The Davis Enterprise Friday, October 7, 2022

Emily and Robbie, 15 days after her birth. Robbie was born last October after receiving spina bifida treatment combining surgery with stem cells.

New hope for families

UCD performs pioneering spina bifida surgeries

By CaleB Hampton Enterprise staff writer

After a groundbreaking clini cal trial at UC Davis Health, three babies who received the world’s first spina bifida treat ment combining surgery with stem cells were born, the health system announced Thursday.

The cutting-edge treatment is done while a fetus is still devel oping in the womb. Researchers believe it could improve

outcomes for children with spina bifida, a birth defect that occurs when spinal tissue fails to fuse properly early during early fetal development. Spina bifida, also known as myelome ningocele, can cause a range of lifelong physical and cognitive disabilities.

The CuRe Trial began in spring 2021 at UC Davis Health. In total, 35 patients will be treated in the trial. So far,

three of them have been born, and will be monitored by the researchers until they are 30 months old in order to assess the treatment’s safety and effec tiveness.

The first phase of the trial is funded by a $9 million state grant from the California Insti tute of Regenerative Medicine, the state’s stem cell agency.

“This clinical trial could enhance the quality of life for so

many patients to come,” Emily, the first clinical trial partici pant, told UC Davis Health. She traveled from Austin, Texas, to participate. Her daughter Rob bie was born in September 2021. “We didn’t know about spina bifida until the diagnosis,” Emily said. “We are so thankful that we got to be a part of this. We are giving our daughter the very best chance at a bright future.”

By performing surgery before

See Hope, BaCk page

Vaitla leads in campaign fundraising

By anne ternuS-Bellamy Enterprise staff writer

Heading in to the last six weeks of the campaign, Davis City Council candi date Bapu Vaitla had a fundraising advantage over his two opponents in Dis trict 1.

Through Sept. 24, Vaitla had received $24,328 in contributions and loaned his campaign another $13,000. His cash on hand on Sept. 24 was $23,482, according to forms filed with the city clerk’s office.

By comparison, Council man Dan Carson had taken in $15,159 and had $1,445 on hand as of Sept. 24, while Kelsey Fortune reported $3,530 in contri butions, had loaned her

campaign $1,766, and had $4,202 on hand on Sept. 24.

Over in District 4, Coun cilwoman Gloria Partida had a fundraising advan tage over challenger Adam Morrill.

Partida raised $9,840 in contributions and had a cash balance of $5,438 on Sept. 24. Morrill, mean while, raised $4,475 through Sept. 24 and had $2,575 in cash on hand.

Vaitla received more than 200 individual contri butions of up to $150, including from some local elected officials like Mayor Lucas Frerichs, Council man Josh Chapman and Yolo County Supervisor Don Saylor. He also received contributions

from former mayors Ann Evans and Robb Davis.

A number of city com missioners also contributed funds to Vaitla’s campaign, including Johannes Troost, Linda Deos, Georgina Valencia, Cheryl Essex and Rachel Fulp-Cooke, and several city of Davis fire fighters also made contri butions.

Carson received more than 130 individual contri butions for the reporting period of Jan. 1 to Sept. 24. Among his donors: Partida, former Mayor Brett Lee, former Councilman Ste phen Souza, school board Trustee Joe DiNunzio, for mer state superintendent of

City Council candidates weigh in on homelessness

By anne ternuS-Bellamy Enterprise staff writer

The five candidates for Davis City Council participated in three election forums last week where they were asked their opinions on a variety of issues facing the city, from a lack of affordable housing to dealing with climate change to city finances.

And, at each forum, they were also asked to weigh in on homelessness — what the city has done, and should do, to help those who are unhoused.

The two incumbents — Council man Dan Carson, running in District 1 and Councilwoman Gloria Partida, running in District 4 — touted what the city has accomplished thus far; Carson’s challengers — Bapu Vaitla and Kelsey Fortune — called for more housing for the homeless; and Adam Morrill, who is challenging Partida, said the city should not be in the busi ness of providing homeless services.

That the issue is a big concern for Davis residents was evident in responses to a survey conducted by the city in the spring. When partici pants were asked to name the city’s most important problem, homeless ness was cited more than any other

See HomeleSSneSS, page a5

California college leaders speak out on DACA ruling

By CaleB Hampton Enterprise staff writer

On Wednesday, a fed eral appeals court upheld a Texas-based district judge’s finding that a pro gram barring the depor tation of some undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children was illegal.

The appeals court ordered the lower court to review a new version of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program issued by the Biden administra tion.

For now, the program remains intact, allowing

DACA recipients to con tinue renewing their sta tus, but the appeals court ruling cast doubt over the program’s future.

On Thursday, leaders from California’s three college systems, the Uni versity of California, Cali fornia State University and California Commu nity Colleges issued a joint statement on the ruling.

“We are deeply trou bled by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ deci sion, which holds that the DACA program violates federal law,” the university leaders said. “We support

UC Davis HealtH pHoto

Today hasn’t quite gotten here yet

Ireceived my extremely thick, intensely exciting, 128-page, printed-at-taxpayer expense

“Official Voter Information Guide” from California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber the other day and haven’t been able to put it down.

I like Shirley because right there on the cover page she lets me know she has a Ph.D. and I don’t.

Truth be told, being a doctor of philosophy is not a requirement of the job unless her advanced degree includes a specialty in the mathematics of counting ballots quickly and accurately.

“Don’t Delay, Vote Today!” screamed the letters at the top of the cover page, using one more exclamation point than absolutely necessary.

The only problem with “Vote Today!,” beside the exclamation point, is that I received my Official Voter Information Guide on Sept. 30, only to read on that same page

that the “Early vote-by-mail ballot voting period is from October 11 through November 8, 2022. Voteby-mail ballots are mailed on or before October 10.”

How I am supposed to “Vote Today!” when the voting period doesn’t open until next week is unclear, but maybe that exclama tion point gives me extra privi leges I’m not aware of. But it would at least be nice to have a ballot in hand before I try to vote.

“Polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on November 8, 2022, Election Day!”

Balloons, marching bands, dancing clowns, free beer with every ballot stub. (Must be 21, Real ID required.)

“Every registered voter in Cali fornia will receive a vote-by-mail ballot.”

Wonder how Shirley would fare if she tried to set that up in Georgia or Texas or several other states that are trying to make it more difficult to vote, not easier.

Shirley actually addresses that very issue on Page 4 of the guide where she gives her opinion about what’s happening in other states. Whether these thoughts should be disseminated at taxpayer expense is an open question, but she does have a Ph.D., after all.

“Dear Californian — While many of the hard-won advances in voting rights have been rolled back in other states,” she begins, going for the jugular in the very

Gun brandishing lands Davis man in jail

By Lauren Keene Enterprise staff writer

Davis police arrested a local man suspected of brandishing a gun at another person earlier this week.

Lt. Dan Beckwith said the 21-year-old victim con tacted police at about 10 a.m. Monday to report the incident, which began with a confrontation in the parking lot of an Olive Drive business.

Both men left the park ing lot in their own vehi cles. When they stopped at a red light at Richards Boulevard, the victim got out of his car to speak with the suspect, who exited his car and brandished “what appeared to be a semiauto matic weapon,” Beckwith said.

An investigation by the Davis Police Department’s Community-Oriented Policing and Problem-Solving Unit (COPPS) led to a search warrant being

Davis police released this surveillance video of an alleged gun-brandishing Monday at Richards Boulevard and Olive Drive.

Street.

“During the warrant ser vice, detectives located a loaded, privately manufac tured firearm, which is believed to be the same weapon used in the assault, in the suspect’s vehicle,” police said.

The suspect, identified as

19-year-old Isaac James Peter Salas, was booked into the Yolo County Jail on suspicion of felony assault with a deadly weapon, exhibiting a firearm in a threatening manner, carry ing a concealed firearm in a vehicle and possession of an illegally manufactured firearm.

first sentence.

“California remains committed to expanding access to voting by making universal vote-by-mail ballots permanent, increasing the number of in-person voting options, offering same-day regis tration and provisional voting, and expanding the number of days available to vote.”

Our secretary of state doesn’t say so, but California still allows people to provide a drink of water to folks waiting in line to vote on a hot day. But only on a hot day.

But wait, there’s more.

“Because attacks on elections and voting rights continue, we are counting on you to vote for what matters to you and your family, to vote for the needs of your commu nities, and to vote for the health of our democracy.”

If, of course, you still believe in democracy.

— Reach Bob Dunning at bdunning@davisenterprise.net.

Yolo-inspired laws get Gov. Newsom’s signature

By Lauren Keene Enterprise staff writer

California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed into law two criminaljustice measures modeled after programs launched by the Yolo County Dis trict Attorney’s Office.

Assembly Bill 2778, authored by Assembly man Kevin McCarty and co-sponsored/drafted by Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig, requires the state Depart ment of Justice to estab lish a race-blind charging system that prosecutors statewide must imple ment by January 2025.

AB 2778 mirrors a pro gram DA’s Office unveiled in September 2021 in cooperation with the Stanford Computational Policy Lab, which designed computer tech nology that automatically

redacts race-related details from police reports.

Specifically, the process removes all race data from police reports for any suspect, victim or wit ness when a case is ini tially reviewed for charging. Prosecutors then make their charging decision based on the modified report.

“Justice should be blind,” Reisig said in a news release this week. “Blind charging criminal cases helps build public trust in the process and improves the integrity of all prosecutions.”

The second bill, AB 2418, calls for transpar ency through the state wide publication of criminal prosecution data. Reisig too helped draft the bill alongside its author, Assemblyman Ash Kalra.

