The Mesa Tribune 010823 Zone 2

Mesa GoFundMe asks cover wide range

BY CECILIA CHAN AND SCOTT SHUMAKER Tribune Staff Writers

Christmas isn’t the only season for giving and spreading kindness.

For crowdfunding platforms, it’s a yearlong activity in Mesa as well as around the world – for the largest and best-known, GoFundMe.com.

Since its launch in 2010, the Californiabased site has become the go-to online fundraising tool for charities and just about

anybody who wants the public to help bankroll their expenses.

Within minutes someone can set up a money request on the global site, which to date has helped individuals and charities raise over $25 billion, according to GoFundMe, which did not respond to questions for the story.

The requests this year for donations run the gamut from classroom supplies and Girl Scout projects to relief efforts for crisis events such as Hurricane Ian in Florida and

Execs offer Mesa stern advice on development plan

BY SCOTT SHUMAKER Tribune Staff Writer

As the new year starts, Mesa is kicking off the process of updating its General Plan, a process it must undergo every 10 years.

The plan sets out a vision for development in the city and is a year-long effort involving surveys, discussions and meetings with the public and various stakeholders.

Mesa’s long-range planning staff started this year’s General Plan process at a meeting of Mesa’s Economic Development Advisory Board on Jan. 3, and business leaders hit the ground running with some pointed suggestions about how to improve and implement it.

The board consists of executives from major Mesa

the war in Ukraine.

The “Stand with Ukraine” fundraiser launched by actors Mila and Ashton Kutcher in partnership with GoFundMe is the platform’s second-largest campaign of all time, raising $37 million from over 75,000 donors.

For 2022, there’s been a 110% increase in money raised for baby formula, a 60% increase for gasoline and a 10% increase for

Jason and Josh Duren, founders of Cider Corps, are back in full operation in Mesa after they were forced to close a production facility they had opened in Gilbert to accommodate the growing popularity of their product. For the story, see page 19 (Special to the Tribune)

Assisted living facility may go multifamily in Mesa

BY SCOTT SHUMAKER Tribune Staff Writer

Mesa’s effort to transform downtown into a bustling urban center got an early Christmas gift last month.

The owner of the 13-story Courtyard Towers at Main Street and Robson submitted plans to convert the building from a 169-unit assisted living facility into 176 multifamily residential apartments.

The high-rise was built in 1984 on a 1.32-acre parcel.

The towers are currently vacant but appear to have been in use for assisted living as recently as the spring of 2022, based on online reviews.

The current interior building configuration includes apartments plus “related facilities and various support spaces, in-

cluding a lobby and restaurant on the first floor.”

The project narrative proposes to transform the support spaces into “social activity areas for community events and programs and a fitness center.”

A courtyard on the north side of the buildings would be converted to a “resort-style pool and spa” with cabanas, chaise lounges and tables.

“The space will utilize the existing date palms as well as some of the on-site boulders to produce a beautiful desert oasis that will help screen the adjacent parking lot,” according to the narrative.

The Courtyard Towers contains a mix of studios, one-bedroom and twobedroom apartments, which would be “refreshed with new finishes, flooring, paint, cabinets, appliances, etc.”

There is no indication in the pre-submittal materials about the price level for

the apartments and whether they are aiming for market-rate, above-market or affordable housing. But the narrative states that the goal is “to create a place for active apartment living that benefits from and contributes to the vitality of the downtown area.”

“This renovated residential development will help provide needed housing with its downtown location, close proximity to the light-rail station (Country Club Road and Main Street) and its visibility along Main Street. This will ultimately further support the transformation of Downtown Mesa and the nearby Innovation District,” the narrative concludes.

There was no information available on city planners’ support for the plan, but the project aligns with many of the city’s priorities for downtown, including workforce housing close to light rail and cultural amenities like restaurants and

breweries, museums and ASU’s new film and immersive media building.

The goal of increasing density is to create a “24-hour vibe” downtown, as the city manager put it in a study session earlier this year, rather than a scene that clears out in the evenings.

Converting an existing building into multi-family residential would likely inject housing into downtown faster than it would take to construct a new building – especially with current supply chain delays.

The project is also attractive because of its height. The city would like to see more high-rise residential projects, and at 13 stories, the Courtyard Towers would offer impressive density.

The tallest residential projects currently under construction downtown, The GRID and ECO Mesa, are each seven stories.

Historic Mesa council makeup celebrated at swearing-in

BY SCOTT SHUMAKER Tribune Staff Writer

Mesa set a new benchmark as it swore in the new council members during a Jan. 4 ceremony at the Mesa Arts Center, boasting for the first time in city history three women on the council.

Second-term council member Jenn Duff celebrated the moment in her remarks after giving the oath of office.

“I’m so thrilled and I couldn’t be more proud to be part of this moment in Mesa’s history,” Duff said. “This is especially touching for me to share this moment with my granddaughters that are here and seated.”

Alicia Goforth for District 5 and Dr. Scott Somers for District 6 were also sworn in last week. Duff, Goforth and current council member Julie Spilsbury make up the historic number.

The event featured several touching moments.

Duff announced that her mother’s cancer is now in remission and thanked her parents for their support during

the campaign “despite their own challenges.”

Somers thanked his grandchildren for letting him use their “cute little faces” on his campaign literature, and recalled that last time he was elected to council,

in 2006 and 2010, it was his kids, now adults, on the flyers.

Goforth, who is a first-time council member, thanked her family for being supportive of her move to a higher level of public service that could impact their

daily lives.

The swearing-in ceremony also featured performances from local groups.

The honor guards for the Mesa police and fire departments kicked off the event with bagpipes and marching, followed by a flute performance and hoop dance from Tony Duncan and songs by the Red Mountain High School Choir.

Duff remarks set a lofty tone for the evening.

“It takes all of us men and women in every race and ethnicity, social class, and gender identity and preference, working together to make progress, and we will succeed when we’re all at the table,” she said.

In an interview after the ceremony, Duff predicted the new council would work well together, but emphasized that the council members are individuals with different views

“I’m not seeing it as a team, I’m not feeling that,” Duff said. “I’m feeling like we’re very rooted in our individual persons and who we are and how we think and what we think – and respect each other for that.”

All smiles last Wednesday when they were sworn into their Mesa City Council positions were Dr. Scott Somers, Alicia Goforth and incumbent Jenn Duff. (David Minton/Tribune Staff Photographer)

QC couple arrested in connection with killing

BY MARK MORAN Tribune Staff Writer

Mesa police have arrested a Queen Creek husband and wife in connection with a homicide that occurred a few days after Christmas.

Heath Daniel, 33, was arrested on a first degree murder charge and Vanessa Daniel, 37, on two felonies of hampering prosecution and tampering with evidence in connection with the Dec. 28 slaying of Jose Olvera Ramirez, 31, near W. 8th Avenue and Country Club Drive.

Police records said officers found the victim around 7 a.m. after responding to reports of a “man down” on the street. He had been shot multiple times and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police had no witnesses nor any hard evidence to go on, so they turned to video surveillance from a nearby Circle K store. That footage showed Ramirez interacting with someone in a white car just 10 minutes be-

fore the shooting. The man later was identified as the shooter.

“The driver of the car was a man wearing a dark hat with the letters “NY” on it,” the police report said. “The car had identifiable damage to the bumper and was picked up by other surveillance cameras, which ultimately gave officers a license plate, and registered owner, Heath Daniel.”

Police then tracked Daniel’s phone to the location of the crime at the same time the shooting occurred.

The report describes in detail Daniel

meeting with the victim in a parking lot behind the same Circle K just before 7 a.m. After the meeting, the two parties separated and Ramirez began walking eastbound on 8th Ave.

The report does not say what the meeting was about or whether anything was exchanged.

“The defendant drives his vehicle past the victim slowly,” the report said. “After passing the victim, 7 shots are heard on the video before the defendant flees at a high rate of speed. The victim suffered one gunshot wound to his back causing his death.”

Two days later, police served search warrants at several places associated with Daniel. At one of them, they found a dark hat with the same “NY” logo on it and other clothing the man in the video was wearing. They also found an empty box for a .45 caliber pistol.

Daniel’s vehicle was found at a relative’s

house, where he and his wife asked the relative to hold onto the gun and a box of .45 caliber cartridges. Fired and unfired .45 caliber casings were found in and on Daniel’s vehicle, the report said.

“Officers also learned at another location that Daniel said he shot a man and even showed a .45 caliber handgun to a witness,” the report said.

While officers were serving the search warrants, they were told Daniel had left the area in a separate vehicle.

State police assisted Mesa Police and located Daniel and his wife traveling on I-10 southbound toward Tucson. Both Heath and Vanessa Daniel were transported back to Mesa, where they were booked into jail, according to the report.

Heath is being held on a $500,000 bond.

Police records show Heath Daniel has prior arrests and convictions related to firearms, aggravated DUI and criminal trespassing. His wife does not have prior arrests or convictions, according to those records.

Vanessa Daniel Heath Daniel

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BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

Russell Pearce, the sponsor of Arizona’s 2010 comprehensive and controversial law about illegal immigration, died Thursday at his home at age 75.

The Mesa Republican gained international attention with his SB 1070, dubbed the Fair and Legal Employment Act, which was designed to give the state a role in identifying and detaining those not in this country legally.

That included giving local police the power to charge migrants with violating state laws for seeking work in Arizona without being in this country legally and failing to carry federally issued registration cards. It also would have allowed police to make warrantless arrests if there is “probable cause’’ a person committed an offense that makes them

removable from the country under federal law.

Those provisions were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court as conflicting with federal law.

But the justices said there was nothing inherently illegal about what was known as the “papers please’’ provision. It says if police have stopped someone for some legitimate reason, they must “reasonably attempt’’ to determine that person’s immigration status where there is “reasonable suspicion’’ he or she is not legally present in the United States.

The high court sent the case back to a trial court to determine if that law can be applied legally.

And in a 2016 agreement, immigrant rights groups gave up on challenging that section in exchange for

Former Sen. Russell Pearce, who died last week, is pictured here in 2009 discussing policy with colleagues in the Senate Republican caucus. (Capitol Media Services file photo by Howard Fischer)

BY RYAN KNAPPENBERGER Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Experts say few Arizona residents will notice any immediate change to the availability of water in their daily lives now that steep cuts were imposed on the amount of water the state can draw from the Colorado River.

But that does not mean they can relax. State and federal water officials expect more cuts will be required in 2023, as they struggle to keep drought-ravaged Lake Powell and Lake Mead from falling to critically low levels.

And it’s anybody’s guess as to when and how those additional cuts will take effect, they say.

“If there’s one thing water managers really like, it’s certainty,” said Tom Buschatzke, director of the Arizona Department of Water Resourc -

es. “And 2023 seems to be anything but.”

That uncertainty is felt on the local level as well. Phoenix Water Resources Management Adviser Cynthia Campbell said the most recent projections show that Lake Mead and Lake Powell could drop below the point where the Hoover and Glen Canyon dams can produce hydroelectric power.

“It’s very bad,” Campbell said. “There’s no way to mince words about this … if we’re going to save the functionality of Hoover Dam and Glen Canyon Dam, there’s going to have to be, by necessity, a significant decrease in demand on the river.”

Those cuts would be in addition to reductions already imposed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which manages the dams and the water that passes through them.

The bureau last summer announced that the lakes had fallen to

Tier 2A levels, triggering previously agreed-upon cuts to water supplied to states in the lower basin of the Colorado River, beginning on Jan. 1.

Arizona will see the steepest cuts, with the state set to give up 592,000 acre-feet of water – the amount of water is takes to cover an acre to a depth of 1 foot – in 2023. Mexico would lose 104,000 acre-feet, Nevada would lose 25,000 acre-feet and California would not give up any of its water yet.

