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March 7 - 21, 2015
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Nov. 21 - Dec. 4, 2015 www.SanTanSun.com
TechShop: A playground for creativity BY DANI GANLEY
TechShop is a creative playground located in downtown Chandler. It’s a location that lends itself to entrepreneurs, creative minds, engineers, students and even those who don’t know where to start, but just want to create. From 3-D printers to etching to woodworking to welding to textiles, they offer 24/7 access to over $1 million in machinery and tools to their members. They don’t just leave their members on their own either; they offer comprehensive instruction and provide expert staff to give members the best quality of experience. Aside from offering great access to tech, the location is community-based. They offer tours, group events, educational experiences, and events for their members. “Being the fact that we have so many people here, there are engineers that can invent stuff, but they have no idea how to get it to market, so this is an ideal spot for business people and entrepreneurs alike,” said Jason Black, TechShop senior account manager. He’s seen many business collaborations happen thanks to the networking opportunities available at TechShop.
Bill Brown works on a contract electronics job using the TechShop facility. STSN photo by Tim Sealy
Because there is such a variety of creative minds that come in, TechShop lends itself well to collaboration. “We send business each other’s way,” said Bill Brown, an electrical engineer. “If they can’t do it, they usually know someone who can”. Recent Arizona State University graduate Cameron Rogers started working on his projects at TechShop when he attended ASU and has continued since graduating in the spring. “One of my favorite things about working in the environment is actually seeing what other people are doing. You get exposed to so many people’s cool ideas,” Rogers said. “It’s fun to share ideas because everyone here is similarly minded, but I’d say everyone is pretty diverse too, so the solutions we do see are from different areas.” TechShop can be valuable to small businesses and larger companies as well. They have memberships with Fortune 200 companies and smaller businesses like Etsy shops. For owners of larger companies, TechShop provides the ability for companies to prototype without investing before they know it’s something they really want to delve into. “Companies don’t have to invest in the equipment to find out if they want to enter the market,” Black said. “They can come down here and prototype it and decide if the capital investment is worth it.” see TECHSHOP page 4
Bond approval means technological, Officials restart search for city manager building improvements BY KERRY FEHR-SNYDER
BY KEN ABRAMCZYK
Technology needs and health and safety issues will be addressed in early 2016 in the Chandler Unified School District after voters overwhelmingly approved by nearly a 2-to-1 margin a bond request to raise more than $196 million for capital needs. The average annual cost after the bonds are issued is $49.67 for the owner of a $100,000 home. CUSD residents can expect to see the district begin to tackle these issues in January or February, according to Superintendent Dr. Camille Casteel. “It means more computers for students and staff,” Casteel said. Security also will be addressed, she said. Funds also will be earmarked for the second phase of the Camille Casteel High School, which will include additional
classrooms, a football stadium and a performing arts auditorium. Casteel said she was overwhelmed by the support from the community to fund the district’s needs. “We can’t do it without their support,” Casteel said. Karen McGee, CUSD’s governing board president, said the board was pleased and grateful for the voters’ support. “As you know funds are limited and this will allow CUSD to continue to provide the best education and facilities for our community,” McGee said. “Our children are our future and everyone at CUSD strives to prepare them to be lifelong learners and productive citizens, and we thank our community for their generous support of our mission.” According to Maricopa County unofficial election results, 25,506 voters see BOND page 5
Voted Chandler’s BEST REALTOR for 4 years!
Chandler will start over in its search for a new city manager after a finalist failed to reach agreement on contract terms with City officials. The state’s fourth-largest city will advertise for the six-figure job after the holidays, said City spokesman Matt Burdick. City officials hope to name a new city manager by next summer, he added. In September, the City interviewed five finalists, including two in Arizona, for city manager. They were James Thompson, Casa Grande city manager; John Kross, Queen Creek town manager; Majed Al-Ghafry, assistant city manager in El Cajon, California; Paul Grimes, village manager in Orland Park, Illinois; and Kevin Phelps, deputy county executive in Pierce County, Washington. Burdick would not say which of the candidates was offered the job. Marsha Reed has been acting city
manager since City Manager Rich Dlugas retired June 1. He earned $203,088 annually. The City paid nearly $24,000 to the national recruitment firm, Bob Murray and Associates, to search for a new city manager. The City will pay expenses with the new search but no additional fees to the firm. The city manager’s job is to oversee the overall operations of Chandler. The city manager reports to the mayor and city council. None of the council members responded to repeated requests for comments. This isn’t the first time Chandler has had to scrap a recruitment effort and start over. Chandler conducted a national search for an assistant city manager, interviewing finalists in July 2012 but not offering the job to anyone. It advertised the post again in 2013 and held interviews with finalists and hired
F E AT U R E STO R I E S Intel employees celebrate Veterans Day with new record . . community . . . . . . . . Page 13 Global Tea Mart offers ‘total tea experience’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . business . . . . . . . . . . . Page 23 Sister’s gift allows pianist to give his talent to the world . . . youth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 30 Rawhide celebrates its third annual Snowy Christmas . . . . . . neighbors . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 47 Singers rouse the soul—barbershop style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 60
See WHY on page 18
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More Community . . . . . . . 1-19 Business . . . . . . . . 20-27 Youth . . . . . . . . . . 28-34 Opinion . . . . . . . . 35-36 Neighbors . . . . . . 41-54 Where to eat . . . 55-56 Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . 57-67 Spirituality . . . . 68-70 Directory . . . . . . . 71-72 Classifieds . . . . . . 73-74