Courtesy photo

Today-Sunday

n The Friends of the Davis Public Library host a three-day book sale at the Stephens Branch Library, 315 E. 14th St. in Davis. Hours are noon to 7 p.m. Fri day in the Blanchard Room; Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The sale will be open to members and nonmembers. On Sun day, bring your own bag and fill up for $10 per bag. Members will receive $2 off at each sale (non-cumulative) and folks can sign up to be members at the door. There are no scanners on Friday but welcome on Saturday and Sunday. Member ship applications for the Friends of the Davis Public Library will be available at the door or online at http://davisli braryfriends.org. For questions, contact Gary Godefroy at 530-4003610.

Wednesday

n Project Linus meets to make blankets for children who are seriously ill, trauma tized or otherwise in need from 1:30 to 3 p.m. at the Davis Senior Center, 646 A St. At the meeting, help sew Linus labels on hand made blankets for Yolo County organizations that serve children in need. Project Linus members may take home donated fabrics and yarn each month to complete a blanket. Finished blankets can be brought to the next monthly gathering or to the Joann Fabric store in Woodland. For dropoff locations, fabric and yarn donations, or to sign up on for an email list to receive detailed information and updated meeting time changes, contact Diane McGee at dmmyolo@ gmail.com.

n Dine in Congrega tion Bet Haverim’s Suk kah and enjoy a food truck dinner under the stars from 4 to 7 p.m. Mumpy’s and Kado’s food trucks will be sell ing food, and desserts and drinks will also be for sale. Folk Music Folks will provide live music. CBH is at 1715 Anderson Road. Con tact Raychel with ques tions at 530-219-5986.

n Davis Science Café returns with “Inorganic Life: Giving Voice to the Silent Roles of Met als in our Bodies.” This month’s speaker is Prof. Marie Heffern of the chemistry department, who studies the inter play between first-row d-block transition met als and hormone func tion. The free event is from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at G Street Wunderbar, 228 G St. in downtown Davis, with complimen tary soft drinks cour tesy of the UCD College of Letters and Science.

For information, con tact jtshaw@ucdavis. edu or www.facebook. com/davissciencecafe.

Friday, Oct. 14

n The UC Davis Arboretum hosts a Folk Music Jam Session from noon to 1 p.m. Folk musicians are once again invited to bring their acoustic instru ments and play together informally during this jam session at Wyatt Deck (next to the redwood grove). All skill levels welcome and listeners are invited.

Short-term parking is

Arboretum Drive.

Hourly rates start at $1.75.

Pumpkin parts inside that shell

By Sara ThompSon Special to the Enterprise

Pumpkins are one of the most common fall sights. Their growing season is during late summer and they are ripe just as the seasons begin to change. Many use them as decorations for generic fall and harvest décor, while others carve them for jack-o’-lanterns. As people begin to carve pumpkins this year not many thinks about all the parts they are scooping out and what their purpose is.

Starting with the exte rior of a pumpkin, one of a pumpkin’s defining fea tures is its stem. The stem is where a pumpkin attached to the vine and received its nutrients. As the pumpkin ripens the stem will turn from green to brown and will eventu ally detach from the vine.

Next is the skin of a pumpkin. Pumpkins come in over 150 varieties and can range in color from orange and yellow to green and white. Most people look for the orange and yellow varieties for harvest festivals and decorations.

Explorit SciEncE cEntEr

The skin is there to protect the fruit from disease and insects. The skin is not toxic but is very tough and bitter and not recom mended for consumption.

At the bottom of the pumpkin is a hard knot. This is where the blossom was on the vine. When the flower was pollinated, that is when the change to a pumpkin began. Where the blossom attached to the vine will become the stem, and the ends of the blossom will wither and harden into the blossom end.

Inside, the pumpkin also has a variety of structures. The main flesh of the pumpkin is called the pulp. This is what pump kin puree and pies are made from. There are countless ways to cook and prepare the pulp to make a delicious meal, either sweet or savory.

Attached to the pulp are fibrous strands that help contain and protect the seeds. Often scooped out

Pets of the week

Special to The Enterprise

Lots of animals are wait ing for “forever homes” at the Yolo County Animal Shelter, 2640 E. Gibson Road in Woodland.

Among them is Thumper (A198673), a female spot ted white rabbit, about 6 months old. Thumper weighs approximately 3 pounds. She’s very playful and loves attention. She is ready to become a part of a loving family that has rab bit experience.

Also hoping for a good home is Tiger (A197966), a 3-year-old male orange tabby cat. Tiger is a sweet boy who appreciates chin rubs and head pats, but likes his own space when he is done with pets. Tiger is dealing with FLUTD (feline urinary tract dis ease), which can be man aged with a proper diet, monitoring and decreasing stress.

For information on adopting, contact adopt ycas@gmail.com. All shel ter animals are up-to-date on vaccinations, micro chipped, and spayed or neutered.

Staff is available to assist via phone during business hours at 530-668-5287.

Thumper

Shelter hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. To meet any adoptable YCAS animals, visit friendsofycas.org. To volunteer, sign up at tinyurl.com/yolovolunteer app. Follow on at @ycas. shelter and Instagram at @ yoloanimalshelter.

At Rotts of Friends Ani mal Rescue, you’ll find Andre, a 3- to 4-year-old neutered male purebred border collie. This boy is super-friendly with a sub missive type personality.

He is obedience-trained and walks well on leash.

Andre loves hanging out with his human friends and loves to play.

Dig a bit and you can get pumpkin seeds while carving a jack-o’lantern.

are actually very flavorful and good for making stocks and other foods.

The seeds are at the very center of a pumpkin. These can be roasted and eaten or planted to make more pumpkins. A single pumpkin seed can produce two-five pumpkins.

If you are carving a pumpkin for Halloween, keeping it whole for deco

up for cooking, take the time to look at and try to identify the parts.

Explorit’s coming events:

n Explorit is open to the public on Fridays from 1 to 4 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is $5 per person. Explorit Members, ASTC, and those age 2 and under are free.

n A Membership to Explorit grants the recipi ent free visits to Explorit’s regular public hours, dis counts on events, summer camps and workshops, and gives you ASTC benefits to visit other museums throughout the world. To purchase or for more information visit https:// www.explorit.org/mem bership or call Explorit at 530-756-0191.

n School Programs are available to schedule. We have educational programs that travel to schools and options for field trips at our facility. Please call 530-756-0191 for more information or to sched ule.

n Now is a great time to donate and help Explorit continue to educate and inspire the scientists of tomorrow: https://www. explorit.org/donate.

— Explorit Science Cen ter is at 3141 Fifth St. For information, call 530-7560191 or visit http://www. explorit.org, or “like” the Facebook page at www. facebook.com/explorit.fb.

Tiger Andre Nikki

Nikki is a 1-year-old spayed female purebred Rottweiler. She is a gradu ate of obedience training classes so knows her com mands. This sweet, playful young girl will make great hiking or swimming com panion, and would do well with a large, male dog buddy.

The next Rotts of Friends adoption event is from 8 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 8, at 34505 County Road 29 in Woodland. Come by 10 a.m., as it takes at least an hour to meet and adopt a dog; everyone who will be living with the dog should come out to meet it.

Bring proof of home ownership, such as a mort gage statement or property tax bill. If you rent, please bring proof that you are allowed to have a dog in your home, such as a pet

State grant funds Winters traffic safety

By Lauren Keene Enterprise staff writer

Winters police are seeking safer streets with the help of a $50,000 grant expected to fund increased community patrols and other trafficsafety programs.

The Winters Police Department received the grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

“I would like to thank our partners at the Califor nia Office of Traffic Safety for awarding this grant to

the Winter Police Depart ment for the second year,” Winters Police Chief John Miller said. “This grant will allow us to continue our traffic safety efforts to deter unsafe driving behaviors that endanger and put at risk other drivers, pedestri ans and bicyclists here in Winters.”

The grant program, which runs through Sep tember 2023, will provide additional programs and resources such as:

n DUI patrols focused on stopping impaired driv ers.

n Operations targeting

California’s hands-free cell phone law.

n Enforcement ofspeed ing, failure to yield, stop sign and/or red-light run ning, and improper turning or lane changes.

clause in your lease or a note from your landlord.

All dogs adopted from Rotts of Friends are healthy, microchipped,

up-to-date on their vac cines and come with free lifetime obedience classes.

For info, visit facebook. com/rottsoffriends.

and discarded, the strands

rations or even chopping

Brad BEattiE/WikimEdia commonS

Obituaries

Scott Hill took his first steps on the UC Davis campus as a child and his last steps there on his daily walk with his beloved dog. He loved his family and dogs, education, art, food and wine, baseball, bicycle racing, and bas ketball. All of those loves rolled up into an epic life, too short, but long in contribution, friendship, fellowship, humor and accom plishment.

Scott was a legend in California – starting his career at the Cali fornia School Boards Association and later serving as executive director of the Standards

Commission, followed by chief deputy superintendent at the Califor nia Depart ment of Education. He became a master of the technical complexity of standards, assess ment, and accountability — see ing them not as technocracy but instead as the way that big sys tems could really know whether their young charges had actually learned what the systems prom ised.

His work in California informed similar efforts nation wide. What’s best for kids always

Kathryn L. Thorpe

Kathryn Lane Thorpe (Fenlon) died peacefully at her home in Davis on Sept. 20, 2022, following com plications from pneumo nia.

Kathy was born on Nov. 7, 1937, in Minneapolis to Gerald and Mildred Fenlon (Ridgeway). She was the older sister to Marilyn and Jim. The three were always together and affectionately called themselves “The Three Musketeers.” She graduated high school early and entered the convent at age 16. While there, she attended nursing school and loved working in labor and delivery. At age 21, she decided she wanted a fam ily and left the vocation, but her devotion to the Catholic faith never wavered and inspired a life of joyful service to others.

