HSU's Giovannetti says conflicts linger, Eureka Times-Standard
Humboldt State University Professor Joseph Giovannetti said the settlement of his lawsuit against the university failed to resolve many of the issues at hand.

State Assembly Approves Bill to Require Oversight of California State U. Technology Projects, Chronicle of Higher Education
The California State Assembly gave overwhelming approval on Wednesday evening to a bill that would increase government scrutiny of information-technology purchases by the California State University System.

CSUSM blueprint outlines broad academic expansion, North County Times
Cal State San Marcos is moving toward establishing a fourth academic division that would concentrate on health, and, within three years, offer a degree in nursing, a field that university officials say needs more skilled practitioners.

Budget package may hinge on sales tax hike, San Diego Union Tribune
The Senate Democratic leader said yesterday that avoiding a budget deadlock and state-issued IOUs may come down to one thing – votes for a half-cent sales tax increase from Republicans who oppose a tax hike.

Bond Raters OK State's Borrowing, Los Angeles Times
Wall Street firms clear path to $11 billion so California can pay its bills through summer. They also warn officials to shape up finances.

Bill would allow local income tax, Sacramento Bee
For the first time in California history, cities and counties soon may have the state's blessing to impose their own income tax.

Foes sue to stop UC Davis biolab, Sacramento Bee
Opponents of a proposed high-security infectious-diseases laboratory on the UC Davis campus filed a lawsuit Thursday to stop the project, claiming it violates California's environmental laws and was illegally granted state funding without approval from the Legislature.

Magazine at UCSD lampoons Islam, San Diego Union-Tribune
Hundreds of copies of a publication portraying Muslim women as sexual objects and ridiculing Jews, Jesus, and Palestinians were distributed at UC San Diego yesterday and Wednesday, prompting sharp condemnations by the administration and student leaders.

UC Merced options discussed, Fresno Bee
University of California officials confronted a key question Thursday in Fresno about the opening of UC Merced in the fall of 2004: What if it doesn't happen?

U. of California Strikes Deal With Lecturers Union, Chronicle of Higher Education
The University of California and the union that represents more than 2,000 lecturers there have reached a tentative contract agreement, ending three years of contentious bargaining.

New UC leader called close, Contra Costa Times
The search might be over for a new leader of the University of California.

Livermore lab gets good business review, Contra Costa Times
Lawrence Livermore Laboratory has none of the systemic business problems that plagued its sister lab and ultimately doomed the University of California to having to compete to continue running Los Alamos, according to a new report.

CalSTRS threatens lawsuit, Sacramento Bee
CalSTRS trustees turned up the political pressure on budget-stressed lawmakers Thursday, vowing to sue the state if it skips a $500 million payment aimed at supplementing benefits for thousands of retired teachers.

California Colleges Prepare to Disclose Computer Intrusions, Chronicle of Higher Education
A new California law is pushing colleges in the state to re-evaluate how they collect, store, retrieve, and guard private data on their computers.

West County voters to get school bond issue, Contra Costa Times
The West Contra Costa school district will ask voters in September to approve the fourth -- and largest -- school construction bond issue in five years.

Harvard Chief, at Commencement, Vows Change, New York Times
Speaking on Harvard's 352nd commencement day, Lawrence H. Summers, the university's president, pledged today to reshape the undergraduate experience, including the core curriculum.

States' High-School Exit Exams Have Become Political Minefields, Wall St. Journal
The huge number of test failures this year -- the first year the test is required for graduation -- and the devastating consequences for teenagers who will leave school without a diploma are turning into a political nightmare for Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

Former Florida Chancellor Is Named President of Indiana U., Chronicle of Higher Education
Adam W. Herbert, the former chancellor of Florida's public-university system who resigned in 2001 just before the state Legislature eliminated his position, was named the new president of the Indiana University System on Thursday.

Times's 2 Top Editors Resign After Furor on Writer's Fraud, New York Times
Howell Raines and Gerald M. Boyd, the top-ranking editors of The New York Times, resigned yesterday morning, five weeks after the resignation of a reporter set off a chain of events that exposed fissures in the management and morale of the newsroom.

Editorial: Pension costs clobber cities, Daily Breeze
Commentators have written reams of material about why this year’s state budget crisis is the worst upheaval facing Sacramento since the Great Depression. One reason involves the California Public Employees Retirement System, whose fiscal mismanagement is now taking its toll on local governments around the South Bay and beyond.

Editorial: GOP Digs State In Deeper, Los Angeles Times
Putting hardball politics above fiscal rationality, state Senate GOP leader Jim Brulte has turned budget negotiations into a hostage-taking.

Dan Walters: Legislators haven't learned about folly of ignorant decisions, Sacramento Bee
The California Legislature has a penchant for making policy decisions that backfire with unintended, sometimes very damaging consequences -- largely because lawmakers don't take the time to fully explore the potential ramifications of what they decree.

Editorial: Oink, Long Beach Press-Telegram
More than one state Capitol observer has likened state lawmakers' out-of-control spending to a drug addiction one that fully reveals itself at a time when the addict really, really, really must stop, but can't.

Davis' Closest Political Aide Goes National, Los Angeles Times
Garry South, the pugnacious political strategist who masterminded Gray Davis' last three election victories, is signing on as a senior campaign advisor to Democratic presidential hopeful Joseph I. Lieberman.

Officials: 400,000 sign recall petitions, North County Times
Organizers of the effort to recall Gov. Gray Davis said Thursday that they had gathered more than 400,000 signatures statewide as of midweek, roughly a third of the total they need to make the ballot in the fall.