News

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UCLA Cleans Up in the Olympics

Byuclafaculty

No, not with athletes.  But in case you missed it, here is an excerpt from a story in UCLA Today: Highly regarded lab ensures that Olympic athletes are ‘clean’ Anthony Butch is not an athlete or coach, but he and his team had to undergo their own kind of Olympic time trials before the Games opened in London.  Just a few weeks ago, Butch and his staff at UCLA’s Olympic Analytical Laboratory were working furiously to process hundreds of urine samples from members of the 2012 U.S. Olympic team. The testing had to be done quickly, since a positive result…

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Not clear this will go with the typical UCLA student budget

Byuclafaculty

From the Westwood-Century City Patch: Westwood’s Avco Center movie theater, which has been advertising a “new and exciting movie going experience” since it closed in December, will become a luxury six-screen movie theater with a full service restaurant and bar by early 2013. …iPic Theaters, based in Florida, announced a signed lease on Avco Center (10840 Wilshire Boulevard). …From their plush reclining seats, guests can summon “ninja-like servers” who deliver cocktails and meals during the movie. The theater will also have a full-service Italian restaurant called Tanzy, led by chef Andre Lane; cured meats, breads and mozzarellas at Parma Bar;…

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What’s Next?

Byuclafaculty

Headline from the Press-Enterprise:UCR takes on $5 million search for afterlife I think we’ll just leave it with the headline but the article is at: http://www.pe.com/local-news/riverside-county/riverside/riverside-headlines-index/20120803-ucr-takes-on-5-million-search-for-the-afterlife.ece And in case there is an afterlife, at least in Riverside, consider where you may be heading: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2zyTUav_aU?feature=player_detailpage]

More Empowering

Byuclafaculty

We’ve been following UCLA Extension’s venture with Steve Poizner, the fellow who ran against Meg Whitman (and lost) in the 2010 GOP gubernatorial primary.  Up to now, there has been YouTube video PR for the program.  See http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2012/07/empowered-to-people-poizner-ucla.html.  As that post noted, we are talking about a rather expensive program, although you get a “free” iPad if you enroll. Apparently, the empowered.com [http://www.empowered.com/] joint venture is now going to TV advertising, according to Poizner’s emailing service (although the sample TV ad is also on YouTube): [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGan8561x4w?feature=player_detailpage] Some long time followers of this blog will remember our Extension posts from…

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Legislative Agenda

Byuclafaculty

From the San Francisco Chronicle: After a monthlong break, the Legislature returns to work at the Capitol on Monday to take on one of the Golden State’s thorniest issues:public employee pensions. The Senate and Assembly have just four weeks to vote on hundreds of bills before the two-year session concludes at the end of the month, but the main focus will be on changing the pension compensation system. Just what those changes will entail is unclear. Gov. Jerry Brown has proposed increasing the retirement age and creating a hybrid system that includes a 401(k)-style benefit, among other things, but lawmakers have yet to approve those or anything else. Legislative leaders…

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Can’t Help: Part II

Byuclafaculty

Yesterday’s posting noted the scandal of undetected state park funds and the negative impact that affair could have on the likelihood that the governor’s tax initiative on the November ballot will be approved by voters.  In fact, any news item that suggests misspending of state funds is likely to have a negative effect.  Today’s Sacramento Bee carries a story related to the rebuilding of the Bay Bridge.  It was found that a Caltrans employee – since departed – had faked certain safety test data.  There were assurances that everything was OK nonetheless and it was just one bad apple. Turns…

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Can’t help

Byuclafaculty

You may have noticed various headlines about hidden funds the state was holding for parks. Usually, when we talk about the state budget, we are referring to the general fund which is the operating budget for the state.  However, many other funds have been created for specialized purposes.  Some have earmarked taxes that feed them, e.g., the gasoline tax for transportation. Transportation is the biggest area of such non-general fund budgets.  But there are many other funds – some containing a few thousand dollars. When the general fund gets into trouble, the state borrows from the other funds. It puts…

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Money Race

Byuclafaculty

To recap prior posts: There are 3 tax initiatives on the ballot.  The governor’s tax initiative has been endorsed by the Regents.  Then there is the Molly Munger school tax and a close-corporate-loophole tax.  Politico wisdom is that having multiple initiatives on the same general subject is confusing and may lead to defeat of all.  The Munger and loophole initiatives have not polled well.  The governor’s initiative is polling marginally ahead but could easily be defeated which would produce trigger cuts midyear including to UC. News reports are that various unions have been contributing to the governor’s tax campaign although some…

How Did We Let Him Get Away?

Byuclafaculty

Less than two years after leaving office, former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is pumping up his political and academic profile — and will head the Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy at the University of Southern California, a new think tank to advance “post-partisan” politics. The Republican former governor told the San Francisco Chronicle that he’ll formally announce the establishment of the partnership Thursday at USC, where his Institute will be housed in the Sol Price School of Public Policy. Schwarzenegger will chair the Institute’s Board of Advisors, and he has also been appointed the inaugural Governor Downey Professor of State and Global Policy at USC, a post in honor of  the…