A local church will hold a 10-mile walk/run Saturday to raise money for a mobile health clinic to serve the area’s needy population.

The event, organized by the Victory Worship Center and its student ministry, Elevate Youth Church, will take place on the University of Arizona Mall. Registration begins at 6 a.m. The run begins at 7 a.m.

The church’s aim is to raise $250,000 to buy the clinic and diagnostic equipment. The clinic would provide services at the church, 2561 W. Ruthrauff Road, and at other sites throughout town, according to a news release.

For more information about the fundraiser, go to www.elevate10mile.org or call the Victory Worship Center at 293-6386.

Bicyclist and amputee Mary Catherine Habeck-Leighou accepts her Commuter of the Year award on Friday at Jácome Plaza during a Bike 2 Work event.

The annual Bike 2 Work Fair downtown was a happening place Friday morning, featuring attractions ranging from a 60-year-old Tucson man circling the pavement on a clown bike to a Bicycle Commuter of the Year award going to a hand cyclist.

Free coffee and muffins didn’t hurt in drawing a crowd.

Dozens of cyclists of all ages joined the fray at Jácome Plaza in front of the Joel D. Valdez Main Library, 101 N. Stone Ave., for free bicycle repairs, massages and tips on loading a bike onto a public bus.

Mary Catherine Habeck-Leighou, 47, whose legs were amputated in 2000 after she was hit by a debilitating skin disease, received one of the first two Bicycle Commuter of the Year awards.

She still found a way, with a special hand cycle, to ride with her kids to school several times a week.

Others, too, were honored for their contributions and inspiration to the biking community.

Jim Glock, director of the city’s Department of Transportation, nabbed the other Commuter of the Year award, although he admitted he had not ridden his bicycle to the fair Friday morning.

“The 400 dedicated employees at the Department of Transportation who keep bicycling in their minds day in and day out are the ones who deserve the award,” he said.

Two Bicycle Advocate of the Year awards were also bestowed.

One went to Bill Adamson, a Green Valley retiree active in the bicycling community.

The other recipient was Jean Gorman, a strong voice and force for cycling safety since her son, Brad Gorman, was killed cycling on Catalina Highway in 1999.

“It’s just something I know my son would want,” she said of her efforts in bicycle safety and education. “It’s not to memorialize him. Every incident is like ours all over again. I just want motorists and bicyclists to respect each other.”

Even those who were not honored with personalized, painted sprocket plaques had a gas, without gas, at the bike fest.

“I’ve always wanted to ride a clown bike,” said Victor Rothacker, 60, who had his chance Friday morning.

“No, that’s not my usual mode of transportation,” he said with a laugh. Rothacker usually rides a standard-sized bike or walks the half-mile to work every day.

Other regular cyclists, such as Jason Douglas, 38, shared their biggest joys and challenges biking Tucson’s streets.

Douglas, who regularly cycles the 10 miles to his job at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, simply enjoys the ride.

“Dealing with the extremes in the weather is the toughest,” he said. But his job offers bicycle lockers as well as showers to help and encourage cycling commuters.

City employee Jim Rossi, 49, said his biggest challenge is “getting home alive” and he would be overjoyed if his job had showers for bicycling commuters.

Rothacker’s favorite part of bicycling is slowing down to gaze at the Tucson landscape, especially the spring flowers currently in bloom near North Fourth Avenue and University Boulevard.

He said bicycling can even be romantic.

“Anything can be romantic if you make it that way,” Rothacker said. “You just have to look for the kissing trees.”

Bicyclists gather at Jacome Plaza at the Joel D. Valdez Main Library, 101 N. Stone Ave., during a Bike 2 Work event on Friday. The event, hosted by the Tucson Department of Transportation, is part of the weeklong Bike Fest 2009.

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Bicycle events this weekend

What: Bike and Book

When: 3-4 p.m. Saturday

Where: Bookmans, 1930 E. Grant Road

Kids get story time about the environment and can enter to win a bike

What: Greater Arizona Bicycle Association Swap Meet

When: 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday

Where: Fourth Avenue between Sixth and Ninth streets

Buy bicycle parts and related goodies

What: New Belgium Urban Assault Ride

When: noon Sunday

Where: 400 N. Toole Ave.

Ten-city scavenger hunt that kicks off in Tucson

Anthony Silvain did some rock-climbing at Rudy Garcia Park during a previous Healthy Kids Day. Rock- climbing is just one of many activities available to kids this year..

Tell a kid it’s time for cardiovascular endurance training, and you’re likely to get a blank stare.

But offer up a little “Dance Dance Revolution,” Wii Fit, a rock-climbing wall, jumping castle or even toddler yoga – and your little one is far more likely to get moving.

Finding ways to make family fitness fun is the goal of Saturday’s free Healthy Kids Day, sponsored by the YMCA of Southern Arizona and Pima County Public Library.

With nearly 1 in 5 American 4-year-olds being obese and a third of all teens overweight, the message is more important than ever, said Berlin Loa, program outreach director at the Jacobs/City YMCA Program Center.

“In 1991, we saw a trend had begun of children sitting still, with video games and TV as the baby sitter,” Loa said.

