Pets
Aggies land Estonian prospect — Page A10
Movies
Cheyenne is looking for a new home
Sports
An unusual star-crossed love in “Your Name” — Page A7
— Page A6
enterprise THE DAVIS
FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 2020
Garamendi offers legislation to create testing workforce UNITE Act would put Peace Corps volunteers to work in the U.S. BY CALEB HAMPTON Enterprise staff writer Rep. John Garamendi, D-Walnut Creek introduced legislation Tuesday to create a nationwide corps to carry out coronavirus testing and contact tracing. The bill would mobilize Peace Corps, AmeriCorps and Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) volunteers to support public health workers.
GARAMENDI New legislation
“The coronavirus pandemic has put an unprecedented strain on our society, and our nation
requires a significant scaling of testing and contact tracing in order to flatten the curve and lift stay-at-home orders,” Garamendi said in a press release. Using the existing AmeriCorps framework, The Undertaking National Initiatives to Tackle Epidemic (UNITE) Act would dramatically bolster recruitment and require that the corps “prioritize activities related to coronavirus testing and contact tracing.” There are currently about
75,000 AmeriCorps volunteers in the United States. The UNITE Act mandates the recruitment of an additional 500,000 personnel. It would also permanently raise the compensation floor for volunteers to 200 percent of the poverty level, roughly double the current minimum. The bill would also authorize funding to hire and train 10,000 additional FEMA personnel to perform contact tracing, provide logistical support for procuring
medical equipment, and fulfill other public health related needs. “The UNITE Act empowers America’s service organizations to perform testing and contact tracing across the country and deliver the aid and support our communities require during the pandemic,” Garamendi said. The U.S. may need to hire and train as many as 300,000 “disease intervention specialists” to
SEE TESTING, PAGE A5
Chapman grilled on Stebbins case
Lonely downtown
Supervisors weigh in BY ANNE TERNUS-BELLAMY Enterprise staff writer
ENTERPRISE PHOTO
With Yolo County’s shelter-in-place order in full effect, downtown Davis is bereft of customers. So, The Davis Downtown Business Association aims to infuse $100,000 into downtown businesses through a stimulus program, co-sponsored by the city of Davis. For full story, see Page A2.
Criticism of BrightNight solar agreement continues BY ANNE TERNUS-BELLAMY Enterprise staff writer Members of the Davis City Council continue to hear widespread criticism of their recent approval of a lease option agreement with a company that wants to build a commercial solar farm on city property. The council approved the lease option agreement at the end of March, but dozens of city residents and members of city commissions are urging the council to rescind it. Opponents of the plan have written letters to the editor and op-ed pieces in The Enterprise and continue to email the council and speak during public comment at council meetings. Those opponents include a broad cross-section of the community, from former Mayor Joe Krovoza to councilappointed members of the city’s Finance and Budget, Utilities, Open Space and Habitat, and Natural Resources commissions; as well as local energy
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Out on zero bail, suspect allegedly reoffends — twice
and wildlife experts. Much of the criticism has focused on the process by which BrightNight obtained the lease option for 235 acres of land near the city’s wastewater treatment facility on County Road 28H.
Timeline BrightNight approached the city about leasing the land for a commercial solar farm and solar-energy testing facility last year, and during a closed session in February, the council authorized the city manager to move ahead with a preliminary agreement for the lease option. The council subsequently voted 4-1 at the end of March in favor of the plan. Under the terms of the agreement, the city would receive about $5,000 per year during the next five years while BrightNight secures entitlements for the solar facility and once the
SEE SOLAR, PAGE A11
INDEX
Arts . . . . . . . . . . A7 Dial-A-Pro . . .A13 Sports . . . . . .A10 Classifieds . . .A11 Forum . . . . . . . . A4 The Wary I . . . . A2 Comics . . . . . .A12 Pets . . . . . . . . . A6 Weather . . . . .A13
BY LAUREN KEENE Enterprise staff writer A Woodland auto theft suspect released from Yolo County Jail under California’s emergency zero-bail order found himself back in custody on multiple felony charges this week, including allegations that he stole two more cars, using one to lead police on a high-speed pursuit. Jacob Dakota James’ alleged crimes prompted the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office to issue a news release Monday about the reoffense, announcing new charges of vehicle theft, looting, evading police, resisting arrest and violating a public health order. James, 27, remained in custody on a $10,000 bail hold Wednesday, four days after Woodland police arrested him following the early-morning chase. Court documents show James, who served jail time for vehicle theft last fall, was arrested for the same offense
WEATHER Sa Saturday: Pa Partly sunny. Hig High 87. Low 57.
on April 9, as well as for possessing burglary tools. He was soon released under a California Judicial Council order that sets zero bail for misdemeanors and low-level felonies, the measure intended to reduce jail populations and curb the spread of COVID-19. Several days later, James allegedly stole a Honda Civic in Woodland, an offense the DA’s Office has charged as both vehicle theft and looting — a grand theft committed during a state of emergency, a felony offense that doesn’t qualify for zero-bail release. The same counts were filed in connection with Saturday’s incident, which Woodland police Sgt. Dallas Hyde said involved a Honda CR-V reported stolen the night before. At about 12:20 a.m. Saturday, “an officer located the vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed and a vehicle pursuit ensued,” Hyde said. “Within a
There’s been some sharp criticism of county officials in the wake of an article published over the weekend detailing the experiences of the county’s first confirmed COVID-19 patient. The account by Davis resident Marilyn Stebbins raised questions about the way the county handled her case, from how she was described in a press release announcing her positive test on March 6, to the contact tracing that was CHAPMAN conducted by county County health health officials in the officer days following. Specifically, Stebbins noted the press release described her as an older woman with underlying health conditions when she was, in fact, a healthy, athletic 58-year-old distance runner. She said she was told by a county public health nurse the press release would be corrected but it was not until after her article was published. Stebbins also questioned why a
SEE CASE, PAGE A5
County reports two more COVID deaths BY ANNE TERNUS-BELLAMY Enterprise staff writer Yolo County reported two more deaths and nine more confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the last 48 hours. Since the pandemic began, 12 county residents have died of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, and 155 residents have
SEE BAIL, PAGE A11
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SEE COVID, PAGE A5
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