Mesa Tribune - Zone 1 - 11.22.2020

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Coming to Mesa / P. 9

A star is mourned / P. 8

An edition of the East Valley Tribune

FREE ($1 OUTSIDE THE EAST VALLEY) | TheMesaTribune.com

Sunday, November 22, 2020

Nightlife may have ebbed, drunk driving hasn’t

INSIDE

This Week

BY JIM WALSH Tribune Staff Writer

NEWS ...................... 12 Mesa, AZ virus cases soaring.

P

olice tactics are changing amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but the East Valley DUI Task Force will return during the holiday season with the same goal of promoting public safety by busting as many impaired drivers as possible. Throughout Arizona, driving under the in�luence arrests are down 10-15 percent this year, but East Valley agencies report the opposite trend, with Gilbert police arrests increas-

ing 31 percent from a year ago and Chandler police also reporting an increase. Mesa and Scottsdale police report little change from a year ago, with drivers still drinking or using drugs before getting behind the wheel – apparently more from imbibing at home or private social gatherings. “Overall, our numbers are down slightly from last year. However, our crashes involving impaired drivers have remained at a similar level,’’ said Sgt. Ben Hoster, a Scottsdale police spokesman. “This is still signi�icant because of how nightlife has been impacted.

“Across the Valley, we are seeing a noticeable amount of people driving impaired that are not coming from the establishments impacted by the pandemic.’’ Mesa police Of�icer George Chwe, a state instructor in DUI investigations, said the problem can be traced to substance abuse and addiction. “A lot of old habits are coming back,’’ Chwe said, with people who have suffered from substance abuse in the past likely backslid-

��� DUI ���� 6

Mesa not letting COVID-19 spoil the season

COMMUNITY .......... 14 Museum pins big hopes on next Sunday.

GET OUT .................. 21 These EV eateries respect food allergies. COMMUNITY ............................... 14 BUSINESS ..................................... 17 OPINION ....................................... 19 SPORTS ....................................... 20 GET OUT ....................................... 21 PUZZLES ...................................... 22 CLASSIFIED ................................. 25 Zone

1

BY JIM WALSH Tribune Staff Writer

W

ith Thanksgiving opening a holiday season made unusual by the COVID-19 pandemic, Mesa will be attempting to spread holiday cheer and avoiding the surging virus. Many of the city’s traditional holiday events have been altered by the pandemic curtailed in format while food drives and other community-wide charitable endeavors have taken on a heightened urgency in the wake of COVID-19’s economic toll. Generous residents donated turkeys at the Mesa Civic Center, workers erected a temporary ice-skating rink near City Hall, and Mesa �ire�ighters stood on street corners to solicit funds for their long-delayed annual boot campaign. Merry Main Street, the city’s annual Christ-

��� HOLIDAYS ���� 3

Mesa Fire Capt. Steve Heyer and his fellow firefighters are taking to the streets with their annual fundraiser boot campaign to raise money for wheelchairs and other necessities as they join the city’s effort to bring holiday cheer to the needy and residents in general during a holiday season that will be muted by the pandemic. (Pablo Robles/Tribune Staff Photographer)

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