The Davis Enterprise Wednesday, November 30, 2022

UC reaches tentative deal with some striking students

By Monica Stark Enterprise staff writer

The bargaining units for the post doctoral and academic researchers are celebrating a tentative five-year agreement with the University of California for 20% to 23% wage increases by October 2023. After five years in the position at UC, the cur rent lowest-paid postdoc would see a 57% salary increase, according to the United Auto Workers, the union rep resenting the grad students.

They will remain on strike in sym pathy with academic student employ ees and student researchers while the membership votes on whether to ratify the agreements. Student researchers last made a compensa tion proposal to UC on Nov. 17.

From 2024 to 2027, there will be an added 7.2% annual increase for postdocs on the scale (3.5% scale increase and 3.7% experience step) and a 3% annual increase for abovescale postdocs. The tentative agree ment also calls for faster timelines to

Business owners push for open G Street

By Anne Ternus-Bellamy Enterprise staff writer

Disagreement continues over the partial closure of G Street in downtown Davis.

The closure — between Second and Third streets — was done in the early months of the pandemic in order to help restaurants sur vive by ensuring their customers could safely eat outside on the street and sidewalks.

But many non-restaurant business owners have been unhappy with the lingering clo sure and its impact on accessi bility and parking for their customers — not to mention the esthetics of the area — and they continue to urge the City Coun cil to reopen the street to twoway traffic and parking.

When the matter came before the council a little over a year

ago, council members were divided, with Councilwoman Gloria Partida and Vice Mayor Will Arnold favoring the clo sure, while Councilman Dan Carson and Mayor Lucas Fre richs favored restoring at least some vehicle traffic. (Council man Josh Chapman recused himself from the discussion as he owns a downtown business, Armadillo Music).

Law school withdraws from rankings

By Monica Stark Enterprise staff writer

Davis

UC

School of Law will no longer provide data to U.S. News & World Report for use in compiling its law school rankings, according to an announce ment by Kevin R. Johnson, dean of the law school.

In a letter to the UC Davis School of Law Community, the decision “has been made after receiving guidance from the law faculty, cam pus leadership, students, alumni and others.”

Johnson said that U.S. News “failed to meaning fully change the rankings methodology” of “welldocumented” flaws and regular corrections “show volatility and undermine

their legit imacy.”

zschool rankings,” Johnson wrote as he has in the past, “the U.S. News rankings discourage law schools from enrolling more diverse student bod ies and do not in any way value more diverse law fac ulties.”

The letter explains that significant weight is given to Law School Admission Test scores of students in the rankings, which “affords undue weight to test scores in the rankings,

and effectively discourages the admission of African American, Latina/o, Native American and Asian Amer ican applicants in a country where fewer than 20 per cent of all lawyers are peo ple of color.”

Earlier this spring, UC Davis Law announced its No. 15 ranking in the nation — and No. 1 in Cali fornia — in a new “Access and Equity” ranking of public law schools.

According to a UC Davis press release, Texas South ern leads the new rankings, reported in a study by Iowa College of Law Visiting Professor of Law Christo pher Mathis in the Rutgers

the street to two-way traffic.

But with the council divided, the closure has remained in place.

City Council members are expected to revisit the matter in January, but during a joint

Future of UCD grad ceremony has local leaders spooked

By Anne Ternus-Bellamy Enterprise staff writer

Davis officials and busi ness leaders expressed concerns Monday about UC Davis moving its June undergraduate com mencement ceremonies to Sacramento beginning in 2023.

During a joint meeting between city leaders and the Davis Downtown Business Association, DDBA executive director Brett Maresca said he was notified recently by a UC Davis official about the plan to move the cere mony to Sacramento fol lowing a survey of students about which

location they desired. Results of that survey showed 53 percent of respondents preferred ceremonies be held in Sacramento at a venue like the Golden 1 Center where they would each be able to invite at least six guests. About 35 percent said they would prefer the ceremonies be held on the UC Davis campus even though they would be able to invite no more than four guests, as is the case now. And another 11 percent had no prefer ence.

The survey received a total of 833 responses.

Pedestrians cross by the bollards on G and Third streets blocking southbound traffic on Tuesday afternoon.

EntErprisE photo

The Davis Downtown Busi ness Association had recom mended reopening

JOHNSON UCD Law School dean

A

That wasn’t the only way jobs came around and it certainly wasn’t the way I landed my cur rent gig, but it did happen with enough frequency that it wasn’t particularly unusual.

That memory came front-andcenter one day last week when I received a personal letter in the mail from a potential employer who may or may not have been willing to match the seven-figure salary that fuels my life of luxury in East Davis.

I’ve learned over time that junk mail is invariably addressed to “Robert.” But the stuff worth opening is addressed to “Bob.”

Since this letter was addressed to “Bob” and the return address said “The New York Times, 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y.,” I decided it might be worth open ing.

Not that I’m interested in mak ing a lateral move at this point in my career.

long time ago, before email and cell phones and laptop com puters, back when reporters pounded out their stories on man ual typewriters, a friend of mine received a job opportunity via the U.S. Mail. Yes, a formal letter typed on real paper, signed by the author with a ballpoint pen and stuffed in an envelope addressed by hand and adorned with a post age stamp.Then again, it never hurts to listen to what the folks at the Sec ond Greatest Newspaper in Amer ica have to say. After all, they were way ahead of the game when it comes to capitalizing the “The” before their name, as in “The New York Times.”

When I started at The Davis Enterprise and was assigned to cover the first college football game between Princeton and Rut gers in 1869, we were just “the” Davis Enterprise, before joining the crowd and becoming the much more prestigious “The” Davis Enterprise sometime in the 20th Century.

Plus, The Times has that incredible motto boxed off at the top of the front page, declaring that readers are about to receive “All the News That’s Fit to Print.” Our motto, of course, is “All the News That Fits.”

Neither of those, however, can compete with the motto of the nearby Winters Express, which proudly declares that Winters is the “Gateway to Monticello Dam.”

Don’t know what the motto was before there was a Monticello Dam. Probably just “Gateway to Monticello,” which was the charm ing town that Lake Berryessa bur ied under millions and millions of cubic feet of water. I’m one of those lucky folks who actually vis ited the town of Monticello before the dirty deed was done.

B

The New York Times, which, presumably, was fit to print, just like the newspaper.

As I pulled the one page job offer out of the envelope, my eyes scanned immediately to the bot tom of the letter to see that it was signed by my friend A.G. Sulz berger, the Publisher of the New York Times.

Arthur and I go way back and this is certainly not the first time he has written to me. Actually, Arthur is just 42 years old, so I guess he doesn’t go as far back as I do.

The letter also includes my account number at the top of the page, which seems to mean I’m already on the payroll. In my mind that’s a bit presumptuous, since I haven’t had time to talk with my agent or check out the housing market in Manhattan. I guess that’s just the way they do things in the Big Apple.

“The mission of The New York Times,” Arthur begins, “to seek truth and help people understand the world, is as vital as ever.”

Agreed.

“The printed page remains a powerful showcase for this report ing.”

Arthur goes on to describe the various sections The Times has to offer, clearly trying to entice me to “Go East, Young Man.”

There’s a “monthly section for kids and special sections devoted to cooking.”

ut back to the letter fromThat’s all fine and dandy, but I was thinking more along the lines of writing a regular column on the comings and goings of folks in the most interesting city in America.

But wait, I’m already doing that. Thanks for thinking of me, Arthur, but I think I’ll stay put for now.

“I’m writing to let you know that on or after 2/13/2023, your home delivery subscription rate will increase.”

And I’m writing to let you know that on or after 2/13/2023 I will still be working for The Davis Enterprise and we do not offer home delivery to 620 Eighth Ave. in New York, New York.

However, I will put a couple of complimentary copies in the mail just so you can see how we do things here on the West Coast. Call it professional courtesy.

God’s Blessings to you and all the great folks at The New York Times.

— Reach Bob Dunning at bdunning@davisenterprise.net.

The undergraduate com mencement ceremonies bring thousands of guests to Davis for several days every June, filling up local hotels and providing reve nue to downtown restau rants and businesses.

Maresca said commence ment ceremonies, espe cially the primary annual ceremonies in June, “pro vide a major boon to the economy heading into the slower summer months once the vast majority of UCD students leave town.”

He said news that the ceremonies will be moved

to Sacramento “was kind of a shock to the system ini tially, of our city not being able to provide accommo dations for thousands of people and families that is so important for our busi ness community.

