Spare the Air today, Spare the Air tomorrow (Aug. 14 and 15) — that is the word from regional air quality officials who said Monday's pollution level hit a high of 154, unhealthy for all people.

The air quality index forecast shows improvement, down to 137 today and 127 tomorrow — both readings are in the range of unhealthy for sensitive groups. Still, a forecast of 127 or higher triggers a Spare the Air declaration and free rides on Unitrans and Yolobus, to encourage people to park their cars and take public transit instead.

Wednesday’s Spare the Air declaration is the third one since Saturday, amid a heat wave that began Aug. 8. The heat exacerbates ground-level ozone pollution — of which auto exhaust is a major component.

Spare the Air advisories include the following, mostly aimed at reducing auto emissions:

• Park your car or drive less (perhaps by combining all your errands into one session). Limit your driving to the morning hours when pollution levels are low. Similarly, if you are biking or walking, you should do so in the morning hours — to limit your exposure to unhealthy air.
• Carpool to work (or work from home, if you can), and to sports and recreation activities.
• Take public transit (rides are free on Unitrans, Yolobus and the North Natomas shuttle).
• Refuel your car in the evening — and do not top off.
• Avoid the use of consumer spray products (such as hair spray, furniture polish, cooking spray and bathroom cleaners).
• It’s OK to barbecue, but do not use charcoal lighter fluid.
• Curtail the use of gas-powered gardening equipment.

Health system wins Sautter award for IT innovation

The UC Davis Health System won gold in the 2012 Larry L. Sautter Awards program for innovation in information technology in the UC system.

The health system received its award for the Research Volunteer Registry, a secure, central database that eliminates the need for multiple registries or filing systems in different departments. Daniel Cotton, IT educational technology and application development manager, and Kent Anderson, IT research manager, co-led the project, in collaboration with MIND Institute leadership and staff, and the UC Davis Clinical and Translational Science Center.

The Office of the President and UC San Diego each received a gold and an honorable mention, UC Berkeley received a silver and an honorable mention, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory received a silver. UC San Francisco received an honorable mention.

The awards were announced Aug. 6 at the annual UC Computing Services Conference, held this year at UC Berkeley.

The UC Information Technology Leadership Council sponsors the awards program, recognizing innovation that supports the university’s teaching, research and public service missions. The program also encourages faculty and staff to share creative solutions across the system.

The awards program is named in memory of the UC Riverside computing-communications associate vice chancellor who died in 1999.

Read about all of the award-winning projects, and read the UC Davis Health System news release about the Research Volunteer Registry award.

2011 compensation data released

The UC Office of the President this week made its annual public disclosure of faculty and staff payroll information.

In a courtesy e-mail, officials notified employees that the 2011 data had been posted online. The database and summary analysis are available on a UCOP website, Compensation at the University of California.

Faculty, staff and members of the public also are welcome to review the documents via computers in campus libraries (Shields Library at UC Davis).

Officials said the disclosure is in accordance with the university's obligation to be transparent and publicly accountable for its conduct, including the way it compensates its faculty and staff. Such information is considered public record under California law.

“This disclosure parallels last year's payroll disclosure, and is consistent with similar practices at many other public institutions,” the notice stated.

Questions about access to the payroll data may be directed to Lynette Temple, information practices coordinator, Office of Campus Counsel, (530) 752-3949 or lstemple@ucdavis.edu.