On July 6, 1976, the Wildcat reported that the UA special education department in the Education College had received a $271,000 federal grant to establish Arizona’s first three-year public school program for handicapped preschoolers. With the program, teachers also visited the children’s homes to help parents apply any successful methods developed in school.

On July 8, 1982, the Wildcat reported that Cynthia L. Wong had pleaded guilty to arson charges for the March 1982 blazes set to Bear Down Gym and the Tree-Ring Research Laboratory at Arizona Stadium. At the time, Wong worked as a security guard for the UA police department. Wong was given a seven-year probation and was ordered to attend a maximum psychological rehabilitation center.

On July 3, 1989, the Summer Wildcat surveyed 50 UA students and found that 21 said they were opposed to the proposed constitutional amendment to ban desecration of the American flag. Twenty-three said they thought an amendment should be passed and six were undecided.

On July 7, 1999, the Wildcat reported that former UA assistant basketball coach Ricky Byrdsong had died four days prior after being shot near his home in a Chicago suburb. He was 43. Police and FBI authorities suspected his death was the result of a racially-motivated shooting spree by an alleged white supremacist. The suspect, Benajamin Nathaniel Smith, died the day after Byrdsong’s death by shooting himself at the end of a high-speed car chase.

On July 6, 2005, the Wildcat reported that the UA Web site would be redesigned for the sixth time since 1994. The new design, which was worked on by about 50 people, gained an upgraded search engine and more fluid design.

– compiled by Lance Madden