Scottsdale Progress 7.25.2021 by Times Media Group

Museum gets new leader / P. 8

COVID rising in Scottsdale / P. 6

An edition of the East Valley Tribune

INSIDE

FREE ($1 OUTSIDE OF SCOTTSDALE) | scottsdale.org

Ex-SUSD chief indicted for school fraud BY WAYNE SCHUTSKY Progress Managing Editor

NEIGHBORS.............20 2030 Club donates more than $700K to charities.

BUSINESS................... 24 Valley renters feeling the price squeeze.

ARTS.................................25 He's bringing arts here back to life.

NEIGHBORS..........................................20 BUSINESS............................................... 24 ARTS..........................................................25 FOOD........................................................ 26 CLASSIFIEDS.........................................27

Sunday, July 25, 2021

he State Grand Jury indicted former Superintendent Denise Birdwell on 18 felony counts for allegedly rigging bids and taking payoffs from contractors during her time at the head of the Scottsdale Unified School District and

Fountain of Youth aging ungracefully

Higley Unified School District in Gilbert, according to a report from the Arizona Auditor General. The indictment comes three years after the SUSD Governing Board in March 2018 fired Birdwell – who started as the district’s Superintendent in January 2016 – for allegedly receiving payments from Hunt & Caraway Architects, the firm hired

to work on the district’s bond projects. The Grand Jury indicted Birdwell and three others on July 13 after prosecutors with the state Attorney General’s Office presented the Auditor General’s report that delved into her time at both districts. The report primarily focused on Bird-

see BIRDWELL page 12

BY ALEX GALLAGHER Progress Staff Writer

fter succumbing to years of erosion and surviving multiple relocations, the end could be near for the beloved Fountain of Youth. Despite several repairs to the fountain’s base and repeating sealing up of any cracks, the fountain is showing its age. The internal rebar is beginning to poke through and the base is starting to leak like sieve. “I’m pretty much on the verge of decommissioning it because of the cracks and continuous waste of water,” Scottsdale

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Scottsdale Mayor David Ortega with the Fountain of Youth at Scottsdale City Hall. The fountain, designed by Ivan Pintar and funded by donations from local schoolchildren in the 1960s, could be decommissioned soon due to structural decay. (Pablo Robles/Progress Staff Photographer)

Mayor David Ortega said. “I also believe the original intentions of the fountain have been commemorated and the fountain has outlived its lifecycle.”

Ortega also fears that the fountain could become a safety issue if it continues to de-

see FOUNTAIN page 10

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CITY NEWS

An edition of the East Valley Tribune Scottsdale Progress is published every Sunday and distributed free of charge to homes and in single-copy locations throughout Scottsdale. To find out where you can pick up a free copy of Scottsdale Progress, please visit www.Scottsdale.org. CONTACT INFORMATION Main number 480-898-6500 | Advertising 480-898-5624 Circulation service 480-898-5641 Scottsdale Progress 1620 W. Fountainhead Parkway, Suite 219, Tempe, AZ 85282 Publisher Steve T. Strickbine Vice President Michael Hiatt ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT Display Advertising 480-898-6309 Classifieds/Inside Sales Elaine Cota | 480-898-7926 | ecota@scottsdale.org TJ Higgins | 480-898-5902 | tjhiggins@scottsdale.org Advertising Office Manager Lori Dionisio | 480-898-6309 | ldionisio@scottsdale.org Director of National Advertising Zac Reynolds | 480-898-5603 | zac@scottsdale.org NEWS DEPARTMENT Executive Editor Paul Maryniak | 480-898-5647 | pmaryniak@scottsdale.org Managing Editor Wayne Schutsky | 480-898-6533 | wschutsky@scottsdale.org Staff Writers Kristine Cannon | 480-898-9657 | kcannon@scottsdale.org Photographers Pablo Robles | Probles@scottsdale.org Design Veronica Thurman | vthurman@scottsdale.org Production Coordinator Courtney Oldham | 480-898-5617 | production@scottsdale.org Circulation Director Aaron Kolodny | 480-898-5641 | customercare@scottsdale.org Scottsdale Progress is distributed by AZ Integrated Media, a circulation service company owned by Times Media Group. The public is permitted one copy per reader. For further information regarding the circulation of this publication or others in the Times Media Group family of publications, please contact AZ Integrated Media at circ@azintegratedmedia.com or 480-898-5641. For circulation services please contact Aaron Kolodny at aaron@azintegratedmedia.com

SCOTTSDALE PROGRESS | WWW.SCOTTSDALE.ORG | JULY 25, 2021

Saguaro grad’s initiative helps suicidal people BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINKSI Progress Staff Writer

ulianna Steckler and her family were devastated when her 28-yearold brother, Stephen, died by suicide on Nov. 22, 2012. “As the years went on, I started to figure out what my passions were,” said Steckler, a Tempe resident who attended Saguaro High School in Scottsdale. On Feb. 7, however, when her 33-yearold brother, Michael, took his life as well. Steckler was beside herself. At the age of 18, Stickler was suicidal and now cries tears of joy that she’s still here. “I was just sitting there saying, ‘Why would this happen? How could this happen?’ I didn’t think it would happen a second time. “The first time, when we lost Stephen, I didn’t know what to do. I spiraled out of control. I became very depressed and had a really hard time. As I got older, I said, ‘I refuse to get to that point where I’m literally just sitting there, letting the world pass me by. Life continues to go on. Hold on these memories and moments you had with those people. They would be so happy to see you do these things and be successful.” She took her grief and parlayed it into the Two Brothers Initiative. “I put my grief in a place where I could help others,” she said. “It is beneficial for me and others.” Through her initiative, the graphic artist creates T-shirts and other items that share messages like “You are loved,” “You matter” and “You are needed.” Her hope is people who are suicidal may see the shirt and ease their feelings of hopelessness. “It might spark their curiosity: ‘Why does this person’s shirt say this?’” she said. “Maybe seeing the words will means something to someone.” She also started a blog on Instagram @twobrothersinitiative. The first entry lists what helps her through grief. “If you’re struggling with grief, maybe these (tips) could help you,” Steckler said. “The other day, it was centered about the warning signs of suicide, like a person is lashing out out of nowhere and it’s very out of character. Maybe