Most of the cuts in Arizona will be felt by farmers, with agriculture one of the biggest users of water in the state and one of the lowest priorities for delivery.

But Reclamation has already called on the seven states in the Colorado River Basin to find an additional 2 million to 4 million acre-feet to cut in the coming years, as Lake Powell and Lake Mead fall to the lowest levels since they were filled.

Campbell said that Phoenix is actively preparing for even the worst-case scenario, finding ways to continue providing water, but it will take some help from residents. That means people will have to start thinking about conservation in their daily lives, from making their homes more water-efficient to getting rid of lawns and pools.

“We’re also making sure we’re ready to deliver alternate supplies and make our customers aware of what they can do to be as efficient as they can,” Campbell said.

Colorado River basin states have been planning for years for water restrictions. But Reclamation has said that if the first months of 2023 are particularly dry, Lake Powell levels could drop below 3,490 feet, the minimum level at which the dam can produce electricity. In the worst

GOFUNDME

groceries, GoFundMe reported.

With a donation made every second, 28 million people so far this year have sent or received funding, the public nonprofit said.

In Mesa, over 500 people and groups have set up an account on the platform. Most requests are for help with funeral expenses, memorials or medical bills, such as a campaign for a Mesa dad who went into cardiac arrest in October.

The man’s sister set up an account to help support his two children while he recovered in the hospital. She raised $2,958 out of a $6,000 goal.

A Mesa woman created a GoFundMe for a 27-year-old woman who suffered a stroke one day after receiving a master’s degree from Arizona State University in December.

The campaign raised $23,285 in just four days to help pay for medical expenses not covered by insurance.

And then there’s the man who is raising money to help his friend make an annual rent payment at a Mesa mobile home park after she became ill and had to stop working. He’s received $2,390 of his $2,500 request.

According to GoFundMe, one in three fundraisers is started for someone else.

Another popular ask in Mesa is for animals – to help with things such as rescues and paying vet bills for animals

like Draco, a rescued French bulldog recovering from pneumonia and experiencing neurological problems. A Mesa woman raised $2,765 out of a $6,000 goal to pay for Draco’s care.

One animal success story involves a Mesa woman who has collected $2,030 out of a $2,000 goal to pay for spaying and neutering homeless cats in Mesa.

The fundraiser has paid for procedures for 72 cats since 2020. She’s placed 27 of those cats in permanent homes.

GoFundMe said help for animals is one of its fastest growing categories and there are more repeat donations made to these fundraisers than any other fundraising category.

To date, over $50 million have been raised for dogs and cats with $1.8 million donated this year.

Education and school-related activities are another popular money-giving category.

A social studies teacher at Fremont Junior High wants to raise $3,000 to build a race track for the school’s RC Racing Team, which builds, repairs and races 1/10-scale electric cars. He’s received $141.

A Mesa mother started a campaign to help cover tuition and related costs for her gifted 12-year-old son to begin his studies at Arizona State University this year.

So far, she’s raised $3,953 out of a $100,000 goal to help her son, a graduate of Skyline High School, achieve his goal of becoming a neurosurgeon.

There are campaigns for local athletes seeking help to travel to distant tournaments. In some cases, the campaigns seek money for travel to Mesa for competitions at Bell Bank Park, which opened early last year.

A deputy sheriff in Florida wants to raise $2,300 for his 15-year-old son to travel to Mesa for a threeday soccer tournament in late January.

Additionally, GoFundMe’s received over $400,000 in donations to

LGBTQ+ causes.

There’s a $3,000 request to fund student walkouts planned locally in Gilbert, Mesa and Chandler for items such as megaphones, water and banners. No date is given for the walkouts and so far, $1,650 was raised.

The organizer said the walkouts are to protest two new state laws that “marginalize LGBTQ students in favor of parents rights.”

Fundraising requests seem to represent the diversity of the community.

A Mesa woman who immigrated from Mexico wrote a request in Spanish seeking help to purchase a $7,000 prosthetic leg so she can work again.

A foot infection complicated by diabetes spread to her bone, and doctors amputated her leg below the knee. She does not have health insurance and has been unable to get help from nonprofits.

“I feel able to continue working but I need help for the leg,” the fundraiser states in Spanish.

Some GoFundMe campaigns involve hobbies. A Mesa man connected with RailFanAZ.com has raised $360 out of a $500 goal for an online feed of radio traffic along the BNSF Seligman Subdivision railway in Northern Arizona.

Another Mesa man is trying to raise $100,000 to buy property in the abandoned asbestos mining settlement of Chrysotile north of Globe.

He says he wants to preserve the site and also “build my castles in the most beautiful place on Earth.”

So far he’s raised $100.

The online requests in town go from needs to wants in some cases.

A Mesa GoFundMe campaign seeks $1,000 for a “gaming laptop.” There is little explanation in the description except to say the laptop is needed “to bully some kid named Kevin in Roblox.”

It’s raised $20.

Another person in Mesa is asking for $3,000 to buy a faster computer because “I can’t play Roblox with my friends.”

So far the campaign has raised zilch.

One of the largest and most successful requests from the past year comes from Jonathan Przybyl, owner of Proof Bread in Mesa. He is raising money for a bakery in Kyiv to keep the workers employed and Ukrainians fed.

The fundraiser has garnered 1,800 donations and raised $214,255 toward a $500,000 goal.

The global crowdfunding market is projected to almost triple by 2025, according to Fundly, another crowdfunding site. Other crowdfunding sites include Donorbox, Kickstarter, Crowdfunder, Indiegogo and a host of others.

Globally, $34 billion has been raised through these platforms, according to Fundly.

A Mesa woman raised $2,765 out of a $6,000 goal to help a French bulldog named Draco, a rescued French bulldog in Mesa recovering from pneumonia. (GoFundMe.com)

Baker Jonathan Przybyl, owner of Proof Bread in downtown Mesa, and an unidentified staffer started a GoFundMe plea for donations to help a bakery in the Ukraine stay in operation. So far, it has raised over $214,000 toward a $500,000 goal. (GoFundMe.com)

WARNING! PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY AND CHRONIC

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

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

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

TREATMENTS NOT WORKING!!

PAIN

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

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

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

1. Finding the underlying cause

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

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

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

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

1. Increases blood flow

2. Stimulates and strengthens small fiber nerves

3. Improves brain-based pain

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

It’s completely painless!

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

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

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

Aspen Medical will be offering this free chronic pain and neuropathy severity evaluation will be available until January 31st, 2023 Call (480) 274-3157 to make an appointment

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

Effective neuropathy treatment relies on the following three factors:

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

BY JENNIFER SAWHNEY Cronkite News

Electric vehicle drivers across Arizona can expect more chargers on interstate highways in the next few years, which means longer road trips.

The Arizona Department of Transportation will oversee the upgrade of existing chargers and installation of new ones along five interstate highways, thanks to $76.5 million in funding via the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that was signed into law in November 2021.

“The goal is to develop a network of EV fast chargers to facilitate longdistance EV travel and encourage EV adoption by more users,” according to a fact sheet with ADOT’s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Plan.

The expansion will help EV drivers avoid range anxiety: the fear of not making it to the next charging station.

The plan covers Interstates 40, 17, 10, 8 and 19. For now, no charging stations are proposed for the Interstate15 corridor in the northwestern corner of the state.

Upgrades to eight existing charging stations will start in 2023, and in 2024, ADOT will begin the process of installing 13 more. They’ll be placed about every 50 miles and within 1 mile of an interstate, ADOT spokesperson Doug Nick said. Each station will have at least four EV fast chargers capable of charging most vehicles in about 30 minutes.

Nick said ADOT had “no trouble finding potential infrastructure to meet the criteria” to implement this plan.

The stations will be independently owned and operated. Station owners will pay 20% of construction costs and federal funding will cover the other 80%. ADOT is coordinating the work.

Arizona currently has 903 public EV charging stations with more than

2,400 charging ports.

There are nearly 125,000 charging ports nationwide, according to the Alternative Fuels Data Center. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law aims to increase the current number of chargers about four times and create a “nationwide network of 500,000 EV chargers by 2030,” according to a February 2022 memorandum from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

For Jim Stack, the president of the Phoenix Electric Auto Association, this is welcome news.

“I’m real big on the environment, and I just love the fact that we aren’t burning oil. We aren’t importing oil, we aren’t digging it up. We aren’t spilling it all over,” he said.

Stack, who has driven electric cars for about 20 years, said he’s amazed by the technological advances that have led to the growth of EVs and the various solutions available to charge his cars.

He said he started off converting his own vehicles and installed solar panels on his home to power them.

“I can drive on the solar that comes off my own roof,” Stack said. “That’s like a miracle.”

Other Arizona drivers also are charged up by the plan, said Diane Brown, executive director of the Arizona Public Interest Research Group Education Fund, an independent nonprofit that researches and educates on public interest topics.

“The ADOT plan is one that we widely support,” she said, adding that

the timing for the project “coincides nicely” with growing interest in EVs in Arizona.

In 2017, about 7,200 electric vehicles were registered in Arizona. In the past five years, the number has increased more than five times: at least 40,740 as of June 2022.

“Consumers that own and drive an electric vehicle stand to save thousands of dollars annually through the reduction of fuel costs and operating and maintenance costs,” Brown said. “Additionally, gas-powered vehicles contribute to air pollution and adverse public health impacts such as asthma. Therefore, electric vehicles also offer air and public health benefits.”

The plan came together fairly quickly, she said. In August, ADOT sent its draft proposal and received federal approval and immediate access to $11.3 million in funds the following month.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allocated $1.2 trillion to infrastructure development nationwide. About $550 billion is new spending. Although the federal government already spends millions on infrastructure, this new spending is earmarked for roads, bridges, mass transit, water infrastructure broadband and more.

“Congress has spoken,” said ADOT’s Nick. “And so when the money was made available, they were hearing from their constituencies, presumably, to see that this is something that needed to be addressed. So we’re responding to that.”

case, both lakes could fall to the point at which water can no longer flow through the dam, a condition known as “dead pool.”

The bureau stressed that it will do everything in its power to maintain water levels needed for power production and water flow, either by limiting water deliveries to states, by prioritizing Lake Powell over Lake

Mead by transferring water from one to the other, or both.

Noe Santos, the Bureau of Reclamation’s river operations manager for the Lower Colorado Basin, said the agency will begin releasing less water from the reservoirs in 2023. Most users will only feel the changes in winter and summer months, he said, when less water overall is pumped because agricultural demand is lower.

One step that some Arizona cities and tribes have already taken to protect reservoir levels is to store some of their water allotment in the lakes. Phoenix is part of that group, having already stored 30,000 acre-feet in 2022 and volunteering to store an additional 30,000.

But Buschatzke said there are concerns across the state, especially among tribal governments, that such goodwill could end up hurting them in the end.

“No one wants to put their water on the table when there’s a chance it could be cut anyway by the mandatory cuts the federal government is considering,” he said.

Those concerns are amplified for tribes that have long fought to have their claims to Colorado River water

recognized, and now worry that water could disappear before they ever get a chance to see it.

Campbell said all Arizonans will be stressed in the next three to five years, with water likely to become more expensive as the supply continues to dwindle.

If residents can come together and become more efficient water users, she said, there is hope that the city and state can comfortably adapt. But she stressed that difficult changes are in store, adding that she has been using the “Serenity Prayer” as way to look at the coming years.

“To accept the things you cannot change, and change the things you can,” Campbell recited. “We have to accept the fact that this is going to happen.”

