Change in Jams

Remember, back in the day, when we used to have Obamajams when the president came to town for fundraising or whatever?

We may have a repeat, possibly in the vicinity of UCLA, when Trump comes to Beverly Hills some time on Tuesday for fundraising. So far, no reports on precise location, time of day, street closings, etc. There are only vague reports:

https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/2018/03/12/california-today?nlid=17730818

Mnuchin Video

Screenshot from the now-released video

From Mother Jones: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin probably didn’t expect to get a hard time when he visited the the University of California Los Angeles for a public conversation with Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal in late February. But things went so badly that, when the dust had cleared, Mnuchin “retracted his permission” to release a video of the event.

But thanks to the California Public Records Act, the video Mnuchin didn’t want you to see is now public. In an email sent after 5 pm on Friday, UCLA announced that it had just “received consent” from the Treasury Department to post the full video online...

Full story at https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/03/heres-the-video-steve-mnuchin-didnt-want-you-to-see/

Video below:

Note: Ryssdal previously provided the full audio which we included in a prior blog post:
http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2018/03/three-jeers.html

Clock Advance

Quiet time in university affairs, as we await the Regents next week. So we'll just remind you of the above chore tonight.

And also below:

Reminder: Don't Click

Reminder: Don't click on malicious emails such as the one above. It's not from UCLA. Note the bad grammar. It's a fraud.

More than forecast

The state controller's report through February - eight months into the fiscal year - shows revenues for the general fund running ahead of the original budget forecast by $4.6 billion. However, as we have pointed out, some of this extra revenue may be the result of the Trump tax law which put a limit on the deduction for state and local taxes. As a result, there was an incentive to prepay property and personal income tax that would otherwise have been due in 2018 for tax year 2017. To do so required paying by Dec. 31, but some of that may have spilled over into receipts in January. Possibly. some taxpayers may have prepaid more than they may turn out to owe. Close to $3 billion of the $4.6 billion came from personal income tax receipts. In short, it may be hard to interpret the figures until we at least get past April, the big tax month.

The controller's report is at:
https://www.sco.ca.gov/Files-ARD/CASH/February%202018%20Statement%20of%20General%20Fund%20Cash%20Receipts%20and%20Disbursements.pdf

Maybe it will change after all

Where does he stand?

In an earlier post entitled "Status Quo," we noted that City Councilman Paul Koretz seemed to be standing (literally) with the current Westwood Village Homeowners Assn. against the campaign to carve out a separate group that is being pushed by student groups and business owners in Westwood.* In LA, the stance of the city council member is critical for matters that occur within his/her district. However, it looks like political muscle has been added to the other side. The Business Improvement District known as the Westwood Village Improvement Assn. (of which I believe UCLA is a member or participant) seems to support the carve out:

The Westwood Village Improvement Association voted to support Westwood Forward at a meeting Thursday. Westwood Forward, a coalition of business owners, students, renters and homeowners, is advocating to separate UCLA, Westwood Village and North Village from the current Westwood Neighborhood Council. The association, a nonprofit organization tasked with improving the state of Westwood Village, voted 6 to 4 in support of the proposed council.

The coalition submitted an application to subdivide the current council in December. In February, the WWNC requested the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, which oversees neighborhood councils in Los Angeles, stay with the coalition’s application until it conducted more outreach. Jim Brooks, chair of the WVIA and president of Topa Management Company, said that he does not think the WWNC benefits Westwood.

“The current status quo doesn’t work,” he said...

Full story at http://dailybruin.com/2018/03/08/village-advocacy-organization-votes-to-support-westwood-forward/

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*http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2018/03/status-quo.html

They must have forgotten

Click on image to download and then enlarge

Somebody at the UCLA Grand Hotel must have just forgotten in the web ad above to mention that staying at the facility is supposed to have something to do with a UCLA activity.* Otherwise, it's just another commercial hotel that is supposed to be paying various taxes. And, no, just saying you could go to Pauley or Royce if you wanted to, isn't a requirement that your stay have something to do with UCLA. You could also stay at the W in Westwood and go to Pauley or Royce, if you wanted to.
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*http://tracking.hmamarketing.com/dm?id=C8EF83DA8FF9855008C9256751CE8180BDBFD39BA42390E7
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In order to be helpful, may we suggest this song - perhaps it could be played in the elevators - as a reminder for the next ad: