The Davis Enterprise Sunday, January 5, 2020

Page 1

Living

Sports

Business

Hoops galore as Aggies begin league play J January bbrings i awareness to human trafficking — Page A4

— Page B1

Figuring out the new laws on retirement accounts — Page A3

enterprise THE DAVIS

SUNDAY, JANUARY 5, 2020

Showtime! In a scene from the ACME production of “The Burials,” from left, Rebecca Hirsch portrays Chloe Martin, Morgan Hendricks-Chupa is Sophie Martin, Lee Libet is behind the camera as the Stage Manager, Jemima Aldas is News Reporter Zoe Lucas listening to Grey Turner as Republican Sen. Ryan Martin.

WeHousing chief dodges debts, sets up with new firm Police investigation found no crimes by Gao BY CALEB HAMPTON Enterprise staff writer

FRED GLADDIS/ ENTERPRISE PHOTO

Soup’s On and new play usher in Acme’s 40th year in Davis BY ANNE TERNUS-BELLAMY Enterprise staff writer On a chilly late afternoon last month, the Veterans Memorial Theater stage was bustling with activity as members of the Acme Theatre Company prepared for its next show. Artistic director Emily Henderson was on stage with the teenage actors, while others were moving set pieces around, huddled in discussions, preparing in other ways.

Looking on, in a center seat a few rows up from the stage, was Dave Burmester, the former Davis High School English teacher who founded Acme 40 years ago. He saw it then as an extension of his teaching, but also as much more: the company, for students in grades 9 to 12, would have a unique culture. Unlike other youth theater programs, where parents did everything from building sets and sewing costumes to running websites and conducting

publicity, Acme would be different. “We’ve tried to keep adults at arm’s length,” Burmeister said. Instead, every youth “has had an opportunity and responsibility to be involved both onstage and backstage. “That’s how you learn,” he explained. Over the last four decades, those teens moved on into the world and took with them the skills and confidence they gained from their time with Acme, everything from building sets and making costumes to overseeing lights and music, conducting community outreach and even teaching drama to young children

during regular summer camps. “Most of our alumni are working regular 9-to-5 jobs now,” said Burmester. “My son (is one) … and he says he owes a lot of his success to Acme because it gave him the confidence.” Indeed Acme alumni include everyone from Davis City Councilman Lucas Frerichs to the commander of the USS John S. McCain, Davis High graduate Ryan Easterday. Henderson, who took over as artistic director when Burmester retired in 2008, has been going through the Acme archives as the company enters its 40th year and has found many letters from alumni talk-

Months after going into hiding while indebted to several Davis apartments and about 100 UC Davis student renters, WeHousing founder Alan Gao quietly went to work for a new company. According to a recent update on his LinkedIn profile, Gao has been director of operations at Palo Alto-based small loans company American Credit since July 2019. In April 2019, WeHousing, which leased apartments mainly to UC Davis students from China, collected rent from students but did not forward the money to the apartments. “(Gao) is demanding the residents continue to pay him while he doesn’t intend to pay us,” Kevin Schultz, the onsite manager at the Drake Apartments, said in May. “I think anything he collects, he’s just going to run with.” Gao told The Enterprise his company went into debt after failing to fill about a third of its units for the 2018-19 year. WeHousing leased apartments in several college towns across the country, totaling about

SEE WEHOUSING, PAGE A7

Schools implementing revamped tech program BY JEFF HUDSON Enterprise staff writer As teachers and students return to their classrooms this week, now that the winter break is ending, the Davis school district will start implementing the revamped Career Technical Education program, which was given a green light by the school board last month. On Dec. 19, during the school board’s final meeting of 2019, the trustees approved the proposed

VOL. 123, NO. 3

changes to the school district’s existing CTE offerings, which were laid out in a hefty presentation by Assistant Superintendent Rody Boonchouy, who described the revamped program as “the biggest and most significant overhaul and revision of our CTE program, ever,” with tweaks and changes to many courses at the highschool level, and plans to coordinate what happens at

SEE TECH, PAGE A7

INDEX

Business . . . . . A3 Comics . . . . . . . A6 Obituaries . . . . A7 Calendar . . . . . A5 Forum . . . . . . . .B4 Sports . . . . . . .B1 Classifieds . . . .B6 Living . . . . . . . . A4 The Wary I . . . . A2

COURTESY PHOTO

Davis High automotive teacher Robert Thayer shows his students electric vehicle technology.

WEATHER Tod Sunny. Today: High 58. Low 39. Hig More, Page A7 Mo

HOW TO REACH US www.davisenterprise.com Main line: 530-756-0800 Circulation: 530-756-0826

http://facebook.com/ TheDavisEnterpriseNewspaper http://twitter.com/D_Enterprise

SUNDAY • $1.50


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
The Davis Enterprise Sunday, January 5, 2020 by mcnaughtonmedia - Issuu