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Why golf is better than everything else
BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ
Tribune Columnist
Let me begin by saying that this is not a column about golf, though it begins with a story involving golf. Or, to be specific, a thought about golf.
I was catching up with a buddy from high school, lamenting the state of mankind: politics, the workplace, gender relations, sports. Our friendship spans four decades, so we had a lot of complaining to do.
We also share a golf addiction, so naturally the game was a topic.
Non-golfers are far more sane than actual golfers having not subjected themselves to torturous years of chasing a dimpled white ball over hills, through deserts, into lakes and bushes, behind trees, and occasionally into holes in the ground.
They often ask golfers, “What the hell do you see in the game?” It looks miserable.”
I’ve never had the perfect answer, until that talk. I haven’t experienced many epiphanies, but this was one.
Golf is lovable for the exactly the same reason so many of us detest everything else, from MAGA loons vs. progressive scolds, the latest episode of “Love Island,” Hollywood preaching, Inflation Reduction Acts that won’t reduce inflation, election controversies, Supreme Court controversies, and even the PGA Tour vs. LIV Golf controversy.
Playing golf involves zero bull – unlike virtually everything else in the 21st century.
You swing, you hit the ball, you count a stroke. Tally the strokes, that’s your score. The ball goes in the hole or not. End of debate.
Which is why after hours spent drenched in controversy, consuming, managing or writing about the news, it feels liberating to stand on a 108-degree golf course facing a 103-yard shot from the fairway to the flag.
You swipe at the ball with a wedge. It comes to rest – somewhere. That’s one stroke.
Unlike, say, casting your election ballot – which may be a vote or may not, depending on which political party you’re in and whether your preferred candidate wins the election.
Or wishing a barista “good morning,” which risks using the wrong pronoun and creating a controversy where you only meant to be kind.
Or deciding whether or not to pay an exorbitant sum to see Bruce Springsteen, because being ripped off by the voice of the working man would still get you in to hear “Born To Run” live – a bucket list item – but also subject you to a lengthy political rant, which you would absolutely file under B.
Not for Bruce or for Boss. But under B for “more bull.”
Over time, I seem to have shifted away from doing things that will likely deliver more such nonsense: Scrolling social media, watching or reading the news, going to Fourth of July barbecue picnics, striking up a conversation in line at Basha’s.
Instead, I try to hit golf balls on all the days of the week that end in the letter “y.”
The sand shot rises out of the bunker and nestles beside the hole – or you skull it over a condo. Your putt spins around the hole and falls out. You tap in and add two strokes to your score.
There’s a truth to the game that no longer seems to exist in so much of what we call life.
Like I said, this isn’t a story about golf. It’s a story about missing the days before all the bull, back when the news, actually real, was the only form of “reality TV.” Back when the phrase “hey guys,” wasn’t grounds for a complaint to human resources.
seeLEIBOWITZ page 27
BY JD HAYWORTH Tribune Columnist
Whoever said that “presidential politics is two thirds theater” and that the White House is a grand stage should have taken a closer look at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue.
There, on Capitol Hill, sits an institution called the “world’s greatest deliberative body” by some and the “world’s most exclusive club” by others.
You know it best by its proper name: The United States Senate.
Among the 100 who serve are more than a handful who readily embrace the spectacle, pomp and prestige that comes with the title of “Senator.”
The late Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia often spoke of the Senate as if he had confused both time and place. That was not due to diminished cognitive skills, though his Senate service spanned more than a half century and concluded with his death in 2010. Instead, it was due to his inflated sense of status about both the institution and his own reputation there.
Byrd would employ his photographic memory and excessive sense of selfworth to recount episodes of political antiquity from the Roman Senate, creating word pictures recalling a group clad in togas, philosophizing and filibustering. That “Byrd’s Eye” view was a combination of “Ben-Hur,” “Gladiator,” and (surprisingly or not) “Animal House.”
A Cinematic Senate? Better check the spelling…it’s really a “Sinematic Senate” these days, courtesy of Arizona’s Kyrsten Sinema.
She came into the chamber with her own sense of fashion and attitude, wearing thigh-high boots like Jane Fonda’s “Barbarella,” employing a persona akin to Sigourney Weaver in “Alien,” and most recently, enacting a controversial highfinance provision that would warm the cold, calculating heart of Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko in “Wall Street.”
Kyrsten named a price for supporting Joe Biden’s inaccurately named “Inflation Reduction Act,” insisting on lower taxes— not for everyday Americans, but for the rich and famous.
