TO CLIPS INDEX Clips for February 28, March 1, & 2, 2009

Tucson looks for modern streetcar funding
Associated Press/The Arizona Republic
3/2/09 9:53 AM
TUCSON - Despite a government-funding crunch and
the slumping economy, Tucson's modern streetcar is
on schedule and should be finished on time. The city
may have to scrape together the remaining $75 million
needed from several federal sources, but the money
appears to be coming, and the streetcar should be
ready to ride by April 2011, said Fran LaSala, assistant
to the city manager. The streetcar will run from
University Medical Center through the University of
Arizona and into the west side of downtown Tucson.
The streetcar will run on a fixed electric rail system at
street level with other vehicles.

Unique program puts kids on path to college
The Arizona Republic 3/2/09
A national program founded on the premise that every
high-school student should be able to attend college
is expanding in school districts Valley-wide. Chandler
Unified School District is set to graduate its first full
class of students involved in the AVID program this
year. The high-school seniors have already garnered
$1.6 million in scholarships at Hamilton High School.
AVID, which stands for Advancement Via Individual
Determination, is also growing in Mesa Public
Schools and the Phoenix Union High School District.
This year, Phoenix Union added five schools to the
program, with three other schools coming online
next year. "The whole idea of the program is to take
a child that may not have an opportunity and help
them be successful in college," said Jean Akers,
an English and AVID teacher at Westwood High
School in Mesa.

Editorial: Arizona has to pick up the pace
The Arizona Republic 3/1/09
The skies are black with airplanes converging
on Washington, D.C., jokes one businessman.
The reason: billions of dollars in discretionary
spending and grants available through the
federal stimulus package. State officials, local
leaders, lobbyists and business people from
across the nation are flocking to the capital to
compete. Arizona must be a contender. We
need to be more visible, more focused and
more plugged in. So far, the state's most
aggressive player is Phoenix. Mayor Phil
Gordon, who knows the value of face time,
is making repeated cross-country trips. The
city has "strike forces" to identify and jump on
every available grant. But Phoenix can't and
shouldn't go it alone.

ASU forum tackles U.S.-China trade relations
The Arizona Republic 3/1/09
For two days, Arizona State University and a Scottsdale
foundation brought 26 people with expertise in inter-
national trade, business and law to a resort ballroom
to create a blueprint for the United States and China to
engage in long-term economic development. The first
of three Forums on Trade, China and the World
Economic Order ended Friday, and it came at a time
when trade relations between the two countries have
become frayed. The U.S. has made accusations of
unfair trade practices in China as the deficit last year
reached a record $266 billion, and there have been
concerns over the safety of Chinese exports and
human-rights violations there. China, meanwhile,
has been upset with what it believes is protectionism
in America as the U.S. struggles through a deep
recession.

Legislative stake through 21st Century Fund's
heart
The Arizona Republic 3/1/09
Nightmare on 17th Avenue . . . For state Rep. Sam
Crump, the 21st Century Fund is the horror-movie
villain that just won't die. Weeks after the Anthem
Republican and a handful of fellow freshmen
helped wipe out the $22.5 million fund devoted to
research and the biotech industry, the chairman
of the Science Foundation Arizona was crowing
to The Republic that he was working with the state
to restore the dollars. That drew a stern rebuttal
Thursday from Crump, who called a press
conference on the Capitol lawn to assure everyone
that the 21st Century Fund was completely and
totally dead. "In case the folks at Science Foundation
Arizona didn't get the memo, our state is in a fiscal
crisis, and the public trough-feeding is over," said
Crump, joined by fellow freshmen Reps. David
Stevens, Carl Seel and Frank Antenori.

ASU gets creative in push for stadium fixes
The Arizona Republic 3/1/09
Arizona State University, whose president has
said the Legislature's budget cuts to higher
education put the state "on the path to
resembling a Third World country," is asking
lawmakers for help in restoring Sun Devil
Stadium. So far, it appears there's a willingness
to forgive and lend a hand. The House Ways
and Means Committee last week passed a bill
that would allow ASU to create a sports stadium
district to improve athletic facilities. The
legislation also applies to Northern Arizona
University and University of Arizona. A stadium
district, similar to what Maricopa County uses to
fund the Cactus League, would receive funds
through an assessment on prime commercial
leases located on university property. That
money then would be used to pay for facility
bonds.

