enterprise THE DAVIS
SUNDAY, JULY 19, 2020
School board reviews plan for distance learning as new year approaches BY JEFF HUDSON Enterprise staff writer During a special meeting on Friday morning, July 17, the Davis school board reviewed a staffdeveloped plan to open the new 2020-21 school year with distance learning, rather than with standard classroom instruction, owing to concerns about the
coronavirus pandemic. The school board took no formal action on the plan during Friday morning’s meeting; a vote could come at the next meeting on Thursday, July 23, at 11:30 a.m. Up and down the state, numerous school districts (large and small, including the mammoth Los Angeles Unified School
district in far-off Southern California to Yolo County’s Woodland Joint Unified School District, which borders the Davis school district on the north) have recently announced plans to open the 2020-21 school year with distance learning rather than classroom instruction. Davis superintendent John Bowes told the school board
trustees that staff is recommending that the Davis public schools open the school year on Aug. 26 under a distance learning model, with students assigned to “virtual classrooms,” learning with groups of students who will literally become classmates when the district switches from distance learning to regular classroom instruction at some point during
the 2020-21 school year. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, in a statewide news conference at noon on Friday, announced that the state will now require California counties with a significant number of coronavirus cases to begin the new school year with distance learning.
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ICU capacity drops to zero again County reports 502 COVID cases in 2 weeks BY ANNE TERNUS-BELLAMY
UC Davis announced Friday that most of its fall classes will be taught remotely, with plans to hold some classes outdoors under tents.
Enterprise staff writer
“For classes with fewer than 50 students, in-person instruction may be possible. The decision to hold an in-person class will be decided by the Instructor of Record in coordination with department chairs and deans, followed by committee review and approval by the Provost,” the letter states.
The surge in coronavirus cases and decrease in available ICU beds that landed Yolo County on the state’s monitoring list continue to be issues here. In the last 14 days, the county has reported 502 cases of COVID-19, along with 28 hospitalizations and six deaths on its online dashboard. As of Friday morning, 17 of those COVID-19 patients were hospitalized, including 12 in the county’s two hospitals and five outside the county, according to public information officer Jenny Tan. Meanwhile, the state reported Saturday that 11 of those patients were in intensive care in Yolo County and the county had no more ICU beds available. The lack of staffed ICU beds, along with the surge in cases, landed Yolo County on California’s COVID-19 monitoring list on July 8. By virtue of its inclusion on the list, the county has been required to close a variety of indoor activities, including everything from bars and indoor dining to churches, hair salons and gyms. On Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced all school districts in counties on that list would have to begin the school year with a distanceonly learning model and would not
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CALEB HAMPTON/ ENTERPRISE PHOTO
UCD aims for outdoor classes Most teaching will be remote BY CALEB HAMPTON Enterprise staff writer UC Davis released details about its fall instruction plans on Friday in a letter to teaching assistants and faculty members. While most teaching will be done remotely, there are plans to hold some classes outdoors under tents. In June, UC Davis announced a plan to offer remote instruction for all classes and also hold some in-person classes should
public health guidance allow. Friday’s letter affirms those plans and expands on what they might look like. “We had hoped to be writing under circumstances both more favorable and less uncertain,” Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Mary Croughan and Academic Senate Chair Kristin Lagattuta said in the letter. In recent weeks, the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Yolo County and across California has risen sharply. On Monday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered all counties in the state to shut down most indoor businesses, putting the brakes on reopening
efforts. On Friday, Newsom ordered most K-12 schools, including those in Yolo County, to begin the school year online. “Our fundamental approach to instruction during the pandemic remains unchanged: Prioritizing the safety of all members of our UC Davis community while doing all we can to maintain educational excellence and student success,” Croughan and Lagattuta said. Due to public health precautions, “the majority of teaching will need to be remote,” the letter states. Specifically, all classes with 50 or more students enrolled will be held entirely remotely, without any
in-person instruction. Pending public health restrictions, smaller classes may have in-person meetings, which would be at the discretion of instructors and with the approval of administrators.
Parole denied to ’96 Co-op hostage-taker
University Commons heads to City Council
BY LAUREN KEENE
Enterprise staff writer
Enterprise staff writer A man serving a 33-year state prison sentence for a 1996 robbery and hostage standoff at the Davis Food Co-op was denied parole Thursday, according to the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office. It was the first parole suitability hearing for Ronald Kenneth Martin, 49, who was convicted of seven felonies in connection with the Feb. 22, 1996, offense. He will again be eligible for parole in 2027. “This was an atrocious crime that has no doubt
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caused severe emotional damage to these victims,” Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig said. “Our office is committed to representing the interests of victims’ families and public safety at these parole hearings, and when it’s appropriate we argue against the release of inmates who are a danger to the public.” Martin was armed with multiple handguns when he and an accomplice entered the Co-op building, forced employees into the cooler and ordered the manager to open the store safe.
INDEX
BY ANNE TERNUS-BELLAMY
COURTESY PHOTO
The back door of the Davis Food Co-op was riddled with bullets after a 1996 hostage standoff. Retired Davis police Sgt. Scott Smith, working patrol at the time, said Friday that “I remember it like it happened yesterday.” He recalled that officers responding to a 911 call from a store employee had
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positioned themselves at both the front and rear of the G Street store, where the suspects initially tried to leave through the front doors after the robbery
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Nearly two months after a unanimous Davis Planning Commission opposed the proposed redevelopment of University Mall, the mall’s owners will head to the City Council on Tuesday seeking a different outcome. This go round, mall owner Brixmor has sweetened the pot with commitments that include adding affordable housing on-site and reducing the number of multibedroom units geared toward students. Those changes are
intended to alleviate some of the primary concerns expressed by planning commissioners, as well as some members of the public, during the commission’s May 27 meeting. At that meeting, the commission voted 7-0 to recommend that the City Council not certify the environmental impact report, amend the General Plan or take other steps towards approving the University Commons mixed-use project. The proposal would
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