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Surprise City Council gave its final stamp of approval Tuesday for BNSF Railway Co.'s first application to the city for its planned rail complex and logistics center.

In a key first step to building a 4,000-acre intermodal and industrial hub, the freight giant had applied in 2022 for a major change to the city's general plan to allow for industrial development.

The city approved the plan unanimously at Tuesday evening's meeting, with some Council members stating they approved it so they can see more plans from BNSF. Following the approval, BNSF is now expected to submit applications to rezone and annex the massive property into Surprise, which has continued to grow northwest in recent years.

The Texas company, which had original plans to build an intermodal facility in the same area in the 2000s, wants to build its regional rail hub east of 235th Avenue between U.S. Highway 60 and State Route 74, which connects to Interstate 17 by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s new factory in north Phoenix.

The approval came a couple of weeks after Surprise's planning commission recommended Council pass the general plan amendment despite limited details presented by BNSF and some opposition from commissioners.

The company previously said that the project could see 30 million-plus square feet of industrial development and estimated that its facility will produce 11,500 construction jobs and represent $1.5 billion in one-time construction economic impacts.

As they did in the 2000s, dozens of rural residents who live in and around the BNSF site have continued voicing their concerns and opposition against the project. Residents say they are concerned about pollution from the project, impact to water wells, the environment and wildlife, and the already-strained traffic in the area.

If the city did not approve the applications from BNSF, Nick Wood, a legal representative for BNSF, said the company would move forward with the project with Maricopa County instead of the city of Surprise, although it's unclear if the county would approve BNSF's plans.

"If that's the case, I would rather that the city of Surprise was a partner with you to help solve a lot of the problems that this is going to cause for our community," said Vice Mayor Chris Judd at the meeting. "I would rather we had some say in the matter instead of just sitting back and saying, 'Well we can't do anything, we didn't let them into the city of Surprise.'"

Judd also questioned what kind of materials BNSF freight typically carries in light of the Norfolk Southern Ohio train derailments that have occurred this year for trains carrying toxic chemicals, resulting in evacuations and fires.

"Railroads have a common carrier obligation. They have to haul all freight, as long as it's presented in the appropriate tank car that meets federal requirements," the company said at the meeting on Tuesday.

BNSF said its rail line currently runs from Flagstaff to Phoenix and that it has 78 industrial companies that take a few cars each week that includes hazmat such as propane, asphalt, fertilizer, ethanol, chlorine and lime.

"These are all hazmat commodities that we transport," the company said. "Building this project, if we do build it, doesn't change that at all. ... 99.999% of all hazmat shipments that are on the BNSF arrive at their destination without any incident whatsoever" such as derailment or a valve that hasn't been properly tightened, the company said.

BNSF also claimed that it is "40% better" on incidents involving rail equipment and reducing incidents than other U.S. railroads and that it has extensive safety and tracking processes. It said most of its rail operates in rural areas and that it believes its project is a better way to serve the growth in Arizona.

"This is something we take very seriously," BNSF said. "We'll continue to do what we have to do as a common carrier railroad under that obligation, but we want to do it safely, because these are the communities where our employees live."

Wood said the company is trying to expand the city's employment base to help bring more workers to the West Valley as opposed to driving east.

"Five years ago, your working residents, more than 80% of them worked outside the city of Surprise," Wood said at the meeting. "What you've done by expanding your employment base is remarkable ... What we're trying to do here is expand that employment base even more."

He said they aren't asking the city to approve a zoning case but to changing "a color on the map" from residential to employment.

"If you approve this tonight, it doesn't give us any rights, it doesn't give us any development rights," he said. "We can't do any physical changes to the site. All you will be doing tonight if you approve this is giving us an opportunity to file a zoning case."

Council member Aly Cline also brought up concerns over traffic on Grand Avenue and said Surprise has reached out to the state Legislature and federal representation about traffic concerns along that roadway.

Wood said BNSF doesn't want to diminish or minimize any of the resident's legitimate concerns, and added that it has not yet "spent the millions of dollars it's going to take to put together a comprehensive zoning case on a property of this size and scope." He said many of residents' questions will be answered as part of their zoning case.

You’ve heard the jokes about memory loss and aging. Some are really humorous because forgetfulness can happen to everybody at one time or another, but memory loss tied to dementia is no laughing matter.

