TO CLIPS INDEX - Clips for February 6, 2008

$20 million fund will boost bioscience companies
The Arizona Republic - Feb. 6, 2008 12:00 AM
Arizona technology and business leaders have established a $20 million venture-capital fund
that will target early-stage bioscience companies seeking a financial boost to develop their ideas.
The new fund, called the Translational Accelerator LLC, aims to bridge a money gap that many
Arizona leaders believe has slowed the flow of successful startups.

Just why do students drop out?
Arizona Republic - Feb. 6, 2008 12:00 AM
Thousands of Arizona high-school students drop out of school annually. Many of these children
are too old to go to bed early and too young to drive, yet they abandon Arizona schools at the rate
of about 28,400 each year.

In service to young minds
Arizona Republic - Feb. 6, 2008 12:00 AM
Teaching in a high-poverty school is like playing a game of Twister: figuring out the right move,
interacting with others and having fun. It's like being a pipe cleaner, flexible and versatile. It's like
giving kids a passport to new ideas and opportunities. Those are some of the ways that 17 of
Arizona's most effective and inspiring teachers see themselves.

Bill bans campus credit card giveaways
East Valley Tribune - February 5, 2008
State lawmakers voted Tuesday to try to protect college and university students from their own
financial irresponsibility. On a 6-3 vote, the House Committee on Higher Education approved
legislation to ban credit card companies from offering gifts while soliciting new customers on
campuses of state universities and community colleges. The panel agreed with Rep. Ed
Ablesser, D-Tempe, that the enticement of T-shirts, hats and other items convinces at least
some students to get - and use - cards they don't need.

Venture capital group aims to help Arizona businesses
East Valley Tribune - February 5, 2008
A group of investors has formed the first venture capital firm that will focus on Arizona bio-
science start-up companies. Called the Translational Accelerator LLC, the Scottsdale-based
 $20 million venture capital group will provide financing for fledgling bioscience companies
that are beyond the government-funded research phase but have not yet reached late-stage
clinical trials, the organizers said.

State workers’ records should be open to all
East Valley Tribune - February 3, 2008 - 12:13AM
You can read the citations and complaints about your neighborhood police officer. You can
see if the county roads administrator has been praised or condemned by his supervisors.
And you can research why the school superintendent received her last pay raise. But you
can’t read anything about the qualifications of the state parks director. You can’t peer into
the work history of the state’s top tax auditor. And you can’t learn why the state prisons
director has trouble holding on to press secretaries.

UA pharmacy museum displays history with big dose of whimsy
Arizona Daily Star - February 6, 2008
Tucson, Arizona - Once upon a time in Downtown Tucson there was the Owl Drug Store
and a loyal customer who had an annoying habit of sticking his used Blackjack gum
under the counter before lunch. But John Dillinger had a look that discouraged rebuke.
Now a jar of the infamous bank robber's old gum is one of the exhibits at the History of
Pharmacy Museum at the University of Arizona. Located in the pharmacy building on the
northeast side of campus, ...

Biotech training at PCC offers a future in Tucson labs
Arizona Daily Star - February 6, 2008
To become a thriving biotech hub, Tucson first needs a biotech work force — and a
Pima Community College program aims to build those local workers. Now three
years old, Pima Community College's Biotechnology Program trains technicians to
staff research labs. Expanding Tucson's biotech industry is a balancing act, said
Michael Cusanovich, director of the Arizona Research Laboratories and former UA
vice president of research. "We can't keep the people after we train them because
there aren't enough jobs. We can't get the jobs because there aren't enough people,"

Plant used for cigarettes may yield West Nile virus treatment
ASU Web Devil - February 6, 2008
Tobacco plants may have a reputation for causing cancer, but a team of researchers
at ASU's Polytechnic campus and Tempe's Biodesign Institute are putting them to
use to develop a treatment for the West Nile virus. Qiang "Shawn" Chen, an applied
biological sciences professor who is leading the research team, and his collaborators
created a potential drug about two years ago to treat the mosquito-transmitted disease
that attacks a person's central nervous system.

Phoenix mission explained
UA Arizona Daily Wildcat Online - 2/6/08
In the Duval Auditorium of University Medical Center yesterday about 40 people from
the Tucson community gathered to listen to Peter H. Smith, principal investigator for
the UA's Phoenix Mars Mission, explain the purpose and process of the mission to
Mars. "Maybe we will be on the path to finding life on Mars," Smith said.

Bill to stop credit sales
UA Arizona Daily Wildcat Online - 2/6/08
PHOENIX - A bill in the state legislature would further hinder credit card companies
that seek to use promotional items such as hats and T-shirts to get UA students to
apply for credit cards. HB 2518 would prohibit any credit card marketer on a university
or community college campus in the state from offering promotional incentives to get
students or faculty to apply for lines of credit. "One of the nerve-racking things that most
students deal with is this issue of debt, and they are not sure how to manage it, how to
deal with it and how to maintain a strong financial backing," ...

PTS asks for opinion
UA Arizona Daily Wildcat Online - 2/6/08
Parking and Transportation Services is holding an open forum today to allow the university
community to give their opinions on traffic and paid parking. The forum will be held from
noon to 4 p.m. in the Sabino Room on the third floor of the Student Union Memorial Center.
PTS will incorporate input from students, faculty and staff to get a better idea of how to
address traffic congestion on and around campus.

Class lets honors students pick books
UA Arizona Daily Wildcat Online - 2/6/08
Ever wish the reading load for your classes could be lighter, so you could spend time
doing, well, just about anything else? Some would spend that time sunbathing, sleeping
or scrambling to meet school or work deadlines. Others might simply sit back, relax and
enjoy a good book. One class of Honors College students is assigned to do just that.

Lawmakers: Shortfall may increase, new strategy needed
Arizona Capitol Times - February 5, 2008
The House and Senate have cancelled this week's Appropriations committee hearings
and will try a new strategy to solve the budget shortfall after preliminary economic reports
showed the economy is continuing to worsen, which may cause the deficit to increase.
"It appears that it’s getting deeper, not better," ...