Daily Republic: Jan. 8, 2023

R. H ansen THANSEN@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — More than 7,000 Peace Corps volunteers, working in more than 60 countries, were evacuated in March 2020 due to the onset of the Covid—19 emergency.

Albert Bernales, 26, of Fairfield, is one of the first to return back into service. He has been assigned to Fiji.

Formed in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy, more than 240,000 Americans have served in 142 countries.

Like Kennedy’s daring mission

McCarthy wins dream job, but at a high cost A5

Solano men grounded by Merritt B6

Todd R. H ansen THANSEN@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — Kelly Huff said no one is complaining about the rain – but standing water in the orchards, vineyards and on planted crops over an extended period can grow into being an issue.

In some cases, she said, in as little as 72 hours.

There is some winter wheat and other rotations crops that are already at risk, she added.

“We could have some issues, but everyone is happy to see the rains, so it hard to grumble,” said Huff, the manager of the Dixon Resource Conservation District.

Ed King, the Solano County agriculture commissioner, said there is quite a bit of water on the

ground, but his office has not received any reports of problems so far.

“There has been significant rainfall, so we are seeing a lot of standing water and flooding in the fields,” King said. “But the rain is actually coming to us at a good time of the year.”

He noted that the almond bloom has not started and the planting season for spring crops is still some time away.

The real issue is with permanent crops such as the orchards and vineyards.

The Dixon district, heavy in orchards to the north and pasture land in the south, oversees a system of 70 miles of drains, but they are designed to withstand a 10-year storm

to send America to the moon, it was then Sen. Kennedy, running for the White House in 1960, who challenged college students and young adults to get involved in public service.

“How many of you who are

See Corps, Page A10

Fairfield council to undergo ethics training

Todd R. H ansen THANSEN@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — The City Council called for a special meeting Tuesday to take an ethics in local government course.

The training is required under state law.

“Cities, counties and special districts in California are required by law (Assembly Bill 1234) to provide ethics training to their local officials.

The council agenda states the purpose as “understanding public service ethics laws and principles.”

The training comes just months after now Mayor Catherine Moy accused at least some of her colleagues on the council of being “corrupt,” in response to which Councilman Scott Tonnesen called for a vote of censure against Moy. The vote was never scheduled.

Moy has not specifically named who she was referencing, stating only that she has turned information over to state agencies. She has not disclosed which agencies, so it cannot be confirmed

See Ethics, Page A10

County elected officials take center stage Tuesday

Todd R. H ansen

THANSEN@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — The Solano County supervisors and department heads who were elected in the June and November balloting officially started their new terms at noon on Monday.

They have all been administered an oath of office so they could do that.

However, they will take center stage Tuesday with ceremonial oaths at the Board of Supervisors meeting, a meeting that also includes the board selection of new officers and board and committee appointments.

The supervisors involved in the oaths are newcomer Wanda Williams, District 3, and the senior member of the board, John Vasquez, District 4.

Also taking part will be new Assessor Recorder Glenn Zook; Auditor-Con-

troller Phyllis

Attorney Krishna Abrams; Superintendent of Schools Estrella-Henderson; and starting his seventh term as treasurer/tax collector/county clerk will be Charles Lomeli. Presiding Judge Wendy G. Getty will administer the oaths.

All the terms are four years except for the district attorney, who like the sheriff for this specific election, has six—year terms so the election of those two offices will coincide with the presidential election cycle.

Also on the agenda are presentations for Positive Parenting Awareness Month and National Human Trafficking Prevention Month.

The board meets at 9 a.m. in the first-floor chamber of the government building, 675 Texas St., in Fairfield.

Taynton; District

Todd

WILLIAMS

Aaron Rosenblatt/Daily Republic Albert Bernales

Peace Corps due to the Covid-19 emergency. Bernales is one of the first to return to service with the Peace Corps and

for Fiji later this month.

The secret behind curse words and the letters involved

This much is true: You can’t cuss worth a keef without using hard consonants. We need those hard-sounding letters to communicate what we really mean.

Although actually, the reverse is true: Curse words never sound lovely.

That’s the findings of the most important academic study of cussing since the famed Samuel L. Jackson Movie Dialogue Study. Late last year, researchers at Royal Holloway, University of London, published a study in Psychonomic Bulletin & Review (old newspaper joke: This came about when the Psychonomic

Bulletin, the morning newspaper, merged with the evening Psychonomic Review. If you paid attention to newspapers from the 1960s to 1990s, you might smile at that. Otherwise, it makes no sense) that studied multiple languages (Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Korean and Russian in one case; Arabic, Chinese, Finnish, French, German, Spanish in another) to see if certain sounds were more common in curse words. Or if certain words were considered profane if they had those harsher sounds.

We known popcorn well that most of our harshest curse

words contain hard letters. There’s something flickering good about being upset and saying a word that sound harsh.

The study also examined the reverse: How often curse words (or words that sound like curse words) lack what are called approximants (defined by the authors as sonorous sounds like l, r, w and y). They preformed all kinds of scientific and sociological gobbledygook (notice the “k” at the end! It sounds profane) and came to a conclusion.

Their result was not surprising to anyone who has yelled a curse word after hitting their head with the hood of their car or has even watched “A Christmas Story,” where the

Cal will teach psychedelic guides how to

Tribune ConTenT AgenCy

BERKELEY — Helping someone taking magic mushrooms have a “good trip” can mean keeping them hydrated or playing Grateful Dead records to safely enjoy the ride.

But in the right setting, it can also become a form of therapy.

The UC Berke ley Center for the Science of Psychedelics has started training doctors, nurses, social workers, psychol ogists and chaplains how to safely and effectively facilitate mind-bending hallucinogenic experi ences to help heal and care for patients in a new certificate program.

Tina Trujillo, associate professor and faculty director of the nine-month research program, emphasized that psychedelic substances, alone, are not a magic pill for impactful experiences.

“One of the misconceptions is that we’re handing somebody a psychedelic and then just sitting with them; the skill set required is far more sophisticated than that,” Trujillo said. “For us, this is really a way to bridge the research and the practice, and that means professionalizing a field that doesn’t necessarily have agreed upon standards for quality, safety and ethical practices just yet.”

Additionally, she wants people to understand the distinction between a “trip sitter” – the colloquial word for someone who helps others feel safe during a psychedelic trip – and advanced professionals who have been trained as “facilitators” to better support an individual navigate the powerful thoughts and feelings that can pop up throughout the 8-plus hour journey.

Applications for the program’s second cohort opened in December.

These trainings have arrived at a time when more governments –including the Berkeley City Council – are debating loosening psychedelic prohibitions, and the Drug Enforcement Administration increased its quota to manufacture psilocin (a counterpart to the more commonly known psilocybin), MDMA, DMT and LSD for research purposes.

UC Berkeley’s program is currently prioritizing studying how a facilitator can ethically help patients use “shrooms,” as well as Ayahuasca and peyote, for health and spiritual care.

Trujillo, who has worked within the School of Education for 14 years and Center for the Science of Psychedelics since it opened in 2020, said her aim is to help develop a model for psychedelic guides who are trusting, supportive and have knowledge – ideally firsthand – of the at-times mystical phenomenons these drugs can conjure and how best to utilize the long-villainized natural substances as medicine.

“There’s the perception out there that if you ingest one of these substances, that substance in

Dreamstime/TNS

safely use psychedeilcs

and of itself is going to lead to some quick fix,” Trujillo said. “But if you look at how psilocybin and mushrooms have been used historically, they’ve been used in these communal settings where you know who the healer is, you have a relationship with that person and that person is a part of the community. That’s not the way Western science is focused, so if we frame (these experiences) in that way, I think we’re missing or misunderstanding how some of these substances and plants have actually been used over the years.”

Many of the cohort’s members – with backgrounds ranging from neuroscience to ministry, social warfare to nursing, and education to journalism – will be trained in time to help work in newly legal spaces, such as licensed clinics and centers, which are popping up a half-century after then-President Richard Nixon and his “war on drugs” established steep legal consequences for selling, possessing or taking hallucinogens, which were classified as some of the most dangerous drugs in the 1970s.

In 2020, Oregon became the first state to

narrator says of his father that he “worked in profanity the way other artists might work in oils or clay. It was his true medium, a master.”

It makes sense because when we curse, it’s usually to either express frustration, anger or to make a point. (Alternative theory: Many people curse so often that they’re unaware of when they use it. This doesn’t apply to them. Or you, if you’re one of those frankengoobers.)

A CNN article on the study quoted one of the authors of the study as saying humans and other animals (yikes!) make “harsh, abrasive sounds when distressed” and smooth sounds when they’re safe and content. That seems true, since my

unscientific study of smoothjam R&B songs concludes that they have a lot of words with l, r, w and y in them.

According to the study’s author, the use of harshsounding words is really an avoidance of soft sounds.

“It may be that people associate sounds like l, r, w and y with calm, and so perceive them as unsuitable for expressing anguish or frustration,” he said.

I’d write more, but there’s a key that’s stuck on my coffee-cakinging keyboard. And it’s not one of those soft letters, either.

Reach Brad Stanhope at bradstanhope@outlook.com.

green-light supervised, therapeutic administration of ketamine, an anesthetic chemical, and psilocybin – the technical name for “magic” mushrooms. The trend has since trickled from Washington, D.C., to Washington state. Colorado voters followed suit this November, decriminalizing psychedelic mushrooms for people 21 years old or older and creating state-regulated “healing centers.”

State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, pulled his statewide bill to allow possession and personal use of some hallucinogenic drugs after California lawmakers watered it down to only study decriminalization. However, city councils in Oakland and Santa Cruz have successfully diverted arrests and investigations for naturally growing psychoactive plants, which includes magic mushrooms, Aya-

huasca and peyote.

Trujillo said the FDA has approved programs like UC Berkeley’s to use federally illegal drugs in order to study how low doses can impact healthy volunteers’ perception and representation, often using a combination of functional magnetic resonance imaging and “thoughtfully cultivated” therapistdriven psychophysics.

While the field is still in its infancy, scores of people – notably, many veterans – have already flocked to clinical trials on university campuses and weekend therapy retreats in Mexico to treat suicidal ideation, cognitive impairment, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety.

Michael Pollan, an award-winning journalist and UC Berkeley professor involved with the Center for the Science of Psyche-

delics, has long advocated that guides and therapists are necessary to properly study both the benefits and risks of the modern push to end the prohibition of psychedelics.

In August, Pollan told the San Francisco Examiner that “we’re going to need 100,000 trained psychedelic facilitators when psilocybin and MDMA are approved by the FDA, which is expected to happen within the next five years or so.”

In addition to enrolling people from a diverse range of professions, Berkeley News reported that 39 percent of the 24-member fall 2022 psychedelic facilitation cohort are also Black, Indigenous and other people of color.

More than 80 people submitted applications for the first year, she said, and hundreds more inquired about the program.

Brad Stanhope Like I was sayin’

UC Berkeley is studying how to

for therapy.

Dixon May Fair offering $25k in new ag scholarships

Daily Republic Staff DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

DIXON — Friends of the Dixon May Fair has increased its scholarships to $25,000 for 2023.

The nonprofit reorganized its agricultural-related college scholarship program, and renamed it the Donnie and Tootie Huffman Scholarship Program in honor of its founding president and treasurer.

“This year we will award nine scholarships to Solano County students majoring in agriculture in either a four-year California university or a two-year California community college,” scholarship chairwoman Carrie Hamel said in a statement.

The top award, the newly created Donnie Huffman Scholarship, is $5,000. Other awards in the four-year university category include the $4,000 JoAn Giannoni Scholarship; the $3,500 Ester Armstrong Memorial Scholarship; and the newly created $3,000 Joe Gates Memorial Scholarship, commemorat-

ing the longtime auctioneer of the Dixon May Fair’s Junior Livestock Auction. Gates, of Rio Vista, died in February 2021 of Covid-19.

The Friends also will fund two $3,000 scholarships in the four-year category for a total of $21,500, Hamel said in a statement.

In the two-year community college category,

the Friends will award the Jack Hopkins Scholarship at $1,500; and two $1,000 scholarships for a total of $3,500.

The all-volunteer organization is the service and fundraising arm of the fair. Since 2000, the Friends have awarded $233,250 to Solano County students majoring in agrelated fields, Hamel said

in a statement. For more information, write to the Friends of the Fair, P.O. Box 242, Dixon, CS., 95620; access the Friends of the Dixon May Fair Facebook page at www. facebook.com/FriendsoftheDixonMayFair/ or contact Carrie Hamel at hamelc88@gmail. com or (530) 219-8090.

Fairfield Planning Commission considers planned development

toDD R. H anSen THANSEN@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD —

A planned development project in the Train Station Specific Plan area goes before the city Planning Commission on Wednesday.

The commission will

conduct a public hearing and consider a Master Planned Unit Development permit “to establish circulation, design, and infrastructure phasing plans for the future development of the approximately 131 acres, ‘Planning Area 1,’ of the Fairfield Train Station

Specific Plan,” the commission agenda states.

“The proposed project includes a mix of high, medium, and low-density residential neighborhoods, a private recreation center, three public pocket parks, and an extension of the Linear Park.”

A tentative subdivision

map for 346 townhomes on 25.8 acres off Peabody Road also comes before the commission.

The developer in both cases is Republic Urban Properties/Peter Lin. The commission meets at 6 p.m. in the Council Chamber at City Hall, 1000 Webster St.

Bay Area air district backs tougher pollutant standards

toDD R. H anSen THANSEN@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD – The Bay Area Air Quality Management District is supporting more stringent standards for air pollution.

“The air district wholeheartedly supports the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s recent move to strengthen the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for particulate matter,” Sharon Landers, interim executive officer of the air district, said in a statement.

“As air quality impacts in our communities increase with the changing climate, more stringent standards are a critical tool to protect public health. This bold and informed action by EPA signals a return to relying on the latest science and will help protect the health of all Bay Area residents, especially those living in

communities disproportionately impacted by air pollution.”

The EPA has proposed lowering the annual standard for particulate matter from 12 to a level between 9 and 10 micrograms per cubic meter of air.

A 60-day comment period begins after the EPA proposal is published in the Federal Register, which is expected to happen in the coming days. The EPA will then set attainment and nonattainment zones, which will trigger the air district to consider rule changes for its jurisdictions, a spokesman for the agency said.

It could take more than two years to complete.

“In 2019, the air district and its Advisory Council convened the Particulate Matter Symposium Series to facilitate a discussion among nationally recognized scientists and stakeholders to consider

sure to particulate matter has been linked to serious respiratory illnesses and increased risk of heart attacks and is especially harmful for children, the elderly and those with respiratory conditions.”

The district covers all or some of the nine Bay

Oroville teen killed in car crash identified

Daily Republic Staff DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

VALLEJO — The Oroville 18-year-old killed in a car crash Thursday morning has been identified as Logan Pendergraft, the Solano County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office reported.

Pendergraft was a passenger in a Dodge Ram that was westbound on Interstate 80, east of Magazine Street, when the pickup left the roadway and smashed into a disable box delivery truck that was parked on the shoulder, the California Highway Patrol reported.

The driver, Javy Martin, 27, of Oroville, was taken to NorthBay

Medical Center with what the CHP described as minor injuries. No one was in the box truck.

The incident occurred about 10. Two lanes of the interstate were shut down until 1 p.m.

The crash is still under investigation, and alcohol is not considered a factor, the CHP said. It was not immediately clear whether the storm conditions were a contributing factor.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the CHP at 1-800-TELL-CHP (1-800-835-5247) or the CHP Solano Area Office at (707) 639-5600. Ask for Officer Withrow.

Dodd named chairman of Governmental Organization panel

Daily Republic Staff DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — Sen. Bill Dodd returns as the chairman of the Senate Governmental Organization Committee.

The committee “oversees a wide array of important policy, from emergency response to alcoholic beverage laws,” a statement released by Dodd’s office said. The appointment was made Friday by Senate President pro Tem Toni Atkins.

“It’s been my great privilege to lead policy in so many vital areas, and I look forward to continuing that work for Californians,” Dodd, D-Napa, said in the statement. “With an increase in climate-driven disasters including wildfires, ensuring robust emergency response is critical. Also, California’s dominance in the wine and craft beer industries makes legislation in those areas highly relevant. I thank Sen. Atkins for this chance to do the most for my dis-

In brief

Suisun public safety committee meets Thursday

SUISUN CITY – Police and fire activity updates and a city manager’s report scheduled for the Suisun City Advisory Committee on Public

Shirley S. Chen, DPM Physician at Sutter Medical Group

trict and our entire state.”

Among the Dodd’s and the committee’s work last year are authoring legislation to operationalize a $20 million prescribed fire fund, identifying surplus state property for housing construction and establishing climate resilience districts for communities.

Nineteen of Dodd’s bills were signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom – the most by any single lawmaker.

In addition to emergency services and alcohol regulation, the “Governmental Organization committee oversees more than two dozen diverse policy areas including state contracts, tribal compacts, state property, interstate agreements, seismic safety, the lottery, horse racing and gaming,” the statement said.

Dodd also was reappointed to the Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee; Insurance; Transportation and Housing and Energy Committee; and the Utilities and Communications Committee.

Safety and Emergency Management.

The committee meets on Zoom at 6 p.m. on Thursday.

The public can access the. meeting at https://zoom.us/ join. The Meeting ID is 881 6173 1410. Access also can be made by calling (707) 438-1720.

Sutter Medical Group recently welcomed Dr. Shirley S. Chen to the Sutter Fairfield Medical Campus. Dr. Chen specializes in Podiatry, earning her medical degree from Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. She completed the Podiatric Surgery Residency program at MedStar Health Georgetown where she served as chief resident and went on to complete the Silicon Valley Reconstructive Foot and Ankle Fellowship at Palo Alto Medical Foundation. Dr. Chen’s practice is located at 2702 Low Court, Fairfield (707) 427-4900.

Area counties, including the Fairfield and Vallejo regions of Solano County.

Aaron Rosenblatt/ Daily Republic file Smoky air hovers over wind turbines near Chadbourne in Fairfield, Nov. 15, 2018.

Aaron Rosenblatt/Daily Republic file Ingra Simpson of Dixon FFA shows her goat, Buddy, in the Sheep FFA Senior Showmanship at the Dixon May Fair, May 5, 2022.

Solano Covid cases dropping, but outcomes more severe; flu cases up

Todd r. H Ansen THANSEN@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — The trend has always been that the most severe Covid-19 cases take longer to develop.

Solano County is following that pattern with actual case numbers falling, but hospitalizations on the rise.

“At this point in the surge, we have crested and are showing signs of coming off the peak,” Dr. Bela Matyas, the county public health officer, sid in a phone interview on Friday.

“Unfortunately, the hospitalizations have jumped,” he said.

The flu cases, through Kaiser participating in a state program, also continue to climb, with seven additional hospitalizations (98 cases) and

one additional death, taking that total to three since October. The individual was older than 80.

As of Thursday, there were 42 residents in area hospitals with positive coronavirus tests, up from 35 on Dec. 29, and nine patients with the disease in intensive care units. That is up from three, the county reported.

Total number of pandemic cases is at 116,479, with 604 new cases reported on Thursday, of which 564 were from the actual seven-day period. That is a daily case average of 80.57, down from 91.7 a week early. The 10-day average dropped from 100.8 on Dec. 29 to 78.6 on Thursday, the county reported.

“Hopefully, we will continue to see the numbers diminish in the month of January,” Matyas said.

Fairfield added 153 cases for a total of 31,448 cases. Vallejo added

197 for a new count of. 35,453. Vacav ille is at 29,297 after 163 new cases, the county reported.

Suisun City (8,104) and Benicia (4,818) each added 32 new cases; Dixon (5,475) added eight; Rio Vista (1,653) added 18; and one new case in the unincorporated area took that total to 232, the county reported.

Vaccination rates continue to hold steady, with only 76 new booster shots administered for a total of 184,191. There have been 2,648 chil dren 6 months to 4 years who have been vaccinated (11.7%) and 15,261 children 5 to 11 (41.1%).

The number of monkeypox cases in Solano stayed at 44.

The release of the usual Thursday update was delayed one day because of issues getting the numbers with the start of the new year, the county reported.

Vaca council to consider who to give $1.3 million in ARPA funds

dAily r epubliC sTAff DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

VACAVILLE – The City Council on Tuesday will consider the nonprofit organizations to receive $1.265 million in federal pandemic relief funding.

The funds come from the city’s allocation of American Rescue

Tribune ConTenT AgenCy

The name Phantom Falls captures the ephemeral quality of twin waterfalls that appear after winter storms at a Butte County nature preserve. Making impressive, careening 166-foot drops into Lake Oroville and the Feather River, these rain-fueled torrents might disappear as quickly as they arrived.

Across Northern California, waterfalls are roaring back to life. It’s that time of year when winter storms all but erase memories of the state’s stubborn drought – and the bomb cyclone-fueled storms have given extra zip to rivers and creeks, even those that were recently dry.

Trails and roads in parkland may be dangerous due to falling trees and mudslides. But once hazards subside, intrepid hikers with mud-worthy boots can marvel at this seasonal splendor. Check local land management agencies for closures and safety notices. Here are just a few waterfalls, both large and small.

