An attempted bank robbery yesterday morning closed down East Speedway Boulevard for more than four hours, slowing down the commute to campus for pedestrians and drivers alike.

The Tucson Police Department received a call at 9:31 a.m. from an employee at Wells Fargo, 1701 E. Speedway Blvd., who said a man was attempting to rob the bank and threatened to use an explosive device, police said.

Police arrived at the scene and evacuated the bank employees and customers. [Read article]

Organizers of the Jason Mraz concert lost nearly $18,000 after initially saying they hoped to break even.

"Chances (were that) we were going to lose money, but personally, I did not think it would be that much," said Ryan Patterson, director of the Associated Students of the University of Arizona Special Events Committee, which organized the event.

Even though 1,656 tickets to the Sept. 21 Centennial Hall concert were sold, they were 700 tickets short of selling out, according to a performance sales report. [Read article]

Among the many characteristics that could be deemed necessary for the next UA president to possess, some faculty and students are in favor of one trait in particular - estrogen.

The university has yet to employ a female to fulfill the position of president, according to the UA Web site.

"I'm hoping that the pool will include women and also women of color," said Saundra Taylor, vice president of Campus Life. [Read article]

One of the most successful coaches in the history of football, Vince Lombardi, said that "leaders aren't born, they are made."

The essence of that quote thrives in Omicron Delta Kappa, a national leadership honor society for college students, faculty, staff and alumni.

Today is the final day the society is accepting student applications to join the leadership honorary, said Melanie Levine, UA chapter president. [Read article]

The Faculty Senate approved a new major last night to be added to the department of linguistics.

A human language technology major will be available to students in January and will focus on key areas of study in speech technology.

The major will prepare students with backgrounds in linguistics to enter a competitive scientific workforce, according to the consent agenda.

The senate also approved to expand the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Phoenix, and add a new department of basic science. [Read article]

Gosh! 'Napoleon Dynamite' stars to visit Centennial

Tickets to see actors from the movie “Napoleon Dynamite” go on sale today at Centennial Hall.

The actors Efren Ramirez and Aaron Ruell, who portrayed the characters Pedro and Kip, respectively, will appear Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. They are expected to talk about filming the movie, answer questions and sign autographs.

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. at the Centennial Hall box office. The student price is $10 and the regular price is $12. [Read article]

Morgan Sim looked down at her plain white ribbon and the name that was printed on it. Thao Quoc Pham, a hate crime victim, was dead after being murdered in Pennsylvania.

“This allows me to connect with the reality of the situation,” said Sim, a freshman majoring in theatre arts and political science, while gently holding the ribbon. “It eliminates the wall between the world that we live in and what’s going on outside.” [Read article]