“It’s a bit scary, honestly, for that week,” he told city leaders, including council members Dan Carson and Gloria Partida.

“And while, of course, a lot of picture-taking is going to be done, especially in the arboretum,” Maresca said, “it still is going to leave a few days … of busi ness and an enormous amount of money going

into a different city than ours.”

Assistant City Manager Kelly Stachowicz said the news from UC Davis “was not met with excitement, at least from our office.”

Carson said, “I share your concern.”

“(As) part of our symbi otic relationship here between the city and the campuses, we’re looking for every opportunity we can to benefit both that sense of community that we have, but also very directly our local business community,” he said.

PHONE, MAIL OR IN PERSON Home delivery: 325 G St., 530-756-0826 Delivery phone hours : Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m.-1 p.m.; Sun. 7-10 a.m. Business office : 325 G St. 530-756-0800 Hours: Mon. - Fri. 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. EMAIL News newsroom@davisenterprise.net Sports sports@davisenterprise.net Home Delivery circulation@davisenterprise.net Classifieds classads@davisenterprise.net Advertising ads@davisenterprise.net Legal Notices legals@davisenterprise.net Obituaries obit@davisenterprise.net Production graphics@davisenterprise.net ON THE WEB www.davisenterprise.com Copyright 2022 If you do not receive your Enterprise by 5 p.m. on Wednesdays or Fridays or 7 a.m. on Sundays, please call 530-7560826. Missed issues will be delivered on the next publishing day. HOME DELIVERY HOW TO REACH US About us 2022 Member California News Publishers Association Certified Audit of Circulations A2 THE DAVIS ENTERPRISE WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2022 The Davis Enterprise is published Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays by The Davis Enterprise Inc., 315 G Street, Davis, CA 95616. Application to Mail at Periodicals Postage Prices is Pending at Davis, CA. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to to The Davis Enterprise, P.O. Box 1470, Davis, CA 95617-1470. Phone 530-756-0800 R. Burt McNaughton Publisher Sebastian Oñate Editor Nancy Hannell Advertising Director Shawn Collins Production Manager Bob Franks Home Delivery Manager SUBSCRIPTION RATES FOR CARRIER DELIVERY (plus tax) Home delivery $3.69 per week Online $3.23 per week 12 weeks $44.84 24 weeks $89.30 48 weeks $159.79 FUTURE: City leaders meet with university officials this evening From Page A1

Carson also noted that Wednesday evening will be

town-gown meeting that will include university lead ers as well as city and county elected officials.

Local

DEAL: Workers will stay on strike in solidarity with others

receive experience-based step increases, as well as an increase from four to eight weeks of parental and fam ily leave paid in full for all postdocs.

In a UAW press confer ence via Zoom, postdoc Jade Moore of UC San Francisco, a member of the bargaining team, said that the tentative agreements not only will help with increased compensation but also the ability to have more time off with families, child care, and better pro tections and environments.

Neal Sweeney, UAW 5810 President, said some of the noneconomic com ponents of the tentative agreement, including pro tections against abusive conduct and bullying, are “really industry-setting.”

Other noneconomic sec tions include leave time for immigration appointments and protections if immigra tion laws change. Protec tions for workers with disabilities that go beyond the ADA, ensuring interim accommodations, are also in the agreement.

At the same time, the

workers are promised free transit passes within three years and a commitment to bargaining if they have not received them in that time frame. The agreement also includes an E-bike dis count of at least 15%.

"The improvements in paid parental or family leave are the best of any worker at UC,” Sweeney said — for all postdocs, that’s 100% pay for eight weeks. “This is really sig nificant movement from the university in the con text of the gains,” he said.

In a historical context, he added, “The postdoctoral scholars' contract includes the largest salary increase of a postdoctoral scholar union contract that I've seen.”

A childcare subsidy will start at $2,500 per year to $2,800 annually — the first time Postdocs have won a childcare subsidy after 12 years of fighting.

Meanwhile, the Univer sity of California put forth the following statement: “Our dedicated colleagues are vital to UC’s research activities, and we are very pleased to have reached agreements that honor

their many important con tributions,” said Letitia Silas, executive director of systemwide labor relations. “These agreements also uphold our tradition of supporting these employ ees with compensation and benefits packages that are among the best in the country.”

Sweeney thinks UC can make serious proposals to the other two units with an agreement possible this week.

After the strike, Moore said they will continue to fight for more rights. “We don't see this as a place that we're going to stop. It’s really important for us to continue winning more things,” including more childcare subsidies and sal ary increases. “This just sets the standard for what we can do moving forward,” she said.

As the postdocs and aca demic researchers continue striking in sympathy with the other two bargaining units, a question remains: What about quarter grades, which would normally be due Dec. 23? The quarter ends on Dec. 9.

A Nov. 23 statement of

RANKINGS: Not happy with methods

From Page A1

Law Review. According to the article, Mathis based the rankings on “measur able outcomes related to diversity, access and equity.”

The article “seeks to cen ter the needs of Black and Latinx prospective law stu dents through a new rank ing system,” Mathis writes. The ranking “uses 12 access and equity measures that

are significant to Black and Latinx law school fit. This ‘Access and Equity Rank ing’ is the only ranking to date that will help Black and Latinx students identify which public law schools centers their needs.”

Johnson’s letter men tions The Princeton Review’s 2022 “Best Law Schools” rankings, recog nizing UC Davis Law, home of a rare “majority-

minority” faculty, as No. 5 in the nation in faculty diversity. Princeton Review ranked UC Davis second in the nation in resources for women.

— Contact Monica Stark at monica@ davisenterprise.net.

solidarity among UC fac ulty has called for a grading strike. As more names are added to the list, the strik ers remain steadfast at the picket line and by not doing any work for the university. In what is deemed as their “strongest possible solidar ity with the largest univer sity strike in United States history,” the faculty have pledged to “honor the picket line in full and not to replace struck labor.”

To put it simply, English Professor Seeta Chaganti, who has two teacher assis tants for a Chaucer lecture class, said the grading for the class simply can't be completed until the strike ends.

“For me to suddenly start doing all of the work that is struck work — work that they're not doing — that would be me passing the picket line, right? That would be picking up the labor of strikers and being a scab. And for me, it's a matter of personal con science that I'm not cross ing the picket line, that I'm not a scab,” she said.

In terms of efficacy, a grade strike is just one tool that will help to make a

strike effective,” Natalie Robertson, Associate Instructor, and Ph.D. stu dent, said. “I don't think that it's the only tool. I don't know whether it will even be like the single thing that the admin will respond to. Because I think that they've known it's coming.”

Chaganti pointed out that neither professors nor TAs have any say in the consequences of grades not being submitted. “That is a matter for the registrar. It’s a matter for the financial aid office. It's a matter for the administrators who work on student enroll ment and eligibility for various things they wanted to be eligible for,” she said.

Meanwhile, undergradu ates are not going to receive the same level of depth and attention to their work, and the same volume of feed back and critique had there not been a strike, Chaganti said. “But that's the point. It's a strike. It's meant to be disruptive. It's meant to show that the labor that these TAS do every quarter that’s essential to the run ning of the class. And so if the students don't receive that, that's part of what the

strike is, you know. It's a disruption that's inten tional,” she added.

Chaganti said it's been evident from the beginning that if the university wants to drag the strike through the end of the quarter, it would have to come into a grading strike because there would be ungraded material that many people, like her, would not do.

According to the state ment, this includes with drawing instructional labor, including teaching classes (with or without TAs; virtual or in-person), advising, and grading, for as long as the strike endures; joining the strike’s commitment to withhold grade submission until the strike ends; refusing any demands to do labor that would otherwise be under taken by striking workers; withholding campus and university service work.

— Contact Monica Stark at monica@davisenter prise.net.

OPEN: Business owners seek resolution to long-term issue

From Page A1

meeting Monday between city officials and the DDBA, several business owners continued to urge the coun cil to reopen the street.

Adele Shaw, representing the board of The Artery, as well as its 69 members, said, “I’m asking you to reopen it to parking and vehicle access.”

The COVID-19 pan demic, she noted, “was an unprecedented event that called for creative responses. The closure of G Street was to permit res taurants to seat their cus tomers and save their businesses.”

However, Shaw said, “the windfall to these food service businesses has come at great cost to the other businesses on G Street who need easy acces sibility and respectable ambiance to conduct their businesses.

“The loss of accessibility and parking for our busi ness obviously creates inconvenience to our cus tomers.”

But that’s only part of the cost, Shaw said.

