Queen Creek Tribune 03/05/2023

Parents push vouchers / p. 11

Sunday, March 5, 2023

QC school classroom spending dipped, report says

Over half of Arizona’s school districts spent a smaller percentage of money on classroom instruction in the 202122 school year and Queen Creek Unified was among them, according to a report released last week by the state Auditor General.

No escaping tradition

QCUSD spent 57% of its funding on instructional spending, which the AG defines as “teachers, teachers’ aides, substitute teachers, graders, guest lecturers, general instructional supplies, instructional aids, field trips, athletics, co-curricular activities, and tuition.”

That percentage was slightly lower than the 57.4% spent in the previous school year, when schools still reeled from pandemic disruptions.

Try as he might, Queen Creek native Joey Palomarez just couldn’t stay out of the restaurant business that he grew up in. Now he’s brought a new concept to the town, bolstering another local restaurant and employing a staff that includes some old classmates from Queen Creek High. For the story, see page 18. (Courtesy of Joey Palomarez)

But the percentage that QCUSD spent last school year on those expenses was higher than the statewide average of 54% as well as the average 53.8% for all districts of comparable size to Queen Creek.

In dollars, that represented $5,073 that Queen Creek spent per student on instruction last school year – $10 less than in 2020-21.

Instructional spending does not include all

Town hopes to calm motorists’ road projects frustration

The Town of Queen Creek is trying to improve the experience of being here. But that job also involves helping residents better understand what it will take to get there.

Capital Improvement Projects Department Director Dave Lipinski told Town Council last week his team is working to better manage the public’s expectations as his team continues  implementing the 10year infrastructure improvement plan for roads, bridges, parks, and other projects.

Gunshots rattle QC neighborhood, school

TRIBUNE NEWS STAFF

A16-year-old boy faces several charges in connection with an incident in Queen Creek last Tuesday afternoon that left a neighborhood and nearby elementary school on lockdown for several hours.

The teen has been booked into the Durango Jail, and is facing charges of disorderly conduct, firearm discharge, and a minor in possession of a firearm, according to police.

Police have not released the suspect’s name since he is a minor and have also not detailed his specific involvement in the incident.

Officers responded to a “shots fired” call near a residential area close to Sierra Park Boulevard and Ellsworth Road.

They detained two people there, but were not able to find a third suspect after searching the area on foot as well as using a drone and helicopter.

That suspect, who turned out to be the boy now in custody, turned himself in that

Police patrolled an area around Sierra Park Boulevard and Ellsworth Road last Tuesday afternoon after shots were fired. (Courtesy of ABC15)

night after detectives interviewed him.

Police originally reported they were searching for an armed adult but later changed that to say they were looking for a teenager.

Residents in the area were told to stay behind locked doors while nearby Bran-

don Pickett Elementary was put under lockdown while officers searched for the third suspect.

People on social media expressed fear and confusion.

One person on Twitter wrote: “I’m in the Queen Creek Elementary School nearby

and we had to be put in a modified lockdown.

“I would be scared if I was my friends because they live nearby where that happened and at the park and wash that me and my friends always go to unfortunately we couldn’t go to the park wed.”

Police haven’t said whether they will recommend charges against the other two people detained in the incident.

No injuries were reported. 

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CAPITAL from page 1

“What we are doing to improve that experience,” said Lipinski, “because we hear about it.

“We understand the frustration of the traveling public when projects appear to drag on and it looks like there is nothing being done. We get the calls all the time; it’s a majority of the calls that we get.”

To address those concerns Lipinski said his staff is holding contractors tight timelines and will not write potential delays into the contracts – even if they may anticipate some from the start.

He said project dates will be accurate on the Queen Creek website and will all be uniformly presented.

“We have that same message going out and people understand it,” he said. “Understanding it does appear sometimes there is not stuff going on, (but) there is a lot behind the scenes that causes that. Sometimes it is just for the traveling public’s safety.”

“We are a growing town,” he added. “It’s part of what we have to deal with. We are doing everything we can to make sure it’s less painful.”

Currently the town “has 48 active projects,” Lipinski said. “These are in different stages from just starting concept into kind of a warranty period stage.”

He added there are a half dozen future infrastructure improvement projects on the schedule that depend on possible private development.

One of the town’s biggest projects is on the immediate horizon.

“The big one’s coming into construction up in that northeast corner – the infrastructure in the State Land area. We are actually going to break ground a week from Monday (March 13),” Lipinski said.

“They are going to start clearing and grubbing in the first utility phase of that project. There will be a of activity up in that area.”

That is a section of the 4,100 acres of state trust land that Queen Creek annexed and has eyed for commercial development and employment.

This project will include an area bordered by Germann, Pecos and Kenworthy roads and Ironwood Drive, according to the town’s map.

Among other projects currently underway: is an upgrade along Meridian Road from Cherrywood Drive to Combs

Road that includes a new traffic light. Lipinski added a lane restriction will remain in place until March 17.

Work on Meridian, Queen Creek and Pima roads also is ongoing.

“We get a lot of questions about this and our completion of Meridian Road and what’s left and why there is a large vertical change through this intersection,” Lipinski said.

He said the town has been working with the Queen Creek Irrigation District, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and an adjacent HOA to get easements in place.

“We just received a final piece that the (Bureau of Reclamation) sprung on us, a cultural report this week, and have made submittal in for permit,” he said.

Lipinski added that the permitting process can take up to six months and that if that is approved, crews will be back in the intersection for another six months to do irrigation and intersection construction work.

“Anything we can do from a communications standpoint to get information out about what the future holds would be greatly appreciated,” said Vice Mayor Jeff Brown, who has been a vocal supporter of communicating with the public about public works projects in town.

“That one I’d really love to see a public information campaign on,” Brown said.

He pointed out that large parts of the project are out of Queen Creek’s hands, citing the Bureau of Reclamation and other imposed delays on projects involving Meridian, Queen Creek, Pima roads.

Councilman Travis Padilla raised questions he said he gets from constituents – such as whether road crews can more actively manage road construction

projects during down time, especially on the weekends.

“Not that it’s paint drying or not that it’s concrete drying,” Padilla said. “But can we remove cones to give people more access during the times when those roads would otherwise be available?”

Lipinski said he can direct crews under his supervision to remove what they can in slow periods, making roadways more passable but added the issue is more complicated than that.

“The other side of that is a large portion of the construction you see is private construction,” Lipinski said.

That can create logistical and cost issues for the private parties, he added, noting because drivers get used to patterns, changing those patterns may not be advantageous.

“We have worked with some contractors to say if you can get them (cones) off the road for the weekend, get them off the road for the weekend, but if you are active, obviously you have to be protected,” he said.

Construction has started on roadways in Town Center on Aldecoa Street and Munoz Drive as part of Queen Creek’s plan to develop the downtown area for businesses and entertainment venues.

“This one is moving,” Lipinski said. “Their biggest challenge here is actually working around the fire station and some of the traffic in the area to make sure that we are coordinating with our first responders to make sure they have safe access in and out and know how to get in and out of the station on a daily basis.”

That project is scheduled for completion next January. 

Local lawmaker attacked by fellow Republicans

House Speaker Ben Toma last week blasted a Chandler Republican lawmaker whose district includes west Gilbert for inviting someone “to present unsubstantiated and defamatory allegations’’ at a legislative hearing Feb. 23 on elections that accused the governor, state lawmakers, county supervisors and others of taking bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel.

But Senate President Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert, said that the House is responsible, at least in part, for what happened at the day-long hearing.

The allegations of who is to blame surround the presentations arranged by Rep. Liz Harris. She had lined up several witnesses who were supposed to update lawmakers on issues related to the 2020 and 2022 elections.

But the hearing featured Scottsdale insurance agent Jacqueline Breger, who was given nearly 45 minutes to accuse dozens of officials and private citizens of taking bribes.

Petersen said he had asked that all materials be reviewed by Senate Majority Leader Sonny Borrelli, R-Lake Havasu City, ahead of time.

“That was not shared with him and was a surprise to the committee,’’ Petersen said.

“I assure you, had he known about the report (Breger planned to present) he would not allow it to be included,’’ he continued. “It was definitely not the proper venue to make such allegations nor to assess the credibility of such a statement.’’

And Petersen, in washing his hands of responsibility, said “I imagine the House will discuss how to deal with it.’’

Toma, for his part, is refusing to take the blame for allowing the hearing to go forward.

“So did he,’’ the speaker told Capitol Media Services of Petersen’s role in all this. “We agreed to it collectively.’’

And he, in turn, blamed Harris for “bad judgment’’ in inviting Breger “to present unsubstantiated and defamatory allegations in a legislative forum.’’

“I said Ms. Harris needs to address this,’’ he said.

Harris, however, did not return several messages seeking to interview her.

Less clear is whether the speaker will take any action against the first-term lawmaker, including his unilateral ability to remove her from the Committee on Municipal Oversight and Elections.

“We’ll see,’’ he said.

But Toma is in a difficult political position. The speaker, who needs the cooperation of every one of the 31 Republicans to pass the GOP agenda, did not address whether Harris will be removed from committees or otherwise disciplined.

