The Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits (Alliance) and Arizona Grantmakers Forum (AGF) awarded $179,500 in prizes to 40 nonprofits who participated in Arizona Gives Day at a reception on May 2.

The Department of Administration reports Arizona’s jobless rate last month was 7.9 percent. That’s the third straight month at that level.

On paper, J.J. Abrams’ 2009 “Star Trek” is one of those movies that should have crashed and burned. A reboot of a beloved franchise with younger, lesser-known actors stepping into the shoes of an iconic cast of characters. The fact that Abrams went on record stating that he was never a huge “Star Trek” fan didn’t bode well either. Against all odds, though, Abrams not only produced a great “Star Trek” picture, but quite possibly the best “Star Trek” ever made. That’s right, even better than “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.”

Tempe Police officers arrested a 15-year-old student from Mountain Pointe High School on Monday after connecting him to an online bomb threat last week.

Cox Communications, in partnership with The Trust for Public Land, is seeking nominations for Arizona’s second Cox Conserves Heroes awards program. Nominations are being accepted at www.cox7.com/cox-conserves for volunteers who are creating, preserving or enhancing outdoor spaces.

Urban AZ’s first Spoken Word Showcase brings together a range of poetic performers, along with R&B artists Dwele and Bilal with a band, at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, May 18 at Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix.

Summer School … these two words can sound like a one- to two-month jail sentence for students in school.

As anyone who has ever taken a standardized test knows, the last step in preparing for the test is to sharpen your No. 2 pencil. That may not be enough, however, for those thinking about taking college entrance exams. Planning and preparation for the ACT/SAT should begin now for rising seniors. Here are some topics to consider as you establish your test-taking strategies.

The Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department will ban open fires in city mountain and desert preserves effective Monday, May 13. In consultation with the Phoenix Fire Department, smoking and charcoal fires are included in the ban due to the extreme fire danger that the combination of low humidity, increasing temperatures and frequent high winds creates each spring. Additional information on the ban is available online at phoenix.gov/parks.

The Phoenix City Council will vote on the final draft of the city’s 2013-14 budget, which includes new efficiencies in the city’s public information office, parks and public transit, on May 21 but Councilman Sal DiCiccio says the city could have increased even more services if staff didn’t get any raises or bonuses.

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?”

For the past two years, Desert Vista High School teacher Debra Benedict has seen her students grow in writing, leadership and in their understanding of the issues within education.

Lisa Spini has always had an eye for talent and 12 years ago, Stefani Catour caught her eye.

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.

Dear Mikey,

The Mountain Pointe duo of Natrell Curtis and Jalen Brown keep getting national attention.

Sea Life Aquarium at Arizona Mills is giving kids and adults a sneak peek into the life of a sea creature with no brain and no heart — jellyfish.

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?

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 once was a time when having a tattoo would make a person an outsider. Now in this day and age, it seems like everyone and their mother has a tattoo somewhere on their body.

Hard rocker Tom Keifer would be among the first to say that life doesn’t go as planned. The long-time musician, best known for his lead role in the band Cinderella, released his first solo album – ”The Way Life Goes” – April 30 after a 10-year process and a long struggle with partial vocal chord paralysis — the ruination of many music careers.

Despite the bad rap that saturated fats have, there’s a lot of evidence indicating that saturated fat is essentially good for you. The real harmful and unhealthy fats include trans fats, hydrogenated fats and vegetable oils.

I just bought a new car. I didn’t want to. I hate the process. But after months of my old van giving me signals it was time, I finally decided I had to cut its financial life support and move on. I spent hours comparing, emailing, researching, traveling, negotiating and complaining about how much I didn’t like doing any of it.

Trees in the city of Phoenix provide $9.4 million in annual benefit to residents in air quality, storm water management, energy savings, shade and aesthetics, according to the city of Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department.

Local entrepreneurs are in the final stages of getting their portable medical clinic repurposed from a steel shipping container sent to Kenya.