Saguaro High alumna Julianna Steckler is helping the campaign to prevent suicide, moved by her own brother's death by suicide in 2012. (Pablo Robles/Progress Staff Photographer)

there’s something deeper going on. “My hope, with these posts, is that I’m educating peers and families around the people who are suicidal. Ask if they’re OK. Ask them what you can do to help, or tell them places you can refer them to.” Mental health has been a regular conversation topic during the past five to 10 years and Steckler feels that’s beneficial. “Before, it was hard to talk about,” she said. “Now, during discussions, we can let each other know if we’re suffering. We know we’re not alone and we have a support system. It doesn’t mean you’re weak if you seek help.” Middle-aged men, she said, seem to be embarrassed about going to therapy. They “deal” with it by being tough, she added. That sometimes backfires. “I’m just trying to remind people that we’re all human,” she said. “It doesn’t matter what your gender is. People want to see you get better.” In terms of her brothers, Stephen struggled with drugs and addiction, Steckler said. It was hard to know what was real and what wasn’t because addicts often hide the truth. Twenty years ago, Stephen was diag-

nosed with testicular cancer at the age of 17. “I remember him being very sick and having to drink these huge bottles of medicine that would make him throw up,” she recalled. “I was 7 years old, so I don’t remember all of the details well, but he did end up beating cancer, which was great news for all of us. Shortly after, he started his long battle with heroin addiction, which would take a huge toll on my life for the next 10 years.” With Michael, Steckler said there were warning signs. On Nov. 15, 2012, Steckler said she came home from school and saw Stephen was in the backyard smoking a cigarette and crying. “I came out to talk to him, to which he broke down even harder and told me he had thoughts about wanting to end his life,” she recalled. “He said the world would be ‘better off without him’ – which of course was far from the truth. Drug abuse really has a way of convincing you everything is much worse than it is, and no one cares about you. We cried for hours as I

see SUICIDE page 13

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SCOTTSDALE PROGRESS | WWW.SCOTTSDALE.ORG | JULY 25, 2021

BY WAYNE SCHUTSKY Progress Managing Editor

man said. In its own statement, ASBA argued the governor’s office’s recent position is in conflict with its own health department’s guidance. Last year, the Arizona Department of Health Services advised, “Close contacts are quarantined for 14 days after their last exposure with the COVID-19 case.” It is unclear where Scottsdale Unified stands on the issue. The district’s current COVID-19 response plan suggests a 10-to-14-day quarantine period for some students and staff who have been in close contact with a confirmed case or are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. But Menzel said all district mitigation policies are under review in collaboration with the Maricopa County Department of Public Health. The county’s guidance to school districts currently includes a quarantine recommendation for unvaccinated students and staff exposed to a positive case. Humble, the former state health chief, argued the governor and the state do not have the authority to dictate quarantine rules, citing a state law and other rules giving that power to county health departments. That law, ARS 36-624, states that in cases of infectious disease, “the county health department or public health services district may adopt quarantine and sanitary measures consistent with department rules to prevent the spread of the disease.” Attorneys for Catalina Foothills and Peoria school districts say Ducey is misreading a new law and that quarantine is “the appropriate course of action except for students who can demonstrate that they have been fully vaccinated.” But, so far, the governor is not backing down. “We expect Arizona’s public schools to comply with state law and we’re not going to allow anyone to deny Arizona kids and education,’’ spokesman C.J. Karamargin told Capitol Media Ser-

COVID cases on the rise in Scottsdale C

OVID-19 case numbers are increasing in most Scottsdale zip codes, following a statewide trend spurred by the infectious Delta variant and lagging vaccination rates. Positive tests for COVID-19 in Arizona increased 48 percent over the previous week on July 11 to 5,813, according to Will Humble, executive director for the Arizona Public Health Association. The last time Arizona saw a similar upward trajectory was in October 2020, Humble wrote in a blog post on July 16. “It’s now crystal clear… Arizona is back in a COVID-19 exponential growth curve,” Humble wrote. The increase likely attributable to a combination of factors, including the July 4 holiday, the highly-infectious Delta variant, a lack of statewide mitigation measures and a decrease in personal mitigation efforts, according to Dr. Joe Gerald, a researcher at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health at the University of Arizona. Gerald wrote that the current vaccination rates – combined with the large population of individuals infected and recovered from COVID-19 – will likely prevent a surge similar to last summer, but he emphasized the need to prioritize increasing vaccination rates among working-age adults and eligible adolescents. Currently, Arizona’s vaccination rate lags many other states. According to the Mayo Clinic’s vaccine tracker, 44.6 percent of Arizona residents were fully vaccinated as of July 21, which ranked 31st nationwide. The rate is higher in Scottsdale, where 59.2 percent of all residents – and 64.2 percent of eligible residents – are fully vaccinated, according to data released last week by Maricopa County. But, even with those high vaccination rates, COVID-19 case numbers are on the rise in the city. According to county data, the city – like most others in the Valley – is now

Despite high vaccination rates in Scottsdale, COVID-19 cases are on the rise in the city. (Progress file photo)

in a state of “high transmission.” Data released by the county last week shows that new cases per 100,000 residents jumped from 54 the week of July 4 to 101 the following week. During the same time, the percent positive new test results jumped from 7 to 11 percent citywide. The increase comes as local families prepare to send their children back to school in early August amid a statewide debate over what, if any, mitigation measures schools should be allowed to enforce. A new law forbids school districts from requiring students, staff and visitors to wear masks in classrooms or on school property. Parents can still voluntarily have their children wear masks to school. The law conflicts with guidance for schools from the Centers for Disease Control, which states “Masks should be worn indoors by all individuals (age 2 and older) who are not fully vaccinated.” SUSD Superintendent Scott Menzel told the Progress the district will comply with the state rule. “That said, we strongly recommend that those students and staff who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 wear a mask while indoors on district

property,” he wrote families on July 13. Gov. Doug Ducey has also pushed back against school districts that plan to quarantine unvaccinated students who are exposed to COVID-19. In a letter to Peoria and Catalina Foothills school districts, his office said that violated another measure passed by the Legislature that bans districts from requiring students be vaccinated for in-person education. That position also conflicts with advice from the CDC. “Screening testing, ventilation, hand washing and respiratory etiquette, staying home when sick and getting tested, contact tracing in combination with quarantine and isolation, and cleaning and disinfection are also important layers of prevention to keep schools safe,” according to the CDC’s guidance for K-12 schools. The governor’s position drew criticism from the Arizona School Boards Association and Kathy Hoffman, the state’s school superintendent, who said the decision puts students – many of whom are not eligible for the vaccine – at risk. “A quarantine period for exposed, unvaccinated individuals is one of the only tools left to maintain a safe inperson learning environment,” Hoff-

see COVID page 13

SCOTTSDALE PROGRESS | WWW.SCOTTSDALE.ORG | JULY 25, 2021

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SCOTTSDALE PROGRESS | WWW.SCOTTSDALE.ORG | JULY 25, 2021

Museum of the West gets future CEO BY WAYNE SCHUTSKY Progress Managing Editor

cottsdale’s Museum of the West has announced a leadership shakeup and succession plan for founding director and CEO Mike Fox. The board of trustees hired Dr. W. James Burns to fill a newly-created executive director position at the museum, which opened in 2015. Fox, who has over 50 years experience working in museums, has led the non-profit that operates the museum since 2008. “The best thing we ever did was hire the guy sitting next to me, Mike Fox, because of his great history in putting these things together,” said former Scottsdale Councilman Jim Bruner, chairman of the board since 2007. Fox has committed to remaining in the CEO post through 2024 at which point it is anticipated Burns will take over those duties, according to museum leadership.

