The Park is a free, monthly magazine produced by Estrella Publishing for the residents of Litchfield Park.
The Park ™ A magazine for Litchfield Park residents From Your Neighbors, For Your Neighbors
July 2026
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Estrella Publishing - The Park magazine
PITTS 21 Brackets Tooth Contouring ♦ Gingival Laser 3-D Imaging ♦ Invisalign ♦ Braces
Published by Estrella Publishing LLC, PO Box 6962, Goodyear AZ 85338.
Catherine Uretsky, Publisher and Editor Talia Ebert, Assistant Editor Al Uretsky, Publisher and Sales Executive 623.398.5541 info@EstrellaPublishing.com
All contents © 2010-present Estrella Publishing LLC. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in any form, in whole or part, without written permission from Estrella Publishing LLC is prohibited. Estrella Publishing accepts freelance contributions, there is no guarantee that materials will be used or returned. Estrella Publishing is not responsible for the content of contributing writers and advertisers and assumes no responsibility for errors appearing within. Opinions expressed are those of the writers and not necessarily those of the Publisher or Advertisers. Estrella Publishing reserves the right to restrict all advertisement to their proper classification and to edit or reject any copy at its sole discretion. Neither this publication nor Estrella Publishing is an agent of or in any way affiliated with the associated Developer nor Homeowners Association, or any of their respective affiliates. This publication has not been approved by, sponsored by, or endorsed by the associated Developer nor Homeowners Association in any way.
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Haboobs don’t care about your feelings or your roof, BUT WE DO! Red, white, and… water stains?
...not this year!
New Construction, Repairs, Recovers, Maintenance Installation of Gutters Shingles, Tile, Built Up, Single Ply, Foam & Coatings, Metal, Shake
Fix your roof before the monsoon
www.JBSroofingAZ.com
ROC #’s: 061127 - 287012 - 198009 - 082024 - 318282 ROC #’s: 061127 - 287012 - 082024 - 318282
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Estrella Publishing - The Park magazine
WE'LL HELP YOU RECLAIM YOUR PROPERTY BY MAKING YOUR PEST PROBLEMS A THING OF THE PAST Most Popular Services BOOK NOW GENERAL PEST CONTROL TERMITE EXTERMINATION SCORPION EXTERMINATON 623-680-6619 www.estrellamtnpest.com Larry Cash - Veteran Owned & Operated
Discounts! First-Time Customers, First Responders, & Military
Paid for by Committee to Elect Tom Schoaf Mayor. Authorized by Thomas L. Schoaf. Complete La Loma Hilltop Improve Camelback Road Improve Recreational Services & Events Improve Utilization of Municipal Buildings Support our Local Businesses & Economic Development Support Fiscal Responsibility & Keep Taxes Low Finish Litchfield Square Transformation
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July 2026
From Me To You... I am officially resigning as Chief Technical Officer of my family. After thirty-four years of managing every technological advancement that crossed our threshold - researching, purchasing, installing, and explaining to everyone how to use the thing I just installed, I am done. My brain is full. Actually, I think it is broken.
I did all the right things. I troubleshot. I called customer service and spent two hours on the phone with a technician who walked me through every step I had already tried. We agreed the camera was faulty. They sent a new one. I plugged it in with a blend of optimism and dread and that camera also refused to connect to the internet. So I went to my secondary technical support, which is to say ChatGPT, and spent an afternoon learning more about routers, gigahertz frequencies, and WAP2 versus WAP3 security protocols than any person my age should ever have to know. I followed the instructions carefully and locked myself out of my own internet dashboard. I spent the rest of the day signing every single device in the house back onto the network. The television. The thermostat. Things that should not require a password but apparently do now. In a moment of clarity, I took the camera to a friend’s house to test it there. It connected immediately. Without a single complaint. Which means the camera works just fine and I have to go home and split the bandwidth again, knowing full well I will have to sign everything back in one more time.
The breaking point was a camera. Not a complicated piece of military equipment. A security camera. One single additional camera to add to a system I had already successfully built and expanded over the years. I know this system. I built this system. And yet there I stood, like a stranger in my own home, watching the little device refuse to connect to the internet.
