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

'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.