The Davis Enterprise Sunday, April 23, 2023

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Hearing delayed for teen crash suspect

By Lauren Keene

Enterprise staff writer

WOODLAND — The 13-year-old boy charged with killing two people in a Woodland crash remains in custody after his attorney sought a delay of his detention hearing Thursday.

Relatives of crash victims Tina

Vital, 43, and 4-year-old Adalina Perez, as well as the teen suspect's family, packed the Woodland courtroom for the scheduled hearing, which would determine whether the boy should be allowed to return home during his pending court case. His multiple felony charges include two counts of murder.

Defense attorney Martina Avalos said she wasn’t prepared to proceed, however, saying she’d received scant discovery from the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office, and that the documents she did obtain contained “inconsistent statements” regarding the April 8 crash.

Woodland police said the teen, driving a car stolen from his parents, struck two other vehicles at Court

See HEARING, Page A3

Zooplankton and Lake Tahoe clarity

By Monica Stark Enterprise staff writer

Lake Tahoe is as clear as it’s been since the 1980s, according to scientists at UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center. They say 2023 may see clarity levels similar to those in the 1970s or before. With the help from Daphnia and Bosmina, two types of zooplankton, a lot

of algae has been eaten up. From the 1960s until last year, Mysis shrimp have been the culprit, eating those algae-eaters.

This year’s clarity depends on two important caveats, says TERC’s director, Professor Geoffrey Schladow. First, the melting and runoff of possibly the largest snowpack ever recorded will wash in a lot of

fine sediment and nutrients that are the true cause of clarity decline. “How the zooplankton will fare against this flood of contaminants will be highly instructive to us all,” Schladow said. In the past, high runoff years have typically had reduced clarity.

Second, even if the effects of the high runoff are small and clarity remains high in 2023, it

Police chief updates Chamber on crime

By Anne Ternus-Bellamy Enterprise staff writer

Burglary alarms, suspicious circumstances and public nuisance complaints are the most common issues the Davis Police Department responds to in the police beat encompassing downtown Davis and surrounding neighborhoods.

That’s according to Davis Police Chief Darren Pytel, who provided a crime update to members of the Davis Chamber of Commerce on Thursday.

“I’ve got some good news and some not so good news,” he said. “And the good news is we’re not seeing huge changes in crime in Davis, but … the bad

news is we have crime in Davis.”

The top reported crime in the downtown area from July 1 through April 17 was theft, with 290 reports. Burglary was second with 105, followed by vandalism with 71.

The majority of theft cases, Pytel said, are bicycle and catalytic converter thefts, and he has a plan for the latter he’s taking to the City Council in the form of a new ordinance.

“One of the big problems of trying to deal with catalytic converter thefts,” he said, “is people don’t take the time to etch driver’s licenses or personal identifying information on them.”

That means if police officers make a car stop in the

middle of the night, Pytel said, and the driver has a bunch of catalytic converters in their possession but none are marked, “we’re unable to arrest them, either because we can’t identify a victim whose car that came off of or we can’t prove that it is stolen property.

“So the ordinance I submitted for council consideration would make it illegal to possess catalytic converters without proof of

See CRIME, Page A3

will not go on for very long.

“The only reason we have the native zooplankton currently in the lake is that the introduced Mysis shrimp numbers plummeted. This allowed the zooplankton to come back. But in one to two years, the Mysis will return, they will consume the zooplankton, and Lake Tahoe

See TAHOE, Page A5

Korematsu parents, teachers plead to board for assistance

By Aaron Geerts Enterprise staff writer

Insufficient staffing

and behavioral issues at Korematsu took center stage Davis Board of Education meeting on Thursday, April 20. Although these aren’t new issues, the Korematsu parents and teachers emphasized the dire situation the school, parents and students are currently in during the public comment portion of the meeting. Parents took to the podium begging the board for more funding, resources and counselors allocated to Korematsu.

Others expressed their fear for their student’s emotional health at the trauma caused by the disturbing behavior of other students destroying the classroom, running out of class itself or verbally assaulting the teachers.

Multiple Korematsu volunteers and teachers also took to the podium with one teacher claiming that many of her fifthgrade students are falling behind mentally, emotionally and academically — with many not being able to read or being years behind academically. The teacher went on to

See BOARD, Page A5

PYTEL Davis police chief

A science buoy floats on the surface of Lake Tahoe.

'Gel blaster' target practice ends in arrest

Shots fired from a “gel blaster” gun landed a Davis man in jail Wednesday night, according to police.

An officer was patrolling the area of Richards Boulevard and Olive Drive at about 11:15 p.m. when he “observed a vehicle driving near him with the male driver leaning in a manner that appeared as if he was holding a firearm,” Davis police Lt. Dan Beckwith said.

“The officer could hear projectiles striking objects near him and his vehicle as well,” Beckwith added. Additional officers responded to the scene and stopped the vehicle at an Olive Drive gas station.

Police made contact with six people inside the car, including three juveniles. Officers also reported finding marijuana, alcohol and an Orbeez gel blaster gun, the apparent source of the projectiles, Beckwith said.

Bryan Anthony Salazar-Ponce, 22, was arrested and booked into the Yolo County Jail on charges of throwing a substance at a vehicle, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and discharging a BB gun in a negligent manner.

When we want a mailed-in effort

According to my official Yolo County Voter Information Guide, “Elections Code section 4004 permits an all-mail ballot election to fill a vacancy on the city council in a city with a population of 100,000 or less.”

Relax all you strict constructionists of the United States Constitution. Read that sentence again and you’ll realize this is an all-mail election, not an all-male election.

The Second Amendment, however, appears to be safe.

In the last presidential election, of course, one political party argued strenuously against voting by mail and instead urged its supporters to simply show up at the polls on election day.

That party is now reassessing its position, perhaps realizing that a vote by mail is locked up and final, while an election day vote might never happen if the weather turns nasty or the voter catches the flu or has a flat tire on the way to the polls.

None of that matters, of course, in Davis, where citizens tend to respect the results of all elections, even if their candidate or ballot

measure lost.

I can’t remember even one time hearing a charge of “fraud” or “rigged” in regard to any Davis balloting, including the long ago city council tie vote between incumbent Ernie Hartz and challenger John McMurdie.

That one had to be decided by a roll of the die, and it took three rolls each before McMurdie was declared the winner.

Hartz was gracious in defeat.

After all, he lost a roll of the die, he didn’t lose with the voters. That outcome will be a tie, and nothing but a tie, forevermore.

We had another City Council election where the final seat was awarded with a difference of just nine votes between winner and loser. Again, no one cried fraud. In

fact, the winner and the loser went out for a beer together.

“A complete list of candidates appears on your Practice Ballot printed in this guide.”

That complete list includes just two names. I don’t know if I’ll need to “practice” with this ballot or if I can just remember who it is I wanted to vote for.

Now here’s the part I really like.

“The candidate statements of qualifications printed in this Voter Information Guide are written by the candidates and printed at their own expense. Statements are optional and published exactly as submitted.”

I don’t know how the county can say for sure that the statements were written by the candidates. More likely they were written by the most capable person on the candidate’s campaign committee.

I especially like that they are published as submitted.

Full disclosure: on several occasions I have been asked to proofread the Voter Information Guide from start to finish, this request

coming after I complained that “governor” had been misspelled in a previous election guide.

I was told specifically before beginning this task that the candidate statements were not subject to my scrutiny, even if they misused “lay” or “lie,” inserted Oxford commas and exclamation points, and claimed that Davis gets 100 inches of rain per year due to global warming.

Nothing could be touched and no candidate could be alerted of an error in time to correct it, even if their own name had been misspelled.

“Municipal offices are non-partisan offices. Qualified political parties can endorse candidates only for voter-nominated offices.”

You could fool me, because at this very moment I’m staring at a postcard from one District 3 candidate who claims she is “Endorsed by the Yolo County Democratic Party.”

But maybe in Davis — and only in Davis — the Democratic Party is considered to be non-partisan. Party on.

— Reach Bob Dunning at bdunning@davisenterprise.net.

Winters councilman could face felony weapon charges

By Lauren Keene Enterprise staff writer

Yolo County prosecutors are seeking to file felony charges against a Winters city councilman, accusing him of unlawfully possessing two assault rifles.

Richard Thomas Casavecchia initially faced a misdemeanor charge of possessing an unserialized firearm, which police reported finding in his vehicle during an April 2 traffic stop, McNaughton Newspapers previously reported.

Casavecchia, 39, pleaded not guilty to that count at his April 5 arraignment hearing in Yolo Superior Court.

On Friday, the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office filed a motion to amend the initial complaint, with accompanying documents that say officers found the assault rifles in Casavecchia’s home during

the course of a domestic violence investigation.

Casavecchia’s attorney, Michael J. Wise of Sacramento, could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon. He previously told The Winters Express that his client “continues to cooperate with law enforcement, and we will address the merits of the misdemeanor matter in court.”

According to the DA’s motion to amend, Casavecchia’s wife arrived at the Winters Police Department at about 12:15 p.m. April 2 to report a domestic violence incident and request an emergency protective order.

