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Family ties at Desert Ridge PAGE 37
An edition of the East Valley Tribune
Inside This Week
2023
Sunday, September 3, 2023
Council zeroes in on Heritage District Downtown should deliver More parking, new ways more bang for its bucks to pay for it discussed
BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor
Chandler • Gilbert • Mesa
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ust like farmers who plant high-value crops to boost profitability, Gilbert can increase the productivity of the parcels in the Heritage District to yield more taxes, an urban planning expert
believes. And it could include loosening the height restriction to make that happen. The .3-square-mile downtown, designated as a redevelopment area in 1989, has blossomed into a
see HERITAGE page 26
Town Council training 31 is off to a rocky start
Healing Field recalls innocent victims of 9/11 attacks.
Investigator rules against 2 ethics complaints. See page 4. BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor
GET OUT ...................38 Gilbert native's first feature film debuting in Jerome. COMMUNITY..............................31 BUSINESS ..................................34 SPORTS ...................................... 37 GET OUT.....................................38 CLASSIFIEDS ........................... 40
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ilbert Town Council members don’t appear to be ready to sing “Kumbaya” yet. Some council members indicated in interviews with the Gilbert Sun News that the initial training session aimed at im-
proving their working relationship had questionable results. The town hired mediator Matt Lehrman to get to the bottom of the discord among council members after they backed off from a no-confidence vote against the mayor – for now. The first training, closed to the public, was held Aug. 25. Another is planned but has not yet been scheduled, according to some of the council members.
see MEDIATION page 8
BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor
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ilbert must do a better job of managing the parking in the Heritage District and look for additional funding sources for its public garages because more will be
needed downtown, according to a consultant. “You have plenty of parking today,” Andrew Vidor of Walker Consultants told Town Council in a special meeting recently. “As development continues to
see PARKING page 24
From Gilbert to ghostly
Dave Rich and Marianne Robb have a combined 59 years experience as Gilbert Police officers, but are now investigators with the Mutual UFO Network. For the story, see page 28. (Tom Scanlon/Staff Writer)
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