Daily Republic: Wednesday, July 12, 2023

Early launch for National Night Out A3

Fairfield Expos to host Area 1 Tournament B1

NATO to offer Ukraine fast path to join when conditions met

BloomBerg News

NATO members pledged to invite Ukraine to join the bloc “when allies agree and conditions are met” and to eliminate bureaucratic hurdles in order to speed up the process.

At a summit that began Tuesday in Vilnius, NATO leaders agreed that Ukraine won’t need a so-called Membership Action Plan to prepare for joining, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said at a news conference.

Summer marks season for swimming – increase in drownings

Daily r epuBlic staff DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — More than 360 people in California died in swimming pools from 2019 through 2021 – one of those in Solano County.

In 2022, Solano had two more pool deaths and one hot tub drowning. Of the four deaths since 2019, one was a juvenile, the Solano County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office reported. Another drowning occurred in a bathtub, and there have been two boating-related and one lake drownings within the Coroner’s Office jurisdiction, which would not include Lake Berryessa, which has a number of drownings each year.

The local numbers do not reflect all possible drownings, only those that were referred to the Coro-

ner’s Office.

QuoteWizard reported nearly a third of all pool drownings in the United States involved children 14 or younger.

“Drowning is the leading cause of death for children under 5, and the second leading cause of death for those under 14. Many of these deaths occur in swimming pools.

Between 2019 and 2021, nearly 2,500 people drowned in swimming pools – and nearly a third of them were children,” QuoteWizard reported.

The total number of pool drowning deaths (2019-21) in the U.S. was 2,454.

“Nationwide, 31% of pool-related drownings involve a child under the age of 5. However, in Kentucky, Ohio and Texas, that number is

closer to 60%. Most pool-related drownings occur in the summer, with 65% of all pool drownings happening in June, July, and August,” QuoteWizard reported.

Florida had the most overall pool drownings with 478, of which 127 were children younger than 5 and 20 more between 5 and 14. California is second with 367, including 99 who were younger than 5 and 21 more between 5 and 14, QuoteWizard reported.

But QuoteWizard noted that fatalities are not the only concern.

“Non-fatal drowning injuries can be life-changing. They are also far more common than fatalities. Non-fatal drowning incidents have the potential to result in brain damage and other severe

Trump seeks to postpone setting a trial date in classified documents case

BloomBerg News

WASHINGTON —

Donald Trump has asked a federal judge in Florida to postpone setting a trial date in the classified documents prosecution against him, objecting to prosecutors’ request to put it on the calendar later this year and signaling he might argue to delay it until after the 2024 presi dential election.

Trump’s lawyers filed a response Monday evening opposing special counsel Jack Smith’s proposal to start the trial on Dec. 11, calling the government’s proposal “unrealistic.” Both sides do agree on one thing –that the Aug. 14 trial date initially set by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon is too soon.

Attorneys for Trump and his personal aide and co-defendant Waltine “Walt” Nauta asked Cannon to delay setting a trial date until all pretrial issues were fully litigated. They argued there was no reason to expedite the schedule given the complicated and “unprecedented” legal issues it presented, the large amount of evidence, the involvement of classified material, the logistics

of Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, and the challenge of seating an impartial jury before the election.

“There is simply no question any trial of this action during the pendency of a presidential election will impact both the outcome of that election and, importantly, the ability of the defendants to obtain a fair trial,” the lawyers wrote.

Prosecutors had first asked to push back the schedule last month.

Smith’s team said that it could take as many as 60 days for Trump’s attorneys to receive the final security clearances needed to view all of the evidence. Other legal proceedings to determine how classified evidence could factor in a public trial would add more time to the pretrial schedule, they said.

On Monday, Nauta separately asked Cannon to postpone a hearing set for July 14 to discuss issues related to the use

of classified information in the case. Nauta’s Washington-based attorney Stanley Woodward said he had a scheduling conflict and also needed more time to get his security clearance approved.

The Justice Department opposed the delay, arguing that Nauta’s other attorney Sasha Dadan, who is based in Florida, could handle the hearing and that Woodward had been on notice that the government wanted to quickly hold the hearing. Trump’s defense team didn’t oppose rescheduling the hearing, according to Nauta’s filing.

Later in the day, Nauta’s lawyers alerted the court that the government had agreed to reschedule the hearing for July 18 if the court approved the short delay.

Trump is also expected to challenge the lawfulness of the indictment on multiple grounds, fights that could add months to the timeline.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges that he unlawfully held onto national defense information after he left the White House and then conspired to obstruct the

That commitment offers Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a more concrete prospect of securing the full military protection of the U.S. and its allies, while falling short of the clear road map that he asked for. Zelenskyy earlier on Twitter criticized NATO for not setting a clear timeline on his country’s bid to join the alliance.

“There’s never been a stronger message from NATO at any time, and if you look at other membership processes there

have never been timelines, they have been conditions-based,” Stoltenberg told reporters. He said removing the MAP would turn it from a “two-step process to a one-step process.”

Fifteen years ago, the alliance agreed that Ukraine would one day join, a pledge that proved insufficient to prevent the steady ramp up of Russian hostility that led to last year’s invasion.

Allies have been grappling with how to move beyond that 2008 summit statement and some countries are concerned that they would limit their room for maneuver in future negotiations with the Kremlin if the pledge is too concrete, according to an official.

Russia’s war effectively puts a block on NATO membership for Ukraine, since extending the bloc’s collective defense commitments to Kyiv would bring the U.S. and its allies into direct conflict with Russia, and that’s a situation that

See NATO, Page A8

Hit-and-run victim faces a long road to recovery

Daily r epuBlic staff DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

VACAVILLE —

Vacaville Police reported on Sunday the woman hit by a car June 27 has been released from the intensive care unit but faces a long, long road to recovery.

The driver fled the scene.

The hit-and-run happened near Yosemite Circle and Plumas Circle. A community member found an elderly

neighbor lying in the street, bleeding.

“We received some calls and emails regarding this case; however none have led to any significant developments in the case at this time,” the police department said on Facebook.

Police want to find the driver. Anyone with information may remain anonymous. Call Traffic Sergeant Carly Stone at 707-469-4847 or email her at carly.stone@cityof vacaville.com.

Daily Republic file (2014)

Participants share pool lanes while swimming the Lap-a-Thon swim event held at Kroc Center, Oct. 11, 2014.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/TNS file

Former President Donald Trump delivers remarks outside the clubhouse at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, June 13. Earlier in the day, he was arraigned in federal court in Miami on 37 felony charges, including illegally retaining defense secrets and obstructing the government’s efforts to reclaim the classified documents.

Charter schools have come a long way

Last year there were 7,800 charter schools in America enrolling approximately 3.7 million students. However, since their inception 31 years ago, charter schools have had a very bumpy ride. Nevertheless, a recent landmark study by Stanford’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) casts a new and positive light on America’s charter schools. Before I dig into CREDO’s findings, I want to set the stage with a little charter school history.

To begin, most Americans don’t have a clear understanding of what charter schools are. Charter schools are public schools, not private. They are typically governed by a group or organization under a legislative contract (a charter) with the state, the district or another entity. The charter exempts the school from certain state or local rules and regulations. In return for flexibility and autonomy, the charter school must meet the accountability stan-

dards outlined in its charter and required by state law.

From the beginning, charter schools were envisioned as pockets of innovation arising primarily from the needs and efforts of local school communities. Today, 65% of charter schools are freestanding and independently operated. The remaining 35% contract with charter management organizations (CMOs) that help schools with a variety of administrative tasks and operations. The charter-school movement shot onto the national education stage almost a decade after 1983’s blockbuster report, “A Nation at Risk” (U.S. National Commission on Excellence in Education). The report blasted America’s public schools on a number of fronts, with a particular emphasis on the dismal academic achievement of America’s students. Over the next two decades, there was a huge movement to “restructure/reform” public schools (e.g., better manage-

ment systems, better teachers, better curriculum, better organizational structures, etc.). Over the years, billions of private and government-sponsored dollars have gone toward funding school reforms like restructuring. The Gates Foundation alone invested $650 million on such projects. Even after such massive funding infusions, charter schools had an embarrassing record of failure for nearly 20 years. Reporting by the Network for Public Education found that more than 25% of charter schools fail within 5 years; 40% fail after 10 years, and nearly 50% fail after 15 years. Charter School Capital (a major source of charter school funding) found that 42% of charter school failures were due to inadequate funding; 25% due to poor management and about 20% for student underachievement.

Charter school successes or failures are also influenced by each state’s policies. According to Grace Chen (Public School Review) “charter schools may only be as good as the laws

that govern them.” Harvard’s Zachary Jason adds that “it’s impossible to generalize charter schools. How charters are run, funded and overseen varies dramatically from state to state, school to school.”

Let’s jump to Stanford’s CREDO report. The 2023 report (the third since 2009) included 31 states and thousands of charter schools. Unlike its earlier reports which found little or no statistically significant academic benefits from charter school attendance, the current report reveals some surprising and important findings.

n Charter schools disproportionately enroll students from low-income and ethnic minority families (approximately 60%).

n Black and Hispanic students attending urban charter schools grow more in math and reading than their peers in traditional urban public schools.

n White, Asian, Native American, and special needs students show equivalent progress in math and reading as their peers in traditional schools.

n Urban charters outperform their suburban and rural counterparts.

n Students attending CMO-run charters have greater academic growth than students attending standalone charters.

CREDO also found that each year low income charter students gained the equivalent of 17 additional days of learning in math and 23 additional days in reading than their peers in traditional schools.

CREDO researchers believe that such outcomes may be the result of charter schools becoming more adaptive to competitive forces in the education marketplace and better at adopting rigorous standards and personnel practices.

CREDO concludes by stating, “The framework of charter schools helps current students and strengthens public education overall.”

That’s a strong endorsement.

Stephen Davis is a career educator who writes a column that publishes every other Wednesday in the Daily Republic. Reach him by email at stephen davis71@gmail.com.

SuSan Hiland

SHILAND@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD – Names of students who have made the Scholastic Honor Roll for Spring 2023 have been announced by Oregon State University.

Students from Solano County on the Honor Roll included:

Benicia: Logan J. Bledsoe, Junior, Psychology; Ju-Ti C. Buckley, Senior, Human Development and Family Science; Reid E. Burford, Senior, Business Administration; Eva A. Traver, Senior, Natural Resources.

Fairfield: Diego R. Barron, Senior, Public Policy; Jacob E. Barron, Senior, Business Administration; Brandon R. Dunbar, Senior, Business Administration.

Suisun City: Kayla

Yvana M. Gacosta, Senior, Environmental Engineering; Jose L. Meza Mendieta, Post Baccalaureate, Computer Science.

Vacaville: John M. Ireland, Sophomore, Business Administration; Angelina Lopez Peinado Senior, Oceanography; Erin E. Weissich, Junior, Psychology.

Vallejo: Alexander M. Salgado, Post Baccalaureate, Computer Science; Leigha Urbalejo, Junior, Pre-Interiors.

A total of 11,660 students earned a B-plus (3.5) or better to make the listing. To be on the Honor Roll, students must carry at least 6 graded hours of course work according to

CORRECTION POLICY

the press release.

Vaca woman awarded degree from Miami University

VACAVILLE —

Kate Mayne of Vacaville was among more than 4,555 students from Miami University who received degrees during the in-person spring commencement May 13 in Oxford, Ohio.

Mayne graduated with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and health, the university announced.

Luna graduates from Campbellsville University

VACAVILLE —

Samantha Adele Luna of Vacaville graduated from Campbellsville University in Campbellsville, Ky., on May 6.

Ohio University shares 2023 Spring

Dean’s List

FAIRFIELD — The following local area students have been named to Ohio University’s 2023 Spring Dean’s List in Athens, Ohio: Cynthia Moreno and Susan Seghetti both of Fairfield are attending College of Health Sciences and Professions.

The Dean’s List recognizes undergraduate students who complete a

particular semester with a GPA between 3.5 and 3.999 with a minimum of 12 credit hours attempted for letter grades that are used to calculate GPA.

North Bay Arts Fund offers grants for artists

The North Bay Arts Fund is announced the launch of its Solano County Call for Artists. All Solano County artists and nonprofit arts organizations can submit their applications for consideration.

This opportunity aims to support the talent and creativity of local artists and promote inclusivity in the arts.

The application is open to artists 18 and older and nonprofit groups in Solano County of all backgrounds, cultures, ethnicities, abilities, genders and all members of the LGBTQ community. Request an application at northbayarts@gmail.com. Submit applications through 5 p.m. Aug. 14.

The selection process will be conducted by a participatory panel of local art professionals who are committed to equality and fairness.

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.

For information, call 707-712-3321.

Vacaville woman makes Nebraska academic list

VACAVILLE — Genevieve Paige Lammon of Vacaville made the dean’s list at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for the spring semester of the 2022-23 academic year. Lammon, a junior

majoring in construction management, was named to the dean’s list for the College of Engineering, the university announced.

Students at the College of Engineering must have a 3.5 grade-point average or higher to qualify.

Local alumni named to RIT dean’s list

VACAVILLE — Logan

Upchurch of Fairfield and Madison LeRoy of

Vacaville made the dean’s list at Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, N.Y., for the spring semester of the 2022-23 academic year. Upchurch is in the computing security program, and LeRoy is in the ASLEnglish interpretation program, the university announced. Students must have a 3.40 grade-point average or better to qualify.

Stephen Davis Eye on education

New event, early launch for National Night Out in

AMAGINNIS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — There’s a new National Night Out event in Fairfield.

From 5 to 8 p.m. on Aug. 1, downtown businesses and residents plan a collective night out against crime. Attendees can look forward to scavenger hunts, free food, games, prizes and karaoke.

Too excited to wait?

Get into the National Night Out spirit with a downtown scavenger hunt beginning Monday and running through July 31. Download the

National Night Out passport, patronize a partnered business, and receive stamps for National Night Out. Three stamps get you an entry into a raffle for up to $200 in gift card prizes.

A list of participating businesses can be found on the Fairfield Police Department’s Facebook page.

Free food and games begin at 5:30 p.m. The scavenger hunt begins at 5 p.m. The events are in the 600 block of Madison Street.

Included is the opportunity to snap a photo with Marty McFly’s “Back to the Future” 4-by-4. This is the 40th Anniversary

of National Night Out, which is designed to strengthen neighborhood spirit, and heighten crime prevention awareness to generate support for, and participation in, local anti-crime efforts – like Neighborhood Watch.

For more information, call Ilea Martin at (707)428-7789 or email imartin@fairfield.ca.gov

Register for National Night Out at http://events.r20.constantcontact. com/register/event?llr=lcipsy6ab&o eidk=a07ejrsxr1318ae6cbd.

Registration closes Monday.

Three-alarm fire in Vallejo believed to be arson

Daily Republic Staff

DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

VALLEJO — City firefighters and crews from other departments this weekend were able to save homes on Hunter Court and Foothill Drive from a fast-moving, three-alarm

Supervisors taking three-week meeting hiatus

FAIRFIELD — The Solano County supervisors will not meet again until July 25.

The board typically takes at least three weeks off during July.

While the agenda for the July 25 meeting has not been constructed, a public hearing on proposed fees for the Department of Parks & Recreation is scheduled to be held.

