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3 Lovin’ Life Expos return to the Valley
BY ANNIKA TOMLIN Tribune Staff Writer
After a 2020 pandemic pause, the Lovin’ Life After 50 Expos are returning.
They are set for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, Jan. 24, at the Sundial Recreation Center in Sun City, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 26, at the Mesa Convention Center. “We’re going to have great entertainment, a lot of informative exhibitors and it’s just a great way to get out and find out what is going on in the community,” says Lovin’ Life After 50 publisher Steve Strickbine. “It’s a great way to meet lots of people and have some fun.” Previously, Lovin’ Life After 50 Expos have attracted thousands of people who network and gather information, as well as participate in the raffle prize giveaway and take a shot at hourly $100 cash prizes.
“These expos were started as just a way to allow organizations in the community to come together with people over 50 to show what they have to offer,” Strickbine says, “...to give them information about things that are coming up in their organizations.
“It has become a very good event though for entertainment and just a great way for getting out.”
Among the exhibitors that will have booths at both the Sun City and Mesa Expos include 4C Medical Group (Optum Care), Arizona Liver Health, Home Concepts Custom Remodeling, Humana, AFC Physical Medicine and Hospice of the Valley. Specifically at the Sun City Expo will be Arizona Institute and Cosmetic Laser Center, Edward Jones and MediSolutions LLC. After the pandemic hiatus, the Lovin’ Life After 50 Expo is returning in January to Mesa
Convention Center. (Tribune file photo)
Unique to Mesa are Bright Health Plan, Mesa Marketplace Swap Meet, Emphasis Advisors and National Cremation Society.
“With COVID we are being very careful with how we proceed, and we are following the CDC guidelines of course to make sure that we are operating with best practices to make sure that everybody that does attend stays safe,” Strickbine says.
In terms of entertainment, The Duttons will be returning to the stage once again. For those who don’t know, “they’re a band that has a theater in Branson, Missouri where they play during the summer months and then they also have a theater in the East Valley (in Mesa) where they play during the winter months. They were on ‘America’s Got Talent’ at one point,” according to Strickbine. The Duttons’ setlist includes bluegrass, country and pop music.
“They always attract a big crowd,” Strickbine says. Ms. Senior Arizona 2022 winner Patricia Person will meet and greet with attendees. “I think a lot of people are anxious to get back out,” Strickbine says. ■
Lovin’ Life After 50 - Sun City Expo
WHEN: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, Jan. 24 WHERE: Sundial Recreation Center, 14801 N. 103rd Ave., Sun City COST: Free INFO: lovinlife.com
Lovin’ Life After 50 - Mesa Expo
WHEN: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 26 WHERE: Mesa Convention Center, 263 N. Center St., Mesa COST: Free INFO: lovinlife.com
APARTMENTS from page 1
Street was the fifth time the 472-unit complex changed hands since 2005, vizzda’s records show.
Built in 1985 on 18.7 acres, Midtown first sold in 2005 for $20.5 million.
Tides sold the property to KKR & Co., a New York City-based global investment company that manages a wide variety of assets that include real estate and energy.
That deal represented a sale price of $344 a square foot and $290,254 for each of its 186 one-bedroom apartments and 286 two-bedroom units.
While it sold Midtown, Tides paid $133.25 million for the Tides at Mesa in the 2000 block of E. Broadway Road at S. Acacia Avenue, a 35-year-old complex on nearly 23 acres that had been owned by IMT Superstition Vista LLC, a subsidiary of IMT Residential, which owns and manages more than 17,000 apartments across the country.
The Tides at Mesa sale, at $318 a square foot, represented a per-unit price of $287,176 for each of the complex’s 464 apartments.
Tides also bought from IMT the Tides on Southern at Gilbert Road and Southern Avenue on Nov. 30, paying $84.25 mil-
BY DANA TRUMBULL Tribune Staff Writer
At age 57, Paul Whaley’s life has been pulled out from under him. Around 6 p.m. Oct. 21, the Mesa man was riding his motorcycle home after work when, he said, a car made a left turn in front of him near Recker Road and Billings Street, totaling his bike and nearly totaling Whaley himself. He ended in intensive care for two weeks with two compound fractures in his left leg, a broken hip and multiple skull fractures and brain bleeds. The skin on his hands and stomach had to be pulled back in place and reattached. And he suffers recurring memory and other mental problems.
