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TOUGH CHOICES IN KYRENE

CARRYING ON A LEGACY

. 21

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TU board begins a regular tribute to local tribes tonight BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor

hen the Tempe Union High School District Governing Board meets tonight, March 3, something possibly unprecedented among Arizona school districts will become a regular part of its meetings. Immediately after the welcome, Pledge of Allegiance and moment of silent, the board will have a “land acknowledge statement” reminding people that district facilities sit on the ancestral lands of two Native American tribes – the Akimel O’odham and Piipaash. The addition was approved without comment at the board’s last meeting on Feb. 17 and it is unclear what the statement will precisely say. District spokeswoman Megan Sterling noted that in the past when each board member has a chance to deliver a report on their districtrelated activities, board President Brian Garcia “has recognized Indigenous Peoples Day and Native Americans.”

“Tempe Union sits on the ancestral lands of the Akimel O’odham and Piipaash peoples,” she said. “Language to that effect – honoring the ancestral lands that TUHSD is on – will be placed in the public content section of the Land Acknowledgement agenda item. This acknowledgement will be on every agenda going forward until/unless a future board decides to change policy.” Though Garcia did not return a request for comment and Sterling said she has not heard of any other district instituting a regular land acknowledgment statement, such declarations are gradually taking hold among public entities across the country. “Many organizations of all kinds are doing land acknowledgments,” said Dr. Traci L. Morris, executive director of the American Indian Policy Institute at Arizona State University and a member of the Chickasaw Nation. “It is very appropriate and respectful,” Morris explained. “There are many Native Ameri-

cans living in your district that will be honored by this acknowledgment.” She noted that her emails carry, along with her contact information, a statement. “I acknowledge that ASU sits on the ancestral homelands of those American Indian tribes that have inhabited this land for centuries, including the Akimel O’odham (Pima) and Pee Posh (Maricopa) peoples,” Morris explained in an email. “I also acknowledge and pay respect to Indigenous elders – past, present, and future – who have stewarded this land throughout the generations.” The Maricopa peoples have several spellings for their tribe, including those used by Tempe Union and Morris. Land acknowledgements have become commonplace in countries such as New Zealand, Australia and Canada as well as among tribal nations in the U.S. The National Hockey League

see NATIVE page 11

MARKET GETS EVEN TIGHTER

COVID-19 metrics show Ahwatukee is getting safer

. 1

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THUNDER CHALLENGE

. 31

Wednesday March 3, 2021

BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor

OVID-19 transmission in Ahwatukee continues to plummet and is now largely at levels indicating minimal or moderate spread, according to data released last Thursday by the Maricopa County Department of Public Health. But when Pecos Park will be open for team sports is anybody’s guess as the city’s ban on those activities remains in effect and the agenda for City Council meeting scheduled for yesterday, March 2, had no action time for changing the prohibition. The continuation of the ban – put in place by City Council last December – has infuriated the Arizona Soccer Association, which last week urged its supporters to write City Council members in protest.

see VIRUS page 15

Like other non-contact athletic activities, pickleball is allowed at Pecos Park and games haven’t been impacted by the pandemic-related ban on team sports. Players Saturday enjoyed some time on the courts while team sports organizers blasted the city. (Pablo Robles/AFN Staff Photographer)

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AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MARCH 3, 2021

The Ahwatukee Foothills News is published every Wednesday and distributed free of charge to homes and in single-copy locations throughout Ahwatukee Foothills.

Times Media Group: 1620 W. Fountainhead Parkway, Suite 219 Tempe, Arizona, 85282 Main number: 480-898-6500 Advertising: 480-898-5624 Circulation service: 480-898-5641

PUBLISHER Steve T. Strickbine

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Wayne Schutsky, 480-898-6533 wschutsky@timespublications.com Cecilia Chan. 480-898-5613, cchan@timespublications.com Ahwatukee Foothills News is distributed by AZ Integrated Media, a circulation service company owned by Times Media Group. The public is permitted one copy per reader. For further information regarding the circulation of this publication or others in the Times Media Group family of publications, please contact AZ Integrated Media at circ@ azintegratedmedia.com or 480-898-5641. For circulation services please contact Aaron Kolodny at aaron@ azintegatedmedia.com.

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Kyrene teachers’ new contracts re�lect budget uncertainty

NEWS

BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor

yrene teachers got some good news and some unsettling news as a result of some decisions the Governing Board made at its Feb. 23 meeting. On the one hand, their contribution Kyrene Governing Board memtoward their cost for ber Michelle Fahy said that new medical insurance teacher contracts contain “some for their spouses tough language” made necessary and/or children by the uncertainty surroundwon’t be going up in ing state funding for the coming the 2021-22 school school year. (YouTube) year. On the other hand, their contracts for the new school year warn that their commitment to the district for the coming school year could be lengthened because of “extenuating circumstances beyond the control of the district” – an indirect reference to the disruptions created by the pandemic this year and last. Moreover, the contract warns that the uncertainty of the level of state funding for school districts in the coming year means a possible pay cut of up to 5 percent or even a furlough. As districts compete for teachers, Kyrene traditionally extends contracts ahead of many districts. The board also did not want to wait for final budget action by the Legislature and the governor, which often isn’t completed until May. Amid the uncertainty of the new contract language does contain some hope, however, district officials also offered teachers some hope. While it states “the board does not know the level of funding it will receive from the legislature for the 2021-2022 school year,” the contract also promises a superseding contract with more certainty on pay will be issued. And it states that any one-time infusion of unexpected money from federal or state sources could result in either a bonus of up to 10 percent of their salary or a raise of up to 10 percent. Teachers have a month to decide whether to sign the contract or look elsewhere for a job. Although it won’t affect teacher contracts for next year, Kyrene did get some good news from the state Department of Education last month.

see SCHOOLS page 6

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AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MARCH 3, 2021

SCHOOLS from page 3

The second pandemic relief bill approved by Congress in December will entitle Kyrene to just under $4 million. “The $3.93 million listed for allocation to Kyrene does not cover the entire shortfall experienced by our District this year, between the reduced Enrollment Stability Grant from the state and (first pandemic relief appropriation) being far short of Kyrene’s actual expenses related to COVID-19,” district spokeswoman Erin Helm said. “There is a lot of ground still to make up, but these funds are a good start.” The Enrollment Stability Grant was from $270 million Gov. Doug Ducey made available to districts statewide last year to compensate for shortfalls created by the surge in online learning when campuses were closed. The state compensates districts for online learners at a lower rate Kyrene’s reserves for covering employees’ medical claims has seesawed over the last 20 years and had it not been for some changes the last governing board made, the fund could have gone bankrupt. (Kyrene School District) than it does for students in classrooms. “You don’t know what your salary is goKyrene and most other districts got less new language in the 2021-22 teacher con- the U.S. House last week and is now in the Senate. ing to be because quite honestly we do than they expected because the total loss tract is an indirect reference to Arizona’s Commenting on the contract, board not know what funding we’re going to get statewide in funding from that disparity possible Biden Administrauxurin y Vthe Rugs ~ Lshare i a n e y r l A ~ member Michelle Fahy conceded “there’s from the state,” she continued. So I know it was nearly three times the amount Ducey tion’s $1.9 trillion pandemic Corelief unte fund, stom u C ~ r s some tough language in there that makes set aside. which sets aside an estimated $1 billion top er ~ Shownote te hopeful ood ~ Lam inathe see SCHOOLS page 9 But included in the for schools. The measure was approved bys you take pause.”

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SCHOOLS from page 6

feels a little tenuous when you sign a contract you’re not 100 percent sure of what that really means and I just want to recognize that that is uncomfortable.” Kyrene Chief Financial Officer Chris Hermann noted, the district “is typically one of the few districts that actually tries to get in front and take a risk and put the conversation of the contract prior to us knowing what the state budget and what the governor’s budget is going to be.” But he noted that “because of the pandemic and because of the uncertainty of the budget, we thought it was wise to follow the rest of our peers and just hold off on less uncertain contract language for now.” Prior to the discussion of the contract, Fahy expressed concern over some bills wending their way through the Legislature – notably a stalled measure that would increase the number of parents eligible for vouchers to send their children to charter or private schools. “A lot of these things have to do with funneling money away from public education,” Fahy said, telling the listening public, “So I strongly recommend that you do

your research and get involved and see what our legislature is doing.” There also was some additional bad news for 51 teachers who earn stipends for extra work. Those stipends will not be increased in the coming year, partly because the district feels Kyrene already pays a higher stipend than many districts and because of the same budget uncertainty. Meanwhile, the board approved a new benefit package for teachers that will not raise their monthly payout to extend health insurance to their families. Teachers’ own health insurance is paid by the district. In discussing the district’s self-funded pool of money to cover medical claims, administration officials noted that adjustments paid by the previous board last year have started to stabilize the fund. Total reserves in the Kyrene Employee Benefit Fund have steadily fallen from a 20-year high in 2013-14 of $16 million to a current total of about $4 million – a reflection of continuing increases in the cost of healthcare nationwide. Board President Kevin Walsh noted that without the changes made by the previous board “there was a real risk the …fund was going to run out of money.”

As a result of those changes, the fund looks like it will end the current year with a small surplus of about $527,000. About a quarter of all payments made out of the fund were for large claims of an average of $125,000. Administrators also gave a snapshot of COVID-related medical costs paid out for employees or covered dependents. The district paid $205,940 for tests for 1,194 employees at a cost of $172 per person and a total $629,347 in treatment costs for 383 employees who were infected by COVID-19. No employees died from COVID-19 but some family members did. 

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AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MARCH 3, 2021

Kyrene hosting program for Native American kids AFN NEWS STAFF

empe Union isn’t the only school district trying to show a greater acknowledgment of Native Americans. The Kyrene Governing Board recently unanimously approved a memorandum of understanding to work with the nonprofit Phoenix Indian Center to hold classes this spring and summer for Native American students in sixth through eighth grades. The weekly classes will combine two programs – a multicultural class on substance abuse called “keepin’ it REAL”/Living in 2 Worlds” and a program called “Speak Up, Be Safe,” or SUBS, which teaches children how to prevent and break cycles of neglect, bullying and domestic abuse. The free classes are slated to be held in person for 12 weeks at Kyrene schools, though Kyrene and the Phoenix Indian Center have the option to work on a virtual platform if need be.

NATIVE from page 1

opens all its games in Canada with a land acknowledgement and some teams do the same playing in the States. It’s only been within the last year or two that the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture began recommending they be adopted by local, county and state governments. “Acknowledgment is a simple, powerful way of showing respect and a step toward correcting the stories and practices that erase Indigenous people’s history and culture and toward inviting and honoring the truth,” it says. It also suggests words like “genocide,” “land stolen” and “ethnic cleansing” are appropriate terms to use. “Imagine this practice widely adopted: imagine cultural venues, classrooms, conference settings, places of worship, sports stadiums, and town halls, acknowledging traditional lands,” the department states. “Millions would be exposed – many for the first time – to the names of the traditional Indigenous inhabitants of the lands they are on, inspiring them to ongoing awareness and action.” The department also notes that acknowledgements help counter the “’doctrine of discovery’ with the true story of the people who were already here” instead of celebrating foreign invaders. The department also said that beyond

Participation in the classes is voluntary, according to the agreement, though students will be invited to attend. The Phoenix Indian Center will provide a trained American Indian facilitator for the class who will not only be trained in the two programs but will also liaison with the district on the program’s progress and any issues that might arise, according to the agreement. “Living in 2 Worlds (L2W) is a wellresearched, evidence-based, cultural/ academic program that provides culture specific substance abuse prevention curriculum for American Indian/Alaskan Native (Indigenous) youth in the fourth/ fifth through eighth grades,” the agreement states. “The curriculum as developed by educators specializing in substance abuse, cultural knowledge and is entirely crosswalked with the state educational standards,” it adds, noting the curriculum

emphasizes “increasing protective factors by using culturally appropriate response to “Refuse|Explain|Avoid|Leave risky situations.” “Both curriculums are designed with strong parent/caretaker involvement through take home assignments and activities to be completed by the next scheduled class session,” the agreement states. Phoenix Indian Center also commits to provide information to families about Kyrene’s student services should that family be in need or want to access other services we provide. The Phoenix Indian Center is the oldest American Indian nonprofit of its kind in the United States. It was formed in 1947 as an outgrowth of Native Americans moving off reservations and into the city not only to sell their crafts and goods but as a result of federal public policy to assimilate Indians and “remove their practice of Native culture

At the Aug. 22, 2016 Village Planning Committee meeting, Gila River Indian Community members staged a protest against the South Mountain Freeway as ADOT representatives prepared to make a presentation on the highway. (AFN file photo) reminding people that land acknowledgments “begin to repair relationships with Native communities and with the land,” they also “remind people that colonization is an ongoing process, with Native lands still occupied due to deceptive and broken treaties.” The Akimel O’odham and Pee Posh tribes comprise Gila River Indian Community population and it wasn’t very long ago that some members reminded Ahwatukee and Arizona that their beliefs and tradition were still subject to disrespect. That occurred in 2016 before the federal appellate courts signed off on construction of the South Mountain Freeway. The GRIC had filed a lawsuit, along with

a separate one by a group of Ahwatukee homeowners, to stop the freeway from being built. The tribes contended the freeway was cutting into and desecrating South Mountain, which they hold sacred. At the August 2016 meeting of the Ahwatukee Foothills Village Planning Committee, about a dozen GRIC members appeared with signs protesting the freeway to express their anger over the freeway as Arizona Department of Transportation officials gave an update on the project. Several tribal members stopped the meeting briefly with a tribal dance against the project. Later that fall, about 50 tribal members

and traditions through the break-up of reservation systems,” the center says on its website. “As a result, several Indian Centers were formed in the major “relocation” cities across the country,” it continues. “These centers were crucial in providing a place for American Indians to connect and socialize with other Indians and to receive various necessary services as they were removed to live city life. Phoenix was designated as one of the original ‘relocation cities.’” Over time the Phoenix center has evolved into a place that provides job training and other services to thousands of Native Americans who decide to live off reservations. “We provide a safe, supportive environment for American Indian people looking for opportunity in this dynamic but unfamiliar and often challenging urban setting,” its website states.  appeared outside Desert Vista High School during an open house ADOT was holding on the freeway project that they were planning to attend. But a small contingent of uniformed and plainclothes BRIAN GARCIA Phoenix police officers turned them away, preventing them from even entering the high school cafeteria where the open house was being held. Part of the community’s legal argument was that the freeway was trampling on sacred burial grounds and other sacred sites, an allegation ADOT denied and that the courts rejected. The U.S. Department of Arts and Culture said a land acknowledgement “by itself is a small gesture.” But it adds that an acknowledgement “becomes meaningful when coupled with authentic relationship and informed action.” “But this beginning can be an opening to greater public consciousness of Native sovereignty and cultural rights, a step toward equitable relationship and reconciliation.” 

