Year: 2012

health care | UC-Davis | UCLA

Good News Story About the Med Center at UCLA; Not So Good at UC-Davis
Byuclafaculty December 23, 2012

The web brings Good News about the UCLA med center in the form of a new transplant procedure: http://www.smmirror.com/articles/Health/UCLA-Performs-First-Breathing-Lung-Transplant-In-United-States/36374 On the other hand, our friends at UC-Davis are getting anything but good news from the feds in a story that might make some folks there nostalgic for the days when all they had to worry about was pepper spraying: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/12/23/5072625/evaluation-of-uc-davis-medical.html

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miscellaneous | UCLA

In case you missed it…
Byuclafaculty December 23, 2012

An interesting story appeared in yesterday’s LA Times by columnist Sandy Banks about UCLA adjunct law professor Anthony Tolbert who turned his house over to needy strangers and moved in with his mother to make room. When Tony Tolbert turned 50 last year, he marked the occasion by moving in with his mother. The decision wasn’t about money. He’s a Harvard-educated attorney, on the staff of UCLA’s law school. And it wasn’t because his mother wanted or needed him home. It was Tolbert’s response to the sort of midlife milestone that prompts us to take stock. Instead of buying a…

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ballot propositions | CSU | financial aid | politics | UC

Tobacco Tax for UC/CSU Student Aid Initiative Filed
Byuclafaculty December 22, 2012

Note: We posted this story yesterday although blogger now shows it as today for reasons unknown. An initiative has been filed that would raise tobacco taxes to fund student aid at UC and CSU. The usual caveats apply. It takes $1-$2 million to pay signature gathering firms to get such a petition on the ballot (as opposed to $200 to file it). A tobacco tax initiative brings out big money opposition from tobacco companies. Recall the tobacco tax that failed last June. So a sponsor – if serious – would have to have deep pockets to carry out an effective…

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ballot propositions | CSU | politics | UC

Proponents of Tobacco Tax for UC/CSU Scholarships May Not Just Be Blowing Smoke
Byuclafaculty December 22, 2012

Yesterday (although blogger now shows it as today and later than this posting for reasons unknown), we noted an initiative had been filed that would tax tobacco to provide scholarship aid for UC and CSU students. We noted in particular that the initiative was professionally drafted, unlike many that are filed and, so, might have serious backers that could really fund a campaign. The San Francisco Chronicle picks up the story today and notes the Lt. Governor Newsom seems linked to the initiative. The initiative’s spokesperson is someone named in an earlier item in the Chronicle as a key aide…

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miscellaneous | UCLA

UCLA History: Winter 1932
Byuclafaculty December 22, 2012

Now that we have survived a supposed Mayan prediction of the end of the world and are in the first full day of winter, here is a snow scene of Powell in 1932. If you are curious about why we survived, NASA has some answers:[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QY_Gc1bF8ds?feature=player_embedded] And, by the way, as far as I can tell, the correct pronunciation of WINTER is WINTR:[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwgEY2JJXV8?feature=player_detailpage]

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fund raising | Japanese Garden | UCLA | USC

The Money That Danced Away
Byuclafaculty December 21, 2012

USC recently announced a gift from philanthropist Glorya Kaufman to establish a new school of dance. In a radio interview on KCRW, Kaufman said she had given money for renovation of a dance building at UCLA but the building wasn’t being used as intended. Excerpt: …Glorya Kaufman, the philanthropist funding USC’s new dance school, won’t reveal exactly how much money she’s putting into it. “That’s not the important part. The important part is what it’s doing … that’s why I’m withholding that amount,” she says. But whatever the pricetag, it’s large enough to pay for a brand new building and at least…

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miscellaneous | UCLA

UCLA History: Westwood 1941
Byuclafaculty December 21, 2012

Same scene as previous post.

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miscellaneous | UCLA

UCLA History: Early Westwood
Byuclafaculty December 21, 2012

Westwood scene: 1930

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governor | State Budget | UC budget crisis

It’s Budget Leak Time
Byuclafaculty December 20, 2012

There are formal and informal elements of the state budget process. One formal part is the requirement that the governor present a budget proposal to the legislature in early January (Jan. 10). The legislature is supposed to enact a budget by mid-June. But there are also informal elements. For example, it is traditional that the governor present the legislature with a “May revise” modified proposal for the budget in mid-May. Another tradition is that bits of news about the budget begin to leak out around this time. Given the realities of the complexities of the state budget, by now the…

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miscellaneous | UCLA

Nice LA Times report on the Royce Hall piano
Byuclafaculty December 20, 2012

Royce under construction In case you missed it, the LA Times ran a story about the acquisition of a new concert piano for Royce Hall. You can find it athttp://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-piano-named-sapphire-20121218,0,2245506.story

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