Bound to a wheelchair, he has been in a post-acute care facility since the hospital discharged him. Physical therapy has been difficult, according to his girlfriend of 14 years.
“He hates the boot he has to wear for physical therapy,” said Margie Seeber. “It’s really heavy and the exercises can be painful.”
But the greater problem is the brain trauma. “It’s going to take time,” said Zac Whaley, Paul’s 80-year-old father in Mississippi. “Some days he is lucid. Other times he doesn’t know where he is or why. He has Paul Whaley gets a hug in the rehab center from his longtime girlfriend, Margie Seeber.
(Courtesy of Margie Seeber) been talking about his mother dying last year, but she has been gone for forty years.”
Whaley related another conversation where Paul was talking about his military experience in the Navy – except he was never in the military. He seemed to have absorbed his father’s stories about his time in the service and interpreted them as his own memories.
“He is very confused,” said his father, his voice filled with desperation as he worries about Paul’s future.
Despite the continuing need for physical and mental rehabilitation, Seeber and Zac Whaley were told by the care facility that they intended to discharge Paul on Dec. 8. Seeber convinced them to wait, but the future is unclear. A case worker is attempting to extend the stay, but “I would really like to get him into a different care center,” Seeber said.
Now, Whaley also has lost his home.
Prior to the accident, the owner of Whaley’s rental home had given him notice to move by the end of December, as she intended to move back in. By the time the November rent was due, Whaley was hospitalized, with medical bills piling up and unable to pay the rent. The homeowner put Whaley’s posses-
sions in storage and moved into the home. Beyond the hospital bed, Whaley is now homeless, with no estimate as to when he will be able to return to work. “He’s in a wheelchair and still in need of therapy and the care center wants to release him to a shelter.” Seeber, who works full time and lives with her mother as her primary caregiver, said, “I can’t take care of him, too.”Paul Whaley’s motorcycle was reduced to a hunk of metal in the Oct. 21 accident. (Courtesy of Zac Whaley) Whaley’s future is now in the hands of his lawyer and the insurance companies. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office said no citations have been issued in the accident, which it said is still under investigation. Whaley is an electrician, working through C & J Staffing, an employment firm specializing in connecting skilled tradesmen with contractors. He has resided in Mesa for 10 years. To help cover Whaley’s medical bills and expenses, Seeber has set up at gofundme. com, hoping to raise $6,500 to help her boyfriend. To help: gofundme.com/f/ help-paul-with-bills-and-rent-while-heis-down. ■
Christmas tree shortage threatens East Valley
BY RAVEN PAYNE Cronkite News
Extreme weather in the Pacific Northwest and supply-chain bottlenecks everywhere have left Christmas tree lots across the country scrambling this holiday season. Most U.S. lots get their Douglas and Noble firs – among the most popular trees used at Christmas – from the Northwest, and many Arizona lots get theirs specifically from Oregon.
Persistent drought, rising temperatures and wildfires last summer have resulted in fewer trees from Oregon – 92 percent of which is experiencing severe drought, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System.
“This last season, we had a lot of wildfires, a lot of heat waves and a lot of drought in the Pacific Northwest,” said Scott Albretsen, tree specialist for Valley View Christmas Trees. “And that’s caused a lot of damage to the farms up there. A lot of the mature trees were damaged from it, and a lot of the seedlings that were just planted were completely lost.”
In addition, supply chain issues have arisen as the economy continues to rebound from COVID-19 disruptions. “The second issue that we’re dealing with is shipping,” Albretsen said. “They’re increasing costs with fuel and trucking and the significant shortage in the amount of trucking we can get is just significantly limited in how we can get the trees delivered to us.”
Albretsen said Valley View Christmas Trees, a family-owned business with multiple lots in metro Phoenix and Southern California, has slightly raised prices because of those supply chain challenges. “So the prices have raised in comparison to that, but we’re trying very hard to keep our prices low,” he said. “We’ve been here for 40 years selling trees in Arizona, and this is about community for us.” Sal Bracale, director of operations with Moon Valley Nurseries, which has locations in Arizona, California, Nevada, Texas and Florida, said his lots are determined to make getting a tree a family experience, despite the challenges.
