THE VOICE OF THE EAST VALLEY SINCE 1891 AND WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR LOCAL REPORTING
THE SUNDAY
Mesa company joins fight against wrong-way drivers
Tribune
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Northeast Mesa Edition
INSIDE
This Week
NEWS ............................. 3
Kyrene grapples with the high cost of keeping students, luring new ones
COMMUNITY ...... 10 Chandler Regional Medical Center adds four-legged security guards
SPORTS ...................... 15 Chandler National continues Little League series quest
EAST VALLEY
Banner Health moving quick clinics into Safeways PAGE 13
Sunday, August 6, 2017
EV leaves ‘boomburb’ tag behind, but growth slowing BY GARY NELSON Tribune Contributor
B
ack in 2001, life was discovered in Arizona outside the city limits of Phoenix. Fannie Mae, a federally backed mortgage corporation, made headlines that year when it coined the term “boomburb” to describe large and growing communities where much of this life existed. “Incredibly,” one report said at the time, “some of the boomburbs described by Fannie Mae are so large they exceed the population of actual cities.” Mesa was listed as the prime example, already boasting a population larger than that of Minneapolis, Miami, St. Louis, Pittsburgh or Cincinnati. Even then, one suspects, Mesa would have chafed at being described as something other than a real city. Likewise Tempe, Gilbert and Chandler, which also made the “boomburb” list. But if the semi-derogatory term was at all true as the century dawned, the East Valley’s four major municipalities have been working overtime to make sure it no longer applies. Part of that – the part about no longer being known simply for breakneck population
(Gary Nelson/Tribune Contributor)
A large residential complex at University Drive and Myrtle typifies construction now under way in much of downtown Tempe.
growth – is taking care of itself naturally as cities use up their available land and approach buildout. The other part – the part about becoming a self-sustaining community with an identity
and a sense of place – results from a willingness to stick with long-term visions and plans. That is not to say growth is over. It isn’t, not by a long shot. See
GROWTH on page 4
Hamilton High students have mixed reactions to sex-assault scandal BY JESSICA SURIANO Tribune Staff Writer
EVENTS ...................... 18 Lowrider car show drives into WestWorld
BUSINESS.....................13 OPINION.................... 14 SPORTS......................... 15 FAITH............................. 17 CLASSIFIEDS............. 24
H
amilton High School students have mixed reactions to the current police investigation into a sex-assault case involving their school and how the scandal will affect its sports program and campus climate long-term. Some believe the ongoing investigation into allegations of misconduct involving the football team will not change the culture of student-to-student interaction or the atmosphere of the sports programs – including football – while others reported sensing changes already. “Things are taken more seriously after what
happened last year, but I haven’t seen that many changes,” sophomore Mariana Flores said. While Flores said she hasn’t seen drastic changes in the hallways, she said she does think the sports programs will be affected much more. “I wouldn’t say that there was a big change, but certain teachers have been acting a little strange, personally the coaches,” senior Chris Lee said. “If you have a coach as a teacher, you can kind of tell that they’re under the weather when it comes to the lawsuit itself.” Other than small differences in some classrooms, Lee said there is no “defined change” visible in the campus climate. He added, though, Hamilton might have to
adapt to new public perceptions of its sports program. Other students also have noticed a change in how Hamilton is perceived by other schools. Seniors Kaitlyn Moran and Ariel Kuo said when they meet other people who learn they attend Hamilton, it is usually met with a skeptical reaction because the investigation is immediately associated with the school’s name now. Moran said students talked about the allegations in the hallways and at lunch much more when they first surfaced earlier this year, but now the talk has died down. That comes at a time when the investigation See
HAMILTON on page 6