Mall owners' upbeat forecast / P. 2
Nightlife down, DUIs not / P. 14
An edition of the East Valley Tribune
INSIDE
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SUSD considering district auditor position BY WAYNE SCHUTSKY Progress Managing Editor
NEIGHBORS .............. 17 Saguaro High opens Innovation Center.
ARTS.................................21 Museums pin big hopes on next Sunday.
Sunday, November 22, 2020
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fter gaining little traction over the past two years, the push to hire an internal auditor for Scottsdale Unified School District is gaining momentum. The prospect of hiring an internal auditor has been brought up sporadically over the past few years but the Govern-
COVID-19 rules impact Railroad Park admissions
ing Board had not broached the topic for nearly 10 months until Board President Allyson Beckham asked to discuss it at a future meeting in October. Board Member Jann-Michael Greenburg, who made hiring an auditor a central issue in his 2018 election campaign, told the Progress he anticipates the board will vote before the end of the year. Greenburg long pushed for a staff auditor to identify potential financial mis-
conduct following the tenure of former Superintendent Denise Birdwell, who was fired in 2018 following allegations she took payments from an architect who later was awarded district contracts. Other alleged impropriety related to contracts awarded to that architect, Brian Robichaux, resulted in a complaint filed by the state Attorney General that
see AUDITOR page 10
BY WAYNE SCHUTSKY AND KRISTINE CANNON Progress Staff Writers
FOOD..............................25 Local wine expert airs Thanksgiving pairings.
NEIGHBORS .......................................... 17 BUSINESS ..............................................20 ARTS ......................................................... 21 FOOD ........................................................25 CLASSIFIEDS ....................................... 26
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ttendees at McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park’s popular holiday lights event can expect smaller crowds and higher ticket prices this year due to health and safety precautions. The event has become one of Scottsdale’s most popular holiday attractions since it began in the 1980s, and draws in thousands of spectators from all over the Valley to ride the model train and view the
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the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park will still be open this holiday season, but the number of guests allowed at any one time will be substantially reduced. (Progress file photo)
thousands of lights blanketing the park. This year’s holiday lights will be on display 6-9:30 p.m. Nov. 27-Jan. 3. There will be no lights on Dec. 24, 25 or 31.
The park will allow a limited number of guests in one-hour increments at 6 p.m.,
see TRAIN page 6
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