Good morning, Mesa. Triple digits are settling in for the week, and the Mesa Public Library's summer reading program opens today.
- 🌳 A national parks ranking gives Mesa a middling grade. The city's interim parks director says there's ground to make up.
- 🚊 Council weighs a $21 million light rail operating deal June 8. Fares cover a fraction; the rest is General Fund.
- 🦀 Angry Crab Shack lines up a Gilbert Road spot. A new restaurant license goes to council June 8.
- 📚 Summer reading opens today at the library. Sign up runs through June 20.
- 🔎 An Emmy-nominated historian on Arizona's most shocking crimes. Saturday afternoon at Main.
- 🎟️ Around the Valley. The Dodgers are in town and a Beach Boys founder plays the MIM.
Mesa's parks get a middling grade
A national report this week graded Mesa's park system and landed it squarely in the middle of the pack.
Key facts:
The ranking comes from the Trust for Public Land, the group behind the annual ParkScore index that grades park systems in the country's largest cities.
The verdict on Mesa: a "meh," in the report's own framing.
Andrea Alicoate, the city's interim parks, recreation, and community facilities director, is quoted on where Mesa stands.
Will Klein, the Trust's parks research director, walks through how the city scored.
For a city of more than 500,000 people, a middling parks grade is the kind of number that shapes budget conversations. Mesa runs a large park network across downtown, central, and west neighborhoods, and a national scorecard gives council and residents a yardstick to argue over. The full breakdown of where Mesa gained and lost points is worth reading before the next round of parks spending comes up.
Read the report's findings here: Mesa Tribune.
On the docket
A heavy week at city hall and the boards. Here's what's moving and why it matters.
🚊 The light rail bill. Council votes June 8 on next year's funding agreement with Valley Metro Rail to keep Mesa's existing line running. The estimated cost of operations, maintenance, and landscaping for fiscal year 2026/27 is $21,148,000. Fares, advertising, a maintenance grant, and lottery funds cover about $2.9 million of that. The net hit to the city's General Fund is roughly $18.3 million. The line runs through Districts 3 and 4. Details.
🏛️ Historic preservation rules get a rewrite. The Historic Preservation Board meets June 2 to discuss proposed text changes to the city's zoning ordinance covering historic preservation. For a city with the downtown core's 1878 roots and the Lehi and Robson historic districts, the rules that govern those properties don't change often. Details.
🏗️ Two requests at the Board of Adjustment, June 3. A property at 521 East Lehi Road, 1.8 acres, wants permission for detached buildings larger and taller than the main house on the lot; staff recommends approval with conditions. Living Word Church, on 15.7 acres at 3520 East Brown Road, is asking for a sign plan. Both sit in District 1. Lehi Road filing.
🍽️ Liquor calls before council June 8.
- 🦀 Angry Crab Shack wants a new restaurant license at 1927 North Gilbert Road, Suite 13, in District 1. No license exists at the spot now, which points to a fresh sit-down opening.
- 🏨 Holiday Inn Express & Suites at 1405 South Westwood (District 3) is seeking a beer and wine license as ownership changes hands.
- 🏪 Quick Corner #2, a convenience store at 66 South Mesa Drive (District 4), wants a beer and wine license under new ownership.
- 🚫 Sunshine Liquor, a convenience store at 753 West Broadway Road (District 4), hit a snag: staff is recommending denial, citing missing permits and outstanding fees tied to alcohol sales.
Around Mesa
🧱 The LEGO convention built more than displays. Professional builders from across the country brought elaborate creations to a Mesa convention over the weekend, and the event doubled as a drive to put LEGO sets in the hands of kids who need them. Details.
📚 Summer reading is open. The Mesa Public Library's summer reading program runs June 1 through June 20 and asks readers to log at least 20 minutes a day. Sign-ups are live now. Details.
🐾 A heat reminder worth repeating. With triple digits arriving, Mesa Animal Control is reminding pet owners that pavement burns paws and that dehydration sets in fast. Walk early, check the asphalt with the back of a hand first. Details.
The week
📝 Writer in Residence, ongoing. Mesa local Oscar Mancinas, a Rarámuri-Chicano poet, is taking one-on-one writing consultations at the Main Library through mid-July. Details.
🦖 MABEL at Main, Tuesday 11:30 AM. The Mesa Arts Center's mobile arts lab sets up in the children's area for a summer of dinosaur-themed crafts. School-age and family. Details.
📖 Thoughts & Poems, Thursday 5:30 PM. A Main Library talk on Ofelia Zepeda and the Sun Tracks series, and their mark on Arizona literature. For adults. Details.
🔎 Crimes That Shocked Arizona, Saturday 2 PM. Emmy-nominated historian Jarrod Riddle brings true crime and ghost stories from Arizona history to the Main Library. Details.
Around the Valley
A few picks worth leaving Mesa for this week.
⚾ Diamondbacks vs. Dodgers, tonight at Chase Field. The Dodgers only pass through a handful of times a year, and the rivalry fills the seats. First pitch 6:40 PM in downtown Phoenix. Tickets.
🏀 Mercury vs. Lynx, tonight in Phoenix. A top-of-the-league matchup at Mortgage Matchup Center, 7 PM. A good night out without the football-stadium scale. Tickets.
🎤 The Kid Laroi, Tuesday at Arizona Financial Theatre. The Australian pop star plays downtown Phoenix, 7:30 PM. Tickets.
🎶 Al Jardine and The Pet Sounds Band, Wednesday at the MIM. A founding Beach Boy playing the Musical Instrument Museum's small theater, 7 PM. A rare room for music this familiar. Tickets.