The students claimed a “classic bait-and-switch” by administrators, who promised a master’s program that includes two years of teaching experience and very little debt while learning from an “inspiring faculty.” That is not what they got, they say. “We became devalued pawns in the University’s administrative games,” they wrote in a group letter. “We feel betrayed, exhausted, disrespected and cheated."   read more

Board member Monica Ratliff said the graduation policy shouldn’t be enforced and suggested a “C” average for the 15 classes would be more realistic. “Of course, I don’t want our graduation rates to plummet but this isn’t about that,” she told KPCC. “This is about the idea that we’re going to deny students diplomas because they received one D in one A through G course. To me, that’s outrageous.”   read more

Brandon Kiel left his calling card at the Santa Clarita sheriff’s station (in northern Los Angeles County), which correctly identified him as an aide to California Attorney General Kamala Harris. Googling his name turns up the same information, but he doesn’t surface as an official with the Masons until after he was arrested with two other people on charges of impersonating a police officer.   read more

A U.S. Postal Service administrative law judge said it was not his job to determine the ultimate membership of the tribe and sounded as if he didn’t really want to get involved. “The Tribe’s chaotic governance is mired in continual litigation,” he wrote in the decision. “Allegations of fraud, embezzlement, forgery, and perjury abound even within this administrative case dealing only with mail delivery.”   read more

Former Blue Shield of California chief technology officer Aaron Kaufman and his ex-employer have exchanged nasty accusations of late about who did what to whom during his two-year tenure. They include raunchy pictures of his “Sharknado” actress girlfriend, thousands of dollars in personal expenses charged to company credit cards, sweetheart deals with vendors and an abrogated bonus agreement.   read more

The 1,000-square-mile water mass, around 100 yards deep, is, on average, around 5.5 degrees warmer than surrounding ocean. The CBS San Francisco headline about the blob said it “may be making California’s drought worse.” The London Daily Mail said it “could be causing California’s mega-drought." USA Today explained “how ‘the blob’ caused USA’s weird weather.” And CBS News asked, “Could the blob end California’s drought?”   read more

Researchers analyzed 8,500 solar projects in San Diego between May 2007 and April 2013 and found the broad range of financial subsidies had little correlation with the number of adoptees. The growth in popularity would have been about the same without them, the report concludes. Giving units to lower-income folks would provide a lot more cheap power and toss in a little income redistribution on the side.   read more

Last week, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced a record 31 deaths in 2014 from West Nile Virus out of 801 cases, the second-highest number ever. California had 379 cases in 2013 and just 111 in 2010. The new numbers confirm a prediction by UCLA researchers in February 2014 that climate change would dramatically increase West Nile in the state.   read more

Aviles climbed on to a fire escape and entered an apartment. He took off his shoes and shirt, and crashed on the couch. When he came to, he grabbed a backpack and loaded it with items, including an earthquake kit and a woman’s passport. Aviles testified he thought his long hair looked like hers and the document would guarantee his seat on the spaceship he thought was docked atop the space station/apartment building.   read more

Campbell was not participating in the Zombie Walk, but was taking photographs of the undead while standing in a crosswalk. Pocci, who is deaf, found his car blocked by the zombie walkers. When he began to get rattled by the strange scene in front of him, he blew his horn and tried to drive ahead. That angered the zombies, who jumped on his car and broke his windshield. Becoming even more concerned for his safety and that of his passengers, he inched forward, struck Campbell and ran her over.   read more

Judge Kelly said at the sentencing that the punishment was “grossly disproportionate” to the crime because “there was no violence or callous disregard for (the victim’s) well-being.” He called the longer sentence “cruel and unusual punishment.” She “appears to be a happy healthy girl,” the judge said, “so it’s hard to gauge how this crime may affect her mental state in the future.”   read more

The two judges boinking in the courthouse were disciplined for their dalliances, sort of, but they were the rare exception when the commission considered the 1,174 complaints filed against the judiciary last year. The commission’s report was consistent with previous years: judges are rarely disciplined in any meaningful way for their behavior on the bench.   read more

Sedway told airline personnel, when asked in the handicap section of the boarding area, that she would appreciate some extra time boarding the plane because she felt a bit weak. That triggered a phone call by the airline to medical personnel and a decision to require that Sedway have a note from her physician clearing her to fly. By that time, she was seated on the plane.   read more

Scientists at the University of California, Davis, have tracked 29,777 instances of roadkill on California roads over the past six years in an attempt to learn more about the animal movements and lessen the carnage. Volunteers file their reports online at the California Roadkill Observation System (CROS), which are entered into a database and mapped in an interactive graphic.   read more

In a mocking parody of the infamous Sodomite Suppression Act that Attorney General Kamala Harris is trying to have the courts kill, Joe Decker wrote in his proposed ballot initiative, “Shellfish are a monstrous evil that Almighty God, giver of freedom and liberty, commands us in Leviticus to suppress. They also smell bad.”   read more

Provost John Etchemendy sent a letter to the faculty warning of allegations that an “unusually high” number of cheaters were taking advantage of the school’s Honor Code. “One faculty member reported allegations that may involve as many as 20 percent of the students in one large introductory course,” he wrote. That could add up to more than 120 students for that one class. Eighty-three students were caught cheating all of last year, according to a university spokeswoman.   read more