The shift in how children spend free time has resulted in heavier kids, and the YMCA and library are trying to lighten things up.

Fun events will be held Saturday at three YMCAs:

• 8:30 a.m. to noon, Northwest center, 7770 N. Shannon Road

• 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Ott center, 401 S. Prudence Road

• 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Jacobs center, 1010 W. Lind St.

Events also will be held at library branches throughout Tucson.

Activities include a kids’ “Y-Athalon,” with swimming, walking and running; modified Junior Olympics; a jumping castle obstacle course; family relays; a checkers game using baby carrots and broccoli pieces that you can eat after capturing them; electronic sports wall games; toddler yoga; a climbing wall; Zumba dance aerobics; and “Dance Dance Revolution” tournaments.

Parents can take home a free Healthy Family Home Starter Kit that includes games, activities and self-tests related to health, activity levels, nutrition and spending family time together.

At least 3,000 Tucsonans are expected to take part in the events, which are held in more than 1,700 YMCAs nationwide.

Loa said the program is especially important during the economic downturn, when more kids are expected to stay home this summer instead of attending camps or sports programs.

“We will show families fun things to do at home, whether you live in a house, an apartment or a mobile home,” she said.

“The key is to make it fun.”

Hula hooping like Alexandra Osorio is a great way for kids to stay active.

Ezekiel Ortiz (foreground), Eddie Alvarez (at left in background) and Tina Lynch get a work out on a minitrampoline at a previous Healthy Kids Day.

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More Fitness Fun

Looking for other ways to inspire your family to get healthy?

The Tucson Children’s Museum is holding A Wealth of Health, Family Health and Wellness Fair, also on Saturday.

Live entertainment, hands-on activities, prizes, healthy snacks, a jumping castle, Wii Fit and more will be featured.

When: 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday

Where: 200 S. Sixth Ave.

Price: Free admission; healthful food available for purchase

Info: 792-9985, tucsonchildrensmuseum.org

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If you go

What: YMCA Healthy Kids Day

Where: Three YMCA branches and several Pima County Public Library branches (see story)

When: Saturday, various times

Price: Free

Info: For a schedule of YMCA events and times, go to www.tucsonymca.org/events/ hkd.php. For a schedule of library events, go online to library.pima.gov/about/news/?id=1251.

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Teen Iron Chef

Are you a kid who likes to create edible concoctions?

Show off your skills at the Healthy Kids Day Teen Iron Chef competition Saturday from noon to 2 p.m. at the John Valenzuela Youth Center, 1550 S. Sixth Ave.

Teams of six teens will battle one another in creating a healthful snack within a set time.

The winning snack will be chosen from a panel of celebrity judges, and prizes will be awarded.

The competition is organized by University of Arizona library science students, said Sol Gomez, librarian at the Sam Lena-South Tucson Branch Library, who is helping with the event.

Participants won’t know until competition starts what ingredients are available to them.

“They will come up with healthy snacks, something they could put together when they come home from school, that taste great,” Gomez said.

To register for the contest, call 594-5265.

Tucson’s Clean Air Days & Bike Fest will wheel a new cycling event into town April 19.

The New Belgium Brewing Urban Assault Ride will put pairs of cyclists through a huge obstacle course downtown, said Josh Kravetz, organizer of the event. billed as a scavenger hunt.

Riders will start downtown, make their way to five known checkpoints and three mystery sites, then race back to the finish line.

The team posting the quickest elapsed time wins, he said.

Participants will be required to take on physical challenges that could include riding adult-sized Big Wheel trikes, bike jousting, human wheelbarrow races and human bumper cars, as well as mental challenges that could include long division, he said.

“We try to make it the most fun that anyone has ever experienced,” Kravetz said.

Teams may visit the checkpoints in any order they choose. However, he urged participants to carefully plan their routes to log the quickest time.

The winning two-person team will receive a pair of single-speed cruiser bikes, he said.

Participants can expect to ride about 20 miles, with no checkpoint more than five miles from the start-finish line.

“We want riders to go through the cool parts of town and get a feel for riding through the city,” Kravetz said. “We want to show how great bikes are for transportation.”

The events educate the public on such topics as bike advocacy and sustainability, he said.

The entry fee is $45 per person through Saturday, and increases to $60 per person afterward.

Tucson was selected to kick off the 10-city 2009 Urban Assault Ride series because of the area’s strong cycling scene, good weather and abundant opportunities for road and mountain bike rides, he said.

Clean Air Days & Bike Fest, organized by Pima County, Pima Association of Governments and the city of Tucson, boasts dozens of cycling related activities throughout the month of April.

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IF YOU GO

What: New Belgium Brewing Urban Assault Ride bicycle challenge

When: noon April 19

Where: Maynard’s Market and Kitchen, 400 N. Toole Ave.

Who: two-person teams, minimum age 7 riding with parent; teams must have one member 18 or older.

Price: $45 per person until Saturday, then $60 per person Sunday through April 17.