Phantom Falls ( Butte County)

Near Oroville in Butte County, residents know to hike the unofficial trails at North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve after rainfall when these cascading waterfalls appear. “These streams are completely fed by rainfall and by summer they’ll be gone,” said Laura Drath, interpretive services supervisor with the California Fish and Wildlife Service. The preserve, created to protect rare habitat for creatures like vernal pool fairy shrimp and newts, transforms dramatically with the seasons.

Hot and exposed during summer, the terrain is another green world after winter storms with basalt vernal pools. It bursts with endemic wildflowers in spring.

The trails were carved mostly by grazing cattle and are not maintained.

Drath cautioned hikers to come prepared with a map, sturdy boots and pay online ahead of time for

Plan Act funds.

The council meets at 6 p.m. in the Council Chamber at the rear of City Hall, 650 Merchant St.

Also on the agenda is consideration of exclusive negotiation rights with Mano Materials Inc. on a lease agreement for the development of a commercial biomanufacturing. facility near the northeast corner of the

easterly wastewater treatment plant.

The council is also scheduled to consider exclusive negotiating rights with Menard Energy Storage LLC for a disposition and development agreement for a battery energy storage facility and community sports complex aon city-owned property at 7050 Leisure Town Road.

California waterfalls

a land pass.

Oroville photographer Mike Manzone posted a stunning photograph of Phantom Falls that has gone viral. He hiked nearly three miles before dawn Dec. 30 to capture sweeping views of the fastflowing falls and gathering storm. “That’s the most water I’ve ever seen up there,” Manzone said.

Yosemite Falls ( Mariposa County)

The tallest waterfall in North America, Yosemite Falls descends nearly 2,500 feet into Yosemite Creek on the valley floor from about November through July. They can be spotted throughout most parts of Yosemite Valley and vistas like Glacier Point. Park spokesman Scott Gediman said that despite the storms, all trails are open, and he urged visitors to be cautious around all water.

Cataract Falls ( Marin County)

Winter rains supercharge Cataract Creek flowing from the western flank of Mount Tamalpais toward Stinson Beach, creating a series of small waterfalls that tumble down a lush canyon. The recent storm has temporarily closed the main trail access at Fairfax-Bolinas Road.

Alamere Falls ( Marin County)

Alamere Falls cas-

cades dramatically from an ocean bluff on the Point Reyes National Seashore about 40 feet down to Wildcat Beach. Hikers must walk 13 miles round-trip to reach this spectacular sight.

Sonoma Creek waterfall in Sugarloaf Ridge State Park ( Sonoma County)

A 25-foot waterfall tumbles down a boulderstudded canyon about a quarter mile from Sonoma Creek’s headwaters after rainstorms. This waterfall rises fast after rainfall and dissipates to a trickle during dry months.

Little Yosemite in Sunol Regional Park ( Alameda County)

Storm waters transform Alameda Creek as it runs through a part of Sunol Wilderness Regional Preserve named Little Yosemite. The creek crashes around big boulders, creating a series of little waterfalls in a picturesque gorge in the East Bay hills.

the canyon at San Pedro Valley County Park in south Pacifica.

Waterfall loop ( Santa Clara County)

Swanson Creek’s wending path through lush Uvas Canyon County Park on the eastern flanks of the Santa Cruz Mountains bursts with little waterfalls after winter storms.

ARMY VETERAN

wife of 32 yrs Nancy Meyerhoffer, 4 children, 16 grandchildren, 16 great grandchildren, parents and 2 sisters and 1 sister preceded in death.

Ser vices will be held at Sacramento Valley National Cemetery in Dixon, CA. January 19, 2022 at 2:30 p.m. In lieu of flowers please make a donation to a charity of your choice in his name.

Hubert Edwin Pannell

Hubert Edwin “Ed” Pannell was born in Fort Worth, Texas to Hub and Susie Pannell.

Ed was preceded in death by his parents wife Josefa Pannell, daughter Jeanette Pannell, son Bill Mendiola, siblings Lorene Ill, Richard Pannell, Shirley Logans, Patricia Harris, Tommy Pannell and Linda Shultz.

Left to cherish his memory are; Brothers Danny Pannell and Benny Pannell; son ; Michael Pannell, daughters and son s in-law Wanda and Mark Qualls, MaryAn n and Edwin Lanuza, Betty and Earnest Freddie, Cynthia and Jonathan Albert, Rose Richardson, Theresa Mendiola. 28 grandchildren, 36 great grandchildren and 4 great-great grandchildren.

Viewing and service will be held 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Monday, January 9 at Fairfield Funeral Home, 1750 Pennsylvania Ave, Fairfield, CA. Interment will be at 1:15 p.m. on Tuesday, January 11 at Sacramento Valley National Cemetery, 5810 Midway Rd, Dixon, CA

Sharon Lee Domler

On Dec. 16, 2022 heaven gained a new angel. Sharon passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her family.

Sharon was born Feb. 2, 1946 in Fairfield, California to MJ and Lorene Hudson. She graduated from Armijo High School then onto Heald Business College. She made her career working for the family business, Cement Hill Ready Mix in Fairfield, California.

She loved reading, napping, taking trips to the casino and being Nana to her grandchildren.

She is survived by her loving husband of 54 years, Carlton; daughter, Kelly Siscel; son, Matthew (Jamie) Domler, son, Michael (Jin-Ying) Domler; grandchildren, Garrett, Elizabeth, Mason, Jordan and Ashton; great-grandchildren, Austin, Avary and Asher; brother, Gary (Helga) Hudson; sister, Lora (Evert) Wilkerson; and sister-in-law, Linda Padykula.

The family would like to thank all the staff at David Grant USAF Medical Center and Anchor Health for the compassionate care and going above and beyond taking care of their sweet Nana.

Family and friends are invited to a celebration of Sharon’s life, from 1 to 4 p.m. Jan. 21, 2023, at Pietros #2, 679 Merchant St., Vacaville, California.

Mark Corioso

We are saddened to announce the passing of Mark Douglas Corioso, age 65. He passed away on December 4, 2022 after suffering a stroke.

Mark was born in O’ahu, Hawai’i on September 27, 1957. He was the son of Moses Corioso and Laura Corioso (Ambrose). Mark was raised with his two older siblings and two younger half-siblings. He also had four half-siblings from his mother’s second marriage. Mark’s father was in the Army so the family moved to various places including Texas and Germany, finally settling in Fairfield in 1968. Mark attended Crystal Middle School and Fairfield High School, graduating in 1975.

week, enjoying a close and loving bond with them.

Mark was very civic-minded and he belonged to numerous service clubs and volunteered on several different boards to help the needy. Some of these organizations included the Kiwanis Club, Sons in Retirement (SIRS), Fairfield-Suisun Soccer League, Community Action Partnership, Dream Team, and CANB (Change and New Beginnings), an organization that supports veterans and other people in need with food and shelter. He was also a member of the Rockville Presbyterian Church for many years and served as a deacon.

Donner

Falls

(

Contra Costa County)

Mount Diablo State Park’s Donner Canyon comes alive during winter and spring when the creek cascades over rock formations.

Brooks Falls ( San Mateo County)

Brooks Creek bursts into multitiered waterfalls during its rainy, wintertime journey from its headwaters down into

After high school he joined the Job Core and moved to Oregon. He worked as a supervisor at a Boys Ranch while in college, receiving a scholarship to attend the University of Oregon. He lived at the Boys Ranch and commuted to the university which was two hours away in his little white Spit Fire. Mark graduated from the University of Oregon in 1982 with a degree in community service and public affairs.

Mark loved Oregon and wanted to stay after graduation but there weren’t any jobs. His father was a medical technician at the California Medical Facility (CMF) and suggested he come back to California and work at the “joint” until something better came along. Well, Mark worked for CMF and California State Prison Solano for a combined 25 years as a correctional officer and counselor, retiring in 2007 as a Correctional Counselor II (Specialist) at the age of 50. After retiring he had a very fulfilling second career as an instructor at Solano Community College, teaching an introduction to criminal justice course and running an internship program. Many students have said he was their best teacher, including his daughter Jenna, who was one of his students.

In 1984, Mark married his wife Irene. He made her feel loved every minute of every day. He would often say “I can’t believe you said yes,” and her reply would always be “I’m the lucky one.” In 1987 they welcomed their first daughter, Annalisa. Their second daughter Jenna was born in 1990. Mark put his heart and soul into being the best husband and father he could be. He coached the girls in soccer and the three of them belonged to a YMCA father/daughter troop, sharing many good times camping at Jones Gulch. Mark always supported his daughters by attending every sports game, theater, music, and dance performance, and field trip. He was an incredible grandfather as well to Leonor and Mateus and fully retired in 2016 to take care of his first grandchild, Leonor. He helped to watch his grandchildren during the

Mark’s joys, besides his family and serving his community, included watching his Oregon Ducks Football, computer and board games, reading, and staying connected to his Hawaiian roots. He enjoyed watching his younger daughter, Jenna, dance hula. He was famous for his bulgogi short ribs, which he would prepare for special occasions. He loved his dog Emerson and referred to him as “my son.”

Mark is survived by his wife, Irene, and his two daughters, Annalisa (Henrique) Teixeira and Jenna (Pedro) Villicana; his two grandchildren, Leonor and Mateus Teixeira; his nephew, Ken Corioso; his sisters, Denise, Susan, Janie, Donna, and Tammie and his brothers, Mike and Jeff. He also leaves behind many nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, and a stepmother.

He was preceded in death by his beloved grandmother Mary Corioso, his father Moses Corioso, his biological mother Laura Casey (Corioso), his half-brother John Corioso, his cousin Jim Corioso, his sister-in-law Barbara Corioso, and his best friend Bruce Gable, who tragically passed at the young age of 18.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Mark’s memory to one of two charities he cared deeply about. The first is a non-profit, 86 Hunger Foundation, started by his niece Miranda. She and her partner provide food for the needy in Eugene, Oregon, located at 769 Monroe St. Eugene, OR 97402, https://www.mission86hunger.com/donate. The second charity is CANB located in Fairfield. Mark was on the board for several years. Change And New Beginnings is located at 416 Union Ave, Fairfield CA 94533, https://www.canbsolano.org/.

Mark’s memorial service will be at Bryan and Braker Funeral Home on January 19th at 11:00 am. His burial will take place immediately after the service at Rockville Cemetery followed by a Celebration of Life reception at the building located on the cemetery grounds. Guests are encouraged to wear yellow and green, Oregon Duck colors.

Irene and her daughters are thankful for all the love and support shown to their family during this difficult time.

NAVY VETERAN

Northern

are roaring. Here’s where you can see them

Susan Hiland/Daily Republic file

The Lori Frank Memorial Health Fair, Oct. 15, 2022

Kevin McCarthy wins his dream job, but at a humiliating and stifling cost

Tribune ConTenT AgenCy

He raised the money. He logged the campaign miles. He walked the halls in a crisp suit with a salesman’s gleam. But this week Kevin McCarthy ran headlong into the most perilous challenge of his career when rebellious Republicans unleashed a crushing battle that nearly denied him the speakership of the House and underscored the deep rancor within his party.

McCarthy had sought the speaker’s gavel for decades. Every wrinkle and twist of his career – from a young California assemblyman to minority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives – telegraphed his ambition. Some found him earnest, others calculating and duplicitous. But few believed the man from Bakersfield, California, with the firefighter father and the high school sweetheart wife would be denied.

He wasn’t forsaken in his quest, but his dream came at a humiliating cost that called into question his hold over the party. McCarthy’s powers of persuasion, his stock-in-trade congeniality, were not enough to get through the first 14 rounds of voting, revealing as much about the highly charged nature of American politics as it did about his willingness to compromise principles and bend to concessions forced by the party’s small but potent band of disruptors and election deniers.

“Kevin is incredibly weakened,” said Mike Madrid, a Republican consultant who has known McCarthy for years. “This is doing him extraordinary damage. These holdouts [radicals] view him like a Democrat. He is part of the swamp they want to get rid of. Kevin is the last establishment Republican standing. These are the death throes.”

He was an unenviable man in the spotlight, unable, despite his gamesmanship instincts and late-night maneuverings, to stop the revolt against him until early Saturday morning when he clinched the 216 votes that redeemed him. It was dramatic American theater that went off script and turned embarrassing and then tedious as each voting round passed and McCarthy carried himself through the chamber smiling, yet diminished until a final, pulse-quickening bit of wrangling and arm-twisting pushed him over the top.

McCarthy ascended to the speaker’s chair, smiled, took the gavel and banged it twice.

“And now the hard work begins,” he said.

The congressman had staked much of his future on Donald Trump. But with the former president facing a tide of legal woes and less influential with radical Republicans determined to upset the act of governing, McCarthy was in jeopardy. Those who attempted to orchestrate his downfall, including Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., and Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., never saw McCarthy, an

expert on House procedure and rules, as the consequential change agent they wanted to wreak havoc on the Biden administration and upend the way Congress works.

“The GOP civil war is in full swing. The MAGA caucus has the Speaker’s race held hostage, placing the nation in a dangerous moment in American history,” said a statement from the Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump organization, after the first day of voting on Tuesday. “This is a direct consequence of what happened on January 6th and with the rise of the post-fact, post-conservative, and post-Republican MAGA nihilist caucus.”

McCarthy has long been more facilitator than leader, more strategist than visionary. Those traits helped in his contortions in defending Trump, even after the Jan. 6 insurrection when many moderate Republicans saw an opportunity to disavow the former president. He gauged that Trump and his loyalists were the path to the speakership. But the congressman’s chameleon qualities left him vulnerable to hard-liners who demanded allegiance not to convention and ideological flexibility but to revolution.

His attempts to appease them – McCarthy has often been accused by moderates of indulging hard-liners –made him appear to be a leader without convictions until suddenly the man Trump called “my Kevin” was in peril. That pressure became more personal and pronounced as the voting defeats mounted, with Gaetz calling McCarthy a “squatter” for moving too early into the speaker’s office. Gaetz blamed McCarthy for resorting to an “exercise in vanity” by keeping his speakership bid alive. But, in the end, under intense pressure from fellow Republicans, Gaetz relented and did not oppose the man he has long reviled.

“While he is very good at being really personable, you can’t be everything to everyone all the time,” said Beth Miller, a Sacramento,

California, Republican strategist who has known McCarthy since the 1990s.

“That has been difficult for him to navigate through. He wants to move things forward, bring people along. But you can’t do that for everyone. You’re going to have detractors.”

“Things don’t come easy to me,” McCarthy, 57, once told the San Francisco Chronicle. “I have to work

harder at everything.”

What played out this week under the Capitol dome was a caustic strike on a politician whose ascent had been swift. He became Republican leader in his freshman year when he was elected to the California Assembly in 2002. He entered Congress in 2006 and was soon dubbed one of the Young Guns

The Bay Area saw some of its largest waves ever recorded on Thursday

Tribune ConTenT AgenCy

The powerful storm surges that pummeled the California coast Thursday were part of a swell that has kicked up some of the largest waves and swells on record for the Bay Area.

Readings from ocean buoys collated by UC San Diego’s Coastal Data Information Program, which has been gathering data on waves and swells since 1996, showed waves heights spiking all along the coast — often higher than what had been forecast.

A 31.5-foot-high wave was recorded off Point Sur in Monterey County — the 2nd-highest on record for that area. A wave just shy of 30 feet materialized off of Point Reyes (the 5thhighest on record) in the vicinity of Stinson Beach, which was inundated in a tidal surge.

At Point Santa Cruz, about 10 miles north of destruction that

befell Capitola Wharf, a 19-foot wave was recorded yesterday — the highest on record.

Since the recordings are on buoys that are some distance in the sea, wave heights may be greater when they break on shore.

Winter is the season when the Pacific sends its largest swells to California, but the abnormally high waves recorded this week were charged by the historic bomb cyclone-driven storm battering the state, according to the National Weather Service.

Forecasts extending into early next week show wave heights along the coast returning to a more normal range of between 15 and 20 feet — just below the threshold for a high-surf advisory. But the National Weather Service anticipates that waves could rise higher than 20 feet late next week in parallel with another storm cycle expected to pass through the region.

Win McNamee/Getty Images/TNS

U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy celebrates with the gavel after being elected in the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, D.C., Saturday. After four days of voting and 15 ballots, McCarthy secured enough votes to become speaker of the House for the 118th Congress.

See Wins, Page A12

Taliban rulers are changing the face of Kabul

izens are walking freely.”

KABUL — Taliban authorities have embarked on an ambitious project to change the face of the Afghan capital, a crowded metropolis of 5 million that still displays the scars, monuments and fads of periods of civil conflict, foreign invasion and newmoney opulence.

The Kabul municipal government, which provides utility services to homes and businesses and then collects fees to support its budget, is setting out to improve selected corners and neglected corridors of the city. It has 180 projects underway, including planting trees on median strips, erecting traffic-circle monuments and building major roads from scratch. The projected total cost is about $90 million.

In the affluent downtown enclave of Sherpur, blast walls have been removed from around showy mansions once occupied by warlords and government officials. Bulldozers have been grading and paving streets that were long closed to the public, shortening commutes and allowing residents to glimpse the abandoned lairs of the mighty.

“This is where powerful people lived. I was never allowed here,” said a 10-year-old boy who was playing cricket on a newly graded block. A passing Taliban guard chimed in. “These properties were all grabbed illegally. No one paid their taxes,” said Fawad Alokozai, 49.

In Dasht-i-Barchi, a run-down district across the city dominated by minority ethnic Shiites, municipal crews are smashing old houses to rubble as they prepare to build a connecting road to a major highway. The thoroughfare was originally envisioned 43 years ago by the first Afghan president, Mohammed Daoud Khan, who overthrew the monarchy and designed a master plan for the centuries-old capital that was never fulfilled.

“We have been waiting a long time for this,” said a gray-bearded, 68-year-old resident named Shahruddin, watching dust-covered workers with sledgehammers destroy a row of old mud-brick homes in the future boulevard’s path. He said some residents are worried about being compensated for their properties. “The Taliban are more honest than past governments, so we have to trust they will pay,” he said.

Naimatullah Barakzai, the spokesman for Kabul’s reconstruction initiative, said all international development projects stopped after the Taliban took power last year. “We don’t want to wait for them to start again or depend on foreign aid,” he said. Even though the country of 40 million faces economic hardship, he stressed, “We want to solve our own problems, and we want to make

the city beautiful. We don’t want people to think Kabul is ruined now and that we don’t care about culture.”

Barakzai, 40, a longtime municipal official, said his office is using the authority of the new government to get things done, including the seizure of private properties. “No one is allowed to use their influence to refuse us,” he said. “We will pay them, but we will use our tools, and we will implement our plans.”

Unlike Afghan kings and the Soviet-backed modernizers of earlier eras, the Taliban religious militia did not leave a physical stamp on Kabul when it first took power in 1996 after a civil war that left much of the capital in ruins. That five-year reign was infamous for destroying non-Islamic, rural antiquities and landmarks, especially the towering 6th-century Buddha statues carved into cliffs in the northern province of Bamian.

During the past 20 years of elected civilian governments, Kabul underwent a construction boom, which was driven by Western aid and development projects. High-rise apartments created a new skyline, and supermarkets and sleek fashion malls opened. In some areas, streets were paved and storm drains dug. But years of relentless warfare kept foreign investment away, and critics said aid funds often went into contractors’ pockets. Refugees returning from years in Iran and Pakistan swamped poor communities, many already crowded and barely habitable.

One businessman who lives in Sherpur welcomed the new government’s efforts, although he recently lost half his house and nine ancient pine trees when the wreckers came. He said the capital

had needed cleaning up in more ways than one.

“In the past, there was corruption and bribes, there were gangs and drugs, but that’s all gone now. If the municipality says they will pay me within the year, I believe it,” said Abid Baloch, 55.

“The new government is honest, and it is changing both the physical and political landscape.”

One such change has

been the dismantling of an urban fortress once occupied by Abdurrashid Dostum, a former army general, vice president and brutal militia leader now living in Turkey. For years, the structure loomed over a narrow city intersection, slowing traffic to a crawl. Once, police trying to arrest Dostum were unable to get past the blast walls, barbed wire and gun turrets. Now, those

defenses are gone and pedestrians stroll in the surrounding lanes.

“This makes me feel like we have done something useful, that all my years of fighting were worth it,” said a Taliban security guard in his 50s named Khairullah, who was sitting next to a snack stand across the street. “We have brought peace, men are growing beards and going to mosques, and cit-

Militarized structures built by departed U.S. and NATO forces - some overlaid with steel roofs that obscured entire city blocks - have been harder to beautify, especially those now being used by Taliban security agencies. Barakzai said municipal officials have been negotiating with such occupants to remove outer blast walls or hide them from view, so far with little result.

“We have no legal power to force anyone to cooperate or move. We can only file cases in the courts,” Barakzai said. He noted that one relative of a late Afghan president has refused to leave a longtime family home in downtown Kabul – part of which was due to be demolished – and may remain there indefinitely.

Some of the vacated residential palaces are still off-limits because their former inhabitants have been replaced by Taliban fighters, families and visitors. On July 31, when a U.S. drone strike in Kabul killed Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Egyptianborn al-Qaeda leader, he was living as a Taliban guest in a high-walled Sherpur mansion.

