70 vendors and an open mic for all levels. Those looking for a more chatty event should attend Sunday Sips, where you’ll be paired with a stranger at a rotating coffee shop to follow a guided sketching workshop and meet new people. 22222 B E ST W R I T I N G WO R KS H O P Ghost Poetry ghostpoetryshow.com Ghost Poetry Show has graced Phoenix with ambitious new talent since its debut at the now-defunct Film Bar in 2021. The show nights are a spectacle of their own, but the behind-the-scenes community is where the heart of the show gets its charm. Regulars congregate at monthly meetings at host Cylie Naylor’s business, North and Co. Writers put their own prompts into a hat that are then pulled out and read aloud before a seven- minute timer is started. It’s a well-nurtured community of writers who wish to connect and a great way for new voices to hone their craft without getting on a big stage. 22222 B E ST N E W G O L D RU S H Data Centers Through the 1950s, Arizona was a haven for copper mining, which led in part to the state’s growth and general development. And while copper is still very much a massive economic driver — upward of $1 billion in 2019, per reports — there’s another gold rush ’round these parts: data centers. In recent years, companies like Digital Realty, Meta and Google have built massive, multi- million-dollar centers across the Valley. And how could they not: Whether it’s the reason- able energy prices, the heaps of affordable land or the high-speed fiber optic networks in the Valley, there are lots of factors making us a veritable paradise for these increasingly relevant tech centers. The rush, it seems, isn’t nearly over; in spring 2024, QTS Realty Trust bought 375 acres near Glendale for its third such data center. Yes, these centers are often connected with AI technology, which raises its own moral and technological concerns. But there’s little denying that these centers aren’t just a massive financial upside; they open up other vast opportunities for the Valley to further emerge as a tech hot spot. 22222 B E ST O N E-WAY T I C K E T TO T H E A F T E R L I F E Seventh Street/ Seventh Avenue Suicide Lanes To the extent that our system of roadways operates smoothly, it’s by a collective adher- ence to the rules. When the light turns red, we stop. When two lanes merge into one, we zipper. When we enter a traffic circle, we … do our honest best. But those good manners go out the window during rush hour on Seventh Avenue and Seventh Street. That’s when the center lanes change orientation — southbound-only on weekday mornings, northbound-only in the late afternoons. Copious signage communicates as much, if only drivers would notice. Every single day, riding in the suicide lane means coming grill- to-grill with someone barreling down it in the wrong direction. You’ll yell, you’ll gesture, you’ll do everything short of write “YOU CAN’T TURN HERE” on your wind- shield. None of it will matter. Just be grateful you got home alive. 22222 B E ST G L I M P S E O F A RO B OT- C O N T RO L L E D F U T U R E Waymo Driverless Taxis You’ve seen them, even if you haven’t been bold enough to ride in one. They cruise through Valley streets and neighborhoods — and recently, the highways — cameras a-whirring, empty and unnervingly silent. Sometimes they turn from the wrong lane, run into a pole or even get pulled over. Mostly, though, they roll around town ferrying passengers to and fro while the driv- er’s seat sits unoccupied. Pulling up next to one at a stop light is to gaze into a singularity, a disturbing peek at a sterile and post-human existence. Kids might call them “magic cars,” and we might call them creepy as hell, but they’re probably not going away. Like WALL-E, they’ll amble along our desiccated roadways long after civilization has ended. 22222 B E ST G UA R D I A N S O F LO CA L H I STO RY Tempe History Museum 809 E. Southern Ave., Tempe 480-350-5100 tempe.gov/government/community-services/ tempe-history-museum There’s much more to Tempe history than just Legend City, Hayden Flour Mill and Monti’s La Casa Vieja. (Remember Greasy Tony’s? How about Incredible Universe?) The East Valley suburb has a rich heritage dating back to the late 1800s filled with
