Daily Republic: Friday, March 10, 2023

Todd R. H ansen

THANSEN@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — The rains came a bit earlier than expected Thursday, and continued with a consistent soaking stream, foretelling a wet extended weekend that could bring as much as 5 inches to parts of the county.

The storm is warmer than recent downpours, so residents should not expect to see snow-capped ridges.

The heaviest deluge was expected Thursday night into Friday, and the Office of Emergency Services reported the county is under a flood watch through 10 a.m. Sunday.

“So all the creeks and streams are being monitored,” sheriff’s Sgt. Christine Castillo, with the Office of Emergency Services, said in a phone interview Wednesday.

“Right now, (the National

Todd R. H ansen

THANSEN@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — Two survivors of domestic violence brought the participants of the two-day Solano County Family Justice Center Strategic Planning Days event to their feet Wednesday with their stories.

Marisol Martinez spent more than two decades of her life – first snared in the tight grip of human trafficking, and later in the punishing stranglehold of domestic violence – as a victim with little hope of change.

“With all my past . . . who will want to believe

Weather Service) has not issued any warnings, but it has a wind advisory . . . through 4 p.m. Friday,” Castillo said.

The Weather Service out of Sacramento reports rain could continue daily through March 17, with at least a 60% likelihood through Wednesday.

Castillo said residents should make sure their street drains and gutters are clear, and areas that tend to pool should be cleaned up to take the extra water. In areas prone to heavier flooding, she said, residents should take precautions, including stocking up on sandbags if needed.

Sandbags are available to Fairfield residents from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Friday at the Public Works Corporation Yard, 420 Gregory St. Sand is available at the corner of Pittman and Cordelia roads and at the southeast corner of Allan Witt

me? No one,” Marti nez said. “That’s what I believed.”

But there was someone willing to hold her hand and said, “’We need to know the truth. We need to know what happened to you,” Martinez said about meeting a Family Justice Center advocate in Concord. “And she said, ‘I believe you.’ “

It started a new journey to a new life free of enslavement, drugs, physical and mental abuse – crime and deportation – and the constant fear she would lose her children.

Park off of Woolner Avenue. Sand will be “self-serve” and there is a 10-bag limit.

“Sandbags should be filled only half full, as smaller bags pack tighter and are easier to handle. Overfilled bags are unstable when stacked and can leave gaps that allow water to flow through,” the city said in a statement.

Other sandbag locations can be found at www.solanocounty.com/ depts/oes/grs/flood/sandbags_and_ inform. That includes behind the Suisun City Police Department, 701 Civic Center Blvd.

The county also has launched its new Know Your Zone website, Zonehaven Aware, at community. zonehaven.com, to inform residents of emergency alerts, road closures and potential evacuation routes. Site users can plug in the

Todd R. H ansen THANSEN@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — An increase of property tax and other revenues, coupled with a cut in expenditures largely due to savings from more than 300 employee vacan cies, means Solano County will start the 2023-24 fiscal year with more money than it had ini tially expected.

The General Fund carryover figure is now $36.7 million, with $14 million of that to be placed in the contingency fund for emergency uses such as natural disasters.

“We have had good revenue growth,” County Administrator Bill Emlen told the board to begin the midyear financial update at Tuesday’s meeting.

The county is projecting additional property tax revenues of nearly $7.85 million, nearly $3.83 million in Proposition 172 dollars – from statewide sales tax that must go to public safety purposes – plus $1.2 million extra in interest income.

Anticipated employee savings, in part, total $5.89 million for General Fund supported positions and $5.09 million from the Public Safety Fund supported positions. The county projects an additional savings of $1.09 million in General Fund services and supplies.

The General Fund is projected to have $7.9 million in additional revenues and $11 million in expenditure savings. The Public Safety Fund is projected

FAIRFIELD — The city has closed Rockville Hills Regional Park and its open spaces due to past and current weather conditions that make it unsafe to visit the recreational areas.

City officials cite “the complete saturation of the soil, overflowing ponds, downed trees blocking multiple trails and a substantial storm bringing a forecasted 5-plus inches of rain over the next

to see a $6.4 million drop in revenue and corresponding expenditures, and is expected to receive $8.2 million less from the General Fund than first budgeted. Similarly, the Health and Social Services Fund projects a decrease in revenues, $7.3 million, and expenditures, $11.8 million, but is expected to get $3 million more from the General Fund.

It also was reported that the county is expecting higher retirement pension rates, pension obligation bond rates and liability insurance rates. Other assumptions the administration is working off of for the new fiscal

seven days.” The 633-acre Rockville Hills Regional Park and the 338-acre Rolling Hills, 365-acre Serpas Ranch and 25-acre Spyglass open spaces were closed at sunrise Thursday and will remain closed through March 16, at which time they will be reassessed for possible reopening March 17, the city reports. These closures are in line with other nearby regional parks and Solano County open spaces, the city reports.

EMLEN HANNIGAN

VASQUEZ MASHBURN

Skip’s Cycle and Mower Shop memories

“I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike, I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride it where I like.” – From “Bicycle Race” by Queen

Supernovas of joy

erupted in Fairfield homes back in the day when youngsters discovered that Santa had brought them a brand-new bike for Christmas. More than likely back then Santa’s helpers didn’t get them from so-called “big-box” stores as they didn’t exist. They went to Skip’s Cycle and Mower Shop.

Before Seymour John “Skip” Prusso founded the local business that endeared him to grateful children who as adults still fondly recall him and his shop decades later, Prusso was always looking for better ways to financially support his wife Bea and their two sons, Dennis and Rick.

“My dad worked at the cannery, where he lost a finger, he worked at the onion factory in Vacaville and he worked at Mare Island as a welder,” Rick Prusso said.

Skip Prusso went into business with his brother-in-law Chris Santaella (who later became mayor of Fairfield and owned Chris’s Shoes) running a store called Valley Grocery & Bakery across the street from the theater on Texas and Jackson streets.

He later sold his interest in the store to Santaella and a 1950 Solano Republican newspaper article reported that Prusso bought the Red Mountain Creek Camp near Garberville. It had a house and nine cabins and his plan was to rent out the property for camping, fishing and hunting. He also purchased 50 minks to start a mink farm. Unfortunately, the camp was lost in a flood.

In the early 1950s, Prusso started fixing lawnmowers and bicycles for friends and neighbors in Fairfield and opened up a shop in his garage at 319 Madison St. The small business grew enough to move to a building at what was then 1531 N. Texas St.

It was a true family affair as Bea Prusso ran the cash register and did the books and when the two Prusso boys were old enough to help, they sharpened lawnmower blades, performed small motor repairs and myriad other tasks.

Skip’s Cycles and Mower Shop was the only place locally to buy Schwinn bicycles and they carried numerous models.

In 1963 Schwinn capitalized on the trend of California youth customizing their bicycles to resemble motorcycles by releasing their Sting-Ray line. The radical design featured a short frame, high rise handlebars and a long, bucketshaped saddle. They were a sensation and became the company’s bestselling bike almost overnight. That same year, Skip’s Cycle moved to 1746 N. Texas St. right next to George’s Liquor. That would be their home for the next nine years.

In 1968, Schwinn turbocharged the Sting-Ray line by introducing the Krate series that featured a unique 5-speed stick shift that was originally offered in three colors corresponding to their fruity names; the Orange Krate, the Lemon Peeler and the Apple Krate. Many Fairfielders recall riding them proudly all over town.

The city of Fairfield continued to grow during that time as did the demand for bicycles, lawnmowers and the various services the Prussos offered. In 1972, they bought a lot at

1401 W. Texas St. and had local company Weatherford Construction build a new shop there. It had two stories and initially the upstairs was where all the merchandise not on the selling floor was stored. Eventually they had the idea to add a Baby Attic upstairs.

The business boomed and in addition to bicycles, chain saws, roller skates and skateboards downstairs, customers could get baby furniture and other accoutrement for their little ones upstairs as well.

“Then the 80’s recession hit. Unfortunately, the kind of products and services that the shop offered were the kinds of things that people did without during the recession and it destroyed the business,” Rick Prusso said.

Dennis Prusso and an entrepreneur friend bought the store and Skip and Bea retired and enjoyed discovering the wonders of the United States in their travel trailer. Dennis added auto parts but eventually the aforementioned big-box stores made their appearance in Fairfield and squeezed out

the mom-and-pop shops. Dennis sold cars for years at Woodard Chevrolet and Rick worked at Sonoma State University in IT.

“My dad’s philosophy was that the customer was always right and that’s how he ran the shop. He would bend over backwards to make customers happy and gave a lot of stuff away. That’s how he built up a return customer base,” Rick Prusso said. “He was a great guy with the public, was friendly, a talker and loved to help people. That business carried our family for 30 years and it’s all because of how he ran it.”

Other locals shared memories of Skip’s Cycles and Mower Shop: Jean Taylor Hamilton: My two younger brothers each had Orange Krates. In fact, I was in the Army at the time and sent money home to my mom to pay for them.

Bill Pinkerton: I could never have a Schwinn because we sold Huffys at Pinkerton hardware store. It’s more than 50 years later and I’m still angry about it.

and waiting for pick-up at Skip’s with names on them. But my name wasn’t on any bike and I was heartbroken. On Christmas Eve, my family went to a nine-course dinner at Vera’s in Crockett and I was in a really bad mood because I knew I wasn’t getting a bike. We get home and my Dad was giving me a hard time because of my attitude and I started to cry. Imagine my surprise and embarrassment when he handed the car keys to my brother to get the bike out of the trunk of his car! My parent’s knew I had been checking at Skip’s and they wanted it to be a surprise!

Fairfield freelance humor columnist and accidental local historian Tony Wade writes two weekly columns: “ The Last Laugh” on Mondays and “Back in the Day” on Fridays. Wade is also the author of The History Press books “Growing Up In Fairfield, California” and “Lost Restaurants of Fairfield, California” and hosts the Channel 26 government access TV show “Local Legends.”

Tony Wade Back in the day

Rick Prusso/Courtesy photo

Skip Prusso at his bicycle shop when it was located at 1531 N. Texas St.

Fairfield council acknowledges contributions of women to history

Todd R. H ansen THANSEN@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — The City Council Tuesday night proclaimed March as National Women’s History Month.

The theme for 2023 is “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories,” and to that end, the city’s poet laureate, Suzanne Bruce, recited her poem, “Listen to Her Story.” It was in homage to Elsie Robinson, a journalist, novelist and poet whose Hearst column, “Listen, World,” was nationally syndicated.

“It focuses on recognition of women, past and present, who have been active in all forms of media. Women have long been instrumental in passing on our heritage in word and in print to communicate the lessons of those who came before us. The timely theme honors women in every community who have devoted their lives and talents to producing art, pursuing truth, and reflecting the human condition decade after decade,” Bruce wrote as a prelude to her poem.

The resolution states, in part, “. . . From the earliest storytellers through pioneering journalists, our experiences have been captured by a wide variety of artists, teachers, authors, songwriters, scholars, playwrights and performers throughout time. Women have long been instrumental in passing on our heritage in word and in print to communicate the lessons of those who came before us; and . . .

“Women of every race, class and ethnic background have made historic contributions to the growth and strength of our nation in countless recorded and unrecorded ways. Women also served as early leaders in the forefront of every significant progressive social change movement; and . . . women have continued to play critical economic, cultural and social roles

in every sphere of the American way of life by constituting a significant portion of the labor force.”

Councilwoman Doriss Panduro presented the resolution to Jennifer Hamilton, with the Solano Commission for Women and Girls.

In other action, the council:

n Appointed Councilwoman K. Patrice Williams as the primary director and Panduro as the alternate to the Marin Clean Energy board of directors.

n Removed the position titles of administrative analyst, assistant civil engineer, chief information officer, development specialist, non-council Housing Authority member, park planning manager, Parks and Recreation manager, senior transportation planner and vehicle maintenance manager from the city’s Conflict of Interest Code.

n Vacated a 20-foot wide, 60-foot-long waterline easement at 1420 Travis Blvd. where the Raising Cane’s drivethru restaurant will be built. The land no longer needed.

n Approved a contribution agreement by which the city will provide $2.59 million of Federal Transit Administration funds to the Solano Transportation Authority toward the purchase of Solano Express intercity bus replacements.

n Sitting as the Housing Authority board, extended to Aug. 1 the deadline for the Sutton Place Development Corp. to complete prerequisites to obtain building permits from Planning and Building prior to start of affordable housing construction this year at 1600 Woolner Ave. The action is an amendment to the Disposition and Development Agreement among the Fairfield Housing Authority, Affordable Housing Alliance II Inc. and Sutton Place Development Corp.

Vaca Library Commission meets next week

VACAVILLE — The Vacaville Library Commission is set to meet at 6:30 p.m. Monday in the library conference room.

The library is located at 1020 Ulatis Drive.

For more information, call 1-866-572-7587.

To arrange for accommodations for individuals with disabilities, including interpretive services, call Cathy Sheldon at 707-784-1500.

Work on wildfire fuel break gets underway in Green Valley

Todd R. H ansen

THANSEN@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

GREEN VALLEY —

Crews began work this week on a 2-mile wildfire fuel break along the west side of Green Valley behind the Highlands.

The Green Valley shaded fuel break “is designed to reduce hazardous fuels and decrease the likelihood of wildfire spread into the community. It also serves as a control line for fire suppression, giving firefighters a fighting chance to defend the community in the event of a wildfire,” the Green Valley Fire Safe Council said in a statement released Thursday. The work is funded with a $950,000 state Depart-

ment of Forestry and Fire Protection grant, and is a collaborative effort among the fire council, Cordelia Fire Protection District with other partners.

It is part of the fire council’s Wildfire Risk Reduction Plan, which has led the council to be recognized nationally as a Fire Wise USA site – the first in Solano County.

“Reducing fuels is the single most important step we can take to reduce wildfire risk,” Rochelle Sherlock, president of the Green Valley Fire Safe Council, said in the statement. “Our intention is to extend the shaded fuel break around the perimeter of Green Valley. The current Cal Fire grant covers a portion of the

overall project, identified as Phase 1.”

A separate fire break is also planned for the ridge line.

Sherlock said she is working on another grant proposal to extend the fuel break around upper Green Valley and down the east side.

“We work closely with Cal Fire and the city of Vallejo,” Sherlock said.

The Vallejo Water Department provides water to unincorporated Green Valley residents and their property borders the west and north side where the fuel break will occur.

“Partnerships are key,” Cordelia Fire Chief Dave Carpenter said in the statement. “Working together has allowed us to accom-

plish things that we would never have been able to do alone.”

Carpenter said the community residents must also do their part by creating defensible space, hardening their homes with fire-resistant materials and taking active measures not to start a fire.

Residents can learn more about what they can do by attending the Wildfire Safety Expo from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 15 at Solano Community College, 4000 Suisun Valley Road, or by visiting ReadyforWildFire. org. For more information on the shaded fuel break, send and email to Rochelle@GVFSC.org.

City of Fairfield cracking down on street parking of RVs, boats, oversized vehicles

Todd R. H ansen THANSEN@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — The City Council on Tuesday night conducted a public hearing and introduced a change to the Municipal Code banning “storage or parking of vehicles on public streets.”

All the speakers supported the ordinance, especially in the downtown area, but Jim Englebright, who operates one of the contracted tow services with the city, wanted the council to find a way to offset the storage costs companies like his incur for the towed vehicles.

The section specifies recreational vehicles, boats, trailers, commercial and oversized vehicles, but can also apply to passenger cars and trucks. There are exceptions when the vehicle is there overnight

for use, but not for more than 72 hours.

