The Davis Enterprise Sunday, December 25, 2022

Salmon return with human help

By Alastair Bland CalMatters

Chinook salmon haven’t spawned in the McCloud River for more than 80 years. But last summer, thousands of juveniles were born in the waters of this remote tributary, miles upstream of Shasta Dam.

The young Chinook salmon — some now finger-sized smolts in mid-migration toward the Pacific Ocean — are part of a state and federal experiment that could help make the McCloud a salmon river once again.

Winter-run Chinook were

federally listed as endangered in 1994, but recent years have been especially hard for the fish. Facing severe drought and warm river conditions, most winter-run salmon born naturally in the Sacramento River have perished over the past three years.

So restoring Chinook to the McCloud has become an urgent priority for state and federal officials. In the first year of a drought-response project, about 40,000 salmon eggs were brought back to the McCloud, a picturesque river in the wilderness of the

Cascade mountains.

Iconic in Northern California, Chinook salmon are critical pieces of the region’s environment. They are consumed by sea lions, orcas and bears, and they still support a commercial fishing industry. Chinook remain vital to the culture and traditional foods of Native Americans, including the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, whose historical salmon fishing grounds included the McCloud River.

Conservation experts say the McCloud’s cold, clean water holds great promise as a

Longtime volunteer Marigo to receive Brinley Award

By Anne Ternus-Bellamy Enterprise staff writer

Becky Marigo knew early on in life that helping people, in a very hands on way, was her purpose.

Growing up in Davis — she graduated from Davis High School in 1988 — Marigo started volunteering at a young age and went on to obtain a degree in social work from Cal State Northridge.

She returned to Davis and in 2001, took a position as family case manager with Davis Community Meals and Housing, which serves low-income and unhoused individuals and families.

“I like working with people, doing that hands on, and that’s always been my strength,” she said. “We all have that super power and mine is connecting with people and listening and I like to get things done.”

A year after joining DCMH, Marigo became program administrator, a position she holds to this day.

“Becky has been a fabulous employee with us for over 20 years,” said Bill Pride, DCMH’s executive director. “She is caring, compassionate and empathetic to all who we serve. See AWARD, Page A4

potential Chinook refuge — and perhaps even a future stronghold for the species. Restoring salmon there is considered critical to the species’ survival, since they now spawn only in low-lying parts of the Central Valley near Redding and Red Bluff, where it’s often too hot and dry for most newborn fish to survive.

“We probably won’t be able to maintain winter-run chinook on the valley floor forever,” said Matt Johnson, a senior environmental scientist with the

See SALMON, Page A5

Historic grad-student strike ends at UC

By Monica Stark Enterprise staff writer

The graduate-student strike is over. The University of California and the student workers represented by the United Auto Workers reached a final agreement on Friday on new contracts for 36,000 academic workers statewide.

Nineteen thousand teaching assistants, graders, readers, and tutors represented by UAW 2865, as well as 17,000 student researchers represented by Student Reseachers United, have new contracts. According to a press release from the UAW, they make “historic gains” in compensation, childcare subsidies, and paid leave and include groundbreaking new protections against bullying and discrimination. UAW 2865 was 11,386 to 7,097, and the vote for SRU-UAW was 10,057 to 4,640.

“The dramatic improvements to our salaries and working conditions are the result of tens of thousands of workers striking together in unity,” said Rafael Jaime, President of UAW 2865, in a statement. “These agreements redefine what is possible in terms of how universities support their workers, who are the backbone

Meeting explores rise in hate crimes

By Lauren Keene Enterprise staff writer

Gloria Partida still has difficulty discussing the hate-crime beating her son suffered nearly a decade ago.

The Davis City councilwoman and founder of the Davis Phoenix Coalition struggled to keep her emotions in check during a recent Yolo County District Attorney town-hall meeting exploring the rise — locally and beyond — of hate-motivated crimes and incidents. See MEETING, Page A7

The Juvenile Salmonid Collection System is set up at Dekkas Rock at Shasta Lake in Lakehead, Shasta County. The JSCS pilot project will evaluate the feasibility of collecting juvenile salmonids as they emigrate out of historical habitat upstream from Shasta Dam.

Florence low/ caliFornia Department oF water resources photo via calmatters

courtesy photo

Becky Marigo stands in front of Paul’s Place, a new concept in helping the homeless near downtown Davis.

What’s Xmas without Star Wars?

n Editor's note: This column was first published Dec. 21, 2014.

Afew days ago I received an email from a man who is both an English professor and a freelance writer in Cleveland. He said he was conducting some research for an article he was writing for the “official Star Wars website” and had somehow tripped across a column I had written at Christmastime in 1978.

The column was titled “The Night Before Christmas in a Galaxy Far, Far Away” and was written as "Star Wars" mania was sweeping the country.

My newfound friend from Cleveland wondered “whose idea was it to incorporate 'Star Wars' into a Christmas carol?” and also wanted to know “how did you come up with it and why did you write it?”

The answers to those questions are simple. The idea came about because my 4-year-old son, Ted, was incredibly taken with "Star Wars," and his unbridled enthusiasm pulled me along as well. I wrote it as a Christmas present of sorts that I could read to him.

Because Ted was much more attuned to "Star Wars" than I was, he served as my technical adviser on the project, which started on a Saturday afternoon and stretched almost to the stroke of midnight.

Much to my surprise, the day after the piece ran in The Enterprise, the folks at United Press International called and wondered if they could “put it on the wire.”

In those pre-Internet days, this would be the equivalent of posting it online, given that UPI was a large news service to which many newspapers across the country subscribed.

No, it didn’t go “viral,” but the first evidence I received that it had traveled beyond the Davis city limits came in a phone call from my Uncle George that he and Aunt Sally had seen it in the Ukiah Daily Journal in Mendocino County.

Soon thereafter came reports from aunts, uncles, cousins and friends in Oregon, Ohio, North Dakota, South Dakota and deep in the heart of Dixie that they, too, had seen it in their local newspapers.

None of them said that it was very good, just that they had seen

it. Nevertheless, I was thrilled at the attention and certain that a Pulitzer could not be far behind.

Ted is no longer 4 years old, but he now has three little boys of his own, all of whom marvel at the wild collection of "Star Wars" toys that Ted has lovingly held on to from those wonderful days so many years ago.

So, at the risk of being accused of self-plagiarism, here is that piece from Christmas of 1978:

’Twas the night before Christmas and all through the void, not a creature was stirring, not even a droid;

The stockings were hung in the Starship with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

Chewbacca was nestled all snug in his bed, while visions of Stormtroopers danced in his head;

And Princess Leia in her kerchief and I with my pipe, had just settled down for a long winter’s flight;

When out on the X-Wing there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my command post to see what was the matter;

Away to the window I flew like a blazer, threw open the shutters and pulled out my laser;

What to my wondering eyes should appear, but a miniature

Land Speeder and eight tiny reindeer;

With a little old driver so lively and quick, I feared for a moment this was a Darth Vader trick;

Soon up to the Starship so quickly they flew, with a Land Speeder full of toys and St. Nicholas, too;

I drew in my head and opened the latch as jolly St. Nicholas squeezed through the hatch;

He was dressed all in fur from his toes to his snout, and his clothes were all tarnished with meteor fallout;

He had a broad face and a big black shoe, and his body was so round he looked like R2-D2;

But the wink in his eye and the dimple on his chin soon gave me to know the Force was with him;

He drank all our milk, but he ate just one cookie, then unpacked his gifts for C3PO and Wookie;

He spoke not a word but left piles of toys, then roared off in his Land Speeder to a deafening noise;

He took to the sky without giving his name, but before he disappeared I heard him exclaim;

“For the children of the universe these toys are well suited, but I’m sorry to say, batteries are not included.”

— Reach Bob Dunning at bdunning@davisenterprise.net.

Two men arrested in Woodland store arson

Investigation into October crime goes on

By Lauren Keene Enterprise staff writer

Woodland police announced this week a second arrest in connection with a theft and arson fire that damaged a grocery store.

The crime occurred Oct. 27 at the Bel Air store on East Gibson Road, where four suspects entered the business with the intent to steal merchandise,

according to a Woodland Police Department Facebook post.

“The suspects set fire to the paper goods aisle to create a distraction, allowing them to escape with the stolen items,” the post said. They fled the scene after loading their loot into a truck in the store parking lot.

Fire sprinklers kept the blaze small, and responding fire crews doused the remains of the flames upon arrival.

Still, Bel Air sustained a significant loss from the fire as well as damaged

merchandise, police said. Meanwhile, police launched an investigation into the incident, obtaining statements from store employees and customers that, along with surveillance video, resulted in the apprehensions of two suspects so far.

Police arrested Sean Michael Larsen, 45, of Rio Linda on Nov. 19, followed by 35-year-old David Patrick Nelson of Citrus Heights on Dec. 16. Both have pleaded not guilty to felony arson and conspiracy charges.

Larsen, whose charges

were upheld at a Dec. 9 preliminary hearing, returns Friday to Yolo Superior Court for further proceedings. Nelson’s next court date is Jan. 5. They remain in Yolo County Jail custody.

Authorities obtained warrants for the remaining two suspects, who remained at large as of Thursday.

Anyone with further information is asked to contact the Woodland Police Department at 530661-7800.

Death notice

Barbara Phelps Risling

Enterprise staff

Barbara Phelps Risling died Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022, in Davis. An Activist for Native American rights and an artist, she was 98. A full obituary and plans for memorial will follow.

R.

Woodstock’s Pizza opened in a new location on Thursday afternoon, a day after the city helped it acquire a temporary occupancy permit.

On Sunday, Dec. 11, the pizza company closed at its longtime Davis spot at 219 G St. The owners believed it would be closed no more than four days before opening in its new space at 238 G St., which formerly housed the Thai restaurant KetMoRee Company officials thought the remodeled building was about ready to debut, but fire, health and building inspectors disagreed.

By late Tuesday, it had passed fire and health inspections but the city building inspector said more work was needed. After some negotiations with city officials, Woodstock’s received a temporary occupancy permit late Wednesday, on the condition that it would continue to make changes to the doors, the roof and awnings, among other things, co-owner Laura Ambrose said. Americans with Disabilities Act compliance is still one of the sticking points.

On Thursday morning, employees were working hard to make final arrangements for its soft opening later that day. Crews were power washing the exterior walls, sidewalks and seating area on G Street. Meanwhile, the city fixed a sewer line to ensure the bathrooms were usable. Woodstock’s started letting in customers at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday.

“Everyone is really excited,” said Shanalee Lewis, the Northern California regional manager for the company, who was there Thursday morning helping employees prepare.

When I reported the progress last week, social media comments on Facebook and Nextdoor were often critical of the inspection process. Many of the negative comments were based on false assumptions. (For example, people wondered why it took so long if the space had a restaurant before. Answer: It was gutted and completely redone.)

In response to this criticism, the city issued a statement on

Wednesday: “As the city of Davis works with the local businesses and restaurants to open, our number one mission is to ensure that the space is safe for both employees and patrons to occupy, while being in compliance with state and local codes. As such, the process to open a restaurant takes time, and includes multiple steps.”

