Daily Republic, Sunday, October 2, 2022

Glen Faison GFAISON@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — A committee has been established to consider a request to alter the name of the Vanden High School stadium to honor slain student and football player Daniel Hughes, the father of the teen reports.

The committee’s first meeting is scheduled at 4:30 p.m. Monday at the Travis Education Center, 2775 De Ronde Drive, Dejon Daniel Hughes said.

District officials since midweek have failed to respond to a request from the Daily Republic to confirm

the specifics of the meeting.

Daniel Dejon Hughes, 17, was a junior at Vanden High when he was shot on Easter Sunday in 2021 and died 14 days later on April 18, 2021. The criminal case against the suspected shooter is making its way through the courts.

Dejon Hughes has been trying for months to get some sort of recognition for his son. He has petitioned the Travis School Dis trict governing board for support and has sought help from the Fair field City Council.

Members of the community came to a Travis school board meeting in March to urge the

board to alter the name of the Vanden High stadium to include reference to Daniel Hughes.

Mark Null, a Vanden football coach, spoke at that school board meeting about Daniel Hughes’ ability to be a great mentor to other students.

“When he was on the field, it was electric,” Null said.

Null talked about how Hughes was a friend and a huge part of the school community.

Isaiah Carter, a Vanden High School alumnus, had at that point received 1,700 signatures for a

Cousins relate stories of their Solano-founding family at Peña Adobe event

site, no one was allowed into the house.

VACAVILLE — A Vic torian-era doll, gifted to the Peña family, stands on a chair in one of the rooms at the historic Peña Adobe.

The home was built in 1842, about five years into Queen Victoria’s 64-year reign over the British kingdom.

But this family’s story goes back to what is now New Mexico, a north eastern part of Mexico that had its own culture and heritage, which Juan Felipe and Ysbel Peña brought with them to the Lagoon Valley area.

The doll is believed to be a funerary doll, or Victorian mourning doll, which would be laid on the grave of a child who had died.

Cecelia Peña, the great-grandaughter of Juan Peña, who was the Peña’s fourth of five sons, said when the first youth camp was

The children would sleep in teepees or similar era-styled accom modations, and when they awakened each morning, the doll, with its creepy bluish-gray tinted face – would be staring at them from a different window.

“And because no one was allowed into the Adobe, the only way it could move was on her own,” Peña said. “So I have met so many trau matized kids.”

The story certainly grabs the attention of vis itors, and allows Peña and her cousin, Darlene Stewart, also a fifth-gen eration Peña from the same family line as her cousin, to tell the more important legacy narra tive of their family.

Sharon Kersten, a sixth-generation member of the family down from the line of the oldest son, Jesus, came over

FAIRFIELD — Solano County supervisors this week disagreed with the need for a single fire department for the unin corporated area and said distributing Proposition 172 public safety funds to fire agencies was not going to happen.

Those responses were within the three issued to the 2021-22 civil grand jury report calling for

more cooperation and better communications among the cities and county during disasters.

There was no dis agreement on the broader communica tion issues.

“ ‘Chaos!’ is how some firefighters described the first hours of the LNU fire (August 2020) as it jumped county lines and began its trek into Solano County. The Solano County civil grand jury learned that

the ‘chaos’ came from various failings as fire fighters rushed to stop the inferno’s progress. The problems went from

difficulty communicating between the multi ple firefighters trying

Todd R. H ansen THANSEN@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

Todd R. H ansen THANSEN@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

Stewart, right,

Stewart

family who settled

Solano County

women

Hispanic

Month event held at the park.

Aaron Rosenblatt/Daily Republic

DeJon Hughes, father of slain student and football player Daniel Hughes, stands on the field during a football practice at Vanden High School in Fairfield, Thursday. A

committee has been established to consider a request to alter the name of the Vanden High School football stadium to honor Daniel Hughes.

We’re outnumbered by ants; it’s not even remotely close

In what will come as no surprise to Solano County residents, there are a lot of ants in the world.

A lot.

An estimated 20 quadrillion. Seriously. That’s the estimate of the number of ants by a group of scientists from the University of Hong Kong (which locals presum ably call UHK) in a paper on the subject recently released by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Brad Stanhope Like I was sayin’

Here’s how 20 quadrillion looks in digits: 20,000,000,000,000,000. That’s 20,000 trillion, or more than the number of Wade brothers who have their columns published in the Daily Republic.

In the study, the scientists looked at nearly 500 studies.

They concluded the total mass of ants on Earth was 12 mega tons of dry carbon, which is apparently how scientists measure animals’ biomass.

Do you understand dry carbon megatons? Me neither, but here’s how that was explained: If all the living ants were plucked from the ground and put on a scale, they would out weigh all the wild birds and mammals. Combined. Remem ber, blue whales are mammals. So are elephants and the person who sat in the middle seat next to you the last time you flew. Combined, all the mammals and birds on Earth weigh less than all the ants.

For anyone who has endured an invasion of ants – around this region, it seems to most

frequently happen during a heat wave or during the rainiest times (or, frankly, anytime) – that number is high but not outrageous. Recently, Mrs. Brad and I endured a twofront war with the ants at Casa de Stanhope, as the bug invaded the kitchen and a bedroom. They just kept coming and coming, like a zombie apoc alypse. We tried to kill the explorers, but it didn’t matter. More ants explored, ultimately leading their six-legged friends on a march through our house.

I had a curious realization: The ants I’m most likely to per sonally kill (using my fingers to squash them) are the explorers. They’re the Lewis and Clark ants who set out to determine where the rest of their commu nity should go. Once the mass of ants comes, it’s overwhelm ing and I either spray them or

we put out poison they allegedly take back to their colony.

But I respect the hustle of the Lewis and Clark ants (by the way, I call them that not because of 19th-century explor ers Lewis and Clark, but after Darren Lewis and Will Clark, two mainstays of the late-1980s Giants). Really, my vengeance should be targeted against the zombies who follow them and swarm our garbage can or any thing left on a counter.

But back to the ant census. While 20 quadrillion ants or 12 megatons of dry carbon are obviously huge numbers, they don’t really mean anything to us. A better way was pre sented in their study: There are 2.5 million ants for every person on Earth.

Two point five million per person. That means you can multiply the number of people

in your household by 2.5 million and . . . realize you’re fighting a losing battle.

The realization we’re outnumbered (and by out numbered, I mean it’s not even close) is offset by the rec ognition that ants perform a valuable service. They aerate the ground. They pull seeds underground, where they can sprout. They eat dead wood in forests to keep those areas healthy. They serve as food for countless other animals.

Ants form the backbone of Earth. It’s worth remembering.

Because even if it weren’t true, we’re not winning this war. The ants have us outnumbered.

Reach Brad Stanhope at bradstanhope@outlook.com.

PG&E marks 100th year of Vaca-Dixon substation

I an Thompson ITHOMPSON@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

VACAVILLE — Dixon Mayor Steve Bird had been fascinated by the Spanish Renaissance-style Vaca-Dixon substation east of Vacaville just north of Interstate 80 ever since he was a child in the family car passing by it.

“I have always wanted to go inside, and now I can,” Bird said Friday at Pacific Gas & Elec tric Company’s centennial celebration of the sub station’s coming on line to provide power to the growing electrical needs of the region.

That look inside was historically impressive since the building is now home to a museum that preserves the power com pany’s heritage through artifacts, photos and doc uments that range from early linemens’ safety gear and repair trucks to transformers and scale models of power lines.

“I am so impressed by what PG&E is doing,” Fairfield Mayor Harry Price said of the museum that showcases what it

took to bring energy to the region.

Price further voiced support for PG&E to open the museum to tours by school students “to show them the changes that have made our life so much better.”

Joe Wilson, vice pres ident of PG&E’s North Valley and Sierra Region, said that is one of the things PG&E plans to do with the museum in the substation’s main genera tor building.

The museum is the brainchild of employees Jim Patchen and Grace Eng, who spent the past few years collecting and preparing for display arti facts and documents from throughout the region that date all the way back to the company’s beginning.

The preservation efforts continued even during the celebration when a couple showed Patchen photos they brought with them of PG&E’s early work elec trifying Nevada County.

The gathering had more than 300 people, mainly PG&E employees and community repre

sentatives from Dixon, Vacaville and Fairfield.

It was not as grandiose as the Sept. 30, 1922, dual ceremony held at both the Pit River No. 1 plant in Shasta County and at the Vaca-Dixon substation whose attendance topped an estimated 6,000 people and closed all the busi nesses in Vacaville and Dixon for the day.

The Pit River plant, the Vaca-Dixon substation and the transmission line that connected them was the most ambitious PG&E project at the time. Wilson said Vaca-Dixon was the largest such station in the world then and the transmission line was the longest at the time.

“It was a marvel of engineering,” Wilson said. “It was a celebration of what electricity could do to empower our community.”

Both in 1922 and now, PG&E held dual celebrations here and at Pitt River.

The big moment in 1922 came when thenPG&E Vice President John Britton at the substa tion phoned then-PG&E President Wigginton E.

Fairfield Planning Commission OKs 130-unit apartment complex

DaIly RepublIc sTaff DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — The Planning Commission has approved a 130-unit apartment complex at the southwest corner of Sunset and East Tabor avenues.

“The apartments will be sited within 26 two- to three-story buildings and include 90 two-bedroom units and 40 three-bed

room units. Additionally, the project will include a single-story leasing office, recreational amenities, parking, landscaping and associated site improve ments,” the staff report to the commission states.

The project sits on an 8.71-acre site. However, the City Council will have to approve annex ation of about 2.82 acres for the project to move forward. The council

also has to approve a zoning change from a Low Medium Density residen tial district to a Medium Density district.

The applicant was Ryan Keith, of TK Con sulting Inc., a real estate consulting firm working on behalf of the property owner, Fair field Terryland.

The unanimous deci sion by the commission was taken Wednesday.

Creed at Pit River No. 1 to send the power to Vacav ille, Patchen said.

“The machinery in the substation suddenly sounded a high-pitched roar,” and the incom ing power fueled an electric motor that raised an American flag, a news paper article from that time stated.

Prior to the Pit 1 Pow erhouse, electricity to the Vacaville area was essen tially provided by a series of local petroleum genera tors, PG&E reports. Once the substation came online, PG&E was able to harness the power of hydroelec tricity by connecting the Vaca-Dixon station to the Pit 1 Powerhouse.

Friday’s ceremony also raised an American flag to mark the centennial.

PG&E officials introduced descendants of Creed and Britton who were in attendance.

PG&E officials said they are still in the planning stages of how they will grant access to the museum by the public, most probably by appointment with an emphasis given to schools in the region.

The Vaca-Dixon Sub station remains a key piece of PG&E’s regional infrastructure. It supports a network of power trans mission lines and acts as one of the gateways for power to the San Fran cisco Bay Area.

Much of the power it receives is from PG&E’s fleet of hydro electric powerhouses in faraway mountain ranges,

company representatives Megan McFarland and Paul Moreno report.

PG&E during the cere monies Friday presented $50,000 grants to the Solano County Office of Education and the Shasta County Office of Education to be desig nated to local schools for STEM education.

“PG&E is investing in our schools and our young people,” said Lisette Estrella-Henderson, Solano County Superin tendent of Schools said in a prepared statement released by McFarland and Moreno. “When we think about the jobs that are available in the energy industry, not only for today but in the years to come, PG&E is really investing in our future.”

Waterfront Festival hits right sounds, though some think not enough notes

Todd R. H ansen THANSEN@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

SUISUN CITY — Illis tine Banks was leaning back in her chair and relaxing under the canopy of her Illistine’s Crochet Boutique vendor domain.

The hard work is done.

“I crocheted every stitch. That’s why I’m just sitting back listening to the music and watch ing people. I’ve done the work, now I’m chilling,” said Banks, who was offer ing her goods at the 18th annual Art, Wine and Live Music Waterfront Festival for the first time.

She said the response has been pretty good, and the atmosphere was even better.

“I have never been to this event, and I had nothing to do but the laundry so here I am,” said Claire Singh, a new comer to Fairfield.

Julie Salcedo of Fairfield is a regular at the event.

“It’s just wonderful and it’s a perfect day,” said Salcedo, who is going home with a new hand made table. “I love all the crafts, all the crafts people . . . I always find some thing to buy.”

Shuffle kept the crowd

tapping their feet – some groovin’ with the rock and country sounds – and when the band wasn’t playing, the two sons of the lead singer Paula Elliott took over – dar ingly leaping over and over again from the top concrete step to the sidewalk below.

Tina Brown of Vacav ille said she loves the wine and was not shy about going back for seconds, even thirds. But she had traveled over from Vacaville thinking she would get a little more musical variety. The

band’s name, she said, left her the impression she was going to get a bit of R&B and soul.

“They would make (the festival) better by offer ing a variety of music,” Brown said.

More than 70 vendor booths were set up for the event sponsored by the Suisun City Historic Waterfront Busi ness District.

There was food, arts and crafts, art, manufac tured good, children’s books, lots of jewelry and clothing options and much, much more.

But for Ricky Alex ander, it was just background.

He was settled back on the edge of his hatchback, his fishing rod leaning on the iron fence above the quiet harbor waters, waiting for a striper to get interested.

It was the begin ning of his birthday celebration. He will turn 41 Monday, and the party includes a trip to watch the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams playing the rival San Francisco 49ers.

Lambtown returns to Dixon May Fair after virtual, 2-year growth experience

Todd R. H THANSEN@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

DIXON — Robin Lynde finished putting together her gallery show at The Artery in Davis just in time to gather up her exhibit items for the return Saturday of the Lambtown festival at the Dixon May Fair.

The event, back in-per son after a two-year Covid hiatus, is expected to draw as many as 4,000 people over its two-day run that continues from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Rory Clemes, the president of the Dixon Lambtown USA Associ ation, said the pandemic break proved to be an unexpected, albeit a virtual, success that broadened the customer base of the event.

“We had one lady from Germany who joined us,” Clemes said.

He noted a number of people who were intro duced to Lambtown through the virtual events have made their way to Dixon this year, includ ing some from Maine and Texas. A number of those individuals came for the professional workshops that are held Thursday and Friday prior to the festival.

“Our mission state ment is to celebrate all things sheep, lambs and wool,” Clemes said, “and everything we do here is

through that lens.”

There was a dog dem onstration and various competitions for the quality of fleece and wool –and host of other features. More than 60 vendors are showing off their wares at that event.

Lynde is one of those vendors. She raises a rare breed, Jacobs Sheep, on her Meridian Road ranch. The breed can have two horns, that grow similar to big horn sheep, or four horns, with two that grow upward, and the other pair growing down and circling.

She uses the fleece from her sheep, and she buys from other ranch ers in the area, to make her blankets and cloth ing and other products

she sells. Lynde also operates a farm club, for which people sign up for a year to learn all things sheep. Many members have been part of the club for several years.

Carol Tong of Wood land came to Lambtown to buy colored fleece and other products for her own crafts.

“I mostly make afghans (blankets), cozies, shawls and things like that,” said Tong, who took up knitting as a child. Her interests grew from there.

If she was so inclined, Tong could buy her own spinning wheel and learn how to use it at Lamb town. If she needed a portal in which to put her yarn, Jim Atchison, a professional potter for 50 years, had a number of options available.

The Nevada City man, who earned the first pottery degree ever awarded from the Uni versity of Idaho, said he learned the craft from his mother, a teacher, but has expanded to the point where he has created his own clays and other techniques.

“My whole body of work is experimental,” Atchison said.

There is even an Lamb town arts and crafts area for children, Wooly Adventures, where vol unteer Trish Baskett

of Auburn on Satur day was teaching how to make yarn from raw wool material.

Fairfield council to consider city providing fire service to Cordelia district

Todd R. H ansen THANSEN@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — The City Council on Tuesday will consider provid ing fire service to the Cordelia Fire Protec tion District.

The board action is to decide whether to allow the city Fire Depart ment to apply through the Solano Local Agency Formation Commission to enter into a contract for service with the Cordelia district.

“The (Cordelia department) is facing a public health and safety emergency. In the spirit of collaboration and maintaining conti nuity of service for our neighbors within the CFPD, the Fire Depart ment is seeking City Council approval to apply through LAFCO to enter a short-term and long-term contract for service with the CFPD,” the staff report to the council states.

The report states the city is already covering some calls for Cordelia when staffing dictates.

Council members meet at 6 p.m. in the council chamber at City Hall, 1000 Webster St. The public session follows a closed session during which the council will discuss the annual job performance eval

uation of City Attorney David Lim and existing litigation.

Access is also avail able via Zoom at https:// fairfieldca.zoom.us/ j/84599909552?pwd =aFZ2a1cvTUlRW C9WZzdLTzR

BR0k3QT09 or by calling 669-900-6833.TheMeeting ID is 845 9990 9552. The passcode is 7074287400.

“The short-term arrangement would be limited to 911/emer gency calls for service, to include Fairfield fire apparatus response and chief officer coverage.

The short-term agree ment will not include prevention, adminis tration or any other auxiliary functions of the Fire Department. In the short-term, the Fire Department is willing and equipped to accom modate the CFPD’s roughly 50 calls per month under a ‘fee per call’ model while main taining service levels in its own jurisdiction,” the staff report states.

The idea is for the short-term agreement to extend out no longer than June 30. If no long-term agreement is reached by then, the staff report states that the shortterm contract should be re-evaluated.

The fee per call would

See Fire, Page A4

Todd R. Hansen/Daily Republic

Jake Elliott, left, and younger brother, Luke, jump from the top step of the stage while the band, Shuffle, was taking a break at the 18th annual Art, Wine and Live Music Waterfront Festival held in Suisun City, Saturday. They are the sons of the lead singer for the band, Paula Elliott, and her husband, Ian.

Todd R. Hansen/Daily Republic Robin Lynde, of Meridian Jacobs ranch in rural Vacaville, talks with a customer at the 36th annual Lambtown Festival at the Dixon May Fair, Saturday.

Refugio Rios

Nov. 22, 1931 — Sept. 24, 2022

It is with great sadness and yet great joy that we announce that Refugio (Rufus) Rios was called home to our Lord, Jesus Christ, on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022. He was born on Nov. 22, 1931, in Mission, Texas, to Francisco and Mar celina Rios.

He proudly began his mil itary career with the United States Air Force and became an aircraft mechanic at a young age. After his military retirement, he continued as an aircraft mechanic for Trans America Airlines and then Alaska Airlines. As a highly skilled and specialized mechanic, he was often flown to other places to complete a repair. He loved his job and worked until he was 75 years old. He was well-loved and respected by his peers.

AIR FORCE VETERAN

to country gospel music, watching old western movies and watching both the A’s and Giant’s baseball games.

He peacefully passed away at home while sur rounded by his family, children, grandchildren and great-grandchil dren.

He is survived by his children, Joanne (Chip) Osborne, Susie (Mark) Moglich, Lisa (James) Bruflodt, Tina (Carl) Kadolph, Guy (Kathy) Swanson, Randy (Jolene) Swanson, Tina (Darren) Compas and Cindy (Bill) Limneos.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Joanne Rios.

Faye Gene vieve Emigh, age 93 of Rio Vista, passed away peacefully in her home on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022, with family by her side.

She is sur vived by her loving husband of 70 years, Richard ‘Dick’ Emigh; two children, Christine (Dan) Mahoney of Rio Vista and Martin Emigh of Dixon; six grandchildren, Kelly (Chris) Theroux, Ryan (Kelli) Mahoney, Sean Mahoney, Eric Emigh, Catherine (Kevin) Simonis and Sarah (Jeff) Naake; and six greatgrandchildren, Lorenzo, Bella, McKayla, Emily, Connor and Fiona.

the Young Ladies Institute (YLI), helped teach cat echism, and could often be found at Adoration from 1-2 on first Fridays.

