NEWS BRIEFS: Fire Department plans exercise at south entry garage

Where there are firetrucks and ladders and hoses, there will often be smoke — but there is no fire in the plan for Monday morning (June 4) when the Fire Department conducts a drill at the south entry parking garage.

“Rest assured this is only a simulated emergency response,” Fire Chief Nate Trauernicht said.

He said the exercise, officially a “critical task analysis,” will begin at 9 a.m. and should wrap up by 10. Your only way in to the garage during this time will be off Hilgard Lane (across from the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science).

The south entry will be closed, and the exercise will take up several parking spaces outside the garage, on the south side.

Trauernicht described the simulated incident as a dormitory fire. He said firefighters will climb the department's ladder truck to simulate the process of horizontal ventilation — breaking windows to let out heat and smoke.

Later in the day the Fire Department plans a simulated response to a car crash (on the west campus) and a cardiac arrest (at the fire station).

Trauernicht said the analysis is a component of the international accreditation process that the Fire Department has undertaken.

Nominations due for Student Affairs VC

Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi has asked for nominations by Monday (June 4) for the position of interim vice chancellor of Student Affairs.

“With the assistance of an advisory committee composed of student, faculty and administration representatives, we will review the nominations and letters of interest submitted,” Katehi said in a message to the campus community last weekend.

The chancellor hopes to have someone in the position by July 2, for a yearlong appointment, during which time the university will conduct a national search for a permanent replacement for Fred Wood, who has taken the chancellor’s post at the University of Minnesota, Crookston.

Earlier coverage: “Search begins to replace Vice Chancellor Fred Wood” (May 25, 2012), Dateline UC Davis

150 bikes and counting ...

Transportation and Parking Services had impounded more than 150 bicycles as of this morning (June 1) in a sweep for abandoned bikes, according to David Takemoto-Weerts, coordinator of the TAPS Bicycle Program.

The sweep began May 29 and wraps up today. TAPS runs such sweeps periodically, in part to free up bike parking spaces. Abandoned bicycles also are unsightly, may present tripping hazards and can tempt thieves, Takemoto-Weerts said.

He said bicycle owners received a minimum of 48 hours notice of the impending sweep, via tags attached to the targeted bikes — those that look like they had been abandoned.

“The bikes we typically pick up have clearly not been ridden in months,” Takemoto-Weerts said. Signs of abandonment, he said, include flat tires, rusty parts, cobwebs, missing parts and bent wheels.

TAPS impounds about 1,000 bikes annually, checking all of them to see if they have been reported stolen. TAPS attempts to contact the owners of licensed bikes.

Most unclaimed bikes go up for public auction, and some are donated to various charitable groups or organizations.

More information is available online or by calling the Bicycle Program, (530) 752-BIKE (2453).

'Visionary': Professor Boulton and our sustainable winery

The “Visionary” series in building design returns to UC Davis this month with a program featuring Professor Roger Boulton and his vision: the most environmentally sophisticated winery in the world.

The campus’s 2-year-old Teaching and Research Winery is the first such facility in the world with LEED-platinum status, the highest level in the U.S. Green Building Council’s rating system (LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).

The “Visionary” program, including a winery tour, is scheduled for the evening of Thursday, June 14. The public is welcome to attend.

UC Davis sponsors the series in partnership with the Central Valley Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and the Sacramento Branch of the U.S. Green Building Council.

“Professor Boulton was definitely the visionary for the platinum winery,” said the program organizer, Susan Rainier, senior project manager with UC Davis’ Design and Construction Management. She is a LEED "accredited professional" and a member of the American Institute of Architects.

Boulton, a winery engineering expert, is the Stephen Sinclair Scott Professor of Enology and Chemical Engineering, in the Department of Viticulture and Enology.

“He was a leader in striving for a building that is zero-carbon and off the grid,” Rainier said. “Additionally, he is showing how captured rainwater can be used and reused multiple times.”

Read more.

Telehealth Network goes independent, not for profit

The California Telehealth Network, a groundbreaking initiative of broadband-connected health care sites launched in large part by the UC Office of the President and the UC Davis Health System, has formally become an independent, not-for-profit organization.

The network began in 2007 when the Federal Communications Commission provided the university with a $23 million grant to create a secure, medical-grade telecommunications system to improve health care access in rural and other underserved communities around California.

Read more.

Staff Assembly extends deadlines

Staff Assembly this week announced deadline extensions for staff and staff dependent scholarships, and Citations for Excellence. The deadline for both programs is now Friday, June 15.

Staff scholarships will be given for the 2012-13 academic year to career employees who will be working toward degrees or certificates from colleges, universities or professional schools.

Staff dependants are eligible for scholarships for undergraduate study at UC Davis in 2012-13.

Citations for Excellence recognize staff employees and employee teams who have shown outstanding achievement in general contributions, campus service or supervision. Nominations are welcome from staff and faculty who work with or for people or teams deserving of this recognition.

More information.

Media Resources

Dave Jones, Dateline, 530-752-6556, dljones@ucdavis.edu

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