Ahwatukee Foothills News 07/19/2023

Wednesday, July 19, 2023

www.ahwatukee.com

Phoenix's big body cam cost feeds a giant

BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor

All that was missing when Phoenix City Council last month unanimously approved the purchase of new on-body video cameras for police officers was the “Ka Ching” that reverberated in a little-known but huge growth industry and the giant in it.

With no discussion and only a brief presentation two weeks earlier to its Public Safety and

Justice Subcommittee, the council approved a five-year $39.26 contract will bring to nearly $47.5 million the city’s total cost of police body cameras from 2019 to 2028, all with Axon Enterprise, which has all but cornered the Valley market for an important law enforcement tool.

The contract is the latest – and by far largest – that the Scottsdale-based global manufacturer of weapons and other technology recently secured with Valley police departments this year for its next-generation camera, the Axon

Body 4, which debuted in April.

Also in April, Mesa approved a five-year contract that will cost the city $2.1 million annually to equip its officers with body cameras. That contract, which can jump to $2.5 million annually without further council action, is nearly four times the size of the annual cost Mesa was paying in 2017 for body cameras.

Scottsdale City Council voted to pay Axon

Back already?!

Classes resume today, July 19, for all Kyrene and Tempe Union schools and Kyrene de la Sierra teacher Kylie Chapman spent last Friday getting her classroom organized for the first time, as this is her first job after graduating in May from Arizona State University. Not all parents are happy that the 2023-24 school year is starting in Ahwatukee today, as you’ll discover in the story on page 3.

(David Minton/Staff Photographer)

BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor

The Ahwatukee Foothills Village Planning Committee is scheduled July 24 to consider a rezoning request from St. Benedict’s Catholic Church to allow for a senior care home on its 48th Street campus. But that request could be overshadowed by a debate that has involved other village planning committees over Phoenix’s proposed reduction of minimum parking requirements for new multifamily developments and a proposal allowing small unattached dwelling units in the backyards and other areas of single-family residents’ lots.

Some of the city’s 15 VPCs have voted against reducing the number of parking spaces required for new multifamily projects; oth-

page 12

The Ahwatukee Foothills News is published every Wednesday and distributed free of charge to homes and in single-copy locations throughout Ahwatukee Foothills.

Times Media Group:

1900 W. Broadway Road, Tempe, Arizona, 85282

Main number: 480-898-6500

Advertising: 480-898-5624

Circulation service: 480-898-5641

PUBLISHER

Steve T. Strickbine VICE PRESIDENT

Michael Hiatt

ADVERTISING STAFF

National Advertising Director

Zac Reynolds 480-898-5603 zac@ahwatukee.com

Advertising Sales Representatives:

Laura Meehan, 480-898-7904, | lmeehan@ahwatukee.com

Katie Mueller, 480-898-7909 kmueller@TimesLocalMedia.com

Classifieds/Inside Sales:

TJ Higgins, 480-898-5902 tjhiggins@TimesLocalMedia.com

Steve Insalaco, 480-898-5635 sinsalaco@TimesLocalMedia.com

NEWS STAFF

Executive Editor:

Paul Maryniak, 480-898-5647 pmaryniak@ahwatukee..com

GetOut Editor: Alex Gallagher | 843-696-6442 | agallagher@TimesLocalMedia.com

Sports Editor:

Zach Alvira 480-898-5630 | zalvira@TimesLocalMedia.com

Production Manager: Courtney Oldham | 480-898-5617 production@TimesLocalMedia.com

Designer: Ruth Carlton | rcarlton@TimesLocalMedia.com

Photographer:

David Minton | dminton@TimesLocalMedia.com

Reporters:

Cecilia Chan. 480-898-5613 | cchan@@TimesLocalMedia.com

Circulation Director:

Aaron Kolodny 480-898-5641 | aaron@TimesLocalMedia.com

Heat, calendar concerns mark school year’s start

BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor

Kyrene and Tempe Union students return today to the classroom while the heat wave doesn’t appear to be going anywhere.

But beyond concerns about that heat, some parents are fuming after getting a closer look at the two districts’ new calendar for the 2023-24 school year.

WRITE A LETTER

To submit a letter, please include your full name. Our policy is not to run anonymous letters. Please keep the length to 300

This year marks the first time that the two districts, along with Tempe Elementary, will be working on the same calendar that their respective governing boards unanimously approved in late spring of last year.

Social media flared up last week as some parents rapped the calendar, which provides three two-week breaks –one each in fall and spring and the otherencompassing the December holidays.

Some parents also expressed concern about the first day of school coming about two weeks earleir than before, right into the heatwave's grip.

And some grumbled about the absence of any days off after the spring break, which ends March 26, claiming the stretch until the school year ends on May 23 was too long a haul.

Kyrene de la Sierra Elementary School First Grade teacher Breanne Yamada last Friday unloaded boxes of books for her classroom from a wagon as teachers throughout Kyrene School District made final preparations for the beginning of the school year today. (David Minton/Staff Photographer)

Heat may impact others more than Phoenix

BY LAUREN IRWIN AND ERIN MURPHY Cronkite News

Anew report says Phoenix may not be feeling the impact of the heat wave as much as the counties hugging Arizona’s borders – and even in other states.

An analysis of factors that the Census Bureau says contribute to a community’s social vulnerability to disasters shows 13 states and the District of Columbia have more risk factors for heat-related harm per person than Arizona.

Within the state, the report by Census Bureau and Arizona State University researchers said the most risk factors were found in Santa Cruz County on the southern border, Gila County, Apache and Navajo counties in the northeast and Yuma, La Paz and Mohave counties on the western border.

The report relies on a new interpretation of the Census Bureau’s Community Resilience Estimates, which measure everything from income to housing to predict

vulnerability to disasters including pandemics, hurricanes – and now, heat.

Chase Sawyer, a Census Bureau analyst who co-authored the report, said while it’s not surprising to see Arizona lower on the list than other states, it would rank higher if the report measured exposure and temperature.

“We’re only really measuring people and the households they live in,” Sawyer said Friday. “We don’t have it worked in yet, on that exposure to heat or how likely it is that a heat event is going to occur, and so that is actually one of the major points that we want to continue to refine and make better.”

The Community Resilience Estimate used for the heat report was developed during the pandemic to measure effects of COVID-19 on communities, and has since been expanded to apply to other disasters, natural and human-caused.

The original CRE considered 10 factors, including income, employment, access to health care, household size and communication barriers, among other elements.

The CRE for heat looked at the same factors, but modified those that consider housing quality, commute type

The

That produced a nationwide, county-bycounty breakdown of heat-related

Patricia Solís is executive director at ASU’s Knowledge Exchange for Resilience, which assisted the Census with the report.

She said the report aims to identify areas that are least-resilient to heat so that aid may be distributed more effectively.

Solís said economically distressed areas, which are often rural, for example, have a harder time keeping cool. She said people without air conditioning – or the funds to use it – are a very vulnerable population in a heat wave.

“The first thing that you need in any disaster is shelter, right?” Solís said. “But in the heat context, what do you do? You go home and turn on the AC – if you can do that.”

Apache County has the state’s highest share of residents with three or more risk factors, with 55%, more than twice the rate of high-risk residents in Maricopa County.

Emergency management officials in Apache County – and most other high-risk counties in the state – did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

But an official in Santa Cruz County, where just under 33% of the residents have three or more risk factors, said the county is doing just fine in terms of heat-related emergency management.

Sobeira Castro, director of the county’s emergency management, said they are “well equipped to deal with extreme heat.” She believes only certain individuals in the county, including migrants crossing the border and some retirees, are particularly at risk.

“A lot of the people that come and live here are retired individuals that have retired from previous jobs in California and other places on the East Coast,” Castro said. “They come and they retire here and they’re not used to the weather.”

Castro said she is confident that there are “enough resources available within the county” to help the community, but she worries about thunderstorms that might lead to power outages heading into the abnormally hot weekend.

“If the electricity goes out then they have no air conditioning,” she said. “We are making sure that everything is backed up, all the generators.”

In Maricopa County – which has added respite locations across the Valley in addition to cooling and hydration stations – preparations for extreme heat this year are particularly focused on the homeless population, said Cleo Warner, a human services planned at the Maricopa Association of Governments.

“Especially for our unsheltered population, where sleep is very hard to come by –and oftentimes people are sleeping during the day – when it is 110 degrees, sleeping outside becomes an incredibly dangerous activity,” Warner said.

Warner said Maricopa County’s heatrelief efforts are driven largely on volunteers. She believes rural counties are trying to follow suit – but they face challenges that urban areas do not have.

“Just from conversations with these more rural communities that are trying to figure out how to start up a Heat Relief Network of their own,” she said, “it’s my understanding that there are very different barriers for them, particularly like how spaced out everything is and just in gen-

see HEAT page 6

HEAT from page 5

eral, lower frequency of resources.”

Solís said the concern of surviving a heat wave in Arizona is what pushed her to connect with the Census Bureau in the first place. The CRE for Heat report, she said, produces findings that can be used to spark action.

“On a national scale, there’s a lot of talk about this … because heat is affecting not just Arizona but other places,” Solís said of the heat wave gripping much of the nation this week.

Unlike hurricanes or blizzards, however, Solís said heat is not recognized as a hazard by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

That means states cannot receive disaster funding for heat, even though in

Arizona it “is responsible for more deaths than the other weather-related deaths combined.”

In 2022, 425 people died due to heat-related complications in Maricopa County alone.

“You look outside and it looks like a nice sunny day,” Solís said. “It doesn’t look like a disaster and it doesn’t operate in the same way, it’s silent, it’s invisible.”

While Sawyer said Census wants to expand on its CRE reporting, Solís hopes that on a state level, Arizona can focus on housing and heat challenges. Challenges that she said go hand-in-hand.

“When we don’t have this big threat of a heat wave down on us right at this moment, we need to stop and remember and take time to work on those upstream solutions,” Solís said. 

Phoenix to exit Gateway Airport board next year

BY SCOTT SHUMAKER AFNW Staff Writer

Phoenix’s announcement of its exit from the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport will likely increase the clout of the smaller East Valley communities in the management of the Mesa airport.

Although it historically has served as a reliever for Sky Harbor International Airport, Phoenix announced on June 30 it will pull out of the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport Authority next June.

Officials on both sides of the partnership framed the move as a demonstration of Gateway’s progress toward becoming an international cargo hub and commercial passenger airport.

Besides Mesa, the authority that owns

and manages the former Williams Air Force Base includes Apache Junction, Queen Creek, Gilbert and the Gila River Indian Community.

They assumed control of the 3,000-acre site from the federal government in 1998 to operate a civilian airport surrounded by commercial and industrial development.

In departing from the Gateway Authority, Phoenix will give up its powerful vote on its board of directors and cease paying $1.3 million in annual “operating investments” to the airport.

Phoenix currently holds the second most influential power on the board after Mesa in weighted votes, thanks to its cumulative financial contributions of $25

Both Phoenix and Gateway Airport officials cited the Southeast Valley facility’s growth over the time Phoenix has been a member. (File photo)

million over the years.

Because the intergovernmental agreement caps Mesa’s vote share at 50%, Phoenix’s votes will be divvied among the remaining municipalities and the GRIC.

Phoenix and Gateway officials said their respective aviation departments will continue to cooperate with each other and that the separation is occurring on friendly terms.

Phoenix Councilman Jim Waring, who represents Phoenix on the Gateway board as its vice chair, issued a statement that cited Gateway’s “strength and financial solvency.”

Noting that Phoenix must continue making financial investments in its own system of airports, Waring said, “Now is the right time to conclude participation on the PMGA Board.”

Phoenix said it was providing a year’s notice before leaving “to help ensure an orderly transition and provide the (PGMA) authority ample time to account for the reduction in member contributions associated with the City of Phoenix departure.”

Gateway Authority President J. Brian O’Neill said the announcement did not come as a surprise and that he is not worried about losing Phoenix’s annual contribution.

He said that city’s payment amounts to about 1% of the airport’s annual operating budget of $128 million.

When asked whether he agreed with Waring that it was the “right time” for Phoenix to leave, O’Neill said, “Sure.”

When Phoenix joined the board in 2006, “Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport … was in a much different place than it is today,” O’Neill said.

“At that time, the airport benefitted from the resources, aviation experience and leadership provided by (Phoenix) and its Aviation Department,” he explained, adding:

“Today, Gateway Airport is experiencing record commercial passenger growth and is thriving operationally and financially. The authority doesn’t need the same assistance it did almost two decades ago.”

Phoenix was not one of the original members of the airport authority, but ac-

cepted an invitation from fledgling Gateway Authority, then known as Williams Gateway Airport.

Southeast Valley officials sought Phoenix officials’ knowledge of running a large airport, its money and its connections with Federal Aviation Administration officials to help develop and implement a master plan.

One of the benefits for Phoenix was the opportunity to shape Gateway in a way that would complement the services offered at Sky Harbor.

The parties ultimately decided that Sky Harbor would market itself as a primary passenger hub that also handles overnight package air cargo, while PMGA would focus on domestic point-to-point passenger service and international cargo.

Both airports seem to have stayed in their lanes, with Gateway developing according to plan.

With shipping giant DSV Air & Sea beginning weekly service this year and continued growth at SkyBridge, a section of the airport dedicated to cargo services, Gateway is well on its way to becoming a cargo hub.

Regional passenger service is well-established at Gateway, though growth has been anemic this year.

