I am writing to discover if any of you will stand with practicing midwives of Arizona and the parents that use their services and oppose onerous restrictions on the practice of midwifery in Arizona.

Emergency Medical Services week celebrates the hard work and dedication these professionals provide our community every day. During the 2013 EMS week, however, Southwest Ambulance also celebrated a milestone; surpassing their goal of 500 community members trained in CPR over the last 12 months.

This weekend, Chandler husband-and-wife team Chad and Erin Romanoff celebrate the one-year anniversary of their vintage silver food truck — The Uprooted Kitchen. Appearing weekly at Gilbert Farmers Market and Food Truck Friday in Phoenix, the Romanoff’s “restaurant on wheels” is a true gem found right in our own backyard.

In February, elementary physical education teachers challenged 5,000-plus fifth-graders in Mesa Public School District to make healthy food choices and get more exercise for 28 consecutive days as part of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona’s Walk On! Challenge. Every fifth-grade student in the Mesa district had the opportunity to participate in the Walk On! Challenge, which was facilitated by the physical education teachers in each of the elementary schools in Mesa.

A punch to the gut. A smack to the head.

When it comes to improving our community and helping people in need, Mesa has no shortage of role models. That’s what makes Susan Carland’s selection for Mesa United Way’s Ross N. Farnsworth Spirit of Mesa Award so special.

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.

The Valley’s exotic new rainforest exhibit with thousands of butterflies, a live ant colony, a honey bee exhibit and a 3D film about monarch butterfly migrations, celebrates its grand opening Memorial Day weekend.

Water safety is about more than just watching your kids around water. Experts from Phoenix Children's Hospital show us how you can take action around your home and the pool to help prevent drownings.

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.

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.

To those people who are petitioning the Gilbert School Board to not raise their property tax by an average of $36 a year so there will be some minute chance for the employees to get any increase in pay, I say this: Who is your employer? How about we all petition the CEO of your company and beg them not to raise the price of their products so you can’t get a raise? How about we ask them to cut back and lay you off instead of raising their prices?

The message behind most romantic comedies is the simple-minded sentiment that love is all you need. So when Danish filmmaker Susanne Bier takes that title for a departure from somber drama to romance, you might expect her to deliver it with some serious irony.

Wayne Brown spent decades working to improve Mesa, from its arts programs to its financial standing. Under his leadership on the city council and as mayor, the city saw a new spring training facilities built, a new convention center created and the establishment of the Mesa Arts Center.

Thousands of Arizonans in the federal "deferred action'' program won't be getting licenses to drive, at least not now.

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.

ROME — The U.N. has new weapons to fight hunger, boost nutrition and reduce pollution, and they might be crawling or flying near you right now: edible insects.

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.

Using their talents for hilarious, family-friendly improvisational comedy, Jef and Shurlin Rawls of Mesa hope to lift spirits while lightening the load for a family in their neighborhood with an event they are calling a “FUN-draiser.”

Calling the governor's proposal unacceptable and politically dead at the Legislature, House Speaker Andy Tobin unveiled his own new plan Tuesday to expand Medicaid, one that would give Arizona voters the final say.