NEWS

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MARCH 3, 2021

Freeway judge tells Congress courts overburdened BY RYAN KNAPPENBERGER Cronkite News

ASHINGTON – The federal district court in Arizona has been struggling to keep pace with a staggering civil and criminal caseload in the growing state, and it needs more judges to keep up, the judge who made the South Mountain Freeway possible told Congress last week. U.S. District Judge Diane Humetewa was joined by other judges and law professors who called on Congress to fill vacancies and consider reforms for the justice system to streamline operations and share some of the load. “In Arizona, the status quo simply cannot meet the constitutional mandate to administer meaningful justice to all,” Humetewa told a House Judiciary subcommittee Feb. 24. Humetewa made the landmark ruling in 2016 that rejected the effort by the Gila River Indian Community and the Ahwatukee-based Protecting Arizona’s Resources and Children to stop the freeway’s con-

@generationaz

U.S. District Judge Diane Humetewa, who rejected an attempt in 2016 to stop construction of the South Mountain Freeway, told a Congressional subcommittee federal courts in Phoenix are overwhelmed by cases. (Cronkite News) struction. Her ruling was upheld by unanimously by the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Even after a sharp drop in cases from the year before, the 8,614 criminal and civil cases filed in the Arizona district in fiscal 2020 still meant an average of 663

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cases for each of the 13 judges in the district, according to a report by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. That was the 16th-highest per-judge caseload among the 94 federal districts in the nation, the report said. But Arizona is not the only district that is struggling.

Kimberly J. Mueller, chief judge for the Eastern District of California, likened federal judges’ situation to Sisyphus of Greek myth, “condemned eternally to roll a boulder uphill, only to have it roll down again when he reaches the top.” “For 20 years plus, we’ve been in a judicial emergency, we cannot fulfill our obligations without Congressional action creating new judgeships,” Mueller said. Their pleas had a receptive audience at the hearing, with lawmakers from both parties expressing support for judicial relief. “Arizona desperately needs more federal district judges and the district court has been working with too little for too long at the expense of Arizonans, who should have fair unobstructed access to our country’s judicial system,” said Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Phoenix. Humetewa described how felonies committed on tribal lands are handled in federal district courts, often forcing parties to travel hundreds of miles from reservation lands to Phoenix to argue their case.

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AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MARCH 3, 2021

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AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MARCH 3, 2021

Senior citizens cautiously optimistic with vaccine BY LEO TOCHTERMAN Cronkite News

handler resident Lupe Solis’ prayers were answered when she received her second dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Now the 77-year-old is being cautious and patient, waiting to worship in person again at St. Timothy Catholic Church in Mesa. “Prayer takes up a big part of our life,” Solis said. “We cannot participate in church activities. I will not feel safe now.” Some churches have resumed in-person worship in Arizona, but Solis is still playing it safe after receiving both doses of the Pfizer vaccine. Like so many of the nearly 1.3 million Arizonans 65 or older, Solis has adjusted to the safety precautions that have upended life since the onset of the pandemic. With COVID-19 ravaging Arizona’s senior Chandler residents Saul and Lupe Solis, parishioners at St. Timothy Catholic Church in community, many long to return to nor- Mesa, are hopeful that the increasing number of vaccinated people will allow them to return to in-person services. (Kiersten Moss/Cronkite News) mal activities but remain apprehensive. somewhere,” Solis said. “We still are goMore than 11,500 Arizonans 65 or older sociated Press reported. Solis and other seniors who have re- ing to be very leery and wary, you know, have died from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, with a majority of those ceived both doses of the Pfizer vaccine of starting anything new because so far deaths in Maricopa County, according to are considered to have lowered the risk we’ve all been able to stay healthy.” For now, Solis has had to keep touch the Arizona Department of Health Services. of catching the symptomatic version of Now, in accordance with phase 1B of the disease by up to 95 percent, accord- with them through a weekly family prayer vaccine rollout, the state has been doing ing to the Centers for Disease Control and over Zoom, which allows them to stay “towhat it can to get vaccinations to the older Prevention. That level of immunity doesn’t gether in spirit” and keep in touch. States have differing quarantine protopopulation as quickly as possible. Seniors kick in until one to two weeks after the cols for individuals traveling across state make up more than half of the 1,027,816 second dose is administered. Solis hasn’t been able to see either of her lines, with some states enforcing mandapeople in the state who have received at sisters or their families in El Paso, Texas, tory quarantines for travelers. Travel rules least the first dose. Pharmaceutical makers Moderna and in more than a year, and she hasn’t felt safe can be found on the CDC’s website. Dr. Josh LaBaer, executive director and Pfizer have said their vaccines are effective traveling during the pandemic given her in fighting off the coronavirus that causes age. She is hopeful that they can meet af- professor of the ASU Biodesign Institute, COVID-19 in people displaying symptom- ter a safe amount of time has passed from said vaccinated individuals, even seniors, should be able to safely interact with each atic illness, but it remains unclear how vaccinations. “After waiting for a month, we’re prob- other once the vaccine takes full effect. effective the vaccines are in curbing the Anytime. “People who are vaccinated can interact asymptomatic spread of the virus, the As- ably going to plan on seeing each other Anywhere.

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with each other in the way that they did in the past, without masks, you know, pretty much, close quarters,” LaBaer said at a news conference Wednesday. “They’ve been deprived of social interaction for many, many months and I think that’s not healthy for anybody. They ought to be able to get back and interact again.” Dan Martinez, is another recently vaccinated Arizona senior with hopes to reunite with family in the coming months. Martinez, who received his first dose of the vaccine on Jan. 23 at State Farm Stadium, is already making plans to visit family after his vaccine kicks in and infection rates drop. “We’ve written down things we want to do in terms of traveling to see family,” Martinez said. “We are going to try to get that done once we get our second shot and things calm down nationally. We want to see case numbers drop, hospitalizations drop, death numbers drop, because we don’t want to take too much of a chance.” Part of the 75-year-old’s caution stems from a recent bout that his daughter living in Washington, D.C., had with COVID-19. She and her husband contracted the coronavirus in January, a few weeks after visiting Arizona for the holidays. “She got very sick. She had temperatures of 104, chills and was very weak,” Martinez said. “She was having pain in her stomach when she moved around. She was lying down in bed. And so she had a rough go of it and she’s only 44 years old.” Martinez is taking proper precautions but hopes he gets to be with loved ones soon. “And so we’re hopeful that being vac-

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AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MARCH 3, 2021

VIRUS from page 1

fields was one of the stupidest moves I’ve ever seen.” The uptick in criticism of the city’s ban on team sports at Phoenix parks comes as the latest set of data shows that COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people dropped into the moderate range in 85048 and 85045. Only 85044 remained in the substantial spread level with 151 cases per 100,000. All three ZIP codes are in the minimal spread level for percentage of new hospital visits with COVID-like symptoms. Both 85044 and 85045 are in the moderate range for new positive test results while 85048 has fallen into the minimal spread range. Ahwatukee’s metrics stand in contrast to the city at large, where cases per 100,000 and positive new test results remain in the substantial spread category, with 151 and 11 percent, respectively. Only the metric for hospital visits is now in the minimal spread category, the county data show. But Ahwatukee’s metrics are similar to those in other East Valley communities, where schools have been open for five-day in-class learning since January. Indeed, last week officials in the Higley Unified School District in Gilbert announced May dates for high school

“This action has significantly impacted the soccer community, our clubs, and the overall community and at this time enough is enough it’s time to open the field NOW!!!” it said on its website, calling on supporters “to call every councilmember EVERY DAY.” “Currently the City of Phoenix is allowing the Suns to have fans in their arena,” it said. “They are allowing Spring Training to have fans. They have allowed significant events, with little oversight to continue to take place in West Phoenix, in Vice Mayor Guardado’s district. Remember it was Vice Mayor Guardado that made the motion to close all fields but has done nothing to address the hypocrisy in her own district.” Supporters won’t get any grief from Ahwatukee Councilman Sal DiCiccio, who noted that he too has posted a “call to action” to reopen Pecos and the city’s other parks. “There is currently no movement to open up the parks. At all,” he said. “There is no reason for professional teams to be treated differently than kids.” He posted on social media an even more strident criticism: “Open up our fields to the kids to keep them healthy. Closing Voted Best Dentist & Customer Service

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ing and exercise classes and senior citizen meetings – has been closed for almost a year. That includes the bathrooms. Groups of 10 or less are permitted in Pecos and other city parks as long as individuals are spaced six feet apart, spectators are wearing masks or properly physically distanced. Groups are not allowed to stage full-contact games and activities. Ironwood Library in Ahwatukee and the rest of the Phoenix library branches are closed, though curbside service is offered. That also contrasts radically with Ahwatukee’s neighbors. Libraries in Chandler Tempe and Mesa have been open for weeks, though limits exist on the number of patrons who can be inside at any one time. 

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graduations in person. That district also is planning for proms and senior class awards assemblies. The two school districts that serve Ahwatukee are set to reopen classrooms in less than two weeks. Tempe Union is set to start four-day-aweek classroom learning March 15, with Wednesday an at-home learning day for all students so schools can be deep-cleaned. Kyrene will reopen classrooms for five day-a-week learning March 16. Kyrene spokeswoman Erin Helm said that district-wide, 56.5 percent of all students are signed up for in-person learning for the third quarter. Helm said 7.8 percent are signed up for the year in its new Digital Academy and the remaining 35.7 are signed up for athome learning for the third quarter. Parents are now being asked to choose between at-home and in-class learning for the fourth quarter. Outside of team sports, Pecos Park has been open for most outdoor activities since fall. The community center – a popular destination for indoor basketball, special physical education classes like Ahwatukee resident Carrie McNeish’s line danc-

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AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MARCH 3, 2021

State health chief hails new COVID vaccine BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

he state’s top health official said approval of the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine could be a “game changer’’ in the fight against COVID-19. Dr. Cara Christ said she hopes to get another 50,000 to 60,000 doses as early as this coming week now that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the vaccine. And that will be on top of what the state already is receiving in doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. The new vaccine does not have as high a rate of total disease prevention as the other two. They are considered 95 percent effective after the second dose. By contrast, the Johnson & Johnson is considered 85 percent effective against the most severe cases and just about 66 percent at preventing moderate cases. But Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical advisor

The Arizona Department of Health Services dashboard on Sunday gave this snapshot of the statewide distribution of the Moderna and Pﬁzer COVID vaccines. (AZDHS) to President Biden, said people should not hesitate to get the Johnson & John-

son vaccine . Christ pointed out that it has been found

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AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MARCH 3, 2021

House OKs 4-year community college degrees BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

rizona’s community colleges may have the best chance ever of finally being able to offer four-year degrees to their students. With only three dissenting votes, the state House voted last week to permit community colleges to offer baccalaureate degrees to students. The measure now goes to the Senate. If passed, the move would cap years of efforts by advocates to find alternatives to what some consider expensive and inconvenient four-year degree programs at the state’s three universities. This year, possibly recognizing the increased sentiment of lawmakers for a more affordable alternative, the university system agreed not to oppose HB 2523. But they did demand – and the colleges agreed to – some concessions. The measure requires studies to determine if the colleges can hire the necessary faculty and sustain the four-year programs. There also has to be a determination that the degrees offered will meet needed fields and whether they would “unneces-

VACCINE from page 16

have received at least one dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna two-dose regimen. That comes out to close to 16 percent of the state population. Out of that, nearly 500,000 are considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19. As far as when everyone else will get vaccinated, that is more complex. The first issue is supply. By the end of the current week, Christ said the state hopes to have received close to 1.96 million doses of vaccine. That includes what appears to be a big spike in Pfizer doses, having gone from about 86,000 a week before the middle of February to close to 130,000 now. But there’s less there than meets the eye.

sarily duplicate’’ programs offered elsewhere. And there’s no authority for new property taxes. There’s an extra hurdle in HB 2523 for the colleges in Pima and Maricopa counties. They could initially offer only a limited number of four-year degrees, defined as no more than 10 percent of total degrees offered for the first four years and 15 percent for years five and beyond. Potentially more significant, tuition for courses in the junior and senior years cannot exceed 15 percent of what they charge for any other program. Still, that would be a major cost break. Typical tuition at state universities runs north of $9,000 a year and up to more than $12,000. At Maricopa Community Colleges there is a flat rate of $1,020 per semester, putting the cap at slightly more than $3,000 annually. It is likely to take two years or more to do the studies, hire the staff and get the offerings accredited. Rep. Michelle Udall, R-Mesa, who chairs the House Education Committee, said the Board of Regents’ decision to not oppose the bill was a major development.

Christ explained that health care providers are routinely able to get six doses out of what are supposed to be five-dose vials. So now when they get a shipment, they now are counting each vial as six, a 20% percent increase. Still, she said, the state is getting more overall volume. The other issue is who is entitled to get in line for a vaccine. Most of the state is in the priority stage where the doses are reserved for health care workers, those in the education and child care fields and adults age 65. But Christ expects most counties to move into the next phase soon. That category includes adults with highrisk medical conditions who live in congregate care settings like assisted living

“We have a great need for more fouryear degrees in our state,’’ she said. Beyond that, Udall said is the opportunity for students to get a four-year degree in their home communities. “Often when students move to get an education they don’t return,’’ she said. “So we lose a lot of those students to other states or other communities instead of saying in their home community.’’ Linda Thor, a member of the governing board of the Maricopa colleges, said this can serve urban students as well. “This legislation supports students who would not transfer (to a university) but will enroll if they have an option at their local community college that is convenient and affordable and leads to a goodpaying job,’’ she told members of the Education Committee. Thor also said that the colleges could help fill needs created by shortages of people with four-year degrees, including teaching and health care. Brittney Kaufmann, lobbyist for the regents, said they now want a requirement for the community college systems in Pima, Maricopa and Coconino to have to work directly with university presidents if before they offer four-year degrees.

facilities and nursing homes. What it also includes are what the state identifies as “essential workers.’’ Some of these are obvious, including those who work for utilities and grocery stores as well as transportation workers and funeral home employees. But some are not. For example, that category also includes anyone who works at a bank. Auto shop workers and gas station employees also are here. In fact, so are “communication workers’’ like reporters. Of note is that all these people are a higher priority than adults of any age with high-risk medical conditions. Christ said the recommendations come from the state’s Vaccine and Antiviral Prioritization Advisory Committee.

She did not detail what that means and whether the university officials would have some veto power. But Kelsey Lundy, lobbyist for the Maricopa colleges, said she interprets this as a “first right of refusal’’ by the universities to offer programs that the colleges are considering. She told lawmakers, though, that is conditional on “affordability,’’ meaning that the universities would have to provide those four-year degrees at the same cost as the community colleges would charge. 