Allegiant Airlines is trimming flights amid a pilot shortage and three Canadian airlines deciding to stop seasonal service for next year. Two of those airlines will continue flights to the region via Sky Harbor.

Currently, the mayors of the Gateway Authority’s member entities serve on the board, excepting Phoenix and GRIC, which sends Lt. Governor Monica Antone.

The board has final say over everything from airport spending, to contracts and master plans.

Consensus has reigned on the board – in public at least – and members have handed the airport’s professional staff unanimous approval on major decisions for at least the last year-and-a-half.

Gateway Airport has landed numerous successes in the last year, including a $100 million private investment in a maintenance hub by business jet maker Gulfstream and a manufacturing facility for space tourism company Virgin Galactic. 

Mountain Park Ranch

Listed for $ 775,000

Remarkable remodel on an oversized PRESERVE lot in highly sought - after Mountain Park Ranch! Majestic mountain views; truly a rare find! Kitchen boasts custom built Shaker cabinetry with quartz counters, extended island, Carrara marble back splash, antique gold hardware and light fixtures, 30” Brumfield Firelcay Farmhouse sink, and stainless steel Bosch appliance package. Pendant lighting over island. Large eat-in casual dining area and pantry. Shiplap ceiling and accent wall. Enjoy gorgeous mountain views from the picture window at the kitchen sink! Open kitchen family room concept! 2,335 sf. Four bedrooms and three full bathrooms! Tile flooring. New carpet. New interior paint. New landscape sprinkler systems front and back. Custom concrete accent surrounds and reclaimed wood mantle at fireplace. New Pella windows and Sliding glass doors. New cordless Soluna roller shields throughout. Resort style backyard! Sparkling pool, lush mature landscape, and large grass area. Enjoy incredible sunsets from the extended covered back patio! Oversized 2.5 car garage. 14 seer 5 ton AC unit (2018.) R-30 insulation in attic. The upgrades are endless!

Gila Buttes

Listed for $ 385,000

Single level home with open kitchen-great room floor plan. FIVE bedrooms and THREE bathrooms. 1998 sf. Kitchen boasts espresso colored cabinets, granite counter tops, large center island / breakfast bar, Whirlpool stainless steel appliances and pantry. 20x20 porcelain tile throughout with carpet in bedrooms only! Smart home technology. 14 seer HVAC unit. Large master suite with walk in closet, double sinks and walk in shower. Two of the secondary bedrooms also have walk in closets. Faux wood blinds throughout. Covered back patio. NORTH FACING BACK YARD! Low maintenance front and backyard landscaping.

SCHOOLS from page 3

“Aside from having Good Friday off in April in previous years we never had breaks between March and May,” one commenter replied i response, adding:

“It’s the home stretch. As someone that works in a school it definitely gets rough for teachers and school staff during this time and of course the kids get the end of year/summer break jitters.”

Another parent responded that because April is a test-heavy month, “there

will be kind of breaks” then that comprise a few half days and virtual times. Others complained that the first 11 weeks of the new year offer only one holiday – Labor Day.

Though the overall schedule – sometimes referred to as 2-2-2 – mirrors the same used in Gilbert Public Schools, Chandler Unified, two of the largest districts in Arizona – some parents mistakenly thought that meant all East Valley school districts would run on an identi-

see SCHOOLS page 19

Foothills

Listed for $815,000

Remodeled home in a transitional contemporary style! 2,626 sf, 4 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. Hillside lot with an east facing back yard! 2020 DOUBLE PAPER ROOF! Custom finishes throughout.! OPEN FLOOR PLAN! Kitchen boasts soft-close white Shaker cabinetry with ORB hardware and pull out shelving, quartz counter tops, large island with pendant lighting, upgraded stainless steel appliances, 36’’ farmhouse sink and large walk-in pantry. 2’ x 4’ porcelain tile flooring througout and engineered hardwood in the bedrooms

Kyrene School District’s new calendar is synchronized with the Tempe Union High School District and Tempe Elementary School calendars. (Kyrene School District)

Ranked-choice voting effort takes new direction

BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

Agroup of business, philanthropic and political leaders have given up on the idea of trying to get Arizonans to adopt a system of rankedchoice voting.

Political consultant Chuck Coughlin said polling for Save Arizona Democracy found insufficient interest in the sometimes controversial and confusing plan to have a single election of all candidates for a particular office and have voters rank their choices of first, second and beyond.

But Coughlin said the same polling shows dissatisfaction with the current system of partisan primaries and the resulting election of candidates who cater more to the fringes of their own political parties than the center.

So members of the group are putting the finishing touches on their plan to convince Arizona voters to scrap the method of nominating candidates: play on their feelings about how bad the current sys-

tem really is and sell them the idea of how much better it could be.

And they’re not getting into deep details during the campaign into the details of what would replace it.

At the heart of the plan being prepared for the 2024 ballot is a constitutional amendment to outlaw having the state run -- and taxpayers pay for -- partisan primaries.

Instead, there would be a wide-open primary where anyone who got the requisite number of signatures could be on the ballot and all Arizonans could vote. Then the top vote-getters would face off in the general election, also regardless of their own party registration.

So there could be two Republicans running for governor or a legislative seat. Or two Democrats. Or any combination that also could include independents.

Such a plan is likely to draw resistance from the parties that benefit from the current system.

Republican lawmakers already have proposed their own constitutional amendment. HCR 2033, if approved by voters in

2024, would constitutionally protect partisan primaries.

Coughlin’s mission is to ensure that the Save Arizona Democracy plan outpolls the GOP plan. That’s because if both plans are approved, the one that gets the greater number of votes gets enacted.

And all that goes to how Coughlin and his clients explain the plan to voters.

It starts, he said, with what he said polling has shown to be basic beliefs.

“Everybody wants to see all voters and all candidates treated equally,’’ Coughlin said.

That means equal access to the ballot.

The current system is set up to benefit partisan candidates. Their signature requirement to get on the primary ballot is based on the number of people registered in that party.

Then the winner of each party’s primary gets a guaranteed slot on the general election ballot.

Political independents have no primary and must get up to six times more signatures than partisan candidates to get their name before voters.

The result has been a dearth of independent candidates for office even though political independents outnumber both Republicans and Democrats in Arizona. And none have ever been elected to the Legislature.

That partisan advantage would disappear with a single open primary.

The argument is that having all the names on a single ballot and having all registered voters make their choices could force candidates to broaden their appeal.

By comparison, one party or the other now has a registration edge in about 25 of the state’s 30 legislative districts.

Coughlin conceded that as much as people may not like the current partisan primaries, they at least are familiar with them. That leaves the question of whether the voters who go to the polls in 2024 will make the leap of faith that what is being proposed is better than what they know and understand.

“That has been one of the critical discus-

see VOTING page 12

sion points within our committee,’’ Coughlin said. And he said that polling continues to create a simple message he believes will find a responsive chord among voters.

“What we’re doing is creating equality for all voters and all candidates in Arizona, which is enormously popular,’’ he said. And it ensures that the top picks of all voters in all races advance to the general election, regardless of party.

Rep. Alexander Kolodin, R-Scottsdale, isn’t convinced that voters are willing to trade in a system and process they know and understand – even if they don’t like it – for something radically different.

from page 1

ers have recommended city council approval while at least one apparently could not vote because it lacked a quorum.

Those votes – and emails obtained by the Ahwatukee Foothills News – reflect a citywide debate pitting advocates for housing affordability and a reduced urban heat island against people concerned about too apartment dwellers parking on their neighborhood streets.

“The point of the political parties is to be like, ‘Here’s the person who we think is the best exemplar of the conservative or liberal point of view to present to general election voters,’ " he said.

Kolodin does agree with Coughlin on one point.

He said eliminating partisan primaries and having everyone run against each other could lead to the election of more moderates. But he disagrees that would be a good thing.

“Politics in that case doesn’t present a real choice at all,’’ Kolodin said.

“If you have a system that’s set up so that only moderates ever win – the establishment wing of both parties ever win

That debate could come to the Ahwatukee VPC when it meets at 6 p.m. Monday in the community room at Pecos Center.

How much the Ahwatukee VPC will get done – if it even actually meets – will depend on whether enough committee members show up to comprise a quorum.

The last two monthly meetings were canceled. The June session was scrapped before anyone could even gather because not enough members indicated in advance that they planned to attend.

– what’s the point?’’ he said, mirroring a view held by some that there is little difference between the mainstream elements of the Republicans and Democrats. “So, it’s the illusion of choice.’’

Kolodin said while the opposition here to open primaries is coming from Republicans, it would be wrong to see this as a strictly partisan fight.

“In states where Democrats have a strong majority, they oppose this like the devil opposes holy water,’’ he said. “But here, in Arizona, they think it’s to their advantage.’’

But would voters be willing to scrap the current system and support an initiative that would not spell out in detail exactly

If the meeting does get off the ground without a quorum, city staff and the developer in St. Benedict’s project will still be allowed to make their presentations.

But the panel will not be able to make a formal recommendation to the city Planning Commission.

The commission – which does not need to follow village planning committee recommendations – is slated to meet at 6 p.m. Aug. 3 at Council Chambers in City Hall.

It will consider both Zoning Code

how nonpartisan primaries would work.

“What we are not doing is dictating the outcome,’’ Coughlin said. “We can explain that. We can say it’s up to the governor and the Legislature to decide that.’’

Even what Coughlin calls a simplified plan won’t be an easy sell.

He figures it will take about $5 million to get the signatures to put the issue on the 2024 ballot. And that doesn’t count an equal amount that Coughlin said will be necessary to convince voters to approve it.

Save Democracy Arizona has not yet filed any campaign finance reports – and won’t have to until it starts the signaturegathering campaign. 

amendments and the St. Benedict’s request and vote its recommendations for City Council’s final action, which would occur likely in September.

Elder care giant involved St. Benedict’s wants to build a high-end 138-unit senior facility on its 19.2-acre campus just south of Chandler Boulevard. Though the proposal was submitted to

the city Planning and Development Department in May, staff had not completed its review by AFN’s print deadline.

Representing St. Benedict’s, Shea Connelly Development of Scottsdale wants to rezone 4.62 acres to accommodate the facility.

The facility would house 66 independent living units, 44 assisted living quarters and 28 memory care residences.

Canadian senior care giant Cogir Senior Living would manage the facility, which would be located behind the church and adjacent to the ballfields behind St. John Bosco Catholic School.

Shea Connelly is seeking a rezoning of the parcel from a Commercial Park/General Commerce Park classification to an R-3A residential zoning, which it says is compatible with the zoning of the area north and east of the campus.

Site plans submitted to the city show that the facility would have three stories and stand almost 600 feet from 48th Street. It would be “discreetly located in the rear of the campus and well-screened from view,” the developer says, adding that will “give residents a feeling of privacy and mitigate any perceived impact on the neighboring community.

“The elder care facility will boast three enclosed courtyards with a combined total of approximately 21,417 square feet, which is nearly double outdoor space required by city code,” Shea Connelly said.

Montreal-based Cogir Senior Living Communities owns or manages 63 facilities in eight states and Canada, according to its website. It owns eight senior facilities in Arizona, with two each in Scottsdale and Mesa and one each in Peoria, Marana, Glendale and Chandler.

Cogir Senior Living is part of Canada-

based Cogir Real Estate, which was founded in 1995 as a multifaceted real estate development and management company.

Its senior living arm boasts that it is “passionate about customer service – with a human commitment.”

Like many high-end independent living facilities across the nation, it boasts fine dining options and other “amenities you’d expect at a fine hotel.” Shea Connelly also developed a range of commercial and residential projects, including three senior living facilities in the Valley.

Bitter debate over parking

Meanwhile, the Ahwatukee VPC also will consider the latest two proposed amendments to the Phoenix Zoning Code that are aimed at increasing the options for adorable housing development.

The first two of at least four proposed Zoning Code amendments were approved by City Council on June 28.

They impacted mobile home parks, including one that gave the parks more options to expand rather than close and displaced often lower-income residents.

Of the two amendments coming before the Ahwatukee VPC on Monday, a move to relax the city’s minimum parking regulations for new multifamily developments has generated a little-known controversy across Phoenix this month.

That controversy is reflected in a number of emails exchanged mostly among members of various VPCs across Phoenix..

In a July 13 email to all VPCs, Encanto Village Planning Committee member Nicole Rodriguez urged her counterparts to approve the reduction of the parking space minimum for new multifamily projects on both affordability and environmental grounds.

see BENEDICT page 14

“One of the greatest, if not the greatest, impacts to housing costs and urban heat issues is the current nonsensical parking minimum requirements we burden ourselves with,” Rodriquez wrote. “Burdens that have real impacts to our quality of life – housing affordability and heat.”

She ripped city zoning code standards “that have exponentially exacerbated Phoenix heat island issues and weakened communities economically,” calling the amendment “the first step towards a reform to parking requirements that will more closely meet parking demand.”

“Current parking requirements challenge the small-scale development and the non-mega rich developers that would otherwise have opportunity to affordably develop housing and without the high costs of legal representation if a parking variance is desired,” the author said.

She contended the current minimum parking requirements “lack theory and data” and “are so extreme that we require more than needed parking even for suburban parts of Phoenix.

“And the cost of developing parking falls back on the people buying or renting in a multi-family complex,” the author continued, citing the developer costs of $10,000 per open space and $35,000 to $55,000 per garage space that are “passed down to the people paying for the housing – whether renting or buying.”

