Mesa Tribune 100922 Zone 1

Big ballot to hit Mesa early voters’ mailboxes

BY SCOTT SHUMAKER Tribune Staff Writer

The massive Nov. 8 ballot will be gin arriving in Mesa early voters’ mailboxes this week and some lo cal contests share the spotlight with mar quee races like the ones for a new gover nor and the hotly contested U.S. Senate seat.

Along with races for all statewide of fices, 10 propositions and local represen tatives to Congress and the state Legisla ture, Mesa voters will be selecting can didates for one city council seat and two Mesa Public Schools Governing Board

Jenn Duff

Trista Guzman Glover

Mesa tightening the reins on short-term rentals

BY SCOTT SHUMAKER Tribune Staff Writer

The Mesa City Council will consider adopting new short-term rental rules Oct. 17 that would require rental owners to obtain a $250 license, submit local emergency contact informa tion and notify neighbors when a prop erty will be used as a short-term rental, among other new stipulations.

The proposed rules align with a state law passed in the last legislative session

granting cities more power to oversee short-term rentals. And they are similar to those recently adopted by Scottsdale City Council.

After preempting the authority of cit ies to regulate vacation rentals in 2016, the state Legislature has been slowly meting out powers back to local govern ments, following lobbying by cities and other stakeholders – balanced by lobby ing from vacation rental platforms like Airbnb and local owners.

The state’s latest short-term rental law

may be the most meaningful so far, giv ing cities for the first time since 2016 the power to license short-term rentals and suspend licenses for certain types of vio lations and repeat offenders.

Mesa intends to use its new powers, and council members generally support ed the proposed short-term rental ordi nance, which would go into effect Feb. 1, 2023.

Council members Kevin Thompson

Dawn Sanchez BC-HIS

Legendary Longbow course sold to Gilbert group for $8.9M

WARNING!

Mesa’s legendary Longbow Golf Club has been sold to a Gil bert owner-operator of three other daily-fee golf courses.

Daedalus Real Estate Advisors sold the 18-hole golf course at McDowell and Higley roads for $8.95 million to the Thompson Golf Group, which said it will retain its Troon affilia tion and related rewards programs. The deal included a down payment of $2,685,000 and two loans totaling just under $6.3 million, according to Valley real estate tracker vizzda.com.

Daedalus considers the 161.5acre course and award-winning 2,996-square-foot clubhouse/patio a centerpiece of its 330-acre mixeduse development. Built in 1997 and completely renovated six years later, the property also includes a 5,000-square-foot service garage.

Founded in 2020, Thompson Golf Group is also the owner/operator of Power Ranch Golf Club in Gilbert, Dove Valley Ranch Golf Club in Cave Creek, and Geneva Golf Club in Min nesota. It also manages the residentowned Sunland Springs Golf Club in Mesa.

“We are very excited about the ad dition of Longbow Golf Club to the portfolio. Longbow Golf Club has long been known for its excellent playing surfaces, amazing hospitality as well as its involvement and advancement in all levels of the game of golf,” said Thompson Managing Partner Ryan Thompson in a release.

“My team and I look forward to con tinuing these traditions, forging new ones, and welcoming all Longbow Golf Club customers to the Thompson Golf Group. I am also looking forward to

building our relationship with Troon and offering our customers all that Troon and Thompson Golf bring to the game.”

The course was built by the Mc Donnell Douglas Aircraft company and was named to evoke a medieval archer’s distance and accuracy. The name also was adopted as the name of the Apache Longbow helicopter, man ufactured by McDonnell Douglas in the plant later purchased by The Boe ing Company across the street from Longbow Business Park and Golf Club.

Longbow Golf Club is the center piece of Daedalus’ Longbow Business Park, which incorporates office, light industrial, retail, hotel and residential uses.

The golf club also includes a large practice facility, private and group instruction facilities, a contemporary clubhouse with a spacious outdoor event patio and The Grille at Longbow Golf Club restaurant and bar.

It hosts the Fisher Bryan Golf Acad emy year round, plus the First TeePhoenix, as well as tournaments for the Junior Golf Association of Arizona, American Junior Golf Association, Ari zona Golf Association, NCAA, USGA, and LPGA. The club has also spon sored multiple junior, collegiate, ama teur and professional golf events, plus charity and community outings.

Led by General Manager Bob Mc Nichols, Longbow Golf Club Associ ates purchased the existing golf club from the Boeing Company in 2001. McNichols commissioned original course architect Ken Kavanaugh to lead a total course renovation and expansion, which was completed in 2003.

PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY AND CHRONIC PAIN TREATMENTS NOT WORKING!!

Mesa, AZ – When it comes to chronic pain and/ or neuropathy, the most common doctor-prescribed treatment is drugs like Gabapentin, Lyrica, Cymbalta, and Neurontin. The problem with antidepressants or anti-seizure medications like these is that they offer purely symptomatic relief, as opposed to targeting and treating the root of the problem. Worse, these drugs often trigger an onset of uncomfortable, painful, and sometimes harmful side effects.

The only way to effectively treat chronic pain and/or peripheral neuropathy is by targeting the source, which is the result of nerve damage owing to inadequate blood flow to the nerves in the hands and feet. This often causes weakness, numbness, balance problems. A lack of nutrients causes the nerves degenerate – an insidious

cannot survive, and thus, slowly die. This leads to those painful and frustrating consequences we were talking about earlier, like weakness, numbness, tingling, balance issues, and perhaps even a burning sensation.

The drugs your doctor might prescribe will temporarily conceal the problems, putting a “Band-Aid” over a situation that will only continue to deteriorate without further action.

Thankfully, Mesa is the birthplace of a brandnew facility that sheds new light on this pressing problem of peripheral neuropathy and chronic pain. The company is trailblazing the medical industry by replacing outdated drugs and symptomatic reprieves with an advanced machine that targets the root of the problem at hand.

1. Finding the underlying cause

2. Determining the extent of the nerve damage (above 95% nerve loss is rarely treatable)

3. The amount of treatment required for the patient’s unique condition

Aspen Medical in Mesa, AZ uses a state-of-the-art electric cell signaling systems worth $100,000.00.

Th is ground-breaking treatment is engineered to achieve the following, accompanied by advanced diagnostics and a basic skin biopsy to accurately analyze results:

1. Increases blood flow

2. Stimulates and strengthens small fiber nerves

3. Improves brain-based pain

The treatment works by delivering energy to the affected area(s) at varying wavelengths, from low- to middle-frequency signals, while also using Amplitude Modulated (AM) and Frequency Modulated (FM) signaling.

It’s completely painless!

THE GREAT NEWS IS THAT THIS TREATMENT IS COVERED BY MEDICARE, MEDICAID, AND MOST INSURANCES!!

The number of treatments required varies from patient to patient, and can only be determined following an in-depth neurological and vascular examination. As long as you have less than 95% nerve damage, there is hope!

Aspen Medical begins by analyzing the extent of the nerve damage –a complimentary service for your friends and family. Each exam comprises a detailed sensory evaluation, extensive peripheral vascular testing, and comprehensive analysis of neuropathy findings.

Aspen Medical will be offering this free chronic pain and neuropathy severity evaluation will be available until October 31st 2022. Call (480) 274 3157 to make an appointment

Due to our very busy office schedule, we are limiting this offer to the first 10 c allers. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SUFFER ANOTHER MINUTE, CALL (480) 274 3157 NOW!!

We are extremely busy, so we are unavailable, please leave a voice message and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

As displayed in figure 1 above, the nerves are surrounded by diseased, withered blood vessels. A lack of sufficient nutrients means the nerves

Effective neuropathy treatment relies on the following three factors:

Aspen Medical 4540 E. Baseline Rd., Suite 119 Mesa, AZ, 85206

Depending on your coverage, your peripheral neuropathy treatment could cost almost nothing – or be absolutely free.

The Mesa Tribune is published every Sunday and distributed free of charge to homes and in single-copy locations throughout the East Valley.

Times Media Group: 1900 W. Broadway Road Tempe, AZ 85282

CONTACT INFORMATION

Main number: 480-898-6500 | Advertising: 480-898-5624

Circulation service: 480-898-5641

Publisher: Steve T. Strickbine

Vice President: Michael Hiatt

ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT

Senior Account Sales:

Ryan Brown | 480-898-6482 | rbrown@TimesLocalMedia.com

Local Advertising Sales: Chris Ross | 480-898-5649 | cross@TimesLocalMedia.com

Classifieds/Inside Sales: Elaine Cota | 480-898-7926 | ecota@TimesLocalMedia.com

TJ Higgins 480-898-5902 | tjhiggins@TimesLocalMedia.com

Director of National Advertising: Zac Reynolds | 480-898-5603 | zac@TimesLocalMedia.com

NEWS DEPARTMENT

Executive Editor: Paul Maryniak 480-898-5647 pmaryniak@TimesLocalMedia.com

Staff Writers: Josh Ortega | 480-898-5610 jortega@TimesLocalMedia.com Scott Shumaker | 480-898-5634 sshumaker@TimesLocalMedia.com Josh Ortega | 480-898-615 | jortega@TimesLocalMedia.com

Sports Editor: Zach Alvira | 480-898-5630 | zalvira@TimesLocalMedia.com

Get Out Editor: Christina Fuoco-Karasinski | 480-641-4518 christina@TimesLocalMedia.com

Photographer: David Minton | dminton@TimesLocalMedia.com

Designer: Nathalie Proulx | nproulx@TimesLocalMedia.com Production Coordinator: Courtney Oldham | 480-898-5617 production@TimesLocalMedia.com

CIRCULATION Circulation Director Aaron Kolodny | aaron@phoenix.org Distribution Manager Brian Juhl | brian@TimesLocalMedia.com

Kavanaugh’s second edition of Long bow Golf Club exceeded the length,

design and playability of the course’s previous iteration and has been called “The Essence of Arizona Golf.”

The clubhouse and patio at Long

bow Golf Club were recently honored as a “Top 50 Clubhouse in the U.S.” and a “Top 10 Golf Club Patio in the U.S.” by Club + Resort Business Magazine.

The

It’s a free party and you’re invited!

CenterWell Senior Primary Care™ is now open in Groves! Come to our free Grand Opening party to learn about primary care centered on seniors, tour the new center, meet the Care Team and socialize with local seniors. We’ll have music, food, prizes and more.*

Everyone is invited to celebrate!

Meet the physician

Take a tour of the center and get a FREE treat from a local food truck

Play bingo

Groves

Grand Opening

Wednesday, October 19th, 2022 10am - 1pm 63 N. Greenfield Rd., Suite 108 Mesa, AZ 85205

Prize drawings every 20 minutes*

Enjoy music and more

RSVP for you and a friend today Call 602-755-2153 or visit SeniorFocusedPhoenix.com Monday - Friday, 8am - 5pm

accepted

CenterWell is Medicare Advantage friendly. We accept Aetna, Alignment Healthcare, Centene-WellCare, Cigna and Humana Medicare Advantage plans.

us @CenterWellPrimaryCare

learn about activities and events.

CenterWell does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability or sex. ATENCIÓN: Si habla español, tiene a su disposición servicios gratuitos de asistencia lingüística. Llame al 1-877-320-2188 (TTY: 711). 注意：如果 使用繁體中文， 可以免費獲得語言援助服務。請致電 1-877-320-2188 (TTY: 711).

*No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Must be 18+ and a legal resident of the U.S.; CenterWell and Humana employees, family, and household not eligible. Prize drawing for $10 gift card. Subject to O cial Rules, available at 63 N. Greenfield Rd., Suite 108, Mesa, AZ 85205. GHHLDXVEN

and Mark Freeman told staff they wouldn’t mind seeing higher fines than those currently proposed, which are $500 for a first violation, $1,000 for a second and $2,000 for a third.

“I wish the penalties were a little stiffer because people are making a mint off of these things,” Thompson said. “Your $500 for somebody mis behaving is a drop in the bucket be cause that’s basically like not even one-night rental.”

State law sets a maximum fine for a third violation at $3,500. A Mesa city official told council members the city’s proposed fine schedule is in the middle of the pack compared to what other cities are implementing.

The new requirements would apply to all short-term rentals, whether all or part of a residence is rented out.

ting some power back into the cities to manage these because it has been an issue in District 6,” Thompson told city staff and council members.

“I had a person send me a video from a party house that was across the street from his where there was a motorcycle gang showed up. There

was like 12 Harleys parked in the driveway, the garage door went up, the keg came out, the stereo came on, and they literally were partying in the

front yard and in the garage,” he said.

The proposed new rules have a pro vision that could help address inci dents like these: Owners must have an emergency contact who can re spond to a residence within an hour if requested by law enforcement.

This is tougher than previous state law, which empowered cities to col lect emergency contact information but without the time requirement.

Vacation rental data provided to the Tribune by data service AirDNA shows 1,334 short-term rentals in Mesa.

City staff estimated 2,000 to 3,000 short-term rentals in the Mesa, but they said the number is difficult to assess because rental platforms like Airbnb and VRBO are not required to disclose information on individual renters – even though they remit tax es for the rentals to the city. According to AirDNA, Mesa’s short-term rentals are spread all over the city, but some ZIP codes have significantly higher

Medical

Brandon

numbers than others, especially in far west and northeast Mesa.

Councilman Francisco Heredia, who represents parts of the city with higher concentrations of rentals, ap proved of the updated city code on vacation rentals.

“Some of these are investor homes that are just being rented out contin uously, and there’s no ability to reach whoever owns that property, and so I think this is an opportunity for us to at least have some rules, some guide lines,” he said.

If Council adopts the ordinance with the licensing requirement, Mesa could only deny a short-term rental li cense for narrow reasons outlined by state law: Failure to provide applica tion information, having a suspended license for the property, providing false information, or if the owner or designee is a convicted sex offender or convicted of certain felonies in the last five years.

If a licensee racks up three viola

tions within a 12-month period, the city can suspend the license for 12 months.

The city can issue a suspension im mediately for certain serious offenses committed by the owner, including: a felony offense at or in the vicinity of the rental, serious physical injury or wrongful death at or related to the rental and knowingly renting the unit in violation of the prohibited uses.

Short-term rental owners will also be required to notify neighbors living within 200 feet of the rental that the unit is being used as a vacation rental.

