Mesa vaccinations lag / P. 10
Famed eatery returns / P. 11
An edition of the East Valley Tribune
INSIDE
This Week
NEWS ..................... 10 Mesa lawmaker's bill bans classroom 'propaganda.'
Sunday, May 9, 2021
FREE ($1 OUTSIDE THE EAST VALLEY) | TheMesaTribune.com
Data centers becoming dominant force here BY TOM SCANLON Tribune Managing Editor
I
t may never rival Silicon Valley, but Mesa is fast becoming Data Center Alley. Several global companies are at various stages of plans to start crunching and storing data in southeast Mesa. Most people have heard of Google and Apple – RagingWire, not so much. And many around Mesa have heard Apple
already has a sprawling data center and Google is planning an even bigger one around southeast Mesa’s Elliot Technology Corridor, which runs along the north side of Eastmark. But while the secretive Google is taking its time on a project Mayor John Giles and Mesa City Council were crowing about two years ago, RagingWire is already building along Elliot Road. “Administrative approval” of plans paved the way for RagingWire/NTT to charge ahead.
In 2019, both companies signed agreements with Mesa. The Google site, set up as its own district with the code name “Project Red Hawk,” is 180 acres on Elliot and Sossaman roads, just west of the tech corridor. Mesa City Council excitedly approved the “game-changer” Google data center, which a presentation promised would bring the city $150 million in taxes over 25 years.
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Seniors ready for post-lockdown Mother’s Day
COMMUNITY ........... 17 4 Mesa students get ASU degrees.
BUSINESS ..............
21
Mesa business makes 'chimney cakes.' COMMUNITY ............................... 17 BUSINESS ..................................... 20 OPINION .. ..................................... 24 SPORTS ........................................ 26 GET OUT ...................................... 28 PUZZLES ...................................... 29 CLASSIFIED ................................. 31 Zone 1
BY TOM SCANLON Tribune Managing Editor
M
oms typically live longer than dads: On average, American men have a life expectancy of 76 years, with women living �ive years longer. So Mesa mothers like Edna Mae Troupa (four daughters) and Mary Lou Kipp (four sons) have to get used to sailing solo in their twilight years. While holidays like Mother’s Day are typically bright spots, this time last year, a raging COVID-19 pandemic dimmed celebrations. “I’m a farm girl and I’m kind of tough,” said Troupa, who could be called a real trooper. “I’m trying during the pandemic not to worry.” Kipp, who could be called a real pip, added, “We were really shut down. But the staff here is great. They made it possible for us to keep on.” The two friends live in nearby apartments at Fellowship Square Historic Mesa. Even when COVID-19 was tearing through senior facilities and killing many 75 and
Mary Lou Kipp, left, and Edna Mae Troupa are ready to celebrate Mother’s Day at Fellowship Square Historic Mesa, which has eased restrictions after nearly a year of lockdowns in the pandemic. (Pablo Robles/Tribune Staff Photographer) older, they were able to maintain some semblance of normal life; last Mother’s Day, nearby family members picked them up for
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