A golden beauty with a blond mane, Sonny is a stunning picture of health. Strong and smart, he has served in search and rescue missions for the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office. But about 18 months ago, this 20-year-old Arabian Quarter Horse began to limp. The condition did not improve with rest and pain medication. In fact, it got worse. His owners have learned that Sonny has ringbone, a painful arthritis-like degenerative disease that causes bone to grow around the joint at horses’ hooves … [Read more...] about Modern Vets Healing Pets with Ancient Needle Therapy
Business
Flagstaff-Based Giftcard Zen Expanding with Phoenix Office
Just three years ago, entrepreneur Aaron Dragushan launched his newest business, Giftcard Zen – a website to buy and sell gift cards at a discounted rate – in the office of his Flagstaff home. Last March, Dragushan announced that his company was quickly growing and looking to nearly double in size. Now, Giftcard Zen is selling one gift card every 10 seconds, and has expanded to 20 people, with a new office in downtown Phoenix in addition to its Flagstaff headquarters. Giftcard Zen buys … [Read more...] about Flagstaff-Based Giftcard Zen Expanding with Phoenix Office
Market of Dreams Awakening to Promising Reality
Some dreams make no sense. Under dark of night and beneath closed eyes, apparently random events cascade in unintelligible, albeit entertaining, succession. On the other hand, there are wide-eyed dreams that, while brazenly imaginative, are coolly calculated and strategically executed – those of Martin Luther King, Jr., for example. That sort of dream benefits from mental and physical endurance, though often succeeds on a good dose of dumb luck. The Mercado de los Sueños (or Market of Dreams) … [Read more...] about Market of Dreams Awakening to Promising Reality
The Entrepreneur Rollercoaster: Defining Your Ticket to Ride
Researchers at the University of British Columbia have found that dislike of roller coaster rides just may be genetic. Their study, which asked whether attitudes are learned or in-born revealed that dispositions about roller coasters (love them? or hate them?) were one of five attitudes showing the strongest genetic connection (the others were reading books, abortion without restrictions, playing organized sports, and death penalty for murder). Full Disclosure: I really hate roller coaster … [Read more...] about The Entrepreneur Rollercoaster: Defining Your Ticket to Ride
New Purpose for Old Home
Six decades ago, the sounds of school-aged children playing emanated from the home and the backyard of the Bledsoe home at 323 N. Leroux St., at Dale Avenue north of downtown Flagstaff. James (Jim) Babbitt of the pioneer family, spent his childhood living two houses north of the Bledsoe home and was best friends with Bob, one of the three children of R.A. Bledsoe, owner of Bledsoe’s Men’s Shop, who owned the home for about 30 years. The other children, Doug and Carol, were also friends of the … [Read more...] about New Purpose for Old Home
New Immigration Regulations Taking Effect
Note: On February 17 a federal judge blocked implementation of the following regulations. Additionally, Congress has threatened not to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees implementation of immigration policy. At the time of printing, neither of these issues has been resolved. The following addresses the new immigration regulations that are set to be implemented once these issues are resolved. On Feb. 18, 2015 new immigration regulations were set to take effect that would … [Read more...] about New Immigration Regulations Taking Effect
The Wheelmobile Comes to Cliff Castle Casino Hotel
May 2-3, 2015 Your entertainment destination, Cliff Castle Casino Hotel, will be the site of an open call contestant search for the tremendously popular game show Wheel of Fortune. The show, hosted by Pat Sajak and Vanna White, has seen thousands of contestants spin the wheel and buy vowels for over 30 years. The nationwide contestant searches provide a chance for people from all over the country to be on the show, televised locally on KTVK, Channel 3 in Phoenix. The big yellow “Wheelmobile” … [Read more...] about The Wheelmobile Comes to Cliff Castle Casino Hotel
Future Smart or Future Gullible
I can predict the future. Believe me, I can. It’s just that I can’t predict it 100 percent accurately all the time. For example, I can predict that at least some readers who get beyond the first couple of sentences of this book review will continue to read it all the way through. I can also predict that those who don’t read it all the way through will do something else instead. I’m 100 percent certain of that. I also predict that sometime today, you’ll have something to eat and that later, … [Read more...] about Future Smart or Future Gullible
First Three Things All Business Owners Should Do
As this column develops over time, I will share my thoughts with fellow CEOs, presidents, general managers and business owners based on questions that are submitted to me at [email protected]. For this inaugural column, I’ve decided to address the question I’ve been asked the most over my 30-year career. It usually goes something like this, “What advice do you have for a new business owner (or CEO, president or general manager)?” While that is a very general question, in my mind, they … [Read more...] about First Three Things All Business Owners Should Do
E-Cigarettes Lighting Up Consumer Praise, Health Advocates’ and Lawmakers’ Censure
E-cigarettes and their restricted use in Coconino County and around the globe are tempered more by the unknown than what research and other fact-finding officially has proven. Former tobacco consumers praise vaping for helping them quit, even as lawmakers debate public health risks, medical/insurance impacts, safety claims and regulation of ingredients, advertising and sales. The challenge dates to 2003, when a Chinese pharmacist patented a battery-operated and cigarette-simulating device to … [Read more...] about E-Cigarettes Lighting Up Consumer Praise, Health Advocates’ and Lawmakers’ Censure