By James Lotts When Josh Rojas headed to the University of Hawaii to play baseball, he had never been away from his home state of Arizona to play the sport he loved. He admitted he struggled at first, but he eventually settled in and became comfortable with life on the road. However, the business of baseball brought him back home and, with that, the pressure of representing his hometown in front of friends ...

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski When the pandemic forced Stevie Gillies to attend school virtually, her father thought it would be fun to experiment with creating soap. “My friends and family liked it, and they encouraged us to sell it,” says Stevie, an 11-year-old Anthem Prep student who lives in Cave Creek. With the help of her parents, Steve and Teri Gillies, Stevie caught the entrepreneurial bug and toget ...

By Alison Stanton Kerrie Droban Zhivago knew she was going to be a writer from the time she was 7 years old. “I come from a family of writers — one, the former editor of ‘The New York Times,’ wrote a true crime book about the Kitty Genovese murder. I wrote and studied poetry for years, before turning to plays and eventually novels,” Zhivago says. While she loved spending time writing, Zhivago needed to find ...

By Jordan Houston At age 42, CarolAnn Tutera was told she had the insides of a 92-year-old woman. She had all the classic signs of menopause. “I don’t know how I was putting one foot in front of the other,” she says. She turned to her now-late husband, Dr. Gino Tutera, for help with feeling better. She wanted to get her life back by enjoying working out, remembering where she put her keys and stopping the n ...

By Alison Bailin Batz This spring, female leaders across Arizona will be honored by 48 Arizona Women, an Arizona Centennial Legacy initiative in partnership with the Arizona Historical Society that recognizes remarkable local women making a lasting impact in their communities, often with little fanfare. The program, only put on every 10 years, showcases how female leaders have transformed lives, built stron ...

By Annika Tomlin Chocolates and flowers are a great gift for Valentine’s Day, but for someone looking for something outside the box, C2 Tactical’s date night package might be the way to go. “The date night package was something that we wanted to create for customers to say, ‘Hey, let’s go do something fun,’” C2 Tactical managing member Vincent Vasquez says. “‘Let’s get out of our normal routine. Let’s do so ...

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Old Town Scottsdale’s Puzzle Rides is putting a holiday spin on its mobile escape room-style scavenger hunt in “Scottsdazzle.” Teamwork, combined with elements of the route, is used to solve a series of puzzles via golf cart before time runs out. From ages 5 to 85, there is something for everyone. “Whether you’re new to Puzzle Rides or have tried us before, our holiday excursio ...

By North Valley Symphony Orchestra North Valley Symphony Orchestra will present its 10th anniversary season, bringing an affordable concert experience to the North Valley after a season of virtual, smaller performances. The 2021-22 season includes four musical performances throughout the year, beginning with “Re-Opening Overtures,” 7 p.m. Saturday, October 16, at North Canyon High School Auditorium, 1700 E. ...

By Jordan Houston Aromas of baked goods, visions of pitched tents and quiet sounds of community chatter will paint the scene at High Street on Sundays through the spring with the return of its annual farmers market. The Farmers Market on High Street, located off of Loop 101 at 56th Street, officially kicked off Sunday, October 3. It runs from 10 a.m. through 1:30 p.m. Roughly 100 vendors will decorate the N ...

By Keith Jones Construction is nearly complete, and a mid-year opening is planned for Abrazo Cave Creek Hospital near the intersection of Carefree Highway and Cave Creek Road. Abrazo Cave Creek Hospital is a new type of neighborhood hospital, designed with an emphasis on convenience, patient safety, surgical and emergency services. “We are excited to expand Abrazo’s services in the North Valley by creating ...

By Marshall Trimble Irregularities at the polls on the frontier were common. Here are a few of my favorites: In 1870 in Yuma County, the local Native Americans were bribed to participate in the election by casting their votes. Clad in breechclouts and stovepipe hats, the latter, gifts from one of the candidates for services rendered, they would await their turn at the polls. When the clerk asked their names ...

Mike Bauer didn’t have any expectations when he signed up for the website 23AndMe, which provides personalized DNA insights. The D-backs in-game host, who is adopted, was wondering if any health problems ran in his biological family. “As much as I love my family, there are some things you want to know, like, ‘Genetically, am I predisposed to certain health issues?’” says Bauer, whose adoptive parents, Fred ...

By Abbie S. Fink It can be hard to imagine what it must be like to be a survivor of the Holocaust. A dark time in U.S. history, 6 million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust, which took place between 1933 and 1945. Historians estimate that there were 1.5 million children among the 6 million who perished.  But for the Phoenix Holocaust Association (PHA), which is located in Scottsdale, the Holocaust is m ...

by Sarah Donahue Karin Johnson always longed to create a place for women to connect, interact and grow with each other. “Who knew that it was going to be the firing range,” she says with a laugh. Karin is the gun range safety officer, operations manager and wife of Oz Johnson, founder of Desert Hills-based Johnson Group Tactical gun range, which has offered firearms training classes for around five months a ...

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Amie Miksta relaxes in the shade. The task comes easier to her these days, after a whirlwind, arduous bout with brain cancer. Her Instagram is @aminspirational, a play on her first name and her friends’ description of her. “I’ve been through a lot,” says Miksta, a former teacher who lives near Desert Ridge Marketplace. “A lot of people get very saddened, but I try to inspire. “ ...