Cronkite News Service

BC-CNS-News Digest (5-6)

Here is the Cronkite News Service lineup for Wednesday, May 6. Cronkite News Service stories and photos are posted online at http://cronkitenews.asu.edu. As the week progresses, this digest lists spot news, stories offered for use throughout the week and features suggested for weekend use. If you have questions or would like to receive the daily news digest by e-mail, please contact Steve Elliott at 602-496-0686 or steve.elliott@asu.edu. You also can monitor Cronkite News Service via Twitter, Facebook and a Web feed optimized for iPhone.

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Wednesday, May 6 – 15:14
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A Cronkite News Service Weekend Special

Peso exchange rate hurting Arizona’s border businesses

NOTE: This story moved Wednesday, May 6. We recommend it for weekend use.

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Multimedia: Flash video is available by following the link. We can e-mail the FLV, but clients are welcome to link to our presentation.

By CAROLINA MADRID
Cronkite News Service

DOUGLAS _ G.T. Bohmfalk remembers the days when shoppers flooded in from Mexico to buy from his western wear and saddle shop and from other merchants along G Avenue in this border community.

But business is worse than he’s seen since he began running the family-owned Marlin’s Saddle Shop in 1986.

“I’m getting battered at every turn,” he said. “Even people in their 70s who have been working here say, ‘I don’t know how you make it,’ and the truth is, I don’t know how I’m making it.”

But for businesses in Douglas and other border towns in Arizona, the problem is bigger than just the shaky U.S. economy. A slide in the peso’s value against the dollar has made it more expensive for Mexicans to shop in the U.S., so fewer customers are making the trips across the border.

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Wednesday, May 6 – 14:42
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Pesos-to-dollar exchange rate since 1999

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By Cronkite News Service

Here is the average pesos-to-dollar exchange rate since 1999:

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Wednesday, May 6 – 14:40
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A Cronkite News Service Weekend Special

Bill intends to protect religious expression in schools

NOTE: Subs 9th graf to UPDATE with House approval. This story moved Wednesday, May 6. We recommend it for weekend use.

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Photos Available (thumbnails, captions below)

Multimedia: Flash video is available by following the link. We can e-mail the FLV, but clients are welcome to link to our presentation.

By SEAN MANGET
Cronkite News Service

TEMPE  _ Deborah Chambers thought it would be no big deal to display a picture of Jesus on her notebook at the Chandler charter school where is a seventh-grader.

She didn’t think the image of a bloodied Christ on the cross was all that different from a Muslim head scarf or a Phoenix Suns logo.

“It’s important to me because that’s what Jesus did for me,” Chambers said.

She said that last October a teacher sent her to the principal’s office after a fellow student complained about the notebook, and the principal told her she could no longer bring the notebook to school.

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Wednesday, May 6 – 13:29
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Key provisions of bill on religious expression

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By Cronkite News Service

Here are key provisions of HB 2357, sponsored by Rep. Rich Crandall, R-Mesa:

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Wednesday, May 6 – 13:28
By CNS | Posted in h-Multimedia, d-Weekend Specials, e-Stories With Photos | Comments Off

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Voucher ruling puts focus on public schools’ special-needs programs

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By JAMES KING
Cronkite News Service

QUEEN CREEK (Wednesday, May 6) _ Nine-year-old Gunner DeBesk eats lunch in the cafeteria and takes P.E. with his fellow third-graders. In many ways, he leads a life typical of an elementary school student.

In reality, however, Gunner is exceptional; he is a child with autism.

Like many public schools, Walker Butte Elementary here integrates students with special needs in physical education classes and lunch period. The rest of Gunner’s day is spent on motor skills _ on exercises such as wiggling his toes in a bin of rice or jumping into a pile of foam padding. He works with a speech therapist once a week.

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Wednesday, May 6 – 8:44
By CNS | Posted in c-Weekday Specials, e-Stories With Photos | Comments Off

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Mayor launches heat network helping Phoenix homeless, elderly, disabled

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Multimedia: Flash video is available by following the link. We can e-mail the FLV, but clients are welcome to link to our presentation.

