California Videos & California News: Geography Videos // Current

added
3 hours ago

To fix UC system budget failure, UCSD proposes to close UC Merced

The following is an excerpt from the letter signed by 23 department chairs at the University of California at San Diego. The letter was dated June 15, 2009 and was forwarded to the University of California Office of the President:

3. Establish different budget priorities for the profiles of different UC campuses. Every state system of public education save California manages to sustain (at best) one flagship campus. Many, including such states as New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, do not manage even

that. We pretend we have ten such campuses. In better times, there were in reality four flagships (Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, and – in its highly specialized way, UCSF). Rather than destroying the distinctiveness and excellence at Berkeley, UCLA, and UCSD by hiring temporary lecturers to do most of the teaching (and contribute nothing to original research, nothing to our reputation, nothing to the engine of economic growth a first rate research university represents), we propose that you urge the President and Regents to acknowledge that UCSC, UCR, and UC Merced are in substantial measure teaching institutions (with some exceptions – programs that have genuinely achieved national and international excellence and thus deserve separate treatment), whose funding levels and budgets should be reorganized to match that reality.

We suggest, more generally, that in discussions systemwide, you drop the pretence that all campuses are equal, and argue for a selective reallocation of funds to preserve excellence, not the current disastrous blunderbuss policy of even, across the board cuts. Or, if that is too hard, we suggest that what ought to be done is to shut one or more of these campuses down, in whole or in part. We have suffered more than a 30 per cent cut in our funding from the state, and we can thus no longer afford to be a ten campus system – only a nine, or an eight (and a half) campus system. Corporations faced with similar problems eliminate or sell off their least profitable, least promising divisions. Even General Motors, which for decades resisted this logic, to its near-fatal cost, is lopping off Hummer, Buick, GMC, Opel, Saab and who knows what else.

~~~~

Oh the wonders of Facebook notes. . .The following is an excerpt from the letter signed by 23 department chairs at the University of California at San Diego. The... more

TheBrownKid
added this

0 responses

added
1 day ago

Common Sense - July 8, 2009

Carl Kasell gives the news on NPR about a new TV advertisement being launched by a marijuana advocacy group in support of Assembly... more

stephenthomson
added this

6 responses

added
1 day ago

TIME.com Features Medical Marijuana Home Delivery

TIME.com recently featured a California based caregiver making medical marijuana home deliveries to patients. The piece allows... more

devincalloway
added this

1 response

added
1 day ago

Facebook Promises To Crack Down On Medical Marijuana Providers

Marijuana sellers in California are using Twitter, Facebook and MySpace to promote their products, reports Fox News. It is legal... more

devincalloway
added this

1 response

added
1 day ago

L.A. Targets Cannabis Clubs

LOS ANGELES -- Daniel Halbert moved here from Phoenix this year to invest his life savings in what he hoped was a golden... more

devincalloway
added this

1 response

added
1 day ago

Mr Caone-E Ft SNOOP DOGG- Light My Fire HOT NEW SONG!!!!!!

heres a new song by Rising Artist Mr Capone-e off the "Diary of a G" album coming soon.

805_COAM
added this

0 responses

added
1 day ago

Cutting Off Your Nose To Spite Your Face

This morning I gave $25 to the Marijuana Policy Project: Their quest is to legalize marijuana for medical and adult use. I have... more

thinkingblue
added this

0 responses

added
1 day ago

Pro-marijuana ad pushes pot as Calif. budget fix

The historic budget crisis in California could go up in smoke if one organization has its way. A pro-marijuana group was set... more

unimatrix0
added this

3 responses

added
2 days ago

Trading of California IOUs catches regulators' eyes

An informal market is springing up online for the IOUs that cash-strapped California began issuing last week, attracting the... more

ImAVista
added this

0 responses

added
2 days ago

June proves big month for smuggling at the border

The month of June was a hot month for drug busts along the southern border. On June 18, border agents at the Interstate 35... more

Ihatethemall
added this

0 responses

added
2 days ago

Big Banks Don't Want California's IOUs

A group of the biggest U.S. banks said they would stop accepting California's IOUs on Friday, adding pressure on the state to... more

Ihatethemall
added this

1 response

added
3 days ago

Deputy fatally shoots teen boy in Compton

An attorney for the family of a 16-year-old boy by shot by a sheriff's deputy in Compton says the teen did not brandish a... more

Apocalipstick
added this

0 responses

added
3 days ago

Dale Clare - Medical Cannabis Advocate and Consultant

Dale Clare - Medical Cannabis Advocate and Consultant Produced by Ajnag / The ICU Lab http://ajnag.com http://theiculab.com

devincalloway
added this

0 responses

added
4 days ago

California water plan aims to save Puget Sound orcas

