The Chandler Arizonan 11.13.22

Legislature, inflation loom as city financial threats

BY KEN SAIN Arizonan Managing Editor

Chandler City Council got its first look at the 2023-24 budget at an Oct. 27 work session and learned there are some worrying issues on the horizon – so troublesome that members suggested staff look at increasing the budget stabilization reserve.

That’s a fund the city uses as a stopgap if there’s an unplanned change to the city’s finances. Council hopes that provides a three-year window to make adjustments.

There are a number of reasons for bud get concerns in the future, but the two big

gest are inflation and state lawmakers. Dawn Lang, the city’s deputy city man ager and chief financial officer, said the price of asphalt, concrete, pipes, data fiber, anything cement-based, or anything with a computer chip are up 10% or more. Those increases mean the city may not be able to complete all the capital improve ment projects officials promised voters in last year’s bond election.

“The impact that it’s having is they al ways build in contingency on the capital projects,” Lang said. “They’re having to use that contingency upfront. So as they get closer to the end of those projects, they’re

LD 12 stays blue as TU, Kyrene incumbents win

BY PAUL MARYNIAK AND KEN SAIN Arizonan News Staff

Democratsextended their grip on Legislative District 12 for another two years as Tempe Union and Kyrene governing boards each saw the return of an incumbent and a new face in last week’s General Election, according to unofficial re sults.

Rep. Mitzi Epstein of Tempe clob bered Republican David Richardson 58.6%-41.4% in the Senate race as she transitions from the House seat she held for six years while her Ah watukee running mates, Patty Con

treras and Stacey Travers, each gar hered 29% of the vote over Chandler Republicans Jim Chaston and Terry Roe, who each garnered 20%.

Epstein filling the Senate seat oc cupied by Ahwatukee resident and Democrat Sean Bowie, who decided not to run for re-election.

Her move left both House seats up for grabs because two-term Rep. Jer maine Johnson opted to run for Jus tice of the Peace in Chandler.

Contreras, a retired City of Phoenix human services program manager, and Travers, a scientist, easily best

having to have conversations around re ducing scope, and things like that, or can celing a project.”

That may lead to council going back to voters to ask for more bond money sooner than it usually does.

“In the long run when it comes to our bond authorization, because projects are costing more, our bond authorization isn’t going to last us as long,” Lang said.

“With costs going up, I’m glad that we left these somewhat looser categories that might be things that are going to have to

Heading for ‘the hills’

Chandler mixed-media artist Phil Webster works on one of the many pieces he will be showing off and selling when he makes his debut next weekend for the big Hidden in the Hills arts studio tour. He is one of three Chandler artists who are involved in the two-weekend event, as you’ll read on page 32. (Special to the Arizonan)

Chandler City Council adds more days to fireworks calendar.

Chandler Council adding days to fireworks calendar

BY KEN SAIN Arizonan Managing Editor

ChandlerCity Council is expanding the number of days residents can legally light fireworks and one member wants to expand it even more.

“There are so many other holidays that we have -- Chinese New Year, we have graduations, Juneteenth, weddings, all those kinds of things,” Councilman Mark Stewart said. “And so I’d hope that staff could help me write up an amend ment to this so that we can include those holidays.”

Other members, however, were not ready to do that at the Oct. 24 study ses sion.

“As the mayor indicated before, that’s probably the largest issue we get every year is the impact to the animals, the impact to the PTSD world,” Councilman Matt Orlando said, noting the “American Legion right now is looking at a policy to help restrict the fireworks.”

Mayor Kevin Hartke said he also op posed expanding the days beyond the

change that was before them.

Council was expanding the days to in clude Diwali, which is the India’s Festival of Lights and one of the most important Hindu holidays. It is usually celebrated over five days in late October or early November, based on the Hindu lunar calendar. State lawmakers approved fireworks for up to two days.

The Legislature also gave the cities something that some municipalities have been asking for: the ability to regu late when people could set off fireworks.

Cities and towns can now restrict fire works between 11 p.m. and 8 a.m. for most holidays. The hours are shortened for the Fourth of July and New Year’s Eve to 1 a.m-8 a.m.

Council approved making those changes to city codes though Stewart offered an amendment to expand them immediately to other holidays.

“Last night I was out for Diwali in my neighborhood. The kids were shooting off fireworks in the street, the little foun tains, and they’re just having a blast,”

Stewart said. “It was just the best time to walk around the neighborhood. Every body was outside.”

There are two types of fireworks, legal and illegal. The fireworks you can buy at street corners and in stores are legal, having all been checked out by the Fire Department. They do not shoot into the air.

The ones that do shoot into the air and explode are illegal in Arizona. They are usually bought in neighboring states and brought here.

Right now Arizona residents can only set off legal fireworks for 29 days during the year, including for Cinco de Mayo, Independence Day, Christmas and New Year’s.

Stewart asked they were forbidden on Chinese New Year and Juneteenth and suggested they be legal even to celebrate birthdays, weddings and graduations?

Councilmember OD Harris supported the idea but Hartke and Orlando said it needed more study.

“I think there’s probably more work

to be done,” Hartke said. “I know I would want to have further regulation on some of those, rather than just someone shooting off fireworks and say, ‘Well, it’s my birthday.’”

He mentioned that some pets are terrified by the loud booms with their heightened hearing. Orlando pointed out that some veterans with PTSD also don’t like the loud sounds.

The suggested a subcommittee look at the issue and bring it back for the full Council to consider.

Stewart didn’t like that idea.

“I don’t think we need a subcommittee or study session for this,” he said. “It is just adding a few extra holidays in the name of equity to make sure that every thing is fair.”

Council approved the changes to add Diwali and restrict hours. Hartke said he was hopeful that after some research, Council could consider expanding fire works further in December.

Family of crash victim seeks $25M from Chandler

BY KEN SAIN Arizonan Managing Editor

The family of a 26-year-old father of three has filed claim for $25 million against the City of Chan dler and others in the wake of his of his death.

It is among a handful of claims filed against the city in October.

Brandon Yazzie was driving his mo torcycle on the night of April 18 when he was killed in a collision and his fam ily’s attorneys are alleging the accident would never have occurred if a stop sign at Palm Lane at Pecos Road was not down at the time of the crash.

A woman driving southbound in a SUV made a left-hand turn from Palm onto Pecos Road, hitting Yazzie’s motorcycle.

The lawyers also argue that the design of the intersection is flawed, with views of oncoming traffic obscured.

“Failure to maintain the stop sign in proper position and the design flaw of the intersection caused the collision and Mr. Yazzie’s death,” the lawyers wrote in the claim.

Yazzie had three minor children. The claim is also being filed on behalf of his girlfriend and parents. The lawyers are offering to settle for $25 million.

The majority of claims are resolved di rectly by the law department as the City Attorney is authorized in city code to settle claims at or below $25,000.

Negotiated settlements above that amount could be discussed in an execu tive session, but are required to be ap proved by the City Council in an open public meeting. These settlements could occur as a result of a claim or lawsuit be ing filed.

In other claims filed against the city last month:

• Ian Buszka was driving northbound on Price Road on May 3, 2022 when he became involved in a police chase.

Derek Cevedia was fleeing from of ficers after they allegedly found him asleep behind the wheel and observed evidence of drug use. When they woke him, he fled, hitting police cars to get away.

There are reports that he was driving at times between 80 and 100 miles per hour. The chase ended when Cevedia’s vehicle collided with Buszka’s. The sus pect ran a red light at Price and Warner, hitting two other cars.

Buszka was trapped inside his vehicle and suffered serious medical issues as a result of the collision.

The legal claim says the officers follow ing Cevedia did not take proper steps to protect the public and were not trained how to handle such an aggressive chase. It also faults them for allowing Cevedia to flee when they initially tried to arrest him.

The lawyers provided documenta tion of the medical issues, which were redacted by the city. However, the total price of more than $101,000 is visible.

The attorneys are offering to settle the claim for $2 million.

• A Chandler woman who was arrested for an outstanding warrant from Gil bert is asking the city to reimburse her the cost of a new cell phone.

During the arrest the only property she had with her was her cell phone, which she willingly surrendered to offi cers. She claims that the officer put her phone on the top of the police car, then forgot about it.

They didn’t realize it was lost until she asked for it later so she could get a phone number out of it. She says the of

ficer admitted to losing her phone and she’s asking for $1,300 to buy a new phone.

• A Phoenix man is asking for $1 million because he claims Chandler Police of ficers struck him multiple times until he became unconscious.

Kameron Zimmerman says he was un der an incoherent schizophrenic state of mind at the time of the confrontation.

He claims he was beaten so badly he wasn’t able to stand up to use a urinal.

The police report says officers were responding to a welfare check after a man was reportedly yelling at cars in front of an apartment complex.

An officer arrived and Zimmerman allegedly began walking toward his car, ignoring other moving cars in the street (McQueen Road). The officer claims a truck had to swerve out of the way to avoid hitting him.

The officer led him off the road and asked Zimmerman to sit. He complied, according to the claim.

The officer said he showed behavior consistent with someone who had taken drugs, and he feared the suspect was a danger to himself, others and officers. He planned to handcuff him for his own safety.

Another officer arrived and the two tried to put the handcuffs on. Zimmer man resisted, standing up, and then charging the first officer in a manner that suggested he intended to tackle him. Other officers arrived and they were able to subdue him.

During a search afterwards, they found what they describe at a meth pipe. When Chandler Fire personnel arrived, they sedated Zimmerman and treated him for his injuries. He was taken to a hospital for further treatment.

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He said he was happy they were limit ing the hours fireworks could be set off.

“Earlier this spring, in particular, after

the New Year’s, we heard loud and clear from residents that were concerned about the fireworks,” Hartke said.

some more parameters and hopefully some relief to veterans who might strug gle with loud noises and our pets that also respond negatively to such things.”

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Report says taxpayers

BY KEN SAIN Arizonan Managing Editor

TheArizona Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) Education Fund and Frontier Group says taxpayers can save a lot of money – about $80 million for 10 large cities in the state – by converting to a fleet of electrical vehicles (EVs).

Chandler officials say it’s more compli cated than that.

The two advocacy groups teamed up to release a study detailing how cities could save money by switching to EVs. They also argue it will improve air quality for Arizo na residents as well.

The study claims Chandler could save about $5 million by replacing light-duty fleet vehicles at the end of their life with electric vehicles. Its authors urge cities to develop a plan to convert their light-duty fleet to EVs.

The survey looked at 10 large Arizo na cities and determined the bulk of the savings would come from lower costs for fuel, maintenance and repair. It estimates the 10 cities would need to replace about 4,000 vehicles over the next 10 years.

“Currently, we have eight electric vehi cles, we have three and we just received five new ones,” said Steven Turner, the as sistant to the city manager. “And we have an order for about nine hybrid vehicles, which would bring our total of hybrid ve hicles to 26.”

Michael Hollingsworth, the city’s facili ties and fleet manager, said converting to a fleet of electrical vehicles isn’t easy.

“I’m hoping the other cities have ex pressed difficulties in supply chain,” he said. “You know, it’s really difficult to get delivery dates, even on the hybrid vehi cles, much less than electric ones. The [Chevy] Volts that we ... ordered, they were probably pushed out two or three times before we actually received them.”

And once you have an electric vehicle, you need some place to charge it.

“Infrastructure is an issue and it’s also one that gets expensive,” Turner said. “The reason we went with a solar-pow ered car charging station down at fleet was because … the cost of the infrastruc ture to put it in was [high].”

Hollingsworth said it cost about

big with city EV fleet

$90,000 to buy and install the solar-pow ered charging station at the fleet facili ty. And not every building is set up for a charging station. So buying and installing more charging stations to handle more EVs is going to cost money.

“In order to install the charging stations and transformers right now, they’re long lead time items as well,” Hollingsworth said.

Chandler is currently partnering with Salt River Project for a detailed look at its electric vehicles and its fleet. It’s being paid for with a grant.

“We’re engaging with SRP ... to take a look at our fleet,” Hollingsworth said. “So which ones does it make sense to be elec trified.”

Turner said the city is partnering with the Maricopa Association of Governments on improving the infrastructure needed for an electric vehicle fleet.

“They’re trying to find the best loca tions as a region where those [charging] stations will … most makes sense,” Turner said.

Hollingsworth said they hope to have

the results from the SRP survey in the spring.

The PIRG study concluded Chandler would save $4,993,319 by switching its light-duty fleet to electric.

