Landsea
BY JOE McHUGH Glendale Star Staff Writer
Glendale City Council has officially adopted its budget for fiscal year 2023-24.
The new budget allocates $1.26 billion for the city to use on its expenses and capital improvement program — a 15% increase over the $1.07 billion budget in 2022-23.
This year’s bankroll was heavily geared toward balance and prioritized many aspects of the city to help the community continue its growth.
“I’m real proud because I think we have addressed the key priorities, you know, transportation, public safety, parks and fa-
cilities. We’ve addressed that in a big way,” Glendale City Manager Kevin Phelps said.
“We’re still trying to address all of our core
priorities, but do it through revenue growth and a focus on new growth that are in our community, and not through raising taxes to our citizens.”
The new budget offers an operating budget of $595 million — an 8% increase from the $546 million in 2022-23. This is a number the city will look to balance one-time expenditures with one-time revenues. This is something Phelps said is important for the city and a contributing reason for the current budgeted total.
“The number looks big because we generated a significant amount of
Glendale City Council recently entered a System Conservation Implementation Agreement with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the Central Arizona Water Conservation District that will aid in preserving Glendale’s water supply.
This eight-user agreement will look to conserve up to 140,000 acre-feet of water in Lake Mead and will contribute close to 393,000 acre-feet of water by 2025.
“This program is really good for the participants, including Glendale,” said Drew
Swieczkowski, water resources program manager for the city of Glendale.
“It gives us a chance to help even more with Lake Mead, all while giving us some funds back for other projects.”
The bones of the agreement are that Glendale is slated to contribute up to 7,000 acre-feet of water per year for the next three years, in which the city will be given $400 per acre-foot of water. The acre-feet of water will come out of the city’s Central Arizona Project water supply — close to 30% of its total allotment.
“This — up to 7,000 acre-feet per year
will go into Lake Mead — will help raise the water levels that will help stabilize it even more through the big plan, so that’s a good thing,” Swieczkowski said. “We’re not the only ones. As the state of Arizona is putting in water, California has agreed with the consensus-based agreement that came up to save 3 million acres among the lower basin states through 2026. So, it’s a good thing for everybody.”
With the potential to make the city up to $8.4 million just in this agreement alone,
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one-time construction sales tax money due to all of the significant growth happening out in the Loop 303 area,” he said. “We’ve taken those revenue dollars and put them towards capital projects here in the city.”
The city has also allotted 26 new fulltime equivalent positions in the public safety sector, which include seven new police officers, three forensic technicians, six fire captains, two code compliance officers, three park rangers and five park service workers. A misdemeanor repeat offender program has been budgeted as well to help combat the city’s homelessness issue.
In terms of capital projects, Glendale has set aside $430 million for a slew of improvements and upgrades heading into the city over the next year.
“The capital budget is very robust, which is a good thing for citizens,” Phelps said. “This means that we can take these one-time monies and invest them in our infrastructure in our facilities. That will ensure our ability to deliver quality services for the decades to follow.”
The city is entering the second year
of its 10-year capital improvement plan (CIP) coming in at over $1.6 billion.
“I believe that people choose communities based on a number of factors,” Phelps said. “They choose it on how good the streets and the roads are (and) do they have good public safety and they have amenities like parks, aquatic centers and splash pads. I think all of those go into the decision of why somebody chooses to live and work or not live and work in a community.”
The CIP starts with a $37 million bankroll to fund amenities and recreational opportunities. This will include upgrades at city parks and open spaces that will hope to get more of the city’s residents outside and into the community.
The way the city plans to spend the money is by increasing the funding for water, irrigation and arborist services to help keep trees healthy to provide shade and higher-quality air in the area.
A specific park mentioned in the budget was Heroes Regional Park. It will receive a $17.5 million investment to build three lighted soccer fields, new play areas, a food truck court, walking paths, upgrades to the splash pad, and parking
for visitors.
The budget will also include six hours of operation at every library in Glendale. The Glendale Library System will use these hours of operation to promote its reading programs.
The city will also address its infrastructure, by way of $17 million budgeted for pavement management projects that will look to fix up anywhere between 100 to 120 miles of roads in the city. These projects are aiming to fix cracked seals, slurry seals, thin overlay, and mill and overlay — treatments that will help extend the life of Glendale’s roads.
Possibly the most important part of the budget, though, is for the eighth year in a row, the city did not raise the property tax. Phelps said this is something the city was dedicated to doing in this year’s budget.
“I am proud of our hard work on making sure we did not raise property taxes these past eight years,” Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers said in a statement.
“We have kept our property tax rates down, the same as they were in 2015,” Phelps added. “What it really is saying is that if you have a $300,000 house, what you pay for property tax to the city of Glendale in 2023 is less than what you would have paid in 2015 — and that even takes into account inflation.”
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The new budget provides plenty of working room for Glendale to continue its hot streak and keep putting itself on the map with bigger events — like the NCAA Final Four coming in 2024 — coming into the booming city.
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“This year’s balanced budget continues that trend and is focused on my priorities, which include job growth, economic development and public safety,” Weiers said.
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Glendale City Council had full support of its water department in moving the project forward. Councilmember Bart Turner is the spearhead of council’s support, as he is the chairman of Arizona Municipal Water Users Association and has been vocal in getting an agreement like this done.
“City council really understands it when we give them at least twice a year an update on water resources,” Swieczkowski said. “They are very supportive of water services and the decisions that we make internally here. They have been very supportive of these programs and other things to help with drought resiliency and just making the city’s water supply secure, not only now but in the future.”
Glendale City Council entered into an agreement that has the potential to return $8.4 million through contributing water to Lake Mead. (File photo)
With the incoming funds over the next three years, Swieczkowski is excited for the incoming upgrades and implementations to the infrastructure.
city save water.
The past year has made the idea of signing the agreement more feasible, as Arizona saw an abundance of precipitation and snowshed. That didn’t take the state out of a drought, but it did make it easier to provide the allotted 7,000 acrefeet of water.
“Our infrastructure and water services needs have become much more expensive,” he said. “Putting in a well and all of the things due to just the general inflation and some other things — everything has become much more expensive. So, it really helped water services with some of our plans.”
In exchange for the water contribution program, the agreement will help the
“I think it’s known that we will have greater shortages in the Colorado (River),” Swieczkowski said. “We can have backup supplies of groundwater that are stored in long-term storage units that we have, almost 200,000 acrefeet of water in the ground that we can recover, and use that in place of Colorado River water that we may be shorted in that year.”