Opinion: John McComish: '09 budget was tough;
2010 will be tougher
The Arizona Republic 2/28/09
Legislators made tough decisions on the fiscal year
2009 budget fix, FY10 will be even more challenging.
Despite news coverage to the contrary, I know of no
legislator who enjoyed the tough decisions we had
to make to balance the 2009 budget during January's
special session. In fact, the decisions lawmakers
made were extremely difficult, and in many cases,
agonizing. The 2010 budget, which looms even
larger with a $3.3 billion deficit, isn't going to be any
easier. It is an understatement to say Arizona is in
the midst of a financial crisis. In fact, our state is
experiencing the worst deficit ever and even Arizona's
top economists can't say with any certainty when our
economy will end its free fall.

Opinion: James M. Gentile: Science Foundation
Arizona means jobs
The Arizona Republic 2/28/09
Leading-edge science, technology and innovation have
been at the foundation of our country's economic growth,
and Arizona could be a primary beneficiary in the future.
Unfortunately, some short-sighted members of the state
Legislature are undermining Arizona's potential for
economic growth by dismantling a $22.5 million science
initiative. The apparent plan is to kill the public-private,
not-for-profit Science Foundation Arizona. This will do
irreparable damage to the state's efforts to build a
science-and-technology-driven economy, and amounts
to blindly aborting thousands of potentially high-paying
Arizona technology jobs.

Brewer to urge action to avert 'catastrophe'
The Arizona Republic 2/28/09
Gov. Jan Brewer will address a rare joint session of the
Legislature on Wednesday evening, when she will detail
a state in fiscal freefall and lay the groundwork for a
possible special election this spring. The Arizona
Republic first reported two weeks ago that the Governor's
Office was studying whether to ask Arizona voters to
temporarily raise taxes and ease mandates that shield
certain state programs from cuts. Wednesday's address
is the clearest indication yet that Brewer, a Republican in
office a little more than a month, is pushing ahead with
reforms aimed at alleviating the state's budget mess. "I
now intend to provide some vision and ground rules to
address the problems in fiscal years 2010, 2011, 2012
and beyond," Brewer told The Republic in a statement
Friday. "We must take the steps necessary to put our
state on a path to economic recovery."

Mesa university thriving as others struggle
The Arizona Republic 2/27/09 3:19 PM
While frightening financial times plague other
Arizona universities, a southeast Valley university
is financially fit and prospering. "We don't take joy
in the fact that public universities are facing such
problems," said O.T. Wendel, Associate Provost
of A.T. Still University, a health-care professions
school near Recker and Baseline roads. "We're
just glad that we're in good shape and hope that
other institutions can recover soon." Douglas
Wood, Dean of the osteopathic college, says
that part of the reason that A.T. Still is thriving is
that, "when the economy goes down, applications
for medical schools go up." In fact, he noted,
enrollment in most universities and colleges
goes up in a bad economy. "When jobs are
scarce, people go back for more training."

Faculty members, alumni to be honored at dinner
The Arizona Republic 2/27/09 4:02 PM
This story was prepared by the Arizona State University
Alumni Association. The Arizona State University Alumni
Association will honor faculty members and alumni
involved in solving challenges with world-changing
consequences at its annual Founders' Day Awards
Dinner on Tuesday.

John F. Munger, Commentary: A privatized stimulus plan
East Valley Tribune 3/1/09 1:47PM
Imagine reviving Arizona's economy almost overnight.
Imagine creating thousands of high-paying jobs and
broad-based prosperity today in Arizona. Imagine at the
same time finally having the money to solve many of our
critical statewide transportation and other infrastructure
problems, including widening Interstate 10 from Tucson
to Flagstaff, making traveling both much safer and
quicker for everyone making those inevitable trips to our
sister cities. Imagine being able to build needed truck
bypasses that separate through traffic from our urban
areas, and other needed infrastructure throughout the
state. Now imagine doing all this with no tax increases,
no state spending, and, in fact, increasing state tax
revenues.

