The Davis Enterprise Wednesday, October 26, 2022

Few County residents get bivalent booster

By Anne Ternus-Bellamy Enterprise staff writer

COVID-19 levels in Yolo County are low based on both case rate and wastewater monitoring, but emerg ing Omicron subvariants could bring a change in the weeks and months ahead.

The BA.5 subvariant remains dominant, comprising 72 percent of cases, according to Yolo County Health Officer Dr. Aimee Sisson, but BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 cases are growing, together making up 14 percent of cases.

The county’s public health director, Brian Vaughn, told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 “are more infectious descendants of BA.5.

"However," he said, "the good news is that the vaccine appears to be effec tive against the BQ strain and they do not appear to cause more severe dis ease.”

That vaccine — the bivalent booster — is recommended for every one over the age of 5, and bivalent boosters for children ages six months to five years are expected in January, Sisson said.

See BOOSTER,

California testing scores plunge

By Joe Hong and Erica Yee CalMatters

California’s Education Department on Monday released student test scores showing a statewide decline that nearly wiped out the aca demic progress made since the state overhauled how it funds education in 2014.

The gist of the scores, the most extensive measure so far of the COVID-19 pandemic’s

impact on student achieve ment: The percentage of Cali fornia students meeting state math standards plummeted 7 percentage points to 33%, and the percentage meeting English language standards dropped 4 percentage points, to 47%.

Some scores for students of color and those from lowincome households dropped less dramatically than their counterparts, an indication that the state’s funding formula,

which sends more money to high-needs districts, worked to soften the blow of two years of disrupted learning.

The results of the state’s Smarter Balanced test left edu cation officials and experts nei ther surprised nor hopeless.

“It’s useful data, and it gets everybody talking,” said Li Cai, an education professor at UCLA. “Everybody comes up with creative ideas, and they say let’s do it. That’s pretty

Community Mercantile offers new vision

By Aaron Geerts Enterprise staff writer

The newest addition to Davis’ exceptional list of nonprofits is none other than Community Mercan tile. Set to open on Sunday, Oct. 30, this thrift store offers a practical way for the community to save money and the planet, one shopping spree at a time.

After the smashing suc cess of their soft opening on Sept. 11, co-founders

Stephanie Koop and Larry Fisher are eager to share their store and vision with Davis. Koop, with her background in nursing and a master’s degree in public health combined with Fish er’s 20 years of experience in appliance repair and

expertise in food/construc tion waste, it’s looking like the soft opening was a sample size of the success to come.

fundamentally an American ideal.”

As if to prove that pandemic learning loss is not just a Cali fornia problem, officials released the state data to the public on the same day that results of a different test, nick named the Nation’s Report Card, revealed an unprece dented score dive among a sam pling of students nationwide.

Former mayor sues city over Arroyo Park zip lines

By Anne Ternus-Bellamy Enterprise staff writer

A years-long battle over noisy playground equip ment in Arroyo Park appears headed to court.

Former Davis Mayor Joe Krovoza and his wife, Janet, have sued the city of Davis, challenging the City Council’s August decision to keep the Sky Track zip line equipment in the West Davis park, albeit in a different loca tion than it is now.

The council voted unanimously to move the Sky Track farther away from residences on the south side of the park where the noise generated

by the equipment violated the city’s noise ordinance for those households and to a more central location in the park. The decision followed a recommenda tion from the city’s Recreation and Park Commission.

But the Krovozas and others have argued the Sky Track will still violate the city’s noise ordinance in its new location.

The lawsuit filed in Yolo County Superior Court earlier this month seeks a writ of mandate ordering the council to rescind its August

Local school officials around California were bracing for declines as the state prepared to release student test scores for the first time since the pandemic.

DaviD RoDRiguez/The CalifoRnian, CaTChlighT loCal phoTo via CalMaTTeRs

“It’s a long time coming for this to happen,” Koop said. “We’ve tried different

CouRTesy phoTo

Stephanie Koop and Larry Fisher are eager to share their store, Community Mercantile, and their vision with Davis.

See VISION,

Briefly

Pedestrian hit by train near Davis

Authorities in Solano County are investigat ing the death of a pedestrian struck by an Amtrak train that had just left Davis early Monday morning.

Amtrak spokesperson Olivia Irvin said the unidentified victim was trespassing on the track between Davis and Dixon when the west bound Capitol Corridor train hit them at about 4:30 a.m. None of the 38 passengers or crew members were injured in the incident.

The collision resulted in multiple train delays through the area. Pas sengers aboard the involved train ulti mately were transferred to another Capitol Cor ridor line.

New Mercantile on ‘Davisville’

Community Mercan tile, a new nonprofit store stocked with reused items that offers serious recycling to the town has its grand open ing Sunday, Oct. 30.

On the latest edition of the KDRT program “Davisville,” host Bill Buchanan talks with Community Mercantile co-founders Larry Fisher and Stephanie Koop about what they’re doing, why, and how.

KDRT-LP, 95.7 FM presents “Davisville” on Mondays at 5:30 p.m., Tuesdays at 5 p.m., Fri days at 12:30 p.m., and Saturdays at 8:30 a.m.

About

Either way you vote, the house wins

Ifyou can’t distinguish between Proposition 26 and Proposi tion 27 on the Nov. 8 Califor nia ballot, take a number and stand in line.

It’s interesting that in the Offi cial Voter Information Guide our state’s Secretary of State claims “any California voter can put an initiative or a referendum on the ballot.”

I don’t believe that’s true.

The words “any California voter,” indicates a single person can put something on the ballot. If that were true, we’d probably have 40 million initiatives on the ballot and the state would go bankrupt from printing costs alone.

Be that as it may, this year we’re stuck with two propositions seek ing to legalize sports gambling in California.

According to the title, Prop. 26 “Allows in-person roulette, dice games, sports waging on tribal lands.”

Prop. 27, meanwhile, “Allows online and mobile sports wagering outside tribal lands.”

Both propositions were put on the ballot by “Petition Signatures.”

Already, people are placing ille gal bets over whether either of

these two propositions will pass.

I suspect there are a number of people who will raise an eyebrow of concern in public, but privately will vote in favor of sports gam bling.

If both props fail, there will be no “legal” sports gambling, even though millions of dollars are waged every year illegally.

If one passes and the other fails, the answer is easy. But if both pass, no one knows what will hap pen. Maybe a duel at high noon in the town square.

The Summary for Prop. 26 states: “Also allows: sports wager ing at certain horse-racing tracks; private lawsuits to enforce certain gambling laws. Directs revenues to General Fund, problem-gam bling programs, enforcement.”

In other words, we’re going to

It’s one year in business for Woodland’s The Hive

Special to The Enterprise

WOODLAND — North ern California’s varietal honey and mead tasting room, The Hive, marks its first anniversary with a free and open to the public community wide celebra tion on Saturday, Nov. 12, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. All festivities will take place at The Hive, at 1221 Harter Ave. in Woodland.

“This year we celebrate 43 years in business as Z Specialty Food and the completion of our first year in our new home, The Hive. It’s hard to believe we are finally here, a true dream come true for our family business,” said Joshua Zeldner, Nectar Director at Z Specialty Food. “Every time I see folks enjoying our space, live music, food, and especially kids running around the garden and playing on our rocks, it brings tears to my eyes. The overwhelming feedback and support from our com munity feels deeply validat ing.”

This celebratory anniver sary event includes a full schedule of interactive

activities. Guests will learn how to taste honey and mead (honey wine) from the pros, participate in tours of The Hive’s produc tion facility and pollinator gardens and relax in the courtyard while listening to live music from Royal Jelly Jive, The Gold Souls and Nathan Ignacio.

In The Hive’s tasting room, guests can experi ence over 30 varietal hon eys, honey fruit spreads, nut butters and chocolate nut spreads as well as a hand picked selection of mead (honey wine). The Hive’s craft kitchen will feature a special lunch and dinner menu showcasing local and seasonal produce, products and honeys.

As always there will be a heavily discounted holiday sale of products from The Hive’s local honey brands, Island of the Moon Honey and Moon Shine Trading Company.

Guests are encouraged to bring their friends and families to the day-long event. For a full schedule of performances and events visit zspecialtyfood.com/ hive-grand-opening.

Library marks Filipino American History Month

By Anne Ternus-Bellamy Enterprise staff writer

The Yolo County Library will celebrate Filipino American History Month with a festival on Saturday, Oct. 29, at the Stephens Davis Branch Library.

The festival is a free fam ily event open to all com munity members to honor the history, pursuits, accomplishments and leg acy of Filipinos in the United States.

The celebration will include children’s activity tables, Filipino children’s authors selling their books, and a panel of speakers discussing the importance of storytelling to preserve the Filipino collective memory and to practice collective care. Participants can also enjoy cultural dis plays and authentic Fili pino cuisine from local food trucks.

Activities will take place on the grassy lawn adjacent to the Davis library, 315 E 14th St., from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

According to the library, October was chosen to commemorate the arrival of the first Filipinos in the continental United States, which occurred on Oct. 18, 1587, when “Luzones Indios” came ashore from the Spanish galleon

Nuestra Senora de Esper anza and landed at what is now Morro Bay.

This year’s theme for Filipino American History Month is “Past, Present, and Future” and the Yolo County Library has been highlighting its collections of books, audiobooks and films by Filipino Americans all month.

“While there’s still much room for improvement, the publishing industry has begun to address the exclu sion of Filipino writers,” said Collection Develop ment Librarian Jillian Hinchliffe.

As a result of continuing efforts to collect materials celebrating Filipino voices, the Yolo County Library has more resources to offer that allow people to build community, deepen con nections and create an environment where all are welcome, the library said in a press release.

Residents can also visit the library’s social media channels in October to find spotlights on books written by Filipino American authors and notable Fili pino American residents of Yolo County, including his torical information from the Yolo County Archives and Yolo County Historical Collection.

legalize gambling to raise funds to fight problem gambling. Talk about chasing one’s tail.

Under “What your vote means” in the Official Guide, the theoreti cally “impartial” analyst states this about Prop 26: “A YES vote on this measure means: Four race tracks could offer in-person sports betting. Racetracks would pay a share of sports bets made.Tribal casinos could offer in-person sports betting, roulette and games played with dice (such as craps) if permitted by tribal gambling agreements with the state.”

Furthermore, the analyst states on Prop. 26: “A NO vote on this measure means: Sports betting would continue to be illegal in California. Tribal casi nos would continue to be unable to offer roulette and games played with dice. No changes would be made to the way state gambling laws are enforced.”

I wonder what this analyst job pays? I think I might be inter ested.

The Prop. 27 Summary states: “Allows Indian tribes and affiliated businesses to operate onlinemobile sports wagering outside tribal lands. directs revenues to

regulatory costs, homelessness programs, non-participating tribes.”

Unstated is the fact that Prop. 27 will stop global warming in its tracks because Californians won’t have to drive to Las Vegas or Reno or Tonopah to place their bets.

Would legalizing sports betting, online or otherwise, lead to more people betting on sports or just shift the betting from illegal to legal?

For sure, illegal sports betting would virtually disappear, but it is likely more people would bet on sports than currently do.

Would there be more losers than winners?

Of course. Otherwise the state would receive zero revenue instead of the hundreds of millions of dol lars the fiscal experts predict.

