Arizona

Mayor going to traffic class

PHOENIX — Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon will be going to traffic school after being cited as a result of a red light camera in North Phoenix.

Gordon was cited after the camera snapped a shot of him northbound on 7th Street at Northern Avenue. According to court records, the Mayor was cited for "red light failure to stop or remain stopped" in August of 2008.

Because of a possible conflict of interest, the citation was transferred to a Scottsdale court for dispoition.

The Mayor’s spokesman Scott Phellps says Gordon failed to come to a complete stop while making a right turn at the intersection.

(Read the full post about ‘Phx Mayor Phil Gordon caught by red light photo-camera’…)

Fans started lining up at 8 a.m. to see the midnight premiere of Twilight azfamily.com

 UNCUT: Live on-set chat with Twilight author Stephenie Meyer 
 VIDEO: Behind the scenes look at Twilight 
 VIDEO: Fans flock to Twilight Hollywood Premiere 
 VIDEO: Hundreds of screaming teens 
 VIDEO: ‘Twilight’ cast meet fans 
 VIDEO: ‘Twilight’ causes frenzy among fans at mall 

PHOENIX - Fans of Twilight, a book series about a vampire in love, have been waiting for three years for Twilight to hit the big screen.

(Read the full post about ‘Twilight movie opens, midnight showings packed with fans’…)

GILBERT — Gilbert police and the Mesa bomb squad were called out to an intersection near Stapley Drive and Baseline Road Thursday morning after a suspcious device was found in the road.

Intersection closed during investigation

According to Lt. Eric Shuhandler of the Gilbert Police Department, the device was found in the intersection of Stonehenge Drive, which is near Stapley Drive, and Baseline Road. That’s on the Mesa-Gilbert border.

The call came in at about 8 a.m.

That intersection was closed for about 90 minutes so investigators could evaulate the situation.

The bomb squad determined that the device was inert and the intersection was re-opened to traffic.

(Read the full post about ‘Bomb squad called out for suspicious device found in Gilbert intersection’…)

Tunnels found during routine sweep azfamily.com

 PHOTOS: Illicit tunnels 

The following news release was sent by the U.S. Border Patrol:

NOGALES – Border Patrol agents assigned to the Nogales Station have identified two separate illicit tunnels within a 12 hour period.   

Border Patrol agents assigned to the Nogales Station Bike Patrol were making a routine sweep of the drainage system known as the Grand Avenue Tunnel on Wednesday afternoon, when they located a man-made tunnel inside a drainage tube. The tube runs directly underneath Arroyo Boulevard at Oak Street in Nogales.

(Read the full post about ‘2 cross-border drug tunnels found within 24-hour period’…)

More victims identified azfamily.com

 PHOTOS: Area of attacks 
 VIDEO: Suspect fondles and runs 
 VIDEO: Still on the loose  
 UNCUT: Police give details on attacks  
 MAP: Interactive map of the attacks  

PHOENIX - A man is accused of targeting women across the Valley.

The man has been attacking women for months across a large portion on the West Valley from 41st Avenue to 107th Avenue and from Encanto Boulevard to Camelback.

So far he has hit eight victims and police believe there are more victims who have not come forward.

The victims have recently come up with a sketch and they are hoping that will lead to an arrest.

(Read the full post about ‘Police: 8 women fondled by West Phoenix Attacker’…)

Florida's Governor Gives Public Universities a Break on Tuition

Public universities in Florida got some good news today, from an unlikely source: Gov. Charlie Crist.

After years of clashing with university leaders, often over tuition rates, the Republican governor proposed today to allow the state’s 11 public universities to gradually bring their tuition levels up to the national average.

With tuition levels that are among the lowest in the nation, Florida’s cash-strapped public universities have been slammed by recent state budget cuts.

(Read the full post about ‘Florida’s Governor Gives Public Universities a Break on Tuition’…)

U. of Virginia Takes Heat for Its Investment Strategy

The University of Virginia is being criticized by local newspapers and financial bloggers for an endowment-investment strategy that relies heavily on private-equity funds and similar kinds of so-called alternative investments.

On paper, the university’s long-term investment pool dropped in value by nearly $1-billion, to $4.2-billion, from June 30 to October 31.

(Read the full post about ‘U. of Virginia Takes Heat for Its Investment Strategy’…)

German University Awards Ph.D. to 88-Year-Old Who Was Denied the Degree in 1943

An 88-year-old man who was not allowed to take the oral examination for his doctoral degree during the Nazi era because of his Jewish ancestry successfully defended his dissertation this month and was finally awarded his Ph.D., according to the Deutsche Welle news agency (for other reports, in German, see Die Zeit and Academics.de).

The venerable student, Dimitri Stein, submitted his thesis in electrical engineering in 1943, but officials at the Technical University of Berlin refused to permit him to take the oral exam needed to earn a doctorate.

Mr.

(Read the full post about ‘German University Awards Ph.D. to 88-Year-Old Who Was Denied the Degree in 1943′…)

Some Student-Aid Administrators Expect Budget Cuts, Survey Finds

One out of three student-aid offices don’t know how much institutional grant aid their colleges will be able to award next year, and many expect their own operating budgets to be cut, according to the results of a survey released today by Student Lending Analytics, a company that helps colleges select lenders.

Thirty-nine percent of financial-aid administrators expect to see their operating budgets cut for 2009-10, the survey found, and 15 percent of respondents at public two-year colleges and 10 percent of those at public four-year colleges expect cuts of more than 10 percent.

(Read the full post about ‘Some Student-Aid Administrators Expect Budget Cuts, Survey Finds’…)

Baylor College of Medicine Dismisses Its President

Baylor College of Medicine trustees dismissed Peter Traber as the institution’s president on Wednesday, ending a rocky five-and-a-half-year tenure that included a split with the college’s teaching hospital, the Houston Chronicle reported today.

Dr. Traber agreed to step down on December 1 and will serve as president emeritus, professor of medicine, and a consultant to the board. The trustees did not provide reasons for their decision, but the Chronicle reported that “highly placed sources” had cited “seemingly endless turmoil and shaky finances” at the medical school, which is not connected with Baylor University.

“I wouldn’t put all the blame on Dr.

(Read the full post about ‘Baylor College of Medicine Dismisses Its President’…)