Author: admin

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    UCLA: How about Buying Palomar?

    Byadmin

    No, not the observatory.  The Palomar Hotel on Wilshire, a short distance from UCLA.  Back in March, the Regents asked why UCLA didn’t buy the W Hotel rather than build its own.  The W may not be for sale.  But the nearby Palomar Hotel is. See below.  And cheap, too.  Just a thought! UPDATE: We could have bought the W Hotel but it would have been twice as much, although considerably less than the planned UCLA hotel (which comes with free land, unlike the W).http://www.globest.com/news/12_423/losangeles/hotel/W-Los-Angeles-Hotel-Changes-Hands-for-125M-324549.html

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    Issue ads may quack like ducks…

    Byadmin

    …but technically, they are not ducks.  We have noted in earlier posts on this blog that a) Governor Brown seems to have a big campaign funding advantage for his tax initiative – Prop 30, but that b) “issue ads” that are not technically part of the campaign against Prop 30 have been airing on the radio.  Apparently, a new TV ad is airing sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce which can be inferred to suggest voting against tax increases, but doesn’t mention Prop 30 (or the other two tax propositions on the ballot). Exactly why the U.S. Chamber is…

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    More on the Hot Potato: Assembly May Reconsider

    Byadmin

    Yesterday, we posted a hot potato item concerning a state assembly resolution dealing with anti-Semitism and anti-Israel demonstrations on California campuses.  Issues were raised about free speech implications of the (non-binding) resolution. Readers will recall from that posting that UC declined to comply.  Now apparently the assembly may reconsider, although in the future – not now:=== A state lawmaker is promising to introduce a fix to an Assembly resolution that stirred controversy because it urged California universities to crack down on demonstrations against Israel.  Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal said Wednesday that she would work on a resolution that would affirm First…

  • Follow Up on the Pension Bill

    Byadmin

    Yesterday, we posted an item on the deal on public pensions reached by the governor and legislature.  Today, I looked for the actual bill’s language for a formal exclusion of UC’s pension plan from the deal.  I think I found it in the language reproduced below from the bill, AB 340. SEC. 19. Section 20281.5 of the Government Code is amended to read: 20281.5. (a) Notwithstanding Section 20281, a person who becomes a state miscellaneous member or state industrial member of the system on or after the effective date of this section because the person is first employed by the…

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    Continuing Hot Potato Issue for UC

    Byadmin

    We noted this issue in an earlier posting on an internal university debate – which apparently has now reached the legislature: The University of California says it won’t support a resolution condemning anti-Semitism on campus – approved unanimously by the state Assembly on Tuesday – because the resolution says “no public resources will be allowed to be used for any anti-Semitic or any intolerant agitation.” “We think it’s problematic because of First Amendment concerns,” said Steve Montiel, a UC spokesman. The nonbinding resolution, says, in effect, that UC and other public universities should ban activity that could be interpreted as intolerant or anti-Semitic, including certain…

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    Is UCLA Missing Out on a Two-for-One Sale on Its Hotel?

    Byadmin

    I happened to be looking at a listing of major construction projects in LA County that appeared this week in the LA Business Journal.*  Now we all know that UCLA is proposing to build a 250-room hotel for $162 million.  But in downtown LA, Marriott is building a two-hotel structure – 28 stories high! – for only $172 million.  That’s right; two hotels for a little more than UCLA is getting one.  Of course, they’re not quite as big.  One is 174 rooms and the other is 218 rooms.  But still, you do get 28 stories which would really give…

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    June Trigger; August Cap

    Byadmin

    Note: This posting has been updated with a report at the very bottom indicating UC is not included in the pension deal.   First we had a trigger cut as part of the state budget enacted in June.  Now we are about to hear about a pension cap.  According to various news reports, the legislative leaders will announce later today what they are going to do with Governor Brown’s pension proposals.  They have apparently dropped his hybrid idea of a mix of defined benefit and defined contribution and are sticking with defined benefit.  But some kind of cap will also…

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    LA Business Journal Editorial on the UCLA Hotel: Shrink It!

    Byadmin

    UCLA Hotel Reservations: Editorial (excerpt) Charles Crumpley, Editor, LA Business Journal,  August 27, 2012 …(M)any businesses are fine with the conference center. It’s the hotel they have reservations about. They fear it’ll bottle up the visitors. Since conference goers will only have to go upstairs to their rooms, they won’t need to walk to a nearby hotel. That means they’ll be far less likely to dine or drink or watch a movie in Westwood. …And the nearby hotels? Well, you can imagine they hate UCLA’s proposed hotel. For one thing, there’ll be plenty of rooms at the inn – 250…

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    More Sausage, Sacramento Style

    Byadmin

    A couple of days ago, we provided some insights into the sausage making of a bill in the legislature that would lower tuition with revenue from closing a corporate tax loophole. Today’s LA Times carries an interesting article on the sausage making process behind the governor’s tax initiative on the November ballot, the initiative the Regents have endorsed. Basically, the article looks at the sources of funding for the campaign.  The theme is that various large firms in industries that might be hit by proposals for specific taxes (such as oil, liquor, and soft drinks) if the initiative doesn’t pass…