Ahwatukee Foothills News 05/17/2023

Week

BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor

TWednesday,

he Kyrene School District administration last week proposed asking voters in November to approve a $161 million bond and an $8.5 million override for the budget for smaller capital projects.

Saying “safety and security is going to be a big focus in this next bond cycle,” Chief Financial Officer Chris Herrmann on May 9 said a citizens committee comprising 17 to 26 district

stakeholders supported both the bond request as well as the District Additional Assistance, or DAA, override.

Board members – none of whom raised objections to the likely ask – are expected to consider a formal election request at their meeting next Tuesday, May 23.

If they approve it, Kyrene will be part of an all-mail ballot that will also include the City of Phoenix’s first General Obligation bond request in 17 years – a $500 million request to pay for a host of building projects, mostly fire

Wheels up

Nightmare on 48th Street / P. 14 Natalie Schatton of Ahwatukee, a student at University of North Dakota Aerospace at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, can keep learning to fly and fulfill her dream of becoming a commercial airlines pilot even though she has Type 1 diabetes because of a device invented by an East Valley company and a determined student pilot from. Scottsdale. For the story, see page 22. (David Minton/AFN Staff Photographer)

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stations and police facilities.

Board approval of a bond election also will make Kyrene a part of what Herrmann called “a record year for the state of Arizona when it comes to bond elections” by school districts.

He said as many as 25 districts will be putting bond measures totaling “roughly between $2.5 billion and $3 billion.”

see BOND page 12

BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor

P

hoenix Fire could cut thousands of calls a year for medical and welfare-checks with the changes it is adopting for its dispatch center, department officials told a city council subcommittee last week.By having dispatchers ask additional questions of a 911 caller, as much as 90% of some types of calls that might normally be answered by an ambulance or fire truck crew can be diverted, Executive Assistant Fire Chief Scott Walker said.

Moreover, those changes and several other staffing and scheduling changes are helping the department cope with higher call volumes

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BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor

The Tempe Union Governing Board is poised to adopt changes to the district dress code that one member said should address female students’ complaints that their attire is judged more stringently than what boys wear to school.

The changes, which likely will be adopted at a future meeting, possibly next month, were introduced May 3 and are the product of a committee of students, parents, staff and committee members that met seven times since September, the district said.

Stating “the board recognizes that each student’s mode of dress and grooming is a manifestation of personal style and individual preference,” the policy would now declares: “A student’s appearance, including dress and grooming, must not disrupt the educational process, interfere with the maintenance of a positive teaching/learning environment, or compromise reasonable standards of health and safety of others.”

That line would replace a sentence that said, “The Board will not interfere with the right of students and their parents to make decisions regarding their appearance except when their choices affect the educational program of the schools or the health and safety of others.”

The revision also would say the superintendent can enforce dress regulations “to promote a culture of safety” and adds the words “and well-being that ensures equitable educational access for all students. The Board expects that all students will dress in a manner that is appropriate for the school day and for any school sponsored event.”

Adding to the already existing ban on gang gear and clothing that poses a hazard to others or creates disorder, would be attire that is pornographic or advocates violence or hate speech.”

And it adds the following statements:

“All administrators, teachers and staff members will share the responsibility for enforcing the District’s student dress

policy and will have discretion, using the greatest degree of objectivity, to determine the appropriateness of students’ attire.

“The standards shall be applied consistently in a manner that does not reinforce or increase marginalization or repression of any group based on race, sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, cultural observance, household income or body/type/size. Enforcement of these standards should minimize the loss of educational time.”

Board member Sarah James zeroed in on the first revision with suggestions that the language be modified.

“I know coming back from the pandemic was really hard with students’ stress,” James said. “And I think in this day and age, it’s hard for educators in general when it comes to job dress codes and really knowing how to tackle that subject.”

“I want to make it clear that …we don’t want kids to be targeted, etc.,” she continued. "We also want our educators to help our kids have a dress code that can be enforced."

“We don’t want our kids to wear undergarments at school. We need to make sure

they are wearing clothing that keeps them safe and their community safe.

James said consistency across all district high schools often gets overlooked when it comes to dress code enforcement but wanted to retain some language that assured families the district respects families’ rights to make decisions on student attire.

Board member Berdetta Hodge said the changes were a positive step for female students.

“I like the fact that we’re more inclusive when it comes to gender,” Hodge said, “because I know that some of our female students felt that it wasn’t, it was unbalanced when it came to what the female body had to cover versus what the male body had to cover.”

Last fall several parents and students from Desert Vista High School addressed the board with complaints about the way female students were being disciplined for their attire and said they were unfairly singled out at school.

“I’m very appreciative that we have taken that into consideration to make adjustments to make all of our students regardless of what gender they are, feel comfortable at our schools,” Hodge said. 

Diablos name Mountain Pointe teacher TU Teacher of the Year

AFN NEWS STAFF

AMountain Pointe High social studies teacher who also graduated from that school received the Teacher of the Year Award for Tempe Union High School District from the Tempe Diablos.

Max Pincus, who also coaches the girls’ golf team and is the the boys baseball team head coach, received the award last week from the nonprofit.

Among its many activities to benefit Tempe Union, Kyrene and Tempe Elementary students and staff, the Diablos hold an annual staff and teacher recognition awards banquet.

Along with awards across all three districts, it honors a teacher of the year from each district. The winning teacher of the year from Kyrene was Jason Rethman of Kyrene de las Brisas in Chandler.

Pincus also is the professional staff development coordinator for Mountain Pointe and serves on the school’s Hall of Fame Committee.

“He earned a master’s degree in educational technology so he could share his online learning planning skills and modern teaching techniques with his colleagues,” the Diablos said, adding that

Pincus “loves building the culture, the status and the traditions of Mountain Pointe.”

Accepting the award, Pincus told the audience, “I love the Mountain Pointe community. I love the Tempe Union community.”

He thanked Principal Tamika Banks “for making coming to school every day such a pleasure” as well as his colleagues and students. 

MAX PINCUS

and a longer-than-desired response time to emergencies.

Walker detailed the changes and the department’s recruitment success, echoing a report to council that expressed the city administration’s confidence that the Fire Department will meet projected staffing needs. The department estimates it will need to increase total staffing to 1,940 by 2028 – up from a current 1,798 positions.

That staffing includes the full complement of positions needed to staff the new fire station that will be coming to Ahwatukee in about two years.

The 2023-24 city budget, which is expected to be approved by the council this week, includes money not only for construction of the station on the northwest corner of Chandler Boulevard and 19th Avenue but also money to start training a crew this year so personnel are on the job when it opens.

All the enhanced protocols for 911 dispatchers, changes in scheduling and more aggressive recruitment and training are aimed at addressing problems that fire officials outlined last October for the council.

They said they were being hammered by soaring demand, staffing shortages and an insufficient number of fire stations. The result: Phoenix Fire’s trucks and ambulances on average took almost 9 minutes to arrive at the scene 90% of the time.

The National Fire Protection Association for acceptable response times to fires is 5 minutes and 20 seconds or less in 90% of calls for service, less than 5 minutes 90% of the time for ambulances.

Last week, Walker provided a far more upbeat look at the department, although he did not directly address response times.

Noting that the pandemic triggered “seen a significant increase” that exposed “gaps in our system,” Walker said addressing those gaps became a “high priority issue for us.”

“Unfortunately, our capacity has not been able to keep up,” he said. “It has lagged behind and that is a challenge for us.”

To address current and future staffing needs and take ease the impact of increasing call volume, Walker said the department this year ran three academy classes that will net 70 new paramedics this year alone.

Simultaneously, the department changed the codes for 911 calls so that dispatchers can divert some emergency medical calls

to a telehealth service while deciding that others do not require a fire engine or ambulance.

As an example, Walker cited the department’s “check nature code.”

“With the advent of cell phones,” he said, “we’ll get people who drive by something and call 911. In the past we had the luxury to send a crew out to investigate….The data demonstrated that 98% of the time, those were really not netting us a real incident where someone was really in need of fire emergency resources.

“We would generally have about 350 calls per month – we’re seeing about 30 per month now. If you extrapolate, that’s almost 4,000 calls a year. That equals one very busy engine company in our system.”

Stating “we’re being very conservative, very cautious” in evaluating such calls because “we don’t want to negatively impact the community or service delivery in any way,” Walker also said by asking more questions of 911 callers “we could see a reduction in 15,000 to 20,000 calls every year by just making smarter choices.”

Among those smarter choices is the departments Telehealth 911 Call Diversion Program.

“We can ask a few questions based on their needs they’re presenting to us and based on their capacity and willingness to do a telehealth consult, we can divert that caller to a medical provider right there and then,” Walker said.

“Oftentimes, for example, the person may just need a prescription instead of sending a firetruck and then an ambulance to transport” a caller to a hospital where they would see a doctor anyway.

When someone needs more than a telehealth consultation, Walker said, the department also has adjusted crew schedules so that more highly trained personnel on ladder trucks can be the first on the scene rather than having less trained crews arrive first and finding they needed more highly trained staff because of the seriousness of the medical emergency.

And the department has followed Phoenix Police in hiring civilians to answer some calls because “there are many people who call 911 that we aren’t the best solution for but we’ve oftentimes been the only solution,” Walker said.

With the city’s Community Assistance Program, he said, the Fire Department can send trained civilians and “get people

FIRE from page 5

connected to the right resource as well.”

With all the changes and a more aggressive recruitment effort, Walker said, “our community response times are improving, our capacity is increasing, advanced life support is getting quicker with our ladder company now being converted to advanced life support units.”

In response to questions for subcommittee members, Walker said paramedics

undergo continuing education programs that help them assess a person’s medical condition properly and avoid any potential malpractice suits.

“We keep up to date on real-time issues and challenges,” he said.

He also outlined programs that include voluntary cancer screenings to protect Fire Department personnel and that firefighters are equipped with “some of the best self-contained breathing apparatus that we can provide for our members.” 

Mon-Thurs

Saturday

Bipartisan state budget crushes voucher opposition

BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

Gov. Katie Hobbs last week inked her approval to the $17.8 billion budget she negotiated with Republican legislative leaders after Democratic opposition to private school vouchers’ continuation crumbled.

The governor touted the provisions of the plan she demanded be included – including “unprecedented investments in housing, education, tribal communities and healthcare.’’

“Today, we showed what happens when pragmatic leaders come together and compromise to get things done for Arizonans,’’ Hobbs said.

Republicans had their own take on the deal.

They noted that they quashed the goal Hobbs stated in her budget released in January to repeal the universal vouchers that allow any student, regardless of reason or need, to get state funds to attend private or parochial schools.

But they also pointed to a plan to give tax rebates to families with children – instead of Hobbs’ preferred aid to working poor with children. They said they are simply giving taxpayers back some of what they paid in prior years.

But the measure as crafted actually will result in some taxpayers getting back more than they paid. And it is crafted in a way to disqualify others who also had state income tax liability but chose to eliminate it by giving to certain charities.

A tax attorney told Capitol Media Ser-

vices that it even would allow someone to claim a credit for a live-in boyfriend or girlfriend of any age.

Hobbs, beyond a prepared statement, is not answering questions about the the tax rebate or anything else in the package pending a press conference scheduled after AFN’s print deadline.

Press aide Christian Slater acknowledged this isn’t the spending plan that his boss wanted.

“She will publicly tell you that she is not thrilled with every piece of it,’’ he told Capitol Media Services.

And that, he said, includes the tax relief she wanted.

In her budget, Hobbs sought to eliminate state sales tax on diapers and feminine hygiene products. That, she said, would have saved women and families $40 million a year.

More broadly, she proposed a new child tax credit that would give low-income parents $100 per year for each child. That had a $50 million price tag.

Instead, Hobbs acceded to a demand by the Arizona Freedom Caucus, composed of the most fiscally conservative GOP lawmakers, for what they said amounted to $260 million to rebate some of the taxes that people had paid in prior years.

It’s available to anyone who filed a fullyear state income tax return for 2019, 2020 or 2021 who also claimed the state’s deduction for children.

If they had a tax liability for any of those three years, they will get a one-time $250

see BUDGET page 9

rebate for each child 17 or younger in 2021, up to a maximum of $750. Those with older dependents are eligible for $100 credits for each, again, up to three.

Sen. Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek, the leader of the Freedom Caucus, said Republicans favored that plan because it gives back some of the money paid by those who actually paid taxes. By contrast, the governor’s plan had no such requirement to show a tax liability.

But the plan adopted has some quirks of its own.

It allows anyone who had at least $1 in liability in any of the three years to get back up to that full $750, regardless of how much -- or how little -- they actually owed the state. Put another way, some people will get back a “rebate’’ that far exceeds their actual tax bill.

There are a host of other conditions and provisions.

Only those who had dependents in 2021 are eligible. New parents in 2022 are not.

And tax attorney Bob Kamman pointed out there are other quirks.

Consider, he said a family with a 17-yearold in 2021, the year the law uses to compute the rebate, but owed no tax that year. Kamman said the fact that family may have had children 16 or younger in 2019 and 2020 does not make them eligible for the $250-per-child rebate, meaning they are entitled to just $100 per child.

The legislation also cuts out those who are generous with donations.

Arizona provides dollar-for-dollar credits against state income taxes for contributions to certain causes. These include organizations that provide scholarships for students to attend private schools, money given to public schools for extracurricular activities, and cash to a host of other charitable organizations ranging from Adopt-AVet to the Yuma Community Food Bank.

Those donations can often wipe out someone’s income tax liability.

