Arizona Daily Sun from Flagstaff, Arizona • A6

A6 Friday, July 6, 2018 ArizonA DAily Sun 1 Sign-free zones are specifically allowed in areas where signs may affect tourist businesses such as resorts or hotels, said Folke. As a result, additions include Lake Mary Road, Woody Moun- tain Road, Lone Tree Road, South Yale Street and South Plaza Way. The zone also now extends the length of North Beaver and San Francisco Streets as well as Swit- zer Canyon. In additions, signs can now be removed on all of Forest, Cedar and Butler avenues and Fourth Street. Lastly, the area around the Flagstaff Mall and Continental and Country Club drives as well as Industrial Drive are off limits the last because it can be viewed from Route 66.

looked at all major and mi- nor arterial roadways and then we included a few sections off those Folke told council on June 26. are areas where we have a predominance of tour- ist traffic coming off of the inter- state, people going to restaurants, people going to hotels and people going into our Joe Bader worked on Flagstaff Needs a Raise, which campaigned to raise minimum wage during the last election and is now fighting Proposition 418, which would lower the minimum wage. Bader said that although the ex- panded zone has changed the way the campaign is placing signs, he expect the changes to have any real effect on his or most other campaigns. Without the sign-free zone, Bader said Flagstaff Needs a Raise would likely place signs along roadways. At the moment, they are just giving signs to people who want to place them on their own property.

But Bader added that road- side signs help get the word out and raise awareness, but they are not the most important form of a campaign messaging. For exam- ple, going door to door, he said, is far more effective than signs along roadways. Only the mayor and Council- woman Eva Putzova voted against the sign-free expansion. Coun- cilmember Scott Overton said if it were up to him alone, the sign- free zone would be much larger. I had my way, I would say no signs in the right of way period, and I know this is kind of our com- promise at that said Over- ton.

really do continue to have the concern that our community clutter just gets to a point where just not very sightly (and) these are our most prominent Signs From A1 ADRAIN SKABELUND Sun Staff Reporter Outside the sign-free zone, political signs are allowed in the public right-of-way at certain times of the year. Such signs are allowed 60 days before a primary election and must be taken down 15 days after an election. Signs are also required to have a or contact information. This allows staff to contact a campaign if they need to have the campaign take down a sign. Without contact information, staff are allowed to remove a sign as if it is in a sign- free zone.

Signs must also fit certain size specifications. Signs can be no larger than 16 square feet in resi- dential areas and no larger than 32 square feet in all other areas. Lastly, private citizens are al- lowed to put up or remove signs if the signs are on their own prop- erty. The only exception is for landlords, who cannot prevent their tenants from placing politi- cal signs on the property they are renting. Rules for political sign placement MARTIN CRUTSINGER Associated Press WASHINGTON Federal Re- serve officials last month said they expect to keep raising interest rates and suggested that by next year, they could be high enough that they could start slowing growth, according to minutes of their discussion released Thurs- day.

While highlighting a strong economy, Fed officials appeared vigilant about emerging risks, especially trade tensions, and the dangers of an economy that might overheat. The officials noted heightened concerns from busi- nesses about President Donald get-tough trade policies and that some executives had al- ready scaled back future spending plans because of the uncertainty. They also said they were mon- itoring changes in market-set interest rates. A narrowing in the gap between short-term and long-term rates has been an ac- curate predictor of downturns in the past. Economists said the minutes of the June discussions did not alter their overall view of what the Fed would do this year.

continue to expect that fiscal stimulus will push the un- employment rate lower over time and lead the Fed to hike rates two more times this year, in Septem- ber and said Barclays economist Michael Gapin. The minutes covered the dis- cussions at the June 12-13 meeting in which the central bank boosted its key rate for a second time this year to a new range of 1.75 percent to 2 per- cent. Fed officials also increased their projection for the number of rate hikes they plan to make this year from three to four. The Fed dropped language it had been us- ing for a number of years prom- ising to keep rates at levels that would boost economic growth some The change was made because officials believed it no longer appropriate in light of the strong state of the economy and the cur- rent expected path for the minutes said. Officials discussed the fact that under their expected path, its key policy rate, known as the federal funds rate, could be at or even above the neutral level the point at which the rate is neither stimulating economic growth or holding it back.

In the latest projection, the neutral rate stood at 2.9 per- cent. But it forecast a higher benchmark rate of 3.1 percent by the end of next year. The projec- tions have the funds rate rising to 3.4 percent by the end of 2020. As such, a number of officials believed it might soon be appro- priate to drop the language in the policy statement indicating that the stance of monetary policy That is the phrase the Fed uses to say that rates are still low enough to stimulate growth. Despite current growth pros- pects and inflation finally reaching the goal of 2 percent annual gains in prices, the minutes noted a number of and uncertain- facing the economy.