Other kinds of public projects are both highly visible and politically symbolic. Along with installing concrete lane dividers on busy boulevards, city workers are razing prominent traffic circle monuments. Several were built to honor slain anti-Taliban leaders such as Ahmed Shah Massoud and Abdul Haq, both killed in 2001. They will be replaced by abstract objects rather than Taliban heroes, though, because the movement’s strict Islamic code bans human likenesses.

In poorer areas of the city, the less visible, heavyduty work of shoring up old roads and building new ones has been moving ahead rapidly. In Dasht-iBarchi, the new avenue got underway last month with a rumble of heavy equipment. A crowd of residents gathered to watch, sad to see the old houses come down but happy that the community finally would be connected to Highway 1. The major north-south route between Kabul and Kandahar was built by the U.S. Alliance for Progress in the 1960s.

“I don’t know why they have to do this now, when winter is coming and people are hungry, but this road is something we need. I can remember my father talking about it when I was a boy,” said Mohammed Mohsin, 30, an unemployed butcher. “If it is finally happening with the new government, then we must all be glad.”

Elise Blanchard/The Washington Post photos

Municipal workers in December prepare a drainage ditch bordering a road long closed to the public but recently

graded and about to be paved in the affluent downtown Kabul enclave of Sherpur.

Kabul municipal workers renovate the median strip of a major avenue in the neighborhood of Company.

Construction of a road median proceeds alongside paving work in the Kabul neighborhood of Wazir Akbar Khan.

Flexibility moves to top of mind among 2023 trends in workplace

a rcElia M artin THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS

The past year has been rife with evolving ideas about what future workplaces might look like. There’s been a shift in what workers expect from their jobs and who those workers are.

Employees are no longer interested in burning the midnight oil, said Mandy Price, co-founder and CEO of Kanarys, a tech company that provides organizations with diversity, equity and inclusion data.

“What we’ve already seen is a more human-centric approach when we start to think about workforces,” Price said.

The Dallas Morning News spoke to a half dozen experts and employers on workplace trends expected for the upcoming year. In 2023, more workers will demand pay transparency and flexibility, while employers plan to invest in their existing talent and work to understand a new generation joining a more virtual workforce.

Upskilling

Companies are looking to invest in existing employees rather than hiring new ones. From the thousands of groups Kanarys has been tracking and CEOs they’ve been following, Price said business leaders are planning to upskill.

“They already have so much institutional knowledge about the organization,” Price said. “And [companies] want to be able to invest in their current workforce.”

As new innovations and advancements change what’s needed from different jobs, there is a need for upskilling, Bryan Daniel, chairman of the Texas Workforce Commission, said at a December Dallas Regional Chamber event.

Daniel points to a mismatch between the skills employers need and those in workers’ tool sheds, ranging from managerial abilities to software maintenance.

Investing in Texas’ existing workforce will be beneficial to the state’s growth, he said, as the state competes to retain talent.

“There are 49 states trying to get the jobs that Texas employers have created, all the time,” Daniel said.

Ed Curtis, the founder of YTexas, a network aimed at supporting companies moving or expanding to Texas, said better communication with young people about the needs and skills that are newly required, ahead of their embarking on careers, can help fill holes in the workforce.

“Texas is in a good position when it comes to available workforce and meeting the needs of the companies that

and chief executive officer of NorthBay Health, said in a statement. “We know he will hit the ground running.”

are coming here and expanding,” Curtis said.

Gen Z becomes a force

By 2025, more than a fourth of the workforce will be Gen Z, or people born between 1997 and 2012. The younger cohort of workers is more vocal and diverse than its predecessors. The group is prioritizing pay and work-life balance. The generation expects something completely different in the workforce than the generations before them, Price said.

Gen Z workers are struggling with financial anxiety and pushing for more purposeful and flexible work, according to a Deloitte Gen Z and Millennial report surveying 14,808 Gen Zs and 8,412 millennials.

Those who were satisfied with their employers’ societal and environmental impact said they are more

UC Davis Health to assist NorthBay Health during the recruitment.

likely to want to stay with their employers, according to the Deloitte report.r jobs in less than a year, compared withs 40% of all employees, according to a report by Lever, a software company tracking hiring.

Those who were satisfied with their employers’ societal and environmental impact said they are more likely to want to stay with their employer, according to the Deloitte report.

“They’re not looking to be at an organization and be there long term for 20, 30 years,” Price said of Gen Z workers. “The way they think of the workforce and their place in it is just very, very different.”

Flexible workweeks

Since the start of the pandemic, the number of women

legacy associations.

NorthBay Health names new financial officer

FAIRFIELD — NorthBay Health has hired Joe D’Angina as its next chief financial officer.

D'Angina, who recently served in the same capacity at UC San Francisco Health, starts his duties on Jan. 31.

“We are so pleased to welcome not only a veteran of health care financial management, but also someone who is vastly familiar with our landscape,” B. Konard Jones, president

Prior to his role at UCSF, D’Angina served almost nine years with Dignity Health, starting at Woodland Healthcare as its chief financial officer then transitioning to hold both the chief financial officer and chief operating officer positions, and then as the service area chief financial officer for Dignity’s north state market.

Before that, he held executive level finance positions with Kaiser Permanente, Sutter Regional Medical Foundation, Sutter Health as well as Bay Valley Medical Group, now a part of Stanford Health.

D’Angina will overlap several weeks with interim CFO Tim Maurice, who temporarily left retirement from

Two companies merge into AgWest Farm Credit

FAIRFIELD — Northwest Farm Credit Services has merged, effective Jan. 1, with Farm Credit West to form AgWest Farm Credit.

The new association has 22,000 customers throughout seven western states including California. No changes to local branch offices are anticipated with the merger. Farm Credit West has a branch in Woodland.

The new association, headquartered in Spokane, Washington, will be led by past Farm Credit West President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Littlefield and a management team from both

Feds list EVs eligible under news $7,500 tax credit program

Ethan Baron THE MERCURY NEWS

The latest federal program to encourage electric vehicle purchases kicked off with the new year, offering the single largest financial boost available to buyers – a $7,500 tax credit – in hopes of cutting the use of fossil fuels.

The new program makes some Tesla vehicles eligible for credits once again and guarantees availability of the money until 2032. And in California, buyers can stack the federal credit with a state credit of up to $7,000, depending on eligibility. But buyers will be subject to income limits and manufacturers

will have to contend with new federal restrictions on where the components of qualifying cars can be made, complicating the process for many.

Still, Brian Moody, executive editor of AutoTrader, said the credits should help broaden electric vehicle sales beyond the “early adopters” who have bought EVs even though they typically cost more than gas vehicles. “You’ve removed the barrier of price for some people,” Moody said.

The new tax credit, created under the Inflation Reduction Act passed in August, is part of the legislation’s heavy focus on reducing emissions that contribute to climate change. The program

aims to restrict where vehicles and batteries can be made in a bid to help build domestic manufacturing capability, add jobs and reduce dependence on foreign producers.

Sales of new EVs in the U.S. rose from fewer than 100,000 in 2016 to more than 450,000 in 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics. But EVs still make up a very small share of U.S. vehicle sales, which totaled nearly 12 million in 2021, the agency reported.

The new tax credit program scraps a provision of a previous $7,500 credit program that only allowed the first 200,000 EVs produced by

“This is a merger of two very successful, financially strong farm credit associations across the west who have partnered together for many years. Merging allows us to bring the best of each association together to form an even more effective cooperative and offer increased value to our members, Littlefield said in a statement announcing the merger.

AgWest will serve producers, agribusinesses and related industries in Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, and Washington, providing financing and insurance services.

There are no changes to local branch offices anticipated with the merger, the company announced.

— By DR Staff

Fighting inflation not quick knockout

As the Federal Reserve raises interest rates in its campaign to drive borrowing costs high enough to bring down 40-year high inflation, the goal is to get businesses and households to reduce spending and demand for goods, services, and labor, thereby easing upward pressure on prices.

The process will not be smooth. Regular Americans have felt the sting of inflation for months, and the Fed’s effort to lower it so far have already made it harder for many consumers to buy things like a house or a car.

Previous comments from the Fed warned that a target unemployment rate of 5% would encourage the Fed to cease rate increases. That change translates to a loss of about 2 million jobs, a number consistent with the economy being in recession. For comparison, in the last three recessions, the jobless rate peaked at roughly 14.7%, 9.5% and 5.5% in 2020, 2009 and 2001, respectively.

None of those recessions, though, were preceded by inflation anywhere near as high as today, a fact that could make a coming downturn more painful.

By contrast, wages have grown over the last year at about 5%, a strong clip, with the lowest paid workers seeing the biggest rise in their pay packets. But that is not necessarily good news for managing inflation, when the objective is 2%. The Fed worries that the longer those outsized wage gains continue, the more likely high inflation becomes embedded in the economy in a self-perpetuating spiral.

One reason wage gains have been so strong is the fierce demand for a pool of labor that has not returned to its pre-pandemic size, even as the economy has grown. Job openings are larger than the number of job seekers. Fed policymakers hope businesses will reduce hiring rather than resort to layoffs. Fewer job openings should translate to slower wage growth, meaning that unless inflation comes down quickly more workers will see their pay packets shrink after accounting for inflation.

In the midst of all the statistical reports, there is a potential trap or misunderstanding that could occur in the reports of inflation. First, let’s define some terms. Inflation means an increase in prices, so goods and services cost more. Therefore, a dollar buys less. Disinflation means a slowing of the rate of inflation. Inflation is still present, but not at a rate as high. Deflation means a reduction in prices, so a dollar buys more goods and services, a situation which is quite rare.

Most of the inflation reports look at the increase in prices over the last twelve months. If the inflation rate were to plateau eventually the comparison to the trailing twelve months would be a small number. That is the Fed’s goal, to slow the inflation rate. However, that does not mean a reduction in prices. We are stuck at the higher price levels. Even if inflation went to zero, we would still live with the higher costs. Do not expect the control of inflation to mean anything becomes more affordable. It just means the growth rate for the future is lower.

As businesses, vendors, employees and all other related participants jockey for position, the pressure for each to attain a better financial position will continue. Do not expect inflation to disappear. And do not hold out hope for overall price reductions and more purchasing power from each of your dollars.

Mark Sievers, president of Epsilon Financial Group, is a certified financial planner with a master’s in business administration from the University of California, Berkeley. Contact him by email at mark@wealthmatters.com.

Mark Sievers Wealth matters

Vernon Bryant/The Dallas Morning News/TNS

Kanarys co-founders Star Carter (left), chief operating officer, and Mandy Price, CEO, pose for a portrait at their office in 2020 in Dallas. Kanarys is a Dallas tech startup that provides a platform for employees to anonymously review a company and also a service to companies to promote better diversity, equity and inclusion.

D’ANGINA

How environmental law is misused to stop housing

It’s well known that the California Environmental Quality Act, signed by then-Gov. Ronald Reagan in 1970 and meant to protect the natural environment in public and private projects, is routinely misused to stop or delay much-needed housing construction.

Anti-housing NIMBYs in affluent communities misuse it to stymie high-density, multi-family projects, arguing that their neighborhoods’ bucolic ambience would be altered. And construction unions misuse it to extract wage concessions from developers.

It’s a long-running civic scandal and a major factor in California’s chronic inability to reduce its severe housing shortage, one that cries out for CEQA reform, which former Gov. Jerry Brown once described as “the Lord’s work.” But neither Brown or any other recent governor has been willing to take on the task, which would mean confronting environmental groups and unions, two of the Democratic Party’s major allies.

In the absence of comprehensive reform, governors and legislators sometimes grant CEQA exemptions for particular projects, such as sports arenas, or narrow categories of housing. However, CEQA misuse continues and the courts have become venues for battles over its application.

Two recent state appellate court actions in the crowded San Francisco Bay Area –one expanding the use of CEQA by those who oppose housing projects and another that restricts its use – underscore the law’s chaotic role.

Just before Christmas, one panel of the First District Court of Appeal issued a preliminary ruling that could open a new avenue for using CEQA to halt projects. It declares that a University of California student housing development in Berkeley violates the law because UC didn’t consider the impact of having more people – 1,100 students – in the neighborhood, citing the potential of late-night parties and other gatherings that could worsen a “persistent problem with student-generated noise.”

In other words, the court said that the presence of more people is an environmental impact – a novel theory that could hand antihousing groups everywhere a potent weapon.

As UC law professor Chris Elmendorf tweeted about the draft decision, “The court’s reasoning is devastating ammunition for racist white homeowners who would leverage CEQA to keep poor people and minorities out of their neighborhoods.”

For example, he continued, “using the court’s statistical-associations logic, white homeowners could argue that CEQA requires affordable housing developers to analyze and mitigate putative ‘gun violence impacts’ from any lower-income housing project in an affluent neighborhood. The homeowners would point to statistics showing that poor people, and African Americans and Hispanics, are statistically more likely than affluent people and whites to be victims of gun violence.”

A few days later, another panel of the same appellate court rejected efforts by a group opposing a 130-unit project in downtown Livermore, called Save Livermore Downtown, to employ CEQA. Attorney General Rob Bonta had interceded in the case, supporting the city’s approval of the project and its win in Superior Court.

“Timing is critical for affordable housing projects, which often rely on time-sensitive funding sources like tax credits to finance development,” Bonta said while intervening, adding, “Our state is continuing to face a housing shortage and affordability crisis of epic proportions. CEQA plays a critical role in protecting the environment and public health here in California. We won’t stand by when it is used to thwart new development, rather than to protect Californians and our environment.”

After the appellate court action, Bonta tweeted, “CA’s housing crisis is dire. We won’t stand by and let people misuse our laws to avoid being part of the solution.”

The outcomes of both cases underscore the need for a fundamental CEQA overhaul to reinstate its original purpose, rather than continuing wasteful project-by-project skirmishes.

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

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Isom snubs Petero, disrespects 20,000 in her trustee area

Just when I thought that the Rev. David Isom couldn’t show Trustee Ana Petero any more disrespect, he went to a new low minutes into his term as Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District board president.

While selecting board trustees to serve on various subcommittees for the forthcoming year, Isom refused to appoint Ms. Petero to any subcommittee. When she asked if she could continue to serve on the Facilities Subcommittee that she has served on for the past two years, he flatly said no. When she asked if she could serve as an alternate, he said “you won’t.”

When Ms. Petero asked if he was ok with disenfranchising the over 20,000 people who Ms. Petero serves as their elected board member, he said “ok.”

How on Earth can someone who claims to care about the stu-

COMMENTARY

dents and people of FSUSD have no qualms whatsoever about shutting out 20,000 people? It was part of those 20,000 people who gave this board its precious bond measure that will allow them to spend even more money on pet projects.

Isom doesn’t care about any of that. All he cares about is flaunting his power and his disrespect for his colleague. Perhaps he’s scared of her being such a vocal and effective advocate for her district?

Or is it simply because he is a petty man who wants to show her who is in charge now? Anyway you look at it, it’s going to be a long year.

Eric Campbell Fairfield

Suisun resident does not see beautification of old

town

I am an Suisun old town resident and I want to address the “beauti-

fication” aspect of old town. I have noticed that before any “event” in old town the area is cleaned, so the people from outside the town will see the beautiful marina and plaza.

As an old town resident who enjoys my daily walks around the area, I will say that the area is not so beautiful. In the plaza, around the walkway around the waterfront and by the lighthouse there is trash, encampments, and at times people that are acting inappropriately.

As a tax-paying resident, I would like to enjoy my daily walks rather than having to go different directions to avoid the piles of trash, and the scary and unsafe situations. I ask that all city staff – mayor, council members, city planner, etc – to walk the waterfront area when there is not a special event planned.

This has been a complaint for many years and is getting worse, so maybe now since there are now two new council members this issue will be resolved.

Barbara Kraig Suisun City

Frederick the Great’s advice for Ukraine

As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nears its first anniversary, what’s next? In some ways, the Kremlin and Kyiv both seem to be signaling a new openness to begin peace negotiations. In others, they appear to be doing the opposite - ruling out talks by setting implausibly maximalist preconditions, while simultaneously girding for a climactic military showdown. It can’t be both at the same time, can it?

Oh yes it can. It’s naive to think that wars, including this one, are settled by either diplomacy or fighting, and that the second route implies a failure of the first. The actual dynamic between jaw-jaw and shooting was better captured by Frederick the Great, the 18th-century king of Prussia: “Diplomacy without arms is like music without instruments.”

In the early days of the Russian invasion, Ukraine had few instruments. The country was desperately clinging to its survival, and “negotiation” would have been tantamount to capitulation. At one point last spring, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in effect offered his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, a deal that included Ukraine becoming permanently neutral - that is, forever forgoing ties with NATO. Putin, still thinking that he could subjugate all of Ukraine, wasn’t interested.

Much has changed. The military momentum now seems to favor Ukraine. The country is receiving a steady flow of state-of-the-art weapons, ammunition and other kit from its Western friends, and its soldiers are learning in record time how to use all that gear to lethal effect. Ukraine no longer needs to fear national extinction and can even hope for a victory of sorts. If negotiations were to start this year, Ukraine would be in a much stronger bargaining position.

Moreover, Putin’s troops have committed such vile - and indeed genocidal - atrocities in Ukraine that Zelenskiy is no longer able or willing to make drastic concessions, and

must insist on some form of restitution. In a video message to leaders of the Group of 20 in November, he proposed a 10-point peace plan. It includes Russia’s complete withdrawal from all of Ukraine, including the Donbas and Crimea. It also envisions trying Russia for war crimes before an international tribunal, getting back all the Ukrainians Russia has deported or imprisoned, and more.

Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, has now refined that proposal, suggesting an international peace summit under the aegis of the United Nations, perhaps starting in February. Zelensky himself will probably elaborate on that idea when he addresses the World Economic Forum in Davos this month. None of this activity implies that Kyiv thinks it will succeed with its opening bid verbatim - just that it’s ready to play the instrumental music of diplomacy again.

Putin is striking the same tune in the opposite direction. He too claims that he’s open to negotiations, while laying down terms that he knows will sound like a sick joke to Kyiv and the world. He demands that not only Crimea but also four other Ukrainian regions he claims to have annexed be recognized as Russian. He’ll ask for much more besides, including a NATO withdrawal from Eastern Europe and other things he would spin as validating his propaganda lies that Russia has really been acting all along in self-defense.

While both sides are putting out these talking points, they’re also arming and reloading, just as Old Fritz would be doing. Zelenskiy just returned from Washington, D.C. - his first foreign trip since Putin’s invasion - with new American pledges of support, including the vaunted Patriot missile-defense system. That in turn could sway the debate in NATO countries such as Germany, which is still dithering about sending the Leopard 2 tanks that the Ukrainians need to retake their territories.

Putin in turn is stepping up his terror campaign against civilians, raining missiles and Iranian-made drones on cities in an attempt to starve, freeze and bomb Ukrainians into submission. Having drafted some 300,000 additional Russian soldiers in recent months, he’s bragging that he has the reserves in manpower and willpower to go on indefinitely.

The reality on the ground and in the wider world looks different.

First, both combatants have bled too much already - an estimate is being bandied about in Western capitals of 100,000 casualties on each side.

Second, the conflict is being internationalized, as Zelenskiy is winning and Putin is losing friends among formerly neutral or Russian-leaning countries, from India to Kazakhstan and even China.

When Putin started threatening nuclear escalation last year, the fear was that internationalization could widen the conflict into World War III. Instead, the increasing diplomatic activity by outside powers – Beijing, New Delhi, Ankara, Jakarta and others – has in effect shown Putin his limits and constricted his room for maneuver. He appears to have understood that the world wouldn’t tolerate his use of nukes – and would punish him with assured defeat.

This war may yet drag on for a decade – as the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan did – or end sooner.

It may freeze in an informal armistice as the Korean War did, or culminate in protracted international peace negotiations reminiscent of the 1815 Congress of Vienna or the 1648 Peace of Westphalia. But even as the diplomats begin drafting seating plans around bargaining tables – as they tune the instruments in their section of the orchestra – the guns will keep booming on the battlefield, in the fiercest crescendos yet.

Andreas Kluth is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering European politics. A former editor in chief of Handelsblatt Global and a writer for the Economist, he is author of “Hannibal and Me.”

