Daily Republic:

FAIRFIELD — Suits, ties, prom dresses and a tiara dominated the hardwood in the Armijo High School gym Friday.

Lynne Lee’s Annual Prom was expected to draw a few hundred for a few hours of dancing, conversation, some snacks, pictures and the tradition of naming a homecoming

king and queen. The almost 30-year-old tradition began as a Spring Fling for students enrolled in adaptive physical education. Under the direction of retired adaptive PE teacher Lynne Lee, the event is the highlight of the school year for many of those who attend.

Lee retired in 2020, during the Covid-19 outbreak. That year’s prom was done virtually with Lee leading the fun from her home.

Gaslighters prepare for British ‘invasion’ at Fiesta Days B1

DR’s 2023 All-Region baseball team delivers in clutch B6

MAYkers Market draws crowd to Fairfield

susAn HilAnd SHILAND@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — Downtown Fairfield was filled with vendors Saturday for the MAYkers Market, a spring edition of Small Business Saturday hosted by the city of Fairfield and Boss Con.

Taylor Garcia, the event coordinator, couldn’t have been happier to see everyone out and enjoying themselves.

Her goal was to bring people together downtown.

“Boss means anyone, you can be the boss of your business, your kitchen, whatever,” Garcia said.

“I grew up here. I am raising my kids here so this is my town and I love it. I wanted to give something back to the community I love,” she said.

The theme was a Y2K throwback to that heady year before 2000, when everyone thought the computers would shut down the world.

“The city asked me to do an event that would bring more life to the downtown,” she

See Market, Page A10

DEBT CEILING TALKS

There was no prom in 2021. The event was held last year with just high school students. This year, adaptive physical education teacher Haley Duncan, who works at several schools in the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District, took the reins. As the prom neared, Lee and Duncan were in constant contact to ensure a memorable morning.

GOP rejects White House offer to freeze spending

THe WAsHingTon PosT

Tribune ConTenT AgenCy

Dr. Robert Haley still has questions.

“You’re always just trying to relieve this frustration that you don’t know the answer,” Haley said.

The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center researcher is among those who have studied an illness afflicting thousands of Gulf War veterans since the mid 1990s.

“First we proved that it was a disease and that it was an injury,” Haley said. “Then we proved that Sarin gas did it and then we’ve got this gene-environment interaction and

the guys that are sick – it’s not their fault; they were born with a susceptibility.”

From the beginning, it was considered a mystery disease due to a lack of records of what every person was exposed to every day, according to Haley.

“This is no longer a mystery disease,” he said.

Using genetics, a study released by Haley and others last year linked the malady noted to cause respiratory complaints, sleep disturbances, forgetfulness, and muscle and joint pain, to the deadly

Republican negotiators rejected a White House offer to limit spending next year on both the military and a wide range of critical domestic programs as part of high-stakes negotiations over the federal debt ceiling, according to three people with knowledge of the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private talks.

Republicans are instead pushing for higher defense spending and more significant domestic spending reductions, the people said, posing a challenge to White House negotiators aiming to resolve the debt ceiling standoff without agreeing to what they see as draconian changes to federal programs.

See GOP, Page A10

Simple math shows why Fairfield is in the top 1% of US cities

More popular means better. That’s true of restaurants (McDonald’s, which serves 69 million people daily is better than The French Laundry in Yountville, which serves a few dozen). It’s true of music (“White Christmas” is the greatest song ever, followed by “Candle in the Wind 1997” by Elton John, because they’re the top sellers. No. 3 “In the Summertime” by Mungo Jerry is better than anything by The Beatles or Mozart or Elvis). It’s also true of movies (Sadly, “Avatar” is the greatest movie of all time, but “Jurassic World” is a top-10 all-time movie).

It’s also true of cities, which is why Fairfield is so much better than many smaller cities. Duh.

“Popular” and “population” come from the same word: Pop, which means “better.” (Don’t check this. Trust me.)

According to 2022 Census data, Fairfield has 119,705 people. Fairfield is the 239th largest city in the United States and the 52nd largest in California.

That means Fairfield is the 239th best city in the United States and the 52nd-best city in California.

Don’t blame me, blame math.

While that may not seem great, realize there are more than 100,000 cities in the United States and nearly 500 in California. So Fairfield is in the top half of the top 1% of cities in the United States and in the top 10% of California cities (no

surprise: California is the most populated state in the nation, so it’s the best.).

Understanding Fairfield is an elite city, based on popularity (the only fair way to rank cities) is fine. But consider some “famous” cities that Fairfield is better than, based on popularity. This is not an exhaustive list, but it’s good for context. Four American and one Canadian city that aren’t as good as Fairfield because they’re not as populated (disagree with me? Blame math!): Carmel, California. Wow, Carmel has missions! Oh, it’s so close to Pebble Beach! Oh, Clint Eastwood was mayor! Well, here’s the facts: Carmel has 3,200 people. Measured by population, Fairfield is 37 times better than Carmel.

Woodstock, New York. Home of the famous 1969 music festival (and infamous 1999 attempt

to duplicate it), Woodstock has less than 6,000 people. Is it fair that more people know about Woodstock than know about Travis Air Force Base? Not in my America. Fairfield is better than Woodstock. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Site of the famous Civil War battle and Lincoln’s speech, Gettysburg is pretty great. But if it was really that great, wouldn’t more than 7,000 people live there? Fairfield rules. It’s about four score and seven times better than Gettysburg. (In this case, don’t do the math. Trust me.) Lake Placid, New York. The site of two Winter Olympics is famous, but big deal! Fairfield hosted the Fairfield Classic bike race in the early 2000s, is the home of the Fairfield Expos baseball team and four high schools that play sports. There are about 2,200 residents in

paranoia. And those who listened to less diverse birdsongs (two bird species) also reported a significant decrease in feelings of anxiety and paranoia.

The WashingTon PosT

Looking to improve your mental health? Pay attention to birds.

Two studies published last year in Scientific Reports said that seeing or hearing birds could be good for our mental well-being.

Research has consistently shown that more contact and interaction with nature are associated with better body and brain health.

Birds appear to be a specific source of these healing benefits. They are almost everywhere and provide a way to connect us to nature. And even if they are hidden in trees or in the underbrush, we can still revel in their songs.

“The special thing about birdsongs is that even if people live in very urban environments and do not have a lot of contact with nature, they link the songs of birds to vital and intact natural environments,” said Emil Stobbe, an environmental neuroscience graduate student at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and author of one of the studies.

Recent research also suggests that listening to recordings of their songs, even through headphones, can alleviate negative emotions.

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Everyday encounters with the bird kind are associated with better mental health.

In one study, researchers asked about 1,300 participants to collect information about

CORRECTION POLICY

their environment and well-being three times a day using a smartphone app called Urban Mind.

The participants were not explicitly told that the researchers were looking at birds – the app was also collecting data about other vitals such as sleep quality, subjective assessment of air quality, and location details. But the 26,856 assessments offered a rich data set of what is associated with mental well-being in real time in the real world.

By analyzing the data, the researchers found a significant positive association between seeing or hearing birds and improved mental well-being, even when accounting for other possible explanations such as education, occupation, or the presence of greenery and water, which have themselves been associated with positive mental health.

The benefits persisted well beyond the bird encounter. If a participant reported seeing or hearing birds at one point, their mental well-being was higher, on average, hours later even if they did not encounter birds at the next check-in.

Ryan Hammoud, a PhD candidate at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s College London and an author of the study, called it a “time-lasting link.”

Intriguingly, the birds benefit both healthy participants and those who have been diagnosed with depression, which is one of

the most common mental illnesses worldwide and does not always respond to conventional pharmaceutical treatments.

This has an interesting implication for trying to protect and preserve environments to sustain bird life, Hammoud said, “because people with depression do show positive effects toward birdsong and bird life in the area.”

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A second study found that listening to short – just six-minute – audio clips of birdsong could reduce feelings of anxiety, depression and paranoia in healthy participants.

“Listening to birdsong through headphones was able to hit the same pathways that might be beneficial toward mental well-being,” said Hammoud, who was not involved in the second study. “That’s a very, very nice finding,”

Researchers asked 295 online participants to self-assess their emotional states and to take a cognitive memory test. Then they randomly assigned the participants to listen to birdsongs or traffic noise, of more or less diversity. The researchers then had the subjects remeasure their emotional and cognitive states.

Participants who listened to more diverse birdsongs (featuring the acoustic acrobatics of eight species) reported a decrease in depressive symptoms in addition to significant decreases in feelings of anxiety and

It is the Daily Republic’s policy to correct errors in reporting. If you notice an error, please call the Daily Republic at 425-4646 during business hours weekdays and ask to speak to the editor in charge of the section where the error occurred. Corrections will be printed here.

(This study was conducted in Europe, and the birds featured were also European.) By contrast, listening to more or less diverse traffic noise worsened symptoms of depressive states.

The research shows the “healing aspects of nature, or also the not-so-positive effects of urban surroundings,” said Stobbe, an author of the second study.

Previous research on the health effects of nature sounds found that they could even confer cognitive benefits, though the second study did not replicate that finding.

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Birds help us feel more

Lake Placid. Sad!

Banff, Alberta. The Canadian city is famous because it’s inside Banff National Park. But there are less than 10,000 people, so how great can it be? Banff is inside a national park, Fairfield includes Allan Witt Park. Which is better? Fairfield has 10 times more people. It’s better.

For historical context, Babylon was the biggest city in the world in 1200 BC. It’s population was 80,000 ... meaning modern-day Fairfield is nearly 50% better than ancient Babylon. Fairfielders, be proud! You live in a city that’s among the top half of the top 1% in the United States and is better than ancient Babylon.

Reach Brad Stanhope at bradstanhope@outlook.com.

connected with nature and its health effects, Stobbe said, and the more connected we are to nature, the more we can benefit from those effects.

One hypothesis on nature’s salubrious effects, known as the attention restoration theory, posits that being in nature is good for improving concentration and decreasing the mental fatigue associated with living in stressful urban environments. Natural stimuli, such as birdsong, may allow us to engage in “soft fascination,” which holds our attention but also allows it to replenish.

Nature – and birdsong – also reduce stress. Previous research has found that time spent in green outdoor spaces can lower blood pressure and cortisol levels, Hammoud said.

It is not yet understood how birdsong affects

our brains, but neuroimaging studies have found brain responses of stress reduction to other forms of nature exposure. Walking in nature vs. an urban environment decreased self-reported rumination, which is linked to a risk of depression and other mental illnesses, and decreased activity in a part of the brain’s prefrontal cortex associated with rumination. Viewing green scenery engages the posterior cingulate cortex, which is associated with behavioral stress responses and may help regulate the reduction in stress responses from nature exposure.

Going out to see birds also tends to encourage more physical activity, which has its own panoply of mental health benefits, and exercising outdoors may, in turn, magnify the health benefits of exercise.

Unemployment dips in April with 1,600 new local jobs

FAIRFIELD — Fewer Solano County residents were working in April, but the number of local jobs climbed 1,600 as the unemployment rate dropped to 4.2%.

The odd juxtaposition of fewer employed residents, down 700 to 193,400, offset a drop in the civilian workforce, which was down 2,000 to 201,900, the Labor Market Information Division of the state Employment Development Department reported on Friday.

The number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell from 9,900 to 8,500, the EDD reported.

The adjusted unemployment rate for March was 4.8%, the same as February. The rate for April 2002 was 4%.

The Leisure and Hospitality sector created 500 more jobs in April than in March, while construction, and private sector health care and social assistance each added 300 jobs. Farming represented 1,600 jobs, up 200 from March, the EDD reported.

Retail dropped 100 jobs, and government held steady at all levels with a total employment of 24,200.

The state unemployment rate for April was 4.3%, down from 4.8% in March. It was 4% in April 2022. The national jobless rate in April was 3.1%, down from 3.6%. It was 3.3% in April 2022, the EDD reported.

Solano County was 23rd in the state for the unemployment rate, and

See Jobs, Page A4

Fairfield City Council hosts special meeting

Daily Republic Staff DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — The City Council will hold a special meeting and study session at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Police Training Facility, 1717 Rex Clift Drive. A public comment period will be followed

by a biennial and 10-year forecast budget update from Finance Manager John Furtado.

For more information, visit https:// fairfield.novusagenda. com/agendapublic/meet ingview.aspx?meetingi d=349&minutesmeetin gid=-1&doctype=agenda.

High school students help Travis solve real-world issues with Spark program

SuSan

HilanD SHILAND@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE —

Students from 11 schools helped out the military Friday by brainstorming some problem-solving ideas.

A shared collaboration with the Solano County Office of Education and Phoenix Spark from Travis Air Force Base has been going on since 2018, according to Master Sgt. Sean McKinney, superintendent of Phoenix Spark.

Covid put a stop to the event for a couple of years and they returned last year to tackle some pressing issues.

“We took two ideas from last year and added a new one for this year,” McKinney said.

Students from Golden Hills Com-

The Will C. Wood Wildcat Chefs’ possible solution for improving the flow of customers in the dining facility includes a self checkout.

munity School, Will C. Wood High School (three teams), DeAnza High School (three teams), Buckingham Collegiate Charter Academy (two teams), Vacaville High School, Winters High School and Vanden

REDUCE THE RISK of Becoming Infected with West Nile Virus

High School were challenged with three genuine issues that Travis is currently trying to solve.

One of the challenges was to solve the customer flow in the Monarch Dining Facility.

“When I first came here I found it really confusing, “ McKinney said. “I wondered if it could be improved.”

Another challenge was to improve the flow and use of traffic through the third gate, which is not used as much as the front gate.

And the final challenge was the large issue of people or vehicles crossing the flight line.

“These are real-world problems that need to be solved,” he said.

The students came up with a

See Travis, Page A5

A number of types of sources found within residential neighborhoods are capable of producing enough adult mosquitoes to bother not only the residents of one home but a number of homes in the area. These mosquitoes are also capable of transmitting West Nile virus! Water left standing for seven to ten days can produce mosquitoes during warmer weathaer. There are a number of simple precautions that can be taken to prevent this from happening...

HE LP US FIGHT THE BITE this season by reporting dead birds to the West Nile Virus Call Center at 1- 80 0-WN V- BIRD or go online to westnile .ca.gov to report elec tronic ally. Dead birds are an import ant tool for early virus detection. Birds ac t as a reservoir for We st Nile virus, infecting the mosquitoes that feed on them. Dead birds are of ten the first indicator that West Nile virus may be present in an area

Aaron Rosenblatt/Daily Republic photos

From left, Alexander Pham, Kevin Gierak and Christopher Cole of the Will C. Wood Wildcat Chefs show the judges their proposal for improving the flow of customers in the

dining facility during the Travis Junior Spark Challenge at Travis Air Force Base, Friday. Students presented possible solutions to issues that Travis is currently trying to solve.

Supervisors to consider Community Investment grant awards

Daily Republic Staff DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — The Solano County supervisors on Tuesday will consider allocating $250,000 in Community Investment Fund grants.

The staff recommends about $50,000 each to La Clinica de La Raza Inc., Parents by Choice, Napa Solano SANE-SART, Vacaville Solano Services Corp. and the Kyle Hyland Foundation.

Four other proposals are not recommended for funding, the staff report to the board states.

The supervisors meet at 9 a.m. in the first-floor chamber of the government center, 675 Texas St., in Fairfield. A closed session follows the public session, during which the board will be updated on existing litigation, property negotiations involving 300 County Airport Road, and will consider the extension of Ed King’s contract as agriculture commissioner and sealer of Weights & Measures.

The meeting has nine presentations, which includes recognizing Memorial Day on May 29, the Junior ROTC programs in the county, Philippine Cultural Month, Pacific Islander Heritage Month, National Wine Day, National Public Works Week and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer Pride Month.

The board also will vote on 24 consent items, which are considered routine in nature and are taken up as a single matter.

It includes consideration of extending the local emergency due to the winter storms, and consideration of the county conducting a special election, on behalf of the Solano County Office of Education, for the Trustee Area 4 seat on the Vacaville Unified School District on Sept. 12.

The vacancy and special election mirrors the April special election in Benicia Unified School District in which the board-appointed replacement for a resigning trustee was challenged by petition.

In Vacaville, Area

4 Trustee Cecil Conley resigned, and the school board selected David McCallum among three applicants to fill the

See Grants, Page A5

Jobs

From Page A3

the highest among the nine Bay Area counties. The next closest was Contra Costa County at 3.6%.

The lowest unemployment rate in the state was in San Mateo at 2.5%. Colusa County had the highest rate at 14.8%, the EDD reported.

