Ex-equipment man gets SDSU job back, San Diego Union-Tribune
Steve Bartel being reinstated in new post after CSU system drops case during appeal.

23 arrested in sting of alcohol sales to minors, Sacramento Bee
Funded through federal and state grants, the program centers on alcohol education, DUI checkpoints and illegal alcohol sales enforcement near eight California State University campuses. University officials hope to expand the program

2 Schools May Help the Odds for Gaming Jobs, Los Angeles Times
Grossmont College and San Diego State hope to offer certification that could lead to employment in the casino industry.

Affordable massages help students unwind, Chico Enterprise-Record
Diana Souza showed up at a seemingly unlikely place for a relaxing massage: Cal State Hayward's student health center.

It's not all Greek to CSUN, Los Angeles Daily News
Frat life on increase at Valley campus.

Former HSU student suspected Taliban operative, Eureka Times-Standard
A former Malaysian army captain believed to have been the leader of an al-Qaida program to develop chemical and biological weapons was a graduate of California State University, Sacramento, who briefly attended Humboldt State University.

Education summit draws 1,100-plus, Eureka Times-Standard
The summit began Friday and continues through Sunday at Humboldt State University. Attendance was estimated at 1,200 or more -- twice that of the first summit in 2002.

Berkeley Wins Panel's Review on Fulbrights, New York Times
The Fulbright flap is not yet final for the 30 college students who had their scholarship applications disqualified because of a missed Federal Express pickup.

Med Center dean leaves system in tiptop shape, Sacramento Bee
When Dr. Joe Silva accepted the job as dean of the UC Davis School of Medicine in 1997, one of his colleagues called him a "reluctant warrior."

U. of California Agrees to Pay $3.9-Million for Inappropriate Charges at Livermore Lab, Chronicle of Higher Education
The University of California and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory agreed last week to pay the federal government $3.9-million after an investigation found that managers at the laboratory had inappropriately charged overhead expenses to research projects financed by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Sharing gift of reading, Sacramento Bee
New statewide tutorial program fosters literacy for adults.

UOP student government is accused of censorship, Modesto Bee
The managing editor of the University of the Pacific's student-run weekly newspaper says the student government is trying to censor the paper.

Financial Empowerment a Mixed Bag for Principals, Los Angeles Times
Riordan's proposal to dramatically expand their authority raises concerns and hopes.

Some give up on UC, CSUN, Los Angeles Daily News
Once sneered at as "diploma mills," for-profit colleges like DeVry University and the University of Phoenix are seeing enrollments rise along with their academic reputations as budget cuts divert students away from California's public universities.

Pumping up those SAT scores, Chico Enterprise-Record
"Getting Into College and Staying There," a new 12-week home study program on CD, was created to help keep college freshmen out of remedial math and English classes.

Program lends large schools a community feel, Contra Costa Times
Backed by a $2.2 million federal grant, the six high schools are in their second year of trying to transform their campuses from impersonal, sprawling institutions into places where students feel more at home.

Western Law gets a reprieve, Orange County Register
ABA committee withdraws its recommendation to cancel school's accreditation, for now.

Family ties: an unfair advantage?, Christian Science Monitor
Amid debate over racial preferences, legacy admissions are suddenly cast in a harsher light.

The leader in homeland security education, CNN/AP
Community colleges excel in anti-terrorism, safety training.

Now the Regents Math Test Is Criticized as Too Easy, New York Times
Last year, the New York State Education Department faced a storm of criticism from educators who said too few students had passed the Math A Regents examination. Now the department seems to have the opposite problem.

Two Universities Take Steps to Ease Burden of Tuition, New York Times
Responding to mounting pressure to contain college costs, two universities announced plans yesterday to freeze tuition or significantly reduce the debt of students forced to take out loans.

Cash-Strapped School Districts Opt to Trim or Disband Police Forces, Los Angeles Times
Systems in California and across the nation are choosing to cut spending on security in academic programs.

The Quota Quandary, Chronicle of Higher Education
The United States is not the only country struggling with affirmative action in university admissions.

U. of Virginia Announces $16-Million Plan to Increase Grants and Reduce Student Loans, Chronicle of Higher Education
The University of Virginia on Friday announced a new financial-aid policy under which it will replace loans with grants for some needy undergraduates and limit the amount of loans that students from middle-income families can accumulate by also increasing grants for them.

PeopleSoft Board Rejects Sweetened Oracle Bid, Wall St. Journal
People Soft Inc.'s board unanimously recommended that shareholders reject the sweetened $26-a-share, $9.4 billion takeover bid from rival Oracle Corp., again saying the deal undervalues the business software company.

Editorial: Colleges Can't Spend Kudos, Los Angeles Times
Like Hans Christian Andersen's ugly duckling that turns into a swan, the nation's hard-working but long-unsung community colleges are now winning abundant praise.

Opinion: To Keep America Competitive, States and Colleges Must Work Together, Chronicle of Higher Education
Public higher education has reached a crossroads, and new, more strategic ways to support universities are required if they are to meet state priorities.

Daniel Weintraub: Who gains, who loses from a guest worker plan, Sacramento Bee
President Bush has proposed a new immigration policy that would provide legal status to illegal immigrants working in the United States and to workers from other countries who can show they have a job offer here.

Dan Walters: Federal, state budgets play hide-the-pea with fund shifts, Sacramento Bee
Once, California's state budget was a model of clarity. General revenues, such as those from income and sales taxes, were placed in one pot and those from special taxes were placed in special funds.

The Basics Of Bonds, Modesto Bee
When it comes to solving California's financial crisis, there are three basic options:
You can raise taxes. You can cut spending. Or, you can borrow.

Editorial: Sacramento Youth Culture, Los Angeles Times
When Fabian Nunez is sworn in today as speaker of the California Assembly, he will be one of the youngest leaders of that body in modern times and the most inexperienced in legislative service.

Letters to the Editor, Chico Enterprise-Record
Education cuts a bad idea.

Editorial: Pricing students out of school, Bakersfield Californian
Everyone knows a college education is not cheap -- what they might not realize is that along with the expense of tuition and board, students have to endure astronomical textbook prices.

Editorial: The Chronicle Recommends Prop. 55, San Francisco Chronicle
Over the next five years, California will need 22,000 new classrooms to deal with overcrowding and increasing enrollments. Aging school buildings must be repaired and upgraded -- not with luxury items but to take care of basics such as leaky roofs and broken bathrooms.

Little action on employee contracts, Sacramento Bee
Schwarzenegger's plan to renegotiate state labor pacts stalls as unions balk.

Debate raging over Prop. 55, Modesto Bee/AP
The Kindergarten-University Public Education Facilities Bond Act on the March 2 ballot is the second half of $25.35 billion in bonds the Legislature authorized in 2002.

Proposition 55 would raise $12.3 billion for school building, Chico Enterprise-Record/AP
Students at La Mesa Elementary School in Monterey walk to class beneath scaffolding that lines the hallway. It's not there for construction; it's there to ensure that the unstable and rotting ceiling doesn't fall on the children.

Proposition 55 at a glance, Chico Enterprise-Record/AP
Would allow the state to sell $12.3 billion in general obligation bonds to pay for repairs and modernization of public schools, to relieve overcrowded classrooms and to build new schools.

List of Proposition 55's top donors, Chico Enterprise-Record/AP
[Includes] Californians for Higher Education, a coalition of community college, California State University and University of California foundations.

A New Mantle for Nuñez, Los Angeles Times
The L.A. Democrat becomes speaker of the Assembly today, taking the post at a particularly challenging time in state government.

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

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