It cited multiple permits and licenses, including food service, health code compliance, fire safety checks, building health permits, and ADA accommodations, among others. The building permits are through the city; others are through the county or state.

“In regard to Woodstock’s, the city has been working with the owners consistently on how to open their restaurant safely, and get the various approvals needed,” the statement read.

Mayor Lucas Frerichs said he has “been in there almost every day/or on the phone with Laura (Ambrose) almost daily, working through the issues.”

The city’s statement continued, “Every story has two sides, and incomplete information, is, unfortunately, common. … The city does not benefit in any way from keeping businesses closed. … We work diligently and actively to open businesses safely and properly. The health and safety of our residents is our utmost priority.”

The space is beautiful, with murals, an area for live music, and lots of TVs. The remodeling added a mezzanine, where patrons can dine while observing the main floor. The restaurant’s centerpiece is a 24-tap, doublesided draft beer system and surrounding bar. Interior windows let patrons view the kitchen crew in action. With the increased capacity of its ovens, pizza wait times should be reduced,

Ambrose said.

The restaurant is roughly the same square footage (4,800) as the old one, but with the addition of new, modern equipment.

Owners Jeff and Laura Ambrose purchased the property for $1.725 million, and spent more than that again on renovating it. The former site was actually two separate spaces and two leases. They needed serious remodeling, which would have forced an even longer restaurant closure than the 10 days it just experienced.

Other cool touches to the new restaurant are an indoor watervapor fireplace, and walls in the back lined with used skateboard decks. Wooden tables and benches from the former location were refurbished for the new pizzeria.

Seating and heaters are set up outside, but permanent improvement plans are still under city review. The owners plan to paint the building white (but save the butterfly mural along Third Street). The white paint, along with some blackand-white-striped awnings, is an effort to restore the building to

its original streamline moderne style of art deco architecture. They also hope to extend the sidewalk in front of their G Street entrance.

Thursday was a soft opening. It will have a grand opening in January, after UC Davis students return. Hours are 11 a.m. to midnight Sundays through Thursdays, and 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

Work is underway inside the future Craft, in the former Uncle Vito’s space at 524 Second St. Craft has the same owners as Mamma, which is coming soon to the former Bistro 33 space. Craft will sell beer and wine, with an affordable menu of barbecued, roasted and fried foods.

Bones Craft Kitchen now offers breakfast. The restaurant at 113 D St. (formerly D Street Steakhouse) opens at 8 a.m. daily, serving breakfast until 11 a.m. on weekdays and 2 p.m. on weekends. It’s open for lunch and dinner until 10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, and till 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

UCD: Wildfire threats not commonly disclosed by firms

Karen Nikos-Rose Special to The Enterprise

Wildfires in the United States, especially in Western states, increasingly pose a significant risk to entire communities, often destroying homes, businesses and lives. When wildfires sweep through a region they also affect the economy as a whole, decreasing U.S. firms’ values to stockholders when businesses incur physical damage, cause or experience supply chain issues, or lose employees.

Yet U.S. firms rarely report their wildfire risks in required federal filings and instead bury such risks in nonspecific risk disclosures, according to new research led by UC Davis.

The study was published this month in the Journal of Business Finance & Accounting.

On average, only 6.1% of firms with wildfires in their headquarters county mention wildfire information in

their required disclosures and exhibits filed with the Security and Exchange Commission, according to the study. The disclosures and exhibits are included in annual reports known as 10-Ks, which are filed by all publicly traded companies. These required disclosures are key to company valuations and can reveal the company’s current and future financial conditions.

“Despite a growing awareness of the strategic importance of climate change, firm-level disclosures of extreme weather and climate-related risks and events remain the exception rather than the norm,” said Paul Griffin, professor at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management and lead author of the paper. He is an authority on accounting and financial information and disclosure, particularly in relation to extreme weather and climate change.

“Disclosure is a sign that

the firm is taking these events seriously and will take action itself to mitigate the risk,” Griffin explained.

“Disclosure leads to real action.” And companies that disclose risks can be viewed as less risky to investors, he said.

The researchers looked at more than 80,000 10-K reports between 1996 and 2018 to see if those reports contained disclosures about wildfire events that occurred during the same period.

Griffin said he and his coauthors were encouraged that they could identify firms that were being sensitive to wildfires in their region — but highly discouraged that so few report these risks and take action to begin mitigating the risks. Firms can, for example, consider moving their operations to less fireprone areas, make improvements in current buildings and equipment, develop fire safety strategies for

employees, or establish other mitigation plans. Researchers found that the number of wildfire days in a company's headquarters county is a key determinant of whether that company will disclose wildfire risk. For the most part, only firms previously affected by wildfires in their counties — mostly utility and banking industries with tangible assets — report those risks. One example was PG&E, a public utility in California, which has been held responsible for wildfires due to equipment failure. However, PG&E reported their potential risk to wildfire only after their risks and liability were publicly disclosed — a common issue with many disclosure statements the researchers reviewed.

A reader messaged me, concerned that Emil’s Family Shoe Store in Woodland was closed. It was just temporary. It shut down for four days last week to reorganize and do some inventory. The store sells and repairs shoes and leather goods, at 508 Main St., in Woodland. It’s been a Woodland fixture since Emil Schmauderer opened it 1955, and it remains in his family.

Missed a column? Wondering when a new Davis business is opening? Check my paywall-free Google spreadsheet, which includes more than 325 Davis businesses coming or going. It’s at https://bit.ly/DavisBusinesses. Look for the tabs for Restaurants Open, Restaurants Closed, Coming Soon and more. — Wendy Weitzel is a Davis writer and editor. Her column runs on Sundays. Check for frequent updates on her Comings & Goings Facebook and Instagram pages. If you know of a business coming or going in the area, email her at wendyedit@gmail. com.

— UC Davis News

Wendy Weitzel/Courtesy photo

Workers prepare Thursday morning to open Woodstock’s Pizza later that day. The center bar and Davis mural are seen in this view from the mezzanine.

AWARD: Expertise in dealing with homeless issues

She is an expert who is able to help all with a wide variety of issues they face. Many, many individuals have turned their lives around with her assistance.”

But it is Marigo’s work outside her day job that really highlights her invaluable service to the community, and why she is this year’s recipient of the Brinley Award — a Davis community award that recognizes outstanding service benefitting the city.

“Our job is not an eight-hour job by any means so I volunteer a lot of my time,” she admits. She does so, she said, because the folks Davis Community Meals and Housing serves need that.

“We are like family to them,” Marigo said, adding that she and her coworker are the emergency contacts for most homeless people in Davis.

“So hospitals call us and the families call us. The clients don’t necessarily have our numbers but a lot of other people do. The police department will call when there’s something going on with somebody or ask me to come and help. Like Saturday, somebody needed to get to the ER because he has a broken neck and he wasn’t going, so I went out Saturday morning walking the camps until I found him. It’s that kind of thing.

“The other night I went to somebody’s camp and brought her a heater because she was really cold," Marigo said.

“My daytime stuff is one thing, but, honestly, my connection with folks and what I do outside of my job is probably my favorite part. It’s really great to volunteer my time. I don’t want them to ever feel like there’s something that can’t be done to help them if they’re cold or they’re hungry or they need something. We’re always available. That’s really important to me.”

Those she has served are grateful.

“You said you’d always love us and it means the world,” said Julie J., a DCMH client, in the nomination letter supporting Marigo for the Brinley Award. “You made a difference in my life and you made a big difference in all our lives.

Said another client: “Thank god you are still here — I am so thankful.”

Also grateful for her work are city and police officials.

“Becky has been a partner with Davis PD for years,” said Officer Keirith Briesenick. “She provides resources to the unhoused and is often their advocate. However, she doesn’t allow her clients to violate the law at the facility and has firm boundaries.

“Becky has also assisted in sev-

eral investigations that involve her clients as victims of crime. She is no nonsense, works hard for those in need of housing and helps them develop a path to employment and mental health assistance. Becky is truly an asset to the city and the police department.”

The job is by no means easy, given not everyone is ready for the help, but Marigo doesn’t give up.

“I’m going to just keep doing it every day. It’s OK with me if they’re not ready. Because in my view, I greet them every day and when they’re ready to make that change, I’m here. I will be here. I’m not going anywhere.

“Literally today a woman came back. I had not seen her in 20 years and she walked in and said, ‘Becky, do you remember me?’ And I do… She lived with us in the shelter 20 years ago.”

Recently another woman Marigo has known for 20 years, who has been on the streets in Davis, was placed in a senior housing complex.

News came of an opening and “we just helped her get all of the documents ready, and I went to interviews with her, we did all this stuff, we got her furniture and she got approved. And for me, it was really important. Because she’s in her 60s now and … she just got housed.

“I just keep working until it happens. And when they’re ready, they usually come and tell us, ‘Hey, I’m ready.’ And once they’re ready, we take little steps. And if it works at that moment, great. It doesn’t matter if it’s now or 10 years from now, I’m going to keep helping.”

Helping the unhoused in Davis is about to get a bit easier thanks to Paul’s Place, which is expected to open in the next few months on H Street, providing emergency beds, transitional housing, supportive housing and all of the services DCMH provides on site.

“Paul’s Place is going to be such a great resource,” Marigo said.

There will be longer hours in the resource center, more laundry facilities and more bathrooms and showers

“This to me is really exciting,” she said.

Having individual rooms for clients is also a game changer, Marigo said.

“Because folks come home and they need to gather their thoughts, maybe they had a rough day, and they just need to have a little space rather than being in a room with three or four other people.”

And when they need anything, Marigo and her colleagues will be just downstairs.

“One of the biggest pieces of working with the homeless is the

consistency, the consistent care and love and helping and doing that all, all the time,” she said. Her colleague at DCMH, Harmony Scopazzi, advocate/ resource center coordinator, said Marigo does that well.

“Becky’s work within the unhoused community is about meeting the clients where they are and then helping them become the best version of themselves,” Scopazzi said. “She has continually gone over and above for our clients. Clients know that if something needs to get done, Becky will get it done.”

Marigo’s volunteer work in Davis extends well beyond her job and after-hours work for Davis Community Meals and Housing.

The mother of two young adults, who grew up in Davis like her, has been a Girl Scout leader, softball coach, CASA volunteer and more, all of which was highlighted in the nomination submitted for the Brinley Award by a group of seven Davis residents.

Marigo said she feels honored to be recognized.

“I love what I do and love to talk about it and love just being able to help the community I grew up in,” she said. “And I love that people know they can count on us and me.

“It’s not just my job. This is my heart.”

SALMON: Scientists working to find a new method to help wild fish

California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Johnson spent much of the past five months camped beside the incubation site on the lower McCloud River, guarding the eggs and emerging fry and overseeing the experiment, which is a collaboration between his agency, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Winnemem Wintu Tribe.

So far, the project, biologists say, has gone well. About 90% of the eggs hatched, and the young fish have reportedly thrived in the McCloud, growing faster than hatchery fish.

Recent rain storms have boosted river flows, which may increase the odds that salmon will reach the ocean this year, escaping the dangerous water pumps and predators of the Delta.