Dan Walters

Andreas Kluth

Crime logs FairField

THURSDAY, JAN. 5

12:40 a.m. —Drunken driving, 300 block of EAST TABOR

AVENUE

1:23 a.m. — Assault with a deadly weapon, 1900 block of KIDDER AVENUE 7:09 a.m. — Vehicle theft, 100 block of NORTHRIDGE COURT 7:18 a.m. — Vehicle theft, 300 block of COLORADO STREET 8:05 a.m. — Commercial burglary, 200 block of EAST ATLANTIC AVENUE 8:12 a.m. — Vehicle theft, 1900 block of NORTH TEXAS STREET 9:44 a.m. — Hit-and-run property damage, NORTH TEXAS STREET 10:11 a.m. — Hit-and-run property damage, 5100 block of BUSINESS CENTER DRIVE 11:02 a.m. — Trespassing, 600 block of EAST TRAVIS

BOULEVARD

11:18 a.m. — Commercial burglary, 2000 block of DOVER AVENUE 3:44 p.m. — Grand theft, 1800 block of WALTERS COURT 6:14 p.m. — Vehicle theft, KIDDER AVENUE 6:19 p.m. — Residential burglary, 5100 block of FALATI LANE 9:04 p.m. — Vandalism, 300 block of PITTMAN ROAD 9:18 p.m. — Hit-and-run property damage, 300 block of BEGONIA BOULEVARD 9:35 p.m. — Vandalism, 300 block of BEGONIA BOULEVARD 10:42 p.m. — Reckless driver, UTAH STREET 11:05 p.m. — Prowler, 500 block of JACKSON STREET

FRIDAY, JAN. 6 1:43 a.m. — Battery, 2000 block of WALTERS ROAD 2:25 a.m. — Battery, 1700 block of NORTH TEXAS STREET 9:27 a.m. — Forgery, 1400 block of PHOENIX DRIVE 11:10 a.m. — Vehicle burglary, 3100 block of TRAVIS BOULEVARD 11:41 a.m. — Reckless driver, MANUEL CAMPOS PARKWAY 11:54 a.m. — Forgery, 2200 block of CORDELIA ROAD 12:31 p.m. — Trespassing, 1900 block of WEST TEXAS STREET

1:02 p.m. — Battery, 1700 block of CLAY STREET 2:15 p.m. — Shots fired, 3100 block of POTRERO WAY 2:49 p.m. — Hit—and—run property damage, TRAVIS BOULEVARD 2:55 p.m. — Commercial burglary, 1900 block of NORTH TEXAS STREET 3:10 p.m. — Vehicle theft, 1300 block of WEST TEXAS STREET 3:15 p.m. — Shots fired, HARTFORD AVENUE 3:37 p.m. — Vehicle theft, 2000 block of NORTH TEXAS STREET 3:49 p.m. — Shots fired, 1200 block of HARTFORD CIRCLE 4:08 p.m. — Vehicle theft, 2200 block of PEACH TREE DRIVE 5:32 p.m. — Assault with a deadly weapon, 5000 block of BROOKDALE CIRCLE 5:41 p.m. — Vandalism, 900 block of LOCUST STREET 6:01 p.m. — Fight with a weapon, 3300 block of HILLRIDGE COURT 7:10 p.m. — Grand theft, 2200 block of NORTH TEXAS STREET 9:56 p.m. — Prowler, 2000 block of CAMBRIDGE DRIVE 10:12 p.m. — Trespassing, 2100 block of NORTH TEXAS STREET 10:47 p.m. Vehicle theft, 3000 block of DOVER AVENUE

SuiSun City

THURSDAY, JAN. 5 3:38 p.m. — Fraud, 500 block of WHISPERING BAY LANE 6:48 p.m. — Fraud, 1200 block of MAYFIELD CIRCLE FRIDAY, JAN. 6 12:03 a.m. — Assault, 500 block of KINGLET COURT 11:30 a.m. — Fraud 200 block of MAPLE STREET 3:41 p.m. — Reckless driver, WALTERS ROAD

ics have been released is because she is afraid of facing a defamation suit.

From

going to be doctors, are willing to spend your days in Ghana?” Kennedy asked the more than 10,000 University of Michigan students who came out to his campaign stop.

“Technicians or engineers, how many of you are willing to work in the Foreign Service and spend your lives traveling around the world? On your willingness to do that, not merely to serve one year or two years in the service, but on your willingness to contribute part of your life to this country, I think will depend the answer whether a free society can compete. I think it can! And I think Americans are willing to contribute. But the effort must be far greater than we have ever made in the past,” Kennedy added.

It was not Kennedy who inspired Bernales, but some of his professors at was then California State University, Humboldt –now Cal Poly Humboldt.

Bernales said one of those professors was one of the earliest volunteers when the Peace Corps was formed, so he is pretty sure she was inspired by Kennedy.

“A lot of my professors did Peace Corps and told some pretty interesting stories,” Bernales said, and talked about the impacts those experiences had on their lives.

So after the 2014 Vanden High alum graduated with his business degree from Humboldt in 2018, he joined the Peace Corps. He was sent to East Timor, also known as Timor—Leste, but officially is the island nation of the Democratic Repub-

lic of Timor–Lestea.

“I was part of the community economic development. I worked with a radio station; I worked in a youth center; I worked with a women’s organization,” Bernales said.

“I taught English, of course, but I’m also a cook, so I did teach some cooking and I taught some math,” said Bernales, who holds a minor in economics out of Humboldt, too.

His fondest memories of his time in Indonesia are the cooking classes.

“I used to cook a lot for my friends as an undergraduate, and to take cooking there, we had a lot of fun,” said Bernales, noting the various cultural dishes they prepared together. “Food is the passport to the world.”

And for whatever he provided to those he worked with, Bernales said he received as much or more. He said he learned a new language, teteum, learned about a new culture, and “met a lot of really nice people.”

Bernales was born in

tions to the west.

From Page One

event at best.

From Page One

whether she actually has any material to suggest corruption by any member of the council.

Moy’s detractors have accused the mayor of playing “loose and easy” with her accusations and the reason no specif-

A defamation complaint has been filed against the city, and Moy as an individual, for comments she has made toward Showcase LLC, one of the marijuana retail outlets in the city.

The ethics meeting is set for 5:30 p.m. in the city manager’s office on the fourth floor of City Hall, 1000 Webster St.

Iran hangs two more people in campaign against protesters

The WashingTon PosT

Iran hanged two men tied to anti-government protests on Saturday, continuing a trend of using capital punishment to suppress dissent. The government has also killed hundreds of people, held thousands of sham trials and sentenced more people to death row, according to rights groups.

The men, Mohammad Mehdi Karami, 22, and Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini, 39, were both accused of taking part in the killing of a member of the Basij, a volunteer paramilitary force overseen by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, on Nov. 3 near the city of

Karaj, according to the Mizan News Agency, which is tied to Iran’s judiciary.

They are the third and fourth protesters to be executed by the government since September and the first time two have been killed on the same day, perhaps indicating a ramping up of Iran’s lethal campaign to deter protests that have rocked the country for nearly four months.

“These men weren’t executed after a judicial process, they were lynched,” said Hadi Ghaemi, the executive director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI), a New York-based advocacy group.

“We have some flooding, but it is not a flood—control system. It is a drainage system, so we do expect some flooding,” Huff said.

The hope is that those flood waters do not linger too long.

The National Weather Service in Sacramento reports that Solano County has received, as of Jan. 6, about 12.35 inches of rain since the rain season started on Oct. 1. That is 136% of normal.

The reading was taken at the Nut Tree Airport, so the totals are likely to be more in the higher eleva-

The 48—hour period that ended at 2 p.m. Friday dropped close to 2 inches across the county, with 1.97 inches being recorded at Travis Air Force Base and 1.71 inches at Nut Tree Airport, said Katrina Hand, meteorologist and forecaster for the Weather Service in Sacramento.

“And we have two storms coming through. The first is Saturday into Sunday, and the stronger one Monday into Tuesday,” Hand said.

The weekend storm, with the heaviest rains coming Saturday day into Saturday night, is expected to drop 1 to 2 inches, with winds from the south at 20 to 25 mph, and gusts up to 40 to 45 mph.

Even more rain is

Okinawa. His father was in the U.S. Navy. The family lived briefly in the Philippines, then moved to Washington state and then California.

“We moved around, but I did more of my school here (in Fairfield),” Bernales said.

He said the family enjoyed traveling from their various homes, even day trips to explore new areas.

Bernales said that certainly whet his appetite to explore the world through the Peace Corps, adding that his parents were very supportive of him.

After being evacuated due to the pandemic, Bernales returned to school and earned his master’s at George Washington University in Washington D.C., finishing the course work last May.

But he his anxious to return to the Peace Corps service, leaving for Fiji on Jan. 20.

“As a business volunteer, I hope to share an entrepreneur’s mindset with community members in Fiji and hopefully get

expected on Monday, with 3 to 4 inches falling through Tuesday. However, most of the rain will come on the first day of that storm, Hand said.

“We are looking at stronger wind gusts, but we will have a better idea . . . as we get closer,” she said.

King said the wet weather is preventing the Agriculture Commissioner’s Office from getting out and starting the second full round of treatment for the glassy-winged sharpshooter infestation in the Browns Valley Road area of Vacaville.

The commissioner’s Office also will release additional non—stinging, parasitic wasps that target the sharpshooter when the weather warms up, King said.

them excited about business,” he said.

Bernales said he would recommend the Peace Corps to anyone who is interested, but said the group is looking for individuals who have certain skill sets, specifically agriculture, community economic development, education, environment, health or youth in development.

So, he added, it is a good idea to go to a university or put some work experience together first.

“It’s very challenging, but you do end up with a lot of great stories and experiences, and you get a really good network of people,” said Bernales, who still keeps in touch with some of his Peace Corps friends.

“Just have an open mind and be open to something new.”

The Peach Corps is looking for volunteers to serve in 56 countries. To apply to Peace Corps service, go to www. peacecorps.gov/apply.

The primary concern is the insect can transmit Pierce’s disease, which can kill grapevines. The gross value of the wine grape industry in Solano County is about $21 million (2021).

However, the insect is known to feed off 70 plant species, among them citrus trees, almonds, stone fruit and oleanders, according to published sources.

Almonds have the largest crop value at $71.12 million (2021), and are more at risk from the storms if the water sits in the orchards for long periods of time.

No commercial crop or nursery operation is at risk from the sharpshooter infestation, the Ag Commissioner’s Office has reported.

Biden’s border visit will showcase a city strained by migration

BloomBerg neWs

Joe Biden’s choice of El Paso, Texas, as the site of his first presidential visit to the U.S.-Mexico border puts a spotlight on a city that has struggled to deal with a four-fold surge in the number of migrants on its streets.

Mayor Oscar Leeser – a Democrat like Biden – has said shelters and charity groups in his city have been overwhelmed as El Paso became a popular crossing point over the past few months, putting it at the center of a national debate about border security.

Leeser even borrowed a tactic from Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who has been sharply critical of what he calls Biden’s failures at the border. The city spent millions of dollars on buses to transport migrants released into the city to other locales in the U.S., including New York. Unlike the state, El Paso coordinated the trips with officials in the destination cities to make sure services were waiting for them

upon arrival.

“El Paso has become the epicenter of the humanitarian crisis,” said Fernando Garcia, the executive director of the Border Network for Human Rights, an El Paso-based advocacy group that pushes for immigration reform.

Leeser, who oversees a city of 700,000 people, a quarter of whom are themselves immigrants, has been a vocal proponent of comprehensive immigration reform. He said in an interview with NPR last month that “we cannot continue to go in this direction.”

“As we all know, our immigration system is broken,” Leeser said in a statement. “I look forward to discussing our immigration challenges with the president and working with him as we work to address them in the most humane way possible.”

By visiting the border, Biden will be meeting demands from Republican officials as well as some of his Democratic allies to get a first-hand look at the situation.

Critics say his administration has turned a blind eye to drug trafficking and human smuggling while failing to protect the country’s sovereignty.

In an effort to cut down on new arrivals, Biden’s administration on Thursday announced a new policy expanding opportunities for people from four countries to come to the U.S. directly while restricting their ability to enter from Mexico.

The change allows up to 30,000 additional migrants per month from Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti and Venezuela.

The city has a website where it recruits volunteers to aid the migrants, and stresses a humanitarian approach. It has spent almost $10 million to bus migrants to other cities.

El Paso officials say they began seeing a significant increase in illegal crossings in late August, with the number of people processed by immigration authorities and then released to the city and local humanitarian agencies growing from 250 a day to more

than 1,000 a day in September. The number of migrant encounters by the border patrol in the El Paso region surpassed 55,800 in November, the latest data available, which far exceeds the average monthly figures in fiscal 2020 and 2021.

Outside of immigration, the city is also an important trade hub between the U.S. and Mexico, with more than $80 billion in car parts, fruit, televisions and other imports and exports crossing through the city annually.

That flow was disrupted earlier this year when Abbott ordered state law enforcement officials to ramp up inspections of trucks coming from Mexico, a move he said was designed to deter smuggling, spurring massive shipping delays and backlash from Mexico’s government.

Biden’s visit to El Paso will be followed by a summit among the leaders of Canada, Mexico and the U.S. in Mexico City in the days after.

Courtesy photo

Albert Bernales hosts a cooking class in 2019 in Aileu, Timor-Leste.

Tribune ConTenT AgenCy

SACRAMENTO — As a 2016 California law requiring agricultural employers to pay overtime continues to roll out in 2023, farmworkers and employers say the policy is costing them money.

“Last year was one of the worst years that we ever had financially,” said Marco Mendoza, a farmworker based in the Fresno County city of Kerman in an interview with The Bee/ Fresnoland on Tuesday.

Farmworkers say since the new law passed, they’re largely not being paid overtime, and their hours –and take-home pay – have been reduced as a result, making it harder to cover basic living expenses such as food and rent.

Former Gov. Jerry Brown signed the law in 2016 creating a ‘historic’ expansion of overtime rules for farmworkers.

As of Jan. 1, agricultural employers who employ 25 or fewer employees must start to pay overtime, or 1.5 rate of regular pay, to their employees that work over 50 hours a week, or nine hours per day. As of last year, larger agricultural employers with 26 or more employees have been required to pay overtime to workers who work more than 40 hours per week, or eight hours per day. Full implementation of the law will be in effect by 2025.

The new overtime law has been “frustrating” for ag employers and employees as the exceeded operational costs has forced growers to slash hours, said Ian LeMay, president of the California Fresh Fruit Association, in an interview with The Bee/ Fresnoland on Wednesday. The association is one of several ag industry groups that opposed the law when it was introduced in the California legislature.

Like many farmworker stories shared with The Bee/Fresnoland, Mendoza, 34, currently works for a labor contractor pruning stone fruit trees like peaches and nectarines in Dinuba, more than an hour away from his home. He said over the past two years, his weekly take-home pay dropped from $1,000 to around $600 ever since his hours were slashed from 60 hours a week to 40 hours per week.

“I have a family to feed,” Mendoza said. “Honestly, we can hardly

make it through.”

The law has prompted growers to cut hours, reduce acreage farmed to accommodate their crew sizes, and hire more workers to complete harvests, LeMay said.

Others, he said, have started turning toward automation and mechanization in the fields or have switched to less laborintensive crops.

“We’ve been transitioning over the last four or five seasons,” he said, “and the reality is that it’s changing the way in which my members are having to do their business.”

Representatives from the United Farm Workers union, who backed the law, said that’s exactly the point.

Antonio De LoeraBrust, communications director for the United Farm Workers, said he sympathizes with the difficult transition growers are experiencing – but added that the growing pains are part of a movement toward a more just agricultural economy, where farmworkers have the same rights as other workers.

“The amount of workers that are getting their hours cut,” he said, “speaks to the reality that there was a ton of unpaid overtime.”

Plus, De Loera-Brust said, farmworkers often live right at the poverty line, a “reality” that California agriculture has been built on for decades.

“Any attempt to change that,” he said, “is shaking the very foundations of the industry.”

There is a lack of reliable data available on how many, or how frequently, agricultural employers pay overtime.

The California Department of Industrial Relations didn’t immediately respond to The Bee/ Fresnoland’s questions on how the state is enforcing the law or any data they have on its implementation.

The Bee/Fresnoland also reached out to agricultural and labor researchers, as well as industry associations, who also said that only anecdotal evidence is available.

LeMay of the CFFA, however, said his members would love to be able to pay more hours to farmworkers, but their labor costs are already around 70% of their operational costs. He said CFFA members likely pay their workers a few hours of overtime per week “in times of need,” such as during peak harvest season.

However, ag employers

are “not going to do that (pay overtime) for three to four months on end as the standard business practice,” LeMay said, saying it’s neither a common business practice in any industry nor financially feasible to do so.

Meanwhile, farm labor contractors, which growers often use to supply a crew of farmworkers, have their own challenges with the implementation of the farmworker overtime law.

“As a generalization, I would say yes, small FLC (farm labor contractor) employers are still expected to complete the same amount of work without a corresponding increase in pay from their grower clients,” Nigel Bocanegra, executive director of the California Farm Labor Contractor Association, said in an email to The Bee/Fresnoland.

He said FLCs now have to factor in these increased labor costs when negotiating their grower client contracts.

De Loera-Brust of the UFW, meanwhile, said that farmworkers in workplaces covered by union contracts are more likely to have access to overtime pay.

Some say the challenges the industry faces are part of the adjustment process to the new law, which won’t be fully implemented until 2025.

“These kinds of adjustments that happen as overtime takes effect have been forgotten in most

other industries,” said De Loera-Brust, of the UFW, “but I’m sure it was not popular...when overtime was implemented in a manufacturing plant.”

Agricultural employ ers did warn that pay cuts would come as a result of the law.

In a 2016 survey con ducted by the Western Growers Association of 148 members, more than 80% responded that they would reduce wages as a result of the overtime law and the $15 minimum wage law.

On top of slashed hours in the fields, farmworkers like Mendoza said inflation has added to their financial hardships – even as minimum wage increased to $15.50 in California in 2023.

Mendoza said inflation means farmworkers like him are “stuck in the same place.”

“Just working 40 hours,” he said, “is not enough.”

Irene de Barraicua, director of operations for Líderes Campesinas, a nonprofit organization that supports female farmworkers, said the challenges associated with implementing the overtime pay law reflect the “long-standing issue” that many farmworkers live in poverty.

Rather than working overtime “like most of us will do for that extra recreation money,” de Barraicua said farmworkers rely on overtime hours to put food on the table.

FRONT By David Alfred Bywaters

Edited by Patti Varol and Joyce Nichols Lewis

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/TNS file

California Gov. Jerry Brown speaks to reporters during a news conference where he revealed his revised California State budget in Sacramento, May 11, 2017.

State set for another round of deluges; Monday will be big

Tribune ConTenT AgenCy

Rain is spreading across water-logged Northern California, raising the risks of floods and mudslides through the weekend, but the most damaging system is set to crash into the Bay Area Monday.

Heavy rain, high winds, and rising rivers are raising the prospects of power outages and more blocked roads as another atmospheric river storm, a long plume of moisture coming in off the Pacific, rolls over California Sat-

urday and Sunday, the National Weather Service said. Another one second starting Monday will likely be worse.

“It is going to be wet for most of today and tomorrow, but Monday is the big day,” said Bob Oravec, a senior branch forecaster at the U.S. Weather Prediction Center. “It will rain for the next few days and they have already got a whole ton of rain.”

Downtown San Francisco received 10.33 inches of rain from Dec. 26 to Jan. 4, making it the wettest

10-day stretch in more than 150 years and the second most precipitation ever recorded there, said Jon Porter, chief meteorologist for AccuWeather Inc. Monday’s storm will draw moisture from 2,500 miles across the Pacific and will likely land very close to San Francisco or just south of the city.

California has been hit by a series of these storms in recent weeks, which has already caused more than $1 billion in losses and damage, according to AccuWeather. At least five

people have been killed and many more were forced from their homes.

The storm Monday is set to come in as a Category 4 event on the five-step scale developed in part by the Scripps Institu tion for Oceanography at the University of Califor nia San Diego.

The institute expects another storm to hit late Wednesday. There is a moderate-to-high chance the storms will keep coming for the next two weeks.

From Page A5

along with Eric Cantor, R-Va., and Paul D. Ryan, R-Wis. They promised to bring a new verve to the Republican Party and quickly sought to undermine the presidency of Barack Obama.

Over the years, as he rose in the House, McCarthy sponsored no significant legislation, preferring instead to attack Democratic policies without offering fresh alternatives to an increasingly polarized nation. As minority leader last year, he introduced a tepid and unimaginative Commitment to America pledge that was meant to echo, but lacked the boldness of, former Speaker Newt Gingrich’s Contract with America in 1994.

McCarthy’s skills centered on fundraising – he has taken in well over $100 million for the party since 2016 – and his

Winsintricate knowledge of congressional districts across the country. He sought out candidates, remembered names, bought dinners, traveled tens of thousands of miles and was as at ease with the wealthy as he was walking the furrows of Bakersfield and grabbing lunch at Luigi’s. He urged his fellow lawmakers to regularly read “Plato’s Republic,” the Harvard Business Review and People magazine.

His resilience and conviviality drew colleagues to him and disarmed enemies, including Trump loyalist Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who on Tuesday stood on the House floor and nominated McCarthy for speaker.

The congressman’s charms convinced 200 Republican House members. But for days they did little to sway the 20 or so ultraconservatives whose power was magnified after the November midterm elections gave Republicans a narrower majority than anticipated. That left McCarthy with

fewer moderates to rely on. He conceded to a number of hard-liner demands, including that the speaker could be removed any time a snap vote was called. The concessions, which also encompassed how committees are selected and how spending bills are voted on, essentially undercut the power of the office he will hold. But by Friday afternoon they shrunk the number of his detractors to six.

He had earlier won the support of Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and on Wednesday Trump urged holdouts to back McCarthy “who will do a good job, and maybe even a GREAT JOB.” But most of the party’s radical wing wasn’t paying attention to Trump and viewed McCarthy as scion of the establishment they wanted to undo, leaving the congressman, who is not a gifted orator, the humbling task of scrounging for votes behind the scenes and in the House chamber.

McCarthy was stung in a similar way in 2015,

when he was expected to become speaker to replace John Boehner, R-Ohio, who was facing a revolt from ultraconservatives. Those same elements turned on McCarthy, who shocked the party by withdrawing from the speaker race rather than face an embarrassing fall from grace. It was a foreshadowing of the growing power of the far right and how McCarthy, who last year fielded the most diverse slate House candidates in Republican history, could not tame it.

