There's not yet any talk of water shortages, but residents are eyeing the Verde River with concern. Listen with RealAudio. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt is seeking the closure of a controversial pumice mine in the San Francisco Peaks. Babbitt spoke yesterday at a rally near the White Vulcan Mine, northeast of Flagstaff. Flagstaff is a little different.
Unemployment is above the national average.
Thirty years ago today, astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong were preparing to leave after spending a little over 20 hours on the lunar surface, getting humanity's first up-close look at the moon, and collecting samples to bring back to earth. A runaway wildfire continues to scorch Colorado's Mesa Verde National Park, home to important Native American archaelogical sites. Listen with RealAudio. Tristan Clum of KNAU reporting for NPR's Morning Edition reports that fear of forest fires has caused millions of acres of national parks to be closed to the public. Lack of rain is a key factor in the closures.