Politics, Government & Business in California's Inland Empire
Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
April 30, 2014
High school seniors and their parents face that difficult question annually, but Time magazine may have found the surprising answer: University of California, Riverside.
Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
January 30, 2014
Democrats in the California Senate used their two-thirds supermajority Thursday to pass a measure that would ask voters if they want to repeal the state’s ban on race- and gender-based preferences in government hiring and contracting and university admissions.
By Shan Li and Andrew Khouri
December 5, 2013, 1:00 a.m.
California continues to be a story of two economies: coastal regions with healthy job growth and inland areas that are still struggling to recover, according to a UCLA report released Thursday.
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Friday, Oct. 25, 2013 – 12:00 am
Last Modified: Friday, Oct. 25, 2013 – 6:18 am
The faculties and administrators of California’s public institutions of higher learning often display a certain disdain for the real world.
August 02, 2013; 06:27 PM
When the first class of students enters UC Riverside’s new School of Medicine on Monday morning, it will mark not only a new beginning, but the end of a long road.
To read story by Mark Muckenfuss in The Press Enterprise, click here.
By Larry Gordon
July 15, 2013, 5:32 p.m.
The nomination of Janet Napolitano, the U.S. secretary of Homeland Security and former governor of Arizona, to be UC president has elicited many positive comments about how her managerial and political skills can help the university system. But some skeptics are voicing concerns about her lack of education administrative credentials and question the secretive process that led to her selection.
June 27, 2013; 11:48 AM
UC Riverside officials and local lawmakers were jubilant Thursday, June 27, after Gov. Jerry Brown signed the state budget providing $15 million a year in continuous, guaranteed funding for the university’s long-awaited medical school.
To read story by Janet Zimmerman in The Press Enterprise, click here.
June 21, 2013; 05:59 PM
Like its counterparts elsewhere, the San Bernardino County Republican Central Committee is all about electing Republicans.
Last week, though, the party reported giving $9,000 to a committee controlled by Ontario Mayor Paul Leon, a former Republican who recently lost an election for the state Senate and now is running for the Assembly as an independent.
To read column by Jim Miller and Jeff Horseman in The Press Enterprise, click here.
June 10, 2013
The Legislature’s budget conference committee late Monday altered the funding mix for a school of medicine at UC Riverside, eliminating a $15 million augmentation but directing the UC system to allocate money to the school from its budget.
To read entire post by Jim Miller in The Press Enterprise blog, click here.
FROM STAFF REPORTS
December 28, 2012; 05:25 PM
MEDICAL SCHOOL NEARS
UC Riverside’s medical school is scheduled to open in fall 2013 with an entering class of 50 students.
To read entire column, click here.
By Kelly Puente, Staff Writer
Posted: 10/26/2012 09:58:23 PM PDT
When Elizabeth Zamora received a letter from Cal State Dominguez Hills stating that her application for the fall semester was on hold pending the outcome of Proposition 30, the prospective student said she was shocked.
Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
June 24, 2012
The state budget will freeze tuition rates for the state’s two university systems if voters approve tax hikes in November, University of California student groups said this evening.
By Ed Mendel
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Regents last week reaffirmed the use of a federal IRS cap on the amount of pay used to calculate UC pensions, an inflation-adjusted $250,000 limit this year that also is proposed in a bill capping the pensions of all new hires in state and local government.
A letter from 36 of UC’s highest-paid executives threatened a lawsuit because UC, allegedly breaking a promise made in 1999, did not lift the cap after federal approval finally came in 2007, the San Francisco Chronicle reported in December 2010.
By Carol J. Williams, Los Angeles Times
April 3, 2012
Civil rights groups and aspiring minority college students have lost the latest bid to get the University of California to resume considering race in its admissions decisions.
Proposition 209 banned the state’s public universities from using racial preferences to increase the ranks of black, Latino and Native American students, and the 1996 voter initiative has already withstood several constitutional challenges.
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Tuesday, Mar. 6, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 3A
Last Modified: Tuesday, Mar. 6, 2012 – 9:20 am
The thousands of college students who marched on the Capitol on Monday to protest rising fees and decreasing state support had a point: Higher education has taken a disproportionately heavy drubbing in recent years as politicians attempted – and largely failed – to balance the state budget.
BY ALICIA ROBINSON AND DUANE W. GANG
STAFF WRITERS
arobinson@pe.com; dgang@pe.com
Published: 02 March 2012 06:55 PM
California Gov. Jerry Brown said Friday he’s not prepared to support funding the UC Riverside medical school at a time when the state still faces a $9 billion deficit.
