KJZZ Here and Now Weblog

Here and Now - Stolen Native Artifacts

It's something straight out of a Tony Hillerman novel, only Navajo Tribal Police detective Jim Chee and Lt. Joe Leaphorn never saw this magnitude of looting of archeological sites.

Federal authorities indicted two dozen people after a 2 1/2-year investigation of Native American artifacts taken from public and tribal land and illegally sold to traders and collectors. Already, two suspects in the case committed suicide and authorities have recovered items from all four corner states. We'll talk to a couple reporters covering the investigation.

We'll also learn more about the federal laws designed to protect Native American cultural items -- human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, or objects of cultural patrimony.

Joining us will be former Arizona U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton who has prosecuted similar cases and helped enforce the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). Joining Charlton will be Sherry Hutt, a former assistant U.S. Attorney, judge and currently the program manager that oversees NAGPRA.

This is a topic few people know much about, so please let us know what questions or comments you have.

Paul

Here and Now - State Land, Leopold Legacy

Here and Now - Phoenix Coyotes, Mining in Arizona

Here and Now - Renewable Energy in AZ

In January, KJZZ brought listeners a special series on renewable energy that looked at why other places, such as Germany, were further along in adopting the use of renewable energy sources than Arizona. KJZZ's Here and Now featured a discussion on what it would take for renewable energy policies to take hold in Arizona.

Friday, a conference at NAU in Flagstaff examines the need to integrate state and federal policy with emerging technologies to increase the amount of energy produced from renewable sources. Renewable energy consultant Amanda Ormond joins Here and Now host Steve Goldstein from the KNAU studios in Flagstaff.

NAU political science professor Fred Solop will later join Goldstein to discuss Northern Arizona politics and public policy.

Here and Now - Obesity in Arizona

I once had an interesting conversation with a shop owner in a Provincial town in the Southwest of France. Her shop catered to tourists and she said she could always recognize an American. Not by how bad they dressed, their shoes, or even stupid hats, but by their size. I remember how she puffed out her cheeks and held her arms out to indicate someone's wide girth. And then I began looking at the people coming through the door. And sure enough, they were not thin by any means.

Then a new study came out in July that confirmed we are only getting fatter. Arizona had the 33rd highest rate of adult obesity in the nation. One in four adults in the Grand Canyon state are, well, grand in size. Our kids are in worse shape. The report by the Trust for America's Health found three of out every 10 kids age 10 to 17 were overweight.

Okay, so we eat too much junk food and don't exercise enough. What's the big deal? I like my Dunkin Doughnuts, thank you, and fresh fruit and veggies are more expensive and don't always last as long.

Well, the head of the University of Arizona's Cancer Center told me that despite all the breakthroughs in cancer diagnosis and treatment that cancer rates will double over the next 20 years. Why? Obesity. It will also increase coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and osteoarthritis.

Great, if we don't die, we're all going to need scooters because we can't walk or risk a heart attack and we'll have to carry one of those blood sugar testing devices.

Or, we can adjust our diets, and god forbid, exercise. Imagine eating food that's good for you and actually getting off the couch once in a while.

That being said, here's who we have on Wednesday's show:
Beth Jacobs, PhD, assistant professor in the Epidemiology and Biostatistics Division at the University of Arizona College of Medicine; Cyndi Thomson, Ph.D., R.D., associate professor in Nutritional Sciences with joint appointments in medicine and public health at the U of A College of
Medicine; and Mayo Clinic's Dr. Lori Roust, an edocrinologogist who specializes in diabetes, obesity issues, nutrition, and gastric bypass.

Who knows, perhaps one day I can return to that shop in the Provence and not be recognized as an American because of the size of my girth.

Your questions and comments are welcome below.

Here and Now - Resolution Copper Mine, H1 N1 Virus

David Salisbury, president and CEO of Resolution Copper Mining, will join host Steve Goldstein to discuss the proposed Resolution Copper Mine near Superior. Roger Featherstone of the Arizona Mining Reform Coalition will Roger Featherstone will discuss environmental and cultural concerns about the project.

