Mesa councilman stirs colleagues’ anger with accusations
BY JIM WALSH Tribune Staff Writer
As a political neophyte, Jeremy Whittaker was a bit of a wild card when he was elected to the Mesa City Council in 2016.
Whittaker has been true to form, cultivating an independent image through a series of votes on major issues that made it clear he would not bow to anyone while consistently challenging the city’s financing practices, saying they create too much debt.
Whittaker vehemently opposed the controversial Arizona State University Mesa campus, clashing with Mayor John Giles on one of Giles’ pet projects. He also voted symbolically to oppose putting the Mesa Plays soccer fields project on the Nov. 6 election ballot over similar concerns about debt financing based upon projections.
Although the ASU issue was settled on a 5-2 vote to approve the campus a month ago, the reverberations are getting louder as Mesa enters its political season.
Whittaker is questioning the integrity of
two supporters of the project – David Luna and Francisco Heredia – and supporting their opponents in the Aug. 28 primary election. Early voting starts Wednesday, Aug. 1.
The ASU project has become a political litmus test, at least for Whittaker. He argues that the city is drawing down reserves in the Enterprise Fund – composed mostly of utility revenues – to dangerously low levels, increasing pressure to raise utility rates.
In a direct challenge to Luna and Heredia,
Decline in vaccinations an alarming trend for health officials
BY CECILIA CHAN Tribune Staff Writer
As the new school year gets into full swing across the East Valley, the Arizona Department of Health Services offers this eye-opening report: Parents are increasingly choosing to forgo vaccinating their children.
Immunization rates among children in the state have dropped from 2012 to 2017 for a number of infectious diseases – including polio, measles, chickenpox and whooping cough, according to the department’s annual report this month. The report covers the 201718 academic year for preschool, kindergarten and sixth grade and is based on self-reporting data.
“The health department is concerned about the rising exemptions and reduced coverage,” said Jessica Rigler, the department’s branch chief of public health preparedness. “As the trend continues, we are going to see a continued risk to students, their families and citizens of Arizona for preventable diseases.”
In 2017, the immunization rate was such that in an event of an outbreak, over 5,000 kindergartners would be at risk for measles,
state health officials said. Arizona allows parents to exempt their children for three reasons – medical, personal and religious. However, students in grades K-12
can’t use religious beliefs as an
and child care centers, preschool and Head Start
(Kimberly Carrillo/ Tribune Staff Photographer)
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Realtors win fight over voter info for tax exemption
BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services
ARepublican-dominated legislative committee decided last week that voters don’t need to be told that if they approve a business-backed tax-limiting measure, the state could forgo more than $5.2 billion a year in revenues.
There is no dispute that the constitutional amendment being pushed by the Arizona Association of Realtors would bar lawmakers from expanding sales taxes to cover services not currently subject to the state’s 5.6 percent levy.
Even legislative budget staffers concluded that if all services were taxed, it could generate $5.2 billion a year in new revenues on top of the approximately $10 billion now raised in state sales and income taxes to provide public services – about half of that for education.
At a hearing Wednesday, Devin Del Palacio, a member of the Tolleson Union High School board, said taking future sales taxes off the table and forgoing those revenues should be included in the brochure to be mailed out to all 3.6 million registered voters explaining all ballot measures.
“I would like to know the amount of money that could have been used for teacher salaries, better schools or any other priority,’’ he told the Legislative Council. “I feel that this information could be critical to the decision-making process to allow voters to make an informed decision.’’
But the Republicans, who have 10 votes on the 14-member panel, instead sided
Realtors filed thousands of petition signatures earlier this summer to get a constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would forever ban the state from taxing services, including theirs.
with political consultant Wes Gullett, who represents the Realtors who gathered the signatures to put the issue to voters.
“That’s a speculative, hypothetical thing that might happen in the future and has nothing to do with this amendment,’’ he said.
The Republicans on the same committee also approved what Democrats say is a biased description of an initiative to hike income taxes on the state’s most wealthy to help fund education.
“That’s designed to scare people with big numbers,’’ said Rep. Ken Clark, D-Phoenix, calling the verbiage “clearly biased.’’ He acknowledged the increase is mathematically accurate but said it would be more honest simply to say that the actual tax rate on incomes of more than $250,000 is going from 4.54 percent to 8 percent, and 9 percent on amounts over $500,000.
Most significant, the verbiage adopted by the GOP majority would tell voters that if they approve the Invest in Ed measure to boost taxes on those earning more than $250,000 a year that they also will be increasing their own taxes, even if they earn far less.
That is based on a conclusion that the measure also would effectively repeal a 2015 law that indexes the state’s income tax brackets to inflation. That law is designed to protect taxpayers at all income levels from “bracket creep,’’ through whch they wind up in higher tax brackets – and paying higher rates – simply because their income keeps pace with inflation.
Democrats said that reading of the initiative is legally flawed. They say nothing in the measure wipes out indexing.
They also argued that telling voters that taxes will go up on everyone is designed to deter people from approving the measure, which is designed to raise $690 million a year for education.
Republicans also insisted on putting language in the ballot brochure describing the increase in tax rates on high-income Arizonans as going from 76 percent to 98 percent.
“I think we crossed the line into advocacy,’’ said Sen. Martin Quezada, D-Glendale. “And I think that’s unfortunate.’’ Democrats said Republicans showed the same bias in their refusal to voters what it could mean financially if they constitutionally bar sales taxes on services.
By law, the Legislative Council is required to provide “impartial’’ descriptions of all ballot measures. That is the wording that shows up in mail boxes of voters ahead of the Nov. 6 general election to help voters learn about the issues and make up their minds.
Clark said one thing voters need to know is how much money is involved. He pointed to a report by legislative staffers that says if the state’s 5.6 percent sales tax applied to healthcare, it would generate close to $2.1 billion. Another $1 billion would flow into state coffers if the levy applied to professional, scientific and technical services,
And the balance is made up in other categories like personal care – think haircuts, nail salons and lawn care – as well as personal finance, which includes investment advice.
“I think the public would need that
(Tribune file photo)
VACCINES
can’t use personal-belief exemptions.
Data showed the non-medical exemptions continued to rise in Arizona, with the highest rates reported in public charter schools, followed by private and then public schools.
In 2017, non-medical exemptions increased to 4.3 percent from 3.9 percent the year prior for preschool, jumped to 5.4 percent from 4.9 percent for kindergarten and rose to 5.4 percent from 5.1 percent for sixth grade.
The numbers are somewhat misleading, contended Melissa O’Connor at Montessori Children’s Centre.
The Mesa private school, with an enrollment of 41 kindergartners in 2017, reported 51 percent of those students were exempted from the polio vaccine; 51 percent from diphtheria; 54 percent from the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, 41 percent from hepatitis B and 41 percent from chickenpox.
“A lot of our parents for the exemptions are on a slower path,” explained O’Connor who oversees the school’s immunization records. “They are getting their kids immunized but just at a slower rate. That is what I am finding with a lot of my parents, not so much that they are completely exempting their kids.”
So, by the time she has to file the report with the state in October, not all of the kindergarteners have had their immunization yet, she said. Parents in Arizona must show proof of all required immunizations or a valid exemption before their children are allowed into the classroom.
“We don’t have breakouts here of measles, polio or any of that,” said O’Connor, who has been with the school for 17 years. “Our kids are very healthy here. A majority of our kids are immunized but they are taking a slower route.”
Rigler said the data doesn’t show what percentage of students reported as exempted later get vaccinated.
“There are some students marked as exempted from vaccination, but their parents are still intending to vaccinate them,” Rigler said. “The data we provide is just a snapshot in time. We ask every school every year to report for all kindergartners currently enrolled, all sixth-graders currently enrolled and childcare facilities of students in a certain age range at that point in time during the beginning part of the school year.”
The data, she said, gives the understanding that, for example, if an outbreak of measles were to occur at that particular point in time, the 5,000 kindergartners in 2017 who were not vaccinated against
Children
should have received 14 vaccines by the time they are 2 years old, and many parents are getting them exempted from the shots, citing long-discredited claims that vaccines cause autism and other problems.
measles would be susceptible to the highly contagious disease.
“Schoolchildren are a marker for us as vaccination coverage,” Rigler said. “I think it demonstrates our coverage level for vaccination is not as high as it should be to protect the community against preventable outbreaks.”
Will Humble, former Department of Health Services director and now executive director for the advocacy group Arizona Public Health Association, also expressed concern with the trend of dropping vaccination.
“When we took a deeper dive into the data, this trend continues to be in the high-income parts of the state,” he said.
“It’s the higher-income parents that are the ones contributing to the higher exemption rate, the unvaccinated kids. The problem areas are in Prescott, Sedona, some of the places in Mesa, north Scottsdale – those higher-income places.”
Another problem is the uneven distribution in the state, with far more exemptions found in charter schools than public schools, he added.
“The same parent who chooses a charter school over public is more likely to challenge a pediatrician about vaccines,” said Humble.
A study performed by the state health department and the University of Arizona several years ago identified parents in the top 20 percent of income earners as less likely to vaccinate their children, but why is difficult to say, Rigler said.
“Some of the things we know is there is a lot of access for care for lower-income communities and more trust in healthcare providers,” she said. “Whereas with higher income, which correlates with higher education, we often see people do their own research and not look at all the
credible sources or listen to what their pediatricians tell them.”
Dr. Chinwe Egbo, medical director for Banner Children’s Urgent Care centers, has seen an increase of parents questioning the safety of vaccination.
She said a number of parents see the growing autism rate in the country and persist in believing there is a link between that and vaccination.
In 1998, British Dr. Andrew Wakefield published a study claiming the measlesmumps-rubella vaccine could lead to autism. His paper was later discredited and retracted and his license to practice medicine yanked.
“Even though it was debunked and there is no clinical evidence and studies to prove that, we still have parents who are concerned and don’t want to take the risk,” Egbo said. “And sometimes we get parents who want to spread out the vaccination and get it later.”
Those parents worry about the level of mercury or elements in the vaccine, she said.
By age 2, children should have received vaccines against 14 diseases, according to the immunization schedule approved by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But a majority of parents who don’t vaccinate do so because they say they want to raise their children healthy, through a “natural” route, the doctor said.
“That is what we are getting a lot more now than in the past,” she said. “Those are the ones we can’t get to vaccinate.”
She said the parents of today were vaccinated as children, which stopped many of the diseases. And, because they don’t see the diseases anymore, they don’t feel the need for vaccination, she added.
Although some anti-vaccine parents rely
on herd immunity – if enough people are vaccinated, it is unlikely anyone will get sick and infect anyone else – to protect their children, there is still an increased risk for unvaccinated children of catching diseases, Egbo said.
Arizona is not alone in seeing a steady increase in non-medical exemptions. Twelve of 18 states with this exemption have seen an increase of parents seeking waivers since 2009, according to a study published this year by PLOS Medicine.
The study’s researchers found several major cities, including the Phoenix metropolitan area, stood out for their “very large numbers of non-medical exemptions,” and the high numbers suggest that outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases could either originate from or spread rapidly throughout the populations of unimmunized children.
“The fact that the largest count of vaccine-exempt pediatric populations originate in large cities with busy international airports may further contribute to this risk,” the report said.
To date, the only infectious disease that has been eradicated is smallpox, with polio next on the list.
Humble said that in his last year as the state health director, in 2015, the department overhauled the exemption sheet. Instead of a blanket form, parents are now required to check off and initial each individual vaccine for which they are seeking an exemption.
“What we were trying to do is build more transparency in the system,” he said. “In other words, make it clear to the parents, that by signing the exemptions and not vaccinating, what it means to risk their kids and the risks to their classmates.”
Among the groups of people who are most at risk from those who are unvaccinated are infants and children simply too young to be vaccinated.
Humble added the Arizona Partnership for Immunizations is working with administrators to help parents overcome barriers that might prevent them from getting their children vaccinated and by reducing so-called convenience exemptions, in which parents sign a waiver because they can’t get their children immunized in time to meet school requirements.
Rigler said the state is doing more education and outreach with school nurses, healthcare providers and schools, which are often the frontline for parents when registering their children.
“One of the things we know is conversation with a trusted individual has a lot of impact on decision-making,” Rigler said. “We are educating them about vaccina-
(Kimberly Carrollo/Tribune Staff Photographer)
Whittaker is assisting Christopher Bown, who is challenging Heredia in District 3, and Verl Farnsworth, who is challenging Luna in District 5.
Bown spoke against the project at a council study session and later at the meeting when it was approved. Farnsworth ran for president as a fringe candidate in 2012.
“I am supporting these candidates out of my frustration with a broken system,’’ Whittaker said. “I think transparency is a good thing. I don’t trust the information I’m given. I think the system is broken.’’
He considers Heredia and Luna examples of the broken system and pay-to-play politics.
With equal vehemence, both Heredia and Luna deny that contributions played a role in their decision making.
Whittaker sent a blistering email (which he also posted to his website) citing campaign finance reports showing that Luna and Heredia took campaign donations from investors who stand to cash in from the Mesa campus’s development.
The posting carried a provocative headline: “Mesa City Council more corrupt than anyone in Washington, D.C.’’
“Find me one contentious issue where the people involved weren’t donating money to a politician,’’ Whittaker said during an interview. “ASU is making me understand how the system works.’’
Whittaker and other opponents of the ASU campus accuse Giles and his supporters of doing an end-run around voters, who already had rejected a much larger campus when they defeated a proposed sales tax increase in 2016.