“You know, I just wouldn’t want to live around a short-term rental,” Free man said, adding that so far it has not been a major problem in District 1.

But Freeman mentioned that might be changing.

“I was speaking with a zoning attor ney. There’s a developer who wants to build about 26 vacation rental homes and VRBO homes in my district. So that is coming, potentially,” Freeman said.

He's describing a plan to build

short-term rentals together in one place so theres less disturbance to neighbors.

Visit Mesa President and CEO Marc Garcia told the Economic Develop ment Advisory Board in August that he was approached by a California developer interested in buying 144 homes in southeast Mesa to use as short-term rentals.

A city attorney told council mem bers this month that the city does not have the power to prevent residential properties from being used as vaca tion rentals.

e-mail

digital

edition

Easy-To-Read Digital Edition

New York City quality Mesa price!

seats.

They also must weigh in on four lo cal ballot measures.

In the hunt for District 4 council seat, which covers downtown and cen tral Mesa, incumbent Jenn Duff is fac ing off with challenger Trista Guzman Glover in a runoff after Duff fell short of the 50% needed to win in the Pri mary Election.

Incumbent Duff is a former pro bass fisher who owns a fishing tackle im port business.

On council, Duff has supported the city’s downtown revitalization initia tives and championed public safety and environmental issues, advocating for the Mesa Climate Action Plan and urging caution about approving new water-intensive projects.

She’s also asserted her vision of di verse housing options in Mesa, push ing for projects with a balance be tween rental and for-sale units, and mixed styles of housing.

Guzman Glover, a former director of

constituent services and boards and commissions for Gov. Doug Ducey’s of fice, is a new mom taking her first run at elected office.

Her campaign has centered on fam ily, public safety and business-friendly city policies.

“In order for Mesa to grow, we need to empower our small businesses with the tools necessary to be successful,” her campaign website states, promis ing to cut red tape at the city level.

Guzman Glover has picked up two key endorsements that overlap with her stated priorities: the Mesa Police Association and the Mesa Chamber of Commerce.

Duff has endorsements from Mayor John Giles and three other current council members, as well as United Mesa Firefighters, Equality Arizona and several Hispanic community lead ers.

The other two open council seats were settled in the Primary. In Dis trict 5, corporate attorney Alicia Go forth clinched the seat of term-limited David Luna in an uncontested race,

and former firefighter and two-term council member Scott Somers won the District 6 seat of term-limited Kevin Thompson outright with 58% of the vote in a contest with small business owner Darla Trendler.

Thompson is leaving council, but voters will still find his name farther up the ballot, as one of the Republican nominees for two open seats on the Arizona Corporation Commission.

The race between Duff and Guzman Glover could be consequential because the city has put millions of dollars be hind igniting a downtown renaissance, and work remains on achieving the vi sion of a culturally and economically powerful “innovation district.”

The next District 4 council member could be influential in shaping that transformation.

For example, the redevelopment of the vacant 27-acre Transform 17, now “Nexus,” is a historic boondoggle that the city has high hopes for redevelop ing as a mixed-use campus in the near future.

That project has been delayed and

will only get harder to bring to fruition as interest rates rise and the economy cools, as many are predicting.

Ballot measures

Mesa voters will also have four bal lot measures to consider.

Money is a common thread, and when council members called elec tions for the measures this summer, they also framed these money mea sures in terms of their importance for public safety.

Question 1 asks voters to approve the Home Rule option for city budget’s rather than the State Expenditure Limit, which restricts the city budget based on a formula using inflation and population growth created in 1980.

Voters must vote on Home Rule ev ery four years.

Not allowing Home Rule would re quire the city to slash its budget by an estimated $825 million. The city says its budget far exceeds the State Expen diture Limit because the limit doesn’t

Lorena Austin & Seth Blattman

Working for our public schools, protecting women’s rights

& putting people over politics.

take into account bonds or voter ap proved taxes, like Mesa’s Public Safety Sales Tax increase passed in 2018.

Question 2 asks voters to approve a $157 million bond issue for public safety infrastructure, including the building or rebuilding of three fire sta tions, a revamp of the Police Depart ment headquarters, and upgrades to the evidence building public safety training facility.

The last time voters approved bonds for public safety, in 2018, they signed off on $84.8 million for police and fire out of a total $196 million package in cluding parks, cultural amenities and shared use paths.

City Manager Chris Brady told Coun cil this summer that staff estimates the new financing would cost taxpayers about $43 a year in additional second ary property taxes.

The new fire stations in the plan will help the city fill “gap” areas in the city with slower emergency response times than other parts of the city iden

tified in a March 2022 analysis of re sponse data.

Mayor John Giles signaled strong support, saying that he thought exist ing public safety facilities were “over utilized,” and more space for the police and fire departments was justified.

“With the growth of our community, I think any reasonable voter that looks into this thing is going to support it,” Giles said.

Proposition 476 would exclude sworn public safety employees from the city charter’s current prohibition on collective bargaining with employ ees or employee groups. City officials said Mesa is the only city with this pro hibition in Arizona.

If passed, Prop 476 would allow the city manager to meet, confer and enter into memorandums of under standings regarding wages, hours, non-health-related benefits, and working conditions not covered un der city personnel rules or state and federal laws.

The final measure, Prop 477, would amend the city charter to allow the

city council to set by a simple council vote the dollar limit above which ex penditures need council approval.

Currently, the Mesa City Charter requires any expenditures above $25,000 to receive council approval. City staff told council this is on the lower end of thresholds across the Val ley.

Prop 477 would keep the $25,000 threshold, but allow future councils to change it via vote rather than ballot proposition.

MPS Governing Board

Seven candidates are vying for two open seats on the Mesa Public Schools Governing Board. Board President Jenny Richardson is stepping down and the seat held by current member Marcie Hutchinson is up for reelection.

Hutchinson is running for a second term, and the other candidates vying for the two seats are Ray Deer, Chris Hamlet, Jacob Martinez, Ed Steele, Ra chel Walden and J. R. Wright.

An officially non-partisan race, school boards races this year have

been colored by the intense of rivalries and high stakes of the partisan races up the ballot

MPS, the state’s largest school dis trict, is still trying to recover from stu dent achievement setbacks from the pandemic and is looking to improve outcomes while battling labor short ages and historic inflation.

Scores on math and language on state tests, resumed for Arizona students last year after a skipped year due to the pandemic, were dis appointing for MPS in some areas, and graduation rates are at historic lows.

The candidates introduced them selves and answered questions about school safety and growing achieve ment at two candidate forums held at the MPS Curriculum Services build ing this fall, and they are available for viewing on the district’s YouTube channel.

Below are candidate introductions with quotes from candidate forums.

FOR THE NOVEMBER GENERAL ELECTION

Ray Deer

Deer, a former MPS teacher at Fre mont and Taylor Junior Highs, said he is running for the governing board be cause “I believe experience matters.”

Deer noted that he has previously served as vice chair and secretary of the education board for Salt River Schools. He said that smaller class siz es and eliminating toxic environments would help close achievement gaps in the district.

“I also want to bring common sense governance back to the board. I believe that parents and guardians should not be shut out and that we as board mem bers would have to listen to them,” he said.

Chris Hamlet

Hamlet is a former airborne medic in the U.S. Army. He is a single parent to two kids who have attended MPS.

He said he is running because “I want to protect my son and all the children in this community from being

indoctrinated.”

“I believe we should eliminate po litically and philosophically charged teaching practices and customs such as Critical Theory and its progeny such as Critical Race Theory or Critical Gen der Theory,” he said.

Hamlet says he wants to get “mental health and wellness” programs out of school to focus on academics. He also wants to get rid of the district’s Por trait of a Graduate goals, which have “no tangible educational value.”

Hamlet regularly attends board meetings and described presentations by district staff during meetings as “political theater.”

Marcie Hutchinson

Hutchinson retired from MPS in 2007 after 31 years of teaching Ameri can and European history in New York and Arizona.

Hutchinson was elected to the MPS governing board in 2018, and cur rently serves on several other boards, including the Arizona Council for His tory Education.

She said she is running for reelection because “I believe that every student deserves a great public education in a safe and healthy school, and that every student must be engaged in meaning ful, real life learning that meets their strengths and needs.”

She supports the district’s current Portrait of a Graduate goals and said “students need to be taught how to get along and see each other as part of a society.”

To help close achievement gaps, Hutchinson would like to help teach ers focus on instruction by adding more social workers, counselors and nurses to schools.

Hutchinson has a broad coalition of endorsements, including the mayor and entire city council except Kevin Thompson. They also include the Mesa Chamber of Commerce, Save Our Schools Arizona and the Mesa Educa tion Association.

Jacob Martinez

Martinez is an MPS graduate and Mesa native who is a small business

owner and student at Arizona State University studying political science.

Martinez said he is running for the board “to represent my community, which is a Mesa community, because we need to put service over anything else in Mesa and make sure that Mesa Public Schools is the premier place to be no matter what walk of life.”

He said “there’s nothing more im portant than listening to the commu nity,” and said fostering positive envi ronments in MPS would help increase school safety.

He wants to reduce class sizes and give teachers more professional learn ing time to enhance lesson quality.

Martinez is one of two candidates in the race to be named a “Public School Proud” candidate by the nonprofit group Save Our Schools Arizona.

Ed Steele

Steele is a retired manufacturing business owner who is running be cause “It’s time for a new perspective

area.

Despite reforms, county pounds still under fire

BY CECILIA CHAN Tribune Staff Writer

at the top that is qualified to train these people.”

Maricopa

County Animal Care and Control is facing a critical overload of dogs and is taking steps to alleviate the overcrowding.

But a petition circulating online con tends the county is not doing enough to protect the canines who are there.

The shelters in Phoenix and Mesa were housing a combined 855 animals in 755 kennels, which meant some dogs were sharing space in one kennel. MCACC also has added 50 temporary kennel spaces outside the West shelter facility in Phoe nix with evaporative coolers to make dogs as comfortable as possible.

“The two shelters have been at critical capacity for months,” said Kim Powell, shelter spokeswoman.

To address this, the county is waiving adoption fees on most animals, holding free adoption events through the rest of the year and increasing efforts to reunite owners with lost pets.

MCACC also has an Assistance Pro gram, which helps owners with financial difficulties keep their pets with subsi dized shelter fees, spay/neuter surgery, licensing, and rabies vaccinations. Since July 1, the program has helped return 149 animals to their owners and steril ized 102 animals.

“We cannot address this from within the shelter system alone,” said shelter Director Michael Mendel. “We need sup port directly from the community where animal homelessness begins, which is why we do everything we can to partner with the community.”

But retired school teacher and animal advocate Lorena Bader is circulating a petition on change.org demanding the county change its practices at the two shelters.

Bader complains that MCACC fails to provide proper medical and behavior care to animals, harbors a hostile work environment that has resulted in low morale and a high-turnover of staff.

Bader criticizes the county for ending the animal behavior team, pointing to a deadly consequence in June because of

that action.

A veterinarian employed at the shelter for nine years was mauled by a dog “ex hibiting signs of extreme kennel deterio ration,” according to Bader.

“As a result of the attack, both the vet who was attacked and another vet re signed immediately,” Bader said. “One of the vets had previously emailed HR about her safety concerns following the dissolution of the behavior team.”

The dog, Kronk, was taken to an office because “he was hyper-salivating, chas ing his tail, and self-harming in his ken nel,” according to Bader.

Shelters are advised to use alterna tives to traditional care housing such as a foster care, or office foster care for ani mals staying long term, according to the Association of Shelter Veterinarians,

“Since this incident, we have adjusted our practices to ensure staff safety,” Pow ell said. “We are always trying to balance our desire to find good outcomes for all dogs with our public safety responsibil ity.”

Jennifer Bryan, founder and president of Alone No more Dog rescue, is another critic of the county shelter. The nonprof it, formed in 2020, pulls the dogs with behavioral issues off the county’s e-list.

Bryan said there’s a night-and-day dif

ference now that the behavioral team no longer exists.

“I’ve overloaded my entire rescue be cause they are not doing their job,” she said. “So right now, the dogs aren’t being worked with and they are being sched uled to be euthanized when it’s unnec essary.

“These dogs are scheduled to be eu thanized because there is no behavioral team any more. None of these dogs have the chance to be pulled out alive.”

According to Bryan, the owner-sur rendered dogs on the kill list are actually the easiest to work with.

“If you put a dog in a shelter, it would be cowering in the corner scared of ran dom people because it’s lived with you their whole life,” she said. “Those types of dogs are not adjusting to their envi ronment. Those are the ones scheduled to be euthanized.”

According to county data, owners sur rendered 589 dogs in 2021.

Fewer euthanizations

Bryan further claimed that no one is left in the shelter who knows how to as sess the behavior of a dog.

“People are coming in and applying for jobs whether they have experience or not,” Bryan said. “And there’s no one up

She pointed to the dogs her nonprofit rescued from euthanasia.

“I have people who are new that are able to take them out,” she said. “Why is that? Why can’t their staff not work with them? Yet, we give them a little time and they are perfect.”

When asked for the numbers for dogs euthanized for behavioral issues when the behavioral team was in place com pared with after when the group was disbanded, Powell responded, “Our save rate has been over 95% for the entire time.”

According to the most recent data, the shelter’s August save rate was 95.76%. Of the 1,628 pets that entered the shel ter, 954 were adopted, 279 transferred to partner organizations and 171 re turned to owners that month.

For August, the 2022 year-to-date save rate was 95.96%, the county said.

Overall, the number of dogs eutha nized in the county shelter is a marked improvement from 2016, when 4,211 dogs were euthanized. In 2021, 537 were euthanized.

“That in itself is a good number but it doesn’t tell the story behind the scene,” Bader said. “They use that number to ba sically cover for everything else – you’re warehousing dogs that go crazy because they are stuck in cages days on end.”

And, Bryan claimed the county’s high save rate is due to the efforts of her non profit and about 10 other rescues.

“My rescue and other rescues if you look at our numbers have exponentially increased because there are so many more dogs scheduled to be euthanized,” Bryan said. “And we are doing our best to save them all.”

According to the county, the shelter in 2021 transferred 2,624 animals to part ner organizations, 3,634 in 2020 and 5,494 in 2019.

