Good morning, Mesa.
📖 Oscar Mancinas named Main Library's new Writer in Residence. Office hours and workshops at the downtown branch this summer.
🚊 Mesa's $21.1 million light rail funding goes to council June 8. City's share of next year's operations.
🍜 Jao Sua files for a sit-down at 17 W Main. Thai lunch and dinner. June 8 council vote.
🦞 Krazy Cajun Seafood & Hibachi heads to Superstition Springs. New restaurant license at 6555 E Southern.
🎨 Pink Puddle teaches desert watercolors Saturday. Dobson Ranch Library, 11 AM, ages 8 to 12.
Lead story
Local author Oscar Mancinas is the Mesa Public Library's newest Writer in Residence, based at the Main branch downtown. The post comes with office hours and workshops aimed at both emerging and experienced writers.
Key facts:
Writer in Residence at Mesa Public Library Main Branch (downtown).
Office hours and workshops open to emerging and experienced writers.
Mancinas is a Mesa-based author.
Free. Specific dates land on the library events calendar.
Mancinas's post drops into a busy literary May at the Main. A blackout and collage poetry workshop runs tonight at 6 PM for adults, framed around former Arizona Poet Laureate Albert Ríos's line that "words are our weakest hold on the world." The library also hosts Toddlertime, Mini Makers for ages 3 to 5, and the Mesa Arts Center's MABEL mobile arts lab, which starts a summer dinosaur series June 2.
What to watch: Mancinas's first office hours and workshop dates post on the library events page. Press release.
The weekend
An indoor-leaning library calendar, a Saturday watercolor class at Dobson Ranch, and the MPS Governing Board meets tonight.
Tonight (Thursday, May 28)
- 📚 Toddlertime. Stories, music, and movement for ages 16 to 36 months. Main Library, 10 AM. Details.
- 🎨 Georgia O'Keeffe watercolors for tweens. Ages 8 to 12. Dobson Ranch Library, 4 PM. Details.
- 🪡 Sewing drawstring dice bags. Teen craft. Main Library, 4:30 PM. Details.
- 📖 Blackout poetry workshop. Adult writing. Main Library, 6 PM. Details.
- 🏫 MPS Governing Board meeting. District office, 549 N Stapley Drive, 6 PM. Calendar.
Friday, May 29
- 🧪 Mini Makers. Sensory and STEAM play for ages 3 to 5 and caregivers. Main Library, 10 AM. Details.
Saturday, May 30
- 🌵 Desert watercolors with Pink Puddle Studio. Paint a desert scene with cactus characters. Ages 8 to 12. Dobson Ranch Library, 11 AM. Registration required. Details.
Looking ahead
Around Mesa
Council meets June 1 and June 8 with a heavy calendar: $21 million for light rail operations, four new restaurant and liquor licenses, a jury-services agreement, and a fee schedule update. The library also expands free AI classes citywide.
🚊 Light rail funding heads to council June 8. Mesa is on the hook for $21.1 million in operations, maintenance, and landscaping for the existing light rail line in fiscal year 2026/27. The city expects $2.87 million back from fares, advertising, a preventive maintenance grant, and Arizona Lottery funds, leaving a net $18.3 million general fund impact. Districts 3 and 4. Resolution.
🍜 Jao Sua files for a sit-down at 17 W Main. A Thai lunch and dinner restaurant applies for a Series 12 Restaurant License on Main Street downtown. June 8 council vote. District 4. Application.
🦞 Krazy Cajun Seafood & Hibachi to Superstition Springs. Lunch and dinner restaurant license at 6555 E Southern, Suite 1544. June 8 vote. District 6. Application.
🦀 Angry Crab Shack opens at 1927 N Gilbert Road. Lunch and dinner license. June 8. District 1. Application.
🏨 Holiday Inn Express at 1405 S Westwood gets a beer-and-wine license. Replacing the prior MK Mesa Hotels license. June 8. District 3. Application.
🏪 Quick Corner #2 takes over a downtown convenience store. Beer-and-wine license at 66 S Mesa Drive, replacing the prior Go & Grab license. June 8. District 4. Application.
⚖️ Mesa Municipal Court will share jury infrastructure with Maricopa Superior Court. A new intergovernmental agreement lets the city tap the Superior Court's jury administration system instead of running parallel infrastructure. June 8 council. Resolution.
🤖 Mesa Public Library adds free AI learning resources and classes. New programming rolls out at branches citywide. Mesa Now.
Three other items on the June 1 docket: a fee schedule update across Community Services, Business Services, Fire & Medical, and Police (reviewed by Audit and Finance in March); a private security guard contract covering Mesa Arts Center, the libraries, police facilities, 55 North Center, and City Hall; and renewed contracts for fleet vehicle glass repair and bus shelter cleaning.