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February 14, 2021 | www.santansun.com

Relentlessly local coverage of Southern Chandler

An edition of the East Valley Tribune

Survey: most CUSD parents Storefront winery prefer in-person learning BY KEVIN REAGAN Staff Writer

More than 70 percent of Chandler Unified School District parents support in-person learning and want it to remain for the foreseeable future, according to a new survey conducted by the district. Of the 13,600 parents who responded to the survey last month, 72 percent preferred the in-class instruction model CUSD has had in effect districtwide since Jan. 19. Of the remainder, 19 percent prefer the virtual instruction CUSD briefly implemented during the first two weeks of the current semester and 8 percent prefer the district’s online school. The appeared to support the district’s contested choice to return to in-person learning at a time when COVID-19 cases were spiking in early January. Arizona reported its highest number of positive cases on Jan. 4, the day before CUSD students were scheduled

to return to classrooms. The district decided at the last minute to have students temporarily stay home for two weeks and learn virtually until the state’s infection rate started to drop. The results were discussed by the CUSD Governing Board on Feb. 10, the day before new data from the county health department showed that one of three benchmarks measuring COVID-19 spread – hospital visits with COVIDlike symptoms – had finally fallen into the moderate range after registering substantial spread levels for nearly two months. The other two benchmarks remained in the substantial spread category, but had fallen from the previous week with cases per 100,000 going from 578 to 403 and positive new test results falling from 19.3 to 14.9 percent. The survey showed 21 percent of respondents were dissatisfied with the See

SCHOOLS on page 2

Basil and Colleen Kaspar's Down Time Wines houses a real winery and the only thing missing are the grapevines. It started as a hobby nearly two decades ago for Basil but it has given birth to a multifaceted enterprise. For the story, see page 23. (Pablo Robles/Staff Photographer)

Teen’s suicide an impetus to 2 Chandler politicos in update manslaughter law historic confrontation BY KEVIN REAGAN Staff Writer

BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services

The family of a Chandler teenager who died by suicide in 2019 is hoping state lawmakers will pass legislation that allows law enforcement to prosecute individuals who encourage vulnerable minors to take their own lives. The State House unanimously passed Chandler Rep. Jeff Weninger’s House Bill 2459, which expands the crime of manslaughter to include individuals who advise others how to commit suicide. The impetus behind Weninger’s bill was the tragic death of Adrio Romine, who at age 16 was Chandler High School’s Class of 2018 valedictorian and graduated with a 4.9 QPA. On the surface, Romine appeared to have a bright future ahead of him with a

Two Chandler Republican officials are at the epicenter of a historic confrontation between the State Senate and Maricopa County Board of Supervisors over the Nov. 3 presidential election results. Sen. J.D. Mesnard and Board of Supervisors Chairman Jack Sellers, a former Chandler City Council member, are on opposing sides of the Senate’s demand for access to voting machines and ballots from the last election. The Senate GOP effort to hold Maricopa County supervisors in contempt – possibly exposing them to arrest – faltered last week when Glendale Sen. Paul Boyer refused to go along. Boyer said that while he believes the Senate has the power to use its subpoena power to demand access to the

See

SUICIDE on page 12

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voting machines and ballots, he believes that power should be used “sparingly and reluctantly.’’ Boyer said he believes the county is willing to conduct an additional audit of the results of the Nov. 3 election to answer questions about whether the reported results giving the edge to President Biden were accurate. What’s needed, he said, is a judge to issue an order clearing the way for the access that senators seek rather than a contempt citation. “I believe the board genuinely seeks the confidence and clarity of a court order to legally proceed,’’ Boyer said. And once that happens, he said, there will be no legal reason for the supervisors to claim that giving the Senate what it wants would violate the law. That drew derision from Gilbert Sen.

F E AT U R E STO R I E S Mesnard Airbnb bill draws flack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . COMMUNITY . . . . . Page 6 Gila Indian Community plans huge playground. . . BUSINESS . . . . . . . Page 23 Children's Hospital a lifesaver for Chandler man. . NEIGHBORS . . . . . . . Page 31 Local artist's AZ Creates! starts new season . . . . . . ARTS . . . . . . . . . . Page 36

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THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | FEBRUARY 14, 2021

from page 1

virtual model that started the semester, while 60 percent were pleased with it. Another 2 percent of parents said they declined to have their child participate in the two-week virtual period -- a troubling statistic that might help explain why Arizona school districts have lost track of an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 students throughout the pandemic. Hundreds of parents have taken their children out of CUSD as the district repeatedly shifted from virtual to in-person learning during the current school year. Virtual learning differs from the Chandler Online Academy because it involves classroom teachers using video technology to transfer their in-person lessons to a digital format. Many parents wanted CUSD to continue a virtual option this semester, calling the academy inadequate for honor students or those who require more one-on-one instruction. The survey shows 65 percent of parents were generally satisfied with the academy while 19 percent felt the online school was not meeting their child’s needs. Parents of elementary students expressed more satisfaction with the academy than those of high school students but more high school students’ parents preferred virtual learning than parents of younger students. Overall, 44 percent of parents thought CUSD had been handling the

8.7%

19.0%

72.3%

Virtual Learning

In-person learning

pandemic better than other school districts. Twelve percent felt Chandler’s response was “much worse” and 27 percent thought CUSD reacted “about the same” as its peers. The survey was conducted between Jan. 26-31 and responses represented 16,400 of the district’s approximate 44,000 students. Amber Stouard, the district’s director of research, said CUSD tried its best to make the survey accessible to all parents

My student attends the Chandler Online Academy

without allowing outsiders a chance to hack it and manipulate the data. The district could have required respondents to submit more personal information in order to authenticate their responses, she said, but that could have created barriers for some parents to participate. “I think that’s something we’re going to have to continue to work on -- to find a way to authenticate in a true way and not keep families out,” Stouard

added. Respondents were not broken down by race or socio-economic status, which some Governing Board members think would have been useful information to have. Board member Lindsay Love said she would like to know if the district’s racial or ethnic minorities have had a different experience interacting with CUSD See

SCHOOLS on page 4

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Warren Petersen, who walked colleagues through a timeline of what he said has been an ever-changing stance by the supervisors over whether there would or would not be an audit, who has access to the ballots and even some apparently conflicting arguments about whether courts have authority over the enforcement of legislative subpoenas. Mesnard was more pronounced in his belief that the only way to get the issue resolved is to bring contempt charges. He said claims by the supervisors they want this resolved ring hollow, citing a filing which sought a court order to block the Senate from even voting on the contempt resolution. In that filing, board attorney John Doran told Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Joseph Mikitish the move was part of “politically charged paranoia’’ and a bid by the Senaste to “press ahead with a false narrative belied by the actual facts and evidence.’’ “That is beyond outrageous,’’ Mesnard said. “Their actions show they are dripping with contempt.’’ Senate President Karen Fann, R-Prescott, detailed for colleagues her own attempts to resolve the issue with the supevisors. In fact, Fann said she originally had planned a contempt vote for 2 1/2 weeks ago but held off in hopes it wouldn’t come to that. Yet every effort to get a resolution, she said, was met with objections from the board. “So I’m sorry to say, this is why we’re at where we’re at right now,’’ Fann said. Sellers has the full support of the board’s other three Republican members and the lone Democrat. In a Facebook post Feb. 5, Sellers castigated Fann, stating she “continues to run from the fact that she has hired debunked conspiracy theorist utilized by Rudy Giuliani to conduct a Senate ‘audit’ suspiciously as an impeachment trial is set to begin in the United States Senate. He noted it is illegal for the board to give custody of ballots to anyone without a court order and that the county already has given the Senate “reams of data” and “everything in their subpoena that we are legally allowed to provide.”

Jack Sellers

Paul Boyer

Sellers also noted the county is conducting two audits with the help of certified auditors from the U.S. Elections Assistance Commission. Supervisor Steve Gallardo, the lone Democrat on the board, was more blunt, stating in a release, “Arizona GOP senators have been complicit in a big lie about the election for three months now. This sham subpoena to get access to people’s private ballots is all in service of the big lie. The big lie has always been about a single issue on the ballot—the presidential race—and the ego of the former President…The November election was safe, secure, and accurate.”

He also said a vote in favor of the contempt action is “expressing their contempt for the will of the majority of Maricopa County residents.” With the 30-member Senate having just 16 Republicans and the Democrats opposed, Boyer’s decision left the majority one vote short of what was needed to approve the contempt resolution. What happens next is unclear. Contempt citation or not, there is still a subpoena demanding access to the machines and the ballots. The county has a pending lawsuit See

SELLERS on page 4

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THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | FEBRUARY 14, 2021

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asking a judge to void the subpoena as invalid, saying state law prohibits the county from surrendering access to them. But that lawsuit could be used to adjudicate the dispute about whether that also applies to the Legislature. Much of the dispute is over a section of state law which says that after the post-election canvass, an envelope with the ballots is placed in a secure facility managed by the county treasurer “who shall keep it unopened and unaltered for 24 months for elections for a federal office.’’ Tully contends the only exception is when there is a legal challenge by a candidate or a recount, neither of which is at play here. Petersen said he doesn’t read the law as precluding the supervisors from allowing legislators -- or their designated

SCHOOLS

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during the pandemic. There seems to be a significant lack of trust between school districts and people of color across the country, she said, and it is impacting how those families are educating their children. “I’m just kind of wondering if that is a trend within our district where we’re losing families of color because of lack

agents -- from looking at the ballots. But even if that were true, he said, another section of Arizona law says that any evidence produced to comply with a legislative subpoena cannot be used against anyone to prosecute them. “And just think about it practically,’’ Petersen told colleagues. “Who’s going to prosecute them?’’ he continued. “The county attorney? I doubt it.’’ But the bottom line is about who ultimately is in charge. “We issued a subpoena and they have given us the finger,’’ Petersen said. He said that undermines the authority of lawmakers to issue subpoenas, presumably backed by the power to enforce them. “When we were given the authority under the state constitution to be lawmakers, we need to be able to collect facts, we need to be able to investigate,’’ he said. “Otherwise, how are we going to

know how to change the laws,’’ Petersen continued. “How are we going to know how to make a law to fix something if we can never know what to fix?’’ That presumes something went wrong with the election. Fann said she’s not starting from that premise. But she said there are enough questions by constituents to require an inquiry. The Senate president also said supervisors promised to do two independent audits of their own. But what they ended up doing instead, she said, is hiring firms that certify machines, not companies capable of doing the kind of “forensic audit’’ senators want. And Sen. Kelly Townsend, R-Mesa, questioned why the supervisors are expending so much energy trying to deny that the Senate has absolute power to demand an audit and access to the equipment and ballots. The issue of the subpoena aside, the next bit of fallout could be political.

Townsend said she presumes that voters will try to recall the supervisors. Closer to home, there could be repercussions for Boyer. Fann made it clear she would not have brought the resolution up for a vote had he told her ahead of time he would not balk. “I think all my bills are now dead,’’ Boyer told Capitol Media Services, as his GOP colleagues who control both the Senate and House won’t provide the votes. Townsend all but confirmed that. “If you say you’re going to vote along with your caucus and then you do not, your word is never going to be trusted again,’’ she said. Then there the 2022 election. “I’m sure there will be political ramifications as well,’’ Boyer said. Fann said this isn’t about overturning the last election. But she said lawmakers have the power to review. SanTan Sun News staff contributed to this report.

of trust,” Love said. Black families living in large cities have preferred keeping their children home during the pandemic at higher rates than white families, according to the New York Times. Last summer, a survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found white families showed more support for reopening schools than their Black counterparts. Despite the positive support parents

seem to have for Chandler’s current mode of instruction, the district is still having to track dozens of active COVID-19 cases across its 42 campuses. At least 1,100 employees and students have contracted the coronavirus while on campus over this last year and hundreds more have reported getting infected outside of school. CUSD has recently extended a sickleave policy that allows staff to miss up to 10 days of work for a COVID-related illness

or to care for an infected family member. The federal government had been providing the extra sick time until legislation expired at the end of December. “We have had several employees who have contracted COVID-19 since January 1, 2021 and they have had to use their own sick leave days,” a district memo states. “We have also had other employees who had to go unpaid while they were out with COVID-19 because they did not have any sick leave days accrued.”

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Competing rental bills advance at Capitol BY KEVIN REAGAN Staff Writer

Some Valley cities have come out in opposition to Chandler Sen. J.D. Mesnard’s attempt to amend the state regulations of short-term rental properties while a competing measure in the House is winning their support. Mesnard's SB 1379 tries to prevent those rentals from turning into rowdy party houses by allowing local governments to set occupancy limits and insurance requirements on the owners who lease out their homes through websites like Airbnb and VRBO. But one that won a House panel vote last week, supported by Scottsdale Republican Rep. John Kavanaugh, gives municipalities more teeth in controlling those rentals. Houses rented through the digital applications have sparked numerous complaints by neighbors who don’t appreciate seeing residential properties be turned into de facto hotels. Airbnb and VRBO, which have more than 500 rental listings spread out across Chandler, claim most hosts are conscientious residents trying to earn extra income by leasing empty rooms. Lawmakers have been trying to appease the conflicting interests between municipalities and rental owners ever since Gov. Doug Ducey prevented local governments from banning short-term rentals.

Rep. John Kavanagh Mesnard’s bill is the Legislature’s latest attempt at rooting out bad actors who let their homes turn into a public nuisance. Mesnard said he intentionally wrote his bill to specifically target rentals that become a revolving door for boisterous revelers by letting cities decide whether to restrict the number many tenants who can occupy them. The bill allows the revocation of homeowners’ tax license if they violate

local regulations at least three times within a one-year period. But the Arizona League of Cities and Towns, which represents the interests of most East Valley communities, said Mesnard’s bill does not go far enough to resolve the issues brought up by local governments. Nick Ponder, the League’s legislative director, said SB 1379 doesn’t make enough substantive changes to the state’s current laws that are favorable to municipalities. The League is not advocating for outlawing short-term rentals, he added, but cities and towns want more autonomy over how to control these properties. “The prominent issue here is that the law that was passed in 2016 requires cities and towns to treat short-term rentals exactly the same as we treat long-term residential rentals,” Ponder said. Ryan Peters, Chandler’s government relations manager, said Chandler opposes the bill for similar reasons to the ones expressed by other cities. The city recently completed updating its neighborhood codes to account for short-term rentals, Peters said, and SB 1379 could erase all that work by forcing Chandler to conform to the bill’s new requirements. After the Legislature passed a law in

2019 that offered municipalities some leeway in regulating disruptive shortterm rentals, Chandler revised its code regulations to adhere to the Legislature’s directives. The amended rules prohibit shortterm rentals from hosting any nonresidential activities that “disturb the peace and enjoyment of neighboring properties” and the owners of these homes must register their information with the city. Homeowners who violate Chandler’s new codes could be fined with $500 for the first offense, $1,000 for the second offense, and $1,500 for a third offense committed within a one-year period. A property owner with more than three violations within a 24-month span could be charged with a Class 1 misdemeanor offense. Mesnard’s bill changes this fee structure by capping a city’s civil penalties at the amount of daily rent advertised by the short-term rental where a violation occurred. SB 1379 additionally requires a municipality to wait 30 days before imposing a civil penalty to a rental owner who fails to provide their contact information to the city. On Feb. 3, the Senate Commerce Committee voted unanimously to pass Mesnard’s bill to the Rules Committee for further review. See

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Sen. Sean Bowie, D-Chandler, voted to advance SB 1379 out of committee despite some reservations about the bill. It still appears to be a “step in the right direction,” Bowie said, and will hopefully appease the hundreds of constituents who have emailed him over the years complaining about short-term rentals. “I really want us to make headway on this issue,” Bowie added. “I’ll support any effort to restore more control to our cities to address this problem.” Despite the bipartisan support for Mesnard’s bill, representatives from the cities of Scottsdale, Surprise, Casa Grande and Fountain Hills have come out in opposition to the legislation. Paradise Valley Mayor Jerry Bien-Willner said his town opposes SB 1379 because it doesn’t go far enough to restore the rights of ordinary citizens who feel their neighborhoods have been impacted by short-term rentals. “Our state’s predicament will, I think, get worse if we don’t take action here,” the mayor said. “We want real reform.” Mesnard said he is not interested in overregulating the rental industry by expanding his bill’s requirements beyond what they already include. “I know there are other proposals out there that would like to go broader,” the Republican senator said, “I will not be on board with those.” Meanwhile, a competing bill in the House that does give cities more control advanced after a House panel voted 8-5 to would allow city and town councils to impose limits on how many people can be in a short-term rental based on the number of bedrooms. Kavanagh said his legislation would permit cities to enact zoning restrictions that could limit the number of these short-term rentals in any one neighborhood – or entirely within the community’s borders. The 2016 law “was sold as the elderly couple, empty nesters with the extra bedroom, who could make a few extra bucks renting out their room to tourists or whatever,’’ Kavanagh said. “That seemed benign,’’ he said, what with the owners on the premises to control any problems.

