The mass exodus the last two seasons has people wondering about the level of talent remaining in the Desert Vista football program.

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.

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.

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.

Phoenix is great because of our strong communities where neighbors work together and take pride in the place they call home.

What do United States Congressman David Schweikert, State Senate Majority Leader John McComish, Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCicco, Kedrick Ellison of the Phoenix Community and Economic Development Department, Kyrene Superintendent Dr. David Shauer, Tempe Union High School Superintendent Dr. Kenneth Baca, and Pangea Development have in common?

As “Opponents of Brewer’s Medicaid plan speak out” it rapidly becomes obvious that they are obsessed with forcing their personal, misguided value systems on we citizens.

A family fundraising event will be from 1 to 7 p.m. on May 19 at the parking lot at Foothills Park Plaza, Desert Foothills Parkway and Chandler Boulevard. This is a chance for the community to come out and support all levels of Blue and Gold football.

An anonymous donation is keeping the Phoenix gun buyback program going for one final Saturday, May 18.

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.

It’s been eight months since I had the great opportunity to join the Ahwatukee Foothills News. Since that time we have not made radical changes to the paper or wild editorial changes to the product. What I wanted to do was listen to our readers and take note of any changes that would aid this great community.

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.

Positive Coaching Alliance has announced the official kick off of its new Phoenix Chapter. Established in 1998, Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) is a national nonprofit organization providing all youth and high school athletes a positive, character-building youth sports experience.

The Mountain Pointe boys volleyball team, the Desert Vista baseball team, and the Thunder softball program had their seasons come to an end Saturday.

A group of Ahwatukee residents are preparing to hit the road and terrain of the Verde Valley north of Phoenix next weekend.

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).

Mary Myles, a 2009 alumnus from Desert Vista High School, will graduate from the University of Arizona Honors College this month with degrees in marketing, business management and entrepreneurship from the Eller College of Management.

The 43rd Arizona Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Youth Sports Awards are on Thursday, May 9, starting at 5:30 p.m. at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, in the new Virginia G. Piper Theater.

A judge on Thursday threw out charges of violating campaign finance laws against Attorney General Tom Horne and a political ally.

Did you catch The Rev. Jesse Jackson the other night on CNN demanding a Senate hearing into why regulators never cracked down on that gruesome abortion clinic in Philadelphia?

With graduation just around the corner, Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton emphasized the importance of college and answered questions about city issues as he spoke to a classroom of seniors on Wednesday at Mountain Pointe High School.

Scrambling to find votes for her Medicaid expansion plan, Gov. Jan Brewer said Thursday she is now willing to approve legislation to stop Planned Parenthood from getting any of the funds.

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

There are so many reasons for the Legislature to approve Gov. Jan Brewer’s proposal to expand Medicaid that it is hard for me to believe that any elected official would put ideology before the good of their constituents and the state of Arizona.