Spring sprang, and now summer has set in.

Wayne Brown spent decades working to improve Mesa, from its arts programs to its financial standing. Under his leadership on the city council and as mayor, the city saw a new spring training facilities built, a new convention center created and the establishment of the Mesa Arts Center.

After a successful launch of Postino East, Upward Projects will open its second restaurant concept, Joyride Taco House, June 3 in the Heritage District in Gilbert.

After a successful launch of Postino East, Upward Projects will open its second restaurant concept, Joyride Taco House, June 3 in the Heritage District in Gilbert.

With the onslaught of Oscar contenders that debuted last November, there’s a good chance that a little-seen indie gem, “Starlet,” managed to fall off your radar during its short, theatrical run. Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the 2011 SXSW film festival, “Starlet” explores the unlikely friendship between a cheerful, aspiring actress (played by the winsome Dree Hemingway) and a cantankerous, elderly widow (the late Besedka Johnson).

The first steps toward improving Falcon Field Airport’s terminal building are underway with design of renovations to the terminal building.

Darkness can be paralyzing.

His acceptance speech was easily the most brief, but the thoughts shared Friday night by United Food Bank President and CEO Bob Evans were certainly among the most poignant.

About 400 graduates will receive diplomas this year from Mesa's Skyline High School.

New York • When he first started working with Imagine Dragons, music producer Alex da Kid was looking for some inspiration for the Broadway musical, “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.”

It ended soon after it began, this revolution. Not with a bang, or even a whimper. The soldiers, unsure of their cause, simply left the battlefield. As the sun set on the retreating army, the sun also set on the vision of a shining city on a hill, which remains darkened to this day.

With only a partial City Council on hand, Mesa Mayor Scott Smith ultimately pulled an agenda item on a proposed Marriott Springhill Suites Hotel — slated for the “Wrigleyville” area between the news Cubs’ baseball stadium and park at Riverview — from the council’s meeting during its study session Monday night.

A.T. Still University will host its sixth annual Community Health & Wellness Day April 20 at the Chandler CARE Center, 777 E. Galveston St.

Between the two of them, filmmakers Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel have explored sheepherding in Montana, auto shops and junkyards in Queens and most recently, the fishing industry in the North Atlantic. Their experimental documentary “Leviathan” is both visceral and gritty, in no way spoon-feeding its audience information, but rather, completely immersing them in the gruesome, often dangerous environment aboard a commercial fishing liner.

Agritopia, an agriculturally-focused, multi-use community in Gilbert, is planning what’s shaping to be its largest project since its establishment. Epicenter at Agritopia will be a food-based shopping center established over an estimated 25 acres that aims to showcase local farmers and retailers in an innovative way.

Barrett-Jackson is home to the world’s most profitable car auction. Its main event, held every January in Scottsdale, kicked off its 2013 season by tying its 2007 record sales of close to $100 million.

Rick McConnell didn’t intend to spend the last 28 years coaching boys basketball at Dobson.

Don't be surprised if you find yourself sitting near a horse the next time you dine out.

Monti’s La Casa Vieja will host Dining in the Dark 6:30 to 8:15 p.m. April 11 to benefit Foundation for Blind Children, a Valley resource for families and children dealing with blindness or low vision.

Arcadia Invitational

Wayne McBean was the fourth overall pick in the 1987 National Hockey League draft, and spent six season’s in at the top level of play in his sport. But it’s in another sport altogether — golf — that the former professional hockey player has found post-hockey success.

When I first came to the Valley I remember Eddie Basha’s famous commercial motto, “From our family to yours.”

When the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport board launched a national search for a new executive director, it learned the same lesson Dorothy, and perhaps many of the residents who have departed from the airport’s gates, have been preaching: “There’s no place like home.”

Home-decorating television shows and shelter magazines have many Americans dreaming about inviting an expert interior designer into their homes.