Residents of Laveen are ready for the South Mountain Loop 202 Freeway to be built.

The football coaches evidently can’t wait until August for their first showdown of the year.

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

The 2013 legislative session began with a unanimous vote in the House and the Senate to appropriate emergency funding for additional Child Protective Services staff. With that vote, lawmakers affirmed child safety as a top priority.

Norris Vaughan looked at peace sitting at his desk in the football office after a recent spring football practice.

Using their talents for hilarious, family-friendly improvisational comedy, Jef and Shurlin Rawls of Mesa hope to lift spirits while lightening the load for a family in their neighborhood with an event they are calling a “FUN-draiser.”

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.

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.

Three years ago, in the wake of a new Arizona law aimed at those in the country illegally, tens of thousands converged on the Capitol with a message: Today we march, tomorrow we vote.

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 Desert Vista boys volleyball team nearly climbed out of the depths of elimination Thursday but it proved to be too much for the top-seeded Thunder.

A survey shows U.S. home prices rose 10.5 percent in March compared with a year ago, the biggest gain since March 2006.

Now that the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) has finally been released by the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on the proposed South Mountain Freeway Loop 202 expansion, we can start doing a feasibility check on the proposed freeway.

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.

In the United States the average kid (age 8-18) spends 7.5 hours a day in front of a screen or on the phone. To counter sedentary living patterns, national physical activity guidelines for youth have been developed. The guidelines call for at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day for children and teens. The guidelines are based on the amount of physical activity necessary to promote good fitness, health, and wellness. Only 29 percent of high school students meet the 60-minute daily guideline and 14 percent don’t do any physical activity that causes them to breathe hard or that increases heart rate on any day during the week.

A federal judge on Tuesday slapped down the latest efforts by the state to block the Tohono O'odham from building a casino on the edge of Glendale.

Interest in the annual Festival of Lights Golf Tournament has dwindled in recent years and when the co-chairs of the event moved to Gilbert it was unclear who would take over, but Ahwatukee Kiwanis stepped up and is hoping to make the tournament more successful than ever.

The city of Phoenix and Arizona State University announced that Sun Devil baseball will begin playing at Phoenix Municipal Stadium at the start of the 2015 season.

The go-to beverage of Cinco de Mayo is now available in dessert form. Margarita cupcakes are the latest offering from Scottsdale cupcake shop Sprinkles. The tangy little number with key lime-tequila cake capped by key lime frosting and sprinkled with salt is available May 3-5 at the bakery, 4501 N. Scottsdale Road.

OB Sports Golf Management announced summer stay-and-play packages for Scottsdale and Sedona, Ariz., and Las Vegas. The offerings include a number of ready-made packages, and golfers may customize any package and book online at www.obsportsgolfvacations.com. Or, for personalized reservation assistance, they may contact Denise Crawford at (866) 561-4653 or dcrawford@obsports.com.

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.

Here’s a sobering statistic: 46 percent of workers surveyed had little or no confidence that they will have enough money to live comfortably throughout their retirement years, according to the 2010 Retirement Confidence Survey, issued by the Employee Benefit Research Institute. So you may want to explore all possible retirement savings vehicles —including a variable annuity.