“She then told Winters police that defendant has a concealed weapons permit along with other weapons,” the document says. She initially declined to give officers consent to enter her home and remove the firearms, but later reversed

that decision. The traffic stop happened about two hours later at Neiman and Main streets in Winters, where an officer asked Casavecchia whether he possessed any firearms, the motion says. Casavecchia confirmed he did, producing three handguns from a case on his truck’s passenger seat.

“One of the handguns did not contain a serial number or any identifying information,” prosecutors wrote. “Based on the officer's training and experience, he opined the handgun was manufactured with several aftermarket parts, none of which contained a serial number.”

Officers went to Casavecchia’s home at about 4:30 p.m. that same day, where they seized three AR-15 style rifles, two ammunition magazines and four ammunition rounds, the motion says. Police later determined two of the firearms were not registered to Casavecchia.

Court documents describe both of those weapons as “semiautomatic, centerfire rifle(s) that did not have a fixed magazine. Further, (they) had a pistol grip that protruded conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon, a telescoping stock, a forward pistol grip and a flash suppressor. Both rifles meet the definition of an assault weapon.”

Judge Sonia Cortés will rule on the motion to amend at a May 17 hearing.

It was unclear Friday whether the pending allegations would affect Casavecchia’s position on the

Police investigate E Street, Wake Forest Drive prowlers

where the resident also noticed a rear gate was left open, police said in a Facebook post.

Shortly after midnight Thursday, the same resident’s Ring doorbell camera captured images of a male with a short mohawk and wearing all-black clothing loitering in front of a neighboring house, then jumping a fence in the direction of F Street.

Residents of the 1300

block of Wake Forest Drive have reported a second person who on several occasions has loitered around residences and shaken door handles, typically between 11 p.m. and midnight.

An image captured by a Ring doorbell camera on April 1 and released Friday by Davis police shows a person of interest who appears to be an older

white male adult wearing a hat, headphones and backpack.

In both cases, “officers responded quickly to these incidents and were not able to locate the subject,” police said.

Anyone with information about this or similar activity is asked to contact Davis police detectives at 530-747-5400.

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Winters City Council.

Voters elected him to a fouryear term last November. Winters’ mayor, Bill Biasi, issued an email declining to comment on the issue, which he referred to as a law-enforcement matter.

“Under the law, everyone is considered innocent until proven guilty,” Biasi wrote. “We need to respect that fact during this process. We respect the legal process and need to allow the police department and district attorney to do their job.”

— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenter prise.net. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene

HEARING: Murder suspect’s defense still seeking evidence

and College streets while speeding away from police attempting a traffic stop. Eight others were injured in addition to the two who died, including Vital’s 24-year-old son and 18-year-old daughter.

Avalos said her investigators are still seeking video footage, GPS data and witness interviews from the incident, along with other documents she said will show her client to be “kind and gentle ... the sort of child that is respectful of the rules.”

“I feel like my hands are tied to show the court who this sweet boy really is,” Avalos said. “This is a minor who made a horrible decision but deserves to be home with his loving family.”

The victims' family disagreed.

“To me, that’s B.S. He needs to be held accountable for his actions,” Victor Ramirez, one of Vital’s three brothers, said after the hearing. “I’m glad he’s still being detained. What about us? Tina and Adalina are never going to get to come home.”

‘A lot of prayers’

Despite prosecutor Jennifer McHugh’s request to forge ahead with the detention hearing, Yolo Superior Court Judge Janene

Beronio ordered the parties back to court on May 2 for an update the discovery exchange. She also vacated a jurisdictional hearing — the juvenile equivalent of a court trial — set for May 3. Watching from the courtroom gallery were Kirk and Heidi Andrus, two of the six occupants of the third vehicle involved in the crash.

Kirk Andrus, whose family resides in Mount Shasta, told The Davis Enterprise his family had

been in Sacramento on the day of the crash, attending an AAU basketball tournament where Andrus coached his 15-year-old son’s team.

Afterward, the Andrus family — including Heidi and the couple’s 24-year-old daughter — and the son’s two teammates decided to stop in Woodland for an early dinner before heading home. The crash occurred as they traveled westbound on Court Street in their Hyundai Santa Fe.

Asked what he recalled about the impact, Andrus said, “Absolutely nothing.”

“I remember looking at the light as we were entering the intersection and affirming it was green,” he added. “It’s almost like a massive energy wave passed through the car, and suddenly everything was broken.”

Andrus, who suffered a gash to his head, three broken ribs and a punctured lung, lost consciousness. He awoke briefly to see his son, seated next to him with his head covered in blood, then passed out again.

His next memory is of his daughter, who had been seated in the rear of the vehicle along with Andrus’ wife and sustained only minor injuries, calmly trying to mobilize him as flames engulfed the other two cars.

“Dad, there’s a fire — we need to get you out of here,” she said, removing him from the wreckage with the aid of a bystander. “She was remarkable, and we were very grateful to the bystanders” who helped Heidi tend to the injured boys in their car.

Struggling to breathe due to his punctured lung, Andrus was flown to Mercy San Juan Hospital in Sacramento, where his wife later joined him and relayed what she knew about the crash,

including the 13-year-old boy’s alleged acts that led to it.

Andrus, Siskiyou County's district attorney since 2005, said he’s certain the teen will be convicted, and “I expect he will be incarcerated for the remainder of his youth.”

As a longtime prosecutor, “I’m used to people making terrible decisions, and those terrible decisions impacting human beings,” he said. “It’s striking how preventable this was. It’s hard to imagine anyone thinking any of those actions were a good idea.”

Despite the long distance from home, Kirk and Heidi Andrus returned to Yolo County primarily to meet Vital and Perez’s relatives and to receive updates about Johnny and Trinity Barrera, Vital’s two children, who remain hospitalized with broken bones and burn injuries.

“There have been a lot of prayers up here for that family,” Andrus said. “To me, that’s what this case is about — it’s about them. The tragedy to that good family is unthinkable, and we are devastated at the loss they suffered.”

— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene

CRIME: Shoplifting underreported, chief wants to hear about it

ownership,” Pytel said.

“This is currently an area that is not covered under state law. We’ve been trying to get something passed at the state level, but so far that hasn’t happened.”

Meanwhile, another form of theft many business owners deal with — shoplifting — is likely underreported, Pytel said.

“We don’t have a lot of reported shoplifters and we’ve seen decreases from the previous years,” he said.

“But when I go out and speak to the business owners, they’re frustrated with shoplifting and they just don’t call anymore even when they catch people. So I know we have a lot of unreported crime and I know that it’s really concerning to people.

“Not everybody wants to call the police,” Pytel noted.

“Sometimes people feel bad about calling the police. So sometimes we just have people tolerating the bad behavior. But as I repeatedly tell everybody, while we’re busy, we usually have time to respond to all the calls for service and try to improve the situation and

make things better.”

On the other hand, business owners and others are reporting a lot of nuisance and disorder issues. Since Jan. 1, 2022, the Davis Police Department has received more than 650 calls for service involving nuisance and disorder in the downtown area, an increase from the same time frame the year before.

“We’re just starting to see a lot more anti-social behavior and people causing nuisances and problems in the downtown,” Pytel said.

“Business owners are calling them in. We have other concerned people calling in the activity. We have quite a few people that stop and yell and scream at other people and make people uncomfortable so we’re having to respond to these complaints.”

“We’ve had a couple of arrests based on both physical fights and people threatening other people,” he added, “so this is an area that we are extremely concerned about. We’re trying to get increased patrols in the downtown area …”

But the department has

had a lot of vacancies, he noted.

“We’ve been able to hire some people in the past couple of months and are definitely making strides there, and as we’re able to bring more people on and get them trained, we’ll be able to redeploy some personnel in some of the areas we haven’t been able to in the past year or so.”

The city is also seeing more trespassing complaints.

“Businesses are calling in, saying people are inside creating disturbances as well as people loitering on property or going on closed property or sleeping on private property,” said Pytel. “And it’s not just that people are there and they’re trespassing. We’re seeing pretty significant nuisance behavior — everything from a lot of trash being left behind, drugs and paraphernalia being left behind, and then, again, some cases of anti-social behavior where people are just making customers and others feel unwelcome or unsafe. So that is a problem.”

The E Street Plaza area is a particular issue, Pytel said.

“We seem to have a lot of people that are hanging out in that area and one of the things, as I’ve gone downtown in the recent months, we have kind of a core group that has set up some lawn chairs and stuff in (the adjacent parking lot).

“I am going to be going to council on May 2 and I’m proposing that we add the parking lots to the smoking ordinances,” said Pytel. “It seems a little weird that we have people in lawn chairs sitting in our parking lots and … where people are parking, and they’re out there hanging out all day and smoking and otherwise creating kind of nuisance behavior for customers. So I think that’s an area we can do a little bit better. Hopefully the council passes that.”

As for property crime citywide, vehicle burglaries were up five percent from 2021 to 2022 but vandalism is really up — 62 percent. The majority of those complaints involve vehicles, including slashed tires and broken windows.

“We have seen a lot of vandalism and that is continuing now in 2023,” Pytel said. “We’re getting several

vandalism reports a day, everything from spray painting on pretty much everything that’s out there in all areas of town, to things just being broken and tires being slashed. So more and more it’s not just the graffiti. Now we’re starting to see the broken windows, the tires slashed and destruction of property. That’s pretty distressing and the numbers are going up.