Year over year the county shelter’s save rate has been the same but “mov ing forward their save rate is going to be drastically different” because the

A sign outside the Maricopa County East Valley Animal Care Center shows the capacity of the shelter in Mesa few weeks ago. (David Minton/Tribune Staff Photographer)

nonprofit rescues are all full, Bryan pre dicted.

John Doherty, who’s been fighting for reforms at the shelter since Rodrigo Silva was the director, agreed that the nonprofits are doing all the heavy lifting.

“If not for the rescue units, those dogs would be put down constantly,” said Doherty, who started the Vets for Pets program.

Doherty, who said he is persona non grata at the county shelter but still has contacts there, insisted that botched surgeries are still going on.

He claimed that a dog recently bled out in a kennel after the sutures came undone. Bader also in her petition pro vided examples of dogs that died after their surgical procedures, including one who “internally bled out after surgery.”

“These claims are false,” Powell said. “Animals are receiving proper medical care from trained vets.”

County insists staffing is OK

The county also responded to criti cism that the shelter is woefully under staffed and therefore unable to provide for all the care the animals need.

Powell said three veterinarians and nine veterinarian technicians are cur rently on staff. The county has job post ings for a chief veterinarian and a veteri narian, she said.

“There is a current job posting to at tract additional staff,” she said. “Our shelter is not unique in this way. Many, if not all, local animal rescue organizations are struggling to find and hire veterinar ians.”

Powell added that the department has worked with the Board of Supervisors to increase pay rates and with Human Resources to target veterinary schools to recruit more people to work in the county shelters.

“It is challenging, but our results for the past eight months tell the story,” Powell said. “We are finding positive outcomes for more than 95% of animals. This is despite the number of animals and lack of medical history when they enter the shelter.”

SPORTSBOOK

FOOD • SPIRITS

Nonprofit rescues are trying to help the county alleviate crowding. Rescues also help when they can to provide other services. For example, Gilbert-based Friends For Life Rescue held a chip-athon last weekend, during which Infinity Hill brought Kohana, who was scanned for chips by Tina Sexton. (David Minton/Tribune Staff Photographer)

Powell noted that there are over 160 employees on staff, most of whom work with animals in some context.

And, there are a total of 405 volun teers at MCACC, she said.

A 2015 report by a county ad hoc task force recommended at the time the hir ing of six more veterinarians and six vet erinary technicians to supplement the then-current staffing of five veterinar ians and 14 vet techs. The report, how ever, pointed to industry standards of 13 vets and 45 vet techs for an operation the size of the county’s.

Other recommendations included measures to improve the overall medical treatment to animals and the quality of behavioral assessments such as provid ing more education and instituting an in-kennel enrichment program to help offset behavioral deterioration from be ing in a shelter environment, which was in progress, according to the report.

Some of the recommendations were not implemented because they were not practical financially or from a staffing

standpoint, Powell said.

But “many of the task force’s recom mendations were implemented success fully,” she said. “That’s how we were able to improve our live release rate from less than 70% to the current live release rate of 95%-plus.”

Hostile work environment

The shelter has trouble retaining em ployees, said detractors, attributing that partly to a hostile work environment.

“There are not enough people who want to work in that environment,” Bryan said. “It’s hostile. They feel upper management is disrespectful to them.

“So they work for other shelters and rescues and everyone keeps abandon ing Maricopa County. They ran out vol unteers and ran out staff members and I know that personally because people come to us and want to work with us.”

The fiscal year 2021 county data showed a 61% turnover rate for animal control officers, 67% for shelter techni cians and 31% for animal health techni

Volunteer Sarah Loman hands out treats to Hawkeye, an American Bulldog/Great Dane mix, at the Maricopa County West Valley Animal Care Center in Phoenix. (David Minton/Tribune Staff Photographer)

cians.

Notes from shelter employee exit interviews in late 2021 included com ments of feeling unappreciated, a stress ful environment and burnout.

Powell said she can’t speak to the man agement under the previous director.

“People leave jobs for many reasons,” Powell said. “Despite our increase in pay, some organizations pay more. Workers have many options for their skills in the current environment.”

She also discounted claims of a toxic work environment.

“We don’t agree with that assessment,” she said. “Some former staff members do not like that our leadership team now holds every staff member accountable, including for disparaging remarks made on social media.

“Current leadership has an open-door policy to talk with staff. Additionally, staff members are also recognized for their hard work in emails and during the morning meeting.”

Bader said she started the petition to bring awareness to the public and insist ed that county superiors have turned a deaf ear to the issue.

County slams critic

County spokesman Fields Moseley said that over the past five years, Bader has had multiple meetings, phone calls and a significant volume of written cor respondence with high-level county of ficials.

Moseley painted Bader as a fired vol unteer determined on revenge, filing over 250 records requests since 2020 as a part of that effort.

“The points raised by Ms. Bader on change.org are not new,” he said. ““Dur ing these years, her ideas and opinions about Animal Care and Control have not evolved, and the discussions have not been productive for the County or its residents.

“The correspondence increased after she was dismissed as a volunteer in Au gust 2019 for trying to disrupt Animal Care operations and denigrating em ployees on a social media platform.”

He said Bader filed a notice of claim in December 2019 with the intent to sue

for $300,000 but that never material ized.

He also said that supervisors continu ally support improvements at Animal Care and Control and in August ap proved $1.4 million to help the organi zation connect pet owners with other services that might prevent them from surrendering their dog or cat for finan cial reasons.

“Animal Care and Control has a dif ficult mission to treat and care for hun dreds of dogs and cats on any given day while making every attempt to adopt those animals into loving homes,” Mose ley said.

Due to the current overcrowding, MCACC is asking the public to exhaust every option before making an appoint ment to bring stray animals to its shel ters.

It has been proven that the quick est owned pet reunions begin with inneighborhood methods such as posted

paper flyers and local social media pag es, according to shelter officials. The county also recommends the fol lowing:

• Take found stray animal to a local vet erinarian for microchip scanning. If the pet is chipped this will begin the reunion process.

• Add the pet to MCACC’s Lost & Found interactive pet map at https://www. maricopa.gov/162/Lost-Found-Pet.

• If the pet is not chipped, call 602-506PETS to make a stray surrender ap pointment.

• For those who want to help in person, consider volunteering to work directly within the shelter with dedicated shel ter teams.maricopa.gov/294/Volun teer.

• If people have capacity in their homes to foster shelter animals, reach out to a reputable animal welfare organization or to the MCACC atmaricopa.gov/296/ Foster.

• Donate to any local animal welfare or ganization that provides free or low cost spay/neuter, microchipping, and licensing activities to stop this issue where it starts.

New shelter offers hope

A big help for the overcrowding will be the new East Shelter currently under construction at Baseline Road and Lewis Drive in Mesa.

The Board of Supervisors in May 2021 voted to spend $36 million to build the shelter, expected to open in early 2024.

The new facility boasts 51,000 square feet of gross interior conditioned space with 369 kennels for dogs and 63 for cats, according to Powell.

The current East Valley shelter is 29,555 square feet while the West shel ter is 62,350 square feet, she said.

What to do with the current east shel ter when the new one opens hasn’t been determined yet, according to Powell.

Tuna, an American Staffordshire terrier, and Alexis, a Brindle American pit bull terrier, share a kennel at the Maricopa County West Valley Animal Care Center in Phoenix. (David Minton/Tribune Staff Photographer)

and new problem-solving skills on this board.”

He touts his background in engineer ing outside of the “education space” as a valuable addition to the board.

Steele said that increased “disci pline” would increase school safety.

On school funding, he said “There’s no shortage of money, but we have an allocation problem.”

Steele thinks the district has over burdened teachers, and he would get rid of social emotional learning and focus on academics.

Steele is an outspoken critic on so cial media of accommodations for transgender students, equating trans gender identity with “suffering from a mental illness.”

Steele is endorsed by the Republican Liberty Caucus of Arizona, the Arizona Free Enterprise Club and other organi zations.

Rachel Walden

Walden says she is a “Mesa mom,” and she decided to run last year be cause “I was really concerned about what I was seeing with the kids in my community, the learning loss that we experienced. We had so many students that were not performing at their grade level.”

She said she wants to “bring our fo cus back to academics” on the board.

Walden said that academic achieve ment builds confidence in students and would solve many problems the district is facing, from school safety to achievement gaps.

Her campaign website states, “Po litical agendas and ‘Critical Theories’ have no place in our taxpayer funded education. The curriculum and pro grams infiltrating our schools are founded on Marxist principles with the end goal to fundamentally trans form America.”

“I’m also running to help restore and

bring back American history, educa tion and strong civics education, as this can unite us all as Americans with a common interest in upholding the dignity and freedom of everyone,” she said during a candidate forum.

Walden is one of two MPS board can didates endorsed by the Arizona chap ter of the Republican Liberty Caucus, as well as Free Enterprise Club and other organizations and Mesa council member Kevin Thompson.

J.R. Wright

Wright, a Mesa business owner, said he is running because “I’m a proud graduate of Mesa Public Schools. I had an amazing experience in the public school system that shaped my life.”

Wright is the father of seven kids who have been in the MPS system, in cluding three still attending.

He’s been involved in MPS as the booster club president, and sees serv ing on the board as “another great way to give public service and to make

Mesa Public Schools the best that they can be.”

Wright said students need to feel safe on campus and “community part nerships” between MPS and other or ganizations like the City of Mesa and local companies can help the district close achievement gaps.

Wright has picked up a slew of en dorsements, including current board president Richardson, Mesa Mayor John Giles, and Mesa council members Mark Freeman and Julie Spilsbury.

Chris Hamlet

Rachel Walden

Ray Deer

Jacob Martinez

Marcie Hutchinson

J.R. Wright

New sports institute opens in East Mesa

ticipated in gymnastics since she was 4.

An

Army veteran and a college gymnast walked into a physical therapist’s office and walked out with a new business idea.

And as a result, Arizona Performance officially opened its 5,600-square-foot sports performance facility in East Mesa on Oct. 1.

Founders Dr. Julie Cortina and Larry Ortega know the importance of physical fitness and what the human body can ac complish.

But, make no mistake, their facility isn’t the typical run-of-the-mill physical therapy establishment.

“We’re experts on the body and how the body moves,” Cortina said. “And so, we can use that to guide people.”

Cortina, head of clinical operations, moved to Arizona at age 12 and had par

That dedication earned her a full-ride scholarship to the University of Minne sota, where she earned a degree in sport management.

Upon returning to Arizona, she be came a personal trainer and eventually realized her calling to earn her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from A.T. Still University in Mesa.

Ortega, head of operations, has more than 25 years of golf experience that were interrupted between 2004 and 2009 by tours of duty to Iraq and Af ghanistan during his time with the Ar my’s 101st Airborne Division.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in ex ercise and wellness from Arizona State University and an associate degree in the physical therapy assistant program at Carrington College.

SPORTS INSTITUTE

3 EV authors to discuss YA vampire tales

BY JOSH ORTEGA Tribune Staff Writer BY PAUL MARYNIAK Tribune Executive Editor

'Tis

the season to be scary and two popular Gilbert authors of young adult fiction are teaming up with a counterpart in Ahwatukee this Friday to discuss one of the more – par don the pun– immortal characters in the horror genre.

Vampires.

All three have written novels around bloodsuckers, and Gilbert authors Su zanne Young and Kelly deVos will be moderating a discussion with Erin Jade Lange, who just published her sixth and first vampire novel, “Mere Mortals.”

DeVos and Young also will discuss their forays into vampire lore for the

under-21 set during the free session at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14, at Changing Hands Bookstore, 6428 S. McClintock Drive on the southwest corner of Guadalupe Road, Tempe.

Lange, the nom de plume used by Erin Helm, communications executive direc tor for Kyrene School District and a for mer local television journalist, wrote what’s basically a coming-of-age novel with a twist.

Because her two main teen vampires in “Mere Mortals” broke “vampire law,” they are suddenly converted into nor mal human beings who must navigate through the highs, lows and angst of high school life as they try to figure a way to get back to their previous super natural state.

Young and deVos also have dabbled in vampireology.

A Mesa native, deVos several months ago published “Go Hunt Me,” praised as a “spine-tingling thriller” about seven hor ror movie buffs and recent high school grads who travel to a remote Romanian castle reputed to be owned by ancestors of the granddaddy of vampires – Count Dracula. Although there are no actual vampires in the book, it doesn’t take long after their arrival for their trip to become a deadly venture.

Vampires take front and center stage in Young’s next novel, “In Nightfall.” Slated to be published next year, it has already been described as “’The Lost Boys’ meets ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer,’” a movie and a TV series, respectively, that

revolves around thirsty immortals.

Young and deVos also have penned young adult novels with dystopian themes.

A Utica, New York, native and moth er who moved to Arizona to escape its bone-chilling winters, Young authored the New York Times best-selling sixnovel “The Program” series about young love in a futuristic society where a mem ory-erasing “program” is used to combat an international epidemic of teen sui cides.

A 22-year Gilbert resident and mom, deVos has written a two-novel series, “Day Zero” and “Day One,” about teens caught up in an apocalyptic society that

The staff at Arizona Performance Institute in Mesa includes, from left, co-owner Larry Ortega, Sam Cortina, co-owner Dr. Julie Cortina and Amy Ortega. (David Minton/Tribune Staff Photographer)

Night

Ortega and Cortina became friends working together at a local physical therapy office. But working at “a really busy clinic” convinced them they could do things better.

The business partners said they al ways talked about bringing patients a more “intimate” experience than the 15-minute rotating-door appointments they watched other physical therapists offer.

“We would just talk about how it’d be nice to kind of do things differently,” Ju lie said.

Along with Amy Ortega, the institute’s head of marketing and media – and Larry’s wife of nine years –they started planning this idea two years ago as a col laborative effort.

After losing his job because of the pan demic, Larry worked out of the family’s garage teaching one-on-one golf perfor mance techniques.

Golf has remained a passion of his since he was 9 and his parents bought a membership at a local golf course in Ala

mosa, Colorado.

“It was basically daycare,” Larry re called. “I played 36 holes a day, go to the driving range – it was kind of a paradise.”

Amy said she wanted to see how the group could combine their experiences into a “patient-first” business.

They decided that the pandemic and garage golf business pointed to a new path.

After some collaboration and real es tate help from Sam Cortina, Julie’s hus band, a Realtor since 2014, the team found their current location at 8607 East Pecos Road in East Mesa.