With the ink dried on the agreement signature, the city can now move into the future with a water profile that will help
provide a population that is ever-expanding.
“We all need to do the best job we can, and I really do believe in the water services we have — we have really done and will continue into the future,” Swieczkowski said. “Our job’s not done. We’re still planning. We’re still adapting depending to what’s thrown at us. But I really do think we have the tools in our toolbox to handle the future. And this (agreement) is just one of them.”
Voters across the state are likely to decide whether Maricopa County residents get a chance to extend the half-cent sales tax for transit projects.
Gov. Katie Hobbs said she will back a proposal to put an issue on the 2024 ballot repealing a state law that requires only Maricopa County to get legislative approval before putting the tax renewal to voters.
The governor acknowledged she could call lawmakers back to the Capitol after she vetoed the funding plan approved June 13 by Republican lawmakers.
The governor said what was sent to her is unacceptable, from less money for mass transit than sought by the Maricopa Association of Governments to the fact that the GOP plan would require two separate votes.
“I don’t think it serves anyone’s pur-
pose if they’re not willing to come to the table and talk about a deal,” she said. “And that requires some cooling off.”
Time, however, is not a likely answer.
“This is going to be the only bill that passes this session on extension of the tax,” said Rep. David Livingston, R-Peoria, of the GOP plan.
Other Republicans made it clear if Hobbs won’t accept their plan, Maricopa County voters will have no chance to extend the levy — first approved in 1985 — for another 20 years.
If that’s the case, they claimed, the current tax will self-destruct at the end of 2025. And all the funds it would raise — an estimated $20 billion over the next two decades — would not be collected and all the projects the cash would fund will not happen.
But Avondale Mayor Kenn Weise, chairman of MAG, said that’s not true. He sent a letter to the governor seeking a veto.
That leaves Plan B — what Weise
called the “Free Maricopa” initiative. He said the idea is to sell voters statewide on the idea that residents of the state’s largest county should not be hobbled by a restriction that doesn’t apply anywhere else.
“Maricopa County is the only county in the state that has to go through this process of getting the blessing of state lawmakers to ask voters to extend the tax,” Weise said. “And we’ve seen just how disastrous that can be.”
What that would mean is getting 255,949 valid signatures on petitions by July 3, 2024, to put the issue to voters that November. Then, if it passed, it would be up to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to set a date for a special election in early 2025 on extending the tax to kick in when the current levy expires at the end of that year.
Livingston said he doubts the business community would pony up multiple millions of dollars to get the signatures for the initiative and then probably $10 million or more to convince voters statewide to let Maricopa County out from under the legislative restriction.
veto power over the Maricopa plan.
“They thought that a government agency like MAG could have too much power,” Livingston said.
Livingston sidestepped the point that MAG lacks the power to impose a levy. Instead, the organization composed of elected officials still would have to offer a plan it believes would be acceptable to a majority of Maricopa County voters.
He also said the willingness to go to the ballot proves MAG never was negotiating in good faith with the Legislature.
Ed Zuerker, MAG’s managing director, said, “We have given on freeways. They wanted more freeways, so we increased the freeway number.”
At the same time, Zuerker said, MAG decreased the percentage it was seeking for transit. And he said the organization even agreed that any light rail extensions would be funded by other revenues.
Zuerker said MAG even agreed to language to require Valley Metro to meet certain “benchmarks,” based on comparable cities, of what percentage of the operating costs of buses, trolleys and light rail would be covered by fares.
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Weise said he doesn’t foresee a problem getting the necessary backing, especially in the wake of Republicans telling Maricopa County, effectively, that when it comes to a transit tax, it’s their way or the highway.
“When things like this happen, it has a tendency to energize and galvanize those stakeholders that are vested in this plan,” Weise said. “My hope is we would get support from the business community to move forward with this.”
Hobbs said she believes voters statewide would be willing to support repeal of the restrictions under which Maricopa County has to operate.
“They’re holding them hostage,” she said. “It is ridiculous that Maricopa County has to go to the Legislature to get permission to go to the ballot for something for their region.”
Moreover, she said, “If Maricopa doesn’t get this, then every other region of this state is going to be competing with Maricopa for transportation dollars.”
All that goes to the question of why the Legislature decided it needed to have
“We just have hit a limit of there’s no more to give,” he said, adding that Hobbs and MAG want an extension of the half-cent levy for 20 years, with 40% of the proceeds going toward freeways, an identical amount to mass transit, with the balance for regional and arterial roads.
By contrast, Republican lawmakers authorized a vote on a 0.0495-cent levy, with a larger share going toward freeways. They also want voters to separately approve a 0.07-cent tax for construction and extension of light rail.
House Speaker Ben Toma said what Republicans approved gives Hobbs and MAG, made up of local elected officials, what they want: the chance to extend the sales tax until 2045.
“And the fact that some seem to be concerned, shall we say, about the fact that it’s split into two questions is very telling to me,” Toma said. “They might be a little bit afraid, perhaps, that light rail isn’t going to pass while the other
Efforts in the state Capitol to address the rising cost of housing have imploded, at least in part because conservative Republicans are unwilling to override local regulations, even with the consent of affected communities.
Sen. Steve Kaiser acknowledged that the comprehensive zoning overhaul won’t happen this year despite the deal he struck with the League of Arizona Cities and Towns on a slimmed-down version of his original proposal.
The Phoenix Republican also had picked up support from many Democrats who see local zoning and “NIMBY-ism” as ways communities keep out “affordable” housing.
The deal would have set state standards for zoning, requiring cities and towns to allow backyard casitas and a mix of new smaller developments including small lot sizes, duplex and triplex homes, and manufactured housing. But it ended up going a bit too far for many.
Rep. Neal Carter, R-San Tan Valley, said Kaiser’s baseline restrictions on local zoning powers were fraught with problems.
“I do not want to turn the Legislature into the local zoning board,” he said. And that, added Carter, is exactly what would happen if questions of size and density suddenly became matters that were governed by state law.
Rep. Alexander Kolodin, R-Scottsdale, said his opposition to Kaiser’s plan was even more basic.
“He just never got my voters to a place of comfort with this,” he said of the idea of stripping certain planning and zoning decisions away from local boards and
councils.
And in a Twitter post, Mesa Republican Rep. Jacqueline Parker described the package as “horrible, suburb-destroying bills.”
Kaiser wanted to jump-start the construction of smaller, cheaper housing in already built-up municipalities to ease a housing crunch that has made it impossible for many people to find rental homes they can afford. One result is rising homelessness.