MNF scare resonated with new councilman

BY SCOTT SHUMAKER Tribune Staff Writer

Newly sworn-in Mesa councilman and firefighter Dr. Scott Somers was watching last Monday night’s Buffalo Bills game inside a fire station when Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed after a tackle.

As a long-time paramedic and ardent Bills fans (Somers originally hails from Rochester, an hour from Buffalo), he watched the crisis unfold with a keen eye. “We’re sitting there with friends of mine, who are paramedics, too, and we’re like, ‘boy, he’s not getting up,’ and we all started saying the same thing – ‘I think he’s having a cardiac event’ and hoping that the ambulance comes out on the field.”

Emergency medics at the game determined Hamlin experienced cardiac arrest and began life-saving measures. An ambulance came on the field within five minutes.

“I was pleased to see how quickly the cardiac incident was recognized and paramedics and physicians there were called onto the field,” Somers said. “They did the right thing in administering CPR and early defibrillation, because early defibrillation, CPR is key to survival.”

Reports stated that medics were able to restart the player’s heart before he was transferred to intensive care at a local hospital, where he remained in critical condition at press time.

Because time is so critical during cardiac incidents, Somers advocated for the installation of automated external defibrillators in city buildings and venues during his previous two terms on the council, between 2006 and 2014.

Sometimes hearts stop pumping blood because of a problem with the electrical signals creating a normal rhythm.

An AED is a portable electrical device that can restore a normal rhythm in certain conditions.

The machine is used alongside CPR

and analyzes the heart rhythm and determines if an electrical shock is needed.

CPR classes include training on the use of AEDs, which are designed to be simple to use in an emergency.

Mesa currently has about 150 installed in city facilities.

A public information officer for Mesa said there has been at least one save using a city-installed AED, in 2017. A spectator at an event collapsed and one of the bystanders helping the man ran into an office and grabbed an AED.

Somers said the city prioritized the installation of AED at Parks and Recreation facilities.

“We wanted to make sure that if there was a cardiac event for one of our athletes playing on our fields, that they had rapid access to that early defibrillation,” Somers said.

During a cardiac arrest, “we’re fighting the clock,” he added. “We have 10 minutes in a cardiac arrest before somebody starts to have irreversible cardiac dam-

New Councilman and firefighter Dr. Scott Somers, seen here taking his oath of office last Wednesday, said Bills safety Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest on the field two days earlier shows why defibrillators in public buildings are so important. (YouTube)

age and brain damage.”

“To get somebody not just to live, but to thrive after this event, early CPR as soon as it’s recognized, and application of an AED increases our success rate of saving lives,” he said.

DEVELOPMENT

from page 1

companies and other community leaders, and while cordial, its members had many comments about developing and following through on a vision for Mesa up to 2050.

The completed plan must be approved by the council with a twothirds vote and then goes to the Mesa voters in 2024.

City officials say the plan is consequential because it is supposed to guide decision-making about where in the city certain types of development take place and what type of zoning should be in place.

But the General Plan can also be amended between 10-year updates –and has been as recently as December, when Council OK’d a change in rules on when housing is allowed in medical and educational campus districts.

Responding to many of the comments was Mesa’s new long-range planner, Mary Kopaskie-Brown, who assumed the job in November and will be responsible for shepherding the plan this year.

She previously served as a planner for Riverside, California, a town that’s part the Los Angeles exurbs known as the Inland Empire.

In an interview with the Tribune last year, Kopaskie-Brown said she was drawn to the Mesa job in part because she thinks Riverside and Mesa face some of the same challenges.

There are similar dynamics, for example, between the two cities’ and their larger urban neighbors – in Mesa’s case Phoenix.

Kopaskie-Brown said a good general plan can reduce conflicts between landowners by identifying incompatible land uses before project applications come to the city.

“The best thing we can do as we’re preparing the General Plan is to engage as many people as we can and engage as many businesses and developers and not-for-profits and just make sure that we can get as many voices put into that plan,” she said.

Though it was the Economic Development Advisory Board’s first

meeting with Kopaskie-Brown, the members were assertive in expressing what they wanted to see in the new plan.

One of the main messages from business leaders was the city needs to be strong in sticking to the policies laid out in it, whatever those end up being.

Board President Rich Adams told city staff it’s been a “constant battle” protecting designated employment areas from incompatible development like housing.

Board members cited the need to protect flight paths surrounding the city’s two airports and keeping logistics warehouses out of the city’s tech corridors, preserving those districts instead for high-quality technology and manufacturing jobs.

Board member Natascha OvandoKaradsheh was pointed in urging the city to resist pressures to alter or compromise on the plan’s guidelines.

“We have watched politics, and there are a few strong attorneys who are very integrated in the city and involved in land use and different things, and we have seen things go against the General Plan … because of politics,” she said.

“One little aggressive developer coming and pushing a land deal through can have just massive impact,” she said. “We need to know who is going to make sure that we stand to the message and the vision of the plan.”

Another theme of the discussion surrounding the 2050 General Plan was the need for a focus on redevelopment in Mesa, due the shrinking supply of undeveloped land for new projects.

A map of all the developed land in Mesa city limits shared by KopaskieBrown showed that 85% of Mesa’s land area is developed.

While Economic Development Director Bill Jabjiniak said that still leaves plenty of open land for development, there was agreement that Mesa may need to pay more atten -

tion in the future to easing the process of replacing old buildings with new developments.

Kopaskie-Brown said built-in flexibility in the plan could help with that.

“We also could look at an adaptive reuse ordinance,” she added. “Something like that really will help to kind of streamline what that process could look like.”

The discussion also touched on quality of life in Mesa, with some of the biggest employers in town expressing an interest in matters beyond the economy.

Laura Snow, association vice president at Banner Health, said “healthy communities, walkable, safe places to exercise and recreate outside is also critical.”

Jabjiniak said that one challenge of creating the vision for 2050 will be the role of cars.

He said that much of Mesa’s development is still “autocentric,” and

while many people want to see a shift toward more walkability and transit, employers in certain parts of the city still want autocentric development.

Probably the biggest takeaway from the board’s feedback was the importance of listening to Mesa’s existing employers and protecting their needs in the future plan

Jabjiniak pointed out that about 80% of Mesa’s job growth comes from existing employers.

One board member said the city should meet one-on-one with executives from Mesa’s largest employers during the General Plan listening tour.

After giving the new planning director plenty of strong opinions on the General Plan process, the discussion closed down on good terms.

“I have good news for you,” Adams said. “It doesn’t get any tougher than this board, so it’s going to be downhill from here and easier.”

“We really, really do want the feedback that we’re getting,” KopaskieBrown told the board.

AZ zip codes turn up gold for residents

“If you live in the state of Arizona you need to find the first three digits of your zip code listed in today’s newspaper announcement and call immediately,” said Laura A. Lynne, Director of Coin and Currency for National Mint and Treasury.

That’s because Arizona residents can really cash in for the next 48 hours. Here’s why. Non-state residents and those who miss the 48-hour deadline must pay $8 per coin, but Arizona residents who take the Vault Bricks cover just the $4 per coin state minimum. That means Arizona residents get all 125 coins with rare 24 Karat Gold Layering for just $500 which is a real steal since non-state residents must pay over $1,000 for each Vault Brick. And it gets even better for those claiming the Jumbo Gold Vault Bricks.

This is all happening because thousands of U.S. residents stand to miss the deadline to claim the gold. Now any resident who finds the first three digits of their zip code listed in today’s publication and calls to verify it gets to claim the Gold Vault Bricks for themselves and keep all the valuable gold found inside.

And here’s the best part. Arizona residents who find the first three digits of their zip code listed in today’s publication are getting Sealed Vault Bricks containing the only Arizona State Gold Bank Rolls known to exist with the exclusive State Restricted Design and each loaded with rarely seen U.S. Gov’t issued Buffalo Nickels layered in valuable 24 Karat Gold by National Mint and Treasury.

“As Director of Coin and Currency for National Mint and Treasury, one of my jobs is to deliver breaking news. And today’s announcement confirming the release of Sealed Gold Vault Bricks to residents of the state of Arizona is as big as it gets,” Lynne said.

“So my advice is this, anyone who gets an opportunity to get their hands on one of these Gold Vault Bricks full of coins issued by the U.S. Gov’t nearly 100 years ago with rare 24 Karat Gold layering from the National Mint and Treasury better jump at the chance while they still can,” Lynne said.

“These Gold Vault Bricks make the most impressive gifts for Christmas, birthdays, graduations, weddings, and any other occasion, especially for that hard-to-buy-for person,” Lynne said.

According to Ms. Lynne, since thousands

Contents inside sealed Vault Bricks reveal old U.S. coins with added 24 Karat Gold Layering minted nearly 100 years ago are actually being handed over to Arizona residents who find their zip code below; but only

those who beat the 48 hour deadline are getting them at just state minimum

of U.S. residents stand to miss the deadline to claim the gold, today and tomorrow are intended as a “special 48 hour release” for the benefit of Arizona residents. This gives them a fair chance to claim the Sealed Gold Vault Bricks and all the valuable gold loaded inside for themselves.

But, Ms. Lynne added, “The Sealed Gold Vault Bricks are only available as inventory permits during the special 48 hour release so please do not miss the deadline.” The director added, “We have no power to stop coin dealers, resellers or collectors buying up all the Gold Vault Bricks they can get their hands on,” Lynne said.

”We already know the phones will be ringing off the hook. That’s why hundreds of agents are standing by to answer the phones beginning at 8:30am this morning. We’re going to do our best, but with just 48 hours to answer all the calls it won’t be easy. So make sure to tell everyone to keep calling if all lines are busy. We’ll do our best to answer them all,” Lynne said.

“That’s why National Mint and Treasury set up the State Distribution Hotlines in order to make sure residents of Arizona can get them now,” Lynne said.

The only thing readers of today’s newspaper publication need to do is make sure they live in one of the zip codes listed and call the State Distribution Hotlines before the special 48 hour deadline ends midnight tomorrow. ■

Answering Your Questions

Q: How much are the Gold Vault Bricks worth?

A: It’s impossible to say, but these Buffalos date clear back to the early 1900’s and are not ordinary U.S. coins. That’s because only an extremely low percentage of Buffalos were then commissioned by National Mint and Treasury to be covered with rarely seen 24 Karat Gold Layering, then sealed and protected in brilliant collector condition inside special 25 count Arizona Bank Rolls. That’s why you better hurry if you want to get your hands on them. Collector values always fluctuate and there are never any guarantees. But we do know they are the only Arizona State Bank Rolls known to exist. So anyone lucky enough to get their hands on these sealed Vault Bricks should hold onto them because there’s no telling how much they could be worth in collector value someday.

Q: Why are so many Arizona residents calling to get them?

A: Because they are the only Arizona State Bank Rolls known to exist we’re bracing for the flood of calls. These are not ordinary Bank Rolls. These are full Bank Rolls containing 25 Buffalos dating clear back to the early 1900’s. Best of all each Buffalo is layered in 24 Karat Gold and the state minimum set by National Mint and Treasury is restricted to Arizona residents who find the first three digits of their zip code listed in today’s publication and beat the deadline only. That means Arizona residents cover only $4 per Buffalo when they claim the Gold Vault Bricks, which is just $500 for the next 2 days.

Q: How do I get the Gold Vault Bricks?