Kathy completed her bachelor’s degree in Eng lish at the University of Minnesota, where she played the cello in the uni versity orchestra. She was teaching high school Eng lish when she met Bob Thorpe and they married in June 1963.

Bob worked for the U.S. Navy and the newly mar ried couple decided to make their home in San Diego where their first child Teri was born. Tom, Anne and Molly soon fol lowed, and Kathy led a busy life as a mother of four children. She loved the ocean and would gladly take a car full of kids for a

Obituary policy

day at the beach. She enjoyed shopping, volun teering in schools, scouting, eucharistic ministry, music and theater, and being team mom and PTA presi dent. As the kids got older, Bob and Kathy welcomed their first dachshunds into their home, sparking a life long love of these sweet dogs, which they were never without.

Kathy returned to fulltime teaching when her kids were teenagers and earned a master’s degree in special education at the University of San Diego. She taught junior high at Stella Maris Academy and became vice principal before she retired. She was a well-loved teacher who took pride in her work and inspired a generation of students.

Upon retirement, Kathy and Bob moved to Davis in 1999, where their oldest daughter Teri was raising her family. Kathy loved being a grandma, and Davis became the home base for all her children and grandchildren to gather. She poured her time into growing and making things, from orchids and roses to scarves and dolls, with a special focus on cre ating beautiful quilts.

In Davis, she quickly built up a vast network of friends and neighbors that gave her so much joy. When Bob’s health began to fail, she cherished their support until his death in 2016. Her

animated Scott — whether work ing at the State, the Gates Foun dation, the College Board — or at home. He was exquisitely singleminded about equity and oppor tunity — in their historic, deepest sense.

Scott was the most devoted husband and father that a person could be, and his world revolved around his wife, daughter, and daughter-in-law. Together, the four of them traveled far and wide across the globe, had fantastic adventures, and collected memo ries that will forever be treasured.

Scott was an incredible listener, always eager to hear about his daughter and daughter-in-law’s daily experiences at UC Davis or to give his wife a “fashion

consultation” on her newest sew ing project. And, of course, he loved his two canine companions, Todd and Clodagh. Whether walking them, sneaking them treats, or sitting on the floor with them, Scott was simply happy to be around the dogs.

He died suddenly during his routine daybreak walk with Todd.

It was a regular morning in an extraordinary life — whose abrupt end left so many loved ones stunned — and a generation of school-aged children without one of their most tireless and effective advocates.

Scott is survived by a lifetime of friends, colleagues and family, and most importantly Laura, his wife of 38 years; his daughters

Sydney and her wife Emma; father Eugene Hill; mother-inlaw Susanne Weir Johnson; and siblings Ken, Kevin and Derek Hill. He was predeceased by his mother, Patricia, and his older sister Susan.

A memorial service to celebrate Scott’s life will begin at 1 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13, at the Veterans Memorial Theater, 203 E. 14th St. in Davis.

Donations for a memorial bench on the UC Davis campus, where Scott spent thousands of hours walking with his family and dogs may be made at tinyurl. com/scottgofundme. The full obituary is online at www.smithfunerals.com

Velma Lagerstrom

Sept. 15, 1932 — Sept. 29, 2022

THORPE

final years were spent serving as a lead pas toral min ister at St. James Catholic Church. She found a great sense of purpose in bringing communion to sick and elderly parishio ners.

Her warmth, smile and merry laugh will be deeply missed by all. Though her passing was sudden, we take comfort in knowing her kind and generous spirit touched so many people throughout her life.

Kathryn was preceded in death by her husband, Robert P. Thorpe, and brother James L. Fenlon. She is survived by her sister and brother-in-law, Mari lyn and Larry Kelly of Bloomington, Minn.; chil dren Teri Greenfield (Steve) of Davis, Tom Thorpe (Rebecca) of Noblesville, Ind., Anne Thorpe (Ned Schantz) of Montreal, Que bec, and Molly Bullard (Jim) of Seattle; grandchil dren Melanie, Josh, David, Allison, Aidan, Adelaide, Ashley and Seth; greatgrandchildren Arayah and Nykoli; and many nieces and nephews.

A funeral mass and cele bration of life will begin at 10 a.m. Monday, Oct. 10, at St. James Catholic Church, 1275 B St. in Davis. In lieu of flowers, donations in her name can be made to Sut ter Care at Home or to the charity of your choice.

Velma Lagerstrom, who served for over 30 years in the Davis public schools, died peacefully in her sleep on Thursday, Sept. 29, in Santa Barbara. Born in Kansas, Velma and her fam ily followed her grandpar ents to Kingsburg in 1938.

As one of 40 Lungren first cousins, she grew up sur rounded by proud and lov ing relatives in her close-knit farming family. A skilled pianist and church organist, Velma was very involved in the Kingsburg Covenant Church, sharing the music ministry with her future husband, Ron. Married in 1954, Velma taught in public schools while Ron finished his degree at UC Berkeley.

Velma continued to teach (and play the organ) while the couple served churches in Massachusetts, Con necticut and Illinois, before being called to Davis in 1970. Velma always talked about her 42 years in the Davis community as the happiest of her life. It was a wonderful place to raise their two sons, welcome their daughter-in-law and son-in-law into the family, and celebrate the births of

their grandchildren.

Velma’s passion for educa tion and learning, first as a teacher and then as princi pal, found a perfect home at Birch Lane Elementary. As principal for 22 years, she was inspired by the commit ment to educational excel lence of her staff, energized by a dynamic and diverse team. It was while serving as interim principal in 1980 that Velma was diagnosed with breast cancer.

An early proponent for aggressive treatment, she became an activist, educat ing and supporting others in the fight for greater awareness and treatment options. One of her proud est moments was her involvement with Dr. Ernie Bodai and Representative Vic Fazio on the launch of the Breast Cancer Research Stamp (since 1998 the BCRS has raised over $100 million). Grassroots advo cacy was the perfect outlet for Velma’s educational and organizational skills!

Velma and Ron left Davis in 2012, moving to the Cov enant Living community in Santa Barbara. Velma volun teered in the local schools,

cheered friends and neigh bors with her musical skills, and served on several resi dent committees. With Ron’s passing in 2021, she was fortunate to spend the rest of her life with close friends in the caring Samarkand com munity.

Velma was a won derful wife, mother, grand mother, great grand mother, mentor and friend. Our family — sons Larry (Lori) and Glen (Dave), her grandchildren Ryan (Naomi) and Linnea (Ben), and her great grand children Noah and Eleanor Rae — along with so many others are blessed to have been a part of her life. Memories of her bright smile and attitude live on:

“This the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!” Psalm 118:24

As a remembrance, memorials can be made in Velma’s name to the Davis Schools Foundation, P.O. Box 1154, Davis, CA 95617, or www.davisschoolsfoun dation.org/donate.

LAGERSTROM

HOMELESSNESS: Wrestling with a persistent problem

issue except affordable housing — ahead of crime, growth and sustainability, road conditions and other concerns.

Meanwhile, a point-in-time count conducted countywide on a single night in February found 181 homeless individuals in Davis, more than half of them — 114 — unsheltered. That marked a slight increase over 2019. That year the point-in-time count found 27.2 individuals experiencing home lessness per 10,000 residents in the city of Davis. Three years later, that had increased to 27.9.

During that time, of course, COVID-19 hit, putting an end to congregate shelters for safety rea sons. State and federal funding helped the city lease motel rooms or apartments for many of the most at-risk unhoused individu als in Davis.

Other pre-COVID plans contin ued, including construction of Paul’s Place on H Street, a vertical tiny-home village to provide per manent supportive housing and emergency housing, and the the daytime respite center on L Street, which provides shelter — espe cially helpful during inclement weather — as well as showers, laundry and other services. Amer ican Rescue Plan funds helped make much of that possible.

Candidate takes Carson and Partida highlighted

those accomplishments in their comments, as well as the creation of a Department of Housing and Social Services, which will oversee the homeless response going for ward.

Said Partida, “I was on the sub committee to put together the new Department of Housing and Social Services and that depart ment is looking at the solutions to homelessness.

“We have a new department head who has gone out into the community, has worked with our non-profits, had conversations with our non-profits and is trying to figure out who’s here, first of all,” she said. “Who are the home less among us and why are they in this situation and how can we connect them to services?”

Partida added that “we need to find a way to prevent homeless ness from becoming a culture, from becoming something that is embedded, that they accept and we accept. That can’t be.

“I feel like we’ve been doing things a certain way over and over again and we need to find a dif ferent way to do that,” Partida said, adding that the respite cen ter “was a great step forward in that direction.”

“We are working with Commu niCare, we’re working with Davis Community Meals on that pro gram and … we have to work with the county, with our regional partners … because oftentimes our homeless folks move between Davis and Woodland so we need to work all together.”

Carson weighed in as well, say ing, “We took the bold step of creating a respite center. We worked hard with the neighbor hood to make them understand the need for it and to make sure we addressed their needs.”

Additionally, he said, “we con tributed money to Paul’s Place and zoned the land for it so it could be built. We supported the CalWORKS project down there at Pacifico in the face of consider able community opposition.

And, Carson said, he helped broker a compromise so that Plaza 2555, a South Davis hous ing development, dedicated land for the expansion of the Yolo Cri sis Nursery, “which serves our hidden homeless.

“There’s the folks who have to couch surf with their kids, per haps because of a domestic vio lence situation in their home. They’re not so visible, but they’re just as important and the fact they’re kids, we really need to pay attention to them.

“So we focused on all of these,” said Carson, and the fact that the homeless count in Davis stayed relatively flat (especially com pared to other communities), “shows we’re on the right track.”

