Don't even walk on Wilshire

We've been advising you not to drive on Wilshire near UCLA due to subway construction. Now you shouldn't even walk there. See below:

Wilshire Bl: North Sidewalk Closure 

Summary 

Construction of two emergency stair exits for the UCLA Station will result in a full closure of the north sidewalk along Wilshire Bl between Gayley Av and Westwood Bl starting August 17, 2026, through December.

During this closure, entry to LA Fitness from Wilshire Bl and the Wilshire Bl entrance to the Westwood Medical Plaza will be closed continuously. Visitors may access the buildings through alternate entrances.

There will also be intermittent closures of the south sidewalk along Wilshire Bl between Gayley Av and Westwood Bl to accommodate concrete pours and material deliveries. Most of these activities are anticipated to occur during night shift operations (9pm to 5am) to minimize impacts.

Should both the north and south sides of this Wilshire Bl sidewalk are closed simultaneously, pedestrians will be temporarily detoured via Lindbrook Av.

Noteworthy

All work has received the necessary permits and approvals. 

Access to driveways, residences & businesses will be maintained at all times unless notified in advance. 

Access for pedestrians will be maintained outside of construction zones. 

Access for the Fire Department and emergency responders will be maintained. 

Parking restrictions will be implemented in the immediate area of the work zone. 

Construction is dynamic and schedules are subject to change. 

24/7 Hotline: 213-922-6934 

Closure Map

Source: https://cloud.sfmc.metro.net/WilshireBl_NorthSidewalkClosure.

What unpatriotic lessons were they teaching at UCLA, c1935?

The caption for this photo from UCLA's digital archive says "Student teachers take Pledge of Allegiance to the flag at UCLA, c1935." But when yours truly was in the first grade in 1948, he was taught that you (must!) put your hand on your heart during the pledge which you must also learn to recite "by heart." No alternatives were offered. And woe to the first grader who didn't do it.

More curious still, is the fact that the student teachers don't seem to be saying anything.

§172. Pledge of allegiance to the flag; manner of delivery

The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, “I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”, should be rendered by standing at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart. When not in uniform men should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. Persons in uniform should remain silent, face the flag, and render the military salute.

Source: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-1994-title36/html/USCODE-1994-title36-chap10.htm.

So, what were they teaching at UCLA in the mid-1930s?

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Source: https://digital.library.ucla.edu/catalog/ark:/21198/zz00255160. 

Straws in the Wind - Part 434

From Inside Higher Ed: When Agenia Clark took the helm of Fisk University in late 2023, she made it her mission to secure financial stability for the 160-year-old historically Black institution, which has seen its share of financial struggles and accreditation challenges. That led her to spearhead the development of Quantum Leap, a $900 million master plan whose details were first unveiled in May. It aims to grow enrollment at the Nashville campus to 1,500 students—up from a little more than 1,000 now—as well as spend $500 million on renovations and another $400 million on a 100,000-square-foot technology and innovation center, which will house a massive, high-powered data center.

The university says the innovation center “is intended to bring critical technology access to North Nashville, enhancing our curriculum and research capabilities and ensuring our students are prepared to enter the increasingly tech-driven workforce.” But it’s also become one of the latest flashpoints of the mounting nationwide backlash against the rapid expansion of data centers. Some critics say the proliferation of these centers is following historic urban development patterns that have disproportionately hurt marginalized communities...

While data centers have been around for decades, they’ve rapidly expanded in volume and capability during the AI boom of the past few years. According to Pew Research Center, as of April, more than 3,000 data centers were operating across the United States—with high concentrations in the South—and at least 1,500 are more in development. A growing number of colleges and universities—including the University of Michigan, the University of Alabama and Oakland University—have announced plans to open their own data centers to support campus infrastructure, AI research and industry collaboration...

Full story at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/tech-innovation/artificial-intelligence/2026/08/07/will-data-center-bring-risk-or-reward-fisk.

Electric Buses

UCLA began using electric buses in 2016, as the photo above shows. More are planned for the Olympics in 2028, including a wireless charging arrangement built into the street. Local congressional rep Ted Lieu reportedly got $250,000 in federal money recently for such buses at UCLA.

