FLORENCE — The Pinal County Library District launched a new program today that offers students of all ages live, one-to-one help from certified tutors online.  The program also offers professional writing help for job seekers interested in creating or improving their resume.

The K-12 Student Center, College Center and Adult Career Center from Tutor.com includes live, one-to-one tutoring, a real-time writing center and 24/7 access to worksheets, videos and tutorials in just about any subject.   Any patron with a Pinal County library card can access the new online services from the library or right from home.

The live, online tutoring and resume writing service is available every day from 1:00 pm until 10:00 pm.  The service is completely free for Pinal County library patrons.  To access the service please visit the library’s website at http://catalog.pinalcountyaz.gov.

“I’m pleased that we are able to offer a valuable service that helps both students and job seekers,” said Library District Director Denise Keller.  “The best part is that it is free to use for our library members.”

Students of all ages and job seekers can find the help they need by simply visiting the library’s website and looking for the Tutor.com graphic.   Tutor.com has a network of over 2,000 certified tutors as well as career specialists who are ready to help with just about any question you may have.  Here’s the type of help you can get in each center.

• K-12 Student Center:  Students can get help with homework, test preparation, skills and concepts they are learning in class and standardized test preparation and college entrance exams.  Subjects include math, science, social studies and English.

• College Center: Besides subject-specific help, students can prepare for the GED and get resume help or prepare for graduate school entrance exams.

• Adult Career Center: Adults going back to school can get subject-specific help, prepare for the GED, get resume help or prepare for the citizenship exam.

Each center also includes real-time writing assistance from English tutors or career specialists for adults working on resumes.   Students and job seekers get immediate feedback, writing tips and strategies as well as proofreading.  Need help at midnight?  No problem.  Each center includes 24/7 access to thousands of resources including study guides, worksheets, videos and more in  math, science, social studies, English, resume writing,  GED prep, Citizenship exam prep and more.

Employment Situation Summary

Technical information:

Household data:       (202) 691-6378  *  cpsinfo@bls.gov *  www.bls.gov/cps

Establishment data:   (202) 691-6555  *  cesinfo@bls.gov *  www.bls.gov/ces

Media contact:         (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov

THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION — JULY 2010

Total nonfarm payroll employment declined by 131,000 in July, and the unem- ployment rate was unchanged at 9.5 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statis- tics reported today. Federal government employment fell, as 143,000 temporary workers hired for the decennial census completed their work. Private-sector payroll employment edged up by 71,000.

Household Survey Data

Both the number of unemployed persons, at 14.6 million, and the unemployment rate, at 9.5 percent, were unchanged in July. (See table A-1.)

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for adult men (9.7 per- cent), adult women (7.9 percent), teenagers (26.1 percent), whites (8.6 per- cent), blacks (15.6 percent), and Hispanics (12.1 percent) showed little or no change in July. The jobless rate for Asians was 8.2 percent, not seasonally adjusted. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

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AUGUST 2010

Can it really be true?  Is it really August already?  Yes, Virginia – it’s once again time to report to the classroom for another scholastic year of academic achievement and excellence.  For some the month of August is also the last gasp of summer vacations as at least one more trek into Arizona’s mountains or long weekend trip to San Diego is undertaken.  However, the one thread that’s common to all of us is the need to once again practice vigilance when we drive through school zones and crossings: slow down to 15 mph, don’t pass one another, and keep an eye out for children who don’t always wait for the crosswalk and a crossing guard.

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Here is a link to the 1070 information on the AZ Peace Officer Standards Training website.  The entire video is available here.

http://www.azpost.state.az.us/SB1070infocenter.htm

(Tucson, Arizona) On Wednesday, July 28, 2010, Governor Jan Brewer announced a $1.5 million grant for the Arizona Center for Innovation (AzCI), a technology business incubator located at the UA Tech Park.

The grant will provide funding for AzCI to purchase laboratory equipment, establish a “Mentor in Residence Program” and develop a commercialization training program that can be implemented state-wide. The grant is funded from federal stimulus dollars.

“This grant is a wonderful way to emphasize the importance of developing a technology based economy in our state by growing our own technology companies. We have the ‘idea’ assets with our universities and several strong industries, but need to develop a stronger infrastructure that supports the entrepreneur,” says Governor Brewer.  “Today, I am building on my vision for the new Arizona Commerce Authority – expanding the toolbox to help Arizona entrepreneurs, grow Arizona businesses, and create more jobs for Arizonans.”

The Arizona Center for Innovation provides structured business development for new technology companies. It works with University of Arizona students, faculty and staff in moving technology through the commercialization process to create new companies in Southern Arizona as well as entrepreneurs from the community. Founded in 2003, AzCI has assisted over 36 technology companies in the region.

“The Arizona Center for Innovation is pleased with the announcement of this grant as it will provide the funding to allow us to further develop programs to assist technology entrepreneurs in Southern Arizona and throughout the state,” says Bruce Wright, president of AzCI. “We have identified several needs where we could significantly enhance our programs and services for our clients, but were limited as a non-profit by a lack of funding and resources. This is a significant step in building the ‘Entrepreneurial Ecosystem’ in Southern Arizona and throughout the state of Arizona.”

The Arizona Center for Innovation (AzCI) is a non-profit, high tech business incubator located at the UA Science and Technology Park. The incubator promotes the development of high technology companies in Southern Arizona through a disciplined program of business development. Interested companies should contact the Center at 520.382.3260 or visit our website at www.azinnovation.com

Office of University Research Parks (OURP) plays a significant role in economic development with a focused approach on utilizing research parks and business incubators as technology development and commercialization tools.  OURP accomplishes this by creating environments that support and promote research, education, technology innovation and commercialization, and high technology business development and attraction.  OURP oversees the University of Arizona Science and Technology Park (UA Tech Park), Arizona Center for Innovation (AzCI), and the Arizona Bioscience Park (UA Bio Park).

