Turning Point USA co-founder
Charlie Kirk, a controversial conservative activist and radio talk show host came to the Credit Union Center at UC Davis on Tuesday night as part of a spring campus tour. At least three counter-protests ensued in advance of the TP event.
By Grace Gedye CalMatters
In the winding story of California’s gig worker laws, another chapter has come to a close.
Justices in a California court of appeals ruled today that Proposition 22 — a 2020 ballot measure that allowed Uber, Lyft, and other platforms to classify their workers as independent contractors rather than employees — is largely
constitutional, but that part of the measure is invalid.
The distinction between employees and contractors is important: Employees have the right to a host of benefits and protections like minimum wage, sick leave and family leave, unemployment and disability benefits, and more. But independent contractors don’t have the same rights.
The appeals court disagreed
with a lower court that had ruled Prop. 22 was unconstitutional on the whole.
But the Monday ruling struck down part of Prop. 22 that they felt intruded on the legislature and judiciary’s power. The court ruled that a section of the measure that defined legislation on certain topics — like unions for gig workers — as amendments to the Proposition was invalid.
“Today the Appeals Court
chose to stand with powerful corporations over working people, allowing companies to buy their way out of our state’s labor laws and undermine our state constitution,” wrote Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, executive secretary-treasurer of the California Labor Federation, an umbrella organization for labor unions, which opposed Prop.
Running for a seat on the Davis City Council was a logical progression following a career in government service and more than 30 years living in this community, says Donna Neville.
One of two candidates seeking the District 3 council seat on May 2, Neville came to UC Davis in 1987 to attend law school and 36 years later, is still here. She and husband, Ted Grosholz, raised their son, Liam, here as well.
All the while, she was working in state government, including as chief legal advisor to the California state auditor. Her work in the auditor’s office included advising state lawmakers in the areas of the environment and K-12 education; performance audits of state and local government
programs; and developing the application and selection process for the California Citizens Redistricting Commission, she said.
“I’ve really spent my whole professional life working on complex public policy issues and making government programs work better,” Neville said.
“Running is all about bringing that skill back home,” she explained. “It’s a logical progression. But also I am really deeply rooted in this community and dedicated to this community, and I’ve already been doing a lot of city commission work and nonprofit work.”
That work includes her current position as a member of the Davis Planning Commission and former service as a member and
Near the entrance, a police blockade formed as hundreds of protesters came to ground zero. Masked up with umbrellas further hiding identities, Kirk supporters had some difficulty making their way to see the Turning Point founder.
Not shying away from political discourse, the tour advertised that “students who disagree will be brought to the front of the line.” Student organizers from the UCD chapter of Turning Point decided to cap attendance at 1,000 for safety reasons; about 500 attended, according
KIRK, Back page
By Aaron Geerts Enterprise staff writer
Thursday’s school board meeting has on its agenda updates on the district’s Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP), Extended Learning Opportunity Program (ELOP) and the acceptance of various bids to bolster the district’s network connectivity.
The first order of business will be to accept the bid from Consolidated Communications Inc. for a dedicated internet connection to the DJUSD district office (the current contract with CCI is set to expire on July 1 of this year). The Universal Service Fund — or “E-rate” — provides discounts to assist schools and libraries that are a part of it to help obtain affordable telecommunications, internet access and internal connections.
The district has been part of the E-rate program for over 20 years, has completed its bidding requirement
On March 23, Sebastian Yoon (from the PBS series “College Behind Bars”) will speak at Davis High School. His presentation will be during lunch (12:16 to 12:58 p.m.) in the Brunelle Theater on campus, 315 W. 14th St. in Davis. This event is only open to DHS students. In the evening he will speaking from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Brunelle Theater in an event open to the public.
As a young Korean American, Yoon was convicted of first-degree manslaughter. He ended up at Eastern New York Penitentiary, where he enrolled in the Bard Prison Initiative.
"College Behind Bars" covers this part of Yoon's life. While incarcerated he earned his bachelor's degree, and now he works for Open Society.
In addition to his job, he is getting his master's degree through Baruch College. He will mostly discuss his time in prison and his experiences with Bard College, as well as his life post-incarceration and how he feels the prison system needs to be reformed.
Every now and then I read about an issue in another town or actually visit another town and witness one of its issues firsthand, and it’s then that I wish I were a columnist in that town.
Even if only for a day. For many years I’ve said that Davis is a target-rich environment that would be any columnist’s dream. But every now and then things slow down, politicians start behaving themselves and things can get desperate for those of us who type for a living.
Davis, after all, doesn’t always have more nuts than Winters.
That’s when the longing for wider horizons begins.
Take, for instance, the small coastal town of Omaui on the South Island of New Zealand. If this town were in Ireland, I presume it would be called “O’maui,” but that’s another discussion for another day.
According to an excellent piece some time ago by Charlotte Graham-McLay in The New York Times, the second best newspaper
in America, Omaui has a population of just 35 and seven or eight cats.
Turns out the cat population is central to the story, and oh how I wish we had a story like this in Davis, what with our wildly conflicting positions on wild turkeys, coyotes, squirrels, blue jays and the occasional possum.
“A new proposal to phase out felines to preserve native wildlife susceptible to predators has raised the hackles of some cat-loving residents,” the story notes.
I can see the battle lines forming already. I mean, dare to mess with cat-lovers and you’ll have an all-out war on your hands.
“The proposed ban would
impose a sunset clause for cats in Omaui, meaning that once a cat died, its owners would not be allowed to replace it. If the policy is approved, cat owners will have six months to register existing cats with the regional council and have them microchipped and neutered.”
It’s unclear if there is a conscience clause exempting those people who are opposed to microchipping for religious reasons. Talk about the mark of the beast.
“After the six-month grace period, no new felines would be permitted, and families moving to the area would have to get rid of their cats first.”
Hey, kids, the good news is we’re moving to Omaui. The bad news is we’re leaving Minerva with grandma.
Perhaps the town council of Omaui could box up the most aggressive cats and ship them our way in the hope they’ll take out their aggression on our onceagain expanding turkey population.
“Ali Meade, the regional council’s biosecurity and biodiversity manager, said cats posed real risks to New Zealand’s unique fauna, which has evolved in isolation rom mammals.”
So, we’re going to achieve biodiversity by completely eliminating an entire species.
Makes me wonder how a cat ban would fly in Davis if evidence showed that the beautiful and rare Yolo County magpie was being stalked by our abundant population of outdoor cats.
While there is no evidence that Omaui’s seven or eight cats have actually killed even a single bird, they now have a great big target on their tabby tails.
If this plan goes through, I say Davis should step up to the plate and form a sister city relationship with the cats of Omaui.
Bring ‘em to town, teach ‘em to chase turkeys and kill two birds with one cat. Or seven or eight cats.
It’s a plan for all seasons. Reach Bob Dunning at bdunning@davisenteprise.net.
On Friday morning, California saw something the country hasn’t witnessed since the bad old days of the 2008 financial crisis: the collapse of a major bank.
California regulators seized Silicon Valley Bank — a storied cornerstone of the start-up economy, and, as of last year, the country’s 16th largest bank — declaring it to be “conducting its business in an unsafe manner” and insolvent.
The bank plans to reopen Monday under the stewardship of bank regulators with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which announced late Sunday that it planned to guarantee all deposits. It took that step in response to panic across the Bay Area that businesses and nonprofits with millions of dollars in the failed bank’s vaults might be unable to access their cash and be forced to shutter.
Now, Silicon Valley investors, start-up employers, California budget analysts and lawmakers are watching closely to see whether this is the end of a minor crisis — or just the beginning of a major one precipitated by higher interest rates.
Gov. Gavin Newsom welcomed the Sunday afternoon federal intervention, saying in a statement that it will have “profoundly positive impacts on California … ensuring our innovation economy can continue to grow and move forward.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Newsom administration’s Department of Finance said it was still far too early to say what the bank failure and its attendant economic impact might have on the state’s already dragging budget picture.
Silicon Valley Bank’s
sudden demise will be studied and debated for weeks and months to come. But for all the bank’s association with innovation and newfangled tech, the factors behind its collapse seemed to be, in the words of Bloomberg columnist Matt Levine, “sort of boring and normal” as far as bank failures go.
Long story short: Depositors began withdrawing money just as the bank’s investments began to tank.
On the depositor side, much of the bank’s money came from start-ups and other Silicon Valley savers. Driven by higher borrowing rates and the end of a pandemic surge in demand for remote everything, Silicon Valley has seen a parade of layoffs this year and depositors with the bank have been drawing down their savings. Higher interest rates also led many of those savers to seek out higher returns for their cash elsewhere.
This drawdown required the bank to cash out some of its investments. Unfortunately for the bank, many of those were in long-term Treasuries and mortgagebacked securities. As the Federal Reserve has cranked up interest rates to quell inflation, the value of those assets plummeted. Thus, on Wednesday, the bank announced losses of $1.8 billion.
Spooked by that news, many depositors tried to take all their money out at once. The next day, $42 billion disappeared from the bank’s digital vaults, according to California regulators, a mass withdrawal urged on by some tech sector giants, including the venture capital fund co-founded by conservative billionaire Peter Thiel.
The result: an oldfashioned bank run the likes of which even Jimmy Stewart would recognize.
Some commentators have been less charitable to the erstwhile bank, arguing the bank’s management did little to calm skittish investors leading to “an own goal” of epic proportions.
Because the bank’s financial troubles can be traced back to higher interest rates, Silicon Valley Bank might be called the first major casualty of the Federal Reserve’s anti-inflationary policy.
The big question is whether it will be the last. After the federal takeover, investors raced away from similarly positioned regional banks, worried that they too might be facing a borrowing rate squeeze.
Those who held cash with Silicon Valley Bank were protected, but only to a point. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation backs deposits up to $250,000. That wasn’t likely to help many of the bank’s clientele, disproportionately made up of startups with millions socked way.
It was that fearsome prospect of tech companies across northern California suddenly finding themselves cashless and unable to make payroll that ultimately led the federal government to intervene.
One venture capitalist warned of a “mass shutdown of all American startups.” Reporting over the weekend highlighted the potential collateral damage that could befall everything from affordable housing projects to the Napa wine industry to solar panel producers. Bay Area politicians called for urgent federal action.
On CBS’ Face the Nation on Sunday morning, Silicon Valley Rep. Ro Khanna urged the federal government to ensure that “all
depositors will be protected and have full access to their accounts.”
“If theoretically the federal government did nothing, we would have risk of contagion and the spread of it would just be very bad,” said state Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat, prior to federal regulators’ announcement.
That announcement came Sunday afternoon. “Depositors will have access to all of their money starting Monday, March 13,”
FDIC Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg said in a joint statement with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome H. Powell.
That’s an unusual resolution for a bank failure, said Joao Granja, an accounting professor who specializes in banking regulation at the University of Chicago. Typically, federal regulators will try to find another private bank to take over the failed one, guaranteeing all of its deposits.
The fact that no buyer was immediately forthcoming reflects both “how suddenly and quickly the situation unfolded,” said Granja, but also that Silicon Valley Bank is “large and specialized” in the tech sector.
The state as a whole need not panic just yet, said Emily Mandel, an economist who monitors state finances for Moody’s Analytics. The bank’s failure is “more a symptom of ongoing weakness in the tech industry rather than a sea change,” she said.
Still, California lawmakers are facing a $20 billionplus deficit. Roughly half of the state’s personal income tax revenue comes from the top 1 percent of earners, most of whom get paid in stocks and other financial
Special to The Enterprise
The Rotary Club of Davis continues its efforts to support Yolo County Child Abuse Prevention programs by holding their annual Big Night Gala fundraisers for three Yolo County agencies that deal with child abuse.
Since 2000, the events have raised close to $750,000 to provide essential funding for child abuse prevention programs in Yolo County.
