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See what's inside / P. 2
Mesa artist Heard / P. 12
An edition of the East Valley Tribune
INSIDE
This Week
NEWS ........................ 6 No end in sight to restrictions, health chief says.
BUSINESS ............... 14 Behold, the vegan doughnut is coming.
A weapon in Red Mountain's arsenal.
GETOUT ................. 25 An oasis in the desert not far from us. COMMUNITY ............................... 12 BUSINESS ..................................... 14 OPINION ....................................... 17 SPORTS ........................................ 21 GETOUT ..................................... 25 PUZZLES ...................................... 28 CLASSIFIED ................................. 28 Zone 2
Sunday, October 11, 2020
5-day in-class learning to begin in Mesa schools BY PAUL MARYNIAK Tribune Executive Editor
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fter months of hand-wringing, pleading and tension, Mesa Public Schools is scheduled to welcome thousands of students tomorrow, Oct. 12, for �ive-day learning in classrooms. For the past two weeks, students have been broken into groups that were on campuses two days a week in a rotating format that signi�icantly reduced their number in buildings at any given time.
But the district announced last Thursday that �ive-day learning with mandatory masks and other safety protocols could begin after the county Public Health Department’s weekly updated benchmarks showed the overall level of COVID-19 spread within district boundaries was moderate. While hospital visits with COVID-like symptoms were at 2 percent and positive new test results were 3.72 percent – indications of minimal virus spread – the third metric involving cases per 100,000 remained moderate for virus spread at 49. Ten or fewer cases
per 100,000 represents minimal spread. MPS also joined other districts – including Chandler Uni�ied and Gilbert Public Schools – in creating a daily dashboard showing the number of new COVID-19 cases involving students or staff that have been reported to the district. The dashboard – at mpsaz.org/beprepared/ reopen/dashboard – showed a total 26 cases comprising 19 students and six adults have been reported.
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Let's bake a deal SE Mesa a big focus in city’s $100M bond issue BY JIM WALSH Tribune Staff Writer
SPORTS ................... 21
FREE ($1 OUTSIDE THE EAST VALLEY) | TheMesaTribune.com
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proposed Mesa bond issue before voters Nov. 3 would help turn farm �ields into an auto mall, a major sports complex and residential neighborhoods in southeast Mesa. Not all projects included in Question 1, a $100 million bond proposal, focus on Southeast Mesa. Projects also include the reconstruction of a problem intersection at Stapley and University drives and the reconstruction of Broadway Road between Mesa Drive and Stapley. But the bond issue’s focus is squarely on southeast Mesa, the city’s fastest-growing area as developers jostle for zoning approvals on previously overlooked land near the new Arizona 24, also known as the Gateway Freeway.
Mesa Mayor John Giles, Mesa Chamber of Commerce CEO Sally Harrison, ex-city manager Mike Hutchinson and other advocates are selling the bond issue as a necessary and modest investment in the future. They note taxpayers will get a lot of bang for their buck, with $100 million bond issue growing by $62 million in regional reimbursements from Proposition 400, which returns sales tax revenue to Mesa. Giles initially had reservations about seeking the bond approval during the recession triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. But he quickly changed his mind after Councilman Kevin Thompson said a delay would place the city too far behind the growth curve in southeast Mesa, where many streets and road are
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Mesa resident Jon Przybyl's bread and other baked goods have won an ardent following, even among some of the city officials who gave him heat about his home-based business. But this story has a happy ending. Details: page 4. (Special to the Tribune)
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THE MESA TRIBUNE | OCTOBER 11, 2020
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CARA SCHNEPF STEINER
JOE O'REILLY
KIANNA SEARS
LARA ELLINGSON
RICH CRANDALL
VIKKI JOHNSON
Mesa voters will have plenty to decide BY PAUL MARYNIAK Tribune Executive Editor
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arly ballots likely are – or soon will be – in the hands of many Mesa voters and it’s a good thing. They’ll need some time to wade through a rafter of names and of�ices up for grabs in the Nov. 3 General Election. Beyond the marquee race for President and the hotly contested �ight for the last two years of the late U.S. Sen. John McCain’s seat, there are judges to sort through, county of�ices at stake, two school board races and legislative races where Republicans have a huge registration advantage. Mesa voters also are being asked to consider a $100 million bond issue by the city for road and other transportation infrastructure projects. And if that’s not enough, there are two controversial initiatives, one that would legalize recreational marijuana and the other that would impose a surcharge on the state income taxes paid by single �ilers earning more than $250,000 annually and couples earning more than $500,000 a year. The county is expecting a historic turnout. The 2008 General Election had the highest turnout at 79.76 percent and participation on record. “We just surpassed 2.5 million registered voters, which is the highest number ever recorded in Maricopa County,” said elections spokeswoman Megan Gilbertson. Right now, the closest place where Mesa residents can physically vote is at Dobson Palm Plaza, 2051 W. Guadalupe Road. They can drop off completed ballots at Mesa City Hall starting Oct. 19. As the month progresses, though, more places to cast votes or drop off ballots will start opening.
To accommodate the anticipated uptick of voters, the County Recorder is expanding access through a Vote Center model where voters can choose from any voting location than at one assigned site. The department also is adding new, drive-thru drop boxes in the parking lots of sport stadiums across the county from Oct. 24 to Nov. 3. To �ind sites and hours of operation, go to Locations.Maricopa.Vote. According to of�icials, close to 78 percent of Maricopa County’s 2.5 million registered voters have already requested a ballot in the mail. Before COVID-19, the county elections plan estimated about 2 million voters would cast a ballot in November with approximately 211,000 – 313,000 of those voters turning out in-person on Election Day. Voters will have the choice to return their early ballot by mail by Oct. 27 or drop it off at any Vote Center or secure ballot drop box by 7 p.m. on Election Day. Voters can �ind out where to vote, see what’s on their ballot, sign up to vote by mail and more by going to BeBallotReady.Vote. Voters have until Oct. 24 to request an early ballot. Most voting centers and dropoff locations will open later this month and a full list can be found at recorder. maricopa.gov/pollingplace. A federal judge last week extended the deadline for registering to Oct. 24, although the state Attorney General is appealing the decision and as of the Tribune’s deadline, no decision had been made by the appellate court. On the federal front, besides the TrumpBiden and McSally-Kelly battles, there also are Congressional races. East Mesa voters will be choosing from
incumbent Congressman Andy Biggs, marketing specialist and Democrat Joan Greene or write-in Republican candidate Karen Stephens. Most other Mesa voters will be choosing between Democratic Congressman and former Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton or Gilbert businessman Dave Giles. There is also one statewide election as voters decide who will �ill three openings on the Corporation Commission, which, among other things, oversees electricity rates. But that’s just the beginning of voters’ decision making. Here’s a look at what else awaits.
Legislature
Citywide, Republicans and independent voters dominate Mesa. County Recorder data show there are 116,081 registered Republicans, 96,017 registered independents and 77,993 registered Democrats. It’s no surprise, then, that the main legislative districts that include large portions of the city are red. In LD 16, where Republicans hold a 2-1 registration edge, Kelly Townsend appears a shoe-in as she moves from the state House to the Senate, replacing David Farnsworth, who has retired. Trying to blunt that her transition are three write-in candidates: Democrat Richard Grayson, a lawyer, who says he is in the race “for those Democrats and others who hate Trump Republicans;” and independents John Ross Hart, a retired teacher, and Dr. Nick Fierro, a physical therapist. In the LD 16 House race, incumbent John Fillmore is seeking another term alongside newcomer Jacqueline Parker, a lawyer who calls herself “the most conservative Republican.” Only one Democrat is run-
ning in the three-way race for two seats: community activist and former East Valley NAACP President Rev. Dr. Helen Hunter. The solidly Republican slate in LD25 consists of Sen. Tyler Pace, who is being challenged by human resources executive Paul Weigel, and Reps. Rusty Bowers and Michelle Udall, who have only one Democratic challenger – Suzanne Hug, owner of Athoria Games in Mesa. The other, smaller parts of Mesa are areas where Democrats control all legislative seats. LD18 Sen. Sean Bowie faces a challenge from Republican Realtor Suzanne Sharer while Reps. Mitzi Epstein and Jennifer Jermaine are facing off with former legislator Bob Robson and retired government computer programmer Don Hawker. In LD 26, Sen. Juan Mendez faces a challenge from Jae Chin, a business owner who said he became a citizen after �leeing South Korea, where he said the government wanted to put him and his family to death. On the House side, incumbent Athena Salmon and newcomer Melody Hernandez, a paramedic, face Republicans Bill Loughrige, a former U.S. Customs agent who owns a security �irm, and Seth “Marcus” Sifuentes, a Navy reservist and �ield engineer in the semiconductor �ield.