What it also does, under the terms of rebate provision inserted by Hoffman and colleagues, is make these same people ineligible for that new cash rebate of up to $750.

Kamman said the wording of the legislation is not limited to those with children. He said anyone with a dependent of any age qualifies for that $100 per person.

And there’s one more open question: Can taxpayers who find themselves locked out of the rebate plan go back and amend

their 2021 returns to qualify?

Kamman gives the example of someone who itemized deductions on that 2021 return and had no tax liability. Yet if that same person claimed the standard state deduction, the tax bill would have been $100.

That suggests that someone could file an amended return -- something allowed under Arizona law -- removed the itemized deductions, pay the $100 and then get a rebate of $750 for the three eligible children they have.

Kamman acknowledged, though, that comes with the risk that the state Department of Revenue might not read the rebate law that way.

“You could try,’’ he said. “But it might not work and you would still owe $100.’’

The budget was passed after Democratic lawmakers opposed to the continuation of the expanded school voucher program failed to persuade Hobbs to follow through on her January vow to end it.

Rep. Nancy Gutierrez, D-Tucson, sought to pause enrolling more students in the program until lawmakers could get a better handle on costs.

She pointed out that the price tag just this school year to allow students to get tax dollars to attend private or parochial schools at taxpayer expenses, regardless of financial need, already has more than doubled the original $200 million estimate.

And that doesn’t include another $176 million that finances the original program started in 2011 to serve students with special needs.

That pause, however, went down to defeat on a party-line vote as Rep. David Livingston, R-Peoria, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, said that would run afoul of Hobbs having agreed to the continued expansion.

But despite the party-line support for limits, several Democrats agreed to support the budget anyway.

Backers said that ensured the package contained other priorities they wanted, like adding $300 million to K-12 schools.

That didn’t impress Rep. Athena Salman.

The Tempe Democrat pointed out that is just a one-time infusion. She said that the exploding costs of universal vouchers, formally known as “empowerment scholarship accounts,’’ will make it more difficult in future years for public schools to get additional cash.

see BUDGET page 10

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In an effort to sweeten the deal, House Speaker Ben Toma of Peoria agreed with Minority Leader Andres Cano of Tucson – who voted for the final package – to create a special study committee “to provide clarity and ensure that the governance and administration of empowerment scholarship accounts is appropriately designed to manage a growing and complex problem.’’

There is nothing that ensures any changes actually will be made to the program or limits imposed after the report is issued at the end of the year.

Still, there was enough in the package to add the votes of 16 of the 28 Democrats to all 31 Republicans for the main spending plan.

A separate bill to fund K-12 education –and the vouchers – fared less well with just 12 Democratic votes, but still enough to get it approved.

One of those Democrats who was convinced there was enough worthwhile in the package to support it was Rep. Analise Ortiz.

She told colleagues she did a lot of talking during the campaign with residents of her district that includes the Maryvale section of Phoenix and part of Glendale.

“The people who sent me here were asking most often for relief from the housing affordability crisis that impacts Arizonans in every part of the state, of all ages and demographics,’’ she said.

“There is no portion of the state that is not touched by the rising cost of rent and mortgages,’’ Ortiz said. “There is a humanitarian crisis as seniors on fixed incomes are living in their cars and as people continue to die on our streets.’’

What got her “yes’’ vote, she said, was a $150 million deposit into the Housing Trust Fund to help finance affordable

housing and even eviction-prevention programs, more, she said, than has been added over the past 10 years combined.

And there is another $60 million into a new emergency fund which can immediately go to finance homeless shelters.

Rep. Cesar Aguilar, D-Phoenix, also agreed to go along. “Democrats seem to be in the same boat as if we had a Republican governor,’’ Aguilar said.

Democrats said that the ever-increasing price tag will leave the state with less money for other priorities including public education.

But Rep. Justin Heap, R-Mesa, said that has to be examined in the context of what he said has been nearly a doubling of state dollars in public education since 2013.

“And what have we gotten for our investment?’’ he asked.

Heap also decried the “constant stream of attacks’’ on the voucher program. He said it has to be seen not as an attack on the program but “an attack on the students, on the kids and the families that rely on the ESA program to put their kids into schools.’’

“Why?’’ Heap said. “Because they had the audacity to take their children out of a government school and put them into a better program.’’

In the Senate, Minority Leader Mitzi Epstein of Tempe said she, too, believed that she and others were forced to vote for the Hobbs-negotiated package, saying that was the price Democrats had to pay to get their priorities included.

“I did not want and do not want to vote ‘yes’ on these budget bills,’’ she said. “But in order to keep the funding for K-12 and to keep the funding for housing and to establish a homelessness fund, I had to vote ‘yes.’ ‘’

Epstein’s contention that whether a better deal might be negotiated is speculative at best. 

and Gilbert Public Schools is expected this week to okay a bond measure of between $100 million and $125 million.

And like all those districts, Herrmann indicated, Kyrene is choosing an election cycle off-year largely because it won’t be competing with next year’s high-profile contests that include President of the United States, an Arizona seat in the U.S. Senate and a host of school board, legislative and county races.

That gives school officials a chance to command voter’s attention as they explain their need for bond and budget overrides, especially since off-year elections tend to attract more older voters with no children in schools. They may need additional persuasion to vote yes.

Since 2003, according to Herrmann’s research, Kyrene has lost only one capital budget override in 2010, a time when recession-ravaged voters were inclined to reject most districts’ override and bond measures.

In that same time period, Tempe Union lost three bond or override measures while Chandler Unified failed one.

Herrmann and various board members praised district voters for being traditionally supportive of bond and override requests.

For example, Tempe Union’s bond and DAA override measures handily won 2-1 last year.

Not all districts were so lucky.

Higley Unified and Queen Creek Unified voters soundly rejected bond measures last November for the second consecutive year despite both districts’ need for more physical space to accommodate soaring enrollment.

Herrmann estimated that Kyrene’s bond measure would have less of a tax rate impact than the impact the past five years of the bond voters approved in 2017. The remaining $19.5 million of that bond will be issued later this year.

Of the 2017 $117 million bond measure spent so far, $108.5 million went to a variety of school building repairs and improvements, $4 million was spent on buying and maintaining buses and $4.5

To illustrate the difference between projects covered by state funds and what Kyrene actually needed to do to keep schools safe and conducive to learning, district Chief Financial Officer Chris Herrmann presented this chart. The line going through the columns marks the difference between what Kyrene got and what it actually needed to spend. (Kyrene School District)

million went to administrative expenses.

He said the estimated tax rate impact would equal .2694 per $100 of limited assessed valuation annually, or $84.21 a year for a home with a taxable value of $312,576.

Phoenix city administration has said its $500 million bond measure would have no impact on the city’s tax rate.

Kyrene’s proposed bond would enable the district to upgrade security cameras, access controls to school, perimeter fencing at campuses, front office security and interior door locks.

It also would be used to start replacing older school buses. Herrmann said Kyrene

purchased most of its fleet in 2015 and buses have a 10-15-year life cycle.

“Today, we're eight years into that cycle,” he said. “That next bond issuance is probably going to last around seven years roughly and so that would push us to about 15 years” to 2030.

“We're going to have to look at replacing our fleet over that time period,” he said.

The money also would be used to address a growing number of issues one would expect from a district with old buildings, Herrmann said.

Noting the average 35-year age of Kyrene’s 25 schools, he said Kyrene needs money for basic infrastructure repairs

and replacements involving things like HVAC and electrical systems, structural repairs and improvements to keep buildings, playgrounds and fields in good condition.

There also is the cost of student equipment, eliminating or preventing the loss of instructional time and what Kyrene needs to stay in compliance with a host of regulations, such as the American With Disabilities Act.

The DAA money covers smaller capital expenses like software and licensing and other instructional technology as well as basic classroom necessities such as furniture.

Herrmann said a variety of factors have created a critical need for the bond and DAA money – chiefly inflation and Arizona’s “bottom of the barrel” status nationally for funding basic K-12 education needs.

He noted that of the district’s 2017 bond issue, “93% of that is directly to maintain our schools, which is a very high percentage.”

“It's a lot of stuff to maintain. When a building becomes 35 years old, things just need to be replaced,” Herrmann said. “We will always try to maximize the life of all of our assets as long as we can do it in a safe and responsible manner and not jeopardize student safety staff safety or have a risk of instructional time being lost. But at some point, you can only do that for so long.”

He said the administration decided to increase its bond request from $117 million to $161 million this year in order to have the same purchasing power today that we had back in 2017.

“There’s no major increase in projects,” he said, “This is really kind of keeping and maintaining the same level that we do today.”

Citizens budget committee member Richard Faye, noting he has spent the last 20 years in the private sector monitoring spending, lauded the district’s credit rating and basically said Herrmann wasn’t kidding when he talked about inflation’s impact on Kyrene.

“This isn’t about making everything bright and shiny and wildly beautiful,” Faye said. “This is kind of treading water. …This funding is really needed.” 

The 2017 bond money spent in the previous school year alone covered a wide variety of projects throughout Kyrene’s 25 campuses. (Kyrene School District)

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48th Street project runs into what lurks beneath

BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor

As street projects go, it appeared to be no huge deal.

That’s not to say widening any street is a cakewalk, but the improvement of a segment of 48th Street from Baseline Road to South Pointe Parkway wasn’t exactly like building the South Mountain Parkway either.

But two years after the Phoenix Street Transportation began work on the western half of that segment of 48th, the project has yet to be completed.

In turn, it routinely has created headaches for motorists heading home to Ahwatukee neighborhoods north of Elliot Road as well as those who had hoped to beat some of the I-10 snarls that occur during the evening rush hour and on weekends when the interstate is closed for construction related to the Broadway Curve Project.

Frustrated motorists can blame what lurked beneath the ground – and, of course, some human error too.

The city had long considered that stretch of privately owned 48th too narrow.

So, Street Transportation officials decided to take it over, negotiating easements with businesses in a small office park along that stretch so they could widen it and bring the roadway up to city standards.

That meant on the west side: adding a bike lane and street lighting installing a storm water drain catch basins and gutter, putting in curbs and bringing the sidewalk up to Americans for Disabilities Act standards.

On the east side of 48th, parts of the curb and walk will remain from 500 feet north of Beverly Road to the parkway. From 500 north of Beverly to Baseline, the curb and walk will be replaced.

The west side portion of 48th Street “was privately constructed to facilitate access to the office park development and now, Phoenix is taking it over and bringing it up to city standards,” department spokeswoman Heather Murphy explained.

And whenever the department undertakes a project like this, she said, city engineers must create “detailed ‘as built’ documentation that shows exactly where cable, gas, fiberoptic, telephone, electric, water and sewer lines are underground.”

But the documents they relied on were inaccurate.

“The original roadway and right-ofway were not well documented,” Murphy said. “The project team and contractor encountered many unforeseen utility conflicts.”

Those “conflicts” basically pitted man and machine against boulders and deeply imbedded rock that “affected the excavation and realignment of the new storm drain,” she said.

Indeed, she added, when crews were digging to install the storm drain, “the contractor hit solid rock,” she said.

Normally, this is where crews pull out the dynamite.

But like seemingly everything else with the project, not much of normal has occurred.

Unfortunately, Murphy said, “a 42” water line and a 36” sewer main in the area meant that blasting was not an option.”

To entangle matters – and traffic – even further, the city “has been working with the utility companies to expedite permits for utilities and fiber optic vaults that are

crucial to the businesses in that area as they rely on fiber optic connection for their data centers,” Murphy said.

Ironically, the $6.2 million project is still within budget, according to Murphy.

“The added utility coordination delays are estimated at about $290,000 but are likely covered in the contractor’s contingency funds, thereby adding nothing or very little to the total project expenses,” she said.

And Murphy shed a ray of hope for frustrated motorists:

see STREETS page 21

The Phoenix Street Transportation provided these photos of the underground challenges that crews encountered in the improvement and widening of the southbound lanes of 48th Street between Baseline Road and South Pointe Parkway. (City of Phoenix)

Traffic is routinely snarled on the southbound lanes of 48th Street between Baseline Road and South Pointe Parkway as the result of a city project that ran into unexpected problems below the surface. (David Minton/AFN Staff Photographer)

WARNING!

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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 anti-depressants 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 and numbness.

As displayed in figure 1 above, the nerves are surrounded by diseased, withered blood vessels. A lack of sufficient nutrients means the nerves 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 “BandAid” over a situation that will only continue to deteriorate without further action.

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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.

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VPC to consider mobile home park zoning changes

AFN NEWS STAFF

Two proposed changes to the Phoenix zoning code that related to manufactured home parks will be presented Monday, May 22, for action at the Ahwatukee Foothills Village Planning Committee’s second in-person meeting in three years.

The panel also will try to elect a chair and vice chair for 2023 – something it has not been able to do since December because meetings were canceled or not enough members showed up to constitute a legally voting quorum.

The agenda for the meeting at 6 p.m. Monday at Pecos Community Center at the southern end of 48th Street in Ahwatukee is light on issues directly affecting the community even though there is one pending major project awaiting final action by the VPC and another that still has not scheduled the first of two required meetings for its review and approval.

The major project involves the zoning request by Via West for the mammoth three-building, 510,000-square-foot Converge Logistics Center on 50th Street and Thistle Landing Drive between Chandler Boulevard and Ray Road.

Via West is seeking a zoning classification that will allow it to court a broader pool of potential tenants, including some manufacturing.

Following a spirited discussion during the VPC’s April meeting of those potential uses that a zoning change might allow, Via West’s attorney said they would return in June or July for a final recommendation before the request goes to the city Planning Commission and, eventually, Phoenix City Council.

