What do United States Congressman David Schweikert, State Senate Majority Leader John McComish, Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCicco, Kedrick Ellison of the Phoenix Community and Economic Development Department, Kyrene Superintendent Dr. David Shauer, Tempe Union High School Superintendent Dr. Kenneth Baca, and Pangea Development have in common?

Catholic Charities Community Services’ DIGNITY House was recently named Homeless Service Provider of the Year by Phoenix Neighborhood Services. DIGNITY House received the award for its outstanding efforts assisting women with intensive residential recovery to help them live an independent life. The award was presented last month during the city’s National Community Development Week celebration.

The Ahwatukee Foothills Village Planning Committee will meet  at 6 p.m. on Monday, May 20 at the Pecos Community Center, 17010 S. 48th St. On the agenda is a City Council update from District 6 and an update on the South Mountain Freeway Citizens Advisory Team. For more information, visit phoenix.gov.

Editor’s note: This is part one of a continuing summer series on the proposed South Mountain Loop 202 Freeway.

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

Another Italian eatery is preparing to open in the recently closed Anzio Landing restaurant space in Mesa.

It has been three years since members of the South Mountain Citizens Advisory Team (SMCAT) got together, but on Monday the group will reconvene to discuss air quality before the release of the Draft Environmental Impact Study (DEIS).

The company looking to open a medical marijuana dispensary in Ahwatukee Foothills has located a new site for a possible dispensary at 48th Street and Warner Road.

Growing up in Nigeria Victor Jakpor said he didn’t notice the poverty of his village.

Weekends are made for moving a little slower, taking time to enjoy oneself and reconnect with whatever’s been put on the back burner during a hectic work week.

One arrived before Rudy Valee and the other a year before The Beatles, but together they made beautiful music in nurturing a piece of Ahwatukee that spanned the decades between the roaring ‘20s and this year’s cold winter rains.

In our wi-fi world of planes, trains and automobiles, travel is taken for granted; in days gone by, it was considered a prerequisite for a well-rounded education. It not only broadened the mind, but also deepened one’s experience and knowledge of the world. That vintage wisdom holds true today, making events like the Gilbert Global Village Festival on Saturday a red-letter day.

Armando Adrian-López doesn’t farm anymore, but he still looks to the natural world for inspiration and materials, using corn husks, dried flowers and found objects to create fantastical winged and horned creatures.

Bicyclists will have a chance to speak directly to city staff and offer suggestions for improving biking in Phoenix during the District 6 Bike Summit on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Pecos Park Community Center, 17010 S. 48th St., Room 3.

A Valley home builder with plans to build a development in Ahwatukee Foothills has just received its fourth consecutive “Homeowners’ Choice Award” from Eliant.

Up there with “Stoker” and “Like Someone in Love” as one of the best films to hit theaters this spring, “War Witch” is devastating, beautiful and truly not to be missed. An Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film, this gut-wrenching tale of a child soldier has been reeling in the accolades: Best Actress awards for young star Rachel Mwanza at both the Berlin and Tribeca film festivals, along with a whopping 10 honors (including Best Picture) at this year’s Canadian Screen Awards.

LOS ANGELES — A grave 12-year-old African girl, abducted from her village by vicious armed rebels and forced to wage war as a child soldier, guides the viewer through the horrors of Canadian director Kim Nguyen's engrossing Oscar-nominated drama "War Witch." Managing to be neither sentimental nor sensationalistic, the film tells its story from the heart, and from the simple, straightforward viewpoint of young heroine Komona, warmly played by the talented Rachel Mwanza in her screen debut.

Ambassador Academy • 3820 E. Ray Road

If you’re looking for a meatball sandwich or fettuccine alfredo, you won’t find it here.

Christopher Donahue, son of Susan and James Donahue of Ahwatukee and an Arizona State University and Desert Vista High School graduate, is currently serving as a United States Peace Corps volunteer in Swaziland, Africa. When he found out that his assignment was to be in this small country located in South Eastern Africa, he was thrilled and a little intimidated. Peace Corp volunteers have no real idea about the type of living conditions or hurdles they will be facing.

Director Kief Davidson’s journey through Rwanda and Sudan was not only a filmmaking venture, but a life-or-death trek for eight Rwandan children afflicted with rheumatic heart disease. A firsthand look into their lives and the high-risk surgical procedures they must endure, “Open Heart” is a powerful documentary bringing much-needed attention to a disease that affects nearly 18 million people worldwide.

It’s ba-aaack: The Arizona Renaissance Festival opens this weekend in Gold Canyon, and it’s celebrating 25 years of transporting modern Valley dwellers to a 16th-century English village.

Norma Mae White, 82, of Ahwatukee, formerly of Indiana, Pa., passed away on Jan. 29 at St. Andrew’s Village after a brief but courageous battle with cancer. Born Feb. 16, 1930 in New Bethlehem, Pa., she is predeceased by her husband, A. B. White III, her parents Ernest and Lorena Dinger, and her grandson, Benson Adam White.