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.

When one Chandler teenager imagined her Sweet 16 birthday, she imagined spending it the same way she has spent many Sundays in the past seven years — with the homeless friends she served in the parking lot in downtown Phoenix.

When our nation’s founders wrote the language in the First Amendment guaranteeing the right to “petition the government for a redress of grievances,” there were no words describing the form of that petition.

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.

Gilbert teen Danielle Fisher, 17, has been named a finalist in the National American Miss Arizona pageant, and will compete June 30 at the DoubleTree Resort in Scottsdale for the national crown.

Here is a collection of thoughts and stories from those who've crossed paths (personally or professionally) with former Higley district athletic director Art Wagner, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on May 15.

Volunteers in Chandler are taking action to make their community better while helping those in need.

A senate panel voted Wednesday to throw some additional hurdles in the path of Arizonans who want to write their own laws.

Are you 18 to 24-years-old and looking for a summer job? The AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers to Service America) Summer Associates Program is looking for participants.

The 12-member International Care Ministries children’s’ choir will perform in the Valley next week as part of their current North American visit. International Care Ministries is a partner of Feed My Starving Children, which has a packing site in Tempe.

Debbie Frazier wants her two children to grow up appreciating the outdoors. So she introduced them to hiking before they could walk.

Kismet and Karma chase each other back and forth in their “penthouse.” The kitten and puppy stop to play with a two-legged visitor, then their game begins anew.

LOS ANGELES — Isabella Rossellini's search for the meaning of maternal instinct in "Mammas" looks at nine animals where things like polygamy, lying and dying convince her that "anything goes."

Mesa residents Judy Ward and Tamara Passey were honored last month by the American Mothers, Inc. at its annual convention in New York City.

The Draft Environmental Impact Study (DEIS) for the South Mountain Freeway was released on April 26, but as the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) continues to study putting the freeway down Pecos Road a group of Gila River Indian Community Landowners are stuck waiting for answers as their initiative — which could make it possible for the freeway to go on tribal land — is stalled by the Tribal Council.

Volunteers are needed for the Fourth Annual Southwest Ambulance Arizona Celebration of Freedom, the state’s “coolest independence festival,” held this year in downtown Mesa on June 29.

Fifty-three fashion students will be showcasing their skills and wowing the audience with creative outfits during the 8th Annual EVIT Merchandising Fashion Show.

His acceptance speech was easily the most brief, but the thoughts shared Friday night by United Food Bank President and CEO Bob Evans were certainly among the most poignant.

Valedictorians:

Gilbert Classical Academy will graduate 37 students in its Class of 2013.