Info: www.urbanassaultride.com

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RELATED

Bike Fest Site: http://dot.ci.tucson.az.us/bikefest

Urban Assault Ride site: www.urbanassaultride.com

Join a park naturalist for an easy hike to explore and experience the Sonoran Desert at night.

The night walk will be from 7 to 8 p.m. Friday.

The walk will be at Saguaro National Park East, 3693 S. Old Spanish Trail.

Dress for the weather, wear comfortable walking shoes, and bring water and a flashlight.

Park entrance fee is $10 per car.

Space is limited, advanced reservations are required.

Call 733-5153.

The 37 staffers get room to ‘breathe,’ walk

Jeanne Alegria (from left), Cathy Day and Theresa Durand of MEB Management Services use their lunch hour to exercise and get some fresh air. The workers, being new to downtown, take various routes so they can get to know the area.

A major local apartment management firm has brought a buzz to the core of downtown since moving into the restored 1901 Hittinger Building, 120 E. Congress St.

The 37 employees at the headquarters office for Morrison, Ekre & Bart Management Services have staked out several downtown haunts since moving in at the end of December.

“I bet if you go next door to the Grill, they will say their revenue went up $100 a week since we moved in,” co-owner Melanie Morrison said. “We had Café 54 cater a lunch for us last week. That was great. I think Subway’s probably benefitted quite a bit.”

Grill manager Karlen Ross said of MEB, “Any new business downtown is more than welcome.”

MEB workers quickly embraced the urban transit mode: walking – whether to an eatery, the bank, lawyers to handle receiverships or just for the sake of walking.

“It’s really nice that a lot of places are walking distance,” said Luz Bruscini, an MEB district manager. “I really love not having to get in a car to go somewhere. I really like Subway.”

MEB staffers also find their way to On a Roll, the sushi restaurant that opened last year a block to the west.

“They’re great,” On a Roll owner Dominic Moreno said. “They’re in here maybe two, three times a week. All the ladies are awesome over there. They always come in a group. They add some liveliness. They create the buzz.”

MEB has 600 employees scattered across Tucson and Phoenix. Apartment and district managers often venture to the headquarters.

“We keep an extra parking pass for them,” Morrison said. “We keep a roll of quarters at the front desk.”

MEB and HSL Properties are the two leading apartment management companies in Tucson.

MEB manages (but does not own) 37 apartment complexes in Tucson with about 8,500 units (20,000 units, including Phoenix and elsewhere in Arizona). HSL Properties owns and manages 29 complexes in Tucson with 7,655 units.

MEB moved from an old 5,000-square-foot house with several small rooms at 1039 N. Sixth Ave. near Speedway Boulevard into the 11,400-square-foot, three-story Hittinger Building, which gives everybody their own space. At the old location, Morrison shared her office with two others. Now she has an office to herself with a 15-foot high window and a view of the mountains.

Morrison looked for a bigger office for about year and had an offer in for an Alvernon Way office before buying the Hittinger Building for about $1.1 million plus $650,000 for tenant improvements.

“We love the building. We didn’t just want to be in a bland office building,” Morrison said. “What we paid (to buy and do tenant improvements) is pretty similar to what we would have paid for a B office building midtown.”

What does moving downtown allow MEB employees to do?

“Breathe,” said Theresa Durand, a human resources administrative assistant and a teaching golf pro on the side.

The downtown setting inspired Durand to lead twice-a-week noon walks for any staffers who want to join her. The Wednesday walk is a mile and Friday it’s two miles at “a brisker pace.”

The noon start time so far has been fine for the three to 10 people who join Durand. What about summer with the same start time?

“It’s going to be hot,” Durand said.

People from The Screening Room, 127 E. Congress St., across the street wandered over to welcome MEB to the neighborhood.

“They could have gone anywhere in Tucson,” said Mia Schnaible, The Screening Room’s marketing director. “They chose to come downtown. It really shows downtown is coming around. Dinnerware Artspace just had a huge art show. One North Fifth (Apartments) is almost all full up. You can really see the activity coming down here.”

The Screening Room people got an impromptu tour of the MEB offices, fashioned by architect Bill Williams, partner at Engberg Anderson, and photographer Kerry Schwartz. Williams said he outfitted the interior with a “fun, exciting, dynamic, visual environment for the people working there.”

The purple, green and rusty orange walls play off the MEB corporate colors. The roll-up glass garage door that serves as the downstairs conference room’s hallway wall plays off Williams’ imagination.

“(Morrison) was looking for a conference room that could accommodate the entire staff and also be small enough for a few people,” Williams said. “If we could have a wall that could move . . . One was the idea of a glass garage door.”

The district managers’ and accountants’ offices upstairs fill a big, high-ceilinged room with cubicles set off with partitions that curve downward from wall to hallway. That maintains open space but provides some privacy closer to the wall.

“We wanted to do something a little more sculptural,” Williams said. “In an open environment, people still want some privacy.”

Interior work also involved restoring the original wood floors upstairs.

“They were painted, chipped with holes, tacked over with license plates,” Williams said. “(Crews) salvaged wood where they cut holes for stairs.”

