The Ahwatukee Foothills Soccer Club has had plenty of success since forming in 1999, and yet the club was able to pull off a first on May 4.

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.

The national law firm of Quarles & Brady LLP announced that 22 of its local attorneys have been named by Southwest Super Lawyers magazine as among the top 5 percent of attorneys in Arizona for 2013. Included among them is Jon E. Pettibone, who is both an Ahwatukee resident and office managing partner for the firm. Pettibone’s practice experience includes advising management on labor and employment strategies and representing it before federal and state courts and agencies, before arbitrators and in collective bargaining.

On April 17, a bi-partisan piece of legislation, which included “common sense reforms” to help address gun violence, was defeated in the U.S. Senate.

When former Scottsdale resident Mark Macias used the New York City subway’s 42nd Street Shuttle this past winter, he was transported not only between Grand Central Station and Times Square but back to his hometown.

Mary Mitchell said she started playing bridge with her husband more than 50 years ago.

Whenever Esi Impraim’s mother made jollof — a rich, tomato-laced dish of meats, rice and sometimes seafood — the time it took to bubble away on the stove was always excruciating.

Diane Brown, executive director of the Arizona PIRG Education Fund (formerly New Jersey’s and Illinois’ PIRG executive director), fails to mention (“SRP needs to provide vision, advance energy efficiency,” AFN, March 29) that Salt River Project (SRP) meets and exceeds all FERC, NERC, and EPA (FED government agencies) regulations and SRP provides lower utility rates than “regulated utilities” in Arizona.

It may not be as mainstream a form of expression these days as, say, Instagram, but poetry, that old-fashioned art of arranging language to create an emotional response through meaning, sound and rhythm, is alive and well.

Kent Chase really wanted to golf as a kid.

Now that the Chicago Cubs have secured a spring-training home in Mesa well into the future, the East Valley will soon welcome to the area the first of possibly many in a long line of Windy City favorites: Portillo’s Hot Dogs.

One of my freelance gigs I have is covering the Chicago Cubs in spring training and it involves being at the ballpark early enough to see infield practice.

The way Andy Lane reacted it looked as if he just came up short in the biggest at-bat of his life.

You’ve got to love living in the place everyone else wants to be.

In recent years, there have been some really good Oscar hosts like Hugh Jackman, some acceptable hosts like John Stewart, some disappointing hosts like Steve Martin & Alec Baldwin, and some flat-out horrendous hosts like James Franco & Anne Hathaway. Despite the best efforts of some, none have come close to capturing the same wit, timing, and showmanship of reoccurring hosts like Bob Hope, Johnny Carson, or Billy Crystal. At the 85th Annual Academy Awards ceremony however, Seth MacFarlane of “Ted” and “Family Guy” emerged as the single most entertaining first-time Oscar host of the 21st century.

Andy Lane is in the Sweet 16.

Brian Parson is surrounded by more likely candidates.

In recent years, there have been some really good Oscar hosts like Hugh Jackman, some acceptable hosts like John Stewart, some disappointing hosts like Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin, and some flat-out horrendous hosts like James Franco and Anne Hathaway. Despite the best efforts of some, none have come close to capturing the same wit, timing, and showmanship of reoccurring hosts like Bob Hope, Johnny Carson, or Billy Crystal. At the 85th Annual Academy Awards ceremony however, Seth MacFarlane of “Ted” and “Family Guy” emerged as the single most entertaining first-time Oscar host of the 21st century.

On Jan. 24, Sen. Diane Feinstein introduced her new bill, the Assault Weapons Ban of 2013. Here’s a link to her Senate page so you can read it for yourself: http://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/assault-weapons.

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.

The first time I saw the work of Mesa artist William Barnhart, I was smitten. When I learned he is also the man behind one of the most interesting buildings in the city — the eye-catching cinder-block and steel Quonset hut on Center Street just north of University Drive — I was over the moon.

It's a Saturday afternoon, and a multitude of fans – 25,000 total throughout a day defined by a peek-a-boo sun – meander underneath Chase Field's retractable roof for the annual D-Backs annual FanFest. The day is a prelude to the upcoming season – an opportunity for the Diamondback faithful to snag a few autographs, take a few cuts against a wiffleball-lobbing Wade Miley and, most importantly, bask in the glow of the lovely optimism that comes before the realities of a 162-game season commence.