UCLA in the News lists selected mentions of UCLA in the world’s news media. Some articles may require registration or a subscription. See more UCLA in the News.

Is state’s jobless benefits agency ready for a recession? | CalMatters

The incredible wave of people applying in a matter of weeks [during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic] was “extreme,” says Till von Wachter, an economics professor at UCLA. Normal recessions are more gradual, he said, so the number of claims the department has to process per week would likely be lower. “They just went through trial by fire,” von Wachter said. He’s optimistic that the department would be able to better deal with a recession. 

Desalination only a partial solution to growing drought | The Hill

This $120 million facility will be situated on Doheny State Beach about 30 miles northwest of Carlsbad … The beach’s geography, as well as the lack of other water in that region, also make the spot much better suited for a desalination plant than other areas, according to Gregory Pierce, the co-director of the Water Resources Group at UCLA. “That one is much closer to being advisable,” he told The Hill over the summer, prior to the plant’s approval.

Most are unaware of government’s nutrition guidelines | Associated Press

Dr. Vijaya Surampudi is a nutrition specialist at the University of California, Los Angeles. She said MyPlate leaves out important details about fats and the differences between vegetables. And Nestle noted that MyPlate fails to show that vegetables, grains, and dairy foods also contain protein.

Elections and ‘independent legislature’ SCOTUS case | Politico

“The three liberal justices are not going to be buying into this theory, based on their overall ideological approach to things,” said Rick Hasen, a prominent election law professor at UCLA who authored an amicus brief urging the court to reject the theory. He added that conservative Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Samuel Alito “are sympathetic to this argument, if not already fully committed to it,” based on past writings. (Hasen was also quoted by Yahoo News.)

Costco’s approach to unionization | Yahoo Finance

“Nonetheless, there’s also a source of pressure because as inflation goes up, workers’ expenses go up. And Costco has to keep pace with that. That’s what happened with these negotiations, is that Costco offered a settlement that workers turned down, 93% in August, and threatened to go on strike. And so I think that’s the other source of pressure,” said UCLA’s Chris Tilly. (Tilly was interviewed.)

The history story of eugenics | BBC Radio 4

“The first place in the world to introduce a eugenics sterilization law was Indiana … So, Indiana’s law, which was passed in 1907, it first targeted poor white people. Particularly men who were seen as deviant in sexual and behavioral terms,” said UCLA’s Alexandra Minna Stern (approx. 2:35 mark).

‘A Christmas Carol’ for those with sensory sensitivities | KPCC-FM

Rujuta Wilson, a neurologist at the UCLA Center for Autism Research and Treatment, says families report that inclusive activities benefit the whole family. “Not just how much fun it was for their autistic child, for example, and how much they took from it, but really the positive impact it had on the other siblings and the family — because they got to share experiences that they very commonly have with their friends with their sibling.” (approx. 0:50 mark). 

Incarcerated LGBTQ youth are struggling | Education Today

LGBTQ youth in juvenile detention centers face far greater mental health challenges compared with students in public schools. They reported higher instances of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and self-harm, according to a new report by the Williams Institute at UCLA. (UCLA’s Ilan Meyer was quoted.)

Former tech worker is an advocate for whistleblowers | CNN

Ifeoma Ozoma’s path as an advocate for tech workers started with a series of tweets one morning in June 2020 … Ozoma now runs a tech policy consulting company, Earthseed, and is the director of tech accountability at the new Center on Race and Digital Justice at the University of California, Los Angeles. This year, Time Magazine named her one of its TIME100 Next, a group of emerging leaders who are shaping the future.