TO CLIPS INDEX  Clips for January 14, 2009

Bad '09 ahead, economists say at budget boot camp
The Arizona Republic 1/14/09
The Legislature's budget boot camp stepped out
Tuesday with a morning-long briefing on the state
of the economy, both locally and nationally. In a nut-
shell: It's bad. "In 2009, the first half is going to be
ugly like you can't believe," economist Elliott Pollack
said. "The second half will only be homely." Marshall
Vest of the Eller College of Management at the
University of Arizona offered a slightly less-dour
outlook, telling lawmakers the economy could start
a slow turnaround midway through 2009.  "Clearly,
this is the worst recession since World War II, but
it's not a depression," Vest said. And he offered
some advice to lawmakers, if they happened to
be looking for new sources of revenue for the
state's cash-strapped budget: Raise the gas tax.

Crow to discuss role of New American University
The Arizona Republic 1/14/09 7:56 AM
The public is invited to hear Arizona State University
President Michael Crow discuss the institution's on-
going development of the "New American University"
and what this model for higher education means for
our community, state, region and world. The event
will take place from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Jan. 27 at the
Tempe Center for the Arts, 700 W. Rio Salado Park-
way. A reception will begin at 6 p.m. followed by the
presentation at 7 p.m. This presentation is an
opportunity for the community to learn how the
university is fostering strategic partnerships, creating
jobs and producing an educated workforce capable
of turning ideas into solutions for society's most
pressing issues.

Study: Female immigrant detainees get poor care
Associated Press/The Arizona Republic 1/14/09
TUCSON - Women held in three immigration-detention
facilities in Arizona receive inadequate treatment,
ranging from deficient medical care to being mixed in
with people serving criminal sentences, University of
Arizona researchers said Tuesday. The report issued
by the Southwest Institute for Research on Women
criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the
federal agency responsible for detaining immigrants
facing administrative deportation hearings, for a variety
of shortcomings. ....But Katrina S. Kane, ICE'S detention
and removal field director in Arizona, noted that the
study itself said its information was drawn from a small
number of participants not necessarily representative
of the entire detainee population, and that researchers
relied on anonymous detainees' self-reporting, without
independent corroboration.

ASU fined $96,000 for asbestos mishandling
Tucson Citizen/East Valley Tribune 1/13/09 5:32PM
The asbestos had remained harmlessly compressed
into the tile lining ASU's Memorial Union basement
floor for decades. But, in one day in August 2006,
workers ripped out more than 5,000 square feet of
carcinogen-packed material without taking a single
precaution. Asbestos swirled into the basement air,
tests would later confirm, to be inhaled by members
of the Arizona State University community. Then
workers carted the contaminated tile through the
food court and upstairs to open-air dumpsters,
potentially leaving a toxic mist throughout the
university's busiest building. It was several hours
before ASU environmental safety officials realized
what was happening. That hazard cost the
university $44,000 in fines from Maricopa County,
plus $52,000 to sponsor a series of seminars
on asbestos handling, including one today at the
Tempe campus. ASU is required to put on a
seminar at each of its four campuses.

Economists: Consumer spending headed lower
still
Capitol Media Services/Arizona Daily Star
East Valley Tribune 1/14/09
PHOENIX — Arizona businesses and consumers
are going to keep their money in their pockets
until they think it's safe, according to a panel of
economists. Consequently, spending — and the
state tax collections that mirror it — likely won't get
back to pre-recession levels for another four years,
if then. The consensus of members of the Finance
Advisory Committee is that tax collections this bud-
get year will hit just $7.8 billion, compared with
more than $9.6 billion two years ago. Collections
will slide even further next year, to just $7.6 billion.
After that, things will get better, but slowly. Tax
collections still will be below $8 billion the next
year, and just $8.5 billion in the 2011-12 fiscal
year.  All of which increases the chances that
lawmakers will want to make sharper cuts in
spending to balance the budget instead of
some of the fiscal maneuvers outgoing Gov.
Janet Napolitano has suggested.