A: The only thing Arizona residents need to do is find the first three digits of their zip code in today’s publication and call the State Toll-Free Hotline at 1-800-280-4564 Ext. GNH1511 before the deadline ends. Everyone who does is getting the Bank Rolls for just the state minimum. That’s a sealed Gold Vault Brick containing the only Arizona State Bank Rolls known to exist each loaded with the rarely seen U.S. Gov’t issued Buffalo Nickels layered in valuable 24 Karat Gold for just the $4 per coin state minimum set by the National Mint and Treasury, which totals just $500 for the full sealed Gold Vault Brick. That’s a real steal because state residents and non-state residents who miss the deadline must pay $1,000 for each sealed Gold Vault Brick if any remain.

morning. That’s

in for the next 48

Here’s why. Non-state

8:30 am

the 48-hour deadline

pay $8 per coin, but Arizona residents who take the Gold Vault Bricks pictured above cover just the $4 per coin state minimum. That means Arizona residents get all 125 coins with rare 24 Karat Gold Layering for just $500 which is a real steal since non-state residents must pay over $1,000 for each Gold Vault Brick. And it gets even better for those claiming the Jumbo Gold Vault Bricks.

NATIONAL MINT AND TREASURY, LLC IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH THE U.S. MINT, THE U.S. GOVERNMENT, A BANK OR ANY GOVERNMENT AGENCY. IF FOR ANY REASON WITHIN 30 DAYS FROM SHIPMENT YOU ARE DISSATISFIED, RETURN THE PRODUCT FOR A REFUND LESS RETURN POSTAGE. THIS SAME OFFER MAY BE MADE AVAILABLE AT A LATER DATE OR IN A DIFFERENT GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION. OH RESIDENTS ADD 6.5% SALES TAX. NATIONAL MINT AND TREASURY, PO BOX 35609, CANTON, OH 44735 ©2022 NATIONAL MINT AND TREASURY.

■ FIRST LOOK INSIDE GOLD VAULT BRICKS: Shown above is a sneak peak inside the Gold Vault Bricks. The Gold Vault Bricks are loaded with Arizona State Gold Bank Rolls containing U.S. Buffalos each layered in 24 Karat Gold. The phone lines will be ringing off the hook beginning at precisely

this

because Arizona residents can really cash

hours.

residents and those who miss

must

Tonto NF approves Hawes system upgrades

BY SCOTT SHUMAKER Tribune Staff Writer

The Tonto National Forest is addressing parking issues on the public lands just north of Mesa and boosting the city’s credentials as a mountain biking destination with the recent approval of new parking lots to serve the Hawes Trail System.

District Ranger Matthew Lane last month gave final approval to a 150- to 200-car parking lot with a connecting trail on the west side of Usery Pass Road north of Usery Pass Regional Park.

A major aim of the project is to reduce the number of cars parked on the shoulders of Usery Pass Road, reducing congestion and enhancing safety for those accessing the 55-mile system of trails between Bush Highway and Usery Pass.

It’s the second lot approved by Tonto National Forest inside the Hawes trail system, which has become a mecca for mountain bikers since the national forest completed a master trail plan in 2020 in partnership with the nonprofit Hawes Trails Alliance.

The other approved lot, called Red Mountain, is planned farther north on Usery Pass and will hold about 75 to 100

cars.

Both still await groundbreaking as the Hawes Trail Alliance, which maintains the trails under an agreement with Tonto NF, works on final designs.

Alliance board member Grant Taylor said the two new parking lots will add needed infrastructure to the area’s world-class trails, which feature pristine Sonoran scenery and paths catering to various skill levels.

The Hawes system began as a web of unauthorized social trails beat out over the years by local bikers and hikers. A master plan approved in 2020 adopted some of those social trails into an official system and planned an additional 30 miles of new trails.

Taylor said HTA’s crews built the new trails much faster than the national forest expected and led usage to increase “exponentially” while available parking remained static.

When HTA proposed another 30 miles of trails, the national forest told the group “before you jump into that, we really need to get this parking figured out,” Taylor recalled.

“We totally agree,” he said.

The project could be a significant development for Mesa in years to come because outdoor recreation is a key part

of the identity the city is a forging and public land access is a centerpiece of Visit Mesa’s campaigns to attract visitors to the area.

“Trailheads and canal paths are one of our strengths,” Mayor John Giles told city staff during a September study session.

Taylor said local leaders and companies recognize the value of the trails and have been eager to lend support so far.

“They know the benefit to not only the livability (of the city) but to attract employees in that area and for employment purposes,” he said.

Under the terms of alliance’s agreement with the national forest, the group is responsible for the costs associated with the trail system’s development, and local companies have helped it raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to build trails and improvements like the future parking lots.

Hundreds of passionate trail users have also donated time and money to build and maintain the system.

While popular with mountain bikers, Hawes’ non-motorized trails are also used by hikers and horseback riders.

The new parking lots could also benefit the off-highway vehicle community by relieving parking congestion at the western entrance to the Bull Dog OHV area, a 20-mile road system in the forest open to motorized vehicles.

cess the Hawes trails to the west.

Giles noted the need for trailhead parking in this part of the national forest in the September study session.

“If you drive out to that part of Mesa on any weekend, it’s not safe,” he said, “You’ll go for a mile (and) there’s trucks with people pulling their mountain bikes out, and at some point, it’s just not safe.”

Tonto National Forest is outside Mesa’s jurisdiction, but Giles was interested in exploring partnerships with authorities to enhance recreation access in the area.

The planned Hawes parking lot will be set back from the road, accessed from Usery Pass via a two-lane dirt road on the west side of the highway.

A new trail, Bob Gnarly Trail, will connect the parking lot to the Hawes trail network.

“One of the volunteers came up with that name,” Taylor said. “The Forest Service kind of lets us name a lot of these trails.”

The alliance board is currently deliberating whether to keep the parking lot’s amenities basic and leave it as a non-fee area or request it become a feearea where a Tonto Pass is required.

The Hawes Trail System is a mecca for mountain bikers since the national forest completed a master trail plan in 2020 in partnership with the nonprofit Hawes Trails Alliance. (Hawes Trail Alliance)

Currently, non-motorized trail users park in the OHV lot on busy days to ac-

If it became a fee area, Taylor said, the forest service would shoulder a lot of the costs of putting in bathrooms, asphalt, tables and other amenities similar to the recreation areas along the Lower Salt River.

Approvals of two new parking lots to serve the Hawes Trail System through Tonto National Forest just north of Mesa will help curb parking along the road. (David Minton/Tribune Staff Photographer)

Brothers press on with their Mesa cider business

BY JOSH ORTEGA Tribune Staff Writer

In Latin, “ex malo bonum” translates to “out of bad comes good,” and that’s remained the story of Cider Corps especially now.

Two years ago, Cider Corps founders Josh and Jason Duren announced they would expand their growing Mesa operation by opening a production facility in Gilbert.

But last month the brothers announced the closure of their Gilbert taproom at 685 S. Gilbert Road. Jason Duren said the landlord for the property passed away in August and the estate decided to sell the 2.5-acre parcel.

The new owners were not interested in keeping the brothers’ business on the property.

Jason said this move comes at a time when the company had just started to see success in the last year as they grew their operation and ramped up production.

“It’s a really bad timing for all this to happen, but can’t change it," he said.

The cidery opened on Veterans Day in 2017 in downtown Mesa and in 2019 expanded into its neighboring space to add another 2,000 square feet to its production area.

Jason said this unprecedented move changes many of the plans the cider makers had for creating a second home for the business and adding to the community dynamic in town.

“When we went over to Gilbert location, we had dreams of the property, developing it and creating a place for people to come and build community,” he said.

A taproom sat inside the 14,000-squarefoot Gilbert production facility with 22foot ceilings – large enough to hold some of their newest production tanks. Their Mesa location has only 10,000 square feet and 14-foot ceilings.

But a spirit of “adapt and overcome” comes naturally for Jason, who earned a Purple Heart for his injuries during a tour of duty in Afghanistan and was medically retired from the Marine Corps.

While in Afghanistan in 2012, Jason served as a heavy equipment operator running bulldozers and excavators. With-

in five days, Duren said he hit two improvised explosive devices.

He returned home and while going to his medical appointments, he and his brother Josh had started making cider in their garage as a therapeutic hobby.

“For me, it was a release from mental health and different issues and things that I was going through,” Jason said. “And it also was helping me process and relearn processing skills.”

After earning his degree in sustainable horticulture from Arizona State University, the brothers combined their efforts to launch Cider Corps.

Since starting the business five years ago, Jason said he and his brother have constantly had to adapt to new and unforeseen circumstances, from the pandemic and ensuing economic downturn, to this move.

But it’s all in a day’s work for them.

“From Day One of the conception of Cider for us it has just always been a continued process of reinventing and being malleable and adapting,” Jason said.

This move will bring some good to their flagship location in Mesa with new furniture and draft system, but the same taproom.

Jason said the move only makes a negligible downsize for customers, from a 3,000-square-foot taproom in Gilbert to just under 2,800 in Mesa.

But he said the real work comes on the production side moving from 6,000-square-feet in Gilbert to 4,500 in Mesa.

“With smaller ceiling heights, we have

to be a little bit more creative on how we accomplish our fermentation, which, again, if I were going to have some outside capacity,” Jason said.

To ease the struggles with the move, Cider Corps started a crowdfunding initiative to raise $300,000 for “making improvements to the space to house our production,” according to their website.

The crowdfunding offers four levels of memberships including “PFC” (an abbreviation for the rank of private first class) for $250 that get the donor a commemorative “honor tile” and limited-edition Tshirt.

The “CPL,” or corporal membership earns a $500 donor the tile, T-shirt and glassware.

The “SGT,” or sergeant, donor of $1,000 gets the tile, T-shirt, glassware and $100 Cider Corps gift card.

The highest level, Commandant of Cider Corps, costs $2,822.87 and earns a lifetime 28.2% discount for one person, all the rewards of lesser donors and an invitation to the Commandant Private Party with free cider, food, and giveaways.

That number specifically comes from the Julian Date Calendar the military uses and the days “282” and “287” signify the dates Jason was injured in combat.

Jason said he doesn’t anticipate this move affecting the cidery’s production and distribution and the next piece of the puzzle would come with purchasing the Mesa property.

Jason said Cider Corps started on brokenness and this move won’t change anything about the business.

And they’ll continue to share their story with other veterans and the community.

“We’re going through this hard time right now, but we know that there’s something good on the other side of it,” Jason said. “So, this is just another piece of it, we'll adapt to our new circumstances, we'll overcome it, we'll continue to grow.”

Josh and Jason Duren were forced to give up this larger Gilbert site when new owners decided they didn‘t want a cider production facility on the property,

some state-issued informal -- and non-binding -- guidance on how police should enforce it.

But his sponsorship of that and other anti-immigrant legislation led to an effort in 2011 by voters in his Mesa legislative district to recall Mr. Pearce, by then the Senate president. The move was successful, resulting in the only such ouster of a state lawmaker from office in Arizona history. That special election represented a blow to the more conservative wing

of the Arizona Republican Party which had portrayed the recall as a liberal effort to take down the author of SB 1070. Mr. Pearce raised money from across the nation as conservatives rallied around the lawmaker.

It was a sharp turnaround for Pearce. He and his measure were popular in his district when the law was approved in 2010.

But criticism grew in 2011 when he pushed a new round of anti-immigrant legislation that was so controversial that it could not muster a majority in the Senate.

The legislation also triggered a letter from the CEOs of some of Arizona’s largest companies urging the legislature to put a hold on new immigration laws.

There were other factors.

Former Mesa city councilman Dennis Kavanaugh, who represented about half of Mr. Pearce’s legislative district, said the defeat was no surprise. He said the district had become more politically diverse, especially among independents.

And Mr. Pearce’s views on immigration also had caused a stir in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, of which he was a member. That gave an edge in the recall election to Jerry Lewis, another member of the church.

SB 1070 was not Pearce’s sole foray into the issue of illegal immigration.

