Prom arrest provokes suit
Homes in ‘low $1M’
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An edition of the East Valley Tribune
VOTING ENDS THURSDAY
INSIDE
This Week
NEWS................................ 8 Legislative campaign spending reports a mess.
Sunday, April 24, 2022
Higley gets early start on November bond election BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor
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political action committee tasked with swaying voters to pass a $77.2-million bond for Higley Unified School District in November is already at work. In order to give the PAC more time to promote the measure, the Governing Board called for the election in March – much earlier than last year, when it voted in June to go to the ballot box with a $95-million measure that was rejected by 54.64% of voters. “With more time and resources to organize and education, the committee plans to contact as many voters and stakeholders as
possible – providing factual information to persuade them to vote ‘yes,’” said PAC treasurer Paul Ulan, principal at Primary Consultants, a consulting firm that specializes in passing bond and override elections. Ulan said 15 people so far have signed on to volunteer with the effort of going door-to-door and calling voters. The PAC also will use social media and mailings to get out their pro-bond message. The group relies solely on donations for the campaign and is prohibited from using district funds. According to the district, there are roughly 60,000 voters in its boundaries. Officials say there would be no increase in the property tax rate if the bond is approved. The PAC has already met and is in the
Gilbert park upgrades promise eye-popping, fun features
process of selecting a new chair after Ben Harrison, a former district employee, stepped aside, Ulan said. “The most persuasive way to get somebody to vote for something or for somebody is to look them eye-to-eye and get them to vote yes and that is what we are going to do,” said Ulan, who’s been pushing bonds and overrides for 30 years. “Mail and social media and events are great but the most effective way is to get through to people and we were not able to do that last year – time constraints and COVID,” he added. The group last year had roughly three
Full steam ahead
see BOND page 4
BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor
COMMUNITY......... 16 Scottsdale nurse pens toddler’s guide against sex abuse.
COMMUNITY....................................... 16 BUSINESS..............................................21 OPINION................................................ 25 SPORTS..................................................26 GETOUT.................................................28 CLASSIFIEDS.......................................32
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iscovery Park near Pecos and Greenfield roads has the usual amenities such as basketball courts, fishing ponds and picnic ramadas but what’s unique about the 48-acre recreation area is how it got its name. In 2005 near the park site, construction crew dug up the fossils of a Columbian mammoth — hence the name. Now, Gilbert wants to tell that story through the park’s playground, Jennika Horta, interim recreation manager, told the Parks and Recreation Board April 19. The town has that opportunity as it’s been replacing aged play structures at its major parks. Last fiscal year upgrades were done at the play areas of Village II, McQueen and Sunview parks and the tot lot at Freestone Recreation Center.
see PARKS page 9
Construction is well underway at a park being built on a 0.42-acre dirt lot at the southwest corner of Hearne Way and Bricomp Boulevard in front of a downtown Gilbert-owned parking garage. The open-air concept, by O.H.S.O. Brewery and lot owner Marc Barlow, a downtown businessman, will have natural turf and be an extension of the restaurant with a direct connection to its patio.The public park will offer live music, retail sales, food and beverages. (David Minton/GSN Staff Photographer)