But he could not even get a majority of fellow Republicans in the House to get on board.
And the Senate, in a separate action, overwhelmingly rejected a backstop measure on June 12 that was designed in a way to garner support from the conservative “Freedom Caucus.” It did not work.
“Ultimately, I think members just want to slow down and really work on a better product during the interim and then run something in January,” Kaiser said. “I think a lot of them were a little bit uncomfortable with just how fast everything was moving and how complex the issues are.”
House Majority Whip Teresa Martinez agreed.
“This was too much to absorb,” the Casa Grande Republican said.
Sen. Anna Hernandez, D-Phoenix, who was at the forefront of Democrats working to expand access to affordable housing, expressed frustration.
“When we earn constituents’ votes, those come with accountability,” she said. “So constituents need to ask their legislators why they are voting ‘no’ on affordable housing measures and measures that will ultimately bring affordable housing in the middle of a crisis.”
The Home Builders Association of Central Arizona has been a key backer
of Kaiser’s original package.
But lobbyist Spencer Kamps said the key element of the original package was the effort to cut down on what he said is the red tape in getting a new development approved.
“The private sector can’t respond to the market quick enough when demand increases,” he said, with the problem being local regulations.
The result, said Kamps, is an “artificial spike in pricing because of the supply.” And delay, he said, is a big part of it.
“My industry, literally 40 years ago, you could be able to get a subdivision approved from raw land to the first home sale in about two years,” Kamps said. “And we’re not up to about four years.”
Kamps said by the time Kaiser was done amending it after negotiations with the League of Arizona Cities and Towns and others, his organization decided to neither support or oppose it.
Kaiser seemed resigned and even sup-
portive of calling a pause to his efforts.
But he was buoyed by emerging and “long overdue” efforts in cities including Phoenix to voluntarily change their zoning regulations to allow developments that are more affordable than the single-family homes that have been a hallmark of development in Arizona for decades.
“If the local governments can match supply with demand, then there’s no need for the state to be involved,” he said.
Still, he said even if a large number of municipalities adopt new zoning rules that match what he believes is needed, they should not expect him to just drop his efforts to force zoning changes.
“I think there’s still so much work to be done on zoning,” Kaiser said. “It’s so complex. There’s a million layers and barriers you can reduce, to speed up the process, but still respect local input. So there’s still work to be done for sure. But they’re moving in the right direction.”
Goodyear Councilmember Bill Stipp was recently selected to serve as chair of the Valley Metro Regional Public Transportation Authority (RPTA).
In his new role, he will look to provide vital services not only to Goodyear but to over 19 agencies across the state.
“Sometimes you’re lucky, sometimes you’re just in the right place, but I have worked very hard with my partners in the East Valley and partners here in the West Valley and the city of Phoenix to really try to mold where the organization has been going,” Stipp said. “And, when I put my hand up and said, ‘Hey, I’m interested in that,’ and they said, ‘Yeah, we like that,’ it was a moment of pride, but it was really for the betterment of the system.”
Stipp has been serving on Goodyear City Council for over a decade and has served on many agencies to try to better the city. Being a part of the Arizona Mu-
nicipal Water Users Association, Historic Goodyear Neighborhood Alliance and Maricopa County’s Community Development Advisory Committee, he has had a hand in helping many aspects of his community. Transportation,
however, was one thing he had never known much about, until former Goodyear Mayor Georgia Lord urged him to look into it.
“I didn’t know that I had a transit passion until I got into it, but the irony was that I knew nothing about public transit when I got started,” Stipp said. “I said, ‘Yeah, I’m happy to take this on. I don’t know anything about it. I’m all about learning. So, let’s try it.’”
Upon joining RPTA in 2017, he figured out the magnitude that public transportation had across the Valley.
“It was clear with my local government experience that we needed to run the bus system a little bit more efficiently,” Stipp said. “The board needed to function more regionally. Rather than our 19 individual slivers, we needed to look at this as a whole system. And that was just a natural build step. That’s how I approached it.”
Tackling the regional problems head on, he started to climb the ranks of the organization, being named treasurer in 2021 and later vice chair in 2022. Stipp feels his experience with the organization will help him in his new role.
“We saw financial impacts of regionality early with the way that the bus system works primarily,” he said. “It started with the city of Tolleson saying, ‘Well, we’re not really sure that we can afford to keep Route 3 — which runs down Van Buren — active.’ Well, if Tolleson pulls out, the cost for Avondale and Goodyear goes up exponentially.
“And when you start to have that conversation and then you go to the city of Tempe, and if the city of Tempe were to ever have said ‘no’ to light rail, the light
rail doesn’t go to Mesa. And then the same thing happens in Glendale. Glendale then says, ‘No, buses don’t go to Peoria,’ et cetera. So, all of a sudden, the system is absolutely interconnected.”
Looking to the future of public transit, Stipp and RPTA will look to set up forms of transportation that will be accessible to everyone, everywhere, such as micro-transit and improved bus routes. Stipp’s realization of the community impact of these services was something that kept him pushing to improve transit everywhere.
One of his main goals for helping improve public transit is to help with the implication of the Prop 400 extension — a half-cent transportation sales tax that is being “batted around in the Legislature.”
“If Prop 400 is not extended or given to the voters for their ability to approve that extension, most of the regional bus lines go away,” Stipp said. “And when those regional bus lines go away, so does the Dial-a-Ride. So does the other services that anybody who uses public transit, that’s what funds those programs, and that’s all in jeopardy.”
Stipp feels ready to help the Valley improve upon its transportation profile and better many cities across the region, and he is grateful for the opportunity.
“I never (thought) in a million years I would be the chair,” he said.
“And I have jokingly said that the city of Goodyear only has two regional bus lines and I have no business being the chair of RPTA. But I think me as an individual, with my passion, it seems to be a natural fit.”
bucket would.”
Republican Rep. Barbara Parker said during debate the experience in her home community of Mesa, where the light rail now runs, suggests to her that residents have seen enough.
“The light rail not only destroyed our historic Main Street and Downtown Mesa, but it destroyed lifelong businesses of families and generations of business that had been there for years and years,” she said. “We are funding a loser. In our town, it’s a moving urinal, and that is it.’’
But Democrat Lorena Austin, also representing Mesa, painted a different picture.
“The light rail has been absolutely transformative,” she said.
“If you’ve been to Downtown Mesa, even in just the past year, you would see that all the retails are actually booming,” Austin said. “We can’t get businesses in there fast enough. And it has everything to do with public transportation.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitzi Epstein, D-Tempe, told colleagues short-changing mass transit is not a good move.
