April 20 – May 3, 2013
www.SanTanSun.com
Outlet mall impacting East Valley by Miriam Van Scott
Though Phoenix Premium Outlets—a massive discount mall adjacent to Wild Horse Pass Hotel and Casino—opened its doors in early April, the mega-plaza is already having a significant impact on the SanTan Sun area’s economy. With 360,000 square feet of retail space and 90 stores including such industry giants as Nike, The Gap, Guess, Coach, Chico’s, Perry Ellis, Levi’s, DKNY and Brooks Brothers, the mall is providing a wealth of shopping options and employment opportunities. “We anticipate Phoenix Premium Outlets will draw about 5 million visitors per year and provide 800 full- and part-time jobs,” says Marketing and Business Development Director Jennifer Dennison. “Phase 1 currently offers 90 stores and shops and we are looking at more down the road.” Property owner Simon Property Group, a commercial see MALL page 6
Guess and Tommy Bahama are two of the many choices shoppers have at Phoenix Premium Outlets. Submitted photo
New solar panels, covered parking at Tumbleweed Recreation Center by tracy house
POWER ON: The construction finished on solar panels and carports in January—It was in February that SRP and SolarCity were able to commission the actual installation and turn it on to make sure everything would work properly. Submitted photo
NATURE NEAR SUNSET: Warm spring weather makes late-day hikes popular at S. Chandler’s Veterans Oasis Park. Photo by Ron Lang
As the sun’s rays start to heat up the temperature in Chandler, customers at Tumbleweed Recreation Center are utilizing the newly built covered parking structure. Besides providing a shaded area to prevent the sun from turning cars into ovens, the structure is also providing cost saving solar energy for the center. Construction began in fall of 2012 and was finished in January. Marian Norris, assistant to the city manager of Chandler explains that Chandler contracted with SolarCity to install the covered parking and solar panels and that SolarCity actually owns and operates the equipment. Chandler benefits from the solar energy that is generated which offsets the energy that is utilized by the recreation center. The city paid upfront for the electricity the solar panels will produce over the next 20 years—a guarantee of more than 18 million kilowatt hours that will be generated by the solar array. see Solar Panels page 7
Heartache leads to heart camp memories by K.M. Lang
Camp is a summer highlight for many children, and Sun Groves resident Noah Sherman, 8, is no exception. The Navarrete Elementary third grader is already gearing up for his third trip to camp in August, when he plans to improve his archery skills, play his favorite ball game, “gaga”—and compare surgery scars with fellow campers, all of whom, like him, have a heart condition. “I remember thinking when Noah was a baby that I couldn’t imagine him ever going to camp so far away from me,” says his mom, Kristen Sherman, a proofreader and section editor for the SanTan Sun News. “Now I wouldn’t want him to miss it.” Noah’s annual week at Camp del Corazon on California’s
Catalina Island is made possible by the Nick & Kelly Children’s Heart Fund, which has provided camp tuition and travel expenses for around 1,150 Arizona children during the past 17 years. The nonprofit was born out of tragedy after East Valley residents Dan and Margaret Majetich lost their son, Kelly, to a congenital heart defect in 1985. In 1992, their remaining son, Nick—also born with a heart defect—passed away of unrelated causes, and the devastated couple was urged by loved ones to pour their energy into their charity. “What honestly happened is that our friends pushed us into it,” Dan recalls. “They helped us with our first golf tournament, and that gave us the ability to take more kids to camp.” see HEART page 5
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HEART CAMP CRAZINESS: Disco night was just part of the fun for 8-year-old Noah Sherman during his second stay at California’s Camp del Corazon. Noah, who was born with congenital heart defects, will return to camp this summer, thanks to the generosity of the Nick & Kelly Children’s Heart Fund, which pays tuition and transportation for Arizona heart patients ages 7 to 17. Submitted photo
F E AT U R E STO R I E S Bank robbery suspect sought . . . . . . . . . . Schnepf Farms ‘preserving history’ . . . . . Free practice tests offered . . . . . . . . . . . . Bourbon Street opens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ‘Doctors of jazz’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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