County races
All county of�ices are up for grabs Nov. 3 and in race for county supervisor covering most of Mesa, incumbent Republican Steve Chucri is fending off a challenge of activist and lawyer Deedra Abboud. Of special interest to Mesa is the race for County Assessor, which had been occupied by former Mesa resident Paul Pe-
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NEWS
THE MESA TRIBUNE | OCTOBER 11, 2020
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The county Public Health Department's benchmarks for the last two weeks (the most recent are on the top half of this chart) show minimal COVID-19 spread in two of three categories within Mesa Public Schools' boundaries. The data, which are 12 days old when posted every Thursday, prompted the district to begin five-day in-classroom instruction starting tomorrow. (Maricopa County)
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The district, like the others, is not breaking down the student-adult ratios for individual schools for privacy reasons. The dashboard shows: �ive cases in elementary schools, two in junior highs, 19 in high schools and two in district of�ices. Every high school but Dobson reported at least two cases, though high schools have signi�icantly larger student populations. The infected individuals had to quarantine and their school communities were noti�ied. MPS administrators and teachers have gone to great lengths to contain virus spread – sometimes reaching into their own pockets to pay for additional protections beyond those undertaken by the district. School board member Marcie Hutchinson said one principal’s husband bought PVC pipes to create an outside stand for balls, jump ropes and other hand-held recreation equipment so they could be more effectively sprayed with disinfectant after each playground session ends. Teachers who had spent hundreds of dollars of their own money to buy books and artwork for their classrooms bought plastic sheeting to protect them from damage caused by nightly disinfectant spraying. “That’s what teachers do: they �igure out what they need to keep the learning engaged while still trying to deal with CDC regulations,” said Hutchinson, a former teacher herself. Two-thirds of all families in the district have opted to send their children back to campuses, with the rest deciding to continue at-home learning through December. Despite months of work to create safe environments in schools and among students, concerns remain. They range from teacher workloads to
the “learning gap” created by the quick pivot in the spring to less-than-adequate online programs to whether ventilation will be adequate in many classrooms. Adequate ventilation in buildings that have no windows or windows that can’t be opened and other schools with aging HVAC systems have become major concerns now that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has acknowledged that in some cases, infection is possible even if people remain 6 feet apart because droplets carrying the disease can hang in the air. Though the CDC said it is not altering its recommendations as a result of “limited, uncommon circumstances where people with COVID-19 infected others who were more than 6 feet away or shortly after the COVID-19-positive person left an area,” it stated: “In these instances, transmission occurred in poorly ventilated and enclosed spaces that often involved activities that caused heavier breathing, like singing or exercise. Such environments and activities may contribute to the buildup of viruscarrying particles.” MPS had hoped to follow in the steps of Kyrene School District, which purchased high-performance HEPA �iltering units for every classroom in its 25 schools that will clean the air every 35 minutes and capture just over 99 percent of all air particles. Without any money of its own to buy them, the district asked City of Mesa of�icials if they could use some of their federal pandemic-relief money to buy them, but the city said it couldn’t afford the expense. Ventilation also becomes more signi�icant because, as Hutchinson noted, “We’re not going to be able to maintain social distancing in some of the buildings.” Mesa administrators told the Govern-
ing Board Sept. 22 that based on commitments parents have made for the rest of the semester, 29 schools will see 70 to 90 percent of their students returning, 18 will see 60 to 69 percent, 27 will see 50-59 percent and six will see 37 to 49 percent. The forecast of somewhat cooler weather may help, Hutchinson said, since school bus windows can be opened and teachers and principals can conduct some classes or lunchbreaks outside. Still, Hutchinson said she has received phone calls and emails from some parents and even students who are concerned about moving from the two-day truncated model to a full �ive-day in-class format. As for teachers, safety and workload concerns loom large. Unless they qualify for Americans With Disabilities Act protection, teachers either must report for work or resign. Having a concern about getting infected from close contact with colleagues and students is no excuse. Of�icials conceded that some MPS schools do not have enough substitutes. District of�icials also agreed with teachers who complain they are too stretched by being forced to conduct their lessons in class and online at the same time. Board members expressed a concern at the Sept. 22 meeting about elementary teachers having no breaks – even for lunch or to go to the bathroom. Hutchinson said principals for schools where that was a problem have since devised schedules and other solutions so those teachers can get bathroom breaks and a few minutes of alone time for lunch. As for those without enough substitute teachers to call on, Assistant Superintendent Scott Thompson told the board it
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NEWS
THE MESA TRIBUNE | OCTOBER 11, 2020
Solution at hand for baker’s �ight with Mesa BY JIM WALSH Tribune Staff Writer
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roof Bread Co., an artisan bakery specializing in sourdough bread, croissants and English muf�ins, has struggled through some sour moments with Mesa during a zoning dispute over operating a commercial business in a residential zone. But it looks as if Proof owner Jon Przybyl has worked out a solution likely to sweeten his fans, especially bread connoisseurs, by renting space for his homegrown bakery in downtown Mesa. In many ways, Proof, Przybyl and his wife, Amanda, represent the very embodiment of what Mesa wants to create in its reinvigorated downtown. The Przybyls are entrepreneurs and family-owned business owners making a special home-cooked product that can’t be found in the typical shopping center. But getting him to embrace the next stage of Proof’s development by moving into a commercial building has required what Vice Mayor Mark Freeman considers “a nudge’’ and what Przybyl interpreted it more like a shove. After months of neighborhood complaints – �irst about a large commercial truck parked in a driveway, later about cars parked on the road and �inally about employees who did not live at the house – Mesa issued Przybyl a notice of violation in July. That zoning enforcement action left Proof facing a Jan. 15 deadline to move it’s expanding operations from Przybyl’s home, near Val Vista Drive and Brown Road, to his new Main Street location or face a $490 �ine that could be levied repeatedly until he complied. But Lt. Ryan Russell, code compliance director, said no one intends to �ine Przybyl or to put his burgeoning company out of business. “We are going to monitor it. As long as we continue to see progress, we want to continue to be �lexible,’’ Russell said. “We want them to be successful. We gave them four months to �ind a commercial location. I think that’s reasonable.’’ Przybyl, who has turned himself into a star YouTube personality with a series of videos about making bread and the challenges of running a small business, was
The goods that Jon Przybyl has been baking in his home are ordered by phone. He then visits four farmers markets to deliver them, selling others at a vendor's table. (Special to the Tribune)
expecting 18 months to make the move. “We’re excited about the future, albeit extremely nervous about being pushed so hard,’’ Przybyl said on a recent video. “It’s not something that happens overnight,” he said. “Four months is a ridiculously short timeline. We have felt every emotion from total despair to total excitement.’’ He said the new location at 125 W. Main St. is perfect in many ways, including its layout and a roll-up door in the back for shipments. Although his new operation undoubtedly will have a retail component and maybe a coffee shop to go with it, his business depends heavily on sales and deliveries at a series of farmers markets in Mesa, Gilbert and Phoenix. Sourdough fans can order his specialty breads, including some with unique designs, online on his web site and swing by a farmers market to pick up their orders. “It’s fun to make bread,’’ Przybyl said on another video a few months back before his zoning con�lict with Mesa �lared anew. “It’s incredible when people like it and validate it and ask for more, but the rest of it is dif�icult.’’ Przybyl appeals to his many supporters, not only around the Phoenix Metro area, but around the world, for contributions in helping him make the move on his Go-
FundMe page. Proof has developed a following of more than 1,300 fans around the world who enjoy the videos. They have donated more than $62,000 toward Proof’s moving expenses, he said. “I’ve tried to keep it �lexible in my mind. We never thought we would be staying long-term’’ at the home-based bakery, Przybyl said. “I have a �ive-year plan. I have to fast forward two years,’’ he said. “They were giving a lot of assurances that we would have time to transition.’’ Although Przybyl said he has considered moving his businesses downtown for quite a while, he thought in the past that a move now would be premature and too risky. Now, he realizes he has no other choice. Przybyl said he thought he solved each of his neighbors’ complaints, only to �ind he was faced with a new one. He solved the delivery truck issue by storing it elsewhere except when it was needed to drop off supplies or make deliveries. He paved part of his front yard and planted bushes, creating an employee parking lot. In the end, he could not solve the problem of having non-resident employees working at the bakery. “I thought my problem was going away and it �lared back up again,’’ Przybyl said.
“We were looking over our shoulder, wondering when people were going to give us trouble.’’ The issue came to head in July when Russell and Mesa Vice Mayor Mark Freeman, who represents the north Mesa council district, paid Przybyl a visit. Freeman said he has been trying to strike a balance between protecting the rights of Przybyl and other homeowners while assuring that everyone is treated fairly. “A lot of businesses get 15 days to cease and desist,’’ Freeman said, after a violation notice is served. “The city has bent over backwards to help them.’’ Freeman lauded Przybyl for arranging a lease downtown and said he has no doubts that Proof will be a strong addition to the vibe developing in downtown Mesa. “Sometimes, we all need a nudge to get to the next step,’’ Freeman said. “He’s doing the right things and we are embracing him.’’ Mesa Councilwoman Jen Duff said she welcomed Przybyl to downtown Mesa. “It is the type of business we love to have downtown: unique, locally-owned, a mom and pop businesses,’’ Duff said. “We welcome them and we are excited they are here.’’ Duff promised that Mesa will do everything within its authority to help Przybyl succeed and to complete his move downtown. “We’re not here to be the hammer of the law,’’ she said. “We will give them extensions if they need it. We don’t want to put them out.’’ Despite all of the controversy, one thing everyone seems to agree about is that Przybyl makes really good bread. He and his wife were inspired by the wonderful bread they discovered on a trip to Poland, visiting relatives, to become bakers. When they returned home, they discovered that Proof’s original owner, Jared Allen, was selling and moving out of state. Przybyl bought the business and received a crash course from Allen on how to make bread but he also has learned a great deal along the way. “Once they get relocated, I would be one of their best customers,’’ Russell said, comparing Proof’s situation to a previous zoning case that spawned Backyard Taco, a successful central Mesa restaurant. “They make fabulous bread.’’
THE MESA TRIBUNE | OCTOBER 11, 2020
5 PAID ADVERTISEMENT
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NEWS
THE MESA TRIBUNE | OCTOBER 11, 2020
State health director sees no end to restrictions
BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services
T
he state’s top health of�icial testi�ied last week that she cannot say when the current COVID-19 health emergency will be over, when the governor will rescind his orders or when Arizonans will be able to get their lives back. Cara Christ said a decline to minimal levels in the benchmarks her agency created to determine the risk of spread won’t necessarily lead her to recommend to Gov. Doug Ducey that he dissolve his orders and give up the emergency powers because there are other considerations. Christ’s comments came as she was being questioned in a hearing in Maricopa County Superior Court by Ilan Wurman, who represents more than 100 owners of bars that remain unable to reopen and operate the way they used to due to the Ducey-declared emergency. Wurman is trying to convince Judge Pamela Gates that the restrictions on bars make no sense, especially with other businesses, including restaurants that serve
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tersen until 2018, when he was arrested in a multi-state baby adoption scheme. Appointed earlier this year to �ill out the remainder of his term was former Gilbert Councilman Eddie Cook, who is now seeking a full four-year term with Democrat Aaron Connor trying to deny him that opportunity.
MPS school board
The MPS Governing Board will be reconstituted in January since board President Elaine Miner and member Steven Peterson are not seeking another term, leaving only incumbent Kiana Maria Sears seeking reelection. With three open seats, Sears has a lot of company: Five other candidates are in the running. They include CPA and business executive Richard Crandall, who served on the board from 2005-08 and is the former director of education in Wyoming; Lara Ellingson, a mother of four children in Mesa schools and a former fulltime teacher and a current
alcoholic beverages, are allow to be open. So far, legal challenges to closures have been fruitless. The Arizona Supreme Court last week rejected even hearing an appeal by landlords from Ducey’s ban on evictions, which ends Oct. 31. Ducey’s of�ice noted there is a federal ban on evictions through the rest of the year. What currently makes any disease an emergency is that it could overwhelm hospitals. That Christ said, is why Ducey invoked his closure orders in March. At some point, though, she said that won’t be the case. “That would change with COVID-19 as we continue in this pandemic,’’ Christ said. “And then it would just be like living with the in�luenza,’’ she continued. “At that point, it wouldn’t be a public health emergency anymore.’’ Christ said she had no idea when restrictions on businesses might end. “That’s hard to predict now because we learn new things every day,’’ she testi�ied. One issue in the case is how long Ducey can exercise his emergency authority.
