TO CLIPS INDEX  Clips for January 21, 2009

Senate pressed on budget plans
The Arizona Republic 1/21/09
Senate leaders remain focused on cutting
spending and are reluctant to pursue new
sources of revenue, they said in a briefing
Tuesday morning. As a feisty Capitol press
corps pressed the leadership to consider
tax hikes, Senate President Bob Burns
said his top priority was to reduce
spending. "We're looking at the biggest
problem in front of us, which is the over-
spending issue," said Burns, R-Peoria.
"So that's where our focus is."  

Let's schedule a fair fight over budget cuts
The Arizona Republic 1/21/09
OK, raise your hand if you're happy with
Arizona's budget plan, the one put out last
week by Republican leaders. The one that
guts one of the nation's most woefully
underfunded school systems and debones
the universities. The one that eliminates all-
day kindergarten and health are for 63,000
kids. The one that slashes services to
autistic children and the mentally ill and old
people and, oh yeah, abused babies.
Applause? Anyone? Well, there is Tom
Jenney over at Americans for Prosperity, a
think tank dedicated to lower taxes and less
government. Jenney declared that the plans
released last week by the Legislature's bud-
get chairmen "would bring the state's
massive budget deficit under control and
thereby put Arizona onto a path of strong
economic growth."

Brewer set to take oath as governor
The Arizona Republic 1/21/09
Jan Brewer is scheduled to take the oath
of office as Arizona governor shortly after
3 p.m. today, becoming the 22nd individual
to hold the position. The outdoor swearing-
in ceremony is open to the public and will
be just east of the historic Capitol building,
where seating for nearly 1,400 people has
been set up. Brewer will be read the oath
of office by Arizona Supreme Court Chief
Justice Ruth McGregor.

NAU closes sports training center
Associated Press/The Arizona Republic
1/20/09 4:22 PM
FLAGSTAFF - Northern Arizona University
announced Tuesday that its Center for
High Altitude Training has closed, a move
that is expected to save the school
$230,000 a year. Other reductions are
imminent for the university that is faced
with cutting about $31.2 million from its
fiscal year 2009 budget. Two NAU staff
members and two temporary employees
will lose their jobs as a result of the
center's closure.

In-house teachers are trained for PV
The Arizona Republic 1/20/09
The Paradise Valley Unified School District
is the newest location for the Professional
Development School, a national program
where school districts train their own
employees and community members to
teach in their district. Two dozen students
have enrolled in the school's inaugural
programs, and some will be working in
district schools as early as fall 2010. 
'Grow our own' - Students who attend the
school earn their bachelor's degrees from
the Arizona State University College of
Teacher Education and Leadership, but
all of their classes will be at Palomino
Elementary School, 15833 N. 29th St.

Crow denies reports Polytechnic to close
The Arizona Republic 1/21/09 10:58 AM
Higher education funding cuts considered
by Arizona lawmakers "would gut ASU
(Arizona State University) and set it back
a decade or more," university President
Michael Crow said today . And he warned
budget cutting proposals threaten to give
Arizona "a Third World education and
economic infrastructure.""I am deeply
concerned for the future of Arizona State
University," he said. "ASU has taken its
share of budget cuts to help the state
deal with its revenue short-fall -- and we
are prepared to do more." Though he
and university officials are looking at a
wide-range of options to lessen the pain,
no decision has been made to close the
Polytechnic campus in east Mesa, contrary
to a published report, said Virgil Renzulli,
ASU vice-president for public affairs.

Crow: Budget cuts could close ASU Polytechnic
East Valley Tribune 1/20/09
ASU President Michael Crow has directed the
university to prepare to shutter its Polytechnic
campus in east Mesa as higher education
faces hundreds of millions of dollars in funding
cuts. Republican budget leaders in the state
Legislature last week produced a list of drastic
cuts across Arizona’s government that could
be enacted to eliminate an estimated $3 billion
shortfall this fiscal year and next.  The
reductions might include $314 million from the
three public universities, 30 percent of their
state money. Arizona State University’s share
of that would approach $150 million.

