Glendale’s Community Newspaper
Vol. 76 No. 37
Inside This Week
www.glendalestar.com
Water park eager to make a splash BY TOM SCANLON
Glendale Star Managing Editor
NEWS...............6 Multiple projects get OK from planning commission
FEATURES .... 18 A very curious show reopens TheaterWorks
Who’s ready for the beach? While it’s a little late for the historically hot summer of 2020, a company is pitching Glendale to develop a massive water park complex near Westgate Entertainment District and State Farm Stadium. At its Tuesday, Sept. 8, meeting, Glendale City Council was asked to approve a “Resolution authorizing the city manager to enter into a development agreement with ECL Glendale LLC.” While that might sound dull enough, the next lines of the agenda item deliver a splash: “ECL Glendale LLC entered escrow on 48-plus acres ... to construct a one-of-a-kind unique mixed-use destination attraction. In total the development will include: • An 11-acre, lagoon-style water park. • Six hundred thirty hotel rooms.
Glendale Star Managing Editor
School districts work on reopening classrooms
OPINION..................... 12 BUSINESS.................. 14 SPORTS ...................... 16 FEATURES.................. 18 RELIGION ................... 20 YOUTH........................ 22 CLASSIFIEDS ............. 23
This may be possible in Glendale if a mixed-use site with restaurants, shops, a hotel and offices surrounded by a water park is developed near State Farm Stadium. (Photo courtesy Crystal Lagoon)
• Amusement rides. • Family entertainment center. • Restaurants and bars.
The development at 95th Avenue and
Cardinals Way, south of State Farm Stadium, is also to have office space, retail and movie theaters. SEE WATER
PARK PAGE 3
Count shows slight drop in homeless here BY TOM SCANLON
YOUTH .......... 22
September 10, 2020
The number of homeless people in Glendale fell slightly this year—but unsheltered people were counted in January, months before the COVID-19 pandemic led to shutdowns and unemployment in the city, county and state. Results of a Jan. 27 count show Maricopa County’s unsheltered population increased significantly over the last year, from 3,188 to 3,767. More than two-thirds of the homeless were counted in Phoenix. Glendale continues to have the highest number of homeless people in cities west of Phoenix, though the number of homeless counted here dropped from 194 last year to 170 this year. The number of unsheltered people in Glendale remains more
than twice as many as the 83 counted in Peoria. The county-wide homeless “Point in Time” count is organized by the Maricopa Association of Governments. Jean Moreno, Glendale’s director of community services, called the drop “nominal.” “Although the report shows a reduction in the count of unsheltered homeless persons in Glendale, (with) 24 fewer than the year prior, when viewed in the context as a proportion of the entire region’s PIT count and the rate per 1,000 population—the changes were nominal. It is also of critical importance to note that PIT report is merely one piece of information that can be used to gain insights into the condition of homelessness,” Moreno said.
Lisa Baker, a Glendale-based real estate agent and vice chairwoman of the city’s community development advisory committee, credits agencies the city is funding for homeless services. “Phoenix Rescue Mission does a lot of great work. PRM has recently been allocated over $210,000 in CARES Act funds by the city council to expand the Glendale Works program,” she said. “Glendale Works is having success in helping homeless individuals earn money and hopefully get other assistance and services they may need to help them get off of the street.” Even so, she noted Glendale Works is a topic of controversy: “The program is viewed by some as an exploitation of SEE HOMELESS PAGE 5