College Fees It looks all but certain now that California will reduce its support of the state's public universities this year by a combined $3 billion. While that will be partly offset by about $1.6 billion in federal stimulus money, the UC and CSU systems will still be out many hundreds of million of dollars. How will they handle this?

Rising Stars The inaugural performance of Rising Stars of California is tonight at Fairy Tale Town. The Rising Stars program provides young, gifted musicians with an opportunity to perform and do education outreach in schools. The premiere features two young pianists, who join us in studio along with Lara Downes, who founded Rising Stars, and actor Loren Taylor, who narrates "The Story of Babar the Little Elephant."

The Rising Stars' inaugural performance is at 6 p.m. today at Fairy Tale Town, 3901 Land Park Dr., Sacramento. Information: (916) 264-5233.

Jazz Gitan Hot jazz trio Jazz Gitan, which specializes in the music of the jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, joins us in studio. You'll hear some of their swinging jazz repetoire.

Animal Carcass Symposium Animal carcasses are potentially dangerous things to have around. Of particular concern is what would happen in the event of a catastrophe that led to the deaths of numerous animals at a time when public agencies are overburdened. This and related topics are being discussed this week at UC Davis at an international symposium on the management of animal carcasses.