John Wright

John is Editor of Parker Live. He is also the host of a daily afternoon radio show on KLPZ 1380am and a documentary filmmaker.

Parker Treasure Hunt: August

Lane’s Auto Care & Tire Pros came up with an idea recently: why not hide an item and give clues to where it is every day for a month, and offer a cash prize for finding it? So here it is, the Parker Treasure Hunt. Clues will appear on KLPZ 1380am’s morning show every day, and then on this page (below) one …

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Sunday Storm Summary: 2.4 inches of rainfall

Traffic delays, power outages and cancelled school: an ordinary Sunday turns to chaos and drama – photos below August’s first Sunday turned out to be an eventful one, with buckets of rain dumping over the deserts of the Parker area within the space of a few hours, leaving chaos in its wake. KLPZ 1380am’s National Weather Service station in the …

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Parker goes dark after big storm – first day of school cancelled

9am UPDATE Some residents and businesses now have power restored. 4:45am NEW UPDATE The first day of school has been cancelled for every school in Parker Unified School District, including Le Pera. No buses will run Monday, according to Jim Lotts. APS estimate for power now around noon. —– UPDATED WITH NEW INFORMATION 9:15pm APS technicians were reportedly at maximum …

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Ten arrested in “drug round up”

Wednesday’s arrests come after 9 month investigation On July 30, 2014, the La Paz County Narcotics Task Force, made up of the La Paz County Sheriff’s Office, C.R.I.T. Police Department, U.S. Border Patrol and the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office, conducted a “drug round up” in the areas of Ehrenberg, Quartzsite and the Parker Valley. For the past nine months, the …

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12 reasons I love Parker, AZ

I was working in San Francisco last weekend. When I’m out of town and people ask what part of Arizona I live in, I usually say something like, “West side, a stone’s throw from California.” If they keep talking I add something like, “South of Lake Havasu”, assuming even that would be a stretch. But it’s amazing how many people …

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Drug arrest leads to high speed pursuit

Alleged drug dealer leads the La Paz County Task Force and CRIT Police Department on 10 mile chase The La Paz County Narcotics Task Force was led on a high speed pursuit by an alleged drug dealer. On Monday afternoon at around 4:30pm, the Task Force attempted to arrest Phetpraseuth Soukthavone, aka “Chino”, near Poston, AZ. The Task Force, which …

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Viewfinder: Haboob

The ‘haboob’ (Arabic for “blasting”) is a phenomenon known better by Phoenix residents than Parker residents. But early Sunday morning, the Parker area was blasted by dust just 2 days after Phoenix. NOTE: The word ‘haboob’ is no more or less Arabic than the word ‘coffee’. Bouse via Keith Learn Parker via Katie Turnbow Lakeside via Michael Collins Before and …

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Fire destroys house at BlueWater Lagoon

A house at BlueWater Lagoon on the river in Parker, AZ went up in flames just before noon Tuesday. Agencies responded quickly but the flames took hold just as fast, and at this time of writing the extent of the damage to the house and surrounding property is not yet known. Additional photos via Drew C:

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Parker Tourism to lose vital County funding?

Parker Area Tourism may have to shut down if a tentative move cutting County funding to the office takes effect, according to people familiar with the office finances. Presentations made at the public Board of Supervisors meeting Monday included Parker Area Tourism, La Paz County Economic Development Corporation (which brokered the recent Hampton Inn development deal) and Parker Area Chamber …

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