Uc Davis

It was evidently good enough for Gilligan and Robinson Crusoe. But is coconut water a healthy choice for people who aren't stranded on a deserted island? A longstanding treat in tropical regions across the globe, coconut water hit U.S. supermarkets a few years back and is now being marketed with a vengeance. Sometimes billed as nature's sports drink, the slightly sour beverage has also acquired a reputation for being able to improve circulation, slow aging, fight viruses, boost immunity, and reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease and stroke.

SAN FRANCISCO - The Los Angeles Times and Sacramento Bee filed suit Wednesday against the University of California Board of Regents, demanding the release of police officers' names removed from a critical report on the controversial pepper spraying of UC Davis students. The lawsuit, filed in Sacramento County Superior Court, contends that when university officials agreed in a court settlement last month to redact all but two names, they "failed to represent the interests of the press and public," leaving the newspapers with "no choice but to bring this petition to protect the public's right of access to this important information.

In light of the terrible financial crisis at our California universities, I feel the need to rescue UC Davis, whose administrators are, according to The Times, negotiating a price with the Kroll security firm in New York for none other than former LAPD Chief Bill Bratton to fly West and tell us what went wrong on the day that students were pepper sprayed. I can save the university a hefty Kroll consulting fee by suggesting that the administrators carefully peruse a few of the newspaper articles of the past week and all will be revealed to them.

University of California police and administrators should use mediation instead of confrontation when dealing with most student protests, but pepper spray might remain a necessary tool of last resort, according to a UC draft report on campus civil disobedience. The new study, released Friday, urged that campus police be trained to defuse potentially volatile situations and that UC officials not even mobilize police at peaceful demonstrations. In the rare instances when force is required, the report recommended the campus police try "hands-on pain compliance" such as arm twisting or pressure points "before pepper spray or batons whenever feasible.

Reeves Nelson is turning pro. The former UCLA forward, who was dismissed from the team last week, is expected to sign with a Lithuanian team, Zalgiris, as soon as this weekend. "He's ready to go," his father, Brian, said Friday. "He has indicated to me, this is for the money now. " Brian Nelson also said his son "100%" plans to make himself eligible for the next NBA draft and that he is done playing college basketball. Brian Nelson declined to reveal the terms of the contract because he said the deal was not yet finalized.

MEN Cal State Fullerton 106, at UC Davis 95: Guard Josh Akognon scored 29 points, including seven three-point baskets, to lead the Titans (13-12, 7-6 Big West). Aaron Thompson had 19 points and Gerard Anderson scored 18 for Fullerton. Vince Oliver had 32 points for the Aggies (11-14, 6-6). at Cal State Northridge 77, UC Riverside 64: Josh Jenkins scored 19 points to help Matadors Coach Bobby Braswell get his 200th career victory.

vs. UC Davis, Monday at Pauley Pavilion, 7:30 p.m., Prime Ticket: The Aggies (4-5) will be playing their first game since Dec. 4, when they defeated Division II Notre Dame de Namur, 80-53. Senior guard Joe Harden leads UC Davis in points (15.3) and rebounds (6.1). ? Ben Bolch

Three months after being pepper sprayed or allegedly roughed up by UC Davis campus police during an Occupy demonstration, 19 students and alumni Wednesday filed a federal lawsuit claiming that their free speech and assembly rights were violated in the controversial incident. The suit names Chancellor Linda Katehi as a defendant, along with other campus administrators and police officers. It details allegations against campus police Lt. John Pike, who the suit says sprayed the seated or crouching protesters at close range, causing pain to their eyes and faces.

at Cal State Northridge 84, UC Davis 81: Tremaine Townsend scored 25 points to lead the Matadors. Northridge, 5-8 overall and 2-1 in the Big West Conference, was without leading scorer Deon Tresvant, who did not play for undisclosed reasons. Vince Oliver had 19 points for UC Davis (5-9, 0-1).

UC Davis announced Thursday that it has appointed a new chief to head its campus police force for at least a year and to help guide it past the controversies stemming from last November's pepper-spraying of student demonstrators by its officers. Matthew Carmichael, who has been acting chief since November and a lieutenant on the campus force for a decade before that, was sworn in for a yearlong term, UC Davis officials said. The school said it would launch a national search later for a longer-term chief.

UC Davis announced Thursday that it has appointed a new chief to head its campus police force for at least a year and to help guide it past the controversies stemming from last November's pepper-spraying of student demonstrators by its officers. Matthew Carmichael, who has been acting chief since November and a lieutenant on the campus force for a decade before that, was sworn in for a yearlong term, UC Davis officials said. The school said it would launch a national search later for a longer-term chief.

Anybody who watched last fall's viral videos of campus police officers blasting orange pepper spray into the faces of seated protesters at UC Davis could have figured out that something had gone very wrong on the Central California campus. But it took two reports on the incident by an independent university panel and paid consultants to spell out the scope of the screw-ups, which indict not just the officers holding the spray canisters but the entire campus police force, its chief, a team of university leaders and Chancellor Linda Katehi.

UC Davis police violated policy and used poor judgment in pepper-spraying student demonstrators in November, while school leaders badly bungled the handling of that campus protest, according to a highly critical report released Wednesday. "Our overriding conclusion can be stated briefly and explicitly. The pepper spraying incident that took place on November 18, 2011 should and could have been prevented," said the report by a university-appointed task force chaired by retired state Supreme Court Justice Cruz Reynoso.

The University of California's investigative report into the controversial pepper-spraying of student protesters by UC Davis campus police is expected to be released publicly Wednesday — with most officers' names removed. After a monthlong legal battle delaying the release, UC and its police union reached a tentative legal settlement Monday that would allow the public disclosure of most of the report about police tactics and UC Davis administrators' roles in the November incident.

OAKLAND — A judge Wednesday rejected nearly all attempts by a campus police union to block release of portions of a report on the November pepper-spraying of UC Davis students by university officers. Alameda County Superior Court Judge Evelio Grillo disagreed with assertions that large chunks of the report — designed to scrutinize the day's events and craft new policy — should be sealed because they contain the same kind of information as in officer personnel files compiled for disciplinary purposes.

Nitrate contamination of groundwater in some of the state's most intensely farmed regions has grown worse in recent decades and will continue to spread, threatening the drinking water supplies of more than 250,000 people, according to a new study. The research, conducted by UC Davis scientists, underscores the complexity of dealing with nitrate pollution, which is largely the result of nitrogen leaching into aquifers from fertilizers and manure applied to cropland. High nitrate levels have been linked to cancer and reproductive disorders and can be lethal to infants.

Long Beach State got along fine playing its first game without senior guard Larry Anderson's 6-foot-5 frame, 14 points per game, defensive skills and leadership. In terms of a test, though, this was only a pop quiz. Top-seeded Long Beach, as expected, cruised past UC Davis, 80-46, in the first round of the Big West tournament Thursday at Honda Center Anderson sat out the game and is presumed out for the weekend after spraining his right knee in last weekend's loss to Cal State Fullerton.

An Alameda County Superior Court judge Tuesday temporarily blocked the release of a University of California investigative report about the controversial pepper-spraying of UC Davis student protesters by campus police in November. Judge Evelio Grillo's ruling in an Oakland courtroom came at the request of the UC police union. The Federated University Police Officers Assn. contends that state law forbids public disclosure of such information as the names of UC Davis campus police officers involved in the spraying incident and personnel information garnered from interviews with them.