A Sampling of Clips for 
September 8, 2006

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

Stolen Lives
The New York Times, Sept. 4 -- Though most people think of identity theft as a financial crime, one of the most common forms involves illegal immigrants using fraudulent Social Security numbers to conduct their daily lives. With tacit acceptance from some employers and poor coordination among government agencies, this practice provides the backbone of some low-wage businesses and a boon to the Social Security trust fund. In the 1990’s, such mismatches accounted for around $20 billion in Social Security taxes paid. (Mentions Wayne Cornelius, director of the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies at UCSD). More

Pyramid of Pain
Long Beach Press-Telegram, Sept. 8 -- Smack-dab in the center of the Cal State Long Beach University Art Museum are 6,000 green plastic berry baskets stacked in the shape of the Pyramid of the Sun in the ancient Mexican city of Teotihuacan. Six feet tall, nine feet across and lit from within, "Pir mide del Sol: a Monument to Invisible Labor" is the work of Louis Hock, a UCSD art professor/artist whose controversial films, videotapes, and installations have been making headlines since 1977. More

Peering into the Brain
Technology Review, Sept. 8 -- In the middle of a pitch-black room, a very special mouse lies motionless on a microscope stage. Months before, the mouse had two small holes cut out of its skull, revealing the dura--the brain's outer membrane--and the blood vessels below. The holes have been permanently covered with clear glass so that scientists can peer directly into the mouse's brain, where some of its neurons glow green under the laser light of a microscope. (Quotes David Kleinfeld, a neuroscientist at UCSD). More

More Rate Hikes
San Diego Union-Tribune, Sept. 8 -- After swallowing four recent sewer-rate increases, San Diegans probably will face a fifth round of hefty hikes if city officials have to retrofit the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant to meet federal pollution standards. The cost of the initiative could top $1 billion – money that cash-strapped San Diego doesn't have. (Mentions Scripps Institution of Oceanography). More