The Davis Enterprise Sunday, November 13, 2022

County mulls ban on smoking in apartments

By Anne Ternus-Bellamy Enterprise staff writer

Yolo County is considering a ban on indoor smoking in multi-unit residences in unincorporated areas.

Requiring smoke-free apartment buildings, condominiums and even duplexes and triplexes would be a first locally. Currently no Yolo County cities, including Davis, ban smoking indoors in multi-unit complexes.

The most recent report card from the American Lung Association’s “State of Tobacco Control” gives grades of F to West Sacramento, Winters, Woodland and the unincor porated county in the smoke-free housing category because of that. Davis received a grade of D because it has required common areas to be smoke free.

According to the Centers for Dis ease Control and Prevention, indi viduals living in multi-unit housing “are particularly susceptible to invol untary secondhand smoke exposure in the home.

“Secondhand smoke can infiltrate throughout a building along various pathways,” the CDC reports. “Unlike a single-family home, even if a family in a multi-unit housing facility

Back on the air again

By Monica Stark Enterprise staff writer

Filling the 90.3FM airwaves with all things KDVS, there’s no more staticky fuzz when you turn on the radio to the UC Davis student-run radio station. Thanks to the replacement of some bulbs and wiring, the transmitter, which stopped

working on Sept. 17, has been fixed.

“Thankfully, the repairs were fairly minor,” KDVS General Manager Cate Hatcher said.

She said they’ve had the transmitter for about a decade, so it’s not surprising that the electrical components are beginning to wear out.

However, raising some concern that other transmitter pieces might have the same issue in the future.

Everyone who usually lis tened to KDVS on their radio had to switch over to the inter net stream while the transmit ter was down, so many listeners probably began using the streaming option for the first time this past month, Hatcher explained. “We continued our 24/7 broadcast the entire time and still had call-ins from

Citrus Circuits keeps programming wins

By Aaron Geerts Enterprise staff writer

Davis’ premier robotics team, the Citrus Circuits went undefeated at the 2022 Chezy Champs robot ics competition this past September in San Jose. This makes for a peacocksized feather in the team’s cap as they reined victori ous over 40 other teams from Mexico, Israel and across the U.S. Team 1678 Citrus Cir cuits was founded back in 2004 by Da Vinci Charter Academy math teacher, Steve Harvey (not the comedian). Nowadays, it includes more than 100 students from Davis Senior High School, Da Vinci Charter Academy, as well as

Holmes, Harper and Emer son Junior High Schools.

Alongside the competi tions, Citrus Circuits immerses members in a comprehensive education surrounding the engineer ing and robotics fields. That’s why with so many members, they’re broken up into three hardware teams, two software teams as well as one business and media team.

“Our slogan is ‘Educate, Empower and Excel.’ We educate our members through peer-to-peer, hands-on training. So, the veteran members on our team train the newer mem bers on industry standards, machines and how to code,” said Citrus Circuit business

and media lead, Melody Ho. “On my side from the business and media per spective, we teach them how to do sponsor out reach, write grants and stuff like that. There’s a lot of mentor guidance, of course, and we also have a lot of outreach programs. We have one called Davis Youth Robotics and it’s a way to introduce robotics to the kids in the Davis community. We even have a booth at the Davis Farmers Market.”

The Chezy Champs com petition, however, was a way for the members of the Citrus Circuits to prove their mettle while their

Back in 2015, KDVS DJs broadcast the “Cat Nip Slip ’n Slide” radio show from their studio in Lower Freeborn.

listeners, though not at the same rate we’re receiving now that the broadcast is back up,” she added.

Specifically, the radiofrequency power module, which converts low-power frequencies to higher power, stopped work ing. RF power amplifiers, or modules, increase the gain, power, and bandwidth of a sig nal and regulate signal com pression and several other

Convicted Yolo County arsonist slated for parole

By Lauren Keene Enterprise staff writer

A former volunteer

fire

fighter sent to prison for setting a dozen Yolo County wildfires that scorched thousands of acres — and killed 200 sheep in one blaze — has been approved for parole by the California Depart ment of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Robert Eric Eason Jr., 53, received the approval late last month under Proposition 57, the 2016 California ballot initiative that extends parole con sideration to nonviolent felons.

Although the parole

commissioners denied his release the five prior years, the deputy com missioner who reviewed Eason’s case this year determined he “does not pose a current, unreason able risk of violence or … significant criminal activ ity,” according to a report obtained by The Davis Enterprise.

The Yolo County Dis trict Attorney’s Office disputes that conclusion, questioning whether Eason has undergone the necessary self-help pro gramming to safely reenter society.

Fred Gladdis/ enterprise File photo

Student radio station recovers from transmitter malfunction

Performers’ Circle

back

The Free Range Sing ers are the featured act at the Village Homes Performers’ Circle on Tuesday, Nov. 22, in Davis. A local, nonauditioned community singing group led by Laura Sandage, the group has been active for a decade. They sing songs that foster con nection to natural and human communities, invite a full emotional range and summon interfaith spiritual sup port.

Their November pro gram is called “Song Is Old Magic.”

The Village Homes Performers’ Circle is a free event that wel comes performers of all levels as well as audi ence members who simply come to enjoy the performances. No tickets or reservations are required.

The event begins with an open mic and concludes with the fea tured performance.

Signup begins at 6:45, with signup perfor mances (less than 5 minutes per act) from 7:15 to 8:15 p.m. The featured act performs from 8:30 to 9 p.m. The emcee this month will be George Haver, and the event will be held inside the Village Homes Community Center, 2661 Portage Bay East, Davis.

Wearing of masks is encouraged. For infor mation, visit https:// www.facebook.com/ villagehomesperform ers/.

So who gets to live here, anyway?

My friend John on Cornell — not John from Cornell — writes to get a gripe or two out in the open, which is fine in a town where half the folks have a PhD and the other half think they should.

“I don’t have a Ph.D.,” John admits humbly.

But, he adds, “Perhaps that helps me ask basic questions when I read high-throwing city docu ments like the Housing Element Update Report.”

Anyone who’s willing to plow through that report and analyze it in plain, simple English has my gratitude and admiration.

“The question bothering my non-Ph.D. brain is what do these words mean from Page 1 of the report.”

Which words would those be, John?

From the report: “This, com bined with the generally high cost of the existing single-family forsale housing stock, led to concerns that as the city’s existing home owners age in place, the lack of housing suitable and affordable to families has been changing the community demographics, forcing increasing numbers of local work ers to commute in from surround ing areas, and contributing to

related community issues, such as declining school enrollment.”

In other words, let’s blame this town’s “aging in place” seniors for the high cost of housing and every other problem we face in Davis. How rude of those seniors to con tinue living in their homes after they’ve retired the mortgage and can once again afford to go out to dinner every now and then. Can’t we make them all move to Klam ath Falls so we can open up some housing stock in this town?

Notes John: “‘Aging in place’ must be code. I don’t know any other option for 100 percent of humans, since we all age, and we age every moment where we live, work and recreate.”

Indeed.

“Unless some Davis homeown ers live in an alternate time dimension, every homeowner is aging in place from the moment

they sign papers at the title com pany.”

Given that I have been in the same East Davis house for 36 years — the only home I’ve ever owned — I guess I’m one of those guilty “aging in place” folks, even if I don’t feel a day older than the day I moved in.

And guess what? According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Devel opment, “One reason most older adults choose to age in place for as long as they are able is simply because doing so is the most eco nomical option.”

Surprise, surprise.

Notes AARP, which can help seniors get 10 percent off the Early Bird Special at Denny’s, “Many older adults have a strong desire to maintain connections to their communities and their friends, with whom they may lose contact if they were to relocate.”

Then there’s this from the Cali fornia Legislative Analyst’s Office: “Over the next several decades, the senior population (adults aged 65 and over) in California is pro jected to increase more than two fold from roughly 5 million in 2015 to nearly 12 million in 2060.”

And they can’t all live in Klam ath Falls.

As for declining school enroll ment, the Legislative Analyst’s Office noted in May of 2022: “After a few decades of significant growth, the state has faced declin ing enrollment and attendance over the last decade. These declines are mainly due to declines in the school-age population caused by historically low birth rates.”

CalMatters jumped into the fray as well, stating in January of this year: “Public school enrollment in California was in steady decline before the pandemic. But since 2020, the number of K-12 stu dents dropped precipitously.”

As my friend John so perfectly states: “It is very common for seniors to want to live near long time friends, in a home without a mortgage, in a community they know, especially if they’re on a fixed income.”

Amen to that.

My mother lived in the same family home from 1951 until her death in 2008 at the age of 92. That home and her roses and her memories and her favorite pome granate tree were in her heart.

— Reach Bob Dunning at bdunning@davisenterprise.net.

Downtown store hosts pets-and-plants event

Special to The Enterprise

The Yolo County Animal Shelter is partnering with The Growing Groves to bring their dogs out to meet the public. On Satur day, Nov. 19, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., several shelter dogs will be at the plant shop for meet-and-greet, along with an experienced team of volunteers to answer ques tions about all of the adopt able dogs at the shelter.

The Growing Groves Plant Shop will have experts available to advise on pet-safe plants and will offer discounts on all petsafe plants in their shop that day. The store is at 219 E Street, second floor, in downtown Davis. This will be the shelter’s first volun teer-run, off-site, dog adop tion day since the shelter closed its doors to the pub lic in 2019 due to the pan demic. For questions about the event, email ycas. volunteers@gmail.com.

Yolo County Animal Shelter has 90-plus dogs in its care, 46 of which are available for adoption. Recently, the shelter was forced to waitlist owners wishing to surrender their dogs due to overcapacity. In shelter medicine, the term “capacity” means the maxi mum number of animals for which the shelter can provide efficient, effective and humane care.

Reports attribute the recent, nationwide over crowding of animal shelters to unwanted “pandemic pets” adopted on a whim during lockdown. However, shelters and rescue organi zations say that this narra tive doesn’t capture the full picture. According to a May 2021 report by the ASPCA based on 5,020 respon dents, 85% of the people who adopted cats and 90% of those who adopted dogs during the pandemic still have that pet at home and do not plan to return them. In fact, shelters are return ing to pre-pandemic intake levels.

“This incredibly stressful period motivated many people to foster and adopt

animals, as well as further cherish the pets already in their lives, and our recent research shows no signifi cant risk of animals being rehomed by their owners now or in the near future as a result of the lifting of pandemic-related restric tions,” said Matt Bershad ker, ASPCA President and CEO. “Pets are still provid ing their families with joy and comfort, regardless of changes in circumstances, and loving owners continue to recognize and appreciate the essential role pets play in their lives.”

Locally, Yolo County Ani mal Services director Stephanie Amato explained that intake level actually decreased post-pandemic. From March 15 to Dec. 1, 2019, the shelter saw 1,760 animals come through, including wildlife and live stock. The following year, this number dropped to 1,164 for the same period. On the other hand, there were 924 adoptions in 2019 compared to a mea ger 557 in 2020.

