Year: 2012

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    The Hole Story Has Yet to Be Told

    Byuclafaculty

    Governor Brown says there is a big “hole” in the state budget that he will tell us about on Monday in the May Revise.  As readers of this blog will know, yours truly does not like the loose way in which the state budget is described.  Words such as hole, gap, deficit, etc., are used interchangeably and without clear definition.  Try looking up “hole” in an accounting textbook.  Stocks and flows are mixed together.  Time periods vary.  Nonetheless, here is what Brown said in a video just released:[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPc85z9uhJQ&w=320&h=195] Whatever “hole” means, it won’t be pleasant.  Nonetheless, yours truly will attempt…

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    Berkeley Problems Continue

    Byuclafaculty

    On campus Protesters who stormed UC Berkeley’s main administration building late Friday afternoon have been removed from the offices by campus police. Ten people, including two UC Berkeley students, were cited for trespassing and released at about 7:30 p.m., said UC police Capt. Margo Bennett. A group of about 25 protesters called By Any Means Necessary marched into Sproul Hall at 3:30 p.m. after a rally outside. The group, which is arguing for a greater representation of minority students in the university’s undergraduate population, included several Bay Area high school students who say they were denied admission to the school……

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    Winston Churchill on the Japanese Garden (and the Hotel)

    Byuclafaculty

    No, not really.  But there is this from Churchill: “To jaw-jaw is always better than to war-war.” ATTRIBUTION:   WINSTON CHURCHILL, remarks at a White House luncheon, June 26, 1954. His exact words are not known, because the meetings and the luncheon that day were closed to reporters, but above is the commonly cited version. His words are quoted as “It is ‘better to jaw-jaw than to war-war,’” in the sub-heading on p. 1 of the New York Times, June 27, 1954, and as “To jaw-jaw always is better than to war-war” on p. 3. The Washington Post in its June…

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    Fratfolder

    Byuclafaculty

    That was then and this is now. ========================================== The previous post on this blog pointed to an interesting article in Inside Higher Ed about UC.  The same edition also has an article about a website, fratfolder.com, which is reported to contain uploads of past exams from various universities, not just UC.  I checked and indeed UCLA is among those universities as are other UC campuses.  However, before you panic, the collection for UCLA was not comprehensive.  Some of what has been uploaded is not exams but rather lecture notes and handouts.  And in one case a UC-Santa Barbara instructor was listed…

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    Breaking Up the UC System?

    Byuclafaculty

    Inside Higher Ed today has a lengthy article on recent proposals to give the various UC campuses more autonomy. These proposals have primarily been emanating from UC-Berkeley and UC-San Francisco.  The article goes over some of the past statements and documents relating to this issue and provides a review of related developments in other state systems. The article is at:http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/05/11/university-california-faces-questions-about-its-governance-structure Clearly, breaking up the system would be difficult: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbad22CKlB4&w=320&h=195]

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    The Other Shoe to Drop (on Wilshire and the 405)

    Byuclafaculty

    If you thought your commuter problems to UCLA would be over once the President left town this morning, consider the following from LA County Supervisor Yaroslavsky: …Long-running closures of the 405 Freeway’s Wilshire Boulevard ramps are set to begin on Friday, June 22, bringing fresh challenges to an intersection that’s already among the nation’s worst.  Anxious residents and employees in the area have been girding for the start of the ramp work for months. Some online wags have dubbed it The Rampture, while others who live nearby refer to it ominously as “the next shoe to drop.” Whatever you call it, the work…

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    November Tax Could Go Up in Smoke in June

    Byuclafaculty

    You probably know that Governor Brown has now filed his tax initiative for the November ballot.  He will be unveiling his May Revise 2012-13 budget proposal this coming Monday and it is likely to be unpleasant since state tax revenues are coming in below forecast levels for this year.  Exactly how UC will fare in the new proposal is unknown but it was the target of trigger cuts in the January version; the trigger would be pulled if voters do not pass the governor’s tax initiative.  (Ultimately, of course, the budget and any triggers must be enacted by the legislature;…

  • A Prayer for Dysfunction? In the Legislature?

    Byuclafaculty

    From http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2012/05/am-alert-seaworld-critters-turn-california-capitol-into-animal-house.html PRAYER BREAKFAST: Senate Republican leader Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar, Sen. Ted Gaines, R-Rocklin, and Assemblywoman Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, are co-chairing the 51st annual California Prayer Breakfast at the Sacramento Sheraton Grand. The keynote speaker is Patrick Lencioni, author of “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.” The program begins at 7 a.m.Not clear on the concept.  Is there a need to pray for dysfunction in the legislature?  The May Revise budget is due on Monday.  That should provide plenty of opportunity for dysfunction.Meanwhile:[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTqoTZ3lPsA&w=320&h=195] Read more here: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2012/05/am-alert-seaworld-critters-turn-california-capitol-into-animal-house.html#storylink=cpy

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    Trending Down

    Byuclafaculty

    PPIC has issued a report noting that California enrollments have been dropping at UC and CSU as the state has cut funding and tuition has risen.  The chart above is from that report.  UC and CSU actually have been admitting a higher percentage of high school grads but those admitted increasingly go elsewhere.  Excerpt: California’s financial commitment to higher education has been compromised by fiscal crises and competing state priorities. Despite large increases in the demand for higher education, state general fund spending in this area has declined notably over the past ten years. California now spends more on corrections…

  • The Farmer in the Gill

    Byuclafaculty

    Our coverage of this drama continues with this excerpt from the San Francisco Chronicle: A standoff between UC Berkeley and Occupy activists who planted renegade crops on university land is headed from the farm to the courts.  The University of California Board of Regents filed a lawsuit Wednesday against 14 protesters, claiming they and others conspired to cut through chains that secured gates and trespass onto the Gill Tract, a patch of land along bustling San Pablo Avenue in Albany… Full story at: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/05/09/BABF1OFNUS.DTL You never know what might happen on a farm:[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdRcNzPQUYY]