Showing Compassion Phoenix-Mesaphoenix-Mesas Gatgatewaye Airport, Which Al- Rereadyady Enenjoysnjoys Ttheh Tax Break

HIGH EXPOSURE: Cheri Smithth hopes her small business will proﬁroﬁ t from auto auction events. 8

D-BACKS DEBT: Financing deal will help Diamondbacks save $12 million. 7 ENERGIZE PHOENIX: Energy program seeking more residential participation. 9 phoenix.bizjournals.com INFORM. CONNECT. SUCCEED. J JANUARYANUARY 6, 20201212 $3$3.95.95 Sales tax extension being put together to boost education BY MIKE SUNNUCKS tion 100. They view the extension as a way to economy-induced ﬁ nancial bleeding. But the 1-cent tax is Phoenix Business Journal bolster the state’s historically low education set to expire in 2013, leaving education groups and back- funding. Arizona routinely ranks at or near ers worried about a “funding cliff” they say will decimate Education groups and some moderate business advo- the bottom among U.S. states in terms of K-12 state spending on education and other areas. cates are pushing for a 10- to 12-year extension of a 1-cent and university spending. “We don’t think the state can absorb that type of hit,” state sales tax to help fund Arizona K-12 schools and Backed by Gov. Jan Brewer, education ad- said Chuck Essigs, executive director of the Arizona School universities. vocates and business groups, Prop. 100 added Boards Association, referring to the drop-off of $900 mil- The education lobby and its business allies are formulat- 1 percentage point to Arizona’s previous Essigs lion or more per year when Prop. 100 goes away. ing a ballot measure for November that would ask voters to 5.6 percent sale tax. It has generated about extend the temporary sales tax passed in 2010 as Proposi- $900 million a year and helped the state navigate through SEE TAX | 23

Gerald Gaines, founder of Compassion First Past military bases Caregiver Circle Inc., at a facility he is preparing to open near Deer could beneﬁ t from Valley Airport. JIM POULIN | PHOENIX BUSINESS JOURNAL expanded tax break

