This is a summary of several reports related to government finance in Arizona that have been produced by the Office of the University Economist since December 2008. Some new information has been added in an attempt to provide a complete picture. The format of this report is a brief summary by issue, sometimes accompanied by a table or chart. References are provided to the report and the page number where additional detail can be found.

The purpose of this report is to make our progress in the battle against methamphetamine transparent to the citizens of Arizona. The Governor’s "A Plan for Action: Addressing the Methamphetamine Crisis in Arizona" reported that over the past decade Arizona had seen a steady rise in the reporting of methamphetamine-related drugs as the primary illicit drug used by individuals seeking treatment. A Plan for Action also reported that methamphetamine use placed a disproportionate burden on law enforcement and the treatment and child welfare systems, making meth abuse not only a public health crisis but a public safety concern because of the devastation, violence, and crime associated with the manufacture and distribution of the drug.

This Progress Report shows that the Task Force has been responsive to its initial charge and has made significant strides in addressing the Plan for Action priority recommendations since its inception in August 2006. We have real and tangible outcomes and have created an infrastructure that will continue to respond
to this specific drug threat. The Task Force Progress Report serves as a recommitment by the Task Force
to continue its momentum in the upcoming year, keeping Arizona strong against the methamphetamine crisis.

This document embraces two components. First, a Conservation Assessment describes the current status of the jaguar in the United States, and identifies and assesses risks to the jaguar in Arizona and New Mexico. The Assessment focuses the second component, the Conservation Strategy, on reducing or eliminating these threats in Arizona and New Mexico, which might allow for expansion of the range currently occupied by the Arizona subspecies, and thus contribute to promoting recovery of the species.
Information in this document comes primarily from the state level, an approach that considers regional variation and provides a complete habitat and species assessment.

In March 1997, the Arizona Game and Fish Department and New Mexico Department of Game and Fish entered into a Conservation Agreement with other state, local, and federal cooperators, with voluntary participation by many private individuals, to conserve the jaguar (Panthera onca) along borderlands of Arizona and New Mexico and to stimulate parallel efforts in Mexico. The agencies believed that if strong partnerships could be developed under this approach, it would be a significant step forward in bringing local governments, private landowners, and nongovernmental organizations directly into jaguar management.

The Lower San Pedro Groundwater Basin (LSP) baseline groundwater quality study was conducted by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality in 2000. Located in southeastern Arizona, this semiarid basin is drained by the San Pedro and Gila Rivers. The LSP is a rural landscape with scattered towns and two
extensive copper mining and processing operations. Groundwater from three aquifers (floodplain, unconfined basin-fill, and confined basin-fill or artesian) and fractured mountain hardrock is the principle source of water supply. For this study, 63 groundwater sites were sampled for inorganic constituents. In addition, fewer sites were also sampled for Volatile Organic Compounds (25), radiochemistry (19), radon (19), and pesticide (2) analyses. Eighteen (18) percent of sample sites had concentrations of at least one constituent that exceeded a health-based, Federal or State water-quality standard.

This document is intended to help schools identify the strengths and limitations of their instructional practices and organizational conditions. All Arizona schools will use this document to assess their overall performance. The document serves three primary functions: 1) as a blueprint to communicate the high expectations of the Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction for all Arizona schools; 2) as a self-assessment tool to be used by the educational community at the local level; and 3) as an external assessment tool to be used by ADE School Improvement Teams. This document may also be used in other appropriate external assessment activities. The document is not to be used for staff evaluation. Instead, the focus is placed on assessing the effectiveness of the school for the purpose of sustained improvement.