Local chefs featured on the Eight, Arizona PBS show “Check, Please! Arizona” gather at the inaugural Check, Please! Arizona Festival, where fans and foodies can sample some of the Valley’s best restaurant fare and audition for upcoming episodes of the show. Cuisine from at least 36 of the independent restaurants – from five-star dining establishments to tucked-away cafes – previously featured on the show will be offered.  Among event highlights are cooking demonstrations, panel discussions and the chance to audition in front of cameras.

You may know him as one of the stars of the popular PBS series “History Detectives,” but Dr. Eduardo Pagán is also a Grand Canyon State native and history professor at Arizona State University.

When they’re not practicing their archery skills, engaging audiences with their impressive public speaking abilities, exploring Arizona or rescuing birds and reptiles, the state’s top 27 spellers, ranging in age from 9-14, are studying words like ‘vivisepulture’ and ‘ursprache’ in preparation for the 2013 AEF Arizona Spelling Bee. This year’s annual AEF Arizona Spelling Bee will be held Saturday in Phoenix.

The most popular locally produced TV show on Eight, Arizona PBS, will soon take over CityScape in downtown Phoenix.

My mouth is watering, and there’s not a thing I can do about it.

Eight of the Southwest’s most recognized and talented chefs — including one from Gilbert’s Joe’s Real BBQ — will show you how to make their favorite recipes on Eight’s Centennial Cooking Celebration.

Veteran performers Cait Brennan, Tom Bertling and Ivan Harshman will join blues headliner The Sugar Thieves and “Hey Ya” YouTube sensation Obadiah Parker for two concerts at Tempe Center for the Arts.

NEW YORK — Beneath Bob Schieffer's Southern charm is the tough spine of someone used to dealing with politicians. The moderator of Monday's final presidential debate will need it, because it has been open season on the other journalists who have done that job this campaign.

Democrat Richard Carmona said Wednesday he would not have supported the federal Affordable Care Act as pushed through by President Obama.

Democrat Richard Carmona said Wednesday he would not have supported the federal Affordable Care Act as pushed through by President Obama.

DENVER — In a showdown at close quarters, President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney sparred aggressively in their first campaign debate Wednesday night over taxes, deficits and strong steps needed to create jobs in a sputtering national economy. "The status quo is not going to cut it," declared the challenger.

I recently asked Eight Arizona PBS special events promotion coordinator Bob Beard to fill us in on the history of the "second annual" Nerd Walk, what's new this year and what he might envision for ... the future!

Poet Terry Hummer reads prose and plays saxophone. Musician Billy Cioffi sings Hummer’s words and strums his guitar. Backup singers melodically chime in — all to create the soulful ambiance evident in the television episode “The AmeriCamera Project,” where Hummer and Cioffi fuse poetry with rock ‘n’ roll.

Danny Tyree’s recent rallying cry of “Conservatives, Let’s Save PBS!” was spot on. His column recognized that public broadcasting serves all Americans, regardless of their political persuasion. Indeed, PBS traces its roots to wealthy American industrialist Andrew Carnegie — who insisted on “excellence” as his core conservative value.

PHOENIX — U.S. Rep. Jeff Flake and businessman Wil Cardon square off Thursday evening in a televised debate with two lesser-known Republicans in the GOP primary race for U.S. Senate.

If you get the impression Arizona can sometimes seem a little wacky to the rest of the nation, take heart, at least, that attention-getting shenanigans are nothing new for the Grand Canyon State.