The Mesa Tribune 121822 Zone 1

Mesa

BY SCOTT SHUMAKER Tribune Staff Writer

Much has gone right for the redevelopment of downtown Mesa in 2022, but a critical part of its hoped-for renaissance appears in danger of going back to the drawing board.

The 27 acres of vacant land at Mesa and University Drives were once a neighborhood of 63 homes acquired by the city starting in the 1990s and leveled at a taxpayer

cost of $6 million, in part through eminent domain.

Acquired decades ago under the banner of economic revitalization, numerous projects planned for the site have failed.

Now, the latest proposal, a high-density mixed use development, is in danger of heading to the scrap heap.

In a Nov. 16 meeting of the Downtown Mesa Association’s Board of Directors, Mesa’s Downtown Transformation Manager Jeff McVay told the board in response to a

question about Transform 17 that the current plans with developer Miravista Holdings for the site are in jeopardy.

“We have a very high level meeting with the developer and the city manager next week,” McVay said. “The outcome of that meeting is likely not to be a continuation of this project, but that is yet to be determined.”

“We are preparing for the worst and get-

Murder casts pall on downtown Mesa

BY JOSH ORTEGA Tribune Staff Writer

The Dec. 6 slaying of a downtown shoe repair shop owner cast a pall on Mesa’s downtown business district, but authorities and merchants stressed the killing was an isolated incident that indicated no ongoing threat.

Three days after the body of Jesus Fabian De La Rosa was found on the floor of Lamb’s Shoe Repair around noon, Mesa Police announced the arrest of a 65-year-old man who apparently was staying at the Central Arizona Shelter Services in Central

Phoenix on first degree murder, robbery charges and firearms charges.

Court papers filed by police stated that suspect Lynell Brosier often used the bathroom at the shop and that he had apparently stolen a gun from the victim during one of those visits.

He allegedly was in the store sometime late in the morning of Dec. 6 and shot Mr. De La Rose three times in the head before leaving with a second gun and the victim’s cell phone.

Detectives used video recordings, the cell phone’s data and a cane the

People left flowers, balloons and written condolences outside Lamb’s Shoe Repair on Main Street in Mesa last week following the Dec. 6 shooting death of owner Jesus Fabian De La Rosa. (Josh Ortega/Tribune Staff)

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Mesa PD clears officers in 2 summer shootings

BY SCOTT SHUMAKER Tribune Staff Writer

Last month, the Mesa Police Department reviewed two officer-involved shootings from the summer and determined that in both cases officers acted within department policies and training.

The suspects wounded by the officers in both incidents survived their injuries.

Both of the shootings included extraordinary circumstances, with one incident becoming a minor viral sensation online after Mesa PD released video of it.

The reviews occurred during the November Critical Incident Review Board meeting held at the Red Mountain station.

These meetings are meant to increase transparency surrounding officer involved shootings and include

selected members of the public, though media are barred from the meetings.

Shots at fleeing suspect

The first incident occurred July 7 when a first-year officer observed a white Mercedes SUV exit a Circle K parking lot near University Drive and Country Club and began following him with its hazard lights on.

The officer was dispatched to an unrelated call but decided to drive back to Police Headquarters on Robson Drive after noticing the Mercedes was still following him, and now speeding up, then breaking.

As the officer opened the gate with his remote, the Mercedes began to ram the back of his vehicle, pushing the police car through the open gate.

The officer bailed out and rolled on the pavement before stopping and firing his 9 mm Glock handgun at the Mercedes.

The officer then moved for cover behind a forensics van as civilian staff fled the area.

Taneysha Carter, 39, then exited the Mercedes and began running toward the now-closed gate.

The officer fired additional rounds as she fled. Carter fell on the ground and was then taken into custody and given medical aid.

Eleven rounds were fired in total, and Carter sustained one wound.

Mesa PD said they believed Carter was struck while still in her vehicle, citing blood on the car seat.

The CIRB summary states that Carter told police she believed “the Illuminati, Mesa PD, MCSO, and Phoenix officers were trying to kill her. She admitted to following the patrol vehicle to get the officer’s attention because of those reasons.”

Some of the online attention on the incident focused on the officer’s

dramatic exit from the moving vehicle. One commenter joked that “Now the entire department has to have mandatory training about not jumping out of their patrol unit like they’re in a John Wick movie.”

The video has 40,000 views, making it the highest viewed video on the department’s YouTube channel.

More serious comments questioned whether the second round of shots fired at Carter was justified, claiming she was no longer threatening the officer with her vehicle.

According to MPD policies, firearms may only be used to prevent the escape of a “dangerous fleeing subject” who has killed or seriously injured someone, or a subject’s escape “would pose an imminent danger of death of serious injury to the officer or another person.”

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SHOOTING

A Mesa officer who fired two rounds

a vehicle as it fled a traffic stop in a separate incident earlier this year resigned after the department’s professional standards committee determined he violated policy.

In the July 7 incident at headquarters, Mesa police officials found the use of force justified.

The officer believed Carter “was attempting to gain unlawful entry to the holding facility with the intent of causing deadly force to unarmed officers or citizens” when she was running away, the review panel said.

Someone in the CIRB meeting pointed out that around this time, a bulletin was sent out about a citizen who angrily confronted a police employee in the Evidence Department about not having his gun released yet.

“It is important to know that is going on around this time frame,” the person said, according to meeting notes.

The officer was not found in violation, but received a month of “additional training and experience” with the department’s Advanced Training Unit.

Rooftop shot with AR-15

A Mesa police officer who fired his AR-15 patrol rifle at a surrendering suspect from a rooftop while wearing a gas mask was also cleared of department violations.

The shooting came at the end of an Aug. 22 standoff with Abdul Basit Ishan, who was armed and admitted to being under the influence of fentanyl at the time.

The incident started when a resident called police after returning home at night and discovering their front door damaged and someone inside the house.

When police arrived, Ishan fled the home, after which the resident realized his unsecured 9 mm handgun was missing.

A police helicopter identified and tracked Ishan as he jumped walls

and fled, eventually attempting to hide in a laundry room in a backyard.

When Mesa officers and K9 unit from Chandler Police Department approached the room, Ishan fired at officers.

Chandler SWAT arrived on scene and neighbors were evacuated from the area.

Police sent a drone and robot into the laundry room to communicate with Ishan, who was hiding under a blanket. He fired the stolen gun at both of the devices.

The SWAT team next fired tear gas and a scene supervisor directed a Mesa officer to take a position on an adjacent rooftop with his AR-15. The Mesa officer was wearing a gas mask because of the gas.

Ishan agreed to surrender and pleaded with officers to give him water. He was instructed to come out with his hands raised and empty.

Ishan complied, but then started

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suspect left in the store to track down Brosier at the Phoenix homeless shelter, according to arrest document, and found one of the victim’s guns in his waistband.

“The tragic and devastating loss of Mr. Jesus Fabian de la Rosa was an isolated incident resulting from an argument,” Vice Mayor Jenn Duff said, noting the victim and Brosier “knew each other and had a relationship dating back several years.”

Praised Mesa detectives’ “swift and thorough investigation that led to the suspect’s arrest within 72 hours of the homicide,” Duff stressed that police maintain “a visible and robust presence in downtown Mesa.”

While adding police may increase that presence “as with any community where a violent crime occurs,” Duff also noted that the city maintains “a proactive approach to addressing issues at homeless hotspots and will continue to respond to disturbances as they occur.”

“Police will also be installing a new camera downtown as part of citywide efforts to increase community safety, planned before Mr. De La Rosa’s homicide,” Duff said, adding:

“I’ve been briefed by Mesa Police and

can assure our residents that they are working diligently to get answers for the victim’s family, build a case for successful prosecution and quell the fears of a rightfully concerned downtown community. I commend our police department for their unwavering commitment, dedication and sacrifice to protect us all.”

Though it occurred at the height of the city’s holiday promotion of downtown businesses, store owners last week dwelled on the loss of a man respected and loved by owners and customers alike.

Convenience store employee Adrian Hoffman got to know Mr. De La Rosa since he started working downtown in February and recalled him as “a very happy go-lucky guy” who often bought hard-boiled eggs and protein shakes.

Hoffman said it was “heartbreaking” to see the ambulance drive away and police forensics members arrive on scene early afternoon Dec. 6.

“You don’t realize how much of an impact somebody has,” he said. “So it was definitely a big loss for the community.”

Mesa Typewriter Exchange Owner Bill Wahl said Mr. De La Rosa was the “same old Fabian” when he last spoke with De

La Rosa a little before 10:30 a.m. Dec. 6.

“Friendly and nice like he always was,” Wahl said. “Just a fun guy to talk to.”

Mesa Police said the victim made a police report on Dec. 1 about a stolen .380 caliber handgun.

The victim’s family members told police he wore another gun in a holster to work the day of the killing, although police only found the empty holster tied to his waist.

Witnesses told officers a man wearing “unique clothing” had been in the area Dec. 6, and after viewing light rail surveillance video, officers saw a man getting off and on at the light rail station at Country Club Drive and Main Street before and after the approximate time of the murder.

Data from the stolen cell phone covered the same route traveled by the suspect in that video.

Police said in a statement that Mr. De La Rosa was “a pillar in our Mesa Community” and said detectives worked four days round-the-clock to solve the crime.

“It is apparent how much he meant to the community in the comments left by over 100 people on our social media platforms,” Mesa Police said in a state-

ment. “Our hope is that his family sees and reads the comments and knows how much he was loved by seemingly everyone.”

Wahl, the Mesa Typewriter Exchange owner, said he became close friends with Mr. De La Rosa from their time as neighboring business owners.

Wahl recalled always seeing him walk past his shop on the way to the convenience store and said he would regularly stop in to joke with him about his tardiness.

“He would stop in and he’d give me a hard time if I was late for work,” Wahl said, adding Mr. De La Rosa will “really be missed” not only as a business owner but as a friend.

“It’s just a tragic loss for his family, for downtown, and for friends and family,” Wahl said.

Wahl said he and other downtown business owners don’t feel any more in danger and never considered unsheltered people in the area a problem.

“I don’t feel – and I’ve never felt – at risk, or that this was like a bad neighborhood or anything like that,” Wahl said.

Jesus Fabian De La Rosa, seen here in this July 2022 Tribune photo, became the owner of Lambs Shoe Repair in 2005, using the skills he learned in Mexico and Los Angeles fixing shoes, boots, and other leather goods. (Tribune file photo)

Lynell Brosier, 65, who faces first degree murder and other charges in the killing of Jesus Fabian De La Rosa, frequently traveled the light rail from a Central Phoenix homeless shelter to downtown Mesa. (Mesa Police)

shaking out a hand and wiping his face, apparently still experiencing the effects of the gas.

Then he lifted up the bottom of his T-shirt and was shot once by the officer on the roof. He was then arrested and taken for medical treatment.

