(BPT) - Gesundheit! If allergy season has you sneezing and sniffling, you might believe you’re better protected inside your house than outside in the fresh air. Think again. In a typical six-room house, everyday living creates up to 40 pounds of dust every year, according to NADCA: The HVAC Inspection, Maintenance and Restoration Association. What’s more, your heating, ventilation and air conditioning system pulls in a sizeable amount of contaminants, and may re-circulate those irritants five to seven times a day.

Residents of Catalina can apply for free swimming lessons at the Catalina Pool, 16562 N. Oracle Road, thanks to a generous donation from the North Tucson Firefighter Association in partnership with the pool.

Summer is finally here, which means peak vacation season and employees out of the office. For those who own their own companies, however, taking vacations and disconnecting is never easy, as business continues as usual while owners are away. In fact, according to the 2013 ADT Safety Data Index, more than one-third of small-business owners polled agree that running a business keeps them up at night, and the same number feel that running a business does not allow them to have work/life balance.

Q: How important is it to have my outboard motor serviced every year? A: Most outboard manufacturers recommend doing an annual service. Lubricants, seals and the water pump impeller are all made out of petroleum products and tend to degrade in extreme weather conditions. Think of it like this – a water pump impeller is made out of rubber just like an automobile tire. Despite a tire being brand new, if left outside in the extreme heat, it will start to deteriorate and crack. If this happens to a water pump impeller, then the proper cooling of the motor can be affected and could cause catastrophic malfunctions.

The towns of Oro Valley and Marana are each in the beginning stages of conducting employee market surveys that will compare the compensation of staff to surrounding communities – a process both municipalities hope will help with employee attraction and retention.

After reading Dave Safier’s article critiquing Basis Schools, I decided to present another view on the issue. The insidious approach of tearing down anything that offers an alternative to traditional public school has got to be exposed if we ever hope to improve education. Instead of reform, we must all conform. If the results aren’t flawless, we use them as proof that nothing is worth trying to improve at all. At the 2010 orientation of BASIS Oro Valley’s opening, founder Olga Block said, “This is not a school for geniuses. If you are willing to work hard, you will be successful.” She was right. Many families aren’t prepared for the workload. When faced with the intensity of the work and amount of homework, they decided it wasn’t a fit for their family. Some kids spend hours a week in a sport; some are in theater or have devoted themselves to music. That is their choice. For my two children, school is their sport. They are bright, self-motivated, and hardworking, but not geniuses. They “practice” in the form of homework just about every day of the school year, missing some social events, sleeping in, shopping and the latest T.V. shows, but that is their choice. The notion that BASIS only takes and therefore only keeps the “smart kids” is not being fair to all the kids like mine who work very hard to be there. It also shows just how uninformed Mr. Safier is about Basis culture and criteria.

Northwest Tucson Spotlight Youth Productions is continuing its tradition of having nearly 50 actors put on a summer play. This year’s performance is Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast”.

(BPT) - Americans are facing a growing epidemic: an equal opportunity disease, affecting individuals of all ages, genders, races and socioeconomic status. Opioid prescription painkiller addiction, a form of opioid dependence, is a chronic disease that affects the brain. Although many believe it is a result of a moral failing or lack of control, research shows opioid prescription painkiller addiction is a long-term medical condition that alters the brain’s chemistry, making it difficult for someone to stop. This means the brain has been affected by the disease.

1. NSA COLLECTS VERIZON PHONE RECORDS

Dribble. Pass. Fake. He puts up the last shot for the scrimmage as the other nine players on the court watch as it drops through the hoop. Five of the players on the court cheer and high five as they celebrate their win. 

RE: Dave Safier’s May column.

(BPT) - Our bodies naturally crave salt, a necessary nutrient, and research shows that we gravitate to the amount we need for our bodies to function properly. Salt deficiency has been linked to a host of health concerns, including insulin resistance, increased risk of heart attacks and reduced cognition. But what if eating less salt also increases your weight by making you eat more?

Q: What is better for a computer, leaving it on all the time or shutting it down every night? — Justin

(NAPSI)—You may save yourself time, money and trouble at the grocery store if you avoid these seven common errors that shoppers make:

(StatePoint) It seems like much in life is beyond our control, but when it comes to your wallet, taking control is crucial for a solid future.

(BPT) - No one knows exactly what life will bring, but we all know that there will be joys and there will be challenges. Sometimes, life gives you a combination – as millions of average Americans who are family caregivers can attest. Providing dedicated care to a loved one is a generous way to live one’s life, but it can also brings difficulties, stress and isolation. That’s why giving back to those unsung heroes – caregivers – who give so much can make a world of difference to them, and the people they help.

Millions of consumers will be faced with a choice to enroll in one of four different Obamacare “metal plans,” on Oct. 1. The metal plans are new categories of health insurance - nicknamed “metal” because each plan is named after a metal - created by the Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. Obamacare.

Today’s real estate consumers are savvier than ever, and they now have access to information with just a few mouse clicks or swipes. Massive sites like Trulia and Zillow pull public data and wrap it up it a pretty package, but it’s dangerous to rely on this data as your only source of information. These well-advertised monster sites are often days, and sometimes weeks behind, and much of the information can be incorrect or skewed because the tax records they pull their data from are not always accurate. Since they are not members of the MLS, they are unable to access the information the MLS provides.

Northwest Fire District’s governing board approved a contract for Michael J. Brandt to become its fire chief, dropping the “interim” from his current title when the two-year contract kicks in on May 28.

Veteran community college leader Lee D. Lambert today was named chancellor of Pima Community College.

Let’s say you decide to start a school for sixth through 12th graders that gives students a rigorous, world class education: demanding courses, lots of homework, sky-high expectations.

(BPT) - While children long for the lazy carefree days of summer, many adults view the season as a reason to be active and get healthy. Whether it's to look good for an upcoming beach vacation or simply to have the energy to enjoy the season to the fullest, setting health goals is a great first step.

Arizona Sen. John McCain introduced a new bill, the Television Consumer Freedom Act, that let the customers choose the channels in their subscription. 

(BPT) - There’s nothing like the smell of a home-cooked meal wafting through the kitchen for hours and hours – that is, if you have time to prepare such a meal. Since most of us don’t have that sort of time on a daily basis, many time-pressed cooks are rediscovering pressure cooking: an age-old cooking method that makes mealtime fast and easy.