As older adults move toward the age of retirement, more and more people find themselves facing Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. In 2022, the Alzheimer’s Association reported that approximately 6.5 million people were living with Alzheimer’s, the main cause of dementia.

Of that number, approximately 150,000 Arizonans are living with Alzheimer’s disease while an estimated 257,000 Arizonans are caring for a friend or family member with dementia. With someone in the US developing the disease every 66 seconds, the number of people age 65 and older with Alzheimer's is projected to reach 12.7 million by the year 2050.

Dementia-friendly communities are becoming increasingly vital in helping people live well with Alzheimer’s or dementia-related memory loss so they remain a vital part of their communities. A dementia-friendly community is a city, town or neighborhood where people with dementia are understood, respected and supported. It’s a community that is taking action to foster quality of life for people living with dementia and their caregivers by decreasing the stigma, increasing opportunities for meaningful social interaction, and offering support in addressing the changing needs of people living with dementia.

In a dementia-friendly community, people are aware of and understand dementia, so that people with memory loss due to Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease or other dementias can continue to live in the way they want to and in the community they choose.

Too many people affected by dementia feel society fails to understand the condition they live with, its impact, or how to interact with them. People with dementia sometimes feel they need to withdraw from their community as the condition progresses. If appropriately supported, they can continue to play an active and valuable role even years after diagnosis.

Dementia-friendly communities are growing and many states are initiating the idea as their citizens age. In 2020, Pima Council on Aging was selected as one of the 12 organizations in the nation to receive funding for a three-year program to improve dementia-specialized support for people living with Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias and their caregivers, with a special focus on those living alone and underserved populations.

PCOA’s three-year, one-million-dollar award has been funding various community initiatives to increase an understanding of Alzheimer’s and related dementias. PCOA is working with local governments to create a dementia-friendly community blueprint. They have helped spearhead Memory Cafés in the greater Tucson-metro area, as well as partnered with local businesses to provide training and support to caregivers in the workplace.

PCOA describes a Memory Café as “a welcoming place for those experiencing memory loss, their friends, family and caregivers.” Anyone is invited to come and socialize with others in a supportive and entertaining environment at no cost.

PCOA joined forces with the United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona to partner with the following organizations to meet the goals of the project:

• University of Arizona Center of Aging

• La Posada Community Services

• Elder Alliance

• The End of Life Care Partnership

• Banner Alzheimer’s Institute

• Intermountain Centers

• Casa de la Luz Hospice

• Alzheimer’s Association

• Tucson Collaborative Community Care (TC3)

• Interfaith Community Services

La Posada Community Services, with help from Dementia Capable Southern Arizona through PCOA, started holding a Memory Café one Saturday each month at the La Posada Community Center. The next one is Saturday, Feb. 18, from 1-2 p.m. at the La Posada Community Center, 780 S. Park Center Ave., Green Valley. Call Ellen at 520-393-6840 or email: emarch@casagv.org to reserve a place at the café.

The United Methodist of Green Valley recently launched a task force made up of church members and other area residents to research the possible need for a dementia-friendly congregation and sharing those ideas with the community. Their goal was to learn the facts and fallacies about dementia and to discover the resources available to those family or friends who are caregiving for a loved one with memory loss.

The task force has hosted a free forum series, Caring Through Dementia, with topics ranging from “What is dementia?” to the dynamics of caregiving and community resources. The next forum is Thursday, Feb. 16 at 2 p.m. in Johnson Hall at the United Methodist Church of Green Valley, 300 W. Esperanza Blvd, Green Valley. Guest speakers will present information about the legal and financial matters related to dementia, followed by questions from the audience. The last series of the forum will be held Thursday, Feb. 23 at 2 p.m., again in Johnson Hall, and will focus on ways to help make Green Valley a “dementia-friendly community.”

“Forever Now” is an inspirational song dedicated by Michael Bublé to his children in which he tells them, “I'm always gonna lift you up and I'm never gonna let you down.” It captures the sentiment that our kids need all of the love and encouragement we can give them so that they can grow strong and self-confident.

We at the Green Valley News/Sahuarita Sun and the Nogales International try to do our part with our annual AZ19 Most Influential Youth awards ceremony. We celebrate all kinds of accomplishments — volunteers, scholarship winners, and innovators, and even those who perform big and small acts of kindness in their communities or neighborhoods. We want to cheer them on as they head into the future to one day become leaders.