The day-long hearing of both the House and Senate elections panels was filled with topics that have been popular with conspiracy theorists.

Presentations included the state’s power over federal elections, foreign and domestic national security threats to the state’s electoral system, and one titled “The county is the first line of defense, not the federal government.’’

But it was obvious to Democrats on the panel that this was not meant to be a fact-finding mission. So they refused to attend.

“Our constituents did not send us to the Capitol to defame our elections officials, cast doubt on the security of our elections, or mislead the public,’’ the three Senate Democrats said in a video statement. House Democrats later followed suit.

That left only Republicans to hear the testimony.

Breger’s testimony stood out when, without any factual backing, she said the governor, several Republican Maricopa supervisors, 12 Maricopa county superior court judges and Republican Mesa Mayor John Giles all had taken bribes that came in the form of money laundered through a scam involving real estate deeds.

She also presented documents to the committee which listed others – including Toma – as guilty of corruption.

The closest she came to citing a source was a reference to a forthcoming book by John Thaler who has been cited by My Pillow executive and Trump follower Mike Lindell as being a forensic investigator. Thaler has claimed to have reviewed 120,000 documents to back his

claims of extensive fraud.

None of that leaves the Senate blameless.

Borrelli was, in fact, at the Thursday hearing. But Petersen said he is not to blame for failing to halt the testimony at any point during its 45-plus minutes.

“He was caught off guard,’’ Petersen said.

And at the end of her presentation, Sen. Wendy Rogers, R-Flagstaff, who chairs the Senate Committee on Elections, called Breger brave for her testimony, though she said the witness should stay on the topic of elections.

By Sunday, however, Rogers was distancing herself from the whole thing -- and from both Harris and Breger in particular.

“To our knowledge, none of the people named had charges filed, have proceedings pending, nor had any convictions made against them,’’ she said in a press release.

But Rogers also made it clear she was not saying that the unsubstantiated

claims that Breger presented were unfounded. She said it’s just not the job of lawmakers to reach such a conclusion.

“If any of the allegations presented are in fact true and there’s evidence to support these claims, the Legislature most certainly is not the proper authority to pursue charges,’’ Rogers said.

“Any claims as serious as those presented to use should have been immediately turned in to Arizona law enforcement officials and not brought before the Legislature,’’ she said. “This was not the appropriate venue to discuss what could potentially be criminal activity.’’

The only one to actually say something during the hearing was Sen. Ken Bennett, R-Prescott, who said “this is not the appropriate place’’ for such claims.

The Feb. 23 hearing came less than 24 hours after Attorney General Kris Mayes released various internal documents from her office showing that her predecessor, Mark Brnovich, found no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election. 

the money that went into QCUSD classrooms, which totaled 68.6% of its spending last school year.

Classroom spending also covers instruction support – money spent on librarians, teacher training, curriculum development, special education directors, media specialists and instruction-related technology services.

Those expenditures represented another 3.6% of Queen Creek’s overall spending last school year – lower than the 5.8% state average and representing $319 per student, down $12 from 2020-21.

Classroom spending also includes a third category called student support, which covers the cost of counseling, attendance and medical-related services.

Student support consumed 8.1% of Queen Creek’s overall spending last school year – $723 per student. That percentage also was lower than the state average of 9.2%, the report shows.

Overall, the 68.7% of overall classroom spending by QCUSD last school year left 31.1% for administration costs (9.8%), plant operations such as utilities, security and maintenance (11.1%), food service (4.6%) and transportation (5.8%).

The report rated Queen Creek’s per-pupil administrative spending as “low,” noting the $871 per-student cost of administration was significantly below the $1,088 statewide average and the $1,000-per-student average by peer districts.

But the report also said its plant operations costs of $8.23 per pupil were higher than both the $7.21 state average and the $7.63 per-pupil expenditure average for similarly sized districts.

Queen Creek’s transportation costs

broke down in 2021-22 to $7.82 per mile – higher than the $5.53 state average but slightly below the average $7.96 per-mile cost among districts of similar size, the report said.

But the district’s per-rider transportation costs were higher than both the statewide and peer-district averages. QCUSD transportation costs equaled $2,085 per rider as opposed to the

state average of $1,945 and a peerdistrict average of $2,061, according to the report.

The results of the annual report have played a role in the perennial debates at the Legislature about whether the dollars being allocated actually are getting into the classroom.

And the latest report comes as the House is set to debate whether to al-

locate $700 million for a $10,000 raise for teachers even as some foes say they want that linked to both assurances the dollars will make it into the classroom as well as accountability to know that it will improve academic outcomes.

The new report references both issues. It notes that prior to COVID in the 2018-19 school year, 42% of students statewide got passing grades in state assessment in math. Last year, the passing rate was 33%. Tests were not administered in 2019-20 and 2020-21.

Queen Creek students exceeded both the state average of 33% and the 47% rate among similarly sized districts as 52% of all QCUSD students passed math.

Results for English language arts have been pretty steady at about 40% statewide – far lower than QCUSD’s 54%.

But performance in science went from a 51% passing rate among students statewide in 2018-2019 to just 24% last school year.

QCUSD saw 32% passing science, a bit lower than the 33% average for districts its size.

At Queen Creek Unified, we pride ourselves on responsible financial planning and management,” said district spokeswoman Jessica Bautista when asked for the QCUSD’s reaction to the report.

“We spend the majority of our budget in classrooms, where it can have the most direct impact on students. In a rapidly growing district, our plant and operations expenditures are higher than average because we are the fastest-growing district in Arizona,” she continued.

“This means building instructional space is necessary to maintain class sizes and quality learning environments. In every decision, we make students a priority.

Our district has fewer administrators per student than the state average and similar districts.”

She added, “QCUSD is spending more on resources for our growing enrollment and less on administrative expenses than the state average and similar districts. QCUSD’s Governing Board continually puts teachers first, approving increased salaries so that we can retain the best and brightest.

“Student outcomes reflect this investment in their education, with QCUSD students scoring higher than state averages in Math, ELA, and Science assessments. Financial planning for a district experiencing hyper-growth is challenging, but we are proud of the hard work and planning that has resulted in positive outcomes for all.”

On teacher pay, the report also shows the average annual salary in Arizona hit $58,366 last school year – higher than QCUSD’s $55,161 average last school year.

The state average equals a 20.7% increase since the 2016-2017 school year, much of that fueled by COVID relief dollars.

That word “average’’ is significant.

Melanie Chesney, the deputy auditor general, wrote in the report that salaries overall dropped in the past year in more than a quarter of the districts.

Some of that, she said, could be because districts used the funds earmarked for teacher pay hikes for other purposes.

“It is not possible to track exactly how districts spent the additional monies because they were mixed with other district monies,’’ Chesney wrote.

“Further, there was no (legal) requirement that districts spend these additional monies on teacher salaries,’’ she said. “Rather, districts could have spent these monies in different areas or on other needs.’’

But Chesney said there’s something else at work in changes – and overall reductions – in how much teachers are paid: changes in teacher population.

“For example, most districts that had a decrease in average teacher salary also employed, on average, less-experienced teachers than in the prior fiscal year,’’ the report says. And less-experienced teachers are often paid less than their more senior colleagues.

For historical perspective, Queen Creek directed 49.7% of its operation-

For a statewide view of all school districts’ spending, the Auditor General offered this breakdown. (Arizona Auditor General)

al budget to instructional spending 20 years ago.

All told, it spent an additional $50 per student in 2021-22 on the operational expenses.

On the non-operational side, which includes things such as land and buildings, equipment, interest payments on outstanding debt and other, miscellaneous expenses, costs were up by a $3,998 per student over 2020-21.

That increase was powered by a $3,778 rise per student for land and buildings as Queen Creek has scrambled to try meet its growing student population.

The report said plant operations cost QCUSD $8.23 per student as opposed to a statewide per-student cost of $7.21.

Broken down by square footage, the report said, that meant Queen Creek’s plant operation costs equaled 120 square feet per student as opposed to the state average of 167 square feet and the peer-district 142-square-foot average per student.

Overall per-pupil spending for both operational and non-operational combined increased in 2021-22 over the previous school year by $4,048 – from $13,632 to $17,680.

Statewide, the Auditor General reported, per-student operational spending increased 7.8%, or $753 per student, but “less than half went toward instruction.”

Queen Creek Unified School District has seen an 84% increase in the student population over the last five years and reports a graduation rate of 93%, accord-

ing to the report.

It also found Queen Creek had a higher number of students per administrator than either districts its size or the state average – another reflection of the district’s focus on students.

The report said QCUSD has 88 students per administrator as opposed to

the 63 student state average and the average 65 in districts its size.

Other demographic figures in the report show 12% of the district’s student population is enrolled in special education, the English language learner population is 1% and there is a 5% poverty rate in its district. 

Bill would make fetuses eligible for tax credit

The way Matt Gress sees it, a person is a person, no matter how small - or even if not born yet – for the purposes of getting a state

The first-term Republican representative from Phoenix wants to expand state law providing for a tax credit for children to also include the number of months a woman was pregnant. He told Capitol Media Services that HB 2501 is only fair, as families have expenses during that period, too.