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

Sheriff’s K9 teams, state fire join youth campers at Peña

Adobe VACAVILLE — The Solano County sheriff’s K9 team and CalFire personnel will be at Peña Adobe Park as part of a youth camp on Wednesday.

The event, hosted by the Peña Adobe Historical Society, is scheduled for 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.

“We currently have about 40 campers, age K-sixth grade, registered for the city of Vacaville’s 10-week summer day camp program. CalFire

grass fire. The fire consumed about 15 acres near the intersection of Admiral Callaghan Lane and Turner Parkway. The call came in shortly before 7 p.m. on Saturday, and the fire was controlled by 7:48, the Vallejo Fire Department reported.

“Local citizens witnessed a male subject start the fire from the roadway and were able to detain the subject until the Vallejo Police Department arrived and placed him in custody. The fire remains under investigation and is being treated as arson,”

A discussion on open space in the county also is on agenda.

FAIRFIELD —

The Assembly Natural Resources Committee passed a bill that would allow 100% fruit juice containers to be recycled regardless of size.

“This bill will help cut back our state’s waste stream while uplifting our recycling program,” state Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, said in a statement. “Not only does this bill reduce the amount of garbage we put into the ground but it provides a financial lifeline to recyclers and processors by maximizing their options for redeeming deposits on beverage containers. Ultimately, it will help us meet our recycling goals.”

The California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act, established in 1986, encourages consumers to recycle beverage containers by requiring them to pay a deposit for eligible bottles.

“Over the years, the program has been expanded to include soda, beer and wine bottles. However, it does not include 46-ounce or larger juice bottles, contributing to a drop in the annual scrap valuations that threaten the state program and many smaller recyclers, especially in underserved communities,” the statement said.

Senate Bill 353 would also authorize the Depart-

ment of Resources

Recycling and Recovery to adjust its processing of payments to recyclers to a quarterly schedule rather than yearly, helping to stabilize the market.

“This measure will increase consumer opportunities to recycle and get cash back on empty containers, by making common sense updates to the CRV program,” Mark Murray, executive director of Californians Against Waste, said in the Dodd statement. “All juice beverages, regardless of container size, will now have a refund, and recycling payments for new and existing recycling centers will be stabilized against scrap market fluctuations.”

The bill, which had already cleared the Senate, passed the committee on Monday.

will bring (its) fire engine, fire equipment and the big dozer. Solano County Sheriff’s (Office) will bring not one, but two members of (its) K9 team,” organizers said.

Virtual Fair Housing Training on Tuesday

FAIRFIELD — A virtual Fair Housing Training will be held via Zoom from 1 to 3 p.m. Tuesday.

The event for housing providers will offer an overview of federal/state fair housing laws and protected classes, prohibited activities; disability discrimination and reasonable accommodation / modification requests; and overview of enforcement actions.

Registration is required at: fairfield.ca.gov/ HousingAuthority

For more information, email ttran@ fairfield.ca.gov or adriana@ fairfhousingnorcal.org.

Fish & Wildlife grant cycle topic of county Parks & Rec meeting

FAIRFIELD — The Solano County Parks & Recreation commissioners on Thursday will discuss the Fish & Wildlife Propagation Fund cycle, including project and activity updates.

The commission meets at 10 a.m. in Multipurpose Room 1600-620 on the first floor of the county government center, 675 Texas St., in Fairfield.

Help launch pollinator garden at Suisun City Waterfront

SUISUN CITY — All are welcome to scatter seeds for a pollinator garden at the Suisun City waterfront.

The event is from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday at Habor Plaza.

Stop by and grab a scoop of seeds.

The event is being sponsored by Adopt-ANeighborhood, which has been beautifying Suisun City neighborhoods since 2021.

New Hope Band performs at Civic Center Library

FAIRFIELD — The New Hope Band stops by the Fairfield Civic Center Library, 1150 Kentucky St., at 1:30 pm. Saturday, to perform a variety of tunes.

The event will be in the Becker-Balmer meeting room to celebrate Disability Pride Month.

The San Jose-based group features members with different unique abilities. They focus on ability,

the department said. No information was released about the person arrested. Other departments that responded included Fairfield, Benicia, Suisun City, Crockett, American Canyon and CalFire.

assume competence, and allow each person to reach their maximum musical potential.

Most have been performing together since 2008. Each individual loves music and is inspired by performing. The New Hope Band performers range in age from adolescents to adults (even seniors). Their songs bring back happy memories, as well as hand-clapping, foottapping, and body dancing to the music.

The event is free.

For more information about The New Hope Band, visit https://the newhopeband.com.

State picks Fairfield to monitor drinking water for microplastics

FAIRFIELD — The city’s water system was among more than twodozen wholesale and retail agencies the state directed to participate in a study regarding microplastics in drinking water.

Microplastics are made up of plastic matter that varies in size, is not detectable by the human eye, and results from commercial product development or the breakdown of larger plastic particles.

Over the years, the State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water has placed emphasis on the need to monitor for microplastics in drinking water and, last year, adopted a policy handbook establishing a standard method of testing and reporting for microplastics in drinking water, accord-

ing to a press release from the city.

The plan for monitoring and reporting will take place over the next several years.

No government in the world has required monitoring for microplastics in drinking water, said the press release.

The city will work with DDW to confirm sampling locations. It has proposed sampling at the water plant intakes at Waterman and North Bay Regional Water Treatment Plants. Fairfield Municipal Utility is the only water agency in Solano County to be selected. The state is not offering any funding to offset additional staffing, testing and reporting costs, the press release said.

For information on the city’s water system and water quality reports, visit www.fairfield. ca.gov/ffwater.

Aaron Rosenblatt/Daily Republic file (2021)

Members of the community toss a football in front of a Suisun City Fire Department fire truck during a National Night Out celebration at Hall Park near the Kroc Center in Suisun City, Aug. 3, 2021.

Daily Republic file (2017)

Bill Dodd at a Vacaville Chamber of Commerce Public Policy Forum in 2017.

Solano CASA hosting information sessions

FAIRFIELD — Looking

to make a difference in the life of a child?

Court Appointed

Special Advocates for Children will host Coffee with CASA, 9 to 11 a.m. on July 20. The event is at Journey Coffee, 370 Chad bourne Road.

CASA of Solano County traces its roots back to 2011 when the Solano County Superior Court Executive Committee met with representatives of California CASA, National CASA, and the Judicial Council Administrative Office of the Courts, to discuss a proposal to bring CASA program to Solano County.

The organization has about 50 volunteers but always needs more.

For more informa tion, visit https://www. casasolano.org.

Visit Vacaville executive receives honor from global travel group

Daily Republic Staff

DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

VACAVILLE —

Melyssa Reeves, president and chief executive officer of Visit Vacaville, has been selected to receive the Destination Organization Leadership Award.

The award is given by Destinations International for significant contributions to the destination marketing industry and for making a difference in the community.

“I am honored to be recognized by Destinations International, an association I have belonged to for many years,” Reeves said in a statement.“The opportunities to serve on

the board of directors and to lead a group of other small destinations has been a highlight for me, and this award makes it even more special.” Reeves will get the award at Destination International’s annual convention on Tuesday in Dallas, Texas.

Along with qualities such as leadership, industry credibility, use of cutting-edge technology and innovations, Reeves was especially recognized for the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Program in Vacaville.

The program “sup-

ports individuals who would like assistance, help or a little more time when shopping, traveling or engaging in other public activities,” the statement said. “Wearers of the distinctive but discreet green and yellow sunflower icon indicate that they have a disability that is not visually apparent, such as autism, chronic pain, dementia, anxiety, a brain injury, mobility issues after a recent surgery, or another hidden disability for which they would like to be seen. Visit Vacaville offers lanyards and business

Calif. man was on FaceTime when he was killed in tree-trimming accident

loS a ngeleS timeS

A man from the San Diego County city of El Cajon was on FaceTime when he was involved in a fatal tree-trimming accident last week, the county medical examiner’s office said.

On the morning of July 5, 59-year-old Gary Zing told relatives he was going to cut down a tree in his backyard, the medical examiner’s office said in a release.

He had a family member on a video call when he ventured into his backyard

later that morning.

“The decedent was observed by a family member on FaceTime cutting branches on the tree,” the office said.

The relative saw the man “go down the hill from the tree” and a piece of the tree fell on top of him.

card-sized sunflower cards to both residents and visitors at the Visit Vacaville offices and throughout the city’s participating hotel properties. Hotels and other businesses undergo training on how to assist sunflower wearers,” the statement said.

Rada Rama

R ada R ama passed away peacefully on June 27, 2023 in Fairfield, CA. He w as born in Battambang, Cambodia in 1966. Nine years l ater the Khmer R ouge took over the countr y and drove all city dwellers out to makeshift rural farms, including R ada and his pa r ents and brother There he underlabor f ood shortages, and inhuman militar y disescaped d eath that killed almost 1/4 of the Camtion. When the Vietnamese invaded in 1979 he pa r ents to Thailand. Fr om there the family fled SA as refugees where they built a new life in Fairfield a local church. He trained as a machinist but neighbor taught him handy-man skills he f ound adise Valley Estates f or 17 years, earning a r epukindly loyal w orker and friend. He is sur vived by aulie; daughters Jessica and Alexandra; and brothe r Memorial ser vices were held at Fairfield Funeral Home

John Spru i ll

John Jack” Spruill, 96, passed away on June 20, 2023, at his home in Vacaville, CA.

John was born to William Hardy and Opal Alleshouse Hardy on April 23, 1927 in Battle Creek, MI. John ser v ed in the U.S. Navy in various positions for 20 years. He also w orked at the CMF State Prison for 20 years. And finally, he had 20 years federal ser vice at the Navel Station Mare Island and Skaggs Island Security Dept.

John was married to the love of his life, Kiyoko Toyoda Spruill, for 55 years until her passing in 2013. Her passing left a huge v oid, not only in his heart, but in his life. He filled his time with crossword puzzles and lis tening to his music and reminiscing of days gone by while enjoying a glass of red wine.

NAVY VETERAN

John was a member of the CA Police Pistol A ssociation and competed nationally at various pistol competitions including The Presidents 100.

John is sur vived by his children, James Spruill of Hawaii, and Diana Kacsmar yk , her husband Michael Kacsmar yk , two grandchildren Kurtis Kacsmar yk and Jeremy Kacsmar yk and three great grandchildren Jayden Jon Kacsmar yk , Madison Grace Kacsmar yk and Cameron Michael Kacsmar yk He is preceded in death by his loving wife Kiyoko, and his three brothers William G Hardy, George H Hardy and Duane E Hardy

There will be a Militar y Honors Ceremony for John at the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery on August 15, at 9:30 a.m.

Myrna KingsburyCrites

Myrna Adele Kingsbur yCrites passed peacefully as she slept in the early hours of Monday May 1, 2023, after a long and debilitating illness resulting from Interstitial Lung Disease. Born October 13, 1936, Myrna was 86.

Born in Richmond, CA, Myrna was predeceased by her parents, Frank and Helen Ehlert ; her brother, Frank ; and daughters Dana Kingsbur y and Pat Beardslee. The family moved to Vallejo when she was in the 4th grade. She graduated from Vallejo High School, Vallejo Junior College and attended University of California, Berkeley. She married Henr y Washabaugh (1956-1962). Myrna then married Dr B.C. Kingsbur y (1966-2003) living in Napa and later, Green Valley. Myrna was employed by a number of local dental offices; she owned and concurrently managed two restaurants. After being eidowed, Myrna married Willison Crites in 2015.

Myrna was known for her kindness, truthfulness, integrity, generosity, patience, honesty self-reliance, loyalty and hard work Her community ser vice included President Napa Solano Dental Auxiliar y, Member of Community

Project - Napa, President Green Valley Woman’s Division, President Soroptimist International of Vallejo and Member North Bay Hospital Guild.

Myrna is survived by her husband, Willison; her four daughters, Deborah Kingsbury, Fairfield, Penny Doll (Henry), Green Valley, Andrea Frische (Jim), Green Valley and Lore’ Kingsbury (Jim), Palm Desert; and two sons Rick Washabaugh (Carrie), Brookings, Oregon and Dan Kingsbury (Beronia) Roberts Creek, B.C., Canada. She was blessed with 17 grandchildren & 14 great-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Soroptimists of Vallejo, (SIOV, P.O. Box 4262, Vallejo, CA 94590) or your favorite charity Private memorial ser vices to be held at a later date

God saw you getting tired, And a cure was not to be; So he put his arms about you, And whispered, Myrna, come with Me With tearful eyes we watched you We watched you pass away

Although we loved you dearly

We could not make you stay

A golden heart stopped beating Hard working hands at rest God broke our hearts to prove to us

He chose to take the best, Shawna Alsep, Author

President: Suzanne Ng

REEVES

Robinson Kuntz/Daily Republic file Court Appointed Special Advocate Charles Williams.

As state bakes, Gavin Newsom launches campaign to warn of the dangers of heat

Los A ngeLes Times

As California braces for its most intense and prolonged heat wave of the year, state officials are investing in new methods to warn residents of the dangers of soaring temperatures.

Extreme heat is among the deadliest of all weather-related events, with the National Weather Service recording more heat-related fatalities than deaths from hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and other climate hazards in 2022.

In California, state officials have been criticized for their response to extreme heat, which disproportionately affects children and the elderly, people with chronic illnesses, disabled people and those who are pregnant. A 2021 Los Angeles Times investigation found that heat probably caused about 3,900 deaths in the state over the previous decade – six times the official tally.

The $20-million “Heat Ready CA” campaign, launched by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Office of Community Partnerships and Strategic Communications on Tuesday, aims to help rectify that through improved outreach, advertising and communication efforts.

“The impacts of climate change have never been more clear – the hots continue to get hotter in our state and across the West, putting millions of Californians at risk,” Newsom said in a statement. “California is launching Heat Ready CA as another tool in the state’s arsenal to protect people from extreme heat. We’re asking everyone to stay alert to changing weather and take the necessary

steps to keep themselves and their families safer from deadly heat waves.”

The campaign is part of the governor’s larger $404-million investment in extreme heat, guided by the Extreme Heat Action plan unveiled last year. The Heat Ready campaign will partner with 121 community-based organizations to conduct outreach in every county in more than 30 languages through door-to-door canvassing, phone banking and other community activations, officials said.

Louis Bloomberg, a climate policy advisor with the nonprofit group Climate Resolve, said he’s been waiting for a coordinated public awareness campaign from the state for nearly a decade.

“It’s a proactive step and it will hopefully save some lives,” Bloomberg said.

But improved public communications are only one of several strategies outlined in the Extreme Heat Action plan, which also recommends infrastructure improvements, better monitoring of

heat deaths and greater investments in shade and green space, among other measures.

Bloomberg said the state is making some progress toward those goals – including $10 million toward an as-yet unveiled statewide heat surveillance system –but that more clarity and oversight are needed. A bill making its way through the Legislature, SB 306, would require regular updates of the Extreme Heat Action plan and better monitoring of progress toward its goals.

“The plan is more of a list or a catalog of what could happen, but there is no specificity or accountability, there’s no hard priorities or implementation schedule,” he said.

“So, yes, this is a good start – great start, really important and timely – and there’s more we can do.”

