THE VOICE OF THE EAST VALLEY SINCE 1891 AND WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR LOCAL REPORTING
THE SUNDAY
‘Odd Jobs’: Mesa ‘budtender’ serves up marijuana
Tribune
PAGE 15 Chandler/Tempe Edition
INSIDE
This Week
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Art supply center lets charities explore their muse for free
BUSINESS .................. 21 Brothers pour their hearts into woodworks business
FAITH ...........................27 Pastor fled segregationist South to start Mesa church
EVENT......................... 29 Falcon Field opens its doors to aviation buffs and curious public
BUSINESS ........................21 OPINION........................ 23 SPORTS...........................24 FAITH .............................. 27 CLASSIFIED ....................34
Best of Mesa winners revealed next week Sunday, March 19, 2017
East Valley citrus trees keep falling to new homes, businesses COVER STORY BY BRENT RUFFNER Tribune Contributor
NEWS.............................. 4
EAST VALLEY
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few dozen citrus trees sit in the shadows of a small housing development under construction along McKellips Road, once known as a main artery for fruit in Mesa. Less than a mile away, Allen Freeman minds his store, Orange Patch Too, which
dubs itself “Arizona’s Favorite Citrus” because he sells so many varieties, from naval and Valencia oranges to lemons and pink grapefruit. But he sees himself on the fringes of an industry that is dying – just as the acres of trees that perished a mile away where Blandford Homes is building The Estates at McKellips and Val Vista Drive. Vast, lush citrus groves once dominated the East Valley landscape. Now, they only dot it as more groves are bladed each year to
make way for shopping malls and housing developments. “I’ve been doing this 47 years,” Freeman said. “We have been direct-marketing to the public. You get to know people and end up making good friends. It’s awful hard to say, ’This is your last bag of oranges you will ever get.’” Freeman remembers carrying trees covered in burlap sacks as a child while his father, Art, See
CITRUS on page 6
Valley fever hopes pinned on ‘orphan drugs’ BY SHELLEY RIDENOUR Tribune Contributor
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esearchers are working on two vaccines to prevent people and animals from catching valley fever, the debilitating illness caused by a fungus growing in the lungs. Meanwhile, valley fever is working its way into more conversations around the country, but some people say the disease isn’t on enough – or the correct – radar screens. The disease, which occurs in very select regions of the United States, is gaining awareness in part because a congressional task force was created in July 2013 to address the disease. The task force is co-chaired by U.S. Reps. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., and Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. The task force recommended to the Food and Drug Administration that new vaccines under development – nikkomycin and deltacps1 – receive fast-track approval as orphan drugs. If the vaccines are so classified, the result is “faster methods of research and
Valley fever a threat to pets, too (Kimberly Carrillo/Tribune Staff Photographer)
Debbie Varner, of Follow Your Heart Animal Rescue, said she’s taken in plenty of dogs with valley fever. Local veterinarians say they've treated dozens of dogs with valley fever every year. Story, Page 10
money for research,” Schweikert said. Schweikert is cautious in his optimism about the effectiveness of the vaccines. “Please understand this,” Schweikert said. “It’s a fungus. This may be the first time they’ve looked at a vaccine for a fungus.” In Arizona, research on valley fever has
been taking place for 20 years at the Valley Fever Center for Excellence in Tucson. The center is largely funded by grants, including a recent $1.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study the See
VALLEY FEVER on page 9