The board for Scottsdale Museum of the West, Inc., the non-profit that runs the museum, has named Dr. W. James Burns the organization’s new executive director. (Pablo Robles/Progress Staff Photographer)

Scottsdale Museum of the West, Inc. operates the museum under a contract

with the city, which owns the building. It began the search for an executive di-

rector over two years ago at Fox’s behest. Burns, who comes to Museum of the West after three years as executive director of the Arizona Historical Society, will start at Scottsdale’s Museum of the West in mid-October. He will be in charge of day-to-day management of museum operations, including staffing, creative exhibition and public programming development, marketing, fundraising, facility maintenance and security. During his remaining time, Fox will take a step back from those day-to-day operations but will remain an active part of museum leadership while mentoring Burns. Fox will help the institution broaden its private sector support and in other ways to the benefit of the organization’s future. He will also work with the developer behind the nearby Museum Square de-

see MUSEUM page 16

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SCOTTSDALE PROGRESS | WWW.SCOTTSDALE.ORG | JULY 25, 2021

FOUNTAIN ��

teriorate at the current rate. While toying with the notion of decommissioning the fountain, Ortega does not want to tear it down because of the unique story behind the fountain. The fountain was originally designed by architect Ivan Pintar in 1968, who worked under the famous architect Paolo Soleri at Cosanti Studios. The Scottdale Progress in 1968 displayed Pintar’s original design and reported on a unique initiative to fund the fountain: a week-long project where kids would give up the equivalent of a day’s worth of lunch money to defray the cost of its construction. The kids raised $7,000, which led to the name “The Children’s Fountain.” “The children wanted to have this piece right at the center of the Civic Center so that kids would be able to come throughout their life and feel like they have a part in it,” Assistant City Manager Brent Stockwell said. Pintar’s design eventually caught the attention of Bennie Gonzalez, who had designed much of the Scottsdale Civic center. “My dad didn’t like the original design and didn’t think it fit well with the building and the rest of the site,” Bennie’s son BJ Gonzalez said. Gonzalez then gave a new design to Pintar that became the final schematic of the fountain. The most notable part of the new design was the sharp edges that the water would flow out of into the bottom of the fountain. The fountain sat idle in its original home in front of City Hall until Civic Center expansion began in the late 1980’s and it was moved to its current location, the side of City Hall near the parking lot. “The fountain was moved a couple of times and was put back together by city employees. Those employees kind of just pieced it back together and weren’t in tune with how it was supposed to be put together,” Gonzalez said. “When you re-pipe and move those fountains, they

Scottsdale Assistant City Manager shows areas of decay on the Civic Center’s Fountain of Youth. (Pablo Robles/Progress Staff Photographer)

The Fountain of Youth was built partly on children’s lunch money donated to build it in the late 1960s. (Special to the Progress)

don’t hold up really well.” Gonzalez blames this work for the fountain’s rapid decay, although other factors have played into the fountain’s current condition. “A couple of years ago when we redid the overpass, some similar things had

occurred,” Stockwell said. “The construction that occurred had caused some of the expansion of the rebar which caused cracks in the concrete.” Stockwell also believes that the fountain required more maintenance than it received.

“The common issue with public infrastructure is that something has to be maintained over time or it’s going to deteriorate,” he said. With its current condition, there remain several questions about what to do with a landmark that has a history as rich as the Fountain of Youth. “We’ve been asking ourselves; how do we honor this? And how do we make sure that civic center remains a place that people come to throughout the seasons of their life,” Stockwell said. He also wants to keep the legacy of those who sacrificed a day’s worth of lunch money in 1968 alive. “The principle was that the kids would be involved in investing in this so they would see this as their place and want the community to feel like this is their place,” Stockwell said. There have been some ideas floated around of how to honor the fountain within the city’s management, however the city would prefer the community’s input before making any decisions. Some ideas include adding lights to the fountain instead of water or making it into a xeriscape with annual flowers. Stockwell also said some have suggested raising money to rebuild the fountain or adding drainage to make it a planter. One of the main issues with raising the money is the existing $27.3 million renovation of the Civic Center. “One of the challenges that public art is facing is that the amount of money it would take to conserve and restore this has to be balanced with new works,” Stockwell said. Ortega does have one promise to those who fundraised for this fountain or have fond memories of it. “We will figure out a way to honor the children and their original wishes in some other form and are currently looking into other forms,” he said. Info: For any ideas or inquiries about the Fountain of Youth, email Brent Stockwell at bstockwell@scottsdaleaz.gov.

Know anything interesting going on in Scottsdale? Send your information to wschutsky@scottsdale.org

SCOTTSDALE PROGRESS | WWW.SCOTTSDALE.ORG | JULY 25, 2021

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CITY NEWS

SCOTTSDALE PROGRESS | WWW.SCOTTSDALE.ORG | JULY 25, 2021

BIRDWELL ��

well’s tenure as superintendent at Higley from 2009 to 2014 and a complex 2012 construction-lease agreementfor Cooley and Sossaman middle schools that continue to plague the district’s finances to this day. Higley is asking voters to approve a $95 million bond issue of which about a third will be used to retire one of those two leases. At an April meeting, Higley acting Chief Financial Officer Jeff Gadd told his Governing Board, “If you took out the current lease schedule all the way to 2052 (when the lease is currently scheduled to end) and you included principle and interest, those schools are costing you three times what you would have paid on an outright purchase.” According to the report, Higley required new schools in 2012 to accommodate the district’s rapid growth, but could seek additional bonds financing because it had nearly reached its borrowing capacity. “Accordingly, Higley issued an RFP to procure a private developer working in conjunction with a nonprofit corporation to design, finance, construct, and manage the 2 middle schools,” according to the report. The plan involved Higley working with a private developer and the non-profit James Megellas Foundation to build two middle schools, which would then be owned by the nonprofit and leased back to the district. The non-profit would hold the debt and was responsible for making loan payments. Birdwell authorized two lease-purchase agreements for the schools that put the district on the hook for $160 million over 40 years. The auditor general alleged that Birdwell and others rigged the 2012 bid to award the $2.6-million development contract for the schools to an entity named Educational Facilities Development Services, LLC, which was set up just two weeks before the RFP went out. The report alleged Birdwell received $103,000 from Hunt & Caraway or its former president, the now deceased Brian Robichaux, and a $2,500 check from CORE Construction – a Higley

