Opinion

Peg Chapados promises Maricopa voters the following 10 qualities if she is elected to the Maricopa City Council:

Franklin Delano Roosevelt said, "The school is the last expenditure on which America should be willing to economize."  I agree.

This week and next many Americans sit glued to their television sets watching the 2010 Winter Olympics. Weight Watchers suggests that viewers convert their traditional television snacking to healthy eating for the duration of the Olympic Games.

We Maricopans tend to complain, and oftentimes rightly so, about our high taxes, skyrocketing utility rates, the quality of our schools and the city's lack of jobs. Next month, we can do something to positively impact these issues.

Transportation programs can be expensive, and balance between what services are needed and what is fiscally viable must be reached.

As I start my 21st year as a volunteer for the Maricopa Salvation Army, I want to thank the community for helping make the 2009 holiday season so special. 

I feel as if I did not have sufficient time to get my platform out to the people of Maricopa (in the candidate forum). Therefore, I have summarized some important topics in a "did you know" series.

In July 2009 the Maricopa Unified School District's (MUSD) Leadership Team met together to develop a plan that would raise the bar for MUSD students, teachers, and community members.

I don't know the answer to that question, but I don't mind when people ask me.  Friends, family, and acquaintances ask me all the time.  It is a good question, but not so easy to answer. 

Since February is such a short month - and there's such an awfully lot to do in these 28 days - let's get right to it.

There is no question that the creamy dips, fat-laden chips, fried finger foods and super-sized sandwiches usually served at Super Bowl parties are not health-friendly.

How do we select community leaders?

Eight city council candidates. Three mayoral candidates. That's awesome in and of itself. It's great to have so much interest in serving our community and so many options from which to choose.

Attorney General Terry Goddard is warning Arizonans to be cautious of unsolicited contractors coming to your door and offering help with repairs or clean-up related to the recent storms that have pounded the State.

Maricopa Public Library has some great new books that will make the winter reading season an enjoyable one indeed.

More than 40 trains pass through Maricopa each day, and more are coming. There are approximately 6,000 railroad-crossing accidents each year in the United States involving a motor vehicle and a railroad train.

Maricopa is a community of 40,000 residents and a number of businesses - especially small businesses.  The local culture has open arms for business, but it takes some unique attitudes and approaches to be successful.

Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Life's most persistent and urgent question is: what are you doing for others?" Each year, the Corporation for National and Community Service honors Dr. King's legacy by asking Americans to make the King holiday a national day of service.  

The Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) would like to provide some valuable information, guidelines and tips on when to use and not to use the "9-1-1" Emergency Number.

Emergency response from our Pinal County Sheriff's Deputies has improved in 2009.

Since November of 2006, my wife, Misty, and I have made Maricopa our home, and this is where we'll raise our children.  I'm not running for City Council to make friends, nor do I have a hidden agenda; I'm running to do what's right for our community.

With 2010 just beginning, the Maricopa Public Library has some great new reads to start the year. 

Happy New Year, everyone! I know that y'all are busy thinking about your resolutions for the coming year but the one fervent wish I hear expressed more often than not is: "Here's to 2010 - it HAS to be better than 2009!" Will this New Year be better? I, for one, am cautiously optimistic.

 A New Year is upon us once again -- full of expectations and promise.

Cheers. The holidays are upon us, and with them come the rituals, parties and pressures that create challenges for most people and dread for many nondrinkers.

It's easy to be tempted to overindulge during the family dinners, parties and various celebrations that fill the holiday season. But consider that an extra 500 calories a day translates into one pound of body weight per week.

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."--Martin Luther King, Jr.

The ever-popular April 15 wouldn't mean a thing if it wasn't for Dec. 31. So while we might be more focused on having a few more shopping days before Christmas, it's important to keep in mind we have just 10 planning days before year-end.

The Maricopa Public Library offers some great new books to make our upcoming winter reading season a blissful one indeed.

On Nov. 3, 1,458 Maricopans went to the polls specifically to vote against allowing our public schools to retain their right to exceed their maintenance and operations budget by up to 10 percent annually. They soundly won as only 510 voted for the measure.