The University of California has developed a beautiful research “paradise” near Tahiti, which ”insider” professors and students enjoy at UC-subsidized prices. Some killjoys say, however, that such pampering is unseemly at a time when tuition soars due to state budget deficits. It’s hard to disagree with Sen. Jim Battin, a Palm Desert Republican, who has long advocated retention of only essential state land. “Subsidizing resort life,” he says, “is not an appropriate use of public funds.”