TO CLIPS INDEX Clips for March 6, 2009

Crow gets mixed reaction after ASU West talk
The Arizona Republic 3/6/09 8:44 AM
A Town Hall forum Wednesday evening featuring
Arizona State University President Michael Crow
got a mixed reception from those upset about
controversial changes at ASU West. "I heard
rumblings in the audience that there were still
some things that weren't addressed," said Jack
Lunsford, chief executive of the Westmarc business
coalition. "On a real positive note, he kept a line of
communication open to the West Valley." Crow sat
down with Arizona Republic Vice President Michael
Ryan at ASU West before an audience of about 600
people to explain his vision for the changing campus.

Advocates protest cuts in education at Capitol
The Arizona Republic 3/5/09
Public-education advocates swarmed the state Capitol
Wednesday, seizing on education cuts to demand that
lawmakers do an about-face and increase school
funding. They culminated their daylong stay at the
Capitol with a late-afternoon rally that drew an estimated
2,500 protestors to the Capitol courtyard just as Gov. Jan
Brewer was delivering her budget plan to lawmakers.
"We want Jan! We want Jan!" the crowd shouted as law-
makers filtered out after the speech concluded. "We want
her to come out and talk to us," said Mesa school teacher
Eric Stuebner, who teaches first grade. "We want to hear
what she has to say about our rally out here." Brewer did
not show. But in her remarks to lawmakers, she noted,
"We cannot place all of the burden on our children and
their schools."

Earmarks benefitting Arizona
The Arizona Republic 3/6/09
The $410 billion omnibus spending bill passed by
the House and pending in the Senate includes at
least $216.3 million in Arizona-related earmarks,
according to the nonpartisan group Taxpayers for
Common Sense. Because the legislation was put
together last year, it includes earmarks from former
Rep. Rick Renzi, R-Ariz. Some earmarks also are
requested by the White House and, in rare
instances, by lawmakers who make requests for
states other than their own.

Governor building coalition on budget
The Arizona Republic 3/6/09
A day after proposing a tax hike and other budget
reforms that rattled the state Capitol, Republican
Gov. Jan Brewer and her team began the admittedly
tall task of building a coalition to support her effort.
The work had begun behind the scenes even before
Brewer delivered her Wednesday address to a joint
session of the state House and Senate. Legislative
criticism was immediate and boisterous. That was
especially so of Brewer's call for a temporary tax
increase and easing of protections that bar
legislators from cutting or redirecting funding from
voter-approved state programs. But signs of support
for the Brewer plan began to emerge Thursday. And
allies of the governor insisted they can and will
deliver at least the 16 Senate votes and 31 House
votes needed to refer the measures to the ballot for
a special election in June or later this fall.

Ottawa's Chandler campus open for learning
East Valley Tribune 3/5/09
Ottawa University's presence in the Valley dates back
to the 1970s. But its latest expansion is in the heart
of development in Chandler. Last month, the Kansas-
based university marked the grand opening of its
newest campus. Chandler Mayor Boyd Dunn joined
the board of trustees and other university and
community leaders during a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Ottawa University has a focus on providing a private,
liberal arts education to adult learners. ... The
university quickly developed a partnership with
neighbor Chandler-Gilbert Community College.
While Ottawa offers classes in the evenings to
adults, as well as online, the community college
may use available classrooms during the day,
Hoffman said.

Editorial: Brewer offers a brave vision for '09
budget
Arizona Daily Star 3/6/09
Tucson, Arizona - Our view: GOP lawmakers must
rethink their ideological opposition to taxes and
deal with financial reality. In a courageous speech
that angered some of her Republican compatriots
in the state Legislature, Gov. Jan Brewer laid out a
plan that would include a temporary tax increase of
$1 billion to help solve Arizona's budget crisis.
There are elements of the governor's proposal that
are galling to lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
Nevertheless, both Democrats and Republicans
must respond to Brewer's leadership by
demonstrating an equally ungrudging public-
mindedness. They must work with the governor
for the good of the state. This is not the time to
cling to obdurate partisan or personal agendas.