But that isn’t Gress’ only foray into the question of who is a person. He is separately sponsoring HB 2417, which would allow pregnant women to drive in the lane reserved for carpooling. Gress said he sees no difference between a woman who may be ready to give birth and a woman who puts her day-old child into an infant seat and qualifies under current law to use the high-occupancy vehicle lane.

So far, though, Gress has gotten no traction for that measure. In fact, it never even got assigned by House leadership to a committee for a hearing.

That’s not the case with the tax credit, which gained preliminary House approval on Wednesday.

Arizona law allows individuals earning less than $200,000 a year to get a $100 income tax credit – an amount deducted from the actual taxes owed to the state – for each child younger than 17. The income eligibility figure is $400,000 for married couples filing jointly.

Dependent children 17 and older qualify a family for a $25 per child credit.

Only thing is, current law applies that credit only for the years after a child is born. Gress said there’s no reason for what he sees as an artificial cutoff.

“There still are pregnancy related costs that expectant families go through, either doctor’s visits or getting the baby’s room set up,’’ he said.

What it also is, Gress said, is unfair.

Consider, he said, a woman who has a baby in September. The family gets to

claim the tax credit for the entire calendar year even though the baby is around for only four months of that tax year.

“But what if the baby’s born in January?’’ Gress asked.

“That family’s experienced costs prior to the baby being born,’’ he said. But the tax credits kick in only after the baby is born.

As HB 2501 is crafted, tax credits could be claimed for the year prior to birth on a pro-rata basis.

So, the family whose baby is born in January would get to claim 75% of the credit for nine months of the prior year. Similarly, a family that had a baby in June would get 50% of the credit for the six months of pregnancy in the prior calendar year.

Legislative budget staffers said their best estimate of what that would cost the state is $2.4 million per year based on the assumption of babies being conceived from April through December and the pregnancy lasting nine months. For two weeks later, into the new calendar year, there would be no tax benefit.

Rep. Mariana Sandoval, D-Goodyear, said she appreciates the intent of the bill.

“But if we were really serious about helping families we would make health care accessible and affordable to everyone so that we wouldn’t have to hear a bill that gives a single person that makes up to $200,000 a $100 credit,’’ she said. “I don’t know how that would help families that are really in need.’’

Gress said he can speak only from his own experience.

“I’m the youngest of four, raised by a single mom,’’ he said, saying that his mother took advantage of the tax credits proposed and signed into law in 2001 by then-President George W. Bush. That was in addition to the federal Earned Income Tax Credit designed to provide a benefit to the working poor.

“We were able to get new clothes for school, school supplies,’’ Gress said. “I mean, it was huge.’’

He said while the state tax credit is nowhere near as large as either of the federal credits, “every dollar counts, especially in this inflation.’’ 

Arcade-restaurant chain opening here in May

drinks and a 40-foot-high definition TV.

The entertainment scene in Queen Creek is about to get a whole lot bigger and there are 175 new jobs at stake.

Dallas-based Dave & Buster’s has announced it will open its first location in Queen Creek May 15 and is hiring staff for every part of its operation.

“We are so excited to expand our presence in Arizona and open our first Dave & Buster’s in Queen Creek,” General Manager Steve King said in a press release.

The venue is looking to hire “front and back-of-house positions are available, including servers, bartenders, hosts, line cooks, game techs, and more,” King said.

Dave & Busters will be going head-tohead with the other big entertainment venue in town, Fat Cats, which offers eight movie theaters, 20 bowling lanes, arcade games, glow in the dark mini golf, a bar and restaurant.

“As Queen Creek’s newest entertainment attraction, Dave & Buster’s provides its employees a unique, fun-filled work environment, working alongside passionate teammates.”

The 19,000-square-foot venue in Queen Marketplace at 21000 S. Ellsworth Loop Road will offer arcade games, food,

“We are excited to welcome an additional entertainment venue to the Town of Queen Creek. As a community with young families, we hear often that residents want more local opportunities,” said Doreen Cott, Queen Creek Economic Development Director.

In her State of the Town address, Queen Creek Mayor Julia Wheatley singled out the opening of Dave & Buster’s as a highlight for the town’s growing business community. 

Chandler Gilbert Community College marking 30 years

Alot has changed in the 30 years since Chandler-Gilbert Community College was first accredited. Back then, there was little else besides farms around the campus, which was only a couple of buildings.

What began as two buildings at Gilbert and Pecos roads has since grown to 667,240 square feet of state-of-the-art educational spaces across 188 acres, including the Pecos and Williams campuses, Sun Lakes Center, and the Communiversity at Queen Creek.

One thing that hasn’t changed as the school celebrates its anniversary is a commitment to service.

Its first two presidents, Arnette Scott Ward and Maria Hesse, “wanted to be massively involved in our community,” said Russell Luce, the school’s athletic director. “They wanted to be a community college, not just in name, but they wanted to be involved.”

Ward and Hesse made service a key component of attending CGCC, Luce said.

“The service learning department here is one of the best in the country,” he said. “It is - and it has been for a long, long time.”

Chandler-Gilbert Community College began in 1985 as an extension of Mesa Community College. When it first opened

it was one pink building across from a dairy farm.

The school earned its accreditation during the 1992-93 school year, so it is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Today, it is the second largest school in the Maricopa County Community College District with about 14,000 students at four locations.

Service is a big part of the CGCC expe

running a Boys and Girls Club program, and that is how he said he learned about the school’s commitment to service.

“I really didn’t understand it at the time, when I was at the Boys and Girls Club,” Greene said. “The reality is, it’s not about me and my kids. It was about those kids in those classrooms who are getting connected, and learning about themselves, and learning about service and how important that is.”

Luce offered an example. In English class, most students are asked to write a paper so the professor can evaluate their writing skills. At CGCC, they are asked to volunteer somewhere, put in 15 hours of community service and then write about the experience.

“I finally came back into a classroom after they did service at the club, came back into classroom and listened to the stories they had written,” Greene said. “And I was

WARNING!

PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY AND CHRONIC PAIN TREATMENTS NOT WORKING!!

Mesa, AZ – When it comes to chronic pain and/ or neuropathy, the most common doctor-prescribed treatment is drugs like Gabapentin, Lyrica, Cymbalta, and Neurontin.

The problem with antidepressants or anti-seizure medications like these is that they offer purely symptomatic relief, as opposed to targeting and treating the root of the problem. Worse, these drugs often trigger an onset of uncomfortable, painful, and sometimes harmful side effects.

The only way to effectively treat chronic pain and/or peripheral neuropathy is by targeting the source, which is the result of nerve damage owing to inadequate blood flow to the nerves in the hands and feet. This often causes weakness, numbness, balance problems. A lack of nutrients causes the nerves degenerate – an insidious

As displayed in figure 1 above, the nerves are surrounded by diseased, withered blood vessels. A lack of sufficient nutrients means the nerves

cannot survive, and thus, slowly die. This leads to those painful and frustrating consequences we were talking about earlier, like weakness, numbness, tingling, balance issues, and perhaps even a burning sensation.

The drugs your doctor might prescribe will temporarily conceal the problems, putting a “Band-Aid” over a situation that will only continue to deteriorate without further action.

Thankfully, Mesa is the birthplace of a brandnew facility that sheds new light on this pressing problem of peripheral neuropathy and chronic pain. The company is trailblazing the medical industry by replacing outdated drugs and symptomatic reprieves with an advanced machine that targets the root of the problem at hand.

Effective neuropathy treatment relies on the following three factors:

1. Finding the underlying cause

2. Determining the extent of the nerve damage (above 95% nerve loss is rarely treatable)

3. The amount of treatment required for the patient’s unique condition

Aspen Medical in Mesa, AZ uses a state-of-the-art electric cell signaling systems worth $100,000.00. Th is ground-breaking treatment is engineered to achieve the following, accompanied by advanced diagnostics and a basic skin biopsy to accurately analyze results:

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2. Stimulates and strengthens small fiber nerves

3. Improves brain-based pain

The treatment works by delivering energy to the affected area(s) at varying wavelengths, from low- to middle-frequency signals, while also using Amplitude Modulated (AM) and Frequency Modulated (FM) signaling

It’s completely painless!

THE GREAT NEWS IS THAT THIS TREATMENT IS COVERED BY MEDICARE, MEDICAID, AND MOST INSURANCES!!

Depending on your coverage, your peripheral neuropathy treatment could cost almost nothing – or be absolutely free.

The number of treatments required varies from patient to patient, and can only be determined following an in-depth neurological and vascular examination. As long as you have less than 95% nerve damage, there is hope!

Aspen Medical begins by analyzing the extent of the nerve damage –a complimentary service for your friends and family. Each exam comprises a detailed sensory evaluation, extensive peripheral vascular testing, and comprehensive analysis of neuropathy findings.

Aspen Medical will be offering this free chronic pain and neuropathy severity evaluation will be available until March 31st, 2023 Call (480) 274-3157 to make an appointment

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CGCC from page 9

KT Campbell now works in the student life department, but was among the first group of students to attend CGCC after it earned its accreditation.

“I was given the choice to move out on the street, or you’re going to school,” Campbell said. She tried Mesa Community College at first, but said it was too big for her liking.

Her mom told her about this new college that was opening up.