The 22nd Annual Big Night Gala is trying to do just that. The funds raised at this year’s event will support the Yolo Crisis Nursery, the Yolo County Children’s Alliance, and the
Multi-Disciplinary Interview Center.
This year’s event will be held at El Macero Country Club, 44571 Clubhouse Drive from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. Saturday, March 25. It will begin with a reception and silent auction, then
move onto a three-course dinner and live auction, after which guests will be invited to contribute to a special fund-a-need project. Celebrated broadcast journalist Sam Shane will serve as auctioneer for the live auction and
instruments. That’s why the possibility of additional tech sector hiccups and financial market gyrations aren’t likely to be welcome news in the Capitol.
An analysis by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office last year noted that the total amount of income tax withheld from California paychecks was coming in far below expectations. The culprit, according to the report: A steep decline in salary bonuses and a dearth of new initial public offerings — stock exchange coming out parties that, just a few years ago, were regularly making fresh tech millionaires across the Bay Area.
But to the extent that the Silicon Valley Bank saga reflects underlying shakiness in tech, those concerns are likely already reflected in the state’s dour fiscal projections, said Mandel.
“Yes, weakness in tech is going to result in some weakness in revenues but this doesn’t change the contours of what we would expect,” she said. “I don’t expect this will be a repeat of ‘08, I expect this to be more of an isolated event.”
The state’s public sector pensioners also aren’t likely to take a major hit in the short-term. Of the roughly $444 billion in investments currently managed by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, $67 million (roughly twopercent of one-percent of the total) were bonds to Silicon Valley Bank, according to a summary of the fund’s investments through June of 2022. More recent figures are not yet available. Broader rumblings in the tech world would reverberate through the pension fund’s portfolio, but the exposure is still relatively limited. Taking Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft together, CalPERS holds $1.7 billion in corporate bonds.
fund-a-need project.
Tickets are $175 per person and will be available until they sell out. Become a sponsor or donate to the auctions; contact Sharon Shoemaker at spshoe@ mac.com or 530-848-6733 for information and tickets.
There’s so much going on in the world relative to the climate crisis it’s hard to keep up. Here’s a few recent developments.
First, a short update on nuclear energy. Setting aside for a moment, the problems of melt downs, waste disposal, and the potential for nuclear materials to end up in bombs, one of the knocks on nuclear power has been how expensive it is to build power plants, how long it takes, and the seemingly endless cost overruns and equally endless failures to meet construction deadlines.
Another reason, and one cited strongly and often by the nuclear industry, is what they refer to as overly burdensome regulations. There appears to potential common ground that could result in a bipartisan effort to streamline the regulatory process, at least insofar as it relates to small modular reactors (SMRs).
Though there remains a cleareyed caution about the potential downside of nuclear reactors, the promise of these SMR’s appears to appeal both to members of congress who are just flat-out proponents of nuclear energy and others who have historically been skeptical but are interested in reducing carbon emissions and see SMR’s as a potential pathway to help meeting President Biden’s goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by
2050 and zero-carbon electricity by 2030.
Proponents argue that once a module has gone through the process of approval for use, subsequent identical modules should be eligible for quicker, less complicated approval, and would be far less costly to put into operation. Not exactly a plug-in but similar.
It’s not clear what exactly is meant by streamlining the approval process, and what the process would look like with standardized modules. “The devil is always in the detail” cautions Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo. “One thing we cannot do is sacrifice safety.”
One thing is for sure; hundreds of millions of dollars have been allocated for nuclear power development in the Inflation Reduction Act and the 2012 infrastructure law.
Second, and speaking of a “quicker, less complicated” approval process, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission just days ago authorized PG&E to
continue to operate the 2,240 MW Diablo Canyon nuclear plant even though the NRC has not completed its review process.
Short-circuiting the usual process was “reckless” according to one environmental group. However, the NRC determined its decision was authorized by law, doesn’t risk public health, and responds to “serious challenges to the reliability of California’s electricity grid.”
The California Energy Commission cites the Diablo Canyon plant as providing nearly a fifth of the state’s zero-carbon electricity, and a 10th of the state’s overall electricity. In support for the NRC decision, the CEC passed a resolution that “the state’s electricity forecast for the calendar years 2024 to 2030, inclusive, show potential for reliability deficiencies if the Diablo Canyon plant operation is not extended beyond 2025.”
Third, moving to the international stage, Reader Dan forwarded an article from the Yale School of the Environment with the intriguing title, “In the Scramble for Clean Energy, Europe is turning to North Africa.” The article is about both what is apparently already happening and plans to significantly expand in the future. In some ways it boggles the mind, or at
least my mind. According to the article, “Solar and wind farms are already proliferating south of the Mediterranean.” Both Morocco and Egypt have solar projects that “are among the largest in the world” and provide power for their regions to enable less reliance on coal. Europe is now eyeing the deserts of North African countries to help their pivot from reliance on Russian natural gas.
Morocco already provides electricity from its solar farms to Europe via links through Spain; Egypt is looking at multiple proposals for underwater cables to link to provide power to Greece; and Tunisia is also looking at submarine cable to provide electricity to Italy. But the one that blew my mind is a “megaproject that aims to lay the world’s longest high voltage submarine cables for 2,300 miles from giant energy farms in the Moroccan desert past the Atlantic coastlines of Portugal, Spain, and France … where it could provide 8 percent of the United Kingdom’s electricity.”
The article doesn’t ignore the potential environmental downsides. One project proposed for the Sahara Desert involves “12 million solar panels and 530 wind turbines on an area of more than 650 square miles.” While many proponents describe
the land that would be underneath these solar panels and wind machines as ”remote and empty” there are people, plants, animals and ecosystems living there now. Not to mention potential equity issues for spending so much money to send electricity to Europe when less than half the African continent is connected to reliable power grids.
Which brings to mind an article forwarded from reader Jim about the “good news” (and it is good news, possibly even great news) about how quickly Europe appears to be successfully pivoting away from fossil fuels, especially natural gas from Russia. It’s not that there were not problems and troubles, there were. But there was also a massive mobilization. Potential consequences of inaction were clearly presented. People responded with changed behaviors.
The IPCC estimates that voluntary measures could reduce global emissions by 40 to 70 percent. Maybe they’re right.
— John Mott-Smith is a resident of Davis. This column appears the first and third Wednesday of each month. Please send comments to johnmott smith@comcast.net
Since this is International Women’s Month, I’d like to celebrate some women who made or make a difference in our environment. I’m old enough to have seen a drastic change in the rights of women to make a contribution.
When my husband was getting a Ph.D. in chemical engineering at the University of Minnesota, jobs were available for scientists everywhere and we were wined and dined across the country at job interviews in 1968.
However, the two women in the program, both minorities, could not get an interview. The men in the program went to the human resources office and protested but were told that corporations weren’t interested in hiring women with Ph.D.’s in chemical engineering. One eventually got executive positions in the Bay Area as times slowly changed.
Rachel Carson made an incredible difference in science early on. She wrote “Silent Spring,” published in 1962. Her book described the harmful effects of pesticides on the environment and helped launch the environmental movement. As a child in Minnesota in the ’40s and ’50s, when the trucks came through the neighborhood spraying DDT out of huge blower ducts, we kids dared one another to dance through the spray.
Nobody warned us about the dangers.
Carson went from English major to biology major and then earned a master’s degree in zoology. She intended to continue for a doctorate but had to leave Johns Hopkins to find a full-time teaching job to help support her family during the Great Depression. Her father died suddenly so she had to care for her aging mother. Her niece died suddenly, and she adopted her niece’s 5-year-old son and took care of him while working jobs and writing her award winning books.
The chemical companies opposed her book, but “Silent Spring” led to a nationwide ban of DDT and other pesticides and inspired a grassroots movement that led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency.
She died of breast cancer at age 56. President Jimmy Carter posthumously
awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
In Davis, we have so many women who care and provide leadership for our environment. The President of Yolo Audubon is Ann Brice. Eight of nine staff members at Yolo Basin are women. The Chair of the Yolo Basin Board of Directors is Jan Smutny-Jones. Five of seven staff at Putah Creek Council are women. Six of nine Putah Creek board members are women. The three staff and lead volunteers for Cool Davis are women.
Chris Granger, a volunteer extraordinaire, is executive director organizing Cool Davis. Judy Moores and Lynne Nittler were two of the three founders of Cool Davis. Lynne Nittler also founded Yolo Interfaith Alliance for Climate Justice and recruited a representative from ten faith communities in Davis which have held many events.
Eliot Larson is a high school senior, homeschooled who started Strike Davis. They meet weekly at Davis banks that are investing billions of dollars in fossil fuels and try to inform patrons and urge people to cut up their credit cards. Here is how much major banks are investing in fossil fuels from 2016 to 2021: Bank of America, $232 billion; Wells Fargo, $272 billion; CitiBank, $285 billion; JPMorgan Chase, $382 billion. March 21 will be a big national
day of action to encourage folks to stop funding fossil fuels by banking at these big four Fossil Free California is a group trying to get CalSTRS and CalPERS to divest from fossil fuels. They’ve reintroduced a divestment bill this year sponsored by Senator Lena Gonzalez of Long Beach.
Kate Mawdsley has been running the program at Jepson Prairie for decades. Jepson Prairie is one of the few vernal pools remaining and will now be exploding with color. It’s outside of Dixon and you can sign up for tours. She also volunteers at the Center for Plant Diversity at UCD (the UCD Herbarium).
Mary Schiedt works for the California Dept of Fish and Wildlife at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area, is involved in bird banding, and does portions of Jepson Prairie docent training and helps with tours.
Jo Ellen Ryan does organizing, planting,
Facebook page for West Pond. Dr. Melanie Truan, has done decades of research with nestboxes resulting in Western bluebirds, tree swallows and more all over Davis. The above are just some of the many women keeping Davis and the surrounding area a good habitat for all creatures. Thank them.
Western bluebirds and iridescent blue tree swallows are competing for the same nest box at the uplands on F Street and Anderson Road. I watched from a respectful distance as they showed competing interest in the same nest
box even though they had four others to choose from.
The tree swallows may have been as far south as Central America and perhaps they are one of the pairs that nested here last year. The Western bluebirds stay around all year. I watched dark-eyed juncos doing repeated bowing to one another. I figured it had to be a courting gesture. In spite of our cold and rain, spring is happening. My husband used Merlin sound identification and recorded 16 species in 15 minutes one morning in our North Davis backyard.
Saturday, April 1, will be
the Friends of North Davis Ponds bird stroll. We will now begin at an earlier time of 8 a.m. At the March bird stroll, 42 species were recorded in spite of the stroll cut short by rain. The first Swainson’s hawk was spotted. Meet at parking lot at 3500 Anderson Road. Wednesday, April 5, at 8 a.m. will be the West Pond monthly stroll. Meet at Isle Royale and Bryce Lane.
— Jean Jackman is a Davis resident. Her column appears monthly. Got a story, comment, correction? Contact: JeanJack man@gmail.com.
Estimates suggest it will cost California at least $150 billion to fully transition to zero emission vehicles. Had Prop. 30 passed last year, the state would have narrowed the gap. Now it falls on state leaders to figure out how to pay for the transition as climate change intensifies and many goals seem harder to reach.
By Mary Creasman and Irene Kao Special to CalMatterLast year, the Legislature signed off on a $10 billion commitment to spend over the next five years on the evolution of our transportation system, building on the $14.2 billion outlined for zero emission vehicles and charging infrastructure for the entire country in the Inflation Reduction Act. But transitioning to a green economy is going to take massive resources: estimates suggest it’ll cost at least $150 billion to transition to 100% ZEV sales alone.
Had Proposition 30 passed, the 2022 ballot initiative would have created sustainable funding — $80 billion over 20 years — to close the gap and evolve our transportation. Since it failed, state leaders need to look for new revenue streams to fund this transition.