Democrat: Lowering taxes could be wrong move
Arizona Daily Star 3/1/09
PHOENIX — Freshman Democratic Rep. Matt Heinz
hopes his background as a physician will allow him
to help bring about state health-care reform. With a
state budget shortfall of at least $2.4 billion, Heinz,
Dist. 29, discussed with us his view that education
funding and health-care expansions are key to an
economic turnaround. A quick Q and A with Heinz:
Q: Some of your colleagues have argued that
lowering taxes is what will turn the economy around
right now. A: We have to be careful that we are
equitably assessing the various sectors. But under
assessing particular areas and shorting our
education system is also something we can't allow
to happen. Ask any business. Businesses won't
come to Arizona if we continue to be (near the bottom)
in per pupil spending. Businesses are going to look
at what's happening to our university system, if we
continue to balance the budget with cuts alone.
Businesses are not going to grow from within,
and they're not going to come from outside either.

Political notebook: Now, Ms. Napolitano, about
that $500 million tab . . .
Arizona Daily Star 3/1/09
Former Gov. Janet Napolitano made a lot of noise back
in 2005 by sending a "bill" to the U.S. Justice Department
for costs Arizona bore by housing illegal immigrants.
Needless to say, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
never put a check in the mail. At the time, Napolitano
took the move pretty seriously. But when tapped to
serve as President Obama's homeland security
secretary in December, Napolitano sidestepped
questions about whether she would make sure that
invoice finally gets paid. .....For the record, Lute -
Especially with its dramatic ending, Lute Olson's
career as the University of Arizona men's basketball
coach will long be remembered by Tucsonans. But
now the legendary coach is "permanently enshrined
in the history of the United States House of
Representatives," due to the efforts of U.S. Rep.
Gabrielle Giffords. The Tucson congresswoman
entered an Olson tribute into the congressional
record this week, saying the coach "transformed
the University of Arizona and the Tucson desert into
a college basketball oasis."

Research group still expects its funding
Arizona Daily Star 2/28/09
PHOENIX — The research group Science Foundation
Arizona is painting a positive picture of its future, even
as the organization faces a well-publicized state gutting
of its budget. And its reluctance to acknowledge that its
funding has been pulled has its legislative foes
speaking out even more than ever against the
organization. Unveiling the results of a self-financed
study Wednesday pointing to Arizona's low student
achievement and business growth compared with
other states, officials said the foundation is vital to
expanding and diversifying the state's economy. And
in the wake of the Legislature approving a budget fix
that eliminated $22.5 million in foundation funding,
officials said they don't believe the money will actually
be pulled, as legal questions surround the move.

Upcoming shuttle flight to have UA grad aboard
Arizona Daily Star 2/28/09
In a thundering rumble and giant plume of smoke,
a University of Arizona graduate soon will begin a
journey that's out of this world. His destination —
the International Space Station, 200 miles above
Earth's surface. Astronaut Joseph Acaba is
scheduled to launch on March 12 from NASA's
Kennedy Space Center in Florida as a mission
specialist for STS-119, NASA's 125th space shuttle
mission. Acaba, 41, earned a graduate degree in
geology from the UA in 1992 after moving to Tucson
from California. In an interview with NASA, Acaba
said it was a dream come true when he learned
he'd be a part of the mission. "It was kind of that
same feeling that I got when I received the phone
call asking me if I wanted to come and become
an astronaut — just something that's almost
unbelievable, the realization of a dream and
just a very happy moment," he said. UA faculty
members also are thrilled to see another Wildcat
in space.

UA students work to benefit St. Jude Hospital
Arizona Daily Star 2/28/09
Late-night festivities are par for the course for many
University of Arizona students. But Angela Chu and
seven fellow undergraduates are planning a party
with a higher purpose on Saturday, March 7 — Up
'til Dawn is a fundraiser to benefit St. Jude Children's
Research Hospital. "It's called Up 'til Dawn because
the motto for St. Jude's is 'No Child Should Die in the
Dawn of Life.' The research they do at St. Jude's is
incredible. They share their research with hospitals
around the country and around the world for free, so
it has an impact on children all over the United States
and all over the world," said Chu, a senior working
toward a double major in communications and
economics. The Canyon del Oro High School
graduate initially became involved with the hospital
through her sorority, Delta Delta Delta. A visit to St.
Jude's in Memphis inspired her to help bring Up 'til
Dawn to the University of Arizona.

