The Mesa Tribune - Zone 2 - 01.03.2021

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Ahead in Mesa / P. 3

Valley's secret spot / P. 19

An edition of the East Valley Tribune

INSIDE

This Week

NEWS .......................... 7 Mesa libraries slated for a major upgrade.

BUSINESS ............. 15 Mesa coffee shop grinding out a living in tough times.

SPORTS .................. 18 Schools' winter sports schedule hits new snag.

COMMUNITY ............................... 12 BUSINESS ..................................... 15 OPINION ....................................... 17 SPORTS ........................................ 18 GET OUT ....................................... 19 PUZZLES ...................................... 20 CLASSIFIED ................................. 21 Zone 2

Sunday, January 3, 2021

FREE ($1 OUTSIDE THE EAST VALLEY) | TheMesaTribune.com

Mandatory COVID vaccine for teachers called possible

BY CECILIA CHAN AND PAUL MARYNIAK Tribune News Staff

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s teachers inch toward the head of the line to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, it begs the question: can school districts mandate inoculations?

According to the Arizona School Risk Retention Trust, yes.

“School districts may require employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of on-site work, subject to exemptions required by state and/or federal law,” reads a legal memo prepared for the nonpro�it Trust.

The Trust, which provides more than 250

public school districts and community colleges with property and liability insurance, also advised districts to consult with their own attorneys on legal issues related to any vaccination requirement.

The issue could very well come up in Mesa Public Schools since Assistant Superintendent Scott Thompson is a Trust board member.

The district was closed for winter break last week and did not respond to a request for comment.

But even though board member Marcie Hutchinson said she has not seen the memo, the retired 26-year history teacher in three MPS high schools, thinks the Trust is making

City OKs $8.6M project to complement ASU campus

BY JIM WALSH Tribune Staff Writer

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New Year full of change is expected for downtown Mesa in 2021, leaving Mayor John Giles and City Council excited about the traditionally sleepy area’s long-promised reawakening.

ASU@ Mesa City Center is at the forefront of the revival of the city’s core though the massive construction project will be the last of three pieces to open.

City Council last month approved one of the contracts

for another piece – The Studio @ Mesa Center, an $8.6 million project.

The new municipal plaza is planned for a Thanksgiving opening, followed by The Studios@ Mesa City Center in December or early 2022. The ASU@ Mesa City Center is anticipated to debut during the summer or fall of 2022.

The city’s cost for the The Studio is in addition to the $63.5 million it is spending on ASU@ City Center.

“We will have quite the

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a good point.

“We’ve always got to be thinking about public health with public education and I think I’d be strongly in favor of the inoculation of our employees just to keep our staff safe,” Hutchinson told the Tribune, agreeing that legitimate exemptions would be needed.

The �irst batches of the P�izer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines arrived to Arizona in midDecember for dosing to those 16 and older.

Healthcare workers and long-term care facility staff and residents are among the �irst to receive the vaccine, to be followed by teach

Holiday wrap

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Figure skating choreographer and instructor Nancy Pluta demonstrated her skill on the Winter Wonderland Ice Rink at Mesa City Hall. The rink was part of the 2020 Merry Main Street celebration that ended Saturday. (Pablo Robles/Tribune)

THE MESA TRIBUNE | JANUARY 03, 2021

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THE MESA TRIBUNE | JANUARY 03, 2021

The Mesa Tribune is published every Sunday and distributed free of charge to homes and in single-copy locations throughout the East Valley.

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CONTACT INFORMATION Main number: 480-898-6500 | Advertising: 480-898-5624 Circulation service: 480-898-5641

Publisher: Steve T. Strickbine Vice President: Michael Hiatt ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT Senior Account Sales: Ryan Brown | 480-898-6482 | rbrown@timespublications.com Local Advertising Sales: Chris Ross | 480-898-5649 | cross@timespublications.com Classifieds/Inside Sales: Elaine Cota | 480-898-7926 | ecota@evtrib.com TJ Higgins | 480-898-5902 | tjhiggins@evtrib.com Advertising Office Manager: Lori Dionisio | 480-898-6309 | ldionisio@evtrib.com Director of National Advertising: Zac Reynolds | 480-898-5603 | zac@evtrib.com NEWS DEPARTMENT Executive Editor: Paul Maryniak | 480-898-5647 pmaryniak@timespublications.com Reporters: Jim Walsh | 480-898-5639 | jwalsh@timespublications.com Kevin Reagan | 480-898-5638 | kreagan@timespublications.com Sports Editor: Zach Alvira | 480-898-5630 | zalvira@timespublications.com Get Out Editor: Christina Fuoco-Karasinski | 480-641-4518 christina@timespublications.com Photographer: Pablo Robles | Probles@timespublications.com Designer: Ruth Carlton | rcarlton@timespublications.com Production Coordinator: Courtney Oldham | 480-898-5617 production@timespublications.com Circulation Director: Aaron Kolodny | 480-898-5641 | customercare@evtrib.com The Mesa Tribune is distributed by AZ Integrated Media, a circulation service company owned by Times Media Group. The public is permitted one copy per reader. For further information regarding the circulation of this publication or others in the Times Media Group family of publications, please contact AZ Integrated Media at circ@azintegratedmedia.com or 480-898-5641. For circulation services please contact Aaron Kolodny at aaron@azintegatedmedia.com.

The content of any advertisements are the sole responsibility of the advertiser. The Tribune assumes no responsibility for the claims of any advertisement.

© 2020 Strickbine Publishing, Inc.

NEWS

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New year, same crisis as COVID-19 continues

BY GARY NELSON Tribune Contributor

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his is what we think we can say about 2021: The beginning is going to be far worse than the beginning of 2020.

The end has a chance to be far better.

Between that beginning and that end, worlds of uncertainty cloud the horizon.

As 2020 dawned, not a single person in the East Valley had died or been sickened by a terrible disease we were only beginning to hear about.

As it ended, the pall of death and anxiety cast upon our communities by COVID-19 was palpable, with some families literally torn to shreds.

And as 2021 begins, there is hope that some semblance of normalcy will begin to return as science does for a stricken nation what its political leaders could not – and in some cases would not – do in the face of the worst pandemic in more than a century.

For now, we do know that COVID will not magically melt away with the turn of the calendar, allowing the return of popular annual events and the life we knew a year ago this time.

We know, for example, that there won’t be any Rock ’n’ Roll marathon here in January. Or a Barrett-Jackson auto auction.

But will there be a Cactus League season? Major League Baseball for now is planning for one to begin late next month – for now.

Will crowds be able to return to the �ine array of cultural and performing arts centers in Mesa and the East Valley? What about the movies? Will graduates get to walk the stage? Will we stop �ighting about masks? Can we ever pack a restaurant again?

At this point, with the pandemic raging unabated, such things seem a long way off. And for many, COVID is not just a question of going out for Friday night pizza. For them – our neighbors, our friends, our grandparents – COVID in 2021 will be a matter of existence – or nonexistence.

One thing that is a virtual certainty is the Jan. 11 start of the Legislature’s 2021 session, which already is promising �ireworks as at least one Mesa lawmaker, Sen.-Elect Kelly Townsend, has already signaled her

Will crowds return to Sloan Park in Mesa for spring baseball next month? Chances are slim to none and even the start of the season is iffy. (Tribune file photo) intention to defy Senate President Karen Fann’s order that anyone doing business in that chamber must wear a mask.

Already in December, vaccines were beginning to arrive. With them came painful decisions about who should get them �irst, and how, and at what cost.

The degree to which 2021 becomes a better year than 2020 depends greatly on the vaccines’ ef�icacy and the willingness of suf�icient numbers of people to accept them. Recent studies have suggested that resistance to vaccines is disproportionately higher in the East Valley than in other regions, a potential complication in efforts to create a post-COVID world.

As all that plays out, there are various other events that we can predict with reasonable certainty for the coming 12 months. No special prognosticative power is required. It is simply the norm for an East Valley still under construction and in a post-election year where we now get to see the results of the most recent ballotbox decisions.

Assuming the course of COVID remains the one great unknown – that no other life-rattling shocks are in store – here’s a look at what does seem to be on tap for

Mesa and the region in 2021: Julie Spilsbury will take her seat on Mesa City Council while two new Mesa Public Schools Governing Board members, Lara Salmon Ellingson and Joe O’Reilly, will be taking their seats as the district continues to wrestle with falling enrollment and the divisive issue of reopening classrooms, tentatively slated for Jan. 19.

Mesa and the other East Valley cities will receive the results of the 2020 U.S. census. These numbers will be used to redraw congressional and legislative district boundaries and, in the case of Mesa, City Council districts.

The Mesa Mormon Temple, closed for an extensive remodeling for more than two years, is expected to reopen this year, though it’s unclear if it will meet a possible spring completion date. Along with the temple, the new Family Resource Center, a popular source of genealogical records, also is due to open.

Construction activity throughout Downtown Mesa will be picking up steam as work continues on Arizona State University’s new satellite campus along with a

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NEWS

THE MESA TRIBUNE | JANUARY 03, 2021

Education tax position costs revenue chief his job

BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

T

he head of the state Department of Revenue was ousted last week, the apparent victim of taking a legal position on the new education tax that was contrary to that of Gov. Doug Ducey, his boss.

In a press release, Ducey announced that Rob Woods, the agency’s deputy director, will serve as interim director.

More telling is that the release makes no reference to Carlton Woodruff whom Ducey tapped for director in September 2019 with a glowing endorsement of him as “a highly quali�ied, dedicated public servant.’’ Instead, only Woods was mentioned.

“I’m grateful to Rob for stepping up to this important role during a challenging time for our state,’’ the governor said in his prepared statement.

And what of Woodruff?

“We don’t comment on personnel matters,’’ said gubernatorial spokesman C.J. Karamargin.

The action came less than 24 hours after Capitol Media Services reported that an attorney representing the agency and Woodruff mounted a vigorous defense of the legality of Proposition 208, the voterapproved levy on the richest Arizonans to raise money for K-12 education.

