The Grove is a free, monthly magazine produced by Estrella Publishing for the residents of Sterling Grove.
A magazine for Sterling Grove residents From Your Neighbors, For Your Neighbors ™ The Grove
October 2026
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Estrella Publishing - The Grove magazine
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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From Me To You... I sat down to write this editorial and my brain took a solid minute just to find first gear. That “wait, how do I even start this?” moment. It feels almost novel to think for myself, mostly because there is an easier way sitting right there on my computer, tempting me, and it’s just one tap away. The all knowing, all seeing, “helpful” AI. nowadays where new technology shows up every day, you have to learn how to use the new tools. Just do not let the old world, and your brain, slip away too.
Case in point: this very editorial. I wrote it, wrote it again, argued with whether “abacus” was too obscure, and rewrote it a third time out of sheer stubbornness. Nobody made me do those reps. I did them because somewhere between draft two and draft three, my brain remembered it still knows how to lift things without a spotter. Call it my mental gym membership, minus the sweaty machines and the guy who never re- racks his weights. So here is my proposal. Use the AI. Love the AI. Just do a few reps on your own now and then, mental push ups if you will, so your brain stays limber. Because it’s always better to have the ability and not need it than need it and not have it. Having said that, spellcheck is the one crutch I’m keeping, right next to my reading glasses and my GPS. Catherine Uretsky Editor, The Grove Magazine info@estrellapublishing.com
Here’s the thing nobody tells you about handing over your everyday thinking to a machine: your brain needs exercise just like your other muscles, and muscles that do not work get soft. I used to know all my friends and family’s phone numbers by heart. Not anymore. And don’t get me started on asking for information about, well, everything. “Ask Chat” has become the norm around here. How can we fix this problem? Exercise. Repetition. Doing the math in your head at the grocery store when you are trying to decide if that 3 for $10 deal on cereal is a good buy. Working out the tip at dinner in your head instead of letting your phone do it for you. None of this means AI is the enemy. It is a genuinely useful tool, and pretending otherwise is like refusing to use a calculator out of loyalty to your abacus. If you want to keep up with the pace of the world, especially
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Estrella Publishing - The Grove magazine
Saving Water
Water Conservation is a PHX Priority In the heart of the desert, where every drop of water matters, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport uses water carefully and efficiently. As a leader in water conservation and one of the busiest airports in the country, Phoenix Sky Harbor uses less than half the national average amount of water per passenger, making it one of the most progressive airports in the United States for water use per passenger served. Phoenix Sky Harbor’s water savings efforts also support lower emissions and help make the airport stronger and more resilient. The airport continues to make strong improvements in water efficiency. 1. More than 11 acres of turf have been replaced with drought‑tolerant desert landscape plants that save millions of gallons of water each year. 2. Smart tools help staff track water use and find leaks. 3. Irrigation systems measure soil moisture and water plants only when needed. 4. Cooling towers use technology that lowers water use and reduces chemical needs. 5. Inside the terminals, low‑flow fixtures that use 20% less water than standard fixtures help reduce water use even more. 6. Drainage improvements and stormwater management also play an important role in the
airport’s water conservation efforts and help mitigate flooding risks to keep facilities and travelers safe during extreme weather events. 7. Colorful watercolor posters featuring Arizona landscape scenes, created to support the citywide water conservation education campaign, are displayed throughout the terminals and help create a bright and welcoming atmosphere for travelers. From conserving water in the desert environment to reducing emissions and strengthening infrastructure, Phoenix Sky Harbor is creating a more sustainable and resilient airport system that serves passengers, protects resources and supports the community for generations to come.
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YOUR VOICE OUR COMMUNITY
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Día de los Muertos More Than a Holiday: How Día de los Muertos Lives in the West Valley
thousands of years. The central belief is simple and profound: on these days, the boundary between the living and the dead grows thin, and the spirits of loved ones return to visit. Families build ofrendas (altars) with photographs, favorite foods, marigolds (whose strong scent is said to guide the spirits home), and objects meaningful to the deceased. It is not a somber occasion. It is a celebration. Grief and joy are held at the same time, which is perhaps the most honest thing a tradition can do. The Phoenix metro, including the West Valley’s significant Hispanic communities in Avondale, Glendale, and Goodyear, has embraced the holiday publicly and joyfully in recent years. This month, the 15th Annual MIKIZTLI: Día de los Muertos PHX Festival returns on October 24th at the Arizona Center in downtown Phoenix. The free, family-friendly event features mariachi, ballet folklórico, 8-foot animated skeleton puppets, a community ofrenda, food trucks, and a closing procession and dance. It draws thousands of attendees each year. For West Valley residents who may be encountering the holiday for the first time through their neighbors or coworkers, it’s worth understanding what it actually is before assuming you already know. This is not Halloween with a cultural spin. It is a genuine, ancient act of love, the idea that remembering the people we’ve lost keeps them, in some real way, present. That’s a beautiful thing to have in a community. The West Valley is lucky to have it.
