Residents of BelaRosa Apartments grab a bite to eat from the Island Loco Food truck as part of special events hosted by the Apartment Mgmt.

Monday brought several weather advisories to the area with the cooler temps. Due to the windy conditions, the pollen count is in the very high range. Keep windows closed and stay indoors as much as possible, especially if you suffer from allergies. The pollen count will remain high into Tuesday.

Were you hoping to take your nifty iPad or laptop to the pool this summer to get some work done while your kiddos get their swim on? Well, you can, but only if you have a mobile hot spot or other way to connect to the Internet. Wi-Fi is still not up and running at [...]

By Amanda Niemerg– There are two dreaded words our kids are about to utter. Repeatedly. “I’m bored.” And each time, parents cringe. This year we’ve compiled a list of things to do on the cheap—or better, free—to keep the kid mantra at a minimum. 10. The “I’m bored” Jar  We love this thing. Fill the jar with [...]

  By Brad Wood– It seems as though the Community Park is “the land that time forgot.”  It’s just that “somewhere in time,” or we should say “back in time,” the clock atop the rotunda stopped.  (Okay! Enough with the movie analogies! We’ll get “back to the future” in just a second…) It seems this [...]

What you need to know to protect your kid. By Amanda Niemerg– The popular photo sharing smartphone application has 100 million active users per month. And, your child is likely using one of those groovy digital filters to document what they do, what they eat, who they’re with, and, of course, their funny face. In case [...]

The kids splashing in the pool and the smell of meat on the grill… Our favorite signs of summer are beckoning at Emerald Pools. The family-owned pool supply kicks off swim season with a big barbecue at its Carefree Highway location. Storewide savings and prizes make this festive event an opportunity to save on pool [...]

By Brad Wood– Those who know “SwipSwap,” know it’s a pretty brilliant idea. For those not yet living in the SwipSwap universe, let me break it down for you: Think of it as a local, micro-sized Craigslist. Or a virtual, item-by-item garage sale delivered by IV drip. Imagine you have kids clothes, golf clubs, or [...]

By Brad Wood– It’s nothing short of fascinating how SwipSwap has created its own little economy in our own little Anthem. By using the Facebook-based virtual garage sale, folks in the area have another avenue to buy treasures or sell items they no longer want or need. And with its surge in popularity, it’s only [...]

  Dr. Charles Schaffer, a board certified eye doctor and surgeon, recently expanded his practice to include the Anthem area. He’s new to the area, but Dr. Schaffer has been practicing in the Valley for 19 years and is former president of the Phoenix Ophthalmological Society. Reach Anthem’s Only Ophthalmologist Charles L. Schaffer, M.D., F.A.A.O. [...]

“Anthem Community Council is considering granting Arroyo Norte property owners access to Anthem’s amenities for a fee that would generate an estimated $140,000 annually. Is this worth the additional traffic through its facilities?” Related Story: Fan Fitness Bargain, Arroyo Norte Still Wants Access

Among the bills and catalogs, Anthem Residents have ballots in their pile of mail. It’s time to vote for representatives for Council as well as HOA boards. And, while neither the Parkside nor Country Club race is exciting—four candidates for four vacant seats in Parkside and two candidates for two vacant seats in Country Club—the [...]

By Karen Goveia – To a crowd of more than 75 residents at its Feb. 27 meeting, Anthem Community Council presented estimates for the six proposed enhancement projects [See “First Look at Proposed Enhancements”], and by a split vote of 4–3, eliminated one of those projects, as well as one of the two dog park locations [...]

Come April, two newcomers will fill seats vacated by Anthem Community Council Board President Craig Boates (Parkside) and Representative Jeff Pointer (Country Club). Boates and Pointer, who campaigned as a team with parallel platforms in 2010, have decided not to seek a second term on the Board. Boates said even though he intended to run [...]

  By Karen Goveia If you’re new to the Valley, you’ll be glad to know there are plenty of sun-loving, heat-tolerant annuals to provide instant color in your containers. There are, however, a few important points to keep in mind when heading to the nursery. 1) Step away from the geraniums and petunias. While these [...]

Stall the inevitable Given the high cost of repair and replacement of an air conditioning system, there are a couple to things you can do to prolong its natural life. 1. Change your filter. Really. Do it now. Then do it again next month. Continue religiously each month your A/C is operational. Filters are cheap [...]

  By Chris Prickett The dog days of summer are nipping at our flip flops, and speaking of pooches, you need to figure the life of your air conditioner in dog years. Everything after 10 years is a blessing. As Anthem reaches the mid-point of its terrible teens, we’ve got a whole bunch of air [...]

By Chris Prickett– What you need to know to keep you from going under. Whether happy days are here again or we’re just taking another spin on the wheel-of-denial remains to be seen. But I can tell you one thing for sure: There’s gold in them there yards. Back in the boom, you could pull [...]

By Amanda Niemerg– The Anthem area has an abundance of opportunities for kids to stay fit and eat healthy. From trails, bike lanes, playgrounds, to the skate park, water park and all the sports programs, there are plenty of options. Where we live can play a huge part in our level of fitness. Dr. Rodney M. [...]

By Chris Prickett– I’ve spent much of the past 16 years trying to get my kids (and myself for that matter) to eat a bit healthier. The conventional tricks found on well-meaning blogs and parenting sites are, frankly, useless when it comes to my kids. Maybe they’re too dumb or too smart, but even if [...]

By Amanda Niemerg Operation Hope, the second in a four part National Family Day drug education series was developed and will be presented by the Black Mountain Precinct of the Phoenix Police Department. The event will take a graphic look at the effects of drug abuse and is recommended for mature middle and high school aged [...]

Jennifer Uhlig has an impressive resume with an education degree in physical education kinesiology and 16 years of coaching experience. So when she landed at the Anthem Community Center (by way of Houston, Texas), sports manager Rick Klein sensed an opportunity: “We have been trying for the past few years to get an Anthem youth track & [...]

If you receive Social Security or VA checks from the federal government, you need to switch to electronic payments by March 1, as paper checks are being discontinued in the following programs: Social Security Supplemental Security Income Veterans Affairs Railroad Retirement Board Office of Personnel Management Department of Labor (Black Lung) You have two options: [...]

As part of the launch of Anthem News, we took a look at the people, places and activities that make this town special: For more, see our Anthem 101 section.

  UPDATE: At 8:25 a.m. today Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office issued a statement that missing Anthem resident Martha “Martie” Hayes, 66, had been found and is in good condition. Hayes was reported missing since about 6 p.m. Monday, according to MCSO.    

I live within an ear shot of Daisy Mountain Drive and the traffic sound seems to be much louder than years past.  I realize there is more traffic now, but could it also be because it hasn’t been sealed in a few years?  Are there plans to seal the roads in Anthem this year? Kevin Kelly Anthem [...]

By Jennifer Preston–You might have seen the trucks, or the holes, or worse, your front yard might be dug up. Several weeks ago, CenturyLink began working in certain neighborhoods to upgrade services to customers in the Anthem area. The work requires some extensive digging in the area around the telecommunication boxes that exist in some front yards. [...]

I am not a parent of a child at BCHS, but a resident who receives In&Out.  Your article about the cheer was very inappropriate. If this is going to become a gossip magazine please ask people if they would want such a thing. I have found your magazine very informative in the past, as a [...]

My daughter participated in the BCHS Spiritline for the past four years. Unfortunately, one incident in the past four years by a handful of teenagers who made a bad choice, has tarnished the reputation of a wonderful organization. Your article focused on one isolated incident. Nothing was mentioned in your article regarding the relentless dedication [...]