Most of us already realize “normal” is relative. Yet, we are only human. And as such, we can scarcely stop ourselves from the very-human behavior of seizing every available opportunity to try to quantify and define the term.

As of the day I am writing this there are 130 active rental listings on the MLS in Ahwatukee and 416 have been rented in the past six months.

Rock-star Ted Nugent has extravagant praise for National Rifle Association (NRA) Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre’s alleged patriotism. “LaPierre,” says Nugent, “resembles our forefathers who stood on Concord bridge and risked all to give birth to a truly free, independent America.”

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.

As “Opponents of Brewer’s Medicaid plan speak out” it rapidly becomes obvious that they are obsessed with forcing their personal, misguided value systems on we citizens.

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

"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:10-12).

The law firm of Burch & Cracchiolo, P.A. announced that Martha C. Patrick and Wendi A. Sorensen have been selected as two of the “Top 25 Women Attorneys” in Arizona by Southwest Super Lawyers in 2013.

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.

In Bryan Brinkley’s letter to the editor (“Richardson’s arguments are absurd,” AFN, May 3) he indicates that he is a man of the law. Then let him try this one on: “The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

"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.

Music therapists

The city of Phoenix and Arizona State University announced that Sun Devil baseball will begin playing at Phoenix Municipal Stadium at the start of the 2015 season.

Resign to run

So if you think the lines at the grocery store move slowly now, imagine waiting behind someone who wants to pay with a few chunks of gold.

Centennials are normally cause for celebration, a chance to applaud some thing or person standing the test of time. But not so for the income tax. Even the IRS is declining to mention that this year is the 100-year anniversary of the 16th Amendment of the Constitution, which authorized the tax.

The long-awaited Draft Environmental Impact Study for the South Mountain Loop 202 Freeway will be released today and available for review and comment over the next 90 days.

On April 17, a bi-partisan piece of legislation, which included “common sense reforms” to help address gun violence, was defeated in the U.S. Senate.

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?

4425 E. Agave Road, Suite 136

I just read the article “Ahwatukee residents petition encourages ban on assault weapons” in the April 12 AFN.

Arizonans who have to seek protection from creditors in bankruptcy court soon will be able to hang on to more of what they own.

Claiming the measures target minorities, some groups are threatening to sue if lawmakers adopt new restrictions on early voting and who can take someone else's ballot to the polls.

Future bids to oust public officials through recall could get a lot harder under the terms of legislation given preliminary approval Tuesday by the Senate.

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