The Police Department reported receiving 4,852 calls for service related to abandoned vehicles in 2022. Another 650 were reported to the Code Enforcement division and the city’s My Fairfield CA App. Police chief Dan Marshall, who sat as the city manager while David Gassaway was at a conference in Washington, D.C., said the goal is compliance, not punishment. The city will conduct an outreach program and will likely issue warnings during a kind of honeymoon period.

After that, however, the citations are $100 for the first offense and $200 for the second. The infrac-

tion can become a misdemeanor.

In other action, the council:

n Approved the 2023 list of city-sponsored special events, as well as providing definitions, regulatory and permitting requirements.

n Declared its intention to annex the Dutch Bros Coffee property, located north of Travis Boulevard and east of Oliver Road, into Community Facilities District No. 2012-2 and authorized the special taxes. The anticipated annual revenue is $280.54 annually based on a commercial property tax rate of $0.295 per gross square foot of the building’s floor area.

n Declared its inten-

tion to annex the StorQuest Express property, located south of Sacramento Northern Railway and west of Horizon Drive, into Community Facilities District No. 2012-2 and authorized the special taxes. The anticipated annual revenue is $3,295.47 based on the $0.028 tax rate per net square foot of lot area for industrial property.

n Approved the revised, and the amended plans and specifications for Phase 2 of the Manuel Campos Parkway Extension to include additional striping and signage. Rancho Tolenas Corp. is nearing construction completion for the widened westbound lanes of Manuel Campos Parkway. There is no cost to the city.

Courtesy photo

Crews work on a 2-mile wildfire fuel break along the west side of Green Valley behind the Highlands.

Visit Fairfield initiates scavenger hunt around Jelly Belly Factory

FAIRFIELD — Visit Fairfield and the California Welcome Center have launched a new scavenger hunt around the Jelly Belly Factory.

“The Jelly Belly Sweet Trail experience aims to drive traffic to the California Welcome Center and get people excited to learn about all there is to see and do in Fairfield and the Northern California region,” Visit Fairfield said in a statement.

Anyone wishing to participate can sign up at visitfairfield.com/explore, then head to Jelly Belly and purchase a ticket for the self-guided tour.

“Along the tour you can search for four-digit codes through prompts and hints given in the mobile pass.

Then enter each code as you go (or at the end of your tour) and get awarded points. Once you have collected the codes from various stops throughout the tour, new museum, café, and retail areas, head to the California Welcome Center. Here. you can redeem your accrued points for California- and Fairfield-themed prizes at three different point levels.

Once you sign up for the pass, you’ll have 48 hours to complete the scavenger hunt and redeem your points,” Visit Fairfield stated.

The Jelly Belly Sweet Trail is the first of two experiential passes sponsored by Visit Fairfield. This summer, another pass will launch featuring the entire area, including wineries, restaurants and attractions.

Travis teachers, district start negotiations for coming school year

SuSan Hiland SHILAND@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — Contract negotiations between the Travis School District and its teachers got started – officially – Tuesday as trustees approved a request to accept the Travis Unified Teachers’ Association initial proposal for items to consider for the 2023-2024 school year, then forwarded their own objectives.

Negotiations cover salary and benefits along with elementary preparation/planning, common planning days and adjunct duty. Travis trustees also heard about proposed changes related to teacher prep time, physical edu-

cation class sizes, and cost-of-living levels and medical benefits.

The district proposes to explore current needs related to elementary preparation and common planning time, and to negotiate necessary amendments, according to a staff report. The district also proposes to explore new and different options relative to adjunct duty time and to negotiate necessary amendments in order to serve the best interests of students and operational needs.

“We are asking for more preparation time for teachers,” TUTA President Mark Nowag said during comments. “They need more time to take for

themselves and a break during the day.”

This proposal is asking for elementary teacher preparation time to be increased to 30 minutes per day.

“They work incredibly hard,” Nowag said.

This will not cost the district anything, he said.

The union is also negotiating for an increase in preparation time for elementary special education teachers to 45 minutes and five flex days for paperwork. That will cost about $12,000.

“They need this for the amount of paperwork they are dealing with,” Nowag said.

The union is also asking for a reduced PE class

Travis school board OKs advance of $5.7M to cover bridge loan option

SuSan Hiland SHILAND@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — Travis School District trustees approved a request Tuesday at the Solano County Board of Supervisors meeting to authorize the county treasurer to transfer approximately $5.7 million in one or more loans to the school district.

Gabe Moulaison, chief business officer, gave made the presentation to the board.

“Every year we have to pass this resolution,” he said. “We have plenty of reserves but we are asking for this in case later in the year that is not the case.”

from the state.

“Is there a cost to the district,” Trustee Will Wade asked. There is no cost to the district to do this, Moulaison said.

“There is no fee or tax. These are our dollars and would come to us sooner or later. We are asking for it sooner,” Superintendent Pam Conklin said. The amount is less than or equal to the 85% of fiscal year 2023-24 anticipated property tax revenues for the district, as estimated by the Solano County auditor, according to a staff report.

size as the class sizes have gradually increased.

“They were 45 students, then went up to 51 students. That is not safe. That is too big of a class,” Nowag said.

Other issues include cost-of-living levels and medical benefits.

The last item is an extension for the June 30 unit deadline.

“Several teachers are working on their credentials and they have found that they are going to be coming up short with the number units they need,” Nowag said. “We don’t want to lose these teachers.”

Negotiations will also cover school calendars for 2024-2025 and beyond.

Reparations task force explores proposed funding boost for state’s K-12 Black students

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California’s Reparations Task Force Committee is exploring a proposal to increase funding for Black students in public schools, a significant new conduit for reparations.

During the panel’s meetings in Sacramento earlier this month – and nearly three years after Gov. Gavin Newsom tasked the panel with developing recommendations for Black residents affected by the legacy of slavery – the task force heard a presentation on how reparations could be leveraged to bolster school funding.

Margaret Fortune, president and CEO of Fortune School of Education, which operates 10 public charter schools in California, proposed that Black children should be added to the local control funding formula, or the LCFF, money generated based on enrollment of highneeds students including English language learners, low-income students and foster youth.

That proposal for funding, which Fortune said would be additional funds and would not affect

money allocated to other vulnerable student groups, could benefit more than 81,000 Black students in K-12 education if they were included in the LCFF. It is estimated to be around $533 million, Fortune said.

The panel has until July 1 to submit its final report to the Legislature.

The idea of providing additional funding to K-12 students is already being discussed by the Legislature through Assembly Bill 2774, which calls for supplemental grants for California’s lowest-per-

forming students. The bill by Assemblywoman Akilah Weber, D- San Diego, could generate $300 million for students, but it makes no mention of race.

“How can we have a reparations discussion when we aren’t discussing Black students explicitly?” Fortune asked. “We don’t acknowledge Blackness.”

Black students are one of the lowest-performing

student groups in California, according to Fortune.

About 70% of Black students don’t read at grade level on state testing, and 84% of Black students are not doing math at gradelevel on state tests.

Those numbers have increased in the last year partially due to many Black students being held back in high school, according to Fortune.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, meanwhile, proposed in January to fund California’s lowest-income schools and certain vulnerable student groups who have the lowest performance.

But most Black students are not in the state’s lowestincome schools. And if they were, they would already be funded through grants and additional programs, Fortune said.

“It’s a very different conversation to fund the lowest-income schools in the state than the lowest-performing children,”

See Black, Page A9

Sometimes later, around December, the district finds itself with a cash shortage, but the district is fine and shouldn’t face a situation like that, Moulaison said – but it is good to have the money available just in case.

The loans would cover what the staff report describes as one or more cash shortages caused by delays in payments

The money will be used to pay employees and vendors, according to the staff report. The district will repay the advances from money received by the district before any other obligation of the district is met from such revenue. The district will be charged an interest rate equal to the rate the county applies to funds of the district on deposit with the county.

Fairfield agencies train on active shooter scenario

daily Republic Staff DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — The Police and Fire departments held an active shooter training session Thursday at Paradise Valley Estates, with additional training taking place Monday and Wednesday.

Other training dates include March 29,

March 31 and April 4. The sites may vary. Active shooter training is conducted every two years.

“During the training, police and fire active killer instructors will evaluate the performance of our police officers, firefighters, the supervisors leading them and our dispatchers,” the city said in a statement.

John Christopher (Chris) Leins

John (Chris) Leins went to be with his Lord Jesus on February 15, 2023 in Prescott Valley, Arizona due to complications of diabetes. Chris was a veteran of the US Air Force and the US Army serving honorably. Chris is survived by his loving wife of 32 years Danella (Dee) Leins of Prescott Valley, his son Alex of Phoenix, AZ, his parents John and Mary Leins of Fairfield, CA, his sister Michelle Wellner and brother Matthew Leins of Fairfield, CA, and various nieces and nephews. Chris loved history and his countr y. Services will be Monday March 13 2023 at 10:30 a.m. at the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery all who wish to come are invited to attend.

Sharon Goff

Sharon Goff, 71, passed away on Sunday, February 19, 2023 in her Vacaville home. Sharon was born February 23,1951 in Fairfield, CA to Lou and Ann Ferrari. She is survived by her children Kimberly Humphrey and Lisa Humphrey and her five grandchildren: Eric James Ehler, Mercedes Guillen, Anthony Guillen, Angelica Guillen and Mason Gale. She is preceded in death by her father Lou Ferrari and her mother Ann Ferrari.

Sharon especially will be remembered for her passion of football; she l oved her 49’ers, w alking her dog and doing dia mond art. She loved family gatherings and especially celebrating the holidays together

A celebration of life will ta ke place at 136 Arroyo Court in Va caville from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 11, 2023. You can honor her by wearing your football team attire or 49’er colors.

Courtesy photo The Jelly Belly logo greets customers as they enter the Jelly Belly Visitor Center and Café in Fairfield.

Lezlie Sterling/TNS

Morris Griffin, wearing a sign that says “reparations now,” waits in a line to speak during public comment at a meeting of the California Reparations Task Force, which convened for a second day at the California Environmental Protection Agency in Sacramento to study reparations proposals for Black Californians.

‘De-transitioner’ rally against genderaffirming care being held Friday in Sacramento

Tribune ConTenT A

SACRAMENTO — Sacramento will become the latest front in the con servative culture war on transgender people Friday, as the Capitol is the site for a “Detransition Awareness Day” rally.

Billed by organizers as the “biggest gathering of individuals harmed by gender ideology to date,” the event is expected to feature several “de-transitioners,” – people who sought gender-affirming treatment and later stopped it or attempted to reverse its affects.

The rally coincides with the opening day of the California Republican Party’s Spring 2023 Organizing Convention. The party did not respond to The Sacramento Bee’s request for comment.

The headliner and chief promoter for Friday’s event is 18-year-old Central Valley resident Chloe Cole.

Cole gained national attention last month when she announced a lawsuit against Kaiser Permanente, alleging that the group inappropriately provided gender-affirming female-to-male medical treatment to her, a claim which the organization disputes. It said that its treatment is “consistent with the standards of medical care and excellence,” according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Cole has been championed by prominent national conservatives.

Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida recognized Cole during his March 7 State of the State speech. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., made Cole the centerpiece of the news conference where the congresswoman announced legislation to criminalize genderaffirming treatment for minors.

Despite the backing by many conservative activists and politicians, Cole told The Bee that Friday’s rally is not political. She also disputes that the rally is antitransgender, though she associates with many anti-transgender activists, including Charlie Kirk and Jordan Peterson.

Though she frequently testifies on behalf of Republican lawmakers as they introduce bills to restrict gender-affirming treatment in other states, Cole said she has no political affiliation.

“I do find it upsetting that this issue is being made into something that is political,” she said.

That said, Cole told The Bee that it doesn’t bother her to be associated with far-right figures, like Greene.

“I just want something to get done about this,” she said. “I don’t think it’s ever appropriate for children to medically transition. It should never be allowed.”

Cole’s beliefs don’t align with the medical establishment, including the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, which has said “gender affirming care improves quality of life and has been endorsed by major medical associations.”

Those organizations include the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association.

Friday’s event is orga-

Snow falling on telescopes: Astronomy shut down on Mount Hamilton

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SAN JOSE — A huge slab of ice and snow slides off the huge domed roof of the Great Refractor telescope at Mount Hamilton’s Lick Observatory and smashes thunderously to the asphalt.

“Don’t stand too close to the dome,” warns resident astronomer Elinor Gates, who has worked for 25 years at the research station atop the Bay Area’s highest peak. “That would’ve hurt.”

nized by OurDuty, which bills itself as a nonpartisan organization, though its website links to reporting from right-wing websites, including the Epoch Times and Quillette.

Co unterprotesters are expected. The group Pride Was A Riot – Sacramento issued a statement pointing out that Cole recently spoke at CPAC (the Conservative Political Action Conference), the same conference where the The Daily Wire’s Michael Knowles said that “transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely” to a round of applause.

“We respect the will of our community to defend itself against threats of elimination,” the group said.

Cole told The Bee that she does not share Knowles’ view.

Studies and surveys show that de-transitioning is rare

According to the Transgender Journalists Association style guide, “there’s no good data” on people who regret their gender-affirming medical treatment, but what exists points to it being incredibly rare.

A 2014 Swedish study found a 2.2% regret rate among those who had received such treatment.

The 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, by the National Center for Transgender Equality, which surveyed nearly 28,000 transgender people across the nation, found just 8% of respondents having de-transitioned at some point.

Of those who did, double-digits reported quitting due to pressure from family, spouses, employers or friends. A third said they stopped because transitioning was too hard for them, while 31% said they stopped due to harassment or discrimination, and 29% said they quit because they had trouble getting a job.

Just 5% said they quit because transitioning was not for them, and just 2% said they stopped for medical reasons.

According to that same survey, most of those who did de-transition did so only temporarily, with 62% of those who had done so reporting that they were “currently living full time in a gender different than the gender they were thought to be at birth.”

California is home to nearly 200,000 transgender people, including an estimated 49,100 ages 13 to 17, according to the UCLA School of Law Williams Institute.

According to a 2019 Williams Institute study, nearly 12% of those who had de-transitioned attempted suicide in the last year, compared with 6.7% of those who hadn’t de-transitioned.

Mount Hamilton and Lick’s nine telescopes spread out over a halfmile of ridges and peaks east of San Jose have received more than 5 feet of snow this winter. Historical data is incomplete, but that amount is either the largest of any winter since record keeping began in 1947 or close to it, said National Weather Service meteorologist Dalton Behringer. After the latest series of storms began delivering heavy snow on Feb. 24, more than 4 feet have fallen on the mountaintop. “It’s definitely unusual to have that amount in this short a time,” Behringer said.

All that snow has upended work at the University of California’s observatory, which serves as a testing ground for new optical astronomy instruments and technologies and provides crucial educational opportunities for astronomy students throughout the UC system.

Cold weather has kept much of the snow from melting. Although Lick technicians have been trudging through heavy snowdrifts and steering clear of falling ice slabs to perform vital maintenance on the delicate and expensive instruments that sit beneath the telescopes’ protective domes, astronomers have had to keep the domes shut.

The famed scientific research facility has, for now, gone blind.

“It completely disrupts our science operations,” said Gates, whose car bears the custom license plate “2650” after “Asteroid 2650 Elinor” that she discovered in the belt between Mars and Jupiter. “Snow is pretty, but when you have so much of it, it’s a real pain in the tuchus.”