Heat islands vs. neighborhoods

“The only woes heard from a few are possible increased parking on public streets – public streets,” Rodriguez said.

The author apparently was referring to a Paradise Valley resident who complained that it took her 14 minutes to drive to the Desert View VPC meeting. The citizen reportedly said that if there had been no parking lot where it was held, she’d have to spend three hours taking a bus there.

One resident called her argument “silly nonsense,” adding that “anyone can exaggerate an anecdote about the shortcomings of the Valley’s public transit services.”

Noting the Desert View VPC meetings are held in the Paradise Valley Community Center and the parking proposal applies only to apartment complexes, the email ridiculed the argument, stating: “This amendment is only about mini-

stood the parking reform (amendment) does not lead to people parking on the streets, but that the proposed (amendment) will no longer require excessive underutilized parking that inevitably leads to increased housing costs.

“But you keep doing you.”

The debate shifted to a debate on whether the VPC members from various parts of the city could even email each other their thoughts on the parking amendment.

The vice chair of the Estrella VPC started that email discussion when she noted that much of the public discussion about the parking amendment could never be held because several VPCs in the city did not have a quorum.

“Arizona’s open meeting law prohibits having these discussions outside of public meetings when enough members are present to constitute a quorum,” she wrote.

mums. Ultimately the market will determine the amount of parking that is actually built in new developments—builders are free to build more parking if they think that’s what the market wants. Cities retain the ability to regulate street parking regardless of these minimums.”

“It’s disappointing – but not surprising –that some of our VPCs are putting their heads in the asphalt,” he wrote, adding:

“There are many ways to regulate the parking challenges of living in a city without mandating oceans of asphalt that amplify the heat island effect and make the city less livable for all.”

That email drew a defense from another resident, who said the woman’s “very valid points” reflected “what happens if you have to depend on the City of Phoenix’s substandard public transportation.

“It doesn’t matter what the parking situation is at one’s destination if you have no

room to park your car at your residence,” the author said, contending amendment has “many other problems” and that the city should “look for a workable solution to solve this problem, without turning Phoenix into New York City, Los Angeles, or Chicago.”

A member of the Desert View VPC emailed the primary reasons for opposing the parking amendment change “were an undeveloped public transit system in the City, faulty logic in assuming that affordable housing doesn’t need as much parking, walking in 100 degree plus weather to reach the few public transit points that exist, streets jammed with parked cars, insufficient provisions for visitors, poorly crafted plans for residents to park on streets.”

That drew a caustic response from a defender of the proposal, who wrote: “Other committees have voted for it. They under-

“Let’s have the debate,” she continued. “I look forward to it! In the public forum, where it belongs. The right thing to do is to remove ourselves from this private debate. …I respectfully request that discussion of agenda items end now.”

That triggered a tart response from a neighborhood organization leader, who sarcastically wrote:

“While I do genuinely appreciate a pat on the head from the local VPC hall monitor – I take exception to your conclusion that anyone in this thread violated Open Meeting Law.”

“There’s no question we should respect and follow the law,” he continued, “but we shouldn’t let irrational fear of 'good government' laws chill the very purpose of VPCs.

“Arbitrarily locking ourselves in an intellectual solitary confinement that causes us to forget why we’re serving our communities is honoring neither the letter nor spirit of (the Open Meeting Law).” 

Site plans submitted to the city show that the elder care facility proposed for the St. Benedict’s Catholic Church campus on 48th Street would have three stories and two courtyards. (City of Phoenix)

$850,000 annually for body cameras and its signature Taser stun gun – a 41,500% increase over the $20,000 the city was paying a decade ago.

The new Phoenix contract builds on one approved in February 2019 for about $6 million and that two years later grew by another $2 million to a total not to exceed $8.1 million for almost 3,000 body cameras.

The Phoenix and other Valley contracts for police body cameras this year will further power Axon’s extraordinary growth, partially documented in May when it reported first quarter revenue of $343 million – up 34% over the previous year.

That followed by five months in a December letter to shareholders in which Axon reported $353 million in cash and $2.8 billion in total assets.

“In 2025, we aspire to achieve revenue of at least $2 billion, reflecting a 20%+ topline annual growth rate,” Axon said in a Feb. 28 release.

“Axon brought 2022 to a phenomenal close — with demand for our missiondriven public safety solutions fueling Q4

plex that will include 2,300 apartments on 74 acres of state land it won at an auction for $49.1 million.

Growth industry

Body cameras have become important to law enforcement not only because they can provide nearly impossible-to-refute evidence of crimes but also document officers’ conduct during an arrest or other interactions with private citizens.

The devices also have helped Axon become a major player in the world of law enforcement technology since its founding as TASER International 30 years ago by CEO Rick Smith in a Tucson garage.

2026.

“Axon began investing in body camera technology in 2008 to provide transparency, accountability and oversight — and continued to invest for 10 years before we finally made a profit, because we were committed to building a better future,” the company told stockholders and investors this spring.

“Today, our body cameras work together with drone technology and other devices to give a real-time look into any unfolding situation, sending live-streaming video and alert signals over cellular networks back to central command.

revenue growth above 50%,” it added.

The company’s growth also is about to be manifested in northern Scottsdale.

Axon plans to nearly double the size of its headquarters’ workforce of 850 and spend $85 million to build a 4.5-acre com-

In its March 2023 annual filing with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission, Axon identified a dozen electronics manufacturers as its competitors.

But Axon looms larger than that competition in a global body camera industry that is projected to balloon to $7 billion by

“Our entire product suite embodies ethical design,” it continued. “We introduced the concept of body cameras to record the truth of what happens in critical incidents. … Our hardware and software solutions advance our long-term strategic vision of a) obsoleting the bullet, b) reducing social conflict, c) enabling a fair and effective justice system, and d) building for racial equity, diversity, and inclusion. Our products solve some of society’s most challenging problems and our mission attracts top talent.”

Axon Enterprise debut in April the Axon Body 4 camera, which will cost Phoenix taxpayers over $39 million over the next five years for the devices and related operational costs. (Axon Enterprises)

AXON from page 16

In 2020, Axon reported customer relationships with 17,000 of the nation’s 18,000 law enforcement agencies and told the SEC in its annual filing that year it had sales representatives assigned to the 1,200 biggest agencies representing nearly three-quarters of all law enforcement officers in the United States.

Moreover, despite those dozen competitors it identified in its most recent filings, Axon was more than a little modest.

When it acquired its then-largest competitor Vievu LLC, in 2018, numerous news outlets dubbed it the uncontested giant in the body camera market, supplying 80% of all large police departments in the country – including Phoenix.

Big step technologically

The new contract approved by City Council last month will equip officers with a camera offering major new capabilities.

“The new features that we’re receiving in this will help meet the need for a couple of strategic plans and recommendations that were made to us,” Phoenix Police Assistant Director Jesse Cooper told the council subcommittee June 14.

He noted it will help the department move videos into cloud storage – including “unlimited third-party storage, which is essentially all video-audio photos.”

Overall, Cooper continued, the new camera not only “allows us to efficiently share this digital evidence with our justice partners and with other agencies,” but also will benefit citizens.

“Two things that are going to be very citizen-focused will be Axon Capture and Axon Community Request,” Cooper said. “These are two functions that will allow the public to upload photos, video, audio, – anything that they need related to their case – directly to the Police Department without having to provide it to us in an alternative format.

“Officers can send them a direct link to send that up to the cloud for us. And then Axon Capture will allow officers to use their department-issued smartphone devices to capture photos, video and audio – which will increase our efficiency.

“There’s data backup and recovery strategy so all of our digital evidence will be redundant and stored separately. This is safer for us than keeping it on premise and reduces the cost to us,” Cooper explained.

That evidence can include non-Axon videos, according to city documents.

Big step historically

The Axon Body 4 also is a big step in the Phoenix Police Department’s use of body camera technology, which began when the city bought a total of 150 cameras in 2013, partly with the help of a $500,000 federal grant.

The February 2019 contract with Axon followed the department's decision the previous year to equip all officers with body cameras.

By that time, Axon’s fortunes also were changing significantly in the body camera market. In the first three quarters of 2017, for example, its revenue from body camera sales had soared 89% to $79 million.

First greeted in the law enforcement community nationally as a major advance

in apprehending criminals and deterring crime, body cameras by that time also had become recognized as an important monitor of police conduct during interactions with private citizens.

“When police officers wear their bodyworn cameras, they are more likely to behave respectfully, fairly, and transparently,” a 2017 National Institute of Justice study of Phoenix's then-limited body camera use noted. “Citizens who are treated in this manner are more likely to reciprocate and behave in a cooperative or compliant manner.”

A 2021 follow-up to that Phoenix study by the National Institute of Justice reported, “Incidents that involved bodyworn camera assignment and activation were 5.5% less likely to be officer initiated, compared with incidents that did not involve a body-worn camera activa-

tion. The difference was statistically significant.”

That study also found a “statistically significant” increase of 1.4% in the likelihood of arrests made by officers wearing body cameras as well as a greater likelihood of use of force by them. The study called that latter finding an “oppositefrom-expected direction.”

Simultaneously, the study also reported that citizens were less likely to file a complaint about an officer wearing a body camera. Indeed, the study said, “there was a 96% reduction in complaints” from civilians when a body-worn camera was recording an officer-civilian encounter.

The study also underscored the reality that is behind the huge taxpayer cost of body cameras and Axon’s staggering growth.

“Implementing a body-worn camera program can be expensive, including direct costs associated with the purchase of the cameras and the costs associated with data storage and redaction,” it said.

While the City of Mesa’s $2.1-million annual contract with Axon that was approved in April pales in size to Phoenix’s, this chart shows how even Mesa’s overall cost for Axon body cameras and stun guns has soared over the last few years. (City of Mesa)

“The cost of a body-camera program is not limited merely to buying the video hardware. Such programs also require additional personnel to perform a variety of functions, including redaction, project management, and training.” 

Axon Enterprise’s earnings have climbed in the last two years. (Special to AFN)

BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor

Wmortgage interest rates this month have seesawed above and below 7%, a far steadier factor continues to cast a pall on the housing market in the Valley and across the nation for homebuyers.

The gloom generated by a near-historic low inventory of homes for sale this week and last echoed in various assessments of the current state of the housing market. The National Association of Home

Builders reported on July 17 that building permits for new single-family homes plummeted by over 24% from May 2022 to MMay 2023. In Arizona, that decline for the same time period was twice that, the association reported.

"Over the first five months of 2023, the total number of single-family permits issued year-to-datenationwide reached 357,143," it said. "On a year-over-year basis, this is 24.7% below the May 2022 level of 473,997."

The decline in single-family home construction permits in the Phoenix Metro area declined by 43% in that time period.

And during the same time, the association said, multifamily permits soared in Arizona by 26.6% and in the Valley by 30% despite a nationwide drop of 7.1%.

After rates for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hit 6.96%, Realtor.com’s chief economist, Danielle Hale, said, “The lack of inventory is likely to be the key issue for eager buyers as it keeps upward pressure on prices while limiting buyer choice.”

Realtor.com also noted, “Not only are mortgage rates more than double what they were two years ago, but the typical asking price for a home has fallen less than 1% since last June’s all-time high of $449,000.”

Moreover, what Realtor.com called a “glacial slide” in home prices may be melting away.

Black Knight, which provides an array of services to the mortgage and real estate industries, on July 11 cited “distinct signs of market reheating almost universally in markets across the United States.”

Andy Walden, Black Knight vice president of enterprise research, noted, “There is no doubt that the housing market has reignited from a home price perspective.”

Black Knight said, “The reheating is widespread with more than half of the 50 largest U.S. markets seeing prices at or above 2022 peaks.

“While prices are still well below peak levels across the West and in many pandemic boom towns, price firming in recent months has begun to close those gaps,” it continued.

Walden said inventory nationwide has plummeted and that “active listings have deteriorated in 95% of major markets so far this year and, overall, we’re still down

market is singlefamily new construction.”

It also said that while developers may be smiling, most other players in the local real estate market are not.

“For homeowners, rising prices are reassuring, but for agents, the low volume is a huge problem,” the Cromford Report said. “There are remarkably few new listings and closings are declining as we enter the summer doldrums.

more than 50% from pre-pandemic levels.

“New construction starts and completions were both strong in May, which is welcome news. However, most projects underway in the month were 5+ multifamily units, as opposed to single-family residential units.”

Walden said new single-family homes “made up just 40% of the total and is now at construction levels still approximately -30% below the 2005 peak.

“As it stands, housing affordability remains dangerously close to the 37-year lows reached late last year, despite the Federal Reserve’s attempts to cool the market,” he said, adding:

“The challenge for the Fed now is to chart a path forward toward a ‘soft landing’ without reheating the housing market and reigniting inflation. But the same lever used to reduce demand – that is, raising rates – has not only made housing unaffordable almost universally across major markets, it has also resulted in significant supply shortages by discouraging potential sellers unwilling to list in such an environment, further strengthening prices.”

The Cromford Report, the Valley’s leading home market analyst, echoed that glum assessment for the Phoenix Metro area.

Title companies, lenders, warranty providers, inspectors and appraisers are all suffering from a prolonged weakness in transaction volume.

“While interest rates remain at 6.75% or higher, we appear unlikely to see much improvement. In fact, rising prices will make it even harder for buyers to close on a home. However, if interest rates were to fall to 6% or below, we could see a sharp increase in demand and an improvement in supply too.”

