Zbur

From the Daily Bruin: Democrat Rick Chavez Zbur was reelected to the California State Assembly District 51 seat... Zbur, whose district includes UCLA and its surrounding communities, received 61.5% of the vote as of Thursday evening, according to the Associated Press. His platform includes combating heightened immigration enforcement activity, promoting reproductive rights and providing more employment opportunities... Zbur was endorsed by Planned Parenthood Advocacy Project LA County Action Fund, United Farm Workers, Equality California and California Environmental Voters.

...Colin Hernandez, a Democrat and Zbur’s opponent, received 38.5% of the vote. He campaigned on expanding universal childcare and healthcare and building more housing. Hernandez was endorsed by Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia and by UCLA’s chapter of Young Democratic Socialists of America...

Full story at https://dailybruin.com/2026/11/05/rick-chavez-zbur-reelected-to-california-state-assembly-district-51-seat.

As of this morning:

Claude's Legal Research

The Regents recently filed a brief asking the court to dismiss the DOJ's case which accuses UCLA of antisemitism. I asked Claude to obtain the brief and summarize the key arguments. It provided a short summary and a longer summary. I have modified the short version below, removing the names of specific individuals and denoting them as X, Y, and Z. I have also asked Claude to alert me when responses to the Regents' brief are filed.

The Regents make six main arguments:

• No standing to seek an injunction. The complaints focus on events from 2023–24, and UCLA’s reforms since then mean no future injury is “certainly impending.” The brief relies heavily on the August 2026 Harvard ruling.
• No hostile work environment claim. Title VII doesn’t make UCLA liable for harassment by third parties it doesn’t control... Even under a negligence standard, UCLA’s response was reasonable. X’s claim is also barred by his release in the Frankel settlement. The incidents the two named doctors describe were away from their workplace, protected speech, or not severe enough.
• No pattern-or-practice claim. Section 707 requires intentional discrimination, but DOJ pleaded only negligence. Accounts from about nine employees can’t show a systemic pattern in a workforce of about 48,700.
• No retaliation. Neither doctor alleges a qualifying adverse action caused by protected activity.
• Two intervenors aren’t employees. Y is a retired professor emerita and Z is an unpaid volunteer.
• The FEHA* failure-to-prevent claim fails. The intervenors assert no underlying discrimination claim.

The Regents ask the court to dismiss DOJ’s entire complaint with prejudice, plus specific counts from the intervenors’ complaint. The hearing is set for February 1, 2027.

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*FEHA is the state's antidiscrimination law (Fair Employment and Housing Act).

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The actual Regents' brief is at: 

https://ia600402.us.archive.org/9/items/2-final-hjaa-report.-the-soil-beneath-the-encampments/UC%20Regents%20brief%20asking%20for%20antisemitism%20case%20to%20be%20dismissed%2010-26-2026.pdf.

Straws in the Wind - Part 517

From the Columbia Daily Spectator: Columbia spent $200,000 on federal lobbying between July and September, adding H1-B visa fees and caps on graduate student loans to its lobbying interests, while continuing to push for federal research funding. The University’s spending for the third quarter of 2026 is in line with the past two quarters. Its federal lobbying spending for this year so far—at $610,000—is $230,000 less than what the University had spent at this point last year. If the trend continues, Columbia is set to spend a smaller sum on federal lobbying this year than last year’s landmark total of over $1 million.

Columbia’s push against caps on graduate student loans follows provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act which took effect in July, introducing sweeping changes to federal student loans... In the second quarter of 2026, Columbia dropped “health care exemption from H1B fee” as an interest, but it resumed lobbying on “HIB visa fees” in the third quarter. Trump first proposed in September 2025 a rule which would require employers, including universities like Columbia, to pay a $100,000 fee for each sponsored H1-B visa. The rule was blocked for the second time in September 2026 by a federal judge.

Columbia is continuing to lobby against the Office of Management and Budget’s May proposal to revise the Uniform Guidance, the process by which federal grants are awarded. The changes would empower senior Trump appointees to approve federal grants aligned with the administration’s vision, specifically under the criteria of promoting “American interests” and “the President’s policy priorities.” ...

Full story at https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2026/10/27/columbia-spends-200000-on-lobbying-in-third-quarter-pushes-against-h-1b-fees-student-loan-caps/.

 

405 Lane Alternatives

From LA Metro:

I-405 Sepulveda Pass ExpressLanes

Metro, in coordination with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), is studying potential improvements to the I-405 between the I-10  and the US-101 through the Sepulveda Pass, to support safer travel, make travel times more reliable and move people through the corridor more efficiently. The four alternatives being studied include:

• Keeping the freeway as it is today (No Build).
• Converting the existing carpool lane to an ExpressLane in each direction;
• Converting the existing carpool lane to an ExpressLane and adding a second ExpressLane in each direction;
• Keeping the existing carpool lane and adding a second carpool lane in each direction.

