Queen Creek Tribune 08/13/2023

BY HALEY BEYER Tribune Contributing Writer

The Queen Creek Police Department recently introduced Versaterm Public Safety’s Case Serving Reporting, a way for residents to report nonemergencies through conversational technology.

The program helps find faster solu -

BY SCOTT SHUMAKER Tribune Staff Writer

prominent business leaders resigned from the board of Visit Mesa, a nonprofit that also promotes Queen Creek and Apache Junction through separate contracts.

The two board members cited disagreements with the nonprofit’s professional staff over transparency concerns that include a $60,000 golf club membership and an upcoming $45,000 overnight retreat at

tions to nonemergency case reports. Simultaneously, this will help divide emergency and nonemergency reports. With this new technology, citizens can use a mobile app (available on the Google Play and Apple App stores) and expect an immediate response via virtual assistance.

Founded in 1977, Versaterm Public Safety uses innovative solutions, exper-

tise and a dedication to customer service to create purposeful integrations across the public safety spectrum. They deliver intuitive tools developed for public safety agencies, forensic labs, court systems, schools and other institutions. Because they have strategically focused on improving customer and user workflows,

their results are more efficient and effective.

The app was released in May and was tested and successfully utilized in other cities.

“Other agencies using Case Service Reporting include the Austin Police Department in Austin,” said Rohan Galloway-Dawkins, Versaterm Public Safety’s chief product officer.

“The APD is seeing positive results among its community members, who enjoy the personalized attention to their incidents.”

By implementing nonemergency reporting, Versaterm can handle theft (less than $1,000); criminal damage to property (less than $1,000); graffiti, forgery or fraud (less than $1,000); shoplifting; identity theft; theft from a vehicle; and lost property (including phones).

Because this agency is technology driven, interaction will start and take place online but, if preferred, inter-

actions can be in person as well.

The program strives to better meet the needs of the community, provide a safe state of mind for its citizens, and to relieve some of the congestion in reporting in general. This module allows Versaterm to manage agencywide data in support of proactive police work.

With the app, users can explain an issue, in their own words, and the app will generate a comprehensive report. This report will adhere to the National Incident-Based Reporting System, making it a lot simpler to validate cases and assign a case number.

“Community members can expect an immediate response from the virtual investigator, which will guide the reporting parties through the filing process by attentively listening, thoughtfully questioning and seamlessly adapting to their answers,” Galloway-Dawkins said.

After the report is filed, it goes to the records department for review. Approval is necessary before the case

WHY SETTLE FOR ORDINARY?

is assigned a number and detective/ investigative unit. The individual who reported the problem will be updated in real time until the case is officially resolved.

As the community uses the app, Versaterm will make updates to the program to guarantee the quality of their service.

“The Queen Creek Police Department has fully implemented the solution, and we are both excited to see how the community responds to this new way of directly engaging with the agency,” Galloway-Dawkins said.

The nonemergency reporting helps police better meet the needs and expectations of those they’re helping while processing emergency versus nonemergency.

“Case Service Reporting helps uphold service excellence to all community members,” Galloway-Dawkins said. “Nonemergency calls are mostly administrative in nature. Since the system accurately captures

all relevant reporting information, the agency can streamline the intake and processing of reports to deliver faster, better outcomes to the community.”

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the Ritz-Carlton outside Tucson.

Mesa Chamber of Commerce President Sally Harrison resigned on July 10, and Rich Adams, a former Visit Mesa Board chair, stepped down July 14.

Harrison has led the 117-year-old chamber of commerce for a decade and has been part of its executive team even longer.

Adams, named Mesa Man of the Year in 2019, is a member of numerous local boards, including Mesa United Way and Mesa’s Economic Development Advisory Board.

Visit Mesa in spring 2021 signed a contract with Queen Creek, which agreed to pay $36,000 annually for a variety of print and digital promotions of the town and various tourist attractions. The contract, which included five annual renewals for five years, also showed analytics of “the significance of the visitor economy” and travel forecasts.

Visit Mesa on its website also identifies itself as “your official regional travel resource for the City of Mesa and our surrounding communities of Queen Creek and Apache Junction.”

Adams had served on the Visit Mesa board for 15 years.

The two leaders sent their resignation letters to Visit Mesa CEO Marc Garcia and copied Mesa’s city manager, mayor and councilmembers.

Harrison’s resignation cited scheduling conflicts but concluded with, “I hope the items that have been questioned and discussed can be cleared up and that Visit Mesa can move forward with better procedures in place.”

Garcia has apparently resigned from Harrison’s chamber of commerce board, his name disappearing from the chamber’s website sometime after late June, according to Wayback Machine, an Internet Archive tool.

Adams’ resignation letter from Vis-

it Mesa criticized “the grandiosity of (Visit Mesa’s) expense budget” and a “cloak of secrecy” surrounding its operations.

The chain of events leading to the resignations began in February.

During that month’s board meeting, a Visit Mesa staff member reported the January purchase of a corporate membership to Las Sendas Golf Club for $60,000, according to meeting minutes.

Visit Mesa board chairman Carl Grupp told the Tribune the golf membership will be used by four sales executives to entertain meeting planners, travel agents, tour operators and others who “bring business to fill the Convention Center, fill the hotels.”

Las Sendas’ 18-hole championship course is currently open for the public to purchase tee times, but it has plans to go private once 350 memberships are sold — which could be years away.

When that happens, tourists visiting Mesa would be barred from the Las Sendas course unless they know a member.

Grupp said he was unaware of Las Sendas’ plans to go private, but he defended the corporate membership as a valid expense, saying that golf is “a sexy part of our destination. … You don’t have this kind of golf everywhere.”

Adams said he and many others glossed over the golf membership expenditure in February, but board member Jaye O’Donnell, Mesa’s assistant economic development director, noticed that the membership was not brought to the board for a vote according to Visit Mesa policy.

O’Donnell requested more information, including a copy of the contract with Las Sendas.

Adams said his concerns about the relationship between the board and Visit Mesa’s professional staff began when O’Donnell’s inquiries about the expenditure were met with resistance.

In May, O’Donnell said she formal-

ly requested a copy of the contract between Visit Mesa and Las Sendas Golf Club as well as the people listed on Visit Mesa’s membership with the club.

“My request was denied and to date has not been provided,” O’Donnell said in a statement.

Grupp acknowledges that he declined O’Donnell’s request for a copy of the contract with Las Sendas Golf Club.

He said it was because at the time, the membership was on the agenda of an upcoming finance committee meeting.

In late June, the board held a vote to retroactively approve the membership, and it passed with a large majority following some “admonishment,” Adams said.

It’s not clear why the contract and names on it have still not been provided to O’Donnell, who remains on the board.

Adams said the hesitancy to provide information requested by a board member was more problematic for him than the golf membership itself or the lapse in bringing it for a vote.

“I’ve seen the email chains,” Adams said of O’Donnell’s inquiries. “I think they were appropriate questions for a board member exercising due diligence to ask.”

