Arizona’s economic recovery is flattening out statewide, with job growth outside the Phoenix metro area for this year and next predicted to be anemic.

Our family bought a sofa a couple of years ago. It was a frustrating experience. I won’t go into it other than to say when my wife and I finally agreed on one, I thought a burden had been lifted. Then the salesman forces another decision: “So which protection plan do you want?”

Arizona's economic recovery is flattening out statewide, with job growth outside the Phoenix metro area for this year and next predicted to be anemic.

A survey shows U.S. home prices rose 10.5 percent in March compared with a year ago, the biggest gain since March 2006.

No one can deny the Great Recession left a permanent mark on our nation and its economy. But what effect did it have on the American Dream of home ownership? That’s the question we set out to answer by asking Phoenix-based Benchmark Research Technologies to survey nearly 1,700 Arizona new home shoppers about their attitudes surrounding home ownership in the post-recession era.

Despite the bad rap that saturated fats have, there’s a lot of evidence indicating that saturated fat is essentially good for you. The real harmful and unhealthy fats include trans fats, hydrogenated fats and vegetable oils.

I just bought a new car. I didn’t want to. I hate the process. But after months of my old van giving me signals it was time, I finally decided I had to cut its financial life support and move on. I spent hours comparing, emailing, researching, traveling, negotiating and complaining about how much I didn’t like doing any of it.

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.

"Hi, I’m Rachel from card member services.”

It’s a call from a relative. It may be a grandson or a cousin. But this is one call you don’t want.

From the moment chocolate was discovered it was considered a valuable, divine and decadent treat. The first chocolate candies were invented in the 1860s by Cadbury, who was also the first to market them in a heart-shaped box for Valentine’s Day that same decade.

How many times has this “Medical Advice” column reported a change in prevailing medical recommendations? Here we go again. Humpty Dumpty could certainly identify with the angst a humble egg currently has to deal with. Talk about self-esteem issues. For years, eggs have been slashed from “healthy” diets because they were considered too loaded with fat and, therefore, a leading contributor to heart disease. The general recommendation was no more than two eggs per week. Even yours truly ascribed to that theory and personally was responsible for instructing her patients in that direction.

It happened about two months ago.

State lawmakers are moving to let Arizona businesses refuse to disclose to those who might want to sue them what the company knew about defective products.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the No. 1 cause of morbidity and mortality in the U.S. The top risk factors, hypertension, dyslipidemia, smoking, diabetes and obesity are poorly treated, often with toxic pharmaceutical drugs, and most patients never reach their goals. There are also more than 400 coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors and mediators now proven.

OK, the big question for most of us — employees excepted — is how will the merger between US Airways and American Airlines affect the price of a ticket?

I recently became the proud owner of a new (well, new to me) car ... and I’m proud to announce that I’m still alive.

A new study about the prevalence of mercury in fish should give consumers food for thought. According to the Biodiversity Research Institute report, “Fish samples from around the world regularly demonstrate mercury concentrations exceeding human health advisory guidelines.” Because both mercury pollution and fish supplies are global — 75 percent of the fish consumed in the U.S. is imported — no one country can solve this widespread problem.

When I start talking about real estate in 2012 all I can say sometimes is, “WOW!” Do you realize that in 2012 the “Phoenix median home prices jumped 36 percent from $116,000 to $158,000 in one year, November to November” (housingwire.com)?

"Your entry last month has WON! Go to www.****.com to claim your FREE $1,000 Target gift card within 24 hrs.”

In Netflix’s bid for a flagship original drama of its own — a “Sopranos” to its HBO — the subscription streaming service is presenting a high-class adaptation of a British political thriller offered up all at once, with its first season immediately ready for TV-viewing gluttony.

Saying they are being crushed by the cost of patients unable to pay, hospital executives rallied Wednesday to back a plan by Gov. Jan Brewer to expand the state’s Medicaid program.

Editor’s note: The Ahwatukee Foothills News is proud to share with our readers this weekly consumer advocacy column from ABC15 Investigator Joe Ducey. Beginning today, you can find it regularly in print, online at Ahwatukee.com, or on our “AFNNews” mobile app (available for download now at Ahwatukee.com/onthego).

Saying they are being crushed by the cost of patients unable to pay, hospital executives rallied Wednesday to back a plan by Gov. Jan Brewer to expand the state's Medicaid program.

Paula Owens seems to indicate that flu vaccines are “unnatural” and harmful in her Dec. 5 column (“Boost your immune system naturally,” AFN). Unfortunately, what is “natural” in our world is vaccine-preventable diseases killing many adults and children. I doubt that Ms. Owens has cared for children, pregnant women or elderly folks on a ventilator with the flu, or watched someone die from this preventable illness. A “natural” case of the flu carries a many times higher risk of Guillain Barre syndrome than taking the vaccine.