A few hundred yards away, inside a cavernous dome, four space heaters provided a jury-rigged antidote to humidity and condensation that could damage the Shane telescope – the observatory’s largest, with a 10,000pound glass mirror. A mop bucket sits near the telescope’s base. “When

you get so much snow and ice on the domes, you get leaks, so we have some buckets in strategic places,” Gates said. For telescope technician Shawn Stone, the requirement to keep all the telescopes’ cameras at an extremely low temperature – minus 166 Fahrenheit – meant multiple journeys along snow-covered roads and paths every day to refill the microwave oven-sized cooling tanks holding the image-capturing sensors. “We have to feed them a steady diet of liquid nitrogen every 12 hours,” Stone said. Staff put plastic covers on certain equipment as an added shield against intruding elements. “Our primary responsibility is to protect the telescopes,” Stone said.

After the first big snow in February, telescope technician Donnie Redel climbed 40 feet up the Shane telescope’s dome to shovel snow off the encircling catwalk. But after heavier snow fell, avalanches coming off the dome made that work unsafe. Redel, who also maintains the laser astronomers use to zap the atmosphere and create a “false star” reference point for canceling out atmospheric turbulence, typically enjoys snow. Now, he said, he’s “over it.”

The snowstorms interrupted Gates’ research into black holes in quasars, and other scientists now have holes in their data about the constantly changing behavior of exploding stars, she said. But hardest hit have been the astronomy students whose “on sky” time is severely limited by the relative scarcity of telescopes and who must finish their research by specified deadlines. Lick has been a University of California facility since

its 1888 founding, and its telescopes are used by undergraduate and graduate students as well as eminent astronomers from the UC system, the Lawrence Berkeley Lab and Lawrence Livermore Lab.

Dozens of students, mostly from UC Santa Cruz and UC Berkeley, have lost precious telescope time to the snow-related closure, Gates said. Stone and Redel and other staff kept telescopes’ infrastructure operational inside the domes so students, working remotely, could at least practice basic operations and calibration to improve the odds their work would be successful when they did get “on sky,” Stone said.

The snowstorms also threw a big wrench into the daily lives of the 15 scientists and observatory staff who live in houses and apartments on site, some with their families, Gates said. Three electricity lines went down amid high winds and heavy snow, shutting off outside power for more than three days. The observatory has a facility-wide generator system, but that came under threat when authorities at the roadblock barring public access to the mountain during the storms initially refused to let the diesel truck come up to replenish the generator’s supply.

On Feb. 25, the U.S. Postal Service – despite postal workers’ motto about rain, sleet, hail and snow – couldn’t get through, even in an allwheel-drive Subaru. “It wasn’t safe,” said mailman Faber Johnston, who delivers to the observatory from San Jose.

Lick maintenance worker Billy De Caneo, one of three staffers working with snowplows, snowblowers and shovels

to clear roads, paths and driveways throughout the facility, said the snowfalls this month and last have been comparable to the big storms he lived through in Lake Tahoe before starting work at the observatory in September. “It’s been non-stop, can’t even keep up with it,” De Caneo said. “You wake up, you think it’s going to be over, another 7, 8 inches the ground,” he said. “The drifts are out of this world.” Observatory residents strapped cleats to their boots to get around on foot when whiteouts and high winds didn’t make leaving home too dangerous. After the first major dumps of snow in February, before De Caneo and other staff cleared all the roads and driveways, many of those on site were trapped for a couple of days.

Snow continued to fall on Mount Hamilton this week, with Lick receiving an inch Tuesday night. But a warm atmospheric river headed for the Bay Area was expected to douse the observatory with 4 to 5 inches of rain between Thursday morning and early Saturday, meteorologist Behringer said.

Gates said she and Lick’s other scientists and staff had worries on several fronts. The roadway could wash out, as it did once already this winter. If that happens to both the east and west, everyone at the observatory could be stuck on the mountaintop. Rain may cause “ice dams” to form on buildings and domes, diverting water inside. Snow and ice getting washed off telescope domes could hurt people and damage equipment.

Could California parents get hundreds more in tax credits? Here’s what Biden proposes

Tribune ConTenT AgenCy

Could the expanded federal income tax child credit – which in 2021 meant hundreds of extra dollars for many California parents – be coming back?

P resident Joe Biden Thursday proposed restoring the extra credit, which ended in December 2021.

That would mean that qualifying families could get the full $3,000 annual credit for each child six to 17, and $3,600 for younger children. The current credit is $2,000 per child.

The expanded break, enacted during the Covid-19 pandemic as a way to help struggling families and sent to many taxpayers on a monthly basis, ended as Covid-19 relief programs were allowed to expire.

Democrats have continued to push to get it back. It “significantly decreased the number of children experiencing poverty across several race and Hispanic origin groups,” the Census Bureau reported. Nationally child poverty rates were nearly cut in half while the expanded credit was in effect.

Restoring the credit won’t be easy–manyRepublicansand some Democrats have been concerned it would help stoke inflation.

But the new White House initiative is a signal that expansion is likely to be part of a lengthy negotiation on how to fund the federal government in fiscal 2024, which begins October 1. Biden announced his proposal as part of his new budget plan.

In the 2021 expan-

sion, the increase in the maximum amounts began to phase out for parents with adjusted gross incomes of more than $75,000 for single filers, up to $112,500 for heads of households and up to $150,000 or less for married

couples filing jointly.

The credit was “refundable.” That meant that if the credit was larger than the amount of tax someone owed, the government would make up the difference.

Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group/TNS

Lick Observatory’s Elinor Gates walks back from the Grand Refractor telescope saying this is the most snow she’s ever seen atop Mount Hamilton in her 25 years as the resident astronomer, March 7.

Drew Angerer/Getty Images filew (2022) Chloe Cole speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., Sept. 20, 2022.

CALMATTERS COMMENTARY

Will new state law curb pay-toplay in local governments?

Awave of corruption scandals has washed over California’s local governments in recent years, particularly in Southern California. Bribery and self-dealing is so common among small cities in Los Angeles County that the speaker of the state Assembly, Anthony Rendon, has described the area he represents as a “corridor of corruption.”

Last month, Jose Huizar, a member of the Los Angeles City Council for 15 years, pleaded guilty to federal charges of racketeering and tax evasion for extorting at least $1.5 million in bribes from developers of real estate projects.

Dan Walters

This week, another former Los Angeles councilman, Mark Ridley-Thomas, went on trial in federal court for allegedly, as a county supervisor, routing contracts to the University of Southern California in return for benefits for his son, former assemblyman Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, including a $100,000 grant to the son’s nonprofit corporation.

Out-and-out bribery violates both state and federal law and quite a few local officials, both elected and appointed, and some state legislators have been prosecuted.

Just below blatant tit-for-tat bribery, legally speaking, is another layer known colloquially as “pay-to-play.” Those seeking beneficial acts from political figures, such as trash hauling contracts or development permits, understand that they need to make campaign contributions to increase their chances of success.

In the 1980s, the Legislature enacted laws to curb campaign contributions to elected officials who sit on state boards. They were inspired by allegations that local government officials sitting on the California Coastal Commission were being showered with campaign money from property developers.

Last year, state Sen. Steve Glazer, an Orinda Democrat who once was the city’s mayor, carried a bill to expand the 1980s laws to local governments. Senate Bill 1439 was backed by political reform groups and sailed through the Legislature without a single negative vote or formal opposition.

The new law went into effect Jan. 1, essentially prohibiting contributions of more than $250 to any local elected official from anyone seeking contracts, permits or licenses from the board or council on which the official serves. It would be retroactive, requiring the official who received such contributions in the past to give the money back.

Last month, a coalition of business groups and a few elected officials sued to overturn the law, saying it “is overbroad and violates the constitutional rights of thousands of contributors and local elected officials.”

“We have become numb to the legal corruption that has enveloped our democracy,” Glazer said this week in response. “Pay-toplay is antithetical to an honest and ethical government, and it should be rooted out and killed like a cancer that has affected the body politic.”

While the situation Glazer seeks to address is a real one, his new law could ensnare an official who innocently accepted a campaign contribution, and perhaps spent it to get elected, only to learn months later that his vote would affect a contributor.

That said, one obvious flaw is that it applies to a very narrow set of official acts. It would not, for example, affect a local government’s contract with its workers’ union, due to specific exemption in the original 1980s laws. Yet, unions are among the most active favor-seeking interest groups.

Also, the law would not apply to legislators or other state-level politicians, including the governor. They rake in immense amounts of campaign money from interest groups seeking to affect their decisions but, unlike local officials, are not required to avoid votes on issues affecting their contributors, including state employee unions.

If the law is good for the local goose, it should also be good for the state gander. CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters. For more columns by Dan Walters, go to Commentary.

In what kind of community would you like your family to live? Is your community becoming so undesirable that you are considering relocating? Many folks have begun the mass exodus of leaving Solano County, the Bay Area and even California completely. I understand why people choose to move out of the neighborhood when the environment becomes too violent, drug infested, too expensive or just unlivable.

My mother left the turbulent, racist and troubled environment of the South in 1961. She left Shreveport, Louisiana, to raise her family in what she thought would be a more peaceful, liberal, West Coast environment of Southern California. Ironically, a few years later in 1965 the city of Los Angeles would erupt in one of deadliest race riots in U.S. history.

As a youth, I would deal with any potential problem or conflicts one way only. I would run. Running was my number one defense. Inspired by fear, I would just take to the wind at the slightest hint of trouble. I was such a small and quick little guy it was rare that anyone would ever catch me once I took off. I was so confident in my ability to escape that I would often tease a group of kids knowing that I

COMMENTARY

wouldn’t be caught. Eventually, I did. When running was no longer working for me, I took to the martial arts to defend myself from bullies and street gangs. Once I became confident and well trained in self defense, a very sad and dangerous change of event took place in he 1980s; the handgun became the weapon of choice for most people, making L.A. one of the most violent cities in the nation.

As an adult, I left the ills of Southern California for a more relaxed environment of the Bay Area. Eventually, those same issues would find their way north. Similarly, many folks left the Bay Area to find homes and a more remote environment of Solano County. Unfortunately, we are learning that the problems of the Bay Area have expanded to the North Bay. Now where are you going? Dixon? Winters? Eureka?

Enough is enough. Running away or relocating every time there’s trouble in a community is not the answer. However, if the environment reaches the point where it is out of control, then maybe it is time to separate yourself. I don’t believe we are at that point as of yet.

Nature teaches us that when your environment changes, what

you should do is make adjustments to endure those changes, such as wearing a thick coat and hat in the winter.

Consider this illustration: If you have a pot of boiling water, there are three items that will have three different effects when they are placed in the water for three minutes; an egg would become hard inside. A carrot would become weak and eventually break down; a coffee bean would do neither; it would not change its form, but it would change the water. It will change the color, the aroma and the texture of the water. Essentially the coffee bean improved the environment.

Like that coffee bean, we can withstand the heat and have a positive effect on the environment. Don’t allow our environment to negatively affect us. Don’t become hardened by it. Don’t become weak and break down. Just like the coffee bean, make a positive impact on your environment. There are a variety of things you can do to improve your community. Solano County is not quite Sodom and Gomorrah but we do need to take steps to improve the quality of life.

Deon D. Price is an author and youth life skills coach who lives in Fairfield. He can be reached at www.deondprice.com or thisyouthgeneration@gmail.com.

US military needs to create a cyber force

Two disturbing inci dents oiled the cyber seas last week, one foreign and one domes tic. They both strengthen the case – which was already con vincing, and which I have been making for almost a decade now – for the cre ation of a U.S. Cyber Force.

The first incident was yet another cyberattack on a NATO member, Albania, by Iran. It was part of an ongoing Iranian campaign to attack Albania, a Muslim nation of only about 3 million in the Balkans. The attacks have included zeroing out personal bank accounts, unmasking government and police informants, and degrading command-and-control networks. Iran conducts the attacks because Albania is not prosecuting an anti-Iranian group, the Mujahedeen Khaleq, that has a large presence in Albania.

James Stavridis

ture Security Agency, released the National Cybersecurity Strategy, which has been in the works for many months.

When I was supreme allied commander at NATO, the alliance created a small center of excellence in Tallinn, Estonia, to coordinate NATO cyber capabilities. It has since grown in importance. As I watch the level of cyberthreat continue to grow exponentially – matching the enormous surge of devices connected to the “internet of things,” which is topping 50 billion – I worry about how to protect America’s and Americans’ cyber assets.

The United States has very competent armed forces defending us 24/7 – the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Space Force within the Department of Defense, and the Coast Guard in the Department of Homeland Security. A U.S. Cyber Force is now also necessary.

The attack has raised the issue of whether to invoke NATO’s Article 5, which says that an attack on one nation will be regarded as an attack on all. Because the NATO treaty was drafted many decades ago, it does not say whether a cyberattack activates Article 5. But given the evolution in warfare and expansion of cyber operations, such attacks should now fall into that category.

The second incident involved a ransomware attack on the U.S. Marshals Service. A huge amount of sensitive data was compromised, including information on fugitives, high-security individuals and law-enforcement operations. The attack has been designated a “major incident” requiring significant interagency investigation and remediation.

Ironically, last week was also when Jen Easterly, director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastruc-

The successful creation of the U.S. Space Force three years ago provides a good blueprint for a U.S. Cyber Force. While the force is a tiny fraction of the rest of the Department of Defense, with fewer than 10,000 uniformed personnel, it operates nearly 100 spacecraft and a complex global network that supports U.S. satellite systems. A U.S. Cyber Force would likely be even smaller than the Space Force – probably about 5,000 uniformed personnel. It could be lodged within either the Department of Defense or in the Department of Homeland Security (like the Space Force, it could be placed in an existing civilian-led agency or military department, reducing the need for newly created overhead). As a uniformed service, its members would be full-fledged members of the armed

forces – with ranks, uniforms and a disciplined, patriotic ethos.

Most important, the creation of a U.S. Cyber Force would move America beyond the current “pickup team” approach to cybersecurity, wherein each of the armed forces has a small number of cyber experts (most of whom rotate in and out of pure cyber jobs). The pay and benefits of many of the members of the Cyber Force would have to be at least somewhat competitive with the civilian sector, much as physicians and scientists on active duty in today’s military receive bonuses and additional compensation benefits.

The creation just over a decade ago of the U.S. Cyber Command has immensely improved America’s national security. Located at Fort Meade, Maryland, with the National Security Agency, it is led by a fourstar uniformed officer. Many of the veterans of U.S. Cyber Command would form the core of a new U.S. Cyber Force. The Cyber Force would also allow for an independent voice in the councils of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, much as U.S. Space Force’s Chief of Space Operations provides.

As the United States looks to a future that includes not only greatpower cyber competition from Russia and China, but also midlevel cyberattacks from nations such as Iran and North Korea, the time is nigh. The nation should move forward with a dedicated U.S. Cyber Force.

James Stavridis is a retired U.S. Navy admiral, former supreme allied commander of NATO, dean emeritus of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and vice chairman of global affairs at the Carlyle Group. He is the author most recently of “To Risk It All: Nine Conflicts and the Crucible of Decision.”

THIS YOUTH GENERATION

Navigating a challenging environment

Deon D. Price

We service all makes and models of RV motorhome, 5th Wheel and Trailer Chassis,

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‘Baywatch’s’ Alexandra Paul on trial; video shows ‘open rescue’ of Foster Farms chickens

Los A ngeLes Times

LOS ANGELES —

Former “Baywatch” star Alexandra Paul and another woman went on trial this week in Merced County after taking two chickens from a Foster Farms truck outside a California plant.