The project is the first step in a long-term plan that may involve capturing adult winter-run Chinook in the lower Sacramento and transporting them to the McCloud to spawn. It’s a difficult and risky venture for the fish but it may be the best shot the species has at survival.

“The winter run is headed for extinction, no question, if we don’t develop an artificial system for keeping it going,” said Peter Moyle, a fish biologist at UC

Davis who has studied Central Valley fish since the 1970s. He coauthored a report warning that many of California’s native salmon and trout are likely to vanish this century as the environment warms.

A genetically unique run of salmon, winter-run Chinook once spawned in the McCloud in great numbers, along with other seasonal runs of the fish.

Even though the Central Valley’s river system, which includes the McCloud River, marks the southern limit of the Chinook’s range, it was once their stronghold. Between 1 and 2 million fish, some weighing 50 pounds or more, spawned in the tributaries of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers each year before the Gold Rush.

The fish have dwindled to a fraction of their historic abundance. Spawning numbers of winter-run Chinook dropped to fewer than 200 in the early 1990s. They’ve rebounded, but their future remains in doubt.

The McCloud — a state-designated wild and scenic river — used to offer prime habitat, with deep gravel beds for egg-laying and year-round flows of clean, cold water from Mount Shasta.

Construction of Shasta Dam in the 1940s — and Keswick Dam shortly after — changed all this by locking ocean-run salmon out of some 500 miles of productive

high-elevation habitat.

The salmon became confined instead to the lower reaches of the Sacramento River system, where they did not previously spawn.

Blazing temperatures in the summer — when the winter-run fish lay and fertilize their eggs near Redding and Red Bluff — have made it difficult for salmon to thrive. Chinook, especially in their early life stages, are sensitive to high temperatures.

A gem

A great deal of work has already been done to help Sacramento River salmon. State agencies and conservation groups have restored floodplains and side-channels, where slow-moving water provides young fish with abundant food and shelter from predators. This work often

involves removing or carving notches in levees so that river water can flow over farm fields.

Johnson sees this connected system of restored habitat parcels as a “string of pearls,” and says the McCloud might be one of its more valuable gems.

Better still, the McCloud’s geographic location at the upper end of the watershed could have a beneficial trickle-down effect through the watershed and the early life stages of Chinook, ultimately improving their life-long survival rates.

“If you can have such highly productive, good-growth habitat so high in the system, it starts the fish off in such a strong condition,” she said.

Protecting areas lower in the watershed are important to Chinook, too. Research by Jacob Katz, a biologist with the group California Trout, shows that floodplains restored in the lower stretches of the Sacramento watershed have helped salmon.

Smolts grow faster on inundated floodplains than they do in the river’s channelized mainstem.

Ambitious future plans

The summer’s salmon relocation effort was technically not a reintroduction project but an emergency drought action required by the state and federal endangered species acts and

intended to shield winter-run Chinook from drought impacts.

However, it’s likely that the McCloud effort of last summer will develop in years ahead into a full-fledged salmon reintroduction program.

Randy Beckwith, head of the state Department of Water Resources’ Riverine Stewardship branch, said “the juvenile collection piece is the most difficult part” of a potential long-term McCloud River reintroduction plan.

While the state and federal fishery scientists did their work a few miles upstream, Beckwith’s agency tested a $1.5 million contraption dubbed the Juvenile Salmonid Collection System in the narrow McCloud River arm of Lake Shasta. The setup is a floating array designed to deflect floating debris, like logs and trash, while a dangling synthetic curtain funnels the young salmon into a dead-end live trap. The trap component has not been installed yet due to regulatory constraints associated with handling endangered species, but the agency has plans to do so, possibly next summer.

While traps of the sort already used on the McCloud are designed to catch a sample fraction of a river’s fish, the system the state is working on will hopefully catch all of them.

Eric HolmEs/Uc Davis pHoto via calmatt rs

Matt Johnson of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife measures four winter-run Chinook salmon as part of a trial to estimate the species’ production and survival.

STRIKE: ‘It’s huge’; union negotiators celebrate

From

of their research-and-education enterprise. They include especially significant improvements for parents and marginalized workers, and will improve the quality of life for every single academic employee at the University of California.”

First-of-their-kind anti-bullying measures will allow workers to finally address the systemic power imbalance in academia. The terms of the 2-and-a-half year contract guarantees that wages will rise significantly for all workers, and up to 80% for some of the lowest paid. Improvements in childcare and dependent coverage mean more parents can provide health care for their children.

And three years of remission of Non-Resident Student Tuition are now codified, meaning that international workers will be able to enforce this right, and UC will not be able to take it away.

“I am so excited to see the democratic process and just the historic wins we have. I mean, this is going to be life-changing for so many people,” Emily Weintraut, a Ph.D. student in the Glen Fox Lab (malting and brewing sciences), said.

“I mean, student-researchers, getting their first contract. It’s huge, and I can say personally, as someone who has worked two to three extra jobs during grad school, we’re going to see these changes. Depending on my job title, I’ll see a $500 monthly raise in April. I mean, it’s just huge. And so it’s going to make life a lot easier for so many people, and I’m just so excited about it,” Weintraut said.

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, who served as chief meditator after weeks of stagnation between the bargaining units and UC, praised the deal.

“This week’s successful vote creates the opportunity for unprecedented partnership between the University and its graduate student workers,” Steinberg said. “By significantly raising the wage and benefit standard for its graduate student workers, the University is making a national statement. California is the best place in the world to obtain a valuable graduate degree. Thanks to the UAW for fighting so hard to help achieve this great moment.”

— Contact Monica Stark at monica@davisenterprise.net.

Holiday traditions stay strong

By Monica Stark Enterprise staff writer

Not even the cold air could freeze the holiday spirits of Davisites who took to the UC Davis Arboretum on the foggy morning of the winter solstice. Sharing their stories of holiday cheer and traditions with you on this Christmas Day, Barbara Bower, Emilia Wisniewski, and Jim Stimson each have their take on celebrating the season.

Barbara Bower said that her blended family celebrates “Hanukkah a little bit” and “Christmas a little bit” but that the most important day of this holiday season is the Winter Solstice. “It’s a centuries-old symbolic art of welcoming back light. Having the shortest day of the year be that time we do that — I don’t know — is significant to me.”

Trying to rebuild relationships before COVID hit, Bower missed the personal contact she had with her friends. “We’re not talking about social media or email or anything like that, but actual feelings,” she said. This year, her church held a solstice service with the message of rekindling hope that things would change. “Accepting that and adapting to that is going to

be our — it’s always — our challenge,” she said.

Hailing originally from the Pasadena area where “everything is green, and the sun is shining,” Stimson, who retired from KCRA after 47 years in 2021, recalls sailing on Christmas Day as a kid and attending the Tournament of Roses. “Well, now you’ve got ski weekends, Super Bowl Sunday, and other things. It just keeps on going,” he said, adding he’s personally not particularly interested in those aforementioned activities. The game will be on for conversation’s sake and even that tradition has morphed over the years with easy access to game updates via the internet.

“Times change,” he said. “With any holiday, you have your traditions. It may be as simple as putting a star on the

top of the tree. But people change over the years, and circumstances change, and you got to hang on to some of them, but you look for new ones,” Stimson said.

Emilia Wisniewski’s family tradition? Going crabbing in San Francisco or Bodega Bay for Christmas dinner with sons Konrad and Henry, and husband Jeff. “(The dinner) is not super huge because it is just the four of us, but it’s a lot of food for the four of us,” Wisniewski said.

In one “good year,” they caught 97 crabs but had to release most of them. “Most of them are smaller, so we had to release most of them.”

Though not a yearly tradition, the family will head toward the hills this winter to ski.

Christmas is really about “family and getting together,” Stimson said, adding that the meaning changes depending on where you are in your life journey. “If you’re a little kid, it’s all about the toys and the presents, and when you get a little bit older, it’s all about watching the kids with the presents. And when you’re a bit older, it’s just about time to get together and be together. I think that’s the main thing,” he said.

Monica Stark/EntErpriSE photo Henry (left) and Konrad Wisniewski.

Briefly Saturday

n Davis Musical Theatre Company presents its New Year’s Eve Gala featuring the Kander and Ebb classic, “Cabaret,” with hors d'oeuvres and a dinner buffet provided by Sacramento Catering Collective, and dessert by Let Them Eat Cake.

Drinks will also be available for purchase. After the performance, a live DJ will be playing music for dancing until just before midnight when champagne, sparkling cider and party favors are provided for greeting the new year. After the singing of "Auld Lang Syne" music for dancing will resume. This show, dining and dancing will be in the Jean Henderson Performing Arts Center, 607 Pena Drive, Davis.

The performance of “Cabaret” begins at 8 p.m. Tickets are $75 per person at http://dmtc. org or https://app.artspeople.com/index. php?show=134008. For information, visit dmtc. org or call 530-7563682.

n The Davis Odd Fellows are bringing back their New Year’s Eve dance party with Mumbo Gumbo. This has always been a sell-out show and this year the Odd Fellows are limiting the number of tickets they're selling.

The night will be a dance party upstairs with a nohost bar, party favors and a champagne toast at midnight. Downstairs is the quiet lounge, with a no-host bar, complimentary appetizers and desserts all evening, and the big screen tv showing celebrations around the world. All of this for $65.

Doors will open at 8:30 p.m. (no sooner) and the music starts at 9 p.m. Tickets are available on Eventbrite.

Wednesday, Jan. 4

n The Valley Oak Chapter of the Embroiderer's Guild of America will host a Zoom presentation by Dolores Andrew at 11 a.m.

Andrew is an artist and designer in the needlework disciplines. Among many other accomplishments, she is a certified

National Academy of Needlearts Master Teacher of embroidery. In her presentation, she will explore the role of samplers in women's lives through our history. To attend, contact Linda Wayne at laws999@ gmail.com by Dec. 30 to be added to the Zoom list.

Thursday, Jan. 5

n The Poetry Night Reading Series will feature Allegra Silberstein (author of a new book, “Dancing with the Morning Breeze”) with Jean Beguin at 7 p.m. on the third floor (indoors) of the John Natsoulas Gallery, 521 First St. in Davis. There will be an open mic after the featured performers. Open mic performances will be limited to four minutes or two items, whichever is shorter. The open mic list typically fills by 7 p.m., so arrive early.

Organizers recommend mask-wearing. Find out more about the Poetry Night Reading Series at http://www.poetryindavis.com.

Friday, Jan. 6

n The UC Davis Arboretum hosts a Folk Music Jam Session from noon to 1 p.m. Folk musicians can bring their acoustic instruments and play together informally during this jam session at Wyatt Deck (next to the redwood grove). Shortterm parking is available in Visitor Lot 5 on Old Davis Road at Arboretum Drive. Hourly rates start at $1.75.

Saturday, Jan. 7

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 programs. The electric train display will be open from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and features two layouts with interactive components and local points of interest.

Salty experiments to do at home

By Sara Thompson Special to Enterprise

If you need some fun activities to entertain children during school break, then look no further. This simple craft and experiment can be done as many times as you’d like and only need a few supplies that are easy to find.

n Making a salty snowflake:

Supplies needed: paper, glue, salt, and food coloring and pipette/dropper optional.

