Arizona
Attorney general sues to stop Saudi cows from eating Arizona’s water | Opinion
Fondomonte Arizona, a Saudi company, has depleted groundwater levels in La Paz County for years. It’s time someone stopped them.
Southern Arizona farmer Bryan Fontes talks about the local water supply
Bryan Fontes Intro/Interview on the Douglas Active Management Area, or AMA.
I first heard about how a Saudi-owned farm company growing alfalfa to feed cows in the Middle East was draining aquifers in La Paz County back in 2015.
It was one of those that-can’t-be-right moments that not only turned out to be true, but had been going on for some time. And has continued.
In 2016, I spoke with La Paz County Supervisor Holly Irwin about the situation. She told me, “Once it’s gone, our water is gone. We want everyone to live here. We want the farmers to do what they do because they’re important to the local economy.
“We want the generations of families who have been here to continue to live here. But things have to change, or that can’t happen.”
Legislature could have stopped Fondomonte
After being elected in 2022, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has promised to take up the fight and try to protect Arizona farms and homeowners in the county.
This week she filed a lawsuit against Fondomonte Arizona (the Saudi company) for creating a public nuisance by depleting groundwater levels that have caused the land to sink.
The lawsuit reads in part, “Fondomonte is taking advantage of Arizona’s failure to protect its precious groundwater resource. Despite this failure, Fondomonte is not permitted to cause a public nuisance.”
Saudi Arabia, like Arizona, has a limited supply of groundwater. The cows they raise are fed water-intensive alfalfa grown in western Arizona and shipped there.
They’ve done this by taking advantage of lax regulations that allowed Fondomonte to rent thousands of acres of land overseen by the Arizona State Land Department for a bargain basement price, sucking up as much water as they want.
The Republican-controlled Legislature could put a stop to this. But hasn’t done so.
Gov. Katie Hobbs has canceled or declined to renew several of the company’s leases.
‘No company has the right’ to drain our water
Mayes says the problem exists because of “legislative failure to address a water crisis with catastrophic effects on the groundwater level in the Ranegras Basin.”
She adds, “Fondomonte is taking advantage of Arizona’s failure to protect its precious groundwater resources.”
The company owns the land it farms in the Ranegras basin.
This isn’t something new.
A few years back in an essay for The New York Times, Natalie Koch, a professor in Syracuse University who will soon publish a book about Arizona’s water issues and our ties to Saudi Arabia, wrote, “Arizona is not the victim of evil outsiders; it’s the victim of its own hubris and political failings that allow such a system to exist.”
In a press release, Mayes said, “Arizona law is clear: no company has the right to endanger an entire community’s health and safety for its own gain.”
Then again, if nobody tries to stop them …
Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.
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PAGE, AZ (AZFamily) — A person accused of making terroristic threats toward a northern Arizona medical facility was arrested Friday morning.
Just after 10:30 p.m., police received a report of a person calling the facility and threatening to kill staff and Native Americans, according to the Page Police Department.
Authorities said staff placed the facility on lockdown until officers identified the suspect and arrested them outside their home.
The suspect was booked on charges of disorderly conduct, threatening and intimidating, and making terroristic threats. Police have not publicly identified the person.
“The Page Police Department is grateful for and supports the medical staff’s decision to put the medical facility into lockdown until the suspect was arrested and the situation was rendered safe,” the department said in a Facebook post.
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In these four-round projections, the Arizona Cardinals don’t get a tackle until the fourth round.
We are just days away from the 2026 NFL draft, and that means some final mock drafts. What direction will the draft take the Arizona Cardinals?
Draft Wire’s Curt Popejoy put together a four-round mock draft for the Cardinals. They go defense early but rebuild the offense for 2026 and moving forward, including landing their potential franchise quarterback.
Cardinals 4-round mock draft
Here are the players in the first four rounds Popejoy projects for Arizona.
- Round 1: Ohio State EDGE/LB Arvell Reese
- Round 2: Alabama QB Ty Simpson
- Round 3: Clemson WR Antonio Williams
- Round 4: Florida OT Austin Barber
What we think of the picks
The Cardinals want to trade out of the third pick and draft a tackle, so not getting a tackle until Round 4 seems unlikely, although they did meet with Barber. They do have options at right tackle for 2026 already on the roster.
Reese would be a great pick if they don’t trade back, as they badly need pass-rushing help off the edge.
Drafting Simpson seems inevitable at this point, so it has to be in a mock draft, although the feeling is they will need to go up into Round 1 again to get him.
Williams has speed and is almost six feet tall, but he does have short arms.
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
Due to significant injuries to the CB position last year which includes a shoulder surgery for Terrion Arnold, the Lions CB position scored a 6/10 need on my Lions Defensive Draft Need Rankings. Thus, an early-round selection of a young, healthy prospect like Keith Abney would not come as a surprise. He enters the draft with very low medical concern level.
Here is the excerpt from my medical report on Keith Abney:
(Ages in parentheses are at start of 2026 season and are factored into the concern level. Injury info and ages based on available public information are unverified and subject to update. Games played data courtesy of sports-reference.com.)
Keith Abney, CB (21) – Arizona State
Projected round 2-3. #43 on Jeff Risdon board Feb 19.
Concern level 0/10
There is an isolated report of a hand injury but no corroborating information. Even if the hand injury is true, that’s of minimal to no long-term concern.
His availability in his final two seasons has been perfect. Overall, Abney appears to be medically clean and is at an excellent age.
He finished college with 6 INT and 21 PBU.
For more Lions coverage, follow us on X, @TheLionsWire, and give our Facebook page a like. Follow Jimmy on X, @JimmyLiaoMD
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