LOS ANGELES - Long Beach police shot and wounded an armed and off-duty Los Angeles police officer early Wednesday after he allegedly ignored orders to drop his gun, authorities said.

Eric Sogard opened the scoring with a home run in the first inning. He closed it with a two-run home run in the eighth as he led Arizona State to a 7-6 baseball victory over Long Beach State Friday night at Packard Stadium.

June 13, 2004

LONG BEACH, Calif. - Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki had three hits Saturday, including a two-run homer, to keep Long Beach State in the NCAA super regional with a 9-4 victory over Arizona.

HOBART, Australia - A squid as long as a bus and weighing 550 pounds washed up on an Australian beach, officials said Wednesday.

A girl at Mesa’s Johnson Elementary School tripped while playing basketball last year, falling on her arm and breaking it in two places. The culprit — flip-flops.

A girl at Mesa’s Johnson Elementary School tripped while playing basketball last year, falling on her arm and breaking it in two places.

Strangers are always telling Tony Hacker their childhood memories. It comes with the job when you’re general manager at Big Surf — 12 1 /2 acres in north Tempe billed as the nation’s original water park, whose 1969 grand opening coincided with the Nixon presidency, Neil Armstrong’s moon walk and the frolicsome youth of more than a few Valley parents.

Flower-child Hitler is funnier than homo Hitler, and until someone convinces me otherwise I'll always feel grumpy about “The Producers,” an overlong movie musical based on the Broadway version of the most hilarious movie about Broadway ever made. So there.

 KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. - An aging, rusty boat carrying dozens of migrants ran aground early Friday east of downtown Miami, killing at least three people and sending three others to area hospitals, while an untold number are still missing.

Strangers are always telling Tony Hacker their childhood memories. It comes with the job when you’re general manager at Big Surf — 12 1 /2 acres in north Tempe billed as the nation’s original water park, whose 1969 grand opening coincided with the Nixon presidency, Neil Armstrong’s moon walk and the frolicsome youth of more than a few Valley parents.

Like a Hollywood star, Coronado’s 1.5 mile-long beach literally sparkles, thanks to the mineral mica glinting in its sand.

Coronado, Calif. • Like a Hollywood star, Coronado’s 1.5 mile-long beach literally sparkles, thanks to the mineral mica glinting in its sand.

Coronado, Calif. • Like a Hollywood star, Coronado’s 1.5 mile-long beach literally sparkles, thanks to the mineral mica glinting in its sand.

Coronado, Calif. • Like a Hollywood star, Coronado’s 1.5 mile-long beach literally sparkles, thanks to the mineral mica glinting in its sand.

When Penny Long, owner of the Scottsdale rock ’n’ roll chic boutique Electric Ladyland, met her husband-to-be, there was just one thing Long needed to know. “I asked him, ‘Are you opposed to pink?’ ”

After starring in softball as a youngster in New Mexico, Erica Bailey enrolled at Chaparral High four years ago with a resumé saying she was a pitcher capable of throwing a no-hitter every time out. In her first two seasons with the Firebirds, though, Bailey’s only no-no was "no appearance."

October 11, 2004

October 11, 2004

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.

You know what they say about Arizona’s weather: It’s paradise, except for the three months when we languish mercilessly in the triple digits. Options for getting out and about do dwindle in the summertime, but we more than make up for it the rest of the year — when we pick peaches, race ostriches, dance at outdoor concerts, browse arts festivals, run foot races and navigate corn mazes.

You know what they say about Arizona’s weather: It’s paradise, except for the three months when we languish mercilessly in the triple digits. Options for getting out and about do dwindle in the summertime, but we more than make up for it the rest of the year — when we pick peaches, race ostriches, dance at outdoor concerts, browse arts festivals, run foot races and navigate corn mazes.

The Hurricane is coming. Following several months of neighborhood meetings and city-level discussions between the promoters and concerned neighbors, the Mesa City Council approved development of a controversial nightclub Monday night by a resounding 6-0 vote, with council member Tom Rawles absent.