“This does not re�lect Gov. Ducey’s position on this issue,’’ Karamargin said.

He later con�irmed that Grant Nulle, another deputy director, also was �ired on Tuesday.

LOOKAHEAD ���� ���� 3

civic plaza being built in conjunction with the ASU building.

Mesa is likely to approve an agreement to begin developing Site 17, an approximately 25-acre tract in the northeast corner of downtown that has been vacant since plans for a large resort fell through more than 20 years ago.

Geowts?

N

fully fought for its defeat are now in court arguing that the plan is unconstitutional and asking Maricopa County Superior Court Judge John Hannah to bar collection of those dollars until there can be a full trial on the issue, something that could take months.

Those arguments are getting a �ight from initiative supporters.

But the claims by foes that Proposition 208 is illegal also are being disputed by attorney Brian Bergin. Retained by the Attorney General’s Of�ice, he represents both the Department of Revenue and the state as a whole, both of whom had to be named as defendants in any lawsuit challenging a statute, even one enacted by Carlton Woodruff was fired from his job as head of voters. the state Revenue Department after he opposed Bergin did more than simply efforts to stop the tax on wealthy wage earners. argue that statutes are presumed (Special to the Tribune) valid.

The governor actively opposed the In“Proposition 208 apparently re�lects the vest in Education initiative which impos- voters’ belief that the state’s educational es a 3.5 percent surcharge on incomes of system is underfunded and requires adindividuals earning more than $250,000 ditional permanent funding that the lega year and couples with adjusted in- islature has been unable, or unwilling, to comes of more than $500,000. The levy, provide,’’ he wrote. which does not affect anyone with earn“The people have spoken in approving ings below that level, is expected to raise Proposition 208,’’ Bergin continued. “Pubanywhere from $827 million to $940 lic policy heavily weighs against imposing million a year, depending on whose esti- injunctive relief.’’ mates are used.

That �iling apparently came as a surDespite that, it was approved by a mar- prise to the governor. gin of 51.7 percent.

“The role of state agencies is not to take The business interests who unsuccess- policy positions but to implement the A four-year construction project to widen Interstate 10 from just north of the Salt River to Loop 202 in Chandler is scheduled to begin in the summer. The project also will improve U.S. 60 between I-10 and Hardy Drive.

A major highway will take shape in southeast Mesa as the state builds the �irst phase of State Route 24 from Ellsworth Road to Ironwood Drive. Construction will

end in 2022.

Chandler Public Schools will open a large high school in the fall on Gilbert Road south of Ocotillo. Major road work on Gilbert Road will accommodate the new school.

After years of planning and construction, streetcars will be deployed in downtown Tempe, with testing to begin early in the year.

law,’’ said Karamargin.

“Courts will ultimately decide what the law is,’’ he continued. “And our expectation is that state agencies will follow the law.’’

Efforts to reach Woodruff were unsuccessful.

Documents obtained by Capitol Media Services show that Bergin was appointed by the Attorney General’s Of�ice, which normally defends the state in lawsuits, on Dec. 3 to represent the Department of Revenue and the state in the case.

Ryan Anderson, a spokesman for the of�ice, said he could not specify why the decision was made to farm this case out.

“Generally speaking, we assign outside counsel for a number of reasons such as con�licting matters within the of�ice, insuf�icient resources or a lack of expertise on certain legal matters,’’ he said. Anderson said such decisions also are made on “agency client considerations.’’

Anderson said he could not comment on what instructions the Department of Revenue provided Bergin in the kind of defense of the law he was to provide, referring those questions to Bergin who did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Woodruff had become interim director of the agency in December 2018 after Ducey was reelected and David Briant, who was heading the department, announced he was retiring.

The pick became permanent in September 2019, with the governor saying that Woodruff had made the department more ef�icient, effective and responsive. 

The Women’s and Children’s Pavilion, a 378,000-square-foot addition to Dignity Health Mercy Gilbert Medical Center, will begin accepting patients in the spring. The center is in partnership with Phoenix Children’s Hospital.

Also this spring, Chandler Regional Medical Center will begin seeing patients in its latest tower, which adds 96 beds and brings the hospital’s total to 429. 

Contact Paul Maryniak at 480-898-5647 or pmaryniak@timespublications.com

THE MESA TRIBUNE | JANUARY 03, 2021

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NEWS

THE MESA TRIBUNE | JANUARY 03, 2021

City to consider developer for long dormant site

TRIBUNE NEWS STAFF

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nother major downtown project, Transition 17, is expected to come before Council this month for consideration of a memorandum of understanding with developer Mira Vista Holdings.

Jeff McVay, manager of downtown transformation, said the agreement is an important �irst step that will allow the developer to invest money and time into designing and marketing the long-empty area at Mesa and University drives.

Formerly known as Site 17, the city obtained the 27-acres for redevelopment through eminent domain in 1992 and razed 63 homes at a cost of $6 million.

But one redevelopment plan after another �izzled, including a resort with a water slide proposed by a Canadian developer, leaving the land vacant for decades.

Transform 17 would include housing,

employment, and businesses that will cater to new residents who will live someday in a complete neighborhood within walking distance of downtown.

“Its about �inding the right balance,’’ McVay said. “What’s happening in Site 17 should complement downtown. The real goal is a highly-connected neighborhood.’’ 

City Council is expected to soon consider an agreement for yet another effort to develop this sizeable piece of land downtown.

(Special to the Tribune)

STUDIO ���� ���� 1

run of groundbreakings and ribbon-cuttings in the new year,’’ said Jeff McVay, manager of downtown transformation.

He said the city anticipates handing over the completed academic building to ASU by the end of 2021, but it will take the university several months to out�it the interior. The building includes �ilm production studios and other unique features.

The Studios project is billed as a hub for activating Mesa’s concept of an Innovation District that will give birth to new businesses. That project features the evolution of Mesa’s �irst library into a different sort of educational concept.

Built in 1959, the library impressed Giles and council members Mark Freeman and Jen Duff when they were kids, but it became a mundane Information Technology building after the new library was built across First Street in 1981.

“I thought it was the coolest thing ever built,’’ Freeman said, adding that he remembers visiting the library as a boy.

“The library is spectacular. I’m excited to see the renovation of this building.’’

Giles also has fond memories of the library but said he is excited to see it turn into the lynchpin of the Innovation District and a community asset.

That building’s transformation isn’t

Mesa is spending more than $8.6 million to convert the building in the foreground into The Studio@ Mesa City Center. A rendering of the building's furue look is on the fence sign. (Jim

Walsh/Tribune)

coming cheap for taxpayers.

As part of the $8.6 million renovation, Council approved a contract for $3.5 million on Dec. 1. The �inal contract is scheduled for review this month.

The city’s motivation in undertaking the project is less about nostalgia and more

about economic development, Giles said.

“This is a very loved building. This was one of the best places in the City of Mesa when we were growing up,’’ he said, adding that he has been heartbroken that the public has been unable to see its interior for years.

“It’s such a great gift for us to have a beautiful building in a strategic location,’’ Giles said.

Once considered obsolete after the city decided it was cheaper to contract for data services, the 61-year-old building will be managed by ASU and feature �lexible meeting space for anything from coaching by mentors of would-be entrepreneurs to corporate-sponsored community events to meetings for Mesa organizations.

A new enclosed lobby “really gives an ability to do some striking lighting and create a beacon for the people driving by,’’ McVay said.

“I think it’s important to talk about not only what we intended to do with this space, but what it isn’t,’’ he said. “We want to make it clear this is not an extension of the academic programming happening at the ASU Futures Laboratory.

“This is stand alone innovation and entrepreneurship studios that bene�it from the relationship with ASU, but not an extension of the ASU academic program.’’

The city will renovate 7,000 square feet of the �irst-�loor of the former library, complying with the terms of a lease agreement with ASU signed in 2018 that requires the renovation of 6,000 to 12,000 square feet.

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NEWS

THE MESA TRIBUNE | JANUARY 03, 2021

Big re-do for Dobson Ranch, downtown libraries

7

BY JIM WALSH Tribune Staff Writer

M

esa children and their parents are in for a treat when the new Kids Zone opens at the downtown library, the �irst of two library renovations funded by voters in the $196 million bond issue they approved in 2018.

Animal tracks will guide children to a series of learning areas centered around an “amazing animals of Arizona’’ theme, although the selection of one particular animal, the Mexican Gray Wolf, drew objections from Vice Mayor Mark Freeman.

“The Mexican Gray Wolf? Why was that chosen?’’ Freeman asked at a recent meeting. “Why not a deer or an elk or a javelina or a coyote?’’

Freeman described the Mexican Gray Wolf as “a controversial animal’’ in the southwest, noting very few people have seen one as opposed to more familiar animals such as a deer or an elk.

“I challenge you to �ind something more common than that animal,’’ Freeman said.

Library Director Heather Wolf said she looked for animals unique to Arizona, rather than a coyote, which can be spotted in other states, such as California and Texas.

But Wolf said that plans for the artwork are conceptual and after conferring with the Arizona Game and Fish Department, she came up with the ringtail cat as a more acceptable alternative.

An endangered species, the Mexican Gray Wolf was virtually wiped out in Arizona by the 1970s but has been reintroduced by conservationists in recent years.

Even without the Mexican Gray Wolf, the new Kids Zone sounds like almost

A planned addition to the Dobson Ranch Library still needs final design approval from the city, but the cost of the project is covered by a bond issue voters approved three years ago. (City of Mesa) a certainty for delighting children and their parents.

“The entrances are designed to look like you are entering a mine, with rocks and timbers around the openings,’’ Wolf said.

“We really wanted to create a feeling that the child is going someplace special.’’

When children and their parents enter the Kids Zone, they will follow animal tracks on the �loor to areas with different purposes. The other animals include a Bighorn Sheep near an area devoted to “pop up story times’’ with artwork of the Grand Canyon.