We’d like to showcase and put a face on some of these young people, and we need your help. It’s easy, just click on gvnews.com/youth/f2022_az19_most_influential_youth/ and fill out the nomination form, or email me at dsanchez@gvnews.com. Include the name, email address and phone number of your nominee, their parent/guardian names and contact information, the age of the nominee and where they attend school. Kids, you can nominate yourself or a family member.

Also, include a few lines about why the nominee is among the AZ-19 Influential Youths — what do they do that makes them such a terrific part of our community? We’re looking for ages, kindergarten through senior year of high school.

We’ll dig in and do more research. Nominations are open through April 9.

The nominee doesn’t necessarily have to be high-profile in the community, at school, or do work that touches hundreds of lives — though we’d welcome those, too. But let’s not overlook the everyday students, younger and older, who make others’ lives better through big acts and small.

Maybe it’s a knack for welcoming new kids at school, helping others with homework, or lending a hand to their elderly neighbors.

We’ll honor the winners at a breakfast scheduled for Saturday, May 6.

Anyone interested in helping out the cause, we have sponsorships available. Please call me for more information at (520) 547-9722 or email me. We look forward to hearing from you and honoring our young people!

PHOENIX, March 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- San Francisco-based real estate firm Hamilton Zanze (HZ) has acquired the 296-unit Springs at Deer Valley apartment community in Phoenix. The purchase marks the firm's seventh property in their current portfolio in the state of Arizona. The community will be rebranded as the Ironwood at Happy Valley apartments.

The property was marketed by Walker & Dunlop's investment sales team, led by Dan Woodward, David Potarf, Matt Barnett, and Jake Young.

Built in 2021, Ironwood at Happy Valley is located at 24025 N. 23^rd Ave in the desirable Deer Valley submarket, a 23-minute drive from Downtown Phoenix. The property is close to the $12 billion Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company manufacturing campus.

"We are excited to further expand our presence in Phoenix with the purchase of this community," said David Nelson, Hamilton Zanze's chief investment officer. "The brand-new garden-style asset features institutional-quality amenities, an ideal location in the booming Deer Valley submarket, convenient proximity to the Shoppes at Norterra and Happy Valley Towne Center, and access to the largest employers in North Phoenix, like Taiwan Semiconductors, USAA, Discover Financial, Honeywell, Cigna, Cox Communications, Mayo Clinic, and Merrill Lynch. This property is in a strong position due to its stable, high-income tenant base, proximity to internationally recognized job drives, and extremely competitive amenity and interior package. We believe Ironwood at Happy Valley will be an asset to the local community for years to come."

The property includes 296,518 net rentable square feet across 12 two-floor residential buildings. The units average 1,002 square feet with private balconies/patios, spacious walk-in closets, and in-unit washers and dryers. Community amenities include an outdoor barbecue area, a resort-style swimming pool, an on-site car maintenance center, a pet playground and park, a 24-hour fitness center, and attached and detached garage options.

HZ will execute a capital improvements campaign that includes building, amenity, and green improvements. Additionally, management of the property has also been transitioned to HZ affiliate .

To learn more about Ironwood at , please visit .

Hamilton Zanze (HZ) is a private, San Francisco-based real estate investment company that owns and operates apartment communities. Since its founding in 2001, Hamilton Zanze has acquired over $6.2 billion in multifamily assets primarily in the Western, Southwestern, and Eastern U.S. The company currently owns and operates 132 properties (22,821 units) across 17 states and 30 markets. For additional information, visit .

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In November, heavy-equipment giant Caterpillar Inc. unveiled a demonstration of its first prototype all-electric mining truck, built at its Tucson Proving Ground in Green Valley.

The company plans to test a fleet of its electric model 793 haul trucks with mining partners across the globe starting next year, ahead of mass production planned in four or five years, a senior Caterpillar executive said this week.

But Caterpillar doesn’t just plan on selling electric mining trucks.

The company, a longtime supplier of large industrial diesel generator sets for mining and other applications, wants to help its mining customers create their own “microgrids” using renewable energy like solar and wind and battery storage to help fuel its electric trucks.

At the Tucson Proving Ground, Caterpillar is building a demonstration site where solar arrays and wind turbines paired with batteries will generate and store renewable energy to create self-sustaining microgrids, while exploring onsite production of hydrogen for fuel.