Officials said that the risks associated with trade policy had with the uncertainty potentially hurting business sentiment and investment The Trump administration has imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. He has also threatened to impose tariffs on billions of dollars in other Chi- nese products, including tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese goods which are scheduled to take effect on Friday. Beijing has promised to retaliate with tariffs on U.S. goods, including farm products such as soybeans. Trump has staked out a tougher approach on trade in an effort to achieve his goal of dramatically shrinking huge trade deficits, which he has blamed for the loss of millions of U.S.

factory jobs. Fed officials discuss rate hikes CLIFF OWEN, ASSOCIATED PRESS Federal reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell chairs an open meeting June 14 in Washington. members, including a mother and son, authorities believe they have shut down the gang that meted out a level of violence not seen by gangs on the reservation since the 1990s. Authorities conducted more than 300 interviews in the investi- gation of the Red Skin Kingz, using a task force made up of tribal, state and federal officials, said Michael Caputo, an FBI assistant special agent in charge for the Arizona district. It was formed in the mid- 1990s when the Navajo Nation saw an explosion of gang activity in and around its capital of Window Rock, with turf wars, drive-by shootings and retaliatory killings.

The model since has expanded to other parts of Indian Country. Navajo Nation residents, numbed to silence by a gang that raised its profile on social media and threatened people to keep them from talking to police, are encouraged but still wary. investigation did cut off the head of the snake, if you will, and we took out all the main play- ers that were involved in this Caputo said. we get everybody? Hard to he said. Lukachukai is at the base of the mountains, about 10 miles from Dine College, the first college es- tablished by an American Indian tribe in the United States.

The community of about 1,700 has a boarding school, gas station, post office, the trading post and mostly scattered housing. Community members witnessed the crimes for years, Blair said. But with the closest police district so far away, no one was sure authorities would or could make a difference, he said. The death of a man in late 2014 was a turning point. Tim family in Gallup, New Mexico, re- ported him missing, and authori- ties discovered he was shot in the chest by two gang members at a picnic area in Wheatfields Lake where they met for a drug deal.

body was dismembered and burned in a fire pit, according to court documents. Federal prosecutors charged gang leader Devan Leonard and Kyle Gray in death the following year, a move that Na- vajo Nation police Capt. Michael Henderson said helped show the community that law enforcement was paying attention. started falling together, look- ing at all these and doing the re- search all the way back to the 2012 time he said. The Red Skin Kingz match the level of gang violence in the 1990s, but the drug trafficking operation was among the most organized police have seen on the reservation, Henderson said.

The planning of criminal activ- ity centered mostly on a steamed corn business, according to court documents. Members would gain status by selling drugs, collecting debts and assaulting community members, court documents state. The charges against the five Red Skin Kingz under a federal racke- teering statute meant to combat organized crime are rare in Indian Country, prosecutors said. The other two defendants Uriah Shay and Randall Begay will be sentenced later this year. Getting the community to talk was difficult because people feared retaliation.

Some lived near the suspects and others are family or related by clan. Many who worked up the courage to talk would only do so anonymously, Henderson said. Philip Sandoval the vice pres- ident of the Lukachukai Chapter, was hesitant to say anything even after Gray, Leonard and mother, Lucille, were sentenced to lengthy prison terms. start opening your mouth and saying this and Sandoval said. know who is still out The fear unfounded.

After Saucedo was killed, the gang kidnapped a witness and threatened to harm her child if she told anyone what happened. Gang members also stole vehicles and burned the dwelling of one of their victims because they be- lieved the family was cooperating with law enforcement, court doc- uments state. Samuel Yazzie, the Lukachukai Chapter president, said that even after the arrests, some residents remain afraid, unwilling to photo- graph or report suspicious activ- ity, or publicly call out suspects, he said. understand, but I think the way it he said this week. Henderson say for sure whether the arrests of the gang members have made the commu- nity safer.

But he points to drops in the number of felony sexual assaults, homicides, robberies and aggravated assaults since the arrests in the police district that includes Lukachukai. interesting to see those he said. Gang From A1 will set up, producing a near- daily pattern of afternoon and evening thunderstorms, LeBlanc said. He did warn that such storms drop an even amount of rain across the entire forest. small in nature and the Coconino National Forest is he said.

