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.

It’s been eight months since I had the great opportunity to join the Ahwatukee Foothills News. Since that time we have not made radical changes to the paper or wild editorial changes to the product. What I wanted to do was listen to our readers and take note of any changes that would aid this great community.

Joss Bates was dropped off at his Ahwatukee home last weekend to find 114 notes hanging around his front yard, displaying quotes, words of comfort, love and encouragement written on them from friends and family.

Doria MeChelle is a teacher by day, salon owner by night, and once a month she flies across the country to do the hair of faithful clients. She wouldn’t have it any other way.

According to the majority of the media and most of our elected officials we are not supposed to judge all Muslims by the acts of a few “crazies.” But the acts of a few American “crazies” are enough to judge all Americans who own guns.

Gov. Jan Brewer signed legislation Thursday to allow foster children to be placed in homes with youngsters who are not immunized.

Tommy Martinez stands all of 5-foot-6, maybe 5-6 ½ in his cleats, hits ninth in the Mountain Pointe lineup and is just a sophomore.

The adage “truth is stranger than fiction” is proven in “The Lost Wife,” by Alyson Richman. She has succeeded in blending both for an unforgettable reading experience.

Just after the school bell rang last Friday morning, Kyrene de la Sierra Elementary Principal Dave Maloney headed straight for his school’s media center to do live morning announcements.

Registration opens April 27 at 10:30 a.m. for Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department summer programs including full-day supervised recreation programs at 13 sites to keep kids engaged, active and safe over the summer break. The full-day programs will start June 3 and run through the end of July. In addition to the full-day programs, centers also are offering a large selection of general interest classes and sports programs. Many smaller centers also are offering free, drop-in programs during the summer.

The Heady Hoop Tribe, an eclectic group of four women who aim to inspire others through the creative power of modern hoop dance, bring a sense of community to Phoenix.

As the gun debate stirs and emotions rise higher and higher, we tend to leave ration and logic out of the subsequent efforts to address what is an important public issue. Emotionally charged solutions seldom fix anything. They simply make a lot of people feel like something positive is being done but they truly accomplish nothing. And marching out victims to use as props for your initiative is a shameless political ploy. Politicians are great at using emotional issues to push their pet plans. Most of the efforts currently in flight to answer the recent tragedies in Colorado, Arizona, Connecticut (all very liberal enclaves I might add) are labeled as “Gun Safety” and “Gun Violence” initiatives. Looking at those terms, who is not for Gun Safety? And who is not for ending Gun Violence?

Summer is coming, but all our dogs still need exercise. Here are some tips on how to beat the heat with your dog.

A fire destroyed a home near the 10400 block of South 44th Place in Ahwatukee Foothills Friday afternoon.

The number of children being taken into Child Protective Services’ custody continues to escalate each year in Arizona, but the minors are not the only concern. After age 18, college-bound individuals who were essentially raised in the system still need the support — like any young adult — to have a successful future.

Arizona firms are on the verge of getting new secrecy protections for the internal reviews they do of their health and safety practices.

Monday was the deadline for another column, and so right now I should be polishing up 500 words or so about why women do more housekeeping than men and bundling it off to the Ahwatukee Foothills News.

“Those three seconds I took my eyes off the road changed my life forever.”