One thing Via West won’t have to worry about is losing the land on which those three warehouses are located.

Last week, the Kyrene School District Governing Board unanimously approved a district administration request to extend Via West’s 75-year-lease by another 10 years.

Although there was no discussion because the item was on the board’s consent agenda, the lease extension will only add over $10 million to the $100 million in additional revenue Kyrene

will get from the developer over the life of the lease.

Voters in 2013 gave the district permission to sell or lease the 28-acre parcel, which the district bought in the 1990s as a site for a new school. It ended up not needing the land because it built Kyrene del Milenio in 2000 instead.

The other project in the wings for VPC is St. Benedict Catholic Church’s request to build a 138-unit elder care facility on 4.62 acres of its 19.2-acre campus along 48th Street between Chandler Boulevard and Pecos Park.

The facility would be located behind the church and would provide 66 independent living units, 44 assisted living units and 28 memory care residences –all operated by Montreal, Canada-based Cogir Senior Living.

The developer was scheduled to a neighborhood meeting on that zoning request yesterday, May 16, taking the first step in the city’s rezoning process before it schedules a presentation to the VPC, likely this summer.

The two measures that will be presented by the city Planning and Development Department next Monday are aimed at slowing down or preventing owners of manufactured home parks in Phoenix from displacing often lower-income residents so the land can be sold.

Those changes are being sought after City Council was advised by the Phoenix administration that it was powerless to stop the owners of three parks from evicting their mobile home owners and renters so the land could be sold.

Market conditions have made land a hot commodity in the Valley, especially for industrial and residential development.

While the city cannot legally prevent a land owner from selling their property, the proposed zoning code changes are designed to help owners of manufactured home parks with profitable alternatives to selling them.

One amendment “is going to make it easier to create new mobile home parks,” city Planning Director Josh Bednarik said at an April council meeting, by addressing the special permit required for those

see VPC page 18

Scientists study snow to save Colorado River water

BY ALEX HAGER KUNC

High in the mountains above Crested Butte, Colorado, a team of scientists trudges single file through the whiteout, following a chain of orange flags marking the route.

Researchers Eli Schwat and Danny Hogan trek out to this site each day to help answer a mystery: How much snow evaporates into the air before it has a chance to melt?

Every winter, high-altitude snow melts and fills streams, rivers and reservoirs all around the Rocky Mountains. But some years see a big gap between the snow and the water runoff that follows.

There is limited data on why the disparity happens, but that gap has far-reaching implications for tens of millions of people who draw water from the Colorado River.

After two decades of drought and steady demand, accurate data on the amount of water entering the region’s dwindling supply is crucial for those who manage it.

That’s what Schwat, Hogan and others hope to find out.

Sublimation is the process of water evaporating into the air before it turns to liquid, changing from a solid to a gas instantly.

Jessica Lundquist, an engineering professor at the University of Washington and the study’s leader, said it’s what causes dry ice to give off a spooky fog.

Snow sublimation is common in the arid West, which often has the right conditions for the phenomenon – low humidity, high altitude, strong sunlight and dry winds. But water sublimation is much harder to see than the fog from dry ice, which is carbon dioxide turning into a smoke-like vapor.

“This is a process that’s extremely hard to measure,” Lundquist said. “You actually need to measure droplets of water that have turned into vapor that you cannot see. They’re floating around the atmosphere, so you need really highly specialized sensors that can look at that vapor moving around in the atmosphere.”

Those sensors are mounted to the metal towers at the research site, thin metal trusses – some nearly 70 feet tall – holding more than a dozen pieces of monitoring equipment.

Danny Hogan, a researcher with the University of Washington, shovels out a snow pit in March for research into how snow evaporates before it has a chance to melt and turn into runoff. (Alex Hager/KUNC)

They measure basic weather data such as wind speed, the amount of water vapor in the air and temperature. Others use lasers and electric signals to get snow depth and soil moisture data. The sensors are posted at different heights to gather data from various distances off the ground.

All those measurements combine to help form an understanding of how much snow evaporates, and why. But data also comes from beneath the snow’s surface.

Once they created a pit, the researchers take measurements. A foldable ruler helps test the firmness of the snow at different distances from the surface, and a custombuilt metal scoop called a “density cutter” lets them gather snow for weighing.

Another tool is the “crystal card,” a small sheet of plastic covered in grid lines. Paired with a magnifying glass, it’s a useful backdrop for analyzing snowflake size and shape.

Hogan and Schwat are far from the first scientists to spend a winter in this particular spot. Their winter home base is the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, or RMBL – pronounced “rumble.” The lab, a cluster of wooden cabins built on the site of an abandoned 1800s mining town, is hallowed ground for environmental researchers of all stripes.

Founded by a local biology professor in 1928, RMBL has hosted decades-long studies to determine how flora, fauna and other natural factors behave at high altitude.

The site recently lured researchers with the Surface Atmosphere Integrated Field Laboratory (SAIL), funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Shipping containers with dozens of instruments that measure precipitation, clouds, winds and more were brought to the Rocky Mountains after a previous stint in Antarctica.

Researchers have zoomed in on the snow that never becomes runoff mainly because they think there is a lot of it. In some recent winters when snowpack was up to 90% of the yearly average, runoff was as low as 50% of the annual average, according to Colorado State University climate scientist Brad Udall.

Lundquist and her team acknowledge that snow sublimation is probably not the main driver of the snowpack-runoff disparity.

Scientists and water managers in recent years have focused on soil moisture: As

drought and warmer temperatures bake the dirt and dry it out, the soil soaks up snowmelt like a sponge, meaning less water makes its way to streams and rivers.

Scientists still don’t know how much of an impact drying soil has on a shrinking Colorado River, and they know even less about the role snow sublimation plays.

That’s why Lundquist’s study could significantly expand how the West understands its water.

“It’s not just that the word is new or that no one’s ever seen it,” she said. “It’s the magnitude. … People want to know the science to make management decisions on a very scarce resource.”

The parched Colorado River basin needs all the data it can get.

“We know the Colorado River is oversubscribed,” Lundquist said. “Every drop of water is wanted by multiple people.”

Water managers across the Southwest have to stretch finite water supplies across in a region that has grown at a breakneck pace. see

“Our worst-case scenario, from our perspective, is that we have to be in the habit of annually looking to the mountains to see, ‘What is the precipitation?” Phoenix water adviser Cynthia Campbell said.

Campbell said reservoirs should act as a buffer against the fluctuation of dry years and wet years. But with reservoirs shrinking to never-before-seen lows, cities that depend on the Colorado River can only plan one year at a time.

“That’s just not enough time to make changes that you would have to make,” Campbell said. “So, in some ways it might be our worst nightmare.”

Earlier this spring, six states agreed on

an unprecedented proposal to make significant new cuts to water use based on a plan that accounts for evaporation from Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir.

California balked, and the states remain stuck in a standoff, arguing about who should feel the sting of painful cutbacks.

The Colorado River crisis that has made national headlines is a product of climate change. Environmental metrics show that warmer temperatures are driving major changes to where snow falls, how long it sticks around, and how likely it is to end up in reservoirs.

The lean times have forced officials to look to granular data like snow sublimation and soil moisture.

Forecasts have become more difficult in

recent years. Patterns that were previously accepted as concrete are now in question because of warmer temperatures – making reliable predictions about snowmelt hard to come by.

“Being able to have a good number to look ahead for the season is really, really important in terms of making important management decisions in the river that affects all of the users,” said Edie Zagona, a hydrology and engineering professor at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Climate change is a major factor in all aspects of the problem with forecasting.”

Forecasting problems affect seasonal runoff predictions as well as long-term projections about how much water will be in the Colorado River and its reservoirs.

But environmental scientists overwhelmingly agree that water is unlikely to return to the arid West in a significant capacity.

Some have gone from calling West’s current water shortage a “drought” to calling it “aridification” – a permanent reset of the baseline for how much water will be in snowpack, rivers and streams each year.

The difficulty in forecasting has driven up demand for new, robust data, which is what motivates the snow sublimation researchers. Lundquist recalled one colleague’s recent words of encouragement.

“He said, ‘Jessica, the bar is low,’” Lundquist said. “‘Learn anything, and we’ll know more than we knew a year ago. You can do this.’ So, it’s both exciting and humbling.” 

parks and the 10-acre minimum required for their location.

The other “really allows continued investment in existing mobile home parks that is somewhat limited today by the zoning ordinance,” Bednarik said.

He noted that because many parks don’t conform to code, the amendment will

make changes so their owners “can continue to invest and expand” without necessarily conforming to all the regulations they must meet now.

A third amendment would “incentivize maybe some investment on a mobile home property while allowing those residents to stay in place.”

Council has directed Bednarik to move quickly on the manufactured home zoning

code changes – which are part of a package of seven amendments that eventually will be put before village planning committees on their way to a final vote by Council.

The public will be allowed to comment on the two measures during the Ahwatukee VPC’s consideration of them next month.

One measure up for discussion Monday would “to add definitions for offsite manufactured home and offsite manufactured

home development and delete them from the special permit requirement.

The other would allow existing mobile home developments to increase the number of units by 50% with city administrative review and approval.

Preserving mobile home parks is part of the city’s multi-tiered strategy to preserve affordable housing for lower-income residents. 

FLEXSHADE

ZIP &

SCREENS

VPC from page 16

EV kids home pitches hotel-water park plan

BY SCOTT SHUMAKER AFN Staff Writer

For nearly 70 years, Sunshine Acres Children’s Home has provided longterm homes for children in need on its 110-acre campus on the northeast corner of Higley Road and Longbow Parkway in Mesa.

Supported primarily by private donors, the orphanage – which often calls itself “The Miracle in the Desert” – is eyeing a move that could be a landmark in its history and give it greater financial independence.

In a plan submitted to the Mesa Planning Department, Sunshine Acres proposes to turn a 36-acre strip along the southern edge of its property into a 250room resort hotel and waterpark with a 30,0000 square foot conference center, 21,000 square feet of retail space and four full-service restaurants.

To the east of the resort there would be another 125-room limited service hotel, and east of that, a 220-room dormitory and training facilities for students of the CAE flight school, which operates at the nearby Falcon Field.

The land now is mostly undeveloped desert. A small part of the site currently has a baseball field and parking lot on it.

The land would be developed for Sunshine Acres by Mesa-based Power Hotel Group, which currently operates Sheraton

Mesa Hotel at Wrigleyville West, Doubletree by Hilton Phoenix Gilbert, Best Western Legacy Inn and Suites and Marriott Courtyard Mesa at Wrigleyville West, according to the LinkedIn profile of PHG Director Kevin Thorpe.

Documents submitted to the city say that Sunshine Acres would retain ownership of the land under a long-term ground lease with Power Hotel Group and receive rent revenue from the developer.

“This arrangement is critical to helping Sunshine Acres and their ongoing mission to provide housing, training and resources for homeless children,” project documents state.

“It will significantly lessen their dependence on fundraising and grants.”

The proposed hotels, convention center and CAE dorms would be a maximum of four stories tall.

The concept for the large waterpark attached to the larger 250-room hotel envisions many amenities, including a lagoon with beach entry, a lazy river and pool bar.

The children’s home campus was established in 1954 by Rev. Jim and Vera Dingman, who bought a former boarding school on 125-acres of land for $29,500 with the help of the Mesa Optimist Club.

Sunshine Acres’ website states that the

see PARK PLAN page 21

This site plan shows how Sunshine Acres proposes the layout of a hotel, waterpark and other facilities on 36 of its 110 acres. (City of Mesa)

Real Estate Guide

BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor

High mortgage rates are discouraging homeowners from selling and fueling a growing lack of homes for sale in the Valley, a leading analyst recently warned.

And that likely will fuel a price increase for those houses that are up for sale, according to the Cromford Report, which analyzes in the housing market in Maricopa and Pinal counties.

“With only 12,500 active listings with-

out a contract,” it said, “we are once again approaching a dire shortage of homes for sale.”

“Even a modest increase in demand is likely to force prices higher and quickly recover the ground lost over the past 12 months,” it said. “The median sales price is down almost 9% compared to a year ago, but has recovered nearly 4% over the last three months.”

The Cromford Report said anxious buyers face a likely return of bidding wars

already in Chandler, Glendale, Fountain Hills, Phoenix, Gilbert and Avondale. Those are cities where the Cromford Report’s analysis shows the market has tipped by more than 2-1 in favor of sellers.

Looking at total sales in April, the Cromford Report found they were down 28% from April 2022 and down 12.3% from March 2023. That translates in whole numbers into a drop from 10,141 in April 2022 to 6,662 last month and down from 8,935 this past March.

The median sales price last month was $425,000 versus $466,000 in April 2022, it said, but it crept up by 1.2% over the arch 2023 median of $419,000.

Taking a broader view, the Cromford Report said so far this year, only 33,506 homes have been listed for sale as opposed to 42,048 in the same four-month period of last year.

“To be down more than 20% from the prior year is very unusual and the flow of new listings is too low to compensate for the listings going under contract,” it said. “This means the active listing count has been in decline for over six months now and is still trending down at a steep angle.”

“A year ago, the market was weakening fast, but pricing was approaching its peak of $306.46 per square foot,” the Cromford Report said. “And closings were still running high, fueled by the unwise purchasing frenzy of institutional investors and iBuyers.

“The slump that followed in the second half of 2022 is now well behind us and the market is displaying increasing resilience despite interest rates that are far higher than during most of the last 10 years.”