“If we continue to have the idea that everything must be a single driver in a car on a road, we will just get to the point of having to pave every speck,” Epstein said.
But Sen. John Kavanagh, R-Scottsdale, said Arizona doesn’t have the density of a place like New York, where he is from, to make mass transit and rail a meaningful way to get people out of their cars.
Senate President Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert, said the GOP plan does not mean there will never be a further ex-
In compliance with §15-905.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, Glendale Elementary School District is notifying its property taxpayers of Glendale Elementary School District’s intention to raise its primary property taxes over the current level to pay for increased expenditures in those areas where the Governing Board has the authority to increase property taxes for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2023. The Glendale Elementary School District is proposing an increase in its primary property tax levy of $600,000.
The amount proposed above will cause Glendale Elementary School District’s primary property taxes on a $100,000 home to be $43.99. Without the tax increase, the total taxes that would be owed would have been $28.75.
The Arizona state House can be found on West Washington Street in Phoenix, but political observers can be forgiven if they conclude it is more accurately called “Washington West” these days.
Sadly, when it comes to kid-glove treatment for ethically challenged Democrats, our desert home seems every bit as slimy as the DC “swamp.”
As documented in this space a little more than a month ago, ordained Presbyterian minister and Rep. Stephanie Stahl Hamilton admitted to what she described as a “simple little prank.”
While that description might aptly apply to a kindergartner’s misbehavior, it is an understatement of biblical proportions for a grown woman, who received her masters of divinity degree from the Princeton Theological Seminary.
Especially when Stahl Hamilton’s bad behavior involved the Good Book.
Claiming after the fact it was a “playful commentary on the separation of church and state,” surveillance video revealed the Tucson Democrat had hidden copies of the Holy Bible — long provided to legislators as a courtesy in
the Members’ Lounge — in most discourteous locations.
“I cannot imagine how my Christian colleagues must have felt when this Holy Book was put under a couch cushion for them to sit upon or put in a refrigerator,” said Rep. Alexander Kolodin, R-Scottsdale, on the House floor.
“I have been the target of religious discrimination. … I have seen my sacred symbols disrespected … as a Jew, you see these things,” he noted.
And, as an attorney, Kolodin saw something else: “In any other workplace, the Feds would be all over you in a second … that’s a ‘hostile work environment.’”
Unfortunately, the House is demon-
strating it is both hostile and hypocritical.
Recall that ex-Rep. Liz Harris, R-Chandler, was expelled in April, based on a finding by the Ethics Committee that Harris was untruthful about her knowledge of testimony it deemed false by her invited guest.
What likely sealed the fate of Harris was the witness not only made scandalous claims about Democrats in high office, but also about House Speaker Ben Toma, R-Peoria. Toma wanted an apology; Harris remained unapologetic.
Democrats saw a Republican rift they
The pre-sentencing report for Anthony Gushee, convicted drug dealer, gunman, cold-blooded killer, runs 14 pages in all. It reads like some crappy Hollywood crime show.
Gushee, 47, has spent life drugging, dealing, offending, victimizing. The report from Maricopa County’s Adult Probation Departments cites juvenile arrests and “six known misdemeanor convictions, four of which are violent.”
It also details how Gushee was convicted twice in 2003 on felony drug charges — and that’s before we get to this scumbag’s 2019 violent crime spree in Mesa, which takes up most of the pre-sentence report.
“Standard assessments indicate the defendant is a high risk to re-offend with several domains in need of intervention,” the report notes. “The violent
nature of two of his pending cases coupled with his history of violence is concerning. His violence is escalating, and the police reports indicate he has shown no remorse for his actions.”
Given Gushee’s extensive criminal past, I am beyond amazed that at his sentencing date on June 16, before Superior Court Judge Chuck Whitehead, the killer — who
pleaded guilty to aggravated assault for shooting a male victim twice, possession of narcotics, and manslaughter for shooting dead 28-year-old Aaron Miller, a father of two — got off with a sentence of only 10.5 years.
A decade for a human life? Talk about getting off easy.
Miller’s sister, Shanice Patterson, objected to the plea agreement as “too lenient.”
According to the pre-sentencing re-
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The most common sign of a heart attack is chest pain, but women and men may experience different symptoms and warning signs for women may be less obvious, such as indigestion, or extreme fatigue. Prevention is key to avoiding acute cardiac episodes such as heart attack. Stay on top of your heart health by having regular heart check ups and seeking medical attention when you experience new symptoms. Give us a call today – our team is here to help you at every step of your heart health journey.
port — which gives Patterson all of a paragraph — she told the Probation Office “the defendant should never be released from prison” and that “he is a danger to society.”
To say Patterson remains crushed by her brother’s shooting death in the Windemere Hotel on Main Street and by Gushee’s sentence is to put it even more mildly than did Judge Whitehead.
“As next of kin to a victim of a homicide,” she says, “we had no voice about anything pertaining to the case. We weren’t able to fight for justice for my brother. No one cared.”
Patterson also rebuts the reasoning for the “global plea bargain” laid out in the pre-sentencing report. The document explains “the State made multiple attempts to contact a key witness, who was unable to be located. Without that witness’s testimony, the State’s case became considerably weaker as the witness was the person who identified the
North Valley Justice of the Peace
In nearly every breach of contract case, the plaintiff must first prove there was a contract. To most people, a contract is a legal document containing some type of enforceable promise in return for some type of payment. It is something both sides sign, either with a pen or electronically. However, there is a significant exception.
Under Arizona law, a cardholder’s acceptance of the terms of a credit card agreement can be established either by a signature or by using (or by allowing someone to use) the card. A.R.S. § 447802. No signed copy of a contract or the credit card application is required. Using the card generates a contractual relationship and an obligation to pay.
So how much could you end up paying? A cardholder is personally liable for all charges and interest on the card by either the cardholder or an autho-
rized user. A.R.S. § 44-7803. This includes purchases, cash advances, annual membership fees, delinquent payment fees, insufficient fund fees, over limit fees or other amounts incurred through use of the credit card. A.R.S. § 44-7801(3).
In uncontested court cases, like requests for a default judgment, a creditor can establish the amount due through either the final billing statement or an electronic record. A.R.S. § 44-7804. Somewhat similar, a bank that issued a credit card may establish a fixed or variable interest rate for a credit card account through either the terms and conditions used at the time or a billing statement. A.R.S. § 44-7805.
complaint, read it and respond to it. In most cases, you may only have 20 days to file an answer, which is a written response to the lawsuit.
