Commemorating 9/11 victims/ P. 8/10
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An edition of the East Valley Tribune
Sunday, September 4, 2022
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INSIDE
Fentanyl fuels grim surge in Mesa OD deaths
IT’S TIME TO VOTE
BY SCOTT SHUMAKER Tribune Staff Writer
THEMESATRIBUNE.COM
COMMUNITY ...........17 Free car show commemorates a fallen soldier.
BUSINESS ...............20 Mesa woman's backyard an 'Airbnb for dogs.' COMMUNITY .............................. 17 BUSINESS ................................... 20 OPINION ..................................... 22 SPORTS ...................................... 24 GET OUT ...................................... 27 CLASSIFIED ............................... 32 ZONE 2
C
heap blue pills of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that’s become a drug of choice on the illicit market, are flooding Mesa’s streets and people of all ages and genders are dying at an alarming rate from the powerful narcotic. West Mesa is a hot spot for drug overdoses across all of Arizona, recording more overdoses in the last six months than any other Primary Care Area of the state as defined by
the Arizona Department of Health Services. Cheap forms of other classes of drugs, like methamphetamines, are also widely available and contributing to the carnage; according to the department. About half of all non-fatal overdose incidents in the state involve two or more drugs. Opiate medications or related drugs dominate the list of overdose causes, but 28% involve meth. This is what the overdose epidemic looked like for Mesa Fire and Medical Department medics over this year’s Independence Day
weekend: On July 2, it responded to six overdoses. Three people were dead on arrival and three were rushed to the hospital as medics administered the opioid neutralizer naloxone or epinephrine aka adrenaline. On July 3, eight people overdosed. Three were DOA, and four were transported to medical facilities. On July 4, six people overdosed. Four DOA and two transported.
E. Mesa Sears site could Birthday girl house 254 apartments BY SCOTT SHUMAKER Tribune Staff Writer
T
he owner of the nowshuttered Sears department store at Superstition Springs Center mall in east Mesa is proposing to knock the building down for 254 garden-style apartment units spread across seven three-story buildings. Seritage Growth Properties, which formed in 2015 to manage real estate acquired from Sears Holdings, has submitted preliminary paperwork with Mesa’s Planning Department for the redevelopment plan.
The unit breakdown has not been finalized but “is anticipated to include a mix of studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom units,” Seritage wrote the city. Sears closed its Superstition Springs location in late 2018 as part of a nationwide result of the historic department store chain’s filing for bankruptcy. Inventory liquidation began at the Superstition Springs location soon after, and the store has been vacant since. Sears, a fixture on the American retail landscape for over
see MALL page 3
see DRUGS page 4
Vivian Bickford celebrated her 104th birthday at Broadway Mesa Village last Wednesday and while she was delighted to have Mayor John Giles visit her, her main concern was making sure everyone around her was having a good time. That reflected her attitude on life, as you’ll read on page 12. (David Minton/Tribune Staff Photographer)
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