The incident, which occurred in September, was captured on video by animal activist organization Direct Action Everywhere.

Footage shows Paul and Alicia Santurio running up to an idling semi that is carrying a trailer full of chickens outside Foster Farms’ Livingston plant. They open a chicken cage and grab two chickens.

The pair run back to a waiting car as the chick-

ens squawk in their arms and ruffle their feathers.

Paul and Santurio were charged with misdemeanor theft. Jury selection in their trial began Tuesday.

Paul said the action was an “open rescue” of the chickens from alleged mistreatment at the plant.

“We published this video within an hour with both my name and Alicia Santurio’s name attached to it because we believe what we’re doing is legal and morally right,” Paul said in an interview with The Times.

“We’re rescuing sick chickens from a factory farm that has a history of abusing them,” she said. Foster Farms did not respond to a request for comment.

Pickles Brian Crane

Zits Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

Pearls Before Swine Stephan Pastis

Candorville Darrin Bell

Baby Blues Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott

Baldo Hector Cantú

Crime logs

12:48 p.m. — Trespassing, 200 block of TRAVIS BOULEVARD

12:57 p.m. — Battery, 1300 block of WEST TEXAS STREET

1:46 p.m. — Forgery, 100 block of MANCHESTER DRIVE

1:59 p.m. — Grand theft, 2000 block of BRISTOL LANE

4:01 p.m. — Hit-and-run property damage, 100 block of SERRANO DRIVE

5:20 p.m. — Reckless driver, EAST TABOR AVENUE

6:09 p.m. — Grand theft, 1400 block of GATEWAY BOULEVARD

6:23 p.m. — Trespassing, 2400 block of WATERMAN BOULEVARD

6:24 p.m. — Hit-and-run property damage, EAST TABOR AVENUE

7:33 p.m. — Indecent exposure, TRAVIS BOULEVARD

8:28 p.m. — Battery, 2400 block of HEATHER DRIVE

11:40 p.m. — Trespassing, 300 block of TRAVIS BOULEVARD

VACAVILLE — Gretchen

Bennitt has been tapped to be the new executive director and air pollution control officer for the Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District. She is the first woman to hold the post. Her appointment comes during National Women’s History Month.

PARKER ROAD

3:57 p.m. — Vandalism, MISSOURI STREET

4:05 p.m. — Battery, 2900 block of MARKELEY LANE

4:09 p.m. — Hit-and-run property damage, NORTH TEXAS STREET

5:05 p.m. — Vehicle theft, 3400 block of NORTH TEXAS STREET

5:30 p.m. — Trespassing, 900 block of BRANDON WAY

8:31 p.m. — Battery, 1600 block of FOOTHILL PLACE

10:21 p.m. — Vehicle burglary, 1000 block of TEXAS STREET

11:30 p.m. — Trespassing, 1800 block of NORTH TEXAS STREET

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8

7:46 a.m. — Vehicle burglary, 3000 block of AUTO MALL COURT

12:05 p.m. — Battery, 800 block of WASHINGTON STREET

year include the need to invest in technology, anticipated mandates from the federal and state governments, facility maintenance needs and investments into capital improvements.

And while the discussion took place Tuesday – nine months into the fiscal year –the projections are based on a six-month budget review.

Those year-end funds will help the county balance the 2023-24 budget, with contingency and various reserve accounts set aside for unexpected costs.

The county, for example, had a 2022-23 year-end fund of $63.65 million. It put $14 million in contingencies and $22 million in various reserve accounts, of which it has used $3.1 million, including the $1.6 million from the Capital Renewal Reserve the board approved as part of a series of actions Tuesday.

“We do expect our expenditures to exceed our revenues,” Assistant County Administrator Ian Goldberg said.

The board also accepted the midyear report, made 61 appropriations transfers, decreased the number of full-time equivalent job positions by 3.5 and approved a host of fixed asset purchases.

The allocated employee rolls, as of midyear, was 3,233.33 positions, and as of February, there were 337 vacancies.

The transfers reflect added budget costs, such as the $878,242 that went to General Services to cover increased utility costs, or unanticipated revenues, including American Rescue Plan Act dollars allocated for county needs, such as the nearly $2.74 million that went to the Workforce Development Board.

Three supervisors budgets also were adjusted

11:59 p.m. — Vehicle burglary, 2500 block of NORTH TEXAS STREET

SuiSun City

TUESDAY, MARCH 7

5:28

“Her experience within the greater Sacramento region, and familiarity with regionwide air quality concerns and challenges will provide the opportunity to quickly begin to work with district stakeholders, build upon existing relationships, and guide staff as the air district continues to fulfill its mission,” Gloria Partida, chairwoman of the aid district board, said in a statement.

Bennitt arrives from the Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District (Grass Valley) for which

she worked since 2000. She had been an air pollution control specialist for the district during an earlier stay as well. She holds a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Bennitt also has worked for the

California Air Resources Board and the Montana Air Quality Department.

“I am honored to have been appointed by the board of directors to lead this agency during this challenging period of increasing exposure to wildfire smoke impacts, issues with the energy grid, and coming into compliance with the federal air quality standards,” Bennitt said in a statement. “I am looking forward to meeting and working with the residents and businesses in the region to develop and implement solutions to these air quality issues which impact human health and property.” She and her husband live in Davis. They have a daughter who works for the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.

The Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District covers Yolo County as well as northeastern Solano County, to include Dixon, Rio Vista and Vacaville.

2,219 domestic violence reports filed by law enforcement agencies, and 310 reports of rape. The figures are more, per capita, than in Contra

with anticipated increased costs of $19,307 for Supervisor Erin Hannigan, $27,018 for board Chairman John Vasquez and $22,697 for Supervisor Mitch Mashburn – all to cover staff salary and benefit costs that could not be absorbed within the operating budget, funded by a reduction in General Expenditures.

Hannigan also pushed to include a $150 a month auto allowance for district aides, rather than the current reimbursement system by which those aides turn in specific odometer readings and other related costs. One aide said the $150 would not cover all costs in some months, and may be more than is spent in others.

A motion to increase the budgets for the auto allowance received support on a 3-2 vote, but failed to get the four-fifths needed. Hannigan, Mashburn and Supervisor Wanda Williams, with consent from the county administrator and auditor controller, could go to an auto allowance for their representatives, but the funding would have to come from their existing budgets, Emily Combs, the budget officer, said in a phone interview Thursday.

That issue is c0ming back to the board, along with a salary survey for the district aides.

There was also a dispute about reclassifying some positions in Health and Social Services, which Auditor-Controller Phyllis Taynton said diminishes some of her top staff positions. The moves are for purposes of recruitment to fill vacant positions and affect the compensation for the positions.

Emlen said he expects the matter will be resolved before the 2023-24 budget hearings, which are scheduled for June 22-23.

She went to work in 2016 for the Family Justice Center full-time, received her permanent resident card and found hope.

Janell Coleman also found hope after she was invited to participate in a Community Fellowship Program through the Family Justice Center.

“I never thought of myself as a ‘solver,’ because I didn’t feel empowered,” said Coleman, a survivor of what she terms interpersonal violence.

At the end of the nine-month program, she began taking small steps on a path to becoming a consultant with her center.

“I’ve been telling people what to do my whole life, but I didn’t know the word for it,” she quipped, then quickly pivoted Wednesday morning to tell the gathering at the Solano County Events Center that it is not about pushing a set agenda on the clients, but finding partners to help identify the whole person so they can rebuild their lives.

“There are many voices in the community that would be here if they could,” Coleman said.

The Contra Costa Family Justice Alliance took over as the administrator of the Solano County Family Justice Center in January, with Reina Sandoval-Beverly, of Vacaville, serving as executive director. Her primary staff, Maya Sanchez and Dulce Prado, also are Solano County residents.

The alliance is being paid $1.03 million through June 30, 2024.

The Solano center is going through a major overhaul after a damning assessment by the Alliance of Hope International, a recognized leader on developing organizations and systems to address domestic violence and related issues, which found the center lacking in a number of areas.

Casey Gwinn, the president and co-founder of the Alliance of Hope, told the Board of Supervisors in December 2021 that the Solano center does not come close to meeting the alliance’s standards

of what a family justice center is, nor does it comply with the state’s Penal Code definition.

The alliance recommended creating a funding and sustainability workgroup, a redesign of the center’s space, and identifying appropriate space for a satellite office in Vallejo.

“You know the one thing that happened to us, and that is we lost focus; we lost the people we were trying to serve,” former Supervisor Jim Spering said as part of the opening remarks at the event. He said there was too much attention on facilities and staff, but also said he cannot be more excited about the future.

“You have to stay involved. This is the first step in a long journey,” Spering said. “There is a lot of work to be done.”

Retired Judge Robert Fracchia, chairman of the committee charged with finding a new center administration, and Judge Wendy Getty, the presiding judge for the Solano County Superior Courts, also spoke.

“I feel so much more hopeful for our future now we are coming together,” Getty said.

Gwinn said if the center is going to have success, it will have to come from the people of Solano County, which he said has a long history of battling domestic violence. Still, in 2021, there were

“So yes, we have big needs,” said Susun Kim, executive director of the Contra Costa alliance, who heads the remodel of the Solano center.

“We cannot just work on our clients’ crises, but their long-term safety,” Kim said.

That begins with a client-centered philosophy based on what Gwinn describes as a science with real measurable outcomes “to see what family justice centers can do.”

At one point, the crowd members were asked to talk to someone they did not know, and to describe their goal for the center, and then to discuss something at which they are very good. The exercise, at first, rather looked like an ant hill that had been kicked open.

Gwinn would explain that it takes a variety of partners with a variety of skills to make a family justice center work. He told a story about a woman who described her skill as scrapbooking. Gwinn did not know what that was, but as it turned out, it is an activity that has proven to be quite therapeutic for domestic violence victims.

The Wednesday afternoon session was dedicated to “drilling deeper” into defining a vision for the Solano center, and strategic planning and what what was termed, the restorative processes of coming together.

“Once we check our egos at the door, we can do something amazing in Solano County,” Gwinn said.

Thursday’s sessions will continue that work, but also discuss funding and sustainability, as well as impacts and outcomes.

Wednesday’s morning session also touched on the imposing influences of childhood adverse experiences, and oppression and racism and how they can rob individuals and communities of hope.

“As we move forward, we have to talk about how this always plays out,” Gwinn said.

addresses of their homes, work, schools and other important locations to get the information. Residents continue to be advised to sign up for Alert Solano for specific area emergency alerts, at https:// member.everbridge. net/453003085614570/ login.

To report localized flooding in Fairfield, contact the Public Works Operations Division from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday at 707-4287407. The Operations Division will be closed on the weekend and on March 17, so on those days and after hours, call the Police Department at 707-428-7300.

For more storm tips or information, visit www. fairfield.ca.gov/storm.

Pacific Gas & Electric reported it is mobilizing its crews ahead of the storm.

“The incoming adverse weather could result in trees, limbs and other debris falling into power lines, damaging equipment and interrupting electric service. PG&E’s Meteorology Department is warning of another challenge for customers and PG&E crews – flooding due to melting snow,” PG&E said in a statement.

“The upcoming storm will be a strong and much warmer event. Significant rain, which could total three to seven inches in the mountains, on top of the existing snowpack, will present flooding risks,” Scott Strenfel, PG&E director of Meteorology and Fire Science, said in the statement. “The wind combined with heavy rain and flooding risks can lead to access issues for our crews if trees fail and roadways flood, which can result in longer outage durations for some customers.”

The company is using its storm outage prediction models to help determine “the potential timing, location and number of power outages.” That informa-

tion helps PG&E decide where to send its crews.

PG&E also offers these storm safety tips:

n Never touch downed wires: If you see a downed power line, assume it is energized and extremely dangerous. Do not touch or try to move it—and keep children and animals away. Report downed power lines immediately by calling 9-1-1 and then PG&E at 1-800-743-5002.

n Use generators safely: Customers with standby electric generators should ensure they are properly installed by a licensed electrician in a well-ventilated area.

Improperly installed generators pose a significant danger to customers, as well as crews working on power lines. If using portable generators, be sure they are in a well-ventilated area.

n Use flashlights, not candles: During a power outage, use battery-operated flashlights and not candles, due to the risk of fire. And keep extra batteries on hand. If you must use candles, please keep them away from drapes,

lampshades, animals and small children. Do not leave candles unattended.

n Have a backup phone: If you have a telephone system that requires electricity to work, such as a cordless phone or answering machine, plan to have a standard telephone or cellular phone ready as a backup. Having a portable charging device helps to keep your cell phone running.

n Have fresh drinking water and ice: Freeze plastic containers filled with water to make blocks of ice that can be placed in your refrigerator/freezer to prevent food spoilage.

n Turn off appliances:

If you experience an outage, unplug or turn off all electrical appliances to avoid overloading circuits and to prevent fire hazards when power is restored. Simply leave a single lamp on to alert you when power returns.

Customers can view real-time outage information at https:// pgealerts.alerts.pge.com/ outagecenter/.

Lowe’s wins Covid lawsuit over unmasked customer who spat repeatedly in store

Joe M arusak

THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER

A Lowe’s shopper in California lost his appeal this month of a court ruling that dismissed his claim that Lowe’s workers should have intervened when another shopper repeatedly spat in his face during the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Lawyer John Birke told The Charlotte Observer on Tuesday that he was “extremely disappointed” by the ruling of the California 2nd District Court of Appeal. Still, he contends, his lawsuit may have saved lives.

That’s because a day after he sued in July 2020, Lowe’s announced it would make all customers wear masks in its U.S. stores, he said.

“It’s a Pyrrhic victory,” he said, meaning that although he lost, he actually won because Lowe’s enacted a mask policy.

Lowe’s is based in Mooresville, North Carolina, and has 1,700 stores nationwide.

On June 28, 2020, Birke went to a Lowe’s Home Improvement store in the Los Angeles neighborhood of West Hills to buy

Black

From Page A4

Fortune said. “Those are two different things. If you fund the lowest-income schools in the state, you are funding the bottom 5% of all schools in the state. Only 6% of those children are Black.”

Just like Weber’s bill, Newsom’s proposal could generate $300 million for about 420,000 California students, 22,700 of whom are Black students. But Fortune told the task force that under Newsom’s proposal the state’s Black students would only receive about $16 million of that money.

“These are crumbs,” Fortune said. “This is not systemic change.”

The Black in School Coalition, a community of educational scholars, educators and leaders, has a

an elevated toilet seat for his wife, according to his lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Birke spotted a maskless man in the aisle he needed to enter, the Charlotte Observer reported at the time.

From at least 40 feet away, he asked the man, “How did you get in here without a mask?” according to his lawsuit. When Birke asked again, the man cursed and told him it was none of his business, according to the lawsuit.

Birke then asked Lowe’s

third proposal to fund any student group that performs poorly or is identified by the state as a vulnerable population, including groups identified by race. Their proposal would generate $300 million for 81,000 students.

Prop. 209 would be a hurdle

Fortune’s proposal to designate Black students as a vulnerable population in California so that they may receive additional funding would be a challenge.

California’s Proposition 209, which was passed by state voters in 1996, bans policies that benefit or discriminate against racial and ethnic groups and gender. University of California Regent Ward Connerly campaigned to successfully ban affirmative action in the college system and ultimately in the state.

workers to tell the man he was violating California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order requiring the wearing of face masks in all public places, Birke said in the lawsuit.

When the workers refused to do anything, Birke said, he called 911.