Faye was greatly loved by her family and the community and was flooded with family and friends vis iting her at home in her last few weeks of life. We will always remember her kind ness, wit, faith, generosity and love. She left us all with many beautiful memories.

Linda Kaye Connor Bowles, 70, passed away on Sept. 17, 2022, at her home in Ker rville, Texas. She left this life sur rounded by love with her husband, son and daughter at her side.

Linda was born in Ken tucky on March 7, 1952. She was raised in Fairfield, Cal ifornia, and graduated from Armijo High School in the Class of 1970.

He loved attending Grace Family Church, listening

Service will be held at 12:45 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28, 2022, at the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery, 5810 Midway Road, Dixon, California. Followed by a reception afterward.

Rick E. Chapman Jr. April 17, 1972 — Sept. 17, 2022

Rick E. Chapman Jr. passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022. He was born on Monday, April 17, 1972, at Travis Air Force Base in Fair field, California, and is preceded in death by his parents, Richard and Bonnie Chapman; and twin brother, George Chapman.

On July 4, 1992, he married the love of his life, Kimberly Chapman. He is survived by his wife of 30 years; and their daugh ters, Olivia Strong and Madison Chapman; and son, Javan Chapman.

Rick graduated from Armijo High School in 1991 and was a dedicated,

loving father and hard worker, with a long history of 20-plus years at Comcast.

He was loved and will be dearly missed by his six siblings, and host of nieces and nephews.

Memorial Service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022, at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, 2010 E. Tabor Ave., Fairfield, California.

Arrangements under the care of Bryan-Braker Funeral Home, 707-4254697. Condolences can be posted on his memorial webpage at www.bryan braker.com.

Faye loved her family, friends, faith and home. She was always there for her family, keeping everyone organized and on sched ule. In Rio Vista, Faye was an active member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church where she was a member of

Service, rosary will be at 9:30 a.m, with funeral Mass at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022, at St. Joseph Cath olic Church, 130 S. 4th St., Rio Vista, California. Fol lowed by a family burial at St. Joseph Catholic Ceme tery, and a luncheon at the St. Joseph Church Hall.

Flowers may be sent to St. Joseph Catholic Church. Memorial donations may be made to St. Joseph Catho lic Church.

Ariene Kaleionalani Clark

Ariene Kaleionalani Clark was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on April 11, 1979, the daughter of David and Gloria Clark and the granddaughter of John and Wil helmina Morgan.

A graduate of Armijo High School, Class of 1997, she subsequently joined the Navy and from 1997 to 2001 served as an electrician’s mate primarily on the USS Harper’s Ferry. It was during this time she developed a deep love for travel and a sensitivity to diversity in all its forms.

After the Navy, she held various positions in the U.S. and abroad, the last being with Matillion, a software company based in London, England, where she worked as a human resource professional.

Ariene had a deep and abiding love for her Ohana (family) and the Hawaiian culture.

She leaves behind her fiancé, Damian Peterson; son, Davian Peterson; mother, Gloria Clark; her favorite person, uncle Gene Tolbert; aunt, Lani Tolbert; cousins, Tanea and Keone Tolbert; and scores of other family and friends.

Interment in Fairfield, California, will be private.

In lieu of flowers, donations to the American Cancer Society would be most appreciated.

DEATH NOTICE

Kittling Jr., Grover Cleveland, 84, of Dixon, died Sept. 16, 2022. Funeral service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022, at Living Waters Worship Center, 260 Link Road, Fairfield, California. Burial will follow at 1:45 p.m. at the Sacra mento Valley National Cemetery, 5810 Midway Road, Dixon, California.

Church delivers 1,422 cases of food, goods to area groups

Todd R. H ansen THANSEN@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

VACAVILLE — More than 1,400 cases of food and other goods were recently provided to 11 organizations from Fairfield, Vacaville, Napa and Woodland.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hosted the give away Monday at the First Baptist Church on Davis Street in Vacaville.

“Such a joy to see churches of all faiths sharing in the bounty with the united goal of lifting the heads of those who hang low, and helping to eliminate food insecurity issues in this area,” said Danny Wells, communi cations director for the church’s Santa Rosa Coor dinating Council.

The benefactors included churches, food banks and home less shelters.

The cases of food and other goods included such things as beef stew, salsa, peanut butter, pinto beans, Great Northern white beans, pancake mix, flour, macaroni and cheese, ribbon pasta, rolled oats, spaghetti and spaghetti sauce, hot cocoa, black beans, liquid dish soap, dishwasher deter gent, laundry detergent, corn, green beans, diced

tomatoes, chicken soup, strawberry jam and fruit.

Local recipients included St. Mary’s Food Locker in Vacav ille (200 cases); St. Mark’s Lutheran Manna Food Pantry in Fair field (400 cases); First Baptist Church in Vacaville (400 cases); Opportunity House in Vacaville (12 cases); Vaca Fish in Vacaville (80 cases); Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Fair field (150 cases); Bay North Church in Fair field (100 cases); True Love Baptist Church in Fairfield (100 cases); and Samoan Christian Fellow ship Church in Fairfield (100 cases).

Another benefactor was Woodland Commu nity College.

The 40-foot truck arrived around 9 a.m. and 15 young missionaries went to work unloading ent areas for distribution.

ered to other organizations

In all, 1,422 cases were distributed over two

The church had two other trucks arrive at locations in Redding and near Weed for a total of 4,250 cases of prod ucts, representing about 250,000 meals.

The goods come from a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints program that started in the 1940s. The church developed canning and other produc tion factories to provide food and goods that were in need, but also as a way to give people jobs coming out of the Great Depression.

“It’s a good program and they are being asked to do more and more, and we are being asked to do more and more,” Wells said.

Any local church or organization that distrib utes food or provides shelter for the homeless is welcome to receive goods from the program by con tacting Wells at wellsd@ comm.churchofjesus christ.org.

From Page A3

be $475. Based on current call volume, the contract would generated about $213,000 through the end of the fiscal year.

“In the long term, the CFPD has contracted with a consultant to work with Solano LAFCO and

the Fire Department to develop a service plan and financial arrangement that is acceptable to both parties. The long-term contract for service is likely to reflect the current CFPD budget, or roughly $800,000 annually,” the staff report states.

The council also will revisit its response to the 2021-22 civil grand jury report, “Shelter Solano

Inc.: A Review of its First Three Years Operating an Emergency Shelter in Solano County,” and whether to support a forensic audit of the shelter operation.

A public hearing on setting development fees is also on the agenda.

There is no item con cerning a censure vote of Councilwoman Catherine Moy.

She married Cary Richard Bowles on June 14, 1970, in Reno, Nevada. She became a Navy wife and lived in many places throughout Cary’s Navy service time and work in the industry. They lived in many different places including Charleston, South Carolina; Saratoga Springs, New York; Lynchburg, Vir ginia; and Kerrville, Texas.

Linda was a talented teacher of ceramics and owner of her own ceramic studio in New York. She made many friends and was known for her kindness and sweet personality.

Linda is survived by her loving husband of 52 years, Cary Bowles of Kerrville,

She was preceded in death by her parents, Russell and Tommie Connor of Fairfield, California.

The family express their gratitude for the outstand ing care that Linda received at the Peterson Regional Medical Center, the River Hills Health and Rehabilita tion facility, and from Peter son Hospice.

Upon her request, Linda was cremated and did not want any service.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks you donate to a charity of your choice.

FAIRFIELD

FUNERAL HOME

Pre-Arrangements of Funeral & Cremations

1. Locks in costs at today’s prices.

2. Monthly payments to fit your budget w/no interest.

3. 100% of your funds invested toward your funeral.

4. Plans are transferable to other family members.

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THE DAILY REPUBLIC DELIVERS. CALL 707-427-6989.

Faye Genevieve Emigh June 14, 1929 — Sept. 24, 2022

Linda

Texas; devoted chil dren, Richard and Heather Bowles of Knightdale, North Carolina, and Amy and Dan Weekley of Pasadena, Mary land; her beloved grandson, John Weekley of Pasa dena, Maryland, grandson, Tristen Tennant; and greatgrandson, Cooper Tennant; sister, Jennifer Gardner; brother, John Connor of Fair field, California; sister, Lisa Reid of Fort Wayne, Indiana; and her best friends and Godparents to her children, Fred and Reisa Pentz of Ker rville, Texas.

NAVY VETERAN

Courtesy photo

The Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints donated 1,400 food cases to local churches and food pantries.

Fairfield police arrest, jail teen in connection to Fairfield shooting

from the same incident.

FAIRFIELD — Police announced the arrest Friday of a teenage boy suspected of shooting and critically injuring a Fair field man early this week.

The shooting hap pened just after midnight Tuesday in the parking lot of an apartment complex on the 800 block of East Tabor Avenue and left a 33-year-old Fairfield res ident hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.

Police have not

released the man’s name.

The teen, whose name was not released, was held on suspicion of attempted murder. He was being held at juvenile hall. Police also did not report when and where the teen was arrested.

Police have released few details about what led to the shooting, other than to report the victim was walking in the parking lot of the apartment complex when two men walked by him. The three exchanged words, police report, and one of the men pulled a

gun and shot the victim.

The shooting hap pened less than two days after a deadly shooting shortly before 3:50 a.m. Sept. 25 on the 1000 block of Eisenhower Drive. The name, age and city of res idence were not released for the man who was killed but his family has identified him as Rey naldo “Cisco” Pacheco Jr. of Fairfield.

Pacheco’s death was the city’s seventh reported homicide of the year and the third on East Tabor Avenue. The first two are

Supes to consider Middle Green Valley subdivision

Todd R. H ansen THANSEN@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — Given the long history of the project, including court battles, the decision on parceling the Middle Green Valley Specific Plan for housing may already be a done deal.

However, the Solano County Board of Super visors will take up the matter just the same when it meets Tuesday.

The public hearing on the major subdivi sion application, which includes a large lot tenta tive subdivision map and a small lot tentative subdivi sion map, is set for 2 p.m. in the board chamber on

the first floor of the gov ernment center, 675 Texas St., in Fairfield.

The large lot map calls for the division of 410.9 acres into 27 parcels, and the small lot map would divide 137.2 acres into 322 residential parcels. The full plan allows for 390 homes and 100 auxil iary dwellings.

The project has the recommendation of the county Planning Commission.

The board has a split agenda, with a public morning session that starts at 9 a.m.

Part of that agenda includes consideration of water and wastewater infrastructure projects for

Suisun City Council considers property sales

Todd R. H ansen THANSEN@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

SUISUN CITY — The City Council on Tuesday will consider the sale of three waterfront district properties to Lionext Inc.

The Santa Fe Springsbased company is looking to purchase 0.17 acres located at the northeast corner of Main and Solano streets, with an esti mated value of $130,000; 0.15 acres located on the east side of Kellogg Street, with an estimated value of $110,000; and 0.21 acres located on the north side of Line Street in downtown Suisun City, with an estimated value of $160,000.

The council will be sitting as the Successor Agency to conduct the public hearing.

The properties are located in the Waterfront District Specific Plan area and the land use desig nations are as follows: Main Street Mixed Use (Main and Solano) Down town Mixed Use (Kellogg Street) and Downtown Mixed Use (Line Street).

“Although the prop erties have distinctive land use designations, the character of this district is considered the ‘Shop ping, Entertainment, and Culture’ area, comprising the commercial, mixeduse, and civic portions of the Downtown Waterfront District,” the staff report to the council states.

The council meeting begins at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 701 Civic Center Blvd. Access is also avail able at https://zoom.us/ join or by calling 707-4381720. The Meeting ID is 883 3604 9676.

Also on the agenda is a report on the Finance Department.

“To provide trans parency, and insight, this report is produced to assist the commu nity and City Council with a detailed view of current staffing, functions, accounting, budgeting, reporting, responsibili ties, accomplishments and goals of the Accounting and Information Technol ogy divisions,” the staff report states.

Planning exec considers minor subdivision

daily Republic sTaFF DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — A minor subdivision request to split 82.9 acres into three 20-acre parcels and one 22.9-acre parcel on the north side of Brehme Lane, 4,000 feet east of Pleasants Valley Road, returns this week to the Solano County zoning administrator for consideration.

Joseph Abrew is the applicant.

Planning Manager Allan Calder sits as the zoning administrator.

The public hearing is part of the meeting that starts at 10 a.m. Thurs day in Suite 5500 in the

Department of Resource Management on the fifth floor of the government center, 675 Texas St. in Fairfield. Meeting access is also available by calling 1-323-457-3408. The Con ference ID is 293118721#.

A second public hearing will be conducted on consideration for installing new antennas on an existing ATC lattice tower and an equipment cabinet, ground-mounted equipment, and a standby diesel generator with fuel tank in a lease area on Gates Canyon Road in rural Vacaville, between Solano and Napa counties.

Both projects are rec ommended for approval by the planning staff.

A 44-year-old Fair field resident was shot and killed and two men from Suisun City were injured in a shooting shortly after 5:15 a.m. March 13 near a convenience store on the 200 block of East Tabor Avenue. One of the Suisun City men died two days later after being taken off life support. Their names were not released.

SUBSCRIBE. CALL 707-427-6989.

pandemic relief funding through the American Rescue Plan Act. The projects include a Collins ville levee pump as well as an RV sewer connection and fire safety infrastruc ture at Sandy Beach.

The board also is scheduled to receive an overview of where it stands on the allocation of the $86.95 million in ARPA funds the county received from the federal government.

In between the morning and afternoon sessions, the supervisors will meet behind closed doors to discuss labor negotiations.

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There is no job too big or small, we invite them all.

Give us a call to schedule an appointment or just stop by we always have coffee brewed and popcorn popped. We look forward to meeting you and providing you with excellent customer service.

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While inflation takes a toll on seniors, billions of benefit dollars go unused

Judith Graham KAISER HEALTH NEWS

Millions of older adults are having trouble making ends meet, especially during these inflation ary times. Yet many don’t realize help is available, and some notable pro grams that offer financial assistance are underused.

A few examples: Nearly 14 million adults age 60 or older qualify for aid from the federal Supplemen tal Nutrition Assistance Program (also known as food stamps) but haven’t signed up, according to recent estimates. Also, more than 3 million adults 65 or older are eligible but not enrolled in Medicare Savings Programs, which pay for Medicare premi ums and cost sharing. And 30% to 45% of seniors may be missing out on help from the Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidy program, which covers plan premiums and cost sharing and lowers the cost of prescription drugs.

“Tens of billions of dollars of benefits are going unused every year” because seniors don’t know about them, find applications too difficult to complete, or feel con flicted about asking for help, said Josh Hodges, chief customer officer at the National Council on Aging, an advocacy group for older Americans that

runs the National Center for Benefits Outreach and Enrollment.

Many programs target seniors with extremely low incomes and minimal assets. But that isn’t always the case: Pro grams funded by the Older Americans Act, such as home-delivered meals and legal assistance for seniors facing home foreclosures or eviction, don’t require a means test, although people with low incomes are often prioritized. And some local programs, such as property tax breaks for homeowners, are avail able to anyone 65 or older.

Even a few hundred dollars in assistance monthly can make a world of difference to older adults living on limited incomes that make it dif ficult to afford basics such as food, housing, transpor tation, and health care. But people often don’t know how to find out about benefits and whether they qualify. And older adults are often reluctant to seek help, especially if they’ve never done so before.

“You’ve earned these benefits,” Hodges said, and seniors should think of them “like their Medicare, like their Social Security.”

Here’s how to get started and some informa tion about a few programs.

n Getting help. In

every community, Area Agencies on Aging, orga nizations devoted to aiding seniors, perform benefits assessments or can refer you to other organizations that conduct these evalua tions. (To get contact information for your local Area Agency on Aging, use the Eldercare Locator, a service of the federal Administration on Aging, or call 800-677-1116 on weekdays during business hours.)

Assessments identify which federal, state, and local programs can assist with various needs – food, housing, transportation, health care, utility costs, and other essential items. Often, staffers at the agency will help seniors fill out application forms and gather necessary documentation.

A common mistake is waiting until a crisis hits and there’s no food in the refrigerator or the power company is about to turn off the electricity.

“It’s a much better idea to be prepared,” said Sandy Markwood, chief executive officer of USAging, a national orga nization that represents Area Agencies on Aging. “Come in, sit down with somebody, and put all your options on the table.”

Older adults who are comfortable online and want to do their own research can use Bene

fitsCheckUp, a service operated by the National Council on Aging, at benefitscheckup.org. Those who prefer using the phone can call 800-794-6559.

n Aid with food expenses. Some aging organizations are adapt ing to heightened demand for help from seniors by focusing attention on core benefits such as food stamps, which have become even more impor tant as food inflation runs around 10%.

The potential to help seniors with these expenses is enormous. In a new series of reports, the AARP Public Policy Institute estimates that 71% of adults age 60 and above who qualify for the Supplemental Nutri tion Assistance Program haven’t signed up for benefits.

In some cases, older adults may think benefits are too small to be worth the hassle. But seniors who lived alone received an average of $104 in food stamps per month in 2019. And at least 3 million adults 50 and above with very low incomes would receive more than $200 a month, AARP estimates.

To combat the stigma that some older adults attach to food stamps, AARP has launched a

See Benefit, Page A10

A re you sleepdeprived?

Nighttime snoring, daytime sleepiness signs of sleep deprivation Donald Doyle Fit after 50

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 3 adults doesn’t get enough sleep.

If someone isn’t sleep ing well, it affects every aspect of their daily life.

A person not getting good sleep could be at an increased risk for heart disease, hyperten sion, stroke and diabetes, not to mention mood swings, increased risk for car accidents and memory problems.

The average adult needs about 7.5 hours of sleep a night. This doesn’t really change as people age, although the quality of that sleep may change. And it’s a myth that insomnia is a normal part of aging.

There are things that happen during sleep that carry over into the daytime.

For example, sleep apnea is a disorder in which you have one or more pauses in breathing or shallow breaths while you sleep. When this happens, your oxygen levels go down and carbon dioxide levels go up. Blood pressure rises and may stay higher into the next day.

One of the most common signs of obstructive sleep apnea is snoring, followed by pauses in your snoring, which end with choking or gasping. You may not know that you’re having problems breathing until a family member or bed partner complains about your snoring.

Another common sign

of sleep apnea is fight ing sleepiness during the day. You may find yourself rapidly falling asleep during the quiet moments of the day when you’re not active. Even if you don’t have daytime sleepiness, talk with your doctor if you have problems breathing during sleep.

Other common sleep issues include insom nia, sleep walking, sleep talking and rest less leg syndrome. There are steps you can take to improve your sleep. First, don’t nap during the day. If you must nap, limit it to 20 minutes or less. Look for hidden caf feine in everything you eat or drink. Even some pain relievers contain caffeine. Finish eating at least an hour before bedtime and don’t drink liquids for two hours before bedtime if you wake up often to use the bathroom.

Lowering the temper ature in your bedroom also encourages sleep, as does a dark, quiet envi ronment. Don’t routinely fall asleep with your television on.

If your sleepless ness lasts more than one month, you should consult your doctor for an evaluation.

Dr. Doyle is a special ist in sleep medicine and pulmonology at NorthBay Health.

Frederic

Brown/AFP/Getty

People

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supermarket

Alhambra,

pollution helps clear the fog of

the risk of

Judith Graham KAISER HEALTH NEWS

During the past decade, a growing body of research has shown that air pollution harms older adults’ brains, con tributing to cognitive decline and dementia. What hasn’t been clear is whether improving air quality would benefit brain health.

