A new treat in town / P. 32
An edition of the East Valley Tribune
Inside This Week
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Scottsdale prepping for massive water cuts BY TOM SCANLON Progress Managing Editor
NEIGHBORS ...... 20 Fundraiser in the cards for long-time nonprofit
BUSINESS ............ 22 High-end, high-tech fitness hits Fashion Square
ARTS ........................29 Not everything is what meets the eye. NEIGHBORS ................................20 BUSINESS .................................... 22 SPORTS ........................................24 OPINION ......................................26 ARTS..............................................29 FOOD & DRINK ........................... 32 CLASSIFIEDS .............................. 33
Sunday, March 19, 2023
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W
here’s the water? Although Scottsdale Water Director Brian Biesemeyer informed council near the end of the year that the city recharges around 10,000 acre feet of Central Arizona Project water per year, that number looks low. By half.
“On average for the last five years, we’ve recharged around 15,000 acre feet per year,” Gretchen Baumgardner, Scottsdale Water’s policy manager, told an online audience last month. That means Scottsdale is “banking” the equivalent of Lake Paijanne, the second largest lake in Finland, every year. This may come in very handy, as massive cuts – up to 50% – to the city’s water supply loom.
SUSD shining stars inspired by brothers, parents BY TOM SCANLON Progress Managing Editor
E
ven those who feel today’s American youth are lazy, self-obsessed, pampered and only interested in the phones they worship might have a few ounces of sympathy. After all, high school kids had to deal with a global pandemic that closed schools and caused chaos. At the end of 2022, a batch of scores showed test scores across the country plummeting. “These findings confirm how damaging the COVID-19 school closures and emergency crisis remote learning were to K-12 students nationwide,” according to the American Legislative Exchange Council.
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Yet, some students managed to power through the pandemic, hop-scotching school closings, stiff-arming TikTok and other distractions to maintain a laser focus on academic and life goals. The achievements of two Scottsdale Unified School District students would be mind-blowing, even if they weren’t among 39 finalists statewide for $130,000 Flinn Foundation Scholarships. It’s hard to imagine two more qualified finalists than Baraa Abdelghne, of Saguaro High School, and Desert Mountain High’s Zack Okun. Their big-picture plans: One wants to fix people; the other wants to make robots. Though their long-term goals differ, they
see SHINING page 12
“Additional water we have, we put in our savings account,” Baumgardner said. “Every single year, we put the additional CAP water we have a right to and access to and we recharge it into the aquifer underneath our feet…We have been doing that for decades.” How much does Scottsdale have – and where?
see WATER page 8
Leap Of Faith
Colt Honey of La Junta, Colorado leaps from his horse during the steer wrestling contest at the 2023 Scottsdale Parada del Sol Rodeo on March 11, which brought out crowds to WestWorld of Scottsdale for the annual celebration of the West’s Most Western Town. (David Minton/Progress Staff Photographer)
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