The Arizona Performance Institute doesn’t look like much when you first walk in.

But behind the modest waiting area and two patient rooms is a spacious ath letic room that rivals most fitness cen ters and a state-of-the-art golf simulator.

They help the institute live up to its owners’ motto: “Expect Better.”

“When we say that, we mean better support, better experience, better out comes,” Amy said. “We want – from the time someone walks in the door – for it

to not just feel like a clinic or facility but to feel like an experience for them.”

Larry said people can expect an edu cational experience to help them both regain athletic momentum and to excel beyond what they thought they felt com fortable with.

“We want to be able to educate and teach people,” Larry said. “Because that is, bar none, the number one foundation of somebody getting better is to under stand exactly what’s going on.”

Unlike traditional physical therapy offices, Larry said they don’t have row upon row of therapy beds and elastic stretching bands to work out with.

“We wanted to be able to have people experience something that’s bigger, have more tools for them,” Larry said.

With a golf swing simulator imported from Sweden and more than 40,000 pounds of equipment, AZPI has the tools and the talent, they believe.

Combined with his education at ASU, Carrington, and real-world experience in high school golf and the military, Larry also has earned certification from Titleist Performance Institute.

That education translates to the pa tients in the institute’s one-on-one or small two to four-person classes that help identify performance inefficien cies, including a TPI 16-point assess ment.

And if golf is not a client’s sport, the institute’s owners believe they can help a client in other ways, from improving their athletic performance to rehabili tating an old injury.

Ortega and Cortina also believe their combined background gives them the knowledge to help virtually any athlete in any sport who may walk through the door.

“If you walked through the doors, and you have a specific sport you want to get better at, bring it on,” Ortega said.

Whether someone has played profes sional sports or pick-up basketball on the weekends for the last 30 years, Julie said quitting is the last thing they want anyone to do.

“We want you to keep doing the things that you enjoy doing,” Julie said. “Let’s just figure out a way that we can do it.”

Information: azpipt.com.

emerges from an economic collapse.

DeVos also has written novels outside the horror-sci-fi orbit. Her “Fat Girl on a Plane” follows a teen fashion student before and after a major weight loss that she falsely believes will solve all her problems. It was named one of the “50 Best Summer Reads of All Time” by Reader’s Digest.

Explaining that she has “struggled with the way the world treats people of size for a lot of my life,” she got the idea for the book “after I was asked to buy a second seat on a flight to Salt Lake City.”

Young’s prodigious output of 22 books includes an award-winning trio of nov els with a dystopian edge about girls in a private school in the near future who rebel against men who want to control and groom them. The titles – “Girls with Sharp Sticks,” “Girls With Razor Hearts,” and “Girls with Rebel Souls” – should give you an idea that the heroines are no pushovers.

A creative writing major, Young said that when she moved to Arizona, “I was

able to pursue my passion – teaching” and has taught English and creative writ ing for 17 years, the last 12 in Gilbert.

“I started my writing career in middle school where I would write murder mys teries starring my friends and pass them around the class,” Young said, adding:

“Even so, it wasn’t until decades later that one of my stories became a pub lished novel. Still, I think the motivation to write has always been there. The real

struggle is finding the motivation to con tinue in the face of rejection and failure. … In the end, it’s about finding the re silience to keep putting your words out there and/or finding a new way to tell your story.”

DeVos said she had always wanted to be an author but spent many years as a graph ic designer and art director in the fashion and professional beauty industries.

Though she was supposed to write a contemporary young adult novel after “Fat Girl on a Plane,” she said, “it was 2015 and the social and political climate in this country made it difficult to focus on upbeat writing. I wanted to change what I was doing. I wrote ‘Day Zero’ and ‘Day One’ which are near-future, quasidystopian, political thrillers for teen readers.”

DeVos describes herself as “a massive fan of horror fiction and films” – so much so she used zombies as the primary vil lains in “Eat Your Heart Out” – a novel about teens visiting a fat farm only to find it crawling with the undead. She said Stephanie Meyer was her “single biggest influence” but not just

because she wrote the phenomenally successful “Twilight” series.

“She was a suburban mom who turned her dream of being a published writer into a reality,” deVos said. “When I de cided to focus on getting my first book published, I was also a mom with a small child at home. Meyer made me feel like I should give publishing a shot too.”

Besides the perseverance that Young says writers should have in large doses, deVos also advises would-be writers to “read as much as you can,” and that “One of the best ways to learn how to be a great writer is by reading the work of other writers you admire.”

Like deVos, Young also is excited about the chance to talk vampires and horror fic tion Friday at Changing Hands Bookstore.

“Phoenix has a great cast of talented authors,” Young said, “and those interest ed in writing professionally should try to attend local events. We show up for each other and offer support—and trust me, after hours alone writing at the comput er, that support means the world.”

Information: authorsuzanneyoung. com and kellydevos.com.

MARK KELLY = OPEN BORDERS

Paid For By Citizens for Sanity forsanity.org

Gilbert author Suzanne Young has written 22 nov els, including two separate dystopian series that have been optioned for films. (Courtesy Suzanne Young)

Not a bank credit card.

Because we're not a ba

Being a Member-Owner has its rewards. Get up to 5% cash back1 with the Connect Rewards Visa Signature.

BANKS OWN YOU. YOU OWN US.®

Card type and APR is based on creditworthiness. 1Capped at $1,500 spent in qualifying purchases quarterly in the category of your choice. 3% back on gasoline, 2% back on groceries, 1% on all other purchases. Cash Back rewards are tracked as points and each $1 in Cash Back rewards earned is equal to 100 points. Points can be redeemed for cash back, merchandise, gift cards, travel, and charitable donations. See Vantage West Rewards terms and conditions for details and restrictions of the program. Subject to approval. Certain restrictions may apply. Subject to change without notice.

Mesa man realizes dream with indoor cornhole venue

BY COTY DOLORES MIRANDA Tribune Contributor

Twoweeks may not sound like a long time, but when Gilbert’s Hole 9 Yards owners had plans in place for a festive grand opening on Sept. 16, supply-chain issues delayed the permit ting process.

That scuttled a weekend when Ameri can Cornhole League pros from around the country planned to join local aficio nados of the game for a celebration.

More delays ensued, but the big day finally arrived Sept. 30, when Dr. Todd Kisicki of Mesa and Queen Creek resident Nic Feinstein opened the 20,000-square-foot venue at 868 N. Gil bert Road, where players have 26 lanes to play or watch others while sipping a beer and grabbing a burger from Hole 9 Yards’ full kitchen and bar.

“We are excited that we are finally open after all the planning and prepa rations that have gone into the project,” Kisicki said.

Kisicki has been an enthusiastic fan of the sport, which began as an elevated form of the old bean bag tossing game

and has elevated into a sport that could one day be an Olympics event.

As the owner of KB Kornhole Games, a cornhole-centric business that hosted hundreds of events throughout the Val ley since its inception in 2015, Kisicki is well known throughout the state as he’s hosted the Arizona State Cornhole Championships since 2016. Feinstein is an ACL-sanctioned pro who is a leader in the sport.

Last year’s state championships at Me sa’s Bell Bank Park was organized by Kis icki and became the largest state cham pionship cornhole event in the nation with an estimated 410 players, ages 8 to 80, competed in 15 different divisions.

Now national director for the Ameri can Cornhole League, Kisicki didn’t start out aiming to be one of cornhole’s most enthusiastic advocates.

He earned his doctorate at Arizona State University in education technol ogy and taught there until he left to fo cus solely on his burgeoning KB Korn hole Games business with his wife of 16 years, Erin.

This summer, he often was jetting around the country and around the

world, hosting cornhole tournaments in Europe, Canada, as well as South Caro lina and California and overseeing more than 300 ACL directors nationwide.

He and Feinstein hatched their idea for Hole 9 Yards (H9Y) in 2019 and their concept picked up momentum during the early days of the pandemic.

By the time they opened, they not only had added a bar and full-service restau rant to their plan but also a retail section where people can buy cornhole gear and equipment.

They’re convinced they’re tapping into an activity that seems to have un limited potential and will be making Hole 9 Yards available for league play at all skill levels, private gatherings and open-lane rentals.

When he and his wife sponsored their first commercial cornhole event on April 11, 2015, they figured their business would be strictly a part-time, weekend gig.

“I had no idea KB Kornhole Games would ever evolve to where it is today,” Kisicki said.

“While it was initially meant to be

something we could do as a family, I quickly realized that starting and run ning a business required a lot of effort and sacrifice and not everyone was in a place in their lives to dedicate the time that was needed to make it successful,” he said.

“So I ran with it, slowly growing it to a point to where it was consuming a lot of my extra time and eventually taking some of my concentration away from my full-time job.”

In December 2016, he recalled, “I de cided to gamble on myself and jump all into the business, leaving the industry that I had spent the first 15 years of my adult life behind.”

Erin Kisicki left her full-time career as a director of training in behavioral health services, on Sept. 2 so both hus band and wife can focus efforts on grow ing Hole 9 Yards, the national and inter national business of cornhole, and their daughter, Kora.

“Erin started the KB Kornhole busi

Todd Kisicki of Mesa, left, and Nic Feinstein of Queen Creek have put Gilbert on the map with lovers of the hugely popular outdoor game called cornhole by opening Hole 9 Yards, apparently the nation’s first indoor venue for the game. (David Minton/Tribune Staff Photographer)

Players heave bags at Hole 9 Yards, a new indoor cornhole venue opened by a pair of the sport’s devo tees, Dr. Todd Kisicki of Mesa and Nic Feinstein of Queen Creek. (David Minton/Tribune Staff Photographer)

ness with me in 2015 but with her fulltime job, she wasn’t active in the day-today operations though she helped me run the events for the first two years,” explained Kisicki.

“After a while, her job, plus having a toddler, and then me dragging her to events every weekend, took its toll and she stepped back from KB so that we didn’t have to ship our daughter off to family every weekend.”

“Our daughter, Kora, is now 8 and wants me to give her a job at Hole 9 Yards,” he chuckled.

Kisicki partnered with Nic Feinstein of Queen Creek to lead the design, oversee the renovations and handle the busi ness’s social media and marketing. Fein stein will help spread the word of corn hole, H9Y and industry news affecting Arizona.

“I never really needed to market with KB Kornhole Games with most of my events coming from referrals, but now with a large venue and most time slots to fill, Nic fills a void with his strong skill set that gives us a dedicated social me dia and marketing plan to attract new people to the sport,” said Kisicki.

As national director for the American Cornhole League, international expan sion is Kisicki’s focal point. A goal of that expansion is prepping the way as a fu ture sport in the Olympics.

If that seems a reach, consider skate boarding, surfing, sport climbing and now breakdancing – all Olympic com petitive events.

It takes some doing to be included, said Kisicki.

“To be considered for involvement in the Olympics, a sport must be widely practiced by men in at least 75 countries and on four continents, and by women in

no fewer than 40 countries and on three continents.

To see that cornhole is established in other countries is a major task for Kisicki.

“One of my roles with the American Cornhole League is international de velopment, and working with cornhole leaders in other countries to develop competitive cornhole in their countries,” he said.

“My role with the ACL is to help de velop the competitive side of the sport in these countries. There’s also the WCO – the World Cornhole Organization – and they’re the ones who are responsible for getting the sport to the Olympics,” said Kisicki, currently a board member with the nonprofit WCO.

“Cornhole is a universal sport that anyone can play,” said Kisicki. “The won derful part of the sport is that you can have young children, women, men and seniors all playing in the same event

with no competitive advantage.”

Televising cornhole has already proved a successful draw. ESPN and their related channels began broadcast ing cornhole tournaments in 2017, and in early September, CBS covered an ACL Pro Shootout Tournament during prime time.

Even with the success of competitive tournaments, Kisicki cleaves to the ta gline he originated in 2015 for KB Ko rnhole: “Bringing people together, one kornhole at a time.”

He said he’s seen newcomers come to give the sport a try-out, then contin ue coming to events as they make new friends and become a part of a commu nity of enthusiasts.

The H9Y owners hope the 26 lanes at their H9Y Gilbert venue will expand that community with people of all ages and skill levels.

Information: Hole9Yards.com.

Corp Commission can now subpoena utility’s ‘dark money’ records

BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

State utility regulators have the individual power to seek corpo rate records to see if a company is funneling “dark money’’ into the campaigns of their colleagues.

And a majority can’t block it.

In a significant ruling last week, the state Supreme Court rejected argu ments by Arizona Public Service that Bob Burns, who was a member of the Arizona Corporation Commission, had no independent right to demand a look their corporate books to find out about the money it has spent –and may spend in the future – to elect candidates of its choice.

Attorneys for the utility did not dis pute that regulators have the power to subpoena company records.

But they argued that power belongs to the commission as a whole. And they said the fact that Burns could not get a majority of the five-member panel to go along left him powerless to act on his own.

Not so, said Justice Clint Bolick

writing for a majority of the state high court.

The decision of the justices will have no immediate effect. That’s be cause Burns has since left the panel and the APS rate case that was pend ing at the time has been decided.

And Bolick said the court was not seeking to resolve all potential future issues of commission procedures.

But the ruling could forever change how the panel operates, giving future commissioners more independent license to probe the actions of regu lated utilities.

APS filed for a rate hike in 2016.

Burns issued subpoenas to both APS and parent company Pinnacle West Capital Corp. seeking informa tion on everything from charitable and marketing expenses to political donations.

Among what he was seeking is to determine if APS was the source of money spent in 2014 by “dark money’’ groups to help elect Repub licans Tom Forese and Doug Little to the commission. Arizona law allows these groups to shield the source of

their funds from public disclosure.

When the company refused, he asked the other commissioners -- in cluding Forese and Little -- to enforce the subpoenas as well as to require a hearing officer to call witnesses for him to question. The others refused, saying the information sought was ir relevant to the rate case.

Burns then went to court.

Bolick pointed out Arizona Consti tution vests individual commission ers with specific powers. The way APS would read it, said Bolick, would “subordinate that right to the unre viewable determinations of other commissioners.’’

And Bolick said what makes that unacceptable is that Burns was trying to determine whether any of the oth er commissioners, had they received APS cash that was not publicly dis closed, were biased in favor of grant ing the company’s request for a rate hike.

