A Sampling of Clips for September 23^th, 2009

* UCSD faculty and staff may obtain a copy of an article by e-mailing the University Communications Office

The Dos and Don’ts of Researching Your Health Online
MSN Health, Sept. 23 – Is it a spider bite—or MRSA? Is that weight-loss shake a genius idea or totally bogus? Before you become a bona fide cyberchondriac, follow these tips to search for your health info the right way and in the right places. DON’T bother with online photos of skin infections or rashes: It’s tempting to try to compare your skin rash or sore to others online, but don’t do it, says Jeffrey Benabio, M.D., a voluntary assistant professor at UCSD, who’s affiliated with the American Board of Dermatology. More

The Truth is that Parents Lie
San Diego Union-Tribune, Sept. 23 – Honesty is the best policy, we teach our children — in between the lies. Even as parents promote and insist on veracity, they routinely bend or banish the truth to influence their kids' behavior and emotions, psychologists from UCSD and the University of Toronto report in a pair of new studies. While the findings won't upend conventional wisdom, they're among the first bits of empirical evidence gathered on the subject, the researchers said. More

Bad Acid Trip
Huffington Post, Sept. 22 – On September 17 President Obama's recently established Ocean Policy Task Force issued its first report suggesting areas where federal action on our public seas can and should be improved. Some of the areas like coastal pollution and industrial overfishing are familiar while others, such as ocean acidification, are threats that have only now begun to emerge. (Mentions Jeremy Jackson, professor at UCSD’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography) More

Have Diploma, Can't Apply to College
Voice of San Diego, Sept. 23 -- Counselor Frank Zavala tries to break the news to high schoolers gently, but sometimes it's just too late. There's no way they can rack up the classes they need to even apply to the University of California system or the California State schools. "I found myself having to tell kids that college is an option -- but for them, their first step is junior college," said Zavala, who works at Lincoln High in southeastern San Diego. (Mentions UCSD) More

Turning 10: San Diego Asian Film Festival Hits a Big Milestone
San Diego City Beat, Sept. 22 -- Most film festivals don’t make it five years, let alone 10, and if they do, it’s often tougher later than it is in the early years because the novelty has worn off. But not only will the San Diego Asian Film Festival celebrate its 10th anniversary in October, it’ll do so in style—by giving its attendees a little gift, in the form of more screenings and more movies. Yes, after 10 years, SDAFF is expanding, running for two weeks instead of one. (Mentions Rebecca Webb, curator of UCSD’s ArtPower! Film program) More

Officer Alleges Illegal Ticket Quota at Local University
KGTV, Sept. 22 -- Parking citations are moneymakers for cities and university systems, according to experts, but that is not supposed to influence the officers writing the tickets.
"In law enforcement, you don't look at it like a salesman does -- how many tickets and how much money we're raising," said Kenneth Brennan. Brennan spent 50 years in law enforcement. He worked 22 years with the Port Authority Police in New York, and then spent eight years as a sheriff's deputy in New Jersey. The last 20 years, he worked as a parking enforcement officer at UCSD. More

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