For the time being, it added, “the market continues to soften.”

The Cromford Report cautioned against hopes for a major shift in the market as the result of data in the second-quarter reports that U.S,. banks are now filing.

Reporting that “new homes are having a very good year and 1,646 were closed in June 2023, compared with 1,532 in June 2022,” the Cromford Report also stated, “We have a market which is seeing very low demand and even lower supply.

“With the 30-year fixed interest rate stuck around 7%, most homeowners do not want to sell and buyers are struggling to qualify and afford a home. Buyers are unimpressed with the low inventory of re-sale homes and are increasingly turning to new-built homes.

“Developers are enjoying strong orders, firmer prices and healthy margins, but have relatively low inventory of homes for sale and a weak pipeline of new permits to build. The strongest sector in the housing

Banks “are set to report their biggest jump in loan losses since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic” with a combined $5 billion in loan write-offs and a projected $7.6 billion set aside for other loans they expect to tank, the Cromford Report said..

The bad news for homebuyers?

“This has very little to do with the housing market,” the Cromford report said. “The main types of loans that are going bad are credit cards and commercial real estate.

“Loans secured by owner-occupied residential property are performing extremely well with very low levels of delinquency compare to long term averages.”

This

New HOA law impacts parking regulations

BY PATRICK MACQUEEN AFN Guest Writer

Gov. Katie Hobbs recently signed legislation that will drastically change whether an HOA can regulate parking on public streets within an HOA community.

Under existing law, HOAs can regulate parking on public streets within an HOA if the community’s declaration (i.e., the CC&Rs or similar documents) was recorded before Jan. 1, 2015.

Planned communities in which the declaration was recorded on or after Jan. 1, 2015, may not enforce public street parking, even if allowed by the HOA’s governing documents.

Under the new law, for HOAs with CC&Rs recorded prior to Jan. 1, 2015 and that currently regulate the public streets, the community may no longer regulate the public streets unless:

a) The HOA calls a meeting of the membership no later than June 30, 2025, the

purpose of which is to vote on whether to continue to regulate the public streets within the community; and

b) If the vote fails, or the HOA declines to hold a vote, the association will no longer have the authority to regulate the public streets within the association.

This new law does not apply to public one-way streets or private streets within an HOA.

What else is happening with HOAs?

We are often asked about the types of issues that lead to HOA litigation. Below is a list of the most common types of claims that lead to HOA litigation.

Currently, the most common issue being litigated by our firm pertains to shortterm rentals and the extent to which an HOA is permitted to regulate rentals.

The following are also very common:

Breach of fiduciary duty claims/issues relating to board action.

Decisions made by an HOA Board regarding: (a) amendments to governing documents, (b) the hiring/termination of HOA vendors and contractors; (c) the cre-

ation of rules and regulations; and (d) the enforcement of documents, often give rise to claims against an HOA Board.

By way of example, what would you do if an HOA board required the replacement of windows at each home within a community, with the windows only being available at a store owned by one of the Board members?

These types of conflicts of interest occur all of the time and may, in some instances, be perfectly legal.

Failure to pay assessments or other financial obligations.

The collection of delinquent assessments is a commonly litigated issue.

Whenever someone purchases a property situated within an HOA, the purchaser becomes contractually obligated to honor an HOA’s governing and recorded documents, which may include a purchaser’s obligation to pay assessments.

Violation enforcement.

An HOA board enforces the HOA rules and documents (sometimes on their own and sometimes with the assistance of a

property management company).

Enforcing the rules, including the imposition of penalties, fines, and corrective action for violations can lead to disputes.

If an HOA goes too far in seeking to enforce a violation or a homeowner does not agree that a violation exists, a request for declaratory relief is often filed by either the HOA or the homeowner.

Improper denials.

Oftentimes, homeowners seek to add a pergola, install an RV garage, or modify landscaping plans.

]Denying these sorts of requests can create legal disputes, particularly if there is not a strong rationale for the denial or the same requests were approved for other homeowners.

Election or recall issues.

Concerns about ballots, the timing of an election, or concerns from homeowners about certain board members ability to govern, can turn into litigation.

While these are the most commonly

Foreclosures rising, but no Great Recession repeat seen Get property ready for monsoon storms

BY TOM SMITH AFN Guest Writer

Before monsoon heavy rains and high winds arrive, it is a good idea to get your property ready.

Two key areas you want to prepare are your yard and your roof. Following these few simple steps will help keep your property safe from the monsoon storms.

Drainage style.

Across the Valley there are typically two styles of properties, self-retention and Udrain lots. Most homeowners of recently built homes will have a property consisting of a U-drain lot, the yard’s drainage system.

ese lots are higher at the backend of the property line so the water will ow into a swale that collects in the backyard

and drains down the side yards to the front eventually reaching the storm drains.

Self-retention lots are usually seen in areas with older homes with larger lots. Instead of draining from the back, down the sides of the home to the storm drain, self-retention lots must retain every drop of water that falls onto the property.

ese lots have their own retention basins that allow for water drainage.

It is important to know which style lot you have when building structures or walls around your home. If you’re not careful, you can build a structure that impedes the ow of water.

Many times, people will build a wall to block o the trash cans or air conditioning unit from being seen. ese walls are built into the ground and disrupt the natural ow of water o the property.

So before building anything on your lot

be sure to know which style of drainage your yard has and if you aren’t sure hire a professional to inspect your yard.

Create a dry creek bed

As the name implies, dry creek beds become a owing creek when the rains come. Also known as an arroyo, a dry creek bed is a shallow trench lled with rock or stone.

Arroyos are designed to control the ow of water quickly and safely through a property.

Arroyos allow for rainwater to move easily through your landscaping without causing erosion to the soil. e water will ow from the arroyo to your drainage area away from the home and o your property.

ese dry creek beds not only provide a practical way to help with water ow but are a great addition to your desert back-

yard. Add plants and shrubs along the arroyo and you will have a beautiful focal point for the yard.

Use the right plants

Many desert plants are great for absorbing ground water. Create a garden or build ower beds in your backyard to help soak up some of that rainwater.

Perennials, shrubs, and cacti are all great for absorbing water out of the ground. Saguaros are great at soaking up ground water because they extend their roots across a yard to nd water and once that water is gone, the roots will die o

Grass is another option but in the Valley water is precious and keeping a lawn watered so it doesn’t die outside of monsoon season can be costly.

More Americans are in danger of losing their homes as the number of foreclosure lings continues to surge.

In the rst half of this year, foreclosure starts shot up 15% – nearing prepandemic levels, according to real estate data provider ATTOM’s Midyear 2023 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report.

Nearly 186,000 properties across the country received foreclosure lings during that period.

ATTOM collected data from over 3,000 counties where property owners received default and lis pendens notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions.

“Although overall foreclosure activity remains below historical norms, the no-

table surge in foreclosure starts indicates that we may continue to see a rise in foreclosure activity in the coming years,”

ATTOM CEO Rob Barber said.

This is not a replay of the Great Recession, when thousands of homes went belly up. Many of these foreclosures would have occurred during the pandemic, but were put o due to federal, state, and local foreclosure moratoriums.

Only about 1 in every 752 properties had a foreclosure ling in the rst half of the year.

However, homeowners unable to pay their mortgages are having their properties repossessed. Lenders did foreclosure on 22,672 properties from January through June across the country. at’s up 9% from last year, but still 40% below the same period in 2020.

In the Valley, foreclosures have been at historical lows for more than the last two years, according to the Cromford Report, the Valley’s leading housing market analyst.

Real estate experts have stressed that this isn’t a repeat of the Great Recession.

It’s not that scores of homeowners suddenly can’t a ord their mortgage payments. Rather, many lenders are now catching up. e foreclosures would have happened during the pandemic if moratoriums hadn’t halted the proceedings.

is explains why the average length of the foreclosure process hit an all-time high of 1,212 days, which translates into more than three years.

Another key di erence is many homeowners who lose their properties today often aren’t walking away empty-hand-

ed. Home prices have gone up so much over the past few years, that many struggling property owners who can’t a ord their mortgages are choosing to sell their homes rather than undergo a foreclosure, which can damage their credit. Many are pocketing a pro from those sales, which can help them with a fresh start.

e state with the highest foreclosure rate was Illinois. e state had the highest percentage of homes with a foreclosure ling, at 0.25%. Illinois was followed by New Jersey, at 0.24%; Maryland, at 0.23%; Delaware, at 0.23%; and Ohio, at 0.20%.

Rounding out the top 10 were South Carolina, Florida, Nevada, Indiana, and Connecticut. e analysis looked only at the 223 metros with at least 200,000 residents.

PHOENIX | Mountain Park Ranch

14841 S 31st Way

3478 sqft , 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths

Rare opportunity to own a custom home set amongst the beautiful hillside desert, stunning mountain and twinkling light views that can be seen from almost every window.

SPOOTLIGHT TLIGHT home

Bonny Holland

602.369.1085

www.LeadingLuxuryExperts.com

Superb single level with detached casita in highly coveted Ahwatukee cus- tom estates. Open kitchen features granite countertops, raised-panel cabinetry, stainless steel appliances, island with Jenn-Air glass cooktop, breakfast bar, pantry and desk. Inviting family room with recessed lighting, surround sound and wet bar. Master suite features an office, separate den, walk-in closet, lami- nate and travertine flooring, granite countertops, jetted tub and walk-in shower. Two bedrooms share a jack and jill bath. Upgrades throughout include shutters, travertine, laminate flooring in all bedrooms plus granite counters in all baths. Laundry room with sink and cabinetry. Backyard oa- sis features Pebble Tec pool and spa, ramada, stainless steel BBQ/smoker, grass area, grapefruit tree, lighting and great views.

Listed for $1,225,000

CABRILLO CANYON

STUNNING & IMMACULATE SINGLE LEVEL CABRILLO CANYON HOME ON A 1/3 ACRE CORNER LOT!! AMAZING CURB APPEAL WITH MOUNTAIN VIEWS, 4 BEDROOM, 3 BATH, 3-CAR GARAGE, & A PERFECT FLOORPLAN. GRAND FOYER, FORMAL LIVING & DINING ROOM, FAMILY ROOM W/FIREPLACE, GOURMET KITCHEN W/CUSTOM CABINETRY, CORIAN COUNTERS, S/S APPLIANCES, SUBZERO, RECESSED LED LIGHTING & WALK IN PANTRY. BREAKFAST NOOK, MARBLE FLOORS, UPGRADED CUSTOM FIXTURES THROUGHOUT, PLANTATION SHUTTERS, SURROUND SOUND, LARGE MASTER SUITE W/SITTING AREA, FIREPLACE & VAULTED CEILINGS. MASTER BATH W/SOAKING TUB, DUAL VANITIES, CUSTOM GLASS SHOWER & WALK-IN CLOSET. LAUNDRY ROOM, GARAGE W/EPOXY, PARADISE PERFECT BACKYARD W/COVERED PATIO, TRAVERTINE, PEBBLE SHEEN POOL, GRASSY PLAY AREA & RV GATE. NEW ROOF - GREAT LOCATION! GREAT NEIGHBORS! & A GREAT OPPORTUNITY!!!

4 bedroom, 3 bath,

Listed for $899,000

Check the irrigation system

Irrigation systems are great for keeping your plants watered outside of monsoon season. Most irrigation systems have timers or settings where you can control how much water they use and how often they turn on.

During monsoon season, it is best to cut back on irrigation system usage. Check weather forecasts and schedule irrigation appropriately. This will also save on water bills.

Install, clear out gutters

Many homes in the Valley have tile roofs without gutters. Installing gutters helps immensely in directing water flowing from the roof during a storm.

If you do not have gutters, install them before the rain comes. Pat Overson, of Overson Roofing in Mesa said when installing gutters, the downspouts must be positioned correctly for proper drainage.

“When installing your gutters, the downspouts need to be positioned so the water moving through the gutters will flow away from your home and into the drainage basin,” Overson said.

“Always direct the water away from your

MACQUEEN from page RE3

litigated issues, they are not the only ones. In fact, we once litigated the legality of an HOA’s pet policy that required homeowners use a specialized dog poop DNA kit to take samples of feces in order to determine which homeowners in the community were not cleaning up after their dogs.

house because with the amount of rain these storms produce can cause the water to pool around the base of your home, which you do not want to happen.”

If you aren’t sure what style of gutters to purchase or not sure how to install them, contact a professional for information on the process.

If you have preexisting gutters on your home, you must keep them clear of debris so they can work properly. You should always check your gutters for debris and clean them out at least once a month.

Even when there are no storms, birds can get in the gutters and build nests that will clog up the flow of water. So, even if you think your gutters are clear be sure to check them. When working on ladders and on roofs always keep safety in mind.

Water damage to a home can get expensive fast.

Understanding your property’s drainage issues will prevent sitting water and possible flooding during monsoon season. If you notice any water damage to your home or your property, contact a professional immediately to prevent more problems.

Tom Smith is the owner of Desert Designer Landscape and Development in Temp, specializes landscaping designs. 

If you have any questions about the new law or any other HOA matter you want to share with me, feel free to send me an email.

Ahwatukee attorney Patrick MacQueen is founder of Medalist Legal, 3133 W. Frye Road, Chandler. medalistlegal. com. Reach him at pmacqueen@medalistlegal.com or 602-767-0050. 