A den-like area with reading nooks will feature artwork of bears. Artwork of the roadrunner will decorate an area for small children.

Wolf said the �irst �loor of the library will mostly be devoted to children, while the second �loor will be devoted to adults.

The $913,919 project represents the �irst major renovations at the downtown library – which opened in 1981 – since the city’s human resources department

moved out in 1998.

A second project will upgrade the Dobson Ranch library, adding a “Think Spot,’’ where visitors can learn technical skills, such as making videos and using a highquality printer.

The downtown project focuses on a series of interior renovations, such as knocking out some walls, while the Dobson Ranch project requires an addition and approval by the Mesa Design Review Board.

The downtown construction was approved by City Council earlier last month and work is scheduled to start in a few weeks with a completion in May, just in time for summer reading programs, Wolf said.

She said adult areas have been expanded at the main library in the past but more space is needed for children.

“The goal always was to give the rest of the �irst �loor to the 0-12’’ age group, Wolf said. “The children need more space. We had a master plan done quite a few years ago. We’ve been waiting for funding.’’

She said the vast majority of services for

Initially, the Mexican Gray Wolf, right, was slated to be represented in a new learning area at the downtown Mesa library, but it has since been replaced by the ringtail cat. (Special to the Tribune)

adults will be on the second �loor, creating a quieter space for them.

“When you specialize, you can give more in-depth services,’’ Wolf said.

One unique feature will be side-by-side computers in the early development area, where parents can instruct children on how to use the machines.

“You need to learn to read, so you can read to learn,’’ Wolf said. “We’re all about information. Information comes in different forms now. Instead of reading a book, they can see it happen and experiment.’’

She noted that the last major renovations at the downtown library were in 1998, when the internet was still somewhat new.

“The world has changed and we are continually looking for ways to help the community go along with that change,’’ Wolf said.

The Dobson Ranch renovations will come before the council in 2021 and the renovations should start sometime this summer, she said.

Wolf said an exact date for reopening the libraries has not been determined because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The libraries have been offering curbside checkout since May. The downtown library offers a limited lobby service on afternoons, where a maximum of 10 visitors at a time can browse through some books and check them out.

Online services also have been popular during the pandemic, with visitors logging in to enjoy virtual story times and mini-lessons.

“We are excited about moving forward and welcoming people back into all three libraries while keeping our community and our staff safe,’’ Wolf said. 

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NEWS

THE MESA TRIBUNE | JANUARY 03, 2021

VACCINE ���� ���� 1

ers, law enforcement and other critical workers. Other groups of individuals are farther down the line.

Sheila Uggetti, who sits on the Gilbert Public Schools Governing Board, said whether to make the vaccination mandatory for teachers has not been discussed at any level in the district and spokeswoman Dawn Antestenis said GPS at this time has no plans to make it mandatory for staff.

“As with many issues going on right now, we are being asked to make decisions that I believe should be coming from the experts,” Uggetti said. “I am anxious to personally be able to get the vaccine.”

That said, Uggetti added, “I believe that we should follow whatever is required by the department of health.”

Any guidance from health of�icials, however, may be a long time coming.

Maricopa County spokesman Ron Coleman said the issue isn’t on the agenda any time soon for the Board of Supervisors to consider. School districts generally have been following state and county COVID-19 health guidelines.

All Mesa students are slated to begin the new semester this week with two weeks of learning at home and MPS Superintendent Dr. Andi Fourlis last month said she expected in-class learning to resume Jan. 19.

All three metrics for virus spread that comprise state and county health guidelines show substantial COVID-19 spread in Mesa, which would warrant online learning.

Coleman noted that when it would come to an inoculation mandate for staff, district of�icials probably would be making the call.

“Local school boards generally have governing jurisdiction over their schools,”

STUDIO ���� ���� 6

McVay outlined plans for renovating the second �loor and the basement level if more funding should become available in the future. At some point, the city is hoping that corporate sponsors step forward.

He said historic touches will be added that will harken back to the library’s heyday, including a wavy canopy over the rear door that resembles the original awning that was removed to create space for the ASU building. An entry monument

The agency that insures more than 250 Arizona school districts and community colleges thinks it would be within districts' right to require teachers and other staff to get the COVID-19 vaccination. (Special to the Tribune) said Coleman, adding the county is following guidelines set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Spokeswoman Heidi Vega of the Arizona School Boards Association agreed that it is up to individual districts to decide.

“We believe currently it is a local district decision whether to require teachers and/or staff be vaccinated as a condition of working, so long as exceptions are made for medical reasons and accommodations under the ADA,” Vega said.

“We would represent the interests of ASBA at the Legislature to keep this local authority,” she added.

School districts that choose to require mandatory vaccinations must �irst create a process where employees can apply for an exemption based on an ADA disability or a sincerely held religious belief, barring undue hardship to a district, according to the memo.

Exemptions make sense, Hutchinson said, noting students are required to get certain types of vaccinations but their parents can seek exemptions for reli-

including pieces from the original canopy will be added near the front door.

Ji Mi Choi, founding executive director of the ASU Entrepreneurship Institute, said the university has about 60 mentors available to coach would-be entrepreneurs at The Studios, whether they are Mesa residents or ASU students.

“This space is really about the community. It’s for the innovators of Mesa,’’ Choi said.

ASU will manage the building, with the manager acting as a concierge for the Stu-

gious, medical or other reasons.

Hutchinson also said she would think many teachers would have no problem with a mandate.

“I think we can make reasonable accommodations but I also think that if we have the vaccine … they are willing to risk their life in order to teach kids personally,” she said.

“I think a lot of teachers would be very willing,” Hutchinson added, noting teachers already must submit to �ingerprinting and background checks just to get their job.

If a district cannot exempt an employee or there are no possible reasonable accommodations – such as working from home for those who claim a disability or religious belief – “it would be lawful for the employer to exclude the employee from the workplace,” the Trust advises.

However, “this doesn’t mean the employer may automatically terminate the worker,” the memo stated. “Employers will need to determine if any other rights apply under the Equal Employment Opportunity laws or other federal, state and local authorities.”

dios, the ASU academic building and the downtown innovation district as a whole, she said.

The public will be welcome, whether it’s for a community meeting or to discuss and develop a prototype for a business or a product, Choi said. She also is hoping that corporate sponsors host public outreach events, with Boeing one possibility.

“It’s a place that will act as a gateway for people to access everything that the Innovation District has to offer,’’ Choi said.

In return for the city building the aca-

The Trust’s December memo also weighed in on mandatory vaccination for students, advising that school districts should �irst seek guidance from the Arizona Department of Health Services before moving forward on that.

“It is unclear whether a school district may require students to be vaccinated against COVID-19 without speci�ic authorization from ADHS or a local health department,” the memo said.

“State law indicates that ADHS, in conjunction with the superintendent of public instruction, is responsible for developing documentary proof standards for evidence of vaccination.”

The memo also noted that at this time, the state health department has indicated there were no plans to revise the regulations regarding required immunizations for students.

And because none of the available vaccines are approved for children 16 and younger, it may be some time before schools would need to consider whether to require all students to be immunized, according to the memo.

Asked if the state Health Services Department will make a COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for students once a vaccine becomes available for them, spokeswoman Holly Poynter said her department “will continue to monitor the recommendations issued by the (CDC’s) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices as the data is updated.”

The Arizona Department of Education for now has no position on mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for students like for measles and mumps before enrolling in school, according to spokesman Richie Taylor.

“To my knowledge, the vaccines being administered now have not been approved for use in children,” he said, adding that the department will await guidance from health of�icials. 

demic building, ASU is required to manage and program the Studios, City Manager Chris Brady said.

The minimum requirements are for ASU to offer 45 events per year either in The Studios, at the plaza or in the academic building, plus 25 �ilm events, McVay said.

“We see this as an investment already made by the city to build it, and by ASU to program it,’’ Choi said. “We would really like to see some outputs from the ASU fa-

��� STUDIO ���� 10

NEWS

THE MESA TRIBUNE | JANUARY 03, 2021

State likely to add new congressional seat

BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

A

ll those folks �leeing from elsewhere to this state put Arizona on track for picking up a 10th seat in the U.S. House of Representatives beginning in 2022.

And that’s going to result in some political jockeying among current and wouldbe federal lawmakers as current members of Congress weigh whether to seek reelection in their own redrawn district or run in another.

There also is the potential for political musical chairs with not just an open race for governor but GOP lawmakers eyeing a chance to oust newly elected U.S. Senator Mark Kelly in 2022.

All that is the result of new preliminary estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau showing the state’s population has increased by slightly more than a million since the 2010 Census – a growth rate of 16.1 percent, the �ifth highest in the nation.

By contrast, the entire country grew at just 6.7 percent. Only Utah, Texas, Idaho and Nevada had greater decade-over-decade growth.

What makes that important is that the House has a �ixed number of representatives at 435. If Arizona is growing so much faster than much of the rest of the country, it should get a bigger voice in that chamber.

And states that haven’t grown as fast or whose populations have shrunk would lose.

Only thing is, it’s not a matter of simple math.

On paper, the current national population of nearly 329,500,000 would translate out neatly to individual congressional districts of about 757,434 people.

But Kimball Brace, president of Election Data Services, which analyzes the data, pointed out that the U.S. Constitution requires that each state have at least one representative. That means Vermont gets one, as does Wyoming, North Dakota and Alaska.

There’s also the fact that the population of the District of Columbia, estimated at about 713,000, effectively doesn’t count as it is not entitled to any representation at all.

Factoring all that out, Brace �igures Arizona with its growth since 2010 will get one more seat.

There are even bigger gainers.

The biggest is expected to be Texas – which

This map shows what states likely will lose or gain a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. (Special to the Tribune) more than 41,000 residents, according to the latest estimate, will drop at least one of its 27 seats in the House. He �igures it actually could be a net loss of two.

That’s due to the bid of the Trump administration to exclude from the count those people who are not lawfully present in the United States.

