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Daily State Taxes

Byuclafaculty

“Pay your taxes with a smile unless, of course, they insist on cash.”* State tax aficionados (yes, there are some – particularly in the legislature and the governor’s Dept. of Finance) tend to watch the daily inflows of income tax in April which is the big tax month.  Right now, total income tax receipts for the current fiscal year are almost exactly where they were at this time last year.   Of course, people who owe taxes tend to mail in their returns at the deadline (which is April 17 this year because the 15th is Sunday and there is a…

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Too Much Old Radio?

Byuclafaculty

The felony charge against a UCLA professor in connection with a fatal lab fire continues.  This blog, in an earlier post, noted another felony case charged against a UCLA political science professor by the Los Angeles District Attorney and questioned whether the criminalization of these matters is appropriate.  The earlier post is at: http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2012/03/da-overreaching.html From today’s Daily Bruin: The formal reading of felony charges in relation to the 2009 death of a UCLA staff research assistant has been postponed for a third time.  UCLA chemistry Professor Patrick Harran, the UC Board of Regents and the Los Angeles County District Attorney were…

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Pepper Report Released

Byuclafaculty

The long-awaited UC-Davis pepper spray report has now been released.  A link below will allow you to open the report (which also contains underlying Kroll report on the incident).  Some police officer names have been blanked out although the “pepper spray cop” is named. Basically, the report suggests an amateur lack of control and decision making of the campus police involving the police chief and chancellor (and others in the chancellor’s office). President Yudof released the statement below:Yudof statement on the release of UC Davis pepper-spray report Date: 2012-04-11 I want to thank Justice Reynoso and members of the Task…

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Audios of Regents Meetings of March 27-29, 2012

Byuclafaculty

Meeting of the Regents of the University of California: March 27-29, 2012 Prior posts have included excerpts from the Regents meetings dealing with the proposed UCLA hotel/conference center and the sale by UCLA of the Hannah Carter Japanese Garden.  Below you will find complete recordings of the three days of the Regent meeting with the exception of the third day for which a defective audio file was received. Tuesday March 27, 2012: Day 1 3:00 pm Committee on Health Services (includes public comment) Wednesday, March 28, 2012: Day 2 8:30 am Committee of the Whole (public comment) Includes comments on…

Sorry About That

Byuclafaculty

…In an email about financial aid awards, UCLA told 894 high school seniors last weekend that they were admitted to the highly competitive campus. Those students actually remain on the waiting list for the Westwood school. UCLA is apologizing for the error. Officials, however, are not yet moving anyone into the admitted category. “We realize this is a particularly anxious and stressful time for students and their families as they try to make decisions about college admissions. We sincerely apologize for this mistake that may have led some of them to think they were admitted when they remain on the waiting…

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Listen to Audio of Regents Meeting on UCLA Hotel/Conference Center

Byuclafaculty

The discussion of the proposed UCLA Hotel/Conference Center occurred in two segments of the March 28, 2012 UC Regents meeting.  During the morning public comment period, there was testimony on the hotel by outside interest groups.  In the afternoon at the Committee on Buildings and Grounds, there was a full hearing on the proposal.  As readers of this blog will know, the result was an embarrassment for UCLA.  Committee members asked questions and were dissatisfied with the responses received.  They were unwilling to endorse the proposal and would have sent it without endorsement to the full Board of Regents the…

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Listen to Audio of Testimony at UC Regents on Proposed Sale of UCLA Japanese Garden

Byuclafaculty

Readers of this blog will known that UCLA has begun the process to sell the Hannah Carter Japanese Garden located near campus in Bel Air.  At the UC Regents meeting of March 27-29, 2012, there was testimony during the public comment periods of March 28 and March 29. Below is a link to audio of that testimony.

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Another Hybrid Pension Proposal

Byuclafaculty

A state legislative committee is looking at a hybrid pension plan for (newly hired) public workers in California but it differs from the hybrid proposed by Gov. Brown.  The Brown plan was a mix of a (reduced) defined-benefit plan and a defined-contribution plan.  The alternative being considered is a mix of a (reduced) defined-benefit plan and a “cash balance” plan. A cash balance plan is similar to defined contribution but it guarantees a fixed rate of return.  That means, the employer and/or employee must adequately fund the plan so it meets the guarantee.  The higher the guaranteed return, the greater…

Pepper Coming to an End?

Byuclafaculty

From the LA Times: The University of California’s investigative report into the controversial pepper-spraying of student protesters by UC Davis campus police is expected to be released publicly Wednesday — with most officers’ names removed.   After a month long legal battle delaying the release, UC and its police union reached a tentative legal settlement Monday that would allow the public disclosure of most of the report about police tactics and UC Davis administrators’ roles in the November incident. However, the agreement calls for the names and ranks of most of the UC Davis police officers to be stripped from the document……

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More Bad Hotel PR for UCLA

Byuclafaculty

From LA Business Journal: UCLA Expansion Fails to Make Grade With Regents: Board seeks more details on plan for hotel-conference center. Jacquelyn Ryan, April 9, 2012 UCLA’s controversial plan to build a hotel and conference center on its Westwood campus has sustained another setback.  The University of California Board of Regents postponed a decision on the $162 million project at its March 28 meeting after citing concerns about the project’s viability.  The board questioned whether the area would support a new hotel and suggested that the university consider acquiring and repositioning an existing nearby hotel. Specifically, it sought more details…