State Glance

Stabbed Parker school custodian in stable condition

PARKER — Four public schools in Parker will operate normally Thursday after being closed Wednesday following a stabbing attack on a Parker High School custodian.

Police say the 46-year-old custodian is in stable condition after being stabbed four times in the neck Tuesday evening at Parker High School.

Police say the custodian describer the attacker as about 16 years old and that no suspect has been identified or arrested.

Parker Unified School District Superintendent James Lotts says the district decided to close the four schools Wednesday partly because law enforcement needed to process the crime scene and partly out of safety concerns.

Senate Republicans OK bill on initiative signatures

PHOENIX — Republicans in the Arizona Senate on Wednesday rejected concerns from Democrats and gave initial approval to legislation that would ban paying petition circulators for each signature they gather to qualify a voter initiative for the ballot.

Democrats and voting rights activists say the proposal that already has passed the House is designed to make it harder to get citizen initiatives on the ballot. The Arizona Chamber of Commerce backs the measure, which it pushed after voters in November approved a minimum wage increase opposed by business groups.

Republicans say the measure is needed to cut fraud in signature gathering, but provided no evidence of actual fraud during Senate committee hearings. In addition to banning per-signature payment, it makes it easier to challenge initiatives in court.

Man suspected of shooting woman in Tucson found dead

TUCSON — Police say a man suspected of shooting a woman in Tucson was found dead inside a shed.

Tucson Police Department spokeswoman Sgt. Kim Bay says the man shot the woman Tuesday evening about five hours before police found his body with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. She says the woman was taken to the hospital and is in stable condition.

Police believe the man and woman were acquaintances who fought before the shooting.

NCAA games expected to increase traffic on I-10 in Phoenix

PHOENIX — Transportation officials are advising Phoenix-area residents to start thinking about ways to cope with increased traffic on Interstate 10 when the NCAA holds the last games of the men’s basketball tournament in Glendale.

Final Four semifinal games will be held Saturday April 1 at University of Phoenix Stadium and the national championship game is scheduled at the stadium at 6 p.m. Monday April 3. The state Department of Transportation says drivers should expect heavier traffic on westbound I-10 and along Loop 101 approaching the stadium.