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Welcome to the Metropolis
of Downtown Glendale Arizona
established - 2004 Copyright © 2006 Glendale Daily Planet Last modified: May 09, 2008
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Glendale ...
and West Metro Valley of the Sun!
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Glendale Sure Had
Game!

Spike
the Super Ball -- Arizona Super Bowl XLII Team Captain
and Ed Sharpe KKAT-IPTV
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The
Glendale Daily Planet / KKAT-IPTV, an IPTV station owned by Ed Sharpe of
Glendale, Arizona, unveiled today the latest technology to be deployed by
the station.
|
|
Ed Sharpe - Publisher/Editor "WIRELESS ED"
With weapons of mass wireless connection!
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Entertainment
Section Writer,
Jamise Liddell
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|
|
-
Lesa Holstine
-
Glendale, Arizona,
United States
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Engineering
Department
Bill Schreiner Associate Engineer
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NEWS TIP HOTLINE 602-457-1559 |
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Don't Speed on Camelback...
We Are Watching!
April 7th...

April 7th... Photos By Ed Sharpe

"Picture Yourself in
Glendale, AZ"
Glendale Daily Planet / KKAT-IPTV
Photographer/Journalist poses with his Special Glendale
Camera!
Sharpe stated: "This camera is almost too pretty to unwrap
and use!"
(Glendale Daily
Planet - 05/06/08)
National
Tourism Week is soon upon us! This weeklong
calibration is a collective effort to promote the power of
travel through customized outreach events in communities
nationwide. The goal is to enhance the country's economy,
security and perception, and recognize the cultural and social
benefits created by travel and tourism.
On a local level, the Glendale Visitor Center will celebrate
National Tourism Week with a "Picture Yourself in Glendale,
AZ” program. The Visitor Center will distribute custom wrapped
disposable cameras the week of May 10. The scene on the camera
wrap is of the redone Murphy Park with the flag, the Velma
Teague Branch Library and clock and all the lush greenery.
Lorraine
Pino, Tourism Manager for the Glendale Office of Tourism tells
us: "The promotion will encourage visitors to take
vacation photos in Glendale and return their favorite photos to
the Visitor Center to be posted on a photo gallery on www.visitglendale.com."
The camera has directions showing the web address,
physical mailing address and other Glendale contact information.
Lorraine Continued: "Their first photo will be at the
Glendale Visitor Center! This promotion will encourage travel
throughout our city, encourage an increased length of stay and
provide incentive to visit our Web site."
Lorraine told us
how we came to get free cameras for this program: "The
cameras were purchased using a grant from the Arizona Office
of Tourism. The Information Center Enhancement (ICE) Grant
offers funding to communities to showcase their local visitor
information center." She continued "We
are the first Visitor Center to apply for and receive an ICE
grant in the Special Promotions Category. The special
promotion must be tourism related and promote the Local
Visitor Information Center and the community as part of the
promotion."
This
is a nice special gift for our visitors to Glendale.
====================================================
Ed Sharpe 623
435 1522
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West Valley DUI Task Force
Operated DUI Checkpoint
- Streets Were Made a Little Safer That Night!

Officer Daniel Reber,
Glendale Police Department, and other Officers from the West Valley DUI Task Force
worked together to make west valley streets a little safer
Saturday, May 3, 2008 . Departments participating include, but are not limited to Glendale, Peoria,
Phoenix, and the Arizona Department of Public Safety. Photo
by Ed Sharpe
(Glendale
Daily Planet) Officers from the West Valley DUI Task Force worked together to make west valley streets a little safer
Saturday, May 3, 2008
. Departments participating included, but are not limited to Glendale,
Phoenix, Peoria, and the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
Officers conducted the DUI checkpoint, from 10:00 p.m. until about 3:00 a.m.,
to ensure that drivers on the road are not impaired. 1035
cars went trough the checkpoint netting 18 arrests and the roads
were made safer that night.
Everyone was presented with a handout
entitled "Sobriety Checkpoint" put out by the Governor's
Office on Highway Safety and the Arizona DUI Task Force. This
brochure, printed in both English and Spanish, was full of good
ideas and facts and also included a survey section for the person
that has gone though the checkpoint to offer feedback
The command post and processing center were in the parking lot of Glendale Community College,
6200 W. Olive Avenue,
on the north side of the road.
The West Valley DUI Task Force is committed to the enforcement of laws regarding driving while impaired by alcohol and/or drugs. DUI is a serious matter that often results in collisions involving serious injury and death. DUI checkpoints have proven to be an effective method for the prevention of impaired driving as well as the detection and apprehension of impaired drivers.
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Authors @ the
Teague Spotlights Former Branch Manger

