EMDR Therapy in Ahwatukee, AZ

Phoenix may take the first step today, June 21, toward opening more internet service options for residents.

City Council’s Transportation, Infrastructure and Planning Subcommittee will consider an administration request for permission to develop a framework for transactions with – and licensing of – companies building and operating fiber-optic networks.

An administration report released last week said the request would be the first step toward providing “fiber-to-the home services that will allow residential customers to have access to high-speed internet services.”

Fiber-optic networks are considered the new gold standard for digital connectivity.

These high-speed communication links comprise cables containing strands of glass thinner than a human hair that transmit information in the form of infrared light pulses.

One optical fiber can carry 90,000 television channels and three million voice calls.

Fiber optic networks dwarf their aging cable counterparts with bigger bandwidth, higher speeds, longer distances and higher resistance to corrosion and other damage.

The council report notes that Mesa officials last year approved licenses for five companies to provide fiber-to-the-home services.

AT&T Gigapower and Google Fiber obtained similar permission from Gilbert and Chandler and now those two companies, as well as Desert iNet, want similar permission from Phoenix.

In theory, the framework sought by the administration could give residents more options for internet service providers than exist in Phoenix today, possibly spurring more competitive pricing.

According to the website bestneighborhood.org, six legacy internet service providers currently serve various parts of Phoenix and three boast a fiber optic network.

To provide those services, each new company that obtains a city license would likely be digging “microtrenches” along city streets to lay fiber optic cable.

Those trenches are slots cut into the road about 2 inches wide and a foot deep and are placed as close to the curb as possible.

Mesa’s contracts with four companies require micro-trenching because it minimizes construction time and traffic disruption.

Fiber installations also have above-ground structures associated with them, similar to the utility cabinets and pedestals associated with current broadband internet service providers.

While it is possible for multiple providers to obtain permission to dig trenches in the same neighborhood – thus giving homes several providers to choose from – experts normally consider that unlikely.

“You could have four different right-of-way users today go through if they were so inclined. The way that we see the market playing out is not necessarily that,” said Ian Linssen, assistant to the Mesa city manager.

Mesa officials hope the framework they have provided for fiber optic cabling will help bridge the “digital divide” between people who can afford internet services and those who can’t.

That also has long been a goal of Phoenix officials, who felt a greater urgency in achieving it when the pandemic forced widespread school closings.

During the pandemic, Phoenix spent millions of its federal pandemic relief funding to expand its public Wi-Fi coverage outside nearly 50 libraries and community, senior and recreation centers​ to ensure all students have internet access.

The city’s focus at that time was on digital equity, though it only provided students with 13 hours of internet access a day to participate in distance learning and navigate online tools.

Residents also could connect their devices daily for 13 hours to access the free public internet service by sitting in the parking lot of a participating facility or in a public area at the location.

In most cases, the Wi-Fi signal was the strongest closer to the building and residents would have to bring their own laptop, smartphone, or tablet.

Mesa’s framework gives fiber optic companies the option of waiving some annual fees by installing their infrastructure in less lucrative neighborhoods or subsidizing services to low-income residents.

One Mesa city staff report said one provider, SiFi, had agreed to provide discounted broadband services to 30,000 low-income households in return for a waiver of its annual right-of-way fee to the city.

The Phoenix report released last week makes no mention of similar plans.

But the report reflects a move clearly in its infancy with numerous details that still need to be worked out.

It focuses on what needs to be done to create the initial framework.

Noting that the City Code covers licenses for cable TV gas pipelines, telecommunication services and small wireless providers, the report says it “does not have a chapter to allow network infrastructure services to be installed and operated in the right-of-way.”

“The City is working with network infrastructure service providers to develop City Code changes so that these companies may install fiber-optic cabling in the City’s rights-of-way to provide high-speed internet access to residential customers through a (fiber to the home) services network,” it states.

Completing that network for residents could take four to six years, it adds.

“At this time, the use of trenching and horizontal directional drilling processes will be used for installation,” it states.

“The new code section will establish the framework for the license, the basis for the long-term agreement with these companies, and will outline the financial terms and payments that companies will remit to reimburse the City for services provided in the installation and operation of their networks, and a fee for the use of the right of way,” it adds.

If it gets the green light from council, administration staff would then develop a detailed set of regulations for approval later this year.

“The new Code section will propose a license fee based on a gross revenues from (fiber to the home) customers and/or a linear foot fee. In addition, the companies will reimburse the City for plan review and permits, inspections, right-of-way management and other fees for staff time that are directly related to the construction, operation and repair of the facilities required” for each provider’s network,” the council report states.

Only a few months passed between the time that Mesa requested proposals from fiber optic companies and Google Fiber began offering its service in select neighborhoods, offering 1 gigabit for $70 a month.