I started driving out here … and I pulled up to just two small buildings.”

She said the one service event that stood out to her was Generations Prom. The students at the school would invite seniors living in the community to a prom-like event.

One year, the number of students signing up was not what it should have been.

So, Luce told his baseball team at the time to sign up. Once they did, and had a good time, Luce said it became a very popular event.

“We’d have our big band play,” Luce said. “We would bring young people and seniors together and we’d have a date. We’d have snacks and refreshments and food from their generation.”

However, it did not survive the COVID-19 pandemic.

Still, service remains a huge part of being a CGCC student.

“When I got here, I got to see more of what was going on with those students,” Greene said.

“And what they learned, what they got out of it, was that connection to the college. When they come back they talk about that connection, that experience and whatever they learned. It’s really pretty cool.” 

Growing wide and tall

Chandler-Gilbert Community College now has four campuses.

The Pecos Campus:

The anchor of CGCC, the Pecos campus boasts the Arnette Scott Ward Performing Arts Center, a bustling student center, and the Coyotes’ athletics sports fields. With 132 acres of land and 21 buildings Pecos Campus has partnerships and/or lease agreements with Grand Canyon University, Arizona State University, Chandler Unified School District, and Northern Arizona University, all of which include a physical presence on site.

Williams Campus:

The Williams Campus is located on 55 acres at the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport and is home to career and technical education fields – including the FAA-certified Aviation Maintenance Technology Program.

Sun Lakes Center:

This location is home to the New Adventures in Learning program. It’s for retirement-age adults who love to learn new skills and explore new topics, without having to worry about grades, homework, or tests. It’s lifelong learning for learning’s sake.

Communiversity:

CGCC’s fourth and newest location at Queen Creek and Ellsworth is a unique civic and educational partnership offering classes and advisement/enrollment services in the far East Valley.

Parents, kids march for more school vouchers

Parents, children and educators on March 1 marched to the state Capitol to support an education voucher program that Gov. Katie Hobbs has said she wants to dismantle.

Janelle Wood, founder and chief executive of the Black Mothers Forum, said she organized the rally to show support for Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, or ESAs.

The state-funded program helps to lift children living in lower-income households, she said.

“If we want education to be their true pathway out of poverty, we must provide it in the different modes that is needed so that children can get the education they need,” Wood said.

“It gives parents the opportunity and the funding to pay for the services that they’re not able to receive in the traditional public-school setting.”

She spoke as dozens of marchers

trudged around the Capitol complex, holding aloft signs such as “My Child, My Choice,” and chanting, “ESA is here to stay.”

ESAs allow parents to receive up to $7,000 annually in state money for a child in grades K-12, whether for homeschooling, disability help or other programs.

Supporters at the rally said it puts parents at the forefront of their children’s education.

Critics, such as Hobbs, said it siphons money from public schools to private ones.

Her proposed state budget does not allocate funds for the ESAs, although it is unclear if the governor has the power to financially hobble the program.

Wood said children of all races, ethnicities and incomes need the program.

“Not only white parents want this, but Black, brown, Indigenous parents need this type of program,” she said.

Parents also can use the money for a

Law firm fights to resurrect tougher state abortion law

An anti-abortion law firm is asking the Arizona Supreme Court to reverse a lower court ruling and once again make virtually all abortions illegal in Arizona.

In new legal filings, attorneys for the Alliance Defending Freedom contend the judges on state Court of Appeals got it wrong when they said a territorial-era law outlawing the procedure does not apply to doctors.

The judges said that a 2022 law enacted by legislators supersedes that older law and effectively gives licensed physicians the right to terminate a pregnancy, with the woman’s consent, through the 15th week of pregnancy.

But the challengers argue it was never the intent of the Legislature, in approving that 2022 law, to override the older statute. And now they want the state’s

child who needs therapy or help with a disability.

Charlotte Lawrence receives ESA funds for two of her children.

Her daughter, Emma Gibford, 9, carried a sign that started with the words “I am a stroke survivor with learning disabilities.”

The ESA money pays for a tutor to help with learning disabilities after her daughter suffered a “massive stroke” at birth, Lawrence said.

“One-on-one tutoring is especially better for her instead of a big classroom setting,” Lawrence said.

Another mother, Stacey Brown, spoke at the rally for equal access to education so she can homeschool her children. She said they are thriving, exceeding their grade levels.

“In just a few short months, the ESA program has given her the ability to be able to succeed in math that is probably going to potentially set her up for life in the future with some sort of math degree,” Brown said of her

kindergartener, who is doing second -grade math.

Brown said every parent knows their child’s strengths and weaknesses, which allows parents to pick the education that best fits their child’s learning style.

Tajiri Freedom, principal of New Gains Academy in Glendale, showed support for the ESA program for the 10 children at her “microschool” to receive the education parents want to see.

New Gains Academy offers curriculum opportunities, such as a performing arts program, for children in fifth through eighth grades to learn in a small setting, and at the pace each child needs.

“This is what we’re all here for – to give everybody the right to choose,” Freedom said.

“Children should be able to go to schools where they have programs that make them happy, that they enjoy being a part of, and they wouldn’t be able to do that without ESA programs.”

high court to say that the law of the land in Arizona is that the only time an abortion ever can occur is to save the life of the mother.

The justices are inheriting a complex issue.

Abortions except to save the life of the mother were illegal in Arizona until the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1973 that women have a constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy prior to fetal viability.

That generally is considered to be between 22 and 24 weeks.

That overrode the territorial-era law, precluding its enforcement in Arizona. But state legislators never repealed the statute and it remains to this day on the books.

What changed was the decision by the Supreme Court last year to review a Mississippi law that sought to ban abortions

page 14

CUSD program helps struggling students succeed

Last summer Perry High School student Gabriel Ruiz was worried about his upcoming senior year.

“It was not good,” Gabriel said. “I was down a lot of credits, I didn’t think I would graduate at the time. I knew I could make up my core credits, but I didn’t know about electives or any of that stuff.

“I didn’t think I would graduate. I thought I might drop out and get my GED.”

Fast forward to this month and Gabriel learned that not only will he be graduating, but he just got accepted to attend Northern Arizona University.

He credits Chandler Unified School District’s Early College program for helping him turn it around. The school is on the campus of Chandler-Gilbert Community College and offers a smallschool alternative to students in need of extra attention.

“It’s a small school,” said Gabriel, who said he thought he was going to be 12

credits short of graduating when the school year began. “At Perry, it’s hard to get noticed because your teachers have like 300 kids. It’s hard to get their attention sometimes, or reach out for help. Here, I just needed that little extra push

to get my way there.”

Janeen Scaringelli, the director of Early College, is in her first year in that position and has seen enrollment more than double this year, from 43 students last year to 95 now.

In fact, since the program only has three classrooms, leaders have had to put some students on a waitlist to get in.

What was the key to getting enrollment to more than double in her first year?

“My connections with the counselors at the high school,” Scaringelli replied.

“[We] met and talked with them to promote our program, but it’s really having that personal connection with the counselors, letting them know that we are going

to take care of their kids as best we can,” she said.

Students enrolled in the Early College program come from all six CUSD high schools and are from all four grade levels. They remain part of those schools, meaning they can play on sports teams, or participate in band, drama, or attend homecoming and prom.

However, they take their classes at CGCC. In addition, they are eligible to take college courses. The college provides a grant so they can sign up for classes at a discounted rate. The typical Early College student has his or her high school classes in the morning, then college classes in the afternoon.

This differs from the dual enrollment program, where students get college credit for classes they take on their high school campus.

This year, for the first time, an Early College student will not only be graduating from high school, but will also have

COLLEGE from page 12

earned an Associate of Arts degree from CGCC.

So what types of students benefit from the Early College program and why are counselors recommending students?

“They’re not being successful at their school, and they feel that a … smaller

after 15 weeks. Anticipating a favorable decision, abortion foes in Arizona enacted and Gov. Doug Ducey signed mirror legislation to have it ready to enforce here.

But the Supreme Court overturned its own 1973 precedent and leaving it up to each state to decide what restrictions or outright bans they want to place on abortions.

Abortion foes here argued that returned the law to the way it was before Roe, pointing out that the original Arizona law, while unenforceable since 1973, remains on the books.

school environment will assist,” Scaringelli said. “They also know we have a full-time counselor who’s absolutely amazing. I have a former counseling background. So we kind of give tender, loving care.”

Because of space limitations, all grades take English together at the same time. Students sit in different groups based on

Johnson to rule that the old law was once again valid. And abortions came to a halt in Arizona.

The Court of Appeals disagreed, agreeing with Planned Parenthood Arizona that the 2022 law prohibiting doctors from performing an abortion after 15 weeks supersedes the old law. That sets the stage for Supreme Court review.

The legal playing field is different now.

Democrat Kris Mayes is attorney general and she is siding with Planned Parenthood in the fight.

their grade level. The teacher takes turns working with each group, while making sure the other groups have a project they need to be working on.

Scaringelli said Gabriel is just one success story and that there are many more.

“His life changed because of here, because he was able to have the oppor-

abortions are legal in Arizona through 15 weeks leaves Dr. Eric Hazelrigg, who the court had appointed to represent the interests of unborn children, as the sole defender of the argument that the old law is enforceable and virtually all abortions are illegal.

