PROTECT CONSUMER JUSTICE.ORG

New York Times: Students, professors and union workers alike say the state’s 20 percent cutback in financing imperils the system’s ability to provide a top-quality education to all qualified California students, particularly those from low-income families, who make up almost a third of the university’s student body.

Sacramento Bee: UC Regents impose another tuition fee hike.

Case Western Reserve University law professors Max Mehlman and Dale Nance say “any reduction in the risk of civil liability would remove a critical safety incentive.”

San Francisco Chronicle: The Chronicle’s Nanette Asimov writes that the UC Regents are getting ready to jack up tuition in a big way, including “an extraordinary $31,355 at UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law.”

Sacramento’s major utility district is suing financial firms accusing them of rigging bids, costing consumers. A similar suit was filed on behalf of Riverside.

Perhaps there is a message for California politicians in the findings of the latest poll by Public Policy Institute of California. Gov. Schwarzenegger’s approval rating is 28%. Californians place much more importance on college than do adults nationwide, have a favorable view toward colleges, and worry a lot about university budget cuts.

As former Bear Stearns money managers Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin walk, at least one juror was so taken with them that she said she’d entrust her money with them.