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 scenes were about 20 miles and three hours apart on Thursday, but nonetheless felt much the same.

With the onslaught of Oscar contenders that debuted last November, there’s a good chance that a little-seen indie gem, “Starlet,” managed to fall off your radar during its short, theatrical run. Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the 2011 SXSW film festival, “Starlet” explores the unlikely friendship between a cheerful, aspiring actress (played by the winsome Dree Hemingway) and a cantankerous, elderly widow (the late Besedka Johnson).

Pippa can be a bit shy when she meets new people but with a little bit of time, this little gal opens up to show her peppy, loving and cuddly personality. She has flourished into a sweet, bubbly dog. She loves to play ball with her foster brother and go on walks. One of her favorite activities is playing with toys. Pippa loves to pull all the toys out of the toy box and hide various ones around the house. She’s looking for a home with another young, active, dog that she can play with. Another canine friend also gives Pippa confidence and makes for a great snuggle buddy. Pippa has become quite the ball chaser in foster care as well. She’s looking forward to continuing to hone her ball skills in her new home. Pippa is looking for a patient home that will understand that she is initially shy with new folks, but that with patience she comes around. Daily walks, plenty of snuggle time and lots of toys are all on this little girl’s wish list.

Along with Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Rises,” “Iron Man 3” is one of the rare superhero threequels that doesn’t disappoint. While Jon Favreau remains an executive producer and co-star, he passes on the directorial duties to Shane Black of “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.” Black maintains all the action, humor, and character development that made Faverau’s first two films so enjoyable, while also incorporating his own unique signature. His film continues to raise the stakes and pushes its characters to their critical limits. In addition, “Iron Man 3” makes some hilarious commentary on the media’s role in terrorism with several inspired twist. The result is the darkest of the “Iron Man” trilogy and, ironically, the funniest.

When Mountain Pointe volleyball coach Fred Mann stepped foot in the gym on Saturday, he knew his time with the Pride might be coming to a close.

Tommy Martinez stands all of 5-foot-6, maybe 5-6 ½ in his cleats, hits ninth in the Mountain Pointe lineup and is just a sophomore.

If you watch the trailer for “Renoir” – a new period drama from French filmmaker Gilles Bourdos – a variety of adjectives are bound to come to mind: conventional, humdrum, lackluster. Sure, they’re trying to sell the story of one of the all-time great painters in a mere two minutes, but nothing about it grabs your attention – let alone, compels you to sit through the actual film. Luckily, this is not exactly the case for the movie itself, which is exquisite to look at but unfortunately devoid of any real insight into Pierre-Auguste Renoir. You come wishing to learn about the artist and his work, but instead leave dwelling on the film’s more engaging supporting characters.

Jackie Robinson was the ideal class act to break the barrier and become the first black player in Major League Baseball.

In “Wrong,” a movie playing through April 12 at Harkins Valley Art theater, Alexis Dziena plays a love struck pizza-shop employee who leaves her husband for Jack Plotnick’s sad-sack protagonist, whose canine's disappearance sets off a bizarre and unpredictable chain of events.

If you own a business, you may well follow a “do it now” philosophy — which is, of course, necessary to keep things running smoothly. Still, you also need to think about tomorrow — which means you’ll want to take action on your own retirement and business succession plans.

Noah Miller is in a perpetual fight with his own body.

Rory is 21 pounds of pure goodness, happiness and love. Resisting his charms is pointless. One look into those precious light-colored eyes and you will be hooked. Rory is one handsome boy with such a wonderful and joyful personality. He loves everyone he meets — dog and human alike. He always appears to have a smile on his face and a wagging tail.

A farmer would be horrified over the notion of an Arizona coyote being assigned to watch over his chicken coop. Arizonans should be worried that some public officials think they should be responsible for watching over themselves.

About once a month my daughter and I have a very sweet daddy/daughter ritual that we have followed for the last six years. Typically on a lazy weekend afternoon, we drive over to the Ahwatukee Foothills Car Wash off Ray Road and when we get the car washed we grab a delicious, all natural fruit Popsicle. I tend to go with the piña colada flavor, especially in the hot Arizona summers when I like to imagine being in a tropical environment. My daughter tends to go with good-old natural strawberry and the little seeds are actually in the Popsicle. My daughter reminds me of this fact every time we go and I respond with enthusiasm and amazement as though this is new information.

It’s a call from a relative. It may be a grandson or a cousin. But this is one call you don’t want.

This month, every single resident in Ahwatukee Foothills and beyond (this means you!) is being asked to do one simple thing — give.

It has been a busy year for plumbers fixing cracked frozen pipes, but local plumbing and air conditioning specialists say the danger of leaking pipes is never really over for homeowners. It’s important to take steps year-round to prevent water damage.

Jeff Bryant and Joe Campbell admit they heard it more than once when they decided to open Desert Eagle Brewery in downtown Mesa last October.

If you’re planning to get remarried, you have plenty of company: More than 40 percent of all U.S. weddings are second marriages for at least one of the participants, according to an estimate by the National Stepfamily Resource Center. Naturally, a second marriage will bring many changes to your life — not the least of which may be changes in your financial strategy and goals.

The best moment of my life, so far, happened more than 15 years ago at a hospital in Mesa. Like many “best” moments in our lives, it came after some of the worst.

A former board member and longtime volunteer, Jim Colletti returns to this year’s Sedona International Film Festival in an entirely new role: first-time filmmaker. Originally from New York, Colletti moved to the East Valley nearly 20 years ago – buying his first home in Chandler and opening a business in Gilbert before relocating to Mesa. He has been living in central Phoenix for about 2 years now, where he runs his graphic art/advertising agency Element Design along with his artist management/record label OEO Entertainment.

The four members of the band Fat Tree, Sam Bischof, 27, and the Jacobs brothers — Eric, 31, Kyle, 28, and Samuel, 25 — are East Valley residents who have been performing together since high school.

February is the month we glorify “love” and “The Fault In Our Stars,” by John Green, is a glorious love story. A love story not just between a boy and a girl, but with life itself. You’ll find this book in the Young Adult section, but don’t let that keep you from reading it; its message is universal to all ages because it is about living each day to the fullest, as if your days were limited.

It’s not every day a fifth-grader, an HVAC tech, a stay-at-home mom, a teacher or a sales manager can pitch in on a gigantic, real-world science project.