Seconds later, he encountered the maskless man again. The man came within 2 feet and spat in his face “four times in rapid succession,” according to the lawsuit.

“This attack occurred about 15 feet from a Lowe’s employee, who told

An attempt at repealing Prop. 209, which creates a hurdle for those who want supplemental funding for Black students in K-12 education, failed in 2020.

“I want to remind us that it was someone who wears our colors but didn’t play on our team, Ward Connerly, who put us in this mess,” said task force member Amos Brown.

Task force member Don Tamaki said the group would need more input from Fortune on the proposal, agreeing that Prop. 209 would prevent her idea from moving forward.

“Obviously this thing was created by hate and racism, and now you can’t consider race to fix it,” Tamaki said.

Many groups support reparations

About 70 organizations from diverse backgrounds are endorsing the task force and the study of reparations, includ-

the attacker, ‘You just spit in his face,’ yet did absolutely nothing,” according to the lawsuit. “In fact, no Lowe’s employee so much as asked Birke if he was all right.”

The lawsuit said Lowe’s failed to protect customers’ health in its stores by allowing in shoppers without masks, in violation public health law.

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge found differently.

The California Department of Health order “imposed no duty on Lowe’s to require its customers to wear face masks,” according to the judge’s ruling.

Birke was ordered to pay $94,704, in part to reimburse Lowe’s attorneys for their costs in the case.

While siding with the county court’s decision to toss out the lawsuit, the Court of Appeal on March 3 reversed the order that Birke pay the money.

Birke told the Observer he is considering appealing the Appeal Court ruling to the California Supreme Court, but realizes his chances of the court taking up the case are slim.

ing the ACLU and South Asian Bar Association of Southern California.

“Why? Because they know the healing power of reparations,” said Tamaki.

The reparations task force will meet again March 29 and 30 in Sacramento, and approval of the final report is set for May 2 in the capital. By June, the task force expects hundreds more organizations to support the task force and the call for reparations.

Assemblyman Reginald Jones-Sawyer, D- Los Angeles, said the biggest challenge will be getting the proposal to the Legislature and Newsom’s desk.

“We will need as many allies as possible. There are a lot of people we don’t need to convince, just make sure they know what’s going on and they will gladly join,” JonesSawyer said.

ConTenT agenCy

Tribune

Cattle are dying in Humboldt County for a reason that’s usually unheard of in coastal California: They’re completely snowed in. That’s led Cal Fire and the U.S. Coast Guard to take part in an unusual emergency operation.

Helicopters usually reserved for water rescues and wildfires are transporting hay bales to stranded cows. The constant storms and cold weather have added up to deep accumulations of snow, even at low elevations, making it impossible for the cattle to graze and for ranchers to reach them to drop off feed.

I can’t go to sleep at night worrying about my animals. They’re cold, they’re hungry,” said Michelle Bushnell, a rancher and Humboldt County supervisor who has been helping coordinate the effort, which started Sunday. She has 85 head of cattle that she has been able to feed using a bulldozer to get through 3 to 4 feet of snow, but the snow is several feet higher at other ranches.

On Tuesday the airdrop operation had to be put on hold due to more snow, though they resumed Wednesday. Bushnell said she felt lucky to have gotten some hay to her animals: “It’s every rancher’s worst nightmare, not being able to get them food.”

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office has received “multiple reports of cattle dying off,” said Sheriff William Honsal in a video announcing the airdrop initiative, because both snow and downed trees

are blocking roads. “If we don’t act, there’s going to be way more that die and it will be a catastrophe for our county,” he said.

The Sheriff’s Office later said that several ranchers reported losing 10% of their herds, but most don’t know the exact damage because they haven’t been able to get up to their animals.

While the Coast Guard helped out in the beginning, it’s now Cal Fire, soon to be joined by the National Guard, that is working to assist 40 to 50 ranchers with about 2,500 free-range cattle spread over many miles – mostly in eastern Humboldt County and a few parts of Trinity and Mendocino counties. There are 15 to 50 cattle clustered in any given area, said Tran Beyea, fire captain at HumboldtDel Norte Cal Fire.

“We’re going on eight, nine or even 10 days where cattle haven’t been able to feed,” he said.

For now, the transport is being funded by the state Office of Emergency Services, while ranchers will cover the cost of the hay itself.

The most snow is in higher elevations in the eastern part of the county, but the operation is taking place close to the coast, too, where snow is piling up even at 1,000 feet of elevation. Though the county’s ranchlands may get a few inches of snow this time of year, it usually melts off quickly.

It’s also calving season – a calf was born on Bushnell’s ranch this week – and it’s difficult for the cows to provide enough milk for their newborns.

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images/TNS file (2020)

A Lowe’s home improvement store in Farmingdale, New York, May 20, 2020.

Holloway, Vanden boys handling abrupt end to standout season

M att Miller MMILLER@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — Micheal Holloway knows there is no way to “ease into the end of a season,” especially one that was as successful and as long as the one just completed by his Vanden High School boys basketball team.

“It’s kind of surreal,” Holloway said by telephone Wednesday, a day after the Vikings lost 67-61 in overtime to San Joaquin Memorial in the Northern California Division II regional final. “You play a season that is this long, you get the boys to play well in March, and then it just comes to an end.”

Vanden completed its season 25-11 overall, tied for first at 8-2 in the Monticello Empire League and finished as runner-up in the SacJoaquin Section in Division III.

NorCal playoff wins over Priory (51-49), Bellarmine Prep (74-60) and Whitney (56-55) got them into a regional finals they were able to host at Solano Community College.

The game was tight throughout in Tuesday night’s final before San Joaquin Memorial pulled away in the final minute of overtime for the victory. A few twists and turns of the game in the other direction and Vanden could have been the one headed to the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento for the state final.

The Vikings lose seniors E’Jay Rogers, Justiz Wilson, Elijah Lewis, Edric Dennis and Sterling McClanahan. They will be hard student-athletes to replace but the line will keep moving forward for Holloway’s program, which has continued to excel in his 13 years.

“Expectations are always high,”

Warriors sing Memphis blues as road woes continue

M adeline K enney BAY AREA NEWS GROUP

MEMPHIS, Tenn. —

Draymond Green started to head to the locker room in the seconds before the final horn Thursday night.

He had seen enough.

The Grizzlies delivered a 131-110 beatdown to hand the Warriors their eighth straight road loss in what was another chippy meeting between these teams.

Ja Morant remains away from the Grizzlies as the NBA investigates an incident in which he flashed what appeared to be a handgun on Instagram Live at a Denver-area nightclub.

Holloway said. “The most rewarding part of coaching is working with these guys when they come in as 13-, 14-year-olds, and the saddest part is watching them leave as 17-, 18-year-old men.”

Holloway said when the season ended in 2022 with a 42-41 loss to Elk Grove in the Division II regional semifinals, the goal for the team heading into the new season was to get to the regional final. The group achieved that goal but once there wanted so much more – to play in the state final.

Tyler Thompson returns after a standout junior season, though he missed a tough stretch with a knee injury. Junior Ahsan Huff was out since November after an ACL tear. Huff was capable of posting double-doubles in scoring

Conforto flexing his power with third homer in 3 spring games

evan WebecK

BAY AREA NEWS GROUP

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. —

Michael Conforto can hit.

That much, if it was ever in doubt, was proven yet again Thursday in the first inning of the Giants’ Cactus League exhibition against the Milwaukee Brewers. Conforto launched the first strike he saw over the right field wall for his third home run in as many spring games.

What’s in question is Conforto’s ability in the outfield following shoulder surgery last April. On Thursday, that was supposed to begin to yield answers, as Conforto

roamed right field – or any position – for the first time since October 2021, before he suffered an offseason training accident last January that robbed him of his 2022 season.

However, in six innings in right field, not a single ball went Conforto’s way.

“I probably won’t get another game like that all year,” Conforto said. “Pretty good seats to watch the game.”

It was a milestone nonetheless just to be standing on the outfield grass, the final step of an arduous, 11-month rehab process.

So enthusiastic to take

went with a four-guard lineup, hoping to reverse the Warriors’ trends of slow starts. Again, it didn’t work.

Memphis took a 48-28 lead at the end of the opening quarter and led the entire way.

Golden State started to come back to life in the second quarter, stringing together a 19-5 run to pull within six with 7:01 left in the half.

But they started to unravel in the final two minutes of the second quarter, committing four turnovers while the Grizzlies closed out the half on a 10-2 run to go up 77-59 at the break.

Without their flashy star guard, the Grizzlies got contributions from up and down its roster, with six players finishing in double-figure scoring. Tyus Jones led Memphis with 22 points and 11 assists.

Jonathan Kuminga was sidelined for Thursday’s game after rolling his right ankle during warmups. With Kuminga out, coach Steve Kerr

At one point in the meltdown, Dillon Brooks picked off a lazy Warriors’ inbound pass and turned it into a layup. He then taunted Green, going face-to-face with the Warriors star. But Green, who is one technical foul away from a suspension, kept his cool. Brooks and the Grizzlies got the last laugh – at least on Thursday night –giving the Warriors their third straight loss.

2 Vacaville Jets squads taking aim at NorCal hockey titles

M att Miller MMILLER@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

VACAVILLE — Two teams from the Vacaville Jets Youth Hockey Organization will compete in the Northern California playoffs this weekend in San Jose.

The 14U-B squad and the 12U-BB team recently won their respective divisions in the Northern California Youth Hockey Association. Each playoff group features four teams with the top two advancing to the state finals March 24-26 in, ironically, Vacaville.

The 14U-B squad is coached by Kody Thomas. In 18 games, the Jets went 16-1-1 with 92 goals for and just 34 goals allowed. The Vacaville squad was 9-0-1 at home at Vacav-

ille Ice Sports and 7-1-0 on the road.

Vacaville will compete against Santa Rosa, Roseville and Fresno. The Jets have a loss to Roseville and had a tie with Santa Rosa but both have been avenged with victories over each squad. Vacaville also has a tournament win to its credit last month in Oregon.

“It’s a great group,” Thomas said. “Even if we give up the first goal early, there is never any panic. They all get along really well and we are successful because of it.”

The team is made up of both boys and girls with 14 skaters and a goalie. Thomas says he substitutes in pairs of defenders, centers and wings in a variety of combinations that have

O’Reilly’s big game helps power Fairfield baseball to win

daily r epublic Staff

DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — Zack

O’Reilly delivered on the mound and at the plate as the Fairfield High School baseball team rolled Wednesday afternoon to a 10-1 at Vallejo.

O’Reilly pitched five strong innings with five strikeouts, allowing only two hits and one earned run. He was also 3-for-5 with three RBIs. Fairfield improved

3-2 overall. Devon Knox added two hits for the Falcons. Trustin Mitchell also doubled and drove in a run.

Fairfield scored seven runs in the first three innings and closed with three more in the top of the seventh.

Vallejo scored its one runin the fourth inning.

Fairfield is scheduled Friday to host St. Patrick-St. Vincent, weather permitting.

Rodriguez opens season with victory

FAIRFIELD — Kyle Sandner, Nathan Schikore, Carson Thompson and Grant Genter all saw action on the mound for the Rodriguez High School baseball team and combined for a three-hitter with eight strikeouts Tuesday as the Mustangs won their season opener 3-0 at Rocklin. Rodriguez scored single

runs in the second, sixth and seventh inning.

Jace Parkinson had two hits to lead the offense. Landon Troutt and Conner Broschard also had hits and drove in runs. Denzel Dilley and Kaden Wilde also singled.

The Mustangs shared the Monticello Empire League title with Vanden last year and has many key players returning this season.

Rodriguez is scheduled to play Friday at Cardinal

Newman in Santa Rosa, weather permitting.

Vacaville held in check by Whitney

VACAVILLE — The Vacaville High School baseball team gave up four runs in the first two innings and that was all host Whitney needed in a 4-1 win Tuesday afternoon.

Vacaville was held to just one first-inning run. The Bulldogs fell to

1-2 overall.

Luke Johnson had two hits for Vacaville. Nick Rostak had a hit and drove in the Bulldogs’ only run.

Danny Marino pitched three scoreless innings, allowing three hits to go with four strikeouts. Jacob Van Pelt also pitched a scoreless inning.

The Bulldogs are scheduled to host Heritage of Brentwood at 3:30 p.m. Thursday.

Aaron Rosenblatt/Daily Republic

Vanden High School head boys basketball coach Micheal Holloway gives instructions to his players during the Northern California Division II final against San Joaquin Memorial at Solano College in Fairfield, Tuesday.

See Jets, Page B3

See Vanden, Page B3

John Medina/Bay Area News Group/TNS file Michael Conforto hits a home run in the first inning during the Giants’ spring training game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Scottsdale Stadium, March 4, in Scottsdale, Arizona.

See

CALENDAR

Friday’s TV sports

Baseball WBC

• Italy vs. Panama, FS1, 8 p.m.

• AAC Tournament, East Carolina vs. Houston, ESPN2, 10 a.m.

• SEC Tournament, Mississippi State vs. Alabama, ESPN, 10 a.m.

• SEC Tournament, TBD vs. Missouri, ESPN, Noon.

• Big East Tournament, TBD vs. Marquette, FS1, 3:30 p.m.

• Big East Tournament, Semifinal, FS1, 6 p.m.

• ACC Tournament, Semifinal, ESPN, 6:30 p.m.

• Pac 12 Tournament, Semifinal, ESPN, 8:30 p.m.

Golf PGA

• Players Championship, GOLF, 9 a.m.

Saturday’s TV sports

Baseball WBC

• Mexico vs. Colombia, 2, 40, 11:30 a.m.

• Venezuela vs. Dominican Republic, FS1, 4 p.m.

• Great Britain vs. United States, 2, 40, 6 p.m.

• South Korea vs. Czech Republic, FS1, 7 p.m.

Basketball College Men

• American East Tournament, Championship, ESPN, 8 a.m.

• SEC Tournament, Semifinal, ESPN, 10 a.m

• AAC Tournament, Semifinal, ESPN, Noon.

• AAC Tournament, Semifinal, ESPN2, 2:30 p.m.

• Big East Tournament, Championship, 2, 40, 3:30 p.m.

• ACC Tournament, Championship, ESPN, 5:30 p.m.

• Pac 12 Tournament, Championship, ESPN, 7:30 p.m.

NBA

• Milwaukee at Golden State, 7, 10, 5:30 p.m.

• Sacramento at Phoenix, NBCSCA, 6 p.m.

Golf PGA

• The Players Championship, 3, 10 a.m.

Hockey NHL

• Boston at Detroit, 7, 10, 10 a.m.

• Pittsburgh at Philadelphia, 7, 10, 12:30 p.m.

Motor Sports

• NASCAR Xfinity, United Rentals 200, Qualifying,

Scoreboard

BASKETBALL

Storylines to follow as state finals take over the Golden 1 Center

Joe DaviDson THE SACRAMENTO BEE

SACRAMENTO — The high school basketball season has gone like this for teams across the state: tryouts in the fall, holiday tournaments in December, league play in January, sectional playoff rounds in February, and then the mad-dash sprint to the final weekend in their own version of March Madness.

The CIF State Basketball Championships are Friday and Saturday at Golden 1 Center, home of the Kings, and home of memories of winning or losing that last game. The CIF finals have been a fixture in Sacramento for more than 30 years, be it at Arco Arena or Golden 1, the CIF brass adamant in wanting players and fans to enjoy a “wow” experience in a splashy venue.

Six games are scheduled for Friday and six on Saturday, from the elite Open Division down to Division V.