Dr. Theardis (Ted) Nelson Ed.D

Theardis (Ted) Nelson was born to the union of James Nelson and Josie Lee (Sumpter) Nelson on January 6, 1943. Ted was the youngest sibling in a loving family of four children. At the age of eighteen months, Ted came to California with his parents from Doddridge, Arkansas, specifically from a small community named Kiblah. Ted spent his formative years of schooling in Richmond, CA at Stege Elementary school. His secondary school experience was in Berkeley, CA and started when he entered Burbank Junior High School and graduated from Berkeley High School in 1960. Upon graduation from high school Ted attended a California Community College in southern California. When he returned home, he met and married Frances Gholson Nelson, and three children were born from this union.

Ted’s community college experience encouraged him to pursue and earn a Bachelor ’s Degree in Sociology, a Master’s Degree in Counseling, and a Doctorate Degree in Organization Leadership. Ted was a dedicated educator and worked as a School District Administrator, High School Principal, Assistant Principal, and Adjunct Social Science Instructor at several Community Colleges. He was passionate about helping young people succeed and was always willing to lend a helping hand to those in need.

Ted was a devoted Christian and served in various roles at his church, including Coordi-

John Sullivan

John Michael Sullivan of Rancho Murieta, CA passed away on Sunday, May 7, 2023, at the age of 72. John was born on September 15, 1950, in Fairfield, CA to Charles and Susanna Sullivan. He graduated in 1968 from Armijo High School where he excelled in both academics and sports, serving as the varsity basketball team’s starting guard during his junior and senior years, and leading the golf team to three league championships. His senior year he was also the Delta League’s shotput champion and when he wasn’t engaged in track, golf or basketball, he played the bass drum in the school’s marching band.

He went on to attend Chico State University, graduating in 1972 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. During his four years there, he was a member of the Chico State golf and basketball teams as well as a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon. In 1970, he won the Green Valley Country Club Championship. Following graduation, John married Carol Anderson and in 1978 they moved to Rancho Murieta, among the first homeowners in the newly developed community. Four years later, they welcomed their daughter Erin. John has remained an active resident, community leader and developer in Rancho Murieta for more than 40 years.

An avid golfer for most of his life, John was a fixture of the Rancho Murieta Country Club and golf community, and often atop many tournament leader boards.

Growing up in close proximity to Napa Valley, John had a passion for and deep understanding of viticulture. Over the years, John would grow his love for winemaking into business ventures opening two wineries, Winterbook and Oakville Estates, located along Napa’s Silverado Trail. Most recently, John partnered with his daughter and extended family in the development of Angel Wing Winery located near Rancho Murie-

Lieutenant Colonel Bruce L. Sooy, US AF (Ret.)

Lieutenant Colonel Bruce

L. Sooy, USAF (Ret.), one of the last of “The Greatest Generation” and a 65year resident of Vacaville, passed away May 13, 2023 at the age of 106.

Bruce was born April 8, 1917 in Greenbank, NJ.

His parents died in the flu epidemic of 1918. He was adopted and raised by his maternal grandparents, Mark and Estella Sooy. As a young boy he worked in his grandfather ’s garage, picked cranberries, and cut fire lines in the Pine Barrens for the Civilian Conser vation Corps. After turning 18, he went to work for the Wicaco Machine Company as a machinist. In 1939, Bruce enlisted as a private in the Army Air Corps where he became a crew chief on a B-17 bomber and later a line chief in charge of 7 other crew chiefs.

In 1942, after being encouraged by several pilots in his unit, Bruce took and passed the Aviation Cadet Exam. One of his training bases was in Phoenix, AZ. While on a bus, returning to the base, he gave up his seat to a pretty brunette telephone operator named Evelyn Keyes. Evelyn would become the love of his life. Their love affair would last 67 years, ending with Evelyn’s death in 2013.

After completing pilot training, Bruce was commissioned as a 2nd Lt. and assigned to Gowan Field, in Boise, ID. There he trained as a co-pilot on a B-17. Shortly before graduation, he was asked to stay at Gowan Field and train his own crew flying the faster B-24 Liberator. Once this training was complete Bruce was assigned as an aircraft commander and he and his crew were sent overseas to Wendling, England in August 1943.

Bruce and his crew started flying operational missions in October 1943 and by March 1944 they had completed 22 of their required 25 missions. Their 23rd mission was to Friedrichshafen, Germany on March 18. After they dropped their bombs, they were attacked by scores of Luft-

nator of “One Church, One School,” Volunteer Coordinator for “Parent’s on Campus Program,” President of the “Male Chorus,” and Coordinator of “Ministry to Men.” He also tutored youth at his church and was a past member of the Solano County Civil Grand Jur y.

Ted loved music; he played the piano beautifully and possessed a warm tenor voice. Additionally, he had a passion for learning new languages and dedicated time every day to practice Spanish.

Ted is survived by his loving wife Frances, two sons and one daughter they are: Theardis (Nicole) Nelson II, Savoy, IL; Tige (Nicole) Nelson, Spring, TX; and Tiffany (Garry Jr.) Norris, Fairfield. Ted has six grandchildren that love him dearly, and they affectionately called him Papa. They are: Tajae Nelson, Tevena Nelson, Tauren Nelson, Tiana Nelson, Ari Norris, and Garry Norris III. Ted also leaves behind one br other Roosevelt (Reatha) Nelson, who lives in New Orleans, LA; two very close nieces Francelle Capers, Richmond, CA; Jacque Yazid-Hereford (Forrest) Sacramento, CA, and a close nephew, Robert Wayne (Michelle Gaines), Richmond, CA.

Ted’s, parents James and Josie Nelson, and three sisters, Bertha Owens, Annie Mae Gaines, and Velma Leaks all preceded him in death.

Ted’s celebration of life will be held on Tuesday, May 23, 2023, at St Stephen CME Church. The Quiet Viewing will begin at 10:00 a.m., followed by a Eulogy Service at 11:00 a.m. The interment will be private for family only.

Ted will be remembered as a kind and loving man who touched the lives of many people throughout his life. He will be greatly missed, but his legacy of service and dedication will live on.

ta. John was always generous with the wines he produced, famously signing and dating gifted bottles to mark special holidays and occasions.

John’s career in finance and business development spanned five decades and included Chief Financial Officer of Pacific Coast Building Products, and, mostly recently, Manager and Partner for numerous ventures throughout the Sacramento region. His love for the community of Rancho Murieta was evidenced by decades of leadership around its development, growth, and prosperity

Most recently, John led the investment and development of the Murieta Inn and Spa, Rancho Murieta Marketplace, as well as new housing developments throughout the community. No one was more optimistic and excited about the future of the Rancho Murieta community than John.

He is survived by daughter Erin P. Sullivan of Sacramento, CA, sister Katie Lemos of Roseville, CA, brother Charles Sullivan (Carolyn) of Davis, CA, granddaughter Hannah Laird, nieces Mari Bradford, Michelle Lehman, nephew Matthew Lemos, former wife Carol Anderson Ward, and many additional family members, friends, and colleagues. He is preceded in death by his mother and father, brother-in-law Richard Lemos, and niece Chessa Sullivan.

John will be remembered for his larger-thanlife laugh, intellect, quick wit, memory and recall of exact numbers and details, thoughtful political discussions, and loyalty to family, friends, and his beloved community of Rancho Murieta

A private burial will take place at St. Vincent De Paul (St. Mary’s) Cemetery in Rancho Murieta, with a Celebration of Life at the Rancho Murieta Country Club on May 19, 2023, at 6 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in honor of John to the Rancho Murieta Country Club Junior Golf Program, West Coast Equine Foundation, or Youth on Course Golf Program. Checks may be addressed to:

Junior Golf Program

Rancho Murieta Country Club 7000 Alameda Drive Rancho Murieta, CA 95683

waffe fighters resulting in the loss of 16 of the 24 Liberators in his flight element including Bruce’s bomber, “Pink Lady”. All ten crew members bailed out safely, were captured and spent the next 13 months as prisoners of war.

After his release from prison camp and return to the United States, Bruce and Evelyn were married. Bruce became a test pilot at both Wright-Patterson AFB, OH and Muroc Dry Lake Testing Facility (now Edwards AFB), CA. He was stationed at Eglin AFB, FL and ser ved consecutive two-year tours at Wiesbaden AFB, Germany and Burtonwood AFB, England before receiving his last assignment at Travis AFB where he ser ved in several capacities including commander of the 1501st Field Maintenance Squadron before retiring in November of 1960. Throughout his military career, he flew more than 19 different types of military aircraft, he subsequently went back to work for the Air Force for another 19 years, retiring in 1979 as the Deputy Director of Logistic Plans for the 22nd Air Force.

Bruce and Evelyn enjoyed their retirement traveling the United States in their trailer and country western dancing even after Evelyn was diagnosed with Alzheimer ’s Disease.

Bruce is preceded in death by his wife Evelyn and his son-in-law, Dr. Albert Mitchell. He is survived by his three children, Mark (Debbie) of Gardnerville, Nevada, Yvonne Mitchell of Fairfield and Carol Passantino (Sal) of North Bend, WA. He also leaves behind a grandson, Sal Passantino, Jr., step-grandson Brian Mitchell and step-granddaughters Kristina McClellin and Maria Mitchell and four step-great-grandchildren.

A viewing will be held Tuesday, May 23 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Vaca Hills Chapel, 524 Elmira Rd., Vacaville, CA with a funeral service with full military honors on Wednesday, May 24 at 10:15 a.m. at the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery, 5810 Midway Rd., Dixon, CA. A reception will follow and the location will be announced.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations be made in Bruce’s name to the Tunnels to Towers Foundation (T2T.ORG), 2361 Hylan Blvd., Staten Island, NY 10306. Funeral arrangements by Vaca Hills Chapel Funeral Home.

Alma Richardson

Longtime Fairfield resident, Alma C. Richardson passed away at the age o f 99. She lived a long and interesting life. She made those around her feel special and showed infinite unconditional love She was a beautiful, talented, w onderful w oman, teaching those around her to se w, knit, crochet, cook and that l ove and honesty were more valuable than any possession. She listened to our dreams and believed in us. She will be missed and always in our hearts. We are eternally grateful for having been blessed with her love.

Alma raised six children, Judith Alfrey (deceased), Diane (Bob, deceased) Cain, Carol Mroz, James (Toni) Richardson, Edward (Annemarie) Richardson and Marilyn (James) Parker and was blessed with 18 grandchildren, 52 great-grandchildren and 23 great-great-grandchildren.

Michele Kitts

Michele Kathleen Kitts was born on May 5, 1943 at the Mare Island Hospital in Vallejo, CA. She graduated from St. Vincent’s High School in 1961 and from the Kaiser School of Nursing, Oakland in 1966. She ser ved in the Army Nurse Corps during the Viet Nam conflict at The Presidio, San Francisco. In civilian life she worked as a surgical RN at Broadway Hospital, taught nursing skills at Solano Junior College for a semester and received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Sonoma State College in 1982. Hired by Kaiser Walnut Creek, she worked as an advice nurse, charge nurse in Urgent Care, and ended her career at Kaiser as the manager of the medicine department at Kaiser Park Shadelands. On retiring from Kaiser in 2005, she continued as a RN giving flu shots to various communities in the bay area. Michele is survived by her husband of 35 years C Randy Kitts of Fairfield, CA, brothers Nathan Alicata of Oregon and Richard Alicata of Florida, and sisters Connie Van Wersch of the Netherlands and Kathr yn Brown of Benicia, CA. Services will be held at Twin Chapels Mortuar y, Vallejo CA on May 25, 2023.

Vasilio ‘Bill’ Vasiliou

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Vasilio Vasiliou, known to his friends and family as Bill, a beloved husband, father and friend. Bill was born in Torrance, CA on December 16, 1944, and was raised in Oroville, CA. He died peacefully on April 26, 2023, at the age of 78. Throughout his life, Bill was known for his infectious sense of humor and his love for sports. He was an avid golfer and softball player, and he continued to play both sports well into his later years. His quick wit and ability to make anyone laugh made him a joy to be around, and he was cherished by all who knew him.

AIR FORCE VETERAN

After graduating from Oroville High School, he then attended Chico State and graduated with a bachelor ’s in business administration. Bill married his lifelong high school sweetheart, Jacqueline (Jackie) Wald. They were happily married 54 years until Jackie’s passing on January 16, 2022. Together they shared a wonderful life and marriage and had one son, George Vasiliou.

After college, Bill joined the United States Air Force serving as a navigator on the C5 airplane. He served his country with distinction and was a respected member of the military community, retiring after twenty six years from the Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel. After leaving the Air Force, Bill became an account manager for American Protective Services, where he enjoyed socializing with his clients.

Bill enjoyed traveling extensively with Jackie and his friends and family. He and Jackie visited over fifty countries together, exploring new cultures and good food. Bill is well known for his witty and sarcastic humor. He was loved by many friends and family and was preceded in death by his parents George and Katina Vasiliou, his wife Jackie Vasiliou, and brothers Nick and Gus Stratigopoulos. Bill leaves behind his son George Vasiliou, his wife Christy Vasiliou, and his nieces, nephews and sisters in law

A funeral service will be held on Wednesday May 24, 2023 at 10:30 a.m. at Saints Constantine and Helen, Vallejo, CA, followed by a military service at Sacramento Valley National Cemete ry in Dixon, CA.

Jack G. Stahl

Jack G. Stahl passed away at home on May 8, 2023 at the age of 84. As a young man he was a horse trainer for “Harness Racing” and would travel all over during the racing season. He married his love Janet at 22 years old and settled down in Concord where he helped raise his two children Stacy and Jack Jr. He moved to Green Valley (Fairfield) in August 1987. Jack traveled the states working with his wife and small dog skeeter presenting sewing seminars for many years. Leaving the sewing business behind, he began working at Mini-U-Storage in Fairfield making many good friends till he retired in 2015. Jack was the table tennis champion in 2001 and would go to the senior center to play through out the years. He loved sports very much and would enjoy going to high school games to support the kids. He sold his house in Green Valley and moved to a nice retirement community Diamond Grove in Vacaville in 2020. Jack and Janet would have celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary in September. Jack was the light in the room, he never met anyone he couldn’t have a great conversation with. He always looked on the brighter side of things, his outlook on life was beautiful. He will be greatly missed by all that loved him. Jack is survived by his wife Janet, son Jack Jr., sister Kathleen and husband Bob Snyder, brother Jerry and wife Jane, granddaughter Anastasia and husband Nathan Hagler along with great-grandchildren Johnathan and Kali. He was preceded in death by daughter Stacy and grandson Jimmy Jack Coon.

A private service will be held. A memorial service will be later held by invitation only.

Jack’s tip of the day; “Smile and say hi.”

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FSUSD board’s response to self evaluation full of emotions

SuSan Hiland

FAIRFIELD — Discouraged and disheartened were two words used to describe the results of the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District board’s self-evaluation, which was discussed at Thursday’s evening meeting.

A survey was sent to seven board members to fill out and return asking whether board members felt that the goals set last June were achieved.

The assessment survey covered board-performance items such as vision-setting, curriculum, personnel, finance, policy development, collective bargaining, community relations and advocacy.

Three goals were set at

Travis

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five-minute presentation using video or tactile displays along with an oral presentation by each team member. They needed to come up with a plan and cost quotes, which includes maintenance costs.

To solve the customer flow at the dining facility, the De Anza teams used signage and roped off areas to show where to go through the food lines. They proposed a self checkout and using an app to order. The cost would be around $7,500.

Will C. Wood proposed making it a self checkout with 24-hour services for food.

To solve the flight line issue, one school suggested using cameras to monitor the red lines. Infiniti Electro Optics, which would use cameras to monitor in infrared for night and day surveillance, would cost anywhere from $50,000 to $300,000 to install. In addition, they could use a radar system to monitor motion.

The third gate is rarely used but it was suggested to place lights to control the flow of base traffic into civilian traffic and have a new ID system for entering the base, which would allow for electric monitoring of entering cars, along with MP inspections of license and base ID. These were just some of the ideas presented by the different schools to address the problems.

Andrea Lemos, deputy superintendent of the Education Services and Student Programs and Services for Solano County Office of Education, was one of the judges. It was the first time she was a judge for anything.

“I’m looking for the teams, taking the time to think about the problem, the needs and cost of innovation,” Lemos said.

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post. That appointment was challenged with the county Office of Education, setting up the special election. The term ends in November 2024.

The estimated cost to the district is $113,595.

