Arizona

Bear that killed Arizona man in unprovoked attack wasn’t sick or starving, leaving officials perplexed

Published

2 years ago

June 22, 2023

Bear that killed Arizona man in unprovoked attack wasn’t sick or starving, leaving officials perplexed

The black bear that last week fatally mauled an Arizona man who was building his dream home was neither rabid nor starving, perplexed officials found.

The beast was found to be in “good condition with no apparent signs of disease,” according to Arizona Game and Fish Department necropsy results released Wednesday.

“An examination of the stomach found human remains consistent with the injuries found in the victim,” AZGFD wildlife veterinarian Dr. Anne Justice-Allen ruled.

“Additionally, native vegetation and seeds were found inside the bear. The amount of body fat on the bear indicated it was in good nutritional condition.”

The male black bear — likely between 7- to 10-years-old and weighing 365 pounds — also tested negative for rabies.

The results only deepen the mystery into the aggressive attack last Friday on Steven Jackson, who was sitting at a picnic table sipping coffee on his wooded property in the Groom Creek when the bear launched its attack.

Steven Jackson was killed in an unprovoked black bear attack on his Arizona property.

Annie Be/Facebook

The animal dragged the 66-year-old about 75 feet down an embankment and began mauling Jackson, whose desperate screams alerted neighbors.

Neighbors tried to thwart the attack by honking and yelling, but the animal refused to let go until one local fired his rifle and killed the bear.

By that time, however, Jackson had already succumbed to what officials called “horrible injuries.”

Attacks by black bears — the only bear species found in Arizona — are highly rare.

Officials ultimately determined that the bear acted in an unprovoked predatory attack.

The dead body of the bear. — The adult male bear was neither starving or suffering from any diseases, a necropsy revealed.

Jackson was remembered as “the happiest guy” who had a passion for the outdoors.

He had been visiting his patch of property in the Groom Creek area from Tucson to fulfill his dreams of building a home in a heavily wooded patch of wilderness, his family said.

A trailer on the property. — Jackson was building his dream home on the plot of land the animal mauled him.

Jackson was building the home with plans in mind to “grow old together” with his partner of 15 years Annie Cooke.

“This morning awoken to the aroma of coffee brewing in the air…yet there was no coffee… Almost Every morning, for 15 years, Steven would get up before me to start the coffee,” Cooke said on Facebook.

He would often come to me if I was still sleeping with a cup in hand and blow across the top of the cup to awaken me with a warm playful smile, “Good Morning Annie, coffee is brewed”….this pain is so consuming at times.

Neighbor David Montano told 12News Jackson spent hours working on his property and was always welcoming to passing community members.

Steven Jackson on a hike. — Jackson died before neighbors were able to kill the attacking bear.

“He was just the happiest guy. I mean it was like he had no problems in the world. He just only cared about making people happy and living a great life for himself,” Montano said.

“He was looking forward to enjoying the rest of his days in his favorite place in the whole world.

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Arizona

Arizona men’s basketball at Texas Tech: Game time, odds, streaming info and more

Published

1 hour ago

January 18, 2025

Press Room

Arizona men’s basketball at Texas Tech: Game time, odds, streaming info and more

It’s Game Day!

The Arizona Wildcats are back on the road, where they’ve already won twice in Big 12 play, to take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders. This is their first meeting since 2013 and 53rd overall, with Tech holding a 28-24 advantage though the UA has won the last seven matchups.

Here’s all the info you need to watch, listen to or follow the game online:

Arizona-Texas Tech game time, details:

Date: Saturday, Jan. 18, 2024
Time: 12 p.m. MT
Location: United Supermakets Arena; Lubbock, Texas
Line: According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Arizona is a 5.5-point underdog and the over/under is 150.5. KenPom.com gives the UA a 36 percent chance of winning.

How can I watch Arizona-Texas Tech?

Arizona-Texas Tech will be shown on ESPN2. Dave Pasch (play-by-play) and Sean Farnham (analyst) will be calling the game.

How can I stream Arizona-Texas Tech online?

