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).

Out on the grass between classroom buildings and the baseball field at Kyrene Centennial Middle School, a group of 7th graders were measuring indoor temperatures of their model homes for an urban heat island project last week.

We were married on St. Patrick’s Day at the Foothills Golf Club. The wedding was beautiful, everyone had a wonderful time, the pictures came out great — best wedding a couple could ask for. If it wasn’t for the Ahwatukee community; however, our day would have been a disaster.

Home-decorating television shows and shelter magazines have many Americans dreaming about inviting an expert interior designer into their homes.

Area tennis players were unable to advance deep into the singles or doubles state tournament this season.

"Oblivion” is another movie that seems better suited for a video game than a motion picture. Watching the characters engage in endless shoot outs and explore vast, abandoned terrains, all you want to do is get your hands on a controller. Since a movie is unequipped with game play, though, you’re forced to sit back and merely observe the story. Then again, most modern video games have more three-dimensional characters and smarter plots than “Oblivion.” This science fiction mystery from director Joseph Kosinski isn’t completely without some good ideas, elevating it above “Transformers” schlock. It’s just unfortunate those ideas never meld into anything that intriguing.

The area's tennis players were unable to make it past the third round of action in the Division I singles and doubles state tournaments.

Mae Maiefski and Anastasia Pushkarenko of Mountain Pointe girls tennis are several local athletes still alive in the Division I state tournament.

The kinship between brothers is never tested quite as much as when sports are involved.

While shopping at your favorite grocery store, it can be hard at times to find 100 percent gluten-free items.

Summit School of Ahwatukee middle school teachers, Andrea Yocum, Christy Menard and Amy Lecky, are recipients of this year’s Xavier College Preparatory Golden Gator Award for Excellence in Teaching. Xavier High School recognizes junior high teachers who have been inspirational to Xavier freshmen students. This is the third Golden Gator for Lecky, who teaches middle school language arts and literature, and the second for both science teacher Andrea Yocum, and math teacher Christy Menard. In previous years Summit teacher Melissa France has also received this award.

Despite being undefeated and helping Desert Vista to the All-City girls tennis title, Melissa Kahn feels she has something to prove.

During a recent home remodel, Diane Wright decided the stairway leading to her garage needed some perking up.

After a slow start to the season, the Desert Vista girls tennis team is starting to put it together.

The transition to a new coach is never as simple as the athletic director and principal introducing the new leader of the program to the players.

In a week when North Korea posted a homemade video showing the U.S. Capitol building being destroyed by a missile, what more logical response could Hollywood offer than a macho thriller about a Secret Service agent who takes on North Korean terrorists who attack the White House? The first of two similarly themed action dramas set for this year ("White House Down" arrives in June), "Olympus Has Fallen" will put to the test the question of whether American audiences are ready, 12 years after 9-11, to watch, strictly as disposable popcorn entertainment, a film in which the United States and some of its most prominent landmarks are devastated by foreign terrorists.

Dr. Mary Jo Kutler and Mr. Sheldon Kutler of Ahwatukee have the pleasure of announcing the engagement of their daughter, Nicole Marie Kutler, to Justin David Pont. Justin is the son of Glenn and Melissa Pont of Mesa. The couple will be married in February of 2014.

In recent years, there have been some really good Oscar hosts like Hugh Jackman, some acceptable hosts like John Stewart, some disappointing hosts like Steve Martin & Alec Baldwin, and some flat-out horrendous hosts like James Franco & Anne Hathaway. Despite the best efforts of some, none have come close to capturing the same wit, timing, and showmanship of reoccurring hosts like Bob Hope, Johnny Carson, or Billy Crystal. At the 85th Annual Academy Awards ceremony however, Seth MacFarlane of “Ted” and “Family Guy” emerged as the single most entertaining first-time Oscar host of the 21st century.