What do United States Congressman David Schweikert, State Senate Majority Leader John McComish, Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCicco, Kedrick Ellison of the Phoenix Community and Economic Development Department, Kyrene Superintendent Dr. David Shauer, Tempe Union High School Superintendent Dr. Kenneth Baca, and Pangea Development have in common?

It’s been eight months since I had the great opportunity to join the Ahwatukee Foothills News. Since that time we have not made radical changes to the paper or wild editorial changes to the product. What I wanted to do was listen to our readers and take note of any changes that would aid this great community.

Web-hosting giant Go Daddy announced Tuesday it will be expanding its operations in Arizona, adding 300 employees.

Meeting city, state, faith and education leaders on Thursday, Sen. John McComish, of District 18, voiced his continued support for Gov. Jan Brewer’s plan to expand Medicaid in the state at a panel hosted by the Valley Interfaith Project (VIP).

The Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce’s Red, White and Beautiful event on Thursday, May 9 will feature a fashion show, vendors and a chance to be pampered, all from local Ahwatukee businesses.

Practicing what we have been preaching about the need to shop locally, the Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce is partnering with a local business on our annual print Resource Guide and Directory. The Chamber’s 2013-14 Directory will be marketed, designed and produced through an agreement with the Ahwatukee Foothills News (AFN), the publisher of this newspaper and a chamber member. We believe this will be a valuable partnership for all chamber members and those who take advantage of this opportunity to get their message out to the public.

Former Arizona State University President Dr. Lattie Coor is among the five distinguished award recipients scheduled to be honored at the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s 55th Annual Black & White Ball and Business Awards on April 27 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel, 330 N. Third Street.

The Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce’s Women in Business is the proud host of Red, White and Beautiful and this year it is booming! Red, White and Beautiful is a unique girls’ night out of pampering and shopping just in time for Mother’s Day. Red, White and Beautiful began in June of 2010 as a fundraiser to support the community Red, White and Boom fireworks.

It has been three years since members of the South Mountain Citizens Advisory Team (SMCAT) got together, but on Monday the group will reconvene to discuss air quality before the release of the Draft Environmental Impact Study (DEIS).

Growing up in Nigeria Victor Jakpor said he didn’t notice the poverty of his village.

Three high school students submitted three big ideas to the Ahwatukee Chamber Charity Foundation with hopes of being selected for a brand new college scholarship. On Wednesday the foundation presented a $4,000 scholarship to Spencer Elliott of Mountain Pointe High School, and a $500 scholarship to Josh Greene and Emily Pawlik, both Desert Vista students.

California has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the nation. In addition to the over 9,000 federal gun laws, California has also enacted many laws at the state level, including ban on high-capacity magazines, ban on “assault weapons,” waiting period on gun purchases, an approved handgun list — handguns must be certified by the state before they can cross the state line, private party sales require transfer via a licensed dealer, identification of “gun free zones” and many others.

In my 55-plus years as a native of Arizona, our state has always been pragmatically independent and conservative. Only lately has the pragmatism been replaced by dogmatic ideology. This ideology has become more hostile and prominent recently and unfortunately was brought to the forefront immediately before the Holy Days leading up to Easter. It is unfortunate that the vitriolic speak that Maricopa County GOP Chairman Mr. LaFaro chose when speaking at a legislative committee was to compare our governor with Judas’ betrayal of Jesus. It is my opinion that supporting Medicaid expansion to 133 percent of the Federal Poverty Level does not amount to equating Gov. Brewer to Judas.

A knack for moving things forward may be the most important skill Anne Gill brought with her to the Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce when she became president and chief executive officer of the chamber in November 2011.

On Thursday, April 4 the new Phoenix Premium Outlets will open with 90 stores ready to offer discounts of 25 to 65 percent off retail prices.