And he is represented by the Scottsdale-based Alliance Defending Freedom.

tunity and people that believed in him, because we pushed him,” she said.

Gabriel agrees, saying he can see a brighter future now than the one he imagined last summer.

“I think [I’ll major] in computer science,” he said. “I like computers and I’m pretty good at math, so I’d like to do that.”

flict’’ with the new law by partly repealing the old one.

Based on that, Mark Brnovich, the attorney general at the time, got Pima County Superior Court Judge Kellie

Mayes contends that a provision in the Arizona Constitution guaranteeing a right of privacy allows for abortions in even more circumstances. That issue, however, is not currently before the state Supreme Court.

Exhibit 1 for challengers is the 2022 law itself. It spells out that the 15-week restriction does not repeal the territorial-era law “or any other applicable state law regulating or restricting abortion.’’

That, they said, should have been the end of the debate, saying it was the clear intent of people who had elected the lawmakers, “to fully protect life.’’

“But Arizona law is clear: No one may perform an abortion except to save the mother’s life,’’ the challengers told the justices in urging them to override the appellate court ruling. And they pointed out that the old law -- the one never repealed -- makes it illegal for any “person’’ to perform an abortion, saying that term is defined broad as “a human being.’’

“Physicians are human beings,’’ they argued, meaning the old law applies to them.

“Indeed, physicians were prosecuted for violating prior versions of (that law) before it was enjoined,’ they said.’

The justices have not decided whether they will review the appellate court decision.  ABORTION from page 11

Having Mayes support the position that

Instead, challengers say, the appellate judges resolved a “manufactured con-

JUST LISTED: 4220 E Winged Foot Place, Chandler

Now is a good time for homebuyers and sellers

February rolled in with celebrities coming into town for the Super Bowl and The Waste Management Open. There was excitement in the air and activity throughout the Valley.

The same could be said for our local real estate market. There was increased activity and an excitement in the air about real estate.

We are starting to see more activity than we have seen since spring 2022, before our market made a shift. Queen Creek has officially moved from a buyer’s market to a balanced market.

A balanced market is a healthy market for both buyers and sellers. Buyers feel there are enough homes to view before making a decision and have some room to negotiate. Sellers feel they have more negotiating power and their days on the market are decreased as well.

In January, we had about 16,500 listings throughout the Valley. At the end of February, we had 15,745. Queen Creek holds 517 of those listings with another 253 pending.

In February, Queen Creek saw 165+ homes go pending, which reflects on the results of increased showing activity. Queen Creek has experienced 200+ closings since Jan. 1.

There are fewer listings coming onto the market overall. Numerous builders are still building throughout the town. This always makes for tough competition for a homeowner listing their home. Builders tend to have deeper pockets when it comes to negotiating. Now that

This 2,822-square-foot home on E. Lawndale Place, Queen Creek, sold last month for just over $1 million. The four-bedroom, 3 ½ new build sits on 1.5 acres of horse property and boasts a number of amenities, including an oversized laundry room, 10-foot ceilings and high-end hardwood flooring. (Special to the Tribune)

we have moved to a balanced market, we will keep an eye on what incentives builders are offering.

Sellers, it’s the best time to list your home since last spring. If you are considering listing your home for sale, that now is the time. Buyers are engaging in offers and contract negotiations on homes they want to buy. There is less competition for sellers now than there has been since last spring.

Interest rates did hold steady for a bit. If the interest rates go up again, it could have an impact on this level of activity we have been experiencing. If you have considered buying, now is a fantastic time.

As a seller, it’s important to know what a buyer is expecting in this market. If the price is at the top of the market or even at market value, buyers don’t want to have to do work on the home after moving in, other than personalization.

Buyers also respond best to homes that are staged, which sell the fastest and typically for more money than a home that is not staged. A furnished home can

still be staged by prepping the items already in the home.

Either way, buyers show time and time again, they are most interested in the homes the sellers have thoroughly prepared for the buyers to experience while viewing it.

We are currently in our strong season, which runs from now through June. Our market will respond to inventory levels and interest rates. Time will tell if our strong season continues to remain strong, gets stronger or shifts. Current inventory levels are a positive sign for our market.

Melanie Nemetz, the owner and founder of The Melanie Nemetz Team with Keller Williams Integrity First can be reached at 480-221-3034, melanie@ fosteringre.com or fosteringre.com. 

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QC’s top cop draws inspiration from parents

Randy Brice did not grow up wanting to be a cop.

At Mesa High School, he played sports and was active in student government but policing was not on his radar when he graduated.

“Strangely enough I was actually going to school to be a school teacher,” said Brice, who now is Queen Creek’s first police chief, heading a department that recently marked its first-year anniversary.

Had he gone into law enforcement immediately, it would have been understandable: his father was a cop for 45 years.

“That was always something that was in the back of my mind, but I was trying my own thing and seeing what was going on,” he said.

Policing became more top of mind and his teaching career took a detour when life intervened.

“When I got married, I was looking for something to have benefits and at least be able to provide for my family and I got hired by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office as a detention officer in 1992,” he said.

Not long after he joined the county as a detention officer, sheriff’s deputy positions opened following a long hiring hiatus.

Brice was hired his father, a sheriff’s captain then, was there when he graduated from the police academy.

“My dad was the one who pinned the badge on me,” he said. “It was extraordinary. My dad was always my hero. Well, both my parents were. My mom was a nurse. Both lived lives of public servants.”

Brice’s mom put her nursing career on hold to raise kids while his dad continued advancing in the ranks. Randy Brice credits both parents for shaping him as a

person, but was especially influenced by his dad, who passed away in 2022.

“He really taught me how to be a great person. As I look back, that’s a very fond memory,” Brice said. “To have my dad be there at every milestone in my life and to have him pin my badge on, words can’t describe the feeling. It was amazing.

“To watch my dad through the many years of being a police officer and all the struggles that came with that … his great attitude, and every day he wanted to make a difference. That was always something that was very important to me,” he added.

He said his dad was also an expert mechanic and, as a result, Brice calls himself someone who “loves to tinker.”

“My dad and I built my first car together,” he said. “He restored a 1946 Chevy step side pickup truck. That was something that we always did … had interests together.”

The Brice family history has a lot to do with tinkering.

“My grandpa was an airplane mechanic in World War II,” he said. “He was in the Pacific theater and he worked on the Corsairs. I don’t know that he ever was in action but he fixed the planes.”

Brice is passing on the strong family ties that he learned from his father and grandfather to his family and the people around him.

Despite working 70-plus hours a week as police chief, Brice said he has always been passionate about volunteering in the community, working with Boy Scouts, coaching and church involvement.

“Family is really the center of my life,” he said. “I’m a man of faith, as well. I go to church. My church and family are really the center of my world.”

The Brice family likes to explore, he said, and rarely leaves Arizona, riding ATVs, camping, doing pretty much anything outside.

Brice’s four kids are adults now. One is a nurse and one is still in school.

“My two youngest are special needs,”

he said. “They are on the autism spectrum and both severely disabled in that sense. So, they still live with us. They will be with us forever. They are about three years apart. … They’ve been a blessing in our lives. Changed who we are.”

Brice said his career in law enforcement has afforded him opportunities that he would not have had without it. During his time as a sheriff’s deputy, he became a paramedic, was heavily involved in the department’s SCUBA dive team, learned to operate a hyperbaric chamber, drove ATVs, worked in computer forensics, picked up some computer hardware skills and even now helps out in the Queen Creek police IT department.

“People don’t realize the policing world is more than just answering calls,” he said. “There is a lot of technical issues.” Brice appears to have quickly gained the respect of his staff. Department Public Information Officer Sonu Wasu said Brice is extremely “hands on” when it comes to managing the department and its employees.

“He doesn’t expect others to so something he hasn’t done before,” she said. “It’s just amazing to see how involved he is as a chief.”

While Queen Creek did a nationwide search for a police chief, the town did not have to go far to find their candidate in the end.

The town hired him away from the Gilbert Police Department. Brice left that job on a Friday and started as Queen Creek’s chief the following Monday, July 20, 2020 and started building the department from scratch.

Brice has said he considers policing a partnership between the department and the community.

“We have a daily opportunity to make a difference in the lives of people,” he said. “I saw that in my father and all the things he did.” 

Audubon Society focusing on fatal bird collisions

Have you ever heard a thump on a window in your house? Unless you live on a golf course or ball field, you probably heard a bird crashing into the glass.

You may have found the injured bird, but often they fly away to die of their injuries out of sight.

A 2014 study by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Smithsonian Institution estimated that between 365 million and one billion birds in the United States are killed annually by building collisions – 60% after hitting buildings under four stories, such as homes.

But there are ways to prevent these unnecessary deaths.

Desert Rivers Audubon Society is hosting a DIY workshop at Gilbert Riparian Preserve’s Rattlesnake Ramada from 1-3 p.m. on Sunday, March 12, where residents can make a custom window treatment that will prevent birds from strik-

ing the glass.

Materials, tools and expert assistance will be provided. Registration is required and there is a $15 fee.