“We want our clients to be able to come in and hear the Christmas music and hear the chain saws going, have the fire burning,” he said. It’s a tradition; it’s like going to a pumpkin patch. It’s something you do as a family event.”
Both companies believe they have enough trees to supply to everyone who wants to bring a little green into their home.
Bracale suggested shopping for a tree early to get the best pick. Smaller potted trees and artificial trees are options, although artificial trees also are subject to supply chain constraints. ■
lion – or $337 a square foot – for a 306unit complex that was built in 1984 on 15 acres. The sale represented a per-unit price of $275,326.
Tides has called attention on its website to its expansion in Phoenix, boasting of more than 50 acquisitions in the Valley market.
“Tides has remained active in the Phoenix market over the past couple of years. This year alone, we have acquired 19 properties in the Phoenix MSA, which accounts for approximately $1.2 billion in transaction volume,“ Sean Kia, co-founder and principal at Tides Equities, toldMultiHousing News about a week before the three Mesa transactions.
Tides also told the industry newsletter, “Favorable market conditions continue to drive demand across the Greater Phoenix area. … The robust population growth is not only supporting rent increases, but also luring in investors.”
“Tides continues to believe in the short- and long-term growth of Phoenix as it is forecasted to lead the nation in job growth over the coming years and is further aided by the accelerating demand by millennials and generation Z to relocate to cities within the Sun Belt,“ said Tides co-founder and Principal Ryan Andrade.
Multi-Housing News noted that Phoenix isn’t the only market where Tides is aggressively courting complexes, reporting that it acquired a string of sites in Las Vegas for more than $313 million in recent months. The newsletter added that Tides has acquired more than 80 complexes in the West in the last five years.
Part of the rising interest in apartment complexes, Bloomberg noted, involves a move by real estate investors from offices, hotels and malls, which it said “fared poorly in the pandemic.” “The influx of money has pushed prices higher and forced private equity firms to behave like the aggressive homebuyers in the frenzied housing market,” Bloomberg said. “Some investors are frustrated by current prices for apartment buildings. But many are raising their bids, waiving inspections and promising to close fast, with rising rents driving a flurry of deals.”
It quoted one investment activist as stating: “That’s what happens in a whitehot market. Some of them will sharpen the pencil on the next one and get a little more aggressive because they need to deploy that capital.”
According to a number of analysts, the interest in apartment complexes also is being fueled by soaring home prices that have especially impacted first-time homebuyers and aging baby boomers anxious to downsize. Large investors aren’t just looking at apartment complexes for the long-term benefit of a steady revenue stream that rent delivers.
The Cromford Report, which closely watches the Phoenix Metro housing market, noted that large investors also are buying single-family homes in bulk – and not turning them over for resale but rather to rent. “Investors are extremely interested in purchasing single-family homes in Phoenix," it said. "The receipts from rents are rising faster than anywhere else in the country.
“Rents are rising because there are more people wanting to rent than there are rental properties. Many families are starting to see single-family rentals as preferable to apartments or condo-style rentals. This effect is probably supported by living conditions during a pandemic.
“While this continues, we can expect investor demand to remain robust, which in turn prevents the market cooling down as it would if ordinary home buyers were the only source of demand.”
Manage Case, a company that manages apartment complexes, echoed that lure of rent for investors.
“There is little to support any prediction other than rising rent prices,” it said. “Those hoping for a lull in the rising price trend will likely be disappointed.” ■
GOT NEWS?
The Tides on Southern in Mesa sold for $84.25 million – or $337 a square foot. (Special to the
Tribune.)
The Tides at Mesa sale equaled $318 a square foot or a per-unit price of $287,176 for each of the complex’s 464 apartments. (Special to the Tribune.)
Street began in March 2020. So far, however, The Grid remains an idle construction site because of financial snags attributed to the COVID pandemic. Jeff McVay, Mesa’s manager of downtown transformation, told Council in a report that the developers expected to get new financing early this month and plan to resume construction in January.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the project has encountered financial and construction delays and the project is not currently in compliance with those agreements,” his report stated. “During this delay, staff has continued to work with the developer to find solutions to get the project back under construction.”