“The flavor of the mer

cantile environment on G Street has changed. During daytime business hours, the tables in the street are empty and the streets and sidewalks are filthy. Visitors to G Street feel as though they are part of a party that’s ended and not been cleaned up.

“I respectfully ask that the council show leadership and consideration for other merchants on G Street as well as for the experience of the town. Please put the party to an end and resume two-way traffic and parking on G Street so downtown can get back to work,” said Shaw.

Others weighing in on Monday included Mahin Vadi, owner of Mahin’s Alterations at 221 G St., who said, “I lost lots of cus tomers because usually they cannot find parking,” and Jen Cala Chandler, manager of Sole Desire Shoes at Second and G streets.

“It looks horrendous,” said Chandler. “It totally dissuades customers from coming to our beautiful downtown, which was beautiful before this

happened.”

She said she understands that restaurants needed the closure for a period of time, but said, “that time is over and it’s time to reopen G Street so the rest of us have an opportunity to be suc cessful and to recover from what’s happened to all of us.

“This has affected all of us in a really negative way and it unfortunately con tinues to. Every day there are customers who say they don’t come downtown, or they don’t come this far downtown any more

because the street is closed. And I’d really really like to see something happen in a positive way, because cur rently, it’s not appealing to our regular customers who would come downtown and visit us and other busi nesses on G Street that are not restaurants.”

Brett Maresca, executive director of the DDBA, noted that his organization had requested a year ago that the city reopen G Street and said Monday the area “is an embarrassment,” citing orange construction cones, plastic chains and “Home Depot buckets with cement in them.”

“If we can’t get it up to an attractive, vibrant environ ment, we wouldn’t want it closed,” Maresca said. “I can’t speak specifically for all businesses, but overall the (DDBA) board is in

support of either having it opened up or having it a really nice vibrant environ ment and some standards that are held to on an ongo ing basis.”

Partida said Monday that she is “in agreement that something has to be done. We’ve had this conversation for a long time.”

Meanwhile, Carson, who will be leaving the council next month, noted that “this is a debate and discussion that’s going to extend beyond my time on council.

“I’m on record as favor ing what seemed to be a reasonable compromise — one lane in one direction being open, perhaps with flexibility with the bollards

we have in place to close it off for special events or weekends, to program that space.

“But I think wrapping up our downtown plan, this might be good timing to reach a conclusion on all of these issues and I look for ward to efforts to beautify this area,” Carson said.

City staff are currently in conversations with a num ber of groups, including the DDBA and the Chamber of Commerce, soliciting input that will be brought to the City Council, likely on Jan. 17.

— Reach Anne TernusBellamy at aternus@ davisenterprise.net. Follow her on Twitter at @ATernusBellamy.

NOTICE INVITING BIDS

2022 ADA Parking/ curb compliance project CIP No 8126 [cfda #14 218]

1 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City Council of the City of Davis (“City”) invites and will receive sealed Bids up to but not later than December 15, 2022 at 2:00 pm at the City Clerk s office of the City Man ager located at 23 Russell Boulevard Davis CA 95616 for the furnishing to t he City of all labor, equipment, materials, tools services transportation permits utilities and all other items necessary for the 2022 ADA Parking/ Curb Compli ance Project, CIP No 8126 (CFDA #14 218) (the Project ) At said time Bids will be publicly opened and read aloud at the City Office Bids received after said time shall be returned unopened Bids shall be valid for a period of 90 calendar days after the Bid opening date

BID OPENING PROCEDURE

C o n t r a c t B o o k from BPXpress Reprographics AND be on the BPXpress plan holder list to be deemed responsive Only bidders on the plan holders list shall recei ve addenda notifications Please see further detail on bidding requirements by going to https://cityofdavis org/city hall/public works/management

“It looks horrendous.”

Jen Cala Chandler Sole Desire Shoes, G Street

Briefly

Plenty of Pinktober gratitude in Davis

Driver

in

fatal Davis crash ID’d

Yolo County coroner’s officials identified a 37-year-old West Sacra mento man as the driver in a deadly Thanksgiving-morning crash in Davis.

Pavel Bredikhin was at the wheel of the Ford that, according to the California Highway Patrol, left westbound Interstate 80 “at a high rate of speed” before crashing along County Road 32A east of Mace Boulevard.

Bredikhin and the front-seat passenger, 27-year-old Lyubov Vorona of Sacramento, died at the scene of the 2:30 a.m. collision. A third passenger, whose identity has not been released, was hospital ized with major inju ries.

Cops stop car theft

Two Woodland men face multiple criminal charges after being caught stealing a cata lytic converter from a parked vehicle, Wood land police said.

In a Facebook post, the Woodland Police Department reported its officers were dis patched at 12:40 a.m. Tuesday to investigate a call involving a vehicle on West Elliott Street.

“With multiple offi cers on scene within minutes, one officer saw the subjects cutting off a catalytic converter on a parked vehicle,” the post said.

Two suspects fled on foot, but were detained following a brief pur suit, police said. Robert Nesbit, 41; and Michael Crow, 46, went to the Yolo County Jail on sus picion of grand theft, conspiracy and tamper ing with vehicles.

Special to The Enterprise

During National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, the Thriving Pink team of dedicated supporters and board members reached out to many individuals and businesses in Yolo County.

The volunteer-driven organization, which is led by many breast cancer sur vivors/thrivers, wants to ensure the local nonprofit will continue to grow and sustain its core services and programs. In October this year, over 140 individ uals and businesses in Yolo County participated in and donated to the PINKtober outreach campaign for Thriving Pink.

Local businesses have been particularly generous knowing that 100% of the donations will stay in this community to directly help local breast cancer survi vors.

“I was not even old enough for a mammogram when I was diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in March 2021. I had moved here from the east coast, away from my family, and found a lump during a self-exam. In the past eighteen months, I went through surgery, chemo therapy and radiation. I am thankful for Thriving Pink and the great support from this community,” said Tatum Clinton-Selin, a Thriving Pink grant recipi ent. “Thriving Pink’s men toring program and their Pink Speaker Series work shops led by medical pro fessionals are unparalleled among breast cancer orga nizations.”

“It is truly heartwarming to see so many generous individuals and businesses making a dif ference to help local breast cancer survivors thrive,” shares Leslie Hunter, Executive Director of Thriving Pink.

“As a community owned

Thriving Pink

grocery store, the custom ers of the Davis Food Co-op truly care about how their money positively impacts their neighbors,” said Vince Marchese, Mar keting Manager Davis Food Co-op. “It is impor tant for us, during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, to show our support through the Round Up at the Register program to raise money for Thriving Pink’s programs to help local breast cancer patients and survivors.”

Jeremy Brooks of Brooks Painting shares, “Giving back is one of our company’s core values. All of our team members step up to support Thriving Pink. We personally know many who have benefitted from this wonderful orga nization.” A gift to Thriv ing Pink is truly a gift our local community.

FIT House, Balance Point Pilates, Get Fit Davis, and Jazzercise Davis were among many local businesses which hosted class fundraisers for the worthy cause. “We believe Thriving Pink is an incredibly important resource for the women of Yolo County impacted by a diagnosis of breast cancer, as well as for their fami lies,” said Stephanie Tooker Jordan, Jazzercise Davis Owner and Instructor.

We are truly grateful for the many individuals and local businesses who have recently given so gener ously through our PINK tober fundraising campaign to support Thriving Pink’s services and programs for our breast cancer community.

Platinum Pink: The George and Lena Valente Foundation; Harris & Mary Yin Liu & Woodland McDonald’s; and In Mem ory of Ann Murray Paige.

Hot Pink: Blue Sea Resources Inc. & Celeste Hanagan; Brooks Painting

Inc. & Jeremy Brooks; Coleman Fung; and Zum bathon Team

Bright Pink: Bobtail Apparel; Davis Ace and Aggie Ace Hardware; Davis Enterprise; Joni Rubin & Robert Wiebe; Katie and Bryan Bolich; Vandergriff Brent Family Fund; and Woodland Sun rise Rotary.

Shining Pink: Caroline & Alden Larsen; Davis Dermatology & Earlyn Noll, M.D.; Davis Food Co-op; FIT House; Gayle Barry; KLJ Studios & Kelly Lynn Jordan; Main stage Dispensary Davis; Royal Guest Hotels LLC; Suzanne Livers; and Tobias Architecture Inc.