Phoenix would save the most, more than $25 million. Other cities would save: Tucson, $14.7 million; Scottsdale, $11.4 million; Mesa $9.6 million; Peoria, $3.8 million; and Gilbert, $3.5 million. Tempe, Goodyear and Surprise would all save more than $2 million.

The study said with the cost of electric vehicles coming down, and new infra structure being added each year, it is fi nally an affordable option for cities.

“Electric vehicles currently in Arizona municipal fleets are driven fewer miles on average than gasoline- and diesel-pow ered vehicles,” study authors Diane Brown and Tony Dutzik wrote.

“Municipalities seeking to reap the full benefits of electrification must carefully integrate EVs into their fleets, aligning charging and use schedules to ensure that EVs are able to replace as much gasolineand diesel-fueled travel as possible.”

ed three other party rivals in the Primary Election.

Roe, a former cop in his final term on Chandler City Council, and Chaston, a CPA who owns his own firm, were hoping to do the same in the House seats.

Money flowed freely on both sides of the political divide in LD 12, though the in the final weeks of the campaign, the three Dem ocrats raised more money while their GOP rivals spent more money.

According to their final pre-election spending reports filed Oct.25, the three Democratic totals had raised a combined total of $333,273 in the last 10 months while their opponents’ combined fund raised totaled $314,951. The Democrats’ combined spending equaled $201,140 and Republicans $221,677.

The single biggest spender was Chaston, who shelled out $118,661 of the $163,062 he had raised to try and win a seat. Of his total spending, $101,071 went to Phoenix political consultants Shipley Strategies, re cords show.

Epstein was the second biggest spender and the largest fundraiser of all six candi dates. Her $174,426 in donations dwarfed the $58,141 Richardson raised. And she

spent close to twice as much as well, shell ing out $88,605 to her opponent’s $48,990.

Both Travers and Contreras demonstrat ed strong fundraising, garnering $80,758 amnd $78,089, respectively, over the course of the entire campaign. But Roe, like Chaston, raised more money - $93,745.

The $54,376 Roe spent on his campaign was more than the $49,026 spent by Tra vers but less than Contreras’ $63,509.

During the Arizona Citizens Clean Elec tions Commission debate Sept. 1, the candi dates split along party lines on most issues, including abortion rights, private school vouchers, and the state Constitution’s Aggregate Expenditure Limit on school spending, which threatens to force school

districts across the state to make massive cuts early next year.

Meanwhile, in the Tempe Union school board race, unofficial results showed Ah watukee political newcomer Amanda Steele and incumbent Andres Barraza of Tempe with 41% and 32% of the vote, respectively, for two seats, leaving Ahwatukee resident Stefan Kingsley behind with 27%.

Unlike many similar requests in other school districts in Maricopa County that were going down in flames, Tempe Union’s bond request and two override measures never lost their early leads. All three gar nered 59% yes votes to 41% no.

In Kyrene, where two seats also were up for election, board President Kevin Walsh of Tempe and Trine Nelson of Ahwatukee maintained 38% and 34% of the vote, re spectively, over Ahwatukee resident Kristi Ohman, with 29%.

And in Chandler Unified, Kurt Rohrs and Patti Serrano were tied with 23% of the vote, latest results showed, giving them the lead in a five-way race for two seats.

Walsh, a Tempe father of two who is a partner in the law firm of Quarles & Brady LLP, is in his second consecutive one-year term as president of the board. and appears on course to begin his second four-year term on the Kyrene board.

He is a volunteer in a number of organi zations, including a member of the Phoenix One Foundation Board, a legal mentor for the small business organization Gangplank and an ambassador for the Greater Phoenix Economic Council.

He also is a member of the Volunteer Lawyers Program, the Clemency Project 2014, Valley Interfaith Project and chair of Jobs For Arizona’s Graduates.

“Kyrene is at the heart of our family,” he said early in the campaign. “My children are second-generation Kyrene kids. They come from a family of educators, and their grand ma is entering her 24th year teaching in Kyrene. I’ve served with the PTO as a board

trustee for many years, and I’m a regular volunteer in the classroom.”

Ahwatukee resident Nelson has been in education for 18 years and is currently the curriculum design director for Arizo na State University’s W. P. Carey School of Business.

She told AFN, “As a mom with children in the Kyrene district for the past nine years, I have spent extensive time volunteering in classrooms, serving on PTO boards, the Superintendent Community Council, and most recently as the co-chair for Keep Kyrene Strong, whose work is integral to the success of the 2021 M & O override con tinuance election.

“I am deeply committed to the continued success of the Kyrene School District, not just as a parent, but as a community mem ber,” added Nelson, who lost a close race for a board seat two years ago.

While Tempe Union is seeing Barraza re turn for his second term, Steele will be join ing the board, replacing board President Brian Garcia, who decided not to run again.

The Chandler mother is a community activist and parental advocate for public schools and students with disabilities, She is a speech therapist and President and co-founder of EPIC Disability Advocacy .

Steele said she thanked “the community that made winning this race a possibility” and “for seeing the value in my voice and my perspective.”

Saying she appreciated that voters were “seeing the passion I bring and the desire I have to listen, to learn, and to engage with the community to better support the needs of all of our students and those guiding them, Steele added:

“I am honored to be one of your next Tempe Union board members. I will rep resent this district with integrity and pride while holding the systems accountable to innovative solutions and transformation to a more equitable experience for all. “

When she entered the race, Steele said Tempe Union “would benefit from the ac cessibility lens I bring as a mother to an autistic adult with an intellectual disability, a neurodiverse woman herself, and an ad vocate wanting to listen to your voice. I’m a passionate community leader here to in spire impactful change; igniting conversa tions that shift mindsets to include all.”

Rohrs is a frequent speaker at board meetings and a parents rights advocate. Serrano would be the first Latina elected to

STACEY TRAVERS PATTY CONTRERAS MITZI EPSTEIN

the board if she holds on and wins a seat. She had 23% of the votes in early voting.

Trailing them were Charlotte Golla and incumbent Lara Bruner with 19% each, and Marilou Estes with 14%.

They were running for the seats current ly held by Bruner and Lindsay Love, who decided not to seek reelection.

“I have talked to hundreds of people in the last two weeks or so,” Rorhs wrote in a text message. “Most of them want to get back to academics as the primary goal of education with a particular focus on job skills training so that students gain some thing useful when finish their time with us.”

Rohrs was endorsed by the Purple for Parents group, which supports parental rights and opposes Critical Race Theory, which is not taught in CUSD schools. He also opposes doing away with the Aggregate Expenditure Limit (AEL), which is a 1980 Constitutional amendment that limits how much school districts can spend.

He called it protection for taxpayers.

Serrano said during the campaign she would repeal the AEL and let the Legisla ture decide how much money to give to the districts.

The Legislature passes an override each

year to get around the AEL, but the pros pects for that next year were uncertain amid warnigns that school districts state wide may have to cut a total of more than $1 bilion from their budgets within the first few months of 2023.

Rohrs has lived in Chandler since 1995 and sent his three children to CUSD schools. He has a college degree in chemistry and a masters of business administration in finance. Rohrs worked for 18 years as an executive at a tech company. He’s now a fi nancial advisor who also substitute teaches at CUSD schools.

Serrano was born to immigrant parents in southern Arizona. She graduated from Hamilton High School and earned a Bach elor of Science degree in microbiology at Arizona State University. She specializes in children’s health.

Bruner, a teacher with more than 30 years experience, was elected to the board in 2018. She is an advocate for special ed ucation, serving on a state panel on that topic.

Golla was also endorsed by the Purple for People group and by the Chandler Chamber of Commerce. She gave up her corporate job to be a stay-at-home mom to her chil dren. Golla has been volunteering at local

schools, mostly as a fundraiser.

Estes worked in corporate America during her early adult life, but gave it up in her 30s to earn a bachelors and masters de grees and become a teacher.

The Chandler Chamber also endorsed Bruner. Save Our Schools, the political arm of the Red for Ed movement, endorsed Ser rano and Estes.

Tempe Union Override, Bond

All three measures equal a combined tax increase from .5924% this year to .7998% per $100 of assessed valuation in the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2023 – raising tax es by about $52 a year on a house valued at $249,642, according to the district. Cur rently, that tax totals $148 a year.

The overrides include one for basic op erational spending that would be 15% for the first five years, then go down to 10% the sixth year and 5% the seventh. The other is a 10% 7-year override, or $8.7 million a year, for the District Additional Assistance budget that covers equipment not includ ed in the regular capital spending or bond program.

That budget would include expenses for items like books and furniture.

The bond package would cover high

er-ticket items that the District Additional Assistance budget doesn’t cover.

At the time the board approved the mea sure, now-retired Assistant Superintendent Diane Meulemans said some of the money could also fund some art room expendi tures, updating auditoriums, refurbishing some cafeteria floors that need to be re done, curbs, some dugouts, fencing, locker room floors, restaurants, science labs, ten nis courts, weatherization, and lighting.

If approved, the district would split is suance of those bonds in two – selling $50 million next year and the other half three years later.

Projected expenses in that bond issue in clude $1.65 million for a construction man ager “to assist (us) as we go through these projects” because “we found that has sig nificantly helped the management of that additional work,” Meulemans said. It also includes a $1 million cost for actually sell ing the bonds.

The board’s approval of both overrides and the bond package also followed the recommendations of a 38-member citizens advisory committee that studied Tempe Union’s obligations and future needs. The

Chandler approves Villas subsidized housing project

BY KEN SAIN Arizonan Managing Editor

TheCity of Chandler is moving for ward with a plan to build more public housing. The City Council approved a development agreement with Gorman and Company for a 157-unit complex to be called Villas on McQueen. The project was called Trails End the last time it was before Council.

The units would be built on the south east corner of McQueen Road and Chan dler Boulevard. It would consist of units with one to five bedrooms, community space and a park area.

Residents who qualify for public hous ing pay 30% of their monthly income toward the rent with the federal govern ment picking up the rest. Everyone who wants to live in public housing is vetted to ensure their reported income is cor rect, and they are legally allowed to live in this country.

“So no one is illegal,” Councilman Matt Orlando asked Amy Jacobson, the city’s housing and redevelopment manager.

“Because this keeps coming up over and over again: no one who is illegal gets stay in the housing unit?”

“That is correct,” Jacobson said. “They have to meet eligibility requirements, which includes any individuals that are non-citizens that have eligible and legal immigration status.”

The city has been operating 303 public

ALL AGES E VENT

and Ocotillo) cannot handle more traffic.

Mayor Kevin Hartke addressed the crowd.

“We acknowledge your presence, we acknowledge your concerns,” Hartke said. “The city has sent a letter of opposi tion to the county. I have sent personally a letter of opposition to the county relat ed to this project. Other council members have communicated as well. So apart from that, this is not, as you all know, this is not our vote.”

The next step in the approval process is a public hearing the developer must host. No date has been announced. It will likely be in early December.

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Chandler plans to use a variety of fund ing sources to pay for the new construc tion. None of the money needed to build the complex would cover from the city’s general fund. Instead, it’s coming from a mix of federal and state grants, and other private entities.

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The city plans to build four lighted ar tificial turf fields and a restroom facility with construction scheduled to begin in the spring. It is expected to be completed within 180 days after it gets notice to pro ceed. The $137,000 contract was award ed to Hunter Contracting Company.

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The project is expected to cost about $1.6 million and is expected to be com pleted in 2025. It will house mostly fam ilies and seniors.

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The city also is entering into an agree ment with the Maricopa Association of Governments to explore adding more protected bike lanes in the city. Chandler currently plans to build four protect ed bike lanes on city streets. They are spending about $4,500 to see where else they might make sense.

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City officials said they intend to up grade the existing sites by moving res idents out of them and into the Villas project. That would increase the number of public housing options.

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Chandler is taking an expensive step toward addressing climate change. The city will begin switching out all light bulbs to LED, which use less energy and last a lot longer.

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The city briefly accepted applications for public housing in 2021, but closed it when they received 2,000 applications.

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In other Council news, more than 100 residents showed up at the Oct. 27 ses sion to show their opposition to the pro posed Landings on Ocotillo affordable housing project.

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Over the long term, it will likely save the city money because they will be changing them out over decades. They have an expected life of 20 years and come with a 10-year guarantee.

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Holley's Wire Works

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Karmic Beads

Holley's Wire Works

Karmic Beads

KGS Lapidary & Jewelry

KGS Lapidary & Jewelry

The project for more than 500 apart ments for lower-income and senior res idents is being considered by Maricopa County. The city has lodged its objections to the project because it does not fit in with its general or airpark plans.

