NearbyNews.com Blog

The Mobility Center, located at 134 N. Dobson Road, Mesa, AZ 85201, will hold an open house on Friday, March 12 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to celebrate its 35th Anniversary.

There will fun, food, fellowship, new product demonstrations, question and answer sessions with product representatives and free service check-ups. A surprise mystery guest will also be in attendance.

If you would like to join the fun, please RSVP The Mobility Center at (480) 890-0878.

Working in partnership with Mesa Public Schools and Bashas’ and Food City supermarkets, the City of Mesa will host a Plastic Bag Round-up Recycling Challenge from March 8-April 2 in honor of Earth Day. Elementary students at all Mesa Public Schools located within the City of Mesa will be challenged to bring in their no-longer-needed plastic grocery bags to help their class and/or school to become the top recycler. A goal has been set for students to collect and recycle one ton of plastic grocery bags.

At the end of the challenge, City of Mesa staff will calculate how many plastic bags were collected by all K-6 students. Winners in the following categories will be announced on Earth Day (April 22):
• Top Boy & Girl: The boy and girl who collect the most plastic bags in the entire district will each win a bike from Bashas’/Food City, a 1-hour ride on a City of Mesa recycle truck and have their photo featured on a recycle truck billboard sign.

• Top Class: The classroom that collects the most plastic bags in the entire district will win reusable bags from Bashas’/Food City and will have their class photo featured on a recycle truck billboard sign.

• Top School: The elementary school that collects the most plastic bags will win the 2010 Earth Day Plastic Bag Recycling Round-Up Challenge trophy!

The plastic bags that are collected will be taken to a local Bashas’ supermarket. From there, Bashas’ will send the bags to a recycling facility for processing. End uses for the material include plastic lumber, carpet and playground equipment. Even after the challenge ends, Mesa residents are encouraged to continue recycling their plastic grocery bags by taking them back to their local retailer including their neighborhood Bashas’ and Food City grocery store. Source reduction is an even better option and can be accomplished by reducing the number of grocery bags used or by using reusable bags instead.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, approximately 2.9 million tons of bags, sacks and wraps were generated in 2008 but only 390 thousand tons were recycled, equaling a 13.4 percent recovery rate.

For more information about the Plastic Bag Round-up Recycling Challenge, please visit www.mesarecycles.org.

Steve Tyrell, American jazz singer, producer, and composer, delivers his own interpretation of jazz and pop standards to Mesa Arts Center Thursday, March 11, at 7:30 p.m. A Grammy winner and Emmy nominee, Tyrell has produced hits for Dionne Warwick, Burt Bacharach, and Hal David among others. Tickets are $42 and are available through the Mesa Arts Center Box Office at mesaartscenter.com or by calling 480-644-6500.

Beginning his career in R&B at a young age, Tyrell has collaborated with a wide range of artists including Rod Stewart, Diana Ross, Ray Charles, Linda Ronstadt, Aaron Neville, LL Cool J, Blood Sweat and Tears, Chris Botti, Dave Koz, Dolly Parton, Bonnie Raitt, Bette Midler, and Stevie Wonder. He is also well known for performing “The Way You Look Tonight” in the movie Father of the Bride.

In addition to producing hits for popular artists and movie soundtracks, Tyrell has released multiple albums featuring jazz, holiday, and Disney classics, with Back to Bacharach as his latest. Delivering a fresh take on well-known classics, Tyrell’s smooth voice is sure to please every audience.

1959 – the first Barbie doll goes on display at the American Toy Fair in New York City.

Source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

1817 – The New York Stock Exchange is founded.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_8

1966 – Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler hits #1 with “Ballad of The Green Berets”

Source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/staff-sergeant-barry-sadler-hits-1-with-quotballad-of-the-green-beretsquot

March 6, 2010, the Colon Cancer Alliance (CCA), Chapter of Central Arizona will be holding a Colon All Angels “Ride a Bike, Save a Butt” Benefit Motorcycle Ride through Pinal County with all proceeds going to the Colon Cancer Alliance to improve awareness and patient support for the nation’s second largest cancer killer. Shelia Casto, Outreach Director for CCA Chapter of Central Arizona is the ride organizer and is a stage 3 colorectal cancer survivor. As an avid rider, she conceptualized and organized the “Colon All Angels” motorcycle Benefit ride for March 6 to raise awareness of this disease.  

Ride begins with 10:30 am registration at Joeta’s Leather located at 433 W. Main Street, Mesa and concludes with a 5:00 pm dinner and band at American Legion Post #2 located 2125 S. Industrial Park Ave, Tempe. For complete details on “Ride a Bike, Save a Butt!” contact Ride Organizer Shelia Casto, Outreach Director at (602) 320-4065 or misbehavinagain@cox.net or visit http://colonallangels.webs.com/.

Copperstar Repertory Co. – March 5 at 7:30 pm & March 6 at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm.  Williams Field High School Auditorium.  All seats are General Admission so arrive a few minutes early to get the seats you prefer. The house opens 30 minutes prior to show-time.

Visit www.copperstarep.org for tickets and more information.

1861 – First national flag of the Confederate States of America (the “Stars and Bars”) is adopted.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_4

Attend the Mesa Arts Center All Day Spring Break Camp for Kids from March 15-19, 2010

Mesa Arts Center is excited to announce Spring Break Camp for kids March 15-19. Campers will enjoy drama, dance, music, and art classes taught by trained artists/ educators. A ratio of one instructor to 10 campers will be maintained during activities. To ensure quality instruction, enrollment has been limited. Campers must provide their own food and beverages. As part of Spring Break Camp, the students will be able to attend the National Geographic Live (NGL) daytime event of Army Ants & Flying Frogs by ecologist Mark Moffett.The camp is for children in all day kindergarten through 7th grade.

The camp will be held at the Mesa Arts Center Art Studios, One East Main Street, Mesa, AZ 85211 on March 15-19 from 7 a.m.- 6 p.m.

For more information or to register your child visit mesaartscenter.com or call Mesa Arts Center’s class registration at 480-644-6520.