Free Republic

PALOMINAS — U.S. Rep. Raul M. Grijalva toured the ongoing border fence construction project at the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area on Monday to raise awareness for his proposed Borderlands Conservation and Security Act. Grijalva, representing Arizona’s 7th Congressional District, and fellow Democrat Gabrielle Giffords of the 8th District are the only two of Arizona’s eight U.S. representatives whose districts abut the U.S.-Mexico border. Giffords’ district includes all of Cochise County. Grijalva observed portions of the border fence and listened to concerns voiced by host Bill Odle, a nearby landowner who is opposed to the construction because it will...

To understand the trade deficit, residents of Sandison Street do not need the help of world-class economists. They can just glance across the street at the mountain of faded brown cargo containers blocking the Wilmington sky. The equation is simple. As the deficit grows, the mountain gets higher. "It's getting taller; it's spreading out," said resident Maria Lopez, eyeing the pile that stretches for two blocks. Tens of thousands of containers sit empty today in Wilmington — stark testimony that America buys more from other countries than it sends overseas to sell. Millions of the 40-foot-long steel containers arrive in...

SAN PEDRO - A shooting in San Pedro left six people wounded Tuesday night, authorities said. Paramedics sent to 967 W. 24th St., near Gaffey Street, at 8:53 p.m. took six gunshot victims to hospitals, said Jim Wells of the Los Angeles Fire Department. "All I heard was the gun shots,' Sharon McLaughlan, a neighbor, told KCAL9. "All of a sudden my mother asked me to come out and take a look at what was going on. So I walked out the front door and the first thing I saw was the first police car driving up the street. After...

SIERRA VISTA - An environmental group has two federal agencies and two state agencies in its sights for allegedly failing to protect the San Pedro River. The Army and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have earned the ire of the Center for Biological Diversity, which contends Fort Huachuca officials have failed to meet their contractual obligations with USFWS. The center also accuses the Arizona Department of Water Resources and state Attorney General's Office of engaging in fraud or not investigating fraudulent actions. Phoenix physician Robin Silver informed the two federal entities in March the center intended to sue if...

Say post's growth threatens San Pedro Environmentalists worried about the fate of the San Pedro River filed papers Thursday in anticipation of another lawsuit against Fort Huachuca. The fort's "incremental, piecemeal expansion" - and Sierra Vista's accompanying growth - are threatening one of the continent's hot spots for species diversity, according to activists' notice of intent to sue the military and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. If the fort doesn't do something about the area's declining water table, the post must downsize so the river and its endangered species can survive, says the 83-page notice filed by the Tucson-based...

7:53 p.m. PDT April 28, 2004 - There was an explosion at the Port of Los Angeles Wednesday. A container that was labeled "freight of all kinds," and supposed to contain housewares blew up. The container exploded as it was being moved from a truck to a dock. The truck driver was not hurt. Longshoreman say containers labeled "freight of all kinds" can mean anything.

FORT HUACHUCA -- This Army post's future will soon be in the hands of a select federal commission, a group that will decide if the fort closes, is reduced in size or expands in its missions. Like all of the nation's military installations, Fort Huachuca will be reviewed by being pulled apart and put back together again to see if it meets Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's requirements, which first and foremost require installations to have military value. Two days before Christmas the draft selection criteria for the upcoming Base Realignment and Closure round was published in the Federal Register,...

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., meets Thursday with the San Pedro Partnership to discuss water issues in the area. The meeting was held in the Mona Bishop Room in the Sierra Vista Public Library. (Ed Honda-Herald/Review) SIERRA VISTA -- U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Thursday that preserving Fort Huachuca and the San Pedro River are the most important things facing officials and residents who live in the Sierra Vista Subwatershed. The senator also said he will not defend the post from possible closure in the upcoming Base Realignment and Closure Round next year solely because it is needed for...

Fort Huachuca Preservation Amendment Included in National Defense Authorization Act (Washington, D.C.) - The House of Representatives Friday passed the National Defense Authorization Act, H.R. 1588, legislation that included the Fort Huachuca Preservation amendment. H.R. 1588 sets policies, programs and funding levels for the nation's military, authorizing $400 billion for the Department of Defense and the national security programs of the Department of Energy. This bill passed the House 362-40 and is expected to also pass the Senate early next week and then be sent to President Bush for his signature and enactment into law. The Fort Huachuca Preservation Amendment...

COCHISE COUNTY -- The number of illegal immigrants encountered in Cochise County is increasing again in what Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever likens to a tidal wave. "Highway 80 is just humming as is Davis Road," Dever said Thursday. "You can see, smell and feel more of them coming. We're being drowned by a tidal wave. We are gasping for air." Dever is not surprised that figures released earlier this week by U.S. Border Patrol officials show that more than half of the illegal immigrants taken into custody in the agency's Tucson Sector were in Cochise County. He is not...

Rally on rider is face-off of views; Sides press McCain to support their stance TUCSON -- The issue of the San Pedro River brought out rudeness, politeness and points of view Friday from people who want Fort Huachuca held accountable for water use off the installation and those who believe the installation is not responsible for water reduction in civilian communities. At issue was the amendment by U.S. Rep. Rick Renzi Jr., R-Ariz., that eliminates the fort's responsibility for water pumped off the post. The amendment was passed by the House in its Defense Appropriations Bill for 2004. On Friday,...

Environmentalists want Sen. John McCain to spend some of his political capital and stop legislation that limits Fort Huachuca's responsibility for water use surrounding the installation. Critics of the proposal say it will kill the San Pedro - Arizona's last undammed, free-flowing river. They say the fort's expansion and accompanying growth around Sierra Vista will deplete the groundwater that keeps the river running. But the measure's sponsor, Rep. Rick Renzi, R-Ariz., says it's unfair to hold the Army liable for water use beyond its direct control. He argues environmental regulations are threatening the fort's future. Activists have been targeting McCain...

Renzi's rider on fort creates dividing line: Debate lingers over the efforts to conserve water, save San PedroTricia Gerrodette of the Huachuca Audubon Society talks about the impact of U.S. Rep. Rick Renzi's amendment, which would exempt Fort Huachuca from responsibility for water use off the military installation. The Tuesday meeting was organized at the San Pedro House to discuss possible impacts that could occur if the amendment was passed. (Ed Honda-Herald/Review) SAN PEDRO RIVER -- Battle lines are being drawn as opponents to a rider to the 2004 Defense Appropriations Bill prepare to attack the idea of limiting Fort...