But the delays have left the developer out of compliance with agreements previously made with the city. To rectify that, the Council approved amendments to the development agreement with new deadlines.
Phase 1 of construction, which includes the building facing Main Street, now is to be finished by Dec. 31, 2022. The whole project is supposed to be done a year after that.
The new deal also includes an option for the developer to buy the land and air rights associated with the property for $7 million. That would net the city $4 million more than it would have gotten under a previously approved lease arrangement. City officials and the developers – Tony Wall of 3W Management and Karrin Taylor Robson of Arizona Strategies – held a ceremonial groundbreaking for the project in February 2020, bringing along the Westwood High School Band, local merchants and food.
The mixed-use community, which will eventually wrap around the existing Pomeroy Garage, is tucked into a 3.3-acre plot of land.When completed, the lot will include 196 “luxury sky” apartments built above the garage, as well as 75 flats, or “microunits” that will be 400 square feet each. In addition, there are 15 rowhomes with three-story walk-ups along Main Street in front of the existing garage structure.
The project also includes 14,000 square feet of Class A office space overlooking Main Street.
New downtown apartments
The third and final phase of an apartment A high school band and numerous city officials were on hand to mark the groundbreaking for The Grid in February 2020. (Tribune file photo)
complex at First Avenue and Macdonald will go ahead with Council approval. The project will add 72 units of marketrate apartments, with a swimming pool and clubhouse, to a complex whose first phases were approved in 2016 and 2019. At buildout, the complex will have seven buildings and 168 units.
Mesa is offering the developer a tax deal called a government property lease excise tax. The city will buy the property and lease it back to the developer, creating a tax break. Mesa still expects to make money on the deal, nearly $400,000 over eight years. The developer also will make a one-time payment of $27,212 to local school districts.
East-side industry
About 25 acres northwest of the intersection of Elliot and Signal Butte roads will be rezoned from agricultural to light industrial for a speculative industrial development.
The developer envisions three industrial buildings totaling about 243,000 square feet, with additional buildings for retail, restaurants and a service station. Because this land is within Mesa’s much-touted Elliot Road Technology Corridor, the city is requiring the developer to sign an agreement prohibiting a wide range of uses – no churches or tattoo parlors allowed.
Utility rates up
Several previous council meetings foreshadowed final approval of a range of increases for Mesa utility customers.
Mesa operates each utility – water, wastewater, solid waste, gas and electric – as a separate business entity that has to pay its own costs as well as funneling money into the city’s general fund.
The general-fund contributions help keep the city afloat in lieu of a primary property tax, which Mesa abandoned in 1945 and which city voters rejected emphatically in a 2006 referendum.
The biggest percentage increase among the utilities will be for residential gas customers: a 10 percent hike amid spiking energy prices.
Water rates are going up by 2.5 percent for residential customers, with higher jumps for commercial users.
Overall, utilities are expected to pump $115.3 million into the general fund this fiscal year, compared with $113.9 million last year.
Protecting firefighters
Concerns over occupation-related cancer prompted the Council to approve spending more than $1 million for special equipment to vent exhaust fumes in 16 of the city’s fire stations.
The systems will attach to the exhaust systems of fire apparatus when it’s necessary for their engines to be running while in the fire station bays. Without the equipment, firefighters will continue to be exposed to carcinogenic fumes while they’re in the buildings, according to staff report.
Keeping the water running
Good help is hard to find these days – and that includes people who can staff Mesa’s highly complex and essential water plants. Mesa operates five such plants – three to treat water the city receives via its canals and wells, and two to treat the water after it runs through the sewer system. Amid a nationwide shortage of qualified workers, the Council approved $1.5 million in contracts with two companies that can provide temporary employees. That’s the price per year, with an additional 5 percent tacked on if inflation makes that necessary. The contracts could be extended for another four years. One of the companies, Smith Temporaries Inc., doing business as CornerStone Staffing, is based in Chandler. The other is in Los Angeles.
Food truck rules
Beginning March 1, food trucks will have to comply with new rules that sprang from complaints about vendors operating in various neighborhoods.