Rob Castellini

602-430-3917 MendozaTeam.com

Mike Mendoza

Ahwatukee’s #1 Team for Over 30 Years

Club West

4 BR / 2.5 BA / 2,283 SQFT

Enjoy the privacy of this premium hillside view lot. Just completed new carpet and interior paint.

Listed For $497,500

5 BR / 3 BA / 2,736 SQ FT

Spacious former UDC model home with South Mountain views. Private backyard with large pool.

Listed for $625,000

Ahwatukee Custom Estates

5 BR / 3.5 BA / 5,079 SQFT

Impressive custom with mountain views. Abundant amenities including professional sport court in private backyard.

Listed for $1,325,000

3 BR / 2 BA / 1,361 SQFT

Updated single level. New interior/ exterior paint, carpeting plus granite counters in kitchen and baths.

Listed for $425,000

5 BR / 3 BA / 3,394 SQFT

Complete remodel. New roof, two AC units, flooring, kitchen, baths, plumbing and more.

Listed for $799,000

Ahwatukee Custom Estates

5 BR / 4.5 BA / 4,391 SQFT

Superb single level with detached casita. Shutters, travertine and laminate flooring. New roof in 2022.

Listed for $1,225,000

family room w/canterra fireplace, kitchen incs :slab granite,alder cabinets,s/s wolf appliances,gas cooktop,miele dishwasher,copper sinks,island, & subzero, most amazing custom stonework ever seen in ahwatukee consisting of marble,canterra,travertine, & granite, large master ste w/sitting area & 2 separate full baths, his/her alder & cedar lined closets, guest suite-2nd master w/ensuite bath & courtyard, extremely private backyard w/covered patio, pebbletec pool w/waterfalls, firepots, firepit, grassy play area, & fully equipped outdoor kitchen, fruit trees inc: apple, orange, lemon, & lime, this dream estate has it all!

Ahwatukee Custom Estates $2,799,000

ON A

AT THE END OF A CUL-DE-SAC WITH A 6-CAR GARAGE*GATED DRIVEWAY*COMPLETELY REMODELED WITH THE HIGHEST QUALITY FINISHES*EVERYTHING IS NEW*GRAND FOYER*LIVING ROOM W/ FIREPLACE*FORMAL DINING ROOM*FAMILY ROOM W/FIREPLACE & FULL WETBAR*KITCHEN INCLUDES CUSTOM CABINETRY,RARE QUARTZSITE COUNTERS,THERMADOR APPLIANCES,BUILTIN FRIDGE/FREEZER,ISLAND,& WALK-IN PANTRY*LARGE MASTER SUITE*MASTER BATH W/ STEAM SHOWER,JACUZZI TUB,HIS/HER VANITIES, & WALK-IN CLOSET*MEDIA ROOM*EXERCISE ROOM*GAMEROOM*GIGANTIC PARADISE BACKYARD INCLUDES:PEBBLESHEEN POOL & JACUZZI,TWO GRASS AREAS,SPORT COURT, AND STUNNING SOUTH MOUNTAIN VIEWS*BACKS & SIDES TO WASH WITH COMPLETE PRIVACY*A 6-CAR GARAGE

Mountain Park Ranch

Ahwatukee Custom Estates

$1,750,000

Foothills

Amazing Remodeled Custom Estate with mountain views located at the end of a cul-de-sac.Over 8000sqft of pure luxury finishes.6

Bedroom,5.5 Baths.Custom Kitchen.Elevator.Executive Office.Basement Media Room.Dance Studio.Huge

Backyard with Pool, Jacuzzi, Turf, BBQ, Sportcourt.This Spectacular Estate has it all!!! SOLD!

Home

Troy

480-435-3461

troyston61@gmail.com

One of the most amazing lots available in ahwatukee!! Located in foothills mountain ranch estates!! Over 5 acre hillside lot with stunning mountain views from every direction*build your dream custom estate or build multiple homes on this sight*zoned r3*the possibilities are endless on this rare opportunity*there is not another piece of land in ahwatukee that offers this many buildable acres*no hoa*located at the end of a cul-de-sac*be the king of the hill with views all the way to four peaks*plans available and other custom home options available from a well know ahwatukee custom home builder*do not miss this amazing hillside lot in an amazing location!!!!

Donna

Marty

Mike

Make yourself at home in this fabulous residence nestled in the desirable Community of Raven Ranch! A grassy front landscape, an RV gate, and a 3-car garage. Come

South

$580,000

Custom home on flat 3.3 acres with horse arena and room to roam. City water! Custom Santa Fe style 4 bedroom with tons of upgrades. Travertine tile galore, family room and other bedrooms also have tile. Kitchen has been upgraded with quartz counter tops, white cabinets and all stainless steel appliances convey. Custom doors and woodwork throughout home. Also, lots of tile work in bathrooms and other upgrades. Over $30,000 spent on upgraded doors and windows.

Carlos Martinez

480-751-8866

teammartinez11@gmail.com

Morrison Ranch Gilbert

This 1,976 sq ft, 3 bed 3 bath is nestled on a corner lot displaying a great curb appeal highlighted by a cozy front porch, & a grassy front yard. Interior boasts a formal living room, plantation shutters, archways, tons of natural light, and carpet & wood-look tile flooring t/out. The family/dining room opens to the kitchen, featuring a fireplace, surround sound, & sliding doors to the back! Gourmet kitchen offers quartz counters, recessed & pendant lighting, staggered cabinetry, mosaic backsplash, island w/breakfast bar, and SS appliances w/cooktop gas. Main bedroom has backyard access and an ensuite w/dual vanities and spa shower. Enjoy the entertainer’s backyard with a covered patio, travertine pavers, & a sparkling pool!

Kelly Predaza

480-238-4035

Kpedraza123@aol.com

cal calendar.

But while Chandler Unified’s first day of school also is today, GPS kids won’t return until July 25. And both have different two-week breaks in fall and spring.

What Kyrene, Tempe Union and Tempe Elementary officials said they were trying to do when they unified their calendars was partly to accommodate families whose vacation schedules were thrown into disarray when their kids were attending schools in different districts.

Officials had noted in governing board meetings last year that a number of families had younger children attending a Kyrene school while their older kids were enrolled at a Tempe Union high school.

But officials also stressed a unified calendar would allow for additional support to close gaps in student learning.

A committee comprising seven members from each district spent nearly a year developing new calendar options, finally setling on two.

Part of that study included a community survey of families and staff that drew only a total of 8,025 unique responses.

Those responses included 3,280 Kyrene families and 2,501 in Tempe Union along with 1,145 Kyrene teachers and other staff and 776 Tempe Union staffers.

The responses showed families were not as sold on a 2-2-2 calendar as district employees.

When asked their preference between the 2-2-2 calendar and a calendar with one week off in the fall and spring and a two-week Christmas break, the overall vote was a virtual tied in Kyrene while Tempe Union respondents tilted slightly toward 2-2-2.

But the old one-week fall and spring break schedule – peppered with some additional days off throughout the year – won out in both districts among families once staff responses were removed from the totals. Kyrene and Tempe Union staffers, on the other hand, overwhelmingly liked the 2-2-2 schedule.

“Data only tells part of the story,” Kyrene Assistant Superintendent Lisa Gibson told her governing board in May 2022.

“Some of the points here that you see are mitigating the negative effects of a long summer break on student achievement, providing increased opportuni-

There were 8,035 responses by families and staff – mostly in Kyrene and Tempe Union – to a survey on calendar preferences showed that a tiny majority of all Tempe Union’s 3,186 responses and an even tinier majority of the 4,181 Kyrene respondents favored a 2023-24 calendar with three two-week breaks. (Kyrene School District)

ties throughout the school year, instead of focusing solely on summer for interventions and personalized instruction to have a positive impact on student achievement,” she said.

“It would provide an increase in time

for professional development opportunities, as well as increase in opportunities for tri-district collaboration,” Gibson said. “It also allows community resources and programs to be aligned with the three districts.”

But Gibson conceded the 2-2-2- also had disadvantages, including impacts on pay periods for employees and on families with childcare needs.

see SCHOOLS page 20

Among 3,280 Kyrene families and 2,501 Tempe Union households that answered the survey, a calendar with only one two-week break at Christmastime and two one-week breaks in family and spring was more popular. Staff-only respondents (1,145 in Ky6rene and 776 in Tempe Union) favored the 2-2-2 schedule of breaks by a wide margin. (Kyrene School District)

If

SCHOOL from page 19

A commenter last week on social media essentially seconded her observation on childcare costs, stating, “I’m going to be paying a lot for childcare during breaks –which kind of sucks.”

As for parents' concern about the heat wave, officials in both Kyrene and Tempe Union said they’re prepared, noting that both schools and buses have airconditioning.

Tempe Union Assistant Superintendent Sean McDonald said that his campuses work off a chiller system “that runs basically cold water through the school and, of course that flows into the classrooms.”

He noted that all districts in Arizona also “follow the same protocols as the state,” which advises them of any weather-related emergencies.

“We don’t have to close to campuses, because, of course, we have air conditioning and usually we keep the buildings at about 74 degrees,” McDonald said.

He said that while people may be thinking about their own homes’ AC system,

parents need to think of a school more like a large store or business “where many people visit” and their body heat tends to affect the air temperature.

Erin Helm, Kyrene’s executive director of communications and engagement, noted that the three districts’ calendars start nine school days earlier than previously, “hot weather at the start of the school year is nothing new.”

“We typically contend with heat advisories all the way into the month of October,” Helm said, adding that it bus drivers tend to feel the heat a little bit more intensely than students and other staff.

“While school buses are air conditioned, it can be warm in the driver’s seat when the bus doors open and let in the heat,” she said. “For that reason, our buses are also equipped with two fans up front for additional cooling.”

She said Kyrene “has practices in place for heat advisories, with varying degrees of caution, starting at a heat index of 95.

“At a heat index of 95, schools limit outdoor recess to 15 minutes, with hydration emphasized before and after recess,” Helm added. “The outdoor restrictions increase as the temperature rises.”

The one uncertainty facing both districts is the one that parents will face either at home or work: a prolonged blackout caused by an overstressed electrical grid.

“We’re at the mercy of APS for Tempe High and SRP for the remainder of the schools,” McDonald admitted. “Typically when that happens, we’re in communication with those guys. They work with us, knowing that we have all of our kids in schools.

“Now the school itself may remain cool for a certain amount of time,” McDonald added, “but after a certain amount of tiem and they think the power outage is going to go longer than a twoor three-hour period, then we have to make decisions.”

As for equipment failures on campuses themselves, Tempe Union is prepared.

“Chillers will go down,” McDonald said. “We buy parts and make sure that a lot of the parts are on our shelves just in case of a fan motor or something like that goes out. We still will be able to continue school or if a section of the building has gone out, we have other rooms where we can move those students.”

www.ahwatukee.com

Foundation pins high hopes on upcoming events

BY COTY DOLORES MIRANDA AFN Contributor

Proceeds from two upcoming Armer Foundation for Kids fundraisers are needed by the Ahwatukee-based nonprofit to continue helping area families whose children are battling extreme medical conditions.

On Saturday, July 29, Armer Foundation hosts their inaugural Casino Night at another Ahwatukee nonprofit – Lights, Camera, Discover at 4825 E. Warner Road.

From 6-10 p.m. guests can choose from an array of games of chance like poker, blackjack and craps, along with a silent auction and a variety of libations and appetizers from Vine Tavern & Eatery.

Tickets – ranging from the $50 “Conservative Buy-In” to the $500 “Whale Buy-In” – include a graduated number of chips and drink tickets based on purchase amount.

A $100 “Low Stakes” and $200 “High Roller” option also are available at ArmerFoundation.org.

Casino Night is meant to be an “all-in-

for fun” fundraiser – and a necessary one as donations to the nonprofit continue to

slide. hampering its mission “to easing the financial burdens of families with children battling extreme medical conditions.”

This includes donations from individuals as well as corporate entities.

The loss of income comes as the Armer Foundation for Kids is assisting more children and their families than ever before in its four years of existence.

Ahwatukee residents Jennifer and Matthew Armer, owners of Armer Air, an HVAC business also headquartered in Ahwatukee, founded the nonprofit.

It came after the couple attempted on their own to help families in need.

“My husband Matt was the driving force behind me, giving me the courage to start a nonprofit. I was already helping out where I could, but seeing what these families face, I felt it wasn’t fair that they have to go into medical debt just to make sure they can take care of their child,” Jennifer said.

Rescue dogs at Chandler mall center need new kennels

BY KEN SAIN AFN Staff Writer

Rescue dogs usually come with a not-so-happy back story. So, they are not for everyone.

“Over the last few years, even just the last two years, I’ve noticed a huge shift in how people view rescues,” said Quinn Borchardt, who manages the Arizona Animal Welfare League (AAWL) Adoption Center at the Chandler Fashion Center.

“We do get people who are still wary about rescuing,” Borchardt said, “but are starting to change their minds about getting a rescue animal versus a puppy mill.”

Rescue dogs could be older, they may have been abused, and they may lack the social skills families are looking for.

The AAWL Chandler location is raising the money it needs to replace the kennels.

Alessandra Navidad, AAWL’s president and CEO, says it needs $105,000 and has

raised about $40,000 so far.

“There’s many of them that are unus-

able,” Navidad said of the kennels. “It just means we can’t have as many animals up for adoption. We can’t put those animals in those kennels.”

AAWL took over that Chandler location in 2012, replacing a puppy mill. That’s where dogs are bred specifically to sell to families.