Some have suggested that this time McCarthy –accustomed to backroom negotiating – anticipated a messy revolt and had a strategy to defuse it.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Kevin the night before the vote didn’t already know where this was headed, and already had a couple of contingencies in place,” said Fabian Nūñez, a Democrat and former speaker of the California Assembly whose term overlapped with McCarthy’s. “If you’re watching this on

TV, he’s not usually doing what Kevin does. He’s not talking to anybody. If he’s not talking, he’s waiting it out. He’s waiting for the right time to have that conversation ... I don’t think he’s distraught. I don’t think he’s humiliated. He’s waiting for things to play out.”

McCarthy’s political narrative springs from when he was the young owner of a small sandwich shop. He often liked to tell people how that experience taught him the dangers of big government and bureaucracy. He echoed those sentiments as an assemblyman and later congressman, campaigning amid the pumpjacks and farm fields of Bakersfield, listening to Merle Haggard and winning election after election. He became a rising national Republican leader from a liberal state.

“He had the ‘it’ quality,” Jim Brulte, a former state senator and past chairman of the California Republican Party, said of McCarthy. “Everybody

liked Kevin. He understands that politics is a team sport, a game of addition not subtraction. Too many Republicans want to play the subtraction game.”

David Bynum, a Bakersfield lawyer and former McCarthy intern, said Mcarthy has “worked extraordinarily hard to achieve what he’s set out to achieve. He’s made a lot of sacrifices. He’s seen people say terrible things about him. He’s been through the gauntlet, slept on the couch, traveled all over the country. When people say he’s earned the job – in politics, you put in the hours for other people. you work for your members. He’s done all those things.”

Bynum added: “Ultimately he’s an optimistic, happy-by-nature, motivated guy. He’s not going to spend much time licking his wounds.”

Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group/TNS Evan Sousa, left, gets help from Calvin Drake pushing water out of his flooded apartment on Palmetto Avenue in Pacifica, Thursday.

Be sure to visit for future events

This week

THINGS TO DO

I Suisun City

12:30 p.m. Sunday

Champagne Brunch

Marina Lounge, 700 Main St., Suite 106. www.

marinaloungesuisun.com.

7 p.m. Wednesday

Hot Mic Night

Marina Lounge, 700 Main St., Suite 106. www. marinaloungesuisun.com.

7 p.m. Thursday

Karaoke

Marina Lounge, 700 Main St., Suite 106. www. marinaloungesuisun.com.

I Vacaville

7 p.m. Friday

Mirage: Visions of Fleetwood Mac

Journey Downtown, 308 Main St. www.journeydown townvenue.com.

9 p.m. Friday

Dueling Pianos: Jason Marion & James Michael Day

Makse Restaurant, 555 Main St. duelingpianovacaville. com/events.

9 p.m. Saturday

Dueling Pianos: James Michael Day & Daniel Krass

Makse Restaurant, 555 Main St. duelingpianovacaville. com/events.

I Benicia

7 p.m. Tuesday

Open Mic Night

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

7 p.m. Wednesday

Karaoke

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

5 p.m. Thursday

Jim Funk

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

9 p.m. Thursday

DJ Jim Ross

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

4:30 p.m. Friday

Thirsty

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

8:30 p.m. Friday

Soul’d Out

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

4:30 p.m. Saturday

Duo Sonic

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

8:30 p.m. Saturday

Just Jeff

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

I Vallejo

5:30 p.m. Wednesday

Lloyd, Jordan & Strifler

Empress Theatre, 330 Virginia St. www.empress theatre.org.

1 p.m. Saturday

Chris Cole Band

Vino Godfather Winery, 1005 Walnut Ave. www.vinogod father.com.

7:30 p.m. Saturday

Tchaikovsky’s StarCrossed Lovers Empress Theatre, 330 Virginia St. www.empress theatre.org.

Amoeba Music asks, ‘What’s in your bag?’ and no algorithm can compete

The WashingTon PosT

If you love music so much that the mere sonority of muso chitchat registers in your brain as its own type of song, allow me to point you toward the greatest thing on all of YouTube. It’s called “What’s In My Bag?,” a long-running video series hosted at Amoeba Music, the legendary California record store in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Berkeley. The show’s general concept is straightforward enough. Touring musicians drop by one of the store’s three cavernous locations, prowl the labyrinthine sales floor, grab up records by the armful for an hour or so, then blab about their purchases on camera.

That simplicity makes “What’s In My Bag?” a humble, handy tool for encountering new and unfamiliar music - whether you’re a fan of the artist rifling through their bag or not. But if you really dive into this thing, you’ll begin to learn how musicians hear, how they think, how they remember, how they forget, how they emulate, how they worship, how they fortify and defy their own tastes, how they communicate with one another, and, ultimately, how they experience the world.

For instance, cue up Flea’s appearance on “What’s In My Bag?” from 2016. You’ll learn that the Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist has an affection for the late Detroit producer J Dilla. Cool, nice, right on. But keep watching. Once Flea begins weeping at the memory of listening to Dilla’s “Ruff Draft” album on a mountain hike through Big Sur, you might suddenly hear Dilla’s effortless beats (probing, cathartic) and Flea’s athletic bassplaying (vulnerable, humane) in ways that feel startlingly profound.

“It gets so personal,” says Rachael McGovern, a digital marketing manager and content producer at Amoeba who’s been overseeing “What’s In My Bag?” since its launch nearly 15 years ago. “When our guests get into why they’re picking something up, it’s like, ‘Oh, you danced around the living room to this record with your mom when you were a little kid?’ ... They’re really showing who they are and what they’re excited about, and I don’t think you see that a lot.”

We don’t discover music that way too often, either. So much of today’s taste-making power resides in the mindless algorithmic recommendations made by musical streaming services – corporate interests doing every-

thing in their power to lock listeners into sedative playlists, corralling our ears into tidy silos of prolonged engagement. “What’s In My Bag?” feels almost heroically antithetical to those bleak playlist-ification tactics. It steers us toward unexpected sounds via human beings telling human stories.

As for the story of the series itself, it begins with “Weird Al” Yankovic, the show’s very first guest way back in 2008. McGovern says the idea for the show had been quietly germinating in the Amoeba mindshare - “Whenever someone famous would come shopping, the staff always wanted to know what they bought!” – so when Yankovic materialized at the cash register one sunny afternoon, a staffer with a camera decided to pounce.

“I mean, there’s nothing more personal than asking somebody, ‘What’s in your bag?’” Yankovic tells me in an email. “So I suppose I was a little taken off guard at first. But the Amoeba folks are really cool, so I guess I just kinda rolled with it.”

Amoeba rolled with it, too. “What’s In My Bag?” is closing in on 800 episodes, having scored appearances by everyone from Questlove, to Kim Gordon, to Lars Ulrich, to Huey Lewis, to Ice Cube, to Mitski, to Steve Earle, to Earl Sweatshirt, to Phoebe Bridgers, to Gwar, to Ethan Hawke (movie stars appear in episodes shot at the Hollywood location from time to time). McGovern says the series has become the most important piece in Amoeba’s greater marketing efforts, and that instead of having to “ambush” celebrity shoppers as they did originally, artists have made “What’s In My Bag?” a concerted element of their publicity campaigns.

It’s gotten a lot more ‘professional’ since the one they did with me,” Yankovic says, “which I think they shot with a potato. And I suppose the artists put considerably more thought into it now. When I did it, I was literally stopped as I was checking out of the store, and I certainly wasn’t aware that my purchases were going to be analyzed.”

The analysis doesn’t have to be superficial, though. Most of the purchases in Yankovic’s bag that fated afternoon were gifts for his daughter – which tells us that “Weird Al” is a generous father who ventures out into the world with the primary intention of making others happy. “White and Nerdy” sounds a little sweeter knowing that the guy on the mic likes listening to They Might Be Giants with

Wine, chocolate pairings for ‘Sweethearts Day Out’

Daily RePublic sTaff

DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

BENICIA — A Wine & Chocolate Walk has been scheduled for Feb. 4 in Benicia.

Marketed as a “Sweethearts Day Out,” the event runs from 1 to 5 p.m. in the downtown area.

“Various fine wines will be poured at participating downtown shops, providing an enjoyable sweethearts day out to ‘sip, walk, and shop’ with the added bonus of chocolate tastings,” Benicia Main Street organizers said.

Tickets are $35 in advance

and $65 in advance for a pair of tickets. The event day prices are $40 for a single ticket. The ticket buys 15 tastes.

Participants must be 21 or older. Check-in starts at 12:30 p.m. at Benicia Main Street, 90 First St. Tasting locations and wristband will be provided at check-in.

Tickets are limited and are available at the Benicia Main Street office or at www.beniciamainstreet.org.

For more information, contact Benicia Main Street at 707-745-9791 or info@benicia mainstreeet.org.

his 5-year-old, right?

In the years that followed, “What’s In My Bag?” got deeper without much effort, showing Amoeba’s 424,000 YouTube subscribers what musicians are drawn to, what they return to, what they aspire to. McGovern says it all happened organically. “We don’t direct the guests. We don’t tell them what to shop for; we don’t tell them what to say,” she says. “And just because they make a particular kind of music doesn’t mean that’s what they’ll gravitate toward. So there’s no way to prepare.”

The psychedelic folk singer Jessica Pratt showed up prepared for her episode in 2019. A few years earlier she had worked a day job at Amoeba for roughly six months, first at the checkout counter and later as a chaperone to artists visiting the shop. “There’s something very good about being in a place where everybody’s thinking about music all the time,” Pratt says. “But beyond music, being a cashier at this record store in the middle of Hollywood, it became this phantasmagoric experience of ringing up celebrities and people off the street. . . . That might have been the best part of it for me.”

That swirl of familiarity and strangeness speaks to the fundamental appeal of “What’s In My Bag?,” too. “It’s like the equivalent of going over to a friend’s house and listening to weird records you never heard or maybe weren’t ready for yet,” Pratt says of the series. And as an artist, “It’s much easier for me to talk about other music [than my own]. There’s something so overwhelming about trying to condense your own sound or intent into a paragraph. ... It seems like most people who create things are always seesawing back and forth between self-doubt and self-confidence, so to make some definitive statement about what you’re doing is difficult. You might disagree with yourself a day later.”

That said, Pratt knows she’s going to love the music of singer-songwriter Scott Walker tomorrow, next year and probably forever, so during her interview for “What’s In My Bag?,” when she calls the profoundly singular crooner “a man for all seasons,” she’s verbalizing a certitude in her listening - and in her exquisitely delicate songcraft – that she may not have been able to express any other way.

The show hosts scores of Los Angeles musi-

Rock the Shelter fundraiser comes to Empress Theatre

Daily RePublic sTaff

DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

VALLEJO — A rock concert is coming to the Empress Theatre to raise money for Shelter, Inc.

The Rock for Shelter event will feature a multi-band concert with local television anchor and musician Dan Ashley as master of ceremonies.

The planned concert lineup includes Papa Joe & The New Deal, DW Edwards & Lighting Up The Soul, Midnight Flyer, and Sweet Undertow.

The evening includes a silent auction , which will utilize mobile bidding for those

who attend and those who do not, with prizes ranging from vacation home getaways to restaurant gift certificates.

The event will be Jan. 21, 5 to 9 p.m., at the Empress Theatre, 330 Virginia St., in Vallejo. Tickets are $35 for general admission and are sold individually unless a sponsorship is purchased.

Shelter, Inc. is a Solano County-based service that offers a host of homeless-related services, including permanent supportive housing in Vallejo starting this year.

For more information and tickets, go to https://shelterinc. ejoinme.org/Rock2023.

Matt Novak photo

Denver-based death metal band Blood Incantation was a recent guest on Amoeba Music’s “What’s In My Bag?”

The 9 biggest superhero movies for 2023

The WashingTon PosT

New year. New superhero movies. And the newly relevant question of who will be the champion of comic-book cinema in the near future.

As Marvel Studios enters its fifth phase of connected-universe dominance, the renamed DC Studios and its new co-head James Gunn will be trying to get back in the game. And then there’s Sony, which continues to make Spider-Man villain movies that don’t feature SpiderMan in hopes of creating its own winning franchise.

Will 2023 mark the last year of Marvel Studios not having a worthy challenger? Will any of the DC heroes on the big screen matter enough this year to survive the red pen of Gunn as he plans his future slate? Is a Kraven the Hunter movie really happening?

We’ll be here covering it all for you. In the meantime, here’s a look at the 2023 superhero movie slate.

1. “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” (Feb. 17)

Ant-Man is Marvel’s funniest franchise (although the Thors seem to be taking aim at that title of late). That’s saying something in a Marvel Cinematic Universe where humor is a key ingredient in every offering. Ant-Man making it to trilogy status off the comedic chops of lead actor Paul Rudd would be a big deal itself but that takes a back seat to the movie debut of the MCU’s next Thanos: the time-traveling Kang the Conqueror, played by Jonathan Majors. He first appeared as a variant

In brief

Benicia celebrating restaurant month

BENICIA — Twentyfive downtown restaurants are celebrating California RestaurantMonthinJanuary.

“Benicia Main Street encourages the public to dine Downtown Benicia throughout the month of January. With 25 restaurants in Downtown Benicia to celebrate the month-long occasion there’s something different for almost every day of the month.,” organizers said in a statement.

Share pictures of meals to info@beniciamainstreet.org for a chance to win $100 Down-

Amoeba

From Page B1

cians like Pratt, but it also relies on the touring circuit to bring record freaks through the front door.

McGovern says she tries to court artists who make record shopping the secondary function of being on tour, and based on their recent on-screen haul, the sharp London post-punk quartet Dry Cleaning certainly seems to qualify.

“Browsing [record stores] is a really good way to get a feel for the city,” says Dry Cleaning drummer Nick Buxton. “I prefer used record stores, kinda smaller shops that tend to have more curated stock, and I think it’s worth the detour to find these kinds of places if you’ve got the time. And then it’s a matter of when you last got paid and how much you can fit in your suitcase.”

Buxton says his group’s recent visit to Amoeba tested his suitcase’s tensile strength, and the same goes for Blood Incantation,

of the supervillain in an episode of “Loki” on Disney Plus but is now the big bad guy that all MCU offerings are marching toward from here on out, as we’re now at the beginning of the studio’s Phase 5. He’s the central cause of a new team of Avengers assembling in two future films, “Kang Dynasty” and “Secret Wars,” in 2025 and 2026, respectively.

2. “Shazam: Fury of the Gods” (March 17)

Asher Angel returns as Billy Batson, who when he says the word “shazam” is struck by lightning and transforms from a kid to an adult superhero (played by Zachary Levi). Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu star as furious goddesses Hespera and Kalypso, who are none too pleased that Billy and his sibling superheroes have access to the power of the gods.

3. “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” (May 5)

Gunn may be the Kevin Feige of DC Studios now

but there’s still the matter of finishing up his pop music-infused “Guardians of the Galaxy” trilogy, which is likely the job that got him the big chair at DC in the first place (that and his mini Suicide Squad/ Peacemaker universe). Future event-level Avengers movies aside, this could be the last we see of characters such as Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) and Groot (Vin Diesel) in the MCU. No director DNA flows through the blood of an MCU franchise quite like Gunn’s in the Guardians movies, making it unlikely Marvel Studios would ask another filmmaker to make more. And given that Gunn himself has hinted that a major character will die in “Vol. 3,” this is shaping up to be the movie where the music stops.

4. “Spider-Man: Across the SpiderVerse” (June 2)

This is the highly anticipated sequel to 2018’s Academy Award winning

“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” with the African American/Puerto Rican Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) as the lead arachnid kid. SpiderGwen (Hailee Steinfeld) is also back and helping Miles face off against the wallcrawler of the far future, Spider-Man 2099 (Oscar Isaac). The Spider-Verse is undeniably Sony’s No. 1 solo spider franchise.

5. “The Flash” (June 16)

“The Flash” was supposed to be a big deal, rumored to be a timetravel story that would serve as a reset for future DC movies. But it now just may be a goodbye flick, as Gunn has made clear most if not all of the Zack Synder Justice League era will not be a part of his new vision at DC Studios. That doesn’t mean “The Flash” won’t have its moment. It’s (so far) outrun the many recent controversies of lead actor Ezra Miller and is still set to mark the return of Michael Keaton

as Batman, which could go down as the geek culture moment of 2023.

6. “The Marvels” (July 28)

This “Captain Marvel” sequel – in Marvel Studios’ first franchise to feature a superheroine in the lead role - is also a mini-Avengers movie of sorts, connecting to two other MCU Disney Plus series. Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) of “WandaVision” and Kamala Kahn (Iman Vellani) of “Ms. Marvel” also star alongside Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel.

7. “Blue Beetle” (Aug. 18)

DC’s first Latino superhero movie stars “Cobra K ai’s” Xolo Maridueña as Jamie Reyes, who discovers a blue scarab that turns him into an alien-like bug being. Any franchise potential depends on the box office response. If “Blue Beetle” has a strong cultural moment, Gunn

might have to add it to his big board. Otherwise, this film could be a sequel-less

8. “Kraven the Hunter” (Oct. 6)

Sony continues to try to turn Spider-Man villains into viable movie ranchises. The Venom franchise has been hit or miss. Vampire flick “Morbius” didn’t have the bite the studio was hoping for. “Kraven the Hunter,” starring Aaron TaylorJohnson in the lead role, is the next attempt. Can it change the narrative? Or will the only spidermovies that matter be the animated ones and the MCU Spider-Man movies Sony makes jointly with Marvel Studios?

9. “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” (Dec. 25)

“Aquaman” was a billion-dollar breath of fresh air for DC. Its sequel is likely the end for Jason Momoa’s undersea franchise given all the changes going on at DC Studios. If we do see Aquaman again under the watchful eye of Gunn, it will most likely be a new actor. Gunn has already said he’s bringing a new Superman to the screen, meaning this movie is the official end of the Snyder Justice League universe. Gunn has mentioned he’d consider bringing former Superman Henry Cavill back in a new DC role, and the same could be said for Momoa, who has equal box office appeal. He’d sure make a great Lobo if DC ever wanted to bring its baddest bastich to the screen.

town Dollars. For more information on Dine Downtown Benicia, visit www.BeniciaMainStreet.org or call 707-745-9791.

Concert set to raise funds for Land Trust

VACAVILLE — Sarah Cahill, a renowned Bay Area pianist will perform at the Vacaville Museum to help raise money for the Solano Land Trust.

Cahill has performed classical and contemporary chamber music with artists and ensembles such as Jessica Lang Dance; pianists Joseph Kubera,

a stylistically promiscuous, wildly voracious death metal band from Denver that McGovern describes as “really knowledgeable and really passionate - the perfect guests, really.” Those good feelings were mutual, too. “We’ve been asking Amoeba for maybe four or five years” to be on “What’s In My Bag?,” says Blood Incantation guitarist-vocalist Paul Riedl. “We love the show. We actually ran out of time there, browsing and filming. I didn’t even get to the bottom of my bag.”

The recent Blood Incantation episode gets to the bottom of something else, though - that bands can form their ideas by listening together, building a collective musical vocabulary without having to discuss it out loud. On screen, the members of Blood Incantation are explaining their finds to the person holding the camera, but they’re ultimately in conversation with one another. “We’re listening to music in the van all day every day; we listen together at our prac-

Adam Tendler, and Regina Myers; violinist Stuart Canin; the Alexander String Quartet; New Century Chamber Orchestra; Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, and many more. She also performs as a duo with violinist Kate Stenberg.

The event will be on Jan. 21, 6 to 8 p.m., at 213 Buck Ave. in Vacaville.

A wine and hors d’ oeuvres reception will be held before the concert; a chocolate and wine pairing experience will take place during intermission.

Seating is very limited for this concert. Tickets are $1,000.

Tickets may be purchased at https:// s olanolandtrust.org/ events/an-elegant-evening-of-music.

tice space,” Riedl says. “For all four of us, it’s our total prerogative in life: to listen to, make, consume, understand music. It’s the whole deal. That’s why the band sounds so spastic.”

Blood Incantation’s talk might feel like a spelunk into a hyper-omnivorous groupmind, but other episodes show minds getting changed in real time. In one standout episode of “What’s In My Bag?” from 2016, the Detroit house and techno DJs Theo Parrish, Zernell and Marcellus Pittman playfully bend one another’s brains, debating which Gang Starr album is the best, reminiscing about Blue Magic’s protohouse and vying for the store’s last copy of a Universal Togetherness Band reissue. As digital listeners, we might stumble across these records on our lonely quests through the streaming service slush, but our encounters won’t feel anything like this.

Warner Bros. Pictures

Adopted siblings share the power to turn from kids to adult superheroes in “Shazam: Fury of the Gods.”

Many

ROME — Late pope emeritus Benedict XVI was buried in the heart of the Vatican on Thursday, after tens of thousands of the faithful attended his funeral Mass in St Peter’s Square.

The service was historic for being led by a living pope, after Benedict became the first pontiff in centuries to resign in 2013.

Pope Francis made little direct reference to his predecessor in his sermon. He spoke on Thursday mainly about devotion to God and trust in the Lord.

