A new attraction will be added to the Wild Horse Pass experience with the construction of an upscale outlet shopping center. In the next 60 to 90 days, Phoenix Premium Outlets will break ground adjacent to the Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino and open in the spring of 2013.

Gov. Gregory Mendoza and Lt. Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis signed the official ground lease with David Simon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Simon Property Group on Jan. 19, 2012 in the Anthony B. Shelde Conference Room at the Whirlwind Golf Course at Wild Horse Pass.

 

SACATON - Youth Council Coordinator, Michael Preston presented a challenge for Gila River youth to create a smart phone applications revolving around culture and community.

The criteria for the challenge includes: Original content must be created and designed by a Community member under 22 years old, incorporates O'odham or Pee-Posh songs, culture, stories, language, history or teachings. For creating the app the youth would receive an iPad.

"Young people interact with technology and I see they're always on their cell phones. Everyone wants an iPad and they mess around on their computer. They consume the content everyday. I want them to look at creating their own content," said Preston.

Skyline Tech High School’s 1A Girls Varsity Basketball team is building something special. If you look at the top of the Arizona Charter Athletic Association’s (CAA} South Conference, you will see Skyline distancing them selves from the pack. Led by solid guard play, good rebounding and a strong emphasis on fundamentals, Skyline is surging toward a high seed for the playoffs. “They play very hard as a team,” said head coach Lynette Clark.

A turning point for Skyline (8-1) came in a non-conference tournament in November called the 2011 Turkey Shootout. The young ladies came in 2nd place, but everyone was extremely disappointed that they fell short in the championship game. However, the silver lining was that it proved that they could compete against strong opposition. “I think this was a huge confidence builder for them to realize that we can match up to these bigger schools,” Clark said after the team battled 2A and 3A teams.

 With an important decision looming for GRIC on the proposed Loop 202 Freeway on Feb. 7, 2012, the first of three scheduled GRIC Voter Forums regarding the South Mountain 202 referendum was held on Jan. 14, 2012 in Sacaton, AZ.

Representatives from Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT), Maricopa Associations of Governments (MAG), I-10 Pecos Landowners Association, Gila River Against Loop 202 and Gila River Alliance for a Clean Environment presented before a crowd of GRIC members at the Sacaton Branch of the Boys & Girls Club of the East Valley.