The stream of Arizona-Texas Tech can be streamed at ESPN.com.

How can I listen to Arizona-Texas Tech on the radio?

You can listen to Arizona-Texas Tech on Wildcats Sports Radio 1290 AM.

How can I follow Arizona-Texas Tech?

By following us on Twitter (X) at @AZDesertSwarm and our editor Brian Pedersen (@realBJP).

Arizona-Texas Tech pregame coverage:

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Arizona

SB Nation Reacts: Arizona fans weigh in on CFP title game

Published

9 hours ago

January 17, 2025

Press Room

SB Nation Reacts: Arizona fans weigh in on CFP title game

Arizona entered the 2024 season as one of many teams in college football believing it had a shot to make the expanded 12-team playoff despite an offseason of turmoil. Those hopes went away pretty quickly, with the Wildcats going 4-8 under first-year coach Brent Brennan.

To make matters worse, archrival ASU ended up being the Big 12 Conference’s playoff representative, though that did give UA fans a chance to laugh and post some jealousy laden memes after the Sun Devils fell to Texas in overtime in the quarterfinals.

All that’s left in the season is the College Football Playoff title game, set for Monday night in Atlanta between Notre Dame (14-1) and Ohio State (13-2). The Fighting Irish are seeking their first national championship since 1988 while the Buckeyes are going for their first since 2014.

Who do Arizona fans think will win? We asked, and a supermajority picked OSU.

SB Nation

The current line on the game is Ohio State -8.5, per FanDuel Sportsbook, and 40 percent of our voters think the Buckeyes will cover. Nearly that many think Notre Dame will win outright, which pays +290 on the moneyline.

A poll of all SB Nation readers has the most likely outcome being Ohio State wins but doesn’t cover. And as we all know, good teams win but great teams cover … which is another way to say Arizona was far from great in 2024 as in addition to going 4-8 overall it was 2-10 against the spread which was the worst record in FBS.

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Arizona

Efforts to boost FAFSA application rates in Arizona

Published

17 hours ago

January 17, 2025

Press Room

Efforts to boost FAFSA application rates in Arizona

PHOENIX (AZFamily)—Gov. Katie Hobbs and the Arizona Board of Regents are partnering to declare January ‘FAFSA Action Month’ in an effort to boost application rates.

After last week’s technical difficulties and delayed rollout, the Arizona Board of Regents said it prevented many students from applying for financial aid and impacted FAFSA completion rates.

From October 2024 to now, the national FAFSA completion rate sits at 54.4%, according to the National College Attainment Network’s FAFSA Tracker. During the same measured timeframe, Arizona’s FAFSA completion rate was 41.4%, about 13% lower than the national average.

Knowing that last year’s issues created a negative experience for many families, Arizona Board of Regents Director of FAFSA Julia Sainz and the Board of Regents will continue to assure parents that it won’t happen again.

”We’re trying to really elevate the message of FASFA and just letting families and students know that there is support available to help with the application also in support with the governor’s office and we also have an Arizona FASFA coalition that we partner with in order to help eleveate this message,” said Sainz.

After the U.S. Department of Education made multiple improvements and updates to the FAFSA software, Sainz said it has already created a smoother and easier application process for students.

“As of December we’ve already seen a little over 15% of high school seniors have completed the FASFA application. Knowing that there were a lot of technical glitches with the form if we look at that data back in April of last year we were at 18% so knowing that a month of data we’re at 15% is showing really great progress.”

Another way the Board of Regents is trying to boost completion rates is by partnering with the Cactus League to provide complimentary tickets to students who complete their FAFSA application.

The Arizona Board of Regents encourages families to complete FAFSA Applications sooner rather than later to ensure they meet all deadlines.

The federal deadline for FAFSA applications is June 30. However, the board said it’s important to check if the school your student applies to has its own FAFSA deadlines.

All Arizona universities don’t have specific FAFSA deadlines. However, in-state scholarships like the Arizona Promise Program have a priority deadline of April 30.

To learn more about the FAFSA application, click here.

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