Schwartz shot the 47-photo downtown series she calls Tucson Details that adorns walls throughout MEB. Some are recognizable images, but for many she focused on small details.

“Just like the desert, downtown is just full of these subtleties,” Schwartz said. “I was discovering things all over the place. It’s all about looking deeper at the details. I discovered the fascinating details of downtown.”

All the photos are mounted on metal grille backdrops. The grilles give the photos a more industrial feel and expand the size of the image, Schwartz said.

“I’m not interested in the whole mural or whole downtown,” Schwartz said. “I’m looking at the components that tell the whole story. So many people know nothing about downtown. I like to photograph the details and subtleties.”

One photo is of a sign that says “Hope.” Morrison knew where she wanted that photo.

“We put up the Hope picture in the accounts payable department,” Morrison said.

Tom McNeil, owner of TM Design, built the two zinc laminated conference room tables and the computer table behind Morrison’s desk, and refashioned a 1950s desk for Morrison’s office.

“We took a postwar metal desk and applied zinc to the top of that,” said McNeil, who also crafted the zinc-top bar at Maynards Kitchen in the Historic Depot, 400 E. Toole Ave.

The artsy work setting makes sense for the MEB crew. Along with Durand’s golf and walking passions, Morrison is a guitarist and songwriter whose CD “On the Inside” raised $12,000 for New Beginnings for Women and Children. Sabra Faulk is better known for her bass playing around town and her CD “28 Churches 5 Bars,” but her day job is in accounts payable at MEB.

Downtown frustrations do come into play. Morrison wasn’t allowed to have her own garbage bin so she arranged to share Grill’s bin.

MEB could negotiate only six parking spaces in the county-owned parking lot behind its building, but negotiated a deal at undisclosed “under market” rates to lease spaces at the Santa Rita Hotel, which is owned by Humberto S. Lopez, MEB’s chief rival in the local apartment management arena.

“There’s not enough of it and it costs money,” Morrison said about parking.

Otherwise, though, Morrison and her crew are delighted to be downtown.

“The rewards are it’s a great, fun atmosphere,” she said. “You just can’t find a place like this anywhere else. You couldn’t walk anyplace (for lunch). We have lunch together a lot more.”

The Hittinger Building's original 1901 neoclassical facade was restored in 2002, replacing a drab 1940s look.

Melanie Morrison of MEB Management Services Inc. shows off the headquarters' conference room. The business, which manages apartment complexes, relocated to 120 E. Congress St., in the heart of downtown, in December.

PHOENIX – Rep. Doug Quelland, R-Phoenix, rides his bike 17 miles to and from the State Capitol each day, and he pedals across whole states during his time off. That experience gives him a unique perspective on the needs of Arizona’s bicycling community, he says.

But neither that perspective nor the cycling garb he wore before a House committee Wednesday could convince lawmakers that bicyclists should be allowed to roll through stop signs if no traffic is coming. Quelland said a similar law in Idaho has created safer roadways for bicyclists.

“Other states have treated their bicyclists much more sanely than we have in Arizona,” he told the House Military Affairs and Public Safety Committee.

Quelland added that it is harder to control a bicycle and avoid a collision if the rider is starting from a stop.

Arizona law requires bicyclists to come to a complete halt at stop signs but doesn’t specify what constitutes a complete stop. Quelland and Rep. Daniel Patterson, D-Tucson, complained that law is applied too harshly in the Tucson area.

“We have cities and counties, at least in southern Arizona, that are using technical stop sign violations as a moneymaker where there’s no safety issue,” Patterson said.

Despite those arguments, members of the panel declined to advance the bill, voting against it 5-3 along party lines.

House Bill 2479 would allow bicyclists to treat stop signs like yield signs. They would have to yield to vehicles but wouldn’t be required to stop if there are no cars approaching an intersection.

At Patterson’s suggestion, the bill was amended to apply only to those at least 16 years old.

Quelland and Patterson said police officers in the Tucson area sometimes write $200 citations to cyclists who don’t completely stop and put both feet on the ground before proceeding through stop signs.

Officials from the Tucson Police Department and the Pima County Sheriff’s Office didn’t immediately return calls seeking comment.

Democratic Reps. Pat V. Fleming of Sierra Vista and Barbara McGuire of Kearney joined Patterson in supporting the bill. Republican Reps. Jerry Weiers of Glendale, Ray Barnes and Carl Seel of Phoenix, Sam Crump of Anthem and David Gowan of Sierra Vista voted against it.

Barnes said it would send the wrong message for children to see older bicyclists failing to stop at stop signs.

“I am not in a position where I want to set bad examples for kids, and I’m afraid that’s what this is doing,” Barnes said.

Crump said he worried the proposed law would heighten the danger when drivers at stop signs ignore bicyclists who have the right of way.

“It seems like it muddies the situation,” Crump said. “Under existing law, at least you’ve stopped, despite the negligent driver.”

Get moving on Valentine’s Day weekend with a hip-hop class from members of the local Black and Blue Hip Hop Crew.

The University of Arizona’s hip-hop dance team will teach a class from 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Studio 16 in the Ina Gittings building, 1713 E. University Blvd.

