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.

First day of school in Parker

Most kids enrolled in Parker area schools went back to school this morning for their first day of the new school year. Town was buzzing at 7:45am with parents getting back into a routine of dropping students off, and familiar yellow school buses making their way in from around the sprawling community. The Parker Unified School District’s five schools were …

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Boat runs ashore, operator may be charged

  A boat was found grounded on Saturday morning at Patria Flats park by a Sheriff’s Deputy with the operator nowhere to be found at first. According to law enforcement there was evidence that someone had been injured and that the operator had lost control, probably in the early morning hours, but nobody reported an accident and nobody was at …

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Parker Livecast #27: Mid-Summer Catchup & Parker Broncs

It’s the middle of the Parker summer, and we’ve come back from vacations and the river to catch up with the semi-regular cast and crew of the Parker Livecast! This week’s edition also includes a great segment with the Parker Broncs football team and Coach Jeston Lotts ahead of their season opener in August. After last year’s encouraging season, the …

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Veterans needs being addressed like never before

The needs of military veterans are being addressed in La Paz County in unprecedented ways this year, including the formation of a special court for qualifying veterans who get in trouble with the legal system and new efforts in offering health care to veterans in Parker. There are an estimated 3,500 veterans living in La Paz County at any given …

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Woman dies in custody in Parker

An woman has died in jail in Parker, according to a statement by La Paz County Sheriff’s Office. On Saturday morning (July 25th, 2015) an officer performing routine security checks at the La Paz County Detention Facility found Beverly Pool, 54, unresponsive in her cell. She was later pronounced deceased by emergency responders. Pool, a resident of Parker, AZ, had …

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To The Editor: Who is blocking desert trails?

Here’s an email from a mountain biker. “For the last few winters I’ve been biking on the trails around the Mineral Mine Road — just past where Shea Road turns into the Bill Williams Highway. This is a popular area with ATVs and motorcycles, although it is not part of the main off-road area. It is all a long way …

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Arizona DPS to get a new look. What do you think?

The Arizona state police agency, the Department of Public Safety, is to get a re-branding with new colors, according to the Arizona Capitol Times. Officers with the department are no longer being called ‘officers’ either and will now be referred to as ‘troopers’. DPS will be getting 90 new vehicles soon, so it was a good time to update the …

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Water Grab?

Here on the Parker Strip, we’re Arizonans and we’re Californians. The river we call home straddles the state line joining these two great states. Our diverse community lives on both sides of the river and holds many connections to the metropolitan areas on either side of us: to Los Angeles, Orange County, the Inland Empire and San Diego to our …

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I-10 closure: here’s what you need to know

UPDATE 2: I-10 is to be reopened on Friday, according to Caltrans, using the westbound lanes for two-way traffic. This will provide one lane in each direction while construction work continues on the bridge on the eastbound lanes. UPDATE: Traffic in Parker has become heavy and slow due to the detour, but relief is coming. CA-177 has been reopened, which …

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Parker weather: Storm rolls in

UPDATE 3:48pm – Highway 72 near Bouse, AZ is reportedly already closed after flash flooding across the desert. One to two inches of rain are possible this weekend as more moisture moves into the Parker area and across the region. Clear skies in Parker gave way to dramatic cloud cover by early Friday afternoon, with wind picking up along the …

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