The CIRB concluded that the officer who fired the AR-15 did not violate department policy.

It did, however, recommend that

the department “review current training protocols for shooting and deploying from an elevated position and to set training protocols for implementing shooting with gas masks on an annual or bi-annual basis.”

The CIRB report states that Ishan “dropped his hands towards his waist area.”

Someone in the meeting asked about whether the suspect was instructed not to wipe tear gas from his eyes while surrendering, and

whether it could be included in future training.

A police officer noted in situations like these, “we normally provide single simple commands. Single simple commands yield great compliance.”

The next CIRB meeting will be in January. The term of one of the current citizen members of the board is ending, and the department is currently seeking a replacement.

In April, the Downtown Mesa Association hosted a town hall merchant meeting at the Mesa Police Department Community Room, where business owners spoke with officers and representatives from Community Bridges, Inc. about their encounters with people experiencing homelessness that included stories of feces on sidewalks, but nothing threatening.

Downtown Mesa Association President and Executive Director Nancy Horman said she and her staff will speak with other business owners in the area about any concerns that may linger.

“Since we increased our traffic down

here – which has increased exponentially over the last six months – we’ve also increased the homelessness down here too,” Hormann said in April.

But in an email on Dec. 12, Hormann said she’s seen “very little people experiencing homelessness” downtown and that it was “too soon to tell you what the City will do as a response” but that they’re “working on some things.”

“We are scheduling meetings with the merchants to address some of their concerns,” Hormann said.

De La Rosa’s family members declined to comment but made themselves available so customers can retrieve products left at Lamb’s Shoe Repair.

MURDER from page 6

Abdul Basit Ishan points a stolen handgun at a police drone while hiding under a blanket during a standoff with Mesa and Chandler police. (Mesa Police)

State panel urges 23 measures to help kids’ mental health

BY PAUL MARYNIAK Tribune Executive Editor

Stating that “in Arizona, suicide is the leading cause of death for ages 10-14 and ages 15-25,” a special Arizona House task force has signed off on 23 recommendations to address the problem.

But Rep. Travis Grantham, R-Gilbert, co- chair of the House Ad Hoc Committee on Teen Mental Health, told panel members those recommendations may not be adopted as quickly as they hope.

Telling his colleagues their work over the last three months “is not for nothing,” Grantham said:

“Everybody now is going to have to be patient and be happy with any victories we get out of these recommendations. I’m going to just tell you we’re a divided chamber here and across the yard. We have a new governor.

“There’s going to be a period of time and as we come down here in January and February, where we have to get

our feet under ourselves and figure out what’s possible. And the lobbyists will come out. The special interest will come out. The representatives who have disagreements or agreements will come out and that’s my business. That’s what I volunteered for.

“And I’ll do my best to put as much of this forward as I can with other members’ help because I can’t do it all by myself. And I just want you all to know that your work here matters and even something in here is the most important thing to you or this group doesn’t happen this year, it might very well happen next.

“These things take time,” he said, telling panel members to “be patient, pray, watch, encourage” and speak on behalf of whatever measures do come before lawmakers.

The recommendations represent the culmination of hours of hearings by the panel, which comprised educators, a variety of medical and behavioral experts, social workers and others.

Since September, the panel heard from a wide range of experts as well as from teenagers who either attempted suicide or know teens who completed it. It also heard from parents who lost or nearly lost children to suicide or other selfharm, including drug overdoses.

According to the 2022 report by the Arizona Child Fatality Review Team, 44 of the 863 deaths of people under 18 in Arizona in 2021 were suicides. It said warning signs existed in 68% of those suicides and the majority involved children 15 to 17 years old.

Various experts told the panel that suicides aside, more Arizona youngsters and teens face a variety of pressures –and substance abuse dangers – that have imperiled their mental and emotional well-being.

Pandemic-driven disruptions of their school life the last two years only intensified those pressures, according to a report issued in May by the U.S. Department of Education.

“Many children and students struggle

with mental health challenges that impact their full access to and participation in learning, and these challenges are often misunderstood and can lead to behaviors that are inconsistent with school or program expectations,” it said.

“The COVID-19 global pandemic intensified these challenges, accelerating the need to provide school-based mental health support and leverage our accumulated knowledge about how to provide nurturing educational environments to meet the needs of our nation’s youth.”

The House panel was created by outgoing House Speaker Rusty Bowers of Mesa, who asked it to return in December with potential solutions and recommendations to public and private agencies that address teen mental health issues.

Some of its recommendations involve unspecified amounts of additional funding for a state-run Teen Mental Health Grant Program that supported school districts and nonprofits “for mental

State Rep. Travis Grantham, R-Gilbert, co-chaired a special House committee on teen mental health warning panel members it may take time for recommendations to be adopted. (YouTube)

health first aid training, youth resiliency training, substance misuse awareness training” for adults and kids.

It also asked the Legislature to work with the Attorney General’s office to ensure that the millions Arizona will be getting for settlements of opioid-related lawsuits “are utilized appropriately for these specified purposes.”

It also urged the creation of a “community hub of information and support” that would address access to care, depression and mental illness; bullying and social media; and family support and substance abuse.

Some experts who testified before the panel earlier had urged such a hub, but also warned “it is not an easy lift” because it required coordination among a number of websites and social media platforms.

Among other information, the hub would address “different types of bullying, cyberbullying, social media impact and bullying behaviors for parents and students as well as strategies for stu-

dents to mitigate incidents and timely reporting to school officials.” It also would provide an array of other information related to prevention, treatment and support.

The panel also called for increased financial support for crisis and in-patient services for kids, higher reimbursement rates from insurance companies and the state Medicaid program for providers because of their specialized training and their need to have longer children’s appointments because parents have to be involved at some point.

It also called for more financial incentives that would encourage more collegebound students to consider careers in mental health programs serving children’s social and mental wellness.

It said school districts should obtain or create an app that assists in threat assessments and enables students to report safety issues or reach out for help on a 24/7 anonymous basis.

It also urged tax credit deductions for inpatient and outpatient substance abuse treatment programs “to relieve financial burden for families: and state

funding for districts to have at least one staff member who would “work with local coalitions and nonprofits to coordinate youth resiliency and primary prevention lessons and training.”

Co-chair and outgoing Rep. Joanne Osborne, R-Goodyear, conceded that the problem the committee had been tasked to address “isn’t a one-size fits-all.”

“This is an all-hands-on-deck,” Osborne said, and that finding solutions needs the involvement of parents, medical experts and educators, law enforcement

and teens themselves.

She pointed to the 400-page report the committee is issuing and ticked off a variety of actions that need to be taken not just on a governmental level but in homes and schools as well as by businesses.

“Those kids need to know you’re back there,” she said, adding:

“Those are the things that we need to be doing. There’s so many great people that are doing it but we need more of them to do it.”

Growth doesn’t end quality of life, EV Partnership told

BY KEN SAIN Tribune Staff Writer

There was one over-arching message coming from the annual PHX East Valley Partnership meeting in Chandler on Dec. 8: You can have rapid growth and still maintain a high quality of living.

The group of business and other leaders in the region met at the Chandler Center for the Arts to hear how East Valley cities and towns are managing that balance. They also honored an individual and a business with the group’s legacy awards.

Trevor Barger, founder and CEO of Espiritu Loci and a principal with Arizona

Strategies, was the keynote speaker at the event, and spoke of growing up in Gilbert when it had only a few thousand residents and was mostly farms.

He said that as the city continued to grow, his personal quality of life kept improving.

“We must continue our long tradition of a high quality of life while embracing growth,” Barger said.

He argued that with more development, came more parks, outdoor recreation, more restaurants, and more entertainment options. Barger said Arizona cities and towns have done an excellent job managing the growth, which continues to come.

He said even now the state adds about the population of Flagstaff (77,000) each year.

Joining him in making the case were four officials from cities and town that are in different stages of the growth cycle.

Chandler Mayor Kevin Hartke and Gilbert Councilmember Scott Anderson represented communities that have already had their first phase of rapid growth and are now approaching buildout.

Representing the areas going through that first phase of rapid growth were Julia Wheatley, the mayor-elect of Queen Creek, and Bryant Powell, city manager of Apache Junction.

Powell said Apache Junction recently approved the development of 4 square miles of land near the border of nearby cities.

“And so just a year ago, we annexed about 8 miles that meets up with Queen Creek, and about seven years ago in coordination with Queen Creek and Mesa, we established, without any fight, without any type of discomfort, or any type

of disorganization, our boundaries,” Powell said.

He said they worked on their general plans together, coordinating where they want their jobs corridors to go. Powell said that helped convince the state that Apache Junction is ready to expand.

Wheatley said maintaining a high quality of life helps if people remember how they started and why people initially moved to a community.

“Keep that small-town culture whether you either just moved to Queen Creek, or you’ve been there some time,” she said. “Just keeping it true to what we are out there in Queen Creek.”

For the cities approaching buildout, officials said it’s important to keep promises.

“We work hard at developing neighborhood parks,” Hartke said. “We continue to put money into those, and we make sure that the celebrations that make a community a community happen.”

Anderson said Gilbert still has room to grow and likely won’t reach buildout for another decade.

“We’re continuing to grow in the downtown, we have a new master plan for the district, the Heritage District,” he said. “And it just so happens that the growth in the district is going to occur on the two ends.”

The PHX East Valley Partnership honored Kevin Olson, a senior partner at Lewis Roca with its individual award, crediting him with being a major player in improving transportation throughout the East Valley.

For the business award, the Partnership honored The Boeing Company for its history of contributing to the community ever since it started operating in Mesa.

Council OKs 396-unit complex over objections

BY SCOTT SHUMAKER Tribune Staff Writer

Opposition to high-density residential projects is common in Mesa, but usually the protests come from neighboring residents – not city staff.

At the Dec. 8 City Council hearing for the proposed 396-unit Millenium Springs apartment complex at Baseline and Recker Roads, multiple city departments opposed the project, but no neighbors.

In September, the Mesa Planning and Zoning Board declined to recommend Millenium Springs in a 3-3 vote, and at the recent council hearing, the Mesa Planning Department, the Economic Development Department and the mayor came out against rezoning the parcel from its Specialty Medical Campus designation.

Still, the council approved the rezoning request for the four-story, 10-acre apartment complex in a 6-1 vote.

The vote grants Millennium Springs RM-5 zoning, the highest density in city code.

Among a list of multifamily projects in Mesa shared by city staff during their presentation, only two projects had more units per acre.

The case may be a sign that the Mesa City Council looks favorably on increasing the city’s housing inventory with high-density housing, though David Luna and Kevin Thompson will be replaced by council members-elect Alicia Goforth and Scott Somers in January.

So, the dynamics could change.

In explaining her “yes” vote, Julie Spilsbury said the lack of public opposition to Millennium Springs weighed heavily on her decision.