MPS substitute teacher; Vikki Johnson, a physician liaison for her family’s practice, Advanced Hearing Group and graduate of Mesa schools who has two children attending them; Joseph O’Reilly, director of the Arizona State University Decision Center for Educational Excellence who and retired 30-year director of MPS’s Research and Evaluation Department and Student Achievement Support; and Cara Lee Schnepf Steiner, a retired MPS teacher and elementary school principal who is department chair of Central Arizona College’s Associate of Arts in Elementary Education & Professor of Teacher Preparation Program. The oft-overlooked Maricopa County Community College District Governing Board also offers Mesa voters a race. Ahwatukee educator Dr. Linda Thor, the former 20-year president of Rio Salado College, is facing former Queen Creek cosmetology instructor Shelli Boggs, who has gained some notoriety for posing for photos with a semi-automatic assault ri�le. Boggs also served on the governing board of the East Valley Institute of Technology. Boggs and Thor are competing for an at-
Wurman pointed out the health department has established “benchmarks’’ to determine the risk of spread of the virus. These look at three issues: the number of cases per 100,000 residents, the percent of tests for the virus that come back positive, and the percent of patients showing up in hospital emergency rooms with COVID-like symptoms. Each of those can be listed as having a substantial, moderate or minimal risk of spread. Wurman wanted to know at what point those benchmarks will get to a point when the emergency will be over. “It’s a little bit dif�icult,’’ Christ responded. “Those benchmarks weren’t established to determine an end to the public health emergency,’’ she said. “They were really established to set benchmarks for businesses to be able to reopen and schools to go back into session.’’ Wurman told her to assume there will be no vaccine, no “therapeutic’’ to effectively treat the disease and no “herd immunity’’ where enough people have contracted the virus, survived and now have antibodies. Given all that, Wurman asked Christ
large seat on the seven-member community college board.
Weed and taxes
Votes also will decide the fate of two propositions. The Smart and Safe Arizona Act, or Proposition 207, would legalize the possession and recreational use of marijuana for adults and impose a 16.0 percent tax on sales. According to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, the proposition would generate an estimated annual $166 million in revenue from tax and licensing fees. Supporters include former Gov. John Fife Symington, Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice and Arizona Dispensaries Association. There were more groups opposed to the measure, which include Gov. Doug Ducey, the Yavapai County Attorney, the National Drug and Alcohol Screening Association, Saddle Mountain Uni�ied School District in Litch�ield Park, U.S. Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Peoria, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Proposition 208, or the Invest in Edu-
when she would be willing to recommend Ducey rescind his emergency orders. “If we were consistently at very, very low cases, if CLI (COVID-like illnesses) stayed low and the percent positivity remains low, below that 3 percent, we may make that recommendation,’’ she responded. But no promises. “The public health emergency is really protecting our health care system, making sure we keep as few people from getting sick or dying and having access to those resources than it is just eradicating the disease,’’ she said. Christ conceded that she could not say whether a single case of coronavirus had been traced to a bar in Arizona. But she said that’s not because none has happened. But the health director said she remains convinced that the risk of spread is higher at bars than at other businesses. Some of it, she said, has to do with lack of ventilation indoors. “There are ways that that can be increased,’’ Christ said. “But alcohol does tend to affect one’s ability to physically distance and make good decisions.’’ cation Act, would impose a tax on part of the income of high earners to help pay for teacher salaries, classroom support staff salaries teacher mentoring and retention programs and other education programs. If passed, a 3.5 percent surcharge would be added to the existing income tax of 4.5 percent for single �ilers earning over $250,000 a year and couples earning over $500,000 annually. Only the income over those amounts would be subject to the tax. The Joint Legislative Committee estimated the new surcharge would generate $827 million a year. Those that support the proposition include the Gilbert Education Association, Higley Education Association, Children’s Action Alliance, United for Education and Mesa Education Association. Opponents include Ducey, state Treasurer Kimberly Yee, Goldwater Institute, Arizona Tax Research Association, Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Greater Phoenix Chamber and Arizona Small Business Association.
GOT NEWS? Contact Paul Maryniak at 480-898-5647 or pmaryniak@timespublications.com
THE MESA TRIBUNE | OCTOBER 11, 2020
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would soon get a request to raise substitute pay to attract more subs. Simultaneously teaching in-class and online aas well as having time to prepare lessons remain problems. “I constantly feel like I’m hanging on by a thread and the day is fast approaching when a lot of people will be too overworked and run down to continue,” one teacher told the board last month. “I cannot continue to be all things to all students in all learning models,” she said.
“I’m exhausted and the job I’m currently doing is not sustainable.” Thompson conceded the “dual modality” of teaching online and in class simultaneously “is a big concern,” telling the board it also impacts the quality of education students receive. Noting many teachers, especially in high schools, have complex class schedules, he said: “This is a new model and we need to provide more training on how to be successful in this model and to provide support for them to be successful in this model.”
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THE MESA TRIBUNE | OCTOBER 11, 2020
Pandemic leads Mesa theater to offer online classes
TRIBUNE NEWS STAFF
T
imes are tough for live theater. From the Great White Way to community nonpro�its, theaters have been closed since the onset of the pandemic. Among the victims is the Laughing Pig Theatre in Mesa, a nonpro�it that bills itself as “a group of passionate, educated artists who believe in the creative and collaborative spirit of performance.” With no end in sight for the virus-enforced closure, Laughing Pig Theatre Executive and Artistic Director Taylor Moschetti has come up with a plan to connect young and old thespians with the stage – virtually, of course. She has designed a whole curriculum of 6-8 online classes “to
BOND ���� ���� 1
provide a creative outlet for those who are unable to attend classes in person whether it be due to scheduling or the restrictions of our public health crisis.” “Support for arts education in Arizona has always been threadbare but the pandemic only exacerbated that,” Moschetti said. “I wanted a program that allowed anyone, kids or adults, to improve themselves without risking their health.” Moschetti also hopes the program will provide a bit of �inancial relief. “We have been shut down since March, but we typically have four fully produced shows a year as well as one or two short play events written by local playwrights and a handful of staged readings,” she explained. “Our
inadequate. “That was too good of a deal to walk away from,’’ Giles said, alluding to the $62 million in reimbursements being steered to Mesa by the Maricopa Association of Governments, a regional planning agency. “This is going to be done over 20 years. It would have been shortsighted to say, because of the recession, we are not going forward,’’ Giles said. “The economy is going to recover. Hopefully, it will recover fairly quickly.’’ He said southeast Mesa has roads that do not connect to each other and Mesa needs to connect major arterial roads with Arizona 24. At least three projects in the bond issue will create a variety of connections to the new freeway, which will run east from it’s northern terminus with Ray Road to Signal Butte, vastly improving the �low of traf�ic between Mesa and Queen Creek. “It’s really a long-term play. If we don’t make plans now, we will be sorry later,’’ Giles said. “It will serve as a monument to government dysfunction if we don’t connect our streets’’ to the new freeway. The burden on taxpayers is estimated at $18 per $100,000 of tax valuation, with the cost rising to $25.75 per $143,000 of
classes typically run all year long and we offer youth camps during most breaks.” Laughing Pig Theatre was founded in 2017 and quickly integrated itself in the Valley’s underground theater scene. It focuses on the production of new and ground-breaking work from playwrights like Rachel Lynett, Darcy Parker Bruce, and MJ Kaufman and boast that they are “proud to be an anti-racist, LGBTQIA+ friendly theatre for social change for artists of all ages and abilities.” Moschetti, who is also a full-time drama teacher for BASIS Education, said she was inspired to create the program after speaking with other educators about how
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Workshops, lessons and productions at Laughing Pig Theater have been impossible since nonessential businesses were closed in March, so the Mesa venue is offering a vast array of online lessons. (Special to the Tribune)
The red balloon points to the new Arizona 24 that will ultimately link a number of major arterials in southeast Mesa. To help get them built, city officials are asking voters to approve a $100 million bond issue. (Special to
the Tribune)
tax valuation and $45 per $250,000 of tax valuation. “We can support this ongoing investment in our city and leverage $62 million regional funds at the same time. It’s a �iscally responsible approach and a great return on investment that allows Mesa to continue to thrive and be an excellent place in which to live and do business,’’ Harrison wrote in her “pro’’ argument. The bond issue appears to have no formal opposition. There are no “no’’ argu-
ments �iled for the election pamphlet. Overall, the bond issue includes several critical projects, including the widening of Signal Butte Road into a major connector with Arizona 24. Signal Butte would be four lanes between Williams Field and Pecos Roads, serving as a direct connection to State Route 24. Another project aimed at reducing highway congestion would be the widening of Williams Field Road to six lanes as another connection to Arizona 24.
Eventually, this project would build a new entrance to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, a focus of Mesa’s efforts to attract additional high-paying jobs through the Skybridge project and other development. Giles said another East Mesa project that likely would have a major impact on residents is the widening of Val Vista Drive between U.S. 60 and Pueblo, reducing traf�ic congestion in a busy area. Val Vista would be three lanes in each direction between Southern Avenue and the freeway, with right turn lanes also added to improve traf�ic �low. The least speci�ic item on the bond issue calls for $20 million in reimbursed funds being devoted to the expansion to bicycle paths and trails, as funds are available. Giles, an avid bicyclist, said the improvements are far enough off to keep the plan �lexible, so that city of�icials can meet with residents and determine what improvements they would like. Mesa has been gradually building a network of bicycle paths, with many of them along canals or the Salt River. One prime example is along Rio Salado Parkway and the Salt, near Sloan Park and Mesa Riverview. Bicycle paths and other alternative forms of transportation are historically popular with residents as a quality of life improvement.
THE MESA TRIBUNE | OCTOBER 11, 2020
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AROUND MESA
$2.6M awarded to MCC for programs that help students
The U.S. Department of Education has awarded Mesa Community College two TRIO Student Support Services grants totaling $2,618,000 over five years to fund the college’s TRIO program, which provides services for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. One grant continues funding for the existing program that serves 140 students and a second will expand services to another 120 participants pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering or math. The program fosters “a campus climate in which limited English proficient students, historically underrepresented students, students with disabilities, homeless students, and other disconnected students feel encouraged to pursue two- and four-year degrees,” the college said in a release. “We are excited to be able to continue providing the wraparound support our students need to succeed, especially during this time when even more of our students are struggling to continue their education,” said Lydia Perez, program manager. Both grants help college students who are low income, those whose parents do not have a fouryear college degree or students with disabilities. The array of services the grants provide include academic tutoring, financial aid advice, career and college mentoring, help in choosing courses and other assistance.
