Halloween Scare

From the Daily Bruin: Aahs! The Ultimate Gift Store will celebrate its last Halloween in Westwood before shuttering Nov. 3. Aahs! – which opened in 1981 on the corner of Kinross Avenue and Westwood Boulevard – sells costumes, props, toys and novelty items. The business sold its Westwood location – the chain’s last remaining store – to UC Investments in September, said Jack Bhasin, the store’s owner of 43 years and current president.

UC Investments purchased the Westwood Village Collection in July, which includes 14 Westwood properties. UC Investments acquired Aahs! in a separate purchase, said Michael Russell, the executive director of the Westwood Village Improvement Association... UC Office of the President declined to comment on UC Investments’ plan for the newly acquired properties. Declining foot traffic, recent business closures and a lack of accessible parking contributed to the store’s closure... Several Westwood stores and restaurants – including Broxton Brewery, Urban Outfitters, Sarah Leonard Fine Jewelers and Espresso Profeta – have shut down in the past year...

Full story at https://dailybruin.com/2026/10/06/aahs-to-shutter-after-halloween-joining-recent-westwood-business-closures.

Straws in the Wind - Part 491

From the Yale Daily News: Yale has already made 78 percent of the budget cuts it planned to implement over three years in response to last year’s endowment tax hike, according to Yale’s fiscal year 2027 budget that was released last month. The endowment tax hike, which was part of President Donald Trump’s signature One Big Beautiful Bill Act, is costing Yale $247 million this fiscal year, after the tax jumped from $52 million to $299 million, according to the budget. The increased figure represents 3.6 percent of the University’s total spending this fiscal year. The cuts leave 22 percent left to achieve for the remaining two years of the three-year target...

Yale spokesperson Karen Peart wrote in a statement to the News, on behalf of University Chief Financial Officer Katrina Spencer and deans of several schools the News contacted for comment, that “some areas of the university will feel more financial strain than others.”

Full story at https://yaledailynews.com/articles/yale-already-made-majority-of-cuts-to-offset-trump-s-tax-budget-shows.

MacArthur

From the UCLA Newsroom: More than two decades ago, artist Rodney McMillian spotted a battered armchair by a trash heap, brought it to his art studio and began thinking about what happens when everyday objects are removed from one setting and placed in another. His resulting found-object sculpture, “Chair,” was an early example of the type of artistic inquiry that has defined his career, evoking questions about class, poverty and history, both broad and personal. Now McMillian, a professor in the UCLA Department of Art and head of the department’s sculpture area, has been recognized as a 2026 MacArthur Fellow by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, joining 19 other “exceptional, creative and inspiring people” who make up this year’s class.

The prestigious fellowships, commonly known as “genius grants,” are awarded annually to individuals across the sciences, arts and humanities who demonstrate exceptional creativity, dedication and potential for future innovation. The award comes with an $800,000 no-strings-attached stipend paid over five years. “Rodney McMillian’s work speaks to the power of art to challenge how we see the past, illuminate the present and deepen our understanding of the world around us,” said UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk. “His recognition by the MacArthur Foundation is a testament to the extraordinary creative talent that makes UCLA such a vibrant intellectual community.” ...

Full news release at https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/faculty-artist-rodney-mcmillian-named-2026-macarthur-fellow.

Video at:

Or direct to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIuEk-DUtxk.

Leg Assembly on Childcare Closing

Resolution Against Closing Early Care and Education (ECE) & University Parents Nursery School (UPNS)

Legislative Assembly members voted via the Academic Senate Data Management System on the Resolution Against Closing ECE & UPNS. The Legislative Assembly received a total of 93 votes cast: 89 Approve, 4 Oppose. This Resolution required a majority of votes cast by present members to be approved. [AIPSC (2nd ed.) 5.1]. A majority of votes cast (96%) were to Approve this Resolution.

(from Academic Senate email announcing vote) 

Where the money is

From the Daily Californian of 10-6-2026: Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two bills at a quantum lab at UC Berkeley on Sept. 30 to accelerate the development of fusion energy in California... “UC is poised to lead in quantum and fusion energy research,” said UC Office of the President spokesperson Omar Rodriguez in an email. “This statewide investment will keep California at the forefront of this field by growing California’s future workforce, accelerating scientific discovery and advancing clean energy.” 

According to an email from the CEC [California Energy Commission], UC Berkeley was chosen as the place of signing due to its status as the lead university for the National Science Foundation Quantum Leap Challenge Institute for Quantum Computation, a multi-institutional research center spanning universities across the state. The NSF just renewed its support for the NSF CIQC with $37.5 million in funding over the next five years to further quantum research...

Full story at https://www.dailycal.org/news/campus/newsom-signs-legislation-at-uc-berkeley-to-accelerate-fusion-energy-grants-30m-for-quantum-research/article_9c0a8e0c-1793-4d8e-bb72-8a6f1a0351a1.html.

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President Trump Executive Order 14413

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:

Section 1.  Purpose.  America stands at the cusp of a quantum revolution.  Quantum information science and technology (QIST) will provide transformational capabilities that will drive American innovation, power economic growth, generate high-paying jobs, and bolster national security.  In 2018, I laid the foundation for United States leadership in QIST by signing into law the National Quantum Initiative Act and doubling Federal investment in QIST research and development.  Today, as other nations move quickly to challenge American leadership, the United States must take a cohesive, whole-of-government approach to accelerate deployment and commercialization of quantum computing, sensing, and networking.

In addition to continuing trailblazing quantum research, we must act to solidify the Nation’s position as the world’s QIST superpower and deliver the commercial and research benefits of quantum innovation to the American people.  Equally important, we must protect sensitive technologies and work with allies to ensure adversaries cannot use QIST to undermine national security.

Sec. 2.  Policy.  It is the policy of my Administration to ensure that the United States maintains a strategic technical advantage in QIST and leads the development of a robust and trusted quantum ecosystem across QIST research, manufacturing, commercialization, and application...

Full text at https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/06/ushering-in-the-next-frontier-of-quantum-innovation/.

Straws in the Wind - Part 490

From Inside Higher Ed: The Department of Homeland Security is appealing a federal court’s ruling in a lawsuit contesting a regulation that would limit how long international students can stay in the U.S... DHS filed its appeal with the First Circuit Court of Appeals, seeking to reverse a preliminary injunction that blocked the regulation from going into effect. The regulation, which was finalized over the summer and slated to take effect in September, would cap the amount of time international students can remain in the U.S. at four years, unless they get permission for an extension. It also placed other new limitations on international students, such as preventing graduate students from changing their course of study. A preliminary injunction granted by a federal judge last month prevented the rule from taking effect...

Full story at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2026/10/05/dhs-appeals-block-international-student-time-limits.

As Prophesied

From the Daily Californian: The UC Office of the President is launching a pilot AI Student Corps in which selected UC students will provide AI coaching and support to UCOP employees.  “The goal is to help employees apply AI effectively to their everyday work,” said UCOP spokesperson Stett Holbrook in an email. “This can include prompting, drafting, document analysis, research and summarization, and simplifying repetitive workflows.” ...

While the positions are remote, the “embedded AI Coaches” will hold both one-on-one and small group coaching sessions as well as office hours. The six selected students will be compensated between $25 and $26.39 per hour...

Full story at https://www.dailycal.org/news/uc/need-a-job-uc-will-pay-students-25-an-hour-to-teach-employees-how-to/article_dc15e54a-f5f4-44dc-bc4d-38bc6812d4a7.html.