BILLION-DOLLAR U: UC Irvine has released new...

BILLION-DOLLAR U: UC Irvine has released new figures showing it brought in more than $630 million last year--and spent almost that much, making it the third-largest employer in Orange County. . . . The bulk of funds went for teachers’ salaries and running UCI Medical Center, with 13% to research and 5% to student financial aid. Spokesman Roy Dormaier boasts that if you count it all up, “the overall impact of UCI on the area greatly exceeds $1 billion.”

NO NEWARK: More pessimistic economic news here: Money magazine this month ranks Orange County near the bottom in its annual forecast of housing price appreciation in major metropolitan areas. With an estimated 0.5% hike in the median price of an Orange County home in 1994, Money has the county in 47th place, behind such stellar locales as Newark, N.J. . . . But any talk of an increase is good news. Economists at Chapman University project a 1.3% decline in home prices here next year.

EIGHT LIVES LEFT: Animal lovers were generous after the Laguna Beach fire. But now the Laguna Beach Animal Shelter finds itself with a unique problem. It received 7,000 pounds of dog and cat food plus piles of blankets, leashes, collars and toys after the October fire-- more than enough. . . . Kennel attendant Laura Dunaway explains that many fire victims do not see themselves as “needy” enough to take such handouts, so donations are unused. She adds: “We still have a lot of things to give away.”

HIGH MANTLE: The all-time greatest baseball player? You’ll get an argument no matter who you pick. But the greatest switch-hitter? No question: Yankee Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle. . . . And he’s still a highly marketable name. . . . You can get his autograph at Bullock’s in South Coast Plaza today at 11 a.m. But there’s a catch--first you have to spend $119 in Upper Deck merchandise there. That’s who the Mick represents.

College Bucks

UC Irvine gets only 10% of its funding from student tuition and fees. Funding sources:

Hospital proceeds: 30%

State government: 25%

Money-making enterprises*: 17%

Federal government: 12%

Tuition, fees: 10%

Gifts, other: 6%

* Such as UCI Extension Service, parking campus housing.

Source: UC Irvine