The folks pushing these propo sitions are in this thing to make a profit, and you don’t profit unless you bring in more gambling money than you pay out.

Conventional wisdom says there will be no split decision. Either they both pass or they both fail.

You can bet on it.

— Reach Bob Dunning at bdunning@davisenterprise.net.

‘Don’t Light Tonight’ warning season begins next Tuesday

Special to The Enterprise

The “Don’t’ Light Tonight” season will officially begin Tuesday, Nov. 1, and will run through the end of February.

This voluntary program asks YoloSolano Air Quality Management District residents to refrain from burning wood to help lower particulate matter in the air on days when the district issues adviso ries.

The district will issue advisories asking residents not to use their wood stoves or fireplaces, unless it is the only source of heat, on days when fine particulate mat ter (PM2.5) is forecast to reach 25 micro grams or higher. These advisories include residents within Yolo County and the northeastern portion of Solano County, including the cities of Vacaville, Dixon and Rio Vista.

Residents can check the status of and view ‘Don’t Light Tonight’ advisories by:

n Following the district’s Facebook or Twitter accounts (@YoloSolanoAir).

n Signing up to receive an email or text at www.ysaqmd.enviroflash.info

n Visiting the District’s website at www.ysaqmd.org

n Calling 530-757-3787 for the daily ‘Don’t Light Tonight’ status, updated by noon when an advisory is issued.

According to the district, during winter months, the air can become stagnant and cooler temperatures help trap air pollut ants including PM2.5 closer to the ground, affecting the air residents breathe.

Wood smoke contains several toxic air pollutants including PM2.5, benzene,

formaldehyde, and carbon monoxide. PM2.5 is especially unsafe because its small size allows it to bypass the body’s natural defenses and travel to the heart, lungs and respiratory systems. Breathing PM2.5 can trigger short-term health effects like coughing and watery eyes, and can exacerbate existing conditions such as asthma. Wood smoke can affect any one, but those most at risk for serious health problems include young children, older adults and those with heart or respiratory problems, according to the district.

To help reduce wood smoke in the community, residents are encouraged to participate in the Woodsmoke Reduction Program. This program provides incen tives to help change out older wood stoves or open-hearth fireplaces to cleaner EPA certified heating devices. Learn more and check eligibility at www. ysaqmd.org/woodstoves.

CommuniCare Health Centers celebrates Día de Los Muertos

Special to The Enterprise

CommuniCare Health Centers is excited to com memorate and help support the preservation of Mexican and Latinx culture by inviting the community to a familyoriented Día de los Muertos event at the CommuniCare Garden & Outdoor Classroom, 215 W. Beamer St. in Wood land. Running from 4 to 8 p.m. Oct. 28, the free event will include an interactive altar installa tion, traditional music, and dance performances.

Día de los Muertos is a celebration of the lives of those who have passed on using indigenous tradi tions and modern Mexican practices. It is celebrated with “ofrendas” or offer ings of flowers, food, can dles and pictures of departed loved ones. Many families in the U.S. con tinue to practice this tradi tion in their homes today.

“At CommuniCare, we believe the practice of these traditions supports cultural resilience, heal ing, and wellness that have a profound positive impact and unite the community,” a news

release said. “The event aims to educate and dem onstrate the beauty and value of sharing this tradi tion with the Woodland and larger Yolo County community.”

CommuniCare Health Centers has offered com prehensive health care services to anyone in the community since 1972.

The Día de los Muertos event is organized by CommuniCare’s CREO program (Creando Recur sos y Enlaces para Oportunidades) and Pro motores+ Programs which connects the Spanishspeaking community with primary care, mental health services, and com munity resources.

More than 20 commu nity partners will take part this year with information sharing, including Yolo County’s Cal Fresh Healthy Living, Yolo County Car Seat Program, Consulado Mexicano, International Rescue Committee, Empower Yolo, Visión y Compro miso- Rental Assistance, Legal Services of Northern CA, and Catholic Chari ties. Other CommuniCare Programs will have

information available and all COVID vaccines and flu shots will be offered.

The Día de los Muertos event is held in partner ship with the Health Edu cation Council, Taller Arte Nuevo Amanecer (TANA), Yolo County HHSA, the Woodland Joint Unified School District and other community organiza tions.

Church dedicates new sanctuary

The Rev. Daniel Smith will lead the ded ication of a renovated Lutheran Church of the Incarnation sanctuary that showcases the River and Tree of Life at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30. A reception and project overview will follow at the church, 1701 Russell Blvd. in Davis.

McCandless & Asso ciates Architects Inc., flooring concretist Michael Lawrence Miller and CJB Con struction Inc. worked with the congregation to bring a vision for the healing of the Earth and its creatures as described in the Chris tian tradition.

The Putah Creek Watershed provided inspiration for the River of Life that begins at the headwater in the narthex and continues into the Sanctuary greeting the Tree of Life.

The completion of this renovation included a variety of features to improve energy efficiency and acoustics.

County puts on job fair Thursday

WOODLAND —

Yolo County jobseekers are invited to connect with more than 40 local employers at an in-per son job fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thurs day, Oct. 27, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Washington Unified School District Office in West Sacramento.

Participants are encouraged to bring their résumé and con nect with over 40 employers with imme diate openings in Yolo County and the sur rounding areas.

Employers are recruiting to fill fulltime, part-time, and seasonal positions in Customer Service, IT, Healthcare, Sales, Food Service, Manufactur ing, Trucking, Ware house, and Hospitality. The job fair is a collab orative effort by Yolo Works!, Yolo County Health and Human Services Agency, and the Yolo County Work force Innovation Board in partnership with the West Sacramento Chamber of Commerce, City of West Sacra mento, and Washing ton Unified School District.

Jobseekers can regis ter in advance at www. yoloworks.org or https://forms.gle/ DCB4ArVqN 6nWhryGA.

For information, con tact Erica Johnson, HHSA Interim Man ager at erica.johnson@ yolocounty.org, call/ text 530-631-2289 or visit www.yoloworks. org.

Davis Bike Club hosts social

The public is invited to attend the Davis Bike Club’s monthly mem bership meeting and social at 7 p.m. Mon day, Nov. 14, at the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame at Third and B streets in Davis.

This month’s gather ing will feature free docent-led tours of the Bicycling Hall of fame and the opportunity to meet enthusiastic bike riders.

For information about the Davis Bike Club and its weekly rides, see www. DavisBikeClub.org or contact Maria, outreach director, at outreach@ davisbikeclub.org.

STEAC Holiday Program still thriving at 55

STEAC’s Holiday Pro gram marks 55 years in 2022, and participants look forward to carrying on this time-honored tra dition of brightening the holiday season for local Davis families in need.

This year, record infla tion impacts everyone, but none more than the individuals and families living on a fixed income or living paycheck-topaycheck. It is these neighbors that are embraced annually by local families, workplaces and organizations.

The primary mission of the STEAC Holiday Pro gram is to provide food and gifts for low-income Davis families and indi viduals during the Decem ber holiday season. Over the past few years, dona tions have made the holi days brighter for more than 450 local Davis fami lies, residents and seniors who are struggling to make ends meet.

“This holiday tradition is par ticularly special because it really is neighbor-helpingneighbor, bringing the Davis community together to care for and support each other,” said program chair, Kelly Coleman.

Low-income Davis resi dents can apply for a holi day box from Oct. 24 through Nov. 12 using an online form offered in English and Spanish at www.steac.org. This lowtouch method is highly preferred and the fastest way to get an application completed.

Those without access to a computer or who need help filling in the online application, can come to in-person office hours at the Stephens Branch Library, 315 E. 14th St., and the South Davis Montgomery Library, 1441 Danbury St.

Instructions for applying, including specific dates, times and what documen tation to bring with you, are available at various locations around town including Davis Commu nity Meals (1101 H St.), and at www.steac.org. Residents are encouraged to sign up as soon as pos sible as there is limited availability and slots fill up quickly.

STEAC is looking for individuals, families, businesses, groups, clubs, churches, and schools to adopt individuals and families of varying sizes.

Holiday Program adopt ers are provided a check list of food and a wish list of gifts specific to their adopted families. The cost of adopting ranges from $100 to $500-plus, depending on the size of the family. After the adopter buys and pack ages the food and gifts on the list, they must be delivered between Dec. 6-8 to the program head quarters at the First Bap tist Church, 38141 Russell Blvd., Davis. To adopt a family, go to www.steac. org and fill in the form.

STEAC needs volun teers to conduct qualifica tion call-backs and interviews Nov. 1 to 15, as well as for the collection and distribution activities Dec. 5 to 10. If you are interested, go to www. steac.org to fill out a vol unteer form.

Financial donations to STEAC’s Holiday Pro gram will support lowincome county residents with basic necessities like rent, utilities and food during this difficult time for so many. Cash dona tions can be sent to the STEAC office at 1712 Picasso Ave Unit D, Davis, CA 95618, or made directly through STEAC’s website at www.steac.org.

Chew on this: Personalized health care for gorillas

Apes’ leftovers hold clues for scientists

By Kat Kerlin Special to The Enterprise

A mountain gorilla walks in the forest of East Africa’s Virunga Volcanoes conser vation area. It stops at a piece of wild celery, sits down, and begins to chew. It strips the vegetable’s fibrous threads through its teeth, extracting the fleshy, juicy bits, then drops the chewed stalk on the ground and ambles away.

Minutes later, wildlife veterinarians observing the scene write down the name of the gorilla and retrieve the saliva-drenched plant, which carries vital informa tion about that gorilla’s health.

This simple, noninvasive tool of a chewed plant is helping Gorilla Doctors — who know each gorilla by name — provide personal ized health care to wild, endangered mountain gorillas living in Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda.

Scientists from the Uni versity of California, Davis, used the technique to rule out the presence of human herpesviruses among the region’s mountain gorillas. Their findings are described in a study pub lished in the American Journal of Primatology.

Gorilla Doctors is a part nership between the Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center or WHC, within the UC Davis School of Veteri nary Medicine and the Mountain Gorilla Veteri nary Project. The program monitors the health of mountain gorillas and pro vides veterinary care to injured and ill gorillas.

Individual care

While a human herpesvi rus may amount to no more than a cold sore in a person, it could be more serious if introduced to gorillas or other species. After extract ing the DNA from the

discarded plants and screening them for orally shed pathogens, the study found no evidence of human herpesviruses infec tion among the free-rang ing gorillas.

“We were able to do this study entirely using chewed plants,” said lead author Tierra Smiley Evans, research faculty with the WHC and One Health Institute at UC Davis.

“That allowed us to collect specimens from every known, habituated moun tain gorilla in Uganda and Rwanda. This shows we can monitor gorillas — and potentially other primate species — over time, nonin vasively, at the individual level and help answer ques tions regarding their con servation.”

Staying vigilant

Gorilla trekking in this region is a major draw, and the wild gorillas here are accustomed to humans. While gorilla tourism incentivizes the conserva tion of their habitat, it also requires a high level of care to prevent people and goril las from exchanging dis eases.

The study’s finding that human herpesviruses have not spilled over indicates that guidelines Gorilla Doctors and gorilla man agement authorities use to limit the distance between humans and gorillas in the park are helping to prevent the spread of disease. It also serves as a reminder to stay vigilant to prevent novel viruses from entering the population.

