TO CLIPS INDEX - Clips for March 14, 2008

More protection sought for ASU's Kerr Center
The Arizona Republic - March 14, 2008 12:00 AM
SCOTTSDALE - Historic preservation commissioners sent a conservation easement offered by Arizona
State University back to the negotiating table, saying it did not go far enough to protect the Kerr Cultural
Center. The commissioners delayed their vote Thursday and asked officials to argue for historical
protection for the interior of the center as well as the parking lot that allows it to function. "The more we
can get into this document, the better," Commissioner Rob Viergutz said.

PPennypacker Blog: Arizona's Gun Divide
The Arizona Republic - March 14, 2008
Regarding Wednesday's front page story in the Arizona Republic, entitled, Arizona's Gun Divide, opponents
of Senate Bill 1214 may be interested to know that an armed student killed the Palestinian who opened fire
killing 8 students at the Jerusalem seminary, not the police or military.

House OKs good-grade remedy for AIMS failure
East Valley Tribune - March 14, 2008 - 3:28AM
High school seniors who can't pass the AIMS test may still be able to graduate. Without discussion, the
House on Thursday gave preliminary approval to reinstating a program which allows high schoolers to
augment their scores with good grades. Without HB2008, the bonus points option, which has existed for
the last two years - since AIMS passage became a graduation requirement - will go away.

Biosphere gets new life as UA research center
The Arizona Republic - March 14, 2008 12:00 AM
ORACLE - Amid hanging vines and shirt-soaking tropical humidity, University of Arizona biology Professor
Scott Saleska and graduate student Joost van Haren study the effects of drought and climate change on
rain-forest plants. The research team isn't deep in the Amazon jungle. It's under the geometric Plexiglas
ceiling of the Biosphere 2. "We have as much complexity here as (in) a real forest that we would observe
in Brazil," Saleska says.

Kerr center preservation guidelines taking shape
East Valley Tribune - March 13, 2008 - 11:08PM
After months of pushing for the historic preservation of the landmark Kerr Cultural Center in Scottsdale,
advocates of the longtime entertainment venue are now one small step closer to seeing their dream
become reality. That is, if language covering the center's parking lot and interior structures at 6110 N.
Scottsdale Road can be addressed in the proposed conservation easement by Arizona State University,
the property's owner. The proposed easement would protect the exterior of the buildings for 50 years.

Treasurer says state's no-cash date moving forward
Arizona Daily Star - March 14, 2008
PHOENIX — The state’s worsening revenue shortfall means the general fund will run out of cash it can
legally spend earlier than the previous estimate of late May, State Treasurer Dean Martin said Thursday.
Martin said his office is fine-tuning its calculations and expects to project a new no-cash date by next
week. But he said the increased size of the current fiscal year’s estimated shortfall — to $1.2 billion
currently from $970 million most recently — likely moves up the date when there’s no cash in the
general fund to early May or even late April.

Work visas for high-skilled professionals can be a hassle
Arizona Daily Star - March 13, 2008
Proponents say workers key to economy, but critics say it increases our dependence on foreign labor.
Getting into the United States legally isn't easy — not even for sought-after, high-skilled professionals.
Before coming to the University of Arizona, assistant professor Cecilia Rios-Aguilar came from Mexico
on a student visa in 2001 and earned a master's degree and Ph.D. at the University of Rochester in New
York. She has an H1B visa, which allows high-skilled professionals with degrees to work in the country
for six years. Even though she is bilingual and has fairly extensive experience navigating the U.S.
immigration system, she still feels tense and vulnerable every time she visits a U.S. consulate to renew
her visa.

UA-based scientists make water data easy to find on Net
Tucson Citizen - March 14, 2008
A Web site created by federal scientists on the University of Arizona campus brings formerly hard-to-get
water information as close as a mouse click. A U.S. Geological Survey interactive map that went online
Jan. 1 uses well data from as long ago as 1919 to track water-level trends across the most water-
depleted parts of Arizona. The information is not new, but the scientists plugged it into a colorful map
that lays out trends visually, said Fred D. Tillman, a Geological Survey hydrologist who worked on the
project. "This really does break it down in an easy-to-understand format," Tillman said.

Full-time PCC students face $30 per semester tuition hike
Tucson Citizen - March 14, 2008
Full-time students at Pima Community College next fall will pay $30 more per semester. The PCC Board
of Governors voted Wednesday to raise tuition by $2.50 per credit hour while reducing the student services
fee from $2.50 to $2 per unit. PCC defines full time as a student carrying 15 units per semester. Currently,
the college charges students $51.50 per unit, which includes $47 for tuition, a $2.50 student services fee
and a $2 technology fee. The technology fee was unaffected by Wednesday's 4-1 vote.

Napolitano mum on budget revisions
Tucson Citizen - March 14, 2008
Lawmakers say they're waiting for info on spending cuts
PHOENIX - As legislators begin talks with Gov. Janet Napolitano to try to erase the state's big budget deficit,
they're still waiting for specifics on big spending cuts and transfers from special-purpose funds she promised
a month ago. Napolitano began participating in bipartisan budget negotiations that previously included only
legislators on Tuesday. Talks had been under way behind closed doors for two months but have yet to produce
an agreement

Textbook price bill improved
UA Daily Wildcat Online - March 14, 2008
ASA: Amendments amount to triumph of student lobbying
PHOENIX - A bill in the state Legislature aimed to garner more price disclosure for the faculty who choose text-
books has "teeth" again. At least that's what students said yesterday after the state Senate amended SB 1175
and slashed language that said textbook publishers were required to provide information on previous text
editions and prices on request.

Dean wins top honor
UA Daily Wildcat Online - March 14, 2008
Pharmacy's Bootman nets another major award
The American Pharmacists Association has chosen J. Lyle Bootman, dean of the UA College of Pharmacy, to
receive the Remington Honor Medal, the pharmaceutical field's top national award. The organization will present
the honor to Bootman on Sunday at an association exposition. Bootman has been an established figure in the
medical field for 30 years, often eager to study previously unexplored subjects in pharmacy.

UA hosts U.N student summit
UA Daily Wildcat Online - March 14, 2008
More than 400 students from Arizona, California and Sonora, Mexico, will head to the UA on March 21-22 to gain
a better understanding of issues facing the world. The 46th annual Arizona Model United Nations Conference will
give students the opportunity to participate in simulated U.N. meetings, representing the different nations that
participate.

Gun law on agenda for MCC
Mohave Daily News - March 13, 2008 10:57 PM CDT
KINGMAN - Allowing guns on Mohave Community College is one issue to be discussed today when the college
governing board meets. The board will discuss a proposed state Senate bill - SB1214 - that would allow people
with a concealed weapons permit to carry a gun onto Mohave Community College, Northern Arizona University
and the other community colleges and universities in the state.

Governor's role in budget meetings murky
Arizona Capitol Times - March 13, 2008 5:36 PM MST
Republican and Democrat leaders finally began budget meetings with Gov. Janet Napolitano this week, two months
into a legislative session in which lawmakers from both parties agree bridging an existing $1.2 billion budget deficit
is the paramount concern. But the purpose of the meetings - and the role the governor is playing in them - is up for
debate. Republicans contend they will negotiate directly with Napolitano, while Democrats believe she will merely
guide the talks between legislative leaders.

Martial landing set for end of May
Engineering News - Mar 14, 2008
Right now, the Phoenix Mars lander is about 150-mil- lion kilometers from Mars and is racing towards the red planet.
Phoenix is due to strike the top of the Martian atmosphere, at a speed of 5.7 km/s, on May 25. During the seven minutes
after striking the top of the Martian atmosphere, the craft will use heat-shield friction, a parachute, and descent rockets
to slow to about 2,4 m/s, which is a respectable 9 km/h, to land on its three legs. Phoenix will not feel lonely while it does
all this – not only will all the folks back at mission control be glued to their instruments and screens, but there will also
be three other spacecraft watching.