Author: uclafaculty

| |

UC Follows UCLA and Becomes a No-Smoking Zone Today

Byuclafaculty

Following the earlier lead of UCLA, all UC campuses today become smoke-free zones, including such products as e-cigarettes.  According to a UC media release: …Effective Jan. 1, 2014, the University of California will be entirely smoke and tobacco free. Smoking and the use of all tobacco products including cigarettes, e-cigarettes, cigars, snuff, water pipes, pipes, hookahs, chew and any other non-combustible tobacco product will be prohibited across all campuses and facilities, including inside buildings, outdoor areas and sidewalks, parking lots, and residential housing areas. This is a major change for many people and will require all members of the university…

New Year Starts Tomorrow…

Byuclafaculty

…And there is not much else to report with UCLA closed and all.  The photo is from the LAPL collection and shows three children welcoming in 1910, although they don’t seem overjoyed about it. In 2014, we will continue to post about the fames and follies of UC and UCLA.  Meanwhile, the Faculty Association at UCLA wishes you a happy New Year. And since we are in an historical mode, below are links to a description of a New Year’s Eve during World War II, roughly seventy years ago.  The recording itself was broadcast about fifty years ago on New…

Clock Is Ticking Towards UCLA’s Reopening on Jan. 2 and What Block Will Say or Not Say on the Israel Boycott Issue

Byuclafaculty

We noted in a previous post that the chancellor at UC-San Diego commented (negatively) on the Israel boycott called by an academic group called the American Studies Assn.  See: http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2013/12/uc-sd-chancellors-statement-on-american.html Since that time, Inside Higher Ed has run stories on university officials and others who have also commented along with faculty reaction, pro and con.  For example:http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/12/27/trinity-college-faculty-object-presidential-statement-denouncing-academic-boycott andhttp://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/12/30/american-council-education-denounces-israel-boycott The closure of UCLA until January 2nd gives Chancellor Block a temporary period in which he can avoid commenting.  It will be interesting to see he says – or doesn’t say – when the university reopens. Happy New Year Chancellor!====================== Update: From…

Our Fault?

Byuclafaculty

You might have noticed the map on the front page of today’s LA Times that shows that the Santa Monica fault is rather close to the campus. See:http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-earthquake-fault-building-20131230-dto,0,1585622.htmlstory However, unlike UC-Santa Cruz, we don’t get naming rights: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELDcYugrp3c?feature=player_detailpage]

| | | |

Events May Divert the Governor from MOOCs, etc., at the Regents in 2014

Byuclafaculty

Jerry Brown will almost certainly be running for re-election in 2014.  It doesn’t look like there will be much of a contest but there will be at least some effort devoted to the campaign. But apart from re-election, Brown is facing some “legacy” problems.  During his first iteration as governor, he wasn’t big – to say the least – on grand infrastructure, unlike his father Pat.  However, this time around, there is the high-speed rail project and the water tunnel project, both grand and expensive.  These projects are analogs to his dad’s freeways and state water project.  The high speed…

| | | |

The Rewards of Good Behavior (and the penalties for the reverse)

Byuclafaculty

With a possible pension initiative coming to the ballot, it would be nice if public pension plans stayed on Good Behavior.  Alas: Federal investigators are looking into allegations that CalPERS violated insider trading laws this year when it purchased $26.6 million in restricted stock and then decided it didn’t need to reverse the trades when they were discovered. Two sources with knowledge of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s inquiry say on condition of anonymity that it involves stock purchases that the nation’s largest public pension fund made in March, including nearly $24 million in global financial firm JPMorgan Chase & Co….

| |

Sunday Detour

Byuclafaculty

Authorities will close the southbound San Diego (405) Freeway between Sunset and Wilshire boulevards in West Los Angeles for six hours Sunday morning while crews realign lanes to accommodate roadway widening and drainage work along the median, according to Metro.The full closure will run from midnight to 6 a.m. Sunday, but crews will begin closing freeway ramps in the affected area starting at 7 p.m. Saturday. They will start closing southbound lanes at 11 p.m. Saturday, according to Metro… Full story at centurycity.patch.com/groups/politics-and-elections/p/405-freeway-to-close-lanes-sunday-morning-centurycity Read the signs:[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1Uf4kc2aTk?feature=player_detailpage]

| |

Inconvenience

Byuclafaculty

Motorists traveling south on the 405 Freeway through West Los Angeles will be made to take a short detour during an early morning five-hour full directional closure on Friday, Dec. 27. From midnight on Thursday, Dec. 26 to 5 am on Friday, Dec. 27, the I-405 Sepulveda Pass Improvements Project contractor is scheduled to implement a full directional closure of the southbound 405 Freeway traffic between Santa Monica Boulevard and National Boulevard. The closures will facilitate the realignment of lanes to accommodate roadway widening and drainage work along the freeway median. Lanes will begin to close at 10 pm on…

| | | | | | | |

Yesterday’s news

Byuclafaculty

Christmas day tends to be a slow news day.  However, for those who didn’t see it, the LA Times carried a front page story about UC’s online offerings which allow cross-campus credits.  You can find the article at: http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-me-uc-online-20131222,0,6798231.story Blog readers will be familiar with these offerings.  We noted in a prior post that UCLA seems to be a taker rather than a giver in this endeavor.  That is, other campuses’ online courses are available to UCLA students.  But UCLA is not offering courses to the other campuses.  Berkeley, Irvine, Davis, and Riverside seem to be the offerers.   Now, how…