“Sinema took Wall Street money while killing tax on investors,” read the headline from the Aug. 13 article written by the AP’s Brian Slodysko.
Prospective opponents read it as a real opportunity—including possible opponents from within Sinema’s own party.
While the Washington Press Corps is excessively accommodating to Democrats, most political reporters are somewhat befuddled by Arizona’s senior senator and the mega dollars stuffed into her political war chest by hedge fund managers and their ultra-wealthy associates.
Of course, what Washington might collectively regard as Kyrsten’s “LBJ Moment” isn’t a good look for her at all in Arizona.
What’s good for Wall Street is not necessarily good for Main Street or for your street…and it is absolutely objectionable on most streets in Flagstaff, Tempe and Tucson.
But it isn’t just the indoctrinated-asopposed-to-educated from our state supported universities who take umbrage; concern is also found among those from the “school of hard-knocks,” who have invested their own sweat equity in “bootstrap” businesses and “mom-and-pop” enterprises, only to see a Sinema-sponsored
Mesa Mayor grateful for congressman’s support
In recent months, we’ve had plenty to celebrate in Mesa. Our growing economy has added thousands of new jobs and secured billions of dollars in new capital investment. Our downtown is thriving, and we continue to attract innovative businesses committed to Mesa’s future.
As with any success story, it takes support and collaboration from every level, the confidence of residents, the strength of businesses, and partnerships with the community.
During this period of forward progress, I’ve been grateful to have consistent allies at the federal level. Congressman Greg Stanton has been a tireless advocate for our city, helping to secure vital investments for our growing community.
As a former big-city mayor, Stanton knows that local leaders are best equipped to deliver programs and resources to our residents. Throughout the pandemic, he kept his local experience top of mind, always pushing for cities to receive assistance needed to deliver an effective response to the health crisis.
Federal aid during the pandemic helped bolster city services in Mesa, ensuring our ability to provide critical emergency response. Mesa received more than $90 million in funding through the CARES Act and an additional $105.5 million through the American Rescue Plan.
These funds increased our capacity to shift gears and stand up support programs to deliver immediate relief for residents and businesses.
Working closely with many community and faith-based organizations, we distributed more than 4 million meals to families in need, aided more than 800 small businesses with grants and technical assistance, and provided more than 8,000 households with rent and utility assistance.
Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, one of the largest economic drivers of our city, is on track for its best-ever year of passenger traffic.
Stanton played an important role in securing $10 million in federal funds for the construction of a new air traffic control tower that will increase the airport’s overall capacity and potential for future growth.
Stanton also worked to support Mesa’s façade improvement initiative, an investment in our downtown and its small business community.
He helped pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law which will be a gamechanger for Mesa and Arizona. Those direct investments will benefit our local economy for years to come.
In a time when partisanship is the regular headline, it may be surprising to see a Republican mayor thanking a Democratic representative.
But we don’t build our future by working at odds with each other. That’s why it’s nice when this Republican mayor calls our Democratic representative in Congress, I always get one response: “How can I help?”
As a city and a region, we’re making great strides; in growing our workforce and great job opportunities, supporting a strong economy, and providing essential services to residents and businesses. We’re achieving milestones together. Neighborhood leaders and the business community, government and nonprofit organizations, mayors and federal officials, and, yes, Republicans and Democrats.
-Mayor John Giles
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Celebrate Arizona
wines / P. 32 Surf’s down at Mesa lagoon / P. 2 MPS board debates raises / P. 3 P. 3
Fireworks crackdown worked/P. 2 Saving the pups/P. 19
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Sunday, January 23, 2022
INSIDE This Week Mesa officials aim to make city totally wired BY GARY NELSON Tribune Contributor NEWS ...................... 6 Owners of controversial food truck park give up. Ideal for i.d.e.a. Mesa has unveiled an ambitious plan to bring fiber-optic technology to every address in the city. “We’ve decided that the best way to get the Internet everywhere is through fiber,” Ian Linssen, an assistant to the city manager, told the City Council on Jan. 13. The technology, though more than 50 years seeWIRED page 3 First Hawes Crossing housing plan advances
old, is still rather amazing: A strand of glass or clear plastic about the size of a human hair, covered in a plastic case, carries data in the form of – and at the speed of – light. Hundreds of fibers can be bundled together for various users.Deploying fiber across the city “gives us a huge amount of new benefits for the foreseeable future,” Linssen said. “Fiber futureproofs Mesa.”His point: Fiber is flexible enough to handle whatever new technologies may emerge in coming decades.The benefits include attracting tech-dependent businesses, more efficient government operations, and greater opportunities for residents to access the Internet, Linssen said. With fiber in every street, there would be no worries about some neighborhoods lacking access to an Internet provider. dent businesses, more efficient government operations, and greater opportunities for residents to access the Internet, Linssen said. With fiber in every street, there would be no worries about some neighborhoods lacking
Crossing housing
BUSINESS............. 27 Them bones worth gold to new Mesa business.
