New CSUS chief faces big tests, Sacramento Bee
The first time Alexander Gonzalez became president of a California State University campus, there were growing pains to soothe, employee relations to calm and racial tensions to confront.

Outreach program bringing students closer to degrees, Ventura County Star
To help future teachers complete their required courses, university officials offered the courses through the Extended Education and Distance Learning program.

CSUCI panel will discuss Grand Jury report on fire safety, Ventura County Star
The California State University, Channel Islands Site Authority is expected to discuss a 2002-03 Grand Jury report criticizing the university's fire safety at its meeting Monday.

A Deep Mission, Monterey Herald
Carmel Mission has yielded some of its buried secrets to an archaeological research team exploring the site with a ground-penetrating radar system that detects objects up to 8 feet underground. An underground room is one of them.

Sacramento bumbles budget as state burns, Ventura County Star
To explain the size of the budget problem that confronts and confounds them, legislative leaders tell people to envision this scenario: California shuts down its entire state bureaucracy, giving pink slips to every park ranger, highway patrolman, DMV counter-clerk, prison guard, university professor and environmental regulator in the state.

Budget Key to Survival for Governor, Los Angeles Times
With many taking out their anger on him, Davis needs to end the financial impasse and build support among his base, analysts say.

GOP budget proposal rejected, Contra Costa Times/AP
A Republican plan to balance the state budget without new taxes was shot down Sunday night in the Assembly, forcing California to begin the second week of the new fiscal year without a spending plan in place.

Credit Rating Is Latest Worry for California, New York Times
California officials were meeting through the holiday weekend to try to address the state's $38 billion budget shortfall and an imminent reduction in the state's already low credit rating.

Assembly Rejects GOP Budget Plan, Los Angeles Times
Blueprint that sought to close shortfall without raising taxes is voted down along party lines. Five Republicans and one Democrat abstain.

Deficit bonds gaining favor, Sacramento Bee
A $10.7 billion loan could avert big cuts, backers say. Critics call it an evasion.

Politics intensify budget troubles, San Francisco Chronicle
The political atmosphere in Sacramento couldn't be worse for brokering a budget deal.

Thousands of UC-eligible students could be denied, Contra Costa Times
The University of California may have to break its promise to admit all UC-eligible students and begin turning thousands away as early as fall 2004 if the university's budget forecast doesn't improve, UC officials announced this week.

Summertime and the studying's fine at Cal, Contra Costa Times
An increasing number of UC Berkeley students aren't sprinting for the soft sands of the Pacific coast when final exams end in May.

UC fraud arguments rejected by judge, Oakland Tribune
Decision clears path for 'whistleblower' trial.

Lawsuit Against U. of California by Former Livermore Lab Employee Is Cleared for Trial, Chronicle of Higher Education
A California court has ruled that a former employee of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory can sue the University of California system under the state's whistle-blower law.

Rx for the nursing shortage, Oakland Tribune
The reasons for the acute national nursing shortage are well-documented - more career options for women than a generation ago; hospital workforce consolidations in the mid-1990s; and an aging population are the oft-cited culprits.

Education feels cash pinch, Daily Bulletin
Summer courses have been slashed, employee paychecks could be delayed and Inland Valley students will be denied access from community colleges and universities as a result of the state's budget crisis, campus officials said.

Budget delay poses problems for schools, San Diego Union-Tribune
Compared with the late 1990s, when budget surpluses allowed for blanket 10 percent raises, this year's $38 billion state budget shortfall has sent school districts throughout California into a tailspin of spending cuts.

Feared cuts leave colleges reeling, Hayward Daily Review
Programs designed to get the state's under-represented minority students into college are being scaled back across California as administrators brace for anticipated funding cuts.

Educator takes a hike to push for school reform, San Jose Mercury-News
Like many Californians, Chris Biffle is sick about the looming cuts to education and tired of bickering Sacramento power brokers. And he's ready to fight.

With Enrollment Down, Districts Start Shuttering Schools, Los Angeles Times
An increasing number of suburban and rural areas face tough choices -- and parents' anger.

Palomar College police enlist eyes and ears of campus, North County Times
All over the campus, the college police force is encouraging students, staff and faculty to add their own eyes to an effort to keep Palomar safe.

Exit exam requirement going, going, almost gone, North County Times
Under pressure from unions, politicians, lawyers and more than 172,000 California teen-agers who haven't passed a basic skills test to graduate next year, the state's education board is poised this week to bend on what was supposed to be the biggest ultimatum in the state's public school history: the California High School Exit Exam.

Colleges' outreach efforts hurt, Oakland Tribune
Governor's suggested budget would drastically reduce programs for needy students.

State Education Commissioner Keeps Smiling Through an Outcry, New York Times
June was not an easy month for Richard P. Mills, New York State's education commissioner.

Midpoint Test Now Winnows CUNY Students, New York Times
Hundreds of students at the City University of New York are quietly being bounced out of college because they could not pass a test intended to gauge whether they have reading, writing and thinking skills appropriate for students halfway through college.

Oracle extends deadline for offer, Contra Costa Times
Oracle Corp., which is facing renewed pressure to raise its $6.3 billion bid for rival PeopleSoft Inc., pushed back the deadline for investors to decide about its hostile takeover offer.

An Escalation Of Verbal Hostilities, Washington Post
PeopleSoft's Conway, Oracle's Ellison Don't Hold Back in Takeover Fight.

Dan Walters: Davis is up to his old tricks, demonizing political foes, Sacramento Bee
Gray Davis' modus operandi as a political campaigner has been to spend millions of dollars demonizing his opponents, often on the flimsiest of grounds, and hope that voters will find him to be a more acceptable alternative.

Opinion: The Day of the Long Knives, Los Angeles Times
Sacramento politics have gone from hardball to bean ball. The aim is no longer to make the best deal you can, it's to aim for your opponent's head.

Editorial: Focus on middle schools, too, USA Today
Few school districts bother to work on reading skills after elementary school. Though they typically hand out summer reading lists, districts are failing to ensure that their students can handle the assignments.

Opinion: Controlling the Price of College, Chronicle of Higher Education
As a matter of principle, every student deserves the opportunity to pursue his or her educational goals. But every year, thousands of highly qualified students can't afford to attend college and fulfill their dreams because higher-education institutions are setting their tuitions too high.

Editorial: A Check on Consultants, Los Angeles Times
Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson has appointed a task force to tackle the growing problem of aggressive lobbying tactics and conflict of interest by political consultants who lobby legislators they helped elect.

Editorial: Charter schools deserve support, Long Beach Press-Telegram
Several recent studies have found that charter schools, 10 years after the first was approved in California, have become more than just a promising innovation in education. On the whole, charter schools are delivering.

Recall drive nears petition target, San Diego Union-Tribune
The drive to recall Gov. Gray Davis is hurtling toward the ballot, creating the nation's wildest political spectacle since the 2000 presidential election standoff in Florida.