The previous ordinance allowed vendors to operate with 25 feet of a parcel with a residence on it. The new minimum distance is 250 feet – but there are exceptions. The trucks can be closer than 250 feet to a residential property if the truck itself is on private property with formal City Council approval. That also will be allowed if fewer than four trucks are operating on a private property at the same time and they don’t operate there more than four times a year. Trucks operating at a licensed special event and ice cream trucks also are exempt from the rule.
New city clerk
The Council appointed Holly Moseley as city clerk to replace DeeAnn Mickelson, who took the job in 2013.
Earlier, during the study session, the Council offered formal thanks to Christine Zielonka, who is retiring as Mesa’s development services director. She has overseen vast growth during the city’s postrecession boom. ■
Donations needed for A Better Community program in Mesa
Mesa residents are encouraged to give to the ABC: A Better Community utility donation program, which provides shelter, meals and other essential services to Mesa children, families and seniors facing challenges.
The City has allocated ABC grant money to three nonprofit agencies: Maggie’s Place for shelter services at Hannah’s House; Teen Lifeline for crisis services and United Food Bank’s Emergency & Supplemental Food Assistance Program.
During the past year, ABC donations helped Mesa nonprofits provided: 5,411 children with food bags on the weekends, 48,141 delivered meals to 513 seniors, free tax preparation services to 7,760 individuals and families, crisis services to at-risk teens by answering 20,305 crisis calls and text messages and 24,723 households with more than 23,282,575 pounds of food.
City utility customers can contribute by automatically donating money with their monthly utility bill payment and can enroll at mesaaz.gov/abc or calling 480-644-2221. This allows several donation options that are all tax-deductible.
People who are not utility customers can send a check to City of Mesa Customer Service, P.O. Box 1466, Mesa, AZ 85211-1466 and write “ABC: A Better Community” in the memo area.
Mesa PD gets grants to buttress DUI, other traffic safety enforcement
Mesa Police are already on the alert for drunk drivers – and they’ve received more than $140,000 in additional funds to take them off the roads.
Mesa PD announced last week officers “will be out in force looking for impaired drivers by conducting DUI enforcement” though Jan. 1, mainly between 5 p.m. and 3 a.m.
The task force is an inter-agency program aimed at curbing “the number of impaired driving related vehicle collisions in order to reduce the number of needless injuries and fatalities associated with these types of collisions,” the department said.
Meanwhile, the department’s traffic unit received five grants from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, much of it going to DUI enforcement.
The GOHS provides grants to police and fire departments as well as nonprofits for programs aimed at creating and maintaining safe roadways for the general public.
Mesa received $140,537 for DUI enforcement, overtime and supplies for a variety of efforts beyond the holiday enforcement program. The money will also go toward DUI enforcement related to patrol district projects, training and education to combat impaired driving, drug testing kits and portable breath test machines.
Another $84,100 will go toward selective traffic enforcement overtime, materials and supplies for back-to-school safety zone enforcement, speed law enforcement and speed detection devices.
The department also got nearly $20,000 for child safety seat enforcement, education and seats themselves for low-income parents.
And nearly $51,000 it received will go toward pedestrian and bicyclist education and enforcement.
The department also received a $9,200 grant for accident investigation and collision reconstruction training.
City seeks citizen input on parks and rec
Department get a better understanding of residents’ usage and needs for the parks and recreation system.
The community survey is the next major public input phase of the two planning efforts to create Mesa’s Footprint for the Future. One aspect is for the department’s Comprehensive Plan to guide present and future growth and development of Mesa parks, public spaces, recreation programs and facilities.
The other aspect is to get feedback on how to implement Mesa’s first-ever Climate Action Plan, a City Council priority initiative calling for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and establishing strategies to increase sustainability at all City operations.
The online survey is at footprintfuturemesa.com/ community-survey until next Friday, Dec. 17. The survey was recently mailed to a random sample of 4,000 households.
The Footprint for the Future Campaign began with a series of community meetings in September to get input about the Parks and Recreation Comprehensive Plan and a series of virtual meetings in October and November about the Climate Action Plan.
Mesa business’ expansion celebrated by city officials as a CARES triumph
Mesa officials recently celebrated the expansion of Intentional Foods at 1837 W. Guadalupe Road, which caters to people with food allergies. The owners received through the Mesa CARES program and the city’s Economic Development and Development Services departments.
