"I think the emphasis is much more on making cuts," said Blum, who chaired the board until recently. "I think the last thing we want to do is touch student fees, but that depends on what they do to us."
Blum said most of the newly approved 8 percent tuition hike will be used to cover the system's massive pension bill - about $175 million for this year alone.
Blum said he had spoken to his friend Jerry Brown recently, but the governor-elect didn't tip his hand about what he'll be announcing in the coming weeks to deal with the state's $28 billion deficit.
The big question for UC is whether the state will, as promised, restore the $450 million it stripped from this year's budget.
As for what options UC has if Sacramento pulls the financial rug?
"Try to run the place more efficiently," Blum said.
Judged: Nobody wants to talk about it, but privately, colleagues of U.S. District Judge James Ware express some uneasiness over his promotion to be the court's chief judge in San Francisco next month - not because of any misconduct on the bench, but because he once lied about his past.
In 1997, Ware made headlines when he asked President Bill Clinton to withdraw his nomination to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco because Ware stated in interviews, as well as during speaking appearances, that a group of white teenagers had chased down and killed his teenage brother at the height of the civil rights movement. Ware is African American.
As it turned out, 13-year-old Virgil Lamar Ware was shot and killed in Birmingham, Ala., on Sept. 15, 1963 - but he was the brother of another James Ware, not the judge.
"It was a mistake, and I don't choose to revisit it," Ware told us the other day.
"I'm hoping people will judge me on my performance as chief judge, as they have on my performance as a district judge."
By virtue of his age and seniority, Ware is scheduled to take over Jan. 1 for retiring Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, who grabbed headlines in August when he struck down California's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriages.
Some colleagues privately say Ware's big fib damages the court's reputation, and the issue is only accentuated by his pending promotion.
"Of course we are sensitive to that, but there isn't anything that can be done about it," said one fellow judge, who asked not to be named in the interest of court harmony. "It's up to him, and no one talks about it."
Ticket tax: The state is adding another $3 charge to parking fines.
For Oakland, that means starting Jan. 3 the average fine for overstaying a meter will go up to $58.
"It's depressing, but we have no choice," Oakland City Councilwoman Pat Kernighan said. "The state already takes $10 for every ticket."
The hike was part of the latest budget passed by state lawmakers. It's up to cities whether to pass on the extra charge to drivers who receive parking fines.
"If we don't pay, then we have to come up with something like $900,000 a year, which would pay for about five cops," Kernighan said.
San Francisco, on the other hand, has decided not to hike ticket prices, opting instead to just pay the fee.
"Over the years we've been raising fines and were trying our best to avoid raising them again," said Metropolitan Transportation spokesman Paul Rose.
But then, S.F. tickets are already $65.
And finally: Word that the new Clipper Card allows some passengers to exit BART stations without paying their full fare prompted a sharp critique from BART board President James Fang.
"Maybe what we should do is encourage more people to do this, so they fix it," Fang said.
He's angry at the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, which put out the fare card that riders can use on a number of Bay Area public transit systems.
Scott Haggerty, chairman of the commission and an Alameda County supervisor, shot back a letter calling Fang's comment "grandstanding."
He reminded Fang of the commission's bailouts for BART extension projects to Antioch and Warm Springs, plus "our thoroughly enjoyable experience with the Oakland Airport Connector."
"I suggest that you consult a dictionary for the meaning of a word entirely missing from BART's interactions with MTC," Haggerty wrote. "That word is: gratitude."
EXTRA! Catch our blog at www.sfgate.com/matierandross.
Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX-TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call (415) 777-8815, or e-mail matierandross@sfchronicle.com.
This article appeared on page C - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle
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