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Downtown gets a gem / P. 3
Mesa's pinball wizards / P. 31
An edition of the East Valley Tribune
Mesa spending millions on rent assistance
INSIDE
This Week
BY TOM SCANLON Tribune Managing Editor
NEWS ............................ 4 Mesa judge braces for eviction tsunami.
F
or those struggling to avoid eviction, it has been a roller coaster week. Sunday, after last-minute political �inger pointing, a federal moratorium on evictions that has been in place for more than a year expired. Two days later, just as landlords prepared to rush to courthouses to �ile eviction notices,
Convicted scammer faces tax charges
NEWS .........................
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Mesa Arts Academy gets "classroom of the future."
BUSINESS .................. 23 Mesa pet store offers legion of critters. COMMUNITY ............................... 21 BUSINESS ..................................... 23 OPINION .. ..................................... 27 SPORTS ........................................ 29 PUZZLES ...................................... 33 CLASSIFIED ................................. 34 Zone
Sunday, August 8. 2021
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the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced it will extend the eviction moratorium until Oct. 3. “Wow. I’m so happy,” Mesa Vice Mayor Jenn Duff said when the news was relayed to her. “It’ll give people time to avoid eviction.” There is plenty of federal money to do just that, the Biden Administration insisted as part of the political blame game. At a White House press conference, Press Secretary Jen Psaki stated, “there is enough
School daze
money out there for states across the country to extend the eviction moratorium from a state level, even without federal action … There’s a great deal — tens of billions of dollars — that can still be spent by states.” Psaki complained the process of helping renters impacted by the pandemic “is too slow.” Such is not the case in Mesa. Nationally, less than 10 percent of an esti
��� EVICTIONS ���� 6
BY TOM SCANLON Tribune Managing Editor
E
ric Bernard Jenkins is back in court under another federal complaint. Jenkins said the latest case threatens the existence of Streets of Joy, a nonprofit that runs a food bank and helps house homeless people. The Mesa businessman, who a decade ago �leeced the Federal Communications Commission and agreed to repay the federal agency nearly $500,000, is having more trouble with the government. This time, it’s the IRS. According to Brian Watson, an IRS spokesman, Jenkins was arrested last month and was released after a brief hearing, with his next court date Sept. 7 at the U.S. District Court in Phoenix. According to the indictment, Jenkins
��� JENKINS ���� 8
School began for some 60,000 Mesa Public Schools students this week. As the district posted on its Facebook page, “What an incredible first day of school! We are so excited to welcome students and staff to the 2021-22 school year.” (Pablo Robles/Staff photographer).
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