GOP legislators rattled by tax talk
Arizona Daily Star 3/6/09
PHOENIX — In her only formal press conference
between the time Jan Brewer learned she'd be
governor and her inauguration, the then-secretary
of state intimated that she was open to a tax
increase. Conservatives gulped. Liberals
scratched their heads. But most assumed with
a three-decade record of championing small
government, Brewer had either misspoken or was
just unwilling to put herself in a box before actually
taking office. Her proclamation before a joint
legislative session Wednesday, though, that the
state has no other option than to find a billion
dollars in new tax revenue certified Brewer isn't
only open to the idea — she sees no other option.
Now, by supporting something rejected by her
Democratic predecessor, the Republican
governor has opened new fault lines at the
Capitol.

UA travel warnings to Mexico still stand
Arizona Daily Star 3/6/09
Tucson, Arizona - The University of Arizona will not
rescind its warning to students to avoid traveling
to Mexico for spring break nor issue any additional
memos about safety measures being instituted in
Sonora despite a request by Mexican officials. At a
meeting Thursday in Tucson, Sonoran tourism
officials asked that the UA send out an e-mail to
students about precautionary efforts being taken
in Sonora such as the creation of a tourism police
force and extra patrols on highways, said Epifanio
Salido Pavlovich, the director of the Sonora Tourism
Office. But Carol Thompson, the UA's dean of
students, said the university has no plans to send
out any more information and that the UA stands
by the original memo. Sonora tourism officials will
have an opportunity to speak to students at UA's
Spring Break Safety Event on the UA campus mall
Friday, she said. In addition, the UA has provided
safety tips to students for travel to Mexico already,
she said.

Olson thanks UA, former players, fans
Arizona Daily Star 3/6/09
Tucson, Arizona - Lute Olson stood, and his former
players stood with him. After listening to 15 minutes
worth of adulation at halftime Thursday, hearing
person after person praise him, the Arizona Wild-
cats' legendary coach grabbed the microphone.
He thanked the university and his former players,
now standing up from their folding chairs
positioned on the court named after Olson and his
first wife, Bobbi. He praised the fan base, the one
that watched him grow Arizona into a basketball
hotbed.

Editorial: Our opinion: Vague budget brewing
Tucson Citizen 3/6/09
Gov. Jan Brewer threw everything but specifics into
her budget proposal Wednesday. For example, to
help reduce the looming $3 billion budget deficit,
Brewer wants a temporary tax increase to generate
$1 billion. But she didn't say whether the sales tax
or income tax should be raised. She didn't even de-
clare who should make the decision: the Legislature,
which would need a two-thirds vote by each chamber,
or voters, who could pass it with a majority. Chances
that legislators would raise taxes are remote. Many
have signed a pledge not to increase any tax. And the
mere mention of raising taxes during this recession
sparked heated criticism from Brewer's fellow
Republicans. Voters also may recoil from a tax in-
crease, with unemployment at 7 percent and climbing.
But given the choice of a penny tax or decimated
universities, child protection inspectors and other
needs, voters could accede to the cent.

Denogean: Brewer, her budget deserve better from
lawmakers
Tucson Citizen 3/6/09
These are five words I never thought I'd write: I support
Gov. Jan Brewer. The Republican governor-by-default
gave her quasi-State of the State address Wednesday
afternoon. She outlined a multipoint plan for addressing
the state's roughly $3 billion deficit in the fiscal year that
begins July 1. Her suggestions were reasonable, even
courageous, but are not likely to get much support from
members of either party in the Legislature. ....."I was
disgusted that the governor went to a tax increase this
early in the legislative session," Gould said, according
to the AP. "We're not that deep into the game. We can
fix it with cuts and stimulus money. We don't need a tax
increase." I'm disgusted that a member of her own party
would show such disrespect to a governor who, at the
very least, is taking an honest approach to dealing with
a difficult problem that isn't of her making.

