Imagine a night out with friends, where you can serve yourself beer and liquor from taps at the table while top-notch country stars do some serious strumming on a 400-square-foot stage hanging from the ceiling above the bar.

Urban AZ’s first Spoken Word Showcase brings together a range of poetic performers, along with R&B artists Dwele and Bilal with a band, at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, May 18 at Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix.

A federal judge on Tuesday slapped down the latest efforts by the state to block the Tohono O'odham from building a casino on the edge of Glendale.

The Bistro at Kokopelli Winery will close on May 26, with plans to re-open in September as Crust.

Tribal gaming revenues in Arizona slipped a bit last quarter over the same time a year earlier, the first time that's happened in more than two years.

The Norwegian directing team of Joachim Roenning and Espen Sandberg, whose biopic of World War II resistance fighter Max Manus was a huge hit on home turf, have turned to another native hero for "Kon-Tiki." One of the most-vaunted escapades of the 20th century, Thor Heyerdahl's 1947 Peru-to-Polynesia expedition by raft gets glossy big-screen treatment in this efficiently told action-adventure. Delivering visual drama and understated character study, sometimes in disappointingly formulaic fashion, the feature has its incisive moments but falls short as both epic and intimate portrait.

WASHINGTON — Amanda Blackhorse is outraged when she thinks of the Washington Redskins, a team whose name and mascot are deeply offensive to the Navajo woman.

Not so long ago, there was a certain image associated with being vegetarian. It usually involved Birkenstocks, lentil loaf and an agenda.

An eclectic group of four Valley women, the Heady Hoop Tribe aims to inspire others in the Phoenix area through the creative power of modern hoop dance.

APACHE JUNCTION — A woman was seriously hurt and three other people suffered minor injuries after their pickup truck went over a cliff near Tortilla Flats in the Tonto National Forest.

Fittingly for a guy who’s about to become “big time,” Dion Jordan’s life has been hectic.

Phoenix Zoo has a new addition to its animal family: Andean mother bear Rio recently gave birth to a male cub.

One-pot chicken that is a blast of savory goodness

This one-pot chicken dinner by Kentucky chef Edward Lee blends a staple of Southern cooking — fried chicken — with two deliciously savory Asian ingredients, salty miso and a half pound of shiitake mushrooms. Together they produce a chicken that is tender and wildly flavorful with a thick sauce that is good enough to eat by the spoonful.

Looking for some help in the garden? Many of nature's most useful critters lie literally at our feet, underappreciated and ignored despite their ability to eliminate insects, condition soils and pollinate plants.

SAN DIEGO — La Jolla's jagged coastline is strictly protected by environmental laws to ensure the San Diego community remains the kind of seaside jewel that has attracted swanky restaurants, top-flight hotels and some of the nation's rich and famous, including billionaire businessman Irwin Jacobs and former presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

Repeatedly rebuffed in court, the state and multiple Indian tribes are now banking on last-minute federal legislation to block the Tohono O'odham Nation from building a casino on the edge of Glendale.

Is the water supply in the Valley sustainable for the near future? What about for the next 1,000 years? These are just a few of the questions asked in Chandler Museum’s new exhibit, “Choosing a Future with Water: Lessons from the Hohokam.”

An evening of snazzy clothes, cocktails, art, music and fine dining could be fun for you — but crucial for some of Arizona’s struggling men, women and children.

Desert Rivers Audubon, which hosts monthly nature programs for families in Gilbert and Chandler, will give outdoors enthusiasts a primer on using smart phones to connect with nature.