Prop. 123 stirs emotions
BY SHELLEY RIDENOUR TRIBUNE
Mesa mom Jessica Bailey says she’s conflicted about Proposition 123.
“I think it’s a bad deal,” Bailey says. “But I think if voters don’t approve it, the governor and legislators will use it against us and say people don’t want to fund education.”
Bailey, the mom of three kids who are either in school or soon will be, is a substitute teacher who is working on her master’s degree in education. She is among moms who support additional funding for education but are not sure Proposition 123 is the answer.
Proposition 123 would temporarily increase the amount of money taken from the state’s land trust fund and given to schools. Currently, 2.5 percent of the
interest earned on the state land trust fund goes to education. Prop. 123 would amend Arizona’s Constitution to earmark 6.9 percent of that interest to schools for a decade, with conditions.
Opponents say while they want Arizona lawmakers to better fund education, approving Prop. 123 tells legislators it’s OK to ignore voter mandates. They also say there are too many hidden pieces in Prop. 123 that could result in schools not getting the promised extra money.
And, they add, school boards and administrators can spend any extra money as they see fit.
The measure has pitted two statewideelected Republican officials against one another. Gov. Doug Ducey essentially developed the plan and has been vocal in his support. State Treasurer Jeff DeWit immediately
spoke out against the plan, tried to block its passage by the Legislature, and has continued to campaign against it.
Prop. 123 doesn’t specify exactly where the money has to be spent by school districts. DeWit questions why the proposition’s language isn’t more specific about how any money from Prop. 123 would have to be spent by school officials.
Moms say they’re confused
Erin Stallings is a parent of three Mesa schoolchildren. Her youngest child attends Imagine Elementary and Middle School at East Mesa, where Stallings is co-president of the Parents and Teachers Together group. Stallings isn’t happy that Arizona government leaders have proposed Prop. 123 to settle a lawsuit pending from Proposition 301,
at
Yes for Arizona Schools headquarters in Scottsdale. [David Jolkovski/Tribune]
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Chandler City Council appoints Reed city manager
STAFF REPORT
Marsha Reed is Chandler’s new city manager, replacing Rich Dlugas who retired in June last year. Reed, who has a bachelor’s in civil engineering and master’s in public administration, has been acting city manager since the departure of Dlugas and had been his assistant manager since April 2013.
“Marsha has done an exceptional job in her role as acting city manager,” Mayor Jay Tibshraeny said. “As the City Council reviewed the current candidate selection, it quickly became evident she was perfectly qualified to assume the role on a full-time basis. I look forward to working with Marsha and her team as we continue to move Chandler forward.”
Reed is a licensed professional engineer in Arizona and Texas and is a member of the Arizona City Managers Association and the Maricopa Association of Governments Management Committee. The City Council will vote on her terms of employment contract at its April 14 meeting.
Bill makes it easier for some under 21 to drink
Gov. Doug Ducey signed emergency legislation Tuesday to partly repeal a law designed to keep those underage from purchasing alcohol. The immediate effect will be to allow bartenders and store clerks to honor licenses that were specifically designed for those underage.
The problem is that many states have special designs for licenses for those under 21. In Arizona, along with some other states, the licenses are vertical: taller than they are wide to easily differentiate them from the horizontal licenses that routinely go to those 21 and older.
In Arizona, those licenses expire 30 days after someone’s 21st birthday. That provides an immediate need, if not incentive, for the newly minted adults to go out and get a new horizontal license.
In many states, however, those vertical licenses remain good until a much longer expiration date.
But here’s the thing: Arizona law makes it illegal for a bartender or store clerk to sell to anyone with a vertical license, no matter what it says about the person’s date of birth.
This new law, which took effect on Ducey’s signature, says non-expired licenses from other states can be accepted as proof of being at least 21, even if they were designed as — and specifically meant for — those under 21.
‘Dreamers’ can’t be denied drivers’ licenses, court rules
Arizona cannot legally deny “dreamers” the right to drive, a federal appeals court ruled late Tuesday.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Arizona cannot decide for itself who is legally entitled to be in this country. The judges said that power rests solely with Congress. The judges also said the policy of denying licenses to those in the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program ran afoul of the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. That’s because the state was still issuing licenses to others in different deferred action programs.
But the court did more than slap down the Arizona practice as illegal.
Judge Harry Pregerson, writing for the unanimous three-judge panel, said the 2012 policy instituted by then-Gov. Jan Brewer, was motivated to “a dogged animus’’ against dreamers.
Mesa author wins writing contest
BY ALYSSA TUFTS TRIBUNE
“Looking for Jane,” a novel by Judith Redline Coopey of Mesa, was among three winners chosen in the OneBookArizona fall ebook writing competition. The authors were chosen in adult, teen and kids categories with Coopey taking the adult category honor.
Coopey said the book is about a poor orphan girl named Nell. Abandoned on a convent doorstep as a baby in the late
1800s, the main character grows up uncertain and curious about her mother, whose name is Jane. When she is about to be handed off to a farm family at 15 by the nuns who raised her, she decides to run away and find out the truth about her mother.
OneBookAZ is coordinated by the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records, which is a division of the Secretary of State, with federal funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Arizona gas prices continue to rise
STAFF REPORT
Prices at Arizona pumps are still climbing, but more slowly. This week, the statewide average jumped nearly 4 cents to $2.126. Nationwide, prices dropped almost 2 cents to $2.042.
“Despite increasing nearly 60 cents over the last month, the statewide average is at its lowest price point for this same date since 2009,” said Linda Gorman, director of communications and public affairs for AAA Arizona. The average price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline in the East Valley was $2.153.
Tuition going up for ASU, other state schools
STAFF REPORT
The Arizona Board of Regents approved tuition and fee rates for Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona on Thursday. Base tuition and fees rates for students at Arizona’s public universities main campuses are up, ranging from 1.5 to 3.9 percent for resident undergraduate students and from 1.3 to 4 percent for resident graduate students. This year’s tuition increase average is 2.9 percent, less than the 3.7 percent increase last year.
Arizona State University raised resident undergraduate tuition and fees 1.5 percent, keeping a pledge made three years ago to keep its increases to less than 3 percent for the next 10 years. ASU’s resident undergraduate student surcharge that was enacted last year will be reduced for the 2016-17 academic year from $320 to $270.
CAPITOL MEDIA SERVICES
which also addressed school funding. Because legislators failed to follow that voter mandate, school districts sued, and courts ruled that the state must make up the past payments.
“My concern as a parent is why do we have to have Prop. 123 when we have Prop. 301 already voted in?” Stallings asks.
Sure, she says, Prop. 123 gives schools money, “but why can’t we just rely on 301?”
Stallings is disappointed in how lawmakers fund education.
“It seems so crazy that we have to fight so hard to educate our children,” she says. “If education was on top of our legislators’ lists, this wouldn’t be a problem.”
Adequate funding for education shouldn’t have to be one of the things parents remind educators about, she says. “It should already be there. I shouldn’t have to bang on their doors.”
Stallings says she’s still researching Prop. 123 and deciding how she’ll vote. But, she says, “if we were voting tomorrow, I’d vote yes.”
Mesa mom Bailey says she doesn’t want anyone to think she’s against education funding, but she’s reluctant to vote for this measure.
“Some people just think we should take what we get from the Legislature, and that’s not true,” Bailey says. “If we defeat this, then in November we can vote out the people who don’t support education.”
DeWit says Prop. 123 is not the answer to school funding.
spent elsewhere. DeWit claims Prop. 123 violates the terms of Arizona’s land trust with the federal government.
Former Arizona Treasurer Dean Martin has says if the state violates those terms, the power to administer the land trust reverts to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
DeWit is irritated the Legislature agreed to spend $9.3 million in taxpayer money to conduct this election when the issue “could be solved today at the Legislature.”
“Politicians are lying to people to get their support,” DeWit says, “and that leaves people powerless to change it because it amends the Constitution. It’s not what they say it is,” he contends.
Bailey, the Mesa mom, wants other voters to realize that if Prop. 123 passes, there are no fixes for it later if people don’t like it. “People think if we pass this, then we can fix it later. No. This is Arizona,” she says.
know education is worse off,” Bowman says.
Jessica Friedermann, principal of Noah Webster Schools, says “passage of 123 would be a financial benefit to all public schools in Arizona.”
All schools, including the public charter school in Mesa where she works, would get additional per-student dollars, Friedermann says. At Noah Webster, “we’d always try to dedicate additional money to students, and to anything directly related to a student’s success.”
While she supports Prop. 123, Friedermann says Noah Webster leaders would prefer to see “consistent funding” for schools that comes from the Legislature, rather than money that comes through directives from the courts or voters.
Opposition groups weigh in
“There are definitely better options than Prop. 123,” he says. “If you’re on the side of taxpayers or teachers, you don’t want this to go through.”
Back to Prop. 301?
He’s unhappy with the misconception that, without Prop. 123, there will be no money for schools. That’s not the case, he says. If the proposition fails, the lawsuit pending from the Legislature’s failure with Prop. 301 comes back into play, he says. And that plan, DeWit adds, “means more money for schools.”
If Prop. 123 fails, it would allow the parties to return to the table to negotiate, DeWit says.
He’s not at all pleased with the way Prop. 123 came about, calling it a “back door, dark room, closed door” meeting among the governor, the Arizona School Boards Association and legislative leaders.
The current state budget surplus exceeds $300 million, DeWit points out, and $250 million of that is sustainable, meaning it will be surplus year after year.
“We now have the money in the state’s coffers to settle the lawsuit and have money left over, with no tax increase,” he says.
DeWit accuses Ducey of trying to hide the budget surplus so it can be
In DeWit’s opinion, approval of Prop. 123 “will be one of the worst things that happens to our teachers and our taxpayers.”
Educators on board with plan
Approval of Prop. 123 would be “the beginning of a solution to Arizona’s teacher shortage,” an honored teacher says. John-David Bowman, chairman of the social studies department at Westwood High School in Mesa and Arizona’s 2015 Teacher of the Year, says more school funding “means we would be able to recruit and retain quality teachers.”
“Ultimately, technology and programs don’t matter without quality teachers,” he says.
Bowman wants the proposition to gain approval, but he says “it’s not the endall” for the state’s school funding issues.
“The bottom line is we need the people of Arizona to be willing to fund education,” Bowman says, “if that means a property tax or a sales tax or whatever, tax hikes aren’t popular, but we need to educate the citizenry that funding education is important.”
One possible tax increase he cited is to bring back the optional sales tax that was assessed for three years after voters OK’d it in 2010. The $1 billion raised from that tax went to schools, he says. “I don’t know if anyone’s life would be worse off if we had to pay that tax again, but I
“ Politicians are lying to people to get their support.”
Despite strong teacher support, one teachers’ union opposes the school funding plan. Ralph Quintana, president of the Arizona Federation of Teachers, is not pleased that Arizona lawmakers “are breaking the law,” by not complying with Proposition 301. “They illegally withheld the money for years.”
With Arizona boasting a budget surplus, Quintana says schools should just be given the money they are owed and need.
Quintana’s union is small, with about 300 teachers and other school employees represented in Arizona. It’s affiliated with the AFL-CIO.
Other teacher groups with larger memberships have endorsed the proposition.
Even if the money is approved and actually spent on students, it won’t be enough to push Arizona from its spot on the bottom of the list for per-pupil spending. Arizona consistently ranks either No. 49 or 50 on that list.
Plus, Prop. 123 has too many stipulations, Quintana believes.
“The language says if the economy flattens out, they can pay schools less to compensate for that,” he says. And, the proposition caps out at a maximum payment to schools that is less money than schools were paid in 2008.
“This is supposed to fix all of education in the state, but it won’t”, he said.
Quintana’s group is also worried about the long-term effects of diminishing the state land trust by diverting more money from it to schools. DeWit shares that concern. Both men compare it to cutting into a savings account and never paying the money back.
“How many voters will say ‘But we
Education funding from page 1
Janice Palmer, vice president and director of policy of Helios Education Foundation, and Christian Palmer, communication director of the Let’s Vote Yes for Arizona Schools, speak at their headquarters in Scottsdale. [David Jolkovski/Tribune]
Education funding from page 4 just gave you money, why do you need more?,’” Quintana asked.
Seeking a more permanent fix
A more permanent solution, in Quintana’s opinion, is to end the tax breaks given to corporations and businesses and to earmark that money for schools. That would raise taxes on businesses, but not on individuals, he says. In 2012, tax credits cost the state $311 million, he says.
Bailey, the Mesa mom, also supports a change in the “ridiculous amount” of tax breaks that corporations and businesses in Arizona receive. Instead, Bailey wants those taxes assessed and the money directed to schools.
“Ducey’s giving breaks to them and, if it stopped, there could be money for schools,” Bailey says.
The Committee Opposing Proposition 123 says people should vote no because Prop. 123 rewards lawmakers who violated the state Constitution. If it fails, they say, courts could hold lawmakers accountable to fund schools with no strings attached.
The vote-no group points out that, based on prior acts by the Legislature, there is no guaranteed money. The
Legislature violated Proposition 301 that voters had mandated and didn’t give schools the inflation adjustment money.
“Prop. 123 is no more of a guarantee of money for our schools than Prop. 301 proved to be,” says the group on its website. “In fact, passage of Prop. 123 rewards lawmakers for their unconstitutional actions.”
Quintana and DeWit both expressed concern about what Quintana calls “the libertarian Republicans” in the Arizona Legislature who “don’t want public education.”
DeWit puts it bluntly: “There are people who are anti-school and they are
excited to get this passed.”
Supporters have $4 million to spend
The Let’s Vote Yes for AZ Schools Without Raising Taxes group is the most prominent pro-Prop. 123 group. It has raised $4 million in contributions to support the proposition.
Spokesman Christian Palmer agrees with Mesa teacher Bowman that Prop. 123 is a start at helping school districts “pay teachers the salaries they need and so they won’t leave Arizona.”
He says it’s only a step in the direction to improve Arizona’s education funding, though, he says. Many supporters especially favor the measure because it puts money into schools immediately, he says.
Palmer believes the proposition is popular with the education community because it helps increase teacher salaries. Business groups like it, he says, because it helps schools produce educated, prepared workers and sends the right message to businesses looking to expand or relocate in Arizona.
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Arizona Treasurer Jeff DeWit opposes Prop. 123. [David Jolkovski/Tribune]
Reporters banned from Arizona House Floor
Saying it’s a matter of security, the state House on Thursday banned reporters from the floor who would not consent to extensive background checks.