To a bird fleeing a predator or heading to the next tree, the reflection of a yard or the street in a window looks like an open flyway - not a solid surface. This video

illustrates the problem from a bird’s eye view: bit.ly/HowBirdsSeeWindows

The Acopian BirdSaver, also called the Zen Wind Curtain, leverages the birds’ own biology to alert them that a glass window is impassable.

Birds are able to calculate that they cannot fly through an opening that is 4 inches or less in width: it’s how they successfully fly through tree branches.

The Acopian BirdSaver consists of lengths of paracord cut to the height of the window secured at 4-inch intervals across the width of the frame on the outside of the window.

This breaks up the reflection, signaling to birds that they cannot fly through. The curtain is virtually 100 percent effective at diverting birds.

Installation is easy, and the cords do not obstruct the view from inside the home and in fact are aesthetically pleasing.

Residents will use the measurements of their problem window and with the help of volunteers will make an Acopian BirdSaver custom-fitted to their home and ready to install.

“There’s no need to cover every window in your home, just the ones that are hazardous to birds,” said Karen Stucke-Jungemann, Desert Rivers Audubon conservation director.

The chapter hopes to repeat the workshop in the future.

“Our goal is to reach as many homeowners as possible to stop bird-strike deaths,” Stucke-Jungemann said.

Residents who would rather buy an Acopian BirdSaver may order directly from the company at birdsavers.com.

To learn more, download the Acopian Bird Saver manual at bit.ly/MakeABirdSaver. The American Bird Conservancy publishes a reference resource about other bird strike solutions at bit.ly/BirdStrikeConsumerGuide.

Desert Rivers Audubon Society serves Chandler, Gilbert, Queen Creek, Apache Junction, the San Tan Valley and parts of Pinal County.

It provides environmental education and conservation opportunities and advocate for our environment.

Information:desertriversaudubon. org. 

Local man not reluctant to be a restaurateur any more

Queen Creek native Joey Palomarez did not set out to be a restaurant owner.

He had pretty much had enough of that all-consuming life at a very early age, watching his mother and step dad run Sushi Creek at the corner of Ocotillo and Old Ellsworth.

“I grew up in that restaurant – in that dish pit, to be honest,” Palomarez said. “I’ve been busing tables and doing dishes since I was 12. I actually told myself I never wanted to do it. Those aren’t very glamorous jobs.”

So Palomarez tried his hand in the sports industry and sold mortgages for a while, but while the kid took himself out of the restaurant, apparently nothing could take the restaurant out of this kid.

Now 25 and with four business partners, Palomarez has opened a new restaurant in Queen Creek called the Spaghetti Shack.

“We’re a to-go focused pasta concept,” he said. “We do spaghetti, meatballs, garlic bread and some combination of those things.’

And while Palomarez was eager to chart his own course, those family ties and experience in the restaurant business are coming in handy now.

And he is leaning on them.

“My family owns Bar Viñedo,” he said of the popular Queen Creek establishment. “We’re a locally owned, family business. It’s just my restaurant inside my family’s restaurant.”

The Spaghetti Shack is what is known as a ghost or dark kitchen, which means there is no physical restaurant in Queen Creek. The food is made in another restaurant’s kitchen and delivered or picked up by customers who typically order it online.

In this case, the Spaghetti Shack’s food is prepared in Bar Viñedo’s kitchen.

Having sold Sushi Creek some years back, the family stayed in the restaurant business, which is helping Palomarez bring the same food that the Spaghetti Shack makes in its standalone Tempe location to people in Queen Creek.

And that family experience? Now it is popping up in the Bar Viñedo kitchen on the Spaghetti Shack’s behalf.

“Sometimes I’m over there. Sometimes it’s my step dad back there. Most of the time it’s my mom back there,” Palomarez said. “Given the fact that it’s the same family it’s a little bit of both. It’s kind of whoever can get back there, get some gloves on and make some spaghetti.”

Palomarez said the ghost kitchen allows Bar Viñedo to keep the money it makes on the Spaghetti Shack food while helping Palomarez expand his brand in Queen Creek.

“To be honest I’m not a huge foodie,” Palomarez said. “I like food because people can connect over it. Our whole mission of our business is to serve affordable quality food quickly so people can spend more time with their families and their loved ones instead of doing dishes.”

While the restaurant and entertainment options are growing right along with the town, Palomarez chose to open a Spaghetti Shack ghost kitchen in Queen Creek for a reason. He grew up here, graduated from Queen Creek High School, was even elected student body president.

“Queen Creek is very near and dear to my heart,” he said. “K through 12. I remember the first opening of Carl’s Jr. when I was playing basketball in high school and we call camped out and when the McDonald’s went up. So, Queen Creek has changed a lot in my lifetime but I was kind of there through all of that.”

His four business partners also grew up here and graduated from Queen Creek High school which, Palomarez said, gives them a common purpose in opening this ghost kitchen.

“Queen Creek is a huge part of who we are. We all grew up in Queen Creek. We wanted to do something together,” Palomarez said.

“We looked at franchising a couple of options and we thought ‘no we want

to do our own thing’ so we just built our own concept from scratch in terms of our recipes, our brand and how we wanted to do it.”

Palomarez said he and his partners will expand the Spaghetti Shack into other local ghost kitchens if it proves successful at Bar Viñedo.

But said he will continue to lean on that family experience he absorbed growing up and working at Sushi Creek, even if he did not realize he was picking it up then.

“It taught me how to run a restaurant properly,” he said. “Even if I was only 12 and did not learn a lot about the business side of it at the time. But it was really cool because at the time Queen Creek was smaller then so it was one of those places where people would come in and just ‘be there.’

“A lot of my parents’ friends came from just walking into that restaurant. That really sticks with us in terms of how we’re moving forward with our business and how to build relationships with our regulars.”

He wants the Spaghetti Shack to have regulars in Queen Creek, too, and plans to be visible and active, even if there is no physical location, He also plans to help local nonprofits raise money as well as being involved in other community and small-business partnerships.

“How can use food to not only help people make their lives a little easier, but to do some good work?” Palomarez said. “Because if I can serve spaghetti and meatballs with a good cause, that’s what we want to do.” 

The Spaghetti Shack

7215 S. Power Rd (inside Bar Viñedo) (480) 840-9709 Thespaghettishack.com

Bill would cut unemployment benefits

State lawmakers are moving to cut the time Arizonans can collect jobless benefits even as unemployment hits double digits.

The Senate last week gave preliminary approval to setting the maximum length of payments for those looking for work at no more than 12 weeks at any time the state’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate has been 5% or less for the prior quarter.

That compares with the current law, which allows up to 24 weeks when the unemployment rate is that low and would apply now with the jobless rate in the 4% range.

More dramatic are the changes for periods of higher unemployment.

Now, a jobless rate of at least 5% qualifies those who are out of work through no fault of their own to up to 26 weeks.

The measure pushed through the Senate by Sen. Steve Kaiser, R-Phoenix, in-

stead sets up a graduated benefit schedule, adding an additional week of benefits beyond the 12-week base for every halfpoint the unemployment rate rises.

But SB 1167 still caps benefits at 20 weeks even if the jobless rate tops 8.5%, six weeks shorter than now.

Kaiser contends there are jobs to be filled but people collecting unemployment are not applying for them. He said there are 10 open jobs for every applicant, suggesting that they are not applying because they are collecting up to the $320 a week the state provides in benefits.

That number is at sharp difference to the official numbers from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, which shows about 213,000 job openings in December, the most recent month available, and about 148,000 people looking for work.

But Kaiser said he is basing the number on the smaller number of 22,656 people who are actually applying for or collecting unemployment insurance in Arizona. Arizona law allows those workers who

are laid off or fired for no reason to collect up to one-half of what they were earning while they look for new work. But it is capped at no more than $320 a week, no matter how much they were earning before, and with the 24- or 26week cap depending on the state’s jobless rate.

Kaiser said he sees the current level of benefits as unnecessary.

“If there are plentiful jobs out there, the unemployment insurance benefit timelines should be shorter,’’ he told colleagues during floor debate. He pointed out that Arizona has a voter-imposed $13.85-an-hour minimum wage, which over a 40-hour week translates out to more than unemployment benefits.

The idea drew questions from Rep. Mitzi Epstein, D-Tempe. She asked who benefits from the change.

“Getting a job benefits the individual and their family,’’ Kaiser responded. Epstein sniffed at that response.

“That’s a new piece of information

to me that yanking benefits away from somebody helps them to get a job faster,’’ she said. But Epstein said that still doesn’t answer her question of who is promoting the idea.

Kaiser said he could not recall the name of the group.

The measure was pushed in the Senate Government Committee by Brian Sikma, a lobbyist for the Foundation for Government Accountability, which lists its purpose as advancing policies to move individuals from welfare to work. He testified that states that set up an indexed jobless benefit system get people back to work faster.

Epstein said she remains unconvinced.

“Unemployment insurance is a bridge for the individual and it’s important for stability in the economy,’’ she said, asking Kaiser whether he had worked with any economists to assess the global effects of such a change.

“I did not work with any economists,’’ he acknowledged. 

