News 2008-05-31 Andanh.com

Botanical Gardens wins tax appeal
PHOENIX — The state Court of Appeals has ruled Tucson Botanical Gardens does not have to pay property taxes on its gift shop or other areas of its facility in which moneymaking activities take place.

39 animals seized from home; 2 children put in protective custody
Two young children were taken into protective custody and nearly 40 animals were seized from an East Side home after investigators discovered them in "urine-soaked, feces-laden" living conditions, an official said Friday.

Deaths
The deceased are from Tucson unless otherwise noted. Occupations are stated when available.

Yaqui voters got free meal for early vote
The Pascua Yaqui Tribe's top casino executive encouraged tribal members to vote early last week by offering free meals at Casino del Sol worth up to $20 per vote.

Petrol prices around the globe make even $4 gas in U.S. look reasonable
PARIS — Americans are shell-shocked at $4-a-gallon gas. But consider France, where a gallon of petrol runs nearly $10. Or Turkey, where it's more than $11.

Buenos Aires on list of 10 most imperiled
BUENOS AIRES NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE — A spider web of more than 1,500 linear miles of foot trails slices through this refuge's semidesert grasslands that are home to deer, javelinas and gray hawks in the Altar Valley, southwest of Tucson.

Political Notebook by Daniel Scarpinato : Giffords for Obama? We're still waiting . . .
Now that primaries across the country are winding down, we hear that U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is poised to endorse Barack Obama late next week.

U.S. eyes relisting owl as in danger
The formerly endangered cactus ferruginous pygmy owl — the little bird that stopped bulldozers and shaped growth on the Northwest Side for several years — is being considered again for endangered listing.

Mars lander may have uncovered ice as it touched down
Scientists searching for ice on Mars hope to know more today about a patch of mysterious material beneath the Phoenix lander that could be just what they're looking for.

Lottery
Drawings for Friday, May 30

Blood Donations
The American Red Cross will be seeking blood donors at these times and places next week. To schedule your appointment, call 1-800-448-3543.

Get involved
Browse hundreds of volunteer opportunities at the Volunteer Center of Southern Arizona's Web site, at www. volunteersoaz.org. For personalized assistance or for more information on any of the volunteer opportunities listed here, call 881-3300.

Canines help kids connect
Art Lipski, Merrill "M.J." Evans and Siena are not your typical volunteer team: a significant portion of their mission to teach at-risk children about unconditional love is accomplished without saying a word. And in this case, the primary instructor has four legs.

Official takes $2K trip for award Pinal never got
MESA — The public works director in Pinal County took a trip to an upscale Las Vegas hotel on the county's dime, saying he was going to accept a national award on behalf of his department.

State revenues in April were lower than forecast
PHOENIX — State revenues are continuing to come in below expectations, threatening to put next year's budget even deeper in the red.

Lawmaker eyes DWT (driving while texting) plan
PHOENIX — State senators are being asked to consider which is more dangerous to do while driving — send a text message or try to fish that last french fry out of the bag?

Horne: Start immersion classes without delay
PHOENIX — Arizona schools should not be allowed to avoid enrolling all their English learners in special immersion courses in the coming year while the adequacy of funding is debated, state School Superintendent Tom Horne said Thursday.

Store co-workers honor 'really great guy with really big heart'
The recipient of this week's Ben's Bell is Craig Baugh, who spends as much time as possible — personally and professionally — giving back.

Boy charged with making pipe bombs
A 15-year-old boy from McNeal was charged Friday with possession of explosive devices after authorities said he made five pipe bombs and had the materials to make more.

Voters may get dueling road-tax plans
PHOENIX — Arizona voters may get a choice of how much, if anything, they want to tax themselves for transportation improvements — and for which projects.

Road and lane limits set for next week
Traffic will be open Monday in one lane in each direction on South Rita Road between East Old Vail Road and Interstate 10.

Border agents find entrant's bones and 2,600 pounds of marijuana
U.S. Border Patrol agents on Thursday discovered the skeletal remains of a suspected illegal immigrant southwest of Three Points and found 2,600 pounds of marijuana in an abandoned pickup on the Tohono O'odham Reservation.

Man to get 4 years for role in stabbing death
A Tucson man will be spending the next four years in prison after pleading guilty Friday morning to negligent homicide in the July 2007 death of another man.

Jimmy's forecast
With high pressure dominating our weather, triple-digit high temperatures return today and will stick around for several days. We should top out at our warmest temperatures of the year so far by the end of the weekend.

Death rate sharply lower for golfers
The death rate for golfers is 40 percent lower than for other people of the same sex, age and socioeconomic status, a study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports found.

Ozone-depleting asthma inhalers to be phased out by end of this year
WASHINGTON — Old-fashioned asthma inhalers that contain environment-harming chemicals will no longer be sold at year's end — and the government is urging patients not to wait until the last minute to switch to newer alternatives.