Several media organizations who routinely cover the Legislature, including the Associated Press, The Arizona Republic, the Capitol Times and Capitol Media Services were denied the traditional access after refusing to sign documents allowing House staff to check not just criminal history records but all civil records, driving records and other public records. Rep. Bob Thorpe, R-Flagstaff, who said he supports some scrutiny of who has floor privileges, said that seemed unnecessary. “I don’t think we need to go through these folks’ background with a fine-toothed comb, with a microscope,” he said. But the policy went beyond the checks, listing specific criminal offenses which would automatically disqualify a reporter from having floor privileges, including misdemeanor offenses like trespass.
• CAPITOL MEDIA SERVICES
‘Puppy mill’ bill would allow pet stores to sell breeders’ animals
State lawmakers voted Wednesday to prevent cities and counties from making pet stores sell shelter and rescue pets instead of commercially bred dogs and cats.
The 36-23 vote came on a measure billed by supporters as tightening up state laws designed to ensure that pet shops that want to sell purebred animals buy only from breeders who meet federal standards. SB 1248 says a shop found to have obtained animals from “puppy mills” that don’t meet those standards can be fined and, on a third violation, be blocked from selling commercially bred animals. But Rep. Richard Andrade, D-Glendale, said that is small comfort to the fact that the more commercially bred dogs and cats that are sold means more animals that have to be destroyed. And he said there is no justification from removing the power of cities and counties to enact their own rules. The measure, which now requires a final Senate vote, would immediately overturn existing ordinances in Tempe and Phoenix that allow pet shops to sell only rescue and shelter animals. And it would stall efforts to adopt a similar ordinance in Tucson.
• CAPITOL MEDIA SERVICES
Interim Maricopa county manager named as search continues
Shelby Scharbach has been named interim county manager by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.
Scharbach is chief financial officer and assistant county manager for Maricopa County. She also serves as executive director of the Maricopa County Industrial Development Authority. Scharbach started working for Maricopa County in 1993.
A nationwide search is on for a permanent county manager to oversee the day-to-day operations of the nation’s fourth most populous county.
Long-time county employee Tom Manos, the current county manager, is retiring May 1.
• STAFF REPORT
Democrat criticizes measure blocking gay adoption
A top House Democrat on Wednesday blasted Republican leaders for refusing to update laws that effectively give preference to heterosexual couples in adopting children, or even agree to debate the issue.
The complaint by Minority Whip Rebecca Rios of Phoenix comes more than a year after the U.S. Supreme Court voided laws in Arizona and elsewhere that limit marriage to one man and one woman. And even Gov. Doug Ducey has directed the Department of Child Safety to place children available for adoption in any “loving homes with loving families,” regardless of the sexual orientation of the parents.
Yet Arizona law still allows only “a husband and wife” to jointly adopt children. That technically means a gay couple, even one now legally married, cannot jointly adopt. That leaves only the option of one of the partners acting as a single adult. But the law also says that if the choice is between a single person and a married couple, “placement preference shall be with a married man and woman.”
In a floor speech, Rios blasted the move to bury the issue.
“If there are folks here who don’t agree with same-sex marriage couples adopting children, then say it,” she chided the Republican leadership.
• CAPITOL MEDIA SERVICES
Mesa joins initiative to seek national service alumni
Mesa has joined the Employers of National Service Initiative in celebration of the Mayors Day of Recognition for National Service. As an Employer of National Service, Mesa supports the recruitment of AmeriCorps, Senior Corps and Peace Corps alumni for employment at the city of Mesa and at leading companies and organizations locally.
Since President Obama’s launch of the initiative in 2014, more than 350 companies, nonprofits, and public agencies have signed on as Employers of National Service including Disney, Comcast, NBC Universal, MasterCard, Delta Air Lines, Sodexo, United Way Worldwide, the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity and the National Science Foundation. Altogether, more than 1.2 million Americans have served in AmeriCorps and Peace Corps.
• STAFF REPORT
Tempe Town Lake to begin refilling
Tempe Town Lake will begin refilling this week, with 880 million gallons of water headed for the dry lake bed.
Water will start flowing April 12 and it will take about two weeks to fill the lake completely. Tempe is expecting water activities to resume on the lake April 30. Construction crews removed the last pieces of the former rubber dam system last week. The new dam is the nation’s largest hydraulically-operated steel gate dam system. It’s expected to last more than 50 years. The city of Tempe has water exchange credits from SRP from delivering water from Tempe Town Lake into the SRP canal system over the past two months. The city also has a reserve of water from its additional storage capacity at Roosevelt Dam. These credits are being used to refill Town Lake.
• STAFF REPORT
Program on underage drinking coming to Chandler
The Chandler Coalition on Youth Substance Abuse (CCYSA) will host a public meeting on underage drinking in observance of Alcohol Awareness Month. The coalition will host a guest speaker from Not My Kid, an organization whose mission is to empower and educate youth, families, and communities with the knowledge and courage to identify and prevent negative youth behavior.
The meeting will take place Tuesday, April 19, from 5 to 6 p.m. at the Chandler Police Department, 250 E. Chicago St. The event is free and open to the public. Learn what CCYSA is doing to prevent youth substance abuse in our community.
• STAFF REPORT
THE WEEK AHEAD
2nd public hearing over road construction plans this week
The Arizona Department of Transportation’s five-year plan will be discussed at a meeting April 15 in Phoenix.
ADOT, with new funding through the federal Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, as well as a Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant, was able to recommend a few more expansion projects. These projects, aimed at enhancing key freight corridors in Arizona, otherwise would have remained in ADOT’s Development Program as projects not starting until six to 10 years out.
Among ADOT’s suggestions to move forward on a quicker timeline are two Interstate 10 widening projects in Pinal County, two widening projects along U.S. 93 and the State Route 347 railroad overpass project in the city of Maricopa.
The hearing will take place at 9 a.m. Friday, April 15, at the ADOT Administration Building Auditorium, 206 S. 17th Ave. in Phoenix. The monthly State Transportation Board meeting will follow the public hearing.
• STAFF REPORT
Prop. 123 to host free afternoon of ice skating in Gilbert
AZ Ice Gilbert will host a free Skate Day, sponsored by Proposition 123, from 12:30 to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 16.
The event at AZ Ice Gilbert, 2305 E. Knox Road, is open to all ages and will provide an opportunity for young and old to learn about Proposition 123, which seeks to provide an additional $3.5 billion in education funding over the next 10 years without raising taxes.
“AZ Ice Gilbert is honored to host this free event, as the education and health of today’s youth are top priority for our organization. We are proud to stand alongside Gov. Ducey and mayors across the state to vote Yes on Prop. 123 and support our teachers and Arizona Schools without a tax increase,” said Mark Fitzgerald, AZ Ice Gilbert skating school director.
Vouchers for a free slice of pizza and beverage will be available and Prop. 123’s mascot, Rocky the Roadrunner, will be on the ice as well.
• STAFF REPORT
Google self-driving car coming to Chandler
Chandler has been selected by Google as the next testing location for its self-driving car project. Four test cars already have hit the streets of Chandler to create a detailed map of the streets as well as to get more experience driving in desert conditions. Residents can expect to see test cars as Google continues to prepare for the unveiling of its self-driving cars.
Google’s testing will begin in Chandler and expand to other parts of the Phoenix metro area, making it the fourth location in the country to host a testing program. Testing fleets are currently in the cities of Mountain View, California, Austin, Texas and Kirkland, Washington.
• STAFF REPORT
What led to the Prop. 123 vote?
BY SHELLEY RIDENOUR TRIBUNE
Proposition 123 has landed in front of voters after a twisting, turning route that began when the Territory of Arizona decided to use state trust lands to fund education.
Under the current proposal, the amount of money going to schools from the state land trust would increase to 6.9 percent from 2.5 percent. That change, which requires amending the state Constitution, would be in place for a decade, with adjustments each year for inflation.
However, there’s no guarantee that the 6.9 percent distribution will occur for each of the 10 years.
If the 6.9 percent distribution “would negatively impact the safety of the assets in the permanent fund,” the distribution could return to 2.5 percent for a year, according to the proposition’s language. That language also leaves the door open to suspend inflation adjustments
Prop. 124 is the other issue on the ballot
BY SHELLEY RIDENOUR TRIBUNE
Proposition 124, also up for a vote May 17, has nothing to do with schools. It would allow adjustments to the state retirement system for Arizona first responders.
A positive vote would amend the state’s Constitution. According to the Arizona Senate’s fact sheet, that wouldn’t affect the state’s general fund. The Legislature set up the retirement system for police officers and firefighters who are regularly assigned to hazardous duty situations. If approved, it means the state can adjust retirement benefits by replacing the current structure with a cost of living adjustment that can’t exceed 2 percent a year. It won’t shrink any individual pension amount. The proposal is designed to relieve the underfunded system, according to documents from the Arizona Attorney General’s Office. The assets of the plan would continue to be a separate trust fund. That satisfies both the Arizona Constitution and an Arizona Supreme Court determination, according to the Legislative Council’s analysis.
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if sales tax collections and employment growth are low. Adjustments could also be suspended in any year that the K-12 budget reaches 49 percent of the state budget.
Voters are finding that the sample ballot condenses the proposition language and doesn’t specify any of the possible scenarios.
If the proposition is approved, it would settle the lawsuit that public schools filed against the Legislature. That came about when lawmakers didn’t abide by a 2000 vote to increase school funding in keeping with the rate of inflation. Lawmakers cited the recession as the reason for not making those inflationary increases.
Since 2010, legislators haven’t adjusted payments to schools annually to account for inflation, as Proposition 301 mandated. That shortfall totals about $1.3 billion.
The Arizona Supreme Court agreed with the schools, sending the issue to a trial judge to figure out how much they
were owed.
The result was an order to immediately pay schools about $300 million. The $1 billion in missed aid for prior years wasn’t addressed.
The state appealed the trial court ruling, and Gov. Doug Ducey led the effort to craft a plan to settle the lawsuit with money from the state land trust.
If Prop. 123 fails, the court case filed by school districts against the state to get that back funding will resume. If the Maricopa County Superior Court judge hearing that case rules in favor of schools, school funding would be restored at the base level, totalling more than $1 billion in the next decade.
Supporters of Prop. 123 argue that schools need money now, not in a few years when the court case might be resolved.
The Committee Opposing Proposition 123 acknowledges that schools are struggling, but says that voters shouldn’t approve the measure “dictated to us by the very people whose ultimate ambition is to replace our public system of education with a market-based alternative,”
the group said on its website.
Prop. 123 calls for an increased distribution to K-12 schools in each of the 10 years it’s in place. If voters approve the proposition, the first payment would be made in June, the final month of the current fiscal year.
That total amount is expected to be $299 million. In each subsequent fiscal year, the amount would increase to about $400 million in the final fiscal year ending June 30, 2025.
The structure of using state trust lands to fund schools was set up when the Territory of Arizona was created on Feb. 24, 1863. It was adjusted on June 20, 1910, as the Territory of Arizona prepared for statehood.
Arizona has about 9.28 million surface acres and 9 million subsurface acres of trust lands, constituting approximately 13 percent of Arizona’s land.
Trust land, which is different from public land, can be sold or leased and the proceeds go into the trust fund.
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May 17 special election FAQs
Q: What’s on the ballot?
A: Two propositions to amend the Arizona Constitution, 123 and 124.
Q: Why should I care?
A: Proposition 123 would pull $3.5 billion from the state’s land trust fund over to public schools. Proposition 124 allows state officials to adjust retirement benefits paid to some police officers and firefighters.
Q: Will my taxes go up?
A. Maybe. Neither proposition involves state taxes. But if Prop. 123 is approved, a separate piece of legislation to increase basic state aid kicks in. That could result in higher property taxes in some school districts.
Q: Who can vote?
A: Any registered voter. Party affiliation doesn’t matter in this election - even if you’re an Independent.
Q: When is the election?
A: May 17.
Q: When are the polls open?
A: As usual on any Arizona Election Day, it’s 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Q: Is it too late to register to vote?
A: No, but you only have until Monday, April 18.
Q: Will I get a ballot in the mail?
A: Yes, if you’re on the list for permanent early voting. Early ballots are mailed on April 20 and must be returned to the county recorder’s office by 7 p.m. on May 17. You can vote early at any county recorder’s office between April 20 and May 16. Be sure to take your identification.
Q: What kind of identification do I need to take?
A: A photo identification is required. An Arizona driver’s license or state- or tribal-issued identification card usually is adequate. If you have neither, you’ll need two other types of documents that prove residency, such as a utility bill, a bank statement, a voter registration card, a passport or a military identification. A full list of acceptable documents is available at azsos.gov/elections/ voting-election.
Q: Will I have to stand in line for hours to vote?
A: Maybe. Elections officials in each county determine polling places. Maricopa County officials have said there will be 120 polling places for this election, up from 60 in the March 22 presidential preference election that created so much controversy. That’s fewer than the approximately 300 for most primary and general elections. A list of polling places will be available at maricopa.gov/elections/.
Q: When was the last special election in Arizona?
A: Although it seems to happen often, the last was May 18, 2010. An optional sales tax was approved as 38 percent of eligible voters turned out.
Q: Why are these issues on the ballot?
A: In a 2015 special session, the Legislature agreed to refer these two issues to voters, since they seek to change the Arizona Constitution.
• Contact EVTribune writer Ridenour: 480-8986533 or sridenour@evtrib.com.
Gradual success in Phoenix Grid Bikes spurs launch in Mesa
BY TYNIN FRIES TRIBUNE FREELANCER
Ayear and a half after Grid Bikes were installed in Phoenix, the bike sharing company has expanded to include the city of Mesa because of increasing success in the rentable bike program.
Grid Bikes are stationed at “hubs” across the city at which cyclists can rent and return the bikes to any other hub. The bikes are also tracked by GPS and can be monitored and reserved for frequent riders on the mobile app Social Bicycles.
Grid Bikes began installing rentable bikes at 50 different locations across Phoenix in November of 2014, which now supplies 500 bikes to the community. In March, Mesa was also added to the grid with a pilot phase of 100 bikes, according to John Romero, director of operations at CycleHop.
“After over a year we’ve gained traction in the (Phoenix) community,” Romero said. “Our rate of adoption was slow but now it’s steadily picking up. We’ve been able to increase bikes; we’ve increased stations.”
A contract between the cities of Phoenix and Mesa, Grid Bike Share, CycleHop and SandVault has brought an alternative form of transportation to Valley cities that also share a light rail. Within the next year, Grid Bikes is also looking to expand to Tempe where contracts are already being discussed with the Tempe City Council.
One of the most common uses for the bikes is for “first mile, last mile” transportation to and from the light rail system, Grid Bikes reported. In Mesa, the light rail played a huge role in launching the new grid, Romero said.