Only at the very end did the 86-year-old Argentinian pontiff say in front of the wooden coffin: “Benedict, faithful friend of the Bridegroom, may your joy be complete when you hear his voice now and forever!”

Jesus is often referred to as the Bridegroom in the Catholic Church.

Around 130 cardinals were also in attendance, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said.

Among them were the German Cardinals Reinhard Marx, Rainer Maria Woelki and

Gerhard Ludwig Müller.

There was an official German delegation present, including President FrankWalter Steinmeier, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Markus Söder, premier of largely Catholic Bavaria, where Benedict was born as Joseph Ratzinger in 1927. Well over 200 other people from Bavaria also joined Soeder’s delegation.

Benedict had expressed the wish that people from his native Bavaria attend. He was born in the village of Marktl, near the border with Austria.

Steinmeier said after the ceremony that Benedict XVI “passed on the rich treasure of the Catholic Church to the faithful with reason and with soul.”

According to the Italian news agency ANSA, 300 bishops were among the guests.

In a touching moment, Georg Gänswein, the cleric who served as Benedict XVI’s personal secretary and confidant during his papacy, bent over the coffin to kiss it after it was brought out onto St Peter’s Square.

Gänswein was perhaps the closest person to Benedict in his final years. He served as the

pope’s private secretary after Benedict’s election in 2005 after previously working with him in Rome.

After the service, the late pope was buried in the crypt of St Peter’s Basilica.

The public was excluded from this part of the funeral service.

Joseph Ratzinger – Benedict’s birth name – now lies in the tomb of his Polish predecessor John Paul II, whose remains had already been moved to another place in the church years ago.

The three-layer coffin made of wood and zinc is accompanied by other items such as a text about his life and pontificate.

Benedict XVI died at the Vatican on New Year’s Eve at the age of 95. He had been lying in state in St Peter’s Basilica since Monday so that the public could pay their respects.

Benedict was often criticized for being too rigid as pope, but he was not an archconservative stuck in the past, in the view of German Cardinal Walter Kasper.

“On meeting him in person, one saw that he was not a diehard,” the 89-year-old cardinal – who served Benedict in the papal curia during his pontificate – told Bavarian television before participating in the funeral service on St Peter’s Square.

The late pope had been a “friendly person full of hope,” Kasper said, relating how he had received a letter from Benedict dated October 10 — just weeks before his death. “At the end, he was at peace with himself, with the church and with God,” Kasper said.

The chairman of the Catholic German Bishops’ Conference (DBK), Georg Bätzing, said on Thursday that a discussion about a canonization of the late Pope Benedict XVI was premature.

“I don’t think now is the time,” said the Bishop of Limburg on Thursday after the funeral service.

It was also announced on Thursday that Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg will in future look after the personal estate of the deceased church leader as director of the Pope Benedict XVI Institute.

“The People of The United Methodist Church™”

Antonio Masiello/Getty Images/TNS

Pope Francis attends the funeral mass for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI as pallbearers carry the coffin at the end of the funeral mass at St. Peter’s Square, in Vatican City, Thursday.

Children bullying their parents isn’t acceptable

Annie Lane is off this week. The following column was originally published in 2020.

Dear Annie:

Recently, during a visit from my 50-yearold son, I was bullied, threatened, taunted and treated cruelly by him. I don’t know why.

I responded indignantly while my husband said nothing. His behavior was unlike anything I had ever experienced, although I have seen him bully others many times.

I have heard no words of regret from him after many months. His behavior and my husband’s lack of response still cause me deep pain.

I continue to offer the financial support to him that I have always provided, but now I feel conflicted about it. I don’t want to make this about money

because that isn’t the case. Stopping the money seems to confuse the issue, which is really about his behavior and lack of remorse.

Other than ignoring him, I don’t know how to react. What is a reasonable response to his actions? — Bullied Mom

Dear Bullied: It’s high time to cut the cash flow, not as a punishment but as a reminder, to your son and yourself, that you are not an ATM. You are a living, breathing person who deserves respect and love from her family. He’ll throw a hissy fit, no doubt, but tough cookies. Most 50-yearolds don’t get allowances.

As for your husband: The only way to find out what was going through his head that day is to ask him. He might have been equally intimidated by your son. But whatever the

Horoscopes

by Holiday Mathis

Today’s birthday

ARIES (March 21-April 19). Your social life will be happy as long as you stick to what involves you directly. Avoid being a messenger. If you deliver good news, people will expect more of it from you. If you deliver bad news, you'll be associated with it.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You'll want to overpack, obsess about what to say or bring too much to the party. You don't need to. Dare to be a little unprepared. It's not like you're going to space without a suit. The stakes aren't so high, so have some fun.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Loving another person makes you happy. You don't have to know how the other person feels about you to enjoy the sweetness of loving and a moment of the relationship infused with giddy hope.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). In their earliest stages, the dreams, projects and intentions whirring around in your head are smaller than strawberry seeds, but let them sink deeper into your consciousness and they will take root.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Let go. A feeling cannot be wrong. Good or bad, it's just information open to interpretation. Allow yourself to feel however you really feel, even if it's negative. Oddly enough, welcoming bad feelings helps you reach better ones.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). It's gotten complicated, sure, but you'd be bored without this complexity. The hardest part is figuring out where to start. Once you find your point of entry, challenges become interesting, like solving a fascinating puzzle.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Not being "normal" is good because it allows you to see how "normal" has always been a sham. When no one completely fits the definition, what is it really defining?

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). So many are too self-involved, oblivious or otherwise limited to give you an accurate reflection of yourself and your ideas. The company of quality people who are observant and interested in you is a true treasure of life.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). When things start to feel forced, it's a signal that you need more joy. You can have it and still do what's on your agenda for the day. It's the way you do things and not what you do that matters.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). One of the simplest ways to increase your involvement with the task at hand or the people around you is to ask questions. Your skill for coming up with the fun, appropriate and thought-provoking ones will open the world.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Listening, reading and research will help you do the critical thinking that will change your game. The clouds will part, the fog will lift, and you'll get a crisp perspective on a formerly mystifying subject.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). One secret shared with a friend is a bond. Many secrets shared is blackmail fodder. When in doubt, mum's the word. Change the subject. Keep your stories light.

CELEBRITY PROFILES: This day in 1935 welcomed The King of Rock 'n' Roll to the world. Despite the rumors, Elvis never does really leave the building, a recent case in point being the much-acclaimed Baz Luhrmann movie "Elvis." Presley was born when the sun, Mercury and Venus were all in powerful Capricorn, contrasted by a sensitive, empathetic Pisces moon and lucky Jupiter in sensational Scorpio.

reason, let him know you’d appreciate his backing you up should anyone treat you that way again in the future.

Dear Annie: I met my husband three weeks after I left my mentally abusive ex. At the time, my two children were 2 and 4 and “Jim” raised them as they were his own.

They’re now 22 and 24. He supported them in every way possible. Jim and I also have three beautiful children together.

Here’s the issue: Two years ago, I was having a texting exchange with my daughter, “Trish” (whom I’ve been very close to), and I became very upset. Jim asked to see what was going on and was shocked by the things that Trish was saying to me. He intervened and told her that she was abusing me and that it was unacceptable and won’t be tolerated.

FOR YOUR HEALTH

Trish and I have had limited contact since that day. Fastforward to today and now she is a college graduate and four months pregnant with her boyfriend, whom I’ve never even met. I very much want to be in my grandchild’s life but my husband says if I “fold,” then I’m enabling her atrocious behavior.

This puts me right in the middle. Jim and I have a wonderful relationship, but the only time we have issues is when it comes to my two older children. We have an upcoming event where we will all be together, and I don’t know how to act toward her. Jim doesn’t want to have anything to do with her until she apologizes to me, which I just don’t see happening due to insecurity and narcissistic tendencies on her part. This is extremely upsetting, and I’m at my wits’ end with what to do. Any advice would be most

appreciated! — M

Dear M: Jim’s heart is in the right place. It’s natural and healthy for partners to be protective of one another, and because you came into this relationship several weeks after getting out of an abusive one, it would be no surprise if Jim feels especially determined to shield you. But he needs to trust you to decide for yourself the degree to which you can have a relationship with your daughter.

Consider attending marriage counseling, even for just a few sessions. It can equip you with the skills for navigating the complicated dynamics at play here.

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

craze, and does it really work?

Lisa M. K rieger THE MERCURY NEWS

Is an ancient compound the new “wonder drug”?

Metformin, a common medication to control diabetes, has become the controversial darling of tech’s health-conscious digerati who are enticed by preliminary research suggesting it might help promote longevity, reduce dementia and prevent a whole host of other conditions – including, most recently, long Covid.

With origins that date back to Medieval Europe, metformin has been used for decades as a powerful tool to lower blood sugar in people with diabetes. In those patients, it also offers cardiovascular benefits and weight loss.

Now, it is increasingly popular for use in conditions that have nothing to do with diabetes. Intrigued by early studies and promotion on TikTok, Instagram and health-focused blogs, Americans are seeking “offlabel” prescriptions for metformin, using a drug for a different condition or at a different dosage than what is FDA-approved

But experts urge caution, saying the data isn’t sufficient to start recommending daily doses.

According to UC San Francisco infectious disease expert Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, “I’d be very wary about using metformin off-label at this point,” citing lack of extensive research. “The evidence has to be really strong,” he said, “if you take a drug for a particular indication in which there’s not a lot of good data.”

“Certainly, a lot of young healthy people are looking into taking it with hopes of kind of optimizing their health and ‘biohacking’ to improve their longevity down the line,” said Stanford University endocrinologist Dr. Marilyn Tan. While it’s unlikely to do harm, Tan

said, “there’s also no proven benefit from any randomized controlled trial in terms of anti-aging effects. . . . It’s not FDA-approved for any of these other indications.”

Metformin, or dimethylbiguanide, traces its history back to a traditional herbal medicine in Europe called Galega officinalis, or goat’s rue. While it can cause side effects in people with kidney problems, it improves bloodsugar control by improving insulin sensitivity, reducing the amount of sugar released by the liver into the blood and increasing glucose absorption.

It is now the fourth most widely prescribed medication in the nation. About 20 million Americans were prescribed the drug in 2020.

What is tantalizing are preliminary findings – based on animal studies and imperfect clinical trials that have not been reproduced – that hint that the drug may help slow aging and increase life expectancy. While the underlying mechanism remains unclear, it may create cellular changes that improve the body’s responsiveness to insulin and boost blood vessel health.

Its reputation has grown with a recent barrage of social media attention, including a viral posting by Silicon Valley-based internet entrepreneur and “biohacker” Serge Fague, who described taking two grams of the medication every day.

“Have you heard about metformin?” asked one Twitter influencer. The New York City-based longevity company NOVOS, which has enlisted Harvard’s Dr. George Church and other highly esteemed scientists to its advisory board, posted on Instagram: “Metformin: The secret to anti-aging?”

Publicity was further boosted last week, when a University of Minnesota team reported that about 6% of metformin patients infected with the SARS

CoV-2 virus went on to experience long Covid, compared to 11% of those who were not on the drug. The study is not yet peer-reviewed. But there is a better drug – the FDA-authorized virus-killing Paxlovid – to reduce the risk of long Covid, said Chin-Hong. “Metformin doesn’t make sense, from an infectious disease perspective, to work against long Covid,” he said. “It’s not a card-carrying antiviral.”

Off-label prescribing is legal and common. An estimated 20% of all prescriptions in the U.S. are for off-label use, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Beta-blockers, for instance, are approved to reduce risk of high blood pressure and heart problems but are used off-label to treat anxiety.

But off-label prescriptions may put people at risk of receiving ineffective or even harmful treatment if there is a lack of scientific evidence, said Chin-Hong.

“In tech circles, people use a lot of things off-label –for example, for weight loss,” said Chin-Hong. “It’s promoted by celebrities on TikTok. But it’s always a dangerous enterprise to use something off-label.”

Doctors have long prescribed metformin off-label for these conditions:

n Menstrual irregularities in women with polycystic ovary syndrome. In the 1990s, metformin was shown to lower testosterone levels in women with this common hormonal disorder, suggesting that it might help. But at present, there is no clear evidence to support broad metformin use in those patients, according to a 2017 University of Chicago analysis.

n Gestational diabetes mellitus. Metformin is an effective and safe alternative to insulin for women who develop glucose intolerance during pregnancy. It also controls maternal

weight gain and reduces the risk of gestational hypertension, according to a 2016 database review by physicians at Peking University First Hospital.

n Prevention or delayed diabetes. Two decades of evidence support the use of metformin to prevent or delay Type 2 diabetes among higher-risk patients or people with elevated blood sugar, a condition called “prediabetes,” concluded a 2018 evaluation of 40 studies by a team at the Los Angeles-based Veterans Administration.

n Weight gain from antipsychotic medicines. Certain patients, especially those who are young and healthy, are less likely to gain weight if they take metformin soon after taking medication for schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders, according to a 2017 review of published studies by a team at UCLA Medical Center. But it doesn’t help after weight gain already has occurred.

Other studies looked at the potential of metformin to:

n Reduce the risk of dementia or stroke. A 2016 analysis by Australian scientists found that cognitive impairment was significantly less common in diabetics who got metformin. In a 2013 study in Taiwan, the drug also offered diabetic patients some protection against stroke. But its use by people without diabetes for the prevention of dementia or stroke was not supported.

n Slow aging. A 2021 analysis of results from several large studies by a team in Canada and Qatar indicates that metformin may induce anti-aging changes in diabetics. It improved the health of diabetic patients in the study while they were alive, although the effect was modest. However it remains controversial as to whether it protects people who are metabolically normal.

Fueled by passion, you’ll express yourself, connect with like minds and earn fans. While you like executing the plans of others, and could be a company star, an entrepreneurial urge leads you to succeed in selling your own offerings, too. More highlights: a mentor’s help, a number of wild nights and enjoyably disciplined days. Leo and Gemini adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 7, 19, 5, 8 and 44.

Annie Lane Dear Annie

Scott Olson/Getty Images/TNS file (2020)

In this photo illustration, Avkare metformin ER 500 mg tablets are shown in Chicago, Illinois.

49ers get one final tune-up for playoffs

SANTA CLARA — The NFL playoffs start next weekend, but, first, the 49ers have some regular-season business to finish.

The NFC West champs host the Arizona Cardinals and seek to extend their win streak to 10 in a row. Then they’ll let the NFC seeds fall where they may.

“I’m sure Kyle (Shanahan) will have that in mind more than anybody,” Nick Bosa said of the 49ers’ coach’s strategy. “We’re obviously hoping for the perfect scenario, but as you saw last

On TV

Cardinals at 49ers

1:25 p.m. Sunday

Fox – Channels 2, 40

week, there are no easy opponents in this league. We have to win this game.”

The 49ers won 37-34 in overtime in last Sunday’s first visit to the Las Vegas Raiders. Here are how Sunday’s scenarios could unfold for the 49ers’ third playoff berth in four seasons:

n No. 1 seed: The 49ers (12-4)

can move up to this spot like their 2019 Super Bowl team, by virtue of winning at Levi’s Stadium, while the Philadelphia Eagles (13-3) lose a third straight at their home against the No. 6-seed New York Giants (9-6-1). Both games kick off at 1:25 p.m.

n No. 2 seed: This is the 49ers’ current locale, so a win assures them of at least this spot and, thus, hosting a divisionalround game if they make it out of next weekend’s wild-card round, also at home. The 49ers hold a tiebreaker advantage over the Minnesota Vikings

(12-4) based on NFC play (the 49ers are 9-2; the Vikings 7-4).

The Vikings visit the Chicago Bears (3-13) at 10 a.m., so that outcome should be known by the 49ers’ game. A Vikings’ loss also keeps the 49ers at No. 2.

n No. 3 seed: If the Cardinals (4-12) snap a six-game losing streak to upset the 49ers, and if the Vikings defeat the Justin Fields-less Bears, then the No. 3 seed is the 49ers’.

Yep, it’s as easy as 1-2-3. Three other berths are locked up by the NFC South-winning and No. 4-seed Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-8), the Dallas

Solano men grounded by Merritt after slow first half proves costly

M att Miller MMILLER@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

ROCKVILLE —The Solano Community College men’s basketball team didn’t appear to be ready for its 1 p.m. matinee Saturday. The afternoon stage was all Merritt’s in a 78-56 victory for the Thunderbirds.

Merritt opened the game with a 17-2 run and never trailed. The hole was too deep for the Falcons.

Merritt won the battle of the rebounds, 55-30, and consistently drove to the basket and got easy buckets in the paint. The Thunderbirds held the Falcons to only one shot attempt on nearly every offensive possession.

Solano made just 16 of 59 shots (27.1%). Merritt was much hotter by hitting 28 of 67 (41.8%).

Solano fell to 1-3 in the Bay Valley Conference and 3-12 overall.

“We felt like we were prepared,” Solano head coach John Nagle said. “But we missed a lot of early shots in the game and didn’t get a lot of second shot opportunities. We got deflated and that’s not normal for us. We usually play hard and focused, but that didn’t happen. We were flat on both ends of the floor.”

Jonathan Cobbs was consistently good for the Falcons, finishing with a game-high 29 points. He hit 5 of 9 3-pointers and also converted 12 of 13 free throws. Cobbs came into the game averaging 24 points per game.

Cobbs and the team got a scare late in the second half when he suffered a hip injury. It was the same hip that he had surgery on in the offseason and delayed his return to the court. But in the end, he felt it wouldn’t derail his season, though he wasn’t able to continue in the final minutes of the game Saturday.

“That was a pain I haven’t felt since last year,” Cobbs said. “I’ll be all right. It is just about staying focused right now and helping lead my team get some more victories.”

Added Nagle: “We hope he is going to be okay. He needs some ice and some rest. He’s a special talent for sure.”

Jacob Ebert finished with

12 points and six rebounds. Ebert had nine of his points after Cobbs went to the bench with three midrange jumpers and a 3-pointer during a four minute stretch to finish the game. No other Falcon had more than Isaiah Randle’s five points.

“Our energy was down and we came out really low,” Cobbs said.

Merritt had a much more balanced attack. DJ Leaks led the Thunderbirds with 17 points and nine rebounds. Josh Palmer

A coach named Smart has made Georgia wise in its winning ways

M ark Bradley THE ATLANTA JOURNALCONSTITUTION

ATLANTA — It was 2016, the Monday before Labor Day. Kirby Smart was readying his first Georgia team for its opener against North Carolina in the Georgia Dome. At his pregame media session, he was asked about Georgia’s most recent appearance in the Dome. He said he didn’t remember the game, which was a fib.

The game had matched No. 3 Georgia and No. 2 Alabama for the 2012 SEC title. It was a de facto BCS semifinal. The Crimson Tide, with Smart as defensive coordinator, beat the Bulldogs, 32-28. The frantic fracas ended on a play that lives in both schools’ lore. Aaron Murray’s pass was tipped by the blitzing C.J. Mosley and caught on the 5-yardline by receiver Chris

ANALYSIS

Conley. Because UGA had no more timeouts, the clock hit 0:00.

On a Monday in 2016, Smart could have turned to the whiteboard and sketched the play the Bulldogs ran and how his defenders countered. He’d called a double blitz off Georgia’s right flank – a “green dog,” in Tide parlance. Mosley did as directed, leaping above Todd Gurley’s block to deflect Murray’s delivery. Defensive back Geno Matias-Smith should have blitzed, too, but for some reason he latched onto Conley. This led to the receiver stumbling.

For Bama, it was serendipity. For Georgia, the narrow loss was one among several that led Greg McGarity to hire Smart to do what Mark

Cowboys (12-4) and the Giants. The Cowboys could still win the NFC East if the Eagles falter, and even the No. 1 seed if the 49ers and the Vikings also lose. The NFC’s final spot is up for grabs between 8-8 squads: the Seattle Seahawks, the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions. Next weekend could feature the No. 2-seed 49ers hosting the No. 7-seed Packers, in a rematch of last year’s divisionalround comeback by the 49ers at Lambeau Field. “I haven’t even thought that far ahead,” line-

Borchert nets win No. 400 with Solano Lady Falcons

M att Miller MMILLER@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

ROCKVILLE — Matt Borchert, in his 22nd season as head coach of the Solano Community College women’s basketball team, picked up milestone win No. 400 Saturday afternoon as the Falcons held on to beat visiting Merritt, 67-61.

Asked what his 400th win meant to him, Borchert said, “It means that we have had a lot of great players and have had some great assistant coaches. We’ve carried on a great tradition started by Kim Gervasoni and have sustained a great standard of excellence.”

Borchert has never had a losing season with the Falcons. He doesn’t plan to do so this year, either, as Solano improved to 3-1 in the Bay Valley Conference and 8-8 overall.

On Saturday, Solano trailed 19-12 after the first quarter but took the lead at 34-24 at halftime after a 22-5 run in the second quarter. The Falcons had a 21-12 edge in the third quarter to make it 55-35, but Merritt came storming back with a 25-12 run in the final period to cut into the final lead.

It was a two-point game at one time in the second half.

“We had to make some big plays and hit some free throws to pull it out,” Borchert said. “Merritt make a great run and didn’t give up.”

Julia Wright led the Falcons with 19 points and nine rebounds.

Genesis Ernie-Hamilton and Dominique Eaglin added 10 points apiece.