Indeed, the public information campaign comes as the planet continues to break all-time heat records, with global average temperatures in recent days skyrocketing higher than ever

Good

From Page A2

Raymond named to Hamline University Dean’s List for Spring 2023

VALLEJO — Laurel

Raymond of Vallejo, was named to the Hamline University College of Liberal Arts Dean’s List for the Spring 2023 term.

Raymond was among 566 students to make the Dean’s List in Spring 2023 for the Saint Paul, Minn., college.

To qualify, students must earn a GPA of 3.5 or higher and complete a minimum of 16 credit hours.

alumni graduated from Georgia Tech during the 264th Commencement exercises on May 5 and 6, at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta.

Alumni from Solano County included: Andrew Braun of Fairfield; Shangtao Liang of Fairfield and Lindsey Lubin of Dixon. Congratulations to the students and graduates!

recorded, largely due to climate change and the onset of El Niño, a tropical Pacific pattern associated with hotter conditions.

El Niño’s arrival is likely to make at least one of the next five years –and the five-year period as a whole – the world’s warmest on record, according to the World Meteorological Organization. Meanwhile, sea surface temperatures are reaching alarming new highs, while the amount of Arctic sea is reaching record lows. (The Canadian Arctic reached 100 degrees Fahrenheit for the first time in history on Sunday.)

“The Earth is running a fever, and from our perspective in California, we have made progress on protecting people from accelerating climate impacts,” said California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot. “We can and will protect communities and help people protect themselves from extreme heat. At the same time, I think

See Heat, Page A9

Griffin makes the DeSales University Spring 2023 Dean’s List

VACAVILLE — Kaitlyn

Griffin, a resident of Vacaville and majoring in psychology, made the 2023 Spring Dean’s List at DeSales University in Center Valley, Pa.

To qualify for Dean’s List, a student must have a minimum 3.50 GPA on no fewer than 12 credit hours.

Solano Alumni looking to bright future after Georgia Institute of Technology

FAIRFIELD — Students attending Georgia Institute of Technology from Solano County earned places on Dean’s List for spring 2023.

Lindsey Lubin and Nicole Herston both are from Fairfield.

This designation is awarded to undergraduate students who have earned a 3.0 or higher academic average for the semester.

In addition, Solano

Couple elebrates 50-year wedding anniversary

On Saturday, July 8, Abe and Remy Bautista celebrated 50 years of marriage at Rancho Solano Clubhouse. A renewal of wedding vows was officiated by the Rev. Eric Flores of Divine Mercy Catholic Church in Natomas, a family friend.

In attendance were daughters Nikki and Amanda along with their respective families and eight grandchildren. Longtime family and friends were on hand to witness this special moment and to participate in this joyful celebration. Entertainment services were provided by S.F. Entourage a well known company in the Bay Area. Do you have some good news to share? Send it to Susan Hiland at shiland@ dailyrepublic.net. Be sure to include Good News in the subject line.

Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times/TNS file

Ivan Mendez protects his face from the blazing sun while making repairs at a home July 3, on Wildwood Canyon Road in Santa Clarita.

Speed cameras on California streets? This bill could bring automatic ticketing to six cities

Tribune ConTenT AgenCy

You could get a speeding ticket without having been stopped if a bill making its way through the Legislature becomes law and launches a pilot program in cities across California.

Assembly Bill 645, introduced by Assemblymember Laura Friedman, D-Glendale, would create a new speed camera program in pilot cities including Los Angeles and San Francisco. These cities would test the “Speed Safety Pilot Program” where drivers who are caught speeding by the cameras would receive an automatic ticket without ever talking to a police officer.

Kerri West, a spokeswoman for Friedman’s office, said the next hearing for the bill will take place Tuesday.

“Once approved, that bill would authorize cities to use speed cameras on the first of January,” West said.

What cities would this affect?

The pilot cities would include, according to the bill:

n Los Angeles

n San Jose

n Oakland

n Glendale

n Long Beach

n City and County of San Francisco

“The pilot program is for five years or until January 1, 2032. After that,

there will be a reassessment period,” West said.

“The point of this pilot program is to give us data on what worked, what didn’t work, and what could be improved.”

West said if the program is successful in the pilot cities, the state will consider using the program all throughout California.

How would AB 645 work?

According to the bill’s information, it would require a participating city or city and county to:

n Give warning notices of violation during first 60 calendar days of the program

n Develop guidelines for processing and storing information

n Make all records

confidential

n Specify that a violation of the speed law would be subject to civil penalties

n Provide a notice of violation, review, hearing, and appeals process for those in violation

n Require any program to offer a diversion program for those who receive a violation

n Submit a report to determine the system’s impact on the economy and street safety

Where does the bill currently stand?

After Tuesday’s hearing, West said the bill will go to House Committee on Appropriations.

West said this is the third time Friedman has presented this bill. In the previous attempts, the bill

Leslie Van Houten, former Manson family member, released from prison after 5 decades

Los A ngeLes Times

LOS ANGELES —

Former Manson family member Leslie Van Houten was released from prison Tuesday after more than five decades behind bars, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said.

Van Houten, 73, was serving a life sentence for her role in the murders of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca in Los Angeles in 1969.

the Manson family in the 1960s. Supporters described her as a misguided teen under the influence of LSD on the night of the killings. She was involved in the second of the Manson family murders — the killings of Los Feliz grocer Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary, at their home in 1969.

did not make it out of the Assembly and to Senate.

However, before the bill goes any further, West said there are three clarifying amendments that need to be added.

The three amendments include:

n Clarifying the angle of the camera

n How long records of penalties will be retained

n How many occurrences of street racing would enable the installation of a camera

“None of these amendments change the bill in function, they simply elucidate provisions already within AB 645,” West said. “The Assemblymember is optimistic that this will be the first year this bill will make it to the Governor’s desk.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom denied Van Houten’s parole three times, and Gov. Jerry Brown also had denied Van Houten’s parole when he was in office.

But Newsom was overruled by a California appeals court earlier this year, and on Friday, he said he would not challenge the appellate court’s decision to allow parole for Van Houten.

Newsom was “disappointed by the Court of Appeal’s decision to release Ms. Van Houten,” Erin Mellon, communications director for the Office of the Governor, said Tuesday in a statement.

A former homecoming queen from Monrovia, Van Houten became involved with

Van Houten and another woman held down Rosemary LaBianca as Charles “Tex” Watson stabbed Leno LaBianca. After Watson stabbed Rosemary LaBianca, he handed Van Houten a knife. She testified to stabbing the woman at least 14 more times.

“And I took one of the knives, and Patricia had one – a knife – and we started stabbing and cutting up the lady,” Van Houten testified in 1971. (Patricia Krenwinkle was a co-defendant and family member.)

The day before the LaBianca murders, Charles Manson followers had killed Sharon Tate and her friends Jay Sebring, Abigail Folger and Steven Parent in a brutal attack at a home on Cielo Drive in Benedict Canyon.

The two slayings,

Los A ngeLes Times

California State University leaders are moving toward imposing an ongoing, annual 6% tuition increase that could generate hundreds of millions of dollars for the cashstrapped system, with students paying $342 more the first year alone.

If approved, tuition would increase each year for undergraduate and graduate students beginning in the 2024-2025 academic year. Trustees are expected to discuss the plan during their Tuesday meeting, and vote on it in September.

For full-time undergraduate students, the proposal would bring tuition in the first year to $6,084 from $5,742. Each subsequent year would bring another 6% increase, with trustees evaluating the increases every five years. By the 2028-2029 academic year, a full-time undergraduate student would pay $7,682 a year.

Cal State officials say the hike is necessary to contend with a nearly $1.5billion budget gap across the 23-campus system. A report released in May found Cal State is significantly underfunded, with its two main revenue sources — the state and tuition — covering only 85% of what it needs for student services, academic support, instruction and other expenses in the 2021-2022 year.

The gap means administrators are forced to make difficult choices forgoing building renovations and wage increases to cover costs for other other expenses. And the gap could worsen if the system doesn’t raise more money in the coming years, leading to fewer course offerings and student support, which could prolong the time it takes for students to graduate, officials said. Money from the tuition increases would go toward providing

more academic support to boost graduation rates, improve research and internship opportunities for students, and enhance course options.

Since the mid-1990s, the state’s contribution to CSU’s operating budget dipped to 60% from 80%. The state fully funded the system’s annual budget requests only once in the last decade, while costs have risen because of inflation. Tuition has remained mostly flat over the last decade and is still among the lowest in the country.

The state has taken steps in recent years to help the system: Gov. Gavin Newsom has promised an annual 5% base funding increase through 2026-2027 in exchange for commitments to expand access and equity.

But the increase in state funding alone is not enough to pay for all the costs the CSU needs.

CSU leaders have promised to keep the system affordable. The 60% of the system’s 460,000 students who have their full tuition covered through grants, scholarships and waivers will continue to have their costs covered, officials said.

“We really care about affordability,” said Julia Lopez, a CSU trustee who helped lead the group that produced the report on the

system’s finances during a May meeting. “We really care about making sure that we don’t do anything that would in any way put barriers in terms of people attending the CSU.”

The University of California imposed its own 4.2% increase in tuition and fees, which applied to incoming undergraduates entering in fall 2022. System leaders said the increase was needed for financial security and to improve grant aid.

In May, CSU sent a proposal describing three ways the system could raise tuition to the California State Student Assn.

In addition to the 6% increase, the system put forth two other rate increases. The first would have raised tuition by 8% for all students, and the second would have raised tuition by 5% for new students and 3% for continuing students.

Miya Haley, a spokeswoman for the California State Student Assn., said the group is still reviewing all the proposals and is in the midst of finalizing its response.

“We believe it is crucial to carefully consider all aspects and want to ensure that our response accurately reflects the collective voice of CSU students before making any public statements,” she

said in an email.

At least one group of students is planning to protest the proposed tuition hike. The group, Students for Quality Education, plans to rally outside the trustees meeting Tuesday along with unions representing faculty and other Cal State workers who are lobbying for wage increases and calling for better recruitment and retention practices of workers.

The group also pushed back on a 5% tuition increase in 2016, which the trustees ultimately approved for the 2017-2018 year.

Vaughn Wilbur, a Cal State Fullerton student and member of Students for Quality Education, said the university should draw from its rainy day fund to help cover expenses, or consider cuts to campus police. He also worries an increase will price out lowincome students of color, undermining a core value in a system that prides itself on improving social mobility for students and their families.

“It’s hard to pay for college. And yet they’re going to be making students pay more rather than dipping into their funds,” he said. “The CSU is supposed to be … for everybody.”

Placer judge sentences man in California EDD fraud with inmates that took Covid money

Tribune ConTenT AgenCy

A judge on Tuesday sentenced a man to seven years and four months in prison for conspiring with two inmates in Placer County to fraudulently receive California benefits intended to help unemployed workers during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Placer Superior Court

Judge Colleen Nichols sentenced Peter James Nelson for his role in the July 2020 fraud scheme, the Placer County District Attorney’s Office announced in a news release.

A jury in May found Nelson guilty of felony unemployment fraud, conspiracy and grand theft. Deputy District Attorney Timothy O’Hair prosecuted the case.

“This crime was specifically abhorrent due to the defendant’s decision to exploit a system put in place to help people who were truly in need during the Covid-19 pandemic,” O’Hair said in the news release. “While in jail, Nelson mentioned they ‘wouldn’t get caught because too many people were filing claims.’”

Prosecutors said

Nelson would also submit biweekly re-certifications to continue receiving unemployment payments from the state. One of the inmates Nelson conspired with was serving a life sentence.

This case was among a large number of fraud schemes involving inmates across the state to fraudulently receive up to $1 billion in payments from the California Employment Development Department during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

California lost an estimated $20 billion to fraudulent claims, most of it in federally funded benefit programs. EDD, which manages the state’s unemployment programs, has said there have been 278 convictions and more than $1.1 billion seized or recovered, so far.

As of February, dozens of investigations were underway aiming to catch and prosecute scammers and recover as much money as possible.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Nelson remained in custody at the Placer County Jail awaiting transfer to a prison.

CSU students: Brace yourselves for the possibility of a 6% tuition hike every year

Sara Nevis/Sacramento Bee/TNS file

A van drives through the crosswalk on Monday, June 5.

Howard Lipin/The San Diego Union-Tribune/TNS file (2019)

Cal State San Marcos, shown in April 2019. Students enrolled at each of the CSU’s campuses could see a 6% tuition increase in fall 2024.

See Manson, Page A10

Damian Dovarganes/AFP via Getty Images/TNS Corrections officer Sandra Fuentes, left, assists inmate Leslie Van Houten as she arrives for her parole hearing before members of the Board of Prison Terms at the California Institution for Women in Corona, June 28, 2002.

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Britney Spears’ memoir, ‘The Woman in Me,’ hits shelves later this year

Los A ngeLes Times

Britney Spears is finally ready to share her story, years after her conservatorship came to an end in 2021.

“The Woman in Me” will be published by Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, and will hit shelves Oct. 24, the singer announced via Twitter on Tuesday. She teased the book release with a video captioned, “It’s coming...my story on my terms at last. Are you ready?”

Now available for preorder, “The Woman in Me” is touted as a “brave and astonishingly moving story” anchored on Spears’ efforts to end her conservatorship after 13 years. Gallery Books acquired the memoir after a bidding war with several other publishing

houses, People reported exclusively Tuesday.

“In June 2021, the whole world was listening as Britney Spears spoke in open court. The impact of sharing her voice – her truth – was undeniable, and it changed the course of her life and the lives of countless others,” said a description on the website. “’The Woman in Me’ reveals for the first time her incredible journey – and the strength at the core of one of the greatest performers in pop music history.”

An L.A. judge ruled in November 2021 to terminate the controversial conservatorship that had been in place since early 2008, ending the oversight of two conservators who supervised the pop star’s person and her estate.

Pickles Brian Crane

Zits Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

Pearls Before Swine Stephan Pastis

Candorville Darrin Bell

Baby Blues Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott

Baldo Hector Cantú

Crime logs

FairField

SUNDAY, JULY 9

12:23 a.m. — Battery, 2000

block of KINGFISHER WAY

6:46 a.m. — Commercial burglary, 2800 block of CORDELIA ROAD

8:56 a.m. — Vandalism, 2800

block of CORDELIA ROAD

11:29 a.m. — Hit-and-run property damage, 1900 block of NORTH TEXAS STREET

12:42 p.m. — Battery, 3100

block of EVERGREEN DRIVE

12:45 p.m. — Drunken driving, 600 block of AIR BASE PARKWAY

2:03 p.m. — Reckless driver, EAST PACIFIC AVENUE

2:26 p.m. — Vandalism, 1900 block of ELIJAH STREET

4:52 p.m. — Vehicle burglary, 300 block of PITTMAN ROAD

7:15 p.m. — Indecent exposure, 2200 block of NORTH TEXAS STREET

8:03 p.m. — Trespassing, 1900

block of NORTH TEXAS STREET

8:51 p.m. — Hit-and-run property

damage, 1700 block of NORTH

TEXAS STREET

9:17 p.m. — Battery, 1700 block of NORTH TEXAS STREET

10:21 p.m. — Drunk and

disorderly, 100 block of EAST

TABOR AVENUE

10:23 p.m. — Reckless driver, DICKSON HILL ROAD

MONDAY JULY 10

12:11 a.m. — Trespassing, 200

block of EAST TABOR AVENUE

7:19 a.m. — Robbery, 1800

block of DOVER AVENUE

8:24 a.m. — Residential

burglary, 1700 block of HIGHLAND CIRCLE

8:37 a.m. — Reckless driver, 3100 block of PEABODY ROAD

9:00 a.m. — Vehicle burglary, 1300 block of OLIVER ROAD

9:07 a.m. — Battery, 3000 block of PECAN CIRCLE

9:34 a.m. — Trespassing, 1100 block of JEFFERSON STREET

10:17 a.m. — Residential

burglary, 700 block of PACIFIC

AVENUE

11:04 a.m. — Forgery, 400

block of TULIP STREET

11:39 a.m. — Hit-and-run with injury, 3300 block of NORTH TEXAS STREET

From Page

consequences, such as enduring long-term disabilities,” QuoteWorld reported. “Nationwide, there have been 18,600 nonfatal drowning injuries involving a child over the last three years. In 75% of these cases, the child was under the age of 5.”

Around 50% of non-fatal drowning injuries involving a child happened at a residential pool; 25% happened at a public pool; and 25% happened at an unknown location.

QuoteWizard, which is associated with Lending Tree, notes that having a pool also adds insurance liability to homeowners.

“The insurance industry describes pools as “attractive nuisances” essentially labeling them dangerous fun,” the report states.

And while all homeowner policies have liability coverage, typically up to $100,000, homeowners with pools are advised to increase that level of protection to $500,000.

Northeast storms dump over 2 months’ worth of rain on Vermont

The WashingTon PosT

12:43 p.m. — Battery, 3000 block of PUFFIN CIRCLE

1:35 p.m. — Grand theft, 2100 block of COURAGE DRIVE

2:25 p.m. — Hit-and-run property damage, 2700 block of NORTH TEXAS STREET

2:44 p.m. — Grand theft, 1300 block of TRAVIS BOULEVARD

3:14 p.m. — Indecent exposure, 1900 block of NORTH TEXAS STREET

3:19 p.m. — Reckless driver, EASTBOUND I80

3:30 p.m. — Trespassing, 1900 block of NORTH TEXAS STREET

3:30 p.m. — Grand theft, 5000 block of BUSINESS CENTER DRIVE

3:49 p.m. — Indecent exposure, EAST TABOR AVENUE

3:52 p.m. — Grand theft, 1300 block of TRAVIS BOULEVARD

5:11 p.m. — Shooting into a dwelling, 2900 block of SHORELINE CIRCLE

5:31 p.m. — Battery, 1300 block of PHOENIX DRIVE

6:17 p.m. — Trespassing, 1500 block of CATLIN DRIVE 9:58 p.m. — Trespassing, 5200 block of BUSINESS CENTER DRIVE

p.m. — Vehicle theft, 1700 block of EAST TABOR

p.m. — Reckless driver,

“But this amount may still not be enough. Your liability limits should match your net worth plus your mortgage balance in order to protect your assets,” QuoteWizard stated.

SAFETY TIPS

n Designate one person to watch each child. If everyone is watching everyone, no one is watching anyone.

n Install water barriers around pools and hot tubs.

n If a child is missing, check the water first.

n Have a list of the rules and safety instructions and enforce them at all times with all guests.

n Know basic water rescue skills like first aid and CPR.

n Floaties do not prevent drownings.

n Keep the pool visible at all times. Make sure you can see the bottom and remove toys from the pool when they’re not being used. For the full QuoteWizard report, go to https:// quotewizard.com/ news/homeowner-poolinjury-risk.

Even as the rain stopped late Tuesday morning, a deluge and swollen rivers created “historic and cata strophic” flooding in Vermont, Gov. Phil Scott (R) said Tuesday, with officials warning that more rainfall is expected as early as Thursday, threatening another wave of flooding and damage.

“This is nowhere near over,” Scott said. More than 100 people have been rescued by boat as authorities rushed to rescue those stranded in hard-hit and remote areas. Thousands have lost homes or businesses and “countless” roads have been washed out, authorities said. No deaths had been reported in the state, but officials said search-and-rescue would take at least several days.

Officials hoped to begin damage assessments by Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning.

Key updates

n Scott said Tuesday that flood levels in some areas had surpassed those recorded during Tropical Storm Irene in 2011, which killed at least three people in Vermont and severely crippled much of the state’s roadways.

n Authorities begged residents not to drive in flooded areas and asked them not to “self-deploy” as volunteers. The postdisaster recovery phase has not yet begun, officials said, as they continue attempts to find stranded and trapped people. “This is going to be a very long term search-andrescue operation,” said Michael Cannon, program manager for the state’s urban search and rescue team. “I expect this to take at least several days if not longer.”

n Thirteen Vermont water rescue teams and five helicopters were being aided by out-ofstate rescue crews and state troopers, with more personnel en route from additional states, officials said. With many areas still covered by water, it was too early to assess the full scope of the damage – or what it will take to recover.

n The National Weather Service continued to issue a litany of flash flood warnings Tuesday that extended across a swath of the state. Downpours, and possibly further flooding,

Trump

could return to Vermont as soon as Thursday afternoon, NWS said.

n President Biden, while in Vilnius, Lithuania for a NATO summit, declared an emergency in Vermont due to the flooding and ordered federal assistance to supplement state and local response efforts. Scott said this would allow more flexibility to deploy necessary resources.

Toll in Montpelier

n Vermont’s capital, Montpelier, closed its flooded downtown after storms dumped nine inches of rain - more than two months’ worth - on the state from late Sunday into early Tuesday, forcing residents and businesses to evacuate and the city to move its dispatch, police and fire operations because of flooding. On Tuesday afternoon, the city issued a boil-water notice for all residents relying on Montpelier’s water system. The city’s emergency order expired 3 p.m. Tuesday, but residents were still urged to avoid public travel.

n By Tuesday afternoon, Montpelier’s downtown remained underwater, but water levels were slowly receding, said William Fraser, the city manager. Officials hoped to begin damage assessments by Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning. The damage is likely extensive, and Montpelier may take months to recover. “It’s going to be a long, arduous process,” he said.

n The Winooski River, which runs through Montpelier, reached 21.35 feet Tuesday morning. It hasn’t been that swollen since the Great Vermont Flood of 1927, when it reached

to move swiftly to complete whatever paperwork is needed for the security clearance process.

a record 27 feet and killed 84 people, including the lieutenant governor. The river remained dangerously high Tuesday afternoon and continues to pose a threat to anyone near the floodwater, city officials said.

n Officials said that the threat of a breach at the nearby Wrightsville Dam has subsided. The breach would have been unprecedented, potentially sending more water into the Montpelier and threatening areas where evacuation routes have already been flooded. As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, the dam held at maximum capacity, city officials said. “We have monitored the water levels at the Wrightsville Dam for the last two hours and seen no significant changes,” the Montpelier Police Department said Tuesday afternoon. Minimal increases are expected, and officials will continue to monitor the dam through the night.

Impacted areas

n State emergencyresponse teams conducted swift-water rescues in the Londonderry, Weston, Ludlow, Berlin and Chelsea areas. More than a dozen shelters were opened overnight across the state to accommodate displaced residents. In Woodstock, residents were told to boil water Tuesday, as authorities worked on repairing the water system after a leak cut off service, the police department said.

n In Plymouth, a stream that parallels Route 100 caused the collapse of at least four bridges, according to witnesses, leaving families in homes uphill stranded. At the Hawk Mountain

Resort, water poured down the mountainside. Natalya Bochkov, 55, watched a mudslide cause a road to flood Monday. “It’s muddy, it’s raging, it looks like whitewater,” she said.

n According to data from the First Street Foundation, a research group that quantifies climate risk, the number of properties at risk from flooding is growing far beyond what the Federal Emergency Management Agency considers to be at risk of 1-in-100-year floods. The foundation estimates there are five times as many.

n The flooding ravaged ski resorts, forcing Killington Resort to close for golfing and biking at least through Tuesday after floods sent mud flowing down its slopes. Okemo, a resort in Ludlow, said it would remain closed until Thursday.

n Photos posted to social media show much of Waterbury, Vt., underwater, and several parts of Vermont and New York remained under flashflood warnings in the early morning hours.

n The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had warned late Monday that they expected two dams in Vermont to release “unprecedented quantities of water,” but said Tuesday morning that the threat of large spillovers had abated and river levels were beginning to recede. Water will still spill over the Ball Mountain and Townshend dams, “but in smaller amounts than previously anticipated,” the Army Corps said on Facebook.

n In New York, the most intense rains hit the Hudson Valley on Sunday afternoon and evening, killing at least one person. The 35-year-old woman was swept away in the town of Highlands while trying to rescue her dog, authorities said; her body was found in a ravine, Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus said.

n New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said in a statement that between Sunday and Monday, more than eight inches of rain was reported in parts of the mid-Hudson region of the state, and more than five inches of rain were reported in the Finger Lakes Region.

government’s efforts to get those documents back. Nauta has also pleaded not guilty.

From Page One NATO

Any trial beyond Cannon’s original Aug. 14 schedule will complicate the logistics of Trump’s 2024 presidential run. The first Republican primary debate is set for Aug. 23, though it’s unclear if Trump will

participate. His campaign activity is only expected to ramp up as the former president and his rivals for the Republican nomination prepare for the primaries to kick off in January.

cution in New York, other pending state and federal criminal investigations, and a multitude of civil legal proceedings facing their client.

Cannon has tried to keep the case on track so far, ordering the lawyers

From Page One

In a further boost for Ukraine’s long-term outlook, the Group of Seven nations are separately expected on the sidelines of the summit to offer Ukraine bilateral security commitments, aimed at bolstering Kyiv’s own defenses in the hope of deterring Russia from attacking again in the future.

The NATO allies themselves are due to commit to equipping Ukraine with modern weapons in the long term, as well as providing training, sharing intelligence and supporting the development of the country’s defense

industry. Each nation will provide different commitments, and other countries can join the arrangements, with specifics to be negotiated in future. Zelenskyy told a crowd of thousands gathered in the center of the Lithuanian capital that Ukraine will make NATO stronger and the alliance will give his country security.

“Russia’s predatory ambitions will be left in ruins,” he said, urging the allies not to delay on the membership issue.

The language on membership forms part of a broader package, aimed at deepening ties with Kyiv and underlining the alliance’s long-term support.

The allies upgraded the formal status of the bloc’s ties with Kyiv via a newly established NATOUkraine Council, which

Trump’s legal team in the Florida prosecution also has to contend with a March 2024 trial date in a separate state prose-

The case is United States v. Trump, 9:23cr-80101, US District Court, Southern District of Florida (West Palm Beach). Western leaders aren’t prepared to countenance.

will allow the country to directly take part in broader discussions about the alliance’s security and hold consultations with allies about its security concerns. NATO agreed to establish a multiyear program of nonlethal assistance and funding to help modernize the country’s military, helping make it more interoperable with allied systems.

NATO diplomats have been wrangling over the membership wording for weeks, with some eastern members pushing for a concrete road map, while countries like the U.S. have wanted to focus instead on immediate assistance to fend off Russia’s attack.

The diplomats wanted to settle the negotiations in advance of the summit and avoid letting leaders

draft the statement, as in Bucharest in 2008. There’s a school of thought that the agreement thrashed out by leaders including George W. Bush and Nicolas Sarkozy was itself a strategic mistake that paved the way for the current conflict.

Back then, leaders agreed that Ukraine, as well as Georgia, “will become members of NATO” and stated the Membership Action Plan would be the next step but held back on formally launching any process. Vladimir Putin, who also attended the summit, warned that NATO expansion would force Russia to respond with measures to protect its security and in 2022 tried to justify his invasion of Ukraine by linking it to the alliance’s enlargement.

John Tully/The Washington Post

Flooding in downtown Montpelier, Vermont, on Tuesday, July 11. Vermont has been under a State of Emergency since Sunday evening as heavy rains continued through Tuesday morning, causing flooding across the state.

Elizabeth Holmes’ sentence reduced by almost two years

Tribune ConTenT AgenCy

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes is now scheduled to get out of prison nearly two years earlier than her original sentence mandated, according to an update from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. Holmes, 39, surrendered herself for imprisonment May 30, to start serving a sentence of 11 years and three months. But her updated release date is December 29, 2032, just over the 9½ years that federal prison rules say

Heat

From Page A5

we have been very clear –and the governor and the Legislature have been very clear – that this is a climate emergency.”

A simmering heat wave has already engulfed portions of the United States, including large swaths of Florida, Texas and Arizona. Phoenix just saw 10 consecutive days with temperatures of 110 degrees or higher, and there’s a strong likelihood it will remain that hot for at least another week. Las Vegas is expected to soar to 117 degrees by Sunday, while Corpus Christi, Texas, may see its heat index climb to 115.

Officials said the public information campaign will play a critical role in mitigating some of the deadliest effects of heat. Similar initiatives around the census and the Covid-19 pandemic have already proved successful, said Maricela Rodriguez, senior advisor to Newsom for Civic Engagement and Strategic Partnerships.

“We found a lot of success with the model that we’re applying now, which includes not only

she must remain locked up at a minimum.

The prisons bureau confirmed Holmes’ new release date, but said privacy, safety and security reasons prevent it from discussing inmates’ release plans.

Generally, those incarcerated in federal prisons can earn 54 days of “Good Conduct Time” off their sentences for each year of their sentence, according to the prisons bureau. Eligible inmates can also earn time off from their sentences by participating and completing programs

a culturally responsive approach when it comes to communications and public awareness, but also to have a trusted messenger network that can reach people – especially in underserved communities – who can be hard to reach,” she said.

During extreme heat events, human bodies have to work harder to stay cool. That can lead to headaches, dizziness, nausea, respiratory problems and heat strokes, among other health issues. It is particularly dangerous when temperatures stay warm overnight, providing people with no opportunity for relief.

And though extreme heat most often affects the most vulnerable, even healthy young people can be in danger, said Tomás Aragón, director of the California Department of Public Health.

“You can be completely physically healthy, and within 60 minutes get in trouble because your body produces heat rapidly, your body has not acclimated to the high temperatures, and then all of a sudden your internal core temperature starts going up, and that’s when your organs start getting into trouble,” he said. “People really underestimate it.”

for reducing post-prison re-offending, and educational, health, recovery, victim-impact and employment-training programs. Inmates can also get out up to a year early by completing a drug-abuse program.

Aragón said it can be challenging for state officials to accurately account for heat-related illnesses and deaths, particularly because they can be exacerbated by underlying health issues. It often takes months to arrive at an accurate number based on death certificates and excess death data, he said.

But Bloomberg, of Climate Resolve, noted that other states including Washington and

Lawyers for Holmes did not immediately respond to questions about her new release date.

Holmes, 39, was sentenced in November in U.S. District Court in San Jose to 11 years and three months in prison for defrauding investors in her now-defunct Palo Alto blood-testing startup out of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Holmes gained worldwide fame as she propelled her startup to success through claims that its purportedly revolutionary technology could conduct

Oregon already have statewide heat surveillance systems that can turn data around within a weekend. He hoped to see California’s system up and running soon, along with other efforts such as heat standards for indoor workers and a heat wave ranking system, both of which are winding their way through state agencies for approval. “These are preventable deaths,” he said. “If

a full range of blood tests using just a few drops of blood from a finger stick.

Jurors in her four-month trial heard that Theranos’ machines could perform only a handful of tests, suffered from reliability problems, and that Holmes bamboozled investors with false claims and insinuations about use of the technology by the U.S. military, endorsement by major pharmaceutical firms, and the state of the firm’s finances.

The charismatic former technology company founder and

we intervene properly, quickly, we can prevent people from dying.”

State officials are advising everyone in the path of the incoming heat wave

mother of two young children fought in court with some success to delay her imprisonment past the April 27 date handed her by Judge Edward Davila, but ultimately had to turn herself over to prison authorities May 30 at federal Prison Camp Bryan near Houston. She is appealing her January 2022 conviction by a jury on four counts of fraud, claiming Davila made errors conducting the trial, that her conviction was “unjust,” and that her sentence was too severe.

to stay hydrated and stay indoors and in air conditioning as much as possible. Children and pets should never be left alone in hot cars.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images file Former Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, in 2019.

commonly referred to as the Tate-LaBianca murders, drew international attention and became inexorably linked to Los Angeles and the late 1960s.

Krenwinkle remains in prison and is not up for parole again until November.

Van Houten went through three trials for her role in the killings. The first led to her conviction and a death sentence, which was overturned on appeal because her lawyer disappeared before the verdict.

The second trial ended with a hung jury, and the third led to her murder conviction and a sentence of seven years to life with the possibility of parole.

One of Van Houten’s attorneys, Rich Pfeiffer, who has been working on her case for a decade, said he was “relieved” after her release.

“It’s been a long battle, and it’s been emotional for her at times,” he said.

“All of these hearings have been hard. The governor always waits until the last possible minute to reverse the grant of parole before she can be released. I think that’s incredibly mean.”

Pfeiffer said that Van Houten, who earned a master’s degree in humanities while incarcerated, has job offers and the support of family and friends. “She’ll do just fine,” he said. Van Houten didn’t want to make any public statement because she’s “afraid if she says anything, it’ll offend the victims,” her attorney said.

“She has respect for them,” Pfeiffer said.

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Giants’ Cobb faces Ohtani as NL earns win

WeBeck

evan

BAY AREA NEWS GROUP

SEATTLE

— Asked who he most wanted to face in his first All-Star Game, Giants starter Alex Cobb had an easy answer: Shohei Ohtani.

Besides being the sport’s biggest star, Cobb and Ohtani are former Angels teammates and offseason training partners.

Entering in the fourth inning Tuesday at T-Mobile Park, Cobb got his wish. Ohtani spoiled a

first-pitch curveball and went on to draw a rare walk from Cobb.

Those, however, won’t amount to Cobb’s biggest pitches to Ohtani, set to hit free agency this winter, when he could command a contract of $500 million or more.

“I’m already campaigning for him,” Cobb said after his inning of work, escaping without allowing a run.

The National League came away with the 3-2 victory, the first since

2012. Elias Diaz of the Colorado Rockies hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning to put the NL up for good, though the American League did get two runners on in the ninth.

Giants’ closer Camillo Duvol pitched a solid inning in relief. Brent Rooker of the A’s had a double.

Careful to avoid tampering charges, Cobb began his answer by saying, “I don’t know how to answer that question appropriately, honestly.”

But the 35-year-

old veteran went on to explain – as if it needed any explanation – what the addition of Ohtani, who was voted into the All-Star Game as a hitter and a pitcher, would mean for the Giants, who this past winter added Aaron Judge as the latest chapter in their failed pursuits of free-agent superstars.

“Whatever you thought Judge would’ve been as the face of the Giants, he would eclipse that with the whole country,” Cobb said. “You look for people to be

Expos host solid field for Area 1 Tournament at Laurel Creek Park

M att Miller MMILLER@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — Brad Hanson believes this year’s Area 1 Tournament could feature one of the toughest fields he can remember when it begins Thursday at Laurel Creek.

“This is the strongest field I have ever seen as a whole,” said the leader of the Fairfield Expos, the city’s American Legion summer baseball team. “There’s no really weak links this year. All eight teams are pretty solid.”

The field will feature Fairfield, Chico, YubaSutter and Vallejo in the East Division. Petaluma, Humboldt, Napa Valley and Yolo make up the West Division. There will be division games Thursday through Saturday before pool play Sunday sets up the final two for Monday’s championship game at 6:30 p.m.

The tournament’s top two teams qualify for the state tournament next week at Jackie Robinson Field on the campus of UCLA in Westwood. The Western Regionals will follow Aug. 2-6, at Laurel Creek again, so the Expos have already earned the automatic berth as tournament host. The Western Regionals champion advances to the American Legion World Series in Shelby, North Carolina, Aug. 10-15.

Fairfield enters this week with a 41-12 record. The Expos are coming off a 2-1 record over the weekend that featured wins over the Napa Valley Baseball Club and Deep Roots. The team has a

team pitching ERA under 2.50 that Hanson says is the best in team history.

“The pitching has been pretty solid all year,” Hanson said. “We’ve been 15-2 since June 20 in Oregon. It’s a combination of things. We are better in all aspects of the game.” Fairfield lost to Napa Valley Baseball Club

8-4 on Saturday. Jace Parkinson, Cy Dempsay,

Blake Bozzini, DJ Andersen, Noah Rodda, A.J. Perrin and Landon Dodge all had hits. Rodda and Dodge drove in runs. Matty Hague, Dodge and Trevor Morris pitched.

The Expos bounced back in a second game Saturday for a 6-3 win. Hits came from Perrin, Dempsay, Eli Blurton, Bozzini, Rodda and Connor Broschard. Perrin,

the face of your franchise, not only as skilled, but off the field who they are.”

Together for only the 2021 season in Anaheim, crossing paths while training at Driveline, Cobb called Ohtani “one of my favorite teammates to play with.”

“I’ve never been around somebody who wants to win more than Shohei,” Cobb said. “I would love to say I want to win as much as anybody. But he will do anything to win. … Just watching in awe of every-

thing he did and how good of a person he is and how humble of a person he is, it makes it really special.”

The Giants, and 28 other teams, are expected to embark in the hottest free-agent pursuit in the sport’s history this winter. But there is, maybe, possibly, a way to jump the line. With Mike Trout ruled out for the next month and the Angels skidding into the All-Star break, could Ohtani’s team consider trading the generational superstar?

A’s impending move would leave big hole in Bay region

Bill Shaikin LOS ANGELES TIMES

SEATTLE — “The A’s saved my life.”

Dontrelle Willis told me that the other day, not by raising his voice, but by looking me straight in the eye. He wanted to make sure I understood the gravity of what he was saying.

Willis is a two-time All-Star, a World Series champion, and now a Dodgers broadcaster. None of that would have been possible, he says, without the team that plays in Oakland, the city where he was born.

“If I didn’t have the A’s, and the Coliseum, I wouldn’t know what I’d be doing,” he said. “The A’s, and Dave Stewart, they’re the reason I picked up a baseball. That’s what I mean about the organization being able to save my life.

“And, to be honest with you, it saved a lot of boys’ lives.”

Stewart had. Almost all of them would not. But they could all dream, they could all play ball after school, and they could all head down to the Coliseum to see the major leaguers – including the likes of Rickey Henderson, Joe Morgan and Frank Robinson, hometown heroes who blossomed into baseball legends. The A’s might have been rooted in Oakland since 1968, but they plan to move to Las Vegas by 2028.

“It’s disheartening to think that, as a result of Oakland moving, we’re going to lose a generation or more of players who won’t have the ability to go down to a ballpark and see their guys,” said Tony Clark, executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Assn.

Blurton and Broschard drove in the runs. Andersen and Carter Preston took turns on the mound.

Teagan Gonzalez delivered a solid 2-1 win over Deep Roots on Sunday. Gonzalez pitched a twohitter over six innings, allowing just one run to go with two strikeouts.

Bryce Alcantara worked

Vacaville’s Brandon Talton takes aim this fall at Nevada’s kicking records

M att Miller MMILLER@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

VACAVILLE — Vacaville High School graduate Brandon Talton could be heading into a fifth year flying under the radar as a talented placekicker at the University of Nevada.

Talton is listed as a fourth-team preseason selection by Athlon Sports on the All-Mountain West Team. Prior to missing five games last year by injury, he was a two-time All-MWC selection (20192020) and a three-time Lou Groza semifinalist (2019, 2020, 2021), which goes to the best kicker in the nation.

The MWC’s all-time leader in field goals (68) is on the cusp of setting some major Nevada records. Talton needs

just five field goals to overtake Marty Zendejas (1984-87) as the Wolf Pack’s all-time career leader. With 326 career

points, he is just 60 away from eclipsing Zendejas’ benchmark of 385.

Talton started the 2022 season 6-for-7, including a 50-yarder against Texas State, before suffering an injury. He returned Nov. 12 against Boise State, making his 65th career field goal and wrapping up the season 10-for-12.

Nevada starts its season Sept. 2 at USC.

n n n

Rodriguez graduate Jesse Scholtens got his second start of the season Thursday for the

Not every East Bay kid who picked up a baseball would be able to throw it with the skill Willis and

The relocation puts Major League Baseball in an awkward

Bonds on Hall: ‘I believe at some point it will happen’

JaSon M aStrodonato

BAY AREA NEWS GROUP

Barry Bonds hasn’t lost hope that one day he’ll be enshrined into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Despite falling short of the 75% threshold while earning just 66% of the BBWAA vote in his 10th and final year on the ballot in 2022, and then again falling short when a 16-member veterans committee gave him fewer than four votes last December, Bonds still thinks he might get inducted one day.

Speaking on the Hollywood Swingin’ podcast, Bonds said he’s hoping the votes change in 2025, when the veterans committee votes again.

“There’s a possibility,” Bonds said. “I belong with my teammates in that Hall of

Fame, 100%. I’m not going to jade it out. The dream is still there as long as there’s a ballot for it. It can happen when I’m 60 or 70 or whenever. Hopefully I don’t have to wait that long or hopefully I’m not dead.”

The veterans committee is comprised of Hall of Famers, baseball executives and writers. It votes every three years. Bonds is off the BBWAA ballot for good.

Bonds said he’s most bothered by it because as an African-American, “all my Black brothers that came through the game are all gone.”

He named some of his mentors and said Willie Mays, 92, “is old,” while Willie McCovey, Joe Morgan and Frank Robinson have all died.

Aaron Rosenblatt/Daily Republic file (2021) Fairfield Expos’ Cy Dempsay, right, throws the ball to first base to complete the double play after forcing out Chico’s Dustin Vela at second base during the Area 1 Tournament game at Laurel Creek Park in Fairfield, July 15, 2021.

Courtesy of University of Nevada

Vacaville nativeBrandon Talton (43) could break some all-time Nevada records this season.

CALENDAR

TV sports

Giants’ hard-throwing Camilo Doval geting his All-Star due

Evan WEbEck BAY AREA NEWS GROUP

SEATTLE — One morning early this spring, Blake Sabol walked into the Giants’ facilities in Scottsdale, Arizona, and peeked at the monitor on the wall to the entrance of the clubhouse. Among his list of duties, as a novice backstop no less, was to catch Camilo Doval.

Thursday’s TV sports

Doval was working on his two-seamer that day. Sabol, who had caught 64 innings above Double-A at the time, won’t soon forget it.

“I remember it freaking took off,” Sabol said. “Like, turbo zoom. God, he throws gas and it looks like that, no wonder he’s the frickin’ closer.”

Approaching 100 mph, the pitch darted down and away to Sabol’s glove side. His four-seamer, which has touched 104 mph, cuts the opposite direction. He pairs it all with a wipeout slider that comes in 10 mph slower and has generated an obscene 50 percent whiff rate this year. Altogether it has made him one of the National League’s premier closers, posting 26 saves with a 2.63 ERA and a 33.5 percent strikeout rate entering the All-Star break, which he will spend in Seattle after earning the first All-Star selection of his career.

season Salem-Keizer.

It wasn’t mean-spirited; it was an act of self-preservation.

“He threw very, very hard from a very low slot,” Webb said. “He had to learn how to throw a little bit slower to guys when they were 40 feet away.”

upbringing in Yamasá, has earned him the nickname “Camilo Tranquilo.” When he briefly addressed the team after being named an All-Star, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said it was “probably the most I’ve ever heard Camilo speak.”

NBA

keeping

tabs on Las Vegas for potential expansion

Mick a k Ers

LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the league has tremendous interest in Las Vegas as potential expansion looms.

Although the NBA doesn’t have a team in Las Vegas, Silver said he sees Summer League as the 31st franchise. There are nearly 80 games played during Summer League each July, with Las Vegas being the epicenter of basketball during that time.

“When we were first coming to Las Vegas with our Summer League, there were other leagues that weren’t permitting advertising from Las Vegas,” Silver said Monday during a session at the Associated Press Sports Editors conference at the Flamingo. “Now, obviously hockey, football (are in Las Vegas), and baseball is in discussions in coming to Las Vegas.”

Outside of the Summer League the NBA announced last week that the semifinals and final of its first in-season tournament would be held in December at T-Mobile Arena.

“I feel like we have a huge footprint here,” Silver said.

After coming to Las Vegas for decades, Silver said the appetite for sports and entertainment in the city keeps growing at an insatiable rate.

“I’ve watched it develop for a long time,” Silver said. “I’ve watched a bit of the ebb and flow of Las Vegas. It’s certainly beyond anything I would have expected when I started coming 30 years ago for trade shows. I think they’ve done a fantastic job.

“We will look at this market. There’s no doubt there is enormous interest in Seattle, it’s not a secret.”

Other markets have also expressed interest in attracting an expansion NBA team, but Silver said no direct talks with any city or ownership groups, including in Las Vegas, have occurred.

“We’re not engaged in that process now,” Silver said. “We have not taken meetings right now with any potential groups. What we are saying to everyone privately is the same thing I’m saying publicly. There will be a very open process at the time we are ready to consider expansion. But that is not yet now.”

Silver previously told the Las Vegas ReviewJournal that the league wouldn’t explore expansion until it struck new collective bargaining and media rights agreements.

The NBA completed a new CBA with the NBA Players Association earlier this year and is slated to land a new media deal after the current one expires at the end of the 2024-25 season.

“We have two years left (on the media rights deal) … but that doesn’t mean we won’t get new media deals done until the very end of the second year,” Silver said. “We have exclusive negotiation periods with our partners next spring.”

Once the new media rights deal is in place, the league will turn its attention to expansion, Silver said. Having those major deals in place before expansion is important to Silver to have potential new ownership groups coming in with certainty regarding those.

“They’re going to be your partners, so you’re not necessarily looking to have people betting on what they think the rights fees are going to be,” Silver said. “They might as well know exactly what that is. It helps us better set the value.”

“There’s definitely a little more oomph behind it,” Sabol said. “There’s a lot of guys in the league that throw as hard as he does but a lot of them have trouble controlling it. He controls it and he’s got three pitches that are all plus-plus pitches. … I feel like all of us have this feeling like we have the lead and Camilo’s coming in, we’re winning this game.”

Doval’s teammates have similar, astonished memories.

