TO CLIPS INDEX
- Clips for March 12, 2008
Napolitano vetoes budget freeze pushed by GOP
The Arizona Republic - March 12, 2008 12:00 AM
Governor: Budget plan is not comprehensive
Gov. Janet Napolitano on Tuesday rejected as "wholly inadequate" a proposed
spending freeze that would have
set aside nearly $600 million in state funding. House Bill 2857 would have
required state agencies to suspend
$260 million in spending and freeze an additional $321 million that's held in
special-program fund balances.
Republican supporters said the proposal was needed to preserve the funding until
a broader
budget fix can be agreed upon to close a shortfall projected at $1.2 billion for
this fiscal year.
Bills would ease gun rules despite public's concerns
The Arizona Republic - March 12, 2008 12:00 AM
An Arizona bill that would allow concealed guns on college campuses has gained
national attention, sparking
a debate over whether to let students and teachers arm themselves. But it's only
one of at least 15 measures
in the Republican-led Legislature this year aimed at loosening gun controls in a
state that has long had a
fascination with firearms.
ASU's Crow allows abuse of system
The Arizona Republic - March 12, 2008 12:00 AM
Regarding "Migrant students to get funds" (Valley & State, Thursday): The
"American Dream Fund"? Please!
Let's at least call it what it is - the "Illegal's Dream Fund." The
justification, among other disingenuous excuses
by Arizona State University President Michael Crow for giving favorable
treatment to illegals is "because many
of them are really great students." Is he saying there aren't many "really great
students" from Iowa, Kansas and
the other states of this great nation who need assistance?
ASU celebrates 50th anniversary of name change
The Arizona Republic - March 12, 2008 08:14 AM
Fifty years ago, a vote of the people changed Arizona State College to Arizona
State University. This month, the
ASU Alumni Association will honor those who led the efforts for that name
change, as well as all the university's
past presidents during its annual awards dinner. This month, Arizona State
University is celebrating Founder's
Day with a special set of awards and events to commemorate the 50th anniversary
of the renaming of the
university.
ASU's Sendek receives district honor
The Arizona Republic - March 11, 2008 11:47 AM
Arizona State's Herb Sendek was voted District IX coach of the year by the U.S.
Basketball Writers Association.
The district includes all schools in California, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii,
Arizona and Alaska.
Policies create subclass of people
The Arizona Republic - March 8, 2008 12:00 AM
Regarding "Immigrants can find way to get degree" (Letters, Feb. 22): In
relation to the termination of the
Sunburst scholarships for undocumented immigrants at Arizona State University,
the writer justly asks, "Why
don't the students do what our daughter, son and daughter-in-law are doing by
working, going part time and
getting student loans?" And later he adds, "Please let me know if there is a law
out there to prevent them from
going this route." Well, there are several laws and they are bundled in what is
now our immigration law. That's
why we say the immigration system is broken.
Teams test
high-tech skills at annual games
East Valley Tribune - March 12, 2008 - 12:46AM
More than 250 students from colleges and universities throughout the Valley and
state will compete in Tempe
for scholarships and other awards at the third annual Avnet Tech Games on April
5. The students will form teams
and submit a high-tech project that will be judged on its creativity and
effectiveness. One project, for example, is a
computer program designed to automatically steer an electronic robot through a
maze to perform a task.
NEH awards $300,000 to three northern Arizona recipients
Arizona Daily Sun - March 12, 2008
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) announced Sunday that 149
successful applicants will receive
$11.9 million in awards and offers -- including three organizations in northern
Arizona.
-- Northern Arizona University's Jeffrey Downard will direct a study titled
Ethics and Political Philosophy: A Guide to
Classic Texts and earn a $199,603 grant. -- Ellavina Perkins will receive
$50,400 to document an endangered
language (Dine) through a project titled We the People: Navajo Language
Investigations.
First Native American takes seat on Board of Regents
UA Community News Service & Arizona Daily Sun - March 12, 2008
The first Native American appointed to the Arizona Board of Regents admits she
was surprised at her appointment.
But those people who have worked with LuAnn Leonard aren't. "She is
compassionate about education," said Wayne
Taylor Jr., a financial adviser and former chairman and vice chairman of the
Hopi Tribe. "She is driven and a hard
worker." The executive director of the Hopi Education Endowment Fund for the
Hopi Tribe has been named to an eight-
year term on the governing body for the state's three universities.
