"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:10-12).

Mother-daughter team Stephanie and Carley Barton spent the Saturday before Mother’s Day together at the salon, but the duo wasn’t there just to be pampered. They’ve both been growing their hair out for years to be donated to Locks of Love.

As anyone who has ever taken a standardized test knows, the last step in preparing for the test is to sharpen your No. 2 pencil. That may not be enough, however, for those thinking about taking college entrance exams. Planning and preparation for the ACT/SAT should begin now for rising seniors. Here are some topics to consider as you establish your test-taking strategies.

There were hurdles, blocks and bars all over the track Saturday at Mesa Community College.

A lacrosse stick is a simple piece of equipment: a metal pole, a plastic head and some coarse netting.

Olivia Maiefski, a 2009 alumnus from Mountain Pointe High School, graduated from the University of Arizona Honors College with a Bachelor of Science in speech, language and hearing sciences and a minor in Spanish. Maiefski graduated summa cum laude.

The Horizon Honors golf team finished second at the Division III state tournament this weekend.

For the past two years, Desert Vista High School teacher Debra Benedict has seen her students grow in writing, leadership and in their understanding of the issues within education.

Joss Bates was dropped off at his Ahwatukee home last weekend to find 114 notes hanging around his front yard, displaying quotes, words of comfort, love and encouragement written on them from friends and family.

MESA – There were hurdles, blocks and bars all over the track Saturday at Mesa Community College.

With the onslaught of Oscar contenders that debuted last November, there’s a good chance that a little-seen indie gem, “Starlet,” managed to fall off your radar during its short, theatrical run. Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the 2011 SXSW film festival, “Starlet” explores the unlikely friendship between a cheerful, aspiring actress (played by the winsome Dree Hemingway) and a cantankerous, elderly widow (the late Besedka Johnson).

As thick dark clouds rolled in over Chaparral High School and a light drizzle started to fall, it seemed like Mother Nature stole some of Desert Vista’s thunder.

The soft underbelly of a lot of volleyball teams is right in the middle of the net.

It’s a pretty good sign when the bottom of the batting order is creating havoc and driving in big runs.

The Mountain Pointe duo of Natrell Curtis and Jalen Brown keep getting national attention.

Darkness can be paralyzing.

The Thunder had one last rally in a standard-setting season, but it wasn’t enough.

When Mountain Pointe volleyball coach Fred Mann stepped foot in the gym on Saturday, he knew his time with the Pride might be coming to a close.

Principal Shelley Conner said she’ll miss camaraderie the most at St. John Bosco in Ahwatukee.

The Desert Vista girls tennis team was eliminated from the Division I state tournament on Tuesday.

Preparing for a debut of his short film on Tuesday for friends, family and a panel of local cinematographers, Mountain Pointe High School senior Vincent Cota was putting the finishing touches on the piece after school this week.

The Norwegian directing team of Joachim Roenning and Espen Sandberg, whose biopic of World War II resistance fighter Max Manus was a huge hit on home turf, have turned to another native hero for "Kon-Tiki." One of the most-vaunted escapades of the 20th century, Thor Heyerdahl's 1947 Peru-to-Polynesia expedition by raft gets glossy big-screen treatment in this efficiently told action-adventure. Delivering visual drama and understated character study, sometimes in disappointingly formulaic fashion, the feature has its incisive moments but falls short as both epic and intimate portrait.

It's not a big breakthrough.

So if you think the lines at the grocery store move slowly now, imagine waiting behind someone who wants to pay with a few chunks of gold.