Biggs, Stanton to speak at Statespersons confab
From health care and trade to infrastructure and immigration reform, Arizona Congressmen Andy Biggs and Greg Stanton will share their plans
PIG ���� ���� 8
the arts programs at their schools had been affected. She and her team then recruited teaching artists from across the state to put on specialized courses on movement, sketch writing, meditative painting, improvisation, acting with developmental disabilities and more. Some instructors are working professionals in the Valley theatre scene while others were met through the Molly Blank Fund ASU Gammage Teaching Artist Program, which Moschetti and her husband and co-founder Tony Moschetti completed earlier this year. The hour-long classes will be held over Zoom once a week and begin Oct. 25. Moschetti’s course catalog is at laughingpigtheatre.org.
for moving Arizona forward at the PHX East Valley Statespersons’ Event 10:30 a.m. to noon Oct. 21 via Zoom. The event will feature an update on business activity in the burgeoning the East Valley and a discussion moderated by Fox 10 anchor John Hook. Afterward, guests will have an opportunity to ask questions on a wide range of issues. “This is a marvelous opportunity to get a perspective and update from our elected leaders on both sides of the aisle,” said Denny Barney, partnership president and CEO. The event is presented by PHX East Valley Partnership and the East Valley Chambers of Commerce Alliance and sponsored by APS. There is no charge to attend. For more information and to register, call 480532-0641 or visit phxeastvalley.com.
Hatfield Medical Group will offer free Medicare lessons
East Valley-based Hatfield Medical Group will hold free Medicare 101 online sessions to help people learn Medicare basics. The live virtual class will provide information about Traditional Medicare vs. Medicare Advantage, Medicare Parts A and B, special enrollment requirements and options and the difference between Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement insurance plans. Sessions are at noon Oct. 13 and Oct. 20 and at 4 p.m. Oct. 20. To register: 480-216-3280 or email chrisf@smileinsgroup.com.
Submit your releases to pmaryniak@ timespublications.com
GOT NEWS? Contact Paul Maryniak at 480-898-5647 or pmaryniak@ timespublications.com
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NEWS
THE MESA TRIBUNE | OCTOBER 11, 2020
Land donations boost ASU, help students BY GARY NELSON Tribune Contributor
O
kay, here’s the pitch: Donate real estate to Arizona State University and you, too, can help save Planet Earth. That’s how it works, at least in a roundabout way, with one ASU student who bene�itted from a gift to the university by getting an international perspective on the earth’s environmental problems while studying at a Dutch university. Cassandra Savel, a native of Tucson, is graduating in December with a bachelor of science degree in sustainability. She spent the spring 2019 semester at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands thanks to the Thelma G. Wolff International Scholarship, established after the sale of a donated vacation home in Pinetop-Lakeside, Ariz. “I’m really interested in sustainable development and sustainable energy in addition to community impact and outreach,” Savel said. She’s already putting her expertise to work as an intern in the corporate social responsibility department of ON Semi-
conductor in Phoenix, hoping for full-time work there after graduation. Not every gift of real estate to the university has such a direct personal impact on a student, but every gift helps. The donations are actually handled through the ASU Foundation, a separate charitable entity that funnels its proceeds to the university itself. Brad Grannis, real estate portfolio manager for the foundation, noted that without a donation of land there might not even have been an ASU. The original 20 acres of pasture land for what then called the Territorial Normal School was a gift in 1885 from George and Martha Wilson of Tempe. The school opened a year later. Grannis began his stint with the foundation in 2015. Since then it has received two single-family homes, a vacation home, a condo, a family ranch, three tracts of vacant land totaling 445 acres, two warehouses and an of�ice property. Total proceeds for the university are dif�icult to quantify, Grannis said. “It would be in the millions of dollars but we don’t have an exact number.”
On occasion the properties are not outright gifts, but are sold to the foundation at a discounted price. The difference between the sale price and the appraisal counts as a gift in the eyes of the IRS. That was the procedure with the warehouses. “One of them appraised for $3.125 million,” Grannis said. “We gave them $2 million. We improved the property, we �ixed it up and we sold it and we made $1.5 million in pro�it in about a two-and-a-halfyear hold.” Part of Grannis’ job is �iguring out when to sell the properties. “Right now for the past several years everything has gone up,” he said. “If I can add value and get that money out quickly, I will do that.” On the other hand, he said, during a down real estate cycle he probably would try to generate income from the properties while waiting for a market rebound. On occasion Grannis actually will look a gift horse in the mouth. “I’ve actually done some due diligence on some retail in Georgia,” he said. “I just
didn’t know enough about the market and didn’t feel comfortable. They wanted some cash on top of it and we didn’t think it was the best use of our funds.” The real estate market during the COVID-19 pandemic has been a mixed bag, he said. “Single-family residential has just gone crazy. It’s gone nowhere but up and we’ve got a lot of people coming in from areas where Phoenix looks a little more stable.” The industrial market also is strong but “obviously hospitality and retail are taking a hit,” Grannis said. Grannis said if someone doesn’t want to deal with a real estate sale during the pandemic there could be advantages in donating property. “There’s a lot of different ways that we can accept gifts of real estate,” he said. For Savel, that may all be behind-thescenes stuff. For her, the bottom line was a scintillating semester abroad and a broader view of her chosen career in sustainability. “I’m glad I got that international perspective because it’s an international challenge that we’re facing,” she said.
2012 and the Area Agency on Aging board from 2007 to 2012. He is a former president of the Arizona Medical Association, serving from 20062007, and is currently one of four delegates for the Arizona Medical Association to the American Medical Association. He also chairs the Private Practice Physicians’ Congress at the AMA House of Delegates. He has written several books, along with many articles for national publication, hosts his own radio show and has testi�ied in front of Congress. Jasser has become known nationally and internationally as an activist for Muslim reform though his work as founder and president of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, a counter-ideology, counter-terrorism national security organization in Phoenix. He co-founded in 2015 the Muslim Reform Movement, a coalition of pro-liberty Muslim reform-minded organizations based in the United States, Canada and Europe that rejects interpretations of Islam that call for any violence, social injustice
or politicization of the faith. The parade will start at University and Center Streets and head south to 1st St. Details on the parade route and participating entries are at evvp.org and its Facebook page at facebook.com/EastValleyVeteransParade. East Valley residents can also watch for details in the Mesa Tribune. When the annual Mesa Veterans Parade fell victim to necessary budget cuts in 2006, local residents Gerry Walker and Frank “Gunny” Alger spoke out on behalf of the 40-year-old Mesa tradition. Walker said, “There will be a Veterans Day parade if it is only me marching down the street with Frank watching.” The Marine Corps League Saguaro Chapter in Mesa took the lead and the Mesa Veterans Parade Association was formed. In 2013, the all-volunteer organization changed its name to the East Valley Veterans Parade Association to re�lect the participation of parade entrants and sponsors from most East Valley communities. Donations to this 501c3 nonpro�it organization are tax-deductible.
EV Veterans Parade names grand marshal TRIBUNE NEWS STAFF
R
e�lecting this year’s East Valley Veterans Parade theme of “Celebrating Lives of Service,” Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser has been named as the Grand Marshal of the Nov. 11 event. This year’s parade format will be “in reverse” with spectators forming the parade driving past 25 to 30 of the annual parades most popular entries. The Parade Association said it selected Jasser “as a model of a life spent in service to his country and his fellow man.” Jasser, now in private practice in Phoenix, served as a medical of�icer in the Navy for 11 years, leaving the service as a lieutenant commander in 1999. While in the Navy, he received the Meritorious Service Medal and Navy Achievement Medal. He was Chief of Residents at Bethesda Naval Hospital and was selected to be Staff Internist at the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court. He was the only physician on duty, along with four corpsmen, during the 1998 attack on the U.S. Capitol and he and his
DR. M. ZUHDI JASSER
corpsmen provided treated the wounded. Jasser has specialized in internal medicine and nuclear cardiology in private practice since 1999 after �inishing his Navy service. He is a bioethicist and has provided bioethics education and consultation for Banner Health since 2003. He served on the Maricopa County Board of Health 2004-
THE MESA TRIBUNE | OCTOBER 11, 2020
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Mesa artist in unique Heard Museum show DAVID M. BROWN Tribune Contributor
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rad Kahlhamer of Mesa is among the 24 artists participating in “Larger Than Memory: Contemporary Art from Indigenous North America,” at the Heard Museum in Phoenix. Co-curated by Diana Pardue and Erin Joyce, this is the largest contemporary art exhibition ever at the museum, founded by Dwight and Maie Heard in 1929 to advance American Indian art and celebrate Indigenous peoples. Including artists from the United States and Canada, “Larger Than Memory” features 40 works in a variety of mediums created during the last 20 years. Native cultures represented include Salish, Kootenai, Lakota, Chemehuevi, Cherokee, Zagime Anishinabek, Choctaw and Seminole. “As we began to receive the artwork for this exhibition, I was reminded once again that photographs of works of art serve an essential purpose, but nothing can truly replace the experience of actually seeing them,” said Pardue, the chief curator. “As we began to install the exhibit, I was amazed at the skill, the size of some of the works, and the concepts and critical thinking that went into the planning and creation of each.” Kahlhamer, who has lived in Mesa for two years, recalled, “I have always been attracted and inspired by makers and doers. “My father was a master carpenter in Tucson and I grew up in a maker’s environment. It was the same with the music I heard in Tucson: mariachi, country and rock on the radio. These were the foundational experiences of which my art practice grew out of.” Three of Kahlhamer’s works are on exhibit: “Untitled,” 2019, gouache, ink on
Mesa artist Brad Kahlhamer has presented his work at many art shows, as he did above in New York City. (Special to the Tribune)
paper; “The Standard,” 2019, watercolor, coffee, ink on paper; and “36 Hours in Gallup,” 2019, watercolor, ink on paper. The exhibition encourages new ways of understanding Indigenous art, explained Heard Museum Dickey Family Director and CEO David Roche. “‘Larger Than Memory’ comes at a pivotal time in the global contemporary art world,” he said. “The exhibition presents artists . . . engaging with critical dialogues that touch all of our lives.” Many of the works consider the colonial power structures and bureaucratic strictures that have had lasting impacts on Indigenous communities, Joyce explained. “These include structural racism, sexism and the environmental crisis that has evolved at the hands of late-stage capitalism. These systems not only affect communities but also the environment.” Kahlhamer was adopted in Tucson from
a Native American family. His adoptive family moved from Arizona to Wisconsin in 1969; there he received a B.F.A from The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh in 1980. In 1985, he moved to New York City, and now he shares time between there and Tucson. “I started coming back down to Arizona for trips after high school,” he recalled. “The frequency of returns increased to Mesa and the Superstitions in ’99 when my parents moved to the trailer park where I am living and working in the same doublewide.” In Tucson, he was �irst in�luenced by the popular Ted Degrazia and, in New York, Art Spiegelman, the author of “Maus,” who was a colleague at Topps Chewing Gum, known for its trading cards and other collectibles. He worked on borders and packaging. “I can sometimes pick my work out when I see the cards at different swap meets.”