Former Velma Teague Branch
manager - Shelley Mosley
GLENDALE, Ariz. – “The
Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Ultimate Reading List” sounds
like a necessity in everybody’s home. Meet the local authors who
penned this literary list of “great reads for busy people.”
Former Velma Teague Branch manager,
Shelley Mosley, will be returning to the downtown library at 7010
N. 58th Ave., to discuss her book at 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 7.
She did not write this labor of love alone. City of Glendale
employee Sandra Van Winkle and Scottsdale Public Library staffers
John Charles and Joanne Hamilton-Selway also participated.
The book is a guide to help on-the-go
people find great fiction and non-fiction reads. It is filled with
recommendations for books that will entertain the reader,
including mysteries, westerns, suspense, romance, women’s
fiction and chick lit, and science fiction. Non-fiction topics
cover animals, art, biography, memoirs, business, true crime and
more. Each entry has a summary of the book, its significance and a
comment.
Mosley and Charles are
editors/contributors for “Romance Today: An A-Z Guide to
Contemporary American Romance Writers.” They co-authored “The
Suffragists in Literature for Youth” and write reviews for a
variety of publications.
Hamilton-Selway has been a librarian for
25 years. Named Romance Writers of America’s 2005 Librarian of
the Year, she has reviewed books and interviewed authors for more
than 10 years.
Van Winkle began writing seriously 20
years ago as a bibliographer in a variety of subject area.
The book will be available for purchase
and signing at the program. No reservations are necessary. For
more information, call 623-930-3431.
|
BI
RELEASE
America
’s Most Wanted Arrested - In Glendale!
,
age 32, of
Golden Valley
,
Minnesota
.
(From
FBI Release) On April 20, 2008, the Phoenix FBI Fugitive Task Force and
the Glendale Police Department arrested Robert Gaye without incident in
Glendale
,
Arizona
. Gaye is wanted by
Hennepin
County
in
Minnesota
for Criminal Sexual Conduct in the first degree related to the alleged
sexual assault of a nine year old girl on May 2, 2006, in
Golden Valley
,
Minnesota
. A federal criminal complaint was filed on February 4, 2008, in
U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota, charging Robert Gaye with
Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution based on a local complaint filed on
May 15, 2006, in Hennepin County District Court,
Minneapolis
,
Minnesota
.
Gaye
was featured on
America
’s Most Wanted, on Saturday, April 20, 2008, as one of “Fifty
Fugitives from Fifty States.” The FBI’s Minnesota Fugitive
Task Force had previously developed information that Gaye may be in the
Phoenix
area and provided this information to the Phoenix FBI office.
The Phoenix FBI Fugitive Task Force is comprised of the Maricopa
County Sheriff’s Office, the Mesa Police Department, the Scottsdale
Police Department, and the FBI. Gaye was booked into the Maricopa
County Sheriff’s Jail on April 20, 2008, and is awaiting extradition
back to
Minnesota
.
Phoenix FBI Special Agent in Charge stated, “This case exemplifies how
effective law enforcement task forces work to apprehend individuals such
as Gaye to bring them to justice.”
Individuals
interested in health care career invited to attend
Banner Thunderbird job fair on May 9
-
Story and Photos by Lesa Holstine
-
Glendale, Arizona,
United States
Betty
Webb at the Velma Teague Library
As part of the Authors at the Teague series, Betty Webb,
author of the Lena Jones mysteries, appeared at the Velma
Teague Library, discussing what Publishers Weekly
calls her, "Mysteries with a social conscience."
Betty said she worked in journalism for twenty years, and they
didn't allow her to make things up. She wanted to make things
up. While reviewing books for the newspaper, she found herself
looking for the mysteries, so she decided she wanted to write
mysteries. There was a fellow member of her critique group who
was too sweet and too nice, and just couldn't kill people in
her writing. She'd put them in a coma, and Betty kept telling
her she needed to kill someone. While trying to figure out who
she wanted to kill, she and her husband, Paul, went to a
Scottsdale Art Show. When she said to Paul, "Someone
should kill that gallery owner," he replied,
"There's your dead body." She went home and wrote
the first chapter of Desert Noir. However,
she didn't know why the gallery owner was killed or who solved
it. She needed to know who was going to solve the crime. Since
it was her first book, Webb was still trying to decide if she
would write grizzly books, or lighter, cozy or traditional
mysteries in the style of Agatha Christie.
Her character, Lena Jones, came to her in a dream. Lena was
found at the age of four, lying at the edge of a Phoenix road,
Thomas Road, with a bullet in her head. She was in a coma for
months, and when she came out of it, she couldn't remember
anything, where she was from, who her parents were, or what
happened to her. She had some brain damage, which led to some
behavior problems. The behavior problems made her unadoptable,
so she grew up in foster care, where she was raped, abused,
and malnourished. However, she survived to get a scholarship
to Arizona State University where she studied police science.
After graduation, she worked for the Scottsdale Police
Department, until she was shot on the job. When she was
offered a desk job, she decided to open her own detective
agency, Desert Investigations, in Scottsdale. After having
that dream, Lena became the daughter Betty Webb never had, and
she wanted to do a series about her, beginning with Desert
Noir, the story about the murder of that Scottsdale
gallery owner.
In the Desert series, Lena Jones is looking for her biological
parents and her background. Webb said, mystery writers work
out their hostilities by killing people in their books, but
mystery writers are really sweeter than romance writers who
can't take out their frustrations in their writing. She said
romance writers are the rough and tough ones.
Betty Webb said she first found out about the problem of
polygamy in the American Southwest when she saw an AP story
out of Washington. She started to check it out, and took trips
to the Utah border because most of the Arizona polygamy
colonies are up there, towns such as Colorado City. She met
Flora Jessup, a former sister wife who escaped, and now speaks
out against polygamy, and helps other girls escape. She wrote Desert
Wives, which has been optioned for Lifetime TV, but
not filmed yet.
Polygamy is not about religion. If a man takes ten wives, who
are not really wives, but concubines, and has ten children
