Joan Shafer honored at public memorial service
Arizona is now in recession
Beer distributor expanding into Surprise
Assault with firearm among Surprise crimes list
Surprise raising adults’ fee at city pools
Surprise tourney draws more than 50 Surprise council OKs study to help recruit employers
El Mirage boy run over by school busSurprise to take over previously unsafe road Firefighter helps save boy in Mexico
Surprise Farms Park construction to start Surprise seeks settlement in water case Arizona’s population 30 percent Hispanic Officer in child-porn case is sidelined
Erin Zlomek
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 26, 2008 08:50 AM
Because the lines could possibly affect property values in Surprise and nearby unincorporated areas such as Wittmann and Circle City, APS and Surprise officials are in the process of hammering out what they feel would be the most non-invasive routes.
A route proposal that would eventually be voted on by the Arizona Corporation Commission will likely go before the Surprise City Council within the next few months.
The proposed routes generally run through the unincorporated Northwest Valley, bounded by 275th Avenue on the west, 187th Avenue on the east, the Dixileta Drive alignment to the south and the Cloud Road alignment to the north.
A portion of one proposed route stretches through Surprise, generally near Grand and 203rd avenues.
The lines are expected to cost APS about $125 million to build. If all goes as planned, construction would begin early next year so that the lines could be in service by 2012.
DeWitt said that input from local developers and residents is being considered.
To avoid scarring scenic landscapes, he said the voltage towers would be built along existing roads and road alignments and away from open space and people’s homes. APS is also working with the state Land Department to find construction sites that are far away from existing landmarks.
The lines would start at a substation in Buckeye and connect to an APS locale in Peoria. APS is also working with those municipalities to find the best route, DeWitt said.
Five other similar APS projects are planned across the Valley. DeWitt said APS examines population growth and the need for new lines each year. Future lines are typically planned at least three years in advance, because that is how long it takes for a proposed project to go from the planning stages to winning approval from the Corporation Commission, he said. Once the latter happens, the lines can enter service.
To see a map of the routes being considered in the Northwest Valley and to view other APS projects, visit www.aps.com/siting and click on the “current siting projects” link.
Tony Lombardo
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 26, 2008 08:50 AM
The Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals will compete Wednesday at 1 p.m. in the first of 30 games taking place at Surprise Stadium, located on Bullard Avenue south of Bell Road.
This marks the sixth season of Surprise spring training. As of Monday, 91,000 tickets had been sold, Community and Recreation Services Director Mark Coronado said. Rangers ticket sales totaled 51,000, an increase of 25 percent over last year. Royals tickets stood at 40
The city’s goal is to sell 170,000 tickets - which would set a record - by the time spring training concludes at the end of March, Coronado said.
“The only thing that would take us backwards would be bad weather,” he said.
Surprise’s best year remains 2005, when 165,686 tickets were sold. Last season, Surprise sold 159,932 tickets, an increase from 142,319 in 2006.
Coronado said sales have been strong for games featuring the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago Cubs. He recommended fans buy early for other popular teams, including the San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Dodgers. The West Coast teams tend to attract more visitors, Coronado said.
Surprise Mayor Lyn Truitt said he wants visitors to take advantage of the surrounding attractions.
“Once people arrive, we want people to stay in our hotels and visit our museums,” Truitt said. “We want them to have what I call the ‘Surprise experience.’ “
Area attractions include the West Valley Art Museum and Heard Museum West. ,000 sold, a decrease of 5 percent.
Erin Zlomek
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 19, 2008 12:00 AM
However, the regional mall portion of Prasada, which will be anchored by a Harkins Theatre and a Dillard’s, will not be part of the first phase of development because company officials feel the local economy cannot yet support such a project.
Under the name Prasada, the mall, several power centers and an autoplex eventually will stretch along the future Loop 303 between Cactus and Greenway roads in Surprise. Plans call for homes, offices and a hospital to intertwine with the retail portions. The entire project will span about 3,400 acres.
• An 81-acre complex near Cactus Road and the future Loop 303 that will be anchored by Target.
• A 61-acre center near Waddell Road and the future Loop 303 that will be anchored by the city’s third Wal-Mart.
Though construction on those two power centers starts at the end of 2008, Westcor officials declined to estimate a date for the centers’ opening or when construction on the mall would begin.
Westcor closed on a $34 million sale of about 256 acres from Salt Lake City-based Suburban Land Reserve in December. The purchase included land for both the power centers and a 121-acre site for the proposed mall.
The same day Westcor bought that land, it sold 16 acres to Target for $1.1 million and 22 acres to Wal-Mart for $5.1 million, according to the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office.
Westcor spokeswoman Christine Romero said revenue generated by those land sales will go directly into infrastructure for Prasada. Westcor is also set to receive a $240 million infrastructure reimbursement from Surprise under an agreement previously approved by the city.
