UC seeks president with 'creativity, courage ... and limitless energy'

Is it a call for a superhero or a university administrator?

The UC Regents on Thursday released their formal set of qualifications they are seeking in candidates to replace system President Mark G. Yudof, who is retiring in August.

The ambitious description of a successor could excite some potential candidates or scare away some who are not Superman or Superwoman.

The UC president, the document declared, “must be a visionary leader with the judgment, creativity, and courage to enhance the quality and reputation of the University as one of the preeminent public research universities in the world.”

He or she also “must understand and have demonstrated support for outstanding scholarship and possess the highest intellectual capacity; have extraordinary communication skills ... and maintain limitless energy and enthusiasm, courage, and stamina.”

No specific candidates were discussed publicly Thursday.

The regents recently set up committees to gather input from faculty, staff and students during the search process.

Yudof, who has held the position for five years, has cited his health and other reasons for stepping down. He plans to teach law at UC Berkeley.

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--Larry Gordon

UC Irvine students take study break with stress-relieving dogs

Puppy love struck UC Irvine this week as dozens of students doled out tummy rubs, receiving a few licks in return.

Therapy dogs and their owners visited the university as part of a program aimed at relieving stress and jitters during final exam time.

Scott Alburn, a first-year biology student, was happy to see Molly, a 6-year-old golden retriever who bears a resemblance to his own pooch in Visalia.

"She acts the same way" too, Alburn told the Daily Pilot.

Alburn made his way to the more than half a dozen dogs during a respite between demanding exams.

"I wanted a break from studying," Alburn said.

Nearby, Sebastian, a 2-year-old boxer-Labrador mix, sat with his owner, Sasha Carranza. Carranza takes Sebastian to Community Hospital in Long Beach and Southern California schools where students struggling with reading can read aloud to him as part of the BARK program, or Beach Animals Reading with Kids.

Gracie, a 13-year-old English setter, visits libraries from San Juan Capistrano to Costa Mesa. On Tuesday, she lay near the feet of her owner, Penny Chase, outside UCI's Gateway Study Center.

Both Sebastian and Gracie have participated in the BARK program for at least five years.

Gracie's involvement is a no-brainer for Chase.

"Oh, she loves it," Chase said. "Are you kidding me? She gets attention. She gets out every day. I mean look at her. She's getting entertainment."

The rescue and former show dog specializes in drawing out kids who are trying to develop confidence and may be more shy than their classmates, Chase said.

Minerva Escobar, a first-year psychology student, petted Gracie's spotted coat. "You can't be stressed around dogs, and it's just something nice to do in the day," Escobar said.

UCI's Active Minds mental health group sponsored the event, which was geared not only toward relieving stress but also connecting students with counseling programs on campus, said co-president Celina Gore.

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Pi day: Caltech students celebrate with late-night pie party

-- Lauren Williams, Times Community News

Photo: Aarin Kang, 21, a fourth year public health major, kisses Nigle, a 5-year-old poodle mix at UC Irvine Tuesday. Credit: Lauren Williams / Daily Pilot

Pi Day: Caltech students celebrate with late-night pie party

For most people, March 14 is just another day.

But for math fans and self-proclaimed nerds out there, the day -– or more specifically, the fact it is 3/14 -– is a day to celebrate one of the most important numbers in all of mathematics: Pi.

So what better way for Pi fans to celebrate Pi Day than with … pie?

A minute before 2 a.m. on Thursday, students at Caltech in Pasadena dug into 130 pies laid out for them outside student housing. There were 26 each of five different pies. Follow that? So on 3/14 at 1:59 a.m. there were 26 each of five kinds of pie. None is by chance. The first digits of Pi are 3.14159265.

“It’s a celebration of nerdiness,” said Christopher Perez, president of Caltech’s math club. “Pi literally shows up everywhere -- in science, in math and nature. A circle is such a fundamental concept.”

You remember Pi, right? It’s that Greek symbol that roughly looks like a lowercase “n” that math teachers told you to just punch into the calculator as 3.14. Actually, the numbers carry on much farther than that. Pi, which is used to calculate the circumference of a circle, has no end to its decimal places.

But supercomputers have so far calculated the number out to 10 trillion. That’s 10,000,000,000,000.

“This was perfect because Caltech students never sleep,” said Jeffrey Sherman, who is studying electrical engineering. Sherman’s hair was still soggy from having a cherry pie mashed in his face when the free-for-all began.

A school official estimated 500 of the university’s 800 undergrads participated in the early morning Pi party. The celebration lined up with the end of classes for Caltech students, who now prepare for finals next week.