Even if the forest closures are lifted, Stage 2 restrictions that ban campfires, smoking and target shooting will remain in place for a while longer until the area receives even more precipi- tation, Webb said. In addition to rain, monsoon thunderstorms bring the potential for more lightning-caused fires, so the idea is to avoid additional risk of human-caused fires for a while longer, she said. With conditions as dry as they are and the forest restric- tions in place, the Forest Ser- vice substantially increased its patrolling on the Fourth of July, assigning 47 staffers to enforce forest closure orders, make contacts with campers and look out for smoke and fire starts. On most holiday weekends, about 12 people are assigned to those tasks across the 1.8 million-acre Coconino National Forest, Webb said. The fact that there were no campfires, either burning or abandoned, found over the Fourth of July is significant be- cause patrols usually find a lot of abandoned campfires after holi- days, Webb said.

Also notable, she said, is that the Coconino National Forest recorded a single campfire or human-caused wildfire within any of the closure areas since they were implemented May 23. Usually those areas are busy with campers and other recreationists that pose fire start risks. really, really impressive and pretty Webb said. are actually taking that pretty The compliance with the current area-specific closure orders is one reason why the For- est Service move to imple- ment a full forest closure, Webb said. The number of abandoned campfires has dropped signifi- cantly from the two previous years, which is one indication that people are complying with fire restrictions and closures, she said.

The number of abandoned or illegal campfires those lit during fire restrictions or in areas where campfires are pro- hibited year-round from Jan. 1 through July 5 is about half of what it was during the same time period in 2017 and 2016, accord- ing to Forest Service records. really appreciate people hanging Webb said about the closures. be much The holiday was equally slow for the Flagstaff Fire Depart- ment, which received just one residential call about fireworks in the street that able to be verified, Capt. Kevin Wilson said.

The agency also got a call from Summit Fire about a fire near the Walnut Canyon exit of Interstate 40 early Thursday morning, but its engines were called off en route because their help needed, Wilson said. LAW ENFORCEMENT Coconino National Forest law enforcement reported no inci- dents on Wednesday, spokesman George Jozens said. The Coconino County Sher- Office responded to 260 calls for service during the July 3-4 holiday period, 70 more calls than the previous Tuesday and Wednesday, according to spokes- woman Erika Wiltenmuth. Calls included emergency medical events, trespassing, disturbing the peace and reports of fire- ban related violations such as the shooting of firearms and use of fireworks. deputies increased the number of patrols by 50 per- cent and conducted 70 traffic stops during the two-day period, which was more than double the number of stops on non-hol- idays, Wiltenmuth said in an email.

The 70 stops resulted in: 12 citations Nine written warnings Four impounds 19 verbal warnings Deputies also conducted a boat patrol on Lake Powell, with stops on 30 boaters and multiple boat operation warnings. Statewide, law enforcement officers made 289 DUI arrests and 2,366 speeding citations over July 3 and July 4. Emery Cowan can be reached at (928) 556-2250 or azdailysun.com Forest From A1 to cease serving you in this role first because I count it a blessing to be serving you in any capacity, but also, because of the transfor- mative work that is Pruitt wrote. the unrelenting attacks on me per- sonally, my family, are unprece- dented and have taken a sizable toll on all of Pruitt, a Republican, had ap- peared Wednesday at a White House picnic for Independence Day, wearing a red-checked shirt and loafers with gold trim. Trump gave him and other offi- cials a brief shout-out, offering no sign of any immediate change in his job.

EPA Deputy Administrator Andrew Wheeler, a former coal industry lobbyist, will take the helm as acting administrator starting Monday. have no doubt that Andy will continue on with our great and lasting EPA Trump tweeted Thursday. resignation came days after two of his closest advisers spoke to House oversight com- mittee investigators and revealed new, embarrassing details in eth- ics scandals involving Pruitt. Samantha Dravis, who recently resigned as policy chief, told investigators last week that Pruitt had made clear to her be- fore and after he became EPA ad- ministrator that he would like the attorney job, held then and now by Jeff Sessions. Pruitt hinted at that (sic) some sort of conversation had taken place between he and the Dravis told con- gressional investigators, ac- cording to a transcript obtained Thursday by the AP.

was the position he was originally interested A former Oklahoma attorney general close to the oil and gas industry, Pruitt had filed more than a dozen lawsuits against the agency he was picked to lead. Ar- riving in Washington, he worked relentlessly to dismantle Obama- era environmental regulations that aimed to reduce toxic pollu- tion and planet-warming carbon emissions. During his one-year tenure, Pruitt crisscrossed the country at taxpayer expense to speak with industry groups and hobnob with GOP donors, but he showed little interest in listening to advocates he derided as environmen- tal Those groups quickly applauded his departure. Pruitt From A1.