Listings under contract in April recorded an 11.6% month-to-month increase, the Cromford Report noted, calling that

home is loaded with amenities, including Brazilian mahogany floors, gas fireplace, 12-foot ceilings, high-end kitchen with walk-in pantry, a resort-class backyard and other features. (Special to AFN)

“one of the largest month-to-month increases that we have ever seen for this time of year.”

“The net result is that demand is now growing again, while supply is falling even faster than before,” it warned.

“This is good news for sellers, but most home owners are still uninterested in selling, deterred by the large increase in mortgage interest rate that would incur.”

Meanwhile, it said builders apparently are having a renewed confidence as the “new-home market remains robust with most publicly listed home builders in an optimistic mood, supported by their stock prices hitting new highs in the last few days.”

Some of the most aggressive improvements in sellers’ markets have occurred in Paradise Valley and Tempe, the Cromford Report said, basing that on a number of factors it uses to analyze the condition of Valley submarkets.

“Not far behind are Buckeye, Cave Creek, Glendale, Avondale and Queen

Creek,” it added. “Improvements for sellers are relatively modest in Surprise, Chandler and Scottsdale.”

All of this means that some buyers may have to cast a distant eye for more affordable homes, according to the Cromford Report said.

“To find a location that is still strongly favorable to buyers, we need to look at the secondary cities,” it said, pointing primarily to Casa Grande, which it called “the weakest market in Central Arizona.”

Overall, the Cromford Report said, while “the media have been full of stories for the last six months about the shortage of home buyers,” news organizations “have devoted very little coverage to the shortage of home sellers over the same period, which is in fact far more extreme and is having a bigger effect on the market.”

During most of 2022, it said, “we had plenty of sellers because those who saw their properties as investments were keen to avoid the risk of a major drop in value.

“Those were joined by the iBuyers who realized too late that they had purchased far too many homes for the market conditions since April. This caused a short-term stampede for the exits.”

Conditions began to reverse course in November, the Cromford Report added, “we now have a real problem getting enough homes listed.”

It also advised homeowners: “If your home has an existing mortgage, the odds are high that it has a much lower interest rate than anything available today.

“So unless you really have to move, it makes more financial sense to stay put and avoid redeeming that bargain mortgage only to replace it with a much more expensive one.

“Many are choosing to upgrade or expand their home … instead.” 

Possession really is 9/10ths of the law in Arizona

BY PATRICK MACQUEEN AFN Guest Writer

Does the old adage that “possession is nine-tenths of the law” really mean anything in Arizona? Yes it does!

In Arizona, when real estate is used or possessed by someone other than the true owner, the non-owner can acquire title to the true owner’s property.

And, yes, this really happens – a lot. Possessing and using real property, whether acting as the owner of the property or using someone else’s property without their permission, can cause the permanent transfer of title to the real estate.

This occurs because of the concepts of “adverse possession” and “prescriptive easement.”

Through adverse possession, ownership of real estate is permanently transferred

from the original owner to the possessor of the land as a result of the possessor’s occupation and use of the land. This possession is sometimes intentional, but oftentimes it occurs due to a mistake about boundary lines.

So, for example, if I place pavers on my neighbor’s land and continue to use that area as if I own it, I may end up owning that portion of my neighbor’s property if I continue to use it for a period of time – even if my intent was never to “take” the land.

The same is true if I mow a portion of my neighbor’s grass with the belief that the area being mowed is mine.

This is how golf courses end up “taking” portions of property owned by those with homes and lawns near the course (i.e., continuous cutting of the homeowner’s grass by the golf course’s maintenance crew).

There are various other examples of

Kyrene Court leads in eviction case filings this year

AFN NEWS STAFF

As eviction files continue to increase this year in Maricopa County, the Kyrene Justice Court continues to lead the pack in filings.

For the first four months of this year, landlords filed 1,603 eviction cases in the Kyrene court – which covers Ahwatukee and Guadalupe, South Phoenix, and parts of Tempe and Chandler.

That total is ahead of the 1,548 eviction cases filed in the first four months of 2023 in the Manistee Justice Court in Surprise and the 1,508 filings in Moon Valley Justice Court in North Phoenix. Those three comprise the top three courts for eviction filings this year through April 30.

Countywide, eviction filings surged in April, according to Scott Davis, the public information office for the Maricopa County Justice Court system.

“After a slight ‘lull’ in eviction filings for February and March, April shows us that evictions in Maricopa County are still

Eviction filings began surging in Maricopa County justice courts last month.

(Maricopa County Justice Courts)

stronger than they have been in years,” he said.

“While April’s filing data is not recordbreaking, it is in line with what we have been seeing for the past eight to nine months: landlords are moving to evict more often than they did during the pandemic and in the 10 years prior.”

Data provided by Davis show that in the first four months of this year, filings totaled 6,340 countywide for a five-year high for that time period.

In the first four months of 2022, eviction filings totaled 4,204 and hit 5,029 cases in that time period in 2019. Filings during the “pandemic years” of 2020 and 2021 were well below those totals.

But those totals don’t mean that many renters found themselves on the street.

“An eviction filing does not necessarily mean someone loses their home,” Davis stressed. “Sometimes tenants pay the rent before the case gets to court. Sometimes the tenant prevails in front of the judge.

“With both of those outcomes, the tenant may stay in the property and the eviction case is sealed so it will not appear on a tenant’s background report. This

prevents an unsuccessful eviction attempt from being used as a barrier to future housing.”

Davis said justice courts combined have sealed 5,500 eviction cases so far this year – roughly 20% of all filings.

The justice courts in Maricopa County hear approximately 6,000 residential eviction cases every month.

Landlords request judges to dismiss approximately 1,400 of those cases; but that still leaves thousands of new people with a potential housing problem each month,” according to Judge Gerald Williams, who wrote about eviction notices in a West Valley paper.

“The basis for almost every residential eviction is nonpayment of rent,” he wrote, noting landlords must notify tenants of arrearages at least five days before they file an eviction case with a court.

Williams noted that some people may qualify for rental assistance as well and can find more information at justicecourts. maricopa.gov/case-types/evictions. 

Size of down payments slightly decreasing as prices rise

AFN NEWS SERVICES

After a steady rise in buyers kicking in ever larger down payments in an attempt to win heated bidding wars over the past few years, down payments are now shifting—and shrinking.

The housing market is seeing an overall decline in down payments for the first time since the second quarter of 2020, according to a new report from Realtor.com.

Buyers likely don’t have that extra cash lying around as they face stubbornly high home prices, higher mortgage interest rates, and rising inflation. And many have already burned through the COVID-19 stimulus payments that helped millions of Americans save up.

The average down payment slipped to 13% in the first three months of this year, down from the peak of 14.1% in the second quarter of 2022.

“Today’s buyers don’t have much flexibility as the high cost of homeownership puts more pressure on already tight budgets,” said Hannah Jones, an economic data analyst at Realtor.com.

The report analyzed down payment data

in dollars and as a percentage of the purchase price of homes at the national, state and metropolitan area levels. Only the 100 largest metros were considered. The down payment information comes from Optimal Blue mortgage data, and the sales prices come from CoreLogic data. Metros include the central city and surrounding towns, suburbs, and smaller urban areas.

A slight drop in the percentage might not seem significant at first glance until the extreme rise in home prices is factored in. In the past three years, the median home list price jumped nearly 35%, according to April Realtor.com data. The larger the purchase price, the bigger the down payment.

The median down payment dollar amount was 71.8% higher in the first quarter of this year than in the first quarter of 2020, when the pandemic was just beginning. Down payments rose from an average of $14,000 in the first quarter of 2020, just before the pandemic turbocharged the housing market, to $24,100 in the first three months of 2023.

Now that the housing market has slowed, buyers in certain markets are finding they can once again have an offer ac-

cepted when putting less down.

Some of these down payment decreases can also be chalked up to the cooling in the housing market. As it’s become a little less competitive, more buyers are using Veterans Affairs home loans, which require zero down, and other government-backed loans that allow lower down payments.

“There has been an uptick in accepted offers with government-back loans, including FHA and VA loans,” said Kelly McCormick, president-elect of the Dayton Board of Realtors. “Smaller down payments are associated with these loans.”

The gold standard of down payments has long been 20%. Buyers who contribute that much don’t have to pay costly private mortgage insurance. But many buyers don’t have that kind of cash.

Before the pandemic, many buyers would turn to government-backed mortgages that allowed them to put down as little as 3% or 3.5% depending on the loan. Now that the housing market isn’t as competitive as it was, those loans are becoming more popular again.

“Buyers have a few levers to pull when deciding how to finance a home,” said

Jones. “Based on the market they are buying into, home shoppers should determine the size of home payment they are comfortable taking on.”

To make the right decision about down payment size, buyers need to carefully evaluate local home prices, current mortgage rates, and competition in the area.

Putting down less money upfront means buyers will have a larger loan to pay off, yet they will have money in the bank for emergencies or unseen home repairs.

But if buyers really want to win a bidding war, they might have to dig deep.

“In a highly competitive market, a buyer may offer more as a down payment to compete in a multiple-bid scenario,” Jones said. 

Fannie Mae sees uptick in market optimism

Consumers expect mortgage rates to drop, so they’re feeling a lot more optimistic about the housing market, according to a Fannie Mae poll published earlier this month.

After the U.S. Federal Reserve’s most recent rate increase, the Fed Chair signaled a potential pause in hikes. Rates dipped after the news, and economists are expecting mortgage rates to gradually decline over the course of this year and into 2024.

Consumers see this as a good sign for mortgage rates. The monthly Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index rose in April to the highest level since May 2022.

In April, 22% of consumers polled said they expect rates to go down, compared to just 12% last month.

The increase in overall home-buying sentiment is “primarily driven by consumers’

more optimistic mortgage rate expectations,” said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae.

People believe mortgage rates will fall over the next year, which “could be due to a combination of factors,” Duncan said, “including an awareness of decelerating inflation, market suggestions that monetary conditions will ease in the not-toodistant future, and, of course, actual mortgage rate declines during the month.”

The share of respondents who said it’s a good time to buy a home rose to 23% in April, from 20% the previous month.

But would-be buyers are still frustrated by how expensive it is to buy a home.

Many respondents said they expect home prices to go up in the next 12 months.

The share of those who believe in rising home prices was 37% in April, up from 32% the previous month.

Even though buyers are feeling more

optimistic in April, this may “prove to be temporary,” Duncan said, “as consumers continue to report uncertainty about the direction of home prices.”

High home prices are the chief reason why consumers believe it’s a bad time to buy a home, he noted.

The median price of an existing home was $375,700, as reported by the National Realtors Association in April. A new home was $449,800, according to the Census Bureau.

“Until affordability improves for a larger swath of the homebuying public,” Duncan added, “we believe home sales will remain subdued compared to previous years.”

The frenzied pace of home sales has slowed considerably after the Fed hiked interest rates around this time last year. Home sales fell 22% in March, as compared to the previous year, the NAR said.

“Housing has just switched from where

it was like a full-on party with champagne to a more austere market,” Bess Freedman, CEO of Brown Harris Stevens, told MarketWatch.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve Board’s its April survey of senior loan officer last Friday released a report that might dampen that optimism.

Conducted for bank lending activity over the first quarter of 2023, the survey found banks are reported that lending standards tightened for most residential real estate and commercial real estate loan categories.

Demand for both types of loans “weakened across all categories over the quarter,” the board said, adding “No banks expected their lending standards for most loans to ease over the remainder of 2023 and one-third expected more tightening.”

see FANNIE MAE page RE5

With higher interest rates and historically high home prices, “people are much more cautious and everything is a lot more expensive.”

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s survey through the week ending May 5 found that total mortgage activity increased 6.3% from the previous week and the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate fell 2 basis points to 6.48%. The FRM rate has risen 18 basis points over the past month.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, rose by 6.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. Purchasing activity increased 4.8%, while refinancing activity increased 10.0% week-over-week.

“Purchasing activity has remained muted this spring due to affordability issues in the market,” the National Association of Home Builders said last week. “The seasonally adjusted purchase index was

32.0% lower than one year ago.”

The average loan size for purchases was $440,700 in the first week of May, up slightly from $435,600 over April, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The average loan size for refinancing grew by 5.5% from $263,300 over the month of April to $277,900 in the first week of May. 

National housing market becoming splintered

AFN NEWS SERVICES

The longtime mantra of the real estate market, “location, location, location,” may never have been so true.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a national frenzy seemed to permeate the housing market as buyers spent previously unimaginable sums on homes just about everywhere. The real estate market was fairly monolithic as the number of available homes dried up and prices shot up around the country.

However, what’s happening in the national housing market might no longer resemble what’s going on in local markets across the country.

As mortgage interest rates have risen,

some markets have slowed while others continue to speed up. Home prices may be falling in one city but accelerating in another.

Bidding wars may be fierce in one neighborhood, while homes are struggling to find buyers in the next one over. The real estate market is once again all about location.

“In the [early] pandemic, it didn’t really matter where you were. The housing market was thriving and growing,” said Ali Wolf, chief economist of the building consultancy Zonda.

“Since interest rates have risen and inflation is higher and economic uncertainty abounds, we’re reverting back to

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HOUSING from page RE5

very localized housing markets,” Wolf added. “There is no national housing market,” she continued. “Every single city and every single street across the country has its own unique housing market.”

However localized housing has become, there are still significant regional trends.

And the housing correction is hitting certain parts of the country much harder than others.

Real estate markets in the Northeast, Midwest, and the Southeast, in particular Florida, are holding up the best, especially in smaller cities where prices are lower.