AAWL has its primary location near Sky Harbor Airport in central Phoenix. The Chandler adoption center is its only other location.

Navidad said the league usually send puppies and smaller dogs to Chandler to be rescued.

She said what sets AAWL apart is that it offers a full-range of services – including veterinary care and dog training as well as adoptions.

Nash McFarland recently celebrated his third birthday as he struggles hepatoblastoma, a rare type of liver cancer found in fewer than one in a million children through age 3. His family is among the scores of families with critically ill children who have been helped by the Armer Foundation for Kids in Ahwatukee. (Facebook)

Rebecca, a 2-month-old mixed breed puppy, checks out a guest at the Arizona Animal Welfare League East Valley Adoption Center inside the Chandler Fashion Center. (David Minton/ Staff Photographer)

“The first family we were able to help as a nonprofit were sisters, Keira and Olivia, both diagnosed with MLD (Metachromatic leukodystrophy) who had to be sent to Italy for gene therapy to save Keira and help her older sister, Olivia,” she recalled.

“I met them through a friend of mine and we’ve been going strong ever since.”

She said Armer Foundation for Kids is introduced to new families in several ways.

They can include referrals from “a friend of a friend,” she said, or “another Armer Family tells them, another nonprofit or the social worker tells them about us through the hospitals and hospice.”

While monetary donations slide, the number of Kids listed on the foundation’s website, rises.

“We currently have 18 ‘Armer Kids,’ the most we’ve had,” said Jennifer. “It’s such a good thing to help these many kids and yet funds have been very limited.”

Each of the kids’ ages newborn to 17, is listed on the website along with their backstories. Only first names are used for the sake of privacy.

The Armer Foundation has faced hard times before, registering as a 501c3 notfor-profit in November 2019, just four months before the pandemic.

The couple persevered, even opening a thrift store in October 2020.

“I had to find creative ways to bring in the funds,” Jennifer explained.

That thrift store proved popular, and yet the time required for tending the store and accepting and sorting donations that

sold at bargain prices, diverted her from more lucrative fundraising possibilities.

It was shuttered last September to allow Armer to pursue partnerships with area businesses, large and small.

That appeared to be improving the bottom line, until recently.

“Corporate donations have been down for the past year. With the economy the way it is, companies are just holding onto their money a little tighter,” she said ruefully.

“There are so many benefits to being a corporate donor and those that do tend to give, donate to the larger nonprofits - which is great, don’t get me wrong; but it’s the local ones that are making the difference.”

Even small area businesses are a great help in several ways.

“We have different levels of sponsorships, or they can even provide an inkind donation which can be used in a raffle at one of our fundraisers,” she said.

Armer admitted that amid the joys of seeing children improving in health, there are the heartbreaks when a child worsens or succumbs to their disease.

“The joy of the good news definitely outweighs the bad news, and that keeps me pushing,” she said. “When I see the good that comes out of it, it pushes me harder.”

It is a road on which she plans to continue marching, getting assistance from her eight board members and other volunteers.

“As long as I have funds and as long as I’m breathing, I will do what I can for these kids,” she said.

On Sept. 23, the Shine Your Light 4th annual gala – the foundation’s major fundraising event – will be held.

Registration and pre-ticket sales are available now – and encouraged so the nonprofit can better plan.

Held at the Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass 5:30-10 p.m., the black tie-optional event is an evening of food, drinks, dancing to a live band, and moments of inspiration as some parents of Armer Kids tell their stories of how the foundation benefits their children as they battle lifethreatening diseases.

Following a cocktail hour with hors d’oeuvres, a three-course dinner will be served. Phoenix-based recording artists ‘NineBall’ (cq) will provide live music for dancing following the short program.

More information on this is also available at ArmerFoundation.org.

Another popular fundraiser is the annual Dancing With The Stars event that features area business people paired with professional dancers from Ahwatukee’s Fred Astaire Dance Studio. Last year this event raised over $14,500.

The foundation also hosts periodic blood drives to help Armer Kids and others in need.

Through Armer Cares, the homegrown nonprofit helps the Banner and Phoenix Children’s hospitals provide basic necessities for families, especially parents who find themselves unexpectedly needing to stay with their child for days at a time.

In collaboration with “child fife coordinators” at both hospitals, donations are provided to help them weather the stay – including travel-size shampoo, conditioner, hairbrushes, toothbrush and toothpaste. Infant toys and those for older children are also collected.

The hospitals’ wish lists of needed supplies are regularly updated on the Armer Foundation’s Facebook page. 

Ahwatukee residents Jennifer and Matthew Armer, owners of Armer Air in Ahwatukee, co-founded the nonprofit. (AFN file photo)

These are some of critically ill children helped by the nonprofit. (Armer Foundation for Kids)

Inflation hits Valley animal shelters as adoptions fall

BY ALEXANDRIA CULLEN Cronkite News

With inflation causing higher prices for everything from lodging to groceries, animal shelters in Maricopa County are feeling a trickle-down effect: They’re reporting fewer adoptions and more animal surrenders.

Rising home prices and increases in the cost of everyday items go hand in hand with the negative effects of inflation, said Kim Powell, communications officer for Maricopa County Animal Care & Control.

One result is a surge in the number of dogs housed at the shelter. Nearly 800 dogs are being sheltered, she said.

“We have more dogs,” Powell said, “and we are over capacity at all times.”

That means the shelter goes through donations like toys, towels, blankets and food at a faster rate.

With fewer adoptions, pets stay at the shelter longer and employees and volunteers use more resources to meet the animals’ needs. Those include everything from the number of volunteers necessary to walk dogs each morning to the amount of food they need.

Powell said the rising cost of housing also has forced more homeowners and renters to surrender their dogs.

“People are having to move, and they can’t find an affordable place or apart-

Many of the dogs sent to to the league require vets right away.

“We just took in, over the weekend, 12 Parvo puppies from one of our partners here in Maricopa County.”

The parvovirus is a highly contagious viral disease that usually impacts dogs between 6 and 20 weeks old, but can sometimes impact older dogs as well.

When their partners don’t have the success to treat Parvo, they send the dogs to AAWL.

“We have the medical capacity to be able to provide that intensive treatment for those animals until they recover,” Navidad said. “We have a great success rate with Parvo and the puppies are doing well.”

Many of the other dogs AAWL takes in come from Arizona’s rural counties.

ment that will allow them to have a dog or have a certain breed of dog,” Powell said.

Jennifer Armbruster, senior manager of public relations for the Arizona Humane Society, agreed that one of the biggest factors for the drop in adoptions is a lack of affordable housing.

“Cost and housing are usually the top two reasons why we have animals surrendered,” she said. “We are in a time where we are at very high capacity.”

Armbruster said the nonprofit shelter is on track to take in more than 20,000 pets this year, the highest in more than a decade.

Perry Fanzo, a volunteer at the Arizona Humane Society, said they have had to take on additional tasks.

Fanzo said he and other volunteers have to “walk more animals, we have to clean more cages. I volunteer at a facility where we try to get the dogs out three times a day, and when we have the number of animals we have, that’s tough, particularly in Arizona when it’s 115 degrees outside.”

The hot temperatures add to the increased cost of operating shelters. When Arizona’s temperatures peak during July and August, air conditioning and water costs go up.

Other costs that shelters face are basics such as food and cleaning supplies.

Powell said the county shelter has fed more than 63,000 pounds of dog food to sheltered animals, used more than 400 gallons of bleach and detergent for laun-

dry, nearly 9,000 trash bags and 30,000 pairs of gloves to clean up after the animals so far this year.

The breed and size of a dog plays a role in adoption trends, too.

Armbruster said many families are adopting smaller dogs better suited to apartments or smaller homes. That means larger dogs are being left at the shelter for longer periods of time before finding a forever home.

“It could absolutely be connected to a housing instability issue,” she said.

Fanzo also said higher costs could lead to people surrendering large dogs, even purebred German shepherds and huskies.

“The thing I point to is the economy that is causing the problem right now,” Fanzo said.

Both the county shelter and the humane society said the problem is not just in Phoenix, but is affecting shelters throughout the country.

“About 60% of our animals come from rural shelters across the state of Arizona,” Navidad said. “These are tiny shelters where most of the time they’re open intake. They’re government run shelters,

they don’t have a lot of resources.”

Some of those resources that are lacking include vaccinations, which is why governmentrun shelters send the dogs to AAWL.

Borchardt said most of the dogs that arrive in Chandler are usually adopted within a week. Some go home with a family in less than 24 hours.

She said the longest it has taken to adopt

As part of National Adoption Week, the Arizona Humane Society in Maricopa County is charging $20 this week to adopt a pet. Armbruster said people also can volunteer or send in donations.

“A big portion of the reason why we can continue to support the community is through our doors,” Ambruster said.

a dog during her tenure as manager of the Chandler location is three weeks. The center also occasionally gets cats and kittens.

For now, the workers at the Chandler Fashion Center are looking forward to getting new kennels.

“We have two or three that we just can’t use,” Borchardt said. “We’ve been patching them up, using silicone, glue and screws and stuff. They’ve just been overrun by puppy teeth, and digging, and everything. It will be our biggest renovation project here since we took over the store about 10 years ago.” 

Arizona Animal Welfare League

Chandler Fashion Center (near Dillard’s on the second floor) 602-781-3906

aawl.org

Azula is ready for adoption at the Arizona Humane Society. (Alexandria Cullen/Cronkite News)

AAWL from page 22

Maya Crisp checks in on Yoshi, a 2-month-old mixed breed puppy. (David Minton/ Staff Photographer)

Fundraiser for Chandler Blvd Christmas lights underway

Christmas may seem a long way off, but for the volunteers helping out with the 2023 holiday lights along Chandler Boulevard, raising the money needed to put on the show starts now.

For the third consecutive year, the Foothills Community Association HOA will be overseeing the holiday lights along Chandler Boulevard. As the largest financial contributor to the display, has started its fundraising now before hiring the contract winner in September.

“If insufficient donations are received this summer, the lights display could be reduced for this year,” volunteer Carrie McNeish said, adding the HOA has raised its goal by $50,000 to $100,000.

Sponsors can email McNeish at cmcneish@cox.net and donors can go to: gofund.me/e9ced0b2 .

Besides the Foothills HOA, the Club West HOA also is a sponsor along with the Festival of Lights Committee, SanTan Ford and Safeway/Albertson’s.

AROUND AHWATUKEE

Sponsors are entitled to several benefits, including a mention on the two homeowners associations’ websites and in the Ahwatukee Foothills News.

To donate by check, make it out to the Foothills Community Association with “Foothills Holiday Lights Donation” in the memo field. Mail it to: RealManage, Attn: Cathy Van Galder, 3930 S. Alma School Road, Chandler, AZ 85248.

Ahwatukee Toastmasters offers growth opportunities

For over 35 years, the Ahwatukee Toastmasters has maintained a continuous presence in Ahwatukee, providing the knowhow, practice and encouragement to help members improve their communication and leadership abilities.

Ahwatukee Toastmasters develops the skills they need to increase their speaking competence as they prepare for personal growth and professional advancement.

Toastmasters meets 7-8 a.m. every other Tuesday at Esperanza Lutheran Church, 2601 E. Thunderhill Place, Ahwatukee. For

more information, call or text Ed Prestwood at 480-603-8359, or search Ahwatukee Toastmasters. The group’s chair is Jianhong Zhou, who can be contacted at smiqua. zhou@gmail.com.

Ahwatukee Kiwanis Club adds speakers to its schedule

The Kiwanis Club of Ahwatukee has speakers at many of 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.

The speaker on July 27 will be Sabrina Estrada, Arizona Citizens for the Arts.

Ironwood Library offers free activities for all ages in July

Ironwood Library, 4333 E. Chandler Blvd., Ahwatukee, presents a variety of programs for children, teens and adults. Unless otherwise noted, no tickets or registration is required.

Information: phoenixpubliclibrary.org. Babytimes

Babies ages birth to 23 months, accompanied by a favorite adult, will enjoy songs, rhymes, books, and interactive fun Tuesday, July 25, 10:30-11 a.m. Free tickets are required and available 30 minutes before programs’ start times at the library’s information desk.

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. Free tickets are required and available 30 minutes before programs’ start times at the library’s information desk.

LA CASA

DE

JUANA DELIVERS A KNOCKOUT WITH ITS FRESH, AUTHENTIC AND MOUTHWATERING FOOD

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.

Don’t hesitate to stop by the Ahwatukee location

3941 E. Chandler Blvd. (S/W corner Chandler & 40th St) to make your next reservation call 480-626-9295

www.juanashouse.com

Free to the Public

Friday, July 28th

Bring up to 3 items for a free pre-auction verbal assessment of antiques, heirlooms & collections. Spots filling up quickly! Call today to reserve your spot!

Z’Tejas rebuilding brand with energy, passion

BY GERI KOEPPEL AFN Contributor

Z’Tejas, a decades-old chain of TexMex restaurants with Southern charm that nearly went belly up in the 2010s, has been chugging along at rebuilding the brand and is seeing an in ux of old and new customers who are happy with the changes.

Extensive interior and exterior renovations at the Chandler location on Ray Road and 56th Street recently were completed after about a year, creating a bright, contemporary ambiance. And the kitchen is reviving classic recipes while creating seasonal dishes and special pop-up menus such as a “tapas and tequila” tasting this Saturday and Sunday, July 22-23.

e company also expects to open a Z’Tejas in Mesa at 2236 E. Baseline Road near Gilbert Road sometime next year. A

Scottsdale location opened in McCormick Ranch in June 2021. Another location is in Austin, Texas, where the company was founded in 1989, and it’ll soon open one in Kyle, Texas.

