UA coach Lute Olson will take a leave of absence effective immediately, for what he called a personal matter.

He will be replaced in the interim by assistant coach Kevin O'Neill.

Athletic Director Jim Livengood and O'Neill said at a news conference today that there is no timetable for the leave.

"This will be Lute's 25th year. I don't have any more to say," O'Neill said. "It's not business as usual but the players will carry on."

Livengood said Olson pulled him aside at Saturday's Arizona football game and said he needed the leave.

"This is merely a leave of absence at this time," Livengood said. "It's just right now at this time he has things he needs to take care of."

Olson's public relations firm released a statement this morning saying he was not facing a health issue.

"For the past 25 years, I have always given 110 percent to the team and this job," Olson said in the statement. "In light of this personal matter, I feel it's in the best interests of the team and university to take a leave of absence.

"It isn't a health scare but rather a personal matter that needs my undivided attention."

The Wildcats are scheduled to host their first exhibition game of the season today at 2:30 p.m., against Concordia University of Montreal.

Olson, 73, hasn't taken a leave of absence since the 2000-01 season, when his first wife, Bobbi, passed away.

As millions of people watched the Super Bowl, Arizonans began to look forward to this time next year when the state hosts the event.

The Arizona Super Bowl host committee said as 175,000 visitors flood the state it will need $15 million in sponsorship money and an army of 10,000 volunteers.

The game will be played at the University of Phoenix Stadium and is expected to give a $400 million boost to the local economy.

Officials from Glendale, security officials and others from the Valley involved in hosting next year’s game have been down in Miami taking notes to help out in preparing for next year’s game.

Tucson Metro, Marana, Green Valley (Arizona)

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
327 AM MST SAT DEC 23 2006

327 AM MST SAT DEC 23 2006

...DENSE FOG ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 AM MST THIS MORNING...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON HAS ISSUED A DENSE FOG ADVISORY...WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 AM MST THIS MORNING. DENSE FOG HAD REDUCED VISIBILITIES TO LESS THAN ONE QUARTER OF A MILE IN NOGALES...ALONG HIGHWAY 90 NEAR WHETSTONE...AS WELL AS IN FORT HUACHUCA THIS MORNING. VISIBILITIES HAVE ALSO BEEN REDUCED IN PORTIONS OF THE TUCSON METRO AREA AS WELL. RECENT RAINS IN COMBINATION WITH NEARLY CALM WINDS WILL MAINTAIN DENSE FOG RESTRICTING VISIBILITIES TO LESS THAN ONE QUARTER OF A MILE ACROSS PORTIONS OF EASTERN PIMA...SANTA CRUZ...AND WESTERN COCHISE COUNTIES UNTIL 8 AM MST THIS MORNING.

A DENSE FOG ADVISORY MEANS VISIBILITIES WILL FREQUENTLY BE REDUCED TO LESS THAN ONE QUARTER MILE. IF DRIVING...SLOW DOWN... USE YOUR HEADLIGHTS...AND LEAVE PLENTY OF DISTANCE AHEAD OF YOU. LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...COMMERCIAL RADIO OR TELEVISION STATIONS...OR YOUR CABLE TELEVISION PROVIDER FOR FURTHER UPDATES ON THIS DENSE FOG SITUATION.

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court jumped into the legal battle over voter identification laws Friday, ruling that Arizona may require voters to provide photo IDs when they cast their ballots next month.

The justices cautioned that they were not issuing a ruling on the constitutionality of Arizona's law. "As we have noted, the facts in these cases are hotly contested," the court said in an unsigned five-page order.

Indeed, the court said it would review the legal challenge to Arizona's Proposition 200, approved by the state's voters in 2004. The law requires voters to prove citizenship when registering to vote and to show photo IDs when they go to the polls. The law was meant to make sure illegal immigrants weren't casting ballots...

PRESCOTT, Ariz. - A twin-engine plane carrying five people on a flight to photograph a vintage Soviet jet fighter crashed Wednesday, killing everyone on board, a federal official said.