The housing markets are weaker in more expensive parts of the country, such as the West. The higher rates plus high prices are causing buyers to hit their financial limits. As something has to give, prices in some markets are leveling off or falling.

“Mortgage rates made a huge difference: People lost 30% in purchase power,” said Hepp.

Many areas that experienced the largest price increases during the pandemic, including Phoenix, have been cooling off.

“We should expect some price corrections, not price crashes, in these places where prices ran up the fastest,” predicted

MACQUEEN from page 2

adverse possession that are common to homes in Arizona – including the misplacement of boundary walls, the overgrowth of vegetation, and the improper placement of guest homes, ancillary buildings, planters, and sheds.

Similarly, the concept of a “prescriptive easement” results in the permanent transfer of the right to use property that is owned by another.

Unlike adverse possession, title to the property remains with the original owner and the non-owner receives an easement as opposed to actual “fee” title.

Prescriptive easements are commonly created by using a pathway through a neighbor’s property to reach a trail or street.

Similarly, the use of a neighbor’s driveway can also result in a prescriptive easement being granted to the non-owner.

If you believe you have acquired property through adverse possession or that you have acquired a prescriptive easement, there are some steps you should take to document and officially record the trans-

Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist of Bright MLS, a multiple-listing service.

Then there are the exurbs, the outeredge suburbs that are the farthest from the bigger cities. Their future is a bit more uncertain.

Buyers looking for larger homes on more property can often find the cheapest real estate in these areas. As buyers are feeling the financial squeeze, that’s likely to keep demand and prices strong.

Even within the same town, certain neighborhoods are likely to be more desirable than others. Some offer larger homes on bigger lots, others may be closer to town.

Then there are those that aren’t considered as trendy or that offer fewer amenities. A home in a popular neighborhood might receive 10 offers, while just a few blocks over a property on the market might receive none.

“For home shoppers, it’s good to be aware of national trends,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist for Realtor.com. “But those national trends might not match for the homes that they’re shopping for at the prices they’re looking at in the neighborhoods they’re searching in.”

Realtor.com provided this report. 

fer of property rights.

For starters, take a look at A.R.S. 121103 to see if that statute applies to you. In some instances, you may need to file an action to “quiet title” and have a court confirm that you have properly “taken” the owner’s property.

Similarly, if you are concerned that someone may be attempting to acquire your property rights, there are certain things you can do to prevent this from occurring.

These preventative measures do not work in all circumstances, but posting notrespassing signs, granting a license to use the property, or installing gates may help to limit someone else’s ability to acquire your property.

If you have questions about whether you have acquired property via adverse possession or prescriptive easement or are wondering what else you can do to avoid someone from acquiring your property, feel free to email me at pmacqueen@ medalistlegal.com or call 602-767-0050.

Ahwatukee resident and attorney Patrick R. MacQueen is founder of Medalist Legal, PLC. 

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home does not receive government funds for the direct care of the children.

Instead, the Christian organization relies primarily on donations from individuals and businesses, its thrift shop and fundraisers like the annual Shootout for Sunshine golf tournament held at the nearby Longbow Golf Club.

Sunshine Acres reports that it has helped raise over 2,000 children since its opening.

The kids live in large single-family homes, 10 to a house with “house parents,” and the organization provides numerous enrichment programs.

According to the most recently available 990 form filed with the IRS, Sunshine Acres reported $6 million in revenue in 2020, including $5 million from private contributions and $440,000 in government grants.

The proposed resort and convention center and other projects along Longbow Parkway are currently in the pre-submittal phase, with developers submitting project plans and meeting with city staff ahead of a formal submission.

The land is currently zoned for singlefamily homes, so Power Hotel Group will

seek a zone change to Limited Commercial with a Planned Area Development overlay.

The project narrative states the CAE dormitory will require a Council Use Permit for part of the site that is underneath a Falcon Field overflight zone.

CAE Phoenix is a major flight training school that provides cadet programs for American Airlines, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines and Aeromexico. It operates over 80

aircraft in the Phoenix metro area.

According to the project narrative, the dorm and training space on Sunshine Acres would allow the school to consolidate its Phoenix-area facilities and living accommodations into a single location.

The plans also include a new thrift and boutique store on the property for processing and selling donated goods, as well as selling items created by Sunshine Acres residents. 

STREETS from page 14

She said the west side of 48th Street is currently scheduled to be completed in June while reconstruction of the east side of the same segment is expected to be completed in November.

The same challenges await crews on the east side, however.

"There are utility conflicts affecting both sides of the road and we will need to move conduit to the other side near the intersection of 48th Street and Baseline Road," Muprhy said.

Once the project is completed, motorists also can expect a better experience at the intersection of Baseline and 48th as new signals with the latest technology and new left-turn arrows in all four directions will be included.

Farther along 48th near Guadalupe Road, meanwhile, Arizona Department of Transportation crews continue working on a new I-10 overpass, which will include a sidewalk on the bridge.

The city also had the 48th-Guadalupe intersection on its list for a High Intensity Activated CrossWalK, or HAWK, signal but it’s unclear when or if one will be installed.

The land that would be developed is located on the northeast corner of Higley Road and Longbow Parkway. (City of Mesa)

EV firm, student opened the sky for diabetic pilots

BY SCOTT SHUMAKER AFN Staff Writer

Like all pilots, flight student Natalie Schatton, 25, goes through various pre-flight steps before taking off at Phoenix Mesa Gateway Airport.

The Ahwatukee resident and Arizona State University grad is a student at the University of North Dakota’s UND Aerospace Flight Training Center there in an accelerated commercial pilot program and dreams of becoming a pilot for American Airlines.

“I am in love with the training program,” she said. “It’s a rigorous school, but it’s definitely worth it.”

Taking off for solo flights across Arizona and practicing maneuvers, Schatton wears something most pilots don’t: a small device on the back of her arm that measures her blood sugar and communicates with her mobile phone.

It’s a continuous glucose monitor made by Dexcom in West Mesa that automatically checks blood sugar every five minutes.

If her levels start trending higher or low-

er than desired, an alert pops up on her phone, and she has snacks or drinks juice to bring her blood sugar higher.

For Schatton, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 10, the technology lets her pursue her dream of flying for a

major commercial airline – just like her dad, who flies for American Airlines.

This career path only recently opened for pilots like her.

Passenger flights not allowed

Until 2020, the FAA restricted insulin-dependent diabetic pilots to working as flight instructors but not fly paying passengers.

Schatten grew up believing diabetes would keep her from commercial airlines.

With many friends in aviation and a mom was a flight attendant for United, she knew insulin-treated diabetes was a disqualifying condition for FAA certification

because the agency was concerned that pilots could experience a debilitating drop in blood sugar mid-air that might impair their ability to fly.

So dreamers like Schatten were barred from the airlines.

But that changed in 2020, when the FAA changed its policy and began issuing medical certificates to pilots who submitted continuous glucose monitor data and met other requirements.

Pilots had been pushing the agency for that change and the American Diabetes Association filed suit.

One factor leading to the FAA’s change of heart was the rise of continuous glucose monitors.

In the past, the only way to check blood sugar was with a finger prick to get a drop of blood to apply to a glucose meter – an effective but inconvenient process.

Continuous glucose monitors allow diabetics to watch their blood sugar in real time, making it easier to keep their levels

see PILOTS page 23

Scottsdale pilot Pietro Marsala received the FAA’s first medical certificate to fly commercially despite his diabetes. (Special to AFN)

consistently in target ranges.

More importantly, the devices compile and share reams of data on those levels.

The FAA relented on its restrictions as pilots who were had been lobbying to fly commercial airlines submitted years of monitor data, opening the door for special medical certification.

A study of pilots using the monitors for over 20,000 flight hours found that their glucose levels stayed above “red,” or dangerous, ranges 99.86% of the time. Moreover, researchers had not recorded a single incident of pilot incapacitation over those years and thousands of hours and that out-of-range readings declined from 5.7% to 1.2% between 2013 and 2019.

Mesa firm a leader

The first continuous glucose monitor was released in 1999, after which the devices rapidly improved and are now mass produced by several medical device companies.

The market leader is Dexcom, which selected Mesa six years ago to be its U.S. manufacturing and global distribution hub.

Schatton’s Dexcom monitors are almost certainly made in Mesa, where 15 million units are made annually.

The company has gone from 500 employees in Mesa three years ago to 2,000 today.

“It’s one of our fastest growing locations in the world,” said Barry Regan, vice president of global operations for Dexcom. “It’s important for me to say how incredibly important Mesa is for the future.”

Regan said the sky’s the limit for Dexcom’s growth, as more people with diabetes see the value in the devices for managing their health and access grows.

Last month, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services expanded coverage of CGMs to include certain people with Type 2 diabetes as well as Type 1.

Globally, only 1% of people with diabetes use a CGM, according to Regan. Dexcom has been doubling its production every two-and-a-half years, he said.

Clearing the way

The first U.S. pilot with Type 1 diabetes to receive a first-class medical certificate was Scottsdale resident Pietro Marsala.

Marsala, 32, received his Type 1 diabetes diagnosis while in flight school in North Phoenix in 2012 – posing an end to his dream right when he seemed close to

achieving it.

“That was probably the most crushing day in my life,” he said.

After graduating from flight school, Marsala worked as a flight instructor with his third-class medical certification.

He said that as he spent thousands of hours in the sky teaching others how to fly, the absurdity of the old rules around diabetes and flying became apparent to him.

Marsala contacted the FAA and started a dialogue with its medical staff, advocating for special allowances for diabetic pilots and submitting data from his monitor for study.

He said he had dreamt of flying for American Airlines since he was a young boy but that the motivation to change the rules morphed at some point from fulfilling his personal dream to something larger.

“I’m out to prove a point that this can be done safely,” he said. “I want others with diabetes to see this and not just the ones that want to become pilots.”

“I wanted people, especially kids with diabetes, to not grow up and have that limitation simply because they take insulin.”

Finally, Marsala received his groundbreaking first-class certification, but just before the pandemic shut down the airline industry. In 2021, however, he landed a job with regional carrier American Eagle.

He discloses his status to the captain when he flies and assures he’ll be checking his blood sugar on his phone periodically.

In February, he was offered his dream job of flying for American Airlines. He continues to fly with American Eagle while he awaits his onboarding for the new job.

In March Dexcom honored Marsala by naming one of its production lines in Mesa “Pietro.”

A huge banner greets workers in the factory with Marsala’s picture that says “every CGM that goes through these doors will change a life.”

Regan said Dexcom wanted to honor Marsala to remind workers, many of whom have come from non-medical industries, that “we’re not making consumer products. … You’re making a life saving medical device.”

Full circle

One would-be pilot who heard Marsala’s story was Schatton.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in sustainability, but she said she didn’t see herself making a career in the field.

She read an article about Marsala and it “really caught me.” She started research-

Diabetic pilots can now take to the skies with passengers because of a device made by Mesabased Dexcom, Inc. which was founded in 1999 and is transforming diabetes care and management by providing glucose monitoring. (Dexcom)

ing the FAA’s updated rules, and found out she could fly for the airlines.

“I jumped right in,” she said.

Schatton said obtaining the medical certification required extra hoops that slowed down her training, but she’s aiming to complete the program in December or early next year.

Schatton said she plans ahead of time before every flight, wakes up and eats when she needs to have her target glucose levels while flying.

She hasn’t had any medical incidents.

Schatton said her routine is “just part of my life now” and “muscle memory,” having had the condition since she was 10.

Marsala said that if Schatton is in training, she’s gotten her medical certification and he would tell her “the hard part is done. … Now focus on your training and keeping yourself healthy and the rest will fall into place.

“You’ll be where you desire to be in a very short time, especially with the amount of movement that’s happening within the industry right now.” 

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BESTOF 2022

If you thought you have been to a Mexican restaurant lately you probably need to reconsider and visit La Casa De Juana in Ahwatukee. The fare is authentic Mexican, and when we say authentic we mean it, unlike many of the restaurant chains that call themselves Mexican. Upon entering you’ll be dazzled by the colorful décor, the tables and chairs are beautiful, Mexican painted murals, colorful banners hanging from the ceiling and the gracious service with warm orange and yellow tones echoing throughout the restaurant will make this your favorite Mexican restaurant. With great lunch and dinner specials, we have Happy Hour Monday - Sunday from 2 - 6 PM with $5 House Margaritas, $4 Beers, $5.95 Cheese Quesadilla, $8.95 Chunky Guacamole and $9.95 Juana’s Nachos. Live music every Thursday night in our Ahwatukee location and every Friday at our Tempe location. In conclusion The flavorful salsa, the delicious margaritas, the extraordinary and well-priced food will definitely keep you coming back.

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Ahwatukee ex-DJ remains active after early retirement

BY KATY SPRINGER AFN Contributor

For more than a decade, Mathew Blades’ distinctive voice filled the airwaves every morning in households across greater Phoenix.

The award-winning DJ for Mix 96.9 had hosted “Mathew & Priscilla in the Morning” alongside Priscilla Ornelas since 2010.

Known for his quick wit, approachable style and honest conversation, Blades had become a household name and fan favorite across the Valley.

His retirement in October 2021 capped a 27-year radio career at stations across the nation – but his life was only just beginning.

In a letter to fans posted on iHeartRadio’s website – and with the honesty and openness for which he was known – the 45-yearold Blades gave listeners a sense of what to expect from him in years to come.

“I’m working on a passion project for mental and spiritual health, a movement we’ll call #LearnFromPeopleWhoLivedIt,” he wrote. “You are not broken. There is nothing wrong with you. You just have yet to step into your life’s purpose. I’m committed to those words now, and must step into a new chapter of my life to fulfill them.”