Cal fires Mark Fox as men’s basketball coach

a lex simon BAY AREA NEWS GROUP

BERKELEY — Cal

fired Mark Fox as its head men’s basketball coach Thursday, making official a move that was not unexpected amid the program’s struggles.

Fox was let go after the Bears went 3-29 this season, his fourth in charge of the program. Cal lost 69-52 to Washington State in the opening round of the Pac-12 tournament Wednesday.

Overall, Fox’s record in Berkeley was 38-87.

“This was a difficult decision and one that I do not take lightly,” Cal athletic director Jim Knowlton said in a statement. “After deliberately and holistically evaluating all aspects of our program, I felt a change was needed at this time. We will always be guided by the best interests of

our student-athletes, as well as the values of our University.”

Cal’s best year under Fox was his first, with the Golden Bears going from back-to-back eight-win seasons under former head coach Wyking Jones to finish with a 14-18 record in 2019-20.

But the Covid-19 pandemic seemingly stunted any growth, as Cal’s press release announcing Fox’s removal said the coach had to navigate “some of the most disruptive restrictions in the country.”

Fox’s Bears went 9-20 in 2020-21 and 12-20 in 2021-22, putting him firmly on the hot seat entering this season. Fox’s fate may have been sealed by Cal’s nonconference performance, with the Bears going 1-12 and losing games to six mid-major schools.

Only one Sacramentoarea team is left in the mix – the Colfax girls in Division III, where the Falcons take their 22-game winning streak and 34-2 record into Friday’s 2 p.m. contest against Los Osos (28-5) of Rancho Cucamonga. Colfax is celebrating the 40th anniversary of its first state championship team and aims to keep on celebrating under spirited secondyear head coach Rexanne Simpton and a host of players who grew up in the small Placer County town. There are no Division I college prospects on the roster, or even D-II, but one cannot measure grit and pride.

A closer look at storylines to shape the weekend:

Star power

In boys D-I, Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks seeks its first state championship and is led by Caleb Foster (headed to Duke), Mercy

Miller(Houston) and Dusty Stromer (Gonzaga). The Knights take on an upstart in Granda of Livermore, the No. 8 seed in the North, led by Andrew McKeever, a 7-footer off to Saint Mary’s.

Scoring sensations

In boys D-V, Sierra of Tollhouse in Fresno County faces Lynwood of Los Angeles County in a duel of prolific scorers. Sierra is led by three-year varsity star Logan Kilbert, a 6-4 guard who has more than 2,000 career points with a year to go and had the coast-to-coast driving layup to beat the buzzer and Fortune of Sacramento in a NorCal opener. His single-game high this season is 54 points. Lynwood’s 6-3 guard Jason Crowe Jr. is averaging 36 points per game with a high of 60 – and he’s a freshman who happens to be the most prolific 9th grader in state history.

Money player Oakland is 26-8 and seeks the D-III boys crown, and has a money player, literally, leading the charge. Oakland’s 6-4 senior guard who averages 17.6 points is Money Williams. “The way he sees the game, the way he thinks the game, he’s on a whole other level,” Oakland team-

mate Anthony Lacy said of Williams to Bay Area media after a NorCal title win. “He sees things we don’t see, and when he brings it to our attention, it boosts the team to a whole other level.”

Big on bigs

In boys D-IV, upstart Half Moon Bay and its 10th-seeded NorCal champions are led by 6-8 post Jaeden Hutchins while Valencia is paced by the 6-10 Bryce Bedgood and 6-6 scorer Mika Ballew.

Big girl ball

Mitty of San Jose is not a surprise Open Division entry, the Monarchs rolling at 28-2 and fresh off their state-record 15th regional championship under coach Sue Phillips, who is closing in on 700 victories. The stars are kids in five-star recruits Morgan Cheli, a junior, and McKenna Woliczko, a freshman who had 29 points and 21 rebounds in the NorCal final win over Salesian. Etiwanda of San Bernardino County at 31-3 just polished off national No. 1 and previously unbeaten Sierra Canyon of Chatsworth.

Big-boy ball

The finale of the

weekend will be Saturday night’s Open Division clash between NorCal champion St. Joseph of Santa Maria (28-6) and Harvard-Westlake (32-2) of Studio City in LA County. St. Joseph is led by one of the top sophomores in the country in 6-6 powerhouse Tounde Yessoufou, who is averaging 28 points. Harvard-Westlake is a star-studded lot with a lineup of D-I college prospects, including junior guard Trent Perry, whose college scholarship suitors include UCLA. Just a sophomore, 6-8 skilled big Nikolas Khamenia already has an offer from Stanford. And for any Kings fans who still bristle at the mention of 2002 Lakers shooter and Kings killer Robert Horry? They can check out his son, 6-3 junior guard Christian Horry of Harvard-Westlake. But don’t boo him. Boo the dad.

CIF State finals

All games at Golden 1 Center

Friday Division IV Girls Shalhevet vs. San Domenico-San Anselmo, 10 a.m. Division V Boys Lynwood vs. Sierra-Tollhouse, noon

Division III Girls Los Osos vs. Colfax, 2 p.m. Division III Boys Buena vs. Oakland, 4 p.m.

Division I Girls

Santiago-Corona vs. Oakland Tech, 6 p.m.

Division I Boys

Notre Dame-Sherman Oaks Notre Dame vs. Granada-Livermore, 8 p.m.

Saturday

Division V Girls Marina vs. Bret Harte-Angels Camp, 10 a.m.

Division IV Boys Valencia vs. Half Moon Bay, noon

Division II Girls

Bonita Vista-Chula Vista vs. Central-Fresno, 2 p.m.

Division II Boys

Pacifica Christian-Newport Beach vs. Memorial-Fresno, 4 p.m.

49ers net seven compensatory draft picks

Cam inman BAY AREA NEWS GROUP

SANTA CLARA — A river of compensatory draft picks rushed into the 49ers’ hands Thursday, replenishing their coffer for next month’s playerselection festivities.

A trio of picks at the end of the third round – Nos. 99, 101 and 102 – highlighted the NFL-high seven compensatory picks distributed to the 49ers, by way of the NFL’s calculations factoring in free agency moves and minority-hiring incentives.

The other compensatory picks are in the fifth, sixth and seventh rounds, with two in that last round.

In total, the NFC runner-up 49ers now hold 11 draft picks, including a pair in both the fifth and seventh rounds, which they had prior to the comp-pick parade. In other 49ers’ news, they’ve re-

signed Colton McKivitz to a two-year deal. He was slated to become a restricted free agent next week, and he could become their starting right tackle if Mike McGlinchey leaves as expected in free agency next week.

The 49ers still lack first- and second-round picks, having dealt those as part of moves that brought them quarterback Trey Lance (2021 draft No. 3 overall pick) and running back Christian McCaffrey (2022 midseason trade).

Their third-round picks came by way of the NFL’s minority hiring push, in which the 49ers capitalized on departures in 2020 (Jets coach Robert Saleh and Commanders general manager Martin Mayhew), in 2021 (Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel) and this offseason (Tennessee Titans GM Ran Carthon).

A 2024 third-round pick awaits for Carthon, and one in 2025 is coming for DeMeco Ryans’ move from 49ers

defensive coordinator to Houston Texans coach.

The NFL has yet to release the complete list of picks, but here is how The Athletic is mapping out the NFL Draft to be held in Kansas City from April 27-29:

First round: None

Original pick, No. 30, was traded to Dolphins in 2021.

Second round: None

Original pick was traded to Panthers in 2022.

Third round: Nos. 99, 101, 102

Original pick was traded to Panthers in 2022.

Fourth round: None

Original pick traded to Panthers in 2022

Fifth round: Nos. 155, 164, 173

The 49ers acquired a fifth-round pick (No. 156) from the Miami Dolphins with last season’s trade of running back Jeff Wilson Jr.

Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group/TNS file (2020) California head coach Mark Fox reacts while standing on the floor against Arizona State in the second half of a game at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley in 2020.

Xavier Mascarenas/Sacramento Bee/TNS

The Colfax Falcons sideline erupts during the fourth quarter against Caruthers at the CIF Northern California Division III championship game, Tuesday. Colfax beat Caruthers 53-52 and advances to the state finals in Sacramento.

Giants

From Page B1

the field again, Conforto was the second player out of the dugout as he jogged out to right field for the first time in the top of the first. (The only player quicker than him was Sean Hjelle, whom nobody was going to beat, with the pitch clock limiting warm-up time between innings.)

An hour and 15 minutes before first pitch, Conforto was already in uniform.

“I was ready to rock,” Conforto said.

That much is good news for the Giants, who signed Conforto counting on him to be ready to line up in their Opening Day outfield and in the middle of their batting order. Although president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi indicated that San Francisco would go with Mitch Haniger in right and Conforto in left, as he regained arm strength, the Giants are working out each outfielder in both spots this spring.

“I’m confident in his defense because he’s healthy,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “He’s a good defender when he’s healthy.”

Guzmán’s best yet

When the seventh inning was complete, Ronald Guzmán and his hulking 6-foot5, 235-pound frame returned to the dugout with a message.

“That’s me,” the Giants’ first baseman-turned-lefthanded-reliever/two-way player exclaimed, according to Kapler.

In his third outing on the mound this spring, Guzmán struck out the side and didn’t allow a baserunner, or a single piece of contact. He threw his mid-80s slider for strikes – deploying it to get his first two victims looking – and threw three straight to Jesse Winker,

Local

From Page B1

Softball

Zabat belts homer but Vanden beaten

FAIRFIELD — Mia

Zabat’s fourth-inning solo home run was all the offense the Vanden High School softball team could muster in a 7-1 loss Wednesday to Pleasant Grove in Elk Grove.

Samanie Simmons and Isabella Cueva saw action in the circle for the Vikings. Pleasant Grove did all its scoring in the fourth, fifth and six innings. Vanden fell to 0-2 overall. Vanden is scheduled Friday to host Napa, weather permitting.

College

Solano softball gets swept by ARC

ROCKVILLE — American River College

Jets

From Page B1

proved to work well.

“We have a couple of high end players but they all build up and pump each other up,” Thomas said. “I’ve been coaching for more than 10 years and I’ve never had this much fun. Of course, we’re winning, but they all get along really well. It’s a great mix.”

Most of the Jets players live in Vacaville but there are some who come in from Sacramento to Brentwood. Thomas

before blowing a 98 mph fastball by him. “As a hitter,” Guzmán said, with a unique perspective of actually being one, “I know I wouldn’t want to face myself. I know I have pretty good stuff, and I was just going to go at him with my best stuff, and I ended up winning. . . . I threw three sliders, and I was like, he doesn’t know what’s coming.”

Guzmán, a former top prospect who made the majors as a first baseman, signed with the Giants this offseason after they saw him on the mound. They were, according to Guzmán, the one club that assured him the chance to both pitch and hit.

With his inexperience pitching, Guzmán isn’t likely to break camp with the big club. While he is mostly focused on his pitching this spring, he continues to take cuts in the batting cage and expects to play some first base once the season begins. And it’s not out of the question that experience could come in San Francisco at some point.

“His stuff is good enough right now to be a major-league pitcher,” Kapler said. “The strikethrowing is what you always question with a pitcher that doesn’t have a lot of mound experience. I think what makes it most interesting is he comes in and executes his secondary pitches for strikes.”

Notable

• The Giants won’t face Carlos Rodón in pinstripes, after all. The hard-throwing lefthander, who signed a six-year, $162 million free-agent contract with the Yankees, has a left forearm strain and isn’t expected to be ready for Opening Day, Yankees GM Brian Cashman told reporters Thursday. San Francisco visits Yankee Stadium from March 30-April 2 but won’t see the Yankees again until 2024.

scored eight runs in the bottom of the fifth inning

Tuesday to end its game with Solano early as the Beavers came away with an 11-3 win over the Falcons in Sacramento.

American River had taken a 3-0 lead after two innings. Solano rallied for three runs in the fifth inning to tie it 3-3 before American River ended it in the bottom half of the inning on the collegiate eight-run mercy rule.

The Falcons fell to 3-11-1 overall. Isa Alegre had a home run and two RBIs to lead the Solano offense. Naiya Watts singled and drove in a run. Kaylee Hawkins, Alexis Wright and Azaria Sanchez also singled.

Solano is scheduled to play a doubleheader at home Friday beginning at noon against Siskiyous, weather permitting.

The Falcons have a doubleheader scheduled for next Tuesday at College of the Sequoias in Visalia. The first game would start at noon with a second game to follow at 2 p.m.

said many have been in the program since they were very little.

The 12U-BB squad is coached by Chris McGrew. They went 12-3-1 in 16 games, scored 86 goals and allowed 48.

The Vacaville team is 6-1-1 on home ice and 6-2-0 away.

McGrew’s team will compete against teams from San Jose, Santa Clara, San Mateo and Tri-Valley.

The Jets program offers competitive co-ed hockey for all ability levels ages 6-18. The programs website is jetsyouthhockey.com.

Chicago Bears helped launch girls flag football internationally

Shakeia Taylor CHICAGO TRIBUNE

CHICAGO — The Chicago Bears – in partnership with Chicago Public Schools – launched the first high school girls flag football league in Illinois in 2021.

In its first year the league was composed of 22 teams strictly within Chicago. The next year it expanded to more than 50 teams in the city, and conferences were formed from other Illinois towns such as Rockford and Oak Park.

And now it’s going global.

The Bears, along with the New York Jets, are launching the first intramural girls secondary school flag football league in the United Kingdom. The introduction of the league Wednesday comes on International Women’s Day. Teams from 12 schools will compete over a six-week season in the borough of Ealing in West London, with no charge for schools or players to participate.

Chase Claypool, a Bears wide receiver and NFL Global Flag Ambassador, called it an opportunity to expand the sport internationally.

”The Bears reached out to me and asked me if I want to be a part of this. And it was an easy answer,” he told the Tribune.

”When you think about American football, you just think that’s a men’s sport. But it’s starting to transition into both men and women. So I think like football is the perfect segue into doing that.”

Gustavo Silva, the Bears manager of youth football

and community programs, said growth and interest in girls flag football has exploded locally and nationally, noting a 300% growth in Illinois leagues.

“The Jets reached out to us,” Silva told the Tribune, “and we came together, with both teams having the international NFL market rights to the UK, and said, ‘Let’s put this league together and create the same opportunity for girls in the UK to access the great sport of football the way that we did here in the States.’”

The number of girls participating in sports declines in the UK as they get older. In the U.S., Title IX prohibits sexbased discrimination in any school or other education program that receives federal funding. There is no such law in the UK.

Silva says the Bears want to be leaders in that arena.

“It’s about inclusion, accessibility and equity,” he said. “We know the

many benefits of participation in athletics. Girls should have access . . . an equitable way to tap into those benefits.

“We feel that football is the greatest team sport there is and that there’s so much to benefit both from a health standpoint, from a social standpoint, just overall well-being. We talk about life skills, responsibility and self worth. Sports help so much with that, and we feel like girls should have access to that and that’s why we’ve been so passionate about growing here in the States.

“And we found the same thing exists worldwide. The only issue is that people had not had the opportunity. So now that we have seen a model that works here, ‘if you build it, they will come.’”

Teams in the new UK league will be divided into two divisions, representing each NFL partner. They will play within their division, and the division winners will play a cham-

pionship game.

Juliana Zavala, the senior manager of elementary sports for the Chicago Public League, has been a coach in the local girls flag football league since its inception. According to Zavala, many of the girls in the program never had played a sport before but jumped at the opportunity because it brings them together with others and empowers them.

