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

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.

Phoenix police said they arrested a volunteer drama teacher from Mountain Pointe High School yesterday after a former student told police he had a relationship with the teacher while a minor.

Higley Unified School District athletic director Art Wagner, 42, was found dead near Higley High School Wednesday morning, according to the Gilbert Police Department. Police say the matter is still under investigation, but believe Wagner died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

A new statewide survey suggests that if Arizonans were asked about it today, it's more likely that gay couples would be able to marry here.

In the interest of serving you, our loyal reader – and Ahwatukee resident – better, the Ahwatukee Foothills News is asking for your help!

1. On April 29 at 8:52 a.m. police responded to a residential burglary in the 4200 block of East South Fork Drive. Between Sunday and Monday morning the victim had his or her vehicle parked in the driveway. Entry was made into the 2007 Hummer and sunglasses and a garage door opener were taken. There were no signs of forced entry.

It was a small turnout with a lot of passion at the Protecting Arizona’s Resources and Children (PARC) meeting on Saturday, May 11.

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.

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.

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.

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?”

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.

Attorney General Tom Horne paid a $300 fine Wednesday -- $582 with surcharges -- to settle a criminal misdemeanor charge he left the scene of an accident without leaving a note.

Even though “The Great Gatsby” has gotten the movie treatment several times in the past, no film adaptation has ever really stood out as the definitive version of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s celebrated novel.

It’s no secret to Realtors that fabulous kitchens sell homes. Improve the room used primarily for food preparation, and the entire house will feel homier to residents, guests and prospective buyers alike.

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

No one can deny the Great Recession left a permanent mark on our nation and its economy. But what effect did it have on the American Dream of home ownership? That’s the question we set out to answer by asking Phoenix-based Benchmark Research Technologies to survey nearly 1,700 Arizona new home shoppers about their attitudes surrounding home ownership in the post-recession era.

Keystone Montessori • 1025 E. Liberty Lane

Now that the Draft Environmental Impact Study (DEIS) for the proposed South Mountain Loop 202 Freeway expansion has been released, local environmentalists are planning to use the 90-day comment period to tear it apart.

1. On April 22 around 8:30 p.m. police responded to a call of graffiti at a park in the 13200 block of South 48th Street. Unknown suspects, two adult males between the ages of 20 and 25, were seen spraying paint in the park. An officer located the pavilion and found a can of black spray paint, which was impounded for evidence and DNA analysis.

"Had I known about the crime problems around Arizona State University I would have never let Kyleigh move to Tempe.” Those are the words of Karen Montenegro, the mother of murdered ASU student Kyleigh Sousa.