The U.S. Supreme Court this month sidestepped the legality of that move, with the majority of the justices concluding the case was not ripe for review because the administration had not said which individuals it wanted to exclude from the count. That potentially paves the way for a future ruling.

Brace �igures if undocumented individuals are excluded, that likely would cost New York a second seat. And the winner in that scenario appears to be Alabama which might be able to hang on to all of its seven representatives.

California also is likely to lose a representative, leaving it with just 52 members in the House. That still leaves it far ahead of anywhere else.

Also declining would be This map shows the current congressional district Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, boundaries in Arizona, which are likely to change. (Special Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylto the Tribune) vania and Rhode Island.

Kimball �igures will add three more seats, bringing its representation in the House up to 39. That’s based on adding more than 4.2 million new residents in the past decade.

Florida also is likely to pick up two more seats, moving to 29 representatives.

And along with Arizona, other states gaining a seat are Colorado, Montana, North Carolina and Oregon.

Brace said New York, which actually lost

9

The analysis by Election Data Services of the newly released data shows that if Arizona gets 10 seats in the House, that means 10 districts each with about 742,000 residents to meet the legal mandate for equal population.

But the fact is that all parts of the state haven’t grown equally fast in the past decade.

The biggest growth rates have been in the Phoenix metro area, extending into parts of Pinal County. So, it’s likely that a new congressional seat would have to be carved into that area.

That means even more clout for central Arizona: Six of the state’s nine congressional districts include parts of Maricopa County; add Pinal into the mix and now it’s seven.

It ultimately will be up to the Independent Redistricting Commission to decide how to redivide the state.

The bipartisan voter-created panel is required to consider a variety of factors, like respecting communities of interest and using county boundaries when possible.

Commissioners also are required to create as many politically competitive districts as possible.

That means there is a mandate of sort to take what have proven to be “safe’’ districts, like those occupied by Republican Andy Biggs and Democrat Raul Grijalva, and �ind ways to try to even them up by party registration.

The new lines, by de�inition, won’t match the existing districts. So incumbents will have to decide whether to continue to run in the district where they live or another district as nothing in federal law requires a member of Congress to live in her or his district, though it usually is politically advisable.

Complicating matters is what else is up for grabs in 2022.

Kelly, elected this year to serve the last two years of the term of Sen. John McCain, will have to seek his own six-year term.

And that could prove tempting to Republicans like Biggs and David Schweikert.

On the Democrat side there is the chance that Greg Stanton might choose to run for governor -- it will be an open seat with Doug Ducey unable to serve a third term -- rather than seek another two years in Congress.

And with Ducey out of the way, GOP members of Congress might eye that of�ice. 

NEWS

10

THE MESA TRIBUNE | JANUARY 03, 2021

State tries to speed up COVID inoculations

BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

T

he state is revamping its COVID-19 vaccine distribution system in hopes of getting more people inoculated faster.

State Health Director Cara Christ acknowledged last week that only about 18 percent of the more than 314,000 doses received by this week actually have ended up in the arms of Arizonans.

Christ said some of that is due to the fact that some of the rural counties are just getting their inoculation systems up and running.

But she conceded that allowing each county to run its own program with minimal state oversight has created certain inef�iciencies.

So now the state will take a more active role in how the program is run, complete with the authority to take possession of vaccines rather than simply pass them along to counties.

The move comes with the blessing of Gov. Doug Ducey, who issued an executive order giving Christ and her agency the additional powers.

“Any delay in the vaccine getting to Arizonans, any dose that sits in a freezer rather than reaching the arm of a health care worker or long-term care resident, carries too great a cost,’’ the governor said in a prepared statement.

“This is a health emergency, and we need all levels of government and our health system operating as such,’’ Ducey continued. “Vaccines don’t do any good sitting in a freezer.’’

Christ said the new system also should

make it easier for individuals to keep informed about when they will be eligible to get vaccinated.

She promised that the state will post information on its web site about what is the current stage of distribution. That is critical as people are divided into priority groups based on everything from where they work to age and their own medical risk.

And Christ said her agency will have a single point of contact where any Arizonan can learn where they can get vaccinated anywhere in the state.

But one of the biggest changes is that Christ and her agency will take possession of some of the state’s allocation.

“Our county health departments really know their community providers the best,’’ she said.

Christ said, however, that doesn’t always work.

She said that companies like CVS and Walgreens, both of which are administering the vaccines throughout Arizona, “need to work on a statewide basis.’’

“We’ll be allocating some of the vaccine directly to them as it becomes available,’’ she said.

Christ said that will ensure that each of the vaccination sites being run by those companies have the vaccines they need rather than having to rely on seeking something from each of the 15 counties that have their own allocations.

“We want people to know that when Walgreens has vaccines it’s going to be Walgreens across the state and not just the Walgreens in Maricopa or Pima county,’’ she said.

Christ said the state needs to “really

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have a consistent approach so that people know where to get the information about when they should get vaccinated, where they should get vaccinated, so that we can target those very vulnerable, high-risk populations and get them done quickly.’’

So, the state will have a single web site where people can �ind out when it’s their turn.

For example, the current vaccines are being offered to those in what’s called the 1-A category. These are health care workers and staffers in long-term care facilities.

Christ said about 57,000 of the 274,000 people in that category already have gotten the �irst dose.

What’s next is the 1-B group, that includes educators and child-care workers, public safety workers and, recently added, those 75 and older.

That web site, Christ said, will not only say when a county has hit 1B – each county may be at a slightly different stage – but provide instructions on how to sign up.

Then there’s the question of what people will need.

So, for example, someone who is at least 75 would need a driver’s license or other proof of age. For others, it’s a little less clear.

“For essential workers it would likely be you attend an employer-based vaccination site,’’ she said. “Or if you were going to a pharmacy or using a retail outlet or your physician, you would need to show a badge or some type of proof that you were one of the essential employees.

Christ �igures, though, 1-B inocula-

STUDIO ���� ���� 8

cility turn into imputes into the Studios,’’ where entrepreneurs would be discussing concepts for launching new businesses. “That means some of the student talent and faculty expertise.’’

Theoretically, the innovators would take their concepts eventually to nearby co-working spaces, such as Co+Hoots and start developing their businesses, Choi said.

“Our expectation is that we would like to get programming started as soon as

tions are unlikely to start until as many in the 1-A category who want get immunized, something likely to take well into January if not early February.

Still, she said, it’s possible that once a county has vaccinated everyone in the 1-A category who wants immunization that it could start offering appointments to those in the next category down As it goes farther down the priority list, that raises different questions.

For example, the 1-C category includes adults with high-risk medical conditions.

Christ said that should not necessarily require a doctor’s note to get vaccinated, particularly if a patient is getting the shot in the physician’s of�ice.

And state health of�icials are hoping that by that point there will be so many doses of vaccine available that restricting people by priority won’t be an issue.

That leaves the question of when – if ever – Arizona will reach the point that enough people are vaccinated or have recovered from the virus to achieve “herd immunity,’’ the point at which the threat of rapid spread pretty much evaporates.

“There’s a lot of different things that have to come together for us to do that,’’ Christ said. But she said she remains optimistic.

“And I think as you look over the next couple of weeks, as we continue to add (vaccine) locations, and as we continue to get more vaccine into the state, we’re going to see signi�icant increases in the amount of vaccinations provided,’’ Christ continued. “And we’ll be able to meet that by the summer is what we’re hoping.’’ 

possible,’’ she said. “We don’t see it as necessary to time it with the academic building.’’

Council member Jen Duff, who represents downtown, said the Studios are likely to play a pivotal role in the success of the Innovation District.

“It’s not designed for ASU. ASU is coming there to help our community,’’ Duff said.

“It’s bringing all aspects of our downtown together,’’ Duff said, creating a synergy. “It’s going to generate a lot of energy around the downtown area.’’ 

THE MESA TRIBUNE | JANUARY 03, 2021

11

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COMMUNITY

TheMesaTribune.com |

THE MESA TRIBUNE | JANUARY 03, 2021

@EVTNow

/EVTNow

100+ Women Who Care defy pandemic to help others

BY KIM TARNOPOLSKI Tribune Contributor

C

OVID-19 has drastically affected nonpro�its and individuals across the county. As social distancing became a daily reality, annual fundraising events were put on hold, recon�igured to be held virtually or ultimately canceled.

Fortunately, giving circles like 100+ Women Who Care Valley of the Sun were able to step up and rapidly respond to the needs of our community using their combined dollars and advocacy efforts.

Giving circles are de�ined as a group of people who pool charitable donations and collectively decide where to allocate their money. Members leverage their dollars to do something bigger – and perhaps better – than they could on their own.

This model of philanthropy brings people together to accomplish some serious good in a joyful way.

Philanthropists are often drawn to global problems, leading them to invest in the well-being and empowerment of people

A New Leaf leaders Joe Dulin, chief philanthropy officer, and Laura Bode, community engagement director, display an oversized replica of a check the Mesa nonprofit received from 100+ Women Who Care Valley of the Sun. (Special to the Tribune) living thousands of miles away. Giving circles are one of the best vehicles to make an impact on a local community.

Members who nominate a charity advocate for the mission and current needs of the nonpro�it. When the members vote on which charity to support, they know exactly how their money is going to impact

the organization.

100+ Women Who Care Valley of the Sun members typically meet, in person, four times per year. The chapter has three sister groups – Ahwatukee, Scottsdale and East Valley. The groups were able to meet in person for their �irst quarter meetings.

After COVID-19 began to spread in our

community, the chapter leaned into technology and utilized Zoom to continue meeting virtually for the remainder of the year.

“We didn’t skip a beat,” shared Stephanie Millner, chief charity of�icer for 100+ Women Who Care Valley of the Sun. “Canceling our giving circles was never a consideration for us. We knew the need in the community was signi�icant and we knew we could help.”

Aside from adjusting their meeting format, the chapter made concessions for members who needed to skip a donation or contribute less due to personal circumstances.

