The state of California plans to borrow up to $200 million from the UC system for the operation of its general fund following the discovery of an emergency shortfall in its budget.

The funds will not be extracted from the university system’s operating budget but levied from outside sources on the open credit market. Classified as a short-term plan to compensate for a temporary gap, the state requested funding from the UCs, set to be withdrawn on March 2 and repaid in April once the state has generated revenue from income taxes, since it receives more lucrative borrowing opportunities due to its high credit rating.

The final deficit for the last fiscal year ran up to $8.2 billion, bringing the state’s total shortfall to $21 billion.

State Controller Spokesperson Jacob Roper said the crisis prompted an interim plan to compensate for the fiscal gap, as it was not immediately identifiable.

“We noticed a pressure on the cash flow for several months, but it wasn’t until late December that we were able to run the numbers and determine exactly what the problem is,” Roper said. “What we’re doing is temporarily borrowing to maintain a cash credit in that general fund to make sure that in case an emergency happens in California, the state can continue to pay its bills.”

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Protesters gathered at Santa Barbara’s De la Guerra on Tuesday afternoon to testify before the Santa Barbara City Council in opposition to the controversial National Defense Authorization Act.

President Barack Obama signed the legislation into law on Dec. 31, 2011, authorizing $662 billion in funding for various national security and defense programs during the 2012 fiscal year. The legislation evaluates military costs and Department of Defense health care spending, imposes new sanctions and authorizes the detainment of suspected terrorists.

According to Bryan Rosen, a representative from Concerned Citizens for Environmental Health, demonstrators feel the bill violates citizens’ Constitutional right to a fair and speedy trial.

“To do this without evidence, to be able to put anyone away — any American citizen — in military custody without trial, to me, is highly, highly dangerous to our democracy,” Rosen said. “We had an attack on the towers and they’ve waited until now to take away our basic constitutional rights.”

According to Rosen, protesters aim to mobilize the public against the legislation and spur additional amendments to the bill.

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In celebration of its 50th anniversary, the UC Education Abroad Program will host five UC faculty-led summer study programs throughout the world, with UCSB faculty teaching a course on Arabic culinary traditions in Cairo, Egypt, from June 29 to July 28.

Associate professor of Islamic Studies Juan Campo and Arabic lecturer Magda Campo will teach the nine-unit course, which will focus on the historical and political aspects of Egyptian culinary traditions as well as their Christian and Muslim influences. The program, which costs $7,400, will provide weekend excursions to food markets, the Giza pyramids, Alexandria and a number of other historical and cultural sites.

UCEAP Executive Director and Associate Vice Provost Jean-Xavier Guinard said Egypt’s ongoing revolution and political uproar make it a uniquely exciting country to visit and students enrolled in the Cairo program will be able to explore Egyptian culture beyond usual tourist destinations.

“Egypt is in the center of the Arab world and at the forefront of reform and change in that world,” Guinard said in an email. “Tourists often rush to see the pyramids and Sphinx, but there is a vibrant and bustling culture most foreign visitors never experience, [which] students on the 50th anniversary faculty-led summer program will explore.”

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The Santa Barbara County Public Works Dept. approved a plastic bag recycling initiative on Monday that allows residents to dispose of the containers in blue curbside recycling bins.

Waste Management and MarBorg Industries will begin collecting and recycling the bags as part of the county’s latest measure to minimize the negative environmental impact of the bags that escape into the environment or become stuck in landfills. MarBorg is the region’s primary curbside waste collection company after securing an eight-year contract from the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors last April.

According to Santa Barbara City Councilmember Randy Rowse, recycling a variety of plastic bags limits what enters landfills — the most expensive available waste management option — and increases their lifespan. Rowse said the costs of previous plans were difficult to assess, rendering the potential projects financially unsustainable.

Leslie Robinson, program specialist for the SB County Public Works Dept., said the companies became capable of collecting and recycling plastic bags prior to renegotiating their contracts with the county.

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The UCSB men’s and women’s swim and dive teams celebrated their final dual meet of the season in winning fashion this past weekend with victories over visiting Cal Poly at Campus Pool on Saturday. The dual marked the last time 11 of the Gaucho senior swimmers would step into the pool during the regular season as they were honored at the meet.

“We came out against our rival and dispatched them,” Head Coach Gregg Wilson said. “I think our seniors did great — it’s a very good way for them to go out.”

The win marks the first time ever since the program’s start in 1961 that the men have gone undefeated in dual meets, handing Cal Poly a 163-124 loss and finishing the season at a perfect 6-0. The women also evened the score against Cal Poly, beating the Mustangs by a score of 169-129 and winning four straight dual meets to close out the season 6-3.

UCSB went strong from the beginning, winning eight of the first 10 events, including the women’s 200-yard medley where the “A” relay team showed another strong performance. Sophomores Allie Knight, Sophia Yamauchi, Andrea Ward and senior Kendall Neely beat the Mustangs by over two seconds, combining for a time of 1:45.50.

