A Sampling of Clips for 
July 19, 2006

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

L.A.: Unprepared for the Worst
Los Angeles Times, Opinion, July 16 – With apologies to Ben Franklin, in Southern California there are three certainties in life: death, taxes and earthquakes. Emergency response agencies in Los Angeles County, often touted as the best in the nation, must get better still to prepare for the Big One that scientists say is more imminent than they thought. A recent study by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography suggests that the southern portion of the San Andreas Fault is primed for the long-dreaded Big One. More

UCSD, Scripps La Jolla
Hospitals Gain Top Rankings
San Diego Business Journal, July 17 -- UCSD Medical Center and Scripps La Jolla Memorial have been ranked among the country’s best hospitals by U.S. News & World Report magazine this month. The list, which has been published annually for 17 years, ranks the top hospitals in the country in 16 specialty areas. There are 50 hospitals on each list. More

Pacific Ocean Floor to Be Explored
United Press International, July 18 -- Scientists prepared Monday to explore the seafloor near Papua New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean with remotely operated underwater vehicles. Geophysicist Maurice Tivey from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution will head the 42-day expedition, which begins Friday aboard the research vessel Melville, operated by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. More

'Gold farming' in Games
Means Real Income in China
The San Jose Mercury News, July 18 -- A vast shadow industry has mushroomed in rural China. Savvy entrepreneurs harness teams to play popular online games, gathering magic spells, battle hammers, armor and other virtual assets. They then provide the assets to brokers, who sell them to rich players in the United States and Europe wanting shortcuts to gaming success. (Quotes Jin Ge, a 30-year-old Shanghai native who has done a documentary on ``gold farms'' in China as part of doctoral research at UCSD) More

Americans Fleeing Have San Diego Ties
San Diego Union-Tribune, July 19 -- It was 9 p.m. last night in Beirut, hot and humid, the air stinking like smoke and tar. But it was quiet, no explosions for the time being. Only the call to prayer.  In the morning, UCSD historian Michael Provence and his wife and son would step out of the relative safety of their apartment at American University of Beirut and join thousands of foreigners fleeing Lebanon. More

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KPBS

UCSD Chancellor's
House Likely to Go
San Diego Union-Tribune, July 19 -- UCSD has received preliminary approval to demolish the historic chancellor's house and build anew, despite concerns over losing a piece of university history and disrupting the archaeological site below the home. UCSD plans to demolish the home in October 2007. The new house is scheduled to be completed in January 2009. More

North Korea
KPBS, July 17 -- Gloria Penner talks with Stephan Haggard, UCSD Professor of Korea-Pacific Studies, regarding the latest news and analysis on the escalating missile tensions. Click here to view the broadcast (Haggard interview starts 16:30 minutes into the show)

Schwarzenegger Wants
Power to Fight Global Warming
Daily Breeze, July 18 -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed a powerful new centralized authority under his direct control that would be charged with implementing one of the nation's most far-reaching initiatives to curb global warming. Most of those involved say a legislative consensus is within reach later this summer, spurred in part by a series of recent warnings from various quarters, including Schwarzenegger's own water department and Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla. More