with each, he has one hundred illegitimate children. What do
illegitimate children get? Welfare checks of $250 a month per
child, and the money goes to the Prophet. That's the money
that has made Warren Jeffs a millionaire, money from breeding
girls for their lifetime. The Prophet moves girls from other
households. Warren Jeffs built the compound in Ed Dorado,
Texas that has been in the news. All that welfare money goes
to Jeffs. Polygamy is about money, which is part of the story
of Desert Wives. The families are interbred,
which means 65% of the kids are genetically damaged, but the
Prophet doesn't care, as long as the girls can breed. At
eighteen, the boys are dumped out of the compound, and become
the Lost Boys. The can't read or write, and are dumped in
Phoenix, Flagstaff and Salt Lake City. In Texas, they work
construction until eighteen, but they actually work for script
that is redeemable only in compound stores. So, when they're
turned out at eighteen, they still have no money. In Desert
Wives, Lena masqueraded as a sister wife.
While researching, Betty learned that polygamists are racists
who pass out flyers at shows, such as survivalist shows. She
checked out publishers of racist materials, and found there is
a big market for publishing flyers, books, video games, and
recordings. In her next book, Desert Survivors,
Webb asks, what kind of person would own a publishing company
that published racist material.
Desert Run came about because Webb lives near
Papago Buttes, where there was a prisoner of war camp for
Germans during World War II. On Dec. 24, 1944, twenty-five
Germans dug a tunnel under the stockade to escape with a
collapsed boat. Why a boat? Because their map showed rivers,
which are actually dry river beds in Arizona. They were all
members of U-boat crews, who thought they would sail out Cross
Cut Canal.. When they discovered the canals were dry, they
abandoned the boat, and spread out through the desert. They
eventually all surrendered.
Betty Webb calls Desert Run her Glendale, AZ
book. In her story, after the war, several of the German men
came back, and moved to Glendale. One is still alive in the
book, and Lena makes a trip to interview him. She's early one
day, and goes through Glendale's antique stores. She's been
living in a furnished apartment, and has never taken interest
in her home, which is common with foster children. But, in one
store, she sees a lunch pail with Roy Rogers, and buys it. She
finds a Lone Ranger and Tonto bedspread, and by the time she
leaves, she bought an apartment full of 50's and 60's cowboy
furniture.
All of Webb's books start with a body because she said she
likes to kill people. In Desert Run, Lena
finds the body of a ninety-four year old man, a former
prisoner. This is Lena's first cold case, a contemporary
murder tied back to a murder during the WWII escape.
Desert Cut is Webb's new book, which has
already gone through its first printing. Everyone knows about
the illegal immigration problem in the United States. But,
there's also a serious problem with legal immigration.
Americans have big hearts, and they, and church groups, bring
in people who have been displaced by war or famine. However,
we've brought in groups that have beliefs that little girls
are of less value than goats, and some of the beliefs are
terrible. Some of their practices should not be continued in
the U.S., but the groups that brought them in might not have
known enough about the culture when they brought them. Now,
some bulletins published even say it's not child abuse, it's
cultural. Betty Webb said she first heard about it from an
article about a court case in Atlanta, Georgia. There are
severe child abuses against little girls, usually between the
ages of 2 and 9, with the biggest group under seven. They call
it a "rite of passage," and it's done with
anesthesia, with antiseptic aftercare. The purpose is to make
a girl a faithful wife.
Webb said her publishers were leery about the subject, but Desert
Cut was published on Feb. 15, and the first edition
has sold out. It received a starred review in Booklist,
a magazine for librarians. Webb said, "Reach librarians,
and you reach the world." You reach people once
librarians find out about an issue. Then you'll get the word
out.
For her research, she talked to people online who were
fighting against the custom. Two Somali women, who were
fighting against it, were found dead, deaths labeled
"accidental." She said the custom is popular in
African and Mideastern countries. Webb said France has had a
large number of problems, and they've been arresting people,
and prosecuting.
The next Lena Jones mystery, "son of Desert Wives,"
will come out in Fall 2009, Desert Lost. It's
about the lost boys and urban polygamy, polygamy in the
Phoenix area and the Valley.
Webb started another book at the time she was writing Desert
Cut, because that one was so traumatic. She started a
warmer, lighter mystery, which will be published this
November. Webb volunteers at the Phoenix Zoo, and she loves
zoos. The first book in her zoo series is The Anteater
of Death, again from Poisoned Pen Press. Betty said
there's an anteater named Jezebel at the zoo, and she's a Code
Red animal. Code Red means, if it escapes, its shot on sight.
Why is an anteater dangerous? When it stands on its hind legs,
and balances on the tail that is as strong as a kangaroo's, it
has four inch long claws that can dismember a jaguar. When a
body is found in the anteater's enclosure, torn apart, the
zookeeper, a woman named Teddy, thinks the anteater was
framed. The zoo is on the California coast, and Teddy lives on
a houseboat. The first and last chapter of every book in the
series will be told from an animal's point of view. However,
Webb isn't trying to make the animal anthropomorphic. The
books will be about animals that the reader wouldn't normally
associate with death.
Betty Webb said she wrote her first mystery at 56. There are
no big issues in her new series. Webb likes big issues, so
she'll continue to write the Lena Jones books, and her heart
is with Lena Jones, the daughter she never had.
In a couple weeks, I'll have autographed Lena Jones books to
offer as prizes on my blog. Watch for the chance to win two of
these dramatic books.
Betty Webb's website is www.bettywebb-mystery.com
Desert Cut by Betty Webb. Poisoned Pen Press, ©2008. ISBN
978-1590584910 (hardcover), 277p.
|
-
Lesa Holstine
-
Glendale, Arizona,
United States
More
Desert Cut
review and interviw with
Betty Webb at the Book Topics section |
| |
|
April 25 - MYAC Students
bring many treasures to
Andrea’s Closet
at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center in
Glendale.
|
Mayor’s
Youth Advisory Commission (MYAC)