Distributing money quickly is a major bene�it of the giving circle model. Within one month of the members meeting, thousands of dollars can be in the hands of the selected charity.

The charity recipient is noti�ied immediately so they know when to expect the money. Now more than ever, it is crucial that nonpro�its receive funds timely to

Area writer seeks teens who lost a parent

TRIBUNE NEWS STAFF

T

ime may heal some wounds but Michelle Shreeve knows their pain never fully goes away.

She still remembers her mother’s death in December 1993 – when Shreeve was only 9.

The Gilbert writer has channeled her lingering loss into helping children whose lives have been torn apart by the loss of a parent or other beloved adult.

Several years ago, she published “Parental Death: The Ultimate Teen Guide.”

It is based on her interviews with 90 people ranging in age from pre-teen to the mid-80s and

is part of the “It Happened to Me Ultimate Teen Guide” series published by Rowman & Little�ield and available at Barnes & Noble bookstores and hardback and digital forms on a variety of booksale websites.

Now, Shreeves has embarked on a follow-up to that project.

She is working on a book tentatively titled “Coping with Parental Death: Insights and Tips for Teenagers,” which will be a part of publishers Rowman & Little�ield “Empowering You” series.

The series is aimed at helping young adults deal with important issues that they or their friends might be facing, such as coming out, having a loved one with de-

mentia, cyberbullying, depression, grief, volunteering and other topics.

Each book features stories from teenagers themselves to provide personal perspectives to the issue.

Shreeve is looking to connect with anyone 13 to 19 years old who has lost a parent.

“I’m also looking for adults who lost their parents when they were between 13-19 as well who would like to share their story to help other teens navigate this dif�icult situation,” she said.

Although the publisher only wants teens’ voices in the book, Shreeve looks for adults who can

��� AUTHOR ���� 14

��� CARE ���� 13

Michelle Shreeve is looking for teens who lost a parent for a new book she is writing. (Special to the Tribune)

COMMUNITY

THE MESA TRIBUNE | JANUARY 03, 2021

Still time to honor veterans who passed away TRIBUNE NEWS STAFF

T

he holidays may be over but donations are still needed by Wreaths Across America, which honors dead veterans by placing wreaths on their graves at cemeteries across the country, including Chandler’s Valley of the Sun Mortuary and Cemetery.

For every wreath sponsored during the campaign, which runs through Jan. 15, Wreaths Across America will match the number of wreaths sponsored. That means donors can honor twice as many veterans with their sponsorship.

For example, a Family Pack of four wreaths will honor eight veterans while the Small Business Sponsorship of 10 wreaths will honor 20 veterans.

“More than 1,800 veterans were honored at the Wreaths Across America event at the Valley of the Sun Mortuary and Cemetery on Dec. 19, but there are more than 2,700 veterans interned at the cemetery,” said event coordinator Michael Whitaker of the Chandler Exchange Club.

An individual wreath sponsorship is $15, a Family Pack of four wreaths is $60

CARE ���� ���� 12

continue funding their programs.

In 2020, 100+ Women Who Care Valley of the Sun members donated over $115,000 spread across twelve charities.

The East Valley group donated to Aris Foundation, a Gilbert organization that helps homeless people in a variety of ways; the Arizona Chapter Paralyzed Veterans of America, which helps veterans suffering spinal cord injury or other disabilities; Maggie’s Place, which provides

Inspire The World Publish Your Book Today

and a Small Business Sponsorship is $150 for 10 wreaths. Go to wreathsacrossamerica.org/AZ0084P. The Wreaths across America got its start in 1992, when the Worcester Wreath Company had a surplus of 5,000 wreaths and arranged for their placement at Arlington National Cemetery.

It has since become a national project.

Last year, 2.2 million veterans received wreaths at more than 2,500 locations nationwide and abroad.

The Chandler Exchange Club, chartered in 2013, is part of a national network of community service clubs across the nation. The club’s name is derived from “exchanging” ideas to better serve the local community.

Valley of the Sun Mortuary and Cemetery since 1963 has been serving the East Valley and has been hosting the Wreaths Across America event since 2015.  Wreaths Across America still seeks donations for its cause. (Courtesy of Wreaths

Across America)

help and support for pregnant and parenting women; and Empowerment Through Sports, which builds and maintains a support mechanism for young athletes.

Since the chapter’s inception in 2015, almost $700,000 has been given to local charities. This group of women have learned that giving back is better together.

To learn more about 100+ Women Who Care Valley of the Sun or register for an upcoming giving circle: 100wwcvalleyofthesun.org or facebook. com/100WWCValleyOfTheSun. 

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AUTHOR ���� ���� 12

add a perspective as she is crafting the new project.

Teens can email her at writtenbymikey@ gmail.com, she will send them a questionnaire that she will edit and send to her publisher while sending them a consent letter their parent or guardian can sign that allows their words to be published.

There is an option for anonymity in the book.

The last time Shreeve did this she received over 60 emails in 24 hours, so she advises that respondents should be patient because she will get back to them in the order their initial email is received.

Her goal is “offer support, healthy coping mechanisms, advice from other teens who have experienced parental death and from adults looking back to when they lost one or both of their parents during their teen years.”

“It will offer resources, organizations, support groups and more to help teens not feel alone who are facing a parental death situation,” Shreeve explained. “It will also list movies, books, and notable �igures in society who grew up without one or both of their parents but still gave something positive back to the world.”

Shreeve said her own mother’s death still pains her, especially on holidays and particularly on Mother’s Day. For a while, she said, “I would also watch comforting motherless daughter or mother-daughter movies to help make it through the day, not to mention talk to her and cry.”

A 2003 graduate of Mountain Pointe High School, Shreeve holds two undergraduate degrees in psychology and two master’s degrees in English and creative writing.

She has been a freelance writer since 2008, frequently writing about the topic of parental death.

“I want to make sure kids, teens, young adults and grieving families know that they’re not alone in this, and that there are many others who have gone through parental death or are currently going through it like they are,” she said.

“When I was young and going through my own personal loss, I used to get scared and worried about my future,” Shreeve explained. “I would often think my life was in trouble because I didn’t have two parents to support me like most of my peers did.

“I would think to myself, there has to

be someone out there who lost a mother/ parent like I did but was still able to make it. I knew that I couldn’t be the only person out there.”

Before reaching out to people for her �irst book, she researched the topic of parent death and found “many notable people – Nobel Prize Laureates, actors, athletes, musicians, philosophers and more – who grew up to give something positive back to the world but who also lost a parent like I did.”

“I thought if they could make it through their childhood without one or both of their parents and still pursue their dreams or give something positive back to the world, then maybe I could make it too.

And that gave me strength and motivation on my challenging days. I also used it as a therapeutic coping method.”

She had not been prepared for the responses she received when she was seeking people for her �irst book.

“Each and every one of the participants’ stories was heartbreaking, especially when realizing what they went through at such a young age,” Shreeve said. “There were many times when I had to walk away from the computer as my heart broke for each participant. … Let’s just say many tears were shed and went into this book that came from both the participants and myself.”

“In the book, I tell children and teens there are two ways you can handle your loss throughout the rest of your life: You can either use it as a handicap and say you don’t know how to do this or that because your parent wasn’t there to teach you, or you can learn things on your own, be there for yourself instead of dependent on others and teach yourself the things your late parent left off teaching you.”

“Something I’ve noticed over coping with the death of my mother, helping others feels like the right thing to do.”

She still thinks about her mom.

“I try to act like she’s still here,” she explained. “I talk to people about her, I watch movies that I think she and I would have probably watched together, I look at old pictures and I even talk to her daily.

I’ve learned a lot about myself, some things the hard way... but that is why I wanted to share this book with other kids and teens who might be struggling with parental death.”

To order her �irst book: rowman.com/ ISBN/9781442270879/Parental-DeathThe-Ultimate-Teen-Guide 

BUSINESS

THE MESA TRIBUNE | JANUARY 03, 2021

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Downtown coffee shop keeps on roasting

BY MELODY BIRKETT Tribune Contributor

J

arrod’s Coffee,Tea & Gallery started as an art and jewelry store eight years ago, adding a coffee shop in 2015 after some remodeling.

“It just kind of happened,” said Owner Jarrod Martinez, adding he had no previous coffee experience before he opened his business at 154 W. Main St., Mesa.

Prior to opening Jarrod’s, Martinez traveled from coast-to-coast, doing wholesale jewelry shows and working as a jewelry supplier. His love for jewelry and art gave him the inspiration for opening his own store.

“The art is from local artists in the neighborhood and around Arizona,” said Martinez. “It’s for sale. It changes all of the time. We have a lot of artists.

We do art shows and jewelry shows and live music.”

While live music has continued typically from 6-8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, the art shows have been put on hold due to the pandemic – which has cut business in half.

“I’d like to do our live art shows again with local artists,” said Martinez, adding that about 30 artists from Mesa and around Arizona set up in front of the coffee shop. “It was just busy and nice…and has taken years to build it up.”

Jarrod’s last October won the 39th annual Governor’s Arts Award for business out of 60 nominees.

Customers can still buy art and jewelry while enjoying a cup of coffee.

“We not only do coffee but we also do food - sandwiches, grilled sandwiches, salads,” Martinez said. “We have a wide variety of cheese, Italian sodas, blended

t o Gews?

N

Jarrod Martinez, left, and his brother Jamin take a break in front of Jarrod's coffee shop-gallery in downtown Mesa. (Courtesy Jarrod Martinez)

drinks, smoothies and we do a lot of vegan pastries and regular pastries, as well.

“We have a vegan chocolate sea salt brownie and it’s amazing. Everyone loves it. Just a little bit of everything. We have some good �lavored lemonades, too.

Our espresso has a hint of chocolate so it gives it a nice taste.”

Martinez says his shop’s iced chai blended in a hot chai is “a very good seller.”

“We’re known for a lot of different and great chai,” he added.

While Martinez had to remove some

seating indoors, “The Mesa CARES program helped us with our expansion for our temporary patio with signage.”