Court staff can provide you with an answer form, but they are not allowed to help you complete it. To each allegation, a defendant in a civil case should either admit it, deny it, or state you do not have enough information to either admit or deny. If you cannot afford the answer fee, you can apply to have it waived.
Some legal advice online is well
defendant as the shooter.”
Says Patterson: “Well, had anyone ever communicated with us, I had text and audio evidence from her, with all the details of the murder. Because a plea was already entered, it was too late to provide that.”
grounded; however, a great deal is not. If you stumble upon either a post or a video, claiming you can ignore a debt collection lawsuit because you never signed a contract, please ignore it. If you have a question about either the status of your case or what could happen next, call the court. If you want to talk to an attorney and do not have a place to start, I recommend contacting the Maricopa County Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service at https://maricopabar.org/?pg= LRSHome or 602-257-4434.
Judge Gerald A. Williams is the justice of the peace for the North Valley Justice Court. That court’s jurisdiction includes Glendale, Phoenix, Anthem and Desert Hills.
crime spree and maybe take a few more lives shortly thereafter.
Until then, Aaron Miller’s family will do their best to explain his death to his 11-year-old son and to the daughter Miller never met, a little girl who just turned four and lives with her grandmother.
Being sued is not a spectator’s sport. If you are served with a summons and
Echo Mesa 20349 Echo Mesa Dr.
Desert
Deer
Stardust
As the nursing student sees it, “I think the ‘justice’ system took the easy way out. Get a plea deal for a few years. Then the criminal will be back on the streets committing more crimes like he has been for the past three decades.”
Gushee spent 1,200 days behind bars before the plea. Thus, he’s scheduled to walk out of prison on Oct. 16, 2028. Circle that date, because if the past is prelude, Gushee will commit yet another
could exploit.
Under the banner of bipartisanship, the left made all the right moves … or so it seemed at the time.
What got the ball rolling was an ethics complaint filed by none other than Stahl Hamilton. She claimed Harris had made Arizona a “national joke.”
While subsequent events would prompt a “pot-meet-kettle” moment for Stahl Hamilton — and now may still elicit laughter, given her unsavory exploits — at the time it was exploited to silence an outspoken conservative.
A bipartisan super-majority of House members voted to have Harris expelled from the institution.
Fast forward to early June, when bipartisanship predictably swooned. A vote to expel Stahl Hamilton failed,
“I can’t comprehend how a life is only worth a few years,” Shanice Patterson says. “I feel like we were just another case number that was filed away and forgotten.”
If you ask me, the person we needed to forget about was the man who pulled the trigger. Right after we locked up Anthony Gushee and threw away the key.
David Leibowitz has called the Valley home since 1995. Contact david@leibowitzsolo.com.
due to a lack — surprise, surprise — of Democrat support.
A resolution to censure Stahl Hamilton passed with a simple majority.
As this column is being written, it is unclear what — if any — consequences await the censured Stahl Hamilton. Conceivably, she may lose one or both of her committee assignments.
But in Clinton-like fashion, she now says, “It’s time to move on.”
What the irreverent reverend is really telling us is she views censure as “Sin? Sure!”
She keeps her job, she keeps her vote, and you would be well advised to keep an eye on her.
J.D. Hayworth worked as a sportscaster at Channel 10, Phoenix, from 1987 until 1994 and represented Arizona in Congress from 1995-2007.
Coffee, how we love thee.
It is our favorite American beverage that helps us get through our daily struggles, gives us a boost of energy, and holds the promise of good things to come. All manner of challenges may await us, but fortified with a cup of coffee, we can do anything.
like it expensive, fancy and often. What else could explain our national obsession with the old “cup of joe”? Not only are the coffee shops multiplying like backyard rabbits, but also our craving for java seems to be insatiable. Americans spend about $2,000 a year on coffee.
Coffee is to adults what ice cream is to kids. Except lucky adults get to have it often and daily. We have our favorite brews and concoctions.
Americans consume over 400 million cups of coffee a day! And many will happily pay five bucks for a creamy, swirly, caffeine-laden drink three to five times a week. Sure, there is inflation, but that will not stop us from indulging in our beloved cup of java.
Weren’t coffee shops intended as gathering places for friends and colleagues? There was something fun about having a business meeting over a cup of coffee or just chatting with a few friends to the wonderful backdrop of steam shrieking out of those little machines that make our brews so wonderful.
Perhaps coffee was never meant to be a nonsocial drink but a bonding experience. But then the drive-thrus opened and suddenly people lined up to buy their little cups of pleasure, only to drink them in solitude.
How do you like your coffee? Evidently, Americans
Some folks get downright frothy if you try to suggest their love (obsession) with coffee is a problem. Medical experts say coffee-drinking is a habit and caffeine is the “big ingredient” that keeps us coming back for more.
I seriously doubt that. It’s the enticing aroma, the artsy ambiance, the beautiful-smelling scones and fresh sandwiches, plus the cozy feeling, that makes a coffee shop so irresistible.
The smooth, dark roast with billowy clouds of frothy milk that tastes like heaven in a sip is why we have forsaken our home coffee pots. Why drink “ordinary,” when “special” is just around the corner? I try to make good coffee, but sadly, I am no barista. It’s hard brewing “magic” at home!
OK, so some health-conscious person reading this will start percolating and tell me green tea is much healthier. Someone else will call me and say buying a cappuccino at a coffee shop is the biggest rip-off in the world. I’ll get an email from my doctor saying it’s about time I cut down on caffeine.
You know what I say? Bean there.
I do not want to hold off on my latte grande and go back to the dark ages when we only drank a cup of java at home, without steamed milk.
Downed that. Judy
Oh, and if you’re steamed up about it, please don’t drop me a line. But I may see you in line at the local coffee shop.
a
Realtor. Have a comment or a story? Email her at judy@judybluhm.com.
For more business visit glendalestar.com
Landsea Homes Corporation, a publicly traded residential homebuilder based in Dallas, Texas, that designs and builds homes and communities is now selling homes at Marlowe in Glendale.
Landsea has developed homes and communities in New York, Boston, New Jersey, Florida, Texas and throughout California in Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, and Orange County. e Glendale community is its latest project, but not the rst time it has operated in the city.
“Our company has a history of operating in communities in the Glendale area, and we love it,” said Todd Condon, vice president of sales and marketing, Arizo-
na division, Landsea Homes. “ ere are really good in ll locations that are very attractive to existing homeowners that
currently live there and or those that want to stay in that area.