The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) and its private-sector leadership board position Arizona to be more responsive to business needs and opportunities.  Governor Brewer will serve as chair of the board and will be joined by a prestigious and powerful mix of Arizona’s business leaders, all of whom are committed to securing a more complete global competitiveness strategy to advance Arizona’s economy and create quality jobs for its citizens by supporting, attracting and helping businesses in targeted, high growth, base industries.

Happy Birthday USA: this July 4^th there are 234 candles on that really BIG cake!  On behalf of myself, my family, and, I’m confident, my colleagues on the Board of Supervisors, here’s a heartfelt “Thank You!” to all those Americans who have or are serving in our armed forces in order to protect and preserve our democratic form of government with all the privileges we enjoy today.  I want to especially take this time to salute not only the men and women who are serving today – particularly those warriors in harm’s way in Afghanistan, Iraq, and around the world – but their families as well.  Theirs is often the hardest battle and they deserve not only our gratitude for their sacrifices but our support during these long, lonely months of separation.

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Maricopa Graffiti Abatement Team headed up by Brian Duncan Senior Code Enforcement Officer. Is currently offering the services of the Graffiti Team to the community HOA’s  and ALL business owners of the City of Maricopa, to clean, remove and or paint over any graffiti.  All they require the business owners or HOA’s is  to provide the paint that matches the walls and they will cleanup the Graffiti for FREE.

This team has committed to remove problem areas within 24 hours of reporting, if  they have the paint and color match of the buildings or walls. They have established a relationship with Sherwin Williams of Casa Grande with the assistance of Karen Moore (520.316.0745 office, 520.252.6886 cell), to purchase paint at a greatly reduced price.

Please contact Brian Duncan at (520) 568-9098 if you need to utilize this service.

ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY News Release

May 4, 2010

Graduating ASU Seniors – Helping Maricopa Use “Tourism for the Public Good”

PHOENIX – An exciting partnership between ASU and the City of Maricopa is helping the City investigate ways to better their community by harnessing the power of tourism. Tourism is the largest industry in the World and this spring an ASU class in Tourism Development and Management has been researching the opportunities for its growth using the resources of the city of Maricopa.

Under the guidance of Professor Tim Tyrrell, the ASU class of 55 juniors and graduating seniors studied Maricopa as a case study in a tourism research methods course. The project looked at how eight different resources of the City could provide opportunities for future tourism development.

The findings of the research teams were presented to Mayor Smith, Vice Mayor Murphree and five members of the Maricopa Chamber of Commerce on May 4. Opportunities for the City identified by the students included serving current Maricopa residents and business travelers better, anticipating imminent growth in transportation systems, and forming stronger collaborations with the Ak-Chin community.

Terri Kingery, (Executive Director, Maricopa Chamber of Commerce) said of the project:

“The partnership developed with ASU during the development of this Tourism Project, will be instrumental in our Communities success in developing and promoting tourism in Maricopa which has become a key component in our City’s Economic Development strategy.”

Mayor Tony Smith of Maricopa said “Tourism and higher education are critical elements to be developed in the City of Maricopa.  By partnering with the Chamber of Commerce and ASU, we will accelerate our progress towards identifying the assets that promote Maricopa’s proud history and vision for a prosperous future.”

ASU Presentation

Power Point Presentation

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This was a really exciting project to work on here at factor1. Ace Hardware Phoenix is a regional site to represent the collective marketing efforts of all Phoenix metro valley stores. A total of just over 50 stores.

The new website features a Do-it-yourself video archive, news, sales & promotions, seasonal tips, and a Google Map™ store locations page. The new site is built on the cutting edge software Expression Engine—which also powers many large government and retail sites around the world. Factor 1 Studios worked with local Ace Hardware Phoenix staff to develop this beautiful, easy to navigate website. Visit the new Ace Hardware Phoenix website at http://www.acehardwarephoenix.com and see more work from Factor 1 Studios at http://www.factor1studios.com.

The Core design was planned around the focus of our unique location. Phoenix Ace Hardware stores have a different season of marketing than other states. They sell grass seed while other stores in the US sell snow salt. We had to make sure that the visitor knew they were local to Arizona. So We have a cycle of quarterly images to rotate into the background of the site, all with very clear Arizona landscapes.

The home is very short and to the point. We know the audience is not here to shop online, but to find a store, or watch video DIY tips and messages.

The locations page was built using Google Maps API for a dynamic store browsing experience. A user can pan and zoom to a location near them, or select a store from the list to see it pinpointed on the map.

Videos were a must. Ace Hardware Phoenix has several media relationships that keep the content rolling in on a routine basis. We built a system where Ace can simple add a new video, add the YouTube code, notes and any associated files, and our tools would sort them, newest up top, and rolling archives below. This makes management of the videos a breeze.

News operates similar to the videos page. Simply add a new news article title, description and content.

For Immediate Release:

March 24, 2010

Contact: Terri Kingery

520-568-9573

Maricopa, Az……The Maricopa Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce that Frito Lay has donated all the tortilla chips needed for the upcoming 6^th annual Salsa Festival.  This is a wonderful donation and will help defray some of the cost for the event.  Other business sponsors are Waste Management and Orbitel Communications.

This event is from 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m., Saturday, April 24, at Pacana Park.  The event is free and families can enjoy games, live entertainment, business and craft vendors, food & drink and sample and vote on their favorite salsa.  There are a few vendor spaces available and if anyone is interested they can contact the Chamber by calling 520-568-9573 or visit our website at www.maricipachamber.com