TO CLIPS INDEX - Clips for March 20, 2008

City OKs hospital rezoning; Banner yet to make decision
The Arizona Republic - March 19, 2008 01:12 PM
An empty hospital tower could become one of Mesa's biggest employment centers after action this
week by the City Council, but the building's owner has yet to make a final decision. A unanimous
council vote approved plans to turn the Banner Mesa Medical Center building into an office and high-
tech medical training facility offering about 1,200 jobs. Bill Byron, a corporate spokesman for Banner
Health, said the plans for redevelopment of Banner Mesa were not presented to the Banner Health
board of directors at their March meeting, as originally planned.

Erickson follows Love’s lead, buys NIT tickets for ASU students
East Valley Tribune - March 19, 2008 - 11:03AM
Will the next magnanimous Arizona State athletic department member please step forward? In what
is turning into a game of one-upsmanship, ASU football coach Dennis Erickson took a page from
athletic director Lisa Love’s book Wednesday and purchased 200 tickets for ASU’s second round
game against Southern Illinois Thursday in the National Invitation Tournament.

State must borrow, GOP now concedes
Arizona Daily Star - March 20, 2008
Hundreds of millions needed to balance budgets for two years
PHOENIX — Republican legislative leaders conceded for the first time Wednesday there is no way
to balance the budget this year and next without borrowing hundreds of millions of dollars. House
Speaker Jim Weiers said GOP lawmakers balked last fall when Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano
proposed borrowing money to build schools rather than paying cash. He said they saw no reason
to incur debt, and pay interest, to deal with what was then a $600 million deficit.

Gun-brandishing bill goes to Senate
Arizona Daily Star - March 20, 2008
The House voted 33-26 Wednesday to allow people to draw their firearms if they feel threatened
without fearing arrest. Current law potentially subjects those who brandish a gun to criminal charges.
HB 2629 is aimed at providing some legal protections to those who unholster a weapon in an effort
to ward off someone they believe is threatening them. It also would permit pointing the firearm at
someone else and even firing it if otherwise justified by law.

UA student wins award from toxicology group
Tucson Citizen - March 20, 2008
University of Arizona student Kylee Eblin received the Society of Toxicology's Women in Toxicology
Student Achievement Award for 2008 on Wednesday. This is the second year in a row a UA student
has received the national award.

State treasurer: Coffers in jeopardy; Gov. disagrees
Tucson Citizen - March 19, 2008
State Treasurer Dean Martin cautioned authorities today to take action before the state runs out of
money to cover its spending obligations, which he said will happen by late April or early May. Gov.
Janet Napolitano quickly responded that the press conference was a political stunt. Martin said he
has never seen a situation such as this in state government, but observed there are ways to resolve
it. The quickest would be a budget revision. There's also the state's rainy-day fund, which has about
$700 million that could cover much of the gap.

Immigrant-worker visas could double if new bill passes
The Arizona Republic - Tucson Citizen March 20, 2008
A bill introduced last week by U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords would double the number of H-1B visas
that allow immigrants to legally work in the United States. The Tucson Democrat's bill, known as the
Innovation Employment Act, calls for increasing the limit of H-1B visas from 65,000 a year to 130,000
a year. The bill also would eliminate a 20,000-a-year cap on visas for foreign graduate or doctoral
program graduates who study science, technology, engineering or math

Scientists develop screening process to remove toxins from tap water
ASU State Press - March 20, 2008
ASU scientists have found a new way to remove a common toxin — proven to be a carcinogen in
animal studies — from water. In their recently published paper in "Environmental Science and
Technology," three ASU scientists wrote about how they were able to transform toxic trichloroethane,
called TCE, into ethane, a harmless substance.

Treasurer: AZ coffers could be dry by May 5
Arizona Capitol Times - March 19, 2008
By Cinco de Mayo, the state's coffers could run dry. That was the message Treasurer Dean Martin
sent this morning, as he detailed the crisis facing the state if a budget fix for the current fiscal year
isn't approved soon. But Gov. Janet Napolitano said Martin's information was "inaccurate" and will
do nothing to help further negotiations with legislative leaders.

State budget storm hits $3.1 billion
Phoenix Business Journal - March 19, 2008 - 4:20 PM MST
The state's financial health continues to worsen with a deepening deficit, receding tax revenue
and projected slow economic growth. The state government has a budget deficit that totals $3.1
billion for the current and next fiscal years, according to new figures from the Joint Legislative
Budget Committee at the Arizona Legislature.

Twin Palms shares strong ties with ASU, Tempe
Arizona Business Gazette - March 20, 2008 12:00 AM
Hotel is located in heart of city, close to campus
The seven-story, 139-room Twin Palms Hotel is one of the most historical and long-lived hotels
in Tempe. Guests 70 and older recall staying there when they were students at Arizona State
University, and the hotel continues to cater to the local and ASU communities and out-of-town
guests looking for a clean, comfortable setting from which to enjoy downtown and the adjacent
university.

Downloading Drama
Tucson Weekly - March 13, 2008
While UA officials ponder what to do, officials in Oregon fight file-sharing lawsuits head-on
If Woody Guthrie were alive today, perhaps he would write up a little song about the University
of Oregon and Oregon's attorney general, who happens to have the great folk-song name of
Hardy Myers. And if such a song existed, now would be a good time to sing it at the steps of
the UA's Administration Building, because the school is sitting on 14 pre-settlement letters
that the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) wants the university to send on to
students who have allegedly shared music through peer-to-peer (p2p) social-networking Web
sites.

Arizona's budget trouble
Casa Grande Valley Newspapers - March 18, 2008
THE PROBLEM: Arizona's current $10.6 billion budget is in the red by an estimated $1.2 billion.
That's only a projection, but one based on months in which tax collections fell below levels that
were expected when the budget was negotiated last spring. Those same anemic collection levels,
a result of the economic downturn, have budget officials projecting an even bigger shortfall - $1.8
billion - in the fiscal year that starts July 1.