GOT NEWS? Contact Paul Maryniak at 480-898-5647 or pmaryniak@ timespublications.com

“They look at the benefit versus the risk of who’s getting vaccinated and when the vaccine is limited,’’ she said. “When you look at people that continue to have to go to work and have direct interaction with the public -- and they can be any age range -- we do know that those people are going to be at increased risk for potentially catching and then transmitting COVID-19.’’ And then there’s the other side of the equation. “In order for our community to function, those jobs are essential to make sure that people can eat, can get to work, can continue to function,’’ Christ added. “And that’s why the essential workers are prioritized before those with health care conditions.’’ 

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AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MARCH 3, 2021

JUDGE from page 12

Stanton called for a new judgeship in Flagstaff to handle cases in northern Arizona, particularly cases from tribal lands. Such a judge would allow for grand juries “made up of peers … more accurately representative of the community,” and would ease travel burdens on other judges in the district, he said. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said “while the decision for new judgeships is overdue, it is also important that we do it on a bipartisan basis.” But Andrew Coan, professor of law at the University of Arizona, said in an email Wednesday that the “crisis of volume” courts face is a political as well as a logistical one. “The country could certainly use more judges, but this is tricky politically because a large expansion of judiciary would give the current president a lot of new ap-

SENIORS from page 14

cinated will get everybody some protection,” he said. “So we can make a few trips and hug a few people and kind of reminisce about the last year or so.” Gov. Doug Ducey and state health officials say they are doing what they can to make such reunions possible. The state has prioritized people 65 or older for vaccination, to varying degrees of success in their rollout. One of the first Arizona seniors to receive the COVID-19 vaccine was Dr. Leonard Kirschner, who had completely adapted his lifestyle to the pandemic before getting the first dose of the vaccine on his 85th birthday Jan. 16. After being a jet-setter who has clocked more than 200,000 frequent flyer miles in a year, Kirschner, like many other Arizona seniors, has adopted more of a subdued lifestyle. “I canceled trips to Portland, Seattle, Boston and two trips to Washington, D.C. So I haven’t been on an airplane in almost

pointments,” Coan said. “One way to overcome this would be to stagger appointments over time.” That suggestion came up at the hearing. “I don’t think the right way to do this is to add a bunch of judgeships,” said Brian Fitzpatrick, law professor at the Vanderbilt Law School. “That’s going to have a predictable partisan effect. “The right way to do this is to push off the effective date of the new judgeships until there is a new presidential administration,” Fitzpatrick said during his testimony. But Duke University Law Professor Marin K. Levy pointed out that there has never been an instance of staggering appointments in such a way. “If there’s a leak in your roof, you don’t want to hear that you’re going to have someone fix it a year from now or four years from now, you want it fixed as soon as possible,” Levy said. 

a year now,” Kirschner said. “It’s been since February of last year. I’ve had years where I’ve had 200,000 air miles traveled. That’s a real change in my lifestyle.” Kirschner, who received his master’s in public health from Harvard in 1968, wasn’t surprised that a pandemic broke out, as he had lived through and studied multiple outbreaks. But he was surprised and encouraged to see the COVID-19 vaccines produced so rapidly. “I was not convinced a year ago that we would have vaccines by the end of 2020 because I know how difficult it is to develop the vaccines,” he said. “I’m very optimistic. If you look at the history of epidemics, plagues, and pandemics around the world, they run their course, and then they disappear.” Kirschner was excited to receive a dose for his birthday, maybe the most practical gift possible considering the circumstances of the last year. “I figured I would try to get a shot on my 85th birthday, which would be Governor Ducey’s birthday present to me,” he said. 

GOT NEWS?

Contact Paul Maryniak at 480-898-5647 or pmaryniak@timespublications.com

WE BLANKET THE AREA.

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AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MARCH 3, 2021

SELLERS from page 17

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COMMUNITY

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Mt. Pointe grad now the pride of a military family AFN NEWS STAFF

arah Moreland is continuing a family tradition of serving her country. The 2020 Mountain Pointe High School graduate entered the U.S. Navy last November – becoming the fourth generation of Moreland family members to have served the nation. After graduating as a junior, Moreland decided she wanted to join the Navy as an information system technician in order to learn new skills outside of a traditional school setting. “I’ve never done anything related to computers, so I thought learning how to fix computers on ships would be interesting,” Moreland said. “I haven’t started my IT training yet but I’ve had the opportunity to learn a lot about Navy life.” Military service apparently is in her DNA. Her parents, Kristie and Will Moreland of Ahwatukee, are Army veterans. They each served six and a half years and got out of the Army a year apart, she in 2000

Karah Moreland is the fourth generation in her family to serve her country. (Courtesy U.S. Navy)

and he a year later, as E5-sergeants. “We met half way around the world in Kitzingen, Germany, in 1996,” said Kristie. “We married a year later in Novem-

ber 1997 at a German courthouse – or Rathaus, as it is called in Germany.” Kristie’s late father served four years in the Army in Viet Nam, leaving as a specialist, and Will’s late father was a Seaman for four years. Both men were buried with full military honors. Karah also has three great uncles on her mother’s side who served – two Marines and one Army – while two male cousins served in the Navy and a female cousin currently is serving in the Navy as well. Karah’s paternal great grandfather was an Army aircraft mechanic. “I’ve had a lot of family members in the military, but I’m not exactly sure what they did,” said Karah. “I’m excited to learn about that – the experience of being in the military.” Karah will have the chance to learn this while based at Naval Air Station Pensacola Corry Station in Escambia County, Florida, home to Naval Aviation Schools, Naval Education Training Command Headquarters and The Blue Angels.

Known as the “Cradle of Naval Aviation,” NAS Pensacola serves as the launching point for the flight training of every naval aviator, naval flight officer and enlisted aircrew member. With more than 90 percent of all trade traveling by sea and 95 percent of the world’s international phone and internet traffic carried through fiber optic cables lying on the ocean floor, Karah is part of a global emphasis on protecting America. According to Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday, four priorities will focus efforts on sailors, readiness, capabilities and capacity. “For 245 years, in both calm and rough waters, our Navy has stood the watch to protect the homeland, preserve freedom of the seas, and defend our way of life,” said Gilday. “The decisions and investments we make this decade will set the maritime balance of power for the rest of this century. We can accept nothing less

�ee NAVY page 22

Jungle Roots still growing 27 years after owners’ arrival

BY COTY DOLORES MIRANDA AFN Contributor

n 1994, freshly graduated from Baylor University College of Dentistry, Dr. John Culp and his wife Karen arrived in Ahwatukee with a vision for a pediatric practice that would be like none other. Today, they look at their Jungle Roots Children’s Dentistry & Orthodontics as the realization of their dream to establish a pediatric practice that children would not fear. The nearly year-long pandemic necessitated changes – like eliminating video games in the jungle-themed waiting area – but Jungle Roots has continued its growth, recently adding a new dentist, expecting another orthodontist in April and possibly adding more square footage in 2022. August marks their 27th anniversary serving the dental needs of children in Ahwatukee though their beginning space was a bit humbler

than their 2,640-square-foot office. Dr. John and Karen opened their first practice in a small strip mall at Elliot Road and 48th Street. In 1997 they made their move to the expanded office at 4232 E. Chandler Blvd., designing a jaw-dropping jungle interior that enchants children and parents alike. It was designed to offset the dread of dentists that children – and some adults – hold. “People’s reactions to the office were amazing,” Dr. Culp said. “You literally could see the concern and fear melt off of new patients’ little faces when they came into the area with the tree.” A 1992 graduate of Temple University in Philadelphia, Dr. Culp moved on to Baylor University College of Dentistry in Waco, Texas, to obtain a specialist degree in pediatric dentistry. He became Ahwatukee’s first pediatric dentist. Karen, Jungle Roots co-owner and Dr. Culp’s Dr. Vanessa Antolinez-Kai, the newest addition to the staff at Jungle Roots Children’s Dentistry and Orthodontics, and owner Dr. John Culp show off the tree that is part of the practice’s waiting area. (Pablo Robles/AFN Staff Photographer)

�ee ROOTS page 23

COMMUNITY

Kyrene student on way to state spelling bee AFN NEWS STAFF

esa is home to the top two spellers this year in the region – and they are students in two different school districts. Ivan Favela, a sixth grader at Patterson Elementary in Mesa Public Schools, grabbed first place in a regional spelling bee that pitted the top wordsmiths from MPS, Kyrene and Tempe Elementary districts as well as local private and charter schools. Joining Ivan in the state bee will be Drew Passmonick, a seventh grader in Kyrene School District’s new Kyrene Digital Academy who placed second in the regional spell-off. Among 19 participants in the regional contest, the top five slots were filled out by Carena Todd of MPS’s Mesa Academy for Advanced Studies, who placed third;

fourth place finisher Lincoln Trembath, of Kyrene de los Lagos Elementary; and Hailey Manter of St. Timothy Catholic School. Ivan correctly spelled 32 out of the 35 words on the test. A tiebreaker test was needed to break a three-way tie for second place. Ivan and Drew will join the top spellers from other regions next month to vie for a chance to represent Arizona in the national Scripps Spelling Bee. And unlike last year – and unlike the Arizona bees – the finale of the vaunted national contest will be an in-person event. The district-level, regional and state bees have been and will be conducted through online tests. Then, the state winners will compete in another online contest to reduce the field of contestants to 10-12. Those finalists will gather in Orlando, Florida, on July 8 to compete at Walt Dis-

Book bag bonanza

Summit School in Ahwatukee wants every family in the community to go “beyond the book” and find new ways to read with their children. Earlier this month, school staff invited families with young children to check out a book bag with a picture book and a parent guide to build young minds and share the “literary love.” When families finish their book, they can exchange it for a new book bag and a new adventure. Its next “Spectacular Sharing Saturday” is 10-11 a.m. Saturday, March 6. “ We have titles for ages 2-6 and many bags with board books for younger readers,” a spokeswoman said, adding the events are open to Summit families as well as friends in the community. Information: Assistant Head of School Andrea Benkel, at 480-403-9500 or Andrea.Benkel@ SummitSchoolaz.org. (Courtesy of Summit School)

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MARCH 3, 2021

ney World’s ESPN Wide World of Sports complex for nationally televised event on ESPN2. The E.E. Scripps Company said, “As the world continues to adapt to an ongoing pandemic, Scripps is committed to reimagining the beloved competition in a way that safely allows our exceptional spellers to continue this iconic tradition on the national stage.” “The decision to limit the in-person portion of the competition to no more than 12 spellers was made in consideration of the health and safety of participants, their families and everyone involved in the event’s production as the country continues to combat the COVID-19 pandemic,” it added.  Kyrene Digital Academy seventh grader Drew Passmonick scored second place in the regional bee. (AFN file photo)

NAVY from page 21

than success.” Though there are many opportunities for sailors to earn recognition in their command, community and careers, Karah said she is most proud of being selected for a leadership role during boot camp. “At boot camp, I was medical yeoman,” said Karah. “That put me in a leadership position working closely with the RDCs (Recruit Division Commanders) to make sure all the paperwork was squared away, and that people’s appointments were lined up. So, that was nice being in a leadership position while still being a recruit.” Her parents were proud of her decision to follow in their military footsteps. “My father was in the Navy, so I’m just really super proud of her,” said Will Moreland. “Karah graduated high school a year early and we had a family discussion about what her next steps were going to be. She came up with this idea to join the Navy all by herself, and her mother and I were from the beginning 100 percent behind her. “For me, my military service widened my perspective of what it meant to be a global citizen. I met so many people from the United States and around the world

during my time serving. Inside the military I learned about leadership and personal development.” Karah is proud not only of upholding a family tradition but upholding the Navy’s tradition as well. “I’m really excited to learn more about America and the different people that make up America,” she said. “When I got to Corry Station, there were people from all over. I think it’s really good to meet people from all walks of life. Being able to meet new people and learn about where they’re from and their cultures. Now we’re all coming together.” As a veteran, Will Moreland wants his daughter, as well as those she is serving with to know how grateful he is for their service. “Anybody that’s reading this, I would like to thank them for their service,” added Will. “If they have not served and they have the opportunity to serve, I would really admonish them to serve. “I don’t think you get any more sense of pride than when you put on the United States military uniform and contribute to the freedom that we all enjoy.” The Navy Office Of Community Outreach contributed to this report. 

GOT NEWS? Contact Paul Maryniak at 480-898-5647 or pmaryniak@timespublications.com

REAL ESTATE

Real Estate Guide Valley home listings looking like an endangered species BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor

ore building permits for singlefamily homes were issued in Maricopa and Pinal counties in January than in any January since 2006, but a leading tracker of trends in the Valley housing market suggests anxious buyers shouldn’t get too excited. The inventory of both resale and new homes is so critically low, the Cromford Report said last week, that neither that nor a slight slump in demand will stop prices from continuing to rise.

“Buying a home is not only desperately stressful, it is getting a lot more expensive,” Cromford said. “So, we should expect demand to come down and it has started to decline in many areas. “It is hard to notice any decline in demand when supply continues to fall. Most sellers cannot tell much practical difference between receiving 30 offers and receiving 25 offers. It is still more than enough demand to keep prices rising quickly.” Cromford found that out of 17 Valley cities, six are “moving in favor of buyers”

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AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MARCH 3, 2021

Container homes debut in Tempe AFN NEWS STAFF

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development comprising shipping containers turned into homes debuted this week in Tempe near the main Arizona State University campus. FREIGHT Tempe is billed as “a modern, FREIGHT Tempe is a small apartment complex built out of shipsustainable multifam- ping containers. (Special to AFN) ily project” with onebedroom and studio units that is the first tom metal work and composite materials of its kind in the city. in a soft green shade that contrasts with “I have always loved great design, and the rust patina of the containers. the ability to partner with Local Studio The buildings are designed to reduce and build something cutting edge has solar load and heating and the builder been a dream,” said Jeff Berghoff, one of said they are intended to be reminiscent the developers of the project. of Tempe’s agrarian history. Tempe Mayor Corey Woods called the The landscape features mature fruit project “on the cutting edge of innovation, trees, landscaping and numerous seating sustainability and design.” areas and outdoor spaces by Berghoff DeLocal Studio has been a leading design- sign Group of Scottsdale. er of shipping container architecture in see FREIGHT page RE7 the southwest, using natural wood, cus-

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indoors—perhaps even more so now with the pandemic. It’s more important than ever to ensure our home environments are as healthy as they can be.” A KB Home spokeswoman said the builder for years has offered houses with an enhanced indoor environment made possible with select materials and highperformance ventilation systems that regularly introduce fresh outdoor air. Those products include low- or zeroVOC products in carpeting, paint, insulation and cabinetry; comprehensive air sealants to significantly reduce drafts, moisture, dust and pollen; antimicrobial door handles; and touchless faucets to reduce the spread of germs. “As a pioneer in the science of building healthier homes and as the first homebuilder to partner with the Well Living Lab, we’re proud to showcase the benefits of a new KB home and the latest healthy home technologies and products in a real-life setting,” said KB Home CEO Jeffrey Mezger. Homes are priced from the mid-$300,000. Information: welllivinglab.com/ healthy-home and kbhome.com. 

