ECRWSS Carrier Route PreSorted Standard U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit No. 371 Cave Creek, AZ
Op-Ed: Facing fears PAGE 4
Op-Ed: Politics and masks PAGE 5
Serving the communities of Anthem, Black Canyon City, Carefree, Cave Creek, Desert Hills, New River, North Phoenix, Tramonto and Peoria
An edition of the East Valley Tribune
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This Week
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County, municipalities require masks BY TOM SCANLON Foothills Focus Staff Writer
BUSINESS.....................7 Protect yourself against scammers
ARTS................................. 12
Local mosaic artist shares her talents through tiles
Wednesday, June 24, 2020
G
ov. Doug Ducey and Arizona Department of Health Services Director Dr. Cara Christ sat down at a long table to begin a news conference on June 17. Both were wearing masks. It was a hint that things were going to change—quickly. The wheels started spinning on regulations requiring masks in cities. While Carefree and Cave Creek split on the issue, a decision by Maricopa County took the lead.
“COVID-19 is widespread in the state of Arizona, and Arizonans must act responsibly to protect one another,” Ducey said. Indeed, in the week before Ducey’s news conference, COVID-19 cases in Maricopa County jumped from 15,000 to more than 22,000. Since June 17, the total positive cases in the county has approached 30,000— double the number of less than two weeks ago. More alarmingly, the number hospitalized in Maricopa County rose from 1,809 June 10 to 2,176 June 20, a 20% increase. Ducey said he strongly urges “all Arizonans wear face masks when you can’t social distance … to help protect vulnerable communities and reduce infection rates.”
Cave Creek adopts $37.7M FY 2020-21 budget
Yet he did not make a statewide order, instead stressing mayors should set mask policies: “We’re going to empower local officials.” Some cities rushed to take action; others took their time. Social media sites lit up with emotional views by those who feel masks are needed for public health—and those insisting government needs to (literally) stay out of their faces. On June 18, less than 24 hours after Ducey’s conference, Carefree was ready to take action.
see MASKS page 2
Telling photo
BY ALLEN AWFE Foothills Focus Contributing Writer
FEATURES................. 13
Community heroes rise above coronavirus
OPINION................................ 4
BUSINESS...............................7
ARTS...................................... 10 FEATURES.......................... 13
CLASSIFIEDS..................... 14
T
he Cave Creek Town Council voted unanimously to adopt a fiscal year 2020-21 budget of $37,748,705 at a special meeting June 22. Councilman Bob Morris reassured citizens that the budget will be put to good use. “This budget attempts to redress a decade of not doing maintenance that’s supposed to be done, of not upgrading equipment when it needed to be upgraded, and a lot of those things are being corrected here,” he said. The budget includes several areas of the town’s infrastructure, community development and safety measures. In FY 2020-21, the Planning and Zoning Department’s budget will decrease to $475,700, from the FY 2019-20 budget of $739,700.
see BUDGET page 3
Foothills Focus reader Desiree Shields snapped this photo of a D10 Tanker dropping retardant on Pepsi Cap Mountain during the Central Fire on June 21. The human-caused wildfire started at about 11 a.m. June 20 northeast of New River. According to the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management’s state office, 192 personnel are working on the fire, which has expanded to nearly 4,000 acres. Firefighters are using a range of tactics to fully suppress the fire.