And so it begins. After six years since the last substantive debates over immigration reform, the Senate Judiciary Committee recently approved the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act, the title of the legislation borne out of the months-long work of the bipartisan Gang of Eight, which includes Arizona Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake.

Drawing a small but receptive crowd to its east parking lot on Friday evening, the Ahwatukee Recreation Center hosted a flag retirement ceremony that reminded attendees about what the flag truly means.

Volleyball was Kyle Pitman’s secondary sport, but it was hard to tell with his effort and influence on the court.

The city of Phoenix Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) is hosting a Homebuyer Information Session at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 15, at the Sunnyslope Senior Center, 802 E. Vogel Ave. The session will feature available Move-In Ready (MIR) homes in established Phoenix neighborhoods as well as newly built green homes at the Gordon Estates subdivision located at 16th and Apollo streets, between Southern Avenue and Baseline Road.

Owners of The Lakes Golf Course have decided not to continue to fill a lake on Lakeside Boulevard in Ahwatukee now that the golf course has shut down for business. That is forcing the neighboring homeowners association’s pond to dry up and residents are scrambling to save stranded fish and turtles.

Chandler Regional received the Partner for Change award by Practice Greenhealth, an industry leader and nonprofit organization that recognizes health care facilities for going above and beyond in keeping and maintaining a “green” workplace.

Forget the tie. Think bespoke booze for Father’s Day, specifically a beverage tailor-made to suit the hobbies father knows best.

With temperatures on the rise, it’s important to stay hydrated and replenish your electrolytes. Whether you exercise intensely or your child participates in an outdoor sport or you’re a construction worker with a physically demanding job, you’re at risk of dehydration and loss of electrolytes.

The scores junior golfers post make most weekend hackers shake their heads.

Summertime is burger time. And it’s so easy to throw a few beef patties on the grill. Not much is required in the way of embellishment, yet they have a big happiness return.
What’s the magic ingredient? Fat, of course. Beef burgers are high in fat, which guarantees flavor and juiciness. And because fat enhances flavor, it also makes anything else you put in or on the burger taste better, too.
Heartbreakingly, as you decrease the fat content in a burger, its flavor tends to go bye-bye, too. This is a real problem if you want to dig into a delicious burger and still want the blood to continue sailing through your arteries. The solution? Turkey.
I know. I know. You’ve tried turkey burgers and it was like eating wet cardboard. Hah! But you haven’t tried my turkey burgers...
Let’s start with the basic ingredient — ground turkey. While researching this recipe, I discovered that the labels on ground turkey can be quite confusing. You’d figure that a package labeled “lean” would mean what it says. Weirdly, it turns out that the calories and fat in a 4-ounce portion of “lean” ground turkey can range from 120 calories with 1 percent fat to 160 calories with 12 percent fat (which is as rich as a lean beef burger). As always, it’s best to read labels and not rely on words such as “lean” or “white meat” when looking for healthy choices.
Or, better yet, grind your own turkey. Start by buying a small package of turkey tenderloins, the flap of meat that lies just under the breast. As little as a 1 1/2 pounds of turkey tenderloins can be ground to produce six burgers. Cut the tenderloins into 1-inch cubes and freeze them for 30 minutes. Pop them in a food processor and pulse until they achieve a medium-grind consistency.
Now we come to the crucial part of the recipe, the part I call Turkey Helper. The blandest and driest of white meats, turkey cries out for flavor and moisture. Happily, any number of vegetables can answer this call, including sauteed onions, bell peppers or mushrooms, shredded raw Napa cabbage, or carrots.


Individuals for and against the Loop 202 freeway expansion trickled in and out of the Phoenix Convention Center Tuesday and offered passionate pleas to panel members as the Arizona Department of Transportation hosted a day-long public hearing on the South Mountain Freeway.

Chandler Regional received the Partner for Change award by Practice Greenhealth, an industry leader and nonprofit organization that recognizes health care facilities for going above and beyond in keeping and maintaining a “green” workplace.

Arizona Structures is expanding its expertise into Arcadia, Scottsdale and Paradise Valley.

The city of Phoenix is looking for more residents to sign up for a pilot program that will help keep less green organic materials out of landfills and could save the city money.

If you grew up in the early 90s, you probably remember an animated feature from 20th Century Fox called “FernGully: The Last Rainforest.” It was the environmentally-conscious movie every 90s kid saw, and yet, nobody really liked. The film’s intentions might have been good, but even the youngest children seemed to find its blatant green message overly preachy. The fact that “FernGully” was lacking in any interesting characters or magic didn’t help. “Epic,” which was also coincidentally distributed by Fox, is a bit like “FernGully” if it had smarter, more imaginative filmmakers backing it. While it’s not a massive improvement, “Epic” is at least fun, energized, and subtle with its environmental themes.

So President Obama wants to end so-called “tax loopholes” for American oil and gas companies? Sounds like a good idea, until you learn that what the President is really asking. The “Close the Big Oil Tax Loopholes Act” essentially asks American taxpayers and businesses to shoulder the economic brunt of the administration’s ambitious green energy objectives.

Jeff Rutledge, a former player and coach in the NFL and NCAA Champion quarterback at the University of Alabama, has been hired as the head football coach at Valley Christian High School.

Around 8 p.m., a party bus with a large Jack Daniels logo pulled up to the home.