Arizona Lottery

Push to protect Arizona’s parks from budget cuts gains steam

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[Source: Shaun McKinnon, AZ Republic, Page 1] –  Arizonans overwhelmingly support state parks and open spaces and believe such areas contribute to a region’s economic health, but few people understand how the state pays for its parks, a new survey says. That lack of knowledge could imperil a parks system already weakened by budget cuts if lawmakers don’t hear from enough voters who want open spaces protected, according to Arizona Forward, a newly organized group that commissioned the survey.

“Nothing is stronger than grass roots, with people calling their elected officials saying, ‘This is important to me, I want my parks to be open,’ ” said Diane Brossart, acting director of the group. “But I think we take these things for granted, and until there’s a crisis, people are not engaged with the issues.” [to read the full article click here].

Lottery ticket sales increase across country

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[Source: Keith Matheny, USA TODAY] – Despite a struggling economy — or perhaps because of it — lottery ticket sales have surged across the USA. Financial records for 41 state lotteries that end their fiscal year in June show 28 had higher sales than the year before. Seventeen of those states set all-time sales records.Kate Sweeny, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of California-Riverside, said an uptick in lottery sales largely occurs when people feel a lack of control over events larger than themselves, such as the economy.

Jeff Anderson, head of the executive committee of the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries, which represents 52 lotteries in the USA and Canada, said sales growth most often reflects changes in lottery games.”In general, the play is inexpensive entertainment,” said Anderson, who is also director of the Idaho State Lottery. “I have not seen any empirical evidence that indicates in a down economy, people play more.” Yet that’s just what a 2004 Cornell University study found. “We see that lottery sales go up as the economy gets bad — but we don’t see people spending more on relatively inexpensive other forms of entertainment,” said Garrick Blalock, associate professor of economics at Cornell and a co-author of the study[to read the full article click here].

Community shows support for proposed Fredonia High School Swim Team

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[Source: Southern Utah News, Kelly Hilding] – The Fredonia Town Council held a work meeting last week to discuss Fredonia High School’s request to use the town pool for a swim team. Community members from Kanab and Fredonia filled the council chambers to show their support of the proposal.

Fredonia Moccasin School District Superintendent Nicholas Bartlett presented the proposal to the council. He explained he had discussed with Killer Whales coach John Horlacher what would need to be done for the high school to have a swim team. It was determined it would not be feasible for a team to travel to Hurricane for practices. Ideally, the Fredonia pool should be utilized. In order for it to be used, however, a covering of some kind would need to be placed over the facility to keep it warm through November.

The school district offered to purchase and install some sort of dome over the Fredonia pool if the council agreed to keep the facility open for the team to practice. The type of dome is currently being researched. Mayor Scott Heaton expressed his support for the idea, but also his concern for where the funding to keep the pool open would come from [to read the full article click here].

Game and Fish’s Heritage grants return in 2011 with new simplified processes

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[Source: AZGFD.gov, 8-11-2011] – Thanks to continued support from Arizona Lottery sales, the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s popular Heritage grants program returns after a one-year hiatus with new, simplified processes. The department undertook and completed a comprehensive revision to the Heritage Fund grants program, including the application, eligibility, scoring, award notification and close-out processes.

“In response to public feedback that we had received over the years, Game and Fish completely revamped the Heritage Fund grants program to make it easier to apply for a grant, and to get more school children, teachers, administrators and parents involved in Heritage-related wildlife activities through Arizona,” says Marty Herrera, the department’s Heritage Fund administrator.

Started in 1990, the Heritage Fund was established by Arizona voters to further conservation efforts in the state, including protecting endangered species, educating our children about wildlife, helping urban residents to better coexist with wildlife, and creating new opportunities for outdoor recreation. Over the years, Game and Fish has awarded more than $12 million in grants to communities across the state. Arizonans can help raise money for the Heritage Fund every year simply by buying Arizona Lottery tickets.

The department will hold informational workshops for interested applicants at the following times and locations:

  • Monday, Aug. 15 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Flagstaff regional Game and Fish office, 3500 S. Lake Mary Road, Flagstaff.
  • Friday, Aug. 19 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Pinetop regional Game and Fish office, 2878 E. White Mountain Blvd., Pinetop.
  • Monday, Aug. 22 at Game and Fish’s Phoenix headquarters, 5000 W. Carefree Hwy., Phoenix. (Choice of two sessions: 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. or 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.)
  • Wednesday, Aug. 24 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Yuma regional Game and Fish office, 9140 E. 28th St., Yuma.
  • Monday, Aug. 29 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Tucson regional Game and Fish office, 555 N. Greasewood Road, Tucson

Workshops must have a minimum of three preregistered attendees per location to be held. The deadline for applications is Friday, Sept. 30, 2011 at 5 p.m. MST.Potential grant recipients must have a project that is either located in Arizona or involves research in which the wildlife or its habitat is located in Arizona.  To R.S.V.P. for a workshop, call Heritage Grants Coordinator Robyn Beck at (623) 236-7530. More information on the grants and application forms can be found at www.azgfd.gov/heritage.