“What we’re developing is a mine site of the future, so that we can demonstrate to our customers exactly what they need to transform with their mine sites,” said Denise Johnson, president of Caterpillar’s Resource Industries Group.

“We want to be able to show how it could be done and then validate that it’s something that will work in a setting that is pretty rigorous,” Johnson, who is based in Irving, Texas, said during a visit to the proving ground last week.

Sun, wind and storage

Caterpillar, which has operated the proving ground in the shadow of Freeport McMoRan’s Sierrita Mine since 1990 and opened a major mining technology center on the west side of downtown Tucson in 2019, has been trying to stay ahead of the technology curve for years.

In 2016, the company installed an initial 500 kilowatts of photovoltaic panels and commensurate energy storage to create a hybrid solar-diesel microgrid at the Tucson Proving Ground — which is not hooked up to local utility power — to cut the off-grid facility’s reliance on diesel generation.

The system was designed to supply much of the power needed to run the off-grid proving-ground site and allow Caterpillar to demo its then-new line of microgrid products, which range from mobile trailer-mounted rigs to scalable custom, on-site installations.

Caterpillar later expanded solar array at the proving ground to 750kW and plans to expand that to 2 megawatts. The company also plans to install two wind turbines by next year that will generate about 3MW, as well as 18 megawatt-hours of on-site battery storage.

The system already is supplying the off-grid Tucson Proving Ground with all of its power, and the new solar, wind and storage capacity will support more electrified machines at the site in the future, the company says.

Johnson said the green microgrid project at the Tucson Proving Ground is an important part of the company’s efforts to reach its sustainability goals, and by extension, the goals of mining customers looking to reduce their carbon footprints.

“At our core, Caterpillar is a technology company, and one that really believes in sustainability,” she said. “It’s one of our core values and certainly something that we see as important to our future as a company. The other piece is certainly the pull from customers, so the combination of the two of them really made sense for us to move quickly and be one of the first to lead in the industry.”

Making sustainable microgrid technologies affordable for customers also is a priority, Johnson said.

The gigantic model 793 electric haul truck prototype is based on a diesel-powered version with a 256-ton payload capacity that costs about $6 million.

The electric version is expected to cost more, though pricing has yet to be decided and will depend on the final production design, Johnson said, noting that higher upfront costs for electric trucks is partly offset by lower operating costs.

“We’re still working through all the designs of everything so we know they’ll be more expensive, but you’re offsetting that by no longer buying diesel fuel,” she said.

The electric mining trucks also could be outfitted to drive themselves. Caterpillar was one of the first companies to offer autonomously-operated haul trucks and last year said its fleet of more than 500 of such trucks was the largest in the world.

Caterpillar developed the electric truck prototype with support from key mining customers participating in Caterpillar’s “Early Learner” customer collaboration program, including Phoenix-based Freeport McMoRan, BHP, Newmont Corp., Rio Tinto and Teck Resources Ltd.

The program, launched in 2021, focuses on accelerating the development and validation of Caterpillar’s battery electric trucks at participating customers’ sites.

By early next year, Johnson said, the electric trucks will begin testing at customer sites in a process expected to go on for couple of years, with production expected by 2027 or 2028.

“The idea here is that we’re going to learn with the mining company, how these machines interact around the site, what it takes to charge them, recharge them, to actually have them move across the infrastructure,” she said.

Caterpillar also offers solar panels supplied through major manufacturers, its own line of battery units for energy storage, backup power and grid stabilization for renewable resources, as well as master system controllers, power inverters and switching equipment.

The company can custom-design microgrids at mining sites by integrating renewables like solar and wind with storage to provide power for when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind isn’t blowing, with diesel generators for backup power.

At the Tucson Proving Ground, Caterpillar also will be exploring production of hydrogen fuel for power generation using on-site renewable energy, as well as biofuel made from vegetable oils.

Caterpillar generator units have been capable of burning a partial blend of hydrogen for years, and in 2021, the company began offering custom generator sets capable of operating on 100% hydrogen, as well as gensets that can be configured to operate on natural gas blended with up to 25% hydrogen.

“We will use hydrogen as a storage mechanism, if we have access to wind or solar,” Johnson said. “Instead of just letting that go to waste, we will actually make hydrogen to store energy.”

The company also plans to install a fuel cell to turn hydrogen into electricity, and two gensets capable of running on a blend of natural gas, 100% hydrogen or a blend of both.