The district is facing another trustee resignation, likely next week, because Kelly Welsh, representing Trustee Area 6, is moving out of the area. The

the June meeting: Goal 1: Keeping the work of the Governing Board focused on student achievement; Goal 2: Participate in professional development and commit the time and energy necessary to be an informed and effective leader; and Goal

3: Improve communication as professional colleagues within the boundaries of the Brown Act. Board member Helen Tilley said that the board ethically flunked last year. “The only way forward is to clear the air, hash it out. You can’t change behavior. You can censure behavior, you can file lawsuits but we need to figure when it is time to take action, and when not. The See Board, Page A6

“There are a lot of factors to think about.”

Kelley Birch, director of College and Career Readiness, helped facilitate the program with Spark.

“Any school can participate,” she said. “We have schools from Solano County as well as Woodland and Richmond join.”

The projects were not part of the everyday school work and were separate from the school day. Students would gather after school and break into teams to work on the three problems.

“We chose issues that could be researched online because not every kid has access to do research on the base,” Birch said.

Members from Travis Spark helped mentor students through any questions and stood back and let them work.

“They did it all themselves,” Birch said.

Through the challenge, students gain an understanding of the principles of teamwork, communication and problem-solving. Each student has an opportunity to work as a team member and present work in a forum that is modeled after workplace practices.

“This kind of teamwork is what is looked for in the workforce,” Birch said.

Winters High School took the top spot with the highest score for the overall competition. Their team solution and presentation incorporated a prototype for fingerprint checking at Travis gate stations so those with base access could pass through quickly.

The Will C. Wood “Wildcat Garage” team won in the challenge category for gate traffic flow solutions.

DeAnza High’s “Air Force Jr. ROTC DeAnza” team won the challenge category for flight line perimeter monitoring.

The Golden Hills Community School “Eagles” team took home the top award for the dining facility flow challenge category.

school board is expected to decide whether to appoint someone or hold a special election when it meets May 25.

The district does not have the option of combining a second election with the first because of the timing of each event, but consolidation would not really save the district any money because they are separate districts.

The supervisors also will consider as part of the consent calendar billing Benicia Unified about $44,130 for its special election.

Vallejo third-graders recycle for class cash

daily Republic Staff

DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — A trio of Vallejo elementary classrooms led the way in this year’s WERecycle! Challenge.

Jeannette Starring’s class at Dan Mini Elementary earned $133.07 in California Refund Value refunds, and Jennifer Wheelhouse’s and Melissa Nilson’s classes at Solano Widenmann Leadership

Academy earned $135.66.

“My students and their families got really involved with this challenge. During school, some of my students went around our campus during their recess and looked for any recyclable materials, even items that didn’t have the CRV on them. You know that’s huge because kids hate giving up their recess,” Starring said in a statement released by the

Solano Resource Conservation District.

The district heads the recycling effort each April as part of its Watershed Explorers Program

“A core theme in this hands-on environmental education program is stewardship and how students can take care of their local water resources. During the field trip, students discuss ways they can protect their watershed, including litter abatement

and recycling. In particular, students learn about CRV recyclables, which can be brought to local recycling centers to be exchanged for cash,” the district said in a statement.

Third-graders in Vallejo, Benicia and Fairfield “diligently scoured neighborhoods, schools, and playgrounds to collect CRV recyclables to contribute to their class’s

See Cash, Page A6

SHILAND@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

Courtesy photo

a trio of Vallejo elementary schools led the way in this year’s WERecycle! Challenge.

Mental Health Month brings awareness with Saturday event

SuSan Hiland SHILAND@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — The month of May is dedicated mental health awareness, and on Saturday that was the focus of the inaugural Peace In Mind Inc. event.

Sharon Wynn founded Peace In Mind Inc. to help families and caregivers who were dealing with mental illness in the family.

“I dealt with this in my family, and it was hard, upsetting and scary,” she said. “I had no idea where to go to get help or who to talk to.”

A lot of stigma is tied to mental illness and that makes it difficult not only for the person who is suf fering to reach out but for the family to talk about it outside the home or even in the home.

“When I partnered with NAMI I saw so many fam ilies that needed support,” she said. “They help families get a better under standing of what care is out there.”

The event’s theme is “Focus on the Family,” and in that vein, had vendors along with food trucks and public speaker who talked about health and wellness, domestic violence, adverse childhood experiences,

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rest just let go. Determine what is fluff,” she said. “I don’t know how to heal, you guys, and until we acknowledge the problem and try to fix it we can’t move forward.”

Tilley suggested a retreat but 50% of the board rejected that idea. She also said maybe they should add a new goal, which is to follow norms to continue with participation.

Tilley noted that she has received a lot of pressure from various bargaining units and it has been difficult.

“I don’t know. It has been painful for the board and the community. It has got to stop,” she said.

Ana Petero responded by stating that “we live in a democracy and not everyone agrees, and just because we disagree doesn’t mean we can’t still have an opinion.”

“You can write an op-ed in the newspaper, you can have an opinion,” she said, “but you do that and you get personally attacked.”

Petero further asked rhetorically what was wrong with having a dissenting opinion?

“The norms are not laws,” she said. “People like me are in this space for the first time. Just because you disagree doesn’t mean that you can attack that person.”

Petero said that people shouldn’t be disheartened by different opinions, because that is what democracy is about.

Judi Honeychurch noted that she has been the board 10-plus years, and they have functioned very well over years, until recently. She responded to past accusations by saying they are not a rubberstamp board.

“We elected the superintendent, if she is doing what the majority of board wants, then good, but if not, then we get a new superintendent if she can’t change.

“I am very discouraged and I don’t have high hopes of things changing,” Honeychurch continued. “I have a hard time trusting when someone tape-recorded a conversation, and then said they did nothing wrong. That bothers me. I don’t trust someone like that. I don’t mind differences of

along with crisis intervention and Solano Mobile Crisis Response Team.

Peace In Mind Inc. is a community outreach program that hosts events to bring awareness to the Solano County community.

ABOVE:

LEFT:

The events are designed to bring a community family together to share information, provide support and enjoy food, fun and live entertainment.

Brenda Horsely coordinated the event, which took four months to get together everything they needed.

“It was a challenge because we are starting this nonprofit, so that is new,” Horsely said. Fairfield Vice Mayor

Pam Bertani spoke on raising awareness of mental health. “It is crucial to be doing this,” she said about the effort. “You had to be intentional about addressing mental health, because no one wanted to talk about it in the past but that is changing.” She noted that happenings that bring awareness of resources in Solano County are crucial.

“These events bring information out for people to understand mental health,” she said.

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entry,” the district said. All classes that participated in the challenge get to keep the money the students earned for a class project or purchase of their choice. Starring’s class will use their funds for a class picnic.

“With the money we earned, we voted and ended up purchasing new recess equipment as well as a metal cart to keep it all organized. They were thrilled to take part in the challenge and are so proud of their accomplishment in being able to provide new recess equipment for our school,” Wheelhouse said.

To learn more about the WERecycle! Challenge, the Watershed Explorers Program and Solano RCD’s other education programs, visit www.solanorcd.org or send an email to education@solanorcd.org. To find a CRV recycling center near you, visit recycle.solano county.com.

opinion but the negativity and accusations of the disagreement. I don’t like the inability to follow proper procedures – if you hear a complaint, take it to the superintendent.

“We have a governance handbook not signed by (Petero). You just go and do whatever you I want to,” she said.

In addition, Honeychuch responded to the idea of a retreat proposed by Tilley by saying she voted no to a retreat because they have done it and nothing changes, and that it very much was discouraging and disappointing.

The evaluation addressed the board meeting operations, relationships among board members, relationship with the superintendent, understanding of board and superintendent roles and responsibilities, communication skills or other governance and boardsmanship skills.

Following the evalua-

tion at a future meeting, the board will set goals, set protocols and establish priorities and objectives for the following year’s evaluation.

Board President David Isom has been a board member for 13 years and is planning to leave in a few months, but he has a lot of trepidation leaving with the board in the state that currently is in.

“We have a lot of work to do as a governance team,” he said. “I have never been at a point when a board member calls me to ask a question and I think ‘is this board member recording me?’ “

He continued by saying that it is extremely discouraging to read in the newspaper despairing, insulting, demeaning and dishonest statements about the board and superintendent at all levels at the school district.

Isom said he hopes they can refocus on student achievement.

“I beg members of the

community if they want to know the truth about some of the things they are reading, to send an email to the superintendent or a board member asking for Public Records Request. You can get the truth, not opinion,” he said. The questions and responses can be found at https://go.boarddocs.com/ ca/fsusd/board.nsf/public. It is part of the agenda for the May 18 meeting.

Susan Hiland/Daily Republic photos

Tolls coming to Highway 37

Tribune ConTenT agenCy

It’s official: Highway 37 will become a toll road later this decade.

Tolls are one of several changes coming to the 21-mile commuter route that connects Marin and Sonoma counties to Vallejo after state transportation commissioners this week unanimously approved a project to widen the flood-prone, congestionplagued highway.

Toll dollars will help pay for a portion of the $430 million project helmed by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the Bay Area’s transportation planning agency.

Highway 37’s rates will be like the tolls on the region’s state-owned bridges – which will rise to $8 in 2025 – when tolling is expected to begin in 2027.

But, unlike the bridges, the highway’s tolls will be collected electronically in both eastbound and westbound directions at half that rate.

MTC executive director Andrew Fremier said the commission will analyze whether it’s feasible to install the electronic tolls west of Highway 121 so that tolls are equitably collected from Marin-to-Napa commuters who’d otherwise avoid paying.

Few roadways in the Bay Area experience the intense traffic congestion commonly seen on Highway 37 during morning and afternoon commute hours.

The route, mainly used by Solano County workers commuting to jobs in Marin County, has only one lane in each direction along a 10-mile segment between Mare Island and Sears Point.

The project will expand this traffic-choked segment to four lanes by converting the existing shoulders to traffic lanes. The added lanes will give this portion of Highway 37 one toll lane and one toll-free carpool lane in each direction for transit buses and vehicles with two or more passengers.

MTC officials say the project will drastically reduce commute

times – from 100 minutes to 26 minutes during eastbound evening commutes and 60 to 30 minutes on westbound morning commutes.

“This is congestion relief, and it’s congestion relief for a group of citizens who really need that relief in order to get to their jobs and to be able to get home and not spend their time in that traffic,” Fremier said.

But while the California Transportation’s unanimous approval gives the green light for construction to begin in 2025, the project isn’t free from criticism. State commissioners wrestled at their meeting in San Francisco on Wednesday over whether the tolls would burden workingclass commuters to use the highway.

Under the MTC’s plan, commuters whose household income falls 200% below the federal poverty level would get a 50% discount. Commissioners approved the project, but required that the MTC explore further discounts based on regional income levels that could capture more lower- and middleincome commuters.

The commission has already raised about $80 million. Tolls will cover another $100 million, while state and federal grants are expected to cover the rest of the cost.

Toll collection won’t start until the MTC finishes highway-widening construction, establishes bus transit on the corridor and finalizes its discount program for lower-income drivers.

A draft plan aims to provide bus transit on Highway 37 from Vallejo to San Rafael and Novato at 30-minute frequencies during peak commute hours and every hour during off-peak times.

Former Solano County Supervisor Jim Spering spoke in support of the tolling. He said many working-class Solano commuters told him in recent years they’d support paying a “modest fee” to use Highway 37 if it meant spending less time sitting in idle traffic driving home from work.

SuSan Hiland SHILAND@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

VACAVILLE — The weather is nice and people are thinking about spring cleaning. Vacaville Councilman Greg Ritchie had that in mind Saturday when he hosted District 2 Cleanup Day.

Four sites were chosen with the help of Recology in District 2 to place cleanup bins. Leisure Town got two bins, then Cooper Park and Arbor Oaks Drive got the others.

The morning was a little slow, but around brunch time things had picked up.

“We have filled all the bins once so far,” Ritchie said, as he crated water bottles and snacks for the volunteers in Leisure Town. “I think we will have done eight total when it’s over with.”

The cleanup is part of the Community Block Grant projects to help with improving the local ambience.

Not all things can go in the bins – hazardous or toxic materials, including treated wood, automotive parts, explosives, light bulbs, tree stumps, tires, power tools, mattresses or dirt/rock/concrete are not allowed.

But things like large or small amounts of waste, construction and demolition materials and recyclables were

very welcome.

teers Patti Lundie and Charlene Carter were serving as self-described “Dump Monitors,” to help keep people organized and civil, along with making sure the things dumped were OK to be in the bins.

“We are pulling stuff that looks like it could be reused or recycled,” Lundie said.

Lundie likes to clean house and clear out the clutter. “I love getting rid of

Family: Shooter struggled with mental health

Tribune ConTenT agenCy

The 18-year-old gunman who shot and killed three people in Farmington, New Mexico, on Monday had struggles with mental health that were recently exacerbated by his parents’ split and his departure from his high school wrestling team, according to friends and family.

Three people were killed and six others wounded, including two police officers, when Beau Wilson opened fire in Brookside Park in Farmington – a city 50 miles outside of New Mexico’s four-corners state border with Colorado, Arizona and Utah.

Those fatally shot in Monday’s mass shooting were identified as Shirley

Voita, 79, Gwendolyn Schofield, 97, and Schofield’s daughter, Melody Ivie, 73. All three women were in cars when the gunfire erupted. While authorities have not yet publicly disclosed a motive, Wilson’s friends and family told NBC News he’d been going through a difficult time in recent months. Wilson was falling behind in his classes and

was struggling to cope with his parents’ ongoing divorce, they said.

Wilson was fatally shot during a brief gunfight with law enforcement.Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebbe said he believes Wilson had “made a decision that he [was] going to stand and fight it out until he [was] killed.”

stuff, it feels lighter after you get rid of the stuff,” she said. “I just love it!”

One person pulled up with a truck filled with garden and household goods, including an old ladder. The monitors pulled that aside because it was still usable.

Over at Cooper Park, Louis Rameraz, of Vacaville, brought one truckload of old toys and things from the backyard.

“This was a chance to clean up stuff I hadn’t gotten a chance to,” he said.

Gabriel Jimenez has worked for Recology for 21 years and this was his second community cleanup event in a month. His location did not have any volunteers but that didn’t matter because people were easily able to drive up and park right in front of the bin and start tossing.

“The city council members are really putting in an effort to help residents get things cleaned up,” Jimenez said.

Child labor, mayhem, lewd comments to teen girls alleged at Oakland Popeyes

Tribune ConTenT agenCy

OAKLAND — Children as young as 13 worked illegally, female teen employees were subjected to sexually suggestive comments, and security guards contributed to violent mayhem at a Popeyes’ fried-chicken restaurant in Oakland, newly filed worker complaints to state regulators claim.

Popeyes said it learned Thursday morning about the worker complaints filed Wednesday with CalOSHA and the California Labor Commissioner, and immediately shut down the restaurant.

Blue Origin wins NASA contract to land astronauts on the moon

The WashingTon PosT

Blue Origin won a coveted NASA contract on Friday to develop a spacecraft that would land humans on the surface of the moon, a major victory and redemption for Jeff Bezos’s space venture two years after it lost out on a similar contract to Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

This time, Blue Origin beat Dynetics, a subsidiary of Leidos, the defense contractor. The contract, worth $3.4 billion, is for NASA’s planned third human landing on the moon under its Artemis program. (Bezos owns The Washington Post.)

As of now, the landing using Blue Origin’s spacecraft, a four-legged lander 52 feet tall that it calls Blue Moon, would occur in 2029, after two crewed landings by SpaceX.

Under the Artemis program, NASA intends to eventually sponsor a regular cadence of astronauts to the moon. But instead of going to the equatorial region of the moon, as was done during the Apollo era of the 1960s and ‘70s, it is aiming for the lunar south pole, where there is water in the form of ice in the permanently shadowed craters.

The Artemis program was started by the Donald Trump administration but has been embraced by President Biden, giving NASA a continuity of purpose that it had lacked in previous decades. In recent weeks, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has warned, however, that if negotiations over federal spending result in budget cuts, as some are proposing, there could be significant disruptions to the moon missions and other programs.

Speaking at an event Thursday on Capitol Hill while flanked by astronauts, Nelson said, “The kind of cuts that you have seen talked about would be devastating to NASA, to our programs and what you’re being presented with today - a crew that is taking us back to the moon after half a century.”

Speaking at the announcement Friday morning, Nelson said the space agency has “big goals for our Artemis program, about a mission a year to the lunar surface for stays for astronauts up to 30 days. And today’s announcement is about maintaining that cadence.”

Moon landings have been a priority of Blue Origin and one of Bezos’s lifelong passions. He has said that watching Neil

Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on the moon in 1969 was a “seminal moment” for him.

Blue Origin appeared to be the favorite for the first Artemis landing contract because it had obtained the most money in a preliminary round. But in 2021, NASA awarded SpaceX a $2.9 billion contract for the first human landing of the Artemis program, a mission known as Artemis III that is scheduled for 2025 but probably will be delayed.