So, why are shelters flooded with dogs today? While the return to office may be partially to blame, economic hardship, rising

inflation rates, lack of access to veterinary care and lack of affordable housing — in particular, affordable housing that allows large dogs — are the key drivers. As they recover from the pandemic, animal shelters now face new

challenges with respect to staffing, volunteer support, operational costs and fund ing through philanthropy.

People can help by adopting pets. Likewise, foster parents are needed. Foster care was the primary way that shelters got

through the pandemic, in terms of protecting their staff, volunteers and ani mals in care. In the last 30 days, volunteer support at the County shelter totaled 15,660 hours: on-site (7%), off-site (3%) and, most prominently, foster (90%) work.

By partnering with The Growing Groves, YCAS volunteers aim to build positive relationships with small, local businesses in new and symbiotic ways. YCAS volunteer Eunah Preston added, “We hope to continue offering off-site adoption days as a regular shelter activity if this first event is received well by the public.”

Lawrence Groves is one of two founders of the store that will host the Nov. 19 event. Groves said, “When we first opened the plant shop, we really wanted to make positive community impact a core value for us. So many companies come into communities only to extract, but never give back. We did not want to be that. That’s why we decided to provide a welcoming space that benefits local small businesses and causes we believe in.”

Courtesy photo

Missy, a 2-year-old German shepherd who likes walks and is always ready for an adventure, is one of the dogs waiting for a new home at the Yolo County Animal Shelter.

Ranchers face $4K fine for violating drought order

By Rachel Becker CalMatters

California’s water officials plan to impose a $4,000 fine on Siski you County ranchers for violating orders to cut back their water use during a weeklong standoff last summer.

State officials and the ranchers agree: A $4,000 fine isn’t much of a deterrent to prevent illegal water diversions during California’s droughts. The proposed fine would amount to about $50 per rancher.

A rural water association serv ing about 80 ranchers and farm ers — facing mounting costs from hauling water and purchasing hay to replace dried out pasture — turned on their pumps for eight days in August to divert water from the Shasta River. State and federal officials said the pumping, which violated an emergency state order, threatened the river’s water quality and its salmon and other rare species.

Rick Lemos, a fifth-generation rancher and board member of the Shasta River Water Association, said violating the drought order “was the cheapest way I could have got by … When you’re to a point where you have no other choice, you do what you have to do.” He said the alternatives “would have cost us, collectively, a lot more.”

The penalty — $500 per day for eight days of pumping — is the maximum amount the State Water Resources Control Board’s enforcers can seek from the group of Siskiyou County ranchers

under the state’s water code. The proposed fine requires a 20-day waiting period or a hearing before it is final.

The small amount and the long delay underscore the limited pow ers that the state’s water cops have to speedily intervene in conflicts over diversions they have declared illegal.

“They obviously don’t have much enforcement power, because they showed up and told us, ‘Shut your pumps off right now.’ And we said no,” said Lemos.

“You would think they’d get an injunction and shut the pumps off, wouldn’t they?”

Julé Rizzardo, the water board’s assistant deputy director of per mitting and enforcement for the division of water rights, said the agency’s powers are limited.

“Unfortunately, there are cir cumstances such as this where the economic gains that folks can get by violating curtailment orders are greater than the potential pen alties available to us,” Rizzardo said.

Karuk Tribal Council Member Arron “Troy” Hockaday was dis appointed by the fine.

“The punishment doesn’t fit the crime … We’re fighting for the fish. The fish are our life,” Hocka day said.

The penalty, he says, sends a message: “Siskiyou County does not have to listen to what you guys have to say — we’re gonna do what we want. And nothing’s gonna happen to us.“

In addition, the ranchers could face fines of $10,000 a day for future violations.

Under the state’s water code, fines can be larger than $500 a day only after the water board finalizes a cease and desist order, which requires a 20-day waiting period or a hearing. In the case of the Siskiyou County ranchers,

Lemos and his neighbors shut their pumps off almost three weeks before the penalty would have increased to $10,000 a day.

“We knew that was coming. That’s why we pumped the water before it happened,” Lemos said.

Jim Scala, a third-generation rancher who is president of the Shasta River Water Association’s board of directors, said he hopes the association agrees to not pay the fine and fight it instead.

“I don’t want to pay them a dime. I want to take them to court,” Scala said. “Because if we pay them $4,000 or $10,000, that’s like admitting that we were in the wrong.”

The fight began simmering in August 2021, when the water board adopted emergency regula tions that allow curtailments of water pumping when flows dip below a certain level to protect the Shasta River’s salmon.

Facing dry conditions and dwindling flows, the state ramped up curtailments in the spring and summer of 2022. In early August, the Shasta River Water Associa tion petitioned the board to con tinue diverting water to fill stock ponds.

But before the board had responded, the ranchers notified state water officials in an Aug. 17 letter that they planned to violate

the curtailment that day.

The river’s flows dropped by nearly two-thirds and stayed there for a week until the farmers and ranchers turned the pumps back off — a “precipitous drop” that state officials said could jeopar dize the river’s fish.

The state agency said that it recommends the maximum allow able fine due to the “significant volume diverted in a short period of time, … the impacts to the watershed, the sensitive timing of this violation” before salmon migration, and the continued pumping even after a violation notice and a draft cease and desist order were sent.

The river empties into the larger Klamath and is home to key spawning and rearing grounds for fall-run Chinook salmon and threatened Coho salmon. The water board’s notice Friday said that violating the curtailment resulted in lower flows that could “exacerbate negative water quality issues” and “limit fish mobility and survival.”

“This action has direct impacts on more senior water right hold ers and sensitive fisheries that the Emergency Regulation intends to protect,” the notice said.

Such skirmishes could flare more often as climate change brings more severe and frequent droughts to the state. But experts warn that the state’s powers don’t match the urgency of stopping illicit water use.

“The system still allows one rogue user to decide to pay a fine rather than comply with the law,” said Jennifer Harder, a law profes sor at the University of the Pacif ic’s McGeorge School of Law. “California is a world-class econ omy with world-class natural resources. The state agency charged with protecting its water resources should be given worldclass tools.”

Rizzardo said the state doesn’t have the resources or data neces sary to police 40,000 water rights holders, particularly during a severe drought.

“We empathize. We recognize the hardships. We have been out in the field, to try to understand the situation more holistically,” Rizzardo said. “But we also aren’t going to ignore the blatant viola tions.”

Lee to talk about aid to Ukraine

Special to The Enterprise

The Davis Progressive Business Exchange will meet from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16, at Lamppost Pizza, 1260 Lake Blvd. in West Davis.

The primary speaker will be Brett Lee, speak ing on what locals can do to help Davis' Sister city of Uman, Ukraine. Elis abeth Sherwin sends a monthly care package to Ukraine. This was detailed in an Aug. 15 column, "You can help Ukrainians," in The Davis Enterprise by Sherwin. PBE is aims to send aid to Uman to ensure that people sur vive the coming winter. A fundraiser earlier in the year raised $13000, which was sent to Uman.

Contact Bob Bockwin kel at 530-219-1896 or e-mail G. Richard Yamagata at yamagata@ dcn.org for information.

TCU welcomes new chief marketing officer

VACAVILLE — Travis

Credit Union recently announced the appoint ment of Doug Marshall as the new Senior Vice Presi dent and Chief Marketing Officer. Marshall will over see the organization's marketing strategy and community relations, including advertising and branding, public relations, community and member outreach, and marketing services.

"I am genuinely thrilled to welcome Doug as our Chief Marketing Officer,” said Kevin Miller, Presi dent and CEO of Travis Credit Union. “His exten sive marketing back ground, paired with his passion for advocacy, will be instrumental in leading our Marketing and Com munity Relations teams toward achieving results, as well as expanding our marketing services and outreach opportunities to our members and commu nities.

"Here at Travis Credit

Union, we are uncom promising about attracting the best talent, and I’m proud that Doug is inspired to join our class-leading Senior Lead ership Team. He will have a tremendous impact on TCU's purpose-driven mission, values, and sus tainable growth ambitions to have a lasting impact on the members and commu nities we serve.”

Marshall brings more than 25 years of profes sional experience to the role, spearheading overall marketing and communi cations strategies while

overseeing omnichannel marketing, branding, con tent, media relations, and community relations efforts. Most recently, he led the marketing efforts for Vanir Construction Management, Inc. and FEMCO Holdings, LLC, elevating marketing out reach to increase customer engagement.

As the head of global relationship marketing for the Intel Corporation, Marshall focused on building an enduring cus tomer-centric brand, driv ing growth-focused marketing, delivering innovative customer and partner experiences, and

building high-performing teams.

"I am excited to join Travis because of the repu tation that the credit union has in the commu nity,” Marshall said.

“Credit unions are truly

unique, and TCU exempli fies the effort and commit ment to bettering the lives of our members and the communities where they live to build stronger, eco nomically empowered environments for all.”

Martin do nasciMento/calMatters photo

A cow and its calf on Scala’s ranch on Aug. 29.

Martin do nasciMento/ calMatters photo

Jim Scala is a third-generation rancher in rural Siskiyou County. He is among the estimated 80 ranchers in the association hit with a proposed $4,000 fine.

Special to The Enterprise

MARSHALL New face at Travis

Supes OK more funds for universal basic income pilot project

By Anne Ternus-Bellamy Enterprise staff writer

Yolo County’s Board of Supervisors voted Tues day to allocate $550,000 in American Rescue Plan funds to help fill a fund ing gap in the county’s universal basic income pilot project.

That project, which began last spring, has already lifted 76 families above the state poverty measure and will con tinue for a full 24 months with the additional fund ing approved Tuesday.

The $550,000 was pre viously set aside in the county ARP allocation plan to focus on equity within the children, youth and families funding cat egory.

Given that local data indicates families of color disproportionately expe rience poverty in Yolo County, using these funds aimed at equity is appro priate, said Karleen Jakowski, assistant direc tor of health and human services

For example, she said, while Black children make up only 2.5 percent of Yolo County’s child population, over 29 per cent of the child popula tion participating in the pilot project identify as Black.

“The potential impacts of bringing families above the poverty line include reduced stress; education and career attainment; early childhood develop ment; improved out comes; reduced risk of child abuse and neglect ... all areas where there are longstanding racial and ethnic inequities in our local community,” Jakowski told county supervisors.

The universal basic income pilot project pro vides cash aid that can be used for any purpose, with families generally receiving between $1,200 and $1,500 per month, depending on family size and other sources of income. The cash aid brings those families’ income levels to $1 above the California Poverty Measure threshold.

The support these fam ilies are already receiving through CalWORKS includes cash aid, Cal Fresh, Medi-Cal benefits, job supports and more.

But the current maxi mum CalWORKS grant for a family of four with no other income is $1,122 monthly, or $26,928 over 24 months.

The California poverty threshold for a family of four is $61,776 over two years.

Poverty remains a huge issue locally, with the Public Policy Institute of California reporting last year that Yolo County has the highest poverty rate in the state at 20.9 percent.

“We have the deepest poverty in California,” Nolan Sullivan, the coun ty’s director of health and human services, told county supervisors earlier this year.

The effort to target child poverty, in particu lar, began with First 5 Yolo, which approached the county about invest ing $100,000 in First 5 funds into a universal basic income program serving families with young children.

