Wednesday (June 21) has been declared a Spare the Air day in the Sacramento region, due to ground-level ozone pollution, while on campus we’re sparing people the heat of an outdoor concert — by moving the Wednesday event indoors.

In addition, Fire Chief Nate Trauernicht said wildfire training burns planned for this week on the university’s Russell Ranch Sustainable Agriculture Facility have been called off, due to the extremely hot weather.

• Spare the Air: Wednesday — Air quality districts are asking people to cut back on their driving, to help cut auto emissions. These emissions contribute to ground-level ozone, or smog, and high temperatures exacerbate the pollution. So, postpone your errands, set up a carpool or take public transit (and remember Unitrans is always free on Spare the Air days). Other ways to help.

Make Music Day

UC Davis’ Strumalong and Singalong, led by staff member Joaquin Feliciano, has been moved indoors — to the lobby of the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday (June 21). All are invited to this free event.

Officials are also advising people to do their biking and walking in the morning hours when pollution levels are low.  

The air quality index on Wednesday is expected to hit 126 (unhealthy for sensitive groups), the minimum reading for a Spare the Air declaration. Monday (June 19), the AQI hit 122 (also unhealthy for sensitive groups), and the forecast for today is the same, 122.

• Wildfire training — This week’s exercises would have launched a three-week series of training exercises on the Russell Ranch research facility west of Highway 113. As of today (June 20), the schedule remains in place for next week, with burns set for Monday and Wednesday, June 26 and 28, weather and air quality permitting.

UC Davis is a participant with its partner fire departments in the West Valley Regional Fire Training Consortium: the cities of Davis, West Sacramento and Woodland, and Yocha Dehe (Capay Valley). Training days are also being set aside for volunteer fire departments.

Beyond the training opportunity, Trauernicht said, the fires are an important part of Russell Ranch land management. He said the Fire Department coordinates its training activities with researchers at the ranch.

The virtual doctor will see you now

UC Davis Health recently launched a virtual clinic, a simple diagnosis and treatment service for common, low-acuity health conditions such as cold, flu, pink eye, rash and sore throats.

The UC Davis Virtual Clinic is available to anyone; a visit costs $40, payable by credit card (insurance is not accepted). Care is provided by board-certified physicians or nurse practitioners employed by national telehealth provider Carena Inc.

“While many of our clinics already offer same- and next-day appointments for urgent care, virtual care is yet another way of making health care easy and accessible for those we serve,” said Michael Condrin, director of clinical operations at UC Davis Medical Center.

No appointment is necessary. Each patient completes a brief, online registration form before speaking with a primary care physician or nurse practitioner by telephone or using online software, such as video chat, Skype or FaceTime. The provider diagnoses and treats the patient, or refers the patient to a primary care provider or nearby emergency department as needed. Virtual clinic providers also can send prescriptions to the pharmacy of the patient’s choice.

More information is available online. Or, call the clinic toll-free, 844-405-2UCD (2823).

Read the UC Davis Health news release.

2 more days until moobilenetx goes vamoose!

The campus is retiring moobilenetx in favor of eduroam, a secure wireless service that can also be used at thousands of universities and colleges worldwide.

To remove any chance that the change Thursday will disrupt your wireless access on campus, switch to eduroam before then (see instructions). For assistance, contact your unit’s IT support or the IT Express Service Desk.

UC Davis was one of the first 15 U.S. institutions of higher education to join eduroam, in 2011. The campus network for visitors is UCD-guest.

— TechNews

Staff Assembly’s new board

Darolyn Striley, outgoing chair of Staff Assembly, announced the new lineup of officers:

• Chair — Kate Shasky, assistant director, COSMOS, Statewide Office
• Chair-elect — Brian Wadell, director, Repro Graphics                        
• Secretary — Lyndon Huling, student activities coordinator, Center for Student Involvement
• Membership — Stacey Brezing, director, Staff and Faculty Health and Well-Being Program
• Finance — Gwen Caramanica, financial analyst, Materials Science and Engineering
• Events — Jaime Dehn, student activities and outreach, dean’s office, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
• Communication — Ahna Heller, communications analyst, Client Services, Information and Educational Technology

— Staff Voice

Betty Irene Moore Hall is open

After 21 months of construction, Betty Irene Moore Hall opened this week on the Sacramento campus. The 70,000-square-foot building is the new home for the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing and health science education.

Faculty and staff began moving out of the Education Building on Monday (June 19). While the majority of employees will relocate to Moore Hall, a handful of people will transition to the Administrative Support Building. A list of suite locations where team members will reside by fall 2017 is available here.

Classes will not be conducted in Moore Hall until the fall. A grand opening event is scheduled for the morning of Oct. 13.

Moore Hall, with a street address of 2570 48th St., fronts the east side of Vanderhoef Commons. The Education Building is at the northwest corner of the Commons.

Read more in The Insider.

UC reports tentative deal with police union

UC and the Federated University Police Officers Association (FUPOA) have reached a tentative agreement on a four-year contract, the university announced June 16.

“The tentative agreement provides for annual across-the-board wage increases of 3 percent, excellent health and retirement benefits, and provisions that ensure UC maintains the most capable and prepared police force by encouraging officer development through training and specialty pay,” according to the statement. “The FUPOA will vote soon on the tentative agreement.”

Dwaine B. Duckett, vice president of UC Human Resources, said: “After extended and intense negotiations, I am very pleased that we were able to reach an agreement that reflects the critical contributions our dedicated officers make to the university.

“This agreement reflects the rapidly changing, unique and complex challenges they face in performing their duties every day while keeping the UC community safe.”

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