Hatch Collectable Agates

Holley's Wire Works

Karmic Beads

However, the upfront cost is substan tially higher. Council authorized spend ing nearly $10.2 million for the new lights. All city lights are expected to be replaced with LED lighting in about 12 months.

KGS Lapidary & Jewelry

Misty Mountain Gems & Minerals

Misty Mountain Gems & Minerals

Nature Little Stone

Nature Little Stone

Paintbrush Wirewrapped & Beaded Jewelry

Paintbrush Wirewrapped & Beaded Jewelry

Porter's Rocks & Fossils

The residents who spoke said they know it’s a county decision, but they wanted to urge the Mayor and Council to continue to oppose it because they said that area (just east of Arizona Avenue

Misty Mountain Gems & Minerals

Nature Little Stone

Paintbrush Wirewrapped & Beaded Jewelry

Porter's Rocks & Fossils

The Council also annexed 13.4 acres of county land at the northeast corner of Queen Creek Road and Union Pacific Railroad. The land will be part of a bigger development that still must be approved by Council.

Porter's Rocks & Fossils

Raining Rocks

Scott Baron Assoc

Raining Rocks

Raining Rocks

Scott Baron Assoc

Scott Baron Assoc

Shadow Hills Gems & Minerals

Shadow Hills Gems &

The 157-unit Villas on McQueen will provide partially subsidized housing in Chandler mostly to seniors and families and illegal immigrants are not allowed to even apply. (City of Chandler)

Most school districts face massive cuts

BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

MostArizona schools districts will have to cut their current spend ing by nearly 18% unless state lawmakers act to authorize them to ac tually use the money they already have.

State schools chief Kathy Hoffman warned legislative leaders last month that the constitutional spending limit for the current school year is $6.4 billion.

Only thing is, lawmakers have ap proved more state dollars than that. Moreover, districts already have pre pared budgets and are on target to spend nearly $7.8 billion based on those actions.

Absent legislative action, however, that nearly $1.4 billion difference re mains off limits to them.

Only thing is, current Republican leg islative leaders are showing no interest in acting before the end of the calendar year, saying the issue can wait until the next legislative session.

“When session begins in January, the issue will be taken care of, just as we have done for numerous years in the past,’’ said Senate President Karen Fann, R-Prescott.

House Speaker Rusty Bowers, R-Me sa, said he’s willing to consider bringing lawmakers back to the Capitol after the election.

But he said he’s “not optimistic’’ that he can find enough support for such a session, particularly as it would take a two-thirds vote to waive the limit.

And C.J. Karamargin, press aide to Gov. Doug Ducey, said his boss won’t call a special session absent a showing of sup port.

“Show us the votes,’’ he said.

It is true that schools have bumped up against the limit in prior years. And there have been what amount to last-minute, one-time fixes.

But Fann and Bowers will not be com ing back. And with a fresh crop of legis lative leaders, that runs the risk that this

won’t be a priority.

What makes that particularly prob lematic is the possibility of having to cut $1.4 billion with less than a full fiscal year left.

So even if lawmakers were to act in January, that effectively would force schools to cut 36% of what they were planning to spend in the last half of the school year.

“A lot of schools will be shut down,’’ said Chuck Essigs, lobbyist for the Ari zona Association of School Business Of ficials, as the law requires those cuts to be spread among all schools, large and small.

Hoffman said the need for immediate action by lawmakers is acute.

“They’ve already waited far too long and this issue needs to be addressed im mediately,’’ she said.

Hoffman said legislative inaction “is strangling the decision making of our school leaders who want to move for ward with budgeting and want to be implementing the additional funds the legislature allocated last session.’’

“They want to put that money into teacher raises and operational needs,’’ she said.

It isn’t just Hoffman who wants to avoid that possibility with a more imme diate solution.

“This is the only issue with which I agree with Kathy Hoffman,’’ said Tom Horne, the Republican candidate run ning against Hoffman.

And Horne said he’s not convinced that the plan by GOP leaders to shelve the discussion until next year is a good idea.

“It’d be a lot safer if they do it now,’’ he said.

The limit was approved by voters in 1980. Based on figures at that time, it is adjusted annually for inflation and stu dent population growth.

What is causing the current problem is the convergence of several unusual factors.

First, the limit is always based on the prior year’s school numbers. Enrollment remains down due to COVID.

The bigger problem is actually due to one the legislature created in seeking to provide financial help.

In 2000, voters approved Proposition 301 to levy a 0.6-cent sales tax to fund education, including teacher salaries, for 20 years. Voters exempted those rev enues from the aggregate expenditure limit.

Facing expiration of that tax, lawmak ers agreed in 2018 to a new, identical levy to pick up when the old one expired. That would keep the money flowing through 2041 without interruption.

Only thing is, the Legislature never ex empted what the new levy would raise from the expenditure limit. Essigs said that alone amounts to anywhere from $600 million to $800 million of the mon ey now coming into schools.

Moreover, to balance the budget last decade, lawmakers cut dollars from var ious capital funding accounts.

With the state flush in revenues, those accounts are now fully funded. But the additional dollars that were restored to schools also helped to push total state wide expenditures above the constitu tional limit.

Lawmakers can and have raised the limit in prior years, but each time only on a one-year basis, and each time wait ing until there were just months remain ing in the school year.

Essigs said there are dangers in wait ing until next year in hopes there will be the votes to waive the limit for the cur rent school year. And it starts with the anticipated turnover of lawmakers.

“We’re going to have a lot of new peo ple at the legislature,’’ he said.

And Essigs said while there was an un derstanding among the lawmakers who approved the current education budget to follow up and raise the limit, many who are familiar with that arrangement – which does not exist anywhere in writ ing – will be gone.

Complicating that is the requirement for a two-thirds vote.

“You’re going to have a whole bunch of new people, depending on what happens next Tuesday, who have not addressed this problem before,’’ Essigs said.

“Hopefully they will understand the problem,’’ he continued. “But I don’t see that there’s any guarantee.’’

Fall In Love

Carts

Around Chandler

Sun Valley Church, Kyrene Foundation launch holiday drive

The Kyrene Foundation has launched an annual drive to help needy families have a traditional Thanksgiving and a merrier Chirstmas.

The foundation hopes to provide each designated family with a co-branded Foundation and Landings Credit Union VISA card for groceries for the Turkey & Trimmings and Winter Wonderland efforts as well cards for gifts for each of the kids for Winter Wonderland.

In addition, organizers are sorting through toys collected from the previous live event and will be distributing those as well at Winter Wonderland.

“We anticipate the need to be much larger this year,” foundation member Rick Richardson said.

People are asked to consider cash do nations only as organizers are not col lecting gift cards or items.

The foundation said its 2021 dona tion drive “was a great success due to a tremendous outpouring of generosity from our community and partners. The Kyrene Foundation, Sun Valley Church and the Kyrene District were able to en sure over 200 families and 700 children did not go without the simple joys of the holiday season.”

To donate, go to kyrenefoundation. org.

Armer Foundation launches toy drive for Banner kids

The Armer Foundation – a non-profit that helps families with children who have extreme medical needs – is host

ing its fourth annual holiday toy drive to benefit the Banner Cardon Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and Oncology Unit.

The foundation is looking for Valley business that would host a donation bin and serve as a drop-off location for the unopened toys to bring smiles and hope to children battling for their lives.

“A brand-new toy can mean the world to a sick child and as parents who have been through this we know what a dif ference just one toy can make in a child’s life when they spend several weeks in hospital,” said Jennifer Armer, the foun dation’s founder.

The foundation also is hoping for toy donations.

“It can be as big of a toy or as small as you can afford, but every little bit helps us give back to these children and their families. We just thank everyone for helping us spread some holiday cheer once again this year,” said Armer.

To sign up for a donation box, go toarmerfoundation.org or call 480.257.3254.

Other items the Armer Foundation will be collecting include: baby dolls, blankets, comfy socks, crayons, pajama pants, hair brush/comb, hair ties, color ing books, kids’ games and books, puz zles and stuffed animals.

Information: armerfoundation.org/ toydrive.

Democrats and Donuts speakers to discuss election results

Nancy Schriber,

chair of Maricopa

SPENDING from page 12

House Minority Leader Reginald Bold ing, D-Laveen, who also will be gone next year, said he hasn’t given up hope there will be a special session to address the problem.

“Hopefully, after the election, cooler heads prevail and we can actually get this thing done,’’ he said. And Bolding said it’s only appropriate that the cur rent crop of lawmakers deal with the issue.

“This Legislature is the one that ap proved the spending,’’ he said. “So we

need to go ahead and finish the next step.’’

Bolding also said he believes that twothirds of lawmakers would vote to ap prove the waiver if a special session is called and the item is put up for a vote. That, however, would be contingent on Ducey, who also will not be back next year, who has the power to call lawmak ers back to the Capitol to address the issue.

Hoffman said the lawmakers who want to address the issue now are being “hamstrung’’ by his inaction.

be shifted, or kind of booted out, or we might have to come up for a bond quick er than 13 years in the last one in order to complete these,” Mayor Kevin Hartke said.

Inflation is not the only problem. State lawmakers are another source of concern.

In July, Gov. Doug Ducey vetoed the transportation bill, surprising most people including many in his own party. That included authorization for Mar icopa County to hold an election on an extension for Prop. 400, which funds most of the transportation projects in the county.

Prop. 400 is a half-cent sales tax that voters approved in 1985 and extended in 2004. It is set to expire in 2025. The state’s most populous county is the only one that needs approval from Legisla ture and governor to hold an election like this.

Most of the big-ticket transporta tion-related items in Chandler have already been built, with the construc tion of the Loop 101 and 202 freeways. However, if that money goes away, the city will feel the impact.

“Although we’re not building free ways in Chandler, there’s a lot of other things that will fall back upon us,” Hart ke said.

Hartke said he’s hoping the governor will call a special session of the Legis lature in the next couple of months to authorize the election. Ducey said at the time that he vetoed it over inflation worries for Arizona families.

That’s not the only issue at the state capital. Lawmakers are considering changing sales tax codes, forcing every city to adopt a uniform policy.

Chandler has among the lowest sales tax rates in the Valley. One way it can keep them low is getting creative with some other taxes.

That includes a tax on rentals and food for home consumption, which bring in $20-$25 million a year total.

If lawmakers adopt a statewide sales tax code, Chandler would likely lose that money.

“So depending on how things are shaking out with that we may have some significant challenges in the next year, how we’re going to cover that shortfall in funding because those are

ongoing funds,” said Matt Dunbar, the city’s budget manager.

There are other issues that are adding to the cloudy future.

Every time Intel does a major ex pansion, the city gets more revenues because of the construction. Intel is ex panding two of its Chandler campuses now, so the city has seen a big increase in funds. It allowed them to make a $50 million payment to the state’s retire ment fund this past summer.

But at some point, that expansion ends and the added revenue goes away.

Lang said that in previous Intel ex pansions, the city retained about 50% of the increase it saw once the construc tion ended. But revenues did go down.

Another concern is the state’s adop tion of a flat tax rate. The city receives a portion of income tax from the state. Dunbar said the state increased how much Chandler is getting from 15 to 18% to help the city prepare for the flat tax taking effect next year.

But he said they don’t know what the flat tax rate will do to the amount the city gets in shared revenue.

If the state brings in significantly less revenue, then cities will likely get less too. But until those numbers are known, they don’t know what the impact will be and how to prepare for it.

There is some good news.

The increase in inflation actually brings in more revenue, because sales taxes are higher. The city continues to have a AAA bond rating with all three agencies that track that market. Chan dler will not have to negotiate with its labor associations this year, having reached agreements with all of them last year.

Chandler officials are meeting earlier than usual for the second straight year. They moved their first look to October to give the Council a chance to offer di rection before each department’s direc tors began working on their budgets. They will meet again in February and March, before doing an all-day work session in April.

This was the final budget meeting for outgoing Councilmember Rene Lopez and Vice Mayor Terry Roe. The two in coming councilmembers, Angel Enci nas and Jane Poston, both attended the work session.

The current year budget total is $1.35 billion.

Chandler

Gilbert

Woman’s claim against Chandler demands return of 2 dogs

BY KEN SAIN Arizonan Managing Editor

AChandler woman has filed a legal claim against the city to get back custody of her two German shep herds and $50,000 for her trouble.