Additional funds were secured to cover much of the $3 million cost for a two-year pilot project, including the following sources:

n County cannabis rev enue: $500,000

n Yolo County's Cal WORKS Housing Sup port Program: $667,000

n Sutter Health Foun dation: $250,000

n Sierra Health Foun dation: $230,000

n California Office of Child Abuse Prevention: $150,000

n First 5 Yolo: $100,000

n Kelly, Stuart and Tra vis foundations: $41,500

But efforts to raise more private funds to fill the still remaining gap fell short.

Supervisor Oscar Ville gas of West Sacramento, who served on a subcom mittee overseeing the effort, said Tuesday, “the reality is we have not raised the kind of private capital or investment that we had hoped for.

“We have been tasked with figuring out how to fund that remaining gap,” he added.

The board’s unanimous decision to use ARP funds for that purpose came this week, but families have already been benefiting from the program.

Participating families began receiving pre-paid cards last spring, and the result, said Sullivan, is “we actually have 76 fami lies in Yolo County that are no longer living in poverty… and they are working on changing the lives of their families around.”

Meanwhile, a study by UC Davis researchers is already running concur rently with the project. Those researchers, from the Center for Regional Change, as well as county staff, are conducting interviews with families, collecting data and more in a comprehensive study on the benefits of the additional income for these families.

Evaluation of the pilot project will include mea suring parents’ education and/or career attainment during the pilot as well as the physical and mental health of parents and children.

Studies of other univer sal basic income pro grams have shown promise.

The Stockton Eco nomic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED), for example, began in early 2019 by providing 130 residents making less than the city’s median income with up to $500 a month with no strings attached.

University researchers who evaluated the pro gram found that nearly 40 percent of tracked spending went to food, but the money also cov ered transportation, utili ties, healthcare, debt and more.

— Reach Anne TernusBellamy at aternus@ davisenterprise.net.

Follow her on Twitter at @ATernusBellamy.

Tree Davis announces awards

By Greg McPherson, Luke Vitanza, and Don Shor Special to The Enterprise

Tree Davis Stewardship Awards honor individuals and groups who have worked to enhance our urban forest. Just by help ing to water young trees, pull weeds and spread mulch, organize school plantings, caring for older trees in neighborhoods and commercial parking lots, this year’s award recipients help to establish and sus tain our city’s canopy and the landscapes beneath.

Award for individual(s): Ann Trump Daniel and Judy Hecomovich

During the hottest days of a sizzling summer, Judy and Ann were diligently watering and weeding recently planted trees and other plants in the Memo rial Grove. Every other week they would tend to the needs of over five hun dred groundcovers and shrubs, as well as a dozen trees in the Wolk and Gen erations’ Groves.

Their efforts helped to keep these demonstrations of Climate-Ready Land scapes alive and well. We wish we had more folks like them to help keep Davis clean, green, and cool.

Location: Tree Davis Memorial Grove, 1549 Shasta Drive in Davis.

Award for individual and organization: Ken McKim, Tree Harper

Besides being a past board member for Tree Davis, and current teacher at Harper Middle School, McKim continues to make

local contributions to our urban canopy and climateready landscapes through his tireless work creating and running Tree Harper.

Modeled after Tree Davis, Tree Harper, com bined with Friends of Fran cis, generate 1,200 annual service hours towards our common goal of a healthy urban forest.

Current projects and ini tiatives include: n Tree ID plaques — creating their “Harpere tum.”

n B.A.G. — planning for creation of a Bike Arrival Garden n Turf Conversion — replacing grass with UC Verde. Also replaced turf with boulder, Japanese and succulent gardens.

Location(s) of tree proj ects mentioned above: Harper Jr. High School,

4000 E. Covell Blvd.

Award for best example of street tree shade: Maple Lane

The magnificent zelkova trees that line Maple Lane were planted in the late 1950s and are approaching 70 years old. They form a continuous canopy that extends from the front of a home, across the street, and to the front of the home on the other side of the street.

On warm summer days their dense shade provides welcome respite from the heat. The thick trunks have a beautiful scaly bark.

Representing Maple Lane to receive the award is Gerald Dickinson, who has lived on Maple Lane for more than 50 years.

Award for best example of commercial/office park ing lot tree shade: 1205 Drake Drive

The office buildings and parking areas at 1205 Drake Drive appear to be within a forest. The tower ing Chinese elms were planted in 1977 and soar skyward like buttresses.

Architects Larry Horn beek and Ty Smalley care fully sited the parking stalls between the trees, which were planted in formally arrayed cutouts. Dr. Jolkovsky moved into one of the offices in 1992 and has made sure that the trees have remained remarkably healthy. Their lacy foliage casts delicate shadows on the pavement.

The percentage of pave ment shade in this parking lot approaches 100%, a notable example and wor thy goal for all the commer cial lots in Davis.

The recipients will be honored at the Tree Davis Legacy Celebration from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Nov. 19, at the Tree Davis Memorial Grove, 1549 Shasta Drive.

Attendees can visit the newly planted ClimateReady Landscapes in the grove, with designers pres ent to answer questions. These landscapes reduce water use, attract wildlife, and provide seasonal beauty. Artwork donated by Marie-Therese Brown and P. Gregory Guss will be offered at a silent auction. For information, and to register for the event, visit https://www.eventbrite. com/e/tree-davis-2022legacy-celebrationtickets-439224411037.

Courtesy photo

The office buildings and parking areas at 1205 Drake Drive throw the right kind of shade.

Courtesy photo

Maple Lane, with its mature zelkova trees, has a glorious canopy of shade that is unrivaled in Davis.

SMOKING: Supervisors weigh options on restrictions

From Page A1

adopts a household rule prohibiting smoking in their home, secondhand smoke can still enter their unit from other units and shared areas where smok ing is allowed.

“The operation of a heat ing, ventilating, and air conditioning system can distribute secondhand smoke throughout a build ing,” the CDC added, and “there are currently no engineering approaches, including ventilation and air cleaning, that can fully eliminate the risk of sec ondhand smoke exposure.”

Whether Yolo County will move forward with smoke-free multi-unit housing in unincorporated areas remains to be seen, but county supervisors on Tuesday directed staff to conduct outreach to resi dents and owners of affected properties before returning to the board with any ordinance.

For the county, such a ban could affect 116

properties countywide, including 51 in El Macero, ranging from apartment complexes to condos, duplexes and triplexes.

While not all of those buildings share the same walls or roof — a primary concern when it comes to smoke exposure — many do share common indoor spaces such as recreation or laundry rooms.

“A person who is using tobacco in those units can also influence other people living (there),” said Steven Jensen, health program manager with the Yolo Health & Human Services Agency.

In a presentation to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Jensen offered two policy options, one more restrictive than the other.

The less restrictive policy would affect only 10 apart ment complexes in unin corporated areas of the county. Five are Housing and Urban Development properties, which are already smoke free, and five

are privately owned, two of which are already volun tarily smoke free.

“So that would leave three that this policy would influence,” said Jensen.

A more restrictive policy would include all condos, duplexes and triplexes as well, bringing to 116 the total number of properties affected.

In addition to El Macero, those properties are in Capay, Clarksburg, Esparto, Knights Landing, Rumsey, Winters, Wood land, Yolo and Zamora.

Additionally, county supervisors could ban smoking only indoors on those properties or extend a ban to the entire property.

“At a minimum we think indoor smoke-free places would be really good,” said Jensen, “but to extend it to outdoor areas would be even better. It could be the entire campus, like the Spring Lake apartment complex here in Woodland (which) opened up 100 percent smoke free, or it could be designated areas.

“We’re here to get the board’s feedback on how you would like to proceed,” he told county supervisors on Tuesday.

Jensen added that there are 44 municipalities in California “that have adopted the most restrictive (policy) — the one that includes condos, triplex, duplex and apartment complexes.”

He also noted that enforcement of any ordi nance would be complaint driven, “so nobody goes around knocking on doors, trying to smell anything or search anybody’s apart ment.”

The county already receives complaints from residents about smoking in multi-unit housing, Jensen said, “and there’s nothing that we can do except to say, ‘I’m really sorry,’ because there’s no laws that will prohibit smoking indoors.”

Under an ordinance, fol lowing at least three writ ten warnings, violators could be fined $100 for the

first violation, with fines increasing to $200 for a second violation and $500 for a third or subsequent violation.

In weighing in, county supervisors asked Jensen whether outreach had been conducted to residents and property owners who would be impacted.

“I just want to make sure that folks are aware of what we’re doing and I don’t know to what extent you’ve done community outreach or talked to folks,” said Supervisor Oscar Villegas of West Sacramento.

Jensen said community outreach thus far has been “at a minimum.”

“Once we felt that that was the area the board would go, we would do that type of thing. We have sur veys, door-hanger surveys that we can begin to collect, we can just talk with the individuals at the com plexes.”

But what is known, based on previous studies, Jensen said, “is that the far majority of people want to

live in smoke-free environ ments.

“The owners and land lords want places to be smoke free, but they’re afraid to go smoke free for two reasons. One, they’re afraid that they would get sued by tenants, which is not the case; courts over and over and over have said you can make your place smoke free all you want. And secondly, they’re afraid of vacancies, which again, studies show the majority of people want smoke-free places and look for smokefree places.”

Supervisor Jim Provenza noted that a large number of the impacted properties would be in his district, in El Macero, and said, “I would like to make sure my constituents are con sulted.”

Supervisor Don Saylor of Davis also expressed a need for outreach prior to an indoor smoking ban, say ing, “we’re talking about people’s residences. Home. The place that is home for them.”

PAROLE: District Attorney’s Office tries to fight Eason’s early release

From Page A1

“We’re definitely trying to fight this release,” said Supervising Deputy Dis trict Attorney Garrett Hamilton, who tried Eason back in 2008. “We think it’s a really egregious example of a case that should not be part of Prop. 57. How can anyone think that wildland arson is not violent?”

Eason received a 40-year prison term after a Yolo County jury found the Capay Valley resident guilty of 14 felonies, including 12 counts of arson of forest land and two counts of pos sessing or manufacturing an incendiary device.

He’s currently housed at Mule Creek State Prison in Ione, about 60 miles south east of Woodland. If released, he’d see freedom

Obituary

about six years earlier than originally anticipated, Hamilton said.

Jurors determined that Eason set the fires during the summer and fall of 2006 by tossing lit mos quito coils — a bug-repel lant device — from his car window into the dry grasses along Highway 16 and other rural roadways.

Investigators from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protec tion zeroed in on the long time volunteer firefighter after a hidden camera showed Eason’s vehicle driving in and out of the Rumsey canyon within minutes of two suspicious fires breaking out there in July 2006.

Data from a GPS track ing device that investiga tors attached to Eason’s car

prior to his arrest showed the vehicle passing each of the fire scenes shortly before the blazes broke out.

At the time, Cal Fire offi cials called the arson case one of the most complex it had ever investigated, involving about 70 officers and costing $2 million over a three-year period.

Eason denied responsi bility for the fires, but thenYolo Superior Court Judge Stephen Mock, who pre sided over Eason’s trial, said the evidence against him, although circumstan tial, also proved over whelming.