Print out a snowflake template or make your own design, remember that snowflakes have six points. Trace the design with glue. Sprinkle salt over the glue while it is lying flat, then gently tip it upright over a tray or a trash can for any nonstuck crystals to fall. The salt crystals will stick to and dry with the glue making an easy and sparkly snowflake. If you want to make colorful snowflakes, put liquid food coloring in a shallow dish. Use a pipette or other dropper to suck up some of the color and slowly drop the color drops onto the salt before they dry. The salt will absorb the liquid and remain that color.

n Make frost on a can:

Supplies needed: tray or plate, tin can, ice, water, and salt.

Place the tin can on a plate or tray. Fill it as full of ice as you can. The

Explorit SciEncE cEntEr

smaller the pieces the better they will fit, so break apart or crush as needed. When the can is filled with ice, pour some water in until it reaches halfway up the can. Sprinkle some salt over the ice to start it melting and give the can a gentle shake. The melting ice will cool the rest of the water to its freezing point, also resulting in the cooling of the can.

Any condensation on the outside of the can will start to freeze and make frost. Be careful with touching the frost, as the super cold can and frost can damage skin if not handled carefully.

These activities are quick and easy to do for all ages, but we recommend all activities have an adult present for safety. For more family fun, please join us for any of our extended public hours, Dec. 23 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Dec. 27-29, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; and Dec. 30 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Or celebrate Noon Year with us on Saturday, Dec. 31, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is $5 per person — members and children under 2 free.

Explorit will be closed Dec. 24 to 26, and Sunday, Jan. 1.

Exploit's coming events:

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

n School Programs are available to schedule. We have educational programs that travel to schools and

options for field trips at our facility. Please call 530-756-0191 for more information or to schedule.

coM

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

— Explorit Science Center is at 3141 Fifth St. For information, call 530756-0191 or visit http:// www.explorit.org, or “like” the Facebook page at www. facebook.com/explorit.fb.

To the rescue: Mama dog reunited with missing puppies

By Lauren Keene Enterprise staff writer

Winters residents came to the rescue of three puppies this week, reuniting them with their mother after police took their plight to social media.

A Facebook post Thursday morning featured a Winters police officer and two police cadets cuddling the three puppies, which someone found in a field off Village Circle, near the Winters Middle School campus, and removed them from the chilly conditions.

Within a couple of hours, Facebook users alerted police to two loose dogs near the middle school — including a boxer mix that bore a resemblance to the pups — as well as possible owners who live nearby. Meanwhile, another person offered to adopt all three puppies.

Shortly thereafter, police posted the following update:

“We have been able to catch the missing mama ‘Winter’ and her very fast friend ‘Rudolph' thanks to a wonderful human Winters resident,” the post said. “ ‘Winter’ has been reunited

with her three puppies, ‘Holly,’ ‘Ivy’ and ‘Nick.’ ”

Yolo County Animal Control officers retrieved the canine family and planned to make contact with the possible owners, police said.

Sarah McclElland/littlEbinSforlittlEhandS

A snowflake salt painting.

Winters Police Cadet Fatima Olmedo, Officer Brandon Kenney and Cadet Mariana Arredondo cuddle up to three puppies separated from their mother Thursday.

courtESy photo

Water polo Wright calls it a career at DHS

By Bruce Gallaudet Enterprise correspondent

It has been an especially emotional 27th season for Doug Wright as Davis High girls water polo coach.

Going into the 2022 campaign, the wildly successful general of the Blue Devils pool deck knew his final run was at hand.

With Wright approaching 700 wins — including 17 Sac-Joaquin Section championships on his résumé — his opponents had become resigned to seeing DHS hoist the region’s title banner.

This past fall was no different …

A talent-laden group of young women, steeped in tutelage from an early age as to how to play the game, went 22-9 while dominating league foes and eventually topping Granite Bay, 13-7, for Wright’s 18th section crown.

At 52, the popular art teacher had plenty of poolside spunk remaining, but Wright and his wife Lori knew early on that this season would be different.

Last month, Wright announced his retirement as Blue Devil coach. In an often-tearful interview, the former MenloAtherton High and UC Davis player looked back with The Enterprise at a career of accomplishment.

Family

“It comes down to a time issue,” Wright

2021.

explains. “I really need to spend more time with my son, my family, and my worry is …”

Wright’s reflection was dotted with tears. He just finished coaching his daughter Malaya, who soon will go on to play water polo at one of the many colleges that have been eyeing her talents.

Luke, now at Davis High and in the capable hands of boys coach Tracy Stapleton, is headed in the same direction as

his sister.

As much as Coach Wright loved being around the hundreds and hundreds of his team members over the years, it’s time for Papa Wright to concentrate on the home front rather than the Blue Devil pool deck.

Over the years, Wright’s wife Lori has “been there all the way for me.”

“She’s talked me out of some coaching jobs so we could spend more time together … raise

some kids.”

And some kids they are: The Wrights have six adopted children ranging in age from 17-year-old Malaya, plus Luke and four kids under 7.

“That’s a long story,” Wright says.

Lori provides the highlights:

“In between coaching and training (for some personal competitions), we overcame multiple failed See WRIGHT, Back page

UCD basketball and Christmas

My random thoughts as we enter Christmas Day.

n Sydney Burns should have gone to the free throw line.

The sophomore guard on the UC Davis women’s basketball team and her teammates could have gone into overtime and potentially pull out a win over Northern Arizona in a nonconference game at the University Credit Union Center on Dec. 19.

If UCD won in OT or in the final seconds of the fourth quarter, it would have a 5-5 record entering Big West Conference play action against Hawai’i, also at the University Credit Union Center on Thursday.

But Northern Arizona squeaked out an 83-81 victory over the Aggies.

The Lumberjacks can thank game officials for their win.

The Aggies got the basketball back after Moran made two free throws with 5.9 seconds left in the fourth quarter and the game tied at 81-81.

Then UCD got the ball back after the free throws. Moran ran and bumped Burns, who appeared to be waiting for the pass. Burns fell on the court. But she was whistled for a foul with 2.3 seconds on the clock.

Moran went back to the free throw line, made two more shots for the win.

The TV replay showed Moran shoved Burns to the court.

UC Davis head coach Jennifer Gross ran to the middle of the court to speak to game officials after the game, which lasted approximately five seconds.

“It’s a tough call down the stretch, to be honest,” Gross said after the game. “It was such a hard-fought game. In that play, you hope as a coach that they just play it out and see what happens. It was unfortunate.”

Could I call out the referees who called the game?

I have the names of the three referees, which are made available to the press covering an NCAA basketball game. But call me a Mr. Nice Guy.

The referees, most likely, have social media accounts. I’d feel bad if I called out all three of them, and any fans who were at the game decided to harass them

Fred Gladdis/enterprise File photo

Doug Wright (left) celebrates with his Davis High girls water polo team after winning the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I title over Granite Bay at the Roseville Aquatic Center on Nov. 13,

Disgraced politicians tried to erase voters

By Salomon Zavala Special to CalMatters

In October, a Reddit user leaked audio of a meeting between Ron Herrera, President of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, and Los Angeles council members Nury Martinez, Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León. On the recording, the council members made racist remarks about Indigenous peoples and African Americans.

Beyond the despicable bigotry, the recording revealed that this group had schemed to alter the boundaries of the city’s council districts. Their plan would have maximized their potential to win reelection under political designs that diminished Black and Indigenous Mexican Angelenos.

After the tapes were released, Herrera and Martinez resigned. Cedillo defiantly remained on the council until his term ended this month, and while de León has been stripped of committee assignments, he has still tried to attend meetings, sparking chaos and even a fight with activists.

There have been no further consequences for anyone at this time, and therein lies the problem.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta pledged to investigate whether Herrera, Martinez, Cedillo or de León violated any state or federal laws. Unfortunately, it does not seem that existing state and federal laws will allow Bonta to hold these disgraced politicians accountable.

There are several federal laws that protect voting rights, but they primarily focus on preventing racially biased tactics like literacy tests. Other laws that forbid interference with voting rights require intimidation, coercion or threats. Even if federal laws did cover the council members’ behavior, they don’t provide any punishment for the interference.

The options under state law aren’t much better. While California law provides clear guidelines for drawing Los Angeles’ voting districts, the rules do not list any punishments for those who tamper with the process. California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act also prohibits interference with civil rights, but like federal law, Unruh also defines interference as violence or intimidation. Since Martinez and her co-conspirators did not use physical or verbal intimidation, the state’s civil rights law is not applicable.

To be fair, while Martinez, Cedillo and De León met in secret, the final district maps were publicly adopted by the full council. But we do not yet know how much their backdoor dealings affected the final maps.

Clearly, California law has not fully contemplated the many ways that officials can interfere with the districting process. The state Legislature should act immediately to address the gaps. Any new laws should: ■ Place the responsibility for drawing district lines with independent commissions rather than politicians — a move that is already being contemplated by the L.A. City Council;

■ Punish those who interfere with — or conspire to interfere with — voting rights even when violence and intimidation are not involved;

■ Require that anyone who inappropriately influences district lines — or attempts to do so — be immediately removed from office by a chosen panel and banned from holding office again; and

■ Mandate that culprits who are removed from office for interfering with redistricting or other voting infringements make restitution for the costs of special elections to replace them (the special election to replace Martinez will cost an estimated $7.6 million).

The California Legislature should take up these urgent measures to make sure that future leaders will face steep consequences when they interfere with the voting or civil rights of the people they swore an oath to represent.

— Salomon Zavala is the founder and managing attorney at Zavala Law Group and the executive director of Ollin Law. He wrote this for CalMatters, a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California's Capitol works and why it matters.

Water conundrum hinges on Delta

The most important piece of California’s water puzzle is the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the 1,100-square-mile estuary where the state’s two most important rivers meet.

The Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers drain a watershed of mountains and hills that stretches about 400 miles from Mount Shasta, near the Oregon border, to the Sierra southeast of Fresno. After meandering through the dozens of channels and sloughs of the Delta, their combined waters flow into San Francisco Bay and thence to the Pacific Ocean — minus whatever has been diverted into cities and farms along the way.

And that’s the rub.

For decades, in political and legal forums, there’s been a great debate over how much water can be taken from the two rivers, their many tributaries and the Delta itself without destroying its natural function as habitat for fish and other wildlife.

Environmental groups and state water quality authorities, occasionally backed up by federal court decrees, contend that too much is being diverted, particularly by farmers. But the latter say that the water is needed to maintain California’s

largest-in-the-nation agricultural industry.

For years, the state Water Resources Control Board has been on the verge of mandating sharp cuts in the diversions by raising Delta water quality standards. However, it has delayed what could be a highstakes showdown over water rights, many of which stretch back more than a century, in hopes that satisfactory “voluntary agreements” could be reached.

Last week, a new chapter in the saga opened when environmental justice groups and Indian tribes filed a civil rights complaint with the federal Environmental Protection Agency against the board. It alleges that failure to issue those water quality standards gives preference to agricultural interests and violates the federal Clean Water Act.

Last spring, the same coalition submitted a 169-page

Search your heart

And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear.