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The SolarWorld Gran Turismo held a demonstration on Friday at the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management to showcase the solar-powered vehicle attempting to break a world record by circumnavigating the globe.

The event marked the car’s first stop at a U.S. university on its approximately 22,000-mile worldwide tour that began in Australia last October. The vehicle is the brainchild of nine undergraduate engineering students at the Bochum University of Applied Sciences in Germany, who built the car in collaboration with Camarillo-based solar panel manufacturer SolarWorld.

The two-seat car is composed of carbon fiber with roof-integrated solar panels, weighs about 260 kilograms, has a maximum power of 10 kilowatts and drives at 31 mph to achieve optimum efficiency. Team supervisor Matthias Wiemers said Audi loaned out its wind tunnel to help the team design a model with the least wind resistance.

According to student team leader Tim Skerra, the “World Wide Solar Ride” project aims to break the Guinness World Record for most miles travelled by a solar-powered vehicle.

“Hopefully in November we’ll finish our tour and get a Guinness World Record and show that solar power, this sustainable energy resource, works all over the globe,” Skerra said. “E-vehicles are the future for individual mobility because of efficiency, and we want to show that light and aerodynamic vehicles are the key.”

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Isla Vista is slated to offer a variety of high-end housing options such as The Loop, Icon UCSB and The Plaza Lofts by Fall Quarter 2012.

The Loop, located on 6533-39 Trigo Rd., will offer 48 separate units including single studio apartments and six-person lofts for $900 to $1,400 per person. Icon UCSB boasts 21 luxury apartments at 6545-47 Trigo Rd. with prices ranging from $979 to $1,349, while The Plaza Lofts provides 18 exclusive studio and suite-style apartments — prices unlisted — conveniently located next to Keg-N-Bottle Market.

Neil Dipaola, CEO and managing partner of Mesa Lane Partners — which operates The Loop — said the $18 million project provides close access to local shops and amenities.

“The Loop was designed, conceived, developed and funded by UCSB alumni who lived in Isla Vista and remember what it was like and the types of things Gauchos care about,” Dipaola said.

Units at The Loop come furnished with twin-sized beds, flat screen TVs, private bathrooms and stainless steel appliances. The center’s facilities include a private bike entrance and storage area, outdoor gym, rooftop sundeck and fire pit in addition to an 8,000-square-foot retail and dining center on the ground floor.

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The National Marine Fisheries Service released the final version of a comprehensive report about the issues and possible solutions for endangered steelhead trout populations throughout Southern California’s creeks and rivers.

The “Southern California Steelhead Recovery Plan,” issued last month, is based off 12 years of research and claims river and watershed degradation have had a detrimental effect on steelhead trout populations. The plan would require $1.7 to 2.1 billion to monitor and fine-tune waterways over the course of the next 80 to 100 years depending on how fish populations respond.

According to UCSB’s Research Experience and Education Facility manager Scott Simon, steelhead are anadromous, living in salt water for the majority of their lives until they migrate up freshwater streams to breed. Steelhead populations have declined in recent years due to manmade obstacles such as dams, bridges and other water diversions lowering water levels and preventing the fish from reaching their natural spawning grounds.

NMFS Recovery Coordinator Mark Capelli said the plan would provide an effective foundation for supporting the endangered fish.

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Weeks of hard work in practice finally paid off for the No. 15 UCSB men’s volleyball team, as they captured their first MPSF victory on Friday with a 3-1 victory over Pepperdine.

Previously losing their first four conference games, the Gauchos used a potent offensive attack and improved blocking to overcome No. 8 Pepperdine on the road.

“It was good, we definitely needed to get a win,” Head Coach Rick McLaughlin said. “We’ve been working hard and things just fell into the right place. It’s good that our hard work paid off and we got a win; now our guys have something to build on.”

After falling to UCLA and USC on the road, the Gauchos recorded their first road and conference victories while snapping a four-game losing streak. UCSB (3-6 overall, 1-4 MPSF) defeated a ranked team after losing to top five opponents in three straight games.

UCSB needed extra points to win the fourth and final set with a 28-26 victory. The Gauchos won the first and second sets 26-24 and 25-21 before dropping the third set 21-25.

“It was one of the best feelings I’ve ever had,” junior outside hitter Miles Evans said. “I’m super stoked; I couldn’t be any happier.”

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Researchers in the Marine Science Dept. released the results of the largest study on ocean acidification ever conducted, revealing that global warming leads to destructive increases in ocean acidity levels.

Ecology, evolution and marine biology professor Gretchen Hofmann and 18 other researchers in the department compiled the data, released this week, using 15 underwater sensors developed at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography to observe a wide variety of ocean locations including warm tropical waters and the Antarctic. The acidification process is sparked when carbon emissions reach saltwater and form carbonic acid, lowering overall pH levels and making it more difficult for invertebrates to form shells or exoskeletons.

