Sports on hold / P. 18
Evictions delayed / P. 9
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An edition of the East Valley Tribune
Historic Mesa building recast for a hi-tech future
INSIDE
This Week
BY JIM WALSH Tribune Staff Writer
NEWS ......................... 4 Clinic has free 24/7 COVID-19 testing at MCC.
COMMUNITY .......... 14 Teen in running for Braille Champion.
BUSINESS ............. 16 Mesa bar joins fight against closures.. COMMUNITY ............................... 14 BUSINESS ..................................... 16 SPORTS......................................... 18 PUZZLES ...................................... 19 CLASSIFIED ................................. 22 Zone
Sunday, July 19, 2020
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lassic old lunch counters, once a popular mainstay during downtown Mesa’s height as a thriving retail center, will live on as the former J.J. Newberry’s department store takes on a new high-tech purpose. The vacant Main Street store’s 1949 lunch counter, still in good shape but missing a few barstools, will be preserved as a memory of a different time while Mesa moves toward its future. The counter’s restoration is part of the company Launch Pad’s ambitious plans to turn the store into a trendy co-working space where young entrepreneurs attracted by the new ASU@citycenter campus will mingle, exchange ideas and launch high-tech startups. Mayor John Giles and Councilwoman Jen Duff hailed the project, unveiled last week in a virtual presentation by Launch Pad and Caliber, a Scottsdale-based investment �irm and a major downtown Mesa property owner.
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The J.J. Newberry's department store on Main Street (top photo) helped make downtown Mesa a retail magnet for shoppers back in the 1950s. Closed a half century ago, the building is now envisioned (bottom photo) as the home for Launch Pad, which offers coworking and other space. (Special to the Tribune)
Mesa schools chief doubts Aug. 17 campus reopening BY ZACH ALVIRA Tribune Staff Writer
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esa Public Schools Governing Board members and the community saw for the �irst time the district’s �inalized plan for the 2020-21 school year as administration of�icials strongly indicated a return to classrooms may not occur Aug. 17. “Mesa Public Schools does not have any
plans to return on Aug. 17,” said Superintendent Dr. Andi Fourlis. “We do not know that Aug. 17 is a safe date to return for our students or our staff.” Gov. Doug Ducey set Aug. 17 as the date all districts can reopen campuses, although at least one district, Scottsdale Uni�ied, already has set Sept. 8 as the earliest date for returning to classrooms. Meanwhile, Mesa will begin the new school
year Aug. 4 with online learning for all its nearly 60,000 students and Fourlis and her aides outlined how that will work during the board meeting. The district’s plan revamps remote instruction mode by providing a more structured learning environment for students. The �irst week of school will be on an early-
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