Gateway Pulse for August 13, 2026: Gateway Library wins world's best new library, plus Oregano's on Signal Butte

• 📚 Gateway Library named the world's best new public library. The branch next to the Great Park won the 2026 international award.
• 🍕 Oregano's Pizza Bistro files for a Signal Butte restaurant license. The address is 3506 S. Signal Butte Road.
• 🍷 Neighbors Night Out and Wine Club at The 'Mark, Friday. Kid-free, charcuterie board competition, RSVP required.
• 🥕 Eastmark Farmers Market, Saturday morning. Great Park parking lot, 7 a.m. to noon.
• 🏊 Eastmark Aquatic Complex picks a construction manager. Council votes on a $136,295 pre-construction contract Aug. 31.
• 📌 Still tracking: EastMarket, Liv at Eastmark, and the Brakes Plus site plan.

Key facts:

• The award: the 2026 Public Library of the Year, given by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions with James Bennett. Announced this week.
• The branch: Mesa Public Library's Gateway location, opened in 2024.
• Where: next to the Great Park. The Saturday farmers market sets up in the lot just south of it.
• What's inside this weekend: Crochet Away at 10 a.m. Saturday, Family Storytime at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Worth knowing for anyone still sorting out how the systems work here: this is a Mesa Public Library branch, not a Maricopa County one, so a Mesa card is what gets used at the desk. Eastmark got homes, schools, and parks first. The library arrived ahead of the retail center still under construction at Ellsworth and Ray.

The full write-up on the award is at 12News, and Mesa Now has its own write-up.

Friday

• 🍷 Neighbors Night Out and Wine Club, 6:30 p.m. at The 'Mark (10100 E. Ray Road). Bring a mini charcuterie board and a bottle, then compete for Most Creative, Best Presentation, or Crowd Favorite. Kid-free. Details and RSVP.
• 🔒 The 'Mark closes early at 5 p.m. The Bus Stop and the community pool close with it for the wine club setup. Everything reopens Saturday at 7 a.m. Details.

Saturday

• 🥕 Eastmark Farmers Market, 7 a.m. to noon in the Great Park parking lot just south of the library. Vendor applications are open at eastmarkmarketaz.com. Details.
• 🧶 Crochet Away, 10 a.m. at Gateway Library. Ages 12 and up, bring a yarn project in progress. Details.
• 📖 Family Storytime, 11 a.m. at Gateway Library. Ticketed and space is limited. Tickets go out 15 minutes before it starts. Details.

Monday and after

• 🎧 Sensory Storytime, 9:30 a.m. Monday at Gateway Library. Dim lighting, music, movement, and repetition, built for kids with sensory and neurodiverse needs. Details.
• 👶 Baby Lapsit, 10:30 a.m. Monday at Gateway Library. Ticketed, tickets 15 minutes prior. Details.
• ☕ Eastmark Entrepreneur, 8:30 a.m. Tuesday in the Classroom at The 'Mark. Coffee, networking, and a spotlight on one local business. Details.

• 🍕 Oregano's Pizza Bistro is applying for a liquor license on Signal Butte. The Arizona chain filed for a Series 12 restaurant license (the standard license for a sit-down spot that serves lunch and dinner) at 3506 S. Signal Butte Road. There is no existing license at the address, which means this is a new build rather than a takeover. Council votes Aug. 31. Details.
• 🍺 Sprouts filed for beer and wine at 5131 S. Ellsworth Road. The application is a Series 10S license, which lets a grocery store sell beer and wine and hand out samples. It goes to council the same night, Aug. 31. That is the EastMarket store, and license filings usually track a few months ahead of opening day. Details.
• 🏊 The Eastmark Aquatic Complex is picking a construction manager. Staff recommends Sun Eagle Corporation for a $136,295 pre-construction contract. The job is to review the design, price it, sequence the build, and set a guaranteed maximum price before anyone breaks ground. Council votes Aug. 31. Details.
• 🏨 A dual-brand hotel on Power Road goes to council Monday. Tempo by Hilton Gallery Park and Homewood Suites Mesa Airport, at 5057 S. Power Road, filed for a Series 11 hotel license covering a restaurant and bar. Council takes it up Aug. 17. Details.
• 🏠 Typical rent in Mesa is about $1,548 a month, roughly flat over the past year. Details.

• ⛳ Eastmark High School boys varsity golf plays Desert Sunrise and Skyline, 3 p.m. Tuesday. Details.
• ⛳ Girls varsity golf plays Apache Junction and Crismon, 3 p.m. Wednesday. Crismon is the third Queen Creek Unified high school, out on Riggs and Crismon. Details.

• 🛒 Sprouts at EastMarket (Ray and Ellsworth). Construction underway. Building wraps up around August, Sprouts opens Q4 2026.
• 🍎 Apple manufacturing on Signal Butte. Council took up the Foreign Trade Zone agreement on Monday, May 18.
• 🏢 Liv at Eastmark (NE corner Ellsworth and Ray). 208 apartments across 12 buildings, recently approved. Construction next.
• 🔧 Brakes Plus Mesa (Ellsworth and Elliot). Auto shop still working through council site plan tweaks.