UCSD abandons plan to rebuild chancellor’s
house
SAN DIEGO “”mdash; The University of California, San Diego said
Thursday it will not be able to raise $7.2 million to rebuild the
chancellor’s ocean-view mansion.
The university decided recently that too many other projects
were competing for private funds, according to UC system spokesman
Brad Hayward.
UCSD declined to say how much it had raised for the project to
raze and rebuild a 11,400-square-foot home for Chancellor Marye
Anne Fox.
The existing home, built in 1950 and valued at $12 million, was
closed last summer due to structural and seismic code deficiencies.
Fox has been staying in a $6,500-a-month rental home near the
campus, paid for by the university.
UCSD began raising money in October to rebuild the
chancellor’s campus residence, known as University House. The
deadline to raise the money was April 1.
UC policy requires chancellors to live in specified University
Houses.
The University House Work Group, convened by the UC Office of
the President, will now reconvene to explore other options,
including selling the property, which sits on the ocean bluffs in
San Diego’s ultra-wealthy La Jolla Farms area.
Renovation of Bay Bridge coming under fire
OAKLAND “”mdash; As the FBI investigates allegations of
dangerously shoddy work on the new Bay Bridge, a federal safety
official says the project’s safety record also should be
re-examined ““ he thinks they’re simply too good to be
true.
According to a records review by the Oakland Tribune, the
project boasts one of the nation’s best safety records for
such a huge project ““ just eight reported injuries after
1,091,711 hours logged by workers last year, none of which required
time off. Nationally, a similar construction project would see
about 40 such injuries annually, with many requiring days off,
according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Bob Whitmore, chief of record keeping for the federal
Occupational Safety and Health Administration, called the injury
report from contractor KFM Joint Venture “hard to
believe,” and told the Tribune the information requires
“verification.”
But California’s workplace agency isn’t questioning
the reports. California is one of 26 states that operates its own
health and safety agency independently and with limited oversight
from the federal agency.
Len Welsh, Cal-OSHA’s acting chief, acknowledged the
numbers were surprising, but said he has no reason to doubt the
accuracy based on the contractor’s response to site
inspections and its general commitment to safety.
“We think their figures are real,” Welsh said.
“I agree it’s a low rate. It’s particularly
interesting in light of the type of work out there, which is among
the most hazardous in construction.”
The FBI is investigating allegations that welders working on the
first part of the new bridge, a $1.5 billion skyway held up by 160
steel legs, were ordered to hide defects and paid cash bonuses for
early completion, but only when there were no reports of injuries
or repairs, the Tribune reported.
Compiled from Bruin wire services.