Denise Birdwell vendor that was also part of EFDS’ development team – between July 2014 and April 2016. Educational Facilities Development Services, set up by former Arizona State University real estate executives Steve Nielsen and Gary Aller, won the contract – with help from Birdwell and Robichaux, according to investigators. Nielsen and Aller were indicted on three felony counts related to fraudulent schemes and practices, fraudulent schemes and artifices, and conspiracy. The report alleged Birdwell and Robichaux, who was operating as Higley’s procurement advisor, were in regular contact with Nielsen and Aller during the procurement process, sharing key details about the project and RFP that were not shared with other prospective vendors. Robichaux even shared site plans and renderings with Nielsen and Aller as the district told other vendors that those plans did not yet exist, according to the report. The two companies were also connected to a school-build controversy in Scottsdale during Birdwell’s tenure that resulted in a lawsuit by the Attorney General’s office to halt construction on two bond projects at Hohokam and Cherokee Elementary Schools. The AG alleged that Robichaux, SUSD’s principal architect who sat on the contractor-selection committee, il-

legally attempted to influence another panel member on behalf of specific contractors, including CORE Construction. The complaint alleged that Robichaux urged that CORE Construction be ranked first for the Hohokam project and Chasse Building Team as first for the Cheyenne project. Some of the payments from Hunt & Caraway were made to Kay Hartwell Hunnicutt or the Law Offices of Kay Hunnicutt. Hunnicutt is Birdwell’s significant other and they share a joint bank account. According to the Auditor General, those payments were ultimately withdrawn by Birdwell and used for her own personal purposes and neither Birdwell nor Hunnicutt reported the income on their tax returns. Hunnicutt was indicted on three counts of filing a false tax return. Representatives for Hunt & Caraway and CORE told investigators the payments were for consultations or sponsorships, but neither could produce documentation supporting those claims. The alleged payments included $31,500 during Birdwell’s Higley tenure; $59,000 during her brief retirement from June 2015 to January 2016; and $15,000 during her stint at SUSD. Some payments were used as justification for her firing by the SUSD board

“This is truly a sad day for the Higley Uniﬁed School District and the students and families it serves. The level of apparent corruption is staggering and heartbreaking. I am proud to have actively fought against this abuse of power, misuse of taxpayer monies, and blatant disregard for the law during my tenure on the Higley governing board.” -State Rep. Jake Hoffman

in 2018. The alleged pay-for-play scheme appeared to pay off for the contractors as well. During Birdwell’s tenures, Hunt & Caraway provided $6-millon worth of services to Higley and around $2-million to SUSD. Meanwhile, Higley paid CORE Construction nearly $28 million from April 2012 through May 2016, and the company received an additional $55.8 million contract from EFDS in connection with the Higley school projects. CORE Construction also received a contract in 2017 that would ultimately pay it $7,458,710 to build new synthetic turf sports fields at Scottsdale high schools. A Progress analysis in 2018 found that per field cost of around $2.4 million far exceeded similar field projects at other Valley high schools around that time, which cost between $1 million and $1.5 million. In a release after the indictment became public Thursday, state Rep. Jake Hoffman of Queen Creek, whose district includes much of Gilbert, said, “This is truly a sad day for the Higley Unified School District and the students and families it serves.” Hoffman served on the Higley Governing Board between 2013-16 and said Birdwell stonewalled him and another unnamed board member as they questioned her dealings. “The level of apparent corruption is staggering and heartbreaking. I am proud to have actively fought against this abuse of power, misuse of taxpayer monies, and blatant disregard for the law during my tenure on the Higley governing board,” he said. A blog called Gilbert Watch in Noveember 2014 recounted how Birdwell became furious when Hoffman and Kristina Reese, who is still on the Higley Governing Board, voted against giving CORE a contract to build an elementary school . Another board member had resigned a month earlier, so the vote ended in a tie. Gilbert Watch wrote that after the meeting, Birdwell “stormed up to board member Mrs. Reese, shouted an expletive at her." The blog also slammed “arrogant treatment of board members who question her authority.”

CITY NEWS

SCOTTSDALE PROGRESS | WWW.SCOTTSDALE.ORG | JULY 25, 2021

COVID �� page 6

vices last week. However, later last week, the state’s top health official said schools should be able to quarantine students in some cases, though she didn’t directly address the governor’s directive. Dr. Cara Christ told Capitol Media Services she still believes that the best place for children is in school. And that may entail having students who are not vaccinated wear masks. But Christ said that separating out some unvaccinated students – and maybe even some who are vaccinated but have underlying health conditions – may be appropriate when there is a confirmed case in a school. “Isolation and quarantine does remain a tool that’s available to local

SUICIDE �� page 4

tried to talk him out of taking his life. I told him I can’t do this without him, he was my hero, my big brother, my best friend, and I needed him here. I really hoped my talk would have helped, and I truly thought it did.” Five days later her mom called and said, “Stephen overdosed on heroin, and I don’t think he is going to make it.” “That call still haunts me to this day. I remember being outside of my friend’s house and just falling to the ground because I didn’t know what else to do,” she said. “Stephen was in the hospital on life support. He was dead when the paramedics arrived, but when they came to bag him up his body gasped for air, which by law means they have to take the person to the hospital,” Steckler recalled.

public health (agencies) when they are working with school districts,” she said. In fact, Christ said, the spread of the more highly contagious Delta variant of the virus has her department updating its guidance. “One of the things that we’re talking about here at the department is, with how transmissible it is, that all close contacts should be quarantined potentially,” she said. “That’s something that we’re working through right now because we want kids in school,’’ Christ continued. “We want to be able to use that as a tool but we want to be able to use it sparingly and work to implement other strategies to prevent spread.” Howard Fischer with Capitol Media Services contributed to this report. “They had him ‘frozen’ at the same temperature they found his body at, essentially a medically induced coma. They said on Nov. 22, 2012, they would attempt to ‘reheat his body to see if they could get a pulse.’ I remember praying and thinking it would be OK, it would work and he would come back to life. “However, it didn’t work. The nurse told us we could stay in the room for this, but we are going to unplug the machine and we could stay in here until he’s ‘gone.’ We held his hands as the monitor flat lined.” Steckler said she is praying her initiative will help someone. “I just hope the initiative could save somebody somewhere,” she said.

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CITY NEWS

SCOTTSDALE PROGRESS | WWW.SCOTTSDALE.ORG | JULY 25, 2021

MUSEUM �� page 8

velopment – the neighboring $300-million mixed-use project approved by Scottsdale City Council in 2019 – to “aid in the revitalization of the museum’s neighborhood in the historic arts district.” Burns and Fox previously worked together at the Museum of Northern Arizona and its Colton Research Center. The new hire announcement came shortly after the Progress published an article examining the museum’s performance over its first six years. The report found the museum has received critical accolades over the years – including an affiliation with the Smithsonian Institute – but fell short of attendance projections touted by the city officials before Scottsdale committed $11.4 million to build it and millions more to keep it operational. According to a City Council memo from February 2013, the museum was expected to generate an annual attendance between 87,000 and 118,000 by its fifth year of operation. But attendance has never exceeded 75,394 in a single year and dipped as

low as 41,176 in 2017-2018, The Progress found. Beyond the initial $11-million capital investment, the city committed up to $400,000 in donation matching funds each year since 2013 and another $900,000 for educational programming and exhibits. The city approved a new management contract in July with the nonprofit that runs the museum and will pay it a $250,000 management fee next year in addition to $400,000 donation match. In a statement to the Progress, museum leadership emphasized that the bed tax is a tax assessed on visitors, not Scottsdale residents. “(Fox) will see that the model created by the City for the museum’s direct and indirect support which was defined before there was a museum be continuously honored, including to have Scottsdale citizens enjoy the ownership, reputation, and renown of Scottsdale’s Museum of the West for free,” according to the statement. “It will continue that Citizens who have paid nothing for the museum’s construction will pay nothing for the museum’s operation. No sales tax, no property tax,

