Free Republic

Idaho public universities have ramped up spending to $6 million on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts and teaching students about 'white fragility' and 'toxic masculinity.. Idaho Freedom Foundation (IFF) researchers have lifted the lid on a tripling of DEI spending since 2022 at Boise State University (BSU) and three other taxpayer-funded schools across the Gem State. Those schools now have 75 administrators dedicated to DEI, many of them earning six-figure salaries. The top earner, Yolanda Bisbee, is an expert on tribal relations who bags $170,706 per year as chief diversity officer at the University of Idaho (UI). 'The DEI...

Brian Murray knows just how fierce an opponent Arizona's Sen. Kyrsten Sinema can be. The Republican strategist saw his candidate lose to Democrat Sinema in their 2012 race for the House. Calling the experience "unpleasant," Murray admits his candidate, Vernon Parker, was flawed, but "flawed candidates win all of the time. Kyrsten, however, was an absolute machine." Sinema, along with fellow centrist Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, has recently become the epicenter of American politics largely because she insists on siding with the interests of her constituents instead of the demands of her party. Over the past few...

BISBEE — The dining the room at the Copper Queen Hotel is like taking a step into another era. A grand chandelier from the early 1900s hangs in the center of the long, rectangle room and an antique-style phonograph plays old jazz in the background — the effect is transporting visitors back to what the hotel used to be in the beginning of the 20th century. Steven Reed, the general manager of the Copper Queen, said hotel staff wanted to capture the essence of the early 1900s in one dining room experience and restore the art-nouveau atmosphere the Copper Queen...

Graca quickly learned that the Black Sox were part of the Arizona Territories Vintage Base Ball League; a collection of seven teams from Prescott to Bisbee and everywhere in between which features baseball rules from 1860 as established by the National Association of Base-Ball Players on March 14, 1860. That includes specific equipment and rules allowed. No gloves. A hand-sewn 1870s white lemon peel replica ball. Underhand pitching. Vintage uniforms add to the atmosphere. Even a ban on any shoes or cleats with modern day logos. In other words, if 1860s players didnÂ’t wear Nikes, Arizona Territories Vintage Base Ball...

(Professor and Bisbee students conduct archeology dig at Warren Ballpark) BISBEE — Warren Ballpark was the scene of a groundbreaking expedition Wednesday as students from Bisbee High School participated in an archeological dig in their own backyard. University of Arizona anthropology professor Rob Schon came to the idea to do a dig at the park through his love of baseball. “My family and I are into baseball and I was searching on the internet, and Warren Ballpark came up,” he said. “I found their website and found Mike Anderson’s book ‘Warren Ballpark’ and realized we know a lot about the...

The host and production crew of the television show “Mineral Explorers” visited several areas of Cochise County last week to film scenes for an upcoming episode of the popular show. “” is an unscripted, reality series of 30-minute episodes that features mineral dealer Thomas Nagin as he educates viewers about minerals, and showcases the cultures of miners, mining history and some myths about the industry. Earlier this month Nagin and his crew explored mining-related sites throughout southern Arizona, starting with the Tucson Gem & Mineral show, the Old Tucson movie set, then they were off to Bisbee and Tombstone.

SIERRA VISTA — While the national media discusses recent findings deeming 2015 as the warmest year on record, in terms of global average temperatures, southeast Arizona didn’t quite follow the trend. According to temperatures gathered at the Bisbee-Douglas International Airport, 2015 was the 23rd warmest on record in Cochise County at an average of 62.7 degrees, according to data maintained by NOAA Regional Climate Centers dating back to 1949. “There certainly could be considerable difference between that location and another part of the county,” said Ken Drozd, warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service's Tucson bureau. “Because we get...

BISBEE – Some parts of Bisbee received more heavy rainfall Saturday and Sunday nights which caused mudslides, rock slides and flood damage to homes, buildings and streets. Andy Haratyk, Bisbee streets operation manager, said his department is doing the best it can to maintain access to homes on damaged roads. Haratyk said two roads have been closed to traffic. “I only have one person with me on streets right now,” Haratyk said Monday. “We have only two. One is away on vacation.” Brewery Road is still closed after the Sept. 18 rain and more debris and rock came down from...

SIERRA VISTA, Arizona — Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels doesn’t mince words. He’s angry that local law enforcement and the citizens who call the Southwest border home have been left out of the decision making process when it comes to security and immigration reform. Dannels has lived along the border since 1984. He remembers when the dangers from smugglers circumventing the rocky, mountainous terrain were few and far between. Now, he says, a different breed of narcotics traffickers has amassed weapons, technology and small armies of death; threatening not only the stability of Mexico but U.S. national security as well....

Az AG Tom Horn made the threat. Bisbee will rewrite it's city ordinance.

