News

  • Email Virus: Don’t Pay the Ransom! (It will only make things worse.)

    Byadmin

    Authorities locally and nationwide are cautioning Internet users of a new trend in computer viruses known as “ransomware,” which take control of victims’ computers and demand a ransom to restore the users’ data. They have different names, such as Reveton or Crypto Locker, and they attempt to extort money from victims by encrypting or blocking access to their data without their knowledge, then demanding a ransom in order to undo the damage, according to police and FBI officials… In August, the FBI issued a similar warning regarding a ransomware virus known as “Reveton,” which scams victims by purporting to be…

  • Things to Come?

    Byadmin

    From the Chronicle of Higher Ed: The government shutdown that began last week is already taking a toll on higher education, despite assurances from policy makers that colleges and students would be largely spared in the short term. Research projects have been interrupted, academic meetings have been postponed or canceled, and some students are being urged to put off their educations until the federal-budget impasse ends. Such disruptions will only multiply as the shutdown drags on… So far, the shutdown has not affected Pell Grants or student loans, the cornerstones of the federal student-aid system. That’s because the programs are…

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    UC Health Union Says It Will Take Strike Vote

    Byadmin

    Union Demonstration against imposed terms, July 26, 2013 First, some legalities and background: Last summer, UC declared an impasse in its negotiations with AFSCME 3299, the union that held a two-day strike in the spring.  Under state law governing collective bargaining (a statute for UC and CSU known as HEERA), once an impasse exists, an employer can unilaterally impose terms and conditions.  Note that the determination of an impasse can be fuzzy.  In this case, the union filed unfair labor practice charges against UC in connection with the dispute and strike. The charges involve interrogation of particular employees about their…

  • Climate Delayed

    Byadmin

    Remember the campus climate survey taken last winter.  There were concerns expressed at UCLA about the length of the survey and what biases might be introduced.  The survey seemed to be the result of Regents’ concerns stemming from racial/ethnic incidents at various campuses.  In any event, the Daily Bruin is reporting that the results, which were supposed to be released by now have been delayed until next year. …UC officials will present the survey findings to the UC Board of Regents before making them public, Montiel said. The results are expected to be reported to the regents in early 2014……

  • Info Available for Parents on K-12 Neighborhood Schools

    Byadmin

    UCLA faculty interested in finding out about the quality and other characteristics of neighborhood K-12 public schools may be interested in the search engine provided by the California Department of Education. Simply type in the name of the school and the search engine will generate a report.  The engine is a bit clumsy.  For example, when I typed Benjamin Franklin for the name of a Santa Monica school, it showed me options under that name in other areas, but not Santa Monica.  When I typed in just Franklin, it found the school.  So some experimenting may be needed before you…

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    UCLA: Take Me Out of the (Legal) Ballgame

    Byadmin

    Note: Readers of this blog will have been alerted to the situation below in an earlier posting. UCLA has gone to court to overturn a decision that could force it to give up its baseball stadium on land leased from the U.S. veterans agency. The university described itself as a “surprising casualty” of an August ruling that the Department of Veterans Affairs violated federal law by leasing part of its sprawling West Los Angeles campus for commercial use. In court papers, UCLA asked to be heard by the court before the order is enforced in February. The motion was joined…

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    UCLA History: Student Who First Enrolled in 1948 Remembers

    Byadmin

    Westwood in 1948 From Zócalo: John Burke and I, Class of 1948 graduates of Mt. Carmel High School, and new UCLA students, sat quietly, bewildered, on the lawn of the quad eating our brown bag lunches. Around us swirled groups of stylishly dressed, exuberant students greeting one another and sharing stories of just-ended summer vacations. John was distraught. He had received the results of the Subject A Examination, administered to determine whether he would be required to take English 28, a remedial class. John, a very good student, had failed the test; I had passed. He did not recover from…

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    Mystery Email Seems Legit

    Byadmin

    We have cautioned on this blog about responding to emails that purport to come from university sources but may actually be email spam or worse.  Yours truly – and probably many other UCLA faculty – received the email in italics below.  I was cautious because it did not come from a UCLA or UC source.  It came frommember@surveymonkey.com and had a reply address of survey@acrd.us. After a little snooping and Googling, however, it appears to be legit.   ============================ Dear University of California Colleague,The UC Office of the President funded researchers at UC Merced to conduct a system-wide survey of community…

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    Comparison Hotels

    Byadmin

    Above is a picture of a proposed Marriott Hotel in Santa Monica currently being reviewed by that city’s Planning Commission for the corner of Colorado and 5th Street.  It would have 136 rooms.  The UCLA Grand Hotel, in contrast, will have 250 rooms.  My calculator tells me that 136/250 = 54%.  So the UCLA Grand Hotel will be almost double what you see above.  Just something you might want to know.