VALLEY DIGEST
SCOTTSDALE
Racketeering accusation:
Synergy Entertainment, a failed north Scottsdale nightclub that wants to sell out to Tiffany's Cabaret, is suing the city for allegedly interfering in the deal.
Synergy accuses city officials of racketeering in their efforts to
stop Tiffany's Cabaret from opening a topless nightclub near Shea Boulevard and Scottsdale
Road. Synergy filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March.
--> Top and bottom:
A state study of 1992 graduation rates for Arizona high school students ranks Chaparral
High School seventh among 135 Arizona high schools with 91 percent of its students
graduating in four years.
However, the state study released earlier this year placed Coronado
High School in 97th place with a 61 percent graduation rate for 1992.
--> For sale, with a catch:
All 123 homes owned by the Arizona Department of Transportation along Pima Road likely
will be wearing ''for sale'' signs in early 1994. Only buyers willing to live in the
houses for at least one year need inquire, however.
Scottsdale apparently has persuaded ADOT to restrict the sale of the
109 state-owned houses and 14 condominiums to buyers who want to live along Scottsdale's
noisy eastern border. ADOT officials plan to meet with interested real estate brokers this
week to review the terms of the proposed sale. Real estate firms must submit marketing
plans and price bids to ADOT by Sept. 8.
PHOENIX
--> 18 hats still in ring:
The list of candidates for four Phoenix City Council district seats in the Oct. 5 primary
election has been whittled to 18.
Seats in council Districts 2, 4, 6 and 8 will be contested in an
Oct. 5 primary in which 26 persons originally expressed interest by taking out nomination
petitions. Three of the four incumbents will seek re-election. Councilman Calvin Goode of
District 8 will not, having previously announced his retirement. Council seats in
odd-numbered districts will not be contested until 1995.
--> Teen club revival dies:
A plan to revive a downtown Phoenix nightclub that drew opposition from neighbors
apparently has been scrapped. Instead, Martha Torres, who is leasing the building at 1913
W. Van Buren St., plans to convert the nightclub into a restaurant, according to the
building's owner.
The building, which has been closed for about three years, formerly
was known as Siglo XXI. Neighbors said Siglo XXI was the site of drug sales and gang
violence.
--> Hotbed of activism:
City officials have detected a sharp increase in neighborhood activism within Maryvale.
The west-side community had a record 80 neighborhoods register with the Phoenix Block
Watch Advisory Board and the Police Department to participate in the Aug. 3 National Night
Out celebration.
That accounted for about one-third of
the neighborhoods citywide that held block parties and other events for Night Out, an
annual celebration to encourage neighborhoods to organize against crime. The numbers point
to a sudden growth of neighborhood activism among west-siders, one that is unmatched by
other communities, said Richard Fox, chairman of the city's Block Watch Advisory Board.
--> Mesquite bites:
Visitors to Jackson Street will have a chance to munch on mesquite-smoked barbecue at the
newest restaurant planned for the burgeoning downtown street. Bubba's Bistro is expected
to open by Christmas at the corner of Third and Jackson streets, according to two
businessmen who are planning the project.
Like many of the other Jackson Street attractions planned near
America West Arena, Bubba's Bistro will be housed in an old warehouse. The project is a
joint venture financed by Jack Exum, who owns the small town of Rock Springs north of
Phoenix, and Mike Phillips, who owns the 20,000-square-foot warehouse where the restaurant
will be built.
--> Aarons' bid:
Former Washington Elementary School District board member Barry Aarons has applied to the
county school superintendent to be appointed to the board a second time.
Maricopa County School Superintendent Sandra Dowling is looking for
candidates to replace former board member Nancy Hill, who resigned from the board July 26
to begin a new job out of state.
CHANDLER
--> Everyone makes the cut:
Junior high school students could not be dropped from the pom and cheer line during
tryouts under a proposal being considered by the Chandler Unified School District board.
''Junior high is a time of awkwardness,'' said Dale Hancock, an
assistant superintendent. ''It's probably not the best time to eliminate a person at that
time in their life.''
--> Worth the wade:
The city's newest swimming pool is a big splash with residents. Nearly 36,000 people beat
the heat by taking a dip at Desert Oasis Aquatic Center in July, bringing the two-month
total attendance to 61,000.
The pool features a large ''figure-8'' water slide, a mushroom-shaped waterfall, smaller slides for young children, a 25-yard, eight-lane competition swim area, a 1-meter diving board and a zero-depth pool starting point for young swimmers.
TEMPE
--> Cookie monster?:
At the moment, the chips are down for Susan Brooks' cookie business. Brooks, a co-owner of
Cookies From Home, a downtown business, had a colorful, graffiti-like advertising sign
painted on a wall west of the store near a parking lot. The ''O's'' in the name are
painted to resemble chocolate chip cookies.
But city sign officials cited Cookies From Home for not having a
permit for the sign and sent Brooks an application for one. If the city's Design and
Review Board approves the location of the sign, chances are Brooks still will need to get
special permission because the ad's space might exceed the area approved for businesses.
--> Trees in jeopardy:
About 50 pear trees on one of the city's most mature streets could be facing the ax.
Planned irrigation improvements to a median that runs along Alameda Drive from Rural Road
east to Dorsey Lane leave the future of the trees in serious doubt, and neighbors are
worried.
City officials say they are ready to fight a state law that requires
the trees be replaced with plants that need less water. ''We think it's not wise to take
down fairly significant-size trees and put in smaller ones,'' Public Works Director Jim
Jones said.
AHWATUKEE
--> Death of a dog:
A Great Dane is dead, and the kennel owner who was supposed to be taking care of it is
ready to quit. ''I've had enough. I'm getting out of this business,'' said Jim Walker,
owner of Walker's Kennel and Cattery, 3001 S. 45th St.
That's a small consolation for Jean Razevich of Mountain Park Ranch, who is mourning the loss of her beloved Natasha, a 175-pound black Great Dane. Razevich still doesn't believe that Natasha died Aug. 7, the day after she was left at Walker's for what was to have been a weekend kennel stay. Walker said he had Natasha autopsied and cremated, but Razevich said, ''That looks like he's destroying the evidence.''