U.S. student visas go
mostly to the rich and successful
Arizona Daily Star - March 12, 2008
Applicants must have good grades and high incomes — and even then, securing one
proves far from easy
Patricia Azuara's trip to the U.S. Consulate in Nogales on Oct. 1, 2004, should
be fairly painless, considering she has
spent the previous six years dealing with issues related to her student and
worker visas. The University of Arizona
doctoral candidate, 34, knows about all the fees, bank statements and
immigration forms she needs. Since arriving in
1998, she has mastered English, adapted to life in the United States and
navigated her way through two previous visas.
Olsons agree to give
depositions April 1
Arizona Daily Star - March 12, 2008
Tuesday's hearing in Olson vs. Olson was canceled at the last minute after Lute
and Christine Olson came to an
agreement on when they will sit for depositions. In a motion filed before the
hearing was called off, Lute Olson's
attorney clarified the question raised about the couple's prenuptial agreement
is that it wasn't signed until two days
after the wedding while the pair were on an airplane to their honeymoon in
Mexico.
Guest Opinion: State
must plan now for tomorrow's students
Arizona Daily Star - March 12, 2008
Many Arizona governmental agencies are beginning to plan for radical population
growth as the state population
increases by 3 percent or more each year. The need to do so is clear. By the
year 2030 Arizona's population will
nearly double. Arizona's metropolitan areas will continue growing, ultimately
leading to a merger of Phoenix and
Tucson metropolitan areas. By 2050 the highway corridors leading from Tucson to
the Prescott area will be fully
developed into one merged megalopolis.
Lute's return, O'Neill
draw mixed reaction
Arizona Daily Star - March 12, 2008
Cheering for Olson
Re: the March 9 column "It's time for Wildcats, Olson to decide if they're in or
out" by Greg Hansen. How soon we
forget — if you don't believe it, read Hansen's column in the Star. Coach Lute
Olson has asked for a year off and
this may come as news to Hansen, but Coach Olson owes the Star and Hansen
nothing. For 25 years we Arizona
fans have been able to bask in the glory Olson has brought to Tucson and the UA.
If he wants to drop out of the
limelight for a short while, he has earned it and deserves it.
Developer:
City rules costing me $12 million
Tucson Citizen - March 12, 2008
Builder plans to sue; foes call his multitenant rentals a blight
A local developer was poised to sue the city Wednesday, claiming a change in the
city building code sucked more
than $12 million of value out of 23 midtown properties. The change - which
requires, in part, surveys to determine
the historic significance of properties targeted for demolition and of ones
nearby - applies to homes within the
1953 city limits. It severely reduces property values, developer Michael Goodman
said Monday.
Napolitano
vetoes GOP-backed budget freeze
The Associated Press & Tucson Citizen - March 12, 2008
PHOENIX - A Republican bill to freeze some spending went into the trash can
Tuesday, thanks to Democratic Gov.
Janet Napolitano's first veto of the legislative session. But she and lawmakers
have begun face-to-face talks to find
a way out of the state's budget mess. Napolitano said she vetoed the bill passed
by the GOP-led Legislature on
party-line votes Thursday because it was a "piecemeal attempt" to solve the
budget crisis. She called on lawmakers
to produce a comprehensive, bipartisan measure.
Flyby to
analyze geysers spotted by UA on moon of Saturn
The Associated Press & Tucson Citizen - March 12, 2008
Three years after gigantic geysers were spied on an icy Saturn moon - thanks in
part to a University of Arizona team
- the international Cassini spacecraft is poised to plunge through the fringes
of the mysterious plumes to learn how
they formed. Wednesday's flyby will bring Cassini within 30 miles of the surface
of Enceladus (en-SELL'-uh-duhs) at
closest approach. The unmanned probe will be about 120 miles above the moon as
it sweeps through the edge of
the geysers and measures their chemical makeup.
O'Neill's
pay nearly doubles, to $725,000
Tucson Citizen - March 11, 2008
Kevin O'Neill will get paid like a head coach. The University of Arizona nearly
doubled the salary of the interim men's
basketball coach about two weeks ago, from $375,000 to $725,000, athletic
director Jim Livengood said. "They've
been more than fair with what they've done," O'Neill said of the increase. In a
news conference Tuesday to discuss
Lute Olson's return as head coach next season, Livengood said O'Neill could
receive even more compensation
related to radio and television shows.