Cuts to health care for poor slam AZ hospitals
Tucson Citizen 3/6/09
Legislative budget cuts this fiscal year to the state's
health-care system for the poor could raise insurance
premiums for the rest of us, slow or stop plans for
hospital expansions or improvements, and worsen
the state's doctor shortage, administrators say. .....Jim
Haynes, chief financial officer for the Arizona Hospital
and Healthcare Association, said he has heard the
Legislature is considering reducing the AHCCCS
reimbursement by 5 percent for fiscal year 2010,
which begins July 1. "I think we live in fear of next year,"
said Larry Aldrich, CEO of University Physicians Health-
care, which manages University Physicians Hospital
on East Ajo Way and whose physician members also
staff University Medical Center.

Mexican officials to UA: Sonora travel is safe for
students
Tucson Citizen 3/6/09
Officials from Sonora, Mexico, met with University
of Arizona President Robert N. Shelton and other
university officials Thursday to assure them that
students traveling to Sonora for spring break will
be safe. Last month, UA Dean of Students Carol
Thompson sent an e-mail to all students to alert
them about a travel advisory from the U.S. State
Department warning of increased border violence
related to Mexican drug wars. The alert advised
students to avoid traveling in Mexico during
spring break. Epifanio Salido, director of the
Sonora office of tourism, said he believes the
message was "misinformation." "It's only to be
aware, like being aware in Miami, like being
aware in south Phoenix," Salido said at a news
conference at the Mexican Consulate here
following the meeting with Shelton.

State, city governments line up for $787B
spending package
Phoenix Business Journal 3/6/09
While the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009 is designed to stimulate the economy,
it also is stimulating wrangling by local and
regional jurisdictions to get in on the action. But
it isn’t easy wading through the measure’s 1,100
pages and figuring out what’s up for grabs in the
$787 billion federal stimulus package. “We are
starting to get a good sense of the trees, but it’s
real tough to describe the forest,” said Bill Scheel,
deputy chief of staff for Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon.
“The hundreds of specific programs make it
impossible to determine aggregate numbers
such as how much for cities, how much in
competitive grants and how much for Arizona.”

Special election costs could exceed $11 million
azcapitoltimes.com 3/6/09
Gov. Jan Brewer is asking the Legislature to put
two items on the ballot for a special election that
she believes would help close Arizona's budget
gap and revitalize the state's economy. But those
proposals come with costs of their own. The
Secretary of State's Office has drawn up three
scenarios for special elections in which voters
would decide whether to temporarily raise taxes
and overhaul the Voter Protection Act of 1998. The
special election, if approved by the Legislature,
could cost the state nearly $12 million.

Senate leader plans to allow action on Arizona
tax repeal
Associated Press/abc15.com
3/6/09 7:11 am
State Senate President Bob Burns said Thursday
he now plans to allow consideration of legislation
to repeal a suspended property tax -- legislation
that has been stalled due to a Burns-imposed
embargo on non-budget bills. Repealing the
property tax is a priority for many Republican law-
makers who contend that allowing the suspended
tax to take effect again would amount to a tax in-
crease. Repeal critics say it would cost
approximately $250 million in annual revenue
that the state can't afford to lose.

Education cuts: Valley teachers say nobody's
listening
abc15.com 3/6/09 7:05 am
For some Valley teachers furthering their educations,
they say going back to school might not help students
in the classroom. "All we're doing is hurting kids," said
Johnny Thieken, who is going for his Ph-D at Arizona
State University while working as a math teacher at
Pinnacle High School. "How do you say your education
is not important?" he asked. "We're cutting things like
marching band, honestly the arts are all gone." Equally
impacted is Breck Fielding who teaches at Kerr
Elementary School in Mesa, where the district just
announced hundreds of job cuts. "I'm definitely feeling
the effects personally as a teacher," she said. "There
have been cuts to the substitute system, not having
subs available." As for Fielding's personal goals, she
plans to graduate from ASU with a master's degree
this spring.

