TO CLIPS INDEX - Clips for March 21, 2008

Editorial: Cap and gouge
The Arizona Republic - March 21, 2008 12:00 AM
Hitting the books is hitting the wallets of college students hard. Too hard. The price of textbooks has
been climbing at twice the pace of overall inflation for two decades. Arizona university students pay an
average of $816 to $950 per year for books and supplies - nearly a fifth of the cost of in-state tuition.
The problem is nationwide, making higher education less accessible and less affordable.

Salt deposits found on Mars
The Arizona Republic - March 21, 2008 12:00 AM
Sites are ideal places for clues to past life
The salt may be on Mars, but the Opportunity isn't there. The closest land rover, named Opportunity,
is more than 100 miles away. That's too far for the slow-moving carts to investigate the salt deposits
that scientists announced Thursday they have discovered on the Red Planet. The deposits also are
far from where the Phoenix Mars Mission is scheduled to land on May 25, in the planet's icy polar
regions.

Harden, Sun Devils reach NIT quarters
The Arizona Republic - March 21, 2008 12:00 AM
Arizona State is turning the National Invitation Tournament's consolation into a celebration. At least
the Sun Devils did Thursday night in a 65-51 victory over Southern Illinois in the NIT's second round
at Wells Fargo Arena. With the victory over the Salukis, the Sun Devils (21-12) advanced to the third
round against today's Creighton-Florida winner. The third-round game is scheduled for Tuesday at
Wells Fargo. A tip-off time had not been determined late Thursday night. If the Gators win, the Sun
Devils will have a chance at beating the 2006 and 2007 NCAA champions and winning over fans.

SCC names its presidential recommendation
The Arizona Republic - March 20, 2008 04:12 PM
SCOTTSDALE - Maricopa Community Colleges Chancellor Rufus Glasper has selected Jan Gehler
to become the president of Scottsdale Community College. The college district Governing Board still
must approve Gehler's hiring. That action is scheduled for Tuesday. Gehler would replace Art
DeCabooter, who is retiring after 30 years at SCC.

Bill seeks to curb college-textbook costs
The Arizona Republic - March 20, 2008 12:00 AM
The state House on Wednesday passed legislation aimed at curbing college-textbook costs. House
Bill 2230 would require publishers to disclose specific information to public universities and community
colleges to help faculty make better decisions when selecting textbooks for their courses. That information
includes the suggested retail prices of textbooks, and whether books and other materials are offered in a
more costly bundled package or sold separately.

Tempe council approves Newman Center tower
East Valley Tribune - March 21, 2008 - 12:09AM
It'll be easy to spot the Newman Center's new 22-story tower for student housing, but don't waste much
time looking for the parking garage. There won't be one. In fact, it won't feature any on-site parking - a
first for a large Tempe project. Though the project will house 432 students and include some offices,
the Tempe City Council on Thursday approved a development that typically would have required more
than 500 parking spaces.

Mars spacecraft finds evidence of salt deposits with ASU camera
East Valley Tribune - March 20, 6:03 PM EDT
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) -- A Mars probe has spied what appear to be ancient salt deposits in the southern
highlands of the planet, giving scientists another place to study whether the environment could have
supported primitive life. The evidence of salt remnants is important because they pinpoint regions where
water once flowed. Scientists said the deposits likely formed 3.5 billion to 3.9 billion years ago, possibly
from groundwater that reached the surface and evaporated, leaving behind the mineral deposits.

What I Know Blog: State treasurer puts heat on Gov. Napolitano
East Valley Tribune - March 20th, 2008
The office of Arizona State Treasurer conjures up images of dull and endless number-crunching where
financial analysts track billions of dollars held (usually) in safe investments. The person at the top, the
elected treasurer, often is more figurehead than financial wizard, and certainly doesn’t get any credit for
doing the job as voters expect. Only when a treasurer makes some kind of mistake does anyone seem
to notice whose in office (ask David Petersen of Mesa). The office of treasurer definitely never has been
the place from which to launch a successful bid for governor or a similar office. But the current treasurer,
Dean Martin, apparently will try to change that.

2nd consecutive defeat in 1st round of tourney ends UA's difficult season
Tucson Citizen - March 21, 2008 12:00 AM
WASHINGTON - Arizona's long and winding road - often filled with controversy and tumult - ended
Thursday night at the Verizon Center. The Wildcats, a No. 10 seed in the West Region, fell to No. 7
seed West Virginia 75-65. The Wildcats end their season at 19-15 failing to reach the 20-win mark
for the first time since going 18-12 in 1986-87. The loss also marks the first time UA has lost in the
first round of the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back season since the 1992 and 1993 seasons. The
Wildcats were eliminated by Purdue in the first round last year.

Giffords rings bell for streetcar funding earmark
Tucson Citizen - March 21, 2008
U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., has requested $43 million in federal money to establish streetcar
service connecting downtown Tucson to the University of Arizona and the West Side. The Regional
Transportation Authority has budgeted $69.8 million in sales tax dollars to pay for half the project and
wants the federal government to kick in $69.7 million to make the streetcar service happen. The first
installment of the streetcar request is the biggest chunk of Giffords' $119 million in "earmark" requests
above and beyond what the budget allows. U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., is considering including the
same request in his earmark proposals.

ASU maintains heavy hand in research with Mars Rover
ASU Web Devil - March 21, 2008
Scientist's tools used to discover deposits of salt on red planet
Controlling robots and snapping photos of the final frontier is just a day's work for the ASU staff and
alumni who continue to play a role in Mars research. Since 2001, ASU has been a part of Mars Odyssey
and Rover missions by inventing the instruments and training some of the scientists who search for
water on the red planet. "It's an amazing sustained effort," said Amy Knudson, an ASU research
specialist who graduated in 2006 with a geological sciences doctorate.

Once threatened Biosphere 2 continues mission under UA
Inside Tucson Business - March 21, 2008
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
rainforest plants. The research team isn’t deep in the Amazon jungle but instead under the geometric
Plexiglas ceiling of the Biosphere 2 facility near Oracle. To them, in many ways the simulation is as
good as the real thing - even better in others.

AWC tuition hike starts with summer classes
Yuma Sun - March 20, 2008 - 11:21PM
Students taking classes at Arizona Western College will be paying higher tuition starting this summer.
As of May 27, tuition will increase $10 per credit hour, an increase from $46 to $56 per credit hour, said
Carole Coleman, director of financial services and controller at AWC. The increase is needed to offset
an anticipated decrease in state funding and reduction in funds due to tax levy restrictions mandated by
a voter-approved ballot measure, Coleman said. This is the largest increase in tuition the college has
seen in years, said Michelle Sims, AWC public relations and marketing director.