Since California will only get a portion of the federal Inflation Act funds, we still have a more than $130 billion gap after a proposed $6 billion cut to the state climate budget. We cannot afford to scale back investments when California is pummeled with new climate impacts every season, and when voters in every region of the state want their leaders to prioritize solutions.
California has some of the most ambitious climate goals in the world, and necessarily so. Just last year, the California Air Resources Board approved regulations that require all new cars to be zeroemissions vehicles by 2035. This is an impressive goal that will help phase out combustion vehicles in California, but it only changes the supply side of the equation. State lawmakers will also need to address the demand and equity angles of our economy to transition what’s actually being driven.
To make ZEVs more affordable, convenient and accessible, California needs to increase investments in clean car rebates and charging infrastructure, rapidly expand transit, and advance active transportation infrastructure, starting with disproportionately polluted communities.
California has an outsized responsibility to model climate progress, and our state is paving the way, creating the global roadmap for action. But it’s not enough to set goals, we must also meet them.
Recent reports show that we need to reduce pollution at a rate four times faster than our current pace to even have a chance at the goals California already set. The name of the game is implementation — lowering carbon emissions as quickly and equitably as possible. And since our transportation system is the biggest source of pollution, that’s got to be a focus.
California and the U.S. just had our biggest year of climate action ever.
That is cause for real hope. We accelerated our pollution reduction goals, started phasing out drilling sites near homes and schools, and made big investments in climate solutions like electrification and resilience. Last year was proof that our governments are capable of taking the action needed to solve the climate crisis.
Our leaders stepped up last year on climate justice, and now it’s time to find and generate new revenues for our next big climate challenge: transforming to an inclusive clean economy.
— Mary Creasman is the CEO of California Environmental Voters. Irene Kao is the executive director of Courage California. They wrote this for CalMatters, a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California's Capitol works and why it matters.
Almost everyone who lived through Califor nia’s 2000-2001 energy crisis remembers roll ing brownouts and blackouts, plus thefts in the billions of dollars from California consumers by Texas companies like Enron and Reliant Energy, which purposely shut down power plants to create an electricity shortage, and raise prices and profits.
This was classic market manipulation, enabled by California’s 1998 electricity deregulation law, which encouraged regional movements of electricity across state lines.
Now a new report commissioned by California’s Legislature — ever a sucker for multi-state regional schemes — amazingly claims a return to something similar would actually prevent blackouts in California as this state transitions to more and more use of renewable energy drawn from wind, solar and hydroelectric sources.
As with almost every electricity plan pushed since the Enron scandal, this one uses the “blackout blackmail” tactic, promising “regional cooperation, lower prices and more efficient use of transmission lines.”
The big problem is that all this can only work if there's no market manipulation. But the energy crunch early in this century demonstrated that where manipulation is possible, profit-driven companies will manipulate.
That’s why Oklahoma’s Williams Companies got
I was an attorney that represented, pro bono, the interests of the Senior Center and the organization Senior Citizens of Davis. Senior Citizens of Davis was the nonprofit conduit the city used to receive donations to the Senior Center. Many citizens living in this community were members of this nonprofit.
involved 23 years ago. It’s why Enron saw multiple executives convicted in Houston and jailed after major trials. It’s why executives of those firms openly laughed about “robbing grandmas in California.”
“What the Legislature is discussing today is pretty identical to a plan that was rejected in 2018, when (former Gov.) Jerry Brown pushed it,” recalled Jamie Court, head of the state’s premiere consumer advocacy group, Consumer Watchdog.
These schemes, which seem to arise every few years, are partly driven by utility companies’ longtime desire to build more multibillion-dollar long distance transmission lines, which produce guaranteed profits of about 14 percent for 20 years on every cent spent to erect them.
Ideas bearing the word “regional” are often popular because of the notion that bigger is better. But regional electricity transmission organizations (RTOs) manage multi-state movements of power mostly to benefit the companies that own the power lines.
Even though the new report from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) says the opposite, joining a Western RTO could thwart California’s goal of becoming 100-percent reliant on renewables by 2045.
For states like Arizona, Utah and Nevada are replete with coal- and oil-fired power plants that no longer exist in California, but whose output could be mixed with renewable energy from in-state sources.
Meanwhile, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission under ex-President Donald Trump adopted a requirement for RTOs to counteract state-level renewable energy policies. How does that square with California’s longtime aims?
Of course, this state officially recognizes the transition to all-renewables may create problems for a while. That’s why it is letting PG&E’s Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant operate at least five years beyond its previously scheduled closing and keeping open outdated natural gas-fired generating stations for “peaker” use when power consumption is highest.
No one knows exactly how today’s power companies around the Southwest would manipulate the very different situation a Western regional grid would create, but the motive would be exactly the same as during the energy crunch — big profits.
Plus, states involved include the same ones
currently trying to create a new system for maintaining their own use of Colorado River water while forcing California to make cuts. One big problem they have with this is that it runs afoul of current law and contracts.
So the possibility is strong that companies based in those states would act against California much as they did during the energy crunch and just as the states themselves are trying to do now.
What’s more, if California joins a regional grid, it will cede much of its energy-planning authority to a board of directors where this state would be a minority, despite having far more population and power users than the other states combined.
This makes no sense, but the Legislature got exactly the report it asked for, when it plainly assigned the NREL to help it justify joining a regional grid.
So far, California has avoided adopting such a selfdestructive plan. But with current lawmakers plainly inclined in that direction, this state is in danger of being manipulated into another serious energy crunch.
Email Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, “The Burzynski Breakthrough, The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch It” is now available in a softcover fourth edition. For more Elias columns, visit www.californiafocus.net.
Because of grave concern that sizable donations to the Senior Center were going to be misused, I was asked to intervene and facilitated the removal of the entire Senior Citizens of Davis board. A new board was installed to make sure any donated funds would go to benefit the Senior Center.
Eventually, it was decided the nonprofit had outlived its usefulness, and was dissolved. In May of 2015, approximately $250,000 in assets was donated for a legacy project at the Senior Center. The proposal was for a cement patio with shade cover, furniture and heaters, to allow for outdoor socializing, something the Senior Center currently lacks.
After nearly eight years, not one cubic inch of cement has been poured for the patio. Many donors have passed away, waiting for this project to begin. It seems as if senior citizens are dead-last on the city’s priority list.
Additionally, through mission creep, the city decided to morph the project into a much more complicated one, but in the process slowed progress to a veritable snail’s pace. As a legal advocate for the donors to the Senior Center, I feel compelled to note donative intent of the $250,000 is not being carried out.
This project could easily be done in installments, at least completing the patio portion envisioned by the member donors of Senior Citizens of Davis. This has the advantage of showing major improvement to the Senior Center, which in turn could be used to kick off a campaign to
Speak out President
make it an all inclusive community center that would draw even more donations.
I strongly urge the City Council to make this legacy project a top priority for this year and not leave it to dither for another eight years!
Elaine Roberts Musser DavisSites Reservoir
I recently read the Enterprise's March 5 article about the Sites Reservoir and wanted to share my perspective from a farm family that dates back to 1860 near College City and as a UC Davis undergraduate and Law School graduate.
I support the construction of the Reservoir but at the same time I am concerned that the political and regulatory momentum for the project could result in a disastrous environmental outcome because there have been too many vested interests involved for too long of a period. As the author of the Article noted this project has been contemplated for decades and perhaps some have contemplated about how they can become more wealthy and more powerful with the completion of the project without proper regard for the public benefit and risks.
The geology and topography of the site is very complex and its historical interrelationship with the Sacramento River,
Building, Washington, D.C., 20510; 202224-3553; email: https://www.padilla. senate.gov/contact/contact-form/
House of Representatives
Colusa Trough and the historical wetlands known as the Upper Basin, Lower Basin and Lower Sycamore Slough need to be scientifically studied without bias. I would encourage the larger Yolo County and Davis stakeholder community to do this since I believe a good project with substantial public benefit and environmental safeguards could best be accomplished if this stakeholder community engages.
Once engaged, I believe stakeholders will start to see serious risks, better tradeoffs and apparent improprieties which may or may not be real and concerning conflicts of interest. It has been my experience that the water lobby in California constructs straw-man arguments and then directs the policy makers down desired paths and in this case conveyance structures of their choice for one or more intended benefactors. It is my opinion that a foundation built upon straw-man arguments and ignored scientific realities will prove to be very dangerous the environment and the residents near the planned project.
Again, I urge stakeholders to engage and work together for a project that help provide needed water to California but also provides safeguards and widespread public benefit to Glenn, Colusa and Yolo Counties.
Ben King Sacramento Foy S. President and CEO R. Burt McNaughton PublisherThe 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: https://www. feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/
e-mail-me
Sen. Alex Padilla, 112 Hart Senate Office
Rep. Mike Thompson, 268 Cannon Office Building, Washington, D.C., 20515; 202225-3311. District office: 622 Main Street, Suite 106, Woodland, CA 95695; 530-753-5301; email: https:// https:// mikethompsonforms.house.gov/contact/
Governor Gov. Gavin Newsom, State Capitol, Suite 1173, Sacramento, CA 95814; 916-4452841; email: https://govapps.gov.ca.gov/ gov40mail/
chair of the Davis Finance and Budget Commission.
She serves as board president of the Yolo County chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and previously served as chair of the Davis Joint Unified School District Measure M Bond Oversight Committee, which oversaw expenditures on school facilities construction projects.
But she is no political animal; rather, said Neville, “I’m a policy animal.
“That’s who I’ve always been, the person who works on the policy and the solutions.”
Nor is she running because of any single issue.
“But as I’ve been out talking to people and listening to their concerns, loud and clear is the concern about affordable housing, and I know I’m not alone in wanting to address that,” she said. Affordable housing, Neville notes, is multi-faceted — it’s not just homes for the low-income population; it’s also housing for working families, “families who wouldn’t typically qualify for true affordable housing, but they also can’t afford to live here in Davis.”
They are the ones driving down Pole Line Road in the morning, she noted, coming from Woodland to work in Davis and/or have children enrolled in schools here, “who would love to live here.”
Among the ways Neville pledges to address the issue
are promoting affordable infill housing by continuing to streamline the permitting process while ensuring environmental protection; identifying a stable revenue stream to support the Housing Trust Fund; collaborating with the school district on identifying surplus district property that can be used for housing within the city limits; overseeing the city’s Housing Element implementation; collaborating with UC Davis and urging the university to build its fair share of housing; and supporting streamlined development processes so accessory dwelling units can be built more quickly.
"But we do need to act now," said Neville. "There is no question that we are in the middle of a huge crisis. I see the lack of housing as a human rights issue. That’s how I view it.”
Davis voters have made it loud and clear their preference for infill development rather than peripheral development, said Neville, and “I fully understand why that is a good idea, not just because we don’t want sprawl but also because it’s better from a fiscal and environmental perspective.”
“I want to promote as much infill as we can.”
But she acknowledges the challenges.
Private owners have to want to redevelop their parcels, for one thing, and “it’s generally easier to develop on undeveloped property… so some developers really do shy away from infill and
Jan. 18, 1937 — Feb. 27, 2023
Tom passed away from kidney disease on Feb. 27, 2023, at his home in Davis with his wife, Jeannine, at his side.
Tom was born in Berkeley to John Burris Powers and Helen McIntyre Powers. He was predeceased by his parents and only sibling, Madelon Powers.
Tom went through the Davis school system from kindergarten through high school. Upon graduation in 1954, he went to Stanford and received his bachelor’s degree in economics in 1958. He enlisted in the NROTC program and after graduation went into the Navy. He served on the USS Los Angeles in communications. He married Virginia Miller and headed back to Stanford to earn his MBA. Their first son Jeffrey was born in 1960 and Matt in 1964.
Tom’s first job was with Ernst & Young in San Francisco. He moved around the country as his career advanced. He was a financial consultant for a time and finished his employment with Synergex in Gold River as chief financial officer.
