Author: uclafaculty

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State Budget Ruling Expected Today on Redevelopment Agencies

Byuclafaculty

From the San Jose Mercury-News: The California Supreme Court will issue a long-awaited ruling Thursday on the legality of the state’s move to grab $1.7 billion in redevelopment money to help close California’s budget shortfall — a move that rocked cities around the Bay Area and across the state. The ruling, expected at 10 a.m., should give critical guidance on two state laws: one that dissolves redevelopment agencies and redirects their property tax revenues to the state, and a second that allows agencies to stay afloat if they agree to relinquish a large portion of their funding, which will be…

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Audio of Legislative Testimony of UC-Davis Chancellor on Pepper Spray Incident: 12-14-11

Byuclafaculty

Audio of the December 14 legislative hearing on the UC-Davis pepper spray incident may be heard at the link below.  The excerpt edits out the testimony of a witness from CSU-Fresno.  Earlier, the testimony of UC systemwide officials at the hearing was posted on this blog at http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2011/12/uc-excerpt-from-dec-14-legislative.html

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UCLA Professor Charged in 2008 Lab Fire Death

Byuclafaculty

From the LA Times: On Dec. 29, 2008, Sheharbano “Sheri” Sangji, 23, was severely burned over nearly half of her body when air-sensitive chemicals burst into flames during an experiment and ignited her clothing. Sangji, who was not wearing a protective lab coat, died 18 days later.  Her death raised questions about lab safety practices at UCLA and about Sangji’s training and supervision by Professor Patrick Harran, a prominent researcher who joined the faculty in July 2008. On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office charged Harran and the UC regents with three counts each of willfully violating occupational…

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Young at Heart (of Lawsuit Challenging Prop 13)

Byuclafaculty

Proposition 13 of 1978 – the brainchild of Howard Jarvis (at right) and Paul Gann – drastically cut and limited local property taxes and imposed a two-thirds vote rule in the legislature for tax increases.  Various court cases have challenged it over the years.  However, UCLA’s former chancellor, Charles Young, is part of a lawsuit to overturn it on (state) constitutional grounds.  Obviously, if that were to occur, it would have a major impact on fiscal affairs of state and local government in California.  It would surely affect the UC budget.  From Mother Jones: Back when Proposition 8 — the…

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Don’t Look for Holiday Cheer from the Washington Post

Byuclafaculty

The Washington Post has looked west of late: UC-Berkeley and other ‘public Ivies’ in fiscal peril Daniel de Vise, Dec. 26, 2011, Washington Post Across the nation, a historic collapse in state funding for higher education threatens to diminish the stature of premier public universities and erode their mission as engines of upward social mobility.  At the University of Virginia, state support has dwindled in two decades from 26 percent of the operating budget to 7 percent. At the University of Michigan, it has declined from 48 percent to 17 percent.  Not even the nation’s finest public university is immune….

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Goodbye Crane – And Thanks for Your Kind Remarks

Byuclafaculty

Pension reform crusader David Crane steps down today as a member of the University of California Board of Regents.  That’s because the state Senate didn’t confirm his appointment to the post within the year prescribed by law. …Crane, a Democrat, was Schwarzenegger’s point man on public pensions. He contended that the state’s three largest funds, including UC’s, were committing “generational theft“ by understating their liabilities and siphoning money from schools and social programs…Full article: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/12/27/4146490/the-buzz-pension-reform-crusader.html

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UC Excerpt from Dec. 14 Legislative Pepper Spray Hearing

Byuclafaculty

As readers of this blog are aware, an incident in which student demonstrators at UC-Davis sparked concerns and received wide public attention. A joint legislative hearing was held on December 14. Below is an audio of the testimony of UC president Mark Yudof and General Counsel Charles Robinson at the “Legislative Hearing on California University Campus Police Policy.” The excerpts include the formal statements of the two witnesses from UC plus a question and answer session which followed similar testimony by CSU witnesses. The main information to be found in these excerpts is that there is likely to be a…

Ice Skating in Westwood: 1949

Byuclafaculty

At one time there was ice skating in Westwood at what was originally known as the Tropical Ice Garden at Weyburn and Gayley Avenues. The photo shows it in 1949, when it was known as the Sonja Henie Ice Palace, named after the ice skating movie star of that era. The rink was closed shortly after the photo was taken to be demolished. It burned down before demolition in 1950. In the contemporary view of the Weyburn-Gayley intersection, the rink would have been located on the near right where a coffee shop now operates.