Residents of the west Mesa neighborhood where it went live two months

ago raved about the service’s speed and reliability.

Mesa officials did note that fiber optic providers had to also seek approval from HOAs to get access to local roads. That likely would also be the case in Phoenix.

Derek Christensen promises “simple, delicious European-inspired food" to pair with Wren House's craft beer at the forthcoming taproom.

August 23, 2023

Wren House Brewing Co.

Update: Wren House Brewing Co. will open its Ahwatukee beer hall, Wren Südhalle, at 11 a.m. on Saturday. The brewing company shared the update in an Instagram post that featured a photo of the completed space. Last month, Wren House announced it will partner with a James Beard-nominated chef on its food menu at Wren Südhalle.

Derek Christensen is a chef at Phoenix’s celebrated Sonoran restaurant Bacanora. The critically acclaimed restaurant was a James Beard Award nominee for Best New Restaurant in 2022 and, the chef team of Rene Andrade, Roberto Centeno and Christensen received a nod for Best Chef Southwest this year.

Christensen has been a long-time friend of the Wren House, previously hosting pop-up dinners with his experiential culinary events company, Moonrise Standard.

“We’ve kind of grown together in a lot of ways and we share similar visions of quality products and quality experiences,” says Wren House co-founder Drew Pool. “He shares that vision from a food perspective.”

Christensen will develop the Wren Südhalle menu, which he describes as “simple, delicious European-inspired food.” He’ll also hire and train the staff and work with purveyors – but will continue cooking at Bacanora.

“He’s the vision, the chef, the trainer,” Pool says of Christensen’s role at Wren Südhalle.

The Wren House team announced plans for the beer hall last May and will start pouring drinks on Saturday. The kitchen will follow.

Drew Pool

The food menu will feature burgers, sandwiches and snacks that take inspiration from Europe.

“The vision for the menu is approachable yet finely crafted food,” Pool says.

Christensen has worked in kitchens in France and Italy and traveled throughout Austria and Germany. He’ll mine those experiences for the menu while keeping it familiar.

“It’s going to be super fun,” he says.

Among food offerings will be a pretzel with beer cheese, loaded fries and smash burgers. One burger will be a spin on a bratwurst, featuring a beef patty, brat patty, beer cheese and housemade pickles, Christensen says. He’ll keep the menu short and spotlight quality ingredients.

“They have such a solid standard and brand and I’m excited to create that same standard of food,” Christensen says.

Wren Südhalle will feature 24 taps. About half will be Wren House beers, Pool says, including specialty options the brewer will make just for that location, as well as imports – including some that haven’t been available in Arizona before. Among those, Pool says, are beers from Eggenberg Brewery in Austria – a brewery whose roots date back to the 14th century.

Wren Südhalle is not Wren House's only expansion project. The brewer is also set to open a taproom in PV, the redevelopment of the Paradise Valley Mall, in 2024.

An Ahwatukee woman says a simple bank wire transfer has turned her life upside down.

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — An Ahwatukee woman says a simple bank wire transfer has turned her life upside down. The wire transfer was for $120,000 and now, no one seems to know where all that money went.

We do know that all $120,000 was successfully transferred, because she saw the money in the account. However, once the money transferred to the second account, it didn’t stay there very long. Now this viewer, along with both banks, doesn’t know what happened to the money.

“I’m at my wit’s end. I don’t know what to do anymore.” Margaret Lomax is upset, and she has a reason to be after over $100,000 just disappeared.

“I’m climbing the walls,” she said. “There’s nights that, you know, I’ll go through a half a box of Kleenex crying.”

Margaret recently sold her home in Rio Vista, Calif. after raising her kids and living there for 29 years. The senior citizen says she took the $120,000 from the home purchase and deposited it in her account at a small bank in California called Farmers & Merchants. Lomax says she later transferred the money to her account with Citibank.

“I decided I would transfer $120,000, which is basically my life savings,” she said. But when Lomax tried to use a debit card from her Citibank account, it was declined. That’s when she went online to check her balance and discovered all the money was gone.

“It was actually right there on the screen. And then poof! Just disappeared,” she said.

Citibank sent Lomax a letter telling her that she had “violated the terms of her account” and that it would be closed within 60 days. Once those 60 days expired, Margaret’s daughter says she was told the money had been returned to its “rightful owner.” Well, the rightful owner should have been either Lomax or the account where it was transferred from at Farmers & Merchants. But neither had the money.

“My biggest fear is that they sent it somewhere and somebody got it and is going ‘Woo hoo,’ you know? ‘Christmas came early this year!’” So Lomax reached out to On Your Side for help and we contacted both Citibank and Farmer’s & Merchants. After providing documentation like account numbers and wiring instructions, both banks have agreed to investigate. In the meantime, Lomax is stressed out.

