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Chandler/Tempe Edition
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This Week
NEWS............................... 6 Chandler racing school on the skids.
BUSINESS . ................ 14 Chandler cuts big business deal.
SPORTS........................19 Why he’s smiling with 8 pins in his leg.
All you need is a sheet and oven to cook this dish. COMMUNITY..................11 BUSINESS........................14 OPINION.........................16 SPORTS ...........................19 GETOUT.......................... 22 CLASSIFIED....................28
PAGE 11 Sunday, February 24, 2019
At Gateway Airport, U.S. and Mexico are one BY JIM WALSH Tribune Staff Writer
A
simple chain link fence inside a vintage 1940s aircraft hangar in east Mesa marks a new boundary – and a vast opportunity – in trade and international relations. To get an idea of how significant it is, a new stationary exercise bicycle recently on one side of the fence was considered inside the United States. Had it been on the other side, it might as well have been in Hermosillo, Mexico, its actual destination, even though the hangar has been at Phoenix Mesa Gateway Airport since World War II. The difference is that the bicycle had been “pre-cleared’’ by U.S and Mexican customs officers working together at the first and only federal Uniform Cargo Processing Center in the interior U.S. The center marks a unique partnership that
opens up a burgeoning e-commerce market for both countries. “It’s one click to go anywhere in Mexico,’’ said Glenn Hamer, president/CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce. “For Mesa to become the epicenter of ecommerce shipping with Mexico is a huge deal. Mexico is at the point the U.S was at in 1999 when it comes to e-commerce.’’
see SKYBRIDGE page 4
Ricardo Peralta Saucedo, the customs commissioner of Mexico, peers over the shoulder of a Mexican customs agent at Phoenix Mesa Gateway Airport’s nationally unprecedented cargo processing center, which local and state officials call a boon to the regional as well as Mexican economy. (Kimberly Carrillo/Tribune Staff Photographer)
City transit move may strand elderly, disabled BY JIM WALSH Tribune Staff Writer
FOOD........................... 24
EAST VALLEY
Mesa tean a chopper enthusiast
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ive visually-impaired women described their difficulties using the paratransit and ride choice program, with one asking the Mesa City Council to postpone confusing and expensive changes in how the Valley Metro system works. But the council, facing about $2 million in extra costs if it failed to act, voted unanimously last week to move forward with a transition period as new rules for the program are scheduled to take effect July 1 – giving several hundred elderly or disabled Mesa residents a significant challenge to getting around. At the same time, Mayor John Giles directed city staff to work individually with the system’s
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elderly, disabled and sight impaired customers to find the best solution for their transportation needs. “I think we need to move forward with the transition. It’s going to require a lot of handholding,’’ Giles said. “The status quo has changed. Previously, we could err on the side of being generous. We can’t do that anymore. We’re talking about millions coming out of the general fund.’’ Vice Mayor Mark Freeman asked city staff members to focus on the needs of the visually impaired after listening for two hours about the present system’s shortcomings at a council study session. The sight impaired riders said they were unable to understand the changes listed on the Valley Metro website.
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One woman described how she was left waiting at a Tempe coffee shop for 2 ½ hours as she attempted to transfer from one part of the system to another. “This is so new to a lot of these people. We need to hold these people’s hands and walk them through the process,’’ Councilman Kevin Thompson said. Thompson said his mother suffers from dementia and has had problems using Lyft, an option in the RideChoice program. He said Lyft will not wait very long for disabled and sight impaired customers, will not look for them and does not offer the door-todoor service that some people need. “We can’t have vulnerable people left strand-
see PARATRANSIT page 7
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