Q: What can I do to get better battery life from my smartphone? It doesn’t even get me through the afternoon on most days. — Ed

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.

NEW YORK — U.S. airlines collected more than $6 billion in baggage and reservation change fees from passengers last year — the highest amount since the fees became common five years ago.

State senators approved their version of a new $8.8 billion budget Thursday -- but not before adding millions of dollars to the original Republican plan.

A Senate panel approved $82 million in inflation aid for public schools -- and then voted, in essence, never to give back hundreds of millions more that they've shorted schools for the last four years.

After the high-profile shooting of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry in 2010, Scott Rollefstad felt he had to do something to help keep other agents safe.

Gilbert residents Rick and Leslie Roman used to give shares of Boston Celtics stock as gifts to friends and family. The pair was always interested in company stocks and thought they made great presents, and it ultimately led to the couple’s first business venture.

Six Chandler Unified School District students will be honored this weekend for qualifying to compete in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, often noted as, “the world’s most prestigious pre-college science competition.”

It's not a big breakthrough.

In the galaxy of big-screen superheros — a rather glum lot — Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man is the snappy one.

NEW YORK — Bodies tensed and noses twitching, the dogs sniff the hunting ground before them: a lower Manhattan alley, grimy, dim and perfect for rats. With a terse command — "Now!" — the chase is on.

Q: I received a call today from a male who identified himself as Andrew Allison with Microsoft Security. He told me that “my NT wires” were installed incorrectly and were causing errors across the internet and that he could talk me through the steps needed to correct the problem. Trying to find a way to report this to Microsoft... — Dennis

In the Tempe, future inclusive leadership begins early due to a nationally recognized program ran by the city’s Diversity Office.

“Hi, I’m Rachel from card member services.”

Recently I spoke out in support of a critical effort underway in Arizona: keeping the state’s rooftop solar industry alive. Like school choice and healthcare choice, solar choice should be a core part of the Arizona agenda, and my party’s message.

Screening the film adaptation of George Orwell’s “1984” isn’t exactly the most festive way to celebrate one’s upcoming birthday, but after reading the Tribune’s “Nerdvana” column’s recommending it this coming Friday, I couldn’t help but reserve a seat.

A new state-ordered mandate on insurance companies could soon mean more accessible -- and definitely more affordable -- health care in rural areas of Arizona.

If you’re like me, you waited until the final days of the tax season to file your returns. And if you’re like me, you’re thinking there ought to be ways to keep your finances organized throughout the year to avoid the mad scramble as April 15 approaches.

Water still bubbles and the sharp scent of chemicals still fills the amber-lit darkroom at Mesa High School as students — years after the advent of the digital camera or the camera phone — develop film into photographs in the time-honored method.

Q: My son’s laptop was stolen from his college dorm during a party and he had the Find My Mac system setup on it, so he was able to track it to an apartment complex nearby. The problem is that the police said that they need more information to go on as they can’t just start knocking on all the apartment doors. What else can we do? — B

Mesa Public Libraries is holding a series of teen volunteer fairs for students entering seventh through 12th grade, between the ages of 12 and 18 to fill positions for the Summer Reading Program. Jobs will assist as program desk aides, computer aids, self-checkout assistants, shelving positions, program craft aides and other miscellaneous duties.

It's a given at multiplexes these days that despite switch-off-your-cell-phone announcements and the occasional grumbling protest, whatever's onscreen will have to compete with tiny pockets of light from audience members unable to stay off their handhelds. Watching those glow patches come and go during "Disconnect" reinforces the film's position on how desensitized we've become to these technological intrusions. Not that Henry-Alex Rubin's schematic multi-strand drama is at all shy about articulating its themes.

Early in the sleek sci-fi thriller "Oblivion," Tom Cruise, as a flyboy repairman living a removed, Jetsons-like existence above an invaded and deserted Earth, intones his home sickness.

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