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UCLA’s Contribution to the Art of the Cinema
Byadmin August 1, 2011

UCLA’s campus is often used for scenes in movies, TV shows, and commercials. Only one movie centers on UCLA and it has to be one of the worst movies ever made. But for your summer enjoyment, this blog makes it available. Much of it was filmed at UCLA with some scenes at LA City Hall, Westside Pavilion, the Natural History Museum and vicinity, and other parts of LA. Big Man on Campus (1989) In this version of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, a hunchback is found living in the bell tower of UCLA. He is put on trial and made…

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pension | pensions | politics | UC Regents

More on Pension Initiatives: All Kinds of Clever Ideas Out There
Byadmin July 31, 2011

Yesterday, this blog featured some developments that might impede public pension ballot initiatives getting on the ballot that could potentially override the Regents’ action last December revamping the UC pension system. It only costs $200 to file initiatives. For that modest sum, the filer gets an analysis from the Attorney General (including summary description and title) and a fiscal analysis from the Legislative Analyst. Even initiatives that have a snowball’s chance in Hell get the same treatment – which clearly costs the state a lot more than $200. Here is a summary of snowball-type pension initiative that someone thought was…

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governor | pension | pensions | politics | UC Regents | uc retirement

Pension Initiative Drive Might Become More Difficult
Byadmin July 30, 2011

Earlier posts on this blog have pointed out that a pension initiative could appear on the California ballot that would override the changes made by the Regents last December in the UC pension plan. It was noted that initiatives – once qualified – go on the next statewide ballot. For 2012, that might have been February when the state presidential primary was originally scheduled. The mix of voters in a February primary might have tilted toward passage of such an initiative. Now, however, the governor has signed a bill moving the presidential primary back to June when the regular primary…

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pension | pensions | politics | UC Regents | uc retirement

Our Primary Concern
Byadmin July 29, 2011

The Sacramento Bee today carries a story about the resetting of the date for the California presidential primary. It focuses on the arguments made when – last time there was a presidential election (2008) – California moved its presidential primary from June (when the primary for state offices is held) to February. The idea was to be early in the presidential primary campaign season and thus have more influence on the outcome. You can read all about that idea – and whether it worked in practice – at http://www.sacbee.com/2011/07/29/3802418/california-set-to-move-its-presidential.html Where this matters for UC is in the initiative process. As…

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faculty center | politics | UC budget crisis | UCLA

Auditor Looks In: Now that the audit is out, a money-losing hotel would not be advisable
Byadmin July 28, 2011

Undoubtedly, the headline on the audit report for UC released today will be the generalized call for more “transparency.” The report produced a nasty back and forth between UCOP and the State Auditor as to whether what the report found was significant or not with UCOP effectively suggesting that the audit was a waste of money. The audit was the product of a request by state senator Leland Yee – now running for mayor of San Francisco – who has made something of a career out of criticizing the university. That being said, there is material in the report about…

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CSU | governor | politics | UC | UC budget crisis

No More Hired Guns?
Byadmin July 28, 2011

Governor blasts California universities’ hiring of pricey presidents:Jerry Brown criticizes the trend of paying high salaries to ‘hired guns’ from out of state instead of seeking Californians who might take less Carla Rivera, Los Angeles Times, July 28, 2011 Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday criticized leaders of California’s public universities for recruiting highly paid “hired guns” from across the country to run campuses instead of looking for home-grown talent that might be willing to work for lower salaries. The governor said officials at California State University and the University of California appeared in recent salary decisions to have adopted a…

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pension | pensions | uc retirement

Possible Pension Fix Coming from On High?
Byadmin July 28, 2011

Could this be the ultimate deus ex machina to fix the UC pension’s unfunded liability? Unseen comet’s orbit indicates possible crash David Perlman, San Francisco Chronicle, July 28, 2011 A stream of dusty fragments from a comet born in the outermost reaches of the solar system has hit the Earth on a path that leads astronomers to conclude the comet itself could be “potentially hazardous” if it crashes into the planet. The comet’s location is unknown, making it difficult to say when it will approach Earth, but “the orbits of the dust trail tells us that the comet is on…

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health care | State Budget | UC budget crisis | UC Regents

Maintaining a Healthy Balance
Byadmin July 27, 2011

UC has maintained a kind of cautionary balance for its health plans meant to smooth out sudden bumps in health care premiums. Since the state budget has squeezed the UC budget – including using UC as a loan department – the Regents approved various actions at their July meeting to try and deal with the cash crunch. Among these was tapping the health reserve. As the letter below (a public document I have been assured) indicates, the systemwide University Committee on Faculty Welfare has expressed concern about completely depleting the fund. Apparently, that is not the intention at this time,…

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miscellaneous

Observation on a slow news day
Byadmin July 27, 2011

Let’s hope none of the 3,261 people received an MD from UCLA!

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miscellaneous | pension | pensions | politics | UC

Could Washington Debt-Ceiling Impasse Adversely Affect UC?
Byadmin July 26, 2011

The simple answer is – as someone said – you betcha! Chaotic financial conditions – if such occur – can damage the economy, e.g., 2008, and ultimately cut into state tax revenue. Drops in the value of financial assets hurts the pension fund (and the individual 403b and 457b accounts of UC employees) and other funds UC maintains. Significant funding flows from the federal government to UC in the form of research contracts, Medicare payments, etc. Will that be interrupted? Who knows? This is one social science experiment we would do well not to undertake. Bottom Line: There is no…

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News

UCLA’s Contribution to the Art of the Cinema

More on Pension Initiatives: All Kinds of Clever Ideas Out There

Pension Initiative Drive Might Become More Difficult

Our Primary Concern

Auditor Looks In: Now that the audit is out, a money-losing hotel would not be advisable

No More Hired Guns?

Possible Pension Fix Coming from On High?

Maintaining a Healthy Balance

Observation on a slow news day

Could Washington Debt-Ceiling Impasse Adversely Affect UC?

UC Faculty Associations

Higher Ed Policy

Labor and Advocacy

UC Faculty Associations

Higher Ed Policy

Labor and Advocacy

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