“But in reality, short-term rentals are such that an investor can make far more money buying a house and renting it out as a hotel -- as a horizontal, decentralized hotel -- than renting the house out for long-term rental,’’ he said. Kavanagh said it has created problems in places like Sedona, where he said 40 percent of the available rental units are now vacation properties, “driving up the prices of all rentals and making it impossible for city employees or even business employees, store employees, to live in the town.’’ There have been efforts by companies like Airbnb and VRBO to curb some practices, tightening up on efforts by people to rent properties as “party houses’’ for large numbers of people. But that has left people like Paradise Valley Mayor Jerry Bien-Wilmer unimpressed. “The industry’s attempts as self-regulation do not work,’’ he said. But Rep. Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek, said the whole concept is offensive. “Property and the ability to use one’s property to its fullest extent, and to the fullest enjoyment, is your right,’’ he said, contending there are enough ordinances already in place to deal with “bad apples.’’ Kavanagh said that Hoffman is wrong. “There is not an absolute right to do whatever you want with your property,’’ he said. “If there’s a vacant lot in a residential neighborhood, maybe next to your house, and somebody buys it, they shouldn’t be allowed to open up a McDonald’s,’’ Kavanagh continued. “When you invest your life savings in home in a residential neighborhood, you have a right to make sure that it stays residential.’’ Kavanagh said his legislation would have no effect on individuals who are owner-occupants and rent out rooms in their own homes. He said they are not the problem. And he promised to amend his legislation when it goes to the House floor to “grandfather’’ in any existing shortterm rentals so they could continue to operate if and when his measure becomes law. Capitol Media Services contributed to this report.

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THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | FEBRUARY 14, 2021

Chandler to resume shutting off utilities by May BY KEVIN REAGAN Staff Writer

The City of Chandler is planning to resume shutting off utilities for delinquent customers now that unpaid bills have swelled to nearly $1.5 million throughout the pandemic. Chandler had stopped shutoffs of water and wastewater services for delinquencies nearly a year ago after the pandemic started rupturing the local economy and Arizona’s unemployment rate started to escalate. The city wanted to ensure that residents had access to clean water as COVID-19 spread across the state. But city officials say they won’t be able to continue the moratorium for much longer and that cut-offs will begin by May. Chandler’s utilities debt has nearly tripled over the last six months, with the number of delinquent accounts up from 900 to 2,700. Jennifer Honea, a city spokesperson, said Chandler’s utilities fund is supposed to be self-sufficient and needs to have a steady stream of revenue to maintain service across the city. The city had been attempting to connect residents with nonprofits that might be able to provide financial assistance or set up customers on a payment plan. “Unfortunately, some customers have not contacted us and we are unsure if they are aware of the assistance that may be available to them,” Honea said. “By resuming normal operations, includ-

AZCEND CEO Trinity Donovan said her nonproﬁt has seen a consistent demand for help paying city and other utility bills since a month after the pandemic began last year. (File photo)

ing disconnects, we are providing customers an opportunity to contact us.” Officials hope customers will start reaching out to them over the next couple months to resolve the delinquent balances before shut-offs go into effect. “Financial assistance is and continues to be available to customers needing help,” Honea said. “We chose May to resume normal operations to allow time for customers to contact us and get the help they need.” Chandler is one of several Valley cities

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that have decided to resume its shut-off policy after allowing residents to forgo paying their utility bills for months. Gilbert and Mesa have begun enforcing penalties for delinquencies. Before the pandemic, Chandler disconnected water service for customers with a past-due balance of $400 or who were more than two weeks past due. When Chandler stopped shutoffs and late fees last March, unpaid bills totaled about $200,000. Less than a month later, the debt had grown to

about $400,000 and continued rising for the rest of the summer. By October, the city initiated an outreach campaign that involved mailing out “soft notices” to customers with a debt of at least $150 and informed them how they could pay off the balance. The city said these notices additionally referred customers to local programs that might be able to offer subsidies for utility assistance. AZCEND is one nonprofit that’s been attempting to offer as many utility subsidies as possible throughout the pandemic to Chandler and Gilbert residents. Over the last six months, AZCEND has spent about $1.3 million to help hundreds of Chandler residents pay water or electric bills. The nonprofit has also disbursed another $3.8 million to help pay rent or mortgages. AZCEND CEO Trinity Donovan said demand for utility assistance has remained consistent during the pandemic and that she doesn’t expect demand to wane anytime soon. The city says returning to its shut-off policy will hopefully get its utility fund back to a manageable position without disrupting service for customers who are struggling. “It is important that the city make good decisions and do our due diligence to address this issue while looking at all aspects of the situation,” Honea said.

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THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | FEBRUARY 14, 2021

New park planned for south Chandler SANTAN SUN NEWS STAFF

The City of Chandler has authorized spending $3.5 million to build a new recreational park for the residents surrounding the Lantana Ranch subdivision. City Council awarded a construction contract to Nickle Contracting to develop the southeast corner of McQueen and Queen Creek roads into a public park. The new facility will include open space turf areas, lighted multi-use courts, shaded playgrounds, outdoor fitness equipment, lighted walkways and other park amenities. The first phase of construction, consisting of an 8-acre sliver of the large empty parcel, is expected to last no longer than a year and is being funded through the city’s impact fees. The park will be within walking distance of the Lantana Ranch neighborhood, a sprawling subdivision located south of Appleby Road. Lantana Ranch residents have been waiting several years for the city to initiate the project and the subdivision’s homeowners association has been hosting public meetings on the project’s progress over the last year. Because of the park’s close proximity to the Chandler Municipal Airport, the city is designing the playground with aviation-themed equipment, decorations and aesthetics. The city purchased 70 acres of land south of the airport in 2003 and already has plans for developing the parcel beyond the eight acres currently being built out.

On this map of the Lantana Park footprint, the black shaded area represents Phase 1 and the red-bordered areas represent where the other phases would be developed at a later time. (City of Chandler)

Funding for phase two of the park’s development – estimated to cost about $3 million – could potentially come from the bond initiative that Chandler officials are currently considering. Public records show the Lantana Ranch Park is one of several facilities in Chandler that may be expanded or renovated if the city choses to hold a bond election sometime in the next year and ask voters to authorize up to

$426 million in new bond funding – an amount city officials claim is not high enough to raise property taxes. A citizen-led committee is reviewing various capital projects Chandler may fund with new bond funding and the Lantana Park project has recently been assessed as being one of the city’s “long-term needs” that could be delayed by a few years. Mesquite Grove, Folley, Mountain View, and A.J. Chandler parks could also

undergo major renovations with the approval of new bond spending. Lantana Park is being constructed at a time when some surrounding parcels are simultaneously getting developed for retail or industrial use. The northwest corner of McQueen and Queen Creek roads has been selected by Core 5 Schrader Farm as the site for a new commercial center. “The business park will be known as ‘Schrader Farms Business Park’ and will include light-industrial, office, showroom, and commercial land uses,” public records state. Core 5 plans to build seven commercial buildings on up to 70 acres of vacant land. The city is hosting a virtual meeting on Feb. 18 for residents to learn more about the project. The Lantana Ranch Park will additionally be adjacent to the Chandler Airport Commerce Park project under development along McQueen Road. Ryan Companies is planning to build an 80-acre industrial center that will house several warehouses and offices next to Lantana Park. Several residents in south Chandler opposed the Commerce Park when it was first brought before City Council in 2018 and attempted to stop the project by circulating an online petition. Council initially rejected the project by Ryan Companies because of concerns about congestion and noise. But the company later returned for another review, at which time the council greenlighted the development.

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THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | FEBRUARY 14, 2021

Chandler nurse saluted during Super Bowl special BY KEVIN REAGAN Staff Writer

A Chandler nurse recently got a comforting surprise from one of her football heroes while taking a break from work in her hospital’s COVID-19 unit. Haley Bowser, a Chandler High graduate and Dignity Health nurse, was not expecting to meet a player from one of her favorite teams when she was approached to do a television interview a few days before the Super Bowl match between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. During a CBS special spot-lighting health care workers from across the country, Bowser’s interview was suddenly interrupted by a message from Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker. “I just wanted to thank you and appreciate all the things that you’ve done during this pandemic,” Baker told Bowser during their virtual chat. “You guys are the true heroes.” Baker, who has been playing for the Cardinals since 2017, was one of several National Football League players who partnered with CBS to pay tribute to nurses for working throughout the pandemic. Bowser later remembered feeling shocked and flattered that Baker took the time to chat with a long-time fan like herself. “I was definitely taken aback,” she recalled. “I was completely elated and ecstatic I was able to meet (Baker).” The 28-year-old nurse had seen other

Haley Bowser, a Dignity Health nurse, got a special surprise when she appeared on a Super Bowl CBS special: a virtual visit by Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker. (Special to SanTan Sun News)

news interviews of athletes and celebrities surprising health care workers, yet she never really caught on that she herself was being set up for a similar surprise. “You always kind of hope maybe you’re one of those people, but you still never expect it,” she said. It feels great knowing high-profile celebrities genuinely care about the sacrifices that have been made by nurses and doctors over the last year, Bowser added “It was awesome to know our work is not going unnoticed by somebody who

is famous,” she said. Bowser grew up watching football games with her father and always kept track of how the Cardinals were performing each season. The team’s players have often embedded themselves in the Arizona community, she said, and have made a positive impact on people who grew up around here. Bowser has been a nurse the last five years and had been assigned to a unit specializing in patients recovering from heart attacks.

When the coronavirus began spreading last March, her unit at Dignity Health Gilbert Medical Center quickly transformed into the hospital’s COVID-19 treatment center. There was certainly a learning curve at the beginning of the pandemic, Bowser recalled, but the hospital’s nurses and doctors quickly adjusted to all the new protocols and guidelines they needed to follow. “We’ve learned so much throughout the last year in how to take care of these patients,” she said. It has been exhausting at times to be working on the frontlines of a global health crisis, Bowser said, yet she hasn’t lost her drive to keep doing a job she’s always wanted to do. “I take every shift as they come,” she said. “Some days are a little easier, but I come in ready to work every day.” More than 14,000 Arizonans have succumbed to the coronavirus over the last year and hundreds of new cases are still getting reported to the state Department of Health Services on a daily basis. As Arizona continues rolling out its disbursement of COVID-19 vaccines, Bowser said she’s hopeful the pandemic will soon start to subside and her unit will return to regular operations. But locals need to remain vigilant about wearing masks and washing their hands, she added, because the community could be getting close to finally averting this calamity. “We can see that light at the end of the tunnel within this next year,” Bowser said.

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this because there’s no law against it.” Manslaughter charges have traditionally been used in Arizona to prosecute killers who commit a homicide without premeditation. Fatal car accidents or domestic fights that turned deadly have often been the

from page 1

scholarship to Arizona State University, where he was a pre-med student. But Romine’s parents say the 17-yearold had been privately struggling with depression and had begun to secretly express his despair on Reddit, the online chat forum that’s home to 430 million users. One user allegedly instructed Romine in how to take his life over the course of several days and was still chatting with the teenager hours before his death. Romine died in the same manner explained to him by the Reddit user a few days before Mother’s Days in 2019. Paolla Jordan, Romine’s mother, said she has preserved nearly 300 screenshots of her son’s disturbing dialogue with the individual and believes they prove her son’s death was the result of the Reddit user’s influence. “This was a predator preying on my son and it will happen again,” she told the House Judiciary Committee on Feb. 3 as she urged lawmakers to give police the ability to go after adults who coax children into taking their own lives. Every agency claims their hands are tied in these situations, Jordan said, noting they claim to have no legal authority to investigate online manipulators who intend to harm others. “Our family will not get justice for Adrio,” Jordan added. “As Adrio’s parents we need to make an effort to do something for future generations to

I want to make sure no parent has to go through this in the future,” Weninger said. The legislation must still pass through the State Senate before it could be signed by Gov. Doug Ducey. The legislation failed to pass last year

was not a matter of someone failing to help “orThisflippantly saying ‘kill yourself’, this is a grown adult who knowingly, intentionally, continuously coached this young man to do this. ”

– Shane Watson

Adrio Romine come.” After Romine’s death, his family contacted law enforcement agencies in Arizona and California – where the Reddit user is believed to have lived – and attempted to get them to file criminal charges. Kelly Jordan, the teenager’s stepfather, said the authorities in those two states wanted to open an investigation but couldn’t because there was no statute that could be applied to Romine’s case. “Even though everyone is willing, nobody has the ability to prosecute any of these cases,” he said. “And there’s nothing to try and stop anybody from doing

types of cases that end in a manslaughter conviction. The law presently applies to defendants who supply the physical means for someone to die by suicide but does not account for someone who emotionally coerces another person to commit such an act. Manslaughter is currently classified as a Class 2 felony, meaning anyone found guilty under the legislation’s proposed amendments could be sentenced to several years in prison. Weninger, who attempted to get a similar bill passed last year, said he was motivated to introduce HB 2459 after reviewing some of the alarming messages sent to Romine on the Reddit thread. Romine was getting messages detailing the most effective angles for pointing a gun at his head, the lawmaker noted. “I just think that’s reprehensible and

after the COVID-19 pandemic thwarted the possibility of most bills getting to the House or Senate floors for a final vote. But several lawmakers signaled their support for Weninger’s bill early on and have been wishing to see it advance through the Legislature. State Rep. Jennifer Pawlik, D-Chandler, voted to move the bill through the Judiciary Committee last session despite some concerns she had about the legislation’s vague language. It is unclear how prosecutors can prove a defendant’s intent in cases like these, Pawlik said, yet it is clear parents need more support in patrolling the online activities of vulnerable children. “As a parent, I can attest that it would be impossible to monitor all of your child’s interactions on social meSee

SUICIDE on page 14

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Having heart

Jacobson Elementary’s 650 students made Valentine’s Day cards for a special neighbor – residents of the Gardens at Ocotillo Senior Living facility, which is across the street. Students worked with the Jacobson PTO to ensure that every Gardens resident received a colorful valentine with a kind, handwritten note scribbled at the bottom. Principal Liz Wolf said the school wanted to do something extra special since the last year has been particularly rough on the senior community. “Helping other folks in our community helps to empower our students,” Wolf said. “They understand they can make a difference in someone’s life and they wanted to help.” (Special to SanTan Sun News)

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | FEBRUARY 14, 2021

SUICIDE

from page 12

dia,” Pawlik said last year after voting in favor of Weninger’s bill. Pawlik and several other Chandler lawmakers have been introducing and supporting several pieces of legislation in recent years that attempt to curb the startling rate of teen suicides reported across the East Valley. Nearly 60 students from various East Valley schools have died by suicide over the last four years, prompting parents and teenagers to demand for more resources from their local school districts to address students’ social-emotional needs. Lawmakers have been trying to address the troubling trend by presenting bills that would provide more school counselors, require mental health instruction in schools and allow pupils to miss school for a mental health problem. Yet those other bills don’t approach the issue from a criminal justice standpoint quite like HB 2459, which attempts to prevent suicides by criminalizing the behavior of those who knew the deceased was contemplating suicide and urged them to follow through with it. The legislation is similar to the criminal case of Michelle Carter, a young Massachusetts woman who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter after her boyfriend died by suicide in 2014. Carter encouraged her boyfriend to kill himself through several phone calls and text messages exchanged in the days leading up to his death.

