Arizona Daily Sun from Flagstaff, Arizona • A1

1 ALMANAC A2 AROUND TOWN A2 CLASSIFIEDS B6 COMICS B5 DEAR ABBY B5 LOCAL A3 LOTTERY A3 MOVIES A10 SPORTS B1 $1.50 Volume 72, Issue 282 A Lee Enterprises Newspaper Copyright 2018 Follow us online: facebook.com/ArizonaDailySun twitter.com@azds instagram.com/azdailysun See photos from Little League softball action in Flagstaff AT AZDAILYSUN.COM DISCOVER DIGITAL THUNDERSTORMS 88 58 FORECAST, A2 Friday, July 6, 2018 azdailysun.com EMERY COWAN AND KATIE DEVEREAUX Sun Staff Reporters The forests around Flagstaff were mostly quiet on the Fourth of July, and not just because fire- works were banned. Forest Service patrols es- timated that forest visitation during the mid-week holiday was about half of normal and they had found no illegal camp- fires as of midday Thursday, said Kaitlyn Webb, forestry techni- cian with the Coconino National Forest. Because the entire forest is under either a forest closure or- der or Stage 2 restrictions, any campfire is illegal. With monsoon rains in the forecast, though, the end of the closures could be near. A half- inch of rain needs to fall on the entire forest or a major- of it for managers to start talking about lifting the closures, Webb said.

The latest forecast shows one-quarter to one-half an inch of rain will fall on southern Co- conino County from noon Friday through 5 p.m. Sunday, said Dan LeBlanc, meteorologist with the National Weather Service. After that, the full monsoon pattern ADRAIN SKABELUND Sun Staff Reporter With November 6 only four months away, the political sea- son in Flagstaff is just around the corner, and with it comes the forest of political signs that often line streets. But not anymore, at least for a larger portion of the city than ever before. On June 26, the Flagstaff City Council enlarged sign-free zone, which allows city staff to automatically remove all temporary signs along the public right-of-way.

It goes into effect July 26. Generally, the state bars tam- pering with or removing political signs, but it does allow cities to regulate their placement. This includes designating sign-free zones within the public right-of- way, which is essentially streets, sidewalks and the strip of land between the two. The current sign-free zone was created in June 2016 after the Supreme Court ruled that cities regulate political and commercial signs differently. Because of this, other signs, such as those for yard sales, could also be removed in these newly des- ignated areas.

Flagstaff Mayor Coral Evans said she opposed the expan- sion of sign-free zones and that people should be allowed to place political signs on publicly controlled land with as few re- strictions as possible. Evans said she has also heard from renters whose landlords illegally pre- vented them from putting up political signs where they live. And with such a high percent- age of the population renting, the public right-of-way is an im- portant place people can place signs, she said. Flagstaff has an ordinance against placing signs along roads within the public right of way ex- cept during campaign season if they meet certain specifications (and are not in a sign-free zone). And even then, the city staff usu- ally take these signs down.

Instead, staff must contact the owner and inform them of the rule. But this is not the case within the sign-free zone, allowing staff to simply take down these signs and keep them until they are picked up by their owners. The city can also issue fines to campaigns that break the rules, although this is rarely done most campaigns remove the signs when informed of the law, said city planning director Dan Folke. Prior to the expansion, Flag- staff sign-free zone included much of downtown and major thoroughfares such as Fort Val- ley Road, Milton and Historic Route 66. Campaign signs banned from major roadways BEN SHaNaHaN, ARIZONA DAILY SUN Signs for various political campaigns along major Flagstaff roads may have to come down starting July 26.

Perfect record in forest on 4th MICHAEL BIESECKER, ZEKE MILLER AND ELLEN KNICKMEYER Associated Press WASHINGTON Environ- mental Protection Agency Ad- ministrator Scott Pruitt resigned Thursday amid ethics inves- tigations of outsized security spending, first-class flights and a sweetheart condo lease. With departure, Pres- ident Donald Trump loses an ad- ministrator many conservatives regarded as one of the more effective members of his Cab- inet. But Pruitt had also been dogged for months by scandals that spawned more than a dozen federal and congressional inves- tigations. Talking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump continued to praise his scandal-plagued EPA chief, saying there was final and he had not asked for resignation. is a terrific Trump said.

came to me and said I have such great confidence in the administration I want to be a distraction. go and do great things and have a wonder- ful life, I In his resignation letter to Trump, obtained by The Asso- ciated Press, Pruitt expressed no regrets. is extremely difficult for me Administrator Pruitt steps down from EPA aNdrEW HarNiK, ASSOCIATED PRESS Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt testifies May 16 on Capitol Hill in Washington. President Donald President Trump tweeted Thursday he has accepted resignation. FELICIA FONSECA Associated Press Down the road from Hank trading post in the tiny community of Lukachukai on the Navajo Nation, a sign occasion- ally would pop up in a corn field saying the crop was ready.

But the announcement for corn. It was a sign that a local gang was dealing a fresh supply of cocaine and methamphet- amine. For 15 years, the Red Skin Kingz terrorized this remote sec- tion of the vast reservation near the Arizona-New Mexico border. Dealing in drugs, murder, kid- napping, arson and aggravated and sexual assaults, the gang in- timidated the community where law enforcement is more than 45 minutes away on a good day. were the most orga- nized, worst people that had around here said Blair, who has owned the Totsoh Trading Post for 34 years.

was Now, after the recent sentenc- ing of three high-profile gang Navajo gang broken up but town uneasy Pulling their weight Though small in scale and ambition, and The still fun SNEAK PEAKS, A9 Never give up Paralympians training in Flag say nothing impossible SPORTS B1 Marijuana off ballot Signature drive comes up short; school funding, renewables, anti-dark money petitions filed ARIZONA A3 FlaGSTaFF SQuEEZE Play Private property only along Route 66, downtown, Milton INSIDE: Complete rules for political signs A6 No abandoned or illegal campfires After ethics scandals, former coal industry lobbyist takes over Please see FOrEST, Page A6 Please see GaNG, Page A6 Please see SiGNS, Page A6 Please see PruiTT, Page A6.