A Flagstaff company is at the forefront of a new idea that could make solar technology more accessible and affordable. Three local entrepreneurs recently launched Plug and Play Solar Kits of Arizona. It is one of a handful of companies nationwide that are selling solar panels that don’t need to be installed by a professional […]
Author Archive | Shelley Smithson
Green Incubator Helping Navajo Startups
On a sunny fall day, Brett Isaac and his team of workers screw solar panels onto a large array at the Tolani Lake Enterprises building on the Navajo Nation. Isaac is the project manager for the Shonto Economic Development Corporation, a solar company on the Navajo Nation. He also is part of a team of […]
Proposed Grand Canyon Airport Expansion
The Arizona Department of Transportation is evaluating the environmental impact of a plan to build a 41,000-square-foot terminal at the Grand Canyon airport. ADOT officials say a new $13 million building will bring the terminal up to date with federal security regulations and present visitors with a better impression of the state of Arizona than […]
New Law Affecting Local Patents
Flight nurse Ryan Heck recalls an all-too-familiar story. It was Memorial Day weekend and a man on the Hopi reservation had suffered a heart attack and needed a helicopter to transport him to the nearest hospital with cardiac facilities. “Flagstaff Medical Center was full,” Heck remembered. “So the next call [the doctors] made was to […]
Navajos Considering Grand Canyon for Economic Development
The Navajo Nation is negotiating with a Scottsdale developer to build a luxury resort and aerial tramway near the confluence of the Little Colorado and Colorado rivers. The site of the proposed development – north and west of Tuba City, Ariz., – is a majestic piece of the Grand Canyon’s East Rim that few have […]
Navajo Nation Implementing 4G Network
On a weekday morning, 32-year-old Nelson Cody types on his laptop at the chapter house in Leupp, Arizona. A chapter house is a community meeting hall on the Navajo Nation. It’s also where many Navajos living on the reservation must go to get online. “I come here two to ten times a week,” […]