After 20 years, life-long runner and local coach David Allison returned to his alma mater recently to compete in the Penn Relays.

The prom is making a big comeback.

Back in Ahwatukee Foothills after moving to Pennsylvania to teach yoga, Carol Ann Marusiak is now preparing for a new adventure: a stand-up paddle board race.

You may know him as one of the stars of the popular PBS series “History Detectives,” but Dr. Eduardo Pagán is also a Grand Canyon State native and history professor at Arizona State University.

Ahwatukee Foothills resident Dale Baker has been recognized for her work in the field of science, becoming this year’s recipient of the most prestigious award in the field of science education from the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST).

Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) announced it will open a corporate college to focus on customized technical training for local employers.

The Phoenix Zoo is celebrating the birth of an Andean bear cub born to 17–year-old Rio in early January. The cub and mother appear to be doing well and animal care staff and keepers are monitoring the mother and baby, but will leave Rio to bond with and care for her cub without interference.

Norma Mae White, 82, of Ahwatukee, formerly of Indiana, Pa., passed away on Jan. 29 at St. Andrew’s Village after a brief but courageous battle with cancer. Born Feb. 16, 1930 in New Bethlehem, Pa., she is predeceased by her husband, A. B. White III, her parents Ernest and Lorena Dinger, and her grandson, Benson Adam White.

Groundhog Day is almost here. For most of its history — which, according to some reports, dates back to the first celebration in 1886 or 1887 in Punxsutawney, Pa. — Groundhog Day held little significance for most Americans. But that changed in 1993 with the release of the movie “Groundhog Day,” in which a semi-embittered meteorologist, played by Bill Murray, is forced to re-live the same day over and over again. He repeatedly makes poor choices, until he finally learns from his mistakes and is granted the ability to move on with his life. Since the movie came out, the term “Groundhog Day” is often used to refer to a situation in which someone repeats the same mistakes. It’s a phenomenon that happens in many walks of life — including investing.

Los Angeles   •   Dogs and cats can’t brush, spit, gargle or floss on their own. So owners who want to avoid bad pet breath will need to lend a hand.

Desert Vista senior defensive lineman Lorenzo “Zo” Melvin gave his verbal commitment to continue his career at Northern Arizona in the fall after taking an official visit to Flagstaff last weekend.

Everyone could use a little help keeping those New Year’s resolutions to slim down. But if it means the government limiting junk food, the response is an overwhelming, “No.”

“Promised Land” offers an experience that’s alternately amusing and frustrating, full of impassioned earnestness as well as saggy sections.

Stan Way, a Latter-day Saint from Jasper, Ala., had just finished dinner out with some Mormon missionaries when he noticed a car slowing as it approached.

Hey mom and dad: Halloween’s not really all that scary — except when it comes to traffic safety.

Wow! I didn’t know that, “Wind and solar provide many jobs and wind is cheaper than new coal per kilowatt hour.” But local science experts, Michael and Kat Shores, assure us that it is so (“Energy we can’t afford,” AFN, Oct. 21).

Eric Lauer approached every game without abandonment.

Bradley Carr knows the restaurant business.

OK, so who got the bounce from the conventions? Obama-Biden did. Initially, they received a national ratings bump of about 4 percent. As of a week later, the bounce had increased to the high single digits.

The culinary arts, baking and pastry arts at the East Valley Institute of Technology in Mesa recently received a certification from the American Culinary Federation Education Foundation.

We hear it all the time from our friends, colleagues and even parents, “Are you taking your vitamins? A vitamin would really help that.” We get it, vitamins have a good reputation and each one has a laundry list of symptoms and illnesses it can help treat. But do vitamins really help?

The culinary arts, baking and pastry arts at the East Valley Institute of Technology in Mesa recently received a certification from the American Culinary Federation Education Foundation. The certification assures that a program meets at least a minimum amount of standards and competencies set for faculty, curriculum and student services.