Two studies published this year by research ers at six universities and the National Institute on Aging provide the first evidence of such benefits in an older population.

One report, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that the risk of dementia declined significantly in women 74 and older following a decade-long reduction in two types of air pollution: nitro gen dioxide, a gaseous byproduct of emissions from motor vehicles, industrial sources, and natural events such as wildfires; and fine par ticulate matter, a mix of extremely small solids and liquids arising from similar sources.

A second report in PLOS Medicine, relying on the same sample of more than 2,200 older women, found that lower levels of these pollutants were associated with a slower rate of cognitive decline. In areas where air quality improvement was most notable, the rate of cognitive decline was delayed by up to 1.6 years, depending on the test.

Both studies are national in scope and account for other factors that could affect results, such as participants’ socioeconomic status, neighborhood character istics, preexisting medical conditions, and lifestyle choices such as smoking.

What might explain their results? “We think that when air pollu tion levels are reduced, the brain is better able to recover” from previ ous environmental insults, said Xinhui Wang, an assistant professor of research neurology at the University of South ern California’s medical school. This hypothesis needs to be examined further in animal studies and through brain imaging, she suggested.

There are several theories about how air pol lution affects the brain. Extremely tiny parti cles – a human hair is at least 30 times as large as the largest parti cle – may travel from the nasal cavities to the brain via the olfactory (smell) system, putting the brain’s immune system on high alert. Or, pollutants may lodge in the lungs, causing

an inflammatory response that spreads and leads to the brain.

Also, pollutants can damage the cardiovas cular system, which is essential to brain health. (Links between air pol lution, stroke, and heart disease are well estab lished.) Or tiny particles can cross the blood-brain barrier, wreaking direct damage. And oxidative stress may occur, releas ing free radicals that damage cells and tissue.

Older adults are espe cially vulnerable to air pollution’s harmful effects because of reduced lung capacity and pollutants’ potential to exacerbate conditions such as respi ratory illnesses and heart disease. Also, air pollu tion’s effects accumulate over time, and the longer people live the more risks they may encounter.

Yet recognition of the potential cognitive con sequences of air pollution is relatively recent. Fol lowing several small studies, the first national study demonstrating a link between air pollu tion and cognition in a diverse sample of older

men and women was pub lished in 2014. It found that seniors living in areas with high levels of fine particulate matter were more likely to experience cognitive problems than people living in less pol luted areas.

Another study, pub lished a couple of years later, extended those find ings by reporting that air pollution’s cognitive effects are magnified in older adults living in disadvantaged neighbor hoods where pollution levels tend to be highest. The chronic stress that residents of these neigh borhoods experience may “increase the rate at which neurons are damaged by toxic chal lenges,” the authors wrote.

Air pollution is only one of many factors that influ ence cognitive decline and dementia, research ers agree, and results of this kind establish associ ations, not causation.

Newer research sug gests that older adults’ cognition is affected even when exposures are below standards set by the Environmental Protec tion Agency. “With older

adults, there really is no level at which air pollu tion is safe,” said Jennifer Ailshire, an associate pro fessor of gerontology and sociology at the University of Southern California.

“It’s important to keep on reducing the standards for these pollutants,” said Antonella Zanobetti, prin cipal research scientist for environmental health at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. With colleagues, she has a National Institute on Aging grant to study how air pollution affects the risk of Alzheim er’s disease and related dementias among Medi care beneficiaries. In 2019, her work showed that higher levels of fine particulate matter are linked to more hospitaliza tions among older adults with dementia – a marker of disease progression.

Last year, in one of

the largest U.S. studies to date, a different set of researchers examined the link between longterm exposure to fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide among 12 million Medicare bene ficiaries with diagnoses of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. Exposure to high levels of these pollutants appeared to accelerate cognitive decline that was already relatively advanced, leading to an increase in diagnoses, research ers concluded.

In addition to popula tion-wide studies, nearly 20 scientific laboratories across the world are studying how air pollution contributes to dementia in animals. At USC, Caleb Finch, a professor who studies the neurobiology of aging, is co-principal investigator for a fiveyear, $11.5 million grant from the National Insti tute on Aging to study how air pollution in urban areas informs the risk of dementia and accelerated brain aging.

Among the questions that Finch said need to be addressed are: Which areas of the brain appear most vulnerable to air pollutants? When are people most at risk? How long does the damage last? Is recovery possible? And do lifestyle inter ventions such as diet and exercise help?

“The main point is we now realize that Alzheimer’s disease is very sensitive to environ mental effects, including air pollution,” Finch said.

Recognizing this, the Lancet’s Commission on Dementia Prevention,

Intervention, and Care in 2020 added air pollution to a list of modifiable risk factors for dementia and estimated that up to 40% of dementia cases world wide might be prevented or delayed if these risk factors were addressed.

For her part, Ailshire is optimistic that public policies can make a differ ence. From 2000 to 2019, she noted, average annual fine particulate matter pollution decreased 43% nationally due to efforts to improve air quality. “I’m very hopeful that these efforts will continue,” she told me.

What can older adults concerned about air pollu tion do on their own?

On very hot days, go for a walk in the morning instead of the afternoon, when ozone levels are higher, said Dr. Anthony Gerber, a pulmonologist at National Jewish Health, a medical center in Denver specializing in respira tory diseases. Ozone, a toxic gas, is formed when various chemicals interact with sunlight and heat.

If you live in the western U.S., where wild fires disseminating fine particulate matter have become more common, “wear a KN95 mask” on days when fires are affect ing air quality in your area, Gerber said. Also, if you can afford it, con sider buying air purifiers for your home, he advised, noting that fine particu lates can get into homes that aren’t well sealed.

To check air quality levels in your area, go to AirNow.gov, Ailshire recommended. “If it’s a high-risk day, that might

Health plan shake-up could disrupt coverage for low-income Californians

Almost 2 million of Cal ifornia’s poorest and most medically fragile resi dents may have to switch health insurers as a result of a new strategy by the state to improve care in its Medicaid program.

A first-ever state wide contracting competition to participate in the program, known as Medi-Cal, required com mercial managed-care plans to rebid for their contracts and compete against others hoping to take those contracts away. The contracts will be revamped to require insurers to offer new ben efits and meet stiffer benchmarks for care.

The long-planned reshuffle of insurers is likely to come with shortterm pain. Four of the managed-care insur ers, including Health Net and Blue Shield of California, stand to lose Medi-Cal contracts in a little over a year, accord ing to the preliminary results of the bidding, announced in late August. If the results stand, some enrollees in rural Alpine and El Dorado counties, as well as in populous Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento, and Kern counties, will have to change health plans – and possibly doctors.

“I’m still shocked and I’m still reeling from it,” said John Sturm, one of about 325,000 members of Community Health Group, the largest MediCal plan in San Diego County, which could lose its contract. “Which doctors can I keep? How long is it going to take me to switch plans? Are there contingency plans when, inevitably, folks slip through the cracks?” Sturm wondered.

Sturm, 54, who has three mental health con ditions, largely because of childhood sexual abuse, said finding a psychologist and psychiatrist he could trust took a lot of time and effort. He pointed to the disruption caused by the rollout of MediCal’s new prescription drug program this year, despite assurances it would go smoothly.

“I have concerns, and I know other people in the community have con cerns about what we’re

being told versus what the reality is going to be,” Sturm said.

Arguably, the biggest loser in the bidding is Health Net, the largest commercial insurer in Medi-Cal, which stands to lose half its enroll ees – including more than 1 million in Los Angeles County alone. St. Louisbased Centene Corp., which California is inves tigating over allegations it overcharged the state for prescription drugs, bought Health Net in 2016, in part for its Medicaid busi ness, of which L.A. is the crown jewel.

But the state’s health plan selections are not set in stone. The losing insurers are fiercely con testing the results in formal appeals that read like declarations of war on their competitors and on the state. Some of the losers essentially call their winning rivals liars.

The stakes are high, with contracts in play worth billions of dollars annually. Insurers that lose their appeals with the state Department of Health Care Services, which runs Medi-Cal, are likely to take their com plaints to court. That could delay final deci sions by months or years, causing a headache for the department, which wants coverage under the new contracts to start Jan. 1, 2024.

State officials hope to spend the rest of this year and all of 2023 ensur ing the chosen health plans are up to the task, which includes having enough participating providers to minimize dis ruptions in care.

“Member access and

Janric Classic Sudoku

continuity are really our top priorities as part of this transition, and we have dedicated teams that will be working with the health plans on the transition planning and the continuity plan ning,” Michelle Baass, director of the depart ment, told KHN. Baass also noted that enrollees have continu ity of care rights. “For example, if a member is currently under the care of a doctor during the prior 12 months, the member has the right to continue seeing that doctor for up to 12 months, if certain conditions are met,” she said.

The competitive bidding process is an effort by the department

to address persistent com plaints that it has not effectively monitored subpar health plans.

Eight commercial insurers bid for Medi-Cal business in 21 counties. They were required to submit voluminous doc uments detailing every aspect of their operations, including past perfor mance, the scope of their provider networks, and their capacity to meet the terms of the new, stricter contracts.

The new contracts contain numerous provi sions intended to bolster quality, health care equity, and transparency – and to boost accountability of the subcontractors to whom health plans often out source patient care. For example, the plans and their subcontractors will be required to reach or exceed the 50th percen tile among Medicaid plans nationally on a host of pediatric and maternal care measures – or face financial penalties.

They will also be on the hook for providing non medical social services that address socioeco nomic factors, such as homelessness and food insecurity, in an ambi tious $8.7 billion, five-year Medi-Cal initiative known as CalAIM, that is already underway.

Work-from-home or return to the office? A rift is emerging among US workers

Tribune conTenT agency

Tensions are brewing at work between employ ees who have returned to the office and those who’ve continued to work from home, according to a survey of U.S. workers.

Almost three-quar ters of respondents said companies should pay in-office employ ees more than their work-from-home col leagues, and two-thirds are concerned that man agers view full-time remote workers as lazier, according to the survey of 3,500 people commis sionedbyGoodHire,afirm that performs employ ment background checks.

At the same time, a third of respondents are willing to quit their job or start looking for a new one if forced to return to the office fulltime. That share is down from last year, underscoring growing pressures in work places. A majority think that work-from-home employees will be more at risk to lose their jobs in a downturn.

Both camps agree on one important matter: Working remotely

will probably hamper their career.

“There are several data points in the survey that show there may be a potential for a growing conflict among these two groups,” Max Wesman, chief operating officer at GoodHire, said in an emailed statement. Still, “each supports the general idea that in-office workers will enjoy more benefits and career opportunities than their remote-worker counterparts.”

Many corporations, especially banks, have taken a harder line on getting employees back to the office at least parttime. But data show there’s still a long way to go, particularly in big cities where many are still working remotely at least a few days during the week.

The GoodHire poll shows that a majority of workers feel that, while they might prefer remote work, they believe that their careers will suffer. Almost 6 in 10 worried that they would be excluded from impor tant team meetings and projects if they’re not consistently in the office.

Los Angeles Times Sunday Crossword Puzzle

CHANGE THE WORLD By Taylor Johnson

ACROSS 1 Mont Blanc’s range 5 __ and pans 9 Urge 13 Vatican leaders 18 Cheer (for) 19 Estrada of “CHiPs” 20 Grand Canyon animal 21 Chests 22 Data collection in Germany? 25 Third-party account 26 Japanese robe 27 “Heat of the Moment” band 28 Step to the bar, for short?

29 Violin protector 30 Former White House press secretary Psaki 32 Boulder in the Czech Republic?

37 Smart __ 39 Biblical peak 41 Freebies from a party 42 “It’s WonderWater” drink brand 43 Census taker in India? 46 ESPN datum 48 Hectic hosp. areas 49 Egg: Prefix 50 Sets (down) 51 Declined 53 Desolate areas 55 Writes

10/2/22

Fill in the blank cells using numbers 1 to 9. Each number can appear only once in each row, column and 3x3 block. Use logic and process of elimination to solve the puzzle. The difficulty level ranges from Bronze (easiest) to Silver to Gold (hardest).

Difficulty level: GOLD

57 Short diner orders 59 Eye layer 60 Farm herder 61 Start a golf hole 63 “More or less” 64 Ancestry in Taiwan? 66 Heats quickly 68 Pastoral poems 70 Garage sale caveat 71 Gems in Afghanistan? 75 Driveway surface 77 Pushpins, e.g. 81 Battery-powered rides 82 Place with nine circles, per Dante 83 Bank deposit 85 Cry of pain 86 Toyota subcompact discontinued in 2020 87 Beer named for a Dutch river 89 Rig behind a cab 91 Power hitter’s 46-Across 92 ProFlowers parent co. 93 “Barry” rating 95 Crooners in South Korea? 98 “That’s gonna leave a mark!” 99 ProActive Health brand 101 Window sections 102 Priests with

Edited by Patti Varol and Joyce Nichols Lewis

Tribunwe conTenT agency

Dreamstime/TNS

Vacaville High School announces new, diverse Hall of Fame class

VACAVILLE — The Vacaville High School Hall of Fame Committee announced Friday night its latest inductees in the Class for 2022.

This year features a diverse group of individ uals who are part of the deep history of school, from star former athletes to longtime supporters, to those making an impact around the world.

After taking 2020 and 2021 off due to the pan demic, the Hall of Fame Committee announced in the future it will induct a new class on even num bered years.

Below are biograph ical details on the Vacaville Hall of Fame Class of 2022.

Robyn Stevens

A member of the United States Track and Field team that com peted in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Stevens graduated in 2001. She still holds the school record for the girls’ 3,200 meter run.

Stevens competed for the cross country and track and field teams while in high school, then for San Jose State University. After college, Stevens turned her atten tion to race walking and currently is the highest

Benefit

From Page A6

marketing campaign in Atlanta and Houston explaining that “food prices are rising and we’re all trying to stretch our grocery budgets,” said Nicole Heckman, vice president of benefit access programs at the AARP Foundation.

If the effort alters seniors’ perception of the program and increases enrollment, AARP plans to do a major expansion next year, she said.

n Aid with health care expenses. AARP is also working closely with com munity organizations in South Carolina, Alabama, and Mississippi that help older adults apply for Medicare Savings Pro grams and low-income subsidies for Part D pre scription drug plans. It plans to expand this program next year to as many as 22 states.

The value of these health care benefits, targeted at low-income seniors, is substantial.

At a minimum, Medi care Savings Programs will cover the cost of Medicare’s Part B pre miums: $170 a month, or $2,040 annually, for most seniors. For older adults with the lowest incomes, benefits are even broader, with cost sharing for medical ser vices also covered.

“Even if you think you might not qualify, you should apply because there are different rules across states,” said Mere dith Freed, a senior policy analyst for KFF’s Program on Medicare Policy.

Low-income subsidies for Part D prescription drug plans, also known as Extra Help, are worth $5,100 annually, according to the Social Security Administration. Currently, some seniors get only partial benefits, but that will change in 2024, when all older adults with incomes below 150% of the federal poverty level ($20,385 for a single person in 2022) will qualify for full Extra Help benefits.

Because these health care programs are com

ranked USA Race Walker in the world since 2019.

Stevens at 38 years old was the oldest female com petitor in the 20 kilometer Race Walk in the Tokyo Olympics. She placed first at both the 2020 and 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials. Stevens credits coaches Don Clancy and Tom Graham for inspiring her in her athletic career,

plicated, getting help with your application is a good idea. Freed sug gested that people start by contacting the State Health Insurance Assis tance Program in their state (contact informa tion can be found here).

Other potential sources of help are the Medicare hotline (800-633-4227) and your state’s depart ment of aging, which can direct you to community organizations that help with applications. A list of the state departments can be found here.

n Other kinds of assis tance. Be sure to check out property tax relief pro grams for seniors in your area as part of a broader “benefits checkup” process.

Older adults with low incomes also can get assis tance with high energy bills through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. Your local utility company may also provide emergency relief to seniors who can’t pay their bills. It’s worth making a call to find out, advised Rebecca Lerfelt, the retired assistant director of a Chicago-area Aging and

and especially teaching her that female athletes could be great.

She has been a tire less advocate for equality for women’s athletics, and serves on several boards.

Dave Billalon

A 1972 graduate, Bil lalon can still be found on the sidelines at Tom

Disability Resource Center. These resource centers help people seeking access to long-term care services and are another potential source of assistance for older adults. You can find one in your area here.

For veterans, “this may be the time to take a look at using your VA bene fits,” said Diane Slezak, president of AgeOp tions, an Area Agency on Aging in suburban Cook County, Illinois. “I run into a lot of people who are eligible for veterans benefits but not taking advantage of them.”

n Barriers to getting help. Advocates for many programs note that agen cies serving older adults are facing staff shortages, which are complicating the efforts to provide assistance. Low pay is a commonly cited reason. For example, 41% of Area Agencies on Aging report staff vacancies of up to 15%, while an additional 18% report vacancies up to 25%, according to Mark wood. Also, agencies have lost significant numbers of volunteers during the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the same time,

Zunino Stadium on Friday nights volunteering for the Bulldogs. Billion began his journey as a team manager while still a student at VHS, support ing the Bulldog football and wrestling teams in the 1970s.

After graduation from high school, Billalon worked locally for Jelly Belly Candy Company

demand for help has risen, and clients’ needs have become more complex because of the pandemic and growing inflation.

“All of this is being amplified by the financial strains older adults are feeling,” Markwood said.

Kaiser Health News is a national news room that produces indepth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating pro grams at Kaiser Family Foundation. KFF is an endowed nonprofit orga nization providing infor mation on health issues to the nation.

and American Home Foods before he settled in a career with the city of Vacaville in the maintenance department. He returned to Vacav ille High in 1980, when he began helping Coach Zunino with anything the team needed.

He began full-time management of the team in 1990 and has been a lifelong Bulldog supporter.

Leslie Partch

A 1978 graduate, Partch ushered in a golden age of women’s ath letics after the passage of Title IX.

Transitioning from intramural play to inter scholastic play, Partch dominated the Monticello Empire League as a soft ball pitcher. She didn’t take up softball until her sophomore year and only started pitching her junior year.

After two years of dom inance, Partch earned a full scholarship to the University of Califor nia, Berkeley. She was a four year starter for the Bears and her career

Aging

From

not be the day to go out and do heavy yard work,” she said.

But don’t stay inside all the time and become overly self-protective. “It’s really important for older adults to be outside and exercise,” Gerber said. “We don’t want seniors to end up sick because they’re breathing lots of par ticulates, but we don’t want them to become inactive and stuck at home either.”

We’re eager to hear from readers about questions you’d like answered, problems you’ve been having with your care, and advice you need in dealing with the health care system. Visit khn.org/ columnists to submit your requests or tips.

Kaiser Health News is a national news room that produces in-depth journalism about health issues.

Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating pro grams at Kaiser Family Foundation. KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.

See Fame, Page A13

Courtesy photo file (2021)

Robyn Stevens leads the pack in the women’s 20K Race Walk in downtown Springfield, Ore., during the Olympic Track and Field Trials in 2021.

Is California’s economy headed for recession?

California’s economy exploded as the state emerged from a rel atively brief but severe reces sion caused by business shutdowns that Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered in 2020 to battle the Covid-19 pandemic.

Virtually overnight, more than 2 million Californians lost their jobs and the state’s unemployment rate sky rocketed to more than 16%.

However, once the restric tions were eased, the jobless rate slowly drifted down ward to pre-pandemic levels, below 4%, and Cal ifornia employers found it increasingly difficult to fill their jobs.

The state’s ride on a diz zying economic rollercoaster may not be over.

Inflation is hitting rates not seen in decades, more than 8%, largely because massive amounts of federal spending, meant to counteract the economic effects of the pandemic, has overheated the economy, upsetting the supply-demand balance.

