Mesa Pulse for July 27, 2026: EVIT busing deal lands days before school starts, plus a 108-degree week

• 🚌 EVIT and nine districts reach a busing deal. Transportation to EVIT's Mesa campuses is funded again, days before classes start.
• 🏛️ Mesa signs an FBI task force agreement. Residents spoke against it before the city approved it.
• 🏠 Median sale price is $452,500. Down 1% from a year ago, with homes taking 55 days to sell.
• ❄️ An $18,000 AC quote, replaced for free. A Valley nonprofit covered the unit a Mesa woman spent three years chasing.
• 📚 Libraries run a full week. Laser cutting at Dobson Ranch, embroidery, storytimes, teen book club, free lunch downtown.
• 🎧 Four shows worth the drive. Tempe and Phoenix rooms, tonight through Saturday.

Key facts

• What: funding for student transportation to the East Valley Institute of Technology's Mesa campuses.
• Who: EVIT and nine East Valley school districts.
• When: reported July 25 and July 26, with the new school year days away.
• Why it matters: the districts had been heading into the year with no deal on who pays to get students to Mesa.

EVIT is the career and technical school East Valley districts send students to for programs their home campuses don't run: welding, nursing assistant, cosmetology, automotive, culinary. Students stay enrolled at their home high school and travel to a Mesa campus for part of the day, which makes the bus ride the whole program. Without a transportation deal, a student in a district that couldn't cover the trip has a seat in a class they can't physically get to. 12News reported the districts were still without an agreement earlier this month.

What to watch: the terms of the accord haven't been laid out in detail publicly. The first real test is opening week, when the routes either run or they don't. Details.

🏛️ The FBI agreement. Mesa approved a new agreement with the FBI covering the city's participation in the Phoenix Safe Streets Task Force, the federal violent-crime unit that pairs local officers with federal agents. Residents spoke in objection before it was approved. Details.

❄️ The $18,000 air conditioner. Susan Terrel spent three years collecting AC replacement quotes she couldn't pay, the highest at $18,000, before a Valley organization that swaps out broken units at no cost took the job. In a week forecast to hit 113, the story is also a reminder that programs like this exist and take applications. Details.

🌡️ Heat warning through Wednesday. The National Weather Service has an Extreme Heat Warning up for the metro until 8 PM Wednesday, with afternoon temperatures of 108 to 113 and a Major HeatRisk rating. Details.

🏠 The market. Mesa's median sale price is $452,500, down 1% from a year ago, with 546 homes sold, 538 new listings, and a median 55 days on market. Details.

Monday

• 🪵 Intro to the laser cutter. Cut and engrave plant stakes on the Glowforge at THINKspot, Dobson Ranch branch. Adults, 6 PM. Details.
• 🧶 Take-home program pickup. Mesa Express Library has kits out for every age group. This week: magazine looms, egg carton geodes, watercolor dinosaurs. Supplies limited. Details.

Tuesday

• 📖 Preschool storytime at the Main branch downtown, 10 AM. Details.
• 🍎 Lunch at the Library. Free meals for anyone from birth to 18, eaten on site, first come first served. Main branch, 11:30 AM. Details.
• 📚 Teen book club at the Dobson Ranch branch, 4 PM. A different genre each month, no essays and no grades. Details.
• 🃏 Magic the Gathering at THINKspot Main, 4:30 PM, aimed at tweens. Details.
• 📺 Cartoons and pajamas. Modern and retro kids' shows at the Main branch, 6 PM. Details.

Wednesday

• 👶 Baby lapsit at the Main branch, 9:30 AM. Birth to 16 months. Details.
• 🧵 Beginning embroidery at THINKspot, Dobson Ranch branch, 11 AM. Teens and adults, basic stitches and how to follow a pattern. Details.
• 🍺 Trivia night at On The Green Sports Grill, Wednesday evening. Free to play, prizes on the line. Details.

Thursday

• ✏️ Experience Corps information session at the Main branch, 1:30 PM. AARP's tutoring program places volunteers 50 and older with Mesa Public Schools students working on reading. A second session runs at THINKspot Dobson Ranch on August 5 at 6 PM. Details.

💻 Second chance at EVIT laptops. Students who missed the July 21 pickup can collect their device at Skyline HS on Tuesday, July 28, from 8 AM to 11 AM and again from 12 PM to 3 PM. The office closes for lunch in between. Details.

🍎 Teachers back Friday. Returning teachers report to Dobson HS on July 31, which is the practical start of the school year for most families in the Dobson Ranch catchment. Details.

🎸 Silverstein and Story of the Year at Marquee Theatre in Tempe, Tuesday at 7 PM. Two headliners from the same era splitting one club bill. Tickets.

🕺 World Hip Hop Dance Championship at Mullett Arena in Tempe, Saturday at 6 PM. Crews competing on a stage that usually holds a hockey rink. Tickets.

🎤 The Fray and Dashboard Confessional at Arizona Financial Theatre in Phoenix, tonight at 7 PM. A co-headline built entirely for people who owned both records. Tickets.

🎶 Riff Wood at Crescent Ballroom in Phoenix, tonight at 7:30 PM. A small room on a Monday, which is the best way to see anyone. Tickets.