Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 45

1 THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC mm September 8, 1998 Senior Editor, Kimberly Crockett 444-7950 My Teacher, Mist Leoni of Playa del Rey School, by Julie King, 7. i('f Online: www.azcentral.comsev wiWimmmii 1HW gl)lll-tl an 3 Wolves, Cougars and Hawks Mnrai Sam's long life stirs up turn attention to building grid strength challenging thoughts, queries 11 V7 fc 4 fu tu Jt fc 4 5 jabor Day labor: iillextra Added coverage fills a big need See Page EV4 'Duo work hard. For generations, Arizona State University has been the surging current that electrifies life in the East Valley. From academics and athletics, to cultural and social occurrences, to its role as an economic engine, ASU has established itself as a microcosm that shapes who we are and how we mature as a community. As a Research I university serving 42,000 students and affecting hundreds of thousands in the East Valley, ASU deserves comprehensive coverage.

It is a vital member of our community and will be recognized as such. Starting today, the Community edition will devote a full page of ASU news twice a week, recording campus news, issues and events. In the process, we also will examine the university through the eyes of students, faculty and staff. We also will explore the relationship ASU has with in- teracting businesses and the greater community. On Tuesday, the ASU page will replace Marketplace and on Thursday, the Scene page.

Marketplace and Scene will continue publishing the other days of the week. When the East Valley Community editions were launched in March 1997, The Arizona Republic made a commitment to our readers to provide news that affects readers' daily lives. The ASU page will do that. Tell us what you think. Call (444-7950), e-mail (Kimberly.Crockettpni.com) or write us a letter at Vie Arizona Republic, 106 E.

Baseline Road, Mesa, AZ 85210. We look forward from hearing from you. Kimberty Crockett, Senior Editor. By Barbara Yost The Arizona Republic MESA Not all labor occurs in fields and factories. Sometimes, the most difficult labor goes on in small rooms of maternity wards where hard-working women produce new life.

They are not paid for their toil. They have no union representation. There is no overtime. "It's the hardest thing," said Heather Lambert of Mesa, who delivered her fourth child at 12:07 a.m. Monday, making Erin Lambert the first baby born on Labor Day 1998 at Desert Samaritan Medical Center.

"But it's got the. best reward." If a trend continues, the hospital could set another record for deliveries this month. In August, Desert Sam welcomed 644 newborns, breaking its record of 615 births set in 1995. About 500 babies are usually born each month. September could be another record-breaker, said Betty Cole, an assistant director of Labor and Delivery.

Before gossip-mongers begin counting backward nine months to holiday party time, Cole points out that the East Valley is experiencing a growth spurt, which is probably responsible for the increase in births year-round. "It seems to be a large influx of people in their child-bearing years," she said, predicting a continued boom. "It's going to be interesting to see what happens." Please see MOM, Page EV3 Michael MeisterThe Arizona Republic Heather Lambert gives Erin a welcoming squeeze. The two worked very hard during the night, and at 12:07 a.m., Erin became the first Labor Day 1998 baby at Desert Samaritan Medical Center. They are doing just fine.

Traisformatiomi of Tri-City? Volunteers needed for Oktoberfest in Tempe Event will benefit Sister City program 44 A razed site could yield retail offices No one wants to go back into a mall as it now sits. If the property is reworked, we have several interested retailers and office users. Mike Didiminico vice president of rubin cos. IIMIIII.yaMMUIitlUU"UI!ti I j. i IMiillis iMiMi iiin mini vwmm n.ui sttsittHiMvmmi -i mmm J'f It BjtTO I MAr 1 li Hi i -I pi''i Pi T'j-' I I vv -sy iHr.s -rJ yjmt 9.

By Lisa Gonderinger The Arizona Republic Mesa The dying Tri-City Mall may be resuscitated. A preliminary proposal calls for most of the mall, a piece of Valley retailing history, to be razed and rebuilt. The entire 39-acre site at Main Street and Dobson Road will be turned into an open-air mix of offices, big discount stores and a neighborhood grocery center. "No one wants wants to go back into a mall as it now sits," said Mike Didiminico, a vice president with Rubin a Phoenix company that bought the mall two years ago with hope of breathing new life into it. "If the property is reworked, we have several interested retailers and office users." The mall was one of the first in the Valley when it was built in 1968, and it bustled with activity and prominence for many years.

But it has been losing its shine, tenants and customers ever since the Superstition Freeway and Fiesta Mall were built in the late 1970s, moving Mesa's commercial core a few miles to the southeast. Tri-City has survived half empty for years, but most saw last month's departure of JCPenney, an original tenant and the mall's only anchor department store for many years, as certain death for the property. JCPenney took up half of the mall's square footage. Only six tenants are left Walgreen 's, Furr's Cafeteria, Beall's outlet, Radio Shack, General Nutrition Centers and a Western wear store called Western Village and they are expected to move out in the coming months, Didiminico said. Plans for rebuilding the 39-acre site are still jelling.