State senate president rules out tax boost
Capitol Media Services/Arizona Daily Star/
East Valley Tribune 1/20/09 4:32PM
Senate President Bob Burns said Tuesday
he's not interested in giving voters the option
of raising taxes, even temporarily, as an
alternative to cutting hundreds of millions of
dollars in state aid to education. Burns said
the reason the state got into its current fiscal
mess is that spending has increased faster
than tax collections. And even in years when
there was plenty of money coming in, the
Peoria Republican said the size of the bud-
get increased even faster.

ASU president readies staff for campus closing
Associated Press/East Valley Tribune
1/21/09 3:02 AM EST
TEMPE, Ariz. -- One casualty of cuts in higher
education could be Arizona State University's
Polytechnic campus in east Mesa. ASU Presi-
dent Michael Crow has issued a directive to
staff to prepare to shutter the campus as
higher education faces hundreds of millions
of dollars in funding cuts. Republican budget
leaders at the state Legislature last week
produced a list of drastic cuts across Arizona's
government that could be enacted to eliminate
an estimated $3 billion shortfall this fiscal year
and next. The reductions aimed at the state's
three universities could amount to 30 percent
or $314 million. Arizona State University's
share of that would approach $150 million.

Report: Bioscience grows without full investment
Cronkite News Service/Arizona Daily Sun
1/21/09
PHOENIX -- Benchmarks such as federal funding
and job creation show that Arizona continues to
develop as a center of bioscience, but the state
lags in the venture-capital funding needed to
nurture young companies, according to a report
released Tuesday by The Flinn Foundation.
"Clearly, Arizona, in terms of an emerging bio-
science center, is well recognized nationally in
the biosciences community," said Walter H.
Plosila, a senior adviser to the Battelle
Technology Partnership Practice, a research
firm that works with the foundation. Battelle,
a Columbus, Ohio-based nonprofit contract
research firm, analyzes the progress of the
Arizona Bioscience Roadmap. The Flinn
Foundation, which awards grants to nonprofit
organizations that help boost biomedical
research in the state, commissioned the
effort in 2002.

GOP leaders want to lower school funding
Capitol Media Services/Arizona Daily Sun
1/21/09
PHOENIX -- Senate President Bob Burns said
Tuesday he's not interested in giving voters the
option of raising taxes, even temporarily, as an
alternative to cutting hundreds of millions of
dollars in state aid to education. Burns said the
reason the state got into its current fiscal mess
is that spending has increased faster than tax
collections. And even in years when there was
plenty of money coming in, the Peoria
Republican said the size of the budget
increased even faster. "The historical growth
in revenue is somewhere around 7 percent,"
he said. "That is not sustainable," Burns
continued. "So there has to be a look at the
costs, or at the spending side or we'll never
get this problem under control."

$300M-plus cut plans stir UA rally
Arizona Daily Star 1/21/09
Sporting signs that read "Save our schools"
and "We are the future," nearly 200 UA
students, faculty and staff members rallied
on campus Tuesday against proposed state
cuts to higher education that could total more
than $300 million. The 30-minute peaceful
demonstration was organized by student
leaders in an effort to push back against law-
makers who have laid out ideas to balance
the budget primarily by cutting K-12 and
higher education. Preliminary proposals
include a $314 million cut to Arizona's
three public universities that would
represent a roughly 30 percent reduction
in state aid. The UA has an annual budget
of $1.2 billion, of which about $400 million
comes from state tax dollars.

Regents weigh raises for UA baseball,
volleyball coaches
Tucson Citizen 1/21/09
The Arizona Board of Regents is expected to
approve a three-year contract extension and
pay raise for UA baseball coach Andy Lopez.
Lopez, who has taken five of his seven teams
to the postseason, would have his contract
extended through June 30, 2013, and salary
raised to $125,000 annually if approved this
week. Board of Regents' approval is required
for multiyear employment contracts. The
board is also looking into an extension of
UA volleyball coach David Rubio's deal until
Dec. 31, 2011.

