Secretary Reich, Chocolate Bunny or Marshmallow Chick?
Our own Robert Reich was called on this week by satirist Stephen Colbert to explain how the Democratic front runners will devour themselves. After Prof. Reich soundly rebuffed Colbert's characterization of the Democrats as self-destructive, he faced a battery of culinary metaphors as Colbert attempted to extract Prof. Reich's candidate preference. Lady fingers or black forest cake? Pizza that's half-Hawaiian but you're not sure what it will taste like, or plain pizza with cheese that's been under a heat lamp for thirty-five years? Chocolate bunny or marshmallow chick? When he finally picked one, Colbert said, "I was afraid you were...
Nexus of Science, Policy, & Business
Last Friday, the Berkeley Energy & Resources Collaborative (BERC) held its 2nd annual Energy Symposium at the MLK Student Union. The purpose of the symposium is to bring together students, researches, and professor from UC-Berkeley with entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, state officials, and other business people. The symposium was an all day event consisting welcoming remarks by Paul Wright (director of CITRIS) and a taped address by Barbara Boxer. The morning keynote by David Sandalow of the Brookings Institute was followed by breakout sessions on carbon capture & sequestration, transportation sector solutions, future of nuclear energy, and carbon neutral technologies. The...
California Supremes Hear Arguments in Same-Sex Marriage Case
Today, the California Supreme Court convened in San Francisco for three hours of arguments about same-sex marriage in California. Each side was allotted ninety minutes of time to make their case, as an overflow audience watched the proceedings on video screens in a nearby building (and in auditoriums across the state, including here on the UC Berkeley campus). Much argument centered around a 1948 case in which the Court struck down California’s ban on inter-racial marriage. In this case, the “right to join in marriage with the person of one’s choice” was recognized. Key to proponents of same-sex marriage is...
As Dollar Dips, City Bonds Downgraded, Taxpayers Hit
As Wall Street puts a low rating on municipal bonds, the cost of improving schools, roads and bridges goes up... cost that gets passed on to the taxpayer in the form of higher fees and interest on public debt. States and Cities Start Rebelling on Bond Ratings: Does Wall Street underrate Main Street? - 3 March 2008 - The New York Times...