He said it’s the board’s job to supervise the CEO and organization. Board members are fiduciaries, meaning they have an obligation to act in the financial interests of Visit Mesa.

The relationship between the board and Visit Mesa’s professional staff is similar to that of the one between Mesa City Council and city manager.

“The buck stops with the board,” Adams said.

Reliant on tax dollars

Visit Mesa is independent of the city

from page 1 see PROMOTES page 6

Tax compromise offers road hope to Queen Creek

BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

Gov. Katie Hobbs signed legislation recently to allow Maricopa County voters to decide on extending a half-cent sales tax for transportation projects, setting the stage for the fight to come at the ballot box.

While it will cost Queen Creek about $720,000 in rent tax revenue — a meager sum compared to millions it will cost other towns and cities starting in the 2024-25 fiscal year — the potential extension of the sales tax is worth millions to the town for road improvements and expansions.

Chief among the major losses would be nearly $150 million to offset the costs of extending State Route 24 from Maricopa County into Pinal County.

Also gone would be money for connecting several of Queen Creek’s major

arterial roadways to SR 24, a key freeway that plays into the town’s future to attract businesses, reduce traffic congestion and ease the commute for residents.

“The MAG approved plan includes direct benefits to Queen Creek with $148 million to complete the State Route 24 in Maricopa County and extend it into Pinal County with full interchanges planned at Signal Butte and Meridian,”

Mayor Julia Wheatley said a few months ago when the tax vote seemed imperiled by a stalemate between Gov. Katie Hobbs and Republicans in the Legislature.

SR 24 connectivity and the access it provides to other area freeways has been a cornerstone of the future town’s own transportation plan.

SR 24 “will provide another option for vehicles to access the US 60 and Loop 202 via future connections to Signal

Butte and Ironwood roads, and provide access to the portion of the Superstition Vistas land within the Town Planning Area,” the town’s master plan states.

In addition to losing $148 million for SR 24 connectivity, Queen Creek could lose $156 million for its arterial surface street network, which Wheatley contends recognizes “the region’s investments in the town’s rapid population growth allowing us to complete these improvements for residents faster.”

In a prepared statement, the governor said the levy “will secure our economic future and give every Arizonan an opportunity to succeed in our thriving economy.’’

She also crowed about the fact that the measure gained bipartisan approval, attracting more than half the Republican lawmakers and all Democrats but one.

But all the key provision of the legislation actually does is authorize county

supervisors to call a special election, presumably in 2024, to give voters the last word on extending the levy 20 years, to 2045. So now the fight moves from the halls of the Legislature to the streets.

Proponents have characterized the measure as simply giving voters the opportunity to keep in place the half-cent tax first approved 1985.

State lawmakers approved a new vote just last year, only to have it vetoed by then-Gov. Doug Ducey, sending the measure back to a new Legislature that is more fiscally conservative.

Negotiations resulted in the bill that she signed but that includes some significant curbs on how the money could be used.

And to get enough Republican votes, Hobbs agreed to sign a GOP-sponsored bill eliminating the ability of municipal-

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of Mesa, but it receives the bulk of its revenue from the transient lodging tax, or “bed tax,” collected by the city.

By law, 60% of the revenue collected from Mesa’s 5% bed tax must be spent on tourism marketing. The city currently has a contract with Visit Mesa to spend almost all of that required expenditure.

Under a five-year contract that expires in 2025, Visit Mesa gets more than half of Mesa’s total bed tax revenue.

In 2020, Mesa said in a report its total bed tax collections averaged $4 million annually, but the figure is probably significantly higher today amid a post-pandemic sales tax revenue bump.

Visit Mesa also provides marketing services to Queen Creek and some private clients.

For the fiscal year ending June 2022, Visit Mesa reported $5.1 million in revenue. Its CEO’s base salary in 2022 was $354,000, according to its required report to the IRS.

Visit Mesa includes a paid professional staff overseen by the unpaid board of directors. The board’s 36 members comprise a who’s who of Mesa leaders and industry players.

The board meetings are not open to the public and Visit Mesa isn’t subject to public records requests, but it must submit financial information to the IRS that is available to the public.

Adams praised the marketing efforts and achievements of Garcia and Visit Mesa, but he said the organization’s response to questions about expenditures and requests for documents and information is “reprehensible.”

Instead of just admitting its mistake, Adams felt Visit Mesa leadership decided to “attack the messenger.”

He was troubled by reports from other board members that Visit Mesa staff were framing concerns over expenditures as a personal conflict.

“The story that was promulgated shifted from the issue Jaye raised to ‘Jaye is grinding an ax and (Mesa Economic Development Director) Bill Jabjiniak is jealous,’” Adams said.

In his resignation letter Adams said

Longtime Mesa community leader and businessman Rich Adams questioned the propriety of some Visit Mesa activities as he

it was “unacceptable that an effort was mounted to discredit a board member who was performing her fiduciary duty.”

Garcia did not respond to a request for comment on this story.

Grupp strongly disputed there was any kind of effort to impugn O’Donnell for raising the issue.

“I couldn’t be more emphatic to say there was not,” he said, calling O’Donnell “a capable and talented professional.”

But Grupp also repeatedly attributed the controversy surrounding the golf expenditure to “jealously” and “personality things” and characterized the talk about it as “wrong and … unprofessional” — language that mirrors Adams’ descriptions of the chatter from staff about the dust up.

Grupp also called the issues cited in Adams’ resignation letter “meritless or biased individual opinions” in a statement to the Tribune.

“This is a board that’s always been very transparent, and nothing’s changing,” he said. “I don’t understand what the end game is” for the critics.

Grupp, a travel industry profession-

al, said Visit Mesa has been a good steward of tax money, which is generated mostly from nonresidents. He said the nonprofit delivers increased hotel stays and revenue for the city.

“Visit Mesa, for what tools that they have, runs at a pretty high level. It gets a lot of respect” from the travel industry, he said. It has “elevated Mesa to uncharted territory” in the realm of tourism, despite not having some of the amenities of neighboring communities.

Adams and Grupp agreed the organization has done many things Mesa can be proud of.

Another layer to the golf membership drama is that Tannis McBean, the secretary of the Visit Mesa board’s executive committee, is married to Wayne McBean, a co-owner of Las Sendas Golf Club.

Adams noted that Tannis McBean did not recuse herself from the vote in spite of her familial connection to the ownership of Las Sendas Golf Club.

He said the secretary should have erred on the side of recusal.

“Does it pass the headline test? Does it pass the smell test? It doesn’t matter if a good lawyer can argue it’s OK — that’s how you stay out of trouble and

you keep people’s trust,” he said.

For Adams, the $45,000 overnight Visit Mesa planning retreat at the Marana Ritz-Carlton coming up Aug. 10 also ran afoul of the smell test. Rooms there in August are around $400 a night.

In his letter, Adams said he couldn’t defend that kind of lavish accommodation to taxpayers or city officials.