Though Carter’s attorneys argued the state had no authority to prosecute, the courts ruled the defendant’s messages showed she had criminal intent to harm her boyfriend. Carter’s case set a precedent that some legal experts felt opened the door for prosecutors to violate an individual’s First Amendment right to freedom of speech. But supporters of HB 2459 don’t think Arizona is encroaching upon the constitutional liberties of its residents by passing the legislation. Shane Watson, a suicide prevention specialist, said the legislation is not trying to suppress someone’s controversial opinion on suicide, it’s trying to stop someone who intends to do harm. “It’s about protecting our most vulnerable and ensuring our future,” he said. Watson, a spokesman for Not My Kid, a nonprofit specializing in mental health resources, said Romine’s case illustrates the gaps that exist in society where a young person can secretly be influenced by a stranger online without anyone else knowing. “This was not a matter of someone failing to help or flippantly saying ‘kill yourself’,” Watson added. “This is a grown adult who knowingly, intentionally, continuously coached this young man to do this.” Romine’s family plans to get other states to introduce legislation similar to HB 2459 and hope to eventually get the laws changed nationwide. In the meantime, the family will continue operating the Laloboy Foundation, which aims to provide counseling services for children and internet safety workshops for parents.

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THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | FEBRUARY 14, 2021

Bill pushes huge voucher program expansion BY HOWARD FISCHER Media Services

Four years after voters rejected expanding a voucher program, Republican state lawmakers are trying again in a big way. SB 1452 would allow any student who meets certain standards to get more than $4,300 a year of tax dollars to attend a private or parochial school. It also would permit parents to use those dollars for home schooling or “pods’’ with neighbors to teach their children. The measure, approved by the Senate Education Committee, would enable a massive expansion of a program that started in 2011 as a small alternative for students with special physical or emotional needs that their parents said could not be met at home. Since then, however, there has been a near-constant expansion of eligibility, to the point where it now includes foster children, children living on reservations, children of active military, and those attending public schools rated D or F. Sen. Paul Boyer, R-Phoenix, did not provide any estimates of what his legislation would mean in terms of students. But Aaron Wonders, lobbyist for the state Department of Education, estimated that about 250,000 students in Arizona are currently eligible for a voucher and that SB 1452 could balloon that up to 700,000 of the state’s 1.1 million students in public schools. Boyer said his legislation is targeted at students from low-income families. But

the wording appears to have a loophole that would open the door to students from well-to-do families simply because their children were attending a school where there were enough poor students to classify it as eligible for Title I services for the needy. Arizona does not require students to attend traditional public schools in their neighborhoods. They are free to enroll at other school districts and can attend any charter school, which are public

But Sen. Christine Marsh, D-Phoenix, said that misses a key point. “The irony is if we were funding our schools appropriately, we wouldn’t have kids who felt or families who felt the need to leave, or certainly not as many,’’ she said. Leaving the public school system, she said, reduces a district’s per-student funding, leaving the schools even worse off. While the committee was divided along party lines, there are elements of the business community that find Boy-

The irony is if we were funding our schools “appropriately, we wouldn’t have kids who felt or families who felt the need to leave, or certainly not as many. ’’

– Sen. Christine Marsh

schools under Arizona law, without cost. “But it’s only a choice if it’s funded,’’ Boyer said. “It’s only a choice if a student has access to the school,’’ he continued. “It’s only a choice if they’re not stuck on a wait list for years and years and told year after year after year, ‘Just wait until we’re fully funded, then it will get better.’ ‘’ Boyer, a charter school teacher, said the issue is providing what a family thinks is best rather than essentially telling children that their only choice is the neighborhood school that may or may not be meeting their needs.

er’s idea unacceptable. That includes Jim Swanson, CEO of Kitchell Corp., a major Arizona construction firm. “Don’t get me wrong,’’ he said. “I support school choice through quality charters and open enrollment in our school districts. But this, Swanson said, is not the answer, saying voucher expansion “takes money out of an already underfunded, overburdened system, a system that is barely coping with teachers leaving and retiring, a shortage of counselors, and an over-reliance on bonds and overrides to fund school operations at the

district level.” Boyer’s legislation also says that high schoolers can get a separate scholarship financed by donations to school tuition organizations to help pay those private and parochial school expenses. That’s crucial as donors get a dollar-for-dollar credit against income tax owed to the state, reducing overall state revenues for education and other priorities. Ron Johnson, who lobbies for the state’s Catholic bishops and the schools they run, said the move is necessary to keep kids in Catholic schools past the eighth grade because high school tuition is high. Even if Boyer gets his measure through the legislature and signed by the governor, that is unlikely to be the last word. Beth Lewis, co-founder of Save Our Schools Arizona said her organization will take “any action to right this wrong.’’ One of those options would be to ask voters to void the law. Lewis’ group gathered enough signatures in 2017, the last time lawmakers tried a major expansion, to put the issue on the ballot. Voters overrode the measure by a 2-1 margin. The other option, she said, is legal, saying there are questions about a provision in Boyer’s legislation that would take money from a voter-approved School Site Fund, financed by a 0.6-cent sales tax, to help finance the vouchers. Boyer’s legislation for the first time also allows parents to use their vouchers to pay for public or commercial transportation between home and school.

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THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | FEBRUARY 14, 2021

Chandler lawmaker’s gaming bill advances BY HOWARD FISCHER Media Services

Promoted by an aide to Gov. Doug Ducey and urged on by sports teams and Native American tribes, a vastly expanded legal gaming proposal for Arizona advanced by a Chandler lawmaker cleared its first hurdle last week. The far-reaching legislation approved by the House Commerce Committee would legalize the ability of Arizonans to wager on professional and college sports. Betting on fantasy sports also would become legal if HB 2772 becomes law. And all that could be done online through a smart phone. On top of that, off-track betting locations and service organizations would get the right to legally offer keno. That’s a form of lottery but with a new game and new numbers up to 15 times every hour. Chandler Rep. Jeff Weninger, who is sponsoring the House version of the off-reservation gaming plan, said he sees a possible ripple effect. “I truly think you’re going to see things where more people are going to games because it is exciting maybe to have a bet and maybe watching the game in person,’’ he said, “more people wanting to watch it in a group setting because maybe they have a $20 bet on the game.’’ The 9-1 vote followed testimony by a parade of lobbyists for professional sports organizations. Several of them told of the financial woes they faced after the pandemic shortened the seasons. They see legal wagering – and the money generated – as a financial lifeline. The plan, if approved would generate anywhere from $20 million to $42 million a year for the state – lawmakers could use for new or expanded programs or even to grant tax cuts. Only Rep. Pamela Powers Hannley, D-Tucson, cast the dissenting vote, stating “Gambling is an addiction.’’ “People lose their homes and their livelihoods from gambling,’’ Powers Hannley continued. “We need to realize that we could have unintended consequences from expansion of gambling.’’ The Tucson lawmaker also said she’s not convinced that the private companies that will be hired by sports teams and franchises to run the operations will properly store and protect private information of those who place their bets online. Powers Hannley said this could provide the opportunity for companies to “geotrack’’ the gamblers who make their wagers through their smart phones. But other lawmakers were more inclined to listen the lobbyists who saw nothing but positive out of this. Rob Dallagher who represents the Arizona Cardinals, one of the teams that would get the right to establish its own online and in-stadium wagering facility where people could bet not just on Cardinals game and not just on football but on any professional or college

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Rep. Jeff Weninger sporting event anywhere in the country. “If I wanted to go today and make a sports bet, there is a way for me to do that,’’ Dallagher said. “What I’m not so certain about is, if I win, am I going to get paid, or is the person holding that bet for me using data that is legitimate to determine whether I won or lost that bet,’’ he continued. “And this bill covers both of those.’’ Amilyn Pierce, vice president of the Arizona Diamondbacks, said teams elsewhere have brought in new cash because their home states have given the go-ahead for sports wagering since the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018 voided a federal law banning such gambling. “In the years since the ruling, we have watched as other states have significantly implemented sports betting and what it has done to the financial health of the teams who have been able to participate,’’ she told lawmakers. “We cannot let Arizona fall behind, putting our sports teams at a significant disadvantage in a competitive market.’’ What’s in HB 2772 and a mirror bill in the Senate of SB 1797 are half of a deal that Ducey cut with tribes as they are renegotiating the gaming compacts first approved in 2002. In essence, the tribes would get opportunities for additional locations for casinos and the right to operate new games like craps and roulette. They, too, will be able to take in sports bets. All the terms of that, however, have not been made public. Anni Foster, the governor’s legal counsel, said her boss is entitled to approve new terms without the approval of lawmakers. What does require legislative ratification is what the tribes are giving the state in return: the right to operate new forms of off-reservation gaming that were prohibited in the original 2002 deal. But the whole package is tied together: The tribes don’t get expanded gaming if lawmakers don’t OK the new off-reservation games. And sports betting is permitted only if the tribes in the Phoenix and Tucson areas approve the final deal. The measure now goes to the full House following a review of its constitutionality. No date has been set to hear the Senate version sponsored by Sen. T.J. Shope, R-Coolidge.

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THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | FEBRUARY 14, 2021

Judge dismisses challenges to new education tax BY HOWARD FISCHER Media Services

A new income tax surcharge on the wealthy to add more dollars to public education can take effect. In a 21-page ruling last week, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge John Hannah Jr. rejected a series of arguments by business interests and some Republican lawmakers that Proposition 208 was so flawed that he needed to immediately quash it. Hannah said that’s not the case. The judge saw little merit to the claim that only elected lawmakers are authorized to raise taxes. If nothing else, he pointed out that the Arizona Constitution makes the people coequal with the Legislature. Similarly, he said when voters approved a constitutional amendment requiring a two-thirds vote for new or increased taxes, they worded it so as to apply only to the legislature and not to their own initiatives. And Hannah found little merit to the claim that the 3.5 percent surcharge on earnings above $250,000 for individuals and $500,000 for married couples filing jointly is not a sufficient revenue source for the money that will go to public schools and other education issues. In declining to issue an injunction, the judge also concluded that enacting the tax, by itself, likely does not run afoul of constitutional caps on total

spending on education. He said there are legitimate ways to interpret Proposition 208 in ways that make it legal. And even if there is a legal problem – a point Hannah does not concede – he said it would require a full-blown trial, complete with evidence, to reach such a conclusion. In the meantime, however, he said there is no immediate reason to declare the law or this provision illegal. Hannah pointed out that while the higher tax rate began Jan. 1, it won’t really be an issue for most people until April 2022, when they pay their income taxes. And even for people whose income is high enough to require them to pay estimated taxes, the judge said the worst that could happen is they pay a little more now and then could get a refund if Proposition 208 eventually is declared illegal.

All that technically leaves the door open for the foes of the tax, who tried unsuccessfully to keep the measure off the ballot in the first place, to renew their arguments at a trial. But they have an uphill fight. In refusing to issue the injunction, Hannah had to consider whether the challengers had a likelihood of success. And he said that does not appear

to be the case. Jonathan Riches, an attorney for the Goldwater Institute, called the ruling ``unfortunate.’’ But he pointed out that Hannah is giving foes another chance to make their case at trial. The ruling is a key victory for the backers of Invest in Education who convinced 51.7 percent of those who turned out in November to support the plan to add new dollars for education. It is expected to raise anywhere from $827 million to $940 million a year, depending on whose estimates are used. Half of the dollars are earmarked for grants to school districts and charter schools to hire teachers and classroom support personnel. Those dollars also can be used to raise teacher salaries. Another 25% is for student support personnel, with 10% earmarked to retain

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teachers in the classroom, 12% for career and technical education and the balance into a fund to help pay the college tuition of students who go into teaching. With Arizona’s tiered tax system, only the earnings above that $250,000/$500,000 threshold are subject to the higher levy. Estimates are that only about 4 percent of Arizonans would be affected. One of the key legal arguments by foes involves the question of who can raise taxes and what margin is needed. Hannah brushed aside the claim that only the legislature has that power, pointing out that the Arizona Constitution specifically empowers voters to create and defeat legislation at the ballot box. The Arizona Constitution sets a spending limit for all school districts in the state by taking the current revenues and adjusted for the number of students and inflation. In anticipation that Proposition 208 could bust the spending limit, the drafters of Proposition 208 specifically said that the dollars raised by the new levy are exempt from that limit. But Hannah said that’s not so simple, as the initiative is a law which, by definition, cannot overrule a constitutional provision. The judge said, though, that Proposition 208 could be read so that the funds raised do not fall within the cap. He said the new dollars could be considered “grants’’ which are not covered by the constitutional limit.

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THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | FEBRUARY 14, 2021

Over 600 city employees have received vaccinations BY KEVIN REAGAN Staff Writer

At least 650 Chandler city employees – mostly firefighters and police officers – have received their COVID-19 vaccine over the last month as thousands of eligible residents. First-responders, teachers, and healthcare workers have spent the last few weeks attempting to get vaccinated at one the Valley’s few distribution centers and a large section of Chandler’s public workforce has managed to gain access to a vaccine in various ways. Some have waited in line outside Chandler-Gilbert Community College where volunteers have been administering vaccines around the clock, while others have gotten one of the vaccines that’s been distributed directly to the city. By the end of January, the city had used up its allotment of vaccines from the Maricopa County Public Health Department that are reserved for firefighters and police officers. “That’s it, we have no more vaccines,” said Fire Chief Tom Dwiggins, adding the vast majority of the city’s 650 vaccinated employees work in public safety. About 700 of the city’s 1,600 workers are public safety employees, suggesting Chandler could be close to having most of its eligible personnel vaccinated. It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly how many employees have received the vaccination thus far, Dwiggins said, be-

cause the city doesn’t demand workers provide any documentation. The city is hoping more staffers can get vaccinated in the coming weeks as Arizona attempts to boost its supply of vaccines and ramp up distribution. The state is getting up to 169,000 vaccines each week, Dwiggins added, so Chandler will have to wait and see how the county will be distributing doses and whether more can be allotted for city personnel. Once public safety employees became eligible for vaccination last month, the city asked the county to send as many vaccines as possible for an in-house clinic the Fire Department quickly set up for city workers. “When they give you that vaccine, you go get it and you bring it here to Chandler as fast you can,” Dwiggins said. Dwiggins had his staff undergo special training for administering, storing

and tracking the COVID-19 vaccines before spending the last couple weeks dispensing the shots. More than 300,000 residents throughout Maricopa County have been vaccinated during the first phase of Arizona’s vaccine distribution plan, which prioritizes elderly populations and essential workers – mainly educators and first responders. As the state progresses through the next phase of its rollout plan – which targets adults with high-risk medical conditions – Dwiggins said his department will be trying to gather doses for city employees who fit that category. The city also is assisting Chandler residents in figuring out how and where they can potentially get vaccinated by fielding phone calls and conducting community outreach. If a resident can’t book an appointment at the Chandler-Gilbert Community College site, then they may be directed to press their luck at a local pharmacy or one of the state-run distribution hubs in Glendale or Phoenix. More distribution sites are popping up across the Valley, the fire chief said, although Arizona’s vaccine supply is still limited and constrained by a high demand. How many Chandler residents have already been vaccinated is unknown

because those numbers are difficult to track and are not recorded by local jurisdictions. Though the state is recording the personal information of every vaccine recipient, those records have not been disclosed. Dwiggins said he’s been told the state is in the midst of trying to create an online dashboard that would display how many residents in each ZIP code have been vaccinated. Chandler’s ZIP codes have recorded more than 28,000 cases of residents testing positive for COVID-19 over the last year, according to public health data. At least 130 Chandler cases have involved city firefighters or police officers. One case tragically turned fatal in January after Officer Tyler Britt succumbed to COVID-19 a couple weeks after he contracted the virus. Despite the fact most public safety employees have been vaccinated, Dwiggins said he will not ease health guidelines and protocols that his department has had in place since the pandemic began. Firefighters are still expected to continue wearing face masks and practice social distancing, he said, and will do so until instructed otherwise. Arizona is still in the middle of the pandemic, Dwiggins added, and residents must patiently wait for the vaccines to show their effect. “This is the solution to a very long problem,” he said. “We are in that last stage. We still have to be resilient.”

