The timing of Mark Zuckerberg’s marriage to his college sweetheart, Priscilla Chan, on Saturday, just a day after he took his company public, was certainly curious. Was he looking to clarify his net worth, which, with roughly 503 million shares, now stands at about $17 billion? And if true, many observers are speculating, did that have to do with the terms of a prenuptial agreement? The Zuckerbergs are not saying. But what is clear, according to matrimonial law experts, is that whatever Mr. Zuckerberg earned before the marriage is still solely his property afterward. California is one of fewer than a dozen states that follow community property laws, which specifically outline how property is divided between two spouses (or, in some cases, registered domestic partners). ... Continue reading →
A few months ago, Bill Gates wrote an Op-Ed article in this newspaper objecting to New York City’s plan to make public the performance rankings of its teachers. His central point was that this kind of public shaming was hardly going to bring about better teaching. In the course of the article, Gates mentioned that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which spends around $450 million a year on education programs, had begun working with school districts to help design evaluation systems that would, in his words, “improve the overall quality of teaching.” That caught my attention. Wanting to learn more, I went to Seattle two weeks ago to talk to Bill Gates about evaluating teachers. Although the Gates Foundation is perhaps best-known for its ... Continue reading →
And even as his fame grew, Mr. Lucas earned his neighbors’ respect through his discretion. Marin, one of America’s richest counties, liked it that way. But after spending years and millions of dollars, Mr. Lucas abruptly canceled plans recently for the third, and most likely last, major expansion, citing community opposition. An emotional statement posted online said Lucasfilm would build instead in a place “that sees us as a creative asset, not as an evil empire.” If the announcement took Marin by surprise, it was nothing compared with what came next. Mr. Lucas said he would sell the land to a developer to bring “low income housing” here. “It’s inciting class warfare,” said Carolyn Lenert, head of the North San Rafael Coalition of Residents. Mr. ... Continue reading →
Who knew there could be so much controversy left in the subject of breast-feeding? Tina Brown, the editor of Newsweek and The Daily Beast, says the magazine cover is a "unique seduction point for readers." Ms. Brown adds that "the question is how you cut through." A Time spokeswoman said the breast-feeding cover was its best-selling issue this year. The recent Time magazine cover featuring an attractive 26-year-old mother suckled by her 3-year-old son — with the headline “Are You Mom Enough?” — proved that an appropriately shocking magazine image can still provoke conversation. The article prompted a segment on “Saturday Night Live.” The actor Jason Biggs made his own version of the cover and posted it on Twitter. The Huffington Post published nearly two ... Continue reading →
By Channon Hodge and Shaila DeWan Donning the 'Pink Collar': A New York Times analysis finds that more and more men are starting to see the many benefits of jobs long-dominated by women. HOUSTON — Wearing brick-red scrubs and chatting in Spanish, Miguel Alquicira settled a tiny girl into an adult-size dental chair and soothed her through a set of X-rays. Then he ushered the dentist, a woman, into the room and stayed on to serve as interpreter. A male dental assistant, Mr. Alquicira is in the minority. But he is also part of a distinctive, if little noticed, shift in workplace gender patterns. Over the last decade, men have begun flocking to fields long the province of women. Mr. Alquicira, 21, graduated from high ... Continue reading →
Jennifer S. Altman for The New York Times Barrie Berg, the chief executive of American operations for What If, in one of the diner-style booths the firm installed in its Manhattan office. “There’s something very satisfying about a booth,” she said. The walls have come tumbling down in offices everywhere, but the cubicle dwellers keep putting up new ones. They barricade themselves behind file cabinets. They fortify their partitions with towers of books and papers. Or they follow an “evolving law of technology etiquette,” as articulated by Raj Udeshi at the open office he shares with fellow software entrepreneurs in downtown Manhattan. “Headphones are the new wall,” he said, pointing to the covered ears of his neighbors. Cubicle culture is already something of a punch ... Continue reading →
