Owners of The Lakes Golf Course have decided not to continue to fill a lake on Lakeside Boulevard in Ahwatukee now that the golf course has shut down for business. That is forcing the neighboring homeowners association’s pond to dry up and residents are scrambling to save stranded fish and turtles.

On April 15, two pressure cooker-fashioned bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. The attack left the city and entire country shaken.

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.


One of the ways the Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce assists local businesses is with a membership drive taking place from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 6 at The Grace Inn, 10831 S. 51st St. It is the chamber’s chance to introduce businesses to their main benefits and have a little fun.


Gayle Dorothy Hadden (nee Buff), 67, of Ahwatukee and formerly of Wayne, N.J., passed away peacefully at home on May 27, surrounded by her family. Gayle worked for J.P. Morgan Chase for many years.
She grew up in Lyndhurst, N.J., and had lived in Wayne since 1968 before moving to Phoenix 20 years ago. Gayle was a 4-H leader, a Remax Realtor, a member of the Pompton Falls Fire Co. 3 Women’s Auxiliary in Wayne, a nursery school assistant, and a member of the Junior Women’s Club and PTA.
Gayle’s interests included sewing, knitting, golf, cruising in her convertible, great music, laughing much and having a great time. She loved traveling and loved life.
Gayle is survived by her husband, John J., of Ahwatukee; her children, Kimberly Hadden Massie, Robin Hadden, Christopher Hadden, all of Arizona, John Hadden of Hardwick, N.J.; eight grandchildren; and two brothers, Harold and Alan Buff.
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, N.J., on Sunday, June 2 from 2 to 6 p.m.

At 14, Tyler Cohen had never been out of the country or traveled without his Long Island family when he found himself in Costa Rica on a monthlong service trip for teens.

Recently, I had a meaningful and slightly curious experience.

As “Opponents of Brewer’s Medicaid plan speak out” it rapidly becomes obvious that they are obsessed with forcing their personal, misguided value systems on we citizens.

Catholic Charities Community Services’ DIGNITY House was recently named Homeless Service Provider of the Year by Phoenix Neighborhood Services. DIGNITY House received the award for its outstanding efforts assisting women with intensive residential recovery to help them live an independent life. The award was presented last month during the city’s National Community Development Week celebration.

Editor’s note: This is part one of a continuing summer series on the proposed South Mountain Loop 202 Freeway.

Ahwatukee resident Michael Feyrer subscribes to the philosophy that his life is like a pair of shoes — to be worn out in service.

"Had I known about the crime problems around Arizona State University I would have never let Kyleigh move to Tempe.” Those are the words of Karen Montenegro, the mother of murdered ASU student Kyleigh Sousa.

I received a press release today on the Brothers in Arms Classic the Desert Vista football team is participating in the fall.

Connecting to Serve and the Ahwatukee Community Network would like to extend our gratitude to our panelists and the victims of domestic violence who attended our special forum on this serious issue April 16 at Mountain Park Senior Living.

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

While shopping at your favorite grocery store, it can be hard at times to find 100 percent gluten-free items.

Hunger may seem like a problem only faced far away, but local churches say it’s a problem right here in Ahwatukee Foothills.

Used to be, a foreclosure was something people seldom spoke about. Today, times have changed. Right now is the ideal time to buy a new home with record lows in mortgage rates and an increase in available, affordable homes. But if you’ve got a foreclosure or short sale on the books, you might be asking — how long before we can buy again?

Don't be surprised if you find yourself sitting near a horse the next time you dine out.

"Impactful, rowdy and rewarding” (and maybe a little tiring) is how I would describe the experience I had last year serving as a team captain for the 2012 Ahwatukee Foothills Family YMCA “Frames for Families” initiative. That’s a fancy way of saying “fundraising event,” which translates to “bowl-a-thon!” I was so impressed by the event and the result that I agreed to chair the event this year, along with my friend and fellow YMCA board member, Jim Hunt, local Farmers Insurance agent and all around Renaissance Man. In all seriousness, I am passionate about it because I have seen and heard the testimonials of families, kids and seniors in this community who have benefitted from the proceeds of this event.

Every day, emergency and public safety crews put their lives on the line to help motorists stranded along highways. Tragically, crashes involving emergency and other vehicles that are pulled over along highway shoulders claim hundreds of lives across the country each year.

This is a hot topic these days, and for good reason. Long-term care is a growing concern for baby boomers and their parents. Long-term care insurance, as a result, is gaining quite a bit of attention.

Every year leading up to Easter, on a temporary, five-story, outdoor stage erected near downtown Mesa, the story of the life and mission of Jesus Christ, taken from the Bible, is portrayed in live performance, music and dance.

Discount Tire is bringing a car show to the Ahwatukee Foothills this weekend to benefit military service men and women and their families.

The only incredible thing about "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone" is that way it makes Steve Carell so thoroughly and irreparably unlikable. In a film about magic tricks, this is the most difficult feat of all.