Wanted: Household CTO. Applicants must be comfortable with ambiguity, allergic to instruction manuals, and willing to work for nothing. Previous experience explaining the cloud to people who remember when clouds were just weather is a plus. Catherine Uretsky Editor, The Park Magazine info@estrellapublishing.com 623.398.5541
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Estrella Publishing - The Park magazine
Independence Day
What Does the Fourth of July Actually Mean? There’s something about the days right after the Fourth of July that invites a kind of quiet reflection. The fireworks are done, the coolers are empty, the kids are back to their regular routine, and the flags that lined the streets of Glendale and Goodyear and Surprise are still there — slightly sunbleached, a little windblown — but still there. It’s in that stillness that the holiday starts to mean something beyond the festivities. Independence Day is easy to treat as a summer occasion — a reason to grill, to gather, to watch something light up the sky. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Celebration is part of what it’s for. But the Declaration of Independence, signed on July 4th, 1776, was not a party invitation. It was a radical and dangerous document written by people who were staking their lives on a set of ideas that had never been successfully tested at scale: that government derives its authority from the consent of the governed, that certain rights belong to people simply because they are people, and that when those rights are violated, people
have not just the right but the responsibility to say so. None of that was guaranteed to work. It still isn’t, technically — every generation has to recommit to it. The experiment is ongoing, and the people living in it are the experiment. That includes everyone here in the West Valley, in neighborhoods that didn’t exist fifty years ago, built by people from everywhere imaginable who chose this place and this country deliberately. Patriotism at its best isn’t blind loyalty. It’s honest engagement — caring enough about an idea to want it to actually live up to itself. The Fourth gives us a day to celebrate what’s worth celebrating. The days after give us a moment to ask what we’re willing to do to keep it worth celebrating. That’s not a heavy question. It’s actually a pretty hopeful one. The answer starts right here, in communities exactly like ours.
DINE-IN ONLY * NOTE DAY & TIME * Menu Specials
Mon (All Day) : Roast Beef Sliders $12 Tues (All Day) : Ground Beef Tacos $7 Wed (4-9pm) : Wings & Fries $10 Thurs (4-9pm) : Classic Burgers $14 - Buy One, Get One 50% OFF! Fri (All Day) : Shrimp Burrito $12
Live Music • Karaoke • Dancing • Poker
Live Country Band Fri & Sat: 9PM-1am Country Dance Lessons Sat: 7-9PM Line Dance Lessons Mon & Tues: 7-9PM Fri: 6-8PM Poker Thurs : 7-9PM Karaoke Wed, Thurs & Sun 8PM-12AM WEEKLY EVENTS
June 24 & Sept 23 4:30-7:30PM
16825 W. YUMA RD, GOODYEAR AZ Info : 623-932-0922 Reservations : 623-512-0852
Bar: 11AM-2AM Daily Kitchen: 11AM-9PM (Sun-Thurs) 11AM-10PM (FR-Sat)
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July 2026
JUNE 12 THROUGH JULY 25, 2026 CATS is a mesmerizing, one-of-a-kind theatrical experience that transports audiences into the mysterious world of the Jellicle Cats. Through breathtaking dance, stunning visuals, and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s unforgettable score – including the iconic ballad “Memory” – each cat shares their unique story. CATS is a spellbinding journey of rebirth, acceptance, and the magic of the feline world. Special thanks to Dr. Keith and Kim Haar
623.776.8400 Get tickets now at azbroadway.org
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Estrella Publishing - The Park magazine
Name Game
Just In Time
Justin checked his watch. “Okay. I can wait a minute.” “No, Anita Minnit.” “That’s what I said. I’ll wait.” The old man rubbed his forehead and said, “I’ll stay put, just in case.” “It’s Justin Tyme. My cousin is Justin Kace.” “Never mind.” “Really. I’m happy to call someone if you wish.” “Okay. Ben Dover.” Justin looked horrified. “Why would I bend over? You just asked for a hand.” With considerable effort, the man pushed himself to his feet. Just then, he spotted a friend walking toward him. “Annie Whey!” he called out. After several seconds had passed, Justin decided to nudge him. “Anyway, what?” Some mysteries, the man decided, were not worth solving. So Justin turned and went on his merry way— arriving at his destination just in time.
When an elderly man tripped over a crack in the sidewalk and landed with an undignified yikes, a young man rushed over to help. “Just in time,” the man muttered as he struggled to sit up. “How do you know me?” the young man asked. The old man blinked. “I don’t.” “You called me.” “What?” “I’m Justin Tyme,” the young man said proudly, extending a hand. The old man stared for a moment. “I’m Abel.” “I’m not sure about that,” said Justin. “I am definitely Abel.” “You seem pretty confident about that.” “I can prove it.” “Go ahead.” “Well, for starters, I could use a hand.” Justin frowned. “That doesn’t prove you’re able.” The old man sighed. “Could you call someone for me?” “Sure. Who?” “Anita Minnit.”