By ANDREA WILSON
Cronkite News Service

PHOENIX (Tuesday, May 5) _ The onset of triple-digit heat combined with the tough economy make it more important than ever for businesses to donate bottled water that will help homeless people, the homebound elderly and the disabled, Mayor Phil Gordon said Tuesday.

“We still have too many individuals who aren’t aware that the heat will kill.” Gordon said in launching the city’s Heat-Relief Network for 2009. “We need to watch out for each other, need to keep everyone safe.”

The program, which provides hydration, refuge and wellness checks over the summer, was founded in response to the heat-related deaths of 32 people in 2005, most of them homeless or elderly.

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Tuesday, May 5 – 15:29
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Facts about Phoenix Heat-Relief Network

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By Cronkite News Service

Here are facts about the Heat-Relief Network in Phoenix:

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Tuesday, May 5 – 15:00
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BC-CNS-News Digest (5-5)

Here is the Cronkite News Service lineup for Tuesday, May 5. Cronkite News Service stories and photos are posted online at http://cronkitenews.asu.edu. As the week progresses, this digest lists spot news, stories offered for use throughout the week and features suggested for weekend use. If you have questions or would like to receive the daily news digest by e-mail, please contact Steve Elliott at 602-496-0686 or steve.elliott@asu.edu. You also can monitor Cronkite News Service via Twitter, Facebook and a Web feed optimized for iPhone.

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Tuesday, May 5 – 13:54
By CNS | Posted in i-Digests, Advisories | Comments Off

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Brewer, families help honor fallen DPS officers

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Multimedia: Flash video is available by following the link. We can e-mail the FLV, but clients are welcome to link to our presentation.

By MICHELLE PRICE
Cronkite News Service

PHOENIX (Monday, May 4) _ Gwenn Murie McCaleb placed a single red rose on a memorial wall, then kissed her fingers and pressed them against a plaque bearing her husband’s name. The Department of Public Safety officer accompanying her gave a salute, and, as they walked away, she cried a little.

“Every time there’s a service like this, it’s like just yesterday that it happened,” said McCaleb, whose husband, DPS Officer William H. Murie, 31, was killed Nov. 19, 1980, when was struck by a passing vehicle while assisting at a crash on Interstate 17 near New River.

“The tears flow just like they always did,” McCaleb said.

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Monday, May 4 – 19:38
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Facts about DPS Fallen Officers Memorial Ceremony

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By Cronkite News Service

Here are details about the Department of Public Safety’s annual Fallen Officers Memorial Ceremony:

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Monday, May 4 – 18:38
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BC-CNS-News Digest (5-4)

Here is the Cronkite News Service lineup for Monday, May 4. Cronkite News Service stories and photos are posted online at http://cronkitenews.asu.edu. As the week progresses, this digest lists spot news, stories offered for use throughout the week and features suggested for weekend use. If you have questions or would like to receive the daily news digest by e-mail, please contact Steve Elliott at 602-496-0686 or steve.elliott@asu.edu. You also can monitor Cronkite News Service via Twitter, Facebook and a Web feed optimized for iPhone.

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Monday, May 4 – 14:13
By CNS | Posted in i-Digests, Advisories | Comments Off

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Teachers summit aims to add global perspectives to school lessons

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By MICHELLE PRICE
Cronkite News Service

GLENDALE (Friday, May 1) _ As they prepare to compete in the 21st century global marketplace, Arizona students may soon find themselves using tools such as Google Earth to take virtual field trips or learning Chinese from Sesame Street characters on the computer.

About 100 teachers and administrators from schools statewide gathered at the Thunderbird School of Global Management on Friday for the first Global Teacher’s Summit, a day of seminars about the digital and cultural skills students will need. The state Department of Education organized the event.

“The future belongs to the highly educated, and particularly the highly educated who are prepared to participate in the world economy,” said Tom Horne, the state Superintendent of Public Instruction.