“Burns’ allegations demonstrate how untenable such a construction is, whereby a commissioner’s inves tigation into possible improprieties

concerning his colleagues can be squelched by the very subjects of the investigation,’’ Bolick wrote.

It later turned out that the company had, in fact, put $10.7 million into the 2014 race to elect Little and Forese, funneling the cash through dark mon ey groups. But that didn’t get revealed until 2019.

In finally releasing data on its 2014 spending on the commission race, APS also admitted at that time that it provided $50,000 to the Republican Governors Association which help the first election of Gov. Doug Ducey, and $425,000 to the Republican Attorney Generals Association which, in turn, bought commercials to elect Republi can Mark Brnovich.

Jeff Guldner, who took over the reins of APS in 2019, told regulators at the time that the company would not fund future candidates running for the commission.

A spokeswoman for the company said Tuesday that promise remains in place. Other than that, Jill Hanks said APS was reviewing the ruling and had no comment.

Spare me the food snob, eatery chains just fine

BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ Tribune Columnist

Ofall the many sorts of snob bery that ex ist in the world today, surely the most annoying is dining snobbery. You, too, have that one friend, I imagine – the Certified Res taurant Adventurer©.

Ask The CRA© how his/her/their weekend was and the conversation turns into a Travel Channel mono logue about the joys of eating fried calf testicles off a food truck in a Maryvale back alley.

My eyes glaze over during such tales – and not in a honey-glazed epicure an way – before I say something like, “That’s just nuts,” and wander off.

I’m an adventurous eater. I like steak, medium rare. I love cheesesteaks, cheeseburgers, cheese fries, pizza, and caffeinated beverages ordered without substituting Italian numbers for sizes. Hold the cheese on the coffee, thanks. But only there.

In sum, I have always believed my self to be a typical American eater. Meaning I am not a gastronomic ex plorer, nor am I a big chain restaurant purveyor.

However, I don’t look down my nose at people who think Olive Garden is the best Italian food known to man. By the same token, I’m tired of hear ing about Pizzeria Bianco and how it’s worth camping out for a week for a slice of Sonny Boy pizza, because, oh Lord, the soppressata is to die for!

Salami is salami, people. They do a nice pepperoni pie at Pizza Hut, too. And they have 6,600 locations in the United States, which means less waiting.

That’s what chain restaurants are for: People who see meals not as op portunities for reverie and humble bragging about their palate, but as fuel for the body and a chance to chat with loved ones, friends and colleagues.

Dining snobs will scoff, but there’s a reason that chain restaurants continue to be popular. They’re not the devil, or even Red Devil Pizza, with three loca tions in the Valley and one in Pinetop.

Chains are thriving, and regular people must like them, because chain restaurants comprise the majority of dining options in the U.S., accord ing to recent data from two scholars at Georgia Tech University’s Friendly Cities Lab.

Dr. Clio Andris and Ph.D. candidate Xiaofan Liang compiled statistics on more than 700,000 restaurants na tionwide, including nearly 400 chains of 50 locations or more. The most pro lific restaurant in the study? Subway, with more than 24,000 locations in the U.S.

Restaurants with only one location comprised about 44 percent of the study, or about 310,000 locations total.

Liang told the Washington Post, “the foodscape is very political,” meaning the study’s big takeaway was that, “Places with a high percentage of Trump voters have a higher percent age of chains. We didn’t expect it.”

Yawn. Sounds like food snobbery to me.

My big takeaway is that Arizona is not the fast food capital of America,

as many Valley food snobs would have you believe.

The most franchise-y state in the na tion? Kentucky, where 46 percent of restaurant options have 50 or more locations. Arizona ranked 21st, with chains comprising 35% of restaurant offerings – as compared to Vermont, the least franchise-y state, where only 13 percent of restaurants had 50 or more locations.

As for metro Phoenix, it ranked 204th among more than 380 metro politan areas, with chains comprising about 37 percent of restaurant op tions. So we’re not New York City, with 18 percent chains, nor are we Aniston, Alabama, with 57 percent chains.

We’re right in between, not unlike the beef patty in a Cold Beer & Cheese burgers All American Burger. CB&C has 12 Arizona locations, by the way, which makes them something of a lo cal chain.

Regardless, they don’t serve pig cheeks, rattlesnake bites or other food snob fare, so I can’t recommend the place highly enough.

Veep’s post-hurricane remarks create a storm

BY JD HAYWORTH Tribune Columnist

There’s

no con fusing a haboob with a hurricane.

While Arizonans can attest that the howling wind and desert dust from a haboob may present genuine hazards, the recent

travails of Floridians remind us that hur ricanes can become life altering.

Hurricane Ian unleashed its fury upon Southwest Florida, bringing tragic loss of life, almost unbelievable damage to homes and roads, and other awful, awe some examples of nature’s power.

There was also ample evidence that the hurricane season intersects with the

political calendar.

Vice President Kamala Harris, fresh from a faux pas abroad where she mis takenly lauded a longtime American alli ance with “the Republic of North Korea,” proved equally maladroit when she re turned home and advocated race-based relief in Ian’s aftermath.

Appearing at a forum sponsored by

the Democratic National Committee, the nation’s “Number Two” emphasized equity as job one, even in the wake of a killer storm.

“It is our lowest income communities and communities of color that are most impacted by these extreme conditions

The future for Latinos, Mesa getting brighter

BY COUNCILMAN FRANCISCO HEREDIA AND SHERIL STEINBERG Tribune Guest Writers

The post-pandemic years have been rough for Arizo na’s communities, espe cially working families and Latino communities, the second largest group in our state.

From lost jobs, rising prices, to losing loved ones to climate change, excessive droughts and the skyrocketing cost of gasoline, our communi ties are desperate for change.

The Inflation Reduction Act, a mas sive health and climate law, is a historic investment package providing an im mense economic opportunity for Ari zona. From protecting the health of our most vulnerable communities, combat ing the climate crisis, lowering utility bills, to creating well-paid jobs for mil lions of working Americans.

The IRA helps Arizona’s vulnerable communities by lowering the cost of prescription drugs for our seniors on Medicare, benefiting almost one million Arizonans.

The IRA is the largest single invest ment that will reduce pollution and lower utility costs. Families living in af fordable housing units will benefit from projects that utilize clean energy, con duct electrification upgrades, support climate resilience, and improve indoor air quality.

Arizonans will find it cheaper to buy efficient electric appliances, saving money on utility bills and receiving re bates to replace home appliances with more efficient ones, up to 30% in tax credits for replacing water heaters, fur naces, and air conditioners with clean energy technology, and energy-efficient home improvements and construction projects like insulation.

Other provisions include clean trans portation. Those who couldn’t afford electric vehicles (EVs) will receive tax credits for EVs, and businesses will also receive investments in cleaner tran sits to help reduce pollution caused by transportation, saving them money on transportation since EVs require less maintenance. We must ensure our com munities that need these credits the most have the resources readily avail able to them.

These investments go hand in hand with the National Electric Vehicle In frastructure (NEVI) Formula Program

created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This program will offer Arizona $76.5 million for the next five years to expand the EV charging network, in cluding installing EV chargers in rural and disadvantaged communities.

The result of these investments is paramount for climate change and pub lic health protection, especially for com munities that have been on the frontline of toxic pollution and are disproportion ately impacted by climate change.

In the U.S., Latinos are 165% more likely to live in highly polluted areas, and their children are nearly twice as likely to die from asthma than their white counterparts.

The IRA addresses this issue through grants for environmental justice and air pollution, including billion-dollar in vestments in disadvantaged communi ties.

Such programs provide air qual ity sensors, monitor and mitigate gas production and other pollutants, and expand funding for programs to pro tect neighborhoods from flooding and extreme heat. These investments are invaluable for combating Arizona’s cur rent climate crisis.

Clean energy technologies like so lar panels and EV chargers are optimal for job opportunities. This package of

fers historic labor standards such as incentives for domestic manufacturing, apprenticeship programs, and good wages. This is a massive opportunity to unlock more jobs, especially for Latinos who are largely employed by the renew able energy sector.

Due to the number of qualified peo ple available to work in this industry, companies like Exro Technologies, At lis Motor Vehicles, and ElectraMecca nica chose Mesa to build facilities for manufacturing EVs, creating hundreds of jobs.

With the combined investments from the IRA, Arizona could become the hub of EV manufacturing. The city also offers clean, safe, and efficient transit services with the Metro Rail, the Rail Shuttle, and paratransit services to accommodate the needs of its visitors and locals.

U.S. Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly, along with Reps. Ruben Gallego, Ann Kirkpatrick, Tom O´Halleran, Raúl Grijalva, and Greg Stanton, supported Arizonans with the passage of these funds. This is a golden moment that will positively impact the lives of Arizonans for years to come.

Councilman Francisco Heredia repre sents Mesa Council District 3 and Sheril Steinberg is the political & advocacy di rector at Mi Familia Vota.

and impacted by issues that are not of their own making,” Harris said.

“And so we have to address this in a way that is about giving resources based on equity, understanding that we fight for equality, but we also need to fight for equity, and understanding that not ev eryone starts out at the same place. And if we want people to be in an equal place, sometimes we have to take into account those disparities.”

Got that?

“Equity” is not synonymous with “equality.” Instead, it is based on retribu tion and redistribution.

While America’s historic civil rights

movement advocated for equality of op portunity, today’s woke elites envision the role of government as enforcing uni formity of outcomes. Equity is the blunt tool of social justice warriors intent on exacting a price in the here-and-now from those they deem “historically ad vantaged.”

In 2020, that translated into riots in major American cities, which Harris de scribed as “mostly peaceful protests.” In 2022, it would translate into selective relief in spite of widespread suffering if Harris had her way.

Unsurprisingly, a self-appointed “prae torian guard” from the partisan press quickly intervened to try to protect the vice president from her own statement.

So-called “fact checkers” blamed ex tenuating circumstances—a long, mul tilayered question and an even longer response from Harris—before falling back on the three favorite words of all post-quote revisionists: “out of context.”

Despite the empathy and action from “advocacy journalists” eager to jump to Kamala’s defense, it became abundant ly clear to the Biden White House that the subject had to be changed – and quickly.

Whatever the shortcomings of the Biden Bunch—and they are legion—Ol’ Joe and his handlers saw the obvious course of action: visit the hurricane-rav aged portions of Florida, meet with Re publican Gov. Ron DeSantis and pledge

that the Federal Government would help everyone adversely affected by Ian—pe riod.

As the flood waters began to recede, so did the controversy concerning “equity.”

The sight of Joe Biden and Ron DeSan tis standing in the sunshine, sharing a common concern and a common goal— proved once again that sometimes, good policy can make for good politics – espe cially when it involves potential political opponents.

But don’t be deceived.

Even without the forecast of a haboob here in Arizona or another hurricane in Florida, the outlook will again turn stormy.

Threats to democracy imperil our economy

BY DR. MATTHEW C. WHITAKER Tribune Contributor

My professional experience in working with businesses of all sizes is that those that forge inclusive operations increase their ability to be successful. This means utilizing the talents of all employees regardless of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, faith, and neurodiversity.

This same concept of inclusion ap plies to our government. Our nation is better off when all of us contribute to our economy and have a voice in who leads us.

Unfortunately, our democracy is be ing threatened by those who want to win office even if they lose the popular vote. They advocate for suppressing voters they don’t like and giving legis latures the ability to ignore voting re sults if they do not suit them.

In America, we have a growing num ber of politicians who admire the auto cratic government of Hungary, whose leader has policies to push minorities from his country and has changed elec tion laws to guarantee that his party wins.

We can look at Putin’s autocratic Russia’s latest charade referendum in eastern Ukrainian provinces as an other example of an unfree, unfair, and certainly unsecure election to gain power. Putin himself is re-elected over and over because he changed all the election rules to rig his victories.

Dissent of any kind is dealt with se verely.

We see this in how Iran has cracked down on women because of what they wear. We see this in how Russia responds to protests over its new ef fort to draft hundreds of thousands of men to fight its unpopular war in the Ukraine.

The goal of these autocrats, whether they be overseas or at home, is not to represent the will of their people. In stead, they simply want more power and money, both for themselves and their big campaign contributors.

Poll after poll, nationally and in Ari zona, clearly show the heightened con cern voters have for our democracy.

It is thus imperative that voters know where the candidates stand on protect ing democracy and how to do it. The Arizona Business for Democracy col laborative has been raising the trusted voice of small business to the need for a strong democracy. The collaborative supports three critical pieces of feder al legislation that will form the threelegged stool to provide firm and stable support for our democracy.

All of Arizona’s Congressional candi dates have been surveyed to determine that if elected they would vote for the Electoral Count Reform Act, John Lewis Rights Advancement Act and Freedom to Vote Act. All three bills address dif ferent needs for keeping our democracy.

The results of this survey will be re leased to the public soon and will give the voters important information as to which of our Congressional candidates will take action to keep our democratic government from sliding into an autoc racy.

We must stop those who want to re place our democracy with autocratic rule that rejects an inclusive society and economy. While we still fall short on inclusivity, autocracy would lead to an America we won’t recognize and won’t want. The value of small busi ness and the underrepresented will not be recognized. Our economy will suffer.

We must stand up for our democracy and inclusivity.

Matthew C. Whitaker is the president of Diamond Strategies Consulting in Mesa and a leader of the Arizona Busi ness for Democracy collaborative.

Jordan Legg went from kicker to quarterback for Dobson

BY REBECCA DALY Tribune Contributing Writer

It’s

not common to hear about a 4.5star kicker who is also the starting quarterback, but that’s just normal football for Jordan Legg.

Jordan Legg is the quarterback and kicker for Dobson High School’s varsity football team. He started playing football his freshman year of high school and had no anticipation of playing quarterback.

Legg played soccer growing up, which influenced his position as a kicker con sidering he already had helpful skills for the position. He spontaneously landed the quarterback position about two hours into the first freshman practice.

“The sophomore quarterback at the time pulled me aside and was like, ‘You can throw the ball?’ and I was like, ‘I guess I can,’ so I got put in,” Legg said.

Legg mentioned that it took a lot to convince his parents to let him just play kicker, so when he told them that he was

playing quarterback a week before his first game, they, “freaked out.” However, he said his parents have loved seeing him play quarterback since then, and they could tell how much it has benefit ted him throughout high school.