Magenta Pink: Balance Point Pilates & Sevgi Leno; Dawn Casteel & Michael Hughes; Denise Rose; Jazzercise Davis Class; Joan Byard; Mani sha Patel; Matthew L. Molitor, DDS, MS; Spa Central & Kelli Fuller; Tom & Jan Uriu-Adams; Vickers Automotive Repair; and the Woodland Police Department.

Pearl Pink: Andrea Mayer; Armadillo Music Inc. & Josh and Athena Chapman; Barbara Robin; Brian Sway; Carbahal & Company & John Carba hal; Carolyn Cole Adams; Chan Family Fund; Circle Z Farms & Kelly Curry wood; Clinton Associates & Jim and Barbara Clin ton; Ellen Tyler; Haven a Boutique & Rosemarie Leonardi; Jennifer Curtis; Katherine Mayer; Laura Nathan Design; Miles & Renee Rubin; Robert Uriu; SwimAmerica — Davis & Rose Cholewinski; Sinor Mengali Group & Lori Sinor; Stephanie Wal ter; Valerie Park; and Zia’s Delicatessen (partial list).

“What’s Raised Here, Stays Here,” said Joni Rubin, Thriving Pink board chair. “Our Thriving Pink community is very grateful for the muchneeded support.”

Thriving Pink’s Mentor ing Pink Program provides a “Pink Speaker Series” of educational workshops led by medical providers and professional facilitators each month, with Pink Peers and support groups to help newly diagnosed women. The Granting Pink Program, led by a committee with Rose Cho lewinski of SwimAmerica Davis, provides financial assistance with individual grants to directly support local survivors with medi cal treatment and quality of life care. The Thriving Pink team appreciates all the dedicated volunteers and supporters who make this all possible.

n Monday, Dec. 12: 7 to 8 p.m., Pink Speaker Series Workshop, Peer to Peer Connection with Denise Rose, MS, Life & Mental Health Coach

“T

hriving Pink is also expanding its programs, workshops, and partner ships, over the next few months, with a new Office & Community Room located at 501 2nd Street in Davis downtown,” says Joni Rubin. “This beauti ful space donated by Har ris Liu, owner of Woodland McDonald’s, provides a home for our community, and ensures local donations directly help our breast cancer community of survivors and thrivers.”

Thriving Pink’s pro grams and workshops are provided at no cost to the community. Everyone is invited to participate and join the Pink Team at these upcoming events. Please email info@thriv ingpink.org for details and to RSVP.

n Monday, Nov. 28: 7 to 8 p.m., Pink Speaker Series Workshop, Radical Remission — 10 Healing Factors for Health & Well ness with Karla Mans Gir oux, Co-Founder Health Navigators.

n Monday, Dec. 5: 5 to 7 p.m., Holiday Open House & Pink Ribbon Cut ting, Thriving Pink Office & Community Room (501

Granting Pink applica tions to help survivors/ thrivers with immediate and direct needs are now available on the Thriving Pink website at www.thriv ingpink.org and due by the end of January 2023. Those diagnosed with breast cancer who reside in Yolo County can fill out the straightforward applica tion, or a friend/family member can apply on their behalf for this special rec ognition and support. This past year, Thriving Pink awarded over $64,000 in individual grants to 35 local women. Over $191,000 in grants has been awarded in the past five years.

Until there is a cure, we are committed to our mis sion to help others throughout this difficult breast cancer journey. Our hearts are full of gratitude for your support and gen erosity. Donations can be made online at www.thriv ingpink.org or a check can be mailed to Thriving Pink, P.O. Box 72314, Davis, CA 95617.

If you or someone you know would like to volun teer or needs support for a recent diagnosis with breast cancer, please con tact Thriving Pink at info@thrivingpink.org. Together, we are building stronger families and a stronger community. Wishing you and your family a wonderful and joyous holiday season.

— Submitted by the Thriving Pink Board of Directors

Tea-rrible boba prices caused by multiple factors

By Alex MiyAMoto HUB Staff

Milk tea with tapioca, commonly referred to as boba tea, has spiked in both popularity and price in recent years.

In a Davis High survey with more than 145 respondents, 46% of people reported having boba tea within the past two weeks.

The popular drink has caused some to question its pric ing.

The average price of boba tea in the United States is $5.84 as of May 2022.

Frequent consumers of the trendy drink are surprised with the pricing.

“It’s frustrating that it’s so good, but so expensive,” junior Isaac Emojong said.

Emojong is a fan of the drink, reporting that he gets it

once every two weeks. His favorite boba joint, Teabo Cafe, is located in south Davis off of Cowell Boulevard. He enjoys having, “the cold refreshing juice with the (fresh) warm tapioca balls.”

In 2017, the price of a small blizzard, an icy blended drink, with boba at Teabo Cafe totaled $4.25. Today, the drink costs $5.45. The 28% increase in price is due to a number of varying factors.

General inflation, supply and demand and the “experi ence” of the drink all go into what the consumer sees as the total price.

Recent inflation has caused a variety of products to increase in average price. According to Congressional Research Service, inflated prices seen in food products is due to supply chain shortages that started with the pan demic.

The high demand for boba tea causes tapioca to be among the food products that are experiencing supply chain disruptions.

The drink is seen as a popular drink throughout the U.S. Emojong can recall seeing his friends post pictures of the drink on social media. “Everyone loves (boba), it’s a trendy drink.”

High demand for the drink, in turn, causes prices to increase.

Additionally, the drink, as described by an employee at Teabo Cafe, is more than a drink. According the employee, “you are paying for the experience of the drink.”

Prices of boba tea range based on location. In the Bay Area the drink can have an above average price of $7-10.

“People are actually very happy to pay $5 here,” the Teabo Cafe employee said.

Davis housing prices soar amid slow city growth

By Ben Mitchell HUB Staff

Davis’ high home prices are making it difficult for young pro fessionals to move into town.

The median price of an occu pied home in Davis is $675,000, $130,000 more than the median home price in California as a whole, and nearly three times the median home price across Amer ica, according to 2021 census data.

A variety of factors are to blame for this remarkable difference in the cost of housing. First, there is high demand for the homes in Davis that are on the market.

The city of Davis boasts a “low crime rate, a premier local school system, the presence of UC Davis and a convenient location on the I-80 corridor between Sacra mento and the bay area,” accord ing to the city webpage on population and housing.

Amenities like these mean that there is a lot of motivation for people to move to Davis, and not a lot of motivation to move out, resulting in a housing market with low housing turnover.

The other half of the problem is that Davis does not create enough new housing stock to keep up with the high demand. As a result, from 2011 to 2021, Davis’ population only grew by 1.8%. For context, in the same period of time neighboring town Wood land grew by 10.1%.

The slow growth experienced in Davis has resulted in the

aforementioned dramatic rise in housing prices; without more homes being put on the market, the sellers that are putting their homes up for sale have signifi cantly more bargaining power and ask for higher and higher prices.

For many cities, one possible solution would be to grow larger, building more housing units to keep up with the rising demand. However, this sort of growth is not such a simple option for Davis.

The problem is, Davis has already used up nearly all of what is called “greenfield property,” which is land that has never been built on before. It’s often a sim pler affair to build developments on greenfield property, which is why it is generally considered to be desirable by developers.

“In order to do a development that’s within the city limits, you often have to do an infill develop ment which can be more expen sive or more complicated to do,” assistant city planner Kelly Sta chowicz said. An infill is a con struction project that is building on a piece of property that was something else first, or squeezed between surrounding develop ments.

Another option is to build new housing developments outside of Davis. The city has the power to annex surrounding land into Davis for new housing develop ments. However, Davis is subject to the “Right to Vote Ordinance,” which requires a majority of voters

in Davis to approve most new developments outside city limits.

So far, a vote of this nature has only passed a handful of times.

When talking about housing and developments, it’s important to clarify that for the most part, it’s not the city planners who are responsible for building more houses. That part is up to the developers who finance the proj ects.

The city’s job is primarily to

provide feedback on developers’ plans and to establish and enforce city zoning. The city planners set aside different sections of land to be residential, commercial or industrial zones, and future developments have to fit into those categories.

All this is to say that a lack of housing projects comes down to developers not having enough incentive to build their projects in Davis.

“Some developers may look at Davis and say, I’m not interested in doing that,” Stachowicz said.

For Davis High students hop ing to someday move back to Davis, the future is uncertain, according to Stachowicz.

“It’s feasible, but it’s challeng ing … You don’t have a surplus of properties. That means that the properties that do exist are going to be expensive,” Stachowicz said.

Ben Mitchell/huB photo

Despite the rising demand for new Davis housing, few new development proposals are being passed.

