THE NEWSPAPER OF AVONDALE, BUCKEYE, GOODYEAR, LITCHFIELD PARK & TOLLESON
DJ raised in Buckeye to play Decadence PAGE
DEHS fine arts department honored
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westvalleyview.com
INSIDE
This Week
NEWS .............. 6 Verrado HOA to resident: move your work truck
SPORTS ........ 17 Litchfield Park man hits hole-in-one
9 DAYS ......... 18 Looking for something to do? Check out the 9 Days a Week calendar
LETTERS ........................12 BUSINESS..................... 15 SPORTS ..........................16 FEATURES .....................19 NEIGHBORHOOD......24 YOUTH ...........................26 OBITUARIES .................27 CLASSIFIEDS................28 WEST
The Voice of the West Valley for 33 years
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December 26, 2018
Microsoft ‘technology center’ one step closer By Connor Dziawura
Microsoft’s mystery plans in Goodyear may be one step closer to fruition. Goodyear City Council unanimously approved a request to rezone an approximately 279-acre parcel of land at its December 17 meeting. A council action report describes the property, identified as PHX 10-11, as being intended for a “five-building technology center.” Microsoft was not mentioned by name at the meeting or in the document. Microsoft purchased a swath of land from Carefree Partners Investments for $48 million in August. The property to be rezoned is between the north side of Broadway Road and the south side of MC-85 and goes from east of Bullard Avenue to west of Litchfield Road, according to the document. It is also south of Phoenix Goodyear Airport and I-10. When reached for comment, Microsoft issued the following statement: “Microsoft currently operates in Arizona and is continuously exploring new locations to support the growing demand for our products and services. There is no additional information to share at this time.” Scottsdale attorney Jordan Rose, who attended the council meeting on behalf of the property owner, told the West
Microsoft purchased land south of Phoenix Goodyear Airport and I-10 in Goodyear in August for more than $48 million. (West Valley View photo by Pablo Robles)
Valley View by email, “For now I can say that we’re pleased to work with the leadership team and staff in Goodyear and are just thrilled to be moving forward in this great city.” The rezoning of the land from final planned area development to I-1 (light industrial park) with a PAD overlay will
increase the maximum allowed building height from 50 feet to 60 feet, increase the maximum allowed building coverage from 50 percent to 60 percent, and allow metal buildings and chain-link fencing on the site, according to the council ac-
Microsoft...continued on page 4
Luke AFB feels effects of national pilot shortage By Holly Bernstein
Luke Air Force Base is feeling the effects of a national pilot shortage, which has left the Air Force without enough pilots, maintenance crew and support staff to fully power U.S. military needs. “Right now, we don’t have enough of
certain types of pilots to actually account for all the jobs that we need to do in the Air Force,” said Maj. William Andreotta, operations director for Luke’s 56th Training Squadron. “Those can be anything from here in the front line of actually flying the aircraft
all the way to staff jobs that require pilot knowledge as a background to be able to do the job.” The Air Force is trying to make training more efficient, and programs around the
Luke...continued on page 7
AVONDALE’S NEW YEAR’S EVE PARTY @ ISM RACEWAY 7602 S Avondale Blvd in Avondale
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Monday, December 31st, 2018
Gates open at 6:30 pm, the event ends at 10:30 pm. Ring in 2019 early with a firework display coinciding with the East Coast’s New Year Countdown at 10 pm (MST).
623.333.2400
Details: www.avondaleaz.gov/events