The 2013 legislative session began with a unanimous vote in the House and the Senate to appropriate emergency funding for additional Child Protective Services staff. With that vote, lawmakers affirmed child safety as a top priority.

When my wife and I tried to park in the designated visitor parking area at Sen. Jeff Flake’s Phoenix office recently, we were told by security to leave or our car would be towed. When we questioned this, as we were there to join with others to hold him accountable for his vote against universal background checks for gun purchases, we were told parking there was for office tenants only. As we were pulling out of the parking lot, security people began blocking all entrances to the parking lot with pick-up trucks and chains.

Arizonans have devised a variety of ways to retreat from the scorching summer heat, including relaxing indoors or poolside, or escaping it entirely for a summer vacation. However, there’s one thing that can’t escape from the sizzling temperatures — your ride.

I enjoyed Dennis Tierney’s commentary (“Limiting magazine sizes just a step in trying to reduce gun violence,” AFN, March 31), which responds to my earlier commentary. His arguments appear thoughtful and completely reasonable.

“Those three seconds I took my eyes off the road changed my life forever.”

In recent national news, three major car crashes claimed the lives of 15 teenagers in Ohio, Illinois and Texas. Unfortunately, that is more of a common occurrence than we realize, and those are just the ones that made national news. The Governor’s Highway Safety Association (GHSA) recently reported that teenage driver fatalities were up in 2012 from previous years. Until now, the numbers were beginning to trend downwards and many attributed it to Graduated Drivers License (GDL) Laws that were being enacted around the country.

Week of March 25 through April 1

A man was hit and killed on a motorcycle on Pecos Road in Ahwatukee Foothills Tuesday night after a car failed to yield at a stop sign, according to police.

The city of Phoenix is working to improve parking around the trail heads for the Pyramid Trail in Ahwatukee Foothills’ Club West at the end of Chandler Boulevard, but the long-term solution may not happen until the city can identify the proper amount of funding.

Saying it's nobody business, state lawmakers are poised to keep local governments -- and anyone else -- from finding out who owns a gun.

A series of close calls and years of speeding have finally been enough for one Ahwatukee Foothills neighborhood. A group of neighbors living along the eastern portion of Kachina Drive are working together to get speed humps placed on their street.

Attorneys for Gov. Jan Brewer told a federal judge Monday there is no legal basis to order the state to immediately provide driver's licenses to certain illegal immigrants immediately since they are not being harmed.

A part of Arizona's 2010 immigration law aimed at day laborers and those who hire them is unconstitutional and unenforceable, a federal appeals court ruled Monday.

Since the state’s improved Graduated Driver’s License Law (GDL) went into effect in 2008, fewer families have had to experience the tragedy of losing a loved one in a traffic crash.

Saying it’s none of the government’s business, a House panel voted Wednesday to bar cities, counties and the state from destroying guns that are voluntarily surrendered to them.

SB 1241 aims to eliminate most common teen driver distractions

She’s young, tall-model-slender, beautiful and with a song bird voice. I’ll call her Annie. And, today she sits in jail, serving a lengthy term for her history with drugs. Like so many others, her road to trouble started with alcohol.

Regarding “Keeping watch: Local school officials assure community of secure campuses in light of Conn. shooting,” Ahwatukee Foothills News, Dec. 21, 2012, page 1, we can be glad that exterior doors are being kept locked. Better yet would be for all classroom doors to be closed and automatically locked to anyone on the outside of the classroom at the beginning of each class.

If the Ahwatukee Foothills community knows one thing, it’s how to stand in resilience and maintain hope.

As the tree goes up, the holiday decorations come out and homes fill with family and friends, the Arizona Humane Society (AHS) is reminding pet owners to please keep their pets away from the following hazards this holiday season:

Local police and firefighters will exchange toys for rides in cop cars and fire trucks on Saturday, Dec. 15 to benefit needy kids in the community.

Travel for humans during holidays is tough enough: Long lines, crowds everywhere, extra bags full of presents. Throw a pet in the mix, and it’s a recipe for disaster.

It’s a busy time of year but Valley organizations are reminding residents not to forget about safety during the holidays.

Curtis and Gabi Bryan sat in their backyard one afternoon with their three kids and a charming Golden Retriever named Becker.

Ahwatukee Foothills citizens, please remember that there is foot traffic besides your car traffic. I happen to walk with a cane and try to cross at intersections as fast as I can when there is a “white hand” telling me it’s OK. I have vehicles running in front of me as well as in back of me. I have no doubt that one day I’ll make a big splash on the ground because some driver was not paying attention while making a turn.