www.SanTanSun.com Publisher’sNote
The President comes to town
It’s always a big deal when the President of the United States makes a visit, but when he lands in our own backyard, it’s pretty exciting. We filled out the White House media forms to be included in the press area at the construction site of Intel’s new $5 billion fab on the Ocotillo Campus off Queen Creek Road, and then waited
to see if we’d be “confirmed.”
Some thought because we’re a small community paper, we wouldn’t get in. But President Obama and Intel both probably want all the publicity they can get, so it was not a surprise to me to get the confirmation to send two of our team to witness and report on the event. Many years ago, as a new broadcast journalist and videographer for an NBC affiliate in my home state of Iowa, I was assigned to cover a visit from then-President Ronald Reagan. Even for the day, security was very tight. I remember being fairly incredulous that they would look through the lens of my video camera, reach into each and every bag and scrutinize all the media, who were just there to do our jobs. So, despite the electronic world we live in now to check references, security around the president was still at a very high level. There were bomb-sniffing dogs, lots of Secret Service, snipers, and who knows how many undercover officers.
But it was a bright and sunny Chandler day that welcomed President Obama, who commented, “It never gets above 70 degrees, does it?” In the 6,000-member audience were local dignitaries including Chandler Mayor Jay Tibshraeny, five of the six councilmembers and many Intel employees. It also had to be a great day for Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini, who Obama noted as “someone whose advice I rely on as a member of my Jobs Council,” when the president of the United States says he wants to come see his new building – and the “huge” cranes helping with construction.
A lot of area residents posted videos, photos and other comments on the SanTan Sun News Facebook page, including Laurie Neighbors, who uploaded the invitation sent to her husband, Gangplank’s Derek Neighbors; Allison Warren, artistic director of Ocotillo Dance Center, who got video of the presidential motorcade leaving Ocotillo; and Marnie Brookins of Southern Chandler, who posted a photo of the motorcade as it headed back to Air Force One at Phoenix / Mesa Gateway Airport. Sadly, a number of other Facebookers also posted rude and disrespectful messages against Obama.
Whatever your political persuasion, the majority of the people there respected the office of the president, and it was a great feather in the collective caps of those at Intel, with City of Chandler government and us living and working in this community to have President Obama visit. And, as publisher of the SanTan Sun News, I’m thrilled to be able to feature a photo of the president on our cover, and Geoff Hancock was excited to be there to take it.
Thanks, as always, to those of you reading this, whether with your cup of coffee at the kitchen table or online at
www.SanTanSun.com.
Oops – We are sorry for getting the wrong last name in the Jan. 21 cover and story for Niki Pascale’s husband, Darren Pascale, of NY 54 Pizza & Ristorante at Arizona Avenue and Ocotillo Road. We have corrected our online version of the story at
www.SanTanSun.com and we apologize for the error.
Laurie Fagen, Publisher Laurie Fagen Publisher DEADLINES:
In the Jan. 7 issue’s Year in review story, we selected a photo of Athlos Traditional School to go with a headline from a story about Chandler Unified School District adapting to population shifts. Athlos, a Legacy Traditional School in Arizona, is a charter school and not part of CUSD. We apologize for the error.
The Deadline for Editorial and Advertising for the FEBRUARY 16, 2002 issue is
MAILING ADDRESS: PO Box 23 Chandler, AZ 85244-0023
TELEPHONE: 480-732-0250
FAX LINE: 480-883-8714
©2012 SanTan Sun News
For News Tips, Classified Ads, Editorial Articles, or Letters, email is preferred.
NEWS EMAIL ADDRESS:
News@SanTanSun.com
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Ads@SanTanSun.com
WEBSITE ADDRESS:
www.SanTanSun.com
Deadlines for the February 18, 2012 issue: EDITORIAL AND ADVERTISING: noon, Wednesday, Feb. 8
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2002
38,000 Total Circulation 29,500+ Driveways
Fifty square mile coverage area from Price/101 to Greenfield and from Frye to Hunt Highway.
PUBLISHER Laurie Fagen
ADVERTISING/PRODUCTION Geoff Hancock
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Darlene Keberle
GRAPHIC ARTS/PRODUCTION Shawn Patrick
WEBSITE MAINTAINED BY Susan Kovacs, n-ergizing
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Jane Meyer Debbie Jennings
WRITERS Susan Henderson, Managing Editor Lynda Exley, Editor Mark Scarp, Technical Editor
Andy Gutierrez K.M. Lang Sharon McCarson Lora Robinson Kevin Rolfe
Alison Stanton Miriam Van Scott Ann Videan Joan Westlake
CONTRIBUTORS Sue Bowers, Suzanne Incorvaia, Kristen Boyd, Christine Diaz, Susan Hegarty, Kerry Kester, Robyn Kelly, Kristen Pearson, Kathie Butters, Ximena Rodriguez, Tammy Douglas, Nasreen Wahid, Laura Thornburg
Opinion Community Commentary
Chandler ‘Best Run City’ for many reasons
by Mayor Jay Tibshraeny
Financial website
247wallst.com has listed the City of Chandler as one of the Best Run Cities in America. This is great news for Chandler – we finished 9th on the list of American cities of similar or larger size – and validates our hard work to ensure residents get the most for their hard- earned taxpayer dollars.
Cities on the list were ranked on violent crime stats, poverty rate, adult population that has graduated from
high school and financial credit ratings. Chandler ranked among the best in all categories.
The highly esteemed
247wallst.com is a financial company that produces content for sites including MarketWatch, DailyFinance, Yahoo! Finance and
TheStreet.com. The list was picked up by a number of media outlets giving our community great national exposure as a great place to live and grow a business. The list represents many of the positives about Chandler in the wake of a challenging economic time.
Many of the categories, public safety, education and our financial picture, will be discussed at length on Tue., Feb. 7 during my annual State of the City Address.
That night officially kicks off the City’s Centennial celebration with a 100-day countdown to our birthday, which takes place May 17. That night there will be a number of announcements regarding the many Centennial contests we have in place including the official start of the Whiskerino – beard-growing – Contest. Residents are also encouraged to bring items to be placed in the community time capsule to be dedicated in May.
While much of the evening will be devoted to the Centennial Celebration, I will also discuss the future of Chandler. This will include a look at our economic development efforts, continued job creation, our work to partner with the State universities and other programs directed at the local business community. I have a lot of exciting news to share with our community.
I hope you will take this opportunity to attend. This is a great time to celebrate our 100 years as a community, as well as to learn more about where we are headed as a City.
As a native of Chandler, I am personally thrilled to be involved in this celebration. I have witnessed quite a bit of change in my time, and look forward to many more years of innovation, prosperity and growth. Beginning with Dr. Chandler’s extraordinary vision, so many have contributed to the success that defines our City today. Whether raising a family, cultivating a business or simply enjoying a wonderful quality of life, Chandler enjoys the distinction of being a truly great place to be. We are all proud of Chandler and want to welcome everyone to our Centennial celebration.
To learn more visit
www.chandler100th.com and follow me on Twitter @jaytibshraeny.
February 4 - 17, 2012
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