The State Assembly Education Committee voted earlier this month to hold a bill sponsored by California State Representative Lois Wolk (D-Davis), which aimed to give school districts more flexibility in balancing their budgets during difficult years. As California’s $16 billion budget deficit trickles down into schools, most districts are scrambling to find ways to balance their budgets. Assembly Bill 1908 would allow school districts to transfer unspent funds reserved for specific programs – categorical funds – into the unrestricted general fund for use in balancing the budget during difficult budget years. “While the bill would not provide districts with a complete solution to the huge budget cuts proposed by the governor, it would provide districts with immediate, modest budget flexibility to assist them in difficult budget times such as California is experiencing now,” said Wolk in a press release.

Today “Reproductive Allocation and Life History Evolution in Variable Environments” Carol Boggs 122 Briggs, noon to 1 p.m. Sponsored by the entomology department

UC Davis graduate student Benjamin Hanken was one of the 25 students chosen from across the nation to participate in the first annual student program at the Idaho National Laboratory this summer. Hanken, an alumni of Oregon State University, started his graduate studies in chemical engineering and materials science at UCD this year. Hanken was offered a scholarship from the Idaho National Laboratory to attend Advanced Test Reactor National Scientific User facility summer session from July 16 to 20. “I first heard about the summer session through Professor Niels Jensen, one of the principal investigators for the project I’ll be working on for my thesis,” Hanken said in an e-mail interview.

Lisa Peters watches as her son, David, excitedly points out the different plastic characters stationed on a perfect two-foot replica of the Black Pearl, which sits on the living room table. Another wooden ship of the build-it-yourself variety sits next to it. David ignores the “doll ship” and continues to show off the Davey Jones miniature and the Black Pearl’s launchable rockets. David is just a normal two-year-old boy with a fascination for pirates. No one would have guessed that this skinny, blond, grinning child began life in a medical lab’s petri dish. Peters, 44, understands what it’s like to want children but not be able to conceive one. After many failed attempts, a medical screening confirmed that she and her husband could not have children.

Teams: UC Davis vs. San Jose State Records: Aggies 18-27; Spartans 21-25 Where: SJSU Field – San Jose, Calif. When: Today at 2 and 4 p.m. Who to watch: Head coach Karen Yoder was looking for a spark in her offense. She found freshman Bianca Castillo.

Computers might run on infrared light Computer engineers at the University of Utah have begun to build computers that can harness infrared light, the only part of the electromagnetic spectrum that has not yet been utilized for communication. The engineers expect that in another 10 years they will have built ultra-fast computers that don’t run on electricity. Where electricity is conducted through metal wires, computer circuits built on light rely on fiber optic cables and devices called waveguides to split the light into different colors or “channels” of information.

Sometimes, it’s helpful to go back to the things you once loved, just to see how they’re doing. A couple weeks ago, I found myself browsing the Internet in search of Tamagotchis, which I had been mildly obsessed with in the fourth grade. I found myself at this Tamagotchi fansite, which led to the discovery of a very odd Internet locale: the Tamagotchi Graveyard. As the name suggests, this is a place for people to put their virtual pets to rest and mourn for them. Bizarrely enough, all these entries were recent (as in there were entries posted the very day I checked the website) and there were over 2,000 of them.

TODAY East Quad Farmers Market 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. East Quad Support local farmers and get fresh produce, nuts, flowers and more! Annual cow milking contest Noon to 1 p.m. West Quad Join in cheering for our contestants in this fun-filled event celebrating the anticipation of even more events to come on Picnic Day!

In the Monday Apr. 14 article “California bill may ban helium-filled metallic balloons,” the first sentence was misleading. Although the bill was passed in committee, the ban will not come into effect unless it is passed by the legislature and signed into law. The Aggie regrets the error.

A public hearing will take place May 6 regarding Davis Proposition 218, a proposed utility rate change that would take effect Aug. 1. “The staff will present why the increase in utility rates is necessary,” said Davis city clerk Margaret Roberts. “They will open a public hearing, and they can speak for or against the hearing. They make their decisions based on the information.” Whenever there is a rate increase, a public hearing is one of the specific steps required by state law, said operations administrator Sue Gedestad.

The Cancer Survivors Network and UC Davis Colleges Against Cancer will hold the first cancer survivors panel in 194 Chemistry from 7 to 9 p.m. There will be six to eight UC Davis student survivors on the panel as well as an American Cancer Society funded researcher and clinical social worker at the UCD Cancer Center, John Linder. The event was inspired by UC Davis junior Brett Fontaine, a neurology, physiology and biology major, and senior Liz Creger, his UC Davis Cancer Survivors Network co-chair.

Plagiarism A student of senior standing was referred to Student Judicial Affairs for failing to cite sources properly for a take-home final exam. The student included information from the class reader in the final essay, word-for-word. The student claimed to have misunderstood the professor, but the professor stated that he had clearly indicated that all passages should be quoted with the proper citations. The student agreed to disciplinary probation in which he completed 10 hours of community service in conjunction with the Learning Skills Center until graduation.