Right before the pandemic hit, Martinez expanded next door, where he plans to open a vegan bakery.

“We’ll have a lot more food options,” said Martinez. “It’ll smell amazing, as well. And we’ll probably add even earlier hours. That’s one big goal.”

The business had been growing every year up until 2020.

“We are really wanting to continue to grow during this pandemic, if we can,” added Martinez.

Right now, the focus is on survival.

“I am doing my best,” Martinez said.

“I am going to do all that it takes to stay

alive. I have to stay positive. I plan on staying here. I’m just going to give it all I’ve got. If I’m meant to be somewhere else, then I’ll have to move.”

In the meantime, his side jewelry business is keeping him a�loat as well as working with his dad in turquoise mining when he’s able to.

“Customers have been pleasant considering everything going on,” said Martinez. “We do offer masks if a customer doesn’t have one. Overall, everyone’s been understanding and supportive.”

About 30-40 percent of customers are regulars. “We really do love our regulars,” said Martinez. “We’re very thankful. Keep coming!”

Information: jarrodscoffeeteaandgallery.com, 480-822-7146. 

Contact Paul Maryniak at 480-898-5647 or pmaryniak@timespublications.com

THE MESA TRIBUNE | JANUARY 03, 2021

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As bad as 2020 was, it taught me a few lessons

BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ Tribune Columnist

S

ometimes he has a good day, his mind clicking like it used to, and our phone conversations take us back in time.

To the Christmas he and my mother bought me a Huffy with high handlebars and a banana seat, or to the snowy day in 1973 when we bundled up and headed to Shea Stadium and watched O.J. Simpson weave through the Jets defense all afternoon, becoming the �irst man in NFL history to run for 2,000 yards in a football season.

“Yeeeahhh,” my father says in that unique way of his, a touch of the Bronx returning to his voice. “That was really

something.”

That it was, though no more so than our chat: a renewed connection with the man my father once was, before Parkinson’s began to devour him physically and dementia began its evil subtraction.

We stay on the phone longer on those days, reminisce a little more, because that’s one of the lessons I’ve learned from 2020, our toughest year in decades, but also 366 days full of teaching.

Like: Never forget the value of a moment, an interval, one day. Because who’s to say when the next good moment will arrive? Maybe it shows up 24 hours later. Or maybe that’s all you get.

What else has 2020 taught us? There’s the concept of essentialness when it comes to work. We have all sorts of metrics available to grade the value of a ca-

reer: the quali�ications necessary to hold a position, the years of school, the plaudits on a resume.

Some people compare salaries and bennies. Others, the fame a career delivers.

This year, I’ve taken to wondering what life would be like if all the practitioners of a skill set disappeared. What if no one delivered the mail anymore? What if no one stocked the grocery shelves? What if we had no nurses, no respiratory therapists, no paramedics? What if every cop quit?

If 2020 has done little positive, it has expanded our vision, helped us to see those workers around us who before managed to escape our sight.

Not every lesson has been such a blessing, of course.

This year and its nuclear winter of an election cycle revealed still more about the

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poisonous nature of this nation’s politics.

Neither party escaped stain; both sides conducted themselves with all the honor and dignity of a Hollywood psycho villain.

A little bit of math underscores how adrift we are: About 250 million Americans were eligible to vote in 2020. Roughly 81 million cast a vote for Team Biden versus 74 million for Team Trump. The other 95 million of us couldn’t be bothered to show up.

Recent polling says 82 percent of Trump voters – an estimated 60 million people – believe Joe Biden’s win was illegitimate.

What does it say about the state of democracy when nearly half the country stays home on Election Day or votes and thinks the whole thing was “fake news” regardless?

Here, I’ll get fancy and quote the poet Yeats: “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold/Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.”

Let’s hope “The Second Coming” was �iction, not prediction.

For a saving grace, time and again 2020 has pointed us toward love. It’s a lesson taught to me over and over this year by the girl with the golden copper hair.

There is no explaining how she does it, or why: how she keeps loving so �iercely against such odds, why she keeps warming my iceberg heart. But she has, does, and that is my miracle of 2020 and the best lesson of all.

Keep showing up, keep caring, loving.

Eventually the worst ends up behind us. 

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

18

SPORTS

THE MESA TRIBUNE | JANUARY 03, 2021

TheMesaTribune.com @EVTNow /EVTNow

AIA pushes back start of winter sports to Jan. 18

BY ZACH ALVIRA Tribune Sports Editor

T

he Arizona Interscholastic Association is pushing back the winter sports season for a second time, moving from a Jan. 5 to Jan. 18 start.

The decision comes amid a continuing surge in COVID-19 that has forced many school districts in the state to begin the second semester this week with virtual learning for all students.

“Our focus continues to be on keeping students in school and on the playing �ield safely,” Associate Executive Director Joe Paddock said in the release. “We believe this decision will help us preserve the winter sports season.”

The AIA Executive Board said the delay would also allow teams to practice for two weeks after students return from winter break.

The same guidelines and recommendations from the AIA’s Sports Medicine Advisory Committee that governed fall sports will remain in place once the winter season begins.

With those recommendations, the winter sports season will not stop once it begins unless state health or government of�icials order all extracurricular activities to suspend operations.

The recommendations allow teams to begin competition on Jan. 18 regardless of what key COVID-19 metrics used to determine the start of fall sports show. The metrics will only be used to determine whether fans are able to attend competitions. At this time, the metrics call for empty stands.

The AIA said conferences will be given the opportunity to decide the total number of weeks of competitions for winter teams. That decision will be made in the next couple of weeks, according to the AIA. The winter sports season will conclude on March 5, with the spring season beginning March 1.

Conferences will have the ability to modify the length of the spring season.

“These measures will allow us to start

Mesa wrestling coach David DiDomenico has used the delay to winter sports to encourage his athletes to focus on their academics rather than juggle both practice and their coursework.

(Tribune File Photo)

the season and I hope, that as we see hospitalizations go down, some of the restrictions regarding spectators, be lifted,” Executive Director David Hines said.

The AIA’s decision to once again delay the start of the winter sports season didn’t come as much of a surprise to several East Valley coaches.

“In a time with very little consistency, moving competition back two weeks is consistent with schools going remote the �irst two weeks after Christmas break,” Mesa wrestling coach David DiDomenico said. “The delay allows for a better opportunity to complete the remainder of the winter schedule without teams cancelling.”

DiDomenico, a longtime coach of the Mesa wrestling program, said the extra time also allowed for his athletes to focus on classes rather than juggle practice and schoolwork.

So far, it’s paid off.

“I was able to motivate my wrestlers to pass their classes to be eligible,” DiDomenico said. “We got many wrestlers com-

pleting their schoolwork, succeeding in their �inals and passing for the semester.

It’s the greatest silver lining to the delay.”

Chandler girls basketball coach Glenda Skalitzky said she entered the new school year knowing she, her players and other coaches across the state would have to be �lexible. In many ways, she prepared for a further delay.

“As coaches we know we have to be �lexible, especially this year,” Skalitzky said.

“I’m just thankful they’re trying to get us a season.”

Skalitzky said her team was disappointed to hear the news. Especially given Chandler Uni�ied School District shut down all school athletic teams for the week of Christmas. Skalitzky said they hoped to return to practice Monday, Dec. 28 but that wasn’t guaranteed.

The suspension of team activities forced Chandler’s girls basketball program to be creative. They met through Zoom and Skalitzky sent workouts for the girls to do at home.

But it isn’t the same.

“They were super disappointed,” Skalitzky said. “They were working hard and were excited to play Hamilton Jan. 8. We are just taking things day-by-day.”

First-year Saguaro head boys basketball coach Lucas Ramirez said he and his program support the AIA’s decision to further delay the season. He knows it is with the best interest of everyone in mind.

Unlike Chandler, Saguaro was able to continue practicing.

“We are supportive of the AIA’s decision as we believe they have had our studentathletes best interest in mind from the beginning,” Ramirez said. “We will continue to practice as safe as possible as a program and look forward to any and all opportunities of a season.”

Mountain Pointe basketball coach Kaimarr Price said he anticipated some sort of delay but thought at �irst it would only be an additional week. Still, he accepts the two-week delay as long as it means the season will be able to get started at some point this winter.

“We just need to focus on what we can control,” Price said. “Two more weeks of practice de�initely won’t hurt us. It’s a time to bond and get better as a team.

Whatever allows us to start and complete a season I’m on board with.”

Mountain Pointe and Desert Vista’s basketball programs will continue to practice during winter break, taking Christmas Eve, Christmas and New Year’s Day off.

Especially for the Thunder, that allows for extra time to prepare for a team that has new co-head coaches this season in Bryant St. Cyr and Jordan Ballard.

Like Price, St. Cyr thought a delay would eventually come, especially with rising metrics.

“I wasn’t shocked, I’ve been keeping a close eye on the metrics,” St. Cyr said. “Just watching the numbers and seeing what they had us do to adjust, we just have to make sure we get our kids ready. But it’s de�initely tough.

“I know the kids were ready to get going on the 5th.” 

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Hall of Flame one of area’s best-kept secrets

BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI Staff Writer

C

hicago-area industrialist George F. Getz Jr. and his wife, Olive Atwater Getz, were driving through Wilmette, Illinois, when they saw a brokendown �ire truck on the side of the road.

George casually remarked he would like the 1924, Type 12 American La France �ire engine. Considering the Globe Corp. chairman had everything, Olive surprised him with the old �ire engine for Christmas in 1955.

The gift led to a hobby on his part of collecting antique and historic �ire�ighting equipment.

This resulted in his creating the Hall of Flame Museum of Fire�ighting, now located in Phoenix, in 1961. It houses the world’s largest collection of �ire�ighting equipment and memorabilia.

“Somehow they kept it a secret from him,” said Mark Moorhead of the Hall of Flame Museum about George’s present.

“It was really, basically, intended as a gag gift, but he went nuts. He loved it. He gave the neighborhood kids rides in it. He just really became enamored of �iretrucks.