In 2004 he was a supporter of Proposition 200. The measure, approved by voters, made proof of citizenship a legal requirement not only to vote but also to receive any public benefits.

But even that did not fully survive.

Just last year Arizona voters approved a measure partly repealing that initiative. It allows children who were brought to this country illegally, to pay the same tuition at state universities and community colleges as any other resident if they meet other conditions.

He also was the author of a 2006 ballot measure to have English declared the state’s official language.

Mr. Pearce also was a staunch ad -

vocate of what he said are Second Amendment rights and ushered through Arizona’s first law in 2010 allowing people to carry concealed weapons. Prior to that, all adults could be armed -- but only if the weapon were visible.

Prior to being in the legislature he was a deputy in the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department, including being the chief deputy under Joe Arpaio. Pearce said he was responsible for creation in 1993 of the “Tent City’’ which ensured that the county would never run out of space to house inmates. But that was shut down in 2017 amid issues of cruel conditions especially during the summer heat.

In 1995 he became director of the Motor Vehicle Division of the state Department of Transportation.

Mr. Pearce was elected to the House of Representatives in 2000 and served three two-year terms there before moving to the Senate in 2006 where he remained until the recall.

Funeral details and survivors were not available at deadline.

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East Valley lawmaker seeks to clamp transgender pronoun use

BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

State lawmakers are once again wading into the area of the rights of transgender minors.

A new proposal by Sen. John Kavanagh, R-Scottsdale, would bar school employees from knowingly referring to a student by a pronoun “that differs from the pronoun that aligns with the student’s biological sex’’ regardless of the student’s preferences. Only if the adult first gets parental permission would that be permissible.

And Kavanagh already is planning to expand what has been introduced as SB 1001 to close what he sees as a possible loophole where teachers could avoid pronouns and instead address a student by the first name he or she prefers.

He wants state law to read that only a student’s given name or some variant could be used. So, someone named Edward could be addressed as Eddie or Ed.

But calling that student Emma or Evelyn would be breaking the law.

Kavanagh bills his measure as ensuring that parents know if their children are identifying themselves by a gender other than the one they were assigned at birth. That, he said, ensures the children can get the psychological treatment they may need to deal with depression and possible suicide.

But what it’s not designed to do, he told Capitol Media Services, is make it easier for a parent, informed of a child’s “gender dysphoria,’’ to get him or her the medical treatment needed to match the biological sex and gender identity.

“You’re talking to somebody who was a parent who wouldn’t let their minor child get a tattoo, much less change their gender,’’ Kavanagh said. “Those decisions need to be deferred to when an individual’s an adult and can make a mature decision.’’

His legislation comes less than a year after state lawmakers approved –

and former Gov. Doug Ducey signed -a measure to prohibit any form of “irreversible gender reassignment surgery’’ on an individual younger than 18, even with the consent of parents.

But to get the votes, proponents had to remove a provision that would have prohibited doctors from providing puberty-blocking hormones or any other hormone therapy to minors.

Ducey also signed another measure passed by the Republican-controlled legislature spelling out that anyone who is born a male cannot participate in intramural or interscholastic sports for females, regardless of whether she has fully transitioned.

Kavanagh, in discussing his new bill, acknowledged he has heard of no issues in Arizona schools with teachers using the “wrong’’ pronouns with students -- yet.

“It’s something that is spreading,’’ he told Capitol Media Services. “We want to nip it in the bud.’’

But Jeanne Woodbury, the interim executive director of Equality Arizona, said it’s a bad idea.

“Reactionary legislators are now trying to forcibly enlist teachers into their efforts to make schools inhospitable to trans and nonbinary students,’’ she said. And Woodbury called it “an embarrassment to good governance’’ for this to be the first measure introduced in the Senate for the 2023 session.

Bridget Sharpe, state director of the Human Rights Campaign, said Kavanagh is trying to make an issue out of something that’s not problem.

“All that happens at the end of the day is that the kids feel ostracized,’’ she said. Sharpe said it also undermines the ability of trans students to believe they have “a trusted person at school’’ with whom they can speak.

“It’s really an attempt, we’ve seen it nationwide, to just kind of demonize these kids and saying that their pronouns don’t matter,’’ she said.

Kavanagh pointed out that his legislation would not preclude a teacher or other school employee from referring to a student using his or her preferred pronoun or even a name that doesn’t match the person’s “biological sex.’’

“It says they can’t do that unless the parent has given permission,’’ he said.

Kavanagh said there’s also a potential benefit in requiring teachers to check in with parents when a student makes such a request.

That goes to the issue of gender dysphoria, generally described as a sense by individuals that there is a mismatch between their biological sex and their gender identity. More to the point, it refers to the distress that can result which can lead to depression and even suicide.

Kavanagh said alerting the parent

could get the child necessary treatment.

“In fact, if the parents know about it and the child is receiving treatment, then calling a child a name or a pronoun that doesn’t align with their gender may, in fact, be contrary to their treatment,’’ Kavanagh said.

“These children are often depressed and suicidal,’’ he continued. “So the last thing that I want to do is keep parents, who are in a position to help the child, in the dark.’’

But he acknowledged, that “treatment’’ would be for the depression, essentially getting the child to be comfortable with his or her assigned gender, rather than any intervention, medical or otherwise, to help confirm the child’s perceived gender.

The legislation also is raising concerns in the education community.

Marisol Garcia, president of the Arizona Education Association, said it comes even as the the state is losing thousands of teachers each year. And she said measures like this make it harder to convince more people to enter the profession, citing a conversation she had with some would-be teachers.

“It was their No. 1 priority: How do we stay in a state where we are constantly being politicized?’’ she said, with state government adding to the bureaucracy. “It’s just frustrating and angering.’’

Rep. John Fillmore, R-Apache Junction, actually offered a similar idea last session.

But his proposal only would have precluded school officials from requiring teachers and other staff from using a gender pronoun that differs from what is on a student’s birth certificate. It would not, however, have precluded someone from voluntarily honoring a student’s request, something that Kavanagh’s SB 1001 would outlaw.

Fillmore’s measure, however, did not even get a hearing in the House Education Committee to which it was assigned.

Scottsdale state Sen. John Kavanagh wants to ban schools’ use of pronouns that don’t reflect an individual’s birth gender. (Cronkite News)

Gilbert studio’s naked yoga fills a void, owner says

BY CECILIA CHAN Tribune Staff Writer

At a downtown studio in Gilbert people can find enlightenment through the practice of yoga – in the buff.

Gilbert Yoga has been offering its Naked Yoga class since October 2021 but has recently begun promoting it heavily, according to owner Heather Promise.

“Yoga and nakedness are not new,” Promise said. “But there’s a void in the marketplace and we saw that need and wanted to fill that gap for people.”

Practicing flowing movements and deep breathing without clothes will help students to cultivate courage, develop emotional intelligence and strengthen their resolve, according to the class description.

Promise isn’t the first or the only studio owner offering nude yoga in the Valley. Other places that offer it include Bear Naked Yogi and Tha Nude Guru Yoga & Tantra, both in Phoenix.

Promise, a Chandler resident, has been practicing yoga for over 22 years and teaching it since 2006. She is the lead trainer of the Advanced Yoga Teacher Training Program and Dean of Curriculum at the Gilbert Yoga Teacher Training School.

She had been an instructor at Gilbert Yoga since 2009 when she purchased the business from the founder in 2020 and relocated the studio to the current site, a mile away from the original location.

According to Promise’s bio, her personal practice is informed by Tantra and the ancient teachings of Hatha Yoga Pradipika. She’s also well-versed in many yoga styles, including Tantra, Kundalini, Vinyasa Flow, Yin, Beginner, and Prenatal.

“My personal field is psychology and the humanities,” Promise said. “And so I am very concerned with some of the shifts taking place in the world relative to mental healthcare, among other things.

“Our social media realms are filled with highly idealized bodies and so these unrealistic standards for bodies

create a lot of dissatisfaction among people especially if they get the impression that is what they should be like.”

She said her class offers a direct investment in mental health as it lets people see themselves in a more accepting light.

The class size for Naked Yoga ranges from eight to 20 with an equal number of men and women from all age groups, according to Promise, who recently upped the monthly class to twice a month.

She said there’s a process to ensure that the people who want to attend the class do so with the right intentions.

“It costs $55, that is the first vetting process,” Promise said. “The notion with that is when someone is interested in investing in themselves, they need to put their money where their mouth is.”

She also considers people’s behaviors leading up to a class.

“Folks who have seemingly nefarious attitudes… that comes out pretty clear

in the line of questioning,” she said. “There are ways to ensure that those folks don’t find their way into our classrooms.”

That may be so but it doesn’t stop plenty of naysayers from taking potshots at the class on social media.

“Some things my eyes do not need to see,” wrote a woman while another said, “Ew. No one wants to see or do that. People are disgusting and I can only imagine the outbreaks of disease.”

A man jokingly advised, “Get there early so you’re not stuck in the back row” and another man commented, “I think the word for that is just 0rgy.”

Promise is quick to point out that nude yoga in a group setting is not eroticized.

The classes are conducted in a circle “therefore some of the issues related to classroom management are completely diffused,” Promise said.

As for hygiene, people who regularly

come to the class bring their own mats and towels and for those who forget, the studio provides a clean towel to them that they take home and keep.

“There are very, only very rare occasions when one’s genitals come in contact with the surface of a mat,” Promise said. “Most often it’s the hands and feet touching the mat. In situations when the genital is touching the mat there is a towel to use.”

To provide an additional level of comfort, the doors are locked during class time and stragglers aren’t allowed in, according to Promise.

“We maintain very high standards of self-respect and mutual regard,” she said. “I’ve found in the year and several months of doing this class that there have been very small incidents of any kind of concern.”

She said feedback from class participants is that they feel safe while doing a blend of postures with a focus on breathing and alignment.

“It’s been well-documented and studies have shown that doing activities naturalistically or in the nude or buff actually increases self-esteem and just overall life satisfaction by virtually adding self-acceptance and positive body image for people who practice it,” Promise said; “whether alone or in a group, the impacts are positive.”

A class participant agreed.

“Don’t knock it 'till you try it,” another woman said. “I did this a few times and it was very freeing and no one stared at each other and it was co-ed.”

If You Go...

Naked Yoga classes

When: First Friday of each month from 7:30- 9 p.m. and second Saturday of each month from 6-7:30 p.m.

Where: Gilbert Yoga, 655 N. Gilbert Road,Suite 162.

Cost: $55 per person.

Info: Must be 18 and older. Pre-registration is required. For more information on Naked Yoga and other classes offered, go to Gilbertyoga.com

Heather Promise said she screens participants in her naked yoga classes at her Gilbert studio to keep out perverts and voyeurs. (David Minton/Tribune Staff Photographer)

Mesa wood turner pens his way to popularity

BY DAVID M. BROWN Tribune Contributor

Want a custom pen in Bolivian rosewood to sign checks? Andy Trotti will turn it out for you.

Or one in Brazilian ebony for extending birthday greetings? Maybe, one in desert ironwood for winter postcards extolling the Arizona sunshine?

The Mesa man turns these woods and others on his lathe, and an hour later, people can start stylishly making their point on paper.

The Navy veteran has been creating custom pens and pencils for about 15 years in his home studio, Pens by Andy.

He visits local crafts fairs and other events where he sells them at his table and donates his pens to nonprofits, including the Southwest Veterans Chamber of Commerce & Foundation, of which he is a member.