“There is no neighborhood opposition, and having seven controversial zoning cases this year in my district … that’s huge for me,” Spilsbury said.

The Millenium Springs site is bordered directly by medical and commercial users, and there are few homes in the immediate vicinity.

But the project was controversial among city staff because they believe Millenium Springs is in a prime spot for

jobs and health care activities rather than housing.

They also argued the project is too dense for the area and too far from public transit.

Mesa Planning Direct Nana Appiah said at the September planning and zoning hearing that the city should hold out for employment uses in this particular part of Mesa.

He said large tracts of undeveloped commercial land in Mesa are getting rarer, while potential sites for high-density housing like Millenium Springs are relatively abundant.

Millenium Springs is within a 254-acre “specialty campus” district that city officials designated in 2004 as an employment hub anchored by a hospital with a health care and education focus.

Medical school A.T. Still University, a dental school and multiple clinics have moved in, but about 60 acres of the area owned by health care giant Tenet remains undeveloped.

Tenet had planned a hospital on the site long ago, but it now wants to offload this land to buyers interested in property zoned for business parks and apartments.

Assistant Planning Director Rachel Nettles told the council that the Economic Development Department wants to increase the jobs-to-housing ratio in the area, among other reasons for opposing the project.

A P&Z board member who voted against the project said before his vote in September that there was already multifamily housing in the area, so Millenium Springs wouldn’t be filling an unmet need.

When Mayor John Giles weighed in at the council hearing, he said the complex was a “beautiful, good-looking project” and a “close call.”

But Giles didn’t think the location was the best place in Mesa for the level of density proposed.

“I would love to see a four-story apartment complex in a different part of town,” Giles said. “It doesn’t quite fit the character of this neighborhood, in my opinion.”

He also faulted the applicant for re-

questing a 27% reduction in the required number of parking spaces per unit down to 1.66 spaces per unit.

“I think you could have the parking reductions if it were somewhere closer to the light rail or somewhere in a more urban environment,” Giles said.

Though all the rest of council went on to support the rezoning, Spilsbury was the only one to explain her vote.

“When I first got on council two years ago, one of the first things I was told that was needed in my district was more housing for A.T. Still and for Banner (Gateway Medical Center),” Spilsbury said, “and I have been looking to find out how we can

fill that need, and I feel like this development fits that need.”

Giles motioned to deny Millennium Springs rezoning request, but the motion didn’t get a second.

Spilsbury’s subsequent motion to approve was seconded and passed with only the mayor voting “no.”

“Congratulations,” Giles told the applicant’s attorney after the vote, “your case passes.”

Mesa planning staff opposed the apartment complex near the northwest corner of Recker and Baseline roads partly because of its density. (City of Mesa)

WARNING!

PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY AND CHRONIC PAIN TREATMENTS NOT WORKING!!

Mesa, AZ – When it comes to chronic pain and/ or neuropathy, the most common doctor-prescribed treatment is drugs like Gabapentin, Lyrica, Cymbalta, and Neurontin.

The problem with antidepressants or anti-seizure medications like these is that they offer purely symptomatic relief, as opposed to targeting and treating the root of the problem. Worse, these drugs often trigger an onset of uncomfortable, painful, and sometimes harmful side effects.

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

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

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

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

1. Finding the underlying cause

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

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

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

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

1. Increases blood flow

2. Stimulates and strengthens small fiber nerves

3. Improves brain-based pain

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

It’s completely painless!

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

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

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

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

State falls in rank for defense spending

BY TRISTAN RICHARDS Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Pentagon spending in Arizona fell sharply in fiscal 2021, part of an overall decline in expenditures nationally that bumped the state from seventh place among states to 13th, according to new Defense Department data.

Military spending overall in the state fell from $20.2 billion in fiscal 2020 to $14.6 billion in fiscal 2021. That was a sharper drop than the 5.6% decline in spending nationwide during the same period, when combined spending on contracts and military personnel fell from $593.9 billion to $559 billion.

But analysts said that while Arizona may have slipped in its standing among states, the drop is not cause for concern. The defense industry remains a pillar of the state’s economy, they said, and will likely continue to be so for the foreseeable future.

“In terms of a good environment and a welcoming environment, Arizona is positioned very well to continue that growth in this industry,” said Todd Sanders, president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Area Chamber of Commerce.

fense demand” in the U.S.

Jolivette said Boeing in Arizona has been focused on delivering a continued supply of Apache helicopters, working to deliver “the best capability to the warfighter today while innovating for the future.”

Despite the Army lowering its orders for Apache helicopters from 49 in fiscal 2021 to 30 in fiscal 2022, Jolivette said that “strong international sales make up the gaps.”

“Our portfolio is well positioned and our future franchise programs have a long runway ahead,” Jolivette said.

The fiscal 2021 numbers nationwide do not reflect billions in spending this year on military assistance to Ukraine in its war with Russia.

The state rankings were also skewed by “large contracts to Pfizer, Inc. and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in New York” and to “Moderna, Inc. in Massachusetts” to acquire COVID-19 vaccines, the Pentagon report said.

“The contracts in New York and Massachusetts were related to COVID-19 vaccine and treatment purchases by DoD, in coordination with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,” the report read.

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The Pentagon spent $398.7 billion nationally on contracts in fiscal 2021 – a drop from $439.4 billion a year before – but that was partially offset by an increase in spending on personnel employed by the Defense Department, which went from $154.6 billion to $160.3 billion in the same period.

Military contracts have long been a staple of the Arizona economy, which includes multinational defense manufacturers such as Boeing, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman, among others. But contract spending took a hit in fiscal 2021 both nationally and in Arizona, with contracts in the state falling from $15.7 billion to $12.3 billion, according to the Pentagon report for 2021.

Boeing saw its contracts in Arizona fall from $2.2 billion to $1.2 billion over the year. But Kathleen Jolivette, vice president of Boeing Mesa’s attack helicopter program, said in a prepared statement that she looks forward to the future, noting the “solid and stable de-

The Pentagon also said that while eight of the 10 companies on its list of the top 10 contractors had been there before, Pfizer and Moderna “were both new to the list and are anomalies for traditional defense spending.”

Over the past decade, Arizona has been as low as 13th among states for defense spending – in fiscal years 2016, 2017 and now 2021 – and as high as seventh place in fiscal 2020.

“Clearly, this spending is important for Arizona,” Sanders said. “We looked at the stats for 2021 and as you look at the rest of the economy, you saw a similar drop in revenues or spending with the rest of the economy as a result of COVID.”

Sanders said the slowdown in defense spending was a “delayed effect of the economic slowdown from COVID.”

But he expects the slowdown is just temporary and reiterated the importance of defense to Arizona, where the Arizona Commerce Authority says 56,500 workers are employed in aerospace or defense jobs.

ting ready for what we do next, as our next ideas,” he continued. “If it does become available again, we’ll likely go back out with a (Request for Proposals) again.”

McVay and Miravista Holdings declined to comment on the results of that November meeting, but a spokesman for the city said, “Following that meeting, it was determined that negotiations would continue in good faith to find a viable solution for both the city and developer.”

He said McVay has met twice with the developer since the board meeting.

An exclusive dealings agreement between the city and Miravista expired in August, and there has not been progress on the rezoning process for the first phase of the project, which was supposed to commence over the summer.

In March, McVay and company representatives unveiled designs for dense mixed-use development built in phases.

The designs included a high-rise apartment up to eight stories, with retail, office space, “linear parks” and commercial space for a grocery store much requested by downtown residents.

Planning and Zoning Board members briefed on the plans in April praised the density of the project, which they said befitted an urban city center.

Miravista previously worked with the city on the Sycamore Station development, a project with multifamily residential near light rail that is currently under construction.

City council members had high hopes that Miravista’s Transform 17 plan was the revitalization project that would finally break ground.

City Manager Chris Brady noted last spring that this was the third plan he’s seen for the site during his tenure.

Miravista’s master plan for Transform 17 included several phases as a hedge against financial headwinds, which have felled previous sites.

The hope was to get at least a first phase done, so even if an owner ran into financial hardships, there would be some meaningful development on the sites after multiple decades.

“I have been sitting in this room talking about this piece of property since the 1990s,” Mayor John Giles said. “I’m

In their latest vision released this year for 27 acres of vacant land at University and Mesa drives, city officials saw a multi-use development with retail, residential and office space. (City of Mesa)

very anxious to see a shovel go in the ground.”

It’s not clear what is stalling the current project.

According to the terms of a memorandum of understanding between the city and Miravista, the developer intended to cover all preliminary expenses and much of the first phase of construction “using its own capital sources.”

For amenities requested by the city, including for-sale townhomes, Miravista intended to use “conventional channels” of finance.

Borrowers have been buffeted by the federal government’s incremental increases in interest rates over the past year, which have significantly raised the costs of borrowing.

In addition, supply shortages and in-

flation have hammered construction projects across the East Valley, driving up costs from estimates made as early as a year ago.

The long vacancy of the Transform 17 parcel is frustrating to many in part because of the hurt caused for some by its acquisition, which displaced mostly Hispanic residents, local historian Vic Linoff said.

The neighborhood that used to sit on the 27 acres “was kind of an extension of the Washington-Escobedo neighborhood, which was established just outside the city limits,” he said.

“Over time, Site 17 became the home to primarily Hispanic families. … Mesa, just like every city in the Valley at one time, was essentially a segregated town, and the workforce essentially lived out-

side the city.”

When the Planning and Zoning Board received an overview of Miravista’s plan this spring, two board members emphasized that whatever Mesa does with the site, the city needs to be especially sensitive about listening to the concerns and desires of the surrounding community due to its history.

“There’s still a lot of hurt in some of our communities, particularly some of our communities of color, about how some of those properties were acquired,” former P&Z Vice Chair Deanna Villanueva-Saucedo said during discussions in the spring.

She and others told developers and city staff that references to the history of the parcel should be included in the final designs.

Feds sue Ducey over border shipping containers

BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

The Biden administration is asking a federal judge to let it remove the hundreds of double-stacked storage containers Gov. Doug Ducey has placed along the border and then bill the state for the costs.

The Department of Justice said the state, under an executive order from the governor, is occupying lands owned by the federal government without obtaining required permits or authorization. Those containers, the lawsuit says, “damage federal lands, threaten public safety, and impede the ability of federal agencies and officials, including law enforcement personnel, to perform their official duties.’’

The lawsuit says the containers actually compromise law enforcement, blocking the ability of officers to see threats on the other side.

“The shipping containers can feasibly be entered on the ends or by cutting ac-

cess points into the containers, allowing for the concealment of individuals, weapons, or contraband, effectively creating a fortified bunker that would post a grave threat to unsuspecting Forest Service personnel and the public,’’ wrote Assistant Attorney General Andrew Smith.

And all that, Smith said, is not only dangerous but “inconsistent’’ with the decision by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1907 – before Arizona even became a state – to declare a 60-foot wide strip along the border the property of the federal government to keep the area “free from obstruction as a protection against the smuggling of goods between the United States and Mexico.’’