“We were fortunate to nd this property and bring it to market, and we’ve created a whole new lineup of four home designs that have commenced construction and should be opening their models in the next couple of weeks.”
e new community will feature 80 homes and, for Condon, the designs of the four di erent models homebuyers can choose from are distinctive. ey range from 1,800 square feet to 2,500 square feet, and each features a threecar, front-facing garage.
In addition, all homes are equipped with Landsea Homes’ High Performance Home features, including smart home automation technology utilized by the Apple HomeKit environment and energy savings. e smart home automation features include an Apple HomePod mini, wireless access point and Wi-Fienabled entry door locks, thermostat control, garage door opener control and light dimmer switches. Also included is doorbell camera prewire and Smart Home Activation with an individualized training session.
“We’re at a process now where we’re kind of wrapping up the interior as far as the models go with, with cabinets installed,” Condon added. “We walked the homes recently, and they feel real-
Landsea Homes is bringing a community of 80 homes to Glendale. (Landsea Homes/ Submitted)
ly good, really good livability. All four (home models) are two-story homes, but they each have a bedroom opportunity on the main oor. So, it just appeals to a lot of the wide demographic.”
e community, which is located near I-17 at the intersection of 51st and Peoria avenues, features a central community park with a covered playground and lawn, as well as outdoor spaces that include a dog park, shade pavilions and benches. Prices for these homes begin at $489,990.
“We put a lot of thought into how we could kind of create a lifestyle that appeals to a lot of homeowners that wanted to walk to local places,” Condon said. “To have a community with just 80 homesites, have something like this, it’s fairly uncommon to see that. When you open up the community and drive in, you’ve got a beautiful entry park that just has this appeal of a more modern appeal to it. So, it’s a very thoughtful design that includes a lot of amenities within the community.”
Working with the city, Condon said, always goes smoothly for Landsea Homes, as the two have a good working relationship. He is happy to be bringing Marlow to homebuyers in the city of Glendale.
“We’ve had a really, really strong relationship with the city, and they’ve just been really great to work with as far as the municipality and the assistance that we received from them, so it certainly helps to be able to have that relationship when rejoining a municipality and the location that we love to build,” Condon said.
“ ere’s not a lot of new construction opportunities in this area, and for us to nd this piece and be able to put this together along with a lot of tremendous support from the city, it’s just a great relationship and an exciting opportunity.”
The State Farm Stadium speakers clashed with shouting from basketball coaches, players, and squeaky whistles and sneakers on the venue’s freshly built oors.
Home of the Arizona Cardinals, the stadium’s natural grass was removed and converted into 12 full-length basketball courts with games simultaneously being played on each court throughout the day.
e Section 7 Tournament closed out the girls bracket featuring 136 teams. In total, 400 total teams quali ed for competition from 12 di erent states to play 800-plus games featuring some of the nation’s top players and teams. By the end of the weekend, players wrapped up playing in front of 700-plus college coaches.
“We try to get the players and teams that Division I coaches want to watch,” said Matt King, Section 7 event organizer and Arizona Basketball Coaches Association director. “ ese college coaches are here because of the players.”
e slate showcased No. 2 Etiwanda (California) against No. 1 ranked Desert Vista (Arizona) in a must-watch matchup. Desert Vista was without elite 2026
prospect Jerzy Robinson, as she competes in the FIBA’s U-16 Women’s Americas Championship, and the loss would prove detrimental as Etiwanda won 6753 en route to going undefeated.
While teams are represented by 12 di erent states, the college coaches that attend the Section 7 Tournament extend beyond that and sit adjacent to the courts while watching each play with unassuming intensity.
“All the other big events like Adidas and Under Armour host showcases like this for AAU only,” said Itoro Coleman, assistant coach/recruiting coordinator for the University of North Carolina. “For high school it has never happened before for us to see players on their high school teams, all in one place.”
Another development this year for Section 7 is the tournament’s dates lining up with the live period, which allows college coaches to make verbal o ers and evaluate top prospects in person but prohibits in-person contact.
Division I college coaches are banned from contacting athletes until Sept. 1 of their
junior year, and Division II coaches can’t reach out until June 15 after their sophomore year, the same day the Section 7 Tournament began.
“It just got cleared by the NCAA to readjust their recruiting calendar to allow a scholastic period that allows Division I coaches to come and watch, which is why we wanted Section 7 to align with that,” King said.
Although not every player will receive an o er from a college, the tournament is a chance for the girls to play in front of college coaches and expand the sport in Arizona.
“I grew up in Arizona, and I never had a platform like this when I played,” said Erin O’Bryan, Desert Vista’s coach and former Arizona Wildcats player. “When you don’t play club ball you don’t get this experience, so it is great for the girls.”
O’Bryan was part of the enormous team that coordinated the Section 7 event, along with King and numerous coaches and committees from Arizona.
“We have been planning this event for over three years now,” O’Bryan said. “We knew that this year’s dates were going to line up with the live period, and we are hoping all the players are enjoy-
ing this experience.”
While the top players and teams are well represented, the committee ensured smaller schools received the same opportunities, with teams ranging from 2A-6A.
“For us being a smaller school, we are beyond grateful for this opportunity,” said Erik Gray, Leading Edge Academy’s coach, a 2A school.
“ is event is so important to the girls and players in Arizona,” said Jennifer Gillom, Xavier College Prep’s coach and former Phoenix Mercury player. “Kudos to everyone who put on this event. I am hoping it sticks around and we can get some more people (fans) here.”
e boys quali er aligned with the live period that allows Division II, Division III and NAIA coaches to attend.
All college coaches were allowed to attend when the boys tournament began, which capped o an impressive twoweek showing by Section 7’s conclusion in the championship games.
“ e players are the main attraction,” King said. “We are kind of like the waiters, we set the table and bring the food, and they’re the ones that get to eat.”
For more stories from Cronkite News, visit cronkitenews.azpbs.org.
The Glendale Star publishes on Thursday. The weekly calendar — a listing of entertainment events such as concerts, theatrical performances, events for schools, churches, county parks and nonprofit groups — runs every issue.
Teens between the ages of 12 and 18 can drop by the Velma Teague Library Teen Zone throughout the month of June to make a Shrinky Dink keychain. Create a design of your own using colored pencils and Shrinky Dink transparent sheets, or select from a variety of design templates. Visit the public service desk to pick up a keychain, then take your masterpiece home, pop it in the oven, and watch it shrink and harden.
