After a successful launch of Postino East, Upward Projects will open its second restaurant concept, JoyRide Taco House, June 3 in the Heritage District in Gilbert.

After a successful launch of Postino East, Upward Projects will open its second restaurant concept, JoyRide Taco House, June 3 in the Heritage District in Gilbert.

Imagine a night out with friends, where you can serve yourself beer and liquor from taps at the table while top-notch country stars do some serious strumming on a 400-square-foot stage hanging from the ceiling above the bar.

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.

Even with a healthy appreciation for the arts and a career that puts me in close proximity to them — not to mention a cousin who’s an accomplished professional ballerina — I can’t say I clamor for a night at the ballet.

It’s not often art lovers get to see a work in progress let alone contribute to it, but Arizona Opera gives fans the opportunity to do just that this weekend when they present the first reading of “Riders of the Purple Sage” — an original opera based on Zane Grey’s western novel, set on the Arizona-Utah border.

Arizona Air National Guard F-16 fighters will be flying over downtown Phoenix Thursday as they practice intercepting hostile aircraft intent on a terrorist attack.

“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.”

The Bistro at Kokopelli Winery will close on May 26, with plans to re-open in September as Crust.

Soar into Spring Kite Festival; Fiesta de la Primavera; Prescott Highland Games; Payson Wildlife Fair

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.

Popular downtown Gilbert Postino East WineCafe is set to welcome a new neighbor with some south of the border flair. Joyride Taco House is set to open June 3 on the north side of Postino’s Grainbelt building, and it will share some outdoor space with the wine bar.

NAPA, Calif. — Love the lush and lovely Napa Valley but hate how expensive it can be? You're not the first. In the late 19th century, writer Robert Louis Stevenson moved his honeymoon to the rustic but free setting of an abandoned mining camp when the $10-a-week going rate for Calistoga hotels proved too much for his slender purse.

Apache Junction youngsters had the chance to see the Arizona Supreme Court in action live in their own community Tuesday, when the state’s high court held court on campus at Apache Junction High School.