Budget cuts, beer and immigration laws have all made it into the lasso that helps us gather this week's top stories. The end of the week brings us to what you have been waiting for all week. Welcome to The Round-Up.
Around ASU
In a move reflecting both the state's economic condition and the University's frustration with the state Legislature, ASU has started planning on getting less money from the state in the future. President Michael Crow introduced a plan to the Arizona Board of Regents that includes increases in revenue from out-of-state students and online students.
Tempe has finally sold the unfinished towers that reside on the downtown Tempe skyline. The towers were sold for $30 million to the Cleveland-based Zaremba Group, and will be turned into luxury apartment homes. The first phase will open Aug. 1 and the second phase will open in December.
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company founder Ken Grossman came to Tempe this week to speak to a group of ASU students. Professor David Conz teaches BIS 402, an interdisciplinary studies capstone course that focuses on the legal, historical and cultural elements of beer.
Around Arizona
If last year's strict immigration law, SB 1070, didn't get a warm welcoming, neither will the round of laws that passed out of a state Senate Committee, reports Lourdes Medrano of The Christian Science Monitor. The bills deal with revoking birthright citizenship, barring undocumented immigrants from attending public schools and public housing and making it a crime to drive in the state if you are illegal.
Another controversial measure that would cut the state's Medicaid program entirely passed a state Senate committee this week, writes Mary K. Reinhart of The Arizona Republic. It is not clear if the bill can make it through the Senate, let alone get the governor's signature. Gov. Jan Brewer has said she wants to keep the program intact. 1.3 million are currently enrolled in the state's Medicaid program. Should this measure become law, none of them would have health care.
Around the country
President Barack Obama has signaled the Justice Department will no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act, a law that does not allow the federal government to recognize same sex marriage, in court, report Charlie Savage and Sheryl Gay Stolberg of The New York Times. Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder decided the law classified people based on sexual orientation which they found unconstitutional. Though the administration has said they will not defend it, it will still be enforced.
Senate Democrats are seeking out more budget cuts, a concession to the GOP, to avoid a federal government shutdown, reports Lori Montgomery of The Washington Post. The government is currently operating on a continuing resolution because they failed to pass a budget for this fiscal year. The continuing resolution runs through March 4.