The contract award marked a huge victory for Musk and SpaceX and a triumph over Dynetics and Blue Origin, which at the time had assembled a “national team” for the effort that included Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and Draper.

It also set off legal challenges that roiled the normally staid world of NASA contracting.

Blue Origin, whose bid of $6 billion was more than twice that of SpaceX’s, protested to the Government Accountability Office, as did Dynetics. Both lost. Blue Origin then filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and lost that, too. As a last resort, Bezos wrote an open letter to Nelson offering to sweeten the pot by waiving $2 billion in development costs, an offer that was rebuffed because the contract had already been awarded.

On Friday, John Couluris, Blue Origin’s lunar lander program manager, said the company would invest “well north of $3.4 billion” of its money into the program. Before Blue Origin’s first crewed landing, the company would “be landing an exact copy of that lander one year prior.” He added that there would also be “a number of test launches and landings that we’ll be releasing here soon.”

To get to the moon, Blue Origin proposed a multistep process. Instead of taking all the fuel to the moon and back, the company is developing a refueling capability in space. It’s also using reusable spacecraft that could remain in the vicinity of the moon between missions, which NASA hopes will help it create a more cost-effective and sustainable presence.

The lander would be launched to lunar orbit.

A separate spacecraft, known as the Cislunar Transporter, to be built by Lockheed Martin, would refuel in Earth orbit, then meet up with the lander in lunar orbit to fuel it ahead

of the flight to the surface of the moon.

Both would be powered by liquid oxygen (LOX) and liquid hydrogen (LH2), which are highly efficient but also have to be kept at exceedingly cold temperatures to prevent them from boiling off.

One of the keys to the system, Blue Origin said, is developing the ability to keep the propellants at cryogenic temperatures for long periods. To do that, Blue Origin said, it is developing a solarpowered storage tank that would keep the propellants at 20 degrees Kelvin, or about -423 degrees Fahrenheit, and “move the state of the art forward by making high-performance LOX-LH2 a storable propellant combination.”

SpaceX’s approach, using its Starship vehicle, would also require refueling in orbit to reach the moon.

In addition to flying crew members, the lander could come in a cargo version that would be capable of delivering as much as 30 metric tons to the lunar surface, he said.

After the initial award, SpaceX won another contract for the second crewed landing, Artemis IV, scheduled for 2028. SpaceX was not eligible for the contract awarded Friday because NASA wants to ensure that it has two providers to choose from for future missions.

Last year, NASA completed the Artemis I flight, the first launch of its Space Launch System rocket, which sent the Orion crew capsule, without anyone onboard, around the moon. The next flight, Artemis II, is scheduled for late next year. It would carry four astronauts, NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch and Victor Glover, as well as Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, in a mission around the moon as a precursor to a landing.

Because Orion isn’t able to land on the moon, the lunar landers would be launched separately and then meet with Orion in lunar orbit. NASA also plans to build a small space station known as Gateway that would orbit the moon and could be used as a staging point for astronauts.

For the current bid, Blue Origin’s national team changed a bit. Northrop Grumman switched to Dynetics’s team, and Blue Origin added Boeing, Astrobotic and Honeybee to its team, along with Lockheed Martin and Draper. Bezos says the goal of

Blue Origin – “Blue” for the “pale blue dot” that is Earth, “Origin” for where humanity began - is “millions of people living and working in space.” But it has yet to reach orbit with its New Glenn rocket, which would be used to launch the Blue Moon lander to the moon.

Blue Origin has flown suborbital flights that scratch the edge of space at just over 60 miles high, including one with Bezos himself. But those are with its New Shepard rocket, which suffered an engine failure last year on a flight without anyone onboard, and the company has yet to fly again. In a statement in March, it said it “expects to return to flight soon.”

Bezos has said that Blue Origin is “the most important work I’m doing.” And since stepping down as CEO of Amazon in 2021, he has focused more of his attention on Blue Origin and its various projects, which include building a commercial space station, as well as developing technologies to help humans live in space. Earlier this year, Blue Origin announced that it had made solar cells from a simulated lunar regolith, or moon dirt, as part of an effort to build energy sources on the moon.

On Friday, Bezos wrote on Twitter that the company is “honored to be on this journey with @NASA to land astronauts on the Moon – this time to stay.”

“Our employer has violated almost every law put in place to protect young workers like us,” employees Johmara Romero and Karla Palma Mendoza, both 17 and from Oakland, alleged in the complaint to the labor commissioner.

One of their coworkers started at the restaurant a year-and-ahalf ago when she was 13, in 7th grade, and has been working 40 to 45 hours a week, the complaint to the labor commissioner claimed. “From the start she has been working 6 days a week, including working until midnight three school nights each week,” the complaint alleged.

California’s childlabor law bans employment of children 12 and 13 at any time on school days, or having them work more than 40 hours per week, and they are not to work past 7 p.m., or after 9 p.m. June 1 through Labor Day.

The girl who allegedly started at the Popeyes at age 13 stayed on the same schedule when she was 14, also a labor-law violation, the complaint claimed.

Child labor, including at fast-food restaurants,

has become an increasingly volatile and high-profile issue across the U.S. Early this month, the U.S. Department of Labor, citing a nation-wide increase in child-employment violations, said it had fined three McDonalds restaurants in Kentucky a total of $212,000 after investigators found 305 minors, including two 10-yearolds, working illegally.

In February, the agency announced fines for illegal child labor at Popeyes, Subway, Burger King and Frodo’s Pizza restaurants in South Carolina, with the Popeyes franchise owner ordered to pay $4,000 in penalties and back pay for breaking laws related to work hours and overtime.

The two 17-year-olds also alleged to the labor commissioner that they have both been working as late as 11:30 p.m. on school nights, and on longer-than-legal shifts, including 6 ½ hours on school nights and 10 hours on other days.

Under state law, kids 16 and 17 can legally work four hours on a school day, eight hours on nonschool days or any day preceding a non-school day, for a maximum of 48 hours per week, and they are not to work past 10 p.m., or 12:30 a.m. on nights preceding a nonschool day.

“I would get out late and I would just shower and go to sleep and sometimes I wouldn’t get enough sleep and I wouldn’t make it to class the next morning and I would fall behind,” Romero told this news organization Thursday afternoon, an hour before a planned strike and protest outside the shuttered restaurant.

The girls also alleged that a female manager called them prostitutes,

See Popeyes, Page A9

SBDC offers video marketing, Etsy workshops

FAIRFIELD — The Solano-Napa Small Business Development Center is hosting a two-week video marketing workshop on Wednesday and May 31.

The online workshops run from noon to 1:30 p.m. on each day.

To register, go to https://www.solanonapasbdc.org/ event/video-strategy.

Additionally, the SBDC is offering a workshop on how to use the Etsy e-commerce company to grow a company. It also is a two-week series, noon to 2 p.m. June 1 and June 8.

To register, go to https://www.solano napasbdc.org/event/grow-with-etsy-1.

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Blue Origin

An artist rendering of Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lunar lander.

asked one of them if she liked small or large male genitalia, and asked another minor “if the hair on her head matched the hair on her genitalia.”

Romero said she started at the Popeyes in February as a cashier, mostly in the drivethrough. She alleged in her complaint to the labor commissioner that she was victimized by a child labor violation about once every two weeks. She was once called into work at noon on a school day because the restaurant was short staffed, so she skipped school for the rest of the day, she alleged.

The teens also alleged that the restaurant’s security guards were too poorly trained to properly address conflicts in the restaurant.

“Two weeks ago one of our security guards threatened to kill a customer who entered the store,” Romero said in the complaint to CalOSHA, the

state’s workplace health-andsafety regulator. “I know he pepper sprayed two people just last month.

“One day while I was working he pepper sprayed an unhoused woman who was refusing to leave and I watched her run out covering her face. Another day when I arrived to pick up my check there were ambulances around because he had pepper sprayed someone else.”

Popeyes said it started investigating the allegations Thursday. “We will not tolerate any violation of employment laws and if any of these allega tions prove true, we will take action against this franchi see,” the company said in an emailed statement.

The complaint to the labor commissioner included a state document identifying the fran chise owners as Mohammad Noor and Sedig Joe Amin. Neither could be reached for comment.

said. “So this is it.”

She had 130 vendors including food trucks from Vacaville, Fairfield and even farther away.

“This is a way for small businesses to flourish that don’t have a brick and mortar store,” she said. “It is a platform for them to sell outside of home.”

She has toyed with the idea of going indoors with the event but really likes the outdoors and feels like that is a better fit for it.

Even nonprofit vendors came out, and the city of Fairfield had a booth which was looking for input from the community on planning for the future of Fairfield.

“We want to hear about what people would like to see in the future,” said Parks and Rec-

Crime logs

FairField

THURSDAY, MAY 18

12:26 a.m. — Trespassing, 300 block of TRAVIS BOULEVARD

6:48 a.m. — Vehicle burglary, 1300 block of HOLIDAY LANE

7:04 a.m. — Indecent exposure, SUNSET AVENUE

7:31 a.m. — Vehicle theft, 2900 block of AUTO MALL PARKWAY

8:12 a.m. — Hit-and-run property damage, 200 block of BEGONIA BOULEVARD

8:46 a.m. — Hit-and-run property damage, 1200 block of OHIO STREET

9:21 a.m.

11:37 p.m. — Shots fired, 2700 block of VISTA SERENA FRIDAY, MAY 19

2:34 a.m. — Drunk driver, 1800 block of DOVER AVENUE

4:41 a.m. — Trespassing, 2100 block of NORTH TEXAS STREET

4:48 a.m. — Trespassing, 1800 block of NORTH TEXAS STREET

7:12 a.m. — Grand theft, 1300 block of GATEWAY BOULEVARD

7:38 a.m. — Hit-and-run property damage, 1400 block of MICHIGAN STREET

8:32 a.m. — Battery, 1400 block of TRAVIS BOULEVARD

8:32 a.m. — Hit-and-run property damage, DOVER AVENUE

8:41 a.m. — Vehicle theft, 1200 block of B. GALE WILSON BOULEVARD

a.m. — Indecent exposure, 2200 block of NORTH TEXAS STREET

a.m. — Assault with a deadly weapon, 800 block of WASHINGTON STREET

a.m. — Trespassing, 3400 block of NORTH TEXAS STREET 11:13 a.m. — Vehicle theft, 2100 block of WYLIE PLACE

12:42 p.m.

chemical weapon Sarin. This study was another step in theory about the illness that afflicts roughly one-third of the 700,000 veterans deployed to the Persian Gulf is brain inflammation.

Before the first Gulf War, Saddam Hussein “had the second largest arsenal of nerve gas in the world,” said Haley.

Earlier this month, the VA and National Institutes of Health began a five-year pair of studies to better diagnose and potentially discover a treatment for the illness.

After 10 years researching epidemiology, Haley met in 1994 with Ross Perot, the Texas business magnate who had just failed in an independent candidate bid for the presidency.

Perot was looking for advice about a troubling trend he was hearing from veterans of the Gulf War. Perot, also a veteran, went on to describe “Gulf War Syndrome” and wasn’t sure the soldiers were getting the care they needed.

of TRAVIS BOULEVARD

3:10 p.m. — Hit-and-run property

damage, 2700 block of GRAMERCY PLACE

3:27 p.m. — Reckless driver, VANDEN ROAD

3:27 p.m. — Fight with a weapon, 2100 block of SAN

GABRIEL STREET

3:44 p.m. — Drunk and

disorderly, 1500 block of TRAVIS

BOULEVARD

4:27 p.m. — Forgery, 2500 block of HILBORN ROAD

4:49 p.m. — Vehicle burglary, 1000 block of OLIVER ROAD

5:08 p.m. — Trespassing, 800 block of EAST TRAVIS

BOULEVARD

5:27 p.m. — Reckless driver, 2100 block of NORTH TEXAS STREET

6:40 p.m. — Sexual assault, 200 block of EAST ATLANTIC AVENUE

7:27 p.m. — Reckless driver, 1000 block of FIRST STREET

7:46 p.m. — Trespassing, 1600 block of GLENMORE DRIVE

8:25 p.m. — Drunk driver, 1400 block of TRAVIS BOULEVARD

8:51 p.m. — Trespassing, 400 block of TULIP STREET

10:11 p.m. — Trespassing, 2100 block of NORTH TEXAS STREET

10:35 p.m. — Assault with a deadly weapon, 1700 block of YORK STREET

1500 block of PHOENIX DRIVE

8:28 p.m. — Reckless driver, BUSINESS CENTER DRIVE 11:27 p.m. — Battery, 1900 block of GRANDE CIRCLE

SuiSun City

THURSDAY, MAY 18

a.m. — Vehicle theft, 800 block of BLUE BILL WAY 8:08 a.m. — Vandalism, 200 block of JOSIAH CIRCLE

9:23 a.m. — Assault, 400 block of WHISPERING BAY LANE

10:10 a.m.

Haley said he remembers Perot showing him photos of soldiers who he described as looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger before the war and then like the prisoners of a concentration camp in years following the conflict.

Perot, who died in 2019, had resources and was looking to help the veterans and wanted an independent study into

reation senior civil engineer Caroline Vedder. “This is our first event where we are introducing the plan to the public.”

They will be gathering the data and looking at what people want to see for the city’s future.

Anita Vaga-Vasquez came with her grandson for a nice day out in the sun and a chance to shop.

“I wanted to support local vendors but also see what was here, and of course, have a bite to eat,” she said. “My grandson likes dragons so I am looking for something with a dragon on it.”

One Leg Up was a new pop-up booth that just started in January, with a focus on helping people with disabilities or injuries find clothing that is stylish and easy to get into.

Owner Rosemary Handa created adaptive clothing for kids.

“My inspiration was my son, Taylor,” she said.

what he was meeting with veterans of the conflict, according to Haley.

“He had really piqued my interest – basically what he was describing was an epidemic,” Haley said.

Haley then agreed to do one study. Previous complaints about what would become known as Gulf War Illness were considered post-traumatic stress disorder at first and other psychological disorders, according to Haley.

Haley’s first investigation was on a reserve unit of construction troops who were civilians after the conflict. With 250 of the reservists signed up thanks to Perot’s help, Haley found twothirds of them had this mystery illness through a questionnaire and neurophyschological battery. From there, the study expanded to more cities.

At first, Haley was skeptical, “but boy, talking to them and talking to their wives particularly this was something really serious and was impairing their function,” he said.

He brought the data back and analyzed it.

“Clearly, there was a disease and the symptoms were pretty uniform,” Haley said.

The data pointed to risk factors primarily as being in areas with exposure to levels of nerve gas in the air, according to Haley.

“We had all these hightech weapons and nuclear capability and all this stuff, but we had a really primitive defense against nerve gas,” Haley said –rubber suits, gas masks alarms and a common drug to make nerve gas

less lethal.

Taylor, 6, has one leg longer than the other and will have several surgeries throughout his life to help him out.

“After surgeries, when he has braces or a cast on, it is almost impossible to get clothes that he can wear with it,” she said. “There was nothing to buy.”

They were cutting his jeans and shorts to get them over the equipment or cast.

Handa decided to create his clothing instead of trying to purchase it and realized that other parents might also be in the same situation.

They are strictly online at this point and are looking at someday having a warehouse to store and send purchases. “Some day maybe a brickand-mortar place,” she said. For more information on the business, go to www.oneleg upbrand.com.

A Sarin gas storage facility was blown up in the air campaign and though much of the gas had dissipated, alarms went off and soldiers donned protection gear. But the levels were so low, the alarms were figured to be false, according to Haley.

“Now we know, 30 years later, there’s been tons of research showing that even low-level exposure can produce permanent brain effects,” Haley said.

Jim Tuite, former lead investigator for the Senate committee looking into the syndrome, produced a report about such a situation to the committee.

Haley asked Perot to fund another study with about 40 soldiers. These sorts of efforts in the 90s proved the illness was its own disease.

Next, evidence pointed to a gene that different soldiers had which provides to the effects of Sarin gas, Haley said.

“Our theory was then that if Sarin was the cause, then we would expect people who have the illness to be born with the weak form of that gene,” Haley said.

As research was compiled, more people contributed – such as Congress and the Department of Defense, he said.

In 2007, they designed a huge study telephone questionnaire for which the military helped researchers to contact soldiers, according to Haley.

He said 8,000 soldiers from the Gulf War era responded to questionnaire with more of an emphasis on contacting those who deployed in

the conflict. The questionnaire included if a nerve gas alarm went off.

From there, they were able to get 2,000 for DNA to again examine the soldier’s gene’s strength against Sarin.