“Not only has Arizona refused to halt its trespasses and remove the shipping containers from federal lands, but it has indicated that it will continue to trespass on federal lands and install additional shipping containers,’’ he told U.S. District Court Judge Susan Brnovich. Smith said that in installing the ship -

ping containers on National Forest lands in Cochise County, the state had widened roads and cleared lands for staging areas.

“In doing so, Arizona has cut down or removed scores of trees, clogged drainages, and degraded the habitat of species listed under the Endangered Species Act,’’ he told the judge, adding the containers are blocking about 30 ephemeral streams which interrupt natural drainage patters, erode soil and damage vegetation and forage.

He also said the lands are now being “occupied by armed security guards,’’ re hired by the contractor doing the storage container installation for the state, and are interfering with the ability of the Forest Service to carry out its duties.

Ducey press aide C.J. Karamargin cited a letter his boss sent to the Department of Justice urging them not to sue. The governor rejected any contention that the containers, filling a 3,820-foot gap near Yuma and a nearly 10-mile wall

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of them going up south of Sierra Vista, harm public safety and the environment.

“The number one public safety risk and environmental harm has come from inaction by the federal government to secure our border,’’ the Republican governor wrote, repeating claims he has made since Biden halted further work on a wall being built by the Trump administration.

“When the federal government abruptly halted border wall construction, our forests and public lands in Arizona quickly became strewn with abandoned clothing and property, and an ever-increasing number of migrants who continue to flow into the state,’’ Ducey wrote.

“This influx has resulted in fields of agricultural produce being contaminated, hospitals overflowing and U.S. citizens not being able to enjoy their homes or property due to trespassers.’’

Ducey also said that the Department of Homeland Security has been mak-

ing promises for a year that it would fill gaps that remain in the border wall after construction stopped.

He said that efforts since then to get specifics have been unsuccessful. And that, the governor said, left the state with no real choice but to begin installing the storage containers.

“Arizona’s border barrier was always intended to be a temporary solution until the federal government erects a permanent solution,’’ Ducey told federal officials.

The governor also disputes the claim that the containers interfere with the ability of federal agencies to do their jobs. He contends that both federal and local law enforcement officers have “lauded the installation of the temporary barrier.’’

“John Moldin, chief of the Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector, explained that closing these gaps is a helpful strategy because ‘if Yuma has 10 gaps and people were crossing all 10 gaps, it’s much more difficult for us to deal with than if Yuma

has one or two gaps and the majority of traffic is crossing through those gaps,’ ‘’ Ducey said.

Smith told Brnovich it comes down to a simple question of law: The property is owned by the federal government and the state is trespassing despite being told the actions are illegal.

Ducey, for his part, is not conceding that question of ownership.

In October he asked a different federal judge to rule that President Roosevelt had no legal right to declare that strip of land, known as the “Roosevelt Reservation,’’ to be the property of the federal government.

“Article II of the U.S. Constitution does not explicitly provide for the president to exercise his executive power to secure land or property without congressional approval,’’ wrote Brett Johnson, a private attorney who Ducey has repeatedly hired in his legal battles with Washington. And Johnson said nothing changes simply because Roosevelt declared his act to be for the benefit of “public welfare.’’

Johnson said the claim “conflicts with the state’s sovereignty of that land.’’

Ownership aside, Johnson contends that Ducey has a constitutional right to protect the state from what amounts to an “invasion,’’ allowing him to “take immediate temporary steps ... to stem the imminent danger of criminal and humanitarian crises related to the Arizona border.’’

Federal officials are likely to get at least part of what they want next month

when Katie Hobbs becomes governor.

She has told Capitol Media Services she will halt further work, saying the land does not belong to the state and calling Ducey’s actions “a political stunt’’ and “a waste of taxpayer dollars.’’

But Hobbs said she has made no decision on removing the containers already there.

The Biden administration wants Gov. Doug Ducey to remove shipping containers placed as border barriers. (Cronkite News)

Marijuana sales steadily increasing in Arizona

BY RYAN KNAPPENBERGER Cronkite News

Sales of marijuana in Arizona soared to $1.6 billion in 2021, just one year after recreational pot was legalized in the state, making Arizona second only to California for retail sales that year, according to an industry research group.

But while retail sales of cannabis are strong, the crop is far from being added to the traditional “5 C’s” of Arizona’s economy, experts say, as production still trails far behind other states.

They say cannabis could become a strong part of the state’s economy in the next few years, but the industry will first have to overcome barriers to growth nationwide that include limited trade and restrictions on financing for a crop that is still illegal on the federal level.

“We don’t see SWAT teams busting in the doors of dispensaries,” said Aaron Smith, CEO of the National Cannabis Industry Association. “But we do have problems with

not being able to take tax deductions like a normal industry, or being able to have interstate commerce, which really creates a

barrier to entry for a lot of folks.”

But for now, at least, the industry appears to be growing in Arizona.

Marijuana sales brought in $221.3 million in taxes in 2021, according to the Arizona Department of Revenue, and sales in 2022 were on pace to eclipse that number, with $196.4 million in taxes in the first nine months of the year. That’s an average of just under $22 million in excise taxes a month for 2022.

Cultivation and production of cannabis as a crop, however, are not about to rival the 5 C’s: cattle, cotton, copper, citrus and climate.

Alexis Villacis Aveiga, an assistant professor at the Morrison School of Agribusiness at Arizona State University, said that in order for cannabis to rival the rest of the 5 C’s, the state would need to see a much larger expansion of agricultural production.

But Arizona’s climate makes it difficult to grow cannabis, he said, and while greenhouses can help address that issue, Arizona has a lot of catching up to do with other states.

“For example, we have 35,000 square feet of indoors cannabis and hemp,” Aveiga said. “In California there are over 4 million square feet, Colorado has over 2 million and Kentucky has around 200,000.

“So Arizona is pretty small compared to other states,” he said.

Dave DeWalt, the Arizona statistician for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said in an email that the state had about 129,000 acres of cotton in production in 2021, worth about $156 million, and that cattle brought in $754 million that year. There were 10,031 acres of citrus in the state in 2017, the most recent year for which USDA has data available.

Acreage for cannabis production was not readily available, but the Arizona Department of Agriculture measures the production of hemp – a type of cannabis plant that contains 0.3% or less of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the psychoactive component of the plant that gives users a high.

Hemp cannot be used to get high, but can be used to create things like rope, paper, paint, beer, medicine and more.

The department said Arizona had 155.5 acres of industrial hemp growing in fields at the end of 2021, and 11,558 square feet planted indoors.

Aveiga said current state regulations make hemp less attractive as a crop, since farmers can only sell their harvest if it is below the 0.3% limit for THC. Otherwise, it counts as marijuana, which requires a separate license to grow and sell.

Smith, of the NCIA, said it’s not just farmers: Businesses trying to sell medical and recreational marijuana face legal hurdles that other businesses don’t.

He said regulations for cannabis make it difficult for small businesses to deduct expenses and find banks to work with. That means some operators cannot take credit cards for purchases and in some cases cannot place cash in checking accounts.

“It just serves nobody’s interest to have the industry operate in cash or you do not have access to these services,” Smith said.

Despite all the current hurdles, Smith said Arizona has been a pioneering purple state in terms of cannabis regulation and has shown just how popular legalization can be.

“Cannabis is used across demographics, boomers and millennials and Gen Z, people over 21 are using responsibly and we’re glad to see that,” Smith said. “Arizona law is by and large working well.”

A vendor makes change for cannabis sale at a Los Angeles marketplace in this photo from 2020, when Arizona voters legalized recreational use of marijuana. Since then, cannabis sales in Arizona have surged to an estimated $1.6 billion, second only to California, but production in the state still lags. (Richard Vogel/AP/Shutterstock)

Landmark Queen Creek restaurant is sold

BY MARK MORAN Tribune Staff Writer

After nearly 50 years, Rudy’s Mexican and American Food – a Queen Creek landmark and popular gathering spot in town – has closed its doors for good.

The eatery near Ellsworth and Ocotillo roads where founder Rudy Valenzuela oversaw the entire operation, has succumbed to tough economic times and difficult emotions.

“It would have stayed open if my husband had stayed alive, but… it was too many memories, 77-year-old Toni Valenzuela said. “Maybe I wasn’t in the mood for it anymore after he passed away.”

Toni said the couple opened the restaurant in 1975, although Valley real estate tracker vizzda.com said the building was constructed in 1982. It also reported that the 3,076-square-foot restaurant, situated on .14 acres, sold for $800,000.

Rudy died in 2016, and the building was rent to several restauranteurs who couldn’t make a go of it.

But before his death, he and Toni established a popular quality restaurant known for its chili rellenos, huevos rancheros and chimichangas.

Mostly, however, they became famous locally for their own invention.

“We were known for the Mexican pizzas,” Valenzuela said. “The green chili and meat. You can ask people about the Mexican pizza. They were very good. I’m telling you.”

Judging by the orders that piled in as Rudy’s was closing its doors for good, there are Mexican pizzas in many Queen Creek residents’ freezers.

“I’m not lying,” she said. “My last day I sold 200 Mexican pizzas.”

Toni credits her late husband with the menu’s success. He insisted, she said, that everything be done the same way, every time, every day, every year.

The problem was, if you were not there to hear it from him, you did not know how to make something that achieved Rudy’s standards.

“And we didn’t have recipes. I’ll be hon-

est with you,” she said. “We never wrote anything down because he would always tell us ‘This is how much you are supposed to do, this is what ingredients you put in there because you have to do it a certain way because the customers are going to know when you change an ingredient or something.’”

If there ever was anything different, it seems the customers never knew. The place remained popular and busy right up until Rudy’s death.

Toni never intended to be part of the restaurant and told her husband when he announced that he was going to stop cooking for a restaurant in Chandler and open his own place in Queen Creek.

“At the time that my husband opened the restaurant, I was a school nurse at the Queen Creek Elementary School,” she said. “I wasn’t supposed to be involved. I was supposed to stay nursing.

“I told him, ‘you open that restaurant and I’m not helping you because I don’t know anything about it.’”

But despite his promises that she would not have to help, Toni was drawn in and before long, she was in it up to her elbows.

“Of course, you never get enough help so I had to quit working in the Queen Creek schools,” she said. “I was just like a gopher, go get this, go get that and I’d go where they needed me. They didn’t have a waitress so I was just thrown in to become a waitress.”

Beyond taking orders and serving up a steaming plate of fajitas or enchiladas, she mediated disputes, listened to the concerns of her neighbors, asked about their kids, and created an atmosphere that felt, she said, like a family kitchen.

Her best memories were made in those times.

“The early days, where everybody knew everybody,” Valenzuela said. “Farmers would go in there. They had their own special table. They would just sit around and have coffee and breakfast and talk about the crops, what they should do, what they should not do.

