BACK HOME: GOOD ARIZONA STORIES IN THE OFFING

posted by Michael Chihak

A crew of three, 1000 miles in four days and three nights through eastern and northern Arizona to gather stories for upcoming Arizona Week episodes. We experienced a fascinating range of people, topics and tales.

Six months into the program, it was our first road trip, and we declare it a success by any measure. Look for the following stories:

-- Friday's program on how White Mountains residents and businesses are coping with the aftermath of the Wallow Fire.

-- How the Navajo Nation is seeking to expand economic opportunities among its people, for which the unemployment rate approaches 50 percent. We talk with Navajo Nation President Ben Selly.

-- Flagstaff is the big nugget in a northern Arizona gold mine of tourism. Mayor Sara Presler tells us how businesses and the community as a whole leverage their advantage and share the wealth in the region.

-- Wildfire history in Arizona shows a century of trying many approaches. The state should focus on fire the way it does on water, with a strategy and an infrastructure to deal with it on a daily basis, rather than only in crisis, ASU fire historian Steve Pyne recommends.

Those and more coming from a most fulfilling road trip, the first -- and certainly not the last -- for Arizona Week.

HOME STRETCH OF SUCCESSFUL STATE REPORTING TOUR

posted by Michael Chihak

Springerville Town Manager Steve West says his community will survive and thrive, eventually, in the wake of the record-setting Wallow Fire because of its character.

"What you find in small communities that you don't necessarily find in big communities, in the metropolitan areas, is that everyone, when it's the worst, they band together," West said in an interview for Friday's Arizona Week.

He said full economic recovery could take three to five year, not just because of the fires. The lingering recession is a major contributing factor, West said.

Springerville-Eagar Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Becki Christensen said she thinks local businesses must rethink their approach and not be afraid to undergo change.

Christensen, also interviewed for Friday's Arizona Week, said she hopes that when people understand the underlying causes of the fire -- federal restrictions on logging and cattle grazing -- that there will be a loosening to allow those industries to return and create jobs.

On Friday's program at 8:30 p.m. MST on PBS-HD-6, complete details from them and from neighboring businesses, via an interview Beverly Stepp, executive director of the Pinetop-Lakeside Chamber of Commerce.

PUTTING THE ARIZONA INTO 'ARIZONA WEEK'

posted by Michael Chihak

The singing of Springerville gave way to the storminess of Window Rock and the Navajo Nation today as we traveled for Arizona Week.

Springerville and environs gave us this Friday's episode, on the aftermath of the record-setting Wallow Fire and recovery efforts. Interviews will include Springerville's town manager and officials from two chambers of commerce in the White Mountains.

Northward we headed after a cool dawn to the Navajo Nation. We had a sunny outdoor interview with Nation President Ben Shelly with the Window Rock serving as most appropriate background. An upcoming episode of Arizona Week will feature the Shelly interview, including his economic developments plans for the tribe.

Following the visit to Window Rock was a brief stop at St. Michael on the Navajo Nation to view and photograph the beautiful historic stone church. Then we took a cross-state ride into the teeth of two fierce summer thunderstorms, arriving in Flagstaff at 5 p.m.

Overnighting here in anticipation of Wednesday interviews about Flagstaff and Interstate 40 corridor tourism business.

ON THE ROAD WITH STEVE AND COOPER

posted by Michael Chihak

Travel light is an admonition that would serve anyone bound for another destination in this age of airline charges per bag, weight limits and X-ray machines in search of hidden nail files.

It served me well in years traveling for various journalistic enterprises -- take along enough but not too much clothing, including the right shoes, pens, notebooks, camera and film and a map, along with a sense of where to find hearty, inexpensive meals.

Now, I'm part of a TV crew, riding in a van packed full of video gear, tripods, microphones, lights, extra battery packs and an array of extension cords, reflectors, bounce boards and dimmers.

Oh, and two highly capable video crew members, videographer Steve Riggs and student grip Cooper Christensen.

We're off for points north and east. Watch for our reports in upcoming Arizona Week episodes.

ROAD TRIP: ISO ARIZONA STORIES

posted by Michael Chihak

Ninety percent of Arizona's population is concentrated in cities, and most of that in the two big metro areas, Phoenix and Tucson.

But there's a lot going on among that other 10 percent and in the dozens of far-flung communities across the state. A crew from Arizona Week is heading out there this week to gather information for upcoming programs.

We hope to be surprised with what we find, but we also have some ideas that we'll try to bring home. Here's a short list of the ideas:

-- In the White Mountains, we will talk with businesspeople and the heads of business organizations about how the economy is doing in the aftermath of the Wallow Fire. How did the fire affect the summer tourism season? And how will the fire's after effects, which could linger for years, change the business landscape?

-- In northeastern Arizona, we hope to talk with officials of the Navajo Nation, as they build on economic enterprises, with casino gaming under way and plans to expand it. The nation also has formed a chamber of commerce to represent businesses and is looking at energy resource expansion, all aimed at lowering the high unemployment rate on the nation.

-- Along the Interstate 40/Route 66 corridor, we will talk with business officials about summer tourism and how the economy and gasoline prices have affected it. Is traffic down? Are people staying closer to home? How is the hospitality industry doing?

-- In Flagstaff, we will interview Mayor Sara Presler about the city budget, the economy and business in and around Flagstaff and other matters. How is the summer visitor season? What has Flagstaff done to keep up city services in the face of lower revenues? How are cuts at Northern Arizona University affecting the community?

There's more, but those are the key targets for now. Look for one of these topics to bubble to the surface in time for Friday's broadcast of Arizona Week.

ECONOMICS VS. ENVIRONMENTALISM IN FIRES AFTERMATH

posted by Michael Chihak

The monsoon rains of the last few days didn't come soon enough to keep nearly 1 million acres of forest and grassland, along with dozens of homes and businesses, from burning in Arizona.

Now comes the No. 1 question: Can we stop it from happening again?

Friday's Arizona Week will explore the issue, featuring interviews with two state politicians and a forest ranger to sort out some of the rhetoric over conflicting business and environmental interests.

State Rep. Brenda Barton, R-Safford, in whose district the Wallow Fire burned for more than a month to become the state's largest wildfire ever, held a hearing this week in Phoenix to bring various interest groups together.

Barton, in an interview for Arizona Week, said she wants business interests to take a role, specifically timbering and cattle ranching.

"We had almost a million acres burned within the last couple of months. In my opinion, that's really unacceptable. If you're not going to allow it to be harvested but you allow it to be burned, I don't understand that methodology," Barton said.

She said private timbering businesses should be allowed in to help with thinning, the incentive for them being they keep and market what they cull.

Cattle grazing also ought to be allowed on federal forest lands, Barton said, because it can be done scientifically, not like in the 19th century when cattle denuded the grasslands.

More of her interview on Friday's program, plus the counterpoint from Arizona Rep. Bruce Wheeler, D-Tucson, and a conversation with a ranger from the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, site of the W538,000-acre Wallow Fire.