Melyssa Peraziana said police seized the dogs after arresting her on animal cruelty charges that were later dropped.

“Although Ms. Peraziana could sue for significant damages based on the clear violations of her constitutional and other legal rights, she would like to resolve this enormously painful chapter expeditious ly,” attorney Hayleigh Crawford wrote in the claim.

“Accordingly, Ms. Peraziana is willing to enter into a full and final settlement of the foregoing claims in exchange for $50,000, the return of Kellan and Remus, and an agreement to stipulate to the clearance of Ms. Peraziana’s record.”

Kellan and Remus were her German shepherds.

Peraziana’s attorney, Jennifer Booth, said she is advising her client not to do media interviews until after the appeal is decided on her civil case.

On April 25 of this year, Peraziana was walking Remus at a dog park near her apartment complex. She claims the dog broke free of his leash and began running toward another dog that she says had a

from page 14

County Democratic Party, and Ne’Lexia Galloway, its executive director will speak at the 8 a.m. Nov. 16 Democrats and Donuts breakfast at Denny’s, 7400 W. Chandler Blvd., Chandler.

They will discuss the Nov. 8 election results, and what’s in store for 2024. Al though the start time of the meeting is 8 a.m., attendees are asked to arrive a little earlier to get seated and get your break fast order in. The hosts will be there by 7:30 a.m.

Information: Julia Fleeman at juliafl eeman@cox.net.

South Chandler teen shot, police investigating minors

Chandler Police are investigating after a teen was shot in the chest at a South Chandler home. The boy is expected to survive.

history of aggressive behavior toward ca nines.

Peraziana says she was able to restrain Remus by grabbing the scruff of his neck holding him between her leg and the fence.

However, the police report says a cam era at the apartment complex filmed her. It shows Perziana is about to enter the dog park when she “abruptly grabs one of the German shepherds and slams the ani mal on the ground twice.”

That short video led to a complaint of animal cruelty. Two days later, police and investigators from the Arizona Humane Society arrived for an interview and to check the dogs for possible injuries.

The claim says neither the officers nor the investigator found anything wrong with the dogs and there was no basis to proceed with the complaint.

The police report says there is another short video that shows Peraziana striking one of the German shepherds with an ob ject, which they say was likely a leash.

The claim notes that both videos are very short, and there could be important context missing.

Both the claim and police report say the Humane Society investigator found no evidence of injuries to either dog and that both animals interacted normally with people and other dogs.

Two teens were alone in a house near Hunt Highway and McQueen Road when the shot was fired. The initial report says the Nov. 3 shooting was accidental.

Police say one of the teens was holding a gun when it fired a bullet that struck the other teen. They have determined it was a negligent gun discharge.

The victim was conscious and able to speak with paramedics when they ar rived. The names and ages of the two teens are not being released because they are minors.

Police detectives have not been able to interview the victim as of the morning of Nov. 8. No charges or arrests have been made in the case.

Nonprofit raising funds for Chandler teen transpant hopeful

The Children’s Organ Transplant Asso ciation is hosting a fundraiser for Chan dler teen Isaiah Marin, who has been

On April 28, the police went back and seized both dogs and took Peraziana into custody. There is no explanation in the po lice report as to what led to the arrest.

The final entry in the police report states that officers continued to seek the longer video of the two incidents. On June 8, the longer videos were uploaded. There is no comment about what happened in the longer videos.

Peraziana said she has owned 10-yearold Remus and 3-year-old Kellan since they were about two months old. The claim says she learned on May 10 her dogs were shaved to their bare skin so they could be checked for injuries.

The claim says the dogs showed no pain, were in good condition and the only bruising or scrapes on them were likely caused by the shaving or normal behavior.

The Arizona Humane Society placed the two dogs up for adoption, despite an appeal pending in civil court. The two dogs were quickly adopted by different families, forcing them to be separated.

The Humane Society later contacted the two families and gave them three op tions: They could return the dogs to the Humane Society immediately; they could agree to foster the dogs until a final custo dy decision was made; or they could keep them and deal with possible legal ramifi cations later.

diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.

The fundraiser is scheduled for 5 to 9 p.m., Nov. 15 at the Chandler Forum, 1975 S. Price Road.

There will be food and drinks as well as a silent auction.

COTA is a nonprofit that benefits young adults who are transplant ready, raising funds to help them with the medical bills so they can focus on getting well.

Willis Junior High hosting showcase of students’ talent

Willis Junior High is hosting a show case at 6 p.m., Nov. 17 to highlight the school’s musical talent and academic programs. There is no charge, but ev eryone is asked to bring spaghetti sauce, tuna, Mac & Cheese, peanut butter, or canned soup for the Willis Community Resource Room.

There will be performances by the jazz and concert bands, orchestra and

The claim says they believe the family that adopted Remus chose option two, and the family that adopted Kellan took option three and does not plan to return him.

Booth said the criminal charges against Peraziana were dropped at a Sept. 7 hear ing at the request of the prosecuting at torney.

Peraziana filed her claim against the city in October.

On Oct. 17, a Maricopa County Superi or Court judge held a hearing on the civil complaint.

The claim says the state admitted there is no record to show the dogs were seized legally, and there was no new evidence in the three days from the first interview and inspection to the day of arrest to jus tify that action.

“At the end of the day, Ms. Peraziana is a dog lover who, out of fear and concern, reacted in the heat of the moment to pre vent a loose dog situation from escalating into something more dangerous,” Craw ford wrote in the claim.

“The court records in the seizure pro ceedings themselves confirm that Kellan and Remus never should have been taken from her, much less adopted out to total strangers in direct violation of court or der. Respectfully, we ask that you help make this right.”

choir. The Willis STEAM Academy will do some demonstrations of their work.

Woofstock coming to Chandler’s Tumbleweed Park on Nov. 19

The City of Chandler is hosting Woof stock on Nov. 19 at Tumbleweed Park. Dogs and their owners can come for a variety of services. There will be pet adoptions, low-cost vaccinations, canine sporting demonstrations, pet caricature drawings, and pet physic readings.

It is scheduled to take place between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Chandler PD gets task force grant for DUI enforcement

The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety has awarded the Chandler Police Department a $290,338 grant to support several traffic safety-related activities

10 Chandler teachers get their wishes, $2,500K

BY ARIZONAN NEWS STAFF

TenChandler teachers are among the 400 recipients of $2,500 each as part of the Palo Verde Fiesta Bowl Charities’ annual Wishes for Teach ers program.

The program is part of the Fiesta Bowl Organization’s annual tradition of “hon oring, supporting and celebrating edu cators throughout Arizona,” organizers said.

Presented by Salt River Project, the overall batch of awards means that “nearly 212,000 students across 321 schools and 95 districts will be positively impacted by their teachers’ wishes with this year’s group” which collectively rep resents “more than 5,300 years of expe rience in the classroom,” they said.

Recipients included people teaching the arts to science, both gifted and spe cial education, and languages and life skills amongst a diverse group of sub jects.

“The 400 wishes granted will benefit teachers who will aim to enrich the lives of their students through technology improvements, addition of education

al programs and fitness equipment and much more,” organizers said.

Randal Norton, Fiesta Bowl board chair, added, “ “Teachers are truly self less individuals who help shape the fu tures of our students here in Arizona and we are proud to play a part in supporting our teachers to do more in the classroom for the leaders of tomorrow.”

Kory Raftery, manager of external affairs at Palo Verde, added that he is “excited and humbled to be part of such an incredible program that invests in teachers who are inspiring tomorrow’s leaders both inside and outside of the classroom.”

“One of our principles at Palo Verde is putting people first and Wishes for Teachers allows us to partner with an organization that supports some of the most important people in our commu nities.”

Created in 2016, the Fiesta Bowl Wish es for Teachers program grants class room wishes to Arizona teachers. Public and charter school K-12 teachers across the state are invited to apply each fall with the recipients verified and selected

Nominations open for inaugural MLK awards given by city

by a random drawing.

This year’s $1 million total donation brings the Wishes for Teachers’ sev en-year cumulative grant total to $5.7 million awarded to 1,600 teachers, im pacting more than 700,000 students across Arizona.

“Providing teachers with the tools and resources they need benefits Ari zona’s children. Partnering with the Fi esta Bowl on the Wishes for Teachers campaign is one of the many ways SRP supports teachers,” said Andrea Moreno, program manager of SRP Community Stewardship.

“Our future workforce relies on the support that we provide to educators and non-profit organizations today.”

Here are the Chandler teachers and qwhat they will sue their money to buy:

Kayla Edwards, a Spanish and AVID teacher at Paragon Science Academy, lap desks and flexible seating for their class room.

Sara Evans, a technology teacher at Fulton Elementary School, robotic and coding equipment for their classroom.

Bonnie Flores, a math teacher at Bo

Chandler accepting applications for CIVIC program

gle Junior High School, new VEX Robot ics equipment for their students.

Cheryl Garland, a reading interven tion teacher at Paragon Science Acade my, flexible seating for their students.

Cecilia Loera, a Spanish teacher at Chandler Traditional Academy, will cre ate a “Reading Corner” with Spanish books and flexible seating.

John Mahnke, a physical education teacher at Bright Beginnings Elementary School, new equipment for their physical education class.

Alisha Nischan, a physical education, wellness and nutrition teacher at Mesa Virtual Campus, new fitness equipment for students to be able to use at home for their online classes.

Elizabeth Peco, a kindergarten to sixth-grade teacher at Sirrine Elementa ry, flexible seating for their students.

Miranda Saenz, a technology and STEM teacher at Shumway Leadership Academy, STEM resources for their classroom.

Meghann Sarnicki, a literacy teacher at Frye Elementary School, a Zenimal de vice for each classroom at their school.

The Traffic Section was allotted $28,000 of this grant to fund civilian motorcycle training, with an additional $25,000 to enforce Arizona’s seat belt and child safety seat laws. An additional $50,000 was awarded to combat exces sive speeding, as well as distracted and aggressive driving.

The DUI Unit will use $97,338 to fund officer overtime, related equipment and supplies to work DUI enforcement during select times of the year to com bat impaired driving, and $35,000 for the Know Your Limit non-enforcement, education program, the department said in a release.

The Traffic Section was also allotted $50,000 to fund pedestrian and bicy cle safety overtime associated with the campaigns to raise awareness through education and enforcement.

The Vehicular Crimes Unit got $5,000 for accident investigation training relat ed travel, materials, and supplies associ ated with collision investigation.

The City of Chandler is accepting nom inations for its inaugural Dr. Martin Lu ther King Jr. Awards, which will be pre sented in January.

There are three categories: The Distin guished Achievement Award recognizes someone who has done extensive work promoting social and economic justice, defending civil rights and enhancing the dignity of all people in Chandler.

The Emma Arbuckle Empowerment Award recognizes someone who works to empower the community by creating leadership opportunities, racial equality, and solidarity. It’s named after a South Chandler leader, advocate and mother figure.

The Youth Action Award recognizes a student (18 and younger) who is work ing to promote nonviolence, commit ment to service and courage amongst their peers.

Nominations are due by Dec. 2. The winners will be notified the week of Dec. 19.

The City of Chandler is accepting ap plications for residents who want to be part of its CIVIC program. The deadline for applications is Dec. 2.

The program is 13 sessions that pro vide a behind-the-scenes look at how the city is run. Participants meet with city leaders and tour facilities.

The program launches in January and most sessions will be between 4:30 and 7 p.m. Wednesdays. For more informa tion, visit chandleraz.gov/CIVIC.

FuelFest coming to Wild Horse Pass that would benefit charity

FuelFest is returning to the Valley on Dec. 10 at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park on Dec. 10. Money raised from the event benefits Reach Out WorldWide, the nonprofit started by Fast & Furious star Paul Walker, who died in a car colli sion in 2013. His brother, Cody, runs the nonprofit now.

The event brings together racing fans, celebrities, music, food and art. There

will be hundreds of custom, exotic, rare and exclusive cars and trucks to view, as well as live racing and interactive exhib its.

Tickets are $35. Visit fuelfest.com for more information.

ELECTIONS from page 8

committee comprised different stakehold ers, from parents and community members to district staff.

Tempe Union’s current needs not funded by the District Additional Assistance bud get would total $60.9 million over seven years beginning July 1,2023, according to Meulemans.

She said failure to obtain voter approv al for the operations override would force the district to cut about $4.3 million in the 2023-24 school year and another $4.3 the following school year, when the current override finally expires. The district ulti mately would lose approximately $12.7 million in operations spending annually.

