News

  • Dumb da Dumb Dumb, Italian Style

    Byadmin

    It may be small comfort for the scientifically minded among our blog readers to know that the U.S. is not the only country where science is optional. Italy seems to be strong in that department. From the LA Times: On April 6, 2009, a 6.3 earthquake struck the Italian city of L’Aquila. The quake damaged thousands of medieval-era buildings and killed 309 people. Those deaths prompted Italian prosecutors to charge six seismologists and a government official with manslaughter on the grounds that they gave “inexact, incomplete and contradictory information” about the mortal risks a quake in the area would pose….

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    Rolling Out the Welcome Wagon for Janet

    Byadmin

    From the Daily Bruin: The [UCLA] undergraduate student government plans to vote at its Tuesday meeting on whether it should express no confidence in Janet Napolitano’s current ability to serve University of California students as UC president. A resolution about Napolitano, which was drafted by multiple members of the Undergraduate Students Association Council, calls for the former secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and Arizona governor to comply with a list of demands compiled by undocumented students across the UC campuses. According to the resolution, students demand that Napolitano hold town halls and meet with undocumented students when she…

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    Just Four Years? How about Eight?

    Byadmin

    Everyone wants more years! From Inside Higher Ed today comes this story about changing the Master Plan: Community colleges in a growing number of states are offering bachelor’s degrees. Now California and its huge two-year system may join that group. A committee created by Brice Harris, the system’s chancellor, quietly began meeting last month to mull whether the state’s 112 community colleges should be granted the authority to offer four-year degrees… Full story at http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/09/27/two-year-colleges-california-mull-bachelors-degrees Four? Eight? Just more: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RosYCAUN2TA?feature=player_detailpage]

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    Reminder: Donors to UCLA Can Do Lasting Good Without Involving a Bulldozer

    Byadmin

    Today seems to be the day for reminders, as in our previous post.  However, the note below – combined with the tendency to divert campus donor money (and donors) into bricks and mortar – reminds us there are alternatives: Anthony and Jeanne Pritzker, who are among the heirs to the Hyatt hotel fortune, donated $3 million to UCLA to establish an endowment for students who are or were in foster care, the university announced today. The endowment will provide funding for tutoring, mental health services, summer housing and other expenses, according to the university… Full story at http://centurycity.patch.com/groups/schools/p/couple-donates-3m-support-ucla-foster-care-students Yours truly…

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    Reminder that Your Emails Aren’t Private

    Byadmin

    The Daily Bruin carries a story today about a demand for a UCLA professors emails. Excerpt: Two state senators have accused UCLA of withholding the records of a professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences from the public, the most recent development in a conflict that has lasted about three years.  The two California senators – Minority Leader Bob Huff (R-Diamond Bar) and Jean Fuller (R-Bakersfield) – started corresponding with UCLA about Professor John Froines’s public records earlier this year, when they noticed UCLA had not disclosed all of Froines’s emails in a past records request.Controversy over the records…

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    Possible Pension Initiative Which Would Include UC

    Byadmin

    In a move to slash the retirement benefits of public employees in California, a group of mostly conservative policy advocates has been working behind the scenes on a possible 2014 ballot initiative. A copy of the still-secret draft initiative, which could dramatically impact the lives of hundreds of thousands of Californians and send a signal nationwide, has been obtained by Frying Pan News. If enacted, the proposed law would allow the state and local governments to cut back retirement benefits for current employees for the years of work they perform after the changes go into effect. Previous efforts to curb…

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    Everett: Where are you?

    Byadmin

    Everett Dirksen was the Republican leader in the U.S. Senate back in the day who is often quoted as saying (about the federal budget), “A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you are talking about real money.”  [I know; nobody can actually point to a source for where he supposedly said it.] We noted in a post yesterday about a plan for a $50 million football facility.  Today’s Daily Bruin has a story about the groundbreaking for a new $120 million medical center teaching building about which the Regents raised some questions but eventually rubber stamped, as they…

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    Tension Over Pension

    Byadmin

    From the LA Times: The already tense labor relations between the UC system and the union that represents about 8,300 custodians, gardeners and food service workers has taken a turn for the worse. After deadlocked negotiations, UC this week imposed terms that will require those workers to contribute 6.5% of their pay to retirement plans, up from the current 5%, while the university’s contribution jumps to 12% from 10%. UC says such changes are necessary to keep the pension system healthy and that most other UC employees already have agreed to the changes. In addition, newly hired workers will receive…

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    Free Money

    Byadmin

    From a UCLA media release yesterday: UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero and Head Football Coach Jim Mora announced today a campaign to raise private funds for a comprehensive football training facility to be located on the west side of Spaulding Field, the practice field for the Bruin football team. The planned state-of-the-art facility is intended to house a locker room, athletic training area, strength and conditioning facility, coaches’ offices, team meeting rooms, equipment rooms and video rooms, in addition to several elements that will feature the storied history of UCLA Football. The project, estimated to cost $50 million, will be…