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.

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.

“ISBK” and “MLB” were two of the graffiti tags appearing frequently on block walls, trash dumpsters, and road signs in Ahwatukee during 2010, particularly inside the Elliot-Warner Loop.

He has given standout performances in the likes of “The Big Lebowski,” “Crazy Heart” and “True Grit,” but Oscar-winner Jeff Bridges’ enormous talent doesn’t stop there. His illustrious resume runs the gamut from musician to author to humanitarian, which begs the question: Is there anything he can’t do?

Children will listen to other children in a way they don’t to adults, says Bobb Cooper — and he’s hoping an awful lot of them get to do just that over the next two weeks.

In case you missed it, today is César Chávez Day.

Ahwatukee resident Kylie B. Crawford made the academic dean’s list at Azusa Pacific University in California. Crawford was honored for the fall 2012 semester for having a 3.5 GPA or better average. Crawford is a psychology major.

A House panel voted Wednesday to void parts of local anti-discrimination ordinances designed to give protections to transgendered individuals.

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.

The Phoenix Symphony Association appointed interim chorus master Dr. Thomas Bookhout to a two-year term as chorus master. He was chosen as interim chorus master in August of 2012.

A bipartisan group of city elected officials gathered at Phoenix Fire Station No. 12 recently to send Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema back to Washington with an urgent message from local communities.

While the story doesn’t originate in Ahwautkee it should resonate with everyone.

From raisins to onions to acetaminophen, the typical Ahwatukee home is filled with items that can be toxic to pets.

Arizona is facing a literacy crisis and it begins in early childhood.

A new Grevy’s zebra is on display to the public along the Africa Trail at the Phoenix Zoo. Born on Jan. 19 to Masika and Punda, the newest addition to the zoo’s herd of Grevy’s zebras weighed in at an even 100 pounds.

The Phoenix Zoo is celebrating the birth of an Andean bear cub born to 17–year-old Rio in early January. The cub and mother appear to be doing well and animal care staff and keepers are monitoring the mother and baby, but will leave Rio to bond with and care for her cub without interference.

Arizona Diamondbacks President and CEO Derrick Hall has been named the 2012 recipient of the Bill Shover Leadership Award and was honored last week at a luncheon at the Talking Stick Resort.

Judged by his charge that gun-control legislation is Communist-inspired (“When the Communist Party USA cheers..., AFN, Feb. 8), Don Kennedy doesn’t realize that Sen. Joe McCarthy’s anti-Communist racket was rejected nearly 60 years ago, when the Senate censured that pathological liar and sent him to an alcoholic grave at age 46.

March of Dimes Arizona Chapter announced that Arizona business and community leader Derrick Hall has taken on the role of March for Babies Phoenix chair. Hall, president and CEO of the Arizona Diamondbacks, is also a proud father making his commitment to the good health of moms and babies personal and meaningful.

A 2008-2010 birth control study to more than 9,000 poor and uninsured St. Louis women proved that when proper information is given, more effective family planning methods are chosen. After receiving free counseling, teens between the ages of 15 to 19 had only 6.3 out-of-wedlock births compared to national rates of 34.3. And for every 1,000 women, the St. Louis general population lowered abortion rates to 13.4, compared to 20, the national rate.

Desert Vista girls volleyball coach Molly West might have summed up the day the best.

We are all familiar with the fact that chemicals, particularly pesticides and herbicides, have negative side effects. The United States and international government agencies have acknowledged that different pesticides have been linked to a variety of health problems including hormonal disruption, skin, eye and lung irritation, birth defects, weight gain, nervous system toxicity and cancer. Many times, the negative effects of pesticides can take a long time to show, and by the time symptoms are clear, a lot of damage may have already been done.

I am a registered Republican and I vote in every election. I own a swimming pool maintenance company, and have had a 47-year career, to date, in the residential pool industry: new construction, maintenance and repair, mostly right here in the Valley of the Sun. I am a Phoenix native.

John Halikowski, director of the Arizona Department of Transportation, has been appointed to the prestigious Transportation Research Board Subcommittee for National Research Council Oversight, a post he will maintain until 2016.