What outsiders sometimes mistake for a Mexican Halloween is actually something much older, much deeper, and much more beautiful than that. As October turns to November, something shifts in the neighborhoods of the West Valley. Marigold petals (cempasúchil) begin appearing on doorsteps and windowsills. Sugar skulls and family photographs are arranged with quiet care on home altars. The smell of pan de muerto drifts from bakeries. For families with deep roots in Mexican and Mexican-American culture, this isn’t decoration. It’s devotion. Día de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, is observed on November 1st and 2nd. It aligns with the Catholic holidays of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day but is rooted in indigenous Aztec traditions stretching back
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O N D R Y
OCTOBER 18 - 24, 2026
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The Bug Guy
Halloween in the Valley
gets extended. Parents aren’t just checking candy wrappers anymore, they’re checking corners. Then there’s the pest control trucks, doing their best business of the year right alongside the costume shops. Nothing says “October in the Valley” like a technician in a full Halloween-adjacent hazmat getup, treating a baseboard while a giant inflatable Frankenstein wobbles ominously in the yard next door. Sometimes it’s hard to tell which visitor is scarier: the trick-or- treater in the werewolf mask, or the actual javelina rustling through the cactus out back looking for candy of its own. So this year, when you’re setting up your fake tombstones and cotton-web spiders, maybe give a little nod to the real MVPs of Phoenix Halloween: the pest control folks quietly making sure the only things haunting your house are the decorations you put there on purpose. Stay spooky, Keep your shoes shaken and your door screens intact.
Let’s be honest, West Valley: we didn’t need Halloween to have things skittering around that make people scream. We’ve had that covered since roughly March. While the rest of the country is out here decorating with plastic spiders, we’re just... looking down before we put our shoes on. Nothing says “spooky season” quite like shaking out a boot and hoping today isn’t the day a bark scorpion decides to make a statement. Our neighbors to the north hang fake cobwebs from their porches for atmosphere. Ours are load-bearing. And don’t even get me started on the pack rats. Every October, some poor soul in Arcadia hangs up a cute little skeleton decoration, only to discover a week later that something has been using it as a chew toy. Nothing ruins the illusion of a haunted house quite like realizing the “ghost” in your attic pays rent in droppings and has excellent taste in insulation. Trick-or-treaters here have developed a sixth sense the rest of the country doesn’t need: the pre-doorbell scorpion scan. Every porch light gets the flashlight- under-blacklight treatment before a single candy bag
Submitted by Larry Cash, of Estrella Mountain Pest Control.
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Estrella Publishing - The Grove magazine
Cook With Zona Pumpkin Bread
Set aside 2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt 3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients. 1 & 1/2 cups canned pumpkin puree, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 1 & 1/2 cups granulated sugar, 2 large eggs 4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined. 5. Spoon into prepared baking pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a
It’s October and that means pumpkins! This delicious pumpkin bread is packed with pumpkin flavor and fragrant autumn spices and your house will smell amazing all day. Ingredients • 2 cups all-purpose flour • 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or • 1 tsp baking soda • 1/2 tsp salt • 1 & 1/2 cups canned pumpkin puree • 1/2 cup vegetable oil • 1 & 1/2 cups granulated sugar • 2 large eggs 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/2 tsp nutmeg)
toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs and the top springs back when lightly touched. 6. Enjoy!
Want to see previous recipes by Zona? Scan the QR code to see all past recipes on our website!
Instructions 1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 9x5” loaf pan. 2. In a large bowl, toss together the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt.
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Expanison Pains New rooftops have become a familiar sight across Surprise, but the pace of development is raising an increasingly important question for residents: How much growth is too much?
compatible land use and clear disclosure to prospective homebuyers important as neighborhoods move farther into previously undeveloped desert. Water remains part of the equation, too. With communities across the West Valley continuing to expand, residents increasingly want to know whether today’s development decisions account for the region’s long-term water supply. Surprise isn’t likely to stop growing. The more consequential debate is over what that growth should look like. Should development approvals wait until roads and other infrastructure are ready? Should builders contribute more toward improvements necessitated by new neighborhoods? And how much open desert should be preserved as the city expands? For Surprise residents watching subdivisions replace vacant land, those questions are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
The issue is especially timely following the city’s approval of rezoning for Buena Vista Ranch, a proposed development that could bring nearly 2,400 homes to the Sun Valley Parkway area. The project represents another chapter in the rapid expansion reshaping Surprise and the northwest Valley. For supporters, new housing can mean more choices for homebuyers, a larger tax base and greater demand for restaurants, retailers and other services. Growth can also help attract employers and amenities that residents previously had to drive elsewhere to find. But every new neighborhood also adds cars to local roads, students to schools and demand for police, fire, water and other city services. Those pressures are particularly noticeable in areas where residential construction moves faster than surrounding infrastructure. For longtime residents, the question isn’t necessarily whether Surprise should continue growing, but whether roads, schools and
public services can keep pace. Development near Luke Air Force Base adds another consideration. Some areas around Surprise experience frequent military aircraft activity, making
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Green Thumb Congratulations! You survived another summer in which the sidewalk could fry an egg and your golf cart seat could leave a brand. October has arrived with temperatures a human can stand in, and it’s time to plant! This is prime planting season in the low desert. While the rest of the country rakes leaves and sighs, we get to put things in the ground on purpose.
