J.T. Gray transferred to Basha over the weekend, and if the Coolidge district so chooses, it can quietly let the issue die.

All-Tribune Softball First Team

Two new restaurants have opened in recent months on the opposite side of Gilbert Road, both hawking tacos and more to the growing downtown Gilbert dining crowd.

Two new restaurants have opened in recent months on the opposite side of Gilbert Road, both hawking tacos and more to the growing downtown Gilbert dining crowd.

For more than 30 years, two words — “East Valley” — did more than anything else to put a vibrant, growing, destination-in-an-of-itself region on the map. Without them, this area may well have remained the land of Nod: A sleepy place whose residents do little other than shift positions every few hours.

Within the next five years, District 25 state Sen. Bob Worsley, R-Mesa, and his wife Christi hope to have Arizona’s first “world-class concert hall” adjacent to another city institution available for public use.

5 Questions with RON BURNS

It's hard to think of ways to honor dad on Father's Day, but Culver's is making it much, much easier with their $2 two-scoop sundaes.

The signings are coming fast and furious, as many former East Valley baseball stars have agreed to terms with the Major League Baseball teams which drafted them last week. All figures courtesy of Baseball America.

EXTERNAL LINK: A weekly roundup of Arizona geek culture happenings by Best of East Valley 2011 blogger Jonathan Simon.

Forget chug-a-lugging for a quick buzz; these East Valley beer-sampling options offer a learned approach to discovering new brews and cultivating a classier palate for cold ones.

Arizona’s summer monsoon season presents the most dangerous weather of the year in the state.

As the economy continues to recover, competition is intense in virtually every industry. The auto insurance providers slug it out for market share. The cell phone service carriers fight tooth and nail for subscribers. Even universities battle it out to attract students, not to mention benefactors and research dollars.

After considering dozens upon dozens of options, the East Valley Partnership announced its new branding effort for the region it calls home — a move that doesn’t stray too far from its roots, but also incorporates a more widely-known entity.

It started with a headline in the New York Times. Bob Barr, 88, picked up his newspaper to find an article about the closure of a fully-automated Japanese factory.