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When Phoenix's Parks and Recreation Department had to take a $15.5 million budget cut, it was only a matter of time before downtown parks began to feel the pain.

Among the laundry list of cuts was the $288,000 private security contract for six Phoenix parks, including Margaret T. Hance Park at 1134 N. Central Ave. That and other budget cuts took effect in April, city officials say.

Roosevelt Action Association members have complained to the city about the lost security detail, but it doesn't look like it will come back any time soon.

"I believe this decision (was) short sighted and injurious to our neighborhood," wrote the neighborhood group's president Steve Brueckner in the May issue of the RAA newsletter. 

While the one man patrol "may not sound like much, this security made a significant difference in the number of crime- and drug- related incidents occurring in the park at night. The patrol also did a great job of keeping people from spending the night in the park," Brueckner wrote.

The night guard was one of many tough decisions, said assistant parks director Jim Burke. The cuts included eliminating most of the city's youth sports programs, which served 3,850 children last year.  

It would be tough to bring back the eliminated items, Burke said. They would have to be re-introduced in the next budget, he added.

"This is the new reality at the parks department," Burke said. When residents call with concerns, "we have to figure out how to make it as positive as possible," he added. 

Too many news stories, even in community journalism, don't have happy endings. Here's one that does:

In February, we published a story about Tom Malthaner, a Sun Lakes hobbyist with a collection of more than 300 scale models of World War II combat aircraft. He built these detailed replicas by hand over the past 50 years, along with custom cases to display his works in his home.

Tom loved his models, all 1/72 scale (1 inch equals 6 feet), and wanted to share his small slice of combat history with a museum. He'd tried unsuccessfully for three years to find the right home.

A videographer with the National Combat History Archive in Hillsboro, Ore., was in the Valley to videotape a Bronze Star award ceremony and happened to see our story. A representative from the Planes of Fame Museum in Chino, Calif., also saw the story. Both organizations contacted Tom about his models, and he had to make a tough choice.

He chose the Oregon organization for the donation because it had specific plans to use his planes to teach military history to children and adults.

“I don't believe the schools today are teaching children the proper level of history, military or otherwise,” he said.

Gary Mortensen, president of the National Combat History Archive, said his group is thrilled to get the planes, which were boxed and shipped this week.

“The way that younger people learn is different now,” Mortensen said.

His organization's vast archive of combat films, interviews and photos will be used to create interactive multimedia displays on WWII air combat that will incorporate the Sun Lakes man's models.

“So we can have running footage behind, the planes right there, a little kiosk where you can learn about these in a much more comprehensive way,” Mortensen said.

The organization is compiling footage, interviews and memorabilia not just from the WWII generation — a race against the clock as those veterans die — but of combat across all wars and conflicts.

The goal, Mortensen says, is to blend film, photos, and artifacts to “knit these generations together.”

Veterans who have battleground photos, videos or unusual artifacts to share can contact the archive at (503) 597-7030.

Arizona S.B. 1028 is still alive,  and there was even some debate about mortgage fraud on the Senate floor this morning.

But for some reason Arizona Senate President Tim Bee won't move for a vote on it. Mortgage fraud cases and foreclosures are at records highs across Arizona. Almost 40 other state require mortgage originators or loan officers to be licensed and regulated. And the state's mortgage brokerage industry supports the legislation.

Sen. Debbie McCune Davis, D-Phoenix, made a push for licensing of loan originators this morning.

Israel is a brave country and the Israelis are a brave and admirable people.

Sometimes George W. Bush lives up to his caricature as someone unaffected by reality.

In his speech to the Israeli Knesset today, Bush reiterated his mantra that the spread of democracy is the key to peace in the Middle East and security against the threat of Islamic terrorism.

"Leaders who are accountable to their people will not pursue endless confrontation and bloodshed," he said. "(W)hen leaders across the region answer to their people, they will focus their energies on schools and jobs, not on rocket attacks and suicide bombings."

As part of the Bush doctrine, the administration pushed hard for democratic elections for the Palestinian Authority. They were held and by all accounts were free and fair. And Hamas won. Hamas, of course, is dedicated to the destruction of Israel.

Although the U.S. subsequently refused to deal with the Hamas government and sought to isolate it and bring pressure on it internationally, Bush and his administration have never publicly considered what the Palestinian experience means for the viability of the Bush doctrine.

