By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Susan Morrow Potje has a motto for this year’s Celebration of Fine Art: Celebrate art 6 feet apart. “I think it’s a good, happy place for people to come to,” says Potje, who helms the event with her husband, Jake. The 31st annual festival runs 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Sunday, March 28, with strict rules in place. Masks are required, and patrons who are ill must stay home. Potj ...

By Connor Dziawura When it came to the timing of last year’s Greater Phoenix Jewish Film Festival — considered the longest-running film festival in the Valley — organizers were lucky. The event, which drew nearly 13,000 visitors to Scottsdale, Tempe and Peoria theaters across two weeks, came just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, forcing many businesses to temporarily halt operations and future events to ca ...

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Partners in The Mick Brasserie, John Krause and Brent Menke feel blessed and lucky to have found success after opening August 5—at the height of a pandemic and Arizona’s hottest summer. “It was not part of the business plan or model, but luckily, the way we designed the place, we were able to get through,” Krause says. “We’ll be able to get through this—not unscathed—but we’re ...

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski A new addition to North Scottsdale, Jack’s at Desert Highlands has everything going for it—beautiful views, an evolving menu and success despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Named after golf legend and course architect Jack Nicklaus, the gastropub was formerly a private dining room in the clubhouse. During a COVID-19-dictated closure, crews renovated the space, tore down walls and tu ...

By C.A. Haire The Mercedes C-Class is a popular model that sells well due to its German engineering and reasonable price. The four-door sedan version starts at about $42,000, while the soft top we have here begins at $54,000. Naturally, buyers are not going to get off that cheap, as the option list can grow. With our blue metallic paint, leather trim, bigger wheels, memory seats, larger gauge cluster, navig ...

By Marshall Trimble On August 10, 1883, the Florence-Globe stagecoach was held up at the remote Riverside Station on the Gila River by the Red Jack Almer gang. Wells Fargo messenger Johnny Collins declared the stage wasn’t carrying any gold. But a female passenger clad in a fancy dress, hat and dark veil stepped out of the coach and called him a liar. The “lady” turned out to be Red Jack himself, disguised ...

By Connor Dziawura The Scottsdale Airport and surrounding area were doing well in the 2019 fiscal year. According to Sarah Ferrara, aviation planning and outreach coordinator for the Scottsdale Airport, aviation activity at the airport and airpark brought in $688 million in economic benefits for the region, supporting 3,979 jobs amounting to $241 million in income. Spin-off airpark activity, unrelated to av ...

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Cybersecurity expert and former FBI agent Michael McAndrews has three loves in his life—malware, motorcycles and music. Malware is key to PacketWatch, a 3-year-old Scottsdale-based company for which he serves as vice president, network security services. PacketWatch is the name of the business and the proprietary network monitoring, analysis and investigation platform designed ...

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. “ ...

By Laura Latzko   The COVID-19 pandemic has been hard on the restaurant industry, especially local mom-and-pop restaurants in Cave Creek and Carefree. These local restaurants have needed to adapt to change to be able to survive. Two local restaurants, Giordano’s Trattoria Romana and Harold’s Cave Creek Corral, have done just that. Giordano’s Trattoria Romana For Giordano’s Trattoria Romana, surviving d ...

By Kamala Kirk One of the world’s leading auction houses for classic and one-of-a-kind cars, Barrett-Jackson hosts annual auctions and lifestyle events that draw nearly half a million people. Since its founding in 1971, the company has continued to expand and innovate, becoming the first collector car auction to offer live internet and television coverage. The Scottsdale 2021 auction is set for Saturday, Ja ...

By Annika Tomlin Michelle Moore hasn’t let the hardships of being a mother and cancer survivor get in the way. Founder and president of the Phoenix-based nonprofit organization Mother’s Grace, Moore recently published her first book, “A Mother’s Grace: Healing the World, One Woman at a Time.” With around $2,000, Moore founded Mother’s Grace in 2009 as a nonprofit that provides financial assistance for housi ...

By Jacqueline Robledo For many people, seeing “The Nutcracker” ballet in a theater is a holiday tradition. The COVID-19 pandemic is making that a little difficult this year. But Jo Gemmill is doing something about it. Her English Rose Tea Room in Carefree is once again hosting a Nutcracker Tea Party December 5, December 6, December 12 and December 13. The dates are sold out, but more will be added. Masks wi ...

By Alison Bailin Batz In 1997, “Titanic” ruled the box office. Hanson had everyone singing “MMMBop.” Delta Dental of Arizona launched one of the most impactful nonprofit organizations in the state.  “Delta Dental of Arizona started the Delta Dental of Arizona Foundation with the mission to improve oral health across the state, particularly for uninsured and underinsured groups and communities,” says Barb Ko ...

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Yasmin Tajik sits in her Fountain Hills home surrounded by camera equipment. Photo backdrops, prints and white gloves are strategically placed around her dining area. But there is more to Tajik than photography and her business, Yasmin Tajik Fine Art Prints. She took her company and mixed it with her humanitarian spirit to capture stories while giving back through the sale of e ...