Adams said he didn’t intend to “throw a grenade” at Visit Mesa with his resignation; he wants to see the organization embrace criticism and oversight.

“The board environment should encourage thought-provoking questions, constructive critique and debate in a non-retaliatory environment,” he said in his letter.

The local luminaries on the Visit Mesa board include District 6 Councilman Scott Somers, who requested a copy of the city’s contract with Visit Mesa following the resignations.

Asked for comment on the situation, he would say only: “The resignations have raised the eyebrows of at least one other (councilmember).”

Longtime Mesa Chamber CEO/President Sally Harrison resigned from the Visit Mesa board July 10. (File photo)

Visit Mesa President/CEO declined comment on the resignations. (File photo)

resigned from its board. (File photo)

ities to impose a tax on rent.

That move, which won’t go into effect until the new fiscal year begins next July 1, will take away more than $230 million a year in revenue that majority of the state’s 91 cities and towns collect, according to a lobbyist for the League of Arizona Cities and Towns.

“The 75 cities that are going to be directly impacted by this, they’ve only got two options should this bill be signed,’’ the League’s Tom Savage said. “They’re going to have to either cut services, or they’re going to have to increase local taxes to make up for this loss.’’

Rebuffed in its bid for a veto, the League of Arizona Cities and Towns now wants lawmakers and the governor to essentially reimburse them for the revenues they will be losing.

But they are likely to face hostility from the Republicans who control the Legislature who have championed the repeal.

Senate Majority Leader Sonny Borrel-

li, R-Lake Havasu City, put it most succinctly: He responded to a query about the League’s request with a one-icon response of a thumb down.

Senate Republicans called a news conference to crow about the rental bill, saying cities were flush with cash and criticizing them for not voluntarily eliminating the rental tax.

And they said they wanted to help low-income renters during a period of high inflation by getting rid of the tax, which is levied on top of rents, at rates that average 2.4%.

“This is (money) to help people put food on the table, give them an extra tank of gas in the car,’’ said Senate President Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert. “And we are ready to provide relief.”

The transportation tax bill caps mass transit spending at 37% of the estimated $20 billion the tax will raise over 20 years and bars MAG from using any of that cash to extend the light rail system.

Scot Mussi, president and executive director of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, said that was still a “setback.’’

A poll found strong support among Maricopa County voters for another extension of the half-cent sales tax to support transportation projects. (Noble Predictive Insights/Submitted)

Mussi and his organization contend that, even with the changes, it still allows “radical plans like road diets,’’ essentially changes in street construction

or layout to slow traffic — and, from the perspective of foes, programs designed

see TAX page 8

to force people out of their personal vehicles.

But the big issue has been how much goes to projects other than new or improved roads, what Mussi called “failed transit projects that seemingly only enrich consultants and special interests.’’

A poll by OH Predictive Insights which said that 56% of those questioned support a renewed half-cent tax, with 17% opposed and 26% undecided. Pollster Mike Noble said even among Republicans there was a plurality, with 47% in favor and 30% against.

And in a separate question, Noble said he found that 54% believe the current light rail system should be expanded, with only 6% saying there should be no light rail.

Rep. Alexander Kolodin, R-Scottsdale, who voted against allowing this plan to go to voters, sniffed at the results.

“And the reason I doubt the accuracy of the polling is, if it were true that spending (nearly) 40% of this new tax on public transportation funding was

something the voters wanted, nobody would ever have fought bifurcation,’’ he said.

That refers to the failed effort by conservatives to have two votes, one for roads and one for mass transit.

In vetoing that plan, the governor accused backers of “playing politics” and “holding Arizona’s economy hostage.”’

Kolodin, however, said he believes voters are willing to listen to arguments why this new plan is unacceptable.

“The messaging has to be we’re growing at a rapid pace, we’ve got to have our transportation funding dedicated to the roads that will allow us not to turn into LA,” he said. “We can’t have 40% of it siphoned off for public transit that services less than a percent of the population.’”

And Kolodin said if voters reject this plan, it will send a message to lawmakers to approve a different formula.

But not all Republicans agree, with even Senate President Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert, issuing a press release calling what lawmakers approved the “most conservative Prop 400 plan in Arizona history.’’

He cited the elimination of funding from the levy for light rail expansion and the 63% earmarked for roads and freeways. And Petersen said it also ties the hands of the Maricopa Association of Governments, the agency made up of local community leaders that decides and funds the projects.

“No longer can dollars be shifted unilaterally after taxpayers have approved the measure,” he said.

For decades the city and surrounding communities poured billions into building more and more freeways based on the belief that would ease congestion.

That didn’t happen. And it is only more recently that the area has invested in rail and other mass transit.

But Kolodin said that funding hasn’t helped.

The lone Democrat to oppose the plan was Sen. Sally Ann Gonzales of Tucson. But unlike the Republicans who voted “no,’’ her objection was the fact that the measure the state from imposing limits like California on what percentage of vehicles sold could be powered with fossil fuels.

Chandler Unified enrollment faces 10-year slide

BY KEN SAIN Tribune Staff Writer

It was not a surprise that enrollment dropped in the Chandler Unified School District when the COVID-19 pandemic began.

The district lost more than 2,000 students then.

What it is a surprise, however, is that those students did not return. And they did not go to charter schools either, according to a demographer’s presentation Aug. 9 to the Chandler Unified Governing Board.

“There was no bounce back, it’s just that enrollment continued to be down by 2,000 students,” said Rick Brammer of Applied Economics, the demographics expert who has worked with the district for more than two decades.

Brammer gave the board an update on the district’s demographics and what its likely future enrollment trend looks like.

The main takeaway: Enrollment is in decline and will continue to drop over the next decade.

That same trend is also apparent in Gilbert Public Schools and some of Chandler Unified’s other neighbors.

The only exception, he said, is Queen Creek Unified, where enrollment continues to grow.

There are a number of contributing factors to the enrollment decline in Chandler Unified, some of which also impact Gilbert:

• Birth rates are in decline. “Birth rates in Arizona fell by nearly 19% during the Great Recession, causing a 17% decline in the total number of births in the state,” Brammer said. “The birth rate stabilized from 2011 to 2014 and then dropped another 16.5% through 2020; his resulted in 76,400 births, which was 11.9% fewer than in 2014.” Since 2020, they have slightly increased.

• Housing prices are steep, which means young families with children can’t afford to live here. East Valley homeowners won’t give up their homes if they have low mortgage interest rates because they won’t find comparable ones, and that lack of turnover is keeping young families with children out of the market.

• Compounding the affordability problem

affecting the housing market, Chandler is near buildout and has little space left to build single-family homes. What space Chandler does have is increasingly going toward high-end multifamily housing, which in general does not attract families with school-age children.

• Increased competition from charter and private schools, the latter benefiting from the expansion of Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, or school vouchers.

Brammer said that while charter schools are a challenge for the district, it’s not the biggest unknown. That would be school vouchers.