|
April 25 - MYAC Students
bring many treasures to
Andrea’s Closet at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center in
Glendale.
Left
to Right: Megan Miller, Senior at Mountain Ridge
High School, Ashley Johnson, Senior at Mountain Ridge,
Matthew Sweeten, Senior at Mountain Ridge, Lauren Sibeck,
Sophomore at Mountain Ridge, Danielle McCourt, Senior at
Mountain Ridge, Callie Shawcross, Senior at Mountain Ridge,
Elizabeth Fernandes, Freshman at Independence, Mayor Elaine
Scruggs City of Glendale, Robert Villalobos, Junior at
Glendale. |
|
Kody
and friends get first pick!

Kody Anderson,
a patient at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center,
examines a treasure wagon as MYAC students and hospital staff brought
carts of toys though the hospital and into
the Andrea's Closet area. MYAC students behind
are
Callie
Shawcross, Senior at Mountain Ridge, Lauren Sibeck, Sophomore at
Mountain Ridge, and Elizabeth Fernandes, Freshman at
Independence.

|
| Kody Anderson,
a patient at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center,
found a treasure as MYAC students and hospital staff brought
carts of toys though the hospital and into
the Andrea's Closet area. Lucky were those that
had rooms near the closet as they got to see the new
material that was in-bound!
|
|