Leading Luxury Home Experts

BY BEN GOTTLIEB AFN Guest Writer

mall businesses operate as the engine that moves the economy forward, providing a steady stream of jobs and opportunities for growth. When COVID-19 ravaged the U.S. economy in early 2020, adversely impacting many small businesses, lawmakers and federal agencies responded with a robust cocktail of fiscal and monetary measures to support the economy and small businesses. Additionally, Governor Ducey signed multiple executive orders – some of which targeted temporarily restricting the legal rights ordinarily afforded to both residential and commercial landlords in Arizona. In the commercial realm, he signed Executive Order 2020-21, which prohibited any commercial eviction activity or action against tenants unable to pay rent due to COVID-19 for the duration of the executive order, which expired on May 31, 2020.

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role and permits the parties to determine – through the commercial lease – whether a court eviction is required in the event the tenant fails to pay rent and defaults on the lease. In many cases, the lease permits the landlord to “lockout” the tenant, without proceeding to court. Recently, with confidence lacking among small business owners, a CNBC and SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey found that 63 percent of small business owners support the recently proposed $1.9 Trillion COVID relief package. Many Arizona small business owners are still suffering from the economic effects of COVID-19 and have trouble meeting basic and routine expenses including rent—long after the small business eviction moratorium has expired. In addition to the launching of a second round of the federal Paycheck Protection Program, local cities in Arizona recently offered programs for small businesses. For instance, the City of Chandler recently provided financial support through a program for businesses who have suffered

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Unlike the Arizona residential eviction executive orders and the federal eviction moratorium currently in effect, the small business eviction order was never extended. Notwithstanding this fact, the order resulted in many commercial landlords working out alternative agreements with their tenants, with landlords in some cases agreeing to waive or suspend late fees, penalties, interest, and rent payments. Even after the order expired, many landlords continued to work with their small business tenants rather than proceeding to lock out or evict the small business tenant. Arizona law does not treat residential tenants in the same manner as commercial tenants. Residential tenants are afforded certain legal protections under the Arizona Residential Landlord Tenant Act and a residential landlord must proceed through the court system if the landlord intends to evict the tenant. In the commercial real estate context, however, the law takes a more passive

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aveen has become home of a new KB Home development aimed at improving the inhabitants” physical and mental health. Santolina at South Mountain on Baseline Road near 35th Avenue, is the result of a collaboration between the homebuilder and the Well Living Lab, the first scientific laboratory to conduct and apply humancentered research to understand the interaction between health, well-being and indoor environments. Founded by Delos and Mayo Clinic, the Well Living Lab Healthy Home program “focuses on the impact of the home environment on physical and mental health, sleep and performance, and provides a unique opportunity to translate and apply scientific discoveries that may improve the health and well-being of people in homes,” according to a release. KB Home is the first homebuilder to join the Well Living Lab Alliance, a consortium of global organizations aspiring to transform the places where people live, work

uses immersive sights and sounds “to increase energy, reduce stress, enhance mood, improve focus and boost performance,” KB Homes said. The home also has products and technologies designed to This “mindbreaks room” is part of KB Home’s new concept in makreduce virus transing their houses more conducive to the inhabitant’s well-being. mission. (Courtesy KB Home) And the home ofand play. fice is “reimagined: with ergonomically corUsing the latest advancements in design rect furnishings and flexible office products. and construction materials, the concept It also showcases the new KB Home Ofhome features four microenvironments. fice, a dedicated room that can easily be A “health remote check-up” relies on personalized for a productive work envidigital devices to measure health status ronment. and key biometrics the home’s inhabitants “The Well Living Lab and KB Home share using a “wellness intelligence ecosystem” a commitment to improve the health and that can adjust the home’s environment to well-being of individuals and families,” enhance things like sleep. said Dr. Véronique Roger, research direcThe home environment can be adjusted tor of the Well Living Lab and professor of to enhance aspects of health, such as sleep. medicine and epidemiology at Mayo Clinic. A “mindbreaks room” is a studio that “Americans spend 90 percent of their time

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www.LeadingLuxuryExperts.com

Each Keller Williams Office is Independently Owned and Operated.

due to the pandemic. The financial assistance comes on a firstcome, first-serve basis, and the funds can be used towards employees and hiring expenses. Other Arizona cities recently offered support for small businesses that operate in their communities as well. Although there is no current small business eviction moratorium in place in Arizona, small businesses are encouraged to work with their landlords in the event it appears they cannot pay rent or will not be able to pay rent in the near future. Before speaking with the landlord, the tenant should carefully review the lease to determine all of the rights and potential liabilities of the parties. The tenant’s options may be significantly impacted by a specific provision in the lease. If any questions about the lease, the parties should consult with qualified legal counsel. After reviewing the lease thoroughly and analyzing various options at the tenant’s disposal, the tenant may decide to call the landlord to discuss the tenant’s ongoing fi-

see GOTTLIEB page re7

$1,299,999

Absolutely Gorgeous One-of-a-Kind Craftsman with Basement Located in the Prestigious Community of Ahwatukee Custom Estates.

SOLD!

AFN NEWS STAFF

re5

Business eviction ban has never been extended

SALE PENDING

KB Home development features healthy houses

REAL ESTATE

MARCH 03, 2021 | AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS

14838 S 19th Way ✔ 2900 sqft, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms

SALE PENDING

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MARCH 03, 2021

SALE PENDING

REAL ESTATE

SOLD!

re4

$749,900

Stunning Single Level home on private hillside lot in the beautiful community of Cabrillo Canyon.

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MARCH 3, 2021

re6

SPO OTLIGHT home

Circle G at Riggs Ranch

Estate living with refined tranquility in this exquisite setting. Meticulous stonework adorns entire exterior of this luxury home. Inviting entry opens to diagonally laid tile with granite inlays and dramatic wooden staircase. Formal dining room with stacked stone fireplace. Gourmet kitchen features granite countertops, large island, Subzero refrigerator, and Wolf gas cooktop with double ovens. Fireplace and wet bar in great room. Floor plan boasts seven bedrooms, playroom and large game room. Expansive master suite includes large sitting area with two-way fireplace, crown molding, separate walk-in closets and spacious bathroom. Three custom iron doors lead to massive covered patio with pavers, built-in barbeque, heated pool with waterfall and slide, gorgeous landscaping with fruit trees and koi pond. Large secondary bedrooms. Oversized laundry room with sink, granite countertops, cabinetry and room for a refrigerator. Additional upgrades throughout include 8’ solid core doors, speakers, surround sound in numerous locations, designer paint and exterior security cameras. Three masonry fireplaces. Anderson windows installed six years ago on entire first level. Four Trane a/c units with variable speed. Over-sized side entry four car garage. Availability to park an RV in the back as long as a garage is built for it. Over 7,000 square feet of stone on exterior. Almost acre-sized lot affords complete privacy.

Listed for $1,790,000

Mike Mendoza 480.706.7234 www.MendozaTeam.com

kw SONORAN LIVING ®

KELLER WILLIAMS® REALTY

CALABREA

3043 W Briarwood Terrace Stunning 5 bed / 5.5 bath custom basement home w/ 4 car garage in Ahwatukee Foothills’ prestigious gated community of Calabrea. Gorgeous curb appeal w/ stacked stonework, front courtyard & paver driveway. Highly upgraded with amazing architectural design throughout the home including custom wood beam, arched, tiled & coffered ceilings. Bright & open with huge windows letting in the natural sunlight. The spacious living room has full wall of sliders that open to back patio. Dream kitchen offers top of the line SS appliances (including 6 burner gas range w/ pot filler & multiple ovens), pristine staggered cabinetry, granite counters, pantry & large island w/ sink & bar top seating, as well as built-in desk/workstation in the breakfast area. Formal dining room & wine cellar perfectly located for entertaining. Sprawling master suite w/ double door entry & private exit doors to outside has wet bar w/ mini fridge & fireplace w/ mantel. Master bathroom has two vanities w/ seated area, large soaking tub, huge walk-in tile shower w/ bench & multiple shower heads, & enormous closet w/ custom organization. Finished basement offers huge family room w/ wet bar & mini fridge, perfect room for home theatre if desired, additional bedroom & full bath. Spectacular backyard w/ no neighbors behind or to one side is a true sanctuary w/ its large covered patio, breathtaking pool (waterfall feature & negative edge side), spa, built-in bbq, perfectly placed desert landscaping, scenic fencing & of course the hillside views. This is a MUST SEE home in Calabrea. Easy access to freeway & all Ahwatukee has to offer including shopping, dining, hiking/biking trails, golfing & plenty of other entertainment choices. Schedule your showing today! LISTED AT $1,450,000

PRISTINE & CLASSY GATED CALABREA ESTATE! PRISTINE & CLASSY GATED ESTATE ON A PREMIUM 2/3 ACRE HILLSIDE LOT • PRIVATE CUL-DE-SAC • 6 BEDROOMS, 4.5 BATHS, 5200 SQFT OF PURE LUXURY FINISHES • STUNNING VIEWS IN EVERY DIRECTION • IRON DOOR • BUTTED GLASS WINDOWS IN ENTRY & KITCHEN • CUSTOM WINDOW TREATMENTS • DECORATOR PAINT • DOME CEILING FOYER & GROIN VAULTED CEILINGS IN LIVING ROOM • TRAVERTINE & HARDWOOD FLOORS THROUGHOUT • 7-INCH BASEBOARDS • MEDIA ROOM • DREAM KITCHEN INCLUDES S/S APPLIANCES,SLAB GRANITE COUNTERS, ALDER CABINETS,HUGE ISLAND,WALK IN PANTRY • LARGE MASTER SUITE W/STONE FIREPLACE • MASTER BATH W/JACUZZI TUB,3 VANITIES & SNAIL SHOWER • PARADISE BACKYARD W/TRAVERTINE IN VERSAILLES PATTERN,TURF GRASS,PEBBLETEC POOL/ JACUZZI,4 WATER FEATURES,LARGE COVERED PATIO,STACKED STONE BBQ • 4 CAR GARAGE W/EPOXY & STORAGE! YOUR DREAM ESTATE AWAITS!!

Listed for $1,339,000

Rachael Richards

480.270.5782 • rhouserealty.com

Geno Ross (602) 751-2121 www.GenoRoss.com

REAL ESTATE

MARCH 3, 2021 | AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS

MARKET from page re1

while the other 11 are continuing to move in favor of sellers. Phoenix is in the latter category. And none of the six that are starting to inch toward buyer-friendly are anywhere near a point where they are that friendly. Cromford maintains an index where 100 points marks a balance between sellers and buyers. The more the number falls below 100, the more favorable the environment is for buyers. Of all 17 cities regularly analyzed by Cromford for its index, the lowest number is Paradise Valley, at 331 while the highest is Avondale, with an unprecedented 1,024. The bottom line: even the six communities that drifted slightly downward, are nowhere near Utopia for buyers. “Eventually prices will rise so much that demand starts to drop below normal,” Cromford said. “This may possibly give supply a chance to expand from the

FREIGHT from page RE2

The 11 units have natural wood floors refurbished from the container floor. “We wanted to keep as much of the character as we could from the original

480-706-7234

Circle G at Riggs Ranch

extreme lows it keeps hitting week after week. We will have to wait and see - there is very little sign of that in any of the current numbers.” Cromford said its market index hasn’t been so tilted toward sellers since the housing bubble peaked in April 2005 – when its market index was around 330. It said that April 2005 marked the first signs of the housing bubble starting to pop – the result of “canny speculators timing their exit from the market well before pricing peaked the following year.” But Cromford noted, “No such pressure relief is looking likely in 2021.” Though total 2,656 single-family building permits issued two months ago in Maricopa and Pinal counties made it the best January since 2006, it was still well below the 3,593 issued back then, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. “We are now seeing single-family home construction at the same sort of rate that we had in 1996 through 2002, but less

containers as possible. Not only is it environmentally responsible building, it’s so cool to think that your living space has actually travelled around the world,” said co-developer Bill Jacoby. Units have a patio or balcony.

“These were originally designed to be stacked 20 or 30 feet high and cross rough seas so the containers themselves are incredibly strong, weather tight and well insulated,” said Brian Stark of Local Studio. Information: liveinfreight.com 

7BR / 4.5 BA / 8,873 SQFT

4 BR / 2 BA / 2,698 SQFT

Estate living with refined tranquility in exquisite setting. Meticulous stonework adorns entire exterior of home.

Superb single-level home in Candleridge with updates throughout.

Call for Details

nancial struggle, the steps the tenant has taken to receive financial assistance from other people or programs, and options to salvage the landlord-tenant relationship. Many landlords are open to alternative solutions, such as altering the lease terms, entering into forbearance agreements, devising a partial payment plan, and/or having a third-party sign a guarantee of the remaining lease obligations, to name a few. If the parties do come to a new agreement, they should memorialize the understanding so there is no confusion later on as to what was agreed to among the parties. With the COVID vaccination effort underway, many small businesses can see the light at the end of the 2021 tunnel as the economy moves back to a normal state. Together with their landlord, tenants can hopefully work through short-term issues, avoiding the need for an eviction. Chandler attorney Ben Gottlieb and Ahwatukee attorney Patrick MacQueen are cofounders and partners of MacQueen & Gottlieb, PLC, which handles a variety of real estate matters. Reach Ben at 602-533-2840 or ben@mandglawgroup.com. 

Stunning panoramic views from privately gated luxury retreat with casita on elevated preserve lot.

Sanctuary 4 BR / 2.5 BA / 3,090 SQFT Candleridge singlelevel with 2018 roof replacement and A/C installation.

Mountain Park Ranch

Listed for $675,000

Mike Mendoza MendozaTeam.com 5 BR / 5 BA / 6,455 SQFT

Listed for $600,000

Majestic Southwest contemporary estate on private hillside lot with stunning mountain and city light views.

Listed for $1,325,000

! LD O S

Mountain Park Ranch

re7

GOTTLIEBfrom page RE5

Ahwatukee’s #1 Team for Over 30 Years

5BR / 4.5 BA / 4,924 SQFT

Tapestry Canyon

than during the over-building of 2003 through 2006,” Cromford said. “It can be hard to explain to people just how bad the supply of re-sale homes has become in Greater Phoenix,” Cromford said. “The reality is quite difficult to grasp unless you are trying to buy one. Many people mistakenly think demand must be exceptionally high, but that is not really the issue. It is above average but not unusual. “Not only is the supply extraordinarily low, it has dropped by a large percentage since the beginning of the year.” It noted that the year began with only 6,113 listings – far below the 22,879 listings that existed when 2015 began. Even more stunning, Cromford reported, is that Phoenix Metro listings since Jan. 1 have plummeted by 23 percent, prompting Cromford to lament: “If active listings were a species of animal, they would have to go on the critically endangered list.” 

