East Valley Tribune: West Mesa Edition - May 21, 2017

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THE VOICE OF THE EAST VALLEY SINCE 1891 AND WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR LOCAL REPORTING

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Kyrene District looks at selling land in Tempe

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This Week

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West Mesa Edition

INSIDE

Gilbert releases town attorney, prosecutor resigns

Class of 2017 ready to graduate

Sunday, May 21, 2017

Billion-dollar windfall boosts East Valley freeway upgrades BY PAUL MARYNIAK Tribune Executive Editor

E

COMMUNITY ........ 17 Mom juggles parenthood, running Mesa medical marijuana dispensary

BUSINESS...................19 Cupcake bouquets and doughnut hole trees make Mesa bakery

(Kimberly Carrillo/Tribune Staff Photographer)

Alexa Lemke of Williams Field High School shows off her gown as she picks it up. Graduating seniors are taking the stage for commencement across the East Valley. Story, Page 14.

SPORTS ...................... 21 Hamilton High baseball, softball teams win state titles

R Food Network gave Gilbert pizzeria welcomed popularity

BUSINESS........................19 OPINION...................... 20 SPORTS........................... 21 FAITH.............................. 23 CLASSIFIED....................30

See

HIGHWAYS on page 8

Winkle fighting to keep seat, apologizes after DUI arrest BY JIM WALSH Tribune Staff Writer

DINING ..................... 24

ast Valley motorists in the coming years will reap a significant part of a billiondollar windfall that will jumpstart upgrades on several key highways in the region. That forecast to the Chandler Chamber of Commerce came recently from Bob Hazlett, senior engineering manager for the Maricopa Association of Governments, the principal highway planning agency in the Valley. “If you haven’t seen a construction cone lately, you’re going to be seeing a lot of construction cones soon because this is a pretty big shot in the arm,” Hazlett told a group of

business executives and Chandler City Council members. “We’re very excited about seeing these projects open up,” he added. “You’re going to be seeing projects in areas you can’t really get to, but then at the same time, ones that will improve vital transportation routes so people can get back and forth to their jobs, their recreation as well as to their schools.” Some major projects include: • Extending the third and HOV lanes on U.S. 60 out to Apache Junction; • Widening by one lane in each direction the Loop 101 Price Freeway between the U.S. 60 and Santan Freeway; • Widening portions of the the Loop 202 Santan and Red

yan Winkle spent much of last year running for election. Now, he’s running to stay elected. Winkle’s grassroots campaign in November won him a seat on the Mesa City Council in diverse District 3, reaching out to Asian Americans and Hispanics with the promise of giving them a voice. But after his driving-under-the-influence arrest in Tempe May 7, and a 2009 arrest for extreme DUI in Scottsdale, Winkle now finds himself in a campaign to save his seat. That came in the wake of emails to Mesa Mayor John Giles that called for Winkle’s ouster for violating the public’s trust. Reacting to the furor created by the arrest earlier this month, Winkle last week went on

Leibowitz: Ex-councilman urges second chance ... page 20 an apology tour with his wife, Ericka Varela, that included interviews on Facebook with a Spanish-language journalist and a reporter with the East Valley Tribune. It culminated with an apology he read to reporters and a group of supporters at city hall. The flurry of apologies came May 17, a day before his arrest was to be discussed by the Mesa City Council at a study session. But by Thursday, the heat seemed to drop after Winkle and Giles agreed that Winkle would take a voluntary leave of absence to address the charges and to enroll in a counseling program with Varela. “I think the what happened yesterday was See

WINKLE on page 10

(facebook.com)

Mesa City Council member Ryan Winkle ahas announced he will take a leave of absence. He and his wife, Ericka Varela, are undergoing counseling.


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