UC Blog
UCR scientist writes op-ed on methyl iodide
UC Riverside emeritus professor of plant pathology Jim Sims recently published an op-ed about methyl iodide in the Ventura County Star. In his article, Sims says, "Much like other potent materials that are part of our everyday lives, methyl iodide can be used safely. This compound is the most-researched and most-tightly controlled fumigant yet registered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency."Addressing health concerns, Sims writes: "The chemical is not a human carcinogen. It is a rodent carcinogen. Lois Gold and Bruce Ames, both UC Berkeley researchers, have stated 'high-dose effects in rodent cancer tests ... are not relevant to low-dose human exposures.'
"The studies that claim to show that methyl iodide will cause late-term miscarriages were done using high-dose protocols on rabbits. This effect is not caused by methyl iodide itself, but rather excess iodide that builds up in the body as methyl iodide is broken down."
In April, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation proposed registering methyl iodide for use in California. In June, DPR director Mary Ann Warmerdam testified before a state Senate committee about the proposed registration. A 60-day public comment period ended June 29.
Sims notes he is an author on the patents and the individual who first proposed the use of methyl iodide as a soil fumigant. The patents are owned by UC Regents, managed by UC Riverside and licensed to Arysta LifeScience Corp. of Tokyo.
Business Operations Center at Kearney
As of July 1, the ANR Business Operations Center located at Kearney (BOC-K) is providing comprehensive consolidated financial and payroll-related services in support of county Cooperative Extension offices statewide. This includes providing business services in support of 200 CE advisors and 400 staff employees. The BOC-K's mission is to provide highly effective and efficient financial and payroll services within the guidelines of UC and ANR policies and procedures.
Key services provided by the BOC-K include:
financial processing for:
- travel expense reports
- entertainment expense reports
- purchasing (including UCD Purchasing Card transactions)
- invoice/vendor payments
- gift acceptance
- UCCE checking accounts
- cash collections
- DaFIS account management
- contract & grant financial management UC Payroll/Personnel System
processing and payroll processing for:
- monthly leave reporting for advisors
- monthly time and leave reporting for staff employees
- funding changes for staff and academic employees
- extensions of appointments for staff and academic employees
- academic and staff salary action processing
The BOC-K team members are listed below:
Financial services team:
Kathy Montanez, financial services manager, kmontanez@uckac.edu, (559) 646-6530, financial services management, contracts & grants coordination, DaFIS account management
Lorraine Holm, financial services assistant, lholm@uckac.edu, (559) 646-6590, purchasing, out-of-pocket reimbursements, gift acceptance, and travel & entertainment processing
Nora Rodriguez, financial services assistant, nrodriguez@uckac.edu, (559) 646-6532, vendor invoice processing, UCCE checking account reconciliations, cash collection processing, and travel & entertainment processing
MaryAnn DeLecce, financial services assistant, mdelecce@uckac.edu, (559) 646-6083
Guillermina Garcia, financial services assistant, mgarcia@uckac.edu, (559) 646-6082
Laura Gonzales, financial services assistant, lgonzales@uckac.edu, (559) 646-6084
Helen Moriyama, financial services assistant, hmoriyama@uckac.edu, (559) 646-6081
Payroll/online personnel system & payroll services (PPS) team:
Kennieth Nasalroad, payroll/PPS services specialist, knasalroad@uckac.edu, (559) 646-6544, coordination of academic & staff payroll services and online payroll/personnel processing services
Diane Chadwick, payroll services assistant, dchadwick@uckac.edu, (559) 646-6571, processing of monthly staff time records and academic leave records
Cindy Inouye, payroll services assistant, cinouye@uckac.edu, (559) 646-6535, processing of monthly staff time records and academic leave records
Cathy Edwards, PPS services assistant, cedwards@uckac.edu, (559) 646-6511, online payroll/personnel processing for new employee hiring, extensions of appointments, funding changes, employee separations
Joyce Hatanaka, PPS services assistant, jhatanaka@uckac.edu, (559) 646-6517, online payroll/personnel processing for new employee hiring, extensions of appointments, funding changes, employee separations
View or leave comments for the Executive Working Group
This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.
Revised SNE plan open for comments; Register for HFC conference
Revised Sustainable Natural Ecosystems plan posted for comment
A revised draft of the Sustainable Natural Ecosystems Strategic Initiative Plan has been posted on the Sustainable Natural Ecosystems web site http://ucanr.org/sites/SNE/. You can access the pdf document directly athttp://ucanr.org/sites/SNE/files/36665.pdf.