The council approved a smaller, $63.5 million project, this time using utility fund revenues. Under questioning from Whittaker, City Manager Chris Brady said the actual cost would be more like $100 million during a 20-year payment period.
Luna and Heredia both supported Giles, saying that the ASU complex would provide a much-needed spark’ for downtown
BALLOTS
from page 3
context to be able to make a decision here,’’ Clark said.
Gullett had a different take.
“This just protects the Arizona taxpayer from having to pay a huge new tax on things that aren’t taxed today,’’ he said, adding that speculation on what might be taxed in the future without the consti-
Mesa and also trigger more redevelopment downtown.
Whittaker’s email pointed to Luna’s receiving $1,000 donations from state Sen. Bob Worsley, R-Mesa, who owns several downtown properties near the ASU site, and from John Graham of Sunbelt Holdings, who owns a large vacant property across the street.
In separate interviews, Luna and Heredia said Whittaker is retaliating against them for the ASU vote.
“I was very offended. I was appalled,’’ Luna said. “It’s very unfortunate that someone would paint me as corrupt.’’
Heredia, who is waging his first election campaign after his appointment to serve out Ryan Winkle’s term, said “it just reeks of hypocrisy and selfishness on his part.’’
Heredia and Luna noted that Whittaker received donations from many of the same development interests.
“It’s ridiculous, what he’s insinuating. When those types of attacks happen, it detracts from the work we do,” Heredia said.
Whittaker’s 2016 campaign finance
tutional amendment and the amount of money such taxes might raise is irrelevant and not a proper subject to put in the ballot pamphlet.
Clark said it would strip lawmakers of the ability to decide whether to tax certain services that weren’t on the radar two decades ago, like rideshare companies like Uber and homeshare companies like Airbnb.
But House Speaker J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler, said it would be misleading
de also donated to Thompson’s campaign.
Graham also donated $1,000 to Whittaker’s 2016 campaign.
“He’s hell-bent for retribution against anyone he feels has slighted him. That’s not a recipe for good government,’’ said former longtime council member Dennis Kavanaugh, who supports Heredia in his former district. “He owes Luna and Heredia an apology for assaulting them as corrupt.’’
Kavanaugh said the Lincoln and Harvard project is the sort of gem Mesa has always envisioned for the highly sought property.
“The Lincoln Properties project is exactly what we had hoped for,’’ Kavanaugh said.
Whittaker said he did not realize the political ramifications attached to The Union until he reviewed the campaign finance reports, long after he joined with the council in approving Lincoln and Harvard’s bid.
“I would have scrutinized that a lot more,’’ Whittaker said.
report shows that he received campaign donations from many of the same land and development interests.
The same names tend to pop up on all of the election forms, showing that the same developers contributed to the election campaigns of many different candidates, including Whittaker, Giles, Luna, Heredia and Kevin Thompson, who is running unopposed in District 6.
The developers include Craig Krumwiede of Harvard Investments, Christopher Caheris, also of Harvard Investments; Graham; Neil Calfee of Calfee Development Advisors and Stephen C. Earl, a Phoenix zoning attorney.
Harvard Investments and Lincoln Properties are the developers of The Union, a large office complex on city-owned property near Sloan Park, spring home of the Chicago Cubs, and Riverview Park.
Krumwiede and Caheris donated to the Whittaker and Giles campaigns in 2016.
Whittaker lists their donations to Luna and Heredia as examples of the broken system he deplores but did not mention they also both donated to him. Krumwie-
to tell voters about a possible $5.2 billion in new revenues. He said the actual amount that could be raised would depend on what services lawmakers decide to tax – assuming that voters do not remove the constitutional right of legislators to make those decisions.
Giles was not pleased with Whittaker, either
“The sad thing is we have such a positive story in Mesa,’’ with downtown Mesa on the verge of a major breakthrough and $300-$400 million in investment between Country Club Drive and Mesa Drive. “I’m disappointed people would engage in such a cheap political stunt.’’ Giles made it clear that he values having Luna and Heredia on the council.
“It’s the only two Latino council members in the city of our city,’’ Giles said. “It would be a big step backwards in the history of our city’’ if Whittaker was successful in ousting them.
Whittaker was clearly upset when told that Luna noted that Whittaker was targeting the two Hispanic council members. He said he is 25 percent Japanese and that he had two relatives who were interned in camps during World War II because of their ethnicity.
Whittaker said he has no tolerance for bigotry and is upset by racially charged rhetoric. “It’s nothing short of nonsense,’’ Whittaker said, to consider his attack on pay to play politics as racially motivated.
Separately, the same committee approved a description of a ballot measure to require half of all power generated in Arizona by 2030 come from renewable sources. That, too, provoked controversy as attorney Jim Barton objected to spelling out in the pamphlet what is not considered “renewable,’’ including nuclear, and that the initiative would not affect Salt River Project.
There was no debate, however, over the description of a proposed constitutional amendment which would require public disclosure of all sources of $2,500 or more to influence political campaigns.
(Kimberly Carrillo/Staff Photographer)
First-term Mesa Councilman Jeremy Whitaker has caused a furor with some of his colleagues by accusing them of corruption for accepting campaign donations from developers whose projects come before Council. Some of those developers also contributed to his campaign in 2016.
THE WEEK IN REVIEW
Salvation Army
survival squad activates heat-relief stations
With several of 2018’s hottest days occurring last week and the East Valley under an excessive heat warning by the National Weather Service, the Salvation Army Red Shield Survival Squad activated its heat-relief stations.
Mobile hydration units were dispatched each day of the excessive heat warning to targeted positions identified as areas with high homeless populations and encampments.
“There have been five heat-associated deaths confirmed in Maricopa County in 2018, compared to 17 such fatalities at this time last year. We are grateful for that decline and thankful if this community effort is a contributing factor,” said Maj. Nancy Dihle, program coordinator of the Salvation Army Metro Phoenix.
The Red Shield Survival Squad’s heat-relief locations in the East Valley are at 241 E. Sixth St. in Mesa, 605 E. Broadway Road in Apache Junction and 85 E. Saragosa St. in Chandler.
Volunteers are needed at these heat relief stations. Those interested should call 602-2674100 or visit SalvationArmyPhoenix.org for more information. Donations to the effort are accepted at SalvationArmyPhoenix.org/extreme-heat-relief or by texting “HEAT” to 51555.
The Salvation Army Red Shield Survival Squad is part of the Maricopa Association of Governments’ Heat Relief Regional Network, to provide resources for vulnerable people and help prevent heat-related deaths.
Benedictine Mesa adds eSports to athletic offerings
Benedictine University Mesa announced it will start an eSports program and will begin recruiting gamers for the fall of 2018.
“Competitive gaming builds skills like any other team activity – leadership, creativity, a competitive mindset, time management and teamwork,” said Steve Schafer, Benedictine Mesa athletic director. “We’re thrilled to offer an additional program to reach even more students in our community and across the country.”
The program will offer competitive intercollegiate eSports on all platforms, while also including social gaming opportunities and introductory experiences for new gaming students.
The University is expecting to field competitive teams in League of Legends and Overwatch in the first year, while also recruiting gamers in Fortnite, Hearthstone and many more titles.
Benedictine Mesa will join the National Association of Collegiate Esports and will compete against colleges and universities in Arizona and around the Southwest. The program will also host gaming events on campus and in the community.Scholarships for all gamers will be offered by the university.
Information: Frank Woodford atfwoodford@ben.edu.
Mesa Girl Scout visits Outward Bound Costa Rica base
Paige Watkins, a 15-year-old Girl Scout at Mesa High, took part in activities at the rainforest base of Outward Bound Costa Rica this summer, an alternative summer break of volunteering abroad and exploring new cultures. She spent 15 days learning about Costa Rican culture on a multi-day service project and stepping out of her comfort zone on adventure activities.
Outward Bound Costa Rica is an outdoor adventure school that promises challenging physical activities across Costa Rica and Panama, with a focus on personal development, leadership and cultural immersion.
Founded on Jan. 1, 1992, its mission is to “Be out there,” inspiring a
growth, and a commitment to serve through adventure-based learning.
Waymo offering ride service to Walmart, several other sites
BY WAYNE SCHUTSKY Tribune Staff Writer
Waymo, the self-driving car arm of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, is taking the next step as it prepares to launch its commercial driverless ride-hailing service, and the East Valley is at the center of the action.
The company announced last week that it is launching a pilot program with Walmart and DDR Corp., a nationwide real estate investment firm, to offer riders a more convenient way to shop.
The new partnership will allow riders to take advantage of savings opportunities when they order groceries at Walmart. com. They can then ride Waymo vehicles to the store location while their order is being prepared.
The new program also will give riders the opportunity to use Waymo vehicles to commute to stores and restaurants in the DDR-owned Ahwatukee Foothills Towne Center, at Warner Road and 48th Street.
The partnership is a response to rider trends as the company pushes to launch a commercial driverless car service later this year.
“We know from our early riders that
most of their rides are to run errands, shop for groceries, commute to work, head to dinner or fix their personal vehicles. We’ve
tailored our partnerships to meet the top rider needs. In fact, the partnerships below represent eight of the top 10 activities our
riders do when they get in a Waymo,” the company said in a release.
Waymo also is increasing the scope of its partnerships with AutoNation and Avis Budget Group. Both companies already service and maintain Waymo vehicles.
Under the expanded partnership, the companies will now make Waymo vehicles available to early riders having their vehicles serviced or dropping off rental cars.
The programs are available only to participants in Waymo’s Early Rider Program. The program is open to residents in select areas of Phoenix, Chandler, Mesa, Gilbert and Tempe, according to the company’s website.
Waymo is currently expanding the Early Rider Program and inviting interested parties to apply at waymo.com/apply.
Waymo has also partnered with Chandler’s Element Hotel, 44 S. Chandler Village Drive, to give access to Waymo vehicles to select customers, including business travelers.
“While these are metro Phoenix-specific partnerships today, these businesses are national and what we learn from these programs will give us a network of partners when we launch in new cities down the road,” the company said.
tion and safety so they are equipped to have that conversation with parents.”
She said a one-on-one between a pediatrician and parent carries more weight than hearing a message from a health department.
The state also is working with county health departments. The state health department last year launched an online pilot program in which parents seeking personal-belief exemptions must first
take an immunization education course, which takes between 25 to 90 minutes to complete, depending on how many exemptions they are seeking.
The program was launched at 17 public schools in Glendale, Mesa and Paradise Valley.
Rigler said plans are to expand the program to schools in other counties.
“I have no beef with the religious exemption if it’s true or medical exemptions,” Humble said. “It’s the personal exemption I have a problem with, and I didn’t use to with all the interventions.”
But the interventions are not working as immunization levels continue to drop in Arizona, he said.
Whether Arizona will go the way of California, Mississippi and West Virginia (which don’t allow religious and personal exemptions) and allow for medical exemptions is entirely in the hands of state lawmakers, who generally frown on laws that they consider nanny-state issues, Humble said.
Humble doesn’t expect to see any changes in the state’s vaccination policy until it hits the pocketbook for charter schools.
If there is an outbreak, all the unvaccinated students would be excluded from the charter school by county health for 21 days to two months, which means the school would not get reimbursed by the state, Humble said. Schools receive funding based on student head count.
Two years after California removed personal and religious exemptions, vaccination rates have risen in that state, especially in high-income enclaves like Marin County, which had the highest personalexemption rates, Humble said.
The Golden State’s law was spurred by a 2014 measles outbreak at Disneyland that spread to multiple states, including Arizona. Federal health officials suspected a foreign visitor or an American coming home with the virus was the culprit and the reason why the disease spread was due to the low-vaccination rates. A majority of the people who came down with measles were unvaccinated, according to the CDC.
The news was shocking considering the United States in 2000 declared measles eliminated in the country.
“That would have a profound impact on a charter school because as many as 10 percent to 15 percent of kids won’t attend school,” he said. “It has happened in the past but not on a super large scale.”
If today’s trend continues for a couple of years and new interventions from the state and counties aren’t working, his group could push for tougher measures
“I’m reluctant to use the power of the state like that we don’t have to but we may end up need that,” he said.
(Kimberly Carrillo/Tribune Staff Photographer)
Waymo employee Amanda Ventura sits in the autonomous van that will take East Valley riders to Walmart.
Model trains make a stop at Mesa Library
The Arizona Big Train Operators will come chugging down the track to Mesa Main Library, 64 E. First St., from July 30 to Aug. 4 in a 500-square-foot model-train exhibit of G-scale (garden size) railroads with passing tracks, historical dioramas, bridges and villages.
The free exhibit is open 10 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Monday, July 30, through Thursday, Aug. 2; 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 3; and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 4.
Free rides for adults and children will be available aboard the Mesa Library Express trackless train 10:30 a.m.-noon and 2-4 p.m. Friday, Aug. 3, and 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 4. Final pickups will be 30 minutes before closing time.
Two sets of four tickets for a train ride at McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park in Scottsdale will be raffled each day by Arizona Big Train Operators. A grand prize at the end of the exhibit for two passes to the Grand Canyon Railway also will be raffled.
For more information visit mesalibrary.org. For more information on the Arizona Big Train Operators visit azbigtrains.org.
Crossing-guard training coming to Dobson High
You’ll soon see crossing guards in school zones, and it is important for those on both sides of the hand-held stop signs to know the rules.
As thousands of children in the East Valley return to school, many of the people who make sure they get there safely will take part in regional crossingguard training workshops, including a session 9 a.m.-noon Thursday, Aug. 2, at Dobson High’s North Lobby Auditorium, 1501 W. Guadalupe Road in Mesa.
All K-8 schools may use the workshops to train their crossing guards, but the responsibility remains with each school for hiring, training and defining when and where crossing guards are on duty.
Those interested in participating in the training must preregister in coordination with their school district. Information and registration forms are available at the MAG Safe Routes to School website, srts.azmag.gov.
Get sweet for Phoenix Children’s Hospital at Dairy Queen
Dairy Queen is hosting the 13th Annual Miracle Treat Day on Thursday, Aug. 2, with $1 or more from the sale of each Blizzard at its East Valley shops benefiting Children’s Miracle Network, a nonprofit that raises money for children’s hospitals. Proceeds from Blizzard sales in the East Valley will benefit Phoenix Children’s Hospital, the local Children’s Miracle Network member.
Participating shops in Mesa are at 9919 E. Baseline Road, Suite 102; 316 S. Power Road; 6555 E. Southern Ave., Suite 2514; 5936 E. McKellips Road; 2754 S. Alma School Road; 541 E. Southern Ave., and 33 S. Country Club Drive.
In Chandler, shops taking part are at 4911 S. Arizona Ave.; 4021 S. Gilbert Road; at Phoenix Premium Outlets and at Chandler Fashion Square.
Tempe shops involved are 1805 E. Southern Ave., 7510 S. Rural Road and at Arizona Mills shopping mall.
Last year, Dairy Queen stores in the Valley raised nearly $84,000 for Phoenix Children’s on Miracle Treat Day and through additional fundraising efforts.
Community
Transplant patients bring awareness through athletics
BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI Tribune Staff Writer
Northeast Mesa residents Randy Shepherd and Jill Bowers are walking advertisements for organ donations.
Shepherd, who had a heart transplant four years ago, and Bowers, who underwent two kidney transplants, are part of the 35-member Team Arizona traveling to Salt Lake City for the biannual Donate Life Transplant Games of America.
From Aug. 2 to 7, participants compete in events like basketball, ballroom dancing, golf, swimming, Texas Hold ’em, a trivia challenge and a virtual triathlon. The games are for solid-organ recipients at least seven months past their operations. In recent years, tissue and cornea recipients and donors competed in their own divisions.
Highlights include an opening ceremony, quilt-pinning and workshops/seminars. Basketball player Sean Elliott, actor Larry Hagman and snowboarder Chris
Klug are former celebrity participants. Bowers, the former principal at Mesquite and Greenfield junior highs, is go-
12 EV students don their white coats at UofA med school
Twelve college graduates with East Valley connections recently donned their white coats – the defining symbol of a physician – as they became members of the University Arizona’s College of Medicine-Phoenix Class of 2022.
They are among 81 medical students who made the cut among 6,784 applicants for the program and 349 who were invited to interview.
Seventy-one percent of the class are Arizona residents and half of those 80 students graduated from either UofA or ASU while the other half represent 29 other colleges and universities across the country. The class members’ average age is 24.
The East Valley grads and their high schools are: Vedanshi Bhargava, Ham-
ilton High; Anthony Conforti, Basha High, Merrion Dawson, Highland; Dara Farhadi, Marcos De Niza; Jesus Leyva, Westview; Brandon Ngo, Basha; Patrick Sarette, Hamilton; Katherine Spencer, Corona Del Sol; Blake Traube and Brendon Warner, both Hamilton; Kristina Yancey, Heritage Academy; and Richard Young, Basha.
Yancey, a Mesa native, was living in Queens, New York, after graduating from Heritage Academy when she was inspired to pursue a medical career.
See WHITECOATS on page 13
ing to play tennis, “which I’m never good at,” and bike. She added pickleball as well.
“The main reason I want to participate
in the game is for the families, particularly the ones who lost a child, parent or whatever,” she said.
“I want them to see us and know we have a second life. Even though I had a living donor, we thank you for being so generous at a very tragic time in their lives. Because of that, look at us. We’re here competing. It’s not about winning. It’s about being there.”
Bowers was hospitalized in 1992 with migraine headaches and erratic blood pressure.
“Nobody had high blood pressure. Nobody had kidney issues,” she said. “I was young and single. I didn’t get married until I was 41. I had a bad diet. I was on the pill. I was a smoker. I didn’t pay attention. You just don’t.”
She was also working 16-hour days as a first-time principal at Mesquite. Work consumed her life.
Six years later, on June 3, 1998, the symptoms destroyed a kidney, forcing
(Kimberly Carrillo/Tribune Staff Photographer) Mesa heart transplant recipient Randy Shepherd is preparing for the biannual Donate Life Transplant Games of America, which celebrates organ donations.
Tribune News Staff
(University of Arizona/Special to the Tribune)
Dr. Guy Reed, dean of the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix, congratulates Mesa native Kristina Yancey after she gets her traditional white coat at the start of her medical schooling.
her to have a transplant. Her husband, George, was her donor.
“Everybody says, ‘Oh, you guys matched,’” she said. “No, we did not. He’s a blood type O, which is a universal donor. We matched on nothing.”
She had his kidney for 14 years before it started failing. That warranted a second transplant on July 25, 2012, this time by a former eighth-grade student, Katie Faber Moorhead.
“It overwhelmed me,” she said. “There were about five people who put in to be my donor and she happened to be the first.”
Gilbert Public Schools treated her and her husband well during the transplant, she said, noting:
“My husband was a principal there, too. They said, ‘Whatever you guys need, we’ll cover you.’”
When she returned to work, she and her husband spoke to schools about transplants and kidney function.
“Our message was to take care of yourself,” she said. “It really does make a big difference.”
Shepherd is picking up basketball for the first time in years, something he can do now, thanks to a heart transplant four
years ago.
“We’re just going to go all out for six days and the come home and take a nap,” he said with laugh.
Shepherd – whose family collects Tin Man memorabilia because he, too, needed a heart – required a heart transplant af-
ter having rheumatic fever as a child and again when he was 17. In his late teens, he had open heart surgery to replace his valves, and that lasted for 18 years.
“The buildup of scar tissue caused my heart to just get bigger and bigger,” he said. “It was in bad shape. I thought
it was time to get checked. I thought, worse-case scenario, they’re going to have to replace those valves again.
“When the doctor said, no, I needed a whole new heart, it took me back.”
His wife, Tiffany, said the family relied on their Mormon faith and each other to get through the troubling times. Tiffany, Randy and their two children kept a vision board and created index cards with lists of things they were going to do with their children when Randy recovered.
“We tried to not have a hard time at the same time,” she added. “We would say out loud the things we were grateful for. I really feel strongly that having a grateful heart is necessary because it helped us transition out of darkness and despair.”
Shepherd, a plumber, is hoping to raise awareness by participating in the games.
“I want to show people what can happen post-transplant,” said Shepherd, who routinely goes on 11-mile mountain bike rides. “Let’s say someone isn’t sure about donating organs. If they can see the recipients and see what kind of life is possible for that person on the other end, they just may do it. “People who may need a transplant can see the end result of that and hopefully it’ll make the news easier.”
Information: transplantgamesofamerica.org.
Clean Elections Commission
your source for unbiased voter information, so you can get the facts to vote informed in every election. Connect with the facts at azcleanelections.gov.
(Kimberly Carrillo/Tribune Staff Photographer)
Jill Bowers, who underwent two kidney transplants, is participating in the games to honor donors and their survivors, especially those who lost children or parents.
WHITECOATS
She was a first-generation college student, living on her own and scraping by on $1,200 per month. She earned too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to pay her own way, so she went without insurance. That worked out fine, until she became sick.
She came down with what she thought was a chest cold, but it got progressively worse and after four weeks, she wasn’t getting better. After emptying her bank account to see a doctor as a cash patient, and after a course of antibiotics, she started to feel like herself again. She found out later that she had walking pneumonia.
“I could not believe how such a common illness could negatively impact my life so significantly. And how such a simple treatment could cure me,” Yancey said. “But it wasn’t only that. I wondered: ‘What if I didn’t have the money to pay for my visit? What if I didn’t have access to a doctor?’ I thought about all the good I could do if I had the gift of medicine to share with the world.”
Yancey attended City University of New York in Staten Island for her undergraduate degrees in biochemistry and
chemistry. She also received a master’s in education leadership from Arizona State University.
Yancey recently completed the Pathway Scholars Program at the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix, which prepares underrepresented students for medical school.
“I was considering pursuing a Ph.D. in education when my husband encouraged me to apply to medical school one more time before giving up,” she said “I knew that I wanted a non-traditional program, one that could help me with the transition from full-time teacher to full-time medical student. The Pathways Program has done that, and so much more.”
Yancey recalled small group sessions with Doctors David Beyda, Jonathan Cartsonis and Cynthia Standley that gave her insight on the kind of physician she wants to become.
“The Pathways’ administrative team are some of the most dedicated, hardworking people I have met,” Yancey said. “They are always at the ready to give a pep talk, send an encouraging text, give valuable advice and, sometimes, just hand over a tissue and listen. The program completely changed the trajectory of my life and gave me a second chance
at achieving my dream of being a doctor, but more than that, it helped me rediscover how to believe in myself again.”
Yancey said picked UofA’s medical program because of the culture, people and support from faculty and staff.
“Everyone is so happy here,” she said. “Even though everyone is stressed, most people will still greet and smile at you. People also help each other a lot. This meant a lot to me because my previous experience on the East Coast was more competitive than collaborative.”
Yancey volunteered for several years as a math tutor for children living in a psychiatric facility and also in an uban emergency room. She also participates in back-to-school and food drives with her family in their community.
She recently was appointed to a needs assessment subcommittee for the city of Chandler. Yancey’s responsibility on the subcommittee is to assess the needs of the homeless and low socioeconomic population and strategize on ways to meet their needs in the coming year.
Asked what donning a white coat meant, she replied: “There once was a time when I thought a white coat meant God-like, and maybe to a degree I still think so, but not in the way you may think.
“The white coat, to me, is a sign of professionalism and knowledge but more importantly a sign of humility, compassion, responsibility and benevolence. The white coat means that even if I don’t know the right answer, I will seek it out without delay. It means that every patient will be truly heard, educated and cared for no matter what.”
Chandler software engineer named Tillman Scholar
BY COLLEEN SPARKS Tribune Staff Writer
Aseasoned Chandler software engineer, cybersecurity expert and Army veteran with a passion for problem-solving is pursuing a third degree at Arizona State University with a boost from the Pat Tillman Foundation.
Vivin Paliath, 36, was named a 2018 Tillman Scholar for his service, potential and leadership.
The 60 scholars around the country, chosen after a rigorous application and review process will receive more than $1.3 million in scholarships. Paliath will finish his Ph.D. in computer science with a focus on using artificial intelligence and machine learning to tackle cybersecurity issues.
Paliath works as chief software architect at a Tempe-based company, CYR3CON, which uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to predict and prevent cybercrime.
Born in India, Paliath was raised in the Middle East country of Oman and came to the United States in 1999 to attend ASU, where he already has earned two degrees.
He enlisted in the Arizona Army National Guard so his parents would not have to pay his tuition. After graduating from ASU, he was deployed to Iraq in 2005 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
A software engineer for 14 years, Paliath likes combining his practical work experience with his academic pursuits.
His Ph.D. advisor at ASU is also his boss, Paulo Shakarian, CEO and cofounder of CYR3CON, as well as a Fulton Entrepreneurial Professor at ASU. Paliath is thrilled to have received the Tillman scholarship.
“I wanted to learn something more and I also wanted to solve problems,” Paliath said. “My practical knowledge and the academic perspective has a good synergy. I’m very relieved but also very honored and just kind of humbled by it – mainly humbled – and I just thought a lot of people apply to it. I didn’t really estimate my chances were very high. I was happy that I made it through and feel very humbled to get this award.”
U.S. service members, veterans and military spouses can apply to be Tillman Scholars to get financial support for higher education and keep their service going in the fields of medicine, business, law, science, technology, education and many
very long year,” he said. “It was a stressful year; you’re always alert and anxious the whole time. Now almost 13 years later, I look at it with a certain amount of fondness. Some of my closest military friends I met during my deployment.”
other industries.
The Tillman Scholars program started in 2008 and supports the country’s active duty service members, veterans and the spouses of living or deceased military members by investing in professional development and education.
Every year about 2,300 people apply for the scholarships, which pay for fulltime studies, said Jonathan Due, Pat Tillman Foundation director of programs and scholarships.
“We think of this as more than just a scholarship,” Due said. “This is an investment.”
He said those reviewing the applications had their “socks blown off” when they read about Paliath’s background.
“It’s the potential future that he offers and a passion about the future that really, really resonated with us as well,” Due said. “There was a couple things that really, really stood out. One of them is the fact that he’s a voracious learner. He described himself as a consummate problem solver. He has a proven track record of service to others. He has a clear scholarly and scholastic aptitude.”
He said Paliath’s passion for solving problems not just for himself but for other people was “endearing.”
Paliath said his love of computers began at a young age.
“My dad got me a computer on my
10th birthday and I basically never looked back,” he said.
Going to high school in Oman, Paliath was dissatisfied with the educational system, where students were encouraged to learn by rote.
His younger sister decided to move to California to live with their aunt and uncle and finish high school there, and he moved to Tempe at the same time.
“I’ve never had too much problem assimilating,” Paliath said. “Growing up in the Middle East, we had enough exposure to where it wasn’t so bad, that hard.”
In December 2000, he enlisted in the Arizona Army National Guard.
“It was just the discipline sort of attracted me to it,” Paliath said. “My parents were paying for (my) college; it’s expensive. I was uncomfortable with how much they had to pay.”
In Iraq, he helped mechanics, ordered parts and reported on the status of vehicles.
While deployed in Baghdad, Paliath wrote a custom code of his own to automate much of the work he and his fellow soldiers were doing and to “improve our reporting.” He streamlined and automated motor-pool operations and was awarded the Army Commendation Medal.
“When I was there, it was definitely a
After returning to the United States, Paliath worked as a validation engineer at Intel, then at Infusionsoft as a software engineer. He worked full time while earning his master’s degree, graduating summa cum laude.
Paliath recently took the job at CYR3CON, where he and others explore the dark web to find forums where hackers discuss “malware and exploits people can use to target machines.”
“We provide intelligence to other companies to let them know, ‘Hey, it looks like hackers are talking about this particular vulnerability so maybe you should patch it,’” Paliath said.
He said he wants to continue doing the type of work he is doing now after he finishes his Ph.D. but “also branch out.”
“I just like solving interesting problems, especially if in doing so I can help someone,” Paliath said. “I’d like to have the practical application to help someone. There are many, many problems out there, many things that could be made more efficient.”
Shakarian is impressed with Paliath’s work.
“Vivin has a rare mix of intellectual ability and practical insights – which allows him to work on graduate-level mathematical models one day and then write mission-critical code the next,” he said.
Shakarian added that Paliath “made great strides as a researcher, publishing several scientific papers already.”
(Special to the Tribune)
Vivin Paliath is one of the 2018 Tillman Scholars, a prestigious scholarship program provided by the Pat Tillman Foundation. He is pictured here with his wife, Aparna Valsan, and in his uniform when he was in Iraq.
White House picked Mesa firm for showcase
BY PAT POBLETE Cronkite News
WASHINGTON – Andrew Medway wasn’t sure how his Mesa business was picked to represent Arizona at the White House’s “Made in America Showcase,” but he was still excited to be there last week among companies that made everything from spacecraft to MoonPies.
“We’re thrilled to be here obviously, but it came completely out of the blue,” said Medway, whose family started Lanternland Lighting about 40 years ago. “We’re lucky we didn’t dismiss it because we thought it might be a hoax.”
But it was no hoax that brought Medway from his office in Mesa to the White House, where his family-owned company was one of 50 representing each state at White House’s “Made in America Product Showcase.”
Highlighted companies ranged from defense contractor Lockheed Martin to a business that makes covers for fishing lures, from heavy equipment manufacturers to wool mills. But one thing they all have in common: Their products are
all made in the U.S.A.
“You know, these are really high-quality products,” Medway said. “They’re made in the United States, they’re going to last forever and it’s something that we believe in tremendously.”
He said his company employs about a dozen workers in the factory and three in the office producing and selling handmade copper lanterns and other outside lighting fixtures.
“It’s been a fabulous trip so far,” he said. “Everyone here at the White House has been incredibly nice, very, very gracious, from the security guys to (Vice President) Mike Pence, who came by just a few moments ago.”
President Donald Trump lavished praise on the manufacturers there and promised to bring back jobs to the United States after what he claimed were years of jobs going overseas under the
watch of his predecessors.
“Our leaders in Washington did nothing,” Trump said in remarks at the event. “They let our people lose their jobs and gave those jobs to people in faraway lands. That’s not free trade. That’s fool’s trade. That’s stupid trade.”
Trump vowed to protect American workers and industries against what he called unfair trade practices and foreign competition, taking particular aim at China and the European Union. He said the Europeans have been “very tough” on the United States.
“They’re coming in to see me on Wednesday, and we’ll see if we can work something out or else we’ll have to see if we can work something out in regards to the millions of cars they send in every year,” Trump said.
But Simon Lester, associate director of the Center for Trade Policy Studies at the Cato Institute, warned that Trump’s proposed solution – tariffs – will end up hurting U.S. workers and manufacturers both in the long run.
“Economists who have looked at this
Trendy hair empire picks a spot for first foray into EV
BY PAUL MARYNIAK Tribune Executive Editor
One of the nation’s hottest and trendiest business empires for women is setting up its first outpost in the East Valley, choosing Gilbert as its fifth location after having establishing outlets in Scottsdale, the Biltmore area and Paradise Valley.
Drybar is opening at 2080 E. Williams Field Road, Suite #103, in San Tan Village around Thanksgiving, bringing a wildly successful business model reflected by its slogan of “No cuts. No color. Just blowouts.”
Drybar is the decade-old creation of Alli Webb, a 38-year-old former stay-at-home mom from California who started during the Great Recession to make some money by offering to blow out women’s hair for
$40 and coming to their home or place of business.
Now, she presides over a company that has more than 70 franchise outlets across the country, employs 7,000 people, sees more than 100,000 customers a month and is poised to see revenue totaling more than $40 million this year.
Its franchises sell for anywhere between $650,000 and $1.6 million, depending on size and location and putting it in the same league with the biggest selling franchises in the country – Wendy’s, Taco Bell, McDonalds and KFC.
Webb and her company have been the subject of stories in more than a dozen national publications – not just fashionfollowing Vogue and Allure but Inc., Fortune, Fast Company and the Washington
(Pat Poblete/Cronkite News)
Andrew Medway, of Mesa business Lanternland Lighting, siad he was thrilled to be among the U.S. manufacturers invited to the White House for its “Made in America Showcase” on Monday.
See LANTERN on page 16
generally find that job losses are going to outweigh any job gains,” Lester said. “You can impose tariffs to help an industry, but it’s going to be at the expense of
Lester said that any tariffs against foreign auto makers would hurt consumers
www.centralaz.edu
She built her empire on blowouts costing between $35 and $45, but she has said in interviews, “We’re not selling blowouts; we’re selling happiness and
That’s why, she explained, the cashiers – she calls them “bartenders” – who go through her rigorous training program are required to ask every customer at checkout, “How was your experience?”
As for the happiness angle, she told a San Francisco newspaper that Drybar
“It’s really hard to do your own hair,” she said. “Most women – I would say 95 percent of women – just can’t handle their own hair. And not because they’re not a professional stylist and they don’t know how to do hair. It’s more about the angle. When you watch blowouts being done, we’re standing above your head, working with very small sections and perfecting each section before we move onto the next. You physically can’t do that when you’re doing your own hair.
“When women do their own hair at home, their hands are over their head, they’re getting tired, their arms are starting to hurt. They’re not perfecting every section, making sure that every section is perfectly dry and perfectly styled before they move onto the next. Frankly, nobody has the time either.”
That time element is important to her success.
As Webb explained: “People look at me like I’m crazy, and say, ‘I’m going to do my hair in 15 minutes, and then I’m out the door.’ Well, if we did your hair in 15 minutes, it wouldn’t look great either. It’s about taking the time and perfecting each section.”
That’s why it takes anywhere from 35 to 45 minutes on average for a blowout at Drybar, with the expectation it will last three to six days.
“We have women who say, ‘I don’t even wash my own hair at home anymore.’ If you get a really great blowout, it lasts, and then you don’t have to deal with your
here, adding thousands of dollars to the price of a car.
“It could cost anywhere from $1,000 to $7,000 more, I think those are the estimates I’ve seen, to buy a car,” Lester said. “So, yes, there are certain car producers that will benefit from the higher prices, but it’s all going to be paid for by somebody else, and that’s us the consumer.”
hair except for touchups here and there to maintain it. All of sudden, you’re free from having to worry about your hair every day,” Webb told the New York Times.
Talking to Fast Company magazine, Webb said her approach as a businesswoman was simple.
“We didn’t invent blowouts; we just created a much better experience. And we made it affordable,” she said. “When we opened our first location in Brentwood [California], we had no idea what to expect. But that very first day, women were lining up.”
Though she recalls those early months as frantic as she tried to run the front desk, administer blowouts and just keep her salon running smoothly, she noted, “One of the biggest pillars of our success is customer service.”
Selecting Gilbert for her first foray into the East Valley was no accident – especially since it has the highest per-capita income in the Valley, according to the latest U.S. Census data.
“Gilbert’s SanTan Village is home to some of the most sought-after shopping and dining in the area, Webb said. “Since we continue to get requests to expand in the Phoenix area, we knew this would be the ideal location for our newest Arizona shop.”
The new 1,384-square-foot location will be equipped with eight chairs and what a publicist called “all of the signature elements that define the unique Drybar experience.”
That experience includes, a publicist said, “Italian chairs, tufted fabric walls, marble bars with built-in phone docking stations and flat screens featuring cult favorite chick flicks.”
And it will include a menu of styles with names that suggest drinks, like “The Straight Up,” “The Cosmo,” “The Mai Tai” and – for those who can’t make up their mind – “The Cosmo-Tai.”
There will even be a blowout called “The Shirley Temple” for girls 10 and under.
Despite its penchant for naming styles after alcoholic drinks and its scheduled opening the Friday before Thanksgiving, there’s no word on whether it will offer a seasonal do named “Wild Turkey.”
BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ Tribune Columnist
You awaken to news of an Arizona state trooper murdered, shot dead in the line of duty along Interstate 10 near Avondale.
Trooper Tyler Edenhofer, 25 years old, graduated the Department of Public Safety police academy May 4.
Still an officer-in-training, Edenhofer responded to a 911 call reporting a man in the roadway throwing things at vehicles. This was the night of July 25, around 10 o’clock.
Edenhofer, two of his fellow troopers and backup officers from Goodyear engaged the man, according to DPS Colonel Frank Milstead. A fight lasting several minutes ensued. The subject – about whom we know nothing as yet – somehow got control of a service weapon. The killer fired at least two shots.
Trooper Dalin Dorris took a bullet in
Trooper’s slaying recalls stories that will never be written Unregulated mining threatens state’s beauty, wildlife
BY MELANIE LIPPERT AND STEPHEN NASH Tribune Guest Writers
Yep, let’s agree that we need minerals, and that mining employment is good for Arizona – a $1.25 billion payroll across the state each year.
And, we reckon, there’s no denying mining’s picturesque historic appeal –burros, pickaxes, ghost towns.
The real legacy is another thing entirely, though:
It’s at least 120 square miles of wrecked landscapes across the state. Yawning pits, ominous mountains of tailings.
the trapezius. He will survive. Trooper Edenhofer will not. His death marks the 88th law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty in America this year.
“His wounds were mortal,” Milstead told reporters outside the hospital.
“The DPS family is in mourning. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family. Lives have been shattered and ruined, and we’re all in a little bit of a state of shock this morning.”
This shock will subside, you have learned over decades of covering such tragedies.
We will learn more about Trooper Edenhofer in the days ahead, see his face on the news, pick up a few details about the young man who wore Badge #10449. There will be a funeral with a procession of men and women in uniform winding for miles. There will be solemn speeches about what could have been, and a carefully folded flag for those who love Tyler Edenhofer.
And then this young trooper – and the
story of his killing – will be buried for eternity.
That is where your mind journeys on this sad morning, not to the story playing out as you write, but to the stories you will never see in connection to the death of scores of police officers in the field each and every year.
You will never write about a march on City Hall demanding that our elected leaders investigate why so many police officers are dying in the line of duty. You will never write about it because it will never happen.
You will never write about Valley religious leaders and self-anointed community voices calling a press conference to urge respectful treatment of police, cooperation, civility, and a new, less violent approach to being a citizen. Because that, too, will never happen.
It’s a hundred thousand abandoned mines, with an unknown number leaking acid drainage. State officials say there could be as many as 5,000 of those but then, who’s checking?
It’s 170.4 million pounds of waste rock with potential toxic drainage, generated in just the most recent two years tallied in the EPA’s national inventory.
It’s state and federal legislators who take campaign money from mining interests, as if that were okay. Phoenix 4th District Congressman Paul Gosar (R), received at least $23,750 from them in 2016 alone. Sen. Jeff Flake, (R) got at least $10,300, and Sen. John McCain (R), $41,800. Paradise Valley’s Sixth District Congressman David Schweikert: $8,500.
Huge new mines threaten wildlife, scenery and water resources on our national forests and other public lands: in the Santa Ritas near Tucson, in the beautiful Patagonia mountains south
of there, on Oak Flat near the town of Superior, around Grand Canyon and in many other locales.
Their corporate proprietors are often based in Australia, Canada, China or Britain. And they pay no royalties to the landowners – you and me – when they pull billions of dollars in ore out of our federal public lands.
Is your congressional delegation fighting to change that absurd law, passed during the Ulysses S. Grant administration? Ask. Because this isn’t old-timey days, though many Arizona legislators, both state and federal, pretend so.
They hide behind the industry’s “jobs jobs jobs” mantra, as if sane regulations aren’t compatible with profitable mines and high employment.
We expect food vendors to meet health standards. We require contractors to design safe buildings and not leave poisoned piles of construction waste behind. We don’t say “jobs jobs jobs,” and
There will be no footage of the spouses and parents of cops telling us teary-eyed, “I’m afraid to let him walk out of the house every day because he can be killed just for going to work.”
None of the above will happen, because here’s the truth you have learned from years working beside and for those in law enforcement: To be a police officer in 2018 is to face the need for perfection. Do one thing wrong and you will be vilified, no matter the circumstances, no matter the context, no matter the splitsecond decisions, no matter the immense challenges that come with the job.
Be murdered for standing between us and danger? You will be mourned for a few days. A week, tops. Then we will forget, though we should not and though your loved ones, friends and colleagues never, ever will.
There will be no Blue Lives Matter moment covered by national television networks flying in to air outrage and “no peace, no justice” chants live 24/7. There will be no hashtags on social media, and no Department of Justice inquiry because “even one death is one death too many.”
let them get away with it.
When it comes to getting financial guarantees from the mining industry to assure responsible behavior, “Arizona’s at the bottom of the list,” consulting engineer James Kuipers, who has worked in this field for more than 30 years, told us recently.
“Whatever the mining companies want the state Legislature to do, they’ll do,” Roger Featherstone of the Arizona Mining Reform Coalition has concluded. “Arizona’s the bottom of the barrel.”
One dated study – the last time anyone looked – found that Arizona’s cleanup estimates may be billions of dollars short of realistic. And if a mining corporation bankrupts, it can leave a colossal mess behind for taxpayers to pay for or suffer with.
Other states with strong mining industries have made responsibility rather
Prod Congress to protect our national resources
BY JACK CARSON Tribune Guest Writer
As a veteran of the Marine Corps, it’s been my honor to defend America’s values and liberties. However, you can’t seriously talk about defending American values and liberties without defending the land from which our forefathers sprung and explored.
The sanctity of our lands has to be protected as does the rights of our people. That’s why I’m lending my voice in support of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a program that has been protecting our iconic public lands since the mid-1960s, which will expire this fall if Congress does not act.
I am not an environmental advocate. However, I am an avid angler and hiker, and so the issue of conservation is important to me and spurs me to share my perspective.
As a logistics officer in the Marines, it was my duty to protect American interests domestically and in Iraq, where I was
deployed to help equip the Iraqi army to help defeat ISIS. Though I have returned to civilian life here in Arizona, I still believe in that duty. I believe that part of being a patriot is preserving the beauty of our lands on which we all live.
The Land and Water Conservation Fund has provided funding for conservation projects and for recreation activities across the country. It’s been used to protect places from National Parks to local ballfields in every state since in its inception in 1964.
It’s also a great asset for the American people because it provides funding for conservation purposes without taking money from taxpayers. Instead, LWCF is funded by oil and gas revenues generated by energy companies paying to drill for oil and gas offshore.
However, If Congress does not act, LWCF will expire this fall. Our Arizona delegation in Congress must work to ensure that LWCF gets re-authorized, for it has protected some of Arizona’s most iconic places.
LWCF funding has helped protect places like Grand Canyon and Saguaro
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National Parks, and state parks like Lost Dutchman and Patagonia Lake.
For Congress to let it expire when it has done so much for our communities without spending a cent of taxpayers’ money would be a travesty. All those who care about our public lands must share their support for LWCF so that our elected officials in Washington DC work to ensure that the program is preserved for the benefit of future generations.
The person currently overseeing how LWCF dollars are spent (and requested) is Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke.
Secretary Zinke is a veteran himself, and a self-described outdoorsman. He also claims to be a Teddy Roosevelt fan, and yet President Roosevelt was instrumental in creating our country’s conservation ethic as our country grew and we realized reckless and ruthless destruction of our natural resources was not an American value.
Since Mr. Zinke has been in office, his proposed budgets for the Department of the Interior have called for enormous cuts to LWCF. I am severely disappointed that Secretary Zinke has failed to champion
MINING
from page 17
than complacency a priority.
California requires that if you dig a big mine hole you have to put up the money to guarantee that you will backfill it when you’re done. Or you don’t mine.
Montana requires enough money –beforehand, not after the fact – to ensure that minelands are fully reclaimed. Local tax burdens that a new mine can create are paid for by the mining company .
New Mexico requires that mine sites be restored so that they provide “a self-
this program, a cornerstone of America’s conservation policy.
Our lands and waters are a part of our legacy, and future generations deserve an opportunity to explore and cherish our country’s landscapes just as we have.
America is the greatest country on earth, and our natural treasures contribute to that fact. Arizona, the Grand Canyon state, is visited by tourists from all over the world to enjoy our protected public lands. The American flag should fly over pristine lands, and programs like the Land and Water Conservation Fund help us care and be proud of our landscapes. Our Arizona elected officials must work to re-authorize LWCF, an American policy that protects our American treasures.
-Jack Carson is a medically retired Marine Corps Officer and recent graduate of the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. As a Marine Corps Logistics Officer, Carson advised the commander of a 1,200-strong engineering battalion on logistics and served overseas in Operation Inherent Resolve.
sustaining ecosystem appropriate for the life zone of the surrounding areas” and “without perpetual care.”
The anti-government Fraser Institute’s annual survey of mining executives reliably names Arizona among the world’s “top 10 most attractive jurisdictions for mining investment.”
Guess who’s getting shafted? Right you are!
-Melanie Lippert and Stephen Nash are independent journalists; Nash is the author of “Grand Canyon for Sale – Public Lands and Private Interests in the Era of Climate Change,” published by the University of California Press.
For more information or to schedule a visit, call (480) 282-9835 .
Sports & Recreation
Prep football teams adjusting practice routines for the heat
BY ZACH ALVIRA Tribune Sports Editor
Arizonans are accustomed to extreme summer heat, but even so, the conditions take a toll on daily outdoor activities.
That is the case for high school football programs across the East Valley, which were forced to modify practice schedules when preseason camps opened last week.
“We recommend splitting the time up, going indoors to get out of the heat,” said David Hines, executive director of the Arizona Interscholastic Association, the state’s governing body of high school sports. “There’s a lot of stretching, formations and other things you can do indoors to cool down and get out of the heat.”
The AIA has implemented guidelines to aid athletes in acclimating to the heat during preseason practices
In a new protocol for 2018, football players are required to wear no more than shorts, shirts and helmets the first three days of practice in the climate where they
play their home games, followed by three more days adding only shoulder pads before they are allowed to practice in full pads.
East Valley teams that had preseason camps in cooler climates to escape the heat, therefore, were required to start the protocol over when they returned to the desert.
The AIA continues to do research to refine its protocol for football practices in the desert’s dry heat. Most protocols around the country are based on places where humidity is more of a factor.
Alongside trainers across the southwestern part of the United States, the AIA’s Sports Medicine Advisory Committee is researching dry temperatures using the heat index – calculated using outside temperature and humidity.
While some Arizona school districts have established their own guidelines regarding football practices, Hines hopes to establish a specific baseline for schools in different regions of the state to follow.
“The concern is dry temperatures. There isn’t a lot of research done about them,” Hines said. “It’s important to give kids a break and to take it easy.
“It’s going to be hot.”
For now, Hines is calling upon East Valley schools to make the right call to keep
EV Little League teams come up short in state tournaments
There is no joy in the East Valley. All of its Little League teams have struck out.
While Mesa Red Mountain Little League had a banner season, placing teams in all three age brackets in state tournaments – highlighted by the 10-year-olds’ state runnerup finish, all three were eliminated short of hoisting the championship banner.
That also was the case with Chandler National South in the 12-year-old state tournament in Scottsdale, Tempe South in the 11-year-olds in Mesa and Gilbert National in the 10-year-olds in Tucson.
In the 12-year-old tournament, Chan-
dler South went 4-0 in pool play to advance to the final bracket, where it ran into a menace in Cactus Foothills South.
Tribune Staff Report
(Kimberly Carrillo/Tribune Photographer)
Highland High quarterback Kaleb Herbert, a senior, gets plenty of water while practicing in record heat last week when high school football preseason camps opened.
(Kimberly Carrillo/Tribune Staff Photographer)
LEFT: C.J. Snowden of the Chandler National South Little League 12-year-old all-stars makes a play in the infield. Chandler went 4-0 in pool play at the state tournament to advance to bracket play. The team was eliminated with back-to-back losses to Cactus Foothills South.
RIGHT: Michael Strazz of Chandler National South Little League 12-year-old all-stars warms up before the state tournament in Scottsdale.
(Eric Newman/Tribune Staff)
Coach Phillip Moore enjoys a light moment with his Mesa Red Mountain Little League 12-year-old all-stars at the state tournament in Scottsdale. Red Mountain went 2-2 in pool play and was eliminated.
the athletes safe.
Mesa Red Mountain High coach Mike Peterson conducts practices in the evening, hitting the field at 5 p.m. to avoid the hottest part of the day, and other precautions are taken by the coaching staff to make sure the players stay safe.
“We tell them to squirt down the big veins in their arms to help their body cool down a little better, and there’s some ice buckets and sponges to cool down,” Peterson said. “We aren’t here to hurt them; we are here to help them and keep them safe.”
Red Mountain players are encouraged to keep their helmets off whenever possible during practice, even if it means fiveminute intervals with them on and another five without. Helmets can add roughly 30 degrees.
Players are given a water break every 10 minutes, and trainers disperse water bottles throughout each drill.
Tuesday’s practice was cut short at Red Mountain, lasting about 30 minutes on the field before being moved inside to use the whiteboards for a “chalk talk.”
It’s a less-than-ideal measure for some programs, but it’s one Peterson believes is effective and necessary. He said it helped
his players conserve energy for their first day of practice in shoulder pads on Thursday.
“We will probably have a little bang period with shoulder pads on and then take them off to cool down a bit,” Peterson said. “After we have a little bit of a chalk talk, we will put them on again and have another bang period. It’s just about being
smart.”
Monitoring conditions has become a daily task for Lance Michel, head athletic trainer at Hamilton High in Chandler.
Once Michel identifies whether the Huskies can practice outside, he and his training staff jump into action with precautions to keep the athletes safe.
A similar strategy has been implemented at Chandler Perry.
Despite the sun bearing down on them, Perry coach Preston Jones and the rest of the team have managed to maintain high energy throughout the sessions.
“I think the key is preparation,” Jones said. “So many people want to try to hydrate at practice, but we always tell our kids to hydrate 24 to 48 hours ahead of time. We require them to carry gallon jugs with them. We have done that forever.”
Drinking at least a gallon of water before practice, Jones says, helps keep the players’ body temperatures down while on the field.
Jones said the biggest hydration issue is on Mondays, when kids generally did not drink as much water over the weekend. Jones is aware that cramping muscles or even heat illnesses are more common when practices resume at the beginning of the week.
The Pumas make water available at all times, never restricting a player – even if it is during a drill.
“We’ve never been restricted on what we do, and our philosophy and rules have always been the same: Kids can get water any time they want,” Jones said. “They can stop drills and go over and get water. We don’t ever hold that from them.”
The coaching staff at Perry knows the heat can take a mental toll on players, as well.
“When they don’t have to have contact, the helmets are off,” Michel said. “We continue to push fluid through them, get them ice buckets, just make sure they stay cool.”
Hamilton’s practice was cut short by about 30 minutes on Tuesday to get athletes out of the record-tying heat.
Fluids and ice baths are present at all times on the Huskies’ practice field, with Michel keeping a watchful eye on athletes for signs of heat-related symptoms.
Building mental toughness is key in the first few days of practice, especially without the ability to use padding other than helmets.
But while their goal as a staff is to prepare their players for anything – including the weather – they still are still aware of the dangers of Arizona’s intense summer heat.
“It’s all about watching the athletes,” he said. “It may not even be the hottest day. It’s kind of an accumulative affect. Within a week or two, you’re going to be sluggish and sweating like crazy. We hit them with water 24-7.”
“You want to err on the side of caution,” Jones said. “You want to build mental toughness, but at the end of the day you want these kids to be safe. That’s most important.”
LITTLE LEAGUE
from page 21
Chandler lost 13-8 to Cactus Foothills on July 24, and then was pummeled 12-2 by the same team the following night and was eliminated.
Red Mountain’s 12-year-olds failed to get out of pool play, going 2-2 at state.
In the 11-year-old state tourney in Mesa, Red Mountain was eliminated in the second round on July 16 in a 4-2 loss to Rincon, the eventual state runnerup. Tempe South went out in the second round, losing 6-2 to Cactus Foothills. Queen
Creek won the state championship. The East Valley was well represented in the 10-year-old division in Tucson, where Red Mountain nearly made a miraculous run to the title through the loser’s bracket. After hammering Nogales National 11-1 for Nogales’ first loss on July 24, forcing a second and deciding game, Red Mountain fell 7-5 to Nogales the next night in the state championship game. Gilbert National also was making a run through the loser’s bracket. But after bouncing Ahwatukee 14-1 on July 20, Gilbert was eliminated 7-0 by Red Mountain the following night.
(Kimberly Carrillo/Tribune Photographer)
Chandler Perry’s Michael Warnick gets a respite from football practice during the record heat present when preseason camps opened last week.
Enforcing the law in Mesa no match for dancing
CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI GET OUT Editor
When Joey Pena emerged from a 2 1/2-year military tour of Iraq, he did what he said most veterans do: He applied for a Mesa police job to be close to family members, who live throughout the Valley.
“I made it to the interview process, but toward the end, my heart wasn’t in it,” said Pena, who now lives in Las Vegas. “It wasn’t an avenue I wanted to pursue. I started looking at other things, like modeling and going to school.”
The chiseled, handsome veteran of the 82nd Airborne was referred to Chippendales by his agent.
“I thought they were dirty strippers,” Pena said with a laugh. “My mom was a ballerina. Strippers don’t know what a plie is. They
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When: 7 p.m. & 10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 10, Tickets: $25-$250.
Info: 800.946.4452, Wingilariver.Com
have no idea what it means to spend hours rehearsing.”
One night, Pena had a little too much to drink while out with his agent, who then took him to a Chippendales show. He enjoyed the camaraderie between the dancers and the upbeat attitude.
“I later auditioned and I killed it,” he said. “I was the Latino guy they wanted.”
Pena said initially it was awkward because of his values and morals, which were reinforced during his six years in the Army.
“In the military, we’re all about pride and honor,” he said. “The most difficult part for me was showing my butt. I ran a lot without my shirt on, but it was a little hard to take off my pants.
“I love performing, though. I’m giving my best self and presenting my true self on the stage. I still get the little-kid jitters.”
His audition was five years ago. Besides dancing, he hosts and works in Chippendales’ management, running the back end of the business.
“It’s an eye-opening experience,” he said. “I’m learning how the structure goes, learning promotions and marketing. I’m doing investments, too, and I’m planning to go back to college.
“Our company is one of the greatest companies to work for. They’re really good about working with us. They don’t want to lose us.”
Pena is part of the traveling team and the
group that performs regularly in Vegas. He knows how to woo the ladies, he said.
“My favorites are the old ladies,” he said. “They’re just sitting in the chair, quiet. When I go out in the crowd, I sit right next to them, put my arm around them and show them a good time. That’s what makes it for me.
“The pretty girls always get attention. I want everyone to feel like that. I want the little old lady who came in from the casino to feel like that. She needs a little lovin’.”
(Special to the Tribune) Joey Pena thought he wanted to be a Mesa police officer, but then he decided to go to Las Vegas and joined the famed Chippendales.
Stargazers are flocking to Gilbert observatory, Airbnb says
BY SRIANTHI PERERA GET OUT Contributor
Stargazing is on the rise in Gilbert.
That’s according to Airbnb, which recently measured “astro-tourism” around the world and put Gilbert Rotary Centennial Observatory, located within the Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch, on its list of five prime North American spots.
The town had 9,400 Airbnb guest arrivals last year. This represents a 164 percent increase over last year for inbound travelers, the vacation rental giant said.
“We looked at year-over-year growth in guest arrivals to destinations close to areas certified by Fundación Starlight, or regions
with dark skies identified by this foundation,” said Laura Rillos, a spokeswoman for Airbnb.
Prime dark-sky spots that are home to the best telescopes are trending among Airbnb guests globally, championing sustainable travel to remote, rural regions, she stated.
While Airbnb doesn’t actively promote dark-sky spots, its hosts share local hotspots with guests who are interested.
“Our community of hosts love sharing their favorite local activities and businesses with guests and encouraging them to visit hidden gems they may not have found otherwise, like the Gilbert Rotary Centennial
(Photos courtesy of East Valley Astronomy Club)
An interior view of Gilbert Rotary Centennial Observatory, which the East Valley Astronomy Club recommends people visit several times during the year because the astral bodies change through the seasons.
Observatory,” Rillos said. “The observatory and the Riparian Preserve are both just the type of local secrets Airbnb hosts love sharing with their guests.”
The East Valley Astronomy Club manages the town-owned observatory. Manager Claude Haynes said the observatory is a listed attraction in tourist sites, but it doesn’t have a direct association with Airbnb. He said the observatory, which is funded by donations, “appreciates the publicity and the recognition. We are happy about it because we do see that we are a destination for people who want to come and view from clear, less-light-polluted skies.”
Haynes is cognizant that Gilbert has lesslight-polluted skies but doesn’t claim the town to be free of light pollution.
“Gilbert has a better light pollution ordinance and seems to enforce it more strictly than some of the other communities around us,” he said.
Established by the Gilbert Rotary Club in 2006, the observatory has a 16-inch telescope open for viewing every Friday and Saturday night, weather-permitting. It’s a family activity that attracts people from around the Valley.
On an average night, about 100-150 people peer through the telescope, while the numbers rise to about 200-250 during spring and winter months because sunset is earlier and there are more winter visitors in the Valley.
The observatory has recorded a steady increase in viewers over the last few years: 8,800 in 2014; 11,000 in 2015; 15,500 in 2016; and 16,000 in 2017. Since its inception, it has
welcomed about 100,000 visitors.
Some are amateurs like Haynes himself, who has nurtured the pastime for 25 years. Others can be as young as 3 years old. If they can reach the lens, they will be permitted to view.
“We have lots of kids who come, and they are fascinated,” Haynes said. “Grandmothers come along and say, ‘I’ve never looked
through a telescope before,’ and they are 80.”
Haynes concedes that the two main reasons for the increased viewership is the overall increase in the popularity of the Riparian Preserve, which offers hiking trails, bird walks and fishing among several other activities, and players using the Pokemon Go mobile video game who stumble upon the observatory.
The observatory also organizes special events, such as last year’s total eclipse, which drew hundreds, the monthly star parties and the night sky program for youth.
Mars will be closest to Earth since 2003 during the last few days of July.
However, because it’s not a nighttime object when the observatory opens in the evening, there won’t be a special event to coincide with the occurrence.
The club encourages people to go look at Mars in the morning sky. The red planet will be a nighttime object toward the middle of the August and until late September, when
it will begin to recede.
Celestial events such as Mars’ proximity and eclipses contribute to people’s interest.
According to Airbnb, 50,000 guests from 26 countries traveled to the United States to view the total solar eclipse last summer.
“Since then, we’ve continued to see a tremendous amount of interest around traveling for astral events and stargazing, with the number of guest arrivals in prime dark sky spots climbing,” Rillos said.
The Gilbert observatory is in good company in Airbnb’s roll call.
It enjoys prominence along with Acadian Skies & Mi’kmaq near Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, which had a 221 percent year-over-year growth of inbound travelers; Natural Bridges National Monument near Oljato Monument Valley, Utah, with a 70 percent year-over-year growth; National Astronomical Observatory near San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico, with a 164 percent year-over-year growth; and Mauna Kea near Kailua, Hawaii, with a 68 percent year-overyear growth of inbound travelers.
As word gets around, there may be hordes of more tourists headed this way. Can the humble town observatory handle it?
“We are always delighted when people come,” Haynes said. “The worst-case scenario would be if we had 500 people show up one night and that became the average. Then we would find another telescope; that would be a way to handle it. It’s not a bad problem to have.”
Gilbert Rotary Centennial Observatory is located on the Southeast corner of Greenfield and Guadalupe roads. Information: evaconline.org.
Italian restaurant receives enthusiastic welcome
With an “Old World charm and a New World vibe,” Sam & Luca Rustic Kitchen brings those two worlds together in East Mesa under leadership of an unlikely duo: Sam Arikat and Zoran Klisara.
Arikat owns Sam’s Liquor in Scottsdale. Klisara is the brains behind Tommy V’s Urban Kitchen in Scottsdale. Klisara also opened Mastro’s and Mastro’s City Hall. He previously managed Lon’s at the Hermosa Inn.
Arikat said the joint venture, which opened in early May, was unexpected.
“It was definitely not planned,” Arikat said with a laugh. “My ‘uncle,’ who’s not a blood uncle, owns the Fry’s Plaza at Power and Baseline.
“One day, he was visiting me at my store in Scottsdale, Sam’s Liquor, and he said, ‘I just lost a tenant and it would be a perfect spot for a restaurant.”
They visited the space and knew they had a great recipe for success. It was that simple.
“Zoran wanted the location right away,” Arikat said. “He suggested we go in as partners and I told him I didn’t have restaurant experience. He said it didn’t matter. ‘I see all the potential in the world.’”
The wheels were set in motion for Sam & Luca Rustic Kitchen, named after Klisara’s son, Luca, and Arikat. The menu focuses on fresh starters ($8-$12), such as bruschetta, grilled asparagus and rustic
(Photos courtesy of East Valley Astronomy Club) Gilbert Rotary Centennial Observatory, located within the Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch, is in a region noted for dark skies.
(Special to the Tribune)
Sam Arikat, owner of Sam & Luca Rustic Kitchen, displays his linguine and clams dish.
Silver Star summer series shines with concerts
BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI GET OUT EDITOR
Silver Star Theater staff is hoping to continue the Mesa venue’s momentum – and keep music fans cool – by offering summer concerts.
Typically only open November to midApril, the theater is offering dinner, shows and dancing with various performances by the theater’s house band, The Rhythm Cats, who blend music and comedy.
“We had an event on Memorial Day weekend and that was exciting,” said Mark Kleinman, general manager. “We want to build on that. We’re going to try and keep this going every summer, but it’s going to depend on the community’s support. If they like it, we’ll keep on adding shows and doing more and more.”
The Country Show is 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 8; and “Malt Shop Oldies” hits the stage at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 18. “Cool Summer Nights” tickets, $39, come with a dinner buffet at 5:30 p.m. Group discounts and packages are available.
“They’re all very talented,” said Camille Keeler, Silver Star Theater’s director of sales.
On Aug. 5, Aug. 19 and Sept. 9, there is music and dancing. A light dinner of salad, coleslaw, potato or macaroni salad, sandwiches, fruit and cookies is served from 5:30 to 7 p.m., with dancing with The Rhythm Cats from 6:15 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $20.
“For dancers, we’re taking out a couple rows of carpet and adding a dance floor,” Keeler said. “Our dinner will be a bit lighter because we don’t want to fill them up. It’s dancing just for fun. There are no lessons and you don’t need lessons.”
When the summer series concludes, Silver Star Theater will begin its season with The Rhythm Cats. Variations of The Rhythm Cats’ show, including guest appearances by Patrick Mahoney, continue throughout the season, which also features “A Christmas Carol” starring Hale Centre Theatre veteran Kleinman as “Scrooge,” and special Valentine’s Day and New Year’s Eve shows.
“We have a new guy who came in, Patrick Mahoney,” Keeler said. “He’s from Ireland and he’s very talented. He brings a lot of energy
SAM & LUCA
If you are
ask about
fee
Silver Star Theater hosts concerts throughout the year
unobstructed seating.
to the theater.”
Silver Star Playhouse staff wants to increase its profile with community groups, like Connect Church, by renting its 150-capacity Marquee Room, which is available for parties as well.
“We have a great bartender, if they want-
clude pollo Milanese ($17), New York strip ($24) and a mixed grill ($23).
in its
ed to hire a bartender, and we have a great chef,” she said.
Silver Star Theater 5247 E. Brown Road (at Higley Road), Mesa 480-288-0300, silverstartheater.com
boards, and salads adorned with strawand rustic ingredients. and risotto selections include pappardelle Bolognese ($17), fettuccini carbonara ($16), shrimp scampi ($16) and arrabiata ($16). Other entrees in-
The duo found it important to bring something different to the neighborhood.
“We’re not a chain, and everything here is made from scratch,” Arikat said.
Pizza soon will be added to the menu, and Arikat and Klisara are considering opening additional restaurants.
“Now we’re in the exciting stage,” Arikat said. “We’ve opened the doors and people are ranting and raving about it. We’re getting nothing but five-star reviews and it’s getting busier every single day.”
Sam & Luca Rustic Kitchen, 1959 S. Power Road (at Baseline Road), Suite 104, Mesa, 480-659-6716, samandlucaaz.com.
(Photo courtesy Silver Star Theater)
now
main showroom, which features
5-ingredient enchiladas fit the ‘easy and delicious’ category
Philly Fruit Cloud is heaven on a dessert plate
BY JAN D’ATRI GETOUT Contributor
BY JAN D’ATRI GETOUT Contributor
IIt’s only five ingredients and in the “easy and delicious” category. It’s also a 5-star dish. Plus, it’s too hot to cook for more than 15 minutes.
t’s cloudy with a chance of sunshine. I’m not talking about monsoon weather. I’m talking about dessert clouds on your plate.
I’m going to forecast a perfect finish to your meal with this four-ingredient frosty, luscious, sweet and tangy dessert called the Philly Fruit Cloud.
This guacamole salsa chicken enchilada casserole could be a new go-to favorite because one jar of a store-bought savory sauce does pretty much all the work.
I stumbled upon this easy recipe while working my way through my vintage Philadelphia Cream Cheese Cookbook and believe me, it’s heaven on a dessert plate. Four simple ingredients blend together and then shaped into individual “shells” or “clouds” that get frozen and then filled with your favorite fruits of the season.
Herdez Guacamole Salsa is one of the newest products in the Herdez family of salsas and I’m happy to have stumbled upon it because of this recipe.
You may have seen it on grocery store shelves and wondered what to do with it. This enchilada recipe is the perfect place to start. The guacamole salsa is a rich and creamy blend of avocado, tomatillo, chiles and spices with a bit less kick than most salsas, but the flavor is all there. All you need is a jar of this special sauce, some corn tortillas, rotisserie chicken, some cheese and cream and in about 20 minutes, you’ll have a fantastic meal. It’s as easy as it gets, but if you want to take the dish to a new level of flavor, I’ve added an additional recipe for homemade tortillas. Es delicioso!
I read through 41 variations of cheesecake recipes in this cookbook before I settled on the Philly Fruit Cloud to try. Bingo! It was an instant hit. It’s a great recipe to whip together in minutes or make ahead and then keep in your freezer until you’re ready to add fresh fruit and serve. I’ve also included another simple recipe from the book “A No Bake Philadelphia Creamy Chilled Cheesecake.”
But that Philly Fruit Cloud? It’s a summer breeze.
Guacamole Salsa Chicken Enchiladas
Philly Fruit Clouds
Ingredients:
Ingredients:
1 package (8) Corn Tortillas
1 (15.7 oz) jar Herdez Guacamole Salsa
1 8-oz. pkg. Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened 1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup half and half
1 cooked rotisserie chicken
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1 cup whipping cream, whipped
1 (12 oz.) package cheddar cheese or Mexican Blend
Assorted fresh fruit
Directions:
Fresh mint for garnish
Directions:
Combine cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice and peel, mixing until well blended.