Online
Exclusive: Solution to Arizona's education crisis: embracing for-profit
accredited career colleges
Tucson Citizen - March 12, 2008
The Tucson Citizen was right to point out on March 3 in "Our Opinion: Education
crisis engulfing Arizona" that there
is an education and economic problem Arizona faces - namely, that the
United States is "losing its competitive
edge to other countries because of the lack of investment in higher education."
Sadly, this is all too true. Our
economy has changed from a primarily manufacturing economy to a services
economy.
Thankful students raise money for troops
UA Daily Wildcat Online - March 12, 2008
Arizona, Oregon students sell T-shirts to support veterans, active duty military
Jason Bondzio, a masters student and kicker for the UA football team, was the
first supporter of the Thankful for
Freedom organization. Three seniors, two from the UA and one from Oregon State
University, have started a
campaign to raise $5 million to support American military personnel.
UA hosts unusual law program
UA Daily Wildcat Online - March 12, 2008
Students training to assist American Indian community
The UA is one of three universities in the nation to offer a program combining a
law degree with an education in
American Indian studies. The American Indian Policy and Law program, which
accepts six to 12 students a year,
is extremely competitive and nationally recognized as being one of the best in a
highly specialized field, said
Robert Williams, director of the program.
Lute's absence lacks class
UA Daily Wildcat Online - March 12, 2008
Lute Olson has always conducted himself with impeccable class, earning a
reputation as a hard worker and one
of the best coaches in college basketball history. The Silver Fox has become a
revered figure in Tucson by piling
up NCAA Tournament appearances and 20-win seasons, along with bringing the 1997
national championship to
Arizona. That's what makes the lack of class he has shown in handling his leave
of absence so shocking.
Gov. vetoes spending freeze
UA Daily Wildcat Online - March 12, 2008
PHOENIX - Gov. Janet Napolitano vetoed a legislative measure yesterday to freeze
more than $600 million in state
spending, calling the bill a "piecemeal" attempt to balance a budget shortfall
of more than $1.2 billion. The bill would
have also halted more than $25 million in spending for the state's three
universities.
Phoenix, Tucson bio-industry groups merge
Phoenix Business Journal - March 11, 2008 - 5:17 PM MST
Arizona's two biotech associations have merged, creating a statewide unified
voice for the life sciences industry.
The Arizona BioIndustry Association (AZBio), based in Phoenix, and the
Bio-industry Organization of Southern
Arizona (BIO-SA) in Tucson are now one organization with two paid staff members
in Phoenix. BIO-SA was run
by volunteers, with no paid staffers. "Having two paid staff is a whole lot more
than having zero," said Robert
Eaton, president and CEO of AZBio. Eaton is one of the employees who took over
AZBio last year after Jon
McGarity left the position to run InSys Therapeutics Inc. in Scottsdale.
Arizona tech firms want more foreign knowledge workers
The Business Journal of Phoenix - March 7, 2008
Google Inc., Intel Corp., Microsoft Corp., other U.S. corporate giants and
Arizona technology advocates are renewing
an effort to expand foreign worker visas for high-tech positions. "We are really
frustrated with the limits," said Lauren
Carr, human resources director of Chandler-based Microchip Technology Inc.,
which applies annually for foreign
tech workers.
Arizona making strides on Flinn's Bioscience Roadmap
The Business Journal of Phoenix - March 7, 2008
According to Arizona's Bioscience Roadmap, commissioned and coordinated by the
Flinn Foundation, the state
needs to focus on four main strategies to create a strong bioscience hub. Here
are those strategies and how
Arizona is faring in the first quarter of 2008. Strategy 1: Build research
infrastructure
The memoir recounts DeConcini's
rise from county attorney to U.S. senator
By University Communications - March 11, 2008
"Senator Dennis DeConcini: From the Center of the Aisle," by former U.S. Sen.
Dennis DeConcini and Jack L.
August Jr., has received a Southwest Book Award, an honor that has been bestowed
upon outstanding
literature for the past 36 years. Instituted in 1971, the Southwest Book Awards
are sponsored by the Border
Regional Library Association and encourage the writing and publication of
noteworthy works about the
Southwest. To be awarded this honor, a book must be deemed of the highest
quality in the context of both
the current year’s entries and the existing body of literature about the
Southwest.