Ariz. drivers are the ones who need tips

While reading Shane Dale's slam on California drivers, I kept wondering to myself: "Are we really that bad? Are Arizonans good drivers and Californians bad drivers?" So I did what comes naturally to me, and did some research. Who would have though of that? (Shane?) It turns out that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration keeps track of this stuff. I happened to run into their latest (2001) statistics (DOT HS 809 482 at http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/NCSA/TSF2001/2001statedata.pdf). According to this report, there are about 20 traffic fatalities per 100,000 people each year in Arizona versus 12 in California. Hmm. It also appears that Arizonans got worse at driving between 1975 and 2001, causing a 56 percent increase in highway fatalities. Californians showed a 3 percent decrease over the same period. Moreover, there seem to be about 7 to 8 percent more drunks on average causing fatal accidents in Arizona than in California. Arizonans also die more often from not wearing seat belts. Finally, Arizonans are roughly twice as likely as Californians to kill a pedestrian or a cyclist with a vehicle. It must be all those Californian tourists trying to get away from their ugly state and crashing into each other around here! [Read article]

Notes and quotes from the nation's news pages

This alleged economic upturn is not just a jobless recovery, it's a job loss recovery.

Bob Herbert of The New York Times, in response to a report that the recent decrease in unemployment rates is due to job candidates leaving the market, rather than finding work.

The dam has broken; it looks like we have the worst of all possible worlds. [Read article]

Forget the memorial union, the new center of campus is west of Park

If you've been around campus long enough you know that the gigantic student union in the middle of campus, which has been called the largest in North America (without an attached hotel, that is) symbolizes the sacrifices tens of thousands of students made over the course of five semesters.

The destruction of the old Memorial Student Union and subsequent construction of the new Student Union Memorial Center in unison with the planting of the underground Integrated Learning Center tied up the center of campus for more than two years. [Read article]

Fraternity members have got to be tired of all this. Tired of the allegations of hazing and underage drinking. Tired of hearing about out-going fraternity members destroying their chapter houses. Tired of the all-encompassing stereotype that frat boys are spoiled, promiscuous heathens out to buy friendships while guzzling alcohol like horses at the trough.

And they must be tired of the Arizona Daily Wildcat columnists seemingly perpetuating this stereotype during rush week ÷ or when they run out of fodder for their weekly essay. [Read article]