Good morning, Mesa.
- 🎒 School starts Thursday, Aug 6. Teachers are back Friday, and council signed off on officers at 16 campuses.
- 🛣️ Lower speed limits approved around Lehi. Council voted to slow traffic on streets in the historic neighborhood.
- 🪧 Sign plan for The Arden at Dobson and Cubs Way. Board of Adjustment hears it Wednesday, Aug 5.
- 🧩 Puzzles Saturday at the Dobson Ranch library. All ages, 10 AM to noon, free.
- 🦦 River otters caught on video in the Salt River. A Mesa photographer got the footage.
- 🎵 Around the Valley. Rio Da Yung OG in Tempe, a Bruno Mars tribute in Scottsdale, Grupo Frontera in Phoenix.
Back to school next Thursday, with officers at 16 campuses
Mesa Public Schools students head back next Thursday, and this year 16 campuses will have a school resource officer assigned to them.
Key facts:
- Friday, July 31: returning teachers report. Dobson HS calendar.
- Wednesday, Aug 5, 9 AM: freshman orientation at Mesa High.
- Thursday, Aug 6: first day of school on the Westwood HS calendar.
- 16 schools get a school resource officer under agreements the city council approved this week.
Council approved the agreements this week, about a week before the first bell. Details.
What to watch: which campuses show up on the final list, and whether the district names them before Aug 6.
The weekend
Thursday (today)
Saturday
- 🧩 Saturday at the Ranch: Puzzles, 10 AM to noon. Dobson Ranch library pulls out the puzzle shelf, all ages. Details.
- 🗣️ ESL conversation class, Main branch, 1 PM. Free drop-in practice for adult English learners. Details.
- 🃏 Analog Hour at THINKspot Main, 3 PM. Adults, phones down, card games for August. Details.
Next week
Around Mesa
- 🛣️ Lehi streets are getting slower. Council approved lower speed limits around the neighborhood. Lehi is the 1877 settlement site north of the Salt River, and its streets were platted long before they carried cut-through traffic. Details.
- 🪧 The Arden reaches the signage stage. A sign plan for the 6.6-acre project at the northwest corner of Dobson Road and Cubs Way, near Sloan Park, goes to the Board of Adjustment on Wednesday, Aug 5. Staff recommends approval with conditions. Sign plans usually mean a project is close to opening, so this is the corner to watch. Details.
- 🏚️ A big detached building proposed on Lehi Road. The owner of 1.8 acres at 521 East Lehi Road wants detached structures that together exceed the size of the main house, with one taller than the house. Staff recommends pushing the hearing to Sept 2. Details.
- 🦞 New sit-down restaurant on Southern. Krazy Cajun Seafood and Hibachi filed for a restaurant liquor license at 6555 E Southern Ave, Suite 1544. It goes before council Aug 17. No prior license at that space. Details.
- 🌳 Parks has a permanent director. Andrea Alicoate now leads Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities full time after running the department as interim director since December 2025, through its busiest season. Details.
- 🏛️ Council wants federal grant money aimed at city priorities. The push covers how Mesa's federal housing and community-development dollars get assigned. Details.
- 🦦 River otters on video in the Salt River. A Mesa photographer captured rare footage of the animals, which biologists read as a sign of a healthy river. Details.
- 🏠 Homes in Mesa are taking about 55 days to sell right now. Details.
Around the Valley
Three picks worth leaving Mesa for this weekend.
🎤 Rio Da Yung OG, Marquee Theatre, Tempe, Saturday at 7:30 PM. The Flint rapper at the Marquee, doors before the 7:30 show. Closest of the three, about 15 minutes down the 202. Tickets.
🕺 That's What I Like, a Bruno Mars tribute, The Showroom at Casino Arizona, Scottsdale, Saturday at 7:30 PM. A 400-seat room for a catalog built for arenas. Tickets.
🪗 Grupo Frontera, Mortgage Matchup Center, Phoenix, Friday at 8 PM. The Texas norteño group behind "No Se Va," on its Triste Pero Bien C*brón tour. Make a night of it downtown. Tickets.