Monster industrial park/ P. 12
'The Cubes' coming / P. 18
An edition of the East Valley Tribune
FREE ($1 OUTSIDE THE EAST VALLEY) | TheMesaTribune.com
Sunday, October 3. 2021
An eviction ‘wave’ is washing over Mesa BY TOM SCANLON Tribune Managing Editor
NEWS ...................... 4 Mask mandate ban tossed, but optional policy remains.
L
ast month, the Supreme Court struck down a national ban on evictions and the Washington Post last week observed, “The feared eviction ‘tsunami’ has not yet happened.” And while Mesa may not be seeing a tsunami, a growing wave of evictions is menacing renters in all parts of the city. The West Mesa, East Mesa and North Mesa
Maricopa County Justice Court calendars were filled with eviction cases this week. Meanwhile, the city of Mesa’s Emergency Rental and Utility Assistance Program is struggling to keep up with a sharp increase in applications since the eviction moratorium ended last month. Mesa Community Services Director Ruth Giese said 1,216 applications were received in August, nearly double the 757 received in July. Another 561 applications were received in the first two weeks of September.
“The turnaround time to process applications has increased due to the increase of applications received,” Brandon said. She noted that once the $20 million ERAP limit is reached, “We will move right into the ERAP2 funding which is a total of $10.6 million for assistance.” A city website said 3,126 households had received assistance through ERAP. The city received 5,561 applications as of Wednesday,
see EVICTIONS page 6
Abused as a kid, he rides to give hope
SPORTS ............... 22 Mesa man helps disabled people play ball.
GETOUT .............. 24 Country western star rolling into East Valley. COMMUNITY ............................... 16 BUSINESS ..................................... 18 OPINION .. ..................................... 20 SPORTS ........................................ 22 GET OUT ...................................... 24 PUZZLES ...................................... 26 CLASSIFIED ................................. 27 Zone
1
BY TOM SCANLON Tribune Managing Editor
T
im Markison is a hyper-paced, quickminded sort who races through life and normally shoots off replies without hesitation. But, when asked if he considers himself to be lucky, there’s a long pause and a gear shift. It’s complicated. When you’re the victim of child abuse, life stops becoming a simple puzzle and becomes a convoluted, three-dimensional maze – inexplicable and unescapable. Even years later when they become adults in what appear to be “settled” lives, victims of child abuse can experience severe emotional, mental and even physical problems. According to one study, “Mental health problems associated with past histories of child abuse and neglect include personality disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder,
see BIKE RIDE page 10
Tim Markison, a successful businessman who is a patent attorney and founder of a golf shoe company, started a cross-country bike ride to raise awareness about child abuse. After starting his journey in San Diego last week, he plans to be in Mesa Monday morning, stopping at the Athalonz headquarters. (Special to the Tribune)
HOMETOWN SERVICE. NO BIG-BANK HASSLES. 480-807-7500 • WESTERNBANKS.COM
Member FDIC
