MPS dress code updated / P. 3
School aims to �ill shortage / P. 18
An edition of the East Valley Tribune
Sunday, July 18, 2021
FREE ($1 OUTSIDE THE EAST VALLEY) | TheMesaTribune.com
ADOT bracing EV drivers for a helluva rocky ride
INSIDE
This Week
BY PAUL MARYNIAK Tribune Executive Editor
NEWS ............................ 4 United Food Bank in Mesa could use some teens
COMMUNITY ............. 15 ASU program helps people in dire straits.
S
tarting this week, billboards, social media and television and print media will carry messages urging thousands of motorists, especially in Mesa and the rest of the East Valley, to prepare for three to four years of disruptions in their driving routines. It’s not exactly Armageddon that the Arizona Department of Transportation will be heralding. But it won’t be a walk in the park, especially for car and truck traf�ic on I-10. And even if you don’t use I-10, you can expect signi�icant increases in traf�ic
along all the freeways in the East Valley and even major arterials as motorists try to evade the inevitable tie-ups that will be caused by the I-10 Broadway Curve Improvement Project. “There’s no way to sugarcoat it,” said ADOT spokeswoman Kim Noetzel. “It’s going to be impactful.” Seven years in the planning, the work is ready to begin next weekend as crews
��� ADOT ���� 9
This chart illustrates the components of the I-10 Broadway Curve Improvement Project, a massive effort to improve safety and efficiency for tens of thousands of Valley motorists. (ADOT)
Mesa man wants to electrify muscle trucks BY TOM SCANLON Tribune Managing Editor
SPORTS ...................... 23 Continuing a family legacy at Mdesa High. COMMUNITY ............................... 15 BUSINESS ..................................... 18 OPINION .. ..................................... 21 SPORTS ........................................ 23 PUZZLES ...................................... 24 CLASSIFIED ................................. 25 Zone
1
T
hough he insists he’s not trying to be “the next Tesla,” it’s hard not to picture Mark Hanchett as the East Valley’s Elon
Musk. True, when it comes to thinking big, it’s hard to match the guy who launched the world’s biggest electric vehicle company and a space program, to boot. But Hanchett has massive, visionary, “industry disruptive” plans, though is keeping his feet �irmly planted on the ground. More speci�ically, his work boots are racing back
MARK HANCHETT
and forth across a production plant on Higley Road just south of Falcon Field.
Bring the Outdoors In with our Moving Glass Wall Systems
4454 E. Thomas Rd. Phoenix • 602-508-0800 • liwindow.com Mon-Thurs 8:30-5pm • Fri 8:30-4pm • Sat 9-2pm • ROC#179513
Up to
1500 OFF
$
Call for deta
ils!
The location is �itting: Hanchett’s doublebarreled vision of developing and producing fast-charge batteries and bulked-up electric trucks are taxiing for takeoff later this year. Hanchett, who looks as burly and tough as a wrestling coach, scowled when asked if investors ask him to focus on one or the other. “Everyone asks that question. ‘Why don’t you just be a battery vendor?’ Or, ‘Why don’t you just build trucks?’ ….Quite frankly, it’s a mistake,” Hanchett said. Hanchett’s start-up Atlis Motor Vehicles is not to be confused with ElectraMeccanica,
��� ATLIS ���� 6
