The Maricopa Community Colleges Governing Board unanimously approved the appointment of Steven R. Gonzales, Ed.D., as president of GateWay Community College, effective July 1.

The Kyrene Akimel A-al Middle School wind and percussion ensemble members became stars of their own Disney show on April 25, when they entertained visitors at the Disneyland Resort. They traveled from Phoenix to the Disneyland Resort in California to take part in a Disney Performing Arts Program.

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

Chandler-Gilbert Community College (CGCC) honored their 10th annual Teal & Silver award recipients during a breakfast event at the college’s Williams Campus on May 7 at the Student Pavilion Center. Nine winners were recognized for their efforts and support of CGCC students, employees, programs, services and the college community.

An Ahwatukee Foothills salon is teaming up with local designers to empower women and raise money for domestic violence victims with the first ever Brave Wings Fashion Show on June 22.
The fashion show will take place at The Venue Scottsdale, 7117 E., 3rd Ave., beginning at 7 p.m. on the 22nd. It will feature six designers including the founders of the show, Mabel Cortez and Jenesis Laforcarde. 
The two Arizona designers say they decided to start Brave Wings to give back to the community. They plan to host a fashion show annually to benefit a different charity each year. This year they selected Sojourner Center because their clothing lines both fit with a theme of empowering women.
Cortez’s line, Mabella Chic, focuses on strong independent women.
“I’ve been around strong women my whole life,” she said. “Coming from a strong women family, for me, it was about empowering women in the sense of making them feel good with fashion. I want to present women in a fashionable way so they can feel good about themselves.”
Laforcarde’s T-shirt line is about self respect for women.
“I decided to do a T-shirt line because of my generation,” she said. “I’m only 19 and I see my friends being dependent on their boyfriends and not supporting themselves. I wanted to create a T-shirt line about being confident, independent and doing your own thing. Whatever you want to do, you can do it, as long as you put your mind to it.”
Saskia Salon will be sponsoring the hair at the event. Saskia Salon opened in Ahwatukee at 4647 E. Chandler Blvd., two years ago. Since then Saskia Almasan, the salon’s owner, said the business has become steady and she has been able to hire a few new employees and keep the focus on customer service. Her goal is to keep growing organically. Networking with the fashion industry and local charities helps that growth.
“When you feel blessed it’s automatic to feel like you want to give back,” she said. “As a business owner you start with nothing and a dream. You’ve got to find people of like mindedness to grow that… Any time we can join with wonderful people trying to make our own city better, that’s huge. We touch lives on a daily basis in the chair. I think it goes from your chair to your community, then your city. If we keep going like that then maybe we can change the world.”


Enjoy a free family day at the park, where you can soak up the sun, listen to live music, browse arts and crafts vendors, let the kids play in water inflatables, and nosh on a variety of foods and beverages.

Goodbye, awkward dates and ugly dresses; the Children’s Museum of Phoenix prom is all about having fun with friends.

Another Mother’s Day has come and gone and the Internet is littered with women griping about how disappointed they are with their families’ celebration of their Amazing Motherhood. The eternal conflict still rages: Is the holiday a Hallmark Holiday, and thus a despised marketing ploy or the deserved reward after devoting some or all of one’s life to her children?

There have been highs and lows from the 2012-2013 athletic year.

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

All-day kindergarten registration opened this week for the Kyrene School District, offering parents tuition-free classes where kids can engage in music, art, technology and other activities.

With a passion for bilingual education, Ahwatukee Foothills resident Nicole Teyechea McNeil is opening up a preschool this summer where kids can learn and benefit from knowing a second language.

Dr. Steven R. Helfgot, Ed.D., president/CEO of the Maricopa Community Colleges Foundation, has been honored by the Victoria Foundation as a “Champion of Education.”

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.

In an effort to help wounded service members, Ahwatukee residents Agnes Oblas and Peggy Coomans are hosting a seven-hour knit-a-thon this weekend.

Higley Unified School District athletic director Art Wagner, 42, was found dead near Higley High School Wednesday morning, according to the Gilbert Police Department. Police say the matter is still under investigation, but believe Wagner died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

It’s no secret that Arizona offers some of the best and most luxurious AAA Four and Five Diamond resorts in the country. However, many travelers don’t realize that many of these properties also feature kid camps that aim to please even the pickiest pint-sized traveler. This provides mom and dad with a guilt-free way to indulge in some much-needed couple time, while allowing kids to make friends and create memories of their own.

Even though “The Great Gatsby” has gotten the movie treatment several times in the past, no film adaptation has ever really stood out as the definitive version of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s celebrated novel. Director Baz Luhrmann’s film is certainly the most visually arresting interpretation of “The Great Gatsby” ever produced. Catherine Martin, who previous worked with Luhrmann on “Moulin Rouge,” “Romeo + Juliet,” and “Australia,” deserves multiple Oscar nominations for her hyper sets and eye-popping costumes. As wonderful as Luhrmann’s “Great Gatsby” is to look at, the enchanting visuals are also ironically the movie’s downfall. In the midst of the art direction, costumes, and music, the story and characters that made Fitzgerald’s book a classic become a mere afterthought.

Phoenix film makers Marcus A. Stricklin and Sandy Kim, of Future Legends Production, have been invited to the Cannes Short Film Corner for the production of their film, “The Last Dance,” working with children actors from Ahwatukee.

A theatrical look at the life of an amazing young woman whose courage paved the way for all future Americans. Christian Youth Theatre of Phoenix stages this elaborate production with a 60 member cast.