Later, in New York City, he encountered numerous in�luences from museums and the streets: music, painting and culture. Neo-Expressionism, a movement popular in New York City during the 1980s, was one of these. His artwork, “Untitled,” is representative of this fusion style. “It’s an impure hybrid of Kokopelli imagery mixed with expressive paint handling,” he said. “My adult life in New York City was an explosion of new experiences. My creative life and in�luences grew exponentially. I was fully immersed into downtown creative culture,” he said, noting that he hopes the show will travel to the East Coast, speci�ically New York City. His work also expresses the challenges of a diverse background. He often explores his “third place,” or the “meeting point of opposing personal histories.” “I was adopted in Tucson and was raised in a blue-collar family. I remember a worker asking whose kid I was at one of my dad’s job sites,” he explained. “And, I had many awkward encounters in the small Midwestern town I moved to in my teens.” Kahlhamer said “Larger Than Memory” connects his art with early in�luences. “This is a particularly meaningful inclusion for me, as much of my work is inspired by the Heard Museum’s tremendous foundational collection,” he said. “As I said at the members’ opening, ‘The works collectively bridge and transport ancient energies into new realms.’” For more information and to purchase tickets for “Larger Than Memory,” see heard.org/larger-than-memory/. During regular museum hours, call 602-2528840. Children 5 and under are free as are American Indians, with tribal I.D. For information on Brad Kahlhamer: see bradkahlhamer.net.
GOT NEWS? Contact Paul Maryniak at 480-898-5647 or pmaryniak@timespublications.com
THE MESA TRIBUNE | OCTOBER 11, 2020
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Memory loss clinic launches outpatient program BY THE SUMMIT AT SUNLAND SPRINGS
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or too long, memory loss has been seen as a natural and unavoidable part of aging. Fortunately, Valley residents now have an invaluable resource in fighting back against cognitive decline. The Summit at Sunland Springs, under the medical direction of A Mind for All Seasons, recently announced the opening of their memory care services to out- Summit at Sunland Springs takes a multifactorial approach to patients, allowing participants to remain helping people with memory loss that includes physical activity. in their homes while receiving care. Research by Dr. Dale Bredesen uses a mul- and hormone imbalances and address the root tifactorial approach that leverages how diet, causes of dementia rather than masking the physical activity, nutrients, hormones, and tox- symptoms. The program includes a personalized treatic exposures contribute to cognitive decline, and how those factors can be adjusted to slow, ment summary, weekly support group, brain stop, and even reverse the effects of dementia. training exercises, and nutrition plan. A memThis led to the creation of The Enhance Proto- ory coach facilitates with an easy-to-follow daily checklist that addresses the personal faccol by A Mind for All Seasons. The Enhance Protocol will be available to 10 tors causing the cognitive decline. individuals this October as part of a six-month For more information, call 480-907-0331, group treatment. visit thesummitaz.com or email The program will include lab panels that lori@thesummitaz.com. identify missing nutrients, minerals, toxins
from Page 28
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Incoming Mesa bakery to bring vegan doughnuts BY KENZEL WILLIAMS Tribune Contributor
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onny and Jocelyn DeCarlo spent a lot of time searching for the best vegan doughnuts in the Valley before they eventually decided to take matters into their own hands. They’re making them themselves. They hope to open SoJo’s Donuts on the southwest corner of Alma School and Guadalupe roads in Mesa later this month. Using the �irst two letters of their �irst names for the bakery’s name, the couple will sell vegan specialty doughnuts and pastries as well as cakes and a breakfast sandwich with veggie bacon or veggie ham that can be topped onto a donut for an extra buck. Setting up shop in Mesa was a no brainer. Sonny has long felt a need for more vegan options in Mesa. He found this out while working at Green, a vegan restau-
rant in Tempe. “Anytime people would walk in, they would say ‘We need something like this in Mesa,’” said Sonny. “That’s all you would hear.” Before the two met, Jocelyn trained at the French Pastry School in Chicago, Illinois. When she �inished, she moved back to the Valley to be closer to her family and got a job as a bartender at the Palo Verde Lounge. There, she met Sonny, who became a regular. Five years after their �irst encounter, they’re getting ready to open SoJo’s Donuts in what was once the home of other bakeries in a strip mall anchored by a Safeway supermarket. “We couldn’t pass up the opportunity,” said Jocelyn DeCarlo. “The place was fully built out.”
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Jocelyn and Sonny DeCarlo hope to open SoJo's Bakery soon on the southwest corner of Alma School and Guadalupe roads in Mesa. (Kenzel Williams/Tribune Contributor)
EV cities host conference on pandemic recovery BY ALEXIS GARIBAY Tribune Contributor
S
mall businesses in the East Valley are gaining more access to support and resources as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be an economic drain but local government needs to pay more attention to businesses in under-served communities. That was the message in a two-day conference hosted by Mesa, Queen Creek and Gilbert, which received a grant from the National League of Cities’ First-Tier Suburbs Council to hold the virtual Small Business Economic Resiliency Conference. The conference focused on identifying new strategies and practices for supporting small businesses, developing resiliency and promoting equity and inclusion in small-business recovery. Theory Into Practice Strategies, an eco-
nomic development consulting �irm, said there was a reason the three East Valley communities was selected to host the event. “They demonstrated a clear track record of collaboration as well as the topic they wanted to focus in on was small business and economic resiliency,” said Jeff Marcell, TIP Strategies senior partner. TIP Strategies wanted to show smallbusiness owners the resources that are becoming available to ensure their success as they navigate the challenges created by the pandemic. GoDaddy, a service that helps businesses build their online platform, explained its Venture Forward program, which monitor the impact of entrepreneurs and their ventures on the economy. “We measure these ventures through two different lenses. The �irst one is how many of them are there per 100 people in a ZIP code, county or city region, and the second is how active are the ventures across a
number of metrics,” said Jeremy Hartman, vice president of Venture Forward. Empower is another GoDaddy program that provides entrepreneurs in underserved communities with as training, tools and networking. “We are very intentional that we are serving a speci�ic need in helping those whose needs aren’t being met by current resources,” said Stacy Cline, Empower’s director corporate social responsibility and sustainability. In Arizona, roughly 550,000 small businesses with fewer than 500 employees each are responsible for providing 44.5 percent of all private sector jobs, according to the Arizona Commerce Authority. “Something else we thought was very interesting was that 27 percent of the $21 billion that Arizona exports is from your small businesses,” said Jenn Todd-Goynes, a consultant for TIP Strategies. These establishments provide the nec-
essary building blocks to a stable economy, she said, and in the pandemic, they need help more than ever. Black- and Latinx-owned businesses received less support, according to Todd-Goynes. “Currently we’ve been looking a lot at racial equity, entrepreneurship and at the number of Black- owned businesses that are closing right now because of a lack in access to capital,” said Jenn Steinfeld, director of entrepreneurship and economic development. Assistance programs need to start “transitioning from focusing your economic program and your support, relief and recovery tools from being open to all businesses to speci�ically targeting under-resourced business owners and population,” said Todd-Goynes. The second day of the conference cen-
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THE MESA TRIBUNE | OCTOBER 11, 2020
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High court denies eviction ban appeal HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services
T
he state’s high court won’t overturn the order by Gov. Doug Ducey blocking residential evictions. In a brief order last week, the justices spurned a request by the Arizona Multihousing Association to determine if the governor could legally stop landlords from ousting tenants who have not been paying their rent because of COVID-19. The ruling does not resolve the legal claims by the landlord group about the scope of the governor’s emergency powers. That would take a full-blown trial, something that could take weeks, if not months. In fact, that’s exactly what the order signed by Chief Justice Robert Brutinel suggested. But it does mean that Ducey’s order, originally issued in March, will remain undisturbed through at least the end of October when it is scheduled to expire – assuming the governor does not extend it as he did in July. Courtney Gilstrap LeVinus, president of the landlord group, pronounced herself “shocked and disappointed’’ that the high
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SoJo’s Donuts will have the classic doughnuts one would expect at a regular bakery, but they’ll also be experimenting with new recipes. Jocelyn suggests that customers try their maple bacon, which includes rice paper bacon that will be made in-house. They will also have a prickly-pear doughnut shaped like a cactus and a �laming hot “Peetos” doughnut – a vegan version of Cheetos.
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tered around businesses within Mesa, Queen Creek and Gilbert that have �irsthand experience of the impact of COVID-19. Adam Small, founder of Urbix Resources in Mesa, explained the changes that were
court won’t hear the case. She said the ruling will have consequences not only for those who own rental properties but for the whole economy. “We can fully expect to see a rental home foreclosure avalanche in the months to come, or certainly in the beginning of 2021,” LeVinus said. The only relief, she said, could come from $100 million that is supposed to be used for eviction relief. But LeVinus said only about $18 million has actually been distributed since the pandemic began. There was no immediate comment from the governor on either the order or whether he intends to let it expire as scheduled at the end of the month. But even if the justices had taken up the case and overruled the governor, it would have had no immediate effect. Last month the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued its own anti-eviction order which runs through the end of the year. The landlords claim the governor lacks the constitutional authority to tell constables around the state not to process eviction orders, even those issued legally by judges. They also contend that the gubernato-
rial directive is violating both the property rights of landowners as well as their right to enter into contracts. In seeking review, the landlords acknowledged that the governor can exercise certain powers in a public health emergency but said unilaterally barring landlords from enforcing the terms of lawful lease agreements created “an inde�inite economic welfare and redistribution program, rather than a public health measure to contain the COVID-19 contagion.’’ The way the landlords �igure it, by the time the order expires – assuming it is not renewed – it will have been 221 days that tenants have not had to pay rent. Economist Elliott Pollack, in a study done for the Arizona Multihousing Association, �igures that if just 1 percent of the more than 919,000 Arizona households who rent did not make payments over a seven-month period that means a loss of more than $67.7 million. Take that rent-withholding �igure to 15 percent, he said, and the foregone revenues top $1 billion. Pollack said there also is a ripple effect as landlords cannot pay their employees, contractors and suppliers.
But the issue before the court dealt only with the legal questions. Ducey said there is a direct link between his order and public health. “The �ight against evictions is key in slowing the spread of the virus,’’ wrote Brett Johnson, the private attorney retained by the governor to defend him in all the litigation over the COVID-19 restrictions he has imposed. “The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned that homeless shelters are often crowded, making social distancing dif�icult, and that homeless can exacerbate and amplify the spread of COVID-19.’’ In a hearing earlier this year on a separate challenge to the governor’s order, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Christopher Coury the evidence “demonstrates reality that Arizona leaders and the general population perceived COVID-19 to be an emergent problem and a virus to which swift and urgent attention was required.’’ The lawyers in that case are seeking review by the state Court of Appeals. But they also asked the Supreme Court to bypass that step and consider the case now, something the justices refused to do.
made in his business in order to break through the barriers of the pandemic. “Knowing that we’re going to hit a certain revenue goal 12 to 18 months from now, now that’s pushed back 6 to 12 months; that affects our ability to pay payroll,” said Small. His company manufacturers graphite, graphene and energy storage
products. Small said the City of Mesa helped Urbiz �ind a suitable location and that it has showed continuous support throughout the process. “Having Mesa there to kind of hold our hand and not necessarily judge us or be skeptical of our ability to run a business,
but understand that we are very good at what we do. We’re not good at this stuff, which is help us get our building up and running,” said Small. The city is continuously scouting for innovative ideas that will further help the small business community when the pandemic subsides.