Alex MiyAMoto/huB grAphic grAphics By cAnvA

Dr. Steven Smith and his wife, Lor raine, stopped in a small town in east Tennes see last summer.

The Davis couple were looking for a meal — the kind of nutritious, healthy food widely available in Davis. But has the healthyeating movement spread that broadly in our cul ture?

Well, yes. They spotted a small place that featured hummus, quinoa and veg gies in what aficionados call “power bowls.”

Dr. Smith, a family phy sician with Sutter, has been a big advocate of healthy eating over the decades. He’s retiring next year, and Lorraine is work ing part-time. I thought I’d gather up his final insights before he steps away from his large patient base here in our city.

I’d headline our inter view this way. He’s disap pointed (let’s just say it right out) with how diffi cult it has been to help people help themselves by eating healthy. This from a man who has seen it all.

The arteries, the colons, the knees, the diabetes, the high blood pressure, the sore backs due to excess weight. You can continue the list.

“I try to convince people to think, ‘I want health, I need to make an invest ment,” through healthier eating. But it’s a big ask, particularly with older people. Changing one’s diet can be hard.

“People in their 60s and 70s seem to think their weight issues are inevita ble,” he explained. “It’s not inevitable. So much of all that brings them in is avoidable. And I’m less and less enchanted with medications.”

Dr. Smith tries to edu cate about the power of a healthy diet. He has extra cred, in my book, from his undergraduate degree in nutrition science. Also, he personally walks his talk.

A paragon of fitness himself, he and Lorraine have a huge backyard gar den that fills every avail able square foot: Fuyu persimmon, leaf lettuce, apples, collard greens, car rots ... that list goes on and on.

He and Lorraine abide by the plant-based diet he preaches. Or, he’s also a fan of at least cutting back on something or introduc ing healthier alternatives.

“I’m sympathetic to why people get confused about diet,” Dr. Smith concedes. “They go online and people are promoting

Oh, the fast and furious ads bombard us! It’s shopping season! Get your amazing, life-changing, guaranteed-tofall-apart-soon (so you won’t ever be done with Amazon) gizmo! And do it within the next 10 hours or you’ll miss out on this unprecedented deal! And if you do order, we’ll solemnly vow — until death do us part — to flood your inbox and your searches with ads for more and better gizmos.

My partner’s response to my complaints about the above is to burst into song: “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” (“Bah, humbug,” she adds.)

I, on the other hand, enjoy the season for the festive lights, the sudden appearance of Santa hats, the uptick in gatherings of friends and family, and the reci pes for savory stews, warming curries and pumpkin/squash everything that fill the newspa pers.

My own antidote to the end less ads is making lists of gifts and goods that offer both cur rent pleasure and support for the creative energies and passions that abound in our craft, music and food/wine communities. Nearly all the gifts I give are con sumable — they bring (I hope) a few moments of joy than disap pear without trace.

Here, for example, is my 2022-gifts-for-wine-lovers list.

One, wine in cans. Good wine in cans. Perfect for stocking fill ers, eminently portable, so much fun. Two Shepherds Winery in Windsor has just put out a series of wines both still and sparkling in the most charming cans imag inable.

They’re 250 milliliters — just right for a single serving — the wine’s terrific (not to men tion well-made, organic,

yourself, as long as you head in a healthy direc tion. He calls that “incre mentalism,” and gave an example: to recategorize cheese as a condiment, rather than a course, if it’s unthinkable to give up cheese entirely.

“I’ll have a patient say he is eating salads, but with ranch dressing,” he noted. It pays to educate our selves about such things.

disparate ideas. And they’re articulate and persuasive.”

He gave as an example a diet rene gade who markets himself as Carni vore MD. He’s a licensed physician, first name Paul, who advocates “an animal-based diet.” His website warns us that “Plants are not your friend,” adding that “Plants do not want to be eaten.” I scrolled down to discover that in his view, even broccoli, kale and beets aren’t good for you. I can see children all over Davis screaming, “See!”

We got used to online marketers like that during COVID with advice that ignored solid scientific findings. So I’m with Dr. Smith, not the meathead. I imagine most of you are as well. But let’s say again, it’s a big ask to radically alter

one’s diet given everything I’ve seen and experienced.

Personally, I can empa thize with Dr. Smith’s frus tration. Can you imagine pointing the way for ailing patients and having them reject your counsel so often?

But there are exceptions among us. I do know some adults who radically altered their food intake when their physician told them, in no uncertain terms, that their diabetes would go completely off the rails if they didn’t change immediately. So they did. It can be done. Or we can make at least some significant changes. This whole subject got me thinking. What did we feed our children, and our selves, when they were lit tle? They’re in their forties, so it was ages ago, when knowledge about healthy children’s food wasn’t what it is today.

Our kids had Happy Meals, candy bars, burg ers, fries, but lots of healthy stuff as well, like fruit, fresh vegetables, and mac and cheese. What ... did I say mac and cheese? But hey, mac and cheese was venerated a genera tion ago — dairy and carbs, all good. And our children had endless whole milk and ice cream. Part of childhood back then!

Today, given so many advances in nutri tion science, many younger folk have made a big switch on their own. Our three adult children and their partners are all vegetarians or even veg ans, with one exception. Diane, my wife, is loyal to her dinner salads.

I’m more a Mediterra nean Diet kind of guy, which Dr. Smith is not at all unhappy with. Go ahead, make deals with

A healthy investment, through eating right Making

A New York Times story jumped out at me recently, one that fits under the umbrella of “incremental ism.” The National Insti tute on Aging says the Mediterranean Diet reduces one’s chance of getting Alzheimer’s, among other health bene fits. In the NIA’s words, “One diet that shows some promising evidence is the Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes fruits, vegeta bles, whole grains, legumes, fish, and other seafood; unsaturated fats such as olive oils; and low amounts of red meat, eggs, and sweets.”

Hey, as long as I can get that pint of ice cream once in a while, I’m good to go. It must be said, Dr. Smith loves his gardening, as does Lorraine. I’m sure at least some of his patients will salute him for his relentless encourage ment about eating one’s way to better health.

— Dan Kennedy has a long history with local food and the people who pro vide it to their communi ties. He serves on the Davis Farmers Market Board of Directors.

exploring the little natural wineries on 5th Street, including Broc Cellars and Donkey & Goat. One big advantage to joining these clubs is having access to tiny releases that never go on sale publicly. How fun is that? And you get invited to the parties.

“natural,” etc.), and the cans themselves are just the right size to anchor a stocking. We’ve got one of these cans (minus its con tents, of course) holding pens and pencils next to our com puter, featuring a frisky goat butting a Trump head, a Putin head, and a COVID virus.

The Co-op carries one of the Windsor cans (in the refrigerator case) — the sparkling pipette. The others you can order from the website. And the winery won’t flood your email or send you endless texts.

Two (on the other end of the price spectrum), a wine club membership. There are dozens of choices here, but the best are from small local wineries who are always coming up with inter esting new releases. Megan Bell’s Margins Wines, for instance, offers a three-times-a-year deliv ery of either 6 or 12 bottles of her latest releases.

Portland’s Bow & Arrow Wine Club delivers six or twelve bottles twice a year — the approximate cost of the six is $140 per ship ment. I have long been impressed with B&A wines, especially their melons and blends.

Hammerling Wine Club in Berkeley does six, twelve, or 24 bottles twice a year—their sixpack costs about $225 per ship ment. And you can avoid delivery fees by picking them up in person and use the pick-up as an excuse to spend a day

A slight variation of the winery club is membership to a wine shop club like The Pip (Dixon), Vintage Berkeley, or Back Room Wines (Napa). Cur rently, by the way, Vintage Berkeley is offering two-wine package deals to benefit Jason Lefler of Stereophonic Wines, who has a very rare blood infec tion and is in serious condition. They’re offering packs of two of Jason’s best whites or three of his reds at bargain prices and donat ing the proceeds. Great wine for you, a helping hand for a small local winemaker. Check out the VB website for details.

Three, a wine-tasting for two. Here again you have choices — you can give a winery tasting (Hobo in Napa offers one of the most reasonably-priced at just $15 per person, and if you read this column regularly, you know that I’m a big fan of these wines.) Or you can do a wine shop tast ing. Davis Wine Bar/Shop offers them occasionally, The Pip quite frequently. See their websites for details. Alternatively, take your giftee to either of these places for a glass of wine and a small plate or two.