Tarwater teacher gives her $5K prize to her school

BY KEN SAIN Arizonan Managing Editor

Elementary School teach er Sophia Limjoco said it didn’t take her long to figure out how she wanted to spend a $5,000 check she had been given.

Tarwater

“I knew immediately,” the sec ond-grade teacher said. “I did go home and let my family know. And I said, ‘this is what I’m planning on doing. What do you guys think?’ And they said, ‘it’s your money. We think it’s a great idea.’”

The nonprofit Honored had awarded Limjoco the check for $5,000. The group is dedicated to keeping great teachers in the classroom and inspiring a new gen eration of talent to pursue teaching.

Limjoco had been nominated by the mother of one of her former students. There were no restrictions on the mon ey. She could have paid off bills, took a vacation, bought herself and her family something nice.

Instead, she decided to give back to the school where she works.

Tarwater Elementary School second grade teacher Sophia Limjoco won the Honored National Teaching Award and is giving her $5,000 prize back to her school to build an outdoor classroom space. (David Minton/ Staff Photographer)

“I had a student … I heard you got a lot of money.” Limjoco said. “He said, ‘are you gonna buy a new house?’ I’m not go ing to buy a house. ‘What are you gonna do with it?’ I said, I’m we’re gonna try and build us an outdoor garden, the one that we’ve been wanting.’”

She plans to use the money for an outdoor classroom at the school. When Chandler Unified School District Super intendent Frank Narducci heard of her generosity, he said he would ask the Governing Board to match the offer.

Limjoco said the look on that boy’s face after she said she would use the money to improve the school was all the thanks she need ed.

“His face said it all,” she said. “I’m go ing to try not to cry, but that is why I teach. It’s not for the grades, yes, that’s important. But it’s that moment, that I think for that child specifically, he’ll re

member that.

“You give back. And hopefully, he’s going to remember that someone real ly cares about his future, you know, not just his parents and not just himself but there are other people who are invest ed.”

The space where Limjoco plans to construct an outdoor classroom is a bit of an eyesore on campus. It had been a habitat for a desert tortoise that parents had built years ago. The tortoise was moved, and the enclosure became ne glected. It’s now overrun with weeds.

Limjoco asked if she could use it for planting and composting. She began to introduce those concepts to her stu dents, who were amazed that the tiny seed in her fingers could transform into a large pumpkin.

The additional money that the dis trict would contribute has helped oth er teachers get involved in the project, Limjoco said.

Chandler entrepreneur goes ‘old school’ with kids

BY MELODY BIRKETT Arizonan Contributor

Fifth-grade students in the Chandler Unified School District are learning the art of public speaking for about 30 days under a pilot program.

“In some ways, public speaking is a lost art,” said Instructor “Diva” Danielle Williams, Entrepreneur and owner of Diva Strong Media, LLC, who’s teaching three classes at three schools.

“When it comes to the younger gen eration, speaking is sort of on the back burner because technology has replaced it with emojis, different symbols and text messaging,” Williams said. “There are fewer words. Language has taken on a whole different meaning. And the art of conversation has shifted and it’s no lon ger an eloquent way we speak.”

“I believe education is a door that once we open it for boys and girls, we can see their lives transform, whether it’s tak ing them out of poverty or continuing to grow educationally on their journey of life,” Ellis said. “Connecting educators with children or students and those in our community willing to help – together is the way to do it.”

Williams explained, “Being able to help these children understand the power of their voice, enhance their vocabulary and articulate their thought process into an elegant form of speech, gives them a way to communicate for a life skill that’s going to take place throughout their life.

“It’s a life skill and a part of a training

technique to get them to another level as they become young adults.”

Part of the curriculum is bringing back some of the basics used a few decades ago.

“I love everything that’s old and bring ing it into what is new because I’ve al ways believed you can learn from our past,” Williams said. “So, I’m incorporat ing some basic techniques and tools –things that I learned when I was young er - that are still applicable today in the classrooms even though they’re on lap tops.”

For one, Williams is bringing in her old dictionary.

“I encourage kids to fill those pages, look up the words and get a real true sense of what it’s like to have what they call an archaic form of an educational

tool at their fingertips. What if the elec tricity or WiFi goes out and you can’t uti lize the technology?” Williams said.

“You need to know how to use those books, be able to look up those words do additional research. The old manners of what we had - cross-referencing in text books, dictionaries, encyclopedias, The saurus, all those different things - help you because sometimes you don’t have your phone, or laptop. So, being able to have tangible books to turn those pages is important.”

Williams is also bringing in a typewrit er.

Before computers, she said, “We start ed with the typewriter and the compo nents of developing the technology to

Chandler Councilwoman Christine Ellis recommended the program to the district.

advance to the computer. But when kids use a computer it’s very different than a typewriter.

“And in this day and age, you want to drive home the point of the reason why we’re using the typewriter. When you type on a typewriter, you have to take your time and have patience, under standing and taking your time. Collect ing your thoughts and developing word choices and selection because if you make a mistake, there’s no autocorrect.

“It’s not going to autocorrect for you so you want to know what words to use and how to spell them. That’s where the dictionary comes into play. And it makes your thought process a little bit more creative. It makes you appreciate what you’re writing on that piece of paper be cause you’re taking the time to put it all together.

“And those components play into your critical thinking, and your cognitive skills. And it also makes what you’re try ing to say a little bit more elevated and eloquent.”

Williams even brings in an old tele

phone. Even if students don’t plan on a career where public speaking is needed, Wil liams said the skill is important to learn because “when you write, knowing the difference between word choices, selec tions and how to position yourself when you are typing a memo, an email, makes

a huge difference to the way people receive your information and re spond to you.

“Ultimately, it can open a door of opportunity or it can shut a door of a possible opportunity.”

Williams said public speaking is a “tool and a component you will use throughout your life, no matter what type of job you get. At some point, you do have to speak on behalf of yourself to clarify some thing, to straighten up something.”

At the end of the workshop, Wil liams will give the students the op portunity to write a paragraph on the title subject, “This is Me.”

“They’ll have to stand up in front of the class by the end of the five weeks and share who they are with confidence and learn the tech niques of body language, posture, pitch, tone, enhancement, vocabulary and structure of writing a speech,” Williams said.

“I want them to have the inner mech anisms of knowing that they can do this and build their inner confidence to share those unique qualities about who they

are as a child in the 5th grade and what they aspire to do.”

She added that teachers are rallying behind this.

“They want this in their classroom,” she explained. “They feel like it’s an asset where the kids aren’t getting this compo nent on a regular basis.”

Williams got the idea by talking with Ellis, explaining, “ I told her about the public speaking workshop I creat ed, called The Junior Public Speaking League. She put me in touch with the in dividuals in the Chandler School District and the conversation started there.”

Not only does Williams have an exten sive journalism background, but she’s now an entrepreneur, using her journal ism skills in a unique way. She also has been fighting stage 4 lung cancer as a non-smoker for the last four years.

“I was down to 94 lbs.,” explained Wil liams. “Cancer spread to my lower spine, my pelvis and the top of my right shoul der. And in the course of 3 1/2 years, I went through everything from radiation to chemo to surgery on my spine.

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Danielle Williams, owner Of Diva Strong Media, is teaching public speaking to fifth graders at three schools. (Special to Arizonan)

BASIS Chandler junior a prodigy on the chess board

BY EGAN ADLER Cronkite News

Atthe end of every match, Sandeep Sethuraman looks his opponent in the eyes and mutters one word: checkmate.

“The expectation is 36-0 every year. Winning every game I play within the year. The goal is again to win the state championship,” said Sethuraman, a 15 year-old worldwide ranked chess player who is a junior at BASIS Chandler. “There are five boards and we need three-outof-five every match to win.”

The high schooler has risen through the chess world since he first started playing when his grandma taught him the rules as a young kid. Midway through seventh grade, Sethuraman had quali fied as a National Master and by 2021 he reached the title of FIDE Master.

He currently ranks 2,532 out of all ac tive players in the world, according to the International Chess Federation.

These titles, which take years to earn, are decided through national and inter national tournaments and follow the Elo system, chess’s most commonly used rating system. The system breaks down international chess players into number categories starting with novices and con tinuing until the Super Grandmaster, the unofficial title for players with a rating of above 2700.

Sethuraman currently sits at 2371 – a mere 29 points below the title of Inter national Master, according to the Elo sys tem.

“I am pushing to become an Interna tional Master. I have two out of the three required norms and I am at 2370-ish and need to reach 2400 to become an Inter

TEACHER from page 18

“That extra money helped the staff get excited and people that really weren’t interested, now they’re saying, ‘Well, what about this?’ And you know, ‘what I’ve always wanted to do is this.’ And it’s kind of spurred on more collaboration between the staff and outside organiza tions. And so it’s kind of broadened the participation to support a sustainable garden.”

Limjoco said it’s important for stu dents to know where their food and air

national Master. I hope to become one by the end of this school year,” Sethuraman said.

However, his quest for chess suprem acy will not distract his commitment to the BASIS Chandler team. In last year’s AIA season, Sethuraman swept the indi vidual competitions along with defeating the highest-ranked player in the cham pionship, Brophy’s Mason Miller, to cap ture the state championship for BASIS Chandler.

One year later, Sethuraman’s role is both captain and coach for his fellow teammates. He has become so good that even his coach, Radhika Guruju, has real ized she has little to teach him. Instead, Guruju aids her superstar in the mental side of the game.

“Chess is a very mental game. Teams can intimidate you, opponents can intim idate you so (you) don’t want to look at them too much and listen to their trash

comes from, so that they can consider the long-term implications of protecting that as they get older.

Chandler’s roots as a farming com munity are deep, but also mostly in the past. Many of today’s students don’t even realize that Tarwater sits on what once was a dairy farm.

And they have a lot to learn before they’re ready to plant seeds. “These kids, they’re pulling up weeds and they’re going, ‘what is this brown stuff?’ Limjoco said. “‘That’s dirt, it’s soil for plants to grow.

talk,” Guruju said. “Ignoring everything around you makes your game the most important game of the day.”

With Sethuraman poised to captain the BASIS Chandler team for the next two seasons, anything less than a state cham pionship would be a disappointment. However, Guruju is accustomed to lofty expectations. After gaining approval to join the AIA, she is the only coach the BA SIS team has ever known and has never finished below the top five since the pro gram’s inaugural season.

“We feel the pressure, because you win so many years and you have this reputa tion and expectation to win again,” Guru ju said. “I tell my team just play the board, do not play the person sitting across from you, the team across from you.

“Make your game the most fun game for you, so you aren’t focused on a team mate’s game. From the time you step into a tournament to the time you step out

OLD SCHOOL

from page 19

“But I fought my way back because I literally live my life like I don’t have can cer. I told myself I was going to kill my cancer with kindness and treat it as a positive thing in my life.

“Through all of that, I continue to push and create. I created my own business. I created my own talk show on YouTube. And then I created this workshop be cause I love and passionately feel that non-profits are the backbone of our com munity. And through my volunteering

you have to stay focused.”

Matt FritzMiller, BASIS Chandler’s principal, has taken a backseat while watching his chess program become one of the state’s best.

“What I do is, I don’t hold them back. I let them do whatever they need. They are so talented and such amazing chess players, and years ago they wanted to join the AIA so we let them, and it’s gone really really well,” FritzMiller said. “The best thing I can do for them is let them do their thing and support them anyway I can.

Sethuraman is primed to take the next step in the international chess world. He plans on bypassing the state’s individu al tournament in November to focus on the U.S. Masters tournament in Charlotte over Thanksgiving weekend, where a successful showing will put him on the path to the International Master rating.

He also has used chess to give back to the community having created The Chess Effect, a non-profit that is designed to teach chess to underprivileged children.

Through his efforts he had raised $900 for Arizona Helping Hands, an organiza tion focused on providing essential ser vices to foster care children.

The chess prodigy has no doubts that the sport will continue to play a signif icant role in his life. Nevertheless, he knows it is just one of many paths that his future holds.