“Let me make it very clear that I have absolutely no doubt that Robert Eric Eason is the person that set those 12 fires — no doubt whatsoever,” Mock said at Eason’s November 2008

sentencing hearing.

Following Prop. 57’s pas sage, Eason first became eligible for parole in 2017 but was denied release that year and each of the four following years.

Just last year, a Board of Parole Hearings report noted that Eason had engaged in limited selfhelp programming while in prison “and has not fully addressed the circum stances contributing to his criminal behavior.”

“The magnitude of the commitment offenses, sophistication, risk to the public and property dam age would require extensive programming in many areas,” the report said. “Therefore, the inmate’s institutional adjustment aggravates his current risk of violence.”

One year later, Deputy Parole Commissioner Tim othy Kelly focused on “mitigating factors” includ ing Eason’s lack of prior criminal history and good behavior while in prison.

“The current commit ment offenses involve exceptionally callous behavior that damaged property, killed livestock, and threatened the com munity with injury for a significant period,” Kelly’s report says.

It continues: “Since his admission in 2008, the inmate has remained free from any violent behavior or institutional disciplinary actions of any nature. This is given considerable weight in the overall case analysis, as it is relevant to, and probative of, his cur rent risk of violence.”

But did Eason partake in “extensive” programming, as parole board officials called for back in 2021? According to the CDCR report, Eason hasn’t participated in any self-help programs since November 2021, including a victim-awareness program assigned to him.

“We don’t know if he’s ever even admitted that he lit those fires in the first place,” Hamilton said.

The DA’s Office has 30 days from the parole deci sion to protest Eason’s release. It may be an uphill battle, however, as Hamil ton said he’s unaware of any prosecutors who have successfully overturned a Prop. 57 release.

If the decision ultimately is upheld, Eason could be released by the end of the year.

Brent Miille, beloved fifth- and sixth-grade teacher at Valley Oak and Korematsu elementary schools, passed away on Nov. 9, 2022.

Brent was born on Oct. 29, 1958, in Wichita, Kan., to Bob and Anne Miille. He is survived by his siblings Michael, Susan and Ellen. He is preceded in death by his sister Christine.

Brent grew up in Fall brook, where he starred in high-school athletics. After high school, Brent attended UC Davis.

For more than 30 years, Brent worked tirelessly for Davis students. “Mr. Miille” or “Coach” was well known

for his football tourna ments and spirit-day assemblies.

Brent spent decades coaching baseball includ ing many years with his beloved Davis Blue Devils. Brent’s motto was to work hard and be a good team mate.

In 1982, Brent met the love of his life, Sue Bran dow. Brent and Sue have three wonderful children. Jed follows in Brent’s foot steps as “Mr. Miille,” teach ing fourth grade at Willett. Ema is a therapist helping children in Davis. Jake is a firefighter for the city of Chico.

Brent also has one

grand daughter, Tori, who was the light of his life. Tori would often run into the house yell ing “Bubba!” to which Brent would respond, “who loves you baby?”

A small family service will be organized at a later date. For a full obituary or to write memories of Brent, please visit: https://www. smith-funerals.com/obitu aries/brent-miille.

In lieu of flowers, dona tions can be made to the Carlton Staff Holiday Fund https://gofund. me/04c39328.

MIILLE

Brent Robert Miille Oct. 29, 1958 — Nov. 9, 2022

Today

n The Episcopal Church of St. Martin, continues its free Seeds of Justice lecture series online at 4 p.m. John M. Liu, professor emeritus in the departments of Asian American studies and sociology at UC Irvine will offer a presen tation on “How Manifest Destiny Changed the Color of Labor.” Learn more at https:// churchofstmartin. org/2022/08/03/savethe-date-seeds-of-jus tice-continues/.

Monday

n The public is invited to attend the Davis Bike Club’s monthly member ship meeting and social at 7 p.m. at the U.S. Bicy cling Hall of Fame at Third and B streets in Davis. This month’s gath ering 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.

Wednesday

n The Yolo Audubon Society invites the public to join its monthly pro gram meeting via Zoom. Marc Hoshovsky will speak on the history of the South Fork Pre serve, which is along Putah Creek, a few miles southeast of downtown Davis. The preserve is a publicly accessible city of Davis open-space area. This 192-acre preserve is one of the best examples of riparian and flood plain forest along Putah Creek. For reservations, go to yoloaudubon.org or facebook.com/yoloaudu bonsociety.

Thursday

n Soroptimist Interna tional of Davis invites community members to join its annual Soup Night and Silent Auction at Davis Odd Fellows Hall, 415 Second St. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. The silent auction begins at 6 and closes at 7:30 p.m. Fill up on members’ best soups, breads and desserts while getting a jump start on holiday gifts. Beer and wine will be available for purchase, along with non-alcoholic beverages. Cash, checks and credit cards will be accepted. The evening’s proceeds benefit SI Davis programs and projects. Learn more at https:// www.sidavis.org/.

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 informally dur ing this jam session at Wyatt Deck (next to the redwood grove). All skill levels welcome and lis teners are invited. Shortterm parking is available in Visitor Lot 5 on Old Davis Road at Arbore tum Drive. Hourly rates start at $1.75.

Saturday

n The annual Davis model train display will be up and running at the Davis train station (Amtrak) at 840 Second St. in downtown 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 charitable pro grams. The electric train display will be open from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

From Page A1

aspects of the radio signal before it’s broadcasted from the tower, Hatcher explained.

“Because the RF power module is a specialized piece of equipment, we had to either buy another mod ule or have it fixed by the source company, Nautel, so we shipped the module and its corresponding circuit board back to Nautel for repair,” she said.

It took longer than anticipated for Nautel to repair the module. Nautel originally estimated a 14 business-day repair win dow, so KDVS expected to be off the air for three to four weeks, which took more than seven weeks.

Hatcher said the process of shipping the module to Nautel was initially delayed by a week because the uni versity had not settled an outstanding invoice that KDVS owed Nautel from March. She said it went unpaid for so long because ASUCD has managerial control over KDVS bank accounts for service pay ments, meaning the stu dent staff couldn’t authorize the payment.

“The invoice sat with

university staff for six months until we realized Nautel wouldn’t accept our parts for repair because we were negligent on that pay ment. It was frustrating to learn something so simple cost us a week of broadcast ing,” she said. Hatcher has thus begun looking into what recourse the KDVS student staff might have to gain more control over all their accounts to avoid this issue in the future.

The only fully studentrun UC radio station, which Hatcher said “is a big point of pride for our com munity,” KDVS is made up of only UC Davis under graduate students. Like most KDVS operations, the student core staff facili tated these repairs inde pendently. Station engineer Tim Parish helped diag nose the problem with the transmitter, communicate with Nautel about the repairs and reinstall the module. “Tim is a tremen dous help and resource for KDVS, but he is only affili ated with the university through his contract with KDVS,” Hatcher explained.

Not broadcasting for a month-and-a-half hurt the morale of the DJs, Hatcher said.”Our DJ staff is used to

much higher levels of listenership than we had during that time, more calls, and more enthusiasm from listeners over the fact that we have an FM broad cast at all in the digital age,” she said.

The broadcast being down also meant the KDVS station at UC Davis was missing one of its key fea tures for almost two months: the live feed of the broadcast playing in real-time in the station lounge. “The DJs were vocal about how sad it felt to walk into the quiet station for so many weeks, but the feed is back, and our hearts are full from freeform radio once again,” she said. “KDVS listeners were also understandably very dis heartened.”

KDVS received at least a hundred social media mes sages, emails, and phone calls about the missing broadcast from people all over northern California, so their absence certainly did not go unnoticed. KDVS did host several successful live music events during the outage, and the artists they booked for these events were very under standing and supportive after hearing the broadcast was down.

While there isn’t a way to count the exact number of listeners for our radio broadcast, they’re typically reaching a couple of thou sand listeners at once with the FM broadcast and sev eral hundred more on the internet stream, Hatcher explained. This does vary throughout the day and week, with listenership peaking during commuter rush hours and on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

Their semi-annual fund raiser is currently under way until Nov. 19, with another planned in the spring. In the meantime, they’re focused on planning an upcoming move out of Lower Freeborn Hall, training new radio DJs, and planning more events and collaborations with other student groups at UC Davis. They have several live music events coming up before the end of the UCD fall quarter, and they’ll be in the process of planning their annual spring music festival, Oper ation Restore Maximum Freedom, for the next sev eral months.

Listen to KDVS on 90.3FM or stream the sta tion at kdvs.org or any radio app.

CITRUS: Team keeps up victory march in the arena

From Page A1

robots prove their metal. And from Sept. 23 to 25, they did just that in this off-season FIRST (For Inspira tion and Recognition of Science and Technology) competition.

“Usually there are qualification matches going for a day and a half and these matches determine the ranking of where we are in the com petition. There’s a lot of strategy involved and planning. We have match strategists, and we have meet ings with other teams on how to best approach a match,” said Ho. “We also have people gathering data on other robots in the competition and we cre ate a pick list. After the qualification matches, we use that data in alliance selections. The top eight teams in the

competition create alliances with other teams to compete with to win the competition. Then the final rounds go on to the evening until a winner is determined.”

The competition itself was called ‘rapid react’ with portions of it includ ing the robots being run strictly by code and then by an operator. In the finals, Citrus Circuits allied them selves with 4414 HighTide from Ven tura, 498 Cobra Commanders from Glendale and 2813 Gearheads from Saratoga.

Defeat simply did not compute with this Davis team, and they went on to win gold in five consecutive matches. Their winning robot, Mar gie was named in honor of the Citrus Circuits’ late shop dog.

“We were really hyped to be at

Chezy Champs and win it,” an enthused Ho said. “This year, not to brag, but based on the data, our robot was technically one of the best robots in the whole competition. She was named after our shop dog who passed away.”

In October, Citrus Circuits contin ued its winning ways by taking the Capital City Classic off-season tour nament at Pleasant Grove High School in Elk Grove.

A total of 35 teams competed at Capital City Classic in the FIRST 2022 game Rapid React Presented by The Boeing Company.

With this latest demonstration of Citrus Circuits’ championship caliber, the squad — and Margie — looks for ward to the regular season of compe tition come January 2023.

Plenty of sports under the tree

My random thoughts as we finish the second weekend of November.

n On Friday, I saw the Elk Grove High football team in action for the second time this season.

That’s because I covered the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I football playoff game between No. 6 Elk Grove, which won the Delta League title, at No. 3 Oak Ridge, which had the first-round bye, for the Mountain Democrat in Placerville. The Democrat is one of The Davis Enterprise’s sis ter newspapers.

From 2011 to 2015, I worked as a staff writer at the Democrat. During my first tenure with McNaughton Media, which owns both newspapers, I usually covered Oak Ridge football dur ing the regular season and play offs; from its first-round game to the section’s D-I title games against Granite Bay in 2012 and Folsom in 2013. I also covered Ponderosa, El Dorado, Union Mine and Golden Sierra football teams during the regular season and playoffs during those years.

The Elk Grove-Oak Ridge winner plays the No. 7 TurlockNo. 2 St. Mary’s of Stockton game in the semifinals this Fri day.

