The Maricopa County Environmental Services Department is inviting the general public to partake in a special treat: The Food Awards/Grading System Voting site.

The Maricopa County Environmental Services Department is inviting the general public to partake in a special treat: The Food Awards/Grading System Voting site.

The Maricopa County confirmed its first positive mosquito sample for West Nile Virus was found last month in the East Valley.

The West Nile virus has arrived with a vengeance along with the summer rain.

Editor’s Note: This is the first of a two-part series highlighting the top 20 news stories for Maricopa in 2007. Read Nos. 1-10 on Jan. 4.

Editor’s Note: This is the second of a two-part series on Maricopa’s housing market. In the first part, the Tribune reported that, with a collapse in housing values, the Maricopa market has been hit with a double whammy, particularly among people who need to sell or refinance. Most homes here are "underwater," or worth less than their mortgages. Many investors and residents have walked away from properties that they cannot sell. Other residents have had to resort to short sales in which the bank agrees to retire the mortgage in return for a sale at current market value. This allows the homeowner to keep credit intact, while the bank does not add another foreclosure property to its inventory. The many empty properties have created blight that residents and the city are trying to remedy.

Arizona’s first human West Nile Virus case for the year has been confirmed in Maricopa County.

Chandler-Gilbert Community College celebrated the opening of the Environmental Technology Center, an outdoor learning center, at the college’s Pecos campus Tuesday.

WASHINGTON – State and federal agencies have started taking public comments on a Tucson-to-Phoenix rail line, the first step in a yearlong environmental impact study on the proposal.

WASHINGTON – State and federal agencies have started taking public comments on a Tucson-to-Phoenix rail line, the first step in a yearlong environmental impact study on the proposal.

WASHINGTON – State and federal agencies have started taking public comments on a Tucson-to-Phoenix rail line, the first step in a yearlong environmental impact study on the proposal.

Hamilton High School seniors Travis Dixon and Ryan Tonnemacher were pouring sweat with their football teammates at the first practice of the season Monday, teased by forming clouds that did not bring relief.

Weather conditions, circumstances and time permitting, a part of Gilbert is scheduled to be fogged midnight to 5 a.m. Saturday.

Weather conditions, circumstances and time permitting, the Maricopa County Department of Environmental Services will conduct mosquito fogging midnight Friday to 5 a.m. Saturday in Mesa.

The Maricopa County Environmental Services Department will conduct mosquito spraying 10 p.m. Wednesday to 5 a.m. Thursday in Gilbert, from Elliot to Warner roads and from McQueen to Cooper roads.

Weather conditions, circumstances and time permitting, the Maricopa County Environmental Services Department will conduct mosquite spraying midnight Wednesday to 5 a.m. Thursday in Gilbert.

Maricopa County Environmental Services will conduct mosquito fogging 10 p.m. Wednesday through 5 a.m. Thursday in Mesa

Mosquito spraying will take place midnight Sunday to 5 a.m. Monday in Gilbert. The Maricopa County Environmental Services Department conducts spraying when area traps catch a high number of mosquitoes or when mosquitoes test positive for West Nile virus.

Several areas of the East Valley will undergo mosquito spraying midnight Wednesday to 5 a.m. Thursday. The Maricopa County Department of Environmental Services conducts spraying when a large number of mosquitoes are found in area traps or if mosquitoes test positive for West Nile Virus.

The Maricopa County Environmental Services department will conduct mosquito spraying from 10 p.m. Saturday to 5 a.m. Sunday in Gilbert.

Mosquito spraying will take place midnight Sunday to 5 a.m. Monday in an area of Mesa where there has been a high number of mosquitoes trapped. The Maricopa County Environmental Services Department will conduct fogging from Guadalupe to Elliot roads and from Sossaman to Hawes roads.

The Maricopa County Department of Environmental Services will conduct mosquito fogging midnight Wednesday to 5 a.m. Thursday in Gilbert and Chandler, weather conditions, circumstances and time permitting.

Maricopa County Environmental Services will conduct mosquito spraying 10 p.m. Sunday through 5 a.m. Monday in Chandler, Gilbert and Mesa.

The Maricopa County Department of Environmental Services Department will conduct mosquito spraying 10 p.m. Sunday to 5 a.m. Monday in Gilbert and Mesa.