Vaitla, too, has been involved in addressing homelessness — as a member and chair of the Social Services Commission and serving on the steering committee of the Homelessness Alliance in Davis, work, he said, “which is some thing that is very close to my

CAMPAIGN: Local names weigh in

From Page A1

schools Delaine Eastin, Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, D-Winters, and a handful of city commissioners.

Nearly 30 people made individual con tributions to Fortune’s campaign. Among them: former council candidate Colin Walsh, as well as Roberta Millstein, Alan Miller, Alan Pryor and former Mayor Michael Corbett.

Meanwhile, in her campaign to represent District 4 in East Davis, Partida has received nearly 80 individual contributions,

including from Carson, Frerichs, Lee and Saylor.

Others contributing to Partida’s campaign include Aguiar-Curry, former mayor Robb Davis, a number of city commissioners, incoming school board trustee Hiram Jack son and several city of Davis firefighters.

Morrill, Partida's challenger in District 4, reported approximately 42 individual contributions, including from former council candidate Larry Guenther, former Mayor Joe Krovoza and his wife, Janet, as well as Alan Pryor, Darell Dickey and oth ers.

professional interests and to my heart.”

“The good news is that we know what works to improve homelessness and that’s to get people into housing first,” he said.

“Permanent supportive housing first.”

“We know that at least half of the houseless population, if given the opportunity to connect to housing and social services, men tal health, substance use and other services that are needed, will take it,” Vaitla said. “So what we need to do is to plan to have that permanent supportive hous ing distributed across town.

“We also know that the other half of the population resists that kind of connection. The only thing that’s worked in other cities is to create community health worker outreach programs, navi gating programs, that build trust over time until people are willing to accept housing and connection to social services.”

Fortune, who is running against Vaitla and Carson in Dis trict 1, said, “we should house people and provide services to those people.”

“This should be a part of a big ger system,” she said. “We have a Department of Housing and Social Services now. We need to staff it so we can get started on this work. It’s important that we have a place where people know where they can go to be safe and housed. And it’s also important that we have staff that are active

in outreach to the people who are not currently housed.”

Fortune added that, “it’s also really important that we realize that the majority of people who are experiencing homelessness are not the people that we think of. They’re not the people who we might interact with downtown. They are living in their cars, they are hidden because … children would be taken away otherwise. And we need to be serving that community.”

Morrill, who is facing off against Partida in District 4, had a different take.

“Honestly, it should be falling to the nonprofits and the county,” he said. “Cities aren’t in general designed to be providing social services. The government’s not very good about spending the tax payers’ dime but a nonprofit sure can stretch a dollar really far…

“I would have pulled all the stakeholders together, including the Department of Veterans Affairs. My father works for Mon terey County as director of veter ans affairs and he would periodically go in the homeless camps and try to find people who had service and put them into those types of VA services, which is often overlooked. But ulti mately, the job the city should have done is bring in all the stake holders and say, ‘Look, we have these funds. What can we do to facilitate your work and how can we help?’ and let them take the lead since they are the experts.”

HOPE: A lifetime’s work pays dividends

birth, doctors can lessen the severity of the fetus’ spinal damage, which gets worse over the course of fetal development.

“I’ve been working toward this day for almost 25 years now,” said Dr. Diana Farmer, professor and chair of surgery at UC Davis Health and principal investigator on the study. Farmer is the world’s first woman fetal surgeon.

For more than 10 years, Farmer and bioengineer Aijun Wang, along with their research team, worked on developing a novel approach of using stem cells in fetal surgery.

During that time, modeling in animals showed it was possible to prevent the paralysis caused by spina bifida.

“It’s believed that the stem cells work to repair and restore damaged spinal tissue, beyond what surgery can accomplish alone,” UC Davis Health said in an article about the trial.

When the world’s first human trial of the approach launched at UC Davis Health last year, Emily temporarily moved

from Austin to Sacramento to participate. Robbie’s fetal surgery was per formed July 12, 2021. A 40-person operating and cell preparation team par ticipated in the historic procedure.

“After Emily was placed under general anesthetic, a small opening was made in her uterus and they floated the fetus up to that incision point so they could expose its spine and the spina

bifida defect. The surgeons used a microscope to care fully begin the repair,” the UC Davis Health article said. “Then the moment of truth: The stem cell patch was placed directly over the exposed spinal cord of the fetus. The fetal surgeons then closed the incision to allow the tissue to regener ate.”

Robbie was born via C-section at 35 weeks and five days gestation. She

weighed 5 pounds, 10 ounces at birth. “One of my first fears was that I wouldn’t be able to see her, but they brought her over to me. I got to see her toes wiggle for the first time. It was so reassur ing and a little bit out of this world,” Emily said.

Without the surgery, Robbie was expected to be born with leg paralysis. “It was very clear the minute she was born that she was kicking her legs and I remember very clearly say ing, ‘Oh my God, I think she’s wiggling her toes!’” said Farmer. She was cau tious to draw scientific conclusions, but said it was promising. “It was amaz ing. We kept saying, ‘Am I seeing that? Is that real?’”

Robbie just celebrated her first birthday. She and Emily are at home; both are in good health. “This experi ence has been larger than life and has exceeded every expectation. I hope this trial will enhance the quality of life for so many patients to come,” Emily said. “We are honored to be part of his tory in the making.”

— Reach Caleb Hamp ton at champton@ davisenterprise.net. Follow him on Twitter at @calebmhampton.

DACA: Longstanding ties to UC system

From Page A1

the decision to allow cur rent DACA recipients to avoid immediate disrup tion to their lives and also to seek extensions of their DACA status. Even as we hope that this decision is overturned, the uncer tainty it creates is unten able. DACA recipients deserve to have their sta tus as equal Americans protected from court decisions like this one.”

The DACA program has deep ties to the UC system, not only because California has more col lege students with DACA than any other state. For mer UC President Janet Napolitano helped create DACA while serving as Secretary of the Depart ment of Homeland Secu rity under the Obama administration. Later, while Napolitano was UC president, the university sued the Trump adminis tration’s DHS to preserve the program.

“Since its implementa tion 10 years ago, DACA has protected thousands of undocumented stu

dents in California and hundreds of thousands across the United States from deportation as they pursue their college degrees,” the university leaders said. “Today, recip ients are first responders, medical professionals, educators, scientists, and serve in a host of other critical professions. They have made and continue to make positive contribu tions to our local, state, and federal economies and communities.”

As of March, there were 611,270 people enrolled in DACA. The program is widely expected to go to the U.S. Supreme Court for a third time.

“We stand by our stu dents, faculty, and staff. They are vital and valued members of our campus communities,” the univer sity leaders said. “Our systems are dedicated to the continued success of all our undocumented students.”

— Reach Caleb Hamp ton at champton@ davisenterprise.net. Follow him on Twitter at @calebmhampton.

Yolo court officials issue phone-scam warning

By Lauren Keene Enterprise staff writer

Yolo Superior Court officials warn citizens about a recent phone scam in which the caller claims to be a court or law-enforcement official.

The scam has been reported in more than a dozen states, including California, Yolo court offi cials posted on its web site.

“Do not provide any information having to do

with your bank or credit card to anyone claiming to be an officer of the court or of the law,” the website says. “If you receive communication from someone requesting your personal informa tion, immediately contact the fraud unit of your local police department.”

Court officials may on occasion contact people by phone, but they should never ask for personal or credit-card information, the website says.

UC Davis HealtH pHoto

Baby Robbie underwent treatment for spina bifida while in the womb.

UC Davis HealtH pHoto

Surgery on the third patient in the CuRe stem cell trials for spina bifida led by Dr. Diana Farmer.

British orchestra makes first visit to Mondavi

By Jeff Hudson Enterprise arts writer

The City of Birmingham Sym phony Orchestra, hailing from the English Midlands, will per form at the Mondavi Center for the first time on Saturday, Octo ber 15 at 7:30 p.m., the orchestra will be led by the young Lithua nian conductor Mirga GrazinyteTyla (who is in her mid-30s, and making quite a splash in classical music circles), and the even younger British cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason (who’s still in his early 20s, and a rising star as well).

Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla first came to the attention of Ameri can audiences in 2014, when she served as assistant conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, under music director Gustavo Dudamel. In 2016, she was named the music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. She and the CBSO were soon recording together for the Deutsche Grammophon label, and their first DG album in 2019, featuring music by Polish/ Soviet composer Mieczysław Weinberg, received the “Best Album of the Year” award from Britain’s Gramophone Magazine. Sheku Kanneh-Mason received various classical music awards as

a teenage cellist in the United Kingdom, but he became a pop culture star when he performed (at age 19) at the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meaghan Mar kle in 2018. That performance was viewed on television by an audience of millions, and Kanneh-Mason’s poised, soulful playing left quite a favorable

impression.

Kanneh-Mason’s now 23, he’s released two albums on the Decca label (including the Elgar Cello Concerto with the London Sym phony Orchestra under conduc tor Simon Rattle), and at this point, the sky’s the limit in terms of his career.

The City of Birmingham

Symphony Orchestra, which has been around for over 100 years, also has a reputation for hiring young conductors who go on to notable careers. Examples include the UK’s Simon Rattle (who led the CBSO from 19801998, then went on to lead the Berlin Philharmonic, and now the London Symphony Orches

tra); Finnish conductor Sakari Oramo (CBSO 1998-2008, now leading the BBC Symphony Orchestra); and Latvian conduc tor Andris Nelsons (CBSO 20082015, now leading the Boston Symphony Orchestra).

