Summer burst wide open all over the Reese house in the last few days.

Kick-off river season in style with Salt River Tubing’s annual launch event. This western-themed shindig offers free cowboy boot koozies and bandanas to the first 500 tubers, live music from 98KUPD, line dancing and lots of giveaways, not to mention a leisurely float down the scenic Lower Salt River.

Selling your first home in a buyers’ market? You can get the best possible price if you know how to negotiate.

Arizona's economic recovery is flattening out statewide, with job growth outside the Phoenix metro area for this year and next predicted to be anemic.

Time for a confession. As a child, I never once celebrated Mother's Day. My parents thought the holiday was nothing more than a cheesy excuse to sell greeting cards, and who was I to argue?

Taylor Hatch of Mesa is the latest early-bird prize winner in Mesa United Way’s Happiest Sweepstakes on Earth - two rounds of golf and a golf cart rental at Leisure World. Earlier winners include Monica Alcantar of Gilbert, a one-night stay for two plus continental breakfast at the Hilton Phoenix / Mesa; Jeffry Westerhaus of Glendale, four movie passes and a Carrabba’s gift card; and Dawn Dubry of Phoenix, a $100 Westcor mall gift card.

Valedictorians:

Full planes were good to US Airways in the first quarter.

New unemployment numbers released Thursday suggest the state's economic recovery is weakening.

Vee Hiapo is apologetic about the expectations thrust upon her players the moment they enter the Highland boys volleyball program.

Mesa United Way is inviting residents to make a donation to its Community Chest and enter “The Happiest Sweepstakes on Earth!” to win a Disneyland vacation and other prizes.

Allegiant Airways will halt flights from Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport to Honolulu in August for a short time, an airways spokesperson said Tuesday.

When Kit Kloeckl was diagnosed with HIV in 2005, he figured he had two options moving forward.

Bryan and Kelley Bijonowski’s Gilbert business has seen a lot in nine years.

Soccer and ball players will soon find more fields around Mesa for a game, now that the city has begun work on projects approved by voters in November’s bond election.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Las Vegas is getting ready for the year of the snake. The casino capital celebrates Chinese New Year — also known as lunar new year — in a big way, with feasts, exhibits, performances and other events at outdoor festivals and at casino-resorts like Bellagio and The Venetian.

As a kid, the only thing that could make whizzing through space on my bicycle more fun would have been to ride it someplace unusual — like an empty shopping mall.

Chandler Christian Community Center will host a family day of play in the snow Jan. 26.

Arizona's unemployment rate for last month dipped below 8 percent last month, the first time that's happened in four years.

A valuable piece of the region’s economic impact puzzle came through a simple conversation between then Tempe Mayor Harry Mitchell, local homebuilder Brad Curtis and a group of businessmen from Chase Bank a number of years ago.

The Nativity scene with the manger and all the ceramic figures including Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus and the shepherds is tucked away in a box somewhere, likely at my mom’s house in Ohio with some of my other stuff I didn’t bring to Arizona when I moved to the Valley nearly seven years ago.

Rotary Club of Superstition Mountain is inviting local community members to hit the links at Gold Canyon Golf Resort once again, as it hosts its 12th annual charity golf tournament on Saturday, Jan. 13.

Travel for humans during holidays is tough enough: Long lines, crowds everywhere, extra bags full of presents. Throw a pet in the mix, and it’s a recipe for disaster.

Perhaps more than any other holiday, Thanksgiving is associated with big family gatherings. But that doesn’t mean you need a house full of in-laws, uncles and cousins to celebrate in a meaningful way.