When Doval arrived stateside in 2015 after signing as a teenager out of the Dominican Republic, “no one wanted to play catch with him,” said Giants ace Logan Webb. Doval, who was discovered by Gabriel Elias and signed for a modest $100,000 bonus, spent two months at the Giants’ extended spring training, where Webb was waiting to begin his season at short-

Webb has one of the longest-running relationships with Doval of anyone in the Giants’ organization and called him “one of my favorite guys.” After a rare low point, when Doval took the loss to the Dodgers in Game 5 of the 2021 NLDS, Webb gave him a big hug in the dugout and told the media afterward, “he’s gonna be a big part of this team for a long time, I think that’s the first thing he needs to know.”

“I just always want to comfort him whenever he needs it,” Webb said in an interview this week. “Super excited for him, he’s one of the most deserving guys to go (to the All-Star Game). I thought he should’ve gone last year. … We’ve just always had a good relationship. He listens to me, I listen to him. I think I’m maybe a little bit of a comfort for him because I’m one of the only guys he’s known for a long time up here.”

Back in 2015, Webb got to witness a side of Doval that doesn’t come out as often in the Giants’ clubhouse. A nature-lover who owns three horses and often arrives at the ballpark wearing a cowboy hat, Doval’s low-key personality, a product of his rural

Until the recent call-up of Mauricio Llovera, Doval was the only player of Latin descent on their pitching staff (and the only Dominican in their entire clubhouse). In the bullpen, assistant pitching coach J.P. Martinez is bilingual, but none of the other relievers speak Spanish fluently.

That has led to some creative communication on the mound, particularly as Doval adjusted to the pitch clock early this season. After racking up three violations in the first two weeks, he has been docked only twice since, with the help of a few welltimed mound visits from Giants catchers.

“I had one early in the year where I’m trying to press a button (and) he’s shaking, he’s shaking,” Sabol recalled. “I’m looking and wanting to call time and go out there, like, what do you want to throw? …

“You go up there like, ‘Hey, reloj, reloj, the clock, mas rapido, mas rapido – too suave,’” Sabol continued, letting out a big laugh before doing his best Doval impression, drawing out his syllables, leaning back and slowly waving his arms, “He’s like, ‘Okayyyy, Okayyyy.’”

The language barrier can partially be traced back to Webb, who was tasked — however realistically — with teaching English to Doval and another recently signed hard-throwing Dominican, Melvin Adón. Ostensibly, they could impart some Spanish on Webb, too.

“I would try to tell him something and I didn’t know what the Spanish word for it was, so it’s kind of hard,” Webb said. “I didn’t do a great job.”

And how did the Dominican duo do?

“I know the bad words,” Webb said with a chuckle. “The important ones.”

Webb was roommates with Adón and frequently hung out with him and Doval and other Latin prospects, communicating in broken Spanglish.

“They were a close-knit group, all of the Dominican guys,” Webb said. “Always out there when they were cooking dinner in the (player housing), even though they weren’t supposed to. Chicken, sometimes fish. Steak. Always cooking together, swimming in the pool at the hotel. It was great to start that relationship early.”

The distance from home has been eased somewhat this season. Doval’s wife, Gerolys De La Cruz, and their 2-year-old son, Liam Camilo, have spent the year in San Francisco and accompanied him in Seattle. In fact, they will be celebrating their first anniversary as much as Doval’s first All-Star selection.

No. 1 Swiatek loses to Svitolina in Wimbledon women’s quarterfinals

TribunE

LONDON — Elina Svitolina claimed the mother of all victories by knocking out world number one Iga Swiatek to reach the Wimbledon semifinals.

The unseeded Ukrainian, who only gave birth to her daughter Skai nine months ago, ousted top seed Swiatek with a dramatic 7-5 6-7 (5) 6-2 victory on Centre Court.

Swiatek, just as she had in her previous match against Belinda Bencic, came from a set down to draw level and seemed to have snatched the momentum.

But Svitolina found top gear just when she needed it to secure a famous victory.

“I don’t know what is happening right now, it’s really unbelievable,” Svitolina, also a semi-finalist here in 2019, said.

“I’m really, really happy that I got this chance to play here again. I was fighting, it was not easy. Iga is world number one and always fighting. It was an unbelievable match and I’m really happy I could win this one.”

Swiatek looked dialed in from the start this time, breaking the Svitolina serve in the opening game.

But as she served for the set, the 22-year-old from Warsaw gifted Svitolina a break back to love with an uncharacteristically sloppy game, topped off with a double-fault.

Swiatek was rattled and Svitolina began finding her range, punishing a second serve to bring up two set points and edging in front when Swiatek’s backhand floated long.

A slight delay as the roof was closed gave Swiatek a chance to regroup, but a hold to love at the start of

the second set meant Svitolina had won 10 of the previous 12 points.

However, nerves started to kick in when, at 40-0, Svitolina missed the simplest of volleys at the net and then double-faulted, allowing Swiatek to break.

Swiatek then got a dose of the jitters herself, a double-fault giving Svitolina two break points and a long forehand leveling the set at 3-3.

Svitolina dug out a second ace of the match to go 4-1 ahead in the tie-break, but Swiatek reeled her back in with a couple of rasping fore-

hands which clipped the line and an exquisite backhand winner.

But Svitolina came again, breaking the reigning French and U.S. Open champion twice to lead 4-1 in the decider.

Two more aces made it 5-1 and despite some late resistance from the Pole, Svitolina came through, covering her mouth with her hand in utter shock when Swiatek hit the net on match point.

Swiatek has been a huge supporter of the Ukrainian cause following the Russian invasion and wears a blue and yellow ribbon in her cap.

Svitolina, whose emotional win over Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in the fourth round was one of the matches of the tournament, added: “Iga is not only a great champion but an unbelievable person.

“She was one of the first who really helped the Ukrainian people, she was a huge help. So for sure it’s not easy to play someone that you share a lot of good moments. Not easy for her either, but I’m really proud I could win this one.”

Julian Finney/Getty Images/TNS

Elina Svitolina of Ukraine celebrates her victory against Iga Swiatek of Poland in the Women’s Singles Quarterfinal match at Wimbledon, Tuesday.

Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group/TNS file Giants relief pitcher Camilo Doval takes the field in the ninth inning of their MLB game against the Seattle Mariners at Oracle Park in San Francisco, July 3.

Ethan Miller/Getty Images/TNS

Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs shoots a free throw against the Portland Trail Blazers in the second half of a 2023 NBA Summer League game at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, July 9.

COMMENTARY

The rapid withdrawal by the United States from Afghanistan nearly two years ago was unquestionably bungled, as a recent scathing review shows. It was nevertheless the right strategic decision, as subsequent events have painfully demonstrated.

The chaotic and tragic nature of the final retreat obscures the circumstances that led to the decision to withdraw. The United States had been engaged in a war with the Taliban for roughly 20 years. The country spent nearly $838 billion on military and reconstruction efforts, yet things were at a stalemate. Washington and its Afghan and NATO allies were preventing the Taliban from gaining control of most of the nation’s cities but faced increasing pressure in the more populous countryside. This situation was still costing about $45 billion a year and the deployment of 10,000 to 15,000 U.S. military personnel.

Washington could have continued to prop up the unstable and corrupt Afghan government had it chosen to make that commitment. But it’s worth looking at what that would mean in today’s world, given everything that has transpired since.

A glance at the map shows that U.S. troops were essentially surrounded by hostile forces. To the west lies Iran, a bitter enemy. To the north are three Russian allies: Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. To the east, a short border with China. All supplies to the beleaguered American troops flowed through Pakistan to the south.

This arrangement would have become increasingly difficult in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Pakistan has refused to condemn the attack, abstaining from U.N. resolutions calling for Russia’s withdrawal and proclaiming that the invasion violates the U.N. charter. Pakistan also buys Russian oil at a discounted price, despite Western sanctions. The United States clearly would not want to rely on this nation’s goodwill while leading the global effort to defeat Russian President Vladimir Putin’s army.

Heightened tensions with China also reinforce the decision to leave. Washington does not have endless amounts of ships and planes. If China does invade Taiwan, and if the United States moves to defend the island, as many expect, it will need every available piece of equipment. Washington would probably be unable to spare airlift capacity to keep Afghanistan fully supplied.

That’s assuming that the United States would still have access to Pakistani airspace. Pakistan has longstanding ties to China, which helped Pakistan acquire nuclear weapons in the 1990s and has been a major arms supplier to the country for years. China recently upped its support, selling frigates, submarines and advanced fighter jets to Pakistan in 2022. Pakistan is also heavily indebted to Beijing because of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, through which China hopes to gain land access to a Pakistani deep-water Indian Ocean port. It’s not outside the realm of possibility that Pakistan would tacitly side with China in a conflict and would deny the overflight rights of the United States to resupply troops in Afghanistan.

The U.S. withdrawal mooted that threat. U.S. and NATO troops are no longer deployed far from home and dependent on adversaries or temporizing regimes for their survival. An American president will not face the terrible choice between using scarce military resources to help save Americans in Afghanistan or using them to save Taiwan.

Ending U.S. support for Afghanistan also freed up resources for the support of Ukraine. The $45 billion a year Washington was spending on Afghan operations is roughly equivalent to the nearly $47 billion in military aid it sent Kyiv through May. Skyrocketing federal spending would be even higher but for the Afghan pullout.

None of this means that the loss of Afghanistan was a good thing. Islamist terrorists have recovered a base, and Afghans are living under a theocratic dictatorship. Tens of thousands of Afghans who fought for freedom under our command were left behind. Many Americans are rightly ashamed that we allowed this to happen.

But great powers can’t afford sentiment. They must assess risks and opportunities and make decisions based on the overall impact on national security. The growth of China and its tacit alliance with Russia and Iran over the decade before withdrawal meant that the risks of continuing the Afghan war were higher, and the benefits much lower, than they had been when the war began in 2001. In this emergent world, spending tens of billions a year to support thousands of U.S. soldiers fighting in an isolated location was simply a bad idea.

No one should be proud of how we left Afghanistan. But leaving it, the better to resist the challenges from our most dangerous foes, was the right call. Henry Olsen is a Washington Post columnist, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and the Thomas W. Smith distinguished scholar in residence at Arizona State University for the winter/spring 2023 semester.

THE OTHER SIDE

We don’t serve Christians here

Are you a Christian?

What if you walked into a storefront of a web designer to build a website for your church?

The website will contain the usual information about services at your church but also includes scripture and text laying out your congregation’s beliefs in the divinity of Jesus Christ. And what if the web designer tells you he won’t serve you because of your beliefs? Would that be OK?

What if you protest saying you should have just as much right to be served as any atheist or agnostic, but the proprietor says sorry, he can’t help you? He explains that he’s a scientist and cannot be coerced into producing something with content he believes is nonsense. He goes on to say that your views on the LGBTQ community are hateful and he can’t participate in it. Fair?

Why should someone steeped in the scientific method be forced to cater to someone who believes a spiritual being created humans and condemns them to eternal damnation after 80 years of life unless people accept that the deity came to earth in human form and died for them two thousand years ago? Why should a business owner who abides by peer reviewed studies

COMMENTARY

and evidence have to cater to someone who believes in talking serpents, a talking donkey, angels, and people being raised from the dead?

Is it fair that the state should coerce a man of science to go against what he believes?

This isn’t hypothetical.

This is America 2023 with the Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis where the Republican majority on the court ruled that a Colorado web designer (in what has turned out to be a largely fabricated case) can refuse service to an LGBTQ customer who wants her to design a wedding website. How is this not Plessy v. Ferguson, separate but equal all over again?

The same rationale the six Republican justices used to justify discrimination against LGBTQ customers in the hypothetical wedding website designing case can be used to justify discrimination against religious groups, interracial marriages, women, men, races, and any other protected class.

The law used to be clear that if you open a business you couldn’t discriminate. You couldn’t open a diner that didn’t serve Jews, or a bar that doesn’t serve women. Now it seems that if you have a sincerely held belief you can argue that the

state cannot force you to sell services that you don’t believe in. That hypothetical scientist can use this ruling to make a compelling case that his rights will be violated if he’s forced to serve a Christian by creating content that violates his conscience.

This is not about free speech or religious freedom. It’s just the latest step in a Republicanfueled backlash against gains towards equality made by the LGBTQ community.

Elsewhere we see this backlash manifesting itself in using children as a cudgel against that community with bogus links to pedophilia and grooming. And all of it is about forcing fellow Americans back into the closet.

Is this really the road we want to go down? The last few years has seen an extreme Republican court roll back voting rights for blacks, reproductive rights for women, and basic rights for the LGBTQ community. What happens when a court comes for your group? What happens when it’s your rights at stake? And what if when that happens it’s met with the same silence you’re giving to this issue? Peace.

Kelvin Wade, a writer and former Fairfield resident, lives in Sacramento. Reach him at kelvinjwade@ outlook.com.

Alzheimer’s drug gets FDA nod, hurdles

Lisa Jarvis BLOOMBERG OPINION

Eisai and Biogen’s Alzhiemer’s drug Leqembi has been granted full approval by the Food and Drug Administration, making it the first disease-slowing drug to secure that full blessing.

In theory, the move should significantly expand Leqembi’s availability to patients eagerly awaiting new and better options to alter the course of that mind-robbing disease. In practice, the rollout is likely to take longer than patients and their families would like.

Peter Ljubenkov, a neurologist at the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, is excited to finally be able to offer his patients Leqembi, but stresses that “this drug requires a lot of expertise to give and a lot of infrastructure to give.” He has been part of the months-long effort to prepare the University of California hospital network for Leqembi’s arrival, a work in progress at memory centers around the country.

Leqembi received a conditional approval from the FDA in January. But its use was severely limited because the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said it would not pay for the drug, which carries an annual list price of $26,500, until it had received full approval based on evidence that it could slow down the course of the disease.

With today’s announcement, Leqembi has cleared that hurdle. But many pieces still have to fall into place before most patients will be able to receive it, says Amanda Smith, director of clinical research at the University of South Florida’s Health Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute.

The first challenge is identifying the right patients. To be eligible, people need to be in the early stages of the disease and have confirmation they have Alzheimer’s

and not another form of dementia. That requires objective evidence that their brains are coated with clumps of protein called amyloid, which the drug clears away. That requires either a special PET scan that detects amyloid or a lumbar puncture to analyze cerebral spinal fluid.

But there’s a catch: Amyloid

PET scans, the less invasive detection method, are not covered by Medicare. The health agency’s longstanding argument against coverage has been that the test, which can cost $3,000 or more, isn’t necessary for treatment. Leqembi’s approval undermines that argument. CMS should promptly agree to pay for these scans.

And there’s another hurdle.

Even if a patient’s disease is confirmed by tests, neurologists will need to have a nuanced discussion with the patient about the risks of Leqembi. People taking blood thinners, for example, or those with two copies of a gene called ApoE4, are at a higher risk of experiencing more serious brain bleeding and swelling – a side effect the FDA underscored by adding a black box warning to the drug’s label.

Even without those risk factors, patients will need an MRI to confirm they don’t have signs of brain bleeding before treatment begins, and then several more scans during treatment to monitor for swelling or bleeds.

