Here are Cronkite News Service stories that moved from Nov. 26-30. 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.
WEEKEND SPECIAL
‘CACTUS COPS’ STRAPPED TRYING TO PREVENT THEFTS FROM STATE LAND
ORACLE JUNCTION _ It took decades for these three saguaros, now shriveled skeletons, to reach 7 feet tall. Thieves ripped them from the ground, probably hoping to sell them for use in landscaping, before a rancher forced them to leave empty-handed. Mike Reimer investigates such thefts for the Arizona Department of Agriculture, but with thousands of acres of state land to patrol and strong demand for saguaros and other desert plants, it’s tough for Reimer and the one other so-called “cactus cop” to keep up. “It’s so rare to run across them lifting saguaros out of the ground,” Reimer said. The Agriculture Department wants more native plant officers protecting state land, but lately it’s looking like there might not be money continue paying the two it has. “These plants are really important to who we are as Arizonans,” said Ed Hermes, a spokesman for the agency. “With development and theft, it’s quickly destroying that piece of our heritage, and it needs to be protected.”
Slug BC-CNS-Cactus Cops. By Jonathan J. Cooper.
Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 (thumbnails, captions below)
WEEKDAY SPECIALS (Offered for use throughout the week)
FED-UP LAWMAKER PROPOSES CELL PHONE USERS BILL OF RIGHTS
PHOENIX (Wednesday, Nov. 28) _ Tired of dropped calls, Ashlie West wants to switch cell phone companies. But she’d have to pay a big penalty to get out of her two-year contract. “I’m stuck. If I’d known the service would get so bad, I would have never gone this route,” West said, clutching her cherry red phone on a recent trip to the mall. West and other cell phone users would have more latitude to switch if a state lawmaker has his way.
Slug BC-CNS-Cell Phones-Rights. By Sonu Munshi.
NOTE: This story is suitable for business sections.
WEAK DOLLAR MAKES ARIZONA MORE ATTRACTIVE TO FOREIGN TOURISTS
PHOENIX (Tuesday, Nov. 27) _ Fresh off a flight from London, Louise Anderson said she’s happy to be taking advantage of exchange rates that make Arizona and other tourist destinations in the United States relative bargains these days. “We would’ve come anyway, but this has made it better,” Anderson said. With the dollar at headline-grabbing weak levels against currencies such as the British pound, Arizona tourism officials say the state and the goods sold here are more attractive to foreign visitors. “You might be spending the same amount in your currency, but you’re spending more dollars,” said Mary Rittman, director of travel industry marketing for the Arizona Office of Tourism. “And since everything is such a good deal there’s a lot of shopping going on.”
Slug BC-CNS-Dollar-Tourism. By Jonathan J. Cooper.
NOTE: This story is suitable for business sections.
Download Photo (thumbnail, caption below)
LAWMAKER WANTS RESTRICTIONS ON CELL PHONE USE WHILE DRIVING
PHOENIX (Monday, Nov. 26) _ People will continue to die unnecessarily until Arizonans wake up to the danger of driving while using cell phones, a Democratic state lawmaker says. Rep. Steve Farley, D-Tucson, said he plans once again to introduce a bill to make texting while driving illegal. And he isn’t stopping there. Farley said he wants to ban drivers from talking on cellphones unless they are using a hands-free device and to ban drivers under 18 from using cell phones, even with a hands-free set.
Slug BC-CNS-Drivers-Cell Phones. By Sonu Munshi.
THE WEEK’S NEWS
STUDY: ARIZONA’S IMMIGRANTS HAVE LOWEST HOUSEHOLD INCOMES
PHOENIX (Thursday, Nov. 29) _ Immigrant households in Arizona earn less on average than any other state with a large population of foreign-born residents, according to a study released Thursday by a group that favors limiting immigration. “The low incomes are a result of the low levels of education in immigrant families, especially illegal immigrants,” said Steven Carmota, who directed the survey for the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Immigration Studies. “When people aren’t educated enough, they aren’t getting the high-paying jobs and so their income remains low, making them in turn dependent on the government for health care and education.”
Slug BC-CNS-Immigrants-Income. By Sonu Munshi. With BC-CNS-Income-Box.
AFTER 30 YEARS OF SERVICE, CONTROL TOWER COMING DOWN AT SKY HARBOR
PHOENIX (Thursday, Nov. 29) _ Thirty years after it became the state-of-the-art centerpiece of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, the old control tower at Terminal 3 is coming down. Crews were to begin dismantling the tower Thursday in the shadow of a new tower more than 300 feet tall.