And the angel said to them, “Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”

enterprise

A McNaughton Newspaper Locally owned and operated since 1897

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

Sebastian Oñate Editor

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

Speak out President

petition to the water board, demanding that it issue new Delta water standards, but the board denied it, saying that updating was already underway.

The semi-permanent drought that’s plagued California adds urgency to the debate over the Delta because it reduces the overall supply of water to be divvied up among the various demands. Farmers and cities have experienced sharp cutbacks in deliveries from the federal and state canals that pump water from the Delta’s southern edge. Farmers also face new restrictions on how much they can draw from depleted underground aquifers to offset reductions in surface water.

The Public Policy Institute of California has estimated that the looming restriction on tapping underground water supplies alone will require at least 500,000 acres of farmland to be taken out of production. Permanent reductions in surface water that would result from higher water quality standards in the Delta would cause more farmland to be fallowed.

As the water quality clash plays itself out, another conflict over the Delta’s future looms — whether to bore a tunnel that

And they went with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.

— Luke 2:8-16

May we, with haste, search our hearts and find the Christ child.

Lisa Bell Davis

Camp Kesem at Cal Poly SLO

My name is Addie — but I’m often referred to by my camp name, “Gecko.” I was born and raised in Davis and I am currently a Teen Leadership coordinator for an organization that is near and dear to my heart: Camp Kesem at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Kesem is a national nonprofit organization that offers a free overnight summer camp as well as year-long support services to children affected by a parent’s cancer.

We will be having our seventh annual camp in July 2023 and it is open to any 6-18 year old who has, or has had, a parent or primary caregiver with cancer. Our application for our summer camp opens Jan. 24 and can be found at kesem.force. com. We support campers from all areas in Southern, Central and Northern California. In addition to our summer camp, we

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

House of Representatives

would transport some Sacramento River water to the head of the California Aqueduct near Tracy, bypassing the Delta altogether. In one form or another, what’s now called the “Delta conveyance” has kicked around for six decades, first as a “peripheral canal,” later as twin tunnels and, since Gavin Newsom became governor, a single tunnel.

Advocates say such a bypass would solve some Delta water flow problems while providing more reliability in supplying water to Southern California , a central point of the environmental impact report issued by the Department of Water Resources a few months ago. However, critics contend that it would undercut efforts to increase flows through the Delta by reducing upstream diversions.

As the drought continues, how — or when — these intertwined Delta issues will be resolved remains the biggest mystery of California’s water supply conundrum.

— 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 Walters, go to Commentary.

also offer year-long services such as our Friends & Family Days and individualized support for families through our Through and Beyond services. All of our services are free for all families.

One of our most heartfelt messages to our campers is that we’re “Under the Same Moon and Stars.” A parent’s cancer can be scary, isolating, and full of unknowns. However, Kesem has offered a newfound sense of community, love, and magic for these kids — no matter what stage a parent might be in their cancer journey. Many of our camp counselors were children who would have benefitted from an organization like this — but they never knew it existed.

In this holiday season, I ask that you spread the word about Kesem to families, healthcare workers, educators, and anyone you think might be able to reach families who could use this support. We also accept donations, which help us keep our services free to all who use it. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out over email, calpolyslo.outreach@kesem. org. We can also be found on Facebook and Instagram: @kesem_calpolyslo. Sending “Kesem Love and Magic” to all! Adelaide Moffatt 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.

Op-Ed

New year comes with same old problems

By Llewellyn King Special to The Enterprise

There are no new years, just new dates.

As the old year flees, I always have the feeling that it is doing so too fast, that I haven’t finished with it, even though the same troubles are in store on the first day of the new year.

Many things are hanging over the world during this transition. None is subject to quick fixes. Here are the three leading, intractable mega-issues: First, the war in Ukraine. There is no resolution in sight as Ukrainians survive as best they can in the rubble of their country, subject to endless pounding by Russian president Vladimir Putin. It is as ugly and flagrant an aggression as Europe has seen since the days of Hitler and Stalin.

Eventually, there will be a political solution or a Russian victory. Ukraine can’t go on for very long, despite its awesome gallantry, without the full engagement of NATO as a com-

commenTary

batant. It isn’t possible that it can wear down Russia with its huge human advantage and Putin’s dodgy friends in Iran and China.

One scenario is that after winter has taken its toll on Ukraine and the invading forces, a ceasefire-in-place is declared, costing Ukraine territory already held by Russia. This will be hard for Kyiv to accept — huge losses and nothing won.

Kyiv’s position is that the only acceptable borders are those in place before the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014. That almost certainly would be too high a price for Russia.

Henry Kissinger, writing in the British magazine The Spectator, has proposed a ceasefire along the borders that existed before the invasion last February. Not ideal, but perhaps acceptable in Moscow, especially if Putin falls. Otherwise, the war drags on, as does the suffering, and allies begin to distance themselves from Ukraine.

A second huge, continuing crisis is immigration. In the United States, we tend to think this is unique. It isn’t. It is global.

Every country of relative peace and stability is facing surging, uncontrolled immigration. Britain pulled out of the European Union partly because of immigration. Nothing has helped.

This year 504,00 are reported to have made it to Britain. People crossing the English Channel in small boats, with periodic drownings, has worsened the problem.

All of Europe is awash with people on the move. This year tens of thousands have crossed the Mediterranean from North Africa and landed in Malta, Spain, Greece and Italy. It is changing the politics of Europe: Witness the new rightwing government in Italy.

Other migrant masses are fleeing eastern Europe for western Europe. Ukraine has a migrant population in the millions seeking peace and survival in Poland and other nearby countries.

The Middle East is inundated

with refugees from Syria and Yemen. These millions follow a pattern of desperate people wanting shelter and services but eventually destabilizing their host lands.

Much of Africa is on the move.

South Africa has millions of migrants, many from Zimbabwe, where drought has worsened chaotic government, and economic activity has halted because of electricity shortages.

Venezuelans are flooding into neighboring Latin American countries, and many are journeying on to the southern border of the United States.

The enormous movement of people worldwide in this decade will have long-lasting effects on politics and cultures. Conquest by immigration is a fear in many places.

My final mega-issue is energy.

Just when we thought the energy crisis that shaped the 1970s and 1980s was firmly behind us, it is back — and is as meddlesome as ever.

Much of what will happen in Ukraine depends on energy. Will

NATO hold together or be seduced by Russian gas? Will Ukrainians survive the frigid winter without gas and often without electricity? Will the United States become a dependable global supplier of oil and gas, or will domestic climate concerns curb oil and gas exports? Will small, modular reactors begin to meet their promise? Ditto new storage technologies for electricity and green hydrogen?

Energy will still be a driver of inflation, a driver of geopolitical realignments, and a driver of instability in 2023.

Add to worsening weather and the need to curb carbon emissions, and energy is as volatile, political and controversial as it has ever been. And that may have started when English King Edward I banned the burning of coal in 1304 to curb air pollution in the cities.

Happy New Year, anyway.

— Llewellyn King is the executive producer and host of “White House Chronicle” on PBS. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.

Praying we learn from each other

By Robert C. Koehler Special to The Enterprise

“How exactly is ‘diversity’ our ‘strength’?”

Oh, the smug ignorance of Tucker Carlson! Sometimes, in his certainty of rectitude, he asks questions that actually matter — or would matter if they were asked with any sort of honesty. The above quote, blathered on his news show, recently started flickering again in my brain, when I read about a Florida teacher who was fired after sarcastically interrupting the prayer session of some Muslim students at their school, declaring (as per a Tik Tok video): “I believe in Jesus, so I’m interrupting the floor.”

Uh, how exactly is diversity our strength? Or is it just an infuriating nuisance?

In Tucker World, diversity is a “strength” because it gives the true believers (you know, “us”) an endless supply of enemies — and having an enemy is an extremely useful uniting force. And in unity there is strength. Question answered.

But there is a much larger answer as well — a “trans-political” answer, you might say. Which is to say, it’s not simple. The true believers who hate diversity do so because it’s an inconvenience, interrupting their certainty that what they believe, religiously, socially or politically, is The Truth (the whole truth, and nothing but). If that’s the lie you’re stuck in, then of course diversity is infuriating; it’s forced tolerance, aka political correctness. Save us, Tucker!

And the problem here, from the so-called liberal perspective, is that diversity — you know, the celebration of differentness — is the whole deal. Pluralism is good. And it’s the law. In other words, we should relax and be proud that different points of view exist in the social structure. End of discussion. It’s kind of like walking through a museum and looking at various cultural artifacts in glass cases.

The extraordinary musical satirist Tom Lehrer nailed the inadequacy of this thinking back in the ’60s in many of his songs. The one that comes to mind in this moment is “National Brotherhood Week”: “Stand up and shake the hand of someone you can't stand. You can tolerate him if you try. ... Be nice to people who are inferior to you. It's only for a week so have no fear. Be grateful that it doesn't last all year.”

You know. Differences are impenetrable. Just get used to it.

Here’s where I ... uh, beg to differ. Returning to the Muslim students whose prayer was interrupted — OK, I agree that Islamophobia should not be tolerated and, with a video of the incident going viral on social media, firing the teacher may have been the only recourse. But that hardly “fixes” things. The utterly crucial matter here, from my point of view, is that: A. Everyone is different from everyone else; and at the same time, we all have an enormous amount in common, regardless of our differences. And B. These differences are not impenetrable. We can learn from one another. We can share being alive!

commenTary

Religions, for instance, are more than just rituals and platitudes — solid certainties, to be swallowed whole or contemptuously rejected. Considering that the religious conflict in question happened at an educational institution, what if ...

... this were seen as a learning opportunity?

I immediately shrug my shoulders. In no way do I mean this in a simplistic sense. All I’m saying is that life itself is an endless learning opportunity. And learning should never stop. And education isn’t just a firehose-flow of facts, blasted at the students.

Learning is an individual process, and people learn in different ways. Also — I say this as a former writing teacher, at every level from elementary school to college — learning flows in all directions. If the teacher isn’t learning from the students, the students probably aren’t learning much from the teacher.

And learning isn’t simply an accumulation of data. Learning means merging: merging what I already know with something, hmmm . . . something that suddenly makes sense to me. Learning means continually rethinking my life. And part of education is the ability to celebrate not knowing. The fact that there is a limit to our knowledge never goes away. I suggest we always remain aware of that edge in our lives. There’s no need to fear it. This is where new ideas, new possibilities, enter our being. This is how we evolve.

What if that was the spirit in which the

teacher had stepped, surprisingly, into the room (apparently her own office area) where Muslim students were praying? It might have seemed like a sudden, educational moment — even if it was also a shock and an inconvenience. Could some sharing have occurred? This is who I am. This is who you are. Sharing begins with respect for the others.

What if I stepped into my own office and there was Tucker Carlson, praying? What would I have done? I don’t know, but I hope I would have been attuned to my better instincts. You never know from whom you will learn.

Note: Learning doesn’t mean swallowing what the teacher says. It means absorbing what you encounter and letting it enter your thought structure, your emotional structure. Learning may well happen slowly. And also, guess what? It’s happening all the time, whether we know it or not. We all know a lot more than we think we do. And we are capable of surprising ourselves.

