School districts in the East Valley are working the numbers to figure how much they will have to pay utilities, pay teachers next year or spend on textbooks.

Construction crews are back in downtown Mesa to continue work on utility relocation through the end of September. There are new closures at MacDonald, Hibbert and Date. You can find all project updates and detailed construction information at valleymetro.org/centralmesa.

“Mesa judge Markel [Mark] Chiles was issued a citation for shoplifting recently. Will another judge give him the six months in jail and $2,500 fine just to set the punishment at a level others could receive? Watch for a slap on the wrist.”

“Mesa judge Markel [Mark] Chiles was issued a citation for shoplifting recently. Will another judge give him the six months in jail and $2,500 fine just to set the punishment at a level others could receive? Watch for a slap on the wrist.”

What’s big in Japan now has the potential to be big in the East Valley, thanks to Lulubell Toy Bodega in downtown Mesa.

A good cup of coffee starts with a good roast.

Volunteers are needed for the Fourth Annual Southwest Ambulance Arizona Celebration of Freedom, the state’s “coolest independence festival,” held this year in downtown Mesa on June 29.

After a prominent wedding and event venue closed its doors suddenly last month — leaving brides and grooms stranded without their deposit money and without a venue for their big days — the community has come together to begin finding alternate locations.

“I don’t know why everyone is complaining that the Gilbert school board cut salaries, eliminated the teachers’ voices from negotiations, and secured all the power of decision making for themselves. After all, this strategy has worked very successfully in Communist Russia, Nazi Germany, and... and... oh wait... maybe there IS a problem here!”

‘Had I known about the crime problems around Arizona State University I would have never let Kyleigh move to Tempe.” Those are the words of Karen Montenegro, the mother of murdered ASU student Kyleigh Sousa.

For months, business owners along Mesa’s Main Street in the city’s downtown have watched as light-rail construction crews slowly crept toward their area.

For months, business owners along Mesa’s Main Street in the city’s downtown have watched as light-rail construction crews slowly crept toward their area.

“When is the City of Mesa going to do something about the homeless downtown? They defecate and urinate in doorways of business and walking downtown is not a pleasant experience. It used to be a nice place, but that has changed.”

With rakes and shovels in hand, 40 volunteers with DMB Associates turned a once vacant lot in Mesa into a community garden last week.

It was no surprise a 20-year-old man was arrested over the weekend for stabbing another man at the Country Thunder music festival in Pinal County. News reports tell of an argument escalating into violence. I’d bet excessive and criminal alcohol consumption played a part in this crime.