The Federal Reserve System is rapidly increasing interest rates in hopes of cooling down the economy but its hope for a “soft landing” is very uncertain and there are growing fears of a recession. In a sense, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy as employers curtail hiring in anticipation of a recession and those actions trigger a decline.

As the nation’s largest state, California is particularly exposed to national and global economic currents. When the U.S. economy catches a cold, California’s often con tracts pneumonia.

The Legislature’s budget analyst, Gabe Petek, warned of the state’s vulnerability last May while reviewing Gov. Gavin Newsom’s revised budget.

“Predicting precisely when the next recession will occur is nearly impossible,” Petek told the Legislature. “Historically, however, certain economic indicators have offered warning signs that a recession is on the horizon (and) many of these indica tors currently suggest a heightened risk of a recession within two years.”

Citing inflation, a national decline in eco nomic output, dropping home sales and other factors, Petek noted that “in the last five decades, a similar collection of economic conditions has occurred six times. Each of those six times a recession has occurred within two years (and often sooner).”

Newsom’s budget, however, assumed that the state’s economy would continue to expand and generate billions of tax dollars.

Newsom boasted of a nearly $100 billion surplus and he and the Legislature energeti cally figured out ways to spend it.

In the three months since the $308 billion budget was enacted, the signs of slowdown –or perhaps the beginning of recession – have increased. Inflation has continued to rage, the Federal Reserve has continued to raise interest rates, the once-hot housing market has cooled, the stock market has taken a beating and California tax revenues have fallen several billion dollars short of the bud get’s rosy assumptions.

This month, Petek released an updated, and somewhat downbeat, review of the state’s economy and the likelihood of a revenue shortfall.

“At the time of our May outlook, we cautioned that economic indicators were suggesting a slowdown could be on the horizon,” Petek reminded lawmakers. “More recent economic data has continued to point in this direction. Consistent with this, our updated estimates suggest collections from the state’s ‘big three’ taxes – personal income, sales, and corporation taxes – are more likely than not to fall below the Budget Act assumption of $210 billion.”

After the budget was enacted, the Legis lature sent dozens of bills to Newsom that, if signed, would add as much as $30 billion in new spending. Citing that estimate, the governor has been vetoing spending bills with this warning: “With our state facing lower-than-expected revenues over the first few months of this fiscal year, it is impor tant to remain disciplined when it comes to spending.”

That’s a remarkable change of tone in just a few months.

CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how Cal ifornia’s state Capitol works and why it matters. For more columns by Dan Walters, go to calmatters.org/commentary.

Letters to the Editor

Letters must be 325 words or less and are subject to editing for length and clarity. All letters must include the author’s name, address and phone number.

Send letters to Letters to the Editor, the Daily Republic, P.O. Box 47, Fair field, CA 94533, email to gfaison@ dailyrepublic.net or drop them off at our office, 1250 Texas St. in Fairfield.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Fascism in America

I read two articles Monday, Sept. 5, on the subject of fascism in the United States. The first of these was by Jack Batson in the Daily Republic. Jack agrees with President Joe Biden that “MAGA Republicans are semi-fas cists.” Donald J. Trump, Sean Hannity and Republicans are lying fascists. Democrats, Biden and Batson support democracy and truth.

The second article was by David Harsanyi, who writes regularly for the Federalist. He points out that it is the left that controls all of the major institutions in the United States. The presidency, Congress, academia, media (Batson), unions, Silicon Valley and Wall Street, all claiming to be victims of the terrible Republican fas cists. Having control certainly doesn’t guarantee success; take a look at the southern border, the economy, public debt, inflation and, most distress ing, the sad state of public education. The FBI and the White House have no qualms about using social media to dis credit Republicans and to charge them with spreading misinformation.

Fascism results in the govern ment doing whatever it wants, and Harsanyi asks us to take a look at the student loan fiasco. Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently stated the president does not have the power to unilater ally forgive these loans. Biden himself acknowledged he “probably doesn’t have the power,” which rests with Congress. Nonetheless, since passing a bill in Congress is not in the cards, Biden appears ready to forgive a sub stantial amount of these loans despite the law. If the Supreme Court, the one institution not under the control of progressives, tells the president no, can we expect a renewed effort to pack the court?

My scoring: Harsanyi: Wins in a rout.

Sid Whiting Fairfield

McCully uses old, tired playbook

ln his “The Right Stuff” column on Aug. 22, Jim McCully uses conspir acy theories and “what about-isms” to

SOLANO VOICES

try and defend the most reckless, dis honest and dangerous U.S. president in history, Donald John Trump.

Mr. McCully attacks the judge overseeing the case involving the Mara-Lago search warrant, by name, and calls the judge partisan, without proof. That’s right, attack the judge if you don’t like the outcome. Don’t discuss the merits and details of the case. Trump used to do the same thing (a “so-called judge,” an “Obama judge,” a “Mexican judge”).

That’s right, discredit the judge, an old playbook.

Then Mr. McCully turns to attack members of the “Democratic Socialist Progressive People’s Party” who have gotten away with similar offenses that Trump may have committed. Here we have the “what about-isms.” Don’t zero in on the current issue. Go back to something else in the past, to dis tract.

Mr. McCully fails to mention “these clowns” were not charged during the Trump administration, which had the highly dishonest and politically corrupt Billy Barr as the attorney general. Obviously, the evi dence did not exist that Mr. McCully claims was there.

Next, Mr. McCully insinuates President Joe Biden must have been involved in the signing off of the search warrant for Trump’s home: “Can you imagine this action taken without the consent of Joe Biden?” Biden is not Trump. He doesn’t politicize the Justice Department and try to make it his own law firm. He doesn’t demand the attorney general be his own attor ney (“Where’s my Roy Cohn?”). He doesn’t get charges dropped for his cronies and he doesn’t dangle pardons in front of witnesses who might testify against him.

Putting any Republican member in office is madness. Remember in November!

Democrats are in the business of helping people.

Gary Keeter Vacaville

Vote ‘no’ on Measure

Q school bond

Vacaville voters will have the opportunity to approve or disapprove

this Nov. 8, Measure Q, a bond issue to authorize the Vacaville School Dis trict to borrow through sale of bonds ($229.5 million) for construction, reconstruction and replacement of school facilities, including the furnish ing and equipping of school facilities. Expenditure of bond funds is not permitted for routine maintenance of facilities or administrative and teacher costs.

The maximum bonding limit of the Vacaville School District based on 2021 appraisal values is $323 million. The district has about $10 million remaining on the previous Measure A so it has remaining capability for another $100 million for future needs.

California Constitution Article 13A, Section (1)(b) (3) (B) requires that the proposition list the specific school facilities projects to be funded. The obvious intent is to ensure voters and parents know where their money will be spent before they approve the bond. This requirement is ignored as there is no enforcement mechanism to ensure compliance. The California Associa tion of Bond Oversight Committees is aware of the problem and is working to ensure future enforcement.

Vacaville’s Measure Q illustrates this problem. Their listing is divided by school education level. Two high schools have 13 projects, two middle schools have 12 projects, and 11 ele mentary have 31 projects. The text admits that not all programs will be fulfilled at all schools.

The public does not know what proj ects apply to their school of interest. Even if you did, you would still have no information of effect without dollar estimates. Presumably the school board has estimates for each project, but the required transparency is with held from the public.

Measure Q does require an over sight board, but to what standard can they measure?

As long-term residents, we believe the Vacaville school board is above average in performance, but this dis regard of appropriate transparency is insulting to the citizens. We rec ommend no for Q and have hope for constitutionally required transpar ency next year.

Earl Heal, member, Central Solano County Taxpayer Group Vacaville

Measure S school bond warrants ‘no’ vote

‘Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.”

Six years ago, we taxpayers of Fairfield and Suisun City gladly gave the Fairfield-Suisun School Dis trict $249 million by way of Measure J to improve facilities, construct new classrooms, and improve safety and security.

Much to the chagrin of many, includ ing myself, at least $38 million of that money has been allocated to construct a Performing Arts Center at Fairfield High School when it could have been better spent on more pressing projects, such as updating all the bathrooms at Armijo High School or upgrad ing Tolenas Academy of Music and Media, benefiting more than 2,500 stu dents daily.

A theater will not.

During a Facilities Subcommit tee meeting, I asked Superintendent Kris Corey how much it would cost for Tolenas Academy of Music and Media to look like Rolling Hills Elementary School or Cordelia Hills Elementary School. Her response was, $40 million.

Of the $249 million, according to the Measure J Citizens Oversight Com mittee’s 2021 annual report, only $4.3 million was allocated to the 42-year-old Tolenas campus. An addi tional $34 million would have provided the students at Tolenas with similar facilities to their peers on the more affluent side of town and with roughly $2 million to spare. And don’t they deserve it? After all, those who live in the Tolenas area pay their fair share of taxes, too.

Diverting funds from much-needed projects to superfluous pet projects

such as a Performing Arts Center without establishing a significant need only serves to further erode the public’s trust in the district’s ability to effec tively manage their tax dollars and will, ultimately, result in the residents’ reluctance to support additional bond mea sures such as Measure S.

We taxpayers understand that great neighborhood schools build strong communities and are, therefore, generous when it comes to provid ing our educational institutions with the financial resources they require to effectively educate our future leaders.

In return, it is incumbent upon the dis trict to ensure that Fairfield-Suisun School District students receive an equitable education – and that includes school facilities.

Unfortunately, to date, the district has yet to demonstrate it is capable of consistently providing for the needs of all students and not just some.

Most recently, at the behest of the district, the board, on a 6-1 vote, real located $1.5 million away from an existing Career Technical Education program for which it was intended, to create and develop a new stagecraft CTE pathway. The funds will be spent to “Identify and develop the pathway sequences of courses, write course descriptions aligned with CTE stan dards, bring courses forward for A-G approval, identify textbooks, hire a highly qualified CTE teacher, remodel the existing wood shop to allow for set construction, and market the new pathways to students and families.”

The district’s recommendation, thus, was to “reallocate $1.5 million to Fair field High School’s existing wood shop

to support the development of the future CTE Stagecraft Program.”

In other words, the district has taken $1.5 million from Peter to create a Paul. Are Armijo students chopped liver? At Solano College, professor Greg Poff created and developed the Sports Broadcasting CTE program, the first in the country at the commu nity college level. It took a year and cost significantly less than $1.5 million. One-and-a-half million dollars is not a drop in the bucket for a district in which the majority of students are socio-economically disadvantaged.

On a larger scale, $38 million is a stag gering amount of money to blow on a building that will only benefit a few people some of the time.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson handed Congress a two-and-a-halfpage letter in 2008 requesting a $700 billion bailout, and then had the temerity to add that there ought not be congressional or judicial review. That’s like your teenager asking you to hand your credit card over with no questions asked. Yeah, right. Well, the district is essentially asking for the same thing. The superintendent wants us to give the district more money; lure us with heart-warming pragmatic priorities with the caveat that, said pri orities may change, expect us to trust them and hand over the credit card.

The evident mismanagement, inequitable distribution and illusory reallocation of taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars should give us all pause before voting for Measure S.

Ana Petero, a resident of Fairfield, is a trustee with the Fairfield-Suisun School District. This column repre sents her own views and not those of the school board.

Dan Walters

Ana Petero

Crime logs FairField

THURSDAY, SEPT. 29

12:05 a.m. — Forgery, 2200 block of NORTH TEXAS STREET

2:26 a.m. — Grand theft, 2800 block of DOVER AVENUE 4:36 a.m. — Grand theft, 900 block of OAKBROOK DRIVE 7:13 a.m. — Drunken driver, 800 block of EAST TRAVIS BOULEVARD 7:19 a.m. — Grand theft, 1400 block of UTAH STREET

7:52 a.m. — Grand theft, 800 block of EAST TABOR AVENUE 8:09 a.m. — Forgery, 1400 block of WOOLNER AVENUE 8:42 a.m. — Vehicle burglary, 2000 block of CLIFFWOOD DRIVE 10:37 a.m. — Grand theft, 2800 block of DOVER AVENUE 10:49 a.m. — Trespassing, 600 block of EAST TABOR AVENUE 12:20 p.m. — Grand theft, 1700 block of WEST TEXAS STREET 12:38 p.m. — Battery, 200 block of TRAVIS BOULEVARD 12:43 p.m. — Vehicle theft, 2800 block of AUTO MALL PARKWAY 1:33 p.m. — Hit-and-run property damage, CENTRAL PLACE 1:52 p.m. — Vehicle theft, 2800 block of AUTO MALL PARKWAY 2:11 p.m. — Drunk and disorderly, 1900 block of NORTH TEXAS STREET 2:20 p.m. — Fight with a weapon, 1600 block of KIDDER AVENUE 2:48 p.m. — Vehicle theft, 1300 block of WEST TEXAS STREET 3:59 p.m. — Trespassing, 2700 block of NORTH TEXAS STREET 4:19 p.m. — Grand theft, 100 block of EAST ALASKA AVENUE 4:26 p.m. — Reckless driver, CEMENT HILL ROAD 5:06 p.m. — Grand theft, 1500 block of HOLIDAY LANE 5:40 p.m. — Grand theft, 4900 block of SPRINGWOOD CIRCLE 6:31 p.m. — Reckless driver, 1900 block of GRANDE CIRCLE 8:35 p.m. — Battery, 1700 block of SYCAMORE DRIVE

SuiSun City

THURSDAY, SEPT. 29 10:23 a.m. — Assault, 300 block of SANDY LANE 6:50 p.m. — Assault, 400 block of WHISPERING BAY LANE

In brief

Biden: Ian’s ruin among worst in US history

President Joe Biden said the destruction caused by Hurricane Ian in Florida is likely to rank among the worst in U.S. history and pledged aid “for as long as it takes.”

The storm has caused at least 30 deaths in the state, according to Associated Press. Almost 1.8 million homes and businesses remain without power and Lee County has no running water. Homes, bridges and other infra structure are in ruin, with damage estimates ranging from $68 billion to $100 billion.

— Tribune Content Agency

petition to get the George A. Gammon Field to include the name Daniel Hughes as part of the Vanden football stadium. The petition was refer enced to the board.

Maria Figueroa, who supports the effort and serves as an administra tor for a Facebook group for Travis School Dis trict parents, is helping to spread the word not only about the stadium name campaign but also about the meeting Monday.

“The field is named after Mr. Gammon and no one is trying to take that beautiful tribute away from the Gammon family,” Figueroa wrote in an email. “Their group is looking to name the stadium after Daniel Hughes. So in fact, if the committee recommends the concept to be for warded to the board for consideration it would be known as ‘George A. Gammon Field at Daniel Hughes Memo rial Stadium’.”

The elder Hughes said he spoke by phone Tuesday with Superin tendent Pam Conklin and the president of the school board, Janet Jackson Forbes. He said he was told Conklin had appointed two facil itators and “a handful of people” to a commit tee to review the stadium name request. He said Conklin and Jackson Forbes would not divulge the names of the facil itators or the names of those selected to serve on the committee.

District officials since midweek have also failed to respond to a request for those names from the Daily Republic.

Dejon Hughes said Friday the framework of the committee is roughly what he has sought from the start, but with fewer details and fast-track

well, so the Peña Adobe Park event included that connection, too.

implementation after months of delay.

The elder Hughes said he recommended as far back as March that the district select a facilita tor, establish criteria for how a committee would be established and clearly define the role of the com mittee and its scope of work. Instead, he said Conklin “hand-picked” the committee members and there has been no formal public discussion about how the committee will operate.

When asked if he thought the district and its representatives

have treated him fairly, Hughes said “no.”

“I don’t feel like it’s been fair, but I’m hopeful the members of the com mittee will hear from the community and make a decision without any bias,” he said.

Hughes said he had hoped to have the issue resolved prior to the graduation in June of the Class of 2022 – his son Daniel’s class – in large part because it was Daniel’s classmates at Vanden who were directly affected by his son’s death.

Students and team

mates in their own way honored Daniel Hughes’ memory both during a varsity gridiron campaign last season that ended with a state champion ship, and at graduation.

Dejon Hughes recalls his son’s dreams: to help the community, go to college and perhaps make it to the NFL.

“It seems like yester day we were talking about this,” Dejon Hughes said Friday. “We’re very proud of him. Me and his mom are very proud of him.”

The Hughes family moved to the area in 2014.

area, but because it pro vides a much-needed “clean, fun, family” event.

Saturday from her Sacramento home to par ticipate in the National Hispanic Heritage Month festivities at the Peña Adobe Park, hosted by the Peña Adobe Histori cal Society.

That heritage cele bration is important to the area, said Cricket Kanouff, a volunteer helping at the event.

“Because the Peña family were Hispanic, and they are one of the first people to come to the area, from the New Mexico area,” Kanouff said.

Cecelia Peña said the family’s heritage is differ ent than other Hispanic families who arrived from other parts of Mexico, such as the Vaca and Vallejo families, also early settlers.

But virtually all His panic histories are linked to the native legacies as

Jury

to answer the call to some firefighters turning off their radios. Com munication begins with knowing with whom to communicate and what to communicate,” the grand jury stated in its summary of the report.

The report issued six findings and correspond ing recommendations, and a final comment stating that “because fires are becoming a part of Northern California’s new normal, there is no time to wait. Solano County and the cities within the county are out of time and must act now before the next catastrophic inci dent occurs.”

Responses from the county came from the administration, the Information Technol ogy Department and the Sheriff’s Office. Each responded to those findings and recommendations spe cifically relevant to its

Kanouff and Tammy Vasquez, for example, were teaching the younger visitors how to make corn husk dolls, and telling the story about how the Great Spirit had created three spirit sisters – corn, beans and squash, and what they represent – and how the corn spirit would go into the village and play with the children. However, when she saw her reflec tion in a creek, and being so beautiful, she stopped going to the village.

The Great Spirit was not happy with that, so he erased the corn spirit’s face and that is why the doll is made without one.

James Tunstall, the Native American docent at the park, also was on hand to provide infor mation and show items linked to the Patwin people who lived in the Solano area prior to the arrival of the Russian trappers, Spanish con

function as requested by the grand jury.

“The county’s responses to the grand jury’s findings and rec ommendations . . . reflect the county’s ongoing commitment and efforts to address countywide emergency response. Current efforts include reorganizing fire districts, discussion on a possible joint powers authority (“JPA”) and identifying potential revenue sources for fire related efforts,” County Administrator Bill Emlen stated as a kind of introduction to his responses to the spe cific findings.

The county’s responses took exception to a finding and recommendation to establish a single fire department for the unin corporated area.

“A county fire depart ment is needed to serve the unincorporated areas of Solano County,” the grand jury stated, with the recommendation to “establish a countywide fire department to serve the unincorporated areas of Solano County.”

“This recommendation

quistadors and the other Europeans who made their way to the Pacific.

Some of the items he made himself.

Many of the descen dants of those Patwin people are now part of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation in the Cache Creek area.

“They were a strong people and they survived

the invasion of the Euro peans, and the disease, and they are still here today,” said Tunstall, a member of the California band of the Yaqui Tribe, which is rooted in Mexico, Arizona and Texas.

Edgar Rodas of Fair field came out to enjoy the festivities, which he called important not only because it celebrates the Hispanic heritage of the

Animal rescue group seeks livestock owners for planning

FAIRFIELD —

The Solano Commu nity Animal Response Team, which goes into disaster areas to rescue livestock and other animals, is trying to reach livestock owners in the county to encour age them to create a disaster action plan.

“Our team of disas ter service workers partner with the com munity, Office of

will not be implemented since it is not war ranted nor reasonable.

The county is not the provider of fire services within Solano County.

