Close to a thousand high school seniors tossed their caps up to the evening sky as Desert Vista and Mountain Pointe high schools hosted commencement ceremonies on their home football fields Thursday.

Most of us already realize “normal” is relative. Yet, we are only human. And as such, we can scarcely stop ourselves from the very-human behavior of seizing every available opportunity to try to quantify and define the term.

The Ahwatukee Foothills Village Planning Committee is preparing to defend Ahwatukee residents’ quality of life during construction of the South Mountain Freeway, should it go down Pecos Road.

Some parents may be wondering how to keep their young child’s time occupied with summer on its way.

The city of Phoenix recently recognized the 2013 Outstanding Young Man and Young Woman of the Year winners at the 27th annual awards event. Sixteen students were selected as council district winners were recognized at the event, along with the teacher who inspired them the most. Each of the district winners received a $250 cash award.

The Ahwatukee Foothills Soccer Club had its first team qualify for the West Regional.

OB Sports Golf Vacations has three golf packages available starting at $160 per night.

The Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits (Alliance) and Arizona Grantmakers Forum (AGF) awarded $179,500 in prizes to 40 nonprofits who participated in Arizona Gives Day at a reception on May 2.

The Department of Administration reports Arizona’s jobless rate last month was 7.9 percent. That’s the third straight month at that level.

Arizona Structures is expanding its expertise into Arcadia, Scottsdale and Paradise Valley.

A $70,000 grant from the Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services will enhance Hospice of the Valley’s care for patients who are military veterans.

Recently, I’ve had many cases involving dogs that have extremely high prey drives. Dogs have a natural instinct for hunting prey. Smell and motion of other animals will instantly attract a dog to their instinctive prey drive. Of course, with domesticated dogs, we feed them so they don’t have to hunt. To ensure your dog views your family cat as a “pack member” and NOT a “pack prey-toy,” follow the below simple tips:

If you grew up in the early 90s, you probably remember an animated feature from 20th Century Fox called “FernGully: The Last Rainforest.” It was the environmentally-conscious movie every 90s kid saw, and yet, nobody really liked. The film’s intentions might have been good, but even the youngest children seemed to find its blatant green message overly preachy. The fact that “FernGully” was lacking in any interesting characters or magic didn’t help. “Epic,” which was also coincidentally distributed by Fox, is a bit like “FernGully” if it had smarter, more imaginative filmmakers backing it. While it’s not a massive improvement, “Epic” is at least fun, energized, and subtle with its environmental themes.

On paper, J.J. Abrams’ 2009 “Star Trek” is one of those movies that should have crashed and burned. A reboot of a beloved franchise with younger, lesser-known actors stepping into the shoes of an iconic cast of characters. The fact that Abrams went on record stating that he was never a huge “Star Trek” fan didn’t bode well either. Against all odds, though, Abrams not only produced a great “Star Trek” picture, but quite possibly the best “Star Trek” ever made. That’s right, even better than “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.”

The Arizona Baseball Coaches Association has released its All-State teams for each of the four divisions.Three area players were honored.

Indie-folk artist Jay Nash will be performing in the Valley’s very own The Rhythm Room this Wednesday May 22, with fellow performer David Ramirez.

Those interested in what Basis Ahwatukee has to offer before its August opening can meet the head of school and get more information at a series of meetings.

Longtime Mountain Pointe Athletic Director Ian Moses announced recently that he was no longer going to be the athletic director at the Ahwatukee high school.

Kyrene School District officials Monday said new, lower rates for use of facilities, namely for youth sports organizations will be presented in early next month.

As part of the recently passed state budget which included an expanded Medicaid plan expected to reach some 350,000 Arizonans, local school districts are expected to receive inflation funding next fiscal year.

Dear Mikey,

The end of the school year is upon us and now the inevitable question is: “What are we going to do ALL summer long?” or the infamous: “I’m bored,” yes it is summer break! Parents are frantically searching for camps, activities, play dates, swimming lessons, movie days, etc. to fill their kid’s days to avoid the “I’m bored” trap.

Residents of Laveen are ready for the South Mountain Loop 202 Freeway to be built.

The football coaches evidently can’t wait until August for their first showdown of the year.