Good morning, Queen Creek. Highs run 112 today, 110 Tuesday, and 108 Wednesday, so anything outdoors is an early-morning job.
- 🏗️ The 2028 general plan is open for resident input. It is the town's long-range guide for land use, housing, and growth areas.
- 🏚️ A family is working to save the Big Tin cotton gin. The property it sits on sold for a new gas station.
- 🚌 Busing problems continue at EVIT. QCUSD is one of the districts named in the dispute that was supposed to be settled.
- 🌮 Feastival is back Friday. Food trucks from 5:30 PM.
- 🏠 159 new listings came on the Queen Creek market last month.
- 🎟️ Four Valley picks worth the drive. Baseball downtown, plus shows in Tempe and Phoenix.
Queen Creek is writing its 2028 general plan
The town is asking residents to help shape the 2028 General Plan Update, the document that will steer growth and development here for the next decade.
Key facts:
- What it is: the town's long-range guide for growth and development over the next ten years.
- What it covers: land use, housing, growth areas, and the other elements that shape town decisions.
- What it does: sets the goals, policies, and actions that town staff and council lean on when a project comes forward.
- How to weigh in: the town is collecting resident input now. Details.
Queen Creek incorporated in September 1989 with roughly 2,500 residents and a stated purpose: to preserve the benefits of rural life while providing an avenue for managed change. The 2020 census counted 59,519 people. The 2024 estimate is about 83,700, which is more than 587% growth since 2000. A general plan is where that founding sentence stops being a phrase and becomes a map.
What to watch: the land use element, which is where the growth debate ultimately lands.
Around Queen Creek
🏚️ A family is trying to save the Big Tin cotton gin. The Queen Creek property the gin sits on has sold for a new gas station, and the family is working to preserve the structure. Details.
🚓 The police chief gave a tour of the new QCPD facility. ABC15 got a walk-through of the department's new building. Details.
🐕 Livewell Animal Hospital is open at Riggs and Rittenhouse. Full-service veterinary care in the Safeway Plaza at the southwest corner, founded by Dr. Sherrod Hart, with walk-in appointments available. Details.
🏊 Presidential Pools has opened a design showroom in Queen Creek. The pool builder announced the grand opening on July 31 as it expands in the Southeast Valley. Details.
🏋️ EōS Fitness is planning five new Arizona locations. The 24-hour chain has two Mesa clubs in the works plus San Tan Valley, Buckeye, and Phoenix. Details.
🏠 159 new listings came on the Queen Creek market last month. Details.
The week ahead
- 🎲 The Council, Tuesday. Teen program (13 to 17) at Queen Creek Library, 3:30 PM. Registration required. Details.
- ❤️ Healthy Heart, Wednesday. Adult class at Queen Creek Library, 9:30 AM. Registration required. Details.
- 🌮 Queen Creek Feastival, Friday. Food trucks starting at 5:30 PM. Details.
- 🐴 Beat the Heat riding series, Saturday. Open riding in the Chapman Automotive Group Arena, 6 AM to noon. Arena rules apply and riders sign a waiver. Details.
- 🦎 Read to Critters, Saturday. Drop-in reading for kids 5 to 12 at Queen Creek Library, 10:30 AM, English and Español. No registration. Details.
Looking a week out: the mystery book club meets Wednesday, August 12 at 12:30 PM, and Books and Banter follows Thursday, August 13 at 6 PM. Both take registration. Further out, Queen Creek Trivia Night at BrüCo Taproom is Thursday, August 27.
From the schools
🚌 EVIT busing is still a problem after the districts and the tech school settled up. The Queen Creek Tribune reports transportation issues continue at the East Valley Institute of Technology even after the agreement dispute was resolved. QCUSD, Higley Unified (the district covering western Queen Creek), and Chandler Unified all send students there. Details.
🚸 QCPD is asking drivers to slow down now that classes are back. The department's back-to-school reminder is the short version: slow down, put the phone away, and obey posted signage around campuses. Details.
📱 Queen Creek Rotary put kids' digital safety at the center of a recent program. Speaker Katey McPherson covered raising resilient kids and online risk. Details.
Around the Valley
A few picks worth leaving town for this week.
🎤 Josh Tatofi at Marquee Theatre, Tempe, Tuesday. One night only, and a shorter drive than most Valley shows. Tickets.
⚾ Diamondbacks vs. Padres at Chase Field, Phoenix, tonight. First pitch at 6:40 PM. With the roof closed, it is the coolest room in the Valley in August. Tickets.
🎬 John Cameron Mitchell brings the Hedwig 25th anniversary movie tour to The Van Buren, Phoenix, tonight. One date on the whole run stops here. Tickets.
🎸 Passion Pit at The Van Buren, Phoenix, Wednesday. The Van Buren is on the smaller end for a band this size. Tickets.