Tribune softball rankings as of April 15:

The Child Abuse Prevention & Awareness Coalition will have a free Family Day 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 6, in Tempe to kick off National Child Abuse Prevention Month.

Valley residents will band together this weekend to walk for an organization that got its start in the Phoenix area more than three decades ago, and on behalf of youngsters around the world looking to have that one ultimate wish granted.

BeagleFest 2013 will be held on 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, March 10, at the Ruben Romero Corporate Ramada at Kiwanis Park.

Somehow, Brophy’s boys tennis team might have gotten stronger.

Two major demons were conquered, and now Xavier girls tennis could move closer to being what its Brophy boys peers have become.

It’s a wacky but fun East Valley tradition for kids: Swimming with Santa.

The second Sally Meyerhoff 5K run will be on Dec. 8 at Kiwanis Park in Tempe. A Mountain Pointe graduate and former Pride coach, Meyerhoff was an aspiring Olympic runner and this run was started to keep her legacy alive after she was killed in a training accident in Maricopa in March 2011.

It was one of my favorite rituals every year.

When Lawn Griffiths continued his 26 years of perfect attendance at the Kiwanis Club of Tempe’s weekly meetings at noon on Thursday, there’s no doubt that he and likely a number of his fellow Kiwanians put a “Happy Dollar” in the hat as it was passed around.

Everyone knows Woody Guthrie for his impact on American folk music and many people associate him with the debilitating genetic disease that left him unable to perform and caused his death in middle age.

Kids love Halloween — the costumes, the candy, the craziness and the fun — but when it falls on a weeknight, like it does this year, it can be a hassle for parents. Thanks to all the carnivals and trunk-or-treats going on around the East Valley this weekend, the whole family can enjoy themselves without having to worry about getting up the next morning for school.

The Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce has announced nominees for the 2012 Palo Verde Business Woman of the Year and the 10 women are well known in the community for not only their business but their service.

Age: 35

It is fall break time for the area schools and with the cooler weather approaching this is a great time to have fun with the kids. Here are 15 easy ideas:

It’s that time of year to get out and enjoy an entire day picking your favorite pumpkin, eating caramel apples, visiting a petting zoo and ending the night with fireworks and a haunted house. Or, to just take stroll through the pumpkin patch to snap a few photos with your family. Either way, the Valley has it all, and this is your one-stop guide for fall festivities in the East Valley.

You can hardly think of Tempe without picturing Hayden Flour Mill, its faded white silos rising from the base of Hayden Butte and anchoring the north end of Mill Avenue.

You can hardly think of Tempe without picturing Hayden Flour Mill, its faded white silos rising from the base of Hayden Butte and anchoring the north end of Mill Avenue.

Whether you want to explore a classy art festival or cheer at the ostrich, or even Chihuahua races, the East Valley has it! Let’s take advantage of our Arizona paradise and dance outdoors to live music, indulge during a cook-off, put on our boots for the rodeo and Old West Days, or run foot races.

The cross country schedule essentially has an invitational meet every weekend, but there are some circled in red.

As we usher in fall and the Valley of the Sun begins its cool down, we will be ready for some outside activities with our “best friends.”

Desert Vista High School’s student-led service club is seeking more community involvement for its blood drive next week.