“It’s fun to try different things, especially now that we have the shop,” said Sonny. “We can just do what we want.” The couple will also provide sugar-free and gluten-free options on their menu. While the main goal of this business is to sell doughnuts, the DeCarlos are also looking to showcase local art around their space. “We have so many friends that do great art,” said Sonny DeCarlo. “It would be nice to bring that in such an open environment.”
They hope to do an art exchange when they open. Customers will be able to take art pieces from the wall, but in return, they will have to put one of their own pieces. They are not when they will start doing this because they’re cautious about the COVID pandemic. They’re also skipping a grand opening to avoid spreading the virus. “Once things get kind of back to normal, we’ll do a second grand opening,” said Jocelyn DeCarlo.
GOT NEWS?
SoJo’s will brew coffee from Alchemy Roasters, which is also based in Mesa. The DeCarlos hope to keep their resources as local as they can. With the bakery, Sonny and Jocelyn hope to spread happiness – and doughnuts – to as many people as possible throughout Mesa and the Valley. “Spread vegan everywhere,” said Sonny DeCarlo. “We don’t need to just keep it in Tempe and Phoenix.” Information: sojosdonuts.com
Contact Paul Maryniak at 480-898-5647 or pmaryniak@timespublications.com
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THE MESA TRIBUNE | OCTOBER 11, 2020
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THE MESA TRIBUNE | OCTOBER 11, 2020
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Showing up to vote isn’t good enough BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ Tribune Columnist
A
bout now in the biennial election cycle, you’ve heard a few thousand times the old chestnut about voting being “your civic duty.” You know the cliche: Generations of Americans died to protect your right to vote. Thus, you must cast your ballot. I disagree. Let me explain. Yes, much blood has been shed to protect your right to vote. And yes, I view voting as fundamental, akin to a sacred act for all of us who enjoy the bene�its of democracy. That’s precisely why many of you ought to stay home this election and let the rest of us – who have taken the time to vet the candidates and measures on the ballot – handle it this go-round. If voting is as important as we all seem to believe, then merely showing up isn’t
good enough. Here I’ll quote my dad, who helped me get my �irst summer job in the Florida paint factory where he made a living. Every morning on the way in, he reminded me, “You’ve got to put in the effort. Showing up isn’t good enough.” As much as I loathe the presidential choices atop the ballot in 2020, spending a few hours boning up before Nov. 3 is not nearly as unpleasant as earning three bucks an hour to tote 50-pound bags of pigment around a dusty Miami warehouse on a humid 97-degree afternoon. Trust me on that. Of course, in this age of bitter partisanship and straight-ticket voting, most of you need to know nothing more than a candidate’s party to make a choice. That means you have even less work to do: All you need to study is a few non-partisan school board races, maybe a mayoral election, a handful of ballot measures and research a few judges and justices.
Personally, as someone with no love for either political party, I don’t mind thinking through all the races. Probably the same goes for the other 1.3 million registered Arizona voters who chose “No Party” as their registration. Sure, it’s more work, but what are we talking about here, maybe a morning? It’s the least you can do for democracy. At my house, the toughest choice will be the presidential race, where I continue to debate the wisdom of declaring conscientious objector status and withholding my vote entirely. That feels more appropriate than my other logical options: Choosing Jo Jorgenson, the Libertarian candidate, who has no chance to win and whom I could not pick out of a police lineup or writing in one of the 350 million Americans I believe would make a better President than either Donald Trump or Joe Biden. Unlike Muhammad Ali, who spent nearly four years in boxing exile and risked
prison for refusing to serve in Vietnam, my conscientious objector choice would not be based on my religious beliefs. Ali, who took Cassius Clay v. the United States all the way to the Supreme Court – and won – believed �ighting in the war would violate his Muslim beliefs. Ali was stripped of his boxing license and his heavyweight title for making his stand. In 1967, an all-white jury of 10 convicted him as a draft dodger. He didn’t �ight again until he knocked out Jerry Quarry in October 1970. The greatest heavyweight of our lifetime famously proclaimed, “I ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet Cong.” All of us should have a quarrel with a process that encourages voters simply to show up and thoughtlessly make marks on a piece of paper, thus deciding the future of our communities and country. Like the man said on those summer mornings years ago, put in the effort. Showing up isn’t good enough.
While other communities may be experiencing potholes and roads in desperate need of repair, Mesa has done a good job of building a reputation for safe and wellmaintained streets. This November, we need Question 1, the Mesa Moves 2020 Transportation Bond Program, to make sure that it stays that way. Question 1 will: • Limit air pollution and improve air quality • Keep Mesa safe and family-friendly • Make our city more livable and walkable • Help our community keep up with growth Question 1 is a $100 million bond proposal focusing on projects that address community needs through the following three categories: regional roadway improvements, arterial roadway improvements, and active transportation projects.
It is the culmination of several months of work including 6,000 resident surveys and more than a dozen public meetings, focus groups and individual stakeholder interviews. Question 1 is a �iscally responsible approach to �ixing our roads. By making this investment, the bond allows Mesa to leverage $62 million in regional funds from the Maricopa Association of Governments. This has the double bene�it of being both a great return on investment and a guarantee that Mesa receives its fair share of regional funds. It also reduces the burden on our taxpayers. Moreover, Question 1 is more than a bond – it is an investment in public safety and our quality of life. Safe streets and adequate transportation are critical to our ability to move people, goods, and services throughout Mesa. It also allows public safety to get to
us when we need them most. Not only do we need to invest in our roads to keep our residents safe, but also transportation is critical to Mesa’s longterm ability to attract jobs and economic investment. Congestion impacts the amount of time we get to spend with our family and hurts our economic growth. Time spent in traf�ic is costly for business and ultimately impacts the cost to the consumer. Improving connectivity and taking advantage of our freeways such as the SR24 will allow Mesa to attract more jobs and economic opportunities. Question 1 also makes our city more livable and walkable investing in more shared-use pathways throughout the city, bike lanes, and pedestrian improvements. These investments improve recreation while reducing air pollution and improv-
Say yes to good roads in your city BY MAYOR JOHN GILES AND SALLY HARRISON Tribune Guest Writers
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he City of Mesa is headed in the right direction. Our city was ranked in the national top 20 as both “One of the Best-Run Cities in America” and “Top Large U.S. City to Live in” according to WalletHub. In fact, Mesa was also in the top 10 in affordability and safety. Part of our success lies in our ongoing commitment to protecting our quality of life. Together, we have brought renewed focus and attention to Mesa’s neighborhoods, improved educational opportunities, and supported the city’s most vulnerable residents. We have also invested in Mesa’s transportation system to continue to support our economy and our quality of life.
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OPINION
THE MESA TRIBUNE | OCTOBER 11, 2020
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ing air quality. Last but certainly not least, Question 1 helps us keep up with growth. The City of Mesa has grown signi�icantly over the past few decades – particularly in East Mesa where many new families and seniors have chosen to live. We need to invest in transportation
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infrastructure throughout Mesa and improve connectivity in the eastern portions. Please join us in keeping Mesa safe and healthy by investing in our regional roadways, streets, bike lanes, pedestrian paths, and active transportation projects. Join us in voting Yes on Question 1. John Giles is mayor of Mesa; Sally Harrison is the Mesa Chamber of Commerce president/CEO.
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New region, same goal for Red Mountain BY TYLER ROHLFS Tribune Contributing Writer
T
he Red Mountain High School football team is preparing to make another playoff push this pandemicshortened season. Last year the Mountain Lions �inished the season 12-2 while posting a 5-0 record in league play, winning the East Valley Region for the third straight season. Red Mountain went into the 6A Conference playoffs as the top overall seed and fell to Liberty in overtime in the title game. After the Arizona Interscholastic Association recon�igured football conferences, bring several schools up a level based on past success, new regions were formed. The Fiesta Region, which hasn’t been used since 2011, is now home for the Mountain Lions. It’s the �irst time since 2015 Red Mountain is no longer in the same region as the �ive other Mesa district schools. But while the region may be new, the competition remains the same. The Mountain Lions went 3-0 against teams now in their division a year ago, as they beat Desert Ridge twice and Queen Creek in the 6A semi�inals. The move to the new region should boost the Mountain Lions overall strength-of-schedule, a factor that kept them out of the inaugural Open Division playoffs last season. “Our goal is to try and make Open and win it,” said senior defensive back Georgie Ramirez, a team captain. “We’ve spent three years in an easy region and we’ve just waxed the competition. Now, we are going up against a lot of D1 guys, so we have to hit it harder.” Kyle Enders, Red Mountain’s longtime defensive coordinator, believes the tougher schedule will bene�it his team in the long run. “It’s good to be tested and play the top schools in the area,” Enders said. “I truly believe we are now playing in the toughest region.” As if changing regions wasn’t dif�icult enough, head coach Mike Peterson and
Red Mountain’s football program, fresh off a trip to the 6A championship game, hopes to break through the Open Division playoffs this season with a new region and tougher schedule. (Tribune File Photo)
the Mountain Lions have had to prepare for this season much differently than ever before due to COVID-19. During the early summer workouts there was hardly anything to do because of restrictions set forth by the district. No way to practice. No way to get better. “Our preparation was pushed back,” Peterson said. “There’s not much you can do with groups of nine, one coach and no football.” Since then, Peterson said it has “gotten better,” and practices are getting back to some sort of normalcy. But normal is something sports haven’t quite been in 2020.