Source of information: https://dailybruin.com/2026/08/12/north-westwood-neighborhood-council-recap-aug-5; https://www.facebook.com/RepTedLieu/photos/1564004928417906/.

Bruin Theater to Reopen

Joe Bruin at a promotion of the Bruin Theater, 1938*

As blog readers will surely know, there are two sibling old fashioned single-screen theaters in Westwood that were closed and appeared endangered. Now it appear both the more prominent Fox Village (because of its tower) and the Bruin will reopen. They have been used in recent years for movie premiers.

From Deadline: The Bruin Theater in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles is coming back with a hopeful re-opening in mid-October thanks to Toronto-based exhibitor Rui Pereira. Pereira recently signed a lease with the Martyn Skouras family (descendants of Spyros Panagiotis Skouras, president of 20th Century Fox), which owns the Bruin.

The Bruin Theater, which originally opened its doors in 1937, closed in July 2024 alongside its historic brother The Village after Regency Theaters’ lease ended. Pereira is a longtime theater owner in Canada... Pereira tells Deadline that the theater is in very good shape. He’s bringing back the 70MM and 35MM projectors and making upgrades to the digital projectors. Seats are in good working shape in addition to the screen. His mission is to keep the theater’s originality intact a la his previous properties. “I want to keep the essence of the theater, I don’t want to erase its history or gloss it over,” he said.

Pereira added that one hope down the road is to potentially add two screening rooms to the upstairs (15-seat theater venues). He’s already been approached by studios for potential premieres and screenings; hence there’s a chance we could see doors open before mid-October for special events. Before the venue opens, you’ll see the marquee lit up at some point with ads for Warner Bros’ Practical Magic 2. There was buzz for some time that Jason Reitman was making a go at the Bruin after purchasing The Village, which is set to undergo further restorations. However, we hear the Bruin wasn’t for sale...

Full story at https://deadline.com/2026/07/the-bruin-theater-westwood-re-opening-1237012571/.

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*Image from https://archive.org/details/motionpictureher1301unse/page/n611/mode/2up.

Straws in the Wind - Part 433

From the Mercury News: Stanford University has ditched its Flock camera system and hired a new license plate reader firm following controversy over who can access the images captured. The South Bay university signed a contract with Genetec Cloudrunner to provide cameras that can read license plates, collecting images its public safety department can use to investigate crimes, Stanford University said in a press release. “Unlike the Flock system, the new system is designed for use within a single institution,” said Patrick Dunkley, Stanford’s vice provost for institutional equity, access, and community.

Slightly under two years ago, Stanford University installed the Flock camera system at university entrances. Stanford, at the time, said it wouldn’t share any information harvested from the Flock cameras with other police agencies. Over the past several years, concerns have emerged nationwide over Flock camera systems. Its systems, critics say, allow law enforcement to access images from other agencies via the networked license plate readers...

“These license plate reader cameras are an important investigative tool,” Stanford Department of Public Safety Chief Laura Wilson said. “They are just one of the ways that DPS is leveraging technology to help keep our community safe.”...

Full story at https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/08/08/police-stanford-flock-camera-school-safety-crime-privacy-internet-ice/.

Patch Money?

Yesterday, we posted about the possibility that Berkeley athletics could deal with its budgetary problems by hosting concerts in its stadium. Today we note another patch on the budget:

From the Daily Californian: In a first-of-its-kind collaboration, Cal Athletics has cemented itself in history as the first ACC program to sign a jersey patch sponsorship with Dialpad, an “AI platform for customer experience.” The patch will be displayed on all 30 of the different sports’ jerseys. For the Bears, the new partnership is the largest corporate partnership in the school’s history... The decision comes on the heels of an NCAA decision from January allowing such sponsorships in college sports. According to the NCAA, the legislation is set to take effect Aug. 1, just before the college football season. The ruling allows for teams to have up to two commercial logos on their uniforms and one more on equipment during the preseason and regular season...

Full story at https://www.dailycal.org/sports/special-report/cal-athletics-inks-first-of-its-kind-partnership-with-dialpad/article_47e2c3b9-13ff-4509-8798-346584bda033.html.