At the Mondavi Center, the City of Birminham Symphony Orchestra will be performing the Elgar Cello Concerto (with solist Kanneh-Mason). Grazinyte-Tyla, who’s getting quite a bit of atten tion as an interpreter of the music of Mieczysław Weinberg (which has been neglected in the West), will conduct a performance of his “Jewish Rhapsody,” Op. 36 No 2. Also on the program will be the evergreen “Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis” by English composer Ralph Vaughan Wil liams (featured the CBSO’s 2021 album “The British Project,” Grazinyte-Tyla conducting). Rounding out the program will be “La Mer” by French composer Claude Debussy, a set of three impressionistic orchestral sketches depicting the sea, dating from 1905.

Tickets for the City of Birming ham Symphony Orchestra on Saturday, Oct. 15, at the Mondavi Center are $55-$150 general, with discounts for students, online at MondaviArts.org.

YoloArts announces Art Farm award winners

Special to The Enterprise

YoloArts is celebrating 15 years of farm visits with the annual Art Farm Gala featuring an Art Harvest, silent auction, awards, and music on Saturday, Oct. 15, from 3 to 6 p.m., outdoors on the grounds of the Gibson House in Woodland.

Artwork inspired by Yolo County farmlands and open spaces will once again be available for har vest and auction at this year’s special event — including at least 130 works by 97 local and regional artists.

At the Art Farm exhibi tion reception in Septem ber, the show’s juror, Kurt Fishback, announced the juried awards. Fishback is a noted artist and photog rapher based in Northern California.

For 2022, the Cream of the Crop award went to “Life Source,” a quilt by Marjan Kluepfel. The Plein Air award was for “Fields of Rye,” acrylic on canvas, by Vanessa Staf ford.

Many of the artworks were created during the 2022 season of farm vis its. The year’s crop of farms include: Rominger Brothers Farms, Slaven Ranch, M Three Ranches, Full Belly Farms, Pheas ant Trek Ranch, Vickrey Orchards, Butler Farm, Taber Ranch Vineyard and Event Center.

“We look forward to

coming together again with the community to celebrate the beautiful farmlands of Yolo and all the amazing artwork it inspires,” said Alison Flory, YoloArts executive director. “This15 year cele bration would not be pos sible without the support of our farmers, artists, and generous sponsors.”

The Art Farm Gala fes tivities will include the announcement of the Farmers Pick Award from the Art Harvest by guest farmer Dru Muller of Full Belly Farms, Guinda. Also announced at the event will be the People’s Choice Award. Voting for this popular award will con tinue at The Barn Gallery until October 13.

Country Records by Sum Bum will provide the music for the event, and food will be provided by Tacos 911 offering a catered lunch, in addition to food tastings provided by Full Belly Farms, Good Humus Produce, Sola Bees, The Hive, Nugget Market, Savory Café, Tia Judith Confection, and Mojo’s Lounge/ Kitchen428 Restaurant and Upper Crust Bakery. Wineries serving include Bogle Vineyards, Capay Valley Vineyards, Grind stone Wines, Matchbook Winery, Seka Hills, L’Apero les Trois, and the Yolo Agave Council will be serving mescal tastings.

Local farmer, Mr. Frank Muller will once again

emcee the Art Harvest. Shovel tickets for art harvesting are $250 and provide food and wine for two, and the opportunity to harvest an original

work of art with a value of at least $250. General admission tickets are $50 per person and include food and wine.

The juried silent

auction is now available for viewing and bidding online at yoloarts.org/artfarm-gala. No event ticket is needed for online bid ding, which will continue until the end of the Octo ber 16 event.

Event sponsors include California Bank of Com merce, Todd A. Montgom ery CPA, Frank and Nancy Muller, Banner Bank, Bullseye Farms, Capay Canyon Ranch, Citrona Farms LLC, Edward Jones, Farm Credit West, Debra Gonella and Whit Manley, Pacific Coast Pro ducers, Chris and Sharon Steele, TS&L Seed Com pany, Liberty Land Man agement, Socialhouse Event Co, Bayer Crop Sci ence, Cobram Estate, Hill eby International, Inc., Ledger Pro Bookkeeping, Remy Moose and Manley LLC, UC Davis, Yolo Fed eral Credit Union, Duane Chamberlain, Neil and Rebecca Dougherty, Half

To purchase tickets go to yoloarts.org or directly to handbid.com

Proceeds raised by the Art Farm Gala support YoloArts’ Art & Ag pro gram, The Yolo Land Trust, and Yolo Farm to Fork. The Art Harvest and juried silent auction art can be previewed before the event at yoloarts.org/ art-farm-gala and The Barn Gallery through October 15.

The Barn Gallery is at 512 Gibson Road in Woodland. Gallery hours are Wednesday and Thursday afternoons and select Saturdays through Oct. 8.

Moon Fruit & Produce Co., Tom and Celeste Hanagan, Blake and Melissa Harlan, N&R Trailer Leasing, LLC, Supervisor Jim Provenza, David Scheuring, Sch reiner Farms, and Tauzer Apiaries | Sola Bee Farms.

Courtesy photo

Conductor Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla, right, and cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason will be with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra at Mondavi on Saturday, Oct. 15.

Marjan Kluepfel’s quilt “Life Source,” took YoloArts’ 2022, the Cream of the Crop award.

Courtesy photo

Courtesy photo

“Fields of Rye,” acrylic on canvas by Vanessa Stafford, earned the Plein Air award.

Amsterdam: A great place to visit

Solid acting propels this disturbing slice of history

By Derrick Bang Enterprise film critic

“Some of what follows actually happened,” the ini tial title card promises.

And how.

Writer/director David O. Russell’s audacious new film is a cheeky banquet of his torical fact and fiction, served up as a comedic thriller about loyalty, love and the dogged determina tion to do the right thing, even in the face of over whelming odds.

The impressive ensemble cast is highlighted by fasci nating performances from leads Christian Bale (once again, almost unrecogniz able), Margot Robbie and John David Washington.

The setting is 1933 in uptown New York, where World War I comrades Dr. Burt Berendsen (Bale) and attorney Harold Woodman (Washington) have become “fixers of last resort” for those down on their luck or low on money, and particu larly for the many physically and emotionally shattered veterans who’ve been ignored by the U.S. govern ment.

Burt is quite the flamboy ant kook, forever “invent ing” restorative and painrelieving medicines that won’t be available for decades — if ever — and cheerfully testing them on himself. His dilapidated office is filled with suffering veterans hoping to feel bet ter — and in some severe cases look better — while Burt does everything to help

cheer them up.

Bale’s performance is sub lime, starting with the unre liable — and persuasively realistic — glass eye that constantly pops out of its socket: the result of a war injury. Burt is unkempt, unshaven, seemingly flus tered and reckless … and yet possessed of acute intelli gence and sharp perception.

Washington’s Harold is the opposite: a well-spoken, nattily dressed gentleman — orange vest, sharp dark suit — with a voice of rea son, smoothly able to pour oil on his best friend’s often troubled waters. Harold also is acutely aware of how he is perceived by white civilians — and particularly aggressive white police offi cers — and frequently relies on Washington’s genial smile to defuse a potentially dangerous situation.

But it’s clear, via Wash ington’s gaze, that Harold regards such ignorant rac ists with total contempt.

Burt and Harold are sum moned to an unusual task by a client unsatisfied with the official cause of her father’s death. This is no run-of-the-mill stiff; Burt is

astonished to recognize the man as the highly decorated Gen. Bill Meekins (Ed Beg ley Jr.), under whom Burt and Harold served during the war.

This “unscheduled exami nation” is being conducted under borderline unethical circumstances. The body is left in the capable hands of autopsy nurse Irma St. Clair (Zoe Saldaña), who clearly has an unspoken bond with Burt.

All hell breaks loose shortly thereafter, prompt ing a lengthy flashback to 1918. It begins as a younger Burt is “pressured” into war service by his new bride (Andrea Riseborough, as Beatrice Vandenheuvel) and particularly by her wealthy father (Casey Biggs), who cannot stand the fact that his daughter has married a man who’s half Jewish.

Once in France, and thanks to the intervention of Gen. Meekins, Burt finds

himself commanding the all-Black 369th New York Regiment, whose members include Harold and his friend Milton King (Chris Rock). They’re forced to join the French army, because their fellow Americans refuse to serve with nonwhite soldiers.

Burt and Harold are grievously injured, after which they’re cared for by a kind French nurse (Margot Robbie) with the curious habit of saving the shrapnel removed from their wounds. Turns out she isn’t French after all, but American; the three bond and become a triumvirate, sharing a pact to forever look out for each other.

Once Burt and Harold are sufficiently healed — the war having concluded — they head to Amsterdam, and a free-spirited, counter culture-ish life of safety, bliss and love. But Nirvana cannot last; Burt feels that

Two concerts coming up on campus

By Jeff HuDson Enterprise arts writer

An evening concert by the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra at the Mondavi Center on Friday, Oct. 14, and a free concert by the Empyrean Ensemble at the Pitzer Center on Sunday afternoon, Oct. 9, highlight the UCD Music Department’s offerings during the coming week.

■ The UC Davis Symphony Orchestra, led by longtime con ductor Christian Baldini, will launch its 2022-23 season on Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. at the Mondavi Cen ter.

On the program will be “Harold in Italy,” a symphony in four movements with viola obbligato, written by French composer Hec tor Berlioz in 1834. The viola solo ist will be Wendy Richman, who is a founding member of the Inter national Contemporary Ensem ble, with whom she performs regularly in New York and on tour.

She has also performed regu larly with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and the period instru ment ensemble Tesserae, and she

teaches courses through the music department at UCLA and CSU Northridge. Richman is also a singer, and her debut solo album (titled “vox/viola,” released in 2020) featured her performing as a singer and violist.