Usually, Friday nights in northeast Mesa call for a large crowd and an enthusiastic student section for the Mountain Lions. This year, however, attendance is limited to 25 percent capacity at football games. For the most part, only family members can attend. Each player, band member and cheerleader can have four tickets reserved for family while visiting teams are limited to 400 spectators total, according to Peterson. While Red Mountain is notorious for its excellent school spirit and massive student section, Ramirez claimed that when the ball is snapped, he “doesn’t notice all the extra noise.” “It shouldn’t have too much effect on the actual game,” Ramirez said. Ramirez was named team captain of the Mountain Lions for the 2020-2021 season. A starter on defense since his sophomore year, he found his way to the offensive side of the ball for Red MounRed Mountain senior defensive back George Ramirez, voted a captain this season, hopes to tain’s run to use his status to teach the younger players on the team what it takes to be a Mountain Lion. the title game (Tribune file photo) last season. He
threw for a touchdown, ran for a touchdown and caught six touchdown passes. Primarily a safety, Ramirez hopes to make the same type of impact as last season. But most importantly, he aims to help the younger players on the team in his role as captain. “It means a lot to me. I love being the captain of this team,” Ramirez said. “It teaches me responsibility and is honestly a fun job. It’s like being a manager at a restaurant with all of your buddies.” Red Mountain’s offense thrived last year, averaging over 46 points a game led by senior quarterback Hyrum Boren. Boren threw for over 2,200 yards and 30 touchdowns last season. He also rushed for 886 yards and 11 more scores. But with Boren, the team’s top three rushers and top two receivers all graduated, Red Mountain’s coaching staff is looking for the next player to step up. “Our offense put up points last year,” Enders said. “We aren’t sure if it’s going to be the same this year, but we control what we control.” Heading into the season, Peterson was unclear as to who will be the starting quarterback for the Mountain Lions. Peterson said senior Evan Svoboda and junior Jalen Daniels have been battling for the spot all summer, with no clear-cut favorite. Svoboda, at 6-foot-5 inches, threw for nearly 300 yards as the backup last year. Daniels, meanwhile, at 6-foot-4, sat the �irst �ive games of the season after transferring from Chandler. “You know what, we are going to toss two guys out there the �irst week and grade them out,” Peterson said. Peterson did just that, as both quarterbacks saw playing time in Red Mountain’s season-opening win over Westwood. Svoboda saws slightly more playing time, completing 9 of his 11 pass attempts for 140 yards and a touchdown. No matter who ends up being the starter going forward, both have the ability to navigate Red Mountain through a dif�icult schedule to potentially breakthrough to the Open Division.
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SPORTS
THE MESA TRIBUNE | OCTOBER 11, 2020
BY BRANDON JONES Cronkite News
Babinski’s offseason roster is thin right now because of football, but he is con�ident about his team once the season concludes. “I don’t have my full team out yet, but I’ve got about 14 kids, but there’s about 12 coming out of football,” Babinski said. “And I went and watched those kids practice and looked at them. I think our better athletes are coming out of football right now.” In addition to The sprawling Eastmark High Scholl campus has track and other playing fields in mint condition since they have been in use for the first time this the importance year. (Cronkite News) of high-level Not all Eastmark hires were expected, way, the word spreads of what we’re do- coaching, Leuschner believes it is imporincluding softball coach Darryl Allen, who ing, and we certainly hope people would tant for freshmen to have a quick learning came from Florida and did not know the take a look at us in terms of a place that we curve and great leadership skills because Arizona softball landscape. But Leuschner intend to help the school culture, develop- many of them will be on varsity earlier than normal. said he was impressed by his vision for the ing quality young people.” Molander wants to “control the control“It’s critical,” Leuschner said. “The thing program. Molander coached at Brophy Prep for lables” and let everything else handle it- that’s really fun to watch with our young 13 years and led the team to two state self, whether it’s bringing in transfers or athletes is our freshmen and their learning curve for leadership. They’re just so maltitles in his �irst three years as head coach. winning games. Babinski brings 30-plus years of coach- leable, fresh, and impressionable that, in a His program also reached the state �inals three times and the state semi�inals �ive ing experience and believes he has to do lot of ways, coaching a freshman on varsity times, making the state playoffs in all but more to compensate for lack of upper- is easier because they buy in quicker.” classmen in order for his program to esLeuschner’s main goal in 2020-21 for the last year of his coaching tenure. his athletic program is having athletes put Molander plans to build his football pro- tablish relevance in the 3A Metro Region. “I’ve coached teams that didn’t have se- forth their best effort and just compete. He gram by developing younger players, and, like Leauschner, is open to any transfer niors on it,” Babinski said. “So, it’s doable… knows the result may not always be ideal The only problem is without having se- at a new school competing in varsity athstudents. “We just have freshmen, sophomores niors is that they have nobody above them letics for the �irst time. “Compete as hard as you can every sinand juniors,” Molander said. “I think that to be that example. I think a lot of commugle day,” Leuschner said. if we’re going about our business the right nication is going to go a long way.”
Eastmark High unveils football program
E
astmark High School, which of�icially opened last August in Mesa’s fastest growing community, is expected to have a smooth transition into the AIA’s 3A Conference. Optimism surrounds the Queen Creek School District’s newest high school. This is the �irst year of varsity sports for the school and Firebirds Athletic Director Kraig Leuschner believes the foundation of success begins with hiring the right coaches. “It starts with having coaches that have experience; it starts with having coaches that have a vision. Our coaches have been very �lexible,” Leuschner said. “Obviously, we’re building our school in phases. So, the �inal product on what the weight room and the locker rooms (will) look like, that vision is a process. And the coaches have been very �lexible, being process oriented, rather than must win right now.” The district anticipates student population is expected to increase by more than 3,500 students over the next �ive years. As the school awaits the completion of the weight room and locker rooms, coaches have already begun setting up their teams for success in the 3A conference. “Our coaches range from �irst year head coach in some of our individual sports, all the way to a coach like (football coach Scooter) Molander, (baseball coach Shane) Hilstrom, and (basketball coach Joe) Babinski, who have 30-plus years of head coaching experience,” Leuschner said. “Having a �lexible staff that is diverse in experience allows our coaches that have been around for a long time to learn new things from some of our younger coaches who just got out of playing,” he said. He believes young coaches can learn “the ethics and the values that are required to build championship-caliber programs that are sustainable.”
Have an interesting sports story? Contact Zach Alvira at zalvira@timespublications.com and follow him on Twitter @ZachAlvira.
THE MESA TRIBUNE | OCTOBER 11, 2020
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Boyce offers oasis of desert riparian plants BY ELLEN BILBREY GetOut Contributor
F
or those looking for a day trip out of Phoenix or Tucson, consider heading up into the Superstition Mountain foothills to one of Arizona’s most stunning gardens – a 353-acre oasis in the uplands of the Sonoran Desert called Boyce Thompson Arboretum. This is the largest desert arboretum in America, displaying 19,000 plants from around the world and recently Boyce opened its newly planted 13-acre Wallace Desert Garden just across Queen Creek from the main trails. The garden comprises 5,000 plants moved from H.B. Wallace’s home in north Scottsdale. Wallace was a geneticist who knew that saving endangered plant species would be critical in the future. He was following in the footsteps of William Boyce Thompson, who opened his arboretum in 1924. Wallace and Thompson both developed species of food plants critical for today’s food production needs, such as highyield corn. Both started their gardens by collecting plant specimens from deserts around the world. Both also wanted desert plants to be protected, researched and studied for the many valuable uses these plants have today. Their activism emphasized that endangered species are not just animals, but also the critical plants that are the cornerstones of our modern ecosystem. As you travel east toward the Superstition, you’ll see the large, exposed rock face of the sky islands jutting up from the desert �loor. You’ll feel the majesty of the “Supes” especially in the spring with lush vegetation blanketing the mountains’ green hilly skirts. From February through March the bright yellow Mexican poppies and lilac lupine are interspersed with the sunbursts of yellow palo verde trees and brittlebush dotting the verdant landscape. In the fall, bright orange Chinese pistache trees dot the landscape. At the �irst summit of the lower hills in the eastern Superstitions, get ready for a stunning view as you cross over Gonzales Pass. To the immediate right you’ll see
Some big wheels were needed to relocated 5,000 plants of various sizes on geneticist H.B. Wallace’s home in Scottsdale to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum east of Mesa. (Special to GetOut)
Picketpost Mountain, a favorite hiking destination. Just a couple miles farther, Boyce Thompson Arboretum will appear on the right. Inside and along the riparian areas of Queen Creek, visitors �ind themselves immersed in an explosion of colorful unique plants indigenous to the desert and a cool hideaway from the hot desert �loor. The Arboretum offers delightful walkways, some heavily shaded and others �lowing through the desert cacti, plants and rose gardens. You can bring your furry pets on a leash as they are welcome to
walk through the desert with you. When you check in, be sure to get both the birding map and the Curandero Trail brochures. The Curandero walkway highlights plants used for traditional herbal medicines. If you are traveling in the fall, Boyce has gorgeous leafy trees and plants that change color as the Sonoran Desert cools. Arizona actually has four months of leaf discovery, from September on the Colorado Plateau to the desert riparian areas such as Boyce Thompson in December. Arizona’s February palette of color tran-
Fall offers a riot of color for people who amble through Boyce Thompson Arboretum. It also is a popular place for weddings and to take out-of-town visitors on a tour. (Special to GetOut)
sitions quickly as orange California poppies and Coulter’s lupine cover the desert �loor. Watch for the orange, pink and white varieties of globemallow. In March and April, cactuses show off their brilliant �lowers. In May, large white �lowers bloom on the crowns of the saguaros in the mornings and offer dazzling red fruit with the prickly pear fruit through the summer. There are 4,000 species in 182 families of plants in the Sonoran Desert region, creating opportunities in any season to come to Boyce Thompson to learn its secrets. If you become a member of the Arboretum, there are exhibits, tours, walks, classes and seminars featuring desert plants and animals. Enjoy the butter�ly, geology, dragon�ly and �lower walks. The gardens are also an Important Birding Area as designated by the Audubon Society; you may capture a photo of one of the 275 species of birds there. In the Town of Superior, just a few miles further on Highway 60, Porter’s Cafe offers refreshments such as a prickly pear margarita and burgers, or you might trek to Jade Grille owned by famous chef, Lucy Wing with her Asian fusion and vegetarian-friendly barbeque delights. After lunch head back to Boyce Thompson with your ticket for more walk or to just sit and enjoy the peaceful solitude until you are ready to head back to the city. For schedules, booking a special event like a wedding, taking a class, or coordinating a large tour, go to BTArboretum. org/events or call 602-689-2723.