1,000 students protest proposed cuts
to UA budget
Tucson Citizen 1/20/09
The University of Arizona mall was packed
Tuesday with chanting students protesting
budget options floated by legislative leaders
that would cut the state's higher education
budget by 40 percent by June 30. Dressed
in black and hoisting signs that read "Inve$t
in Arizona" and "RIP Higher Education,"
hundreds of students and a smattering of
UA professors and staff chanted,
"Legislators have got to know, these budget
cuts have got to go!"  Sen. Russell Pearce,
R-Mesa, chairman of the Senate
Appropriations Committee, and Rep. John
Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, chairman of
the House Appropriations Committee,
made public last week budget options
addressing the nearly $1.6 billion state
budget shortfall.

Expert: Arizona forest policies leave
trees, water vulnerable to wildfires
Cronkite News Service/Tucson Citizen
1/22/09 12:46 pm
PHOENIX - Arizona's ponderosa pine forests
have been allowed to grow so dense that
they are primed to spawn immense wildfires
that threaten not just trees and wildlife but
watersheds, a Northern Arizona University
forestry expert said Tuesday. Unless the
situation is addressed, the conditions could
lead to a drastic reduction or even obliteration
of those forests in the near future, William
Wallace "Wally" Covington, a professor and
executive director of NAU's Ecological
Restoration Institute, said after addressing
the House Environment Committee. "This
is a huge problem; we have much less time
than we thought," he said.

Arizona primes for new governor and different
path
Associated Press/Kansas City Star/
Tucson Citizen 1/21/09
PHOENIX - Former Gov. Janet Napolitano's
appointment to head the Homeland Security
Department leaves Arizona's top office in
new hands - and the state likely on a very
different path. Napolitano, a Democrat, left
her state post on Tuesday halfway through
her second four-year term. Her elevation
means Republican Secretary of State Jan
Brewer now seizes the governor's office -
and she'll be officially sworn in Wednesday
afternoon. The change comes at a time
when the Republican-leaning state faces
a budget crisis and will likely mark a major
change in how Arizona tackles it. The swap
of Brewer for Napolitano also will put a
social conservative - and abortion foe - in
the governor's office. In addition, Napolitano
has set career and legislative records for
vetoes by an Arizona governor by killing
bills passed by the Legislature on topics
ranging from abortion and private school
vouchers to border security and eminent
domain.

Editorial: Taking a stand
ASU Web Devil 1/21/09
On Tuesday afternoon, in front of the Tempe
campus Memorial Union, about 100 students
stood in protest. They loudly objected the
Arizona Legislature’s proposal to help repair
the state’s budget shortfall and cut hundreds
of millions of dollars from the state university
system over the next two years. They, like
students at the two other Arizona universities
holding analogous protests, trumpeted the
importance of higher education.  They were
not enough. Granted, it is too early to be clear
on the specifics of the proposed budget cuts.
Legislators say they are considering a slash
of at least $489 million in funding, but
university officials say the proposal would
strip more than $600 million from Arizona
universities over the next two years. But it is
not too early to begin asking questions.

Crow: Budget cuts could close two ASU
campuses
ASU Web Devil 1/21/09
ASU could be forced to close at least one
of its four campuses in order to manage
budget cuts proposed by the Arizona
Legislature, ASU officials said Wednesday.
The proposed budget reductions would
cut state funding to the university system
by 40 percent next year. That figure is the
equivalent of closing up to two ASU
campuses, president Michael Crow said
in an e-mail to faculty, staff and students.

Proposed budget causes outcry
ASU Web Devil 1/20/09
“Don’t abandon education; don’t abandon us,”
a crowd of about 100 students, faculty and staff
chanted outside the Tempe campus Memorial
Union at noon on Tuesday. The protesters
carried signs and spoke out against budget
proposals by the Arizona Legislature that
University officials say would cut state funding
to universities by up to $243 million this year,
and up to $388 million, about 40 percent, next
year. “What the state Legislature is doing is
absolutely unacceptable,” said Mark Appleton,
president of the Undergraduate Student
Government. “We’re not going to take a cut
that threatens the functioning of our University.” 
Appleton said legislators should leave
education alone and find money somewhere
else.  “Don’t throw students under the bus,” he
said. “You’ve been doing it for years.” The bud-
get cuts would eliminate thousands of jobs
statewide in administration, faculty and staff,
which would lead to poorer quality education
for students, Appleton said.