Caterpillar also will be exploring renewable biofuels at the proving ground, Johnson said.

“We’ll have standby power that will be leveraged using natural gas and other fuels,” she said. “HVO, hydrogenated or hydro-treated vegetable oil, is a new fuel that is zero-emitting and would be considered a biofuel.”

With no formal writing background, Tucson native Jim Clarke set out to record and share his family's deep ties to a town close to his heart — Arivaca.

Clarke's book "Arivaca Out Yonder: A Novel of the Bar-V-Bar Ranch" became available about a month ago on Amazon, and he's already found some success during the Festival of Books in Tucson on March 4-5.

Clarke, 80, initially found taking on the project a bit intimidating, adding he had to take his first-year English class twice while at the University of Arizona.

He said he didn't feel relief after writing the book until he found himself holding a printed copy following the editing and production process.

"I told Chris, the publisher, if we get it done in time, I'm going try to rent a space at the Festival of Books in Tucson," Clarke said. "So, I did — rented a space. Now, I'm not relieved anymore. I'm all stressed because I'm trying to get ready for this festival. I've never been to one of them before, you know."

Clarke initially ordered 70 copies to sell at the festival — 20 hardcovers and 50 paperbacks. After hearing from others that a story featuring local Southern Arizona History could bring much interest, he stocked up with 105 mixed copies, eventually selling 92 during the festival.

Clarke is also working on getting the Pima County Library to add his book to its collection.

Clarke, now a Caldwell, Idaho, resident, found the historical fiction based on the life of his grandparents, Phil and Gypsy Clarke, provided a great story to highlight life in Arivaca and Southern Arizona ranching communities along the borderlands.

Phil was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1888, eventually immigrating to New York City with his family. But Phil didn't like the city and, in time, went west to become a cowboy, telling his mother he planned to head "out yonder."

Gypsy, born in December 1887 in Sweet Home, Texas, was two weeks older than Phil. She eventually made her way to Los Angeles, where she tried to find work as a school teacher but came up short on job prospects. As luck would have it, she received an offer through a teaching agency to fill a position in the small Southern Arizona town of Arivaca, where she would meet her future husband, Phil.

The two eventually fell in love, although Clarke said the rough-and-tumble city kid turned cowboy Phil and prim and proper Gypsy were opposites at first.

From ranch hand to shop owner to rancher and banker, Phil and Gypsy led a storied life, spending time in Arivaca, Ruby and Tucson. Clarke grew up in the county southwest of Tucson on a farm near Irvington and Mission roads, but he spent a good part of his early life in Arivaca.

"Phil Clarke and Gypse started the ranch in 1910 and created the Bar-V-Bar brand in 1913," Clarke said. "So, the ranch name, or brand, is actually over 100 years old and still registered in Arizona."

Clarke's father, Dan, and his uncle Mike ran the ranch for Phil later in life, eventually taking over its ownership. Clarke said some family members still own a section of the original ranchland but added the bulk of it is no longer with the family.

Clarke moved to Idaho about 40 years ago, eventually becoming a John Deere dealer. Clarke said he regularly visited Tucson and Arivaca over the years since, especially during the last 2.5 years while working on the book.

"Surprisingly, it's very similar," he said about Arivaca compared to its past. "Believe it or not, Arivaca is about the same size today as it was in 1910."

Clarke found that Arivaca remaining cattle and mining country is the area's biggest similarity with its past.

Clarke also had a winter home in Green Valley for about nine years before selling it.

He always found a special interest in Southern Arizona history among Green Valley's winter and permanent residents. Clarke also hoped to find some interest in the book's story after he got the idea to turn his grandparents' lives into historical fiction with a western theme.

"Everybody in the Clarke family has been talking for 50 years — 'Somebody should tell this story. Somebody should tell the story of Phil and Gypsy. How they came together and where they came from and why and what they did,'" Clarke said.

Clarke said he thought about it for a long time and eventually decided it was something he wanted to do now that he was retired.

"I got a couple of my cousins and nieces involved to help me gather research data from the Historical Society in Tucson," he said.

Clarke also found a lucky break when he met with a former librarian and Arivaca historian, Mary Kasualitis.

"Boy, she just got right on it with me," he said. "She just got to helping me."