He started to collect more and more and more of them.”

He organized the National Historical Fire Foundation as a 501(c)(3) nonpro�it organization to promote the museum’s programs.

The Hall of Flame Museum of Fire�ighting is one of the Valley’s best-kept secrets.

After a stint in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, it opened its present building in Phoenix’s Papago Park in 1974.

The hall has grown from its original single gallery to �ive exhibit galleries, the National Fire�ighting Hall of Heroes, the museum store, a theater, a restoration shop, a collection storage building, and Hall of Flame Museum of Firefighting 6101 E. Van Buren St., Phoenix 602-275-3473, hallofflame.org

Mack not only made semis, but firetrucks as well. (Courtesy Hall of Flame Museum) administrative of�ices.

In its 70,000-square-foot space are 130 wheeled pieces and thousands of smaller artifacts.

“We’re the largest historical �ire�ighting museum in the world,” Moorhead said. “There are around 200 �ire�ighting museums in the United States and quite a few in other countries as well. We have items from all over the world, really, to trace the social and technological history of �ire�ighting.”

The museum tells the story from the bucket brigade to the 21st century.

“It’s like you see in the Western movies, when the church is on �ire, for example,” he said about the bucket brigade. “You have the famous bucket brigade, where they pass up and down the line and the last person gets as close as he can to the �ire, which usually isn’t very close. He tries to throw the bucket of water on it.

“It’s a terrible way to �ight a �ire, but it was all they had. As civilization developed and towns and cities got bigger, they had a lot of incentive to �ind a better way to �ight �ires in a more technological way.”

The oldest piece in the museum is from

1725—seven years before George Washington was born.

“This one is so old that it doesn’t have a good hose,” Moorhead said. “Instead of the last guy in line feebly throwing his bucket of water on the �ire, he would pour it into a tub that held about 80 gallons of water.

“You’d have the crew guys on either side pumping it out, up and down.”

The water sprayed out of a rigid, brass pipe—a branch pipe—and it angled up so the �ire�ighters didn’t have to get right on top of the �ire. They could arc it through a front door or, perhaps, a porch window.

They could also hose down trees, bushes and the neighbors’ houses.

“It wasn’t just your house that would burn,” Moorhead said. “Three or four of your neighbors’ houses could burn, or the whole city block. Whole towns were known to burn.

“It seems really primitive, but it was this huge leap forward over the bucket brigade. It’s essentially just a giant squirt gun, but it’s a pretty powerful squirt gun.”

From the old news to recent news—the Granite Mountain Hotshots are remembered in the museum. They were killed

in the Yarnell Hill Fire, the sixth-deadliest American �ire�ighter disaster, and the state’s deadliest wild�ire. The museum houses one of two ambulances used to transport the hotshots on the last day of their lives.

“This is one of the few pieces that’s here that we don’t own,” Moorhead said. “This one belongs to the Los Angeles County Fire Museum. The vice president of that museum’s son died (in Yarnell).

“The vehicles sat in a city garage up in Prescott for a number of years. Then, they took them out to be in that movie (‘Only the Brave’). Finally, Prescott said they were going to sell it as surplus city property. This guy in LA didn’t want to see this stuff sold.

“So, he got an anonymous donor, who turned out to be the actor Randolph Mantooth to donate $25,000. He put up a single bid of $25,000. We’ve had it for years and we’ll probably have it for years more.

If they ever build a museum of a facility of some kind in Prescott that would accommodate this, they’ll probably get it.”

Mantooth starred in the 1970s medical drama, “Emergency!”

The Granite Mountain Hotshots exhibit is part of the National Fire�ighting Hall of Heroes, which opened in 1998. Other American �ire�ighters who died in the line of duty are remembered, including those from 9/11. (Somber fact: “Saturday Night Live” comedian Pete Davidson’s father is pictured on a wall of 9/11 casualties.)

“We think we’re a real world-class facility,” Moorhead said. “The building isn’t fancy at all. It’s just a big warehouse, really.”

But what’s in it is worth the trip. 

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THE MESA TRIBUNE | JANUARY 03, 2021

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Obituaries

H E A D STO N E S

Obituaries Cecil Glenn Conrad, Jr.

Cecil Glenn Conrad, Jr., 64, passed away peacefully on December 12, 2020, at his home in Mesa, Arizona. A life-long resident of Mesa, Cecil was born on August 2, 1956 to Cecil G. Conrad and Mildred L. Getz, both of whom preceded him in death.

In 2017, Cecil retired from the City of Phoenix, after 20 years, as a heavy equipment operator, a job he greatly enjoyed. Cecil spent his time doing many activities including camping and fishing at our local lakes, canoeing, and rebuilding vehicles of all types. He had a mischievous sense of humor (Holy cow!), a love for the outdoors, and a near constant twinkle in his bright, blue eyes.

Cecil is survived by his daughter Chantel Ramirez (George) and grandchildren Cindy and Rick, his sisters Virginia Stodghill (Frank), Glenda Patrick (Jerry), Pamela Williams, and brother William Conrad (Jayne). Cecil’s sister, Cecilia A. Conrad, also preceded him in death.

He leaves behind many nieces and nephews.

As a remembrance, please consider making a donation, in Cecil’s name, to the Arizona Diabetes Foundation. Diabetes is ranked as the 6th highest disease related cause of premature death in Arizona.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the family has chosen not to have a memorial service at this time.

Cecil’s memory will be forever kept alive in the hearts of all who knew and loved him.

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Norma Jean Darden Norma Carter Wible Metcalf Darden passed from this life unto the next on 12/24/ 20. Norma was born in Fort Wayne Indiana to Paul and Helen (Deuell) Carter. She was the 2nd daughter of 3 that were born to the couple. Her sisters Marilyn and Sandra preceded her in death. Norma was married 3 times and she is survived by a daughter, a granddaughter and 2 great grandchildren.

Sign the Guestbook at: obituaries.EastValleyTribune.com

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If It’s Broken, We Can Fix It! • Same Day Service • On-Site Repairs • Servicing All Major Brands • Quality Guaranteed

We Also Buy, Sell & Trade Used Appliances Working or Not

480-659-1400 Licensed & Insured Concrete & Masonry

Block Fence * Gates

602-789-6929 Roc #057163

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Lowest Prices * 30 Yrs Exp Serving Entire Valley

Call us to place your ad online!

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480-898-6465

THE MESA TRIBUNE | JANUARY 03, 2021

22

The Mesa Tribune

1620 W. Fountainhead Parkway #219 • Tempe, AZ 85282 480.898.6465 class@timespublications.com

Deadlines

Classifieds: Thursday 11am for Sunday Life Events: Thursday 10am for Sunday

The Place “To Find” Everything You Need | TheMesaTribune.com Concrete & Masonry

Garage/Doors

DESERT ROCK

GARAGE DOOR SERVICE

CONCRETE & MASONRY BLOCKWALL CONCRETE RETAINING WALL BLOCK FENCE PLANTER BBQ

FOUNDATION DRIVEWAY SIDEWALK PATIO

PAVER • CONCRETE REMOVAL • HARDSCAPE BONDED & INSURED • ROC#321648 SATISFACTION GUARANTEED! FREE ESTIMATES • 16 YEARS EXPERIENCE RESIDENTIAL CALL JOHN: 480.797.2985 COMMERCIAL

Handyman HANDYMAN 37 years experience.

Drywall, framing, plumbing, painting, electrical, roofing and more. Stan, 602-434-6057

East Valley/ Ahwatukee

Broken Springs Replaced Nights/Weekends Bonded/Insured 480-251-8610

Not a licensed contractor

Handyman LLC

• Drywall Repair • Bathroom Remodeling • Home Renovations

• Electrical Repair • Plumbing Repair • Dry rot and termite damage repair

All Estimates are Free • Call:

480.266.4589 josedominguez0224@gmail.com Not a licensed contractor.

Electrical Services HONESTY • INTEGRITY • QUALITY

• Serving Arizona Since 2005 •

• Panel Changes and Repairs • Installation of Ceiling Fans • Switches/Outlets • Home Remodel

Licensed • Bonded • Insured • ROC118198

OVER 25 YEARS EXPERIENCE SERVICING & INSTALLING GARAGE DOORS AND OPERATORS

520.508.1420

• SERVING ALL OF METRO PHOENIX • HONEST AND REPUTABLE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION GUARANTEED

ANOZIRA DOOR SYSTEMS

www.EastValleyTribune.com

Family Owned with 50 years’ EXPERIENCE. Shower and tub enclosures, Framed, Frameless or Custom Doors, We also install insulated glass, mirrored closet doors, window glass, mirrors, patio doors, glass table pro-tectors. If it’s glass, we can help you. QUALITY SERVICE at Competitive Prices.

FREE Estimates

Hauling

WE DO IT ALL!

East Valley

• Furniture • Appliances • Mattresses • Televisions • Garage Clean-Out • Construction Debris

• Old Paint & Chems.

• Yard Waste • Concrete Slab • Remodeling Debris

Marks the Spot for ALL Your Handyman Needs!

Painting • Flooring • Electrical Plumbing • Drywall • Carpentry Handyman Decks • Tile • More!

Marks the Spot for ALL Your Handyman Needs! for ALL•Your Handyman Needs! ✔ Painting Painting Flooring • Electrical ALL RESIDENTIAL Marks & the Spot “No Job Too ✔Small Flooring Painting • Flooring • Electrical Plumbing • Drywall • Carpentry Man!” COMMERCIAL ELECTRICAL Plumbing • Drywall • Carpentry ✔ Electrical Decks • Tile • More!