Nurse-patient ratio bill has uphill trek
Arizona Daily Star 1/14/09
PHOENIX — A group of RNs was back at the
state Capitol Tuesday lobbying for minimum
staffing ratios and whistle-blower protection,
although it doesn't have the support of
hospitals or the state's nursing association.
If the Legislature approves the bill, dubbed
the Arizona Hospital Patient Protection Act,
that would make Arizona only the second
state in the nation to approve such a measure.
A similar measure failed in Arizona's last
legislative session— and this year's version
might not even get a hearing, said a Senate
committee chairwoman. But bill proponents
say they're optimistic a changing political
climate and flagging economy will give it a
chance.

City's ruling halts mini-dorm developments
Arizona Daily Wildcat 1/14/09
A decision by the Tucson City Council Tuesday
night could put UA-area "mini-dorms" in jeopardy.
The City Council voted unanimously to repeal a
previous ruling within the city's demolition code
and instead place the ruling within the land use
code - a blow to developers who often bought
out buildings, demolished them and replaced
them with housing that typically was rented out
to students. The developers must now yield to
city officials to decide the fate of many of their
downtown and UA-area properties. These
projects, nicknamed "mini-dorms," are
developed by landlords to rent to students,
and they have been an issue of debate for
years. Ever since the Tucson City Council
passed a regulation in June 2007 requiring
property owners to submit historical information
to the city before clearing and destroying
buildings near downtown, some developers'
mini-dorm projects have been halted, the
Council said.

Provost: Merger will save millions
Arizona Daily Wildcat 1/14/09
As the next step in the university-wide trans-
formation process, which began last
September, the College of Humanities,
College of Science, College of Social and
Behavioral Sciences and University College
will all merge into one massive unit: The
Colleges of Letters and Science. Provost
Meredith Hay said this immense
reorganization will immediately save
millions of dollars, which could be
extremely important with the economy in
its feeble state. "The creation of the Colleges
of Letters and Science is expected to
immediately save approximately $1.5-2
million," Hay said via e-mail. "We will begin
the implementation of processes to stream-
line administrative services from which we
believe will save additional dollars and
improve student services."

Collaboration key as Arizona's fledgling biotech
hub weathers economic downturn
Phoenix Business Journal 1/14/09 7:28am
Arizona’s life sciences industry isn’t immune to the
nation’s recession. As access to capital continues
to shrink, bioscience firms are looking at ways
to forge collaborations. “The challenges are real,”
said Michael Berens, director of the cancer and
cell biology division at the Translational Genomics
Research Institute and chairman emeritus of the
Arizona Technology Council. “My heart hurts the
most for those who are seeking capital to get their
ideas up and moving. It’s proving to be
exceptionally difficult.” A $1.2 billion state budget
shortfall isn’t helping matters, either. Funding
stalled - The three state universities are trying to
build a $470 million collaborative facility on the
Phoenix Biomedical Campus. But funding for that
project is being held up in the Arizona Legislature,
said William Crist, the new vice president of health
affairs for the University of Arizona’s Arizona
Health Sciences Center.

Financial Aid Applications Rise by 10 Percent
U.S. News & World Report 1/13/09
Like a Midwestern tornado, the economic downturn
appears to be touching down and wreaking financial
aid havoc for some colleges while leaving others
unscathed. Financial aid officers at Boston College,
the University of Central Florida, and Washington
University in St. Louis all report no dramatic increase
in requests for scholarships. But foot traffic and calls
to the aid office have spiked 50 percent this January
at Prairie View A&M University in Texas. And "the line
is out the door" at Quinsigamond Community College
in Worcester, Mass., says Iris Godes, assistant vice
president of enrollment management. Enrollment is
up by about 6 percent, but financial aid applications
are up 23 percent so far in 2009. Godes, who has
been working in college financial aid offices for 21
years, says people who have lost jobs and savings
in the economic downturn are now scrambling for
new money to pay for college. "I have never
experienced in my life this anxiety level of parents,"
she says.

Purdue goes to Arizona for new education dean
Associated Press/Chicago Tribune
1/14/09  4:50 AM CST
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue has selected an
associate dean from Arizona State University to
be the school's new dean of the College of
Education. Purdue Provost Randy Woodson says
Maryanne Santos de Barona will start work July 1
pending ratification of her appointment by Purdue's
board of trustees. Santos de Barona is currently
senior associate dean for academic programs
and personnel at ASU's Mary Lou Fulton College
of Education.