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Peoria’s Hometown Newspaper
Casino ready to roll BY TOM SCANLON
Peoria Times Managing Editor
NEWS..............4 ‘Reunification drill’ coming to local school
It was 2 p.m. last Thursday, just a regular day of the week. Desert Diamond West Valley Casino’s parking lot was packed. Cars were circling and circling, looking for a parking space like the mall during Christmas time. Clearly, the West Valley is ready for the Tohono O’odham Nation’s massive expansion and launch of the long-awaited casino. A temporary casino is at 91st and Northern avenues, bordered by Glendale and Peoria. Next to it, construction crews are working intensely on the final phases of the permanent casino.
Starting at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 19, the new casino will be ready to roll. A snapshot of the Desert Diamond West Valley Casino: • Cost: $400 million. • Size: 75,000 square feet interior, 2.3 million square feet total. • Crew: 2,000 workers. • Food: Five restaurants. • Slots: 1,000 slot machines. • Poker: 36 tables. • Blackjack: 48 tables. “This has been a long time coming” said Treena Parvello, director of Government Relations and Communications for the Nation. SEE CASINO PAGE 3
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February 13, 2020
Desert Diamond Casino West Valley is in the final phases of construction for a Feb. 19 opening. (Photo
courtesy Desert Diamond Casino)
Who needs a van driver? BY TOM SCANLON
Peoria Times Managing Editor
SPORTS......... 16 College signing day for Mountain Ridge High
OPINION.................12 BUSINESS...............14 SPORTS...................16 CALENDAR.............18 FEATURES...............20 RELIGION................26 YOUTH....................28 CLASSIFIEDS...........32
Peoria will launch a free, driverless shuttle Feb. 22 in the P83 sports and entertainment district, just in time for Spring Training. (Photo courtesy city of Peoria)
People getting a lift to Peoria Spring Training games should not expect the van driver to be chatty. Indeed, they shouldn’t even expect a driver. Peoria City Council last week approved an autonomous shuttle, launching in the P83 District Feb. 22 — just in time for spring ball. The shuttle is not entirely android, as a human attendant will be onboard during rides for safety. The shuttle holds up to 10 passengers at a time and hits a maximum speed of 15 mph. Kevin Burke, Public Works director,
gave the presentation asking council for $78,500 to fund the Autonomous Vehicle Demonstration Project in P83. Council approved transferring the money from the Transit Fund Contingency to the Transit Fund Other Professional Services Account to fund the project. Burke noted the project was discussed in a June 2019 study session on “The Future of Mobility.” “Autonomous vehicles are an impending part of the mobility future,” Burke said. A portion of the 2020 transportation sales tax “was earmarked for a possible autonomous vehicle demonstration project if an opportunity presented itself,” Burke SEE AUTONOMOUS PAGE 6