Ahwatukee Foothills News - 1.26.2022

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Lakes ruling came on permit owner said isn’t needed BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor

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Superior Court judge last week ordered the owner of the Ahwatukee Lakes Golf Course to post a $500,000 penalty with the courts so that a special master can oversee its restoration. But it’s unclear what will happen next since the judge’s decision turned largely on ALCR’s

failure to obtain a city permit for grading that the company, principal Wilson Gee and their lawyer have contended they didn’t need. The ruling by Judge Sara Agne invokes the first of three contempt of court sanctions that another judge in November 2020 had imposed after finding the ALCR LLC in contempt of court for ignoring yet another judge’s 2018 ordering that the 18-hole executive golf course be restored.

Gee, also a principal and the previous company that owned the course, had closed it in 2013, claiming that it cost him money to keep it open every year since he bought it in 2006. Agne’s ruling was the latest twist in a legal battle that began when Lakes homeowners Linda Swain and Eileen Breslin sued Gee in 2014 to have the course reopened.

see LAKES page 4

On cusp of Little League season, excitement builds BY ZACH ALVIRA AFN Sports Editor

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START-UP HONORS

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CONTINUING A LEGACY

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here’s a certain level of excitement for fans of all ages when an umpire says, “Play ball!” for the first time in a new season. Whether it be at one of the local Spring Training facilities, a high school diamond or a local park, that phrase holds a significant amount of weight with America’s greatest pastime. That remained especially true last season when umpires in the Ahwatukee Little League said it with a renewed sense of excitement, which was lost in 2020 due to the pandemic. And as preliminaries for the new season of Ahwatukee Little League baseball began last weekend, that excitement returned even stronger than last year. “We are really excited to get this thing kicked off,” said Ahwatukee Little League President Jeff Parent, who has a 10-year-old in the league. “I’ve been in a few leagues from when my daughter played softball. But this is one of the finest leagues we’ve ever been a part of.” Ahwatukee Little League held its first of two tryout sessions last weekend at Mountain Vista Park for kids of all ages with last names begin-

Quintin Huerta fields a bouncing grounder as other players watch and wait their turn during Ahwatukee Little League tryouts last Saturday. (David Minton/AFN Staff Photographer) ning with letters A-L. The event spanned five total hours from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., with kids split up into individual age groups so they all had a fair shot at showcasing their skills and overall

desire to play to the league’s coaches. Another session will be held this Saturday,

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see LEAGUE page 12

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