“Playing quarterback is a mentally tough position. Being the kicker, you have to be mentally tough because you’re put out there on an island to kick, and if you miss it everybody blames you for the game,” Dobson head football coach Bill Godsil said.

Godsil went on to say Legg has a strong character and will, which makes him fit to play both of those positions.

Learning how to play quarterback was tricky in the short amount of time Legg had, but he was able to grasp it with the help of everyone around him. He had to get used to the pressure and be able to trust everyone. He told himself that he was going to be fine and that he just needed to get the ball to his receivers.

“It’s been a process and it’s been a lot to learn, but I’ve had great, great, mentors to get me through that, and I’ve had great teammates to help pick me up when I’m not doing the best,” Legg said.

According to Legg, he has fun playing both posi tions.

It’s exciting for him to be able to help his team excel in games when mak ing plays whether he is throwing or kicking the ball. That’s also how he stays focused, by having fun. He doesn’t put too much pressure on himself because it might throw him off.

Logistically, offensive coordinator and receivers coach Kelly Stout said that to keep Legg focused, they

try to challenge him during the week with stressful situ ational drills for both offense and kicking.

The coaches constantly re mind him of the little things that need improvement like footwork, shoulder settings, and drops.

“We do kind of a stress ful conditioning type PAT/ field goal, where if he misses it, he and his PAT group have to sprint 100 yards and come back,” Godsil said. “If he makes it, the sideline, whose chant ing and yelling and hollering and saying wonderful things about him, they have to sprint and come back. So, he’s getting the crowd atmosphere, people yelling, and the pressure that he’s gotta make those kicks.”

This game-like feel helps Legg focus on the moment itself rather than just making the kick.

Legg’s transition from kicker to quarterback occurred during his freshman season. He was pulled aside by the sophomore quarterback, who asked if he could throw. Legg’s answer wasn’t confident, yet four years later he is now a two-year starter at the position. (Rebecca Daly/Tribune Contributor)

Legg attended the Kohl’s Western Winter Showcase Camp in 2021, being only in his second year as a kicker, where he didn’t perform as well as he would’ve liked to. This past May, Legg competed at the Kohl’s West ern Showcase, where they ranked him 4.5 stars. He made eight points during the field goal charting and had multiple kickoffs over 65 yards. According to kohlskicking.com, he has what it takes to play as a kicker at the college level.

Playing college football is some thing Legg wants to pursue. In regard to which position he wants to play, kicking is the more prominent skill. Godsil be lieves that he could play both quarter back and kicker in college, but kicking is his primary tool for the next level.

Legg said he would love to play kicker, but if the quarterback position is offered, that would be amazing as well. Overall,

having any opportunity to play football in college is enough for him.

“My parents always joke that when ever I’m trying to get into a school I can be like, ‘I can do trick plays for you as a kicker because I can throw the rock,’” Legg said.

So far, Legg has received an offer from the Papago Pumas Junior College foot ball program.

Legg has been a huge asset to Dob son’s football team, playing two vital po sitions. Not only that but being the lead er of the team as the quarterback, he has a huge influence on everyone involved in the program.

“He is our glue. He’s the stick that stirs the whole thing. He’s the kid that is a vocal leader, but he does it in the right way, so the other players following him is natural,” Stout said.

Dobson quarterback Jordan Legg has become the catalyst for the Mustang football program. Not only is he the leader on of fense, but he also leads the special teams as one of the top kickers in the state. (Dave Minton/Tribune Staff)

Documentary looks at Tempe band from the 1990s

BY VINCENT ARRIETA GetOut Staff Writer

Unlessyou were there at the time, one might not realize how excit ing it was to be a music lover in Tempe in the 90s.

From the breakthrough of the Meat Puppets with their career-altering ap pearance on Nirvana’s Unplugged spe cial to Gin Blossoms’ jangle-pop bril liance, the national spotlight was shining brightly on the Valley’s musical riches.

One of the acts primed for breakout success has gone largely unnoticed – the Pistoleros.

Now, the band fronted by brothers Lawrence and Mark Zubia is finally get ting its due with a documentary chroni cling the band’s extraordinary story

called Pistoleros: Death, Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll directed by Steven B. Esparza.

Filled with interviews from members of the band along with members of the Meat Puppets, Gin Blossoms, and other Tempe musical mainstays, the documen tary smartly focuses not specifically on the band’s rise and instead chronicles the tumultuous relationship between brothers Lawrence and Mark, and how that relationship both made – and nearly broke – the band.

The documentary is scheduled to have its premiere with a sold-out screening on Oct. 18 at the AMC Centerpoint the ater in Tempe with more screenings to follow. The film will then be available to rent on Vimeo the same day and is

Opera gives insight into wounded soldiers’ lives

BY BRIDGETTE REDMAN GetOut Contributor

When Tess Altiveros was debat ing whether to take on a new project at the Seattle Opera, the conductor, Michael Sakir, told her, “This opera will change your life.”

She took the job — performing as the central character in a new opera, “The Falling and the Rising,” roles which she and Sakir will reprise for the Arizona Op era Friday, October 14, to Sunday, October 16, in Phoenix and Saturday, October 22, to Sunday, October 23, in Tucson.

“I will never forget him saying that and it did change my life,” Altiveros said. “It changed my perspective. It changed my understanding and made me sit up and pay attention to the fact that I had my own prejudices that I needed to deal with.

“Mostly, it enabled a path for dialogue with a group of people that I have never

been able to sit across the table with and certainly not make art with. It changed my view on myself as a citizen and my view on this world.”

“The Falling and the Rising” is a fiveperson opera based on the true stories of American military service members and veterans who have been wounded in the line of duty.

Conceived of by Army Staff Sgt. Ben Hilget, who was an opera singer before he enlisted, it took shape when he, Zach Redler and Jerre Dye visited the Walter Reed Medical Center to interview wound ed soldiers.

“The Falling and the Rising” breaks ground in its goals and its staging. Projec tions play an important role in the pro duction. It is filled with humor – there are traditional opera singing deliveries of such lines as “You’d better get your ass in gear.”

Hilget said the opera aptly captures the

sacrifices that modern service members make. He said he and the other opera creators were immediately floored by the stories that they heard when they started interviewing people at Walter Reed.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard, to date, more powerful stories of resilience and strength,” Hilget said.

One of the first interviewees was a spe cialist who had been in a coma after being thrown from a Humvee. He dreamt a life that he didn’t have and even six months after he woke up, he was still trying to fig ure out what was real and what was not.

“He gained the power of speech back through music therapy – he actually learned to sing before he could speak,” Hilget said. “He spoke with a profound wisdom for someone of his age and still in the middle of trauma.”

They spoke to so many people in a three-day period that he said they could have written 10 operas.

Dennis Whitehead Darling had just finished serving as the inaugural Mc Cleave Fellow in Directing at Opera Mem phis, a fellowship designed to fostering the careers of directors of color, when he went to see Opera Memphis’ production of the opera.

“It’s quite beautiful and poignant and painful and emotional and rich with beau tiful themes of sacrifice and pain,” Darling said.

He is now directing the Arizona Opera production. As someone who contem plated going into the military and whose father, uncle, brother and stepsister all served, this opera touches on his ties.

He said he feels people get a better un derstanding of what it takes to serve in the military and the sacrifice, duty and honor involved.

“There are no live scenes of people be

The Pistoleros were primed for breakout success in the 90s and a key component of the Valley’s music scene then. (Special to GetOut)

DOCUMENTARY from page 30

scheduled to arrive on DVD and stream ing platforms in early November.

Whereas many rockumentaries these days either glorify the story of bands whose trajectories are similar or simply repackage information widely known about a certain artist, Esparza and pro ducers Henry Eshelman and Jeff Freun dlich focus on the “madness” that comes when two artistic minds bound by blood are tested by drug addiction, codepen dency and mental illness.

Make no mistake, though. The Pistole ros story is a triumphant one, albeit with a twist of sadness.

While it is difficult to discuss and write about the documentary without spoiling its fragile narrative, the man ner in which the brothers’ respective

OPERA from page 30

ing shot at, but it does deal with injury and that sort of falling that the soldier goes through emotionally and physically,” Darling said.

“Then it’s about this wonderful tri umph of the rising of how they somehow find this miraculous strength to overcome any sort of emotional or physical pain. It honors their sacrifice.”

Altiveros said the music and score are designed to attract civilians and soldiers. She describes it as accessible and melodic.

“It’s meant to help us appreciate and acknowledge the sacrifices that are made, the good parts and the bad parts about enlisting and the hardships of it,” Altive ros said.

While not traditionally a subject of opera, the stories of sacrifice and injury translate well to the art form, Altiveros

battles with themselves and one another is quite an enlightening one – especially Lawrence’s.

“The music is almost a gateway to fall ing in love with the story of these two brothers,” Freundlich said. “If you listen to the lyrics in the in the songs, you real ize whether it’s consciously or subcon sciously, these guys are often singing about their firsthand experiences, quite frankly, with each other.

“Obviously, we don’t want spoilers, but, you know, love wins, right?”

In addition to highlighting the Zubia brothers’ literal brotherhood, the docu mentary spotlights the brotherhood between many of the other bands in the Tempe music scene.

One particularly heartfelt and bitter sweet stretch of the documentary de picts the Zubias and other talking about

said.

“The stakes are so high — there is a risk of life and death and injury and things like that, but real human relationships are affected and in a very large way,” Altiveros said.

“Anytime you can tell that story of hu man relationships on stage, it lends itself to opera. Opera can heighten that sense of emotion.”

She recently spoke with art producers who were concerned about whether this opera would be too heavy and traumatic for audiences who are stressed in a postpandemic world. She was eager to allay those fears.

“It’s not that this does not address (traumatic) topics – the whole premise essentially is when a female soldier is hit in a roadside bombing, and they put her in a medically-induced coma. The entirety of the rest of the opera is her wandering

the late Gin Blossoms guitarist Doug Hopkins, whose death had a profound impact on not only his own band’s ca reer trajectory, but on the Zubia broth ers’ own struggles with mental health.

“Think about like the Haight-Ashbury scene in the 60s,” Freundlich says. “You had Janis Joplin living with the Grateful Dead, and Quicksilver Messenger Ser vice living the same house, right? The Live Nudes’ [precursors to the Pistole ros] house was where all of these bands would party when they were done with their gigs.

“That’s the magic that happens when all these creative people are coming to gether. They’re not competing with each other, but they’re trying to lift each other up and look what happened.”

That sense of camaraderie runs throughout the documentary, from the

Zubia brothers themselves to their con nection with their Mexican American roots via playing in mariachi groups with their father as children.

“The brothers are Mexican American, our director is Mexican American, and our picture editor is Mexican American,” Freundlich says. “The story that Mark and Lawrence tell about playing in a ma riachi band with their father and then realizing that those chords worked for Van Morrison and The Doors, the Rolling Stones – our editor said ‘that is the ex perience of so many Mexican-American kids and teenagers that are embracing the culture of their family historically and then also assimilating fully into American culture.’

“For every Mexican-American kid or musician – that is going to resonate with them greatly.”

through her subconscious and coming across these different soldiers’ stories,” Altiveros said.

“That is the background for these sto ries to happen, but it’s meant to leave you feeling uplifted. It’s not a downer.”

Altiveros said she cries in almost every single rehearsal because she is so moved by the stories, and she is certain the audi ence will be moved too.

“But it’s not meant to traumatize,” Alti veros said. “It’s meant to leave you feeling really hopeful about and grateful for the work that our soldiers are doing. It’s not

meant to take you to a really, really dark place and then leave you there. I want to make sure people know that.”

If You Go...

What: The Arizona Opera’s “The Falling and the Rising” by Zach Redler, libretto by Jerre Dye

Where: Herberger Theater, 222 E. Monroe St., Phoenix.

When: Various times Oct. 14-16

Cost: see website for details

Info: azopera.org

“Rising and Falling” looks at both male and female soldiers who were wounded in combat. (Ziggy Mack/ Opera Memphis)

“The Falling and the Rising” is a five-person opera based on the true stories of American military service members and veterans who have been wounded in the line of duty. (Ziggy Mack/Opera Memphis)

ENDORSED BY MESA

A Champion for our Kids, Educators and Schools

Mesa School Board

Wrightformesa.com

Since transitioning to a new career as a cooking instructor at Sweet Basil Culinary Center, my recipe repertoire has expanded considerably.

I have the advantage of working with three talented chefs who bring decades of experience to the table, and I’m always the one asking them to share their tips, tricks and prized recipes. Once in a while, I sneak a peek into their classes and if I’m lucky, I get to sample some of what was being taught in class that day.

That brings me this dish. I absolutely went nuts over it! I loved absolutely everything about it; the simplicity of the recipe, the flavors and the reaction from folks when they bite into it. This Bloody Mary Shrimp Appetizer is the perfect addition to your holiday parties or any gathering. You won’t find a single person who doesn’t love it.

Ingredients

For the tart shells:

• 24 wonton wrappers

• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

• For the shrimp:

• 1 tablespoon salt

• 2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning

• 24 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

• 1 1/2 cups celery ( 3-4 ribs), sliced thin

• 1 cup scallions, sliced thinly

For the sauce:

• 1/2 cup ketchup

• 1/4 cup vodka

• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

• 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish

• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

• 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place wonton wrappers on a work surface and brush one side of each with melted butter.

I wanted to share it with you now so you have perhaps a new dish for this year’s get-togethers!

By the way! Sweet Basil Culinary Center has moved to the La Mirada Shopping Center at the Northeast Corner of Pinnacle Peak and Pima Road, Scottsdale.

Come visit soon and let’s get cooking together!

Place one wrapper, butter side up, into each of the 24 mini muffin cups, pressing lightly. Place the muffin pans in the preheated oven and bake for 5-7 minutes or until just golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Remove the tart shells from the pan.

Prepare the shrimp: Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon salt and the Old Bay seasoning. Add the shrimp. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Let the shrimp stand in the hot water until cooked through (the shrimp will be pink) about 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and cool to room temperature.

Cut the shrimp into thirds and transfer to a large bowl with the celery and scallions. Make the sauce. In a medium bowl, combine the ketchup, vodka, lemon juice, horseradish, Worces tershire sauce and Tabasco sauce.

Just before serving, stir the sauce into the shrimp mixture. Spoon 3 shrimp pieces with the vegetables and sauce into each wonton cup ( about a table spoon per cup) and arrange on a platter.

