Mary Ann Mason Finds Motherhood Often an Obstacle to Tenure

The Chronicle of Higher Education, February 13, 2011 by Rachel Newcomb
http://chronicle.com/article/Fieldwork-in-Morocco-With/126309/

Mary Ann Mason, a professor of law at the University of California at Berkeley, has found that women with children are less likely to get tenure than men. In the sciences, mothers are 27 percent less likely to receive tenure, and Mason’s 2002 study found that women who have babies within five years of receiving their Ph.D. in the humanities or social sciences are 20 percent less likely than men in a similar situation to receive tenure.

Alan Auerbach Opposes Lower Corporate Tax Rate

The New York Times, February 12, 2011 by Conrad De Aenlle
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/13/business/yourtaxes/13corp.html

“Because the United States now has one of the highest corporate tax rates among the world’s leading economies, some argue that it must lower its corporate tax rate to compete,” he said…. “A simple reduction in its corporate tax rate is not the answer, though, because it would leave in place all the flaws of the existing system.”

Nathan Shaffer Assists UC Student on Lawsuit

The Daily Californian, February 10, 2011 by Aaida Samad and True Shields
http://www.dailycal.org/article/111890/ruling_relocates_lawsuit_against_professor_to_appe

However, the ruling does not change the status of Wolf’s lawsuit, said Nathan Shaffer, a campus law student and member of the Campus Rights Project—a group that has been assisting students.
“We remain confident in the arguments that we made and look forward to proceeding with this case in appellate court,” Shaffer said.

Christopher Hoofnagle Informs Analysis of Identity Theft Report

Business Insider, February 10, 2011 by Adam Levin
http://read.bi/hMKT7c

Frankly, the financial services sector has always been pretty guarded when it comes to such disclosures. UC Berkeley’s Professor Chris Hoofnagle has been quite outspoken over the years about their “close to the vest” disclosure policies, and his groundbreaking study tracking the frequency of bank data breaches is absolutely worth a read.

Eric Rakowski Says ‘Crowd-Funding’ Web Donations May Be Taxable

East Bay Express, February 9, 2011 by Luke Tsai
http://bit.ly/f8oR2F

Rakowski said that if the donor is motivated by what the Supreme Court has termed “disinterested generosity,” then the money can simply be treated as a gift and isn’t subject to taxation. But if some tangible perk is given in exchange for the contribution, then that transaction can no longer be viewed as a pure “donation,” per se, from a tax standpoint.

Ty Alper Describes Deficiencies with California’s Death Chamber

-KPCC-FM, February 8, 2011 by Julie Small and Mike Roe
http://www.scpr.org/news/2011/02/08/federal-judge-who-halted-california-executions-tou/

Fogel found so many deficiencies in the state’s execution system that he issued a moratorium on lethal injections until California fixed some problems, starting with the death chamber’s design. “It was cramped, the lighting was poor, the delivery mechanism for the drugs was really long and convoluted,” says Ty Alper with UC Berkeley Law School’s death penalty clinic.

-KQED-FM, February 8, 2011 Host Cy Musiker
http://www.kqed.org/a/kqednews/RN201102081730

“The equipment that’s used, the chamber that’s used, and the people who’re conducting the execution are important. If the execution is not conducted in a professional way, then there’s a real risk that the person being executed will suffer excruciating pain.”