THE VOICE OF THE EAST VALLEY SINCE 1891 AND WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR LOCAL REPORTING
How to coax the car keys from mom
THE SUNDAY
Tribune
PAGE 3
Chandler/Tempe Edition
COMMUNITY | 14 ADOT says it has no plans to elevate South Mountain Freeway
BUSINESS | 20
Auto repair shop has been tinkering with cars since 1934
SPORTS | 22
Gilbert Christian makes transition to 11-man football
NEWS ...........................6 OPINION ....................18 FAITH ..........................28 CLASSIFIED ...............31
END OF SUMMER | 25 One last hurrah as water parks are set to shut for the school year
FREE ($1 OUTSIDE THE EAST VALLEY) | EastValleyTribune.com
Sunday, September 4, 2016
DISTINCTIVE DWELLINGS
Flying high at Chandler’s Stellar Airpark Homeowners just having plane fun BY MIKE BUTLER TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
M
ike Lane and his wife, Sally, like to have breakfast some weekends at Crosswinds restaurant at the Payson Airport. That’s just a 30-minute jaunt from Chandler in his 300 horsepower, single-engine Bonanza F33A, not including the 20-30 minutes he spends on a pre-flight inspection, and the three minutes or so it takes him to taxi to one of Stellar Airpark’s two runways. Like thousands of other East Valley subdivisions, where life revolves around serene lakeside living or bustling golf courses and clubhouses, Stellar Airpark has a tie that binds its more than 100 homeowners. It just happens to be piloting magnificent flying machines into the wild blue yonder. “The common interest in aviation really draws people together,” Lane says. “It’s really a fantastic group of people.” “I don’t think we have a bad apple in the bunch here,” says Larry Perkins, a retired commercial airline pilot. “Everyone speaks fluent aviation.” The Lanes, who work in IT, moved to Stellar 10 years ago. Mike was visiting his sister in the
Mike Lane, with his Bonanza F33A, serves on the board of the Stellar Runway Utilizers Association. Although the airport is privately owned, nonresident pilots are welcome to use it.
Valley and noticed bulldozers moving dirt around south of Chandler Boulevard and Galaxy Drive, west of Chandler Fashion Center. When he saw the well-maintained runways and distinctive homes sprouting up, he and Sally started charting a move from metropolitan Washington, D.C. See
AIRPARK on page 4
Distinctive Dwellings
Not all East Valley homes are stucco with red tile roofs. Beginning this week, and occasionally in the weeks to come, the Tribune will feature unusual houses and subdivisions with a story to tell. This week: Stellar Airpark in Chandler.
Attorney General seeks to consolidate, dismiss 1,300 ADA lawsuits BY JIM WALSH TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
SADIE ROBERTSON | 24 ‘Duck Dynasty’ darling just wants to make the world a better place
PAGES 6, 12
(Will Powers/Tribune Staff Photographer)
INSIDE THIS WEEK
EAST VALLEY
Results of state, city elections
T
he Arizona Attorney’s Office filed a motion in Maricopa County Superior Court this week that might eventually result in the dismissal of nearly 1,300 lawsuits against businesses accused of violating the American With Disabilities Act. The motion seeks to consolidate 1,289 cases, mostly filed against Mesa businesses, into one case.
It alleges that the plaintiff lacks standing in court to seek attorney fees. “If these cases are consolidated, and the state is permitted to intervene as a limited purpose defendant, the state intends to file a motion seeking dismissal of all consolidated cases,” according to the motion filed by Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s office. The motion also requests an expedited ruling,
saying that many of the businesses are at risk of getting hit with default judgments that could cost them thousands of dollars and that the plaintiff’s attorney has made statements that he intends to sue 8,000 additional businesses. Peter Strojnik, the attorney who has filed the suits in behalf of his client, Advocates For American See
ADA SUITS on page 8