Oct. 30, 2023
Stay safe when trick or treating, Oct. 31. Halloween is the deadliest day of the year for child pedestrians. On average, more than two times as many kids die on Halloween compared to other days of the year. The city’s Police and Transportation and Streets departments are asking motorists to be especially careful Tuesday night. Drivers should turn on headlights earlier than normal and drive below the speed limit during the 5-9 p.m. peak hours. Expect the unexpected and be on the lookout for children darting onto roads, crossing parking lots or walking along streets. Watch this video for more tips. Get other safety tips for costumes, candy and colored contact lenses.
Seeking community input: the impact of sound in Scottsdale. The city is evaluating potential ordinance changes and other mitigation methods that could ease the impacts from unreasonable noise while maintaining a vibrant and successful event and business environment. Your feedback is a key part of this process.
Attend any of three interactive workshops to learn more and share ideas for improving the city’s response to this important quality of life issue:
The content of each workshop is the same – choose the one that works best with your schedule. Each workshop will be at the Scottsdale Community Design Studio, 7506 E. Indian School Road. Register for the workshop of your choice.
Provide your feedback at a virtual workshop on how we can improve parks and recreation programs. Scottsdale Parks and Recreation kicked off a master planning process that will serve as a blueprint for projects, priorities and structures over the next 10 years. Join us from the comfort of your home to learn more and share your ideas for the future from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 1. We will collect information and community input during the year, assess future needs and benchmark with other agencies across the nation. Register online.
Scottsdale City Council unanimously approved parental paid leave for city employees. In a move that sets a benchmark for employee benefits and prioritizes work-life balance, the Scottsdale City Council unanimously adopted a new ordinance that provides vital support to its employees as they journey into parenthood. The City Council’s action grants eligible city employees four weeks of continuous paid parental leave, whether they are welcoming a new child through birth, adoption or foster care placement.
The new policy reflects Scottsdale's commitment to creating a supportive work environment that values the well-being of its employees and their families. Leave runs concurrently with the Family and Medical Leave Act and is available to employees who meet specific eligibility criteria. It must be used on a continuous basis and can be taken within 12 months of the date of birth, adoption or foster care placement. Get more information about Scottsdale’s employee benefits and working for the city.
Get a head start learning about city issues, projects and activities by attending or listening in on the many public meetings we host. Here’s what’s coming up:
Explore the “Power of Play” at Canal Convergence, Nov. 3-11. This year’s theme highlights the concept of “play” as one of the most creative and meaningful activities in the human experience. Discover the strength of play at this free, outdoor, 10-night public art event featuring immersive, large-scale, light-based artworks, educational workshops, family-friendly activities, art tours, live music and dance performances, a beer and wine garden, food trucks and more.
Event highlight: The One Water Brewing Showcase. Enjoy craft beers brewed with Scottsdale’s ultra-pure recycled water from 6-10 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3 and Saturday, Nov. 4. Scottsdale Water delivers recycled water from the Advanced Water Treatment Plant to participating breweries for this unique event. In 2019, Scottsdale Water became the first Arizona agency permitted to treat recycled water for potable use – water that is safe for people to drink.
Get a head start on holiday shopping at the senior center’s Arts and Crafts Fair. View the works of more than 150 vendors who sell a variety of original artwork, jewelry, photography, glass, iron work, clothing and more. The event also features live music, art demonstrations, food and free children's activities. This year's event takes place 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4, at Granite Reef Senior Center, 1700 N. Granite Reef Road.
Celebrate 50 years of Vista del Camino serving Scottsdale. Whether helping people find employment, providing food or providing counseling, the people at Scottsdale’s Vista del Camino social services center has been working hard to improve the lives of our residents. This free celebration incudes live entertainment, food trucks, games, Yaqui history and more. The event runs 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4, at the center, 7700 E. Roosevelt St. Bring a non-perishable item to donate.
Make it a goal to attend The Bentley Scottsdale Polo Championships at WestWorld. Luxury or leisure – we’ll have it all at this year’s event, Saturday, Nov. 4. Activities include live performances, luxury fashion and exotic car displays, as well as new experiences, including a Sunset Afterparty, expanded wine tasting and the 2023 All-Porsche Grand Display. Learn more and buy tickets.
Pancakes, flapjacks, griddle cakes … no matter what you call them, eating them supports the historical society. The Scottsdale Historical Society is hosting its Old-Fashioned Pancake Breakfast fundraiser 9-10:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 11, in front of the Little Red Schoolhouse, 7333 E. Scottsdale Mall. Stop by, mingle, eat some good grub and support the nonprofit. Learn more about the society.
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Arizona Fall League: Operated by Major League Baseball, this league emerged in 1992 to bring together top minor league prospects during the off-season. Get the schedule and learn how to buy tickets.
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Fall in Love with Scottsdale Civic Center: The city is celebrating the much-anticipated Scottsdale Civic Center remodel — a comprehensive renovation of the area that has served as the city’s civic and signature special event and gathering space for 55 years. This celebration features more than 70 activities taking place in and around the center and throughout Old Town through Wednesday, Nov. 22. Get a complete list.
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Scottsdale ArtWalk: Scottsdale is home to more than 100 galleries, dedicated to exhibiting the finest visual art from around the world and locally. Stroll at your own pace. 7-9 p.m. Thursdays. Specialty-themed Gold Palette ArtWalks are held 6:30-9 p.m. about once a month.
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Old Town Farmers Market: Find a variety of organic and pesticide-free produce, and seasonal specialties such as cider and apples, flowers, natural pork, beef, fish and free-range eggs. The market runs 8 a.m.-1 p.m. every Saturday through June at 3806 N. Brown Ave.
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Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts: Attend exciting, diverse events throughout the year.
Investing in Our Scottsdale: New traffic signals are coming to two Scottsdale intersections. These new signals, located at Osborn Road and 64th Street and Scottsdale and Dove Valley roads, are warranted based on traffic and pedestrian volumes and will improve safety and connectivity. Work is scheduled to be complete in mid-November.
Get schooled at October Neighborhood College classes. Neighborhood College offers four tracks: HOA/Condo, Good Neighbor, Stories of Scottsdale History and Scottsdale 360, a virtual learning series that highlights the people, policies and programs that shape our community. Register for one class or all.
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Scottsdale’s Unlucky Seven, 1-3 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 8, Mustang Library Auditorium. We’ll look back at two unusual criminal stories in Scottsdale history, and they happened in the same year! These stories include a collision that led to the family of the victim seeking longer sentences for vehicular homicides and a murder for hire case that had more curve balls than a spring training game! This is a repeat presentation.
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Treasures of Scottsdale: The Extraordinary Ellis Family, 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 14, Community Design Studio, or 1-3 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 15, Mustang Library Auditorium. For more than 70 years, the Cattle Track Arts Compound has been a hub of creativity and innovation – its influence reaching around the globe and back again. Yet the site has remained off the radar of most residents and visitors. The family behind this one-of-a-kind home for the arts traces its roots back to just a few years after the founding of the state of Arizona. Come learn about this unique and remarkable family and the artists its helped flourish.
Mayor David D. Ortega proclaimed Paul Messinger as "Scottsdale's Historian Emeritus," for his dedication to preserving the unique history of our community. This title recognizes Messinger's commitment to ensuring the past remains an integral part of the present in the "West's Most Western Town." He’s a gifted storyteller who has shared captivating accounts of our community through newspaper columns, books, in-person conversations and lectures.
Messinger helped found the Scottsdale History Hall of Fame in 1994, and he was inducted in 1995. He writes a memoir-style history column for The Arizona Republic, giving credit to the Scottsdalians who created the city’s cachet and lifestyle. He and his family also urged the creation of a history research center, now knows as the Scottsdale Heritage Connection, at Civic Center Library. Read more.
Scottsdale recognitions and awards:
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ENR Southwest announced Scottsdale Civic Center and Bell94 Sports Complex as the recipients of two prestigious awards. The newly renovated Civic Center was recognized as the best “Landscape/Urban Development” project in the region, which includes Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico. The Bell94 Sports Complex won the 2023 Best Projects Award of Merit for its innovation, sustainability contributions and safety of the project. Learn more.
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Scottsdale received high marks for traffic and infrastructure, ranked No. 5 on Best Cities to Drive list. The city’s Traffic Management Center is responsible for monitoring traffic conditions, using more than 200 miles of underground fiberoptic cables to communicate with 300+ traffic signals and cameras and more than 70 wireless radios. Traffic engineers use this system to adjust signal timing and reduce congestion in real time. The ranking was published by Wallet Hub and included an evaluation of 100 U.S. cities.
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Valley Metro named City Court Security Screener Robert “RJ” Sievers the Valley’s “Outstanding Transit Rider.” He commutes to work five days a week using Valley Metro and Scottsdale Trolley transit services. He travels 20 miles round trip from central Phoenix, not including his 1.5 mile walk to the bus stop.
Check your smoke alarms. Home is the place people feel safest from fire, but it’s actually the place you're at greatest risk. Approximately 80% of all U.S. fire deaths occur in the home; an average of seven people die in home fires every day.
Today’s homes burn faster than ever. Experts say you may have as little as two minutes to safely escape a typical home fire from the time the smoke alarm sounds. Modern home furnishings, open space concept designs and unprotected lightweight wood construction all contribute to the increased rate at which home fires burn. Reduce fires and death by:
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Using residential sprinkler systems
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Addressing the needs of groups at high risk of fire injury and death, particularly the aged, the disabled and the poor
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Twenty-six neighborhoods participated in Getting Arizona Involved in Neighborhoods (GAIN) and an additional 19 parties were held throughout October and November. Ten city departments visited various parties along with the mayor, City Council members and Neighborhood Advisory Commissioners.
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The city salvaged more than 200 cacti, ocotillo and Palo Verde trees at Ashler Hills Neighborhood Park. They will be placed onsite until they can be placed back in the landscape at the end of the park project. The McDowell Sonoran Preserve staff and volunteers also salvaged hundreds of additional small cholla balls, hedgehog and pincushion cacti to be placed in the Diamond Fire burn scar area.
State requests feedback on extreme heat response. During our record-breaking heat this summer Gov. Katie Hobbs declared a State of Emergency to support local heat relief efforts. In addition to the declaration, Hobbs signed an executive order to better coordinate future government heat responses. Share your thoughts for the short, medium or long term, as well as spotlighting innovative solutions that could be adopted in Arizona. Learn more and share your feedback.
Job of the Week: Solid Waste Training Coordinator. The successful candidate in this position provides support for regulatory compliance and various other safety programs. Benefits include 12 paid holidays; sick leave; medical, dental and vision benefits; paid parental leave, tuition reimbursement; participation in Arizona State Retirement System; and more. Learn more and apply.
