Chandler is seeking proposals from businesses to locate in the historic downtown square. The city is hoping to attract a business that complements current downtown businesses, ideally retail or entertainment. The city’s building is known as the Blue Peacock, at 51 E. Boston St. Proposals are due May 9. To download the application, visit chandleraz.gov/ed and click on “Downtown Redevelopment.”

Simpson Strong-Tie is opening a 20,000-square-foot facility in Chandler to house a small manufacturing facility and training center.

After subscribing to the Tribune and its Valley and national competitors for many years, I can honestly say the Tribune, for its size, is proportionately superior in content and the technical online services. The competitor’s $28.50 + tip/month for printed and online service; the Tribune, gratis.

Edward Jones, a financial services firm, is hiring and will host a career fair 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 2 at its Tempe training center, 8333 S. River Parkway.

Allstate Insurance Company is recognizing Roger Bentley of Mesa for his 20 years as an exclusive Allstate Insurance agency owner. Bentley provides auto, home, life and commercial insurance, along with financial products that include college savings plans, mutual funds, banking products and more. His office is at 3740 E. Southern Ave., suite 201.

A 341-unit apartment complex in Gilbert’s Val Vista Lakes has sold for $28 million. Vista Montana, 3225 E. Baseline Road, was built in 1990 and was 90 percent occupied at the time of the sale.

A 164,000-square foot industrial building in Chandler has been sold for $7.6 million.

Gilbert is considering a 7.5 percent cut to the trash component of utility bills to reflect cost-cutting efforts the town’s Solid Waste department has made. The savings come from reducing the number of miles garbage trucks drive, renegotiating disposal contracts, increasing recycling revenue and fleet standardization. The Town Council is considering the rate change as part of the budget process for the fiscal year that begins in July.

The Arizona Small Business Association is hosting its first annual National Small Business Week Mixer on May 22. The event is free and open to the public, but a reservation is required. The mixer is at Gateway Community College, 275 N. Gateway Drive. in Phoenix. For information, go to www.asba.com.

Business owners in Tempe who want to display a special event sign can watch a quick overview of the permit process on a new Tempe YouTube video.

A company that provides safety compliance and training materials to other employers is expanding its Tempe office and hiring 80 new employees. Safety Services is hiring for jobs that include customer service, sales, collections and billing.

A Chandler Bank of America affiliate will hire 110 financial advisers in the first quarter of 2012. The advisers will work at the Merrill Edge Advisory Center, where they will specialize in customers with investable assets of $50,000 to $250,000. These so-called preferred customers are among the fastest-growing segment in the financial services industry, according to Bank of America.

A letter in the April 3 Tribune referred to the Philadelphia Inquirer as “the city’s major black newspaper.” The writer is entitled to his opinions about why stories he considers important are not given more prominent display in that paper.

With regard to Secretary Leon Panetta’s fear that reduced defense spending will “hollow out our military,” one must ask why there are currently over 196,000 American military troops stationed in 150-plus foreign countries. Does the money spent to deploy troops in this manner really help secure the shores of the United States of America?

State health officials say a delay in opening the first medical marijuana dispensary in the Phoenix area means there will be a delay in starting to phase out cardholders’ authorizations to grow their own.

Students at Chandler’s Hamilton High School are collecting donations to to help the victims of Hurricane Sandy, which slammed into the Northeast last week. The students are running a “dollar drive” this week. If every person on campus — students, teachers and staff — gives $1, the school will raise close to $4,000. To encourage participation, the student council has adopted the slogan, “Each one give $1.”

Cousins Subs will open its third Valley location at 10 a.m. Thursday at 2015 N. Power Road, Suite 103, in east Mesa. In honor of Cousins Subs’ 40 years in business, the first 40 guests who purchase a 7 1/2-inch sub combo will receive free Cousins Subs for a year.

The Farmers Market in Downtown Chandler will launch a food drive Thursday to help the United Food Bank. Boxes will be at every Chandler Farmers Market until Nov. 30. Items needed include peanut butter, canned meat, canned fruits and vegetables, cereal, soup, stews, and other non-perishable items.

More than 400 high school students from nearly 20 Arizona schools, including several from the East Valley, will take part Thursday in the sixth annual Junior Achievement of Arizona’s Student Stock Market Challenge. Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton will ring the closing bell.

Working to create a secure communications device, Chandler’s Cummings Engineering will launch the SAIFE Defender in California next week during the HALO Counter-Terrorism Summit.

Donations are being accepted by the Boy Scouts of America Troop 653 for their garage sale at Central Christian Church in Mesa next month.

Maricopa County Community College District’s division of business services received an award for outstanding business officer from a national organization.

Southwest Gas workers are trying to close a natural gas leak that caused the evacuation of a Tempe car dealership.

The East Valley Institute of Technology in Mesa has been awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) for its comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR).