Telescope - What or when is "soon"? - Part 2

We continue our blog coverage featuring Hawaiian officials who would prefer not to have to make decisions with three items below. The first deals with the much-discussed alternative site in the Canary Islands:

...Perhaps the TMT’s most dreaded scenario is moving to La Palma and ending up in the same kind of legal and political quagmire that stalled the project in Hawaii. Ben Magec, which has fought tourist developments on the islands since the 1980s, is trying to make that happen. Spokesperson Pablo Batista says the proposed TMT site—which would expand the footprint of the ORM by 5%—is a protected conservation area and includes three archaeological sites with petroglyphs from people who lived there thousands of years ago. He says the group has been meeting with TMT officials since 2016 but the project has chosen a site “that would have the greatest environmental and cultural impact.” Gordon Squires, the TMT’s vice president for external relations, says an archaeologist would be on hand during construction to preserve artifacts.

After IAC applied to expand the ORM site to make room for the TMT in 2017, Ben Magec appealed to the courts, which revoked the proposed expansion because IAC’s application lacked an environmental impact statement. The TMT had already performed an environmental assessment, which was submitted in June along with a new application. The TMT had hoped to apply for a building permit on La Palma in July, but that will now have to wait for the approval of the ORM expansion, which Rebolo expects to be completed this month.

Ben Magec intends to make the process as slow and as painful as possible. “Every administrative step that the TMT tries to take to build on the chosen site … we are going to take to court,” Batista says. “We will spare no effort.” To TMT leaders, the tone is unsettlingly familiar.

Source: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/09/stalled-hawaii-giant-telescope-faces-roadblocks-its-backup-site-canary-islands
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The activists blocking the Mauna Kea Access Road announced today “there has been word” that the state will use Hawaii National Guard troops and out-of-state law enforcement officers in the next 30 days to clear the way for construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope to begin...

In a news release posted on social media this morning, the protesters said they have also been notified that “law enforcement is considering using excessive force by way of chemical dispersants to punish and suppress our people standing in peace and protection of our mauna.” ...

Source: https://www.staradvertiser.com/2019/09/03/breaking-news/mauna-kea-protesters-allege-state-plans-to-use-national-guard-to-clear-road/
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Activists who’ve been blocking construction at the summit of Mauna Kea for the past seven weeks have begun doing some light construction themselves.

They’ve put up an unpermitted wooden building at their base camp.

And the state ― not protesters ― could face hefty fines if the structure isn’t taken down.

Builders say the wooden structure at the Puu Huluhulu side of the protest camp is a library and learning center for the keiki.*
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*Editor's Note: The word keiki is Hawaiian for "baby" or "child", literally "the little one."
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“They make universities like that, but nothing for the keiki," said Kevin Kahikina, one of the builders.

“It’s kind of a safe spot for the keiki for research, do homework. A quiet place for them out of the town that they have here for them.”

But Hawaii County says it's an unpermitted structure.

Mayor Harry Kim told Hawaii News Now the county doesn’t know who built it so the property owner, the Department of Hawaiian Homelands, is responsible and could be fined more than $1,000 per day...

Source: https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2019/09/04/state-not-tmt-protesters-could-face-hefty-fines-unpermitted-structure/

For now, the Runaway Train on retiree healthcare has been put on a siding - Part 5

This blog has been covering the switch to a Medicare Advantage plan for UC retirees and emeriti to replace the existing Medicare supplement plan of United Healthcare.* UC has now provided additional info on the new plan which we reproduce below.

As we have been emphasizing, the main structural difference between Medicare Advantage and a Medicare supplement plan is that with the former, the private insurance carrier decides eligibility for services, not Medicare. In contrast, with a Medicare supplement, Medicare determines eligibility and the supplement pays for certain costs that Medicare doesn't cover.

Although the notice below does not emphasize that point, it is implicit in the phase "as long as the provider accepts Medicare and is willing to bill UnitedHealthcare." The phrase means the insurance carrier will get the advantage of Medicare reimbursement rates (which tend to be lower than commercial rates) and will be subject to the eligibility policies of the private carrier.

The notice below does not yet provide information on the relative costs of the various options for participants, but it is likely that the Medicare Advantage plan will be relatively cheap. As we have noted, there is evidence that the current cheapness of such plans stems from over-reimbursement by Medicare to the private carrier (something that might go away after the upcoming 2020 election) and the carrier's control of eligibility.

Here is UC's most recent notice:

Introducing UC Medicare Choice: A new option for UC retirees in California

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

UC retirees in California will have a new Medicare plan option next year: UC Medicare Choice — a Medicare Advantage Preferred Provider Organization (MA PPO) plan administered by UnitedHealthcare®.

UC Medicare Choice will replace the Health Net Seniority Plus Medicare Advantage HMO, with lower premium costs for retirees than Health Net Seniority Plus and the ability to see any provider (both in-network and out-of-network) for the same low copay, as long as the provider accepts Medicare and is willing to bill UnitedHealthcare.

During this year’s Open Enrollment (Oct. 31- Nov. 26, 2019), retirees eligible for Medicare and UC retiree health coverage will have the option to enroll in UC Medicare Choice or in any of UC's other Medicare plans — UC Medicare PPO or UC High Option Supplement to Medicare plans (administered by Anthem) or Kaiser Permanente Senior Advantage.

If you are enrolled in Health Net Seniority Plus, you may select any of the above Medicare plans during the upcoming Open Enrollment period. If you do not take action during Open Enrollment, you will be automatically enrolled into UC Medicare Choice for 2020. If you currently cover family members who are not Medicare-eligible, they can remain in UC Blue & Gold HMO, which will be the “partner plan” for UC Medicare Choice in 2020.

The decision to offer an MA PPO plan option for UC retirees was guided by the findings of an evaluation team that included representatives from the Academic Senate, the Council of UC Emeriti Associations, the Council of UC Retiree Associations, and others. That group’s analysis determined that an MA PPO would offer a number of advantages for UC retirees while helping to keep UC’s retiree health coverage affordable and sustainable.

UC retirees: Is UC Medicare Choice right for you?

Systemwide Human Resources is working closely with UnitedHealthcare to help UC retirees make informed decisions about your benefits for next year, and to prepare those enrolling in the new plan for the transition. Here’s what retirees can expect:

Watch your mailbox in the next week or so for a letter from UC introducing you to the features of UC Medicare Choice, with answers to frequently asked questions.

Plan to attend an educational town hall meeting, scheduled from late September through October at locations across California and available online or via teleconference. You’ll receive an invitation for events near you around the middle of this month.

If you’re a current member of Health Net Seniority Plus, you’ll receive a detailed plan guide with a summary of benefits, drug list and guide to what you can expect as a new member. 

For plan details, provider search, a schedule of educational town halls, and more, visit UnitedHealthcare’s website just for UC retirees: UHCRetiree.com/uc. If you’d like to speak to a UnitedHealthcare customer service representative dedicated to UC retirees, call 1-866-887-9533, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-8 p.m., PT.

Source: https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/2019/09/introducing-uc-medicare-choice-a-new-option-for-uc-retirees-in-california.html
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*http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2019/08/for-now-runaway-train-on-retiree_6.html

FYI

For details, go to:
https://mailchi.mp/59405fd2e4bc/apply-now-voice-grant

Not sure we want to go quite so far...

...to deal with this problem:

Guess who's coming to UCLA's Lake Arrowhead resort this week

The Regents are coming to Lake Arrowhead this week on a retreat, Sept. 4-6. (Why do they call these things "retreats" when presumably the idea is to "advance"?) Anyway, you can go there, too, to make public comments on each of the three days. Presumably, you could also sit in on the retreat, since the agenda doesn't say "closed." On the other hand, the agenda doesn't indicate there will be any recordings for yours truly to preserve.*

Be that as it may, here is the agenda:

Implicit bias? Will Dilbert be there?

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*https://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/meetings/agendas/sept462019.html

UCLA History: Sears

Westwood's Sears store, back in the day: Westwood Blvd. and Kinross. Opened 1936.

You can see a 1945 view of the same store we posted on this blog in 2011 at:

http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2011/06/ucla-history-westwood-sears.html

Some visual clues from that photo suggest that the corner below was the site of the Sears:

Did you know? - Part 4 (Employees)

The LA Business Journal in its current issue lists UCLA as the third-largest public employer in LA County with over 48,700 employees (and a budget of $7.7 billion) in 2018-19. 

What about other universities? USC - which is a private employer and on a different list - is reported to have a little over 21,700 employees. 

CalTech had just over 9,000. Cal State Northridge had a little over 4,100.