Fold in whipped cream. With back of spoon, shape on wax or parchment paper lined cookie sheet to form shells
Remove all skin and bones from rotisserie chicken. With your hands, tear off chicken into strips. In an 8-inch skillet or saucepan, heat Herdez Guacamole Salsa and cream, stirring to combine. Dredge both sides of a tortilla in the warm salsa then place in a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish. Fill the
lower third of the tortilla with a few strips of chicken and about 2 tablespoons of cheese.
or nests. Freeze until hardened, at least 2 hours or overnight. When ready to serve, fill with fruit and garnish with fresh mint. Makes 4-5 large or 10 small shells.
Roll up tortilla. Repeat with remaining tortillas, chicken and cheese to fill up casserole dish. Pour the remainder of the salsa over the enchiladas. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over top. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.
No Bake Philadelphia Creamy Chilled Cheesecake
Ingredients:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
To get a golden brown top, turn on broiler mode of oven and cook for about five minutes or until browned. Serve immediately.
3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided 1/4 cup butter, melted
1 package unflavored gelatin
Homemade Corn Tortillas
1/4 cup cold water
Ingredients:
1 cup corn meal
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup flour
¾ cup milk
1 egg
¼ cup lemon juice
2 cups water 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup heavy cream, whipped 1/4 cup fresh strawberries, sliced
Directions:
Directions
In a bowl, whisk together corn meal, flour, egg, water and salt. (Batter should be consistency of thin pancake batter. Add more water if needed.)
Heat a small amount of oil or cooking spray in a small cast iron skillet or crepe pan.
Combine graham cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar and melted butter. Press into a 9-inch spring form pan. Soften unflavored gelatin in cold water and stir over low heat until dissolved. Combine softened cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar, mixing at medium speed with an electric mixer until well blended.
Gradually add in gelatin mixture, milk and lemon juice, mixing until well blended.
With a ladle measuring cup, pour a thin layer of batter in pan to make a 6-inch tortilla.
When tortilla forms bubbles, flip and cook for about 30 seconds. Put on place and cover with towel to keep warm. Repeat until batter is used up.
Chill until slightly thickened. Whip cream until soft peaks form. Fold into chilled cream cheese mixture. Pour over the crust and chill until firm. Top with sliced strawberries.
Makes 8 servings.
Public Notices
EASTMARK COMMUNITY FACILITIES DISTRICT NO 1
MESA, ARIZONA
PHASE XII ROADWAY IMPROVEMENTS (DU3/4N & DU5/6S)
PROJECT NO: S883
ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that sealed bids will be received until Thursday, August 23, 2018, until 2:00 p m All sealed bids will be received at Mesa City Plaza Building, Engineering Department at 20 East Main Street, 5th Floor, Mesa, Arizona Please mark the outside of the bid envelope with the name of this bid document Any bid received after the time specified will be returned without any consideration, except for bids delivered 30 minutes prior to opening which will be received at the in-
A mandatory Pre-Bid Conference will be held Monday, August 6th, 2018 at 2:00 p m in the upper level Council Chambers at 57 E First Street, Mesa, Arizona
A pre-bid review of the site has been scheduled for Monday, August 6th, 2018 at 3:30 p m The site visit is recommended but not mandatory.
PHASE XII ROADWAY IMPROVEMENTS (DU3/4N & DU5/6S):
This contract shall be for furnishing all labor, materials, transportation, and services for the construction and/or installation of all improvements shown on the Plans, including, but not limited to the following:
1 South Eastmark Parkway (S883) – The Project consists of approximately 3,105 linear feet of half street surface improvements with landscape installed on the east side of the road and within the raised median The street improvements include one lane in each direction connecting into the existing improvements of South Eastmark Parkway at the south end of the project Surface improvements include concrete curb and gutter, sidewalk, paving, striping, signage, street lights, street sleeves, entry monuments, landscaping and irrigation Underground utility improvements include 8inch sewer, 12-inch sewer, 20-inch potable water (with pipe bonding cathodic protection and isolation flange kits), cathodic protection test stations, 8-inch to 36-inch storm drain, and non-city dry utilities
For information contact: Stephanie Gishey, City of Mesa, Stephanie Gishey@mesaaz gov Engineer’s Estimate Range is $2,700,000 to $3,300,000
All project questions must be submitted by 5:00 p m on Friday, August 17th, 2018 See Section 11 of the Project Special Provisions for more information
Contractors desiring to submit proposals may purchase sets of the Bid Documents from Thomas Reprographics, Inc , http://public constructionvaults com, click on “Register Today” and follow the prompts to create your account, be sure to click finish at the end For a list of locations nearest you, logon to www thomasrepro com, and click on Phoenix The cost of each Bid Set will be no more than $103 00, which is non-refundable regardless of whether or not the Contractor Documents are returned Partial bid packages are not sold You can view documents on-line (at no cost), order Bid Sets, an access the Plan Holders List on the Thomas Reprographics website at the “Public Construction Vaults” address listed above Please verify print lead time prior to arriving for pick-up
One set of the Contract Documents is also available for viewing at the City of Mesa’s Engineering Department at 20 East Main Street, Mesa, AZ Please call (480) 644-2251 prior to arriving to ensure that the documents are available for viewing
Work shall be completed within 313 (three hundred thirteen) consecutive calendar days, beginning with the day following the starting date specified in the Notice to Proceed
Bids must be submitted on the Proposal Form provided and be accompanied by the Bid Bond for not less than ten percent (10%) of the total bid, payable to DMB MESA PROVING GROUNDS LLC, or a certified or cashier's check PERSONAL OR INDIVIDUAL SURETY BONDS ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE
The successful bidder will be required to execute the DMB Mesa Proving Grounds LLC Contract and respective Addenda for construction within five (5) days after formal Notice of Contact Award Failure by bidder to properly execute the Contract and provide the required certification as specified shall be considered a breach of Contract by bidder DMB Mesa Proving Grounds LLC shall be free to terminate the Contract or, at option, release the successful bidder
Payment and Performance Bonds will be required for this Work The successful bidder, simultaneously with the execution of the Contract, shall be required to furnish a Payment Bond in the amount equal to one hundred percent (100%) of the Contract Price, and a Performance Bond in an amount equal to one hundred percent (100%) of the Contract Price Successful Bidder shall name DMB Mesa Proving Grounds LLC as obligee on both the Payment and Performance Bonds and name the Cit y of Mesa as an additional obligee on the Performance Bond using a Dual Obligee Rider form An approved Dual Obligee Rider Form is included herein as Exhibit E in the Contract Documents
The right is hereby reserved to accept or reject any or all bids or parts thereto, to waive any informalities in any proposal and reject the bids of any persons who have been delinquent or unfaithful to any contract with the DMB Mesa Proving Grounds LLC; City of Mesa or Eastmark Community Facilities District No 1
BETH HUNING District Engineer
Public Notices
CITY OF MESA MESA, ARIZONA
CITY WELL NO 10 COLLECTION WATERLINE / PEDESTRIAN WALKWAY IMPROVEMENTS ON MACDONALD AT RAILROAD TRACKS
PROJECT NO CP0020CAP/CP0660MAC
ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that sealed bids will be received until Thursday, August 9, 2018, at 1:00 p m All sealed bids will be received at Mesa City Plaza Building, Engineering Department at 20 East Main Street, 5th Floor, Mesa, Arizona; except for bids delivered 30 minutes prior to opening which will be received at the information desk, 1st floor, Main Lobby of the Mesa City Plaza Building Any bid received after the time specified will be returned without any consideration
This contract shall be for furnishing all labor, materials, transportation and services for the construction and/or installation of the following work:
1500 linear feet of new 12-inch waterline from the City Well No 10 location to the intersection of Broadway Road and MacDonald Additional improvements include a new 30-inch steel casing pipe, asphalt pavement, concrete curb, gutter and sidewalk, and cathodic protection monitoring stations Contract also includes the construction of a new pedestrian walkway along MacDonald at the railroad tracks
The Engineer’s Estimate range is $750,000 to $850,000
For all technical, contract, bid-related, or other questions, please contact Stephanie Gishey at Stephanie Gishey@mesaaz gov
Contractors desiring to submit proposals may purchase sets of the Bid Documents from Thomas Reprographics, Inc dba Thomas Printworks, http://public constructionvaults com Click on “Register Today” and follow the prompts to create your account Please be sure to click finish at the end NOTE: In order to receive notifications and updates regarding this bid (such as addenda) during the bidding period, REGISTRATION ON THE WEBSITE IS REQUIRED For a list of locations nearest you, go to www thomasprintworks com, and click on Phoenix The cost of each Bid Set will be no more than $26 00, which is non-refundable regardless of whether or not the Contractor Documents are returned Partial bid packages are not sold You can view documents online (at no cost), order Bid Sets, and access the Plan Ho lders List on the Thomas Reprographics website at the “Public Construction Vaults” address listed above Please verify print lead time prior to arriving for pick-up
One set of the Contract Documents is also available for viewing at the City of Mesa’s Engineering Department at 20 East Main Street, Mesa, AZ Please call 480-644-2251 prior to arriving to ensure that the documents are available for viewing
In order for the City to consider alternate products in the bidding process, please follow Arizona Revised Statutes §34 104c
If a pre-bid review of the site has been scheduled, details can be referenced in Project Specific Provision Section #3, titled “Pre-Bid Review of Site ”
Work shall be completed within 120 consecutive calendar days, beginning with the day following the starting date specified in the Notice to Proceed
Bids must be submitted on the Proposal Form provided and be accompanied by the Bid Bond for not less than ten percent (10%) of the total bid, payable to the City of Mesa, Arizona, or a certified or cashier's check PERSONAL OR INDIVIDUAL SURETY BONDS ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE
The successful bidder will be required to execute the standard form of contract for construction within ten (10) days after formal award of contract In addition, the successful bidder must be registered i n t h e C
The successful bidder, simultaneously with the execution of the Contract, will be required to furnish a Payment Bond in the amount equal to one hundred percent (100%) of the Contract Price, a Performance Bond in an amount equal to one hundred percent (100%) of the Contract Price, and the most recent ACORD® Certificate of Liability Insurance form with additional insured endorsements
The right is hereby reserved to accept or reject any or all bids or parts thereto, to waive any informalities in any proposal and reject the bids of any persons who have been delinquent or unfaithful to any contract with the City of Mesa
BETH HUNING City Engineer
ATTEST:
Dee Ann Mickelsen District Clerk
PUBLISHED: East Valley Tribune July 22, 29, 2018 / 14304
ATTEST: DeeAnn Mickelsen City Clerk
PUBLISHED: East Valley Tribune July 22, 29, 2018 / 14303
Public Notices
NOTICE OF FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT (FONSI) AND NOTICE OF INTENT TO REQUEST RELEASE OF FUNDS (NOI/RROF)
Date of Notice: July 29, 2018
City of Mesa P O Box 1466 Mesa, AZ 85211-1466 480-644-4521
These notices shall satisfy two separate but related procedural requirements for activities to be undertaken by Nuevas Vistas on Main LLC
REQUEST RELEASE OF FUNDS (NOI/RROF)
On or about August 14, 2018, the City of Mesa will authorize Nuevas Vistas on Main, LLC to submit a request to the U S Department of Housing and Urban Development for the release HOME Investment Partnership funds under 24 CFR 92 of Title II of the Cranston-Gonzales National Affordable Housing Act, as amended, to undertake a project known as Nuevas Vistas for the purpose of the demolition of three existing single-family dwellings and construction of ten (10) affordable singlefamily townhomes an estimated total development cost of $3,200,000, which includes $1,443,339 of HOME funds The project will be located at 619 and 627 West Pepper Place, Mesa, AZ 85201
FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT (FONSI)
The City of Mesahas determined that the project will have no significant impact on the human environment Therefore, an Environmental Impact Statement under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) is not required Additional project information is contained in the Environmental Review Record (ERR) on file at the City of Mesa’s Housing and Community Development Depart-
m
PUBLIC COMMENTS
Any individual, group, or agency may submit written comments on the ERR to the City of Mesa Housing and Community Development Department MS-9870, P O Box 1466, Mesa, AZ 852111
Neighbor info@MesaAZ gov All comments received by the end of business on August 13, 2018 will b
ENVIRONMENTAL CERTIFICATION
The City of Mesa certifies to the U S Department of Housing and Urban Development that Christopher J Brady in his capacity as City Manager consents to accept the jurisdiction of the Federal Courts if an action is brought to enforce responsibilities in relation to the environmental review process and that these responsibilities have been satisfied The U S Department of Housing and Urban Development approval of the certification satisfies its responsibilities under NEPA and related laws and authorities and allows Child Crisis Arizona to use Program funds
OBJECTIONS TO RELEASE OF FUNDS
e