Cal Fire provides service to the state responsibil ity area, and 13 separate entities provide services within the local respon sibility area. The county does agree that reduc ing the number of agencies can provide

Emergency Services, and animal control to help evacuate and support animals who are sheltered-in-place during an emergency,” the team said in a state ment. “We have an active community out reach team that will help property owners make a plan free of charge.”

To learn more about the Solano Commu nity Animal Response Team, visit www. solanocart.org.

benefit and has submit ted an application to LAFCO to consider reor ganization of fire districts to provide better efficien cies,” Emlen stated.

The county also dis agreed with the grand jury’s finding that dis tribution of Proposition 172 funds needs to include the rural fire departments.

“The County Adminis trator’s Office disagrees

He was particularly happy to see Francisco Pulido and his horse, Pirate, at the event, and to see children ride Pirate and other horses he and his team brought.

“I rided a horse before,” said 5-year-old Emerence Feeney, who rode double with her young sister, Esme, 2, as C.J. Valdez walked Pirate around the grounds. “I love it so much.”

Rodas said the scene reminded him of his own childhood on the farm where his father had horses.

Pulido, from Dixon, later showed his talents as a trick roper while riding Pirate.

Adam Castillo-Porter was on hand cooking up churros, but said he really does not spend a lot of time talking about how the goodies are linked to the Hispanic heritage. He said his customers “just want their sugar.”

with this finding. Funding allocated from Propo sition 172 is equitably distributed within public safety entities and has since inception of this revenue source. Coun ties received Prop. 172 funding and allocate this among their respon sibility areas, including the Sheriff’s Office, Pro bation and the District Attorney’s Office. Prop. 172 is also not a static revenue source and is dependent on the county’s proportionate share of the statewide (half-cent) sales tax,” Emlen stated.

The county’s response comes as it asks voters in November to approve a countywide one-eighth of a cent general sales tax increase for what the county characterizes as wildfire prevention and protection needs. If supported by a simple majority, it is expected to generate about $9 million annually. There is no automatic sunset on the tax increase.

The board’s action Tuesday was part of the consent calendar.

Todd R. Hansen/Daily Republic C.J. Valdez guides Pirate around Adobe Peña Park with Esme, 2, front, and Emerence, 5, enjoying the ride, Saturday. The girls’ mother, Tamara Feeney, walks alongside during the National Hispanic Heritage Month event at Peña Adobe Park.

Aaron Rosenblatt/Daily Republic photos

ABOVE: No. 9, the number Daniel Hughes wore while playing football at Vanden High School, adorns a flag on the football field and a sign recognizing the 2021 state champion football team at Vanden High School in Fairfield, Thursday.

LEFT: DeJon Hughes wears a T-shirt with a photograph of his slain son, Daniel, playing football for Vanden High School.

Governor signs new law that protects victims of abuse

Daily Republic Staff DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD —

Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar-Curry announced this week that her leg islation to update the state’s 23-year-old “Safe at Home” program has been signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Safe at Home is a con fidential address program

Fame

From Page A10

started with a bang. In her first 76 innings, her record was 10-0 and a 0.00 ERA.

Partch continued dom inating her opponents and finished her pitching career with a 92-28 record and an ERA of just 0.52. She was voted as Cal’s softball player of the decade and inducted into the Cal Hall of fame.

Stefan Janowski

Janoski is a 1997 graduate. He became a professional skate boarder in 2000, and

administered by the California Sec retary of State’s office, according to a press release from AguiarCurry’s office. It offers survivors of domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault, human trafficking and elder and dependent abuse, as well as reproductive health

in 2006 was sponsored by Nike. Then in 2009, Nike launched a signa ture Stefan Janoski shoe with “Vacaville, Califor nia” printed on the tongue of every shoe.

His shoe is worn all over the world and is con sidered the world’s most successful Nike skate boarding sneaker worn by skaters and non-skaters alike. The Vacaville City Council gave Janowski a commendation for putting his hometown name of Vacaville on this widely popular shoe.

Last year, the Olympic gold medal winner of skateboarding was wearing the Janoski shoe along with the silver medal winner for women’s

care workers, a substitute mailing address to receive first class, certified and reg istered mail.

This address is also accepted by California state, county and city government agencies in lieu of a res idential or other mailing address where a victim

skateboarding. In 2007, Janowski won the Tampa Pro-Am Best Trick contest. He continues to skateboard daily.

Nike has come out with more than a dozen versions of his shoe and 200 releases (including color changes and toddler sizes), and now there is a Nike Stefan Janoski Golf Shoe. Janowski’s shoe has been designed for fundraisers for various charities, such as Doernbecher Children’s Hospital and the Be You Campaign for LGBTQ+.

Capt. Joseph Drachnik, U.S. Navy (ret.)

Drachnik is a 1937 graduate and a track and field star. He served in the U.S. Navy for 30 years. His respon sibilities early in his career spanned executive officer for the U.S. Third Fleet, inaugural staff of the Naval Postgradu ate School in Monterey, gunnery officer and destroyer commander.

At the beginning of the Vietnam War, Drach nik was assigned as Chief Naval Section Military Assistance Command. After the war, he was awarded the President’s Legion of Merit for his efforts in establishing a force of small native boats (‘’junks’’) to counter infil

can be tracked down, keeping the residence address confidential and out of the hands of someone who might want to do them harm.

“The Safe at Home program serves thousands of Californians who fear for their safety,” AguiarCurry, D-Winters, said in a press release about Assembly Bill 1726. “This program has success

tration by sea.

In 1967, he attended George Washington Uni versity for a master’s in international affairs. Later in his career he was on the staff of the sec retary of Defense and selected as chief of staff to the Atlantic Fleet. He ended his career in charge of The Joint Navy-Marine Amphibious Forces Study at the Pentagon and retired in 1972.

After retirement, Drachnik became exec utive assistant to the lieutenant governor of California and then administrative officer for Gov. Ronald Reagan’s cabinet. When the admin istration changed, he went to McGeorge Law School, passed the California Bar at age 62 and practiced general law for 10 years.

Drachnik died July 10, 2010.

Bryan Younce

Younce is a 1995 graduate. While at Vacaville High, he would make home movies and DJ for garage parties for friends. Younce would go on to attend USC’s School of Cinema and Television, majoring in film while minoring in music.

After graduating, Younce was hired by Rick Rubin to lead the music video branch of Columbia

fully provided protection as part of the safety plan for survivors of, or those at risk of, violence and abuse, since 1999. AB 1726 will update this crit ical program so we can continue to protect into the future.”

Aguiar-Curry repre sents the 4th Assembly District, which in Solano County includes Dixon and the surrounding area;

Records. Today, Younce is the executive vice pres ident of video production for Columbia Records. He has executive produced, produced or directed several videos and docu mentaries on performers such as Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Bruce Springs teen, Beyonce, AC/DC, Tyler the Creator, Trent Raznor, John Legend, Harry Styles and Adele.

Younce was nominated for a Grammy for his work with DJ Snake and Lil Jon’s song “Turn Down for What.” He was also the executive pro ducer for the Grammy winning video “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus. Younce credits his former teach ers Jody Wara and John Alongi as teachers who changed his life.

While in high school, Younce introduced guitar ist Jerry Horton to friend Jacoby Shaddix. They would later go on and both be members of the band Papa Roach.

Mike Boele

Boele was born and raised in Fresno, where he attended San Joaquin High School. He grad uated from St. Mary’s College in Moraga, where as an undergraduate he played baseball.

Boele was hired at

unincorporated areas east, north and west of Vacaville, and rural areas north and west of Fairfield and northeast of Vallejo. The district also includes all of Napa and Lake counties; Winters and the rest of Yolo County except of West Sacra mento; and parts of Colusa and Sonoma counties.

Vacaville High in 1974, where he taught until his retirement in 2009. As a member of the Bulldog community, Bodle did it all. Most will remember him as a math teacher. He chaired the department for 20 years.

Boele served on the union negotiations com mittee, coordinated the district math curricu lum, led the school’s accreditation process and developed the first “school within a school” model designed to intervene with students who had fallen behind in coursework.

He was head varsity baseball coach for six years, winning three league championships, as well as coaching in the football program for a long time as part of the JV and varsity staffs.

The class was intro duced at Friday’s football game and will be honored at the Hall of Fame Dinner at 5 p.m. Nov. 27 at the Opera House in down town Vacaville.

Proceeds from the event will support the Steve Green Memorial scholarship. Tickets are $60 and may be pur chased at the Vacaville High School office (cash or check) or on the Event brite website. Search in California for the Vacaville High School Hall of Fame.

Plush or Firm

Courtesy photo

Vacaville native Stefan Janowski rides a car that is a replica of his shoe while in Paris.

AGUIAR-CURRY

Ninth An

Scalise Law Office

Glen & Jill Faison

Steve Hopk ins

SUISUN

Be sure to visit for future events

Solano Winds set to open 28th season

tODD R. H anSen THANSEN@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — An airman, a band director and a “triple threat” walk into a downtown theater . . .

And play classic jazz together with the Solano Winds Com munity Concert Band, which is celebrating its 28th season.

Christopher Hulett, who made his name building a music program at Ironwood High School in Glendale, Arizona, and recently served as assis tant superintendent of Human Resources at the Vacaville School District, is a guest con

ductor with the ensemble.

The group is joined by Staff Sgt. Robert Barnes, a pianist with the U.S. Air Force Band of the Golden West at Travis Air Force Base, and Janese Powell, a singer of jazz and rock ‘n’ roll, who also has a background in acting and dancing.

Solano Winds opens its 2022-23 season at 8 p.m. Friday at the Downtown Theatre on Texas Street in down town Fairfield.

Music from the works by Franz von Suppé and Ralph Vaughn Williams will be featured.

“Hulett takes the podium

to lead the musicians in H. Robert Reynolds’ transcription of Morten Lauridsen’s gorgeous choral work, ‘O Magnum Mys terium.’ The classics portion of the program concludes with Edwin Franko Goldman’s march, ‘On the Mall,’ ” orga nizers noted.

Solano Winds kicks off the second half of the program with its brand new Jazz Ensemble performing. Powell joins for two tunes. Powell is then backed by the full concert band for “Blue Moon” by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart.

“The program concludes with perhaps the most well-

This week

THINGS TO DO

I Fairfield

5:30 p.m. Thursday

LunaFest Downtown Theatre, 1035 Texas St. www. downtowntheatre.com.

8 p.m. Friday

Classic Jazz Downtown Theatre, 1035 Texas St. www. downtowntheatre.com.

7:30 p.m. Saturday

Drew Harrison: In the Spirit of Lennon Downtown Theatre, 1035 Texas St. www. downtowntheatre.com.

I Suisun City

7 p.m. Thursday Karaoke Thursdays & Open Mic Marina Lounge, 700 Main St., Suite 106. www.marina loungesuisun.com.

I Vacaville

9 p.m. Friday

Dueling Pianos: Jason & James Makse Restaurant, 555 Main St. duelingpianovacaville. com/events.

8 p.m. Saturday

Ronstadt Revival Journey Downtown, 308 Main St. www.journey downtownvenue.com.

9 p.m. Saturday

Dueling Pianos: Jason & James Makse Restaurant, 555 Main St. duelingpianovacaville. com/events.

I Benicia

2:30 p.m. Sunday Duo Sonics

The Rellik, 726 First St. www.therelliktavern.com.

5:30 p.m. Thursday

Lark and LeBlanc

The Rellik, 726 First St. www.therelliktavern.com.

5 p.m. Friday

Lisa Long

The Rellik, 726 First St. www.therelliktavern.com.

9 p.m. Friday

Hot Dog Chicken

The Rellik, 726 First St. www. therelliktavern.com.

5 p.m. Saturday Tam Funk Railroad

The Rellik, 726 First St. www. therelliktavern.com.

8:30 p.m. Saturday Soul’d Out

The Rellik, 726 First St. www.therelliktavern.com.

I Vallejo

1 p.m. Sunday

DW Edwards Music

Vino Godfather Winery, 1005 Walnut Ave. www. vinogodfather.com.

5:30 p.m. Wednesday Howell Devine

Empress Lounge, 330 Virginia St. https://empress theatre.org.

8 p.m. Saturday

LaRussell Empress Lounge, 330 Virginia St. https://empress theatre.org.

known fusion of classics and jazz when Barnes . . . takes the stage for George Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue,’ ” orga nizers stated.

The theater is located at 1035 Texas St. Tickets are $17, $13 for students and seniors. They are on sale at the theater box office or online at sola nowinds.org.

Masks and proof of Covid-19 vaccination may be required.

For more information, contact Bill Doherty at director @solanowinds.org or visit the Solano Winds website.

Pair of Armijo students write from the heart

This is a part of my term as Fairfield poet laureate that I love, reading poems written by the youth in our community. As submissions are coming in, I am impressed with the level of sophistication and expression voiced through their words.

These and all other approved submitted poems will be hung at The Coffee Bar at 740 Texas St. in downtown Fairfield.

Please make a visit there, enjoy one of their wonderful selections of beverages and food . . . and savor the poetry.

I have selected two for this month because one is relatively short.

‘Hocus Pocus’

has become a cult favorite

HOW DOES THE SEQUEL STACK UP?

Olivia MccORM ack THE WASHINGTON POST

The only thing millennials have been waiting longer for than affordable housing is a “Hocus Pocus” sequel. The 1993 Hallow een-themed Disney movie rankled critics and charmed audiences, resulting in its elevation to cult-movie status in the three decades since its debut. Now its follow-up, “Hocus Pocus 2,” has finally arrived with a straight-to-VHS – er, pardon – exclusive Disney Plus streaming pre miere Friday.

The original film follows a trio of kids who work together to defeat the wick edly funny Sanderson sisters (played by Kathy Najimy, Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker) after acci dentally bringing them back from the dead. The witches are on a time-sensitive quest for immortality, an adven ture that entails a virgin, the souls of children and a few musical numbers, of course.

The comedy was lam basted by film critics, including The Washington Post’s own Desson Howe, who called it “another future videotape dis guised as a movie. In the

not-too-distant future look for ‘Hocus Pocus’ in the rental-store bins, or as part of a Halloween ‘Trick or Treat’ package.”

But critical disgust did nothing to stop the intense love that children devel oped for the slightly scary movie. Though it didn’t do particularly well in theaters or with home sales, it found a second life on television: When Disney started to air the film on its own channel, and later on ABC Family, “a generation of millennials . . . suddenly began associ ating ‘Hocus Pocus’ with Halloween, viewing it with the same reverence ‘70s and ‘80s kids had for ‘It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown’ and the ‘Thriller’ video,” according to Vul ture’s Josef Adalian.

As Midler told People magazine in a piece cele brating the movie’s 25th anniversary, “It was like an ugly duckling . . . a little creature that nobody thought could do any thing and now it’s a swan. It’s found its wings and it’s just flown away. I think it’s fantastic.”

Midler, Najimy and Parker reprise their roles as Winifred, Mary and Sarah

Sanderson in “Hocus Pocus 2,” alongside Doug Jones (who you may remember as the fish person from “The Shape of Water” or the fish person from “Hellboy”), who returns as friendly zombie Billy Butcherson. So how does the new outing stack up to the orig inal, without the benefit of shoddy special effects watched on well-worn tapes? Here’s how the two do –and do not – compare. nnn

The youths: “Hocus Pocus” centers on new kid Max (Omri Katz), his much cooler younger sister Dani (Thora Birch), his crush Allison (Vinessa Shaw) and a cursed boy-turned-cat named Thackery Binx (Sean Murray). While the audi ence fell in love with them nearly 30 years ago – in part because of Max’s very floppy hair – none of those characters are in the sequel.

Director Anne Fletcher told Entertainment Weekly that she tried to fit in the entire original cast, but their appearances didn’t work with the story. “People would say, ‘They could be in the background!’ and I’m

Suzanne Bruce Poetry Connection

Alayna Adkins is a student at Armijo High School. She has enjoyed writing her entire life and if she had to pick one type of writing, it would be poetry. Alayna says, “Poetry makes me feel alive.”

Veronica Rodriguez is also a student at Armijo High School. She has loved poetry ever since middle school. She loves poetry because she can express her emotions and thought process. Veronica says, “Everything I write comes from my heart.”

The Unreachable Dream

Will my happiness prevail?

Or is happiness just like a bottle lost at sea?

You may venture far and search wide and deep, but very few find the long awaited glee.

I want nothing more than to caress it in my hand. To keep it for centuries, so my descendants will know it like the back of their hand.

I crave so deeply, it’s pleasurable glow, it’s sanctified clutch, it’s glamorous show.

– Alayna Adkins

The Stinger and the Bee

You’re a stinger

You’re a bee

You sting the best parts of me

I am a flower that blooms within the spring, but you are a stinger that looks for the pollen within me.

– Veronica Rodriguez

Poems must be sent to Suzanne Bruce at fairfieldpoetlaureate@gmail.com by the 15th of the month prior to publica tion. Please include a short introduc tion about yourself, such as if you are a student, where and why you enjoy writing poetry.

Cruisin’ Suisun event returns to the waterfront

Daily Republic Staff

SUISUN CITY — The second annual Cruisin’ Suisun Car Cruise & Car Show is coming to the waterfront area Oct. 7-8.

The weekend will

kick off with a cruise starting at 5:50 p.m.

Oct. 7 followed by a car show from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 8 at the Suisun City waterfront, the city announced. The car show will include stock muscle cars (pre-1974), modified

muscle cars, custom hot rods, lowriders, trucks, four-wheel drives and in progress vehicles.

Food and retail vendors will be there as well as face painting and live music.

The event is free, and

it is free to participate in the cruise. Participants are asked to send an email to jsingley@suisun. com to register.

Cost to participate in the car show is $25 per vehicle. The deadline to register is Tuesday. Cost

goes to $40 the day of the event.

For more information, visit www.suisun.com/ category/special-events, call 707-421-7200 or send an email to jsingley@ suisun.com.

U.S. Air Force

Staff Sgt. Robert Barnes is a pianist with the U.S. Air Force Band of the Golden West at Travis Air Force Base.

Courtesy of Disney Plus

Sarah Jessica Parker as Sarah Sanderson, Bette Midler as Winifred Sanderson and Kathy Najimy as Mary Sanderson in “Hocus Pocus 2.”

like, really? You’re going to put the leads of the first movie in the background and be satisfied? You’re not going to be satisfied, you’re going to be angry,” she explained.

The new generation of Salem youths are a group of teen girls: Becca (Whitney Peak), Cassie (Lilia Buckingham) and Izzy (Belissa Escobedo). These childhood friends don’t need much convinc ing that their hometown is haunted, and are also without the constant guid ance of a talking cat. And though they have less floppy hair than Max, they also have significantly better witch-foiling plans.

nnn

The witches: Bad witches are out; good witches are in. Whether it be because of the more universal acceptance that the historic concept of evil women was based in sexism, or because a bunch of Disney’s target audience is on #Witch Tok, the “wicked” are given a new image in “Hocus Pocus 2.”

As naive Gilbert (played by “Veep’s” Sam Richardson) says about the Sanderson sisters in this go-round: “They were ahead of their time, they were misunderstood.” And while it’s fair to say that good witchery may still not be in the cards for that particular family clan, it is found in a new generation.

Becca, Cassie and Izzy have been trying their hands at magic for years. The group is frac

tured at the start of the film because of a bad high school boyfriend, but their mini-coven provides the necessary positive rebrand to avoid a witch PR crisis.

nnn

The music: The orig inal film has the iconic cover of Jay Hawkins’s “I Put a Spell on You,” as performed by Midler, Najimy and Parker. The sequel changes tunes, going with an upbeat per formance by the trio of Blondie’s “One Way Or Another,” complete with an entranced flash mob.