Tom’s favorite hobby was
redevelopment. Finding ways to really encourage that kind of infill, encouraging those developers who know it is more environmentally sustainable, (is key).”
“Based on what I know about the available land, it’s going to take a lot of work,” said Neville. “It’s going to take leadership … hiring that new director of economic development is going to be really key to start working in a proactive way, reaching out to people… to really work on implementing the downtown plan, all the infill housing that we need.”
Economic development itself is also important. “We don’t have enough money to do things people want us to do,” Neville noted, “and that’s why having some additional revenue coming to this city is so key.”
She sees two potential sources: revitalizing the downtown and getting more businesses in there, and finding space for new business ventures throughout the city.
If elected, Neville said she pledges to “be a leader in fiscal resiliency, community engagement and climate action."
On the fiscal side of things, that includes continuing to address the city’s revenue shortfall “through careful long-range planning, paying close attention to the details of our budget and asking hard questions” and increasing public participation in the biannual city budget process, including by requesting that each city
department present its budget to the City Council in an open, public workshop.
On climate action, she wants to turn the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan from a plan into action based on science and accurate information and promote the establishment of resilience hubs throughout the city that can provide essential services during emergency situations.
As she campaigns for City Council, Neville has in the back of her mind a childhood experience that has clearly shaped her path and inspired her public service.
She grew up in upstate New York and recalls a school field trip in 1970 when she was 13 to the state capitol, where a debate happened to be underway on legalizing abortion.
“We walked in and they were letting us observe the floor session. And I looked down and there was this woman … who was standing on the floor of the Legislature, she was one of the members, and she was arguing the case for the legalization of abortion, and the men were just surrounding her and jeering at her and yelling back at her and taunting her… and I just stood there watching her and thought, ‘That’s what I want to do. I want to be a voice for people. I want to be like her, where I hold my own and I speak out and speak up for other people.”
Learn more about Neville and her campaign at https:// www.donna4davis.com.
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and requests awarding the bid and new, 5-year contract to CCI. With the E-rate discounts, the contractual monthly cost will be $1,600 opposed to the $3,200 without discounts.
Following suit will be accepting the bid from AT&T for switched ethernet connections to two external sites — the Yolo County Office of Education at 1280 Santa Anita Court in Woodland and at Quest Data Systems at 4235 Forcum Ave, Ste 500 in McClellan. The monthly cost with E-rate discounts stands at $585.71 and $1,171.42 without.
Next will come the acceptance of a Category 2 bid to approve the statement of engagement to Quest Data Systems for network equipment for DJUSD network electronics equipment and cabling at various district sites. With much of the district’s network equipment items — like network switches and Wifi access points – reaching the End of Life (EOL) by Sept 2024, the district emphasizes how crucial it is to update these key components to maintain robust, network access in all instructional spaces. Although the fiscal impact is still unknown, the meeting agenda indicates it will not exceed $5,880,510.10.
The board will also hear an update on the district’s LCAP as well as the ELOP – and its plans to extend TK-6 programming for the 2023-24 school year. The district maintains its commitment to locally developed programming, maintaining clear goals and processes while seeking the input of educational partners to inform the implementation of the 2021-24 DJUSD LCAP and the ongoing ELOP.
There will also be a public hearing and subsequent approval of the annual transportation service plan. Starting in 2022-23, school districts will be reimbursed for 60% of home-to-school transportation costs. In order to remain eligible for these reimbursements, districts must complete a plan prior to April 1.
Lastly, the board will approve resolution 49-23, which recognizes César Chávez day on March 31. This day is celebrated in recognition of all his accomplishments and a life dedicated to improving the lives of farmers and the general population.
singing bass in the DavisVacavilleWest Valley Mens Barbershop Chorus.
POWERS
For years they put on shows for the public and donated funds to help educate children in their music programs. Tom helped arrange the Harmony in Our Lives Show with the Davis School Arts Foundation for many years. He especially loved being a part of a quartet named the High Rollers.
While pursuing his hobby, he met his wife Jeannine who sang with the Sweet Adelines in Davis. They married in 1993. The family grew to include Paul DeVries and two wonderful grandchildren, Kate and Ryan who reside in Oregon.
Special thanks goes to the Sutter Home Care Program, the Yolo Cares Hospice Program and the Davis Fire Department. A celebration of life will be held later in the spring. Donations can be made to the American Kidney Foundation.
The Enterprise publishes brief death notices free of charge. Paid obituaries allow for controlled content with the option for photos. Obituaries will be edited for style and grammar. Submissions may be made via www.davisenterprise.com/obit-form/. For information, call 530-756-0800.
Mary Jean Burke passed away peacefully on March 2, 2023, at Palm Gardens Senior Living in Woodland, where she received loving care through her extended struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. Prior to her illness, she was a 25-year resident of Davis.
July 23, 1930 — March 2, 2023 BURKE
Mary Jean was born to Delmar and Irene Cranmer on July 23, 1930, in Sharon, Pa., where she was raised through her high school years before attending nursing school in Newcastle, Pa. After becoming a registered nurse, she moved to Pittsburgh, where she met Andrew Burke who would become her husband of 67 years and with whom she had three children — Dean, Patti and Tim.
Together, they faced life’s
joys and sorrows, including the crushing loss of their son Dean when he was a teenager. With a spirit of adventure, Mary Jean supported the family through numerous relocations on both the east and west coasts, allowing Andy to pursue his vocational interests. Later, once the children were grown, she thoroughly enjoyed her role as Andy’s travel companion to professional meetings all over the world.
Mary Jean’s great capacities for empathy and compassion were evident in her approach to life and her various roles as a wife, mother, nurse and community member. While Andy was a graduate student at Princeton University, she helped found the Princeton Visiting Nurses Program through
which she excelled at providing care to new mothers and others who could benefit from inhome care and guidance. Later, as a nursing supervisor at an eldercare facility, she was instrumental in creating community amongst both staff and residents.
Mary Jean was an avid volunteer at schools and organizations in which her children were involved, as well as the many communities of which she was a part over the course of her life.
In Davis, her favorite volunteer roles were through Davis United Methodist
Church and the ShortTerm Emergency Aid Committee (STEAC) where she worked diligently on collection and distribution of furniture to needy families settling into new housing. Mary Jean is survived by her husband, Andy, and her children, Patti and Tim. She will also live in the memories of grandchildren Kaelen, Zeb, Celeste, Calista and Hayden, and greatgranddaughter Lucena.
A celebration of Mary Jean’s life is planned for 11 a.m. Saturday, May 6, at Davis United Methodist Church. In lieu of flowers, donations in Mary Jean’s memory can be made to Alzheimer’s Disease Research, 22512 Gateway Center Drive, Clarksburg, MD 20871.
NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF LYNNE O CRANDALL
Case No PR2022-0263
To all heirs beneficiaries creditors contingent creditors and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of LYNNE O CRANDALL
A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by Bradford G C r a n d a l l Sr i n t h e S u p e r i o r C o u r t o f C a l i fo r n i a C o u n t y o f
YO L O
THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests tha t Bradford G Crandall, Sr be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent
THE PETITION requests the decedent's lost will and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate Copies of the lost will and any codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court
THE PETITION requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval Before taking certain very important actions however the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action )
The independent administration authority will be granted unless an i nterested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority
A HEARING on the petition will be held on March 30 2023 at 9:00 AM in Dept No 11 located at 1000 Main St Woodland, CA 95695
IF YOU OBJECT to the granting of the petition you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing
Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney
IF YOU ARE A CREDITOR or a contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the later of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative as defined in section 58(b) of the California Probate Code or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law YOU MAY EXAMINE the file kept by the court If you are a person interested in the est ate, you may file with the court a
My father and grandfather were both named Gail Patrick, and I have a cousin Patricia and a brother named Patrick. Which is all to say that we always celebrated St. Patrick’s Day in my family, always with corned beef boiled with potatoes, carrots and cabbage, and often with a lemon merengue pie for Dad’s birthday thrown in.
While I liked the extra salty vegetables, served smashed up a bit with the corned beef broth poured over, I have to agree with our dear Mrs. Dunning that boiled beef is not the finest use of the cut. If you’d like a good corned beef, I refer you to her column of last Wednesday.
Myself, I’d rather choose a different dish to celebrate my Irish ancestors. Colcannon, made with lashings of butter and good cheddar, is a big favorite of mine this time of year, and a grand use of the leafy greens filling every produce box. Or, since it’s soup weather still, why not a vegetable soup based on the flavors of corned beef?
— Email Julie at jacross@ dcn.org or visit her on Facebook at The New Home Ec.
You can make this dish ahead up until the final baking, then cover and refrigerate for up to three days. Be sure you’re using a casserole dish that can go from refrigerator to oven and follow the manufacturer’s instructions on how to do that. No one wants an oven full of exploded hot dish!
Serves two for dinner or four as a side dish.
Ingredients:
3 russet potatoes
½ cup half & half or milk
6 tablespoons butter, divided
1 bunch chard, cleaned and cut into ribbons
1 onion, nicely sliced
½ cup grated cheddar salt pepper
Putting it together:
Peel the potatoes (unless you like potato peels), cut into chunks and cook until tender
in salted water. While potatoes cook, cook onions with a sprinkle of salt in 1 tablespoon butter in a big pan with a lid until translucent. Stir in chard, reduce heat, and cover pan. Let the chard wilt while you drain and mash potatoes with milk and 4 tablespoons butter. Mix potatoes, onions and chard, and cheese. Taste and adjust seasonings. Pile into a greased casserole dish. Dot top with additional butter. Bake 20 minutes until hot through.
This recipe is basically vegetables poached in court bouillon, so it’s well worth it to get the best ingredients you can — nobbly Nantes carrots, fresh beautiful
leeks, tender young parsnips. For cabbage you can use whatever you like best — Napa, Savoy, plain green or even bok choy — but I would avoid red cabbage which will make a weird color. If you’re not vegetarian, you can use packaged chicken stock in place of the water. You can also add beer or wine to the strained broth for a more complex taste.
Broth:
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon peppercorns
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 large bay leaf vegetable peels (see below)
6 cups water
Soup
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
(1 teaspoon red pepper flakes)
2 leeks
3 carrots
1 parsnip
1 bulb celeriac or 3 stalks of celery
8 Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed
1 small head cabbage
Putting it together:
Start the broth. In a large pot, heat the oil. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute. Add the seeds and cook, stirring carefully, 1-2 minutes. (Don’t omit the oil or cooking in this step – it blooms the flavors of the spices, some of which are fat soluble.) Add water and bay leaf and set to simmer.
Prep the vegetables.
n Wash everything well, making sure you get all the sand out of the leek.
n Slice white and light green parts of leek. Drop dark greens into broth pot.
n Peel carrots and slice. Drop peels and ends into broth.
n Peel parsnip and discard peels, which can be bitter. Slice and drop in a bowl of water.
n Trim any sad leaves off the cabbage and cut into wedges or ribbons as your heart desires.
n If you’re using celeriac, peel off the terrifyingly nobby outer layer and discard. Cut into bite-sized chunks, adding any core trimmings to the broth, and drop in the bowl of water with the parsnips. If you’re using celery, trim and drop trimmings into
Colcannon, made with lashings of butter and good cheddar, is a big favorite this time of year, and a grand use of the leafy greens filling every produce box.
broth, then slice.
n You can peel your potatoes if you like, but I don’t. Toss the peelings if you do. Cut into bitesized chunks and drop in water.
Let broth continue to cook gently another 30 minutes, then strain out the solids.
Heat a clean dry soup pot and add the remaining oil & butter. Toss in the leeks and let them cook gently 3 or 4 minutes until they start to soften. Add garlic and tomato paste and cook another minute or two. Stir in broth. Add soy sauce and red pepper flakes. Taste and add salt if desired — you want it a little saltier than your finished soup at this point.
Add all the vegetables except cabbage. If you’re using hard green cabbage, set it on top of the pot and cover. If you’re using more tender greens, let vegetables cook 30 minutes before adding.