“The girls are excited,” she said. “One of the things that they tell me all the time is we have the opportunity to be equal. They know that they can do whatever they want and be fearless.

“Usually you have powderpuff during halftime of the homecoming game. Forget that. That’s not happening anymore. And it just changes the mindset. So according to the girls, ‘Come watch us play’ is their motto.”

Teams chasing Kings losing stars with Doncic, Durant, Morant out

JaSon a nderSon

THE SACRAMENTO BEE

SACRAMENTO — The Kings had a clean bill of health with De’Aaron Fox returning to the lineup for Thursday’s late nationally televised game against the New York Knicks at Golden 1 Center.

The same cannot be said for some of the teams chasing the Kings in the Western Conference playoff race. The Memphis Grizzlies, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans are all dealing with injury concerns or other issues with just over four weeks remaining in the regular season.

The Kings and Memphis Grizzlies were tied for second in the West going into Thursday’s games with Sacramento holding the tiebreaker by virtue of its conference record. The Suns were two games back in fourth followed by the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Mavericks, Lakers and Pelicans.

The Kings will face

Vanden

From Page B1

the Suns in a big Western Conference showdown Saturday at Footprint Center in Phoenix, but the status of newly-acquired star Kevin Durant is in doubt. Durant, acquired in a blockbuster deal at the NBA trade deadline, was expected to make his home debut against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday, but the 13-time All-Star went down with a sprained ankle during pregame warmups.

The Arizona Republic’s Greg Moore reported Durant left the arena in a

and rebounds. Juniors Luka Radovanovic and Jayden Robinson are back, along with many of the current players and those coming up from the junior varsity.

“I want them to take the role of, ‘I’m the leader now and I want to put my stamp on this team and hold each other accountable,’” Holloway said. “Someone like Sterling McClanahan is going to be hard to replace. But as a collective group, everyone has a chance to take on their share. Players had a chance to

walking boot Wednesday.

There was concern within the organization that Durant suffered a grade 2 sprain, which would likely sideline him for four to six weeks, meaning he could miss the rest of the regular season and possibly the start of the playoffs.

Meanwhile, the Grizzlies are dealing with issues on multiple fronts.

The team announced Wednesday that All-Star point guard Ja Morant will remain away from the team for at least four more games after brandish-

step up this year and learn who they are. That’s what makes high school sports special.”

Holloway also puts high expectations on himself. He feels like he continues to grow as a coach and has good role models leading the girls program in Allison and Jake Johnson. He is also well-versed in Vanden’s history of excellence in the boys program that flourished under Jim Boyd, whose name now adorns the gymnasium.

Holloway and his staff plan to set up offseason programs for his current players and those coming into the program. But for now, it’s a “honey do” list that his wife Connie and the family have provided him

ing what appeared to be a firearm in an Instagram Live video. Police in Glendale, Colorado closed their investigation into the incident, saying: “There was not enough available evidence to charge anyone with a crime.”

Grizzlies center Steven Adams recently received a stem cell injection in his injured right knee. He will be reevaluated in four weeks, presumably before the playoffs begin. Adams has been out since Jan. 23. The Grizzlies have gone 7-11 in his absence.

The Mavericks expected to make a big move in the West after acquiring Kyrie Irving at the trade deadline, but they fell into a tie with the Timberwolves for seventh in the West following a 113-106 loss to the Pelicans on Wednesday. They also lost star Luka Doncic, who underwent an MRI after leaving the game with a left thigh strain.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the MRI was “clean,” noting Doncic is expected to return “as soon as discomfort allows him.”

that he says is “extremely long right now.”

“I need to go be at a higher level as a husband, father and supervisor at my job,” he said.

One thing he wants to make sure is done in the years ahead is to continue to keep the name of Daniel Hughes on the minds of everyone. The popular and talented Hughes died in April 2021 from a gunshot wound and he is honored throughout campus in many ways.

“This is one of the last classes that will truly know him and have a connection with him,” Holloway said. “It’ll be up to us as a school and as athletic programs to uphold his name and legacy and honor him always.”

Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune/TNS file (2022)

Willowbrook players cheer during a semifinal game at the first Chicago Bears Girls Flag State Championship in 2022 at Halas Hall.

Hector Amezcua/Sacramento Bee/TNS

Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown reacts to a call against his team during an NBA game against the Los Angeles Clippers, March, 3, at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.

Columns&Games

Loved one shares words for grief

Dear Annie: My parents divorced over 20 years ago, and each of them subsequently remarried wonderful people that my sister and I have been so fortunate to have in our lives. Sadly, my loving stepfather passed away last month after a brave battle through a lengthy illness.

Although my parents did not maintain a relationship postdivorce, and he never met my stepfather, my father sent a beautiful note of condolence to my sister and me in the wake of his passing. I was touched by his sentiment and found a great deal of comfort in his words. I’m sharing a portion of it with you in the event that you feel it may bring similar comfort to others:

“Death is regrettably the dark underbelly of life that rips us to our emotional and mental core. It wreaks havoc on our norm and reminds us that what we can control on this earth is limited and the guarantee of life is a daily proposition.

“Fortunately, the human spirit is resilient and allows our memories to penetrate the grief, affording the ability for us to heal over time. Once the initial grief has abated, fond memories of joy, laughter, warmth and the presence

ARIES (March 21-April 19).

There are many ways to make money, and the cost of things is changing all the time. Get excited about what you want without worrying about the price tag. There are deals to be made. Much of life is negotiable. Let yourself dream big.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You can do hard things.

It’s part of what makes you awesome. Mistakes are essential. The learning curve is part of the ride. It would be very boring to be good at everything, not to mention annoying to others.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21).

The point isn’t to find a better situation; the point is to be someone better. Any change you make to yourself will also change the situation. Help everyone on your team be a team player. Don’t let anyone hog the ball.

CANCER (June 22-July 22).

You’re not afraid of your own tears, which are agents of healing. But all things being equal, you’d rather work on creating an environment that supports your happiness. Today’s secret recipe: more joy, fresh air and free time.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22).

You’re surrounded by talented people. Sometimes this comes with self-centeredness. You’ll tolerate a certain amount of it, but in the end, anyone who is only concerned with self-benefit is a liability to your projects.

Daily Cryptoquotes

of those lost returns. The physical void and sense of loss will always remain, but the pain will dull and be replaced with new perspective and change from within that honors those we have lost. We might find ourselves less quick to anger or judgment and replace those sentiments with grace and empathy. Or we might put aside petty differences and seek a deeper connection with those we hold dear. It is different for each of us.

“I share the above thoughts with you as they have been my experience. Your experience will unfold over time. The one thing I do know for sure is that, while death can take our body, our spirit lives forever in the memories of those left behind.”

Annie, thank you for allowing me the space to share. — Comfort for Grief

Dear Comfort for Grief: Thank YOU for sharing these special words. I’m sure they will provide hope for readers who are in the process of grieving a loved one. I also want to note how wonderful it is that your parents are able to support each other and, most importantly, come together to support their children, even after a divorce.

Dear Annie: I have a friend

Today’s

birthday

As you show yourself more and more unconditional love, your grip on destiny allows for easier steering. You’ll need less from the world, but you’ll be given more. Telling your story well will put you in a position to win friends and business. More highlights: exploring, adventuring and reacting to a side of life that’s new to you. Gemini and Libra adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 8, 30, 11, 25 and 16.

Pay attention to how you feel in someone’s presence and in their absence.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22).

You have plenty of talent and you’re always honing your skills. Right now, the thing to work on is belief in yourself and clarity of vision. When you’re sure of what you want, you won’t have to sell it. It will be apparent to all buyers.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23).

Would you rather manage something you don’t understand or understand something you can’t manage? You’ll have your choice. Either way, you have the gentle patience you need. You’re up for the task.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Don’t worry about filling the dead space. First of all, it’s not

whose daughter-in-law is pregnant. When I told her a few weeks later that my daughter is also pregnant, she said, “No one should be bringing children into this terrible world.” I was so stunned I didn’t respond, but I am rather certain she will make such comments again. Annie, I have no clue what to say in response! Any thoughts? — Excited Grandma and Stunned Friend

Dear Excited Grandma: What an off-putting and unexpected reply to such joyous news. No wonder you were lost for words.

The next time your friend says something less than positive about the pregnancies, bring the focus back to all there is to be excited about. You can’t change her outlook on the world necessarily, but you can try not to let it put a damper on your own. A simple, “We can’t wait to be grandparents,” or “Well, ‘Elise’ is so excited to be a mom,” recenters the conversation on you and your daughter. If you find over time that she’s consistently negative, share your enthusiasm with other friends who are equally happy about your newest member of the family. Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@ creators.com.

really dead. It’s alive with possibility. Leave room for the potential and you’ll be surprised by what eventually strolls in on its own accord.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22Dec. 21). Rest between events. If you push yourself too hard, you won’t have the perspective you need to be at your best. Don’t think of recovery as laziness; think of it as the body’s turn to work. This is how you give your body a chance to catch up to you.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19). Some people love to be first. It’s better just to let them have that. First is not always the best position. You can be powerful from wherever you happen to be in the line. Trust the timing of life.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20Feb. 18). If you have to explain why something is loving, it probably isn’t. Loving acts have a feel to them. It lands like love and it is, or it doesn’t and it’s not. You can trust yourself to know the difference and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20).

To some extent, you’re the glue holding a group together. Whatever size your contribution may be, it’s important and things wouldn’t be the same without you. You’re a terrific listener and you’ll help someone feel seen.

Write Holiday Mathis at HolidayMathis.com.

Word Sleuth

A NINE BECOMES TRICK NUMBER 10

Despite Ambrose Bierce’s claim that opportunity is “a favorable occasion for grasping a disappointment,” we must, at the bridge table, search for every opportunity to bring home our contract. Even when things look grim, there might be one faint chance to snatch success from the

vise of vanquish.

Today’s deal occurred during an Australian National Women’s Team Championship. At both tables, West led the diamond ace against four spades. Seeing dummy’s singleton, West switched to a trump at trick two. The first declarer won in the dummy, played off her heart ace-king and ruffed a heart in the dummy, hoping to drop Q-J-x. Now, though, South had no immediate side-suit hand entry. She led the club queen from the dummy, hoping whoever won the trick wouldn’t have a trump left. However, East played low, allowing West to win with the king and return another spade. Declarer had to lose four tricks: one heart, two diamonds and one club. The second declarer, Barbara Travis, saw that the heart possibility could wait. There was another prospect to try first. At trick three, Travis led a diamond to her queen. West won with the king and returned another trump. Winning in the dummy, declarer ruffed a diamond. Suddenly dummy’s diamond nine was a winner! Travis cashed her two top hearts, ruffed a heart in the dummy and discarded her last heart on the diamond nine.

Beautifully spotted!

COPYRIGHT: 2023, UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE

Sudoku by Wayne Gould

3/10/23

Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 grid contains the digits 1 through 9, with no repeats. That means that no number is repeated in any row, column or box. Solution, tips and computer program at www.sudoku.com

Difficulty level: SILVER

Yesterday’s solution:

Bridge

Crossword by Phillip Alder

Horoscopes by Holiday Mathis

Annie Lane Dear Annie

The studio behind ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ is new king of independent films

BloomBerg

If there were any doubts that A24, the media company behind Everything Everywhere All at Once and other Oscar nominees, is the top independent film studio, they could be vanquished at Sunday’s Academy Awards.

The closely held distributor and producer heads to the awards with 18 nominations in total – the most of any single studio brand. They include 11 for Everything Everywhere, the favorite to win best picture, according to the website GoldDerby.com.

The breadth of its nominees is also impressive. Everything Everywhere is a genre-bending picture that’s part immigrant family drama, part sci-fi film and part martial-arts flick. A24 also released The Whale, a picture about a morbidly obese man that earned a best-actor nomination for Brendan Fraser, and Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, a family-friendly film that’s a contender for best animated feature.

Billionaire Todd Boehly is among the company’s backers. Last year, A24 raised $225 million from investors including Neuberger Berman and venture capitalist Ken Fox. That valued the business at about $2.5 billion. Fox thinks there’s more to come.

“They’re at this great inflection point,” he said in an interview. “The Oscars are emblematic of that.”

The company’s performance recalls the 1990s’ heyday of Miramax, the studio that won best-picture Oscars for films like The English Patient and Shakespeare in Love, notes David Herrin, who runs the Quorum, a movie industry research firm.

Like Miramax, the company is turning out one critical hit after another. Whether it can sustain that level of success remains to be seen. Moviemakers run hot and cold, just like the stars in front of the camera.

“We could be entering a peak A24 era,” Herrin said.

The company’s specialty, independent or art-house films, has never been particularly lucrative, even though such movies dominate the awards circuit. A24 has built a reputation for making high-quality, original films that resonate with critics, audiences and the talent community, if not broad swaths of the moviegoing public.

Everything Everywhere, produced for under $20 million, according to a person with knowledge of the matter, is by far A24’s most successful picture, taking in about $107 million at the worldwide box office so far. By comparison, Top Gun: Maverick, another best-picture nominee, has almost $1.5 billion in global ticket sales.

The company was founded in 2012 by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel and John Hodges, all of whom worked in the film business before. The studio’s name was inspired by the Italian highway Katz was driving on when he decided to start the company. Hodges has since left.

Their first best picture win came with Moonlight, a 2016 drama about a young Black man coming to grips with his sexual identity. A24’s 2020 release Minari, about an immigrant family from South Korea, was nominated for six Academy Awards, including best picture, with Youn Yuh-jung winning best supporting actress.

Based in New York, the company keeps in touch with the theater scene there. The Whale was based on a play by Samuel D. Hunter. Causeway, about the unlikely friendship between a wounded soldier and an auto mechanic, was directed by Lila Neugebauer, who is best known for her theater work.

Brian Tyree Henry is nominated for best supporting actor for his role in that film.

A24 has taken an independent filmmaker’s approach to financing and distributing films, often partnering with streaming services. Causeway, for example, was released on Apple TV after a limited theatrical run.

Pickles Brian Crane

Zits Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

Pearls Before Swine Stephan Pastis

Candorville Darrin Bell

Baby Blues Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott

Baldo Hector Cantú and Carlos Castellanos

B6 Friday, March 10, 2023 — DAILY REPUBLIC

Courtesy of Focus Features/TNS

Harrelson is coach of Special Olympics hopefuls in movie with hits and misses

Michael PhilliPs CHICAGO TRIBUNE

L

The setup works in roughly equivalent fashion to how

“Green Book,” directed by Bobby’s brother Peter Farrelly, handled racial prejudice and loutish white male redemption in the civil rights era. With both movies, you may find yourself thinking: Are we really focusing on the most interesting character here? Or simply the one who could get the thing greenlit for production?

The film remakes the popular and super-slick 2018 Spanish comedy-drama “Campeones.” (Another remake, this one to be made and set in India, is in the works.) Stuck in Des Moines, Iowa, after being fired off his semipro assistant coaching gig and sentenced to 90 days of community service after a DUI, Marcus (Harrelson) reluctantly takes over a ragtag community center team’s fortunes.

At first, all is friction and exasperation for our protagonist. Gradually he and the members of the team, the Friends, learn some fundamentals and lower their defenses off the court. I’ve seen the original, though most people who will see “Champions” haven’t; a quick look at the Spanish-language film’s trailer captures its similarities to the remake, even with the tweaks.