The State Worker
Chronicling civil-service life for California state workers
December 13, 2011
California’s three largest pension systems have promised $500 billion beyond their current ability to make those payments to retirees, according to a study released to today by Stanford University Professor and former Democratic Assemblyman Joe Nation and a student researcher.
The Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research issued the report, documenting what it claims is the state’s deepening pension crisis. California Common Sense, an organization dedicated to engaging the public in “data-driven discourse” is also behind the report.
November 2nd, 2011, 9:38 pm
Posted by Teri Sforza, Register staff writer
With the public pension wars heading to a ballot box near you, it is worth noting that the number of California retirees earning more than $100,000 a year has skyrocketed 99 percent – in just two years.
By Larry Gordon, Los Angeles Times
October 26, 2011
Steep funding cuts to higher education in California and elsewhere were significant factors in pushing average tuition and fees up 8.3% at four-year public colleges and universities nationwide this fall, according to a report by the nonprofit College Board.
Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
October 8, 2011
Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed legislation today that would have allowed the University of California and California State University systems to consider race, ethnicity and gender in student admissions.
Nanette Asimov,Wyatt Buchanan, Chronicle Staff Writers
Saturday, October 8, 2011
(10-08) 13:53 PDT Sacramento — For the first time, thousands of California students who are in the country illegally will be eligible to receive financial aid to attend any public college in the state at taxpayer expense, beginning in 2013, as Gov. Jerry Brown today signed into law AB131, known as the California Dream Act.
BY JACK KATZANEK
STAFF WRITER
jkatzanek@pe.com
Published: 05 October 2011 06:33 PM
New campus buildings, bigger research projects and more students are the main reasons UC Riverside’s economic impact has expanded to $1.4 billion, a study released this week by the school found.
By Teresa Watanabe, Los Angeles Times
September 25, 2011
Sacramento native Shawn Lewis knows the value of student financial aid. The son of a struggling single mom, Lewis says he never would have been able to attend UC Berkeley without the $24,000 in annual state grants and private scholarships he receives to pursue his political science degree and dreams of law school.
Monday, September 19, 2011
By Ed Mendel
SANTA ROSA — The Sonoma County retirement board voted last week to release retiree names and their pension amounts, becoming the latest loser in seven separate superior court decisions since 2009 upheld by three different appeals courts.
By Larry Gordon, Los Angeles Times
September 15, 2011
Reporting from San Francisco— University of California students could face annual tuition increases of 8% to 16% over the next four years, possibly bringing the fee as high as $22,068 for the 2015-16 school year, according to a long-term budget plan the university unveiled Wednesday.
The measure would allow college students who are illegal immigrants to receive public financial aid.
By Teresa Watanabe and Patrick McGreevy,
Los Angeles Times
September 1, 2011
The college dreams of thousands of students who are illegal immigrants moved closer to fulfillment Wednesday after the state Senate approved a bill that for the first time would give them access to public financial aid.
By Larry Gordon, Los Angeles Times
August 22, 2011
For the first time, the total amount that University of California students pay in tuition this year will surpass the funding the prestigious public university receives from the state. It is a historic shift for the UC system and part of a national trend that is changing the nature of public higher education.
By Larry Gordon, Los Angeles Times
August 18, 2011
The University of California on Wednesday announced a merit increase plan for non-unionized employees that seeks to fend off faculty hiring raids while mollifying critics of high executive salaries during the state’s budget crisis.
10:35 PM PDT on Saturday, July 23, 2011
By JIM MILLER, BEN GOAD and DUG BEGLEY
The Press-Enterprise
Making public policy often produces its share of winners and losers, but Inland Southern California has had a decidedly bad run of luck the last few weeks.
By Kevin Yamamura
kyamamura@sacbee.com
Published: Sunday, Jul. 24, 2011 – 12:00 am | Page 1A
As he packed boxes of camping supplies after a five-day vacation at Folsom Lake, Daniel Maningas said he was torn over whether state park fees are too high.
Campground fees of $30 a night are reasonable, he said, especially compared to flying to Hawaii. But the $10 day use fee is so steep that Maningas said he parks his truck for free off state property when he rides his mountain bike in the Bay Area.
10:23 PM PDT on Monday, July 11, 2011
By MARK MUCKENFUSS
The Press-Enterprise
Fees for full-time students at state universities in California have risen steadily in recent years and are nearly double what they were five years ago.
Perhaps lawmakers figure students are used to it by now.
10:23 PM PDT on Monday, July 11, 2011
By MARK MUCKENFUSS
The Press-Enterprise
Local college students uniformly expressed dismay to learn what the leaders of their state universities were earning.
Drop in UC, CSU minority students leads to proposal
Beige Luciano-Adams, Staff Writer
Created: 07/09/2011 10:23:32 PM PDT
A bill that would allow public universities to factor race, ethnicity, gender and economic status into student admissions passed the Assembly’s Higher Education Committee last week by a 5-3 vote.
