Kyrene School District officials Monday said new, lower rates for use of facilities, namely for youth sports organizations will be presented in early next month.

As part of the recently passed state budget which included an expanded Medicaid plan expected to reach some 350,000 Arizonans, local school districts are expected to receive inflation funding next fiscal year.

Desert Vista High School students this week presented a near-complete application for teacher evaluations to be rolled out in the fall, a project more than a year in the making.

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.

At a May 21 public hearing, the Maricopa Community Colleges Governing Board will consider raising property taxes within the limit permitted in the state constitution and statute (A.R.S §15-1461.01).

Editor’s note: This is part one of a continuing summer series on the proposed South Mountain Loop 202 Freeway.

Joe Campbell’s letter (“Phoenix taxpayers deserve better representation,” AFN, May 8) has a unique view as to what is and what is not in the interests of those of us who live in District 6 of Phoenix.

Higley Unified School District athletic director Art Wagner, 42, was found dead near Higley High School Wednesday morning, according to the Gilbert Police Department. Police say the matter is still under investigation, but believe Wagner died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

There is no short answer to the question — one which is asked by almost every gun control advocate in the U.S.

The law firm of Burch & Cracchiolo, P.A. announced that Martha C. Patrick and Wendi A. Sorensen have been selected as two of the “Top 25 Women Attorneys” in Arizona by Southwest Super Lawyers in 2013.

Q: My son’s laptop was stolen from his college dorm during a party and he had the Find My Mac system setup on it, so he was able to track it to an apartment complex nearby. The problem is that the police said that they need more information to go on as they can’t just start knocking on all the apartment doors. What else can we do? — B

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.

Seeking to keep fields accessible and available to some 4,000 kids in and around Ahwatukee, various youth sports leagues met with the Kyrene School District on Monday after add-on costs to the Ahwatukee Foothills Pony Baseball Association caused heated community concern.

When my wife and I tried to park in the designated visitor parking area at Sen. Jeff Flake’s Phoenix office recently, we were told by security to leave or our car would be towed. When we questioned this, as we were there to join with others to hold him accountable for his vote against universal background checks for gun purchases, we were told parking there was for office tenants only. As we were pulling out of the parking lot, security people began blocking all entrances to the parking lot with pick-up trucks and chains.

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.

Dillie Nerios is a Florida food stamp recruiter. Her job is to sign up 150 seniors monthly in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

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.

Saying she's run out of patience, Gov. Jan Brewer will veto any bills sent to her until she sees movement on a new state budget and her pet Medicaid expansion project.

Where are the “silver linings” for the Ahwatukee Foothills area from the proposed South Mountain Freeway?

The persistence and determination I have shown in the past four years is about reform and getting us ready for the new world we live in. There is a bigger reason why I have been pushing so hard for change. It’s about getting Phoenix ready to compete in a global economy. If the council repeals the food tax it will be added to a long list of reforms we accomplished. There were three significant reforms toward the goal of getting us ready to compete in this new world market and getting government to operate more like your household

Stretched along Kyrene Centennial Middle School’s track on Saturday for the district’s first Acts of Kindness event, Kyrene Monte Vista Elementary students raked in a paper chain with more than 3,000 links representing random acts of kindness.

In Bryan Brinkley’s letter to the editor (“Richardson’s arguments are absurd,” AFN, May 3) he indicates that he is a man of the law. Then let him try this one on: “The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

For the first time ever, drivers of taxi cabs and limousines in Arizona will soon be subject to random drug testing.

Washington • Sen. Jeff Flake’s vote against expanded background checks on gun sales earlier this month caused his approval ratings to drop, making him one of the “most unpopular” U.S. senators, a new poll says.

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).