I’d like to thank Bryan Brinkley (“Richardson’s arguments are absurd,” AFN May 3) for taking the time to respond to the “absurd” arguments in my many gun control articles.

Our family bought a sofa a couple of years ago. It was a frustrating experience. I won’t go into it other than to say when my wife and I finally agreed on one, I thought a burden had been lifted. Then the salesman forces another decision: “So which protection plan do you want?”

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

Dear Mikey,

Darkness can be paralyzing.

Izzy Marshall’s football career at Arizona State is over before it ever really got started.

As we survey the panoply of absurd ideas our legislators, both state and national, face from special interest groups these days, we have to wonder what has become of that rare commodity: common sense.

When I took office last year, I made three commitments about the city’s budget. I made the commitment to cut wasteful spending and build a smarter government that does more with less. I committed to use our savings and increased revenues from a recovering economy to lower taxes. And I made the commitment not to accelerate any tax cut if the result hurt our public’s safety.

Making important transitions in life can be challenging, but Ahwatukee Foothills resident Merry Randolph is committed to making the transition easier for women from the outside in.

Being sick — taken out of the game of life’s commitments — is so tough. But sometimes that’s what it takes for God to show us that He’s working through us, in us, and even in spite of us.

The Foothills Women’s Club is putting together a vendor night to show off the diversity of the businesses and people that can be found in Ahwatukee Foothills.

Editor’s note: Follows is a one-on-one interview with Joshua Sasse, of the movie “The Big and I,” and Leah Gibson, from “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.” Both are playing key roles in “Rogue,” DIRECTV’s first original series.

Noah Miller is in a perpetual fight with his own body.

The Volunteer Nonprofit Service Association, Inc. (VNSA) announced the total amount of money raised from its 57th Annual Used Book Sale Feb. 16-17 was approximately $390,000. The VNSA is an all-volunteer organization. Entire proceeds of the book sale are donated to Valley human service agencies.

In the same vein of “To Kill a Mocking Bird” and “Catcher in the Rye,” Rudolfo Anaya’s “Bless Me, Ultima” has evolved into one of the most widely beloved and challenged books of all time. In some high schools this best-selling Chicano novel is considered a mandatory reading. Other schools have banished the book for its use of profanity, references to witchcraft, and religious themes.

In a recent opinion piece (“Huppenthal’s money plea off base,” AFN, Feb. 17) a writer chastises Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal for not seeking additional funding on top of what Huppenthal is already requesting. The writer feels that even more money should flow into Kyrene so parents “don’t have to donate reams of paper to their schools.”

"Snitch” is a movie that knows what it wants to say, but fails to get its message across in a non conventional fashion. The film is loosely based on a “Frontline” documentary about Joey Settembrino, an 18-year-old who was sentenced to a minimum of 10 years in prison for selling LSD. The government offered Settembrino a reduced sentence in exchange for the names of drug dealers high up on the totem pole.

Arizona is facing a literacy crisis and it begins in early childhood.

The National Association Realtors and Remodeling Magazine released a report comparing remodeling cost versus value. Results depend upon various factors such as location, work quality, neighborhood home values, the timing of selling the house and the actual completion of the project.

After going through years of dialysis, a double transplant, and even while facing continual health problems, CK’s Ashley Abromavage takes it all in stride.

Recently, Rep. Bob Thorpe introduced a bill that would require our children to swear an oath in order to be able to receive their diploma and graduate high school.

Allysa Singh, a resident of Ahwatukee, was named to Siena College’s dean’s list for the fall 2012 semester. Singh is a sophomore computer science major.

I am a former Army officer, Tillman Scholar and combat veteran. I received my commission through the University of Arizona’s ROTC program. As a young lieutenant I believed that women should not serve in combat units for all of the same reasons we are used to hearing; physical ability, unit cohesion, rape, capture, etc. I actually wrote a paper on it once. However, as most of us know, actual experience vs. theory is what often changes one’s opinion.

She’s young, tall-model-slender, beautiful and with a song bird voice. I’ll call her Annie. And, today she sits in jail, serving a lengthy term for her history with drugs. Like so many others, her road to trouble started with alcohol.

Editor’s note: The Ahwatukee Foothills News is proud to share with our readers this weekly consumer advocacy column from ABC15 Investigator Joe Ducey. Beginning today, you can find it regularly in print, online at Ahwatukee.com, or on our “AFNNews” mobile app (available for download now at Ahwatukee.com/onthego).