Sounds like the Apocalypse is getting closer

At a more carefree time in American History— actually, just a few years ago— “Sports Illustrated” featured a tongue-in-cheek digest of offbeat stories under the heading “Signs the Apocalypse is upon us.”

For many readers, that periodical’s very own Apocalypse came in 2020, when the magazine morphed into a monthly publication.

In November of that same year, it was reported that Joe Biden was elected as our 46th President.

Perhaps it is more curiosity than coincidence, but signs and wonders—or more accurately, “signs that make you wonder”—have proliferated during the Biden Presidency.

A trio of recent news items provides intriguing examples. Though not all of them directly involve Joe Biden, they have happened “on his watch,” which undoubtedly has been punctuated by plenty of presidential naps.

Biden Cites Franklin—Not Benjamin, but Aretha

Rather than invoking the memory of a Founding Father, Ol’ Joe’s misfiring memory prompted him to recall a catchy tune from the “Queen of Soul.” Attempting to mount a rhetorical defense of his oft-criticized absence from the disaster site in East Palestine, Ohio, the chief executive stumbled into a verbal quagmire.

Quoth the commander-in-chief, when asked about a possible visit to eastern Ohio:“ At this point, I’m not. I did a whole video, I mean, what the hell on…”

A reporter quickly intervened, asking “Zoom?”

“Zoom! All I can think of every time I

think of Zoom is that song in my generation, ‘Who’s Zoomin’ Who,’” responded the Leader of the Free World.

Mayor Pete’s tenure at Transportation

Once considered a rising star for the Dems, current Transportation Secretary and former South Bend (Indiana) Mayor Pete Buttigieg has seen his political prospects dim drastically, given that his grasp of sound public policy is tenuous.

So intent were the progressive personnel experts on pursuing their definition of “diversity” for the Biden Cabinet, that they ignored the sobriquet South Bend residents had adopted for their ex-mayor: “Pothole Pete.” Not a great nickname for a transportation secretary. Identity politics and an overhyped intellect combined to propel leftist hopes sky-high for Buttigieg. But a stalled international supply line, severe holiday airline delays, and several aircraft near-misses brought those great expec-

tations crashing to earth.

And then came his visit to East Palestine, Ohio – 20 days after the train wreck.

The term “train wreck” aptly applied to the secretary’s excursion. Residents and authorities got a good look at Buttigieg’s sour facial expression, earning him a new nickname: ”Pouting Pete.”

When faced with the enormity of a major train derailment and ensuing chemical spill, the novelty of a gay adoptive father possessing the musical prowess of a concert pianist mattered not a whit. He had trouble speaking English, muttering this unfortunate pun at a press conference: “I lost my train of thought.” New presidential priority: “Putting Ukraine First”

Short-term memory loss isn’t just for the octogenarian occupant at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

see HAYWORTH page 22

Giving the gift of life made her ‘feel so good’

At 2:30 a.m. Feb. 15, Maureen Salloom arrived at Mayo Clinic in north Scottsdale perfectly healthy. The 42-year-old came by choice, of sound mind and body, on a mission: For a surgeon to make small incisions in her lower abdomen and left side to extract one healthy kidney.

The organ was rushed to a jet bound for Wisconsin. There, another surgeon implanted the kidney into someone Salloom will never, ever know. Not even his or her name.

Which is precisely what makes this story of epic generosity so worth telling.

“I don’t want to know anything about

them,” Salloom says. “I didn’t do it for that reason. … I just hope it works. That they’re healthy and they live however much longer they’re supposed to live in their life. But I don’t need to know anything about that.”

Whoever said ignorance is bliss, I doubt they had this level of benevolence in mind.

For Salloom, the daughter of immigrants from Mexico and Jordan, kindness has always been her thing, dating back to grade school in Texas. She was the first kid to volunteer, class president, the girl voted friendliest. She gets it from her mom and dad, Olga and Ray.

“My parents have always been so grateful to live in this country, to have our freedoms, to have a job,” says Salloom. “They have this overwhelming sense of gratitude towards life. They definitely in-

stilled that in me and my brother.”

Salloom, a Phoenix resident, moved here in 1999 to attend Arizona State. A career in nonprofits followed.

Seven years ago, working at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, she learned about kidney disease. Salloom planned events and camp programs for kids, and saw them return every second day for dialysis. Cancer got more attention, but chronic kidney disease seemed to her more grinding and equally awful.

Around that time Maureen married Brad Whitley, a Tempe firefighter. She was a touch envious of Brad’s career treating emergencies, saving lives. Last August, she sat her husband down and unveiled her idea: She intended to donate a kidney to a stranger. To save a life herself.

Says Whitley: “I think it took me a little

bit to realize that she was serious. I was very fearful.”

Whitley spoke to Tempe Fire Chief Greg Ruiz, whose wife Adrian had donated a kidney to their son. Reassured Maureen wouldn’t die in surgery, Brad embraced the idea “full speed ahead.” He went to most of Maureen’s 30 or so pre-surgery appointments, perpetually beaming with pride.

Eventually, Maureen told him to stop with the praise.

“I was like, stop telling people,” she recalls. “I’m not doing this for attention. I just want to do it to help someone. Period.”

Whitley laughs. “I’m probably never going to stop telling people what she did. To me as a firefighter, that’s what we’re

HAYWORTH from page 21

White House strategists believe it likewise affects the American population at large—though not through collective aging. Instead, it arrives via “information overload.”

blame political opponents – all while spending as if there’s no tomorrow.

“Last call?”

With a news cycle seemingly updated by the nanosecond, it’s impossible for John and Jane Q. Public to keep pace. Adding to the confusion is the reality of our leader “being of two minds”— bellicose toward Russia, benevolent to Ukraine—and relying at home on his muscle memory of “Medi-scare” to

On Feb. 17—ten days after accusing Republicans of plans to raid Social Security and Medicare—and three days before his surprise visit to Ukraine, Biden promised propping up similar programs “over there” with American tax dollars: “It’s gonna allow pensions and social support to be paid to the Ukrainian People, so they have something…something in their pockets.”

Yep, from our pockets to theirs…with even more in the pockets of Ukraine’s leader?

Meantime, “Bidenflation” has taken buying power away from family budgets in the United States; Ol’ Joe’s Pentagon “Brain Trust” is more concerned with protecting gender-fluid pronouns than responding effectively to Chinese provocations; and “homeland security” has become as oxymoronic as “jumbo shrimp.”

So put down your old copy of “Sports Illustrated,” pick up your headphones and listen to Barry McGuire’s 1965 hit, “Eve of Destruction.” Sounds as if the Apocalypse is upon us. 

supposed to do. For her to do this on her own? There’s no comparison.”

Two weeks post-surgery, Salloom is up and at ‘em again. She walked three and a half miles yesterday; she has a follow-up at Mayo next week.

The hospital will monitor her for the next two years. The only thing she can’t do going forward is take ibuprofen. Otherwise, she can eat, drink, and jog to heart’s content. In time, her remaining kidney will grow larger to compensate for the kidney she gave away.

I can’t imagine it ever growing as big

as her heart.

“I’m not going to say it wasn’t painful, it wasn’t emotional,” says Salloom. “Every emotion you could feel, I felt it. But now I feel so good. … That person’s life has changed. I’m so happy, so grateful for them. That I could make a difference. That’s just huge.” 

Less pop. More culture.

Casteel girls fall in 5A soccer championship

Casteel’s girls’ soccer program, the defending champions at the 5A level, played just about as well as they could Saturday, Feb. 25 in their fourth straight trip to the title game.

It was a close battle between the Colts and Chaparral, a perennial powerhouse in the conference. But at the end of the day, it all came down to the right foot of Chaparral senior Faith Secrest for the 5A State Title.

She had her corner chosen and her mind empty as she placed the ball, staring down Casteel goalie Ariel Bernard. She gave a quick stutter step akin to Messi, followed it with a swift kick, and the ball sank into the back of the net.

It was at that moment the Firebirds became state champions, bringing a heartbreaking end to yet another successful season for the Casteel girls.

“I saw that in the World Cup and I said, ‘I want to do that,’” Secrest said. “I practiced that all season and it paid off,” Secrest said.

It took every ounce of strength with every player digging deep, but it was certainly earned after the Firebirds came out victorious, 1-1 (3-2 penalty kicks) after nearly two hours of playing.

“(It was) pure relief,” Secrest added. “That when it went in, we won. It was everything I needed — this is my last soccer game ever.”

In a game which she didn’t know if she would be playing due to an inflamed MCL, Secrest cemented Chaparral as state champions.

However, it couldn’t have been done without the effort of the entire team. Morgan Cohen scored the game’s opening goal with an assist by her younger sister, Marin, 10 minutes into the first half.

Junior Aria Cain of Casteel answered back with a goal of her own 10 minutes later. Cain has been one of the Colts’ top

players all season, scoring 10 total goals and was only behind standout senior Nathalie Lewis’ 20 goals.

Both teams had scoring opportunities throughout the game, but the two evenly matched teams remained in a stalemate for the remainder of regulation. Along with the rest of Casteel’s line of defense, Bernard was brilliant in goal. She and the rest of her team held Chaparral scoreless through both 10-minute extra time periods and both five-minute sudden-death pe-

riods, too. Though Chaparral managed to do the same. That brought along penalty kicks.