The other pie flavors were chocolate cream, cookies and cream, blueberry and apple.

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Photo: Students dig into what little pie remains at Pi day at Caltech; Credit: Joseph Serna / Los Angeles Times

Suspending some standardized tests could save state $15 million

A plan to suspend California’s standardized testing for certain grades while new computerized exams are developed could save $15 million, the state’s top education official said Wednesday.

State Supt. of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson recommended to the state Board of Education that the savings be used instead to develop higher-quality tests linked to new uniform but voluntary academic standards. They have been adopted by 45 states, including California, which plans to roll them out in the 2014-15 school year.

The new standards are aimed at fostering more critical thinking, sophisticated writing and other higher-level skills. 

“Rather than continuing to spend scarce dollars and precious class time on outdated testing, we can invest these resources in developing the next generation of assessments that will help students focus on critical thinking and problem-solving -- the skills they will need in college and their careers,” Torlakson said in a statement.

But some analysts have estimated that it could cost as much as $1 billion for the textbooks, teacher training and technology needed for computerized tests related to the new standards. As a result of such concerns, state Sen. Carol Liu (D-Glendale) has proposed delaying the suspension of current tests until 2016.

Torlakson has sponsored a bill by Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla (D-Concord) to suspend most of the standardized testing beginning next fall.

Torlakson has recommended suspending tests that are not required by the federal government, such as math and English in second, ninth and tenth grade, and those given at the end of high school courses in such subjects as world history and biology.

Tests to evaluate whether high school juniors are on track to meet the academic expectations of California State University would not be suspended.

“These new assessments will provide our schools with a way to measure how ready students are for the challenges of a changing world,” Torlakson said. “That’s why, despite the budget and other challenges, California must move forward now so that all children -- no matter where they come from or where they live -- receive a world-class education.”

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Photo: State Supt. of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson in a 2010 file photo. Credit: Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times

Glendale indicates it will ban gun shows

 
This post has been corrected. See note at bottom for details.

The Glendale City Council indicated Tuesday night it will vote to ban gun shows in the city.

Citing several examples of gun violence recently –- including the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut, ex-LAPD officer Christopher Dorner’s rampage and the Aurora, Colo., theater shooting in 2012 -– the council indicated it will vote next week to approve the ban.

The law would also ban firearms and ammunition from all city property with few exceptions, including for police officers and active military personnel.

“While government at all levels has a substantial interest in protecting the public from firearm-related harm and death, local governments have the predominant obligation to do so,” the City Council agenda reads.

Glendale hosts three gun shows annually, each netting the city between $18,000 and $19,000.

The city hosted a gun show the first weekend of March at the Glendale Civic Center, which is across the street from a community college. A clause in the city’s contract with the gun show operators allows the city to back out of its agreement without reason, according to a city staff report.

Gun manufacturers and sellers already in place in Glendale would not be affected. The city has 37 firearms dealers, including one pawnbroker, two manufacturers, 15 traditional dealers and 19 collectors.

“This gun show being banned on Glendale city property won’t make any difference on anybody’s ability to purchase a gun,” Councilwoman Laura Friedman said at Tuesday’s meeting, according to the Glendale News Press.

Councilman Ara Najarian opposed the law.

“This is a knee-jerk reaction,” he said. “It’s an emotional reaction.”

One gun show operator at Tuesday’s meeting threatened litigation if the ordinance was adopted. The council will vote for final approval March 19.

[For the record, March 12, 2:06 p.m.: A previous version of this post and headline stated the council had voted to ban gun shows. A vote will be held next week, but a majority of council members expressed strong support Tuesday night for the ban.]

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L.A. Now Live: LAUSD's $30-million Miramonte settlement

Attorneys representing parents in 58 legal claims have agreed to a $30-million settlement with the Los Angeles Unified School District over alleged abuse perpetrated at Miramonte Elementary School.

The settlement, part of an effort by LAUSD and the children's parents to move past the case as swiftly as possible without forcing kids to rehash what they experienced, leaves more than 70 claims still unresolved.

FULL COVERAGE: Teacher sex-abuse investigations

The amount equates to about $470,000 per victim, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The claims stem from abuse dozens of children allegedly endured at the hands of Mark Berndt, 61, who had been a teacher at Miramonte since 1979. He faces 23 felony charges of lewd conduct and is being held in lieu of $23-million bail.

Times staff writer Stephen Ceasar will join us at 9 a.m. to discuss the settlements.

