Bike auction Oct. 9

The first bike auction of the year is set for Oct. 9, with more than 400 bicycles going up for sale.

The auction venue is sheltered — on the first floor of the west entry parking garage — so interested people should come on out, rain or shine, said David David Takemoto-Weerts, Bicycle Program coordinator.

The Bicycle Program, part of Transportation and Parking Services, or TAPS, conducts an auction like this twice a year, once in the fall and once in the spring — to clear out the program’s inventory of abandoned and unclaimed bicycles.

Takemoto-Weerts said the inventory for the Oct. 9 sale includes bicycles of many types and conditions: cruisers, mountain bikes, road bikes, BMX and a few children’s bikes.

Prices averaged $30 to $40 at the last couple of sales, according to Takemoto-Weerts. Purchases may be made with cash, check, or Visa or MasterCard.

Interested people are invited to view the available bikes starting at 8 a.m. The auction is scheduled to begin at 9 and continue until every bicycle has gone up for bid.

The west entry garage is off Hutchison Drive, just east of La Rue Road.

More information is available by telephone, (530) 752-BIKE (2453), and online.

CoHo: 'It's looking like Monday'

The new and improved Coffee House could open as early as Oct. 11, said Sharon Coulson, food production manager. "It's looking like Monday," she said today (Oct. 8).

Opening time Monday would be 7 a.m.

The more than 200 students who comprise the staff have been training all week in the kitchen and in the brand-new food service stations, and construction workers have been taking care of the final touches on the project.

The CoHo shut down more than a year ago for the renovation project. It is the CoHo's first overhaul since 1990 when the UC Davis culinary institution moved in to the MU’s west side.

Coulson has been director since 1983, when the CoHo occupied the MU's east wing. When she started, the CoHo served some 2,000 people a day; at the time of the closure last year, the number exceeded 7,000.

With that many people coming through, time had taken its toll on the facility, Coulson said. So, in 2004, the student body voted for the renovation, agreeing to add $8 a quarter to student fees to pay for the project.

Earlier coverage: "Coffee House debut now projected for first week of October" (Sept. 24, 2010)

Earlier coverage: "Long-awaited CoHo renovation promises improved circulation, new bakery and even sushi" (July 17, 2009)

Fourth candidate withdraws

The administration announced the cancellation of a public forum today (Oct. 8) for a candidate for the position of provost and executive vice chancellor. The forum had always been tentative, for a possible fourth candidate, who was not publicly identified and has now withdrawn.

The candidates who participated in separate forums Oct. 1, 4 and 6 are:

• Kim Elaine Barrett, dean of Graduate Studies, UC San Diego

• Ralph J. Hexter, president of Hampshire College, Amherst, Mass.

• Robert D. Newman, dean of Humanities and associate vice president for Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Utah

Read their curriculum vitae.