Short on space? Patios and courtyards suit containers and raised beds, which also dodge caliche, the cement- like mineral layer beneath much of our soil that has ended more gardening careers than any heat wave. Water like a nervous parent. New plants are needy. Water often at first, then ease off. Keep a bedsheet handy. First frost usually holds off until late fall or winter, but tender plants like petunias appreciate a blanket on chilly nights. Check the guidelines. Before turning the front yard into a cabbage farm, review the community’s landscape rules. Nobody wants a strongly worded letter about kale. Plant now, and by spring you’ll have color, salad and serious bragging rights. Your tomatoes will return in a few months. They are resting.
Start with color, because you’ve earned it. Pansies, violas, snapdragons, petunias, alyssum and dianthus love cool weather and bloom until spring. Pots on the patio or by the front door will welcome returning winter residents better than any casserole. Vegetables that cooperate. Leave tomato dreams for later. Fall belongs to leafy greens and root crops. Sow lettuce, spinach, carrots, beets and radishes, and set out broccoli, cauliflower, kale and cabbage transplants. Radishes sprout in days, making them the golden retriever of vegetables. Carrots take their sweet time and test your character.
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Puzzles & Games Soduku rules. Fill every row, column, and 3 × 3 block with the numbers 1 to 9 without repeating them. Solutions are on our website www.EstrellaPublishing.com, or scan the QR code. Easy 8 2 7 3 4 9 6 4 9 5 8 3 Medium 7 4 4 2
9 8 5
4 8 9 6 6 1 2
8 3
6
4
4
2 1 4 9 1 8
7
6
4 9 6
1 8 3
1 5 7
9 4
6
2 4 7 7 3
5 7
1 8
1
8 3 5
3 4 1
8 5 6
Spot the Difference!
Hard
Expert 5
2 4
9 5 6
6
4
9 6
7
6 3
8
1
3 8 2
4 3 6 5
8 5
2
9 7
4 2 3
1
8
8
1
2 4
7 9
7 8
5
6 1
8
9
Master 2
1
09/20/2026
3
9 4 6
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5
3
Download the original Sudoku.com mobile application and play thousands of
9 1
The Doctor Is In
Managing Your Mental Bandwidth As we navigate the demands of a busy Fall, I wanted to share a concept I often discuss with my patients: the difference between your mental hardware and your mental software. Sometimes, we feel “glitched”— anxious, overwhelmed or stuck in a loop. When this happens, we tend to blame ourselves. But often, the issue is that our Internal CEO is trying to run too many high-energy programs on an exhausted battery. Here is a quick audit to help you optimize your mental operating system this week. 1. Identify the Background Apps Just like a smartphone slows down when too many apps are open, our brains lose efficiency when we carry “open loops”—those small, unfinished tasks or unspoken worries. The Fix: Do a Brain Dump. Write down every tiny thing nagging at you. Once it’s on
paper, your Internal CEO can stop using active RAM to remember it, lowering your baseline anxiety. 2. Check Your Hardware Basics We often try to solve psychological problems with logic, but if the hardware is glitching, the logic won’t stick. Before you over-analyze your mood, check your physical inputs: • Sleep Hygiene: Is your recharge cycle consistent? • Movement: Are you clearing out cortisol through physical activity? • Fuel: Are you giving your brain the nutrients it needs to maintain focus? 3. Strengthening the Prefrontal Cortex The prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain responsible for emotional regulation and impulse control. It is essentially the CEO of your mind. You can strengthen this “muscle” daily through: • Labeling: When a big emotion hits, name it. “I am feeling overlooked” or “I am feeling overstimulated.” This simple act moves the energy from the emotional center (the amygdala) back to the logical CEO. • The 90-Second Rule: Scientific research suggests that the chemical surge of an emotion lasts about 90 seconds. If you can breathe through those 90 seconds without reacting, the fire usually begins to cool on its own. In my 20+ years of clinical experience, I’ve seen that the most resilient people aren’t those who never feel “off.” They’re the ones who recognize the “glitch” early and have the tools to reset their system. Submitted by Jennifer Paweleck-Bellingrodt, Psy.D. Licensed Clinical Psychologist DISCLAIMER: Material is for informational purposes and not intended to be a substitute for evaluation or treatment by a licensed professional. Material is copyrighted and may only be reproduced with written permission of Dr. Bellingrodt.
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