TO CLIPS INDEX - Clips for April 3, 2008

State near bottom for education spending
The Arizona Republic - April 3, 2008 12:00 AM
Arizona spends less on educating its kids than almost any state in the union, according
to a U.S. Census Bureau report released Wednesday. In 2006, the state spent $6,472 per
student, or $2,666 less than the national average. Only Idaho and Utah spent less. The
report has ranked Arizona second or third from the bottom in per-student spending dating
to 2000.

Senator refines divisive gun bill
The Arizona Republic - April 3, 2008 12:00 AM
Measure would allow weapons on college campuses
To get her gun bill through the first legislative skirmish, state Sen. Karen Johnson needed
to scratch language that would have let people carry concealed weapons on public K-12
campuses in Arizona. Now, the Mesa Republican says she will have to give up more ground
in the battle over her divisive proposal if it has any chance of surviving in the state Legislature.

Senate panel rejects 'No Child' opt-out
The Arizona Republic - April 2, 2008 01:15 PM
A state Senate panel failed to pass a bill Wednesday that would have Arizona opt out of
the federal No Child Left Behind program, but the measure will likely be revived on a vote
next week. On a tie vote, the Senate's Education Committee rejected the opt-out bill. If a
bill does not get a majority of votes, it fails. But the committee chair, Sen. Karen Johnson,
R-Mesa, said she will have the panel reconsider House Bill 2392 next Wednesday. Three
of the panel's nine members were absent today and backers are confident they have
enough Votes to pass the measure.

5,200 high-tech jobs added in '06
The Arizona Republic - April 2, 2008 07:06 PM
Arizona's high-tech economy made significant gains in 2006 adding 5,200 jobs for its best
showing since a 12,400-job jump in 2000, according to statistics released Wednesday.
The 11th annual Cyberstates report, produced by the American Electronics Association,
ranked Arizona's high-tech economy 18th nationwide in 2006, the last year for which data
are available. The state was fourth in both semiconductor and defense electronics
manufacturing employment with 23,900 and 9,500 jobs, respectively.

Olson returns to Arizona as angry, arrogant as ever
Arizona Daily Star & East Valley Tribune - April 3, 2008 - 12:06AM
In his I'm-back-and-I'm-in-charge-and-don't-you-doubt-it performance Tuesday afternoon,
Lute Olson was fully in character. He flexed and he fired. His feelings of persecution, his
unreasonable suspicion, his mania for perfection and his certainty that he is always in the
right - Captain Queeg, remember? - were straight out of Olson's autocratic news conference
performances of the 1980s and '90s. It was sad. Olson got too angry and spent too much
energy on topics that should be beneath him. At 73, he hasn't yet learned to cut the rest of
the world some slack.

Opinion: Investment in higher education a winning strategy
Arizona Daily Sun - April 01, 2008
Arizona's economy has long been dependent on the construction industry. In the last
year alone 21,000 construction jobs have been lost in this state and Flagstaff has
seen entire companies pack up and leave. With no major construction projects currently
planned for the Flagstaff area, and commercial and residential markets nearing all-time
lows, the short-term economic future is not hopeful. The economic stimulus plan
proposed by the state's three public universities in cooperation with the construction
industry seeks to boost the Arizona economy by investing $1.4 billion in much-needed
building maintenance and renovations as well as in critical new facilities such as a
College of Health Professions at NAU.

NAU should focus on people, not buildings
Arizona Daily Sun - April 2, 2008
To the editor: I would like to comment on the recent articles about the new NAU conference
center and the proposal to build $300 million worth of new buildings on campus in the next
few years. One article said the new conference center and hotel "present a lovely face to
visiting guests." I beg to differ. The conference center is a huge monstrosity. NAU is billed as
the "mountain campus" and touts its environmental efforts. But maybe it should be called the
"campus of towering steel and glass" where the lumberjacks are still chopping down trees to
pave over paradise.

Arizona Wildcats name new women's basketball coach
Arizona Daily Star - April 3, 2008
The University of Arizona has filled its women's basketball coaching vacancy. Niya Butts was
introduced this morning as the replacement for Joan Bonvicini who was fired last month after
17 seasons. Butts, a 30-year-old former Tennessee standout, recently completed her fifth year
as an assistant coach at Kentucky. An associate head coach for the last year, she arrived at
Kentucky in April 2003 after one season as a Michigan State assistant and two seasons as an
assistant at Tennessee Technological University.

United Nations selects UA law professor for human rights post
Tucson Citizen - April 3, 2008
Few people start their day with a call from the United Nations, but that's exactly how
University of Arizona legal scholar S. James Anaya did last week. A representative of the
U.N.'s Human Rights Council called March 26 to tell Anaya, 49, that he'd received a three-
year appointment as U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedoms of Indigenous Peoples. Special Rapporteurs are envoys
assigned to examine particular themes or countries, Anaya said. "There's one on the
right to food, for instance, and one on the right to migration," he explained.

Shelton: Olson succession plan in 'future now'
Tucson Citizen - April 03, 2008
University of Arizona president Robert N. Shelton did not close the door on Kevin O'Neill
succeeding Lute Olson someday. "I think (the succession plan) is in the future now,"
Shelton told the Citizen on Wednesday. "It was always, 'When Lute steps down,' and
Lute hasn't stepped down." UA announced Dec. 18 that O'Neill would take over for Olson
when the 73-year-old coach retired, but Olson said Tuesday he plans to coach until at
least 2011 and that O'Neill would not be on the basketball staff next season.

AZ budget crafters working to change limits set by voters
The Tucson Citizen - April 3, 2008
PHOENIX - Arizona lawmakers wrangling with a budget deficit estimated at $1.2 billion say
they're stymied by rules set by voters during elections. About $600 million in state programs
are off the table and safe from the budget ax because of voter-approved initiatives. Rep.
Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, hopes to change that. He is sponsoring a bill that would free law-
makers from spending restraints ordered by initiatives when the state faces a budget deficit.
The bill cleared the House and if it's approved by the state Senate, the referendum would go
on the November ballot. If voters approve, the measure could have a dramatic effect on how
the state balances budgets.

Bomb threat forces dorm evacuation
ASU Web Devil - April 3, 2008
A bomb threat prompted an emergency evacuation of Palo Verde East residence hall on
Wednesday at around 4:15 p.m. The Residential Life staff at the residence hall called ASU
Police after they were alerted to a note that said there was a bomb in the building, said Leah
Hardesty, an ASU spokeswoman. Dominique Watkins, a community assistant in Palo Verde
East, said two residents approached one of his co-workers with the note they found in an
elevator in the residence hall.

Dorm leaders will soon attend training on gay sensitivity
ASU Web Devil - April 2, 2008
Residence hall group passes proposal
Starting this fall, leaders of the governing body for students living on-campus will be required
to attend training on making dorms welcoming to gay and lesbian students. A proposal passed
Thursday by the Residence Hall Association — the student governing body for on-campus
resident issues — made it mandatory for all executive board members and Hall Council
presidents and programmers to go through the three-course SafeZONE sexuality sensitivity
and understanding training program.

Higher Ed Dips Into the Pork Barrel Again
Inside Higher Ed - April 3, 2008
The verdict on Congressional spending on “earmarks” this year: It’s up from last year, down
from 2006 and easier to track thanks to new disclosure requirements. For recipients of the
lawmaker-directed spending measures in higher education, that means a continued flow of
research and teaching dollars but at the expense of peer review and competitive grants. On
Wednesday, the watchdog group Citizens Against Government Waste released its annual Pig
Book summary of the pet projects of members of Congress, which it derides as “pork-barrel
spending.”