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Los Angeles Times •

Luskins donate $25 million to UCLA history department 'in service to the public good'

As a UCLA student in the 1940s, Meyer Luskin decided he could not make a living with a history degree. This week, the economics graduate pledged $25 million to the history department in hopes of inspiring current students to choose the path he did not.This gift, announced Tuesday, is the single largest donation the department and the UCLA Social Sciences Division have received. The Southern California business leader and his wife, fellow UCLA alum Renee Luskin, have given close to $200 million...
Los Angeles Times •

Drug can amplify naloxone's effect and reduce opioid withdrawals, study shows

Naloxone has long been hailed as a life-saving drug in the face of the opioid epidemic. But its capacity to save someone from an overdose can be limited by the potency of the opioid — a person revived by naloxone can still overdose once it wears off. Stanford researchers have found a companion drug that can enhance naloxone’s effect — and reduce withdrawal symptoms. Their research on mice, led by Stanford University postdoctoral scholar Evan O’Brien, was published today in Nature.Typically, over...
www.dailycal.org •

Momentous change with minimal emotion

I wish I could say this is my first attempt at writing a grad column but it’s not. I’ve written two others, each completely different in their approach but lacking any sort of sappy conclusion or sorrowful goodbye. They just end. And frankly, I think that’s fitting for this particular moment in time.I’m graduating in a week — probably shorter by the time you’re reading this — and I feel nothing. My last week of college was, for lack of a better word, anticlimactic. The words of my professors wer...
www.dailycal.org •

‘A unified voice’: UC Law SF student workers seek to unionize

Following 10 months of bargaining and five weeks of striking in 2022,United Auto Workers, or UAW, Local 2865 and 5810 secured a new contract for academic workers across all UC campuses except the University of California College of Law, San Francisco, or UC Law SF. Although the college is touted as the “first law school of the UC system” on its website, they are an independent institution. However, their degrees are conferred by the UC, according to chief communications officer of UC Law SF John...
The Daily Californian •

University librarians negotiate contract as expiration approaches

While the student population has more than doubled, the University of California has the same number of librarians as it did in 1983. In negotiating a new contract, librarians in the University Council-American Federation of Teachers, or UC-AFT, Unit 17 are hoping to change that.

With the March 31 expiration date approaching, the sides have come to two tentative agreements on personnel files and grievances. However, UC Berkeley School of Law reference librarian and bargaining team member I-Wei
The Daily Californian •

UC Berkeley expects People’s Park housing project to exceed $400 million in costs

In 1967, UC Berkeley demolished the homes that lined People’s Park with the intention of building student housing. Fifty-seven years later, that plan is coming to fruition, but not without cost: more than $400 million, to be exact.

This cost, projected by campus spokesperson Kyle Gibson, includes $312 million towards the actual costs of the project and an additional $53 million in “contingency” costs. The difference is made up by the $90 million estimate to build additional supportive housing —
The Daily Californian •

What you need to know about abortion on 2024 ballot

Since 2022, and even before then, the landscape of reproductive rights has been in a state of upheaval. When the Supreme Court decided Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Association, it kicked the question of abortion back to the states, declaring that the right to such a procedure was not protected by the Constitution.

Almost immediately, 13 trigger laws — or laws that were passed prior to Dobbs but couldn't be enforced due to Roe v. Wade — went into effect, with many more to follow.

Today, stat
The Daily Californian •

Student, faculty group proposes reforms to SVSH resources across UC

Confronted with what they saw as a system ill-suited to meet the needs of survivors, a group of 15 students and faculty embarked on a task that it claims the UC Office of the President elected not to: gather feedback and recommendations to improve the UCs’ response to sexual violence.

Beginning in 2020, the group members set out to develop a survey based on their collective experiences as survivors. They sought to determine whether students were aware of and utilizing the campus resources avail
The Daily Californian •

‘It just isn’t going to happen’: Homemade Cafe closes permanently

After a surprise reopening announcement from Homemade Cafe, patrons were primed to return to their beloved “breakfast table.” However, come Saturday, the corner of Sacramento and Dwight will likely be empty.

Homemade Cafe owner Collin Doran announced Wednesday that the cafe is once again closed, this time for good.

“It just isn’t going to happen,” Doran said in a statement. “I am sorry, I truly am.”

Doran, a Berkeley local who took ownership of the 45-year-old establishment in 2011, originall
The Daily Californian •

Berkeley staple Homemade Cafe to reopen, continue ‘Everybody Eats’ program

The scores of customers that turned out on Jan. 1, Homemade Cafe’s original last day of service, made one thing clear to owner Collin Doran: Community shows up when you need it most.

While the finances of the business have not changed, that support inspired Doran to give the cafe one last try. Starting Feb. 10, the 45-year-old institution will reopen on weekends from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“You don’t really realize it until you actually close — or I didn’t — how many people really appreciated us,” D
The Daily Californian •

'It’s a community': Homemade Cafe closes, legacy of care lives on

“When you’re in Berkeley, you get Homemade Cafe.” For many former and current Berkeley residents alike, this was a cardinal rule. However, after one last day of service Jan. 1, the restaurant many considered a childhood staple and community hub closed its doors for good.