“People who do that kind of stuff, they’re hard to detect,” he added. “These are areas that we really, really rely on the public to report … so we can try to curb it at least.”

Pytel noted that the city provided grants for businesses to purchase cameras for their properties “and from our perspective, we encourage that.”

“At the police department internally, we’ve had a lot of talks just in the last couple of weeks about getting a lot more of the images out to the public. We’re getting (images from cameras all over town) and our goal is to start putting them out to the public and seeing if we can identify some of the players who are

creating destruction around the town because we’re dealing with a lot of it at this point.”

The bottom line, according to Pytel, is Davis doesn’t have a lot of violent crime, but some categories of crime have been increasing, particularly that property crime.

“We have a lot of burglaries and we have a lot of theft,” he said. “So when people report that or they’re feeling like everything is being stolen, there is a little bit of truth to that. And we have a lot of crime victims in town every single year. So it’s one of those mixed-bag things. The crime trends go up and down … in any given year, we see some increases, we see some decreases.

“Our job is to work especially with the business community to have safe and inviting areas and an enjoyable city. So to the extent that we can partner with all our businesses, that’s a really good thing.”

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

Courtesy photo

Tina Vital, 43, and her 4-year-old granddaughter Adalina Perez both succumbed to injuries from a high-speed crash in Woodland.

From Page A1

Wendy Weitzel is on vacation. Comings & Goings will return next Sunday.

Obituary

Carlos Bustamante Keppers, 22, beloved son, sadly passed away and entered his eternal heavenly home on Easter Sunday, April 9, 2023. The sunset of his life was when he was hit by a drunk driver in Davis.

Carlos grew up in Anchorage, Alaska and graduated from East High School in 2019, where he enjoyed cross country running and skiing. Carlos played the violin with the Anchorage Youth Orchestra. After high school, Carlos

attended UC Davis and was due to graduate in June 2023. He earned and was honored with his posthumous UCD bachelor of science degree in managerial economics. His favorite classes were political science and the source of frequent passionate discussion. Carlos was a member of the Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity. All who knew him appreciated his love for others and his beautiful smile. He was a light to all who knew him.

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Carlos leaves behind his loving parents, Craig and Dona Keppers, and two dogs, Scout and Augustus Aurelius of Anchorage, Alaska. He is also survived by grandmother Rosa R. Bustamante; aunts Debi Bustamante, Lucinda B. Pouncey and family; uncle John Bustamante and family in Texas; and the Robert Keppers Family,

Dennis Keppers Family, and Glen Keppers of Minnesota, Ohio and North Dakota.

KEPPERS

In loving memory, his family invites all who knew and loved Carlos to his celebration of life event at 5 p.m. Friday, April 28, at the Putah Creek Lodge on the UC Davis campus. They welcome stories, pictures and memories of his life beautifully lived. His celebration of life in Anchorage, Alaska, will be held at a later date.

Please visit https://www. smith-funerals.com/ obituaries/carlos-keppers

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The Enterprise publishes brief death notices free of charge. These include name, age, city of residence, occupation, date of death and funeral/memorial information. Paid-for obituaries allow for controlled content with the option for photos. Obituaries will be edited for style and grammar.

Notice of Public Sale: Self-Storage unit contents of the following customers containing household and other goods will be sold for cash or credit card by CubeSmart Self Storage 541 Harbor Blvd. West Sacramento, Ca 95691 to satisfy a lien on May 10, 2023, approx. 12:00pm on storagetreasures.com Chelsea Collins, Sian Nadine Scarioni, William Mattos, Ronald Dosty, Corazon Fernandez, Victoria Langley, Donisha Williams Published April 23, 30, 2023 #2246

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING FOR UNITRANS PUBLIC TRANSIT PROPOSED SERVICE CHANGES FOR 2023-2024

The Unitrans Advisory Committee (UAC), a committee to the Davis City Council, will hold a public hearing on Thursday, April 27, 2023 at 4:00 PM at the Davis Senior Center at 646 A Street in Davis on proposed Unitrans service changes that, if approved, would go into effect on Monday, August 7, 2023. Meeting information will be available 72 hours in advance of the meeting at https://www.cityofdavis.org/city-hall/ commissions-and-committees/unitrans-advisory-committee. Service change proposals are available at unitrans.ucdavis.edu. Click on “2023-2024 Change Proposals” in the News section. Proposed changes focus on improving service reliability to get customers to their destinations in a timelier manner and reduce traffic in and around UC Davis during passing periods. Summary of key proposals: Reroute the A line to serve the Memorial Union Bus Terminal, reroute the Z line to serve the Silo Terminal, increase the service span of the Z line to match the A line, minor O & Z line reroute from Pena Drive to Cantrill Drive to better serve high density housing, adjust C, D, J, V-EX, V-LT, & W line schedules 5-10 minutes earlier during academic year to improve reliability, and continue restoring service frequencies to pre-pandemic levels as driver staffing improves with a focus on restoring 30minute service on all routes and reducing crowding.

To learn more or comment, you may attend the public hearing, email comments@unitrans.ucdavis.edu, call 530-7522877, or mail us at Unitrans, 1 Shields Avenue, 5 South Hall, Davis, CA 95616. Details on how to comment are also available online at unitrans.ucdavis.edu.

Publish Dates: April 21, 23, 26, 2023 #2230

Carlos Bustamante Keppers

d. April 9, 2023

TAHOE: Outsider shrimp an issue

will return to what it was a few years ago,” he said.

As Schladow expected, the Daphnia and Bosmina, the two types of zooplankton, were present in the lake, and the clarity was still very high during their most recent venture out on Lake Tahoe last week.

The sampling crew, consisting of Brant Allen (who has been working on Lake Tahoe for 34 years), Katie Senft, Brandon Berry (a Davis native), and Erik Young, collected the data covered by the Lake Tahoe Clarity Report 2022.

Clarity is measured as the depth to which a 10-inch white disk, called a Secchi disk, remains visible when lowered into the water.

According to a press release from the UCD Tahoe Environmental Research Center, in 2022, Lake Tahoe’s average annual clarity was 71.7 feet compared to 61 feet in 2021. The key finding from 2022, according to the release, was the great improvement in lake clarity from August through December, when the average Secchi depth was 80.6 feet. This coincided with the highest numbers of the zooplankton Daphnia and Bosmina. The states of California and Nevada, which share a border at Lake Tahoe, are actively working to restore lake clarity to its historic 97.4 feet.

Because the lake is very dynamic and can have an exceptionally high or low reading anytime, Schladow said a single day’s increase in Secchi depth is insignificant. “What is significant is that for five months, for over 12 sampling days, we have

seen consistently high clarity and the presence of the native zooplankton. That has never happened before in over 54 years of measurements.

During those 54 years, there have been droughts, floods, and wildfires. So what is happening now is significant and instructive.”

Schladow explained the Mysis shrimp were deliberately introduced to Lake Tahoe in the 1960s as it was believed they would be helpful for game-fish growth. It didn’t work out that way, and the average fish size declined. They were also introduced to many other lakes across the West, and they rarely had a positive influence.

In Flathead Lake, Montana; and Lake Washington, Washington, they changed the food web drastically and negatively. At Tahoe, it was recognized a long time ago that they were impacting the food web.

Two other UC Davis scientists (Bob Richards and Charles Goldman) showed that in the late 1960s, Schladow said.

“What is new now is that for the first time, we have established the connection between the Mysis and clarity. Mysis removed the native zooplankton that had naturally been feeding on the ver y tiny algae and clay particles that can cause clarity decline. Once the zooplankton were removed, there was nothing to remove the algae and clay particles, and clarity declined. Because of all the uncontrolled development at Lake Tahoe in the 1960s and 1970s, nutrients (that cause algae growth) and clay were being washed in faster than ever,” Schladow said.

In late 2021, the Mysis population

unexpectedly crashed, and it took 12 months for the Daphnia and Bosmina to build up their numbers and start their natural cleansing.

A different zooplankton species (copepods) that do not impact clarity, had been the main food for Mysis in the last 50 or so years. Early last year, we noticed that they seemed to be developing a fungal infection (we are currently having specimens examined), and very soon after that, they largely disappeared. With little left to eat, we believe the Mysis simply starved to death.

The very small numbers of Daphnia and Bosmina in the lake now had no predators, but it takes time for them to reproduce and build up their numbers, Schladow said. “That is why there was a time gap.”

Knowing that the Mysis shrimp have harmed water clarity, TERC’s scientists have worked in the past with students from the Graduate School of Management and most recently with a nonprofit called Shrimply Blue. They have shown that if Mysis were harvested from Lake Tahoe, then the cost of removing them would largely be offset by the cost of marketing the shrimp. They would not be used for shrimp cocktails but instead

used as the key ingredient in dog treats. The Mysis, because of the great diet they have in Lake Tahoe, are very high in Omega-3 fatty acids and proteins. Past research has shown us the level to which the Mysis have to be brought down in order to allow Daphnia to coexist with Mysis. That is about 20% of what their normal population is.