Velma Teague Library, 7010 N. 58th Avenue, Glendale, free, glendaleazlibrary.com
Stir Crazy Comedy Club hosts its weekly open mic night. Those interested are likely to see new talent as well as seasoned comedians just looking to work on new material. Think you have what it takes to take the stage and make the audience laugh? Now is your chance. There are 10 sign-up spots that will become available online at noon on Monday.
Stir Crazy Comedy Club, Westgate Entertainment District, 6751 N. Sunset Boulevard, Suite E206, Glendale, visit website for ticket prices and times, stircrazycomedyclub. com
Featuring food trucks, local artisans and fresh produce, this weekly farmers market gives locals the chance to shop local and shop fresh. Taking place near Dillard’s, new vendors grace this event weekly. Admission is free, and furry friends are allowed if they’re on a leash. Cash and cards are accepted as methods of payment, and the market runs from 8 to 11 a.m.
Arrowhead Towne Center, 7780 W. Arrowhead Towne Center, Glendale, 8 a.m., free, arrowheadtownecenter.com
Events must be open to the public to be considered and generally must be held within the Star’s coverage area, which is in the city of Glendale.
Weekly calendar items print on a space-available basis. The only way to guarantee that an item will print is to purchase an advertisement.
Submissions must reach our o ce by 4 p.m. Thursday to be considered for the following Thursday publication. Submissions must be in writing and may be emailed to Jordan Rogers, jrogers@timeslocalmedia.com.
UNTIL JULY 9
Celebrate Independence Day by searching for July 4-themed images throughout the youth department. Pick up an activity sheet at the youth and Lobby Desks at the Foothills Library. Find the images, write down their corresponding number, and bring your completed slip to the Lobby Desk for a Patriotic prize.
Foothills Library, 19055 N. 57th Avenue, Glendale, free, glendaleazlibrary.com
JUNE 30 AND JULY 1
Steven Michael Quezada starred on the Emmy Award-winning series “Breaking Bad” as DEA agent Gomez, winning an Emmy for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series for his role. Audiences may also recognize him from the movies “Wildfire,” “Crash,” “In Plain Sight” and “Beerfest.” But Quezada is not just an actor — he is a major touring comedian who has appeared on HBO and Showtime and performed on the new “Arsenio Hall Show.”
Stir Crazy Comedy Club, Westgate Entertainment District, 6751 N. Sunset Boulevard, Suite E206, Glendale, visit website for ticket prices and times, stircrazycomedyclub. com
JULY 1
The Old-Time Music Jam focuses on traditional instrumental music, including Appalachian fiddle tunes, Celtic and Canadian reels, jigs, hornpipe and other roots music. All acoustic instruments are encouraged to share in these traditional tunes: dulcimers, fiddles, banjos, guitars, harps, mandolins, Dobros, Irish whistles, etc. Players of all ages and abilities are welcome to join in the time-honored tradition of gathering and playing music. This event takes place every first and third Saturday of the month.
Foothills Library — Adult Patio, 19055 N. 57th Avenue, Glendale, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., free, glendaleazlibrary.com
JUNE 5
Meet new people and destroy your enemies at the Glendale Main Library. Choose from games like Uno, Cards Against Humanity (the Family Edition) and Codenames, among others, every first Monday of the month. This program is put on for teens, 12-18, only.
Glendale Main Library — Creative Space, 5959 W. Brown Street, Glendale, 6 to 7 p.m., free, glendaleazlibrary.com
JULY 3
Become part of a big band and practice your musical skills along with a large collection of other like-minded musicians. Any musician who can sight-read charts is encouraged to show up with their own music stand and instrument to play, getting an experience they could not get simply practicing alone at home.
Foothills Library, 19055 N. 57th Avenue, Glendale, 1 to 3 p.m., free, glendaleazlibrary.com
JULY 7 AND JULY 8
Brad Trackman is a national touring comedian who has been featured as a stand-up on CBS’s “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson,” “Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen,” “Star Search with Arsenio Hall,” AXS TV’s “Gotham Comedy Live,” MTV’s “The Buried Life,” “New Joke City with Robert Klein,” NBC’s “Later,” NBC’s “Friday Night,” TBN’s “Huckabee” and numerous appearances on Comedy Central. Trackman has his own Dry Bar Comedy Special titled “Thanks,” which features his ability to work squeaky clean. He filmed this in front of an audience of Latter-day Saints in Provo, Utah, and passed the test, receiving a full standing ovation. Stir Crazy Comedy Club, Westgate Entertainment District, 6751 N. Sunset Boulevard, Suite E206, Glendale, visit website for ticket prices and times, stircrazycomedyclub. com
51 Katy Perry hit song
52 Adolescent
53 Ninny DOWN
1 Overcon dent
2 Bern’s river
3 Stereo alternative
4 Linen shades
5 Sped
6 Opposite of “sans”
7 Musical mixes
8 Trembled
9 Undecided
10 Duel tool
11 Sly
19 Reddish horse
20 Flamenco cheer
23 “Top Gun” target
24 -- ji y
25 Pooch
26 Nap site
ACROSS
1 America’s uncle
4 “Dracula” author Stoker
8 Leftovers recipe
12 Chinese chairman
13 Roof overhang
14 Arizona tribe
15 Samovar
16 On the rocks
17 Hurler Hershiser
18 “Syriana” Oscar winner
21 British ref. work
22 Caribou kin
23 Gold-loving king
26 “See ya!”
27 Scale abbr.
30 Privy to
31 “Of course”
32 Cheer (for)
33 Joke
34 Chic, to Austin Powers
35 Five dozen
36 Droop
37 Iota
38 1997 lm starring Nicole Kidman and 18-Across
45 Only
46 Algeria’s neighbor
47 Granada gold
48 “Mamma Mia” group
49 La Scala solo
50 Apprehend
27 Bagel topper
28 Automaton, for short
29 Hog haven
31 Pad you bring to exercise class
32 Ms. Moreno
34 West of Hollywood
35 Ape
36 Asparagus unit
37 Prove untrue
38 Despot
39 Vagrant
40 Exile
41
42
43
44
Scottsdale resident Jim Tonkin was recently named the newest member of One Step Beyond’s Board of Directors.
Tonkin will serve a three-year term on the board of directors for One Step Beyond. One Step Beyond provides different services and programs for people with intellectual disabilities.
Tonkin said his son, Miles, who has an intellectual disability, goes to One Step Beyond’s Scottsdale campus and it inspired him to take on his new role on the board.