Nineteen months later, Blades is sharing his story with others in the hopes they’ll step into their own purpose.

A core part of his story is the trauma he experienced at 23 when his father died of a heart attack right in front of him.

“It’s hard to express what it’s like to watch that happen to your dad and not

see BLADES page 27

Mathew Blades and his wife Niccolo pose with their sons Gordy, 16, and Truman, 14, and their dog Millie. (Special to AFN)

Journalism teacher/adviser Michelle Coro honored

Aretired Desert Vista High School teacher has earned Journalism Education Association Lifetime Achievement Award.

While Michelle Coro of Ahwatukee retired from Desert Vista, she very much stays involved in teaching journalism.

She became the student engagement commuter life coordinator last summer at Grand Canyon University, where she already was an digital design adjunct professor since 2019 and where her husband Paul also has worked for six years.

The association supports “free and responsible scholastic journalism” with resources and programs.

It champions “professionalism by encouraging and rewarding student excellence and teacher achievement and by fostering an atmosphere which encompasses diversity yet builds unity.

Michelle taught multimedia for 20

years at Desert Vista, serving as the advisor for the journalism, broadcasting and yearbook programs.

JEA noted she encouraged students “to explore their creativity in the areas of writing, videography, digital photography and computer art technology.”

She also has been president of the Arizona Interscholastic Press Association for two years and a national board member for the National Scholastic Press Association since 2017.

Prior to her Desert Vista, she taught for five years in Gilbert Public Schools and two years in Kansas City after working for newspapers and television stations for five years.

The Coros have lived in Ahwatukee for 19 years and their now-college graduate daughters, Jasmine and Maya, are both Thunder alumnae and former students of their mom.

“I love working with Michelle,” retired journalism adviser Jeanne Acton said –“or perhaps I should say, I love watching her work.”

Added yearbook publisher Jostens cre-

ative account manager Tina Cleavelin:

“Michelle’s experience and knowledge of journalism is important, but I believe her tenacity and passion for her programs and her students was the driving force for her success. She is a true master adviser.”

One of the most striking things about Coro’s tenure as an adviser was her innovations in the classroom, Acton said.

“Boy, did she excel there,” Acton said. “In the classroom, Michelle focused on convergent multimedia journalism — teaching her students cutting edge technology to give them the skills they need to continue journalism after high school.”

However, it takes more than a vast and varied knowledge of journalism to create a legend. It also takes heart, said another Jostens representative, Lizabeth Walsh.

“It was easy to see why her students –and pretty much every single person who

AFN NEWS STAFF

Michelle Coro of Ahwatukee taught multimedia at Desert Vista High for 20 years and now is part of the Grand Canyon University staff.

(Special to AFN)

Ahwatukee teen tapped for leadership conference

AFN NEWS STAFF

It might not be all that unusual for 14–year old Breckin Mozena to be looking forward to summer break as a time to do something besides sleeping in and hitting the pool.

This summer the Ahwatukee teen might be doing that part of the time, but he also will be heading to Washington, D.C., for the Junior National Young Leaders Conference.

Breckin will join other high-powered middle school students from across the country for the conference, billed as “a unique academic and career-oriented development experience” that gives participants a chance to explore their interests beyond the classroom, according to sponsor Envision by WorldStrides.

A provider of educational travel and experiences in the United States, WorldStrides works with over 50,000 educators and has helped over 550,000 students expand their horizons.

Breckin was nominated to attend the conference by his eighth-grade teacher at Kyrene Akimel A-al Middle School, where he has more than demonstrated early

leadership.

A member of the National Junior Honor Society, he takes all honors classes and has maintained a perfect GPA and has been a part of multiple charitable endeavors

He also is one of the highest scoring players on the Ahwatukee Lightning Lacrosse Team and has been the team defensive and offensive MVP over the past few years.

A dirt biking and fencing enthusiast, Breckin said he’s psyched about the upcoming trip.

“I’m looking forward to meeting new people and gaining skills and experience in things that will help me in the future,” the forward-thinking teen said.

His mother, Lindsay Mozena-Krater, said, “Breckin has always been a self-starter and has a deep inner motivation to help others since he was a young child.

“We’ve regularly referred to him as an old soul,” she said. “At home he is organized and consistently helps around the house without asking. He’s led his own path and discovered a passion for interests we’ve never had experience in but have enjoyed learning along with him.”

Mozena-Krater said her son “has al-

ways been a leader with a strong moral compass” and often works with his younger brother Kiptyn, teaching him new skills like how to throw a lacrosse ball and or complete a math problem.

Breckin, whose favorite subject is math, said he “was surprised and also nervous when I first received the invitation” to the conference.

“I didn’t know what it would really entail,” he said.

His mother also was surprised.

“We were not familiar with the program or that it was an option and we are grateful that a teacher recognized Breckin’s strengths and put him on the path for such an achievement,” she said.

“He has big goals and dreams and this step is a milestone to helping him get there.”

He already has a few goals in mind as well, hoping to eventually attend Duke University and eventually becoming a Formula 1 race engineer “for Oracle Red Bull Racing.” 

Centennial Middle School club takes flight

BY NICOLE ASHTON AFN Guest Writer

Several Kyrene Centennial Middle School students have manned their own aircraft during flights from San Diego to Phoenix – simulated flights, that is.

They belong to Centennial’s Aviation Club, which is supervised by 8th grade social studies teacher David Panther.

Aviation Club members learn the entire process for flying an aircraft via a virtual flight simulation game, from takeoff to landing and keep the checklists up on their phones.

“Students started out learning about the instruments in the plane and what they are used for and now we’re on what airliners do,” said Panther.

“They set up the auto pilot, they do the

precheck and it even does the passenger seatbelt sign noise and everything.”

The Aviation Club is one of two afterschool clubs at Centennial.

Sixth grader Carter Reier makes adjustments as he comes in on final approach landing an airliner in a flight simulator with the Kyrene Centennial Middle School aviation club. (David Minton/AFN Staff Photographer)

City Competition, where students work in small teams to imagine, plan, design and build a model of a city that is 100 years or more in the future.

The two groups have even come together to share the wealth of knowledge from their club supervisors.

On a windy day in February, Carras’ father-in-law, an avid collector and flier of remote-control model airplanes, brought in a few of his favorites to demonstrate the physics and mechanics of flight firsthand.

Students were amazed at how quickly the small planes moved and how much concentration is required to ensure the planes don’t crash, especially on windy days.

After the flight demonstration, students who brought drones from home flew them around with their classmates as well.

Aviation and STEM Club are both open to all Centennial students. 

Breckin Mozena of Ahwatukee, seen here with his mom, Lindsay Mozena-Krater, step-dad Vincent Krater and younger brother Kiptyn, will be heading to Washington, D.C., for the Junior National Young Leaders Conference. Not pictured are his father, Nathan Mozen, and step-mom Shalet Middleton. (Courtesy of Lindsay Mozena-Krater)

The STEM Club, supervised by STEM teacher Dave Carras enables students to take part in projects with real-world parallels. This year, they participated in the Future

BLADES from page 25

be able to do anything to save him,” said Blades. “I didn’t really deal with the trauma at that time.

“I was new in my radio career and threw myself into my work. I just could not cope with it at the time.”

Two decades later, he has finally confronted the tragedy and the scars it left on his mental and emotional health. It’s been grueling work – but absolutely worth it.

“My ‘why’ is that I don’t want my kids to watch me die,” said Blades, a father of two teenage boys. “I know this sounds really aggressive, but it’s the truth and it’s what drives me.”

Indeed, Blades’ “why” drove him to seek medical care for his own heart.

Though only 45 – and despite his healthy lifestyle – he panicked every time he felt under the weather.

“Could this be it for me?” he asked himself whenever he had a cough or felt extra exhausted.

Blades turned to Dr. Robert Todd Hurst, cardiologist and founder of HealthspanMD, a Phoenix-based preventive cardiology clinic that brings together comprehensive, actionable health guidance

with science-based medical treatment to help reverse chronic diseases in at-risk patients.

Hurst and his medical team treat lifestyle conditions – like heart disease, prediabetes, high blood pressure and fatty liver – through personalized care plans, not just prescriptions and procedures.

Despite a healthy diet and regular exercise, Blades learned he was already showing signs of early heart artery disease.

Hurst performed advanced testing, which revealed a genetic issue called Lp(a). An inherited issue, it can cause plaques in many of the arteries and aortic valve and may lead to a heart attack, stroke or sudden death.

What’s worse, it affects a full 20% of the population – yet the condition is rarely tested for.

“I’m extremely grateful Dr. Hurst picked up the subtle signs and knew to test for this condition,” said Blades.

And though the treatment for Lp(a) – a statin medication – is simple and straightforward, it is also lifesaving.

In receiving the right medical care for his heart, Blades is also confronting the trauma he experienced in the wake of his father’s death.

“I don’t have to worry that what happened to me will happen to my boys,” Blades said. “Dr. Hurst told me we’ve removed that from the equation. The relief I feel is beyond words. I can finally put those fears to rest.”

Today, Blades is imparting strength, wisdom and compassion through his “I NEEDED THAT” podcast, “Learn from those Who Lived It” broadcast and numerous other projects in the works. Postretirement, he’s busier – and happier –than ever.

Still, he makes time to coach youth hockey for Desert Vista High School in Ahwatukee. And he seems to have a knack for that, too: both his Division 1 and junior varsity teams won the state championships earlier this year.

If he could offer one piece of advice?

“Get your health in order. Don’t stay away from the doctor because you’re afraid of what you’ll find out. Visit your primary care doctor or call up Dr. Hurst and get to the bottom of it. You deserve it.”

Information: healthspanmd.com. Stay up to date with Mathew Blades on Facebook and Instagram @MathewBladesMedia. 

CORO from page 25

meets her, really – love her,” Walsh said. “She is a vivacious and generous human and an expert in both journalism and education, making her the kind of person students gravitate toward and peers respect.”

Michelle was one of 15 award recipients. The award honors retired high school media advisers and teachers “for lifetime dedication to journalism education in the form of advising or other contributions to the profession.” 

HOPE Bag packing this Saturday at Mountain Park Church will aid unsheltered people

The next HOPE for the Homeless Hope Bag packing is scheduled for Saturday, May 20, 9 to 11 a.m. in the lobby of Mountain Park Church, located at 16461 S. 48th Street, Ahwatukee. Volunteers are welcome.

Even as the bags are being packed, other volunteers work preparing the meal for the following day’s post-recovery meeting dinner.

Overseeing it all is Tim Berry who, with his brother Scott Berry, own and operate Precision Auto Body in Chandler and Tempe.

Tim incorporated the nonprofit in 2018 at Mountain Park Church and every month up to 100 volunteers gather at the church to pack 1,500 to 2,000 HOPE bags with toiletries, snack packs, socks, survival blankets, first aid kits and more.

A car aficionado, Berry is using his interests to bring other car enthusiasts into the fold.

Cruise N Cuisine is one way HOPE for the Homeless attracts motorheads and those who appreciate vintage and classic cars.

The monthly gathering, held the first Saturday of each month, is free to the public, and funds are raised through food purchases.

The next Cruise N Cuisine is June 3, from 5 to 8 p.m.

Another fundraiser is the annual HOPE for the Homeless annual car raffle.

The fifth annual 2023 HOPE for the Homeless raffle vehicle is a cherry red 1971 Chevrolet Stepside pick-up with full frame

restoration, turbo 400 transmission and air conditioning. Full details of the vehicle are on the nonprofit’s website.

Tickets are $25 each, five for $100 or the blockbuster 12 for $200. The drawing will be Nov. 25 at the fourth annual Ahwatukee Fall Car Show held at Mountain Park Church.

Information: Hope4theHomelessAZ.com

Ahwatukee Kiwanis Club lists its speakers for upcoming weekly meetings

The Kiwanis Club of Ahwatukee has a series of speakers lined up at its weekly meetings at the Original Biscuits Restaurant on the southwest corner of Elliot Road and 48th Street in Ahwatukee.

The public is invited to attend. The meetings start around 7 a.m. and usually don’t last more than an hour.

Speakers include: Audrey Partridge, Goldfish Swim School, May 25; and Emily Gesell, Boy Scouts of America, June 8.

Ahwatukee-based comedy club rolling with weekly fun in a Valley competition

HaHaTukee Comedy, a weekly comedy club that presents shows at Cactus Jack’s at 4747 E. Elliot Road, Ahwatukee, has launched a 17-week Funniest Person in the Valley Comedy Competition. Local comedian Anthony Solimini and Comedy School founder Tony Vicich are sponsoring the contest, which will be held at 7 p.m. every Tuesday.

There’s plenty of time to enter by texting 818-571-5653 or emailing comedyschools@hotmail.com. More information is at comedyschools.com.

One comic will be chosen each week to close the following week’s contest. The grand prize winner will get $1,000 while second place will garner $300 and third place $250.

Along with cash prizes, bookings at the Tempe Center for the Arts, along with bookings at other comedy clubs, and out of state comedy clubs will be awarded.

Judging during the preliminaries will be done by three judges of the producers choosing.

Ironwood Library offers free activities for all ages in May

Ironwood Library, 4333 E. Chandler Blvd., Ahwatukee, presents a variety of programs for children, teens and adults. Unless otherwise noted, free tickets are required and available 30 minutes before programs’ start times at the library’s information desk.

For more information: phoenixpubliclibrary.org.

Babytimes

Babies ages birth to 23 months, accompanied by a favorite adult, will enjoy songs, rhymes, books, and interactive fun Tuesdays, 10:30-11:10 a.m. Space is limited to 12 families.