“Gorilla Doctors research has proven that human viruses cause respiratory disease in endangered mountain gorillas,” said coauthor Kirsten Gilardi, DVM, executive director of the Gorilla Doctors and director of the WHC at UC Davis. “Dr. Evans’ research findings that human her pesviruses were not detected in gorilla saliva was reassuring. It’s further evidence that park rules for gorilla visitation, like wear ing face masks and keeping

a minimum distance of 23-33 feet, are effective in reducing the risk of trans mission of human diseases to mountain gorillas.”

Gorilla IDs

Chewed plant analysis is a relatively new tool for Gorilla Doctors to provide personalized care to this endangered species. Face time, of course, is also important, and the Gorilla Doctors and rangers know individual gorillas by sight. Such recognition is greatly aided by the wrinkles above each gorilla’s nose. Moun tain gorillas have dis tinct noseprints used by veterinarians and rangers to identify them, much how fingerprints are used to identify people.

Evans said the personali ties and dramas of gorilla life become quickly appar ent when observing moun tain gorillas. Evans recalls watching a young male gorilla a decade ago when she was collecting samples for her Ph.D. studies.

“He was in his teen years and always causing prob lems. He was also my favor ite because he was an interesting, very inquisitive guy,” she said. “I recently went back, and there, 10 years later, is this chill, big silverback, with babies crawling all over him. Someone said, ‘That’s Kabukojo.’ I said, ‘You’re kidding me!’ We’d all got ten older; we’d all changed.”

The study’s additional co-authors include Linda Lowenstine, Benard Sse bide, Peter Barry, Fred Nizeyimana, Jean Bosco Noheli, Ricky Okello, Michael Cranfield, Jonna Mazet and Christine Kreuder Johnson of UC Davis; Jean Felix Kinani of the One Health Approach for Conservation in Rwanda; and Antoine Mudakikwa of the Rwanda Development Board.

The research was funded by the William J. Fulbright Program, U.S. Agency for International Development and the National Institutes of Health.

Holiday model train back to benefit community causes

Special to The Enterprise

The annual Davis model train display will be up and running during the holidays at the Davis train station (Amtrak) at 840 Second St. in down town Davis.

Sponsored by the Davis Sunrise Rotary Club (davisrotary.org) and the Davis Model Train Club, admission is free. Any donations received will be directed to local charita ble programs.

The electric train dis play will be open on Sat urdays, from Nov. 19 through Dec. 24, and Jan. 7. The display hours will be 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on all dates, and features

two layouts (Lionel O and HO gauges) with interac tive components for chil dren as well as examples and history of local Davis points of interest.

Live outside Davis and looking for something special to do with the kids and grandkids? Consider hopping on Amtrak and taking the big train to Davis to see the small trains at the display. While here, discover the small-town charms of downtown Davis and visit the award winning Farm ers Market.

If County COVID guidelines change, face covering may be required for entry.

Gorilla Doctors/courtesy photo

Tierra Smiley Evans and Gorilla Doctor Fred Nizeyimana collect saliva samples from chewed plants discarded by mountain gorillas in Uganda in 2013.

— UC Davis News

tierra smiley evans, uc Davis/courtesy photos

Mountain gorillas chew on wild-growing plants.

courtesy photo

STEAC volunteers have been helping make the holidays brighter for 55 years.

Special to The Enterprise

courtesy photo

The holiday train display will be back this winter at the Davis Amtrak station.

ZIP: Ongoing dispute heads to court

approval, which the Krovozas argue violated the California Environmen tal Quality Act.

In a special closed session on Tues day evening, the Davis City Council voted unanimously to direct the city attorney to defend the lawsuit.

“The city’s action to relocate the Sky Track was consistent with the law. I am confident that the city will prevail in this lawsuit,” said City Attorney Inder Khalsa.

The Sky Track has been one of the city’s more popular playground attractions since its installation in Arroyo Park in April 2019, but it has also been one of its most controver sial.

The equipment consists of two metal tracks, one with a hanging disk for sitting or standing and the other with a plastic chair.

“Sky Track is intended for use by 5- to 12-year-olds, but in practice it is often used by both children and adults,” the Krovozas’ petition states. “Maximum enjoyment seems to be derived when parents or friends push or throw the disk and chair as hard as possible against the stationary track ends…”

The noise generated, according to the lawsuit, is of two kinds — contin uous and impact.

“The continuous noise is primarily the sound of the wheels scraping the interior of the metal channel as they move rapidly along the track, with louder impact sounds when the wheels bounce over the seams,” the lawsuit states. “The primary impact noise occurs when the wheels strike the ends of the track. The characteris tics of the continuous sound are grat ing, abrasive, grinding and harsh; the impact sounds are of a sudden clang ing, bonging, pile-driver-like, clank ing nature.”

The noise generated depends on the weight and velocity of the users with the loudest noise generated by adults pushing children with great force, “a routine use of the equip ment,” the lawsuit states, “but even the mild pushing of a swing by hand (with no rider) will generate noise audible within neighbors’ homes.”

The Krovozas, who live within 100 feet of the equipment, contacted the city shortly after the Sky Track was installed, complaining about the noise.

They came under harsh criticism in the community for doing so, with some complaining they were receiv ing special treatment from the city

given Joe Krovoza’s former position on the council.

However, the Krovozas have pointed out they received no special treatment, as the Sky Track has remained in place.

The city did conduct a noise study two years ago, however, and that study showed use of the equipment violated the city’s nighttime noise ordinance. City workers then began locking the Sky Track up at night.

But repeated vandalism, including damage to the locks and chains, as well as a more recent sound study that indicated the equipment also violated the city’s daytime noise ordi nance in that location, prompted staff to close the Sky Track altogether as a decision was made on whether — and where — to move it.

In August, the council voted unani mously to move the equipment to a more central location in the park, east of the pool, where accoustics consul tants, city staff and the city attorney said it would comply with the noise ordinance.

The Krovozas disagree.

In public comment to the council in August, they said the predicted maxi mum noise reading from this spot, “as measured from our property line, would be 55.1 dBA, clearly still in excess of both the daytime and night time limits and a noise level that would continue to impose a major disruption to our household.”

They also hinted at a lawsuit to come, which indeed was filed on Oct. 5 with the city served on Oct. 17.

The suit argues that the city vio lated CEQA when it determined that moving the Sky Track was exempt from CEQA requirements.

The city, the lawsuit contends, “improperly relied on CEQA exemp tions to approve the project, because it involved unusual circumstances of the operation of the Sky Track, a uniquely noisy piece of playground equipment, that resulted in undis closed potentially significant noise impacts that preclude the use of the asserted CEQA exemptions…”

The Krovozas also argue the city

failed to adequately disclose, analyze or mitigate the Sky Track’s potentially significant impacts on the environ ment, including nuisance noise on residents, the disruption of park tran quility for all park users, biological resources (especially bird nesting and foraging), and more.

The lawsuit seeks a writ vacating and setting aside the city’s CEQA determination and approval of the Sky Track relocation and a temporary stay or restraining order and prelimi nary or permanent injunction pre venting the city from moving forward on the relocation, including issuance of grading or building permits.

They also seek attorneys fees from the city.

The city disagrees that CEQA was violated, however.

A statement issued after Tuesday night’s closed session said the council made a determination that the reloca tion and placement of the playground equipment falls within one or more of the exemptions to CEQA, such as existing facilities or new construction or conversion of small structures.

“Therefore, an (environmental impact report) is not required under state law,” the city statement said. “The preparation of an EIR requires substantial funding and time to com plete. The cost of an EIR can (be) hundreds of thousands of dollars and take up a to a year to complete.

“The petitioners in this lawsuit,” the city statement said, “Joe and Janet Krovoza, claim that relocating the Sky Track required the preparation of an environmental impact report to ana lyze potentially significant environ mental impacts. The city vigorously refutes these claims. The relocation of the Sky Track is proceeding as origi nally planned.”

Councilman Dan Carson, who rep resents District 1, where Arroyo Park is located, and serves as council liai son to the city’s Recreation and Park Commission, said Tuesday that, “families in my district overwhelm ingly support keeping the Sky Track playground equipment at the new central location in Arroyo Park.”

He added that after a detailed examination of the issue, the Rec and Park commission voted to endorse the relocation of the playground equip ment to its new location.

“Kids love playing on the Sky Track. Our families and kids should be allowed to continue to enjoy the Sky Track,” Carson said.

— Reach Anne Ternus-Bellamy at aternus@davisenterprise.net. Follow her on Twitter at @ATernusBellamy.

VISION: Owners seek more ecologically friendly approach

From

ways to plug holes in the system that we’ve found where things continue to end up in the landfill that shouldn’t, and we felt like this was the next step.”

In a recent press release, the longtime Davis locals imparted their fervor for ecological sustainability and reduc ing humans’ carbon foot print on the planet. That’s where Community Mer cantile’s mission comes to fruition to keep usable products in circulation as long as possible before they end up in a landfill.

From the outside look ing in, the 2,200-squarefoot facility — filled with an abundance of quality products like clothing, furniture, appliances, electronics, household goods and construction materials — appears to be a thrift store. To Koop and Fisher, it’s much more, as their press release also mentions future ventures including upcycling, repair work shops, a tool lending library as well as clothing, dress and toy lending. Essentially, they have really cool stuff for shop pers and sharers who know — or don’t know — exactly what they’re look ing for.

“People ask, ‘what kind of business are you, any way?’ ” Koop explained.

“It’s not an easy answer because we look like a thrift store, but we’re really a reuse hub. The store is the obvious part of that, and we plan on add ing on to other aspects of our business like different lending libraries. We also plan on being a learning hub and offering workshops and classes on recycling, repurposing, upcycling and all different

parts of keeping things out of the landfill.”

The Grand Opening is on Sunday, Oct. 30 and goes from 3 to 5 p.m. at 622 Cantrill Drive. Koop will be giving a speech at 3:30 p.m., light refresh ments will be offered and the first 100 people to attend will get a reusable gift. Monetary donations are accepted in cash or Venmo forms as are nonmonetary donations and donations of time — that is, volunteering. Or follow their socials by searching @communitymercdavis on Instagram and Com munity Mercantile on Facebook. They’re also hosting a free, recycled garden tool workshop on Nov. 4. Sign up for it on the Davis Adult School website.

“I’m looking forward to changing the direction of how our community understands their respon sibility for their posses sions and the environmental prices as well as them learning how they can affect that change,” Koop said.

“A lot of people don’t know about the options other than just bringing something to the landfill. One of the reasons the store is called ‘Commu nity Mercantile’ is because I’ve really embraced what it means to have a sup portive community and a working community. I’m invested in this commu nity in so many different ways.

“Now that my kids are out of the house, I feel like I can give back to the community that’s sup ported and surrounded us for so many years.”

— Reach Aaron Geerts at aaron.geerts@ mcnaughton.media.

Owen Yancher/enterprise file phOtO

SCORES: Achievement gap closes a bit

Gov. Gavin Newsom swiftly issued a press release head lined “California outperforms most states in minimizing learning loss….” Various state officials credited the state’s investments in summer school and other recovery efforts for minimizing the blow to pupils. Yet the national test, in contradiction to the state test, indicated that the achievement gap among students of color wid ened in California.

Nor will the national com parison data settle a fiery political debate about which school pandemic strategy worked best: Students in California, almost the last to return to in-person learning as the state strove to safe guard public health, fared about as well as students in states such as Florida and Texas who returned to their classrooms much sooner.

“California focused on keeping kids safe during the pandemic,” Newsom said in a statement, “while making record investments to miti gate learning loss and trans forming our education system.”

The test upon which the Nation’s Report Card is based is older and was given to only about 4,000 California stu dents, while the state’s Smarter Balanced tests are administered every spring to virtually all Californians in grades three through eight and grade eleven. The states set those tests, prompting some criticism that they encourage “teaching to the test”. The goal of those Smarter Balanced tests: to measure how well students have mastered the state’s Common Core standards.

Ramifications

The initial reluctance of state officials to promptly share the Smarter Balanced test data — and the way they timed and managed today’s release — raised questions about whether elected state schools superintendent Tony Thurmond and others were trying to minimize the impact of bad news landing before voters cast November ballots.

Obituaries

No sooner were the state results made public than Republicans pounced.

“Democrat policies get an F,” Senate GOP leader Scott Wilk of Lancaster declared in a statement. “It is no wonder these scores were kept under lock and key. They are a clear referendum on the failed policies advocated by the gov ernor, legislative leaders, and the state superintendent of public instruction for years –not just during the pandemic. After shuttering schools for the better part of two years, student failure is on steroids.”

In spring of 2020, the first year of the pandemic, the state canceled its testing. In 2021, only one in four eligible students took the tests because not all students were back on campuses. In 2022, nearly all eligible students participated, making these results a key data point for understanding widespread pandemic-triggered learning loss in California.

Education experts say they are optimistic because school funding is at an all-time high, giving educators unprece dented resources to address learning loss. But some are calling for school officials to produce a clearer roadmap to recovery.

“I do think civic leaders owe it to the voters to explain how we’re going to get out of this hole,” said Bruce Fuller, an education professor at UC Berkeley. “Politicians kept schools closed beyond what occurred in other states.”

There had been concern that the pandemic would completely undercut Califor nia’s efforts to close a persis tent achievement gap among

certain groups of students. The results show that all stu dents and economically dis advantaged students dropped the same 4 percentage points in English language arts, although that leaves econom ically disadvantaged students lagging their peers, with just 35% meeting standards. The rates for English learners and students with disabilities both dropped less than a sin gle percentage point, from 12.8% to 12.5% and 16% to 15% respectively.

For math, rates for eco nomically disadvantaged stu dents actually dropped slightly less than the average drop for all students, falling 6 percentage points but still resulting in an abysmal 21% meeting standards. English learners went from 13% to 10%. Students with disabili ties went from 13% to 11%.

The achievement gap for Black students closed slightly, from a 33 percentage-point difference from their white peers in 2019 to 31 percentage points in 2022. American Indian, Asian and Latino stu dents also saw drops that were largely proportional to that of their white peers.

Latino students saw their achievement gap grow in math scores by one percentage point.

When separated by grade level, third-grade students saw the largest drops in both subjects. In 2019, 48.5% of third graders met English language arts standards. Compare that to 42.2% in 2022, a 6.4 percentage-point decline. For math, the rate for third graders meeting stan dards dropped by 6.7 percent age points.

Megan Bacigalupi is the executive director of CA Par ent Power, a parent advocacy group that rallied parents to fight for school reopenings earlier in the pandemic. She said these scores aren’t just the reckoning for prolonged school closures but a wake-up call for parents. California’s test scores were always abys mal, and they couldn’t afford to sink any lower, she said.

“We’re not a state that’s performing well, so for kids to backslide … We were never in a good place,” Bacigalupi said. “What I hope is eye-opening to parents is that, guess what, prior to all this, our kids weren’t doing that well.”

What now?

Despite the alarm caused by these signs of pandemicera learning loss, experts in California want the state to remain on the path it was on before the public health crisis.

Julien LaFortune is a research fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California who specializes in K-12 edu cation finance. He said there was some evidence that the state’s formula for funding public schools was working to close achievement gaps before the pandemic.

The Local Control Funding Formula gives additional money to school districts and charter schools for their Eng lish learners, foster children and students from lowincome households. Districts with high percentages of stu dents who fall into at least one of these student groups get an additional pot of money called a “concentration grant.”

LaFortune said there was some “strong evidence” show ing districts receiving concen tration grants were performing better on stan dardized tests prior to the pandemic. That said, helping those same districts with additional funding might be a faster route to recovery.

“Maybe that’s how we want to do it, by targeting the con centration grants,” he said.

But LaFortune said there’s no evidence that the state needs to overhaul its formula. It might just take time to get student test scores back to where they were before the pandemic.

BOOSTER: Teen numbers are even worse

The bad news: Few Yolo County residents are getting the shot.

“Unfortunately for us, the uptake of biva lent boosters in Yolo County has been under whelming since the boosters became available in September,” Vaughn said.

Currently just over 10 percent of eligible county residents have received the bivalent booster and uptake varies based on age, eth nicity and geography.

Just 4 percent of teens have received it and 30 percent of adults 65 and over, said Sisson.

Meanwhile, only 4 percent of Latinos in Yolo County have received bivalent boosters, compared to 15 percent of whites.

The city of Davis has the highest uptake — 20 percent of residents here have received a bivalent booster — and West Sacramento the lowest at 7 percent. Eight percent of Wood land and Winters residents have received the booster, according to county data.

Supervisor Jim Provenza of Davis asked Vaughn what the county is doing to increase bivalent booster uptake.

“What stands out to me is the 30 percent of 65 and older (who have received the bivalent booster),” Provenza said. “I know the Centers for Disease Control is telling everyone (to) get the vaccine, but particularly those 65 and older. What type of outreach are we doing now and what might we be able to do?”

Said Vaughn: “We’re certainly trying to boost our activities as well, working with the skilled nursing facilities and other residents of facilities. We still have our DoorVax pro gram (which delivers vaccinations to resi dents’ homes and workplaces).”

And the county is also working to boost uptake in other age groups, including by working with schools and with upcoming harvest festival and Halloween events, he said, “so we’re trying our best to get out there."

The challenge is "there’s a general senti ment that the pandemic is behind us," said Vaughn. "We’ve heard that. So the interest there has certainly waned…. But we’re antici pating a possible increase in the fall months here… so our recommendation still, is please go out there and get vaccinated to protect yourself and your family.”

Bivalent boosters are available from medi cal providers, clinics and pharmacies, and the city of Davis, in partnership with Yolo Coun ty’s health department, will be hosting a clinic at the Davis Senior Center on Tuesday, Nov. 8, from 3 to 6 p.m. where both the Pfizer biva lent as well as flu shots will be available.

The senior center is located at 646 A St. and no appointments are necessary.

— Reach Anne Ternus-Bellamy at aternus@davisenterprise.net. Follow her on Twitter at @ATernusBellamy.

It is with great sadness that we share that Inger Lonnerdal, 75, a longtime resident of Davis, passed away peacefully at home on Aug. 25, 2022, after a tough battle with aggres sive cancer.

Inger was born in Linkoping, Sweden, on Feb. 16, 1947, where she met her future husband Bo Lonnerdal in high school. They exchanged their vows in 1969 while they both studied at University of Uppsala and they formally got married in 1974 in order to be allowed to adopt their two oldest chil dren from Sri Lanka. Inger received her bachelor’s degree in chemistry and mathematics and taught junior high school for sev eral years in Sweden.

In 1978, Bo and Inger moved to Davis when Bo received a research fellow ship at UC Davis. What started as a one-year adventure, ended up in a forever home due to their love of the Davis commu nity.

Inger dedicated her life to raising her four children, always being available to them and attending all their events and activities — sports, music and arts. She started her involve ment as a part of the Davis Parent Nursery School (DPNS). She was a force in the disability community, implementing and ensur ing full inclusion in the Davis school system for children with developmen tal disabilities. She thought of novel approaches such as

study aides in the class room, circle of friends, and other ways to be fully inclu sive in the community.

She received the DSHS PTA Volunteer Service Award and the Annual Recognition Award from the Yolo County SELPA for her outstanding efforts to improve the lives of those with developmental dis abilities. In this and many other ways Inger was a lifelong champion for social justice, contributing time, resources and energy in improving the lives of oth ers.

Inger was a keen learner and always pursuing new adventures, individually, with Bo or with her family — she took classes in swim ming, Spanish and com puter skills.

Inger loved dancing and took many classes in ballroom dancing and salsa with Bo.

She loved to travel — Bo and Inger travelled the world and loved to see new sites, cultures, and meet the locals. They also exposed their children to the world, going back to Sweden every summer, but also taking them along to many different countries as they grew up, to explore and learn. Sweden always remained home and sum mers were spent in Furudal, where her family originates from. The family loved the time there and it was one of Inger’s favorite place on Earth — time was spent with family — in the woods, on the lake, looking for berries, baking, kayaking, swimming and enjoying life.

Inger was an involved community member of Davis and a strong sup porter of local businesses and artists (Co-op, pottery, farmers market, artwork, concerts, art center). She filled her home with items she would buy in support of people in the Davis com munity, many becoming close friends along the way. She loved food and wine and supported many local restaurants and wineries in their early days.

Inger loved to exercise and to be outdoors; she could be found daily walk ing, running, or biking along the Davis greenbelt, one of her favorite places to spend time. She would swim almost daily at the David Athletic Club. Bo and Inger loved to kayak and explored many rivers and lakes around northern California (and the world).

Inger loved to cook and bake, and was a master at it. She was known by many for her brownies and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. She won many awards from the now historic Davis Enter prise Cookbook Contest, which still hang above her kitchen entry. Inger passed this skill to her children and in recent years her grandchildren — one of

Obituary policy

their favorite activities being bak ing with “Farmor” (Grandma).

LONNERDAL

Inger is survived by her husband, Bo; son Jacob of Falun, Sweden; daughter Ida of Davis; son Jan of Davis; and son Daniel of Kensing ton, Md.; daughter-in-law Marie Hansen and grand children Matilda, Malte and Maja of Falun, Swe den; and daughter-in-law Jacqueline Lonnerdal and grandchildren Matias and Mila of Kensington.

At this time there is no in-person service planned, but a celebration of life will be held at a later time. Memories can be posted and shared at https:// ingerlonnerdal.remem bered.com. A bench will be placed in the North Davis Greenbelt in her honor — take a walk in the spring to look for it and spend a moment remembering her.

In lieu of flowers, dona tions can be made to Team Davis (www.team-davis. org/donate) or the Ameri can Cancer Society.

The Enterprise publishes brief death notices free of charge. These include name, age, city of residence, occupation, date of death and funeral/memorial information. Paid-for obituaries allow for controlled content with the option for photos. Obituaries will be edited for style and grammar. Submissions may be made via www.davisenterprise.com/obit-form/. For further information about paid obituaries or free death notices, call 530-756-0800.

Peter Michael Cala, died on Oct. 8, 2022, his 75th birthday. Pete had been giving cancer his dirty air for seven years and won more legs than he lost. An advocate for “leaving ’em wanting more,” in this instance, we would have been pleased to see him ignore his own counsel.

Pete enjoyed an impres sive career as a researcher, professor and department chair of physiology and membrane biology at UC Davis’ School of Medicine. We are certain his lab and his classroom were exact ing, exciting, and enter taining, just like him.

A natural leading man in pretty much every context, Pete was most honored to play the role of son, brother, husband, father, grandfather and friend. He loved fiercely and was gen erous with his attention and his feelings. He was proud to be the first son of Sicilian immigrants, Philip

Cala and Nelle Tris cari. He was as impressed with his parents as his chil dren are with him.

To everyone’s delight, he was rarely well-behaved but stopped short of reck lessness. A curator of all things bold and absurd, what he lacked in subtly, he made up for with charm. His humor was dark like his coffee and unfiltered like his cigarettes.

A celebration of life for Pete is planned for Nov. 27, 2022, at Thunderhill Race way (thunderhill.com) from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Pete would appreciate donations to the Leukemia Lymphoma Society (lls. org), Be the Match (bethe match.org), and blood products to the Red Cross (redcross.org).

Inger Christina Lonnerdal

1947

Aug. 25, 2002

Peter Michael Cala Oct. 8, 1947 — Oct. 8, 2022 CALA

Miguel gutierrez Jr./CalMatters phOtO

Students work in a classroom at St. HOPE’s Public School 7 Elemen tary in Sacramento on May 11.

Friday

n The UC Davis Arbo retum hosts a Folk Music Jam Session from noon to 1 p.m. Folk musicians are once again invited to bring their acoustic instruments and play together infor mally during this jam ses sion at Wyatt Deck (next to the redwood grove). Pull out your fiddles, gui tars, mandolins, penny whistles, pipes, flutes, squeezeboxes (you name it) and join your fellow musicians for a little blue grass, old-time, blues, Celtic, klezmer and world music over the lunch hour. All skill levels welcome and listeners are invited. Short-term parking is available in Visitor Lot 5 on Old Davis Road at Arboretum Drive. Hourly rates start at $1.75.

n After a two-year hia tus The California Agricul ture Museum presents Tractors & Brews, featur ing music, local food ven dors, and brews, whiskey and wine. The event runs from 6 to 9 p.m. at the California Agriculture Museum, 1958 Hays Lane in Woodland. Event pro ceeds benefit the museum. Tickets are on sale for $10, online at www.Califor niaAgMusuem.org, in house or by phone.

n CommuniCare Health Centers is excited to com memorate and help sup port the preservation of Mexican and Latinx cul ture by inviting the com munity to a familyoriented Día de los Muer tos event at the Communi Care Garden & Outdoor Classroom, 215 W. Beamer St. in Woodland. Running from 4 to 8 p.m., the free event will include an inter active altar installation, traditional music and dance performances.

Friday-Saturday

n Davis Community Church will offer some spooky fun with tours of the historic church, including a brew of sur prises cooked up by the church’s scouting pro grams. Tour the secret chambers of DCC from the pipe organ in the sanctu ary to the hidden vault.

The tours will be from 5 to 9 p.m. on both days. Sign ups are available on the church website at dccpres. org/events. Enter the church through the main entrance on Fourth Street. The suggested donation is $10. Call the church office with questions at 530753-2894.

Saturday

n Sharon Kirkpatrick will lead an Audubon field trip to Lake Solano County Park. Potential bird sightings in this riparian, creek habitat include osprey, phainope pla and wood duck. Participants will meet at Lake Solano County Park when it opens at 8 a.m. All levels

of birders are welcome. Participants are expected to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Drivers and passengers will decide whether masks are required while in the vehi cles. For information and reservations, go to the group’s websites, yolo audubon.org or facebook. com/yoloaudubonsociety.

n A weekend of Zombie activities begin with Zom bie Paintball from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Davis Paintball, 24998 County Road 102 in Davis. Zom bie Paintball features the use of green paint in a game of zombies vs. humans. Humans who get hit with green paint join the undead ranks. Can you survive the attack? Zombie Paintball is one of the very few features with a cost associated. Davis Paint ball's rules and charges apply.

n The Zombie Bike Ride's family-friendly PreBike Brew Party, kicks off at Sudwerk Brewing Co. from 5 to 8 p.m. at 2001 Second St. Meet likeminded zombie friends, get a bite to eat together and enjoy brews, boos and plenty of Halloween candy at one of Davis' most pop ular hangouts — complete with a mini pumpkin patch and carved pump kins. Don't miss the opportunity to take photo graphs with professional zombie actors on scene, brought to you by the Sac ramento Zombie Club.

Sunday

n More than 100 local and regional organizations have come together to sur prise families and friends with a monstrously large Halloween present from noon to 3:30 p.m.; the fourth annual, familyfriendly Zombie Bike Ride. Pedal along the 12-mile Davis Bike Loop (visit the website for event map): Expect more than 10 entertainment stations, several zombie bike mechanics, food and drink vendors, and opportuni ties for prizes for best cos tumes.

n Zombie-themed fes tivities continue with the Zombie Mash afterparty from 4 to 6 p.m. at E Street Plaza (228 E St.), sponsored by the Davis Downtown Business Asso ciation. Partygoers can enjoy music by DJ Duc Jones as well as profes sional fire dancers from Fire University.

n The Zombie weekend concludes with Davis comedian and MTV per sonality Brent Pella at the Zombie Bike Ride Comedy Show and Fundraiser from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Sun day, Oct. 30 at the Davis Odd Fellows Lodge, 415 Second St. in downtown Davis. Tickets are $100 each, and proceeds will go to Norcal Trykers and The Bike Campaign.

Trick-or-treat!

Malia Peris Senior Luis Canjura Senior

Cam Engstrom Junior

Busting the myth of drugged Halloween candy

By Xochitl arMien & holt KleinBerg HUB Staff

Myths of sadists harming children on Halloween night have been around since the beginnings of the holiday. Every Octo ber, stories of killer clowns, kidnapped children and poisoned candy laced with drugs and razor blades reemerge.

“Halloween is supposed to be scary, and we’ve stopped believing in ghosts and gob lins for the most part. We’ve just created a special criminal for Halloween to make it scary,” said Joel Best, a professor of sociol ogy and criminal justice at the University of Delaware.

The first report of candy tampering comes from California dentist William Shyne. In 1959, Shyne poisoned 500 pieces of candy with laxatives.

Reportedly 30 children fell ill; however there were no casualties. Eventually the crime was traced back to Shyne and he was charged with public indecency and unlaw ful dispensing of drugs.

UC Davis sociology professor Thomas Beamish says that the myths of Halloween sadism stand in as proxies for real fears in our society.

“Stories build on fears we have, and one fear prominent in the 60s and 70s is fears parents have for their children’s well being,” Beamish said.

Contemporary legends of Halloween sadists targeting children began to gain momentum in the late 1950s and 60s.

According to Beamish, these contempo rary legends stem from the very real fears parents had in the 1950s and 60s. Some such fears include the fear of contamina tion in water and food and fears of crimi nal attacks, terrorism, child abuse and pedophilia.

During the war on drugs in the 1980s, fears of narcotics took the forefront and stories of laced Halloween candy rose to popularity.

Most recently there has been fear of candy laced with fentanyl, a highly addic tive synthetic opioid that is responsible for 107,375 deaths as of December 2021.

Sophomore Charm Blackwell recalls her mother being worried one year after seeing a news report on television about candy that had been tampered with.

”There was this candy that had a whole bunch of nails inside of it and (a man) was just giving it out to little kids,” Blackwell said.

Despite the popularity of this contempo rary legend, Best, who has gained notoriety for his award winning books and research on the topic, claims that there has been next to no evidence of any real cases of strangers harming random children with sweets on Halloween night.

“I haven’t been able to find any data that any child has ever been killed or seriously hurt by a contaminated treat that was sourced by trick or treating,’’ Best said.

Not only is there little evidence of people tampering with Halloween candy, but

Davis Zombie Bike Ride will return for fourth year

according to Davis Police Lieutenant James McNiven there is little reason for someone to do so.

“Drugs cost money and narcotics dealers stand for profit … there’s nothing to gain by giving drugs away to kids for free,” McNiven said.

However, McNiven still encourages par

By Maria anderson HUB Staff

The Davis Zombie Bike Ride started in 2019 with 250 participants. Every year since the event began, numbers have increased.

“Our event grew in 2020 with 1,000 par ticipants and then again in 2021 with 2,000. This year I’m thrilled to report that our event is seeing more than double the number of website views than in 2021,” said Aaron Wedra, chair of Davis’ Zombie Bike Ride.

Events for this years Zombie Bike Ride will start on Oct. 29 and continue through Oct. 30.

Davis’ Zombie Bike Ride started as just a single parade a few years ago, and has since evolved into a full on festival with events for all ages.

Part of this expansion has been fueled by competition with the nationally recognized Zombie Ride Ride in Florida.

“We’re doing everything we can to become the West Coast’s Zombie Bike Ride, mirroring a very successful zombie ride in Florida that has seen up to 11,000 participants,” Wedra said.

“My favorite part of the bike ride each year is Zombie Skydiving. At 3:30pm on Sunday, Oct. 30 zombies will literally fall from the sky at community park,” Wedra said.

Some other special features of the 2022

ents and children to always do their due diligence by checking if wrappers are par tially opened or look wrong.

“There’s no greater risk of candy being tampered with than there was in any years past. That being said, you should always inspect your candy,” McNiven said.

ride will be Zombie Paintball, a family friendly Sudwerk pre-party and a downtown Monster Mash afterparty with fire dancers.

There will also be a special zombie com edy show/charity fundraiser with MTV celebrity and Davis native, Brent Pella.

The ride and its various related activities all help fundraise for NorCal Trykers, a charity that works for children with special needs to be able to get their own tricycle.

“These children get to experience the freedom of riding on a bicycle and feeling the wind in their hair for the first time,” Wedra said.

Since the first ride in 2019, Davis Odd Fellows and the Bike Campaign have part nered with the Zombie Bike Ride to raise a total of $14,000.

“With the proceeds that we have received over the past four years, we’ve been able to donate tricycles to children with special needs ... last year we were able to donate seven and I believe that the year before it was six,” said Gill Williams, president and founder of NorCal Trykers.

Williams is grateful for the annual dona tions from Odd Fellows and the Bike Cam paign that keep NorCal Trykkers running.

“We really rely on people within our community to help us raise these funds since we’re too small to put on anything like this on our own,” Williams said.

AAron WedrA/courtesy photo

The Davis Zombie Bike Ride takes over the streets with bikes, zombie costumes and fanfare.

holt Klienberg/hub photo

“We’ve stopped believing in ghosts and goblins for the most part, (instead) we’ve just created a special criminal for Halloween,” sociology and criminal justice professor Joel Best said.

One-size-fits-all meets the mega-rich

One key principle behind the spate of laws passed in the last two years aimed at increasing California’s housing density is that every city in the state is essentially the same.

That’s why new laws have elimi nated single-family residential zoning throughout the state, and not merely in the most sprawling cities and counties. That’s why virtually every street in the state with any commercial elements is now subject to high-rise develop ment, if developers can be found to do the work.

It’s a one-size-fits-all philoso phy that was bound to create major conflict when it began affecting the often quirky cities that make up much of this crazyquilt state.

One of the more eccentric such places is Atherton, long a haven for the super-rich, sitting in the midst of Silicon Valley, a short distance north of Palo Alto and Stanford University.