“In 2020 to 2023, charter schools only gained 8,000 and district schools went down a couple of thousand,” Brammer said. “We know the school-age population went up by a lot more than that. The number of ESAs went from 9,000 to 49,000.”

Lana Berry, the district’s chief financial officer, said the state is reporting 69,000 have applied and been granted ESAs this year.

“We have seen across the Valley … is that choice requires resources, it requires knowledge of the choice and it requires the ability to take advantage,” Brammer said. “What we saw was that in lower socioeconomic districts, most of the students came back. And here (CUSD), Gilbert, Paradise Valley, they did not. Generally, it is the same story in Scottsdale.”

Brammer said CUSD has 16,000 students living within its borders who are attending charter schools. The good news, he said, is that 6,000 students that live outside its borders commute to attend CUSD schools because of its reputation for quality instruction.

The uncertainty created by ESAs makes it difficult to project with confidence CUSD’s future enrollment, Brammer said. Still, he expects the district to lose close to 4,400 students over the next decade.

Berry said based on their early enrollments this year, the district already has 800 fewer students than last year — more than double the 300 that Brammer expected a year ago.

The projection had at least one board member wondering why the district is building a new school.

“Wait a second,” Kurt Rohrs said. “Galveston: We’re about to spend $30 million rebuilding that school to a capacity of 750, and we’re not getting above 500, and there’s absolutely no growth in that area.

“There is nothing to indicate we can fill up that school. I’m really starting to wonder why we’re doing this.”

The actual cost will be closer to $35 million, said Tom Dunn, the district’s executive director of support services. And, he said, more than $11 million has already been committed after the board approved spending more than $9 million at the Aug. 9 meeting to procure materials it will need.

Rohrs was the only no vote after failing to get a second on his motion to delay approving the expense.

Brammer said there is little the district can do about its declining enrollment.

Parents between the ages of 25 and 44, when most people have school-age children, are not moving to Chandler because

the median price of a home here is around $550,000, about $100,000 higher than the rest of the Valley.

Instead, they are moving to Queen Creek, Maricopa and Buckeye.

“The level of turnover in this district is very, very low, as is the … availability of affordable housing. So those are going to continue to work against us.”

And he said the district does pretty well against charter schools, whose enrollments have also stagnated.

“In your district and in a lot of other established areas, they had kind of saturated themselves. If they’d opened another one, they were just cannibalizing themselves. So, we kind of had that under control.

“Now, the ESAs give us a whole other thing to get a handle on. How big is it going to get? Is it going to be capped? Those are the things that make projections so difficult to do, because we don’t know the environments that exist.”

Mom, gym team up for cystic fibrosis help

BY HALEY BEYER

Tribune Contributing Writer

There’s a reason that Kylie Bowyer likes gyms for her fundraising events to help families and children confronting cystic fibrosis.

The Gilbert woman — whose group, The Bowyer Battle, provides financial support — wants supporters to think about what life would be like if they suffered from the genetic disorder, which severely damages the lungs and other organs and affects the cells that produce mucus, sweat and digestive juices.

“Cystic fibrosis causes people to fight for their breath every minute of their life,” explained Bowyer, whose 6-year-old son Knox suffers from the disease.

“What better way to show our support and dedication to the cause than by fighting for our breaths?” she continued. “We are using this slogan: CF patients fight for their breath every day, we’re asking you to fight for yours for 45 minutes.”

That’s the purpose behind her next fundraiser 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 19 at a Gilbert gym appropriately named Suffer City at 263. E. Warner Road.

Bowyer and gym owner Jason France have scheduled a unique fundraiser, similar to one she held in Scottsdale, in which people can sign up for “Sweat for the Cause.”

People can sign up for one of 24 slots held at three different times that day — 1 p.m., 2 p.m. or 3 p.m. — and help raise money and awareness of cystic fibrosis.

Thanks in part to sponsors BTG Real Estate, Ananda Salon, Xendurance and Cadence Running Company, participants will receive a swag bag loaded with items.

Those who don’t feel like exerting can attend to and mingle with other supporters as well as families with loved ones suffering from CF.

Bowyer noted that even supporters who don’t particularly relish the notion of a vigorous workout will have plenty to do.

“We will have a spectator area so that friends and family can come together and cheer on the participants,” she said.

“There will be raffle items, merchandise tables, snacks and lots of comradery.”

Bowyer has been running fundraisers to benefit CF research for several years and created the Bowyer Battle blog (thebowyerbattle.org) to raise awareness,

as well as raise money to help families burdened by the high cost of care.

She has raised over $500,000 and her pockets don’t see a dime despite the fact that care for a child with CF can run about $15,000.

“Cystic fibrosis is an ever-changing plan of care,” Bowyer explained. “Patient care and medical expenses only increase with time and age.

“I wouldn’t say that inflation has affected me personally with Knox’s medical care or expenses, but we have absolutely felt it impact our annual donations to the organization.

“When asking local businesses to get involved with our events over the past year or so, it’s been harder to obtain larger donations and involvement due to businesses being hit by the economic changes.”

France, who co-founded Suffer City four years ago with Brian Butson, gladly welcomed a chance to help Bowyer’s campaign, stating, “We couldn’t resist the chance to open our doors and invest our energy in support of the foundation.

His gym boasts “unrivaled perfor-

mance and physique results, a curiously supportive community and, above all, a mindset training component that derives from a gamified, team-based training experience that is heavy on accountability.”

France saw Bowyer’s Battle as something that met Suffer City’s goal of enriching lives.

“While we’re able to enrich the lives of our members everyday by being the best part of their day, it’s important that we reach out beyond our membership base and give back to positively impact those who need it most,” France said.

“Two years ago, we raised over $60,000 for four separate charities with a 24-hour endurance challenge inside our training center, and when Kylie Bowyer considered Suffer City for their Sweat for the Cause event,” he added.

At the event, France said each heat involves a series of speed, strength and training exercises and there will be a winning team from each session as well as one for the entire day.

Registration for a heat is $100, and people who cannot attend and want to help can do so at thebowyerbattle.org.

Jason France, owner of Suffer City Gym in Gilbert, believes participants in “Sweat for a Cause” will get a good workout while they give back to the community. (David Minton/Staff)

Gilbert mom Kylie Bowyer and Suffer City owner Jason France are holding a fundraiser at his Gilbert gym to benefit her group, which helps families confronting cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease that afflicts her own 6-year-old son. (David Minton/Staff)

Nordstrom Rack to open in QC

BY TRIBUNE STAFF

Criminalizing politics is a dangerous step

BY J.D. HAYWORTH Tribune Columnist

As the United States descends further into modern political madness, it is worth recalling our Founding Fathers’ historic collective genius.

Author Catherine Drinker Bowen described the 1787 Constitutional Convention as the “Miracle at Philadelphia.”

That the men at such a gathering could create our Constitution despite the discomfort of summer heat, the rekindling of rivalries and the pettiness of politics was indeed miraculous.

