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ballot propositions | community colleges | CSU | politics | UC | UC budget crisis

Oil Tax for Higher Ed Initiative
Byadmin April 26, 2013

As we have noted many times, it is very hard to get an initiative on the ballot without hiring signature-gathering firms (which will cost $1-$2 million). And if the initiative gets on the ballot, millions more will be needed for TV ads, etc., if there is opposition. An oil severance tax to fund higher ed would clearly have such opposition – from the oil industry. All that said, there is such an effort underway (as noted in prior posts): …Conceived by UC-Berkeley students, the California Modernization and Economic Development Act places a 9.5 percent tax on oil and gas extracted…

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campus climate survey | UC-Irvine

Another Campus Climate Incident Reported
Byadmin April 26, 2013

The story above can be found in more detail at http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2013/04/26/uc-irvine-fraternity-issues-apology-after-blackface-video-sparks-outrage/. So far, yours truly found no official response on the UC-Irvine website. Blog readers may recall a somewhat-related video that became known as “Asians in the Library” at UCLA and which sparked an official reaction from Chancellor Block. Possibly, this matter will be discussed at the upcoming May Regents meeting, possibly in conjunction with results – are there any yet? – from the campus climate survey taken this past winter.

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community colleges | CSU | online education | politics | UC

Yesterday’s State Senate Hearing on Online Higher Ed Bill
Byadmin April 25, 2013

A California State Senate committee held a hearing yesterday on SB 520, a bill that in its original form mandated 50 online courses at UC, CSU, and the community colleges. The bill is being pushed by Senate President Steinberg. At the hearing, he offered amendments setting 50 as a goal rather than a mandate and allowing “public-public” partnerships as opposed to public-private. The latter refers to deals with private MOOC companies. Public-public would include, for example, cross-campus courses. He also offered an amendment that no public monies would be used for the private side of any public-private partnerships. (It’s not…

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traffic | transportation | UCLA

And the good news is…?
Byadmin April 25, 2013

Actually, buried within the article is the info that although the entire project is now scheduled to be completed June 2014, part of the segment near UCLA will – so it says – be done next fall: …Officials now aim to complete the bulk of the project by June 2014, with work on the problematic middle segment between Montana Avenue and Sunset Boulevard lasting perhaps until next fall, according to Michael Barbour, the veteran engineer overseeing the project for the L.A. County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Kiewit has said “it could go as far as September,” Barbour said, “but we think…

Read More And the good news is…?
miscellaneous | UCLA

UCLA History: The Visit
Byadmin April 24, 2013

Photos show actress Marilyn Monroe as she visits UCLA in 1952. Note and update: That date is what the source of the photos – which yours truly can no longer recall – said. The year 1952 seems awfully early in her career for someone to have taken the photos. Her first major movie came out in 1953.

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traffic | transportation | UCLA

Coldwater Reopens
Byadmin April 24, 2013

Apparently, the closure of Coldwater Canyon has ended. That closure had diverted traffic to roads that feed into UCLA. A notice of the reopening is at http://www.ladwpnews.com/go/doc/1475/1757691/

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miscellaneous | UCLA

As of yesterday, all of UCLA went no-smoking
Byadmin April 23, 2013

Up to now, the no-smoking zone has just encompassed the medical center area. It now extends to north campus as well. …The Westwood campus is the first UC to implement the (smoking) ban, following a call from President Mark Yudof to go smoke-free across the 10-campus system by 2014. “We’re very proud we’re the first,” UCLA Chancellor Gene D. Block said. The campus and its students “are setting an example.”… Full story at http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-ucla-stops-smoking-on-earth-day-20130422,0,7326172.story Not everyone agrees:[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-20zdelhi3I?feature=player_detailpage]

Read More As of yesterday, all of UCLA went no-smoking
admissions | community colleges | enrollment | governor | politics | State Budget | tuition | UC budget crisis

And if you are done celebrating “more” in the state budget as on the previous posting…
Byadmin April 23, 2013

The drawing board According to the LA Times, UC is not likely to like important elements of the forthcoming May revise budget to be issued by the governor: …”We’d like to go back to the drawing board,” said Patrick Lenz, a top UC budget official. The university was not consulted in advance about the details of Brown’s proposal, he said… And what are those elements? Gov. Jerry Brown wants to tie some state funding for California’s public universities to a host of new requirements, including 10% increases in the number of transfer students from community colleges and the percentage of…

Read More And if you are done celebrating “more” in the state budget as on the previous posting…
State Budget | UC budget crisis

It looks like we have more (despite some drop in expected April revenue)
Byadmin April 23, 2013

As we have noted in prior blog posts, California received what seemed to be a windfall in income tax revenue around the end of the calendar year. It may have been related to high-income folks taking capital gains in anticipation of some kind of fiscal cliff related tax hike at the federal level. No one really knows. There was some concern that the windfall would be erased in later receipts but April is a big month for income taxes and, while there was some erosion, the state still appears to be ahead. Under Prop 98, a good bit of the…

Read More It looks like we have more (despite some drop in expected April revenue)
health care | UC

Strike Vote to Be Taken at UC Med Centers
Byadmin April 22, 2013

Strike at UCLA hospital in 2008 With contract negotiations stalled, union workers at University of California hospitals… say they will vote next week on whether to strike. The strike talk started Friday with a statement from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299, which represents about 13,000 employees at university medical facilities across the state… The university attributes the current strike talk to a refusal by the union “to agree to UC’s pension reforms,” which require employees to pay a larger percentage of their incomes toward pensions starting July 1… But the union says just the…

Read More Strike Vote to Be Taken at UC Med Centers

News

Oil Tax for Higher Ed Initiative

Another Campus Climate Incident Reported

Yesterday’s State Senate Hearing on Online Higher Ed Bill

And the good news is…?

UCLA History: The Visit

Coldwater Reopens

As of yesterday, all of UCLA went no-smoking

And if you are done celebrating “more” in the state budget as on the previous posting…

It looks like we have more (despite some drop in expected April revenue)

Strike Vote to Be Taken at UC Med Centers

UC Faculty Associations

Higher Ed Policy

Labor and Advocacy

UC Faculty Associations

Higher Ed Policy

Labor and Advocacy

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