Month: June 2012

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    Cheer Up! We Could Have Worse Traffic Problems

    Byuclafaculty

    The News from LACMTA: Ramp Jam work to begin Posted on June 21, 2012 by Steve Hymon        The demolition of the first two Wilshire-405 ramps begins this weekend. There’s no way of sugar-coating it: there will be significant traffic impacts.  That said, the status quo in the area has been pretty much horrible for as long as I can recall — way too many cars competing for space while trying to enter and exit the freeway. The reconstruction of the ramps should greatly improve the way that traffic flows in the area, but there’s no getting around the pain that…

  • Plots at U-VA

    Byuclafaculty

    For those following the University of Virginia saga of the fired president, there is this from the Washington Post: Sullivan supporters plot to reinstate her as U-Va. president: Several members of the University of Virginia’s governing board spent Wednesday quietly counting votes and plotting a move to reinstate Teresa Sullivan after the popular outgoing president informed them that she wants to remain if Rector Helen E. Dragas resigns, according to current and former board members briefed on the conversations. Sullivan holds such broad support among professors that the Faculty Senate chairman held out hope that she could be reinstated following the resignation…

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    UPDATE: Gubernatorial Decision

    Byuclafaculty

    Word is coming in that the governor has now reached a deal with the legislature on the budget so the period of indecision (to veto or not to veto) is now over: Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders have reached a framework of a deal on the state’s $92.1-billion spending plan, according to sources close to the negotiations…  The budget agreement gives counties more flexibility to deal with work requirements for welfare recipients, but does not mandate shorter time limits or stricter work requirements for those receiving assistance, according to the sources, who requested anonymity. The accord also includes the governor’s…

  • Gubernatorial Indecision

    Byuclafaculty

    A news report dated June 20 suggests that the governor is having trouble deciding whether or not to sign the budget the legislature sent him June 15 without his agreement. He could sign it but exercise his line-item veto power to reduce spending.  Were he to veto it as occurred last year, the consequence would be uncertain.  Last year, the state controller ruled that the legislature had not complied – on technical grounds – with the requirement to pass a budget on June 15 and thus would not be paid for each day without doing so. That step created an…

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    Just in Time: Governor’s Tax Measure Qualifies for November

    Byuclafaculty

    There was always a bit of doubt that the governor’s tax initiative would qualify – or qualify in time – for the November ballot. His original initiative – which had somewhat less income tax and somewhat more sales tax than the current version – began to be circulated (by paid circulators). But the California Teachers Assn. was pushing a different initiative and eventually a deal was cut that CTA would drop its campaign in exchange for a revision of Brown’s initiative with more income tax and less sales tax. However, that deal was made late in the game and signature…

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    Forecast Lessons from the Past and for the Present

    Byuclafaculty

    Earlier today, the UCLA Anderson Forecast conference presented its quarterly projections of the U.S. and California economies.  No surprises.  There was a continued forecast (from earlier conferences) of sluggish growth with years to go before what can be truly seen as a return to “normal” occurs.  You can find a media write up at: http://business-news.thestreet.com/daily-news/story/ucla-forecast-economy-lag-3-more-years-high-unemployment-slow-growth-impede-progress/1 An official media release from the Forecast is at:http://uclaforecast.com/contents/archive/2012/media_62012_1.asp The Forecast reminded me of two lessons that can be drawn from recent developments.  The first – from the past – is that there is an underlying problem in California which can be seen in two charts…

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    E-Mail Detectives at U-VA

    Byuclafaculty

    Inside Higher Ed and other sources have gotten hold of emails involving the University of Virginia growing brouhaha that developed when U-VA’s equivalent of the Regents fired the university’s president.  The vice chair (vice rector) of that board has now resigned.  See earlier posts on this blog. From Inside Higher Ed today:E-mail messages were flying among leaders of the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia in the weeks leading up to the ouster of Teresa A. Sullivan as president of the university. The e-mail messages show that one reason board leaders wanted to move quickly was the belief…

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    How Long Does the Governor Have for His Budget Decision?

    Byuclafaculty

    The legislature passed (more or less) a budget on June 15.  As noted on this blog yesterday, we have not heard a peep from the governor whether he will sign it (probably with line-item vetoes) or veto it entirely.  Question: So when is the outer limit for the governor to make his decision?Answer: June 27.Meanwhile, if you turn on your television for news of the budget and don’t see anything, there is nothing wrong with your set:

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    Radio Interview with Mark Yudof on UC Funding

    Byuclafaculty

    You can listen to a radio interview on “Marketplace” aired earlier today with UC President Mark Yudof.  He spoke about a need for a new financial model for funding UC, although exactly what that model might be was not specified.——-You can hear the interview at the link below.  [The embed link on the Marketplace page seems not to work successfully on this blogsite.]

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    UC PR

    Byuclafaculty

    UCOP seems to have mounted a PR campaign through a website at:http://www.onwardcalifornia.com/ I noticed it as a banner ad on the LA Times website.  It loads rather slowly – or at least it did when I clicked on it – so maybe some better web design might be in order.  The actual message is rather vague.  Included is a YouTube video featuring presumably high school seniors signing on to UC websites and finding out that they were admitted.  The video was uploaded last Wednesday so I assume this campaign is relatively new.  The uploader left the “comment” option open and…