A collection of the interesting and sometimes unusual events that happened this week in Arizona history.May 23On this date in 1868, Col. Christopher “Kit” Carson, who directed the campaign against the Navajos which resulted in their surrender and the exile of about half the tribe to Fort Sumner between 1864 and 1868, died at Fort Lyon, Colorado., just nine days before the
Mayors and county supervisors in towns along the Colorado River were already upset five months ago when the state water agency endorsed an investment company’s plan to take water from farmland near the river and sell it to a growing Phoenix suburb.
Now, they re incensed that the agency, which initially suggested holding back a large portion of the water, changed its stance and will let the company sell most of the water to the town of Queen Creek.
Elected leaders in communities along the river say they intend to continue trying to stop the proposed deal, which would need to be approved by the federal Bureau of Reclamation. They argue that sending water away from rural communities to support growth in Arizona’s suburbs would threaten the agricultural economy and clear the way for a flurry of more buy-and-dry deals by investors seeking to profit from water.