“The first year of any business is critical for its survival. The pandemic hit us as we were trying to get the restaurant going and establish our clientele,” said Ned Heath, chef and owner of Intentional Foods. “We were fortunate to have the support of the community and the City of Mesa. The City helped us obtain permits for outdoor dining and provided technical assistance for our business. The Mesa CARES program allowed us to continue to operate, stay afloat and later thrive at a time of great uncertainty.”
The expansion of Intentional Foods comes with a larger kitchen that will allow the restaurant to prepare meals free from the top food allergens to Mesa Public Schools and its growing list of clients. The restaurant now has a liquor license and is serving allergen-free beer, wines, and cocktails and will soon open a dining room addition. Earlier this year, Yelp ranked Intentional Foods 9th in its top 100 restaurants to eat in 2021.
Downtown Mesa ice rink is better than ever this year, officials say
The Winter Wonderland Ice Rink is bigger and better than ever at this year’s Merry Main Street in downtown Mesa, the city says. The rink is more than 6,000 square feet, about 1,000 square feet larger than last year.
The Winter Wonderland Ice Rink is one of the key attractions of Merry Main Street and offers a general admission price of $10 for one hour of skating, which includes skate rental. Tickets must be purchased online at merrymainst. com/icerink.
Merry Main Street continues through Jan. 2. For a complete list of Merry Main Street activities, including dates and times, visit merrymainst.com/icerink.. ■
Submit your releases to pmaryniak@ timespublications.com
PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY AND CHRONIC PAIN WARNING!
Our clinic is taking every precaution and we follow strict CDC guidelines to ensure that our patients, clinic and staff are SAFE!
Mesa, AZ — The most common method your doctor will recommend to treat your chronic pain and/or neuropathy is with prescription drugs that may temporarily reduce your symptoms. These drugs have names such as Gabapentin, Lyrica, Cymbalta, and Neurontin, and are primarily antidepressant or anti-seizure drugs. These drugs may cause you to feel uncomfortable and have a variety of harmful side effects. Chronic pain and/or peripheral neuropathy is a result of damage to the nerves often causing weakness, pain, numbness, tingling, and the most debilitating balance problems. This damage is commonly caused by a lack of blood flow to the nerves in the hands and feet which causes the nerves to begin to degenerate due to lack of nutrient flow.
As you can see in Figure 2, as the blood vessels that surround the nerves become diseased they shrivel up which causes the nerves to not get the nutrients to continue to survive. When these nerves begin to “die” they cause you to have balance problems, pain, numbness, tingling, burning, and many additional symptoms. The main problem is that your doctor has told you to just live with the problem or try the drugs which you don’t like taking because they make you feel uncomfortable. There is now a facility right here in Mesa that offers you hope without taking those endless drugs with serious side effects. (See the special neuropathy severity examination at the end of this article) In order to effectively treat your neuropathy three factors must be determined. 1) What is the underlying cause? 2) How much nerve damage has been sustained. NOTE: Once you have sustained 95% nerve loss, there is likely nothing that we can do for you. 3) How much treatment will your condition require? The treatment that is provided at Aspen Medical has three main goals. 1) Increase blood flow 2) Stimulate and increase small fiber nerves 3) Decrease brain-based pain The treatment to increase blood flow, stimulate small nerve fibers and get you back to health is our new $50,000.00 SANEXAS UNIT! In addition, we use a state-of-the-art diagnostics like the TM Flow diagnostic unit to accurately determine the increase in blood flow and a small skin biopsy to accurately determine the increase in small nerve fibers! The Sanexas electric cell signaling system delivers energy to the affected area of your body at varying wavelengths, including both low-frequency and middle-frequency signals. It also uses amplitude modulated (AM) and frequency modulated (FM) signaling. During a treatment session, the Sanexas system automatically changes to simultaneously deliver AM and FM electric cell signal energy. THE GREAT NEWS IS THAT SANEXAS IS COVERED BY MEDICARE AND MOST INSURANCE! Depending on your coverage, your treatment could be little to no cost to you! The amount of treatment needed to allow the nerves to fully recover varies from person to person and can only be determined after a detailed neurological and vascular evaluation. As long as you have not sustained at least 95% nerve damage there is hope! Aspen Medical will do a chronic pain and neuropathy severity examination to determine the extent of the nerve damage as a public service to you and/or your family and friends. This neuropathy/ pain severity examination will consist of a detailed sensory evaluation, extensive peripheral vascular testing, and a detailed analysis of the findings of your neuropathy.
