Ahwatukee Foothills News

For more than two decades, Ahwatukee residents Michael and Gabriela Feeley helped build other people’s dance studios. Now they’ve built one of their own. The husband-and-wife team recently opened Valentin Dance, a ballroom and Latin dance studio in Ahwatukee that represents both a professional milestone and a deeply personal one. They named the business after their 1-year-old son, Valentin, whose birth came after an 11-year journey to become parents. “We named the studio after him,” Michael said.

From sewer inspections powered by artificial intelligence to traffic signals that respond to real-time conditions to sensors that detect water leaks before they become major problems, Phoenix officials say technology is quietly reshaping the way the city delivers services. Now, city leaders are working to bring those innovations under one umbrella.

Philip Everett Sliwiak spent much of his remarkable life asking questions – and listening for answers. As an Army intelligence officer during the Cold War, an attorney, and a corporate executive, the Ahwatukee man believed people should examine facts, challenge assumptions and never stop thinking for themselves.

As Arizona barrels to the Primary Election finale next Tuesday, July 21, two more contests that emerged last week won’t be resolved by voters until the Nov. 3 General Election. Multiple candidates last week met the July 6 deadline for filing ballot petitions for two seats on the Kyrene and Tempe Union governing boards. And while there are incumbents in both races who are seeking another four-year term, each district also will not see a longtime board member running for another round of service.

The Ahwatukee Little League 10U All Star team today, July 15, takes another step toward winning the state championship when they play the High Desert Little League. If they win tonight, the team will advance to the take-all game toomorrow, July 16. On July 14, the All Stars won a thrilling game 7-6, walking off Canyon View Little League  on a wild pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the six.

Fresh off their District 13 Championship, Ahwatukee’s 10U All Star team won their first three games last week at the Arizona 10U State Tournament at Horseshoe Trails Elementary School in North Phoenix. But Ahwatukee lost its first game of the tournament in the winner’s bracket semifinal on July 12, falling to High Desert Little League 10-2. They were to move to the elimination bracket, which they were to play July 14, after this newspaper’s deadline.

Arizona’s school letter grades do not accurately reflect how schools are performing, according to a recent performance audit of the Arizona Department of Education by the Arizona Auditor General. The audit also found that state officials have been out of compliance with the law requiring individual grades for performance indicators that comprise a school’s overall grade. Both the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) and the State Board of Education agreed with the findings.

The state's largest egg producer has agreed to a $1 million fine and to donate 3.25 million eggs to settle federal and state complaints that it conspired with others to keep prices artificially high.

Last summer, Trevor Doherty faced the kind of diagnosis that forces people to rethink their future. Doctors removed a 4½-inch tumor from the 27-year-old Ahwatukee man’s spine during surgery that carried the possibility of paralysis. As he recovered, the 2017 Desert Vista High School graduate decided it was time to stop putting off a longtime goal. Earlier this year, he launched Trevor’s Pest Control, serving homeowners throughout the East Valley.

How best to navigate the tumultuous terrain of the immediate aftermath of an accident. Unfortunately, accidents are simply a part of everyday life. No matter how observant or aware of your surroundings you try to be, whether on roadways or simply in public places, countless other people are trying to adhere to their own routines while navigating the same spaces. As such, it is practically inevitable that there will be overlaps, collisions, conflicts, and damage.