UCLA

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At least you have a 3-week warning

Byuclafaculty

It could be worse. Coldwater Canyon is being closed starting March 23 for about 28 days.  Some commuters to UCLA may use Coldwater Canyon and will be directly affected.  But even for those who don’t use that route, it means more traffic will be pushed to Sepulveda and to the 405. From the Westwood-Century City Patch: COLDWATER CANYON BOULEVARD CLOSURE Begins March 23, 2013 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday Starting March 23, 2013, Coldwater will be completely closed to through traffic from Ventura Boulevard to Mulholland Drive for approximately 28 days. In anticipation…

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Your records are more public than you think

Byuclafaculty

Almost two years ago, we noted that public records requests can be used to harass faculty doing research someone doesn’t like.  If you were at Stanford or USC, your records would be more protected than at UCLA because those institutions are private.  Emails, data sets, etc., are potentially at risk.  Our earlier post is at:http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2011/04/u-of-wisconsin-email-case.html Yesterday, the Daily Bruin carried a story about an Academic Senate task force formed in late 2011 which is looking into this question at UCLA.  Apparently, the task force is going to release a final report soon.  You can find the story at: http://dailybruin.com/2013/02/28/task-force-tackles-concerns-on-public-records-requests/In the…

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I-405 55 Hour Lane Reduction (Northbound)

Byuclafaculty

Beginning Friday night, March 1, 2013, the I-405 Sepulveda Pass Project will reduce the northbound I-405 from five lanes to two between Montana Avenue and the Getty Center Dr off-ramp in West Los Angeles. On-ramps within the 2.4-mile reduction area will also be closed during the 55-hour weekend event.  Motorists are advised to anticipate delays. There will be several late-night full closures of the northbound lanes.  The southbound I-405 will remain open and northbound Sepulveda Blvd. will remain fully operational with two lanes throughout the reduction. Westbound Wilshire Blvd. to northbound Sepulveda Blvd. may be used as an alternative route to…

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And the Oscar comes from…

Byuclafaculty

A UCLA student walked the same stage as dozens of big-name celebrities Sunday night at the 85th annual Academy Awards. Tatenda Mbudzi was one of six students from across the country who delivered Oscar statuettes to presenters during the show after winning the “Oscar Experience College Search” contest. As part of the contest, the 25-year-old film student submitted a video explaining how he would contribute to the future of movies… Full story at http://centurycity.patch.com/articles/ucla-student-makes-oscars-appearance

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UCLA Med School Linked to Wrong Crowd?

Byuclafaculty

LA Times columnist Michael Hiltzik’s column today highlights a connection between Herbalight – a food supplements firm – and the UCLA med school. Herbalight is in the midst of a tug-of-war between some Wall Street interests.  One side claims that the firm is a Ponzi-type scheme whose stock will eventually come crashing down.  Yes, the word “Ponzi” appears in such claims.  Check out page 177 at this link:http://factsaboutherbalife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Who-wants-to-be-a-Millionaire.pdf The other side argues the company is legit and a good investment. Excerpt: Herbalife International says it’s all about helping people “pursue healthy, active lives.” UCLA’s Geffen School of Medicine likes to think…

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Allegations of Monkey Business

Byuclafaculty

From the Winston-Salem Journal 2/23/13:  Wake Forest University Health Sciences is suing to end a joint venture with the University of California at Los Angeles involving the primate colony in southern Forsyth County, and UCLA is accusing Wake Forest of financially mismanaging the research center. The colony contains 475 vervet monkeys, many of which came from the Caribbean island of St. Kitts. They contain family trees that have been tracked for eight generations by researchers.The Wake Forest group said it is willing to shut down the primate center in the Friedberg community if UCLA doesn’t agree to continue to pay…

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Bear with us

Byuclafaculty

With the massive 405 Project now two-thirds complete, officials have unveiled a staggered endgame schedule which calls for major portions of the project to wrap up this year while work on one troublesome segment continues into 2014. The delay involves the project’s middle segment—chiefly in the area around Montana Avenue and Church Lane—where utility relocations and the necessity of shifting Sepulveda Boulevard have proved vastly more time-consuming than expected. Overall, unforeseen utility relocation issues have not only eaten up valuable time but also have driven up the cost of building the project, according to a briefing presented this week to Metro’s…

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UCLA Reports Battery Technology Advance

Byuclafaculty

From KCET …We told you that researchers at Ric Kamen’s lab at UCLA had found a way to make a non-toxic, highly efficient energy storage medium out of pure carbon using absurdly simple technology. Today, we can report that the same team may well have found a way to make that process scale up to mass-production levels…  The recap: Graphene, a very simple carbon polymer, can be used as the basic component of a “supercapacitor” — an electrical power storage device that charges far more rapidly than chemical batteries. Unlike other supercapacitors, though, graphene’s sturcture also offers a high “energy…

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Finally, some common sense about juries and why it matters to UCLA

Byuclafaculty

Editorial: Anyone who works for UCLA, or any local public entity, and has been called for jury duty knows that the jury pool in LA County is not a random sample of the population.  Apart from the fact that only citizens serve on juries (but anyone can be tried), public sector institutions are likely to have liberal policies for jury duty and jury leave, unlike many private employers.  Those called who show up (many don’t) are often excused for hardship reasons, or excused from lengthy trials, because of the economic hardship of missing work.  Yours truly’s last experience was being…