Simmer until tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour or so, depending on your definition of “tender” and “simmer” and your choice of vegetables. Serve with bread and cheese.
Many years ago, way back in the dark ages of the development of the craft brewing industry, I was quite busy doing what I could to encourage that industry and help it grow.
The reason was that I thought it would be an interesting addition to the panoply of beers then available, which, to tell the truth, was no panoply at all: all the beers available were lagers and essentially clones of Budweiser. That was no surprise because even then that brand was already dominant in the marketplace and well on its way to being the biggest selling beer on the planet.
I suppose my interest in the new movement was not entirely altruistic, as most helping hands often first appear to be: I was brought up drinking British pale ales and missed them a lot and the craft industry focus on IPAs suited me quite well quite.
I was pleased to have a more characteristic supply of beers to satisfy that urge.
I also understood that the craft industry would need, above all, an almost endless supply of new brewers who, I thought, could quickly grow out of the large population of competent homebrewers. That was an accurate
forecast because most successful entrepreneurs, when asked, point to their interest in home-brewing as the stimulus that got them started as professionals.
As I was already in the business of training brewers at UC Davis, I saw an increased need for that program as the new industry developed. That also was a good prediction and, after retirement especially, I had a good post-retirement career providing intense brewing instruction through UNEX (now CPE, Continuing and Professional Education) in my own off-campus classroom.
And so there arose a whole new generation of bearded and bushy-haired brewers with intense and vocal opinions about what beer should be. That turned out to be very much
not Budweiser: they happily described that immensely popular and excellent beer in the most demeaning terms. That would not do and needed to stop.
I recall making myself unpopular by telling a large audience at a national convention that brewers who made such statements merely displayed their own ignorance.
Shortly after that I was invited, with a busload of craft brewers, to the Anheuser-Busch hop farm in Idaho. Mr. Busch himself was in attendance. In a Q&A session a craft brewer told him that Budweiser would be much improved by using more malt and hops.
Mr. Busch answered: “But then it would not be Budweiser.”
That simple and obvious answer took care of all the questions about Budweiser that the busload of craft brewers might think to ask.
It also leads me into the second part of this column.
Talking heads, who appear on Fox News, provide opinions and comments on what’s happening in the world. They have long maintained that the 2020 election was stolen, as is insisted upon by our former president himself and his surrogates. The lack of any evidence of fraud, I suppose, was proof positive how of clever were the fraudsters. In a certain sense one can hardly blame the Fox News commentators for telling lies: stick with the schtick that works. It makes Fox News a market leader and pays those fat salaries. After all, nobody expects editorial integrity in commentary that rides the boundary between maybe news and rampant opinion.
Then the talking heads
blamed Dominion voting machines, which turned out to be a bridge too far. Dominion Voting Systems sued Fox News for a pile of dough.
One of the more intriguing news stories we have been privy to in the last several weeks is the revelations that the talking heads themselves knew and understood and ridiculed the thesis that the 2020 election was stolen.
They privately disparaged, in no uncertain terms, those who carried that message on behalf of our former President. Nevertheless, their on-air pronouncements were contrary to their own knowledge, and they continued to promote the divisive message of a stolen election that so animated
their angry viewer base. What intrigues me is that despite the revelations of Fox News calumny, there has been no backing away from the false messages they have so heavily invested in to send. No one expected a sudden reversal to truth-telling but, perhaps naively, I though we might see a slow but sure turn away from outright lies — not to the truth, God forbid, but to a more modulated opinion allowing room for a smidgeon of doubt.
There is no such turnaway from the lies by Fox. If it did, Mr. Busch might say: “But then it would not be Fox News.” Reach Michael Lewis at waleslewis792@gmail. com.
Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman
Charles M. Schulz
to UCD officials.
As the event was underway, protesters chanted, “Queer lives matter,” “Love is love,” “F--- all fascists,”; “F--- Chuck” and “Trans rights are human rights.”
By 9 p.m., students outside of the building called out: “Where’s Charlie?”; “Cops and Klan go handin-hand”; “It’s Nazis protecting Nazis.” As one passerby stated: “They’re yelling at an empty street.” Advertised as “Fascists Off Campus,” the protesters held a large banner with the words “Bash Fash.”
Kirk has not condoned violence; however, the very presence of his events has incited violence. University officials stated that one unaffiliated with UC Davis was arrested for resisting arrest and vandalism: spray painting on the southeast corner of the Credit Union Center. A second, unidentified as of yet, was arrested for those same charges, as well as making threats on a police officer. Ten window panes in the doors of the northeast entrance were broken. The officer sustained an injury when he was jumped on from behind and pushed to the ground, and two people were arrested and taken to Yolo County Jail for allegedly painting graffiti.
Before, during, and after Kirk’s speech, about 100 protesters gathered. For brief times they blocked the main event entrance and the pathway to the entrance. At one point, they threw eggs and other objects, according to university officials. Some reported being pepper sprayed by others in the crowd. Aside from these pepper spray reports, no major physical injuries were reported, and no one requested treatment for injuries, according to officials.
Kirk’s first stop of the spring campus tour was UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday, March 1. According to the Santa Barbara Independent, UCSB police had erected barricades. Still, conflicts arose as the two sides shouted at each other, with Kirk stating, “The people that are fascists are usually the ones that spend their evenings trying to prevent other people to speak.”
In a video announcement to the community on Tuesday morning, UCD Chancellor Gary S. May addressed the distress within the campus community over the TP event, according to a statement from Media Relations. May notes that TPUSA, as a registered student organization, has the right to reserve university facilities and invite speakers of their choice and that the university faces a heavy burden under UC policy to deny such requests over
concerns of violence.
Introducing the event to a room full mostly of supporters, Kirk said the 90 minutes he had for the event had enough truth to derail four years of indoctrination at the university.
“We need to show the world’ the left’ is what happens in the streets. The left lies, like the chancellor. We have real free speech here in this room and we’re going to show that tonight.”
TP USA has a Professor Watchlist with five UCD professors listed, including a vocal English Literature professor, Joshua Clover, who authored an op-ed in the Aggie student newspaper stating that May wasn’t required under the First Amendment to allow Kirk’s appearance on campus.
Interpreting Yale Law Professor Robert Post, Clover wrote: “With an eye on exactly the situation before us, unless universities are wasting their resources on frolics and detours, they can support studentinvited speakers only because it serves university purposes to do so. And these purposes must involve the purpose of education.” Clover argues Kirk is a frolic and a detour and that Post’s position is “clarion,” stating there is “No 1st Amendment right to speak on a college campus.”
In an inquiry to Post himself, the hailed professor stated he didn’t know much about Kirk, so he “couldn’t comment on the specifics ...”
Local attorney Stewart Holden, one of the ticketholding attendees of the TP event, went as an observer. “My planned attendance at Mr. Kirk’s talk should not be interpreted as an endorsement or support for his views. My interest is in observing the interplay of the free speech interests and positions of Mr. Kirk and his detractors.”
On behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union in 1989, Holden won a case for conservative radio show host Sean Hannity against UC Santa Barbara, a feat he considers one of his greatest since his politics are opposite Hannity’s. Holden noted “obvious parallels between the Hannity and Kirk situations.”
Even though Holden won the case for Hannity, he said the conservative host had distanced himself from the ACLU. Holden isn’t holding his breath on being asked to represent Kirk if need be. “As opposed to 34 years ago, there’s a much more robust network, right? Outfits that are devoted to what they like to call canceled culture,” he said.
A Big Gay Barbecue with a “country-camp” theme was advertised to be held at Central Park and encouraged its supporters to “Make art, share food, be gay” and not to give
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22, in a statement. “Our system is broken. It would be an understatement to say we are disappointed by this decision.”
“Voters knew what they were voting on,” said Jennifer Barrera, president of the California Chamber of Commerce, a powerful business group which supported Prop. 22. “They wanted to maintain the flexibility for these gig workers and provide them the opportunity to do this work. And I think that’s ultimately, what the judge did is to uphold that flexibility.”
In a statement from Protect App-Based Drivers and Services Coalition, which includes Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and Instacart, the companies celebrated the ruling as “a victory for the
“Charlie Kirk the time of day.” The flier showed an old photo of Guy Fieri wearing a black shirt with flames and rainbow hair, the latter of which had been altered by organizers of the event. The superstar chef was not involved with this event.
“He never uses old images, like this one in the bowling shirt with flames, for any events he is affiliated with. He is known for his signature spiky blonde hair, and it has never been dyed rainbow colors,” Julie Chudow, the Director of Public Relations for the Food Network & Cooking Channel, wrote in a statement to The Enterprise.
Nghia Nguyen, a writer and longtime trans activist, represented The Phoenix Coalition at their counter-
event, Resist Bigotry: Stand up to Turning Point USA event at the International House Davis. She said in a statement: “It is a right I am fighting to defend, my right and the
right of my community to thrive is why I’m activated in this counter-protest — I have to resist against those figures that are actively engaging in incendiary hate speech that creates
this anti-LGBTQ hate machine. My involvement came to be a long time ago, I was just pulled into the fray because my very existence and the existence of my community is being put
nearly 1.4 million drivers” in California.
Most of Prop. 22 remains in effect.
But while this chapter has drawn to a close, the story probably isn’t over. A union challenging the constitutionality of Prop. 22, Service Employees International, may appeal the ruling. When asked about a possible appeal, Tia Orr, the executive director of SEIU California, said in a statement “Drivers have always led this movement, and we will follow their lead.”
In an interview this month, UC Berkeley Law professor Catherine Fisk said she’d be “stunned” if whichever side lost didn’t appeal the decision.
“There’s just too much money at stake — for both sides,” she said.
Spoke Literary and Art Magazine, a student-run magazine at Davis High, will release its winter issue later this March.
The first themed issue since 2020, the pages are filled with art and writing inspired by the prompt “The World That Raised Us.”
“We wanted our theme to be something that all of our readers could be inspired by. We toyed with many ideas, but found that many just felt too restrictive. We knew we had to find something universal,” write the Spoke editors on the first page.
The March issue will feature writing
from Rowan Sutton, Kyle Watkins, Truman Duren, Anirvan Gautam, Sidney Johnson and Kelsey Huntington; artwork by Holly Ji, Stella Maze, Ling Pu, Felipe Caceres-Fernandez, Naomi Kumar, Kina Li and Lina Kim; and photography from Laura Wong, Gabriel Serpa-Escobar, Nina Bozorgchami, Claire Ermoian, Elliot DeJong, Nola George, Anya DeJong and Leo Kaplan.
Copies of Spoke will available for free pickup at the DHS front office and at Logos Books during late March.
By Luis CarvajaL HUB Staff
Davis High senior Ling Pu spends much of her time strolling through nature, sinking soccer balls into soccer nets and, most importantly, creating art.
“A lot of the things that pop in my art are flowers and nature. I love to be outside,” Pu said.
When not on an outdoor adventure, Pu creates a seemingly endless variety of works. Her mediums of choice include ink, collage and gouache paint—an opaque style of watercolor typically reserved for brighter, warmer compositions.
Pu attempts to capture her awe for the environment through twisting, organic and vibrant sketches.
“I don’t tend to use a lot of dark browns or grays or anything like that. It’s more of the vibrancy that I think draws my art,” Pu said.
Pu, inspired by her architect mother’s designs, began creating at a young age. Her love for art has only grown as she’s aged.
“As I became more confident in who I was, I really enjoyed doing my own things and showing other people,” Pu said.
Pu also appreciates the cathartic nature of her proccess. Like most during the
pandemic, Pu found herself with an increasing need for such relief.
“Anger, frustration. I like to create when I’m feeling those and it’s kind of weighing me down,” Pu said.
Particularly during the pandemic, Pu recalls finding her own distinct style, one she has continued to mold. The isolation
allowed Pu to not be so influenced by others, but instead to create her own.