Quality Work Since 1999 Decks •Affo Tile • More! rdable, ✔ Plumbing 2010, 2011 Call Jim Endres 2012, 2013, 2014 Call Bruce at 602.670.7038 ✔ Drywall Ahwatukee Resident/ References/ Insured/ Not a Licensed Contractor Over 28 Years Experience • ROC #246019 Bonded/Insured “No Job ✔ Carpentry Too Small Marks the Spot for“No Job Too ALL Your Handyman Needs! ✔ Decks Painting • Flooring • Electrical Small Man!” “No Job Too Man!” Meetings/Events? ✔ Tile Plumbing • Drywall • Carpentry

480.282.7932

Get Free Small Man!” ✔ Kitchens 9 199 ce Sin rk Wo y alit noticesAffinordthe able, Qu ✔ Bathrooms BSMALLMAN@Q.COM 2010, 2011 9 199 ce Sin rk Wo 2012, 2013, Affordable, Quality And More!

2010, 2011 2014 Call Bruce at 602.670.7038 Classifieds!

Call Bruce at 602.670.7038 2012, 2013, Decks • Tile • More!

“No Job Too Small Man!”

2014

2010, 2011 2012, 2013, 2014

480-833-7353 - Office 480-430-7737 - Cell A+

-S

I

E NC

19

78

-

LIC/BONDED/INSURED Res/Comm’l ROC#218802

aaaActionContractingInc.com

• Old Tires

Irrigation

WESLEY’S GLASS & MIRROR wesleysglass.com SERVICING THE ENTIRE VALLEY Call 480-306-5113

Ahwatukee Resident/ References/ Insured/ Not a Licensed Contractor

ACTION CONTRACTING INC. Bath & Kitchen Remodels • Car-Port to Garage Conversion Drywall & Stucco Repairs • Plumbing • Electrical • Can Lights Windows • Doors • Cabinets • Painting • Block Fences Wrought Iron Gates • Remodeling • Additions • Patios Tenant Improvements

GLASS, MIRRORS, SHOWER DOORS

Ahwatukee Resident/ References/ Insured/ Not a Licensed Contractor Submit to ecota@timespublications.com Insured / Not aCall Licensed Contractor Bruce at 602.670.7038

All Remodeling, Additions, Kitchen, Bath, Patio Covers, Garage, Sheds, Windows, Doors, Drywall & Roofing Repairs, Painting, All Plumbing, Electrical, Concrete, Block, Stucco, Stack Stone, All Flooring, Wood, Tile, Carpet, Welding, Gates, Fences, All Repairs.

Free Estimates with Pride & Prompt Service!

Glass/Mirror

Since 1999 Affordable, Quality Work

Owner Does All Work, All Honey-Do Lists

Licensed, Bonded & Insured • ROC#317949

See MORE Ads Online!

References/ Insured/ NotResident a Licensed Contractor Ahwatukee / References Call Ahwatukee BruceResident/ at 602.670.7038

One Call, We Do It All! 602-339-4766

www.husbands2go.com

QUICK RESPONSE TO YOUR CALL! 15 Years Experience • Free Estimates

General Contacting, Inc.

SERVING THE ENTIRE VALLEY

Ask me about FREE water testing!

JOSE DOMINGUEZ DRYWALL & PAINTING House Painting, Drywall, Intall Doors, Baseboards, Crown Molding Reliable, Dependable, Honest!

HOME REMODELING REPAIRS & CUSTOM INTERIOR PAINTING Move a wall; turn a door into a window.

From small jobs and repairs to room additions, I do it all. Precision interior painting, carpentry, drywall, tile, windows, doors, skylights, electrical, fans, plumbing and more.

All trades done by hands-on General Contractor.

Friendly, artistic, intelligent, honest and affordable.

40 years’ experience.

Call Ron Wolfgang Please text or leave message Cell 602-628-9653 Wolfgang Construction Inc. Licensed & Bonded ROC 124934

GENERAL CONTRACTOR / HANDYMAN SERVICES

Garage/Doors

OPEN 24/7

Drywall

Home Improvement

Home Improvement

TNT Exteriors LLC

Family owned & operated company specializing in: • Residential & Commercial Garage Doors • Roofing • Rain Gutters

WE WILL MATCH OR BEAT ANY WRITTEN QUOTE FROM A LICENSED COMPANY! TNTExteriors2018@gmail.com CALL FOR A FREE ESTIMATE 480-532-5606

ROC# CR326937 #CR322178 #CR321443

• Sprinkler/Drip Repairs • New Installs Poly/PVC • Same Day Service

NTY

5-YEAR WARRA

480.654.5600 azirrigation.com Cutting Edge LLC • ROC 281671

MORE CLASSIFIED ADS ONLINE! www.EastValleyTribune.com

THE MESA TRIBUNE | JANUARY 03, 2021

Landscape/Maintenance

Irrigation Repair Services Inc. Licensed • Bonded • Insured Technician

Specializing in Controllers, Valves, Sprinklers, Landscape Lighting, P.V.C. & Poly Drip Systems

Call Lance White

480.721.4146 www.irsaz.com

ROC# 256752

Superstition Landscape Maintenance

Junk Removal PLUS House Cleaning

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Landscape/Maintenance

Painting

Insured/Bonded Free Estimates

Jose Dominguez Painting & Drywall SEE OUR AD IN DRYWALL! Quick Response to your Call!

15 Years Exp 480-266-4589

ALL Pro

T R E E

S E R V I C E

L L C

Prepare for Winter Season!

LANDSCAPING, TREES & MAINTENANCE

PMB 435 • 2733 N. Power Rd. • Suite 102 • Mesa dennis@allprotrees.com

480-354-5802

Irrigation

ROC 3297740

Interior/Exterior Painting 30 YEARS EXPERIENCE Dunn Edwards Quality Paint Small Stucco/Drywall Repairs

We Are State Licensed and Reliable!

Free Estimates • Senior Discounts

Sprinkler & Drip Systems Repairs • Modifications • Installs

480-338-4011

ROC#309706

East Valley PAINTERS

10% OFF

We Beat Competitors Prices & Quality

• 20 Years Experience • 6 Year Warranty

Free Estimates!

Home of the 10-Year Warranty!

480.345.1800

480-688-4770

www.eastvalleypainters.com Bonded/Insured • ROC#153131

Beat Any Price By 10% • Lifetime Warranty Water Heaters Installed - $799 Unclog Drains - $49 FREE RO UNIT w/Any WATER SOFTENER INSTALL NO INTEREST FINANCING - 60 Months!!

‘A’ RATED PLUMBING REPAIR Free Estimates • Same Day Service

480-405-7099 ItsJustPlumbSmart.com

Paint Interior & Exterior • Drywall Repair Light Carpentry • Power Washing • Textures Matched Popcorn Removal • Pool Deck Coatings Garage Floor Coatings • Color Consulting

Family Owned & Operated

PLUMBERS CHARGE TOO MUCH!

Bonded/Insured • ROC #223709

Voted #1

ROC 304267 • Licensed & Bonded

480-477-8842

20+ YEARS OF EXPERIENCE FAMILY OWNED & OPERATED LICENSED, BONDED & INSURED

HOME IMPROVEMENT & PAINTING

Now Accepting all major credit cards

Classifieds: 480-898-6465

Notice of guardianship/conservatorship hearing for Joan Holcomb on January 7, 2021 at 11:30am at Maricopa County Superior Court. For more information, inquire about Case #PB2020092387. Published: East Valley Tribune Dec 20, 28, 2020, Jan. 3 2021 / 35173

Roofing

HYDROJETTING

BOOK ONLINE! STATE48DRAINS.COM

Painting

Call for our 3 Month Trial Special!

Public Notices

Plumbing

SEWER CABLE COMPREHENSIVE, FULL-SERVICE PLUMBING COMPANY

Call or Text Adrian

FREE Estimates

Not a licensed contractor

Tree Trimming • Tree Removal Stump Grinding Storm Damage • Bushes/Shrubs Yard Clean-up Commercial and Residential

480•376•9803 or 480•925•1418

Honest & Reliable

Place YOUR Business HERE!

Pool Service / Repair

Juan Hernandez Pavers • Concrete • Water Features • Sprinkler Repair

PPebbleOcracking, O L Plaster R Epeeling, P ARebar IR showing, Pool Light out? I CAN HELP!

FALL SPECIAL! $500 OFF COMPLETE REMODEL! 25 Years Experience • Dependable & Reliable

Call Juan at

480-720-3840 Not a licensed contractor.

Tiles, shingles, flat, repairs & new work Free Estimates • Ahwatukee Resident Over 30 yrs. Experience

480-706-1453

Licensed/Bonded/Insured • ROC #236099

Public Notices CITY OF MESA MESA, ARIZONA NOTICE OF VIRTUAL PUBLIC MEETING Harris Basin Park Project No. CP0934 Please join us for the live online Virtual Public Meeting to learn about the Harris Basin Park. The City of Mesa is developing plans to build a new playground at the Harris Basin located at 2421 N Harris Dr. Mesa, AZ 85203. To accommodate the new playground the City is developing plans to regrade the existing drainage basin to include a pad for the new playground while maintaining the basin’s ability to retain surface runoff. The playground will be designed with aim for children ages 2-12 and include ADA access. The project is being funded through 2018 General Obligation Parks Bonds.

A short presentation will be given followed by a questions and answer session.

Date: Thursday, January 14, 2021 Time: 6:00pm to 7:00pm Location: Virtual Public Meeting: online at mesaaz.gov/engineering If you have any questions or concerns regarding this project, please contact Curt Albright, Michele Arrollado, Lucy Lopez, or Juanita Gonzales with the City of Mesa Engineering Public Relations Department at (480) 644-3800.

Si usted tiene preguntas de este proyecto, favor de llamar a Lucy Lopez, con la Ciudad de Mesa al (480) 644-4431.

Published: East Valley Tribune, Jan. 3, 10, 2021 / 35347

THE MESA TRIBUNE | JANUARY 03, 2021

24

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12 single-level homes on extra large homesites in the Citrus Groves of Northeast Mesa with 5- to 6-car garages plus optional RV garages and carriage houses • From the $900’s • 480-750-3000

BlandfordHomes.com Not all photos shown are representative of all communities.

Terms and conditions subject to change without notice.