By Larry Gordon, Los Angeles Times
July 2, 2011, 6:23 p.m.
Budget-pressed University of California administrators confirmed Saturday that they will seek a nearly 10% tuition hike on top of an 8% increase already scheduled to take effect this fall.
10:26 PM PDT on Wednesday, June 29, 2011
By LORA HINES
The Press-Enterprise
UC Riverside officials announced Wednesday that the opening of their proposed medical school will be postponed a year because they did not secure the ongoing state funding needed to gain accreditation.
The increase of at least 10% comes in response to deeper cuts to education in the new state budget. The opening of UC Riverside’s new medical school will be delayed by a year. Student leaders express disappointment.
By Larry Gordon and Carla Rivera, Los Angeles Times
June 30, 2011
Students at the University of California and Cal State University systems are likely to face a second round of tuition hikes this fall in response to deeper funding cuts in the new state budget, officials and student leaders said Wednesday.
Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
June 27, 2011
Democratic aides provided details this afternoon on the handshake budget deal between Gov. Jerry Brown and Democratic leaders to bridge a $9.6 billion deficit.
Monday, June 27, 2011
By Ed Mendel
While not complying with an apparently flawed state law, CalPERS is opposing a similar federal bill calling for a report showing how pension debt could soar if long-term investment earnings are well below average.
Beige Luciano-Adams, Staff Writer
Created: 06/06/2011 09:25:18 PM PDT
Five years after its first introduction, the California DREAM Act – designed to remove higher education barriers for undocumented students – is finally inching closer to the governor’s desk.
By Adam Weintraub Associated Press
Posted: 06/01/2011 12:20:01 PM PDT
SACRAMENTO — California lawmakers voted Wednesday to open the door to state-funded financial aid for immigrant college students who entered the United States illegally.
The State Worker
Chronicling civil-service life for California state workers
May 27, 2011
A bill that would freeze pay for the highest-paid state workers stalled today in the Assembly Appropriations Committee, effectively killing it.
By Larry Gordon, Los Angeles Times
May 19, 2011
Reporting from San Francisco — University of California officials warned Wednesday that the 8% tuition increase UC students already face this fall may be dwarfed by an additional 32% midyear hike if Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan for tax extensions is not approved.
By Jim Sanders
jsanders@sacbee.com
Published: Friday, May. 6, 2011 – 12:00 am | Page 3A
Illegal immigrants could receive college financial aid under legislation approved Thursday by the Assembly and apparently destined for the desk of a new Democratic governor who supports the concept.
Reduced class offerings and staff layoffs are expected next year even as spending is slashed at the Oakland headquarters to help ease reductions at all 10 campuses.
By Larry Gordon, Los Angeles Times
March 17, 2011
Reporting from San Francisco — The University of California regents Wednesday heard grim predictions on how proposed state budget cuts would affect students and faculty even as officials sought to soften the blow by slashing spending at the UC headquarters and shifting the savings to the system’s 10 campuses.
By Larry Gordon, Los Angeles Times
March 8, 2011
Should library hours be cut? Could some academic programs be closed or merged? Will turning down air conditioners and fixing leaky sprinklers save much money?
UC Riverside administrators are mulling such questions as they face an expected reduction in the campus’ core budget next year of at least 8%, or $38 million, even as they cope with higher pension costs and energy bills. The decisions could affect the livelihoods of employees and quality of education for more than 20,000 students at the Inland Empire campus.
By Kevin Yamamura
kyamamura@sacbee.com
Published: Monday, Mar. 7, 2011 – 12:00 am | Page 12A
Last Modified: Monday, Mar. 7, 2011 – 12:21 am
How much is California’s public employee pension system underfunded? Determining that is about as easy as predicting the stock market.
Those who believe pensions are manageable often assume higher rates of investment return, while critics assume slower growth rates.
By Jack Chang
jchang@sacbee.com
Published: Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2011 – 12:00 am | Page 3A
The leaders of California’s three higher education systems Monday said they are preparing to make budget cuts proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown, but warned that fewer degree programs and enrollment slots would likely result.
Emmerson
By PE Politics
on February 2, 2011 11:52 AM
State Sen. Bill Emmerson, R-Hemet, has been named to an advisory board for the University of California’s Sacramento center.
By Laurel Rosenhall
lrosenhall@sacbee.com
Published: Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2011 – 12:00 am | Page 1A
Last Modified: Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2011 – 7:58 am
What a turnaround from last year.
While last budget season, California’s public universities were the only major area of government to see an increase in state funding, higher education is now in line to take a big hit – 16 percent if Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget proposal comes to pass.