The other quarterfinal games in D-I are No. 8 Sheldon, also a member of the Delta League, at top-seed Folsom.

Another quarterfinal game that is being played one week too early, in my book, is No. 5 Cen tral Catholic of Modesto at No. 4 Monterey Trail of Elk Grove.

Monterey Trail and Central Catholic played for the section’s 2021 D-II title game. Central Catholic posted a 43-22 victory.

The Davis High football team played at Elk Grove in a league game on Sept. 30. The host Thundering Herd recorded a 57-0 win.

I’ll be covering Oak Ridge football through its playoff run.

n The Causeway Classic between the UC Davis and Sac ramento State football teams is this Saturday at 2 p.m.

If you can’t be at the game, then you can hear it on Sactown Sports 1140AM.

The play-by-play also takes place on UCD’s website at www. ucdavisaggies.com. Just click on the football tab, go to the sched ule and scroll down to the Nov. 18 game.

n If you’re a San Franciso 49er or San Diego Chargers fan, then you know that they will be NBC’s Sunday Night Football game.

n If you’re a Sacramento Kings or Golden State Warriors fan, then you know that the teams will be clashing at the Golden 1 Center, also on Sunday.

n BTW, or by the way for the older generation, you can’t be a 49ers and Chargers fan at the same time. Just like you can’t be a San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers fan at the same time.

n BTW, you can’t be a Kings and a Warriors fan at the same time. Just like you can’t be a Kings and Los Angeles Lakers fan at the same time.

n In upcoming weeks, there will be previews on the UC Davis women’s basketball team.

Enterprise staff writer and for mer sports editor Bob Dunning recently wrote a preview on the UCD men’s basketball squad.

There will be previews on the Davis High boys and girls bas ketball teams, plus the DHS boys and girls soccer teams and the Blue Devils wrestling team.

Aggies lose tough one to Mustangs

By Rebecca Wasik Enterprise correspondent

It was a hard fought, intense battle on the court for the UC Davis volleyball team on Thurs day.

In a five-set Big West Confer ence contest that lasted three hours and was riddled with coaches’ challenges, visiting Cal Poly pulled out a 3-2 win over the Aggies at University Credit Union Center. The final scores were 14-25, 25-18, 21-25, 25-19, 21-19.

A tight fifth set was full of action for both UCD (6-9 in the Big West, 11-14) and Cal Poly (11-4 in the Big West, 14-11).

Both teams kept the score close throughout the first half of the set. The Aggies held an 11-7 lead, but a 5-0 run from the Mustangs thwarted their edge.

At 12-all, the Aggies and Mus tangs began trading leads and ties until 19-all. On Cal Poly’s 20th point of the set, UCD head coach Dan Conners attempted to challenge the play, but was denied the review.

One more kill was all it took for the Mustangs to take the set and the match.

“There’s nothing to hang our heads about,” said Conners. “We played great and fought for every point. We battled with a very good team over there. 21-19 in the fifth; I can’t express how hard we fought.”

Cal Poly took the fourth set as well.

In fact, the Mustangs won each set that they scored the first point in, while the Aggies won each set they scored the first point in.

Twenty kills and 21 digs allowed the Mustangs to pull

ahead of the Aggies in the fourth set.

UCD took the third set despite a 5-0 run by Cal Poly toward the beginning of the set.

The Aggies used 15 kills and 16 digs to take down the Mustangs in the third.

UCD finished the set on a 3-0 run.

Nineteen digs, 14 kills, plus four service aces gave the Mus tangs the advantage in the sec

ond set.

UCD was dominant in the first set of the match, going on a 5-0 run to begin the set.

Casi Newman had a strong showing for the Aggies in the first set with nine assists, two kills and a service ace.

The Aggies ended the first set on a 3-0 run.

UCD had 66 kills, 73 digs and eight blocks in the match.

Cal Poly combined for 70 kills,

83 digs and five blocks.

Aggies opposite hitter Olivia Utterback recorded a doubledouble with 16 kills and 12 digs in the match. She scored 19 points overall.

This is Utterback’s fifth dou ble-double of the season. Her 16 kills tied her season high.

“Liv played great,” said Con ners of Utterback, who is a sophomore. “She’s a solid player and she’s been solid for us for the last two years. It’s really nice to have her out there.”

Middle blocker Josephine Ough had 13 kills. Outside hitter Demari Webb recorded 12. Middle blocker Lana Radakovic had 11. Outsider hitter Megan Lenn recorded eight and New man had six.

UCD libero Shira Lahav led the Aggies with 24 digs. Lenn had 17 and Newman had nine. Radakovic and defensive special ist Julia Ng had four apiece. Webb recorded two and Ough had one.

The Aggies fell to Cal Poly on Oct. 8 in San Luis Obispo in three sets.

The next three matches on UCD’s schedule are at home this month.

CSU Bakersfield will come to University Credit Union Center on Saturday to take on the Aggies at 3 p.m.

“Sports are about bouncing back and being resilient,” said Conners. “I don’t anticipate us hanging our heads too long about this. It’s obviously disap pointing that we didn’t get the result we wanted but we’ve got to move on. We have a big game on Saturday that we need to be focused for and I know the team will be ready.”

New faces pop up in UC Davis programs

By Mark Honbo Special to The Enterprise

SACRAMENTO — A total of 11 St. Francis Catholic High stu dents were recognized for their future participation in athletics at nine different colleges and universities during the prepara tory school’s National Letter of Intent and College Commitment celebration Wednesday morning.

The fall event is the first of two such ceremonies for the school, which will host a similar NLI/ college commitment event in the spring.

“Success in athletics requires hard work and dedication. That these young women may con tinue their athletics careers at the next level is a testament to their efforts, and I could not be more proud of them on this occasion,” said Ryan Chisolm, St. Francis’ director of athletics.

Some of those honorees will be going to UC Davis are Ava Chavez Maddy Ching (UCD swimming & diving), Laura

Maddy Ching

Earned NISCA All-American and set school records in each of the 200- (1 minute, 35.78 sec onds) and 400-yard (3:26.26) freestyle relays as a junior... Hit both marks at California Inter scholastic Federation state championship.

Helped SF to runner-up finish at Sac-Joaquin Section champi onships, where she placed fourth in 100 butterfly (55.66) and 7th in 200 free (1:53.43). She quali fied for state meet in 100 fly, finishing 22nd. She also won Delta League title, and thus earned all-league honors, with a 24.27 in 50 freestyle.

She also competes for DART Swimming, representing the club at 2021 and 2022 USA

Laura Holliday

Competed for Zanetti Perfor mance Horses at 2022 American Quarter Horse Association Youth World Championship in Oklahoma City, placing fourth in Level 1 showmanship 14-18, 8th in horsemanship, 9th in trail and 12th in Level 2 showmanship, Advanced to the world cham pionship show after earning bronze at AQHA Level 1 West show in Scottsdale, Ariz. She also finished 4th in Western riding, 8th in trail, plus reserve cham pion in Rookie western pleasure.

Competed in both swimming and water polo for St. Francis. She took second in Delta League and Sac-Joaquin Section as part of 200-yard freestyle relay, ulti mately earning NISCA AllAmerica honors. Holliday plays

club

Olivia McFarland

McFarland enters her fourth year on the St. Francis High soft ball team. She helped St. Francis to a Sac-Joaquin Section Divi sion II runner-up finish, the program’s best since 1995 and 1996. St. Francis went 26-5 over all, 10-2 (second) in Delta League play in 2022. She hit .219/.284/.260, with huge con tributions coming from her glove in the outfield.

McFarland plays summer ball for Foothill Gold Softball, BSC Bengals Softball.

She served as a volunteer umpire for Foothill Girls Softball (2019-20), made pillowcases for families in Haiti (2019-20) and was a member of Girl Scouts (2010-19).

Holliday (UCD equestrian) and Olivia McFarland (UCD soft ball).

A profile for each of the honor ees is available below.

Swimming Futures, 2021 Sum mer CA-NV Sectional and 2022 Speedo Sectional Championship Series.

water polo for American River WPC, competing in three Junior Olympics. Plans on studying molecular biology at UC Davis.

Mike Bush/enterprise photo

UC Davis libero Julia Ng (7) serves the volleyball while her teammates watch in Thursday’s match against Cal Poly at the University Credit Union Center.

Aggie hitter Olivia Utterback serves the volleyball while teammates Josephine Ough (4), Megan Lenn (17), Julia Ng (behind Lenn) and Shira Lahav (dark jersey) are ready in Thursday’s Big West Conference match against Cal Poly. To view more photos, visit www. davisenterprise. com, click on the Sports tab and look for the story.

Mike Bush/ enterprise photo

Commentary

California recycling law creates impediment

By Robert C. Lapsley Special to CalMatters

In water-starved California, artificial turf is an environmental necessity, reducing the need for irrigation, mowing, pesti cides and fertilizers. In September, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation incentiv izing lawn owners to make the switch as local governments across the state offer rebates that help make synthetic turf more affordable.

While those programs are great for pro tecting California’s scarce natural resources, they do nothing for landscapers and sports venues looking to dispose of artificial grass worn out by years of heavy use. A new pri vate-sector recycling partnership could be a path forward, but the state’s shortsighted policies prevent greater adoption.

Turf from sports and recreational fields is often repurposed in secondary markets like batting cages or residential landscap ing. But at the end of its life, it’s just waste. Traditional recycling methods are not effec tive with first- and second-generation arti ficial turf since it’s comprised of yarn and backing materials that are not made of a single polymer. As a result, it ends up in landfills.

A leading supplier of synthetic turf for sports and landscape recently announced a first-of-its-kind partnership to keep artifi cial turf from ending up in landfills. The initiative by TenCate Grass will recycle 50 end-of-life artificial turf fields from high schools and college campuses in California, including Stanford University.

Each artificial turf will be delivered to Cyclyx International in Texas, which specializes in preparing hard-to-recycle plastics for processing. The product then goes to ExxonMobil’s advanced recy cling facility in Baytown. The facility has processed millions of pounds of plastic waste, and will soon be among North America’s largest advanced plastic recycling facilities.

California should be home to similar facilities, equipped with the technology to transform a wider range of old plastics like artificial grass back into the basic building blocks of new products. In a state with 4 million acres of water-hungry lawns, reclaiming and reusing artificial grass is just common sense.

Unfortunately, rather than expand the technology, a sweeping new law on plastics and recycling includes provisions that dis courage advanced recycling by limiting which technologies can count toward socalled circularity goals. Senate Bill 54 is an example of how short-term thinking can halt investments that are good for consum ers, good for jobs and good for our environ ment.

In contrast, at least 20 other states have passed laws to attract new advanced recy cling projects, helping spur a wave of innovation that will be vital to meeting the surging demand for products made with recycled material.

There are at least seven advanced recy cling facilities operating in the U.S., with the potential for billions of dollars in addi tional investments.

This new interstate partnership will surely demonstrate how effective new advanced recycling solutions can be, and how badly they are needed in California where plastics play a key role in everything from wind turbines and surgical gloves to artificial grass.

Let’s hope lawmakers are paying atten tion to the unintended consequences of SB 54 and come back to the conversation pre pared to make changes that can open doors for a more circular economy, not close them.

