Phoenix is great because of our strong communities where neighbors work together and take pride in the place they call home.

It probably doesn’t show up on your calendar, but May is Disability Insurance Awareness Month. And you might agree that such a month is useful, when you consider the following:

Keystone Montessori • 1025 E. Liberty Lane

In the United States the average kid (age 8-18) spends 7.5 hours a day in front of a screen or on the phone. To counter sedentary living patterns, national physical activity guidelines for youth have been developed. The guidelines call for at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day for children and teens. The guidelines are based on the amount of physical activity necessary to promote good fitness, health, and wellness. Only 29 percent of high school students meet the 60-minute daily guideline and 14 percent don’t do any physical activity that causes them to breathe hard or that increases heart rate on any day during the week.

Here’s a sobering statistic: 46 percent of workers surveyed had little or no confidence that they will have enough money to live comfortably throughout their retirement years, according to the 2010 Retirement Confidence Survey, issued by the Employee Benefit Research Institute. So you may want to explore all possible retirement savings vehicles —including a variable annuity.

You’re probably accustomed to measuring the progress of your investments, and the overall condition of the investment world, by checking on indexes such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500. And since these types of benchmarks focus almost exclusively on American companies, you might get the idea that the best investments are located right here in the United States. But that impression would be false — because there is, literally, a world of investment opportunities beyond the U.S. borders.

It’s all about community.

Just a few months shy of the nationally ranked charter school’s opening of its newest location in Ahwatukee, BASIS will be offering two informational meetings for parents and the community.

J’ontar Coleman wanted what he felt was rightfully his all along.

Life is full of ups and downs — and the financial markets are no different. As an investor, you’re no doubt happy to see the “ups” — but the “downs” can seem like a real downer. Isn’t there any way to help smooth out the volatility in your investment portfolio?

Lottery confidentiality

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.

For the first time since 2008, contribution limits have risen for one of the most popular retirement savings vehicles available: the IRA. This means you’ve got a greater opportunity to put more money away for your “golden years.”

In an uncertain economy, it’s natural for people to “tighten their belts” by cutting down on their spending. And yet by having too much cash on hand today, you could actually slow your progress toward your financial goals of tomorrow.

As you know, the U.S. Congress has adopted some measures to help avoid the much-feared “fiscal cliff.” At this point, important spending decisions have been put off, but new tax laws are in place — and, as an investor, you’ll want to know just how this legislation will affect you.

Desert Vista High School students recently launched a website that discusses the positives of public education.

Phoenix voters approved changes to the city’s pension system during a special election on Tuesday.

Assumptions were made, jokes were told and Larry Holmes' confidence was shaken.

Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal responded to a letter I wrote to the AFN (“Huppenthal’s money plea off base,” Feb. 17) criticizing him for pleading with the Legislature for $35 million for a computer system for the Department of Education when I’ve never heard of him making a plea to them for money for something that would actually benefit students. In his guest commentary (“Barlam continues to hold long-time political grudge,” AFN, Feb. 27) he states that in the past I have criticized him for his support of charter schools, and then goes on to chastise me for working in one.

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton proposed in his state of the city address last month a new program to double police presence in schools and unify work between districts and the police department, which could produce different outcomes in Ahwatukee Foothills schools.

Bryant Morrison has found a home in Kingman.

Phoenix resident Karlene Keogh Parks has filed a Notice of Candidacy with the city of Phoenix to run against current City Councilman Sal DiCiccio in the Aug. 27 election.

It is clear from Fred Barlam’s recent commentary (“Huppenthal’s money plea off base,” AFN, Feb. 17) that he holds me personally responsible for the international, national and state economic recessions, and their devastating impact on education. He blames me for his problems with Arizona’s Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS), for lack of classroom supplies, and for every other ill suffered by his colleagues as teachers.

In the past, many people stayed at one job, or at least one company, for almost their entire working lives. When they retired, they could typically count on a pension, the value of which was based on their years of service and earnings. But today, workers can expect to hold several different jobs in their lifetime, and to a great extent, pensions have been replaced by 401(k) plans, which place much of the funding responsibility on employees. So, assuming you will change jobs at some point, and you do have a 401(k), what should you do with it?