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Waymo goes for Walmart
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West Mesa Edition
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This Week
COMMUNITY ......... 11 Mesa organ recipients to compete in Transplant Games.
BUSINESS . ................ 15 Drybar, a fast-growing empire for women’s hair care, is ready to blow into the East Valley.
EAST VALLEY
White House shines on Mesa light company PAGE 15
Sunday, July 29, 2018
Mesa councilman stirs colleagues’ anger with accusations BY JIM WALSH Tribune Staff Writer
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s 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, See
COUNCIL on page 6
Decline in vaccinations an alarming trend for health officials BY CECILIA CHAN Tribune Staff Writer
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SPORTS ...................... 21 High school football players tackle heat.
GETOUT .................... 17
He wanted to be a Mesa cop, but became a Chippendale instead.
COMMUNITY......... 10 BUSINESS..................... 1 2 OPINION.................... 14 SPORTS......................... 15 CLASSIFIEDS............. 22
s 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,
(Kimberly Carrillo/ Tribune Staff Photographer)
Certified medical assistant Maria Puente readies a vaccine at Banner Health Clinic in Gilbert. State health officials are seeing a decline in the number of children who get vaccinated against highly contagious and dangerous diseases.
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 exemption and child care centers, preschool and Head Start See
VACCINES on page 4