Author Archives: Jonathan Van Dyke

UCLA Blueprint editor-in-chief Jim Newton speaks to Mary Nichols, California Air Resources Board chairwoman. (photo by Todd Cheney)

The time is now to move the needle on energy consumption in Los Angeles, California and the country, UCLA experts have said repeatedly, with the most recent declaration coming in the Spring 2016 issue of Blueprint Magazine.

“The chancellor for years has said that this great public institution in the middle of the biggest state of the country and the second-biggest city in the country, needs to play an active role in the civic life of this community,” Blueprint editor-in-chief Jim Newton said during the May 19 launch event for the latest issue. “Blueprint is a small part of that effort as a hub for something just like this.”

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Candidates for the 5th Supervisorial District of the County of Los Angeles debated the issues on May 14 in front of a large crowd at CSU Northridge’s Plaza Del Sol Concert Hall. (photo by Jonathan Van Dyke)

UCLA — in partnership with California State University Northridge, Valley Industry and Commerce Association, and Los Angeles Universal Preschool — hosted a candidate forum on May 14 for the 5th Supervisorial District of the County of Los Angeles, to replace outgoing Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, who has held the position for almost 40 years.

The forum was moderated by KCRW’s Warren Olney. Candidates included Kathryn Barger, Elan Carr, Mitchell Englander, Robert Huff, Ara Najarian and Darrell Park.

The Los Angeles County Supervisors oversee a county budget of more than $28 billion, representing more than 10 million people in almost 100 cities. The 5^th District stretches from Gorman in the north to Alhambra in the south; Val Verde to the west and Lake Los Angeles to the east. The primary election will take place June 7.

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Candidates for the 27th State Senate District converged on Pierce College to debate the issues on May 12. (photo by Jonathan Van Dyke)

UCLA and Pierce College partnered on May 12 to host a forum in front of students and the public for the 27th Senate District.

Candidates Shawn Bayliss, Janice Kamenir-Reznik, David Pollock, Henry Stern and George Thomas took the stage for a two-hour program that spanned numerous topics important to local voters.

The California Primary Election date is set for June 7.

Senate District 27 incorporates and maintains the eastern portion of Ventura County which includes the cities of Simi Valley, Moorpark, Thousand Oaks, Agoura Hills, and Westlake Village. It also includes the coastal area extending from Leo Carrillo State Beach to Malibu and on to Topanga Canyon. Additionally, it captures the communities of Calabasas, West Hills and a portion of Santa Clarita in Los Angeles County.

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U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, center, makes a point during a panel discussion that included Chancellor Emeritus and professor Albert Carnesale and Dean Jayathi Murthy. (photo by John Vande Wege)

What will the future of L.A.’s energy system look like in 10 years, 20 years and beyond?

To create a roadmap for the region’s future as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Mission Innovation initiative, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall met May 10 with stakeholders from across the energy ecosystem at UCLA’s Kerckhoff Hall.

A panel of representatives from academia, the private sector and utilities agreed on three overarching themes underpinning the transition to the future: the need for urgency, collaboration and innovation.

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U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr., UCLA Chancellor Gene Block and Los Angles Mayor Eric Garcetti were on campus to announce a special DOE proposal. (photo by John Vande Wege)

U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. was at UCLA on May 9 to announce a proposal by the U.S. Department of Education to ask higher education institutions to remove barriers that are keeping students from getting a college education or job training because they have been involved in the criminal justice system in the past.

While University of California system has never included questions about applicants’ criminal history on its application forms, many other institutions across the country have. Such questions on college applications deter would-be students from getting a second chance in society through education and success in the job market, King said during a press conference held at the James West Alumni Center.

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UCLA Chancellor Gene Block and U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu led a roundtable on innovation. (photo by Jonathan Van Dyke)

U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) visited the UCLA Faculty Center on May 9 for a special Innovation 2.0 Roundtable discussion with some of the brightest local industry leaders.

“My goal is that you learn something new, I learn something new, and that we find something Congress can pass,” he said.

The roundtable was held in order to inform Congress on the ways experts think the government can help enable innovation to thrive. Topics varied dramatically and included video testimony in the courthouse, video games aimed at girls, the UCLA Foundation, equity firms, tort reform, Pivot T.V., STEM games, satellite manufacturing, and patent reform, among others.

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