Schladow said a future restoration plan could include the harvesting of Mysis, the production of highly nutritious dog treats, and the proceeds from that going back to pay for the harvesting and to help continue the research at Lake Tahoe. As all of that work would be happening at Lake Tahoe, it would be creating new employment opportunities there.

Schladow said when scientists saw Daphnia return to Emerald Bay 10 years ago, kokanee salmon were much larger. The State Record kokanee was caught that year adjacent to Emerald Bay. The previous state record was established in the later 1960s, right when Mysis were first introduced. “Is that coincidence? I think not,” he said. Do the Mysis shrimp do anything good for the balance of the lake?

“Not really,” Schladow said. “They have changed the balance of the lake, so in a way they are part of the new balance. But it is not a good balance. If Mysis were controlled, then the lake would be a lot closer to its native state, and the new balance would have higher clarity and quite possibly larger game fish. That is another aspect we are currently studying.”

BOARD: Administrators map out bond-money plan

From Page A1

talk about a recent staff meeting where she learned that some classrooms are being evacuated on a daily basis.

After a brief recess, the meeting moved into the Measure M Bond Program prioritization presentation by Superintendent Matt Best. The presentation began with a brief history of Measure M and its signature bond projects that have been completed with the $150 million dollar Measure M facilities bond. Best then talked about how that original $150 million is coupled with an additional $85 million in state and local funds.

“Our main task of the next several weeks is to decide what we should be constructing with some of those expected $85 million in remaining funds. In 2018 and again in 2020, boards at those times prioritized definitively what we call our ‘signature projects’ and loosely prioritized projects for funds which were expected after 2025. Why they were prioritized after 2025 is we were expecting to sell all of our COP funds in 2025 and we have since moved up the sale of half of the roughly $50 million,” Best said. “We know that the most important thing for us to determine is our programmatic needs because form must follow function and we only want to construct, upgrade and/or modernize our facilities when we have a clear, programmatic vision and identified need.”

Best mentioned further considerations including what the highest need projects are and how they match up against available funds, cashflow management throughout the remaining projects as well as the impacts of other construction projects.

In light of this, staff recommends in June of 2023 beginning Phase 1 – the design phase – of the early childhood education project worth approximately $16 million. Best said they’d prioritize sites that can be completed by the fall of 2025. They’d also commence with technology infrastructure

improvements in the summer as well as begin the design process for safety and security improvements. The recommendation also includes updating the facilities master plan in the fall. Following suit was an update on the district’s Local Control Accountability Plan given by the interim superintendent of instruction and director of secondary education and Leadership, Troy Allen. She gave an over view of the LCAP’s goals and components, and timeline for the remainder of the year. Allen talked about how the draft goals will be thoroughly reviewed and revised by multiple advisories in the upcoming months before the public hearing that will take place on June 1 followed by a plan for adoption at the June 15 meeting.

“I want to emphasize that, as a team, we understand the vision of DJUSD is mid-reform, and our work at this moment in time is holding the tension stability for our students and our staff and our community and building a bridge to our bigger aspirations as represented by our graduate profile and the coming strategic plan,” Allen said. “The LCAP is a highly technical document and an important mechanism to codify some of the granular details of our pathway toward realizing our goals. But more engaging is that as a community, we’re giving ourselves permission to identify real needs and tangible supports that lead us towards a focus on student outcomes, effective instruction and those structures that will support them.”

Finally came the approval of the employment contract for the superintendent of instructional services. Best broke down the steps in the hiring process before presenting Allen as the person selected as to fill that role. The trustees voted unanimously to approve the contract as the gallery applauded.

With that, the meeting came to an end with the next scheduled for May 4.

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

Brant allen/UC Davis terC photo How long will the lake stay this blue?

Second bivalent booster recommended for immunocompromised, those 65+

By Anne Ternus-Bellamy Enterpirse staff writer

Older adults and immunocompromised individuals are now able to receive a second bivalent COVID-19 vaccine dose.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending a second bivalent (also known as Omicron-specific or

updated) dose for those 65 years old and older if at least four months have passed since their first bivalent dose.

The CDC also recommends a second bivalent dose for immunocompromised individuals if at least two months have passed since their first bivalent dose.

The protection provided by COVID-19 vaccines decreases

over time, especially in older adults and those with weakened immune systems, Yolo County officials said in a press release Friday. “A second bivalent dose increases this protection, helping to prevent infection, severe disease, hospitalization and death.”

A single dose of bivalent COVID-19 vaccine is recommended for everyone ages 6 to 65

who are not immunocompromised. However, only 28 percent of Yolo County residents ages five and up have received a bivalent dose, putting them at increased risk of severe COVID-19 disease.

For children six months to 5 years old who are already vaccinated, a bivalent dose may be recommended, depending on age and which vaccine product was

used for previous doses.

To find a COVID-19 vaccine location, visit https://myturn.ca. gov Healthcare providers and retail pharmacies continue to provide COVID-19 vaccines for free and Yolo County Public Health also provides free vaccines. Visit http://www.yolocounty.org/covid for clinic locations and hours.

Former Aggie, Blue Devil is eyeing NFL Draft

By Bruce Gallaudet Enterprise correspondent

Local football fans need no introduction to Nick Amoah.

From his days as a Davis Junior Blue Devil to a brilliant run at Davis High — and on to an allconference UC Davis Aggies career — offensive lineman Amoah has grown up on hometown gridirons in successful football programs.

And because of his 6-foot-3, 308-pound frame — not to mention his stellar work in the classroom — Amoah may not be finished protecting quarterbacks and grading roads for running backs.

With the NFL Draft ahead on Thursday, Amoah has caught the eye of representatives from Green Bay, Chicago, Philadelphia and Buffalo. Some mock draft services have Amoah going to Tampa Bay as high as the fourth round.

The buzz all began when Amoah emerged as an All-Big Sky firstteamer from UC Davis in 2021. He upped the ante last year when he was named the Phil Steele

Conference Lineman of the Year.

In anticipation of possibly collecting an NFL paycheck for his toil, Amoah has been working out at center, then excelled when the Aggies conducted an especially enthusiastic Pro Day on March 10.

“Nick has been getting a lot of contacts and messages from the NFL since then,” UCD offensive coordinator Mike Cody told The Enterprise, adding: “And what separates him is who Nick is as a person.

“Nick is a salt-of-theearth individual who understands how much hard work, how much dedication — all those cliché statements — it takes to be a great football player.

“For that next level, it’s not just who you are as a player … it’s who you are as a person, a teammate, how you are as a competitor.”

While Cody believes his former left tackle has the hops for the NFL, “Nick stands out for all those intangible things that are so hard to find. … It’s

really tough to find a special guy like Nick.”

Although Amoah didn’t attend the NFL combine, his UC Davis Pro Day performance provided scouts with some eye-popping numbers.

Completing the 40-yard sprint in 5.1 seconds, Amoah also bench-pressed 225 pounds 26 times. Both figures would have been top 10 among offensive linemen at the combine.

His 30-inch vertical reach and 8-foot-7 standing broad jump weren’t

chopped liver, either.

“I thought Pro Day went pretty well,” Amoah remembers. “Some of those numbers were pretty good.”

They were “good enough” to ratchet up the number of calls he’s been receiving.

The aerospace science major graduated in December and is encouraged by the recent interest. But stepping back, looking at the franchises interested — Eagles, Bills, Bears and the Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field — how

does this California guy feel about snow and sleet?

“I would be fine,” the 2017 DHS graduate figures. “I guess it would be like going to Lake Tahoe for a few months.”

Amoah says he’s game for whatever comes next.

On the field, he “learned how to use proper technique, more than anything. I always had the athleticism to do it, but the proper technique took a decent while for me to develop.

“But once I learned how

to do that properly … the game slowed down a lot,” Amoah said. “I knew what I needed to do to get where I needed to go versus relying on just athleticism or speed.” Off the field?

“I’ve learned a lot: just from the basics of how to take care of yourself from where you’re living, your apartment, learning how to balance time between football, school, friends. (How to own) mental breaks — which took me

See DRAFT, Page B6

UC Davis athletiCs/CoUrtesy photo

Nick Amoah (73) chases down a UC San Diego player in a non-conference game at UC Davis Health Stadium on Sept. 17, 2022.

Disaster protections won’t fix climate change

By Olivia Brandeis Special to The Enterprise

As a California native, I spent my summers in the sweltering heat. I splashed through the terrible twos in the kiddie pool inflated in my backyard, sashayed into the neighbor’s sprinklers after watching “High School Musical” in fifth grade, and spent countless hours getting lost in the labyrinth of “Water World” as a teen.

I thought this year would be the same — blistering but blissful. But when I woke up in February to snow peppering the peak of Mount Diablo, I sensed that this summer wouldn’t be filled with the usual sunbathing adventures.

For a while, the snow was fun. I watched classmates drive up to the snow after school and experience the winter wonderland for themselves. It was the first time any of us had seen snow since we were young. It felt like a miracle.

Little did we know we were in the eye of the hurricane — the calm before the storm.