Ecology and physiology professor Mark Brzezinski said new technology allowed researchers to make more in-depth observations of the large-scale effects of acidification compared to similar instruments used in past studies.

“You can buy pH meters almost anywhere that work very well,” Brzezinski said. “What the new sensors can do is take that same technology and put it into a can in the ocean that survives and takes accurate measurements.”

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The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Dept. discovered an abandoned panga boat off the county’s coastline, the second craft of its kind found in the region this year.

Deputies, the U.S. Coast Guard and Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol personnel recovered the boat after receiving numerous calls reporting the vehicle off Fernald Point in Montecito. Authorities found the empty boat approximately 200 yards off the coast as well as several life vests on the shore nearby, suggesting the passengers made it to land.

Pangas are small outboard-motor boats capable of traversing the open ocean and carrying heavy loads. Their features make them popular with smugglers running illegal immigrants or contraband materials across the Mexico and U.S. border.

The SBCSO asks the public to keep an eye out for suspicious watercraft off the coast. People can direct reports of craft sightings to the SBCSO at (805) 681-4100 or the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s 24-hour toll-free tip line at (866) 347-2423.

—Staff Report

The UC Education Abroad Program will host a series of international events throughout the 2012-2013 school year at UCSB to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

The program originated at UCSB in 1962 after a group of 80 undergraduates traveled to the University of Bordeaux in France. The UCEAP now operates in 36 countries on six continents and has sent over 100,000 students from all nine UC campuses since its conception.

The UCEAP is one of the largest study abroad programs in the country and sends over 4,000 students overseas each year. UCSB will start off the year-long commemoration on April 28 with a reception and dinner honoring EAP alumni.

Simone Khoubian, a fourth-year psychology major who traveled to Sydney, Australia last fall, said the program provides priceless world experiences alongside college credit.

“It’s an amazing opportunity to be able to do what you’re doing anyway in another part of the world,” Khoubian said. “You can become part of another culture.”

The UCEAP is offering shorter terms in response to decreased state funding, with less than one out of six participants in the past three years spending an entire year abroad.

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The No. 17 UCSB women’s water polo team began a six-game home stand last Friday, four of which were part of the 2012 UCSB Winter Invite. After dropping their first game of the weekend to No. 6 Arizona State, the Gauchos rattled off four straight victories against Concordia, Sonoma State, No. 19 Cal State Northridge and CSU Bakersfield before losing their final match of the weekend to Indiana. Santa Barbara will end January with a 7-5 overall record.

“We are very inexperienced,” Head Coach Cathy Neushul said. “We lost 87 percent of our goal production last year so it was really important that we came out early and challenged ourselves, and we did that.”

The weekend’s closing game against Indiana could hardly have been closer. Halftime saw Indiana up 2-1 after matching the Gauchos’ lone goal in the first period and then blanking them in the second to take the slight lead. The second half opened with a 2-2 third period, but the Gauchos outmuscled Indiana 3-2 in the fourth to force overtime. However, the comeback fell short. Indiana’s defense kept UCSB off the board throughout both overtime periods while the offense added two goals to give the Hoosiers an 8-6 win.

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Friday is the last day students can register for the UCSB Technology Management Program’s 13th annual New Venture Competition for students to showcase entrepreneurial ideas and inventions for a chance to win over $75,000 in various prizes and business opportunities.

Participants meet for biweekly workshops and seminars with local businessmen and other experienced mentors over five months to discuss financial instruction, business models and marketing techniques. Each team develops its own product or company idea to present before a board of judges, who will select teams to move on to the semifinals on March 22 and finals on May 9.

TMP Director Bob York, an electrical and computer engineering professor, said the contest develops students’ ideas into concrete final products.

“The whole process is really rewarding,” York said. “To see the students start with the germ of an idea [and] then to see the teams come together and to hear their final presentation and how polished they are — that’s a very rewarding experience.”

Students can compete individually or in teams of up to five people. The competition is open to all grades and majors.

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The Harding University Partnership School brought its entire student body to the UCSB campus last Friday to participate in educational activities with several UCSB faculty members and students.

The school, located in Santa Barbara’s Westside, entered into an official partnership with UCSB’s Gevirtz Graduate School of Education in January 2010 to provide essential resources and a rigorous curriculum for its students. Harding currently enrolls 600 students, preschool through grade six, with 90 percent of the student body considered economically disadvantaged and 60 percent learning English as a second language.

According to Gevirtz School Dean Jane Close Conoley, the alliance fosters a relationship between the university and the children’s families while also giving graduate students first-hand instructive experience.

“We bring the Harding community to UCSB as a way to ensure that our children and parents feel they belong on a university campus,” Conoley said in a press release. “In addition to the cutting edge learning opportunities they will experience during the visit, they will be welcomed by UCSB students, faculty, and staff as a way to invite them back as university students.”

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