California Senators Give Labs Vote of Confidence

A state Senate committee heard commitments to openness, ethics and reform, then expressed solid support yesterday for continuing University of California management of all three Department of Energy laboratories, including Berkeley Lab. Laboratory Director Charles Shank, who testified along with his counterparts at Livermore and Los Alamos, told the Senate Select Committee on Oversight of the DOE Labs that Berkeley Lab “has been, and will continue to be, committed to performing world-class research with an efficiency driven by world-class business practices.” Full Story.

A 12kV power switch is scheduled for Friday to isolate an “unloaded bus” (electrical line) at the Blackberry Canyon Service Area (Switch Gear A6). It is highly unlikely that these operations will affect the Lab community. However, the possibility of an electrical power interruption always exists. The switching operation will be completed between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Prior to switching, a public announcement will be made. The Blackberry Canyon Service Area includes the Building 50 complex, 51 complex, 54, 55, 55A, 60, 63, 64, 65 complex, 67B, 67C, 70, 70A, 71 complex, 88, and 90 complex. For questions or additional information, contact Jim Murphy at 4175 or Mahesh Gupta at 5220.