Good morning, Gilbert. It's Memorial Day, so town offices and the county libraries are closed today. Library programs pick back up Tuesday.
🛍️ Council clears the Higley and Ocotillo retail center. The Target-anchored rezoning passed on a narrow vote, over objections from Marbella Vineyards. Details.
🎻 A new state arts seal arrives at Gilbert schools. GPS music programs are getting national notice. Details.
📚 Summer reading starts next Monday. Perry and Southeast Regional kick off the program June 1, with storytimes and clubs all week. Details.
🎟️ Worth a drive this week. Stars on Ice in Tempe, a jazz legend at the MIM, and a comedy Dracula. Details.
A narrow vote at Higley and Ocotillo
The Target-anchored retail center planned for Higley and Ocotillo cleared the town council last week, and it cleared by a hair.
Key facts:
- Where: Higley Road and Ocotillo Road, south Gilbert.
- What: A rezoning to allow a commercial retail center, with a Target as the anchor.
- Who's behind it: Developer SimonCRE, with property owner GBInvestments.
- The vote: Council approved the rezoning, but narrowly.
- The pushback: Residents in the nearby Marbella Vineyards community opposed it.
This is the case the newsletter flagged last week as it came back for a decision. The pattern is a familiar one in the largest town in the country: new commercial development pressing up against the rooftops that arrived first, in a town that has added nearly a quarter-million residents since 1990. Neighbors fought a shopping center next door. The council sided with the project, but the split vote says the call wasn't an easy one.
What to watch: the rezoning was the contested step, and it passed. Construction timelines for the center have not been announced. Read the full report.
The week ahead
It's a library week. Most of what's on the calendar runs out of Perry and Southeast Regional, and summer reading season is about to start.
- 🧸 Storytimes return Tuesday at Perry. Toddler at 10:15 AM, family at 11:15 AM, babytime Thursday at 10:15 AM. Details.
- 📖 Romance book club, Tuesday night. The pick is Funny Story, 6 PM at Southeast Regional. Details.
- 🖥️ 3D Design for teens and tweens, Thursday. 2:30 PM at Perry. Details.
- 🗣️ ESL conversation group, Friday. "Let's Talk" meets 10:30 AM at Perry. Details.
- 📚 Summer Reading kicks off June 1. All-ages drop-in, 2 PM at Southeast Regional. Details.
- 🎲 Dominoes and Dice Night, June 1. 6 PM at Southeast Regional. Details.
- 🎬 Summer movies start June 2. The Land Before Time, 2 PM at Perry. Details.
Around Gilbert
- 🦟 Mosquito fogging overnight Wednesday. Maricopa County has parts of Gilbert on the spray schedule between midnight and 5 AM Wednesday, May 27, weather permitting. Details.
- 📷 A photo thread on r/Gilbert. Someone asked the subreddit for everyone's favorite shots of town. The sunsets are doing most of the work. Details.
From the schools
Gilbert Public Schools (GPS, the district covering most of Gilbert) is getting some attention for its music programs. The district landed on the National Association of Music Merchants' list of standout communities for music education, and the Gilbert Sun News piece walks through the programs behind it, from elementary choirs to junior high orchestras to high school bands.
The other piece worth knowing: the State Seal of Arts Proficiency, a marker now available on diplomas for graduates who hit a benchmark in music, theater, dance, or visual art. The story spotlights the Greenfield Junior High orchestra and the Val Vista Elementary choir among the programs carrying the load. Read the full piece.
Around the Valley
A few picks worth leaving Gilbert for this week.
- 🎤 Leanna Firestone, Tuesday in Mesa. The singer-songwriter plays The Rosetta Room, 8 PM. A small room for her. Tickets.
- ⛸️ Stars on Ice, Wednesday in Tempe. The touring figure-skating production lands at ASU's Mullett Arena, 7 PM. Tickets.
- 🧛 Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors, Wednesday in Tempe. A horror-comedy at Tempe Center for the Arts, 7:30 PM. A night that doesn't take itself seriously. Tickets.
- 🎹 Monty Alexander, Tuesday at the MIM. The veteran jazz pianist in one of the Valley's best listening rooms, 7 PM in Phoenix. Tickets.
That's the brief for the holiday. Back Thursday with the weekend.