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THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | FEBRUARY 14, 2021

Cactus League starting on time – with far fewer fans BY JIM WALSH Contributor

The Cactus League will come back in action in the Valley in two weeks – but fans will find it hardly recognizable. Don’t expect the usual capacity crowd of more than 15,000 loyal Chicago Cubs fans at Mesa’s Sloan Park or kids clamoring for autographs as players take a leisurely stroll across the parking lot between the practice fields and Tempe Diablo Stadium when the season begins with a full slate of games Feb. 27. These, and many other familiar scenes from Cactus League seasons past, will not be possible this year as officials try to strike a delicate balance between the return of spring training and preventing another disastrous spike in COVID-19. With safety paramount on everyone’s minds, fans can expect to see seating limited at Cactus League Stadiums to about 25 percent of capacity, “pods’ of small groups of people sitting at least six feet apart from each other, a mask requirement throughout the league and a prohibition against collecting autographs or watching routine workouts. “I think the public and everyone needs to needs to understand that public safety will not be compromised in the name of baseball,’’ Mesa Mayor John Giles said. “There will be baseball, but there will be strict protection.’’ “We built stadiums and relationships with the teams because we are in it for

the long game,’’ Giles said. “We will look forward to wall-to-wall people next year.’’ The Cactus League, which supported Major League Baseball by requesting a delay in the season because of COVID-19, is now revving up for Opening Day Feb. 26 after the Major League Baseball Players Association rejected the proposal. Justin Piper, general manager of Sloan Park, said the Cactus League parks will rely on MLB’s safety protocols that focus on masks and social distancing. He also said there will be small variations from park to park based upon their layouts. “It’s going to be a different experience than what people saw in the past,” Piper said. “We want to make sure we provide a fun, exciting day in a safe way.’’ Pods at Sloan Park will be limited to a maximum six people sitting together and each pod will be at least six feet apart, making it easier for ushers to enforce social distancing, he said. Every effort will be made to avoid bottlenecks and lines, with only mobile tickets sold so that fans can download them to their cell phones, phasing out the ticket booths at least for this season. Concessions will be spread out, using Sloan’s wide concourse and plaza areas, he said. While there will be no season tickets this year, season ticket holders will get the first priority to buy single game

tickets on cubs.com or sloanpark.com. Sloan’s maximum crowd is expected to drop from more than 15,000 to an estimated 3,500, Piper said. Although the protocols represent a marked departure from the usual relaxed, intimate atmosphere at Cactus League games, at least fans who are willing to cooperate have an opportunity to watch live games in person for the first time since the 2020 Cactus League season was suddenly canceled about midway in March. Pitchers and catchers are expected to arrive on Feb. 17. The World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers will play the Cubs in the first game at Sloan Park on Feb. 27. The Los Angeles Angels will matchup that same afternoon against the San Francisco Giants in Scottdale. Other early East Valley games include the Chicago White Sox vs. the Angels on Feb. 28 at Diablo’s home opener and the Seattle Mariners vs. the Oakland Athletics at Mesa’s Hohokam Stadium. Bridget Binsbacher, the Cactus League’s executive director and a Peoria City Council member, said the league would have preferred to see the season’s debut delayed to reduce the potential spread of COVID-19, providing time for more fans to get vaccinated. MLB eventually offered to pay players in for a 154-game regular season schedule, instead of the usual 162-game season, and using the designated hitter in both leagues, as was the case in last year’s abbreviated 60-game season.

But the powerful Major League Baseball Players Association quickly crushed that proposal out of the park like a typical batting practice fastball grooved straight down the middle. Players worried that more double-headers during the shortened season would result in more injuries and also said the offer came too late, after they had rented homes in Arizona and Florida for spring training, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported. In a prepared statement earlier this month, Binsbacher said, “Fans are advised to go to the Cactus League website at cactusleague.com/#navigation-locations for ticket details and protocols for attendees at individual ballparks.” Jerry Hall, manager of Diablo Stadium said the Cactus League needs a uniform policy, so that the same rules are used in all stadiums and fans don’t insist they were allowed to not wear masks in another ballpark. “All of us will have the same protocols. We will all be on the same page,’’ Hall said. Diablo, the oldest and smallest of Cactus League stadiums, always has touted its intimate fan experience. In Diablo’s case, that would mean capacity would shrink from 9,600 to about 2,000 or so. Despite the limitations, “the fan experience will actually be quite nice. You can still sit with your family. You can still watch Major League Baseball,’’ Hall said.

$900K for dude ranches gets preliminary OK BY HOWARD FISCHER Media Services

State lawmakers voted Monday to spend $900,000 in tax dollars in a bid to convince Arizonans and others across the country to visit one of the state’s remaining “dude ranches.’’ “At one point in the 40s ... we had as many as 80 of them,’’ Kevin DeMenna, lobbyist for the Arizona Dude Ranch Association told members of the House

Committee on Land, Agriculture and Rural Affairs. “They were a national draw.’’ Now, he put the number at closer to 14. DeMenna said the ranches, like other forms of tourism, were hit hard by the pandemic. “You can’t furlough the animals,’’ DeMenna said. “They’ve got to be fed.’’ Complicating matters, he said, is the dude ranches were a particular draw for

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international visitors. With that market pretty much dried up, DeMenna said a promotional campaign could help spur a domestic market. DeMenna originally got Rep. David Cook, R-Globe, to sponsor HB 2169 asking for $3 million. But that got pared to a potentially more politically acceptable $900,000. “We think that will manage to launch what we hope will be a coast-to-coast outreach to help to fill these ranches which, in turn, supports these local economies,’’ he told lawmakers. DeMenna said there is precedent. For example, state lawmakers voted in 2018 to give $1.5 million a year in sales tax revenues for 30 years to the Arizona Office of Tourism to promote events at Phoenix International Raceway and

money into promoting NASCAR at Phoenix International Raceway. “We’d like to see a microcosm of that extended in this case to the guest ranch community,’’ DeMenna said. But Rep. Lorenzo Sierra, D-Cashion, whose district includes that raceway, said this isn’t exactly the same thing. He said the raceway owners first had to put up $100 million of their own money on improvements as a condition to get the cash. Rep. Diego Rodriguez, D-Laveen, said there’s a “deep well of documentation’’ showing the economic impact on Arizona of a NASCAR race. And he asked DeMenna if he could prove the same thing about dude ranches. The lobbyist conceded he does not now have such figures. Rep. Andrea Dalessandro, D-Green Valley, said she has several of these in her district and supports tourism but cannot vote for a specific carve-out of state dollars. “I don’t like the idea of support for a specific segment,’’ Dalessandro said. Instead, she promised to work with state tourism officials to get them to use more of their existing resources to highlight the dude ranches. The 7-4 vote now sends the measure to the House Appropriations Committee.

COMMUNITY NEWS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | FEBRUARY 14, 2021

State gets low grades on tobacco use BY HALEIGH KOCHANSKI Cronkite News

Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. but two recent reports say Arizona needs to do more to help people break free from using tobacco products. “We certainly need a lot more resources here in Arizona to help people quit smoking,” said JoAnna Strother, senior director of advocacy for the American Lung Association, one of two organizations, along with Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, to grade the state’s actions. The American Lung Association’s annual “State of Tobacco Control” report for 2021 gave Arizona a failing grade in three of five policies it looks at – the state’s tobacco taxes, its limits on flavored tobacco products and its funding for tobacco prevention and cessation programs. The state got a D for access to tobacco cessation programs and an A for its restrictions on smoking in public spaces. Arizona was not alone in its troubling grades. A third or more of states got an F for their tobacco taxes, access to prevention programs and limits on flavored tobacco products, while Arizona was one of 23 states with an A for public-smoking restrictions. The state did relatively well in the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids report, which ranked Arizona 15th overall for the amount of money it is spending from the 1998 tobacco settlement on anti-tobacco programs. But one advocate calls the ranking just “OK-ish” considering how other states performed. Only eight states spent more than half of their settlement funds on smoking prevention and cessation, and the $18.5 million Arizona is spending in fiscal 2021 is just 28.7 percent of what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends, according to

the report. “There is no state that reaches the level that they should be,” said Brian Hummell, the Arizona director of government relations for the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network. “Arizona is a little less than OKish. We rank 15th in the country for the percentage of the recommended level.” The tobacco-free kids report marks the 22nd anniversary of the Master Settlement Agreement, the 1998 settlement of a lawsuit brought by 46 states against U.S. cigarette manufacturers. That deal, with four of the largest tobacco companies, called on the companies to pay more than $200 billion over 25 years to compensate for tobacco-related health care costs the states incurred. It also prohibited the companies from marketing to youth and put restrictions on other advertising and promotional programs. Between settlement money and their own tobacco taxes, states will collect $26.9 billion this year that could go toward anti-tobacco programs.

The CDC recommends that states spend $3.3 billion on those programs this year, but the tobacco-free kids report said they will spend only $656 million, or just 2.4 percent of the total available. In Arizona, part of that funding decision was driven by voters, who approved a ballot initiative in 2000 that directed the tobacco settlement funds toward the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, the state’s Medicaid program. “It’s a factor of prioritization,” Hummell said. “There is … some of that money that could have been put towards tobacco prevention and education but that’s not what the state decided. It was actually a vote of the citizens to put that money to Medicaid.” Despite the poor grades, most states were doing well in the fight against smoking – until recently, the experts say, when electronic cigarettes entered the market. “We’ve brought down rates across the country to record lows in so many

states and made incredible progress,” said John Schachter, the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids’ senior director of advocacy communications. “But then e-cigarettes come along and all of a sudden, we are not quite back at square one but in some ways, we are behind the eight-ball again. “These are tobacco use rates we haven’t seen in decades,” said Schachter, who believes it is the flavored e-cigarettes that are driving the rise of tobacco use. The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids says youth use of e-cigarettes is at epidemic levels, with at least 3.6 million U.S. teens, or about one in five high school students, vaping. Hummell and Strother both noted that while Arizona has a $2-a-pack tax on cigarettes, there is no such tax on e-cigarettes. “We know that when we increase the tobacco tax by a significant amount, it actually helps people quit and it also forestalls young people especially from even starting to try tobacco because of the cost,” Hummell said. Strother said Arizona is “missing a big piece of revenue here that the states could be collecting on” by not taxing e-cigarettes. “People under age are getting tobacco products and that’s a concern, especially with the vaping products because they start using the products and get addicted and then tend to become life-long smokers,” she said. After seeing many of their initiatives die in the Arizona Senate in 2020, the American Lung Association will be back this year pushing for a vaping tax among other goals, Strother said. “Our big push in Arizona right now during the legislative session is to get tobacco retailer licenses,” Strother said. “Arizona is one of only a handful of states that doesn’t have one.”

Chandler joins project to make Loop 101 safer SANTAN SUN NEWS STAFF

The City of Chandler has entered into a region-wide pilot program that will attempt to improve response to traffic incidents along the Loop 101 Price Road Freeway. Starting in the next fiscal year, city staff will be working with the Maricopa County Department of Transportation to create pre-approved detour routes that motorists will be able to utilize after an accident is reported on the freeway. Known as the Regional Emergency Action Coordinating Team, the project will include Chandler and several other agencies that will pool their resources and study how accidents can be better managed along the Loop 101. As part of the agreement, the city will assign a Police Department and a Traffic Management Center employee

to serve as liaisons for the REACT team. Chandler also will open up its right-ofway regions to outside agencies. Dana Alviderez, the city’s transportation engineer, said the three-year program should benefit Chandler motorists by possibly reducing commute times after a traffic accident occurs. “This is to improve safety and security of the incident scenes, avoid secondary crashes, and to minimize congestion for the traveling public,” Alviderez said. Other components of the partnership include developing traffic signal timing for various closure scenarios and exploring new communication tools for stakeholders responding to a crash on the Loop 101. The Loop 101 corridor comprises 61 miles stretching from Chandler to Peoria and is often the site of several deadly crashes.

On Jan. 14, an Arizona State University police officer was killed on the Loop 101 after he lost control of his motorcycle and crashed into a highway barrier. Two Mesa residents died last November on the freeway in Chandler after their pickup collided with a large trailer. One of the freeway’s biggest hotspots for crashes is the region located between south Scottsdale and north Chandler, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation. The state agency said Arizona’s dramatic population growth over the last couple decades has significantly affected the freeway’s car volume and the amount of time it takes for authorities to respond to crashes. “Better processes and systems are needed for traveler information and alerts, response plan coordination

among agencies, traffic detours off of and onto the freeway, and restoring the network to full capacity,” ADOT officials wrote in a report on the Loop 101. A few years ago, ADOT received federal funding to launch the Loop 101 Mobility Project and integrate new technology along various points of the busy freeway. A component of that project includes using federal funds to finance the multi-jurisdictional program involving Chandler. The city is not committing any funds to the project. Councilman Matt Orlando said he is excited about the project and hopes it results in notable changes in how accidents impact the city’s motorists. “The key to this is to stop those cars before they get on the freeway early enough so we don’t exacerbate the problem.” Orlando said.

COMMUNITY NEWS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | FEBRUARY 14, 2021

Arizona deaths soared last year over 2019 BY MOLLY HUDSON Cronkite News

Total deaths in Arizona rose 25 percent in 2020 over the previous year, with some counties seeing increases approaching 50 percent for the year in which COVID-19 became the leading killer in the state. While data on the causes of death is not expected until later this year, experts attribute the “exceptional increase” in deaths to the COVID-19 as well as to fatalities that may be indirectly caused by the pandemic. “COVID appears to be the reason,” said David Sklar, a professor at Arizona State University’s College of Health Solutions. “Other problems have also increased, such as opioid-related deaths, and some have decreased, such as pedestrian-related deaths because people were driving less and were out less. But COVID has been a large contributor to our increase.” The Arizona Department of Health Services reported this month that there were 75,133 deaths in the state in 2020, an increase of 24.9 percent from the 60,161 deaths reported in 2019. Holly Poynter, a spokesperson for the state health department, said while it’s likely “COVID-19 deaths are a factor” in the increase in deaths, state officials

will not be able to say for sure until complete data on cause of death is available later this year. The increased death toll was not spread evenly across the state, with Apache and Yuma counties reporting increases of 48.9 percent and 48.8 percent, respectively. On the other end of the spectrum, deaths increased by 14.29

associate professor of epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health. Lessler said 25 percent is “really an exceptional increase” that comes “because we have this new cause of death that … killed in the last year as many people as all but two other causes of death,” Lessler said, adding:

heart disease and cancer killed more people “thanOnlyCOVID last year and it’s almost up to the level that heart disease would kill in a normal year. ”

– Justin Lessler

percent in Greenlee County and 16.2 percent in Cochise County. In Apache County, where the total number of deaths rose from 734 in 2019 to 1,093 in 2020, county Health Director Preston Raban said COVID-19 was a driving force, but not the only factor in the increased deaths. The report on the increase in deaths comes as COVID-19 surpassed cancer and heart disease to become the leading cause of death in Arizona last year. Arizona is not the only state seeing such surges, said Justin Lessler, an

“Only heart disease and cancer killed more people than COVID last year and it’s almost up to the level that heart disease would kill in a normal year.” Lessler echoed others who said COVID-19 was not just a killer itself but may have contributed to other deaths in 2020. “I could have heart disease and maybe I would have some chance of dying in the next few years,” Lessler said as one example. “It was greater than the people around me, but because I got COVID, and had that heart disease

made it more severe.” Lessler pointed to the possibility of a “more ancillary effect” from the pandemic, such as the social pressure of lockdowns leading to increases in overdose or suicide deaths, or overburdened hospitals being unable to deliver needed, and possibly life-saving, care to patients. Raban added that “in some instances, those who had the COVID virus died with COVID on board, but it wasn’t necessarily the COVID virus that killed them.” Jeffrey Engel, the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists’ senior adviser for the COVID-19 response, said what Arizona saw last year “may be typical,” but that it could have been felt more acutely in the state because of its relatively large number of seniors. People 65 and older accounted for 9,573 of the 12,819 COVID-19 deaths in Arizona, or 75 percent of the total, according to the latest data from the state health department. “I think after this is over, this pandemic is over, we as a society will be looking ourselves in the mirror and really try to ask how we take care of our elderly,” Engel said. For the time being, he said, it’s important that people not get numb to the rising numbers. “There is a person behind all of them,” he said.