Finally, there’s one more obstacle: Medicare’s requirements for coverage of the drug. CMS will only pay for Leqembi (and any similar drugs that receive approval) if data is collected on the drug’s efficacy and safety in the real world, rather than in the highly regimented setting of a clinical trial. To capture that information, physicians will have to register patients in a yetto-be determined registry. Without knowing how onerous that regis-

remain

try will be, it is “probably the next rate-limiting step toward getting people this drug in an equitable way,” Ljubenkov says.

All of this could be even more difficult to manage if lots of patients wants the drug. “In theory, as soon as that FDA approval comes out, we may see an influx of patients that are unlike the typical patients that go to memory clinics,” Ljubenkov says. Usually, people come to a clinic late in their disease, but now that there’s a treatment available for mild disease, patients just starting to experience symptoms may be more motivated to get a diagnosis, he says.

Access isn’t the only challenge facing the drug. Some physicians might prescribe it too readily. “My biggest fear is that the community doctors might just prescribe it without really understanding the implications of it – and prescribe it for people who it is really not appropriate for,” Smith says.

She’s already seen how this can go when she inherited patients from a physician who had overprescribed Aduhelm, an earlier Alzheimer’s drug whose conditional approval severely limited its use. “Fully half of them were people I never would have started on it in the first place because they were already too advanced,” she says.

But the FDA’s decision is an important first step. Leqembi’s approval puts us on the path to figuring out a better system for caring for patients as the next drugs come along. Let’s hope it’s just a bumpy beginning to a new era in Alzheimer’s treatment.

Lisa Jarvis is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering biotech, health care and the pharmaceutical industry. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

How we left Afghanistan was wrong, but leaving was the right thing to do

Kelvin Wade

Henry Olsen

Columns&Games

My neighbor honks her horn every morning as she leaves for work

Dear Annie: My neighbor has started to honk her horn upon leaving for work each morning (prior to 7:30 a.m.), and her husband and her children leave 10 to 20 minutes later. When I worked, we hugged our children and maybe waved to them.

When she honks, she does not take into consideration that the neighbors across the street have a newborn and the other neighbors are a retired couple who are in their late 80s. This is so annoying, and no one has approached her due to fear that she will honk even longer and more often.

Why do people not realize that to be a good neighbor, you must be respectful? Not quite sure how to handle this. —

Loving a Quiet Morning

Dear Loving a Quiet Morning: Honking anytime except to prevent an accident or ward off danger is very rude. But honking prior to 7:30 a.m. in a quiet neighborhood is especially rude. Next time you

ARIES (March 21-April 19).

Because each individual is unique, the chemistry between people is unpredictable. You never can tell how energy will combine until everyone is in the same room. Throw the theories out the window and go for a real-life experience.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20).

There’s no digital bandit that can steal your time today because you’re too busy doing something in the real world to let imposing distractions win. All detours will be of your own choosing.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21).

There’s an art to seizing the day. It’s all in the grip – strong enough to hang on, but not so strong it constricts the spontaneous flow of movement. You have just the right touch.

CANCER (June 22-July 22).

Circumstances that seem fixed offer hidden options. Don’t accept what’s presented. Get creative. Poke around. Be bold. The alternatives are there for those who decide to find them. You always have choices.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Passionate energy is fueling a chase, though it’s more strategic than fast. All the thrill will be in the approach. Once the prize is attained, the excitement will be over, so take your time and enjoy the unfolding.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22).

You may be drawn to someone older. This has to do with your love of learning and your need to grow in a certain area. A guide with experience will

see her, you might let her know there is a newborn asleep and other people are sleeping. Maybe she is just so overwhelmed with getting her children to school on time that she doesn’t realize how bad her behavior is. If she gets angry about your request and continues honking, you can call the police. There are fines for disturbing the peace.

Dear Annie: I painfully watch our daughter-in-law tease and belittle her pre-teen children, especially the older boy. She is very loving and generous with them, but also strict; she thinks she’s being funny. Her isolated, difficult upbringing by a single mom with no parenting skills left her with a tough “I’m fine” armor and the need to appear to be the perfect mom with perfect kids.

Our gentle son counteracts her actions by being very nurturing and supportive of the children, but I’ve never heard him cue her to tone it down. Even as she looks to me as a

Today’s birthday

A year characterized by playfulness and warmth. You’ll devote hours of practice to gaining a valuable skill you can apply in many areas of life. You’ll also build a dependable crew to do an important job and wind up doing many more. A high-profile performance will net attractive offers. You’ll ride a trend to lucrative result. Libra and Taurus adore you. Your lucky numbers are:

usher you just where you want to go.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23).

Most things about relationships are about as wonderful (or annoying) as you allow them to be. Seemingly accidental happenings shimmer with a glittery dusting of hope. Love feels destined.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21).

Here comes a challenge. You’re in just the mood to accept. You may even raise the stakes to make things more interesting. In the end, this isn’t about who wins the game, rather it’s about how you play.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). You have no desire to show people how awesome you are because you would much rather reveal to people how awesome they are. You will shine a light on

role model, she doesn’t ask for or take suggestions well, so I’ve always cringed rather than speak to her, and worked to be a supportive, accepting person in the children’s lives.

Do you have suggestions for things I could say or do to help her see how her behavior affects her children? Thank you for your insight. — Concerned Grammy

Dear Concerned Grammy: There is nothing funny about belittling or teasing someone. You sound very psychologically aware, especially to notice that her behavior comes from a place of insecurity based on her own upbringing. But that does not make it right. When people know better, they do better. So my guess is that she doesn’t know how damaging her teasing is. Continue to lead by example, but also, talk to your son about your concerns. And in the meantime, continue to praise and support your grandchildren without the putdowns. Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@ creators.com.

others and they will bask in your warmth.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Spread your attention around today. If you place too much expectation on one person or subject, life falls out of balance. It’s not the worst thing to tumble in this way, but it’s also not particularly productive.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Hug fear while it’s real. Listen to its voice – not because it’s accurate or true but because it wants to be heard. After it’s had its say, the charge will disperse and fear will dissipate like mist.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20).

If you knew the rest of the week would bring about the same vibe as today, what would you change? Instead of fantasizing about a different circumstance, you’ll actively shift and elevate the current vibe.

CELEBRITY PROFILES:

In times of quarantine, Richard Simmons was moved to emerge from a yearslong non-coronavirus-related isolation to offer at-home workouts amid the pandemic. True to the nurturing instincts of his sign, Simmons is practically incapable of witnessing need without rising to the occasion with the caring heart of service. The energetic moonchild (with plenty of Leo energy in his natal chart) has helped thousands live a more vital life. Write Holiday Mathis at HolidayMathis.com.

Word Sleuth

Crossword by Phillip

Bridge

thoughts?

Alder

For regular partnerships, after one of a major - double, it is a good idea to use transfer bids. (Redouble shows a one-no-trump response, one no-trump indicates clubs, et cetera. Then, here, two hearts is a good single-spade raise, and two spades is a bad raise.

You have four losers: one heart, two diamonds and one club. You have only nine winners: seven spades and two hearts. You must establish and cash dummy’s fifth club. Unless given some help by the defenders, that will require four dummy entries: three to ruff the club queen good and one more to return to the dummy to cash that winner. Where are your four entries? They must be the heart king and three spades. Put your three spade spot cards in your pocket!

Win the first trick with your heart ace and immediately attack clubs.

HOW MANY TIMES CAN YOU ENTER?

There is a Chinese proverb that says: “Teachers open the door. You enter by yourself.” In today’s deal, I will show why you need to check carefully on your dummy entries. Then I will let you see if you can find sufficient entries by yourself. You are in four spades. West leads the heart queen. What are your first

The correct defense is for West to play low and let his partner win with the king. (Otherwise, you can take a ruffing finesse to gain the extra trick.) Take the heart return on the board and ruff a club high. Overtake your spade four with dummy’s eight, ruff another club high, reenter the dummy by leading the spade nine to the 10 and ruff a third club high. Finally, retrieve the spade two, lead it to dummy’s three and cash the club queen.

COPYRIGHT: 2023, UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE

Sudoku by Wayne Gould

Bridge

7/12/23

HOW MANY TIMES CAN YOU ENTER?

There is a Chinese proverb that says: “Teachers open the door. You enter by yourself.”

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

by

Difficulty level: GOLD

Yesterday’s solution:

Horoscopes by Holiday Mathis

Like us! Check out photos, stories, community events on Facebook: www.facebook.com/dailyrepublic

‘Sound of Freedom’ is a box office hit whose star embraces QAnon

The WashingTon PosT

A casual moviegoer might not get why anyone is upset about “Sound of Freedom,” a surprise hit inspired by the reallife exploits of Tim Ballard, a former Department of Home land Security agent who stages sting operations to catch child sex traffickers.

It’s a fairly standard Amer ican action thriller – gritty, violent and hopeful – in which Ballard (Jim Caviezel) fights to save abducted children in the Colombian jungle. The par tially crowdfunded film opened this week to a solid review in “Variety,” and vied with the latest Indiana Jones sequel for the top box-office spot on July 4.

But “Sound of Freedom” has been accused of warping the truth about child exploitation and catering to QAnon conspiracy theorists – something its distributor, Angel Studios, denies. The Guardian’s critic called it a “QAnon-adjacent thriller seducing America.” And the film’s star, Caviezel, has openly embraced the extreme movement, suggesting at media events that a shadowy international cabal is kidnapping children to consume their organs.

1. Is ‘Sound of Freedom’ a true story?

This section contains spoilers for the movie.

“Sound of Freedom” is based on the life of Ballard, who left the Department of Homeland Security about 10 years ago and founded a group that works with local police to catch child sex traffickers in other countries - often by staging elaborate sting operations that it captures on video.

In the film, a brother and sister are lured to an innocuous-sounding photo shoot in Honduras, only to be snatched by abductors and imprisoned in the Colombian jungle. Caviezel’s version of Ballard spends much of the movie sneaking through criminal hideouts to find the children, risking his life and finally beating up the traffickers.

The real Ballard hasn’t claimed to do anything quite like that, but the film ends with a montage of clips from sting operations his group, Operation Underground Railroad, actually conducted in the country. “By the time Tim left Colombia, he and the team had rescued over 120 victims and arrested more than a dozen traffickers,” reads text on the screen.

“I think people are going to be inspired when they watch the story based on Tim’s story,” said Jared Geesey, senior vice president of global distribution for Angel Studios.

Many others have praised Ballard’s work. President Donald Trump appointed him to a State Department advisory council on human trafficking in 2019, which he sat on until it

Here’s how to work it: WORD SLEUTH ANSWER

Angel Studios courtesy photo Jim Caviezel in Angel Studios’ “Sound of Freedom.”

disbanded the next year. Major news organizations covered the 2014 Colombian bust that inspired “Sound of Freedom,” and Ballard testified about the operation before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee.

But Operation Underground Railroad has also been accused of distorting the complex nature of the sex trafficking business, of doing little to help victims despite its dramatic sting videos and even of putting children in danger to make them.

Glenn Kessler, The Washington Post’s Fact Checker, found no evidence for Ballard’s claim that 10,000 children are smuggled into the United States annually – a line that apparently made its way into Trump’s State of the Union address in 2019. In Utah, the Davis County Attorney’s Office spent two and a half years investigating Operation Underground Railroad for alleged communications fraud, witness tampering and retaliation, according to the Deseret News. The investigations ended with no charges in May.

A Vice News investigation in 2020 found no clear falsehoods in Operation Underground Railroad’s rescue claims, but “a pattern of image-burnishing and mythology-building, a series of exaggerations that are, in the aggregate, quite misleading.”

“The entire premise of its operations: that local law enforcement will take over when the dirty work has been done is dangerously naive,” the prominent human trafficking scholar Anne Gallagher wrote for HuffPost in 2015. “Why are police in Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Colombia not arresting child sex traffickers if they are so easy to find? The simplest explanation is law enforcement complicity in such crimes.”

Operation Underground Railroad, which did not respond to a request for comment, says on its website that it works with other organizations to ensure victims get long-term support after its stings. But Foreign Policy reported that a large group of Dominican girls the group rescued in 2014 were on their own again a week later.

elites are kidnapping children, having sex with them and harvesting their blood.

That’s partially because Ballard and the actor who plays him, Caviezel, have both expressed support for some of the QAnon’s movement’s wildest claims. Ballard once entertained a viral theory that claimed the online furniture retailer Wayfair was selling children, sometimes packing them into overpriced storage cabinets. “Law enforcement’s going to flush that out and we’ll get our answers sooner than later,” he said in a July 2020 Twitter video. “But I want to tell you this: children are sold that way.” There is no evidence to support the theory, which has inspired threats against employees and impeded actual child trafficking investigations.

A month after that video, Ballard described conspiracy theorists’ support for his organization as a mixed blessing in an interview with the New York Times. “Some of these theories have allowed people to open their eyes,” he said. “So now it’s our job to flood the space with real information so the facts can be shared.”

Caviezel - who says Ballard recruited him onto the film after seeing him star in” The Count of Monte Cristo” (2002) and Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” (2004) – has espoused even more extreme theories.

The actor appeared at a QAnon convention in Las Vegas in October 2021, giving a speech that quoted Mel Gibson’s final speech in “Braveheart” and included one of QAnon’s main slogans, “The storm is upon us,” which refers to the movement’s fight against the imagined pedophile cabal.

He has focused on one QAnon belief in particular while promoting “Sound of Freedom”: the idea that child traffickers drain children’s blood to harvest a life-giving substance called adrenochrome.

Speaking at a QAnon-affiliated conference in Oklahoma in 2021, the actor said Ballard wanted to join him but “he’s down there saving children as we speak, because they’re pulling kids out of the darkest recesses of hell right now, in . . . all kinds of

Word Sleuth

DAILY REPUBLIC — Wednesday, July 12, 2023 B5

Crossword by Phillip

Bridge

DECEPTIVE DEFENSE CAN BOOMERANG

In today’s deal, look only at the West hand. What would you lead against three no-trump? If you falsecard on defense and your partner, assuming you are carding correctly, subsequently misdefends, it will have bad consequences. He will always be wondering whether or not to trust you.

It is safe to falsecard when partner’s

Alder

only job is to avoid reneging; you know that he has a (near-) Yarborough.

This is the most common auction. Responder knows not to show a five-card minor in a balanced hand unless bidding at least a small slam.

It is normal to lead fourth-highest from your longer and stronger major. Since the opponents did not use Stayman or a transfer bid, it is unlikely they are long in a major.

So, here, the teachers and textbooks will tell you to lead the spade five: four, jack, king. Now look at the deal from declarer’s point of view. He has six top tricks: one spade (first trick), one diamond and four clubs. He can get three more winners from hearts, but that will involve losing the lead. If the spades are splitting 5-3 (or 6-2), the defenders will cash out. In that situation, declarer must hope that the diamond finesse is winning.

How will South know which way to turn? By studying West’s lead. If it was the five, with two lower spade spots available, that is probably from a five-card suit. Declarer will take the diamond finesse and come home with a satisfying overtrick.

West should mislead everyone by starting with the spade two. If South believes that, he will think the spades are 4-4 and will play on hearts, going down one.

COPYRIGHT: 2023, UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE

Sudoku by Wayne Gould

Dist. by

Difficulty level: BRONZE

DECEPTIVE DEFENSE

CAN BOOMERANG

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

In today’s deal, look only at the West hand. What would you lead against three no-trump?

