As you walked to the entrance of the convention hall for Day-2 of the 2013 Phoenix Comicon there were a dozen or more genre themed vehicles parked along the west side of the building including ...

SEATTLE — It's hard to miss the enormous 20-foot-wide American flag on the side of Richard Ormbrek's home. Comprised of around 180 tiles painted with scenes of Americana against a background of red and white stripes, the flag pops from the orange cedar shingles with traffic-stopping audacity.

Craig Zisk moves from TV to big screen with the story of a teacher played by Julianne Moore who sleeps with a former student.

The great weather expected this weekend across Arizona is an open invitation to step out into the state’s great outdoors. Between hiking and camping in Arizona State Parks, checking out your favorite fishing hole, or just getting some all-around exercise, there are plenty of opportunities. Just be sure to pack your common sense when you pack your car or bike.

Ladies and gentlemen, start your summer. More than 20 neighborhood pools across the East Valley make affordable places to while away hot days, and many go beyond basic lap pools to mimic the attractions at pricey water parks.

The Mesa Preservation Foundation, Arizona Preservation Foundation and State Historic Preservation Office/Arizona State Parks, in conjunction with the 2013 Arizona Historic Preservation Conference, will present a free Historic Homeowner's Expo June 15 at the Hilton Phoenix/Mesa, 1011 W. Holmes Ave. in Mesa.

Mesa Grande Cultural Park, 1000 N. Date St., closed for the summer Monday, May 20, and will reopen Oct. 3 for the fall/winter season.

Mesa is asking residents to consider donating their gently used or new swimsuits, as about five to 10 people are turned away daily from Mesa pools because they don’t have proper attire.

Yoga, yachting and snow will all come together June 1 at the grand opening of Mesa’s Eastmark, the largest planned community in the East Valley in the last few years.

An elderly woman crashed her car into a craft store in Mesa Tuesday morning, sending four people to the hospital, police said.

Authorities on Tuesday released nearly 600 photos that investigators took in the aftermath of the Tucson shooting rampage that killed six people and wounded former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 12 others.

Tombstone; Clarkdale; Taylor

When one Chandler teenager imagined her Sweet 16 birthday, she imagined spending it the same way she has spent many Sundays in the past seven years — with the homeless friends she served in the parking lot in downtown Phoenix.

SHANGHAI — China's biggest city and financial hub is known for designer boutiques and fine dining. Yet wallet-draining Shanghai also offers activities that cost nothing, from walking on the riverfront Bund to sculpture parks and historic sites. Here are five of them.

PORTLAND, Maine — There's no smoke and mirrors about it — Americans are eating a lot more smoked seafood than they used to.