This 5-square-mile city of 7,060 is host to a major contingent of the wealthiest dot-com investors and executives. Its residents

LettersThanks to firefighters

Firefighters choose a profession guaranteed to shorten their lifes pans, earning potential, and sup port for their families, yet some individuals equate appropriate compensation with corruption. It’s uninformed. Thank you to our public safety professionals for your untiring, selfless service.

Heidy Kellison Davis

Palestinian self-government?

I was privileged to attend (by Zoom) a presentation by Daniel Sokatch about his book, “Can We Talk about Israel?” at Congrega tion B’nai Israel. It was co-spon sored by Social Action and Israel Peace Action Committees of Con gregation Bet Haverim ; the Israel Committee and Lifelong Learning Committees of Congregation B’nai Israel; and, J Street Sacramento Region. It delved into some of the complexities and possibilities of the situation that Jewish and Arab Israelis and their neighbors face.

One of his conclusions was that, until everyone commits to the hard work of changing the current situ ation for the better, everyone faces an unstable, unsustainable “pow der keg” that can explode at any time.

How strange, then, to read this morning that Tom Elias believes that, “Palestinians enjoy self-gov ernment in Gaza and the West Bank areas adjacent to Israel.” This self-government doesn’t include citizen freedom of movement, guaranteed property rights, or con trol of security for their territory.

Those to blame for a lack of justice in the Occupied Territories cer tainly include some powerful Pal estinians. But Elias condemns all of them and exonerates Israelis with his reductive formulation.

This is just as unlikely to help the cause of peace as the reductive policies of Berkeley law student groups that he writes to condemn. He suggests that someone should be expelled, but doesn’t dive into details of exactly what contract or code a particular student has vio lated that should (by the terms of that compact) result in their termi nation.

I suggest that “anti-Zionism” is too loose a term on which to base legal action – which expulsion from school will, assuredly, become. Further, while there is a path from anti-Zionism to antiSemitism, not all protests against actions of the State of Israel are

include the founder of Netflix; the head of video game maker Elec tronic Arts; the chief of the finan cial technology firm SoFi, for which the modern stadium hous ing both the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers is named; top exec utives of Google and Apple, and a host of venture capitalists who got fabulously wealthy by investing early in some of those firms and others. The median home sale price there has exceeded $7 mil lion for the last few years.

Now Atherton is being told by the state it must create 348 new housing units or suffer major losses of state funding for police, fire department, water facilities and other public needs.

But how to build that many new units, enough to house 1,000

antisemitic, and no amount of bluster or newsprint can make them so.

I’m looking forward to reading Sokatch’s book, and learning more about supporting the people seek ing ways for Arabs and Jews to live adjacent, and possibly, together.

Doug Walter Davis

Voting for Carson

I have been a neighbor of Dan Carson for 25 years. I have always found Dan to be friendly, a likeminded parent, and well informed on social and political issues at both the state or national level. I am eager to vote for Dan in the District 1 election.

In the past four years Dan has worked collaboratively with the City Council and mayor in getting key results in road improvements, budget challenges, as well as meet ing our city’s state mandates in housing and other important areas. Dan’s work with his council colleagues and staff in addressing COVID and partnering with UC Davis in Healthy Davis Together ushered our community through a safer passage during the worst of the pandemic.

Dan’s knowledge from his years with the California State Legisla tive Analyst’s Office has been instrumental in our City Council’s successes over the last four years. As an elected city official, Dan not only brings significant experience and knowledge, he is also a humble person and someone who works collaboratively with all Davis city partners. This is a huge asset to all the residents of Davis. I am hon ored to vote for Dan Carson on Nov. 8.

Kevin Wheeler Davis

Incomplete story on electricity

Llewellyn King (“Utilities get more demand for less power,” Oct. 23) paints a chaotic transforma tion of the electricity industry in the move towards decarbonization.

Yes, the transformation will be challenging, but there are wellconceived solutions created by experts such as Davis’ own Lorenzo Kristov. Those who portray these solutions as chaotic are the utilities and their allies who will have to give up some degree of control for the transformation to succeed. We cannot build enough resources fast enough simultaneously at a low enough cost to meet the rising demand. That PG&E’s rates are rising through the roof illustrates this conundrum.

Distributing that responsibility

or more people, almost one-sev enth the current population, in a town where very few homes occupy less than an acre? And how to do that and still let many of them be priced affordably in a city where homesites’ land alone sometimes brings upwards of $8 million, which would raise the price per unit well above the $1 million level already seen in some other areas with high land values?

Advocates of denser housing often call local residents who oppose dense new housing devel opments in single-family areas NIMBYs, for “not in by back yard.”

They could find some classics in Atherton, where billionaire inves tor Marc Andreesen opposes new multi-family housing near his home, but in a 2020 essay griped about the lack of new housing across the country. “We should have gleaming skyscrapers and spectacular living environments in all our best cities,” he wrote then, according to The Atlantic magazine. But duplexes and three-floor apartment buildings near his own home? Uh-uh.

As conflict neared with the den

sity enforcement unit created this year by state Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, several Silicon Valley giants with major executives liv ing in Atherton began trying to buy off trouble.

Meta, the new name for Face book’s parent, pledged $1 billion to help stave off housing woes on the San Francisco Peninsula. Google put in another $1 billion. Apple pledged $2.5 billion and Netflix supported a housing nonprofit.

A letter-writing campaign with a spate of famous signees spurred city officials to cut out the town house part of its housing plan, which would need state approval to become official. Instead, the city government proposed a pro gram encouraging residents to build and rent out additional dwelling units (ADUs) on their properties. These “grandma units” could be fenced off from the main part of large properties, providing privacy for all.

But it’s doubtful that hundreds of mansion owners could simulta neously create rental ADUs. For one thing, they would have a hard

time finding enough contractors, plumbers, electricians and other tradesmen to build so many units in short order.

This sets up a seemingly inevi table battle between America’s richest city, with an average household income topping $400,000, and state officials determined to create dense new housing everywhere for even the poorest people.

Which could lead to a far wider crisis if the denizens of this posh small city should decide to take their marbles with names like Google and Facebook and Netflix and Apple and Nvidia and move them to other places.

Talk about unforeseen conse quences of a well-intentioned pol icy!

— Elias is author of the current book “The Burzynski Break through: The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Gov ernment’s Campaign to Squelch It,” now available in an updated third edition. His email address is tdelias@aol.com

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.

to customers and adequately com pensating them (which is easily solvable if we overcome utility shareholder objections) is the pathway to success.

Richard McCann Davis

Fortune the true environmentalist

All three of the District 1 candi dates for City Council claim to care about the climate crisis and sus tainability, but only one of them puts these issues at the forefront: Kelsey Fortune.

Fortune knows that it is her gen eration who will be dealing with the negative impacts of climate change — impacts that we are already feeling — for their entire lives. That gives her motivation. With her doctoral study in energy and transportation economics, she also has the knowledge to do something about it.

What does it mean to put cli mate first? It means to focus on housing density in infill locations rather than peripheral develop ment. Fortune recognizes that density and infill bring with them a host of other climate-friendly benefits, allowing for a car-free lifestyle where Davisites can easily walk or bike or take public trans portation.

But it’s not just housing where we should avoid peripheral devel opment; Fortune thinks that eco nomic development should likewise be in central locations in town, saving on infrastructure costs and reducing car commutes. For these reasons, she opposed the DiSC project — the only candidate in District 1 to have done so.

Fortune has identified other

Speak out President

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;

ways for the city to reduce its transportation-based carbon out put, which is by far Davis’s main contributor to climate change. For example, she supports a more inclusive bike share program than what Davis had before as well as more secure bike parking.

As for the issue that has gotten so much press lately, full electrifi cation of existing houses, Fortune favors replacement of equipment only at end of its life — thus not unnecessarily expending more energy to build new equipment –with incentives for a voluntary rather than a punitive approach.

This approach, Fortune recog nizes, is not only environmentally sound but also more equitable.

In short, Fortune has the envi ronmental values, the background, the passion, and the ideas to make Davis the climate change leader it can and should be. Please see her website at http://www.fortunefor davis.com/ to support her cam paign and please give her your vote! I will be giving her mine.

Donna Lemongello Davis

Please vote for Carson

Throughout Dan Carson’s fouryear tenure on the Davis City Council he has tirelessly served the city of Davis and has accomplished a tremendous amount for our community.

As a member of the city Finance and Budget Commission, I can vouch for Dan’s extraordinary command of the city budget, which I believe exceeds that of any other person on the FBC or the City Council. I believe it is very impor tant that we have elected officials that understand economics, who understand that we have limited

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

House of Representatives

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/

resources, and who take a conser vative approach to city finances.

Among other accomplishments, Dan spearheaded an effort to address Davis’s historic under funding of road and bike-path maintenance and repair. Dan and his subcommittee colleagues cre ated a sustainable plan that allo cates $84 million for road and bike path repairs over 10 years. Almost immediately after the plan was adopted by City Council, longoverdue repairs to our roads and bike paths have been undertaken throughout town including, among many others, the repaving of Arlington and Covell and the complete replacement of the bike path on Russell Boulevard west of Highway 113.

In 2018, Dan was instrumental in bringing about a binding mem orandum of understanding between the city, UC Davis and the county that obligates UC Davis to help mitigate the impacts of cam pus population growth. Since the signing of the MOU, housing proj ects with over 6,000 new beds have been built or are under con struction on the UC Davis campus.

When COVID struck in early 2020, Dan joined with his council colleagues and city staff in forging a collaborative plan with UC Davis and local business leaders to implement Healthy Davis Together. This joint effort saved an estimated 35 lives. This may not have been possible had the city and the campus not earlier resolved their longstanding tensions over campus growth.

Dan Carson is a committed and capable leader of the Davis com munity. I hope you will join me in voting for Dan on Nov. 8.

Douglas Buzbee Davis

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enterprise

Living

New shoots sprouting in local soil

WhenCOVID came on strong a few years ago, I decided to put this Field to Fork column on the shelf. I’d been writing it since 2009.

After all, farmers didn’t want to see me on their farms. In-person interviews weren’t appealing to anyone, even with masks on, and even outdoors. You remember how it was that first year. Most of us skulked around in stores, masked, if we went at all.

Well, times have changed for the better. And it’s time to resur rect Field to Fork. Good to see you, good to be seen ... and spread the word. It’s always been the regional people growing our food, what they’re growing, where you can find it. Oh, and some prepa ration tips at times.

As I’ve asked around about new farmers, I think I found the right one for this occasion.

It’s Picnic Table Farms. In some ways, this couple decided at just the right time, curiously, to see if farming could be part of their lives.

Paul and Caitlin Boulware grew up in Davis. They have two young children, Andi and Lyric, and live on the west side of our fair city. Their roots are deep. Both come from families that have really made a difference serving our community, particu larly in child welfare.

As we spoke by their rows of crops in Woodland, I soon picked up on their sense of service mis sion as well to be integral to their lives.

Caitlin’s journey needs fewer words to describe. She studied human development at UC Davis and has taught Pilates for many years, including a long stint at Balance Point Pilates Studio. She’s soon going to open a home Pilates studio, she said.

“I love working with people

living with great stress or disabil ities. I do a lot of release work.” She added, “I believe in the power of movement for a better self.”

Paul has taken a more convo luted journey. He explained that he had “some college in a roundabout way,” then moved on to EMT train ing, although he never fully entered that field. He also worked in land scaping, mostly installing lawns and gardens, where he learned irri gation and more.