No longer a man with an estranged relationship with his wife, Coach Marcus is a lone wolf whom we meet following an expedient Tinder hookup with struggling actress Alex (Kaitlin Olson). She turns out to be the older sister of one of Marcus’ players, Johnny

Here’s

MOVIE Review

‘Champions’ Rated PG-13 123 minutes HH (OUT OF FOUR)

(Kevin Iannucci, terrific), who has Down syndrome.

The neurodivergent characters in “Champions” all get their chances to shine in various ways. But there’s a nagging, patronizing air in the way some of the material’s shaped for sight gags, followed by cutaway shots to a chuckling / dismissive / tetchy Harrelson. There are, however, compensations. Olson, known for “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” keeps her scenes with Harrelson fresh and honest.

Des Moines is played by Winnipeg, Canada, and for once in a modestly budgeted studio project you see the snow and the cold and appreciate it; it serves the story. Also, crucially, neurodivergent moviegoing factions are so starved for screen representation, Farrelly’s film is sure to be embraced.

I just wish the side characters here weren’t treated as such, and that “Champions” wasn’t

mostly about one more coach’s bottoming-out and redemption. Remaking the 2018 movie, the filmmakers missed a chance to refocus things more on the players, and not just in brief montages showing how they’re all getting on in their lives.

On the other hand, one of the people attending a recent preview screening of “Champions” said to his friend, as the credits rolled: “I want to be in that movie!” That’s a superhonest affirmation. There are moments and a couple of scenes that develop some intriguing complexity, including a dinner sequence – Marcus is over for supper at the home of his sort-of girlfriend, her brother and their mother – and the bottled-up feelings finally come out in ways that sound like real life, not the movies (or the rest of this movie, at least). Disarming one minute, baldly manipulative the next, “Champions” is a tricky one. At one point Marcus compliments his players for coping with “the stuff you guys put up with from ignorant people every day,” and while that, too, is well-meaning and rooted in bittersweet reality, the movie itself extends a hand to these characters even as it tells its preferred redemption story.

Word Sleuth

Crossword by Phillip Alder

Bridge

for the best-played deal went to the Duke of Atholl. He is the last person in Britain permitted, under charter from Queen Victoria, to command a private army. His ancestors include such colorful characters as the chieftain who raised the Stuart banner when Bonnie Prince Charlie stepped ashore at Glenfinnan. His height belied his gentle character.

In England in those days, everyone opened one no-trump with 12-14 points and needed only four cards to open in a major suit. Also, unwisely, a two-over-one response promised only 8 points. Here, I feel strongly that North should have opened one club, and South should have responded one no-trump.

FROM BANNOCKBURN TO THE BRIDGE TABLE

For almost half a century, the Houses of Commons and Lords have fought an annual bridge match in London. The matches are particularly enjoyed by the bridge press. They don’t expect to see brilliant play, but the surroundings make everything delightful.

Delving back into my records, I found this deal from 1993. The prize

West led a trump. East won with the ace and returned his second heart. Atholl ran that to dummy’s king and played a trump to hand, East discarding a club. Now came a club to dummy’s king, a club to South’s ace and a finesse of dummy’s diamond queen. East won and exited with the club jack. Declarer ruffed, cashed his three diamond winners and led a spade toward dummy. Although West played low smoothly, Atholl immediately called for the king. East had already produced the heart ace, diamond king and club jack. With the spade ace as well, he might have thought about entering the auction.

COPYRIGHT: 2023, UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE

Sudoku by Wayne Gould

Enterprises Dist. by creators.com

3/11/23

Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 grid contains the digits

FROM BANNOCKBURN TO THE BRIDGE TABLE

1 through 9, with no repeats. That means that no number is repeated in any row, column or box. Solution, tips and computer program at www.sudoku.com

For almost half a century, the Houses of Commons and Lords have fought an annual bridge match in London. The matches are particularly enjoyed by the bridge press. They don’t expect to see brilliant play, but the surroundings make everything

© 2023

Difficulty level: GOLD

Yesterday’s solution:

From left, Casey Metcalfe as Marlon, James Day Keith as Benny, Woody Harrelson as Marcus, Ashton Gunning as Cody, and Tom Sinclair as Blair in director Bobby Farrelly’s “Champions.”

Shauna Townley/Focus Features/TNS

ots of people will find lots to like in “Champions,” a seriocomic story of how young men and one woman, Special Olympics basketball hopefuls with intellectual and developmental disabilities, turn their arrogant coach, played by Woody Harrelson into less of a jerk.From left, Kevin Iannucci as Johnny, Kaitlin Olson as Alex, James Day Keith as Benny and Woody Harrelson as Marcus in “Champions.”

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NOTICEISHEREBYGIVENthaton

March14,2014at6:00p.m.,orassoon thereafteraspracticable,at2155Cordelia Rd.,Fairfield,California,theCordelia

BoardofDirectorswillholdapublichearingtoconsideramendingtheFireCodeof theCordeliaFireProtectionDistrictand adoptingby referencetheCaliforniaFire Code,2022edition,togetherwithvarious modifications,deletionsandadditionsto saidcode.Copiesoftheproposedordinanceandcodeareavailableforreviewat theDistrictoffice,locatedat2155Cordelia Road,Fairfield,CA94534,byappointment.

DR#00061534

Published:Feb.24March3,10,2023

NOTICEISHEREBYGIVENthattheCityCounciloftheCityofRioVistaadoptedOrdinance001-2023atitsRegularMeetingonFebruary21,2023,byamajorityrollcallvote.In summary,theadoptedOrdinanceisasfollows:

ANORDINANCEOFTHECITYCOUNCILOFTHECITYOFRIOVISTAAMENDING

TITLE2(ADMINISTRATIONANDPERSONNEL)OFTHERIOVISTAMUNICIPAL CODEFORTHEPURPOSEOFAMENDINGCHAPTER2.20(GENERALBOARD, COMMITTEEANDCOMMISSIONPROVISION),CHAPTER2.21(PLANNINGCOMMISSION),CHAPTER2.23(AIRPORTADVISORYCOMMISSION),CHAPTER2.24(PUBLICSAFETYOVERSIGHTCOMMISSION),CHAPTER2.25(PARKANDRECREATION COMMISSION);ANDDELETINGCHAPTER2.26(WATERANDWASTEWATERMONITORINGCOMMITTEE)FROMTHELISTOFCOUNCIL-SANCTIONEDCOMMITTEES Thisordinancegoesintoeffect12:01a.m.onthe31stdayafteritspassage. AYES:CouncilMembersDolk,Donnelly,Okamura,ViceMayorStanishandMayorKott

NOES:None

ABSTAIN:None

ABSENT:None

PleasecontactInterimCityManagerPhilCarteratpcarter@ci.rio-vista.ca.usorbycalling 707-374-6510forfurtherinformationorquestions.

Submittedforpublicationby: PamCaronongan,CMC,CityClerk March6,2023 DR#00061931 Published:March10,2023

NOTICEISGIVENTHATPURSUANTTOSECTIONS21700-21716OFTHEBUSINESSANDPROFESSIONSCODE,SECTION2328OFTHECOMMERCIALCODE, SECTION535OFTHEPENALCODE,SELF-STORAGEUNLIMITED,5055PEABODY ROAD,FAIRFIELD,CA94533,COUNTYOFSOLANO,STATEOFCALIFORNIAWILL SELLBYCOMPETITIVEBIDDINGON,MARCH17,2023,AT12:00P.M.AUCTIONTO BEHELDATTHEABOVEADDRESS.THEHOUSEHOLDGOODS,PERSONAL ITEMS,FURNITURE,CLOTHING,AUTOMOBILESANDPERSONALORBUSINESS ITEMSBELONGINGTOTHEFOLLOWING:

CONDUCTEDBY: anIndividual Theregistrantcommencedtotransact businessunderthefictitiousbusines s nameornameslistedaboveon 03/27/2023. Ideclarethatallinformationinthisstatementistrueandcorrect(Aregistrantwho declaresastrueinformationwhichheor sheknowstobefalseisguiltyofacrime.) /s/CongSangVan INACCORDANCEWITHSUBDIVISION (a)OFSECTION17920AFICTITIOUS NAMESTATEMENTGENERALLYEXPIRESATTHEENDOFFIVEYEARS

FROMTHEDATEONWHICHITWAS FILEDINTHEOFFICEOFTHECOUNTY CLERK,EXCEPTASPROVIDEDIN SUBDIVISION(b)OFSECTION17920, WHEREITEXPIRES40DAYSAFTER ANYCHANGEINTHEFACTSSET FORTHINTHESTATEMENTPURSUANTTOSECTION17913OTHERTHAN ACHANGEINTHERESIDENCEADDRESSOFAREGISTEREDOWNER. ANEWFICTITIOUSBUSINESSNAME STATEMENTMUSTBEFILEDBEFORE THEEXPIRATIONMarch6,2028. THEFILINGOFTHISSTATEMENT DOESNOTOFITSELFAUTHORIZE THEUSEINTHISSTATEOFAFICTITIOUSBUSINESSNAMEINVIOLATION OFTHERIGHTSOFANOTHERUNDER FEDERAL,STATEORCOMMONLAW (SEESECTION14411ETSEQ.,BUSINESSANDPROFESSIONSCODE). FiledintheOfficeoftheCountyClerkof SolanoCounty,StateofCaliforniaon:

March7,2023

NewASSIGNEDFILENO.2023000415

CHARLESLOMELI,SolanoCountyClerk

DR#00061919

Published:March10,17,24,31,2023

UnitNo.LastNameFirstName

762JimersonJames 736GallardoMilland 376CollinsDesmond 680DollarQuinthais 835CuevasFrancisco 800DavisKimberly 603AragonJoann

626DancelJanelyn 713LewisAllan

PURCHASESMUSTBEPAIDATTHETIMEOFPURCHASEINCASHONLY.ALL PURCHASEDITEMSSOLDASISWHEREISANDMUSTBEREMOVEDBY9P.M. THEDAYOFSALE.ALLSALESARESUBJECTTOCANCELLATIONINTHEEVENT OFSETTLEMENTBETWEENOWNERANDOBLIGATEDPARTY.

DATED: MARCH3,2023,ANDMARCH10,2023

AUCTIONEERFORRESTO’BRIEN CABOND#00106386718 (925)392-8508 DR#00061558 Published:March3,10,2023

NOTICEOFLIENSALE

NoticeisherebygivenpursuanttoCaliforniaBusinessandProfessionalCode#2170021716,Section2328oftheUCCofthePenalCode,Section535theundersigned, SmartStopSelfStoragelocatedat2998RockvilleRoad,Fairfield,CA94534willsellat publicauctionbycompetitivebiddingthepersonalpropertyof:

E057RockerCortez

E071LeaElena

F053TiffanyHamilton

G008LisaJohnson

G014KertHenderson

G023DeAshiaButler

G075JaneeBenton Proper tytobesold:householdgoods,furniture,appliances,clothes,toys,boxes&contents.AuctioneerCompanywww.selfstorageauction.comTheSalewillendat10:00AM, March21,2023.Therundatesare3/03/2023and3/10/2023.Goodsmustbepaidin cashatsiteandremovedatcompletionofsale.Saleissubjecttocancellationinthe eventofsettlementbetweenownerandobligatedparty.

2/3,2/10/23 CNS-3673659# THEDAILYREPUBLIC DR#00061582 Published:March3,10,2023

TherewillbealiensaleatCrockersLockers, 991BeckAve.,Fairfield,CA.94533

On:Monday3/27/23,12:30PM

Thisandenforc10entisauthorizedby Division8,Chapter10oftheCaliforniaBusiness &ProfessionsCode,commencingwithoutwarranty orguaranteeforCashonly.Purchaseditemsmust beremovedfrompropertyimmediatelyfollowing thesale.

Bond#0342850

Thepersonalpropertystoredwiththeundersignedby: A98ARIELCARDONA:lamp,drumset,cameratripods,dufflebag,speakers,misc.bins andboxes B86YALIMARESPINOSA:printer,computerscreen,shelving,backpack,bedding,misc. binsandboxes B118BONNIECARABAJAL:clothes,bedding,shoes,stepstool,backpack,misc.boxes C74SHAKARAHIPPOLITE:shoes,bedding,vac,misc.binsandboxes Crocker’sLockers DR#00061690 Published:March3,10,2023

NOTICEOFPUBLICHEARINGCITYOFRIOVISTA

PUBLICNOTICEISHEREBYGIVENthattheCityCounciloftheCityofRioVistawill holdapublichearingtoconsidertheintroductionofOrdinanceNo.003-2023which,if passed,willadoptthefollowingbyreference:

1.2022CaliforniaBuildingStandardsCode(alsoknownasCaliforniaCodeRegulations Title24,orsimplyasTitle24);and

2.2022CaliforniaFireCode,basedontheInternationalFireCode2021(IFC2021)–whichisreferencedinotherpartsofTitle24.

TheRioVistaCityCouncilwillconsidertheabove-mentionedmatterattheregularmeetingonTuesday,March21,2023at6:00p.m.,in-personattheCityHallCouncilChambers,1MainStreet,RioVista,California.Membersofthepublicmayattendthemeeting in-personorviateleconference.

PROJECTTITLE:ADOPTIONBYREFERENCE–2022CALIFORNIABUILDING STANDARDSCODEAND2022CALIFORNIAFIRECODE

LEADAGENCYNAMEANDADDRESS:CITYOFRIOVISTA

1MAINSTREET RIOVISTA,CA94571

CONTACTPERSONANDPHONENUMBER:PhilCarter,InterimCityManager(707) 374-6451Ext.1101

PROJECTLOCATION:CITY-WIDE

ENVIRONMENTALREVIEW: TheAdoptionbyReferenceofthe2022CaliforniaBuildingStandardsCodeandthe2022 CaliforniaFireCodearenot“projects”undertheCaliforniaEnvironmentalQualityActbecauseitwillnotcauseadirectphysicalchangeintheenvironmentorreasonablyforeseeableindirectphysicalchangeintheenvironment.

NOTETOALLINTERESTEDPARTIES:

Publicaccessisavailableeitherin-personattheCityHallCouncilChambers,1Main Street,RioVista,California,orvialivestreamthroughalinkandinstructionsincludedin theCityCouncilagendaat:https://www.riovistacity.com/citycouncil/page/meetingagenda-attachments-minutes-video.

TheCityCouncilwillacceptoralandwrittencomments.Oralcommentsmaybegiven duringthemeetinge itherin-personorbyfollowingtheteleconferencepubliccommentinstructionsontheCityCouncilagendaat: https://www.riovistacity.com/citycouncil/page/meeting-agenda-attachments-minutesvideo.

Writtencommentsmaybesubmittedviaemailtoccpubliccomments@ci.rio-vista.ca.us. Pleaseprovidetheagendaitemnumberinthesubjectlineofyouremailorletter.Written commentsreceivedpriorto5:00pmontheMondaybeforetheCouncilmeetingwillbe distributedtotheCityCouncilandpostedontheCity'swebsite.Ifyouneedassistanceor donothaveaccesstoacomputer,pleasecontactPamCarononganat707-374-6567. IfyouwishtolegallychallengeanyactiontakenbytheCityontheabovematter,youmay belimitedtoraisingonlythoseissuesyouorsomeoneelseraiseinwritingforthePublic Hearingdescribedinthisnotice,orinwrittencorrespondencedeliveredtotheCitypriorto oremailedasdescribedintheabovenote.

FURTHERINFORMATIONonthisitemmaybeobtainedbycontactingPhilCarter,InterimCityManagerat(707)374-6451Ext.1101Fax:(707)374-6763.

DR#00061886

Published:March10,2023