MARCH 22, 2011

Learn about “green” products and services

When it comes to energy, Arizona’s desert climate offers great challenges, but also great opportunities for savings.  Today’s economy, coupled with ever-increasing energy prices, make it even more important to find the right mix of new “green” products and services.  The public is invited to gain that knowledge by attending “Materials and Resources,” a free Green Building lecture from 7 – 8:30 p.m., Thursday April 7, at the Granite Reef Senior Center, 1700 N. Granite Reef Road, Scottsdale.

Program speaker Rick Johnson will discuss new products, processes and services that have grown in response to the need to save resources and energy. Learn the pros and cons of new products and how they are best utilized.  Learn about locally available building materials and recycled building products.

On Thursday April 14, the Scottsdale Green Building Program will host its second April lecture, “Interiors & Indoor Environmental Quality,” from 6 – 7:30 p.m. at Appaloosa Library, 7377 E. Silverstone Drive, Scottsdale.  The program will address strategies for minimizing indoor pollutants including material selection, ventilation and filtration.

The lectures are free and open to the public. RSVPs are not needed. For more information, call 480-312-3111 or visit www.ScottsdaleAZ.gov/greenbuilding/lectures.

BY DIANE VASZILY | MARCH 16, 2011

Desert plants kept Native Americans healthy

How did the indigenous people stock their medicine chest?

Living in the harshness of the southwest desert regions called for a mastery of resources. Ever wonder how the indigenous people got along, what they used for calories, cures and household paraphernalia? Keep Reading...

BY BLAINE KEITH | MARCH 16, 2011

Shoot for the Moon

Based on a Letter to his Grandkids

Dear Matthew and Justina Keith:
I had picked out several pictures about the early days of the Apollo Space Program, but before I could finish I had a series of health problems and spent three days at Mayo Clinic and then a wound doctor and wound nurse were here at the house several days. A lot of the Apollo crash photos were never released to the press and that is another reason we did our testing in a very secret area near Brawley, California, at the Secret National Parachute Test Range.  Keep reading ...

MARCH 16, 2011

‘Homes Through Time’ Tour Sunday, March 20

Proceeds benefit Cave Creek Museum

CAVE CREEK – Back by popular demand, Cave Creek Museum is hosting its “Homes Through Time” Home Tour from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Sunday, March 20. The fund-raiser features four distinctive homes, including the widely-acclaimed Boulder House, which was designed by Charles E. Johnson around, over and under enormous outcrops of weathered granite and was featured on the cover of Architectural Digest. Built by Sunnie and Bill Empie, the Boulder House is now owned by the Yavapai nation, and the home tour provides a rare opportunity to see its mystical elements of archaeological lore and contemporary design.  Keep reading and view slideshow ...

MARCH 16, 2011

Community forum seeks public input on $7 million expansion plans for PVCC Black Mountain phase II

PHOENIX – Paradise Valley Community College, a Maricopa Community College, will hold a free public forum for members of the community to provide input on the next $7 million phase of development for the college’s Black Mountain educational site – known as PVCC at Black Mountain – beginning at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 29.

The forum will be held at the Black Mountain Campus in the Foothills Community Foundation (FCF) Quail Room, 34250 N. 60th St., Building B, just south of the Carefree Highway in north Scottsdale. Registration is not required.

PVCC at Black Mountain is situated on 10 developed acres of an 82-acre parcel of land near the base the iconic Black Mountain, along Carefree Highway between 56th Street and 60th Street. The college opened its initial 10,000-square-foot facility with six classrooms in the fall of 2009 in partnership with the Foothills Community Foundation and the Desert Family Foothills YMCA. The shared educational, community and fitness complex is known as The Black Mountain Campus.

The college expansion project may fund approximately one or two new buildings on the site to expand classrooms and college class offerings for residents in the northeast Valley. Funding for the initial phase of development and the next $7 million phase comes from the voter-approved 2004 General Obligations Bond issue for the Maricopa Community College District.

PVCC at Black Mountain serves the growing communities of North Phoenix, Carefree, Cave Creek, North Scottsdale, Anthem and New River with both credit classes and noncredit continuing education courses and learning opportunities for all ages.