Garrett Newland, Westcor’s vice president of development, said no part of Prasada has yet been delayed. The company never has set a strict timeline for the project, instead allowing it to be market-driven.
The only Westcor project that has been delayed is the company’s Estrella Falls mall slated for Goodyear. That mall’s opening date was pushed back a year to fall 2010 because of the downturn.
Phoenix-based Westcor is expected to invest roughly $1.6 billion in Prasada.
A version of this story may have appeared in your community Republic.
Feb. 18, 2008 07:44 AM
Congratulations to all Dysart students who have been chosen to participate in the 2008 Arizona All-State Band Festival. These sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students were nominated based on their talent, work ethic and positive attitudes in band classes. They will be performing challenging musical selections along with other outstanding students at Higley High School in Gilbert on March 15. They are:
• Canyon Ridge School: Brandon Himes, Derek Lowe and Alvin Thai.
• Cimarron Springs Elementary School: Christopher Bagley and Kristin Day.
• Countryside Elementary School: Alyssa Kelley and Micaella Flores.
• El Mirage Elementary School: Samantha Chase and Francisco Brito.
• Kingswood Elementary School: George Alessi and Alexiss Mailloux.
• Mountain View School: Jake Jenson.
• Parkview Elementary School: Gabriel Amato, Angela Osborn, Felicia Cain and Rachel Bieschke.
• Rancho Gabriela Elementary School: Renee Kanuri, Madison Fleming, Anjelica Dichitang, Andrew Wagner and Cheyenne Pruett.
• Sonoran Heights Elementary School: Taylor Napodano, Isaiah Maderas, Isaiah Garrett and Abby Gladnick.
• Sunset Hills Elementary School: Ariana Johnson, Martha Cheff and Angelica Santella.
• Thompson Ranch Elementary School: Emily Anderson, Robyn Finley, Christian Soto and Priscilla Molina.
• West Point Elementary School: Tayler Fish, Kirtis Mabe, Samantha Topham, Alyssa Madrid and Erik Jensen.
• Western Peaks Elementary School: Michelle Morales, Garrett Rollins and Katya Penrose.
Congratulations to the students from Cimarron Springs who were selected to participate in the Arizona All-State Choir Festival March 22 at Higley High School. Music teacher Danae Marinelle will accompany Madison Wilkins, Nathan LeNguyen, Chelsea Fleming, Taylor Davenport, Dalton Gibbons, Jim Dingman, Alexia Bivens, Bree Moffitt, Mariah Easley and Christian Tanious.
The Sun City West Rotary Club recently distributed 1,264 dictionaries to third-graders across the district, a donation they have made for the past few years. The dictionaries contain sections on weights and measures, the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution, maps and more.
Lily Leung
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 16, 2008 08:20 AM
As a result, Truitt met with Surprise Police Chief Daniel Hughes to put together a security plan in the event an angry citizen posed a threat to officials or attendees.
The plan, Truitt said, carries even more significance after an incident in suburban St. Louis last week, in which a gunman killed two police officers, three city officials and wounded the mayor at a city council meeting.
“I was shocked and saddened,” Truitt said. “Immediately, I speculated how many of those people truly had nothing to do with the issue at hand and had lost their lives. (I wondered) how many families were impacted by that act of violence.”
Truitt concedes there have been heated Surprise City Council meetings in the past, but he does not recall anyone having to be escorted from the chambers.
Still, Hughes briefed Truitt and council members on a detailed security plan with what-if scenarios as a safety precaution.
The police chief also put together a security strategy for the new City Hall, which is being built on a 10-acre site near Litchfield and Bell roads. The facility will have a 134,000-square-foot, four-story building that will hold most city staff and the City Council chambers.
“We wanted to get his input for strategies to keep the people safe, employees safe, the council safe,” Truitt said.
As mayor, Truitt follows a protocol when dealing with agitated residents: If a resident acts out of order, then he will gavel once and give a verbal warning. If the behavior continues, he will gavel again and issue another warning.
By the third gavel, a break is taken to allow the resident to leave peacefully, he said. If the resident does not comply, then police officers will escort the resident out.
Anything thereafter, Truitt said, is taken care of by police.
Typically, one police officer is present in the council chamber during a City Council meeting and another is outside, in addition to the police chief’s presence, he said.
Surprise police do not disclose details of their security plan, given its sensitive nature.
However, Sgt. Randy Rody, a police spokesman, said the agency’s top priority is to take the appropriate measures to ensure incidents such as the one in Missouri do not happen here.
“We want to maintain the peace and ensure that the proceedings take place without interruption,” Rody said.
Truitt said his best strategy to avoid escalated confrontations is to simply allow residents to vent.
“As long as people are courteous, I let them speak,” he said.
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