While “I Put a Spell on You” is a fan favor ite, the super-creepy “Come Little Children,” sung by Parker’s Sarah to bewitch children for eating, is also a memo rable performance. For fans of that, you’re in luck! We get a shortened version performed by the Mother Witch (played by “Ted Lasso’s” Hannah Waddingham).

Stay

nnn

The sisterhood: Did Winifred actually like her sisters in “Hocus Pocus?” It would be fair to assume no: Her focus is only on revenge, her youth and snappy quips. At one point she even asks, “Why was I cursed with such idiot sisters?”

But “Hocus Pocus 2” provides more sis terly affection and less mockery. Audiences are given a glimpse into the Sandersons’ childhood and how Winifred worked to keep them together. It’s a “Cruella”-esque origin story rewrite in terms of how it gives a childhood excuse for adulthood vil lainy, but works to up the sibling camaraderie nonetheless.

nnn

The virgins: Will you still have to explain to your child what a virgin is after watching the new movie?

Yes, sorry. To achieve their

immortality in the orig inal “Hocus Pocus,” the Sanderson sisters require a virgin to light a candle. Consequently, the film puts an aggressive empha sis on ribbing Max for his ability do so. While the sequel sweeps the issue a little more under the rug, the birds and the bees conversation still haunts Salem, and even pokes fun at the uncomfortable “what’s a virgin?” con versation many families were forced into after the first movie.

We might suggest a more informative approach than Gilbert’s, whose explanation is that a virgin is someone who has never lit a candle, but far be it from us to deprive young millennials of reliv ing the uncomfortable situation they put their own parents in 29 years ago while trying to watch a simple family Hallow een movie. In that respect, “Hocus Pocus 2” remains quite the same.

Report: Genesis sells music for $300M

Tribune ConTenT AgenCy

Genesis is selling its song catalog for a reported $300 million.

A deal is expected to be announced soon between the band and the Concord music group, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

That arrangement will reportedly see Genesis and its star Phil Collins part ways with their recordings and publishing rights. The agreement also includes at least some music from Mike + the Mechanics, a side-project started by guitarist Mike Ruther ford in 1985.

According to Bill board, the deal encompasses the artist’s share of publishing and

recording, which should work out well for Collins, who has enjoyed an exceptional solo career in addition to his suc cesses with the band.

In its 54-years since forming in Surrey, England, Genesis has sold roughly 150 million albums. Songs from their 15 studio record ings include “Man on the Corner,” “Abacab” and “Throwing It All Away.” As a solo artist, Collins had produced hits includ ing “In the Air Tonight,” “Against All Odds,” and “Sussudio.”

It’s unclear how own ership rights held by Peter Gabriel, who was the group’s singer prior to leaving in 1974, will figure into the arrange ment with Concord.

Call 707-427-6989 today to subscribe

Matt Kennedy/Disney Plus Belissa escobedo, left, is izzy and Whitney Peak is Becca in “Hocus Pocus 2.”

Pandemic, apps fueling surge of interest in Yiddish

The WashingTon PosT

Oy, schlep, shpiel, schmuck, shtick and glitch.

Yiddish words have long made their way into English, but the language, spoken by Ash kenazi Jews across Europe for over a thousand years, was con sidered to be a dying language for decades after the Holocaust, in which two-thirds of Euro pean Jews were murdered by the Nazis and their collabora tors. Another factor: Languages of many immigrant groups in the United States were not passed down to new generations. Yiddish was spoken primar ily in Hasidic and other strictly Orthodox Jewish communities and their yeshivas. In the Soviet Union, Yiddish was repressed by “forced acculturation and assim ilation,” according to YIVO, an organization focused on pre serving East European Jewish culture founded in 1925 with support from Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud.

However, in the past two years, there has been a surge of new Yiddish learn ers. During the pandemic, more than 300,000 people registered to learn Yiddish on Duolingo,

a language-learning app. Data from the Department of Jewish Studies at Rutgers University show that figure is equal to about half the total number of Yiddish speakers in the world today.

And 61 % of users on Duolingo –who self-report their ages – said they were under 30. Addition ally, YIVO reported a 500 % increase in enrollments during that time period and now offers 10 times as many courses –mostly Yiddish courses – as it did before the pandemic.

“There is a deep and pro found hunger for knowledge of this history, culture and lan guage,” said Jonathan Brent, director and chief executive of YIVO. “What we are seeing is not simply nostalgia for a lost world but a repossession of it, and with that, a reassertion of a stubborn, proud, deeply held Jewish identity.”

He said for American Jews, Yiddish is a part of their heri tage they may not know much about, even if they went to Hebrew school.

Ben Kaplan, YIVO’s direc tor of education, said that many people were interested in learning Yiddish before

the pandemic, too, but were limited, as was YIVO, by geo graphic constraints. “There was this audience that was just lying in wait . . . but it was hard to get people together,” Kaplan said, noting that most YIVO students before the pandemic were from New York – where YIVO is based – New Jersey and Connecticut.

For Duolingo, the uptick in Yiddish learners fit into a larger trend. In the first six weeks of the pandemic, Duol ingo saw 30 million new registrations. Currently, the app has 49.5 million active users.

The app began offering the language in April 2021. It had been planning for a few years to offer Yiddish, which has several dialects composed mostly of Hebrew and German, along with some words from Polish, Russian, and other Slavic and Romance languages. “Some thing that’s really important to us is that we are offering courses that represent all humanity: geographically diverse, linguis tically diverse. . . . Yiddish also offered us the chance to work with dedicated and committed speakers,” said Cindy Blanco,

managing editor of learning content and a senior learning scientist at Duolingo. Blanco and her team deferred to their Yiddish-speaker contributors when it came to picking which dialect to use. Ultimately, they decided on a Hungarian Hasidic pronunciation dialect along with grammar and vocab ulary from YIVO’s version of Yiddish, noting that it would be the most intelligible across most Yiddish dialects.

“You could easily make five to 10 Yiddish courses,” said Blanco, who credited mass interest in Spanish and French with allow ing Duolingo to offer languages with a niche audience, such as Yiddish, Navajo and Zulu.

For many new learners of Yiddish, the language offers a kind of connecting thread to loved ones, along with a past world and its lost culture.

New Yiddish learner Lauren Modery, 39, a writer who lives in Colorado, said she had trouble finding a way to learn Yiddish before the pandemic – for instance, she never heard back from a Yiddish meetup at a local community center. But in January, she saw that Duolingo

was offering Yiddish and signed up. “My interest level is really high, and I’ve stayed engaged in a way that I don’t always stay engaged with things,” she said.

Modery, who is Jewish, grew up in a nonpracticing Jewish family but wanted to reconnect to her roots. “When my greatgrandparents came over [to the United States] they did what a lot of Jews did and assimilated into America. They dropped Yiddish, and the descendants weren’t given much of a chance to be Jewish,” Modery said. “I just had a really strong interest for the past two decades of learn ing where my family came from . . . I wasn’t handed down a lot of things or traditions or language, and this is my way of filling in those holes. This has been very meaningful to me.”

YIVO’s Kaplan said he does not see interest in Yiddish abating any time soon. Brent was more reticent when asked about the future, given past prophesies about the language. “People predicted 10 years ago Yiddish would be a dying language,” he said, “and now obviously it’s not.”

Richard

Follow

9:45

11:00

p.m.

Bible Study 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. Wednesday Website: www.stpaulfairfield.org

Email: stpaulbcfairfield@comcast.net

Church Phone: 707-422-2003

Fairfield

1735 Enterprise Drive, Bldg.

CA 94533

Sunday Worship

& 10:00

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Suisun Campus 601 Whispering Bay Lane, Suisun City, CA 94585 707-425-1849

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Vacaville, CA 95688 (707) 455-7790

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Heat from neighbor’s apartment brings high-cost utility bills

Dear Annie: For the past two years, I’ve lived in my apartment complex without issues except for my nextdoor neighbor. I have come to learn that she has a medical issue –I believe it is cerebral palsy – but that’s not why I’m needing advice. For these last two years, I have been hemorrhag ing money on my utility bill to keep cool. Even in Texas heat, it seems like my next-door neigh bor is always having her heater running, and the heat goes through the walls into mine. This suspicion of running

the heater has been con firmed by the medical attendants I see who try to take care of her.

I asked her once to turn it down, and she became verbally abra sive toward me.

I tried to bring it anonymously to my landlord’s attention, and nothing seems to work. I brought it up to the property management firm, and they said it’s probably nothing.

Meanwhile, I’m hemorrhag ing money because I can’t sleep or function properly because of those high utility bills. I can’t afford to move to a new place.

What should I do? I can’t afford to pay high bills much more, and I’m hurting finan cially with every bill that turns up. Does this possibly warrant a welfare check or something else? — Heated Frustration

Dear Heated: The fact that she has medical attendants means that a welfare check is probably not the best place to start. Call the utility company and ask them to visit your apart ment to see if the heat from the apartment next door is the cause of your high utility bills. If they confirm that, then it is the landlord’s obligation to solve the problem, either by putting in new walls with better insulation

FOR YOUR HEALTHHoroscopes

by Holiday Mathis

Today’s birthday

Life is an exciting gamble this year with interesting stakes, psychological maneuvering and other elements akin to a game of poker. You’ll develop reliable and winning strategies. Sometimes you’ll feel like you’re bluffing, but this is normal for anyone taking risks. You’ll soon grow into the roles you take on. Leo and Capricorn adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 6, 8, 35, 20 and 17.

ARIES (March 21-April 19). Clutter is a representation of disordered thought pro cesses and misaligned systems. Clearing up a cluttered environment will be an act of magic that indirectly causes your next round of good fortune.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). What you want is going to take time to cultivate or build. The plan is going to come from you and will only unfold because you stick to the agenda. Since your time is among your most precious assets, you’ll use it deliberately.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Every tool, talent and technology is neutral. Results depend on how it is used. You’ll think creatively, noticing the versatil ity in a resource. You will have luck using things in a different manner than is com monly employed.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). If you were just as likely to succeed in a small matter as you were in a big one, what problem would you tackle then? Forget about scale for a minute, as it won’t be as relevant as logic seems to suggest.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). The others may get jealous when one relationship stands out from the rest today. It’s either because someone needs special attention or because they entertain you so, your atten tion naturally and gladly flows to them.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Intuition can speak from the thick of the drama, but it’s more likely to come to you while doing something relaxed and easy like showering, walking or driving. If no intu ition comes, no action is necessary. Move when compelled.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Your need to understand how things work and why they are the way they are will intensify. Some mysteries can never be solved, but you’ll be enriched by your wondering. Your soulful searching tunes you keenly into the moment.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). While there are times when the knee-jerk reac tion is unavoidable, your next success move is not going to be reactive or impul sive. This is the plan of 20 small actions that will ultimately build a catapult to the next level.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). It’s not enough to be good at only one thing. Look into learning other skills. Figure out what more you can contribute. As for the dicey situation between friends: Of everything exchanged, money is the least significant.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Just because you can enjoy a comfort able silence with someone you’re close to doesn’t always mean you should. Even though mixing it up can feel awkward, it’s better than letting interactions become predictable.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Right now, financial matters have the odds of a coin toss. There’s a potential to blow your money and an equal chance of striking a heroic deal. However, research changes everything. Ask friends and family for insight.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). A complex problem does not always require a complex solution. For instance, the deci sion not to take a problem on at all is rather straightforward and doesn’t solve the entire problem but wraps up your part of it.

CELEBRITY PROFILES: One can never tell where television personality Kelly Ripa will turn up next. Whether she’s playing a hilariously heightened version of herself on the comedy “Broad City” or joining the fantasy world of “Riverdale,” her never-ending Libra enthusiasm and sparkling sense of humor shine through. Ripa has natal sun and Uranus in breezy, balanced Libra and four luminaries in scintillating Scorpio.

or by paying the excess on your utility bills. If they continue to ignore you, don’t rule out taking them to small claims court.

Cerebral palsy affects body temperature regula tion, so I would not complain to your neighbor.

Dear Annie: I am writing you on the question the grandpar ent had about the grandchild experiencing hazing. We had this very thing happen to our son at the private school he attended, and there was a video. Someone thankfully shared the video with us. We went straight to the parents of the boy who did the hazing and showed them the video. They knew nothing

about it and were shocked. They handled it with their son and had him apologize to our son. The school was never involved, and everyone learned some thing from it. The two young men became friends afterward. Parents need to be involved to resolve issues with teen agers and not rely on schools to handle all of the problems. It’s the parents’ responsibil ity! — Mama Bear

Dear Mama Bear: Thank you for your letter, and I am glad that the entire situation was able to be resolved.

Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@ creators.com.

of breast cancer

Dr. Gillian Kuehner, a lmira aGas anD Jennifer Boyce

FOR THE DAILY REPUBLIC

October is Breast Cancer Aware ness Month, and there is much discussion about screening, risk factors and treatments.

However, there are important social and emotional considerations. A breast cancer diagnosis not only affects the patient, but their family and friends as well.

Three experts provide insight into the social and emo tional angles of this journey: Gillian Kuehner, a breast cancer surgeon; Almira Agas, a medical social worker who supports cancer patients; and Jennifer Boyce, an oncology nurse practitioner.

Q: What guidance do you give to patients facing breast cancer?

In general, we want them to know breast cancer is very treatable and has a good prognosis.

However, breast cancer patients are going through a life transi tion. Change is inevitable. They may be thinking too far in advance and trying to manage multiple things at once. Instead, we recommend taking it one step at a time.

Q: What are the most common emotional reactions?

Some say diagnosis is hard to accept. Shock, anger, disbelief and

sadness are common. A person can even feel many contradictory emo tions simultaneously. It is normal to feel overwhelmed and also feel a loss of control and a fear of the unknown. The good news is that feelings shift and change. Patients wonder why they feel overwhelmed by emotions even when they are done with treatment. But the brain needs time to process the emotional side of a life-threatening or life-altering diagnosis. Validating those feelings gives survivors hope they will recover emotionally and physically.

Q: How can a patient maintain both physical and emotional health?

Typically, patients do better when they rest, exercise, manage stress, eat a healthy diet, maintain a healthy weight, avoid alcohol and do not smoke. Self-care also includes being kind to yourself: find things you enjoy every day and focus on those.

Q: What advice do you have for the family or friends of someone facing breast cancer?

Many studies find cancer survi vors with strong emotional support adjust better to changes cancer brings, have a more positive outlook and report a better quality of life. There are many ways to provide that emo tional support: schedule short visits or phone calls, listen and be there during the emotional ups and downs without judging, be a shoulder to lean on, and

a hand to hold. Other practical ways to help include cooking meals for the family, helping with other children or pets, assisting with errands or house hold chores, dropping off comforting gifts like a soft pillow or blanket or providing rides to treatment.

Q: How can support groups help?

Support groups can be beneficial by showing people with breast cancer they are not the only ones navigating this diagnosis. Survivors can express feelings they may be less comfortable sharing with friends and family. Often survivors do not want their loved ones to know they are struggling. Many support groups are available virtually, making it easier for patients to partici pate when it is convenient.

Q: What do you most want people with a cancer diagnosis to know in the midst of their diagnosis, treatment, survivorship?

You’ve been through challenges before. But here you are, still standing today. Think of what has pulled you through before. This is one more chal lenge to manage. No one has to travel this journey alone. With support, sur vivors can regain confidence in their bodies and overall health.

Gillian Kuehner, M.D., Almira Agas, LCSW, and Jennifer Boyce, NP, are with Kaiser Permanente in Napa Solano, a partner of Solano Public Health.

Annie Lane Dear Annie

AND

Klaus Nielsen/Pexels

It is normal to feel overwhelmed and also feel a loss of control and a fear of the unknown after a cancer diagnosis.

Big second half lifts Vacaville by Rodriguez

m att mIllEr MMILLER@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

VACAVILLE — The Rodri guez High School football team kept its defense in step with Vacaville for a half before the Bulldogs’ struggling offen sive exploded.

Vacaville broke up a tight game and turned it into a rout, earning a 41-12 victory in the Monticello Empire League opener for both teams Friday night.

Vacaville led just 7-0 at half time. Then the Bulldogs put up 24 third quarter points, includ ing a pair of deep passes from quarterback Alex Barkley, to get the offense rolling. The Mus

tangs did manage 12 second half points but couldn’t keep pace with Vacaville at Tom Zunino Field.

“They hit us over the top,” Rodriguez head coach Myles King said. “Those were two big pass plays. We sold out for the run. We wanted to stop the run and then we got beat over the top.”

Vacaville had struggled against some tough foes in recent weeks, especially after having to change quarterbacks because of an injury. But the Bulldogs stepped up to the chal lenge and showed they may still be the team to beat in league.

“They really challenged us to put the ball in the air,” Vacaville

head coach Mike Papadopoulos said. “We had a couple of great throws by our quarterback and some great catches that really opened things up.”

Vacaville scored on its second series when Cristian Diosdado raced 31 yards in the first quarter for a score. Micah Navarro converted the extra point.

The Bulldogs then went on a scoring spree in the second half.

Quarterback Alex Barkley connected with Brady Mott for a 65-yard score in the third quarter, and again later in the period on the same route for 63 yards. Diosdado had his second touchdown, going over the top for a 1-yard score in the

third quarter. Noa Siaosi raced 80 yards with a fumble return to touchdown in the final period.

Navarro nailed field goals of 27 and 29 yards, and also con verted his extra point kicks.

Rodriguez was able to find the end zone in the third quarter when quarterback Kenen Jones connected with Andreas Garcia for a 39-yard score. Jones had a 12-yard touchdown pass to Gabriel Batres in the fourth quarter.

Barkley completed only three passes for Vacaville but still finished with 160 yards and two touchdowns. Diosdado turned 22 carries into 175 yards. Mott’s two touchdown catches totaled 128 yards.

On defense, Jeffrey Holden had two pass interceptions for Vacaville.

Jones threw for 182 yards and two touchdowns for the Mustangs. Receiver Leroy Bryant didn’t find the end zone but did finish with nine catches for 142 yards.

“Special teams was really the story of this game,” King said. “They were playing chess over there. We had difficulty with field position and made some big mistakes.”

Vacaville, now 3-3 overall, has a big matchup next week at Vanden. The Bulldogs won the matchup last season.

Rodriguez (3-3) will take on Fairfield.

It’s official: Giants finally out of playoff contention

By Evan WEBEck BAY AREA NEWS GROUP

SAN FRANCISCO —

As the Giants streaked toward the finish line, taking their postseason chances from seemingly impossible to only highly improbable, some consid ered it a good omen for 2023, while others regret ted not playing at this level all season.

Mostly, though, they remained realistic.

Their odds were long, and their fate was out of their hands.

On Saturday, it was sealed.

Mighty defense helps Vanden pull away in victory over Armijo

nIck DEcIcco NICKD@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — The saying goes that offense sells tickets, but defense wins games.

In the case of Vanden High’s 42-6 victory Friday at Armijo’s Brownlee Field, defense was a major factor.

The Vikings’ Matthew Davidson struck first, reeling in a fumble that resulted in a one-play drive on which Jordan Jones ran 9 yards for a touchdown to give Vanden a 7-0 lead just 1 minute and 9 seconds into the game.

Later in the first,

of the night, trailing 21-6 headed into the final quarter, when Vanden’s defense did its dead liest damage.

With just under 10 minutes left, a pass from Armijo quarter back Willie Nickson sailed through his receiv er’s hands and straight into the gloves of Van den’s Chris Clark, who blasted untouched to a 29-yard interception return for a score and a 28-6 Vikings lead.