Slug BC-CNS-Sky Harbor Tower. By Stephanie Sanchez. With BC-CNS-Tower-Box.
Photos: 1 | 2 (thumbnails, captions below)
NAPOLITANO HELPS KICK OFF JOB TRAINING PROGRAM FOR EX-MILITARY
PHOENIX (Wednesday, Nov. 28) _ Gov. Janet Napolitano on Wednesday helped launch Arizona’s participation in Helmets to Hardhats, a national program offering job training to former members of the military.
Slug BC-CNS-Helmets to Hardhats. By Eric Graf.
Download Photo (thumbnail, caption below)
UNIVERSITY PRESIDENTS DISCUSS CLIMATE CHANGE AND HIGHER EDUCATION
TEMPE (Monday, Nov. 26) _ Arizona’s universities must reach beyond the ivory tower and educate the public about the impact global warming could have on the state, University of Arizona President Robert N. Shelton said Monday at a conference on the subject. Arizona could be ground zero for climate change in the U.S.,” Shelton said. At the Conference on Climate Change and the Role of Higher Education in Arizona, held at Arizona State University, the presidents of all three public universities discussed the challenges climate change poses to their institutions and the state.
Slug BC-CNS-Climate-Universities. By Eric Graf.
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PHOTOS: Click thumbnails to see full-resolution images and download
SKY HARBOR TOWER
CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-SKY HARBOR TOWER: A crane removes the cab from the old control tower at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Thursday, Nov. 29, 2007. Thirty years after it became the airport’s state-of-the-art centerpiece, the control tower is coming down. It’s been replaced with a new tower more than 300 feet tall. (Cronkite News Service Photo/Stephanie Sanchez)
CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-SKY HARBOR TOWER: As a crane in the distance works on dismantling the old control tower at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, the new control tower stands in the foreground on Thursday, Nov. 29, 2007. The new tower is 326 feet tall and cost $89 million. (Cronkite News Service Photo/Stephanie Sanchez)
CACTUS COPS
CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-CACTUS COPS: Mike Reimer, an investigator with the Arizona Department of Agriculture, points to a permit tag on a saguaro near Oracle Junction on Nov. 20, 2007. The tag is evidence in a three-year-old case Reimer investigated after thieves tried to steal cactuses from state trust land. A fund that pays Reimer and another native plant officer is drying up, and officials worry that thieves will steal even more desert plants from state land without the so-called “cactus cops” on duty. (Cronkite News Service Photo/Jonathan J. Cooper)
CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-CACTUS COPS: The skeletons of three saguaro cactuses bake in the sun near Oracle Junction. Thieves ripped the saguaros from the ground but were caught by a rancher before the cactuses could fetch thousands of dollars on the black market. A fund that pays the salaries of two Arizona Department of Agriculture native plant officers who investigate such thefts is drying up, and officials worry that thieves will steal even more desert plants from state land without the so-called “cactus cops” on duty. (Cronkite News Service Photo/Jonathan J. Cooper)
CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-CACTUS COPS: A homemade cradle used to steal saguaro cactuses sits abandoned in the desert near Oracle Junction. A fund that pays the salaries of two Arizona Department of Agriculture native plant officers who investigate such thefts is drying up, and officials worry that thieves will steal even more desert plants from state land without the so-called “cactus cops” on duty. (Cronkite News Service Photo/Jonathan J. Cooper)
CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-CACTUS COPS: A homemade cradle used to steal saguaro cactuses sits abandoned in the desert near Oracle Junction. A fund that pays the salaries of two Arizona Department of Agriculture native plant officers who investigate such thefts is drying up, and officials worry that thieves will steal even more desert plants from state land without the so-called “cactus cops” on duty. (Cronkite News Service Photo/Jonathan J. Cooper)
HELMETS TO HARDHATS
CAPTION WITH BC-CNS-HELMETS TO HARDHATS: Gov. Janet Napolitano answers questions Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2007, during a news conference launching Arizona’s participation in Helmets to Hardhats, a national program offering job training to former members of the military. At left is William P. Hite, general president of the United Association, a union representing workers in the plumbing and pipe-fitting industry. (Cronkite News Service Photo/Eric Graf)
DOLLAR-TOURISM
CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-DOLLAR-TOURISM: Visitors view the Grand Canyon from Mather Point on the South Rim in this undated National Park Service photo. With the dollar weak against foreign currencies, officials and experts say Arizona and other tourist hotspots are relative bargains for tourists from other countries. (Credit: National Park Service via Cronkite News Service)