Local bumper stickers hail Bisbee, Arizona, as a "liberal oasis in a conservative desert," and the small city made good on that reputation last night: Despite warnings from the state's attorney general, it became the first in the state to legalize same-sex civil unions. After three hours of debate, the City Council voted 5-2 in favor of the move in the presence of 100 opponents and supporters, the Arizona Republic reports. Though just hours before the vote AG Tom Horne threatened to take legal action if the ordinance was approved, a city attorney says he doesn't think Horne has a...

BISBEE — To be prepared for a deadly emergency affecting large numbers of people, the county Board of Supervisors and Bisbee business owner Joan Werner entered into an agreement that would provide facilities for the cold storage of human remains. The item was on the consent agenda of the supervisors’ meeting held Feb. 12 and was unanimously approved. It provides the county with a secure place to store human remains if there were mass fatalities in Cochise County.

BISBEE— About a dozen people gathered at a home a mile from the border on Saturday to raise money in support of people who need help on both sides. They also sent a special message to Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio in the form of about 50 pairs of pink panties. Arpaio forces inmates to wear pink underwear as a means to humiliate them. Progressive Democrats of Cochise County’s Pink Panty Party was inspired as a means to use his weapon against him, said Alison McLeod, Southern Arizona field organizer for the Progressive Democrats of America. She thought of the...

BISBEE — Seventeen-year-old Andrew “Andy” Laborin has nearly achieved a project of upgrading Memory Gardens Cemetery on Highway 92. At 10 a.m. Saturday, community members will dedicate the refurbished memorial area. “I found a lot of veterans in there,” the Bisbee High School senior said, describing his Eagle Scout project with Troop 1. The pinnacle of his good turn was the installation of a 30-foot-tall illuminated flagpole at the cemetery. To do that, Laborin rallied community support. Jim’s Electric, located on Naco Highway across from Bisbee’s Safeway, donated half of the cost of the $1,400 flagpole and provided all the...

BISBEE — There’s something new in the Warren Community Church yard that is the result of a Boy Scout’s Eagle service project. Sunday after church, 17-year-old Michael Donahue of Troop 1 in Bisbee unveiled his Eagle Scout project that took nearly two years to complete. It was the original Scout sign for Troop 401 that used to reside at the former clubhouse of the scouts. Donahue had to raise $400 to pay for the project, which included a new rock base, wood repair and repainting of the sign. “This sign was once in front of the Boy Scout meeting hall...

BISBEE — Along the old cemetery’s iron fence American flags caught the soft breeze and waved as the men, women and children made the walk to the site of the Veterans Day ceremony in Bisbee, held by the Bisbee VFW Post 836 and American Legion Post 16. The 60 or so people had come to honor those who had fought in battles long past and those still fighting far from home. As the parade came to rest at Evergreen Cemetery, VFW Post 836 Commander Frank Martinez began the ceremony with a thanks to the soldiers, Marines, airmen and sailors who...

BISBEE — Richard Hodges was driving his Jeep along International Road after 8 p.m. one night this past summer when he noticed an opening in the barbed wire fence along one side of his property. He owns 372 acres near Bisbee Junction. The edge of his land is located on the border with Mexico. Fearing his cows might escape and cross the border, he stopped to close the hole in the fence. He parked his vehicle so the headlights were shining on the fence. As he was mending the section of barbed wire, he was struck in the chest by...

BISBEE — Elizabeth Kucinich received a warm welcome when she visited Bisbee and Naco, Sonora, to discuss border policies, the war in Iraq and other issues related to the presidential campaign of her husband, Dennis, on Wednesday. In Naco, Sonora, she met with Mayor Jose Lorenzo Villegas at El Maguey restaurant. She told him and nearly 50 other people in attendance that the leaders of the United States need to acknowledge Mexico as a partner in international relations. “We need to cancel NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) and we need to withdraw from the WTO (World Trade Organization),” she...

BISBEE — A replica of the USS Bisbee now rests in the council chambers of Bisbee city hall. Thanks to donations by members of the USS Bisbee Association, the name-sake model frigate is proudly displayed where all the citizens of Bisbee may see it. The 11 surviving crew members, and family, of the 304-foot long Coast Guard frigate arrived in Bisbee Thursday morning to present the hand-crafted ship and a stainless steel plaque to the city in a special ceremony. The men of the ship have always held the City of Bisbee and its copper mines in high regard, said...

BISBEE — Not everybody was listening to President Bush’s State of the Union speech Tuesday night. In Bisbee’s Goar Park, a group of about 50 anti-Bush protesters “made a joyful noise to drown out Bush’s lies,” according to organizer Mary Elinor “Walking Mary” Adams, 65. The festive din poured up Brewery Gulch. Children joined in the noisy chorus. Coffee and refreshments were served. “Today, I’m with the people who speak the truth,” Adams said as her friend Beverly “Bobo” Quick, 60, danced nearby, smacking a tambourine on hip and hand. Local jewelry maker Joe Hogan, 70, wearing a Tibetan hat,...