The Daily Chirp

Today - Safford has approved hundreds of thousands of dollars in emergency funding to keep the Mt. Graham Golf Course operating, but council members say they want far fewer surprises in the future.

Today - Ramsey Canyon residents are watching closely after Cochise County supervisors rejected a proposed settlement involving the historic Ramsey Canyon Inn.

Today - The Santa Cruz Humane Society is preparing to close after more than four decades, leaving staff, volunteers and local officials racing to find homes for the animals still in its care.

Gang violence tied to a local youth feud is drawing a wider law enforcement response, as U.S. Marshals join the search for an armed and dangerous suspect wanted in an April drive-by shooting in Sierra Vista.

Today - Bisbee is keeping 100-thousand dollars available for the Lavender Pit shared-use path, but the decision has raised fresh questions about public trust, tourism funding and whether the council’s vote was enough to move the money legally.

Supervisors in Cochise County are debating who should be in the room when they meet behind closed doors — and whether staff and attorneys are there to help, or to hover.

Today - The future of a planned aluminum recycling plant in Benson appears to be fading, as legal pressure, community opposition, and stalled construction cast new doubt over the project.

Today - A former Cochise County constable candidate says privileged testimony may have tainted the grand jury proceedings behind his election fraud indictment.

Today - Douglas and Sierra Vista are rising to the top as Cochise County leaders weigh where future Opportunity Zone investment could have the biggest impact.

Today - A former Benson teacher and softball coach is facing both a felony criminal trial and a civil lawsuit that accuses school officials of failing to protect a student athlete.

Today - A Tombstone shooting that began with a dispute over child care has left one man hospitalized, another jailed on felony charges, and a 5-year-old girl listed as a victim in the case.

Today - Fort Huachuca marked Memorial Day with a solemn ceremony at its post cemetery, honoring fallen service members and the families forever changed by their sacrifice.

Today - Willcox High School’s Class of 2026 marked commencement Cowboy style, with family, tradition, and a message to carry the moment forward.

Today - A former Santa Cruz County Attorney’s Office employee, once praised for his public service, is now facing felony charges tied to an alleged theft of more than $190,000 from county accounts.

Today - Parents of a Sierra Vista-area girl say a disturbing encounter at a Target store has become a call for stronger protections for children in Arizona.

Today - After 22 years chasing a national title, Nogales High School graduate Karloz Chavez finally found his moment on pool’s biggest stage.

Today - A former Cochise County Attorney’s Office employee has pleaded guilty to evidence tampering, while sex-related misdemeanor charges tied to a Sierra Vista Target incident have been dropped.

Today - A Cochise County judge has ordered a mental evaluation for a Pomerene man accused of setting fire to a bag of Cheetos outside The Trump Store in Tombstone.

Today - A Nogales councilman says his lengthy public questions were about transparency — while city officials say most of them could have been handled outside the meeting.

Bisbee’s Memorial Day weekend is getting a dose of rhinestones, glamour and showgirl history as a three-day burlesque festival takes over Old Bisbee.

A woman accused of turning Tombstone’s historic Bella Union into a free-for-all giveaway now awaits her next court hearing in Cochise County.

Today - The Sierra Vista Unified School District is moving ahead with another major campus closure as part of a broader plan to reshape schools across the district.

The Nogales International Film Festival returns this week with border stories, Indigenous horror and free screenings on both sides of the border.

A Cochise County murder case is headed back for resentencing after an appeals court found errors in how the judge handled the punishment phase.

Today - Cochise County supervisors are pulling out of a regional tourism partnership, while Sheriff Mark Dannels says his office is still fighting to recruit and keep deputies in a tight budget year.

Bisbee’s Lavender Pit multi-use path is facing a roughly $600,000 to $800,000 funding gap after construction bids came in far higher than expected, putting the yearslong project in jeopardy. Supporters told the City Council that if construction doesn’t start by July, the project could lose key federal funding, and city officials said they’re searching for options but can’t cover the full shortfall.