“It was a conversation place. They would talk about cattle and hay, and the

farmers would talk about the potatoes and the cotton, what to do, what not do to.”

On more than one occasion, Toni was called on by those farmers who presumably knew a thing or two about raising successful crops, to mediate disputes about growing practices.

“They would ask me to sit down to tell them something that they could do with their cotton, what they could do to make it better,” she said. “I would tell them ‘I don’t know anything about that. I will send you my husband Rudy’ and they would say ‘No. He doesn’t know anything; he just knows how to cook.’”

“An era has ended,” said lifelong Queen Creek resident and farmer Mark Schnepf, who, like so many other customers, frequented Rudy’s with his father and joined in on those farmers’ conversations.

“I have probably eaten there hundreds if not a couple thousand times over the decades,” he said. “We were in there for lunch and for dinner all the time.

“I’m sad to hear that they’re closing but I get it. It’s a generational thing and if you don’t have a younger generation that wants to do it, then you need to sell it. But it is sad day for the community of Queen Creek to lose such a wonderful, iconic place,” Schnepf added.

Of course, like any business, Rudy’s faced hard times, especially in the 1980s.

“Times were very hard,” she said. “It was a recession. It was pretty bad.”

But those tough times opened the door

to an opportunity that the Valenzuelas had never considere: taking their food to people instead of waiting for customers to come in.

Rudy’s catering was born. It brought them out of the tough times, Toni said, and kept the orders coming. The restaurant continued to cater right up until she closed the doors.

“Rudy and I never had any regrets in opening the restaurant and going through hard times. Sometimes there were good times and sometimes there were bad times,” she said.

Toni is proud she and Rudi could help the community and never turned anyone away, even people with an uncertain immigration status who came to the back door asking for food.

“We were always there to help people,” she said. “We didn’t mind giving them something to eat. That’s the way my husband was and the way I was. If someone needed help, we were there to help them.”

Toni recalled her last day, when she had sold most of her remaining food and had very little left to offer in the restaurant.

But that did not deter her final patron.

“He brought in his family,” Valenzuela said. “And he said ‘my dad brought me here, now I’m bringing my family. I don’t care if you don’t have any food left over. I’ll take what you’ve got.’”

“He ate it and enjoyed it and he was my last customer,” she said. “Of course, we hugged and we cried.”

Toni Valenzuela is bidding a fond farewell to Rudy’s, the restaurant and Queen Creek landmark she and her late husband Rudy ran for decades until he passed away in 2016. It was sold earlier this month. (David Minton/Tribune Staff Photographer)

Mesa doc brought cancer facilities to China

BY JOSH ORTEGA Tribune Staff Writer

Even in the eye of the storm that was the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Matt Callister still helped bring modern cancer-treatment facilities to Hong Kong.

A senior physician executive at Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center, Callister helped establish that Gilbert facility, where he has spent more than a decade as a radiation oncologist.

In 2017, Callister moved his family to southern China to work with a private Chinese health care company to develop Western-oriented cancer centers and hospitals.

“It’s a great career opportunity to go abroad and to use the skills and experience that I had in America,” Callister said.

The family lived in Guangzhou for more than three years, including time during the pandemic. He also had the op -

portunity to work in other cities, including Shanghai and Beijing.

The opportunity came when the company went to the University of Texas MD

Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, to learn more about American health care.

Company representatives stayed in touch with him and soon asked him to come to China.

During his time in China, Callister said he learned two big lessons.

One is that regardless of language, culture or background, there’s incredible similarities for the need of compassionate, effective cancer care everywhere, especially in China with such a large population.

The experience also gave him a deeper appreciation of American cancer care.

“It helped me appreciate what makes a difference in so many people’s lives as we try to recreate those similar types of experiences and opportunities for patients in the Far East as well,” Callister said.

Callister said the U.S. “really stands out” in the ability to provide advanced technology for the accurate diagnosis of cancer through testing and imaging as

well as for access to state-of-the-art targeted drugs or immune-based drugs that impact patients’ lives.

“That’s one of the real advantages we have and I think the rest of the world is trying to get access to and contribute to as well,” Callister said. “But U.S. really stands out in really drug development and technology development.”

Callister said his efforts in China focused not on importing innovations, but establishing the infrastructure “where excellent care could thrive.”

Some of that included establishing American-style oncology nursing and advocating for specialists and development of a higher level of patient support through nutrition services, physical therapy, psychology and speech therapy.

Callister focused much of his time on promoting a multidisciplinary style of

100+ Women Who Care donates over $1M

BY KIM TARNOPOLSKI Tribune Guest Writer

One hundred dollars at a time is how 100+ Women Who Care Valley of the Sun exceeded their goal of donating $1 Million to local nonprofits.

Eight years ago, Kim Tarnopolski, Jacqueline Destremps, Stephanie Millner, and Jenn Kaye launched a people-centered form of philanthropy called a giving circle in Ahwatukee and Scottsdale.

A giving circle brings a group of people with shared values together to collectively discuss and decide where to make a pooled gift. Giving circles support with their dollars, but also build awareness and educate members about

the great work being done by local charities.

Individuals multiply their impact and knowledge, have fun, and connect with their local community.

“Over the last eight years, we’ve facilitated 91 giving circles in the Valley. That is 91 times our members were given the opportunity to donate $100 to a deserving nonprofit,” said Chief Charity Officer Stephanie Millner.

“When you add all those donations together, it quickly multiplies to tens of thousands of dollars each year.”

In November, the chapter’s East Valley group delivered $7,100 to the Arizona Humane Society.

Trenna Farrell, the nominating member, has a huge heart for animals. She

educated the group about the emergency animal medical technicians who are on the streets of the Valley saving animals every day.

This dedicated team responds to over 9,000 animal rescues and investigations, annually.

The technicians provide in-the-field lifesaving care to sick, injured, and abused animals and transport them to their trauma hospital for veterinary care. They also investigate cases of animal cruelty within certain cities.

The most common animal cruelty investigations are for abandonment, welfare checks, and lack of water.

This team, the first of its kind in Arizona, is committed to giving our furry friends the home they deserve.

“We are so grateful and moved to get a donation of this size directed at our team. When we get direct funding to our team it goes to purchase gear and equipment that is necessary in the rescue of animals,” said Ruthie Jesus, manager of the Emergency Animal Medical Technicians team.

“Some of the funds will be used to buy a halligan for each truck,” Ruthie said. “This tool is used to open street drains. The fire department has them and often we must wait thirty plus minutes for them to get to the scene to open a 200-pound drain grate to save an animal.

With this tool, we will be able to do it our-

Dr. Matt Callistor, senior physician executive Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center, established that renown cancer hospital in Gilbert. (David Minton/Tribune Staff Photographer)

decision-making, particularly among physicians, when a patient receives a new diagnosis because “cancer care is really a team sport.”

“The decisions aren’t made by one person, but made by a group of peers that are specialists in different areas who can put their experiences together to really point the patient in the most effective path possible for their cancer,” Callister explained.

He helped accomplish all of this in spite of China’s rigid COVID protocols.

Callister helped open the Guangzhou Concord Cancer Center in June 2021.

“We were able to move forward to achieve our goals of getting cancer care to a lot of patients,” he said.

Through all his work, Callister still managed to enjoy the scenery with his wife Laura and the four kids they took with them.

Since 2004, the couple has raised their eight kids in Mesa and found life in China exhilarating.

“We loved living downtown in large

cities, not having a car, relying on public transportation,” Callister said. “And just all in all the diversity as far as food and entertainment.”

Callister’s passion for oncology started at Duke University Medical School.

“When you go to medical school, I think one of the things you discover is this incredible breadth of different spe-

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cialties and ways in which we use science and technology to help patients,” Callister said.

Through patient interactions, Callister became “deeply impressed” by the tools science has and is developing in the fight against cancer.

“I think the science and the people component just really came together,”

Callister said. “And in the middle of medical school, I really committed to having a career in cancer.”

Callister graduated in 1997 and proceeded to an internship at the Mayo Clinic Arizona and four more years of training and residency at MD Anderson

Hanging out one day at the Great Wall of China were Dr. Matt Callister (far right) and some of his family: LeGrand, Autumn, Grace, wife Laura and Josh. (Courtesy of Dr. Matt Callister)

This Holiday Season, Deck the Halls with the Best Home Internet Experience

Susan Anable, Cox Vice President

Not so long ago, we used home wifi primarily to connect to the Internet with our mobile phones, tablets and laptops. Today, many more of our household appliances and devices are connected and enabled with Internet of Things (IoT) technology that lets them interact with each other and with smart systems over the internet. Our homes are indeed becoming smarter every day. And many of these items top holiday gift lists.

If you plan to stuff stockings with the latest connected tech for the family, consider the impact of all those new devices on your home wifi network and internet connection. You might also think about the potential surge in the number of people using your network while they’re home for the holidays. You want the season to be great and taking steps to optimize your home internet experience is a wise way to keep everyone in your home jolly. A good rule of thumb is to choose an internet speed that lets everyone at home do what they want at the same time. This might mean upgrading your service to a higher speed. When considering faster service tiers, bear in mind that your overall internet connection speed is typically faster than the speeds most wifi-based smart devices can handle. For most homes, the popular 250 Mbps tier easily supports most families’ streaming, gaming, downloading, remote learning, web surfing, and social media scrolling needs. But for those who want more, providers like Cox offer gigabit speeds to all customers in the markets it serves.

It’s also important to know your internet equipment. Newer internet modems and gateways that are Wifi 6 enabled have stronger in-home signal strength - so they’re faster, have further reach, and can support more devices. Regardless of if/when you upgrade, it’s a good idea to have a provider that will let you make the change easily. For example, if you have Cox internet service and Cox Panoramic Wifi you get equipment that keeps up with pace of technology.

Now for those gifts. Having your internet service and your in-home network experience ready you are ready for a host of new, cool gift ideas for the upcoming holiday season. Here are some really practical connected products that may just fill your home with more joy:

• Interior and exterior smart lighting systems and bulbs – you can program on and off times, enable motion sensing to shut off lights when no one’s around, and even tune the color of your lighting to match a mood or decor.

• Smart home resource management, including thermostats that learn and self-program based on your comfort preferences; and sprinkler systems that can sense watering levels and weather patterns to avoid unnecessary watering.

• Home automation systems, like Homelife, with inside and outside video cameras, plus smart locks and video doorbells that can be monitored remotely from your mobile device.

• Smart healthcare devices, such as blood pressure, glucose and heart monitors that are managed with your mobile device and share results and alerts in real-time with your healthcare providers; and smart exercise equipment that helps you track progress and connects you to group workouts.

• Smart appliances, like ovens that manage the entire cooking process, and are managed by your mobile device, refrigerators that tell you when you’re out of milk, and even robot vacuum cleaners and mops.