 

LAUSD to pay Miramonte victims $30 million; teacher due in court

Now that the Los Angeles Unified School District has agreed to a $30-million settlement in the Miramonte Elementary School case, the teacher accused of lewd acts against dozens of children is set to appear in court next month.

Mark Berndt, 61, faces 23 felony counts of lewd conduct involving the alleged spoon-feeding of semen to students that were blindfolded and the placement of cockroaches on their faces.

Berndt has been in custody since his arrest in February 2012 and is being held in lieu of $23 million bail. Detectives had been investigating the alleged abuse for more than a year after a drugstore photo processor showed police disturbing images of blindfolded and gagged children being spoon-fed a liquid.

FULL COVERAGE: Teacher sex-abuse investigations

The alleged victims were boys and girls between 7 and 10 years old. Berndt had been teaching in the district since 1979 and was respected by parents of former students. Nearly 200 legal claims have been filed against the Los Angeles Unified School District by parents in the wake of Berndt’s arrest.

On Tuesday, lawyers representing parents in 58 of those claims announced a $30-million settlement with LAUSD. The mediation lasted about six months and involved more than a dozen law firms.

Attorneys said they wanted to spare children painful litigation and testimony.

PHOTOS: Parent uproar over sex-abuse claims

The settlements are the first in a case that rocked the nation's second-largest school system and prompted a flurry of new policies to better protect students. Each of the alleged victims will receive about $470,000 under the preliminary deal. It is the largest payout in a case involving a single teacher in the district.

Steinberg to introduce bill for online class college credit

State Sen. Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) plans to introduce a bill Wednesday that would create a framework to allow students at California’s public colleges and universities to receive credit for some online courses.

The bill takes aim at the chronic problem of over-enrollment in core classes at the community college, CSU and UC level, according to Steinberg’s spokesman, Rhys Williams.

The issue has been exacerbated by severe budget cuts and increasing demands on the state’s higher education systems, forcing students to delay degree completion and take on even more student debt, Williams said.

Steinberg is expected to announce his sponsorship of the bill, fittingly, during an online media conference on Google Hangout.

Steinberg’s move comes as Gov. Brown pushes for more online education as a way to cut costs and widen access at state campuses.

Williams said the online course framework, if approved, would be the first of its kind in the country.

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Photo: State Sen. Darrell Steinberg in a 2012 file photo. Credit: Randy Pench / Sacramento Bee

L.A. Unified settles Miramonte abuse claims for $30 million

The Los Angeles Unified School District will pay about $30 million to settle 58 legal claims filed by students and parents in connection with lewd-conduct charges against a former teacher at Miramonte Elementary School, plaintiffs' lawyers said Tuesday.

Each of the victims will receive about $470,000 under the preliminary deal struck with L.A. Unified, the lawyers said. The settlement covers about half of the identified victims at the school and is designed to avoid long drawn-out litigation that could potentially do more harm to the children, those attorneys said.

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge still needs to review and approve the settlements, L.A. Unified officials said.

FULL COVERAGE: Teacher sex-abuse investigations

Ray Boucher, an attorney who represents 13 students and parents, said the desire to protect children from needlessly being subjected to difficult court proceedings was paramount.

“This was the right thing to do for the kids,” he said.

Still, the settlement amount and the mediation process was hard-fought.

PHOTOS: Parent uproar over sex-abuse claims

“The school district came in with incredibly low and unrealistic expectations of what it would take to resolve these cases -– but ultimately they did the right thing,” he said.

L.A. Unified officials would not comment on the settlement amounts. L.A. Unified General Counsel David Holmquist said that the entire process had been very difficult but that it was done to  "promote healing in the community."

David Ring, attorney for seven of the victims who settled, said that “this settlement was reached without putting any child through difficult and intense litigation. We acted in the best interests of these children, with the hope that they move on with their lives and try to put the Miramonte nightmare behind them.”

Man convicted of exposing himself to Santa Ana school girls

A Costa Mesa man was convicted and sentenced Monday for repeatedly exposing himself to teenage girls near two high schools.

Alfredo Landaverde, 48, pleaded guilty to seven misdemeanor counts that involved indecent exposure and child annoyance, the Orange County district attorney's office said.

Landaverde was sentenced to a year in jail, five years formal probation and lifetime sex-offender registration, authorities said. The crimes took place last year between Oct. 3 and Dec. 6. in Santa Ana near Valley High School and Hector G. Godinez High School, according to authorities.

The victims reported the incidents to school officials, who alerted police.

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Photo: Alfredo Landaverde. Credit: Orange County district attorney's office