Month: June 2012

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    Glad That’s Clear

    Byuclafaculty

    Voters created a non-partisan, top-2 primary system which went into full effect on Tuesday. The purpose of the non-partisan primary, as seen by proponents, was to create more “centrists” (compromise-prone representatives) in the legislature and Congress. Centrists would then form a bridge between the polarized parties. As far as the state budget (and UC’s stake in it) goes, the theory was that impasses, particularly over taxes, would be less likely to occur. There is a lot of analysis in the news media post-Tuesday on whether the new system had the effect expected by proponents. In more detail, the theory is…

  • Report on Berkeley Protests Issued

    Byuclafaculty

    Back in November, UC-Berkeley had its own version of the Davis pepper-spray affair but the Berkeley version received less attention due to the widespread Internet pictures and videos from Davis.  Berkeley has now issued a report on its incident.  Below is the media release from the campus with links to the report and related documents. The photo at the left was part of the media release. Police board calls for tighter oversight on use of force in student protests By Public Affairs, UC Berkeley | June 6, 2012 A review of clashes between Occupy Cal protesters and police on Nov. 9, 2011, says…

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    Headline News?

    Byuclafaculty

    Meetings of the Legislative Assembly of the UCLA Academic Senate rarely get such front-page attention.  (Well, the front page of the LATEXTRA section, anyway.)  It shows there is public interest in the trend toward privatization at UC more generally, although we insist on euphemisms such as self sufficiency.  The last time I posted anything about this matter, there were grumbles from readers.  So you can just read the LA Times story at http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-ucla-20120607,0,6289989.story At least we made the headlines:

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    C is for Reagan? Really? Info is Being Sought

    Byuclafaculty

    The LA Times business section is carrying a story about a website sponsored by employers that provide health insurance which rates hospitals on safety.  The article indicates that the California Hospital Association endorses release of the ratings. It is reported in the article that UCLA-Reagan is rated only C, although UCLA-Santa Monica is rated A.  At one point in the article, it seems to say that the grade for Reagan was below C. {Note: See below for update and clarification.} When I went on the website listed in the article, however, although Santa Monica is indeed given an A, the…

  • PSA Op Ed Leads to Finding of Violation of Academic Freedom at UC-Davis

    Byuclafaculty

    Just when it was emerging from the pepper-spray affair, UC-Davis seems to have another controversy going, this time involving its med school.  Inside Higher Ed reports that a 2010 newspaper op ed concerning the use of PSA screening for prostate cancer by a faculty member led to retaliation against him by the school’s administration, according to a faculty investigation. The dean and executive associate dean of the school are quoted as saying, “We deeply regret that our actions in handling this particular personnel matter are perceived by some as a violation of academic freedom. Academic freedom is fundamental to the…

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    Reading the Electoral Tea Leaves on Pensions

    Byuclafaculty

    Two major cities had pension reform propositions on the ballot yesterday and were being watched concerning voter attitudes on the subject.San Jose voters Tuesday handed Mayor Chuck Reed a crucial victory with his nationally watched pension reform measure passing by a decisive margin.  It was a big night for pension reform, with a San Diego measure also winning by a wide margin. City employee unions who argued the measures are illegal were expected to challenge both in court.  But voter approval of San Jose’s Measure B puts Reed and the city in the vanguard of efforts to shrink taxpayer bills…

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    Close But No Tobacco Tax

    Byuclafaculty

    The proposed tobacco tax was narrowly defeated, 49.8% to 50.2% in yesterday’s voting.  As a prior post on this blog noted, the tax would not have gone into the general fund and thus would not have directly aided the UC budget. However, defeat of the tax – as also noted in the prior post – could be taken as an omen of resistance to tax hikes more generally, and therefore not a good sign for the prospect of the governor’s proposed tax initiative for November, which would go into the general fund. Yes, there was heavy anti-tobacco tax advertising by…

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    Costless and Nice? Listen to the audio of the environmental hearing on the proposed UCLA hotel/conference center

    Byuclafaculty

    A hearing on the draft environmental impact report on the proposed UCLA hotel-conference center took place at the Faculty Center on June 5, 2012.  You can find link to the audio (1 hour and 38 minutes) below.  A total of 17 individuals spoke, either pro or con, at the meeting. A certain amount of orchestration of the testimony was apparent.  Originally, a 3-minute limit was suggested but it was dropped soon after the comments began.  The portable public address system was defective so that in some cases, the amplification went on and off.  However, all remarks should be audible at…

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    Today, Transit of Venus; Tomorrow, No Transit of Obama

    Byuclafaculty

    Venus will cross its midpoint on the sun’s disc around 6:25 p.m. PDT. In the continental United States, the show will end at sunset, but Venus will continue to be visible on the sun’s disc until roughly 10 p.m. PDT westward. That means places like Alaska, Hawaii, Asia, Australia, eastern Africa and all but the western edge of Europe will get to see the planet exit the sun’s disc… Full story at http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/06/transit-of-venus-2012-where-is-the-best-place-to-view-transit-of-venus-.html President Barack Obama will make another fundraising swing to Los Angeles on Wednesday afternoon, and traffic can be expected to be affected in Beverly Hills, Westwood and possibly…

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    Winners and Losers

    Byuclafaculty

    The LA Times has a story today about California students who might otherwise attend a UC or CSU going instead to out-of-state public colleges.  The chart above comes from that story which is at:http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-out-of-state-20120604,0,1974227,full.story There is an odd twist which the story doesn’t pick up.  If UC pulls in more out-of-staters – who pay a premium – and more Californians go out of state, from the perspective of university budgets on both sides of the California border, there is a budgetary win-win. Of course, from the viewpoint of California students, the situation is a loss compared to the past when the…