“Harold in Italy” is based to some degree on English poet Lord Byron’s long narrative poem “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage” (published in the early 1800s) has movements with titles that refer ence Byron’s poem — but many music historians feel that the

musical texture of the piece draws even more on the composer’s per sonal experiences traveling in Italy.

Tickets are $24 general, $12 students, online at MondaviArts. org and at the door.

■ The Empyrean Ensemble — the professional contemporary music ensemble based at UC Davis — will present a free concert on Sunday, Oct. 9, at 2 p.m. in the Pitzer Center on the UC Davis campus.

A pre-concert talk will begin at 1:15 p.m. with visiting composer Yu-Hui Chang and Empyrean director Sam Nichols. The concert will feature the West Coast pre miere of a piece by Chang, as well as the premiere of a new work titled “Weaving Sound” by Maria Neiderberger. Other pieces on the program include a piece for solo tuba and electronics titled “Still.”

There will also be a solo harp piece by British composer Harri son Birtwistle (1934-2022), and an adaptation of Polish folk songs by American composer Lee Hyla (1952-2014).

Logos hosts ArtAbout reception for painter

Special to The Enterprise

Logos Books will host an exhibition of paintings by Deziree Dizon, “Warm Inside: A Collection of Moments Lived Inside,” through Oct. 28 at 513 Sec ond St. in downtown Davis. A 2nd Friday ArtAbout Reception will run from 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 14, at the book store.

Dizon’s pastel and oil paintings contain portraits of people and animals, as well as self-portraits. After completing her MFA and a stint as a custom art framer, her first public showing was in 2017.

Her process utilizes artis tic and emotional reverseengineering: a breakdown of the color, shape and forms to be executed, along with a consideration of a subject’s facial expressions, personal and public relationships,

and the effort of maintain ing those connections in daily life. Her pieces are drafted via technical and emotional journaling derived from “mostly listen ing and staring at people.”

During the onset of the pandemic in 2020, Deziree experienced a massive shift in her daily life and routines.

She used the intervening years as an opportunity to

re-evaluate and reframe her relationship with friends and family, and her practice of art. Her current portfolio focuses on themes of per sonal acceptance, acknowl edgement of experiences and history, and a belief in artistic process and pastel as a medium.

Reach her at dizzy dezidee@gmail.com, https://www.dizzydezi.com or https://instagram.com/ dizziest_dezi.

Meet Dizon at ArtAbout reception. Light refresh ments will be available.

Entertainment will be pro vided by The Folk Music Folks, featuring traditional songs from throughout the world. Public receptions for local artists will also be held at various venues on that same evening in conjunction with the ArtAbout, face book.com/davisartabout.

he must return to New York, despite warnings from his two soulmates that this is a bad, bad idea.

And, as we return to cur rent events in 1933, we rec ognize that subsequent events have indeed exacted a heavy toll on Burt.

As for what all this has to do with Gen. Meekins’ body, and the degree to which these characters find them selves confronted by addi tional factual historical events … well, that would be telling.

Russell’s deliciously beguiling story unfolds in an atmosphere of slightly heightened reality, with his characters often delivering mordant one-liners wholly at odds with the gravity of a given situation. Numerous additional characters fur ther roil these tempestuous waters (and I don’t even want to introduce them, for fear of spoiling the fun of ongoing revelation).

Suffice to say, our three heroes find themselves mere threads in a much larger tapestry with increasingly sinister and highly unset tling implications. One can only admire Russell’s narra tive moxie.

Russell is a consummate filmmaker, whose attention to every detail made engag ing hits of previous efforts that include “The Fighter,” “Silver Linings Playbook” and “American Hustle.” Due to the juxtaposition of its playful atmosphere and progressively nasty under current, “Amsterdam” may be a harder sell … although its underlying message is crucial to our times.

I’m eager to watch it again, to catch nuances no doubt missed the first time.

— Read more of Derrick Bang’s film criticism at http://derrickbang. blogspot.com. Comment on this review at www. davisenterprise.com.

Madrigals serve up fundraiser

Special to The Enterprise

The Davis Madrigal Singers will perform their first concert of the new school year at Congrega tion Bet Haverim on Sunday, Oct. 23. Tickets for this fundraising event include tastings donated from local wineries and brewer ies, along with appetizers.

Founded in 1966, the Renais sance audition chamber choir has continually captivated the Davis community with their beautiful voices and elaborate costumes, as well as won many competition awards both nationally and inter nationally. This year, the group of

10th-12th graders from Davis High School and Da Vinci Char ter Academy, is under new leader ship. After 28 years as the Davis Senior High School Choral Direc tor, Dr. Karen Gardias has passed the baton to DHS choral alum nus, Amanda Bistolfo. The choir is looking to raise funds for future performance trips, educational workshops and retreats. Buy tickets for the Wine Pour in advance for $40 at https://www.davismadrigals.org/ wine-pour or for $45 at the event. Youth tickets are also being offered: $15 advance/$20 at the event.

Courtesy photo

Our heroes — from left, Burt (Christian Bale), Valerie (Margot Robbie) and Harold (John David Woodman) — finally realize that Henry (Michael Shannon, far right) and Paul (Mike Myers) haven’t been entirely candid about their activities.

Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Rami Malek, Anya Taylor Joy, Zoe Saldaña, Andrea Riseborough, Robert De Niro, Michael Shannon, Mike Myers, Chris Rock, Taylor Swift Available via: Movie theaters

Courtesy photo ”Pause“ by Deziree Dizon.

The Davis High Madrigal Singers on tour in the UK in 2022.

Courtesy photo

Courtesy photo

Viola soloist Wendy Richman

Starting on a strong note, driving innovation

Fall

is one of my favorite times of year for many rea sons. Our campus is once more a place of learning and thriving. We’re reminded of new beginnings and we discover new opportunities for growth.

We also are reminded that UC Davis is one of the best public universities in the country for how students experience their education, but also for how well they do beyond our doors once they graduate.

We were pleased once more that US News & World Report ranked us as the No. 10 best public university last month. Washington Monthly also ranked UC Davis the secondbest public university in the country for research, social mobility and public service.

We held our No. 4 public uni versity ranking with Forbes in its 2022 edition of “America’s Top Colleges,” which is based on stu dent outcomes, including gradu ates’ high earnings and influence.

All of this recognition

Letters

CAAP fallout

reinforces the academic excel lence that the campus provides.

It reminds us of our public ser vice mission that was on full dis play over the last two years of the pandemic. We continue to see collective efforts behind Healthy Davis Together get national attention.

We’re also seeing our research enterprise reach new heights. In August, UC Davis surpassed more than $1 billion in research funding for the fiscal year. Fewer than 20 public universities in the country can make the same claim.

These research awards get to the heart of who we are at UC Davis. A core part of the univer sity’s mission is to address some of the world’s greatest challenges

and drive innovation. And more than ever, UC Davis is being sought to find solutions and help create a better tomorrow for all.

Whether or not you’re part of the UC Davis community, the research taking place here has the potential to benefit all com munities. It includes a two-year project to study alternative COVID-19 antigen production.

UC Davis is also on the fore front of finding new ways to feed a growing planet. In October, a team of UC Davis researchers were awarded a $6.5 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for a project called GEMINI, which has the potential to rapidly develop new crop varieties in the face of cli mate change.

This team is using 3-D model ing, artificial intelligence and crop genetics to develop a tool that improves and accelerates breeding pipelines for legumes and sorghum, a species of flow ering plants that’s often grown for cereals and animal feed.

Other research awards were

awarded for projects related to autism research, Alzheimer’s dis ease, obesity among low-income individuals and a host of others.

In all, this current record was up $102.9 million from the previ ous record set in 2020-2021.

Philanthropy at UC Davis is also soaring like never before. In each of the past three fiscal years, fundraising totals have contin ued to break previous records.

For the fiscal year of 2021-22, charitable giving surpassed the $300 million mark for the first time in UC Davis history. It actu ally crossed that mark by a nota ble amount, with a final total of $323 million overall. That included more than 58,000 gifts and pledges from 32,434 donors.

With each of our achieve ments, we are reminded more than ever that our partnership with the city and county has strengthened. We uplift each other.

As we progress into fall, I encourage the community to reconnect with the campus. Aggie Spirit Week runs from

Oct. 10 to Oct. 16, and it’s the perfect time to visit. You’ll find a variety of events including a tour of the Botanical Conservatory, class reunions, plus our home coming football game against Northern Arizona on Oct. 15. Note that our home opening football game last month set a new attendance record with 14,000 in the crowd. We are grateful for the support and energy shown to the Aggies.

Don’t forget the Mondavi Cen ter for the Performing Arts, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary season and has an exciting range of performances for your to enjoy. The Manetti Shrem Museum has a fantastic exhibit, “Young, Gifted and Black,” that’s on display through Dec. 19. Don’t forget that admis sion to the Manetti Shrem Museum is free for everyone.

As always, if you see me in Davis or on campus, please stop and say hello.

— Gary May is the chancellor of UC Davis; his column is pub lished monthly.

Kathleen Rowe captured our own con cerns about the CAAP document in her letter of Sept. 14. The compressed timeline for electrification is particularly alarming since each identified system can cost $10,000 or more to replace. A seller could easily face $50,000 or more in costs for an immediate update, not to mention the severe blow to the home’s equity.

The proposed program of grants to lowincome households is only window dress ing on this problem. Also, the benefits cited in Sunday’s front-page article on CAAP seem mostly aspirational.

We will be creating waste and stressing an already overloaded electric grid as the State of California is calling for conversion to electric vehicles and solar installations.

The city of Davis might mitigate electri fication impacts on homeowners by align ing with the state’s 2045 deadline instead of the imposing 2025 on property owners; grandfathering in appliances and systems less than 15 years old; and pushing back the replacement mandate to 2027 or later.