Several years ago he shifted his energy into a fledgling nonprofit. Its purpose was a large vegetable garden where adults who had young ones in the child welfare system could work. But then COVID arrived.

“I’d fallen in love with garden ing and farming,” he explained. Now had to pause the new nonprofit, as people couldn’t gather, but he took his engagement with the land and growing food in a bigger direction. He found oppor tunity with the Center for LandBased Learning in Woodland.

For many years CLBL has trained new farmers, functioning as an incubator. But CLBL had just relocated to its new 30-acre home in Woodland. Their train ing academy couldn’t be in opera tion — again, people would have to gather. It proved to be a seren dipitous moment for Paul.

“I’d been reading everything I could find about farming, soil, I’d even taken an online class on farming.”

CLBL granted him access to an acre of fallow land for a while. It’s where his crops are growing handsomely and organically right now. I walked among the rows of lettuce, squash, kale and more. Quality was high.

“The sheer hours are the only downside to farming,” noted Cait lin, who clearly has her hands full.

The actual farming, working with the soil, is basically Paul’s endeavor, his labor of service. Paul explains, “It’s a small offer ing we can give back to people we love.”

At their Saturday stand in the Davis Farmers Market, Paul says he sometimes gets a double-take from people who see a face they remember, or think they remem ber, from long ago, perhaps stu dent days. No one had anticipated that Paul Boulware would veer into farming.

Caitlin and Paul also run an online farm stand. Customers can place an online order on Saturday or Sunday at PicnicTable.farm, selecting from what’s available that week. Such personal orders

are picked up on Tuesday at the Boulware home.

But in January, Picnic Table Farms will be at the end of their CLBL lease. They’ll have to relo cate. But where? That’s the ques tion.

“Farm business incubators are designed as a low-risk space to decide if farming is a career you want to pursue,” Cait and Paul explained to their online follow ers over the weekend, expressing their gratitude to CLBL. “It’s clear to us that we can make a living farming,” Paul had told me per sonally.

He’s hoping to find a workable

opportunity on three to ten acres, growing vegetables, fruit and flowers. That’s the vision, and it’s clearly a big step forward. Owner ship, leases, partnering, and more work than Paul could singly put in. Picnic Table Farms will be scaling up significantly, if and when it all comes together.

They’ve journeyed this far. They’ll continue to harvest and sell through this year. But in 2023, another chapter awaits.

— Dan Kennedy has a long his tory with local food and the people who provide it to their communi ties. He serves on the Davis Farm ers Market Board of Directors.

Awards and different arithmetical paradigms

We have recently returned from a jour ney of almost two weeks that took us to Milwau kee, Wis., South Bend, Ind., Vienna, Va., and home again. Each stopping place had a spe cific purpose and each was heartily enjoyable.

It’s been many years since I was last in Milwaukee. Back in the day it was The Beer City, where more beer was produced than in any other place in the world. These days, although there is significant brewing activity, mainly through Miller Brewing Company plus many small breweries, total production now falls far short of its halcyon days. A drive through the city reveals the shells of iconic brew eries now closed.

The city is in renewal as in the bustling Third Ward section of restaurants, markets, ateliers, studios and galleries. We also spent a day at the waterfront park and the Milwaukee Art Museum. I enjoyed that gallery as much as any I have been in; there were some interesting col lections, and perhaps I was just in the mood for it, or maybe the spectacular lobby of the gallery

was just too impressive to ignore.

There remains a strong tradi tion of brewing in Milwaukee, including the Milwaukee Brew ers baseball team of course. There is also a Museum of Beer and Brewing, that I thought was a real thing because, in my recent correspondence, the Director of the Museum was the active player. Turns out the Museum is a corporate entity with lots of memorabilia but yet lacking a place to display it.

Nevertheless, I was delighted by that correspondence because the board and members of the Museum wished me to have the Karl Strauss Lifetime Achieve ment Award. I was delighted and honored and appreciated this recognition partly because it is from my colleagues and peers in the industry. Also, I knew and

liked and admired Karl Strauss who was a great gentleman and supporter of my brewing pro gram at UC Davis. He was Mr. Everything at the Pabst Brewing Co. in its heyday and a prince of our industry. And, finally, I was delighted because a supremely practical get-it-made-and-outthe-door industry chose to rec ognize a teacher.

We had a grand dinner together in a roomful of brewers including eight former students who are active in the brewing industry in the area. Let’s just say it was a wonderful evening that I enjoyed thoroughly.

We drove to South Bend via downtown Chicago. Tootling around Davis hardly prepared us for that city experience! We met our grandson Sam, who is in his second year of law school at Notre Dame, for dinner that eve ning and for breakfast and din ner for the next two days. We wallowed in the lush lawns of the campus, the handsome buildings that matched each other, and marveled at the Law Library, the Grotto, the Basilica and Touch down Jesus. We enjoyed the small but gracious Morris hotel on campus, though, as Church of

England Protestants, we found the crucifix in our room a bit intimidating.

And then it was on to IAD and Vienna, Va. Almost the whole family gathered there to cele brate David’s birthday and we had a grand time together. Because David’s sons all play football for their high school we were regaled with three games in which each young man had a great game at their different positions.

I relate this odyssey to point out that we did not hear or read the news for two weeks. On TV we saw only football and baseball. No news; it was great blessing.

Turns out, we had not missed much. Entertainment on Chan nel 6 from the BBC is still unin telligible with Scottish accents without subtitles, and the same themes that dominated the news before we left still do; familiar stuff.

What was new, in the news, was the meltdown in British pol itics and the damage to the econ omy brought on by Ms. Truss’ precipitous tax cuts. That idea, that tax cuts are an effective strategy for growing the econ omy, although much loved by the

Blue Devil passes bar exam in Virginia

Enterprise staff

Davis High School grad uate Natalie Jacobs recently passed the Vir ginia bar exam. She gradu ated from George Mason University, Antonin Scalia Law School with J.D. in May 2022.

She is a 2019 Sacra mento State University graduate with bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a 2016 DHS graduate.

Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Shannon Coe, 45, of Davis, to the State Independent Living Coun cil.

Coe has been a commu nity parent at WarmLine Family Resource Center since 2018. She was a pro gram coordinator at the California Foundation for

name Droppers

Independent Living Cen ters from 2011 to 2015. Coe was a consultant at Humanity & Inclusion in 2009. She was an urban youth development worker at the U.S. Peace Corps from 2004 to 2006. Coe was a mentor at the Youth Empowerment Project in 2003. She was acting pro gram coordinator at the Fulfillment Fund Teen Access Program from 2002 to 2003.

Coe earned a master’s degree in international management from the Monterey Institute of International Studies. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Coe is a Democrat.

The University of Cali fornia Board of Regents on Oct. 18 approved Kath erine S. Newman, a nationally renowned aca demic leader and scholar, as UC provost and execu tive vice president for aca demic affairs.

Newman is currently the system chancellor for aca demic programs and the senior vice president for economic development in the Office of the President of the University of Massa chusetts. She also holds the Torrey Little Chair of Sociology at UMass Amherst where she previ ously served as provost.

Effective Jan. 9, New man will serve as the Uni versity of California’s chief academic officer and help lead the university’s efforts

to advance academic oppor tunity and inclusive excel lence across the 10-campus system. She replaces vet eran professor and admin istrator Michael T. Brown, who is stepping down at the end of 2022 after serving five years in the role.

UC President Michael V. Drake, M.D., selected Newman following an extensive nationwide search that included con sultation with a UC-wide advisory committee with representation from fac ulty, students, staff and senior leaders.

“I’m deeply grateful to Provost Brown for the many significant contribu tions he has made to the University over these past five years. With his leader ship on the 2030 goals, UC has charted a bold

Right, is thus finally exposed as a totally ineffective (see Paul Krugman’s long crusade). Ms. Truss does have a few eminent successes: she is the shortest serving premier ever and was the last to meet the Queen and first to meet the King. Her name can live forever on those accomplish ments.

The tragedy of tax cuts is the assumption that cutting by a cer tain percentage, is the only way to do it. Naturally this favors those wealthy folk who pay more tax. However, these are the peo ple least likely to need a tax cut. If the objective is to pump the economy it would be best to give the cuts to those most likely to do the pumping — that is the least wealthy folk. So, an acrossthe-board tax cut that is a fixed amount of say, $1,000, might do more economic good than a per centage one.

The same argument suggests that a percentage calculation for tipping (TIPS = To Insure Prompt Service), based e.g. on the total cost of a meal, might not be the best arithmetical par adigm.

Reach Michael Lewis at waleslewis792@gmail.com.

path for the years ahead,” Drake said. “Dr. Newman is an excellent choice for helping us realize the vision of those goals. She is a talented academic leader who cares deeply about public higher education and the vital role it plays in helping communities thrive. I look forward to working with her to advance our shared aca demic priorities, including the important work underway to close equity gaps across the University of California and to diver sify our professoriate.”

A California native, Newman has deep UC roots. She earned a bache lor’s degree in Philosophy and Sociology from UC San Diego, then went on to earn a Ph.D. in anthro pology at UC Berkeley. She began her teaching career at Berkeley Law in the newly formed Ph.D.

program in jurisprudence and social policy.

She has since held numerous academic lead ership positions, while continuing to teach and publish scholarly works in her field.

“It is the honor of a life time to return to the Uni versity of California, my alma mater twice over,” Newman said. “I lost count at nine in totaling up the number of people, across three generations of my family, who have com pleted their degrees within the UC system. Its excel lence in all spheres — from its remarkable faculty to its extraordinary students — is recognized the world over.”

— Do you know of some one who has won an award or accomplished something noteworthy? Email it to newsroom@davisenter prise.net.

Dan KenneDy/Courtesy photo

The Boulware family at their farmland in Woodland.

“Farm business incubators are designed as a low-risk space to decide if farming is a career you want to pursue .... It’s clear to us that we can make a living farming.”

Paul Boulware farmer

Pearls Before Swine

By Stephan Pastis

Dilbert

Classic Peanuts

By Charles M. Schulz

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PUZZLE BY REBECCA GOLDSTEIN AND RACHEL FABI

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Men’s soccer blanked by UC San Diego

UCD roUnDUp Enterprise staff

The UC Davis men’s soccer team had 11 shots on goal in Saturday’s Big West Conference home game against UC San Diego’s squad.

The Tritons only had two chances. But one of them counted and stood to post a 1-0 win over the Aggies.

In a match that saw the Aggies come out as the aggressors, it was the Tritons who were able to capital ize on their minimal chances when Carter Jacobus snuck in a goal after the Tritons only had two shots the entire game.

The Aggies also attempted 7 corners to the Tritons 4 but were unable to convert.

Andy Velasquez and Zack Lillington led all Aggies with three shots, as Lillington nearly beat the Triton goalkeeper twice as two of his three shots were on target.

Aggie women’s soccer

IRVINE — Junior midfielder Lindsey Porter of the UC Davis women’s soccer team, was named the Big West Conference Offensive Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday.

The Aggies continued their winning ways last week, earning two victories to move their winning streak to four games and 5-2 in the Big West Conference.

