So President Obama wants to end so-called “tax loopholes” for American oil and gas companies? Sounds like a good idea, until you learn that what the president is really asking. The “Close the Big Oil Tax Loopholes Act” essentially asks American taxpayers and businesses to shoulder the economic brunt of the Administration’s ambitious green energy objectives.

The long-awaited Draft Environmental Impact Study on the potential effects of the proposed South Mountain Loop 202 Freeway extension — a project that would give the East Valley another artery to the Phoenix region’s west side — is now available to the public for review and comment.

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.

BOSTON — The bombs that ripped through the Boston Marathon crowd were fashioned out of ordinary kitchen pressure cookers, packed with nails and other fiendishly lethal shrapnel, and hidden in duffel bags left on the ground, people close to the investigation said Tuesday.

Lottery confidentiality

Wayne Pomeroy prides himself on saying he’s always had a job.

Wayne Pomeroy prides himself on saying he’s always had a job.

Public safety, health officials and volunteers will walk Mesa neighborhoods Saturday as part of the annual Walk for Water Safety. Participants will distribute 5,000 water safety bags door-to-door.

“Hey, Mesa! How about not ripping up Broadway until you’re finished with Southern? But no, that would make sense!”

The Gilbert Unified School District will hold public forums this week to gather input from the community on the attributes it wants in the district's next superintendent.

Those who pick or scratch it rich would get more privacy under the terms of legislation given preliminary approval Monday by the state Senate.

Arizona's higher education leaders are demanding more money from students, while also exploring legal options to reduce tuition for some immigrants.

BOSTON — Former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has been named this year's recipient of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage award for her advocacy on reducing gun violence.

Gilbert residents are being asked to give their input on goals and strategies for the Parks and Recreation Master Plan, which will guide future actions. A public open house on the master plan will be held 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Southeast Regional Library, 775 N. Greenfield Road. Learn more at gilbertaz.gov/parksmasterplan. For information or special accommodations, call (480) 503-6272.

Chandler Mayor Jay Tibshraeny delivered his 2013 state of the city address last week, touching mostly on the subjects of employment, neighborhood sustainability, outreach and transparency and better health.

If you are one of the millions of Americans who are feeling overwhelmed or stressed, join Dr. Eric Hampton 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, March 2 in the Saguaro Room at the Main Library, 64 E. First St., in Mesa.

“The Mesa Public Library requires photo identification to renew a library cards but no ID is required to vote.”

Arizona is facing a literacy crisis and it begins in early childhood.

For the hungry in our community, an empty bowl signifies a lack of food. At the Tempe Empty Bowls event (www.tempeemptybowls.org), it signifies a chance for the local community to help fight hunger in Tempe. With the $10 purchase of a handmade bowl, Whole Foods Market will offer a simple meal of soup and bread, symbolic of the caloric intake that must sustain many in our community for an entire day.

Saying the money can be better used, members of a House panel voted Thursday to let cities and counties put their legal notices online instead of in newspapers.

VATICAN CITY — Benedict XVI always cast himself as the reluctant pope, a shy bookworm who preferred solitary walks in the Alps to the public glare and the majesty of Vatican pageantry. And on Monday, the Vatican announced that the leader of the world's billion Roman Catholics was stepping down — the first pontiff to do so since 1415.

“There ain’t nothin’ more powerful than the odor of mendacity!”