While Andy Trotti normally works with wood, he made this bolt action gun set from a deer antler. (Elizabeth Trotti/Special to the Tribune)

He offers some pens in acrylic, others in antler. Most, however, are from

exotic woods including bocote, buckeye burl, zebrawood, ziricote, Gabon ebony, kingwood, figured maple, birdseye maple, pink ivory, claro walnut and magnificently figured spalted tamarind.

“If someone wants a special wood, I will try to get it for a custom job, but they can’t be in a rush,” Trotti said.

Christine Ely, a website developer and CRM specialist at Sonet Dynamics LLC in Phoenix, has a few of Trotti’s pens and has also used them as promotional items, noting that he offers laser engraving for a personalizing element.

“Andy has a special skill in making these pens so that every one of them is unique,” Ely said.

To approach a task, Trotti selects the style of pen he wants to turn, thin to

Copper State Beer Festival returns to Mesa

BY JOSH ORTEGA Tribune Staff Writer

It took a couple years to get started but organizers Copper State Beer Festival said they’ve tapped into something in Mesa.

The second annual Copper State Beer Festival returns next Saturday, Jan. 14, to Mesa Riverview Park with more than 80 breweries including Pedal Haus Brewery, Steel Cactus Brewing and Cider Corps, and more than two dozen other companies including local cideries, distilleries and wineries.

Along with the brews, the 21+ event will have more than 20 local food vendors, live DJs and activities such as axe throwing, cornhole, and Giant Jenga.

It’s a full day of fun in the suds.

Event organizer Joseph Lopez said the idea for the event started in the summer of 2020. With his business partner’s insurance background giving them contacts with local companies in the alcohol industry, Lopez said his background in event planning seemeda p[erfect match for this venture.

“We thought what better way to give back to our clients than to promote them on another level,” Lopez said.

The alcohol offered at the event runs the gamut, including craft beers, wines, ciders and mead – an alcoholic beverage made from fermented honey.

“As much as me and my business partner love beer, we realized that not everyone loves beer and we want to provide options to all attendees,” Lopez said.

Over the last decade, Lopez has traveled around the country for work.

Through his love for craft beer, he visited breweries across the country and he said the craft brewing industry in Arizona has grown exponentially in that time.

“I think, honestly, the craft brewing industry has exploded, for sure over the last

10 years, in which each new year I feel like it exponentially grows and grows and grows,” Lopez said.

To his knowledge, Lopez said the industry has grown from 3,000 breweries in 2010 to more than 10,000 currently in Arizona, which he puts up there with other states.

“I put Arizona up there with pretty much any other state,” Lopez said. “We have some really good breweries out here that produce really good beer.”

That talent drew more than 3,000 people to last year’s event and Lopez said they could easily reach the 5,000-person capacity the City of Mesa has designated to them this year.

Lopez said much of the talent behind

Andy Trotti makes wooden pens, often from exotic woods that he can personalize for giftgiving. (Elizabeth Trotti/Special to the Tribune)

More than 80 breweries will be on tap at the Copper State Beer Festival in Mesa next Saturday. (Special to the Tribune)

N o r e c e ‘ S h o r t y ’

H a t c h w a s b o r n t o L e o n a r d a n d D o r o t h y H a t c h o n M a r c h 2 7 , 1 9 4 7 H e i s t h e o l d e s t o f 7 k i d s D a r n e l l B r o w n ( T o m ) , R a y ( d ec e a s e d ) , D o n ( K a y ) , R o s s ( K a r e n ) , G w y n n , L y n n R o m n e y ( J e s s ) . H e g r e w u p i n N o r t h e r n A r i z o n a . H e g r a d u a t e d f r o m A s h f o r k H S , t h e n served a 2 year mission in Central America for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

I n 1 9 6 9 h e m a r r i e d N i v l a L a m o r e a u x of Gilbert , Arizona They moved to Flagstaff where Shorty earned a BS degree in b u s i n e s s T h e f a m i l y m o v e d t o G i l b e r t o u t o n R a y R o a d w h e r e h e r a n h i s b u s in e s s , S h o r t y ’ s ( a n d l a t e r S p a r t a n ) E l e ct r i c . H e w a s a n e l e c t r i c a l c o n t r a c t o r f o r 4 0 y e a r s

They had 9 children After 28 years the f a m i l y m o v e d o u t t o s o u t h H i g l e y R o a d w h e r e t h e f a m i l y c o n t i n u e d t o g r o w S h o r t y a n d N i v l a l e f t i n 2 0 1 1 f o r a m i ssion in Cór doba Argentina Nivla passed a w a y i n M a r c h o f 2 0 1 2 w h i l e t h e y w e r e s e r v i n g t h e r e I n 2 0 1 6 N o r e c e m a r r i e d Mary Rogers In the Spring of 2018 they served a temple mission in Madrid Spain. Mary made Shorty very happy O n T u e s d a y , D e c e m b e r 2 7 t h , 2 0 2 2 S h o r t y p a s s e d a w a y o f n a t u r a l c a u s e s i n his home, after having the best couple of d a y s p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n f a m i l y t r a d i t i o n s H e i s s u r v i v e d b y M a r y R o g e r s H a t c h , Shamaine Wrigh t ( Mik e) , Titia M an n , N C o d y ( M e l a n i e ) , Y a n a R e i d h e a d ( K e e vi n ) , C o z e t t e F o x ( S e a n ) , T i m a H i r d (Nick), Toah, Taffy Sherwood (DJ), Koa y ( R i a n n e ) . 4 3 g r a n d k i d s a n d 1 4 g r e a t g r a n d s H e w a s a l a r g e s p i r i t i n a s h o r t body He served his community, his family, and his friends

A f u n e r a l s e r v i c e w i l l b e h e l d f r o m 9:30 AM to 1 1 :0 0 A M on 20 2 3 -0 1 -0 7 at Power Ranch stake center, 4170 S Ranch H o u s e P a r k w a y G i l b e r t , A Z . A v i e w i n g ( w a k e ) w i l l b e h e l d f r o m 8 : 0 0 A M t o 9:00 AM on 2023-01-07 at Power Ranch S t a k e C e n t e r , 4 1 7 0 S R a n c h H o u s e P

WOOD

from page 23

bulbous, then selects the wood and mills it to ¾ inch-by 6 inches.

With a radial arm saw, he cuts the wood to the length of the brass pen tubes to be inserted; he scuffs these with sandpaper so they will hold the glue and adhere to the wood. He squares the end of the blank wood, then drills a hole to the size required to accept the appropriate tube style.

He inserts this, squaring it with a sander or a drill press, then attaches the assembly to the lathe for turning and finishing. Finally, he assembles the pen. This takes about an hour for simple woods to three or more for some exotics.

He acquires most wood species from other woodworkers and wood stores.

His favorite is Turners Warehouse in Gilbert, where owner Chad Schimmel, a turner as well, has been selling wood-turning supplies, scheduling demos and developing internet videos about the art since opening the store in 2016. He does not sell Trotti’s work or anyone else’s.

“Andy listens to what folks want and always does his best to make it happen,” said Schimmel, who met Trotti about four years ago. “He is also always learning and open to trying new things or new techniques, which is a great attitude to have for a maker.”

Born in Chicago in March 1943, Trotti moved to Arizona in January 1980.

“I’ve been in the same house in Mesa all the time,” he said proudly.

While at sea, he manned a mine sweeper and, after leaving the service, worked in retail management

BEER

from page 23

these savory suds has come from talking with breweries from around the region and learning the story behind how they all got started.

“If you ask a lot of these owners of these breweries, a lot of them started out at other breweries locally and eventually they reached the point that they had the means or wanted to pursue opening their own brewery,” Lopez said.

for Montgomery Ward for 35 years until the pioneer retailer closed. Since, then, he’s been selling promotional specialties when he’s not at his bench.

He started turning pens about 15 years ago just to keep busy, explaining that television is not worth his time.

“At a woodworking store, a turner was demonstrating, and I stayed, watched and then started buying the equipment needed to turn pens. I continued to buy kits and tools but when I had so many and nowhere to put more pens and equipment, my wife told me I have to do something with the finished pens,” he added.

So, he began donating his handiwork to charitable organizations such as the Southwest Veterans Chamber of Commerce, which supports many 501c3 charities, especially those working to reduce the high rate of veteran suicide.

“I am still donating pens to organizations and started to go to the crafts markets for money to continue donating and stay busy,” he said.

Retired U.S. Marine Corps Col. Tom Sheets, the group’s executive director, said that he’s seen a wide variety of Trotti’s work, including one in the shape of a baseball bat he bought for his ‘baseball-fanatic’ grandson.

“I have observed hundreds of pens and pencils he has created, both from wood and acrylic,” Sheets said. “I am particularly impressed with his ability to find beautiful exotic wood from around the world and craft beautiful products from them.

“Recipients of his pens are always delighted, and many come back for subsequent purchases.”

Information: avtsales.com.

If You Go...

Copper State Beer Festival

Where: Riverview Park, 2100 W. Rio Salado Pkwy., Mesa.

When: Saturday, Jan. 14.

Times: The event ends at 5 p.m. Start Times: VIP admission, noon; GA+: 1 p.m.; GA: 2 p.m.

Ticket: start at $20.

Info: copperstatebeerfest.com.

Norece Leaonard Hatch

Despite new debt law, consumers should be on their guard

BY TORI GANTZ Cronkite News

Rodd McLeod thinks voter approval of Proposition 209 this fall will go a long way toward keeping people from being “forced out on the street or lose their cars” when they have medical bills they can’t pay.

But he also thinks that consumers still need to be on their guard.

“I think debt collectors are still going to be aggressive and try to get as much money from people as possible,” said McLeod, spokesperson for Arizona Healthcare Rising, one of the main supporters of the proposition.

“That’s just the reality of the way the debt collection industry functions, which is why it’s important to have protections in the law so that ordinary people don’t get hurt,” he said.

Opponents of the law have not given up the fight. They challenged the measure in court, and a Maricopa County Superior Court judge earlier this month temporarily blocked the law from taking effect on any debt incurred before Dec. 5 – the date the 2022 election results were certified. That injunction was lifted this week, however, and the judge allowed the entire law to proceed for now.

The proposition creating the Predatory Debt Collection Protection Act passed with an overwhelming 72% of more than 2.4 million votes cast. The 1.75 million who voted for the proposition were the most of any of the 10 measures on the ballot. Only Proposition 211, relating to dark money in politics, had a larger margin of victory, with 72.3% in favor.

Greater Phoenix Chamber Vice President of Public Affairs Mike Huckins said he was only “a little bit surprised” at the passage of the measure, which he credited to successful marketing by its supporters.

“The proponents did a great job of

naming it,” Huckins said. “When you have a title like Predatory Debt Collection Protection … it’s an easy one, I think, for people to vote for.”

Given that, Huckins said he does not think business groups and other opponents had “the resources … to get the message out to the voters.”

Proposition 209 makes several changes to state law that supporters said will protect consumers from crushing debt that can lead to a downward economic spiral, costing debtors their cars, which can cost them their jobs, which can cost them their homes.

The measure’s backers said it was aimed at medical debt, the No. 1 cause for calls from debt collectors and what McLeod said is a leading cause of personal bankruptcies. But much of the new law actually applies to all debt.

The new law lowers the interest rate that businesses or debt collectors can levy on medical debt from the previous 10% to 3%. It will also increase the value of homes, cars and bank accounts that are protected from debt collectors for all debt, while lowering the amount of disposable income that can be garnished to settle a debt, from the previous 25% to 10%.

“Any time a debt collector tries to take someone to court for unpaid debt, you know, the … judges will be operating under these new guidelines for what is allowed to be claimed by the debt collector,” McLeod said.

Opponents insist that the long-term impact of the law will end up backfiring on the people it is intended to protect.

