Author: uclafaculty

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Things to Come?

Byuclafaculty

Just a note to whoever is in charge that we are waiting to see the results of the campus climate survey taken last winter.  The survey was sponsored by UCOP in response to Regental concerns relating to certain campus-level incidents.  Results are supposed to be available “sometime in spring 2013” according to http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/28359.  At the time the survey was under consideration, the UCLA faculty welfare committee raised some concerns about response rates and response bias so we will assume those issues will be addressed in the report on the survey results. The rumored cost of the survey informally conveyed to…

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Nobody here

Byuclafaculty

The LA Times today carries an article about the search for a new UC president to replace Mark Yudof who is resigning in August. It’s a slam on the current crop of UC campus chancellors and UCOP administrators since apparently the Regents think they have no feasible inside candidates. …The search is secretive; officials say the selection process is a confidential personnel matter. Leading the effort is a committee of 10 UC regents, including Gov. Jerry Brown and student and alumni representatives. Its members declined to comment and so did the executive search firm—Isaacson, Miller. Matthew Haney, executive director of…

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Sunset closing this coming weekend

Byuclafaculty

From the Westwood-Century City Patch: The Sunset Boulevard on-ramp to the northbound I-405 will be closed 38 straight hours on Friday. The closure begins at 8 p.m. Friday and runs to 10 p.m. Sunday. Construction crews are closing the on-ramp while they remove an Exxon-Mobil pipeline. To get around the work, drivers can detour taking Sunset Boulevard to the northbound Church Lane, to northbound Sepulveda, and to the Moraga Drive northbound I-405 on-ramp… Full article at http://centurycity.patch.com/articles/38-hour-closure So take the detour:[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jk6zYm_XTGw?feature=player_detailpage]

Phishing Warning for Gmail Users

Byuclafaculty

In the past, I have confined email fraud warnings to those specifically targeting UCLA email system users.  However, many faculty either have supplementary gmail accounts or forward their UCLA mail to a gmail account.  If you have gmail, you may get a message that looks like the image above and appears to come from someone you know with a gmail account.  It may refer to a service called Infoaxe or Flipora or something else.  Do not click on it or forward it to anyone else.  If you do click on it, it will steal all your email contacts and send…

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Chained-CPI

Byuclafaculty

Chained Houdini You have probably heard or read about the “chained-CPI” (CPI = Consumer Price Index) proposal for Social Security contained in President Obama’s latest budget plan.  Chained-CPI is supposed to take account of the “substitution effect,” i.e., the tendency of consumers to shift their purchasing habits away from goods that rise relative to others in price.  The official CPI which is now used for indexing Social Security and other federal programs – and is also used for the partial inflation adjustment in the UC pension – is often described as pricing a fixed basket of goods.  In actuality, the…

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California Oil Tax?

Byuclafaculty

Signal Hill Oil Field, probably 1940s There is currently an initiative for which in theory signatures are being gathered that would gasoline and other fuel to fund a cap on tuition.  I could go into the details but this is one of the many initiatives that are filed without any funding to pay signature gatherers or run a campaign.  It will go nowhere.  Signatures are actually due tomorrow.  There is a link to it below for those who are curious. However, the same wealthy individual who successfully pushed through Prop 39 last year is now pushing the legislature to use…

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Could Hammer Fill Westwood’s Empty Stores?

Byuclafaculty

UCLA’s Hammer Museum is proposing to put various art projects in vacant Westwood stores.  According to the Museum, local landlords have agreed to the idea at free or minimal rents.  The Museum is asking the public to “vote” for the concept – Arts ReSTORE LA: Westwood – on a website that might draw financial support from a private foundation. The website and proposal is at: http://myla2050.maker.good.is/projects/Hammer_Museum?sort=290 A video on the project can be see below:[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30f36j_o_wU?feature=player_detailpage] A Daily Bruin article about this proposal is at:http://dailybruin.com/2013/04/12/hammer-museum-with-the-help-of-artists-community-hope-to-restore-westwood/

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Completed

Byuclafaculty

According to the Westwood-Century City Patch, the tree removals and sidewalk repairs on various Westwood streets around UCLA are now completed:http://centurycity.patch.com/articles/sections-of-damaged-sidewalk-repaired-in-westwood-village-photos#photo-13976670 It’s not clear from the article whether the replacement trees have been planted.

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Blocked

Byuclafaculty

From the Westwood-Century City Patch: Starting Friday night, a mile-long section of the northbound San Diego (405) Freeway will be closed in West Los Angeles overnight this weekend to accommodate work needed to widen the freeway, a Metro spokesman said. Northbound lanes will be closed from the Santa Monica (10) Freeway to the Olympic Boulevard exit starting about 11 p.m. and reopened about 6 a.m., according to Metro, which is managing the project aimed at adding a northbound carpool lane. On Saturday, crews will start closing lanes about the same time as Friday, but the freeway will reopen about 7…