Those soldiers who said they had heard a nerve gas alarm and had a weak form of the gene: “whoosh,” Haley said, as it explained many cases. However, he added that even those with stronger forms of the gene who heard multiple chemical weapon alarms over and over could still develop symptoms.

That paper was released in May 2022 in toxicology journal Environmental Health Perspectives, supported by one NIH institute after over a year of review to ensure correlation was in fact causation in this case, Haley said.

Like the VA and NIH, Haley continues to work to find a cure. He said when breakthroughs have occurred, like any good scientists, his first question is always to question his own findings and ensure they are solid.

“You go over and over them, reproduce them in another, test it another way to see if it stands up and by the time you get to where we are now and right now I don’t even think about what we’ve done I’m just totally into trying to figure out how do we now nail this finding down about inflammation,” he said.

“I’ll have great satisfaction then when hearing a bunch of veterans say they feel better,” he said.

During talks ahead of a deadline that could arrive in less than two weeks, aides to President Biden offered what they viewed as a key concession by proposing that Congress largely hold spending constant on a wide swath of domestic programs, including education, scientific research and housing aid. The president’s negotiators also proposed essentially holding military spending flat for next year. The president’s budget earlier this year sought major increases to both

funded by higher taxes, and holding their funding constant instead would amount to a cut of as much as 5% due to year-overyear inflation. But GOP leaders rebuffed that offer as insufficient, as they seek to leverage the nation’s debt ceiling – which must be raised to avoid an economic calamity – to demand major reductions to domestic programs.

Congressional Republicans are also insisting on increasing spending for the military, veterans care and border security, which means any domestic spending cuts must be significantly larger for the deal overall to still reduce the deficit.

GOP leaders have said

up,” Dave Gleason said, as his son rested his head on his father’s shoulder. “It’s a big step.”

they will not support a bill that funds the government at higher levels next year than this year, as lawmakers could decide to reverse any caps on future growth in later years. One person close to the negotiations, speaking on the condition of anonymity to reflect the private talks, said the White House offer would still have increased spending on domestic programs by “billions” of dollars for next year, though it would spend far less than simply adjusting for inflation.

“They actually want to spend more money than we spent this year,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told reporters in the Capitol on Saturday. McCarthy said it would be difficult

before mingling with other promgoers.

for talks to resume before Biden returns on Sunday from his trip to Asia. “We can’t do that. We all know how big this deficit is.”

Freezing these domestic programs and defense spending next year could reduce the federal debt by as much as $1.1 trillion over the next 10 years, assuming spending then increases in line with prior projections, according to estimates by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan think tank. That is because those programs would cost less in every subsequent year than originally projected, although lawmakers could later change that.

David and Danielle Gleason accompanied their son, Cole Gleason, 16, to the event. They recalled he may have attended one in junior high but this was the first time as a Armijo sophomore.

“This is beautiful,” said Danielle Gleason, choking back tears. “I am happy for all kids.”

Invitations were extended to students in the county with an Individualized Education Program.

“I am proud he showed

When asked if he planned to dance, Cole shook his head no.

There are certain tunes expected at the prom, including “The Cupid Slide,” the electric slide and the “Macarena.”

Physical education classes give the youth a chance to learn and practice the dances, which are usually done in one big group at the prom.

Among the early arrivals were 18 youth from Will C. Wood High School. They posed for a group photo shoot

Casey Towner heads up the Leadership program at Armijo High School. He was accompanied by about 60 Leadership students who did a variety of tasks, including forming a greeting line. Each person passing through was greeted with hearty applause.

This year’s theme was “The Enchanted Forest,” with decorations to match. A committee comprised of Leadership students plans, organizes and executes the prom, which gets underway at 9:30 a.m. and wraps up at noon.

“It’s a lot of work,”

Towner said. He said he never leaves exhausted, but wanting more.

This year, members of the Soroptimist International of Central Solano County donated dresses and jewelry for the event, Towner said.

Seniors Kyle Recatto and Jairo Enriquez hoped to dance.

Jaden Nishomoto, 18, fell in love with the prom the minute she entered the gym.

“I love this gym,” she said. “It’s so cool.” She mentioned one of teachers purchased her prom dress for her.

4 grains of could you.

But they’re really counterfeits designed to look just like the real thing. What’s worse, half of those pills contain a deadly dose of fentanyl, a drug 100x stronger than

counterfeit designed to look just like a morphine and 50x more potent than heroine.

This week Nut Tree Plaza’s Summer Music Series kicks off June 3 with The Spy Band

Daily Republic Staff

VACAVILLE — Nut Tree Plaza, with sponsorship support from Vaca Jazz Society, will present the Nut Tree Plaza’s 2nd Annual 2023 Summer Music Concert Series.

The free music will occur from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturdays, June 3 through July 8, at the Nut Tree Plaza Breezeway, 1661 E. Monte Vista Ave. Nut Tree Plaza will

start the kickoff day with a Family Fun Event beginning at noon June 3. There will be family activities in arts and crafts, a jump house and face painting.

The musical per -

formers are:

June 3. The Spy Band, playing songs about spies, detectives and secret agents.

The nine-piece band is staffed by four members skilled in applying and using brass and reed instruments. Not only are

they experts in horn lines, but they also are capable of operating independently if a lethal solo is required. The other half of the organization is the Bureau of Rhythm Operations. Staffed by agents on guitar, keyboards, bass and drums, they provide support, intel and undercover grooves to other agents in the field.

June 10: Vacaville’s “School of Rock” students.

See Music, Page B3

Symphony

Orchestra Presents: Annual Pops Concerts Vacaville Performing Arts Theatre, 1010 Ulatis Drive. https://vpat.net.

7 p.m. Friday; 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday

‘Peter Pan and Wendy’ Journey Downtown Theatre, 300 Main St. https://events.journey downtownvenue.com.

I Benicia

2:30 p.m. Sunday

Jeff Tamelier & Darby Gould

The Rellik, 726 First St. www.therellik tavern.com.

7 p.m. Tuesday Open Mic Night The Rellik, 726 First St. www.therellik tavern.com.

7 p.m. Wednesday Karaoke The Rellik, 726 First St. www.therellik tavern.com.

8:30 p.m. Thursday

DJ Jerry Ross The Rellik, 726 First St. www.therellik tavern.com.

4:30 p.m. Friday Glenn Snyder

The Rellik, 726 First St. www.therellik tavern.com.

8:30 p.m. Friday

Goth Night The Rellik, 726 First St. www.therellik tavern.com.

4:30 p.m. Saturday

5-0 Boyz and Wyldz The Rellik, 726 First St. www.therellik tavern.com.

8:30 p.m. Saturday PTK (Pete the Killer) The Rellik, 726 First St. www.therellik tavern.com.

I Vallejo

1 p.m. Sunday Kalimba: ‘Spirit of Earth Wind and Fire’

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

5:30 p.m. Wednesday Andy Santana and the West Coast Playboys Empress Lounge, 330 Virginia St. https:// empresstheatre.org.

1 p.m. Saturday Sweet Marie and the Suspects Vino Godfather Winery, 1005 Walnut Ave. www. vinogodfather.com.

Daily Republic Staff DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

‘The British are coming! The British are coming!” No, not Paul Revere’s warning of the approaching British army to the colonists made famous during his fabled midnight ride. Instead, it is the title of this year’s melodrama production presented by the Gaslighters Theatrical Company during the Vacaville Fiesta Days celebration. In a slight departure from other melodramas the Gaslighters have presented during previous

‘Music and Dance’ opens at Solano Town Center Gallery

Daily Republic Staff DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — The Fairfield-Suisun City Visual Arts Association invites the public to visit the Solano Town Center Gallery’s new show, “Music and Dance,” opening Wednesday. The exhibit will feature creations with music and dance, celebrating the performing arts.

A reception is planned 4 to 6 p.m. June 3. Fairfield Poet

Laureate Suzanne Bruce and a group of poets will visit the

gallery and create poems about their favorite pieces of art from this show. The poets will perform their poems in front of the artwork during the reception. The gallery’s spotlight artist, Carl Bradford III, is a mixed media artist who began his journey when he was a young child. Bradford was encouraged to pursue art by his mother and father and by mentors Loïs Mailou Jones and William Dorsey.

Bradford moved to Vacaville in 2017 and searched for

Fiesta Days, this musical comedic melodrama is set during Revolutionary times rather than in the mid- to late-1800s, when most traditional melodramas take place.

Originally produced for the 1976 Fiesta Days, “The British Are Coming! The British Are Coming!” was written by late Vacaville resident Alice McDonald with music by the late Carol Zadnik for the 1976 national bicentennial.

The melodrama uses the country’s fight for freedom as the backdrop for all of the other traditional elements found in a melodrama.

The hero, Capt. Staunchly Allgood (played

See British, Page B3

an organization that he could join and work with to gain exposure for his artwork. He joined the Fairfield-Suisun City Visual Arts Association in 2018 and has shown his artwork in several different shows over the years. He participated in the first “The Crush,” an FSVAA Art and Wine Festival.

The show ends June 24.

The Solano Town Center Gallery is located at 1508-B Travis Blvd on the second floor.

For more information, call Dennis Ariza, FSVAA president, at 707-688-8889.

Daily Republic Staff DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

VALLEJO — The Vallejo Arts

Fund has announced its 2023 individual artist micrograntees.

The fund focuses on Black, Indigenous, People of Color artists, culture bearers, arts organizers, and their broader communities.

More than 180 applications were received. Twenty-nine were chosen, each getting $3,500.

They are Tony Aldarondo, Luis Arnold-Duron, Kyrah Ayers, David

Courtesy photo

The Spy Band will perform at 6 p.m. June 3 at the Nut Tree Plaza Breezeway in Vacaville.

Courtesy photo

From left, “The British Are Coming! The British Are Coming!” cast members Lisa Andrews, Bryan Pro, Cathy Knowles and Oz Angst.

In brief

Works of Varto on display at Benicia library

BENICIA — The works of Jose Luis Varto, an artist, musician and poet, are featured at the Marilyn Citron O’Rourke inside the Benicia Public Library, 150 E. L St.

He has worked advertising campaigns with Levi Strauss and General Motors, to name a few. Varto also created jingles, some of which he may sing upon request, for television.

The reception will take place from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday at the gallery. Varto will present a melody dedicated to Benicia, “Benician Camel.”

The exhibit runs through June 29. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and noon to 6 p.m. Friday through Sunday.

You can view his art at https://vartofineart.com.

Ellison to publish George Floyd trial diary

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison kept a diary in 2021 as he directed the prosecution of former police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd. Tuesday, the world will be able to read those diaries.

“Break the Wheel: Ending the Cycle of Police Violence,” will be published by 12 Books, with a foreword by Floyd’s brother Philonise and blurbs from former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Ben Crump, who represented the Floyd family.

— Staff, wire reports

British

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by Bryan Pro), is a brave, stouthearted minuteman who is always greeted with hearty cheers.

The heroine, Liberty Bell (Lisa Andrews), is the beautiful, loyal and virtuous daughter of an idealistic colonialist father, and is greeted with sympathetic oohs and ahs.

And of course, there’s the evil villain, Col. Reginald Cavendish-Blemish (Oz Angst) of His Majesty’s Fifth Grenadiers, a British Redcoat who is a wily and conniving scoundrel spying on the colonialists loyal to their newly declared country.

As with all dastardly villains, he will be greeted to the stage with traditional rousing boos, jeers and hisses of disapproval.

Other characters include Daisy (Cathy Knowles), a Cockney commoner who is not terribly bright, and who is loyal only to herself; Dr. Ben Franklin (Robert Payawal), the brilliant diplomat, statesman, wit and Founding Father of the new republic; Debra Franklin (Linda James), Dr. Franklin’s snobbish wife; Samuel Bell (Ron George), Liberty’s father, whose idealism and strong

Music

From Page B1

The House Band music program allows students the opportunity to join a band and play routinely in front of live audiences. Once a member, students will gain real music experience associated with gigging musicians and will become leaders and mentors inside the School

character gave birth to a new nation; Abby Allen (Lizeth Flores), Liberty’s best friend, who bemoans the fact that she’s a woman who can not join the fray; John Wells (Brian Stevens), one of the Minute Men, who knows who he wants the minute he sees Abby; the Town Crier (Doug Blankenship), who makes timely public announcements.

Paul Knowles serves as this year’s master of ceremonies.

Mary Cornelison Muehlenbruch once again directs, and Kevin Phillips is the musical director.

As with all Gaslighters’ productions, the melodrama is a family-friendly comedy appropriate for all ages and where the villain frequently interacts with the audience, adding an improvisational element to each show.

“This melodrama is somewhat different from the previous melodramas we’ve presented because of when it takes place,” said CornelisonMuehlenbruch, in a press release. “It isn’t meant to be a history lesson, but rather it is meant to be a fun, entertaining show that uses the backdrop of the American Revolution to tell the story. We think our audiences will find it to be very funny and entertaining.”

of Rock community.

June 17: Latin Jazz with Delbert Bump’s SAZIL Latin Jazz. Bump’s Latin Ensemble will perform Salsa and Brazilian styles of music along with other musical forms from the Caribbean.

June 24: Jazz & Rock Out with Live Music Center students. The Licks, consists of music students and instructors playing side by side. The group plays frequently at festivals, markets and private events

Funding available for art projects in Solano, Bay Area

FAIRFIELD — The application period for the $2.85 million Creative Corps Initiative has opened.

The initiative is a collaboration between the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and the California Arts Council and provides $2.85 million to artists in the San Francisco Bay Area – including Solano County.

“YBCA is proud to partner with the California Arts Council to support local artists and nonprofits in developing work that speaks to some of the most complex issues affecting our communities,” Sara

Fenske Bahat, chief executive officer of the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, said in a statement. “This collaboration will help strengthen communities and improve the lives of residents throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.”

Artists and cultural practitioners, working in partnership with nonprofits in their communities, will receive $70,000 to $72,000, depending on the volume of applicants. Projects address civic engagement, climate justice, community health and wellness, and social justice.

The Creative Corps Initiative will prioritize communities that fall

below the 25th percentile on the California Healthy Place Index. These communities include select areas of Fairfield, Vallejo, Antioch, Bay Point, Berkeley, Concord, Hayward, Oakland, Pittsburg, Richmond, San Francisco, San Jose and San Rafael.

Yerba Buena is one of 14 state council partners “designing programs to help advance equity and well-being across California. In addition to facilitating funding, YBCA will support awardees through information sessions, crowdfunding and financial distribution assistance, group health care options, and cultural strategy training from the

San Francisco Foundation,” the statement said.

To apply and for additional information, visit: http://ybca.org/creativecorps-initiative. Applications are due by 5 p.m. July 14.

Applicants will be notified with their application status in September. Information sessions and contracting will be finalized ahead of the distribution of funds in October.

The Creative Corps Initiative was established by a one-time $60 million investment from the state General Fund allocated to the California Arts Council.

Ursula’s ‘Poor Unfortunate Souls’ terrified McCarthy; then she got over herself

tRibune content agency

Much has been written about Halle Bailey’s siren-like vocals as Ariel in Disney’s live-action remake of “The Little Mermaid,” but it shouldn’t drown out McCarthy’s splashy showing in the upcoming film.

The “Bridesmaids” and “Mike & Molly” star plays the spellbinding villain Ursula and delivers the groundbreaking sea witch’s signature song, “Poor Unfortunate Souls.”

On Thursday, Disney unveiled a clip of McCarthy’s breathy rendition of the deal-making dirge, which both manipulates and enables Bailey’s mermaid princess to transform into a human. McCarthy’s Ursula builds on the burlesque style of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken’s classic, but adds her own sardonic touch. (Ashman also revised the lyrics so that the song wouldn’t make young girls feel as if they couldn’t speak out of turn.)

The comedy star, who has sparingly sung onscreen, debuted her version of “Poor Unfortunate Souls” at CinemaCon in Las Vegas last month, where the two-time Oscar nominee was awarded

in the community.

July 3: Fourth of July Celebration of the Music with the AMO-Alive Music Orchestra. Alive Music Orchestra is a 22-piece jazz orchestra with singers and musicians performing Big Band, rock and various pop musical styles.

AMO has recorded albums, appeared with popular Christian artist Dave Boyer on national TV, performed concerts for a variety of celebrities and local gigs such as Six

the convention’s Cinema Véritê Award. She recently told Yahoo that she was apprehensive about taking on the infamous song.

“It was terrifying. Insane,” McCarthy said. “I was like, ‘Why am I doing this? What am I doing?’ ”

Even though she was really nervous and couldn’t “shake off the nerves,” the “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” star said she still had a good time figuring it out. And a lot of it had to do with getting out of her own way.

