I am writing to express my sincere gratitude to the women of Mesa Arizona Hermosa Vista Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My Sisters’ Place recently received 60 beautiful handbags filled with an assortment of makeup, jewelry, lotion, perfume and notes filled with love and encouragement for the women in our shelter.

Arizonans have devised a variety of ways to retreat from the scorching summer heat, including relaxing indoors or poolside, or escaping it entirely for a summer vacation. However, there’s one thing that can’t escape from the sizzling temperatures — your ride.

TEMPE - It’s a baseball storyline that has played out hundreds of times over, one Mountain Pointe came to regret.

A bid by Attorney General Tom Horne to escape campaign finance charges could upend all state laws limiting how much candidates can take.

The adage “truth is stranger than fiction” is proven in “The Lost Wife,” by Alyson Richman. She has succeeded in blending both for an unforgettable reading experience.

"Mud" has the feel of a classic, although it's perhaps not enthralling enough to be one. The third and most elaborate feature to date from writer-director Jeff Nichols seems to have been adapted from a novel that doesn't exist -- something by James Lee Burke, perhaps, or Cormac McCarthy, or some other specialist in frequently violent tales about the challenges to masculinity and the forging of new identities that face rural people who belong to a sprawling modern world -- who might be hanging out in a supermarket parking lot one moment and falling into a creek full of deadly cottonmouths the next.

With a reputation for being innovative and versatile, Dante Ariola made a name for himself directing commercials for the likes of Coca Cola, Nike and Lexus. What began as a substantial career in graphic design morphed into a myriad of film work, including music videos for bands like Cake and Cypress Hill, and a documentary short about wildlife conservationist Dr. Alan Rabinowitz, entitled “Man & Beast.”

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.

Their stories are nowhere near as harrowing.

Rebuffed in his bid for oversight of Colorado City marshals, Attorney General Tom Horne now wants taxpayer funds for another police agency to patrol the polygamous community.

If Gov. Jan Brewer gets to name another Supreme Court judge before she leaves office, she's going to have more choices -- if the law is not overturned.

The first image you see in "The Place Beyond the Pines" is of Ryan Gosling's shirtless torso, ripped and tatted atop a skin-tight pair of leather pants.

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.

I have read so many good books lately I couldn’t decide which one to review. It was a toss up between “The Obituary Writer,” by Ann Hood and “The Secret Keeper,” by Kate Norton (I don’t know about you but any title that contains the word “secret” draws me like a magnet — maybe it was that early Nancy Drew conditioning).

The Federal Bureau of Prisons announced that it will review its policies on solitary confinement in light of evidence that this practice causes mental breakdown in prisoners. The devastating effects of solitary confinement can also be seen clearly in dogs who are kept chained “out of sight, out of mind” in their owners’ backyards.

Cavemen — they're just like us! — or so "The Croods" seems to be saying with its familiar mix of generational clashes, coming-of-age milestones and generally relatable laughs.

Harmony Korine seems to want it both ways, all day, with "Spring Breakers," his super-stylized descent into a sunbaked hell where bikini-clad, gun-toting college babes serve as our guides.

LOS ANGELES — A grave 12-year-old African girl, abducted from her village by vicious armed rebels and forced to wage war as a child soldier, guides the viewer through the horrors of Canadian director Kim Nguyen's engrossing Oscar-nominated drama "War Witch." Managing to be neither sentimental nor sensationalistic, the film tells its story from the heart, and from the simple, straightforward viewpoint of young heroine Komona, warmly played by the talented Rachel Mwanza in her screen debut.

For years yoga has been a way to escape the pressures of life for Sandra Lassiter, but three years ago she made yoga a way of life by opening Hot Yoga in Ahwatukee Foothills.

In countless films about emergencies, crimes and police work, the 911 dispatcher is but a bit player, an anonymous, robotic voice briefly heard on the other end of a breathless call made by our movie's main players.

Police in Arizona remain free to use drones -- assuming they have them -- to spy on people.

Eagle Scout and Mountain Pointe High School junior Jacob Rak-Kinonen, along with Chandler MMA owner Master Paul McGowan, hosted a women’s self defense clinic on Feb. 10 as a fundraiser called “Helping women be prepared” for local Boy Scout Troop 1/A212.

Yes, it snowed in the Phoenix metro area last week, a phenomenon that caused weather forecasters to run with glee to report former records and caused our snowbirds to wonder why they escaped Minnesota to enjoy our sunshine. Yet, slow down, everyone … global warming is REAL.

“A Good Day to Die Hard” marks the fifth entry to the “Die Hard” franchise and the third film to come out in the last two months about a butt-kicking senior citizen. The original “Die Hard” is a definitive action picture that can still make audiences cheer even after multiple viewings. Whether you love or hate “Die Hard 2” and “Die Hard with a Vengeance,” pretty much everyone can agree that John McClane made a welcome return in the sensational “Live Free or Die Hard” a few years ago. The previous “Die Hard” got just about everything right from the absurdly insane stunts, to the humorous dialog, to Bruce Willis’ committed performance. “A Good Day to Die Hard” has just enough fun moments for die-hard fans to take a gander. Regrettably, it remains the least impressive outing of this series.

Gov. Jan Brewer formally proposed an extensive revamp of how Arizona collects sales taxes, drawing immediate fire from cities who fear major financial losses.