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Thursday, 20 September 2012
1. More voters undecided on taxes, poll says
San Francisco Chronicle
A new UC Berkeley-Field Poll has found that California voters are increasingly undecided about two competing tax measures — both aiming to aid education — with fewer than seven weeks remaining before the election. Among likely voters, 51 percent support Governor Brown's Prop. 30, while 36 percent say they will vote against it. Political science professor Jack Citrin, director of the Institute for Governmental Studies behind the Field Poll, says that the fact that the support and opposition have remained relatively stable shows that recent political developments that some have said would doom the governor's tax measure — including the approval of billions in spending on high-speed rail and millions that were hidden in the parks budget — have not affected voters. "I think the pro (Prop. 30) side has weathered some bad news," he says. Stories on this topic appeared in dozens of sources, including the San Jose Mercury News (AP), Sacramento Bee, and another in the Sacramento Bee. Full Story
2. California State Universities Will Increase Tuition if Tax Measure Fails
New York Times Online (*requires registration)
An article outlining the potential consequences of a failed Prop. 30 — a tax initiative aimed at preventing further cuts to higher education — indicates that the 10-campus UC system, which includes Berkeley, would lose $375 million in state revenue, adding to the $900 million it has already lost in the past four years. The regents have warned that would mean tuition would rise by as much as $2,400 per year. Full Story
3. Political Blog: Universities try to spread the word about Proposition 30
Los Angeles Times Online
A new website aimed at informing voters about Proposition 30 has been launched at UC Berkeley. Engineering professor Ken Goldberg says about the project: “Although the outcome of this vote has an enormous potential impact on students, alumni, teachers, parents and employers, many are not aware of Proposition 30. … The California Proposition 30 Awareness Project aims to change that.” Another story on this topic appeared in the Independent Voter Network. Full Story
4. Blog: The Myth of the 'College Bubble'
Huffington Post
A fellow at the USC Center on Public Diplomacy counters common perceptions that college is an increasingly bad investment. Pointing out that in 2009 the government-backed student loan default rate for graduates of traditional colleges was nearly 5 percent while that for graduates of for-profit colleges was more than 15 percent, he says: "A fascinating statistic emerges: For AAU universities — top institutions such as Yale and Harvard in the northeast; USC, UCLA, UC Berkeley, Stanford and Caltech in the West; and the Universities of Michigan and Texas in the midsection — the default rate was only 2.2 percent for that same period. While AAU universities have been questioned for their ability to balance teaching and research, something in the water is allowing them to produce people who succeed even in difficult times." Full Story
5. .A. Now Blog: California colleges receive millions in funding for job training
Los Angeles Times Online
The U.S. Department of Labor has announced it has given grants worth $500 million to nearly 300 community colleges and universities for job training. In Northern California, a consortium including UC Berkeley received $15 million. Other stories on this topic appeared in the San Jose Mercury News and San Francisco Chronicle. Full Story
6. Millions of Californians May Still Be Uninsured in 2019
Valley Public Radio
A study co-authored by Ken Jacobs, chair of Berkeley's Labor Center, projects that two to three million Californians will have new health coverage by 2019, but as many as 3 to 4 million more may still be without health insurance five years after the full implementation of the federal health law. Link to audio. Full Story
7. Segregation Prominent in Schools, Study Finds
New York Times & International Herald Tribune (*requires registration)
New education data shows that despite an increasingly multiracial society, segregation in U.S. schools continues, with 43 percent of Latinos and 38 percent of blacks attending schools where fewer than 10 percent of their classmates are white. Meanwhile, education reform efforts such as teacher evaluations based on student test scores could exacerbate the problem, according to associate public policy professor Rucker C. Johnson. Teachers would be reluctant to take assignments in high-poverty, high-minority communities, since they'd "be at risk of being blamed for not increasing test scores as quickly as might be experienced in a suburban, more affluent area.” Full Story
8. Budget Bargain Is Goal of Senate Group Guided by Bowles-Simpson
San Francisco Chronicle
Business professor Laura Tyson spoke at a Bloomberg Government luncheon yesterday, saying that she is “optimistic” that the atmosphere in Congress will be better for agreement on economic choices following the election. “The tone may change,” particularly if Republicans lose seats in the House, she said. Full Story
9. Quest: What's Next for Nuclear
KQED
Nuclear engineering professor and department chair Per Peterson discusses the status of the nuclear industry in the U.S., what went wrong at Fukushima, and research he's conducting to make nuclear plants safer. Link to video. Full Story
10. Op-Ed: Dying for Ivory