For three weeks, Danville was engulfed. A deluge of tropical moisture blanketed my hometown in Contra Costa County and the rest of the state with unrelenting rain and snow. We were bombarded with weather alerts warning of floods and dangerous winds. Lights began to flicker and soon the power went out, leaving us in total darkness, even during school.

Soon, my town, still submerged under floodwater, began to slide. Landslides pitched boulders and soil down canyons, tumbling into oncoming traffic. Piles of debris buried highways and local roads. Flat roads became rollercoasters of warped concrete. The harsh winds knocked trees over like matchsticks.

In the aftermath, I was constantly reminded of the devastation. At school, an oak tree branch tore down the roof of the sports medicine classroom. The beach my family drives to every spring break was flooded beyond repair, leaving thousands of residents homeless. Stanley Dollar Drive, the street I pass every week on my way to work at the animal hospital, was lined with flowers commemorating a man who died after a tree toppled over, crushing him inside his car.

March’s onslaught of destructive storms killed five people in the Bay Area alone.

Just a few months before the storm, researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research reported that climate change had doubled the risk of an extreme storm capable of producing a megaflood in California. This leaves many to wonder, what will it require for California to finally take real, meaningful action?

To be sure, California has taken action to combat the consequences of extreme weather, like landslides. Debris basins — pits carved out of the landscape to catch material flowing downhill — have been commissioned across the state. But basins, which can require a lot of land, can also disrupt the natural ecosystem. Some might not be large enough to protect against future landslides worsened by a warmer climate.

Besides, protective measures hardly scratch the surface of the root problem: climate change. If we want to create real, unfiltered change, we need to start within our own communities — electrifying homes, using clean transportation and reducing our reliance on fossil fuels. Federal programs such as the Home Energy Rebate Program helps cover the cost of switching from gas-powered kitchen appliances to electric versions, promoting a more sustainable future for California.

As summer approaches, I can’t help but wonder if snowy winters and drenched springs are the future that’s been carved out for us. For now, I can only hope – hope that we can work together to protect California by meaningfully addressing climate change.

— Olivia Brandeis lives in the Bay Area and is a student at Monte Vista High School. She wrote this for CalMatters, a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s Capitol works and why it matters.

Foy S. McNaughton President and CEO

Living costs drive 2-tier economy

Why California is what it is — a state with an immense economy but equally immense socioeconomic divisions — is the topic of perpetual academic, media and political debates.

There is one factor, both a cause and an effect, that cannot be debated: California is an enormously expensive place in which to live and work.

And if anything, the relatively high inflation that has plagued the national economy in recent years has exacerbated the angst that Californians were already feeling as they struggled to make ends meet.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s crusade against gasoline refiners, accusing them of price-gouging, exploits that angst by virtue signaling to his constituents that he’s sympathetic to pain in their wallets. However, the state’s high fuel prices are just a tiny fragment of the state’s high cost of living and its corrosive effects.

How high? Insure.com, a website that analyzes insurance costs, recently updated its comprehensive, state-bystate guide to living costs of all kinds, and revealed that it costs 46.8% more to live in California than the national

Phoenix Coalition deserves our backing

average — the third highest behind Hawaii’s 85.5% and 54% in the District of Columbia.

Its high cost of living is the single most important reason why California, despite its world class economy, has the nation’s highest rate of functional poverty, as measured by the U.S. Census Bureau. Its supplemental poverty index is weighted for the cost of living and California’s high costs, especially for housing, drive the state’s ranking.

Moreover, when the nearpoor are added, well over a quarter of Californians are suffering from serious economic stress, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.

High living costs, again particularly for housing, are also a major factor in California’s outflow of population to other states and thus its recent loss of population.

“Since 2015, California has

I support The Davis Phoenix Coalition and their mission of eliminating hate and intolerance in our community.

Though the impetus for their formation was a brutal beating of a gay Davisite, they have worked tirelessly to call out all forms of bigotry (protesting antisemitic graffiti/ banners, murder of unarmed people of color, Muslim travel ban, anti-trans sentiment.) DPC promotes a civic culture that allows all of us to feel safe and welcome.

The anti-trans legislation and invective across the country creates a very frightening and insecure time for gender-expansive and trans kids. In recent weeks, The Phoenix Coalition and their leadership have been unfairly attacked and accused of “preying on vulnerable children.” Yet the truth is the opposite — Rainbow Families and the Davis LGBTQ+ Youth Group (parts of the Phoenix Coalition) provide much needed support to families all over the county raising gender-expansive and trans kids.

R. Burt McNaughton Publisher

Speak

President

experienced net losses of over 500,000 adults who cite housing as the primary reason, according to the Current Population Survey,” PPIC fellows

Hans Johnson and Eric McGhee noted in a recent report. “About half of those who leave the state buy a house in their new state, whereas only one-third of those moving to California buy a house.”

California is several million housing units — the exact number is often debated — short of what it needs to house its people, even despite recent population drops.

Despite much ballyhooed efforts at the state level to increase production, the gap between supply and demand remains largely unchanged, thus putting upward pressure on rents and home prices.

According to the World Population Review, California’s average rent, $1,586 a month, is the third-highest in the nation, topped only by Hawaii and the District of Columbia, and also third highest behind those two markets in median home price at $538,500.

High home prices make ownership an impossible dream for millions of

Please join me in standing up for The Davis Phoenix Coalition. We need the courageous work they do in denouncing hate and creating an inclusive community.

Barbara Clutter Davis

Support a democratic Israel

In a letter to the Enterprise, “Davis’ share of weapons to Israel,” the writer parrots one-sided anti-Israel propaganda from the anti-Israel and antisemitic site U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights — a source well known for its contorted view of U.S. foreign aid to Israel. Its twisted logic can be applied to any recipient of U.S. foreign aid, but it persists in a double standard that is applied solely to Israel, the only democracy in the region, and the Jewish people.

For example, Egypt is second to Israel in its receipt of U.S. military aid. It is a dictatorship headed by a general who seized power in a militar y coup. It imprisons its critics for months or even years without trial. The same is true of dozens of other nations who receive in the aggregate billions of dollars in aid without seriously attempting to be part of the company of

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

U.S. Senate Sen. Dianne Feinstein, 331 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., 20510; 202-224-3841; email: https://www. feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/

e-mail-me

Sen. Alex Padilla, 112 Hart Senate Office

Building, Washington, D.C., 20510; 202224-3553; email: https://www.padilla. senate.gov/contact/contact-form/

House of Representatives

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/

California families, thus explaining why the state has the nation’s second lowest level of families living in homes that they or their families own, 54.6%. New York is the lowest at 53.6%, thanks to New York City’s rentaldominated housing market.

A new study by Moneywise, a website devoted to consumer finance, reveals that first-time home buyers in California would have to cough up the nation’s second highest average down payment, $98,904, topped only by Hawaii’s $110,360.

California’s extremely high housing hurdles not only explain why so many residents are fleeing to other states, but why it’s so difficult for working-class families to build generational wealth via home ownership. It solidifies the state’s two-tier economy — white and Asian Californian majorities in its overclass and Black and Latino Californians dominating the underclass.

Political pontificating about gas prices really misses the point.

— CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters. For more stories by Dan Walters, go to Commentary.

democratic nations.

The Palestinian Authority is one of those purported government recipients of military aid. The writer also neglects to mention that a significant portion of U.S. aid to Israel supports the missile defense system known as the Iron Dome. Israel was the object of more than 4,000 missiles fired by Hamas from Gaza in the last major attack.

Some Israelis were killed, but others were saved by interception of these missiles through US support. Israel now faces missiles from both Hamas in the South and Hezbollah in the North — two terrorist organizations dedicated to its destruction.

To be sure, Israel is not perfect. Neither is this country nor any other that purports to govern itself democratically. Israel is in a transformative time for the structure and operation of its government — the same is true of many other US allies in the Middle East and throughout the world who receive monetary support from our taxpayer’s dollars.

But to suggest that military aid to Israel should be cut off or redirected is oblivious to the facts and the arithmetic of US foreign aid policy.

Barry M. Klein Davis

A genius who always ends up pushing too much

By Llewellyn King

Special to The Enterprise

Ihave watched Rupert Murdoch’s career with admiration, irritation and, sometimes, horror.

His besetting sin is that he goes too far. The fault that has landed Fox News settling with Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million isn’t new in the Murdoch experience.

He is a publishing and television genius. But like many geniuses, his success keeps running away with him — and then he must pay up. He does so without apology and without discernible contrition. Those who know him well tell me he treats his losses with a philosophical shrug.

Murdoch’s talent reaches into many aspects of journalism. He has nerves of titanium in business and a fine ability to challenge the rules — and, if he can, to bend them.

As an employer, he is ruthless and, at times, generous and indulgent. I know many who have worked for Murdoch, and they speak about the contradictions of his ruthlessness and his

commenTary

generosity, particularly to those who have borne the battle of public humiliation for him.

Check out the salaries at Fox News and the London Sun.

The Murdoch story begins, as most know, when he inherited a newspaper from his father. He quickly formed a mini-news empire in Australia.

But Murdoch had his sights set — as many in the former British possessions do — on London and the big time there. While at Oxford, he was hired as a sub-editor at The Daily Express, then owned by another colonial, the formidable Lord Beaverbrook.

