mzinshteyn.bsky.social - Profile | ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

What happens to a region wherein every white truck is thought to be an undercover ICE vehicle? Where fear of deportation prompts parents to leave their kids at home, to not go to work, to stop attending church? And is fear the point? This amazing CalMatters story explores those themes vividly.

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Today is no joke.

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"It’s the height of irony that the only judge-shopping we’re seeing in Trump-related cases is … from Trump."

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More than 17,000 high school seniors last fall got the sweetest news any anxious student can get: Congrats, because of your high school GPA, you’re automatically admitted to one of 10 California State University campuses — and they’re all relatively affordable. My piece on automatic admissions:

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"Law Enforcement Unaffected. Police and firefighters will continue to collectively bargain."

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Sue or hold back? The University of California does both as it faces Trump’s wrath. UC sued to fight research cuts. Students want UC to be more vocal about defending diversity and civil liberties. My latest. calmatters.org/education/20...

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Sue or hold back? The University of California does both as it faces Trump’s wrath. The University of California has been selective about which Trump policies it challenges in court. Some students want the UC to be more vocal about defending student diversity and protest rights. My latest:

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Dept of Ed relaunches Income-Driven Repayment applications after month-long pause. "Borrowers can now apply for the Income-Based Repayment (IBR), Pay As You Earn (PAYE), and Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) Plans using the updated IDR application at StudentAid.gov/idr."

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This story also quotes the top investment officer of University of California saying that weapons and drones (along with AI, tech etc) are good investments for the system's pension and other parts of its $180 billion portfolio. This is relevant because protesters want UC to divest from weapons.

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I wrote about a lawsuit that student and faculty protesters filed against UCLA over the mob attack on the UCLA pro-Palestinian encampment last spring. The story notes that the lawsuit said these protests will continue. Sure enough, I featured in the story two protests students staged last week.

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Nearly a year after a mob attacked UCLA students and faculty who formed an encampment protesting Israel’s war in Gaza, participants in that encampment are suing senior officials from the University of California, saying UC violated their rights by summoning police to clear the encampment. By me:

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At UCLA where pro-Palestinian students and faculty are announcing a lawsuit against UCLA, law enforcement agencies and other individuals over the attack against the encampment last April 30.

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I was not allowed to walk up a stairwell blocked by student protesters at the UCLA engineering IV building. When I said this is a first amendment violation, one masked individual screamed in my face, "do you understand there's a fucking genicide going on?"

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Pro-Palestinian rally at UCLA near where UC regents members are meeting. "We will honor all our martyrs," is one of the chants.

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NEWS: University of California will enforce a systemwide hiring freeze, UC President Michael Drake just said at UC Regents meeting. Freeze is to prepare for a planned 8% state budget cut to UC as well as federal cuts to public health and research that are responsible for billions of dollars for UC.

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About two dozen @afscme3299.bsky.social workers broke out into a chant of "UC greed has to go" as they close out the public comment period of the Regents. The regents chair has called on police to clear the protesters/workers. There's now a police line in front of the chanting workers.

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Public comment whirlwind at UC Regents meeting: Speaker 1 is a faculty member arguing against antisemitism and anti-zionism at UCLA. Two speakers later: A man named Edgar introduces himself as a "survivor of the abortion holocaust."

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So, University of California Board of Regents public comment folks, be advised: There are new mask rules at Regents meetings: "The wearing of masks or any face covering in the meeting room is prohibited, except that an attendee may wear a single, transparent mask provided at the meeting entrance"

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"The initial poll, of 233 staffers, lobbyists, political consultants and others who work in state politics, found that CalMatters and Politico are the community’s most turned-to news sources, followed by the Bee and the Times and the Capitol Morning Report." capitolweekly.net/capitol-week...

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Protesters to UC Regents: Divest from weapons manufacturers. UC's chief investment officer: “We’re looking for opportunities ... I think they’re gonna come from AI, life sciences, the technology marketplaces, growth industries, they’re gonna come from defense, they’re gonna come from drones..."

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So, University of California Board of Regents public comment folks, be advised: There are new mask rules at Regents meetings: "The wearing of masks or any face covering in the meeting room is prohibited, except that an attendee may wear a single, transparent mask provided at the meeting entrance"

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Protesters to UC: Divest from weapons manufacturers. UC's top investment officer. "We're looking for opportunities. ... I think they're going to like sciences, the technology marketplaces, growth industries. They're going to come from defense, they're going to come from drones..." At ~1:06 here:

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At UCLA where a pro-Palestinian rally in support of Mahmoud Khalil is starting at noon. At 1pm, the governing body of the University of California, the Regents, will begin its three-day meeting at the fenced-off building behind the protesters. Public has access to meeting if they pass security.

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Seven of our unionized colleagues at CalMatters/The Markup were notified they are being laid off. Each is a significant talent and we would greatly appreciate if you would donate (as I have) to help give them some cushion as they process this and begin their job search.

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California and 19 other states plus Washington D.C. pushed back today against the Trump administration’s gutting of the Department of Education, saying the impact would be catastrophic for millions of K-12 and college students – especially students who are low-income or are in special education.

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This report says only one employee left in IES.

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Ironic. www.jta.org/2025/03/12/u...

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Senator Mark Kelly, an Arizona Democrat, visited Ukraine over the weekend and said the U.S. could not give up on the people there as they fight Russia. Elon Musk responded on X, calling Kelly "a traitor."

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Not only are pasture-raised eggs more humane, sustainable and tasty, according to farmers, but they also have largely held their premium prices steady amid bird flu upcharges on commercially produced alternatives.

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Show me a better headline than this, I dare you. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/03/s...

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Breaking: CA students have more time to apply for state financial aid after a key deadline moved from March 3 to April 2. There's a 25% drop in HS student fin aid apps compared to this time in past years. Context: Many students fear Trump's immigration enforcement plans may target their families.

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“So then I have to ask, as kindly and as respectfully as I can, ‘Well, what the fuck did you think was going to happen?’” Emergency shelters are supposed to be safe havens. But a CalMatters investigation finds they are more deadly than jails – and the vast majority of residents remain homeless.

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I'm watching the Assembly budget subcommittee hearing on higher-ed now. Among the topics? What happens to Cal State University if it takes the scheduled 8% cut in state support. Fewer student services, larger class sizes, continued job freezes/cuts. Context: calmatters.org/education/hi...

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"The likelihood that (Trump administration education officials) use the nuclear bomb here and pull federal funding is higher under this administration than under any other in the Education Department’s history.” www.chronicle.com/article/in-s...

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This is what higher ed administrators are reading this weekend. Basically, anything that could be perceived as involving race could result in the loss of federal funding. It's an expansive Dear Colleague letter from ED, to be sure. www.ed.gov/media/docume...

submitted 45 days ago • 9 comments