Kasualitis said it's nice to see a story set in Arivaca that provides a slice of life during the early 1900s. While many events and names remained the same, Kasualitis said readers should look at the story as historical fiction when appreciating it due to some changes along the way.

"I wrote stories about them in the Arivaca paper, which has now folded...," she said about Phil and Gypsy. "So, I knew something about them. One of (Clarke's) cousins gave me a bunch of papers of his grandmother's, copies of her stories, and I had a book that she wrote in the '30s that my aunt had saved."

While Clarke said he learned plenty of new things from Kasualitis, she said she also picked up some new things from him, like Phil and Gypsy's time in Ruby during the Mexican Revolution from 1910 to 1920.

"It was pretty dangerous because it was during the Mexican Revolution, and there's a lot of banditos back and forth," Kasualitis said. "But nobody messed with his grandfather ever because his grandfather was just really tough and had exhibited toughness from the day he walked into the Arivaca store because he came from New York and was a tough Irish kid."

Kasualitis noted how Clarke captured the area's willingness to speak Spanish through Phil and Gypsy learning the language to communicate with fellow residents.

"That I think is real good to realize," she said. "I know that's what happened to my family... And I can remember my dad, if he ever encountered somebody who, especially people that he knew who spoke Spanish and English, they would always speak together in Spanish. And I think he thought of it as a respectful thing. You know, respect their language."

Clarke will return to Green Valley in May to speak with the local Westerners International group, where he's looking forward to talking about his book and Phil and Gypsy's story.

He said he would be lucky to make back half of what he invested in the book and doesn't anticipate cutting a profit. But Clarke found his primary goal is telling and preserving his grandparents' story while giving people in Southern Arizona a look back at the ranching life along the borderlands.

"For me, right now, I really just want to share this story," he said. "That's what I want to do."

PHOENIX — Celebrate St. Patrick's Day in the Valley! Enjoy the fun festivities and great deals from participating restaurants.

Hash Kitchen is featuring a specialty golden green bloody mary drink for St. Patrick's Day. Customers also receive a gold chain with any purchase of the tomatillo bloody mary drink. Click here to find a location.Dates: March 17-19

Use the promotion code “GREEN” online, dine-in or drive-thru at Someburros to get $4 green chile beef burritos (limit five per order). With 13 locations in the Valley, click here to find one.

The Sicilian Baker is presenting an Irish-green pistachio cannoli filling flavor! Take some home for $6 each or enjoy a dozen for $68. Customers can customize their own cannoli by picking their own shell, cream flavor, and topping. Click here to find the nearest location.

Dish some green pasta at The Sicilian Butcher. This eatery also offers a make-your-own meatball plate and visitors can choose from six meatball selections and 10 sauce variations. Find the nearest location here.

Stop by Koibito Poke wearing green on the 17th and receive 20% off your poke bowl! With four locations in the Valley, click here to find the nearest one.

Over Easy is serving up a classic dish for this holiday. The plate includes, corned beef hash, two any-style eggs, Vienna corned beef, diced potatoes, onion, bell peppers, and a side of toast. Enjoy a kiwi mimosa to complete the meal! Find the nearest location here.

Stop by the Sangria Social at the Queen Creek Olive Mill on Saturday, March 18! Sangrias will be made green for the holiday. Di Olives Restaurant & Bar will also be serving a carafe of Sangria and a Spanish meat-and-cheese board for $34. Go in from 7-9 p.m. and receive $6 off carafes of Sangria.Location: 25062 South Meridian Road, Queen Creek, AZ 85142

U.S. Egg is taking their coffee-themed cocktails to Ireland. Guests at this eatery can enjoy the signature drinks like an Irish coffee, Bailey’s coffee, or Dreamsicle cocktail. With six Valley locations, find the nearest one here.

STK Steakhouse is serving $9 leprechaun stilettos and $6 lil’ corned beef sliders. Find the nearest location here.Dates: Monday, March 13- Friday, March 17 during happy hour (hours vary based on location)

Twin Peaks is offering a free basket of chips and queso to customers wearing green on March 17!Participating locations:

Krispy Kreme is offering a free green O’riginal Doughnut to customers who wear green. The deal is valid on March 16 and 17, and you are limited to one freebie per guest, per visit, per day. It’s available in shop and drive-thru only.

The fountain in Fountain Hills will be streaming emerald green on Thursday, March 17 at noon! The Greening of the Fountain is continued as the town’s yearly tradition and it's free to check out. You can also watch a live feed online and see the colors from the comfort of your device.