• Smart bathroom fixtures, like toilets with hands-free opening and closing, night lights and heated seats, automated sanitizing with UV disinfectant; mirrors with customizable settings, information displays and built-in speakers; bathroom scales that send information directly to your weight management apps; and even a toothbrush that tracks your brushing and helps you improve technique.

• Smart bedroom furniture, with beds that let you adjust firmness and temperature on each side independently; pillows that track your sleep patterns and vibrate when you snore, and help wake you gently; and cribs that can detect early wake-up signs and soothe your baby back to sleep.

And for those with furry friends, a guaranteed favorite is automatic feeders and self-cleaning litter boxes.

There’s no place like home for the holidays and a healthy home network and strong and reliable internet experience will help make the season bright!

WOMAN

from page 18

selves, so we can rescue animals as quickly and efficiently as possible. It means so much and our team is so excited.”

To learn more about this team at the

CANCER

from page 19

Cancer Center in Houston.

In his career, Callister said one of the most important principles about cancer is that it’s not one disease but many diseases and based on both different locations in the body and the genetic abnormalities associated with each tumor.

“I think one of the main themes that’s developed during my career is that with the progress in science and technology, we have been able to increasingly customize or personalize the treatment needed for everyone’s cancer,” Callister said.

Advancements in technology have allowed doctors to use a combination of surgery, radiotherapy and drug treatments in a “more refined way that matches the abnormality that’s causing cancer

Arizona Humane Society visit azhumane.org/stop-animal-cruelty.

To learn more, register, and attend 100+ Women Who Care’s next giving circle in the East Valley on Feb. 2, visit 100wwcvalleyofthesun.org.

to develop or to progress in a patient,” Callister said.

“Increasingly, things have become much more complex, based on a lot more information and a lot more tools that are available,” he said.

Callister now focuses on administering and leading cancer programs.

“I am an avid supporter of getting our docs the resources to open clinical trials, do research and become experts in their field,” Callister said.

Since returning to his current role, Callister said the teamwork he experienced in China is one of the things he will carry forward in his own career at Banner MD Anderson in Gilbert, convinced that “despite the difference in language, differences in culture, differences in the world that we live, good things can be accomplished anywhere when people cooperate.”

Marking a donation to the Arizona Human Society by 100+ Women Who Care Valley of the Sun are, from left, Trenna Farrell, Ruthie Jesus, Crissy Haidos, Kim Tarnopolski, and Piglet. (Special to the Tribune)

Downtown Mesa dentist puts cap on career

BY JOSH ORTEGA Tribune Staff Writer

Dr. Deborah Klinkefus had once considered studying engineering, but decided to help people’s smiles instead.

Since 1978, Klinkefus’ dental office has called the Telford Building at 30 W. First Ave. in downtown Mesa home.

After 44 years and generations of patients, she is selling her practice and retiring.

The Iowa native chose dentistry partly because she liked working with her hands, a trait she inherited from her carpenter dad.

“I was exploring medical careers and I like to work with my hands so it seemed like a good fit,” Klinkefus said.

She first started pursuing an engineering degree at Iowa State University but “I found out that I wasn’t cut out to be an engineer because engineers don’t get to see many people, for one.”

Klinkefus finished her undergrad studies in zoology with minors in chemistry and biology in three years at Iowa State.

That hard work in a compressed time period stemmed from the fact that her roommate was in medical school and all science classes required three to six hours of lab per week. “So, I would take classes all day and then I would take labs from like 6 to 9 at night,” Klinkefus said.

She encountered some discrimination along the way, including an instructor who quit “because he wouldn’t teach women.”

Yet, Klinkefus graduated as one of 16 women out of a class of approximately 100 students from the University of Iowa College of Dentistry in May 1978.

Upon completing her written and practical exams with the American Dental Association in Oregon, she

Midwest college offers nurse program here

TRIBUNE NEWS STAFF

Calling Arizona a state “where nurses are needed most,” a Wisconsin Catholic women’s college has expanded its footprint to an historic building in downtown Mesa.

Milwaukee-based Alverno College now has its name on Mesa Tower, formerly the Mesa Financial Plaza, and is offering a Master of Science in Nursing – Direct Entry program.

The school cited a January 2022 report in Becker’s Hospital Review that placed Arizona eighth in the nation for the percent of hospitals in the state with critical staffing shortages.

“The continued growth of new residents moving from out of state along with an already healthy retirement population, means that Arizona’s healthcare infrastructure is likely to continue to face challenges that could include treatment delays due to an understaffed nursing workforce,” the college said in a release.

Alverno’s history in nursing education dates back to 1932 and today it is known for the caliber of its nursing school graduates provided by state-of-the-art simulations and clinical training. Founded in 1887 by the School Sisters of St. Francis, the college is Wisconsin’s first Hispanicserving institution.

Originally launched on its Milwaukee, in January 2020, the DEMSN is the only program in the Mesa area to award graduates with both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing.

Unlike a traditional nursing program, it is specifically designed for adults who have already earned a bachelor’s degree in a non-nursing field, and can be completed in 20 months.

“It’s ideal for anyone looking to change careers, and it allows students to leverage their past education and return to school to complete a nursing education at the graduate level.” the college said.

“I’ve always believed that nurses are the linchpin of any health care team,”

said Linda Shanta, Ph.D., RN, ANEF, associate professor and director of the DEMSN program in Mesa.

“Alverno’s DEMSN program offers people educated in other disciplines who wish to become nurses an expedited way to become highly educated nurses who are prepared to lead change in health care.”

Construction for Alverno’s new clinical learning center in Mesa began in 2021.

Following their official grand opening and provisional approval by the Arizona State Board of Nursing early this year, enrollment began for the first DEMSN

After decades serving patients from her downtown Mesa dental office, Dr. Deborah Klinkefus is retiring from her distinguished career. (DavidMinton/Tribune Staff Photographer)

Some sensible resolutions for saving money in 2023

BY HAROLD WONG Tribune Guest Writer

As we approach the end of 2022, gas prices have doubled and we have 40-year-highs in inflation. The first six months of 2022 were the worst the stock market has had in 40 years.

Mortgage rates for 30-year loans have more than doubled from 3% one year ago to a high of 7% recently. On a $500,000 loan the increased interest rates have raised the monthly mortgage payment from $2,103/month to $3,307 a month.

The Fed has raised interest rates sharply to fight inflation, though it may cause a bad recession. Large firms have recently announced thousands of layoffs.

At the end of every year, it’s a tradition for many Americans to look back, reflect, and make New Year’s resolutions for the next year. Here are some goals and dreams my clients say they hope to achieve. Losing weight and quitting smoking

are the two biggest New Year’s Resolutions. In 2022, a client needed $500 a month for a weight loss program that offered her the support she needed. She wanted a healthier diet with more expensive organic foods and grass-fed beef.

Her increased retirement income strategies easily covered this extra expense. In only three months, she reached her goal of losing 25 pounds and fit into clothes she had not been able to wear in years.

More travel in retirement is the top bucket list item for Americans. A client’s life-long dream was to visit Antarctica. She found that a 14-day trip will cost $15,000-$27,000. No problem!

Eight years ago, she had deposited $270,000 in a private pension account. In 2023, she will trigger her annual income of $27,000, guaranteed every year she is alive. She will easily be able to afford the Antarctica and other future overseas trips.

A safer income that is also steadier

than stock market dividends or bond interest also is desired. Two years ago, an 80-year-old client was able to achieve this by buying solar business equipment and leasing it out to huge food companies on a 10-year lease with a 10-year warranty that covers all repair costs.

The annual depreciation allows her to pay no income tax on an income that is triple what stock market dividends or bond interest pays.

Substantially increasing retirement income is a goal of most. In 2019, a new client said that they currently spend $50,000 a year but wanted to spend $75,000 a year when they retire in seven years. They also wanted to remove 90% of their financial assets from stock market risk.

A series of strategies were implemented that will generate a $120,000 annual retirement income in 2027. Also, a large Roth IRA Conversion was accomplished in 2020 without owing any federal income tax so that much of the wife’s retirement income will be tax-free for life.

Leaving a large legacy for your child is a worthy goal. In 2022, a retired widow did a $600,000 Roth IRA Conversion and had $250,000 of additional taxable income. By using advanced tax strategies, she owes $0 federal tax in 2022 and creates $2.5 million more wealth to leave to her only child. What dreams and goals will you take action on in 2023?

Free tour/workshop at solar reefer (refrigeration) factory: 9 a.m.-noon Jan. 4 at Advanced Energy Machines, 4245 E. Norcroft St., Mesa. The topic is “How solar reefers can reduce taxes to $0 and earn a steady 10-14%.” Lots of tasty refreshments will be 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. Harold Wong earned his Ph.D. in economics at the University of California/ Berkeley and has appeared on over 400 TV/radio programs.

What Matters Most?

Give your family peace of mind with preplanned burial, cremation, or funeral arrangements. No one serves Mesa and Chandler with more compassion, experience, and value than Legacy.

Call or visit us online today.

found Dr. William Telford’s practice in Mesa, a city she knew because she visited her older sister Paula throughout her childhood.

Moving to Mesa in July 1978, Klinkefus said she felt fortunate to work with Telford, who didn’t treat her the way most dentists did in the then-male dominated profession.

“My partner was unique in that he was very accepting that I was a woman,” Klinkefus said. “But I would go to the dental association meetings, and they thought I was a hygienist.”

Even early on, however, Klinkefus never encountered patients with that bias, explaining, “I have a lot of male patients who like coming to a woman doctor because they think we’re more empathetic.”

Klinkefus also chose dentistry as a good compromise with the late night and on-call hours that most physicians encounter.

“I think it’s a good profession for a woman because you have more regular hours than medicine and so you can still have a family,” Klinkefus said.

Klinkefus credits her success to the strong patient base that migrated from Telford and her own work in building her practice without ever running a single advertisement.

“I’ve never advertised,” Klinkefus said. “When I started in practice, it was considered bad form to advertise.”

Both her age and a dwindling pool of patients in recent years have prompted her to retire. “I see a difference and my age makes a difference, I think,” said Klinkefus, despite her estimate

ALVERNO from page 21

cohort in August.

At full capacity, Alverno’s Mesa location will have an enrollment of more than 200 students and has forged clinical relationships with Banner Health and the Mayo Clinic.

“We are thrilled that our first Direct Entry Master of Science in Nursing cohort in Mesa is off to a great start,” said Dr. Joseph Foy, interim president and

that she has over 2,500 active patients.

Most come from around the Valley, including Mesa native Eli Bulno, 36, who has visited Klinkefus his entire life and said her retirement is “a big loss.”

“She’s the only dentist I’ve ever known,” Bulno said. “She’s always made me feel comfortable which is not an easy thing to do in a place like that.”

Klinkefus’ staff has also stayed on for the long haul.

