Daily Business Report: June 3, 2026
UC STEM Professors Demand SAT/ACT Return After Failed “Equity” Experiment
By Megan Barth| California Globe
More than 800 University of California faculty members, including a majority of mathematics department chairs across the UC system, have signed an open letter (see below) to the UC Board of Regents, UC Office of the President, Academic Senate leadership, and the people of California demanding the reinstatement of SAT/ACT mathematics scores as a requirement for admission to STEM majors beginning with the 2027 admissions cycle.
The letter, titled “Open Letter from UC STEM Faculty,” warns that the UC system’s 2020 decision to eliminate standardized testing, initially justified as a temporary COVID-19 measure and later made permanent in the name of “equity,” has produced a widening crisis in student preparedness.
Professors report they are now forced to reteach middle-school level mathematics in university STEM classrooms while attempting to deliver college-level calculus, engineering, and other quantitatively rigorous coursework.
Newsom’s wildfire relief fund diverted $14 million toward managing anti-ICE riots, records show
By Mia Cathell | Washington Examiner
Millions of dollars earmarked for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D-CA) wildfire relief fund, which was meant to help victims of the January 2025 fires recover from the devastation, went instead toward unrelated expenses, including more than $14 million diverted to controlling crowds during California’s anti-deportation protests the following summer.
According to California Department of Finance records, $12.8 million of the Los Angeles wildfire response and recovery funds were used to pay for the deployment of California Highway Patrol officers sent to police demonstrations against Immigration and Customs Enforcement in downtown LA last year.
SDG&E’s Questionable Case Against Balcony Solar
By B. Chris Brewster| Voice of San Diego
Voice of San Diego reports that SDG&E and other investor-owned utilities are lobbying hard against “balcony solar” — devices that allow people to reduce electricity costs by plugging small solar panels into their home outlets — arguing this could put electrical workers at risk. Meanwhile, three states have already approved it, and legislation is pending in other states.
The irony of SDG&E’s stance is stark. For years they have lobbied heavily and successfully to stanch the adoption of rooftop solar by homeowners by reducing incentives and adding fees, arguing in part that it is unfair that those who own a house can reduce their electric expenses through solar installations, while renters and condo owners cannot, and that some homeowners lack the financial wherewithal to install solar systems. Now, a low-cost system allows most of those same people access to solar, but SDG&E seeks to deny them as well.