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no income tax…nothing!” A report by a third-party consultant in 2013 also projected the museum would earn 45 percent of its total revenue through operations like ticket sales by year five with the rest coming from contributions from the city and other donors. According to the museum, it generates 74.5 percent of its revenue on through earned and unearned income on average in a given year. But, according to its most recent tax filing, the museum earned about 25 percent of its total revenue in 2019 and the city paid $3.8 million between 2015 and 2019, accounting for about 31 percent of the organization’s overall $12.4 million revenue during that span. Bruner said he believes the museum is headed in the right direction. “We’ve gone through a challenging five or six years from an economic standpoint and the local economy, but we think we’re coming out the end of the tunnel…the future is extremely bright and we’re very proud of our relationship with support from the city as well as people in the community and the tourist community,” Bruner said.

The Burns hiring will likely increase in administrative costs as it will add a second executive-level salary to payroll. Museum leadership declined to provide information on Burns’ and Fox’s salaries. Tax records show Fox was paid a salary of $321,643 in 2019. Bruner said the Burns hiring is “enthusiastically supported” by the board and that Burns has a track record of “impressive leadership” at developing institutions. “Dr. Burns’ years of impressive leadership in the museum profession, and notably his contributing roles in the development of the Booth Museum of Western Art in Georgia and the maturation of the Desert Caballeros Western Museum bode well for him to lead our six-year-old institution to great new milestones,” he said in a statement. “The museum is fortunate that it will have the vision, experience, and management qualities of two regional and national museum leaders of their different generations to implement this new leadership succession plan in an exemplary manner,” Bruner said in a statement.

PROGRESS NEWS STAFF

The project is solely a rehabilitation and will not increase the runway length or weight capacity. With the award of this grant, it’s full steam ahead. Preconstruction plans are in process and crews will be ready to start the project, as planned, at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, July 6. The project is expected to be completed in around 45 days. The airport will be closed to all operations (aside from helicopters operating from the apron area). This project is scheduled during the airport’s slowest operational time, so it can be completed and ready for the fall when operations start its upswing. Scottsdale Airport is one of the busiest single runway general aviation and corporate airports in the nation, and a top corporate jet facility. There were over 195,800 operations in 2020.

Airport receives $11M runway grant

cottsdale Airport received an $11 million federal grant from the FAA to rehabilitate its runway. This is the airport’s largest federal grant and will cover the expenses to ensure the airport’s infrastructure is maintained in excellent condition and best serve all aircraft customers. “This federal grant supports Scottsdale Airport and the vitally important role it plays in this region,” said Gary P. Mascaro, Scottsdale Airport aviation director. “It’s imperative for the airport to provide a well maintained, safe and secure infrastructure to accommodate our aircraft operators. We want to retain our competitive advantages as an essential hub for general aviation and corporate activity.”

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SCOTTSDALE PROGRESS | WWW.SCOTTSDALE.ORG | JULY 25, 2021

Promenade launches school supply drive BY ALEX GALLAGHER Progress Staff Writer

romenade owners ShopCore Properties has begun its second annual Load the Lockers initiative for school supplies benefiting the Arizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation. Signage around the shops at The Promenade, located near Nordstrom Rack at 16425 N. Scottsdale Road, will direct shoppers to bright yellow lockers with plexiglass in the front. There is a little slit on the plexiglass where shoppers can slide through their donations. They will be picked up and distributed to students in need at the start of this school year. “The lockers are centrally located near the Nordstrom Rack and we are hoping that some of the shoppers there will see an item they think would benefit students in store and donate them,” said Rishika Mahtani, regional marketing manager for ShopCore Properties, The initiative has only had one year of prior experience but its debut last year generated a tremendous outpouring of support, Mahtani said. “We didn’t know what to expect last year due to it being our first year and the restrictions in place to slow the spread of COVID-19,” Mahtani said. “We were very touched by the amount of donations we saw last year and we are hopeful to see more donations than last year.” Mahtani recognized that going back to school can be a stressful time not only for students but for the parents who struggle to make ends meet. “We just want to make it easier on the families so that the process of returning to school is less stressful." Beyond students, the initiative wanted to support an organization that helps kids who face a lot of insecurities. “We partnered with the Arizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation who create opportunities to create selfesteem and empower children in the foster care system,” said Mahtani. The lockers will be at the Promenade

Signage in front of stores at The Promenade of Scottsdale will direct shoppers to these lockers where they can deposit their school supply donations benefitting the Arizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation. (Special to the Progress)

until Aug. 7 for patrons to donate whatever school supplies they can. There are several supplies that are in high demand: pencils, sharpies, folders, backpacks, binders, glue, organizers, highlighters, pens, art supplies, Post-Its, tape, construction paper and disinfectant wipes. Mahtani also hopes to see some donated items will come from the neighboring fashion retailer. “The store also gets a lot of foot traffic which we hope will allow us to get lots of donations,” she said of Nordstrom. With schools shifting toward technology-based learning, donations of items like flash drives and small electronics are also welcome inside the lockers. “With the nature of the way these lockers are set up, we are hoping for items that are not breakable,” Mahtani said. Whether donations of electronics, school supplies or clothes are made, Mahtani hopes that this initiative will allow shoppers to feel good about themselves and support a good cause. Information: scottsdalepromenade. com

BACK TO SCHOOL

SCOTTSDALE PROGRESS | WWW.SCOTTSDALE.ORG | JULY 25, 2021

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JULY 25, 2021

COVID-19 isn’t the only vaccine kids need this year with exposure to a potentially lifethreatening disease should be the least of your worries this upcoming year. Do your part by checking in with your doctor to confirm you and your family are protected. If you are unsure of your vaccine history, you can request a copy of your immunization records from your primary care doctor. Upon pulling up your records, they may have you schedule an appointment for a vaccine or booster shot.