|
| MYAC Students Ashley
Johnson, Senior at Mountain Ridge and Callie Shawcross, Senior
at Mountain Ridge, take
a break and examine some of the many treasures inside
Andrea’s Closet at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center in
Glendale. This toy program brings pediatric patients
comfort and distraction from their pain by allowing them to
choose a special gift from the toy-filled closet |
Andrea's
Closet is named for Andrea Brunk, who was 8 years old when she
was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in July 2000.
Like many children dealing with such a disease, Andrea dreaded
her regular visits to the hospital.
Through chemotherapy and radiation treatments, the child-life
specialist at Phoenix's St. Joseph's Hospital tried to keep up
Andrea's spirits. They presented her with a Beanie Baby or
some other prize from their stash every time she had to endure
a painful or scary procedure.
Soon Andrea
discovered the closet where the goodies were kept... Read more
at the site.
To learn more about
this wonderful toy program for the kids in hospitals and how
you can get involved today: click... www.andreascloset.org
|
| |
| About
the Mayor’s Youth
Advisory Commission
The
Mayor’s Youth Advisory Commission—often referred to as MYAC—is
a working group of Glendale teens from all high schools in our
city, as well as public and private schools beyond our
boundaries. Each year the teens plan and implement community
projects, a Teen Town Hall and Student Government Day.
To learn more about
this wonderful program for the youth in high school
and how
you can get involved today: click...
www.glendaleaz.com/Mayor/myac.cfm#LearnaboutMYAC
|
| |
| |
| |
Individuals
interested in health care career invited to attend
Banner Thunderbird job fair on May 9
-
Story and Photos by Lesa Holstine
-
Glendale, Arizona,
United States
Betty
Webb at the Velma Teague Library
As part of the Authors at the Teague series, Betty Webb,
author of the Lena Jones mysteries, appeared at the Velma
Teague Library, discussing what Publishers Weekly
calls her, "Mysteries with a social conscience."
Betty said she worked in journalism for twenty years, and they
didn't allow her to make things up. She wanted to make things
up. While reviewing books for the newspaper, she found herself
looking for the mysteries, so she decided she wanted to write
mysteries. There was a fellow member of her critique group who
was too sweet and too nice, and just couldn't kill people in
her writing. She'd put them in a coma, and Betty kept telling
her she needed to kill someone. While trying to figure out who
she wanted to kill, she and her husband, Paul, went to a
Scottsdale Art Show. When she said to Paul, "Someone
should kill that gallery owner," he replied,
"There's your dead body." She went home and wrote
the first chapter of Desert Noir. However,
she didn't know why the gallery owner was killed or who solved
it. She needed to know who was going to solve the crime. Since
it was her first book, Webb was still trying to decide if she
would write grizzly books, or lighter, cozy or traditional
mysteries in the style of Agatha Christie.
Her character, Lena Jones, came to her in a dream. Lena was
found at the age of four, lying at the edge of a Phoenix road,
Thomas Road, with a bullet in her head. She was in a coma for
months, and when she came out of it, she couldn't remember
anything, where she was from, who her parents were, or what
happened to her. She had some brain damage, which led to some
behavior problems. The behavior problems made her unadoptable,
so she grew up in foster care, where she was raped, abused,
and malnourished. However, she survived to get a scholarship
to Arizona State University where she studied police science.
After graduation, she worked for the Scottsdale Police
Department, until she was shot on the job. When she was
offered a desk job, she decided to open her own detective
agency, Desert Investigations, in Scottsdale. After having
that dream, Lena became the daughter Betty Webb never had, and
she wanted to do a series about her, beginning with Desert
Noir, the story about the murder of that Scottsdale
gallery owner.
In the Desert series, Lena Jones is looking for her biological
parents and her background. Webb said, mystery writers work
out their hostilities by killing people in their books, but
mystery writers are really sweeter than romance writers who
can't take out their frustrations in their writing. She said
romance writers are the rough and tough ones.
Betty Webb said she first found out about the problem of
polygamy in the American Southwest when she saw an AP story
out of Washington. She started to check it out, and took trips
to the Utah border because most of the Arizona polygamy
colonies are up there, towns such as Colorado City. She met
Flora Jessup, a former sister wife who escaped, and now speaks
out against polygamy, and helps other girls escape. She wrote Desert
Wives, which has been optioned for Lifetime TV, but
not filmed yet.
Polygamy is not about religion. If a man takes ten wives, who
are not really wives, but concubines, and has ten children
with each, he has one hundred illegitimate children. What do
illegitimate children get? Welfare checks of $250 a month per
child, and the money goes to the Prophet. That's the money
that has made Warren Jeffs a millionaire, money from breeding
girls for their lifetime. The Prophet moves girls from other
households. Warren Jeffs built the compound in Ed Dorado,
Texas that has been in the news. All that welfare money goes
to Jeffs. Polygamy is about money, which is part of the story
of Desert Wives. The families are interbred,
which means 65% of the kids are genetically damaged, but the
Prophet doesn't care, as long as the girls can breed. At
eighteen, the boys are dumped out of the compound, and become
the Lost Boys. The can't read or write, and are dumped in
Phoenix, Flagstaff and Salt Lake City. In Texas, they work
construction until eighteen, but they actually work for script
that is redeemable only in compound stores. So, when they're
turned out at eighteen, they still have no money. In Desert
Wives, Lena masqueraded as a sister wife.
While researching, Betty learned that polygamists are racists
who pass out flyers at shows, such as survivalist shows. She
checked out publishers of racist materials, and found there is
a big market for publishing flyers, books, video games, and
recordings. In her next book, Desert Survivors,
Webb asks, what kind of person would own a publishing company
that published racist material.
Desert Run came about because Webb lives near
Papago Buttes, where there was a prisoner of war camp for
Germans during World War II. On Dec. 24, 1944, twenty-five
Germans dug a tunnel under the stockade to escape with a
collapsed boat. Why a boat? Because their map showed rivers,
which are actually dry river beds in Arizona. They were all
members of U-boat crews, who thought they would sail out Cross
Cut Canal.. When they discovered the canals were dry, they
abandoned the boat, and spread out through the desert. They
eventually all surrendered.
Betty Webb calls Desert Run her Glendale, AZ
book. In her story, after the war, several of the German men
came back, and moved to Glendale. One is still alive in the
book, and Lena makes a trip to interview him. She's early one
day, and goes through Glendale's antique stores. She's been
living in a furnished apartment, and has never taken interest
in her home, which is common with foster children. But, in one
store, she sees a lunch pail with Roy Rogers, and buys it. She
finds a Lone Ranger and Tonto bedspread, and by the time she
leaves, she bought an apartment full of 50's and 60's cowboy
furniture.
All of Webb's books start with a body because she said she
likes to kill people. In Desert Run, Lena
finds the body of a ninety-four year old man, a former
prisoner. This is Lena's first cold case, a contemporary
murder tied back to a murder during the WWII escape.
Desert Cut is Webb's new book, which has
already gone through its first printing. Everyone knows about
the illegal immigration problem in the United States. But,
there's also a serious problem with legal immigration.
Americans have big hearts, and they, and church groups, bring
in people who have been displaced by war or famine. However,
we've brought in groups that have beliefs that little girls
are of less value than goats, and some of the beliefs are
terrible. Some of their practices should not be continued in
the U.S., but the groups that brought them in might not have
known enough about the culture when they brought them. Now,
some bulletins published even say it's not child abuse, it's
cultural. Betty Webb said she first heard about it from an
article about a court case in Atlanta, Georgia. There are
severe child abuses against little girls, usually between the
ages of 2 and 9, with the biggest group under seven. They call
it a "rite of passage," and it's done with
anesthesia, with antiseptic aftercare. The purpose is to make
a girl a faithful wife.
Webb said her publishers were leery about the subject, but Desert
Cut was published on Feb. 15, and the first edition
has sold out. It received a starred review in Booklist,
a magazine for librarians. Webb said, "Reach librarians,
and you reach the world." You reach people once
librarians find out about an issue. Then you'll get the word
out.
For her research, she talked to people online who were
fighting against the custom. Two Somali women, who were
fighting against it, were found dead, deaths labeled
"accidental." She said the custom is popular in
African and Mideastern countries. Webb said France has had a
large number of problems, and they've been arresting people,
and prosecuting.
The next Lena Jones mystery, "son of Desert Wives,"
will come out in Fall 2009, Desert Lost. It's
about the lost boys and urban polygamy, polygamy in the
Phoenix area and the Valley.
Webb started another book at the time she was writing Desert
Cut, because that one was so traumatic. She started a
warmer, lighter mystery, which will be published this
November. Webb volunteers at the Phoenix Zoo, and she loves
zoos. The first book in her zoo series is The Anteater
of Death, again from Poisoned Pen Press. Betty said
there's an anteater named Jezebel at the zoo, and she's a Code
Red animal. Code Red means, if it escapes, its shot on sight.
Why is an anteater dangerous? When it stands on its hind legs,
and balances on the tail that is as strong as a kangaroo's, it
has four inch long claws that can dismember a jaguar. When a
body is found in the anteater's enclosure, torn apart, the
zookeeper, a woman named Teddy, thinks the anteater was
framed. The zoo is on the California coast, and Teddy lives on
a houseboat. The first and last chapter of every book in the
series will be told from an animal's point of view. However,
Webb isn't trying to make the animal anthropomorphic. The
books will be about animals that the reader wouldn't normally
associate with death.
Betty Webb said she wrote her first mystery at 56. There are
no big issues in her new series. Webb likes big issues, so
she'll continue to write the Lena Jones books, and her heart
is with Lena Jones, the daughter she never had.
In a couple weeks, I'll have autographed Lena Jones books to
offer as prizes on my blog. Watch for the chance to win two of
these dramatic books.
Betty Webb's website is www.bettywebb-mystery.com
Desert Cut by Betty Webb. Poisoned Pen Press, ©2008. ISBN
978-1590584910 (hardcover), 277p.
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Lesa Holstine
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Glendale, Arizona,
United States
More
Desert Cut
review and interviw with
Betty Webb at the Book Topics section |
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The Peoria Fine
Arts Association
The exhibit is up through April 29
at the Glendale Gaslight Inn Gallery
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Peoria Fine
Arts exhibition on April 6 at Glendale Gaslight Inn -
The Best in Show winner, Ruth Comeau,
pictured here with the winning
painting was also honored by having another painting,
Sunflowers,
purchased by a collector from California. Ruth is one of the
newer
members of PFAA. Photo by Ed Sharpe
There is still time to view
the exhibit of 61 paintings done by the
members of The Peoria Fine Arts Association.
The exhibit is up through April 29 at the Gaslight Inn gallery
at
5747 W. Glendale Avenue in old town Glendale.
The best hours for viewing are from 11: 00 a.m. 8:00
p.m,Tuesday
through Saturday.
The Best in Show winner, Ruth Comeau,
pictured here with the winning
painting was also honored by having another painting,
Sunflowers,
purchased by a collector from California. Ruth is one of the
newer
members of PFAA.
The Peoria Fine Arts Association welcomes all
people over the age of
18 interested in art. Our members live in communities in and
around
the Peoria/Glendale area. The organization strives to promote
fine
arts in the community and to offer opportunities for art
education
and exhibition to its members. For more information call
623-561-8526.
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Officer Matt
Barnett PIO From Glendale Police Department Receives Emmy ®
Production Certificate