Toddlertimes

Toddlers ages 24-36 months, accompanied by a favorite adult, will enjoy songs, rhymes, books, and interactive fun Thursdays, 10:30-11:10 a.m. Space is limited to 12 families.

Full STEAM Ahead

Children ages 6-12 explore hands-on creative ways to design, experiment, and invent May 13 and 27, 2-4 p.m., in this drop-in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math

(STEAM) program. No tickets required.

Next Chapter Book Club

This inclusive community-based book club is designed for people over 12 with intellectual and developmental disabilities who have a desire to make friends, explore their community, and read (regardless of current reading ability). This weekly gathering is free and occurs every Wednesday in May, 3:30-4:30 p.m.

Next Chapter will take a break for the summer and resume in the fall. Registration is required and available in the library or online in the Calendar section of the library’s website.

Book Club

Adult readers over 18 can meet up with fellow bibliophiles to share their thoughts about each month’s selection the first Wednesday of each month, 5-5:45 p.m. The June 7 book is The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave. No tickets required. Con-Fusion 2023 this weekend

This full-day extravaganza celebrating western and steampunk genres includes local author panels discussing their genres and books; vendors selling signed copies of featured author books and art from local western, southwestern and steampunk artisans; as well as opportunities to learn about Native American art techniques and get creative with crafts. Cosplay is encouraged, but prop weapons are forbidden. The event is Saturday, May 20, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. No registration or tickets required. 

Bosco champs

St. John Bosco Catholic School’s seventh and eighth grade girls’ basketball team celebrated last week with a league championship by defeating Christ Lutheran School 22-14. Team members include, from left: Elle Bescak, Sorayah Johnson, Preslie Odenberg, Celine Salloum, Olivia Vaughan, Rylan Keane, Agnes Pezzuto, Gianna Barone, Coach Richard Barone and Scarlet Flanders. “Their hard work and dedication have paid off and we couldn’t be more thrilled for them,” parent Cindy Casaus of Ahwatukee said, adding “the team’s growth, talent, and sportsmanship are a testament to” the leadership provided by Barone, who also is a parent. (Courtesy Cindy Casaus)

Robert (Bob) Bowen DeVane

Robert (Bob) Bowen DeVane was born in Roanoke Rapids, NC on May 13, 1942. He grew up in Norfolk, VA, where he apprenticed to be a newspaper printer. He served in the Air Force from 1960-1964 in the Field Maintenance Squadron as an Administrative Specialist at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. He then moved to Phoenix where he worked

as a printer for the AZ Republic Newspaper for more than 30 years. He served as an adult Bible Study teacher for more than 50 years and in The Turkey Club, a social group for retired men.

Bob is survived by his wife, Camille DeVane (Carlock), 5 children: John DeVane (Jennifer), Steve DeVane (Peggy), Laura Meehan (Charles), Travis Munson (Tracie), Lisa Crews (Tim); 11 grandchildren, and 5 great-grandchildren who were by his side at home when he died on May 9, 2023.

His funeral service will be on Monday, May 15, at 6 pm at Royal View Baptist Church, 201 Elliot Rd., Gilbert, AZ, 85234.

Local lingerie store aims to empower women

Belle Lacet Lingerie is a familyowned and operated lingerie business started by Karla and Sam Youmans in 2011.

The owners of this Ahwatukee store are passionate about empowering women and selling products they believe in and are the best for fit for the customer.

That is what they are all about at Belle Lacet Lingerie.

The owners have seen a lot of joyful tears over the years.

“Have you ever gone from thinking in your heart that there are just no bras out there for you?” they ask. “Then, suddenly learning that there is a solution and it’s right there in Ahwatukee. It’s very emotional.”

All women, no matter what size bra they wear, want to feel pretty, they noted. They want to feel confident. Sometimes they want to feel sexy but most of the time they want a bra that is not going to hurt or be in the way.

“A good fitting bra lifts more than your bust. It lifts your spirits. It makes your clothes more comfortable and gives them a better fit. In a word, great bras make you feel beautiful.”

The Youmans chose this business so that they could be of service to others while at the same time build a family business that would live on forever.

Sam spent his career in the radio business and now does podcasting. Sports fans might want to ask him about working with the Chicago Bears or the Bulls during the Jordan, Pippen, Rodman years or how to start a podcast. He loves to talk about that.

Karla’s background is in the corporate sector working as a teacher, a human resources specialist and most recently as a global HR project manager. In the corporate world, people are vulnerable to layoffs and downsizing every fiscal year.

If an employer is publicly traded company, it can make workers feel even more vulnerable. The minute the stock drops, they start wondering when or if there will be a round of firings.

In 2011 getting laid off became a reality for Karla, so she decided to begin building her own destiny. She wanted to be in control of her own life.

Karla knew women who had a hard time finding bras that fit – especially those beautiful, cute and sexy bras. That is when “Belle Lacet” became more than a dream and a retail reality.

At Belle Lacet in Ahwatukee (and Gilbert), all the bras carried come from places like France, England, Ukraine, Canada and other European countries.

Belle Lacet carries over 160 sizes, so that women are fitted comfortably and provided quality bras that will last.

They are passionate about empowering women and won’t sell a product unless they believe it’s the best purchase for your body type.

Every item at Belle Lacet is handpicked by Karla and selected for its quality, uniqueness, beauty and design. Customer

service and product quality are Karla and Sam’s first priority.

In fact, they believe that is one of the main reasons women will choose Belle Lacet over any other lingerie store.

There’s just nothing like the boutique shopping experience. When they combine exceptional service with luxury lingerie and competitive pricing, they get a very special shopping experience at Belle Lacet.

Belle Lacet specializes in the hard-tofind bra sizes from the petite to the fuller bust and the fuller figure. They have the best selection of plus size bras in the Phoenix area because they are always searching for the prettiest bras that flatter full-busted women.

Each of the brands carried in the lingerie store is designed to complement women in all the right ways and properly accentuate their curves.

“There is no better moment for me, then when a customer tries one of our bras and instantly feels comfortable and beautiful” said Karla. “We love our complete selection of style and beauty and we hope you will too.”

“We could not be more excited about our Ahwatukee Foothills location,” she added.

When she and her husband first started shopping for a location in 2011, there was nothing available on the East side of the I-10.

They lucked out when a space became available at 4810 E. Ray Road in 2022.

It felt like some kind of sign so Belle Lacet moved in, signed a ten-year lease and has not looked back.

Drop by for a free fitting, conveniently located on the NE corner of 48th Street and Ray Road in the Mountainside Fitness Plaza. Information: bellelacetlingerie.com or 480-471-8828.

This story was provided by the Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce. 

Belle Lancet co-owner Carla Youmans is passionate about empowering women. (Courtesy of Belle Lancet)

Some Mother’s Day advice on electric vehicles

BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ Tribune Columnist

It has become fashionable among the intellectuals and bleeding hearts who work in newsrooms to rail against the death penalty. We must have compassion, they argue. Lethal injection is so barbaric, so cruel, so unusual, the process so rife with inexactitude and the possibility of human error.

Better to let every murderer live, goes their reasoning, than to execute a single innocent man.

To which I consider the stone-cold murder of 29-year-old Lauren Heike, a Scottsdale woman who went for a hike on April 28th and ended up stabbed 15 times, and shake my head in disgust.

You want to argue against the death penalty? Don’t emote for some poor killer who went into heart palpitations or felt pain in his final moments because the

Concerned about Converge Logistics rezoning

Is anyone else concerned that Via West wants to change the zoning at the industrial cite named the Converge Logistics Center located on 50th Street near Thistle Landing north of Chandler Blvd from being zoned Commercial Park/General Commercial Park to zoning that would include tenants who would use hazardous materials in their manufacturing processes?

Via West used the argument to get approval for the industrial site in Ahwatukee that hazardous materials manufacturing would not be part of the complex use.

Now that the structure is complete they want to make this zoning change to include hazardous materials.

What is the potential for disaster in hazardous materials manufacturing?

• Ground/ground water contamina-

three-drug cocktail took too long to work.

Instead, dissect the case of Zion William Teasley, Heike’s 22-year-old accused murderer, and give me one good reason he shouldn’t be put to death after his slam-dunk case is tried and his appeals are exhausted in, oh, about a halflifetime from now.

Let’s get the formalities out of the way: Teasley has not yet been tried. He has not yet been found guilty.

At this moment, he is merely an alleged killer, entitled to the presumption of innocence – even if the case against him looks airtight, given that his DNA was all over the scene and that cell phone records and surveillance video put him at the site of the crime in north Scottsdale.

Currently, Teasley is being held on charges of first-degree murder and probation violation. The latter stems from his previous convictions for armed robbery, robbery, and disorderly conduct.

Apparently, this one-man crimewave stuck up two North Phoenix convenience

stores seven times between May and July 2020, waving a gun, jumping behind the counter and forcing employees to put money on Google Play cards.

For this, he served a whopping 16 months in state prison, plus a year in county jail awaiting his sentence. Teasley was released last November with four years’ probation ahead of him.

Five months after he went free, Teasley was caught on surveillance video skulking along 36 seconds behind Lauren Heike as she went out for a hike.

Heike was stabbed 15 times, the court documents say, with lacerations up to three inches deep, plus defensive wounds and cuts she sustained fleeing through a barbed wire fence that borders the trail.

Teasley identified himself in the video, police reported, then later recanted that particular piece of damnation.

“Lauren was … beautiful inside and out,” said Heike’s mother, Lana, during a press conference at Phoenix Police headquarters just two days before Teasley’s

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

tion from waste seepage;

• Air pollution from toxic emissions;

• Increased traffic by trucks carrying toxic material into site and carry toxic waste from site, potential traffic accident spills in the immediate area; This site is one of the densest populated areas in Ahwatukee with residents living within a one-mile area of this superstructure. Do you want these trucks rolling through/near your neighborhoods? It’s too late once an accident happens.

There are nine designated Superfund sites identified in Arizona awaiting hazardous materials cleanup. To date only three of these site have been cleaned up.

Do we Ahwatukee residents want to be another potential Superfund site in need of clean up because of the hazardous materials manufacturing process?

The suggested requirements of additional city permits and additional levels

of scrutiny by various city agencies looks good on paper but in reality human error and accidents can and do occur.

We need our Ahwatukee representatives, Council Member Kevin Robinson and our Ahwatukee Foothills Village Planning Committee Member Darin Fischer to keep this zoning request from being approved.

-Alexis Sharif

Border chaos means innocents, taxpayers suffer

It would be one thing, if the people who are actively aiding and abetting the invasion of our country were the ones to suffer the consequences of importing the world’s criminals across our open borders. But no, as always, it is the innocents who suffer.

It’s the hardworking taxpayers who’ve contributed to social programs through

arrest. “She had such a kind heart. Everybody who met her loved her. She was super funny. She was just this sweet child, just everything to us.”

Lana looked away from the camera then. Her eyes flitted back up looking full and moist. “I talked to her every single day, at least once or twice a day. Every phone call ended, ‘I love you, mom.’”

This is what Teasley stands accused of subtracting from the world: A mother’s sweet daughter, a young woman who loved to move her body, to exercise, to be in nature.

“She was my little girl,” said Heike’s father, Jeff. His other thought: “I just hope that they find whoever did this to her.” It seems they have. And if one day in a court of law Zion William Teasley is found guilty of this depraved first-degree murder, I hope the state of Arizona arranges a fast journey for him.

Not back to a prison cell, where he can rot in peace. But straight to hell, the way vicious murderers so richly deserve. 

their tax dollars, year, after year, after year. The school kids who languish in overcrowded classrooms full of children who don’t even know the basics of the English language. High school students who are forced to attend class with 25-year-old MS-13 gang members.

Who suffers? The innocent victims of the criminals who are now housed in once safe neighborhoods. The victims of unlicensed, uninsured drunk drivers. The citizens who lose their jobs because an illegal alien criminal will “work” for half the pay and none of the benefits.

Who suffers? We all do, especially the poorest of Americans. Food banks will soon be empty, social service agencies overrun. Beggars on every street, homeless camps installed in every neighborhood. Overcrowded emergency rooms. see LETTERS page 34

Partnerships crucial for Valley’s water supply

BY TODD SANDERS AND LESLIE METERS AFN Guest Writers

Many Valley residents have noticed water flowing in the normally dry Salt River as snow from this active winter continues to melt.

As the state continues to grapple with the Colorado River shortages and a drought that has persisted for decades, this winter has been a huge relief for SRP’s reservoir system, which provides water to about 2.5 million Valley residents.

Because of the productive storms experienced this winter and the subsequent runoff, SRP reservoirs on the Verde and Salt Rivers have reached or will soon reach full capacity. Full reservoirs provide three years of water supply for SRP customers.

In March, SRP began releasing water from its dams into the normally dry Salt River, which runs from the East Valley through Tempe Town Lake and into the West Valley.

SRP’s flood operations prioritize the safety of infrastructure, as well as the pro-

tection of human health and safety.

While the company strives to maximize the amount of water stored in its six reservoirs, SRP manages its releases to ensure that the reservoir system can safely manage the anticipated runoff expected to enter the reservoirs this spring.

SRP has been actively pursuing infrastructure alternatives to address sedimentation, supply, storage, and reliability on the Verde River, and 2023 has reinforced the need to increase storage capacity.

A group of 23 partners, including agricultural, municipal, and tribal organizations, have committed to work with the Bureau of Reclamation on a feasibility analysis of options to modify Bartlett Dam to increase its capacity to store and more efficiently manage water resources provided by the Verde River.

