UCLA

|

More Spam – Supposedly from UCLA – to Which You Don’t Want to Respond

Byuclafaculty

Here is a new wrinkle in the ongoing attempts to get you to click on messages about your UCLA email account from spammers. In the past, they have sent warnings (sometimes with bad spelling and grammar) that your account would be closed if you didn’t respond. But now they offer you good news, if only you will click. See below but don’t click if you got the email!  Just delete it.  Look closely and you will see that the message comes from Italy (maybe) but not UCLA.  The return address is given as ucla4554 (at) libero.it.===In case you have not noticed,…

| | | | | |

Will He Sign It?

Byuclafaculty

State lawmakers have approved first-in-the-nation legislation requiring California universities with the most high-profile sports programs to provide financial protections for student athletes who suffer career-ending injuries…SB1525 would apply to universities that receive more than $10 million annually in sports media revenue. The bill by Sen. Alex Padilla, a Democrat from Los Angeles, would apply this year to the University of Southern California, UCLA, Berkeley and Stanford University…Full article at http://www.sacbee.com/2012/08/22/4749123/bill-would-help-injured-student.html

| |

Another Little 405 Inconvenience for UCLA Nightbirds

Byuclafaculty

We’re too late to give you the Monday night warning but the action (inaction?) repeats tonight: Full closure of all I-405 northbound lanes (between the Montana Avenue and Moraga Drive), Sunset Boulevard (between Barrington Avenue and Veteran Avenue) and Church Lane (between Sepulveda Boulevard and Kiel Street) on the night of Monday, August 20th / morning of Tuesday, August 21st. All Sunset on/off-ramps (with the exception of the SB I-405 off-ramp) will be closed, as well. Where: I-405 and Sunset Boulevard When: NB freeway will be closed from midnight until 5am on Tuesday morning. Sunset Boulevard, Church Lane and freeway ramps will…

|

It’s not quite the Subway to the Sea that is eventually supposed to arrive at UCLA…

Byuclafaculty

…But starting next week there will be an express bus from UCLA to the new Expo light rail line which currently terminates in Culver City (and is being extended to Santa Monica circa 2015).  The Expo line goes to downtown LA and links to other rail services. Details at http://centurycity.patch.com/articles/big-blue-bus-offers-1-rides-to-culver-city-expo

| | |

Wisconsin’s Way Out of UCLA’s Taxable Hotel Dilemma: But We Really Have to Hurry!

Byuclafaculty

In an earlier post today citing an online lesson from Stanford, we pointed to UCLA’s hotel tax dilemma.  We learned about Unrelated Business Income (UBI) and Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT).  It appears that much of the proposed use of the UCLA hotel is in fact taxable and yet commercial-type business is forbidden in the UCLA case due to the way the hotel is to be financed.  Now some readers might say that our blog just harps on the negative side of the UCLA hotel proposal and never offers anything positive.  That isn’t really true since we did offer a…

| |

Stanford Offers an Online Course on Hotel UBITOMY

Byuclafaculty

Never heard of UBITOMY?  UBI stands for Unrelated Business Income – as defined by the IRS – of normally tax-exempt entities such as universities.  But when such entities create enterprises that do business unrelated to the function of the entity, Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT) is owed. UCLA’s proposed new hotel comes with a business plan chock full of ways to fill 250 rooms such as visiting parents, etc.  The plan assumes such uses are tax-free.  And the plan is built on financing that doesn’t allow commercial uses.  But if you take Stanford’s course on UBITOMY, you can learn something…

|

The BID for Westwood and the Hotel Blending

Byuclafaculty

No, not the kind of bid you see at auctions.  BID stands for Business Improvement District. Under state law, businesses (property owners) in particular areas can form a BID and assess themselves for upgrading their neighborhoods. In theory, the upgrading improves the business climate and property values. There are many BIDs in the LA area. Westwood at one time had a BID but it disappeared some years ago in a financial scandal. However, a new one has formed and is reporting progress.  Still, if you walk up Westwood Boulevard towards the campus, you see many empty stores for lease. There…

|

UCLA’s Tech Spinoffs

Byuclafaculty

The LA Business Journal has a section this week on tech-type firms that have been spun off by UCLA.  Well, not exclusively UCLA; Caltech and USC are also part of the story.  An excerpt from the UCLA portion: UCLA: Enabling Campus Entrepreneurs UCLA spun out 19 startups during its 2011 fiscal year, making it the leader among the University of California campuses in technology transfer. About 90 startups have come out of the campus in the last five years. Some of the startups to come out of UCLA in the past several years show the wide range of the school’s…

|

Even the Email Identity Thieves Targeting UCLA Can Improve

Byuclafaculty

The identity thieves that have been sending UCLA email users phishing messages designed to steal your passwords, etc., turn out to be followers of Émile Coué (shown at left). In past messages from them, there have been incorrect spellings and odd grammar, as we have noted in past blog posts.  But they are getting better, day by day. Still, you should not reward their efforts at self improvement by clicking on their messagessuch as today’s edition: Dear Bruin OnLine E-mail user, This is to inform all users that our server upgrade/maintenance is scheduled for August 30 2012. You may experience login…