— Robert Lapsley is the president of the California Business Roundtable. He wrote this for CalMatters, a public interest jour nalism venture committed to explaining how California's Capitol works and why it matters.

What next for re-elected Newsom?

As “The Candidate,” the quintessential political movie, closes, a young Bill McKay (Robert Redford) has just won one of California’s U.S. Senate seats and, rather stunned, he takes his cam paign manager (Peter Boyle) aside and asks him a ques tion: “What do we do now?”

The same question could be posed to Gavin Newsom, who has handily won his sec ond — and last — term as California’s governor.

What does he do now?

Would he simply serve out his second term, expanding his crusade for a carbon-free economy and implementing his experimental approaches to California’s social ills?

They include “community schools” to make neighbor hood school centers for health and welfare services, “Care Court” to compel the seriously mentally ill to accept treatment, and “CalAIM” to transform the state’s medical care system for the poor into a “whole person” program.

Newsom has pledged to complete his second term, insisting he has “subzero interest” in running for the presidency, even if Joe Biden doesn’t seek another term in 2024. However, Newsom

Letters

Violence visits Davis and no one arrested?

has also devoted much of his time and some of his hefty campaign treasury in recent months to building a national image, saying he wants to set an example for his party of aggressive oppo sition to Republicans.

Despite Newsom’s fre quent denials of presidential ambitions, the national political media and many Democratic Party figures assume that he’s laying the groundwork for a White House campaign, either in 2024 or 2028, two years after his governorship ends.

Indeed, it’s difficult to imagine that having spent nearly half his life patiently climbing the political ladder — from San Francisco city commission appointee in 1996 to a seat on the city’s Board of Supervisors, then seven years as mayor, eight years in obscurity as lieuten ant governor and finally the governorship in 2018 —

Newsom would simply resume managing his wine and restaurant business.

It’s also difficult to imagine that he would settle for some lesser political role, such as a congressman or cabinet appointee. He has a mas sive ego and a penchant for pursuing “big hairy audacious goals” such as the aforementioned experimen tal overhauls of education, mental health and medical care services — albeit with a spotty record of success to date. And that attitude requires high office.

Retiring from politics after finishing his term or seeking the presidency are two options, but there’s also a potential third — running for the U.S. Senate in 2024 should Dianne Feinstein retire after holding her seat for 32 years, or segueing into the seat if Feinstein gives it up earlier.

Two of the options — run ning for president or the Senate in 2024 — obviously depend on whether Biden, who turns 80 this month, and/or an 89-year-old Fein stein are ready to retire, and their decisions may hinge on how this year’s congressional

now or we, the peaceful majority, should find it necessary to take up our own means of defense.

Scott Steward Davis

Arroyo Park zip line

and senatorial elections turn out once all of the votes are counted.

If Republicans take either the House or the Senate, or both, their retirements would become more likely. Democratic activists could blame Biden’s low popularity for the losses and insist that he step aside for a younger and more commanding fig ure, and Feinstein, already under fire from progressives, would not want to be rele gated to the Senate minority after so many years in the majority.

The question that a cine matic politician posed 50 years ago — what do we do now? — would become a hard reality for Newsom should Biden and/or Fein stein opt out.

In politics, as in high-level sports, timing is everything.

Jerry Brown, Newsom’s quasi-uncle and predecessor as governor, blew his chances of becoming president with three badly timed White House campaigns.

— CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California's state Capitol works and why it matters.

For more stories by Dan Wal ters, go to Commentary.

Turning Point USA is a purposefully provocative cover for colonial white power. Thank goodness there were some voices making it clear that lies are dan gerous to our community. These events are where our society makes up its mind to enforce civil rights and turn down invi tations by Turning Point’s thinly veiled fascism.

And then violence arrives. People with Proud Boys emblems, clearly intent on harm and not expression, carrying cans of mace to use on other people, why were they allowed to pass a perimeter of police? Why were there were no arrests? Where is the Davis City Council and the University leadership? This is not a casual event of no consequence.

People were purposefully assaulted. The Vanguard, the Davisite, and The Davis Enterprise are not covering this adequately. What do you think? Violence is being perpetrated by people who find it rewarding to harm others. Charges should be filed and these violent groups intentionally disbanded as public policy

enterprise

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.

Speak out

President

An open letter to the Davis City Council: I find your recent decisions and com mentary, regarding the Arroyo Park Sky Track, to be both bewildering and unforgivably disrespectful.

I’ve spent some time at Arroyo Park, when the SkyTrack was in operation, and the noise is breathtaking: jangling, clang ing, incredibly loud and relentless, when in heavy use. Your cavalier dismissal of the “quality of life” impact on nearby neighbors is beyond heartless. There is no question, if the five of you lived adja cent to this attraction, that your attitude would be entirely different.

Moving the SkyTrack to another Arroyo Park location will not solve the problem; the cacophony still will exceed limitations set by the Davis Noise Ordi nance. And your recent efforts to “fudge” the ordinance readings, by amending context in order to achieve your desired goal, is dishonest.

Scientists have a term for such behav ior. It’s called “falsifying data.”

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

House of Representatives

I cannot understand why all five of you remain so hell-bent on keeping this major nuisance in Arroyo Park. What’s so spe cial about that park? Why so stubborn? Since the SkyTrack is to be moved any way, it seems far more sensible to relocate it to Community Park, alongside other noise-making features such as the Skate Park, where nobody will be bothered.

Your belief that you’ll prevail on the CEQA merits, during a pending lawsuit, is unduly optimistic. Furthermore, this would shine a bright light on the seri ously questionable relationship between Dale Sumersille, Kelly Oakes, Martin Jones and GameTime, when they appar ently conspired to obtain and place the SkyTrack in the first place, with no public or city staff input. The paper trail for said behavior, as outlined in the Krovozas’ Oct. 14 Davis Enterprise commentary, is extremely damning. Do you really want that to become headline news for as long as such a lawsuit continues?

Finally, I find it highly ironic that the Davis City Council refused to risk (waste?) money to battle the highly unpopular shift to district elections, but you seem cheerfully willing to waste money on this lawsuit.

Please reconsider. Do the right thing.

Gayna Lamb-Bang Davis

We welcome your letters

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

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

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

Rep. John Garamendi (3rd District), 2368 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C., 20515; 202-225-1880.

District office: 412 G St., Davis, CA 95616; 530-753-5301; email: visit https://garamendi.house.gov/contact/ email

Governor

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

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

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

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

A McNaughton Newspaper Locally owned and operated since 1897 Foy S. McNaughton President and CEO R. Burt McNaughton Publisher

Op-Ed

Combat veterans suffer peace in isolation

By Llewellyn King Special to The Enterprise

For those who serve in the military, that is the ulti mate bonding time: Cama raderie beyond imagining and sharing beyond compare. Laughing, fearing, hurting, hop ing and, sometimes, dying together. A time when the future is just a day ahead, a command away and, if in combat, a time when death can arrive in an instant.

When men and women sur vive in the military, their greatest struggle lies ahead: Reentering civilian life.

Coming home, demobilized, set adrift in a sea of indifference, the veteran is separated from the ties that bind, in a world of alien values, mixed signals, and terri ble, inescapable, nightmarish loneliness. This is compounded by the stresses of finding accom modation, work, and a purpose ful life.

Our returning veterans are committing suicide at a greater rate than at any other time in

commenTary

our history. In recognition of Veterans Day, I talked with Frank Larkin, who works to con nect Americans, especially those who have worn or are wearing the uniform, with veterans through a simple call and to help vets navigate their lives after ser vice.

Larkin is a former Navy SEAL, a former U.S. Senate sergeant at arms, a former U.S. Secret Ser vice agent, and he has worn the uniform of two police depart ments. But mostly, he is the grieving father of Ryan, a Navy SEAL who saw duty in Iraq and Afghanistan and who took his own life five years ago.

“I couldn’t save my own son,” he told me in an emotional moment during the interview I did with him on “White House Chronicle” on PBS.

Currently, Larkin is chief oper ating officer of the Troops First Foundation and chairman of the Warrior Call Initiative.

Larkin said “isolation” is the

biggest pressure on former troops. They are cut off from the world they know – which he called “their tribe” — and plunged into one they don’t know, alone with their memo ries. These can amount to what Larkin calls “moral damage,” things that they have done and seen in the battle space which they can’t share with the civilian world. Things that have changed them.

Larkin said of his own son, “He came back changed. I could see it, but I couldn’t reach him, nor could my wife who is a medi cal professional.”

There are physical injuries as well. Post-Traumatic Stress Dis order is the best known, but there are others. For example, Larkin said, today’s weaponry may be damaging troops, espe cially in training. Blast waves and repeated recoil shaking may be causing Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), which is different from the brain injury suffered by football players. With TBI, there are minute tears in the brain which can’t be detected with

normal brain scans. These blast or shock waves from high-velocity weapons are a constant in training. Larkin noted that when a soldier fires a Carl Gustav shoulder-mounted rocket launcher, “It’s like getting your head blown off.”

After World War II, there were ticker tape parades. Every warrior was a hero. Everyone had served or knew someone who had served. The war had been a common shared experience. Most men and a lot of women had “done their bit” in the parlance of the Greatest Generation.

That began to change with Korea, and especially with Viet nam; returning troops weren’t celebrated and those wars weren’t a matter of national pride.

Then the draft ended, Larkin reminded me, and going to war ceased to be a shared experience. It became a discrete occupation, although U.S. troops have been at war or in harm’s way for two decades now. But without the draft, it is out of mind, out of

sight, out of caring. Many of us don’t know a single veteran in these days of the volunteer army. We respect them in absentia, sometimes just on Veterans Day.

If all isn’t well with mental health out there in the battle space of civilian life, it isn’t well inside the military either. Suicide among serving men and women, is at record highs too.

More veterans have died from suicide than died in Vietnam combat, Larkin said. His initia tive, Warrior Call, advocates that a simple phone call can save a life. “‘How are you doing? I’m thinking about you, buddy,’ is all you have to do,” Larkin said.

Veterans Day has become about sales and discounts, less and less about those who have borne and battle and now must bear the aftermath, often in ter rible isolation.

Llewellyn King is executive producer and host of “White House Chronicle” on PBS. His email is llewellynking1@gmail. com and you can follow him on Twitter @LlewellynKing2. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.

Veterans and foster kids have a lot in common

By Tracy Fauver Enterprise staff writer

Veteran’s Day was Fri day, and we’d like to take a moment to thank all veterans for their service. At Yolo County CASA, we deeply appreci ate their service, and we also understand a bit about what they are going through.

Why? Well, statistics say that anywhere from 11-30% of veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. PTSD is an anxi ety disorder where an indi vidual relives traumatic events he or she suffered in the past on a regular basis.

Like veterans, 25% of chil dren who have been in the dependency system at one time in their childhood are diagnosed with PTSD.

For these reasons, I’ve often thought veterans would make amazing

yolo casa

CASA volunteers. After all, they know what it’s like to face adversity, big life changes, and trauma. In fact, we’ve had a few veter ans become CASA volun teers and their keen understanding of trauma and how it manifests in real-life situations is a huge asset.

