Citizen Staff Writer
RealFAST WEEK IN REVIEW
Compiled by PAUL SCHWALBACH
pschwalb@tucsoncitizen.com
1 Rancher: A southern Arizona rancher didn’t violate the civil rights of a group of illegal immigrants who claimed he detained them at gunpoint in 2004, according to a jury. Roger Barnett was found liable on four claims of assault and infliction of emotional distress and was ordered to pay to pay $77,804 in damages.
2 Our unfortunate demise: The deadline has come and gone, and apparently no one wants to take the Tucson Citizen off the hands of Gannett Co. Inc. The media conglomerate has said that if no buyer is found, the 138-year-old publication – Arizona’s oldest continuously published newspaper – will close March 21. Sniff.
3 Stimulus: Arizona’s share of cash from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (better known as the “economic stimulus package”), amounts to about $803 million, much of which would help the state “backfill” cuts made to K-12 and higher education in the past year.
4 Science center: The city will conduct an “internal review” of payments to the University of Arizona for UA’s planned Science Center complex downtown. Driving the review: 1) political pressure from the state Legislature, which has threatened to revoke the tax-increment financing district Tucson has relied on to fund downtown and Rio Nuevo redevelopment, and 2) questioning of UA’s invoices by city accountants.
5 Ultralights: Federal customs agents say radar-dodging ultralight aircraft – kite-winged, low-powered and prone to crashes – may be an emerging trend among drug smugglers looking for new ways to outwit increased surveillance.