By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Jim Louvau was driving along a Valley freeway when Linkin Park came on the radio. As the song ended, he flipped channels, only to hear the Grammy-winning band once again. Louvau can’t seem to escape the rock band and that is precisely the problem. He can’t get away from the music or memories of his friend, Chester Bennington, who committed suicide on July 20, 2017. “It’s terrib ...

By Daniel Spalding Misty Hyman is a name competitive swimming fans are familiar with. The American record-breaking swimmer captured the gold in Sydney in the 2000 Olympics with her innovative kicking technique. She’s considered a pioneer in her field. Hyman’s career has taken her around the globe, but this third-generation Arizonan still calls it home. She says she loves the “small-town feel” of Arizona bec ...

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski When America’s first baseman Paul Goldschmidt was traded from the D-backs to the St. Louis Cardinals, there was a collective gasp in the Valley. There is one thing to do this baseball season: Head to St. Louis. The trip to the “Gateway to the West” started with a turbulent flight with swearing stewards. But we landed safely at 10 p.m. to a storm. The rain was refreshing; a depa ...

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski The Tikka Shack’s website flashes “seriously good Indian food.” Owner Parish Patel wholeheartedly backs that, and he says guests at his Desert Ridge restaurant agree. “We opened on April 14 and it’s been great so far,” Patel says. “I always wanted to have an Indian food restaurant that was modern in its approach. Anybody who walks through the door can understand the menu and be ...

With jan D’Atri It’s a special occasion dinner, a fabulous Sunday supper, a Father’s Day feast or just a delicious weeknight meal. Beef tenderloin is always a favorite, and I often get requests for different ways to prepare it. Cooked correctly, this cut of beef can be so tender it will melt in your mouth. In fact, beef tenderloin is widely regarded as the tenderest of all cuts. (After all, you’re getting a ...

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Founded in 2005, the law offices of Lerner and Rowe Injury Attorneys consist of 180-plus compassionate attorneys and staff with over 240 years of combined litigation experience. This noteworthy amount of time equates to the firm’s legal team achieving impressive results for clients. In fact, the law firm takes great pride in providing compassionate and aggressive care and servi ...

By Sherry Jackson From notorious motorcycle club members to adult filmmakers to defendants facing life in prison for murder charges, attorney Richard Gaxiola has the skillset, reputation and experience to achieve tremendous results and he works tirelessly for his clients. Gaxiola focuses his practice on major felony defense and believes everyone charged with a crime deserves to have aggressive representatio ...

By Dr. Mark Rosenberg, D.O. When I tell people I’m a dermatologist, they often ask the same question: Are there any simple tricks for improving my skin health? In fact, other than eating a well-rounded diet, getting exercise and sleeping enough every night, the healthiest thing to do is to build anti-skin cancer efforts into your routine. Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States, a ...

By Bridgette Redman A simple question 19 years ago launched a theater company that has changed lives and opened doors for its participants. The question was, “When is it my turn?” A school for the deaf arts teacher, Sam, who legally just goes by her first name, was leaving building when her son, Chris Forrest, who has developmental disabilities, asked her that question. She looked at him and said, “It’s alw ...

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Former Civil Wars singer John Paul White has played the Musical Instrument Museum three times. Still, he doesn’t think he’s quite grasped the North Phoenix landmark. “I’m a dork,” White says. “I read all the cards and watch all the videos. But more than that, the staff is the palate cleanser we need. “We’ve been playing rock clubs and dive bars with terrible green rooms. They d ...

By Taylor O’Connor Linda Parker-Smith was going through a dark time in her life. She lost her husband and sister, and then her son took his own life. It was during that time she felt God’s touch and heard his voice. He says, “Now is the time for smiles,” the Cave Creek resident recalls. It was her trust in the Lord that brought her to create Smiles and Beyond, a nonprofit that helps incarcerated men and wom ...

Hotels, homes and hotspots aptly describe Rick Carpinelli’s plans for North Phoenix’s Desert Ridge master-planned community on the vacant land east of the marketplace. Crown Realty & Development, for whom Carpinelli is senior vice president of acquisition and development, is essentially building a new city. The land surrounding High Street has been called the Valley’s most prized, undeveloped commercial ...

Southwest Shakespeare Company hosts Naked Shakes at Taliesin West By Niki D’Andrea William Shakespeare’s history plays dramatize five generations of Medieval power struggles. If someone were to watch stagings of all of them in a row, they would be sitting still for almost 24 hours straight. That sounds like Medieval torture. Thankfully, professor Irwin Appel has taken eight of the Bard’s historical plays an ...

Spartan Home Services offers interior and exterior cleaning By Eric Newman When David Hartman moved to Anthem from northern Michigan with his fiancée Carmen Jordan, they had one goal: Keep the north Phoenix area beautiful. They aim to do it one property at a time. With children already living in the area, and wishing to find warmer weather, the pair settled in the Valley in July and opened Spartan Home Serv ...

Five of the North Valley’s hottest neighborhoods By Sherry Jackson Union Park at Norterra It’s no secret that the real estate market in the Valley is booming. New business announcements, corporate headquarter relocations and expansions have been fueling this growth for the past several years. New home developers can barely keep up with demand. Everyone, it seems, wants to move to the North Valley. More than ...