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.

Viewfinder: Parker’s railroad bridge up in flames

UPDATE: Added morning photos at bottom. The bridge is still burning, but fire fighting efforts appear to have stopped as the reachable sections have been put out. The bridge will be unusable until repaired. — ORIGINAL STORY: A fire broke out on substantial sections of the railroad bridge in Parker, AZ on Saturday night. Many agencies were still responding at …

Read More »

Man accused of forklift assault goes to jury trial

UPDATE: The trial reportedly ended with a hung jury Thursday, with the jurors unable to reach a unanimous verdict. A hearing on the case will be held in November to determine any further actions prosecutors wish to pursue or not. A jury trial began Tuesday for a man accused of purposefully steering a forklift into another man who was riding …

Read More »

Power outages, damage from Labor Day weekend storm

UPDATE: Ice is available at Parker High School and BlueWater Resort & Casino. Red Cross is assisting. UPDATE: Brook Water has issued its own advisory of service interruption. See it HERE. UPDATE: BIA estimates time for restoration of power late tonight. Multiple power poles are still down. CRIT has services available for residents. Info HERE. —- A storm that rolled …

Read More »

Fire conditions lead to extended BLM fire restrictions

Fire restrictions, implemented in June, will remain in effect due to extremely dry conditions on Bureau of Land Management lands within the Colorado River District (CRD). The district’s 5.4 million acres of public lands in western Arizona extend from southern Mohave County, along the Colorado River, through La Paz and Yuma Counties and include the management of a small strip …

Read More »

Suspected violent domestic abuser arrested in Ehrenberg

A man was arrested in Ehrenberg on suspicion of committing a litany of violent domestic abuse crimes. Jacob Orlando Jones, 31, was arrested for aggravated assault / choking, assault general x2, aggravated assault with a victim 15 years of age or younger, aggravated assault on a minor child, kidnapping (x2), attempted murder domestic violence, attempted second degree murder domestic violence, …

Read More »

County officials to get raises, despite outcry

UPDATE: At least one County employee has contacted Parker Live to say that the salary information in the circulated document mentioned in this article is incorrect. Animal Control department head Michael Ramos told us his salary was never the ‘Estimated FY2019’ number in that document, and his raise was 1 percent, not 22 percent as the document claims. As noted …

Read More »

Jury pool is being “depleted”, says judge, halting grand juries

The La Paz County jury pool is depleted after so many court trials that the Superior Court Judge, Jessica Quickle, is putting a stop to new grand juries with immediate effect. In an email to court personnel and county officials, Quickle announced her decision. “Ladies and Gentlemen,” she wrote, “This email is to inform you that La Paz County will …

Read More »

On boat patrol with La Paz County Sheriff

Parker Live spent 2 hours on boat patrol with the La Paz County Sheriff’s Department recently, to find out what they do, to see the most common river law violations and give the public an idea of what their typical processes are like. The Sheriff’s Department allowed us complete access, without any ‘no go’ areas or restrictions. The officers were …

Read More »

Road preservation projects in the works

The Arizona Department of Transportation has allocated $36 million for multiple pavement preservation projects on highways across the state during fiscal year 2020, which began July 1st, 2019 and ends on June 30th, 2020. ADOT says it evaluated existing pavement conditions to identify the locations in each of its seven districts that are currently in good condition. The goal is …

Read More »

Parker man arrested in connection with child molestation

A Parker man has been arrested in connection with the molestation of a child. Jose Mario Tavizon, 42, was interviewed by detectives from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department’s Colorado River Station on Monday as part of an investigation into child molestation that occurred in the community of Earp. Tavizon is known to the victim’s family, according to the Department. …

Read More »