“It’s a perfect opportunity for anyone interested in dance, especially hip-hop,” said Alison Burnette, president and co-founder of Black and Blue. “Everyone that attends always leaves feeling great and it’s a fun way to meet new people.”

The class is offered once a month for dancers of all levels.

There is a $10 fee per dancer, but free for those who bring two people paying the fee.

For additional information and to RSVP, send an e-mail to BlackandBlueHipHopCrew@gmail.com.

Billing problems common gripe

SWAT trainer Chris Falkner does pull-ups while strapped to a kettlebell on Wednesday. Falkner was working out at Gold's Gym, 7315 N. Oracle Road. SWAT stands for Strength Wellness Athletic Training.

Lynn Hudson was enjoying her morning treadmill workouts last February at the Northwest Side Gold’s Gym – until she was kicked out of the club for not paying a bill she had paid months earlier.

The gym had the wrong Lynn Hudson.

Eric Grigel joined Arizona Swim & Fitness in July, only to find his credit card was being billed twice each month, once by the gym and once by the gym’s billing company.

His card continued to be billed after the club went out of business late last year.

Both Tucsonans got the runaround when they tried to solve their problems.

Neither complaint was resolved to their satisfaction.

Complaints about the more than 70 area health clubs have more than tripled, from 10 in 2005 to 35 in 2008, according to the Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona.

Thirty percent of the complaints were resolved in 2005; 73 percent in 2006; 62 percent in 2007; and 54 percent in 2008.

“I would venture to guess that the health kick continues to grow in popularity and also that perhaps it wasn’t until 2005 and 2006 that health clubs started demanding contracts,” said Kim States, acting president of the Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona.

As evidenced by the plights of Hudson and Grigel, billing problems and customer service top the kinds of complaints involving health clubs.

Sanitary issues are another concern. The Pima County Health Department makes annual, unannounced visits to facilities that have pools and spas. The department closed down at least two pools and three spas in 2008 and found a few other violations.

“Relatively speaking, Pima County health clubs are in pretty good shape,” department spokeswoman Patti Woodcock said. “But keep in mind what one person thinks is pretty good shape compared to another’s is sometimes very different.”

Tucson Racquet & Fitness Club, 4001 N. Country Club Road, has not received a single complaint from any of its 3,500 members over the past three years.

“We make people feel welcome,” General Manager Bill Selby said of the family-owned club.

He said employees are willing to go beyond normal duties, and recently even changed a tire for a member who came in with a flat.

Joining a health club can cost hundreds of dollars a year. Dues vary greatly among the clubs, depending on the amenities, length of the contract and current specials.

Dealing with complaints

Area clubs with the most complaints from Dec. 2, 2005, through Dec. 2, 2008, are L.A. Fitness, with 36; Metro Fitness Inc., the parent company of Gold’s Gym, with 25; and Arizona Swim & Fitness, with 19.

Complaints against another popular club, Bally Total Fitness, are filed with the Better Business Bureau in California, where Bally has its headquarters. No breakdown was available for the gym’s two Tucson locations.

L.A. Fitness, with three locations in Tucson, had the longest list of complaints, but it also boasted a 100 percent resolution rate. In February, the health department shut down the L.A. Fitness pool at 4240 N. First Ave. for murky water. The club rectified the situation the following day. The corporate office did not return calls for comment.

Gold’s Gym resolved 56 percent of its complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau, but its most notable statistic may be the dramatic drop in them. Complaints against the 12,400-member gym plunged from 16 in 2007 to three in 2008.

“The construction was horrendous for everyone,” said Kelly Palmiero, co-owner and director of operations for Gold’s three locations. The East Side club, 5851 E. Speedway Blvd., and the Northwest club, 7315 N. Oracle Road, were each under construction for more than a year.

Palmiero said renovations, which included a $750,000 remodeling of the Northwest club to include features such as two movie theater workout rooms, brought grumbling.

“No matter what you do, there is dust and debris,” she said.

The health department closed the Northwest Gold’s Gym’s pool and three spas briefly in October, the former for insufficient chemical levels and the latter for exceeding temperatures of 104 degrees.

The downtown location, 110 S. Church Ave., voluntarily closed its pool in May to fix the chlorine levels, which were back up to par within three days. The health department found rust in the vents, cracks and crevices, and brown residue along the walls in the men’s locker room, all of which have since been addressed.

The health department likewise found mold, damaged ceiling tiles and rust in the men’s locker room and dirty mats in the abs room at the East Side gym in March. Those violations were also remedied.

Hudson, 56, was most upset with the way she was treated at the Northwest club. She said she was kicked out in the middle of her workout over a case of mistaken identity.

“I never received an apology,” said Hudson, who had been a Gold’s Gym member for 10 years.

The gym eventually admitted its mistake, she said, but refused to refund the 10 months left on her contract when she wanted to cancel.

“They said they couldn’t do that,” Hudson said. “They were bound by contract.

“My husband and I have been running a business for 17 years,” she said of their family practice where she’s a nurse and he’s a physician. “I don’t think you’re bound by contract. You’re bound by your reputation how you treat your clients.”