( L to R), Office Matt
Barnett, PIO from Glendale Police Department, and Ed Sharpe,
Director/Producer, with the Certificate Matt received for
his participation in the 2007 Rocky Mountain Emmy®
Award winning production of "The Laura Graff Hit and Run
Accident - Search For The Driver". -
(Photo Sgt. Jim Toomey, PIO Glendale
Police Department)
______
(Glendale Daily Planet - April
24, 2008) This afternoon Officer Matt Barnett PIO from
Glendale Police Department received his Emmy ® Production
Certificate bestowed upon him by The National Television Academy
Rocky Mountain Southwest Chapter. Ed Sharpe of CouryGraph
Productions/ Glendale Daily Planet / KKAT-IPTV who was the
Director/Producer/Videographer of "The Laura Graff Hit
and Run Accident - Search For The Driver"
presented it to Matt in the downtown Glendale Arizona
Police Headquarters. On hand for the ceremonies also was Sgt
Jim Toomey who is also a Glendale Police Public information
officer.
Sharpe commented " I like
to refer to Officer Barnett as "One Take
Matt" due to his direct succinct presentation of the
facts we need for our news stories... "
Sharpe continued "I never
remember a time we had to re-shoot a statement. It is a joy to be
able to run something like this straight though without
having to edit to take dead spots out and umm's and ah's... Matt
is great to work with!"