“[My vocal coach] said, ‘Well, you’re trying to sing

Flags Discovery Kingdom and Travis Air Force Base.

July 8: Jimmy Malone Band featuring awardwinning vocalist Brette Alana. The band performs various jazz, rock, Latin and pop music. Malone has released three CDs. Brette Alana graduated with a Jazz Studies degree from American River College. For more information, call 707-447-6000 or visit https://www.nuttree vacaville.com or www. vacajazzsociety.org.

really well as Melissa, and that’s never gonna happen.’ I was like, ‘OK, that’s getting right to it,’ ” she said.

“And he goes, ‘No, you’re not, you’re not doing the role as you, but you’re singing as you.’ And I was like, ‘Oh.’ So then I knew how Ursula could sing. I couldn’t possibly sing it as myself. So that really helped. But it was terrifying, but so fun. My God, so fun.”

Ursula was famously voiced by the late Pat Carroll in the 1989 animated feature. Carroll said she modeled the vampy

vallejo

From Page B1

Doria, Izzy Drumgoole, Dust, Edgar-Arturo, Jacalyn Eyvonne, Sal Garcia, Geneus1, Lori Herrera, Kahalla, Jasson Lundberg, Lyric, MalisBee, Tonya Moore, Treva Nervis, Orobosa Olotu, Liberty Pierson, PodcastBri, Yuliana Preciado, Chon Reneé,

character after drag performer Divine, who was best known for working with queer filmmaker John Waters. And actormusician Queen Latifah took on the meaty role in ABC’s “The Little Mermaid Live!” and was dubbed “the best part” of the ill-received 2019 production. (Grammy winner Lizzo also cast her rod to play Ursula in the remake, but ultimately lost out to McCarthy.) “The Little Mermaid” – and McCarthy’s full number – hits theaters Friday.

Abel Rodriguez, Camille Safiya, Mario Saucedo, Vincent Seymour, Askari Sowonde, Sara Speaks, and TJ Walkup.

The Vallejo Arts Fund is led by priorities from Vallejoans, supported by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, facilitated by Three Palms Group in partnership with the Center for Cultural Innovation.

For more information, visit https://3palmsgroup. com/vallejo-arts-fund.

Lia Toby/Getty Images/TNS

Melissa McCarthy attends the UK Premiere of “The Little Mermaid” at odeon Luxe Leicester square in London, Monday.

My boyfriend plays favorites with his daughters

Dear Annie: My boyfriend and I get along amazingly well, and we have lots of interests that we share. But I do not understand his favoritism to his 40-year-old daughter. She has never lived on her own. She was married but still lived there – with her father –and had two children. She is now divorced but still living at home. She is an alcoholic.

The only thing my boyfriend and I disagree on is how he caters to her. He pays for everything in the house, and she has access to his checking account. She and her two teenage children live the life of luxury. He does the cleaning, dishes, mowing and snow removal all by himself. He doesn’t even eat there; he eats with me at my place. He transports them to

places constantly. He never ever says no to them. They say jump, and he says how high! While he has another daughter who lives in another state, he treats her differently. If she needs help with anything, he complains. She is married and has two children.

I have been dating him for 2½ years, and the only thing we have ever disagreed on was his daughter who lives with him. She hasn’t liked me from day one. I am not allowed at his house because she’s in control of him, and he, at age 68, is so afraid of her and doesn’t want to make her upset because she flips out. He walks on eggshells. He changes our schedule to accommodate her, and I feel like I’m his second choice all the time.

Horoscopes

Communication is not an option because he keeps his feelings deep inside and won’t talk about them. He has never told me he loves me; he just says if he didn’t care, he wouldn’t still be with me.

I ask him, “Why do you keep living this way?” and his answer is, “I grew up without a father, and I love my daughter and the two grandkids,” who are now 15 and 19. He says they are at an age where they need him because of the way their mother is. I’ve told him he should care more about teaching them responsibility and life lessons and not just spoiling them financially. He is just creating two more narcissists by living life for them. I’ve asked him what is going to happen when he is gone and the three have never learned to live on their own. He just says he won’t be here to know. How sad is that?

FOR YOUR HEALTH

I have three adult children of my own, and he sees how independent and successful they are, and how they have a huge amount of respect for me.

But he just doesn’t get it. I don’t understand how a man could love one daughter more than the other, unless it’s all a control thing. The one who lives with him is a full-blown narcissist, and I keep asking myself if the great times we have together are worth it. I was married to a narcissist, and it’s a bad life to live. He is a great man, but am I wasting my life? — Always Second in Life

Dear Always Second: The first thing that has to happen is to get your boyfriend’s daughter treatment for her alcoholism. She can’t feel great about herself drinking and letting her father raise her two children. With that said, if you love this

man, then you should ideally love (or at least show kindness) to his whole family. I don’t hear a lot of empathy in your letter; I hear a lot of name-calling and complaining. If you really love your boyfriend, take him to an Al-Anon meeting, which will give him more information on how to proceed best with his daughter and grandchildren. But telling him what a wonderful job you did with your children, and then being so judgmental about the pain that his daughter is living with, is not kind.

If his life situation upsets you that much, then maybe you are wasting your time and should find someone who doesn’t have as much baggage.

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

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Fast thinking will be required. Also, you’ll walk a tightrope between honesty and kindness. This rope is braided with white lies, humor and warmth. You’re uniquely equipped to succeed, with the balancing pole of good intentions.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). The treasure hides in a closet, car trunk, drawer or cupboard. You may have to get rid of a few things to find it. Toss what you don’t want to create a vacuum that pulls what you do want closer to you.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Should you find yourself giving in to curiosity, you’ll tap into your talent for navigating new and precarious situations. Danger will have more than its usual allure. Careful: The internal chemistry of adrenaline can be addictive.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). You won’t be able to attend everything people want you to be at. You don’t owe anyone an explanation, but if you want to give one, keep it short and sweet. For instance, “I have a conflict.”

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Things aren’t ideal, but you accept and try to understand what’s really going on. To ignore or reject reality might provide temporary relief but ultimately puts a person at a disadvantage, preventing the action needed for improvement.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). There are many reasons to be discreet, the most compelling being that it gives you power. There’s security in having information that others want to know. Maintain your power by spilling only enough to keep people interested. There’s an art to this.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). It is natural, preferred even, to question what you can do. Humility and success walk hand in hand. Watch out for the ones who are completely confident. Famously, “Pride goeth before the fall.”

CELEBRITY PROFILES: Among his many artistic feats, Gotye accomplished one of the most difficult of all – creating an iconic visual moment in pop culture. His painted body blending with art has been celebrated and imitated since the Grammy Award-winning song “Somebody That I Used to Know” became a No. 1 hit. Born on the cusp, Gotye is actually a Gemini with Mercury in the playful sign and a moon in theatrical Leo. Write Holiday Mathis at HolidayMathis.com.

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National Emergency Medical Services Week: Where emergency care begins

Miranda daggett FOR THE DAILY REPUBLIC

2023

Emergency medical services, more commonly known as EMS, is an essential public service and can easily be recognized by ambulances and medical helicopters when responding to incidents in the community. EMS is more than just a ride to the hospital. EMS exists to fulfill the basic principles of first aid, which are to preserve life, prevent further injury and promote recovery. Pre-hospital care is an essential part to those principles, and it starts with calling 911.

National EMS Week is observed annually to honor all frontline health professionals for their commitment and dedication to providing lifesaving services every day. In 2023, EMS Week is celebrated from May 21-27 and focuses on the theme, “Where Emergency Care Begins,” which raises public awareness about the critical role of emergency services in the community. It also reminds us of how important EMS practitioners are to our health care, public health, emergency management and public safety systems, especially in times of crisis.

During EMS Week, an array of themed activities and events take

place to promote health and wellness, as well as educate and empower community members to utilize safety and lifesaving measures to prevent injury and trauma. During 2022, there was a total of 1,430 trauma cases reported in Solano County. National public health programs and campaigns, such as “Stop the Bleed,” provides citizens with the tools and knowledge to help in a bleeding emergency before professional EMS help arrives.

According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, an individual experiencing severe bleeding can die within five minutes. Despite how fast EMS practitioners and first responders may arrive on scene to an incident, bystanders and those nearest to someone with life threatening injuries are best positioned to provide first care and quickly stop the blood loss. You may be able to control serious bleeding and save a life by taking these simple actions:

1. For life-threatening bleeding, immediately call 911 or ask a bystander to call.

2. Control the bleeding as quickly as possible by using an available trauma first-aid kit or clean cloth and apply steady direct pressure directly on the wound with both hands.

3. Pack the wound with any gauze

or clean cloth and apply steady direct pressure.

4. Apply a tourniquet above the bleeding site and tighten until the bleeding stops. If the bleeding does not stop, a second tourniquet can be placed above the first tourniquet. It may also be helpful to write the time the tourniquet(s) were applied directly on the tourniquet or limb that was bleeding.

National EMS Week welcomes all individuals, especially Solano County residents, to celebrate and participate in activities and observances that honor and celebrate the contributions of EMS practitioners in safeguarding the health, safety and well-being of our communities. More importantly, this week reminds Solano County youth and adults that emergency care also begins with us and to feel empowered to learn and apply steps that can be taken to help save a life.

For more information on bleeding control techniques and other “Stop the Bleed” resources, visit www.stopthebleed.org.

Miranda Daggett is a health assistant from Solano Public Health’s Emergency Services, Preparedness, Immunization & Communicable Disease (EPIC) Bureau.

Annie Lane

Dear Annie

Stock

EMS exists to fulfill the basic principles of first aid, which are to preserve life, prevent further injury and promote recovery.

California’s achievement gap defies extra billions in school spending

When Jerry Brown returned to the governorship in 2011, a quarter-century after his first stint in California’s highest office ended, one of his early goals was changing how the state finances the education of nearly 6 million public school students.

Brown had a plan, adapted from the theory of Michael Kirst, a distinguished academic and Brown’s long-time education advisor, to concentrate more money on students who chronically trail in academic achievement; those from poor families and those who don’t speak English at home.

Kirst called it a “weighted formula,” and the legislation he and Brown persuaded the Legislature to adopt a decade ago was called “Local Control Funding Formula,” or LCFF. It would give school districts with large numbers of at-risk students in those two categories extra funds on the assumption that they would improve achievement.

The legislation lubricated passage by also eliminating most “categorical aids” – money for specific education programs – and thus giving local school officials more flexibility in spending money from local property taxes and state budget appropriations.

Over the last decade, Brown, successor Gavin Newsom and the Legislature have allocated tens of billions of dollars to LCFF in hopes of closing what educators call the achievement gap between the kids deemed to need extra instructional help – about 60% of public school enrollment – and their more privileged peers.

Has it worked? Followup studies indicate that there may have been a slight narrowing of the gap, but whatever LCFF achieved vanished during the COVID-19 pandemic. At-risk kids were profoundly affected by school closures, since they had less ability to engage in remote learning, dubbed “Zoom school,” and less access to tutoring than more affluent families.

Pandemic impacts aside, LCFF has not delivered on its promised transformative impact. Even if spending more money would have narrowed the gap – an unproven theory – many school districts, particularly those in urban areas dominated by hardball politics, often fail to concentrate the extra funds on at-risk kids.

Brown insisted that the funds go to districts, not the specific schools where the targeted kids were most numerous, saying he trusted local educators to spend the money wisely. He dubbed it “subsidiarity,” adapting the term from an obscure theological theory.

Education reform groups have criticized Brown’s hands-off approach, saying local school systems need more oversight to prevent them from diverting LCFF funds to other purposes. However, in a recent podcast interview marking the formula’s 10th anniversary, Brown complained that districts have not been given enough flexibility.

“We spend too much time on not anything to do with teaching. Its accountability, its finance, its compliance. This is really a noxious evolution,” Brown said during the interview. “I hope that legislators be aware they’ve gone overboard ... we have to look for the wise path.”

Meanwhile, in a separate 10th anniversary interview, Kirst said he regrets that local districts did not use subsidiarity’s flexibility to become more creative in educating kids who fall behind.

“This was their chance to get beyond formulaic budgets and the budget complexity to create a three-year budget plan with clear priorities,” Kirst lamented. “And generally, my impression is that they have not.”

Neither of LCFF’s two fathers offered any appraisal of whether children it purports to help have, in fact, been helped. That lack may indicate that both know LCFF – as implemented, not as envisioned – has not been a roaring success.

California has doubled the amount of perpupil spending on schooling in the last decade but in national tests of academic achievement, the state still trails other states that spend much less, while state testing tells us that the achievement gap remains unacceptably wide. CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters. For more stories by Dan Walters, go to Commentary.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

About the immigrant crisis at the border

My heart is breaking for the immigrants at the border. Unless you are indigenous (native), we are ALL immigrants or from immigrants. And every group now settled here resents the next waves of immigrants.

As offspring of, and married to my beloved, now deceased husband who was also offspring of (neither of us totally, but enough) Irish immigrants, “NO IRISH NEED APPLY.” And we can’t turn our backs and pretend not to see the prejudice, fear and injustice of our own actions, or the need, poverty, hunger and pain of those at our borders.

I have news for those of you who would shut them out: We need them! They aren’t going to take jobs away and they DO pay taxes when they’re allowed in legally. I worked when I was a teenager, both in the pear sheds in Lake County and in the fish houses (filleting fish) on the Northern California coast, and our immigrants (both legal and illegal) worked harder than anyone! And you don’t see many Americans trying to get that kind of work. Just a few teens like myself, mostly.

Americans LOVE their fresh fruit and salads and veggies, but they don’t want to be out in the fields and orchards picking it all. That’s the kind of very hard work immigrants will do. They work in the fish houses and slaughter houses so Americans can enjoy fresh salmon and steak. And those who are legal pay taxes out of their paychecks. Even the ones who aren’t here legally usually have taxes taken from their paychecks, and if not, they are still paying taxes by buying goods here. Our birth rate has fallen, we

COMMENTARY

don’t have enough young workers to support those on Social Security (since the Republicans raided our Social Security funds to pay for their wars and for the money we lost by the huge tax break they gave to the billionaires and multimillionaires). This new wave of immigrants will help rebuild Social Security, etc. Immigrants are the reason America grew to become the greatest country in the world.

Jan McElroy Suisun City

FSUSD superintendent sets a bad example

Being a local parent, I have a sincere interest in making sure that our local Fairfield-Suisun schools offer a world-class public education that prepares its students for the skills needed to succeed in life. Offering a high-quality education is the best method to transform the lives of thousands of children in our local community. That is why I am dismayed to have learned that the superintendent of our local FairfieldSuisun schools, Mrs. Kris Corey, is not doing anything to improve the standard of public education.

The schools’ superintendent is supposed to be focused on hiring and retaining qualified school staff, implementing organizational goals and directives, working collaboratively with the school board to find common ground on direction, and maximizing student achievement. Kris Corey is not focused on any of these important issues that have a direct impact on our students. Instead, she commits her time toward harassing community partners, suppressing different viewpoints, and restricting student and parent voices.

Kris Corey has politicized the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District by turning her FSUSD Monday recaps for parents from non-partisan school district information into a continual partisan debate where she uses argumentative and inflammatory language. This language Kris Corey uses sets a bad example for our local students who need to be taught that collaboration and consensus building is more effective than pointless bickering and playground insults.

Superintendent Kris Corey has proved that she is beneath the office of the superintendent through her disrespectful language and unwavering attacks on community partners. The Governing Board must do what needs to be done and hold her accountable.

Melissa Estrella Fairfield

Our public debt

There’s a war against the United States. It’s a domestic war, manufactured by those blatantly pursuing power at the expense of our nation’s and the world’s economic stability. Our standing in the world has already been weakened by the mere prospect that we won’t raise the debt ceiling. If there aren’t five reasonable members of the House of Representatives willing to sign a “discharge petition” allowing a vote, the president may invoke the 14th Amendment, clearly authorizing the validity of the public debt. If neither of these actions are taken, we’ll all face unintended, unnecessary and prolonged consequences. All of us.

Bob Panzer Fairfield

DeSantis can’t rely on an electability argument

As he moves closer to announcing his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination, Ron DeSantis is also inching toward actually criticizing Donald Trump. At an event in Iowa, the Florida governor took a shot at the former president by alluding to the GOP’s “culture of losing.” DeSantis is going to have to be a lot more explicit if he wants to prevail. As the governor probably understands, you can’t defeat someone if you’re afraid to say his name.

He’s also going to need to rethink the content of the criticism, not just its tone. The critique that DeSantis is making of Trump – that he would lose in November 2024 – might be popular among the governor’s supporters, but it would probably fall flat among the Republican voters he needs to persuade to win.

