Sisters creating a stir at Cal State, The Porterville Recorder
Joni, Kimberly and Kristy Wuth have created a stir at California State University, Long Beach, because all three girls are beneficiaries of the schools' President's Scholars Program.

Report faults CSU faculty hiring: Share of minorities increased from 1985-2001, but still less than state makeup as a whole, Long Beach Press-Telgram
Black and Hispanic teachers in the California State University system are underrepresented despite an increase in minority hiring by the nation's largest public university system over the past 16 years, according to a report released Wednesday.

Cal State faculty still lacks color 25% from minorities, system report shows, San Bernardino Sun
Blacks and Latinos remain underrepresented among the faculty at California State University campuses despite increases over the last 16 years, according to a report released Wednesday.

Democrats shop tax hike around GOP stronghold, Orange County Register
So desperate are negotiations over the state's $38 billion shortfall that the top official in the Assembly, Democratic Speaker Herb Wesson, walked away from budget talks Tuesday to plead his case to Orange County leaders.

Deadlock could leave state short of cash, Los Angeles Daily News
SACRAMENTO -- As the Senate rejected a Democratic budget plan Wednesday for the second day in a row, the state controller warned that a lengthy budget deadlock would leave the deficit-ridden state nearly out of cash.

State Workers Taking Budget Crisis in Stride Employees try to maintain a positive outlook -- even as pay cuts, layoffs threaten, Los Angeles Times
So as this fiscal year draws to a close June 30 - with no budget in sight, warnings of possible layoffs arriving in the mail, rumors of pay cuts swirling and legislators grinding on in fruitless deliberations -many state workers remain remarkably unperturbed.

As Clock Ticks, Controller Details Cuts Without a state budget in place by Tuesday, colleges would face some of the toughest choices, Los Angeles Times
Roughly $1.5 billion in state money will stop flowing to schools, colleges, transportation projects and medical providers Tuesday unless the Legislature and the governor break the standoff on the state budget by then, California Controller Steve Westly said Wednesday.

California's schools likely first victims of fiscal crisis, San Jose Mercury News
SACRAMENTO - Even as the state is poised to give 181,000 public employees scheduled pay raises July 1, state officials are preparing to cut off crucial payments for community colleges and summer-school programs -- the first tangible impact of the state's budget crisis.

Once Again, the 'Dance of Death', Los Angeles Times
They're doing the "Dance of Death" again in the Capitol. It's the ritual that each year kicks off the legislators' summer budget season.

Palomar College calls for more pressure on lawmakers, North County Times
Palomar College officials and board members urged the public Tuesday to continue pushing Sacramento lawmakers for a budget that supports community colleges.

Davis Backers Widen Effort, Los Angeles Times
Opponents of the campaign to recall Gov. Gray Davis from office will announce today the formation of a coalition aimed at broadening the fight against the Republican-led effort.

Report: Issa was prosecuted for allegedly faking car theft , Los Angeles Daily Breeze
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Darrell Issa, the San Diego congressman leading the effort to recall Gov. Gray Davis, was prosecuted in 1980 for allegedly faking the theft of his Mercedes and selling the vehicle to a car dealer, a newspaper reported Wednesday.

Davis recall backers collected 376,008 signatures, state says, Los Angeles Daily Breeze
Backers of a Republican-led campaign to recall Democratic Gov. Gray Davis collected 376,008 signatures as of June 16, the secretary of state reported Tuesday, close to half the signatures needed to get the measure on the ballot.

State stuck with $12 billion of high-priced power, Orange County Register
While most of the original $43 billion in long-term contracts signed by Gov. Gray Davis in 2001 have been renegotiated or have expired, state officials had pressed FERC to let California out of the remaining contracts after presenting evidence that prices in the state's power market were artificially inflated by "gaming" strategies employed by power sellers.

College district ordered to rewrite its hiring policy, Orange County Register
A Superior Court judge has ordered South Orange County Community College District to rewrite a new hiring policy that allows the human-resources director to unilaterally change the scores given to job candidates by the faculty hiring committee. The district also must change interview questions and investigate and punish committee members for breaches of confidentiality.

Colleges Fret Over Oracle's Continuing Effort to Buy PeopleSoft, Chronicle of Higher Education
As the Oracle Corporation pursues its bid to buy PeopleSoft Inc., colleges that have spent millions of dollars on PeopleSoft software to manage their institutions are upset and angry. Administrators want reassurance that they have not wasted those millions if the Oracle takeover succeeds.

Admissions shifting well before ruling, Christian Science Monitor
Since Monday's Supreme Court rulings, which permitted the use of race in college admissions but outlawed numbers-bound approaches, some public universities have announced they will begin retooling their admissions procedures.

Oracle Eases Its Stance on Offer, Los Angeles Times
Oracle Corp. Chief Executive Larry Ellison said Tuesday that he wouldn't rule out upping his company's hostile tender offer for rival PeopleSoft Inc., reaffirming his determination to strike a deal even as antitrust regulators mulled over their response.

A 70 Percent Failure Rate?, New York Times
The state's Council of School Superintendents estimates that 70 percent of those who took the state math test failed. And it is not just the math test that needs to be scrutinized. Physics teachers across the state say they have had failure rates on the June test that are even higher than the disastrous results on the widely criticized physics test last year.

Impact on Universities Will Range From None to a Lot, New York Times
Universities across the country began grappling yesterday with the meaning of Monday's Supreme Court rulings on affirmative action.

Senate Panel Approves Bill for Students With Disabilities, New York Times
WASHINGTON, June 25 - After 18 months of behind-the-scenes negotiations, a Senate committee today unanimously approved a bill reauthorizing educational services for the United States' 6.5 million disabled students, assembling a bipartisan stand on issues including discipline of unruly students and a reduction in paperwork.

Congressional Panels Vote to Hold Down Spending on Student Aid and NIH, Chronicle of Higher Education
Appropriations panels in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives approved no increases on Wednesday for most student-aid programs and only a modest rise for the National Institutes of Health, ending years of large increases for biomedical research.

A rare recall bid imperils Gray Davis, Christian Science Monitor
In California's 153-year history, no governor has faced a recall. But as citizens line up around the block to put one on the ballot, what was once seen as fantasy has now taken a rock-hard reality.