Good morning, Tempe. The first real week of summer heat is here, with temperatures climbing back toward triple digits across the Valley.
- 🏌️ Shalimar golf course housing plan withdrawn. The developer pulled its proposal after a two-year neighborhood fight.
- 🏈 Indoor football debuts at Mullett Arena. The Arizona Juggernauts start their first International Arena League season.
- 🌈 Pride Party in downtown Tempe. Silent disco, food, beer and wine this month.
- 📚 Summer programming kicks off at Tempe Public Library. Dinosaurs, a maker lab, and a poetry workshop this week.
- 🎆 Tempe 4th of July. Fireworks, live music, and food trucks for America's 250th.
- ⚾ Around the Valley. Dodgers at Chase Field tonight, plus a founding Beach Boy at the MIM.
A two-year fight over the Shalimar course ends, for now
The developer behind a plan to build housing on Tempe's Shalimar Golf Club has withdrawn the proposal, ending a fight that divided the surrounding neighborhood for two years.
Key facts:
The plan would have replaced part of the aging Shalimar course with new housing.
Residents organized as the Shalimar Association opposed it through two years of meetings and hearings.
The application was pulled at the city's community development department before it ever reached a city council vote.
The withdrawal is "for now." Nothing bars the owner from coming back with a revised plan.
This is the kind of infill fight that keeps surfacing in Tempe's older central neighborhoods, where a tired golf course or open lot sits next to homes built decades ago. The land is valuable, the open space is loved, and the two rarely agree. The course stays as is for the moment.
What to watch: whether a scaled-back proposal returns to the city's development pipeline later this year. Details.
The week
Tempe Public Library's summer programming is in full swing. A few of the standouts:
- 🦖 Extreme Dinosaur Program. A live dinosaur show for all ages. Tempe Public Library, Tuesday at 2 PM. Details.
- 🔧 Maker Lab. Hands-on VR, 3D printing, and laser cutting for teens. Wednesday at 3 PM. Details.
- ✍️ Writing Workshops with Duane Roen. Short poetic forms, from haiku to limerick. Wednesday at 1:30 PM, registration required. Details.
- 🎭 Library Improv Club. Guided by the cast of Bridge Improv Theater. Wednesday at 6 PM. Details.
- 🃏 Pokemon Hour. Trading-card play for kids, decks provided. Mondays at 5 PM. Details.
🎓 ASU & Mill Avenue
Campus events, Sun Devil sports, and what's playing down on Mill.
🏈 Arizona Juggernauts at Mullett Arena. Tempe's 5,000-seat arena gets a new tenant. The Juggernauts open their inaugural International Arena League season with indoor football. A new reason to fill the building that hosted the Coyotes. Details.
🌈 Pride Party in downtown Tempe. A night of silent disco, food, beer and wine downtown this month. Details.
✊🏾 Juneteenth Block Party. An all-ages celebration in downtown Tempe on June 19. Details.
🎆 Tempe 4th of July. Fireworks, live music, food trucks, water slides, and a beer garden, timed to the country's 250th. July 4. Details.
🎶 Performances at the Museum. Local musicians in a small room at the Tempe History Museum. A good setting for an unhurried evening. Details.
Around the Valley
A few picks worth leaving Tempe for this week.
⚾ Diamondbacks vs. Dodgers. Chase Field, tonight at 6:40 PM. The Dodgers only pass through Phoenix a few times a season. Tickets.
🏀 Mercury vs. Lynx. Mortgage Matchup Center, tonight at 7 PM. Two of the WNBA's top teams. Tickets.
🎤 The Kid Laroi. Arizona Financial Theatre, Tuesday at 7:30 PM. Tickets.
🎸 Al Jardine and The Pet Sounds Band. Musical Instrument Museum, Wednesday at 7 PM. A founding Beach Boy in one of the best-sounding rooms in town. Tickets.