Dec 21-Jan 3, 2019 | www.santansun.com
Relentlessly elentlessly local coverage of Southern Chandler and our neighboring communities
Freeway to open, bringing a new world to thousands BY PAUL MARYNIAK Executive Editor
After decades of planning and preparation, years of litigation and 36 months of digging, blasting and back-breaking work, the Congressman Ed Pastor Freeway is about to open. Flanked by Chandler Mayor Kevin Hartke, former Chandler Councilmans/ current County Supervisor and State
Transportation Board Chairman Jack Sellers and scores of other state and local leaders, Gov. Doug Ducey held a press conference Dec. 18 to announce completion of the 22-mile, eight-lane link between connecting the Chandler and West 59th Avenue interchange on Interstate 10 – and a thoroughfare for an estimated 117,000 to 140,000 vehicles a day, half of them trucks. But the exact date of the freeway's
opening remains a mystery. "Soon," replied Arizona Department of Transportation Director John Halikowski when the San Tan Sun News asked for a specific opening date. "We hope to have it opened before the end of the year." Ducey and others hailed the achievement, which at $1.7 billion is the most expensive single highway project in state history, saying it “connects the
East Valley and West Valley in ways that will impact the region's economy for decades and "enable our state’s growth for generations to come.” Although Halikowsky said some loose ends need tidying up and the freeway given a final inspection, state police already have been using it – moving at the See
FREEWAY on page 10
Waymo is emerging as a new crime-fighting tool BY KEVIN REAGAN Staff Writer
A 32-year-old man was peddling his bicycle along Galveston Street on the night of April 12, 2019, and as he approached Chippewa Drive, he was struck by the side of a moving car. Witnesses saw the driver stop for a few moments before fleeing. The cyclist was left to lie out in the street – blood dripping from his face, his leg severely fractured. He was rushed to the hospital and treated for his injuries. The Chandler Police Department canvassed the area for any residents with security cameras hoping one camera
may have captured the collision on tape. But nothing turned up showing the suspect’s license plate number. A month passed before a detective submitted a search warrant for video footage of a self-driving car, he suspected, recorded the hit-and-run suspect. The car belonged to Waymo, the Google-affiliated company often circulating autonomous cars around Chandler over the last few years. The high-tech vehicles come equipped with several cameras and sensors continuously logging what it perceives on the streets. See
WAYMO on page 12
East Valley police, civilians ‘Ring’ in crime together BY JIM WALSH Staff Writer
A doorbell never made as many friends and enemies, but then again, The Ring is far from the ordinary lighted button with chimes. Ring videotapes people walking up to your front door – some of whom might be up to no good. And at a time when Christmas online shoppers are expecting packages, Ring has become a new crime-fighting tool for Mesa, Chandler and Gilbert police. In police Commander Ed Upshaw’s south Chandler district, Ring has helped police nab a stalker, porch pirates swiping Amazon packages – even a couple of Amazon delivery workers caught stealing packages they supposedly delivered or a previously delivered. Chandler police also used the Ring to bust another sort of ring – a carload of
teens from Phoenix who jumped out of a car early in the morning and opened the doors of unlocked, park cars to steal whatever valuables they could find. “We have used it in multiple cases. It is a valuable tool our agency uses,’’ Upshaw said. “It’s 2019. It’s not the same world you lived in in 1970. The world has changed. You are under constant surveillance.’’ But some civil libertarians consider Ring a technological manifestation of Big Brother and a dangerous intrusion on privacy rights, with innocent people suddenly accused of suspicious behavior without reason and cops obtaining evidence quickly, with no oversight, through a network of nosey doorbells. Upshaw and other East Valley police officials say their concerns are overblown. They consider Ring the equivalent of a digital block watch, an update on an asSee
RING on page 25
Merry dancer
Basha High freshman Kate Robinson was one of a number of Chandler Unified special-education students who were treated to the annual holiday dance put on by the 41 members of Basha High School's student government. Student Government President Kate Robinson, who is no relation to the Kate pictured above, the dance is as important and special for her colleagues as it is for the guests. Photos: pages 46-47. (Chris Mortenson/Staff Photographer)
F E AT U R E STO R I E S Former Chandler mayor dies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .COMMUNITY . . . . . Page 8 New Chandler school focus on STEM . . . . . . . . . . .BUSIINESS . . . . . . . . Page 26 Wolves revel in championship victory . . . . . . . . . . .SPORTS . . . . . . . . . . Page 35 Chandler detective pursues cold cases . . . . . . . . . .NEIGHBORS . . . . . .Page 40 2 big-time eateries open here . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .EAT . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 61
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