Writer/designer, Yuma, AZ

You won't find a better quote in the city than Yuma Catholic head football coach Rhett Stallworth. There's actually been some decent athletes to come out of Yuma as of late. They have two guys in the College World Series (Luis Tovar, Rocky Laguna), Chelsie Mesa just won a softball title with U of A and Jackie Johnson won the heptathlon in the NCAA outdoors at ASU for a second time. And AWC is a solid JUCO, just steer clear of misinformation director Jim Howell. He's one of the best announcers in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference. There are also a few young guys with some talent on the golf course. The high schools don't produce that much talent though, at least not in major sports. You'll have a few wrestlers win state titles or Yuma Catholic's soccer, cross country or baseball team win/contend for a title. But there are also 6 or 7 classes now, which is ridiculous for a state that size. Well, any state in my opinion. I almost lasted 2 years there until I finally washed out of journalism all together. But Scott's a good guy, however I will say it is difficult to come up with enterprise or even a good feature (coaches there do not get it). You really do have to dig. The golf beat is the best to cover, even when you are the lead preps writer and have a plate full every week. And Jungman is a decent guy even though he does hog all the NFL credentials. I'm sure he would be more than willing to let the next guy go to some Cardinals game. But I have a feeling San Diego is all him.

 

Nick Papageorgio

 

Not a bad gig if you're young and don't mind isolation. Make sure you REALLY like the city before you move there, because there's almost three hours of desert in every direction. I suppose you get used to it. People I know from Yuma think nothing of spending nearly six hours in the car for a day trip up to Phoenix and back. That said, there's a lot more options in Yuma than there used to be. The place has grown considerably in the last couple years, and they've done a good job making the place livable for transplants.
Funny story: I have a friend in the Marines and he was sent to Yuma for a brief training session. He took his wife with him, and her first words were "Promise me you'll never get stationed here." Needless to say, he got stationed there about two years later.

 

I'm a recent college grad who applied. I was wondering how much I could expect to get paid for my first job at a paper this size. Anyone know if they've started interviews?

 

I'm still a newbie and even i know that you're about to get HIRED!

 

They pay you in "especials" and $5 lapdances.

 

I'm a sucker for lapdances! I hope I get the job!

 

I'm guessing you could expect somewhere in the range of $9.50/hour, more if you have layout experience.

 

If that's what my degree is worth I'll be very disappointed. High school kids in retail make more than that. I'm not expecting a lot of money for my first job, but that's a little ridulous.

 

Nah, as someone with knowledge of the pasy scale there it's more along the lines of $10.50/hour. This is a good spot for fresh college grads, and I doubt intreviews have begun. There may be more to cover in Yuma over the summer than other areas, but not enough to really expedite the hiring process.

Feel free to PM on this job.

 

It's such a bittersweet joy to see them grow up.

Seriously, you've just joined a long line of people who just found out that their degree isn't worth what you'd think it'd be worth. I think my first job offer of $15,000 in 2001 nailed that bad boy home for me.

 

I remember being at an In-and-Out with Ben Seaver in Scottsdale one afternoon while employed by The Sun and we both noticed they were hiring. The pay per hour to be a french fry chef was at least $2 more an hour than what we were making.