“Through the National Security Agency, the Obama Administration is secretly monitoring Verizon phone calls made in the United States by millions of Americans. An Obama administration official has acknowledged such collection of people’s telephone records is a critical tool to fight terrorism, and is in fact going on.”

LOS ANGELES — When Craig Haverstick approaches the beach with his dog in tow, Stanley instinctively knows he's in for a treat. His ears perk up and he starts sniffing the salty air.

PAGE — More than 150 invasive mussels have been found at two marinas at Lake Powell over the last month.

Sea Life Aquarium at Arizona Mills is giving kids and adults a sneak peek into the life of a sea creature with no brain and no heart — jellyfish.

Mesa Fire Station 219 is the first City of Mesa building to be given LEED certification.

Ever wonder where the latest gadgets and technology designed to make the world a better place come from?

Mary Rose is raising money for bird conservation efforts, and she’s headed out on the open waters to do so. Rose will be rowing thousands of miles across the Pacific Ocean next summer in the hope that she can be of help to the animal that she admires.

Gilbert's mosquito control program will begin fogging and larvicide treatment applications on April 1st. The mosquito prevention efforts will take place at municipal parks, facilities, groundwater recharge and wildlife habitats, as well as Town operated retention basin areas and will continue twice weekly through October 31st. The fogging operations take place during nighttime hours and are conducted by certified technicians using a product that is safe around humans and animals.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is designating five new national monuments, using executive authority to protect historic or ecologically significant sites — including one in Delaware sought by Vice President Joe Biden.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court suggested Tuesday it could find a way out of the case over California's ban on same-sex marriage without issuing a major national ruling on whether America's gays have a right to marry.

With April being Water Awareness Month, March turned out to be a pretty good time to start focusing on saving water when Salt River Project hosted its sixth annual Water Conservation Expo at the SRP PERA Club in Tempe.

When conversations first began about how to achieve the Arizona we want, we set an ambitious goal: Identify a vision and set goals for Arizona that could mobilize people and communities throughout the state.

While a student in the 1970s, I was faced with caring for a project where black plastic was laid over an old lawn and the whole thing covered with bark as a low-maintenance, water-conserving yard alternative.

NEW YORK (AP) — Proposing marriage has become an industry of its own with professional planners, flash mobs for hire and elaborate, homegrown surprises to make the moment memorable. And let's not forget YouTube, and our steadfast resolve to share.

FLAGSTAFF — The Grand Canyon is an international destination where spectacular views are not the only thing that grab tourists' attention.

There’s no other way to put it. Congress is simply addicted to spending Other People’s Money. The latest evidence of their problem was the bill to resolve the fiscal cliff, which was stuffed with slabs of pork. That’s like sneaking drugs into your rehab counseling sessions.

Mesa Preparatory Academy teacher Rebekah Kienenberger has been awarded a grant by the Association of American Educators Foundation for an inquiry-based learning project. Kienenberger plans to have her students build a water filter to purify polluted drinking water.

Folks, to be honest, I didn’t give a rat’s patootie about the presidential election. In my book, it was a choice between “tweedle-dumb and tweedle-dumber.” On one hand we have a Socialist Wanna-Be, Barack Hussein Obama, and on the other hand a super-wealthy, out-of- touch, silver-spoon guy who took every draft deferment in the book to get out of serving his country. I could care less if it was legally legal or not. In my book, having someone carry “your” gun in time of war is morally wrong.

Along a portion of State Route 87 — better known as Old Hunt Highway in the heart of the Gila River Indian reservation between Alma School and Dobson roads near Sacaton, Olberg Bridge reaches across desert that used to be a river.

Editor's Note: These letters to the editor have been sorted by topic by the Tribune editorial staff in an effort to allow readers to read varied opinions on the issues, candidates, and other circumstances surrounding the 2012 general election. These submissions are the opinions of the author, not the Tribune, and have not been edited for grammar or content.

EDITOR'S NOTE _ An occasional look at political claims that take shortcuts with the facts or don't tell the full story

When Lindsey Hendricks sees a 10-year-old boy listening intently to the wind blowing through the trees or a cicada buzzing in the air, she can’t help but smile.

Chandler’s Reverse Osmosis (R.O.) Facility, which opened in 1996, on Thursday pumped its five billionth gallon of recycled water back into the ground, according to a release from the city. That’s enough water to fill Tempe Town Lake six times or supply water for 45,000 Chandler households.