A monthly study released by the Bureau of Reclamation indicates this winter’s plentiful snowpack will benefit the Colorado River Basin through increased runoff to crucial reservoirs. With the improved hydrology, Lake Powell’s operation for water year 2019 will shift to a balancing release of up to 9.0 million acre-feet.   Snowpack in the upper Colorado River basin is about 130 percent of average, with a forecasted April through July inflow into Lake Powell of 9.20 maf, or 128 percent of average. That above-average inflow projection is due to extremely wet conditions in the basin during February and March. Releases from…

Kingman Route 66 Rotary Club’s April 12th speaker was Kingman’s Planning and Economic Development Director Gary Kellogg (shown left with club president Becky Fawson). Kellogg presented a 7 minute black and white video, “WW2 AC Last Stand” by Howard Grounds depicting the destruction of World War 2 airplanes at Kingman Airport. Over 5,000 planes were destroyed following WW2. Aluminum from the planes was smelted and it, along with tires, fuel and any other salvageable items were sold.

Contemplation of extending a quarter cent sales tax that is scheduled to sunset at the end of this December was swiftly nixed during Monday’s Mohave County Board of Supervisors meeting in Kingman. Giving the 20-year tax approved by a previous board in 1999 new life would have required a unanimous vote of the board.    “I’m not interested in extending the sales tax,” board member Ron Gould said. “When you levy a tax and you tell people it’s going to end it needs to end.”     Gould said that it would be “disingenuous” to extend the tax when a previous board promised…