Gold’s Gym co-owner Palmiero said she is not allowed to discuss members’ accounts, but said the gym has never kicked anyone out without a reason.

Grigel, 28, said he was treated shabbily when he tried to resolve the double-billing problem at Arizona Swim & Fitness, 1290 W. Prince Road.

Complaints against the company jumped from five in 2007 to 12 in 2008, with only 5 percent resolved. Many could not be pursued when it went out of business.

Grigel joined the gym to swim, but the pool closed for construction soon after he signed up, and he wanted out. The double billing just added to the frustration.

“I tried to cancel three separate times,” he said. Each time he went to the club, he was told the manager was unavailable.

“One time they told me, ‘He’s not talking to any customers. He’s sick of talking to people about it. You need to handle it with the billing company,’ ” Grigel said.

Grigel said he signed a one-year contract that he was told could be canceled at any time with no penalty. When he tried to cancel it, he was told he was in a two-year contract that came with penalties.

“I’m still being billed,” he said. “It’s still in the process of being resolved.”

The location is still operating as a health club, but under the new name of Pro Fitness & Health. According to the woman who answered the phone, it’s been operating under new ownership for the past three months.

The new owner did not return a call for comment.

The hundreds of Bally-owned clubs across the country amassed 2,880 complaints over the past three years, at least 73 percent of which were resolved.

Bally closed 19 of its locations following its Dec. 8 bankruptcy filing, including three in Phoenix. The two Tucson locations are slated to remain open, said company spokesman Larry Larsen.

Tucson Racquet & Fitness Club, with no complaints, has a personal touch not found in many larger chains, said Sally Viramontes, personnel and advertising manager, who has been with the club 30 years.

“It’s family here,” she said. “We treat each other with respect. It’s not the commercial atmosphere. It’s not just going through the mill.”

General manager Selby, whose mother established the club in 1967, agreed.

“For many families this is their second home,” he said. “We make them feel like that. They come in for breakfast. The parents play tennis and the kids swim in the pool. They reconvene for lunch. It’s almost like a vacation every weekend for a lot of families.”

Source: Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona

Russell Keplar works out at Gold's Gym.

Melissa Tucker works out Wednesday at the Gold's Gym at 7315 N. Oracle Road. Gold's Gym has 12,400 members in Tucson.

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COMPLAINTS BY THE NUMBERS

2005

Total complaints: 10

Percent resolved: 30

Companies with five or more:

6 – Naturally Women Fitness Centers, one resolved (17 percent)

2006

Total complaints: 30

Percent resolved: 73

Companies with five or more:

12 – L.A. Fitness, all resolved

6 – Metro Fitness (Gold’s Gym), five resolved (83 percent)

2007

Total complaints: 43

Percent resolved: 62

Companies with five or more:

17 – Gold’s Gym, seven resolved (41 percent)

14 – L.A. Fitness, all resolved

5 – Arizona Swim & Fitness, one resolved (20 percent)

2008

Total complaints: 35

Percent resolved: 54

Companies with five or more:

12 – Arizona Swim & Fitness, none resolved

8 – L.A. Fitness, all resolved

Source: Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona

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WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN JOINING A HEALTH CLUB

• Shop around. Visit at least two health clubs to compare rates and facilities.

• Do your research. Many clubs offer a free workout or two. Ask other members what they like and don’t like about the club.

• Look for hours, child care programs, group exercise offerings and fitness equipment to meet your needs.

• Request a reliability report on the company from the Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona. Visit www.tucson.bbb.org.

• Avoid paying in advance for long-term contracts. Paying monthly, although it may cost more, protects the consumer over the long term.

• Avoid long-term contracts. Members could end up responsible for the full length of the contract even if they stop using the gym.

• Know membership details. Ask about cancellation rights and any possible penalties.

• Read the entire contract. Don’t feel pressured into signing something you did not read. Keep a signed copy for your records.

Source: Gannett News Archive

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ARIZONA HEALTH SPA ACT

Arizona law regulates contracts used by for-profit health spas, clubs and gyms. Medical rehabs and Y.M.C.A.s are exempt. Clubs must:

• Disclose the total cost of the contract

• Provide a contract of no more than three years from date signed

• Contain a notice that the customer may cancel the contract in writing, for any reason, within three operating days (days the club is open) from the date signed

• Issue a full refund within 30 days of a cancellation made in a timely manner

• Not require a down payment of more than 20 percent unless the club has been in operation for at least two years

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MRSA ALERT

MRSA, a contagious staph infection once limited to hospitals and nursing homes, is becoming more widespread in the community, said Patti Woodcock, Pima County Health Department spokeswoman.

None of the area health clubs has been cited for it, but Woodcock warned people to take precautions, like wearing flip-flops or other footwear at all times and not sharing towels.

“It’s really important that gyms regularly clean and sanitize the equipment, keep the equipment in good shape so as not to cause cuts or scrapes and that gym staff educate their customers on the importance of personal hygiene,” she said.

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Anyone wishing to get motivated for a good cause can join a training group for the annual NAMIWalks, according to an announcement from the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Southern Arizona.

