PAGE — A small earthquake has struck a remote area along the Arizona-Utah border.

Not very long ago we used to grumble about new Arizonans, chiefly regarding our observation that there are just too darned many of them.

Valley residents may not have to worry about hurricanes or earthquakes, but being prepared for an emergency — either individually or as a community — should be at the top of every resident’s to-do lists, public safety leaders said.

Editor's Note: These letters to the editor have been sorted by topic by the Tribune editorial staff in an effort to allow readers to read varied opinions on the issues, candidates, and other circumstances surrounding the 2012 general election. These submissions are the opinions of the author, not the Tribune, and have not been edited for grammar or content.

At well over 6-feet tall, third-grade teacher Cameron Lehman towers over his students at Tempe’s Gethsemane Lutheran School. But the soft-spoken educator gets students’ attention this day by simply saying, “Snowball hands.”

I was awakened at 12:30 a.m. a few weeks ago by the sound of chirping. The smoke detector in our bedroom was sending out a low battery warning. We didn’t have any 9-volt batteries in the house because my son had changed a different room’s detector a few days earlier, and that had been the last one. My husband pulled out the battery and we went back to sleep ... until 2:30 a.m., when the smoke detector in our daughter’s bedroom began chirping.

Authorities say more than 35,000 students in Arizona will take part in a multistate earthquake drill.

In the latest labor report, 368,000 more Americans have stopped looking for work, artificially skewing the unemployment stats down. The recent report of 8.1 percent tricks the brain of the casual thinker. Try thinking about this: 12.5 million of your fellow Americans are out of work (Labor Department). Perhaps you are one of them or your child. See: www.money.cnn.com (2012 August jobs report).

In the latest labor report, 368,000 more Americans have stopped looking for work, artificially skewing the unemployment stats down. The recent report of 8.1 percent tricks the brain of the casual thinker. Try thinking about this: 12.5 million of your fellow Americans are out of work (Labor Dept.). Perhaps you are one of them or your child. See: www.money.cnn.com (2012 August jobs report).

At the risk of sounding insensitive I’m just going to say it: I never felt like 9/11 changed my life.

When Michael McAvoy walks through Tempe’s Healing Field remembering those killed during the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, he said he usually walks through the sea of nearly 3,000 American flags when no one else is there.

The Phoenix metro area is seeing an epidemic of Valley Fever after last summer’s massive dust storm and this year could lead to a high number of cases, too.

The Phoenix metro area is seeing an epidemic of Valley Fever after last summer’s massive dust storm and this year could lead to a high number of cases too.

Rosemarie McGrath Testa still wears her oldest son’s wedding ring on her finger. She also wears a silver necklace with the words engraved on it that she is known to often say: Let go and let God.

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Most people would think earthquakes are rare in Arizona. But a new study published by Arizona State University researchers found nearly 1,000 earthquakes rattling the state over a three-year period.

Linus van Pelt knew the subtle comfort and break from reality his security blanket provided him. The national organization named for the character is certain Linus — consistently portrayed in the popular Peanuts comic strips and cartoons carting around his wavy blue companion — was on to something.

Christine Ellis and her sister, Shella Michel, realize they may not be unique on this front. They love shoes.

"General Hospital" -- now reaping the most nominations at this year's Daytime Emmy Awards -- has gone from bust to boom.

"General Hospital" -- now reaping the most nominations at this year's Daytime Emmy Awards -- has gone from bust to boom.

It was the spring of 1990. Back then you could pull your pickup truck up to the fence of old Scottsdale Stadium, unfurl a lawn chair in the bed, pop open a cold beer from your Igloo ice chest, and watch a spring training game for free with an ideal spot to go home with a home run ball.

Retirement hasn’t kept Pete Sampras off the tennis court.

Despite his official exit from the game eight years ago, Sampras has spent much of 2011 playing competitive tennis, including a televised match against Andre Agassi in Madison Square Garden, several exhibitions in China and his participation in the 12-city Champions Series.