February 27, 2022 | www.santansun.com
Relentlessly local coverage of Southern Chandler
An edition of the East Valley Tribune
Housing crisis threatens us all, economist warns BY CECILIA CHAN Staff Writer
Chandler and the rest of the Phoenix Metro area must build their way out of the current housing deficit or face economic catastrophe down the road, a noted Valley economist is warning local officials. The housing shortage is just not dire in Arizona but throughout the country, economist Elliott Pollack told Gilbert
Town Council as part of a presentation he is giving to a wide group of municipal bodies in the Valley, with Chandler expected to be scheduled soon. “Affordability is falling but it’s about to plummet,” Pollack said. “There’s virtually no vacancy or available units. Supply has not kept paced with demand and our success as a community in attracting jobs and people has not been matched by a sufficient increase in the housing supply for those new
employees and a continued shortage of housing is going to drive up costs and threaten economic development efforts. “Virtually nobody is going to get a free pass on not having to deal with this.” Pollack belongs to Home Arizona, a group comprising former politicians and industry insiders that is trying to get the word out on the supply-demand crisis confronting the region.
The group analyzed housing in 11 Valley municipalities – including Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler and Scottsdale – and came up with a series of alarming statistics. “The first decade of this century, we overbuilt in both single-family homes and apartments,” Pollack said. “The second decade of this century we way underbuilt and we are now at See
HOUSING on page 22
Police union rep disputes mayor’s take on Chandler crime Chandler mayor upbeat about the state of the city: Page 8 BY KEN SAIN Staff Writer
The president of a group that represents Chandler’s police officers is taking exception to one line in Mayor Kevin Hartke’s State of the City speech.
“Crime rates are the lowest in 35 years thanks to the efforts of our community and police,” Hartke said. “Crime rates this low occurred in the ’80s when Chandler only had 80,000 residents.” “That doesn’t pass the smell test,” said Michael Collins, president of the Chandler Law Enforcement Association. Collins said there are many reasons the mayor can make that claim. First,
the city uses the old FBI standards that allow to count as only one crime in a spree of crimes committed by one felon. Second, the mayor was referring to a period during the COVID-19 pandemic, when, he said, officers did not respond to some calls for service to limit exposure to the coronavirus. And finally, crime has changed from the 1980s: Collins said police respond to
more mental health situations now and have more identity thefts and other computer crimes that were not even tracked 40 years ago. “[It’s] not a complete picture to what’s happening with law enforcement and what’s happening with public safety in our city,” Collins said. See
CRIME on page 5
Budding scientist
The Chandler Ostrich Festival returns after a two-year pandemic hiatus and it’s so much bigger that it will be held on two weekends. Chandler residents can attend on March 17 for free. (Chandler Chamber)ç
Ostrich Fest brings family fun, Grammy winners BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI Staff Writer
The Four Tops’ Duke Fakir is up for any musical adventure and, this March, that includes the Chandler Chamber Ostrich Festival. “We usually play Phoenix, but anywhere else in Arizona is a good, new
adventure,” Fakir said with a laugh. “We should enjoy the festival. Anything that’s different than the normal scenery or even makes it a little more exciting for us.” The Four Tops are among the musical acts at this year’s Chandler Chamber See
OSTRICH on page 4
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Hull Elementary School 6th grader Gabby Curtis adds green food coloring to a bottle filled with oil and water to create a lava lamp at the Chandler Innovation Fair Feb. 19. For a look at some of the other young scientists, see page 16. (David Minton/Staff Photographer)
F E AT U R E D STO R I E S Ocotillo gets new wine-coffee shop. . . . . . . . . . . . .BUSINESS . . . . . . . Page 30 Chandler team tops nation in flag football . . . . . .Sports . . . . . . . . .Page 34
Call (602) 625-9498 | Jill Waldrop | NMLS ID: 213327 | JMWaldrop@aag.com
Chandler alumn basks in Super Bowl glory . . . . . .NEIGHBORS . . . . . Page 40
NMLS# 9392 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org). American Advisors Group (AAG) is headquartered at 18200 Von Karman Ave., Suite 300, Irvine, CA 92612. AAG conducts business in AZ (BK_0911141). AAG is an equal housing lender. These materials are not from HUD or FHA and were not approved by HUD or a government agency. For full legal disclosure, please visit: www.americanadvisorsgroup.com/disclosure
Scottish Games ready to roll nearby. . . . . . . . . . . . .GETOUT . . . . . . . Page 46
More News . . . . . . . . . 1-24 Clip-It . . . . . . . 26-27 Real Estate . . . 28-29 Business . . . . . 30-33 Sports . . . . . . . 34-38 Opinion . . . . . . . . 39 Neighbors . . . 40-44 GetOut. . . . . . 46-50 Faith . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Directory . . . . 53-54
