Month: March 2012

Arizona Inmates Paid $1.1 Million in Unemployment Benefits While in Jail

All Storiesasnsadmin03/07/20120

Over the past two years, 475 Arizona prisoners collected $1.1 million in unemployment benefits while sitting in their cells.

On Feb. 8, the state Department of Economic Security found the 475 individuals by cross-matching lists of their beneficiaries and people incarcerated with the state Department of Corrections, said Tasya Peterson, communications director with DES.

On Feb. 22, DES began trying to recapture the $1.1 million in overpayments from January 2010 to January 2012.

DES presently can not report how much money they’ve collected and from who, but they are seeking collection in a number of ways including offsetting future benefits, seizing federal and state tax returns, and working with the Attorney General’s office to prosecute those who have collected enough benefits to constitute criminal unemployment fraud, Peterson said.

Arizona scores low in teacher preparation

All StoriesRyan Kelly03/07/20120

Arizona is lacking policies that enforce proper training of future teachers, a study by the National Council on Teacher Quality found.

In its 2011 State Teacher Policy Yearbook, the nonpartisan research group based in Washington D.C., rated the delivery of well-prepared teachers as a D- in 2011 for Arizona.

Arizona’s score in 2009 was a D.

While officials from the NCTQ say that Arizona lawmakers needs to create policies that screen students entering teacher preparation programs, and to test their academic and teaching aptitudes, educators say that the study is harsh on education facilities because it doesn’t look at all aspects of teacher preparation.

The study does not criticize what higher education institutions are doing, but is taking a closer look at what policies states have in place to ensure teacher quality, said Arthur McKee, the managing director of teacher preparation studies for the National Council on Teacher Quality.

The research is supposed to drive action to get better teachers for children, and also to assist policymakers in the decisions they make, he said.

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Olympic Dreams – NAU and ASU Track and Field

All Storiesasnsadmin03/07/20120

Arizona Sonora News Service writer Dan Kohler discussed the Olympic goals of Northern Arizona University Athletes Adel al Nasser and Arnaud Froidmont. NAU Athletes {source}<iframe width=”100%” height=”166″ scrolling=”no” frameborder=”no” src=”http://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F39033875&show_artwork=true”></iframe>{/source} ASNS writer Zach Clark also talked with some Arizona athletes. He talked to Anna Jelmini and Jordan Clarke from Arizona State University. ASU Athletes…

Unemployed Arizonans may Lose Benefits

All StoriesTayler Wancour03/07/20120

Thousands of unemployed Arizonans could be stripped of their benefits if three bills approaching passage in the legislature become law.

Critics say GOP legislators are attacking the unemployed on all sides with S.B. 1495, H.B. 2150 and H.B. 2519, which could yank benefits from applicants who fail or refuse to take a drug test, almost double the minimum yearly earnings required to collect benefits and widen the definition of unemployment-insurance-exempt workers.

Currently, unemployment insurance provides more than 99,000 Arizonans who have lost their job a weekly stipend. The minimum weekly payment is $60, and the maximum is $241.

Statistics show Arizona’s unemployment insurance system does suffer some major cost issues with 20 percent of all payments improperly paid, Arizona has given out over $424 million too much over the past three years, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

That’s the fourth highest rate of improper payment, only surpassed by Indiana, Louisiana and New Mexico.

Rise in Marijuana Use in Arizona

All Storiesasnsadmin03/05/20120

Arizona has seen an increase of marijuana use over the years, but falls in the middle for most marijuana use by state.

This comes at a time when the national rate of marijuana use is up, according to Brad Stone, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration communications director.

SAMHSA is an agency established by Congress in 1992 to target substance abuse and mental health services effectively.

The rise in the rate of marijuana use is based on a national SAMHSA survey and consists of data from 2008 to 2010.

“In 2010 17.4 million Americans ages 12 and up were current users of marijuana,” Stone said. That’s almost 6 percent of the United States population.

According to Stone, the rate of current marijuana users 12 and older has gone up compared to 2007 when it was at 14.4 million.

The most current SAMHSA data available by state however, is from 2008 and 2009. SAMHSA breaks the data up by age groups and puts states in to five different categories based on percentages of persons.

These categories include: 12.85-16.29 percent; 10.87-12.84 percent; 10.06-10.86 percent; 9.02-10.05 percent; and 7.17-9.01 percent.

Arizona falls into the middle category of 10.06-10.86 percent of people ages 12 and up who have used marijuana in the past year.

California, Alaska, Oregon, Colorado, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and Rhode Island are among the states with the highest marijuana use.

Idaho, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Florida, North Carolina, and Maryland fall into the same group as Arizona.

The use of marijuana may be up, but the number of pounds of marijuana seized by the U.S. Border Patrol has gone down.