“I feel like I don’t really get inspired by other artists,” Pu said.
Pu advocates this individualistic approach to art for all prospective painters, skechers, or doodlers. Art, she stresses, is not about emulation or replication.
“Really, art is all about being able to do it for yourself. Just have fun with it,” Pu said.
Pu sees art as principally belonging to the artist, not the audience. She encourages others to feel the same and take their own creative liberties.
“Use a lot of colors. Do whatever you want,” Pu said.
Pu finds artistic inspiration in natureMattias RowenBale/huB gRaphic Two of Ling Pu’s pieces, “Reaching” and “Rise” are featured in Spoke’s March issue. the spoke teaM/couRtesy Media Left: The cover of Spoke Magazine, featuring a photograph by Laura Wong. Below: An exerpt from the magazine, featuring work by Sidney Johnson and Lena Kim.
UCSF's16th International Conference Neonatal & Childhood Pulmonary
Vascular Disease 2023
@ 8am / $250-$595
Mar 16th - Mar 18th
This educational meeting will bring together international experts to explore our current understanding of the basic pathobiology as well as new and future therapies for pulmonary vascular disease. Hilton San Francisco Financial District, 750 Kearny Street, San Francisco. info@ocme.ucsf.edu, 415-476-
4251
Living Trust SeminarSuisun City, CA - March 16, 2023
@ 3:30pm
This is a FREE Living Trust Seminar
Joseph A Nelson Community Cen‐ter, 611 Village Drive, Suisun City. info@LearnLivingTrust.com, 800350-6376
Living Trust Seminar - Va‐caville, CA - March 16, 2023
@ 6:30pm
This is a FREE Living Trust Seminar
Round Table Pizza, 888 Alamo Drive, Vacaville. info@LearnLiv ingTrust.com, 800-350-6376
Oak Ridge High School Theatre
presents Clue: On Stage
@ 7pm / $10
Mar 16th - Mar 25th
Oak Ridge High School
Theatre proudly presents Clue: On Stage. Join the iconic oddballs known as Scarlet, Plum, White, Green, Peacock and Mus‐tard as they race to �nd the murderer in Boddy Manor Oak Ridge High School, 1120 Harvard Way, El Dorado Hills. ortaboost
@gmail.com, 916-3379630
Beginner Improv Comedy
Classes - Level 101 - 7
Weeks
@ 7pm / $319
In this 7-week class, you will learn the basics of improv comedy and build up to your own graduation show. Make friends, socialize eas‐ier, and see shows for free (nonsold out). Endgames Improv Train‐ing Center - ETC South, 2989 Mis‐sion Street, San Francisco. info@ endgamesimprov.com, 415-8542262
Adam Gopnik
@ 7pm / $10 Jewish Community Center of San Francisco -- Kanbar Hall, 3200 Cal‐ifornia St., San Francisco
Dance Theatre of Harlem
@ 7:30pm / $25 Lesher Center for the Arts - Hof‐mann Theater, 1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek Janiva Magness @ 8pm Gold�eld Trading Post, 1630 J St, Sacramento Eazy Dub @ 8pm Harlow's, 2708 J St, Sacramento ZuhG @ 8pm Harlow's, 2708 J St, Sacramento
2174 Market Street, San Francisco. info@jazzattheball room.com, 917-725-2400
Best of San Francisco Stand-up Comedy @ 8pm / $15
A fresh line-up of SF's Best Comics every Friday at the beautiful Variety Theater in downtown SF's iconic Hobart Building. Variety Club Pre‐view Room, 582 Market Street, San Francisco. bestofsfstandup@ gmail.com, 415-748-5119
Street Urchinz
@ 8pm Old Ironsides, 1901 10th St, Sacra‐mento
Colm Ó Riain's St. Patrick's Day Extravaganza @ 8pm / $10-$45 Great Star Theater, 636 Jackson Street, San Francisco
Andrew St. James @ 9pm Great American Music Hall, 859 O'‐farrell St, San Francisco
NEUROFEST 2023:
Arti�cial Intelligence, Machine Learning and the Science of Brain Health
@ 12:30pm / Free NEUROFEST, a one day free public event for community members of all ages, brings the exciting world of brain science to the community! UC Davis Conference Center, 550 Alumni Lane, Davis. kpcummings@ ucdavis.edu, 253-298-0522 St. Patrick's Day Pub Crawl: LepraCon San Francisco @ 2pm / $25 Join the Of�cial St. Patrick's Day San Francisco Pub Crawl featuring over 20 bars, drink specials, Djs, party buses, contests and more! Mayes Oyster House, 1233 Polk Street, San Francisco. info@ crawlsf.com, 415-515-5220
S.R. Laws at Blue Note Brewery @ 3pm Blue Note Brewing Company, 750 Dead Cat Alley, Woodland Roaring '20s: Jazz and Cabaret in Silent Film @ 4pm / $65 Take a time machine with us back to the Roaring Twenties and enter our speakeasy for a night of jazz, cabaret, �lm, food and wine. Verdi Club, 2424 Mariposa Street, San Francisco. michelle@sfsalonmu
Francisco
Michael Rault @ 8pm Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell St, San Francisco
QUILT San Francisco 2023 @ 10am / $12 Mar 24th - Mar 25th San Francisco Quilters Guild pre‐sents an in person show of more than 300 quilts Event Center at St Mary's Cathedral, 1111 Gough Street, San Francisco. sfqgpublic ity@gmail.com
@ 9am
CHARGED UP pre‐sented by Haas, 45 high school teams are inspired to see the potential of en‐ergy storage in a new light as they compete to charge up their communi‐ties, working in 3-team al‐liances. The Pavilion, 750 Orchard Road, Davis. jm ckinley@�rstinspires.org, 916-549-8984
The Purple OnesInsatiable Tribute to Prince: The Purple Ones at Empress Theatre @ 8pm Empress Theatre, 330 Virginia Street, Vallejo Melvin Seals & JGB @ 8pm / Free-$17.50 The War�eld,
Healing Arts Workshop (1-Day) @ 3:30pm
Sign up for this free, one-time Healing Arts workshop at the Pence Gallery. Pence Gallery, 212 D Street, Davis. pencesocialmedia@ gmail.com, 530-758-3370
FRIDAY LIVE MUSIC: DENNY JAMES AND ROB
ROCKS @ 5pm Join us on Friday night for an un‐forgettable musical experience with Denny James and Rob Rocks. Three Restaurant, 721 Texas Street, Fair�eld. Threerestaurant@ gmail.com, 707-673-4129
Containher @ 7pm The Hotel Utah Saloon, 500 4th St, San Francisco
Best of San Francisco
Stand-up Comedy @ 8pm / $15 A fresh line-up of SF's Best Comics every Friday at the beautiful Variety Theater in downtown SF's iconic Hobart Building. Variety Club Pre‐view Room, 582 Market Street, San Francisco. bestofsfstandup@ gmail.com, 415-748-5119
Coven @ 9pm Old Ironsides, 1901 10th St, Sacra‐
mento DJ Keyz @ 9pm Old Ironsides, 1901 10th St, Sacra‐mento
David V @ 9pm Old Ironsides, 1901 10th St, Sacra‐mento
BLK&WHT @ 9:30pm Audio SF, 316 11th
2121 Calaveras Avenue, Davis CA 95616
The Project is a public works project within the requirements of Division 2 Part 7 Chapter 1 of the California Labor Code and each bidder and listed subcontractor is required to be registered pursuant to Labor Code section 1725 5 at th e time of bidding Failure of the bidder to be registered at the time o f b i d d i n g s h a l l r e n d e r t h e b i d n o n - r e s p o n s i v e a n d u na v a i l a b l e f o r a w a r d T h e b i d d e r ’ s l i s t i n g o f a n u n r egistered subcontractor may render the bid non-responsive and inaccessible for award unless such failure is the result of an inadvertent error and the provisions of Labor Code section 1771 1 apply
Sealed Bids are due prior to T uesday, April 4 2023, @ 1:00 p m f o r t h e a w a r d o f i n d i v i d u a l C o n t r a c t f o r t h e a b o v e - d escribed school site All bids shall be made and presented only on the forms presented by the Owner Bids shall be received in the Office of the CAPITAL OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT l o c a t e d a t 1 9 1 9 5 t h S t r e e t D a v i s C a l i f o r n i a 9 5 6 1 6 a n d shall be opened and publicly read aloud Any bids received after the time specified abov e or after any extensions due to material changes shall be returned unopened Any claim by a bidder of error in its bid must be made in compliance with section 5100 et seq of the Public Contract Code Bids are due by 1:00 pm on Tuesday, April 4, 2023, at 1919 5th Street, Davis, CA 95616 The Bids will be opened and processed by staff o n l y B i d o p e n i n g w i l l o c c u r a t 1 : 3 0 p m v i a Z o o m 3 0 minutes after the bid posting has closed The mandatory pre-bid conference attendees will be sent the invite and link for the bid opening
MANDATORY PRE-BID CONFERENCE MEETING
There will be a Mandatory Pre-Bid Conference on Wednesday March 22 2023 at 10:00 a m beginning at DJUSD Capital Operations Office, 1919 5th Street, Davis 95616, then to Da Vinci High School 1400 E 8th Street then to North Davis Elementary School 555 E 14th Street then to Davis Senior High School, 315 W 14th Street, then to Cesar Chavez Elementary School 1 221 Anderson Road then lastly, Emerson Junior High School, 2121 Calaveras Avenue, Davis CA 95616 Meet by the Flagpole at the front of each school site Attendees will be required to sign in to verify attendance at each site Attendance for the duration of the meeting is mandatory and each prime contract bidder (hereinafter referred to as “Bidder or “Bidders ) shall be required to certify, as part of its Proposal Form, that it attended the entirety of the Pre-Bid conference Failure to include the certification will render the bid non-responsive For all Pre-Bid visits (other than the Pre-bid conference), the Bidder must make an appointment with the school before visiting the Site
Miscellaneous Information
The bid documents are accessible on the District Web page using the following link https://www djusd net/departments/ capital operations/capital improvement under the Facilities Link tab If an Addendum is issued it will also be uploaded to the District Website It is the responsibility of each bidder to access it and acknowledge it on the proposal form E a c h b i d d e r s h a l l b e a l i c e n s e d c o n t r a c t o r p u r s u a n t t o t h e California Business and Professions Code and be licensed to perform the work called for in the contract documents The s u c c e s s f u l b i d d e r m u s t p o s s e s s a v a l i d a n d a c t i v e C - 3 9 -
Roofing Contractor License at the time of award of the contract The Contractor’s California State License number shall be clearly stated on the bidder s proposal
Subcontractors shall be licensed pursuant to California law for the trades necessary to perform the work called for in the contract documents W o r k w i l l b e p e r f o r m e d f r o m Ju n e 1 2 2 0 2 3 t o A u g u s t 9 2 0 2 3 w h i l e t h e c a m p u s i s o n S u m m e r r e c e s s
Each bid must strictly conform to and be responsive to the contract documents defined in the General Conditions
The DISTRICT reserves the right to reject any or all bids or waive any irregularities or informalities in any bids or bidding
Each bidder shall submit with their bid on the form furnished with the contract documents, a list of the designated subcontractors on this project as required by the Subletting and Subcontracting Fair Practices Act California Public Contract Code sections 4100, et seq
In accordance with California Public Contract Code section 22300 the DISTRICT will permit the substitution of securities for any moneys withheld by the DISTRICT to ensure performance under the contract
Each bidder’s bid must be accompanied by one of the following forms of bidder s security: (1) cash; (2) a cashier s check made payable to the DISTRICT; (3) a certified check made payable to the DISTRICT; or (4) a bidder’s bond executed by a California admitted surety as defined in Code of Civil Procedure section 995 120 made payable to the DISTRICT in the form outlined in the contract documents Such bidder’s security must be in an amount not less than ten percent (10%) of the maximum amount of bid as a guarantee that the bidder will enter into the proposed contract, if the same is awarded to a such bidder and will provide the required Performance and Payment Bonds and insurance certificates In the event of failure to enter into a said contract or provide the necessary documents said security will be forfeited P r e v a i l i n g w a g e s a r e a p p l i c a b l e t o t h e P r o j e c t T h e s e p e r diem rates including holiday and overtime work as well as employer payments for health and welfare pension vacation and similar purposes are available from the Director of the D e p a r t m e n t o f I n d u s t r i a l R e l a t i o n s P u r s u a n t t o C a l i f o r n i a Labor Code Sections 1720 et seq , it shall be mandatory upon the Contractor to whom the Contract is awarded and upon any subcontractor under such Contractor to pay no less than the specified rates to all workers employed by them in the exe c u t i o n o f t h e C o n t r a c t ( P e r D I R L O C A L I T Y : Y O L O COUNTY WAGE DETERMINATION:
NOTICE OF LIEN SALE Notice is hereby given pursuant to California Business and Professional Codes #21700-21716, Section 2328 of the UCC of the Penal Code Section 535 the undersigned
00 11 16 – NOTICE INVITING BIDS H STREET SEWER REHABILITATION PACKAGE
CIP No. 8166
1. Notice NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City Council of the City of Davis (“City”) invites and will receive sealed Bids up to but not later than April 6, 2023, 2:00 pm, at the City Clerk’s office of the City Manager, located at 23 Russell Boulevard, Davis, CA 95616, for the furnishing to the City of all labor, equipment, materials, tools, services, transportation, permits, utilities, and all other items necessary for the H STREET SEWER REHABILITATION, CIP No. 8166 (the “Project”). At said time, Bids will be publicly opened and read aloud at the City Office. Bids received after said time shall be returned.