“The Mesa grid launch was long awaited,” Romero said. “We held off to launch until the light rail extension was complete. Now, we don’t have to worry about construction interfering.”
There are Grid Bikes strategically
placed across the cities that target high foot-traffic areas such as Roosevelt Row, the Phoenix Public Library and light rail stops.
“Phoenix is a great city, but the transportation system has room for improvement,” Romero said. “In other major cities, bike share thrives. Now, we just need to keep our current trajectory and connect with community spaces.”
Subscriptions to the Grid Bike system include a variety of payment options, including a $7 hourly rate, a $15 monthly rate that allows an hour of riding per day and a $20 monthly rate that includes 90 minutes of riding.
Grid Bikes even have a student membership. At $25 per semester that includes 60 minutes per day. Arizona State University sophomore Meghan Hiryak, 20, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, took advantage of this student discount and said she uses the system frequently.
“I’m an our-of-state student, so I don’t have a car here in Phoenix,” Hiryak said. “Grid Bikes are a cheap option that helps me get around the downtown area without having to sign up for a car membership.”
Miguel Chavira, 20, of Mesa, is another ASU student. However, he uses the yearround subscription because now he can use Grid Bike at school and home.
“I thought about getting the student price,” Chavira said. “But now that the Grid Bikes are in Mesa too, I decided to get the full-time membership because I can even use them when I’m home for the weekends.”
The hope for Mesa is to eventually have 300 bikes and for Phoenix to continue growth until it reaches 1500 bikes that offer transportation and community engagement, Romero said.
• Tynin Fries is a sophomore at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.
• Check us out and like the East Valley Tribune on Facebook and EVTNow on Twitter.
Phoenix Grid Bikes. [Tynin Fries/ EVT Freelancer]
Mesa skateboarder Eaton’s fame came at a young age
BY CASSIDY WELKER CRONKITE NEWS
At just 11 years old, Mesa skateboarder Jagger Eaton made history as the youngest participant in the X Games, an extreme sport competition hosted by ESPN. His career has taken off quickly since.
At age 13 he won the Tampa Am, one of the most prestigious amateur extreme sport skateboarding competitions in the world. Now, at 15, he’s working with Nickelodeon on his own show, “Jagger Eaton’s Mega Life,” which will premiere later this year. He has previously appeared on the MTV show “Ridiculousness” with Rob Dyrdek, a professional skateboarder, actor, producer and reality TV star.
Eaton’s skateboarding roots run deep. He first stepped on a skateboard at age 4.
“I started skateboarding because my dad got me a skateboard for Christmas and I just couldn’t stay off it for the rest of the year,” Jagger said.
His father, Geoff Eaton, was a gymnast but always was interested in
wakeboarding, snowboarding and skateboarding. When Jagger was 4, Geoff introduced him and his 6-year-old brother, Jett, to skateboarding because he thought it was a great exercise for children.
“I wanted to introduce something outside of gymnastics to them that I thought was a fantastic activity for kids, which was skateboarding,” Geoff said.
The family business gave Jagger and Jett the perfect place to practice. Geoff’s father, Mark, had owned Desert Devils, a gym in Mesa, since the 1970s. After Mark’s death in 1995, Geoff took over management of the gym. He expanded Desert Devils and added Kids That Rip, a skateboard park.
In 2015, the Eatons opened a new Kids That Rip facility in Chandler that includes a skate park along with gymnastics and parkour, a fitness program featuring obstacle courses.
With these skate parks, the Eaton family has given the boys their own personal playground, a place to continue to practice every day and perfect their skills.
“My philosophy as a parent,” Geoff
said, “is I don’t like to hold them back from something they are passionate about.”
Jagger’s passion was evident and has helped make him a skateboarder known worldwide.
“My favorite thing about skateboarding, is, it’s just freedom. I can go on my skateboard and not have any worries about anything,” Jagger said.
Geoff said the turning point came in 2010 when he let Jagger, then 9, along with brother Jett, attempt the MegaRamp, a 200-foot ramp known in
the X Games as “Big Air.”
“We got a lot of criticism for jumping some of the ramps that we did when they were that age,” Geoff said. “But we did our due diligence and they skated a lot and practiced a lot and we really took the smart progressions that were necessary in order to make it as safe as possible.
“For a 9-year-old kid he had a lot of control, a lot of board control at that age and was progressing very quickly,” Geoff said. “At about 9 you could see signs that there would be some special talent here.”
At that point, the world started to notice Jagger, through videos on YouTube and Woodward West, a summer camp in Tehachapi, California, as well as through his appearances with professional boarders, including two-time Olympic gold medalist Shaun White. Jagger said he manages to stay focused and excited, thanks to those closest to him.
“I have my family. My friends are family to me, and that’s all that matters right now,” Jagger said. “My personal life can wait. I want to experience things before that.”
Jagger Eaton was 11 when he competed in the X Games for the first time. [Meehee Kim/Cronkite News]
Playful Johnny is sweet, social
Four-year-old Johnny is a sweet, happy, social guy who will greet you by winding around your ankles and asking how your day is going. Johnny love’s attention and loves petting; in fact, sometimes he’ll stand on his hind legs to make it easier for you to pet him. In addition to petting, Johnny loves to be brushed. He seems to love anything that involves spending quality time with his people. He likes all toys, but if Johnny were on a desert island he would bring along toys that make noise. He is a huge fan of feather wands with bells attached to them. He also likes attacking little stuffed cat toys, toy mice and laser lights. Johnny gets along great with other kitties. This affectionate, easygoing and entertaining guy will make a lovable, loyal and amusing companion. If interested in learning more about Johnny, fill out an application for him today at www.azrescue.org.
Federal attorneys investigating handling of Maricopa County presidential primary
BY HOWARD FISCHER CAPITOL MEDIA SERVICES
Federal attorneys are investigating how Maricopa County conducted the presidential primary even as the state’s top election official insisted she could not have done anything different ahead of the March 22 vote.
Chris Herren, chief of the voting section of the Department of Justice, told Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell that his agency is trying to determine if there were violations of the federal Voting Rights Act. That law prohibits states from making changes in election procedures that discriminate
against minorities.
The Department of Justice also wants any information Purcell has about people who believe they were incorrectly reclassified as independents.
Herren wants to know why Maricopa County had only 60 polling places and how their locations were determined. Potentially more significant, he wants to know whether the county ever looked at how its decision to sharply trim the number of polling places would affect minority groups.
In his complaint to the Department of Justice, Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton said Phoenix, which is populated mainly by minorities, got one polling location for every 108,000 residents. But he said Anglo communities like Paradise Valley had one polling place for every 13,000 residents; the towns of Cave Creek and Carefree got one polling place for 8,500 residents.
Secretary of State Michele Reagan, in formally announcing the results of the primary on Monday, said that some voters apparently were reclassified as independents when they updated their addresses on a website linked to the state Motor Vehicle Division.
“You would think that the system would say, ‘Well, you’re just changing
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your address so I’m going to keep you as a Green Party member,’” she said.
But if voters didn’t reaffirm their party, the system apparently updated them as independents.
Reagan sidestepped the larger question of whether she, as the state’s chief elections officer, should have questioned Maricopa County ahead of the March 22 vote on whether they were violating the Voting Rights Act by setting up just 60 polling places.
Reagan said she has no official authority to force counties to change their procedures.
“We, in the future, may be looking at those options,” she said.
In the final results of the presidential primary, there was no change in the order of finish. Hillary Clinton beat Bernie Sanders and a host of Democrat contenders, Donald Trump outpolled Ted Cruz and others in the GOP race, and Jill Stein won a two-way race for the Green Party delegates.
• Follow Howard Fischer on Twitter @ azcapmedia.
Secretary of State Michele Reagan. [HowardFischerCapitol/MediaServices]
In need of change Gilbert Classical Academy lacks facilities, resources, officials say
BY DANIEL OCHOA TRIBUNE
The Gilbert Public Schools (GPS)
Governing Board will vote on April 26 to either repurpose or close Gilbert Junior High School or Mesquite Junior High School.
The decision stems from the district searching for an adequate facility for its Gilbert Classical Academy (GCA).
GCA will move into either of the two junior high schools if the governing board votes for repurpose. If Mesquite is closed, the majority of students will move to Gilbert Junior High School, and vice versa.
School
Gilbert Classical Academy was built in 2007 for grade levels 6-9. As the years went on, the school expanded its grade levels to 7-12.
“Our model here at Gilbert Classical Academy follows the Socratic method, where students face one another and have open discussions of their course material,” said Dan Hood, principal at GCA. “It’s a way to introduce students to crucial thinking and be able to challenge one another. Being that the classrooms are small, it’s difficult for teachers to format their classroom in order to follow the Socratic method.”
The Socratic method at GCA is where students lead during class time, and the teacher acts as a facilitator to lead the discussion. Since its inception, GCA has focused on being a college preparatory institute with open enrollment throughout the Valley. Students are not forced to take any entrance exams in order to attend the school, Hood said.
“It’s just on an application basis,” he said. “If we have more applications than we have spots opened, we host a lottery to determine which of those students are able to attend the school.”
Once the lottery session is completed, GCA develops a waiting list for the students who were not able to get in.
“Currently our seventh-grade waiting list is 94 kids, and we accept 120 students in that grade level,” Hood said. “We take students in up through ninth grade, that is if we have spots opened. We look through their transcripts to see
if their qualifications match up with the school in order for them to be accepted.”
In terms of curriculum, Hood said GCA offers a “rigorous” curriculum format, in which the students take a mixture of honors and AP classes throughout their years at the school.
This year’s enrollment size at GCA currently stands at 485 students. Hood said he anticipates the school’s enrollment to increase to 563 through each grade level.
The school’s current campus limits its capacity at 298. Hood said he has been the principal at GCA for the past four years, and the school has been over its capacity since then. To combat the over-increasing capacity, the school has placed six portables in the campus’ field area that makes up a good portion of GCA’s classrooms.
“When the school opened we had one portable, and as the years went on the district added more of them to try and elevate the crowding in the classrooms,” said Marcia Kalkman, an instructor at GCA.
Lack of facility, resources
Gilbert Classical Academy’s current campus limits the school to provide its
students with the same physical education that other students are offered around the school district, Hood said.
Students at GCA use the outdoor field to complete fitness assessments during the day, which is located near the school’s portables. Monique Barndar, athletic director at GCA, said the school’s current field lacks the ability to offer students a way to participate in physical activates that are required to compete.
“It’s really difficult for our P.E. to function throughout the day,” she said. “We have one field that we used for almost everything. We also use the cafeteria when it is not in use during the day.”
Barndar said the campus also lacks other resources such as locker or show rooms. GCA currently uses the neighboring schools’ — Greenfield Elementary School and Greenfield Junior High School — baseball, softball and soccer field.
If there are any scheduling conflicts between the schools, GCA has to notify the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) to find other forms of accommodations.
All of GCA’s baseball and softball practices either take place at Greenfield
Junior or Crossroads Park, which is a mile down the road from the school.
“I’m literally at the mercy of every school that helps us out in terms of scheduling and location,” Barndar said. “We are lucky to have really awesome athletic directors who are willing to accommodate our needs … otherwise we would have to rent facilities.”
Kyle Balthazor, a senior at GCA, has participated in mostly every sport GCA has to offer, and said it can be a strain to have to use the adjacent schools’ facility or commute down the road to the community park.
“We have about an hour and 45 minutes of practice, but with getting out of school on time, getting dress and commuting to the park, practices are cut down by 45 minutes to an hour,” he said. “That’s not enough time for us to be able to practice … we need more time or else we can’t get better.”
Teachers at GCA have experienced that lack of resources at GCA during their day-to-day instructing.
Ted Gibson, choir instructor, teaches his class in the portables and said it’s difficult to provide his students with a suitable choir atmosphere.
GCA alums also felt the frustration of having the lack of resources at GCA.
“Whenever there’s a performance my students are rehearsing for, it’s hard to get the acoustic atmosphere inside these portables,” Gibson said. “When we have class in session P.E. is happening, so sometimes soccer balls hit the side of the portable and disrupts the class time.”
He added that his students practice their acoustics at the school’s Breeze Way area; an outside passage way connecting the north and south end of the campus.
“We practice in Breeze Way so the students can practice standing and singing on the risers,” Gibson said. “It’s been a challenge, but I’m surprised how quickly the students have excelled to make a superior ensemble.”
Decision
Leading up to the repurpose/closure vote, faculty members at GCA are hopeful that the governing board will vote in favor to either repurpose GCA at
Students pack into a portable for Maureen Barnabas’ 10th-grade honors English class at Gilbert Classical Academy on March 31.
[David Jolkovski/EVT]
Mesquite Junior High School or Gilbert Junior High School.
Hood said since his time as principal there has always been the discussion of GCA needing a new campus.
“I knew that we tried a few years ago and it didn’t work because of the demand and the interest of the school,” he said. “During the initial discussion there were 16 schools that were being considered to be repurposed and now we are down to two, so we are hopeful that we can get a new facility.”
Hood understands that it’s been a difficult situation with trying to get GCA a new campus because of the possibility of a school being closed.
“This decision does create a lot of animosity and emotion,” he said. “We just want to have our students have the same opportunities and amenities that other students throughout the district have.”
For additional information, visit www. gilbertpublicschools.net.
• Contact writer: 480-898-4903 or dochoa@ evtrib.com.
BY DANIEL OCHOA TRIBUNE
Thomas Dwiggins, Chandler Fire, Health and Medical Department interim chief, recently completed his first week in the Fire Service Executive Development Institute (FSEDI). He is one of 20 members accepted in this year’s program.
Dwiggins has been with Chandler Fire, Health and Medical Department since 1998, during which time he served as a firefighter.
Throughout the years, he has worn many hats in the department from chief officer to more recently as the department’s interim fire chief.
Currently in its fourth year, the FSEDI provides fire-service professionals throughout the nation with leadership and development programs created and implemented by the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC). The program is funded by the Motorola Solutions Foundation.
“Motorola Solutions Foundation recognizes how these challenging times require a new breed of leader to head our local fire departments and national fire service,” said Matt Blakely, executive director of Motorola Solutions Foundation. “We’re proud to help support the education of these leaders to ensure they have the skills necessary to meet these complex and emerging issues
confronting our communities.”
The 20 members of the FSEDI attend four week-long workshops throughout the year to learn about the challenges that surround the fire service industry, Dwiggins said.
“The issues discussed during the workshops concern topics such as leadership, ethics, diversity and organizational culture,” he said. “We spend the week immersed in the multiple aspects that come with fire service, and gain a broad perspective of the different types of organizations.”
