TO CLIPS INDEX  Clips for March 18, 2009

Legislative leaders look ahead to 2009-10 budget
The Arizona Republic 3/18/09
This is budget week - again - at the state Legislature.
Actually, it marks the start of what legislative leaders
say will be a heavy focus on getting the 2009-10 bud-
get done. House Appropriations Chairman John
Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, said given legislative
leaders' intent to get the budget done before any other
bills are completed, the budget could be done within
a month. "It is my hope that in the next four weeks, we
put the budget to bed," he said during a House
Appropriations Committee meeting.

Brewer: Arizona will accept stimulus funds
Associated Press/The Arizona Republic
3/18/09
Gov. Jan Brewer has said Arizona will accept federal
stimulus money, and it turns out she's already
certified that officially to President Barack Obama.
Brewer's office on Tuesday released a March 5 letter
in which she told Obama that Arizona "will request
and use funds provided" by the stimulus law, the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Brewer said in a major budget address to the
Legislature a day before the letter was sent that she
intended to have Arizona accept stimulus money. But
she and her staff say details remain to be decided,
beyond that the state will accept money for child care,
highway projects and health care. Governors must
provide certification letters for their states to be
eligible for stimulus money. House Democrats
called on Brewer to be more transparent regarding
federal stimulus money.

Stimulus bill could cost state $110M in lost revenue
Capitol Media Services/Yuma Sun/
East Valley Tribune 3/17/09 4:55 PM
PHOENIX - Some good news for individuals in
the new federal stimulus package could end up
losing Arizona tens of millions of dollars in state
tax revenues, at least in the short term. Richard
Stavneak, staff director of the Joint Legislative
Budget Committee, pointed out to lawmakers
Tuesday that one key provision in the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides a $400
a year federal tax reduction for individuals - $800
for couples - this year and next. That tax break
will come not in a check to taxpayers but instead
be spread out over the remaining paychecks,
with the federal government deducting a little
less each time. The problem, Stavneak explained,
is that the amount deducted in state income taxes
from each worker's paycheck is a percentage of
the federal withholding. That means the federal
change automatically means lower state with-
holding - and less cash going into the state
treasury.

Grant to further study of cancer, Hispanics
Arizona Daily Star 3/18/09
Researchers at the Arizona Cancer Center say
a new, $400,000 grant will help them continue
a groundbreaking study into Hispanic women
and breast cancer. The grant from the Susan G.
Komen Breast Cancer Foundation announced
Tuesday will allow investigators on the study to
hire and train three postgraduate researchers
to continue their work in looking at breast cancer
disparities in Hispanic women living in both the
United States and Mexico. Preliminary findings
show Hispanic women tend to wait longer than
non-Hispanics before seeking treatment for
breast cancer. Researchers also suspect there
may be a greater hereditary component among
Hispanics with breast cancer.

Tucson Origins museums put on hold due to
spiraling economy
Tucson Citizen 3/18/09
Dreams of celebrating the state centennial in
2012 with a collection of Tucson Origins museums
have collapsed with the downward spiraling
economy. All intentions to build Mission San
Agustín, a University of Arizona Science Center/
Arizona State Museum, Arizona History Museum
and Tucson Children's Museum on the West Side
have been delayed indefinitely, City Manager Mike
Hein said. "It's not in my interest or desire to stall
on this," Hein said. The worldwide economic straits
have cut Rio Nuevo tax increment financing in half
and made city leaders choose how to proceed
with downtown revitalization. The City Council in
February told Hein to focus on the Tucson
Convention Center expansion, a TCC hotel and
a new Tucson Arena. They made no specific
pronouncement about Tucson Origins, but UA
President Robert N. Shelton the same day
suspended work on the science center, which
had been set to start in summer.

Council suspends Rio Nuevo panel, discusses
financial clarity
Tucson Citizen 3/18/09
The Tucson City Council's Rio Nuevo subcommittee
was suspended indefinitely at Tuesday's council
meeting. Councilwoman Nina Trasoff, who heads
he committee, said everything that would go before
the group at this point should be discussed by the
full council. Trasoff's colleagues nodded vigorously.
Several Rio Nuevo projects, including the flagship
University of Arizona Science Center, have been put
on hold for financial reasons. The Legislature has
threatened to withdraw the money that underpins
the redevelopment push because of a perceived
lack of transparency. The subcommittee had only
three council members - Trasoff, Councilwoman
Regina Romero and Councilman Steve Leal.

Brewer requested federal stimulus money
two weeks ago
azcapitoltimes.com 3/17/09
In an unannounced move nearly two weeks
ago, Arizona was certified to receive federal
stimulus aid when Gov. Jan Brewer sent a
letter to President Barack Obama and
pledged the state would request its share
of the money. In a verbose two-page letter
dated March 5 - the day after she addressed
a joint session of the Legislature and called
for a tax hike - Brewer applied to receive the
federal funding. Although she said Arizonans
deserve "their fair share of those funds,"
Brewer was critical of the stimulus plan
and said it would hamper efforts to balance
Arizona's budget. "While temporarily useful,
(the funds) extend programs that have
accelerated the growth of government
spending to unprecedented and
unsustainable levels that neither our
state nor our great nation can afford,"
she wrote.