“I am going to try and get the Grandmas ter title,” Sethuraman said. “I want to continue to play chess for the rest of my life and while I want to go to college and may not be able to put the same amount of time into it, I still want to be a player and or coach.”

with them, it opened up many doors for me to utilize my journalism to help the children in the non-profit community.” She said it’s important to have a posi tive attitude. “Never count yourself out,” added Williams. “Stay true to who you are and follow your passion and find your niche. I found my niche working in the community, driving and developing things that really spoke to me and the things I really love…I never gave up on myself and now I’m able to give back Information: danielledivastrongmedia. com

A budding prodigy, BASIS Chandler junior Sandeep Sethuraman aims to lead the school’s chess team to a third state championship as caption. (Cronkite News)

Optometrist eyes bright future in Chandler

BY JOSH ORTEGA Arizonan Staff Writer

Perhaps God’s vision helped Dr. Anh Tieu to found her optometry of fice.

Tieu owns Agape Eye Care, 2055 W. Frye Road, Chandler, choosing the bib lical word for unconditional love as its namesake.

Tieu said it perfectly also describes her values and her story, explaining it is “the only kind of love that is not at tached to human emotion, and it was my story.”

Her family came to the United States from Vietnam, which was where her great grandparents settled when they migrated from China.

Tieu, whose family arrived in America when she was about 2, she grew up in Orange County, California.

In 1995, she graduated as valedic torian from Artesia High School in Lakewood, California, where she won a science award that earned her two scholarships from Bausch and Lomb eye

health company and the University of Rochester.

The first in her family to go to college, Tieu completed her undergrad work at the University of Rochester in Roches ter, New York, and graduated from the

Southern California College of Optometry in Yorba Linda, Cali fornia, in 1999.

She obtained sev eral internships, in cluding one at the Veterans Administra tion Hospital in Santa Barbara, California.

An internship on the Gila River Indian Reservation in Sac aton brought her to Arizona and changed her life forever.

At age 25, Tieu said she started to open her eyes to the Chris tian faith and still re members purchasing her first Bible at the Barnes and Noble in the Chandler Fashion Center.

Tieu said it wasn’t one person but a series of events in her life that intro duced to her faith, and she said it has

‘Plant Lady’ helps people grow a green thumb

BY JOSH ORTEGA Arizonan Staff Writer

Noelle

Johnson didn’t set out to do any of this but the fruits of her la bor have really paid off.

Over the last 20 years, the Chandler woman has watched Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting blossom. With her first book set to hit store shelves early next year, Johnson said it all start ed with her own gardening faux pas.

“In fact, all the plants I added when I had my first garden – they all died,” Johnson said. “And so that’s what kind of inspired me to go back to school.”

Johnson said that inspired her to go back to school and earn her bachelor’s degree in horticulture from Arizona State University in 1998.

Starting her career in January 1999 as a horticulturist, Johnson said her first

jobs at Eagle Mountain Golf Club and Rio Verde Country Club became like “a play ground to learn.”

Though she worked on everything but the grass, Johnson said residents still ad mired her work and asked for her help with their own gardens.

“I didn’t set out to do this,” Johnson said. “I was just hired because of people knowing the work I did around the golf course.”

After losing her job as a horticulturist in the Great Recession, Johnson started a blog in 2009 because “that’s what every body was doing.”

“I saw a need for showing people how to garden the right way in the desert,” she explained. “Because we’re different from all other parts of the country.”

Johnson said her interest in landscape consulting came from the amount of

misinformation and gardening advice out there that doesn’t apply to Arizona’s climate.

“There’s a lot of misleading informa tion out there,” Johnson said. “And the typical gardening rules that apply to oth er parts of the country don’t really apply here.”

Over the last 36 years of living in the desert, Johnson said she has come across many misconceptions about growing a beautiful garden in the desert.

One of those fallacies is that the dry landscape means there is a lack of beau tiful flora to build out a desert garden.

“There’s a lot more variety in the types of plants available to us that will thrive in our hot, dry climate,” Johnson said.

Before the City of Mesa enacted the

grown ever since.

“The Lord started showing me signs and almost like almost a cue,” Tieu said. “I saw there was signs of God every where I went.”

Tieu moved to Arizona in 2004 and floated around several positions for some time before she focused on one place.

In 2006, she opened Market Street Optometry inside a Costco in Gilbert and built a large practice for 16 years.

“I put all my heart into it,” Tieu said. “And I’ve had so many patients that have followed me through the years that we see each other like family.”

But in February, Tieu said she sudden ly received a 30-day notice to vacate the location.

“Unfortunately, something happened and I wasn’t welcomed there anymore now,” Tieu said. “They didn’t give me a reason why.”

Although she holds no animosity

Noelle Johnson’s first garden died, and that put her on a path that led to her becoming known as AZ Plant Lady. (Special to Arizonan)

Dr. Anh Tieu recently opened Agape Eye Care optometry clinic at 2055 W. Frye Road, Chandler. (Special to Arizonan)

Mesa, AZ – When it comes to chronic pain and/ or neuropathy, the most common doctor-prescribed treatment is drugs like Gabapentin, Lyrica, Cymbalta, and Neurontin. The problem with antidepressants or anti-seizure medications like these is that they offer purely symptomatic relief, as opposed to targeting and treating the root of the problem. Worse, these drugs often trigger an onset of uncomfortable, painful, and sometimes harmful side effects.

The only way to effectively treat chronic pain and/or peripheral neuropathy is by targeting the source, which is the result of nerve damage owing to inadequate blood flow to the nerves in the hands and feet. This often causes weakness, numbness, balance problems. A lack of nutrients causes the nerves degenerate – an insidious

cannot survive, and thus, slowly die. This leads to those painful and frustrating consequences we were talking about earlier, like weakness, numbness, tingling, balance issues, and perhaps even a burning sensation.

The drugs your doctor might prescribe will temporarily conceal the problems, putting a “Band-Aid” over a situation that will only continue to deteriorate without further action.

Thankfully, Mesa is the birthplace of a brandnew facility that sheds new light on this pressing problem of peripheral neuropathy and chronic pain. The company is trailblazing the medical industry by replacing outdated drugs and symptomatic reprieves with an advanced machine that targets the root of the problem at hand.

1. Finding the underlying cause

2. Determining the extent of the nerve damage (above 95% nerve loss is rarely treatable)

3. The amount of treatment required for the patient’s unique condition

Aspen Medical in Mesa, AZ uses a state-of-the-art electric cell signaling systems worth $100,000.00.

Th is ground-breaking treatment is engineered to achieve the following, accompanied by advanced diagnostics and a basic skin biopsy to accurately analyze results:

1. Increases blood flow

2. Stimulates and strengthens small fiber nerves

3. Improves brain-based pain

The treatment works by delivering energy to the affected area(s) at varying wavelengths, from low- to middle-frequency signals, while also using Amplitude Modulated (AM) and Frequency Modulated (FM) signaling

It’s completely painless!

THE GREAT NEWS IS THAT THIS TREATMENT IS COVERED BY MEDICARE, MEDICAID, AND MOST INSURANCES!!

The number of treatments required varies from patient to patient, and can only be determined following an in-depth neurological and vascular examination. As long as you have less than 95% nerve damage, there is hope!

Aspen Medical begins by analyzing the extent of the nerve damage –a complimentary service for your friends and family. Each exam comprises a detailed sensory evaluation, extensive peripheral vascular testing, and comprehensive analysis of neuropathy findings.

Aspen Medical will be offering this free chronic pain and neuropathy severity evaluation will be available until October 31st, 2022 Call (480) 274 3157 to make an appointment.

Due to our very busy office schedule, we are limiting this offer to the first 10 c allers Y OU DO NOT HAVE TO SUFFER ANOTHER MINUTE, CALL (480) 274 3157… NOW!!

We are extremely busy, so we are unavailable, please leave a voice message and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

As displayed in figure 1 above, the nerves are surrounded by diseased, withered blood vessels. A lack of sufficient nutrients means the nerves

Effective neuropathy treatment relies on the following three factors:

Aspen Medical 4540 E Baseline Rd., Suite 119 Mesa, AZ, 85206

Depending on your coverage, your peripheral neuropathy treatment could cost almost nothing – or be absolutely free.

Whether it has been considered a “nuisance” problem, or one so severe it has interfered with daily communication and simple conversations with friends and family… hearing problems affect everyone.

Take this opportunity to find out if help is available. Using state-of-theart diagnostic equipment, you can now see (and HEAR) the difference for yourself! During the dates listed below, your complete hearing screening will be performed…

— J. Reed, Mesa, AZ

Cassandra Fynes, Au.D., CCC-A Doctor of Audiology

Roger Knighton, M.N.S., CCC-A Clinical Audiologist

Filipino couple serve family favorites in Chandler

BY MELODY BIRKETT Arizonan Contributor

At My Place Cafe is a family affair, both in terms of its ownership and its offerings.

Liza Obregon and her husband Carli to opened the restaurant six years ago in Mesa and moved it last December to Chandler. And throughout that time, they have been serving up family favor ites that reflect the flavors of their native Philippines

The couple met while working at Intel in their the Philippines and when Carlito decided to move to the United States in 1985, Liz recalled how she felt: “When he told me about his plans, I said, ‘You’re not coming back, I’m sure,’” said Liza. Turns out she was wrong – kind of. He came back for a visit but had Amer ica on his mind.

“He asked my mom, ‘What do you think Liza would do when she gets to

(Left) Kare kare consists of oxtail, Asian vege tables like bok choy, eggplant, beans and ba nana blossom. (Right) Liza Obregon and her husband Carlito, both from the Philippines, moved their At My Place Café from Mesa to Chandler last December. (Special to Arizonan)

America?’ My mom said, ‘Liza is a hard working lady. She loves to eat. She likes to cook.’…My mom told my husband for

sure that I’ll want a restaurant. He ful filled that dream and sent me to culinary school while I was still working.”

Since she was 5, Liza had helped her mom in the kitchen.

“My mom was a very good cook,” she

said. “Same with my aunt and my grandmother. So, it’s on my mom’s side.”

It wasn’t until 1998 that Liza moved to the U.S. to join her husband because she was her parents’ caregiver.

“I’m the oldest among the siblings so I had to take care of them,” said Liza, who cred its the late Sen. John McCain for expediting the paper work once she was ready to make the move.

After moving to Arizona, Liza first worked at Sears while her husband worked at Motorola and NXB. Liza attended culi nary school in Scottsdale from 2004-06, finally able to begin the career she had long wanted.

Most of the recipes Liza uses are her

Strategies for combatting the impact of inflation

BY HAROLD WONG Arizonan Guest Writer

In 2022, the US inflation rate hit the highest since 1981. According to recent U.S. Labor De partment data, the annual inflation rate was 8.2% for the 12 months ending in September, 2022, after rising 8.3% the previous month. Some reports indicate that 60-70% of American families are living paycheck to paycheck. Many surveys show that infla tion and the economy are the most im portant issue to voters before the mid term elections.

So, what are potential strategies that you can use to fight how inflation affects your family?

Buy a used car instead of a new car. For most car models, there is tremen dous depreciation in value during the first 5 years. People have no idea how much a new car costs.

The inflation of the last two years has raised the price of both new and used cars to record levels. According to new

data from Edmunds, for new vehicles the average auto loan is 70.4 months and the monthly payments exceed $700/month.

Example: In 2006, I bought a used, 8-year-old 1998 Lexus ES 300 vehicle. I paid $8,500 which was ¼ of what the original owner paid for the car when new. It had 85,000 miles on it and I now have over 272,000 miles.

Yes, I’ve had to do normal mainte nance and, original parts of the car such as the front end and all shock absorb ers have had to be replaced. The cost of insurance and annual AZ vehicle regis tration is way less than half of what it would be for a new car.

Suppose I had an average $50-a-month car loan because I bought a new car every six years. The total payments over the last 16 years would have been $96,000. This is the 3rd car I’ve owned that has gone over 200,000 miles.

Rent out part of your house via Airb nb, Vrbo, or a normal lease. I have one client, a nurse practitioner, who rents out part of her house for $1,500 a month on a one-year lease.

Another client, a psychologist who works with veterans, spent $100,000 to build a casita by the pool at his house. He expects to receive $30,000+ a year in annual rent.

Check with your city and HOA first to find out if there are any restrictions on short-term rentals.

Green energy equipment strategies. Especially with the new Inflation Re duction Act, which has allocated at least $370 billion of grants and loans for green energy technology, there are op portunities.

In one solar equipment leasing strate gy, the client saves half of his investment amount in taxes.

There is nothing more powerful in the tax code than a 30% solar tax credit and the ability to deduct 85% of the cost of equipment through either Section 179 or 100% “bonus” depreciation.

For many upper-middle-income fami lies, income taxes are the single biggest expense item, even exceeding housing costs.