! LD O S

Listed for $1,950,000

4 BR / 3 BA / 2,730 SQFT Spectacular waterfront home in popular Laguna Shores. 2019 A/C replacement.

Call for Details

Laguna Shores

Tapestry Canyon

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MARCH 3, 2021

re8

Ahwatukee Custom Estates One of the most amazing view lots in

all of AZ. Custom home with everythingl 10,000 sq. ft., 3/4 acre prserve lot, 6 bedrooms, 6 bathes, Executive Office Suite, Master Suite with Sitting Room, Master Bath with Jacuzzi, Theater Room, Exercise Room, Loft, Guest House, Grand Foyer, Gourmet Kitchen, Resort Backyard with Pebbletec Diving Pool, Watertalls, slide, Volcano, firepit, Spa, Sport Court, Grassy Play Areas, & Outdoor Kitchen, 4-car A/C Garage. A true masterpiece!!!

$2,099,000

SOLD!

Ahwatukee Custom Estates

Calabrea

$1,750,000

$1,339,000

Pristine & Classy Gated Estate On A Premium 2/3 Acre Hillside Lot, Private Cul-De-Sac, 6 Bedrooms, 4.5 Baths, 5200 Sqft Of Pure Luxury Finishes, Stunning Views In Every Direction, Iron Door, Butted Glass Windows In Entry & Kitchen, Custom Window Treatments, Decorator Paint, Dome Ceiling Foyer & Groin Vaulted Ceilings In Living Room, Travertine & Hardwood Floors Throughout, 7-Inch Baseboards, Media Room, Dream Kitchen Includes S/S Appliances, Slab Granite Counters, Alder Cabinets, Huge Island, Walk In Pantry, Large Master Suite W/Stone Fireplace, Master Bath W/Jacuzzi Tub, 3 Vanities & Snail Shower, Paradise Backyard W/Travertine In Versailles Pattern, Turf Grass, Pebbletec Pool/Jacuzzi, 4 Water Features, Large Covered Patio, Stacked Stone Bbq, 4 Car Garage W/Epoxy & Storage! Your Dream Estate Awaits!!

SOLD!

Amazing Remodeled Custom Estate with mountain views located at the end of a cul-de-sac.Over 8000sqft of pure luxury finishes.6 Bedroom,5.5 Baths.Custom Kitchen.Elevator.Executive Office.Basement Media Room.Dance Studio.Huge Backyard with Pool, Jacuzzi, Turf, BBQ, Sportcourt.This Spectacular Estate has it all!!!

Summerhill $1,099,000

Calabrea $1,099,000

Cabrillo Canyon $689,000

SOLD! Stunning Single Level Custom Remodel on a huge corner lot in a cul-de-sac! *4 Bedroom, 2.5 Bath *The highest quality custom finishes throughout *Grand foyer *Formal living & dining room *Familt room w/fireplace *Wetbar *Designer kitchen includes: quartzsite counters & island, s/s appliances, custom cabinetry, walk-in pantry *Recessed LED lights throughout *Plantation shutters *Large master suite *Master bath w/walk-in shower, free standing tub, & walk-in closet *Laundry room w/sink *Wood flooring *Custom fixtures *Trane A/C’s *Private backyard w/covered patio, pebbletec pool, turf, & RV gate with tons of room to park the toys *3 Car garage with epoxy *The lot is very private *The house shows like a new build *Do not miss your opportunity to own this amazing Cabrillo Canyon Estate!

5 bedroom / 3 bath, 3,506 SqFt, Cul-de-sac location with huge backyard, sports court, built-in BBQ, mature shade trees, very private backing to wash. Good size SOLD! bedrooms, master downstai5. Features a large office with balcony, plus office/loft with built-in bookcase and 3 full baths. Th� home is perfect for family gatherings BEST NEAR THE LOOP 202 in gated withand stunning mountain only. views. andLOCATION entertaining. CanNEW be previewed with 24Calabrea hour notice appointment

SOLD!

Canyon Verde/$899,000--SOLD IN 1 DAY Foothills/$299,000--SOLD IN 1 DAY Ahwatukee/$489,000--SOLD IN 1 DAY

Complete with the highest quality build and finishes. Gourmet kitchen includes slab granite counters, alder cabinets, and stainless steel appliances. This estate also features a media/ theater room with 105 inch screen. The basement includes a full wet bar, family room & 2 bedrooms. Resort Backyard with pool. A perfect 10!

www.GenoRoss.com Donna Leeds TOP GRI, ABR REALTOR

�

949.310.5673

Stunning single-level custom estate gated summerhill on a 1/2 acre lot. beautiful mountain views. Gourmet Kitchen. Master Suite w/sitting area. Two master suites. Split floorplan. Executive office w/built-in cabinets. Tropical paradise backyard w/covered patio, gazebo, pebbletec pool, rock waterfall, built-in bbq, turf, & putting green. This estate has the perfect floorplan!!

lf"fl!

Geno Ross

602.751.2121

wwwBestAgentWUSA.com

Making Ahwatukee

Home Dreams Come True Since 1986 www.WestUSA.com I 480.893.0600

4505 E. Chandler Boulevard, Suite 170, Phoenix, AZ 85048

Mountain Park Ranch

SOLD!

$320,000

Open Floor Plan, Bright & Cozy Corner Lot Home Across from Large Greenbelt. 2 Bedroom 2 Bath Pool Backyard Paradise Private Pool with Travertine Pool Deck, Split Master with Separate Entrance to Back Yard. Beautiful Custom Shower and more.

Warner Ranch Meadows

SOLD!

$599,900

Let the AZ sunshine in with all it’s glory through the panoramic windows.1/2 bath + 3/4 bath & 1 bedroom downstairs. Eat in kitchen is complete with center island, breakfast bar, granite countertops, a plethora of custom cabinets, and stainless steel appliances. Three bedrooms up plus a office with built in desks! Master suite has wood flooring, private exit to balcony, and built in desk. Full spa bathroom with double sink vanity and separate soaking tub + shower. Resort style backyard features a covered patio with lush green grass and a sparkling pool.

Jenifer Bulfer 480-297-6968 jbulfer@westusa.com

Marty Griffin 602-692-7653 martygriffin@q.com

Ahwatukee

Harbor Island

SOLD! 4 bedroom, 3 bath, 3252 Sq Ft. This gorgeous family home with it’s backyard oasis combines the best of indoor and outdoor living . The remodeled kitchen overlooks the dining/family room with gas fireplace and offers granite counter tops, stainless appliances, duel ovens, wet bar and large pantry. Recently repainted inside & out and re-carpeted in 2019.

Troy Royston 480-435-3461 troyston61@gmail.com

$849,900

PENDING!

Gorgeous Views! SEMI-CUSTOM BASEMENT HOME SITUATED ON A STUNNING WATERFRONT LOT IN HARBOR ISLAND COMMUNITY. 4,525 sq ft. 4 Bedrms 3 Baths. 1 Bedroom & Bath Downstairs. Awesome Backyard W/ Play Pool, Grassy Area, Dock Where You Can Boat or Fish.

Geri Thompson 480-239-7589 gerithompson@westusa.com

Sun City West

$309,900

PENDING!

3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1,958 sq ft. Charming single story home with natural brick accent and a front porch you can watch the sun rise and set from. Open floor plan with tile and carpet throughout. Large living room is perfect for entertaining family and friends. Open concept kitchen includes a wall oven, counter top stove, breakfast bar, eat in dining area and plenty of cabinet space. Master room has a built-in vanity, a walk-in closet and a 3/4 bathroom. Additional room with built in cabinets and counters. Enjoy your open, bordered back yard with a covered patio area.

Tempe - Temporary off the Market

$299,900

Wonderful single story 3 bedrooms, 2 baths great Tempe location. Large living room, kitchen offers black appliances and granite counters. Spacious master with walk in closet. Large yard with RV gate and no HOA. Great location and minutes from ASU , restaurants and entertainment.

Marty Griffin 602-692-7653 martygriffin@q.com

Citrus Mountain Estates

$399,900

UNDER CONTRACTBACK UPS

Prepare to be amazed! Come and see this wonderful 4 bed, 2 bath property now for sale in Phoenix! A beautiful facade, desert landscaping, 3 car garage, this home has it all and more!

Kelly Quek, M.B.A. 480-734-9808 kellyquek8@gmail.com

TEMPORARY OFF THE MARKET

Natalie Christensen 602-373-6212 nchristensen@westusa.com

Mountain Park Ranch

$450,000

PENDING!

5 bedroom 3 bath, 4,254 sq ft. Large lot “Cul-D-Sac” family home in the heart of Ahwatukee. Home features two new Trane AC units, new roof and newer pebble tec diving pool! Enjoy Mountain Park Ranch and all its amenities. Award winning Kyrene School district and close to Sky Harbor Airport.

Link Paffenbarger 602-989-7221 linkpaff@gmail.com

MARCH 3, 2021 | AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS

ROOTS from page 21

wife of three decades, met when they were high school seniors in Emmaus, Pennsylvania. Now that their three sons are adults, she’s spending more time at Jungle Roots while teaching fitness classes at Ahwatukee Foothills Family YMCA. Their most recent hire is Dr. Vanessa Antolinez Kai, the dentist known to her young patients as Dr. Vanessa. Born and raised in Columbia, Antolinez Kai was teaching math at Florida’s Valencia College when she volunteered with the Dental Care Access Foundation. The nonprofit organization helps patients suffering from emergencies to connect with a volunteer dentist. “I was a receptionist during my time off from teaching at Valencia College,” Antonlinez Kai recalled. “I’d receive calls from people that had lost their teeth due to a car accident or were in need of emergency care…It was a beautiful experience. “The volunteer dentists were very compassionate to their community and I just wanted to become one of them.” When asked what she most liked about Jungle Roots since joining in early February, she quickly replied, “Everything.” “Dr. Culp and his team are great. I love how compassionate, professional and hard working they are, providing the best care for their patients,” she said. “And the décor in the office is unique and fun. It feels like a hidden city in the rainforest. Kids have such wonderful imaginations that the décor just serves as a canvas for storytelling during procedures.” Long-time Ahwatukee resident and mom of two, Amy Perciballi praised the practice’s jungle theme, which includes a 12-foothigh Banyan tree in the waiting room with TVs and game screens nestled into the faux rock under its spreading branches. “My two sons have been going to Jungle Roots since they were toddlers, and they’re now 17 and 19,” Perciballi said. “They no longer sit under the trees and play video games but at one time it was great to have that option as they waited for the other one to finish treatment.” “The boys never had any fear of going to the dentist and were never scared of any of the procedures because all the people working there made them feel comfortable and at ease,” she added. “Dr. Culp’s easy-going yet professional attitude has been great, and he not only

“Prior to being allowed to re“And our staff members also change open, our staff, Karen and I came from street clothes to work clothes and up with many ways of keep- back again before leaving,” said Dr. Culp. ing our patients and employees “This dramatically reduces cross-contamhealthy…We decided to pull out ination from office to home. all of the stops and go a few steps “Our entire structure of seeing patients further in our efforts to minimize had to be re-organized to meet our air COVID threats.” quality standards. It is most definitely not That includes screening all business as usual,” he said, noting toys, patients while still in their cars, video games, magazines and even complirunning air conditioning fans all mentary coffee have been discontinued. day so the MERV 14-rated filters And yet, the practice continues to grow. “We’ve always been and will continue can clean the air. “We run HEPA filtration in to be a conservative and educational each operatory to begin elimi- practice. We treat conditions, but we also nating airborne particulates and educate and explain processes that promicro-organisms,” he further ex- duced the problem and offer many stratplained. “Our office is profession- egies to prevent future occurrences,” exally cleaned daily, with common plained Dr. Culp. The jungle theme in the waiting room helps ease the He said among his proudest moments nerves of young patients not thrilled to be at a den- areas and commonly-used areas is seeing former patients bringing in their like counters, door handles and tist. (Special to AFN) light switches continuously mon- own children. related to them when they were small but itored and cleaned by our staff.” “The first time that happened, I was also as they became teenagers - probably Jungle Roots also runs UVC disinfection floored. I didn’t expect that unique benbecause he’s a parent himself and knows lights nightly to deactivate air-suspended efit of practicing in an area for so long,” how to converse with kids since he’s gone microorganisms. he said. “I’m always honored when it hapthrough it with his own.” All personal protective equipment garb pens, and it gives me pause to reflect on Perciballi herself was an orthodontic pa- is changed between every patient, then where we’ve been.” tient at Jungle Roots. Information: JungleRoots.com or 480laundered on-premise multiple times durDr. Scott Peterson heads Jungle Roots ing the day. 759-1119.  Orthodontic department, personally attending to children and adults. COME AND CELEBRATE WEDNESDAY MARCH 17TH, ST. PATRICKS DAY WITH US AT Peterson, who lives in Gilbert with his wife and three children, competes in triathlons and Spartan races and plays Ultimate Frisbee regularly. Another orthodontist will join Jungle Roots in April. Dr. Jason Brady, who also lives in Gilbert with his wife and four sons, is Jungle Roots’ Dentist Anesthesiologist-DMD. He began his career as a civil engineer before changing course to earn his undergraduate dental degree at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. He went on to complete his 26-month hospital and private practice-based residency in anesthesia at the University of California Los Angeles, graduating in 2012. Another popular Jungle Roots draw is their mascot Shorty, a 1965 lime green VW van that has been an annual participant at the Ahwatukee Kiwanis Club Easter Parades, Transportation Day festivities and other community gatherings. Corn Beef & Cabbage, Corn Beef Sandwiches And Plenty Of Fun! It is always parked outside the practice when Dr. Culp isn’t driving it around the AHWATUKEE’S ONLY IRISH THEMED PUB, SERVING RESIDENTS OVER 20 YEARS! village. Limited menu this day only. No reservations accepted this day. First come, first serve. As could be expected, COVID-19 has Ahwatukee: 4723 East Ray Rd. • (480) 705-0505 • Open 11am-11pm brought “enormous change,” said Dr. Culp.

KEEGAN’S LUNCH & DINNER 11AM - 9PM

BUSINESS

Business 24

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MARCH 3, 2021

@AhwatukeeFN |

@AhwatukeeFN

www.ahwatukee.com

Jobless pay bene�it could be upped in Arizona BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

rizonans who �ind themselves out of work through no fault of their own could get their �irst increase in bene�its in 17 years. Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee – including Ahwatukee Sen. Sean Bowie – voted 9-1 last week to set the maximum bene�it to $320 a week as early as this summer. The current cap of $240 was set in 2004 and is the second lowest in the country; only Mississippi pays less. And then, if the employer-�inanced trust fund that pays for bene�its gets back into healthy territory, the maximum automatically would go to $400 a week. Individuals would be able to earn up to $160 a week without losing bene�its, whether while looking for a new full-time gig or remaining on a part-time status with a current employer. Now, anything over $30 disquali�ies the employee.

Sen. Sean Bowie, seen here at last week’s Senate Appropriations Committee meeting, was among the nine committee members who voted in favor of higher unemployment pay. Only Scottsdale Republican Michelle Ugenti-Rita voted against it. (Special to AFN) To �inance all that, employers would pay more in the taxes that �inance the bene�its.