Environmental Vandals Hit Homes
KPHO 5 News/Arizona Daily Star
3/1/09 11:01 am MST
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Tucson vandals claiming to act
in the name of animal rights and the environment
have begun targeting the homes and cars of those
who disagree with them. In two separate incidents
on Feb. 19, a researcher at the University of Arizona
had her water valve cemented shut, and an
employee of a mining company had her tires
flattened and her windows etched with hateful
sayings. A group called Tucson Hooligans Attack
at Night, Duh -- or, Tucson H.A.A.N.D. -- claimed
responsibility for the acts in a news release on
an independent media Web site. No phone number
for the group was listed.

Gary Rhoades: Guest opinion: Failing grade for
Arizona higher education
Tucson Citizen 3/2/09
Arizona's politicians are pushing our public universities
away from serving the students who need and could
benefit from a university education most. As the state
disinvests in higher education, our universities
compensate by raising tuition. They recruit more out-
of-state students, who pay much higher tuition than
Arizonans do. And they recruit more upper-middle
income students, who require less, if any, financial
aid. So in a state in which a quarter of our children live
in poverty, a state with relatively low average household
income and a low tax base, our politicians are deterring
our universities from serving the students who could
benefit most.

Editorial: The economics of education
Tucson Citizen 3/2/09
A state legislator says, "Education does not create
jobs." Wrong. In arguing in the Guest Opinion below
that higher education is a "public good," author Gary
Rhoades asks: "Why don't our legislators and
governor understand?" That's a complex question
with different answers for every member of the
Legislature and for the governor. But a recent
comment by one Arizona legislator gives some
insight into the thinking that has led to deep spending
cuts for higher education. In a hearing before the state
House Ways and Means Committee last week,
Elizabeth Slaine, an English teacher at Tucson High
Magnet School, said spending money on education
is a sound investment. Arizona's economy won't
improve unless there are people qualified to be in
business, Slaine testified.

Editorial: Take federal funds and leave our tax
rates alone
Tucson Citizen 2/28/09
When you're sinking like a stone and someone tosses
you a life preserver, do you reject that gift on general
principle? Of course you don't, and Gov. Jan Brewer is
right to take federal stimulus money. About $354 million
from the feds likely will go to beef up Arizona's Health
Care Cost Containment System for low-income families,
and another $25 million has been accepted for child
care subsidies, a fund that has just been slashed back
radically. Despite some grumbling among a few
legislators, Arizona's leaders need to use the rest
of the $1.4 billion in federal money, too, as designated.
"This is not federal interference," U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva
said at a news conference Friday. "This is an intervention.

Senate committees to examine stimulus this week
azcapitoltimes.com 3/2/09
Lawmakers will try to sift through the maze that is the
federal economic recovery package in hearings this
week, with Senate committees dissecting individual
components of the stimulus plan and their potential
impact on the state budget. Other committees will
continue their scrutiny of state programs and
agencies, a part of crafting the fiscal year 2010
budget and possibly amending again the fiscal
year 2009 budget.

Brewer seeks to reassure state on budget
Yuma Sun 2/27/09 6:11 PM
Seeking input from civic, business and educational
leaders, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer offered reassurance
Friday at the Yuma Community Leadership Luncheon
that the state has taken the necessary first steps to-
ward economic recovery. Brewer made her remarks
at the Hilton Garden Inn's Pivot Point Conference
Center. She noted even be- fore be- coming governor
she spoke of the significant challenges to confronting
the revenue shortfalls in order to balance the budget.
Since that time the fiscal problems she has inherited
are now revealed to be much worse than what was
first expected. "I recognize whether you are a CEO or
a head of household we are all affected by the financial
unrest," Brewer said. "As a result, Arizona businesses
and families are tightening belts and ultimately taking
a closer look at the difference between what they need
and what they want. And in times like these state
government should be no different."

New commencement to separate grads, undergrads
UA Daily Wildcat 3/2/09
Beginning in May, the format of the commencement
ceremony will be changed so that UA undergraduate
and graduate students will have two separate
ceremonies, according to a memorandum from
President Robert Shelton. Graduate students will be
honored in a ceremony held at 7:30 p.m. in McKale
Memorial Center on the Friday following finals week.
It will include recognition of honorary degrees, alumni
achievement awards, and graduate student awards.
Graduate students from all colleges will participate,
according to the memorandum. Undergraduate
students receiving their bachelor's degrees will be
honored in a different ceremony on the following
Saturday at 8 a.m. in McKale Center. This ceremony
will include the presentation of all undergraduate
awards and students, Shelton said.