Elly Fairclough Davis

Film fest a success

The members of Soroptimist Interna tional of Davis are grateful to the commu nity for supporting our second LUNAFEST fundraiser on Sept. 25. The series of short films — by and about women — has been supported by Luna Bar for more than 20 years. This year, the event was offered for in-person and virtual viewing. The inperson event also included a panty drive to support our partner, TESE Foundation. Donations will go to girls in Zimbabwe who may be unable to attend school with out them.

We extend sincere thanks to our spon sors: Carbahal & Company, SpeeDee Oil, Memmott Consulting, Julie Otto (RE/ MAX Gold), Lea Rosenberg and Elaine Barratt.

Special thanks go to Derrick Bang for reviewing the films, and The Enterprise for publishing his positive review. Also, thanks to Strelitzia Flower Company, Boheme Hip Used Clothing, Target Stores, Nichelini Family Winery, and Mikuni Sushi for pro viding donations for our raffle prizes and movie snack goodie bags. We are grateful for the Davis Odd Fellows for use of the hall and support at the event.

Thanks also to all the community mem bers who participated by watching the films and/or making a monetary donation. We hope you enjoyed the films as much as we did, and look forward to seeing you next year.

Soroptimist means “best for women” and our focus is on helping local women and girls achieve economic empowerment through access to education and training. To find out more about volunteering with our club or making a donation, visit https://sidavis.org.

Katherine Hess Soroptimist International of Davis

On Biden and TPNW

While Ms. Reynolds’ heart is in the right place (Sept. 30), many heads over many decades have concluded that peace can be achieved only through strength.

Current events in Ukraine are a case in point: the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances, signed by the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States in 1994 after Ukraine dis mantled its own significant nuclear assets, prohibited the signatories from threaten ing or using military force or economic coercion against Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan, “except in self-defense or oth erwise in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.”

Twenty-eight years later, Russia rolls into Ukraine, threatening the use of tacti cal nuclear weapons. Thought experiment: would Russia be doing this if Ukraine had maintained its own nuclear capability? Bad actors routinely ignore paper agree ments, deterred only by the threatened use of countervailing force. With due respect to the Davis City Council’s feel-good resolu tion, Mutual Assured Destruction is an ugly thought but an arrangement that’s worked for almost eight decades.

Let’s continue to negotiate and sign documents like TPNW with the under standing that we live in a world where deterrent weakness on America’s part would be an invitation to international mischief and our own demise.

Jon Sugarman Davis

Fiscal responsibility

In reference to Roberta Millstein’s article in the Davis Enterprise entitled “Why DISC

Speak out President

matters for City Council vote,” I wish to comment. Every City Council member at the time voted in favor of Measure H for good reason. The city is currently in the fis cal hole to the tune of $4-5 million dollars, and at the time of DISC it was more like $7 million. DISC had the potential of digging the city out of its fiscal hole by generating nearly $4 million in tax revenue annually.

When confronted with this fiscal reality of a huge budget shortfall, those leaders of the opposition to Measure H stated the city should not be so wasteful. I have asked these same folks numerous times to sug gest what services or city staffers they would cut in order to save money. It is at this point they either make wildly unin formed proposals or have no substantive solutions to offer.

For instance, one criticism was the city’s purchase of a ladder truck for the fire department — but that was paid for with American Rescue Plan funds, not city funds. Another idea was to close the respite center for the homeless. Yet if anyone fol lowed City Council meetings, they would know City Council members opened the respite center in direct response to citizen complaints about the unhoused.

Unfortunately the city has put all its eggs in one fiscal basket, and has relied very heavily on downtown retail for tax revenue. But as COVID hit, and businesses went under, the weakness of this plan became glaring. The fact of the matter is the city needs to diversify its tax revenue sources, and a tech park would have been a good way to achieve that goal. City Council members understood that, and voted accordingly, and rightly so.

To criticize City Council members for doing the fiscally responsible thing seems very shortsighted at best. I applaud every

202-224-3553; email: padilla.senate. gov/public/index.cfm/e-mail-me

House of Representatives

City Council member for supporting Mea sure H, and trying to right a fiscally listing ship. The abysmal state of our roads and bike paths indicate just how financially worrisome things are.

Elaine Roberts Musser Davis

Winter homeless shelter

The members of the Davis United Meth odist Church’s Taskforce on Housing and Homelessness would like to thank the city council and city staff for their work on behalf of the homeless. We believe that our entire city benefits when we care for our most vulnerable residents.

We understand the city is planning to use a house at Fifth and D streets to shelter people experiencing homelessness this winter. This house is only suitable for shel tering five or six people. It is small and there is a greater risk of spreading COVID19 in a congregate shelter.

We urge the city to provide funding and staff to also shelter around 25 homeless individuals in local motels. Last winter, the city ran a successful motel-placement pro gram in collaboration with two faith-based organizations, St. Vincent De Paul and Grace-in-Action. The consistent support provided by staff and experienced volun teers helped some participants in the pro gram make long-term improvements in their situation.

The city showed bold and compassion ate leadership when it opened the daytime Respite Center and supported Paul’s Place. It should continue on this path by provid ing an adequate number of shelter beds this winter.

John Castelfranco Davis

We welcome your letters

A McNaughton Newspaper

Locally owned and operated since 1897

Foy S. McNaughton President and CEO R. Burt McNaughton Publisher

Sebastian Oñate Editor

Official legal newspaper of general circulation for the city of Davis and county of Yolo. Published in The Davis Enterprise building, 325 G St., Davis, CA. Mailing address: P.O. Box 1470, Davis, CA 95617. Phone: 530-756-0800. An award-winning newspaper of the California Newspaper Publishers Association.

The Hon. Joe Biden, The White House, Washington, D.C., 20500; 202-456-1111 (comments), 202-456-1414 (switchboard); email: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

U.S. Senate

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, 331 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., 20510; 202-224-3841; email: http://feinstein. senate.gov/public/index.cfm/e-mail-me

Sen. Alex Padilla, B03 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., 20510;

Rep. John Garamendi (3rd District), 2368 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C., 20515; 202-225-1880. District office: 412 G St., Davis, CA 95616; 530-753-5301; email: visit https://garamendi.house.gov/contact/ email

Governor

Gov. Gavin Newsom, State Capitol, Suite 1173, Sacramento, CA 95814; 916-4452841; email: visit https://govapps.gov. ca.gov/gov40mail/

Addresses and phone numbers should be included for verification purposes; they will not be published.

Limit letters to 350 words. Anonymous letters will not be accepted. We reserve the right to edit all letters for brevity or clarity.

Mail letters to The Davis Enterprise, P.O. Box 1470, Davis, CA 95617; bring them to 315 G St.; fax them to 530-756-1668; or email them to newsroom@davis enterprise.net.

Taylor Buley

Swine

By Stephan Pastis

Dilbert By Scott

Classic Peanuts

By Charles M. Schulz

Pearls

Is USC playing a trap game this weekend?

This week’s picks are as fol lows:

UTAH over UCLA ... Chip Kelly has Bruin fans excited about something other than basketball, but the Utes are pretty much unstoppable at this point.

USC over WASHINGTON STATE ... a trap game for the Trojans who can’t afford to overlook one of the better Cougar teams in recent history.

OKLAHOMA over TEXAS

These two supposed “powers” are not living up to expectations. After a 55-24 loss to TC-Who? — I mean TCU — no wonder the Sooners are trying to leave early for the SEC.

OREGON over ARIZONA

The surging Ducks better not overlook an Arizona team that has finally found itself a quarterback.

WASHINGTON over ARIZONA STATE ... The Sun Devils can’t win an intrasquad game at this point.

NOTRE DAME over BYU

The most interesting matchup of the week.

ALABAMA over TEXAS A&M ... Jimbo Fisher was hired to win national championships, not get pushed around by alsorans.

MONTANA STATE over IDAHO STATE ... The talented Bobcats have their eyes on another FCS playoff run.

WISCONSIN over NORTH WESTERN ... So, the Badgers go and fire one of the most suc cessful coaches in college foot ball, Paul Chryst, who was born in Madison, played quarterback for Wisconsin, and put together seven straight winning seasons with a 67-26 record, including 6-1 in bowl games. And they think they’ll be able to bring someone in to top that? Oh yeah, they had to pay him $11 million as he walked out the door.

UPSET OF THE WEEK: Stanford over Oregon State Two teams in desperate need of a win. Oregon State has sud denly developed a severe quar terback problem, which is not exactly a formula for success. (Upset record: 1-4).

ROUT OF THE WEEK: Ohio State over Michigan State Sparty has taken a turn for the worse. (Rout record: 5-0).

DON’T BET ON IT, BUT:

Texas Christian over Kansas The Jayhawks are America’s darling at this point, but no one wants to mess with the Horned Frogs this year. (Don’t bet record: 2-3).

FIVE EASY PICKS: This week’s winning warriors are Mississippi (over Vanderbilt), Michigan (over Indiana), Georgia over (Auburn), Cincin nati (over South Florida) and Sacramento State (over North ern Colorado). (FEP record: 25-0).

AWFUL GAME OF THE WEEK: Colorado State at Nevada ... This game will be called at halftime and all fans will get their money back. A double default.

AGGIES over BYE ... UC Davis gets a much-needed and well-deserved Saturday off after facing the toughest opening schedule in school history. Time to rest and recharge the batter ies for a significant stretch run.

Take the Ags by 40.