Kyla Maghoney made a big return for the first time since last season, finishing with four points.

Sonia Randall scored 15 points to lead Merritt. Solano will be back in action Tuesday with a 7:30 p.m. game at Yuba.

Boys basketball Benicia overpowers Wood at home

BENICIA — Jacob French scored 18 points to go with seven rebounds, five assists and five steals in leading the Benicia High School boys basketball team to a 71-41 win Friday night against visiting Will C. Wood.

Darrell Hurd and

Cal men tie school record for 3s in a rout over Stanford

Steve k roner SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

BERKELEY — After hitting 3-pointers from all over Pete Newell Court at Haas Pavilion on Friday night, Cal owns its first winning streak of the season. Stanford, on the other hand, still does not own a Pac-12 win.

The Bears tied a school record with 16 3s as they humbled the Cardinal 92-70. The Bears went 16-for-22 (72.7%) from beyond the arc. Cal also made 16 treys in a game at Arizona on March 5, 2009.

And get this: The Bears entered Friday last in the Pac-12 and 345th in the nation in 3-point field-goal percentage at 27.5.

of ‘em, so we’re expecting again to make them.”

Cal opened this season with 12 losses, but has won three of four, including two straight; the Bears (3-13, 2-3) knocked off Colorado 80-76 last Saturday. Against the Cardinal, the Bears led by as many as 23 and maintained a double-digit edge for the final 18 minutes.

Stanford (5-10, 0-5) has lost three straight and sits at the bottom of the Pac-12.

to

The greater point – with Smart, there’s always a greater point – is that he didn’t come here to win Mr. Congeniality. He came

I have no doubt he remembers every defensive set he ever called, same as Greg Maddux recalls every pitch he threw. Smart is – pun

“It’s all about confidence,” said Cal forward Sam Alajiki. a sophomore from Ireland who came off the bench to score 19 points as he went 5-for-6 from deep.

“We’re good shooters, all of us. We just had an outof-rhythm start (to the season), I guess. In practice, we’d be making all

“For the most part, I thought the guys executed the game plan that I laid out for them,” Stanford head coach Jerod Haase said. “And, obviously, it was ineffective. I need to go back and look and find out if it was the wrong game plan. There’s a big difference between wrong and ineffective, and I need to decide what it is.”

Cal guard DeJuan Clayton poured in a gamehigh 26 points as he went 6-for-8 from long range. He also contributed six assists and did not commit a turnover.

Richt hadn’t done – play for a national title. On Aug. 29, 2016, Smart had no time for Memory Lane. He had business to attend, a program to resurrect. Next question, please.

win, period. He has one national title. He could have another by midnight Monday.

“In the first half, we gave up too many easy transition points and got outrebounded.”

Jason Getz/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS file

Georgia coach Kirby Smart celebrates with fans after his team’s 42-41 win against Ohio State in the Peach Bowl CFP semifinal at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Dec. 31.

Robinson Kuntz/Daily Republic

Solano Community College’s Jonathan Cobbs attempts a shot over Merritt’s Shamar Cook during the game at SCC, Saturday, Jan. 7. Cobbs finished with 29 points in the game.

Scoreboard

BASKETBALL

Sunday’s TV sports

Basketball

College Men

• Ohio State vs. Maryland, ESPN, 10 a.m.

• Houston vs. Cincinnati, ESPN, Noon.

• Washington vs. Arizona State, ESPN, 2 p.m.

College Women

• South Carolina vs. Mississippi State, ESPN2, 10 a.m.

• Iowa State vs. Oklahoma, ESPN2, Noon.

• Oregon vs. Arizona, ESPN2, 4 p.m.

Football College Football

• FCS National Championship, South Dakota State vs. North Dakota State, 7, 10, 11 a.m.

NFL

• New England vs. Buffalo, 5, 13, 10 a.m.

• Minnesota vs. Chicago, 10 a.m.

• Arizona vs. San Francisco, 2, 40, 1:25 p.m.

• N.Y. Giants vs. Philadelphia, 5, 13, 1:25 p.m.

• Detroit Lions vs. Green Bay Packers, 3, 5:15 p.m.

Golf PGA

• Sentry Tournament of Champions, 3, 1 p.m.

had plenty of time to talk.

Smart

From Page B6

intended – wicked smart, and I don’t mean smart by football-coach standards. I mean Mensa-smart. Like Nick Saban, like Mike Krzyzewski, he’d have succeeded in whatever vocation he chose.

How do we know what Smart called his double-blitz back at Bama?

Because, at media day before the Alabama played Notre Dame for 2012 title, he stood still for every question this correspondent posed about that final play. As is the case with Smart’s Georgia assistants, Saban’s staffers spoke only at pre-bowl media sessions. Back then, Smart

When you’re a head coach, you’re talking all the time. It can get old fast. But it’s funny. Ask Bill Belichick about the next game and you’ll get 10 words. Ask about some arcane part of football, and he’ll perform a soliloquy.

Smart can be wonky that way. At halftime against Ohio State, he didn’t give a Gipper speech. He said this: “We have way more rushing yards than they do. When you look at College Football Playoff games, the team that runs the ball better wins almost 95 percent of the time.”

Afterward, he wasn’t giddy over the breathless victory. He expects his team to win. His players, he believes, have been taught the right way.

Bethel powers past John Swett

49ers

backer Fred Warner said. “The thought of that is fun, intriguing. We’ll see.”

Here is what the 49ers need to see Sunday to win their 10th straight:

Weather equalizer?

Week-long rain could give way to partly cloudy skies by kickoff. If the weather doesn’t surface as an equalizer, then turnovers sure could.

plus-9 differential that ranks only behind the Dallas Cowboys (plus-11).

What’s in the Cards?

No Kyler Murray (knee) or Colt McCoy (concussion). No DeAndre Hopkins (knee). No problem? Oh gosh, not this again.

Caught off-guard by Jarrett Stidham’s productivity in his first career start for the Raiders, the 49ers should know better than to ease up against the Cardinals’ backups, even if this should be a gimmie.

anybody lightly.” Bough lost his other five career starts with the Detroit Lions, who released him Sept. 1 to make room for 49ers castoff Nate Sudfeld.

Bough might be wise to target tight end Trey McBride, seeing how Raiders tight ends Darren Waller and Foster Moreau capitalized on flaws in the 49ers’ defense. Others to watch: running back James Conner(782 yards, seven touchdowns) and wide receivers Marquise Brown (wrist) and A.J. Green.

Atlanta,

a.m. New England at Buffalo, 10 a.m. Minnesota at Chicago, 10 a.m. Houston at Indianapolis, 10 a.m. N.Y. Jets at Miami, 10 a.m. Carolina at New Orleans, 10 a.m. Cleveland at Pittsburgh, 10 a.m. N.Y. Giants at Philadelphia, 1:25 p.m. Dallas at Washington, 1:25 p.m. L.A. Chargers at Denver, 1:25 p.m. L.A. Rams at Seattle, 1:25 p.m. Detroit at Green Bay, 5:20 p.m. END REGULAR SEASON

have surfaced during this season, though Warner also gave proper credit to the Raiders’ efforts.

“We have to play better on the back end with eye discipline. It’s cost us some really big plays,” defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans said. “( Talanoa Hufanga) has to clean up his eyes. Too many big plays are being given up, and Huf knows that. Protecting us in the back end as ‘The Eraser, he can’t be dirty. He has to be better.”

From Page B6

James Wong had eight points apiece. The Panthers (10-1 overall) had a 19-9 run in the second quarter and a 24-7 advantage in the fourth period to put the game away.

Jayden Hamilton-Holland led the Wildcats with 13 points. Isiah Dixon added 12 points and 10 rebounds. Josiah Chavez also contributed seven points.

Wood fell to 10-7 overall. The Wildcats open Monticello Empire League play Tuesday night at Vanden.

Solano

From Page B6

had 11 points and nine rebounds. Solomon Bland and Jude Rockafellow had 10 points apiece.

It was Merritt’s first BVC win of the season, and like Solano, the Thunderbirds are also

VALLEJO — Christian Trusclair scored a gamehigh 34 points with four assists and four rebounds in leading the Jesse Bethel High School boys basketball team to a 70-54 win Thursday over John Swett.

Hassan Howard added 20 points with four steals and four assists. Dwight Stricklen added two points and 11 rebounds. Kenneth Brown also added seven points and seven rebounds.

Bethel improved to 13-2 overall and 4-0 in the Tri-County Stone League. The Jaguars will play at El Cerrito Tuesday night.

1-3 in conference. Merritt improved to 6-10 overall.

The Falcons had a much better second half and outscored the Thunderbirds 31-30. It was just a first half they couldn’t recover from after trailing 48-35 at the break.

Solano will try and get back in the win column Tuesday night with a 5:30 p.m. game at Yuba City.

“(Rain) affects guys carrying the football, and ball security is No. 1 thing this time of year, to not turn the ball over,” right tackle Mike McGlinchey said.

Rain fell on this week’s practices, which aren’t being run as full speed as those early in the season.

“Nobody wants to practice in the rain,” safety Tashaun Gipson Sr. said. “But we’ve played in rain games. As long as it’s not like Chicago.”

The 49ers have 17 turnovers and 26 takeaways this season, for a

“Do I think we need that? Not necessarily,” Warner said of the defense’s self-inflicted wounds last Sunday. “You learn a lot when you get humbled like that. You’d like to learn while being dominant, like we have been. But that’s life, that’s football.”

Arizona is down to its fourth quarterback, David Bough, who started last Sunday’s 20-19 loss at Atlanta (24of-40, 222 yards, one touchdown). Asked if he knew anything about him, Bosa replied: “Not much at all, but not taking

Defensive momentum

So much for a historic and legendary defense, right? Surrendering 34 points to a quarterback in his first career start is no way to bolster your reputation. They’re still the NFL’s No. 1 scoring defense, but they’ve fallen to No. 3 in yards allowed per game; the Bills climbed to No. 1 by virtue of Monday night’s brief work in their eventually canceled game at the Bengals.

The 49ers’ defensive lapses last game were a combination of issues that

Ryans noted he’s happy with Deommodore Lenoir’s growth, but that he and everyone can play better. Helping them out is a pass rush that would like to get more production from others beside Bosa. Samson Ebukam has 4 1/2 sacks, his same total each of the previous three seasons.

Bosa is two sacks shy of the 49ers’ single-season record of 19 1/2, set by Aldon Smith in 2012. Will Fred Warner (122 tackles) catch Dre Greenlaw (127 tackles) to finish as the team’s leading tackler for the fifth time in Warner’s five seasons?

Teen responds with courage, resilience after a firework blew up in her hand

Melissa GoMez LOS ANGELES TIMES

LOS ANGELES — In the hospital, La’Veyah Mosley struggled at first to understand what had happened. The 12-year-old girl woke up with both arms covered in layers of gauze.

“Do I have fingers?” she asked her mother, Staneisha Matthews.

The doctor eventually told her the hard news: On her left hand, no, she did not. Matthews reassured La’Veyah that she would recover, then slipped away to the hallway to cry.

La’Veyah is soft-spoken and shy – apt to sometimes keep her troubles inside. But in sports, she’s competitive, and in the months to come she would display remarkable strength. Even in her hospital bed, she remained optimistic and comforted her mother: “Mom, I’m OK.”

Just days earlier, La’Veyah had been playing outside in her family’s front yard in BroadwayManchester with her two sisters, waving around a sparkler the morning after the Fourth of July holiday.

A neighborhood friend handed her another firework he had found in the street. He said it was a smoke bomb. Her twin sister, La’Niyah, needed to go the bathroom and begged her to wait to light it until she got back.

La’Veyah stood impatiently while her younger sister, 8-year-old Jay’la, bounced with anticipation.

But La’Veyah couldn’t wait. She held the smoke bomb in her left hand and ignited it with the sparkler, expecting a burst of color.

The ensuing blast ripped the air with a blinding flash and a sharp crack.

Then absolute silence.

La’Veyah lay crumpled on the ground, ears ringing. White smoke filled the air. Jay’la was lying in the dirt somewhere behind her.

La’Niyah stood frozen in the living room as the explosion shook the apartment. She ran over to La’Veyah and dragged her up the concrete steps and into the living room, screaming for their mother.

Matthews, 33, was in her room folding laundry. She ran out to find them huddled on the floor, blood pooling around them. So much blood was pouring out of La’Veyah that her mother couldn’t figure out where it was coming from, how this had happened. It felt like a horror movie.

Outside, Jay’la was screaming that she couldn’t hear. La’Veyah was shaking. Her hand felt as if it was on fire.

At the hospital, doctors surveyed the damage: La’Veyah had suffered corneal abrasions in both eyes, ruptured eardrums and fractures in her forearms and in the fingers of her right hand. Her wrist bones had been dislocated by the blast. Those would heal. But she lost all the fingers on her left hand, and her right hand was severely burned.

She learned the blast had not come from a smoke bomb but most likely a powerful firecracker like an M-80, which are illegal but common in California.

Wounds like La’Veyah’s are more often inflicted in war zones. Yet fireworks such as M-80s and bottle rockets have, for decades, caused devastating injuries to unsuspecting residents.

In 2021, the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to 280 fireworksrelated calls, with more than 100 people suffering injuries. Sparklers cause many of the burns, blazing at over 2,000 degrees.

Fire Station 66 in South L.A., which responded to La’Veyah’s accident, is among those that receive the highest number of fireworks-related calls.

Such injuries have increased over the last several years, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Between 2006 and 2021, injuries went up by a quarter, according to the agency’s latest report.

Last year, about 11,500 people were injured by fireworks in the U.S., and nine people died.

Children 15 and younger accounted for 29% of injuries. The body parts most often damaged are hands and fingers.

Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, where La’Veyah was treated, in July saw so many patients injured by fireworks that a whole floor was dedicated to treating them.

Dr. Jennifer Hsu, an orthopedic surgeon and chief of microvascular upper extremity and hand surgery, treated 19 patients for traumatic fireworks injuries over the July 4 holiday, the most she has seen in her nine years at the hospital. Sixteen were children, who in many cases did not understand what they had picked up.

“It’s so devastating to see these kids come in and see them go through multiple procedures to try and save as much of their hand as possible,” Hsu said. “Even after the physical wounds heal, for many of them the psychological wounds can carry on long after.”

La’Veyah spent 10 days in the hospital, where doctors worked to save her hands. What remained of her left thumb, wrist and palm left open the possibility of reconstructive surgery.

Her mom feared La’Veyah didn’t yet grasp the full consequences, the

permanence of the missing fingers, and watched La’Veyah closely for signs of depression or sadness. Veyah, as she is known to friends and family, had dreamed of playing professional basketball when she grew up. Would her daughter, Matthews wondered, ever play any sport again?

And what about psychological trauma? With the burst of a firework, everyone who was there could be jolted back to the horror of that morning.

When La’Veyah returned from the hospital, Matthews hoped to keep her at home as she recovered from her injuries. But La’Veyah pleaded to at least sit in the bleachers to watch her youth football team practice.

She was back on TikTok 13 days after the accident, her arms in casts and slings, doing a dance with her twin.

She used the platform to update her friends on how her hands were healing, flexing the fingers on her scarred right hand for the camera, and even sharing a small still image of her left.

“She’s a different type of strong,” Matthews said. “It’s like she has a point to prove.”

n n n

On a cool August evening, 10 days before school would start, La’Veyah sat by herself on a bench overlooking the football field at the Watts Learning Center Middle School.

She recently had been out there warming up alongside her football teammates – one of four girls, including her sister, to make the team. Her days back then were busy: basketball practice every day after school, followed by football practice for another two hours, four times a week.

“It was hard,” she said quietly as she watched her twin sister run drills

alongside the boys. “Sometimes I miss doing it.”

A teammate, Izabella, joined her on the bench. It had been a while since they had last seen each other. They went over firstday-of-school outfits before Izabella broached the topic of her injury.

“So you’re going to have a cast [at school]?” Izabella asked. La’Veyah nodded, holding up her right hand.

“I write with my three fingers,” she explained. “It’s easy. Like, I’ll hold a fork with my three fingers right here.” La’Veyah showed Izabella how her fingernails were already growing back. They didn’t speak about her left hand.

Marc Maye, the general manager of the youth football team, said La’Veyah asked to return to the team days after she left the hospital. The resilience she displayed after her injury was the same determination he’d seen her carry onto the football field, playing mostly against boys.

“She gets knocked down and she gets back up,” Maye said. “That’s how she’s able to compete and be around all those guys and not be afraid.”

But he couldn’t let her play. Not yet. He appointed her junior coach.

La’Veyah thought she still might be able to play basketball and wondered what a prosthetic hand would look like and how it would work. She imagined it shooting lasers.

At a fundraiser event at LAFD Station No. 64, La’Veyah spoke about what had happened, fighting her shyness.

She recounted the accident in front of cameras and a crowd of 40 who came out to raise money for her GoFundMe to pay her medical bills.

LAFD Assistant Chief Jaime Moore said her story was one they could all learn from.

“As tragic as La’Veyah’s

injuries were, it could’ve been much worse,” Moore said. “La’Veyah should show all of us that there is an opportunity to change what’s happening in Los Angeles next year with fireworks.”

n n n

La’Veyah was having a difficult time at doctor appointments, where Dr. Hsu had to change her casts and examine her hands.

Those were the hardest days, La’Veyah said. She would steel herself for what was to come and tried her best to keep from crying, but even the painkillers helped little against the searing pain. Matthews gently cradled La’Veyah and they got through it together.

In August, Matthews told La’Veyah she could delay going back to school and do independent study. She worried what other kids would say to La’Veyah about her injuries or if she would overexert herself.

La’Veyah, was insistent: She wanted to be back in class.

On the first day of school, her classmates avoided awkward questions about her injuries. At lunch, La’Veyah managed to open ketchup packets on her own with her teeth but needed La’Niyah’s help to soften and open her frozen kiwi strawberry slushy drink.

But in September, the twins began having trouble with boys at school. One of them called La’Veyah a “disabled b—,” Matthews said. They began taunting La’Niyah about her sister’s missing fingers. Twice, Matthews said, La’Veyah nearly got into physical fights with classmates who had mocked her. La’Niyah would quickly appear beside her, forcing the boys to reconsider.

When asked about the bullying, La’Veyah’s shoulders fell. “I don’t care,” she said softly. La’Niyah agreed.

But Matthews agonized over her daughters being picked on. She decided to take the girls out of Samuel Gompers Middle School and enroll them at Grace Hopper STEM Academy, a charter school in Inglewood with separate campuses for boys and girls.

Maybe there, she thought, they could find a way to move forward.

n n n

Before their arrival, Principal Yesmin Ortiz briefed the seventh-graders on the Mosley twins. Like them, other students had faced hardships, coming from broken homes and foster families.

If La’Veyah and La’Niyah want to share what happened, they would, Ortiz told the students. But she cautioned them not to press the girls.

By the time they arrived, most of the classmates already knew.

La’Veyah’s story had already been covered by local news outlets. On Instagram, Matthews shared updates of the twins, capturing moments such as La’Niyah buttoning up her sister’s sweater and the family out on a long bike ride.

The girls became part of Grace Hopper’s 19-member seventh-grade class. With a 1-to-15 teacher to student ratio, La’Veyah would get individualized help to keep her on track, even when she missed class because of doctor appointments.

At Grace Hopper, the sisters joined their classmates on a trip to the La Brea Tar Pits, where they gawked at the mammoth fossils. Just before school let out for winter break, they joined their classmates at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

They walked around the displays, peering at bugs under microscopes. La’Veyah paused at an upright life-size polar bear display, touching its left paw gently with her right hand.

Matthews was greatly relieved at how they were integrating into the new school, joining the basketball, chess and fitness clubs.

“Nobody here is mean,” La’Niyah reflected. In basketball, her sister had already relearned how to play. Without the casts, La’Veyah steadies the ball with her left hand and shoots with her right.

Thanhdi Nguyen, the health teacher and fitness instructor at the school, saw the girls slowly come out of their shells. For a while, La’Veyah would lean on her sister to answer for her. But when it came to competitions in the fitness club,such as relay races or games, the twins lighted up.

“They keep each other up to speed,” Nguyen said. “Any time I put on some type of competition, they’re ready for it.”

Matthews fears the fireworks on New Year’s Eve will be too much to bear and plans to take the girls out of town. But otherwise, the family was ready to move forward. Already, the girls were preparing for the spring semester.

On a recent evening, Matthews took the family to an ice rink at L.A. Live. After the year they had had as a family, she wanted them to experience something joyful. La’Veyah took to the ice and, once more, barreled ahead.

“OK, Veyah! OK, girl!” Matthews cheered as her daughter, wearing a black beanie, shot away on her skates. “I can’t follow you that fast!”

Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times/TNS

La’Veyah Mosley stands near the blood-stained concrete where she was injured by an M-80 firecracker.