Laura Atkins will miss the seasonal brunch salad. Ty Alper’s son will lament over the inadequacy of his father’s chocolate chip pancakes. Rachel Weinrib will always remember impressing her future husband on their first date by
The Daily Californian •

‘We’re all in this together’: Medical providers, researchers push for expanded abortion access post-Dobbs

Standing in her kitchen at about 6:30 a.m., cup of coffee in hand, Ashley Leonard started to cry. Staring up at her from a phone screen dated June 24, 2022, was the notification she and many others had been anticipating for years but dreading nonetheless.

Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization had been decided. Roe v. Wade was no more.

The rest of Ashley’s day was dedicated to parsing through the legal implications of the decision, preparing for the uphill battle that she and her colleag
The Hill •

Congress eyes college sports fixes. Are student-athletes on board?

If lawmakers have their way, change is afoot in college sports. After the Supreme Court in 2021 opened the floodgates for money into college sports, Congress appears ready to impose guardrails on universities and force transparency around deals that are making some student-athletes rich.

But it’s unclear how much these changes will benefit the more than half-a-million student athletes competing in NCAA championship sports.

“There’s so much money in collegiate sports, but the voice and the wel
The Hill •

Lawmakers want subpoena power in UFO inquiries

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are looking to expand their investigative power following their July hearing on unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), or UFOs, which they say left more questions than answers.

Reps. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) and Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) joined The Hill’s event last week, “The Truth Is Out There: UFOs & National Security.”

They emphasized the hearing only scratched the surface of existing intelligence on UFOs, partly because former in
The Hill •

Klobuchar, Moran address visa processing delays with new bill

U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) introduced the Visa Processing Improvement Act on July 27, a bipartisan bill aimed at addressing ongoing delays that have left some waiting for an interview for more than two years.

In a November 2022 media note, the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs attributed the long wait times to pandemic-era restrictions that prevented embassies and consulates from interviewing visa applicants in person. The buildup from these del
The Hill •

5 things to know about a possible UAW strike

With one month before the United Auto Workers (UAW) contract expires on Sept. 14, President Joe Biden is asking the union and the Big Three automakers to work together and forge a fair agreement.

Negotiations between UAW and the Big Three — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — began in early July over pay increases, pensions and career security. Autoworkers are particularly concerned about how the shift to electric vehicles (EVs) could threaten their jobs and compensation.

5 big questions abo
The Daily Californian •

‘A total blackbox’: UC Berkeley Police Accountability Board will end internal misconduct investigations

The impending launch of UC Berkeley’s Police Accountability Board, or PAB, will mark the first time in recent history that misconduct allegations will be processed outside of the UCPD.

Following a report of misconduct against a sworn UCPD officer, investigations into the department will be conducted by UC Davis’ Ethics and Compliance Office as a result of a memorandum of understanding, according to campus Executive Director of Civil Rights & Whistleblower Compliance Kellie Brennan. Investigatio
The Hill •

Congress looks to rein in college sports: What to know about the legislation

Two years ago, the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) changed the landscape of college sports by lifting their previous ban to allow student-athletes to profit off of their name, image and likeness and image (NIL).

The ban’s suspension followed a U.S. Supreme Court decision that restricting student-athlete compensation violated the Sherman Act, an antitrust law. Now, Congress is stepping in to place guardrails on college sports.

The NCAA’s interim policy states that individuals c
The Hill •

American nurse kidnapped in Haiti: What you need to know

American nurse Alix Dorsainvil and her daughter were abducted last Thursday from a small health clinic near Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Both Haitian and U.S. authorities are investigating the abduction, but no information has been publicly released on who abducted her, what they want, or what it will take to free her.

The incident highlights what the U.S. State Department has deemed a rising risk of kidnapping and other crimes against Americans in the country.

Here’s what we know.

Dorsainvil is a
The Hill •

Becerra puts onus on Congress over migrant children re-settlement

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra deflected blame over the exploitation of migrant children Wednesday, saying that his department’s responsibility over a child ends once they are resettled in a sponsor household.

And he repeatedly noted it was up to Congress to change that reality, if it so desired.

Wednesday’s hearing of the House Oversight subcommittee on investigations was the latest exploring issues first highlighted in a New York Times investigation revealing the employme
The Hill •

These five American women will appear on new quarters in 2024

The U.S. Mint has announced five new women who will be circulated on quarters in 2024 as part of the third year of the American Women Quarters Program.

The circulation is an initiative of the U.S. Mint in consultation with the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum, which was approved by Congress alongside the National Museum of the American Latino in 2020.

The fate of the Latino Museum is up in the air amid a dispute in Congress, but thus far the women’s museum is moving forward and set
The Hill •

5 big questions about the ‘summer of strikes’

A tentative deal reached between UPS and its Teamsters-affiliated employees Tuesday has put new focus on unionization efforts and labor policy across corporate America and on Capitol Hill.

Surging labor activity across the U.S. is laying the groundwork for the “summer of strikes,” as hundreds of thousands of workers get ready to hit the picket line.

After more than two years of rising prices and corporate profits, workers across major industries are taking a stand for better compensation and w
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