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Friday, May 1 – 17:10
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Strategies for giving students international skills

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By Cronkite News Service

The Arizona Department of Education’s Global Teacher’s Summit outlined strategies for teachers and administrators to enhance students’ international skills:

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Friday, May 1 – 17:00
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BC-CNS-News Digest (5-1)

Here is the Cronkite News Service lineup for Friday, May 1. Cronkite News Service stories and photos are posted online at http://cronkitenews.asu.edu. As the week progresses, this digest lists spot news, stories offered for use throughout the week and features suggested for weekend use. If you have questions or would like to receive the daily news digest by e-mail, please contact Steve Elliott at 602-496-0686 or steve.elliott@asu.edu. You also can monitor Cronkite News Service via Twitter, Facebook and a Web feed optimized for iPhone.

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Friday, May 1 – 10:59
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Forecast: Arizona will lose tens of thousands of jobs before recovery

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By STEVEN FALKENHAGEN
Cronkite News Service

PHOENIX (Thursday, April 30) _ A state forecast predicts that Arizona will lose tens of thousands of jobs in construction, trade and professional and business services for 2009 and 2010.

Overall, the state can expect 160,000 fewer jobs during that period, though the rate of job losses is predicted to slow in 2010, according to a state Department of Commerce report released Thursday.

Dennis Doby, the department’s senior director of research administration, said that while the outlook for rest of the year is dreary, the number of job losses should begin to decrease in 2010 once consumers gain confidence in the economy and begin to spend.

“For businesses to hire, they need to see there is potential for revenues in the future,” Doby said. “And consumers need to believe they’re going to keep their jobs. I’m not going to go out and make any major purchases if I don’t think I’m going to have a job in a few months.”

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Thursday, April 30 – 17:11
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Highlights of state report on job losses in 2009-10

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By Cronkite News Service

Here are the sectors with the best and worst outlooks for jobs in 2009 and 2010, according to the Arizona Department of Commerce:

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Thursday, April 30 – 17:00
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BC-CNS-News Digest (4-30)

Here is the Cronkite News Service lineup for Thursday, April 30. Cronkite News Service stories and photos are posted online at http://cronkitenews.asu.edu. As the week progresses, this digest lists spot news, stories offered for use throughout the week and features suggested for weekend use. If you have questions or would like to receive the daily news digest by e-mail, please contact Steve Elliott at 602-496-0686 or steve.elliott@asu.edu. You also can monitor Cronkite News Service via Twitter, Facebook and a Web feed optimized for iPhone.

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Thursday, April 30 – 13:07
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A Cronkite News Service Weekend Special

Water-audit program helps students learn importance of conservation

NOTE: This story moved Thursday, April 30. We recommend it for weekend use.

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Photos Available (thumbnails, captions below)

Multimedia: Flash video is available by following the link. We can e-mail the FLV, but clients are welcome to link to our presentation.

By ANDREA WILSON
Cronkite News Service

COTTONWOOD_ In a science classroom at Cottonwood Middle School, Tyler Lennon twists an aerator onto a faucet and then measures the flow into a beaker for five seconds. Her efforts have cut the flow nearly in half.

At a drinking fountain outside the cafeteria, Laura Wylie uses a bucket to measure how much water is wasted when she drinks. She says she’ll try to use a cup from now on.

In a girls’ bathroom, Austin Moffitt giggles as he checks around toilets for water stains that would indicate leaks. He locates none, but he does find manufacturer’s stickers designating the toilets low-flow and marks his checklist as such.

For Austin and seventh-graders who spent class periods over two days auditing their school’s water use, the experience offers lessons they can take home.

“I’ll probably not leave the water on when I’m brushing my teeth and stuff,” he said.

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Thursday, April 30 – 10:48
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Facts about state program teaching kids water conservation

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By Cronkite News Service

Here are facts about a state program that teaches schoolchildren about water conservation:
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Thursday, April 30 – 9:57
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