“We’ve got so much love and spirit at Z’Tejas and I just want to see it bounce back to the magic it used to be,” said Randy Cohen, the owner and “chief energizing o cer,” as he calls himself.

Z’Tejas rst entered the Arizona

see Z’TEJAS page 28

MAIN: Z’Tejas Executive Chef Danny Ocampo, left, and Chandler Kitchen Manager Lyndon Gonzales stand in front of the mural created by Ahwatukee Foothills resident Isaac Caruso. INSET: Ahwatukee Foothills resident Isaac Caruso not only painted this mural at Z’Tejas in Chandler but also has done similar works of art for all of the Z’Tejas locations in Arizona and Texas. (Geri Koeppel/AFN Contributor)

Goodbye Fiesta Mall: Demolition to begin

BY SCOTT SHUMAKER AFN Sta Writer

The demolition of Fiesta Mall is scheduled to begin tomorrow, July 17, bringing a de nitive end to an 80-acre site that was once a center of retail gravity for the Southeast Valley.

Mesa leaders hope an exciting new story emerges at the “strategic” site of the defunct mall on Alma School Road at the US 60, but the future still remains hazy as crews prepare to knock the walls down.

In March, the city held preliminary talks with mall co-owner Verde Investments on a master plan for a mixed-use development with up to 4,000 residential units, but there have been no updates since then.

ere was speculation in May that the arena-less Coyotes hockey team might be interested in the Fiesta Mall site, but neither the Coyotes nor the city would con rm there had been any outreach by

either side.

Dickens Quality Demolition is taking down the indoor mall and its parking garage, and the company estimates it will

take about four months to level the buildings and haul away the materials.

For now, the asphalt surrounding the mall buildings will remain in place.

e demo zone will cover about 31 acres, according to permit documents.

e businesses surrounding the property will not be a ected by the demolition, project manager Mike Walz said, with no tra c restrictions planned and no disruptions to utilities.

Walz said his company will have four to seven machines and about 20 workers on the site each day, tearing into the walls, cutting steel and grinding concrete.

According to its dust control permit, Dickens estimates workers will haul 96,500 cubic yards of material from the site, or enough to ll about 40 Olympic swimming pools.

Walz said the company will try to divert as much of that material as possible from the land ll by recovering concrete, steel and other metals for recycling.

He said the plan is to start at the former

see FIESTA page 28

Fiesta Mall opened in 1979 and for several decades was a retail mecca drawing shoppers from across the Valley. (File photo)

Z’TEJAS from page 27

market in December 1991 in Scottsdale Fashion Square. e Chandler location on Ray Road and 56th Street opened in 2001, and in its heyday, the brand had a dozen locations in several states.

But the company underwent back-toback bankruptcies in 2015 and 2017 and closed three of its ve Arizona Z’Tejas locations in October 2017.

Cohen—who also owns TicketCity online ticket brokerage—and COO Robby Nethercut took the reins in 2018.

“It is really tough to breathe new life into an old brand,” Cohen remarked. “You do it with love, energy, passion, but most important, you do it with consistency.”

Cohen and Nethercut have fond memories of the brand from when they were younger and didn’t want it to fade into restaurant history. ey hope Z’Tejas will again become the place where people celebrate, watch major sporting events and gather with friends.

Taking over Z’Tejas was Cohen’s “Ted Lasso moment,” as he explained: “It’s just the challenge to do something that everybody says you can’t do when I think it can be done.”

e company injected $1 million into the renovation, starting with an eye-popping white exterior paint job and new landscaping.

Inside, the dim lighting and dark decor are gone, including gloomy drapes that covered the front windows facing Ray Road. Now, patrons can look out to a garden-like area with lush desert landscaping that attracts birds and wildlife, including ocks of

colorful lovebirds and cottontail rabbits.

Cuaso Design Studio out of Texas developed a more modern aesthetic for the interior, which features light-colored oors, chairs and tabletops; a double-sided bar with an Art Deco air; and an attentiongrabbing mural by Isaac Caruso of Ahwatukee Foothills.

e mural’s focal point is a train engine, but it also pays homage to the area’s ranching history, desert life and the Grand Canyon.

Caruso also did the mural for the Z’Tejas in Scottsdale and the two in Austin.

“I did some research and found out that Chandler and Austin were joined by a railroad back in the day,” Caruso said. “ at was a jumping-o point for imagery. I wanted to do something that harkened back to both Chandler and Austin.”

In addition to updating the decor,

surfaces.

Macy’s, work straight across to Best Buy and then decide on the safest route to proceed.

“It’s a lot like Pac-Man. We just start chewing into it,” Walz said.

“I absolutely love what I do. It’s a great job; it really is,” he added.

Dickens Quality Demolition was also responsible for razing Paradise Valley Mall, which went down in 2022 and is currently under redevelopment.

Walz said large demo jobs like Fiesta Mall are more complicated because they involve multiple machines.

According to its air quality permit, the company will control dust through water applications and limiting the number of vehicle trips and speeds on unpaved

Once a powerful draw for shoppers and diners from the entire East Valley when it opened in 1979, Fiesta Mall started on a steady decline around the turn of the century as new retail centers, particularly Chandler Fashion Center, laid claim to the thousands of households rising across the region.

e mall’s fate also was one of several fallen dominoes in an area of Mesa that was shared by other retail centers, particularly Fiesta Village on Southern Avenue.

But Mesa was in no mood to let one of its signature neighborhoods slowly drown in a sea of blight.

e city is in the midst of an aggressive redevelopment project that is slowly restoring the Fiesta District.

Z’Tejas has focused attention on its food.

Corporate Chef Danny Ocampo, who’s been with the company for nearly 26 years, said a former executive chef made several changes that “didn’t t the culture.” For example, the Tejas Trio was changed to queso, pork verde and borracha beans.

Although many customers like the new version, Lyndon Gonzales, the Chandler Z’Tejas kitchen manager, noted that customers can still order the traditional trio with queso, red salsa and guacamole even though it’s not on the menu.

“We have such a strong following of regulars from years ago,” he said. “ ey prefer the original.”

Ocampo said they reverted back to the original recipes for several other items as well, such as the ahi tuna salad, Santa Fe enchiladas and jerk chicken diablo pasta.

And the company spotlights “ rowback Specials” each month featuring a retired menu item. July features chorizostu ed pork tenderloin and August’s dish is fried snapper with cilantro cream sauce. Seasonal menus, meanwhile, such as the one through the end of September with crab cake salad, crab-stu ed chicken and more, add variety without toying with favorites.

Desserts feature mainstays like the ancho fudge pie along with seasonal cheese-

cake, peach cobbler and others.

Also, the restaurant opens at 10 a.m. for brunch daily with specialties like pork verde chilaquiles and mimosa ights. An upstairs room that seats up to 80 is available for private events with catering.

Gonzales said he’s seeing a steady ow of new regulars who are impressed with the food, including a fellow chef who has a favorite dish.

“He says it’s the best chicken fried chicken he’s ever had,” he said. “He comes here at least once every two weeks.”

In addition to their popular daily happy hour, Z’Tejas is adding premium events, like the “tapas and tequila” menu this weekend.

It includes a bacon-wrapped jalapeño, tequila shrimp taco, cochinita pibil (Yucatan-style marinated pork) and carnitas taco paired with a Dobel tequila ight for $60.

Speaking of tequila, Taco Tuesdays are one of their busiest days because they offer a “gringo” ground beef taco plate for $10 and half o all margaritas and most tequila shots. at means their signature Chambord margarita, regularly $11, is $5.50, which keeps bartenders busy.

“ at’s the most beloved drink,” Gonzales said. “ at’s the one thing we make sure we never run out of. It would make a lot of people mad.”

Z’Tejas Chandler

7221 W. Ray Road, Chandler

10 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday and TuesdayThursday, 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday; happy hour 3-6 p.m. and 9 p.m. to close 480-893-7550; ztejas.com/chandler

Fiesta Mall for several years has been a little more than a hollowed shell, devoid of the dozens of shops and hundreds of customers who once made it a lively gathering spot in Mesa. (AFN file photo)

FIESTA from page 27

A total remodel of the Chandler Z’Tejas included an oval-shaped bar with Art Deco accents. (Geri Koeppel/AFN Contributor)

Temper expectations for your investments

BY JOSEPH ORTIZ AFN Guest Writer

To help achieve your nancial goals, you may need to invest in the nancial markets throughout your life. However, at times your investment expectations may di er from actual returns, triggering a variety of emotions.

So, what are reasonable expectations to have about your investments?

Ideally, you hope that your investment portfolio will eventually help you meet your goals, both your short-term ones, such as a cross-country vacation, and the long-term ones, such as a comfortable retirement. But your expectations may be a ected by several factors, including the following:

Misunderstanding. Various factors in the economy and the nancial markets trigger di erent reactions in di erent types of investments — so you should expect di erent results. When you own stocks, you can generally expect greater price volatility in the short term.

Over time, though, the “up” and “down” years tend to average out. When you own bonds, you can expect less volatility than individual stocks, but that’s not to say that bond prices never change.

Generally, when interest rates rise, you can anticipate that the value of your existing, lower-paying bonds may decrease, and when rates fall, the value of your bonds may increase.

Recency bias. Investors exhibit “recency bias” when they place too much emphasis on recent events in the nancial markets, expecting that those same events will happen again. But these expectations can lead to negative behavior.

For example, in 2018, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell almost 6% – so in-

vestors subject to recency bias might have concluded it was best to stay out of the markets for a while. But the Dow jumped more than 22% the very next year.

Of course, the reverse can also be true: In 2021, the Dow rose almost 19%, so investors who might have been susceptible to recency bias may have thought they were in for more big gains right away — but in 2022, the Dow fell almost 9%.

Here’s the bottom line: Recency bias may cloud your expectations about your investments’ performance — and it’s essentially impossible to predict accurately what will happen to the nancial markets in any given year.

Anchoring. Another type of investment behavior is known as “anchoring” — an excessive reliance on your original conviction in an investment.

For instance, if you bought stock in a company you thought had great prospects, you might want to keep your shares year after year, even after evidence emerges that the company has real risks — for example, poor management, or its products could become outdated, or it could be part of an industry that’s in decline.

But if you stick with your initial belief that the company will inevitably do well, and you’re not open to new sources of information about this investment, your expectations may never be met.

In many areas of life, reality may di er from our expectations — and that can certainly be true for our investments.

Being familiar with the factors that can shape your expectations can help you maintain a realistic outlook about your investments.

Ahwatukee resident Joseph Ortiz is a nancial planner for Edward Jones. Reach him at 480-753-7664 or joseph. ortiz@edwardjones.com. 

Expectations high for Pride football this season

BY ZACH ALVIRA AFN Sports Editor

Mountain Pointe Head Coach Eric Lauer didn’t have a four-year plan when he was hired to take over the program in 2020.

He wanted to build it from the ground up, starting with establishing a new culture that players, coaches and fans would rally around. “Embrace the Chase” was adopted. Its meaning is simple: Embrace the grind that comes with creating a successful program.

Lauer brought back the same mentality and energy the Pride program had when he was a top assistant under Norris Vaughan, who led Mountain Pointe to its last state championship in 2013 and a national ranking.

And while he didn’t have a set goal about when he wanted to see his work flourish, the caliber of players and success this past season have almost forced him to raise his own expectations for his program. In his and the minds of the players, they’re ready to compete for a championship.

“We’re excited,” Lauer said. “This has been the best spring since being here. The energy is all going in the same direction and that has to do with the players.”

Like it was when Vaughan was at the helm, Mountain Pointe has once again become a destination school for high school student-athletes looking to transfer. It was a slow domino effect that began a year ago with Christian Clark departing rival Desert Vista to join the Pride’s backfield.

That created perhaps the most dynamic running back room in the state, led by then-senior Jay’len Rushing, Clark and Randle Parker. Rushing held some Division I offers but went the Division II route by signing with Washburn. Now seniors, Clark and Parker will carry on what the three did together last season when they all eclipsed 1,000 all-purpose yards.

Many other players from the area saw what Mountain Pointe had been start-

ing to build with the few that moved in.

Clark is now committed to Texas and is ranked as the No. 2 all-purpose back in the country. Parker is up to five Division I offers himself.

“It feels great,” Parker said. “I’m finally starting to see my hard work pay off.”

The domino effect of transfers has since taken off in Mountain Pointe’s favor.

Over 10 athletes varying in age transferred from Desert Vista to the Pride, including top junior safety Rylon Dillard-Allen. Three of Chaparral’s top sophomores made the move, too, includ-

ing linebacker Jaylyn Colter, who already holds an offer from Oregon.

Many players will help bolster a Mountain Pointe defense that struggled in past years. The addition of new defensive coordinator Zach Griffin will also help. Griffin led the Basha defense to a win in the Open Division title game last season.

“I’ve seen a lot of improvement,” senior defensive back Joseph Washington said. “Coach Griffin is bringing a lot of knowledge to our team. I feel like we’re more of a family now.”

Washington said he could sense a change in the

coaching staff right away after last year’s loss in the 6A quarterfinals. There were no more pats on the backs for small victories such as making the playoffs or beating certain teams.

That’s now an expectation.