A plan to restore salmon runs on California's Sacramento River also could help revive killer whale populations 700 miles to the north in Puget Sound, as federal scientists struggle to protect endangered species in a complex ecosystem that stretches along the Pacific coast from California to Alaska.

Without wild salmon from the Sacramento and American rivers as part of their diet, the killer whales might face extinction, scientists concluded in a biological opinion that could result in even more severe water restrictions for farmers in the drought-stricken, 400-mile-long Central Valley of California. The valley is the nation's most productive farm region.

The plan has faced heated criticism from agricultural interests and politicians in California, but environmentalists said it represented a welcome departure by the Obama administration from its predecessor in dealing with Endangered Species Act issues.

The Sacramento plan, they add, is in sharp contrast to the plan for restoring wild salmon populations on the Columbia and Snake rivers in Washington state and Idaho. That plan, written by the Bush administration, essentially concluded the long-term decline in those federally protected runs didn't jeopardize the killer whales' existence because hatchery fish could make up the difference.

The 85 orcas of the southern resident killer whale population travel in three separate pods, spending much of their time roaming the inland waters of Washington state from the San Juan Islands to south Puget Sound. During the winter they have been found offshore, ranging as far south as Monterey Bay in California and as far north as British Columbia's Queen Charlotte Islands. Each orca has distinctive markings, which allows them to be tracked.

In the mid-1990s, there were nearly 100 orcas in the three southern resident pods. The population fell to fewer than 80 in 2001. In 2005, they were granted federal protection as an endangered species. They have been studied closely for only 30 years or so, but historically there may have been up to 200 southern resident orcas.

Researches think the decline has resulted from pollution - which could cause immune- or reproductive-system dysfunction - and from oil spills, noise and other vessel disturbances, along with a reduced quantity and quality of prey.

With the largest 27 feet long and weighing 10,000 pounds, orcas are constantly on the prowl for food. They have been known to hunt in packs. Their meal of choice: salmon, particularly chinook salmon.

By some estimates, the orcas eat about 500,000 salmon a year.

The Sacramento and American river systems combined were once among the top salmon-spawning rivers on the West Coast, trailing only the Columbia and Snake rivers.

Prompted by lawsuits, the National Marine Fisheries Service last month published its latest plan for the Sacramento and American rivers' winter and fall chinook salmon runs. Without further curtailments of water for the federal Central Valley Project - a several-hundred-mile network of dams, canals and pumping plants - and the California State Water Project - the nation's largest state-built water and power development and conveyance system, which supplies water for 23 million Californians - the two runs are in jeopardy of extinction, the plan said.A plan to restore salmon runs on California's Sacramento River also could help revive killer whale populations 700 miles to... more

jefftego
added this

0 responses

added
4 days ago

San Diego's War on Medical Marijuana Continues

In California it has been over a decade since the Compassionate Use Act. Several years since SB420, and almost a year since the California Attorney General's guidelines. We have even had The California Third District Court of Appeal last week issue a ruling reaffirming patients rights to collectively cultivate medical marijuana.

However here in San Diego we still have our leadership debating whether marijuana is medicine. The San Diego DA’s Office and Bonnie Dumanis have stated numerous times that there is no such thing as a legal collective or cooperative, and that anyone who engages in an attempt to cultivate and distribute collectively is obviously in it for profit, "why else would they get in to this activity".
In California it has been over a decade since the Compassionate Use Act. Several years since SB420, and almost a year since the California Attorney General's guidelines. We have even had The California Third District Court of Appeal last week issue a ruling reaffirming patients rights to collectively cultivate medical marijuana.

However here in San Diego we still have our leadership debating whether marijuana is medicine. The San Diego DA’s Office has stated numerous times that there is no such thing as a legal collective or cooperative, and that anyone who engages in an attempt to cultivate and distribute collectively is obviously in it for profit, "why else would they get in to this activity".

We have judges who refuse to accept a written physician’s recommendation for medical marijuana as a valid patient status in court, and refuse to allow court qualified expert witnesses to testify in medical marijuana cases that are brought in by the defense.

In these same cases, San Diego narcotics detectives are allowed to testify as ‘experts’ on medical cannabis, even though they have received no more then 1 hour of medical marijuana training in their entire career, are not familiar with the laws already in place, and have testified in court that they have never seen a legal collective.