Rabble-rousers resist reductions
UA Daily Wildcat 1/21/09
Following the Arizona Legislature's proposal
to cut nearly 40 percent of Arizona's higher
education funding, hundreds of students
gathered Tuesday on the UA Mall as part of
a statewide protest against the enormous
budget reduction. Beginning at noon, students
from all three state universities - the UA,
Northern Arizona University and Arizona State
University - protested the bud-get cuts by
picketing on campus and dressing in black.

Regents Meeting at UA Expected to Draw
Large Crowd
UA Daily Wildcat 1/20/09
The University of Arizona will host an extra-
ordinary meeting of the Arizona Board of
Regents on Thurs-day, as representatives
of the University, business and Tucson
communities have indicated that they
plan to turn out in large numbers to voice
their opposition to massive cuts to university
budgets proposed by legislative leaders.

Architecture Program Among Tops in the
Nation
UA Daily Wildcat 1/20/09
The College of Architecture and Landscape
Architecture at The University of Arizona has
been recognized as one of the top design
schools in the country. Out of more than 120
accredited design schools surveyed, Design
Intelligence magazine ranked the UA's under-
graduate program in architecture as the
nation's 12th best. The rankings include both
public and private universities.  Janice Cervelli,
dean of the college, attributes the rankings to
the achievements by UA alumni in the market-
place, the quality of UA faculty and students
and the student-centered nature of the
architecture program.

New Emerging Contaminants Lab Holds
Open House Jan. 21
UA Daily Wildcat 1/20/09
The Arizona Laboratory for Emerging Contaminants,
 known as ALEC, at The University of Arizona will
hold an open house on Wednesday, Jan. 21, from
3 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Rooms 828-848 of the UA's
Gould-Simpson Building. Emerging contaminants
are potentially toxic substances whose presence
in the food or water supply is poorly known, and
whose health effects also are often poorly known.
Some better-known emerging contaminants
include pharmaceuticals such as estrogen, Viagra
and Prozac, and chemicals such as bisphenol A,
a compound found in certain plastics.

ASU announces second major reorganization
Phoenix Business Journal 1/21/09 2:24pm MST
Arizona State University officials on Wednesday
announced its second major academic
reorganization in the last six months. This plan
involves more than a dozen colleges and
schools. The changes, expected to save the
university $2.7 million, will not reduce academic
offerings, eliminate any tenured or tenure-track
appointments or diminish access for students,
officials said. Plans, however, call for the
reduction of four administrative positions, 18
academic and service professionals, and 35
classified staff positions. The savings will be
realized in fiscal 2010. The University Senate
will put forth its recommendations and any
plan must be approved by the Arizona Board
of Regents.

Arizona solar group touts future opportunities
Phoenix Business Journal 1/21/09 5:00am
The Arizona Solar Energy Industries Association
is weighing in on the public policy debate with
an upcoming seminar about the future of renew-
able energy in the state. “Building a Solar Power
Industry in Arizona” is the focus of the
association’s Jan. 29 event, which is expected
to bring together some of solar’s biggest
backers to talk about how to spur the industry
in a state that gets more sunshine than most
others in the country. ....The industry has
suffered in part because of a lack of leader-
ship at the state level.

Regents denounce proposed university
budget cuts
KTAR.com 1/21/09 9:37am
Proposed budget cuts will be the focus
of the Arizona Board of Regents' meeting
in Tucson Thursday and Friday. The Joint
Legislative Budget Committee has
proposed some $600 million in cuts for
the state's university system over the next
18 months. The board said Wednesday
that it has received word that university
supporters will attend Thursday's
meeting and express their concerns.
Those supporters include business
and community leaders, alumni,
parents, students and faculty. 

ASU president readies staff for campus closing
Associated Press/KTAR 1/21/09 4:45am
One casualty of cuts in higher education could
be Arizona State University's Polytechnic campus
in east Mesa. ASU President Michael Crow has
issued a directive to staff to prepare to shutter
the campus as higher education faces hundreds
of millions of dollars in funding cuts. Republican
budget leaders at the state Legislature last week
produced a list of drastic cuts across Arizona's
government that could be enacted to eliminate
an estimated $3 billion shortfall this fiscal year
and next. The reductions aimed at the state's
three universities could amount to 30 percent
or $314 million.

ASU students protest possible budget cuts
to higher ed
abc15.com 1/20/09 7:44 pm 
ASU students protest proposed budget cuts
to higher education. Dozens of students from
Arizona State University gathered Tuesday
afternoon to protest possible budget cuts to
higher education. The protest at ASU
coincided with similar protests at both the
University of Arizona in Tucson and Northern
Arizona University in Flagstaff. One of the
ideas currently under consideration by the
Arizona State Legislature is a nearly 40 per-
cent cut to the Arizona University System for
fiscal year 2010, a total of approximately
$388 million.

Budget Committee Seeks to Close Poison
Center in Tucson
evliving.com 1/21/09 
Recommends Funding Only Center at
Banner Good Samaritan in Phoenix. 
The Arizona Poison and Drug Information
Center, a public health service at The
University of Arizona College of Pharmacy
that serves all regions of Arizona other
than Maricopa County, will be closed,
possibly as soon as February, if a proposal
before the Arizona Legislature is adopted.

Educators advocate enhanced revenues
instead of cuts
Yuma Sun 1/20/09 5:22 PM
With a  projected  state budget deficit
of $1.6 billion for the current fiscal year,
Yuma County educators gathered
Tuesday to appeal to residents to notify
their state legislators that if budget cuts
come to keep them as far away from the
classroom as possible. "We are not
naive, we know there will be cuts but we'd like
to make sure the cuts are equitable and allow
mostly local control," said Toni Badone, Yuma
Union High School District superintendent.
Badone and other educators met at Gila Ridge
High School to implore the public to take pro-
active measures to save education.

Agencies walk plank in Senate committees
The Arizona Guardian 1/20/09 00:22
Senate committees begin their "fact-finding"
missions this week at the behest of Senate
President Bob Burns, bringing in agencies
whose programs are targeted for reduction,
suspension or elimination. In the case of
the Department of Commerce, the entire
agency is on the chopping block. Commerce
officials will get a chance to make their case
today in the Senate Commerce and
Economic Development Committee. In a
memo Thursday, Burns called on members
and committee chairs to find programs that
could be trimmed or eliminated. The budget
released by the Joint Legislative Budget
Committee on Friday listed more than 500
options, totaling $1.9 billion, to close an
estimated $1.6 billion current-year deficit.
Burns has forbidden committees from
hearing bills until both this and next year‘s
budgets are completed. House Speaker
Kirk Adams has issued no such edict for
his members. Instead, Burns has asked
chairmen to do "fact-finding on specific
programs in state government."

State budget keys on $825 billion federal stimulus
The Arizona Guardian 1/21/09 23:47
Senate Appropriations Committee members were
briefed Tuesday on the federal stimulus package,
which promises to bring more than $1 billion to
Arizona over the next two years to help fund every-
thing from health care to highways. The $825 billion
package of federal projects, direct funding to states
and tax cuts is intended to create up to 4 million jobs,
strengthen safety nets for struggling families and
inject billions into education and innovation. But
there are strings attached. And the particulars,
including just how much Arizona stands to gain and
what's required in exchange, could be weeks away.
The timing is critical as state Republican leaders put
the $1.6 billion current-year budget-balancing plan
on the fast track, with the goal of getting it to Gov.
Jan Brewer's desk in 10 days. "I don't think it's wise
to hurry the budget through," said Sam Polito, who
represents the Tucson Unified School District and
Northern Arizona University.

ASU Readies Staff For Campus Closing
KPHO 5 News 1/21/09 6:49 am MST
TEMPE, Ariz. -- One casualty of cuts in higher
education could be Arizona State University's
Polytechnic campus in east Mesa. ASU
President Michael Crow has issued a directive
to staff to prepare to shutter the campus as
higher education faces hundreds of millions
of dollars in funding cuts. ....University officials
have been determining where to shed roughly
2,500 employees and how to close one of its
fastest growing campuses. The polytechnic
campus has become a sort of higher education
laboratory. It provides more hands-on training
than traditional lecture-based classes and links
different disciplines together while breaking
down the walls that divide fields.