What makes all that signi�icant is that SB 1411 is being pushed by Senate President

Karen Fann, R-Prescott. Prior perennial efforts to increase the bene�its by Democrats have met with GOP resistance. Fann said she worked with business interests to get the necessary buy-in. The result is that no one from the business community has come out in opposition. Current law allows state bene�it to continue for up to 26 weeks, not counting special federal programs. SB 1411 would drop that to 20 weeks when the state’s jobless rate is less than 6 percent. Still, there are objections. Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita, R-Scottsdale, the lone dissent on the measure, said she’s concerned that there isn’t enough in the law to ensure that people collecting bene�its are actually out searching for a new job. There already are requirements in law, including a mandate to make contacts with potential employers at least four days a week. And after four weeks of ben-

�ee EMPLOY page 25

End-run around education tax aimed at businesses BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

handler Sen. J.D. Mesnard is proposing an end-run around the new income tax surcharge for wealthy earners that would allow some business owners to avoid paying it. SB 1783 would create an entirely new alternate tax category for small businesses, generally those organized in a way so their income passes through to the owners. That means the owners compute what they owe the state on their personal income tax forms after deducting all business expenses. What makes that signi�icant is that Proposition 208 imposes a 3.5 percent surcharge on adjusted personal income of more than $250,000 for individuals and $500,000 for married couples �iling jointly. That is on top of the current 4.5 percent rate that applies for income

above those �igures. Mesnard’s bill would give business owners the option of paying a 4.5 percent tax on their adjusted business income. The surcharge in Proposition 208 would not apply because this new tax category did not exist at the time voters approved the measure. So, business owners could compute their tax liability using both the existing formula or the new one and then choose the one that costs them less. During his reelection campaign last year, Mesnard expressed concern about the surcharge’s impact on businesses during the Clean Elections Commission debate. He told Capitol Media Services that creating this new category makes sense because will allow lawmakers to craft special tax provisions targeted at helping small businesses. He acknowledged, though, that a prime

State Sen. J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler, says his bill will help small businesses impacted by the new education tax. (Special to AFN) reason was to help business owners escape paying that new voter-approved surcharge. Mesnard said that’s justi�ied.

“We heard time and time again this will not or is not meant to impact small businesses,’’ he said. “And so, what this is doing is ensuring that’s the case.’’ But David Lujan, who helped organize the Prop 208 �ight, said the initiative does not target small business. Lujan pointed out that what’s subject to the tax is not the gross proceeds of any business. It’s what’s left after an owner pays all expenses, from employee salaries to equipment purchases. It’s also what remains after any other deductions, like money a business owner puts into a 401(k) retirement account. What that leaves, he said, is the net income the owner’s pockets. And Prop 208 kicks in only on any net earnings above $500,000 for a married couple. Lujan also pointed out that SB 1783,

�ee ED TAX page 25

BUSINESS

MARCH 3, 2021 | AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS

How to create a rich retirement and legacy DR. HAROLD S WONG AFN Guest Writer

ast week, I attended a three-day virtual Cash Flow Expo. Most of the experts specialized in the unique niche of investing in mortgage notes. Their return on investment (ROI) would average 9 percent. In contrast, the coupon rate on a US 10-Year Treasury bond is 1.13 percent and 1.88 percent on a 30Year bond. The average dividend rate for S&P 500 stocks for the �irst 20 years since 1/1/2000 has been 2.02 percent and bank interest is at most 0.50 percent. Secret #1. Earning 4.5 to 18 times the normal safe investment alternative rates. Secret #2. These cash-�low experts stressed that Secret #2 is having tax-deferred or tax-free compounding. Assume a couple is able to save $100,000 at age 35. Using the Rule of 72; take the number 72 and divide by 9 percent ROI; and it will double every 8 years.

EMPLOY from page 24

e�its, people generally have to take any job that pays them at least 20 percent more than they’re collecting. But that work search requirement has been suspended during the pandemic by the executive order Gov. Doug Ducey signed last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “So we’re just going to pay people to be unemployed?’’ Ugenti-Rita asked.

ED TAX from page 24

which awaits a vote of the full Senate, doesn’t just set a new optional tax category for small business. It also creates this same 4.5 percent tax rate for income from estates and trusts. Attorney Roopali Desai who represents the Invest in Ed committee that put Prop 208 on the ballot, acknowledged that lawmakers have the power to alter the state tax code and create new categories.

This means that their $100,000 becomes $200,000 in 8 years; $400,000 in another 8 years; and then $3,200,000 at the end of 40 years when they are age 75. Under current law, one does not have to take Required Minimum Distributions until 72 and there are proposals to raise this to age 75. Given this large $3,200,000 amount saved and President Biden’s proposals to raise taxes; let’s assume they are in a 40 percent tax rate when they are killed by a drunk driver at age 75. The $3,200,000 is subject to $1,280,000 of income tax, leaving $1,920,000 for their kids and grandkids. This only occurs if it’s in a tax-deferred account such as an IRA or 401(k) and they can actually invest in mortgage notes. Secret #3. Use a self-directed IRA or 401(k) which allows them to use alternative investments such as mortgage notes. In contrast, all traditional IRAs and 401(k)s managed by banks and Wall Street �irms restrict you to traditional stocks, bonds, and mutual-fund type investments. Suppose one was not in a tax-deferred account and was subject to an average 25

And there’s another potential hurdle. Ducey has consistently opposed any bene�it increase, saying there are plenty of jobs for people to �ind “at any time’’ and he sees no need to adjust that $240 �igure. Fann said she has informed the governor’s of�ice about the details of her measure. The only thing that gubernatorial press aide C.J. Karamargin would say is that Ducey is “reviewing the measure.’’ Much of the resistance until now has

“The question is whether the Legislature is able to pass legislation that directly or indirectly changes the voter-protected law that was put in place through Prop 208,’’ she said. The Voter Protection Act bars lawmakers from repealing or making changes in anything approved at the ballot. The only exception is for amendments that “further the purpose’’ of the original law, and then only with a three-fourths vote. Desai said courts have concluded that

percent combined federal/state income tax rate every year. In year 1, one earns 9 percent or $9,000 interest on one’s $100,000 investment. Then one pays $2,250 in income tax and is left with $6,750 net interest, plus one’s original $100,000 principle, for a total of $106,750. In year 2, one earns 9 percent or $106,750 = 9,607.50 interest, but then has to pay $2,401.88 in income tax. This leaves a net $7,205.63 interest earned, added to the $106,750 principle at the beginning of year 2, for a total of $113,955.63 at the end of year 2. At the end of 40 years, one’s $100,000 would have grown to $1,363,689 by age 75. Another scenario: The couple was not educated in the use of self-directed IRA’s and alternative investments and earns an average of 2 percent in dividends or 30year Treasury bonds for 40 years and not in a tax-deferred account. They pay a 25 percent tax rate on their income every year. Starting with $100,000, they would have $181,402 at the end of 40 years.

come from business interests because those payments are �inanced by a tax that employers pay on the �irst $7,000 of each worker’s salary. Fann proposes to �inance the higher bene�its in SB 1411 by increasing the base on which the tax is paid, which she said has not been altered since 1986, to $8,000 next year and $9,000 in 2023. SB 1411 goes to the full Senate after a required review by the Rules Committee legislation runs afoul of the Voter Protection Act even if it doesn’t directly repeal the measure approved at the ballot. “You can do something more surreptitious and more malicious by going to make other changes elsewhere (in the statutes) that would have the same effect, which is to undermine the ultimate will of the voters,’’ she said. What isn’t known is how much would be lost from the anticipated income for education if lawmakers approve the measure.

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Secret #4. Use a self-directed Roth IRA so that their $100,000 at age 35 becomes $3,200,000 tax-free at age 75. If they die, the full $3,200,000 becomes tax-free to their heirs and whatever the heirs earn for the next 10 years is totally tax-free. Conclusion: There’s a huge difference between having retirement savings of $181,402, $1,363,689, $1,920,000, or $3,200,000. Understanding the power of alternative investments and innovative tax savings can create $3 million more for your retirement bucket list dreams; or a legacy for heirs. Most can save $100,000; but few can turn it into $3,200,000 tax-free! Free information on tax savings, retirement planning, and solar business investments can be found at drharoldwong. com or solarbusinessinvestments.com. To schedule your free consultation: 480-7060177 or harold_wong@hotmail.com. Dr. Harold Wong earned his Ph.D. in economics at University of California/ Berkeley and has appeared on over 400 TV/radio programs. 

of its constitutionality. Fann isn’t the only Republican interested in adjusting jobless bene�its. Rep. David Cook, R-Globe, is sponsoring HB 2805 which would raise the cap to $300 a week. That measure, like what Fann is proposing, also would allow people to earn up to $160 a week without losing bene�its. His bill cleared a House panel and awaits action by the full chamber. 

Estimates of what the initiative, as originally crafted, would raise have ranged from $827 million to $940 million a year. So far, legislative budget analysts have not produced a �iscal impact statement of SB 1783, which was approved earlier this month by the Senate Finance Committee on a party-line vote. Lujan said SB 1783 is likely to affect a “signi�icant portion’’ of the anticipated revenues. No date has been set for Senate debate on the measure. 

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OPINION

Opinion 28

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MARCH 3, 2021

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Tiger’s crash: cars are safer, but don’t push the limits BY NORMA HUBELE AFN Guest Writer

n the afternoon of Tiger Woods’ recent rollover crash, I received a text from a dear friend, who was upset by a USA Today article that raised the question, “Was Tiger Woods’ SUV safe?” Woods was injured when his 2021 Genesis GV80 SUV hit a center divider, a curb, and a tree. He was driving on a stretch of road in Los Angeles County known for its curves and steep grades. Sally wanted to know when does the driver’s behavior and the road conditions overrule any amount of safety a car can provide. In other words, why are people asking if there’s more that Genesis could do? From all accounts, Woods was operating his vehicle with excessive speed on a hazardous roadway. Some would call this reckless. Whether or not Woods is sited, such offenses are nothing new. Since the beginning of automobiles, some drivers have behaved poorly. In 1932, Reader’s Digest published one of their most widely read editorials titled, “And Sudden Death” by J. C. Furnas. The au-

Court ruling does not stop The Edge from doing anything

I am an attorney licensed to practice in Arizona and California with over 30 years of experience, including suing and representing homeowners’ associations. In the Feb. 23, article, “The Edge: Let Club West see our course plans,” the Edge misrepresents the injunction entered in the Superior Court in lawsuit filed by the Club West Conservancy, Case number CV-2020-03577. The injunction does not order the Edge to do or refrain from anything. It does not prohibit the Edge from “presenting any plan” to the Foothills Club West. It does not prohibit the Edge from talking to the Board, or vice versa.

thor and the magazine widely distributed the article because deaths on U.S. roadways were climbing, but those grim statistics were not changing behavior. Furnas interviewed state troopers with first-hand experience of arriving to the scene of an accident. The editorial described broken bones, blood and mangled bodies. Here is just a sampling: “If ghosts were put to useful purpose, every bad stretch of road in the United States would greet the on-coming motorist with groans and screams and the educational spectacle of 10 or a dozen corpses, all sizes, sexes and ages, lying horribly still on the bloody grass.” The author was clearly trying to show drivers the ultimate (and possibly inevitable) consequences of their actions. But the editorial also made another important point: carmakers did not design the cars of that time to protect occupants in a crash. Dashboards then were made of wood and metal. Every surface or angle become a projectile – causing harm and disfigurement. A crash was like going over, “Niagara Falls in a steel barrel full of railroad spikes.” In fact, many folks in those days thought it was better to be ejected from the vehicle than to be tossed about inside the vehicle. Car design has come a long way since

then. The seatbelt, airbags and stronger roof built into Woods’ SUV probably saved his life. But these safety devices only came about after an effort to change people’s attitudes. Between the 1930s and 1960s, epidemiologists suggested that Americans had to change the way we viewed crashes. First, we had to accept the fact that crashes happen. Once this basic premise was in place, then communities came together to (1) prevent crashes and (2) reduce crash-related injuries and deaths. Professionals from law enforcement, road design and maintenance, driver education, emergency medical care and, yes, vehicle design all had important roles to play. President Johnson formed the Department of Transportation in the mid-1960s and appointed the public health specialist Dr. William Haddon to lead what is today’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Haddon’s job was to reduce deaths and injuries on our roadways. About the same time, Ralph Nader published his book, “Unsafe at Any Speed.” Nader criticized carmakers for prioritizing car sales and styling above people’s safety. These events helped lead to the nation’s first regulation of the automobile. Within three years, the government issued the

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards mandating padded dashboards, improved door locks, seatbelts, and collapsible steering wheel columns. Airbags only became standard in 1998. Roof strengths were upgraded in 2012. Back to my friend Sally’s question. Yes, one could speculate that without the Genesis’ safety devices, Woods likely would have died. By today’s standards, the Genesis appears relatively safe. Car design has come a long way since the 1930s. That is thanks to the work of many individuals, in our government, universities, communities, test laboratories and industries, who joined forces to lower the risks of injury and death on our roadways. We salute the emergency medical team who tended to Mr. Woods and hope that he makes a full recovery. But as drivers, we can treat this as a teaching moment. We need to remember to pay attention and not push the limits of our cars’ safety systems. Norma Hubele is professor emeritus of Arizona State University and the creator of TheAutoProfessor.com, a website that helps families make safer car choices. She is working on a book, “Car Safety: Where the Numbers Help and Where They Don’t.” 

(However, the Arizona HOA open meeting law, A.R.S. § 33-1804 prevents any HOA Board from taking action in a closed meeting and without notice to the owners). In fact, Footnote 4 of the injunction explicitly notes that the injunction does not infringe on anyone’s free speech rights. A.R.S. § 33-1804 can be found here: azleg. gov/viewdocument/?docName=https:// www.azleg.gov/ars/33/01804.htm. The injunction can be found here. courtminutes.maricopa.gov/viewerME. asp?fn=Civil/012021/m9427664.pdf The injunction orders only this: “It is ordered enjoining the Defendants and their agents and employees from scheduling or conducting a vote of the Board, or of the

Association’s members, to amend Paragraph 1.1 of the Golf Course Declaration, or any other provision of the Golf Course Declaration or the Master Declaration, to authorize or permit the non-golf use or development of the property that is the subject of Paragraph 1.1 of the Golf Course Declaration.” By its plain language, the injunction prohibits the Foothills Club West Association or that board from voting to amend the golf court or master declaration or to “authorize or permit” non-golf course development of the former Club West Golf course. Nothing more. The court entered the injunction because it found that the FCW Board members probably violated the CC&Rs and Arizona law.

