Individuals for and against the Loop 202 freeway expansion through the South Mountain area trickled in and out of the Phoenix Convention Center last week, offering passionate pleas to panel members as the Arizona Department of Transportation hosted a day-long public hearing.

Spring sprang, and now summer has set in.

Division II baseball state championship game

Advancing deep into a state baseball tournament is nothing new for Notre Dame.

All Kyle Chalmers could do last season was watch.

After getting past No. 18 Ironwood Ridge in three games earlier in the day (25-17, 25-16, 25-19), No. 15 Hamilton ran into No. 2 Highland, who knocked the Huskies out of the second round of the boys state volleyball tournament, 25-17, 25-13, 25-18.

Here are the first two rounds of the boys volleyball state tournament, which begins Saturday and continues May 7 (quarterfinals), May 9 (semifinals) and May 11 (championship):

What a difference a year makes.

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.

There is no substitution for experience.

The first round of the Division I state baseball tournament saw several upsets on Saturday.

Saturday's baseball state tournament schedules.

Wednesday begins the double-elimination portion of the schedule for the Division I and II state tournaments.

Baseball will have a grind of a playoff schedule upcoming for those not among the top eight seeds, but softball — especially Division I — appears to be deeper than ever. Or, at least, deeper than the past five years.

Outlooks for the Divisions I and II softball state tournaments: