How Arizona’s Reliance on Local School Funding Hurts Students

Shrinking state funding for schools over the years has meant that local communities have been forced to pay an increasingly higher share of total funding, according to the Arizona School Boards Association. The situation has left schools in a precarious state, says the nonpartisan, nonprofit group, which represents school districts throughout…

Public Funding for Arizona Schools Is Unfair to Latino Students

A report published this past week has found that public schools in Arizona with high Latino populations have less funding and face greater challenges compared to schools that have lower proportions of Latino students. Released October 6, State of Latino Arizona 2016 finds that schools with large percentages of Latino students generally…

ASU Student Shot Video of Women in Restroom Stalls, Police Say

A Chinese Arizona State University student took video and pictures of at least six women using the toilet at ASU on Monday night, police say. His female victims struck back, though, stopping him after he came out of the restroom, taking his phone and holding him at the scene until…

Mascotness! New Times Ranks Phoenix Sports Teams’ Costumed Characters

Sports team mascots are more than warm bodies inside furry costumes. They’re athletic, outgoing, comedic, and highly competitive characters who do things like leap through flaming hoops, allow strange children to pull their tails, and shoot stuff out of cannons. Their over-the-top aesthetic and stunts form the basis for comedy…

We’re No. 6! Sierra Club Names ASU One of Nation’s Greenest Universities

The 2,700 revelers who attended Arizona State University’s most recent staff barbecue cast aside more than 580 pounds of soda bottles, plastic cutlery, leftover food, and other assorted trash. But less than .03 percent of that, or what Mick Dalrymple, ASU’s director of sustainability practices, describes as “about half a bag,” was actually…

Tempe Will Reimburse Residents Who Build Tiny Libraries

Beginning September 5, Tempe will offer a rebate of up to $300 to residents who build and stock tiny libraries on their property. Mini libraries, most of which are registered with the nonprofit group Little Free Library, are publicly accessible containers of books that are available for anyone to borrow…

88-Year-Old Phoenix Great-Grandmother Graduates from College

Clad in a blue cap and gown, Mariam Cheshire stood before the residents of her Phoenix senior living facility to talk about earning her college degree at the age of 88. “This took me 71 years,” she says, addressing the crowd of seniors gathered in the cafeteria for a celebration. “It…

PayPal Offers New Tuition Assistance Program at ASU

As summer gears up, no doubt, thousands of Arizona State University students are hunting for jobs hoping to bank a bit of cash to help offset next year’s tuition bill. The Cincinnati-based nonprofit Education at Work, in partnership with ASU and the online payment company PayPal, has a better idea:…

ASU Autism Professor Promotes Anti-Vaccine Film Despite Doctors’ Protests

An Arizona State University autism researcher is encouraging parents to see a controversial film alleging a connection between the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine and the neurological disorder — despite widespread consensus that the premise is scientifically flawed. James Adams, director of ASU’s Autism/Asperger’s Research Program initially posted an advertisement…

Phoenix Among Lowest Large U.S. Metro Areas for College Graduates

More than one-quarter of working-age Arizona residents attended college but didn’t finish, a new report states. The percentage of Arizona residents between the ages of 25 and 64 who went to college but didn’t complete their degree is nearly 26 percent. That’s higher than the national average of 21.5 percent,…