Author: admin

controller | State Budget

Post Mortem: What Happened Last Fiscal Year in State General Fund Cash Flows?
Byadmin July 10, 2012

Readers of this blog and state budget aficionados will recall that in June 2011, the legislature assumed $4 billion in a kind of extra phantom revenue that was unallocated among the various taxes the state was projected to collect. Essentially, the legislature and governor assumed that a windfall would arise somewhere, but no one could say precisely where. Nonetheless, that assumption allowed passage of a budget by a simple majority vote that was ostensibly “balanced” by some definition. Not surprisingly, now that the state controller has released the cash flows for full fiscal year 2011-12 (which ended June 30,…

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ballot propositions | governor | politics | State Budget

Numbers Game Mainly Over for November Ballot Propositions
Byadmin July 10, 2012

The legislature and Governor Brown succeeded in getting the governor’s tax initiative at the top of the ballot (as Prop 30). There is still some litigation on the numbering issue going on but below is the likely listing you will see in November: Prop 30 – Gov. Jerry Brown’s tax increase planProp 31 – State budget process changesProp 32 – Ban on payroll deductions for political contributions; ban on contributions to candidates from unions and corporationsProp 33 – Auto insurance rates based on driver’s history of coverageProp 34 – Death penalty repealProp 35 – Increased penalties for human traffickingProp 36…

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new hotel-conference center | UC Regents | UCLA

The Hotel: It’s Twins!
Byadmin July 10, 2012

UCLA’s Plan C for the hotel/conference center and the July Regents meetings has now been released. It’s basically Plan B – the version prepared for the March Regents meeting – with different text. Here’s the thing: As long as it’s a 250-room hotel (or whatever euphemism is used to avoid the word hotel), it has the same flaw. How are you going to fill up all those rooms without taking commercial business? And if you start taking questionable business, the local commercial hotel owners have every incentive to call the IRS. Of course, any occupancy rate can be assumed for…

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new hotel-conference center | parking

Questions Raised About Parking Reimbursement for Proposed UCLA Hotel/Conference Center
Byadmin July 9, 2012

The proposed UCLA hotel/conference center would involve demolition and removal of the parking spaces of parking structure #6 (shown at left). UCLA policy is to reimburse the parking service for such demolitions. In the UCLA case, however, the planned reimbursement seems over $10 million less than policy would require. Parking expert Prof. Donald Shoup – author of the acclaimed book “The High Cost of Free Parking” – examined the planned reimbursement and has questioned the proposed reimbursement on behalf of the UCLA Faculty Welfare Committee, a committee of the campus Academic Senate. The Faculty Welfare Committee’s minutes for the June…

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ballot propositions | new hotel-conference center | State Budget | UC budget crisis | UC Regents | UCLA

Will the UCLA Hotel Pass the Sniff Test in November?
Byadmin July 9, 2012

We noted in a blog posting yesterday that the UCLA proposal for a 250-room hotel/conference center is back on the Regents’ July agenda. Also on the agenda is discussion of the recently-enacted state budget and the governor’s November tax initiative. The Regents are likely to endorse the ballot initiative which, as prior posts have noted, is not polling as well as it should at this stage. So an interesting question for the Regents is whether the hotel passes the sniff test for wise spending of UC (and UCLA) resources. Given all the fiscal difficulties UC has faced in recent years,…

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Faculty Association at UCLA

Second Quarter of Blog Available in Alternate Form
Byadmin July 8, 2012

As we do each quarter, the blogs from the second quarter is now available as an online “book.” In that format, you can flip through the pages. However, video and audio links are not available and do not appear.The link to the alternative is at: Open publication – Free publishing – More ucla

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new hotel-conference center | UC Regents | UCLA

The 250-Room Whatchamacallit is Back on the Regents Agenda
Byadmin July 8, 2012

The Regents’ agenda for the July 17-19 meeting is now posted. The UCLA hotel/conference center is back on the agenda as item GB2. It is now called a “conference and guest center.” UCLA still is in denial that a 250-room establishment is a hotel. Perhaps it should be called a No-Tel in view of the denial. The material the Regents will consider is not attached to the agenda in keeping with no tell; at least it is not attached as of 9:30 AM today but the link is: http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regmeet/jul12/gb.pdf Other items of interest: As expected, the proposal for tuition…

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UC Berkeley

They’re back! The Return of the Banned Berkeley Farmers
Byadmin July 8, 2012

Remember the unwanted “farmers” who took over an agricultural research tract owned by UC-Berkeley – and were eventually evicted? You might have thought they issue was – well – dead, but they’re back. From the Daily Cal: Members of Occupy the Farm broke into UC-owned research land in Albany Saturday morning in order to weed and harvest crops they planted during their three-week occupation of the land that ended in May. The approximately 50 activists on hand at the land known as the Gill Tract were spurred to action by a scheduled harvest by the city of Albany to which…

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traffic | transportation

Planning to Travel on Sunset Boulevard at Night Next Week? Think Again!
Byadmin July 7, 2012

The notice below was sent to some departments at UCLA by Facilities Management. It provides a link to what would seem to be the source, but I found no such information there. So I am assuming that the info below is correct: Closure of Sunset Boulevard between Veteran Avenue and Barrington Avenue and closure of Church Lane between Sepulveda Boulevard and Kiel Street. Closure of all I-405 on and off-ramps at Sunset Boulevard except for the southbound off-ramp, which will remain open with access to Sepulveda Boulevard only. Where: Sunset Boulevard at Church Lane/I-405 When: Monday, July 9th through Monday, July 16th….

Read More Planning to Travel on Sunset Boulevard at Night Next Week? Think Again!
ballot propositions | politics | State Budget

A Guide for the Perplexed Voter
Byadmin July 7, 2012

If you are wondering what statewide ballot propositions will be on the ballot in November, here is the complete list (below). The numbering and ordering of the propositions has yet to occur. The legislature passed a bill that would put the governor’s tax initiative as the first one. That action is currently being litigated by Molly Munger, wealthy sponsor of a rival tax initiative. The legislature removed a water bond from the November ballot that would otherwise have appeared. In some cases below, yours truly has added some editorial comments in italics. Text below is from the California Secretary of…

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Author: admin

Post Mortem: What Happened Last Fiscal Year in State General Fund Cash Flows?

Numbers Game Mainly Over for November Ballot Propositions

The Hotel: It’s Twins!

Questions Raised About Parking Reimbursement for Proposed UCLA Hotel/Conference Center

Will the UCLA Hotel Pass the Sniff Test in November?

Second Quarter of Blog Available in Alternate Form

The 250-Room Whatchamacallit is Back on the Regents Agenda

They’re back! The Return of the Banned Berkeley Farmers

Planning to Travel on Sunset Boulevard at Night Next Week? Think Again!

A Guide for the Perplexed Voter

UC Faculty Associations

Higher Ed Policy

Labor and Advocacy

UC Faculty Associations

Higher Ed Policy

Labor and Advocacy

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