Citizens launch ballot initiative process

Can Citizens force a vote on a controversial plan to bring a Private Prison to Globe?

A group of local citizens gather in front of United Jewelry in downtown Globe to launch a petition drive to get 2 ballot initiatives on the March ballot.g

No ballot initiative has ever been done in the 19 years that Globe City Clerk, Gina Paul has been at her post. Its easy to see why. Ballot initiatives, like so much of our political process has gotten cumbersome and expensive , and few have the tenacity and dedication to see such a process through. However, the grassroots organization which launched their opposition to a private for-profit prison to be built in our community has shown just such tenacity, and this morning, they officially launched a Citizens Initiative which will require 580 signatures to be placed on the ballot in March.  See Initiatives Here:Ballot Initiatives … Continue Reading

A Refreshing Garden Experience

By: Laura Baker

Note: This is a reprint from an article Laura wrote for the GlobeMiamiTimes. Featuring the Romero’s amazing garden which supplies the region with a plethora of options for growing chilis,tomatoes and herbs.

Image via Wikipedia

I remember the first time I drove through Six Shooter Canyon.  The wind was cool and the sun danced merrily through the tall trees that lined the narrow road.  The quaint houses and the quiet street were a refreshing change to the smog, the crowds, and the miles of asphalt spidering across the Phoenix Valley.  There, nearly at the end of the road, I spotted a weather-worn sign that read “Sunrise & Sunset Chile & Herb Garden.”  … Continue Reading

The shooting of an albino Red Hawk

The Albino Red Tail Hawk one week before it was found shot

Pam Roberts’ couldn’t believe her luck in spotting the albino red tail hawk circling high above her while she was out riding last week. “We watched it for a long time and it perched on a branch for awhile, giving us a good look.”  It came back several days later and she and her daughter spotted it again near their barn.

While albinism is more likely to occur in red tail hawks than in other birds of prey, it is still a rare and glorious occasion to catch one on film or be graced with the sight of a large white hawk  soaring above you.

And so it was a sad day when Pam ran across this same bird – with a bullet which pierced it’s wing. The bird was shot for target practice. It’s body left to rot on the ground. Pam says she found him near the jeep trail which intersects the blue property line (of FMI) to just to the left of the stock pond. The area is out near the Gila County Fair Grounds. … Continue Reading

A Few False Facts the pro-prison Supporters want you to believe

We seem to have entered a phase in local politics where the public voice simply seems to be an inconvenience to those in power. Something to deal with – rather than listen to.  And no, I’m not talking about what is happening in Wisconsin, although there are some parallels. No, I’m referring to our own elected leaders in Globe who have insisted on pushing through a private prison project despite significant citizen opposition.  Recently they paid $700 to put ads in the local papers identifying what they say are the “Facts” about a private prison in Globe. … Continue Reading

The State issues a new RFP for 5000 Prison Beds. Is Globe in the running?

Image via Wikipedia

The new RFP for more prison beds in Arizona is out and bidders will be expected to turn in their packages by February 24th.  Here in Globe, we don’t know who the bidders are at this point. We don’t know if the Emerald Companies who presented before the Globe City Council and EDC on the first go-round will be among the bidders this time. We don’t know even, if Globe is still considered as a site for contention. But what we do know is enough for continued concern and vigilance by all who want to protect this community from becoming another host for these ill-conceived projects. … Continue Reading

Did you know this about Private Prisons?

Adding to the voices of dissent, this March 2008 video shows the ills of privatizing our nation’s prisons.

The rise of private prison corporations are based on a profit model for the corporations and their shareholders – NOT the rural communities, States and local leaders who they court with their false promises of jobs and revenues. Pay attention to what one Colorado Congresswoman has to say about the private prison operators wanting the State to “Guarantee a 90% occupancy.”Sound familiar? And, don’t miss this article which outlines the tiesbetween Arizona leaders and the corporate interests of private prison operators.

http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/6085/ties_that_bind_arizona_politicians_and_the_private_prison_industry/

Hanging on to History: Home Tour showcases Globe March 5-6

By: LCGross

Several years ago I spent time in Alaska hiking the Resurrection Trail which stretches through 43 miles of wilderness and makes you forget all civilized notions of comfort and human-scale.

This is nature on a grand scale in all it’s glory. The trail head ends up just outside of Seward, Alaska, which is where my friends and I spent the last several days before flying back to sunny Arizona. The landscape everywhere you look in Alaska is breathtaking. That is, until you arrive in Seward, a town which was devastated in the ’60’s when a tsumi rolled in and sucked everything which man had built for the last hundred years back into the sea. … Continue Reading

Bill Taylor: Keepin’ you in the Know

Featured story in the Globe Miami Times: Winter Edition 2011

By: Linda Gross

The voice in the morning of gila101.9FM belongs to Bill Taylor, the irascible, irreverent, station owner who has made the jingle “Keepin’ you in the Know” a household word in the Globe Miami region.

Taylor, who wears many hats as owner, disc jockey, salesman and chief bottle-washer of the station, is the familiar voice on the morning show between 6am -9am of Globe-Miami’s hugely popular radio station – gila101.9FM. Every morning Monday thru Friday  he entertains, educates and confounds his audience with local news and politics and his own unique take on both. … Continue Reading

We Hear You America! A Chance for $5million

By: Linda Gross

We’re in the running! Really.  Globe Arizona, population about 7,000 people is competing against FIFTY other entries from around the country to win the Reader’s Digest  “We Hear You America” contest.  Why, in just the last three weeks, thanks to the blogosphere, facebook and email, we have gone from 7th place to 3rd place with just over just over 10,000 clicks for GLOBE!  Of course, it it alittle embarrassing that Ava, Missouri with a population of just 3,000 is ahead of us with 13,000 clicks, but at the rate we’re going – we might just catch up to AVA! How do we do this!  CLICKS. Go here:”We Hear You America” and click ten times! … Continue Reading

Globe Miami Times & Copper Spike brings Visitors

The Conductor calls Aaallll Aaboaard! for the afternoon train

The Globe Miami Times has teamed up with the Copper Spike Excursion Train and Cable One advertising to film a commercial for the new 2010-2011 Train Season. Thursday, Dean Seyfferle with Cable One was in town and spent a good part of the day shooting in the Depot, on the Train and North of Globe where the train winds its way through low desert scenery.

The 30-sec commercial is scheduled to run on CNN, Fox News, A& E for the next 5 months and will be seen by audiences from Apache Junction to Safford. It is part of GMT’s year-long ad campaign featuring the tag line :

“GlobeMiamiTimes and GMTeconnect  bringing Globe-Miami to you!” The Copper Spike ad will rotate with GMT’s latest testimonial ad: Community_2. … Continue Reading