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THE MESA TRIBUNE | OCTOBER 11, 2020
Gilbert guitarist releases music book BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI GetOut Editor
M
att Lloyd was never one for guitar instruction books. He’d rather teach himself or �iddle around until he got it. The Gilbert man considered writing a book but found it hard to balance his daily work with his gig in the alternative rock band The New Chums. Once the pandemic hit and teaching guitar became more of a full-time effort, he found time to �inish “Guitar for Beginners: A Different Way of Learning Guitar.” “I always just said, ‘Bring a blank notebook’ and I’d hand write my lessons for each student,” said Lloyd. “Last year, I was thinking it would be so much easier to have a template, a book, so I can share the way I teach with other people if they want to learn. Lloyd has been teaching guitar for about 15 years on and off. He moved to
Gilbert from Nashville in 2016 and his business picked up. “I have 10 to 30 students now. It turned out to be a full-time thing here now during the day,” Lloyd said. He wrote “Guitar for Beginners: A Different Way of Learning Guitar” with illustrator/graphic artist Josh Campbell. “The quarantine was a weird blessing for us. Obviously, it’s not for everybody. I started using Zoom for a lot of my lessons and for Josh and me. We couldn’t meet up anyway. We just hopped on our computers and spent three to four hours at a time communicating.” In about 60 pages, “Guitar for Beginners” goes over everything a �ledgling guitarist needs to know, including diagrams of the instrument, how to read guitar tabs, major scales and public domain songs like “Twinkle, Twinkle,” “Happy Birthday” and “You Are My Sunshine.” “The book is the way I’ve been teaching for the last several years and I’ve put all of
those thoughts into a book,” he said. “I’ve tried to �ill in the gaps anyway and make each page to where if someone’s sitting down on their own and they don’t have a teacher to help them, they’ll still learn. “It takes you right from the beginning and explains the parts of the guitar. It’s very simple, and very basic and hopefully builds you up.” The �irst pressing of the book, which sells for $14.99, sold out quickly. He’s grateful for the community he’s built in the Valley. “I taught about 200 to 250 students in three or four years,” Lloyd said. “All those students have families. It’s been cool to interact with so many families in the community. I don’t do much promotion for my teaching. I have a big enough network where I get one or two recommendations a week through text or email.” To purchase the book, visit lutnclothing.bigcartel.com/product/matt-lloydguitar-book
Matt Lloyd of Gilbert plays guitar for the alternative rock band The New Chums. (Kristen Bourdeau/Special toTribune)
Celebrate cookie month with the basic BY VICTORIA STIBRIK GetOut Contributor
O
ctober is National Cookie Month. And what better way to do just that than by starting where all cookies begin? Cookie dough. Here are some places where you can indulge in the tasty treat. You won’t �ind anybody telling you not to eat raw cookie dough here.
Scoopwell’s Dough Bar
The cookie dough is safe at Scoopwell’s because it has pasteurized eggs in it. So, it is safe to eat raw but is still able to be taken home and baked into a cookie. Coowner and “Vice President of Dough-i�ication” Kendra Scheer said, “We do have the occasional customer who is like, ‘I don’t know about this.” But after friendly reassurance and a sample, she said, “almost always they’re converted to dough lovers after they taste it.” Scoopwell’s also offers ice cream, ice cream sandwiches, cookie dough truf�les called duf�les, and fancy, gourmet ice cream cones from Konery Cones that come in vibrant colors to match the �lavors.
Scoopwell’s Dough Bar, 100 E. Camelback Road, Suite 164, Phoenix, 602296-5146, scoopwells.com.
Dough Licious Desserts
Here, they have all the regular �lavors like chocolate chip and sugar cookie, but they also have fun offerings like birthday suit and granny apple. They make a keto dough and they change the �lavor of it every six weeks. Dough Licious also has dough shakes, which is like a regular milkshake, but with a 2- or 3-ounce chunk of cookie dough added to make it extra thick and doughy. There’s a Dough Licious store location in Queen Creek, and they also have a mobile unit that visits events or neighborhoods. Dough Licious Desserts, 20784 E. Victoria Lane, Queen Creek, 480-5901866, doughliciousdessert.com, $2.49-$8.49
Nami
Many know Nami as a vegan breakfast, pastry, coffee place, but they also have cookie dough
that they call “Namidoh.” It comes in three regular �lavors: chocolate chip; glutenfree, soy-free chocolate chip; and cosmic, which has chocolate and white chocolate, potato chips and coffee. Namidoh can be bought at Nami or participating Whole Foods in Arizona. Nami, 2014 N. Seventh Street, Phoenix, 602-258-6264, tsoynami.com.
Uncle Biff’s California Killer Cookies
The original Uncle Biff’s is in San Diego, but John Van Borssum, Uncle Biff’s brother-in-law, opened a location in Phoenix about two and a half years ago. Uncle Biff’s is famous for cookies but guests can buy the cookie dough by the pound, though in all the �lavors. For example, its Oreostuffed cookie is handcrafted, as well as its salted caramel and macadamia cookies, so the cookie dough cannot be purchased. Uncle Biff’s California Killer Cookies, 6239 N. Seventh Street, Phoenix, 602-888-
8990, unclebiffsarizona.com.
Toasted Mallow
So far, we’ve learned that you can eat cookie dough raw, or bake it and eat it as a cookie. OK, cool. But what if I told you, you could eat cookie dough—raw—on a gourmet s’more? Because you can. At Toasted Mallow, the cookie dough comes in two regular �lavors, chocolate chip and s’morelicious, and they have other �lavors that rotate out throughout the year. But what does a gourmet cookie dough s’more even look like? Well, the graham cracker is bowl-shaped and �illed with the messiest, �luf�iest marshmallows you could ever imagine and cookie dough. And owner and marshmallowmaker Tricia Arce said, there’s no wrong way to eat them. “People can enjoy the s’more by breaking off the cookie and dipping it into the marshmallow or holding it in your hand and biting into it like a cupcake, or just eating it straight out of the bowl and saving the cookie for last.” Toasted Mallow, 1034 N. Gilbert Road, Suite 3, Gilbert, 480-686-9071, thetoastedmallow.com.
THE MESA TRIBUNE | OCTOBER 11, 2020
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King Crossword
Employment General MetaSoftTech Solutions has opening for Business Systems Analyst in Chandler, AZ area. Reqs US Masters degree/foreign equiv or Bach degree + 5 yrs experience w/ skills in Apex/Triggers/Workflows/ProcessBuilders/ BatchApex/ Visualforce to analyze/coordinate/develop/code/test systems. Email resume to applymst@gmail.com with ref #2020-25 & ref EVT ad
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WICHITA, KS – Shirley L. Coad, 88, homemaker, passed away Wednesday, October 7, 2020. No services. Shirley was an accomplished cellist and was involved in community music. Her late husband, Roger Dean Coad, was the love of her life and they were inseparable. She was also preceded in death by her parents, Walter and Ethel Bailey. Survivors: children, Rex A. (Jill) Coad, Russell (Julie) Coad D.D.S., David (Gail) Harms and Elizabeth D. (Derek) Slack; 17 grandchildren; 21 great-grandchildren; brother, James Bailey; sister, Janet (John) Goforth; good sister friend, Nancy Virden. A memorial has been established with Southwestern College Music Department, c/o Institutional Advancement Office, 100 N. College St., Winfield, KS 67156. Downing & Lahey Mortuary West. Share tributes online at www.dlwichita.com
'89 Mustang 5-Speed Good Condition, Runs Great Power locks/windows, Power stearing 4 Cylinder engine, radiator replaced, $1995/obo 480-600-0244
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Miscellaneous For Sale DINING SET FOR SALE DINETTE 42"x60" Glass Top, 6 Padded Chairs Hunter Green Wrought Iron Call 815-541-1704
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Employment Employment General COMPUTER/IT Systems Administrator 3 PayPal, Inc. seeks Systems Administrator 3 in Scottsdale, AZ: Responsible for administering sys. overseeing continuous integration, config. mgmt & sys. integration. Req’s: MS(or equiv.)+2 yrs. exp. OR BS(or equiv.)+5 yrs. exp. Must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. w/o sponsorship. Mail resume w/ ref. to: Req.#: 18-4417 at: ATTN: HR, Cube 10.3.561, PayPal, Inc. HQ, 2211 North First Street, San Jose, CA 95131. EOE
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Painting
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Auction Registration: October 5, 2020 to October 19, 2020 Bidding Start Time: 11:00 a.m. Auction Location: Online at:
https://mesa.easibuy.com/advertisements/1056
PROPERTY DESCRIPTION:
Your Ahwatukee Plumber & East Valley Neighbor Water Heaters
Auction Date: October 20, 2020
Auctioneer: EasiBuy
affinityplumber@gmail.com
www.affinityplumbingaz.com
Voted #1
The City of Mesa is conducting a Public Online Auction to identify the highest bidder for City-owned parcels located at the Northwest corner of Adobe and Recker Roads in Maricopa County, Arizona.
CITY OF MESA PUBLIC NOTICE The Mesa City Council will hold a public hearing concerning the following ordinances at the October 19, 2020 City Council meeting beginning at 5:45 p.m. in the Mesa City Council Chambers, 57 East First Street. 1. ZON20-00283 (District 2) Within the 6000 block of East Baseline Road (north side) and within the 1900 block of South Recker Road (east side). Located at the northeast corner of Recker Road and Baseline Road (6.7± acres). Rezone from AG to RM-2-PAD; and Site Plan Review. This request will allow a multiple residence development (town homes) on the property. Ralph Pew, Pew & Lake, PLC, applicant; Pacific Rim Mesa 2 LLC, owner. 2. ZON20-00377 (District 1) Within the 3500 block of East Brown Road (north side) and the 1200 block of North Val Vista Drive (west side). Located at the northwest corner of Brown Road and Val Vista Drive (1.2± acres). Rezone from AG to OC-BIZ; and Site Plan Review. This request will allow for the development of a medical and professional office building and use. Sean Lake, Pew & Lake, PLC, applicant; Makana LP, owner. DATED at Mesa, Arizona, this 11th day of October 2020. DEE ANN MICKELSEN, City Clerk Published: Oct. 11, 2020 / 33682
MARICOPA COUNTY ASSESSOR PARCEL NUMBER: 141-78-820 containing approximately +/- 2.1 acres CURRENT ZONING: Residential RS-7 GENERAL PLAN: Neighborhood Buyer will be responsible for obtaining approval, through the City’s ordinary and customary processes, to obtain Minor General Plan Amendment (if necessary), rezoning and a site plan approval. The minimum bid is $435,000.00. Appraisal reports for the parcels are posted at www.mesaaz.gov/landauction. After the first bid, bidding increments shall be a minimum of $2,500 thereafter. Bidding will be conducted online only. More information, including the public online auction notice, bidding requirements, terms of sale and the Purchase and Sale Agreement and Escrow Instructions are available online at www.mesaaz.gov/landauction All questions regarding this public auction shall be directed to Kim Fallbeck at kim.fallbeck@mesaaz.gov . All due diligence investigations must be completed by prospective bidders prior to the auction. The City of Mesa may cancel this auction in whole or in part at any time prior to the acceptance of a final bid. The City Council may accept the highest bidder for cash, reserving the right to reject all bids. For additional information please go to www.mesaaz.gov/landauction. Published: East Valley Tribune, Oct. 4, 11, 2020 / 33532
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THE MESA TRIBUNE | OCTOBER 11, 2020
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