Denise Crosby

Luz Zavala embraces her son Erick Lopez and young niece on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, days after Erick's identical twin brother Juanito took his own life. The Aurora family is determined to bring suicide out of the shadows, especially in the Hispanic community (Denise Crosby/The Beacon-News)

Column: Aurora family of recent suicide victim wants to shatter the silence that surrounds mental health issues

September 24, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Luz Zavala is a mother with many questions – and the determination to find answers - after her 21-year-old son took his own life last week.

Veronica Garza, left, shown here with Austin Nelson Jr. as Principal Duvall, plays the "cool mom" in Paramount Theatre's current production of "Mean Girls." (Boris Martin)

Column: Spotlight on ‘cool moms’ in Paramount Theatre’s ‘Mean Girls’ production

September 21, 2026 at 9:49 a.m.

The theater in downtown Aurora sponsored a “Cool Mom Not a Regular Mom” contest in connection with its current production of "Mean Girls."

From left, Martin Rivera Jr. had a brotherly bond with his cousin Juan Angel Rivera, who died last year and is the focus of Martin Rivera's recently-published book "Juan Angel: The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man." (Alondra Rivera)

Column: Fox Valley man’s new book a tribute to brotherly love and to hardworking immigrants

September 18, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Going by birth records, Juan Angel and Martin Rivera were first cousins. But in life they were brothers, a distinction that sets the tone of Martin Rivera’s recently published book...

Emergency response expert Mike Fagel of Sugar Grove looks over a large map of Ground Zero in New York City where, for three months, he worked in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that reduced the iconic World Trade Center towers in New York City to rubble. (Denise Crosby/The Beacon-News).

Column: First responders from Aurora area remember 9/11 on 25th anniversary of terrorist attacks

September 11, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Memories still strong 25 years after terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Now in its new location at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Aurora, Simply Destinee dance troupe members and several city officials pose for a group shot earlier this month. (Ernie Perez)

Column: Youth dance troupe, still in step after many challenges, will lead suicide awareness vigil in Aurora

September 9, 2026 at 3:36 p.m.

Simply Destinee Dance Studio will be hosting, along with the city of Aurora, a candlelight vigil at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10, at Millennium Plaza in downtown Aurora to commemorate...

After 16 years leading Family Counseling Service in Aurora, Executive Director Eric Ward, left, is turning the reins of this nonprofit that provides mental health resources over to his longtime colleague Jason Andrade. (Denise Crosby/The Beacon-News)

Column: Mental health leader passing the torch after successful 16-year run at Family Counseling in Aurora

September 6, 2026 at 6:00 a.m.

At the end of this month, Eric Ward is turning the leadership of Family Counseling Service over to Jason Andrade, a colleague he’s spent the past six years preparing to...

A crowd enjoys a show at RiverEdge Park in Aurora this summer. The venue's summer concert season will end with a performance by Cheap Trick on Thursday, Sept. 10. (Thomas J. King)

Column: Renovations and Mother Nature make for a RiverEdge Park season like no other

September 4, 2026 at 6:00 a.m.

With the rescheduled Cheap Trick performance next week set to close out downtown Aurora's outdoor concert season, there’s no question it’s been a summer to remember at RiverEdge Park.

Medical assistant Loreal Velastegui, left, administers a round of childhood vaccines, including the measles, mumps and rubella - or MMR - vaccine, to 12-month-old Naomi Carrera with her mother, Maria Carrerra, on Monday, May 4, 2026, at Esperanza Health Center in Chicago. Kane County Health Department officials are saying it is important to keep vaccination records handy. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Column: Measles makes the case for locating proof of vaccination

September 2, 2026 at 6:00 a.m.

That little childhood vaccination card you tucked away might suddenly become very important.

A car passes Meta's company headquarters on Oct. 28, 2021, in Menlo Park, California. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar, File)

Column: Meta settlement important step toward a ‘social media reckoning’

August 30, 2026 at 6:00 a.m.

This big win against a tech giant is great, but we can't just hand our children a device, turn on a parental control setting and call it good.

Tricia Hoover, director of community impact for Fox Valley United Way, talks to a mother and daughter about the Imagination Library program at Fox River Valley Public Library in East Dundee last October when this partnership with Dolly Parton's program expanded into northern Kane County. (Annika Olsen)

Column: Dolly Parton’s legacy lives on in Fox Valley through children’s books

August 27, 2026 at 2:56 p.m.

The legendary entertainer's Imagination Library partnership with United Way has delivered thousands of titles to kids in Kane and Kendall counties.

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