Gilbert's BounceU will participate Wednesday in a nationwide fundraiser for Make-A-Wish. The event will be held 4 to 8 p.m. at 1166 S. Gilbert Road, Suite 110. Each one-hour session will start on the hour.

A unanimous Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has endorsed a $2.2 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year, some $82.4 million lower than the county currently spends. The budget approved today is likely to produce a modest property tax decrease for Valley homeowners but also a merit-based salary increase for county employees, who have gone without permanent increases for five years.

‘They told me the window for my recovery had closed.”

Tombstone; Clarkdale; Taylor

SHANGHAI — China's biggest city and financial hub is known for designer boutiques and fine dining. Yet wallet-draining Shanghai also offers activities that cost nothing, from walking on the riverfront Bund to sculpture parks and historic sites. Here are five of them.

Pippa is a sweet, 4-year-old, border terrier. She may be a bit shy when she meets new people, but with a little time, she opens up and shows her peppy, cuddly personality.

BOULDER, Colo. — Ethan Welty is thinking ahead to harvest time as he cycles through tidy Boulder streets pointing out apple, plum and mulberry trees on public and private land.

A “Celebration of Life” service to honor respected educator and leader among state high school sports circles Art Wagner is scheduled for Monday night at 6 p.m. at the Higley Center for the Performing Arts in Gilbert.

I gathered collected half a dozen towels from my car tonight, about twice as many empty water bottles and half as many cans of sunscreen.

You wouldn’t know it from all the parking lots and shopping centers in our immediate vicinity, but out on the fringe of suburbia, acres of peaches are growing fat and juicy in the warm spring sunshine.

Think of it as the ultimate guy’s day out. Fantasy Father’s Day, slated for Saturday, June 15, at Salt River Fields aims to give men the kind of experiences some of us can only daydream about.

Higley Unified School District athletic director Art Wagner, 43, was found dead near Higley High School Wednesday morning, according to the Gilbert Police Department. Police say the matter is still under investigation, but believe Wagner died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Dear Debt Adviser: I own my home and have no mortgage or note. I have no debts except a student loan of about $11,000, and I can pay that off right now. I’ve always wanted to be debt-free, and I could write a check tomorrow and do that.

Barbecue chicken is one of my favorite summertime dishes. I like every part of it — the tomato-based sauce (the spicier the better), the crispy skin, even the bones.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and this week is Women’s Health Week. It’s an opportune time for you (or the women in your life) to assess both your physical and mental health.

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.

Three years ago, in the wake of a new Arizona law aimed at those in the country illegally, tens of thousands converged on the Capitol with a message: Today we march, tomorrow we vote.

Arizona's economic recovery is flattening out statewide, with job growth outside the Phoenix metro area for this year and next predicted to be anemic.

The first steps toward improving Falcon Field Airport’s terminal building are underway with design of renovations to the terminal building.

The 94th annual Children’s Book Week, the national celebration of books for young people and the joy of reading, officially starts May 13, but youngsters can join activities sooner at Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe:

In recognition for its efforts to give children ample opportunities to play, Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler and Tempe were given 2013 Playful City USA titles by the national nonprofit KaBOOM!

E-Books and Amazon.com may spell the demise of the publishing industry, but Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, named “Best Bookstore” yet again by “2013 Best of East Valley Voters, continues to thrive.

A tapas-style meal made up of a variety of small, appetizer-like bites is something we tend to associate with evenings and cocktails. But we thought the same idea of small plates would lend itself perfectly to a Mother's Day brunch. So we came up with a variety of tapas ideas suitable for Mom's big day.