Office Manager Stephanie Coutu has worked there for more than 24 years. “I’ve been able to raise all my kids here,” Coutu said. “And they’ve all come here…this is all they know.”

Although she planned to work until she was 70, Klinkefus said she’s ready to retire a year shy of that goal – partly because of the way corporations are taking control of the profession.

“I think the whole system worked better when doctors were in charge because they have a different focus,” Klinkefus said. “Once you’ve worked for yourself for a long, long time, it’s hard to have somebody tell you what to do and have quotas and just all that stuff that goes with corporate America.”

Though she has no concrete plans, Klinkefus said she looks forward to spending more time with her family, including her husband of 41 years, C.P. Hamrick, stepdaughter Elysia, and grandchildren: Caleb, 25, and Chloe, 17.

Klinkefus said she’s “relieved” and “ready to go.”

“When you’re aging, you think about it as you get closer and closer,” Klinkefus said. “I’ll just stop and do something else for a while. I don’t know what I’ll do…I’ll do something.”

vice president of academic affairs.

“They have been welcomed warmly by the Mesa community, and already in their first semester these amazing students are living out the Alverno mission by giving back to the community through participation in the Mesa hydration campaign and accepting leadership and committee responsibilities in the Student Nurses Association of Arizona,” Foy said.

Information: msn.alverno.edu.

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

TheMesaTribune.com | @EVTNow /EVTNow

Looking at 2023, here are some predictions

BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ Tribune Columnist

Come year’s end, newspaper columnists traditionally look backward, chewing over the past 365 days. “

Year in review” columns bore me, because they’re too easy. Here, we look ahead, reviewing the year that has not yet happened. And 2023 promises to be an epic affair. How so?

Jan. 5, 2023 - In an attempt to upstage the swearing-in of new Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, the Cochise County Board of Supervisors votes 2-1 on a proclamation to install Kari Lake as “Governor of Cochise County.”

Afterwards, Supervisor Tom Crosby calls the vote “a unanimous victory for truth.” Lake’s swearing-in, held at

the Thirsty Lizard Bar & Grill in McNeal, is drowned out by Karaoke Night. Feb. 11 - On the Saturday before Super Bowl LVII, the City of Glendale, home to State Farm Stadium, hosts the single pregame event that’s actually in Glendale.

“Hangin’ With Joyce,” a wienie roast in Councilwoman Joyce Clark’s backyard, draws a star-studded crowd of 11 people, including Mayor Jerry Weiers and the long snapper for the Scottsdale Community College Artichokes football team.

April 1 - Losing Arizona Secretary of State candidate Mark Finchem is the victim of a nasty April Fool’s Day prank when a “Commie pinko” Amazon driver substitutes black boot polish for Finchem’s favorite “MAGA Trump Tone™” self-tanner.

Finchem immediately sends out a fundraising request asking donors to contribute money “to help him overturn this sham election and become the first African American Secretary of State in Arizona history.”

May 16 - The Arizona Coyotes lose the public vote to build an arena in Tempe despite offering city residents “free seats for life” at all home games. The team, which struggled to sell out 5,000-seat Mullett Arena on the ASU campus last season, announces its intentions to move to AZ Ice Peoria. Coyotes President Xavier Gutierrez promises not to disrupt the facility’s weekday morning public skate sessions, “because as a valued public partner and a fan of ice, our organization embraces a diversity of ice skaters, even if I myself cannot ice skate.”

July 4 - Columnist J.D. Hayworth celebrates Independence Day in style, writing his 1,776 consecutive column maligning “liberals,” “Ol’ Joe” Biden,” and the “partisan press.”

Hayworth is honored with the firstever “Paul Gosar Freedom Fighter Award,” bestowed by the Arizona News Columnist Association. “I literally don’t know how he does it,” says ANCA President David Leibowitz. “Every week, I think he might mention his pet cat or his favorite chicken wing restaurant, but nope – politics every single time. The guy’s a machine.”

Sept. 19 - The Arizona Diamondbacks, out of the pennant chase since May, play a Tuesday night home game against the equally wretched San

The Senate in Cinema vs. Sinema in the Senate

BY JD HAYWORTH Tribune Columnist

Jefferson Smith, he wasn’t…but to be fair, only one man was.

That man was Jimmy Stewart, who portrayed Jefferson Smith in Frank Capra’s classic 1939 film, “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” one of the first 25 motion pictures selected for the National Film Registry in 1989.

A year later, the Bob Smith was elected by the people of New Hampshire to the U.S. Senate and in 1996, he narrowly won re-election.

Like so many of his Senate brethren, he decided to set his sights higher.

That’s when any resemblance of Bob Smith to Jefferson Smith became purely coincidental.

In early 1999, Smith announced that he was running for President.

Unfortunately, the reaction of Republican voters was as cold and bitter as a New Hampshire winter. So in July, Smith announced he was leaving the GOP to join the Taxpayers Party.

Sadly for Bob, the Taxpayers were also unwilling to donate money or time to his presidential campaign, so one month later he left the Taxpayers Party, declaring himself an Independent.

By early November, Smith had returned to the Republican Party, prompted by the passing of his Senate colleague, John Chafee. Chafee’s death had created a vacancy atop the Committee on Environment and Public Works. The GOP Senate Leadership rewarded Smith with the committee chairmanship, but it wasn’t enough to rescue him from Republicans in his own state.

In 2002, he lost the New Hampshire primary to Rep. John Sununu.

Bob Smith’s “profile in convenience” came to mind upon learning of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s departure from the Democratic Party.

Certainly there was “Hollywoodstyle hyperventilation” on the part of some in the Washington Press Corps, and Sinema herself employed her own “flair for the cinematic,” treating the media opportunities for heralding her Democrat defection like opening night for a major motion picture.

After all, a “My Turn” column in The Arizona Republic and an “exclusive interview” with Jake Tapper on ratings-challenged CNN doesn’t exactly prompt a major tremor in Tinseltown, but an “aspiring actress” has to take advantage of any opportunities that come her way.

The late Senator John McCain (RArizona), who made a cameo appearance in the forgettable comedy, “Wedding Crashers,” once offered an unforgettable observation about Washington, D.C. and the people who work there: “Hollywood for the cosmetically challenged.”

Readers of this column can make their own assessments of Sinema’s wardrobe selections and sense of deportment in the Senate, but when it comes to remaining there, it is clear that her newly announced independent status is an effort to “put the best face on things” politically.

Unlike Smith and McCain, Sinema harbors no White House ambitions –at least not yet. Instead, she possesses a genuine interest in remaining part

HAYWORTH

from page 24

of the “world’s most exclusive club.”

Her “departure from the Democratic Party is political performance art, most accurately described as a “detour” around Arizona Democrats.

As an independent, Sinema avoids a potentially bruising primary in 2024 and can concentrate on garnering petition signatures for the General Election ballot – not to mention campaign checks for her burgeoning campaign war chest.

The “giveaway” on all of this came with Sen. Sinema’s request of Democrat leader Sen. Chuck Schumer to keep her committee assignments.

While much has been made of reports that she will not caucus with the Democrats nor conference with the GOP, and that she’s even unsure of where her

LEIBOWITZ

desk will be placed in the Senate chamber. Sinema has clearly signaled her role as a “stealth Democrat” by entrusting her committee seats to the Senate Democratic leadership.

She is working feverishly on Democrat-friendly legislation to grant amnesty to illegal aliens, which could get done before the Christmas recess.

Politically, the prospect of a threeway race for an Arizona Senate seat in 2024 is intriguing but still a long way off.

For now, get your popcorn ready and watch “Mr. Smith goes to Washington.” Or, given the fact that Christmas is rapidly approaching, watch Stewart’s performance in “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

As for former Sen. Bob Smith, now living in Florida, his Christmas plans are unannounced.

from page 24

Francisco Giants. Despite the game being promoted as “Queen Creek Mayor Julia Wheatley Bobblehead Night,” the announced attendance is only 374 fans. The Diamondbacks win the five-hour affair 1-0 in 14 very slow innings.

Nov. 8 - One year after Election Day 2022, Cochise County Gov. Kari Lake files her 74th legal challenge to the results, in the World Court in The Hague, Netherlands.

Lake announces the lawsuit in a video filmed at Chuckleheads Bar in Bisbee, the official sponsor of Lake’s

new podcast, “Sue Angry: America Fights Back.” Says Lake: “Donate to my legal fund today! Mama needs new shoes.”

Dec. 31 - Scouting for column material in advance of New Year’s, David Leibowitz realizes 2024 will be an election year that may yet again pit Joe Biden vs. Donald Trump and will also feature new Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema on the statewide ballot versus a Democrat and a Republican.

Leibowitz invests his life savings in Xanax and plots to turn off his TV for the year ahead.

Now, my friends, we begin the long wait.

ANSWERS TO PUZZLES AND SUDOKU

from Page 31

Girls’ flag football now a sanctioned sport under AIA

BY REBECCA DALY Tribune Contributing Writer

From playing high school flag football, to playing in an NFL game, to participating in the Super Bowl experience, girls flag football in the state has been a great success filled with huge opportunities at the club level.

And it just took a step to be even better.

On Monday, Dec. 12, the Arizona Interscholastic Association Executive Board officially voted to approve girls flag football as a sanctioned sport. That means an official regular season, playoffs and a state championship for participating schools. The season will kick off in the fall of 2023.

“Because of the number of schools that have showed interest to participate, the board determined that we do not go through the emerging sport timeline to build it,” AIA Executive Director David Hines said of the board’s decision to expedite the decision. “We are already at numbers that would justify it being a sanctioned state championship sport.”

Flag football began to take off in the Chandler Unified High School District in 2021 when it added it as a club sport. The success of Chandler made Mesa schools want to get involved, and from there more followed.

Eventually, opportunities to partner with Nike for uniforms and equipment, as well as the Arizona Cardinals for promotion came about. It helped grow the recognition of the sport and increased participation numbers.

Mesa schools added girls flag football to their athletic programs this past fall. All the high schools in the district competed against each other in a five-game regular season.

Mountain View ended the regular season with a perfect 5-0 record and went on to win the three-round city champi-

onship tournament.

Before the season started, Mountain View coach Jesus Arzaga was concerned about whether there would be enough girls who wanted to try out for flag football. But the concern quickly disappeared when 63 girls ended up attending Mountain View’s first meeting. Many of the girls were two or three-sport athletes, which made it difficult to narrow down the roster.

“We ended up running our defensive plays and our offensive plays, and kind of saw who was able to do what,” Arzaga said. “Then we came up with our firststring players and second-string players because we had a total of 25 girls.”

Ava Finn decided to join the team with some of her softball teammates after seeing an email about the start-up of the team. She comes from a football family where her dad played at ASU, and her uncle played and coached at NAU. Finn landed the quarterback position on the team, with an understanding of how the game operates.