Not only is Veteran’s Day coming up, but November in general marks the beginning of a long holi day season that might be tough on some foster chil dren. Imagine if you all-ofa-sudden found yourself living in a new home with new foods and customs for the holidays? Sure… life may have been awful before, but adjusting to sudden change is also hard … and traumatic.

One thing I like about

the holiday season is how keenly aware people seem of those less fortunate. There are food drives, clothing drives, and adopta-family programs in abundance. It is truly beautiful to see. At Yolo County CASA, we often benefit from clothing and food drives, but what helps us the most is when people

decide to become a CASA volunteer themselves. Many are nervous when they first hear the idea, but I tell them that all it takes to be a CASA volunteer is an open heart… and some times the things that are the most nerve wracking in life are the best things we’ve ended up doing.

As you consider how to

give back this holiday sea son, I’d love for you to con sider our winter training. It starts Jan. 16, which means you would be help ing a foster child who really needs you by March. Many of our volunteers look forward to their weekly visits schedules, and find that they get far more out of the experience than they ever imagined. I encourage you to go to the volunteer section of our website at yolocasa.org.

No matter how badly you may want to become a CASA volunteer, I know that it is simply not feasi ble for all. If you would like to help in another way, donations are the core of what enable us to continue to train and retain CASA volunteers. Without both the volunteers and finan cial support, we simply could not exist. We are in the midst of our year-end

appeal and Giving Tuesday is on Nov. 29, so please mark your calendars.

… And regardless of whether you decide to become a CASA volunteer or donate, we would love for you to spread the word about our mission. I have learned repeatedly that you truly never know where the next volunteer or donation may come from, and spreading awareness is a huge way to help foster kids.

In fact, as you spread awareness, please do so not only about the needs we have here at Yolo County CASA but please also remind people to be sensitive to the vulnerable and traumatized this holi day season.

— Tracy Fauver, LCSW, is the Executive Director of Yolo County CASA

Seeking out a vaccine against meanness and hate

I’d hammer out danger I’d hammer out a warning I’d hammer out love between My brothers and my sisters, All over this land

—“The Hammer Song (If I Had a Hammer)”

Words by Lee Hays, music by Pete Seeger, 1949

By Rob Okun Special to The Enterprise

When far-right Canadian extremist David DePape smashed his hammer into a patio glass door to gain entrance into the San Francisco home Paul Pelosi shares with his wife, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, it’s doubt ful he had the famous protest song in mind.

Rather than “hammering out love between my brothers and my sisters,” he hammered on Mr. Pelosi’s skull, sending him to a hospital ICU. His act was one of the most sinister examples of the epidemic of meanness and hate infecting the body politic not just in the US, but around the world.

Sadly, acts of violence have not

slowed since DePape assaulted Mr. Pelosi (in lieu of his intended target, Pelosi’s wife), so there’s scant reason to believe that this virulent epidemic will be slowed anytime soon.

One segment of the population consistently tests positive with the meanness and hate virus: men. Not all men of course, but among the disaffected, primarily men between their 20s and 50s, the infection rate is disturbingly high. Yes, women have their shadow side but there’s no real contest: men capture the gold, silver, and bronze.

While at first blush it might seem contraindicated, researchers like Brette Steele, senior director at the McCain Institute’s program on Preventing Targeted Violence, have pointed to men’s unhappi ness, loneliness, and lack of con nection as predicates for spreading hate. Of course loneliness can never excuse extremist rage, and isolation is never justification for terrorizing women.

Steele says in this lethal envi

ronment it’s not surprising some men are lured to the manosphere — the websites, blogs, and online forums that promote dangerous ideas about masculinity and champion misogyny. In league with angry likeminded men, they realize a sense of belonging.

Caught up in this landfill of hate— with their inner lives contami nated by hazardous emotional waste—they are easily preyed upon. Think Proud Boys and Oath Keepers recruits.

Recently, the connection between men’s extremist behavior and right wing terrorism has come into focus. A multi-country policy paper based on interviews with 3,000 participants found a corre lation between sexism and genderbased abuse and promoting violent extremism. The study, “Do Violent Homes Make Violent Extremists,” examines how child hood experiences with domestic violence may be predictors of ter rorist acts. The study’s authors, Laura Kropiunigg and Rafael Kropiunigg of Women Without Borders, believe if gender-inclu sive programs are mainstreamed it will be possible to expose hidden

gendered causes of violent extrem ism.

Researchers on misogyny and violent extremism Melissa John ston and Jacqui True agree. Men who want to restrict women’s rights offer a “predictable early warning sign” for potential extremist behavior. The link in the US is indisputable; consider the ongoing assault on women’s reproductive rights.

In the midst of such hate-filled behavior, there is an uncomfort able, simultaneous truth: these men are struggling. They have the highest rates of sui cide and early death. Recruited by the extreme right, many suffer from anxiety and depression, neglecting basic medical needs. They are encouraged to pose as tough guys, endangering their physical and mental health.

So while these men’s traitorous, antidemocratic behavior must be confronted at every turn, we must also work to reach their vulnerable counterparts before they become radicalized. Also urgently impor tant is working with middle and high school boys now, before they get sucked into a misogynist, rac

ist, trans/homophobic, antiSemitic vortex.

Boys growing up today are experiencing vastly different child hoods than previous generations, notes Sarah Andrews, author of a new report about boys for Next Gen Men, a Canadian NGO com mitted to transforming masculin ity. “It’s been difficult to keep pace with a rapidly evolving “new nor mal” — and schools and parents alike are looking for answers,” Andrews says. “There are scant examples offering clear direction on where we go from here.”

One path is clear. While identi fying men infected with the hate and meanness virus must go for ward full throttle, Andrews believes we must also “challenge our preconceived notions of boyhood and be skeptical of selfprofessed thought leaders.”

Their insights will be key not only to develop a vaccine to pro tect against meanness and hate, but also to cultivate desperately needed antibodies of compassion.

Rob Okun (rob@voicemale magazine.org), syndicated by PeaceVoice, writes about politics and culture.

icymi: our Top 5 sTories of The week Editors’ choice for web comment of the week

n UCD terminates longtime gymnastics coach: http://wp.me/p3aczg-4eHI

n Fire destroys Olive Drive encampment, snarls train travel: http://wp.me/p3aczg-4eCU

n Vaitla, Partida hold leads in early returns: http://wp.me/p3aczg-4eJP

n Football: Aggies continue to roll in Big Sky action: http://wp.me/p3aczg-4etk

n Former UCD coach reunited with long-lost wedding ring: http://wp.me/p3aczg-4eD0

From Vicky Lo

“My Oak Avenue neighbors when I was young — I lived three houses down from the Hinsdales.”

In response to “‘All my love’: Former UCD coach reunited with long-lost wedding ring”

courTesy phoTo

PTSD can strike veterans and foster children alike.

My longtime friend and confidant, Dusty Baker

By Jay Feldman Special to The Enterprise

During the recent base ball playoffs and World Series, the Internet, broad cast and print media were awash in tributes to the Houston Astros’ esteemed manager Dusty Baker, as baseball colleagues and sportswriters lined up to pay homage to one of the great men of the game.

A World Series victory was the one jewel missing from Dusty’s long and dis tinguished managerial career, and in the past few years, there have been those who claimed that without a World Champi onship, he did not deserve enshrinement in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Now that debate is over — with the Astros’ convincing 4-games-to-2 defeat of the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2022 World Series, there is no reason able person who will still argue that Dusty Baker should be excluded from the Hall. So when he retires from managing, Dusty will become Cooper stown’s first Black man ager.

I’ve known Dusty for almost 40 years, and while baseball is a component of our friendship, it is only a small part of what we share, for Dusty is a person whose interests and con cerns range from music to the environment to food and wine to farming to myriad other areas.

In Fall 1985, I was orga nizing Baseball for Peace, a 10-day goodwill tour of Nicaragua for players, fans and writers, based on our two countries’ common national pastime. A

local Sacramento TV sta tion aired a segment on the evening news publiciz ing the upcoming tour. At the time, I had some mem orabilia from the Brooklyn Dodgers — the team I grew up with — in my office, and it was featured prominently in the report. At the end of the segment, my phone number was displayed on screen. Min utes after the story aired, my phone rang.

“Hello, this is Dusty Baker.” I sat up straight. “I just saw you on the news. I noticed you have some Dodgers memorabilia. I used to play for the Dodg ers.”

I laughed. “Yes, I’ve

heard of you.”

Dusty, who was then nearing the end of his playing career, was visiting his family in Sacramento and wanted to know more about Baseball for Peace, so we got together and talked. “How can I help?” he asked.

“Well, I hate to ask you for anything,” I said, “because I know people are hitting you up all the time.”

“That’s true,” he agreed, “but there’s one big differ ence here — I came to you.”

“In that case,” I ventured — knowing it was a long shot — “you could go with us.”

“Actually, I’d really like

to, but my contract doesn’t allow it.”

Instead, he donated some equipment and sponsored my then-15year-old son, a talented high-school ballplayer.

Almost four decades later, we have deepened the friendship even though we rarely see each other more than a couple of times a year, and some times not even that often, though we are in more fre quent touch by text and phone. Our bond is based on mutual respect, admi ration and affection. I’ve given him inscribed copies of each of my books. Early on, he gave me one of his game-used bats — many

years later, I asked him to sign it for me, and he wrote, “To Jay, My long time friend and confidant. Thanks, Dusty Baker.” He addresses me as “my brother.”

One of the most endear ing things about Dusty is that he treats everyone the same. It doesn’t matter if you’re the King of Siam or somebody he’s never met before — he is genuinely curious about you and interested in what you have to offer.

Over the years he has never failed to be there when it counted. He came with me to visit my friend who was terminally ill with lung cancer. He left tickets

and clubhouses passes for another friend whose wife had just died. When he was managing the Chicago Cubs, he came to a Chi cago book signing for my baseball novel, “Suitcase Sefton and the American Dream,” for which he had supplied a jacket blurb.

After my presentation — and with no urging from me — he spoke about our friendship to the assem bled crowd. “Jay is one of the most interesting peo ple I know,” he began — this from a man who was notably close to Hank Aaron, and also knew Barack Obama, Nelson Mandela and a fair num ber of other dignitaries.

More recently, when my family received the crush ing news in Spring 2021 that my older son — the same one who Dusty spon sored 36 years earlier — has ALS, Dusty was among the many who sent money.

So now it’s a certainty that Dusty Baker will be the first African American manager inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. But when he gets his plaque in the Baseball Hall of Fame, it will only be a secondary honor. My longtime friend and confi dant is already a longstanding member of the Mensch Hall of Fame.

Davis resident Jay Feldman is a widely pub lished writer and the author of several books, including “When the Mis sissippi Ran Backwards: Empire, Intrigue, Murder, and the New Madrid Earthquakes.”

I count the years of my life differently now

Bear with me, please, as I reminisce about one aspect of parenting young children. I promise I have a pur pose to this.

Here’s what I’m thinking: Beginning with pregnancy, hav ing children involves a lot of counting.

