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Energy outfit seeks oil in Mohave County

TUCSON — A Denver-based energy company is suing for the right to mine up to 1.2 million acres in northwestern Arizona for oil, gas and other hydrocarbons.

The case involves Mohave County land owned by Santa Fe Pacific Railroad Co. It signed a lease with Santa Fe Energy Co. in 1987 that allowed the energy outfit to drill for oil and ask for an extension once the lease expired.

But several mergers and transactions have occurred by the time the 20-year deal expired. Now the new energy company, Prize Energy Holdings, is staking its claim to the old lease.

In its seven-page complaint, Prize accuses the railroad of reneging on the lease even though it filed all the right paperwork. It also accuses the railroad of trying to sell the leased land to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in 2004 and Arizona Acreage LLC in 2005.

The company is asking a federal judge in Tucson to honor the lease and order the railroad to pay all costs and attorney’s fees.

Phoenix lawyer Jennifer Dioguardi and Denver lawyer James Kilroy, both of Snell & Wilmer, are representing Prize Energy Resources.

A secret society in the White Mountains?

I spent the weekend in Show Low to escape the Valley’s searing heat. The forecast called for 112. It was an easy decision.

For you Show Low rookies who think the sun rises and sets around Fools Hollow Lake and Charlie Clark’s steakhouse, try branching out for a greasy spoonful of local gossip.

Whenever I’m up in the White Mountains, I like to pick up a copy of the White Mountain Independent newspaper. That’s right — a newspaper. Does anyone remember those? And as if that’s not “old school” enough, I like my Independent over French toast at Aunt Nancy’s, a hidden gem in the neighborhood just minutes away from the Highway 60/260 junction. Breakfast is $5 and the paper costs as much as The Arizona Republic (50 cents weekdays).

However, the gossip on the “Letters to the Editor” page is infinitely better. Consider this:

According to resident Jim Beck of Pinetop-Lakeside, several locals have banded together to form the “Citizens for Progress.” In his letter to the editor on Aug. 1, Beck writes that this group is meeting in secret “by invitation only” to plan the town’s political and development future. “Some joke, suggesting they may even wear hoods and meet after midnight on the full moon,” he says.

Beck is worried that the group is working to undermine a long-range plan a majority of the town’s residents recently approved. The 20/20 Vision Plan works to preserve the town’s character, landscape and tree line for future generations.

So what do the Citizens for Progress want? What is their vision for the town? Is it a local branch of the Keep Sedona Beautiful (KSB) group, which is involved in almost every level of Sedona life?

Only time will tell. Let’s hope their vision is more enlightened than having another intersection with Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Lowe’s on opposing corners.

Miner accuses ASARCO of harassment, discrimination

TUCSON — A two-year employee of one of the largest mining outfits in the state claims other employees harassed and discriminated against her and another female miner, and that the company looked the other way.

Angela Aguilar is suing ASARCO after her case was reviewed by the Arizona Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission, which investigated her claims and found them to be valid.

In December 2005, Aguilar went to work for ASARCO at the company’s Tucson and Sahuarita locations. While working at the company’s filter plant in January, she claims other employees subjected her to "vulgar and pornographic drawings" that included a specific reference to her.

In her complaint, Aguilar says she complained to her supervisors about this, but to no avail. She also claims they gave her conflicting work instructions to set her up to fail and gave preferential treatment to male miners.

She took a leave of absence in September 2006, less than one year after she was hired. When she returned to work, she claims she was reassigned to "a supervisor known to set up employees for discharge," according to the complaint.

When she reported that another female worker was being harassed, that worker was allegedly terminated. Aguilar eventually resigned.

She is represented by Tucson lawyer Karla Starr, who is suing on the grounds of harassment and a hostile work environment.

Oro Valley church retaliates for Town Hall ‘vendetta’

ORO VALLEY — A leading church for wedding services is accusing town planners of foiling their expansion plan because they lost a lucrative eminent domain case against the church.

The lawsuit in Pima County Superior Court comes from Reflections at the Buttes Community Fellowship, an Arizona nonprofit whose for-profit arm makes money on weddings through its licensed minister, John Fazio.

The church leased a scenic piece of property in the Santa Catalina foothills in 2000. At the time, part of the premises were used as a residence and the other part served as a church.

Fazio submitted plans to Oro Valley Town Hall in order to renovate the residence. Part of the intention was to include adult day care services at the facility.

But Reflections officials claim Oro Valley officials, including building safety administrator Terry Vosler, stonewalled the project because of the town had recently tried to seize part of the church’s property through eminent domain and lost in court. A jury rendered a six-figure verdict against the town.

Reflections staff claim Vosler hid their renovation plans under his desk and changed them to delay the project as part of a "vendetta," the complaint states. The church filed a notice of claim against the town, which officials rejected.

So they followed up with a lawsuit seeking damages for lost income and legal fees. Tucson lawyers Clifford Altfeld and Maya Kashak are representing the church.