(BPT) - Parents have never been more crunched for time. Balancing work demands with parental duties is complex – 56 percent of working moms and 50 percent of working dads say they find it very or somewhat difficult to balance these responsibilities, according to a 2013 report about modern parenthood from the Pew Research Center. But just because you’re time strapped doesn’t mean you need to stress when it comes time to host after-school activities or weekend gatherings with friends and family. With a few key strategies, even impromptu parties are a snap to pull together.

On Sunday, an unusual day for a court to be held in Ohio, a judge found two high school football players guilty of rape. In what became a short trial that divided the football-crazed Rust Belt town of Steubenville, Trent Mays, 17, and Ma’lik Richmond, 16, were found guilty of raping a drunk 16-year-old girl.

MOVIES

I am the mother of four children: three girls and then a boy. In the early years of this motherhood I was overwhelmed with pink. Pink gowns and pink teddy bears and pink headbands with tiny pink rosettes. And since baby after baby of the female persuasion came along those same pink gowns and teddies and headbands stuck around the house as hand-me-downs for many, many years. When finally a little one with boy parts made his way into our lives I didn’t know what to do with myself. Him being the final piece of our family, I gave away all things pink and tiny. In their places, little denim overalls and blue fuzzy sleepers and itty bitty socks with masculine creatures like dinosaurs printed on them started cycling through the laundry. As the new mother of a son, the novelty of blue was welcome in our previously pink house. What I failed to realize back then was that with the blue came a whole new world of parenting.

For many families, the Christmas season is a flutter of present buying, gift wrapping, spreading hints and rumors about the packages under the tree, and finally – on the big day – a whirlwind of bows and torn paper scattered everywhere with much frivolity and laughter.

Last week, Oro Valley kicked off the Project Graduation campaign for the Class of 2013. For those of you who may not be familiar, Project Graduation is a program that many school districts have implemented to keep students safe on graduation night

Oro Valley

When Dr. Robert Mulgrew decided to open Affinity Eye Care in 2009, he did so with the hope that he could better serve Tucsonans with an independent optometry office. Since its opening, patients have become increasingly familiar with Mulgrew and the vast services offered at his office.

IR grad earns national honors

With children back in school, it is important to arm them with a nutritious diet. While the lure of fast food and quick meals can be enticing, fueling kids with healthy foods and a well-rounded diet can be easier than parents think.

With a Japanese heritage and a Mexican upbringing, Henry “Hank” Oyama is all American.

Eric Hawkins’ 20-foot fall from a rock ledge in Catalina State Park felt “like a dream” at first. Then his body slammed against the tree stump rising from a pool in Romero Canyon. That’s when it hit the 17-year-old — he might die.

LD 25, 26 GOP board taps officers

Thirty years ago, the Nanini Library stood alone on a secluded desert lot off  Shannon Road, an 11,750-square-foot structure with 23,000 books.

Letters to the editor published in the March 31, 2010, edition of The Explorer.

Want to see a magic trick?

MOVIES

There was no cheering or applause when the jury rendered a guilty verdict last week — just silence.

MOVIES

Pregnancy and myths seem to go together.

Later this month, three local high school golfers are traveling to Pasadena, Calif., to represent Arizona in the Junior America’s Cup.

As kids, many of us often heard our moms sternly deliver the phrase, "Go to your room;" boys heard it often.

A summary of recent police activities in the Northwest.

Dr. Satish Hiremath will be in the fourth annual Oro Valley Holiday Parade this Saturday, pulling the Hiremath Family Dentistry float and demonstrating his “Queen Elizabeth Wave” to the crowd.

A summary of recent area policy activity.