben Owens and Shawntee Rothschild were leading the general election race for three seats on the Maricopa Unified School District Governing Board. Lopez led the pack, garnering 11,377 votes, or 31%. Owens followed with 9,790 votes, or 27%. Rothschild was barely leading 2024 Maricopa High School graduate Nicholas Yendrzeski, 18, by just 20 votes. She had 7,699 votes, or 20.88%. Yendrzeski was trailing with 7,679 votes, or 20.83%.
$70M school bond still too close to call with 97% of ballots counted
Maricopa Unified School District voters were narrowly passing a $70 million bond election to build two new schools and expand two high schools after the first election results rolled in tonight. The bond issue at 9:30 p.m. Election Day was passing with 9,981 votes in favor, or 50.6%, and 9,740 votes against, or 49.4%. That’s a 241-vote margin, making the results too close to call.
Lake’s winning the Senate race in Pinal but losing statewide
She was losing statewide, but Republican U.S. Senate challenger Kari Lake was leading U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego tonight in Pinal County after election results rolled in. In bloodred Pinal County, which Lake lost to Sheriff Mark Lamb in the July 30 primary, Lake was leading with 75,106 votes, or 54%, to Gallego’s 62,033 votes, or 44%. The picture statewide was another story with Phoenix Democrat Gallego winning a commanding lead, 948,410 votes, or 53%, to Lakes 826,705 votes, or 46%.
Rifle-holding robber beats Walmart staffer, leaves with stolen goods
A 36-year-old man involved in an “organized” theft ring is accused of pistol whipping and hospitalizing a Maricopa Walmart employee who tried to stop him with stolen property, police said. Joshua K. Randall is charged with robbery, aggravated assault, organized retail theft, shoplifting and theft at the Walmart store on West Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway. A Maricopa Police Department probable cause statement dated Oct.
Study: SR 347 intersections among most dangerous in western U.S.
Much maligned for its crazy drivers and near daily crashes, State Route 347 just went semi-national in a traffic fatality analysis, listing two of the highway’s intersections as the top 10 most dangerous in the West. In fact, in the past five years, Riggs Road at SR 347 had the fourth highest number of collisions at a signalized intersection of all Arizona highways, according to Arizona Department of Transportation officials.
In Maricopa, does watching a movie mean giving up your rights?
A Maricopa moviegoer walks into the Ak-Chin Indian Community cinema. This isn’t the setup for a bad joke, but rather an important question: What authority does the Ak-Chin Indian Community and its police department have over that moviegoer’s rights? The U.S. Supreme Court has concluded, generally, tribes do not have authority over non-Indians for their activities on non-Indian-owned lands on a reservation.
Married couple tells officer just where the fentanyl was hidden
A Maricopa police officer was handed an easy arrest recently when a married couple from Tempe told the cop where to look for fentanyl inside their car. The arrests came after other recent his-and-hers fentanyl busts in the parking lot of Circle K. “There were a few Blue M30 fentanyl pills in their car’s center console,” Tempe resident Sarah C. Meilleur told the officer, according to his Oct. 23 probable cause report. Both she and her husband, Nicholas S.
Longtime Cobblestone resident sworn in as Maricopa's new constable
Pinal County leaders appointed Cobblestone Farms resident William Lee “Bill” Griffin as constable for the Precinct 4 Western Pinal Justice Court in Maricopa. Griffin, a retired sheriff’s deputy who serves as a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints leader, was appointed and sworn in Wednesday to fill the position left open after Constable Glenn Morrison of Rancho El Dorado resigned effective Sept. 30. Griffin’s appointment to the office runs through Dec.
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