UCLA History: Westwood Movies
The Fox Theater in Westwood near UCLA in the 1940s. Same view at present with theater partially hidden by trees on Broxton Avenue.
UCLA
Can We Have a Room With an (Alternative) View at the Hotel Dispute?
An article by Erica Perez appears today in the online California Watch news service on the proposed UCLA hotel/conference center that is up for consideration by the Regents next week. Excerpts: The Luskin Center relies in the first year on a cushion of surplus revenue from the UCLA Lake Arrowhead Conference Center and the UCLA Guest House – both of which run healthy surpluses. … …”It’s disingenuous in the sense that this is a project that’s supposed to take care of itself,” said Daniel J.B. Mitchell, professor emeritus at the UCLA Anderson School of Management and School of Public Affairs,…
The UC-Davis Pepper Spray Incident and the UCLA Hotel Seem to Raise the Same Question
The pepper spray incident at UC-Davis and the proposed UCLA hotel/conference center matter seem to raise a common question: Do we have a problem – systemwide and on campus – about responding to Public Records Act requests? An earlier post noted the long delay in providing the UCLA Faculty Association with the business plan for the proposed hotel/conference center. The Faculty Association still has not received the consulting report that was supposed to be the back-up support for the plan. Presumably, that report was available well before the Feb. 9, 2012 date the plan itself was approved. And we did…
The Hotel Blender
The business plan for the hotel/conference center is now on the Regents’ website. In essence, the plan is made to work by blending the hotel/ conference center with the guest house and the Lake Arrowhead conference center. In effect, the operating surplus of these other operations is used to cover the initial shortfall relative to debt service in the proposed hotel/conference center. The new hotel runs at 60% capacity initially and rises to 70% by year 3 of its operations although it cannot take commercial business due to its tax exempt financing. Blending the hotel with the other operations –…
UCLA History: Painting
Painting of UCLA, circa 1930, by local artist Chris Siemer.
UCLA History: Similar View
This photo of a UCLA scene looks as if it could have been taken recently. Actually, it was taken in 1929 when the Westwood campus had just opened. Most of what is now UCLA had not been built but the view from Royce across to Powell back then is about the same as it is today.
Somewhere Inside Murphy Hall Is the Hotel Business Plan…
But although it has been apparently sent to the Regents for approval, requests for it remain unanswered and unfulfilled. Today, the UCLA Faculty Association renewed its request from last November: Text of email sent to Aimee M. Felker Director Records Management & Information Practices, Corporate Financial Services3-18-12 Dear Ms Felker, Lots of time has passed, and you have not responded to the request of the FA for a public document, the business plan for the proposed UCLA Conference and Guest Center. I have offered several times since your communication to pick up the document in your office, but you have…
If you’re telling them about the UCLA hotel, could you let us in on the secret?
The Regents agenda is now posted and includes the proposed UCLA hotel/conference center. But no plan is attached to the agenda item. No plan has yet been received by the UCLA Faculty Association although a public documents request was filed by the Association and others some time back. Below is the agenda of the Regents’ Committee on Grounds and Buildings which contains the so-far-secret plan. The full Regents’ agenda is also reproduced below. ==== NOTICE OF MEETING The Regents of the University of California COMMITTEE ON GROUNDS AND BUILDINGS Date: March 28, 2012 Time: 2:15 p.m. Location: UCSF–Mission Bay Community…
Judea Pearl Wins ACM Turing Award for Artificial Intelligence Work
The commercial news media picked up a story that appeared online in yesterday’s UCLA Today:UCLA professor Judea Pearl has been awarded one of the highest honors in the field of computer science. Pearl was named winner of the 2011 A.M. (sic – should be ACM) Turing Award, which carries a $250,000 prize, for his work in artificial intelligence. Pearl, 75, contributed to the field by developing mathematical formulas that factor in uncertainty. That allows computers to find connections between millions of pieces of data, even when the information is incomplete or vague. His work has made it possible for computers to think more…
Westside Hotel Market Expanding
We still don’t have a business plan for the proposed UCLA hotel/conference center. But it is important to note that as the economy recovers, private hotel developers may add competitive capacity to the Westside market. For example, a 285-room hotel is planned in Santa Monica at 7th Street and Wilshire, essentially a conversion of an existing office building. Details of the project are at:http://www01.smgov.net/cityclerk/council/agendas/2012/20120320/s2012%200320%207-A.pdf http://www01.smgov.net/cityclerk/council/agendas/2012/20120320/s2012%200320%207-A-1.pdf http://www01.smgov.net/cityclerk/council/agendas/2012/20120320/s2012%200320%207-A-2.pdf Some guests at UCLA events might even prefer to stay in Santa Monica:[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6CtZ4VkvgQ&w=320&h=195]