Dwiggins said the program has provided a way to learn from other fire service professionals throughout the nation to make himself and the Chandler Fire, Health and Medical Department more successful for years to come.
“We really have the opportunity to learn from each other,” he said. “The fire service is a solutions-based service, and building relationships with these professionals around the country creates an opportunity to share and receive ideas from a large-network of leaders. This is just as much about networking as it is about receiving the information from the instructors.”
• Contact writer: 480-898-4903 or dochoa@ evtrib.com.
• Check us out and like the East Valley Tribune on Facebook and EVTNow on Twitter.
Chandler Fire, Health and Medical Department Interim Fire Chief, Thomas Dwiggins, recently completed his first week in the Fire Service Executive Development Institute. [Special to EVT]
SRP advocates energy conservation to Kyrene students
BY DANIEL OCHOA TRIBUNE
SRP has teamed up with the Kyrene School District in hopes of teaching young students the importance of energy conservation through its SRP School of Energy program.
The partnership consists of representatives from SRP giving learning tools and resources to Kyrene teachers to use during their daily lesson plans. Currently, the SRP School of Energy program is being taught at Kyrene Centennial Middle School in Ahwatukee. Charlie Gruber, SRP’s strategic energy manager, said the program is embedded in a few of Centennial’s classrooms in order for students to be educated about energy conservation. Teachers at Centennial are also given conservation stickers that remind students to turn the lights off when they are exiting a classroom in order to conserve energy throughout the school day.
“Part of the program is trying to get teachers, students and parents aware of energy usage on a daily basis,” Gruber
said. “We are trying to bring the message from the school into their homes.”
He said the SRP School of Energy program is in its pilot stage at Centennial, and will be implemented in six additional schools during the following school year.
“When you educate students at a young age, it tends to stick with them throughout the rest of their lives,” Gruber said. “It’s important that the kids are getting this type of education about energy conservation and forming these types of habits at a young age.”
Jeff Garrett, sixth-grade teacher at
Centennial, said the program has helped his students be more cognizance about energy conservation.
“Energy is an essential part of sixthgrade science, so we are beginning to get into what the different forms of energy are and how we use them on a daily basis,” he said. “We also look into how we can make the best use of our energy … our demand for energy is forever increasing, yet our resources are not.”
By providing easy, efficient energy conservation tips, students are able to apply what they learned in their homes, Garrett said.
“One of the great things about SRP is that they show us a graph comparing this month’s energy usage to last months over the past two years … I’m hoping with this information it will impact students and their energy usage in their homes,” he said. “During this school year, we have been able to reduce our electricity usage here at school by nearly seven percent.”
Sixth-grader Franyianar Hernandez said the SRP School of Energy program helps her conserve energy throughout the day, and gives her the tools to teach her family about energy conservation.
“We’ve been learning where energy comes from, how it’s stored, what types
“My
of energy there are and what they do,” she said. “We use a lot of energy in our everyday life and it’s a precious resource, so we want to do everything we can to save it.” SRP also hosted an energy-conservation demonstration at Centennial, in which it showed students how much energy is needed to light up incandescent light bulbs, LED light bulbs and compact florescent light bulbs.
Students rode an SRP Energy Bike and were told to peddle at a certain speed in order to turn on the specified light bulbs.
The incandescent light bulbs were the least energy efficient and the hardest for students to light up, in which they had to peddle at a faster rate.
The demonstration allowed students to understand which light bulbs were energy efficient and how much power they need to turn on.“This is a way to give personal impact to the students on what it takes to drive energy for a specific purpose,” Garrett said.
For additional information about the Kyrene School District, visit www. kyrene.org.
• Contact writer: 480-898-4903 or dochoa@ evtrib.com.
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Kyrene Centennial Middle School sixth-grader Austin Mejia pedals the SRP Energy Bike on March 31, while presenter Peter Nguyen switches on different light bulbs to show energy consumption. This “Powering our Future” program is part of SRP’s School of Energy. [David Jolkovski/Tribune]
State treasurer says Prop. 123 bad for everyone
BY JEFF DEWIT GUEST COMMENTARY
Proposition 123 is less money for schools and raises taxes.
I wish I could support Proposition 123. I wish it was in the best interest of our schools, teachers, and taxpayers. I wish it lived up to the claim of being “more money for schools without raising taxes.” Unfortunately it is none of these things.
Any time politicians tell you they have found a way to spend money without raising taxes, they are either raising debt or raiding a trust fund. It is why our federal government owes $19 trillion and our Social Security trust fund is depleted. Our federal government has made false promises and Arizona is now following suit.
Proposition 123 is a raid on the schools’ permanent endowment trust fund which was established by Congress at Arizona’s statehood. It is a pool of money intended to grow for the benefit of educating Arizona schoolchildren forever. We can spend interest, but we are never to spend principle. Proposition 123 violates this congressional requirement, and if passed, a new multi-year lawsuit will likely begin, further delaying funding for our schools.
creates a huge fiscal cliff in 10 years that will hit hardworking taxpayers.
The public is also being told that Prop. 123 is “more money for teachers.” Anyone that reads the language of this bill know this is not true, and their claim was also fact-checked by the media recently and given zero stars and rated “false.”
Prop. 123 does the opposite, it is purposefully written to make it possible for the money to go to administrative raises without a single dollar going to a teacher or classroom.
And a dirty little secret of Prop. 123 is that it will also increase trust fund payouts to the State Hospital and state prisons, among other non-school related spending increases.
“ If passed, a new multi-year lawsuit is likely ...”
Bottom line: Proposition 123 is less money for schools, and raises property taxes. It is shameful that the proponents are misleadingly telling the public otherwise. It seems to be an unfortunate rule of thumb in today’s political world that since the politicians supporting this will be out of office in eight years or less, they care little that when this plan expires in 10 years our school finances will be a mess and taxpayers will foot a huge bill.
U.S. Rep. Salmon urges support for education measure
BY MATT SALMON GUEST COMMENTARY
Soon, Arizonans will have the chance to put badly needed funding into Arizona’s public K-12 school system and avoid additional taxes. Proposition 123, which will be decided by voters on May 17, settles a five-year education funding lawsuit that threatens the entire state budget. It can set Arizona on a new path that prioritizes our commitment to public education by giving districts the means to reward teachers who bring out the best in our children.
Opponents of this measure are resorting to desperate tactics. Prop. 123’s commonsense alternative to taxes is a greater use of the state land trust system. It has a combined worth of $75 billion, a majority of which resides in the value of millions of acres of unsold trust land. An investment portfolio with a current value of $5 billion is at the ready to help our schools, teachers, and students.
children’s teachers must determine each year whether they can afford to continue teaching, Prop. 123 opponents are conjuring stories that Congress will punish Arizona if it exercises its right to spend its education money on education.
This fable stems from the claim that Arizona must beg the permission of Congress to amend the federal law that granted Arizona state trust lands when it entered the union in the early 1900s. It ignores the fact that in 1999, the Arizona congressional delegation, including myself, amended this law to give Arizona authority to manage and invest state land trust assets to maximize the rewards.
“ It can be set Arizona on a new path ...”
The politicians are saying that this trust is “underperforming our schools.” This is incorrect. The amount we spend on schools from the trust is now the highest in Arizona history, roughly $100 million a year, and should double about every seven years. Voting “no” on Proposition 123 keeps this money for its intended purpose, benefitting our schools forever. Saying yes cuts the trust fund by over a third, costs our schools billions of dollars, keeps teacher pay at 50th in the country, raises property taxes, and
Before being elected treasurer, I had never run for office. Like many, I was frustrated with the poor financial decisions being made on our behalf, and took a huge pay cut to help our government make smarter decisions with taxpayer money.
We can do better. We can solve the inflation funding lawsuit without raiding the trust, provide higher pay to teachers and save taxpayers from a huge fiscal cliff.
But the only way Arizona gets there is by voting “no” on 123.
•
was elected treasurer of
Prop. 123 seeks to withdraw roughly $200 million a year from this $75 billion asset that is continually growing through the sales of state trust lands and its invested returns. Our state trust lands, and the trust itself, exist for the very purpose of supporting public education. Still, some decry Prop. 123 as a “raid” of the trust and a crime against future generations of students. In reality, this “raid” amounts to spending $2 a year from a bank account with a $750 balance that will continue to grow.
The attacks against Prop. 123 do not end with scare tactics over the financial health of a trust system that, to date, has only sold about 10 percent of the almost 11 million acres of land granted to Arizona more than 100 years ago by the federal government. While our
As the father of a teacher, I know the commitment and sacrifice made by our public school educators. Starting salaries for teachers in Arizona are in the bottom 20 percent nationwide. As a result, our state continues to lose teachers at an alarming pace and students pay the price. This state of emergency exists in rural and urban districts alike, including East Valley schools in Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa and Tempe, which will get the necessary funds to stabilize and improve their schools this fiscal year if Prop. 123 is passed by voters.
Prop. 123 is supported by a broad coalition of members of the education community, the business community, Republican and Democrat officeholders, and parents and teachers. Together, we can make a sustained and responsible investment in public education that benefits our teachers, students, and economy or we can continue along the path of uncertainty and instability for our public schools. Join me in voting “yes” on Prop. 123.
• U.S. Rep. Matt Salmon, R-Ariz., represents Arizona Congressional District 5, which stretches across Phoenix’s Southeast Valley and includes Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, Queen Creek and Apache Junction.
Republican Jeff DeWit
the state of Arizona in November 2014 and took office in January 2015. He oversees more than
I’m reluctant to vote for Prop. 123
BY MIKE MCCLELLAN GUEST COMMENTARY
Of course, there’s an easy way to improve funding for our state’s education: increase taxes.
In fact, according to a November poll, 66 percent of Arizonans would accept higher taxes to increase funding.
One gigantic problem, though. The disconnect between Arizonans’ wishes and the Republicans who represent most of them in the Legislature who think of taxes as vampires think of sunlight.
So don’t count on more taxes to improve the woeful condition of Arizona’s education funding. How woeful?
Our Republican legislators have decimated our education system.
Teachers are leaving the profession in droves. Worse, our universities aren’t graduating the numbers we need to replace them. In fact, according to a recent Tucson Weekly story, in the last six years, enrollment in the University of Arizona’s College of Education has dropped by 21 percent. Arizona State University’s decrease is even worse, a 28 percent drop. The need for teachers is so bad that the state has lowered the standards for math teacher certification. And don’t even ask districts about finding qualified special education teachers. Add to that the pitiful or nonexistent pay raises our teachers have faced, even as the economy has recovered. Without more taxes, our choice becomes the gun-to-the-head option. Which is Proposition 123. In essence, what it would do is this:
It would make up 75 percent of the voter-approved inflation funds that the Republicans stole from schools over the last several years.
It does that, as many know, by injecting $3.5 billion into schools over the next 10 years. Proponents argue that the money is earmarked for the classroom, which voters would believe is for higher teacher salaries and more teachers to decrease class sizes (though the proposition itself doesn’t require schools to do so).
And it doesn’t increase taxes because the money comes from the land trust fund.
So billions into schools and no more money taken out of our wallets. Sounds great.
But it is far from perfect. It does, after all, last for only 10 years. And then? Well, without a dramatic change in who governs Arizona, we likely will be back at square one.
Second, it’s a rob Peter to pay Paul plan. It takes money earmarked for schools and students in the future to fund schools now.
It could even result in a costly court fight that might delay funding for years. Writing in the Capitol Times, lawyer Diane Post predicts “there will be a lawsuit regarding whether or not the enabling act will require congressional
approval to implement the proposition.” All of these might be true. And yet I’m a reluctant supporter of Prop. 123. Mostly because of the disastrous predicament we are in, thanks to years of Republican abuse of our education system.
If we want quality teachers in our classrooms, we better fund the districts now. And here’s a guarantee. If we don’t approve Prop. 123, we’ll be right back in the courts, with Republican legislators using our tax money to prevent the proper funding of our schools. Which is where we were prior to the creation of this proposition.
It is a gun-to-our-head option; vote for this or we’ll be back in court. Spending your money to fight against your wishes. Meanwhile, even more teachers will leave and fewer will be coming from our universities.
Of course, there is a third way: vote for Prop. 123 and defeat the anti-public education Republican legislators in November. Which is to say, at least for East Valley voters, to turn out all the Republican incumbents and replace them with men and women who believe that being 48th in education funding isn’t good enough.
Federal lawsuit has protected killers long enough
BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ GUEST COMMENTARY
Twice in my life I have witnessed a man die, each time in the death chamber down in Florence. Each time the man, a murderer, was strapped to a gurney and injected with lethal poison. Each time, I left the death house bearing the same impression: There goes one barbaric bastard who in the end got so much better than he gave.
That’s why I have to laugh at the braying of a federal judge named Neil Wake, who for nine years has presided like a pasha over one of the dumber lawsuits imaginable: Litigation to determine whether the state of Arizona is using nice enough drugs and a nice enough process to execute the human detritus that populates Death Row.
The most recent hearing in the case was Thursday. Per media reports, Wake was in rare form, fretting over whether dying inmates are rendered insensate
enough by midazolam, the Valium-like potion that forms part of the three-drug cocktail Arizona uses to execute murderers. Wake also whined about the state’s execution protocol, which never quite suits His Honor’s whim.
“They always make changes,” Wake told the legal suits and media scribes about the execution process. “They’ve never honored anything they told me they were going to do.”
Be still my bleeding heart. Figuratively, of course. I’d hate to see Judge Wake ruffled that my heart hasn’t been cared for lovingly enough prior to its last beat.
The bottom line: I believe the death penalty is justice, a proportional response to the taking of human life under heinous circumstances. I didn’t go to Harvard like Wake, but I know this: If a set of scales is the metaphor for justice in America, then capital punishment for those who rip life from others with great depravity represents a perfect balancing of accounts.
So no, I’m not worried if we treated
some killer gingerly enough in his dying moments. They have forfeited life through their actions. They’re not victims. The victims, the ones I fret over, are those the killers robbed of breath.
I’m talking about beautiful Amelia Schoville, a mother and the victim of a scumbag named Jose Roberto Villafuerte. Amelia was hogtied and raped in a Phoenix trailer, choked to death by the grimy bedsheet Villafuerte stuffed down her throat.
I watched Villafuerte die on April 22, 1998. He outlived Amelia Schoville by 5,500 days. And he went easy, like a man gone to sleep.
Fifteen months later, I watched Michael Poland die. While Poland lay there, I thought about Cecil Newkirk and Russell Dempsey, the two armored car guards killed by Poland and his brother, Patrick, during a robbery. Newkirk and Dempsey were smacked around, Tased and garroted over $290,000, then dumped in Lake Mead. Poland got a lethal injection, but not before dining
on a last meal of eggs sunny side up, four slices of bacon, hash browns, whole wheat toast and Raisin Bran.
