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Wednesday, August 19, 2020
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County data suggests schools here should stay closed BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor
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he Maricopa County Public Health Department last week released a new dashboard to give parents and others an idea of the level of COVID-19 spread by school district. Judging by its debut map, the data indicates neither of Ahwatukee’s two public school districts are ready to reopen classrooms to any student who wants to attend.
Both Tempe Union and Kyrene on Monday began allowing a limited number of students back on campus for specialized support services and online instruction as required by the governor’s July 23 order. The governor directed that districts, starting Aug. 17, must provide space and specialized services for students with no place to go, although they are allowed to limit the number who can be campus because of staffing limitations or social distancing necessity. Kyrene, which began its new Digital Acad-
Local strip mall struggles as multiplex stays dark BY KAYLEE NIELSON AFN Contributor
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MC last week said it will reopen more than 100 movie theaters in 17 states and the District of Columbia but Arizona is not among them. That means the restaurants and other businesses around AMC Ahwatukee 24 will continue struggling as Gov. Doug Ducey’s order that has kept theaters shut down since March remains in effect. AMC’s closing has had a rippling impact on businesses in the Ahwatukee Foothills Towne Center on the southwest corner of Ray Road and 49th Street. Restaurants like Pita Jungle, Rubios, Uncle Bear’s Grill and Tap – still recovering from the broader business shutdown that lasted from March till May – as well as popular retail establishments like Home Goods and Ross Dress for Less all profit from the foot traffic generated by AMC. “I think that movie theater clo-
sures are definitely a tough situation for the entire center, and for AMC as well,” said Francis Mitchell, Uncle Bear’s director of operations. “We are still assessing what we want to do,” said Mitchell, referencing the current closure of their Ahwatukee restaurant, which he said is operated by a franchisee who decided not to keep it open. “Our original founder of Uncle Bear’s is assessing what type of options are available to our team moving forward,” Mitchell explained, “However, we are still working through this, and we do not know what we will be doing yet.” Other nearby businesses also are feeling the pain. Savor Flavor Asia’s business has “definitely” gone down since the theater’s closure, according to the owner, Rod Barnett. “It’s huge,” he said, describing what it would mean if the theater were to close down until mid2021, as some reports initially
see MOVIESpage 16
emy July 30, also began distance learning for all other students two days ago and Akimel A-al Middle School parents quickly started complaining of technical issues that blocked lessons. The district posted a message saying its tech crew was trying to fix the problems. Officials in both districts have said that they will follow the state benchmarks for deciding when to reopen classrooms to all students. The map the county released gives
see VIRUS page 14
Celebrating history
Ahwatukee artists Suzanne Whitaker, left, and Lainey Prather show off their portrait of entertainment mogul and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey, part of a project honoring 19 Noteworthy Women as part of the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Read about the project on page 21. (Special to AFN)