Winery-brewery-lab achieve LEED Platinum status

UC Davis’ very "green" winery, brewery and food processing complex is officially LEED Platinum-certified — the highest environmental rating awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council.

No other winery, brewery or food processing facility in the world has achieved platinum status in the LEED program (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).

The teaching and research complex, located within the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science, exceeded the requirements for LEED Platinum certification, earning 60 points in a ranking system that requires 52 points for platinum certification.

A public grand opening for the $20 million, 34,000-square-foot complex is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 28, starting at 10 a.m. in the RMI courtyard. People planning attend are asked to RSVP to eventrsvp@ucdavis.edu by Jan. 17. More information is available by contacting Kristine Stalls at Ceremonies and Events, (530) 754-2262 or klstalls@ucdavis.edu.

Read the complete news release.

Earlier coverage: "Green beer, wine and cheese?" Dateline UC Davis (Jan. 22, 2010)

Preleasing to begin for West Village student apartments

The developer of UC Davis West Village is ready to start preleasing student apartments for the 2011-12 school year. They are the first residences to be built at the privately funded, mixed-use development.

And, though the apartments are still under construction, the developer still has a model that you can see. Actually, it is not an apartment but a house that has been remodeled to show some of what the inside of the new apartments will look like.

The location is 409 Third St. in downtown Davis. An open house is scheduled there on Thursday, Jan. 6, to celebrate the start of preleasing for The Ramble Apartments.

These two-, three- and four-bedroom flats comprise one of the  first elements of West Village, covreing about 130 acres at the southwest corner of Highway 113 and Russell Boulevard. UC Davis owns the land, and has leased it to the West Village Community Partnership for development.

Besides student housing, the $280 million development plan calls for faculty and staff housing, a civic square, shops and a new Davis campus for the Los Rios Community College District — all built with environmental sustainability in mind.

The Ramble apartment complex takes its name from a winding path that will connect 10 courtyards. The flats are going up around each of the courtyards.

The model “apartment” offers a glimpse of the common areas within each flat: the living room, dining room and full-sized kitchen with an island, half of which can be used for counter seating. The kitchen also features stainless-steel appliances.

The model also serves as the temporary leasing office, where you can see renderings of the various floor plans.

The open house is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with refreshments and prizes. Leasing professionals will be on duty.

More information is available online. Or call (530) 759-0661. The website includes a fill-in form, where you can sign up to receive further information.

New rates for Facilities Management skilled trades

In a new schedule of recharge rates for skilled trades, Facilities Management for the first time establishes a separate rate for elevator mechanics: $104.50 per hour.

“Elevator mechanics are highly specialized and respond to life-safety issues, and this results in higher hourly rates,” Cynthia Kranc, director of Building Maintenance Services, wrote in an e-mail message to customers.

“Creating a separate rate for elevator service, which represents a very small percentage of our workload, enabled us to hold down the rate increase for general electrical work, which many more of our customers utilize.”

Kranc’s memo also describes another important change: the new rate structure is built around a 7.25-hour workday rather than an eight-hour work day.

“Our customers will no longer be charged for required 15-minute break periods nor for recordkeeping time, such as filling out time sheets. We anticipate that this will help to offset the impact of the rate increase.”

Other rates: inspector, planner, estimator, $85.50; mechanical, electrical and plumbing senior, and physical plant mechanic, $82.50; structural senior physical plant mechanic, $78.50; and senior building maintenance worker (includes electrical, mechanical, plumbing and structural trade helpers), $59.50.

UC Davis Medical Group urges new clients to preregister

If you are a UC Davis employee and you are switching to the UC Davis Medical Group as of Jan. 1, you are encouraged to preregister with the medical group as soon as possible. Doing so will help you avoid delay when calling for your first appointment, according to a news release from the UC Davis Health System.

According to the health system's Ambulatory Care Administration, new members of the UC Davis Medical Group can save time by completing a preregistration form.

The Ambulatory Care Administration will follow up by phone or e-mail to confirm receipt of the information, and will help employees activate their MyChart accounts.

According to the Ambulatory Care Administration, a large number of UC Davis employees are going with the UC Davis Medical Group in connection with their choice of the Health Net Blue & Gold insurance plan instead.

Health Net Blue & Gold is a new health maintenance organization plan for 2011, established at UC's request in light of substantial premium increases for the standard Health Net plan.

Health Net Blue & Gold offers the exact same benefits as the Health Net, but with a customized network of cost-efficient providers — including all the UC medical centers as well as many other medical groups, and excluding Sutter-affiliated providers in the Davis and Sacramento areas.

UC Davis Medical Group members should start receiving their new identification cards in the third or fourth week of December.