Four, a gift duo or basket. Choose, for example, a basket at Farmers Market and fill it with a bottle of wine and some local goods like olive oil, jam, almonds, and meats and cheeses. Amy at The Pip will “basketize” any combination of bottles and/ or goods — I can attest to her beautiful basket arrangements

($25). Or order a couple of sea sonal things from McFadden Farm/Winery in Mendocino, like their decorative and then edible garlic herb swag with chilis and raffia ($24) along with a bottle of their Dry Riesling ($15).

Another good choice: McFadden organic wild rice ($4.25) with a bottle of their pinot ($24). The label on these organic wines is Blue Quail.

Five, really useful wine swag of various sorts. No, it’s not consumable but every wine lover deserves a good corkscrew. In my experience the fancy, expensive “effortless” ones mal function on a regular basis. I prefer a simple but good quality waiters corkscrew. Most highly rated are the Pulltaps — you can pick up the basic one at The Pip for just $7.

Another fun wine-related Pip gift, perhaps less practical but festive and fun: a bracelet made (locally) from old wine barrels ($24-28).

Every wine drinker also deserves a good wine glass. Broc Cellars commissioned an artist to design one for them. Person ally I prefer a wine glass with a relatively tall stem, but I have to admit that these very-shortstemmed glasses are lovely — and get lots of enthusiastic reviews ($55). They’re sturdy, too, unlike the more expensive ($64) Jancis Robinson/Richard

we managed to break within a couple of months after they arrived.

Well, they did disappear with out a trace, and I must admit they’re the simplest and most beautiful wine glasses I’ve ever used, so if you want to splurge ...

Six, just one bottle in a simple bag is a great gift all by itself.

Real Champagne perhaps? The Co-op has several versions of one of my favorites on sale right now, the Veuve Fourny & Fils (imported by Kermit Lynch) for just $40 (down from $65). That’s an amazing bargain. You can go up from there, of course. To stay local, give a bottle of the wonderful Hammerling Cellars (Berkeley) Blue Ox “Spirit of the Beehive” sparkler ($36 at The Pip).

Want someone else to choose for you? Talk to Amy at The Pip, give her your budget and take advantage of her expertise. You’ll have fun, your giftee will be impressed — win, win.

Happy Shopping. Don’t buy anything Mother (Earth) wouldn’t approve of. (And never end your sentences/paragraphs/ columns with a preposition.)

— Reach Susan Leonardi at vinosusana@gmail.com. Com ment on this column at www. davisenterprise.com.

Brendon long-stemmed glasses

already know who’s naughty, nice

Go ahead, make deals with yourself, as long as you head in a healthy direction.

Dan KenneDy/courtesy photo

Steve Smith, M.D., looks over his backyard garden, which exemplifies his advocacy of plant-based eating.

My own antidote to the endless ads is making lists of gifts and goods that offer both current pleasure and support for the creative energies and passions that abound in our craft, music, and food/wine communities.

Dems fail to capitalize on California

By Julia Rosen CalMatters

California Democrats are already look ing back at 2022 congressional races with the dreaded woulda/coulda/ shoulda even with one race too close to call. There were several House races where Dem ocrats fell short – some close enough where a stronger ground game could have made a difference.

Running field campaigns are expensive. After all, Rick Caruso spent $16 million dol lars on field operations alone in his failed mayoral race, and that was just Los Angeles. Statewide campaigns are so prohibitively expensive that it is rarely even attempted in California.

However, one of the ways it could have made a difference was in several close House races. If results hold, the state’s congressio nal delegation will be largely unchanged. It’s not far-fetched to say that under-investment in get-out-the-vote operations in California cost Democrats their shot at retaining con trol of Congress.

Modern GOTV operations include digital turnout advertising in addition to the typi cal field and mail efforts. The majority of midterm campaigns spend nearly all their efforts trying to persuade dropoff voters — folks who didn’t vote in the last midterm elections — or moderate voters without an official party affiliation.

What they don’t typically do — unless they have the cash — is talk to voters who turned out four years prior. In a moneystrapped campaign, there is less financial incentive to communicate with folks who presumably will vote. They aren’t in the phone universes. They don’t get digital ads. You just cross your fingers and hope they go back to the polls.

The 2018 midterms saw historically high turnout in California when nearly 65% of registered voters cast a ballot. California is still tallying this year’s results, but it’s clear the state is going to fall well shy of that mark. That means there were a lot of people that campaigns expected to turn out but didn’t.

In many states, there is a coordinated campaign system where the top-of-theticket campaigns coordinate all their field efforts with the congressional, legislative and local campaigns. They create field scripts that mention down-ballot candidates and share volunteers. Importantly, they also handle a large amount of digital and mail advertisements that target every voter who isn’t expected to vote for the other side. It creates a ton of efficiencies.

The candidates at the top of the ticket won with huge margins because the Califor nia Republican Party simply isn’t competi tive. There is little to no incentive for folks running for state office or U.S. Senate to share their wealth and support down-ballot candidates with a coordinated campaign.

And that’s what happened. The most recent finance reports show that Gov. Gavin Newsom had at least $20 million in the bank after spending money on out-of-state ads and statewide ad buys opposing Proposition 30, but little investment in down-ballot contests.

That money cannot be transferred to a federal campaign account, either. Newsom could have run a coordinated campaign that was tightly focused on com petitive congressional and state legislative districts.

Most importantly, it would have meant shifting the cost of field staff, dialers, peerto-peer texting platforms, digital GOTV ads from congressional campaigns and to a coordinated campaign. That, in turn, would have freed up more funds for persuasive advertising. It’s just simply a much more efficient way to support candidates in tighter races.

And it just might have made all the differ ence in securing a few more key House races versus falling short.

— Julia Rosen is a founding partner at Fireside Campaigns and has nearly 20 years of experience organizing for political campaigns and nonprofits. She wrote this for CalMatters, a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how Cali fornia's Capitol works and why it matters.

Covering canals creates power, saves water

If the California Air Resources Board has its way, our state will outlaw all diesel-powered trucks by 2045.

The trucking plan, announced last week, is part of a larger California goal of achieving carbon neutrality over the next 23 years. That means we will need to gener ate a lot more (clean) electric ity.

According to a June article by CalMatters, “California’s sweeping climate plan would increase electricity consump tion by as much as 68% by 2045 — which would put an immense strain on the power grid unless hefty private and public investments are made in clean energy.”

Part of the state’s approach is to produce 25,000 mega watts of electricity from off shore wind by 2045. That’s enough to power 25 million homes.

Another potential source is covering 4,000 miles of irri gation channels with photo voltaic solar panels. Doing so could produce another 13,000 megawatts of clean energy. It also could save around 63 billion gallons of water annually that is lost to evaporation, according to a 2021 UC Merced study.

In August, the state agreed to fund a $20 million pilot project in the Turlock area called “Project Nexus.” The name comes from the notion that substantially increasing clean power and saving water will be joined together.

The demonstration plan includes placing solar panels in three sections over 8,500 feet of Turlock Irrigation Dis trict canals. The installation will start next year and should be completed by 2024.

Researchers from UC Mer ced and other state institu tions will study and report on the system’s functionality, gross and net energy produc tion, replacement of dieselpowered pumps that now move water and how much water is saved as a result of evaporation reduction.

The idea of capping irriga tion channels with solar pan els is not original to California. In the state of Gujarat, India, a channel stretch of 750 meters (2,461 feet) has been covered since 2014. That cost $18.3 mil lion.

The BBC reports, “The long stretch of the canals leading off the Narmada River enables electricity to be extracted at multiple points,

LettersHousing is not a joke

says Manik Jolly, chief execu tive of Grassroots and Rural Innovative Development, who was involved in the first canal project.”

Since the 2014 Indian solar channel opened, several oth ers have been commissioned across eight different states. One is a 40 kilometer, 100 megawatt structure that shades aqueducts off the Nar mada River. It cost $13.9 mil lion to install.

Beyond the production of clean power and the saving of precious farm water, the con cept is economical because the land being covered is effectively free, and we have easy access to all canals. In California, I don’t know of any irrigation channels that don’t already have a road (usually unpaved) on at least one side, if not both.

Nonetheless, there are challenges. One, of course, is the upfront expense. It will cost $20 million to install just 1.6 miles of Project Nexus canals. At that rate, the price to cover 4,000 miles in Cali fornia would be $50 billion.

It’s not unlikely in the com ing decades the cost of PV solar power will decrease. Over the last dozen years, the price per watt — not includ ing subsidies — has fallen

65% for residential pan els. In 2010, a watt cost $7.34. By 2019, that was down to $2.53. Last year it fell to $2.22.

