When Olivia Torres started job hunting as a young mother in the 1980s, she didn’t know much about WIC. 

When she’s coaching boys soccer at Rio Rico High School, Savannah Hobbs likes to laugh at her players.

Art is sometimes thought of as something reserved for the privileged few. Our preconceived notions about what art should be can make a visit t…

During the past year, the local community lost one of its true shining stars: a talented musician who put his deeply held religious beliefs in…

During the first few weeks after the coronavirus pandemic hit Santa Cruz County and people took cover, ambulance crews from the Rio Rico Fire …

“I haven’t sewn anything since I made a clown costume for my 3-year-old son, who is now 47,” Elen Kentnor of Elgin said with a laugh.

Dr. Philip Williams has spent more than a decade looking after community members’ health as a pediatrician at the Mariposa Community Health Ce…

Collecting mail is fun again in Tubac. Fernando Alvarez, who runs the local post office, has brought efficiency and pleasant service to the lo…

After the coronavirus pandemic caused all schools in Arizona to abruptly switch to distance learning in March 2020, seventh-grade teacher Beth…

While the pandemic sent most students home from local schools, that doesn’t mean that school buildings have been empty. Teachers have used cla…

When Martin Felix first walked into a local peer support center in 2015, he was there to get help.

Since he was a high school freshman, Stephen Schadler has been a runner. For the past 25 years, he’s shared that passion with dozens of Santa …

Marisela Dominguez first began volunteering at Mary Welty Elementary School about 20 years ago when her oldest daughter, Clara, started in kin…

For about four years, David Goodman took on the responsibility of cleaning and maintaining the front area of the secluded Calabasas Cemetery i…

Clare Bonelli has brought the concept of networking to a whole new level with her complimentary newsletters that come out several times a week…

While Santa Cruz County has come a long way in terms of placing more women in positions of power, there is still work to be done, said Judge Anna Montoya, the first woman to be elected Superior Court judge in the county. “Our population should be reflected in our government,” she said. “I think we have a very diverse community and they are willing to put women in those offices, but now we need more women to come to the forefront and run for those offices.”

Jerry Behn’s go-to tool is a long pruning shears. He uses it to cut back tree branches and overgrown plants along the Anza Trail, which he’s worked on for more than a decade as a volunteer with the local Anza Trail Coalition.

Karla Osete began practicing her creative hand at age 12, when her father took notice of her artistic skills and enrolled her in art classes w…

When David Galindo moved to Nogales, his hopes of playing competitive volleyball ended. But he didn’t give up on the game.

Twice a week, Gloria Smith hosts about a dozen students from the special education class at Nogales High School for an hour of outdoor therapy…

Randy Heiss was never looking for attention, he said, but after stumbling across a Mexican girl’s Christmas list last December, the Patagonia …

Dora Taddey grew up in difficult circumstances in Nogales, Sonora, where she endured poverty and abuse.

Sherry Sass of Tubac has a passion for the health of the Santa Cruz River. A scientist and environmentalist, she’s friendly, energetic, determ…

On Friday evenings, as the Nogales Little Mercado winds down on Morley Avenue, a pack of cyclists begins to form. The group, called 0S3 (prono…

Martha Green of Elgin has a big heart and an even bigger dedication to helping members of her community.

Rising as a soccer star at an early age and taking his skills to the college and semi-pro levels, Alan Regalado of Rio Rico ultimately knew th…

After living through difficult moments and committing a few mistakes of her own, Sonia Sanchez said, she wanted to return to the organization …

While classical music venues around the country struggle to attract audiences, an intimate concert space in Patagonia has been bringing crowds…

When Carolyn Hernandez first arrived in Nogales in 1979, she had a job waiting for her as the new freshman P.E. teacher and girls’ basketball …

For years, Santos Yescas has been a volunteer and a leader in Nogales, working with various community-building organizations to help local peo…

After school, youth ranging in age from 10-20 flock to the Patagonia Youth Enrichment Center to hang out with friends, work on homework or do …

People from other parts of Arizona and the United States often have misconceptions and fears about border communities like Nogales and the res…

It can be tough for seniors to get to the store, much less the weekly farmer’s market where they can use vouchers that are only redeemable for…

At 71 years, La Cinderella is the oldest store on Morley Avenue, the struggling – but once thriving – retail corridor in downtown Nogales.

After working up a sweat at Patagonia Health and Fitness, gym-goers can pick up a healthy fruit-based drink in the very same building by stopp…

Juanita Gonzalez and her husband Gregorio have been tending a small garden tucked behind Sacred Heart Church in Nogales since 2014, when Nogal…