“We have been looking for the past three or four years to try to nd the right situation for Miles to have a new living
environment so that he’s out from underneath the parental guidance,” Tonkin said. “And as you can imagine, almost 24 years old, he needs to move on with his life. And we’d like to move on with ours as well. So, when I heard about this, I got very excited and I started chirping to some of the other board members who were there that night, and one thing led to another, and they found out about my past.”
Tonkin has nearly 50 years of experience in marketing. He is the founder and president of Healthy Brand Builders and assists on the boards of IMMORDL, Element Nutrition Company, Swirlit, Tohi Ventures and Vitamin Angels. Tonkin said he hopes to use this experience to grow One Step Beyond.
“In the interim, I want to be a part of a team that tries to elevate OSBI to new levels. It’s just that simple,” Tonkin said.
Tonkin assured he is still just as passionate about his work despite being 72 years old. He said he wanted to be able to give back to the community while he can.
“I’m 72 years old, but I’m not ready to quit doing things in the community, and that’s why I leaned into this opportunity,” Tonkin said.
Tonkin said One Step Beyond is run like a really big family business, which has made settling into his role on the board of directors smooth despite only attending two meetings so far. He said the positive energy throughout the company comes through in every conversation.
Tonkin said he wants to continue to see sustained growth of the company throughout the Valley because he sees the bene ts it could have for people. Alongside the opening of a new campus in Tolleson in September, Tonkin wants to see One Step Beyond expand as the special needs community grows as well.
“I see a need for continued growth here in the marketplace, maybe in the south, Southeast Valley at some point, and then even outside of the greater Phoenix area,” Tonkin said. “ e special needs community is growing, and the need is great.”
Tonkin said One Step Beyond has plans to develop 30- to 40-unit condos to foster a community for young,
special-needs people, which really intrigued him.
Tonkin was excited by the thought of helping raise money to build new living communities for people with intellectual disabilities. Tonkin said he wants to see One Step Beyond campuses throughout the country because he saw the bene ts it had for his son and the community.
“ is facility that we’re looking to erect and build as a community for these intellectually disabled people, it’s the rst of its kind,” Tonkin said. “So, while it will serve a purpose here, it also has a bigger purpose.”
You’re familiar with the thoughts and the rhetoric, “One of these days, I’m going to get even with you!” Today, many people are either threatening or getting even with others. If they are not careful, “one of these days” will turn into a lifetime of trying to get even. e problem with getting even is we will never get ahead, which most of us want to do.
Let me share a true-life story that happened years ago that I found reading Zig Ziglar’s book “Something to Smile About” that speaks of a higher, more robust response than getting even, or should I say revenge. It could change your life if you’re stuck in the getting-even cycle.
“One day, some of the East Berliners decided they would send their West Berlin adversaries a little ‘gift.’ ey loaded a dump truck with garbage, broken bricks, stones, building materials and anything else of zero value. ey drove a truck across the border, gained clearance, and dumped it on the West Berlin side of the Iron Curtain.
“ e West Berliners were incensed and would ‘get even’ with them. ey wanted to ‘pay them back.’ Fortunately, a wise man intervened and gave entirely di erent counsel about getting even with them. As a result, the West Berliners responded di erently than the East Berliners.
“ e West Berliners loaded a truck with food (which was scarce in East Berlin, clothing (which was also scarce), medical supplies (which were even scarcer) and a host of other essential items. ey took the truck across the border, carefully unloaded it all and left a neat sign that read, ‘Each gives accord-
ing to his ability to give.’”
e West Berliners had taken Booker T. Washington’s philosophy literally, “I will permit no man to narrow and degrade my soul by making me hate him.” Why? Hate and revenge make us act stupid when we are not stupid. It’s much harder to return evil with good, to take the high road, when the low road is more popular and much easier. Ernest Blevins said, “You can always tell when you are on the road of righteousness — it’s uphill.”
Here are some quotes revealing the nature and consequences of revenge. “Revenge is a deceiver — it looks sweet but is often bitter.” “It costs more to avenge injuries than to bear them.” “You can’t win by trying to even the score.” “ e only people with whom you should try to get even are those who have helped you.”
“Even if you win the rat race, you’re still
a rat.” “Hating someone is like burning your house to kill a rat.” Surely the Lord has more for us than this (II Chronicles 25:9).
How does “one of these days, I’m going to get even with you” start? It starts with an event that triggers something dark inside of us. Dr. Glenn Doyle clari es dark triggers for us in this statement. “We’re not ourselves when we’re triggered. We become who we think we need to be to survive. And when we’re constantly triggered, our identity — who we are — can start to slip away because our personality and values are continually hijacked by ght-or- ight re exes.”
Let’s unwrap a concept many of you might not be familiar with. Here’s the Scripture, “Don’t insist on getting even; that’s not for you to do. ‘I’ll do the judging,’ says God. ‘I’ll take care of it.’ But if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; in so doing, you will heap burning coals upon his head. Don’t let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good” (Romans 12:19-21).
I can hear some of us thinking, “ at’s right, God: Heap those burning coals on their heads … go get ’em!” But that’s
not what this statement means. In those days, some people went through their village carrying coals of re in a pan on their heads. When someone’s re went out, they would give them burning coals to start their re again. Fires were necessary in those days. eir lives depended on re. Proverbs 25:21 says the Lord rewarded these acts of kindness.
Remember the opening story in this article? I wonder how those East Berliners felt, along with the gratitude for the much–needed supplies after the West Berliners heaped burning coals on their heads. ey might have even been embarrassed at their attitudes.
Some might think, “What if the ‘don’t return evil in like kind’ approach doesn’t work?” e Bible follows up Romans 12 with the answer at the beginning of Romans 13. God has created government as the “avenger of evil or wrongdoing.” Governments set up police, courts, agencies and the like to get even with people who are depraved or have broken the law in one way or another. We, as law-abiding people, need to hold our government ofcials accountable to be the avenger of wrong by your vote.
In conclusion, most triggers are more personal, where no law is broken. Why not let your rst tactic be the kill-’emwith-kindness approach? Don’t return evil for evil. Be more magnanimous than that.
Ed Delph is a noted author of 10 books, as well as a pastor, teacher, former business owner and speaker. He has traveled extensively, having been to more than 100 countries. He is president of NationStrategy, a nonprofit organization involved in uplifting and transforming communities worldwide. For more information, see nationstrategy.com. He may be contacted at nationstrategy@cs.com.
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