The Piper Cheyenne plane and a MiG-21 fighter took off from an airport in Prescott, about 60 miles north of Phoenix, about 1:30 p.m. for a photo shoot, said Ian Gregor, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman.

As the Cheyenne ascended after takeoff, an air traffic controller radioed the pilot to warn him about vapor seen coming from the right engine, Gregor said. The pilot radioed back saying he didn't think it was a problem.

The MiG pilot told investigators he thought he had a problem with a landing gear door about 20 minutes into the flight and asked the pilot of the other plane to fly in close for an inspection, Gregor said.

The MiG pilot said the other plane flew under his jet but never reappeared. He radioed air traffic controllers that there may have been a mid-air collision at about 8,900 feet. But Gregor said there was no sign of damage on the jet after it landed safely in Prescott.

Searchers spotted a large column of smoke 16 miles northeast of Prescott and found the Cheyenne destroyed in a crash.

"The plane was completely burned up," said John Ginn, fire district chief for Chino Valley north of Prescott. "The only thing left was a small section of tail and two engines. There was very little discernible."

Scott Reed, a spokesman for the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office, said the medical examiner's office will determine who was on the plane.

"It's fair to say that we have an idea who may have been on the plane, but we can't release names until we have positive identification," he said...

PHOENIX - A federal appellate court on Thursday blocked enforcement of a 2004 state law requiring Arizona voters to present identification when casting ballots and to submit proof of citizenship when registering to vote.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court Appeals without comment granted a motion by critics of the law for an injunction that bars enforcement of the law's voter identification requirements during the Nov. 7 general election.

It also bars enforcement of a requirement that people produce specified proof of citizenship to register to vote. The deadline to register to vote in the general election is midnight Monday.

The 9th Circuit order was issued by two of the San Francisco-based court's judge. It said the injunction would remain in effect pending the court's resolution of the plaintiffs' appeals, a process that a lawyer for the challengers said would take months.

"This order would certainly run past the Nov. 7 general election," said the attorney, David Rosenbaum.

The 2004 law, which appeared on that year's ballot as Proposition 200, requires that voters at polling places produce government-issued picture ID or two pieces of other non-photo identification specified by the law...

October 7th, 3 p.m. till ??

Sonora Brewhouse

322 E Camelback Road, Phoenix

At work? Need to cross the Santa Cruz on the Northwest Side? You might want to stay put for a while. I-10 traffic at the Cortaro exit is backed up because the Cortaro Road bridge is the only route open over the river.

Need to cross the Rillito? Don't expect to cross at Dodge, where the bridge remains closed.

Floodwaters on the Rillito were receding this afternoon. All that water ended up in the Santa Cruz, where Marana officials closed almost all of the bridges and the river was reportedly running bank-to-bank and topping bridges.

With more rain in the forecast, there will be no obvious time to stand down from road and bridge closures that will be a hassle for commuters and a source of anxiety to local officials monitoring the effects of a phenomenol downpour in the Santa Catalina Mountains.

With ground already thoroughly soaked, almost 5 inches fell in the Molino Basin and Bear Canyon drainages in a few hours. The main Mount Lemmon gauge has reported 8.8 inches in the past four days.

Mount Lemmon Highway was closed due to rockslides. Catalina State Park was closed because the access road crosses washes that may be flowing heavily. The rains seem to be arriving mostly after midnight, meaning a relatively placid evening may be followed by a torrent tomorrow.

The Pima County Sheriff's Department was clearing people off of the walking and biking paths along the Rillito early this afternoon. They said the water level was dangerously high.

There have been no injuries reported.

Another storm is heading into the area, with a 40 percent chance of more rain later this afternoon, the National Weather Service reported.

The moist air mass is being forced through southern Arizona by a high-pressure system near the Four Corners area More rain or not, runoff in riverbeds and washes will remain high and dangerous. Authorities are urging motorists and all others out and about to proceed with caution...