Colleges propose new fees
UA Daily Wildcat 3/2/09
As UA colleges struggle to trim their budgets, some
have turned to their students to bring in additional
money though program fees, differential tuition and
course fees. Both the Honors College and the
College of Science have proposed to the Arizona
Board of Regents that their students pay an extra
$500 per year for their education, according to
Patricia MacCorquodale, dean of the Honors College,
and Elliott Cheu, College of Science associate dean.
"There will definitely be other units proposing fees,"
MacCorquodale said. If the proposal passes, students
in the Honors College would have to pay a program fee
each semester. The fee would be $250 a semester, or
$500 a year for incoming students, MacCorquodale
said. Current students would have to pay $125 a
semester.

Debate over science funding in Arizona continues
Arizona Geology 2/28/09
The Arizona Legislature's elimination of funding for
Science Foundation Arizona "will do irreparable
damage to the state's efforts to build a science-and-
technology-driven economy, and amounts to blindly
aborting thousands of potentially high-paying Arizona
technology jobs," according to an op-ed in today's
Arizona Republic by James Gentile, President and
CEO of the Tucson-based Research Corp. This
follows on contradictory public statements by SFA
Board Chairman Don Budinger and legislators.
Budinger is quoted in multiple news stories as
saying there are discussions underway to reverse
the elimination of the SFA's entire state funding of
$22.5 million. According to the Capitol Times, "The
Legislature adopted an amendment to the budget
adjustment that said the money should be swept
into the general fund regardless of whether it was
encumbered, though Senate President Bob Burns
afterward said he would seek an opinion from the
Attorney General’s Office on whether the Legislature
was allowed to do so."

Spending Bill Contains Millions in Earmarks for
Job Training
The Chronicle of Higher Education 3/2/09
Washington - Despite a promise by Democrats to cut
back on the practice, colleges and universities are set
to receive millions of dollars in earmarks under the
appropriations bill for the current fiscal year that the
U.S. House of Representatives passed last week. The
Senate still has to take up the measure—which would
finance most domestic programs, including student
aid and research, through September—before it
would head to President Obama's desk (The
Chronicle, February 26). Earmarks are the
controversial grants that members of Congress
allocate to favored constituents outside of the open
competitions that federal agencies typically use to
award money for most higher-education projects.
Critics call the practice pork-barrel spending.

Proposed Earmarks in the Fund for the Improvement
of Postsecondary Education, 2009
The Chronicle of Higher Education 3/2/09
Listing of Institutions, States, Project Amounts, House
sponsor, & Senate sponsor.

Stimulus Law Offers Breaks for Public-College
Bond Issues
The Chronicle of Higher Education 3/2/09
Washington - Tucked into the economic-stimulus
package signed into law last month by President
Obama is a new financial tool, Build America
Bonds, that could help public colleges and public
academic medical centers save money when
borrowing for capital projects. The bonds, which
are available to government issuers but not private
colleges, would be taxable securities subsidized
by the federal government. The subsidy would
come in one of two ways. In some instances,
buyers of the bonds would receive a tax credit
equal to 35 percent on the interest payments
they received; in other cases, the issuers of the
bonds would receive a subsidy from the federal
government equal to 35 percent of the interest
they are paying. Colleges typically borrow for
projects by issuing tax-free bonds, which carry
a lower interest rate than taxable bonds.
Investors accept the lower payoff in exchange
for tax savings

3 Higher-Education Groups Urge Wise Spending
of Stimulus Money
The Chronicle of Higher Education 3/2/09
Washington — Federal stimulus money for education
may give some states a short-term reprieve from the
fiscal crises they are facing. But three national groups
that focus on higher-education management and
affordability are urging state lawmakers to think about
a longer-term strategy when spending those dollars.
Nearly three-quarters of the $54-billion that Congress
approved in the huge stimulus package is mean to
go to public colleges and school districts, which could
use the money in various ways, including to restore
budget cuts, prevent layoffs, or modernize facilities.