“I think it’s going to affect all consumers, not just those that have medical debt because … it raises the exemptions from automobiles, your house, your salary,” Huckins said. “There may be a little bit of buyer’s remorse for some folks for voting for this once they see the impact it’s going to have on interest rates down down the line.”

That was echoed by Michael Guymon, president and CEO of the Tucson Metro Chamber, who said in a written statement that the new law will be “bad for the Arizona economy, bad for many of our businesses and bad for overall lending in the state.”

Guymon complained about the supporters’ framing of the measure, which he said was “marketed and described on the ballot as a medical debt initiative and it is not.”

“It only references medical debt spe-

cifically as it pertains to the interest rate change. The public did not understand that it was going to have an impact on ALL debt and therefore have a detrimental effect on lending, the Arizona rental market, etc.,” Guymon wrote.

He said businesses will be forced to raise prices for everybody to make up for the debt they will no longer be able to collect, an argument advanced by Huckins as well.

“When you put these sort of protections around folks, where they don’t have to pay back their debts to a certain extent, it’s still going to raise the interest rates for the rest of us and it’s going to reduce the credit market for those folks that … probably are going to need it the most – those folks that don’t have the cash to pay for stuff up front,” Huckins said.

But McLeod said that consumers need protection now – which was evidenced by the roughly 470,000 signatures that were submitted to put the measure on the ballot and by the overwhelming support at the ballot box. He said the chambers of commerce need to recognize that.

“We’re really pleased and thankful that the overwhelming majority of Arizonans agree with us,” McLeod said. “We would like to see the chamber of commerce join us in that belief.

“We just believe so strongly that you know, somebody with a medical bill they can’t pay should not be forced out on the street or lose their cars and couldn’t get to their job anymore,” he said.

But McLeod said the law alone will not protect consumers.

“What consumers can do to protect themselves is have a lawyer who is up on the law,” he said. “The sad reality is that the overwhelming number of consumers who go to court for this sort of thing are not represented by a lawyer.”

Arizona Healthcare Rising celebrated the passage last November of Proposition 209. (Special to Tribune)

Trust is fragile when it comes to advising on money

BY HAROLD WONG Guest Writer

Every year, the Gallup Poll asks Americans their opinions of the ethical standards of various professions.

The results of the 2021 Gallup Poll, reported in a Moneywise article by Sarah Cunnane, found 9% believe car salespeople are very honest and ethical; only 12% members of Congress, 13% of insurance salespeople as well as advertising professionals, 14% of stockbrokers, 20% of the nation’s governors and business executives, 22% of all lawyers and 24% of labor leaders.

In contrast, the 10 professions rated most honest and ethical are: nurses (85%), engineers (66%), physicans (65%), pharmacists (64%), dentists (61%) police foficers (51%), college teachers (49%), psychiatrists (43%), chiropractors (41%) and clergy (40%),

The 2008 Gallup Poll said 14% rated stockbrokers for high or high honesty and ethical

standards and this was the fifth worst-rated profession. Only 25% rated real estate agents as highly ethical and this was the ninth worst professions.

In contrast, 42% rated accountants as highly ethical and this was the 6th best profession. The third best profession was high school teachers and 60% ranked this profession as highly ethical. Nurses remained #1 rating and 85% rated the profession as highly honest and ethical.

This data should create a dilemma for the public.

Would you trust your life savings to the advice of a high school or college teacher who has read books his whole life, but has never started a business or worked in the real world? In contrast, stockbrokers and insurance agents have worked in the private sector, but aren’t rated as very honest or ethical.

Nursing is consistently rated as the most honest profession, but would you let a nurse advise you on your investments, real estate, taxes, and other financial issues?

In reality, only 35% of Americans use a financial advisor, according to the Northwestern Mutual 2022 Planning & Progress Study. Most people tend to either ignore their financial future or decide to be their own financial advisor. The analogy in the legal field is: “He who acts as his own attorney has a fool for a client.”

If most Americans don’t use a financial advisor and instead rely on themselves, please look at a study by Ramsey Solutions titled “The National Study of Millionaires.”

The top five careers for millionaires are: engineer, accountant, teacher, manager, and attorney. Three out of four said that regular, consistent investing over a long period of time leads to success.

They spend less than $200 a month at restaurants and 93% of millionaires use coupons all or some of the time when shopping. Nearly three-quarters have never carried a credit card balance in their lives.

In other words, most millionaires have great financial discipline and are logical. They are able to avoid impulse purchases

and instead save steadily for decades until they become millionaires.

Most Americans don’t trust stockbrokers or insurance agents and rely on themselves instead of a financial advisor. It’s true that no one cares about your money as much as you do.

For lots of useful financial information, go to drharoldwong.com and then click on the “Published Works” link. You will find all of my Times Media Group articles as well as relevant articles by others.

Free tour/workshop: 9 a.m.-noon Feb. 4 at Solar Reefer (refrigeration) Factory at Advanced Energy Machines, 4245 E. Norcroft St., Mesa. The topic is “How Solar Reefers can Reduce Taxes to $0 and earn a steady 1014%” Lots of tasty refreshments served.

To RSVP for the seminar or schedule a free consultation, contact Dr. Harold Wong at 480-706-0177 or harold_wong@hotmail.com. His website is drharoldwong.com.

Dr. Wong earned his Ph.D. in economics at University of California/Berkeley and has appeared on over 400 TV/radio programs.

It’s the Grand Opening of our new worship center, and we want you to join us in the celebration! Come and experience for yourself the exciting things God is doing at Generation Church!

Visit generation.church for more information.

1010 S. ELLSWORTH ROAD • MESA, AZ 85208

Share Your Thoughts: Send your letters on local issues to: pmaryniak@timeslocalmedia.com

TheMesaTribune.com | @EVTNow /EVTNow

Bills player’s collapse raises questions about football

BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ Tribune Columnist

It was shortly after supper time on the first Monday night in 2023 when Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collided with Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins near midfield. Hamlin popped to his feet. He adjusted his face mask. Then the 24-year-old toppled directly backwards, his heart stopped cold.

“That’s, uh, that’s not what any of us wants to see,” said Troy Aikman, the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback turned Monday Night Football commentator. “You just hope that he’s going to be okay.”

Most of us agree utterly with the second part of Aikman’s analysis: We fervently hope Hamlin, who remains

in critical condition as I write this, will not only survive his episode of cardiac arrest, but once again thrive.

That remains to be seen so early one, but some things we already can say for certain:

The impromptu show of support for Hamlin, including the $6 million donated to his GoFundMe toy drive – initial goal $2,500 – is heartening, especially when this country of 350 million people can agree on precious little.

Also, we can submit that Aikman was wrong, or more than a little naive, if he truly believes that football fans don’t tune in to games to see the obliterating hits that Monday Night Football and every other broadcast thrives on.

True, no one wants to see a young

man meet death or be maimed on the field. But be real: When hulking brutes of enormous strength square off 11 on 11, some capable of bench pressing 400 pounds while others run 40 yards in a little over 4 seconds, what do you expect to happen?

Every football play at the professional and college level is a traffic accident, minus the vehicles, bumpers and seat belts. The wonder isn’t that Hamlin was felled midgame; it’s that no one has died on a gridiron since football started being played for money more than 100 years ago.

The NFL can talk all it wants about player safety, but the league didn’t command $100 billion in television rights because Joe Sixpack loves to see a well-executed screen pass for 11 yards and a first down.

Football fans watch because we thirst for machismo, combat, violence. Then we cue up the highlights and watch it again. At least until an incident like Damar Hamlin’s collapse reminds us that this isn’t ancient Rome and these aren’t gladiators.

These are human beings risking their lives and who suffer from such high levels of chronic traumatic encephalopathy that the NFL has paid out more than $1 billion in settlement funds since 2015 to more than 1,500 concussed former players and their kin – with thousands of additional claims pending.

Since Hamlin fell, I have heard all manner of analysis about how

NC State broadcaster faces a woke-up call

BY JD HAYWORTH Tribune Columnist

He’s spent three decades calling the play-by-play for the “Red and White,” and like the legendary Red Barber, he may wind up with a pink slip – for the sin of telling the truth.

Gary Hahn, the “Voice of the Wolfpack,” has used his microphone as a palette, painting colorful word pictures of football and basketball contests for North Carolina State fans. His style of describing the action for radio listeners can best be described in three words: Vivid. Accurate. Honest.

A master of that medium comes to understand that broadcasting an event of several hours’ duration must be punctuated with current events, comic relief and an acknowledgment of the absurd. Hahn included all three in a single ut-

terance, during his play-by-play account of the Dec. 30 Duke’s Mayo Bowl Game in Charlotte. A pause in the action between the Wolfpack and the Maryland Terrapins provided an opportunity for Hahn to update his audience on the only other post-season collegiate contest underway at the time: “Down among all the illegal aliens in El Paso, it’s UCLA,14… Pittsburgh, 6.”

Irreverent, but on target.

And given the absurdity of Uncle Sam’s unwillingness to enforce immigration law, amusing in a “laugh-tokeep-from-crying” fashion.

Ironically, NC State’s last bowl victory came in El Paso, a 52-31 win over Arizona State in the 2017 Sun Bowl. In the years since, El Paso has changed…and not for the better.

In fact, this year’s Sun Bowl “Fan Fiesta” was canceled on Dec. 21 because

the city has been using its convention center to house illegal aliens, who have flooded across the international border there in recent weeks.

American media outlets, from the Associated Press to the alphabet networks, adhere to the P’s-and-Q’s of political correctness, also now known as “wokeism.”

That simply means that these allegedly objective journalists now convey a bias on behalf of open border advocates, employing the terms “migrants,” “newcomers,” or as that noted theologian and soon-to-be former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi once proclaimed, “God’s Children.”

And faster than Nancy omits any reference to the unborn as “God’s Children” when she changes the subject to abortion, Hahn’s employers took immediate and public exception to his brief

Sun Bowl score update.

Learfield Communications, the current broadcast rights holder for NC State Athletics, “suspended Wolfpack Sports Network play-by-play announcer Gary Hahn from his agreement indefinitely following comments made during today’s Duke’s Mayo Bowl radio broadcast.”

That statement came from Wolfpack Sports Properties general manager Kyle Winchester; NC State Athletic Director Boo Corrigan followed his customary practice of not saying “boo.”

There are two reasons for Boo hitting the mute button: His future aspirations as an upwardly mobile athletic administrator; and, directly related to that, his apparent acceptance of a “Great Awokening” throughout higher education.

Corrigan’s current stint in West Raleigh was preceded by eight years as the AD at West Point. While there, he learned that

military leadership today is more in the mold of Mark Milley than Dwight Eisenhower.

For Boo, the reasoning was simple… if West Point was going “woke,”

how much more prevalent would “wokeism” be on the NC State campus? His hunch: a whole bunch.

So, since his arrival in 2019, Corrigan has joined with other university administrators, lurching further leftward, embracing the toxic doctrine intent on destroying the very diversity it claims to champion.

Where does all this leave Gary

Hahn? Not in a good place, it appears.

But should NC State issue Hahn his “walking papers,” he can seek solace in the fact that it also happened to one of sportscasting’s greats.

In 1966, Red Barber pointed out that the team for whom he broadcast games—the New York Yankees, ironically owned by CBS at the time—was in last place, losing games in front of

crowds as sparse as 413 in 65,000-seat Yankee Stadium.

CBS canned the “Ol’ Redhead” for his candor; NC State would repeat that mistake, should Gary Hahn meet the same professional fate.

J.D. Hayworth’s column was written before N.C. State announced that Gary Hahn would return to his playby-play duties, effective Jan. 14.

the league handled postponing the game, how ESPN covered it, and how Hamlin’s heart may respond to treatment.