The anti-death-penalty advocates point to “botched executions,” a killer named Joe Wood taking two-hours-plus to die. There is weeping over Wood, much wringing of hands, a prissy insistence that we are better than Wood’s sad, sedated plight.
I talk of Amelia Schoville, Cecil Newkirk and Russell Dempsey, of the loved ones they left behind, of the lives these good people never got to live. Botched executions? Thanks to Judge Neil Wake and an army of lawyers, Arizona, with our death penalty on hold, has botched 119 such cases. That’s how many killers will pass this Sunday behind bars instead of dead, the way they should have been many, many years ago.
• David Leibowitz has called the Valley home since 1995. Reach him at david@leibowitzsolo. com.
• Mike McClellan is a Gilbert resident and former English teacher at Dobson High School in Mesa.
Mesa engineer patented idea inspired by ants
BY COLTEN BERRY TRIBUNE INTERN
Along the stretch of East Lehi Road in Mesa lies the home and startup of Alfonso Iniguez, an electrical engineer who said he had developed an idea that was inspired by ants. Iniguez said his idea is, “a computer architecture that dynamically expands the processing power.”
His start-up, Swarm Technology, began in September 2015 after he received a
utility patent for his idea, he said.
Each computer utilizes a master-slave principal, whereas the central processing unit of a computer has core processors that execute orders given to them by the CPU, Iniguez said. “I break away from that.
“I model my computers after a social insect society,” he said.
To elaborate, Iniguez explained that in his idea the CPU operates more like a queen in a social insect society like that
of ants, where pheromones are used to communicate.
“Essentially, the CPU is broadcasting ‘this is what I need,’ and then the CPU doesn’t care who does work, the work will get done in the same way that ants do the work in an ant colony,” Iniguez said.
Other computers or hardware that are interconnected and are part of the internet of things lend to the fulfillment of what’s being broadcast by what he referred to as the queen ant, Iniguez said.
The internet of things is explained as the global infrastructure of interconnected devices, either physical or virtual. It’s estimated that by 2020, 50 billion devices will be part of the internet
of things, according to International Telecommunication Union’s website.
A native to Mexico, Iniguez said that up until high school he wanted to be an entomologist, and during his life he experimented with ants, having discovered how adaptable they are. They didn’t offer an entomology degree program at his university, so Iniguez opted for his second choice of pursuing a background in computers.
He first began thinking about his idea in 2009, and after the Great Recession, Iniguez began researching this idea and wondered why nobody had pursued it. He eventually received a patent for it.
“I started doing some modeling on my own, and I realized that this is a way more efficient way of using computers,” Iniguez said.
He added that in the typical masterslave format, a lot of time is wasted.
Iniguez said the key concept of his idea is “that the co-processors are not sitting idle waiting to be told what to do; they’re actively looking for work.”
Electric engineer Pablo Garcia, Iniguez’s partner in the development of Swarm Technology, said that they are working on a prototype right now that he described as “a system,” and is a combination of hardware and software, not just a piece of software. They think the prototype will be finished by the end of this year.
•
Berry is
Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. He is interning this semester for the East Valley Tribune.
•
DANA POINT MARINA INN
Alfonza Iniguez with a copy of his patent outside of his home and location of his business, Swarm Technology, in Mesa on March 25. [ Colten Berry /EVT Intern]
Coleton
a senior at the Walter
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Allstate agency owner celebrates 30 years in community
Allstate agency owner, Pat Barker, is celebrating 30 years of providing insurance to the Mesa community. Barker has owned and operated the Allstate agency since 1986.
“This milestone with Allstate is very important to me. I enjoy getting to know so many families in Mesa and thank each and every one for supporting my business,” Barker said. “Life can be unpredictable. You never know what the future may hold. We are proud to help Mesa families protect their futures and look forward to many more years in the community.”
Barker has been working in the Mesa Allstate agency since 1991.
Sprouts Farmers Market announces expansion for 2016
Sprouts Farmers Market will open a new location in Mesa by September. The retailer is opening 36 new stores in the third quarter of 2016 and has announced the locations of 24. The Mesa store, which will open at 2060 E. Baseline Road, will be the third Mesa location.
Each of these stores will bring an estimated 100 jobs to the communities in which they are opening. Sprouts offers fresh produce, bulk foods, beer and alcohol, natural body care and household items, vitamins and supplements, and various other natural, organic and gluten-free grocery options. Headquartered in Phoenix, Sprouts employs more than 21,000 team members and operates more than 220 stores in 13 states.
Mesa Chamber of Commerce congratulates 2016 nominees
The Mesa Chamber of Commerce announced the 2016 nominees for the annual leadership awards. The winners will be announced April 29. And the nominees are...
Small Business: Ike’s Love and Sandwiches; Lohman Company, PLLC;
HP2. Medium Business: Unique Companies; Country Inn & Suites by Carlson; Longbow Golf Club.
Large Business: Boeing Company; Eastmark.
The educational honorees this year are Kasandra Zapien from Mountain View High School for Student of the Year, Maureen Magnuson from Westwood High School for Teacher of the Year, and Dr. Andrew T. Holycross from Mesa Community College for Professor of the Year.
Marc Community Resources Inc. is the Non-Profit of the Year honoree. Valley Express Towing will receive the Copperpoint Insurance Safety Award. The Ambassador of the Year is Melissa Moy, co-chair of the Mesa Chamber Ambassador Program.
Gilbert
TruWest Credit Union opens 6th Valley location
TruWest Credit Union, a memberowned bank with an emphasis on personal involvement with costumers, opened its sixth Arizona location in Gilbert this winter. The company operates under their philosophy of “TruDifference,” which to them, means working as close as possible with their community and members. TruWest intends to accommodate the undeserved and include their members in all decisions.
The Gilbert location features the new “mobile wall” area, where customers are graced with several flat screens that aid in teaching new members about mobile and online banking. The branch also uses their version of an ATM, the “cash recycler,” which ensures increased security by not showing the rest of the bank the user’s actions.
Tempe
Restaurant celebrates
49th anniversary
La Fonda Mexican Restaurant & Cantina celebrated its 49th anniversary at its current location in Tempe.
The family-owned restaurant was opened originally in 1967 in a shopping center at the corner of Scottsdale Road and Curry Road. The original location was demolished in spring 2012 and reopened at 1831 E. Baseline Road.
The Pedraza family operates the restaurant, from the kitchen to the dining room to the bar.
Top of the Hill
Desert Ridge graduate Jake Barrett makes D-backs debut
BY JASON P. SKODA TRIBUNE
Sometimes all it takes is a new pair of eyes focusing on you in order to have 48,000 people watching your major league debut on Opening Day.
Jake Barrett made a move — from one side of the 24-inch pitching rubber to the other — that created a new angle toward the plate and a return to form.
“It made a huge difference,” he said. “It makes my slider better and has become more of a weapon to right-handers.”
It led to a terrific spring to erase the struggles of 2015 and the inclusion of the Desert Ridge graduate on the Diamondbacks’ Opening Day roster.
He made his debut in the first game and followed up with a second appearance on Tuesday.
Both one-inning stints featured a 97 mph fastball, one hit and a scoreless inning. It was a pretty good couple of days for the big, right-handed reliever from Gilbert after being told on the Saturday before the season started that he made the team.
“There were a lot of emotions going on in my head,” Barrett said of hearing the news. “I was excited and I wanted to cry
right there, but I held it in until I saw my family. I was just happy.
“I was shaking the whole time. It was a surprise. There are so many good backof-the-end bullpen guys.”
The meeting included manager Chip Hale, quality assurance coach Mike Fetters and pitching coach Mike Butcher, who made the suggestion for Barrett, who was drafted in the third round out of Arizona State in 2012 to move from the first-base side of the pitching rubber to the third-base side.
“He was very dominating (in the spring) and had very good velocity at 97-98,” Hale said. “He had a good angle on the ball with his slider. All the things I heard when I got the job that he was
done in the minor leagues that we really hadn’t seen last year. He came in a different guy. He earned it.”
Barrett’s rise to major league pitcher looked to be in doubt last season when he started out in Triple A, but struggled to the point where he was eventually demoted to Double A.
Going backward in the pyramid of baseball is a step that is not easy to recover from for some players.
The organization can begin to sour, the player can get in a mental funk, or a combination of both. It’s a hard climb back into being viewed a viable option, although relievers often have up and down careers.
“I think with bullpen arms you see
that quite often,” Hale said. “Guys have tough years, battle through things and the next year they can be dominating again. You really have to stay on them for the next year.”
Barrett, who said he was flooded with congratulation texts from old baseball coaches like Jeff Forney, Pat Herrera and Drew McSherry, not only came back, but took a step that led to him walking into the big league clubhouse for the first time wearing his stars and stripes socks he earned pitching for Team USA and continues to wear on special occasions or big games.
The special occasion included being announced and called out to the
Top of the Hill Blocked Vision
Diamondbacks pitcher Jake Barrett said he had to hold back the tears when he was informed that he made the major league roster and made his debut in Monday’s home opener. [David Jolkovski/EVT]
See Barrett on page 21
Blocked vision Seton wrestling program in flux after Larkin resignation
BY JASON P. SKODA TRIBUNE
It should have been a confirmation that the grand plan was doing exactly as desired. Instead, the success of the Seton Catholic wrestlers at a national event only served as a reminder that it all unraveled.
Coach Eric Larkin resigned at the end of March after four years of building the Sentinels into a state power, but that was never the vision.
Just a step to becoming something much more, something Arizona currently does not have, but is seen throughout the country.
When Larkin took over the program, the plan discussed with the administration was to turn the program into a national prep team that competed around the nation without having an affiliation with the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA).
“When I interviewed we discussed it and they said let’s see how it goes,” Larkin said. “There were some changes and they didn’t want the same things as we do as a coaching staff. I had to move on.”
Seton Catholic athletic director Matt Mayo said it was unfortunate, but also clear that a separation was needed.
“Eric did a great job and we are sad to see him go,” Mayo said. “Eric and the school had different ideas and he decided to resign to seek other opportunities that better fit his vision.”
The news came before the Sentinel wrestlers left for Virginia Beach for the annual NHSCA High School National Championship last weekend.
The group, wrestling with the Thorobred Wrestling Club, finished with four All-Americans to cement what Larkin was attempting to do was close to becoming reality. He wants to get Arizona
competitors ready to compete at national events, in front of college recruiters, and coming back home better for it.
“Everything he said we were going to do we did,” junior two-time state champion Brandon Konecny said. “He helped put us in position to compete at the highest level. As soon as I became an AllAmerican I had college coaches coming up to me.
“There was a lot going on (at Seton) and we kind of knew it was going to happen.”
Quentin Hovis won the junior national title at 145 pounds, Vincent Dolce was fifth at 138 and Konecny was sixth at 152, while Weston Milnes-Bowers finished seventh at 145 in the freshmen tournament.
“We had a really great showing,” Larkin said. “We did a lot of work at Seton and Thorobred to get ready for exactly this kind of performance.”
The competition featured state finalists from around the country and starts out with a 128-man bracket with about 90 competitors at each weight class.
Hovis won the sophomore national title last year and has three Arizona state titles, while also faring well nationally in freestyle and Greco-Roman-style disciplines.
He said earlier this year he came to Seton because of Larkin, who is considered one of the top wrestlers to ever come out Arizona before a spectacular career at Arizona State.
Now there is a good chance neither will be at Seton next year. All of the wrestlers are expected to explore other options if at all possible, but the AIA transfer rule when it comes to private schools is the individual has to go to a school outside of the county the school and the athlete left in order to have full eligibility.
“I’m not really sure what’s going to happen,” Dolce said. “We’re all kind of waiting to see where coach ends up.”
The hardest part for Larkin was telling the wrestlers, including three incoming freshmen, that he was no longer going to be part of the Seton Catholic program, which finished second in the Division II team race in February.
“Breaking the news to them and the
parents was rough,” he said. “We had it going pretty good and now we have to relocate.”
Larkin has no plans of coaching for an AIA program again. He is sticking to his vision of putting together an Arizona allstar program that can compete nationally with Blair Academy, Wyoming Seminary and the other national prep schools.
So Larkin is trying to find a school that matches his vision that will also be a good fit for his three boys, the oldest being an eighth grader. He thought he had a couple of smaller schools, one was
a charter school, in place but it hasn’t come together fully.
“I have a bigger vision that is going to take someone to think outside the box and do something different,” he said. “If I am going to coach again (for a high school) it is going to be a national prep team. We have the pieces in place, the results have shown that, and we think it can be something special.”
• Contact writer at 480-898-7915 or follow him on Twitter @JasonPSkoda.
• Check us out and like the East Valley Tribune on Facebook and @VarsityXtra on Twitter.
third-base line at Chase Field, the very same ballpark he came to so many times as a kid to watch the hometown team, and trotting out to the mound from the bullpen in order to make his debut against the Colorado Rockies.
No matter what happens from this point on the 24-year-old will remain forever in the Major League Baseball player registration book.
“I’ve thrown everything that got put in my hand since I was little, and eventually I realized I had some velocity to it,” said Barrett, who never attended an Opening Day as a fan. “I always wanted to be here, and to do it in your home state with all of your family and friends, is pretty special. I had a lot of chills and emotions.”
• Contact writer at 480-898-7915 or follow him on Twitter @JasonPSkoda.
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Barrett from page 20
Seton Catholic junior Quentin Hovis has won state and national titles along with committing to the Naval Academy, but may end up wrestling at a different school next year after coach Eric Larkin resigned. [David Jolkovski/EVT]
LOCAL FASHION DESIGNER GOES FROM MARINE CORPS TO NEW YORK FASHION WEEK
BY ALYSSA TUFTS GETOUT
The Marines and fashion design couldn’t more different. The fundamentals needed to succeed in each career, however, have more in common than one might think. Each path takes discipline, patience, effort and passion. To be successful in either field, they must dedicate themselves entirely to their tasks and execute them to near perfection.
Marine-turned-fashion designer Alejandra Insunsa decided to pursue her dream of becoming a fashion designer by enrolling in the Art Institute in Phoenix three years ago. Since then, she has collected accolades like winning the Little Black Dress Challenge for Phoenix Fashion Week in 2014, and creating a red dress for a show celebrating the 25th anniversary of the film “Pretty Woman” at The Art Institute in Phoenix in 2015.
Perhaps her most memorable accomplishment was becoming the first student from The Art Institute in Phoenix to show her collection at New York Fashion Week in February.
In what is considered a pinnacle of any fashion designer’s career, New York Fashion Week gave the emerging designers a platform to help launch their careers.