Long and winding Democratic race approaching its final 3 primaries
WASHINGTON — After what feels like forever, the end of the presidential primaries is in sight. Really.

McClellan: Bush 'did not embrace openness'
WASHINGTON — The Bush White House is known for secrecy and strict message control, and a new book by its former press secretary details extraordinary measures it has used to manage what information gets out.

Texas Dems' suit over voting-fraud cases settled
DALLAS — A federal lawsuit alleging that state investigators enforced voter fraud laws in a way that targeted minorities and Democrats ended with both sides declaring victory in a settlement.

Fringe candidate stirs up San Diego mayoral race
SAN DIEGO — A 26-year-old T-shirt designer could turn San Diego's mayoral election on its head.

Obama used party rules to foil Clinton
WASHINGTON — Unlike Hillary Rodham Clinton, rival Barack Obama planned for the long haul.

Priest who mocked Clinton draws spotlight — again
CHICAGO — He's a white priest at a largely black church. He's held hands with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. He's been arrested dozens of times and battled anyone he thinks has wronged his parish — from gun dealers to a local Catholic sports league.

Dems struggle with Michigan vote, Florida delegates
WASHINGTON — Democratic Party officials struggling with the question of what to do with delegates from Michigan and Florida are grappling with a more complicated issue: how to resolve an election when front-runner Barack Obama wasn't even on the ballot.

Dems, GOP squabble over McCain's troop numbers
MILWAUKEE — Republican John McCain's estimate of U.S. troop levels in Iraq touched off squabbling with Democrat Barack Obama on Friday, the latest turn in the presidential rivals' escalating disagreement over the war.

Be calm: I-10 shutdown temporary
Slow down. Take a deep breath. Embrace the frontage roads. Interstate 10 from West Prince Road to 29th Street is closed this weekend. It closed at 10 p.m. last night and traffic will be routed to the frontage roads until the work week commute begins at 5 a.m. Monday.

'Meltdown' awaits rail freight system
Railway executive Matthew Rose stood before fellow industry leaders, pointing to a map meant to tell the future of the U.S. rail freight network. It was drenched in red — east to west, north to south.

Illinois Department of Transportation plans to leave more roadkill behind
CARBONDALE, Ill. — The view along Illinois highways this summer should be beautiful — for the turkey vultures.

Sheriff's officials seek two in armed robbery Sat, 31 May 2008 00:29:50 GMT

More than 200 evacuated from stinky casino Fri, 30 May 2008 21:32:25 GMT

U.N.: Myanmar cyclone refugees evicted from camps
YANGON, Myanmar — Myanmar's military government is forcing cyclone victims out of refugee camps and "dumping" them near their devastated villages with virtually no aid supplies, U.N. and church officials said Friday.

'Uncontacted' Amazon tribes are threatened by civilization
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — Brazil's government agreed to release stunning photos of Amazon Indians firing arrows at an airplane so that the world can better understand the threats facing one of the few tribes still living in near-total isolation from civilization, officials said Friday.

Most quake-displaced kids back with parents in China
CHENGDU, China — Most of the 8,000 children found alone after China's devastating earthquake have been reunited with their parents, Chinese officials said Friday.

Around the world
Yemen

Vatican: Women will be excommunicated for ordinations
VATICAN CITY — The Vatican insisted Friday that it is properly following Christian tradition by excluding females from the priesthood as it issued a new warning that women taking part in ordinations will be excommunicated.

Woman hid in stranger's closet for year
TOKYO — A homeless woman who sneaked into a man's house and lived undetected in his closet for a year was arrested in Japan after he became suspicious when food mysteriously began disappearing.

Construction crane's collapse kills 2 in N.Y.C.
The latest developments

Iraqis protest talks on extended U.S. role
BAGHDAD — Tens of thousands rallied in several cities Friday against a proposed U.S.-Iraqi security agreement, raising doubts that negotiators can meet a July target to finalize a pact to keep U.S. troops in Iraq after the current U.N. mandate expires.

Top speller is rewarded with 'guerdon'
WASHINGTON — As it turned out, Sameer Mishra provided more than just comic relief at the 2008 Scripps National Spelling Bee. He ended up winning the title.

Reunion of sect families is put off
AUSTIN, Texas — An agreement to reunite children removed from a West Texas polygamous ranch with their parents fell apart at the last minute on Friday, after a district judge and attorneys for the religious sect sparred over the details.

U.S. expects Israel to OK Fulbright scholars' visas
WASHINGTON — The Bush administration predicted Friday that Israel will reverse its decision to deny visas to Palestinian students from the Gaza Strip whom the U.S. government had selected to receive prestigious Fulbright scholarships.

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