In addition to lower production costs as a result of economies of scale, PV panels have become much more effi cient.

According to a recent Forbes report, “The efficiency of solar panels is determined by the amount of sunlight that is reflected on the panels’ surface, which is then trans formed into electrical or ther mal energy.

“Previously, the average efficiency of solar panels was around 15%, but thanks to advancements made in the field of photovoltaic technol ogy, efficiency is now over 20%. As a result, 370W is the typical power rating of a panel, an improvement from 250W.”

A newer technology — called Perskovite solar cells — achieved a 22.7% efficiency in 2018, and that continues to grow.

A secondary benefit of cov ering irrigation channels with solar is the running water helps the panels to stay cool. That in turn increases their efficiency — compared with rooftop or parking lot solar — by at least 2.5 to 5%.

Beyond upfront cost, one challenge placing solar over water is corrosion. The panels are built on steel structures — they don’t float — and the supports must be galvanized with zinc. If not, the humidity will corrode the support structure.

concern for 43% of Davis residents, according to a July 2022 city survey.

Additionally, not every channel is a good candidate.

If a canal is too wide, con struction and maintenance costs can be prohibitive; too narrow or too short and a utility might not be able to employ enough panels to make power that covers the costs.

When solar panels — on a roof or over a canal — get dusty, they are much less pro ductive. Cleaning them in remote areas can be a chal lenge. The most common approach is to use specialized robots or automated water sprayers.

Security might also be an issue. Solar panels in a remote location might be attractive to thieves and van dals. If this proves to be a problem, fences and security cameras will have to be installed, and over 4,000 miles that won’t be cheap.

Ideally, solar panels should face south. But irrigation channels go in all directions in California, and orienting them for maximum sun expo sure is not always practical.

Despite the difficulties, covering canals in California with PV panels is promising.

We might also explore floating solar panels on reser voirs. Those can more easily be made heliotropic. And we should encourage the instal lation of more rooftop and parking lot solar in our state. California alone cannot solve the global climate crisis. But we must play our part.

— Rich Rifkin is a Davis resident; his column is pub lished every other week. Reach him at Lxartist@yahoo.com.

is at a stake for the many Davis residents who don’t find housing a laughing mat ter.

Bob Dunning’s Nov. 13 column pur ports to address the issue of affordable housing. His title, “Crazy Talk on Hous ing,” pokes fun at a serious problem for Davis and communities throughout Cali fornia and the U.S. He starts with making fun of the language used in the Davis Housing Element Update Report and then tells a story about senior homeown ers. His humor is at the expense of those trying to solve the problems of affordable housing and those who are suffering from the lack of affordable housing, whether they are homeless individuals, renters or potential homebuyers.

Dunning’s pen would be better employed taking seriously the reality that affordable housing is a significant issue. Davis residents know this even if they don’t agree on the solutions. Consider the controversies around Measure H and that housing featured prominently in the recent City Council races. Consider also that affordable housing and homeless ness together are the number one issue of

enterprise

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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

Consider this, too: more than 120 from the Davis community came together on Nov. 17 to hear Leah Rothstein speak about her housing book “Just Action,” which will be published in June 2023. This book offers strategies and policies local communities can establish to pro mote inclusive housing. Leah coauthored this new book with her father Richard Rothstein. In November 2019, more than 200 people from Davis came together to hear Mr. Rothstein talk about his book, “The Color of Law,” which docu mented the explicit government policies, including those in Davis, that drove racial residential discrimination against Afri can Americans. This discrimination has resulted in an enormous wealth gap in our country.

The widespread community concern about affordable housing is also reflected in the sponsorship of Nov. 17 event with Leah Rothstein. These sponsors included Interfaith Housing Justice Davis (a local interfaith housing group), the League of Women Voters Davis Area, and several faith organizations.

I suggest that Bob Dunning learn what

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

House of Representatives

Vera Sandronsky Davis

Community gardens

Everyone agrees that community gar dens are a very good thing. They provide people with great exercise and a very satisfying hobby. At the same time, they really do build community as people meet other like-minded gardeners. And of course, healthy food!

I have noticed that here and there in Davis there are plots that have been vacant for at least 30 years. The owners, no doubt, spend money each year on property taxes, and weed maintenance every year. For a relatively small invest ment, they could lay in some plumbing for irrigation and divide an area into garden plots. That would actually bring in income while doing a good thing for the city!

Perhaps the city should provide some incentives to property owners?

Gabe Lewin 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.

Courtesy photo

The Colusa Irrigation Channel at County Line Road in Colusa County, east of Hershey and south of the Sutter Buttes. This canal runs from Colusa County into Yolo County.

By Stephan Pastis

Classic Peanuts

By Charles M. Schulz

Pearls Before Swine

Water polo

UC Davis men preparing for NCAA championship

By Bod Dunning Enterprise staff writer

After yet another stellar year that resulted in an unbeaten Western Water Polo Association campaign, the UC Davis men’s water polo team is one of just six teams nationwide gathering in Berkeley this week to compete for the NCAA championship.

The Aggies, 19-7 overall, open play against longtime rival Pacific on Thurs day at 3 p.m. at the Spieker Aquatics Complex on the Cal campus. The winner advances to a semifinal showdown with host California at 2 p.m. Saturday.

On the other half of the draw, Princeton will meet USC, with the winner moving to the semifinal round against UCLA on Saturday at 4 p.m.

The championship game is slated for 3 p.m. Sunday.

Aggie head coach Dan Leyson, now in his eighth highly successful season guiding Aggie fortunes, refuses to look past UOP, a team UCD beat, 12-11, on a sudden death goal by Connor Norton less than a month ago.

“They’re hard to stop,” said Leyson of the Tigers, who enter the tournament

with a 21-6 overall record.

“They have a really, really strong start ing seven, good at every position and able to score a lot of goals quickly. They can play with anybody in the country.”

Add to that the feeling among the UOP coaching staff that there were several controversial calls that went UCD’s way in their first meeting.

“I don’t agree with them (UOP) about the calls, but I know it left a bitter feeling for them, so they’ll be highly motivated,” Leyson added.

As if playing for the national championship is not motivation enough.

The Aggies were down 5-3 early in that game but kept answering back to force overtime. That’s when Norton showed his stuff.

“It was senior day and Connor is a senior. It was a joyous moment to have a senior score the winning goal on senior day in sudden death,” noted Leyson.

Unfortunately, Norton is sidelined for the tournament due to a near-tragic inci dent recently at practice when he fainted in the pool and had to be resuscitated.

“He did not have a pulse when we got See MEN, Page B6

BasketBall

Ags welcome Tigers on Thursday

By Bob Dunning Enterprise staff writer

Coming off a successful Midwest trip with two wins in three close games, the UC Davis men’s basketball team returns home Thursday night for a non-conference showdown with University of the Pacific.

Game time is 6 p.m. in the University Credit Union Center.

The Aggies (6-2) opened the Cream City Classic in Milwaukee on Saturday with a heartbreaking 87-85 setback to host Wisconsin-Milwaukee, then bounced back on Sunday and Monday with tight wins of 73-71 over Southeast Missouri and 81-70 in overtime over Boston University.

UOP is 2-5 and probably happy to be on the road after dropping four consecutive home games to Cal State Fullerton, Mount St. Mary’s, Idaho and Cal Poly. The Tigers’ two wins came on the road against North Dakota and North Dakota State.

Against Milwaukee, UCD trailed by as many as 11 points early in the second half and was still down 82-76 with 1:42 remaining, but rallied to take an 85-84 lead on a short bucket by T.Y. Johnson at 0:14.

The lead was short-lived, however, as Justin Thomas hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key at the buzzer to give Milwaukee the win.

Johnson led all scorers with 32 points and added a phenomenal eight steals to go with six rebounds.

Elijah Pepper had 17 points and Christian Anigwe 15 for the Aggies.

The second tournament game, against Southeast Missouri, was just the opposite, as the Aggies built a substantial lead, then had to hold on at the end to preserve the win.

Highshoe excited about height, depth

By Mike Bush Enterprise sports editor

There’s one thing Davis High girls basketball head coach Heather Highshoe doesn’t have to worry about doing this season; suiting up to take part in practices.

That is because Highshoe has 12 players on this year’s roster. The 2021-22 squad finished with 10 players, some of whom were moved up toward the end of the regular season. There were times last season where the Blue Devils only had six to seven players competing in practices and games.

“Our numbers are much better than last season,” Highshoe said. “Last season, I really had to adjust with the way that we played because our numbers were so limited. We have a good roster this season. It’s been nice.

