Education decisions are among the most important choices people ever make. So we were surprised and disappointed to see an article so loosely reasoned and reckless in its conclusions as “Five Reasons to Skip College” published in Blank Slate at Forbes.com on April 18, 2006. The article never provides a numerical assessment of the costs and benefits of going to college, uses statistics inappropriately and in a way that biases the conclusions against college, contains conceptual errors on how to evaluate the return on a college education, and greatly exaggerates the only substantive criticism of typical evaluations of the financial worth of a college degree.

The educational attainment in 2000 of the entire 25-or-older population in Arizona was similar to the national average and ranked in the middle of the states. Arizona compared less favorably to two sets of comparison states: “competitor” states defined by the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce and “new economy” states identified by the Milken Institute. In 1990, however, Arizona’s educational attainment had exceeded the national average. Arizona ranked among the bottom 10 states in the 1990 to 2000 gain in educational attainment. Among both the entire population and those active in the labor force in 2000, the
educational attainment of Arizona residents 55 or older exceeded that of their peers nationally.

The educational attainment of Arizona’s workforce is less than the national average and has deteriorated over time relative to the U.S. average. Job quality and average earnings in Arizona also are below the national average. These three factors — job quality, earnings, and educational attainment — are interrelated. On average, the higher the educational attainment of a worker, the higher are his or her earnings. The largest increase by far occurs with the completion of a university degree. In Arizona, the average earnings of those with a college degree are approximately $28,140 (73 percent) higher than those with only some college. Thus, working individuals financially benefit from enhancing their educational attainment.

This document and the Geographic Information System file that is now a part of the County library of over 1000 coverages, gives the scientific community access to mapping that better differentiates perennial, ephemeral and intermittent watercourses, and provides more comprehensive coverage of shallow groundwater sources. This data is significant because riparian habitat is one of the most important and least protected of the habitat types in Pima County.

The purpose of this project was to compile information on groundwater withdrawals and surface water diversions near perennial streams, intermittent streams, and shallow groundwater areas previously identified by PAG for the SDCP. The information could be used to prioritize future investigations of potential impacts of these withdrawals and diversions on riparian and aquatic habitats for the SDCP.

Conducted for the Pima County Flood Control District by the Pima Association of Governments in order to determine if stormflows on the Cienega Creek have changed over time when analyzed in terms of frequency, volume, and seasonallity. In a data search that extends back to the 1950s, they were able to determine the daily mean flow, the flows over base, and the annual peak flows of the Cienega Creek.

Provides basic information about the source of surface water in Cienega Creek at the downstream end of the natural preserve, which will contribute to efforts to conceptualize and implement effective land management proposals for the SDCP. Study results indicate that the surface flow or subflow from Agua Verde Creek do not significantly influence the water in the Cienega Creek.