Copyright 2023 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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SIERRA VISTA — One of the most entertaining and beloved card games of all time is hoping to make a rebound by enlisting new local members for its internationally-sanctioned club.

Since the 1930s, bridge has been one of the most popular card games in the world, and excluding chess, has sold more books about it than any other game.

Sierra Vista’s Thunder Mountain Bridge Club — which was once home to nearly 50 members who played competitively at regional and sectional tournaments — is hoping area residents who once enjoyed playing duplicate bridge will join the card club many didn’t know existed.

The club not only exists. It has thrived in Sierra Vista for close to 40 years. The organization was not only a hub of social interaction with monthly potluck lunches; it also created lasting friendships.

Club manager Margaret Glenn, who has been with Thunder Mountain for 20 years, said she is looking forward to building a bigger, more active club next year.

“Since we’re sanctioned internationally by the American Contract Bridge League, members take bridge seriously, but we also have fun at this, and it’s a way to meet new people,” said Glenn, who has been playing duplicate bridge competitively for 40 years. “There are many regional tournaments in Tucson people can compete in if they like. Many of our members attended ACBL tournaments in places like British Columbia, Palm Springs, Phoenix and Oregon.

“In contract bridge, it’s all about winning points for earning different levels, and it can be extremely competitive.”

So competitive, said Glenn, that some bridge enthusiasts will pay professional bridge players a hefty fee to partner with them at tournaments to attain various levels. There are even worldwide cruises on top-rated ships packaged for bridge players.

The club, which plays three times per week at St. Stephens Episcopal Church, plays only duplicate bridge, a variation of contract bridge in which the same set of bridge deals among four hands are played by different competitors, and scoring is based on relative performance. Scores of games are sent to the ACBL — the mothership overseeing all bridge-playing operations — so players can earn points to reach various pigmented levels, like bronze, silver, ruby or gold.

"Last week 10 of our club members attended the regional tournament in Tucson," said Glenn. "Even though we are a very small club, they were able to win many of the coveted gold and red points. With this we were able to present Mary Aveiro with the prestigious Ruby Life Master. A few weeks ago one of our members moved to the Denver area and we were able to present her with a Silver Life Master before she left."

Decades ago, Glenn said bridge was a popular card game among wives of military officers at Fort Huachuca when the club was larger, but the makeup has since changed.

In the last three years, however, age and COVID-19 dramatically impacted the club’s membership. Glenn said it has dropped to less than 20 members while those in places like Green Valley and Tucson have more than 100.

“We lost two beloved members and accomplished players last year who were the club’s leaders and worked hard to keep it running,” she said. “We had to close down during the pandemic, and we played bridge virtually, which was fine. It kept us in touch. We’re trying to come back with face-to-face games now. I know there are people who played duplicate bridge who don’t know where to go for this.”

If you don’t know how to play duplicate bridge and want to learn, Glenn said newcomers can attend the card games to watch and also take lessons to see if it’s something they like.

“The only way to learn to play is to jump in,” said Glenn.

For information, call Glenn at 520-249-0652.

Four local biking groups were overwhelmed by Green Valley and Sahuarita’s generosity over the past weekend. Their call for the donation of bikes and biking gear brought in nearly 200 bikes plus boxes and bags of parts, clothing and equipment. By the end of the first day of the drive, La Posada’s Community Center resembled one of the largest biking shops imaginable.

Donors brought bikes of all shapes and sizes. Some had barely been ridden while others needed air in the tires and others needed a bit more work to make them rideable. One donor didn’t have a bike to give so he bought a new bike to join Continental School’s Mountain Bike Club. Others brought in well-loved and well-maintained bikes that needed a new home because the owner no longer felt safe riding.

The bike drive’s recipients were thrilled, excited and overwhelmed with the number of bikes and gear coming their way. Each group had its own special needs and interests. Continental School’s received additional mountain bikes to be used for training and weekend rides in the area. 0s3 Movement from Nogales received road and mountain bikes for their two riding teams along with additional bikes that will go to local youths and adults in need of transportation. Bicas Tucson chose bikes they could use in their youth and adult built-a-bike classes along with bikes that will go to riders who can’t afford a bike.