Comments on the plan will be accepted through Aug. 15. Please e-mail your comments directly to Jim Bartolome, Sustainable Natural Ecosystems initiative leader, at jwbart@berkeley.edu.
The initiative’s panel members will integrate the comments into the plan and submit it for Program Council and Executive Working Group approval.
Register for Healthy Families & Communities conference
Registration is open for the Healthy Families and Communities (HFC) Strategic Initiative Conference being held Aug. 24 - 26 at the UC Davis Conference Center.
Participants will discuss priority areas of inquiry identified by the panel for the HFC Strategic Initiative and begin developing the strategic plan for the next five years. Academics working in the area of the Healthy Families and Communities Strategic Initiative should attend. There is no fee to attend and funds are available to assist with travel. Program details and registration are at http://ucanr.org/sites/hfcconference/.
For more information, contact Janelle Kohl at (530) 752-6996 or jmkohl@ucdavis.edu.
View or leave comments for the Executive Working Group
This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.
ANR Building modular addition project approved
Dear Colleagues,
Last week, Senior VP Dan Dooley approved the initial phase of a project to design, estimate cost, and build a modular building adjacent to the existing ANR Building on Hopkins Road in Davis. The building will house the Research and Extension Centers - Administrative Office (REC-AO), Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S), Risk Services, the Statewide IPM Program (IPM), and Communication Services and Information Technology (CSIT).
The need for this facility is driven by a number of factors. First, to reduce facilities costs, UC Davis authorities have been relocating units housed in off-campus leased space to campus facilities. For CSIT, that was going to mean relocation to at least three different structures on campus and the loss of studio, technology infrastructure, and other production facilities. As the lease for the space CSIT currently occupies was to expire late this summer, the need to relocate that unit has been compelling. Additionally, elements of IPM have been in separate locations, one of which is significantly sub-standard.
More importantly, establishing a single location for major administrative, support and programmatic units of ANR will prove essential to improving administrative efficiency and to capitalizing on our new administrative structure and on new common collaborative tools and technologies to support it.
ANR plans to support this project primarily with funds that are restricted to use on capital projects and facilities. Moreover, the planned 18,000 sq ft facility, estimated to cost approximately $2.8 million, will provide a permanent home to key ANR units and, within a relatively short period of time, save both ANR and the UC Davis campus significant lease, improvement, relocation and infrastructure expenses. This project will be funded without impacting current operating budgets and resources, academic recruitments, or funding for our Strategic Initiatives.
While no construction on this project will begin before we have a state budget, we must move ahead with the project planning to be ready when we do. This project will use modular construction technologies that provide functional space at low cost and very short construction times. The UC Davis facilities staff has conducted preliminary analysis of this project and agrees on its potential long-term benefits to both ANR and UCD.
REC-AO, EH&S, Risk Services, IPM, and CSIT will remain in their current locations until they can relocate to the new building projected to be ready by early 2012.
We have long wanted to expand the ANR Building and the current construction economy and significantly improved modular construction technologies make this project possible, affordable and desirable.Kay Harrison Taber
Associate Vice President – Business Operations
View or leave comments for the Executive Working Group
This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.
Op-ed outlines board's reasoning for farm sale
An op-ed written by members of the Hansen Trust Advisory Board appeared in the Sunday Ventura County Star with details about the board's reasoning for recommending that the University of California sell the Faulkner Farm in Santa Paula.John Krist, Chris Sayer and Edgar Terry wrote that the historic Faulkner Farm, which now operates as the Hansen Agricultural Center, did not provide the boon for agriculture that was expected when the facility was acquired by the trust 13 years ago.
On the contrary, "ownership of the property has saddled the organization with crippling financial and logistical burdens," the authors wrote.
The op-ed says Thelma Hansen's objective when she bequeathed much of her estate to the University of California in 1990 was to support and maintain University research and extension activities and related facilities in Ventura County.
However, a large share of the Hansen Trust's annual budget has been devoted to maintaining the Faulkner Farm's historic structures and grounds. Only 10 percent of the trust’s annual budget of approximately $1 million is now available for direct support of activities benefiting local agriculture.
The Hansen Agricultural Center entrance.