For one thing, Trump has defied such predictions before. He was written off as a joke candidate in the Republican primaries when he entered the presidential race in 2015. When he won the nomination, it was assumed that Hillary Clinton would handily defeat him. (I’m among those who said he wouldn’t win either time.) Then he won against her, too.

To convince Republican voters that Trump is a loser would thus require getting them to believe that the same argument everyone made back then and saw blow up

in their faces is right this time. For many conservatives, Trump’s 2016 victory reinforced the idea that “electability” is a ploy used by the media and squishy Republicans to discredit candidates who are willing to fight for them.

One might think that the fact that Trump lost the last presidential race to Joe Biden would strengthen the case that he would lose a rematch. But Trump has shielded himself from this reality by insisting falsely that he won the 2020 election only to have the Democrats steal it. Pollsters find that most Republican voters say they believe some version of this story, which presumably is why DeSantis has never explicitly rejected it.

The claim that Trump can’t win will also continue to run into polls that suggest otherwise. Which leads to one last reason the electability argument is a dud: In its strongest form, it is almost certainly false. Trump might well be a riskier candidate for Republicans than DeSantis would be. Given the right national environment 18 months from now –if, say, gas prices spike again or a recession hits – Trump could win.

To have a chance of besting Trump, DeSantis has to convince Republicans that as president he would deliver better results. Voters need to believe they would get the conservative policies that Trump accomplished for them, and more,

without everything they disliked about the Trump presidency.

That’s not just a matter of avoiding “mean tweets.” DeSantis would also have to make it clear that his administration would not be consumed by feuds between the president and his own appointees or the guessing games about which presidential statements were meant to be taken seriously. He would have to promise to keep nominating conservative judges as Trump did while also accomplishing the kind of reform of the immigration system or strategy to contain China that Trump merely gestured toward.

There is plenty of material for DeSantis to make this case. His governorship has been a case study in what a disciplined politician working with allies can do to change the policies and political culture of a state. Trump might talk about Republicans as the party of workers, but it’s DeSantis who has required companies to verify that the people they’re hiring are legally here.

In other words, the key argument that DeSantis has to make is that he would be a better president than Trump, at least in terms of what matters to Republican voters. He might not succeed in making that case. But if he’s not willing to try, there’s no point in his running.

Ramesh Ponnuru is the editor of National Review and a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

CALMATTERS COMMENTARY

Dan Walters

Ramesh Ponnuru

Vanden’s Chavez wins Masters’ title in 400

DAVIS — Vanden High School junior Brayden

Chavez set the track ablaze in Davis Saturday evening as he ran his fastest boys’ 400 meters of the season at just the right time.

Chavez won the SacJoaquin Section Masters Championship title. He completed the fast lap around the track in 47.80 seconds. Also the Vikings’ star receiver in football,

Chavez won comfortably over Pitman senior Joey Stout (48.27) and Whitney senior John Dailey (48.52). Armijo junior Evan Wortham finished 18th overall (50.91) during prelims.

The previous best for Chavez was the 48.55 he ran last week at the Division III meet. The win extends his track season to next week when he’ll head to Clovis and complete at the CIF State Track and Field Championships.

“He took it from start to

finish,” Vanden head coach Larry Hogue said. “The last 200 meters for some reason, he really takes off. We’re really excited for him going back to state. Last year, he didn’t make it to the second day and now he wants to get in the finals and try and place.”

Joining Chavez on the trip to the state meet will be Rodriguez senior Gianni Miles. He clocked his fastest time of the season in the boys’ 100 meters (10.54) and finished second to only Ian

Dossman of Franklin-Elk Grove (10.47). Miles’ previous best was the 10.61 he ran Friday in prelims.

Vanden junior Marcellus Chandler did not make the finals in the boys’ 100 meters and was 11th overall (10.79) Miles’ Rodriguez teammate, senior Edwin Gentle, finished 27th (11.20).

Vacaville freshman sensation Khloe DeLaTorre just missed the top three in the girls’ 800 meters. She finished fourth (2:19.15), improving on her seventh-

Daily Republic’s 2023 All-Region baseball team delivers in clutch

FAIRFIELD — This

year’s Daily Republic AllRegion Baseball team is top heavy with standouts from Vacaville and Rodriguez high schools.

It’s only appropriate since those two teams battled until the final day of the regular season for the Monticello Empire League title. Vacaville came out on top at 12-3 with a win over rival Will C. Wood, while Rodriguez (11-4) fell in its finale to rival Vanden.

Armijo, Vanden, Will C. Wood and Fairfield are all represented as well, along with Vacaville Christian, Buckingham, Rio Vista and Dixon. Armijo and Vanden qualified for the playoffs. Vacaville Christian went undefeated in the Sierra Delta League to win that title with Rio Vista right behind them in second place.

Individual awards

Player of the Year:

Luis Urias, Armijo.

Urias quickly established himself as the ace of the Royals’ pitching staff. The senior finished with a stellar 0.81 ERA and struck out an equally impressive 77 batters.

Urias also scored 10 runs, had eight hits and delivered seven RBI on offense, and played a steady shortstop when not pitching.

Pitcher of the Year:

Jaiden Oldwin, Vacaville . The sophomore could be a challenge to MEL hitters for two more seasons. Oldwin posted a 6-1 record, allowed only 10 earned runs and had a solid strikeout-to-walk

ratio of 50 to 7.

Coach of the Year: Stu Clary, Vacaville. The Bulldogs started off the MEL season 3-3 before winning nine straight games to win the title, closing with series sweeps against Fairfield, Vanden and Will C. Wood. It was Vacaville’s first title since the 2019 season.

Best Two-Way Player: Kyle Sander, Rodriguez Sandner had two home runs, eight doubles to go with a .360 batting average, 18 runs scored, 27 hits and 16 RBIs. When not patrolling the outfield, he was closing out games for the Mustangs. The senior had eight saves, a 0.00 ERA

and 21 strikeouts.

The rest of the AllRegion team by school:

Vacaville

Junior Brenden Murphy hit .432 with 25 runs scored, 35 hits and

See Region, Page B12

National Treasure wins Preakness on tough day for trainer Bob Baffert

Childs Walker BALTIMORE SUN

BALTIMORE — On a day marred by a death in his barn, trainer Bob Baffert made a triumphant return to the Preakness Stakes, winning his record-breaking eighth with National Treasure.

Baffert missed last year’s Triple Crown series because he was suspended for a medication violation that disqualified Medina Spirit from his 2021 victory in the Kentucky Derby. But the white-haired Hall of Fame trainer was back at Pimlico Race Course for a race he has dominated since he won his first Preakness with Silver Charm in 1997.

With National Treasure’s victory, Baffert became the winningest Preakness trainer in history, breaking a tie with 19th-century trainer R. Wyndham Walden.

He last won the race in 2018 with Triple Crown winner Justify.

Blazing Sevens finished second and Kentucky Derby winner Mage came in third.

Despite his track record in Baltimore, Baffert did not exactly gush over National Treasure’s chances, saying the colt

“looked fine” the morning before the race.

“Is he the caliber of Mage?” Baffert said, drawing a comparison to the Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness favorite. “I don’t know. I think Mage is a good horse. Anytime you have a horse that has only had a few outs and wins the Ken-

place mark in qualifying (2:21.87). Rodriguez senior Kaitlene Ofilan finished eighth overall (2:22.05).

The Vacaville boys took fourth in the boys’ 4x800 relays (8:24.36) with seniors Max Valenzuela, senior Donavan Cheruiyot, sophomore Jackson Stream and freshman Carson Morrell. Vacaville’s girls finished ninth in the girls’ 4x800 relays (10:08.56) with senior Paulina Peterson, freshman Makayla Galvan, junior Reagan Fisher and

junior Caitlyn Gonzalez. Armijo senior Cierra Kinsey finished sixth in the girls’ 400 meters (58.10). Kinsey had the top qualifying mark during prelims (57.19) and her best mark of the season had been the 56.68 she ran at the Sacramento Meet of Champions. Vanden senior Jacarla Black was 20th during prelims (1:01.39).

Kinsey was seventh during qualifying (25.35) in the 200 meters. She did not

See Masters, Page B12

Giants’ ace, rookie catcher ‘in perfect sync,’ in defeat

Curtis Pashelka BAY AREA NEWS GROUP

SAN FRANCISCO —

Logan Webb and Patrick Bailey might have given a glimpse of what’s to come for the Giants as the righthanded ace and the rookie catcher remained in complete harmony through six impressive innings Saturday against the Miami Marlins.

Webb had seven strikeouts and allowed just four hits in another solid outing as he threw to Bailey, who made his first MLB start and picked up his first hit for the Giants in the eighth inning.

But that turned out to be the biggest highlight for San Francisco, which was held to three hits in a 1-0 loss to the Marlins before an announced crowd of 31,993 on a mostly overcast day at Oracle Park.

Marlins starter Braxton Garrett struck out eight over 6 1/3 innings as the Giants had their four-game winning streak halted as they were shut out for the fifth time this season.

“With respect to the way we swung the bat, I think we can do a better

job than we did collectively as a team today,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. “Sometimes a guy comes out and is hitting all of his spots, which (Garrett) was.”

Kapler, though, loved what he saw from Webb and Bailey, who gained plenty of familiarity with one another in spring training – both in the bullpen and in Cactus League games –earlier this year.

“I thought (Bailey) was in perfect sync with Logan Webb,” Kapler said, “and I imagine there’s more of that to come.”

Webb threw 91 pitches and used an effective slider to record four strikeouts, using his changeup to record the other three. He was pulled after he felt tightness in his lower back but didn’t feel that it would be a big issue for him going forward.

Webb and Bailey also took advantage of home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt’s propensity for giving the outside strike. Through three innings, Webb successfully used the outer half

See Giants, Page B12

Koepka leads PGA Championship after three rounds

tribune Content agenCy

ROCHESTER, New York — Justin Rose and Rory McIlroy face an uphill battle to end their lengthy major droughts after a rain-soaked third round of the 105th US PGA Championship.

right 54-hole lead for the second consecutive major. Koepka felt he “choked” away the Masters last month having been four ahead of eventual winner Jon Rahm when play was suspended due to bad weather in the third round.

tucky Derby, that is pretty impressive.”

National Treasure, ridden by Baffert’s go-to big-race jockey John Velazquez, had won just once in five previous starts, with the trainer describing him as a potential late bloomer comfortable with the 1 3/16-mile distance of the Preakness. The Preakness went off under a lingering shadow cast by a spate of seven racehorse deaths at Churchill Downs in the run-up to the Kentucky Derby. Those who love the sport had crossed their fingers, hoping the second leg of the Triple Crown series would avoid similar tragedy, but it was not to be. Bob Baffert-trained Havnameltdown severely injured his left front ankle in the sixth undercard race and was euthanized on the track. The 3-year-old colt

See Baffert, Page B12

Ten years on from winning the US Open at Merion, Rose carded a third round of 69 at Oak Hill to finish two under par, four shots behind leader Brooks Koepka.

McIlroy, who won the last of his major titles in the 2014 US PGA at next year’s venue Valhalla, also shot 69 to trail fellow four-time major winner Koepka by five after the American fired a second consecutive 66.

Canada’s Corey Conners led on seven under par after recording two birdies and 13 pars in his first 15 holes, only to find sand off the tee on the 16th and then drill his second shot into the face of the bunker.

That led to a double bogey six and with Viktor Hovland dropping a shot on the 18th to also finish five under. Koepka enjoyed the out-

However, that lead was immediately halved when play resumed, Koepka returning to Augusta National to miss a par putt on the seventh as playing partner Rahm birdied the same hole.

Koepka still led by two shots after three rounds but shot a closing 75 to Rahm’s 69.

Bryson DeChambeau, who played alongside Koepka at Oak Hill on Saturday and was roundly booed on the first tee, returned a 70 to lie three shots off the lead.

McIlroy followed two early birdies with three bogeys in the space of four holes from the sixth, but rallied to cover the back nine in 33 to keep Koepka in his sights.

The 34-year-old has struggled with his long game all week and

See PGA, Page B12

M att Miller MMILLER@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

Aaron Rosenblatt/Daily Republic file

Vanden High School’s Dalen Shipp reacts after hitting a home run during the baseball game at Fairfield, March 24. Shipp earned recognition on the all-region team.

Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun/TNS

Horse trainer Bob Baffert is greeted by Gustavo Delgado Sr. and Gustavo Delgado Jr. at Pimlico Friday as horses are readied for Preakness Weekend races.

CALENDAR

Sunday’s TV sports

Baseball

MLB • Oakland vs. Houston, NBCSCA, 11:10 a.m.

• Miami vs. San Francisco, NBCSBA, 1:05 p.m.

• Cleveland vs. N.Y. Mets, ESPN, 4:10 p.m.

Basketball NBA

• East Finals, Miami vs. Boston, TNT, 5:30 p.m.

WNBA

• Phoenix vs. Chicago, ESPN, 1 p.m.

Bowling

• PBA, Super Slam Cup, Finals, 2, 40, 11 a.m.

Football USFL

• Philadelphia vs. New Orleans, FS1, 9 a.m.

• Houston vs. New Jersey, 2, 40, 1 p.m.

Golf

• PGA Championship, ESPN, 6 a.m.

• PGA Championship, 5, 13, 10 a.m.

• Ladies Euro Tour, Aramco TeamSeries, GOLF, 10 a.m.

Hockey NHL Playoffs

• West Final, Vegas vs. Dallas, 7, 10, Noon.

Motorsports

• IndyCar, Indianapolis 500, Qualifying, 3, 1 p.m.

• NASCAR Cup Series, All-Star Open, FS1, 2 p.m. • NASCAR Cup Series, All-Star

Alvarez ignites Astros against A’s

Danielle lerner HOUSTON CHRONICLE

HOUSTON — The Oakland A’s arrived in Houston this week with MLB’s worst record, complete with one of the lowest team batting averages and highest strikeout rates in the major leagues. The Astros have had their own offensive struggles this season but entered Friday scheduled to play against the A’s for six of their next nine games and found some relief.

For the second consecutive game, a Houston starter struck out nine Oakland batters. Yordan Alvarez picked up the offense and delivered the game-winning home run in the eighth inning as the Astros claimed a 3-2 victory over the A’s on Saturday at Minute Maid Park.

Astros righthander Hunter

Brown pitched six innings while yielding two earned runs, five hits, no walks and striking out nine. He threw 62 of his 97 pitches for strikes.

Five of the eight Astros who came up to bat in the first inning reached base against A’s starter JP Sears. Jose Altuve notched his first hit of the season on a leadoff double before Alvarez and Kyle Tucker each drove in a run, but Corey Julks struck out and left the bases loaded to end the inning.

Neither team put anyone on base again until the top of the fourth. Brown surrendered a leadoff double and an RBI single, allowing Oakland to halve Houston’s lead before he retired the next three batters in order.

The A’s tied it up in the sixth inning. Leadoff man Esteury Ruiz came around to score on a single,

Local scores

Local Golf

Paradise Valley

Women’s Golf Club

Team Play, Game of 15-24-33

All Scores are Net

1st place: 107 - Darlene Goodman, Darla Davenport, Gabi Stumbaugh and Karen Wiernik

2nd place: 115 - Beryl Bridges, Kathryn Houk, Sandy Handel, Kathy Lemon

3rd place: 118 - Carol Boudreau, Stella Gaudet, Nanci Stevenson

4th place: 118 - Elaine Hahn, Kelyne

Dodgers place Urias on injured list with hamstring strain

Tribune ConTenT agenCy

ST. LOUIS — The Dodgers have another opening in their starting rotation.

Two days after he gave up four home runs in one inning, the Dodgers placed left-hander Julio Urias on the injured list with a strained left hamstring. Right-hander Wander Suero was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Urias joins Dustin May on the IL, leaving the Dodgers with just three healthy starting pitchers currently on their roster – Clayton Kershaw, Noah Syndergaard and Vacaville native Tony Gonsolin.

Top prospect Gavin Stone is expected to be promoted from TripleA to fill May’s spot and start Monday in Atlanta.

Urias’ next scheduled start is Tuesday.

Right-hander Michael Grove was in St. Louis with the Dodgers on the taxi squad for the first two games of the four-game series. He left to join OKC on Sunday and begin a rehab assignment, according to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. Grove has been on the IL since his April 20 start when he suffered a groin injury.

Ryan Pepiot remains on the IL with an oblique injury suffered at the end of spring training. He is currently limited to flatground throwing and might not be ready to return until after the AllStar break, Roberts said earlier this week.

The Dodgers’ eroding rotation has put a strain on their bullpen.

Janric Classic Sudoku

a stolen base, a throwing error by Astros catcher Martín Maldonado and a sacrifice fly.

