OB Sports Golf Vacations has three golf packages available starting at $160 per night.

It’s May. Memorial Day and the end of the school year are in sight. Suddenly, you’re thinking about a summer vacation. A little advance planning — and some insider tips — can save you a lot of money. Whether you’re booking airfare, a car rental or a hotel room, there are questions you should ask first.

Memorial Day symbolizes the start of summer for you and your pet. Before you start planning trips to the beach and summer getaways, keep in mind that it’s important to plan ahead for pet travel and always keep the best interests of your furry, four-legged friends in mind.

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

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.

George Strait is amid a two-year tour before retiring from the road, but new album “Love Is Everything” proves he still has plenty of great new country music in him.

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. Director Baz Luhrmann’s film is certainly the most visually arresting interpretation of “The Great Gatsby” ever produced. Catherine Martin, who previous worked with Luhrmann on “Moulin Rouge,” “Romeo + Juliet,” and “Australia,” deserves multiple Oscar nominations for her hyper sets and eye-popping costumes. As wonderful as Luhrmann’s “Great Gatsby” is to look at, the enchanting visuals are also ironically the movie’s downfall. In the midst of the art direction, costumes, and music, the story and characters that made Fitzgerald’s book a classic become a mere afterthought.

The success of the spring sports kept me away from all but one day of three weeks of spring football.

Travelers accustomed to chain eateries like Chili’s and Paradise Bakery now have a chance to experience local offerings such as Cowboy Ciao, La Grande Orange and Barrio Cafe at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

Jerome; Willcox; Mormon Lake

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.

Where are the “silver linings” for the Ahwatukee Foothills area from the proposed South Mountain Freeway?

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.

Now that the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) has finally been released by the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on the proposed South Mountain Freeway Loop 202 expansion, we can start doing a feasibility check on the proposed freeway.

The soft underbelly of a lot of volleyball teams is right in the middle of the net.

Sea Life Aquarium at Arizona Mills is giving kids and adults a sneak peek into the life of a sea creature with no brain and no heart — jellyfish.

Popular downtown Gilbert Postino East WineCafe is set to welcome a new neighbor with some south of the border flair. Joyride Taco House is set to open June 3 on the north side of Postino’s Grainbelt building, and it will share some outdoor space with the wine bar.

If anyone kicks off their retirement with a bang, it’s K.R. Scott.

OB Sports Golf Vacations has three golf packages available starting at $160 per night.

Several freeway-improvement projects in the Phoenix area will require closures this weekend (May 3-5), according to the Arizona Department of Transportation. Drivers are encouraged to plan ahead and consider alternate routes while the following freeway closures are in place this weekend:

Casey Bolena, a 2009 Desert Vista High School graduate, has accepted a football scholarship to the Naval Academy. On April 12 the Navy football team (including Casey) traveled to the White House where they received a private tour and then President Obama presented the Commander-in-Chief trophy to the team.