BY MIKE SUNNUCKS Phoenix Business Journal

A 10-year-old state tax break to encourage business investment and redevelopment of closed military bases could be reworked and expanded to help Boeing Co.’s Apache helicopter plant next to Falcon Field in Mesa. It also could benefi t DMB Associates’ and Gaylord Entertainment’s redevelopment of GM’s former Mesa Proving Grounds and breathe new life into the U.S. Air Force Research Lab in Mesa. TheThe latterlatter twotw ssitit across the street from Showing compassion Phoenix-MesaPhoenix-Mesas GatGatewaye Airport, which al- rereadyady enenjoysnjoys ttheh tax break. It aalsolsso coulcouldd be redesigned to help Cultivation center will provide medical marijuana to patientsients encourageencouru age dedevelopmentv and invest- mentmentn near GGlendale Municipal BY ANGELA GONZALES | Phoenix Business Journal AirportAirpr ort anandd the nearby West- gategatet City CenterCen and University ompassion First Caregiver Circle Inc. is opening He set up the Gaines Family Foundation whenhen he ssoldold off PPhoenixhoenix Stadium. Westgate the fi rst of three Arizona “caregiver cultivation his interest in a telecommunications deal thathat creatcreateded wentwew nt iintonto foforeclosure last year centers” next month to provide medical mari- SprintPCS in 1998. He is fi nancing the projectsects out ooff andannd now iiss bbank-owned. C juana to patients. his own pocket. Founder Gerald Gaines said each new center will have Others in the budding medical marijuanana industrindustryy SEE MRZ | 24 the capacity to support more than 40 caregivers and 200 have similar business models, including thee EElementslements Mesa’s Falcon Field is one facility patients. He is investing about $500,000 into each facility, Caregiver Collective, which offers membershipip papackagesckages that could benefi t from a state tax designed to foster relationships between patients and break to encourage development caregivers in a safe environment. SEE COMPASSION | 23 of closed military bases. FILE PHOTO THE LISTS: PROFILE: Foreign Sethuraman “Panch” Panchanathan,anathan, consulates. 166 senior vice president for knowledgeowledge enterprise development, Arizona State University. 18 18 EXECUTIVE PROFILE PHOENIXENIX BUSINESS JOURNALJOURNAL January 6, 2012 phoenix.bizjournals.comhoenix.bizjournals.com Working BEST THINGS ABOUT JOB: Meeting interesting people, Sethuraman learning about fantastic ideas, investing in novel areas of research and seeing the outcomes MOTIVATION: Excellence Panchanathan DEFINING SUCCESS: Vision and ideas that translate into signifi cant societal impact Senior vice president for knowledge FIRST THINGS OF THE DAY: Contemplate for a few minutes on agenda items over a cup of chai tea. enterprise development | Arizona State University Sethuraman Panchanathan simply goes by “Panch” at Personal Arizona State University, but simple isn’t what he’s about. SOMETHING PEOPLE DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU: I played cricket He was named earlier this year to head the university’s for the university as an undergrad. Offi ce of Knowledge Enterprise Development, which LAST BOOK READ: “The Beginning of Infi nity: Explanations sits at the crossroads of a number of areas in that Transform the World,” by David Deutsch which ASU is doing research, from semi- HOBBIES: Hiking, cricket and watching reruns of “Seinfeld” conductors and electronics to solar and BEST CONVERSATION PIECE: Stone carving of Circle of Friends algae-based fuels. Up close PROVIDED BY ARIZONA given to us when we moved from Ottawa. This truly refl ects STATE UNIVERSITY Panchanathan has plenty of experience AGE: 50 our passion for being in that research community. He is listed on EMAIL: [email protected] around friends and three patents and has published more than RESIDENCE: Gilbert Being a techie the infl uence they 400 research papers during his time at ASU. WIFE: Sarada “Soumya” Panchanathan HOW YOU SEE ASU EXPANDING ITS REACH IN TECHNOLOGY DEVELOP- have had on me and Even without trying to highlight all of his tech- CHILDREN: Amritha, 20, and Roshan, 17 MENT: Through bringing people together from multiple the family. nology research at the university, his time EDUCATION: Doctorate in electrical and disciplines to foster innovation, translating the discoveries MOST NEEDED TECH- working as founding director of the School of computer engineering, University of Ottawa, into the real-world solutions through strategic partnerships NOLOGY: BlackBerry Computing and Informatics and helping to Canada; master’s degree in electrical with industry, and creating an entrepreneurial ecosystem MOST INFLUENTIAL found the Biomedical Informatics Depart- engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, BIGGEST CHALLENGE TO ASU IN DEVELOPING ITS OWN TECHNOLOGY PEOPLE: My parents ment have created a lasting legacy in Tempe. Madras, India; bachelor’s degree in electron- AND FINDING INDUSTRY PARTNERS: Lowering the barriers and — father’s emphasis His next job may be more challenging: ics and communication engineering, Indian securing investments for translating the discoveries to the on excellence and trying to expand the horizons of research Institute of Science, Bangalore, India; bach- marketplace; also, understanding the needs of the diverse mother’s passion already going on at ASU. elor’s degree in physics, University of Madras industry partners and connecting the faculty expertise to for service “Every facet of research at ASU is impor- ASSOCIATIONS: Director, ASU Center for Cogni- meet those needs is imperative. BEST ADVICE: My tant to the overall goal of tackling complex tive Ubiquitous Computing; professor, ASU FAVORITE TECHNOLOGY AREA: Computing and informatics, as it is spiritual teacher societal challenges,” he said. “It is therefore School of Computing Informatics and Decision integral to solving complex problems in many disciplines and advised me to important to understand and appreciate the Systems Engineering; fellow, Institute of Elec- across disciplines follow the dictum different expertise areas at the university and trical and Electronics Engineers; fellow, Society WHERE YOU SEE NEW TECHNOLOGY IDEAS COMING FROM: At the “Work is worship.” to help advance the research aspirations of for Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers; confl uence of disciplines each faculty member and researcher.” fellow, Canadian Academy of Engineering — Patrick O’Grady

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