The defense struck again in the game’s final minute, when Kyren Jackson-davis

Wins in league openers for Will C. Wood, Vacaville Christian, Rio Vista

m att mIllEr MMILLER@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — The varsity football teams at Will C. Wood, Vacav ille Christian and Rio Vista high schools all came out big winners on the field Friday night in league openers.

Wood rolled to a 42-0 win at Fairfield in the Monticello Empire League debut. Vacav ille Christian bounced back from its 0-5 non league start to the season with a 54-14 win at home over San Juan in its Sierra Delta League debut. Rio Vista jumped all over Golden Sierra for a 61-14 rout in its SDL opener.

At Fairfield High, the

scores all came from the visiting Wildcats. Wood even scored on its first play from scrimmage when quarterback Mason Sayre hit Darrius Hick enbottom with a 60-yard touchdown pass. Hick enbottom finished with three touchdown recep tions from Sayre.

Manny Delatorre rushed for a 30-yard touchdown, Randy Chalmers had a 3-yard TD run and Zaire Fortune had a punt return for a touchdown.

Wood led 28-0 at halftime. The Wildcats are 4-2 overall. Fairfield falls to 0-6.

“I thought we played well,” Wood head coach Jacob Wright said. “We have some things to clean

up. Fairfield has defi nitely improved.”

At Vacaville Chris tian, Kai Nunley carried the load with 250 yards rushing and four touch downs. Nunley also intercepted a pass for a pick six. Wesley Krier added 65 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

The VCS Falcons went with a spread offense with freshman quarter back Brendan Jackson in charge and found much success. Freshman middle linebacker Kobe Powell also led a stout defense with numerous tackles all over the field.

“The kids were super pumped,” head coach Manny Tarango said. “I’ve been saying that our record doesn’t indi

cate what kind of team we really are. The guys really played well and our defense was all over the place.”

Vacaville Christian (1-5) heads to Garden Valley next week to take on Golden Sierra.

At Rio Vista, Marco Carrillo had a fumble return for a touchdown, a rushing TD and caught a scoring pass from quar terback Matthew Bodle. Tony Bellante also rushed for two scores, Isaiah Turner had a touchdown run and Daniel Diaz got a defensive touchdown on a pick six.

Rio Vista evened its overall record to 3-3 and will play at Esparto next week.

The Giants lost to the D-backs, 8-4, officially eliminating them from postseason contention.

What seemed inev itable even two weeks ago, after four straight months of underwhelm ing play, took until the final weekend of the season to become official. The sun rose Saturday morning, marking the start of October, and the Giants were still alive, even if it was only in the most technical sense.

They remained alive for much of the morning and into the early afternoon.

Around the same time the Giants opened a 1-0 lead in the third inning – Thairo Estrada beat out a double play, driving home Joey Bart, who led off with a walk –the Phillies’ sixth loss in their past seven games went final, a 13-4 wallop ing in Washington, the NL’s worst team.

Maybe, possibly, they would live to see another day.

But their odds (which, according to FanGraphs, haven’t budged above 0.1% since Sept. 8) took a death blow in the top half of the next inning, when Arizona rallied for three runs against Jakob Junis and took a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.

The Giants got solo home runs from J.D. Davis (in the sixth) and Mike Yastrzemski (in the eighth) but other wise couldn’t muster the offense against

Verrett’s flashy ‘chain’ retired to equipment room of 49ers

cam Inman BAY AREA NEWS GROUP

SANTA CLARA — Deebo Samuel celebrated in gaudy style during the 49ers’ last home win over the Rams. Specif ically, after his second touchdown of last Octo ber’s rout, remember him reaching the 49ers’ sideline and donning a fancy chain with a jewelencrusted replica of a 49ers helmet?

The “game-changer chain” vanished quickly from the 49ers’ sideline rather than become a regular prize.

“I don’t know what happened to it. I guess we just stopped using it,” Samuel said ahead of this Monday night’s rematch between the 49ers (1-2) and Rams (2-1) at Levi’s Stadium.

Was the chain too col lege-like rah-rah, albeit a trophy against the Rams in last October’s 31-10, Monday Night Football rout? Was it so ostenta tious that some players

declined to wear it?

“I was not a big fan of the chain. Anything col lege-like is lame to me,” coach Kyle Shanahan said Saturday. “Jason Verrett got it and he’s as cool as guy I know, so the players thought it was cool, and I didn’t tell them ‘no’ or anything.

“I was hoping we didn’t use it in the wrong way. We’re more professional than that,” Shanahan added. “At the time he did choose it, I can’t lie, it didn’t come off that bad. I like their deci sion-making on that.

“I don’t know if it’s gone. I hope it is. I trust them to handle it right and they haven’t let me down so far.”

Newsflash: The chain is not lost nor stolen.

Verrett, a Fairfield native and Rodriguez High School graduate, said it’s safely stored in the 49ers’ equipment room, ready for a potential encore – but not likely in

Davidson recovered another fumble on a series of drives in which the two squads passed the ball back and forth via

turnover. Jordan Brown scooped up a loose ball for the Royals.

Armijo stayed within striking distance for most

Aaron Rosenblatt/Daily Republic photos

Armijo High School’s Michael Ferro Jr., left, is tackled by Vanden’s Zack Shelton, center, during the football game

in Fairfield, Friday. Vanden won the Monticello Empire League opener between the two teams 42-6.

Armijo High School’s Willie Nickson, left, passes the ball against a defensive rush from Vanden’s Tyler Mendoza.

Foresthill High returns to high school football after the Mosquito Fire

By Chris Biderman

THE SACRAMENTO BEE

With the faint smell of smoke in the air as the Mosquito Fire remained burning miles away, Valley Christian’s head coach Doug Williams did something out of the ordi nary late Friday night at Foresthill High.

He called over to his opponents after a hard-fought high school football game and asked them to gather together. Two teams, Valley Chris tian and Foresthill, met at midfield and Williams offered some emotional words to players that were his group’s opponents seconds earlier.

“Hold your heads up high,” Williams said to the Foresthill players. “That was one heck of a fight.”

Foresthill was emotional after a heartbreaking 22-14 lastminute loss. Some had tears in their eyes while most wore faces of dejec tion. But the football game was a small, tertiary source of those feelings.

Friday night was For esthill’s first football game in three weeks because of the Mosquito Fire that burned more than 77,000 acres and destroyed 78 buildings

in the Sierra foothills of Placer County. The fire has been quelled and For esthill resumed school last week. Friday’s football game offered a semblance of normalcy to a com munity that wasn’t sure it would remain intact after evacuation orders were given the week of Sept. 6, when 11,000 resi dents were at risk.

“It was a blessing to be able to play,” said Williams, who lives in Foresthill but coaches at Valley Christian in Ros eville. “We weren’t sure we were going to be able to play. There was a lot of adversity. We didn’t know what was going on. The fire was crazy. We thought the town was good, then the winds picked up.”

Foresthill students and faculty don’t have to go far for a reminder of the fire put everything at risk.

“That was the hardest part, was our students watching the news broad casts and being able to recognize their town and their home and seeing the flames, and trying to stay as positive as they could when they knew it was literally right across the street,” Foresthill assis tant principle Jeff Walters told The Bee.

Just across Foresthill

Road from the main entrance to the school is a lot with burnt cars and trees and ash cov ering the ground. There are signs throughout the area thanking firefighters and first responders, and reminders from the local ranger station that the area remains at extremely high risk for fires. The nearby forests remain closed to hikers and campers while authori ties continue to fight a fire that was 90% contained a few miles to the east as of Friday.

Oddly, the nickname for the Foresthill’s teams is the Wildfires.

“These kids and this community have been through an event that no one could ever plan for,” Walters said. “To be back in school this week and out here on a Friday night doing what kids do, it’s just a testament to the strength and fortitude of this community.”

Walters said one of Foresthill’s 180 students lost their home to the fire while a handful of others dealt with signif icant damages. A pair of brothers on the foot ball team, Brennan and Vincent Navorro, are still without water and elec tricity as the fire damaged

a significant portion of their home.

“We thought our house was gone because it was in the red zone,” Brennan Navorro said. “And then we came to find out it was still standing, but our neighborhood was gone.”

Navorro said his house is one of the roughly five in his neighborhood still standing; some 25 others burned to the ground. He, his brother, mother and stepfather bounced around from multi ple hotels and friends’ houses before returning home last week.

When asked about how much football has helped, Navorro said, “A lot. I’ve loved it all my life.”

The football team regathered Sept. 16, after Foresthill had been evacu ated for more than a week,

at LeFebvre Stadium in Auburn. They didn’t resume practicing until the week of the Valley Christian game, but it was apparent the emotions were high throughout Friday night’s contest.

Foresthill, which began the season 0-3, had a 14-8 lead in the second half thanks to sopho more Travis Pisarek’s long touchdown catch from junior quarterback Ben Mercado. The team appeared on its way to an uplifting victory when junior linebacker Hunter Castillo inter cepted a Valley Christian pass in the end zone in the fourth quarter.

But Valley Christian scored 14 unanswered points thanks to sub stitute quarterback Thomas Rominger, who

hit Chase Clary for a goahead 35-yard touchdown on a fourth down with 1:13 remaining.

In this case, being back on the field playing foot ball was more important than the result of the game for Foresthill.

The team’s head coach, Mark Tumminelli, hasn’t been a stranger to adver sity. After dealing with the pandemic in 2020, his team didn’t make the post season last year despite an 8-2 record.

The section deemed its schedule wasn’t difficult enough despite another team in the Metro Athletic League making the play offs with a worse record and losing to Foresthill in the last game of the regular season.

But they are back on the field.

Solano women’s volleyball team wins over Yuba

daily r epuBliC staff DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

ROCKVILLE —

The Solano Community College women’s volley ball team won its second straight Bay Valley Con ference match of the week, defeating visiting Yuba on Friday night 25-18, 25-16, 25-13.

Sammy Brown led the Falcons with 16 kills, 12 digs and served 13-for-13 with two aces. Kelsey Wall added 10 kills and five digs. Hannah Del Rio chipped in six kills and a solo block.

Rachel Lin chipped in five kills and passed perfect on each of her five passing options. Crystal Carroll added 12 digs and served 16-for-17 with an ace. Dani Rydjord led with 27 assists and served 13-for-13 with three aces. Eryka Ferrer served 9-for-9 with an ace.

“We stayed consistent the entire match, didn’t let down and finished strong in the third set,” Solano head coach Darla Wil liams said in an email. “We had strong play with the entire team.”

Solano improved to 2-0 in BVC matches and 13-6 overall. The Falcons will travel Wednesday to Marin College for a match.

Tennis Vanden girls edges past River City

FAIRFIELD — The

Giants

From Page B6

Arizona rookie starter Drey Jameson to match the D-backs’ eightrun onslaught.

Christian Walker had already tripled and tied the score 1 when Corbin Carroll came to bat in the

Vanden High School girls tennis team earned a big nonleague victory Friday at River City as the Vikings defeated the Raiders 5-4.

Vanden won by the strength of its top five singles players. Sasha Smith, Delaney Ramsell, Camille Arca, Jeanelle DelaCruz and Hailey Lam all won in straight sets. The Vikings were beaten in the No. 6 singles match and swept in doubles play.

“Awesome win for us today against perennial Metro league champion and Division 1 playoff team,” Vanden head coach Stan Lewis said in an email. “The rest of our lineup played great as well but lost some tough matches against strong opponents. Hopefully, we can take the momentum of this win in to our final four matches and the playoffs.”

Vanden improved to 7-2 overall. The Vikings remain 6-2 in Monticello Empire League matches and will host Fairfield on Thursday.

Middle School Grange volleyball tops B. Gale Wilson

FAIRFIELD —

The Grange Middle School girls volleyball team earned a 25-19, 25-15 victory Thursday over B. Gale Wilson.

The teams played a third set for fun with Grange coming out on top 26-24.

top of the third, with the bases empty and two outs. A possible one-run frame, however, turned into three when Carroll’s pop fly to left landed in front of a diving Jason Vosler. Cooper Hummel walked, and Sergio Alcantara, the No. 9 hitter, doubled them both home.

The D-backs blew the game open in the seventh.

Paul Kitagaki Jr./Sacramento Bee/TNS

Jordan Overstreet (74) and the Foresthill Wildfires raise their helmets during the National Anthem before the game against Valley Christian Lions at Foresthill High School in Foresthill on Friday. It was their first home game since the Mosquito Fire.

LOCAL REPORT

CALENDAR

Sunday’s TV sports

Baseball

• MLB, Arizona vs. San Francisco, NBCSBA, 1 p.m.

• MLB, Oakland vs. Seattle, NBCSCA, 1 p.m.

• MLB, N.Y. Mets vs. Atlanta, ESPN, 4 p.m. Football

• NFL, Washington vs. Dallas, 2, 40, 10 a.m.

• NFL, Buffalo vs. Baltimore, 5, 13, 10 a.m.

• NFL, Denver vs. Las Vegas, 5, 13, 1:25 p.m.

• NFL, Kansas City vs. Tampa Bay, 3, 5:20 p.m.

Golf

• DP World, Dunhill Championship, Final Round, GOLF, 3:30 a.m.

• LPGA, Volunteers of America, Classic, Final Round, GOLF, 10 a.m.

• PGA, Sanderson Farms Championship, Final Round, GOLF, 1 p.m.

Motor Sports

• F1, Singapore Grand Prix, ESPN2, 4:55 a.m.

• NASCAR, YellaWood 500, Cup Series, 3, 11 a.m.

Soccer

• EPL, Aston Villa vs. Leeds United, USA, 8:30 a.m.

• MLS, Los Angeles FC vs. Portland, 7, 10, Noon.

Volleyball

• College Women, Georgia Tech vs. Louisville, ESPN, 10 a.m.

• College Women, Texas vs. Texas Tech, ESPN, Noon.

Mariners push through party fatigue in win against the A’s

TriBune ConTenT agenCy

SEATTLE — On a day when the energy hovered between low and “I’ve felt better in my life” and their eyes felt a little fuzzy from minimal sleep and maximum celebra tion, the Mariners rolled out a lineup similar to a mid-March Cactus League road game for Saturday afternoon.

But playing in front of another packed T-Mobile Park and knowing there is still a chance to earn the first wild-card spot and get a home series in their first postseason in 21 years, the Mari ners pushed through any fatigue – mental, physical, emotional or potable – and picked up a 5-1 victory over the Oakland A’s.

“This is one of those games that with every thing that happened last night, and you really felt it in the first inning for sure that we don’t win this game unless this this building was pretty full today,” manager Scott Servais said. “So a big shout out to the fans showing up today. That’s exactly what you need in the first inning of a game like that where you know everybody’s drag ging after a long night

last night. We came out and got on it right away.”

With the win, the Mariners improved to 87-70 on the season. While they clinched a spot in the postsea son late Friday night in dramatic fashion and celebrated the accom plishment into Saturday morning, the Mariners still have additional goals before the seasons ends.

“The goal here is still working towards possi bility of hosting that first round,” Servais said.

“We need some help, obviously. If you look at the scoreboard, the Blue Jays continue to roll, but we’ll keep doing our thing, keep winning these games and keep it important right down to the final games is what we’re hoping for, There would be nothing sweeter than hosting a playoff game at home.”

Seattle got a brilliant start from right-hander Luis Castillo and three runs batted in from Sam Haggerty to improve to 87-70 on the season.

Castillo pitched six innings, allowing one run on just two hits with a walk and eight strike outs to improve to 8-6 on the season and 4-2 with the Mariners.

Local scores

Scoreboard

BASEBALL American League

East Division W L Pct GB y-N.Y. Yankees 97 60 618 w-Toronto 89 69 563 8½ w-Tampa Bay 86 72 544 11½ Baltimore 81 77 513 16½ Boston 75 83 475 22½

Central Division W L Pct GB y-Cleveland 89 69 563 Chicago White Sox 78 79 497 11 Minnesota 77 81 487 12 Detroit 64 93 408 24½ Kansas City 64 94 405 25 West Division W L Pct GB y-Houston 103 55 652 w-Seattle 87 70 554 15½ L.A. Angels 71 86 452 31½ Texas 66 90 423 36 OAKLAND 56 102 354 47

National League

East Division W L Pct GB x-Atlanta 99 59 627 x-N.Y. Mets 98 60 620 1 Philadelphia 85 73 538 14 Miami 65 92 414 33½ Washington 55 103 348 44 Central Division W L Pct GB y-St. Louis 92 66 582

Milwaukee

Diego

SAN FRANCISCO

Arizona

Colorado

y=won

w=clinched wild

playoff

Friday’s Games Seattle 2, OAKLAND 1 SAN FRANCISCO 10, Arizona 4 Chicago Cubs 6, Cincinnati 1 Philadelphia, 5, Washington 1, first game Philadelphia at Washington, PPD, second Baltimore 2, N.Y. Yankees 1 Toronto 9, Boston 0 Cleveland 6, Kansas City 3 Minnesota 7, Detroit 0 Atlanta 5, N.Y.

Tampa Bay

Milwaukee

Chicago White Sox at San DIego, (N) Texas at L.A. Angels, (N) Colorado at L.A. Dodgers, (N) Sunday’s Games Arizona at SAN FRANCISCO, 1:05 p.m. OAKLAND at Seattle, 1:10 p.m. Minnesota at Detroit, 9:10 a.m. Philadelphia at Washington, 10:35 a.m. Baltimore at N.Y. Yankees, 10:35 a.m. Boston at Toronto, 10:37 a.m. Kansas City at Cleveland, 10:40 a.m. Tampa Bay at Houston, 11:10 a.m. Miami at Milwaukee, 11:10 a.m. Pittsburgh at St. Louis, 11:15 a.m. Cincinnati at Chicago Cubs, 11:20 a.m. Texas at L.A. Angels, 1:07 p.m. Colorado at L.A. Dodgers, 1:10 p.m. Chicago White Sox at San Diego, 1:10 p.m. N.Y. Mets at Atlanta, 4:08 p.m.

FOOTBALL

NFL

Atlanta 1 2

W

PA L.A. Rams 2 1 0 667

SAN FRAN 1 2 0 333 47

Seattle 1 2 0 .333 47

Houston

Miami

St. Louis 2, Pittsburgh

L.A. Angels

Niners

The

Justin

Texas

Chicago White Sox

L.A. Dodgers 10, Colorado

San Diego

Saturday’s

Seattle 5, OAKLAND

Arizona 8, SAN FRANCISCO

Chicago Cubs 2, Cincinnati 1 Washington 13, Philadelphia

Philadelphia at Wash., 4:05 p.m.,

game N.Y. Yankees 8, Baltimore 0 Toronto 10, Boston 0 Kansas City 7, Cleveland 1 Detroit 3, Minnesota 2 Miami at Milwaukee, (N) Atlanta 4, N.Y. Mets 2 Houston 2, Tampa Bay 1 St. Louis 13, Pittsburgh 3

American Conference East W L T Pct. PF PA Miami 3 1 0 .750 98 91 Buffalo 2 1 0 .667 91 38 N.Y. Jets 1 2 0 333 52 81 New England 1 2 0 333 50 71 North W L T Pct. PF PA Cleveland 2 1 0 .667 85 72 Baltimore 2 1 0 .667 99 77 Cincinnati 2 2 0 .500 91 70 Pittsburgh 1 2 0 .333 54 66 South W L T Pct. PF PA Jacksonville 2 1 0 .667 84 38 Indianapolis 1 1 1 .500 40 61 Tennessee 1 2 0 .333 51

Arizona 1 2 0 .333 62 87 Week 4

Thursday’s Game Cincinnati 27, Miami 15 Sunday’s Games Minnesota at New Orleans (London), 6:30 a.m. Cleveland at Atlanta, 10 a.m. Buffalo at Baltimore, 10 a.m. Washington at Dallas, 10 a.m. Seattle at Detroit, 10 a.m. L.A. Chargers at Houston, 10 a.m. Tennessee at Indianapolis, 10 a.m. Chicago at N.Y. Giants, 10 a.m. Jacksonville at Philadelphia, 10 a.m. N.Y. Jets at Pittsburgh, 10 a.m. Arizona at Carolina, 1:05 p.m. New England at Green Bay, 1:25 p.m. Denver at Las Vegas, 1:25 p.m. Kansas City at Tampa Bay, 5:20 p.m.

