Free Republic

An undisclosed number of UC executives will share $770,000 in pay raises to be discussed today behind closed doors by a key committee of the University of California Board of Regents. It will be the second round of pay hikes for some of the senior managers, who got an average 2.5 percent annual salary boost in November. ... --snip-- The names of those in line for the raises were not disclosed. ... --snip-- Because UC officials refused to release specifics on the pay package, it is unclear exactly how many of the university system's 300 top executives -- chancellors, vice...

The Blanco administration is still spending state money on lawmakers’ pet projects, six months after the governor officially pulled the plug on what critics call slush funds. Among those receiving money are the son and former daughter-in-law of a lawmaker. Rep. Arthur Morrell, D-New Orleans, acknowledged his family members are on the payroll of Forever Our Children, an after-school tutoring program he used his legislative clout to establish. He said he discounts any criticism of the arrangement. “I had a couple of comments about it, but I told them where to go,” Morrell said. Forever Our Children was one of...

GULFPORT, Miss. - Federal programs and funds to help the Gulf Coast recover from Hurricane Katrina do not go far enough to help, according to lawmakers touring the battered region Tuesday. "The tools we have in our toolbox are not effective," said Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., on a flight to Gulfport, Miss., where blue-tarped roof dotted the city's houses. She was with a delegation of senators who also planned to tour disaster sites in the New Orleans area. "We need a new tool." Though the federal government has set aside nearly $70 billion for emergency relief and long-term recovery plans,...

A state official says that if the Superdome is to be used again as a shelter, the federal government needs to help make it hurricane-proof. Tim Coulon, chairman of the Louisiana Stadium & Expedition District, said he hopes state officials can persuade the Federal Emergency Management Agency and insurance adjusters to pay for things such as enlarged concourses and new restrooms to make the Dome more suitable for evacuations, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported. The building suffered millions of dollars in damage from Hurricane Katrina and the 25,000 evacuees who sought shelter there for days after the storm passed. It...

The Sept. 27 editorial "Louisiana's Looters" displayed a profound ignorance of the regional and national miscalculation of this national disaster. It's not just that people's homes are underwater; that happens with every hurricane. It's not just that roofs have blown off; those are the usual visuals of a storm of this nature. It's that an entire region vital to our national energy supply, security and commerce has been devastated. South Louisiana is the anchor of America's Energy Coast, securing more than three-quarters of U.S. offshore oil and gas production -- a greater share of our nation's energy supply than even...

Fed all but certain to raise rates another quarter-point Tuesday; how high will rates climb in 2005? December 10, 2004: 1:13 PM EST By Paul R. La Monica, CNN/Money senior writer NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - There's not much anxiety about what the Federal Reserve is going to do on Tuesday. A rate hike is a given, according to most market observers, even though December rate hikes are not all that common. "

ALBUQUERQUE, May 4 — Senator John Kerry opened a new front in his assault on President Bush's education policy on Tuesday, accusing the administration of doing precious little to lower dropout rates and unveiling a plan to help 200,000 more students graduate from high school each year. Mr. Kerry, the presumptive Democratic nominee, began a three-day swing through the Southwest by appearing with Gov. Bill Richardson at a bilingual magnet elementary school, where Mr. Kerry gave details about how he would spend $200 billion over 10 years on education. On Thursday in California, aides said, he is expected to call...

AS one of his New Year's resolutions, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is seeking to get one of the biggest moneymaking industries in the state to cough up a larger share of its billions in tax-free income: Indian casinos. Good luck to him. It's not going to be easy to squeeze more money out of a politically powerful lobby that has long-term agreements signed by the past administration that let it off virtually scot-free from sharing some of its billions in tax-free annual revenue. But as tough as it will be to undo the damage done by former Gov. Gray Davis, it's...

<p>The most frustrating thing about public spending on education is that so many people -- including most voters -- agree we need more of it, but almost no one can tell us what we would get in exchange for the extra dollars.</p>

A judge dealt the government a potentially lethal setback Tuesday in its criminal case against Sacramento Kings forward Chris Webber by prohibiting prosecutors from presenting key testimony and evidence at next week's trial in federal court in Detroit. Acting on a request from lawyers for Webber and the star's father, U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds barred prosecutors from telling jurors that Webber allegedly received $280,000 from University of Michigan basketball booster Eddie Martin during Webber's days as a rising high school and college basketball star...

Thursday, December 05, 2002 By Hank Hayes Times-News CHARLES MANNING BLOUNTVILLE - Facility needs, funding priorities and how the lottery will impact higher education were issues on the discussion menu during an informal closed-door power lunch Wednesday between Chancellor Charles Manning of the Tennessee Board of Regents and Northeast Tennessee legislators. Inside a conference room at the Wayne G. Basler Library at Northeast State Technical Community College, Manning delivered a PowerPoint presentation on TBR trends and challenges while legislators listened, asked questions and munched on sandwiches. The luncheon's host, NSTCC President William Locke, used the occasion to make a pitch...

Some stipulations the Bush administration attached to its support for arming commercial pilots: * A test program must be undertaken to establish the viability of arming all 85,000 commercial pilots. * Only pilots who volunteer to carry guns would do so, and they must undergo firearms training and safety instruction.... * Protocols should be established to coordinate pilot responsibilities.... * Pilots should be issued individual lock boxes ....