“Last year, I would practice with the girls a lot. It’s been nice just to have the girls jell and work together ... just to be able to go 5-on-5 situa tion will help big time in terms of

preparing for games.”

The 2021-22 squad started the season at 1-9 in preseason. Then Davis posted a 9-3 mark in the Delta League and earned the No. 9 seed in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoffs.

That run is something Highshoe is hoping for members of this year’s team, most of whom return from the 2021-22 season, can build from that momentum this preseason through the start of league play in January.

“I’m excited about our height, our speed,” Highshoe said. “I like to press full-court.”

Three of this year’s players are back, and two are juniors. Point guard Malia Abrenica, a senior, joins frontcourt players in 6-foot-2 center Tessa Schouten and 6-1 forward Alia Cordone, both juniors. All have been starting since their freshmen sea sons.

“They’ve been really key parts of our team the last couple of years,” Highshoe said.

Schouten was a double-double

leader the Blue Devils last winter, averaging 13.8 points and 12.6 rebounds per game. She proved she could play with experienced players on opposing teams.

Cordone followed at 7.3 and 6.6 per game respectively. Cordone was another perk for DHS’ inside game with Schouten.

“They work so well together,” said Highshoe of Schoten and Cordone. “It’s really fun watching the two of them working together.”

Abrenica, who is the only senior on the team, also contributed to dif ferent formations for DHS. She averaged 4.8 points per game last winter, along with 3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. Abrenica moved the ball well inside the paint to kicking it outside to a frontcourt players such as Schouten and Cor done.

The trio, Highshoe feels, are the cornerstone of this year’s team.

“Watching, overall, their leader ship, all three of them, on the court,”

Bouncing back with confidence after the loss to Milwaukee, UCD built a 58-45 lead only to see it all nearly disappear as Southeast Missouri cut the margin to 69-68 before two free throws by Pepper at 0:04 sealed the win.

Pepper led everyone on the floor with 30 points, while Ade Adebayo contributed 13 points and Johnson had eight rebounds.

The most bizarre game of all came Monday against Boston University when the Aggies raced away to a 33-6 lead to open the game, only to be forced into overtime by a spirited BU rally in the second half.

UCD led 43-21 at half, but quickly pushed the count to 52-23 — their biggest lead of the game — on a field goal by Robby Beasley with 16:00 remaining.

As strange as it may seem, that wasn’t enough to give the Aggies a victory in regulation as BU went on a 28-8 run to cut the deficit to 60-51, then caught the Aggies at 66-all on a basket by Jonas Harper with just 10 seconds left.

The Terriers took a brief 68-66 lead in overtime before the Aggies went on an 11-0 spurt, the last nine points of which were all scored by Johnson, who finished with 27 points.

Beasley had 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Pepper, who was just 1 of 12 from the field and finished with five points, contributed mightily none theless with 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Heading into Thursday’s matchup with UOP, Pepper leads UCD in scoring with 19.4 points a game, followed by Johnson at 17.4 and Anigwe at 12.4.

The 6-3 Johnson, a transfer from Loyola Chicago, leads in rebounding with 46 for the season.

— Contact Bob Dunning at bdunning@ davisenterprise.net.

arya lalvani/enterprise photo

UC Davis men’s water polo head coach Daniel Leyson (left) goes over instructions with his players during Tuesday’s practice at the Schaal Aquatics Center.

Mike Bush/enterprise photo

Davis High center Tessa Schouten (11) comes down with the rebound in Monday’s Sac-Joaquin Section Foundation game against Granite Bay. The Blue Devils won 60-29. To view more photos, visit www.davisenterprise.com, click on the Sports tab and look for the story.

Cross Country Championships

DHS boys, girls teams place in the top 20

Enterprise staff

The Davis High girls and boys cross-country teams competed well against some of California’s best in Fresno on Saturday.

Both Blue Devil teams each placed in the top 20 of the 35th annual California Interscholastic Federation State Cross-Country Championships at Woodward Park.

The DHS girls took 16th place with 389 points in Division I. Buchanan of Clovis won the team crown with 27 points.

The Blue Devil boys came out at 20th place with 447 points. San Clemente captured the title with 109 points.

“It was a big lift for both the boys and girls teams to qualify for the State Championships and multiple runners were contending with lingering injuries and illness,” said Davis head coach Bill Gregg. “For teams to qualify for the state meet at the Section Championships and then stay sharp for two weeks before the State Meet is always a balancing act.”

Girls

Norah Dulaney, a senior, took 33rd place in the 3.1miles course with a time of 18 minutes, 45.06 seconds. Avery Wolk, only a freshman, finished at 110th place at 20:14.1.

Alexandra Lee followed at 142nd place at 20:57.6, Margaret Kim 148th at 21:11.2 and Abby Carroll 160th at 21:46.0.

Boys

Blue Devil Ryan Mitchell had the highest place at 22nd, clocked at 15:40.2.

Jay Doctor was next in placing at 123rd, timed at 16:53.7.

Tomas Ferns was 132nd at an even 17:00.0 and Lucas Tam 102nd at 17:00.3.

Owen Stevens came in at 170th at 18:00.8 and Jayson Sisco 172nd at 18:08.8.

EXCITED: Speck Tournament is on tap

said Highshoe of the trio.

The rest of the Blue Devils’ roster consists of two juniors and seven sophomores.

Those juniors are center/forward Jiana Trotman and guard/for ward Yazmine Mbewa.

The sophomores are Natalie Rossler, Kiera Williams, Vidya Mer chant, Noelani Castillo, Izzy Cherry, Kendall Yamagishi-Kobayashi and Kiera Carston.

Cherry played in 13 games as a freshman on last winter’s team. She averaged 1.1 points and 1.7 rebounds per game.

Highshoe and the Blue Devils are focused on their preseason. But they know that league play is just around the corner.

“My goal is for us to win league this year,” High shoe said. “I feel really good about our chances of doing that.”

Cosumnes Oaks, which won the Delta League title last year, join St. Francis, Franklin and Sheldon as the teams to beat this winter.

“It’s just a matter of taking every game at one

at a time and focusing on that opponent,” Highshoe said.

Davis will host the 49th annual Speck Tourna ment, beginning on Thursday and running through Saturday.

The Blue Devils open against Vista del Lago at 8 p.m. inside the North Gym. The winner takes on the Roseville-McClatchy winner, as their game is at 6:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m. The losers face off also on Friday but at 5 p.m.

Then DHS will compete in the Folsom/Vista Tour nament at Folsom High from Dec. 8-10.

Davis has non-league games against Christian Brothers and Vacaville in December, along with the Dixon Tournament that runs from Dec. 28 to 30.

“I’m excited to see it all come together,” Highshoe said. “I really like to schedule hard, preseason games. Games that will prepare us not only for league but postseason.”

— Contact Mike Bush at mike@davisenterprise. net. Follow on Twitter: @ MBDavisSports.

him out of the pool and we had to do CPR right there,” Leyson explained.

“All of his signs and tests are now positive and he’s making a full recovery, but he won’t be able to play.

“He was one of our key seniors and we’ll miss him, but we’re just glad he’s okay.”

In the win over UOP, the Aggies got three goals from Aaron Voggenthaler and two each from Ben Flemng and Tyler Mrkaich.

UCD trailed, 11-10, in overtime, before Mrkaich tied it to send it into sudden death for Norton’s winning goal.

As for the rest of the NCAA field, Leyson believes that Cal may be the strongest team in the history of collegiate water polo.

This from the Aggie coach who himself

played on USC’s thirdplace NCAA team in 1992, earning AllAmerican honors three consecutive years and leading the 1992 tournament in scoring.

Cal beat the Aggies, 16-12, on Oct. 12 in Berkeley, but UCD stayed close with the Golden Bears throughout the contest.

Against other teams in the draw during the regular season, UCD beat Princeton, 9-8, lost twice to UCLA by scores of 12-8 and 10-9, and lost twice to USC, 12-4 and 11-9.

“First things first,” cautioned Leyson. “We have to get past UOP before we can think about anything else. They’ll be a great challenge.”

— Contact Bob Dunning at bdunning@davis enterprise.net.

Davis High’s Ryan Mitchell (485) runs with a pack of Division I boys at the California Interscholastic Federation Cross-Country Championships at Woodward Park in Fresno on Saturday. Mitchell, a senior, took 22nd place. The Davis boys, as a team, took 20th place with 447 points.

Carolee Britton GreGG/ Courtesy photo