Obama to visit ASU

Law enforcement and health officials braced for 70,000 people to crowd into Sun Devil Stadium in near 100-degree temperatures Wednesday night to hear President Barack Obama deliver the commencement address at Arizona State University..

Gates were to open at 2:30 p.m., more than five hours before the president was to speak.

Melissa Werner of ASU, one of the event planners, said those attending should, "bring their bottled water, lots of sunscreen, sunglasses, hats," and be prepared for a wait of up to 90 minutes to clear one of the 40 security checkpoints.

"Along those lines, we'll have tenting, we'll have cooling stations, we'll have complimentary water stations," Werner said.

Julie Newberg with ASU said officials would be prepared to deal with people who have trouble with the heat.

"We'll have paramedics from Southwest Ambulance, Tempe Fire will be here, we'll have a first aid station inside the stadium, we'll also have one outside."

People who find the football stadium too hot can watch the ceremony on a large video screen in the nearby Wells Fargo Arena; however, if they leave the stadium, they cannot re-enter.

People must discard their own water bottles as they enter the stadium. They will be permitted to take cameras, cellphones and MP3 players into the stadium, but not food, alcoholic beverages or coolers.

A wave of law enforcement officers started rolling into Tempe at dawn Thursday. Traffic restrictions were set to go into effect around the stadium and on the routes from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport into Tempe before the president arrived aboard Air Force One just before 6 p.m. The president will leave Sky Harbor about 9:30 p.m.

Some of the 9,000 graduates said the president's speech will be something to remember forever.

"No matter what your politics are, it's going to be a very cool thing. When else can you say I saw the president of the United States give my commencement speech?" said Sarah Larson, a 23-year-old education major.

Ismael Paderez, 35, of Phoenix, planned to arrive at the stadium at 3 p.m. Nothing, he said, would have prevented his family from attending the ceremony to see him get his degree in electrical engineering.

``I'm the first person on my father's side to graduate from college,'' he said. ``With this economy ... and looking for a job ... I want to hear the president give a message of inspiration.''

The pre-ceremony show was to include an appearance by rock icon Alice Cooper, Mexican mariachis bands, a gospel choir and a marching band.

Following Obama's address, university president Michael Crow was to award five high school students with scholarships named after the president. The President Barack Obama Scholars program will offer them up to $17,000 annually to pay for tuition, books, room and board.

Virgil Renzulli, an ASU spokesman, said ASU hopes the scholarship will serve as a national model for universities aiming to make college more affordable.

``We know that for Arizona to be competitive and the U.S. to be competitive we have got to produce more college graduates,'' he said. ``We hope this (scholarship) will have a lasting effect.''

Two ASU students may have the swine flu...

Arizona State University has announced on their Web site that two students have "probable" cases of the swine flu.

ASU health officials are awaiting confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This news comes after university health officials increased testing and surveillance of students when the new flu strain was first reported, according to the announcement.

The two students live off campus and are voluntarily isolating themselves as they recover.

Members of the ASU community who have been in close contact with the students are being contacted by university health officials to take proper precautions.

ASU says they are maintaining normal operations on its campuses because of continued evidence of the mild nature of this flu strain.

They are advising any individuals who are traveling to Mexico to defer travel to Mexico City and other affected areas until further notice.

They also urge any students, faculty and staff to self-monitor their health and contact their health provider if they experience flu symptoms.

If students are ill, they should go to any one of the health centers located on their four campuses to be checked, said the announcement.

This statement comes amid reports that the number of flu cases in Arizona has risen to 17.

Arizona State University facing severe budget cuts

ASU is facing severe budget cuts with ASU officials anticipating $25 million or more will be cut from the state budget.

Facing a budget crunch, Arizona State University officials have announced they plan to cut 200 or more faculty associates and dramatically boost the size of some classes.

Some lecture-style classes that now accommodate 300 students could increase to 1,000 students.

ASU is facing severe budget cuts with ASU officials anticipating $25 million or more will be cut from the state budget. That's on top of the $30 million in cuts the university already has made because of a downward spiral in state revenues due to a sluggish economy.

ASU employs about 12,400 administrators, faculty and support staff and, with more than 67,000 students. It's one of the largest public universities in the country.

Foreclosures 44 percent of Phoenix Home Sales according to ASU

That's a two percent increase from July and more than double the 20 percent of sales recorded in August 2007.

Sales of foreclosed homes in the metro Phoenix area made up nearly half of all existing homes sold in the area last month, a new study shows.

Of the 7,505 resale home transactions recorded in Maricopa County in August, 44 percent were bought out of foreclosures, according to the Realty Studies department at Arizona State University. That's a two percent increase from July and more than double the 20 percent of sales recorded in August 2007.

There's no end in sight for the housing market slump, according to the director of Realty Studies at ASU's Polytechnic campus in east Mesa.

``Most potential buyers still confront a weak economy, slumping levels of confidence and tighter underwriting guidelines,'' Jay Butler said. ``Thus, the local housing market still contains considerable uncertainty over when any potential strengthening can be expected.''

The federal government takeover of the Federal National Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) has driving mortgage prices down, bad economic news is keeping buyer sentiment low, Butler said.

The median price of a home bought out of foreclosure in August was $161,875, compared with a non-foreclosure price of $193,550. A year ago the median prices were $220,010 and $258,000 respectively.

Prices varied widely by location. In North Scottsdale, the median price in August for a foreclosed property was $545,000, while the traditional market was $525,000. In South Scottsdale the splits were $219,855 and $242,000, respectively. In Maryvale, traditional transactions were $98,000 and foreclosures were $123,580.

The steep drop in prices is beginning to bring out investors expecting to see prices rebound in the next few years, Butler said.

Interest is especially high in the lower-priced ranges because more capital is available for those homes, he said.