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January 06, 2009 | Valley & State

Arts groups feel money pinch as donations slide

Valley arts groups are hurting. Fewer people are making charitable gifts that the groups need to survive. And foundations, which provide grants to arts groups and other non-profits, are having their own problems.

State budget woes worsen

Arizona would have to borrow between $2.5 billion and $5.7 billion as early as February to bridge the state budget through a cash-flow crunch caused by a shortfall.

Councilman seeks Mesa partnership registry

Arizona's most conservative big city may become only the third in the state to offer a domestic-partner registry to unmarried couples.

90-year-old man found dead in backyard swimming pool

A 90-year-old Avondale man who enjoyed gardening and doing small tasks inside and outside his home drowned in his backyard pool Monday afternoon, police said.

New license-plate law has ASU fans shifting gears

A new license-plate-frame law that went into effect Thursday is causing many Sun Devils fans to remove their illegal frames from their cars, making it a bit more difficult, at least temporarily, to show their spirit.

Barkley's attorney weighing DUI case

The attorney representing former NBA star Charles Barkley released a statement Monday, regarding Barkley's New Year's Eve morning arrest in Old Town Scottsdale on charges of drunken driving.

Treasurer outlines budget woes

Q & A: What happens when the state runs out of money?

Anti-Joe crowd greets Wilson

Maricopa County Supervisor Max Wilson on Monday took over as chairman of the Board of Supervisors in front of a crowd of Sheriff Joe Arpaio protestors.

Renzi ends career in Congress quietly, under cloud

The Arizona Republican from District 1 is under federal indictment and facing a criminal trial.

T. Dennis Barney; celebrated philanthropist, builder

A developer who quietly orchestrated reformation of a drug-infested neighborhood into a gateway for the Mesa Arizona Temple (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) died Monday at his Gilbert home.

Griffin B. Bell, 90; served Carter as attorney general

Griffin B. Bell, a shrewd Southern lawyer who grew up with Jimmy Carter and later became U.S. attorney general after Carter was elected president, died Monday. He was 90.

Willard Scott, 82; steered West Point in tough times

Willard W. Scott Jr., 82, an Army lieutenant general who led West Point through the wake of a cheating scandal and the introduction of coeducation but is best known among cadets for riding the school's mascot, a mule, up and down the sidelines during football games, died Dec. 31 at his home in Alexandria, Va. He had Parkinson's disease.

East Valley briefs

A fleeing car-theft suspect was arrested after he jumped over a backyard fence and fell into a swimming pool, and his alleged accomplice was bitten by a police dog that found him hiding under an old truck, Mesa police said.

Scottsdale/northeast Valley briefs

A gunman fired about 10 rounds near a Scottsdale nightclub, hitting a nearby cab twice early Monday, police said.

West Valley briefs

The Glendale Police Department has made its first homicide arrest of 2009, thanks to help from Phoenix police.

Phoenix briefs

A home and a Valley Metro bus were evacuated Monday afternoon near North Tatum Boulevard and East Monte Cristo Avenue after reports of the bus venting natural gas, officials said.