Dillie Nerios is a Florida food stamp recruiter. Her job is to sign up 150 seniors monthly in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

The Norwegian directing team of Joachim Roenning and Espen Sandberg, whose biopic of World War II resistance fighter Max Manus was a huge hit on home turf, have turned to another native hero for "Kon-Tiki." One of the most-vaunted escapades of the 20th century, Thor Heyerdahl's 1947 Peru-to-Polynesia expedition by raft gets glossy big-screen treatment in this efficiently told action-adventure. Delivering visual drama and understated character study, sometimes in disappointingly formulaic fashion, the feature has its incisive moments but falls short as both epic and intimate portrait.

According to the Government Accountability Office, the federal government operates 50 different programs for the homeless. There are 23 programs in housing, 26 for food and nutrition, 130 for at-risk youth. They also operate an astounding 342 programs for economic development, which government is notoriously bad at anyway.

Sorry, but Nancy Pelosi is wrong. We do have a spending problem and the heart of the matter is our inability to control medical costs. Spending on health care now consumes an astonishing 18 percent of our total economic output. Rising Medicare and Medicaid costs are the main drivers of our national debt crisis. Yet health care costs continue to shoot up relentlessly.

You’ve got to love living in the place everyone else wants to be.

I like to think I’m reasonably intelligent, not rocket-scientist smart, but I do OK. I can usually figure stuff out if I think on it long enough and do enough research (thank you Internet). Occasionally I’m stumped — flat out puzzled and left scratching my head — and not over anything as complicated as beating SpaceX to Mars.

Q: After hearing about the reporter who had his entire laptop wiped by hackers, I’m wondering about the best way to back up all my photos to the Internet. What Internet photo storing sites do you recommend? — Greg

Parents will find few states that offer families as many schooling options as Arizona does. A longtime leader in the national school choice movement, Arizona has an education marketplace with a school for just about any income, interest or situation. And nowhere in the state do options abound like they do in the East Valley.

This week three area wrestlers are getting a chance to test themselves against the best.

This week three area wrestlers are getting a chance to test themselves against the best.

Those families looking for a more spiritual option for their kids over the summer break can find a host of options in their own backyard and, chances are, their usual place of worship.

Those families looking for a more spiritual option for their kids over the summer break can find a host of options in their own backyard and, chances are, their usual place of worship.

Now that phones with video cameras are widespread, anyone can take video of most anything at any time, including police activity.

Now that phones with video cameras are widespread, anyone can take video of most anything at any time, including police activity.

The Kyrene School District is not informing parents how proposed changes to middle schools will affect our children next year. Although numerous updates filled with pleasant sounding generalities about middle school go out, the updates say nothing about how the changes will impact our children. Specific changes to middle schools are buried in links to lengthy documents containing more layers of links. The consequences of the changes are nowhere to be found. I am writing as a concerned parent and experienced secondary school teacher of 10 years. I have a son in sixth grade and a daughter in fifth, and I am troubled because some of the proposed changes will result in a harsh and stressful school environment. One dubious change is the elimination of the pod structure. This change will decrease student well-being and lower academic achievement.

The Kyrene School District is not informing parents how proposed changes to middle schools will affect our children next year. Although numerous updates filled with pleasant sounding generalities about middle school go out, the updates say nothing about how the changes will impact our children. Specific changes to middle schools are buried in links to lengthy documents containing more layers of links. The consequences of the changes are nowhere to be found. I am writing as a concerned parent and experienced secondary school teacher of 10 years. I have a son in sixth grade and a daughter in fifth, and I am troubled because some of the proposed changes will result in a harsh and stressful school environment. One dubious change is the elimination of the pod structure. This change will decrease student well-being and lower academic achievement.

Several movies in the past year or so have tried to get their arms around the unwieldy topic of the 2008 economic collapse. It's a subject that's incredibly complicated and, even more challenging for filmmakers, not one that's inherently cinematic.

Summer is in full swing! The weather's hot, the days are long and you'd kill to be doing anything outside. Camping trips, weekends at the beach and barbecues abound during this eventful time of year. It's a time to relax, rejuvenate and, most of all, have fun. Kids know how to do this best. After they've been studying at school all year they just want to have fun all summer long. It's good for them to get all that pent up energy out and recharge their batteries. It's good for you, too. You'll need the rest when fall comes around and the school schedule makes demands on your time and focus.

Jerry Brown

The waiting area looks like that of any doctor’s office, with magazines, television and water cooler, but those who come through the doors of Arizona Compassionate Alternatives seek treatment that is unorthodox.

School district camp. Math camp. Swim team. Reading program. Arts and crafts. Tutoring.