To the Point

Summertime Blues for the Class of 2002

Four years ago, college freshmen had every reason to think they-d get multiple job offers, big salaries and even signing bonuses. Now, graduates are streaming into the job market in larger numbers than ever before, and those expectations have gone up in smoke. In the last year, job openings have declined by a third, manufacturing jobs by half, with the biggest drop in consulting and the auto industry. Although whom you know still matters, computer science grads are busing tables or trying to get into the Peace Corps. Can the job market get any worse before it finally gets better? We hear from a recent graduate, employer, economist, employment networkers and Congressman Johnny Isakson who sits on the House Education and Workforce Committee. Newsmaker: Wildfires Rage in Arizona The most dangerous of the big fires now consuming the West is in Arizona, where two massive blazes have joined to threaten both contemporary life and historic relics. The 300,000 acres blaze, which has consumed 185 homes, could reach 500,000 acres. Paul Maryniak, who reports for the Metro section of the Arizona Republic, looks at the unpredictable inferno that is creating its own weather system. Reporter's Notebook: Supreme Court Rules for Juries over Judges on Death Penalty Last week, the US Supreme Court ruled that mentally retarded convicts cannot be put to death. Today, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas voted with the majority to overturn at least 150 death sentences in several states. Former federal prosecutor and Supreme Court clerk Eddie Lazarus says the death penalty advocates- difficult conflict-of-principle decision will continue to slow executions in the US.