2025 June issue of InMaricopa Magazine

FROM THE EDITOR

H A little something different Have you guys heard about the new shopping center being built across from Walmart? (If not, you can read about it on page 43.) Legacy on Porter promises to bring Maricopa’s second Goodwill, its second Chipotle and its second Jersey Mike’s. Basically, if variety is the spice of life, this plaza is a plain tortilla.

Publisher SCOTT BARTLE

Reality: These words are signs of my humanity. Vivisection, for example, which means a scrutinous look at an issue, was The New York Times word of the day Jan. 30. I used to write for The Daily Beast

Editorial Director ELIAS WEISS

Advertising Manager TAWNI PROCTOR

and believe I picked up the word when I worked there; also in January, the newspaper said Demi Moore’s story in The Substance was “a metatextual vivisection of the unwinnable game.” I prefer that to whatever ChatGPT’s review of that movie would be. Like musicians’ styles are some amalgamations of their influences, so,

Advertising VINCENT MANFREDI AMBER ROGALLA BRITTANY RUSSELL MICHELLE SORENSEN

If you’ve spent even a tenth of the time I have doomscrolling our many local Facebook groups, you’ll know what people in this city want: Salad and Go, Chick-fil-A, In-n-Out Burger ... or, really, any effort at a diverse commercial

Writers KRISTINA DONNAY

JUSTIN GRIFFIN DAVID IVERSEN DAYV MORGAN

too, are writers’. For me, maybe my choice of words is a simple rejection of the sameness I see around me. My takeaway: While many will not appreciate your uniqueness, a life without it is hardly worth the cost of upkeep. I believe this applies to all people. So, let your uniqueness shine like the Arizona summer sun. Speaking of the sun — it’s getting hot out there. Is our summer worth sticking around for? A snowbird might say no, but what of the first graduating class at Desert Sunrise High School? This summer is the springboard to the rest of their unique, fascinating lives.

landscape. In a place where the houses all look the same, and the businesses seem to self-replicate like amorous desert cottontails, it’s easy to succumb to development déjà vu. That’s why I love David Iversen’s piece in this edition, Behind rolled doors . It’s a photo essay that reminds us that behind a thin layer of homogeneity are tens of thousands of fascinating, multifaceted complexities — human souls. Our garages are reflections of ourselves. As a childless minimalist and onetime winger, my garage is completely empty, except for a lone hockey bag leaning against my water heater. (I bought my Maricopa home two years ago.) This is the same reason why I dislike AI-written articles. I got a chuckle in May when one of our readers suspected in an online comment that my deep investigative dive into the murder of a teen boy in the Maricopa Meadows last fall was written with AI because I used the words “vivisection” and “stonyhearted,” too obscure for a human writer, theorized the reader.

BRIAN PETERSHEIM JR. MONICA D. SPENCER SHERMAN AND EUPHEMIA WEEKES

Photographers DAVID IVERSEN BRYAN MORDT VICTOR MORENO

BRIAN PETERSHEIM JR. MONICA D. SPENCER

Designer CARL BEZUIDENHOUT

Send your reactions with a photo of yourself at the QR code to be published in a future edition of InMaricopa magazine.

MISSION Inform readers/viewers. Enrich advertisers.

BELIEFS We believe in: • An informed citizenry. • Holding ourselves and others accountable. • The success of deserving businesses.

ELIAS WEISS EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Elias@inMaricopa.com

VALUES

CONTRIBUTORS

• Integrity • Accountability

• Open, honest, real-time communication • Prosperity for clients, community, company

Volume 20, Issue 6 InMaricopa 44400 W. Honeycutt Road, Suite 101 Maricopa, AZ 85138

520-568-0040 Tel News@InMaricopa.com Advertising@InMaricopa.com

Published advertisements are not an endorsement of products or advertising claims by InMaricopa . No part of this magazine may be reproduced by any means without the prior written permission of InMaricopa . Copyright 2025.

KRISTINA DONNAY Dr. Kristina shares the key to unlocking a new level of wellness.

SHERMAN & EUPHEMIA WEEKES The local property management duo has advice for landlords with trashed rentals.

DAYV MORGAN Beware the fine print on your home warranty, warns top Maricopa realtor Dayv.

InMaricopa.com | June 2025

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