Monday’s Game L.A. Rams at SAN FRANCISCO, 5:15 p.m.

Klay Thompson ‘feels great’ but Warriors are playing it very safe

By M adeline K enney BAY AREA NEWS GROUP

SAITAMA, Japan —

Klay Thompson was disappointed but not sur prised by the Warriors’ decision to sit him for their first two preseason games this weekend in Japan.

The Warriors training staff told Thompson last week that participating in the first two preseason games was a “long shot.” Golden State ultimately ruled Thompson out for the Japan games out of an abundance of caution with their condensed start to training camp.

“I am a little sad because I wanted to show these fans a great time,” he said Saturday night. “But I understand we have very big goals to hit and our training staff did such an incredible job with me last year. I’m not going to force their

hand when they literally prepared me for a cham pionship run.”

After being out for two full seasons, the Warriors slowly brought Thompson back this year, managing his workload by restrict ing his minutes and not allowing him to play in back-to-back games. He seemed to be return

ing to his previous form during the playoffs when he logged a team-high 792 minutes in 22 games.

Despite playing in a total of 52 games last season, Thompson was hesitant to participate in five-on-five scrimmages this summer partially because he ruptured his Achilles tendon playing

in a pickup game in Los Angeles about 16 months after he tore his ACL in the 2019 NBA Finals.

“It was really hard for me to get out there,” he said. “It’s like a mental block in a way. I’m gonna face it one day, but this season was so taxing just coming back, it was hard to win a championship and a month later play. It was a lot but I look forward to playing summer basket ball again.”

Thompson went through his full warm-up routine and did some lateral drills before heading into the locker room before the War riors’ preseason opener Friday. He had another workout Saturday after noon before the fan fest, where he was pushed so hard that he said it “felt like two” sessions.

Consultant fired over QB’s concussion

TriBune ConTenT agenCy

MIAMI — The unaffiliated neu rotrauma consultant involved in Dolphins quarterback Tua Tago vailoa’s concussion check last Sunday has been fired by the NFL Players Association, a league source confirmed to the Miami Herald, after the union found the person made multiple mistakes in the evaluation.

The NFLPA launched an inves tigation into the Dolphins’ handling of Tagovailoa’s injury against the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 25 after Tago vailoa hit his head on the ground and stumbled before being removed from the field. Tagovailoa was listed as questionable to return with a

Mixed: 1st, Team 16, 58

Rosie McCown, Keith Ripper, Dottie Foltz, Steve Foltz 2nd, Team 7, 60

Pat Alvestad, Rob Lopez, Rick Ruggiero, Mike Bizja 3rd. Team 9, 61

Linda Perry, Barb Ray, Susan Bowleg, Mike Meszaros 4th, Team 13, 62*

Willa Sheppard, Adam Zelezen, Jodene Nolan, Joe Nolan 5th, Team 5, 62*

Judy Horan, Debbie Baker, Kathy Sherry, Tom Sherry 6th, Team18, 62*

Barb James, Genny Lopez, Rene Romiski, Robert Dundee

* Tie breaker holes used to break ties.

Rio Vista Women’s Golf Club

Flight 2: Low net winner-Lynn Grace, 151

Second place low gross: Jan Benner, 228

1st,

Becky Carroll, Maria Quaintance, Sandy Krager, Lisa Finnegan 2nd, Team 14, 65

Jamie Melville, Kathy King, Vicky Brownlee, Becky Giannoni 3rd, Team 17, 68

Rachel Griner, Cindy Griner, Lynn Weisbach, Terri Denton

First place low gross: Suzi Masterson, 219 Flight 1: Lynn Traver-low net winner, 150

Second place low gross: Pam Fashing, 196

First place low gross: Sandy Smith, 195

Overall winner: Thea Rock, 194

head injury and came back into the game at the start of the second half. He later said he passed a concussion test and it was a back injury that caused him to stumble.

Tagovailoa sustained a concus sion and was carted off the field on a stretcher in the Dolphins’ loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Thurs day night, sparking more questions about why he played just four days after hitting his head against the Bills. His hands tensed up in a manner consistent with a fencing response – a classic symptom of a concussion – and he lay motionless for several minutes while trainers attended to him.

The Dolphins said Tagovailoa was conscious and had movement

in all his extremities as he was taken to the University of Cincin nati Medical Center. He was later discharged from the hospital and flew back to Miami with the team Thursday night.

Dolphins coach Mike McDan iel on Friday continued to defend playing Tagovailoa, saying the third-year quarterback was cleared by multiple medical profession als. NFL chief medical officer Allen Sills said Tagovailoa passed mul tiple concussion evaluations in the days after the Bills game. McDan iel said Tagovailoa had a headache Thursday night and Friday morning but “his personality was definitely normal Tua.”

Two Sharks prospects going on European trip with team

By CurTis PashelK a BAY AREA NEWS GROUP

SAN JOSE — The Sharks trimmed their roster down to 27 players Satur day prior to their flight to Europe, a group that didn’t include forward Alex ander Barabanov and defenseman Markus Nutivaara.

Barabanov and Nutivaara are both dealing with injuries and were questionable to join the Sharks on the trip, which concludes with two regular season games next week against the Nashville Predators in the Czech Republic.

Among the Sharks that survived the deep round of roster cuts were rookie forwards Thomas Bordeleau and William Eklund. Danil Gushchin, who had a hat-trick Friday in San Jose’s 7-3 preseason win over the Golden Knights, is not on the trip. Gushchin had four goals and an assist in two NHL preseason games.

Barabanov and Nutivaara were dayto-day with their injuries for much of the past week, and Sharks coach David Quinn said the team would not know until Saturday whether either player

will be traveling to Europe.

With both players out, Luke Kunin has taken Barabanov’s spot on the Sharks’ top line with Timo Meier and Tomas Hertl, and Scott Harrington played alongside Erik Karlsson on Friday in Las Vegas. Nutivaara started camp as Karlsson’s defense partner.

Two other veteran forwards with injury questions made the Sharks trip.

Oskar Lindblom, who had been dealing with an upper-body injury for much of the last week, skated again Sat urday after he was a full participant in Friday’s morning skate. Also, center Nico Sturm, who was hurt in Friday’s game in Las Vegas, flew to his home country of Germany.

The Sharks flew on Saturday after noon and will play an exhibition game against Eisbären Berlin at MercedesBenz Arena on Tuesday. San Jose begins the regular season next Friday and Saturday against the Predators at O2 Arena in Prague and will have to get its roster down to 23 players before the games.

The Sharks could take a maximum of 27 players overseas.

Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group/TNS Klay Thompson is photographed during media day at the Chase Center in San Francisco last Sunday.

Inside ‘ManningCast’: Monday’s hip NFL TV viewing sensation

By Sam Farmer LOS ANGELES TIMES

DENVER — The nondescript one-story warehouse sits just off a busy street south of down town. Motorists pass by the thousands and seemingly no one gives the place a second glance. If only they knew what happens on the other side of those corrugated metal walls.

Not only is the 10,000-squarefoot building home to a private collection of 18 lacquered muscle cars, but it’s also where another No. 18 – legendary quarter back Peyton Manning – takes the wheel of “ManningCast,” turning “Monday Night Football” games into weekly gabfest with his younger brother, Eli.

This week, the Mannings gave the Los Angeles Times an exclusive look into the inner workings of the ESPN2 show, which attracts about 1.5 million viewers per episode.

The brothers are across the country from each other, Peyton in the warehouse and Eli in a studio ESPN built in his New Jersey home. Peyton considered doing the same, but he and his wife, Ashley, were doing some remodeling and he didn’t love the idea of all that equipment in his house year-round. So he took a friend up on his offer to transform the garage.

People with access to the min iature museum refer to it as the Batcave, and, out of necessity, Manning arrives like a stealthy superhero. Instead of parking in the lot, which is patrolled by two off-duty SWAT officers, he rolls his SUV up a ramp and directly into the building.

“He drives right in so nobody can see him,” said Don Saba, the garage director. “He’s like a god in this city, even more than John Elway now because the younger generation knows him better. Peyton’s such a good guy, but for him to walk around would be tough because people would be all over him.”

But there is some normalcy to Manning’s life. He’s the offen sive coordinator on his son’s sixth-grade football team, and two Mondays ago he attended his daughter’s volleyball game at 4 p.m., arriving at the garage in time to plop down in the makeup chair and get to his comfy leather recliner in time for kickoff.

In a way, the pandemic quaran tine spawned the show. Manning said his perspective on a TV job changed when he saw ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit working remotely from home because he had the coronavirus.

“That just kind of hit me,” Manning said. “I was like, ‘Hmm, I wonder if that’s just a Covid deal or maybe that’s something that’s somewhat sustainable.’ So I met with [ESPN president] Jimmy Pitaro and said that Herbstreit deal was interesting.”

By that point, Manning had formed Omaha Productions and was looking for new ways to branch out beyond “Peyton’s Places,” which allows him to tell interest ing stories about the game and its history with the help of NFL Films. The idea of ManningCast was born.

“I said, ‘Eli and I can watch foot ball together from our house,’” he said. “So ESPN said, ‘Let’s do it.’ “

The brothers have three guests on the show to keep it lively — this week it was retired coach Jimmy Johnson, punter-turned-sports host Pat McAfee and comedian

Tracy Morgan – and also appre ciate the chance to catch up with one another.

“My one negative of Denver is it’s far away from New York and I don’t see him as much,” Peyton said. “I probably wasn’t talking to him as much because of the time zone. I’m calling him at 6 o’clock and he’s having dinner or getting his kids ready for bed. And at 6 a.m. when I wake up, he’s already started his day. So this is something where, even though we talk a lot via voice memos, it’s been fun to get together with him.

“To have your partner see foot ball the same way and speak the same language has been very helpful.”

Don’t let the casual feel fool you. The Mannings aren’t winging it. They are meticulous about their preparations. Peyton and Eli study film on the two teams in the week leading up to the game, and also rely on other sets of eyes – former NFL coaches Kevin Gilbride and Adam Gase.

They all send group voice memos about what they’ve noticed.

On the Saturday before a game, Peyton will speak by phone to one team’s coach and quarterback, and Eli will talk to the other.

This week, the brothers are gathering notes on the Rams and San Francisco 49ers, who play Monday night in Santa Clara.

“Saturday for a Monday night game, the hay should be in the barn by then,” Peyton said. “Game plan should be in. All your film should have been watched at that point. If you’re having to cram on Saturday night, Sunday before a Monday night game, there could be a problem.

“So I used to love my Saturdays because it’s in; now you could do something with your family or if you have some high school buddies in town you could go to lunch with them. I used to take a nap. I’d take the greatest nap of all time.”

As a player, Manning couldn’t stand those meandering produc tion meetings with broadcasters. He kept a rigid schedule and didn’t like devoting too much time to meeting with the crew calling the game. So he’s mindful of that now.

“I told [Dallas Cowboys offen sive coordinator] Kellen Moore it’d be eight minutes and it was 7 1/2, I timed it,” he said. “I told [Cowboys quarterback] Cooper Rush it’d be 10 and I did it in nine minutes. I’m not looking to take up any of their time, probably asked them each four questions.”

Manning has all sorts of game notes spread around him during the broadcast, just out of camera range. During commercial breaks, as a makeup artist dabs his face, he checks his texts and checks the internet for information he might need.

In front of him are individual monitors showing the game feed, the SkyCam and the All-22, a wide shot of the field. At any point, he can request a replay to telestrate.

To his left is a cinema-sized video board with a clicker so he can stand and explain a play. There are three fixed cameras shooting him and a Steadicam operator who can follow him when he stands and moves around.

At halftime, Manning grabs a quick dinner – on this night it’s a fast-food chicken sandwich and tater tots – and eats it at the bar. Just as he was as a player, he’s always in motion.

Not surprisingly, coaches and

players tend to feel more com fortable giving the Manning brothers tidbits they don’t provide other outsiders.

“I do feel we get some behindthe-ropes information,” Peyton said. “Kellen Moore was a quar terback at our Manning Passing Academy years ago, so was Cooper Rush. I feel it’s a little quarterbackto-quarterback talk as opposed to a broadcaster seeking information. Eli can do the same thing.

“We’re not trying to promote the camp on this Monday night deal, but we can say, ‘Hey, I met Matthew Stafford when he was at the camp.’ You get to know these guys, and look, I’m a quarterback defender. I meet quarterbacks, I trade numbers with them. ‘Hey, if I can ever help you, let me know.’ Now that we’re doing this on Monday nights, that hasn’t changed.

“I’ve always tried to be a resource to quarterbacks. Dan Marino taught me that early on. He was a resource to me when I got into the NFL. Went down to Miami with him, worked out, talked about strategy and whatnot.”

Both Mannings say they were not comfortable crossing over to become traditional broadcast ers, in part because they would be expected to be critical of their onetime peers.

“I never wanted to be an analyst,” Eli said. “Peyton and I are both the same. We like to pump up everybody, especially quarter backs. We know how hard it is. You want to say good things about it. You never what to get in there and have to overanalyze. We’re watch ing to find the good things we can bring out and be positive about the coaches and players. We have great relationships with these people.”

Similarly, working on a show that’s essentially a three-hour conversation with your brother provides something of a safety net for the Mannings.

“If you make a mistake, I don’t want to get called out by the media,” Eli said. “I’d rather get called out by my brother. If I call somebody the wrong name or say something that’s stupid … it’s just what we’re used to. You grow up in the locker room and you can’t be sensitive. You’ve got to be able to take criticism, but you’d rather take it from players and friends than people you don’t know.

“It’s going to be unpolished. It’s going to be raw. This is like if Peyton and I were in your living room watching TV with you. This is what would be happening if we were analyzing it. We’re going to bicker, we’re going to talk over each other, we’re going to make fun of each other. But we’re also going to give cool points about what’s going on in the game.”

Peyton’s set is spectacular, like a richly appointed sports den with hardwood floors, colorful modern art on the walls, a pool table and a bar that could seat 30 people. Look closely and you might catch a glimpse of the automotive artifacts from a bygone era — a round Red Crown Gasoline sign, a glass table with an actual Jaguar engine as its base, a yellow Polly Gas pump that lights up like a jukebox.

Around a wall is the small pro duction team, and behind them the glistening cars: a bright orange Dodge Super Bee, a cherry-red Dodge Charger, a black Cadillac Eldorado with a stainless steel top, a light blue Mercedes that once belonged to Wayne Newton.

Monday’s game.

Reminded about the chain, Jimmy Garoppolo replied: “I forgot about that. I just throw the ball, man.”

Despite suffering a sea son-ending knee injury in Week 1, Verrett supplied the chain, which TMZ claimed last fall was worth “6 figures.” It reportedly weighed 6 1/2 pounds, was made of “real, pure silver dipped in electroplated yellow gold” and decorated with “all-natu ral sapphires” during its 9-week build by Rafaello and Co. in New York.

“We’ll probably bring it back when he comes back,” Samuel said with a smile in regards to Verrett.

Verrett concurred that indeed could be the play, once he returns to action.

Verrett, because of last season’s knee injury in the opener, remains on the physically-unable-toperform list and is eligible to debut next Sunday at Carolina, although the 49ers would have to open his three-week practice window first.

Kinlaw atop injury report

Defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw is question able after his surgically repaired knee “flared up on him” and kept him from practicing Thurs day and Friday. Kinlaw participated in Satur day’s walk-through, as did fellow defensive tackle Arik Armstead, who’s plantar fasciitis has him also questionable.

Offensive lineman Daniel Brunskill is cleared to make his season debut after a preseason hamstring injury. Wide receiver Danny Gray (hamstring) is doubtful.

Out, as expected, are left tackle Trent Williams, running back Ty DavisPrice, linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, tight end Tyler Kroft and safety Tar varius Moore. Tight end

Running back watch

Jeff Wilson Jr. has been the 49ers’ primary running back since Elijah Mitchell’s knee sprain in the season opener, but the 49ers sound ready to spell him with veteran options Tevin Coleman (prac tice squad) and Marlon Mack, as well as Jordan Mason, who ran for seven yards last game in his first and only carry his rookie season. Ty Davis-Price (ankle) will miss a second straight game.

The 49ers have until Monday afternoon to promote Coleman, who was signed a week ago and started 11 games in their 2019 run to the Super Bowl.

“I think Tev’s ready to roll, man,” run-game coor dinator Chris Foerster said, without affirming Coleman’s official status for Monday. “. . . Tev has that explosiveness to him that he can really hit it and go and really enjoy the way he can do that, so it’s good to have him back that way. He hit a play up the sideline the other day and you just saw the accelera tion. It was nice to watch him accelerate up the side. He’s still got it.”

As for Mason, Foerster noted that the undrafted rookie remains a work in progress but “there’s nothing that says he’s not ready and he is been working hard and deserves the opportunities he’s getting.”

Extra points

n The scout-team players of the week were tight end Troy Fumagalli and wide receiver Willie Snead IV.

n Shanahan called it “awesome” to have former running backs coach Bobby Turner rejoin the team this week. He had stated a desire to take a year sabbatical recover ing from hip surgery. “It was weird not having him here,” Shanahan said. Anthony Lynn remains the 49ers’ current running backs coach.

Defense

From Page

recovered a fumble and ran 44 yards for the game’s final touchdown.

“Our defense is getting better every week, so we’re happy with that progression,” said Sean Murphy, Vanden’s head coach.

While Vanden’s defense shined, Armijo’s defense had its own bright spots as well. Vanden won the turnover battle, 4-2, but Armijo stuffed the Vikings on three trips to the red zone, including a goal line stop on a 4th-andgoal from the 2 near the end of the first half.

“We’ve got to win the turnover battle,” said Don Mosley, Armijo head coach. “I feel like our (defensive coordinator) called a great game.”

While Vanden’s defense impressed and Armijo did have goal line stops, the Vikings’ passing game was still strong with QB Tre Dimes complet ing touchdown passes

of 35, 54 and 18 yards to Jaxon Clark, Simeon Wydermyer and Brayden Chavez, respectively.

Rafael Ortiz Velez booted seven point-after touch downs for Vanden.

“We’ve got to execute better on both sides of the ball,” Murphy said.

The Royals’ lone touch down came midway through the third when Nickson capped a threeplay, 36-yard drive with a 3-yard keeper to shoot into the end zone.

“(We’ve got to) be ready to play for four quarters of football at all times. Be ready,” Mosley said. “We can compete. Vanden’s a good team, but we came out here. We respected our oppo nent and we came to play the ball for four quar ters. Yeah, the ball didn’t go our way every time, but we came out here and we played.”

The victory moved Vanden to 1-0 in Monti cello Empire League play and 6-0 overall. Armijo fell to 0-1 in the MEL and 3-3 overall.

Vanden won the junior varsity game 41-0.

Ross Dwelley (ribs) is questionable.

Aaron Rosenblatt/Daily Republic

Vanden’s Brayden Chavez runs the ball down the field during the football game against Armijo in Fairfield, Friday. The Vikings won the MEL opener 42-6 over the Royals.

Sam Farmer/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Peyton Manning works in his makeshift studio in a friend’s vintage car garage in Denver.

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