The bike drive would not have been a success without the support of many in the community. The four biking groups – the GVR Cycling Club, the Posada Pedalers, the Santa Cruz Valley Bicycle Advocates Committee and the Cyclists of Quail Creek — helped publicize the event and provided the volunteers to receive bikes and do minor adjustments. La Posada provided a venue to receive the bikes as well as providing many other services behind the scenes including housing early bike arrivals, providing meals for the volunteers and donor gift certificates to Posada Java. Finally, there needs to be a tip of the hat to Green Valley’s media. Both the Green Valley News and KGVY Radio along with Facebook broadcast bike drive news to the community assuring its success.

An event like the bike drive reminds everyone that community spirit and generosity are alive and well in America. With the help of many, bikes will get new riders and a new life on Arizona’s streets and roads.

Tom Wilsted is one of the organizers of the bike event.

Jin Young Ko, Nelly Korda, Lexi Thompson among elite LPGA Tour field

GOLD CANYON, Ariz., March 8, 2023 – The LPGA Drive On Championship will not only bring the world’s best female golfers to Phoenix for four days of intense competition, but will also introduce an elevated fan experience with high-energy activations all around the grounds of Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club.

From March 23-26, the Superstition Mountain driving range will be the central hub of tournament activities, with a sports-bar atmosphere highlighting the athletes both on and off the course. Fans can get a close-up view of their favorite LPGA Tour players as they prepare for their rounds, while enjoying the bar and concession stand featuring signature drinks. A giant jumbotron will showcase live Drive On coverage on Golf Channel, the LPGA Tour’s official broadcasting partner, as well as both men’s and women’s March Madness action. The excitement will all run under a soundtrack of music spun by Arizona’s own DJ Javin (Wednesday to Friday) and DJ Aja Cruz (Saturday and Sunday).

The 17th hole at Superstition Mountain, themed You Glow Girl,will offer signature drinks and concessions in a desert-sunset-themed venue, while celebrating the power and Drive On spirits of LPGA Tour athletes. Souvenir cups will allow fans to bring home the celebration and continue to honor the important women in their lives.

LPGA*USGA Girls Golf will partner with the I GOT THIS Foundation to present a Discovery Golf event for athletes with intellectual disabilities. I GOT THIS celebrates Girls Golf alumna Amy Bockerstette, a former collegiate golfer and the first person with Down syndrome to receive an athletic scholarship to attend college. Amy is a disabilities advocate who inspires others to play golf. Limited spots are still available for girls/women ages 13 and over. Click here for more information.

Why just get an autograph from your favorite player when you can get a selfie? Following their rounds, LPGA Tour stars will visit Selfie Stations around the course, where fans can get a pic to go with their autographed memorabilia. From there, fans can gather at the nearby 19th-Hole Beer Garden and Family Zone, overlooking the 18th green, to enjoy a panoramic view of the course and desert landscape.

The preliminary LPGA Drive On Championship field is led by Rolex Rankings No. 2 Nelly Korda, along with Brooke Henderson, Jin Young Ko and Lilia Vu, who have already captured LPGA Tour wins in 2023. They will be joined by a global list of the world’s top female golfers, including major champions In Gee Chun, Georgia Hall, Danielle Kang, Jennifer Kupcho, Hinako Shibuno, Patty Tavatanakit and Lexi Thompson. Arizona State University will also be well-represented, with past Sun Devils Carlota Ciganda, Azahara Munoz, Anna Nordqvist and Linnea Strom in the field.

For a complete list of tournament entries, click here.

Superstition Mountain is no stranger to hosting the world’s leading female golfers. It was the venue for the 2004-2008 Safeway International, with a Hall-of-Fame list of winners in Annika Sorenstam (2004, 2005), Juli Inkster (2006) and Lorena Ochoa (2007, 2008). The competition also marks the next stage in the LPGA Tour’s long relationship with the greater Phoenix area, from the 1953 Phoenix Weathervane to the 2019 Cognizant Founders Cup.

The best ticket value is a Weekly General Admission pass, which includes four days of parking, for $95. Daily General Admission tickets are $40, and all juniors 17 and under will receive complimentary access to the tournament grounds with a ticketed adult. Additionally, volunteer opportunities are available for fans who want to participate in the week’s festivities.

For more information on tickets and volunteer opportunities, visit www.lpga.com/tournaments/lpga-drive-on-championship/overview. Media who wish to attend and cover the competition should apply for credentials at www.lpgamediacredentials.com.