On disciplinary notice, Bartel files suit, San Diego Union-Tribune
San Diego State has begun the process of taking action against Steve Bartel, the athletic equipment manager whose alleged improprieties were at the center of the California State University audit.

University's refurbished gym reopens, gets used, Ventura County Star
It was closed for several years, but when the Hagerty Gymnasium on the California State University, Channel Islands campus reopened Wednesday, it came back to life within minutes.

Neighborhoods feel CSUF squeeze, Orange County Register
Residents eagerly await parking structure, and some seek permits to reserve spaces.

Man's death illuminates lack of tattoo, piercing regulation, Sacramento Bee
The death of a UC Davis student, who contracted a fatal heart infection after having a swirling tribal tattoo pricked into his forearm this summer, has pointed to a gaping hole in the regulation of tattoo and piercing parlors.

California Crises Take a Heavy Toll On State Colleges, Wall St. Journal
Educators from around the world used to flock to California to see what made its vaunted higher-education system tick. Now the state's public colleges are in crisis, buffeted by the forces plunging California into economic and political turmoil.

College center plan is topic in Temecula, Press-Enterprise
The facility would combine the operations of three colleges under one roof.

Cuts drastic, BC students lament, Bakersfield Californian
Standing, leaning and sitting in the noontime heat, hundreds of students waited in a long, winding line outside the campus bookstore at Bakersfield College Wednesday.

USC Crosses Goal Line for Basketball Arena, Los Angeles Times
School says it has raised $70 million to build a 10,258-seat venue that will be named after Louis and Helene Galen, who donated $35 million.

Wine grapes planted for education and money, Chico Enterprise-Record
A former alfalfa field on the Butte College campus has been transformed into a vineyard that will mean education and hands-on training for students, and could produce thousands of dollars annually for the school.

Survey: U.S. teaching force short on diversity, CNN/AP
Even as public school classrooms get more diverse, the teaching force remains overwhelmingly white and has its lowest share of men in 40 years, a survey by the nation's largest teacher union finds.

AmeriCorps Backers to Speak Out, Washington Post
AmeriCorps backers tried and failed last month to get $100 million from Congress for the financially strapped national service program. Now, they are trying again -- and hoping to build a lasting coalition to avert the next crisis.

For Houston Schools, College Claims Exceed Reality, New York Times
The glowing figures on students who plan to further their education are part of a broad set of statistics Houston school officials submitted to state authorities, figures that painted a wildly optimistic picture of what has been going on in Houston schools over the past few years.

Big Flaw Seen in Overhaul of City Schools: Poor Marketing, New York Times
Current and former education officials say that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's efforts to overhaul the public schools are being undermined by a lack of a coherent communications strategy and a failure to build broad support out of the initial enthusiasm for his plans.

3,000 Yale Workers Go on Strike Just as Students Begin to Return, Chronicle of Higher Education
Some 3,000 Yale University workers went on strike Wednesday morning, hoping to extract higher wages, more job security, and fatter pensions from the Ivy League institution.

To Fight Music Piracy, Industry Goes to Schools, Washington Post
"If the recording industry catches you downloading music," Morris said solemnly one recent morning to 50 incoming students, "you can be sued, and the university general counsel can't really protect you. And that'll cost you a lot of money.

Enrollment Rising In ROTC Programs, Washington Post
Across the state and country, colleges have reported increased interest and enrollment in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps.

PeopleSoft CEO says Oracle bid 'flatlined', Contra Costa Times
Nearly three months ago when he launched a hostile takeover attempt of PeopleSoft Inc., Oracle Corp. Chairman Larry Ellison predicted PeopleSoft's demise.

Peter Schrag: California's agenda: Is anybody up to tackling it?, Sacramento Bee
So is the great populist recall of Gov. Gray Davis another Proposition 13 -- a great upsurge against the political establishment that fundamentally reshapes the state's political landscape, and much of the nation's as well?

Opinion: Sacramento Clobbers North Coast Economy, Eureka Times-Standard
The North Coast’s jittery economy is at further risk from the double barreled state budget cuts of almost $13 million that Sacramento is imposing on Humboldt State University.

Daniel Weintraub: So far, Ueberroth is Arnold without the charm, Sacramento Bee
We now know the value of charisma in California politics. It's the distance between Peter Ueberroth and Arnold Schwarzenegger in the race for governor.

George Skelton: Finally, Davis Finds His Stage and Shines -- at Town Hall Meeting, Los Angeles Times
He actually looked tolerable. No, better than that: pleasant. Even interesting. And, once or twice, entertaining. This was our governor, no less.

Editorial: Army of tutors, Los Angeles Daily News
Empower students to help each other.

Schwarzenegger's Initiative Unfunded, Los Angeles Times
Prop. 49, passed last year with the actor's push to add before- and after-school activities for kids, may not support any programs until 2007.

Schwarzenegger Uses Talk Radio to Start Spelling Out His Views, Los Angeles Times
Arnold Schwarzenegger for the first time in his gubernatorial race commented publicly Wednesday on abortion, gun control and gay rights as his campaign continued a weeklong effort to woo conservative voters.

Budget initiative gains steam, Sacramento Bee
The plan seeking lower threshold for passage may be on March ballot.

Republican lawmakers shelve Davis nominees, San Francisco Chronicle
The state Senate is putting the brakes on some of Gov. Gray Davis' appointments because Republicans want to wait and see if the recall election produces a different chief executive in six weeks. [Includes Alice Huffman, CSU Trustee nominee.]

First Lady Casts Davis in a Warm Light, Los Angeles Times
One political observer says of Sharon Davis, 'I think the way people's minds work, it's like: "If he's married to her, he can't be all bad."'

Lawsuit Seeks to Delay Prop. 54 Vote Until March, Los Angeles Times/AP
Opponents of a proposition that would limit the state's ability to ask citizens their race have filed a lawsuit alleging voting rights violations in Kings and Merced counties in an effort to remove the issue from the recall ballot.

Ueberroth Sells His Economic Message, Los Angeles Times
The GOP hopeful, addressing taxes and jobs, denies pressure to yield to Schwarzenegger.

NOTE: For additional political coverage, visit the Rough & Tumble website.

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