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Local couple makes, bottles, sells wine under one roof BY PAUL MARYNIAK Executive Editor

You won’t find grapevines or even grapes at Basil and Colleen Kaspar’s Chandler store, but inside you’ll find all the igredients and apparatus for the small-batch, home-made wines they make, bottle and sell there. What started as a hobby for Basil 18 years ago evolved into Down Time Wines at 393 W. Warner Road – a store, a boutique restaurant, special events venue and a growing distribution center owned by Colleen, a former bank teller supervisor, and her husband, a vice president for IT at Bank of America. Some social discomfort started this enterprise. “He always told people he was embarrassed to go someplace and take a bottle of Mogen David,” Colleen explained. “He wanted to make his own.” Basil started doing just that. He gets juices from various vineyards and experiments with various ingredients – whipping up wines like a peach chardonnay, three varieties of a Tuscan red and even a coffee wine. He puts a special Christmas line out around

Basil Kaspar stocks the shelves at Down Time Wines in Chandler with bottles of his homemade wine. He carries 30 to 40 varieties at any given timer. (Pablo Robles/Staff)

Thanksgiving – and sells out of it well before Dec. 25. At most times, the store’s shelves are loaded with 30 to 40 different varieties of Basil’s wine creations.

When he moved his entire operation to the store, it was a relief for Colleen when they lived in Gilbert before moving to Chandler. Back then, Basil’s hobby occupied

“my dining room and my kitchen” she recalled, until “I finally said, ‘OK, this is enough.’” Colleen quit her bank job four years ago to run the store while Basil splits his time between his bank job in the morning and making, bottling and helping to sell his wine in the afternoon and evening. You won’t find wooden casks at Down Time Wines because Basil uses plastic barrels; they are easier to sanitize, Colleen said. “We bottle it, cork it, label it – everything all right here,” she said. “We’ve got barrels that hold up to 150 bottles.” Keeping track of what needs to be done is almost a fulltime effort in itself. “I keep a schedule of what needs to be done each day – this needs to be mixed, this needs to be racked, this needs to be started, whatever,” Colleen explained. “We might not have anything and other days, we might have three or four things to work on.” The wine also is special in other ways beyond flavors. It only has a shelf life of around 18 months, but it has no nitrates See

WINE on page 25

Gila River Indian Community plans a mammoth neighbor BY PAUL MARYNIAK Executive Editor

Over the next decade, Chandler will be getting a big new neighbor – a 3,300-acre sports and entertainment complex that could give the Gila River Indian Community a rival to the Talking Stick Entertainment District just south of Scottsdale. The project lead, Sunbelt Holdings of Scottsdale, and the tribe’s development arm, Wild Horse Pass Development Authority, envision additional hotels, wellness and event centers, an outdoor amphitheater for concerts, sports facilities, outdoor recreation and parks, restaurants, retail establishments and an office park. Sunbelt Holdings President John Graham told the SanTan Sun News the development, located just south of the Loop 202-I-10 intersection, will fill a “missing corner” of the East Valley “It’s an additional piece of economic development potential for the whole area,” said Graham, whose project team also includes the planning-design firms of CallisonRTKL and Kimley Horn as well as real estate consultant Elliott D. Pollack & Company. And he said the completion of the South Mountain Freeway, along with the Arizona Department of Transportation’s plans to add a third lane in each direction of I-10 between Ahwatukee and Casa Grande further enhance the site’s attractiveness – and likely spur more development on the sprawling 372,000-acre reservation.

Sunbelt Holdings President John Graham said the Gila River Indian Community sports-entertainment complex will fill a “forgotten corner” of the East Valley. (Special to the SanTan Sun News)

“We’ll have multiple interchanges on it,” Graham said. “We’ll have direct access into Ahwatukee on 40th Street and 48th Street as well as Chandler…It’s a phenomenal piece of property.” Tribal leaders see the project as an expansion of “our vision to provide additional economic development opportunities for Wild Horse Pass, GRIC, and the Greater Metropolitan Phoenix area,” said Donald Antone, the Wild Horse Authority board chairman. Even before the overall project was unveiled, it was starting to unfold late last

year when Phoenix Rising, the state’s largest professional soccer team, announced it as the home for its new stadium. The stadium, which is expected to open for the May start of the 2021 season, will have a 35 percent greater capacity than the team’s previous 6,200-seat venue at its previous home at McClintock Drive and Loop 202. It also will offer permanent bathrooms, paved parking with multiple entrances and exits, a double-sided video screen, more practice fields and “improved family and VIP experiences,”

according to the team. Mark Grado, a spokesman for the Wild Horse Pass Development Authority, said the stadium is costing “in excess of at least several million dollars,” and that funding comes from both Wild Horse Pass and the club. Wild Horse Pass is already home to Gila River Hotels & Casinos - Wild Horse Pass, the Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass, Whirlwind Golf Club, Aji Spa, Rawhide Western Town & Event See

GILA on page 24

GILA

BUSINESS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | FEBRUARY 14, 2021

from page 23

Center, Phoenix Premium Outlets, KOLI Equestrian Center, Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park and the Bondurant High Performance Driving School. Graham said he envisions a lengthy buildout for the project, though some new tenants are expected to be announced within the near future. “The stuff we do is long term in nature,” he said. “Our first plan is kind of a 10-year plan but I would believe between this land and other land tribal land around it that it’s a 30-year build-out.” A 40-yearold developer of master-planned residential and commercial properties in Arizona, Sunbelt Holdings will lead the project and provide asset and construction management as well as marketing services. “We can’t sell the land; It’s all got to be ground leased, but that’s something that we’re very attuned to,” Graham said. “On behalf of ASU, we’ve managed and marketed their research park in Tempe since 1992 and that’s all groundleased – we can’t sell it. So, we certainly know how to do it.” The Gila Development Authority White concurs. General Manager David White said, “Sunbelt Holdings’ proven expertise and reputation in master plan development, their blue-ribbon portfolio and deeply-rooted community connections made them the ideal partner for this expansion project.” White also said the project will create new jobs for tribal members “and will evolve our culture and legacy.”

This is the first rendering of the entertainment-sports-retail complex footprint envision for 3,300 acres on the Gila Rver Indian Community abuting I-10 and the South Mountain Freeway. (Special to SanTan Sun News)

Graham said he also is excited about working with the tribe. “I think that’s one of the things that excites me about the opportunity the most – is to work with them to celebrate their culture and heritage and at the same time to create economic de-

velopment opportunities to benefit the tribal members,” Graham said, adding that it also will have ripple effects on that portion of the East Valley as well as Ahwatukee. “I view it as an additional piece of economic development potential for

the whole area,” he added. Sunbelt Holdings has developed more than 50,000 acres of land, including residential communities like the 3,800-home McDowell Mountain Ranch See

GILA on page 28

BUSINESS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | FEBRUARY 14, 2021

The front of Down Time Wines at 393 W. Warner Road in Chandler holds about 30 people when there is no pandemic and has become a place where Basil and Colleen Kaspar hosts special events and parties. Patrons also can order lunch and dinner from a limited menu of sandwiches, pizza and salads. (Pablo Robles/ Staff Photographer)

WINE

from page 23

or preservatives – opening up a whole new market of potential consumers. “Many people who can’t normally drink wine because it causes them to break out, get headaches or have other adverse reactions have come to find they can drink our wine with no problems,” Colleen said. The home-made labels and their brand name reflect a sentimental attachment the couple has for a Valley landmark. The label has a picture of Canyon Lake. “That’s kind of part of the story of where we started. We had a boat at Canyon Lake. We love Canyon Lake and our boat didn’t have a name on it when we bought it. We had it in a slip out

there and we’d go out every weekend and people kept saying ‘you got to name your boat, it’s not good luck to have a boat without a name.’ So Basil finally came up with the name ‘Down Time’ because we’d go to the lake for downtime.” They had to sell the boat when they started the store – and that was probably all for the better because they do more than make, bottle and sell wine at the establishment. The front of the store can seat 30 people and before the pandemic struck, Down Time Wines hosted comedy nights the third Friday of the month. The Kaspars also hosted paint parties, where an artist comes in with table top easels so patrons can sip and create; “Fine Farkle Nights,” when patrons can play a popular dice game and relax with a glass; “Wine Wednesday” and “Fantastic Friday” for wine tastings all day from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

They also host birthday, anniversary and other kinds of parties and a monthly dinner-and-wine event, featuring fare like prime rib and Italian specialties from restaurants that carry their wine. Though they still hold the dice game nights – Colleen says it’s “like Yahtzee but more fun,” they have been holding off on other events for the time being. Still, the pandemic hasn’t stopped them from offering memberships in their wine club, with special offers on wines members can have delivered or ready for pick-up. Aside from catered dinners once a month, the Kaspars have a daily menu of $5 croissant sandwiches, other kinds of sandwiches, chips, pizza and salads. “The pizza we get from Nick & Tony’s Pizzeria in Gilbert,” Colleen said. “He carries our wine and we carry his 10-inch pizza. We’ve got three kinds and he makes them for us and then he

partially bakes them and then we get them frozen and then we continue the baking process.” They even have a gift shop with “wine-themed items” such as glasses, tumblers and towels. They also personalize their labels for special occasions and events. “Those make special gifts for private celebrations and even for businesses that want to give their customers a token of their appreciation,” Colleen noted. The wine is generally priced between $12 and $18 and the couple is working to get it on more shelves. “We’re always looking for new places and stopping into restaurants to see if they’ll carry our line,” Colleen said, adding they’re also hoping to have their wine available at convenience stores “and anything like that that sells wine.” For more information: downtimewines.com.

2 case studies on maximizing retirement BY HAROLD WONG Guest Writer

Typical retirement investment options are: an .88 percent coupon interest on a 10-year and 1.63 percent on a 30-year U.S. Treasury Bond; 1 percent or less on bank CDs; and 2.02 percent average dividend yield and 4.57 percent compound growth rate before fees over the last 21 years on S&P 500 stocks. I will cover two case studies that are composites of various client situations I have seen over the decades. Case study 1: A couple ages 54 have combined $100,000 annual income; have saved $500,000; can save $15,000 a year until retirement and can average 4 percent compound growth rate in the stock market. Assume that all debt is paid off at retirement. They pay $10,000 of annual income tax and their goal is to have at least $80,000 of annual retirement income. Solution: They both retire at age 67,

full-retirement age for Social Security benefits with $50,000 of annual SS income. At age 54, they deposit $300,000 in a private pension fund, which will generate $32,225 of annual retirement income for life at age 67. Their $15,000-a-year annual savings, compounding at 4 percent for 14 years in the stock market, will become $285,354. Assume this will pay for bucket list dreams during their first 10 years of retirement. Assume that the other $200,000 grows at the same 4 percent compound growth rate and becomes $333,015 in 13 years. If this earns an average 2 percent dividend yield, that’s another $6,660 of annual retirement income. Total annual retirement income at age 67 is $88,885. However, if the stock market crashes within five years of retirement or just as they retire, life is no longer fun. Case study 2: A couple ages 60 have combined $180,000 annual gross income and owe $30,000 in annual taxes. Both work and no longer save because they want to enjoy expensive hobbies now in exchange for delaying retirement until age 70. Assume they

have no debt at retirement. They have saved $1 million and their dream is to be able to afford extensive foreign travel when they retire and help grandkids. Solution: They decide to wait until age 70 in order to maximize their SS retirement benefits, which will be $65,000 annually. At age 60, they deposit $600,000 in a private pension fund, which will generate $62,315 at age 70. They decide to save tax by selling power from their solar business equipment to large food companies. If they save $25,000 of annual taxes for 10 years, with an effective 9 percent yield, this will become $414,007 at age 70. At age 70, they earn 7 percent annually on the $414,007 in a real estate lending program or equipment leasing program and this will generate $28,980 of extra retirement income. Assume that their extra $400,000 ($1 million saved less $600,000 deposited in a private pension) is used to purchase solar business equipment and the $400,000 returns to them at age 70. It’s now available to either be

reinvested or to fund their bucket list dreams. Total retirement income of $156,295 is $65,000 from SS; $62,315 from the private pension; and $28,980 from the real estate lending or equipment leasing program. Any income from the $400,000 is extra. In contrast, if they relied on stocks paying an average 2 percent dividends, their $1 million would only generate $20,000 annually. If they retired at age 65, their Social Security would only be about $50,000. It’s an entirely different retirement with $70,000 vs. $156,295 of annual income. Conclusion: Waiting until age 70 to start your SS; saving taxes; and alternative investments can help you afford your bucket list dreams in retirement without stock market risk. Free information on tax savings, retirement planning, and solar business investments can be found at drharoldwong. com or solarbusinessinvestments.com. Dr. Harold Wong earned his Ph.D. in economics at University of California/ Berkeley. To schedule a free consultation, reach him at 480-706-0177 or harold_wong@hotmail.com.