Morgan Fielder sank the first PK for the Colts, then both tries from Chaparral and Casteel were stuffed.

Chaparral answered with a goal by Cohen to tie it 1-1. Morgan Longacre sank the next kick for the Colts to give them the lead once again, but Hennessey Brown answered back for Chaparral.

Then, Sophia Trice of Casteel was denied at the net by Lexi Baldwin, leaving

Secrest to

win it.

Chaparral coach Robyn Carlson said they had to play with heart.

“There’s a point when you go to exhaustion, and you have to lift above that,” she said. “To watch them all season then to finish like that is amazing. We practice PKs all the time in practice, and you just got to know that they’re going to believe in what they’re going to do and take a deep breath and do it. And they just did just that.”

Casteel coach Jason Hammond, who has become one of the top coaches in the state due to his success helping build the girls’ soccer program, said he was disappointed in the officiating.

He felt there were missed calls at crucial moments of the match that could’ve determined an alternative outcome.

“We have a player dragged down in the box so hard she hits her head off the ground and no call whatsoever,” Hammond said. “They had done a good job right up until the end, then it was just let’s put our whistles away and let whatever happen, happen.

“When you have two of your normal penalty kickers injured because we can’t get call in overtime, there’s not much you can do.”

Despite what he believed were missed calls, Hammond said he was extremely proud of his group and would like to see more respect toward them and his program after all they have done.

Casteel ended its season 13-5-1 overall, with its only losses coming against Chaparral twice – in the first match of the season and title game – as well as two powerhouse programs from California and Millennium, another perennial power in the West Valley.

The Colts were the No. 4 seed heading into the tournament, and knocked off Desert Mountain, Cienega and topranked Notre Dame en route to their fourth straight appearance in the championship. 

Renaissance Festival brings revelry and ruckus

Take one step into the Festival Village of Fairhaven, and you’ll get whisked away to 16th century Europe for a medieval adventure full of jousting knights, sea fairies and circus performers.

One of the largest renaissance festivals in the nation, the annual Arizona Renaissance Festival & Artisan Marketplace returns for its 35th year with old and new amusements and antics.

With a cast of nearly 2,000 costumed characters roaming a 50-acre festival village, guests can immerse themselves in the Middle Ages with an artisan marketplace, whimsical circus, people-powered rides and games, jousting tournaments and nonstop theater performances.

From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday through April 2, festival goers of all ages can revel in the village’s many festivities at the foothills of the Superstition Mountains on U.S. 60.

“We have a festival that’s always been

in one place, one spot, for going on threeand-a-half decades now, and people count on that and make it a tradition to come see us,” said Jerome Hill, the festival’s promotions coordinator and the King of the Fools. He called the fest’s 35th year a testament to its standing power as an at-

traction here.

In commemoration of that anniversary, each weekend will have a special theme. Throughout March, the event will celebrate pirates and BrewFest, wizardry and magical creatures, the art of theater, Celtic culture and artist appreciation before the

Fool’s Masquerade Final Huzzah on closing weekend, April 1 and 2.

“One thing that I really like about the Renaissance Festival is that it always has been, and is always just going to be like a full-family outing – families with kids or people that just want to come on their own. There’s sort of an all-ages appeal to it,” said Grayson Coleman-Shelby, a performer.

A focal point is the festival artisan marketplace, an elaborately adorned open-air collection of storybook shops, studios and galleries.

Over 200 talented artisans offer handmade wares fitting all budgets, ranging from pottery, to clothing, to home decor. Some even perform demonstrations right in front of festival goers, creating time-honored crafts like glassblowing, blacksmithing, woodcarving and coin stamping.

“A lot of the merchants have the same goods they’ve been making and selling themselves for years,” Coleman-Shelby said.

see REN FEST page 25

Barbershop crooners to perform in Mesa Saturday

The East Valley Harmonizers Barbershop Chorus is known for offering its members’ services for special Valentine’s Day greetings but on Saturday, they’ll be gathering for a concert with a “live radio broadcast” of love songs.

The chorus’ annual spring concert will be held 2-3:30 p.m. Saturday, March 11, at Westwood High School, 945 W. Rio Salado Pkwy, Mesa.

The show, titled “Love is on the Air,” presents a 1960’s-era radio show, with the MC cast as a popular DJ who is hosting a special make-believe program.

“These love songs are timeless classics from yesteryear – and the year before that!” said show chairman Terry Morrison.

“These songs will all be sung in four-part barbershop harmony and represent the authentic arrangements of the Barbershop Harmony Society.

Also on the card is a special performance from High Priority, the 2016 Barbershop Harmony Society Seniors division champion quartet known for “their tight harmonies and tasteful humor.”

The Mesa-based barbershop singers have been singing love songs since they organized in 1993.

The East Valley Harmonizers are an all-male chorus chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society, an international non-profit organization founded in 1938 with over 20,000 members. For more information about the chorus and the upcoming Spring Show, visit the website at

The marketplace also features a spread of cuisine and beverages.

At the village’s many food stalls, visitors can feast their way through turkey legs, shepherd’s pie, soup bread bowls, funnel cakes, steaks-on-a-stick and a variety of meads.

The Piazza Pub is a new addition, serving mixed charcuterie boards and a selection of wine and beer in a cozy courtyard setting. Transylvanian Treats is also new this year and offers custom-made European chimney cakes that have received rave reviews.

“Spend time investigating all the different food stalls, you might find stuff you didn’t know we had here,” Hill hints.

The pinnacle of the festival’s culinary experience, however, is The Pleasure Feast, held by Captain Rook and his fearsome, rascally pirates. During a 90-minute fivecourse meal with beverages at the Old Manor Hall, the pirate crew provides surprise entertainment complete with upbeat music.

Tickets for the feast are $100, and include a souvenir limited-edition toasting goblet. Seating is limited with only two events a day at noon and 2:30 p.m.

The village comes to life with entertainment, which includes three competitive jousting tournaments a day, and interactive games and people-powered rides like giant rocking horses, paintball battles and climbing towers.

There is also a 16-stage theater presenting endless comedy, music and swordplay.

One of this year’s new additions is The Renaissance Men, a thrilling sword-fighting comedy show. Coleman-Shelby and Daniel Christopher, who play the characters Rowland and Florian, battle it out for the audience’s validation and the title of The Renaissance Man.

“It’s family-friendly, because we want to be able to have people of all ages be able to watch the show,” Coleman-Shelby said. “It’s high energy, it’s high excitement.”

The Renaissance Festival’s team is always working on new attractions to give guests the opportunity for a fresh new experience, while bringing back beloved favorites.

“You can come here probably the entire weekend and still not really explore everything. It takes a really long time to really get into the nooks and crannies of everything that festival has to offer,” Coleman-Shelby said. “That’s one of the really cool things, an attraction that’s always evolving and appealing to a broader audience base.”

Whether one has visited the Renaissance Festival once or a dozen times, they are always able to transport to another time and place and leave their troubles at the gate for a little while.

“You get to have this fun, immersive experience, and that just sticks with you for a long time,” Coleman-Shelby said. “A lot of people find that it’s a yearly thing that they almost need every year just to get through (something), and we help them with that.”

The jousters, mermaids and pirates look forward to sweeping you away on a medieval escapade to the Festival Village of Fairhaven. 

If You Go...

What: Arizona Renaissance Festival

Where: WestWorld of Scottsdale, 16601 N. Pima Road, Scottsdale

When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through April 2

Cost: Tickets start at $33 for adults, $21 for children ages 5 to 12. Children ages 4 and under are free. Discounts are available at the box office for military and seniors 60 and older. Parking is free.

Info: 520-463-2600, arizona. renfestinfo.com

Gilbert theater presents Broadway musical

GETOUT STAFF

The stakes are high when a chorus girl from Allentown, Pennsylvanian, gets a chance to become a Broadway star in the Hale Centre Theatre’s new musical, “42nd Street.”

The Gilbert theater’s show through April 1 “recalls the classic days of Broadway and the golden age of movie musicals with lots of sensational tap numbers and lavish costumes,” a spokesman said.

Songs such as “You’re Getting To Be a Habit With Me,” “We’re In The Money” and “Shuffle Off To Buffalo” are among the popular numbers in the musical.

Hale favorite Rochelle Barton stars as a Broadway’ diva while the humbler Pennsylvania chorus girl is portrayed by Brie

Wadsworth-Gates. Brandt Norris plays a young male lead gifted with incredible dancing while Jere Van Patten and Kathleen Richards play the writers of the Broadway show-within-a-show.

Brandon Zale stars as the demanding Broadway director. The ensemble is filled with Hale veterans as well as newcomers.

“42nd Street” plays at Hale Centre Theatre, 50 W. Page Ave., Gilbetr, Wednesday through Saturdays nights,with Saturday matinees and select Friday matinees.

Dr. Cathy Hauan is the music director, with multi-ariZoni Award winner Cambrian James as the director and choreographer.

Tickets are $45 to $48 for adults and $30 for youth ages 5-17. Tickets may be obtained by calling Hale’s Box Office at 480497-1181 or HaleTheatreArizona.com. 