Dear Mikey,

A class of fifth-grade students Friday opened up ping-pong balls with small science experiments inside after they returned from a trip to the “edge of space” inside the Earth’s atmosphere.

The fight to expand Medicaid in Arizona continues as Gov. Brewer pushes the Legislature to pursue legislation to expand coverage to include folks up to 133 percent of poverty guidelines.

Calling the governor's proposal unacceptable and politically dead at the Legislature, House Speaker Andy Tobin unveiled his own new plan Tuesday to expand Medicaid, one that would give Arizona voters the final say.

You may remember one of the most well-known miracles that Jesus performed in Mark, chapter 6: Thousands have gathered, it’s getting late, and most (if not all) are hungry. The natives are starting to get restless, and much like I get when I’m hungry, I’m sure that irritability was going up as patience was on the decline. So, Jesus tells the disciples to feed the masses of people who had followed them there, to which their first thought was to make a run to the local market and buy all the bread they had left (Mark 6:37). We know where the story goes from there — Jesus performs another miracle, turning close to nothing into a feast, satisfying all who were hungry.

High winds and low humidity are creating a danger for the upcoming fire season, the state forester said Thursday, especially for southeast Arizona.

The best-tasting veggie burger I’ve ever met is falafel. A product of the Middle East, falafel are deep-fried fritters made from ground chickpeas or fava beans that are tucked into pita pockets and drizzled with tahini. They are delicious, hearty, inexpensive and relatively healthy.

When I moved to Ahwatukee 22 years ago, both golf courses in the area were green and very attractive. Now The Lakes at Ahwatukee course, I am told, is about to be closed. I live on the 11th fairway of the Ahwatukee Country Club. This course, in the last several years, has become somewhat of an eyesore. They are no longer watering up to the fence in my backyard, saying the water destroys the fence and now there is noting but dry grass/ground that is very dusty, especially when a golf cart travels along the side of the fairway. This causes a lot of dust on my patio/patio furniture and neighbors pools.

Summer is coming, but all our dogs still need exercise. Here are some tips on how to beat the heat with your dog.

The road to Florence isn’t long when country music stars are in town. People flock from the East Valley to the Country Thunder music festival, spurring the question: What else is there to see in Florence? It didn’t take long to find an answer — alpacas.

When Ahwatukee Foothills resident Ruth Roberts purchased her home more than six years ago she was excited to look out her back window and have a view of a beautiful green golf course. Today, her view is of browned grass and a pile of dead tree branches.

The Kyrene Family Resource Center supports students in need at all 25 schools in the Kyrene School District. In just one month, Feb. 1-28, the Resource Center distributed 114 food boxes serving 502 individuals.

Hunger may seem like a problem only faced far away, but local churches say it’s a problem right here in Ahwatukee Foothills.

Eddie Castillo said that the South American culture has the empanada, the British have the pasty, and he and his business partner Mike Caliendo are giving Arizona the hand pie.

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.

Food trucks have been popular for some time now in the Valley, but on April 13 a new class of diner will get to partake of the trend.

The 3-year-old resource center in Tempe serving Ahwatukee families is in need of food donations for April.

Riveting, intelligent and a masterclass in acting, “Beyond the Hills” is likely to be the best film you’ll see this spring or maybe even this year.

Armando Adrian-López doesn’t farm anymore, but he still looks to the natural world for inspiration and materials, using corn husks, dried flowers and found objects to create fantastical winged and horned creatures.

Just two months away from a deadline set to close The Lakes Golf Course and organizers of the Save the Lakes group say they haven’t heard a word from the owner of the property.

As newlyweds Ahwatukee Foothills residents Casey and Nora Jones learned quickly how expensive and time consuming it can be to try and take care of their home, pool and personal lives.

With April being Water Awareness Month, March turned out to be a pretty good time to start focusing on saving water when Salt River Project hosted its sixth annual Water Conservation Expo at the SRP PERA Club in Tempe.

The pilot had just given the all-clear for electronic devices, which left me free to rummage under the seat in front of me for my laptop. I was taking a moment to consider the barbarism that allows airline passengers to push their seats back into my head when the kindly older woman next to me inquired if I was on a business trip. I think the PowerPoint deck and the calculator I pulled out of my briefcase tipped her off.