Gillian Ferris

The Flagstaff Mountain Film Festival begins today. This year's event will feature more than a dozen environmental documentaries including, "Wrenched", by Jerome filmmaker ML Lincoln. The film picks up where Edward Abbey's iconic novel The Monkey Wrench Gang left off, chronicling Abbey's legacy of environmental civil disobedience. Arizona Public Radio's Gillian Ferris Kohl spoke with ML Lincoln about the project.

GFK: For people who may not be award of Edward Abbey's philosophy about the environment and the natural world, what is it?

Over the weekend, the Hopi Tribal Council unanimously agreed to approve a resolution formally opposing the development of the proposed Grand Canyon Escalade project. Tribal officials say the area in which the development is planned is an ancient sacred site where modern Hopis continue to go to leave prayer offerings. Hopi Vice Chairman Herman Honanie says the location is "unacceptable to Hopi religious leaders, practitioners and the Hopi people". He says the Hopi tribe has original title and use of the area.

A Navajo Nation Chapter House passed a resolution Wednesday that may pave the way for a resort and tramway along the Little Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. Arizona Public Radio's Gillian Ferris Kohl reports.

One of the founders of the Center for Sustainable Environments at Northern Arizona University is out with a new study on borderland foods. Gary Nabhan - now with the Southwest Center at the University of Arizona - has just published a study about the geopolitical disparity along the U.S./Mexico border in terms of poverty and food supply. He told KNAU's Gillian Ferris Kohl that more than a dozen researchers went into the field on both sides of the border to look at this schism.

The Primetime Emmys aired last night. And a Flagstaff-based cinematographer won an award for his work on the Discovery Channel's hit show, "Deadliest Catch".

Camp Verde is a small town in between Phoenix and Flagstaff. With its rich soil, a river running through it and today's light rain, it's a hot spot for farmers. And Fred Wong has some of the best crops in town.

"Swiss chard, kale, beets, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, watermelons, cantelope. Camp Verde is good for everything here."

Today is KNAU's Gillian Ferris Kohl's last day as Morning Edition Host. She's not going anywhere...she's moving into a full time reporting position at the station. But, for the last 8 years, Gillian has gotten up in the dark to produce and host Morning Edition. And as a farewell to the show, she produced this audio postcard saluting some of the other people who work in the wee hours. And of course, we've got to start with coffee and pastries straight from the oven.

Today marks the 25th anniversary of one of the deadliest plane crashes in U.S. history. The sole survivor of Northwest Airlines Flight 255 was a four year old Arizona girl, who became known to the world as "the miracle girl". For the first time since the disaster, she's publicly shared her story of survival. Arizona Public Radio's Gillian Ferris Kohl reports.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety is reporting a backlog of thousands of fingerprinting applications from teachers statewide.  The delay could be a problem as districts gear up for the start of the school year.

DPS is reporting a backlog of at least 12,000 fingerprinting applications.  Fingerprint clearance is a crucial step in teacher background and criminal history checks. 

Last week alone, DPS received nearly seven thousand new applications. 

Officials generally process about 5,000 fingerprint cards per week. 

Last month, President Obama handed out the most prestigious science award for young researchers. The Presidential Early Career Award honors science and engineering professionals in the beginning stages of their research careers. One of the recipients was 38 year old Flagstaff geologist, Justin Hagerty. His work focused on studying the evolution of the moon, particularly the dark side of the moon.