To learn more
and see the video CLICK
HERE!
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Glendale's
25th Annual Gibson Jazz & Blues Festival
Photos
(C) Ed Sharpe Glendale Daily Planet |
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SEE
CITY SITE FOR
Entertainment
line up!
Online music sampler!
http://www.glendaleaz.com/../events/2008JazzandBlues.cfm
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| Firefighters
from Germany and Glendale Arizona meet. |
| Glendale’s first female
firefighter, Valeri Eddings, 53 top, met one of Germany’s
firefighters, Julia Gauweiler, 23, during her tour of
the Glendale
Regional Public Safety Training Center 4/10/2008
Photo by Ed Sharpe - 4/10/08 |
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Front
- Julia Gauweiler, German Firefighter with her mother,
Ulrike, visiting her older sister, Manuela and Jack Webb (back)
who live in Arizona.
Training Division Chief Alex Morales took
the visitors on a tour of the
Glendale Regional Public Safety Training Center
(bottom Left)
Photo by Ed Sharpe - 4/10/08 |
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Training Division Chief Alex Morales
took the visitors on a tour of the Glendale
Regional Public Safety Training Center.
Julia Gauweiler holds a tank made
from composite materials for lightness while Alex Morales
demonstrates the breathing mouthpiece.
(Left)Manuela
and Jack Webb, who Julia was visiting in Arizona, accompanied
Julia on the tour.
Photo by Ed Sharpe - 4/10/08 |
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Germany’s
firefighter, Julia Gauweiler (23) looks down from
the top story of the training tower during her
tour of the
Glendale Regional Public Safety
Training Center as a student goes though the paces for
two instructors shown at right. |
Photos by Ed Sharpe - 4/10/08 |
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Police
Seek Information About Shooting
6600
block of north 55th Avenue.
GLENDALE, Ariz. – Glendale police
detectives are interviewing more than a dozen people to learn
about the events the led up to a shooting that took place in an
alley behind several homes in the 6600 block of north 55th
Avenue.
At 5:44 p.m. today (4/6), several police units
responded to reports of a shooting in the alley north of McLellan
Road, between 54th Drive and 55th Avenue. Upon arrival, officers
found the victim lying in the alley suffering from a gunshot
wound. Witness statements and evidence at the scene indicated
multiple shots had been fired. The victim was taken to a local
trauma center with life-threatening injuries. The victim is an
Hispanic male, 20 years of age, who resides in Glendale.
Investigators know his identity, but have not been able to notify
his next-of-kin.
Witnesses stated that the victim was seen talking
to another man in the alley shortly before the shooting occurred.
It did not appear that the two were arguing. The other man was
described as an Hispanic male, in his 20’s, with a shaved head,
and wearing a "shiny" silver or gray shirt. This subject
may have been driving a silver or gold, four door, imported sedan,
with front end damage.
Anyone with information about this incident is
asked to call the Glendale Police Department at 623-930-3000.
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Bitzee
Mama's
Downtown
Glendale Restaurant
ROBBED! |
Photo and Story
Ed Sharpe
© Glendale Daily Planet
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Glendale
Daily Planet -- Today shortly before noon, Bitzee
Mama's, a
famous downtown Glendale restaurant located
at 7023 N 58th Avenue across from Murphy Park
was robbed. $220 dollars were taken in this mid
afternoon heist.
Patricia Ryan, the owner, tells us "The suspect was
tall, thin, Caucasian, face with pock marks from past
acne and cleanly dressed in a long green shirt. Ryan
continued: "At
approximately 11:40 he
came in looking for a bottle of water and was at the counter
next to the register. When the register was opened
he dropped the water and grabbed all the 20 dollar
bills." Whimsically she adds... "He even
dropped his $2!"
Lulu
and another restaurant employee chased down the ally after
the thief who joined another person that was driving a
navy blue
Mustang with a temporary paper plate.
Patricia
Ryan told us, the officers that interviewed her after the
robbery said this suspect was pulling these same stunts in
Peoria...
even with the same
blue Mustang with temporary plate.
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Photo: Patricia Ryan, the owner
of Bitzee Mama's, next to the register
where the theft took place. |
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This
commonality of car description and MO was confirmed this
afternoon with a conversation with Matt Barnett PIO for
Glendale Police Department.
Officer
Mat Barnett cautions: "If you spot suspicious
activity call Glendale Police at 623-930-3000 or call
911." He continued:
"If an encounter with this person occurs DO
NOT put your self at risk, comply with their demands,
be a good witness
and remember every detail, write down the details
immediately and call 911 ASAP.
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______________________
2 News Agencies win 2 Telly Awards for a Production of
One Great Glendale Fire Prevention Parade!
Glendale Fire Department Fire Prevention Parade Extravaganza
Documented by 2 Media Sources Netting 2 Telly Awards.
(Glendale AZ) Elizabeth Jackman, staff writer and photographer, from the Glendale Star Newspaper and Ed Sharpe director of CouryGraph Productions, who oversees The Glendale Daily Planet - KKAT Streaming TV, Glendale's homegrown Internet video news source, received two 2008 Telly Awards as recognition of their joint project on the 25th Annual Fire Prevention Day Parade.
Sharpe and Jackman received the two Bronze Awards for a 16 minute movie documenting the 25th Annual Fire Prevention Day Parade. This project was a unique joint venture between two media sources with Jackman doing the still photography and Sharpe applied a 'Ken Burns" technique to animate the still photos and render them into a movie file to present on the Glendale Daily Planet. The two categories this presentation earned honors in was news and also live event documentation.
.
The Telly Awards receives in excess of 14,000 entries each year from 50 states and foreign countries.
"It is honor to receive a highly respected national award for work in publicizing events that take place in the city of Glendale,"
Sharpe said. "The Telly awards highlight the high standards of excellence we wish to achieve. In addition, it is our wish to provide our viewership with information they can trust and enjoy."
When it comes to documenting public safety, Sharpe and Jackman and other media outlet reporters can be seen gathering facts and documenting the scene in photographs and video. Yes, it is a job but the sense of thrill and excitement certainly keeps things interesting.

"Going to a parade and taking photos is a lot of fun, and to win a Telly award for doing it is just amazing," Jackman said.
"Thanks to the excellent work of Ed Sharpe of CouryGraph Productions putting my photos to music not only allows others to enjoy the same parade I saw, but helps promote the Glendale Fire Department's important message, to have an escape plan from your home in case of a fire and make sure the family knows and practices it."
Glendale is one of the few cities in Arizona that treats its citizens to a Fire Prevention extravaganza as we witnessed. Each year the parade represents the beginning of National Fire Prevention Week. Participation in the parade line up and the throngs that congregate at the sidelines seems to increase every year.
“The Glendale Fire Department’s Fire Prevention Parade has been a great tradition carried out by the Fire Department, the City and the Community,” said Glendale Fire Chief Mark Burdick.
“It’s great to know this important event was the topic of some very exciting awards given to some very deserving people such as Ed Sharpe of the Glendale Dailey Planet and Elizabeth Jackman of the Glendale Star Newspaper. The Glendale Fire Department congratulates them both,” Chief Burdick continued.
Sharpe said
"It is always fun to scoop another publication when you are out covering the news but there are times that everyone benefits when media sources work together as a team. There is no better time for teamwork than to help celebrate the work of our hometown Heroes in public safety."
Glendale Star publisher Bill Toops stated “As an advocate for the public’s health, safety and welfare, we are honored to support, promote and partner with the finest fire department in the country,” he added
“It is an additional honor to be recognized for the collaborative efforts of two small, but dedicated news agencies that truly value their community above all else. This project allowed each of us to extend the reach of our respective audience and readership to further enhance and more effectively advance the importance of family fire safety in our city. We sincerely appreciate such professional acknowledgement and look forward to more opportunities in the future,” Toops concluded.
About CouryGraph Productions / Glendale Daily Planet / KKAT-IPTV in Glendale, AZ
Glendale Daily Planet, the parent organization of KKAT-IPTV was started in 2004 as the first community journalism news site in Glendale and perhaps all of Arizona... Serving The Metro West Side of the Valley of the Sun, Glendale Daily Planet has witnessed, participated in and recorded the further rejuvenation of the downtown core, the meteoric rise of the 'Glendale Sports Empire' and the restoration of historic sections of the town.
One aspect Sharpe is most proud of is the ability to have a continuous 24/7 stream of archived footage in the player but yet, when a special event arises, have the ability to go live interrupting the pre-programmed content to cover the event. With the advent of higher speed EVDO radio cards and compact portable satellite terminals the options are limitless.
About The Glendale Star:
Published weekly since 1978, The Glendale Star is owned and operated exclusively by Pueblo Publishers, Inc. The Star is recognized as the official newspaper of record for the City of Glendale, Arizona. The Glendale Star is an active member of the Glendale Chamber of Commerce, Western Maricopa Coalition (WESTMARC), and the Arizona Newspapers Association (ANA). Pueblo Publishers, Inc. is an independent, locally owned and operated, full service, offset newspaper publishing and commercial printing corporation.
About the Telly Awards
Founded in 1979, the Telly Awards is the premier award honoring outstanding local, regional, and cable TV commercials and programs, the finest film and video productions, and groundbreaking web commercials, videos and films. Winners represent the best work of the most respected advertising agencies, production companies, television stations, cable operators, and corporate video departments in the world.
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GLENDALE POLICE
SEEK
ARMED ROBBERS 03-20-08