In 1968, Murdoch bought The News of the World, a crime-centric Sunday paper. The following year, he bought the avowedly left-wing Sun.

Here Murdoch showed his genius at knowing the makeup of the audience and what it wanted: He flipped The Sun from left politics to the extreme right and, for good measure, stripped the pinups of their bras.

That was a hit with men, and

the politics were a revelation: Murdoch had defined a conservative, loyalist and anti-European vein in the British newspaper readership that hadn’t been mined. He went for it and soon had the largest circulation paper in Britain.

After he bought the redoubtable Times and Sunday Times, the Murdoch invasion was complete. He had also been instrumental in the launch of Sky News. Money rolled in and political power and prestige with it — although there is no evidence that he sought formal preferment, like a peerage.

On to New York and U.S. newspapers.

Here, the formula of sex and nationalism foundered. Murdoch didn’t succeed as an American newspaper proprietor except for deftly keeping The Wall Street Journal a prestige publication.

However, he brilliantly — with several bold moves — built a television network. Then, in the cable division, he applied the British formula: Give the punters what they want.

In Britain, it was sex and nationalism. In America, it was

far-right jingoism.

Murdoch gave it to Americans just as he had given it to the British: in large helpings of conspiracy, paranoia and nationalism.

Royal and celebrity gossip was the mainstay in his tabloids after right-wing Euro-bashing and breast-baring. He paid well for sensationalism, and that attracted a seedy kind of private investigator-journalist, prepared to go further and deeper than his or her colleagues. Corruption of the police was the next step, along with telephone bugging and other egregious transgressions.

Eventually, it all came tumbling down. Murdoch had to appear before a parliamentary committee, fire people and, in a strange move, close The News of the World as though the inanimate newspaper had been breaking the law without anyone knowing.

In fact, he had gone too far. The joyful music of the cash register had led to a wilder and wilder dance. He damaged his legend, his papers and all of Britain’s journalism. He also lost the

opportunity to buy control of Sky News.

But Fox was a joy. Oh, the sweet music and the wild dance! Give them what they want all day and all night. Give them their heroes untrammeled and their own facts. And finally, the election results they, the punters, wanted to believe, not the ones that the polls posted.

You can see the two-tiered approach that has worked so well for Murdoch working again here. Some respectable publications and some vulgar moneymakers, like his respected The Australian and his raucous bigcity tabloids; in Britain, the respected Times and Sunday Times and the ultra-sensational Sun; in America, the respected Wall Street Journal and the disreputable Fox News and his other remaining newspaper, the scalawag New York Post.

For a remarkably gifted man, Murdoch can do some appalling things and has genius without bounds.

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

Awakening elder perspective commenTary

le TTers

Endorsing Wright

By P. Gregory Guss

Special to The Enterprise

Today’s world is rife with

pernicious examples of the failure to nurture hopes, ideals and that which empowers commitment to striving for the betterment of all. We see this failure in the deep divisions in our country, rampant hatred feeding racism, inequalities and greed, and a paralysis surrounding our global climate crisis — vexing issues that require all our personal investment.

In the Westward Expansion of the United States beginning in 1807, Americans went barreling along at breakneck speed, riding in to conquer what was called the Wild West. Congressional expansion blinded and bypassed our consciousness of these actions. The forward thrusting of this history united wayward development with a pernicious greed while throwing out much that was enormously vital, valuable, wise and from the land and native peoples.

After 216 years our culture finds itself in an impoverished state. Overly preoccupied by “youth culture” and all that may keep us forever young. Our modern-day Fountain of Youth has become blinded by the gilded technologies which we revere, if not idolize. Miraculous tools they are, these technologies, but just tools.

A culture seeks sustainability through extracting meaning, understanding historical reflection and intentional awareness. Culture has an obligation, a responsibility if you will, to feed the hopes and aspirations of those it is serving. And the health of any culture is revealed in its imagination, especially its vitality to dream.

The young are assigned the task to live into their dreams that need to be born. They are given this

charge to attend to the dreams that speak for us all. Such cultural assignments however, are done unbeknownst to those who then carry out these charges.

The mission of the aging adult is to accompany and nurture those dreams (and dreamers) with yielding curiosity. This nurturing of aspirations and future ideals is sadly and profoundly neglected in our American culture, resulting in the crisis of imagination in which we find ourselves.

Many of us recognize the stark difference between an older (one who ages), versus an Elder, who intentionally and consciously wants to be an active resource to following generations. Some Elders are heeding the call to serve the many needs that our young counterparts are holding alone, the dreams that must be nurtured together.

But how does a culture survive and replenish, when not enough have picked-up the mantle, to identify themselves as Elders? Perhaps a prime component that must be addressed is to change our cultural-narrative on what it means to call oneself an Elder.

Too frequently there is an implicit assumption that Elders ought to have all the answers, or have "exemplary" wisdom. Rather, the power of Elders lies in their support to the emerging generation’s prominent and dynamic tasks.

Cultivating hope, dreams and aspirations for the betterment and advancement of our world, is their calling. The Elder’s response is to create that patterning realm that "we are in this together." We know if older individuals show-up with their gifts, listening from their perspective, with intentions to

steward and guide from a loving investment, they impart a form of miraculous wisdom; a wisdom of connection. As we age, giving ourselves over to that which is far larger than any one individual, our task forward touches generativity.

It is said that the antidote to the fears of mortality is meaningfulness!

Younger people benefit enormously by being recognized, respected and supported (partnered) by Elders. Such collaboration helps hone the young person’s outlook, as they find their way through the maze of our cultural crises while discovering their own unique contributions to the larger community. Such relationships are often seen as the medicine many seek. It’s beneficial to ourselves, to our younger generations, and to the community that has been built from such investments of soul. As more of us take-up the conscious decision of embracing our potential as Elders, hope in the land is once again restored. Elderhood is such a lesson! A loving offering to partner, to witness and to know that within the emerging generations lives a longing, a very prominent longing to be seen and understood, so that their dreams and ours too remain inextricably linked.

I am most pleased to facilitate organized discussions on this topic through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, (OLLI), in May this year. The two sessions, (May 11 and 18) are titled: “The Elder’s Role in a Time of Crisis of Imagination.” For more information please contact OLLI at: olli@ucdavis.edu.

— P. Gregory Guss, LCSW, is a semi-retired psychotherapist, a community organizer, and an artist. He and his wife of 41 years are longtime Davis residents.

I write to support the election of Francesca Wright for City council. I have known and worked with Francesca for over a decade. While I was faculty advisor to the chancellor and director of a sixuniversity international consortium, she worked with me as analyst on projects related to cities, sustainability, STEM education, refugees, gender and justice issues, and far more.

The work required developing proposals; communicating with international partners; organizing workshops, lectures and conferences; fostering partnerships with local, regional, and international partners — and, most importantly, bringing people to the table to work together across fields, disciplines, languages and countries. Francesca excelled.

She is committed to cities, sustainability, and social justice. She is committed to listening. She is committed to partnerships. She is committed to helping partners come together to arrive at best solutions. She is committed to the Davis community.

Her years of service to Davis and the region, her understanding of local problems, her wide-ranged networking within the community on behalf of the community and her dedication to serve — all make her an outstanding candidate for Davis City Council, and will make her a leading voice for critical local and regional issues.

Suad Joseph Davis

Donna for Davis

I am thrilled to voice my support for Donna Neville for the Davis City Council. As a current council member I have had the pleasure to see Donna serve our community in many ways, both on our city commissions and in our nonprofits.

As a liaison to the Finance and Budget Commission, I was able to see her chair many meetings that required strong collaboration, reconciling many differing perspectives. Her calm but persistent approach facilitated the work of that commission in a way that resulted in feasible, practical solutions that saved the city money. We just recently approved a recommendation she worked on with a fellow commissioner that is projected to save the city a substantial amount of money on loan interest costs.

I also appreciate her incredible work with NAMI Yolo County as the board president, where she advocates for the rights of individuals with a serious mental illness and their families. I understand how difficult it can be to lead non-profits, advocating for the needs of those who are often overlooked. Donna has also been

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Draft: http://wp.me/p3aczg-4iGV

“I

instrumental in securing grant funding for critical mental health services. She just recently secured $650,000 in grant funding for multiple programs.

Our community would certainly benefit from her on the council. Her work has already helped our city in many ways; being on the council will allow her to impact the issues even more directly. She will not just provide ideas but will be able to implement ideas into tangible solutions. I urge you to vote for Donna by May 2.

Gloria Partida Davis

Neville is ready

I am writing to express my support for Donna Neville for Davis City Council.

As a state senator, I served on the Joint Legislative Audit Committee that directed the California State Auditor’s Office to investigate state and local agencies and programs throughout California and to hold them accountable. As chief counsel to the state auditor, Donna Neville worked on virtually every aspect of state and local government.

I had the privilege to see Donna’s work firsthand. Her audit presentations were clear and action-oriented, and even when hearings became contentious, she handled the situation with poise and professionalism. The work resulted in real change.

She would bring to the City Council a clear understanding of the hard issues cities face and the tools that are available to deal with them. Her understanding of public finance will be especially invaluable given the revenue shortfall the City continues to face.