“I knew how to play, but I didn’t know all of the technical things about it, so when we had the first couple of practices, we kind of just figured out where we wanted to play,” Finn said. “Then we were taught the rules as we kept going, which has made it really easy.”

Having the sport change from an emerging sport to sanctioned was always the goal for Mountain View, other Mesa schools and those in Chandler and elsewhere, including nearby Mountain Pointe in Ahwatukee and Xavier in Phoenix.

The Cardinals had the same goal.

Rex Desvaristes, the manager of the Arizona Cardinals’ youth and high school football programs, helped promote the expansion of the sport of football through the NFL’s PlayFootball program. Girls flag football had become a focal point for the Cardinals, especially in Chandler and Mesa.

“Mesa launched their season for the first time, and the goal for us is to help them amplify it, and for us to grow the

sport here in Arizona,” Desvaristes said. The Cardinals organization increased flag football fan engagement for the Mesa schools this season by creating a page on their website for the public to vote for a matchup to be named the “Cardinals Game of the Week.” Cardinals organization Members attended the matchup that received the most votes each week and provided an outstanding player of the winning team a football signed by one of the Cardinals’ starting players.

There were also other perks involved.

Mountain View, Mesa, Red Mountain, Hamilton, Arizona College Prep and Chandler were all invited to play a seven-minute game during halftime at the Cardinals’ game against the Chargers on Sunday, Nov. 27. It gave the girls a unique opportunity to play in front of a large crowd and piqued the interest of fans in the stands who cheered on the girls with each touchdown or big play.

“It is awesome that flag football has skipped emerging status and jumped in with both feet as a sanctioned sport,” Casteel coach Rae Black said in a press release. “It’s growing fast in Arizona and we want to keep up with the other states where it is succeeding. We want to play in that stadium under the lights and get a trophy at the end. I’m glad for this initial group of girls that will get to experience this.”

Hines said he is glad the board voted to officially make many of the dreams of coaches come to fruition.

“We’re really excited from the staff perspective,” Hines said. “A lot of credit goes to all of these coaches that have been working with girls’ flag football for many years. They were important in this development of the rules and bringing this forward to the executive board.

“They were absolutely critical and very helpful in this process.”

The Arizona Interscholastic Association voted Monday, Dec. 12 to officially sanction girls’ flag football as a state championship sport. Due to the number of schools who want to participate, including Mountain View and others in Mesa, Chandler and more, the sport now skips emerging status and will play its first sanctioned season in the fall of 2023. (Courtesy Mountain View athletics)

P.O.D. shows give audiences myriad emotions

BY ALEX GALLAGHER GetOut Staff Writer

Veteran San Diego nu-metal pioneers P.O.D. are bringing the boom on their tour with Jinjer by breaking out some of the heavier jams, according to vocalist Sonny Sandoval.

“We can play with the heaviest bands tonight and then tomorrow we can play with a reggae band or a Dave Matthews Band cover band since we don’t just have heavy songs and we love all kinds of music,” Sandoval said. “Since we’re out with Jinjer, we thought ‘maybe we should do our heaviest set.’”

Though most of the band’s setlist so far on the jaunt has been culled from the riff-heavy tunes on its breakthrough album, 2001’s “Satellite,” P.O.D. plans to mix in soulful tunes to appease its faithful fanbase.

“We get that not everybody just wants a heavy set and they like the flavor that we put into the soulful stuff that we do, so we try to mix it up,” Sandoval said.

Among those selections is the antigun violence anthem “Youth of the Nation” – a tune that Sandoval admits remains too relevant.

“We were hoping that things would

have changed and over the past 21 years, but it still resonates with people. When we hear the stories every night about ‘I remember this, and I remember that,’ it’s still heartbreaking.”

Though the tune prompts heartbreaking memories and stories for the band and its fans, Sandoval said he believes it reminds people of the violence still afflicting the nation.

“We play it as more of a reminder that this is still going on,” he said. “We still have gun issues to deal with, we still

have violence and we still have mental illnesses and that’s why we started this thing in music.

“We wanted to make people think and to make people feel things. So, that song always gets a crazy reaction. This tour has been more of a vibe where we’ve just started playing it and then the music alone causes a reaction that I can see in people’s eyes.”

Though “Youth of the Nation” is often a somber moment in an otherwise energetic setlist, Sandoval said it will perform “Boom,” which is usually the band’s opening track.

“We have so many other fun songs that people know ‘Boom’ which has been in movies, video games and was even played during the World Series,” Sandoval said emphatically. “I guess it just comes from being around so long. Your music gets heard one way or another.”

Though the setlist generally begins with “Boom” and reaches an energetic nadir with “Youth of the Nation” in the

middle, the rest of the show has dynamic tunes like the new song “Drop.”

It will appear on a new album set for release early next year by P.O.D., which stands for “payable on death. “

“It’s heavy and it’s been getting a great response,” Sandoval said. “It’s always cool to play the new stuff and if it was up to us, we’d be playing a few of those songs. But we only get 50 minutes.”

While the show changes nightly, but the closing number is the same.

“About 99.9% of the time, we are going to end the set with ‘Alive’ because it just it leaves people feeling they went through a journey, we had fun together through the ups and downs, and now we’re going to end it off with just gratefulness and excitement with each other,” he said.

If You Go...

Jinjer and P.O.D. w/Malevolence and Space of Variations

When: 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 20 Where: The Van Buren, 401 W. Van Buren Street, Phoenix Cost: Tickets start at $37 Info: payableondeath.com and thevanburenphx.com

Zoppe Family Circus now at Bell Bank Park in Mesa

TRIBUNE NEWS STAFF

The Zoppe Family Circus has left Chandler with its annual holiday show and moved to Bell Bank Park, 1 Legacy Drive, Mesa.

The one-ring circus that honors the history of the old-world Italian circus tradition and runs through Jan. 1.

Liberta Zoppe welcomes guests into an intimate, 500-seat tent for a show that will star Nino the Clown and a circus that is

propelled by a central story, as opposed to individual acts.

The circus features acrobatic feats, equestrian showmanship, canine capers, clowning and plenty of audience participation.

Tickets are on sale at BellBankPark.com, with general admission starting at $25, and VIP tickets at $45. For more information on the Zoppe Family visit www.Zoppe.net.

Show dates are: today, Dec. 18, at 1 p.m., 4 p.m., & 7 p.m.; 6 p.m. Dec. 21 and 23, 4

p.m. Dec. 24; 6 p.m. Dec. 26-30; 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Dec. 31 and 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Jan. 1.

Meanwhile, Bell Bank Park also is hosting the Pratt Brothers Christmas Spectacular 6-10 p.m. through Jan. 1.

The display features more than six million lights and unique attractions.

Previous contestants of The Great Christmas Light Fight on ABC Television, brothers Sammy and Kyle Pratt have devoted their life’s work to construct a magical

Christmas Town delivering an experience for all the senses.

The immersive visit delivers attractions for all ages, with twinkling Christmas lights, three-story gingerbread house, magical snowfall and thousands of bubbles, featuring the ultimate Santa Experience, Mrs. Claus Cookie Decorating, dazzling 360-degree light show with show-stopping pyrotechnics, and a Miracle Market filled with simply merry gifts to bring home holiday cheer.

Veteran nu-metal act P.O.D. will be coming to the Valley Dec. 20, and plan to break out some of their heavier jams. (Special to GetOut)

With JAN D’ATRI

GetOut Contributor

Harvey Wallbanger Cake harkens to a bygone era in festive way

Could it be that it lost its popularity in just one generation?

The cake that was one of our mother’s “no-fail-absolute-go-to” recipes?

The brilliant yellow moist miracle in a Bundt pan that was served during the holidays? I presented a group of millennials with a certain rich and flavorful cake in cooking class last week.

While they all gobbled it up in short order, they had never even heard of the classic Harvey Wallbanger Cake. It had been years since I’d thought of this delightful treat myself. And what a shame because it’s so easy to make!

The Harvey Wallbanger Cake grabs its rich flavor from the vodka, Galliano liqueur and orange juice that you find in the classic Harvey Wallbanger cocktail.

Add some eggs, cake mix and pudding, and this special treat bakes up like a brilliant yellow sunflower and absolutely melts in your mouth. A little sprinkling of powdered sugar, or better yet, a drizzle of glaze and that’s all you need to relive the kitchen memories from the 60’s and 70’s.

I was just a little girl when my Momma started giving the Harvey Wallbanger Cake equal time with her classic Italian rum cakes.

I remember the giant long, thin bottle coming out of the cabinet. My father was the bartender at our restaurant, and so his beverage suppliers would, during the holidays, gift him with the extra, extra giant bottle of the liqueur. Back then, from where I was standing, I estimated that bottle to be 500 feet tall and not an inch less!

I remember the flavor of the cake (whenever I could sneak some) was just as large. It’s such an easy cake to bake up that it would be a shame not to give it a try. Who knows? Perhaps with the resurgence in popularity of the classic cocktails like the Side Car, Manhattan and Dirty Martini, the Harvey Wallbanger and its companion cake will find its sweet spot once again!

For the cake:

Ingredients:

• 1 box yellow cake mix (with pudding in the mix is best)

• 1 small box (approx. 3 oz) vanilla instant pudding

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

• 4 large eggs

• 1/4 cup vodka

• 1/4 cup Galliano liqueur

• 3/4 cup orange juice

For the glaze: Mix together:

• 1 cup powdered sugar

• 1 tablespoon orange juice

• 1 tablespoon vodka

• 1 tablespoon Galliano (Note: If you don’t want glaze, you can sprinkle cake with a bit of powdered sugar)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease one large bundt pan (9-10 inch) or two small bundt pans (7-8 inch). In a mixing bowl, combine cake mix, pudding, vegetable oil, eggs vodka, Galliano and orange juice.

Mix until well blended, about 3-4 minutes. Pour into bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes for the large pan or 25-30 minutes for the smaller pans, or until toothpick comes up clean.

cake cool then glaze or dust with powdered sugar.

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PUBLIC NOTICE

CITY OF MESA PUBLIC NOTICE

The Mesa City Council will hold a public hearing concerning the following ordinances at the January 9, 2023, City Council meeting beginning at 5:45 p.m. in the Mesa City Council Chambers, 57 East First Street.

1. ANX22-01048 "Sossaman Road Right-ofWay De-Annexation" (District 6) Ordinance de-annexing public right-of-way to Maricopa County located within the 4200 to 4400 blocks of South Sossaman Road (1,2+ acres), subject to approval by the Maricopa County board of Supervisors. The de-annexation of public right-of-way is allowed pursuant to A.R.S. § 9-471.03. In 2021, 101+ acres of land were annexed into the City, including the determined that it needs an additional 32 feet of rightof-way in the area, specifically for Sossaman Road, This de-annexation is to accommodate Maricopa County's right-of-way requirements.

Dated at Mesa, Arizona, this 18th day of December 2022.

Holly Moseley, City Clerk