BY MELISSA BAKER, ROBERT OUIMETTE AND JENNIFER YOUNG Progress Guest Writers

s families prepare to send their kids back to in-person classes, there might be one essential item parents still need to add to the back-to-school list – immunizations. Immunizations are shots that children and adults take to protect themselves and others against serious illnesses. Staying up to date on immunizations helps keep communities safe from an outbreak of a life-threatening disease. Unfortunately, millions of people fell behind their vaccination schedule during the last year, as they could not physically visit the doctor or put off well-checks during the worst of the pandemic. While telehealth appointments are extremely valuable, it is still important to make time to see your doctor in person to make sure you and your family are up to date on these vaccinations. Do you know the last time you or your children received their booster tetanus shot? Or if you and your loved ones are still protected against hepatitis? It is important to keep up to date with these vaccines to receive the best protection against deadly viruses. If you are still unsure why vaccinations are so necessary, consider the 1.5 million people who die from vaccinepreventable diseases every year. According to the World Health Organization, around 86% of children around the world are vaccinated. These vaccinated people prevent any-

where from two to three million people from dying each year. If 90-95 percent of children were immunized against preventable diseases - millions of lives could be saved. Keeping up to date with your and your family’s vaccinations helps the population as a whole maintain herd immunity – a phenomenon that the world is attempting to reach to be protected against COVID-19. With teachers and kids heading back to the classrooms this fall, it has never been more important to take stock of your health and receive proper care. After more than a year of physically distant learning, teachers are cautiously excited to return to the classroom. Yet parents remain anxious about what to expect in the new school year. Among the many challenges the pandemic brought onto families with school-age children, coming home

If you do not have a primary care physician or are unsure of your previous health history, there are many healthcare resources like Jewish Family & Children’s Service that are open and ready to connect you to the right kind of care. Melissa Baker, Robert Ouimette and Jennifer Young are site directors at Jewish Family & Children’s Service’s integrated healthcare centers. For more information, visit the JFCS website at .jfcsaz.org.

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Active 2030 Club donates nearly $700,000 to charities BY ALEX GALLAGHER Progress Staff Writer

he Scottsdale Active 2030 Club donated nearly $700,000 to 28 different charities during the past fiscal year through its various fundraisers. The club, comprising 50 males ages 20-40, received applications from 52 different charities seeking help. Though the club raised $695,000, members had to make the dif�icult decision to select which charities most aligned with the organization’s goals. “We got together as a foundation and decided the 28 charities we supported were most aligned with our organization,” Active 2030 Club Charities Chairman Braydon Dennis said. “We would have loved to have been able to give to all of them and hopefully someday we will have enough money to do so.” The Active 2030 Club only donates to charities that are local, children-based

Displaying a check to Phoenix Children’s Hospital are, from left, 2030 Club Charities Chairman Braydon Dennis, past active liaison Kyle McMillian, Children’s Hospital Vice President Tim Harrison and 2030 Club Foundation President Kevin Orr. (Courtesy of 2020 Club_)

VETERAN VETERAN by Mike Phillips

wo long-time Valley traditions are returning this Veterans Day after missing a year due to COVID restrictions. The annual Phoenix Veterans Day Parade is scheduled to step off from Montebello and Central avenues at 11 a.m. Nov. 11 before an expected 45,000 spectators. And the East Valley Veterans Parade will be doing the same in Mesa. Although it’s a popular way to recognize and appreciate veterans, there’s more to the parade than spotlighting those who have served. The event has a therapeutic effect on

U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Mitchell Nicholson, a native of Scottsdale, plays a saxophone on Camp Lejeune, N.C. (Special to the Progress)

and have no religious af�iliation. Some of the charities that received the largest donations of $100,000 were the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Scottsdale, Phoenix Children’s Hospital and Boys Hope Girls Hope of Greater Scottsdale. “Over the course of the years we have created a partnership with these different charities whether it would be doing events or supporting their causes,” Dennis said. The Active 2030 Club hosts several events throughout the year, but there are two events that draw a larger crowd and generate the most donations. Its most recent event was its annual Olympiad, which featured �ield day style competitions like basketball, bocce, a home run derby and a day ending dodgeball tournament between the top four teams. This year’s Olympiad was hosted on

�� CLUB �� 22

Veterans parades will be live this November participants suffering from PTSD and other service-related trauma, said Paula Pedene, director of the nonpro�it group that produces the Phoenix parade. “There is something about going down that route with the community out there cheering that changes lives,” said Pedene, a Scottsdale resident and Navy veteran. “We’ve had grand marshals tell us that the love they experience during the parade chases away their demons; It’s a healing experience.” Seven grand marshals will be selected this year for the Phoenix parade, representing American conflicts going back to World War II.

The Phoenix parade began in 1997 as an outreach project of the Veterans Administration. Pedene worked for the VA at the time and was instrumental in putting together that first parade. She continued her involvement and in 2011 helped establish Honoring America’s Veterans, the nonprofit that today funds and produces the parade. The focus of the group has expanded beyond a one-day recognition event. HAV also conducts a high school essay competition that asks students to honor a veteran in their lives and is prepar-

�� VETERANS �� 22

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CLUB �� 20

May 14 at Scottsdale Stadium and featured two coinciding events. Brokers For Kids was hosted for people who work in commercial real estate to compete, and Agents Bene�iting Children pitted residential real estate agents against one another. The event was also able to raise money by raffling off a car and a chance at $15,000 donated by Valley Toyota Dealers. Though the Olympiad was successful, the Active 2030 Club is anxious to build on its most successful event from last year, Nite�lite. Nite�lite is a golf tournament and gala that will be hosted on November 12 and 13, respectively, with the golf being

VETERANS �� 20

ing to host an inaugural Veterans Leadership Forum on Aug. 19 at Scottsdale’s McCormick Ranch Golf Club. The aim of the forum, said Pedene, is to spotlight the achievements of veterans in the civilian world – be it business, academics, the arts, or other �ields. “We want to hear from veterans who have contributed to our community and have them describe how military service has helped them achieve their life goals,” she said. “We hope this forum inspires others whether they’ve worn a uniform or not.” For information on the Veterans Day Parade, the leadership forum or the other HAV initiatives, visit HonoringAmericasVeterans.org. Rather than cancel a parade entirely, East Valley Veterans Parade organizers held a “parade in reverse.” They stationed entries along the traditional route and spectators became the parade by driving past them. Participants also were encouraged

played at McCormick Ranch Golf Club. The golf tournament was the biggest success for the club in 2020, mainly because it was the only large event it was able to host. “We were lucky enough that golf never got shut down in Arizona, so we took the necessary precautions to proceed with the golf tournament,” Dennis said. “Because we shifted all of our focus from gala and golf to just golf, we had our most successful golf tournament yet.” The club is anxious to build on last year’s success and get more donations out to charities across the valley. It is also excited to host the gala for the �irst time since 2019. “A lot of these charities have their mission and their goal and it’s cool for the club to see where those funds are going

and we just want to support those organizations,” Dennis said. Dennis, along with the rest of the Active 2030 Club will need all the help they can get to top last year’s successes. “There’s a lot of opportunities to get involved in terms of volunteering for our events, especially with our Olympiad, we need hundreds of volunteers to assist us with refereeing, check in and coordination,” Dennis said. For those interested in either joining the club or are interested in having the Active 2030 Club host an event, there are applications on the club’s website for new members and new charities. “We are always encouraging new members to join and new people to reach out and we are trying to become one of the premier charity organizations

Scottsdale native Jesus C. Lopez is a cyber security specialist and recently participated in a Covid vaccination project at NRG Stadium in Houston. Lopez serves with the 325th Communications Squadron out of Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla

to decorate their own vehicles with patriotic themes as a sign of appreciation for the men and women who

Got News about your neighbors? email wschutsky@timespublications.com

served in the military. The parade theme, “Celebrating Lives of Service,” recognized both military service as well as the many ways veterans continue to serve their communities through first responder and medical careers and other ongoing volunteer service. When the annual Mesa Veterans Parade fell victim to necessary budget cuts in 2006, local residents Gerry Walker and Frank “Gunny” Alger spoke out on behalf of the 40-year-old Mesa tradition. Walker remarked at one point,

in town,” Dennis said. He expects this year to be the club’s best year to date and cannot wait to get back to work on helping kids. “It should be a huge record-breaking year for us and we’re really excited,” he said.