The Arizona native was joined by 13 other fashion design students and alumni across the country from the Art Institutes’ system who were selected to debut their first collections at the Art Institutes Show.
To audition for New York Fashion Week, Insunsa submitted 10 sketches and 12 garments, along with a wood board and swatches that were collectively evaluated by five anonymous judges. They then based their decision off of the garments and looks to select a designer to show their collection at New York Fashion Week.
After Insunsa was selected, she started
creating her six-look collection in November 2015 and completed it by the end of January to debut in February. She said her collection is largely white to signify a transition into something new. “I did it white because it was my first collection, and I was going through a big change in my life,” Insunsa said. “I thought it would be the perfect color to start something new.”
Structurally, Insunsa said she likes to experiment on silhouettes, and she uses a pleating technique she feels is her signature, which is present in all her pieces in the collection.
“For my collection I used this pleating technique, I’ve been using this since I started school. It’s a pleating technique that kind of looks like a teardrop,” Insunsa said.
When she saw her collection as one look came out after another, it just kept getting better. After all the hours and effort to create the collection she said it was rewarding to see it done and moving beautifully down the runway.
Gerre Heron, fashion design instructor at The Art Institute in Phoenix, had Insunsa as a student for three years. He said he noticed how dedicated she was
to her craft and that’s what sets her apart from other students.
“She’s someone we noticed is dedicated to her studies. She expanded all the projects, went above and beyond and was very creative in the things she does,” Heron said.
“She wasn’t someone who just took instruction; she was someone who would take the instruction and move it beyond that point. It’s been a wonderful threeyear maturity to get to her graduation collection.”
Fashion designer Alejandra Insunsa works at the Art Institute of Phoenix on March 31. Insunsa showed her collection at The Art Institutes show at New York Fashion Week. [David Jolkovski/EVT]
Fashion design can be a difficult craft to master. The creative process can test even the most passionate students. Heron said it is difficult to make millennials understand the amount of hard work it takes.
“The sewing, the construction, the draping, the pattern making is very difficult. In a lot of ways, it’s structural engineering, except then it moves.”
In his three years at The Art Institute, Heron said successful students have been able to accept criticism to improve their technique and execute their creative visions.
“The best advice I give a student is take that advice, accept that advice, be open to it,” Heron said.
“Don’t lose your point of view, don’t lose your conviction, but be acceptable to that sort of input.”
Heron thinks Insunsa has been successful and will continue to be throughout her career because of her passion for fashion design and her attentiveness to detail. “I think the thing that I can pinpoint with her is that she’s absolutely tortured by this process,” Heron said.
“The ones that are consumed, the ones that cannot let something go, the ones that constantly work at a technique. In some ways they are made miserable through that process, the ones that are the true creatives.”
Being “tortured” by the creative process is not necessarily a bad thing, Heron said. “I always see that as a positive, if you come in very lightly, you won’t go out lightly, if you come in and go the death, you will rise or you potentially will rise,” he said.
Thanks in part to The Art Institute in Phoenix, the fashion industry is growing in the Valley of the Sun. While Arizona isn’t what normally comes to mind when envisioning a fashion breeding ground, The Art Institute of Phoenix has helped put Arizona on the radar.
Insunsa said she plans on moving to New York to work for an established design house to gain experience before beginning her own line soon after she graduates in June this year.
Although this was her first collection, Insunsa said it won’t be her last.
“I can picture myself doing that over and over again. It’s all worth it,” she said.
“I want to be memorable always.”
To learn about The Art Institute in Phoenix, visit artinstitutes.edu/phoenix.
• Contact writer: 480-898-5612 or christina@timespublications.com.
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Jurassic Brew Beer N’ Bones helps museum with programs, exhibits
BY KEN ABRAMCZYK GET OUT
Speeddating with scientists on a Friday night may not sound appealing to some, but the odds are these meetups will lead to revelations and knowledge about science.
If that’s not hunky or hot enough (and perhaps a little too geeky) for you, there will be the tasting of craft beers that night, too. Featuring a 5-minute visit for guests with scientists, Beer N’ Bones offers local craft beer and savory fare from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, April 22, at the Arizona Museum of Natural History, 53 N. Macdonald in Mesa.
Kathy Eastman, the museum’s curator of education, said this “speed dating” event is “like a game show.”
“We get scientists from ASU, University of Arizona and we even had a scientist come in from Salt Lake City,” Eastman said. “You get 5 minutes and then the bell rings and you move onto another scientist. You meet a lot of scientists and you have a chance to talk to them later about their research.”
Topics can range from archaeology, entomology, paleontology and space to
even rocket science, as a Boeing scientists appeared at the event one year.
Scientists at this year’s event include City of Phoenix archaeologist Laurene Montero, Dr. Dawn Gouge, entomologist in integrated pest management at U of A, and Charles Rolsky, a marine biologist at ASU.
The event, open to those 21 and older, also includes science-related activities, food, beverages and raffle prizes. For additional separate food tickets, guests will get tastes of chocolate from Cerreta Chocolate Co. of Glendale.
Don’t leave out the beer, and the chance for about 10 local brewers to present their latest lagers and ales to the public. The museum works with the Arizona Home Brewers Association on craft beers showcased for the event.
“We have a variety of beer, and guests have a chance to taste local craft beer,” Eastman said. Guests can discuss different flavors with the brewers and even smell the actual hops used in the beers.
Admission is $15 in advance at azmnh. org or $20 at the door. A VIP ticket costs $40 and provides extra perks, such as early admission at 6 p.m. and a souvenir
pint glass. Wine and nonalcoholic beverages will be available for those who do not want to drink beer. Food and beverage tickets also can be purchased for $3 each or four tickets for $10. Proceeds from the cash bar, food, raffles and silent auction will fund exhibits and programming.
Funds raised in previous years helped the museum purchase new dinosaurs for a display depicting them on a mountain. “This year the funding is for educational programs,” Eastman said. Funds also help the museum conduct a “free day” (no admission) for the public. Last year the museum held a Pluto Party on a free day.
The event brings together demographics that may not have an appreciation of science, but develop one once they visit the museum.
“It’s fun to do,” Eastman said. “I have discovered that the people in the beer community are really in the spirit of showing off their product.”
• Contact the editor at 480-898-5612 or christina@timespublications.com.
• Check us out and like GetOutAZ on Facebook and Twitter.
Visitors at the Arizona Museum of Natural History will see this tarbosaurus bataar at Beer N’ Bones Friday, April 22. [Special to GetOut]
‘Nashville in Concert’ comes to Phoenix
BY CHRISTINA FUOCO -KARASINSKI GETOUT
AsWill Lexington on ABC’s “Nashville,” Chris Carmack doesn’t get the chance to see his castmates regularly. While he’s doing a scene with one character, the others may be off with their own partners.
IF YOU GO
“We enjoyed making the show together, but so much of that is sitting around and waiting for the cameras to roll,” said Carmack, who also played Luke Ward on “The O.C.”
“Then we only get to have scenes with our scene partners. Sometimes we can go with what seems ages without seeing the full cast. But now there’s a bunch of us together backstage performing and putting our voices together and rehearsing. It’s a lot of fun to collaborate.”
The concert features a similar format to last year’s tour. The cast will perform songs from “Nashville” individually and together, as well as original material.
Carmack said there’s always a “fun cover that seems to work its way into the show as well.”
What: “Nashville in Concert” with Charles Esten, Clare Bowen, Chris Carmack, Jonathan Jackson and Aubrey Peeples
When: 7:30 p.m., April 17
But the “Nashville in Concert” tour, which comes to the Comerica Theatre in Phoenix on Sunday, April 17, gives him the opportunity not only to hang out with his costars, but to perform alongside of them.
Where: Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix
Cost: $38.50-$58.50
Information: 800-745-3000, ticketmaster.com
“Nashville” follows the lives of fictitious country music stars and features Connie Britton as Rayna James, a fading legendary country star; and Hayden Panettiere as Juliette Barnes, who is determined to take the crown from Rayna. Carmack has had his own brush with fame when Vince Gill told him he’s a “wicked” guitar player.
“Ever since he said that I’ve been practicing a whole lot more,” Carmack said with a laugh. “It was one of those things where he heard me playing blues stuff — which I’m most comfortable
with — on an electric guitar at a vintage guitar show.
“He made a joke with me and asked,
See
Chris Carmack [Special to GetOut]
‘Were you a frustrated actor or a frustrated guitar player?’ He was nice enough to say I was a great guitar player. It was very kind of him. I feel I have to be good and put in a lot more time practicing so I can live up to that.”
He may be a good guitarist, but Carmack grew up playing the saxophone in jazz bands.
“But when you write songs as a saxophone player, you don’t have a whole lot of opportunities to perform them,” Carmack said.
He switched gears at strapped on a guitar in high school.
“Most of the songs were for comedy or for romance’s sake,” mused Carmack, who recently released an EP of original material called “Pieces of You.” “I started to get more serious in L.A. and I wanted to start performing original material out and around town.”
The cast of “Nashville” has stressed to Carmack the need to perform in the moment — whether it’s at his own concerts, the “Nashville” tour or on the soundstage.
“The greatest thing I have learned while being on ‘Nashville’ is to drink in the moments that are going to be in the past,” he said.
“In our careers, it’s a scramble to get the next gig. So much of it can pass you by because it goes by so fast. If you don’t make a conscious effort to appreciate those special moments, then you’ll never get the chance to. I’ve made it a mission of mine when I step out on the Grand Ole Opry stage or your stage in Phoenix and it’s a large audience, to really drink it in and realize how special it is.”
Fans, Carmack said, understand how special “Nashville” is. The series premiered on ABC Oct. 10, 2012, and had more than 8.93 million viewers.
“I think it’s one of those shows that fans have fallen in love with,” he said. “They’ve fallen in love with the characters. They’ve fallen in love with the love stories. They’ve fallen in love with the struggles and triumphs.
“There’s an added element. We’re all very active on Twitter and Periscope and sharing behind-thescenes with fans. They feel very connected with the cast and characters. It’s built a strong community of fans.”
• Contact writer: 480-898-5612 or christina@timespublications.com.
• Check us out and like GetOutAZ on Facebook and Twitter.
CALENDAR
Black Theatre
Troupe performs
‘Black Pearl Sings’
The production written by Frank Higgins for a female cast, was inspired by the story of musicologist John Lomax and Huddie William “Lead Belly” Ledbetter set in depression era America.
Susannah, a researcher for the Library of Congress, conducts research in prisons to search for original songs. She comes across Pearl, a spellbinding talent who agrees to record her songs for the Library of Congress in hopes to be reinuted with her daughter. See how Susannah and Pearl overcome obstacles and see if they achieve success. DETAILS>> Times vary. Through April 24. Helen K. Mason Performing Arts Center, 1333 E. Washington St. Phoenix.
Tickets: $32. 602-258-8129, blacktheatretroupe.org.
‘Luckiest Girl Alive’ author at Changing Hands Bookstore
Stop into Changing Hands Bookstore on Tuesday, April 12 and get a chance to get your copy of “Luckiest Girl Alive” signed by author Jessica Knoll. A New York Times and USA
Fran’s Place
Real Home Cookin’
“Best little hole in the wall in Mesa!” Home of the Hot Beef Commercial
Daily Specials
Served 11am-2pm
Today bestseller, the hit novel has been praised as a memorable mix of “Gone Girl,” meets “Cosmo” in a smart, intriguing and witty story. Come to meet the Jessica Knoll, a reading of the novel and a Q and A with the author.
DETAILS>> 7 p.m. April 12. Changing Hands Bookstore, 300 W. Camelback Road, Phoenix. Free. 602-274-0067, changinghands.com.
Bret Ernst at Stand Up Live
The Comedy Central Certified comic comes to Stand Up Live to perform his set April 15-17. In 2012, his comedy album, “American Comic” broke the top 10 on iTunes. He has made appearances on ABC’s “Comics Unleashed” and the “Top Ten” on E! He first gained attention after starring in the feature film “Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show” where he performed with Vaughn and three other comedians in a 30-night-30 venue tour across America.
Details>> Times vary. April 15-17. Stand Up Live, 50 W. Jefferson St., Phoenix. Tickets: $20. 21 and over. 480-719-6100, standuplive.com.
Homemade Meatloaf
Friday: Fran’s Famous Fish Dinner
[Special to GetOut]
SPIRITUAL SIDE
Stewardship of the earth has never been more pressing
BY RABBI DEAN SHAPIRO TRIBUNE COLUMNIST
I don’t believe that God created the cosmos in seven days, but I do believe the story contains profound wisdom. Neither do I believe that the first human being was formed from dirt molded into Man, as Genesis 2 describes. Nonetheless, we unquestionably “hold sway” over the fish of the sea and the birds of the sky and the animals of the land (Genesis 1:26) — a poetic description of human beings’ extraordinary power to affect the entire biosphere and also our fundamental responsibility to care for it. Sometimes, information is better understood through story than fact.
Human beings are creatures who name and think and communicate. Since we wield such enormous power over other living beings, we are obliged to consider how we treat the natural world that surrounds us. What are our ethical obligations toward Creation? How should personal needs interact with communal concerns? What metaphors convey our relationship to the earth — Custodian, Protector, Gardener or Master?
These questions are not new. The Torah and later Jewish writings explore them. Jewish holidays invite us to experience the cycles of nature. The Environment has been a field of extraordinary creativity for contemporary Judaism. The questions are not new, but they have never been so pressing. The oceans are acidifying. Business pours pollutants into the air. The planet continues to lose forest and jungle habitat at an alarming rate. So much for our biblical obligation to the creatures of the sea, sky and land.
I recently spent the day at Oak Flat, Arizona, with members of the Apache Nation, putting ideology into practice.
Oak Flat crowns the mountain pass above Superior. It’s lush, as deserts go, with ochre cliffs and dark green trees. It’s shocking to think that the site, part of the Tonto National Forest, has been sold to Resolution Copper, a company owned by foreign mining conglomerates Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, who will strip the land for copper. Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake included the provision in the National Defense Authorization Act in December 2014, and so it was not considered on the merits (Huffington Post, Sept. 28, 2015). It’s not just the Amazonian, Asian and Russian forests being obliterated. It’s happening within an hour of our own home.
Fortunately, the National Park Service recently listed Oak Flat on the National Register of Historic places. That will encourage other government agencies to take action to protect Oak Flat, but it’s not a complete guarantee. Direct action makes a difference.
Copper is indeed a widely used mineral. But what do we need more — copper or wide open spaces? What is the price of pristine habitat? Isn’t it time we as a nation kept our word to Native Americans? What happens to Superior, downstream from the mine, if there’s an industrial accident? Who benefits from this land grab and who loses?
