Sometimes it’s best to start out small and work up to something bigger.

Whether you’re a parent or caregiver, we all want the best for our kids. Part of that is making sure they have the reading skills to succeed in school and in life.

Affectionately playing with their Miniature Dachshunds, Joey, Lisa Stapp and her son, Billy, praised the family pet after he rolled over on command.

Not waiting for formal gubernatorial approval, foes of her Medicaid expansion already are moving to undo at the ballot box and in court what they could not block at the Legislature.

Seton Catholic Preparatory High School starts its first summer session of Music Theater Camp for ninth-graders this week. The first session will be June 10-21 and a second session is July 15-26. The camp will be Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to noon. The cost is $150 for each session.

When it comes to fitness, some people have their own agendas on why they want to get off the coach and start shedding their unwanted body mass.

Whether you had parents that were distant or parents that were overbearing, we all likely dreamed about running away from home while growing up. These unrealistic fantasies likely involved hitting the road with one or two good friends and building a safe haven somewhere in the wildness. Naturally, we all quickly woke up from this daydream, realizing that we’d never make it on our own. “The Kings of Summer” exists in an offbeat world fueled by our youthful daydreams. The end product is funny and quirky, but also wise and nostalgic with something meaningful to say about coming of age.

Tired of waiting for action, Gov. Jan Brewer forced lawmakers back to the Capitol late Tuesday to approve her budget and Medicaid expansion.

With temperatures on the rise, it’s important to stay hydrated and replenish your electrolytes. Whether you exercise intensely or your child participates in an outdoor sport or you’re a construction worker with a physically demanding job, you’re at risk of dehydration and loss of electrolytes.

It’s only been a week since the 1-cent sales tax went off the books, but area economists and businesses do not expect to see much if any increase in retail sales in the foreseeable future due in part to consumers having little idea the increase ended.

Three students recently promoted from the eighth grade at St. John. Bosco Catholic School in Ahwatukee recently received scholarships for private high school tuition, each worth $8,000.


Some GOP lawmakers are threatening to torpedo the budget being pushed by their own leaders if $400 million in planned spending is not cut across the board.

Active members of Protecting Arizona’s Resources and Children (PARC) in our Village of Ahwatukee and outlying residential areas aim to stop the South Mountain Freeway from being built on Pecos Road. Preventing the destruction of our community and South Mountain is the main goal of PARC, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization.

I am one of those whose mother invoked starving children in India or China as a way to get me to eat nasty vegetables like eggplant and okra and to otherwise leave nothing on the plate. These days, I like vegetables, I clearly do not often leave anything on the plate, and my mother need not look past our own shores to see starving children.


As Christy Everson was nearing age 40, she made a decision: She wanted to have a child, even though she was single and it meant doing it all alone. Her daughter, conceived via a sperm donor, is now 2 1/2 years old, and Everson hopes to have a second child.


Conceding he lacks the votes, House Speaker Andy Tobin gave up Tuesday in his bid to block the Medicaid expansion plan by Gov. Jan Brewer with his own alternative.

Americans are more confident in the U.S. economy than at any point in the past five years, thanks to surging home values, a brighter job market and record-setting stock prices.
Stock averages last month extended the year’s explosive rally.
Further gains in consumer confidence could help the economy withstand the effects of higher taxes and federal spending cuts that kicked in this year. Spending by consumers drives about 70 percent of economic growth.


As some of you may know I have been covering the Jodi Arias murder trial as a legal expert for FOX 10 and other national TV stations. I’ve probably done over 65 TV appearances as a legal expert on the case. This case has turned out to be the biggest case of 2013 and maybe as big as the O.J. Simpson case.

Gov. Jan Brewer said Friday that Arizona no longer needs its 1-cent sales tax surcharge even though state spending, while below 2009 levels, still exceeds ongoing revenues.

Parishioners of The Parish of St. Benedict will never forget their long-haired, vegan, “Deadhead” pastor Father Gary Regula who will be moving on after the summer to a new parish.

Another Mother’s Day has come and gone and the Internet is littered with women griping about how disappointed they are with their families’ celebration of their Amazing Motherhood. The eternal conflict still rages: Is the holiday a Hallmark Holiday, and thus a despised marketing ploy or the deserved reward after devoting some or all of one’s life to her children?

At 14, Tyler Cohen had never been out of the country or traveled without his Long Island family when he found himself in Costa Rica on a monthlong service trip for teens.

Two former Republican state senators are maneuvering to give voters the last word on whether Arizona expands its Medicaid program.

Forget fears of sequestration. And never mind the hike in payroll taxes that shrunk paychecks.