Increase the income from your in vestments. The average dividend yield

from S&P 500 companies from January 1, 2000 through December 31, 2021, has averaged 2.02%.

One has the risk of having to own the stock in order to receive the dividend. Until the spike in interest rates during the past year, 2% was what one received from buying a 10-year or 30-year US Treasury Bond.

There are equipment leasing, real es tate investment, and private pension strategies that can generate a 7-10% an nual yield, with less risk than the stock market.

However, because few have invested in assets other than Wall Street stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, there is a time period required to get educated and feel comfortable. Always research any in vestment carefully.

To schedule a free consultation on tax es or retirement planning, contact Dr. Harold Wong at 480-706-0177 or har old_wong@hotmail.com. His websites are drharoldwong.com or solarbusinessin vestments.com. Dr. Wong earned his Ph.D. in economics at University of California/ Berkeley.

Stage One Water Shortage awareness in May, Johnson said she had already seen a dramatic shift in many people’s efforts to reduce their water usage.

Along with not wasting time and mon ey, Johnson said drought-tolerant plants also don’t waste on looks.

“There is this myth that landscape lower water-use plants are ugly,” John son said. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”

Johnson said one of the best resources to find gorgeous low water-use plants are local plant nurseries.

Like most of her gardening advice, Johnson said she looks to dispel some other common misconceptions, includ ing that what may work in other parts of the country may not work here in Ar izona.

“If you read a plant label and it says full sun, it doesn’t mean it can handle full sun in the desert necessarily,” John son said.

For that reason, Johnson said every fall brings an onslaught for her consult ing business because cooler tempera tures help create ripe conditions for gardening.

“But that way it gives plants three full seasons in which to establish a good root system so that it can handle the heat and stress of the coming summer,”

Johnson said.

In 2019, Johnson said she saw such an increase in customers, she decided to start an online class, called “Desert Gar dening 101,” on her website.

In the three years since starting the class, Johnson said she’s had nearly 1,000 people go through the course.

Her biggest tool since starting has come from social media, where she’s known as “AZ Plant Lady.”

Johnson said she constantly posts on her website and social media because she enjoys showing people what’s possi ble for people to grow in the desert land scape they live in.

“It’s so fun to dispel the myth that the only thing that you can have in a desert garden is cactus and rocks,” Johnson said. “It’s so rewarding to show people, and very easy to do with pictures.”

Along with her other outreach efforts across the East Valley including for the City of Mesa, Johnson said there’s a heap of resources for people interested in desert landscape for their own yards.

That includes her book “Dry Climate Gardening: Growing beautiful, sustain able gardens in low-water conditions” debuts on February 7, 2023 on Amazon, but is currently available for pre-order for $28.99.

Information: azplantlady.com, amwua.org/plants.

with peanut sauce. If you love peanut butter, you’re going to like that.”

mom’s, though she modifies them a bit.

“Like the pork sisig – it’s supposed to be the face including the ear, the nose, the chin of the pig. I don’t do it that way because I’m sure it’d be too fatty because of the skin. Here in America, they’re very particular about healthy food.

“I’ve thought about making it with pork belly. Instead. I bake the pork belly. I put it in a walk-in all night and then the next day it’s defried and chopped,” she said, adding it’s one of the more popular menu items.

Another customer favorite is the karekare. “It consists of oxtail, Asian vegeta bles like bok choy, eggplant, beans and banana blossom,” explained Liza.

“If Americans eat it, they always get surprised by the banana blossom. If you see the banana before it becomes a fruit, there’s a blossom first. The dish is made

What distinguishes Filipino from Chi nese and Japanese cuisine is the sauces according to Liza.

“We have salty. We have sour. Our soup – we call it our comfort food. We call it sinigang. Sinigang is a tamarind base, hot soup. It’s sour.”

Beef, pork and chicken dishes can be found on the menu.

“We have the bistek and the caldere ta which is beef,” Liza said. “We have the Bicol Express made with pork. These dishes come from all different kinds of provinces in the Philippines. ..Bicol it self is the name of the province. It’s salty with coconut milk and we put different kinds of pepper so it’s spicy.”

Liza said she can adjust the spice lev el based on the customer’s wants. Menu

against the company now, Tieu said she felt so heartbroken that it felt like a di vorce.

Over the course of five months, Tieu said she began frantically looking for a new location.

“Before work, during lunch, after work, I would go and see these locations out,” Tieu said. “But amazingly, I found my location here.”

Three week after she left her previous location, Tieu said she had several peo ple helping her find a new location and one struck pay dirt.

Unfortunately, Tieu said she had a previous appointment that day but the friend insisted on showing her the lo cation at 11 a.m., despite not having an address yet.

After her appointment, Tieu said she had received an address for the poten tial location and inputted it to her GPS.

“So, I luckily got out at 10:40 a.m. and input it into my GPS,” Tieu said. “And then it said to go straight and turn right, and I said, ‘What?’”

The location was across the street from her appointment.

Tieu said she fell in love with the location, which previously had been a physical therapist’s office.

Despite supply chain issues and con tractor cancellations, Tieu built her new home with the help of her faith.

“It’s a miracle to me,” Tieu said, who believes she withstood the disappoint

ments of finding a new shop because “I chose love instead of anger or hate or resentment.”

Though she had testimonies from her patients about her great work at her previous location, Tieu said it feels like fate goaded her out of her comfort zone to something greater.

“It almost gives me a push to do some thing better that I didn’t realize that I could do,” Tieu said.

Though currently with a staff of about five employees and two part-time doc tors, Tieu hopes to expand to offer fulltime services.

About two-thirds of her customers have stuck by her for more than 10 years.

Tieu said she’s enjoyed serving them and watching their kids grow up.

Tieu said the biggest struggle is get ting the word out about her new loca tion to a large customer base that she considers family, but looks forward to serving them in her new location.

“My heart is always to serve. And I wanat to give the best of what I know that in my capacity to give my patients,” Tieu said. “I want you to be able to serve them and provide them that and just know that it’s always from the heart first.”

Agape Eye Care

2055 West Frye Road, Suite 2, Chandler agapeeyecare.com

anced with the saltiness.”

items are fresh and made to order. Breakfast is served all day and in cludes garden fried rice and fried eggs. Protein can be added such as marinated beef tenderloin. No brown rice is served. “We will upgrade from white rice to gar lic fried rice,” added Liza. “Rice with gar lic is served with every meal but no veg gies are added to the fried rice as you’ll find at some Asian restaurants.”

Among the more unique dishes is the bistek tagalog. “There’s lemon in there, a lot of onions. We sauté the on ions, caramelize them, and we put them on top of the steak. And it’s made from soy sauce, lemon and pepper only. That’s it. And you have to tenderize it with that flavor. The lemony flavor should be bal

Liza recommends patrons try every thing.

“We make our food with love,” Liza explained. “Try our food and you won’t regret it. Most of my customers – new or old – will say it’s consistently done well.”

The couple is just happy they made it through the pandemic, crediting their faith in God. “

I give everything to Him every day,” said Liza.

At My Place Café

3450 W. Chandler Blvd., Suite #9, Chandler 480-838-1008 orderatmyplacecafe.com

ACP wins first school title, Hamilton adds 2

BY ZACH ALVIRA Arizonan Sports Editor

ArizonaCollege Prep High School has accomplished many feats over the course of the last three years.

It opened a large new campus that has allowed for the school to continue to grow. It held its first true football home game at its own stadium and opened other new state-of-the-art facilities for its other sports to enjoy.

But the one thing that has been miss ing was a state championship in any sport. But not anymore.

ACP’s badminton program became the first athletics team to bring home a title to the school. And it did so as the No. 6 seed in the Division II tournament.

“It’s exciting, it’s awesome but it’s all because of the girls,” ACP badminton coach Andi Giberson said. “The girls worked so hard this season and they made it happen. I can sit on the sideline but ultimately, they’re the ones on the court and they’re the ones that have to

Arizona College Prep’s badminton team ran the table in the postseason as the No. 6 seed to clinch the school’s first ever state championship this fall. (Courtesy Andi Giberson)

make it happen.”

The Knights took down No. 11 Gre enway before upsetting third-ranked Verrado 5-4, followed by second-ranked Ironwood 5-3. The win over Ironwood avenged its loss from last year’s state tournament.

ACP then went on to face Prescott, the heav ily favored top-ranked team. But the Knights continued to play their best badminton in a 5-3 win.

Rayna and Naina Shaik, twin players at ACP, secured the victory in their doubles match.

Ashley Yang was also key to Arizona College Prep’s success. She fin ished third in the sin gles tournament a week prior.

Captain Fatima Ahmed, Sumedha Balwadgi and Abby Iyer were among other players that helped lead ACP to its first title in school history.

“Our athletic director was at the tour nament along with another administra tor and they called it into the administra

tor at the football game. They announced it over the loudspeaker, and it apparently brought the house down,” Giberson said, adding that the win was because of the captains on the team.

“Our captains and their leadership, they were really good about reassuring and reminding the girls how far we’ve come. They believed. That’s all because of the captains.”

While ACP took down Prescott for the Division II title, Hamilton took down dis trict-rival Perry in Division I.

The Huskies ended the five-year reign Perry had at the Division I level. Since 2017, the Pumas were a staggering 1031 and had captured a state-record five state championships in a row.

But Hamilton came prepared for this matchup.

“It was amazing to see how hard our varsity team worked all year and for it to pay off in the end,” Hamilton badminton

Local sports icons inducted into Arizona Sports Hall of Fame

BY ZACH ALVIRA Arizonan Sports Editor

Pedro Gomez’s death on Jan. 7 in his Ahwatukee home sent shockwaves throughout the sports industry.

The ESPN reporter was im mensely popular, most notably for his coverage of baseball for several years on the broadcast giant’s fam ily of networks. It also shocked the Ahwatukee community, where he moved his family to 25 years ago.

Gomez was only 58 when he sud denly passed away. He was honored for his work then and now, almost a year later, was honored once again.

On Tuesday, Nov. 1 at Chateau Luxe in north Phoenix, Gomez was among the six individuals induct ed into the Arizona Sports Hall of

Fame. His name now resides along side other impactful sports icons the state has seen.

“This is just an incredible day, an incredible experience,” Rio said. “I think the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame really embodies him. Base ball was his passion but Arizona, he loved. This was always his home. To be able to have both of those – Ar izona and sports – come together, it’s as good as it gets.”

Rio was joined by his brother, Dante, and other family members at the ceremony to represent their father. To this day he still wears a bracelet in honor of his father. He said he never takes it off.

Looking down and touching the bracelet while on the red carpet at the Hall of Fame induction ceremo

ny, Rio smiled at the thought of his father being there with him in spir it. The two were close. The entire family was.

Rio knows his father would ap preciate the honor of being among Arizona’s elite.

“It feels like there’s always a little piece of him with me,” Rio said. “So, right now, we’re walking the red carpet. I think he would be really proud of the moment.”

Gomez was inducted into the Hall of Fame alongside several other icons, including Xavier girls’ basket ball coach Jennifer Gillom, former NAU Lumberjack basketball player Peggy Kennedy and philanthropist and active member of premier Ar

Rio and Dante Gomez, the sons of the late Pedro Gomez, represented their father along with other family members as he was inducted into the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame as part of the 2022 class. (Zach Alvira/Arizonan Staff)

from

“Looking at how it all turned out now, it’s pret ty awesome our kids were able to come back and beat a team we lost to the week prior.”

Nihira Sane and Saba Shakir, Hamilton’s top dou bles team, secured the victory after ral lying from a set behind. They won their match and clinched the 5-4 team victory over the Pumas.

(Left) The Hamilton badminton team ended Perry’s five-year reign on Division I, as it edged the Pumas at the wire to capture the state championship. (Courtesy Lauren Rosales) (Right) The Hamilton girls’ golf program became the second fall sports team to win a state title for the school. Jennifer Seo also won the individual state championship for the second straight year. (Courtesy Jackie Walker)

Walker said it wasn’t un til the final few holes she knew her team had secured the state title. It came with a deep breath and sigh of relief. Hamilton shot a 631 overall over the course of two days. Xavier shot 635 and Pinnacle 636.

Rosales, who had never beaten Perry in her eight years coaching the Hamilton badminton program, said it was a surreal moment. She has watched as countless banners for other sports had gone up in side the gym.

But she said it will be a sweet feeling seeing her team’s banner and trophy on display at the school, the first badminton title in school history.

“When you walk down our hall there are tons of team and individual state champions,” Rosales said. “It’s going to be amazing to see a badminton picture go up next to everybody else.”