This year’s walk is scheduled for March 28 at Sam Lena Park, 2805 E. Ajo Way, but folks can get involved by registering for the NAMI Walk Motivators now.

The walk is five kilometers, or roughly three miles.

Join the team by visiting www.nami.org.

Tucson Mission Manor third- through fifth-graders best Phoenix foes

Fourth-grader Carmen Martinez does push-ups, along with third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students and teachers at Mission Manor Elementary School, 600 W. Santa Rosa St., to prepare for a fitness challenge rematch between them and a Phoenix school. Mission Manor won for the second consecutive year.

Some very firm Tucson students kicked some equally firm Phoenix butt in Friday’s Operation Tone Up.

The competition, held at Castles N’ Coasters amusement park in Phoenix, pitted students from Sunnyside Unified School District’s Mission Manor Elementary against those from Phoenix’s R.E. Miller Elementary.

Tucson won with an overall score of 94-90.

“It was a fantastic event,” said Tony “Mr. Tone” Lamka, who created the program designed to increase good exercise and nutritional habits and decrease childhood obesity. He noted this year’s sponsor was the University of Phoenix.

Students started exercise training and boning up on nutritional knowledge at the beginning of the semester.

Three hundred students trained, but only 15 were randomly chosen to strut their stuff in the final showdown. Five students each were picked from the third, fourth and fifth grades.

This year’s Tucson win was its second consecutive over Phoenix. Last year, Old Pueblo won 15-14.

The competition was broken down into three categories.

Tucson beat out Phoenix in the 26 minutes of continuous exercise with a score of 78-75.

Phoenix was also felled in the nutrition question category, where Tucson ate them alive 6-5.

Both teams scored 10 points in the scenario category, where students are asked to describe how nutrition really matters in different scenarios, like taking an early-morning test.

“They worked out so hard,” said Kristi Hamblen, a fourth-grade teacher at Mission Manor, 600 W. Santa Rosa St.

Although the workouts were grueling – 30 minutes a day, four days a week – she never heard complaints.

“The only complaints were when some students were joking that now their pants were too loose,” she said. “It’s not a weight-loss program, but one that changes lifelong habits.”

Fourth-grade teacher Tina Chavez was equally impressed by Operation Tone Up’s results.

“The kids were standing so tall, so proud,” she said. “I saw a really big increase in confidence. Some of the kids got to Phoenix and said, ‘I’m not shy up here.’ That’s because they are good athletes and they’re smart.”

She noted one more benefit of the program, this one for the teachers:

“We get to work out with them.”

Jim Paczosa, principal at R.E. Miller Elementary School in Phoenix, gets dunked after Mission Manor won the competition.

Wilson

A search warrant filed with Pima County Superior Court names William Arthur Wilson, 91, as the man sheriff’s deputies said was a “person of interest” in the Nov. 22 hit-and-run collision that injured at least five El Tour de Tucson bicyclists.

Wilson helped build America’s first atomic bomb, the one dropped on Hiroshima during World War II, according to his attorney, Michael J. Bloom, archived news stories and other records.

Bloom, a criminal defense lawyer specializing in motor vehicle incidents, said Monday evening he had no comment on the collision because the incident “is under investigation.”

Wilson has not been cited or charged in the collision and sheriff’s deputies have not publicly named him as being involved in the hit-and-run.

Deputies are completing an investigation and will send their findings to the County Attorney’s Office for review.

David Berkman, the chief criminal deputy county attorney, said through a spokeswoman late Monday that the sheriff’s investigation had not yet been received.

Sheriff’s traffic detectives had expected to get the case to prosecutors Friday, said Deputy Dawn Barkman, a sheriff’s spokeswoman. But they still have to finish some aspects of the case and schedule an appointment with a prosecutor, she said Monday.

In an affidavit filed as part of the request for a search warrant in the hit-and-run, Deputy Edward Curtin wrote that as a large group of bicyclists rode west on West Ina Road, Wilson, driving a gray, 2008 Ford Fusion east on Ina, turned left in front of the cyclists, a number of whom collided with the right side of the car.

Curtin wrote that he believed a search of the car and home in the 7500 block of North Palm Circle Drive would turn up evidence showing “that William Arthur Wilson has committed the public offense of leaving the scene of a serious injury collision.”

Search warrant documents show deputies were authorized to search Wilson’s car and home, about a quarter-mile north of the collision scene.

The search warrant documents do not show who owned the house, but Pima County Assessor’s records online name “William A. Wilson” as the home’s owner.

Wilson could not be reached for comment Monday.

Barkman said all the injured cyclist have been released from the hospital except Gary L. Stuebe, 42, of Surprise. Stuebe was transferred to a neurological institute at a Phoenix hospital.

The collision occurred at about 10:20 a.m. The motorist, described as an elderly man, stopped, got out of his car, looked at the damage it had sustained and looked at the cyclists before getting back in his car and driving away, heading north on Westward Look Drive, Barkman said witnesses told deputies.

Deputies had been unable to find the man until Nov. 24 when he made himself available through Bloom. The man also turned his car over to deputies.