New York Times & International Herald Tribune (*requires registration)
Postdoctoral geography fellow Louisa Lombard writes about the increasingly militarized conflict over poaching in Africa. "The prospects for ending poaching in war zones through human management are slim. The only way to reduce both the slaughter of elephants and related human killings is to reduce demand for ivory. And that’s a very tall order," she says. Full Story
11. Digits Blog: Globalfoundries Moves to Match Intel’s Transistors and Timing
Wall Street Journal (*requires registration)
An article about competition in the semiconductor industry focuses on a new three-dimensional transistor structure, also known as a FinFET, pioneered by electrical engineering professor emeritus Chenming Hu. Full Story
12. The Venture Capital Secret: 3 Out of 4 Start-Ups Fail
Wall Street Journal (*requires registration)
A new study out of Harvard adds evidence that the failure rate of start-ups is higher than the industry acknowledges. Berkeley business professor Toby Stuart comments on the fact that failure tends to be harder on entrepreneurs who lose money that they've borrowed on credit cards or from friends and relatives than it is on those who raised venture capital. "When you've bootstrapped a business where you're not drawing a salary and depleting whatever savings you have, that's one of the very difficult things to do." On the other hand, venture capitalists make high-risk investments and expect some of them to fail, and entrepreneurs who raise venture capital often draw salaries. Full Story
13. Forum with Michael Krasny: Obesity on the Rise
KQED Radio
Adjunct public health professor Pat Crawford, director of the Center for Weight and Health, and Kristine Madsen, assistant public health professor, join a discussion of a new report predicting that by 2030, nearly half of all Californians will be obese. Link to audio. Full Story
14. Opinion L.A.: Food stamps and Fanta shouldn't mix
Los Angeles Times
A columnist responds to an article about the money spent on sugary drinks through food stamps. In response to a quote of associate public health professor Barbara Laraia, who pointed out that one of the problems with trying to limit what people can buy with the stamps is the criticism that it would "send a paternalistic message: that it is OK to restrict what poor Americans purchase with federal dollars, presumably because they do not know any better." To this, the writer responds: "Well, yes, maybe it is paternalistic. But it’s also common sense. We have an obesity problem in this country, and sugary drinks contribute mightily to it. ... And if you are on assistance and think that’s unfair? Simple: Get off food stamps. ... Because if it isn’t your money, it’s not your rules." Full Story
15. Project may go to voters
San Jose Mercury News (*requires registration)
The Albany City Clerk has announced that the group petitioning for a referendum on proposed development at University Village — UC-Berkeley-owned property in Albany — has been certified with enough valid signatures to put the measure on the ballot. As a result, the City Council will have to either rescind its approval of the development agreement with the university or place the ordinance approving the project before voters. Full Story
16. Get Me a Med School! Stat!
Inside Higher Ed
An article about the national rush of states seeking to increase their research capacity by creating more comprehensive universities with medical schools and health science centers, mentions that among the top 20 universities by research expenditures, all but three — UC Berkeley, MIT, and Texas A&M — have medical schools. Full Story
17. Colombia Finance Minister Vows Battle Against Inequality
Wall Street Journal (*requires registration)
Mauricio Cardenas, Colombia's new finance minister, earned his Ph.D. in economics from UC Berkeley. He is profiled in this article, which says he "faces a challenging task: reducing the country's wide inequality gaps while sustaining the sound macroeconomic policies that have turned this Andean nation into a sweetheart of Wall Street investors." As he himself says, "We live in a very unequal society, and we need to change that trend. … That's where my Berkley education may come into play." Full Story
18. BAM revival shows ‘Einstein on the Beach’ still has power to amaze 36 years after premiere
Washington Post
Philip Glass's epic opera "Einstein on the Beach” is having its first full-fledged revival in 20 years at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, after which it will come to Berkeley for a run from October 26 to 28, before moving on to Mexico City, Amsterdam, and Hong Kong. According to this reviewer: "'Einstein' is a mesmerizing piece of theater whose cumulative effect makes up for the slow pace and sometimes maddening repetitions of music and text. The creators want you to lose all sense of time as you watch and listen, letting music and text work their hypnotic effect. Once you surrender, it’s worth the trip." Full Story
19. L.A. Now Blog: Space shuttle Endeavour: Where to spot the shuttle
Los Angeles Times Online
As the space shuttle Endeavour makes its final, historic flight to its resting place in Los Angeles Friday morning, it is expected to dip over iconic California landmarks en route. Although a list of San Francisco landmarks hasn't been released, officials have advised spectators to head toward viewing sites such as the Lawrence Hall of Science, at UC Berkeley. Another story on this topic appeared in Berkeleyside. Full Story