Indeed, that’s the essence of how I have taught writing over the years, which I learned from my mentor, Ken Macrorie. Via the process of “free writing” — write without stopping for a set amount of time ... 10 minutes maybe, or two hours — I tell my students: You have a voice. You are not a spectator. Learning means reaching within your own soul, pulling up what you find. We can’t learn from others without also learning from ourselves.

Robert Koehler (koehlercw@gmail.com), syndicated by PeaceVoice, is a Chicago awardwinning journalist and editor. He is the author of Courage Grows Strong at the Wound

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

n Changes at the UU Church of Davis: http://wp.me/p3aczg-4fHT

n Cops seek driver in hit-and-run crash: http://wp.me/p3aczg-4fPS

n Crosswalk confrontation leads to weapon arrest: http://wp.me/p3aczg-4fX3

n Doug Kelly: Correa new face of Giants?: http:// wp.me/p3aczg-4fN4

n Davis creators get their game on: http:// wp.me/p3aczg-4fH3

“No, they let him slip away.”

From Bob Kellerman In response to “Doug Kelly: Correa new face of Giants?”

Living

Holiday gift-giving sparks awkward moments

One day last week I watched a late-night comedian, Jimmy Kimmel, interview Michelle Obama about her new book, “The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times.” The interview ended with a spectacularly dumb moment of gift exchange, a topic I’ll get to in a moment.

But first Jimmy spoke to Michelle about her new book, which I gather is a combination of life stories and advice, particularly around issues of fear.

Michelle tells us how to push forward and grow more confident even when the odds are against us. She spoke about an incident she has described elsewhere, when her high school guidance counselor said, “I’m not sure that you’re Princeton material.”

That incident, perhaps more than any other, propelled her to achieve. And, yes, she went to Princeton and did fine.

At the end of the interview, Michelle presents Jimmy Kimmel with a modest holiday gift, a jar of jam she describes as homemade, but not by her.

Jimmy looks uncomfortable, ignores the jam and rises out of his seat as a curtain pulls back to reveal a truck-sized gift box containing two live ponies. What was the point of such an outlandish gift? Why even show celebrities giving gifts to each other? Did Jimmy really present ponies without checking first?

Michelle’s face made me suspect both that she had been tipped off and that she wasn’t wild about the gift, whether real or pretend, but she smiled politely.

“It’s a lot,” she said.

In my family growing up, there was a word for Jimmy’s gift. My father, God bless him, felt it was appropriate to inform gift-givers when they blew it.

“It’s a lemon,” he would say.

The word “lemon” came from the car industry where, then as now, seriously flawed cars were called lemons, and dealers who sold them were bad guys. But can a family gift be a lemon? My dad learned English as a second language; did he somehow miss how hurtful this sounds?

I grew up with a fear of tart yellow fruit, or more accurately, with a fear of giving the wrong gift. This meant that the season of giving had an extra layer of anxiety for me, a risk of judgment, that I hope other people don’t experience.

Discouraging words that chil-

dren hear from adults sometimes stick. Just as Michelle’s guidance counselor’s comments about her not being Princeton material stayed with her, my dad’s comments about lemons stayed with me. Out of my fear of giving the “wrong” gift grew many years of observation of the gift-giving process, as well as my efforts to get it right.

For a long time, in my efforts to please, I focused on the wrong thing. Because I like surprises, I assumed everybody did. I was intolerant of people who gave hints or wrote lists of what they wanted. I communicated to my husband the idea that he would be a much finer human being if he didn’t have such a long list of items he

wanted to own. But eventually I realized that I felt a lot less tension when dealing with people who make lists. I knew I was giving them a gift they wanted.

Nowadays, I buy gift-requesters something from their list … plus one surprise, if possible, and I give the surprise-wanters surprises, plus the chance to make a request.

This combination reduces tension left over from childhood and makes me happy.

Even better, about 10 years ago, I discovered a reliably successful gift that achieves a combination of expectation and surprise, every time.

My gifts are family photo calendars, and I’ve been giving them long enough that my behavior is totally predictable.

The family sees flat rectangular packages, all the same size, and they know what’s in there.

And yet, everybody pauses when they open their calendar, taking time to flip through the pages, looking at photos of unique or happy moments from the previous year. I gather these photos from a variety of family sources, and I group them in new combinations, so every page is a surprise. For example, this year I made a page of family members from all over the country sitting in boats.

I spend many hours on the calendars, the kind of time other people spend on Christmas cookies, knitted winter

clothing, or handmade jewelry. There’s something about sitting for a long time putting together a gift for a specific person or a specific family that is uniquely satisfying. Until recent years, I didn’t have enough time for this, but I do now.

On the Jimmy Kimmel show, when Michelle Obama looked at the two ponies, she raised her arms in a gesture of helplessness almost as if she wished she could escape. That’s not giftreceiving body language I want to see.

I don’t think I will. After 75 years, I’m getting this figured out.

— Marion Franck has lived in Davis for more than 40 years. Reach her at marionf2@ gmail.com.

Honors list for Davis student

Enterprise staff

Emily Moran of Davis was named to the Milwaukee School of Engineering’s honors list for the 2022 fall quarter. Moran is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in nursing.

Undergraduate students who have earned a GPA of 3.20 or higher (out of 4.0) for this quarter are on the honors list.

Name Droppers

approach to learning makes students ready now as well as prepared for the future.

Longstanding partnerships with business and industry leaders enable students to learn alongside professional mentors, and challenge them to go beyond what’s possible.

A special holiday visit

By Heather Sleuter Special to The Enterprise

For many of us, holidays are a joyful time to reconnect with family and friends, but they can also be difficult for many families. I had the privilege to reconnect with a family that will always be in my heart.

I will never forget the day I met this mother and son. When they arrived at the Nursery, the twomonth-old baby boy was lethargic and limp in my arms. He was not responding to my touch or voice, and he would not take a bottle. I immediately rushed the baby to the hospital with the mother. Thankfully, the doctors were able to treat the child, but they shared that we were within minutes of losing him.

After getting the baby stabilized, I learned the mom was suffering from postpartum depression and fleeing an abusive relationship. The Nursery wrapped this family with services. We cared for the baby after he was released from the hospital and helped the mom get mental health treatment, and to find housing, employment, and childcare.

Today, both mother and son are thriving. They have a loving and

Yolo Crisis NurserY

stable home. The mom is in good health and just got a promotion at work. The boy is now in school and excelling. At the Yolo Crisis Nursery, we are focused on helping families build on their inherent strengths to find long-term stability. After 15 years with the Nursery, the most rewarding result for me is seeing families’ success.

Our programs and services are funded in large part by donations. All gifts, large and small, help fund the life-altering, life-saving services we offer at the Yolo Crisis Nursery. If you are able, please consider the Yolo Crisis Nursery in your year-end giving plans. You can donate online at www.yolocrisisnursery. org or by mailing a check to 1107 Kennedy Place, Suite 5, Davis, CA 95616.

Thank you to all who generously donated on Giving Tuesday. I am happy to share that we unlocked our matching gift and because of your generosity, we will be able to help more children and families.

Many holiday wishes are coming true thanks to all who supported the

Yolo Crisis Nursery Adopt a Family and Giving Tree programs. Thank you for sharing a little holiday magic with children and families in need this holiday.

It is my honor to recognize past President JoEllen Welsch for her passion and support of the Yolo Crisis Nursery’s mission. JoEllen’s thoughtful leadership through the pandemic helped keep our doors open and offer assistance to families facing impossible choices. She was also instrumental in securing the location for a new larger home for the Nursery. JoEllen, thank you for your service and dedication to protecting children and preserving families.

I hope to see you all at the 11th Annual Yolo Crisis Nursery Crab Feed on March 11, 2023, at Waite Hall, Yolo County Fairgrounds! Tickets will go on sale in mid-January. If you are interested in sponsorships, please email Becky Heard at bheard@yolocrisis nursery.org.

On behalf of the children and families we serve, Thank you! We wish you a happy and healthy 2023.

— Heather Sleuter is the executive director of the Yolo Crisis Nursery.

Milwaukee School of Engineering (www.msoe. edu) is an independent, nonprofit university with about 2,700 students, in 1903. MSOE offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering, business and nursing. Faculty are student-focused experts who bring real-world experience into the classroom. This

Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Karen Douglas, 49, of Davis, to the California Public Utilities Commission. Douglas has been Senior Advisor for Energy in Newsom’s office since 2022. She was a California Energy Commission member from 2008 to 2022.

Douglas was Director of the California Climate

Initiative for the Environmental Defense Fund from 2005 to 2008. She held several positions at the Planning and Conservation League from 2001 to 2005, including acting executive director and general counsel. Douglas earned a Juris Doctor degree from Stanford Law School and a master’s degree in environmental policy from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $187,936. Douglas is a Democrat.

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

By Andy Jones Special to The Enterprise

Answers: The Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, 8%, Massachusetts, softwood, Africa. 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 quizzes via Patreon. Find out more at www.yourquizmaster.com.

from hardwood or softwood? 5. Hemispheres of the World. What is the only continent with land in all four hemispheres?

CourtesY photo

Yolo Crisis Nursery programs are designed to help families build on their inherent strengths to find long term stability and independence.

There’s something about sitting for a long time putting together a gift for a specific person or a specific family that is uniquely satisfying. Until recent years, I didn’t have enough time for this, but I do now.

For a long time, in my efforts to please, I focused on the wrong thing. Because I like surprises, I assumed everybody did. I was intolerant of people who gave hints or wrote lists of what they wanted.

AgriStars in Cameroon: Where agri-dreams can come true

By Kathy Keatley Garvey Enterprise staff writer

In the American reality television series, “Shark Tank,” entrepreneurs pitch their business presentations to a panel of investors or “sharks.” The “sharks” then decide whether to invest in the projects.

In real life, incarcerated youth in central Africa’s Nkongsamba Detention Facility in the Moungo Department of Cameroon, area pitch their agri-business proposals to AgriStars’ distinguished panel of experts — including UC Davis distinguished professor James R. Carey of the Department of Entomology and Nematology — for monetary prizes and project mentoring.

AgriStars, a 2022 pilot program of the Agriculture for Africa, is the brainchild of global scholar Vijitha Mahadevan Eyango, a UC Davis-UCLA alumna and founder of A4A, a U.S. nongovernmental organization.

“AgriStars is a program implementing agricultural education curriculum with one of Africa’s most marginalized groups — incarcerated youth,” said

Eyango, a former UCLA professor who serves as a youth and gender advisor with USAID West Africa. “AgriStars is patterned after the values and missions of the Future Farmers of America and the 4-H programs.”

The inaugural competition, held in April, drew 100 applicants, with 25 advancing to the semifinals and 10 named as winners. Their proposals ranged from pig farming to honey beekeeping.

“For me, the single most interesting part of my involvement withAgriStars and particularly my serving on the judging panel was learning about many aspects of African agriculture, not from corporate perspectives, but directly from the young people who were trying to make a living in Cameroonian villages,” said Carey, who codesigned AgriStars with Eyango. He hatched the shark-tank concept, donated funds from his summer teaching salary, and served as a judge.