Mesa’s (RE) Request for Release of Funds and Environmental Certification for a period of fifteen days following the submission date specified above or the actual receipt of the request (whichever is later) only if they are on the following bases: (a) the certification was not executed by the Certifying Officer of the City of Mesa; (b) the City of Mesahas omitted a step or failed to make a determination or finding required by HUD regulations at 24 CFR part 58 or by CEQ regulations at 40 CFR 15001508, as applicable; (c) the City of Mesa has omitted one or more steps in the preparation, completion or publication of the Environmental Assessment or Environmental Impact Study per 24 CFR Subparts E, F or G of Part 58, as applicable; (d) the grant recipient or other participant in the development process has committed funds for or undertaken activities not authorized by 24 CFR Part 58 before release of funds and approval of the environmental certification; (e) another Federal, State or local agency acting pursuant to 40 CFR Part 1504 has submitted a written finding that the project is unsatisfactory from the standpoint of environmental quality Objections must be prepared and submitted in accordance with the required procedures (24 CFR Part 58, Sec 58 76) and shall be addressed to the U S Department of Housing and Community Development, Office of Community Planning and Development, One N Central Avenue, Suite 600, Phoenix, AZ 85004 Potential objectors should contact the U S Department of Housing and Urban Development at (602) 379-7177to verify the actual last day of the objection period
Christopher J Brady City Manager
CITY OF MESA, ARIZONA ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ)
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City of Mesa is seeking qualified Consultants for the following:
ON-CALL CONSULTING SERVICES FOR WATER AND WASTEWATER PIPELINE DESIGN
The City of Mesa is seeking qualified Consultants to provide design services and/or construction administration services on an on-call basis in the following area/category: Water and Wastewater Pipeline Design Services All qualified firms that are interested in providing these services are invited to submit their Statements of Qualifications (SOQ) in accordance with the requirements detailed in the Request for Qualifications (RFQ)
From this solicitation, the Engineering Department will establish a list of on-call consultants for Water and Wastewater Pipeline Design Services This category is further defined below:
Water and Wastewater Pipeline Design project category is defined to include generally horizontal construction projects whose primary purpose is to provide, convey or otherwise directly support the provision of water and/or wastewater service to the City of Mesa’s utility customers Projects might involve studies, new construction, extension, rehabilitation, or other modifications Typical projects include (but are not limited to) waterlines and wastewater lines and their associated infrastructure These projects may include any or all of the other discipline design areas and services included under other categories
A Pre-Submittal Conference will not be held
Contact with City Employees All firms interested in this RFQ (including the firm’s employees, representatives, agents, lobbyists, attorneys, and subconsultants) will refrain, under penalty of disqualification, from direct or indirect contact for the purpose of influencing the selection or creating bias in the selection process with any person who may play a part in the selection process This policy is intended to create a level playing field for all potential firms, assure that contract decisions are made in public and to protect the integrity of the selection process. All contact on this selection process should be addressed to the authorized representative identified below
http://mesaaz gov/business/engineering/architectural-engineering-designopportunities
The Statement of Qualifications shall include a one-page cover letter, plus a maximum of 10 pages to address the SOQ evaluation criteria (excluding resumes but including an organization chart with key personnel and their affiliation) Resumes for each team member shall be limited to a maximum length of two pages and should be attached as an appendix to the SOQ Minimum font size shall be 10-point Pl ease provide six (6) hard copies and one (1) electronic copy (CD or USB drive) of the Statement of Qualifications by 2:00pm on August 1, 2018 The City reserves the right to accept or reject any and all Statements of Qualifications The City is an equal opportunity employer
Delivered or hand-carried submittals must be delivered to the Engineering Department reception area on the fifth floor of Mesa City Plaza Building in a sealed package On the submittal package, please display: Firm name and On-Call Mechanical Engineering
Firms who wish to do business with the City of Mesa must be registered a
Questions Questions pertaining to the Consultant selection process or contract issues should be directed to Heather Sneddon of the Engineering Department at heather sneddon@mesaaz gov
BETH HUNING City Engineer
ATTEST: DeeAnn Mickelsen City Clerk
Obituaries
CALDERONE, Joseph
Joseph Calderonewasbornathomein Monessen,PennsylvaniaonDecember 26th,1934.Heenteredintorestathis homeinMesa,July21st,2018.Hewas precededindeathbyhiseldestinfantson, StevenJosephCalderoneandhis grandsonDominicJosephCalderone.He issurvivedbyhiswifeof62yearsGrace Dianne(néedeVos);fivechildren, StephaniePacheco(Porfirio),Joel Anthony(Carolyn),DianneMarie,Dominic (Kimberly),Marguerite;ninegrandchildren; andfivegreatgrandchildren.Joseph enlistedintheU.S.AirForcein1951and proudlyservedhiscountryfor20years. Uponhishonorabledischargefromthe U.S.AirForcein1974,Josephattended ArizonaStateUniversityandreceiveda BachelorofSciencedegreeinpolitical sciencein1980.HeworkedatWork ForceDevelopmentfor25years,retiringin 1999asthedirectoroftheEastern TrainingCenterforMaricopaCounty, Arizona.AMasstocelebrateJoseph'slife willbeheldatAllSaintsCatholicChurch, 1534NorthReckerRoad,Mesa,Arizona, 85205at10:00AMonJuly31st,2018. Intermentwillbeheldimmediatelyafter MassattheNationalMemorialCemetery ofArizonalocatedat23029NorthCave CreekRoad,Phoenix,Arizona85024.
SigntheGuestbookat: obituaries.EastValleyTribune.com
JOHNSON, Sandra Lee Deshler
January 29, 1939 - July 16, 2018
JUDD
ried Connie Patten in 1999 He focused on
Survived by wife Connie; 10 children; 7 step; 74 grandchildren; 31 great-grandchildren
Grand,Mesa; In lieu of flowers please donate at ldsphilanthropies org/humanitarian-services
Need help writing an obituary? We have articles that will help guide you through the process. Deadline for obituaries is Wednesday at 5pm for Sunday. All obituaries will be approved by our staff prior to being activated. Be aware there may be early deadlines around holidays. Call 480-898-6465 Mon-Fri 8:30-5 if you have questions. Visit: obituaries.EastValleyTribune.com
Sandra Lee Deshler Johnson passed away July 16, 2018 in San Antonio, Texas. Sandra was born in Mesa, Arizona on January 29, 1939. She was raised in Mesa surrounded by cousins and family. It is there that she met and married her eternal sweetheart, Hugh in the LDS Mesa Temple. They loved to tell the story that they met while he was a first grader and she was a kindergarten baby! Sandra graduated from Arizona State University, Class of 1961, with a degree in Elementary Education. She taught fifth grade until the birth of their first daughter. At that time, she changed careers and became a stay at home mom. With their two daughters in tow, she would follow Hugh’s work in the oil industry when it took them to California, Louisiana, Texas and Scotland. In each place, Sandra served as a faithful leader in her church. Sandra love the opportunity to travel that Hugh’s job afforded them. She saw each of their many moves as a new adventure and taught her daughters the same spirit of adventure. She dearly loved the friends she made at each stop. Living in Katy, Texas, brought Sandra the opportunity to settle. She, at last, had a home base for family to congregate. But even while happily settled, Sandra still took time for adventure. She loved all of the different cultural areas in and around Houston. She also loved celebrating the Lunar New Year each year after Hugh worked for a time in China. Sandra embraced the foods of all the places they had lived and visited and could always tell you the best little restaurants to get whatever you fancied. In her last year, Sandra served as an ambassador for her residential community at Heartis Senior Living. There she made great friends and helped others transition and enjoy the new phase of their lives.
Sandra was preceded in death by her parents, Harold and Zola Deshler, and by her dear husband Lionel Hugh Johnson Jr. She is survived by her daughters, Melissa Jones (Glen) and Keri Milich (Michael); her grandchildren Deshler Jones (Katie), McKinnon Riley (Michael), Sophie Milich, and Stirling Jones; and by great-grandson Victor Riley.
Sandra will be laid to rest with her husband Hugh in Mesa, Arizona.
You are invited to sign the Guestbook at www.porterloring.com
Arrangements with PORTER LORING MORTUARY
Seeking a part time marketing/PR student at ASU to assist me with marketing my vocal studio in Tempe and the surrounding area 20% commission on initial registration and 10% residuals Other perks include vacation certificates Email resume to thespiritedheart2@msn com
Engineers for various & unanticipated worksites throughout the U S (HQ: Mesa, AZ) to support the dev of computer apps & programs Master’s in Comp Sci/Eng/Info Systems or any Eng field +2yrs exp
Systems or any Eng field +5yrs exp req’d Req’d
C
C
MySQL, Linux, Eclipse, Maven/Ant/Gradle, Per-
5:00 PM — 7:00 PM Southern & Dobson Campus Library - LB-145 1833 W Southern Ave • Mesa, AZ 85202
Areas*: The same qualifications as those listed for Academic Areas, or a bachelor’s degree plus 3 years work experience in field to be taught, or an associate’s degree or 64 semester hours and five years’ work experience in the field to be taught, or 5 years’ experience in the field to be taught.
EDU 250 - Teaching and Learning in the Community College or equivalent must be completed within two years of date of hire.
If you have questions, please contact Annette Skaggs at (480) 461-7798, or Lourdes Corzo at (480) 461-7063
Cleaning Services
Township 3 South, Ranges 7, 8 and 9 East, and Township 3 South, Ranges 8 and 9 East, Gila and Salt River Baseline and Meridian
The draft permit and related documentation are available for public review, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a m to 4:30 p m , at ADEQ, 1110 West Washington Street, Records Management Cent e r , P
RecordsCenter@azdeq gov 24 hours in advance to schedule an appointment to review the file
The public comment period is in effect from August 1, 2018, to September 7, 2018 Comments may be submitted in writing to: David Haag, ADEQ, Groundwater Protection and Reuse Value Stream, 1110 West Washington S treet, MC5500E-3, Phoenix, AZ 85007 or via email at haag david@azdeq gov Comments must be received or postmarked by September 7, 2018
A public hearing will be held at the Superior Town Hall, at 199 N Lobb Ave , Superior, AZ 85173, on September 5, 2018 at 6:00 p m The purpose of the hearing is to allow the public to make comments for the record ADEQ will respond in writing to all comments submitted during the public comment period
ADEQ will take reasonable measures to p rovide access to department services to individuals with limited ability to speak, write, or understand English and/or to those with disabilities Requests for language interpretation services or for disability accommodations must be made at least 48 hours in advance by contacting: 7-1-1 for TDD; (602) 771-2215 for Disability Accessibility; or Ian Bingham, Title VI Nondiscrimination Coordinator at (602) 771-4322 or idb@azdeq gov
ADEQ tomará medidas razonables para proveer acceso a los servicios del departamento para personas con capacidad limitada para hablar, escribir o entender Inglés y / o para las personas con discapacidad Las solicitudes de servicios de interpretación del lenguaje o de alojamiento de discapacidad deben hacerse por lo menos 48 horas de antelación poniéndose en contacto con Ian Bingham, Title VI Nondiscrimination Coordinator al (602) 771-4322 o idb@azdeq gov
Watch for Garage Sales in Classifieds!
You will find them easy with their yellow background. Only $25 includes up to 1 week online
To place an ad please call: 480-898-6465 class@times publications com
Public Notices
REQUEST FOR ARGUMENTS "FOR" OR "AGAINST" THE SPECIAL BOND ELECTION MESA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT NO 4
Mesa Unified School District No 4 of Maricopa County, Arizona (the "District"), will hold a special bond election on Tuesday, November 6, 2018 The District seeks authorization to issue bonds in the principal amount not to exceed $300,000,000 The estimated average annual tax rate for the proposed bond authorization is $0 88 per $100 of net assessed valuation used for secondary property tax purposes The Maricopa County School Superintendent will be preparing an informational pamphlet that will be mailed to households containing one or more registered electors within the District Any persons wishing to submit an argument "for" or "against" the bond question (not to exceed 200 words) may do so by mail or hand delivery of the argument to the Maricopa County School Superintendent's
To be included in the informational pamphlet, such argument must be received in the office of the Maricopa County School Superintendent on or before 5:00 p m , August 10, 2018 Such argument must be signed and should include the name of the school district, the author's name, address and telephone number The last day to register to vote in order to be eligible to vote in this election is Monday, October 8, 2018 For more information concerning the election, please contact Mesa Unified School District, 63 East Main Street, Mesa, AZ 85201, telephone: (480) 472-0000
SOLICITUD PARA ARGUMENTOS "A FAVOR" O "EN CONTRA" DE LA ELE CCIÓN ESPECIAL CONCERNIENTE A LOS BONOS FINANCIEROS DISTRITO ESCOLAR UNIFICADO NÚMERO 4 DE MESA
El Distrito Escolar Unificado Número 4 de Mesa del Condado de Maricopa, Arizona (el "Distrito"), celebrará una elección especial concerniente a los bonos financieros el martes, el 6 de noviembre de 2018 El Distrito busca autorización para emitir bonos financieros en la cantidad principal que no exceda $300,000,000 Se estima que el promedio de la tasa de impuestos anual para la propuesta autorización de los bonos financieros es $0 88 por $100 de valor tasado neto usado para los propósitos de los impuestos secundarios sobre la propiedad El Superintendente de Escuelas del Condado de Maricopa estará preparando un folleto informativo que será enviado a los domicilios que contienen un elector o más ins critos para votar dentro del Distrito Cualquier persona que desee entregar un argumento "a favor" o "en contra" de la cuestión de los bonos financieros (no debe exceder 200 palabras) puede hacerlo por correo o por ent r e g a r e l a r g u m e n t o p e r s o n a l m e n t e a l a o f i c i n a d e M a r i c o p a C o u n t y School Superintendent, 4041 N Central Avenue, Suite 1100, Phoenix, AZ 85012; teléfono: (602) 506-3866
Para ser incluido en el folleto informativo, tal argumento debe estar en la oficina del Superintendente de Escuelas del Condado de Maricopa a las 5:00 de la tarde o antes, el 10 de agosto de 2018 Se tiene que firmar tal argumento y se debe incluir el nombre del distrito escolar, el nombre del autor, dirección y número de teléfono El último día para inscribirse a votar para poder votar en esta elección es el lunes, el 8 de octubre de 2018 Para más información sobre la elección, favor de comunicarse con Mesa Unified School District, 63 East Main Street, Mesa, AZ 85201, teléfono: (480) 472-0000