Mountain Pointe isn’t just trying to inch its way back to relevancy with perhaps another quarterfinals appearance this season. The Pride are looking to bust through the doors and compete for the 6A title. Or, even better, make the Open. But Parker believes discipline will be key in making that happen.

“We’ve got talent. Everybody is competing,” Parker said. “Discipline is really a factor. I feel like the team that won three games a couple years ago was more talented but we weren’t disciplined. The little things matter.”

Lauer knows his team has the talent to make a deep run. That was the case before the influx of transfers this off-season. The offensive line returns all but one starter and will be anchored by senior Chris Winston and junior Kaleb Jones, who holds multiple Power 5 offers.

The Pride have reloaded at wideout, and Robert Knorr is beginning to separate himself as the likely starter at quarterback to replace 2,000-yard passer Chris Arviso.

Now, it’s all about putting it together.

“We’re coming out as a unit,” Washington said. “The culture here is all about being a brotherhood and holding each other accountable.”

Mountain Pointe had good showings in 7s and big man competitions throughout the summer. They bonded as a team camping out on the gym floor at the school the first week of July.

They’ve become a confident bunch but one that doesn’t let the hype from outside entities distract them from their goal. They want to bring Mountain Pointe back. It’s the expectation.

“We’re all in,” Lauer said. “We try every year to self-assess and improve. I think we’re progressing in the right direction.”

Senior running back Randle Parker has played a big role in Mountain Pointe’s resurgence. He’s part of a dynamic one-two punch with fellow senior running back Christian Clark, a Texas commit. Parker has five Division I offers. (Dave Minton/Staff Photographer)

Mountain Pointe Head Coach Eric Lauer believes his players are ready to take the next step in his plan to rebuild the Pride football program. (Dave Minton/Staff Photographer)

Carnival of Illusion mixes magic and vaudeville

BY KYLIE WERNER GetOut Contributor

Roland Sarlot and Susan Eyed learned there’s real power in magic.

Performing as Carnival of Illusion, the Tucson couple staged their vaudevilleinspired magic show for veterans, including an older gentleman in his hospital bed. He was ashen and weak, but he wanted to see and be a part of the performance.

At the time, Carnival of Illusion closed with Eyed making paper butter ies utter throughout the room. is time, they landed on the man’s bed. Eyed recalls him smiling up at her and mustering all his strength to mouth, “ ank you.”

“He had no strength to talk and that was his last night,” Eyed said. “You get touched by that. We are mainly the tour guides for them but it’s also much, much more.”

Sarlot and Eyed have been connecting with people for almost 21 years and have

performed more than 1,000 shows. ey hit the stage next at Wrigley Mansion July 21-22 and Aug. 18-19.

e intimate shows only have about 150 seats available so the illusionists can see everyone in the theater and interact with them.

“It is so up close, there’s no camera tricks,” Eyed said. “ ey are actually witnessing this in real time. ey’re not as they call ‘stooges’ from the audience.

ese are people who, when they come up on stage, are someone’s dad or someone’s grandpa or auntie or best friend.”

e show is primarily for adults, but those older than 12 are permitted. Sarlot said there is no “cheesy kiddie stu ” here.

It’s an evening of old-world entertainment, he adds.

“ ere’s a sentimental piece,” Eyed said. “ ere’s an over-the-top funny piece.

Coloring contest reemerges at Butter y Wonderland

BY ALEX GALLAGHER GetOut Editor

Children ages 6 to 17 can score two free tickets to Butter y Wonderland and a $50 gift card to use at its Treasures Gift Shop.

But to win this prize, they must rst glam up a coloring sheet of either a butter y, a chameleon or a caterpillar. ere are four sheets to choose from and color in.

e contest is about more than staying inside the lines.

“It's not necessarily about having it all within the lines. It's also about the colors that the children choose and what they interpret that butter y, caterpillar or chameleon to be and that’s what's really awesome,” said Butter y Wonderland director of education Adriane Grimaldi. “We've had some entries feature rainbows

and additional butter ies.”

Children and teens also have their choice of utensils to decorate their reptile or insect.

“ ey can use pencils, crayons, markers, watercolors or whatever they choose. ere really is a whole gamut,” Grimaldi said.

e contest began around four years ago, according to Grimaldi. In that time, she has seen some stellar entries.

“I'm always amazed every time we get together to judge the contests — which we break up into di erent age groups and skills at di erent levels,” Grimaldi said.

“ e one that impressed me the most was a girl named Sophia sent in a page and added things to the coloring template like a sky with clouds and a giant mushroom in

Roland Sarlot and Susan Eyed connect the audience with masterful illusions in their upcoming shows at Wrigley Mansion. (Special to GetOut) see ILLUSION page 35

Butterfly Wonderland’s July Coloring Contest requires participants to download one of four templates.

ere’s a skill piece and we really tried to bring all those di erent things in so there are di erent avors of the show.

“It’s like a vaudeville road show without the dust.”

“Skullduggery” is the theme of the show, and it takes audiences through the truth behind the trickery. Eyed calls it “an evening of lovely lies and devious deceptions.”

Salot and Eyed were interested in magic from a young age. Eyed became obsessed with televised magic specials, learning about the art’s history and even attempting her own tricks she found in cereal boxes.

Sarlot had his rst taste of magic when

COLORING from page 34

the background. Her entry won that year.”

All entries will be judged on originality/ coloring skill by o cial Butter y Wonderland representatives and every entry will be displayed in Butter y Wonderland throughout August.

e rst, second and third-place winners will have their work displayed in the lobby of Butter y Wonderland for several months.

Entries will be accepted through Friday, July 28 and winners will be announced via Butter y Wonderland’s Facebook page on Aug. 1.

Grimaldi sees this as an opportunity to draw attention to the venue, which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary.

“Butter ies, nature and artwork kind of go hand in hand through lots of di erent things,” she said. “What's awesome about

he and his cousin were in a talent show. ey nearly cut o their classmate’s nger attempting a trick and were promptly sent to the principal’s o ce.

Neither Sarlot nor Eyed thought magic was in their future.

“ e calling came many years later,” Sarlot said. “When we just wanted a change … we wanted magic in our lives … and it became a literal thing.”

Eyed never thought women could be magicians, so when Sarlot asked if she wanted to start Carnival of Illusion, she imagined she would be his assistant.

“I said, ‘Yeah, I can be the assistant in that cute little dress,’” she recalled.

“He said, ‘No, you are way too strong, you’re a magician. We’re stronger together

Butter y Wonderland is we have art woven into what Butter y Wonderland is.

“In the conservatory, we have artwork from local artists. In the lobby, we have hand-carved gourds painted to look like Monarch and Blue Morpho butter ies and bowls made out of gourds in the Treasure Shop.”

ough there can only be a few winners, Grimaldi hopes the contest this gives children a fun activity to occupy themselves during the summer.

“It's an opportunity for them to do an activity with their parents, have their parents involved with them and talk about their favorite butter y,” Grimaldi said.

She also sees this as an opportunity to have conversations about ways to conserve the population of butter ies that are indigenous to the Grand Canyon state.

“While they're coloring, they can talk about whether or not they see butter ies

and that’s the thing that’s so lovely about this partnership. When people come to our show, it’s not just about the guy being on stage.”

According to the duo, magic is not about the trick but what it evokes.

“ at evoking is generally called ‘wonder,’” Sarlot said.

“And when you experience wonder, that means there are possibilities … and I think that’s what makes people so engaged and happy at the end, they felt wonder again and it’s rare to have that.”

Sarlot and Eyed don’t believe magic will ever be a lost art.

“Magic is so a part of our fabric of being a human and I think that it just cuts on such a deeper level than just what people

in their backyard or discuss planting a butter y garden to attract butter ies in our community,” Grimaldi said.

“A lot of dialogue can be done as a parent during this coloring contest that they can incorporate while they're coloring beyond conservation.

‘ is could be a time to talk about what makes up the colors of the butter y's wings and the scales.”

Hoping these conversations create a

can see,” Eyed said.

ey witness that at each show.

“At the end we hope you feel like you’ve been in our home and we’ve entertained you,” Sarlot said. “We hope you know who we are and that we went through something together … that was of value.” 

Carnival of Illusion

When: 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. July21-22, Aug. 18-19.

Where: Wrigley Mansion, 2501 E. Telawa Trail, Phoenix

Cost: Tickets start at $60

Info: 480-359-SHOW, carnivalofillusion. com

love for butter ies, Grimaldi is looking forward to seeing this year’s entries. Only one entry per child will be accepted.  Participants must visit butter ywonderland.com/special-events/#color to choose one of four coloring pages to download.

Submissions can be dropped o at the guest services desk at Butter y Wonderland or mailed to it in care of 9500 E. Via de Ventura Scottsdale, AZ 85256.  

ACROSS

1 Artist Chagall

5 Witty one

8 Infatuated

12 -- about (roughly)

13 Copper head?

14 Arkin or Alda

15 Famed circus impresario

17 A deadly sin

18 Tuscan city

19 Rapscallions

21 Craving

24 "-- was saying ..."

25 Pocket bread

28 Chart toppers

30 Cagers' gp.

33 Author Tan

34 Highway divisions

35 City area, for short

36 LP speed

37 Sta er

38 College VIP

39 Luau bowlful

41 Cold War initials

43 Chin covers

46 Old hat

50 Forearm bone

51 Every year

54 Blue material?

55 Swiss canton

56 Campus digs

57 Hefty volume

58 Cotillion celeb

59 Follow orders

DOWN

1 Floor cleaners

2 Con

3 Judicial garb

4 Brain protectors

5 Pallid

6 -- Dhabi

7 Jewels

8 Grand parties

9 Kitchen foil type

10 React in horror

11 Picnic invaders

16 Squealer

20 Mama Elliot

22 Spiced tea

23 Brahmanist

25 Standard

26 Little rascal

27 Ear membrane

29 Casual tops

King Crossword

31 Buddy

32 "Shark Tank" network

34 Set down

38 "The Godfather" star

40 Emulate Lincoln

42 Resort

43 Small statue

44 Ticklish Muppet

45 Tater

47 Uppity sort

48 Foolproof

49 TV trophy

52 Before

53 Tease

Sudoku

If you’re a French fry foodie, you may have tried what is now the big rage: double frying the fries.

It definitely makes a big difference in the crispiness and flavor. And while you have your Dutch oven out, there’s no better meal to pair those tasty fries with than classic fish and chips. You’ll be frying the potatoes before and after the fish, surprisingly with no fishy flavor. I love this dish and I hope you do too! 

Ahoy, this fish and chips recipe sails with flavor

Ingredients:

For the fish

• 1 cup all-purpose flour, divided

• 1 cup cornstarch

• 2 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• 1 ½ tsp salt plus more for salting fish

• 1 tsp pepper

• 1 cup dark beer, cold

• 1 cup sparkling water, cold

• 8 (4-ounce) pieces of fresh cod

Directions:

Make the tartar sauce. In a bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, dill relish, vinegar, capers, mustard, salt and pepper until well combines. Spoon into a serving bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready t0 serve. Set aside 4 tablespoons of flour.

In a large bowl, mix the remaining flour, cornstarch, baking powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Whisking continuously, add the beer and the sparkling water to the flour mixture and mix to a thick, smooth batter. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Cut potatoes the size of French fries, then place in a colander and rinse under cold water.

Place the chips into a pan of cold water. Bring to a boil then simmer for 3 to 4 minutes. Drain, then pat dry. Keep in the fridge covered with paper towels.

Lay the fish fillets on a paper towel and pat dry. Season with salt.

In a Dutch oven over high heat, bring oil to 375 degrees.

For the chips

• 2 pounds potatoes, peeled

• 1 quart (1 liter) vegetable oil for frying

• Tartar Sauce

• 1 cup mayonnaise

• 4 TBSP dill relish

• 2 TBSP white wine vinegar

• 2 TBSP capers

• 2 tsp whole-grain mustard

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• 1 tsp black pepper

Cook the chips a few handfuls at a time in the oil for about 2 minutes. Do not brown them. Once the chips are slightly cooked, remove them from the oil and drain.

Place the 2 tablespoons of flour reserved from the batter mix into a shallow bowl. Toss each fish fillet in the flour and shake off any excess. Dip the fish into the batter, coating the fillet.

Carefully lower each fillet into the hot oil. Fry for approximately 8 minutes or until the batter is crisp and golden, turning the fillets from time to time with a large slotted spoon.

Once cooked, remove the fillets and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt. Cover with parchment paper and keep hot.

Heat the oil to 400 degrees and then re-fry the chips until golden and crisp, or about 4 minutes. Remove from the oil and drain. Season with salt.

Serve with fish and tartar sauce, ketchup or malt vinegar.

Serves 8.

Logistician, ZEREKON HOLDINGS, LLC (Phoenix, AZ), Plan & manage logistics strategically, warehouse srvics, transp & distrib betw locs, & customersrvc. Oversee the tech details relating to domestic & int'l transp. Track the full order cycle & monitor the quality, quantity, stock levels, deliverytimes, transport costs, & efficiency of the operations. Implement the necessary changes. Manage negotiations w/customers & suppliers. Problemr esolution. Ensuring that all partners in the supply chain are workingeffectively & efficiently. Communicate effectively w/mgmt & employees. Min. Req: Bach's in Biz Admin & 24 mos exp in Supply-Chain Logistics. Must haveunderstanding of Latin American Markets. Mail resume to Zerekon Holdings, LLC., 4040 N 24th St., Phoenix, AZ 85016.