Rocking K closer to development; smaller-scale project will start contruction within two years

After nearly a quarter-century of planning and controversy, the huge Rocking K development next to Saguaro National Park East should be ready to start construction within two years, the project's chief says.

Saguaro National Park has plans to expand, and willing sellers may make it happen

The latest of several bills to expand Saguaro National Park has a new ally who supporters say should increase its chances of passage - the Tucson area's most prominent and politically potent developer.

Pipe inadequate for 2 hookups to CAP, city says

An existing pipeline at a Sahuarita-area groundwater recharge project isn't nearly big enough to carry all the Colorado River water that two other parties say they want to put into two proposed connecting pipelines, Tucson officials said Tuesday.

CAP pipeline talking points fly as Tucson City Council meeting nears

As a crucial Tucson City Council discussion nears on the proposed Community Water Co. and Farmers Investment Co. water pipelines, advocates on both sides are sharpening their talking points.

Conflicting CAP stance on 2 projects

Central Arizona Project officials and board members are giving conflicting accounts of how they will decide which applicant they will allow to tie into an existing CAP pipeline near Sahuarita.

Some criteria the City Council could apply to the pipeline conflict

In study session Tuesday, the Tucson City Council will discuss setting criteria for deciding whom it should allow to connect to an existing Central Arizona Project pipeline -- Community Water Co. of Green Valley, Farmers Investment Co., or both. We're reporting on that issue in today's print…

Will Tucson choose pipeline to take water to Rosemont Mine or Sahuarita pecan groves?

A long-running dispute over two proposed Central Arizona Project pipelines to Green Valley comes to a head Tuesday.

Study: Temperatures keep going up

The Southwest's average daily temperatures in 2001 to 2010 were the region's highest for any decade since 1900, says a new report coordinated by University of Arizona researchers.

Pima County air quality rated "unhealthy"

For the third time in a month, Pima County's air crossed the line Friday into the unhealthy realm because of windblown dust.

So far, it's the second warmest spring here on record

Two thirds of the way through spring 2013, Tucson's had its second warmest spring on record so far, the National Weather Service says.

Tucson air quality at unhealthful levels due to wind

Pima County’s air quality has reached unhealthful levels, thanks to high winds and blowing dust.

Our windblown air is now unhealthy for sensitive groups

Pima Couny's air quality index crossed over into the orange level today after flirting with it much of the morning. 

Report: Warming threatens Southwest's power grid

The Southwest's power grid could become more vulnerable to climate change over the coming decades, says a new report led by University of Arizona researchers.

Record dust levels of April 8-9 came from California

Once again, Southern California has blazed a trail for Arizona - this time, a dusty trail.

Copper remains strong part of Ariz. economy

Salaries in Arizona's mines are more than twice those for the average job, says a new mining industry-financed report.

Star 200: Southern Arizona's big companies finding it hard to fill skilled jobs at Arizona mines

A second straight year of dropping copper prices has done little to slake Southern Arizona's two biggest mining employers' thirst for new workers.

New report shows how well Arizona's mines pay

Salaries in Arizona’s mines are more than twice those for the average job, says a new mining industry-financed report.

Ozone a concern for local air quality

Pima County's air quality gets an "A" for particle pollution but a "C" for ozone, the American Lung Association says in a new report.

Federal Mexican wolf migrant capture permission apparently yanked

 In what would be a legal victory for a Tucson-based environmental group, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has apparently axed a controversial permit provision allowing it to capture Mexican wolves that migrate into this country from Mexico.

Lower Rio Grande dry; NM in throes of major drought

This A.P. article portrays Arizona's neighbor to the east as being in a major drought situation. With the Lower Rio Grande a sandy wash, farmers are digging deeper for water and a Hatch restaurant is charging for a glass of water. Outdoor watering restrictions have been imposed in Albuquerqu…

AZ Game and Fish, enviro square off over Mexican wolf delisting

As the federal government ponders whether to delist endangered gray wolves nationally, the Arizona Game and Fish Commission and environmentalists are at odds over whether the Mexican wolf should join the ranks of the delisted.

Dust storm put Pima County over EPA air-quality limit

High winds that sent huge dust clouds swirling last week caused Pima County to exceed federal air-quality standards for the first time in nearly four years, county officials said.

Reclamation and Interior: We care about the Colorado

The Bureau of Reclamation, long past its era of pushing for new, costly water projects, issued a joint statement last week with its parent agency the Interior Department praising American Rivers for declaring the Colorado River the country's most endangered river. 

UA researcher on the Colorado: If we don't take action now, we will have failed

Some time before the Colorado River was declared last week -- for the third time -- to be the most endangered river in the U.S., UA water researcher Sharon Megdal wrote a column saying that it was time to act now to tackle the river's myriad of problems relating to water supplies and future …

Colo. River tops list of endangered waterways

The Colorado River, the Southwest's troubled lifeblood, tops an environmental group's endangered-rivers list for the third time in 23 years.

Another low-runoff year may herald CAP shortage

Another year of very low precipitation and snowpack in the Rocky Mountains has spurred another year of low runoff on the Colorado River - the 10th such year out of the past 14.