BUSINESS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | FEBRUARY 14, 2021

Have a cold one, help save Brewers Guild BY KRISTINE CANNON Staff Writer

Thought Arizona Beer Week was canceled this year due to COVID-19? Think again. It is not only happening this year but the Arizona Craft Brewers Guild has extended it throughout February to encourage social distancing. “COVID-19 has brought unprecedented challenges to the Guild with events – like Strong Beer Festival, Baja Beer Festival, Real Wild & Woody – being their main source of revenue. We are asking for all Arizona breweries and brewers far and wide to raise a glass with us and participate in this collaboration,” said Rob Fullmer, guild executive director. Arizona Beer “Month” includes more than 20 craft breweries throughout the state – including 12 in the East Valley – that are selling a special Rebuild the Guild Benefit Beer. Proceeds benefit the guild, established in 1998 that represents nearly 100 breweries, breweries in the planning stages, craft beer bars, partners and distributors across Arizona. Working from the same recipe, each brewery will add their own signature touch to the Rebuild the Guild Benefit Beer. Fate Brewing Co. in Scottsdale, for example, made a “Cold IPA” using their lager yeast with Chinook, Citra and

Above: Rob Fullmer, guild executive director. Right: More than 20 breweries are participating in Arizona Beer Week, which continues through Feb. 21 in central Arizona. (Arizona Craft Brewers Guild)

Loral hops. It is already so popular that Fate has sold more than half of its 15-barrel batch. “Since the pandemic, the Guild has not been able to host any of the usual beer festivals, which are the largest sources of income for them. It is important as a local brewery to do what we can to help them out in times of need,” said Adam Schmeichel, head brewer and part owner of Fate, a Beer

Week participant for nine years. In Gilbert, microbrewery Desert Monks Brewing Co. celebrates three years of partnering in Arizona Beer Week. “We are calling our beer ‘High Tide’ — as ‘High tides raise all ships,’” Desert

Monks partner/owner Sommer Decker said. “It is a West Coaststyle IPA dry hopped with Sabro and Hbc472 creating fruit and citrus notes with a touch of coconut – a tropical experience.” In Chandler and uptown Phoenix, SanTan Brewing Company brewed what sales manager Alejandro Fontes describes as a “very tropical fruity IPA.” “SanTan will be using El Dorado and Idaho-7 hops to accompany the recommended Azacca hops,” Fontes said. “We also added our own little SanTan touches by using the same yeast as our wildly popular Juicy Jack IPA along with minor adjustments to the grain bill.” Arizona Beer Week is especially important in keeping the guild afloat. “We’re doing everything we can to keep our doors open and our programs See

BEER on page 28

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BUSINESS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | FEBRUARY 14, 2021

Chandler man joins ﬁrm as designated broker

Tim Menghini

that our company culture is based on.” Menghini became a licensed real estate professional in 2002 and built his business, a Scottsdale realty company called Racquet Club Realty, around pillars: “integrity, unparalleled communication and effective negotiation,” a spokeswoman said. “After selling my company last year, I sought out a partnership with a brokerage that embodied my own philosophy,” he said. “I found a true match here at The Brokery, and I’m proud to be their Designated Broker.” “The growing Brokery team recently opened a new office in North Central Phoenix and has plans to add additional community-focused offices in select neighborhoods around the Valley in the coming year, gradually rolling out their

model of delivering ‘relentlessly local’ knowledge and service,” the company said in a release. Brokery co-founder Oleg Bortman said Menghini has “certainly built a long-standing, successful career in residential real estate.” “More importantly, he’s earned a reputation as being someone people love to work with – whether in the area of residential sales, leasing, or property management,” he added. The Brokery is a local, boutique residential real estate brokerage founded in 2012 that boasts neighborhood-centered offices to “offer high visibility for their clients’ properties in state-of-the-art showcases and allows for neighbors to engage oneon-one with local real estate experts.” Information: thebrokery.com

would draw a combined attendance of 18,000 to 20,000 people annually. “We’re asking people to take money that they may have used on tickets and spend it on supporting craft beer businesses in the state during the expanded Arizona Beer Week month,” Fullmer said. The Rebuild the Guild Benefit Beer is the second step in a plan to save the Arizona Craft Brewers Guild. The guild previously sold RECOUPON Arizona Beer coupon booklets through December and January and raised enough operating cash for about six months. “The money raised went to direct

services to our members and employee wages,” Fullmer said. Direct services include providing guidance policy support to the guild’s brewery and retail members and supporting lobbying efforts for the 2021 legislative session. “We’re currently tracking 16 bills in the Legislature, when we normally see one or two,” Fullmer said. “We’ve already been working in opposition to one that is a direct threat to our breweries – one that favors large out-of-state interests at the expense of the small Arizona producers of beer, wine, and spirits,” Fullmer continued.

“Your support matters if you want to see your favorite hometown businesses survive.” For Schmeichel, the guild has been vital in equipping local breweries with necessary protocols, updated laws and information throughout the pandemic. “The understanding of how we could and could not operate through pandemic shutdowns and restrictions has been an absolute lifesaver,” Decker said. Beer Week brews are available on tap and to-go, with growlers and fourpacks available for purchase. For participating locations: rebuildtheguild.com.

SANTAN SUN NEWS STAFF

Chandler resident Tim Menghini has been named a designated broker at The Brokery. Menghini will be working out of The Brokery’s office in Arcadia, which is where he grew up, attending Brophy College Prep and earning a finance degree from Creighton College. “We looked for the very best when identifying the right person to step into this important role,” said The Brokery co-founder Tucker Blalock. “Tim Menghini is the perfect fit for our company. Not only does he bring incredible experience and leadership skills honed during his years growing a Scottsdale real estate brokerage, but he also sets the example of professionalism and drive

BEER

from page 26

running,” Fullmer said. “The guild provides important education, advocacy and promotion for brewers throughout the state.” Different regions of the state will celebrate the annual event during different weeks of the month. Northern Arizona celebrated Feb. 1-7; central Arizona celebrates Feb. 8-21; and southern Arizona will celebrate Feb. 22-28. Historically, Arizona Beer Week boasted about 200 events a year that

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BUSINESS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | FEBRUARY 14, 2021

Chandler lawyer and his partner on top 100 list

is culled from the approximately 18,500

attorneys in Arizona. This is the second consecutive year AZ Business has tabbed both MacQueen and Gottlieb as among the top 100 attorneys in Arizona and the third consecutive year MacQueen has made the list – a designation that is given regardless of practice area. The rankings are based on evaluations of the staff of the magazine and their knowledge of the industry around the state, and place both attorneys in the top one-half of one percent of all attorneys in Arizona. “We are very grateful to be recognized by the people in the community we serve as being at the top of our field,” MacQueen said. “We strive to provide our clients with great legal representation and do it in an atmosphere that is enjoyable for both our clients and the M&G team. Ben and I believe that by creating that kind of atmosphere, it helps attract clients who may

not want to deal with an attorney in a “traditional” law firm atmosphere.” Gottlieb that the differences between M&G and other law firms do not end with the firm’s culture. “When Patrick and I formed the firm, we wanted to do a couple of things,” Gottlieb said. “We wanted to provide the best possible legal representation in the Valley, and we really wanted to do things differently from other firms. Our team has a tremendous diversity of experience across all elements of real estate law, and our collaborative approach gives our clients access to a broad spectrum of ideas and strategies that help us generate tremendous results.” M&G handles a variety of real estate matters, specifically litigation, transactional law, business law and estate planning in both the commercial and residential areas. Information MandGLawGroup.com.

than 20 million square feet of industrial, office and retail space on a 1,600-acre site near the Loop 303 and I-10. Meanwhile, a far smaller project nearby also is underway. Trammel Crow Company is laying the groundwork for a speculative commerce park on 48 acres and three buildings totaling approximately 700,000 square feet on the Gila River Indian

Community land at the southwest corner of Loop 202 and 40th Street. “The South Mountain Loop 202 submarket is a newly emerging submarket given the 22- mile expansion of the Loop 202 Freeway, but already boasts tenants from a breadth of industries,” Cathy Thuringer, a principal with TCC’s Phoenix office, said at the time the project was unveiled.

“This new access to and from the Southwest Phoenix and Southeast Valley submarkets will change the dynamic of travel for tenants and visitors to the area and provide excellent opportunities for product type optionality. This location benefit, along with the fact that supply and demand are in strong balance, signal to us that this new commerce park will be well received.”

SANTAN SUN NEWS STAFF

A Chandler lawyer and his partner have made a Valley magazine’s list of the Top 100 Lawyers in Arizona regardless of their specialty. Ben Gottlieb and Patrick MacQueen of Ahwatuklee, founders of a practice that bears both their names, were in the list published by AZBusiness. “The prestigious group is chosen by AZBusiness magazine’s editorial team in collaboration with industry experts,” said the magazine. “The attorneys were selected from a pool of more than 2,000 of the state’s most talented and successful attorneys. Selections are based on each lawyer’s professional success and ratings, impact on his or her law firm, impact on the communities she or he serves and impact on the legal profession.” The magazine chooses the winners from a pool of 2,000 attorneys; that list

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For more community news visit SanTanSun.com

Seton’s DiGiovanni empowering women on, off court BY ZACH ALVIRA

Sports Editor

There typically isn’t a day that goes by when Seton Catholic senior point guard Isabella DiGiovanni finds much free time for herself. That’s mostly by choice. On top of navigating a difficult course load at Seton Catholic and playing for arguably one of the best – and sometimes toughest – high school basketball coaches in the state and country in Karen Self, DiGiovanni has found time to run a business she

I think women “empowerment is

something all girls should take into consideration and if all women come together to support it, it will only increase, I think doing this with Sand, it shows women that no matter where you come from or how old you are you can always help to make a difference in whatever you have a passion about.

”

– Isabella DiGiovanni

started with a friend in the attic of her family’s home in Scottsdale. And if that still isn’t enough, she’s using her business and platform to empower women across the world in India to pursue their dreams and not have to work in poor conditions. “I was really overwhelmed with the poverty and hardships I really had never seen before in the United States,” said DiGiovanni, who visited India four years ago with her parents on a business trip. “For an American girl, I felt really fortunate to live where I live. I don’t have to deal with that population and pollution and unsanitary conditions they all have to deal with over there. “I saw some things that really never left my mind.” DiGiovanni and her longtime friend Connor Nannen started Sand Custom Designs with the idea of donating a portion of the company’s sales on custom tote bags to local schools in India to support young women in their quest for an education. While she wishes to help the women already working in the unsafe conditions in factories across the country, DiGiovanni realizes they wouldn’t be able to support their families if pulled

Above: DiGiovanni’s accolades in the classroom and on the court helped her earn an opportunity to continue her college and academic career at Dartmouth of the Ivy League. Below: Seton Catholic senior point guard Isabella DiGiovanni, along with her friend, started Sand Custom Designs to benefit young women in India and help provide an education in the medical field. (Courtesy Gordon C. James Public Relations)

from the factories. So, she and Nannen have focused on the children of those women who may want to pursue a degree in the medical field. DiGiovanni said India is experiencing a shortage of about one million doctors and two million nurses compared to the over one billion population. She added that for 72,000 rupees – India’s currency – a woman in India can attend a twoyear nursing program. That equates to roughly $1,000 in the United States. “Our goal for the first year is to get $5,000 raised to send five women to a two-year nursing program,” DiGiovanni said. “This will start to fill that gap of those shortages within the country.” Juggling Sand Custom Designs, school and basketball hasn’t necessarily been easy, but it’s something DiGiovanni is passionate about. She’s played a key role at the varsity level as a point guard for Seton Catholic since her freshman season. Her court awareness and ball-handling skills have

helped the Lady Sentinels win two state titles in the last three years and as of Monday, Feb. 8, are the top-ranked team in the 4A Conference with a 7-0 record during the pandemic-delayed 2021 season. Her accolades on the court and personal drive in the classroom led to a full-ride scholarship to Dartmouth of the Ivy League, where she will

continue her basketball career next year while attending the Tuck Business School. “Dartmouth has one of the best business schools in the country, so I look forward to getting my MBA there after graduating,” DiGiovanni said. “When I look back on my decision to go to Seton Catholic, I would not want to go to any other school or play for any other basketball program. (Self) has helped me so much in my basketball journey and as a person, too. “An Ivy League education is unbeatable, and I think that will only help me in the future in with pursuing women empowerment and pursuing Sand and growing it as much as we can.” DiGiovanni’s drive to empower women in another country comes during a time in which females are gaining more respect and notoriety in professional environment, including sports. There have been active conversations over the course of the last couple of years to improve pay and the overall respect for women in the WNBA. In December, Becky Hammon made history as the first woman to serve as head coach of an NBA team, when she filled in for San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich after he was ejected during a game. Sarah Thomas became the first female to referee a Super Bowl, as she officiated Super Bowl LV between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs last Sunday in Tampa, Florida. DiGiovanni hopes to continue on with her own mission to empower women with her business and platform as a high-level collegiate athlete when she heads off to Dartmouth. “I think women empowerment is something all girls should take into consideration and if all women come together to support it, it will only increase,” DiGiovanni said. “I think doing this with Sand, it shows women that no matter where you come from or how old you are you can always help to make a difference in whatever you have a passion about.”

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | FEBRUARY 14, 2021

For more community news visit SanTanSun.com

Phoenix Children’s a lifesaver for Chandler man BY KATY SPRINGER Contributor

Adam Smith didn’t know much about his heart defects until recently. He knew he was born a “blue baby” and underwent multiple heart surgeries in his first few weeks of life, but his parents didn’t talk much about it. The topic was simply too painful. Even today – and even though their son is a healthy and happy 35-year-old man – they struggle to look back at that scary and painful time. “I always knew there was a problem with my heart, but I didn’t know the specifics. I just knew I had to be careful,” said Smith. “With my parents’ help, I enjoyed a pretty normal childhood, even if I did have to take extra precautions in sports and visited the doctor’s office a lot more often than my friends.” When Smith was born in June 1985, he was diagnosed with pulmonary atresia, a rare and life-threatening birth defect in which the blood vessel that controls blood flow from the heart to the lungs is absent. This led to a dangerously low oxygen level in his bloodstream. As a result, at 1 day old, he underwent his first openheart surgery to place a shunt from a blood vessel off his aorta to his left pulmonary artery. This life-saving operation worked

Phoenix Children’s Hospital has been a lifesaver for both Chandler resident Adam Smith and his 5-year-old daughter Lilly. (Special to SanTan Sun News)

initially, but a week later the shunt clotted off and his oxygen stared to drop again. He was rushed back into surgery for another shunt, this time to the right pulmonary artery. The procedure was successful. Once he recovered, his circulation improved enough that he could go home with his mom and dad, who would need to monitor him every minute of every day. Despite their meticulous care, his

parents received more bad news shortly after his first birthday. Their baby’s oxygen was dropping again and another operation would be needed. At 14 months – and at barely 10 pounds – he had grown enough for surgeons to perform an open-heart operation to close the large hole in the bottom chambers and put in a durable pulmonary valve to normalize his oxygen levels.

The best news: this repair should last him through childhood. His parents were incredibly relieved. Thanks to his talented surgeons, their son could finally move past his “blue baby” syndrome. “Even though my parents struggled to talk about it, they were painstaking in their records,” he said. “As an adult, I look through the albums and read my mother’s inscriptions, and I just can’t imagine what it was like for them. My first year of life truly was touch-and-go. They didn’t know whether I would live through it.” Smith doesn’t remember those days, but his memory of his fifth open-heart surgery – at age 26 – is sharp as ever. “I had to get an artificial pulmonic valve implanted,” said Smith. “I have a long and complicated medical history. I can’t believe I know what all of these procedures mean, but I’ve become something of an expert when it comes to my heart.” Those five surgeries saved Smith’s life, but he experienced different struggles as an adult. Indeed, while Smith is an expert with his own health problems, he has struggled to find doctors with expertise in caring for grownups with heart defects. That’s because most adult cardiologists are trained to treat acquired heart disease, which is caused by high blood See

ADAM on page 32

New Chandler foundation looking for students BY KEVIN REAGAN Staff Writer

A new Chandler-based foundation is looking for high school graduates to apply for college scholarships and join its growing network of mentors. The Copper Forge Foundation hopes to award its first round of scholarships this spring to a couple of college-bound students planning to attend an accredited university in the fall. Applicants must have a grade point average of at least 3.0, live in Arizona and demonstrate some level of financial need. Jared Totolo, the foundation’s founder, said he’s specifically looking for students who may not be the first choice to receive more competitive scholarships. The applicants don’t have to be the top student in their class, the best athlete, nor live below the poverty line, he said. “The goal is to look for the students who fall through the cracks,” Totolo added. The foundation wants to find hard-working students from the East Valley area who are looking for a little extra help to start their college career, he said. Recipients will be awarded a $500

Jared Totolo check during their first four semesters -- resulting in a scholarship valued at $2,000. Recipients must maintain a fulltime course load and decent grades in order to receive each installment of the award. Recipients will additionally be mentored by a professional with knowledge and expertise in career paths they’re interested in pursuing. Mentors will regularly meet with scholarship winners and attempt to help them get summer jobs or internships in an industry that compliments

their college major. Totolo said the mentorship component was particularly important to Copper Forger because many young people don’t have much guidance after they graduate from high school. When the father of three first relocated to Arizona from Chicago in the 1990s, Totolo wished he would have had a mentor to help him navigate the common pitfalls felt by most college students. He first came to Arizona State University with the dream of becoming a physical therapist, though he didn’t have much insight into what career like that fully involved. By the time Totolo realized he probably should have changed his major, it was already too late and he had to finish his degree. Totolo said his college experience could have been much different if a mentor had been available to help steer him in another direction. “I fumbled and floundered a lot,“ he recalled. “I could have benefited from something like this when I came so far from home.” Named in reference to Arizona’s favorite chemical element, Copper Forge began as a passion project for Totolo at a time when he felt compelled to start giving back to his community.