Those who gathered were certainly not saints. But history calls them statesmen, at least in part because they clearly stated their suspicions concerning the faults and frailties of human nature. That’s why they fashioned a tool for self-government that curbed opportunities for the selfish to concentrate power in their own ambitious hands.

Undergirding it all was the belief that God granted power to the people, who then voluntarily conferred that power on the government.

Despite the poetic prose of the Constitution’s Preamble, in which the Founders wrote that they hoped to “secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity,” some among the subsequent generations of that posterity, consumed with ambition and arrogance, have sought to short-circuit the provisions of our founding document through diabolically clever “detours.”

Early 20th century progressives chose to propagate the false perception that majority rule was the central and sole tenet of our governing philosophy. They also rejected the premise that the Constitution was a document of limited and enumerated powers.

Consequently, they embraced the notion that the Constitution was a “living document,” even as like-minded legal activists sought to place it on “life support.”

Why trifle with the time-consuming requirements of ratifying an amendment with supermajorities in both houses of Congress and the state legislatures when precedent-setting decisions by activist judges can essentially accomplish the same goal?

Leftist reporters and pundits frequently championed those court decisions with sympathetic accounts

instead of objective analysis.

The full blossom of that ideological stinkweed seems to enjoy constant, uncritical coverage from the alphabet networks and their cable cousins these days.

As sadly noted before in this space, the Fourth Estate, despite its loud denials, has transmogrified into a “fifth column” for the increasingly authoritarian left.

Largely absent from the current scene are the warnings of a “chilling effect” on the First Amendment.

Instead, today’s journalists have warmed to uncritical coverage of supposed “climate change,” serving a seemingly constant narrative that they’re merely “following the science,” even as they ignore counterarguments from actual scientists.

Also ignored or minimized by establishment newspapers and networks: the erasure of our southern border and continuing illegal invasion, the consequences of major cities abandoning established and effective crime fighting policies, and the apparent use of high office for financial gain by the 46th president and members of his family.

Trumping all of that (pun intended) is the constant, critical coverage of the 45th president and the Biden

justice department’s dogged pursuit of indictments against Donald Trump.

Criminalizing politics is a dangerous step for a constitutional republic — no matter how enthusiastic partisan prosecutors posture with their supposed zealotry for the “rule of law.”

But, right on cue, the leftist legal lobby is employing yet another devious “detour.”

The Constitution wisely outlaws “bills of attainder” — legislation that would impose criminal punishment on a specific person without the benefit of a trial.

That’s why the legal strategy of the Biden Bunch and those doing their bidding is to subject Donald Trump to as many court proceedings and criminal trials as possible.

Call it the “bills of retainer” strategy — an effort to bankrupt a billionaire with the high cost of effective legal representation — and to keep him from holding political office again.

But genius is not required to recognize madness… and the basic goodness of the American people should not be underestimated.

Nor should the contents — or the promise — of the Constitution. 

Queen Creek Tribune welcomes letters that express readers’ opinion on current topics. Letters must include the writer’s full name, address (including city) and telephone number. Queen Creek Tribune will print the writer’s name and city of residence only. Letters without the requisite identifying information will not be published. Letters are published in the order received, and they are subject to editing. Queen Creek Tribune will not publish consumer complaints, form letters, clippings from other publications or poetry. Letters’ authors, not Queen Creek Tribune, are responsible for the “facts” presented in letters.

Be careful and keep an eye out for snakes

BY JUDY BLUHM Tribune Columnist

My home is my castle! Isn’t that how we’re all supposed to feel? When we arrive at our abode after a hot and busy day, we’re entering the comfort zone. The one safe haven in a hectic world. Home sweet home.

Sitting one morning on the sofa, I gazed out through the patio doors. In an instant, my sense of security was shattered. Imagine my shock when I noticed the head of a reptile looking back at me! That’s right, the little slithering beast was staring in the door at me, tongue flicking. At first, I couldn’t see a body attached to the head. I wondered, was it a desert turtle, a huge liz-

ard? The beady eyes of this headless creature fixed on me across the room. Cautiously, I tiptoed over to the glass door and saw the long body of a big yellow bull snake.

Every now and then, our “mi casa” hits a sour note. Around here it’s usually because of things that crawl on their belly. It’s not that these critters don’t belong here; it’s just that they make me wonder if I do. There’s something downright unsettling about sipping coffee, reading the morning news and having a 3-foot snake glaring at you with a menacing tongue darting back and forth.

Hey, I have nothing to complain about since a woman in Tucson had the “experience of a lifetime.” Well, that is how she described the horror, when she went to use the toilet in her mas-

ter bathroom and found a snake in the commode. She slammed the lid down and called a snake removal company, which caught the evil whip snake. And then the lady packed up all of her belongings and burned her house down (OK, I am making this part up).

At least we don’t live in Texas, where snakes fall out of the sky. A woman was on a riding lawnmower, cutting her grass, when a hawk flying overhead dropped a snake, which landed on her shoulder. The woman screamed, as the venomous snake tightly wrapped itself around her arm. Then it gets worse. The hawk swooped down and clawed the lady in a fight to get the snake back. The viper spit venom at the poor woman and the hawk shredded her arm into a bloody mess. Finally, the hawk won the battle and flew off with its prey. And

that is how to have a nervous breakdown.

We need to find ways to keep the reptiles away! But I do love lizards, distant cousins of those pesky snakes. I have many lizards that live in my yard, scurrying from plant to shrub. They love to hang magically on the side of the walls, much like an artificial bronzed art deco. The UPS man was quite upset when he rang my doorbell and discovered that the lizard he had just touched was real and not a metal decoration. He screamed like a girl and threw the package up in the air!

As for creatures that slither on their belly, for goodness snakes, please stay alert and be very careful. 

Judy Bluhm is a writer and a local Realtor. Contact her at judy@judybluhm. com or at aroundthebluhmintown.com.

Football preview: Ben Franklin geared up with new staff

BY ZACH ALVIRA Tribune Sports Editor

Benjamin Franklin’s football program faced a major bout with adversity last season.

The Chargers dealt with injuries, a diminished roster and tougher opponents at the 4A level after being moved up from 3A the year prior. It resulted in a 1-9 season, uncharacteristic for a program that played for the 3A Conference championship in 2019.

The end of a disappointing 2022 season saw the departure of head coach Dave Jefferies, who is now the strength and conditioning coach at Dobson. But that opened the door for Danny Norris to take over after a long stint at Gilbert Christian, where he was successful in building the program after a difficult season the year prior.

Now, he’s hoping to do the same at Ben Franklin.

“I think there’s certainly a toughness about this school,” Norris said. “The academic rigor, I think, translates over to an athletic side of things. To bring that pride back to this football program, to bring wins back to this football program … I think is going to bring more juice and energy to

this school.”

Norris didn’t just inherit a struggling program, he inherited one that was young at nearly every position. But those players are a year older now. Along with some additions from the sophomore class, Norris and his staff are confident they can right the ship.