BID OPENING PROCEDURE
The bids shall be opened in Council Chambers at 23 Russell Boulevard, Davis, CA 95616. Bidders will comply with the currently active Yolo County Order on COVID-19. These can be found at https://www.yolocounty. org/government/generalgovernment-departments/ health-human-services/adults/ communicable-diseaseinvestigation-and-control/covid19
You are hereby directed to cause all workers and subcontractors on the Project to comply with all aspects of the current order.
2. Requesting Plans And Specifications Plans and specifications (not including standard specifications and other documents included by reference), and proposal forms, may be obtained by logging on to www.blueprintexpress.com/ davis or by calling BPXpress Reprographics at (916)760-7281. The cost is $75 per set (plus shipping and handling) and is non-refundable. Any bidder that fails to purchase a complete set of plans, specifications and proposal forms from BPXpress Reprographics prior to the bid opening date and time OR is not included on the BPXpress plan holder list shall have their bid deemed non-responsive. In other words, the bidder must purchase the plan set from BPXpress Reprographics AND be on the BPXpress plan holder list to be deemed responsive. The only exception shall be in the event a bidder’s name is not included on the plan holders list but the bidder can produce proof of purchase of the plans, specifications and proposal forms from BPXpress Reprographics with a purchase date that occurred prior to the close of bidding. Any bid produced from plans, specifications and proposal forms obtained from sources other than those purchased from BPXpress by bidder shall be deemed non-responsive. Only bidders on the plan holders list shall receive addenda notifications.
It is the responsibility of each prospective bidder to pay the fee and download and print all Bid Documents for review and to verify the completeness of Bid Documents before submitting a bid. Any Addenda will be posted on www.blueprintexpress.com/ davis. It is the responsibility of each prospective bidder to check the BPXpress Reprographics website listed above on a daily basis through the close of bids for any applicable addenda or updates. The City does not assume any liability or responsibility based on any defective or incomplete copying, excerpting, scanning, faxing, downloading or printing of the Bid Documents. Information
on BPXpress Reprographics may change without notice to prospective bidders. The Contract Documents shall supersede any information posted or transmitted by BPXpress Reprographics.
Bids must be submitted on the City’s Bid Forms. To the extent required by Section 20103.7 of the Public Contract Code, upon request from a contractor plan room service, the City shall provide an electronic copy of the Contract Documents at no charge to the contractor plan room.
Contract documents will not be available for inspection or purchase from the City by potential Bidders.
3. Description Of The Work H STREET SEWER REHABILITATION, CIP No. 8166: The work shall include cleaning of the 27” sewer, plugging and bypassing operations, TV-inspection of sewer line, excavation for insertion and receiving pits, insertion of 24” nominal diameter slipliner pipe, grouting of annular space between slipliner pipe and host pipe, installing new maintenance holes, and abandoning maintenance hole in accordance with the intent of the Project Plans and Specifications. All work shall be performed in accordance with the City of Davis Standard Specifications January 1996 Edition, Addenda through July 2017, General Prevailing Wage Rate, Labor Surcharge and Equipment Rental Rates, and the Contact Documents. All work shall be performed in accordance with the Contract Documents and all applicable local and state laws and regulations.
4. Engineer Engineer’s Estimate: $407,000 Project Engineer: Terry Jue, PE
5. Contractor’s License Classification and Subcontractors Unless otherwise provided in the Instructions for Bidders, each Bidder shall be a licensed contractor pursuant to Sections 7000, et seq. of the Business and Professions Code in the following classification(s) throughout the time it submits its Bid and for the duration of the contract: Class [A] General Engineering Contractor’s License. Subcontractor Substitution requests shall be made within 35 calendar days after the award of the contract. Pursuant to Public Contract Code Section 3400(b), the City may make findings designating that certain additional materials, methods or services by specific brand or trade name other than those listed in the Standard Specifications be used for the Project. Such findings, if any, as well as the materials, methods or services and their specific brand or trade names that must be used for the Project may be found in the Special Conditions.
6. Trenches and Open Excavations Pursuant to Labor Code Section 6707, if this Project involves construction of a pipeline, sewer, sewage disposal system, boring and jacking pits, or similar trenches or open excavations, which are five feet or deeper, each bid submitted in response hereto shall contain, as a bid item, adequate sheeting, shoring, and bracing, or equivalent method, for the protection of life or limb, which shall conform to applicable safety orders.
the City Council, the amount of which shall not be less than ten percent (10%) of the submitted Total Bid Price, made payable to City of Davis as bid security. The bid security shall be provided as a guarantee that within five (5) working days after the City provides the successful bidder the Notice of Award, the successful Bidder will enter into a contract and provide the necessary bonds and certificates of insurance. The bid security will be declared forfeited if the successful Bidder fails to comply within said time. No interest will be paid on funds deposited with the City. The Bid Bond submitted shall be provided by a surety duly authorized by the Insurance Commissioner to transact surety business in the State of California.
8. Performance Bond and Labor and Material Bond The successful Bidder will be required to furnish a Faithful Performance Bond and a Labor and Material Payment Bond each in an amount equal to one hundred percent (100%) of the Contract Price. Each bond shall be in the forms set forth herein, shall be secured from a surety company that meets all State of California bonding requirements, as defined in California Code of Civil Procedure Section 995.120, and that is a California admitted surety insurer. Pursuant to Section 22300 of the Public Contract Code of the State of California, the successful Bidder may substitute certain securities for funds withheld by the City to ensure its performance under the contract.
9. Labor Code Requirements Pursuant to Labor Code Section 1773, the City has obtained the prevailing rate of per diem wages and the prevailing wage rate for holiday and overtime work applicable in Yolo County from the Director of the Department of Industrial Relations for each craft, classification, or type of worker needed to execute this contract. A copy of these prevailing wage rates may be obtained via the internet at: www.dir.ca.gov/dlsr/
In addition, a copy of the prevailing rate of per diem wages is available at the City’s Public Works Department and shall be made available to interested parties upon request. The successful bidder shall post a copy of the prevailing wage rates at each job site. It shall be mandatory upon the Bidder to whom the Contract is awarded, and upon any subcontractors, to comply with all Labor Code provisions, which include but are not limited to the payment of not less than the said specified prevailing wage rates to all workers employed by them in the execution of the Contract, employment of apprentices, hours of labor and debarment of contractors and subcontractors.
Pursuant to Labor Code Sections 1725.5 and 1771.1, all contractors and subcontractors that wish to bid on, be listed in a bid proposal, or enter into a contract to perform public work must be registered with the Department of Industrial Relations. No Bid will be accepted nor any contract entered into without proof of the contractor’s and subcontractors’ current registration with the Department of Industrial Relations to perform public work. If awarded a contract, the Bidder and its subcontractors, of any tier, shall maintain active registration with the Department of Industrial Relations for the duration of the Project. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the contractor registration requirements mandated by Labor Code Sections 1725.5 and 1771.1 shall not apply to work performed on a public works
project that is exempt pursuant to the small project exemption specified in Labor Code Sections 1725.5 and 1771.1.
This Project is subject to compliance monitoring and enforcement by the Department of Industrial Relations. In bidding on this Project, it shall be the Bidder’s sole responsibility to evaluate and include the cost of complying with all labor compliance requirements under this contract and applicable law in its Bid.
10. Retention Pursuant to Public Contract Code Section 7201, the City has made a determination that the project described herein is substantially complex, and therefore a retention of 5% will be withheld from payment until after the work is complete.
11. Substitution Requests Substitution requests shall be made within 35 calendar days after the award of the Contract. Pursuant to Public Contract Code Section 3400(b), the City may make findings designating that certain additional materials, methods or services by specific brand or trade name other than those listed in the Standard Specifications be used for the Project. Such findings, if any, as well as the materials, methods or services and their specific brand or trade names that must be used for the Project may be found in the Special Conditions.
12. Not Applicable
13. Award City shall award the contract for the Project to the lowest responsive, responsible Bidder as determined by the City from the Total Bid Price. The City reserves the right to reject any or all bids or to waive any irregularities or informalities in any bids or in the bidding process.
14. Notice to Proceed This Project, if awarded, will be awarded for a May 2023 start date. The Notice to Proceed shall be issued no sooner than May 1, 2023.
15. Further Information/ Questions For further information, contact Terry Jue, PE, Senior Civil Engineer, TJuel@cityofdavis. org. Questions will only be considered and answered via email. Questions will not be considered or answered 48 working hours prior to the bid opening.
16. Pre-Bid Conference There is no Pre-Bid Conference for this project.
17. Time for Completion
As defined in the Contract, Section 00 52 13 CONTRACT b., the time for completion for this project is 40 working days.
*Note* If you choose to mail your Bid Proposal via any of the overnight/express services, the outside envelope MUST be clearly marked as follows:
Despite Grace Gebhardt's career day, the UC Davis women's lacrosse team let Marquette slip past for the 19-17 win on Sunday inside UC Davis Health Stadium.
UC Davis (4-2) saw its four-game winning streak come to an end.
The Aggies used seven goals in the second period to take a 10-9 lead into halftime, but the Golden Eagles regrouped and outscored the Aggies 5-0 in the third quarter to build a lead they would never surrender.
Gebhardt delivered an excellent performance with a career-high six goals on the day. The sophomore picked up five draw controls and dished out one assist in her stellar showing.
Teammate Ella Brislin was all over the field, posting a career-high 14 draw controls while recording a hat trick. Alex Agnew, a senior, came through with another delightful game, registering her second hat trick of the season while handing out a pair of assists.
UC Davis will host Albany on Wednesday at 1 p.m., also at UC Davis Health Stadium.
SANTA BARBARA —
UCD found some fantastic form as it enters Big West Conference play, picking up a 12-10 victory over No. 10 UC Santa Barbara to cap off a perfect 2-0 weekend.
UC Davis (2-0 in the Big West, 12-8) has won five straight contests and open its conference slate with a pair of consecutive victories.
The fiercely competitive match was tied at 6-6 going into halftime, but the Aggies tightened up defensively in the last 16 minutes while doing just enough offensively to down the nation's 10thranked team.