District 3 is the heart of our city. Within its boundaries one finds the downtown, Central Park, Community Park, City Hall, the Senior Center, the library, Davis High School, the main transit hub, and the overnight shelter. The heart has been without representation for months.

Donna is the leader we need at a critical point for our future. Let’s put Donna to work. She is ready.

Lois Wolk Former state senator

We welcome your letters

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Sending lots of love to Watermelon Music

Like many Davisites, I received on April 11 in my email inbox a message with the subject, “Upcoming events and a plea for help.”

It came from Watermelon Music owner, Jeff Simons, and it was a heartfelt note about the financial devastation that has hit the store since a pandemic closed the world for a while. Wendy Weitzel wrote about it in last week’s column (https://www. davisenterprise.com/news/community-has-a-heart-for-watermelon-music/), and I’ve been following the GoFundMe page obsessively. It’s a very uplifting story unfolding.

At the time of this writing, the fundraiser is $795 short of its $104,000 goal. Let me repeat ... 871 donations have been made to Watermelon Music, totaling $103,205 over the past couple of

weeks. Because this town is awesome.

And because Watermelon Music has been an awesome asset in Davis for more than 20 years. Personally, I remember going to the downtown location in 2006 to rent a violin for our older son and being enchanted by the store. Obviously, we’d also gone in a handful of times prior to that so our kids could shake the little noisemaker egg thingies or strum some strings on a guitar. But this was the first time we felt like real musicians.

And this feeling continued when our younger son rented his first violin at Watermelon, then years’ worth of instruments for both kids’ school bands and orchestras. Our devotion to the store grew as both sons took lessons there, and we bought a variety of horns, guitars, basses, amps and other accoutrements for their garage bands.

The point of all this reminiscing is that I had a great impression of Watermelon Music and have been a devoted customer for the past 17 years. But the outpouring from others has been a joy to see, along with Simons’ response to that outpouring.

Here’s a sampling of messages from donors on the GoFundMe page:

“Watermelon Music makes such a contribution to Davis and

the surrounding community.

Our two girls participated in music throughout their time in the Davis schools. If not for Jeff Simons and Watermelon Music, where would they have gotten their first trumpet and violin?

The joy of music may be one of the only things we can all agree on right now. And boy do we need some common ground!”

“Watermelon Music has been so generous with me over the past 22 years of making music in Davis. Thank you for all the teacher discounts — I am paying some of them back now. Thanks also for the special orders, free advice, instrument consignment, free string replacement, and the cool events at the Melon Ball.

Watermelon Music has tremendous value in my life and in this town!

“Music education depends on

the strength of a town’s local music store. What Watermelon provides cannot be replicated on a website. They are as vital to this community as the post office or the local library.”

Simons is mentioned directly by many of the commenters as being incredibly helpful and supportive of the community, and in his reply to all this generosity he said, “My optimism and love for what I do have been fully restored thanks to this outpouring of kindness and love.”

We love you, too. And as I finish this column, another $50 donation has come in — only $745 to go.

— Tanya Perez lives in Davis with her family. Her column is published every other Sunday. Reach her at pereztanyah@ gmail.com. Follow her on Twitter at @californiatanya.

We’re helping children and families to thrive

Big Day of Giving is on May 4

By Pat Stromberg Special to the Enterprise

April is Child Abuse Prevention month.

Did you know, one in four children will experience abuse and neglect before adulthood? Children experiencing the toxic stress of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are more likely to suffer mental and physical illness as adults.

This can negatively impact education, job opportunities, and earning potential. The impact of ACEs on our children, families, and community is costly with a long-term impact.

We need to take a preventative approach.

Since 2001, the Yolo Crisis Nursery has been a safe haven for children younger than 5 years old and their families when they have nowhere to turn. The nursery’s programs protect children from immediate harm and create lasting change by breaking generational cycles of abuse and neglect.

The nursery’s professionally trauma-trained staff identify and alleviate the impacts of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE’s) and toxic stress on children’s wellbeing and healthy development.

Children are incredibly resilient and with early intervention and trauma informed care, the impact of ACEs can be reduced over time.

The power of the nursery’s programs is most evident through the successes of our clients. I am honored to share a Yolo Crisis Nursery dad’s story in his own words. His dedication and love for his children

By Andy Jones

Special to The Enterprise

1. Internet and Technology Culture. Which of the following was closest to the diameter of the polished metal sphere known as Sputnik: 23 inches, 23 feet, or 23 yards?

2. Pop Culture – Music. What German electronic music band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider takes its name from the German word for “power station”?

3. Great Americans.

Which U.S. president signed the Fair Labor Standards Act that established a five-day, 40-hour workweek for many workers?

4. Spanish Words. What

Yolo Crisis NurserY

hrough tremendous adversity is amazing.

“I am a dad and a student. Being a dad to my kids is so important to me because I was born into foster care and raised in the juvenile justice system. Six to seven years ago, I had made enough mistakes in my life that hopelessness led to addiction. In early 2022, I was able to turn this all around and get help.

“ Then, on Jan. 13, 2023, my world went up in flames. Our home burned down and my family and I escaped with our lives in our pajamas and slippers. We lost everything including our two kittens.

“In the first few days after the fire, we bounced around from agency to agency to secure, shelter, clothing and food. The kids and I were all so fragile. It was an unreal feeling to finally get a change of clothes and ditch the pajamas and slippers!

“Rebuilding was overwhelming and confusing. I called the Yolo Crisis Nursery and was invited to come in.

“I was greeted with the question, ‘What can we help you with?’ I told them I felt like I was suffocating, and asked for someone to help with my kids so I could breathe again. Then shared my story of being alone with my kids, my children’s healing, the challenges of getting a computer for my master’s program classes, paying rent, finding a job as a caseworker, and my dream to open a community

achievement center to address issues like the ones I was currently and had previously experienced.

“Wait — hold up, someone is listening! If I can just have a little time, I can go to interviews to secure a job, so I can pay for my own hotels and buy a car… inhale… just a little time to study, so I don’t lose my way in school, and to have my therapy appointment. No sad look from Eostra, she just had an interested twinkle and said “We can help you.” She didn’t judge me for anything. She understood the depths to my story and what I needed.

“Eostra sent us home to rest with a care package — generously loaded with toys for my children, much needed underwear and clothes for my toddlers, and food. She asked us to return next week. When we

got back to the hotel, I finally was able to breathe as my kids played with the new toys. We shared the rest of the weekend together as a family. That breath gave me the second wind I needed to find a job and new home.

“Fast-forward 35 days and we had a new loft home, I was employed and current in my master’s program classes, my children enrolled in a wonderful school, and had adopted a new kitten. I remain focused on my family’s healing, my recovery, my education, and dream to open a community achievement center.

“ Yolo Crisis Nursery’s support and encouragement to continue fighting forward helped me be the dad I wanted to be for my kids after our world went up in flames. We are truly grateful for everyone who

has supported my family through this trying time. To those experiencing a challenging time, keep going and don’t give up!

Thank you.”

Last year the Yolo Crisis Nursery served 836 children and their families with tremendous success. In fact, 98% of the respite care families ser ved by the Nursery last year, did not enter child welfare services. The Nursery has never turned a child in need away. We need your support.

On Thursday, May 4, the Sacramento Regional Community will come together for the Big Day of Giving or BDOG. A 24-hour generosity movement and opportunity to rally around our local nonprofits. We hope you will Give to Help Children and Families Thrive in 2023. Every gift, no matter the

size, makes a difference. Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, Andrew and Thea Minsk, Brian and Stephanie Rubinstein, Rubinstein Family Foundation, and Michael and Mary Patricia Whelan-Miille, there has never been a better time to give — the first $40,000 in Big Day of Giving donations to the Yolo Crisis Nursery will be matched dollar-for-dollar!

You can schedule your gift now by visiting our website at www.yolocrisisnursery.org or by mailing a check to 1107 Kennedy Place, Suite 5, Davis, CA 95616, or you can donate online on May 4! Thank you for helping children and families thrive in Yolo County.

Pat Stromberg is a member of the Yolo Crisis Nursery’s Board of Directors..

neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles takes its name from the Spanish word for “oak”?

5. Red State Culture. Only one red state, and it is deeply red, has a higher percentage of its adults with a bachelor’s degree than California does. Name this state of about 3.39 million people.

Answers: 23 inches, Kraftwerk, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Encino, Utah.

— Dr. Andy Jones is the quizmaster at de Vere’s Irish Pub and author of the book “Pub Quizzes: Trivia for Smart People.” Dr. Andy is now also sharing his pub quizzes via Patreon. Find out more at www.yourquizmaster.com.

CourtesY photo

Yolo Crisis Nursery, protecting children and helping parents be the best moms and dads they can be.

By Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

Proposed bill could bench coaches, ADs B

LAME THE COACH ... Said the headline in the esteemed Oregonian out of Portland: “College coaches, ADs could be suspended for bad fan behavior under proposed Oregon House bill.”

You read that right.

“Under the proposed bill, coaches and athletic directors could face one-week suspensions if fans at Oregon or Oregon State games “engage in the use of derogatory or inappropriate names, insults, verbal assaults, profanity or ridicule in violation of equity focused policies.”