Porter was a big reason as she scored in both matches, including the game-winner against Cal State Fullerton on Oct. 20. She fired off five shots, putting four on frame in the two matches to help UCD outscore its opposition, 5-2.

n To read the rest of roundup, visit www.davis enterprise.com and click on the Sports tab.

KEEP: ‘Stick with our running game’

From

Davis continued to battle in the fourth quarter, continuing an offensive drive that started on their own 20 toward the end of the quarter.

A mixture of passes from Blue Devil quarterback Sawyer Schoen — to wide receiver Daimyun Luevano for 10 yards, and fullback AJ Hasson for nine — played a role in the 10-play, 80-yard drive.

Broussard ended the drive with a 7-yard touchdown run with 10:46 left in the fourth quarter. Thomas Albeck’s kick helped the Blue Devils shave the Eagles’ lead to 40-14.

“We wanted to stick with our running game,” Garratt said. “I think we were get ting great push, and we’ve got great strength up front.”

The Blue Devils’ final touchdown came at the 7:18 mark in the quarter, all thanks to the Eagles’ offense not protecting the football.

Pleasant Grove started an offensive drive on its own 39. But on the second play, an Eagles running back fumbled the ball. Blue Devil defensive end Dominic Jackson grabbed the pigskin and returned it 32 yards for a touchdown.

n To read the rest of the story, visit www. davisenterprise.com and click on the Sports tab.

Davis High’s Ryan Mitchell (No. 473) set a new course over the weekend.

Strong showing for DHS cross country

Enterprise staff

Two members of the Davis High boys and girls cross-country teams had strong showings at the Flat Sac Invitational at Gibson Ranch over the weekend.

For the boys, Davis’ Ryan Mitchell won the largeschool race, which was 2.3 miles, at 15 minutes, 21.81 seconds.

According to DHS head coach Bill Gregg, Mitchell also set the new course record. The previous record was in 2017 when Nevada Union’s Garrett Gough had a time of 15:35.37.

For the Blue Devil girls, Norah Dulaney, a senior, took seventh place in the large-school race at 18:45.67.

AGGIES: Hutton scores touchdown

From

just nine for UCD and had the ball for 19:10 to 10:50 for the Aggies.

Any words of wisdom that Northern Colorado head coach Ed McCaffrey — a three-time Super Bowl winner — was able to deliver at halftime were of no avail in turning this rout into a competitive contest in the second half.

Any hopes the home crowd may have had

about a miraculous come back were dashed when the Aggies marched 75 yards with their opening second half possession to take a 34-3 lead with 10:45 remaining in the third quarter. The payoff came on a 1-yard run by Matteo Perez, who had 24 yards on five carries during the drive.

Late in the third quar ter the Aggies moved 80 yards in 12 plays to take a 41-3 lead on a 2-yard

pass from Hastings to C.J. Hutton.

After the Bears scored their first touchdown early in the fourth quarter, UCD struck quickly with yet another 1-play drive, this time on a 75-yard dash from Lan Larison, who turned the corner on the right side of the line and outran the Bear secondary for a 48-10 lead.

n To read the full story, visit www.davisenter prise.com.

AryA LAvAni/EntErprisE photo

UC Davis defender Luke Goodman (14) gets to the ball before a UC San Diego player does in Saturday’s Big West game at Aggie Soccer Field.

CAroLEE Britton GrEGG/CoUrtEsy photo

Football

Blue Devils unable to keep up with Eagles

By Mike Bush Enterprise sports editor

SACRAMENTO — A fake punt led to a much-needed first down.

The Davis High football team pulled out the age-old trick play against Pleasant Grove’s squad in Friday’s Delta League game, and that moved the Blue Devils into the Eagles’ territory.

But a DHS turnover negated that good fortune, and although Davis would score twice later in the game, Pleasant Grove came out with a 40-20 win.

The loss officially takes DHS (0-5 in the DL, 2-7 overall) out of the SacJoaquin Section playoff picture. A win over Pleasant Grove (1-4 in the DL, 1-8) would’ve given the Blue Devils three wins this season. High school football teams in the section can earn a playoff berth with four or more wins.

Pleasant Grove led 26-7 halfway through the third quarter. Then Davis, which started its second drive in the quarter from its own 20-yard line, reached the 27 in three plays.

The Blue Devils lined up to punt on fourth down and three, but running back Cole Broussard took the snap instead and rocketed 26 yards to the Eagle 44 for a first down.

“Cole really stood out,” said Davis head coach Nick Garratt of Broussard. “He’s established himself as the heartbeat of

this team. A true senior leader.”

But what appeared to be a good sign for the Blue Devils was reversed on the following play. DHS quarterback Braulio Acevedo attempted a pass that landed into the hands of Pleasant Grove corner back Jalen Kennedy, who ran back the interception 55 yards to the end zone. But the Eagles were called for illegal blocking, negating the touchdown and bringing the ball back to the 50.

Unable to capitalize on their good for tune, the Eagles were forced to punt.

Pleasant Grove had another opportunity to score again on another interception.

The Blue Devils, on the following possession, started from their own 14. Acevedo threw the ball on the second play, but Eagles linebacker Lane Mckenna zeroed in on Acevedo, picked off the pass and sprinted 24 yards for the score at 4:30 remaining on the clock.

Fullback Hunter Hillier ran in for the 2-point conversion for to leave the score board at 34-7.

Pleasant Grove scored its final touch down toward the end of the quarter. Running back Bobby Mitchell scampered down the Blue Devils’ sideline 71 yards to make it 40-7 with 1:44 left on the clock.

The extra-point kick was no good.

big sky

Aggies quiet visiting Bears

By Bob Dunning Enterprise staff writer

GREELEY, Colo. — After starting the season 1-4 against the toughest schedule in school history, UC Davis knew it needed to put together a sixgame win streak to remain eligible for an FCS postseason playoff berth.

Step one came Oct. 15 with a 56-27 win over Northern Arizona and step two took place here at Nottingham Field as the suddenly red-hot Aggies routed Northern Colorado, 58-10, in a Big Sky Conference game before a sundrenched crowd of 4,499 Saturday afternoon.

The win moves the Aggies to 3-4 overall and evens their Big Sky Conference mark at 2-2. More importantly, a playoff bid remains very much alive with four games remaining in the regular season, the final two against nationally ranked Idaho and Sacramento State.

“Our guys are getting some momentum and a win like this helps build confidence,” said Aggie head coach Dan Hawkins.

“We’re stringing some games

together of not having any turn overs, and that makes a big difference. It’s nice to hold someone to 10 points on defense and still, like, you can do better.”

The UNC Bears fell to 2-6 overall and 1-4 in conference and were never really in this one.

After taking a 3-0 lead on a 37-yard field goal by Devin Bale at the end of an impressive opening drive, the game but struggling Bears were simply no match for the Aggies’ quick-strike offense and aggressive, ball-hawking defense.

UCD moved the ball with ease throughout the game, tying the score on its opening drive on a 22-yard field goal from Isaiah Gomez, then taking the lead for good when Gomez was perfect from 46 yards with 2:34 remaining in the first quarter.

Things didn’t get any better for the battling Bears as the Aggies exploded for 21 points in the second quarter while holding their hosts scoreless to take a 27-3 lead into the break.

The first Aggie touchdown came via the efforts of the aforementioned

aggressive defense when defensive back George Moreno stepped in front of a pass from UNC quarter back Dylan McCaffrey and returned it 40 yards untouched for the score and a 13-3 lead.

On the first play after a missed Northern Colorado field goal, Aggie quarterback Miles Hastings hit Josh Gale over the middle and Gale did the rest to complete an 80-yard scoring play to push the count to 20-3. The one-play drive took all of 12 seconds.

Shortly before the half, Rex Connors made a diving interception of a deflected pass — his team-lead ing fourth theft of the season — to set the Aggies up at the UNC 30.

Three plays later Hastings found Justin Kraft over the middle with a 19-yard scoring strike with just 38 seconds left in the half.

Hastings was on target through out the first half, hitting 12 of 15 throws for 178 yards and two scores.

Oddly, the Aggies were outgained by the Bears in the first half, 218204. UNC also had 14 first downs to

Calendar turns to second half of conference play

By Bob Dunning Enterprise staff writer

Early in the season as he surveyed the Big Sky Conference football schedule, UC Davis head coach Dan Hawkins offered his opinion that “No one will go undefeated in this league.”

He may well be right.

As the calendar turns to the second half of the sea son, three Big Sky teams remain unbeaten after No. 5 Weber State’s dream of a perfect season ended last Saturday in a 43-38 loss to Big Sky leader Montana State, now No. 3 in the latest FCS Stats poll No. 2 Sacramento State remained unbeaten after rallying from a 24-10 fourth quarter deficit to take a 31-24 overtime win over No. 11 Montana, while No. 14 Idaho kept its conference slate clean with a 56-21 rout of Portland State.

Montana State leads the Big Sky at 5-0, followed by Sacramento State and Idaho, both at 4-0.

Weber State is fourth at 3-1, with the Aggies tied with Montana at 2-2 after UCD crushed Northern Colorado, 58-10.

After starting 0-2 in league play with losses to Weber State and Montana State, UCD responded with wins of 56-27 over Northern Arizona (2-3) in addition to crushing Northern Colorado (1-4).

In the next two weeks, UCD’s schedule remains favorable with home dates against last-place Cal Poly (0-4) and next-to-last Idaho State (1-4), before concluding the season on the road at Idaho and Sacramento State.

One more school will fall off the unbeaten list this Saturday when surprising Idaho visits Sacramento State for a Big Sky showdown.

Preseason favorite Montana has now lost two in a row and faces another rugged test Saturday at Weber State.

In other Big Sky news, Aggie redshirt freshman Rex Connors was named Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season after inter cepting a pass and recording 10 tackles against Northern Colorado.

Connors now leads the team with four intercep tions and 55 tackles as has been named to the watch list for the Jerry Rice Award that is presented annu ally to the top freshman in FCS football.

The Big Sky recap follows:

Sacramento State 31, Montana 24 (OT)

SACRAMENTO — Sacramento State and Mon tana put on a show for their ESPN2 national audi ence Saturday night as the Hornets rallied to score the game’s final 17 points and earn a 31-24 victory in overtime. The Hornets never led in regulation and took their first lead of the game in overtime follow ing Asher O’Hara’s second rushing score of the night.

Sacramento State is now 7-0 for the first time in school history and has won its last three games over Montana, all coming under head coach Troy Taylor, who is now 19-1 in Big Sky play over the last three seasons.

Montana State 43, Weber State 38

BOZEMAN, Mont.— Tommy Mellott rushed for 273 yards and three touchdowns while throwing for another to lead Montana State to a 43-38 win over Weber State on Saturday.

n To read the rest of Bob Dunning’s story, visit www.davisenterprise.com, click on the Sports tab and look for the story.

— Contact Bob Dunning at bdunning@davisen terprise.net.

Mike trask/enterprise photo

Davis defensive back Ethan Cavanaugh (on ground) recovers a fumble while cornerback Ray Keeper (8) comes into the play in Friday’s Delta League road game. For more photos, visit www.davisenterprise.com, click on the Sports tab and look for the story.

KEEP,

rachel kreager/enterprise File photo

UC Davis running back Ulonzo Gilliam (34), seen here running for yards against Northern Arizona at UC Davis Health Stadium on Oct. 15, and his Aggie teammates posted another big conference win.