In the search warrant affidavit, Curtin wrote that he expected to find rags containing blood and biological matter, human tissue and signs of damage and paint transfer.

When the Ford was turned over to investigators, Curtin wrote, it had damage consistent with the collision. The left front turn-signal lens was missing, there was a dent in the front of the hood, there was a dent in the lower right rear passenger door and about a 6-inch scratch on the hood, Curtin wrote.

“The hood appeared to have been wiped down with a rag or a towel,” Curtin wrote. He wrote that several rags were taken into evidence from the garage and bedroom.

After graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering from Case School of Applied Science in 1941, Wilson was commissioned an ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve in 1944, according to a 2007 article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer. He was ordered to Oak Ridge, Tenn., where he was assigned to work on the atomic bomb.

After the war, Wilson returned briefly to a civilian sales job before going back to his wartime specialty to help develop the hydrogen bomb, The Plain Dealer said.

He later worked for the Ford Motor Co. and eventually retired to Tucson. He co-authored a book about his life with P.E. West called, “From Bombs to Buggies: One Man’s Calling The Biography of William A. Wilson.”

Rebecca Simmons takes a Zumba Fitness class.

Focus Fitness Personal Training & Wellness Studio is holding its third annual “Don’t Be a Turkey!” workout on Thanksgiving Day.

The free zumba class is 9-10 a.m. at its studio, 1116 S. Pantano Road.

For more information, call 404-2069 or go to www.focusfitnesstucson.com.

On Thanksgiving Day, Overeaters Anonymous is offering three free and open meetings.

OA helps people with any eating disorder, including binging, bulimia or and anorexia. The meetings deal with how to get through the holidays without eating compulsively.

All of Thursday’s meetings are at St. Francis in the Foothills United Methodist Church, 625 E. River Road. They start at 9 a.m. and end at noon.

For more information, call 235-9150 or visit www.oa.org.

Third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students and teachers at Mission Manor Elementary School, 600 W. Santa Rosa St., do jumping jacks as they participate in a fitness challenge rematch with R.E. Miller school in Phoenix.

They are 300 students on a mission.

Get fit, teach others about eating smart – and win the rematch of the Operation Tone Up contest against a Phoenix school they beat last year.

All the students in the third, fourth and fifth grades at Mission Manor Elementary School spend 20 to 30 minutes a day, four days a week, exercising.

They also have fitness lessons integrated into their reading, writing and mathematics classes.

“The goal is to fight childhood obesity and give students the information they need to make good choices,” fourth-grade teacher Kristi Hamblen said.

Students report going home and having siblings do push-ups and squats with them.

Others yell at older brothers and sisters for eating junk food.

“I had a parent come in and tell me the son said they shouldn’t buy hot Cheetos anymore because they were empty calories and had no nutritional value,” Hamblen said.

“Children this age don’t always have the opportunity to choose the foods they eat,” the teacher said, “but this way they are getting to know what their bodies need for the different things they do all day. They learn they need carbohydrates to give them energy and protein to rebuild their muscles. They know why they need six to eight glasses of water a day. They learn how their metabolism works.”

The program runs from Sept. 27 to Dec. 4 and culminates in a final showdown Dec. 12. This year it will be at Castles N’ Coasters in Phoenix.

It will pit Mission Manor, 600 W. Santa Rosa St., versus R.E. Miller Elementary from Phoenix. Last year, the school in Tucson’s Sunnyside Unified School District, won, 15-14. The scores are based on exercises and academic information on fitness, done in a Family Feud game show-type setup.

This year, Hamblen said, they are working out even more and studying even harder so they won’t have such a nail-biter of a finish.

Meanwhile, there are other benefits beyond the obvious weight loss and muscle toning the students – and the teachers – see from the jumping jacks, squats, jogging in place, sit-ups and push-ups – “and not the girl push-ups, either – even for the girls,” the teacher said.

Hamblen said she has data to support that students are doing better in school since they have been in the fitness program. “I can’t say absolutely that it’s because of the program, but the fourth-grade AIMS scores last year were higher and it was the only grade to make so much of a gain.”

Plus, “their confidence level increased,” Hamblen said. “A middle school asked them to come and they weren’t afraid to go and show those kids how to work out.

“It also has given them opportunities for public speaking, and they have written commercials in class. They’ve learned to read nutritional labels.”

Only 15 to 20 students will participate in the final showdown, but everyone has to do his or her best, because the 15 or 20 will not be chosen until the last week – and they’re chosen at random, she said.

After the contest in Phoenix, the program ends. It’s only one semester long. But it doesn’t end at Mission Manor, Hamblen said. “We continue it because we can’t imagine just letting that go. The kids that need to lose weight are losing weight. The exercise is helping all of them focus on school and do better on their test. We keep it up.”

Fifth graders Mary Jane Lopez (left) and Larissa Leon are among students and teachers at Mission Manor Elementary School participating in the fitness challenge.

Fourth-grader Carmen Martinez does push-ups.

Fifth-graders (from left) Anisa Tolano, Mary Jane Lopez, Larissa Leon and Clarrissa Sandoval do sit-ups.