THE VOICE OF THE EAST VALLEY SINCE 1891 AND WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR LOCAL REPORTING
Mesa teacher wins award for excellence
THE SUNDAY
Tribune
PAGE 14
FREE ($1 OUTSIDE THE EAST VALLEY) | EastValleyTribune.com
West Mesa Edition
INSIDE
This Week
BY JIM WALSH Tribune Staff Writer
R
Flowers a family tradition at this EV business.
SPORTS.........................22
BY CECILIA CHAN Tribune Staff Writer
Massive complex at Riverview concerns Cubs.
BUSINESS................. 17
EV college offering personal trainer curriculum.
GET OUT .................... 24 Multitalented TV weatherman hits the stage.
COMMUNITY..................14 BUSINESS...........................17 OPINION..........................20 SPORTS .............................22 GETOUT............................ 24 CLASSIFIED...................... 28 A New Beginning Can Start Today!
PAGE 14 Sunday, July 7, 2019
China turns Mesa’s cash cow into money hog ecycling will cost Mesa nearly $1 million next fiscal year after China’s curbs on what it will accept turned a moneymaker for the city into a major financial drain ,even though it still costs less than sending trash to a landfill. And after China set a half-percent contamination limit on recyclable loads it will accept from the U.S., Mesa is cracking down on chronic offenders who throw contaminated trash into the blue recycling barrels. Mesa is taking away the blue barrels of residents who treat them as if they were regu-
NEWS........................12
EAST VALLEY
Hairstyling is in Mesa woman’s DNA
lar black receptacles, giving them only three chances to clean up their act. “We are taking that barrel away from you. I can tell you people aren’t happy about having that blue barrel taken,’’ said Scott Bouchie, director of the Mesa Environmental Management and Sustainability Department. “It’s three strikes and you’re out,” Bouchie added. “If we go three times and find contamination, we will remove the blue barrel.’’ The impact of the Chinese crackdown on the city’s budget is dramatic. According to the city, Mesa yielded $1 million in revenue from recycling just six years ago. After realizing about $577,000 in revenue
in the fiscal year that ended last June 30, the city began forecasting a severe downturn that is now estimated to put Mesa $400,000 in the red for recycling in the fiscal year that ends this month. The forecast for the new fiscal year is that losses will more than double to $1 million. Bouchie said Mesa is not targeting someone who makes an innocent, one-time mistake by throwing one non-recyclable item into the blue barrel. Chronic offenders put items such as plastic bags from supermarkets, wire coat hangers and cords into recycling bins. Currently, they can request the return of
see RECYCLE page 8
EV in infected mosquitoes’ crosshairs
V
ector control specialist Jason Gillette checked a funky-looking mosquito trap hanging from a tree in the East Valley neighborhood. The gallon cooler is filled with dry ice and poked with holes that emit carbon dioxide — mimicking respiration and attracting mosquitoes that are then blown into a cylindrical net by a hand-size fan. “We catch mosquitoes year-round,” said Gillette, gathering the trap — one of 29 he collected that morning in Gilbert and part of Chandler for the trip back to the Maricopa County vector lab. “This season seems like it’s a little busy.” Not only is the mosquito season an active one but the county lab is seeing a significant number of traps
testing positive for West Nile virus and St. Louis encephalitis, said Johnny Dilone, spokesman for the county Department of Environmental Services. As of July 1, the number of mosquito traps testing positive for West Nile in the county was 315 and 153 for encephalitis, Dilone said. For all of 2018, the county reported 138 positive traps for West Nile and 106 positive traps for encephalitis. “If we keep on experiencing the same trend this week, we would most likely see those numbers go up,” Dilone said. West Nile virus, which can lead to neuroinvasive disease in humans such as meningitis and encephalitis, is the most common mosquito-borne disease in Arizona. So far this year there have been 18
see MOSQUITO page 4
MEDICATION A DRUG & ALC DEPENDENCY TR
County vector control specialist Jason Gillette unhooks a mosquito trap so he can take it to the county lab for analysis. (Kimberly Carrillo/ Tribune Staff Photographer)
ADDICTION TREATMENT TODAY • FRIENDLY • DISCREET • DETOX AT HOME
We offer evidence-based solutions customized to our patients’ needs • Out-patient • Suboxone, Vivitrol available • Individual & Group Counseling - Most Insurances accepted -
7331 E. Osborn, Suite 410, Scottsdale, AZ 85251 www.truesolutionshealth.com
CALL (480) 550.7842 For a confidential Consultation