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“There will be a Veterans Day parade if it is only me marching down the street with Frank watching.” The Marine Corps League Saguaro Chapter in Mesa took the lead and the Mesa Veterans Parade Association was formed. In 2013, the all-volunteer organization changed its name to the East Valley Veterans Parade Association to reflect the participation of parade entrants and sponsors from most East Valley communities. Donations to this 501c3 nonprofit organization are tax-deductible. Locals in uniform Mesa resident David Gates recently competed in the Army Reserve Medical Command’s Best Warrior Competition at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin. Gates, a sergeant and an Army Reserve physical therapist, went through a series of physical and practical proficiency challenges during the contest. The Best Warrior Competition tests individual soldier skills, promotes morale and cohesion, and reinforces the importance of individual excellence. Gilbert resident and Marine Corps Cpl. Spencer Sargent recently participated in a field training exercise at Quantico, Viginia. Sargent is an intelligence analyst with headquarters and service battalion, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Command. During the field training exercise, Marines conducted land navigation and close, long, and unknown distance shooting while building squad level operational cohesion.

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Valley renters caught in housing price squeeze BY PAUL MARYNIAK Progress Executive Editor

alley renters are increasingly �inding themselves caught between rapidly rising rents and soaring home prices that make buying a house next to impossible. Starter-home prices are rising seven times faster than a typical renter’s income, making saving for a down payment even harder, according to Zillow. The online real estate marketplace earlier this month said its analysis shows �irst-time buyers need a year longer to save enough for a 20 percent down payment than they did in 2017 and must put away an additional $369 per month in the coming year just to keep up with the forecasted growth in home values. But a report from Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service on July 19 carried depressing news for any buyer, let alone �irst-timers: Year-over-year sale prices in the Phoenix metro region rose a whopping 46.26 percent in June and the current average price of a home is $507,936. Realtor.com reported, “High demand for a limited supply of rental housing has resulted in skyrocketing prices across the nation – and desperation from those seeking more affordable housing options.” Zillow offered a sunny outlook for renters by noting “monthly payments can remain affordable even with a smaller down payment, and �lexible work options are providing new opportunities for many to buy a home in a less-expensive city.” That likely doesn’t include the Phoenix metro area, where both rents and house prices are skyrocketing. The Cromford Report, one of the region’s premier analysts of the Valley housing market, said the market appears to be cooling as inventory steadily increases, but warned home prices won't fall – or even weaken. “You would be mistaken if

This 3,693-square-foot home on E. Desert Sage in Scottsdale recently sold for $2.9 million. Built in 2007, the single-story house has three bedrooms and 3 ½ baths.

you think most sellers are asking less for their homes,” it said. Cromford put the median home price in the Valley at $400,000 – higher than the nationwide median of $363,300 for June that the National; Association of Realtors released last week It’s not only home prices that are soaring for renters. Nationally, Realtor.com reported, the median rent hit a new high of $1,575 in June, up 8.1 percent compared with last year. Phoenix is among the 44 of the nation’s 50 largest cities that “posted new highs, squeezing renters even tighter,” it said. It added that Phoenix median rent soared in June 20.9 percent to $1,590 – a higher median than the national �igure. “We are seeing an excessive amount of people showing up for rental properties and turning applications in, probably �ive times the amount it was a year ago,” one broker told Realtor.com. “Similar to the shortage of homes for sale, the number of homes available to rent is historically low, driving prices up,” it said. “That’s hurting cash-strapped renters vying for places to live that �it in their budgets.” The pandemic’s economic pressures “have not affected everyone equally,” said

Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor. com. Realtor.com surmised the shrinking rental inventory may have been partly impacted by landlords “throwing in the towel” as eviction moratorium make it harder for them to pay their own bills. “Across Arizona and the nation, a lot of protections “are still in place but are close to expiring,” Hale said. Renters who are ultimately evicted will need to �ind new housing going forward, making it harder to �ind a place to rent, he added. Zillow based its affordability analysis on a starter home price of $148,500. “If an average renter household saves 10 percent of its income, it would take about six years and �ive months to save enough for a 20 percent down payment on today’s typical starter home worth about $148,500,” it said. But Zillow also noted that in reality, the typical starter home – the median home in the bottom third of home prices – is worth $270,560. “Without the equity from a previous home sale, �irst-time home buyers face more challenges in coming up with a down payment,” said Zillow economic data analyst Nicole Bachaud, adding: “In a housing market where prices are rising at record rates, especially when

compared to renter incomes, the everincreasing sum of a 20 percent down payment can feel out of reach. “The good news is that buyers who want to take advantage of today’s low mortgage rates can do so without putting a full 20 percent down – most conventional mortgages allow as little as 3 percent to 5 percent. That lower upfront payment comes with higher monthly payments, but the opportunity to build equity can outweigh those extra costs for many.” Zillow forecasts 14.9 percent appreciation over the next year, which would mean renters need to save an additional $369 per month just to keep up. Pegging a starter home price of $270,560 in Phoenix, Zillow said it will take 10 years and six months to put away enough for a 20 percent down payment but only just under three years for a 5 percent down. The difference in a mortgage payment at those percentages would be $1,133 and $1,551, respectively, it said. “A smaller down payment, of course, comes with tradeoffs on the monthly mortgage payment, such as the private mortgage insurance lenders often require borrowers to carry,” Zillow said. Zillow also reported that its analysis found people of color who rent have even greater obstacles saving for a down payment. “Because of differences in incomes and the lingering impacts of historical inequities, it is more dif�icult for Black and Latinx renters to come up with a down payment on their �irst home,” it said. “It would take six years and one month for a white renter earning the median income, and four and a half years for an Asian American renter earning the median income to save for a 20 percent down payment on a starter home, compared with nine years and seven months for a Black renter, and seven years and eight months for a Latinx renter.”