It was an honor to prepare and serve lunch for hundreds of marchers who had come to protest the transfer. It was a thrill to observe Apache, Aztec and Pomo dances. It was a privilege to stand in the dust and the sun, doing the real work of protecting the environment from those who would turn it into pennies. It was right to live biblical values and be a true steward of the earth, if only for the day.
• Rabbi Dean Shapiro is the spiritual leader of Temple Emanuel of Tempe. Contact him at rshapiro@emanueloftempe.org and visit his “Rabbi Dean Shapiro” page on Facebook.
CALENDAR
Sunday, April 10
HUNDREDS OF JEWISH CHILDREN BAKE TRADITIONAL MATZAH
For the first time Chabad of the East Valley will be partnering with the East Valley Jewish Community Center, to give to you the new remodeled and redesigned Chabad Model Matzah Bakery, Jews of all ages get the unique opportunity to participate in an ancient tradition: making hand-made Matzah the oldfashioned way — by hand, the way their ancestors did. Matzah is a form of bread dating back several thousand years. It is made by baking fresh dough immediately after kneading, before it can rise. Thus, Matzah is flat and dense, like a cracker—not light and airy like conventional bread.
DETAILS>> The first Model Matzah Bakery will take place at 11:40 a.m. at the Pollack Chabad Center for Jewish Life, 875 N. McClintock Drive in Chandler. Open for the general public. The second Model Matzah Bakery will take place Monday, April 18 at 4 p.m. at the East Valley Jewish Community Center, 908 N. Alma School Road in Chandler. Open for the general public. Free. RSVP at 480-855-4333 or email info@chabadcenter.com.
Thursday, April 14
THE EUCHARISTIC COMMUNITY OF FRANCIS OF ASSISI
Cindy Miller will be in concert at the Tempe Center for the Arts. The revenue from these shows will be used by the Assisi House for funding mission work in San Pedro La Laguna in Guatemala by providing mental and medical support for widows and orphans.
DETAILS>> Tempe Center For The Arts, 700 West Rio Salado Parkway. April 14-22. Times vary. Contact box office at 480-350-2822.
Friday, April 22
CHABAD OF MESA PUBLIC SEDER
Join us for a traditional Passover Seder. DETAILS>> 6:45 p.m. at the Chabad Jewish Center of Mesa. Cost: adults, $30; students, $10; children 12 and under, $5. RSVP:www.chabadmesa.com for more information: Chabadmesa@gmail.com or 488-659-7001.
CHABAD OF CHABAD OF THE EAST VALLEY
ANNOUNCES COMMUNITY PASSOVER SEDER
Community members are invited to participate in Chabad
of the East Valley’s community Seder to be held on the first Night of Passover. The Seder will feature rich discussion about Passover, excellent food, and joyous singing. Chabad Rabbi Mendy Deitsch director of Chabad of the East Valley, will facilitate the inter-generational program.
DETAILS>> April 22 at 7:15 p.m. at the Pollack Chabad Center For Jewish Life, 875 N. McClintock Drive in Chandler. The advance RSVP price for the Seder is $45 for an adult and $25 for a child, family plans are available upon request. After April 15, the price increases to $55 for an adult and $40 for a child. No one will be turned away due to lack of funds. Sponsorships available. The Seder allows local Jews of the opportunity of not just attending but also actively participating in a traditional, family-oriented Seder. Seats must be reserved in advance, by contacting Chabad at 480855-4333 or email info@chabadcenter.com or visit our website at http://www.ChabadCenter.com.
Saturday, April 30
BETWEEN OCEANS SONGS OF THE AMERICAS Haunting melodies, exciting rhythms, and rich musical traditions, reflecting the diversity of our cultures and the harmony of our spirits, infuse the Americas from the frigid fjords of Nunavut, Canada, to the tip of Tierra del Fuego. The Sonoran Desert Chorale closes its season with music from North and South America, the lands between the oceans.
DETAILS>> 7:30 p.m. First United Methodist Church, 15 E. First Ave., Mesa.
CHABAD OF THE EAST VALLEY MAKES MYSTICS MEAL (SEUDAS MOSHIACH)
Chabad of the East Valley invites Jewish residents in the East Valley area for its annual Mystics Meal. The Mystic meal (Seudas Moshiach) will occur at the Pollack Chabad Center for Jewish Life, 875 N. McClintock Drive in Chandler.
DETAILS>> April 30, 6:30 p.m. Call 480-855-4333 for more information.
HEBREW SCHOOL REGISTRATION OPEN
Registration for Chabad Hebrew School is open. Hebrew School takes place at the Pollack Chabad Center for Jewish Life. Classes take place Sundays from 9:30 a.m. to noon for children ages 5-13.
DETAILS>> To schedule an appointment to visit Chabad Hebrew School to tour the facility, call 480-855-4333 or
See Faith Calendar on page 29
email info@chabadcenter.com. For more information, log onto www.chabadcenter.com.
CAMP GAN ISRAEL IS BACK
Every week, Gan Israel day trips feature excursions to children’s favorite locations. Camp Gan Israel is proud of its swimming program where activities are supervised by certified Red Cross lifeguards. In addition, an array of sports and crafts are offered, supervised by experienced instructors, promoting individual progress, sportsmanship and creative expression.
DETAILS>> Camp Gan Israel will be in session once again this summer. Boys and girls, ages 5-12, enjoy a full day at Gan Israel from Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., June 14-July 22. Offering Mini Gan Izzy program for children ages 12 months-4 years from June 14-Aug. 5. Extended care hours are available upon request. For more information on extended care, email info@chabadcenter.com or visit www.CGIEastValley.com.
CHANDLER JEWISH PRESCHOOL OFFERS REGGIO-INSPIRED EXPERIENCE
Registration is now open. As preschool programs across the country are experiencing cuts in funding, Chandler Jewish Preschool is gaining popularity in the East Valley. T he Reggio-inspired program is dedicated to offering little ones a safe, nurturing environment, where they can develop socially, physically, emotionally and intellectually, in a Jewish setting. CJP is committed to a small teacherstudent ratio. The competitive tuition rates make it an appealing option. The school is open to children ages 1 to 5. The program is flexible, enabling part-time and half-day options. They are also DES certified and have before- and after-care hours available.
DETAILS>> For more information and to schedule a personal tour, contact Shternie at info@chabadcenter.com or call 480-855-4333.
INFANT ROOM OPENS AT SYNDI SCHECK YAD B’YAD PRESCHOOL
Registration is open for the new infant room at Syndi Scheck Yad B’Yad Preschool. The full-time infant room is for children ages 6 weeks to 12 months.
DETAILS>> Temple Emanuel of Tempe, 5801 S. Rural Road. For more information, call Rachel Wallach, 480-838-1414, or email Rachel at rachel@emanueloftempe.org.
CHAI JUDAICA & GIFTS GRAND OPENING
Pollack Chabad Center for Jewish Life announced that Chai Judaica and Gifts is open. It’s the perfect place to find the gifts for all of your special occasions. We carry everything from Mezuzot to books, religious items, jewelry and everything in between.
DETAILS>> Pollack Chabad Center for Jewish Life, 875 N. McClintock Drive, Chandler. Gift shop hours are Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Wednesdays by appointment, and Sundays 9:30-10 a.m. and 12-12:30 p.m. For more information, visit info@chabadcenter. com or call us at 480-855-4333.
Sundays
SUNDAYS WITH THE RAMBAM
Ongoing Sunday morning study of two classics of rabbinic literature by the great medieval philosopher Moses Maimonides (the “Rambam”). At 10 a.m., Professor Norbert Samuelson, Grossman chair of Jewish philosophy at ASU and TBS member, teaches “Maimonides’ Guide of the Perplexed: What Jews Ought to Believe.” This is followed at 11:15 a.m. by TBS member Isaac Levy teaching “Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah: How Jews Ought to Behave.” No previous experience necessary; readings in both Hebrew and English.
DETAILS>> Beginning Jan. 10, in the Community Room of the Administration Building. Temple Beth Sholom of the East Valley, 3400 N. Dobson Road, Chandler. Call 480-897-3636.
FOOD BOX DISTRIBUTION EVERY SUNDAY East Mesa Baptist Church, 752 S. Ellsworth Road.
DETAILS>> 4:45 p.m. every Sunday. For more information, call 480-986-9827 and ask for Pastor Hughes.
WORSHIP SERVICES
DETAILS>> 10:30 a.m. Restoration Covenant Fellowship, 8811 E. Main St., Mesa.
SUNDAY SERVICE AT UNITY OF CHANDLER
Come to a Sunday Celebration Service
DETAILS>> 10 a.m. or one of our many activities, classes, and events and get a feel for who we are at 325 N. Austin Drive, Suite 4, Chandler. 480-792-1800.
UNITY OF MESA SUNDAY SERVICE
A positive path for spiritual living. Experience transformational lessons, empowering music and various spiritual practices with an open-minded and welcoming community.
DETAILS>> Sunday services at 9 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. at Unity of Mesa, 2700 E. Southern Ave. Nursery available for infants through kindergarten at 9 a.m.
and 10:45 a.m. Youth ministry classes are open in the Education Annex at 10:45 a.m. All are welcome. For more information, call 480-892-2700 or visit www. unityofmesa.org.
ROMAN CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF PHOENIX TV MASS
Mass is broadcast live from Saints Simon and Jude Cathedral on KAZT-TV (AZ-TV7, Cable 13) followed by local Catholic talk show “Catholics Matter,” hosted by The Rev. Rob Clements.
DETAILS>> 9 a.m. Sunday mornings, www. diocesephoenix.org.
YOGA FREE AND OPEN TO ALL
Evening schedule, Arati worship 5 p.m., prayers, 5:35 p.m. Spiritual Bhagavatam class/kids’ Sunday school, 5:40 p.m. Prasadam, 6:45 p.m. blessed vegetarian food served at no charge. There will be chanting, singing and dancing for attendees to enjoy at the yoga session.
DETAILS>> The event is at the Hare Krishna Spiritual Center, Unity Chandler, 325 E. Austin Drive, Suite 4. For more information, call 480-940-8775 or email contact@ azgoshala.org.
GRIEF SHARE IN TEMPE
A support group designed to assist people through the grieving process. One time book fee $15
DETAILS>> Arizona Community Church, 9325 S. Rural Road, Room G3, Tempe, on Sundays from 2-4 p.m. Call 480-491-2210 for information.
SUNDAYS IN THE KITCHEN
Every Sunday night, Phoenix minister and performance artist Paisley Yankolovich attacks The Kitchen with intimate, unplugged and spoken word presentations.
DETAILS>> The Kitchen, 3206 W. Lamar Road. Phoenix. Admission: Free.
COMMUNITY CHORUS WELCOMES SINGERS
As the Ahwatukee Community Chorus nears the completion
of its first season, it continues to welcome singers. The group rehearses weekly on Sunday evenings. Although it is not affiliated with any religious organization, the chorus rehearses at Horizon Presbyterian Church. DETAILS>> Sundays 6 to 8 p.m., Horizon Presbyterian Church, 1401 E. Liberty Lane. There is an annual $100 membership fee. For more information, visit www. ahwatukeecommunitychorus.org or call 480-442-7324.
Mondays
THE ROMAN CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF PHOENIX — THE BISHOP’S HOUR
The Diocese of Phoenix’s locally produced radio program about issues from a Catholic viewpoint. Hosted by Michael Dixon.
DETAILS>> Broadcast 10 a.m. every Monday on 1310 AM Immaculate Heart Radio. Encore presentation every Thursday at 9 p.m. www.diocesephoenix.org.
FREE CLOTHES AFTER PRAISE AND WORSHIP SERVICES.
DETAILS>> 11 a.m. Mondays-Fridays. Noon Saturday. Restoration Covenant Fellowship, 8811 E. Main St., Mesa, For more information, call 480-553-1960.
YOGA FOR ALL
Kathy McAvoy, a certified yoga instructor with 10 years of experience, will be offering yoga classes at St. James for all levels. Suggested donation of $5. Open to the community.
DETAILS>> 7:15-8:30 p.m. St. James Episcopal Church, 975 E. Warner Road, Tempe. 480-345-2686 or office@ stjamestempe.org.
DIVORCE CARE AND DIVORCE CARE FOR KIDS
Classes for those grieving over death or divorce. DETAILS>> 6:30 p.m., Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 739 W. Erie St., Chandler. 480-963-4127.
wages Weekly pmt Transportation (including meals & to the extent necessary lodging) to place of employment or its cost to workers reimbursed, if the worker completes half the employment period Return transportation provided if the worker completes employment period or is dismissed early by employer"
lodging fees on 1st workwk on a company check "Tools provided at no charge to worker" "The employer guarantees to offer work hours equal to at least 3/4 of the workdays in each 12weeks of total employment period" Apply in person at nearest SWA, call 520-374-3028 fax res 520-374-3025 Attn: Desirae Diaz or fax emplr 480 627 1152 RE 2015384
Rowley Plastering LLC 3641 S 36th St Phoenix AZ 85040 seeks 30 "temporary full-time" General Laborer to work&reside in PHX Metroplex area to help production wkr to supply, hold/use materials &tools, clean wk area Bend, lift&hold up 50Lb 3mo exp in Res constr, work in ex t
at $12 01/hr No OT from 4/19- 10/15/16 US&H2B workers offered same wages& working conditions to include paid post-hired drug test Sgle wrkwk computes wages Weekly pmt
Business Intelligence Analyst
Location:
Erickson Framing AZ LLC 250 N Beck Ave Chandler AZ 85226 seeks 21 "temporary full-time" Construction laborer to work&reside in PHX Metropolitan area to do manual &physical duties, use, supply hold materials &tools prep site clean wrk area Bend, lift&hold up 50Lb 3mo exp in Res constr work in ext weather on-the-job train avail no edu reqd travel in Metropolitan area M-F 7am-3pm at $14 76/hr No OT from 4/23to
OUTSIDE SALES (PHOENIX AZ) WELL ESTABLISHED BUSINESS LOOKING FOR AGGRESSIVE OUTSIDE SALES PERSON IN THE EAST VALLEY WITH EXPERIENCE IN HEAVY DUTY TRUCK PARTS VEHICLE PHONE, AND TABLET PROVIDED SALARY + COMMISSION EMAIL RESUME TO mjohnson@arizonabrake com TO SET UP APPOINTMENT
Commercial Janitorial Co currently hiring throughout the East Valley Experience preferred but not necessary Reliable transportation required You will be required to pass E-Verify and depending on contract assignment a back ground check and drug screen TO BE CONSIDERED FOR EMPLOYMENT YOU MUST APPEAR IN PERSON TO APPLY AT: 2440 W Mission Lane #3, Phx AZ 85021 M-F
JOIN OUR CARE TEAM!
