EXPLORER The Voice of Marana, Oro Valley and Northwest Tucson
J��e 15, 2022
Vo��me 29• N�m�er 24
German Knight in Tucson
Why one UA professor chose to live in the desert | Page 10
Advocates hope endangered status for wild�lower helps save San Pedro, too
INSIDE
Your Turn
BY MORGAN FISCHER Cronkite News
Letters to the Editor
| Page 8
New Sound Local band releases new album
| Page 19
Sports and Rec
Some questions from our columnist
| Page 21
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ASHINGTON – Federal officials this week declared the Arizona eryngo, a rare wildflower, an endangered species, a move advocates hope will also help boost efforts to save the San Pedro River where the plant is found. The action Thursday by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service follows years of efforts by conservation groups to save the eryngo, a cream-colored flowering wetland plant native to Arizona, New Mexico and Mexico. But the plant only grows in cienegas, a type of wetland created by natural springs, and those are being depleted by overpumping of groundwater in the region, the service and environmental groups said. “I’m so glad these big, beautiful plants and the rare cienega habitats where they live are getting these badly needed protections,” Robin Silver, a cofounder of the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a state- The endangered Arizona eryngo, which flourishes in cienegas, or wetlands, can grow to 5 feet tall and live up to 10 years. (Photo by Robin Silver/Center for Biological Diversity) �ee SAN PEDRO page 5
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Atwood’s �inal appeals fail, Arizona executes second inmate in a month BY TRACY ABIAKA Cronkite News
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onvicted killer Frank Atwood was executed by lethal injection Wednesday, June 8, after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a bid to stop his execution for the 1984 murder of an 8-year-old Tucson girl. Atwood’s execution was scheduled for 10 a.m. and the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry said he was pronounced dead at 10:16 – about an hour after the Supreme Court denied his final three petitions without comment. It was the second execution in less than a month by the state, which had gone eight years without putting an inmate to death. But for family members of the victim, Vicki Lynne Hoskinson, it was the end of a 37-year wait for justice.
�ee EXECUTION page 7
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