An edition of the East Valley Tribune
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INSIDE
This Week
COMMUNITY ........... 15
Mackenzie Paprocki stands next to one of dad's Lego creations.
BUSINESS.............18
BY JOSH ORTEGA Tribune Staff Writer Mesa restaurateur specializes in eastern European fare.
SPORTS.................. 31
COMMUNITY ................................ 15 HEALTH & WELLNESS ................ 21 BUSINESS ...................................... 27 OPINION ....................................... 29 SPORTS..........................................31 GET OUT........................................32 CLASSIFIED...................................36 Zone 1
If Jarrad Bittner looks like he’s having fun, you’re right. The new director of Mesa’s innovative i.d.e.a. Museum looks forward to providing children of all ages engaging and instructive activities and programs. Read about him on page 12. (Srianthi Perera/Tribune Contributor)
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Almost a year after Mesa City Council approved the 1,131-acre Hawes Crossing, the first residential community in the massive master planned community is one step closer to breaking ground. The City of Mesa Planning and Zoning Board earlier this month unanimously approved rezoning 80.66-acre for what the developers call “charming and desirable” Hawes Crossing Village One around Hawes and Elliott roads approved the 1,131-acre Hawes Cross ing, the first residential community in the massive master planned community is The City of Mesa Planning and Zoning Board earlier this month unanimously approved re zoning 80.66-acre for what the developers call “charming and desirable” Hawes Crossing Village One around Hawes and Elliott roads SPORTS ...............22 A Mesa athlete was among senior football players honored. seeHAWES page 6 and 80th Street. The approval only changes minor development standards to allow for specific homes and townhomes by homebuilder Lennar, which must also get approval of the Specific The approval only changes minor develop ment standards to allow for specific homes and townhomes by homebuilder Lennar, which must also get approval of the Specific COMMUNITY................................15 BUSINESS ......................................18 OPINION........................................20 SPORTS..........................................22 GET OUT........................................24 CLASSIFIED...................................27 Zone 1
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Sunday, May 1, 2022 Hot-spot strategy is cooling violence, police say
BY SCOTT SHUMAKER
Tribune Staff Writer
Mesa Police Department officials told Mesa City Council’s public safety committee that an initiative to attack crime hot spots with a surge of officers for a limited period of time has helped the department lower violent crime in Mesa amid a national rise.
While overall crime in Mesa, including property crimes, is slightly up from last year, police said the city saw a 14% drop in violent incidents in the first quarter of 2022 compared with the same period in 2021.
They attributed the progress to a recently launched program that will target violent crime by drawing personnel from every division of the force together in a specific location every night for two weeks, once per quarter. Patrol officers, gang and narcotics specialists, and “shirt and tie” detectives will work side-by-side to make seizures and arrests seen as most likely to prevent violent crime, such as drug dealing, illegal gun possession and outstanding warrants.
Chief Ken Cost told council in April that Mesa is one of the safest large cities in the U.S., but it still has its share of violent crime. but it still has its share of violent crime.
“People get in arguments and the guns “People get in arguments and the guns come out, and gun play is a huge deal right come out, and gun play is a huge deal right now,” Cost said in April. At a community fo-now,” Cost said in April. At a community fo rum last year, Cost said, “we know that it’s the rum last year, Cost said, “we know that it’s the street level drug dealing that is turning into street level drug dealing that is turning into violent crimes.”
To try to head off a rise in violent crime last To try to head off a rise in violent crime last summer, Mesa PD rolled out a 15-week sum-summer, Mesa PD rolled out a 15-week sum mer program. After analyzing violent crime mer program. After analyzing violent crime between May and December of 2021 and see-between May and December of 2021 and see ing a decrease in violence, Mesa PD leader-ing a decrease in violence, Mesa PD leader
seePOLICE page 4
An edition of the East Valley Tribune
INSIDE
NEWS ............................16 Farewell to longtime Mesa public servant.