Déjà vu nearly struck two innings later when Ruiz again singled, stole second and took advantage of Maldonado’s throwing error to get to third base. But Astros reliever Héctor Neris retired the next two batters and quelled the momentum, setting the stage for Alvarez’s heroics in the next frame.

Houston’s offense appeared listless for much of the afternoon against Sears, who matched Brown’s numbers almost exactly. Fortunately for the Astros, their lineup contained one of baseball’s most formidable hitters. Through 39 games played this season, Alvarez has blasted 10 home runs

Rancho Solano

Women’s

Los Angeles Times Sunday Crossword Puzzle

By MaryEllen Uthlaut

5/21/23

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

Difficulty level: GOLD

Solution to 5/21/23:

See A’s, Page B12

Timothy Keller, evangelical minister with national flock, dies at 72

The WashingTon PosT

Timothy Keller, an evangelical minister who started a thriving church in New York City and cultivated a national following with a theology that separated faith from party politics and centered his vision of conservative Christianity in the hubbub of modern life, died May 19 at his home in New York. He was 72.

His death was announced in an email by Redeemer Churches and Ministries, a network of organizations established by Dr. Keller. He was diagnosed in 2020 with pancreatic cancer and had previously been treated for thyroid cancer.

Dr. Keller spent nearly three decades as pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, a congregation he founded in 1989.

Unlike the leaders of many evangelical megachurches, he did not employ Jumbotrons or pop music in his services. He adhered to traditional

liturgy and music while peppering his sermons with references to Saint Augustine and ancient Greek, Flannery O’Connor and Woody Allen, J.R.R. Tolkien and “Star Wars.”

His erudition proved especially attractive to young urban professionals – New York’s investment bankers, lawyers, tech wizards and aspiring actors – and the congregation drew wide attention as it swelled to include 5,000 weekly worshipers.

Dr. Keller won the admiration of many evangelicals, who credited him with demonstrating their movement’s potential far beyond the Bible Belt. He reached millions of readers through books including his best-selling volume “The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism” (2008), an elaboration of Christian beliefs for which he was compared to C.S. Lewis, the British lay theologian and author of “The Chronicles of Narnia.”

“Like Lewis, he had

a gift for avoid ing any whiff of pedantry or preachiness,”

Molly Worthen, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an author ity on American e vangelicalism, said in an interview for this obituary. “He had a gift, as Lewis did, for ... homing in on the core ideas of the Gospel and understanding the perspective of a skep tical reader, an atheist or a person who has been bruised by Christianity.”

Dr. Keller belonged to the Presbyterian Church in America, a conservative Presbyterian denomination. He did not rail against sex outside marriage but rather counseled congregants that “the logic of your relationship with Christ” should move them not to engage in it. He regarded homosexuality as contrary to Scripture and adhered to complementarianism, which establishes separate roles for men and women in the church and in life

and which gives men the authorHe also insisted that Christians commit themselves to racial equality, service to the needy and the rectification of a justice system that favors the rich. His combination of views – some archconservative and others more in line with liberal thinking – was consistent with his vision of Christianity but, to his frustration, often at odds with the binary world of contemporary politics.

He deplored what he described in a New Yorker commentary as the “ethical package deals that today’s progressivism and conservatism seek to impose on adherents, insisting that true believers must toe the line on every one of a host of issues.” He sought to separate Christian faith from political allegiance, and he became a notable outlier in the evangelical movement in recent years as it was

cleaved, in his words, into “a red evangelicalism and a blue evangelicalism.”

Dr. Keller occupied a position “between two worlds,” Worthen said. “He had a way of allowing secular people who thought of themselves as hostile to Christianity or simply not in need of Christianity to suspend their disbelief so that they could entertain the possibility that this world he was offering, his Christian worldview, could be true.”

At the same time, she said, “he was able to speak to conservative Christians who feel themselves to be alienated from multicultural America and helped them see ways to speak to that pluralism and embrace it.”

Dr. Keller resisted being characterized as an “evangelical” because of the word’s association with conservative politics; he preferred instead the label “orthodox” Christian. Even that, he found, came with baggage.

“Frankly, if you are an orthodox Christian in

Manhattan right now, it’s a social problem,” he told the Atlantic magazine in 2011. “People are nervous about you, they feel like you’re bigoted. And so actually right now if you are a graduate of Harvard, Yale or Princeton, and you’ve got your MBA, and you’re working on Wall Street, or being a downtown artist or something like that, and if you are an orthodox Christian, that’s very, very subversive. It’s very transgressive.”

Especially after the rise of Donald Trump, Dr. Keller was an outspoken critic of the politicization of faith. As the Republican candidate for president, Trump overwhelmingly won the White evangelical vote in both his successful 2016 campaign and his failed 2020 bid for reelection. No party, Dr. Keller argued, should have a lock on the Christian vote, because no single party platform was interchangeable with Christian faith.

Minister: Elliott Williams

Sunday Morning Bible Study..........9:30 AM

Sunday Morning Worship............10:30 AM

Sunday Evening Worship...............5:00 PM

Wednesday Evening Bible Study.....7:00 PM vacavillecofc.com

If you would like to take a free Bible correspondence course contact: Know Your Bible Program, 401 Fir Street, Vacaville, CA 95688 (707) 448-5085

KELLER

revealed on Thursday he was also battling an unspecified illness.

“I’d obviously like to be a couple of shots closer to the lead,” the world number three said.

“But I think with how I’ve felt this week, if you had have told me on Thursday night that I’d be going into Sunday in the top five and with a realistic chance to win this golf tournament, I would have taken it.”

Club professional

Michael Block continued to enjoy a brilliant week as the 46-year-old head professional at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in California carded his third consecutive 70 to

Masters

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run in the finals. Chavez tried to double up with the boys’ 200 but finished fifth (22.51). He finished seventh in qualifying (22.37). Wortham finished 21st overall (23.15).

The Armijo girls finished seventh in the 4x100 relays (49.04).

The Royals had qualified fifth (48.73) the previous day. Their best time this season was the 48.66 they ran at the Sacramento Meet of Champions with Anistecia Kinsey, Cierra Kinsey, A’jah Parks and Sanai Wilson.

The Rodriguez boys had a fifth-place finish in the 4x100 relay (42.08).

The Mustangs improved

Giants

From Page B6

remain level par. Tommy Fleetwood is a shot behind following a third round of 68 and will hope to call on the memories of his recordequalling final round of 63 in the 2018 US Open as he bids to claim a maiden major title.

“It would be the low

on their fourth-best qualifying time (42.78) in a hotly-contested race. Saturday’s mark topped their previous best (42.39) that they ran at the Monticello Empire League championships with Gentle Edwin, Leroy Bryant, Jeffery Missouri and Miles. Vanden was seventh in prelims (42.59) and pushed that up to a sixthplace finish (42.42), just off the 42.41 the Vikings ran last weekend at the Division III meet. Jaxson Clark, Soloman Strayhorn, Brayden Chavez and Marcellus Chandler have been the Vikings’ team.

In the boys’ 110 hurdles, senior Preston King of Will C. Wood just missed out on running in the finals and was 10th overall (15.17). Vacaville senior Gavin Dimick was 12th

round of the day if somebody did do it,” Fleetwood said with a smile when asked by the PA news agency if a 63 was possible at Oak Hill.

“Who knows? Didn’t think it was on at Shinnecock but it happened there and it’s obviously something that happens

(15.34) and sophomore Seth Mitchell of Vacaville was 18th (15.82). King was also 12th in the 300 hurdles (40.94).

Vacaville senior Donovan Cheruiyot ran to a 10th-place finish in the boys’ 800 meters. Cheruiyot made the final by qualifying 12th (2:00.31).

In the boys’ 1,600 meters, Vacaville sophomore Jackson Stream finished 13th (4:31.12). In the girls’ race, senior Kate Kimball of Rodriguez finished 21st (5:32.51) and junior Lilian Luu of Armijo was 22nd (5:39.50).

The Vanden boys and the Armijo boys did not make the 4x400 relay finals. Vanden was 16th overall (3:30.13) and Armijo came in 23rd (3:39.29).

possibly on the cusp of becoming a full-time big leaguer.

very rarely.

“But I think you just have to go out and hit your shots and play well and see what score you can get. I played really, really well today in tough conditions and actually gave myself a bunch of chances on the front nine.

“You saw guys going low on the back nine yesterday. Any golf course there’s chances out there if things are going your way and you hole some putts.

“We’ll see what Sunday brings, but always nice to have good memories of being able to go low on a major Sunday in your memory bank and who knows? Start off hot and we’ll see.”

World number two Scottie Scheffler will begin the final round four shots off the lead after struggling to a 73 on Saturday.

Vacaville senior Joseph Page finished 11th in the boys discus Friday (142.09) and senior Nathan Gernert of Vanden was 14th (137-07).

Vanden senior Jeffery Achamfuor finished 13th in the boys’ high jump finals (5-11). Will C. Wood’s Athena Brombacher made the girls finals but did not register a mark.

Fairfield senior Sylas Pisarcik was 15th in the boys triple jump (4204). Vanden junior Sky Odom was eighth in the girls triple jump (36-03) and 23rd in the girls’ long jump (13-7).

Finals in the boys’ and girls’ 3,200 races, girls’ 4x400 relay, boys’ long jump and boys’ shot put were not available at press time.

threat. The Giants went 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position.

region

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13 RBIs. He also played a steady second base.

Senior Cy Dempsay played a vital utility role for the Bulldogs. Dempsay hit .431 with 17 runs scored, 25 hits and 10 RBIs. He also collected six doubles.

Senior outfielder Benny Dyer stroked five doubles and five triples. Dyer also hit .387 with 13 runs scored, 29 hits and 17 RBIs.

Senior first baseman Drew Lammon had seven doubles, hit .380 with 13 runs scored, 30 hits, 19 RBIs.

Senior shortstop Drew Carrington was a pitcher’s best friend with the number of assists he made. Carrington hit .273 with 18 runs scored, 18 hits and 12 RBIs.

Junior pitcher Tyler Chalk gave Vacaville some good innings on the mound but also hit .390 with 15 runs scored, 23 hits, 13 RBIs. Chalk also had six doubles.

Rodriguez

Senior Kaden Wilde was one of the best defensive catchers in the MEL with a solid arm. Wilde also could hit, finishing with a .314 batting average, 16 runs scored, 22 hits and 12 RBIs.

Senior pitcher/first baseman Nathan Schikore joined Sandner as a solid two-way player for the Mustangs. Schikore hit .338 with 13 runs scored, 22 hits and 10 RBIs. He also went 5-1 on the mound with a 1.58 ERA and 29 strikeouts.

18 hits and six RBI.

Junior third baseman Jack Tranchina hit at a .400 clip with 10 runs scored, 20 hits and 15 RBI.

Armijo

Senior Brayan Orrantia was a solid presence behind the plate at catcher and an excellent No. 2 pitcher behind Urias. Orrantia hit .385 with 13 runs scored, 20 hits and 12 RBIs. On the mound, he went 4-1 with a 3.10 ERA and 32 strikeouts.

Junior middle infielder Caden Magno hit .333 with 11 runs scored, 20 hits and six RBIs.

Senior Ben Parks hit .350 with seven runs scored, 14 hits and eight RBIs.

Wood

Senior shortstop Mason Sayre rattled the park with seven doubles. He also hit .441 with 19 runs scored, 26 hits and nine RBIs.

Senior pitcher Devon Hancock was the Wildcats’ ace on the mound. He had a 2.05 ERA with 31 strikeouts.

Senior Jarren Ford played in the infield. Ford hit .356 with 14 runs scored, 16 hits and 19 RBIs.

Senior catcher Ian Morales had five doubles to go with a .298 ERA, six runs scored, 14 hits and 11 RBIs.

Fairfield

Junior pitcher and utility man Amari Bryant hit .271 with 10 runs scored, 23 hits and 11 RBIs. He also had a 3.82 ERA on the mound with 34 strikeouts.

of the plate to record four of his five strikeouts.

Bailey, of course, did his part to make some of those borderline pitches count for strikes.

“He was awesome,” Webb said of Bailey. “He gave me a lot of strikes. that’s for sure. He’s easy to work with. He did really good back there today.”

It’s not exactly Bumgarner-toPosey just yet, but the tandem could become a regular thing with Webb, 26, locked up for five more years and Bailey, who turns 24 on May 29,

“It was awesome, especially for (Webb) to be I guess the first starter I catch was just really special,” Bailey said. “He was locked in today, having all three pitches going. It was really just a lot of fun to be back there.”

Bailey made his MLB debut Friday as he caught the final three innings of the Giants’ 4-3 seriesopening win. His first big league hit was a single to right field in the eighth inning Saturday that gave the Giants some life.

But after a Bryce Johnson bunt single with two outs moved Bailey to second base, Thairo Estrada grounded out to third to end the brief

Bailey said that playing Friday helped him settle in quicker on Saturday.

Bailey was still a bit nervous, “walking out in the first, and then once everything settled in and surprisingly in my at-bats, my legs weren’t shaking. Hopefully, that’s a good sign and I can keep it that way.”

Webb has been rolling for over a month. Prior to Saturday over his last five starts, Webb has posted a 2.04 ERA with just eight earned runs allowed in 35 innings. In that time, he allowed 29 hits and eight walks to go with 30 strikeouts.

Kapler didn’t have any concerns about Webb or Bailey

Junior pitcher Grant Genter had a 5-0 record with a 2.26 ERA and 24 strikeouts. Sophomore Carson Thompson got a lot of work on the mound and finished with a 2-1 record, a 3.46 ERA and 17 strikeouts. He also posted a .333 batting average at the plate.

Senior second baseman Denzel Dilley hit .274 with 17 runs scored, 20 hits, 11 RBIs. He also had five doubles.

Vanden

Senior Cody Buckley was a commanding presence behind the plate at catcher. He also delivered on offense with a .393 batting average, 15 runs scored, 22 hits, 14 RBIs. Buckley also hit five doubles and a home run.

Senior outfielder Dalen Shipp hit three home runs and four doubles. Shipp finished with a .323 batting average with 12 runs scored, 21 hits and 14 RBIs.

Junior outfielder Austin Hammerschmidt hit .353 with 10 runs scored,

Baffert

From Page B6

threw his rider, Luis Saez, who was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital, conscious but complaining of leg pain.

Racing went on, just as it did after two horses suffered fatal injuries on this year’s Derby undercard and after two horses died on Preakness day in 2016.

The field of seven was the smallest for the Preakness since 1986, with only one carry-over from the Kentucky Derby, the smallest total since the Triple Crown series went to its current format more than 50 years ago.

With top trainers and

A’s

From Page B7

and tallied 41 RBIs.

Alvarez drove in Altuve on a sacrifice fly to open the scoring in the first inning but failed to get on base until the eighth inning,

Junior utility man Joey Mason hit .361 with 17 runs scored, 26 hits and 27 RBIs. Mason also had seven doubles.

Vacaville Christian

Junior shortstop Nicko Meadows posted an impressive .446 batting average with 31 runs scored, 29 hits and 16 RBIs.

Senior middle infielder Steve Dingman hit .424 with 29 runs scored, 25 hits and 25 RBIs.

Buckingham

Senior Diego Delgado has the highest list batting average of any player at .611. Delgado scored 22 runs, had 22 hits and drove in nine runs.

Junior Zach Petit hit .447 with 12 runs scored, 17 hits and 16 RBIs. Rio Vista

Versatile junior Joey Bowers hit .444 with 16 runs scored, 12 hits and 10 RBI.

Dixon

Jaden Mulitsch-Rynolds had a .438 batting average with 16 runs scored, 32 hits and 19 RBIs. He also had seven doubles.

Kai Mulitsch-Rynolds batted .381 with 36 runs scored, 32 hits, 21 RBIs and nine doubles.

owners reluctant to run their most talented 3-yearolds on just two weeks’ rest, the Preakness has largely become a target for horses that do not earn enough qualifying points to enter the Derby. That trend has led to calls for a more extended Triple Crown calendar to line up with modern training habits, but many traditionalists within the sport prefer to keep the threerace series as is.

Baffert, who won Triple Crowns with American Pharoah in 2015 and Justify, is among those who do not want to see a change. “No. I think it would lose its tradition,” he said. “It’s the last that we have. It’s important.”

when Oakland sent lefty reliever Richard Lovelady to the mound to face him.

Alvarez banished a 3-1 slider into the rightfield stands to give the Astros the lead for good.

Prior to Saturday, Brown’s highest velocity pitch of the season was a 99-mph fastball.

Warren Little/Getty Images/TNS Brooks Koepka watches his shot during the third round of the pGA Championship at oak Hill Country Club in rochester, New York, saturday.