FAME from page 28

izona sporting events Michael Kennedy, who was represented by Dawn Kennedy.

Arizona Cardinals great Larry Fitzger ald was also inducted as well as Seton Catholic girls’ basketball coach Karen Self, who is already in the Hall of Fame at Seton and the Arizona Basketball Coach es Association and will be inducted into the Chandler Sports Hall of Fame next year.

“I think I said, ‘You’re kidding me,’ about 15 times,” Self said. “And then I said, ‘I can’t believe it,’ another 15 times. It’s just incredible and hard to believe … I feel like this is a really good opportunity to look back over the course of my career and be grateful for the amazing people I’ve encountered along the way and who have helped me in this process.”

Self’s resume speaks for itself.

The longtime coach of the Sentinels has won 12 state titles during her tenure. In

Hamilton, the No. 2 seed in the tour nament, dominated its way to the team title. It took down Queen Creek in a clean sweep before giving up just one set to Basha, which had one of the top doubles teams in the state.

The Huskies then went on to beat Mountain View 5-1 before their match against Perry that came down to the wire.

Sane, a freshman, and Shakir also claimed the Division I doubles state ti tle in the process. Teammate Samiya Bodhankar was the runner-up in the sin gles tournament.

The state championship in badmin ton was the first of two early team titles clinched by Hamilton in the fall sports season.

2020 she was named as the head coach of one of the McDonald’s All-American teams, the All-Star game dedicated to elite high school basketball players from across the country.

She’s helped develop several high-level Division I college basketball players and currently boasts a 775-155 record as a coach at Seton, which third all-time for the most wins by a coach in Arizona high school girls’ basketball.

This season she will pass Winslow legend Don Petranovich, who finished his career with 780 wins as a coach. Self could also pass Miner Webster before her career is over. Webster, who retired in 2018 from his position as head coach at Highland, leads the state with 816 wins. He was just recently named the new head girls’ basketball coach at Desert Ridge.

Despite her accolades, Self remains humble. She doesn’t like to have the rec ognition or spotlight, even though she ap preciates it. To her, it’s all about the girls

Just three days earlier, the Hamilton girls’ golf program was crowned cham pion at the Division I level. But like the badminton title, that, too, came down to the wire.

“I wasn’t entirely confident we would stay in first but there was a point in the round where it was like, ‘Ok, we can’t lose second,’” said Hamilton girls’ golf coach Jackie Walker, who coached the badmin ton team alongside Rosales for two years. “It can change so quickly. One hole.

“(But) I was pretty confident going into the 18th hole. I had a lot of faith in my team, and they came through.”

Hamilton went back-and-forth with runner-up Xavier Prep throughout the two-day tournament. Pinnacle, which placed third, wasn’t far behind.

she coaches and people who have been with her at various points of her career.

“It feels amazing,” Self said. “And it feels like a great opportunity to thank the peo ple around me along the way.”

Self has no plans of slowing down any time soon. She’s excited for the upcom ing season, and to showcase what some of her young players can do at the varsity level.

Her excitement level keeps her going every year. Until she wakes up and isn’t looking forward to the season, she plans to remain in the game and as a head coach.

“As long as I can still say that I am su per excited to start the season and that I love my team, I’ll be coaching,” Self said. “I feel like we’re going to be the typical Se ton team, scrappy on defense and we’re excited about the shot clock.

Angela Chen led the pack most of the tournament but was passed up by team mate and UCLA golf com mit Jennifer Seo. The two placed first and second, respectively, with Seo win ning her second straight individual state title by edging Chen 70 strokes to 72 on the second day.

“(Seo) is actually the first player I’ve had for all four years. So, I’ve seen her grow from her freshman year to senior,” Walker said. “She really does have a suc cessful future and ultimately, her dream is to go pro. I can’t wait to watch her on the Tour.”

Along with Seo and Chen, Hamilton was led by Flora Tao, Laura Seo and Liz zie Walls. All of them placed within the top 50.

“It’s pretty amazing knowing who we beat. Xavier has always been a rival and they’re always at the top of our list of teams to beat,” Walker said. “We did it. We pulled it off.”

Seton Catholic girls’ head basketball coach Karen Self, who has won 12 titles in her tenure, was one of the six inductees for the 2022 class alongside Gomez. She took the opportunity to thank those who have helped her along the way in her career.

(Zach Alvira/Arizonan Staff)

3 Chandler artists in annual ‘Hills tour’ this month

BY GETOUT STAFF

ThreeChandler artists will exhib it their work in the Sonoran Arts League’s Hidden in the Hills Stu dio Tour this month.

The popular exhibit runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 18-20 and Nov. 25-27.

Sandy Ashbaugh, founder of Ocotillo Artists Group in Chandler, and fellow members Carol McDonald and Phil Web ster are participating artists in the 26th annual event.

This year over 170 artists will be showing and selling their artwork in 47 studios in the Scottsdale, Carefree and Cave Creek area.

It’s the first time Ashbaugh and Web ster are taking part, and McDonald’s sec ond.

Ashbaugh will be in Pat’s Glass Studio #20, 26420 N. 82nd St., Scottsdale; Web ster joins J. Bruce Studio #4, 7162 E. Ste vens Road, Cave Creek; and McDonald returns to Hummingbird Haven Studio #8, 8601 E. Carefree Drive, Carefree.

“Ashbaugh uses traditional hand building methods of slab construction and graffito when working in clay, and handcrafts ceramic saké sets, functional and statement wall pieces in bold colors with a modern twist,” said Chandler au thor-artist Laurie Fagen.

A classically trained violinist, Ash baugh obtained her fine arts degree from Florida Atlantic University and has been working in clay for more than 30 years.

She draws inspiration from architec tural and interior design elements, like those from the Bauhaus movement, Frank Lloyd Wright and Frank Gehry.

Sandy Ashbaugh, who works in ceramics, founded the Ocotillo Artists Group. She will be at Pat’s Glass Studio #20, 26420 N. 82nd St., Scottsdale. (Special to GetOut)

“My music background also resonates through out my work,” she added. “It imparts a lyrical qual ity that speaks of beauty and harmony with clas sical proportions.”

Ashbaugh also dis plays her work at The Finer Arts Gallery in Cave Creek.

Info: sandyashbaugh. com

Fagen calls Webster “a self-taught artist fulfill ing a lifelong love affair with geometric form.”

“His creations lie at the intersections of mathe

matical patterns and shapes, historical design traditions, sacred geometry and modern technology,” she said, adding:

“He takes ancient geometric traditions – particularly, in recent years, Islamic geometric patterns – and combines them with modern mathematical concepts like fractals and polyhedra to create unique, contemporary art and sculptural décor in a variety of mediums including pencil, pen, ink and watercolor; laser-cut wood, paper and acrylic; and digital prints on paper, canvas, and metal.

“My goal is to create works that cap ture the essence of these traditions but with a modern twist, and to bring medi tative order, beauty and peace into peo ple’s private spaces,” said Webster, who lives in Liv Avenida.

He showed an early flair for math, science and music, and studied mathe matics at the Massachusetts Institute of

Technology, graduating with a degree in brain and cognitive science with a minor in music.

He also did graduate work in jazz composition and vocal performance at Berklee College of Music. He contin ues to pursue both art and music while working in IT management.

Webster is a Sonoran Arts League ju ried member whose art has been exhib ited in more than 40 shows worldwide.

Info: philwebsterdesign.com

McDonald, a resident of the Vineyards, paints primarily in acrylics and is drawn to abstract art in vibrant colors and dy namic, flowing movements. She says the process is fluid and never the same.

“I paint for the joy of painting … be cause it makes me happy,” she explains.

Her mother painted and guided Mc Donald during her younger years. As an adult, she squeezed in art classes between raising a family and working full time in administrative management roles in healthcare, real estate and fi nance.

After meeting met her husband in 1999, art took a more serious role for McDonald.

She and her husband enjoy going to art shows and galleries and have collect ed artwork along the way. When retire ment neared, her husband encouraged her to pursue her passion of painting.

“I’ve always been such a left-brained workaholic,” McDonald said, “and for the first time in my life, I have such peace! Painting excites me and calms me at the same time, and I get completely ab sorbed in the process.”

A juried member of the Sonoran Arts

PHIL WEBSTER

League, McDonald is also displaying her artwork at On The Edge Gallery in downtown Scottsdale.

zona’s largest and longest running stu dio tour, with free admission where the public can learn more about the artists in a self-guided tour over six days. For maps and more artist information, visit sonoranartsleague.org/hidden-inthe-hills.

Opportunities Abound in IT

Information technology (IT) professionals are in high demand by employers.

In 2022, the management consulting firm Janco Associates reported record high levels of hiring for IT professionals. Even in the face of a possible recession, IT pro fessionals are among the best situated to thrive. While they are at greater risk of lay off because of their high salaries, there are so many openings that finding a new job should pose little challenge.

Currently, according to Janco Associ ates, there are more than 100,000 unfilled IT professional positions in the United States because there are not enough qual ified candidates. As of June 2022, the IT sector added 91,000 new jobs and that is expected to hit 191,000 by the end of the year.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics re ported that in the first five months of 2022, IT employment rose by 106,700, which was 69% ahead of those same months in 2021.

TYPES OF IT JOBS

IT professionals help support a compa ny’s digital infrastructure and solve com

puter or networking problems. They create programs and applications for both internal and external use.

There are numerous titles. Indeed lists IT jobs that include IT technician, support specialist, quality assurance tester, web developer, IT security specialist, computer programmer, systems analyst, network en gineer, software engineer, user experience designer, database administrator, data sci entist, computer scientist, IT director, appli cations engineer, cloud system engineer, data quality manager, help desk technician, IT coordinator, management information systems director and web administrator.

ZipRecruiter goes on to say that the nine most popular IT jobs are chief information officer, scrum master, IT director, software engineer, network engineer, database ad ministrator, software developer, QA analyst and systems administrator.

TRENDS IN IT JOBS

Akraya, a talent consultant firm, iden tified three IT job trends in 2022: Cloud

computing, data science and analytics and cybersecurity.

One of the biggest demands in the IT field are for those skilled in cloud comput ing. Gartner, a market research firm, pre dicts that cloudcomputing revenues will soon exceed non-cloud revenues.

Cloud computing jobs include cloud ar chitects, cloud engineers and cloud data base administrators. Cloud computing jobs typically require knowledge in Python, Java, SQL and other programming languages. They also typically need to have CRM cloud development skills and DevOPs.

Today’s rich information environment means that companies have access to more data than ever before and need peo ple who can manage it, ensure its integrity and allow for the use of real-time data.

Popular data science and analytics jobs include big data engineers, machine-learn ing engineers, data analysts and data sci entists. Typical skills needed are knowledge of Pytorch, Keras and other deep-learning

frameworks, mastery of SQL and NoSQL networks. It also helps to have skills in and knowledge of data visualization tools, ma chine learning and neural networks, and knowledge of the specific industry in which a business is operating. Many of these pro fessionals have master’s degrees.

Cybersecurity is important on both micro and macro levels. The need for specialists in cybersecurity has grown as more work ers are remote and the network needs to be defended against attacks from cyber criminals.

Cybersecurity jobs include cloud secu rity architects, cyber threat analysts and disaster recovery specialists. These profes sionals typically are familiar with NIST, CIS and other cybersecurity frameworks and a wide range of other software.

Employment General

Sound Engineering Technician (Gilbert, AZ) Pre pare and review acoustics models using computa tional resources. Prepare technical reports for multi faceted acoustic analysis and design Develop soft ware code for acoustic product design and modeling Bachelor Degree or equivalent in Physics required Must be proficient in LabVIEW, MATLAB, and Au dio amplification devices Mail resume to MD ACOUSTICS LLC, Attn: HR, 170 South William Dillard Drive, Gilbert,

PayPal, Inc seeks MTS 1, Solutions Engineer in Scottsdale, AZ: Create innovative, customer driven Solution Proposals & Solution Designs utilizing PayPal’s suite of API products. Up to 25% domestic travel may be req’d Must be legally authorized to work in the U S w/o sponsorship To apply, please send your resume w/references, by email to: paypaljobs@paypal com; or by mail: ATTN: HR, Cube 10 3 561, PayPal, Inc HQ, 2211 North First Street, San Jose, CA 95131 EOE, including disabil ity/vets Ref Req # 17 6865 with/app

in “Search jobs” field EOE, including disability/veterans