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BY SCOTT SHUMAKER Tribune Staff Writer Former Mesa City Council member Scott Somers will be able to remove “former” from his title in January but Vice Mayor Jenn Duff is preparing for a November run-off contest with one of her two challengers. Somers’ 58%-42% lead was sufficient for businesswoman Darla Trendler to concede in the hotly contested southeast Mesa Council District 6 election. But there was no such concession in the downtown District 4 race, where Duff maintained the lead she started with Tuesday night’s release of tallies from early voting but appeared to fall short of the 50%-plus-1 majority she needed to win outright. Duff garnered 48% of the vote over new mother Trista Guzman Glover’s 28% and Arizona State University undergraduate student Nathaniel Ross’ 24%.
If those margins hold by the time all the ballots are counted this week, Ross will be eliminated and Duff and Guzman Glover will face off Nov. 8. Sunday, August 7, 2022 One Mesa race resolved, other may continue "While we’ll be watching the final counts closely, it’s clear that we still have more work ahead of us," Duff said. "Close elections are not a new thing for me and I’m ready to earn every last vote for November’s win.”
Mesa prepares novel domestic violence court
BY SCOTT SHUMAKER
Tribune Staff Writer
Though it currently enjoys a relatively low crime rate, Mesa is not immune to the scourge of domestic violence.
It’s a serious problem in the city: Mesa had eight domestic violence-related homicides in 2020 – a significant increase from the city’s four domestic violence homicides the previous year.
The harm domestic violence does to victims and the wider community can be highly visible, such as when offenders escalate to killing partners or family members. The damage can also lie beneath the surface, such as when children witness smaller acts of violence and their development is impacted.
“I think one of the real tragedies of domestic violence is it typically harms the most vulnerable of society,” Assistant City Prosecutor Paul Hawkins said. “It takes a relationship that’s supposed to be a safe relationship and makes it ugly and dangerous and destructive. As a society, we
see COURT page 4
Glory be!
BUSINESS .................22 Mesa restaurant shells out the tacos.
GETOUT .....................29 Mesa metal band rocking on stage.
Volunteer Sharon Lambard helps Jean Farrell, left, and Anne Franklin dip strawberries in chocolate at the new Mesa nonprofit called Glory Days. It fills a critical need among the elderly but needs help. See page 11. (Courtesy of Chelsea Kleve)
COMMUNITY .............................. 19BUSINESS ................................... 22OPINION ..................................... 25SPORTS ...................................... 28GET OUT ...................................... 29CLASSIFIED ............................... 32 ZONE 1
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Cities bite big into public safety pension debt
BY PAUL MARYNIAK Tribune Executive Editor
The plane is on the way
seeELECTIONSpage 8
East Valley municipalities in the last fiscal year took advantage of unanticipated general fund revenue increases to make big additional payments on their debt to pensions earned by thousands of retired police officers and firefighters. But Tempe, Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler and Scottsdale still have a long way to go before they erase their huge unfunded liabilities. Those five municipalities still owe a total $1.4 billion for pensions covering 955 retired firefighters, 1,471 retired cops and hundreds more firefighters and officers who are cov-ered by Arizona’s Public Safety Personnel Retirement System, records show. see PENSIONS page 12
A jet engine may seem a bit of an unusual sight at a high school, but a plane may soon be on the way at the new American Leadership Academy campus in east Mesa. The sprawling 223,000-square-foot charter school is taking a new approach to vocational education, as you’ll read on page 6. (Enrique Garcia/Tribune Contributor)
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seeCLIMATE page 6
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And back when someone could write “these truths are self-evident,” and inspire
HAYWORTH from page 25
provision eliminate a proposed “carried interest” tax increase on well-heeled and passive private equity investors. So the high-finance crowd will enjoy a $35 billion exemption that won’t exempt other corporations – or several small businesses.
The AP article invites Arizonans of every political stripe to connect the dots”
“Sinema has long aligned herself with the interests of private equity, hedge funds and venture capital, helping her net at least $1.5 million in campaign contributions since she was elected to the House a decade ago. But the $983,000 she has collected since last summer more than doubled what the industry donated to her during all of her preceding years in Congress combined.”
Sinema is comfortable collecting all that cash, because she considers it a “wise investment” that will help her stay in the Senate. Besides, the Democrat Leadership there won’t desert her in the event of an intraparty challenge back home.
Talk is cheap…mounting a successful challenge to an incumbent Senator isn’t.
Right now there’s a lot of chatter surrounding Rep. Ruben Gallego but when push comes to shove, will Gallego give up a safe seat in the House for a high-risk Senate run?
Nope.
Sinema will face a strong Republican challenge in 2024, but over the next two years, she will try to embody the predictable title of yet another Hollywood production: “The Sure Thing.”
a revolution, not a food fight on three different TV networks with two political slants.
And now, friends, back to the bull.
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