Fig. 2
Aspen Medical will be offering this chronic pain and neuropathy severity examination from now until December 31, 2021. Call 480-
274-3157 to make an appointment to determine if your chronic pain and peripheral neuropathy can be successfully treated. Due to our very busy office schedule, we are limiting this FREE consultation offer to the first 15 callers. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SUFFER ANOTHER MINUTE, CALL Call 480-274-3157 … NOW!
We are extremely busy and if your call goes to our voicemail, please leave a message and we will get back to you asap.
480-274-3157
4540 E Baseline Rd., Suite 119 Mesa Az 85206
THE MESA TRIBUNE | DECEMBER 12, 2021
GOP lawmakers taking aim at school boards in 2 ways
BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services
APhoenix GOP lawmaker is looking for a new and quicker way to penalize school boards that ignore state laws while a veteran Scottsdale senator wants to make school board candidates run on party lines. Rep. Steve Kaiser wants to allow lawmakers to file complaints when they believe a school district or charter school is doing something that is illegal.
HB 2009 would then require the attorney general to investigate. And if the lawyers there agreed that the statute was being broken, it could order that some state aid be withheld if the district didn’t repeal the policy or practice.
What Kaiser wants is based on an existing 2016 statute that empowers the Attorney General to investigate actions by cities and counties, complete with the same ability to cut off state dollars. And it is a power that has been used since its enactment to force several Arizona cities to alter or repeal some ordinances, ranging from a Sedona tax on vacation rentals to a Pima County moratorium on evictions.
Kaiser said what made him decide to seek expansion of what law was the vote in late June by legislators to prohibit any requirement that students and staff wear masks while on campus. “I was shocked to see how many school districts and how many schools decided they were just going to snub their nose at state law,’’ he said.
Only thing is, that law was not set to take effect until Sept. 29. But Kaiser said schools should have obeyed it anyway.
As it turned out, a judge declared on Sept. 28 that the law was illegally enacted, prohibiting its enforcement. Meanwhile, Republican Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita wants to scrap the current system where people interested in the unpaid position submit nominating papers and then run against each other in a general election. Instead, all the registered candidates from each party would compete in an August primary, with the winners then facing off in November.
It would be a massive change for the process now used in the more than 200 school districts across the state. And it also would put Arizona in the minority of states with a similar system, following only Louisiana and Pennsylvania. SB 1010 is drawing a chilly reception from Chris Kotterman, lobbyist for the Arizona School Boards Association. He said adding partisan labels would detract from the ability of board members to focus on what are issues of how to educate children in the community. But Ugenti-Rita told Capitol Media Services that is denying the reality that much of what falls within the purview of board members is partisan. She said these range from issues of taxes and budget to curriculum, parental control and even whether schools should remain open during a pandemic.
“This is helping voters understand where someone stands ideologically and politically so they have a better sense of how they’re going to govern and how they’re going to vote,’’ Ugenti-Rita said.
Ugenti-Rita said no one thing is behind the move. But it comes after more than a year of some high-profile battles, often between board members and parents, about things like whether schools should be open for in-person instruction and whether student and faculty should be required to wear face coverings while on campus. Ugenti-Rita charged, “I think that those who operate in the school board and in the education arena have gotten a little too cocky and taken advantage of the nice position they’ve been in.” “And, yet, they’ve acted very political,’’ she said. “And so I think we should align the system with how these boards have been acting for decades, which is political.’’ She said that party labels will help voters understand “where candidates are.’’ What Ugenti-Rita is seeking to impose in some ways runs counter to what fellow Republicans tried to do more than a decade ago. The Arizona Supreme Court voided the law. Ugenti-Rita said there’s no comparison with what she’s proposing now for school boards. “This is already very political,’’ she said. “Let’s just get real and deal with reality. “And school boards are political.’’ ■
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