OTHER GAMES: Oklahoma State over Texas Tech, Tennessee over LSU, Mississippi State over Arkansas, Pittsburgh over Vir ginia Tech, Kentucky over South Carolina, Florida over Missouri, Liberty over Massachusetts, Appalachian State over Texas State, Clemson over Boston College, North Dakota State over Indiana State, South Dakota State over South Dakota, Portland State over Lincoln (CA), Holy Cross over Bucknell, James Madison over Arkansas State, Wake Forest over Army, Coastal Carolina over Louisiana-Monroe, Air Force over Utah State, San Diego State over Hawaii, Wyoming over New Mexico, and Boise State over Fresno State.

n Last week: 27-10, season: 197-37, percentage: 842.

— Contact Bob Dunning at bdunning@davisenterprise.net.

Aggie men notch Big West soccer victory

Enterprise staff

Zack Lillington’s second goal of the season sent the UC Davis men’s soccer team to a 1-0 win over UC Irvine at Aggie Soccer Field on Wednesday afternoon.

Lillington initially took a pass from Ryan Dieter and headed it off the right post but followed up his near-make on the rebound to boot in the game winner just inside the left post. He now shares the team lead in goals with fellow freshman Cason Goodman.

Ethan Hoard, up to 32 shots on the season, had some of the Aggies’ best chances, which included a sequence in the 54th minute where he shed a defender at midfield and sprinted down field before putting a shot on the center

LocaL roundup

of the net.

UC Davis (1-1-1 in the Big West, 2-6-3) play at CSU Northridge on Saturday in another Big West game. The contest is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

DHS girls field hockey

Audrey Aguirre had an impressive performance for Davis High against Chico in an Eastern Athletic League game on Wednesday.

Aguirre, who was on the Blue Devils junior varsity team, scored the winning goal in overtime to beat Chico 2-1 on the road. Emma Brayton had the assist on Aguirre’s goal.

Aurora Hogan scored Davis’ only goal during regulation.

Blue Devils boys water polo

Davis High (16-3) defeated Granite Bay 13-7 in a non-league game at the Grizzlies’ pool on Wednesday.

JT Doughty had seven goals for the Blue Devils and Brennan Fuchslin had five.

DHS girls water polo

Davis High (12-3) made it a sweep on Wednesday, posting an 11-5 win over the Grizzlies.

The Blue Devils will be taking part in the Arroyo Grande Invite from Thursday

through Saturday.

Blue Devils volleyball

Davis High (5-3 in the Delta League, 14-5) posted a 3-1 road win over Elk Grove on Tuesday. The final scores were 25-14, 25-8, 21-25, 25-16.

Olivia Kim had 11 digs for the Blue Devils, and Nicole Risch seven.

Lena Sundin and Juliana VanBoxtel had five digs each.

Sundin had 10 kills and seven assists for the Blue Devils.

Tessa Schouten had nine kills, Marlena VanBoxtel six and Isabella GarmaMurphy five.

Schouten had four blocked shots.

sports

Water polo player built to take on rough stuff

Dan Leyson, coach of the UC Davis men’s water polo team, has been playing with Davis Water Polo Masters in order to bring his physical condition up to the level of his players.

Once in the water he spotted me immediately as someone in need of coaching.

I can report that I am on my way to being able to catch the ball with one hand without dropping it.

n The masters water polo player of the month is Jared Voskuhl.

Voskuhl showed up at Schaal Pool a month ago seeking to learn how to play water polo. He said he was motivated because his kids play.

Built more like a football player, he looks as if he should be playing the hole, in front of the goal where the rough stuff

happens. Some day he may, but for now he is perfecting his egg beating.

Masters water polo continues at the UC Davis Schall complex on Mondays and Wednesdays at 8 to 9:30 p.m.

n Matt Zachan at 36 is the new head coach of Davis Aquatic Masters.

I interviewed him recently and can report he was impressed by my 400-yard

individual medley swim at Novato.

Apart of that, he said he is offering workouts as designed by the previous head coach, Stu Kahn.

Zachan, a graduate of Chico State, has coached all over the country: Atlanta, Chicago and elsewhere. He has been back in Davis for about a year. His wife, Gretchen, grew up here; she works remotely for an advertising agency.

They have two boys, 2 and 3½

Since he played water polo at Chico State, I asked him to join masters water polo. He said that by the time he gets the boys in bed, he only wants to go to bed himself.

Zachan will be pushing competition. Coming up is the Pacific Masters Championship Meet, a Short Course Meters Championship, Oct. 7 to 9 in

Football

at Clarke Swim Center, 1750 Heather Drive in Walnut Creek.

He says: “Meets are a super fun way to get to know your teammates and see how you’ve progressed in the sport. There is a common misconception that you must be fast to swim in meets.

“This is totally false. All ability levels are welcome at United States Masters swim. In fact, there are few places I have been that are as supportive as a USMS meet.”

— Mark Braly’s Masters Swimming column is published the first Wednesday of each month. His column is being pub lished today instead of Wednesday because of space in Wednesday’s edition. Contact him at markbraly@sbcglobal. net.

Blue Devils get centered with yoga classes

By Mike Bush Enterprise sports editor

Sally Mohr sat in front of one of the cages inside the weight room adjacent to the South Gym at Davis High.

Mirroring her on Oct. 1 were members of the Davis High football team, a day after the squad played a Delta League game at Elk Grove.

The Blue Devil players, under the direction of Mohr, were taking part in yoga, which is a Hindu spiritual and ascetic disci pline. This helps breathing control, meditation and the adoption of specific bodily postures that favors health and relaxation.

The players went through various positions during their hour-long session. Some of those positions included the child’s pose, which relaxes a person’s nervous system.

There’s also the corpse pose, where the person lays flat on their back that induces a relaxed state.

One position that the Blue Devils were doing, which is common among student-athletes in high school and college and professional athletics, is sitting in the L position and touching their toes.

Toward the end of Satur day’s session, the players,

sitting down, crossed their legs to the opposite side. They put their hands together as if they were praying. In fact, they are in the final posture of the practice.

Mohr teaches yoga at Fit House in Davis. She has been teaching for nearly a decade.

She specializes in vin yasa yoga, which is a con temporary style of yoga.

“The way I’m teaching them is some basic stretches,” said Mohr, “and then we move into more deeper stretches. Just kind of moving through their body.”

Mohr enjoys teaching the players the different forms of yoga.

“What I love about it also is that is we’re working into mental,” Mohr said.

The idea of the players taking part in yoga came from within the DHS foot ball coaching staff. Tanner Mohr, who is one of the assistant coaches working with the linebackers, tossed out the idea.

“He (Tanner) said, ‘my mom is a yoga instructor, I can probably get her to come out and do it,” said Davis head coach Nick Garratt.

The Blue Devil players are used to having some type of light practice on Saturdays after a Friday

night game — before and after the pandemic. Condi tioning and stretching is the norm for the players.

Garratt admitted, at first, he was “a bit skepti cal” about his players doing yoga.

“There wasn’t like over excitement,” recalled Gar ratt. “A few kind of didn’t participate. But then we got guys into it.”

Some of the players seemed reluctant toward performing yoga.

But the attitude quickly changed after the first ses sion.

“I think she’s kind of fallen in love with the kids,” Garratt said. “The kids like spending time with her. I think it’s just a good, wholesome activity.”

The Davis football play ers have been practicing yoga since Aug. 13, a day after competing at a jam boree that the Dixon High football team hosted at John Knight Middle School. The football field at Dixon High was closed due to maintenance.

“Our initial reaction was nothing special, because the guys that played varsity in the past knew that we stretched/run on Satur days,” said AJ Hasson, a junior tight end/defensive tackle.

Hasson is listed at 6-foot-4 and 255-pounds

on the roster. He and the other Blue Devil linemen on the team have benefited from practicing yoga.

“Now we have big line men that are coming to me and saying, ‘you know, the stretch is a bit difficult, can you ask her to do the breathing exercise,” Gar ratt said. “Little things like that are awesome.”

“Yoga has allowed me to improve my flexibility and it has allowed me to clear my mind after a game,” Hasson said.

Hasson plans on practic ing yoga after the high school football season is over. He’s also a threesport athlete, competing on DHS’ wrestling team in the heavyweight class in the winter and playing on the Davis High boys lacrosse team in the spring.

“I, 100 percent, plan on doing yoga after the foot ball season because it is a very useful tool to recover mentally and physically,” Hasson said.

Mohr feels that there are perks for the players per forming yoga.

“All of us have this inten tion of helping these men really become a little bit successful in football and yoga,” Mohr said. “I’ve been impressed with them from the beginning.”

The Blue Devil players will resume their yoga

sessions with Mohr on Sat urday, Oct. 15.

“I’m giving them a threeday weekend,” Garratt said.

Davis (0-3 in the Delta League, 2-5) has the Delta League bye today.

The Blue Devils’ next game is Friday, Oct. 14 when they return to league action against Sheldon at Ron and Mary Brown Stadium.

Then Davis will close out the regular season against

Pleasant Grove at Sheldon on Friday, Oct. 21 and at Jesuit on Saturday, Oct. 29. Will DeBoard, assis tant commissioner for the Sac-Joaquin Section, believes there are no other high school foot ball teams in the section that practices yoga.

— Contact Mike Bush at mike@davisenter prise.net. Follow on Twit ter: @MBDavisSports.

Mike bush/enterprise photo

Sally Mohr (right) talks to members of the Davis High football team, which is taking part in yoga inside the weight room adjacent to the South Gym on Oct. 1. Mohr, who teaches yoga classes at the Fit House in Davis, has been teaching the Blue Devils yoga since mid-August. To view more photos, visit www.davisenterprise.com, click on the Sports tab and look for the story.

Mike bush/enterprise photo

AJ Hasson (center) and other Blue Devil players take part in what is considered the final posture of the practice of yoga.

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