If you falsecard on defense and your partner, assuming you are carding correctly, subsequently misdefends, it will

©

See Sound, Page B6

Microsoft wins US court nod to buy Activision in FTC loss

BloomBerg News

Microsoft Corp. won a court’s okay to move forward with its $69 billion deal to buy Activision Blizzard Inc., defeating an effort by the US Federal Trade Commission to block the largest ever gaming deal.

The decision by Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley in San Francisco means Microsoft could close its merger with Activision ahead of a July 18 deadline everywhere except for the UK, which vetoed the deal in May.

Microsoft has said it struck the deal to acquire Activision in order to add mobile games – an area where it has virtually no presence. Activision owns King, the maker of Candy Crush. The combination will vault Microsoft to the No. 3 slot among global video-game companies behind China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd., the publisher of League of Legends, and game console rival Sony Corp., Microsoft had said.

Activision rose as much as 6% on the news, and was trading up 4.4% to $86.31 at 11:08 a.m. in New York. Microsoft fell less than 1% to $330.06.

“We’re grateful to the court in San Francisco for

this quick and thorough decision and hope other jurisdictions will continue working towards a timely resolution,”

Microsoft President Brad Smith said. “As we’ve demonstrated consistently throughout this process, we are committed to working creatively and collaboratively to address regulatory concerns.”

Activision said the deal will benefit consumers and workers.

The merger “will enable competition rather than allow entrenched market leaders to continue to dominate our rapidly growing industry,” Activision Chief Executive Officer Bobby Kotick said.

“We are disappointed in this outcome given the clear threat this merger poses to open competition in cloud gaming, subscription services, and consoles. In the coming days we’ll be announcing our next step to continue our fight to preserve competition and protect consumers,” FTC spokesman Douglas Farrar said in an email.

In a decision, Scott Corley denied the FTC’s preliminary injunction, which sought to block the deal on the grounds it would harm gamers

3. Box office reception

places, uh, the adrenochroming of children.”

The moderator asked him to elaborate. “If a child knows he’s going to die, his body will secrete this adrenaline,” Caviezel said, his voice catching.

“These people that do it, there’ll be no mercy for them. This is one of the best films I’ve ever done in my life. The film is on Academy Award level.”

In reality, adrenochrome is a relatively mundane chemical compound created by oxidizing adrenaline, though the author Hunter S. Thompson portrayed it as a kind of super-drug popular with pedophiles in “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.”

Geesey, the Angel Studios executive, said anyone who posits that “Sound of Freedom” promotes conspiracy theories hasn’t watched the film.

“Sound of Freedom” caused a splash when it opened over the July 4 holiday weekend and went toe-to-toe with one of the biggest franchises in movie history, “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.”

The Indie flick barely edged out “Sound of Freedom” on Independence Day, according to Deadline – $11.7 million to $11.5 million. Angel Studios bragged in a news release that its film was actually the top-grossing film in the country that day, by including another $2.6 million earned through an app that allows people to donate tickets for others.

Either way, it’s a huge showing for a movie that was partially crowdfunded, abandoned by its original producers, and ultimately released by a small studio mostly known for religious projects.

Pickles Brian Crane

Zits Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

Pearls Before Swine Stephan Pastis

Candorville Darrin Bell

Baby Blues Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott

Baldo Hector Cantú and Carlos Castellanos

Bonds

“There are a lot of my idols that are not there,” Bonds said. “I hope my mom is still around if it does happen. I don’t know, my mom could be dead.

It could never happen.

If it never happens, it never happens, but in the scheme of it, I believe at some point it will happen and I’ll be able to say thank you to my AfricanAmerican brothers who came up in my time and mentored me and gave me a path in MLB. I want to say thank you to them.”

Bonds said public perception doesn’t match the facts of the court cases. He was exonerated of perjury charges from a 2003 grand-jury testimony about using performance enhancing drugs. His only penalty was an obstruction of justice conviction in 2011, but that was overturned in a 2015 appeal.

“People have to understand something,” he said. “The fact is, I was vindicated. I went to the court. I was in federal court and won my case, 100%. Where is the vindication of me in my own sport?

That’s what bothers me.”

Bonds never failed a drug test by MLB, which didn’t start testing players for steroids until 2003, and didn’t begin penalizing them for positive tests until 2004, when Bonds was 39 years old.

“In my era there were no rules,” he said.

And those who were caught and suspended for their actions after the rules were created shouldn’t be penalized again when it comes to Hall of Fame voting, he said.

Alumni

From Page B1

Chicago White Sox but had to settle for a no decision in a 5-4 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.

Scholtens worked four innings, allowing 11 hits, three earned runs and two home runs, but struck out one batter. He is 1-2 this season with one save, a 3.45 ERA in 11 gams and 31.1 innings, and 17 strikeouts.

The 29-year-old righthander is in his second stint with the White Sox this season, also pitching in Triple-A for Charlotte.

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Vacaville graduate

Tony Gonsolin not only picked up a win last week for Los Angeles, he was also honored at Dodgers Stadium with a bobblehead giveaway.

Gonsolin worked 6 2/3 innings Friday

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an inning in relief.

Drew Carrington, Parkinson, Aaron Strong and Broschard had two hits apiece against Deep Roots. Dempsay and Blurton also had hits. Strong and

A’s

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position. Of the players on opening day rosters this season, 6% were Black – the lowest such figure since 1955, according to USA Today.

At the All-Star Game two years ago, the league pledged a minimum of $100 million toward programs designed to “strengthen our sport’s engagement with Black communities.”

Amid this year’s AllStar celebration, MLB appears poised to abandon the only West Coast major league city with a significant Black community.

league sources said, was because the Giants’ ownership pushed for it.

Stewart, a four-time 20-game winner, was honored as most valuable player of the World Series in 1989, the last time the A’s won. As a kid, he lived so close to the Coliseum that he could see the stadium lights from his backyard.

“MLB already punished you for those,” Bonds said. “Why is the HOF punishing you?” Bonds also spent time on the podcast discussing the changes to the modern game. He believes the increased fastball velocity from pitchers is overblown. He said that because everybody throws 95 mph, it isn’t as difficult to hit as it was during his career, when only relief specialists threw that hard and it forced hitters to make in-game adjustments.

Even at 58 years old, Bonds believes he could still hit off current big league pitchers.

against the Los Angeles Angels. He gave up seven hits, four earned runs, two home runs, walked one and struck out five. The performance wasn’t his sharpest, but he did have plenty of offensive support as the Dodgers notched an 11-4 victory.

The 29-year-old right-hander is now 5-3 this season with a 3.86 ERA in 13 starts and 67 2/3 innings. He also has 54 strikeouts.

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Vacaville’s Devereaux Harrison took a loss Sunday as the Vancouver Canadians fell 7-1 to the Hillsboro Hops. Harrison worked four innings, allowing four hits, five runs, three home runs and three walks to go with four strikeouts. He is 3-2 this season with a 2.50 ERA in 18 games. He has started eight and has one save in 54 innings with a total of 53 strikeouts.

Vancouver is the Sin-

Dempsay drove in runs. Fairfield opens the Area 1 tournament Thursday with a 7 p.m. game against Chico. Yolo takes on Napa at 10 a.m., YubaSutter and Vallejo meet at 1 p.m, followed by a 4 p.m. game between Petaluma and Humboldt. The Expos play Friday

“I don’t care how hard you throw it, I can still hit,” he said. “Can I hit it as far? No, I’m not in physical shape to do that. But can I hit the baseball? For sure.”

He said it’s easier to be an offensive player in the modern game because he thinks pitchers rarely throw up-and-in to back players off the plate.

“Guys just take batting practice,” he said. “Nobody gets hit (by pitches). Nobody gets knocked down.”

The statistics don’t agree. Hit-by-pitches have gone up drastically over the last three years, with more than 2,000 hit batters

gle-A affiliate at the Toronto Blue Jays. Harrison is a 24-year-old right-hander.

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Area catchers Troy Claunch (Vacaville) and Carter Bins (Rodriguez) are on rehab assignments in the minor leagues after returning from the injured list.

The Single-A Kannapolis Cannon Ballers sent Claunch to the ACL White Sox in Arizona. He has been 0-for-10 thus far in four games with an RBI and four walks. Claunch is hitting .180 this season with 89 at bats, 11 runs, 16 hits, two home runs and 12 RBIs.

The Double-A Altoona Curves sent Bins to the FCL Pirates in Florida. He has yet to see game action and only has one at bat on the season. Bins did make a solid impression during big league spring training with the Pittsburgh Pirates before

at 7 p.m. against Vallejo. Yolo meets Humboldt at 10 a.m., Yuba-Sutter and Chico play at 1 p.m. with Napa squaring off against Petaluma at 4. Saturday’s games feature Fairfield against Yuba-Sutter at 7. Humboldt meets Napa at 10 a.m., Chico and Vallejo play at 1 p.m. and Yolo

in both 2021 and 2022.

In 1990, when Bonds won his first of seven National League MVP awards, there were only 861 hit batters.

Still, he seems to appreciate the new era of the game in which players are allowed to celebrate after going deep.

“If you tell me I can go up to the plate, swing a bat, flip it into the stands, high-five everybody out there and not get my head taken off, I’m going to hit a home run every time up,” he said. “I used to have to get to the plate, hit a home run, come up the next at-bat, not even flip my bat or do anything, and know that I’m definitely still going to get hit regardless. I have to stay in the box and learn how to dodge it and swing the bat at the same time.

“It’s just different. It’s a different era. And I don’t think a player should get hit.”

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Devereaux’s brother Griffin Harrison (Vacaville) was named to the California Coast League all-star game as a third baseman, scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday night at the MLB Youth Academy in Compton.

Harrison is playing summer ball in Walnut Creek. He played his freshman year at Sacramento State, finishing with 12 runs, 14 hits, two doubles, two triples, two home runs and 10 RBI in 49 games for the Hornets.

The local Solano Mudcats will be represented by right fielder Max McGee (San Joaquin Delta), second baseman Alec Nava (San Joaquin Delta), center fielder Nate Schwartz (Cosumnes River), designated hitter Jake Tandy (Pacific) and outfielder Bronson Balholm (Arizona State).

takes on Petaluma at 4. Sunday’s pool play games will be at 10 a.m and 1 p.m. The championship will follow Monday. Fairfield defeated Petaluma 6-5 in nine innings last year to win the Area 1 title and earn a berth in the state tournament at Fresno State University.

Oakland’s population is 22% Black, according to U.S. Census data. That figure ranges from 3%-9% in Los Angeles, Anaheim, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and Phoenix.

The A’s might be going, going, gone from Oakland, but MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred says the league will continue its initiatives to support youth participation and player training there and elsewhere.

“Our extensive player development programs are designed to increase Black advancement in baseball and reach all corners of the United States,” Manfred told The Times. “We are encouraged by the progress being made at various levels of the pipeline.

“Our focus remains on supporting players from as many communities as possible as they advance to different participation stages of the game. Diversity remains a top priority for our entire industry and we are committed to this as a long-term effort.”

In the 2022 draft, four of the first five picks were Black, all four products of MLB development programs that the league said have accounted for 240 draft picks since 2015 and have sent 570 Black players into college baseball.

The kids who played with the likes of Stewart and Willis may have not advanced to college or professional baseball, but the biggest factor in determining if you become a lifelong fan is whether you play as a kid.

Tony Reagins, chief baseball development officer for MLB, said the league plans to continue to work with Willis, Stewart, Vallejo native CC Sabathia, Tyson Ross, Shooty Babitt and other former major leaguers from Oakland and the East Bay on youth baseball and softball leagues and after-school programs.

“Whether there’s a major league team there or not, our goal is to continue to impact the lives of young Black men and women,” Reagins said. “We have relationships there that are community-based and grassroots-based, so we think we can continue to do that.”

Willis is not as sure that baseball can maintain its fan base in the East Bay once the A’s leave and kids cannot see a game in their neighborhood.

“Thank God for YouTube, I guess,” he said.

The San Francisco Giants are a ferry or subway ride away. For that matter, so are the Golden State Warriors, who moved to San Francisco from Oakland. Both the Giants and Warriors put up new venues without taxpayer funding.

“We see what happens when the infrastructure and the ownership are on the same page, right across the water,” Willis said.

“For an East Bay guy, it makes us all bitter. We wish we had something like that on our side.”

Indeed, when MLB targeted the Bay Area for one of its Urban Youth Academies – a program that launched in Compton and would have been ideal for Oakland – the league instead announced the academy would be built in San Francisco. That, two

“We used to ride our bikes and chain them at the Union 76 station on the corner of 66th and San Leandro,” he said. “We’d walk down the tracks, hop the fence, and be in the stadium.” When the A’s won three consecutive World Series – in 1972, ‘73 and ‘74 – he said the championships put the city in a desperately needed positive light.

“There were a lot of negative connotations when it came to East Oakland, and Oakland in general,” Stewart said. “People talked about the Black Panthers, the Symbionese Liberation Army, and demonstrating, and all that stuff that went on.

“It’s historic today, but it was negative in that period of time, because we were going through civil rights.”

Stewart, who is working to help attract an expansion team to Nashville, said the blame for the departure of the A’s should not all fall upon Manfred and John Fisher, the A’s owner.

He said the city of Oakland should not escape blame, not after Fisher had proposed a $12-billion development on the Oakland waterfront with a ballpark at its heart, no matter how difficult negotiations might have been over the hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure requests the team made of the city.

“To me, it’s a no-brainer that somehow you should find a way to make that happen,” he said, “and not after the team has decided it’s going to leave.”

Stewart also said Manfred and league officials cannot realistically compel Fisher to keep the A’s in Oakland, or to sell to someone who would.

“They can’t tell them what to do,” Stewart said. “If that were the case, you’d see more minorities, more diversity in the 30 teams that make up Major League Baseball. You can’t tell these guys what to do with their money.”

The A’s honor one player each year for community service. The honor is named after Stewart. Stewart regrets that the A’s no longer wish to serve that community. He works as an analyst on selected A’s broadcasts, out of a studio in San Francisco, not too far from the Giants’ stadium. The last time he was there, he saw a family of five, all decked out in Giants gear, headed to the ballgame.

“The tears didn’t drop, but my eyes welled up,” he said. “That will never exist or happen in Oakland after the next three to four years. It will never happen again. And that’s sad.” Whatever MLB might do to keep baseball alive in Oakland might not be enough to keep the legacy of the A’s alive.

“It’s going to be forgotten that there even was an Oakland A’s franchise, quite frankly,” Stewart said.

“The future generations of kids that grow up in Oakland won’t even know there was ever a team there, that Rickey Henderson was one of the best players ever to put a uniform on, that Joe Morgan was one of the best players ever to put a uniform on, that Frank Robinson was one of the best players ever to put a uniform on. They won’t know that Curt Flood was the man who sacrificed himself for free agency so players could get paid.

“They won’t know that, because they won’t have anything to look at.”

Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group/TNS file Former San Francisco Giantsí Barry Bonds walks on the court during the Golden State Warriors’ game against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second quarter at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., Feb. 26.

“The fact is, I was vindicated. I went to the court. I was in federal court and won my case, 100%. Where is the vindication of me in my own sport? That’s what bothers me.”

— Barry Bonds