“It was truly a learning experience for me as AgriStar participants gave their pitches on a wide range of innovative ideas involving

West African agriculture ranging from pig, chicken, and fish rearing to mushroom, honey and wine production,” Carey said.

“Inasmuch as the pitches were as interesting and entertaining as they were educational and enlightening, we are exploring the future possibility posting selected pitches on YouTube as a crowdfunding and thus self-sustaining enterprise.”

AgriStars awarded the winners a total of $15,000 in monetary prizes, plus mentoring from experts in

their fields. All finalists received UC Davis baseball caps, gifts from Carey, and AgriStars T-shirts. A press conference, drawing local, regional and national news media, followed.

The Eyango Food Company, headed by CEO and Cameroon musician icon Prince Ndedi Eyango (Vijitha’s husband), co-sponsored the event with A4A, AgriStars and UC Davis (Carey).

Carey recently participated in the AgriStars’ awards celebration at the Nkongsamba prison, held

some six months after the competition. The program included congratulatory speeches, native dances, a prison sports exhibition, and performances by celebrated singer-musician Prince Eyango, a Cameroonian singer, guitarist, songwriter, and record producer whose titles include “Best Artist of the Year.”

“We drew local and national news media coverage, and interest of highlevel politicians, the U.S. Embassy and others,” said Carey, who was among those delivering a congratulatory speech. He is a frequent visitor to Africa, where he delivers workshops and seminars as part of the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa.

UCLA distinguished professor Thomas Smith, director of the Congo Basin Institute, and a core advisor to A4A, introduced the two global educators — Eyango and Carey — in October 2021. “Our introduction jump-started a series of intense discussions,” Eyango recalled, “and by January 2022, we had co-designed AgriStars.”

They set out to “build capacity, confidence and

business skills of entrepreneurial youth, develop new talents in the agriculture sector and serve as an opportunity to executive a winning agribusiness concept to win an opportunity for a cash prize and mentorship,” Eyango said.

A4A, which Eyango founded in November 2020, sponsors “programs in agriculture, entrepreneurship, social justice and education,” she explained.

In a UCLA article published June 12, 2022, David Colgan, director of communications for the UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, described A4A as a “program that teaches 25-and-younger incarcerated people in the fertile Nkongsamba region to farm — a skill that can help them stay out of prison once they leave ... Resources are limited in Cameroon, which is home to a displaced population of 2 million seeking refuge from war and insecurity in neighboring countries including Chad, Central African Republic and Nigeria. Food insecurity is a big problem, and a root cause of crimes that land many young people in prison.”

UCD: Tips for managing mental health during the holidays

Special to The Enterprise

The holidays can be a time for joy and connecting with friends and loved ones, but they can also bring stress and sadness. Angela Drake is a clinical neuropsychologist at UC Davis Health. She has practical advice for navigating the season’s emotional challenges and specific tips for taking care of your mental health.

n Manage holiday expectations

The most common advice Drake gives her patients is to figure out how to manage their expectations. “Often what we are experiencing is a disconnect between our actual situation and what we think it should be,” Drake said. During the holidays, this can be particularly acute. If someone grew up with a big family, they might feel a sense of loss with a small gathering. “They are mentally comparing the two without even knowing it,” Drake said. She suggests focusing on what you are grateful for in the present.

n Let go of the fantasy

Obituary

She also encourages people to manage their expectations of other people. “We can all have the fantasy that everyone is going to have a wonderful time, but the reality is that there are often tensions in families,” Drake said. “It likely won’t be a fantasy version of the holidays.” She says you can set your expectations by recognizing certain family members may always be difficult.

“You can’t control other people, but you can adjust your expectations and reactions, which can be empowering.”

n Check in with yourself

One way to manage your reactions is to check in with yourself regularly. “It is a way to monitor your emotional state and see how you are doing. You can think of it as a stress, anxiety or mood scale. You rank what you are feeling from one to ten,” Drake said. “And when you are at a certain level — whatever you decide — you take a break.” She suggests doing something you enjoy and find relaxing. She encourages patients to listen to music, exercise, do deep breath-

ing, or do whatever activity or hobby they enjoy. The idea is to develop self-awareness so people can engage in self-care before reaching an emotional breaking (or boiling) point.

n Have a plan

In addition to regular selfmonitoring, Drake suggests having a specific plan for what you will do if you feel stressed out, sad, or anxious during the holidays. It could be calling a friend, walking, turning on music, reading, or watching your favorite TV show. The activity is as individual as you are. “All of this is moving towards wellness,” Drake said. “It’s about being proactive and engaging in self-care, rather than trying to ignore or stuff down emotions, which typically only works so long.”

n Breathe

Drake uses a technique called diaphragmatic breathing to relieve stress and anxiety. It is also known as deep breathing or belly breathing. “You can do deep breathing anywhere, and it doesn’t cost anything,” Drake said. She notes that people often

“go, go go” during the holidays and will try to power through whatever they need to do. “But then it leaves them exhausted,” Drake said. “Deep breathing, holding oxygen in your lungs, allows better oxygen exchange. Your blood oxygen goes up. And as soon as that happens, you start to relax.” You can learn deep breathing from free online instructions and videos.

n Share the happy memories

In addition to stress, the holidays can also be a time of grief as people are aware of loved ones who have passed away. “You don’t want to submerge yourself in grief, but it is not useful to just ignore it because you are still going to feel it,” Drake said. A strategy she recommends is known as reminiscence therapy.

“The idea is to acknowledge loss and grief but not dwell on the sad memories. Just focus on the happy memories,” Drake said. “I encourage people to celebrate that person. Talk about them, reminisce, tell stories.”

n Connect with community

“Loneliness has negative

health effects. The holidays can amplify loneliness, especially when people no longer have family or live far away from their families or friends,” Drake said. For people who do not have a network of friends or a support group, her advice is to get out there and find one. She notes that people find community through many avenues, including churches, clubs, meetups, volunteering, cultural centers, LGBTQ centers, and many others. “Finding community is hard these days, but it is so important. You talk to people, interact, and get to feel good about what you are doing. And it is good for you,” Drake said.

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, help can be reached 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by dialing or texting 988 from a smartphone. You can learn more about the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline on their website.

UC Davis Health

Sept. 23, 1931 — Dec. 16, 2022

Roger Edward Garrett, resident of Atlanta, Mo., passed away unexpectedly on Friday, Dec. 16, 2022, at the Samaritan Hospital in Macon, Missouri. He was 91 years old. A memorial will be held at the Atlanta Baptist Church in Atlanta at 11 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 29. It was Roger’s longheld wish to donate his body for scientific research after his passing.

Roger was born on Sept. 23, 1931, in Early, Iowa, to Lester and Naomi Garrett. He spent his early years in South English, Iowa, after the death of his mother. In the fall of 1941, Roger moved to Montreal, Mo., with his father and two of his brothers. There his father remarried and Roger gained a wonderful stepmother, Grace Garrett, and two sisters.

During his high school years at Stoutland and Camdenton high schools, Roger discovered his musical interest and talent, participating in the school music program by singing and playing the alto horn and sousaphone. Although his life interest and vocation was in an entirely different field, he continued to exercise his vocal talent by singing in church services well into his 80s.

A highlight during these latter musical years was a “Sermon in Song” in which he put together parts of many well-known hymns to tell the story of a great God, man’s sin and need of a Savior, and God’s gift of Jesus to fill that need.

After finishing high school, Roger first stayed on the family farm to help his father and later worked as a clerk for a trucking company in St. Louis. After learning the printing trade as a means to earn his way through college, he spent two years in the army, including one year of service in Korea. He liked to tell how they kept him in the office there because he was able to build any and all required office furniture out of sheets of plywood.

After returning from Korea, Roger decided to get a college education. In the college admissions office, he said he was “interested in farm machinery and how to make it better,” so they directed him to the department of Agricultural Engineering. After five years at the University of Missouri at Columbia, he graduated with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural engineering.

During his college years, he was also active in the

United Methodist Church, where he met Marylyn Marsh, who became his wife in June 1957 at the United Methodist Church Chapel in Columbia. In 1959, Roger moved with his wife and young daughter to Waterloo, Iowa, where he took a position at John Deere.

The family, now also including a son, relocated to Davis in 1962, where Roger joined the staff of the agricultural engineering department at UC Davis.

To begin his career there, he was asked to develop a procedure to harvest lettuce mechanically. To do that, he first developed a method of planting single seeds, then designed a machine to thin rows. The “synchronist thinner” was never used for lettuce, but was built commercially by a former employer from his college years, and used on tomatoes and sugar beets. This was the first use of electronics in agricultural machinery. Roger did go on to develop the lettuce harvester, as well.

After a few years doing pure research for the university, he also became a lecturer. In the late ’60s he moved his family to New York state for two years so

that he could work on his Ph.D. at Cornell University. Back in Davis, he was now a full professor and later department chair for approximately 10 years. Eventually, his work branched out to include apples, aquaculture, seed encapsulation, and curriculum development.

Roger was a longtime member of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers, where he often presented papers at the yearly summer meetings, and also belonged to the American Society of Engineering Educators. After his time as department chair in Davis, he went on to play a leading role in two projects on curriculum development with national task forces.

When asked why he chose the field of Agricultural Engineering, Roger would say “I wanted to help the farmers.” He himself had grown up as a farm boy, although his father had also worked as a printer and postmaster at times. But the word “help” in his reply is the one which most characterized Roger. Especially in his later years, he would go out of his way to help anyone he found needing that help in any way he could offer. He told of his grandmother teaching him that “joy” is spelled Jesus-others-yourself. For Roger, “others” was always spelled with a capital O.

During his time in Davis, Roger also taught Sunday School, participated in a Davis Art Center production and lead a 4-H project in small engines in conjunction with the engineering department at UCD. The members involved helped to clean and repair antique engines. With his wife, Roger oversaw the building of several duplexes as rental units and finally designed their dream home and had it built just outside the city limits.

After retirement, Roger became involved in several projects in Atlanta, Mo., his wife’s home town, which caused him to live there parttime and later make the small town his home.

With his wife, he turned the old family locker and meat processing plant into a beautiful and original

restaurant and event location. They also designed and implemented a toddlers’ park which they then gifted to the community. Roger was very involved in the United Methodist Church for many years, including its after-school Adventure Club. He was designated grand marshall of the 2018 homecoming parade.

Roger is survived by his brother, Phillip Garrett and sister-in-law Marilyn of Auburn, Ala.; sister Maxine Scott and brother-in-law Donald, of Fort Myers, Fla.; daughter Linda and son-in-law Hans Scheib of Unterumbach, Germany; five grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and many more extended family members.

Wesley Foundation of the

Roger Edward Garrett

GARRETT

COurtesy phOtO

The winners of the AgriStars’ competition, wearing their UC Davis hats, answer questions from the Cameroon national press.

By Stephan Pastis

By Charles M. Schulz

WRIGHT: ‘My turn’ to wrangle growing kids

in-vitro fertilization (attempts) … and failed adoptions. And here we are now, blessed with six adopted kids.”

Aquatic center

Lori says that even with Wright’s concentration on coaching at Davis High, for national teams and with the Davis Water Polo Club; with his advocacy for an aquatic center at DHS; with his participation in swimming challenges such as traversing the English Channel and navigating the circumference of Lake Tahoe; “people still may not realize how much he was able to accomplish over the years.”