Totolo launched the foundation in 2019 after observing how his mother ran a similar scholarship program in his hometown. She spent years raising funds for single mothers looking to finish their degree and enhance their career opportunities, Totolo said. Copper Forge wants to eventually expand its applicant pool to include a more diverse range of non-traditional students attempting to get their degree. “The long-term goal is to add multiple scholarships underneath,” Totolo said. Beyond the financial incentives being offered by Copper Forge’s scholarships, the foundation’s overarching goal is to help students feel better supported during a pivotal transitional phase of their lives. “If we can kind of help shorten the learning curve for some of these kids graduating high school in a bunch of different areas, that’s what we’d like to do,” Totolo said. Applications for the foundation’s first batch of scholarships must be submitted by April 15 and awards will be announced by this summer. Local residents interested in joining Copper Forge’s mentorship network can fill out an application at copperforgefoundation.com.

NEIGHBORS

ADAM

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | FEBRUARY 14, 2021

from page 31

pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol and smoking. Care for these patients is dramatically different from treatment of congenital issues like pulmonary atresia, which are birth defects in the architecture of the heart. “Patients like Adam get lost in the system,” said Wayne J. Franklin, MD, FACC, co-director of Phoenix Children’s Heart Center and associate director of Adult Congenital Heart Disease at Phoenix Children’s. “Adults with CHD are a growing population, but there just aren’t enough cardiologists with the right training and expertise to treat them.” The Adult Congenital Heart Association reports there are more than two million adults living with CHD. That means there are more adults than children with heart defects. To raise the standard of care for these patients, ACHA created an accreditation program that requires high-quality care for health systems that serve adults with CHD. Late last year, Phoenix Children’s was the first health system in Arizona – and one of just a handful in the Southwest – to earn ACHA’s accreditation, which distinguishes the Heart Center and its clinicians as leading experts in the treatment of adult CHD. Patients like Smith are thrilled to have access to this level of care. “When I met Dr. Franklin, I was filled with relief,” he said. “My wife and I had

moved around a lot for school and work, and I was so anxious to find a doctor who understood what I’d been through and knew how to help me stay healthy.” Smith met his wife, Pam, when she was a medical student studying to become a pediatric endocrinologist. They bounced from Pennsylvania to Georgia to Missouri.

reproductive health, heart failure, and adult CHD nursing as well as written policies that direct patient care and provider education. Phoenix Children’s Adult CHD program Adam and Pam Smith, along with their daughter Lilly, sees more than are grateful for Phoenix Children’s Hospital and and 1,000 adult paDr. Wayne J. Franklin. tients each year (Special to SanTan Sun News) and performs more than 50 When Pam was adult CHD heart offered a job at Phoenix surgeries annually. Children’s, they moved The program is part of Phoenix Chilto Arizona. She met dren’s Heart Center, recognized by U.S. Franklin while at work. News & World Report as a nationally “It was serendipiranked specialty program, which offers tous,” said Adam. “My the full array of cardiac care for pahealth issues have been tients – from fetal life through adulta considerable source of hood. stress for us. Finding Dr. While Pam builds her career as a Franklin reinforced that pediatric endocrinologist, Adam works Phoenix was the right as the volunteer manager for the place for our family.” Ronald McDonald House. The two have “It is such an honor a daughter, 5-year-old Lilly, who also to take care of ACHD patients,” said Dr. receives care at Phoenix Children’s for Franklin. “The accreditation process was osteogenesis imperfecta, also known as rigorous and lengthy, but patients like brittle bone disease. Adam make it absolutely worthwhile.” “It’s pretty cool that we all have the Franklin began working toward acsame hospital to call home,” said Smith. creditation when he moved to Phoenix “We’re just so grateful.” from Texas in late 2018. Criteria include To learn more about Phoenix expertise in adult CHD heart surgery, Children’s adult CHD program, visit cardiac critical care, pregnancy and phoenixchildrens.org.

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Arizona Brainfood feeding kids in 125 schools BY MELODY BIRKETT Contributor

Despite the pandemic’s impact on in-classroom learning, Arizona Brainfood is still feeding kids in need – including students attending 32 schools in Chandler Unified. Whether they are learning at home or go to school, the same need exists now as it did when the nonprofit started. “We started in 2009 because I was talking to a teacher who said students were coming to school on Monday morning hungry and he would spend time trying to feed them,” recalled founder-President Ruth Collins. “That bothered me because I didn’t realize there were kids out there who were that hungry and who would go without food on the weekends. I was born and raised in Mesa and was surprised it was happening in Mesa. I’m a mother of four and it just made sense to me we do something.” Collins talked to the teacher and introduced the idea of bringing a bag of food on Friday for kids to take home so they wouldn’t go hungry on the weekends. She noted that many children she is helping get free or reduced lunch at school through the week. “But then there’s this small percent of kids who when they go home on the weekends, there’s no food for them,” See

BRAINFOOD on page 34

Arizona Brainfood founder-President Ruth Collins surveys items being gathered for weekend food packs to needy students at 125 schools, including 32 in Chandler Uniﬁed School District. (Special to SanTan Sun News)

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Collins said. “So, those are the ones we’re looking for. “Once the idea started rolling and I talked to a few people, I got a few sponsors,” said Collins. “We started in two schools with about 100 kids.” Shortly after starting the program, Collins said, “It just snowballed. After just four years, we were in every elementary school in Mesa. which is about 55 of them. Then we had a couple of churches in Fountain Hills come to us and say, ‘We will sponsor two Fountain Hills schools if we can start those.’ “Then we started expanding to Gilbert, then Tempe and then we had a group from Chandler and Scottsdale come to us. Over these 12 years, we’re doing about 125 schools in the East Valley.” Before the pandemic, Collins and her all-volunteer staff were delivering up to 3,500 bags of food weekly for the last several years. Now, about 2,500-weekend food bags are being sent home with kids. “The schools are the ones who determine which kids need it,” explained Collins. “They know the kids the most. They know the families. We have a person in charge of brain food at each school we take bags to and they’re the ones who determine which kids need the food. “Every week they email us a number. We don’t have names. We don’t know anything about the kids except a number,” adding the numbers change regularly because many families move frequently and are living in a shelter or motel. “We’ve told every school, ‘If a child needs a bag of food, we’ll give you a bag of food,’” said Collins. “We don’t care

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | FEBRUARY 14, 2021

Collins had no prior experience in the non-profit world. “Zero experience and zero desire or even the thought in my brain that this was going to be something I would do,” Collins said. “There were kids going without food and desperate parents trying to feed their kids and not being able to. We had no idea it would turn into this.” The non-profit’s goal is to have all children returning to school on Monday mentally and physically able to concentrate in class. “The reason we called it ‘brain food’ from the beginning, besides feeding children and making sure nobody’s hungry, is to make sure they can also be educated,” said Collins. Arizona Brainfood relies entirely on volunteers to achieve its mission of keeping students from going “If they’re hungry and if hungry all weekend. (Facebook) they’re wondering where their next meal is coming from, mentary school, they’ll each get a bag.” what week it is if they’re homeschooled they’re not paying attention in Students also get a 12-pack of tortillas school. And we want them to become or not,” adding that all food is dropped every other week and a loaf of bread off at elementary schools so kids/pareducated to change the poverty cycle or ents just need to find a way to pick it up. once or twice a month to help feed whatever the problem they’re in.” other family members. If there are preThe bags contain food items such as That change occurs when children can school kids at home who are going huncanned pasta, canned stew, tuna packs, study and get an education, Collins said. gry, an extra bag of food is sent home. beef jerky, peanut butter and fruit With some food over the weekend, “When we started this, there were no she explained, “So hopefully they’ll packs, fruit juice and chocolate milk. backpack programs around here,” Collins come to school more, will stay in “Food bags are meant for the indiexplained. “Valley of the Sun United Way school longer, will get their education vidual,” Collins said. “We hand out a food bag, we’re making the assumption and United Food Bank have since started to help them provide for themselves some. I think it’s great. If everybody – although it’s not always true – that and their families. in their area would take care of their the child will go home and feed themThe nonprofit relies heavily on schools and make sure their kids are selves. Every child in that family who is individual donations. To help: azbrainbeing fed, I think that’s awesome.” in elementary school will get their own food.org, info@azbrainfood.org or Prior to starting Arizona Brainfood, bag. If a family has three children in ele480-415-0066

Strong voice for the disabled retires – kind of BY COTY DOLORES MIRANDA Contributor

Ability360 CEO and President Phil Pangrazio officially retired from his two-decade tenure on Dec. 31 but he has been still in what was supposed to be his former office, handling a myriad of tasks that includes helping to find his successor. Even after a national search was launched by the Ability360 board of directors, that is proving to be one tough job. The search has now been passed along to an executive search firm. Pangrazio was a reluctant retiree as it was and he expressed that in his farewell statement. “Stepping down comes with great emotion, as this has been my life’s work for the past 20 years, but I feel it is time to let the next generation take over,” said Pangrazio, a quadriplegic and wheelchair user for over 40 years since a tragic car accident at 19. “With my disability, things are only getting harder, and I am running out of gas,” he said. “I think it makes more sense for me to leave now, than sometime down the road when I find my health more in crisis.” With his ready smile and soft voice,

Pangrazio agreed that retiring at 60 may early. “I know I’m not old, per se, but when you live with a disability for 41 years, it just made sense to do it now,” he said. And though Pangrazio is giving up his leadership titles, it doesn’t mean he’s leaving an organization that has sponsored countless golf tournaments, basketball games and other events in the East Valley. “I love the organization and the work we do,” said Pangrazio. “I want to stay involved and help in any way. Yet for me, after having done this for almost 21 years, not being CEO would be nice.” His eyes light up whenever he talks about Ability360, a nonprofit that under his leadership developed into one of the nation’s largest Centers Phil Pangrazio, president/CEO of Ability360, is a reluctant for Independent Living and established itself as retiree and said he will still work with the organization. a premiere model for other (Special to the SanTan Sun News)

centers throughout the country. Pangrazio guided Ability360’s growth to an annual budget of more than $48 million while expanding its programs and services. He also oversaw the planning, construction and financing of the Ability360 Center, home to Ability360 and nine other non-profit organizations that serve people with disabilities in Arizona. Also with his guidance, the $12.3-million, 45,000-square-foot Ability360 Sports & Fitness Center was opened in 2011. Not bad for the teenager who was partially paralyzed as the result of a horrific car accident the night before he was to leave for his first year at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York. Pangrazio graduated from Notre Dame High School in Batavia, New York, where he’d been active in all sports, as he had been since grade school. The accident resulted in a spinal cord injury that required hospitalization from Sept. 1, 1979 to June 1, 1980 – what would have been his freshman year in college. It left him a Cervical 6-7 quadriplegic, which allows him good arm movement, no use of muscles below his shoulders or legs and wheelchair dependent for life. See

ABILITY on page X

NEIGHBORS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | FEBRUARY 14, 2021

ABILITY

from page 34

Returning to his family home after 10 months in the hospital and then 20 years old, he faced a tsunami of ongoing challenges that resulted in moments of despondency but also set a new direction for his life. “I came home and lived in my parent’s living room - all the bedrooms were on the second floor,” he recalled. “They built a little room off the side of the house for me.” His parents are now deceased, but the home, now owned by his brother, still has the side room ready for whenever Pangrazio visits. When the snow started early the year he was hospitalized in western New York State, and wheelchair access anywhere at that time was nearly impossible, the realization of his new reality hit hard. “That first winter, I remember staring out the window and thinking, ‘I can’t live like this. I needed to fly.’ I started thinking about the future and what I was going to do.” While hospitalized, Pangrazio had been visited by a friend who was attending Arizona State University. “He said it was accessible, it was flat, it was warm. It planted a seed in my brain,” he said.

t? o G ws Ne

At the time, Pangrazio was already looking at colleges in warmer climes like Texas and Florida. Arizona was the choice. “‘There’s a lot of water gone under the bridge since those times,” he mused. “I came to Phoenix in August of 1981, and I got my bachelors and my master’s degree at ASU.” Pangrazio earned his bachelor’s in

Though he has been awarded many honors and sits on a number of prestigious boards, Pangrazio is also lauded as a founding member of the first quadriplegic wheelchair rugby team in the state of Arizona. “I was 50 the last time I got in a rugby chair and played with those guys and I said that’s enough,” he laughed. “I was

I know what it’s like to be on the other side of “ the fence, perfectly healthy, perfectly nondisabled. Losing that was devastating. And now having been disable 41 years, I understand what people with disabilities have to battle everyday.

”

– Phil Pangrazio

justice studies and a master’s degree in health services administration and policy. It was through the friendship with an ASU professor and his wife that Pangrazio discovered Ahwatukee. “They found me a home in Ahwatukee, and I’ve been here since 1986,” he said. “I’m single and I live by myself; I’m a Cervical 6-7 quadriplegic, and I’m fortunate to be as independent as I am.”

about 30 when I started playing.” Pangrazio said his being disabled at age 19 has offered him an empathy with others who found themselves in similar straits. “I know what it’s like to be on the other side of the fence,” he said. “Perfectly healthy, perfectly nondisabled. Losing that was devastating. And now having been disable 41 years, I understand what people with disabilities have

to battle everyday.” Though he has been awarded many honors and sits on a number of prestigious boards, Pangrazio is also lauded as a founding member of the first quadriplegic wheelchair rugby team in the state of Arizona. “I was 50 the last time I got in a rugby chair and played with those guys and I said that’s enough,” he laughed. “I was about 30 when I started playing.” Prior to his work with Ability360, Pangrazio was employed for 10 years at Maricopa Integrated Health System and Maricopa Medical Center, where he held several positions in hospital financial management and administration. Pangrazio also served on Ability360’s board of directors from 1992 to 2000 and presided as chairman of the board for four of those years. Andrew Reilly, current chair of the Ability360 Board Of Directors praised Pangrazio for his “remarkable job” guiding the organization’s strategic growth. “Phil leaves a tremendous legacy at Ability360, and with the many individuals living with disabilities throughout Arizona,” said Reilly. “Having him on board through the search process will ensure a smooth transition for the organization and our consumers.” See Ability360.org for more information.

Contact Paul C Contact Paul P l Maryniak Maryniak M y i k at at 480-898-5647 or pmaryniak@timespublications.com p pmaryniak@timespublications.com pmaryniak@timespublications y i k@ i p bli i com 480 898 5647 or

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New season of AZ Creates! web series starting Feb. 11 SANTAN SUN NEWS STAFF

A Tempe musician and a Chandler author are among the four creatives scheduled to kick off the new season of AZ Creates!, a YouTube web series television show highlighting artists and authors, produced and hosted by Fox Crossing resident Laurie Fagen. Devon J. Hancock of Tempe is featured with author Lynne Hartke of Chandler, along with visual artist Casey Cheuvront from Scottsdale and author John J. Rust of Prescott. In Episode 9 launching Feb. 11, Hancock talks about his career path as an audio engineer, producer and visual content creator. As a jazz guitarist, he performed in downtown Chandler restaurants for several years with a former bandmate, Matt Vandal, as the Vandal Hancock duo. Hancock is also the son of Fagen and her late husband, Geoff Hancock. The show also features Hartke, who tells the story of her personal cancer journey in “Under a Desert Sky: Redefining Hope, Beauty, and Faith in the Hardest Places” in “What Are You Reading?” She also discusses the cancer diagnoses of both parents.