“I’d like my money back,” she said. “You know, I’d like to buy a home so I can, you know, live my last 20-30 years comfortably.”

We are working with both banks, determined to find her $120,000 and get it back to her. As soon as we track it down, we’ll let you know in a follow-up report.

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.

Copyright 2023 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.

Jessica Grady wants a beautiful, comfortable couch like the one she experienced in a showroom. However, the couch delivered to her was anything but comfortable.

AHWATUKEE, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) — An Ahwatukee woman paid more than $6,000 for a special order couch. When it arrived, she claims it didn’t have any of the upgrades she paid for. When the furniture store didn’t correct the issue, she turned to On Your Side for help.

The upgrades we’re talking about include memory foam cushions, which are more expensive than the standard cushions. And from there, this viewer says the problems just continue. When Jessica Grady initially saw the couch on a furniture showroom floor, she knew she had to have it.

“It’s a beautiful couch. It looks great in the room,” she says. It may look great, but when you sit on it, she says, it doesn’t feel great. From the day it was delivered in March, Grady tells On Your Side that she could tell something was wrong.

“It’s not comfortable,” she says. And it wasn’t cheap. It’s a $6,200 couch that was purchased through a store called Bassett Furniture. She says the sofa is pricey because she paid Bassett Furniture extra for the cushions to be memory foam, just like the one in the showroom. But she says her couch feels nothing like that at all.

“And after a couple days I noticed that it did not feel like memory foam,” she says. “So I unzipped the couch and it was not in fact, memory foam. So we had to take that up with Bassett.”

Grady says Bassett initially insisted that it was memory foam, but when she took a cushion into the store, they acknowledged that it was clearly not memory foam and ordered replacements. But when those replacements arrived, they weren’t memory foam, either.

“They look exactly the same,” Grady says. And as for the seat back cushions, she paid extra for them to be filled with down. She says what she got was a mess.

“So there are some down feathers ... and a giant piece of foam,” she says. “It’s been overstuffed, and it still has a giant foam core in it. So it just felt like nothing that we sat on in the showroom.”

She says the backs are bulky and uncomfortable. After four months of countless phone calls and visits to Bassett, nothing on the couch has been corrected. The company initially offered a $1,200 discount for the inconvenience, but Grady says she wasn’t interested and reached out to On Your Side. We got involved, and Bassett took another look at the situation and agreed to make things right.

Bassett sent us an email saying: “We are aware that the product received does not meet Mrs. Grady’s needs and the custom options for that specific collection are not at the comfort level that she is requesting. It does not make them defective — they are just not to her comfort level.” They went on to say, “a refund will be processed when the merchandise is surrendered to Bassett.”

Grady says that’s great news and wished the furniture store would have agreed to a refund sooner. “For that money, it’s just hard to believe that we keep running into roadblocks at every point,” she says.

Thanks to Bassett for agreeing to issue a refund. On Your Side will stay on top of the issue, and we’ll let you know when this viewer gets her check.

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.

Copyright 2023 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.

SRP customers in Mesa and the Ahwatukee area woke up in the dark as outages rolled through with the storms.

PHOENIX — SRP customers in Mesa and the Ahwatukee area were without power Tuesday morning as monsoon storms rolled through the southeast Valley. Outages were mostly fixed by 8:30 a.m.

According to the SRP outages map, as many as 5,000 customers in and around Ahwatukee were without power during peak outages.

In Mesa, 1,266 customers were without power. Roughly 130 customers were without power in Scottsdale.

Electrical equipment failure caused most of the outages, according to SRP.

>>Editor's note: The following screenshot was taken at 6:55 a.m.:

>> Download the 12News app for the latest local breaking news straight to your phone.

Related Articles

Catch up on the latest news and stories on our 12News YouTube playlist here.

You can now watch 12News content anytime, anywhere thanks to the 12News+ app!

The free 12News+ app from 12News lets users stream live events — including daily newscasts like "Today in AZ" and "12 News" and our daily lifestyle program, "Arizona Midday"—on Roku and Amazon Fire TV.

12News+ showcases live video throughout the day for breaking news, local news, weather and even an occasional moment of Zen showcasing breathtaking sights from across Arizona.

Users can also watch on-demand videos of top stories, local politics, I-Team investigations, Arizona-specific features and vintage videos from the 12News archives.

Roku: Add the channel from the Roku store or by searching for "12 News KPNX."

Amazon Fire TV: Search for "12 News KPNX" to find the free 12News+ app to add to your account, or have the 12News+ app delivered directly to your Amazon Fire TV through Amazon.com or the Amazon app.