Homeless shelter uproar/ P. 6
GOP censures Bowers/ P. 3
INSIDE
Mesa braces for big water cuts in 2023
BY SCOTT SHUMAKER Tribune Staff Writer
NEWS ..................... 8 High school football championships to get live TV spots.
COMMUNITY ....... 16 How Mesa twins escaped deadly medical condition.
BUSINESS ............ 20 Wild Horse Pass eyes upping appeal to locals. COMMUNITY .............................. 16 BUSINESS ................................... 20 OPINION ..................................... 23 SPORTS ...................................... 25 GET OUT ...................................... 28 CLASSIFIED ............................... 31 ZONE 1
Sunday, July 24, 2022
FREE ($1 OUTSIDE THE EAST VALLEY) | TheMesaTribune.com
An edition of the East Valley Tribune
N
ew action announced by the federal government in June to keep water levels above critical levels in Lakes Powell and Mead may result in serious cuts to water supplies in Arizona cities beginning in 2023 – including Mesa. That’s earlier than many local water managers expected to see big hits to allocations from the Colorado River, even after alarming reports in April that a 23-year drought and
Food banks see rising demand, falling support
warming temperatures were dropping reservoir levels faster than predicted. In May, Mesa water officials told City Council they were anticipating a 4% reduction in Colorado River allocations for next year, which is just 2% of overall city supplies. But those predictions were upended in June, when federal officials told the Colorado Basin states they would have to collectively leave an additional 2 to 4 million-acre feet in Lakes Mead and Powell in 2023 and probably additional years. With that new emergency water savings,
Mesa’s hit to its water portfolio next year could be as high as 10%. Not only was the volume of water mandated by the Bureau of Reclamation high, but the turnaround time for action was short: it gave the states just 60 days to work out a plan among themselves for a January implementation of the cuts. Regional water officials from Western states are now huddled in closed-door negotiations to decide how to divvy up the new cuts. Their
Centenarian + 5
see WATER page 12
BY MARK MORAN Tribune Staff Writer
D
onations at Mesa food banks are down. Demand is up. Hope is at a premium. It would seem, though, that there is no lack of fear. “Being that we are part church, there are people who believe that we are looking at those end times,” said David Sauer, social services director for the Mesa Salvation Army on 6th Street. “It’s insane, honestly.” The Salvation Army in Mesa alone fed about 1,000 walk-ins in April. Last month, that number was closer to 3,500 people. They also distribute food boxes to anyone in need ev-
see FOOD page 10
At 105 years of age, Mesa resident Nora Leesley still maintains an active interest in politics and, in fact, wonders where her absentee ballot might be. After a hardscrabble life as a kid in Missouri, she eventually started her involvement in politics in Colorado, as you'll read on page 4. (David
Minton/Tribune Staff Photographer)
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