GLENDALE, Ariz. The Glendale Police
Department needs your help in finding two suspects who shot a
worker during a robbery at the Fashion HQ Store, located at 4319
W. Glendale Avenue.
Today, at about 2:00p.m,. the
suspects entered the store and shot a 52 year old female employee.
She received a non life threatening injury and is recovering at a
local hospital.
The suspects are described as Hispanic
males with thin builds, 5’10” to 6’ tall in their late teens
or early twenties.
The suspect that shot the victim is
wearing a black sweatshirt, white shirt, black pants and a black
baseball cap with white writing.
The other suspect has on a white
shirt, black pants and a black baseball cap.
Anyone with information about this
crime or the suspects is asked to call the Glendale Police
Department at 623-930-3000.

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3 April 2008
The
Cadets from all over the Arizona Wing of the Civil Air Patrol, the
US Air Force Auxiliary, will be participating in the 21st Annual
Summer Field Training Exercise (FTX) on April 4 – April 6, 2008 at
the Buckeye Hills Regional Park.
The FTX program has always
been closely tied to the National Ground Search and Rescue School (NGSAR,
founded in 1996, is now a part of the National Emergency Services
Academy (NESA) based at Camp Atterbury, IN). The FTX program focused
on only training ground team members, and supplemented the wing
exercise schedule. Members would be expected to come out to several
training weekends starting with a "Winter" FTX to get the
varied topics covered over several months. This grew and changed
over the years to better fit into the schedules for the wing
personnel, and to allow for more options for personnel to “catch
up” on training they may have missed. Formal training exercises
were eventually integrated into the program so that members could
qualify for their ground team specialties by completing the program
without having to go anywhere else. The “Summer” FTX is a
culmination of training and members are evaluated on their skills in
order to become ground team members.
The cadets will test their
skills in a “Survival Olympics” scheduled for Sunday afternoon,
April 6, 2008. You are invited to come and observe our future
leaders. Please contact myself upon arrival to camp site.
The Civil Air Patrol (CAP) was created on
December 1, 1941 and became the official civilian auxiliary of the
US Air Force on May 26, 1948. It's a volunteer organization with
over 60,000 members and has three primary missions: Emergency
Operations (what CAP is best known for), which includes search &
rescue and disaster relief missions as well as Homeland Security
operations; a Cadet Program which teaches young men and women
teamwork, moral leadership, aerospace education, technical skills,
and military history; and Aerospace Education, which teaches
aviation and aerospace principles to cadets and the general public.
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March
28 Was The...
World Tour Event 2008 - China - Location
- Bead Museum Glendale AZ.
This year we went to China, but we did it
at the Glendale Civic Center and The Bead Museum! This was their
annual FUNdraiser event. Entertainment include lion dancing, Chinese
musi, Dragon Dancers, calligraphers and more. The food was wonderful
and people found unique and fabulous items for sale in the Silent
Auction. The proceeds from this fun event provide significant income
for the Museum throughout the year.
More to be posted-

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Photo By: Ed Sharpe |
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The
Gabrielle Liese Spirit Award Presentation |
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The
Gabrielle Liese Spirit Award was created in 2006 to honor those whose
contributions to bead research in general or The Bead Museum in
particular have made a significant impact on the growth of the
institution. The award was named after the Museum’s founder
and Director Emeritus, Gabrielle Liese. Liese was the first
recipient of the award. Last year the award was presented to
Sindi Schloss, a gemologist from
Scottsdale
. Sindi has been a significant member of the Museum Board of
Directors since 1999 when the Museum moved to
Glendale
from
Prescott
. Sindi has curated many exhibitions and serves as the Chair of
the Exhibition, Education and Acquisitions Committee. This year
the award was presented to Cheryl Cobern-Browne, a local business
woman who was instrumental in securing a home for The
Bead
Museum
in
Glendale
. Cheryl became the first Managing Director of the Museum after
it moved to
Glendale
. These three ladies are each responsible for building the
foundation upon which the Museum is securely positioned. They
also continue to provide guidance and council as the Museum moves into
its next phase of growth.
Cheryl Cobern-Browne Holding The
Gabrielle Liese Spirit Award (Ed
Sharpe Photo)
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Museum’s
founder and Director Emeritus, Gabrielle Liese (center) with Ex-Vice
Mayor Tom
Eggleston (right) and his wife Billie Eggleston (left). Photo
By: Ed Sharpe
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Dragon Dancers Storm the
Auction Area
- Photo By: Ed
Sharpe |
World Tour Event 2008 - China - Entryway at the Bead Museum Glendale AZ.
Photo By: Bette Sharpe |
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