All this chatter focuses in precisely the wrong direction. It looks outward at the conditions on the field, instead of looking inward, at why we tolerate a game that inevitably cripples a good number of combatants annually.

Since 1931, when the American Football Coaches Association undertook the first “Annual Survey of Football Fatalities,” statistics show that 1,064

football players have died as a direct result of the game – not counting heat strokes suffered in practice, etc.

That includes last year, when “there were 4 traumatic injury fatalities that occurred among football players during football-related activities.”

All four were high school kids. All four suffered traumatic brain injuries.

Let’s pray Damar Hamlin isn’t fatality number 1,065. Let’s also look in the mirror and ask the face staring back why we never consider turning off the TV and finding something better to occupy our attention?

The Air Force, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality have signed the Explanation of Significant Differences (ESD), Operable Unit 3 (OU-3), Fire Protection Training Area 2 (Site FT002), for the former Williams Air Force Base, Mesa, Arizona. The OU-3 Record of Decision (ROD), completed in 1996, identified benzene, chloroform and 1,4-dichlorobenzene as chemicals of concern at Site FT002 because each compound was present at concentrations greater than its respective soil cleanup level developed for protection of human health and the environment. Implementation of the OU-3 ROD remedy included bioventing, soil vapor extraction and excavation to address the soil contamination. Since completion of the OU-3 ROD, the State of Arizona promulgated Soil Remediation Levels applicable to the closure of Site FT002. Because the contaminants trimethylbenzenes, xylene and naphthalene remain in subsurface soil (greater than 15 feet below ground surface) at levels greater than the Arizona residential SRLs, the OU-3 ESD modifies the remedy selected for Site FT002 in the OU-3 ROD to add Institutional Controls.

The OU-3 ESD is a legally binding document that details the Institutional Controls to protect human health and the environment at Site FT002. Institutional controls in the form of deed restrictions and an Arizona Declaration of Environmental Use Restriction to prohibit residential use and require management of soil will be implemented to address contaminants above the Arizona Soil Remediation Levels in soil. The modified remedy protects human health and the environment and complies with the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). In accordance with CERCLA, five-year reviews of the remedy will occur to ensure protectiveness.

A copy of the OU-3 ESD and supporting environmental documentation is available online at: https://ar.afcec-cloud.af.mil

Select “BRAC” and “Williams” from the Installation list, then enter 619905 in the “AR #” field to retrieve the document. The Williams AFB AR can also be searched online through the ASU Libraries Online Catalog at http://library.lib.asu.edu/ by inserting the title of the document into the KEYWORD search box. Documents can be requested to be brought to any ASU Library for pickup using the online request form at: https://lib.asu.edu/access/blocked/request/form

For additional information, contact:

Air Force Civil Engineer Center

Catherine Jerrard, BRAC Environmental Coordinator 706 Hangar Road Rome, New York 13441

Quality pre-k program

Donovan Beard elevating Dobson basketball

BY ZACH ALVIRA Tribune Sports Editor

Donovan Beard thought he would be playing junior varsity or freshman basketball when he entered high school at Dobson.

Little did he know head coach Rick McConnell had other plans.

Beard was placed on the varsity roster as a reserve player during the COVID season in 2020. He played sparingly but delivered every time he was on the court. Then, Jashawn Kinney, now a senior on the Mustang basketball team who also played football, became ill and had to miss games.

Beard got his shot as a varsity starter as a freshman. It’s a role he never relinquished.

“I knew I had to take advantage of the opportunity,” Beard said. “I knew I had to do it on offense and defense. Our first home game we played Mesa and I had to guard their best shooter. I was just trying to do my part and throughout that entire season be a good teammate.

“I haven’t come off the bench since.”

Beard averaged just under 10 points per game as a freshman for a Dobson team that won just five games in the shortened season. As a sophomore, his production and minutes on the court increased. Dobson went 18-8 behind his 12 points per game and made the postseason.

Beard quickly became a leader for the team that lost just five seniors to graduation. But one was leading scorer Denton Latimore.

He took what Latimore taught him, along with older players like Kinney ahead of him, and worked all off-season to further improve his game in hopes of leading Dobson back to the playoffs to make a run.

So far, in just 13 games as a junior, he’s seen vast improvement. He currently averages over 18 points per game and 3.5 assists. He’s become the go to for teammates to take big shots when needed. Dobson is well above .500 this season with Beard leading the way, and three of those wins have come from him hitting jumpers with just seconds remaining.

“Our guys are very unselfish,” McConnell said. “They’ll shoot it when they’re open. They have the green light to make plays. But with him, it’s a compliment because they can screen for him to get him open shots. He has the ball in his hands a lot.”

Beard’s play has elevated the Dobson basketball program. McConnell said he makes everyone else around him better.

The chemistry he’s built with his teammates on the court has been key to his and the team’s improvement, and much of that has

come from his close bond with Kinney, the team’s second leading scorer who has also taken on the role of guarding opposing big men.

Kinney is still transitioning from football shape to basketball. Despite playing running back, the condition his body has to be in varies. But Beard said having him on the court opens the Mustang offense.

It helps he has others like Zayonte and Anthony Bolten, Justin Begay and Mason Sundberg to also find for open shots when needed.

“I’m having a lot of fun this season,” Beard said. “We all know our role. We’re gelling and everyone is getting their shots. We’re just playing team basketball.

Beard’s love for basketball runs deep. Perhaps the only thing to run even deeper is his love for Dobson.

He’s had opportunities to jump ship to a local prep school, which has taken many talented players from the AIA ranks to pin players against national competition with the promise of getting more exposure. But he’s never wavered.

“Loyalty is key,” Beard said. “I’ve had chances where I could’ve left and did different things, but I want to ride it out with my guys. It’s the camaraderie, I love my coach. He’s been a big part of me getting here and letting me grow. I just love the culture here with my team.”

McConnell gave him a chance as a freshman. He enrolled at Dobson with the idea that he could help elevate the program turn it into a contender.

The Mustangs don’t get as much attention as other programs in the East Valley or even in nearby Mesa. But Beard wants to change that. Even as an underrated guard himself, his primary focus is to play the best brand of basketball Dobson has seen.

While he is on his way to doing that, he also recognizes there is more work to be done.

“We knew what we wanted to do coming into this year,” Beard said. “We know what it takes for us to win. We’re doing a very good job of moving past any problems. We’re doing a good job. We just need to make sure we aren’t getting ahead of ourselves.”

Dobson junior guard Donovan Beard has elevated his game and that of his teammates around him during his three years on varsity. He has made the entire program better and has become a leader alongside other seniors on the roster who aim to bring attention to the Mustang program. (Dave Minton/Tribune Staff)

Dobson coach Rick McConnell said he knew Beard would be special. That’s why he brought him up to varsity as a freshman. Beard took advantage of an opportunity given to him and has been a starter ever since.

(Dave Minton/Tribune Staff)

Chandler Film Festival offers a feast for the eyes

BY KEN SAIN Managing Editor

Chandler filmmaker Mitesh Patel says there has been a noticeable change when he attends film festivals around the world.

“When I go to see some, like AFM American film market, or any other like Berlin, or Cannes, whenever I go somewhere for my movie work, I meet with people and they talk about the festival,” said Patel, who is president and the director of the Chandler International Film Festival. “And what’s surprising to me is they all know, mostly I would say they know about the Chandler Film Festival.”

Patel said he and his team once had to work hard to get the word out about the annual festival. Now, they don’t.

The seventh annual Chandler International Film Festival is scheduled for Jan. 21-29 at the LOOK Dine-In Cinema in downtown. Patel is extending it to nine days this year so they don’t have as many matinee showings. Films will start at 6 p.m. most days, with some matinees on the weekends.

“You know a lot of people work, so it’s kind of a struggle, but it was good for the people who are coming from out of town so they can just stay for an entire weekend,” Patel said.

He said he wanted more Chandler residents to be able to attend, and that was the reason for pushing back start times and extending the festival.

Patel said the number of films will be the same, about 125 or so. He said they had more than 500 submitted to be considered. That’s still down considerably from pre-pandemic when they would get about 1,000.

“I think the pandemic is still going on,” Patel said about the lower number of submissions. He added that they no longer advertise and push hard to get the word out about the festival, relying on the fact that many in the business are already aware.

The films will be shown at LOOK Dine-In

Cinemas for the second time. Patel said they were great hosts a year ago, and complimented their food. After-hours parties will be staged around the downtown area.

There will be no online viewing of the films for the first time in two years.

In 2021, the festival was all digital because of the pandemic. Last year people had the option to watch them online if they didn’t want to sit in a crowded theater.

Patel said many directors are concerned about piracy if they put their films online, so they would rather not.

The lineup of films is still being determined in late December with an announcement expected in early January. Patel said he had not decided on which film to open the festival with, but he does have one that he would love to open it with.

The festival is adopting a theme for the first time, and it will be a celebration of Indian filmmaking. The country is celebrating 110 years of filmmaking in 2023 so Patel thought that was an easy choice.

“Last Film Show” was chosen by India to be its submission for the best international film Oscar at the Academy Awards. It has won top honors at some of the film festivals where it has been shown.

It’s the story of a 9-year-old boy in rural India who loves films so much, he bribes the projectionist of a run-down theater with homemade food so that he can watch and learn about films and filmmaking from the best seat in the house. It’s a semi-autobiographical story of director Pan Nalin.

One of the keys to being the opening night film, Patel said, is that the filmmaker needs to be in attendance. He said Nalin said he’s willing if his film is not nominated for the Academy Award. However, if it is he will be far too busy promoting it and won’t be able to attend.

“I noticed that whoever attends the Chandler Film Festival, they get very excited when someone from the movie, they’re coming and attending,” Patel said.

He added a couple of films in this year’s

festival will be by directors with Chandler ties. Former resident Rob Smat made a documentary called “Walkout.” It’s about Walmart’s reaction to having 23 people shot and killed in its El Paso store in 2019.

After the tragedy, the company took no action to stop selling firearms at its stores. Its employees decided to do something about that and forced the company to change.

India will not be the only country getting a focus at this year’s festival. Patel said they plan to have special nights throughout the nine days.

“We’re adding a Japanese day, a Spanish day, a Korean day, a Chinese day,” Patel said, pointing out the Chinese New Year will happen during the festival (Jan. 22).

One of the reasons the Chandler International Film Festival has gotten such notice is because of the success it has had in matching filmmakers with distributors. Patel said all of their feature-length films last year got distribution deals.

“It’s been a couple of years now,” Patel said of the 100% distribution. “I’ve been doing this for 15 years, I know so many compa-

Former Chandler resident Rob Smat directed “Walkout.” It’s the story of his friend Thomas Marshall (in photo) leading employees to try and force change at Walmart after the tragic mass shooting at its El Paso location. (Courtesy of Chandler International Film Festival)

nies. And I created this festival to help the filmmaker to showcase their work and put it out.”

Festival Films with Arizona ties

Walkout: Directed by former Chandler resident Rob Smat

ID: Directed by Chandler resident Kiran Kondamadugula

The Monster Inside Me: Directed by Phoenix resident Tony C. Silva

Reflect: Parts filmed in Sedona Eyes Upon Waking: Directed by Tucson resident Timothy Zwica

If You Go...

Chandler International Film Festival

When: Jan. 21-29

Where: LOOK Dine-In Cinema, 1 W. Chandler Blvd., Chandler Tickets: chandlerfilmfestival.com

Chandler filmmaker Mitesh Patel founded the Chandler Film Festival, which has been growing in influence and audiences since its launch in 2016. (Special to GetOut)

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