Makes 24 wonton cup appetizers.

Ob uaries

DENTAL

Patricia Anne McDonald

Patricia Anne McDonald passed away on September 30, 2022, in Cheyenne, WY. She was born on November 25, 1934 in Stamford, CT to Colonel Willard A. McDonald, U.S. Army (Ret) and Mary Margaret McDonald. Colonel McDonald's service in the Army took Patricia and her siblings to a number of locations in the United States and Germany as they grew up. Following her school years, Patricia settled in Scottsdale, AZ where she had a successful career with ITT Cannon, now L3 Harris.

She was preceded in death by her sisters, Barbara Murray and Arlene Engbretson of Cheyenne, WY, and her brothers, Willard "Bud" McDonald and John "Jack" McDonald of Scottsdale, AZ. While working and following retirement, Patricia enjoyed traveling with friends and visiting family. A private funeral mass will be scheduled at a later date.

Employment General

Data Engineer-ing Architect. Create, maintain, expand, and optimize data and data pipeline architecture and optimize data flow and collection for a provider of health and wellness programs. Employer: Tivity Health Services, LLC. Location: Chandler, AZ. May telecommute from any location in the United States. To apply, mail resumé (no calls/e-mails) to ATTN: April Baltzly, 1445 S. Spectrum Blvd., Chandler, AZ 85286.

Deloitte Consulting LLP seeks a Consulting, Solution Specialist in Gilbert, AZ & various unanticipated Deloitte office locations & client sites nationally to create innovative and transformative solutions that address supply chain needs. 15% travel required nationally. Telecommuting permitted. To apply visit apply.deloitte.com. Enter XBAL23FC0922GIL2733 in “Search jobs” field. EOE, including disability/veterans.

Deloitte Consulting LLP seeks a Consulting, Solution Architect in Gilbert, AZ & various unanticipated Deloitte office locations & client sites nationally to manage information technology projects, including advisory and implementation services of large-scale data ecosystems, involving data management, governance and the integration of structured and unstructured data to generate insights to help companies unlock the value of big information tech nology investments. 15% travel required nationally.

Telecommuting permitted. To apply visit apply.deloitte.com. Enter XBAL23FC0922GIL125 in “Search jobs” field. EOE, including disability/ veterans.

Healthcare

Asian Massage Therapy

S. Power Rd Mesa 85206

Senior Discounts

Details

Wanted to Buy WANT TO PURCHASE

and other oil & gas interests

Details to:

Box 13557 Denver, CO 80201

Diabetic Test Strips by the box, unused. Any type or brand. Will pay top dollar. Call Pat 480-323-8846

Miscellaneous For Sale

CAR OR BOAT STORAGE

B rand new single ca r s torage garage just of f E lliot Rd. available for w inter storage of you r c lassic car or boat Space is available from Nov. 1 to April 30. $100 per month. Call 920-889-3091

PayPal, Inc. has the following positions available in Scottsdale, AZ:

• Software Engineer 3 (Req.#: 21-2604): Design & bld s/w tools, frmwrks & s/w infrastructure to sup p ort automation. Telecommuting permitted: wor k m ay be performed from anywhere in the US.

• HR Business Partner (Req.#: 19-6106): Coac h employees & mgrs through cmplx employee relation situations contributing to individual & team prfrm nce & professionalism.

Must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. w/ o s ponsorship. To apply, please send your resum e w/references, by email to: paypaljobs@paypal.com; or by mail: ATTN: HR, Cube 10.3.561, PayPal, Inc H Q, 2211 North First Street, San Jose, CA 95131 EOE, including disability/vets. Ref. Req.# w/applica tion.

Employment General

Deca Technologies, Inc. seeks Senior Software Engineer in Tempe, AZ to design and develop complex production systems, electronic CAD tools, software verification strategies and work closely with design engineers.

Apply at https://www.jobpostingtoday.com/ Ref #75150

SOFTWARE ENGINEER: Chandler, AZ & various unanticipated locations throughout US.: Dvlp, create tech soln to data convs. Dsgn & write data conv routines & code. Prep new datasets frm raw data files usng imprt techniques. Modfy extg datasets usng set, merge, sort, updt, func & condtn statements. Prfm in dpndt cmplx analysis, suprt sevrl data convs. Extct, trnf, load data. Prfrm unit test & fix issues. Skills req'd: SAS Enterprise Guide, Unix, Metadata, Putty, WinSCP, Oracle, & SQL Server. Masters in Sci, Tech, or Engg (any) w/1 yr of exp in job offrd or rltd occup. Mail resume: Sierra Business Solution LLC, 6909 W Ray Rd, Ste 15-137, Chandler, AZ 85226.

Roofing

BEFORE THE ARIZONA POWER PLANT AND TRANSMISSION LINE SITING COMMITTEE

Docket No. L-21209A-22-0255-00210 Case No. 210

IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION OF SUPERSTITION ENERGY STORAGE, LLC IN CONFORMANCE WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF ARIZONA REVISED STATUTES, SECTIONS 40- 360, et. seq., FOR TWO CERTIFICATES OF ENVIRONMENTAL COMPATIBILITY AUTHORIZING THE SUPERSTITION 230-kV GENERATION INTERTIE PROJECT AND ASSOCIATED SUBSTATION WITHIN THE TOWN OF GILBERT, ARIZONA, LOCATED WITHIN MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA

NOTICE OF HEARING

Notice of Hearing

his discretion, recess the hearing to a time and place to be announced during the hearing or to be determined after the recess. The date time and place at which the hearing will be resumed will be posted on the above-noted Project website and the Commission website. NOTE: NOTICE OF ANY RESUMED HEARING WILL BE GIVEN; HOWEVER, PUBLISHED NOTICE OF SUCH A RESUMED HEARING IS NOT REQUIRED.

No tour of the Project area is planned by the Chairman at this time. If the Chairman or Committee later decide to conduct a tour, a tour notice that includes a map and itinerary of any such tour will be available at the hearing and posted on the Project website at https://www. superstitionenergystorage.com and on the Commission website at: https://www.azcc.gov/ arizona-power-plant/meeting-schedule.

development of the area in which the Project are located that desires to become a party to the proceedings shall, not less than ten (10) days before the date set for the hearing, file a Notice of Intent to Become a Party with the Director of Utilities, Arizona Corporation Commission 1200 West Washington Street, Phoenix AZ 85007.

The Committee or the Chairman, at any time deemed appropriate, may make other person parties to the proceedings. Any person may make a limited appearance at a hearing by filing a statement in writing with the Director of Utilities, Arizona Corporation Commission 1200 West Washington Street, Phoenix AZ 85007, not less than five (5) days before the date set for the hearing. A person making a limited appearance will not be a party or have the right to present testimony or cross-examine witnesses.

NOTICE TO READERS:

Most service advertisers have an ROC# or "Not a licensed contractor" in their ad, this is in accordance to the AZ state law.

Arizona Registrar of Contractors (ROC):

The advertising requirements of the statute does not prevent anyone from placing an ad in the yellow pages, on business cards, or on flyers.

What it does require under A.R.S. §321121A14(c) www.azleg.gov/ars/32/01165.htm is that the advertising party, if not properly licensed as a contractor, disclose that fact on any form of advertising to the public by including the words "not a licensed contractor" in the advertisement.

Again, this requirement is intended to make sure that the consumer is made aware of the unlicensed status of the individual or company.

Contractors who advertise and do not disclose their unlicensed status are not eligible for the handyman's exception.

Reference: http://www.azroc.gov/invest/licensed_by_la w.html

As a consumer, being aware of the law is for your protection. You can check a business's ROC status at:

A PUBLIC HEARING WILL BE HELD before the Arizona Power Plant and Transmission Line Siting Committee (Committee) regarding the application of Superstition Energy Storage, LLC (Superstition or Applicant) for two Certificates of Environmental Compatibility to authorize the construction of the Superstition 230 kilovolt (kV) Generation Intertie Project and associated substation (Project). The Project consists of a proposed 230-kV alternating current generation intertie transmission line (Gen-Tie) and associated substation facilities, planned for construction in Gilbert, Arizona. The Project would connect an adjacent 90-megawatt (MW), 360-MW-hour battery energy storage system.

A general location map of the Project is attached as Exhibit A.

The hearing will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn; 86 Rockford Drive; Tempe, AZ 85281, on November 9, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. and will continue on as necessary on November 10, 2022, commencing at 9:00 a.m. If any revisions to the hearing schedule are required, they will be noticed on the Project website at https://www.superstitionenergystorage.com/ and on the Arizona Corporation Commission (“ACC”) website at https://www.azcc.gov/arizona-power-plant/ meeting-schedule.

PUBLIC COMMENT WILL BE TAKEN IN A SPECIAL EVENING SESSION ON November 9, 2022, AT 5:30 P.M. VIA TELEPHONE, ZOOM OR IN PERSON AT THE HILTON GARDEN INN. PUBLIC COMMENT MAY ALSO BE TAKEN AT OTHER TIMES DURING THE HEARING AT THE DISCRETION OF THE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN.

PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT ALL LOCAL AND STATE PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY GUIDELINES REGARDING COVID-19 WILL BE FOLLOWED DURING THE HEARING AND PUBLIC COMMENT SESSION. FURTHER RESTRICTIONS ON PUBLIC ACCESS, ADDITIONAL SAFETY PROTOCOLS, AND REVISIONS TO THE HEARING SCHEDULE MAY OCCUR DUE TO PUBLIC HEALTH CONSIDERATIONS.

At least 24 hours in advance of the hearing information regarding online and telephone hearing access, as well as any additional details regarding COVID-19 safety protocols or other revisions to the hearing schedule will be noticed on the Project website at https://www.superstitionenergystorage.com. The Chairman may at

Maps of the Project site and detailed information about project facilities and technology are contained in the Application, which is available for inspection at the following locations:

• Arizona Corporation Commission Docket Control Center, Phoenix Office 1200 West Washington Street, Suite 108 Phoenix AZ 85007

• Town of Gilbert Southeast Regional Library 775 N Greenfield Road Gilbert, AZ 85234

• City of Mesa - Dobson Ranch Branch Library 2425 S Dobson Road Mesa AZ 85202

• The Project Website: https://www.superstitionenergystorage.com

The Applicant will make available final copies of the pre-filing conference, prehearing conference, and hearing transcripts on the Project website.

Each county, municipal government, and state agency interested in the Project that desire to be a party to the proceedings shall, not less than ten (10) days before the date set for the hearing file a Notice of Intent to Become a Party with the Director of Utilities Arizona Corporation Commission, 1200 West Washington Street, Phoenix AZ 85007.

Any domestic non-profit corporation or association formed in whole or in part to promote conservation or natural beauty; to protect the environment, personal health or other biological values; to preserve historical sites; to promote consumer interests; to represent commercial and industrial groups; or to promote the orderly

This proceeding is governed by Arizona Revised Statutes (“A.R.S.”) §§ 40-360 to 40-360.13 and Arizona Administrative Code(“A.A.C.”) R143-201 to R14-3-220.

No substantive communication not in the public record may be made to any member of the Committee. The written decision of the Committee will be submitted to the Commission pursuant to A.R.S. § 40-360.07. Any person intending to be a party to the proceeding on the matter before the Commission must be a party to the proceeding before the Committee.

ORDERED this 30th day of September, 2022.

By: Paul A. Katz, Assistant Attorney General Chairman

Arizona Power Plant and Transmission Line Siting Committee 15 South 15 th Avenue Phoenix, Arizona 85007 Paul.Katz@azag.gov

Published: East Valley Tribune, Mesa Tribune, Gilbert Sun News, Chandler Arizonan, Oct 9, 2022 / 49278

Two Day Hiring Event

When: Friday, Oct. 14; 9am - 2pm Saturday, Oct. 15; 9am - 1pm

CMC Steel Arizona 11444 E Germann Rd. Mesa, AZ 85212

CMC Steel Arizona has proudly been making the steel that builds America since 2009.

tour our facility and learn about our openings and potentially receive an on-thespot offer! At CMC, we offer great benefits and provide all necessary training and certifications.

CITY OF MESA, ARIZONA ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ)

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City of Mesa is seeking a qualified Consultant for the following:

GANTZEL ROAD HIGH PRESSURE GAS LINE

PROJECT NO. CP0519GAS

The City of Mesa is seeking a qualified Consultant to provide design services for the Gantzel Road High Pressure Gas Line Project. All qualified firms that are interested in providing these services are invited to submit their Statements of Qualifications (SOQ) in accordance with the requirements de tailed in the Request for Qualifications (RFQ).

The following is a summary of the project. The City of Mesa is planning for a future 12” diameter high pres sure (HP) natural gas pipeline within the Magma Gas System located in the Town of Queen Creek and Pinal Coun ty, Arizona to accommodate future re gional development and growth.

An alignment study was completed as part of a design alternative and feasi bility analysis. The selected alignment begins at the intersection of S Meridi an Road and W Pima Road, runs east erly on Pima Road to Ironwood Road and then south on Ironwood/Gantzel Road to the termination at an existing 8” HP natural gas main at the intersec tion of N Gantzel Road and W Combs Road. The approximate length of the project is four miles (22,070 Lf). The agencies with jurisdiction over the proposed alignment are the Town of Queen Creek and Pinal County. The alignment study Report may be found at: Alignment Analysis. The City of Mesa seeks a qualified con sulting firm, or team, with extensive experience and knowledge of City of Mesa, Town of Queen Creek, and Pi nal County standards and regulations, to provide complete design-phase ser

Public Notices

vices and possible construction-phase services for the project. The follow ing is a summary of the major tasks. These will be reviewed with the se lected consultant and defined to meet the needs of the project as part of the contract scoping.

The City of Mesa is planning for a fu ture 12” diameter high pressure (HP) natural gas pipeline within the Magma Gas System located in the Town of Queen Creek and Pinal County, Ari zona to accommodate future regional development and growth.

An alignment study was completed as part of a design alternative and feasi bility analysis. The selected alignment begins at the intersection of S Meridi an Road and W Pima Road, runs east erly on Pima Road to Ironwood Road and then south on Ironwood/Gantzel Road to the termination at an existing 8” HP natural gas main at the intersec tion of N Gantzel Road and W Combs Road. The approximate length of the project is four miles (22,070 Lf). The agencies with jurisdiction over the proposed alignment are the Town of Queen Creek and Pinal County. The alignment study Report may be found at: Alignment Analysis.

