Good morning, Gilbert. June is here, and with it the summer heat, a library calendar in full swing, and a town election season that just got its first real airing.
- 🗳️ Council candidates met at the Gilbert Chamber forum. Incumbents and challengers laid out where they stand on growth, infrastructure, and the town's finances.
- 🎓 An EVIT dispute could strand hundreds of students. A fight over the East Valley's shared career-tech school reaches into both Gilbert districts.
- 📚 Summer reading is underway at the libraries. Storytimes, crafts, and movie matinees run all week at Perry and Southeast Regional.
- 🦟 Mosquito fogging hits parts of Gilbert early Tuesday. The county sprays between midnight and 5 a.m., weather permitting.
- 🎶 Around the Valley. The Dodgers at Chase Field, The Kid Laroi downtown, and a Beach Boys co-founder at the MIM.
The race for town council opens
Candidates for Gilbert Town Council faced off at a Gilbert Chamber of Commerce forum, giving residents their first side-by-side look at the field ahead of this year's election.
What the candidates dug into:
- Economic development and what comes next for the town's commercial corridors
- Town infrastructure and how Gilbert keeps up with the demands of its size
- The town's financial future, with incumbents defending their records and challengers pushing for change
The backdrop matters. Gilbert is the most populous incorporated town in the country, home to roughly 268,000 people, and the decade of explosive growth that built it has cooled. How the town pays for roads, public safety, and aging infrastructure as new-construction revenue slows is the question sitting underneath most of what council decides.
That a business group hosted the first forum says something too. When candidates talk economic development in Gilbert, they are talking about concrete places: the independent shops and restaurants of the Heritage District along Gilbert Road, and the national retail and dining at SanTan Village out on Williams Field Road. Keeping both healthy as the town matures is the practical version of the abstract debate.
What to watch: the Gilbert Sun News has the full rundown of who said what. Details.
From the schools
A dispute over the East Valley Institute of Technology (EVIT, the career and technical school that East Valley districts share) could leave hundreds of students without a way to get to class. The fight centers on student transportation and the satellite programs that run on local campuses rather than at EVIT's main Mesa sites.
It reaches into both of Gilbert's districts: Gilbert Public Schools (GPS, the district covering most of the town) and Higley Unified (HUSD, the district covering southeast Gilbert), along with Chandler and Queen Creek. EVIT is where many East Valley high schoolers train for trades, healthcare, and other careers while still enrolled at their home high school. A transportation gap does not just inconvenience a few families. It can pull students out of programs they have built a schedule around, and it lands across district lines at once.
The Gilbert Sun News breaks down what is at stake and how the districts are responding. Details.
The week ahead
🦟 Mosquito fogging, early Tuesday. Maricopa County plans to fog parts of Gilbert overnight into Tuesday, June 2, between midnight and 5 a.m., weather permitting. If you are in the spray zone, close the windows and bring pets in overnight. Details.
📚 Summer reading, all week. The library summer program is now in full swing. Perry Library runs toddler and family storytimes Tuesday morning, and both Perry and Southeast Regional Library have crafts, book clubs, and movie matinees on the calendar straight through the weekend. A solid plan for a hot afternoon with restless kids. Details.
Around the Valley
A few picks worth leaving Gilbert for this week. All in Phoenix, so make a night of it.
⚾ Diamondbacks vs. Dodgers. Chase Field, Monday at 6:40 p.m. The Dodgers always pack the place, so expect a road-crowd buzz in the stands. Tickets.
🏀 Mercury vs. Lynx. Mortgage Matchup Center, Monday at 7 p.m. Minnesota has been one of the best teams in the league all season, so this is a real measuring stick. Tickets.
🎤 The Kid Laroi. Arizona Financial Theatre, Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets.
🎸 Al Jardine and The Pet Sounds Band. Musical Instrument Museum, Wednesday at 7 p.m. A founding Beach Boy playing the MIM's small theater is the right room for this music. Tickets.