In an injunction proceeding, the court is called upon to make a preliminary but not final interpretation of the law. The court entered the injunction because the FCW Board President Mike Hinz signed and recorded document that purported to amend the Golf Course Declaration to permit only 16 percent of the FCW homeowners to approve non-golf course uses in an apparent violation of the FCW CC&Rs and of Arizona law, A.R.S.§ 33-1804. The FCW CC&Rs require a supermajority vote of 75 percent of the homeowners for such amendments. A.R.S. § 33-1804 requires notice to the members and prohibits

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

�ee LETTERS page 29

OPINION

MARCH 3, 2021 | AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS

LETTERS �� 28

the board from voting on such actions unless the vote is taken in a public meeting after allowing the homeowners to be heard. The FCW Board members approved this community changing amendment in an “executive session” (closed board members only meeting) without any notice whatsoever to the homeowners, and without any mention of having done so in the meeting minutes, or in any newsletter. The court rejected the board’s arguments that the board members enjoy “the unfettered right to unilaterally amend the Golf Course Declaration in any way it sees �it” or that the board had any right to amend the Golf Course Declaration in any way. As a Foothills Club West homeowner, I am voting against all of the incumbent board members because I am appalled that they felt entitled to make such a colossal decision for homeowners in secret. The fact that Mike Hinz has spilled so much ink on the issue without mentioning how the court ruled strongly suggests that we can expect similar behavior from the board in the future unless we vote for a change. If you are a Foothills Club West homeowner, you do not need to take my word for any

of this. Please read for yourself. -Ellen B. Davis

Recycling in Maricopa County: Tips and Importance

There exist many misconceptions about what can and cannot be recycled in Maricopa County. In fact, many people are surprised by what materials make the cut. Here are some of the most common mistakes people in Maricopa County make when recycling and how to �ix them. We’ll also discuss the importance of recycling and how you can reduce your carbon footprint. When we don’t recycle, waste ends up in land�ills, one of the biggest contributors to soil and air pollution. As waste in land�ills decomposes, it releases methane gas. Methane gas traps up to 20 times more heat compared to carbon dioxide, contributing to global warming. According to a study done by the University of Georgia, 18 billion pounds of plastic trash end up in our oceans annually, affecting marine life and contributing to over 100,000 marine animals dying every year from plastic ingestion or entanglement. As it turns out, the rate of recycling in the U.S. is around 34.5%, and, although about

75% of America’s waste is recyclable, only 30% is getting recycled. If the rate of recycling in the U.S. increased to 75%, it would affect the environment as if 50 million cars were removed from our streets! Nine of ten Americans say they would recycle if it were ‘easier,’ and we’re here to make recycling easier for everyone by explaining the right and wrong ways to do it and how to implement recycling in your daily lives. Many people are often confused about where to begin with the process. However, by taking the time to research the materials that can be recycled, it does not have to be a complicated task. According to the of�icial website for Maricopa County, materials that can be placed in blue bins include: paper (should be dry), empty cardboard, aluminum and steel food and beverage cans, and dry plastic bottles numbered 1-7. In a world dominated by technology, it is essential to know what type of electronics can be recycled. Some recyclable electronics include monitors, printers, microphones, gaming systems, televisions, and more. Glass, scrap metal such as air conditioners and refrigerators, and tires, are also acceptable. While there are many items that can go into recycling, some are not accepted, such as greasy pizza boxes. Pizza boxes cannot be

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recycled due to the grease and leftover food stuck on the cardboard. However, cardboard with more of a waxy �inish, such as microwave cardboard boxes, are great for recycling, Another common mistake is recycling plastic shopping bags and sandwich bags; these items get caught in machines and result in them shutting down and needing constant repairs. But there is an easy �ix! Many grocery stores around the valley have bins to return these plastic bags to ensure that they don’t end up in our land�ills. Now that you know why and how to recycle, you can use that knowledge to help save the Earth before it’s too late. Every item you recycle is one less item in a land�ill or an incinerator. The future of the habitability of this planet depends on preserving the limited number of natural resources and raw materials available. There are so many things that many people may not even know can be recycled, but with a little research, their carbon footprint can be greatly reduced. For more information: maricopa. gov/3366/Accepted-Items-Fees. The Climate Action Club of BASIS Ahwatukee 

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Thunder soccer hoping for late season push BY ZACH ALVIRA AFN Sports Editor

n a season shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic Desert Vista head boys soccer coach Trent Elliott recognizes there is little room for error. Two early-season losses and one recently to Red Mountain currently has Desert Vista on the playoff bubble. Due to the shortened season, the Arizona Interscholastic Association trimmed the playoff �ield from 32 teams to 16 and eliminated the play-in tournament, which typically decides seeds eight through 16. Desert Vista, at 6-3 heading into its contest Monday against defending champion Brophy, was No. 13 in the 6A rankings with one more game on the road against Westwood to solidify their spot in the �ield of 16. Near the midway point of the season at 3-2, Desert Vista was just starting to get its feet underneath it.

Desert Vista senior forward and captain Casey Morris has helped navigate his team through a difficult offseason due to COVID-19. Now, he’s hoping to lead his team to a late season push in the playoffs. (Zac BonDurant/AFN Contributor) “At one point we had �ive starters out due to injury,” Elliott said. “It was kind of

Mountain Pointe to host strength, speed youth football camp BY ZACH ALVIRA AFN Sports Editor

ountain Pointe High School’s football program is set to host a strength and speed camp for young athletes looking to improve their fundamentals both on and off the gridiron. Beginning March 15 and running through May 20, athletes in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades have the opportunity to receive coaching from Mountain Pointe’s varsity, junior varsity and freshman coaching staffs two days a week. It’s the �irst time since Eric Lauer returned to the Pride program as head coach the school will host a youth camp. Last year’s plans were thrown out due to the start of the coronavirus pandemic, which forced the shutdown of schools and sports in March. “You want to use that time to build re-

lationships,” Mountain Pointe coach Eric Lauer said. “You can’t recruit, so you have to be able to show these athletes what your program is all about in an appropriate way. You hope those eighth graders will become your ninth graders and it will give those younger junior high kids something to think about when it comes time for them to choose their high school.” The young athletes will partake in strength and speed training drills on Mark Lovett Field, where the varsity football team practices, every Tuesday and Thursday. Lauer said one of the main focuses will be on technique. Due to the ongoing pandemic the kids will still be forced to wear masks during each session. But they will be broken up into smaller groups spread

�� CAMP �� 32

tough luck because we had guys who had to step up and play more minutes in their

absence. So now we put subs in and there isn’t a drop in our level of play.” Most of those starters returned from injury against a struggling Hamilton team earlier in the season, which the Thunder went on to win 4-0. Last year, after struggling in the �irst half of the season, Elliott challenged his senior leaders to navigate the team out of a rut. The players answered the challenge and went on to win four of their next �ive matches and advanced to the quarter�inal round of the 6A tournament. So far, this season has followed a similar path with the team winning four of its last three matches. Though with limited number of opportunities, Desert Vista is forced to approach every contest as a playoff game to avoid being eliminated from the postseason before it begins. “Every game we have to play like it’s a

�� THUNDER �� 32

SPORTS

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MARCH 3, 2021

THUNDER �� 31

state championship,” Desert Vista junior forward Connor McHale said. “That’s our mindset. We want to be in position to get into the playoffs and then have the ability to go on a run from there.” McHale is one of the players who returned from injury for Desert Vista against Hamilton. The team’s leading scorer last season, he played limited minutes due to an ankle injury but has since seen his minutes increase. He, along with senior forward and captain Casey Morris, have been an integral part to Desert Vista’s success this season with their ability to put pressure on opposing defenses and dominate time of possession. The leadership between the two, along with other Desert Vista captains, has helped the Thunder navigate dif�icult circumstances brought on by the pandemic throughout the offseason and regular season. Overall, they’ve come together as a team. “This is a role I’ve wanted since my �irst year on varsity,” Morris said. “I was able to watch a lot of captains and have seen

Desert Vista head boys soccer coach Trent Elliott has created a mindset in his program of winning each week, which forces his players not to look ahead of their opponents as they hope to make the postseason. (Zac BonDurant/AFN Contributor)

how they act. I felt like I was ready for this role and it feels good to be able to lead this

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team out onto the �ield. “Especially when we get a win.” It will be a bit of an uphill climb for Desert Vista to solidify itself in the playoff rankings, and Monday’s contest against Brophy could potentially make or break the season. But with assistant coaches Ty Iannone and Logan Rabasca – who played on Desert Vista’s 2018 championship team – on staff helping this season, it’s created a new mindset around the team. Overall, the players feed off the championship memories Iannone and Rabasca have, and the players have a new level of trust in them due to their experience. Elliott feels that alone will help the Thunder hit a new stride in the postseason if given the opportunity. “We really try not to get caught up in how many weeks we have, we just want to win the week,” Elliott said. “I think they were so focused earlier in the year on winning a state championship, they were looking way down the road. We just have to keep our focus small and go 1-0 every time we step onto the �ield.” 

CAMP �� 31

out across the �ield. Cones, hurdles and other speed training equipment will be used in some drills while PVC pipes and other light equipment will be utilized for strength training. Lauer said toward the end of the camp they may allow athletes into the weight room on campus but that is not guaranteed due to COVID-19 restrictions. The main focus will be proper technique. Additionally, Lauer and his staff will emphasize how to compete inside the classroom to achieve academic goals. “We are going to work with body weight and using PVC bars, so they don’t injure themselves. Toward the end we may progress a little more, but we want to focus on technique,” Lauer said. “Freshman struggle academically, structuring their time and time management. So, to give them some other skills to compete in the classroom is what we want to do.” The registration fee for the camp is set at $20 per athlete. Athletic shorts and shirt, football cleats, two or more gallons of

Ahwatukee prep soccer teams making push toward playoffs

Like the boys, the Desert Vista girls soccer program is also making a late-season push just ahead of the playoffs. At 5-2-1 overall, the Thunder currently hold on to the No. 8 seed in the 6A Conference, which would guarantee at least one home playoff game when the tournament begins. The Thunder faced No. 6 Xavier on Monday and will take on top-ranked Perry Wednesday night before wrapping up the season against Westwood on Friday. With matches against Chandler Monday and Brophy to wrap up the season on Thursday, Mountain Pointe’s boys soccer program may need help from other teams to sneak into the 6A tournament for the first time since the 201617 season. On the girls’ side, Mountain Pointe is currently the No. 17 team, just one spot off of a playoff berth. The Pride will wrap up their season on Thursday against Xavier.

water, a face mask and sunscreen are required by all participants. Lauer said any parent or athlete who is interested in potentially attending Mountain Pointe will get an up-close look at how the program operates. Not only will athletes have an opportunity to build relationships with coaches but may have the opportunity to see �irst-hand how the varsity program operates in spring ball as the last few weeks of the camp line up with the Pride’s schedule. Overall, Lauer hopes to make a good impression on the youth in the community. “You only get your �irst impression and I feel like if you’re basing your full opinion on us after a COVID year with a new staff, please don’t,” Lauer said. “I feel like this is kind of our �irst year because we are now able to do the things we wanted to do last year but weren’t able to.” For more information about the camp and to register, visit www.mphsfootball. com. 

Have an interesting sports story? Contact Zach Alvira at zalvira@timespublications.com and follow him on Twitter @ZachAlvira.

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East Valley’s Tatum Lynn is ready to let down her hair BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI GetOut Editor

atum Lynn was writing songs as a student at Corona Del Sol, while her peers were planning to attend college. “I wanted to sing and keep writing songs,” she says. “I recorded the songs and put them on YouTube. Senior year is when everything clicked.” She �igured correctly. Lynn is about to release her debut album, “Let Down Your Hair,” which features 14 songs, including the title track. It’s due out March 5. “I have a lot of stories to tell,” she says. “It’s not like other records, like Beyonce’s, who tells one story throughout. My goal for this record

was to have a song for everyone. I’m really excited about that. It’s some-

We provide musical instruments and therapists to other nonprofits and schools that can’t afford to have music therapy and instruments. It’s been a blast. I’ve helped the kids I grew up with and became their best buddy. thing I look for in other people’s albums. It’s not just all sad, not just all

happy. It has a mix of everything.” Lynn contends she’s a lyrics person, admiring singer-songwriters like Julia Michaels and Selena Gomez. “The messages I write are really important to me,” Lynn says. “‘Let Down Your Hair’ is important to me. They were words that I was prompted to share. They’re powerful to me. I’m excited to get that out for other people to hear. “Some of my messages, I feel, are a little bit deeper than usual music that’s played on the radio.”

�� TATUM LYNN �� 35

East Valley singer Tatum Lynn is releasing her debut album Friday. (Special to AFN)

Cactus baseball exhibit returns to Mesa BY KEVIN PIREHPOUR GetOut Staff Writer

aseball is back in Arizona and so is one of Mesa’s most popular historical exhibits. After a long hiatus in Mesa, the “Play Ball: The Arizona Spring Training Experience,” is set to open Saturday, March 6, at 10 a.m. as a permanent exhibit at the Mesa Historical Museum. The exhibit takes museum-goers through decades of Spring Training history and the birth of the Cactus League – showcasing old uniforms, signed memorabilia, vintage video footage and other relics of the past that have survived decades mostly in private collections. “There’s a strong presence of baseball here in Mesa because of spring training and we felt it was the right thing to do, to bring it back to the museum and back to

The "Play Ball" exhibit at Mesa Historical Museum offers treasured relics of the early days of Cactus League history in the region. (Pablo Robles/Staff Photographer)

Mesa,” said Susan Ricci, museum executive director. Launched in 2009, the Play Ball exhibit has been displayed at various venues with

parts of the Play Ball collection previously displayed at locations such as the Scottsdale Civic Center Library in 2017. Now, the museum, located at 2345 N.

Horne in Mesa, is the only current museum with the collection, some of which the

�� MUSEUM �� 35

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TATUM LYNN �� 34

From the time she was 10, Lynn has yearned to be a pop star. At age 19, that commitment paid off as “Later Baby XO” broke into the Billboard Top 40. The youngest of �ive children, Lynn honed her vocal skills by singing at her LDS church with her two older sisters and their mom. As a third-grader, Lynn made her debut as a singer-songwriter at her oldest sister’s wedding. “I always kept a journal, and would turn what I wrote into lyrics,” she says. “I wrote a song for my sister’s wedding, and it was the �irst time I felt con�ident enough in what I wrote to think it was worth sharing. I kept writing lyrics via my journal all throughout high school, and it really helped shape me as a lyricist.” Lynn posted videos on YouTube, although, she says, she didn’t have the con�idence to share her voice then. Now she loves posting on YouTube and getting people’s feedback. At Corona Del Sol, she began singing the national anthem at the school’s basketball

MUSEUM �� 34

Cactus League has sponsored. The exhibit is curated to “wow” people and teach the rich history of baseball in Mesa, said Anita Peters, board of directors chair at the Mesa Historical Museum. “I think that it’s really important that they know about [the history of spring training], and it’s a fun part of Mesa’s history,” Peters said. Once a storage room at the museum built within the historic Lehi Schoolhouse, which has a history dating back to the 1880s, the renovated space is set to be one of the museum’s largest exhibits showcasing hundreds of pieces from years past. In Arizona, nearly 1.8 million baseball fans from around the country pour into 10 stadiums to watch their favorite teams practice one of America’s most renowned past-times.

games. She moved on to a bigger stage when someone from the Arizona Cardinals heard her and asked her to perform at a game. “I was pretty young when I did that,” says Lynn, who also attended Chandler’s Kyrene Aprende Middle School. “It was pretty nerve wracking. I would still be very nervous to do that today. It was so much fun, though. I remember one thing about it. I stood next to where the �ire appears, near the in�latable tunnel. I could feel the heat. I thought I was going to be hit by the �ire.”

