CAL STATE TRUSTEES OK PAY HIKES FOR 2 PRESIDENTS: LONG BEACH (AP) — The California State University trustees have approved 10 percent pay hikes for two campus presidents after hearing that the system faces sweeping funding and enrollment cuts.
The trustees took the action at their meeting Tuesday in Long Beach, Calif.
CSU East Bay President Leroy Morishita will receive a base salary of $303,660, while CSU Fullerton President Mildred Garcia will earn a base salary of $324,500.
The presidents also receive a $12,000 car allowance and a $60,000 housing allowance.
Ten percent is the maximum raise allowed under a policy approved by the board in January amid a firestorm of criticism over executive pay raises while tuition is being hiked and enrollment slashed.
CAL STATE TRUSTEES DECRY ENROLLMENT CUTS: LONG BEACH (AP) — The California State University trustees have criticized a plan to freeze spring admissions at most campuses next year.
Trustees decried the plan at the board meeting in Long Beach Tuesday. They requested that Chancellor Charles Reed explore additional ways to increase revenue and reduce costs to cope with a $750 million cut for the next academic year.
The plan also includes putting fall admissions on hold until after the November referendum on Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed tax increases. If the measures do not pass, funding will be further cut by $200 million.
Trustee Roberta Achtenberg says reducing enrollment by 20,000 to 25,000 students betrays students who receive the message that they should go to college. She says many will simply never go to college if denied access to the CSU system.
RETIREE PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO CLUBBING DEATH OF DOG: RIVERSIDE (AP) — A Southern California retiree charged with using a golf club to kill a Chihuahua has pleaded not guilty to felony animal cruelty.
Witnesses told investigators that 58-year-old to Larry Edward Jaurequi hit the dog as if driving a golf ball off a tee, sending the 6-pound animal through the air on Jan. 26 in the Riverside County community of Menifee.
The dog, named Lily, died of a lacerated liver and broken bones.
The Riverside Press-Enterprise says Jaurequi pleaded not guilty on Monday to animal cruelty with an enhancement alleging he used a deadly weapon. He could be sentenced to four years in prison if convicted.
Defense lawyer Paul Grech says Jaurequi has an unfortunate history with dogs, noting he was attacked by a dog years ago.
MAN STABBED IN HEAD, SUSPECT ARRESTED: COMPTON (AP) — A Southern California man has been stabbed in the head during an argument in his Compton home.
Los Angeles County sheriff's investigators say the victim is hospitalized in critical condition with multiple stab wounds. His name hasn't been released.
The suspect was arrested a short time later at a nearby burger restaurant. He's been booked for investigation of assault with a deadly weapon.
City News Service says the men got into an argument at the victim's home when the stabbing occurred at about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday. The nature of the argument hasn't been disclosed.
OCCUPY PROTSTORS ORDERD TO SAY AWAY FROM CAL BERKELEY: OAKLAND (AP) — A judge has issued stay-away orders to four activists who participated in Occupy protests at the University of California, Berkeley last fall.
In Alameda County Superior Court on Tuesday, Judge Paul Seeman barred three UC Berkeley students and one alumnus from campus except when going to class or work.
KTVU-TV reports that the four were arraigned on misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest and blocking the sidewalk.
They were among 13 protesters arrested during a campus Occupy protest on Nov. 9, when demonstrators tried to set up tents next to Sproul Plaza.
Four more student protesters are scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday and could also be given stay-away orders.
SEARCHERS LOOK FOR MAN MISSING FROM DEATH VALLEY: DEATH VALLEY (AP) — A 67-year-old bicyclist from San Francisco remained missing Tuesday, more than a week after he stepped away from a campfire in Death Valley National Park and vanished, a sheriff's official in California said.
George Kohler was last seen on the evening of March 12, when he told members of his bicycle tour group that he was going to his tent at Mesquite Spring campground, Inyo County sheriff's spokeswoman Carma Roper said in a statement.
The next morning, Kohler's bicycle and camping gear were still there, but he wasn't. There was no indication that he slept in his tent, Roper said.
Roper told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that Kohler's disappearance was puzzling.
The group of bicyclists stopped for the night at the campground at the northern end of the park, about 180 miles northwest of Las Vegas and not far from the park's Scotty's Castle attraction.
Sheriff's investigators want to talk with anyone who was on the road to Scotty's Castle and may have seen Kohler or given him a ride.
