Just Out! October Edition of the LightRailConnect Magazine

  Phoenix-Tempe-Mesa, AZ  |  October 17, 2014  |  Bryan Watkins The new edition of the LightRailConnect Magazine just hit the streets. You will find Current Arts & Entertainment, Dining, Sports, Real Estate & Rentals and sections Travel in this publication. The cover features ‘The District‘, a beautiful and exciting apartment community across the street from Arizona State University. Discover more about Things To Do along light rail. We were designed with your convenience in...

ASU homecoming events will cause traffic headaches

by Dianna M. Náñez – Oct. 28, 2011 Courtesy of The Arizona Republic [Editor’s Note: Go ASU! Games and Events like this keep the light rail corridor in Tempe strong and vibrant. LightRailConnect.com pushes live, work and play near the tracks] Arizona State University’s homecoming festivities are a hoot for thousands of Sun Devil fans. But Saturday’s parade at 11:30 a.m. and football game at 3:30 will cause traffic headaches for residents who want to drive to Mill Avenue for dinner or shopping. Fans will crowd parking lots and streets near the stadium and downtown Tempe. The city shuts down University Drive for the homecoming parade. To make matters worse, football fans are sharing the streets today with thousands of participants in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk, a fundraiser that starts at 7 a.m. just north of downtown and ASU at Tempe Beach Park. Sue Taaffe, a Tempe transportation spokeswoman, said the city posts traffic notices on its transit website to notify drivers and people who use public transportation of street closures and restrictions and bus detours. A quick review of the site makes it easier to navigate Tempe on days when major festivals, marathons or celebrations are scheduled. Because many major events are scheduled at Town Lake, which is near Rio Salado Parkway and Mill Avenue, two major Tempe arteries, the restrictions usually hit downtown Tempe the hardest. But there are ways to ease traffic woes, Taaffe said. “We don’t want people to think downtown is closed. It’s more challenging to get downtown, but it’s not impossible,” she said. Many downtown Tempe businesses lament that the traffic restrictions...

Tough Competition in Women’s Water Polo

Tough Competition by Lynlee Smith, ASU Intern It has been a tough year for the Arizona State Women’s waterpolo team. However this has not stopped the spirit of the team and their focus on fulfilling their dreams in making the NCAA championships held in Michigan in May. Currently ranked 7th in the nation they are confident they can still fulfill their ultimate goal. “We have improved every week, although some of our results have been unlucky we are still playing great waterpolo”, Captain Sarah Harris said. The Sun devils are half way through their season having played Cal Berkeley, UCLA and USC. To date there has been some unlucky results for the Sun devils, loosing to Cal Berkeley 11-7, UCLA 8-1 and USC 12-3. “Currently we haven’t won a conference game, however have had some very big competition to come up against first up. Cal Berkeley are very strong this year as well as USC”, Senior Candice Phillippe stated. “We were unlucky in our game against UCLA, we created a lot of great opportunities however couldn’t seem to put the ball away in the cage, our shooting has improved since then and I am confident that we will put up hard competition for our up and coming opponents”. The team is still working hard and very focused on their opportunity to still make the NCAA championships at their all conference tournament MPSF at the end of April. MPSF conference is the hardest conference in the United States for waterpolo however this hasn’t busted the spirits of the Sun Devils. “We have a great group of girls who are constantly...

Fun in the Sun Tempe Style

Fun in the Sun Tempe Style by Lynlee Smith, ASU Intern Looking for fun affordable activities to do in Tempe? With the change of seasons and summer coming up, a great place to check out is the Tempe Beach Park. Located just off the Lightrail on Mill Avenue this is a great place to have some fun in the sun with family and friends. Whether you are looking for a quiet place to have a picnic with the family, play some beach volleyball or fun water activities Tempe Beach Park offers all these options for all ages. This is a great area to have a picnic or barbeque with the family, with playgrounds available for young children and large grass areas to play sports. From May through till September this is a great place to bring the kids. The Splash Park allows kids to play and cool off in a safe environment. This playground sprinkles kids with mists as they play. Tempe Beach Park is located right on the lake, with paved footpaths and fantastic views at sunset, it is a great place to go for a scenic walk at any time of the day. This area has a rich history, although the lake has only been officially full since 1999, the history goes back centuries. If you are interested in water sports visit the Tempe boat rentals. This facility hires out Kayaks, 2 person and 4 person pedal boats, Hydro bikes, Pontoon bikes, Stand up paddle boards and Electric Skiffs all at affordable prices. Kayaks and Pedal Boats start at $15 an hour or if you feel like...

Life is Suite living at Campus Suites

by Lynlee Smith Campus Suites is the perfect student accommodation located just off the Lightrail at Apache and Mc Clintock station. With two bedroom suites currently starting at $745, three bedroom suites starting at $675 and four bedrooms starting at $635. This complex offers some of the best facilities along the Lightrail. Each room consists of private bathrooms for each individual, hard wooden floors, granite counter tops, washers and dryers and flat screen TV’s to top it off. The amenities don’t stop there. Campus suites has great shared facilities such as a 4,000 square foot gym which has top of the range cardio equipment with built in television sets to enjoy your favorite TV show while you work out, two outdoor swimming pools, an entertainment area consisting of Pool tables, Nintendo Wii, X box and for the ladies who don’t have time to tan outdoors, tanning beds. With these kinds of facilities why wouldn’t you want to live here? Local resident Zac Helms said “Campus Suites is a great place to live. The student atmosphere is great and there is always something going on, the staff are really helpful and are on call 24/7 to assist with any problems”. Campus Suites is the perfect place to make your home, for students wanting off campus living. Their main client base consists of ASU, Rio Salado and other local community college students in the local Phoenix area. Being right beside the Lightrail has helped their establishment become more recognized due to the increased foot traffic in the area. ASU offers free light rail passes for a year for ASU students to...

ASU Women’s WaterPolo Team Making a Big Splash!

By LynLee Smith For ASU women’s waterpolo team, seven isn’t just a number used for good luck. For them, it’s the number of countries represented on the team. This year the Sun Devils show representation from South Africa, Germany, Hungary, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. When asked about playing in a foreign country with a diverse group of athletes, senior attacker Candice Phillippe said, “All the locations of our homes make us different and unique, but it’s our love for waterpolo that brings us together,” Coming from Berlin, Germany Junior Mariam Salloum participated in the European Championships in Zareb, Croatia through August 2010. She recorded two goals and three assists and started in all four games for Germany. Salloum lead the Sun Devils in 2010 with 27 assists and third on the team with 50 points netting 23 goals. Both Senior Sarah Harris and Junior Kelsey White made a big splash for South Africa over summer competing in World League in Greece and France. Harris, a super star in her first season for the Sun Devils, finished with 38 goals, 30 steals and recorded 14 assists. She was named MPSF newcomer of the week, All MPSF and All American Honourable Mention. Captain of her South African side Harris says, “Playing internationally this summer was a great experience, it taught me so much about teamwork and developed my leadership skills.” White stepped up her game from her freshman year and played an outstanding season for the Sun Devils last year, recording 46 points and 30 steals scoring multiple goals for the sun devils throughout the season. She was named most...