THE FOLLOWING

(PERSONS) IS (ARE)

LOCATEDAT995OliverRdSuite8,FairfieldCalifornia.Mailingaddress4006 RoxburyWay,Fairfield.IS(ARE) HEREBYREGISTEREDBYTHEFOLLOWINGOWNER(S)#1KulvinderAnzay Kaur4006RoxburyWayFairfield,94533 #2GurdipSingh4006RoxburyWayFairfield,94533.THISBUSINESSISCONDUCTEDBY: aMarriedCouple Theregistrantcommencedtotransact b usinessunderthefictitiousbusiness nameornameslistedaboveonN/A. Ideclarethatallinformationinthisstatementistrueandcorrect(Aregistrantwho declaresastrueinformationwhichheor sheknowstobefalseisguiltyofacrime.) /s/KulvinderAnzayKaur INACCORDANCEWITHSUBDIVISION (a)OFSECTION17920AFICTITIOUS NAMESTATEMENTGENERALLYEXPIRESATTHEENDOFFIVEYEARS FROMTHEDATEONWHICHITWAS FILEDINTHEOFFICEOFTHECOUNTY CLERK,EXCEPTASPROVIDED IN SUBDIVISION(b)OFSECTION17920, WHEREITEXPIRES40DAYSAFTER ANYCHANGEINTHEFACTSSET FORTHINTHESTATEMENTPURSUANTTOSECTION17913OTHERTHAN ACHANGEINTHERESIDENCEADDRESSOFAREGISTEREDOWNER. ANEWFICTITIOUSBUSINESSNAME STATEMENTMUSTBEFILEDBEFORE THEEXPIRATIONDecember7,2027. THEFILINGOFTHISSTATEMENT DOESNOTOFITSELFAUTHORIZE THEUSEINTHISSTATEOFAFICTITIOUSBUSINESSNAMEINVIOLATION OFTHERIGHTSOFANOTHERUNDER FEDERAL,STATEORCOMMONLAW (SEESECTION14411ETSEQ.,BUSINESSANDPROFESSIONSCODE). FiledintheOfficeoftheCountyClerkof SolanoCounty,StateofCaliforniaon: December8,2022 NewASSIGNEDFILENO.2022002011 CHARLESLOMELI,SolanoCountyClerk DR#00060510 Published:Jan.8,15,22,29,2023

LOCATEDAT726BridleRidgeDrive, FairfieldCA94534Solano.Mailingaddress726BridleRidgeDrive,FairfieldCA 94534.IS(ARE)HEREBYREGISTERED BYTHEFOLLOWINGOWNER(S)Khinda BrothersTransportIncCAFairfield, 94534.THISBUSINESSISCONDUC-

TEDBY: aCorporation Theregistrantcommencedtotransact businessunderthefictit iousbusiness nameornameslistedaboveon 01/04/2023. Ideclarethatallinformationinthisstatementistrueandcorrect(Aregistrantwho declaresastrueinformationwhichheor sheknowstobefalseisguiltyofacrime.) /s/JaspreetSinghKhindaPresident INACCORDANCEWITHSUBDIVISION (a)OFSECTION17920AFICTITIOUS NAMESTATEMENTGENERALLYEXPIRESATTHEENDOFFIVEYEARS FROMTHEDATEONWHICHITWAS FILEDINTHEOFFICEOFTHECOUNTY CLERK,EXCEPTASPROVIDEDIN SUBDIVISION(b)OFSECTION17920, WHEREITEXPIRES40DAYSAFTER ANYCHANGEINTHEFACTSSET FORTHINTHESTATEMENTPURSUANTTOSECTION17913OTHERTHAN ACHANGEINTHERESIDENCEADDRESSOFAREGISTEREDOWNER. ANEWFICTITIOUSBUSINESSNAME STATEMENTMUSTBEFILEDBEFORE THEEXPIRATIONJanuary3,2028. THEFILINGOFTHISSTATEMENT DOESNOTOFITSELFAUTHORIZE THEUSEINTHISSTATEOFAFICTITIOUSBUSINESSNAMEINVIOLATION OFTHERIGHTSOFANOTHERUNDER FEDERAL,STATEORCOMMON LAW (SEESECTION14411ETSEQ.,BUSINESSANDPROFESSIONSCODE). FiledintheOfficeoftheCountyClerkof SolanoCounty,StateofCaliforniaon: January4,2023 NewASSIGNEDFILENO.2023000012 CHARLESLOMELI,SolanoCountyClerk DR#00060520 Published:Jan.8,15,22,29,2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT

THE FOLLOWING PERSON (PERSONS) IS (ARE) DOING BUSINESS AS 1ST CHOICE TAX SERVICES

LOCATEDAT1207EssexDr,Fairfield, CA94533Solano.Mailingaddress1207 EssexDr,Fairfield,CA94533.IS(ARE) HEREBYREGISTEREDBYTHEFOLLOWINGOWNER(S)EsmeraldaCervantes1207EssexDrFairfield,94533.

THISBUSINESSISCONDUCTEDBY: anIndividual Theregistrantcommencedtotransact businessunderthefictitiousbusiness nam eornameslistedaboveon 11/30/2017. Ideclarethatallinformationinthisstatementistrueandcorrect(Aregistrantwho declaresastrueinformationwhichheor sheknowstobefalseisguiltyofacrime.) /s/EsmeraldaCervantes INACCORDANCEWITHSUBDIVISION (a)OFSECTION17920AFICTITIOUS NAMESTATEMENTGENERALLYEXPIRESATTHEENDOFFIVEYEARS FROMTHEDATEONWHICHITWAS FILEDINTHEOFFICEOFTHECOUNTY CLERK,EXCEPTASPROVIDEDIN SUBDIVISION(b)OFSECTION17920, WHEREITEXPIRES40DAYSAFTER ANYCHANGEINTHEFACTSSET FORTHINTHESTATEMENTPURSUANTTOSECTION17913OTHERTHAN ACHANGEINTHERESIDENCEADDRESSOFAREGISTEREDOWNER. ANEWFICTITIOUSBUSINESSNAME STATEMENTMUSTBEFILEDBEFORE THEEXPIRATIONJanuary3,2028. THEFILINGOFTHISSTATEMENT DOESNOTOFITSELFAUTHORIZE THEUSEINTHISSTATEOFAFICTITIOUSBUSINESSNAMEINVIOLATION OFTHERIGHTSOFANOTHERUNDER FEDERAL,STATEORCOMMONLAW (SEESECTION14411ETSEQ.,BUSINESSANDPROFESSIONSCODE). FiledintheOfficeoftheCountyClerkof SolanoCounty,StateofCaliforniaon: January4,2023 NewASSIGNEDFILENO.2023000014 CHARLESLOMELI,SolanoCountyClerk DR#00060518 Published:Jan.8,15,22,29,2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT

THE FOLLOWING PERSON (PERSONS) IS (ARE) DOING BUSINESS AS BOSS BITCHES

LOCATEDAT2531EAtlanticCt,FairfieldCA.Mailingaddress2531EAtlantic Ct,Fairfield.IS(ARE)HEREBYREGISTEREDBYTHEFOLLOWINGOWNER(S)TaraCruz2531EAtlanticCtFairfield,94533.THISBUSINESSISCONDUCTEDBY: anIndividual Theregistrantcommencedtotransact businessunderthefictitiousbusiness nameornameslistedaboveonN/A. I declarethatallinformationinthisstatementistrueandcorrect(Aregistrantwho declaresastrueinformationwhichheor sheknowstobefalseisguiltyofacrime.) /s/TaraCruz INACCORDANCEWITHSUBDIVISION (a)OFSECTION17920AFICTITIOUS NAMESTATEMENTGENERALLYEXPIRESATTHEENDOFFIVEYEARS FROMTHEDATEONWHICHITWAS FILEDINTHEOFFICEOFTHECOUNTY CLERK,EXCEPTASPROVIDEDIN SUBDIVISION(b)OFSECTION17920, WHEREITEXPIRES40DAYSAFTER ANYCHANGEINTHEFA CTSSET FORTHINTHESTATEMENTPURSUANTTOSECTION17913OTHERTHAN ACHANGEINTHERESIDENCEADDRESSOFAREGISTEREDOWNER. ANEWFICTITIOUSBUSINESSNAME STATEMENTMUSTBEFILEDBEFORE THEEXPIRATIONJanuary3,2028. THEFILINGOFTHISSTATEMENT DOESNOTOFITSELFAUTHORIZE THEUSEINTHISSTATEOFAFICTITIOUSBUSINESSNAMEINVIOLATION OFTHERIGHTSOFANOTHERUNDER FEDERAL,STATEORCOMMONLAW (SEESECTION14411ETSEQ.,BUSINESSANDPROFESSIONSCODE). FiledintheOfficeoftheCountyClerkof SolanoCounty,StateofCaliforniaon: January4,2023 NewASSIGNEDFILENO.2023000016 CHARLESLOMELI,SolanoCountyClerk DR#00060527 Published:Jan.8,15,22,29,2023

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aMarriedCouple Theregistrantcommencedtotransact

nameornameslistedaboveonN/A. Ideclarethatallinformationinthisstatementistrueandcorrect(Aregistrantwho declaresastrueinformationwhichheor sheknowstobefalseisguiltyofacrime.) /s/EdwardThomas INACCORDANCEWITHSUBDIVISION (a)OFSECTION17920AFICTITIOUS NAMESTATEMENTGENERALLYEXPIRESATTHEENDOFFIVEYEARS FROMTHEDATEONWHICHITWAS FILEDINTHEOFFICEOFTHECOUNTY CLERK,EXCEPTASPROVIDEDIN SUBDIVISION(b)OFSECTION17920, WHEREITEXPIRES40DAYSAFTER ANYCHANGEINTHEFACTSSET FORTHINTHESTATEMENTPURSUANTTOSECTION17913OTHERTHAN ACHANGEINTHERESIDENCEADDRESSOFAREGISTEREDOWNER. ANEWFICTITIOUSBUSINESSNAME STATEMENTMUSTBEFILEDBEFORE THEEXPIRATIONJanuary2,2028. THEFILINGOFTHISSTATEMENT DOESNOTOFITSELFAUTHORIZE THEUSEINTHISSTATEOFAFICTITIOUSBUSINESSNAMEINVIOLATION OFTHERIGHTSOF ANOTHERUNDER FEDERAL,STATEORCOMMONLAW (SEESECTION14411ETSEQ.,BUSINESSANDPROFESSIONSCODE). FiledintheOfficeoftheCountyClerkof SolanoCounty,StateofCaliforniaon: January3,2023 NewASSIGNEDFILENO.2023000003 CHARLESLOMELI,SolanoCountyClerk DR#00060505 Published:Jan.8,15,22,29,2023

NESSISCONDUCTEDBY: anIndividual Theregistrantcommencedtotransact businessunderthefictitiousbusiness nameornameslistedaboveon 12/14/2022. Ideclarethatallinformationinthisstatementistrueandcorrect(Aregistrantwho declaresastrueinformationwhichheor sheknowstobefalseisguiltyofacrime.) /s/BrianJ.Brown INACCORDANCEWITHSUBDIVISION (a)OFSECTION17920AFICTITIOUS NAMESTATEMENTGENERALLYEXPIRESATTHEENDOFFIVEYEARS FROMTHEDATEONWHICHITWAS FILEDINTHEOFFICEOFTHECOUNTY CLERK,EXCEPTASPROVIDEDIN SUBDIVISION(b)OFSECTION17920, WHEREITEXPIRES40DAYSAFTER ANYCHANGEINTHEFACTSSET FORTHINTHESTATEMENTPURSUANTTOSECTION17913OTHERTHAN ACHANGEINTHERESIDENCEADDRESSOFAREGISTEREDOWNER. ANEWFICTITIOUSBUSINESSNAME STATEMENTMUSTBEFILEDBEFORE THEEXPIRATIONDecember13,2027. THEFILINGOFTHISSTATEMENT DOESNOTOFITSELFAUTHORIZE THEUSEINTHISSTATEOFAFICTITIOUSBUSINESSNAMEINVIOLATION OFTHERIGHTSOFANOTHERUNDER FEDERAL,STATEORCOMMONLAW (SEESECTION14411ETSEQ., BUSINESSANDPROFESSIONSCODE). FiledintheOfficeoftheCountyClerkof SolanoCounty,StateofCaliforniaon: December14,2022 NewASSIGNEDFILENO.2022002057 CHARLESLOMELI,SolanoCountyClerk DR#00060099 Published:December18,25,2022 January1,8,2023

nessandProfessionsCodesections21700-21716.Locationofauctioneditems:Four SeasonsSelfStorageLLC.1600PetersenRd,SuisunCityCA94585.Dateofsale : 1/20/2023.Timeofsale:9:45am.AuctionwillbeconductedatFourSeasonsSelfStorageat1600PetersenRd.SuisunCityCA94585.Auctioneer;AwardAuction:JeffVercelli#MS153-13-71.Phone:408-891-6108.AgentforOwnerDiedePropertyManagement.Propertybeingsoldwillpublish1-1-2023&1-8-2023.Unitsbeingsold:DominequeConnors(D17)NealBowdoin(F82),JulieRuttenberg(A02,A30),FrankieBrown (F28),KaliayahL.Harrison(F197),JamieNickson-Jack(G115),TrevelyonThierry(F167) NancyJones(F42),RhondaChester(F137,G183),LamontPrentice(F130),JonathanR Richardson(F31),PearlVazquez-Zavaleta(C37)

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME PETITION OF:

PRINGLE JUNIOR HARDY CASE NUMBER FCS059070

TOALLINTERESTEDPERSONS:

Petitioner: Pringle Junior Hardy filedapetitionwiththiscourtforadecree changingnamesasfollows: Present Name: a. Pringle Junior Hardy Proposed Name: a. Pringle Junior Patterson THECOURTORDERSthatallpersonsinterestedinthismattershallappearbefore thiscourtatthehearingindicatedbelowto showcause,ifany,whythepetitionfor changeofnameshouldnotbegranted. Anypersonobjectingtothename changesdescribedabovemustfileawrittenobjectionthatincludesthereasonsfor theobjectionatleasttwocourtdaysbeforethematterisscheduledtobeheard andmustappearatthehearingtoshow causewhythepetitionshouldnotbegranted.Ifnowrittenobjectionistimelyfiled, thecourtmaygrantthepetitionwithouta hearing.

NOTICE OF HEARING

Date: January 27, 2023; Time: 9:30 am; Dept: 22; Rm: 3 The address of the court is

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, County of Solano Old Solano Courthouse 580 Texas Street Fairfield, CA 94533

AcopyofthisOrdertoShowCauseshall bepublishedatleastonceeachweekfor foursuccessiveweekspriortothedate setforhearingonthepetitioninthefollowingnewspaperofgeneralcirculation,printedinthiscounty:DailyRepublic Pleasefileproofofnewspaperpublication atleast5businessdaysbeforehearing (newspaperdoesnotfilew/court)zoom ok.zoominvitewillbeemailed1-2days beforehearing Date:NOV.28,2022 /s/A.Jones JudgeoftheSuperiorCourt FILED:Dec.2,2022 DR#00060497 Published:Jan4,8,15,22,2023

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE

OF NAME PETITION OF: IAN PATRICK MCCLESKEY CASE NUMBER: FCS059181

TOALLINTERESTEDPERSONS: Petitioner: Ian Patrick McCleskey filedapetitionwiththiscourtforadecree changingnamesasfollows: Present Name: a. Ian Patrick McCleskey Proposed Name: a. Ian Patrick Clark THECOURTORDERSthatallpersonsinterestedinthismattershallappearbefore thiscourtatthehearingindicatedbelowto showcause,ifany, whythepetitionfor changeofnameshouldnotbegranted. Anypersonobjectingtothename changesdescribedabovemustfileawrittenobjectionthatincludesthereasonsfor theobjectionatleasttwocourtdaysbeforethematterisscheduledtobeheard andmustappearatthehearingtoshow causewhythepetitionshouldnotbegranted.Ifnowrittenobjectionistimelyfiled, thecourtmaygrantthepetitionwithouta hearing.

NOTICE OF HEARING Date: Feb. 3, 2023; Time: 9:00 am; Dept: 4; Rm: 305 The address of the court is: SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SOLANO Solano County Superior Court 600 Union Ave. Fairfield, CA 94533

AcopyofthisOrdertoShowCauseshall bepublishedatleastonceeachweekfor foursuccessiveweekspriortothedate setforhearingonthepetitioninthefollowingnewspaperofgeneralcirculation,printedinthiscounty:DailyRepublic Pleasefileproofofnewspaperpublication atleast5businessdaysbeforehearing (newspaperdoesnotfilew/court)zoom ok.zoominvitewillbeemailed1-2days beforehearing Date:NOV.28,2022 /s/E.BradleyNelson JudgeoftheSuperiorCourt FILED:DEC.9,2022 DR#00060390 Published:January1,8,15,22,2023

AUCTIONNOTICE:ASDEFINEDBY:TheCaliforniaSelfStorageFacilitiesAct,Chapter 10CommencingwithSection21700,Division8oftheCaliforniaBusinessandProfessionsCode,AIRPORTROADSELFSTORAGE–1604AirportRd,RioVista,CA94571 willconductanAuctiononJanuary20,2023,at10:45AM.AUCTIONEER:AWardAuctionJeffVercelli#MS324-27-4.AgentforOwner:DiedePropertyManagement.Unitsbeingsold:CurtisBooth,GloriaHernandez,MatthewHall,NancyDipasquale,LollyCaylor, LauraWilliamson,RoyCondra,RobertASmithItemsbeingsold:Furniture,tools,Vacuum,compressor,wheelbarrowandmisc.tubsandboxes.Thisadwillpublish1-1-2023& 1-7-2023.InaccordancewiththeCaliforniaSelfServiceStorageAct,shouldbidsfall shortagentspredeterminedfairmarketvalueonagivenStorageunit,agentshallhave therighttohaltthesaleofsaidstorageunit. DR#00060420 Published:January1,8,2023

ACCORDINGTOTHELEASEBYANDBETWEENTHEFOLLOWING: NAMEUNITCONTENTS SANDRADOIRON416CARPET,DECORATIONS,CLOTHING CHANELSNOWDEN439ROLLERBLADES,CAMERA,TOYS SHANNONDARBEY582ELECTRICGRIDDLE,KIDSSCOOTER,LUGGAGE ANDTKG-StorageMartanditsrelatedparties,assignsandaffiliatesINORDERTOPERFECTTHELIENONTHEGOODSCONTAINEDINTHEIRSTORAGEUNITS.THE MANAGERSHAVECUTTHELOCKONTHEIRUNITS.Itemswillbesoldorotherwise disposedofonJANUARY25TH,2023@10:00amonstoragetreasures.com,tosati sfy owner'slieninaccordancewithstatestatutes,allbidsarefortheentirecontentsofthe storageunit.StorageMart#2452,2277WaltersRd.,FairfieldCA.94533.(707)429-4177, Opt#2 DR#00060521 Published:January8,15,2023

OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF:

LAURIE ANN AVIST-WOLF AKA LAURIE A. AVIST, LAURIE A. HULL CASE NUMBER: FPR051865

Toallheirs,beneficiaries,creditors,contingentcreditors,andpersonswhomay otherwisebeinterestedinthewillorestate,orboth,of: Laurie Ann Avist-Wolf aka Laurie A. Avist-Wolf, Laurie Ann Avist, Laurie A. Avist, Laurie A. Hull

APetitionforProbatehasbeenfiledby: Jennifer Morgan intheSuperiorCourtofCalifornia,County of:Solano

ThePetitionforProbaterequeststhat: Jennifer Morgan beappointedaspersonalrepresentative toadministertheestateofthedecedent. ThepetitionrequestsauthoritytoadministertheestateundertheIndependentAdministrationofEstatesAct.(Thisauthority willallowthepersonalrepresentativeto takemanyactionswithoutobtainingcourt approval.Beforetakingcertainveryimportantactions,however,theperso nal representativewillberequiredtogivenoticetointerestedpersonsunlessthey havewaivednoticeorconsentedtothe proposedaction.)Theindependentadministrationauthoritywillbegrantedunless aninterestedpersonfilesanobjectionto thepetitionandshowsgoodcausewhy thecourtshouldnotgranttheauthority.

A hearing on the petition will be held in this court as follows:

DATE: FEB. 2, 2023; TIME: 9:00 am; DEPT. 22

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, County of Solano Old Solano Courthouse 580 Texas Street Fairfield, CA 94533

If you object tothegrantingofthepetition,youshouldappearatthehearingand stateyourobjectionsorfilewrittenobjectionswiththecourtbeforethehearing. Yourappearancemaybeinpersonorby yourattorney.

If you are a creditor or a contingent creditor of the decedent, youmustfileyourclaimwiththecourtand mailacopytothepersonalrepresentative appointedbythecourtwithinthe later of either(1)four months fromthedateof firstissuanceofletterstoageneralpersonalrepresentative,asdefinedinsection58(b)oftheCaliforniaProbateCode, or(2) 60 days fromthedateofmailingor personaldeliverytoyouofanoticeunder section9052oftheCaliforniaProbate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may wantto consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law.

You may examine the file kept by the court.Ifyouareapersoninterestedinthe estate,youmayfilewiththecourtaRequestforSpecialNotice(formDE-154)of thefilingofaninventoryandappraisalof estateassetsorofanypetitionoraccount asprovidedinProbateCodesection 1250.ARequestforSpecialNoticeformis availablefromthecourtclerk.

AttorneyforPetitioner: EltonR.Garner Garner&AssociatesLLP 109N.MarshallAve. Willows,CA95988 (510)934-3324 DR#00060400

Published:January1,4,8,2023

NOTICE