And so it begins. After six years since the last substantive debates over immigration reform, the Senate Judiciary Committee recently approved the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act, the title of the legislation borne out of the months-long work of the bipartisan Gang of Eight, which includes Arizona Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake.

The Ahwatukee Foothills Cub Scout Pack of Wolf Den 2, Pack 178 has donated and planted a Chinese oak tree as their way to earn a Conservation patch. They have been using Pecos Park this year as a meeting place and the boys wanted to give back by planting this tree. The Bears are second-graders. The scout leaders are Chris Grosjean and Brenda Covarrubias.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says an outbreak of hepatitis A linked to a frozen berry mix sold at Costco has grown to 87 people with illnesses in eight states.

The Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce is offering the community a unique chance to discover Cuba through a fully-inclusive “cultural connections” program.

Five years ago Ahwatukee Foothills resident Joe Busone made headlines when his firing from a corporately-owned restaurant caused many of his employees to walk out with him. Those employees inspired him to open a restaurant of his own, and over the weekend of June 1 the business celebrated four years of doing what the staff loves.

It’s signed, sealed and delivered. The home of your dreams is now a reality and you’re ready to decorate, entertain, and nest. Then suddenly, the dream turns into a nightmare. The air conditioning unit crashes — right in the middle of the July swelter. When else?

I am one of those whose mother invoked starving children in India or China as a way to get me to eat nasty vegetables like eggplant and okra and to otherwise leave nothing on the plate. These days, I like vegetables, I clearly do not often leave anything on the plate, and my mother need not look past our own shores to see starving children.


As Christy Everson was nearing age 40, she made a decision: She wanted to have a child, even though she was single and it meant doing it all alone. Her daughter, conceived via a sperm donor, is now 2 1/2 years old, and Everson hopes to have a second child.


Tyler Viza’s inclusion at No. 427 in Baseball America’s top 500 draft prospects shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who saw Desert Vista’s comeback against Brophy in the first round of the Division I state baseball tournament.

As some of you may know I have been covering the Jodi Arias murder trial as a legal expert for FOX 10 and other national TV stations. I’ve probably done over 65 TV appearances as a legal expert on the case. This case has turned out to be the biggest case of 2013 and maybe as big as the O.J. Simpson case.

Arizona’s favorable economic and sustainability benefits will be the focus of the 14th annual Global Links Business Outlook luncheon, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 5 at the Phoenix Convention Center West Building, 100 N. Third St., Room W 101.

Don Kennedy’s guest commentary in the May 15 AFN (“Why the resistance to background checks and why the need for semi-automatics?”) attempts to perpetuate various false assertions of the gun lobby. Let’s call him on a few:

Our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution say the United States of America is a sovereign nation. Well, the UN and our progressive pols have other ideas.

There’s no smoke and mirrors about it — Americans are eating a lot more smoked seafood than they used to.

The art of the summer cocktail is something I take most seriously.

History is one of our greatest teachers.

I subscribe to six investment newsletters. All of these newsletters have alerted me that all hell is going to break loose this coming June. If you have investments in the market be prepared to lose about 80 percent of your portfolio. It is going to start with the bond market, and move over to the stock market.

Rock-star Ted Nugent has extravagant praise for National Rifle Association (NRA) Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre’s alleged patriotism. “LaPierre,” says Nugent, “resembles our forefathers who stood on Concord bridge and risked all to give birth to a truly free, independent America.”

Desert Vista High School students this week presented a near-complete application for teacher evaluations to be rolled out in the fall, a project more than a year in the making.

The Big South Conference announced the official nominees for the Conference’s Woman of the Year award for 2012-13, with 13 student-athletes including Ahwatukee resident and Seton Catholic graduate Molly Barlow from 10 member institutions comprising this year’s candidates.

Travelers accustomed to chain eateries like Chili’s and Paradise Bakery now have a chance to experience local offerings such as Cowboy Ciao, La Grande Orange and Barrio Cafe at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

Learning about the difference between wants and needs, students within the Kyrene School District learned the basics of finance and saving in a program through Bank of America.

Jerome; Willcox; Mormon Lake