Glendale’s Community Newspaper
www.glendalestar.com
Vol. 76 No. 22
INSIDE
This Week
City pushes west, neighbors push back BY TOM SCANLON
Glendale Star Managing Editor
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NEWS...............8 Glendale nurse lands research award
Glendale is getting bigger. While other West Valley neighbors of Glendale have had population booms, Glendale’s population increased over the last year by a slim 1% (compared to 56% in Buckeye and 33% in Glendale). Yet Glendale is expanding, using annexations to move its boundaries west. Large farms near Luke Air Force Base are rapidly becoming industrial projects, with the land to grow jobs, rather than food. It sounds like a win-win: Developers get access to water (see Page 7) and the city gets business development that “print money for the city of Glendale,”
as Kevin Phelps, Glendale’s city manager, put it. But some neighbors say annexation is a loss for them. After many annexations sailed through Glendale City Council, residents of Waddell and Litchfield Park— just outside Glendale—are pushing back, claiming Glendale is invading their neighborhoods without their interests in mind. Where Glendale once ended east of the
SEE ANNEX PAGE 4
A map shows several parcels of land Glendale has annexed or is in the process of annexing. Glendale City Manager Kevin Phelps said the annexations, which lead to commercial development, are “critical for the future of Glendale.” (Image courtesy city of Glendale)
Alleged ‘Westgate shooter’ said he was bullied, ignored BY TOM SCANLON
Glendale Star Managing Editor
YOUTH .......... 25 Cookies become donations as Girls Scouts help tribe
OPINION..................... 14 BUSINESS.................. 16 FEATURES.................. 18 RELIGION ................... 22 YOUTH........................ 24 CLASSIFIEDS ............. 27
May 28, 2020
Westgate was terrorized with its second shooting within four months last week. On Jan. 29, 31-year-old Avondale resident Tyler Wilson was gunned down in a Westgate parking lot. The car enthusiast was on his way to an auto show when he became the apparent victim of road rage. His killer has not been caught. On May 20, three were shot at Westgate in an apparently random attack by a single shooter. The suspect allegedly was armed with an AR-15 rifle that jammed— preventing him from reaching his goal of shooting 10 people, according to a prose-
cutor. Police arrested Armando Hernandez, a 20-year-old Peoria resident, and charged him with multiple counts of aggravated assault. He allegedly told police he identifies as an “incel,” short for involuntarily celibate, and shot people “to gain respect.” A prosecutor said Hernandez had been planning the “mass casualty” attack for three years. On May 20, he took a video of himself driving. “Hello, my name is Armando Junior Hernandez and I’m gonna be the shooter of Westgate 2020,” he said and showed
guns in his back seat. “This is to get back at society.” Later in the video, a woman on the ground begs not to be shot again. An unseen man responds by taunting her. The next day, a court video showed Hernandez looking far from arrogant, in handcuffs and an orange jail suit as he provided his name and date of birth before a Maricopa County Superior Court judge. Randy Stewart, a spokesman for the Glendale Police Department, said at a May 21 press conference that police arrived at Westgate within five minutes of 911 calls about the shooting. SEE SHOOTING PAGE 3