First you count through 12 weeks yearning to get past the period when miscarriage could strike. Then you count your way through prescribed ultrasounds, until finally you’re on the count down to birth. At week 38 the baby could arrive safely; by week 41, he or she is probably here.

That’s a lot of counting but it’s only the beginning.

After birth, we count mile stones. Does your baby smile at six weeks, sit unsupported at eight months, use two-word combinations when she turns two? If your baby follows a slower timetable, you’re told that variation is normal, and you try not to worry. Whenever these events come, they’re exciting and parents treasure them.

While your first child is grow ing, you think about spacing with a second child, if you plan to have one. When I was young, three years between children was highly recommended; now two years is the norm. Not everyone

achieves that, but many try. Pretty soon both parents and youngsters are involved in the counting.

By the time your child is in first grade, he’s looking around and noticing spacing himself. A third grader is so tall. A sixth grader is practically grown up. A younger sibling, even only two years younger, is such a baby.

Comparisons persist through high school and college. Fresh men are vastly different from seniors in both places. When I entered college, my first boy friend was a senior, which led me to credit him (erroneously) with experience and good judgment. My parents (correctly) disap proved of him, in part because of his age. He was, they thought, “too old” for me.

After college, counting fades. When people reach their early and mid-20s, moving away from home and

starting their working lives, counting nearly disappears, like outgrown clothing.

You can date someone five years older or younger without raising anyone’s eyebrows, even your parents’. On the job, some co-workers are clearly senior, but to qualify as such they need a larger age gap, 10 years or more. After we turn 30, we mark our own milestones — 40th and 50th birthdays can pack a wallop — but we don’t keep track of the ages of everyone around us because it doesn’t matter.

But guess what — and here’s where I’m going with this — when you get old, counting changes again. This is a littlerecognized phenomenon that we might do well to notice.

Here’s what I see.

My eye doctor tells me that cataracts are beginning to form in my eyes. I’m in my 60s when he says that, and he assures me it will be a long time before I need surgery.

Recently, I learned that only 15-20% of people in their 60s have cataracts, but 30% of adults in their 70s do. My surgery took place last summer.

At 75, I’m constantly looking forward and backward at mark ers that were subtle at first but are now coming at me as quickly

as timelines for babies.

For example, I’ve begun to see a continuum from the easy, heedless stair-climbing of youth, to holding a handrail and going more slowly, to my mother-inlaw, who at 95 needs a stair-rid ing machine to reach her second-story apartment.

We don’t have exact dates for these changes, and the timing differs among people, with some lucky ones never needing assis tance at all. But if you’re 75, you can see with your now cataractfree eyes that starting around 80 walking sticks become more common, to be followed by canes, and finally walkers and wheelchairs.

After lying dormant as a topic for 40 years, it has begun to matter again that my husband is three years younger than I. After seeing how falls can affect a person’s trajec tory through older age, I’ve become more cautious, more risk-averse. This hasn’t hap pened to him yet, but I see it in friends who are older than I.

If you ask me about 85-yearolds, I can give you a list of things that often go wrong at that stage, and when I do I sound a bit like a baby book pre dicting developmental stages,

Research identifies key molecule

Special to The Enterprise

Davis High graduate Skyler Jackman, Ph.D. is the senior author of a neu rotransmitter discovery that was published in the journal Nature on Oct. 19. Researchers identified the key molecule that contrib utes to understanding and developing treatments for neurological disorders such as epilepsy and autism. Jackman’s lab at Oregon Health and Sci ence University specializes in the study of synaptic transmission.

Sierra Woodruff (née Schelegle), a 2007 Davis

Name Droppers

High graduate is in Egypt for the 2022 United Nations Climate Change conference with the U.S. Department of State.

COP27 opened Nov. 6 with the key aim of ensur ing full implementation of the Paris Agreement. The conference brings together tens of thousands of par ticipants and more than 100 heads of state to dis cuss efforts to cut green house gas emissions and ways to cope with a chang ing climate.

Gov. Gavin Newsom

appointed Ramona Mos ley, 49, of Elk Grove, to the Tobacco Education and Research Oversight Committee. Mosley has served as chief of program alignment, communica tions and equity at the Center for Health Com munities in the California Department of Public Health since 2021, where she was communications strategist from 2020 to 2021.

She was workforce development, training and technical assistant coordi nator at the University of Nevada, Reno, depart ment of health sciences from 2016 to 2020.

Mosley was director of health Programs at the health education council from 2002 to 2016. She is a member of the UC Davis Alumni Association. Mos ley earned a master’s degree in organizational behavior and development from Golden Gate Univer sity.

This position does not require Senate confirma tion and there is no com pensation. Mosley is a Democrat.

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

By Andy Jones Special to The Enterprise

now in reverse. Small gaps in age become markers of change and moving up to the next cohort, your 80s, for example, brings with it almost-predictable losses. Still driving at night? This is much less common in the 80-something crowd.

By the time you’re 90, each year of difference between peo ple seems significant and an occasion for rejoicing if you’re healthy. Maybe even a little look ing-around goes on, like between first graders and third graders, as we compare ourselves to each other.

Numbers count in small incre ments now. A friend recently wrote to me something like, “I’m five years older than you. Here’s what you can expect when you get hearing aids.”

Individual variation continues, and I may or may not need hear ing aids at 80. But the time line is short.

I’m trying to see the years before 80 and then the years before 90 as treasure, like the milestones of early childhood, to be noticed and celebrated even while they are —relentlessly and inevitably — counted. Marion Franck has lived in Davis for more than 40 years. Reach her at marionf2@gmail. com.

about the city of Davis? 5. Politics. Maggie Has san recently won re-elec tion. She represents which state in the U.S. Senate?

Answers: Vince Guaraldi; Quaking aspen or trembling aspen; Kurt Vonnegut; “Davisville”; New Hampshire

author punctuated his most famous novel with the phrase ”And so it goes”?

4. Local media. What is the title of local journalist Bill Buchanan’s KDRT radio show and podcast

— Dr. Andy Jones is the former quizmaster at de Vere’s Irish Pub and author of the book “Pub Quizzes: Trivia for Smart People.” His pub quiz is now seeking a new home. Meanwhile, Dr. Andy is also sharing his pub quiz zes via Patreon. Find out more at www.yourquiz master.com.

Courtesy photo

Jay Feldman and Dusty Baker at a book signing for Feldman’s baseball novel at a Chicago bookstore in 2005.

By

Classic Peanuts

By Charles M. Schulz

By Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

Pearls Before Swine

Stephan Pastis

Saturday’s 2 months of Sundays to prove himself

Leave it to Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay to often go against the grain.

On Monday, he fired head coach Frank Reich after the Colts dropped to 3-5-1 on the season.

Bypassing three members of Reich’s staff, each of whom had prior NFL head coaching experi ence, Irsay hired Jeff Saturday for the next eight games. Per haps more if the Colts right their listing ship.

Saturday played 13 years as the Colts’ center. He’s a member of the team’s Ring of Honor. But his only coaching experience came at the high school level in Tennessee.

Saturday has eight games to prove himself, one way or the other. If it doesn’t work out, there is a college coach whose team is 9-0 at the FCS level and

a shoo-in to make the 24-team postseason tournament.

And had a Hall of Fame (Class of 2011) NFL playing career. He’s Jackson State head coach Deion Sanders.

Irsay desperately wants Saturday, a longtime friend, to be successful. Time will tell. But someone like Sanders would check more than a few boxes, notably compliance with the NFL’s Rooney Rule n Two weeks ago in this

space, you read this: Houston Astros in six.

A day after the World Series ended, baseball’s free agency period opened.

A number of big-name players are awaiting offers that will be noth ing less than substantial.

n Former Sacramento River Cat and current Giants 40-man roster player David Vil lar was recently named the Pacific Coast League player of the year. Villar will get a long spring training look in terms of becoming an everyday player in 2023.

n The Contemporary Baseball Era is a subset of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Players who were not voted into the Hall by mem bers of the Baseball Writers Association of America get

Check out DHS’ annual ski swap

Enterprise staff

The Davis High boys and girls ski and snowboarding teams will be busy on Sunday.

But off the course.

The program will be holding its annual ski swap at DHS on Sunday, inside the gym from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.

There are great bargains on new and used ski and snowboard equipment and clothes.

The entry fee is $5 per per son until 11 a.m.

Anyone who wants to donate their used skiing cloth ing or equipment can bring them to the DSHS gym on Sat urday between 4 to 8 p.m. or Sunday between 7:30 to 8:30 a.m.

All profits go toward the Blue Devils' program.

For more information, email s_szymoniak@hotmail. com.

LocaL roundup

Aggie men’s water polo

LA JOLLA — UC Davis escaped with another victory in the Los Angeles area as the No. 5 men’s water polo team beat No. 12 UC San Diego 8-7 at the Canyonview Aquatic Center on Saturday.

With their fourth consecu tive victory to wrap up the reg ular season, the Aggies are 16-7 overall record and a perfect 8-0 Western Water Polo Associa tion record.

More importantly, an unde feated record in conference play means UCD has locked up the top seed for the WWPA championships, which will run Nov. 18-20 at Loyola Mary mount’s Burns Aquatics Center in Los Angeles.

Redshirt junior attacker

Logan Anderson, junior utility Aleix Aznar Beltran and red shirt senior attacker Levi Mur taugh each recorded a pair of goals, guiding the Aggie offense in the low-scoring battle.

Aggie redshirt junior goal keeper Aaron Wilson made 10 saves, including some incredi ble game-saving stops to keep the Aggies out front late.

UC San Diego scored the lone goal of the opening eight minutes, finding the back of the net from Brendon Frezzey.

The Aggies answered with a frenzy of four goals — the game’s highest scoring period — to eventually give UCD 4-2 lead at halftime.

The Tritons battled back with the three goals in the third frame and two more in the fourth quarter, but UCD held its ground defensively while Murtaugh scored the eventual game-winner to propel the Aggies to the victory.

another chance for induction.

Eight post-1980 players are on this year’s ballot. The voting panel includes Hall of Famers, former and present baseball exec utives, a few baseball writers, 16 in all. Candidates must receive a minimum 12 of 16 votes.

This year’s group: Albert Belle, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Don Mattingly, Fred McGriff, Dale Murphy, Rafael Palmeiro and Curt Schilling.

Results will be announced in early December.

n Recommended reading: You may be able to locate it on Amazon, “Sugar Ray Robinson,” a biography of the fighter many consider the greatest boxer of all time.

Co-author, the late New York Times columnist Dave Ander son, is a Pulitzer Prize winner for sports commentary.

Robinson fought profession ally from 1940 to 1965, often duking it out more than once a month. His career record: 173 wins, 19 losses, 6 draws with 109 knockouts.

n Our condolences to the fam ily and many friends of Mort Saltzman, who died this week at age 82.

The longtime reporter and editor at The Sacramento Bee, Saltzman shaped and nurtured the careers of many Bee journal ists, past and present. He will be sorely missed by colleagues too numerous to count.

The longtime radio and tele vision color man on UC Davis football broadcasts, Doug Kelly is director of communications for Battlefields2Ballfields and man aging general partner of Kelly & Associates. Contact him at DKelly1416@aol.com.