The City of Mesa seeks a qualified con sulting firm, or team, with extensive experience and knowledge of City of Mesa, Town of Queen Creek, and Pi nal County standards and regulations, to provide complete design-phase ser vices and possible construction-phase services for the project. The follow ing is a summary of the major tasks. These will be reviewed with the se lected consultant and defined to meet the needs of the project as part of the contract scoping. The required tasks will be reviewed with the selected De sign Consultant and defined to meet the needs of the project as part of the contract scoping.

A Pre-Submittal Conference will be held on October 13, 2022 at 9:00 am through Microsoft Teams. Parties in terested in attending should request an invitation from Tracy Gumeringer at tracy.gumeringer@mesaaz.gov. At

this meeting, City staff will discuss the scope of work and general contract is sues and respond to questions from the attendees. Attendance at the pre-sub mittal conference is not mandatory and all interested firms may submit a Statement of Qualifications whether or not they attend the conference. All in terested firms are encouraged to attend the Pre-Submittal Conference since City staff will not be available for meetings or to respond to individual inquiries regarding the project scope outside of this conference. In addition, there will not be meeting minutes or any other information published from the Pre-Submittal Conference.

Contact with City Employees. All firms interested in this project (includ ing the firm’s employees, representa tives, agents, lobbyists, attorneys, and subconsultants) will refrain, under penalty of disqualification, from direct or indirect contact for the purpose of influencing the selection or creating bias in the selection process with any person who may play a part in the se lection process. This policy is intend ed to create a level playing field for all potential firms, to assure that contract decisions are made in public, and to protect the integrity of the selection process. All contact on this selection process should be addressed to the authorized representative identified below.

RFQ Lists. This RFQ is available on the City’s website at http://mesaaz. gov/business/engineering/architectur al-engineering-design-opportunities.

The Statement of Qualifications shall include a one-page cover letter, plus a maximum of 10 pages to address the SOQ evaluation criteria (excluding PPVF’s and resumes but including an organization chart with key person nel and their affiliation). Resumes for each team member shall be limited to a maximum length of two pages and should be attached as an appendix to the SOQ. Minimum font size shall be 10pt. Please provide one (1) electronic copy of the Statement of Qualifica tions in an unencrypted PDF format to Engineering-RFQ@mesaaz.gov by

October 27, 2022 at 2 pm. The City re serves the right to accept or reject any and all Statements of Qualifications. The City is an equal opportunity em ployer.

Firms who wish to do business with the City of Mesa must be registered and activated in the City of Mesa Ven dor Self Service (VSS) System (http://me saaz.gov/business/purchasing/ven dor-self-service).

Questions. Questions pertaining to the Consultant selection process or contract issues should be directed to Tracy Gumeringer of the Engineering Department at tracy.gumeringer@me saaz.gov.

BETH HUNING City Engineer

ATTEST: Holly Moseley City Clerk

Published: East Valley Tribune, Oct, 2, 9, 2022 / 49369

LEHI

ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that sealed bids will be received until Thursday, Octo ber 27, 2022, at 1:00 p.m. All sealed bids will be received electronically at Engineer ingBids@mesaaz.gov . Bids must be sub mitted as an unencrypted PDF attachment with a maximum size limit of 20MB. Any bid received after the time specified will be returned without any consideration.

This contract shall be for furnishing all la bor, materials, transportation and services for the construction and/or installation oft he following work:

The Lehi Loop Shared Use Pathway –Phase 1 is the first phase of a shared-use pathway around the Lehi Crossing com munity and surrounding vicinity. The pathway extends for 2.2 miles along the SRP South Canal and the ADOT SR202 freeway, from McDowell Road to Val Vista Drive. The typical pathway section consists of an 18-ft wide facility, with 6-ft of decomposed granite (DG) for equestrian users and 12-feet of asphalt for pedestrians and bicyclists. The pathway improvements include fencing, gates, lighting, bollards, drainage improvements, retaining walls, tunnel extensions, horizontal decorative features, and protection of existing land scape and irrigation facilities. Two (2) trailheads will be constructed as part of this project, one near the intersection of McDowell Road and Lehi Road and one near the cul-de-sac at Val Vista Drive, north of the ADOT SR202. The trailhead improvements include landscaping, irriga tion, paved parking, sidewalks, benches, lighting, signage, and shade structures.

The Engineer’s Estimate range is $5,000,000 - $6,000,000.

For all technical, contract, bid-related, or other questions, please contact Stephanie Gishey at stephanie.gishey@mesaaz.gov.

Contact with City Employees. All firms in terested in this project (including the firm’s employees, representatives, agents, lobbyists, attorneys, and subcon sultants) will refrain, under penalty of disqualification, from direct or indirect

Public Notices

contact for the purpose of influencing the selection or creating bias in the selection process with any person who may play a part in the selection process. This policy is intended to create a level playing field for all potential firms, to assure that con tract decisions are made in public, and to protect the integrity of the selection pro cess. All contact on this selection process should be addressed to the authorized rep resentative identified above.

Contractors desiring to submit proposals may purchase sets of the Bid Documents from ARC Document Solutions, LLC, at https://order.e-arc.com/arcEOC/PWELL_ Main.asp?mem=29. Click on “Go” for the Public Planroom to access plans. NOTE:

In order to be placed on the Plan Holders List and to receive notifications and up dates regarding this bid (such as addenda) during the bidding period, an order must be placed. The cost of each Bid Set will be no more than $50.00, which is non-re fundable. Partial bid packages are not sold. You can view documents on-line (at no cost), order Bid Sets, and access the Plan Holders List on the website at the address listed above. Please verify print lead time prior to arriving for pick-up. For a list of locations nearest you, go to www.e-arc. com.

One set of the Contract Documents is also available for viewing at the City of Mesa’s Engineering Department at 20 East Main Street, Mesa, AZ. Please call 480-6442251 prior to arriving to ensure that the documents are available for viewing.

In order for the City to consider alternate products in the bidding process, please follow Arizona Revised Statutes §34.104c.

If a pre-bid review of the site has been scheduled, details can be referenced in Project Specific Provision Section #3, ti tled “Pre-Bid Review of Site.”

Work shall be completed within 315 con secutive calendar days, beginning with the day following the starting date specified in the Notice to Proceed.

Bids must be submitted on the Proposal Form provided and be accompanied by the Bid Bond for not less than ten percent (10%) of the total bid, payable to the City of Mesa, Arizona, or a certified or cashier's check. PERSONAL OR INDIVIDUAL SURETY BONDS ARE NOT ACCEPT ABLE.

The successful bidder will be required to execute the standard form of contract for

construction within ten (10) days after formal award of contract. In addition, the successful bidder must be registered in the City of Mesa Vendor Self-Service (VSS) System (http://mesaaz.gov/business/pur chasing/vendor-self-service).

The successful bidder, simultaneously with the execution of the Contract, will be required to furnish a Payment Bond in the amount equal to one hundred percent (100%) of the Contract Price, a Perfor mance Bond in an amount equal to one hundred percent (100%) of the Contract Price, and the most recent ACORD® Cer tificate of Liability Insurance form with additional insured endorsements.

The right is hereby reserved to accept or reject any or all bids or parts thereto, to waive any informalities in any propos al and reject the bids of any persons who have been delinquent or unfaithful to any contract with the City of Mesa.

BETH HUNING City Engineer

ATTEST: Holly Moseley City Clerk

Published: East Valley Tribune, Oct. 2, 9, 2022 / 49471

Public Notices

CITY OF MESA PUBLIC NOTICE

The Mesa City Council will hold a public hearing concerning the following ordinance at the October 17, 2022, City Council meeting beginning at 5:45 p.m. in the Mesa City Council Chambers, 57 East First Street.

1. Amending Title 1 of the Mesa City Code (Administrative), Chapter 20 (City Manager), Section 4 (Duties) to delegate authority to the City Manager to enter into and accept certain grant agreements without prior City Council approval. (Citywide)

2. Amending Title 5 of the Mesa City Code (Business Regulations) by adding a new Chapter 15, entitled “Short-Term Rentals”, enacting reasonable regulations and licensing requirements on short-term rentals and vacation rentals operating in Mesa. (Citywide)

3. Amending Title 6 of the Mesa City Code (Police Regulations) by repealing Chapter 21 entitled “Fireworks”, and replacing it in its entirety with a new Chapter 21 entitled “Fireworks and Permissible Consumer Fireworks”, including changes such as, clarifying terms and definitions, revising dates and times of use and sale of permissible consumer fireworks, and updating fines and creating criminal penalties for the sale and use of prohibited fireworks. (Citywide) Dated at Mesa, Arizona, this 9th day of October 2022. Holly Moseley, City Clerk

Published: East Valley Tribune, Oct 9, 2022 / 49656

SHARE WITH THE WORLD!

Public Notices

CITY OF MESA, ARIZONA ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ)

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City of Mesa is seeking qualified Consultants for the following:

CONSULTANT ON-CALL LIST FOR MECHANICAL ENGINEERING SERVICES

The City of Mesa is seeking qualified Consultants to provide design services and/or construction administration services on an on-call basis in the following area/category: Mechanical Engineering. All qualified firms that are interested in providing these services are invited to submit their Statements of Qualifications (SOQ) in accordance with the requirements detailed in the Request for Qualifications (RFQ). From this solicitation, the Engineering Department will establish a list of on-call consultants for Mechanical Engineering.

This category is further defined below:

Mechanical Engineering projects might involve studies, new construction, upgrades, rehabilitation, or other modifications. Typical projects include, but are not limited to, HVAC systems, gas piping installations, elevators, plumbing, fire suppression, and fire alarm systems.

A Pre-Submittal Conference will not be held.

Contact with City Employees. All firms interested in this project (including the firm’s employees, representatives, agents, lobbyists, attorneys, and subconsultants) will refrain, under penalty of disqualification, from direct or indirect contact for the purpose of influencing the selection or creating bias in the selection process with any person who may play a part in the selection process. This policy is intended to create a level playing field for all potential firms, to assu re that contract decisions are made in public, and to protect the integrity of the selection process. All contact on this selection process should be addressed to the authorized representative identified below.

RFQ Lists. This RFQ is available on the City’s website at http://mesaaz.gov/business/ engineering/architectural-engineering-design-opportunities.

The Statement of Qualifications shall include a one-page cover letter, plus a maximum of 10 pages to address the SOQ evaluation criteria (excluding resumes but including an organization chart with key personnel and their affiliation). Resumes for each team member shall be limited to a maximum length of two pages and should be attached as an appendix to the SOQ. Minimum font size shall be 10 point. Please submit one (1) electronic copy in an unenc rypted PDF format with a maximum file size limit of 20MB to Engineering-RFQ@mesaaz.gov by 2:00 PM, Thursday October 27, 2022. The City reserves the right to accept or reject any and all Statements of Qualifications. In the subject line and on the submittal package, please display: Firm name and On-Call Mechanical Engineering Services.

The City is an equal opportunity employer.

Firms who wish to do business with the City of Mesa must be registered and activated in the City of Mesa Vendor Self Service (VSS) System (http://mesaaz.gov/business/purchasing/vendor-self-service).

Questions. Questions pertaining to the Consultant selection process or contract issues should be directed to Tracy Gumeringer of the Engineering Department at tracy.gumeringer@mesaaz.gov.

BETH HUNING City Engineer

ATTEST: Holly Moseley

Published: East Valley Tribune, Oct, 2, 9, 2022 / 49368

Public Notices

CITY OF MESA MESA, ARIZONA

NOTICE OF VIRTUAL PUBLIC MEETING Val Vista Drive Improvements, US60 to Pueblo Avenue

Project No. CP0062

The City of Mesa plans to reconstruct Val Vista Drive from the US60 Freeway to Pueblo Avenue and the intersection of Val Vista Drive and Southern Avenue. These improvements will provide three through lanes on Val Vista Drive from US60 to Enid Avenue. Improvements include pavem ent reconstruction, raised center medians, bike lanes, adding drainage structures and facilities, landscaping and traffic signal modifications. Other improvements include overhead to underground electric, gas facilities, replacement of curb, gutter, sidewalk, and ADA-compliant ramps and driveways in various locations. Design is underway with construction anticipated to begin Fall 2023.

We invite you to join us for a short presentation followed by a questions and answer session!

Date: Tuesday, October 18, 2022

Time: 6:00pm to 7:00pm

Location: Virtual Public Meeting: Register online at mesaaz.gov/engineering

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this project, please contact Curt Albright, Michele Arrollado, or Dory Kalich with the City of Mesa Engineering Public Relations Department at (480) 644-3800.

Si usted tiene preguntas de este proyecto, favor de llamar a Maggie Smith, con la Ciudad de Mesa al (480) 644-5672.

Published: East Valley Tribune, Oct. 9, 16, 2022 / 49649

It Only Takes Seconds to Drown. Always watch your child around water.

Arizona’s Resort-Style Home Builder

Award-winning Arizona builder for over 40 years.

Blandford Homes specializes in building master planned environments with a variety of amenities, parks, and charm. You’ll find the perfect community to fit your lifestyle.

A STRATFORD – NOW SELLING

A Dramatic Gated Community in Gilbert Greenfield and Germann Rds in Gilbert From the low $700’s • 480-895-2800

B PALMA BRISA – In Ahwatukee Foothills CLOSEOUT

A Dramatic Gated Community From the $800’s • 480-641-1800

C BELMONT AT SOMERSET – Prime Gilbert Location SOLD OUT Luxury estate homes and timeless architecture 480-750-3000

D MONTELUNA – Brand New Gated Community in the Foothills of Northeast Mesa NOW SELLING McKellips Rd just east of the Red Mountain 202 Fwy From the $700’s • 480-750-3000

E RESERVE AT RED ROCK – NOW SELLING New Upscale Resort Community In the Foothills of Northeast Mesa with Stunning View of Red Mountain Vintage Collection • From the low $700’s • 480-641-1800 Craftsman Collection • From the high $800’s • 480-988-2400 Artisan Collection • From the $900’s • 480-641-1800

F TALINN AT DESERT RIDGE – NOW SELLING Spectacular gated community in Desert Ridge • 480-733-9000