Speaking to a crowd of more than 220 people at a Chandler Chamber of Commerce dinner recognizing the city’s top 100 businesses and stakeholders on Tuesday, Chandler Mayor Jay Tibshraeny said he was stung by a scorpion a few weeks ago, an incident that became a story in a local newspaper.

The new hotbed of innovation and business development may be right here in Chandler.

This year’s Gilbert mayoral election pits current mayor John Lewis against former mayor Steve Berman again, in a rematch of the 2009

Over the last two decades, the word “growth” has been synonymous with just about anything having to do with the once-sleepy town of Gilbert.

The dwindling amount of vacant office space across the Valley has prompted a Tempe developer to begin marketing a 14-story building along Interstate 10 that’s aimed at attracting a major corporate tenant.

An Arizona software company setting up headquarters in a Phoenix suburb could bring as many as 700 new jobs.

If you ended up with an old computer or unwanted electronics after the holidays, you can recycle that equipment during an Arizona Technology Council Foundation event on Jan. 21. You can drop off computers, peripherals, networking equipment, servers, point-of-sale equipment, surplus metals, wire, cable and power strips. Lab or test equipment is also accepted. A portion of the equipment will be donated statewide to support Arizona educational programs.

Gilbert and the town’s Chamber of Commerce have opened enrollment for a business program that helps entrepreneurs grow their operations. The Front Runner series of classes focuses on technology-driven business, including web design, programming, online business services, e-commerce, software consultants and more. Topics include getting a product to market, improving services through customer feedback, marketing, business models, cash management, company culture and financing sources.

The CEO of Gilbert-based Infusionsoft has gotten the Business Leader of the Year award from the Arizona Technology Council. CEO and co-founder Clate Mask was given the award for heading the company that focuses on sales and marketing automation software for small businesses. Mask grew the start-up to a company of 170 employees, 23,000 users. The software is used by more than 7,000 businesses. Mask will be honored at a Nov. 17 Celebration of Innovation awards, in an event that will include Gov. Jan Brewer.

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The worst economic downturn in the last 80 years may not be enough to halt this year's Gilbert Days Parade. But it might be enough to make it shorter.

A Chandler company that has been screen printing T-shirts for three decades raked in $7.6 million last year, logging nearly 1,005 percent revenue growth during the last three years. A Mesa construction company beat even that stunning statistic by boosting business 1,096 percent during the same time period.

NEW YORK - An economic downturn, while fraught with pain and problems for so many small businesses, can also have some upsides for companies. Some are to be expected — a tough economy motivates businesses to find new ways to work more efficiently — while others are serendipitous, coming in the form of opportunities for expansion.