38
March 2015
Opinion
Community Commentary
Town premieres the Digital State of the Town: ‘Growing Up Gilbert’ BY MAYOR JOHN LEWIS
Last month, more than 250 distinguished guests gathered at the Harkins movie theater in Gilbert to view the premiere of our Digital State of the Town. This year’s theme, “Growing Up Gilbert,” MAYOR JOHN LEWIS highlights various members of our Gilbert community who were educated here and are now giving back to the place that raised them. David Tirado grew up in Gilbert and is working as a Gilbert firefighter. He loves being part of a team that’s committed to safety and getting to help people every day. Emery Miller is a Gilbert resident and high school student who wanted to give back to kids in need so he started a teddy bear drive. Dana Berchman, a Gilbert High School
graduate, spent nearly a decade working in the television industry in New York City and is now serving as Gilbert’s chief digital officer. Ben Cooper, also a Gilbert High School graduate, served as a Gilbert councilman and is thrilled to be raising his family in Gilbert, where he has lived for more than 30 years. All of these stories are part of our latest Digital State of the Town, a 15-minute, high-quality video presentation highlighting various successes in Gilbert throughout the past year. In 2014, Gilbert was named the second safest city in the country. We also received recognition as the 22nd best place to live, the third best place to find a job, and the best city for working parents in the United States. And business is booming, too. We broke ground on Rivulon, a $750 million, 250-acre development that will create and attract multiple new business opportunities. In downtown Gilbert, we saw the grand opening of the Heritage Marketplace and started construction
on Gilbert’s first four-year educational institution, St. Xavier University. Gilbert’s full-time employee to resident ratio continues to be the lowest in the region. The average household cost for property tax, sales tax, water, wastewater and solid waste services are all lower than our neighboring communities. In 2015, our population will grow to 240,000, a new fire station will open, the groundbreaking of Agritopia’s Epicenter will take place and St. Xavier University will open for classes. Whether you’re raising your family here, receiving an A-rated education or building your business, Gilbert is one of the best places in the country to do all of these things. Those who have grown up and are growing up here are all helping to lay a path for a prosperous future. Watching our families grow, enjoying a fantastic quality of life, and preparing our community for the future—this is Gilbert. To view the 2015 Digital State of the Town, please visit gilbertaz.gov/ stateofthetown. John Lewis is the mayor of Gilbert. Follow him on Twitter at @ mayorjohnlewis.
www.GilbertSunNews.com
No Obamacare
I’m writing because Sunday, Feb. 15, was the last day to buy your Obamacare insurance without having to pay a big fine for the right to not buy it. If you bought it, I’ll bet you are expecting a big subsidy from the Feds (your neighbor’s taxes) to help pay for it—even though that it contrary to the wording of the Obamacare law! The federal government and its agencies are out of control. They have neither a Constitutional obligation nor right to be in the insurance business. Even if they did, do we want the same people that have squandered the Social Security reserve and flat out lied to our veterans at the VA Hospital in Phoenix to be in control of our health care? We, the people of the United States, can impose restraints on the federal government with an Article V Convention of States which authorizes the people— through their state legislatures—to propose amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Now is the time to tell our state Legislators to take this action. Get involved by visiting the website, www. conventionofstates.com. Email your state senator today and ask for his support. Jeff Poulos Gilbert AZ COS Volunteer