Crow assures West campus of importance
ASU Web Devil 3/5/09
Amid concerns from students and local leaders,
President Michael Crow assured the West
campus community that it would retain its
identity. Crow spoke at a conference at the
campus on Wednesday night that was hosted
by The Arizona Republic and WestMarc, a West
Valley political and business advocacy group.
“We are trying to do the same thing in the West
campus that we are doing through the entire
University: excellence and academics. That’s
what we are trying to do,” Crow said.

Officials look to renovate stadium sans state
funds
ASU Web Devil 3/6/09
Lawmakers and University officials are working
to find ways to renovate Sun Devil Stadium with-
out using state or University funds. Steven Nielsen,
assistant vice president for University real-estate
development, said the 51-year-old stadium needs
more than $160 million in improvements and
repairs. Some of the areas that need repair
include the concrete, field, restrooms, rusty steel,
waterproofing and concessions stands. As a way
to fund these repairs, the House Ways and Means
Committee passed a bill last week intended to
create a sports-stadium district that would improve
athletic facilities in all three state universities.

Nuclear-power generation now certificate option
ASU Web Devil 3/6/09
Engineers will be able to work up close and personal
with nuclear reactors after completing the Ira A. Fulton
School of Engineering’s nuclear power generation
program. Keith Holbert, an associate professor in the
electrical engineering department and director of the
new program, said the online core classes emphasize
nuclear-reactor theory and how electricity is made from
nuclear energy. “Students will study how nuclear
reactors behave during normal conditions and how
they behave during startup and shutdown,” Holbert said.
The classes also focus on licensing and safety, he said.
Holbert said the classes also teach about the different
events that could occur and how to avoid problems while
designing the reactors. Since the program is a graduate-
level certificate, it only requires 18 hours of coursework,
Holbert said.

Opinion: AZ education is a neglected institution
Inside NAU 3/5/09
The Grand Canyon State is riddled with problems when
it comes to education. Statestats.com ranks Arizona as
the lowest state for education when compared to the
United States national average. While Jan Brewer is
not the only one to blame, it should be noted that
education takes the largest hit in the new budget cuts.
These dramatic cuts included $143 million pulled from
state universities and $133 million from K-12 education.
Perhaps she doesn’t need a bachelor’s degree, and is
perfectly capable of understanding the complexities of
statehood without higher education. But she seems to
have a remarkable lack of concern for education. This
is troublesome, considering that decent public
education (including higher education) is integral
to ensuring the viability of future generations.

Town hall focused on AZ budget
UA Daily Wildcat 3/6/09
The projected $2.4 billion budget shortfall for fiscal
year 2010 has caused Arizona to brace for some
deep debt. But instead of consistently cutting
education, community members are asking law-
makers to look behind bars. Democratic lawmakers
from the Arizona House of Representatives and
Senate, came to the UA to hear from students,
teachers, parents and community members yester-
day in the South Ballroom of the Student Union
Memorial Center. Diane Wilson, a Tucson
community member, said Arizonans are appalled
to see correctional facilities taking priority in state
funding while students are being "left behind."
"Arizona has significant prison over-crowding
and has lead to a correctional budget that has
increasingly taken away resources from other
programs such as education," Wilson said.
"One year in a state prison costs $26,000 per
person. That is well over what we spend to
educate Arizona students."

Report: Arizona hoops being investigated
United Press International 3/5/09 6:49 PM
TUCSON, AZ -- Arizona men's basketball is
being investigated by the NCAA, the Arizona
Daily Star reported. A notice of inquiry has
been sent to sent to Robert Shelton, the
university's president, saying the allegations
stem from initially self-reported violations
involving an elite recruiting event at McKale
Center known as the Cactus Classic. The
collegiate governing body initially began
looking into the matter in 2008 after the
school reported an undisclosed, secondary
violation, a minimal NCAA infraction.