As I see it, the voters rejected Kyrene School District’s bond override, the Legislature has reduced school funding, the Goldwater Institute threatens lawsuits to municipalities that provide services that can be provided by the commercial market.

Using their talents for hilarious, family-friendly improvisational comedy, Jef and Shurlin Rawls of Mesa hope to lift spirits while lightening the load for a family in their neighborhood with an event they are calling a “FUN-draiser.”

In the interest of serving you, our loyal reader – and Ahwatukee resident – better, the Ahwatukee Foothills News is asking for your help!

Even with a healthy appreciation for the arts and a career that puts me in close proximity to them — not to mention a cousin who’s an accomplished professional ballerina — I can’t say I clamor for a night at the ballet.

Dear Mikey,

Practicing what we have been preaching about the need to shop locally, the Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce is partnering with a local business on our annual print Resource Guide and Directory. The Chamber’s 2013-14 Directory will be marketed, designed and produced through an agreement with the Ahwatukee Foothills News (AFN), the publisher of this newspaper and a chamber member. We believe this will be a valuable partnership for all chamber members and those who take advantage of this opportunity to get their message out to the public.

With graduation just around the corner, Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton emphasized the importance of college and answered questions about city issues as he spoke to a classroom of seniors on Wednesday at Mountain Pointe High School.

Newborns in Need will be hosting its annual baby shower on Saturday, May 4 with free knitting, crochet and sewing lessons for anyone who attends.

Hard rocker Tom Keifer would be among the first to say that life doesn’t go as planned. The long-time musician, best known for his lead role in the band Cinderella, released his first solo album – ”The Way Life Goes” – April 30 after a 10-year process and a long struggle with partial vocal chord paralysis — the ruination of many music careers.

Trumpeter/bandleader Doc Severinsen can still hit the notes, and it's not something he ever takes for granted. He always warms up.

Wednesday, May 1 is Customer Appreciation Day at Joe’s Real BBQ in Gilbert. Anyone who shows up between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. and then from 4 p.m. through the rest of the evening — until they run out of food — will get a free BBQ sandwich made from pecan-smoked meats like chicken breast, pulled pork and beef brisket and pit ham; a free side, like sweet cut corn, potato salad, mac and cheese or BBQ pit beans; and a free drink.

Seven-year-old Ahwatukee Foothills resident Ava Loew has a need for speed.

Q: What type of business services or products do you provide?

In the interest of serving you, our loyal reader – and Ahwatukee resident – better, the Ahwatukee Foothills News is asking for your help!

When is the best time to get something done? There are a lot of different ways that people ask this question, but my initial reaction is: Whenever you have time to do it.

In the months of February and March Cerritos students made appreciation cards for Ahwatukee firefighters and police officers. More than 100 firefighters and 40 police officers cards were made using Cerritos student’s handprint and their own personal note of why they are thankful for firefighters and police officers. Students from the Kids Care Club then delivered the cards to their local police and fire stations 43, 46 and 38.

One arrived before Rudy Valee and the other a year before The Beatles, but together they made beautiful music in nurturing a piece of Ahwatukee that spanned the decades between the roaring ‘20s and this year’s cold winter rains.

Regular spraying of your home and some professional advice could save homeowners a lot of trouble this year as experts are predicting crickets, scorpions and ants to be a big problem this spring.

Ahmed Alsoudani says that America is a dreamland. Yet, his complex paintings of violence and warfare are very much influenced by his upbringing.

Kyrene de los Cerritos elementary students made appreciation cards for Ahwatukee’s firefighters and police officers. It took about a month for the students to make appreciation cards for more than 100 firefighters and 40 police officers in the area. Each card was made using the child’s handprint and their own personal note of why they are thankful for firefighters and police officers.

It’s hard to outgrow that wind-in-your-face freedom that bike riding brings. This weekend’s Great Arizona Bicycle Festival in downtown Mesa seeks to re-capture some of that childlike fun with two days of bike-centric activities along with food, games, and live music.

There was a time when America was a far off place for Fred Mann.

Maalox would have a sign in Chase Field or maybe even naming rights if he was the general manager of the Diamondbacks and was responsible for trading Justin Upton.

I, for one, appreciate the guest commentaries that the AFN has published written by Ahwatukee Foothills resident Don Kennedy. He has a love for our country and a good understanding of history and of our Constitution. When we forget history and our Constitution, we lose our liberties. Some people can see it happening before others, and I believe Mr. Kennedy is one of those precious visionary individuals. He loves our country. How can he not speak up?