The making of a debut

Lynn’s songs for “Let Down Your Hair” came from her journal, with the help of A-list talent. For the album, Lynn wrote with Lauren Christy (Avril Lavigne, Dua Lipa, Kelly Clarkson), who was part of the award-winning Matrix writing trio; writer/producer John Fields (Pink, Demi Lovato, Jonas Brothers) and Joey Barba, who is featured on the tongue-in-cheek track “Can’t Live Without You.” Working with Fields, Lynn says, was inspirational. She enjoyed hearing the tales

The games bring in nearly $644 million annually and support an estimated 6,400 jobs in the Valley, according to Gov. Doug Ducey in a 2019 press release. Arizona spring training started when two teams – the Cleveland Indians and New York Giants (now the San Francisco Giants since 1958) – began traveling to the desert to prepare for the general season and formed what is now called the Cactus League. Today, 15 Major League Baseball teams practice springtime baseball under nearly perfect weather conditions. Mesa houses two of those teams, the Chicago Cubs and the Oakland A’s, which now play at Sloan Park and the Hohokam Stadium near the Arizona 202 freeway. The opening of the exhibit is “just the beginning” of an evolving exhibit that will change on an annual basis, Peters said. This year, the exhibit weaves in storyboards that depict the early days of Ari-

of his career working with Gomez, Demi Lovato and Pink. “It was a blessing to work with him,” she adds. “I feel I learned a lot from him. He’s a perfectionist, which I see in myself as well. It was really nice to have him there, just helping me make the songs perfect.” The album is �illed with gems. “Let Down Your Hair” is a pop masterpiece, while “Closer” has the snarl of Pink. “Now U See Me Now U Don’t” has a retro edge. Lynn doesn’t want to just help people through her music. At Corona Del Sol, she founded Music as Therapy, a nonpro�it dedicated to providing music therapy and instruments to kids in special education classrooms throughout Arizona. She has also devoted much time to suicide prevention after the teen suicide rate went up by 25% in Arizona. She started a school club focused on prevention, and teamed up with a group called Teen Lifeline, a suicide prevention hotline. The track “With Me” is about a rash of suicides at Corona Del Sol. “I started Music as Therapy when I was 15,” she says. “We provide musical instruments and therapists to other nonpro�its and schools that can’t afford to have music

zona spring training at Rendezvous Park – a recreational site that housed some of the state’s �irst spring training games in Mesa – and a documentary highlighting pivotal points of Arizona’s baseball tradition, Ricci said. On the �loor, a mini dugout includes outpost memorabilia from the Cubs and the A’s. As the collection grows, the exhibit will feature the storyboards depicting the role of Jim Crow-era segregation and the Hohokam Nation had in bringing spring training to the Valley, Peters said. “There’s a lot of different things that we can talk about that are little parts of how this came to be so huge in Arizona, not just in Mesa, but in Arizona, for the whole Cactus League,” Peters said. The exhibit will include Cactus League sponsored plaques of spring training Hall of Famers, which includes players and others who have played an integral part

Contact Paul Maryniak at 480-898-5647 or pmaryniak @timespublications.com

therapy and instruments. It’s been a blast. I’ve helped the kids I grew up with and became their best buddy.” She says between her nonpro�it and her forthcoming album, she’s excited to continue her career. “I always say college will always be there,” she says. “I learned to trust my gut and to lean on family. I know the industry has its ups and downs. When I started, we didn’t know what we were doing. I just trusted my family and trusted our thoughts and what we wanted to do. It built a really good foundation for me. I just trust the process.” 

Tatum Lynn

tatumlynn.com Music as Therapy musicastherapyusa.org Preorder album Let Down Your Hair by Tatum Lynn on Apple Music apple.co/2XskpSr

in the Arizona spring training experience. “Part of my passion was that I really wanted to start showing these plaques and basically having a Hall of Fame [location] and that’s going to be part of our exhibit,” Peters said. This year’s Cactus League Hall of Fame induction ceremony has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which usually takes place in February. Anyone interested in donating or loaning items related to spring training may contact the Mesa Historical Museum for future exhibits. The Mesa Historical Museum can be reached at: 480-835-2286. “I hope that it is an exhibit that adults and children really walk away from and really love,” Peters said. The museum is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Social distancing and masks are required. Information: mesahistoricalmuseum. com. 

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Now Accepting all major credit cards

Looking To Freshen Up Your Home? WE CAN HELP!

CONKLIN PAINTING Free Estimate & Color Consultation

Interior Painting ● Pressure Washing Exterior Painting ● Drywall/Stucco Repair Complete Prep Work ● Wallpaper Removal

480-888-5895 ConklinPainting.com Lic/Bond/Ins ROC# 270450

★ Epoxy Floors ★ Small Job Specialist

HOME IMPROVEMENT & PAINTING Interior/Exterior Painting 30 YEARS EXPERIENCE Dunn Edwards Quality Paint Small Stucco/Drywall Repairs

We Are State Licensed and Reliable!

Free Estimates • Senior Discounts

480-338-4011

ROC#309706

SUN TECH

PAINTING INC.

Serving Ahwatukee Since 1987 Interior / Exterior

• High Quality Materials & Workmanship • Customer Satisfaction Free Est imates • Countless References • Carpentry Services Now Available Visit us at Suntechpaintingaz.com or view our video promo at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GM5pbvpZJlg

602.625.0599 ROC #155380 Family Owned • Free Estimates

Proudly Serving Ahwatukee for 15 Years! Family Owned & Operated

Painting

★ Elastomaric Roof Coating

★ Interior/Exterior Painting ★ Drywall Repair & Installation ★ Popcorn Ceiling Removal

License #ROC 298736

Paint Interior & Exterior • Drywall Repair Light Carpentry • Power Washing • Textures Matched Popcorn Removal • Pool Deck Coatings Garage Floor Coatings • Color Consulting

Family Owned & Operated

“We get your house looking top notch!”

Scott Mewborn, Owner 480-818-1789

Get Your Lawn Ready For Spring!

Honey Do List Too Long? Check out the Handyman Section!

East Valley PAINTERS Voted #1

Starting @ $60/Month! • One Month Free Service

Painting

Residential & Commercial Painting • Interior & Exterior • Professional Cabinet Reﬁnishing • Epoxy Floors & Concrete Coatings • In-Home Color Consultations “Professional, Punctual & Clean”

PAINTING OF ALL TYPES SPECIALIZING IN: Wood & Stucco Repairs • Deck Restoration Roofing, Shingles & Metal • Exterior/Interior Painting Elastometric & Clear Coats • Power Washing Leaf Guards (20yr No Clog) New 6" Seamless Gutters (Gutter Art Available)

480-532-2525 • Residential / Commercial

Veteran Owned ROC 296559 • Licensed, Bonded & insured

www.ACPpaintingllc.com Licensed - Bonded - Insured ROC 290242

FREE ESTIMATES • CALL TODAY!

(480)785-6323

Meetings/Events?

Get Free notices in the Classifieds!

Submit to ecota@timespublications.com

CLASSIFIEDS

MARCH 3, 2021 | AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS

Pool Service / Repair

Plumbing

PLUMBERS CHARGE TOO MUCH!

Affinity Plumbing LLC 480-487-5541 affinityplumber@gmail.com

www.affinityplumbingaz.com

Your Ahwatukee Plumber & East Valley Neighbor

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480-405-7099 ItsJustPlumbSmart.com

602-546-POOL 7 6 6 5

Water Heaters

24/7

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Bonded

Toilets

Insured

Faucets

Estimates Availabler

Disposals

$35 off

Any Service

$25 OFF

Monthly Service & Repairs Available

Anything Plumbing Same Day Service

Rooﬁng

???

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People are looking in the Classifieds Every day! Email Your Job Post to:

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class@times publications.com

See our Before’s and After’s on Facebook

or Call 480

Licensed, Bonded & Insured ROC# 272001

898-6465

Plumbing

Off 40work done

Licensed • Bonded • Insured • ROC 189848

TILE ROOFING SPECIALISTS

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Pool Service / Repair

MARK’S POOL SERVICE Owner Operated - 20 Years

Play Pools start at

$85/month

Plumbing

Licensed – Bonded – Insured – ROC187561

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We offer personalized service for our customers. We use the best materials that we can find.

(480) 279-4155

MonsoonRooﬁngInc.com

AZROC #283571 | CONTRACTOR LIC. AZROC #312804 CLASS CR4 | FULLY INSURED

SERVICE • REPAIR • REPLACEMENT

Owned and Operated by Rod Lampert Ahwatukee Resident Serving Ahwatukee for over 25 years

10% Discount for Ahwatukee Residents 100% NO Leak Guarantee Re-Roof & Roofing Repairs Tile, Shingles & Flat Roof

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*Any

Our services include: Sinks, Toilets, Faucets, Water Heaters, Garbage Disposal, Drain Cleaning, Pressure Reducing Valves, Pressure Vacuum Breakers, Hot Water Circulation Systems, Main Service Valves and Hose Taps.

480-699-2754 • info@monsoonroofinginc.com

10% OFF COMPLETE UNDERLAYMENT

AHWATUKEE SPECIAL

Plumbing

www.Ahwatukee.com

Family Operated by 3 Generations of Roofers! We have a “Spencer” on every job and every step of the way.

with chemicals

Ask About Filter Cleaning Specials!

PLUMBING $35.00 Off Any Service Call Today!

A+ RATED

We Repair or Install ROC # 272721

AHWATUKEE’S #1 PLUMBER Licensed • Bonded • Insured

704.5422

(480)

Mark 602-799-0147 CPO#85-185793

Juan Hernandez

Pavers • Concrete • Water Features • Sprinkler Repair

PPebbleOcracking, O L Plaster R Epeeling, P ARebar IR showing, Pool Light out? I CAN HELP!

480-446-7663 Ahwatukee’s Premier Tile, Shingle & Foam Roofer!

FALL SPECIAL! $500 OFF COMPLETE REMODEL! 25 Years Experience • Dependable & Reliable

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480-720-3840 Not a licensed contractor.

FREE Estimates • Credit Cards OK www.spencer4hirerooﬁng.com ROC#244850 | Insured | Bonded

CLASSIFIEDS

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MARCH 3, 2021

Rooﬁng

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JILEK ROOFING, LLC Cell: 480.417.3689 Office: 480.912.5014 Email: tomjilek60@gmail.com

Ahwatukee Based Family Owned and Operated Insured • Free Estimates

Valley Wide Service

480-446-7663

See our reviews and schedule at:

www.cousinswindowcleaning.com

480-330-2649

10% OFF

when you show this ad

Serving The Valley Since 1996

Spencer 4 HIRE ROOFING

Licensed & Insured • Bonded, Res/Com ROC 328854

on qualifying complete roof replacements

Let us show you the IN-EX Difference!

Window Cleaning

Over 30 Years of Experience

New Roof Installation & Roof Repair Specialist

602-938-7575 $ 1000 OFF

Rooﬁng

with this ad

Ahwatukee’s Premier Tile, Shingle & Foam Roofer! Tiles, shingles, flat, repairs & new work Free Estimates • Ahwatukee Resident Over 30 yrs. Experience

480-706-1453

Licensed/Bonded/Insured • ROC #236099

inexroofing.com

Watch for Garage Sales in Classifieds! You will find them easy with a yellow background. Garage Sale Fri & Sat 7a-11am Household, clothes, kitchen items, furniture, electronics, mason jars, kid items, DVDs, MORE 555 W. Lane Dr Mesa

FREE Estimates • Credit Cards OK www.spencer4hirerooﬁng.com ROC#244850 | Insured | Bonded

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To place an ad please call: 480-898-6465 class@timespublications.com

Puzzle

WORD SEARCH: A Dino Puzzle

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CLASSIFIEDS 480-898-6465 class@timespublications.com Family Owned & Operated for over 30 years

ROC #152111

Quality Repairs & Re-Roofs Complimentary & Honest Estimates

Call our office today!

480-460-7602 Ask us about our discount for all Military and First Responders! Licensed • Bonded • Insured ROC # 269218

www.porterroofinginc.com

Find the 10 dino terms. Licensed, Bonded, Insured

CRETACEOUS DIG EXTINCTION FOSSIL GEOLOGIST

JURASSIC PALAEONTOLOGY SKELETON STEGOSAURUS TREX

CLASSIFIEDS

MARCH 3, 2021 | AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS

palmabrisa.com

NOW SELLING

A new gated resort community is now selling in the Ahwatukee Foothills with a dramatically different style. It feels exclusive, but also lively and exciting — and it's called Palma Brisa. • Modern resort-style gated community with stately palms

• Diverse architecture: Modern Bungalow, Urban Farmhouse, Italian Cottage, Andalusian, Modern Craftsman, French Country, and Spanish Mission • Four amenity areas connected by expansive lawns

• Homes from 1,700 sq. ft. to 4,000 sq. ft. from the $500’s

ERIC WILLIAMS

480-641-1800

TERRY LENTS

© Copyright 2021 Blandford Homes, LLC. No offer to sell or lease may be made prior to issuance of Final Arizona Subdivision Public Report. Offer, terms, and availability subject to change without prior notice. Renderings are artist’s conceptions and remain subject to modification without notice.

AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS | MARCH 3, 2021

STOREWIDE OVERSTOCK

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58” 4K UHD SMART TV

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1.6 CU. FT. OVER-THE-RANGE MICROWAVE

• 3.5 Cu. Ft. • Porcelain Tub • 700 RPM Spin Speed NTW4500XQ CLOSEOUT

449

WMH1162XVQ CLOSEOUT

• Adjustable Glass Shelves • 2 Crisper Drawers • LED Lighting

899

FRSG1915AV

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• 950 Watts of Power • 10 Levels of Power • Sunken Glass Turntable

199

SIDE BY SIDE COUNTER DEPTH REFRIGERATOR

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UN58TU7000

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DISHWASHER

• 12-Place Settings • 5 Wash Cycles • Piranha™ Hard Food Disposer • Hot Start Option GSD2100VWW –

299

BFTF2716WH

BFTF2716SS BEKO

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HOUSE IN S R E C SPEN PLANS PAYMENT BLE AVAILA Due to current circumstances, some items may be out of stock.