SRP is also working with the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to evaluate options to extend the release period for water in the Roosevelt Dam flood control space.

This would allow SRP and its partners more time during the runoff season to put

the water to beneficial use or store it underground for later use rather than releasing it into the Salt River bed.

The Valley has a diverse supply of water that is unlike any other community in the Southwest. These resources include surface water from our lakes and rivers, groundwater, renewable water supplies stored underground in basins for future pumping, water from the Colorado River delivered into the Central Arizona Project canal, and reclaimed wastewater.

Unlike the Colorado River system, which is facing severe shortages due to the drought and a structural deficit where annual demand exceeds annual runoff, the Salt and Verde reservoir systems are nearly in balance, where annual demand is close to the annual supply.

As Arizona monitors the water shortage on the Colorado River carefully, and as we recognize what our state has planned for short-term shortages through innovations such as the Arizona Water Banking Authority, we must continue investing in infrastructure that supports the longterm vitality of our economy.

Continued state budget allocations for our water infrastructure, including additional storage capacity and delivery systems in preparation for a more variable climate, are critical to a sustainable future for Arizona.

Innovative partnerships combined with a continued focus on flexible and adaptable operations will set up our communities for future success.

Now is the time for businesses to come together with a renewed focus on the conservation efforts of Arizona’s water resources.

These joint efforts will help secure the continued prosperity of the Valley and State. SRP and the Greater Phoenix Chamber encourage the business community to engage in discussions about the State’s water supply, how it impacts our economy, and how we can support and encourage innovative water policies.

Leslie Meyers is Salt River Project associate general manager and chief water resources executive; Todd Sanders is Greater Phoenix Chamber CEO. 

LETTERS from page 33

Garbage, litter and human waste throughout every inch of every city.

Who suffers? The American standard of living. Our quality of life. Law and order. Peace and quiet.

Who doesn’t suffer? Corrupt politicians who insulate themselves from the consequences of their evil decisions. Corrupt politicians who continue to lie to the American people while stealing their tax dollars and selling out our future. Corrupt politicians who are actively participating in human and child trafficking.

It would be one thing if those who’ve caused the destruction and demise of our once beloved country were the ones to suffer.

-Rebecca Spence

Davis sets record, Pride and Thunder shine at track finals

BY ZACH ALVIRA AFN Sports Editor

Jayden Davis had to sit down for a short period of time following his 400-meter race Saturday at Mesa Community College.

He had just captured the 400 Open state championship, the first of its kind with the Arizona Interscholastic Association, creating a new true state championship in track and field.

Davis ran against the best of the best in the state.

Yet, as has been the case all season, he proved he was better.

Davis not only won gold with a time of 46.25 seconds, he also set a new state record. He set the previous mark just a week ago at the Division II championship.

“Going into every race I feel as if I can go faster and break my own records,” Davis said. “Really, I just wanted to give people a show today.”

The state record Saturday was the third he broke this season.

In March, he broke the 400 record at the Arcadia Invitational, a national meet in California. The record then fell two weeks in a row.

Beating three state records in one season was something Davis hadn’t thought when he entered the track season. He knew he had what it takes to break one but could only smile at the thought of doing it for the third time in a season.

“It still feels as amazing as the first time,” Davis said. “It’s something I wanted and each time it just gets better and better.”

It was a banner night for athletes from both Mountain Pointe and Desert Vista.

Davis’ teammate, senior Jhaylin Palmer, finished fourth in the 200, which featured some of the top times in the state.

He ran in multiple relays for the Pride, including the 4x400 and 4x100. He was also part of the 100-meter dash earlier in the day and the weekend prior when he took gold in Divison II.

“It felt good,” Palmer said. “I feel like it’s history. I can go back and say I’m a cham-

pion in the 100.”

Mountain Pointe finished ninth overall in the Open Division meet, scoring 19

total points. Desert Vista was the runnerup behind Red Mountain. The Thunder scored 41 points, just four behind the

Mountain Lions.

Thunder coach Collin Mattoon said the team dealt with adversity the week leading up to the final race as multiple athletes fell ill.

Roan Martinez, one of the team’s top sprinters, was in bed for six days, according to Mattoon. Yet, he was able to bounce back days and deliver in exciting fashion.

“It’s great,” Martinez said. “Being able to say I’m with the top of the state is exciting. You push yourself and you get a chance to feel what it’s like with the top athletes of the year.”

Martinez, Ben Sklodowsk. Jacob Gonzalez and Dallas Starke were part of Desert Vista’s third place 4x100 relay team. Martinez also finished second in the 200, a race he was seeded near the bottom.

“My goal was to come in here and get on the podium somewhere,” Martinez said. “We had a shot at winning and I wanted to not disappoint the team, so I had to come in and perform.”

The 4x800 relay team of Logan Tinsley, Mason Klann, Reyeshaud Becenti and Braden Lolli also gave the Thunder a boost in points on Friday, placing sixth. Martinez, Benjamin Sklodowski, Isaac Kraemer and George Daniel Hulse placed fourth in the 4x400.

On the girls’ side, Desert Vista’s Janiya Ross placed second in high jump, finishing at 5-feet, 6 inches. Rickaiya Whitman placed fourth in the 200, while Emily Littlefield and Brooklyn Hanania placed seventh and eighth, respectively, in the 3200.

Desert Vista junior Hayden Gorovitz took the first-ever Open Division javelin title. Gorovitz only took two throws in his heat before the finals. He threw over 170feet with his first and unleashed 198-2 in his second.

He elected not to take his third throw before the final round, where he worked his way up with two throws in the 190s before his state-championship mark of 203-feet,

Desert Vista junior Hayden Gorovitz won the state javelin title with ease Saturday despite battling an illness earlier in the week and using the meet as a tune up for his summer circuit at national competitions. (Dave Minton/AFN Staff)

Mountain Pointe senior Jayden Davis set yet another state record in the 400 Saturday, as he went on to win gold in the first Open Division track meet that crowns true state champions. (Dave Minton/AFN Staff)

Horizon Honors bags first state softball title

BY JOSE GARCIA AZPreps365

Horizon Honors pulled it off. It won the 2A softball title, its first in school history, as the eighth seed and with five freshmen starting on Friday, May 12 at Farrington Stadium at Arizona State University.

That’s not exactly how champions are made. But the Eagles are apparently the exception.

Just ask another first-time championship participant, Northland Prep, which lost 4-3 Friday at Arizona State’s Farrington Stadium. As soon as Lucy Holweger struck out the final batter with two runners on in the 2A finale, Holweger’s put her feelings for her glove on pause.

“I literally threw my glove on the ground, and I have never done that before,” Holweger said. “I love my glove. So if I did that you know I’m happy. I was just like, ‘There’s no way we just did this.’ I was so happy.”

The pitcher drove in three runs, pitched a complete game and is the only senior on a team that essentially only had nine players on the roster.

Horizon Honors picked up a player, equipment manager Keira Bertagna, during the season when a player was lost briefly. Bertagna was working part-time at a resort before she got called up.

The only palm trees Bertagna and her teammates saw Friday night were the ones lined up behind Farrington Stadium’s outfield as they took postgame selfies. The 24-4 Eagles also avenged a 2-0 regular season loss to Northland Prep (18-2), the No. 5 seed.

“We worked all week on the rise ball and staying off that,” Horizon Honors coach

TRACK from page 35

5 inches. It was over 20-feet more than the second-place finisher, Travis Mbuya from American Leadership Academy Ironwood. Gorovitz was the favorite heading into the state final after throwing his qualify-

Mike Corey said. “The kid (Reannan Butler) is a heck of a pitcher. This is the first time we’ve ever beaten them in my three years at the school.”

The eventual winning run was brought in after Alexa Villaverde’s grounder was mishandled in the top of the seventh.

Nicole Topete, who reached base after hitting a double, scored the run. Topete also flashed the leather at first in the previous inning.

“The catch, honestly, I just saw it com-

ing mark of 209-6 and the state record 221-8 at the Willie Williams Classic, a college meet where he competed unattached to a school.

It was a good tune up for the national competitions he plans to compete in this summer.

ing, so I just decided to dive for it,” Topete said. “On the (grounder) I was on two strikes, and I knew I had to do something with a runner on second and had to score a run. I just had to do my job.”

Horizon Honors scored its first three runs courtesy of Holweger’s inside the park solo homer (15th home run of the season) in the first inning and two RBI double over the centerfielder’s head in the third inning.

For Northland Prep, its No. 3 hitter, Bella

“I wasn’t the most prepared,” Gorovitz said. “Especially with the heat and being sick earlier in the week…But came out here, got points for my team.”

The new state track and field format meant keeping the Pride-Thunder rivalry alive despite being in two differ-

twice.

3-3.

Christianna Janiess had a third inning RBI single for Northland Prep.

“This was really special for me and my team,” said Butler about reaching the title game. “We got to a semifinal, and it seemed like we couldn’t make it to the final.” 

ent divisions.

And with the Pride on the rise and the Thunder a yearly contender, it has created a buzz in the community and among the athletes.

“It’s good to see both teams going at it and working together,” Palmer said. 

Giurlanda, went 2 for 4 and scored a run after a single by the Dickinson State University-bound Butler in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game at

Butler reached base four times and was intentionally walked

Horizon Honors softball captured its first state championship in its first appearance in the title game Friday, May 12 at Farrington Stadium on Arizona State University’s campus. (Jose Garcia/AZPreps365)

ACROSS

1 Actor Baldwin

5 Hindu hero

9 ISP alternative

12 Without help

13 Burden

14 -- Jima

15 Woody’s son

16 A/C measures

17 Moving vehicle

18 High point

19 Belief

20 Fury

21 “There’s no -- team!”

23 Mil. morale booster

25 “Bottoms up!”

28 Perfect place

32 Martial arts mercenary

33 “Rubber Capital”

34 Cancel out

36 Heirs

37 Workout unit

38 Scratch (out)

39 AAA jobs

42 Scull tool

44 Bigfoot’s cousin

48 Mimic

49 Initial chip

50 Cupid’s alias

51 CSA soldier

52 Rhone city

53 Baseball’s Tommie

54 Switch settings

55 Madame Bovary

56 Valentine flower

DOWN

1 Now, in a memo

2 Traditional tales

3 Jazzy Fitzgerald

4 Ginger snaps vessels

5 Small songbirds

6 Picnic invaders

7 Hawaiian garment

8 Ninny

9 Prima donna

10 Booty

11 One and only

20 Athlete’s first season

22 Hopping mad

24 Pancake order

25 Blitzer’s channel

26 Hasten

27 Chang’s brother

29 Expert

King Crossword

30 Charged bit

31 Reply (Abbr.)

35 Name derived from a person

36 Tennis great Williams

39 Tropical tuber

40 Frank

41 Entanglements

43 Teensy bit

45 Thus

46 Low digits

47 “Got it”

49 Hearty quaff

My momma’s chicken cacciatore recipe should be named “Bliss in a Skillet.”

As a little Italian girl growing up, I just thought that it was one of those dishes that everyone ate at least once a week -- just like we did -with polenta or pasta.

I also assumed that all chicken cacciatore pretty much tasted the same.

With JAN D’ATRI GetOut Columnist

For ‘bliss in the skillet,’ try this cacciatore

Sudoku

But many years later, having tasted chicken cacciatore in numerous restaurants, I’m going to finally go on the record and say that momma’s is the best. You’re going to get to try it for yourself and see if you agree.

Momma’s cacciatore is simple, inexpensive, uses only one pan and the flavors are absolutely divine. It’s about as close to a fool-proof dish as you can get with the recipe I’m sharing with you today. Momma’s Chicken Cacciatore was one of the first recipes we included in our first cookbook, “Momma & Me & You,”and through the years we’ve tweaked it just a bit to make it even better.

Here’s what momma wrote in our cookbook:

“Almost every Italian restaurant has chicken cacciatore on the menu, and there are as many versions of the dish as there are places that serve it. Although it’s a Southern Italian specialty, it has been adopted as a treasure throughout Italy.

“When I introduced cacciatore on my restaurant menu back in 1957, our customer’s fell in love with the very first delicate bite! It became one of our most popular signature dishes for the celebrity crowd and locals alike.”

I find that good quality, fresh chicken enhances the taste – and that chicken thighs and legs seem to be the most flavorful. Flavor-filled bones make all the difference. Pick up a nice bottle of wine, some good sour dough bread and enjoy one of my momma’s mainstay Italian meals. 

Ingredients

• 3-4 pounds chicken pieces, skinless (legs and thighs)

• 1 cup flour for dredging

• ½ cup olive oil

• 1 cup Marsala wine

• ½ cube butter, cut into pieces

• 1 (8oz) can tomato sauce (Organic preferred)

• 2 cups white mushrooms, sliced

Directions:

Wash chicken and pat dry. Dredge chicken in flour to coat. In a deep skillet or Dutch oven, heat oil, and fry chicken on both sides until golden brown.

Discard most of oil, leaving brown bits in bottom of pan if possible. Add Marsala and butter, and simmer on low

• 1 large sweet yellow onion, chopped fine

• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped fine

• 3 green onions, (white and green parts) sliced thin

• 2 teaspoons fresh parsley

• ½ teaspoon fresh oregano

• 1 tablespoon fresh basil

• Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

heat until wine begins to evaporate, about 2-3 minutes. Add tomato sauce, mushrooms, onion, garlic, green onions, parsley, oregano and basil. Cover and gently simmer for 15-20 minutes until tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over pasta or polenta. 