Glendale’s Community Newspaper
www.glendalestar.com
Vol. 77 No. 21
May 20, 2021
Children remember ‘knowledgeable’ father
Inside This Week
BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI
Glendale Star Executive Editor
Brian Peters loved to learn. If his children, wife or friends needed anything, he could figure out how to do it. “If he wanted to do something, he could learn by trial and error,” said his daughter, Jessica. “He was a hands-on learner. We know him as someone who literally knew how to do everything. “He didn’t go to college. He didn’t get the opportunity to pursue a traditional extended education.”
NEWS...............6 Deadly street racing outruns efforts to combat it
FEATURES .... 18
The Peters family is mourning the death of 56-year-old Brian, who lived in Peoria. He and his passenger, 47-year-old Jason Chapman of Phoenix, died in April during a one-vehicle crash in Moab, Utah. According to a press release, Brian and Chapman completed “Devil’s Crack” and exited their vehicle to assist others with the obstacle. They returned to the Jeep, and witnesses said they heard a loud “pop” before the vehicle rolled backward toward a cliff and tumbled over the edge, according SEE PETERS PAGE 3
Brian Peters rebuilt a mid-1960s Jeep and enjoyed off-roading in it. (Photo courtesy of the Peters family)
WESTMARC hosts annual economic summit
Endangered jaguar cubs born at West Valley zoo
BY LAUREN SERRATO Glendale Star Staff Writer
Each year, the Western Maricopa Coalition hosts the Economic Development Summit. Amid the coronavirus, it was only fitting that this year’s summit was titled “2021: A Year of Transition. What’s on the Horizon for the West Valley?” The expert speakers shed light on how to manage one’s workforce in this new environment and how to adapt to changes in various West Valley industries. Peoria Mayor Cathy Carlat kicked off the event with a virtual welcome and announced Peoria was voted the No. 1 city in Arizona to live, work and play. “We recognize that the long-term viability of our city is dependent upon our
YOUTH .......... 22 Barbie pop-up truck rolling into Glendale
SPORTS ........................ 9 OPINION..................... 10 BUSINESS.................. 14 FEATURES.................. 16 RELIGION ................... 20 YOUTH........................ 22 CLASSIFIEDS ............. 23
commitment to economic development and helping our community, as well as our region, realize the fullest potential,” Carlat said. In what could have been a four-hour conference about how businesses and industries have struggled during the pandemic, the focus remained on the West Valley’s new way of doing business and managing work teams. Arizona Coyotes President and CEO Xavier Gutierrez was the opening speaker. Gutierrez explained how his team had to adapt to the pandemic and how Glendale rallied behind him. One of the biggest challenges, Gutierrez admitted, was deciding how to keep the fanbase happy and safe during COVID-19.
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“Our No. 1 goal in bringing fans back was to create an experience in which they felt safe, they felt they could be there and enjoy it and enjoy it with their families, enjoy it with their children, with their loved ones. And I think that was something that we felt very, very strongly about, that we did accomplish that. We were able to open up as soon as the season commenced for the 2020-21 season which was in January, and it was a sprint,” he said. Gutierrez acknowledged the challenges his organization, as well as the entire West Valley, have faced in the last year but said he’s confident for the future of both. “My family, my wife, my son, this is where we live. We want this place to suc-
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