With only a partial City Council on hand, Mesa Mayor Scott Smith ultimately pulled an agenda item on a proposed Marriott Springhill Suites Hotel — slated for the “Wrigleyville” area between the news Cubs’ baseball stadium and park at Riverview — from the council’s meeting during its study session Monday night.

Empire Southwest, LLC recently broke ground on a major new service facility on its Mesa, Arizona campus. The new building will house the Component Rebuild Center (CRC) shop and a significant portion of Empire’s product support operation. More than 50 new service and support employees will be added when the facility opens in 2014, and the company projects that up to 175 additional employees may be needed within six years.

Peter Sterling’s ascent to the pinnacle of the Mesa business community was relatively fast.

As it has for years, the Mesa Fire Department invested Thursday in the training of fire science students at the East Valley Institute of Technology by donating an item the school could not otherwise afford: a 1997 Pierce Quantum 4-door cab fire truck.

After a number of scheduled performances — including by the Territorial Brass Band and state historian Marshall Trimble — Mesa’s recently re-elected mayor and city council members were designated to be sworn in Tuesday night at Mesa Arts Centers’ Virginia G. Piper Theater during a celebration hosted by local radio newsman Ned Foster.

A District 3 neighborhood is the latest in Mesa to undergo the city’s Building Stronger Neighborhoods initiative.

Santa Claus, the Mesa Fire and Medical Department, Mesa Police and Southwest Ambulance joined with Mesa Councilman Dennis Kavanaugh to deliver hundreds of toys Monday to the young patients at Cardon Children’s Medical Center.

It has been 14 years since the Mesa mayor and City Council have received pay raises.

Mesa will have three new low- to moderate-income housing developments in the next few months, thanks to the city, private developers and federal tax credits administered by the state.

Residents of Mesa’s District 3 can learn more about the Building Strong Neighborhoods Initiative during an orientation 6:30 p.m. Dec. 4 at Roosevelt Elementary School, 828 S. Valencia St.

Bit by bit, Mesa’s Fiesta District is being transformed.

Mesa Councilman Dennis Kavanaugh announced the start of his fourth-annual holiday toy drive, which got underway Nov. 15. Toys will be given to patients at Cardon Children’s Medical Center in Mesa.

A look at key Mesa facts and figures

Are your computers safe and secure? As part of the national Stop.Think.Connect campaign against cyber threats to computers in the private and public sector, the city of Mesa and the Department of Homeland Security are hosting a cyber security summit at the Mesa Arts Center on Wednesday, Sept. 26.

Benedictine University at Mesa dedicated its student services center Thursday for the campus that will open in downtown Mesa next fall.

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton announced his endorsement of Kyrsten Sinema for Congressional District 9 on Monday.

Mesa Councilman Dennis Kavanaugh is hosting a Coffee with the Councilmember on Sept. 28, with a guest who will speak about emergency preparedness.

More than 750,000 Maricopa County voters will get early ballots in the mail as soon as Thursday, when voting begins for the Aug. 28 primary elections.

The arts community in Mesa generates nearly $25.2 million in economic activity a year, according to a study measuring the power of cultural amenities across the nation.

Christopher Nolan concludes his Batman trilogy in typically spectacular, ambitious fashion with "The Dark Knight Rises," but the feeling of frustration and disappointment is unshakable.

Christopher Nolan concludes his Batman trilogy in typically spectacular, ambitious fashion with "The Dark Knight Rises," but the feeling of frustration and disappointment is unshakable.

Mesa Councilman Dennis Kavanaugh will host a Coffee with the Councilmember on July 20, with a focus on transportation. Kavanaugh’s guest speaker is Jodi Sorrell, a transit public involvement coordinator for the city. Sorrell will talk about changes in light rail, bus and dial-a-ride services, as well as provide an update on the light rail extension into downtown. The event is scheduled from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. at the United Food Bank, 245 S. Nina Drive. Coffee and light refreshments will be provided.