Community

Four Chambers Press has filled the community's need for a compilation of local literature. It has already published one issue, released in December of last year, and plans on releasing the next issue in October.

In an effort to assist summertime business and have downtown visitors evade the summer heat, the new "Vampire Hours" initiative in Roosevelt Row will shift operating hours of some businesses and keep many of them open until at least 9 p.m. The initiative started on June 6 and will run until Sept. 1.

The importance of Arizona's current and future leaders in shaping the state's national identity was emphasized by all nine candidates running for state governor at Friday's gubernatorial forum at the Phoenix Convention Center, organized by the Center for the Future of Arizona's The Arizona We Want Institute.

Greg Esser, the vice president for the Roosevelt Row Community Development Corporation board, spoke about the preservation and promotion of the Roosevelt Row Artists' District at a community forum in Seattle on Tuesday, May 20.

Savannah Sanders, a recent graduate from ASU's School of Social Work and a former sex-trafficking victim, works along with other state programs to help victims of human trafficking regain their footing.

The 7-foot teddy bear installation, titled "I Bearly Give a Scrap," is just one of the many temporary art projects present throughout the Roosevelt Row area downtown. With the bear, creator Tara Logsdon hopes to inspire people to reuse old materials that may otherwise go into landfills.

Rosie’s House: A Music Academy for Children is a nonprofit that offers free music education for close to 400 students in Phoenix. Many of the youth who go to Rosie's House attend schools without arts programs, while others come in addition to other music classes.

The Japanese Friendship Garden in downtown Phoenix is a place of serenity, meditation and peace for its visitors. But that won't be the case this summer, when construction will begin on a nearby highway tunnel. The project requires many trees, plants and shrubs to be excavated and removed from the garden.

Some properties pay a reduced tax rate based on Government Property Lease Excise Tax agreements, but critics say the law harms small businesses. The length of these agreements downtown ranges from 8 to 99 years.

Downtown has seen a trend as businesses expand into other locations throughout the city. Matt's Big Breakfast, Short Leash Hot Dogs and Lola Coffee have all expanded out of downtown in the past year.