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— Page A13 With students gone, who will step up? — Page B3
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enterprise THE DAVIS
SUNDAY, APRIL 12, 2020
City’s review of ARC continues during COVID-19 crisis Local matters
BY ANNE TERNUS-BELLAMY Enterprise staff writer
The novel coronavirus has been topic No. 1 for local government for nearly a month now, with both the Davis City Council and the Yolo County Board of Supervisors meeting weekly to receive updates and take actions aimed at countering the damage being done by both the virus and a stayat-home order that has had lifealtering impacts on residents.
Schools launch ‘distance learning’ on Monday
City council to meet with planning commission on Zoom
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But the wheels of municipal governance continue to churn in myriad other ways that have nothing to do with COVID-19. The City Council, in particular, has been taking up other matters and making decisions on everything from an ordinance banning
the sale of flavored tobacco to an agreement with a solar company to lease city property. Those decisions were not without some opposition, however, and some have questioned whether any non-COVID-19 matters should be decided during this time, given the many distractions the city’s residents are currently dealing with. But council members made clear last week that they believe they have the ability — and duty
— to keep their focus on the city’s future by making relevant decisions in the present. That includes ongoing review of significant proposals like the Aggie Research Campus, the Mace Boulevard redesign and the draft Downtown Davis Specific Plan. “It is absolutely important that we continue with our business as a city,” Mayor Pro Tem Gloria Partida said during last week’s council meeting.
“This is an unprecedented time,” she said, “(and) it’s difficult to make those decisions, but there’s going to be quite a lag if we don’t continue with taking care of the things we have to take care of so that when we come out of this, we are in a good position to go forward economically and to continue to take care of the people who rely (on the city).” Partida’s comments came in
Going, going, gone ...
Enterprise staff writer
Enterprise staff writer
SEE SCHOOLS, PAGE A2
VOL. 123, NO. 45
Suspect takes COVID sample BY LAUREN KEENE
BY JEFF HUDSON
With school campuses closed for the rest of the academic year, the Davis school district will kick off its “distance learning” program on Monday, April 13. On Friday around 5 p.m., Superintendent John Bowes sent a message to students, parents and teachers on the district’s imminent transition to students studying at home, and working from online materials and assignments). School campuses and classrooms will remain closed due to the coronavirus situation. Starting Monday, Davis students will begin logging into virtual instruction through Google Classroom, class meetings through video conferencing and hardcopy materials to supplement instruction where necessary. In addition, the district will provide resources and strategies to make distance learning engaging and accessible for English learners and students with disabilities. Officials continue to be mindful of student needs for technology and internet access. Students who need of a device for distance learning can still check out a Chromebook from the district. The district’s website at www.djusd.net offers a host of resources, which Bowes highlighted. “Please look for communications from your child’s principal and teachers for details about the specifics of your child’s instruction through the coming days, weeks and months,” Bowes said in his message. ”As we embark on this journey, please note we are approaching this work thoughtfully and with careful attention to
SEE REVIEW, PAGE A6
OWEN YANCHER/ENTERPRISE PHOTO
An excavator tears into the former Valley Wine building at 417 G St. on Saturday, three days after the roof caved in at the condemned downtown building and the walls began to buckle, one of them coming to rest against a Taco Bell restaurant next door. Davis Fire Department officials say the resulting debris pile will be hauled away Tuesday after county air quality workers inspect it for asbestos contamination. At right, an aerial drone image shows the building before it was demolished, leaning against the Taco Bell next door. Below, some of the booze still needed rescuing; longtime owner John Booher said the business had just a few cases of liquor that had not yet been removed at the time of demolition.
Davis police are seeking a man who is suspected of taking a possible COVID19 specimen from Sutter Davis Hospital on Saturday, only to abandon it at a nearby shopping center. The incident, which has been classified as a burglary, occurred shortly after 1:30 p.m. at the West Davis hospital, where employees reported that an unidentified person had entered the building and stolen a
SEE SUSPECT, PAGE A2
Supervisors to get virus update BY ANNE TERNUS-BELLAMY Enterprise staff writer
OWEN YANCHER/ENTERPRISE PHOTO
JOHN VARLEY/COURTESY PHOTO
Local Chinese Americans gather medical supplies BY CALEB HAMPTON Enterprise staff writer A vast network of Chinese American groups is digging deep to source and donate essential supplies There is a metaphor about the fight against the coronavirus that has become popular in Chinese chat groups. “China played the first half; the USA is playing the second half,” said Sunny Liu, a Davis resident who manages media relations for the Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association. “However, Chinese Americans are playing the full match.”
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In February, when some of her classmates were talking about the pandemic as an opportunity to scoop up cheap flights to Hawaii, Davis High School senior Kimberly Liu was speaking weekly with her grandmother who lives in Wuhan, the Chinese city hit first and most severely by the virus. Her grandmother described a city whose hospitals were overrun and whose residents were under strict lockdown, a reality unimaginable to most outside China until it was replicated in Tehran, Lombardy, Madrid and New York. “We knew
WEATHER
SEE MEDICAL, PAGE A7
CALEB HAMPTON/ENTERPRISE PHOTO
The NewStar Chinese School in Davis and a group of Chinese parents of UC Davis students, as well as other local Chinese Americans, raised $25,000 to purchase 33,000 masks and 100,000 gloves for local clinics and hospitals.
Yolo County supervisors will receive an update on the pandemic from county health officials at their 9 a.m. board meeting on Tuesday. As they have at the last several meetings, those officials, including Public Health Officer Dr. Ron Chapman, will provide county supervisors with the latest numbers on the COVID-19 pandemic and steps being taken to assist residents impacted by the virus and the shelter-inplace order aimed at slowing its spread. As of Friday, the county has had 75 residents test positive for the virus. Three people have died and 21 have been hospitalized. A total of 885 county residents have been tested thus far. In addition to receiving a coronavirus update on Tuesday, county supervisors are expected to create board subcommittees to
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