Didiminico said he has had The closed 5 Theatres at Tri-City Mall offer testimony to the longtime Mesa mall's demise. But a new day may beckon for the retail center If a proposal to raze and rebuild on the site is accepted. For now, a lone worker perfunc-, torily cleans up what litter can be found on the property. By Monica Davis Special for The Republic TEMPE Jane Neuheisel hopes to sell a ton of bratwurst. She wants to empty the beer kegs, too.

And she'll be overjoyed if the raffle tickets for a trip to Germany sell out. Neuheisel is counting on big things from the Way Out West Oktoberfest next month at Hayden Square in Tempe. And to feed the hungry crowds, organizers have begun this month recruiting volunteers for the annual event at Fourth Street and Mill Avenue. The Oktoberfest will benefit the Tempe Sister City program, which gives local students and teachers the opportunity to visit foreign countries and gives students and others from foreign countries a chance to visit Tempe. "That's the money we use to underwrite the student exchange, teacher exchange and, from time to time, professional exchange," Neuheisel said.

Proceeds from the Oktoberfest and other fund-raising events cover airfare costs so students, teachers and others only have to worry about paying their expenses when they travel to one of the sister cities. They live with a host family. Proceeds also are used to fund local trips when sister cities' residents visit Tempe. "It's our major fund-raiser," said Neuheisel, Oktoberfest coordinator and Tempe Sister City board member. "We would like to make at least $75,000." The Oktoberfest will be held 5 p.m.

to midnight Oct. 2, 10 a.m. to midnight Oct. 3 and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Oct. 4. Admission is free. The entertainment will include country-Western acts, polka bands, games, rides and storytellers. A silent auction will feature Beanie Babies, travel packages and a Planet Hollywood leather jacket autographed by 60 athletes.

Several representatives of Tempe 's sister cities will attend the Oktoberfest, including the mayor of Regensburg, Germany, several native New Zealanders and a delegation from Tempe's newest sister city Carlow, Ireland. The Tempe Sister City Corp. started the exchange program with Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, in 1971. Tempe has six sister cities, including Zhenjiang, China; Tim- Please see OKTOBERFEST, Page EV3 Michael MeisterThe Arizona Republic box" tenants typically found at power centers, such as Home Depot and Office Max-type stores. There would also be smaller neighborhood retailers, "a place to drop off your mail or get your hair cut," Didimin- Please see DYING, Page EV3 Main that house restaurants and a tire store will remain.

The rebuilt retail site would target residents within a three- or four-mile radius, instead of aiming for the regional draw of a mall or a power center. Besides a grocery store, developers would hope to lure a handful of "big preliminary meetings with Mesa officials and will be giving them a more detailed plan next month. He said he expects the JCPenney space to be the only part of the old mall to remain standing, and that it will likely be converted into office space. Four free-standing buildings along ALL SALES I tit miMrtrrifrlt Western Village hangs on till the very last minute WALLETS I $8.88 each ON VACATION BUCKLES $8,88 each last week, employees had to keep the store open an extra hour because so many customers had filtered in near closing time. "I'd stay right here if I could, even if nobody else ever moved in," Thorpe said, gesturing to the cavernous mall filled with abandoned storefronts.

The store has been Western Village's only location for five years. "We're kind of a destination shop," Thorpe said. "We didn't really draw a lot of the J.C. Please see WESTERN, Page EV3 Tri-City, and surprisingly, she isn't quite ready to mosey on out of the retailing ghost town. As she prepares to close the doors of her Western wear shop next Tuesday, Thorpe is seeing the equivalent of a retailing minimiracle: business is still flowing.

In fact, as shops all around her have jumped ship, including the mall's last anchor, J.C. Penney, Western Village has continued to draw as many as 50 customers a day, she says. The shop has actually seen an increase in business in 1998. As recently as By Lisa Gonderinger The Arizona Republic Mesa Leaving Mesa's aging Tri-City Mall is something most retailers couldn't do" fast enough over the past few years. After all, the main benefit of being in a mall is that neighboring stores can tap into each other's customers.

As the number of shops dwindled at Tri-City, so did the point for most. But not for Donna Thorpe, owner of Western Village. Hers is the last independent store in if Michael MeisterThe Arizona Republic After months of hoping to retain a spot at Tri-City Mall, Western Village's sales are finally final. The store's last day is next Tuesday. ART TKOMASON Republic Columnist.