Devon Hancock

Casey Cheuvront

In Episode 10, which premieres Feb. 25, the Creative Connection artist is Cheuvront, who talks about her life as a visual artist in a variety of mediums. Also on that program is Rust, a sci-fi/ action adventure published author and sports director for KYCA radio. In the program’s regular arts events segment, called “Something to Look Forward To,” co-host and graphic designer Cathy Beard of Clemente Ranch

will highlight Valentine’s Day and other art happenings from around the state. The featured nonprofit for the Episode 9 will be the Cancer Support Community, an organization that ensures those with cancer are empowered by knowledge, strengthened by action and sustained by community; and Episode 10, Art Resource Center that collects reusable discards from individuals and industries and offer them free of

charge to schools and other nonprofit entities for the purpose of making art. The programs all close with a “Creative Quote of the Day.” AZ Creates! is a twice-monthly, half-hour web series to highlight artists, writers, dancers, musicians, film, theatre and TV creatives, and other artistic people in Arizona. Fagen, former publisher of SanTan Sun News, an artist and crime fiction novel writer, designed the program to connect art patrons with artists, and to work on a positive project during the COVID-19 pandemic. Show #9 airs at 7 p.m. MST Feb. 11, and Show #10 on Feb. 25. All episodes are available on the AZ Creates! YouTube channel at any time, along with other video content. Sponsorships are available with introductory rates and discounts for multi-show commitments. Sponsors for include Times Media, Sibley’s West, an Arizona and Chandler Gift Shop and Mary Contreras State Farm Insurance. Subscribe to the AZ Creates channel on Youtube.com at https://is.gd/ AZCreates, visit the Art Online AZ Facebook and Instagram pages or email AZCreates.ArtOnlineAZ@gmail. com for details.

Alice Cooper tells ‘Detroit Stories’ on new album BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI

Staff Writer Alice Cooper and his longtime producer, Bob Ezrin, create conceptual albums. The topic of the original shock rocker’s forthcoming collection is something close to his heart — his hometown of Detroit. “Detroit Stories” is set to hit stores Feb. 26. “It’s easier to write in concepts,” said Cooper, who lives in Scottsdale. “I didn’t want to just write 12 good, hard rock songs. I said, why don’t we dedicate it to the home of hard rock. “We didn’t stop there. We wrote the album there, with Detroiters and have the entire band from Detroit.” Those legendary musicians included MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer, Detroit Wheels drummer Johnny “Bee” Badanjek, jazz and R&B bassist Paul Randolph, Grand Funk Railroad’s Mark Farner and the Motor City Horns. The group recorded at Royal Oak, Michigan’s Rustbelt Studios. “Mark Farner, Wayne Kramer and Johnny Bee were great, and then we got some studio guys to play bass, keyboards and horns. The only guy who wasn’t from Detroit was Joe Bonamassa. I just thought he was good for the songs ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll’ and ‘Drunk and In Love.’ “I’ve known Wayne Kramer since the MC5 days. I think he’s playing better than he ever has. Johnny Bee is a premier drummer. Mark Farner is a modern guitarist from Grand Funk.”

Valley rock icon Alice Cooper strikes a pose while celebrating his birthday at Los Sombreros Scottsdale. (Pablo Robles/Staff Photographer)

Cooper didn’t anticipate the funk undercurrent of the songs. He listened back to the songs and soul was revealed as well. Normally, he said, he would ask to remove it. But Detroit had such a great relationship with Motown that he asked to keep it in. “When we played the Eastown back in those days, it was Alice Cooper, the Stooges and The Who and I’d see Smokey Robinson in the audience,” Cooper recalls about the east side

Detroit club. “We’d see members of the Supremes and the Temptations at hard rock shows. Back then, it was just music. It wasn’t something they were shocked by. They loved hard rock. When they did shows at the Roostertail, we’d go there. There was nothing racial about it. You were part of the gang.” That, Cooper adds, is the difference between Detroit and the rest of the world. Music there is authentic and real. “Bands playing Detroit had better

be real,” he said. “What the Stooges did was the absolute beginnings of punk. It didn’t matter that they weren’t the greatest players. “When they got on stage and did play, they never flinched about who they were. It’s the same with the MC5 and us. We were theatrical hard rock bands, and we didn’t try to change for Detroit.” That music is reflected in “Detroit Stories.” He calls “$1,000 High Heel Shoes” a Motown song. “Go Man Go” is rockabilly, and “Drunk and In Love” is blues. “I tried to include every bit of Detroit kind of rock,” Cooper said. The acknowledgments in the liner notes even reflect his love of the Motor City by thanking the likes of Creem Magazine, WABX, Soupy Sales, The Grande Ballroom, Al Kaline, Bobby Layne and Gordie Howe. “They were our sports heroes,” Cooper said. “They were such a big part of my life when I was a little kid. The Tigers, Lions and Red Wings were the biggest things. “We had a great time playing big arenas all over the world, but the coolest rock ‘n’ roll time was at the Grande and Eastown with Suzi Quatro and maybe Ted Nugent. You go and every one of these bands brought it every night. Nobody was up there going, ‘I hope you like us tonight.’ You grab them by the face and shake them.” Preorder at alicecooper.lnk.to/DetroitStories

ARTS

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | FEBRUARY 14, 2021

Cooper celebrates birthday with Los Sombreros BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI

Staff Writer Alice Cooper had a thought 20 years ago. He realized “Alice Cooper,” the artist, attracted teenagers. “Now these teenagers are my age,” he said with a laugh in Los Sombreros in South Scottsdale. “When we were kids, if you got in a fight with somebody, you got a bloody nose and a black eye. The next day, it

was over. Now that could mean somebody finishes the job with a gun. Then, people were busted for beer. Now, they get busted for heroin. “What these kids are facing is 10 times more than what we were facing as kids.” Realizing kids ages 12 to 20 are living in a “far more dangerous world,” he and his wife, Sheryl, started the faithbased Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock Teen Centers. It strives to make a difference in the lives of teens by helping

them meet the spiritual, economical, physical and social needs of teens by offering a safe environment—along with free music, art and dance lessons—during non-school hours. “I think a teenager’s worst enemy is too much time on his hands,” added Cooper, who was involved in cross country, music and the school paper at Cortez High School in Phoenix. “Whereas, if they discover a talent they have, they can explore that at Solid Rock.”

As part of his 73rd birthday wish, Cooper has partnered with Los Sombreros to invite fans to eat enchiladas to support his teen centers. Throughout February, a portion of the proceeds for all enchilada orders will be donated to the nonprofit. “You can really see how the Lord works,” Cooper said about the partnership. “He just suggests something in the back of your head and then let you work on it.”

Chandler Library adds graphic novel discussion group SANTAN SUN NEWS STAFF

People who love comics, graphic novels and storytelling through sequential art can join other fans online through the new Graphic Novel Book Club presented by the Chandler Public Library. This group will meet online on the third Wednesday of each month starting Feb. 17, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Participants will be sent login information upon registration through the events calendar at chandlerlibrary.org. This month’s discussion focuses on “Black,” by Kwanza Osajyefo. Copies of the book are available to put on hold through the library catalogue at chan-

dler.polarislibrary.com/polaris/view. aspx?ISBN=9781628751864. Graphic novels are a trending format as public awareness increases. They often include representation for BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and women within the comics community. “They are a good medium to tell stories in a different format that might otherwise not get told, read or ‘listened to,’” a library spokesman said. “Graphic novels are also a great way to boost learning and literacy for reluctant readers, those who struggle to The new graphic novel club at Chandler Public Library looks at “Black” this month. (File photo)

read, or those who prefer to learn and read visually. “The stories can give clues within the panels that help people understand the context of the plot and characters, as well as new words.” Jami Thompson, a librarian at the Chandler Downtown Library, has experience with this genre from working with teens and she will share her expertise with the club members. “We hope to create a book club that speaks to those in our community who might not think of themselves as ‘book club joiners,’ but who do have a lot to See

LIBRARY on page 38

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The recent CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act allows taxpayers to take a charitable deduction of $300, even if they do not itemize. And the more recently Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 extends and modiﬁes the $300 charitable deduction for nonitemizers for 2021 and increases the maximum amount that may be deducted to $600 for married couples ﬁling jointly. *Contributions also qualify for a dollar-for-dollar tax credit on your AZ Tax Return. The maximum credit is $400 for a single head of the household or $800 for married taxpayers. Chandler/Gilbert Arc has been serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the East Valley since 1975, providing community living, employment, and day treatment & training opportunities daily. We are so grateful for your generosity, which touches-and changes-so many lives.

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say about graphic novels and the culture surrounding them,” Thompson said.

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | FEBRUARY 14, 2021

The program is supported by the Arizona State Library, Archives, & Public Records, a division of the Arizona Secretary of State, with funds from the Federal Institute of Museums and Library Services.

To register for this book discussion group or other online programs currently offered by the Chandler Public Library, go to chandlerlibrary.org and click on the “Events” calendar, or call 480-782-2800. COVID-19 precautions remain in

place at all four Chandler Public Library locations. Facemasks are required inside and capacity is reduced for social distancing and a registration process is in place for 45-minute sessions allotted for some services, such as computer access.

Photographers exchange creates Gilbert exhibit BY SRIANTHI PERERA

Left: Two photographers from the Valley swapped visits with two peers from Guatemala and their work is now on display at HD SOUTH in Gilbert. (HD SOUTH)

Contributor

Arizona photographers Geoff Reed of Phoenix and Rebecca Wilks of Yarnell spent two weeks last November exploring colorful and raucous markets, dense neighborhoods and lively festivals of tropical Guatemala. Guatemala photographers Rony Mejia and Javier Alvarez-Vassaux spent two weeks in Arizona last March, taking road trips and observing the vast and tranquil beauty of its scenery. The two pairs acted as tour guides for the visitors to their respective countries. The photographic exchange was arranged by the nonprofit Through Each Other’s Eyes International Center for Cultural Education, which helps foster a better understanding and appreciation of humankind. A selection of the two pairs’ photography, 80 prints, has been culled into a show entitled “Through Each Other’s Eyes— Guatemala Exchange,” and is on display through Feb. 20 at HD SOUTH’s Gallery 4 in partnership with Art Intersection. Reed’s most vivid impressions are intense color, friendliness and warmth of the people of Guatemala. “I greatly enjoyed our time there, and would love to return,” said Reed, who has also published a book, “20 Days in Guatemala and Arizona,” based on his experience. “I believe the exhibition does a great job of drawing parallels between ways of seeing between people from two very different cultures,” Reed said. “The Guatemalan photographers were attracted to the wide-open spaces of Arizona, whereas the Arizona photographers were captivated One of the Valley photographers captured this by the vibrant colors and activifestive scene in a Guatemalan village. (Geoff Reed) ties of the people. “But along with the differthrough towns that we thought weren’t ences, there are quite a few similarities pretty. However, Geoff and Rebecca between what the photographers saw loved everything that they saw in those and chose to photograph in both coun- little towns and taught us to see our tries,” he added. country with very different eyes,” Meija Meija, whose interests include travel, said. street and landscape photography, said In Phoenix, the Guatemalans visited that in Arizona, their counterparts kept many points, including Piestewa Peak, trying to show them flowers, which spring training baseball in Peoria and were nice but somewhat scarce in the Lake Pleasant. They went north to Page, Southwest. Lake Powell, Monument Valley in Utah “We Guatemalans were amazed and visited the Grand Canyon on the at the open space of the Arizona return. They also traveled south to landscape and thought that we could Tucson. photograph flowers any day we wanted The Arizonans visited festivities of in Guatemala,” he said. All Saints Day and the Festival of Kites. When it was their turn to host their “I’ve done a lot of travel in my life, American counterparts, they were em- and for a photographer that is always barrassed when they hit heavy traffic a stimulating experience: color and one day. people always make great photograph“The trip took hours of travel

Below: One of the places visited by the Guatemalan photographers was Monument Valley, where this breathtaking image was shot. (Javier

Alvarez-Vassaux)

ic material,” said Reed, who clicked the shutter more than 7,300 times during the trip. “I’d never been to Central America, however, and it opened up a whole new area of interest for me — I’d love to go back and explore further.” The mission of Through Each Other’s Eyes is to encourage people around the world to understand and appreciate diverse cultures through photography. While the actual photographs help with this, organizing and executing the trip is also invaluable. The exchange requires a great deal of teamwork, both in planning the trip away and in planning the details of the visit to the host’s own country. “Through a shared passion for photography, we created very nice friendships both with the Arizona photographers and between the Guatemala photographers,” Meija said. The exchange lets you look at your own country with new eyes. “On a primary level, the photographs the Arizona photographers made in Guatemala may initially be of greater interest to an Arizona viewer, because of the novelty (to the Arizona viewer) of what is depicted,” Reed said. “But on a deeper level, what the

Guatemalan photographers chose to photograph may, at the end of the day, be more compelling, because they encourage us to take a closer look at what we in Arizona may take for granted.” Meija said the exchange accomplishes what the organization seeks to do: have people share with other people to realize how different and how similar we are at the same time. “The experience is so beautiful and intense that there was a sense of loss after it was over,” he said. “I missed the Saturday afternoon coffee meetings with Javier, the fellow Guatemalan photographer, to plan the trips to Arizona and Guatemala, I missed sharing with Geoff and Rebecca more often.” Meija believes that the nonprofit demonstrates what photography and travel are about: “Getting to know other places and other people to try to get insights into their essence and become amazed at how we are all so closely related, despite the initial obvious differences. Travel and photography remind us that we are humans, help us stay connected and make us set new goals.” Information on Through Each Other’s Eyes: teoe.org.

THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | FEBRUARY 14, 2021

For more community news visit SanTanSun.com

Upheaval and unfortunate incidents can strengthen us RABBI IRWIN WIENER, D.D. Guest Writer

The Scriptures are filled with anecdotes describing acts of one human being toward another to enhance their values and encourage humanities call for good. There are so many ways to accomplish benevolence and consideration. Hopefully, during our journey we will encounter individuals who personify the essence of dignified human behavior. I was thinking of this as I watched a movie entitled, “St. Vincent.” I expected to laugh myself silly, but instead I received a better understanding of the goodness of people and how they are overlooked at times. We find a grumpy old man, dissatisfied with life, unable to cope with everyday living and resentful of people in general. The storyline is interesting because, in my experience, it could be depicting anyone of us. Then, we come across someone who

lights up our lives, brings meaning to our experiences and leads us into a new understanding that there is goodness in this world. We are so accustomed to hearing only the ugly side of life. This leads us to question the value of goodness. The people who make a difference in our lives epitomize another concept: Deeds of kindness are equal to all the commandments. How can we exist without connection for each other? If we lived in a vacuum, our lives would be meaningless. We are living in a time that brings to the forefront the value of goodness and mercy. The medical professionals, the everyday worker who toils in the vineyard of service, the ones responsible for our safety, both at home and abroad, all enable us to realize that we are here for each other. We are all products of our environment. Some of us are trapped by them and some are able to break loose and change what is deemed unfit. We are taught that God does not care about

what our ancestors did, but what we do at this time. While Scripture may talk about the sins of the past generations carrying forward to the next, it is not a signal that all is hopeless; rather it is an indication that if we do not change our ways, in some respects, we are destined to repeat the bad and thereby condemn ourselves to the same pain and misery. Goodness can be found deep down if we look hard enough. We should try not to dismiss the values we are capable of. We should not demonize those who epitomize these virtues. We should, instead, honor them. All may not be able to be considered saints, but the handle is not the important aspect of goodness. Actions and deeds are the passport to the feelings of saintliness. All these thoughts came to mind when I saw the movie. It became even clearer as I witness each and every day the sacrifices made by so many as they attempt to minister to the needs of the

stricken. However, if we stop for a moment and consider the people we meet on our journey, we will find that most are kind and generous. We tend to shy away from those who are hurtful because life is filled with all sorts of hurts and disappointments. As we continue to experience the difficulties of sickness and death, perhaps we should consider that upheaval and unfortunate incidents can give us strength. Our endurance is measured by our ability to overcome the discouraging aspects of our experiences. Looking heavenly we can see that there is beauty in the sky. The vastness of the universe, perhaps, can teach us that our opportunities are limitless. Hope in the future can give us the ability to remain steadfast in our determination to live life, enjoy life so we can survive and share this joy with everyone we know and will meet. We will persevere. There will be a brighter tomorrow. Be grateful for every day, every hour, every minute.

Have a story of faith you would like to share? Contact Paul Maryniak at 480-898-5647 or pmaryniak@timespublications.com