All while the San Diego county board of supervisors makes “illegal dispensaries illegal” adding more confusion to the already confusing serpentine roadmap of laws that patients have to go through.In California it has been over a decade since the Compassionate Use Act. Several years since SB420, and almost a year since the... more

copperdragon
added this

2 responses

added
4 days ago

Chicano Rap History- 1999-2003 Vol.3:"Pocos Pero Locos"

With The Popular Power 106 show in LA, Pocos Pero Locos became Chicano Raps home where new chicano rappers could emerege and be... more

805_COAM
added this

0 responses

added
5 days ago

'Kiss' Gene Simmons: Lambert ‘killed career’ by coming out

A little over a month after performing on stage with Adam Lambert during the “American Idol” season 8 finale, KISS frontman Gene Simmons says the runner-up put his career in jeopardy by announcing he was gay.

In a recent interview with AOL Television to promote the return of his A&E reality show “Gene Simmons Family Jewels,” Simmons said Lambert’s decision to come out has effectively stopped the handsome 20-something’s career in its tracks.

“He’s enormously talented, best talent ‘American Idol’ has had, but I think he killed his career because now conversation is not about his talent but about his sexual preference,” Simmons said.

Shortly after “Idol” wrapped up, Lambert came out in a cover story for Rolling Stone magazine — although, by his own admission, Lambert joked he was “never really in” the closet. But Simmons believes some people won’t be able to get past Lambert’s revelation about his sexual preference.

“He’s done. You’re forcing people to deal with issues they may not be interested in. Life is unfair, and the masses don’t all live in L.A. They live in Wisconsin and Nebraska, and you’re on crack if you think the same rules apply there,” the rocker added.

Simmons added that Lambert should stick to singing.

“My advice is still the same, shut the f--- up, just sing and let people say whatever they want,” he said. “But I do wish him the best because he’s got all the talent in the world. If only the world was not homophobic, but it is.”

In making his assertion, Simmons noted he is supportive of the gay community.

“I would be the first one to vote for equal rights for gay women and men, and get the church and the state to stop telling everybody how to lead their lives,” Simmons said. “But do I think he’s killed his career? Oh, in an instant. I hope I’m completely wrong. I hope he becomes the next Beatles and proves me wrong.”

When contacted by Access Hollywood, a rep for Lambert was not immediately available for comment on Simmons’ statements.A little over a month after performing on stage with Adam Lambert during the “American Idol” season 8 finale, KISS... more

ClipsFC
added this

0 responses

added
5 days ago

1.6M apply for 17,000 Jackson tickets. Lottery results Monday

More than 1.6 million fans registered for tickets to Michael Jackson's memorial service over the two-day registration period that ended Saturday.

Only 11,000 tickets will be given out for the Tuesday service at Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. Another 6,500 tickets will be given away for the Nokia Theater overflow section next door.

Fans had to register for free at staplescenter.com between 10 a.m. Friday and 6 p.m. Saturday for the random drawing of 8,750 names. Each person selected will receive two tickets and will be notified by email after 11 a.m. Sunday. ** Now pushed back to Monday **

Before the drawing, officials at AEG, the owner and operator of the Staples Center, will "scrub" the entries to eliminate duplicates and any suspected of being made by automated systems or "go-bots," said Jackson family spokesman Ken Sunshine in a statement.

Winners will receive a unique code and instructions on how to pick up their tickets at an off-site distribution center on Monday. At the distribution center, they will receive the ticket and a wristband that will be placed on their wrists at that time.

Fans must have both the ticket and the wristband to enter Staples Center on Tuesday. Wristbands that have been ripped, taped or tampered with will be voided.

Sunshine said those steps are being taken to prevent ticket-scalping.

City officials are preparing for massive crowds. Assistant Police Chief Earl Paysinger says anywhere from a quarter-million to 700,000 people may try to reach the arena, even though a wide area around Staples Center will be sealed off to those without tickets.

City Councilwoman Jan Perry strongly urged people to stay home and watch the memorial on TV. The ceremony will not be shown on Staples' giant outdoor TV screen and there will be no funeral procession through the city.

No details were given about the actual memorial events, which come as the nation's second-largest city struggles with a $530 million budget deficit. Perry said the cost of police protection for "extraordinary" events like the memorial is built into the Police Department's budget, but she still solicited help for "incremental costs."

Last month, donations covered about $850,000 of the city's $1 million cost for the Los Angeles Lakers' NBA championship parade. Critics had blasted the idea of using city money when it is considering layoffs to close its budget gap.More than 1.6 million fans registered for tickets to Michael Jackson's memorial service over the two-day registration period... more