Graduate, 89, won't give up her dream, Press-Enterprise
Eighty-nine-year-old Evelyn Latham, disabled by back pain, needed a walker to attend graduate classes at Cal State San Bernardino. Today, she plans to cross the stage on the arm of a professor to receive her diploma from Cal State.Press-Enterprise

Graduation Is Family Affair for Mother, Gifted Teens, Los Angeles Times
Daniel and Verena Firpo enrolled at Cal State L.A. at the same time. He was 12. She was 10.

Much-loved SJS environmental studies instructor retiring, leaving legacy of practicing what he teaches, San Jose Mercury-News
Frank Schiavo -- a messiah of the environment who infused a generation of students with his passion for using as little of planet Earth's resources as possible -- is retiring. He leaves behind a legacy of environmental consciousness that makes him an icon for those he taught.

SDSU staffers know the rule: Don't gamble, San Diego Union-Tribune
San Diego State coaches expect the memo and pamphlet to arrive in their mailboxes any day now, the latest reminder of the NCAA's prohibition on gambling.

Mathematicians primed to prove twin theory, San Francisco Chronicle
In March, Daniel Goldston of San Jose State University and his associate Cem Yildirim of Bogazici University in Istanbul made headlines by announcing they had overcome a major obstacle in the centuries-old mathematical effort to understand "prime numbers." After several weeks, other mathematicians discovered a subtle hole in the "discovery."

Fee talk overshadows students' orientation, Fresno Bee
The prospect of another student fee increase for the California State University system, this one 30% on top of another last December, put a damper on orientation for new students and parents Friday at Fresno State.

S.F. State professor sets up Iraq network, San Francisco Chronicle
Professor Gary Selnow of San Francisco State University will be heading to Baghdad this week to put the final touches on a computer networking system that will allow Iraqi hospitals to access databases of medical information.

Cal Poly, Ventura firm growing avocados, San Luis Obispo Tribune
Cal Poly's College of Agriculture and Mission Produce are partnering to create a 50-acre avocado orchard on campus that will serve as a teaching tool and a profitable venture.

Bartow is interim AD, San Diego Union-Tribune
The cleanup began in earnest at San Diego State yesterday, with university President Stephen Weber announcing Gene Bartow as his interim athletic director.

Budget Panel Breaks Down, Los Angeles Times
Providing a vivid example of just how far apart lawmakers are on closing California's $38-billion budget shortfall, a bipartisan coalition of moderates who vowed to get past political bickering and selflessly work to solve the problem has fallen apart.

U. of California Names Its San Diego Chancellor as President, Chronicle of Higher Education
The University of California's regents reached into the system's own fold last week to select the next leader of the nine-campus institution, naming Robert C. Dynes, chancellor of the San Diego campus, as the system's next president.

UC Merced hopes for Valley students, Fresno Bee
People from the Fresno area should dominate UC Merced's student body, whether the campus opens next year or later, the chancellor said Monday, but not unless students receive proper preparation, beginning in middle school at the latest.

UC Berkeley eyes shift in faculty speech standard, Contra Costa Times
The University of California is proposing to change its nearly 70-year-old statement of academic freedom, in a move that would no longer bar faculty from expressing their political views.

Career dreams deferred?, San Francisco Chronicle
California's new teachers facing job market that suddenly went sour.

High School Exit Exam Faces Delay, Los Angeles Times
California's high school exit exam, once heralded as a sure-fire way to ratchet up achievement and make a diploma worthwhile, will be postponed amid concerns about high failure rates and the political and legal backlash from denying thousands of students the right to graduate next year.

College transfers rarest for Latinos, San Bernardino Sun
Latino and black community college students transfer to four-year universities less often than their white and Asian counterparts, according to a study released this month by the California Senate Office of Research.

Teachers union blocks reform, Young says, Los Angeles Daily News
In some of her most blunt public statements yet, outgoing Los Angeles school board President Caprice Young on Monday called the teachers union the greatest obstacle there is to improving the city's educational system.

Can Pupils Learn in One Sticky Month What They Didn't in 9?, New York Times
Three years ago, the city had its hopes pinned on a vastly expanded summer school program as the latest most promising cure for its woebegone public schools.

History for Hire in Industry Lawsuits, New York Times
A scientist financed by, say, the tobacco industry, is expected to declare whose wallet is behind his research. But what about a historian?

Maine ushers in a laptop revolution in the schools, Christian Science Monitor
The laptop is part of Maine's first-in-the-nation program, which gave the state's 17,000 seventh-graders their own new Apple computers last fall.

Haunted by a Mobster Brother, Los Angeles Times
William Bulger is a leading educator in Massachusetts. But his ties to his sibling lead to calls for his ouster, and a congressional hearing.

AmeriCorps Will Cut Its Staff and Its Spending, New York Times
AmeriCorps, the public service organization, has been forced to cut its spending and reduce its ranks of government-subsidized workers, despite a recommendation from President Bush to expand the program, an official said today.

Review and Outlook: California Steamin', Wall St. Journal
California is still one of the best places in America to build a successful small business. All you have to do is start with a successful large one.

Opinion: Wholesale Reform Needed for Community Colleges, Los Angeles Times
Community Colleges have been in the news since early spring, when Gov. Gray Davis threatened to raise the cost of attending classes and cut community college district budgets. And, since March 2002, more than two dozen districts have passed bond measures, to the tune of more than $5.2 billion.

Editorial: Exit strategy?, Press Democrat
The decision by state officials to postpone California's high school exit exam until 2006 comes as no surprise.

Editorial: Delay the exit exam, Sacramento Bee
The 90,000-some students in the Class of 2004 who were expected to fail the high school exit exam can all breathe a collective sigh of relief.

Editorial: Wired in Maine, Sacramento Bee
Last year, trying to upgrade students' digital mastery and enhance learning, the state bought laptop computers for each of its 17,000 public school seventh-graders and their teachers.

Daniel Weintraub: New federal money helps state avoid tough choices, Sacramento Bee
The $2.4 billion the federal government just dropped on California is a gift that might be booby-trapped.

Dan Walters: Assembly comes close to a real debate about state economy, Sacramento Bee
The state Assembly came dangerously close Monday to having a real debate about a vital public policy issue -- whether California is unconsciously killing its chances of economic recovery -- but pulled back from the brink in the nick of time.

Editorial: Action on budget, Contra Costa Times
There's been lots of talk, but far too little action in regards to solving California's budget woes.

Issa makes it official: He's running, San Francisco Chronicle
Hitting the streets to personally solicit support for the recall of Gov. Gray Davis, Rep. Darrell Issa officially launched his own gubernatorial bid Saturday, telling Republicans to unite behind one candidate and stress "the economy, stupid."

Davis plans counterpunch to recall effort, San Francisco Chronicle
Strategy spotlights a 'right-wing conspiracy' to take the heat off an unloved governor.

Peace confirmed as finance director, Sacramento Bee
The state Senate voted Friday to confirm Steve Peace as Gov. Gray Davis' point man on the state budget.

CalPERS to Propose 18% Hike in Health-Care Insurance Premiums, Los Angeles Times
In a sign that the rate of health-care inflation may be slowing, the California Public Employees' Retirement System is proposing an 18% increase in medical insurance premiums next year for most of its 1.2 million members.

Rep. Issa Discloses Assets Worth $99 Million, Los Angeles Times
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista), whose money has helped fuel the drive to recall Gov. Gray Davis, is one of the House's wealthiest members, with assets of at least $99.4 million and perhaps much more, according to financial disclosure reports released Monday.