Huachuca Mountain Elementary is celebrating a major statewide honor, after earning Arizona’s A+ School of Excellence designation for its academics, leadership and strong school culture.

Today - Former Cochise County Supervisor Peggy Judd is spending a new chapter of her life far from home, serving an 18-month mission in Mexico after a final stretch in public office marked by personal loss and legal trouble tied to Cochise County’s 2022 election certification.

Today - A Cochise County judge is facing sharp criticism from the Arizona Court of Appeals after a ruling involving a young Native American boy, federal child welfare law, and comments the appellate court called racially charged. Tickets for Casino Night with Sierra Vista Kiwanis Just Kids, Inc.: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/casino-night-presented-by-just-kids-inc-at-docs-watering-hole

A public records dispute over a Cochise County jail report is now turning into a request for nearly 77-thousand dollars in attorney’s fees and sanctions.

Today - A massive rebuild of the Dennis DeConcini Port of Entry could reshape Nogales for generations, changing not just how people cross the border, but how the city’s downtown survives and grows.

A young Bisbee woman is heading to Canada, taking with her a lifelong calling, deep family support, and a message she says has shaped her whole life.

Today - Bisbee City Hall was supposed to hear public comment — but for one night, it became an open mic.

What began as a late-summer tragedy on a dark stretch of Cochise County roadway has now moved into a more formal, and potentially costly, phase, with the family of a Benson-area woman who drowned during a September flash flood filing a $3 million notice of claim that raises difficult questions about road design, public safety and how much responsibility government bears when nature and infrastructure collide.

Bisbee has chosen a new direction for tourism marketing, but the debate behind that decision showed the city is still working through larger questions about cost, structure, and who should shape its future image.

What started with Tom Crosby’s vote in Cochise County’s disputed 2022 election canvass has stretched into a long-running legal battle, with repeated delays now making it unlikely his felony case will go to trial before early 2027.

Aluminum Dynamics’ proposed Benson aluminum recycling plant has moved from local approvals and a state air permit to lawsuits and now a federal EPA petition, as supporters point to jobs and investment while opponents focus on location, traffic, and air-quality risks.

The Arizona Attorney General’s open meeting investigation in Benson is still unresolved, leaving city officials, residents, and project opponents still waiting to see whether the state believes any laws were broken in the lead-up to the controversial Aluminum Dynamics proposal.

Today - School leaders in Sierra Vista say closing Joyce Clark Middle School may be only the first of several painful decisions, as the district tries to close a major budget gap and respond to years of declining enrollment.

Today - A Sierra Vista homeowner says the city’s own lighting study confirmed what neighbors have been saying for months: the golf range lights are causing glare that violates local code.

Today - Fort Huachuca appears to have landed a major new mission that could reshape Sierra Vista’s role in national defense for years to come.

Today - Phil Vega helped shape the Herald/Review and Sierra Vista for decades, and this week the community is remembering a publisher whose influence reached far beyond the newsroom.

Plans to transfer Bisbee’s historic Fair Building to the city have been shelved for now after a heated public process that turned a proposed handoff into a contentious debate.

Today - Ramsey Canyon Inn’s long-running legal fight with Cochise County may be nearing a deal, but the case is still tangled in questions about zoning, business operations, and what happens next for the historic property.

Today - A former carriage house in Warren has turned into a temporary world of mammoths, magical creatures and big questions about what it means to be alive.

Bisbee’s fight over the historic Fair Building isn’t over yet, but after a heated council meeting, the city has taken a major step toward bringing it into public hands.

Today - Camp Naco is expanding its vision, with plans for a new community hub that could bring everyday services and office space to Naco residents.

Today - A court fight over 920 acres near Bowie is headed back to trial, reopening a high-stakes dispute over a planned pistachio orchard and a land deal worth millions.

A lawsuit over a 2023 fall on Tombstone’s famous Allen Street boardwalk has finally come to a close, ending a long legal fight that became almost as much about procedural delays as the accident itself.

Today - The future of one of Bisbee’s most recognizable downtown buildings could come down to a city council vote Tuesday night.