Boulder Creek senior Joe Pitts raises the bar for student leaders around Arizona   By Emma Suttell Heading into his senior year, Joe Pitts undoubtedly brought with him a new level of leadership ability. While most students use high school as an opportunity to jump-start their training and skills, Joe has been honing his skills throughout his high school career. Along with serving three terms in Boulder ...

Standing Stones Christian Academy to open soon   By Shelley Sakala If you’ve recently driven on North Valley Parkway, you may have noticed a new structure rising from the fields. Standing Stones Christian Academy will soon be open. For more than a decade, Standing Stones Community Church has been serving Phoenix from its original campus on 16th Avenue, providing worship services, spiritual growth, and ...

Time in the Army shaped Anthem entrepreneur Frankie Ruiz By Weiss O’Connor Given his time in the jungles of Panama and the tropics of Hawaii, veteran Frankie Ruiz can truly appreciate the simplicity of the desertscape. Yet the eight-year Anthem resident and owner of the successful Azteca Home Services says he can’t help but “kind of miss” his time serving in the U.S. Army. It was in the military that Ruiz l ...

Get ready for Arizona’s best leaf-peeping season   By Sherry Jackson While it may seem far away, very soon the hot, hot summer will give way to cooler temperatures and fall breezes. As autumn ushers in, the higher elevation destinations in Arizona put on their annual rush of natural splendor, with trees bathed in rich hues of red and gold. Many believe prime leaf-peeping is relegated to the Northeast U ...

Local pharmacists talk about how to decrease the risk of falling.   By Julie Acosta and Tara Storjohann Question: My friend’s mom recently fell and went to the hospital with a broken hip. Now I’m worried about my elderly parents. What can they do to prevent falling? Answer: Unfortunately, fall rates are increasing in older adults. The good news, there are ways to help your parents prevent falls but fir ...

New treatment promises to erase wrinkles.   By Elizabeth Hausman If you thought younger looking skin could only be achieved by enduring traumatic and invasive facial treatments that involved needles and downtime, it’s time to think again. There is a new treatment called CooLifting that was launched in Barcelona, Spain, that is now available at limited medical spas in the United States. This new treatme ...

Music can set the mood, no matter the occasion. Whether you’re playing jazz classics to give your dinner party a sophisticated ambience or blasting the latest dance-pop tracks for motivation on the treadmill, music is able to provide the soundtrack to different aspects of peoples’ lives. These days, playlists are one of the most convenient ways to organize music, and there’s no limit to the number of playli ...

By Dr. Sherrie Campbell   Mojo is that magical charisma you carry that makes you feel good and infectious to others. If you’ve lost your mojo and want to be a better you this summer, here are seven ways to get your mojo back and keep it flourishing: Change your environment: Change the environments in your life that are grey and uninspiring. Do some of your work out of the office, redecorate your house ...

Cantonese-style Chinese food awaits at relaxed Asian eatery.   By Andrew Leach, Photos by Andrew Leach Along the small strip of pavement that provides access from Carefree Highway south toward the Carefree Crossing and Dove Valley communities sits a small commercial center. It houses a Dairy Queen and a delightful Asian bistro named Dao Kitchen, which serves up Cantonese-style Chinese food to the delig ...

When school is in session, it’s the perfect time to renew your family’s healthy eating habits by getting in a groove of lunchbox packing. While packing a healthy school lunch day after day can seem daunting, it doesn’t have to be. By taking the free Power Your Lunchbox Promise, you can gain access to customizable, make-ahead lunchbox inspiration like Black Bean Empanadas and Rainbow Bento Boxes, which creat ...