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Scottsdale Arts prepares to spark a revival BY ALEX GALLAGHER Progress Staff Writer

cottsdale Arts CEO Gerd Wuestemann felt an immense anxiety when the �irst cases of COVID-19 began appearing. He had only been CEO for over a year when cases began appearing and had big plans for 2020 and bigger plans to rebuild Scottsdale Arts. Instead, those plans had to be put on the back burner. He knew he had to do what was best for his employees. “I will never forget the day the WHO declared a pandemic because it was the day that I closed on a house in Scottsdale, which put a whole new meaning to signing my life away,” he said with a laugh. “Instead of celebrating my new home, I rushed to the of�ice to shut down the arts festival, which was slated to celebrate its 50th anniversary.” This was only the beginning of the devastation Wuestemann had to deal with in the early days of the pandemic. “The �irst moments of the pandemic were pretty devastating. We were looking forward to celebrating the longest standing arts festival in the country,” Wuestemann said. He then had to personally tell 200 vendors that the festival was canceled and encouraged them to get home as quickly as they could. With his top festival now shut down, Wuestemann knew he had to do two things. “First, we assessed our cash situation. Thankfully, we had right sized for a rainy day and realized we were going to be �ine for a while,” he said. He then had a moment of clairvoyance and knew he had to talk to his staff about the looming uncertainty that the virus posed. “We sat down with the entire staff, and I said to everybody that it may be 18 months until we come out of this and I’m

The Multi-purpose Park, which is the area north of Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, will have a 360-degree stage. (City of Scottsdale) Scottsdale Arts CEO Gerd Wuestemann had big plans for 2020 – and then the pandemic hit. But now, he’s ready to realize his vision of crfeating a more dynamic arts scene in Scottsdale. (Pablo Robles/Progress Staff Photographer)

pretty sure we’ll be able to last the distance,” he said. With the funds secured, Wuestemann worked on his second goal he set to achieve at the start of the pandemic – keeping his staff together. Though it was a gamble to not lay off a single employee, Wuestemann eventually saw the bene�its of keeping his staff employed. “Because we kept our staff together, we were able to have a fall season last year,” He said. “At the end of last summer, when the city received its CARES money from the Fed, we managed to work with the city and were given $1.5 million in CARES money to distribute to arts organizations in Scottsdale,” Wuestemann said. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act provided millions of dollars to a vast array of businesses, nonpro�its and arts groups to help weather the pandemic. Wuestemann used this money to issue grants ranging from $10,000 to $150,000 to over 20 arts organizations across the city. Scottsdale Arts was also fortunate enough to receive a grant from the Virginia G. Piper

Charitable Trust for $137,000, which Wuestemann plans to store away and eventually use for new stage equipment inside the Scottsdale Performing Arts Center. “The money was trusted to us to use if we are struggling operationally. Luckily, we do not need to, so we are tucking them away to use for new equipment or better prepare our stages,” He said. “We’re also using the money for innovation funds which are funds to evolve a new audience.” He also plans to use it as something to dip into to grow and diversify the audiences within the complexes at the Scottsdale Civic Center. Wuestemann is extremely hopeful to enter a “new normal” beginning this fall and has several plans to woo audiences. “We think that we’re going to come to some sort of new normal this fall so we �igured let’s come out with our most diverse, engaging and fun season for everyone,” Wuestemann said. Scottsdale arts is already giving audiences a taste of what is to come with its summer season that includes big acts like Mavis Staples, Pablo Ziegler’s Chamber quartet and Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra in September and October. Backdropping the exciting late summer season will be some construction to allow Wuestemann’s vision of the Scottsdale Civic Center to take shape. “Ever since I started here three years

ago, I’ve been working on a vision for this campus and how to grow the organization,” He said. “In the 70’s Scottsdale was known throughout the country as an arts hub, but we haven’t done much in this city in the last 25 years.” He plans to add to the site with two grand stages. “The stages will work as a sculptural element and shade pavilion when they’re not in use as a stage but we’re hoping that 80 times a year, we can be out there doing fantastic events on those stages,” he said. The main stage will be built on the east campus and will be able to entertain an audience of 2,000 people with rock n’ roll shows, dance recitals and live theater performances. The second stage is a circular stage that will allow for shows to be performed in all directions. Inside the stage will be the preserved banyan trees that will offer a beautiful backdrop to the artists performing on the stage. Previous reporting by the Progress stated that there are plans to renovate the Scottsdale Performing Arts Center and the Museum Of Contemporary Art. There are also plans to enhance pedestrian access, add a children’s garden, an outdoor eating area and many other amenities. “Our role coming out of the pandemic is to bring people back together and to make our community feel good,” Wuestemann said.

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Strawberry Rhubarb cobbler a neighborly treat

here are two things I absolutely love – a great recipe and great neighbors. When the two come together, life is pretty awesome! It happened this week when my sweet neighbor, Deborah Alyea saw me pull up to the driveway, and scurried over with a beautiful baking dish of bountiful goodness right out of the oven. “I wanted you to have it while it’s still piping hot and bubbling.” Deborah has just baked the most amazing strawberry rhubarb cobbler and I was the lucky recipient. I’m not sure I should admit this, but I texted her a picture of her baking dish just several hours later. It was scraped clean except for maybe one more serving. Yes, it was that good. I’m not sure who came up with the combination of strawberries and rhubarb, but thank you, who-

Ingredients: 4 cups fresh strawberries, sliced in half 4 cups (4-5 large stalks) fresh rhubarb cut into 1-inch pieces 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided 2 teaspoons grated orange zest 1 tablespoon cornstarch 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice 1 cup all-purpose ﬂour 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 cup oatmeal (quick cooking, but not instant) 1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) butter, diced and chilled Whipped cream, Cool Whip or vanilla ice cream for topping Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. For the fruit, toss the rhubarb, strawberries, 3/4 cup of the granulated sugar and the orange zest together in a large bowl. In

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Is Now Hiring ever you are! Rhubarb season is incredibly short and right now is the peak of it, so I’m so happy to pass along this delicious dish to you right now, while you can still find those long red stalks. The filling is wonderful with either a pie crust topping or cobbler, and I was ecstatic that Deborah chose the latter. I love that rich crumble topping with the sweet fruit below. And if you have a neighbor as wonderful as Deborah Alyea, maybe make an extra and make someone’s day. a measuring cup, dissolve the cornstarch in the orange juice and then mix it into the fruit. Pour the mixture into an 8-by-11-inch baking dish and place it on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. (That’s to catch any spills from the dish.) For the topping, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, the remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar, the brown sugar, salt and oatmeal. With the mixer on low speed, add the butter and mix until the dry ingredients are moist and the mixture is in crumbles. Sprinkle the topping over the fruit, covering it completely, and bake for 1 hour, until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is golden brown. Watch my how-to video for strawberry rhubarb cobbler here: jandatri.com/jans-recipe/ one-minute-kitchen/strawberryrhubardcobbler.

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** NO INTEREST IF PAID IN FULL IN 12 MONTHS. $799.00 Minimum Purchase Required Minimum Payments Required 30.79% APR If the promotional balance is not paid in full by the end for the promotional period or, to the extent permitted by law, if you make a late payment, interest will be imposed from the date of purchase at the APR noted above. This APR is as of 7/4/2019 and will vary with the market based on the Prime Rate. Your card agreement, the terms of the offer and applicable law govern this transaction including increasing APRs and fees and terminating the promotional period.

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HOUSE IN S R E C SPEN PLANS PAYMENT BLE AVAILA Due to current circumstances, some items may be out of stock.

Scottsdale Progress 7.25.2021

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