UC Staff Requests
Education Fee Discounts

University of California staff leaders are reviving the long-discussed proposal to offer educational-fee discounts to employees' spouses, domestic partners, and children, and they say it could be on the Board of Regents' agenda as early as January. "The fee waiver for UC employees' dependents would be a huge morale boost for staff, who face the daunting financial challenge of sending their kids (or partners) to college," said Berkeley Lab's Liz Moxon, junior delegate to the Council of University of California Staff Assemblies (CUCSA). "This investment would reap tremendous benefits in terms of goodwill and provide another way to attract and keep great employees in the UC system." Full story. A Berkeley Lab staff forum on CUCSA activities is set for Feb. 2 in the Building 50 Auditorium. Request more information here.

Materials Scientist
Brings Yoga to Lab

Belogolovsky

Meet Inna Belogolovsky. She has worked for the Lab's Materials Sciences Division for five years, conducting research on solid oxide fuel cells. She is also one of the Lab's regular yoga instructors, teaching weekly classes in Building 70. Belogolovsky discovered yoga at age 9 in her native Russia. She enjoys teaching and practicing this ancient form of exercise because it "creates breathing space in my body and life, boosts circulation, releases and tones muscles, and improves balance, among many other benefits." For those who'd like to give the gift of yoga to a co-worker during the holidays, Belogolovsky is offering a special discount rate for classes. Contact her for more information.

Physicists Heal
Scratchy Records

Optical scan of an old recording

The technique developed by Berkeley Lab physicists Carl Haber and Vitaliy Fadeyev that digitally restores and preserves audio recordings is featured in a recent Canadian Broadcasting Corporation article. The story describes how Haber was inspired to develop the technology while stuck in a traffic jam, listening to a radio program on the difficulties of preserving old recordings. Full story.

New Health Plan
Cards to Be Mailed

Due to plan changes effective on Jan. 1, many health plans will be issuing replacement identification cards to existing members. The replacement cards are scheduled to arrive on or shortly after the first of the year. Employees who do not receive a replacement card should contact their insurance provider for assistance.

	Health Net (800-522-0088) Kaiser (800-464-4000) PacifiCare CA (800-624-8822) Western Health Advantage (888-563-3816)

First 2006 Paychecks
Available on Jan. 3

Due to Internal Revenue Service regulations that restrict the number of paychecks received in one calendar year, the first paycheck of 2006 will be available on Jan. 3 (for both mailed and direct-deposit checks). Employees receiving a check or direct deposit prior to Jan. 1 must report this as income for 2005.