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PAGE 4 West Mesa Edition
INSIDE
This Week
NEWS............................... 8 Mesa adds to light rail but is the end of the line near?
BUSINESS...................19 Mesa eatery was a victory for Thai native.
SPORTS........................27 Chandler’s state-of-the-art volleyball court awes users.
ASU Gammage celebrating two decades of ‘Rent’
COMMUNITY.................15 BUSINESS........................19 OPINION........................ 22 SPORTS ..........................26 GETOUT...........................31 CLASSIFIED.................... 35
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PAGE 15 Sunday, May 26, 2019
2 more young lives lost to suicide BY JIM WALSH Tribune Staff Writer
A
boy who graduated as valedictorian from Chandler High School at 16 last year and a 13-year-old Mesa girl took their lives this month, bringing the number of East Valley teenagers who have been lost to suicide to 35 in the last 22 months. Adrio Romine’s intellectual ability was impressive. He graduated with a 4.937 grade point average and earned a full scholarship to the prestigious Arizona State University, The Barrett Honors College at a young age. But his emotional development was not at the same level, his mother, Paolla “PK” Jordan said. The need to evaluate teenagers holistically and look at their development in every way, came into sharp focus for his grief-stricken
see SUICIDE page 6
Just a year ago, Adrio Romine was celebrating his graduation as valedictorian of Chandler High School at age 16. Two weeks ago, he took his life. (Kimberly Carrillo/Tribune Staff Photographer)
Little-known fund fuels Mesa Council clash BY JIM WALSH Tribune Staff Writer
GET OUT .................. 32
EV teen scientists wow fair
M
esa City Council member Jeremy Whittaker wants a City Charter amendment to improve financial sustainability, but Mayor John Giles said Whittaker’s initiative would “burn the place down’’ instead. Whittaker’s has filed his intention to try and get an initiative on the November 2020 ballot that would cap transfers from the city’s lucrative Enterprise Fund to the General Fund at 20 percent — which he says would force Mesa to invest more money in infrastructure and cut down on other spending. His proposal — which sparked a tense discussion at a study session last Thursday — has put him at odds with the majority of his
council colleagues and the city administration. Whittaker claims the city isn’t spending enough money on replacing aging water pipes and misspends money from the Enterprise Fund — which is fueled mainly by profits from the city’s electric utility. He is particularly critical of using $8.4 million from the Enterprise Fund to underwrite downtown redevelopment projects — especially those related to the downtown ASU campus, which he opposes. But Giles, a staunch supporter of the ASU’s downtown campus and its ambitious plans for an Innovation District, said Whittaker’s initiative would have a devastating impact similar to the steep cutbacks during the Great Recession — forcing a reduction in city services and a series of layoffs.
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Mesa has no property tax and relies on the Enterprise Fund as a substitute — along with annually fluctuating sales tax revenue and a cut of the state tax — to fund government spending. Whittaker needs to collect nearly 8,000 signatures to get his initiative on the ballot. That effort was the focus of the tense Council study session, where city officials unveiled an analysis predicting a dire impact if voters approved the initiative. Whittaker said he is negotiating with Giles to establish a cap on Enterprise Fund transfers that would make his proposed charter amendment unnecessary. He said he only turned to his initiative af-
see FUNDS page 12
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