Now democratic governance is better than authoritarianism. But Israel is a heck of a place to give a speech claiming that all would be well if people could just elect their leaders.

This is The Republic's Heat Index column for Friday.

About a year ago, Diane Wells was in the car with her son Reggie when she asked him how many credits he needed to graduate from college.

I'm close, Reggie told her. Diane's mental wheels started spinning.

"Your dad is basically done, too," she said. "Wouldn't it be something if you two could finish together?"

Yes, Reggie Jr. agreed, that would be something.

So Diane went to work, and as those close to her will tell you, that usually means the deal is done.

Sure enough, Reggie Sr., a state trooper in Pennsylvania the past 23 years, and Reggie Jr., the Cardinals' starting left guard, went through graduation ceremonies together at Clarion (Pa.) University, a Division II school, last Saturday.

Fittingly, it was the day before Mother's Day.

"A beautiful day, really," Reggie Jr. said.

Reggie Jr. was about a semester short of graduating when the Cardinals drafted him in the sixth round in 2003. He planned to return to school after his second year in the league, but an injury forced him to stay in the Valley for rehabilitation. Over the next few years, he pecked away at his remaining credits.

Athletics delayed his father's pursuit of a degree, too. A standout basketball player at Clarion from 1975-79, Reggie Sr. left school a semester early to play professionally in Argentina, which he did off and on for the next several years.

He had a tryout with the Pistons, but after that didn't work out, he decided it was time to give up the dream. With a wife and two sons at home, he decided to pursue a steady career and became a state trooper.

Over the years, he's worked from midnight to morning to coach basketball at the local high school. He coached both his boys there and is now coaching the girls team. In the off-season, Reggie will stop by to help his dad, breaking down video and compiling scouting reports.

In between the two jobs, Reggie Sr., now 50, worked on his degree in liberal studies with an emphasis in sociology.

Diane had returned to school and graduated from Clarion in 1990 and now runs her own leadership development company. A younger son, Ryan, earned his degree from Clarion a few years ago and now plays professional basketball in Europe.

Last Saturday, the number of Wells graduates from Clarion doubled.

The school made the ceremony special. The two Wells men, both of whom are in the school's hall of fame, were the last names announced in the tiny gym. They received a standing ovation as a school official ticked off their accomplishments.

"Being a lineman, you don't expect that kind of reception," Reggie Jr. said. "I know it's only a tiny gym, but you really don't see something like that too much at a graduation ceremony."

It took his father by surprise, too. Even though he was in cap and gown, Reggie Sr. was so focused on his son graduating that it almost slipped his mind that he was being honored.

"It meant more to me to see him," he said. "My diploma, I forgot I was actually getting something."

The two graduates kept their composure until they saw tears from Diane who had prodded them toward this day.

"We were doing OK until she got started, then it got to the rest of us," Reggie Sr. said.

Without his mom, "I don't even know if I would have attacked it like that," Reggie Jr. said, adding that his dad deserves more credit than he does.

"He had to hear it more than I did."

I caught up with former Cards cornerback Aeneas Williams yesterday by phone (like I could catch him any other way) for a little story that will run in a week or two.

Anyway, it made me think back to his rookie year, 1991. I wasn't the Cardinals beat guy then, but I helped out the legendary Lloyd Herberg once in awhile, so I remember Aeneas as rookie. This year's No. 1 pick, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie has been compared to Aeneas because both came from smaller schools: Aeneas from Southern and Rodgers-Cromartie from Tennessee State. I think the comparisons should end there, at least for awhile.

There are major differences between the two. Aeneas was a third-round pick but arrived in Arizona mature beyond his years. He grew up in New Orleans and spent his college summers working out with NFL players and getting tips from NFL corners. He knew what to expect when he arrived in the NFL and immediately looked like he belonged.

I'm not sure that's the case with DRC. He might be faster than Aeneas was, but I'd be surprised if he was as NFL-ready as Aeneas. To expect that kind of production out of rookie is unrealistic.

Plus, Aeneas arrived in Arizona with an NFL body. He was 5-11, 200 pounds and solid. DRC is skinny -- 6-2, 182, and needs to gain 10 or so pounds.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not downgrading DRC. There's no reason to think he won't be a good player. But let's hold off comparing him to a guy I think is a future Hall of Famer.