But what if the home fans don’t like the coach or athletic director and would be just fine with having them suspended?

What if fans of the visiting team pose as fans of the home team and misbehave?

And, finally, what happened to the First Amendment to the United States Constitution? If a fan boos a call by an official, will the game be halted and both the head coach and the athletic director be removed from the arena?

Doesn’t it make more sense to remove the actual perpetrator and leave everyone else alone?

The bill was originally marked as “emergency legislation,” and thus would have gone into effect immediately if

passed. Fortunately, many Oregonians have been asking the same question listed above and the bill was quickly amended to avoid throwing coaches and ADs in the slammer.

Still, if calling a referee a disrespectful name is considered an emergency in the state of Oregon, those folks have a whole lot less to worry about than the rest of us.

WIN OR ELSE ... If you think that bigtime college athletics are strictly about teamwork and learning life lessons, think again.

The University of Iowa has actually spelled out in dollars and cents what it expects of its football coaches, and it has nothing to do with a student-athlete’s grade point average.

This from ESPN: “Iowa announced

contract amendments for football offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz with incentive-based opportunities after the Hawkeyes had a statistically poor offensive performance in 2022.”

Turns out Iowa managed an average of just 17.69 points a game last fall.

“In the new contract, Ferentz will make a base salary of $850,000 and will be able to have his contract reinstated to a two-year rolling agreement with a bonus and salary adjustment if the team meets certain requirements.”

If you’re sitting down with a tall, cold drink, I will proceed to list those requirements.

The team needs to score at least 25 points per game and win a minimum of seven games in 2023 for Ferentz to hit his goals. He’ll receive up to $112,500 in bonus money if he hits all the incentives.”

So let’s say Iowa scores only 10 points in its first game and just 10 more in its second game. At this point Coach Ferentz will be wondering how he’ll ever pay the mortgage.

But in the third game Iowa faces Cupcake College from the Bakery League and takes a 40-0 lead into the final five minutes of the game. Under normal circumstances this would be the time to put in the reser ves and try not to further

embarrass the opposition.

But coach Ferentz will be faced with a dilemma. Even with the 40 points in this one game, Iowa will still have only 60 points for the year, an average of only 20 points a game with a dwindling number of games remaining to get that average up to 25. Bye bye bonus.

Let’s just say the University of Iowa will not be taking a knee in 2023.

DON’T MESS WITH THE NCAA

The once-powerful National Collegiate Athletic Association, which used to bust coaches for so much as buying a burger for a hungry student-athlete, is doing everything it can to hold onto whatever authority it has left.

The latest victim of NCAA overreach is Tony Annese, head football coach at Ferris State of Michigan, which last fall won the Division II national championship.

Turns out the NCAA has suspended Annese for one game if Ferris State reaches the Division II playoff again, this because after the 2022 championship game two of his players lit celebratory cigars in the locker room.

I am not making this up.

— Contact Bob Dunning at bdunning@davisenterprise.net.

Next stop: Las Vegas

The result is now official. Sort of.

On Wednesday, the Oakland Athletics purchased a 49-acre parcel of land in Las Vegas. The team says it will build a stadium seating 30,000 to 35,000 and expect to take occupancy in 2027.

What this means for the remainder of this season, and the three that will follow it, is anybody’s guess.

DRAFT: Fixing up ‘75 motorcycle

From Page B1

a long time to get down,” Amoah continues.

“Learning how to learn. In high school I didn’t have to study much … but in college you can’t get away with that.”

In engineering, Amoah admits to hours and hours of studying a single concept: “It may seem simple, but it takes a long time to learn it, then practicing it over and over again.”

With spring workouts behind him and the draft at hand, Amoah is taking a deep breath before watching the NFL festivities at home with his parents, Sharon Radke and Victor Amoah, as well as other family members and friends.

And what if his football career is behind him?

“Maybe (I’ll) work for a couple of years, then go back to grad school,”

Amoah explains, adding that the exercise now is to figure out what he wants to do for graduate work.

“I would like to go into sustainable aviation, sustainable vehicles, in general, because I think there

are a lot of interesting ways in which to help the environment — produce new, exciting technology,” the straight-A student points out.

After he spent time designing futuristic cars in high school, Amoah’s current project is converting a 40-year-old motorcycle from gasoline to electric power.

He’s waiting for a redesigned motor to be shipped from China: “It’s an off-the-shelf motor, and they just customize it to the voltage, speed and range you’re looking for.”

Amoah sees the task as simple: With that 1975 Honda 250cc motorcycle, it’s removed the gas engine, replace the battery and, once it is fully electric, be able to go on a “green cruise” at 80 mph.

However, after the draft, maybe Amoah can start tinkering on an allelectric Bentley.

— Bruce Gallaudet is the former Davis Enterprise editor and sports editor. He can be reached at bgallaudet41@ gmail.com.

chrisToph lossin/enTerprise phoTo Davis middle blocker Ethan Wells flies into the air to attack the volleyball in Wednesday’s non-league match against Antelope inside the South Gym. local roundup

DHS boys volleyball wins again

Enterprise staff

The Davis High boys volleyball team wasted no time in beating Cosumnes Oaks on Thursday.

Davis (8-2 in the Delta League, 16-6) defeated the visiting Wolfpack in straight sets; the final scores were 25-13, 25-12, 25-17.

Liam Langley had 18 assists against Cosumnes Oaks (1-9 in the Delta, 1-11).

Ethan Wells had 11 kills for DHS.

Liam Langley followed with six kills.

Owen Buzbee and Langley had six and five aces respectively. Buzbee had 14 digs and Gabriel Crawford seven.

The Blue Devils continue league action at Sheldon on Tuesday. Then DHS closes out the regular season hosting Pleasant Grove.

Both matches are scheduled to start at 6 p.m.

UCD softball

The UC Davis softball team (10-5 in the Big West Conference, 24-13, 10-5 overall) returns to the friendly confines of La Rue Field for a three-game Big West Conference series against UC San Diego (15-25, 5-10) this weekend.

The Aggies will play a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 and 3 p.m., and will wrap up the series on Sunday at 11 a.m. UCD beat CSU Northridge in two of three conference games last weekend in Northridge.

Kenedi Brown and Caroline Grimes pitched a combined 14 innings against CSUN on April 14, and allowed only seven runs over those innings.

Anna Dethlefson went 4-for-7 to lead the Aggies at the dish.

Dethlefson has been an absolute thief

on the basepaths this season, swiping 31 stolen bases in 32 attempts. The UCD single season Division I record is 37, held by Brianna Warner done in 2016.

Aggie senior Sommer Kisling is on the verge of breaking the program’s Division I record for career games played. The Torrance native enters the UCSD series with 208 career games played, one behind the mark of 209 held by Christa Castello.

Kisling, who has played in all 37 contests this season is in line to break the record in game two on Saturday.

La Rue Field was the centerpiece of celebration on Saturday.

The Aggies are welcomed back their alumni and recognizing the 20-year anniversary of the 2003 national championship team.

The head coach of that championship squad, Kathy DeYoung will be celebrated and remembered before the first game. The Hall of Fame coach died from cancer this offseason.

Aggie women’s water polo

The UC Davis women’s water polo team played its final Big West Conference matchup of the season when it played at No. 4 Hawai’i to take on the Rainbow Wahine.

UCD currently occupy fourth place in the Big West standings at 3-3, but UC San Diego (3-3 in the Big West) have the opportunity to snatch that position on the last day of the season.

The Aggies were last in action on April 15, when Long Beach State edged the Aggies 13-12 in overtime.

Ally Clague, Alyssa Lengtat and Noelle Wijnbelt tallied multiple goals in the contest.

Continue to play in Oakland, where “crowds” are anemic?

Play temporarily in Las Vegas’s Triple-A ballpark?

Who knows?

Right now, no one.

While the A’s continued negotiating with the city of Oakland on a new ballpark site near the HowardTerminal, team owner John Fisher and president Dave Kaval have had their sights set on Vegas for quite some time. All we know for sure is the A’s will be on the move for the third time.

They played as the Philadelphia A’s from 1901-54, relocated to Kansas City from 195567 and uprooted to Oakland in 1968.

The Bay Area was a 1-team locale from 1958, when the San Francisco Giants packed up and moved West from New York, to ‘68 when the A’s set up shop across the Bay. While it is true that baseball owners blocked a potential Giants move to St. Petersburg in the early 1990s, the climate of ownership has changed from then to now. A bit of perspective:

When the A’s, a wretched franchise under the ownership of Charles O. Finley, abandoned Kansas City for Oakland, KC was awarded an expansion franchise.

The Royals began play in 1969, so the city was without baseball for just one season. The longtime radio and television color man on UC Davis football broadcasts, Doug Kelly is director of communications for Battlefields2Ballfields and managing general partner of Kelly & Associates. Contact him at DKelly1416@aol.com.

Wayne Tilcock/enTerprise file phoTo

Donning a DHS football uniform, Nick Amoah (72) gets ready to block a Franklin player in a Delta League game at Ron and Mary Brown Stadium on Oct. 14, 2016.