Dr. Marwan Sabbagh will talk about the prevelence of Alzheimer's disease in the Native American population.

And Maricopa County Public Health director Dr. Bob England and Will Humble, interim director of the Arizona Department of Health Services discuss concerns over the H1N1 virus and vaccine.

Here and Now - Finances

Okay, maybe this is a lame show idea. But it's a topic we all could learn more about: finances. Not the kind it takes to buy a car, but how we spend our money as a government, as a business, and as individuals and families. And considering we're in a recession, we could be spending what money we have a little more wisely (yes, I know Ben Bernanke says its over, but tell that to the 9.1% of out-of-work Arizonans).

To that extent, we'll learn more about what the state of Arizona is doing to make up for a $3 billion dollar gap between revenues and spending, including the sale of state buildings and other assorted ideas. We'll also look at what businesses are doing to stay solvent and what families are doing and can do to make sure they survive.

We'd love to hear what your family or business is doing. And if you have any ideas for the mess that is the state budget, we're all ears!

Here and Now: Stapley Case, 1,000 Recordings to Hear

Okay, where to begin? First, Maricopa County Supervisor Don Stapley is arrested last December after a grand jury handed up an 118 count indictment alleging Stapley failed to file proper financial disclosure forms related to his real estate business. Reporters Dennis Welch and Mark Flatten joined us for a show to try to make sense of what was going on then. You can listen to it HERE.

Last month, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge dismissed 51 of the 117 remaining criminal counts against Stapley (one had been dismissed in May). We had on the East Valley Tribune's Gary Grado to update us on the case. You'll find that interview HERE (it's at the end of the show)

Then last week, Friday, September 18, the special prosecutor in the case filed a motion to dismiss the remaining charges against Stapley while he pursued an appeal of the dismissal of the previous charges. The goal here was to get a ruling one way or the other from the high court. If it restored the 51 charges that had been dropped, the prosecutor would refile the remaining 66 charges.

Monday morning, sheriff's deputies arrested Stapley after he pulled into the county parking garage downtown. The sheriff's office accuses the county supervisor of 100 counts of fraud, theft and conflict of interest unrelated to the first case.

But, the sheriff's office failed to notify prosecutors. So now, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office and the Yavapai County Attorney's Office (which is handling the first case) have been in contact and, according to the East Valley Tribune, poring over the case.

Nick Martin from City Heat and Ray Stern of the Phoenix New Times will attempt to make sense of what is going on.

I got this thick interesting book sent to me last year called 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die. In it is a list of music I'm familiar with and some I'm not so familiar with. It's author, Tom Moon, is in town this weekend, so I invited him to drop by the studio with Steve to discuss his book. We'll also play a couple cuts from his recommendations. Should be interesting.

Not sure if we'll take questions for the first discussion. But, I'm sure Tom Moon would love to hear from you about the recordings. Here's the link to his website.

Here and Now - New Laws, Health Coverage Cutbacks

Did you hear about the dog that limped into a bar? He jumped up on a barstool and said 'I'm looking for the man who shot my paw.' Okay, that's lame, but walking into a bar and encountering someone holstering a gun may not be for those unaware of a new state law. A.R.S. 4-229 allows gun owners who are registered to carry a concealed weapon to take it into a place that serves liquor. That is, if there is no sign prohibiting it and the gun owner is not drinking alcohol. Which defeats the purpose of going to a bar in the first place. But, I digress.

It's not the only new law that goes into effect Wednesday. We'll go over a list of new laws, including ones that limit abortion.

We'll also find out what happens next to the 10,000 people who will lose health care coverage paid through the state's KidsCare Parents plan. Their policies end Thursday after the state eliminated funding due to the budget deficit.

Your comments and question are welcome!