Ally Clague had five goals for the Aggies. The center defender also came up with two huge field blocks and dished out an assist in her spectacular showing.
Noelle Wijnbelt and Kelly Hungerford enjoyed multi-goal performances as each would score twice in the contest.
Aggie goalie Nellie McAdams had eight saves.
UC Davis returns to Schaal Aquatics Center to host Indiana on Thursday at 6 p.m.
PHOENIX, Ariz. — Sunday was a quiet day all-around for UCD, as Arizona State swept the three-game series with a 17-4 win at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
Producing most of the runs for UCD (5-8) was freshman Leighton Helfrick, who went 1-for-2 with a home run and three RBIs.
Joey Wright and Braydon Wooldridge also provided runs in the game.
The host Sun Devils had 20 hits, with nine of those hits going for extra bases. Every starter for Arizona State also registered a hit in the contest.
Arizona State beat UCD 6-4 on Saturday and 7-1 in the first game on Friday.
UC Davis will open Big West Conference action at Dobbins Stadium on Friday, when CSU Northridge makes the trek for a three-game series. First pitch is scheduled at 2 p.m. UCD and Northridge play again Saturday and
the final game Sunday. Game time both days is scheduled at 1 p.m.
SACRAMENTO — Forward-center Domantas Sabonis has been named Western Conference Player of the Week after leading the Kings to a perfect 3-0 record for games played between March 6 and March 12, the NBA announced Monday.
Sabonis accrued averages of 20.0 points (57.9 FG%), 10.7 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 1.0 steals throughout the week on his way to his fourth career Player of the Week award.
Sabonis becomes the fourth player in franchise history to receive multiple Player of the Week accolades in a single season after he was one of two players to post 20.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 8.0 assists per contest over the previous week.
In that span, he ranked tied for ninth in rebounds per game and tied for 11th in total rebounds (32) while finishing tied for 13th in both assists per outing and total assists (25).
From Page B8
casserole, topped off with a choices of orange juice, water and milk.
“He was talking to me about going down to a local restaurant and hosting them down there,” Hasson said. “I said, ‘Jeff, we do this every Friday (during football season). Why don’t we just duplicate what we do for the football team, and we can do it (March 4) morning?’”
Hasson said that members of the Backers “didn’t even blink an eye” in preparing the breakfast buffet for the soccer players.
“It wasn’t like we had to completely reinvent the wheel,” Hasson said. “We just had to make it bigger and better.”
Davis (22-0-1) and Clovis North (26-1-5) played in front of approximately 1,800 fans.
The Blue Devils finished the
2nd shot at Pro Day
From Page B8
top two single-season marks in school history.
After missing Pro Day last year due to injury, Harrell pieced together an impressive resume for the Aggies. The Los Angeles native was named to the prestigious National Football Foundation Honor Society after finishing his eligibility by leading the Aggies with 44 catches, 551 receiving yards and five scores in 2021.
Pettek was a mainstay on the offensive line as he nabbed All-Big Sky honors for the third straight season. The disciplined line was instrumental in helping Hastings lead the league in passing and rank ninth in the country overall. Pettek opened holes in the middle of the line for
Gilliam, Jr. to break
1,000 yards and set nearly every rushing record in school history.
Poerio capped off his final season in an Aggie uniform with 16 catches for 316 yards and two touchdowns. The El Dorado Hills native averaged nearly 20-yards per reception, running away for a 65-yard score against Cal Poly. He also caught a crucial touchdown in the near comeback win at eventual national champion South Dakota State.
White, a 2021 All-Big Sky second-team honoree was only able to suit up in five games after starting all 11 contests in his junior season. This past year the San Diego native registered nine tackles and one sack. Seven of his nine tackles were solo stops.
SOFTBALL: Aggies begin Big West Conference on Friday
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a 6-5 lead heading into the fifth, when UC Davis grabbed the advantage at 7-6. The Aggies picked up two runs when Pahulu brought home Starks and Sarah Nakahara.
Anna Dethlefson, who went 2-for-3 with two triples and a walk. Leah Polson also went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
season ranked No. 2 in California behind No. 1 JSerra Catholic, out of Southern California, according to MaxPreps.
Davis maintained its No. 3 spot in the national rankings behind No. 2 Clinton (21-0-1), out of Mississippi and No. 1 JSerra Catholic.
— Contact Mike Bush at mike@ davisenterprise.net. Follow on Twitter: @MBDavisSports.
In the nightcap game, Sarah Reineman (2-2) started and took the loss in the circle for the Aggies. The right-hander went six innings, giving up three runs, two earned, on four hits.
Offensively, the Aggies were paced by junior
Libbie McMahan also chipped in for the Aggies, putting together two hits in four trips to the plate while adding a double.
The Aggies open Big West Conference play on the road against preseason conference favorite Cal State Fullerton. The series begins with a doubleheader on Friday, which will start at 4 p.m.
More than a week has passed since the Davis High boys soccer team beat Clovis North’s squad 1-0 to capture the California Interscholastic Federation NorCal Championships Division I title at Ron and Mary Brown Stadium.
But before they took the field, the Blue Devils and Broncos enjoyed a breakfast of champions.
Davis, which entered the regional playoffs as the top seed, and No. 2 Clovis North were treated to a breakfast buffet inside DHS’ All Student Center the morning of March 4, the day of the game.
Davis High Athletic Director Jeff Lorenson said the purpose of breakfast for the two teams was to display good sportsmanship.
“With the ongoing problems in athletics... spectator behavior,
athlete-coach behaviors, disrespect for officials and referees across the nation, not just here in California,” Lorenson said. “It came to me as an idea of a great opportunity. I know that Clovis North was coming up a day early, and we had been able to find some time for them to practice on our field (March 3).
“Just thinking about ways, we can do on our part as a school, as a district, as a community to
encourage and model appropriate behavior and sportsmanship.”
Lorenson noted that every opponent that a DHS sports team plays, be it a preseason, Delta League or playoffs, “is a guest of ours.”
“We think they should be treated that way,” Lorenson said.
Lorenson figured that the All Student Center would be a perfect spot for the breakfast.
Aimee Hasson, president of the
Davis High Football Backers, and members of the group put together the breakfast just as they have with the DHS football teams in recent years, after and before the pandemic. The breakfast buffet was coordinated less than 24 hours before the championship game.
The soccer players and coaches were treated to breakfast burritos, pancakes, sausage, egg
Logan Clagg, seen here competing on the bars during a UC Davis gymnastics home meet earlier this year, has recovered from a torn ACL and competed at Sunday’s meet at Cal.
BERKELEY — The UC Davis gymnastics ended its regular season against a national power on the road.
The performance of a lifetime found an Aggies senior.
Kaya Madden made her college debut Sunday at Cal’s Haas Pavilion. In a career interrupted by injury, her routine on the uneven parallel bars lasted about 30 seconds. When it ended, a mob of adoring teammates swarmed her with cheers and hugs.
The joy offered a welcome reward from years of pain. At UCD, Madden fractured her back, tore an Achilles tendon and broke her thumb.
But instead of wrecking her career, the ailments provided a valuable personal lesson.
“You really can do everything,” Madden explained.
“When there’s a will and you want something, you have to go get it. You have to keep working towards whatever you want.
Don’t let anyone stop you from that.”
UC Davis compiled a solid team performance in the quad meet. The Aggies posted a 196.425 to place ahead of Sacra-
mento State (194.875). The host Golden Bears won the meet with a 198.275. Pac-12 rival Arizona took second with a 196.525.
The four teams competed in four events: the balance beam, vault, floor and bars.
The afternoon began with the balance beam, after which the Aggies sat in first place overall.
UCD’s Megan Ray won the vault competition with a score of 9.925. On the beam, junior Emma Otsu tied for seventh with a 9.90. Senior Rachel Schuelke scored a 9.875 to place tenth in the same event.
Cal entered the meet ranked No. 6 in the nation. A post-meet ceremony honored the Bears for their Pac-12 championship. The quad meet also hosted a special coaching reunion.
Aggies interim coach Tanya Ho served five years as an assistant to Sacramento State head coach Randy Solorio, who will retire at season’s end.
A sociology major had many reasons to savor the experience. Madden graduated from Berkeley High School.
“It’s crazy to come full circle,” Madden said. “To finally get that chance in my hometown was everything I could hope for. With my home fans here and
my team supporting us, it was great.”
Ray and Madden became friends last year, when they were Spanish classmates.
“Kaya was my first friend at UCD,” Ray said. “Today was the most emotional thing I’ve ever experienced. She’s been there for every single step my way. I was so thrilled to see her shine, and just kill it. It brings tears to my eyes.”
Senior classmate Logan Clagg continued her comeback from a torn ACL suffered a year ago.
Enterprise staff
The UC Davis football team hosted its annual Pro Day in front of NFL personnel on Friday.
The Aggies were represented by seven former student-athletes.
Participating in Pro Day for the Aggies were offensive linemen Nick Amoah and Connor Pettek, running back Ulonzo Gilliam Jr., placekicker Isaiah Gomez, wide receiver Jared Harrell, wide receiver Justin Poerio and defensive back Jaylin White.
The Aggies were put through the standard gauntlet of a typical Pro Day. Conducted in the weight room, the Aggies were measured in the
bench press and vertical jump.
On the field at UC Davis Health Stadium, the aspiring pros did the broad jump, 40-yard dash, agility drills, the 3-cone drill and position work.
Amoah capped off his Aggie career in impressive fashion by being named by Phil Steele the Big Sky Conference Offensive Lineman of the Year. He earned All-America honors for the Associated Press and Stats Perform. Amoah provided the time at quarterback Miles Hastings blindside to help the Aggies boast the top passing numbers in the league. UCD ranked second in the Big Sky in sacks
allowed as the offensive line opened the holes for the Ags to sport the thirdranked rushing offense in the conference.
Gilliam Jr. is the only three-time captain in program history and was named to the AP, HERO Sports, and Stats Perform All-American squads. The senior ran for 1,180 yards and 13 touchdowns to rank second in the league in yards and third in touchdowns on the ground. The Merced native also hauled in a team-best 50 passes for 366 yards. His 1,554 allpurpose yards ranked second in the Big Sky.
Gomez finished his Aggie career on fire, proving to be one of the most reliable
She lauded Madden for setting an example.
“She has so much grit, so much tenacity,” Clagg said. “She works her butt off in the gym every day.”
Beginning in elementary school, Madden competed at a club in nearby Emeryville. Her bars coach there was current UCD assistant coach David Seiler.
“Today was like a movie,” Seiler said. “I love that girl.”
— Follow Mark DeVaughn on Twitter: @OrangeMarkD.
Mike busH/enterprise pHoto
UC Davis softball splits a pair at classic
SANTA CLARA — The UC Davis softball team split its games Saturday of the Silicon Valley Classic. UCD (13-7) took down Utah State, 7-6 in the opener and then fell to host Santa Clara, 3-2, on Saturday.
In the first game, Caroline Grimes (2-0) got the win out of the bullpen for UC Davis. The right-hander went 2.2 innings, giving up three runs on five hits, allowing one walk and striking out two. Junior Kenedi Brown tossed two shutout innings, while allowing two hits, walking none and striking out four.
At the plate, Sarah Starks had a double, two walks and three RBIs for the Aggies. Bella Pahulu went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and Grace Kilday also helped out with two hits in three trips to the plate while adding an RBI.
Trailing 5-0, the Aggies first put runs on the board in the third inning. UC Davis’ offense started clicking and put up four runs, including a three-run double off the bat of Starks.
The Aggies kept the deficit at 5-4 before tying the score in the fourth. Then UCD scored once on an RBI single off the bat of Kilday, which brought the score at 5-5.
Utah State broke that tie and took
different contests, as his 1.64 field goals per game led the Big Sky and ranked second in the nation. He finished 18-for-24 with a See SCOUTS, Page B7
long of 46 yards. His 19 field goals in 2021 and now his 18 this season are the