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.

An anonymous donation is keeping the Phoenix gun buyback program going for one final Saturday, May 18.

The Phoenix Fire Department is giving the community a chance to get to know local firefighters by hosting an open house at four fire stations this Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon, including Ahwatukee Foothills Fire Station No. 43, 4110 E. Chandler Blvd.

It’s no secret that Arizona offers some of the best and most luxurious AAA Four and Five Diamond resorts in the country. However, many travelers don’t realize that many of these properties also feature kid camps that aim to please even the pickiest pint-sized traveler. This provides mom and dad with a guilt-free way to indulge in some much-needed couple time, while allowing kids to make friends and create memories of their own.

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.

I am writing to express my sincere gratitude to the women of Mesa Arizona Hermosa Vista Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My Sisters’ Place recently received 60 beautiful handbags filled with an assortment of makeup, jewelry, lotion, perfume and notes filled with love and encouragement for the women in our shelter.

When my wife and I tried to park in the designated visitor parking area at Sen. Jeff Flake’s Phoenix office recently, we were told by security to leave or our car would be towed. When we questioned this, as we were there to join with others to hold him accountable for his vote against universal background checks for gun purchases, we were told parking there was for office tenants only. As we were pulling out of the parking lot, security people began blocking all entrances to the parking lot with pick-up trucks and chains.

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.

Get the kids ready for summer with a free afternoon of swim lessons and warm weather fun at SWIMkids USA, where they’ll enjoy playing on water slides, eating hot dogs, and noshing on cotton candy and snow cones.

It may not be gourmet, but it is cheap — and the proceeds go to a charity that helps local first responders and their families when they’re the ones in crisis.

Arizonans have devised a variety of ways to retreat from the scorching summer heat, including relaxing indoors or poolside, or escaping it entirely for a summer vacation. However, there’s one thing that can’t escape from the sizzling temperatures — your ride.

"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.

The Phoenix City Council voted on Wednesday to begin phasing out a portion of the city’s food tax on Jan. 1, 2014.

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Chandler Regional Medical Center’s Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Oxygen Center was recently recognized with the Center of Distinction Award.

Gov. Jan Brewer signed legislation Monday making it easier for police to arrest those who remain on someone else's property.

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The Phoenix City Council will discuss options for the city’s food tax during a public policy meeting on Wednesday, including an idea to phase out a portion of the tax beginning January of 2014.

Izzy Marshall’s football career at Arizona State is over before it ever really got started.

I enjoyed Dennis Tierney’s commentary (“Limiting magazine sizes just a step in trying to reduce gun violence,” AFN, March 31), which responds to my earlier commentary. His arguments appear thoughtful and completely reasonable.

Chandler Regional Medical Center’s Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Oxygen Center was recently recognized with the Center of Distinction Award.

On April 27 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the Phoenix Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will give the public another opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs.

As temperatures begin rising, so do concerns for children around pools with no fences. To help alleviate the worries of families and assure children’s safety, Fulton Homes is kicking off its annual Fence Patrol program this month.

As many students are training for football, baseball, hockey, soccer, and other sports, this is also the time of year for sports-related injuries. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), sports-related dental injuries send approximately 600,000 youths to the emergency room each year involving children as young as 5 years old. Prevention is a large aspect of oral health. Oral health prevention includes the prevention of injury to the mouth, teeth, neck, and jaws. In an attempt to promote awareness of facial injury prevention, five organizations have sponsored April as being the National Facial Protection Month: American Dental Association (ADA), American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, and the Academy for Sports Dentistry. Contact sports such as football, hockey, and basketball are common sources of oral injury; however, other sports such as gymnastics and volleyball pose a threat as well. Common head and neck injuries can include concussions, fractured teeth, oral lacerations, jaw joint sprains, and neck injuries.