Submitted by Jim Surmanek, Litchfield Park resident
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Estrella Publishing - The Park magazine
Bright Days Ahead. Bright Days Ahead. Keep Them Crash-Free. Keep Them Crash-Free.
www.sadd.org
info@sadd.org
SADDNation
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July 2026
The Bug Guy Welcome to West Valley in July, Where the Bugs Are Bigger Than Your Rent
And don’t even start on the crickets. Every July, we experience what locals affectionately call “Crickmageddon,” when millions of crickets decide that the inside of your garage is exactly where they want to die, loudly, all at once, in a chorus that sounds suspiciously like they’re cheering for their own demise.
Let’s get one thing straight: in the West Valley, “pest control” in July isn’t a service, it’s a lifestyle. It’s a full- contact sport played at 115 degrees against opponents who have survived ice ages, asteroid impacts, and your neighbor’s “all-natural” peppermint spray. Take the scorpion. Sonoran scorpions don’t fear the heat — they commute in it. While you’re sprinting from your car to your air-conditioned house like you’re being chased by a small fire, a scorpion is casually strolling across your patio in full sun, sipping nothing, sweating nothing, judging everything. They’ve been doing this since before the dinosaurs, and frankly, they act like it.
Bark scorpions glow under UV light, which means the only thing creepier than finding one in your shoe is finding one in your shoe and owning a black light. Pro tip: ignorance is bliss. Buy the blacklight anyway. You’ll thank yourself later, possibly while screaming. So what’s a Phoenician to do? Hire pest control, obviously — preferably a company whose technicians show up in long sleeves in July without complaint, which alone qualifies them for combat pay. They’ll spray your baseboards, seal your foundation, and look you dead in the eye and say “you might still see some activity,” which is desert-speak for “we have made peace with the scorpions, and so should you.” In the summer pest control isn’t about winning. It’s about negotiating a temporary, sweaty truce with creatures who were clearly here first — and who, let’s be honest, are handling the heat far better than we are.
Submitted by Larry Cash, of Estrella Mountain Pest Control.
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Estrella Publishing - The Park magazine
$1000 OFF Braces and Invisalign ®
4830 N Litchfield Rd #101
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July 2026
Cook With Zona Charred Corn Guacamole
Instructions 1. Make the Chips: Cut tortillas into triangles (about 6 per tortilla). In a heavy-bottomed skillet, heat ½ inch of vegetable oil over high heat until shimmering. Fry the tortilla triangles in batches for about 1 minute per side until golden and crisp. 2. In a small bowl, mix the Chili Lime seasoning with the flaky salt. Transfer chips to a paper towel-lined plate and immediately sprinkle with the seasoning mix. Let cool. 3. Char the Corn: Brush corn with olive oil, season with salt and a pinch of Chili Lime. Grill over medium-high heat for 3 minutes per side until lightly charred. Let cool slightly, then cut kernels off the cob. 4. Make the Guacamole: In a large bowl, combine avocados, lemon juice, lime juice, jalapeño, Chili Lime, salt, and pepper. Mash to your desired consistency. Fold in the charred corn. 5. Serve immediately with chips.
This 4th of July try this souped up version of a classic side, you don’t have to make your own chips but you’ll be glad you did!
Ingredients Guacamole
• 3 ripe avocados • 1 lemon juiced • 1 lime juices • 2 teaspoons chopped jalapeño • 2 ears corn husks and silks removed • 1 teaspoon olive oil • 1 teaspoon Chile Lime Seasoning • Flaky salt and pepper to taste Chips • Vegetable oil or avocado oil • 6 small corn tortillas • 1 teaspoon Chile Lime Seasoning • 1 teaspoon Flaky sea salt
Want to see previous recipes by Zona? Scan the QR code to see all past recipes on our website!
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Supply chain disruptions may affect availability and price points of some oil products specifically 0w20; Excludes diesels and Euro oil weights additional • Valid at participating locations • Most cars and light trucks • Shop supplies additional Plus up to $6 disposal fee Excludes Diesels • *Lube chassis where applicable Not valid with other offers • No cash value • See store for details • Charge for additional service/parts, if needed • Expires 7-31-26 • 4214-4274Estrella626 OIL CHANGE • LUBE CHASSIS* REPLACE FILTER • 22 POINT INSPECTION
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Estrella Publishing 2026-Jun.indd 1
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Estrella Publishing - The Park magazine
Puzzles & Games Fill in the grid with the words on the left. Solutions are on our website www.EstrellaPublishing.com, or scan the QR code.
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Estrella Publishing - The Park magazine
Paid for by Tim Wayne for LP
KEEPING YOUR LITCHFIELD PARK COMMUNITY COOL AND COMFORTABLE FOR OVER 28 YEARS.
New A/C Installations. $2,500 OFF Schedule your FREE quote today
Financing Available Financing options starting as low as $4.35 a day.
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