News

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    It ain’t the King’s English and since it ain’t, don’t respond.

    Byuclafaculty

    The latest UCLA spam artists may use British spelling but their grammar and punctuation ain’t so good: This Email is from Ucla.edu admin We are under going maintenance by our engineers we will be shutting down account that is not verified to enable us create more space for our new account users you are to verify your account by filling the outlined Information below or your account will be terminated within 24 hours. ….Username: ….Password: ….City/State: ….Date Of Birth: We value your business and thank you for using Ucla.edu Service and we hope to serve you more better. Ucla.edu Admin…

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    It used to be tough to be a tenant but now it may be tough for UCLA to be a landlord

    Byuclafaculty

    From the Daily Bruin: On April 26, Chick-fil-A – an Atlanta-based company at the center of a controversy because of its president’s recent expression of his views on same-sex marriage – signed a lease to move into the space where Burger King is currently located, said Steve Ritea, a UCLA spokesman. The restaurant is projected to open at 900 Westwood Blvd. next March. The California State Teachers’ Retirement System, the previous owners of the Westwood Plaza building where Burger King is currently housed, signed the lease with Chick-fil-A. In June, UCLA completed the purchase of the 10-story office building for $72 million and inherited the lease,…

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    Talk to the Legislature

    Byuclafaculty

    If UCOP wants to keep its Regents-enacted pension system modifications from being overridden by some statewide legislative action, it will have to talk with the legislative leaders – very, very soon it appears – and not just the governor.  From the San Jose Mercury-News: Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said Monday that legislative Democrats will deliver on “comprehensive” pension reform over the next four weeks, even if their labor allies don’t like it. “Will it cause some discomfort and unhappiness? Yes. Do you sometimes disagree with your allies and friends to do what you think is the right thing?…

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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…