Another fiscal '09 budget hole; AZ now
short $500M
azcapitoltimes.com 3/17/09
The $1.6 billion budget hole that was stitched
together in January is bursting at the seams
and lawmakers probably will be required to
patch another $500 million deficit during the
next three months. Richard Stavneak, director
of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee,
told Democratic lawmakers in the state
House of Representatives on March 17 that
tax collections for the month of February are
coming in far short of expectations. Early
reports show significant drops in sales tax
and income tax collections, and February
revenues are estimated to be $70 million
less than predicted. That is on top of an
$80 million slide in state revenue in January,
bringing the total shortfall since the fiscal
2009 budget was fixed to $150 million. That,
Stavneak said, means the budget will likely
have a deficit between $450 million and
$500 million.

W.P. Carey School makes business
research list’s top 25
Phoenix Business Journal 3/18/09 11:04am
Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School
of Business ranks among the top 25 schools
in the world for business research productivity,
school officials said Wednesday. The rankings
come from an annual study by the University of
Texas at Dallas, which is based on research
contributions to top business journals from
2004-2008. On the list, the W.P. Carey School
ranks 22nd on the North American list and
25th on the worldwide list. The University of
Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business
topped the list, compiling a score of 160.38
for 298 articles published among 24 journals
covering specific business topics. The W.P.
Carey School had a score of 54.41 for 110
articles published.

Statue of Sleeping Mexican First Covered
in New Times Offends, Then Disintegrates
Phoenix New Times 3/17/09 11:20AM
Who could possibly think it'd be a good idea
to build an over-sized statue of a stereotypical,
sombrero-wearin' lazy Mexican out of sand
and put it in the middle of the desert? The far-
out cats at Arizona State University's Future
Arts Research, that's who. As New Times
writer Kathleen Vanesian covered in the
paper's March 5 edition, the college continues
to use a mix of public and private dollars to pay
a bunch of artsy-fartsy types to think and maybe,
if they feel like it, create something (or hire
someone else to create it). As Vanesian
explained, F.A.R.'s multi-cultural masterpiece,
"Solo," is a: "12-foot-high sculpture on the
Tohono O'odham reservation that was
commissioned by F.A.R. It was molded from
dirt, straw, sand, and water and is designed
to disintegrate over time." The wretched thing
collapsed like a mud pie upon being dumped
on the Tohono O'odham Indian reservation.

Housing costs to go up by 2 to 15 percent
ASU Web Devil 3/18/09
The cost of housing and dining plans for students
on all four campuses will increase next year,
University officials confirmed Tuesday. The
increases, which range from 2 to 15 percent
depending on the residence hall and dining plan,
were approved and finalized by the Arizona Board
of Regents at a meeting on Thursday afternoon.
An overview of the report released by the board
said students on the Tempe campus will face
an average annual increase of 7 percent, or
$300, in dorm rates and 3 percent, or $94, in
meal-plan costs.

2009-2010 Room and Board Rates
ASU Web Devil 3/18/09
Charts of Room and Board Rates at ASU
for 2009-2010

Budget limits ‘Brain Awareness’ program
ASU Web Devil 3/18/09
A science program at ASU that teaches children
about the human brain called Brain Awareness
Month has been limited this year because of the
University-wide furloughs, which are a result of
the budget cuts, and a general lack of funding.
Heather Bimonte-Nelson, an assistant
psychology professor at ASU’s Tempe campus,
started Brain Awareness Month during March
and April at ASU in 2006. Bimonte-Nelson said
she went to a third-grade classroom and taught
about brain cells and how the brain drives
human actions while at the Medical University
of South Carolina. After witnessing the
“excitement and curiosity” the children showed
for the subject, Bimonte-Nelson said she
decided to start the program when she arrived
at ASU in 2005. “There’s very little about the
brain and nervous system taught at these
early ages,” so there is a need for more
childhood education about the brain,
Bimonte-Nelson said.

Asian doctoral degree program to open in fall
ASU Web Devil 3/18/09
A new doctorate program at ASU that aims to
prepare students for the increasing demand
for knowledge of East Asian language and
culture in today’s global landscape has begun
admissions for its inaugural year. The East
Asian Languages and Civilizations doctorate
program, only the second foreign-language
doctoral degree offered at ASU, focuses on
comparative culture, linguistics and ancient
religion in traditional and modern languages
and cultures, with concentrations in either
Chinese or Japanese. The degree, offered
through the School of International Letters
and Sciences, will begin in the 2009-10
school year and is holding a special
admissions round until April 15.