Tempe heading down the streetcar path, too

Tempe's proposed downtown streetcar line project, a little shorter in distance than the one under construction in Tucson, took a big step toward getting federal money, the Arizona Republic reported this week.

Possible Mexican wolf killing under investigation in N.M.

While I was away on vacation for a week, the Albuquerque Journal first reported, and the Associated Press confirmed, that a federal Wildlife Services employee is under investigation for the killing last January of what may have been a Mexican wolf.

Tucson's historic Manning House gets foreclosure reprieve

At 106 years old, downtown's Manning House remains as showy, stately and historic as ever.

House was just one part of Manning's grand reach

Clare Schnaufer, now 85, lived in the Manning House for 18 years and was married there in 1948.

Audit raises red flag on Rosemont's parent firm

An auditor for Rosemont Copper's parent company has put up what outside experts call a red flag indicating significant financial issues that could jeopardize the company's future.

Auditor raises red flag about Rosemont's parent company

An auditor for Rosemont Copper’s parent company has put up what outside experts call a red flag indicating significant financial issues that could jeopardize the company’s future.

Arizona is new frontier in search for vital 'rare earth' elements

A growing global concern about supplies of "rare earth" elements for computers, hybrid cars and other staples of everyday life has sparked exploration in Arizona and across the Southwest.

Big pollution risk seen in rare-earth mining

Pulling rare-earth elements from deep underground carries the potential for big financial rewards - and big environmental risks.

L.A. to go coal-free; will ditch Navajo plant's power

Los Angeles officials said Tuesday they would stop buying power from the coal-fired Navajo Generating Station in northern Arizona by 2015, and replace its other source of coal-fired power, a Utah plant, by 2025. Bloomberg News reported that this move, which has been expected for some time, m…

A Q&A with jaguar advocate -- and jag critical habitat opponent -- Alan Rabinowitz

 “You don’t know how frustrated I am,” says Alan Rabinowitz, the world-renowned jaguar biologist and protector who opposes U.S. government designation of jaguar critical habitat in Southern Arizona. “I don’t like being on side of people fighting wildliands and wild spaces.

Quirk in water law allows SV project to move ahead

When deciding if a development should be blocked, Arizona water regulators lack the power to consider whether groundwater pumping for the project could lower the neighboring San Pedro River.

Appeal: Air-quality OK for mine flawed

Rosemont Mine opponents claim in an appeal that Arizona's environmental agency approved an air quality permit for an outdated mine plan and overlooked the likelihood of air quality violations.

City's artificial lakes are magnets for birds

On a sunny, cool morning recently on Tucson's far northeast side, a Say's phoebe, complete with a light-orange breast and a gray back, stood atop an orange metal fence.

Grijalva to be feted by national parks group

San Manuel podría resurgir; analizan abrir mina de cobre

Una nueva e importante mina de cobre está en etapa de planeación en el sur de Arizona, cerca de San Manuel, donde se ha extraído cobre por muchas décadas.

Al Jazeera reports on the Rosemont issue

Another outside media outlet looks into the Rosemont mine debate, this time Al Jazeera. The Qatar-based TV network ran a two-plus minute spot on the controversy, with two opponents quoted, including the Center for Biological Diversity, and Rosemont Copper CEO and President Rod Pace speaking …

Arizona mineral potential improves, says annual mining company survey

Lee Allison's Arizona Geology blog recently reported that the latest annual survey from the Fraser Institute showed that Arizona rose from 31st to 15th in "current mineral potential," out of 96 various government jurisdictions internationally.

Trekker: Sonorans are "open-minded" about conservation

For nearly five weeks, environmental activist John Davis walked and swam in rivers, rode bicycles in the desert and hiked and rode horseback in the mountains, all in northern Mexico.

Target shooting banned at Ironwood Forest Monument

Recreational target shooting is now illegal at Ironwood Forest National Monument, following years of controversy about the practice.

San Manuel area may get new underground mine

Another new, major Southern Arizona copper mine is in the planning stages near San Manuel, where copper was mined for many decades.

Border Patrol vehicles scarring Southern AZ. wildlands, enviros say

This new, 3-minute video from the Sierra Club, "Too Many Tracks," shows dirt roads snaking through the Organ Pipe National Monument and the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge and allegedly causing untold damage to the desert.

S.F. analyst offers rosy tidings for copper prices, Rosemont

"I think you're going to see a lot more activity out of Arizona," opines San Francisco-based metals analyst Kevin Pull, in an interview with the Investing.com website.

Another bad year on the Colorado?

That's the most recent forecast for April-July runoff into Lake Powell, the hub for storage of Colorado River water heading into its Lower Basin, which includes Arizona.

Jaguar "rock star" isn't a hit with Earth First!

This article from Earth First! News takes world-famous jaguar conservationist Alan Rabinowitz to task -- and then some -- for his fierce opposition to a federal proposal to designate 838,000 acres as critical habitat for the endangered jaguar. Rabinowitz is  founder and CEO of the New York C…