Given his love of competition in the water, why is Wright leaving the Devil program with so many more productive years ahead?

“So, at Thanksgiving, (I wasn’t thinking about) anything that happened during or after the season,” Wright told The Enterprise. “I just realized we were one step closer to next fall, and I started thinking, ‘What does that look like?’”

The coach realized there would be little time to watch Luke compete or take in Malaya’s collegiate matches. In addition, the four youngest Wrights are entering their formative years.

“And taking all that time coaching just wouldn’t have been fair for Lori and raising our four daughters still at home,” Wright adds. “It’s slightly different in dealing with adopted kids. They’ve already had loss. They’ve already had trauma, and me not being around… it’s not fair to them.”

Doug says it’s “my turn” to wrangle the kids while his wife now gets to enjoy watching Luke play.

DHS Athletic Director Jeff Lorenson says he can’t find exactly the right words to thank the coach who also spent 12 seasons coaching Blue Devil girls swim teams to four more section championships.

Commitment

“I’m humbled by the level of commitment that Doug and his family have put into not only Davis High water polo but aquatics in the community for what seems like forever,” Lorenson says.

“It takes a special person to go through all the challenges, always putting the students first. He’s just been a real pleasure to work with. I’ve told him he’s just on a break, not retired, because he’s a huge (reason) for the aquatics center that’s going in… and I’m excited to have him still involved in it in some capacity.

“We could not be more proud of the (swim and water polo) teams and the young women who came out of his programs.”

Christi (Raycraft) Warner, who played for and coached with Wright at DHS before taking her talents to UC Davis, remembers her mentor as someone “supportive on and off the pool deck. It was immeasurable. He’s a phenomenal coach, and a positive coach.

“Doug’s been there cheering for me all the way.”

Such was the lifetime of support that Doug Wright was the officiant at Tom and Christi Warner’s wedding ceremony.

“Our friendship and his mentorship have meant the world to me,” Christi continues. “I would not be who I am today — the coach and the mentor I am to my kids — without Doug.”

Lorenson says the girls

water polo coaching position will be posted in January with interviews to follow in the spring.

‘Big shoes’

“(Wright) leaves big, big shoes to fill,” Lorenson says.

If you’re going to read Doug Wright’s résumé aloud, take a deep breath …

n Since creating the DHS girls water polo program in 1995 with his brother, former UCD coach and All-American player Jamey Wright, Doug’s programs have won 710 contests while losing only 154 (an 82 percent win clip).

n 18 Sac-Joaquin Section championships

n 24 final-four appearances.

n 25 section elite-eight berths.

n A 92-percent success rate in the postseason.

n Eight Western States titles.

n Three NorCal Invitational crowns.

n A pair of undefeated seasons.

n As an Aggie studentathlete, Wright achieved All-American status in both water polo and swimming.

n He was the fastest American to swim the England Channel in 2010.

n Wright assisted UCD men’s and women’s aquatics teams (1994-97).

n His U.S. Water Polo 17U (2000) and 10U (2014) teams won national titles.

One-two punch

For almost three decades, Wright and boys pool sports coach Tracy Stapleton have been a 1-2 punch providing Davis High with half of the school’s 120-plus section banners.

The pair have worked closely together.

“We have been very supportive of each other, having coached water polo at (the high school) and with Davis Water Polo Club, which is the incubator of our DHS program,” Stapleton says.

“Our relationship is very collaborative and respectful. We see each other just about every day and hold similar roles, which can be isolating at times. We bounce ideas off each other and share difficulties in navigating the administrative landscape of youth sports.

“We very much are in each other’s corner. Of course, Doug coached my daughter (Colby) for many years, so my family and I have tremendous gratitude for his mentorship.

“I am not sure people realize how much time and caretaking Doug has provided the athletes.

Beyond coaching, Doug has taken a great role in helping navigate the Davis High Aquatics Center project.

“Our community has been very fortunate to have someone like Doug.”

Playing favorites

Wright tiptoed around the subject of his best or favorite teams, and which of the almost 70 Blue Devils who went on to play in college were the cream of the crop.

“Favorite teams kind of come through in piles,” Wright laughs. “Every year is different. Last year was terrific. That first group with five titles in a row was special. Then the year we beat Monte Vista with Olympic standout Maggie Steffens was great.

“And sooo many great players. Heather West, Dakota Mohr, Colby Stapleton, Christi Raycraft, Ariel Feeney, Hailey Wright. I feel bad mentioning anybody because there are 20 greats I’m not

even talking about.”

Despite that word “retirement,” Wright promised to stay involved wherever he’s needed poolside. His commitment to DWPC will continue and, of course, he’ll continue to teach his art history and ceramics classes at the high school.

What’ll he miss?

“Building teams. Building athletes. I really love working with the athletes, helping them get better — and I love figuring out where to put people so the team can have success.

“Through 20-plus seasons, I’ve seen a lot of great sunsets out at Arroyo Pool,” the oft-honored mentor remembers.

And judging from a lifetime of competing, coaching and mentoring, a good guess is that the final sun hasn’t set on Doug Wright’s contributions.

Notes: After DHS vanquished Granite Bay, 13-7, in the 2022 section finals, Blue Devil leading scorers Kenzie Walker and Malaya Wright were named co-section MVPs. While Walker has committed to Cal, Doug Wright says his daughter hasn’t decided on a college. … Lori and Doug’s clan includes daughters Malaya, 17; Aubree, 6; Payton, 4; and Nevaeh, 2; and boys Luke; 14 and Landon, 5.

— Bruce Gallaudet is a former editor and sports editor of The Davis Enterprise.

UCD: Merry Christmas

Stadium in Santa Clara.

Raking in big bucks

Bad week for the San Francisco Giants.

They believed they had superstar shortstop Carlos Correa about to sign a 13-year, $350 million dollar deal, pending a physical.

That physical took place, and Giants doctors saw something in it they didn’t like. That was the very public explanation.

Correa’s agent Scott Boras claims the Giants never got back to him once the physical was over. Saying Correa and he could wait no longer, Boras moved his client to the New York Mets for 12 years and $315 million.

Upshot: The Giants no longer have the player who was going to be their face of the franchise.

And much work to do in strengthening the onfield product. What really went down this week will someday be known. Probably sooner than later.

n When you have Boras as your agent, the holidays often come early.

With several players still looking for teams, Boras’ clients this year have agreed to contracts totaling $1.24 billion dollars.

At the standard 5% representation fee, Boras is in line to pocket $62,000,000.

n Steve Christmas. Because he is the lone major league player whose last name is Christmas. He played between 1983-86 for Cincinnati and both Chicago teams. He had one homer, drove in seven runs and hit .188.

We have other holiday players that we’ll intersperse throughout today’s column.

Such as J.T. (Let It) Snow, (Let It) Snow, (Let It) Snow.

n Two pop singers who always are heard during the holidays: 78-years-young Brenda Lee and her “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” and the late Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock.”

n Whether you like or dislike Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers isn’t the point.

on social media. If not someone who wasn’t at the game but likes to give referees a bad time.

Referees are human beings too.

Now UCD (4-6) is shifting its focus toward getting ready for Big Sky action.

Like Gross told me after the game, it’s a long season.

n Speaking of basketball, the Sacramento Kings have plenty of home games entering the week.

The Kings host the Denver Nuggets back-toback Tuesday and Wednesday nights at the Golden 1 Center.

Then Sacramento entertains the Utah Jazz on Friday.

n The San Francisco 49ers hosted the Washington Commanders on Saturday at Levi’s

On Christmas Day, there are three NFL games.

The second game has the Denver Broncos playing the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium.

I’m pretty certain former Enterprise Sports Editor Owen Yancher and Enterprise correspondent Madilynn Sepp will be watching all or most of that game. They are both Bronco fans.

n Lastly but importantly, Merry Christmas to you, your family, friends and the people who are in your lives.

Make memories not only on Christmas, but each day and week.

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

What is the point is that Rodgers expects his wide receivers to know all the plays and checkoffs, whether or not the ball is coming their way

In Monday night’s win over the Los Angeles Rams, Rodgers threw a pass for Christian Wat-

son that should have been caught for a touchdown. Watson never even turned around because he didn’t see the check-off from Rodgers.

n Over the past five years, NFL teams have spent more than $800 million paying off the contracts of fired coaches and front office executives.

Bad personnel decisions get more costly each season.

n How good a coach is Andy Reid?

The Kansas City Chiefs sideline supervisor has led his team to its seventh consecutive division title. It’s the longest streak in the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA. Thanks to Da Judge (Clark, not Aaron) for the note.

n This Week’s Insanity — The Phoenix Suns franchise was sold on Tuesday. For $4 billion.

n Franco Harris, hero of the famous “Immaculate Reception” play, died on Dec. 20 in Pittsburgh at age 72.

Friday marked the 50th anniversary of the play adjudged as the most famous play in NFL history.

On Dec. 23, 1972, the Pittsburgh Steelers trailed the Oakland Raiders 7-6 with 22 seconds to play Terry Bradshaw’s last-second pass for John (Frenchy) Fuqua was deflected by the Raiders’ Jack Tatum. Harris caught the ball off his shoe top and ran for the winning touchdown.

To this day, Raider partisans swear the pass should have been ruled incomplete.

n Since Harris joined the Steelers 50 years ago, no NFL team has won more games than Pittsburgh’s 490. Harris was a Steeler from 1972-83.

n Happy 76th birthday, Jimmy Buffett.

n More wreaths, trees, tinsel and ornaments: Pedro Feliz (Navidad). Feliz was the Giants third baseman from 2001 to 2007. “Feliz Navidad,” performed by Jose Feliciano, is one of the largest-selling Christmas songs of all time.

n To everyone who reads these meanderings, wherever you may be, thanks and happy holidays.

Doug Kelly is a longtime radio and television color man on UC Davis football broadcasts. Contact him at DKelly1416@aol.com.

dhs roundup Hoops teams in action

Enterprise staff

The Davis High boys basketball team will take part in the Ronald D. Thompson Holiday Classic at Fairfield High, which runs from Wednesday through Friday.

Davis (5-4) takes on Benicia on Wednesday at 8 p.m. The winner of that game plays the Natomas-Liberty Ranch of Galt winner on Thursday at 8 p.m. The Davis-Benicia loser would play the NatomasLiberty Ranch loser

Thursday at 3:30 p.m.

Girls basketball

The Davis High girls basketball team will compete at the Steve Cauchi Ram Jam at Dixon High.

The Blue Devils open against Chico on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.

The Davis-Chico winner plays the West Campus-Rocklin winner on Thursday at 5 p.m.

The Davis-Chico loser takes on the West Campus-Rocklin loser, also on Thursday, at 11 a.m.

Courtesy photo

Doug Wright goes over books inside his classroom at DHS. He has been teaching art at the campus since the 1990s.

shannon hillyard/Courtesy photo

Doug Wright’s children are (back row) Malaya, who was been on the DHS girls water polo team the last four years, Nevaeh (2) and Luke, 14. Front are Payton, Aubree and Landon.