It starts up front with the offensive line coaches by Andy Montano, a former assistant to Norris at Gilbert Christian. They have two towers anchoring the line at either tackle in senior Jake Alexander and his sophomore brother Ammon.

At 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-4, respectively, the Alexander brothers bring much-needed size to the offensive line, which also includes interior players that average over 6 feet tall. Jake said he’s been waiting for the opportunity to play with Ammon. Now, they get their chance.

“I’ve been waiting for a while,” Jake said. “It’s special getting to hold the line together with us on each side.”

Ammon was on the freshman team last season while watching the varsity struggle. He knew he could make a difference as a sophomore, he just had to be patient and wait for the opportunity.

With the two brothers and the rest of the offensive line, Norris can open the playbook for a variety of formations and plays.

Benjamin Franklin was well known for its double wing-T offense under Jefferies. Norris hasn’t completely thrown out the idea of running the same concept, but it was moved to the back of the playbook, just in case the Chargers need it.

They now run a more traditional offense, one that will likely focus heavily on the run game with the Alexander brothers leading the way. Ammon said despite this being his first taste

of varsity football, he enjoys knowing the coaches are confident in his ability to perform well and help turn around the program.

“It’s pretty cool,” Ammon said. “I’m just a sophomore, so for them to have that much trust in me feels nice.”

Perhaps the biggest beneficiary of the Alexander brothers will be junior running back and linebacker Ridge Allen. He excelled last year despite the challenges the team endured.

But he’s become bigger, faster and stronger over the course of the off-season. He’s also become one of the team’s leaders both on and off the field.

Allen doesn’t want what transpired last year to define the program.

“I’m stoked,” Allen said. “We got bumped down to 3A, so we’re in a conference where we can really compete. It’s going to be so much fun this year.”

Franklin will open its season on Friday, Aug. 18 against Crismon.

American Leadership Academy — Ironwood

The ALA Ironwood Warriors have a new coaching staff led by Loren Dawson, a longtime assistant coach at the collegiate level. The Warriors also have talent returning from last season’s team that finished 2-7.

But the players are aiming to right the ship this year. Dawson is confident he can help do that, too.

The Warriors will have to replace near 1,000-yard passer Connor Mault at the quarterback position, but they return running back Ayden Williams and will have fullback Carlos Clanton back in the mix after a season-ending injury during summer workouts last year. Clanton also plays linebacker.

Two of ALA’s leading receivers also return, and they’ll have some more help on the outside with South Carolina transfer Gabe Canter. Up front, ALA will be led by an offensive line that will feature 6-foot-4 freshman Brayden Mendoza.

ALA Ironwood will kick off its season Friday, Aug. 18, against Morenci.

Crismon

Entering their first varsity season, the Crismon Rattlers are eager to make a splash at the 3A level. Led by longtime Arizona high school football head coach Corbin Smith, the Rattlers have started to build a strong foundation at Queen Creek’s newest school.

Crismon played a modified schedule last season with freshman and junior varsity games. But now preparing for its first varsity season, the team hopes to replicate the same type of success seen at other new schools in the area when they were in their infancy. That includes Eastmark, which went to the playoffs in its first varsity season and won a championship at the 3A level a year later.

Crismon opens the year against Benjamin Franklin on Friday, Aug. 18.

Benjamin Franklin head coach Danny Norris; junior running back Ridge Allen, middle; senior tackle Jake Alexander, top left; and sophomore Ammon Alexander, top right, are hoping to change the narrative of the Charger football program after a 2-7 season last year. (Dave Minton/Staff)

Sophomore Ammon Alexander said he wanted the opportunity to play with his older brother, Jake, in high school. Now he gets that chance and is taking on an even bigger role anchoring one side of the offensive line. (Dave Minton/ Staff)

Hot Wheels Monster Trucks pull into the Valley for showdown

BY MARY GOLDMEER Tribune Staff Writer

Mattel Adventure Park is under construction in Glendale, but kids can get a sneak peek of what’s to come with Hot Wheels Monster Truck Live Glow Party at Desert Diamond Arena.

Engines will roar and hearts will soar at the event, which features Bigfoot, Mega Wrex, Tiger Shark, Boneshaker, Gunkster and other Hot Wheel favorites on Saturday, Aug. 19, and Sunday, Aug. 20.

The monster trucks will take the Desert Diamond Arena floor for competitions and battles, but a highlight will be a “dazzling dance party, spectacular laser light shows and Hot Wheel toy giveaways.” Hearing protection is advised.

Plus, for the first time, the fire- and frost-breathing, car-eating dragon Arcticgon will make an appearance.

Rebecca Schnell has been with Bigfoot’s team since 2019 but had her first monster truck experience as a child.

Thanks to a meet and greet she attended, she met her future husband, Darron Schnell.

“I climbed into the monster truck when I wasn’t supposed to,” Schnell said.

The rest was history. Before she was a driver, she spent time on the road helping Darron with his Bigfoot 19.

“Everything we do on a regular car we have to do for a monster-sized vehicle,” Schnell said. “It’s a lot of work and a lot of trouble but a heck of a lot of fun.”

After dedicating her time to maintaining Bigfoot 19, Schnell had the chance to drive her own.

“I was a little nervous at first,” Schnell admitted.

Competitions usually include races on rough terrain, a skills challenge to showcase their best stunt, a doughnut competition, and a freestyle competition that allows each driver to show off. Throughout the games, the giant Hot Wheels jump over and demolish smaller cars.

“It’s kind of funny, but I closed my eyes

the first time I hit a set of cars,” Schnell said. “Your brain doesn’t understand that when you’re strapped into a big machine like this that it really doesn’t hurt. You have to train your brain a little bit in order to get used to that impact.”

On top of her career of driving Bigfoot 15, Schnell is a traveling emergency room nurse. She’s able to juggle the two adrenaline-packed jobs.

“I’m moving from one career of making these highlight monster truck memories to seeing and helping people on their worst days,” Schnell said. “I love sharing behind-the-scenes footage of the daily life of a monster truck driver and ER nurse.”

Schnell holds herself to a personal standard of becoming the role model kids and parents want to see when they look at a Hot Wheels driver. Meeting and talking to fans at the Hot Wheels Crash Zone Pre-Show Party is her favorite part.

The generational love for monster trucks and Hot Wheels “is an honor to be a part

of,” Schnell said.

When the Mattel Adventure Park construction is done, fans will be able to ride roller coasters; drive go-karts; and visit themed spaces that feature the monster trucks, Barbie and Thomas & Friends.

“Pretty much every little boy and girl grew up with something from that Mattel brand,” Schnell said. “And being back in Glendale and seeing the park coming to life is really great.”

Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live Glow Party

WHEN: 12:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 19; 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 20

WHERE: Desert Diamond Arena, 9400 W. Maryland Avenue, Glendale

COST: Tickets start at $30

INFO: hotwheelsmonstertruckslive.com, desertdiamondarena.com

Bigfoot, Mega Wrex, Tiger Shark, Boneshaker, Gunkster, Arcticgon and other Hot Wheel favorites will take the Desert Diamond Arena floor for competitions and battles Saturday, Aug. 19, and Sunday, Aug. 20. (Mattel/Submitted)

Buddy Guy brings his ‘farewell tour’ to the Celebrity Theatre

BY DAVE GIL DE RUBIO Tribune Contributing Writer

The blues has always been a music form that’s found its proponents having a healthy respect of its roots and history, particularly with younger musicians being sure to pay homage to the elder statesman of the genre.

Many of those musical pillars have become names in a history book, be it Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf or the three Kings — Albert, Freddie and B.B., the latter who died May 14, 2015, at the age of 89.

With Buddy Guy having celebrated his 86th birthday last July 30, he remains one of the last pillars of the rich Chicago blues music scene that had the storied Chess Records as a cornerstone.

To that end, last year PBS recognized Guy’s impact as he reached the midpoint of his eighth decade on earth by releasing the documentary “Buddy Guy: The Blues Chase the Blues Away” as part of the American Masters series. And the documentary arrived only months before the recent announcement that Guy is embarking this year on his Damn Right Farewell Tour, which figures to mark an end to the kind of busy touring schedule that has been routine for much of Guy’s six-decades-plus career.

Final tour or not, one can count on Guy continuing to promote the blues, which is one reason he was happy to participate in the PBS documentary.

“The way they treat the blues now, you don’t hear it on your big radio stations anymore,” Guy said.

“Your big AM/FM stations don’t play blues hardly anymore. So, whatever little I can do to help keep blues alive, I’m open for it. I’m ready to wake up in the midnight hours of the night to help keep it alive, because

without satellite radio, I don’t think you hear much of B.B. King no more. Even the British blues guys aren’t being played much on radio anymore. You get a lot of hip-hop and superstars’ records, which don’t need to be played because they’re so well known. Their records are going to go (big) anyway. I don’t need to hear Muddy Waters as much as I hear Madonna or somebody else. Just play me Muddy Waters once or twice a month.”

Throughout the hour and 23 minutes of this American Masters episode, Guy’s life proves to be a fascinating tale. In addition to original interviews with Guy and numerous acolytes including John Mayer, Carlos Santana, Gary Clark Jr. and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, viewers are treated to quite the travelogue.

The filmmakers trace the guitarist from his origins working the Louisiana fields his sharecropping family plowed (and where a portion of highway was named after him in December 2018) to the thriving 1950s Chicago music scene he arrived in with nothing but a guitar in his hand and the suit on his back. It was here that he got his first break, when Waters took the 21-year-old fret-bender under his wing.

“Sixty-five years ago last year I’d just gotten to Chicago and I wasn’t looking to be a professional musician,” Guy recalled.

“I’d left Louisiana because they told me I could go to Chicago; get a day job; and wouldn’t have to pay to see Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson and all those guys. I was looking for a day job because I didn’t never think I was good enough to play with them. But I learned how to play Lightnin’ Hopkins, Jimmy Reed and a few Muddy

Expires 8/31/23.

Waters licks. I hadn’t eaten in three days, and a guy took me to the 708, a famous blues club on 47th Street in Chicago. I went up and played a number with the late Otis Rush and somebody called Muddy Waters, who was living about five blocks away. He got out of his van and because he heard I was telling people how hungry I was; he brought me a bologna sandwich.”

Word of Guy’s guitar prowess got around, and after a brief stint recording a few sides for Cobra Records, Guy landed at Chess courtesy of Waters, who favored the young musician. Soon, other artists in the label’s stable started using him on their records as well.

While label founder Leonard Chess begrudgingly used Guy while denouncing what he did as “just making noise,” the Louisiana native’s combination of tasty playing and over-the-top showmanship made him a favorite of the British Invasion triumvirate of Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton, as well as stateside guitar god Jimi Hendrix.

And while Guy is a humble man, he’s quick to acknowledge his abilities as well, particularly when asked what he thought about Hendrix the first time they met in 1968.

“You should ask what he thought of me, because he told me he came from a gig to come see me play because he’d picked up some things from me,” Guy said with a chuckle.

“As a matter of fact, I was playing in New York, and he came in with a reel-to-reel tape recorder and I didn’t know who the hell he was. He asked if he could tape and I could hear somebody saying, ‘That’s Jimi Hendrix.’ I didn’t know much about him because I was following B.B. King, Muddy Waters and T-Bone (Walker). I said, ‘So what? Who in the hell is Jimi Hendrix?’ He come up and asked if he could tape what I was doing because he just canceled a gig to come to New York to hear me play.”

While blues may have fallen out of favor in the ’70s and ’80s, Guy ex-

perienced a comeback in the ’90s, beginning with the release of his 1991 album “Damn Right, I Got the Blues,” his first recording in nearly a decade. Featuring cameos by Clapton, Beck and Mark Knopfler, the album is credited with kick-starting a blues rebirth. Guy has released a steady stream of albums since then, won eight Grammy Awards, earned a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction, and played for fellow Chicagoan President Barack Obama (“I always say I went from the outhouse to the White House”).

Having never stopped touring, even during his lean years, Guy un -

derstandably had slowed his pace some in recent years, but his fire for playing guitar and spreading the blues gospel hasn’t waned. Following on the heels of the PBS film is “The Torch,” a documentary that examines the guitarist’s ongoing influence on the blues and includes interviews with a number of musicians like Santana and Susan Tedeschi.

As for what folks can expect coming out to see this living legend do his thing onstage, Guy promises prime rib in a world of Spam.

“Folks can expect the best that I got,” he said. “My dad told me this, and I’ll tell you the same thing he

told me before I learned how to play when I was driving the tractor and plowing the fields in Louisiana. He said, ‘Son, don’t be the best in town. Just be the best until the best come around.’”

Buddy Guy w/Christone “Kingfish” Ingram

WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday, September 8.

WHERE: Celebrity Theatre, 440 N. 32nd Street, Phoenix

COST: Tickets start at $35

INFO: celebritytheatre.com

Although blues legend Buddy Guy has slowed his pace some in recent years, he never left touring behind — until now. His Damn Right Farewell Tour is coming to the Celebrity Theatre with special guest Christone “Kingfish” Ingram on Friday, Sept. 8. (ICM Partners/Submitted)

Tour feels like the last one for Foreigner

BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI Tribune Executive Editor

Foreigner keyboardist Michael Bluestein is ready for a break — and he has a good reason.

“I have a baby on the way,” he said. “She’s going to be born in November. I’m looking forward to being home to be a part of her upbringing.”

Known for songs like “Jukebox Hero,” “Feels Like the First Time,” “Waiting for a Girl Like You” and “I Want to Know What Love Is,” Foreigner is on its farewell tour, which comes to Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre on Sunday, Aug. 20.

“We’ve been doing this for years,” said Bluestein, Foreigner’s keyboardist since 2008. “It’s been quite a ride. There’s a lot of camaraderie. We’re sad to leave it behind.”

Bluestein has plenty on fond memories: playing a sold-out show at London’s Royal Albert Hall; gigging at Carnegie Hall in New

York; hitting the stage at Red Rocks in Colorado and in Lucerne, Switzerland, the latter with an orchestra.

“It’s just been great getting to play an amazing catalog of songs with great guys,” he said. “We have adoring fans who love those songs. They can sing along because they know all the lyrics.”

These days, Foreigner also features singer Kelly Hansen, bassist Jeff Pilson, guitarists Bruce Watson and Luis Maldonado, and drummer Chris Frazier.

Before he joined Foreigner, the Massachusetts native toured with Shelby Lynne and 4 Non Blondes’ Linda Perry. Since moving to Los Angeles in 2003, he has toured and recorded with Boz Scaggs, Anastacia, Enrique Iglesias and Roger Hodgson. He’s done occasional gigs with Burt Bacharach and Stevie Nicks.

He said he brings a diversity of experience to Foreigner, as he’s fluent in jazz, R&B and soul, which adds to the band’s muscu-

lar rock sound.

“Each of our big songs has a different flavor,” he added. “It’s not boring. Stylistically and groovewise, there are a lot of textures and tempos and vibes going on. It takes you on a trip, going through all these different songs. Each one has its own distinct voice.”

Fans will hear plenty of those tracks at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre.

“Fans can expect lots of big Foreigner hit songs,” Bluestein said about the show. “It’s high energy and just a fun catalog that everybody knows and loves. We’re psyched.”

Foreigner w/Loverboy

WHEN: 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 20

WHERE: Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre, 2121 N. 83rd Avenue, Phoenix

COST: Tickets start at $29.50

INFO: foreigneronline.com, ticketmaster.com

Michael Bluestein of Foreigner is celebrating the band’s history on its farewell tour. (Michael Bluestein/Submitted)

Act is over the moon about Pink Floyd album

BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI Tribune Executive Editor

Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon” was released 50 years ago, and the Australian Pink Floyd Show is celebrating right along with it.

The tribute act is bringing its show to the Chandler Center for the Arts on Sunday, Aug. 20, and the Fox Tucson Theatre on Wednesday, Aug. 23.

Vocalist Chris Barnes said the gigs show the album’s wide reach.

“As I’ve stood on the stage, playing the album, you realize how much it means to so many people,” Barnes said. “It’s a masterpiece. It’s an honor to play it.”

The Australian Pink Floyd Show has sold more than 5 million tickets in 35 countries since it was founded in 1988 in Adelaide. Even Pink Floyd bassist David Gilmour believes: He recruited them to play his 50th birthday party.

Australian Pink Floyd also celebrated the 30th anniversary of “The Dark Side of the Moon” in 2003, when it added backing vocalists and a saxophonist. They performed the album in its entirety in 2003 and 2004, marking the first North American tour. A DVD of the Liverpool Summer Pops show was available.

Its resume also includes stops at Glastonbury Festival and London’s Wembley and O2 arenas. This year, the focus is on “The Dark Side of the Moon.”

“At our shows, we’re playing the album in its entirety, along with other aspects of Pink Floyd, including from the psychedelic ’60s to the big albums of the ’80s and ’90s. It’s literally all eras of Floyd. The main thing is we’re celebrating ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’s’ 50th anniversary.”

The Manchester, England, native discovered Pink Floyd through his brother, with whom he shared a room. He was captivated by the Pink Floyd album “Relics” at age 5. He was, admittedly, “absolutely terrified” of “Interstellar Overdrive.”

Manchester, England, native Chris Barnes is the frontman for the Australian Pink Floyd Show. (Mark Gibson/Contributor)

“As a teenager, I saw the Pompeii concert from 1971,” said Barnes, 46. “I heard ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ age 15. I couldn’t believe it. It was this long, continual piece of music.

“I never heard anything like it. It was prog rock but not in the 500-notes-asecond way. Pink Floyd stands alone in it’s own little box.”

The

Australian Pink Floyd Show: The Darkside 50 Tour

WHEN: 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 20

WHERE: Chandler Center for the Arts, 250 N. Arizona Avenue, Chandler COST: Tickets start at $68 INFO: 480-782-2680, chandlercenter.org

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 23

WHERE: Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress Street, Tucson COST: Tickets start at $20 INFO: 520-547-3040, foxtucson.com

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If you’re a French fry foodie, you may have tried what is now the big rage: double frying the fries.

It definitely makes a big difference in the crispiness and flavor. And while you have your Dutch oven out, there’s no better meal to pair those tasty fries with than classic fish and chips. You’ll be frying the potatoes before and after the fish, surprisingly with no fishy flavor. I love this dish and I hope you do too! 

Ingredients:

For the fish

With JAN D’ATRI GetOut Columnist

Ahoy, this fish and chips recipe sails with flavor

For the chips

• 2 pounds potatoes, peeled

• 1 cup all-purpose flour, divided

• 1 cup cornstarch

• 2 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• 1 ½ tsp salt plus more for salting fish

• 1 tsp pepper

• 1 cup dark beer, cold

• 1 cup sparkling water, cold

• 8 (4-ounce) pieces of fresh cod

Directions:

Make the tartar sauce. In a bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, dill relish, vinegar, capers, mustard, salt and pepper until well combines. Spoon into a serving bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready t0 serve. Set aside 4 tablespoons of flour.

In a large bowl, mix the remaining flour, cornstarch, baking powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Whisking continuously, add the beer and the sparkling water to the flour mixture and mix to a thick, smooth batter. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Cut potatoes the size of French fries, then place in a colander and rinse under cold water.

Place the chips into a pan of cold water. Bring to a boil then simmer for 3 to 4 minutes.

Drain, then pat dry. Keep in the fridge covered with paper towels.

Lay the fish fillets on a paper towel and pat dry. Season with salt.

In a Dutch oven over high heat, bring oil to 375 degrees.

• 1 quart (1 liter) vegetable oil for frying

• Tartar Sauce

• 1 cup mayonnaise

• 4 TBSP dill relish

• 2 TBSP white wine vinegar

• 2 TBSP capers

• 2 tsp whole-grain mustard

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• 1 tsp black pepper

Cook the chips a few handfuls at a time in the oil for about 2 minutes. Do not brown them. Once the chips are slightly cooked, remove them from the oil and drain. Place the 2 tablespoons of flour reserved from the batter mix into a shallow bowl. Toss each fish fillet in the flour and shake off any excess. Dip the fish into the batter, coating the fillet.

Carefully lower each fillet into the hot oil. Fry for approximately 8 minutes or until the batter is crisp and golden, turning the fillets from time to time with a large slotted spoon.

Once cooked, remove the fillets and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt. Cover with parchment paper and keep hot.

Heat the oil to 400 degrees and then re-fry the chips until golden and crisp, or about 4 minutes. Remove from the oil and drain. Season with salt.

Serve with fish and tartar sauce, ketchup or malt vinegar.

Serves 8.