Open Caregiver Positions: Companions & Personal Care Attendants
Great Candidates: Have LIFE Experience Caring for a Loved-One and/or Currently PROFESSIONAL Caregiver Are Carting & Compassionate
Training is FREE! Call To learn more 480-999-5491 www ResCare com
incentives dependent on job performance
Assurances: Transportation (including meals and, to the extent necessary lodging) to the place of employment will be provided or its cost to workers reimbursed if the worker completes half the employment period payment to be made in one lump sum Return transportation will be provided if the worker completes the employment period or is dismissed early by the employer The employer will provide workers at no charge all tools, supplies, and equipment required to perform the job The employer guarantees to offer work for hours equal to at least three-fourths of the workdays in each 12-week period of the total employment period Job location: Mesa AZMaricopa and Pinal counties
Applicants may inquire at 1840 N 95th Ave, Phoenix or at the neareat State Workforce Agency office which can be found online at (https //egov azdes gov/eol/EOLSearchResults aspx?cat 1=18) call 520-374-3028 or fax resumes to 520-374-3025 Attn Desirae Diaz Please reference Job Order: #1959243
Employer: Ronning Landscape Inc 535 East McKellips Rd Suite 127, Mesa, Arizona 85203 Contact Robert Ronning, fax (480) 946-1410
LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE Resort Community J
Real Estate
Courthouse, 180 Ottawa NW, Grand Rapids, Michigan The
) being returned home continued in foster care or the court may order proceedings to terminate parental rights IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that you personally appear before the court at the time and place stated above and exercise your right to participate in the proceedings
This hearing may result in a temporary or permanent loss of your right to the child(ren)
Date: March 31 2016 PATRICIA D GARDNER
NOTICE OF TRUSTEE'S SALE TS#: 16-15969 Order #: 8612183 The following legally described trust property will be sold, pursuant to the power of Sale under that certain Deed of Trust dated 7/26/2006 and recorded on 7/31/2006 as Instrument # 20061018390, Book Page in the office of the County Recorder of Maricopa County, Arizona, NOTICE! IF YOU BELIEVE THERE IS A DEFENSE TO THE TRUSTEE SALE OR IF YOU
THE SALE NO LATER THAN 5:00
MOUNTAIN
TION OF ANNEXATION RECORDED IN 83-252643,
DED IN BOOK 231 OF MAPS, PAGE 32, IN THE OFFICE OF THE COUNTY RECORDER OF MARICOPA
SPECTIVE UNITS INTEREST IN AND TO THE COM-
TION AND ON SAID PLAT The successor trustee appointed herein qualifies as trustee of the Trust Deed in the trustee's capacity as a licensed insurance producer as required by ARS Section 33-803, Subsection A Name of Trustee s Regulator: Arizona Department of Insurance ACCORDING TO THE DEED OF TRUST OR UPON INFORMATION SUPPLIED BY THE BENE-
ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS
BID OPENING: FRIDAY, MAY 13, 2016, AT 11:00 A M (M S T )
TRACS NO 069 YV 281 H869301C PROJ NO NHPP-069-A(214)T
TERMINI CORDES JCT - PRESCOTT HWY (SR 69) LOCATION JCT SR 169 - MENDECINO DRIVE
The location and description of the proposed work are as follows:
$76,000 00 Name and address of original trustor:(as shown on the Deed of Trust) JOHN F GARDINER, AN
4 6 1 W E S T H O L M E S A V E N U E -
UNIT 250 MESA, AZ 85210 Name and address of be-
n e f i c i a r y : ( a s o f r e c o r d i n g o f N o t i c e o f S a l e ) W e l l s Fargo Bank N A , as Trustee, for Carrington Mortgage L o a n T r u s t , S e r i e s 2 0 0 7 - R F C 1 A s s e t -
heim, CA 92806 If the Trustee is unable to convey title f
the Trustee and the successful bidder shall have not further recourse The undersigned Trustee disclaims any liability for any incorrectness of the street address and other common designations, if any, shown herein Said sale will be made, but without covenant or warranty, expressed or implied regarding title, possession, or encumbrances, to pay the unpaid principal balance of the note(s) secured by said Deed of Trust, with interest thereon as provided in said note(s), advances, if any, under the terms of said Deed of Trust, including fees, charges and expenses of the Trustee Conveya n c e o f t h e p r o p e r t y s h a l l b e w i t h o u t w a r r a n t y , e xpress or implied, and subject to all liens, claims or interest having a priority senior to the Deed of Trust The Trustee shall not express an opinion as to the condit i
NUMBER OF TRUSTEE: (as of recording of Notice of Sale) Carrington Foreclosure Services,
The proposed work is located in Yavapai County on SR 69, f r
ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS
BID OPENING: FRIDAY MAY 13, 2016 AT 11:00 A M (M S T )
TRACS NO 089 YV 289 H8746 01C
PROJ NO FA-089-A(211)T
TERMINI WICKENBURG – PRESCOTT HWY (SR 89)
LOCATION SR 89 AND KIRKLAND JUNCTION
The amount programmed for this contract is $600,000 00 The location and description of the proposed work are as follows
The proposed work is located in Yavapai County at the intersection of SR 89 and Kirkland Junction The work consists of reconstructing an intersection with SR-89, installing new pipe replacing pavement markings, seeding and other related work
Project plans, special provisions and proposal pamphlets as electronic files, are available free of charge from the Contracts and Specifications website, or they may be purchased in paper format at 1651 W Jackson, Room 121F, Phoenix, AZ 85007-3217, (602) 712-7221 The cost is $25
meeting to revise its Fiscal Year 2016 Expenditure Budget on
CENTER located at 500 West Guadalupe Road, Tempe, Arizona 85283
A copy of the agenda of the matters to be discussed or de-
Publish: DNS-April 9 2016, EVT-April 10, 2016 / 17420773
SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT FOR DIVORCE CASE NO : 15-26338-DO
STATE OF MICHIGAN 29TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
CLINTON COUNTY
100 E State Street, St Johns, Michigan 48879 Court telephone no (989) 224-5257
Plaintiff, CHRISTOPHER P TIPPS
10831 East Third Street
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS
BID OPENING: FRIDAY MAY 13, 2016 AT 11:00 A M (M S T )
TRACS NO 0000 MA GIL SF03901C
PROJ NO SRTS-GIL-0(214)T
TERMINI TOWN OF GILBERT
LOCATION ELLIOT ROAD AND RECKER ROAD
The amount programmed for this contract is $270,000 The location and description of the proposed work are as follows
The proposed w ork is located in Maricopa County within the Town of Gilbert at two locations with one location on Elliot Road at Ash Street and another location on Recker Road at Park Avenue The work consists of installation of pedestrian hybrid beacon pedestrian curb ramps, and a median island In addition, the work includes signing pavement striping and other related work
Project plans, special provisions, an d proposal pamphlets, as electronic files are available free of charge from the Contracts and Specifications website, or they may be purchased in paper format at 1651 W Jackson, Room 121F, Phoenix, AZ (602) 712-7221 The cost is $18
P O Box 88 Fowler, MI 48835
Plaintiff's attorney, JACKSON, JACKSON & HAYES, P C
Edward W Jackson (P56973)
120 East Walker Street, P O Box 246 St Johns, MI 48879 (989) 224-6734
v Defendant, NATALIE M SCHWARZ
418 S Port Drive Gilbert, AZ 85233
TAKE NOTICE: On December 16, 2015, Plaintiff, Christopher P Tipps, filed a Summons, Complaint for Divorce against Defendant, Natalie M Schwarz, along with a Record of Divorce On March 1, 2016, Plaintiff filed a Motion for Second Summons and an Order granting the Motion and a Second Summons were entered on March 11, 2016 On March 23, 2016, a Motion for Alternate Service was filed by Plaintiff and an Order Regarding Alternate Service was entered on March 30, 2016
Notices
NOTICE OF PUBLIC SALE
Transport Funding, LLC, Overland Park Kansas will offer the following property at public sale at Arrow Truck Sales Inc
2201 W Buckeye Road Phoenix AZ 85009 on 04/21/16 commencing at 10:00a m 2009 Peterbilt 387 1XP7DB9X39D763018
The property may be inspected by appointment prior to the sale Inquiries: 602-256-7643 Cash sales only
Publish: DNS-April 9 2016 EVT-April 10 2016 / 17419304
ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
BID OPENING: FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2016, AT 11:00 A M (M S T )
TRACS NO 064 CN 234 H825801C
PROJ NO HSIP–064-A(203)T
TERMINI WILLIAMS-GRAND CANYON-CAMERON HWY (SR 64)
LOCATION GRAND CANYON AIRPORT ROAD TO FS ROAD 328
The amount programmed for this contract is $ 2,725,000 The location and description of the proposed work is as follows:
The proposed shoulder widening work is located on the Williams-Grand CanyonCameron Highway (SR 64) in Coconino Co unty, near the Town of Tusayan, Arizona and partially within the Kaibab National Forest boundary The project begins south of the Grand Canyon Airport Road at milepost (MP) 234 24 and ends north of Forest Road 328 at MP 237 05 A project exception is located between MP 235 29 and 236 19 where no work is required The proposed work includes saw cutting two feet of existing asphaltic concrete (AC) pavement and widening to provide an eightfoot AC shoulder The work also inclu des extension of drainage culverts, minor utility adjustments, tree remova , and earthwork
PLEASE BE ADVISED that Defendant must file an answer to the Plaintiff s Complaint within 28 days of the last day of this publication Defendant s answer should be submitted to the Court listed above and to Plaintiff's attorney listed above Defendant's failure to answer within 28 days will result in a default Judgment of Divorce, entered in the above matter against the Defendant for the relief claimed in Plaintiff s Complaint
ORDER REGARDING ALTERNATE SERVICE: THE COURT FINDS:
X 1 Service of process upon Defendant, Natalie M Schwarz, cannot reasonably be made and service of process may be made in a manner which is reasonably calculated to give defendant actual notice of the proceedings and an opportunity to be heard
IT IS ORDERED:
X 2 Service of the Second Summons and Complaint, Motion for Second Summons and Order; Summons and Complaint, Verified Complaint for Divorce; and Record of Divorce or Annulment and a copy of this order shall be made by the following method(s):
X a & b First-class mail and tacking or firmly affixing to the door at 418 S Port Drive, Gilbert, Arizona 85233; and
X d Other: Publishing 2 times in the East Valley Tribune, 1620 W Fountainhead Parkway, Suite 219, Tempe, Arizona 85282
Dated: March 30, 2016
s/ Randy L Tahvonen, P23411
Publish: DNS-April 9, 16, 2016, EVT-April 10, 17, 2016 / 17419489
FAIR HOUSING – IT’S NOT AN OPTION, IT’S THE LAW. You CAN Choose Where YOU Want to Live. Freedom from discrimination in choosing your home is a right…Not a privilege.
Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Fair Housing Act), as amended, prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of dwellings, and in other housing-related transactions, based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, handicap (disability) and familial status (including children under the age of 18 living with parents or legal custodians, pregnant women, and people securing custody of children under the age of 18).
The Maricopa County Human Services Department (MCHSD), through their Fair Housing Program, and in association with the Arizona Fair Housing Partnership (www.arizonafairhousing.org) are here to preserve that right for every individual.
MCHSD helps prevent or eliminate discrimination by providing education, outreach and referral services to the residents of Urban Maricopa County, including the unincorporated areas of Maricopa County, as well as the incorporated cities and towns of Buckeye, El Mirage, Gila Bend, Goodyear, Guadalupe, Queen Creek, Litchfield Park, Tolleson, Wickenburg, and Youngtown.
If you would like more information regarding fair housing, please call or visit our websites. If you feel that your housing rights have been violated, you can file a fair housing complaint by calling: 1-800-669-9777 (TEL) 1-800-927-9275 (TTY); or you can complete an online form at: www.hud.gov/fairhousing or by calling the Arizona Attorney General’s Office at: 1-877-491-5742 (TEL) or 1-877-624-8090 (TTY) or you can complete an online form at: https://www.azag.gov/fair-housing
Live free from discrimination. Know your Rights to Fair Housing.
VIVIENDA JUSTA – NO ES UNA
OPCIÓN, ES LA LEY
Usted PUEDE elegir donde USTED desea vivir La libertad de elegir su hogar sin la discriminación es un derecho…No un privilegio.
El Título VIII del Acto de Las Derechos Civiles de 1968 (Acto Vivienda Justa, o Fair Housing Act), según enmendada, prohíbe la discriminación en la venta, alquiler y financiamiento de viviendas, y en otras transacciones relacionadas con la vivienda, con base en la raza, color, origen nacional, religión, sexo, discapacidad (discapacidad) y el estado familiar (incluyendo niños menores de 18 años que viven con sus padres o custodios legales, mujeres embarazadas y personas con custodia de hijos menores de 18).
El Departamento de Servicios Humano del Condado de Maricopa o MCHSD, a través de su programa de vivienda justa, y en asociación con la Asociación de Vivienda Justa de Arizona (www.arizonafairhousing.org) están para preservar ese derecho para todas las personas.
MCHSD ayuda a prevenir o eliminar la discriminación mediante la educación, la divulgación y servicios de referencia para los habitantes del Condado Urbano de Maricopa, incluyendo las áreas no incorporadas del Condado de Maricopa, así como las ciudades y pueblos incorporados de Buckeye, EL Mirage, Gila Bend, Goodyear, Guadalupe, Litchfield Park, Queen Creek, Tolleson, Wickenburg y Youngtown.
Si desea obtener más información con respecto a la vivienda justa, por favor llame o visite nuestros sitios web. Si usted se siente que sus derechos a la vivienda han sido violados, usted puede presentar una queja de vivienda justa llamando al:
1-800-669-9777 (teléfono) 1-800-927-9275 (equipo telescritor), o puede completar un formulario en línea en: www.hud.gov/fairhousing o llamando a la Oficina del Procurador General de Arizona en: 1-877-491-5742 (teléfono) o 1-877-624-8090 (equipo telescritor) o puede completar un formulario en línea en: https://www.azag.gov/fair-housing
ARIZONA
7165 E. UNIVERSITY • BLDG. 17 SUITE 167 • MESA, AZ
Just three tenths of a mile east of Power on University. Within the Baywood Square Professional Complex. Look for the WHITE hearing flags.
22849 N. 19TH AVENUE SUITE 135 • PHOENIX, AZ
Between Deer Valley & Pinnacle Peak Rd. Next to First Fidelity Bank.