No alternative has been selected.

Metro ExpressLanes are designed to provide more reliable travel times by adjusting tolls based on traffic conditions. A toll is a fee to use the ExpressLanes. Tolls increase or decrease to help manage the number of vehicles using the lane and keep traffic moving. Carpools that meet occupancy requirements, vanpools and transit vehicles with a FasTrakFlex transponder can use ExpressLanes without paying a toll, while solo drivers can choose to pay a toll. Drivers who choose not to use the ExpressLane can continue to use the regular lanes without paying a toll. A FasTrakFlex transponder allows drivers to indicate how many people are in the vehicle so the appropriate toll can be determined. The current toll range on the I-10/I-110 ExpressLanes is $0.10-$3.30/mile.

Metro and Caltrans are studying alternatives to understand how each could affect travel, communities and the environment. The Draft Environmental Document, also called the Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) /Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), is anticipated to be released in late 2026 for public review and comment, including public hearings and other engagement activities.

 Full announcement at https://i-405-sepulveda-pass-expresslanes-lametro.hub.arcgis.com/.

Will Harvard Continue to Lead the Charge - Part 210

From Inside Higher Ed: A federal judge on Monday dismissed the Trump administration’s legal attempt to force Harvard University to provide certain admissions information, though the court said the government could refile the lawsuit. The Justice Department filed the litigation against Harvard in February, accusing it of unlawfully withholding “information necessary to determine whether Harvard, which has a recent history of racial discrimination, is continuing to discriminate in its admissions.” In an amended complaint in May, it added allegations that the university was also withholding this info from the Education Department. But on Monday, Judge Myong J. Joun of the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts concluded the administration hadn’t made its case sufficiently at this point to survive Harvard’s motion to dismiss it.

“I decide a limited question: whether the Government has adequately established, at this stage and on the materials properly considered, that it satisfied the prerequisites to judicial enforcement,” Joun wrote. He added that his “ruling does not determine whether Harvard has discriminated, whether the agencies may lawfully seek appropriately defined applicant-level data, or whether Harvard may ultimately be required to provide such data.” Joun, a Biden appointee, said he dismissed the suit without prejudice... The DOJ said it plans to refile the lawsuit...

Full story at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2026/11/03/doj-ed-demand-harvard-admissions-info-dismissed-now.

Lieu wins

Ted Lieu, the local congressional rep for Westwood and UCLA, handily won reelection:

From the Daily Bruin: Democrat Rep. Ted Lieu will represent California’s 36th Congressional District – which includes Westwood and surrounding areas – for another term... Lieu, an Air Force veteran, currently serves on the Judiciary and Foreign Affairs committees... Lieu has authored cybersecurity legislation, advocated for veterans’ rights and pushed to regulate artificial intelligence. He has also supported legislation to limit President Donald Trump’s presidential power, including the War Powers Resolution and Congressional Authorization for Federal Building Names Act...

Full story at https://dailybruin.com/2026/11/03/incumbent-ted-lieu-keeps-36th-district-house-of-representatives-seat. 

Not mentioned in the Bruin account was a brief episode in 2022 in which Lieu came out against NIH funding of animal research. (Use the search engine in the version of this blog that goes back to 2009 for more on this episode.) It seems likely that reps from UCLA at that time reminded him that such a ban could adversely affect the largest employer in his district. Since then, he has focused on other matters.

Now I don't know if animal research has endorsed the idea that elephants never forget. But clearly yours truly doesn't forget.

2 Bonds Follow-Up: Arms Length for 38

Yesterday, we posted that the two bond measures of special interest to UC passed. Prop 1 will fund some dorm construction. Prop 38 will fund some medical research at a unit in UCLA's new facility being built in the old Westside Pavilion.

UC President Milliken expressed appreciation for Prop 1: [excerpt]

The University of California today welcomed California voters’ overwhelming approval of the Veterans and Affordable Housing Bond Act of 2026, which includes $175 million for UC student housing. The funding will help UC campuses pursue new housing projects, expand affordable options for students, and ease housing pressures in communities across the state. The passage of Proposition 1 clearly shows that voters understand student housing costs put a real strain on hardworking California college students and their families, and they want elected officials to address the affordable housing shortage today and in the years ahead.

The $11.25 billion bond includes $350 million for student housing at California’s public universities, divided equally between the University of California and California State University systems. UC’s $175 million share will be available through the state’s Higher Education Student Housing Grant Program...

Full release at https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/press-room/university-california-celebrates-passage-statewide-housing-bond-including-175-million-uc.

But as of this morning, neither he nor Chancellor Frenk have said anything about Prop 38, which potentially supplies a lot more money than Prop 1 does to UC/UCLA (or at least to the the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy which seems connected to UCLA). They seem to be keeping Prop 38 at arms length.