Daily Republic: Wednesday, July 19, 2023

Suisun City police cite 2022 accomplishments A3

Gonsolin pulled by Dodgers despite five strong innings B1

City manager highlights a bevy of activity in Suisun City

Daily Republic Staff DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

SUISUN CITY — It’s a busy time for the city, reported City Manager, Greg Folsom, in his monthly message focusing on June 2023.

Judge hints at setting Trump documents trial before election Promises decision soon

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A federal judge on Tuesday heard opposing arguments for when to set the politically charged trial of former President Donald Trump on a 38-count indictment accusing him of mishandling of classified materials at his Palm Beach estate.

Trump’s lawyers urged U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon to postpone what promises to be a complex and controversial criminal trial involving scores of sensitive government secrets until after the 2024 presidential election. U.S. Justice Department prosecutors argued to start as early as December, saying Trump’s political aspirations aren’t legal grounds for indefinite delay.

Cannon did not make a deci-

sion during the two-hour hearing in the Fort Pierce federal courthouse, but said she would make a decision promptly and seemed to signal she was prepared to move forward with the trial before the election.

“I think some deadlines can be established now,” she told Trump’s lawyers.

Cannon, a Trump appointee who joined the federal in 2020, had asked both sides to be prepared to address the trial schedule issue as well as the crucial sharing of documents under the Classified Information Procedures Act at the Tuesday afternoon hearing. A special counsel’s team of prosecutors are pushing for the trial this year and defense attorneys are seeking an indefinite delay because of the huge volume of evidence and a looming election that has Trump

the apparent early front-runner candidate for the Republican nomination.

Some legal experts said that it’s understandable why the defense lawyers may need more time to prepare for such a complex trial, but questioned their political motives on an indefinite postponement – possibly beyond the November 2024 election so that, if Trump defeats Democratic incumbent Joe Biden, Trump can close the case or pardon himself.

“I think there are better arguments to make to get a substantial delay, but by injecting political arguments into the mix, they are making a mistake and will cause the judge to react negatively,” said longtime Miami defense

See Trump, Page A9

US, China seek thaw on climate as world broils under extreme heat

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U.S. climate envoy

John Kerry was resolute as he sat across from his Chinese counterpart in Beijing on Monday:

The global warming crisis “cannot be solved” without both nations working together, he said.

Countries are “looking to this meeting to see if we can move beyond the real differences we have,” Kerry said of negotiations between the two superpowers, held as heat waves bake much of the planet and temperature records shatter. “Of all the topics in the world, there can’t be differences on this.”

While talks got underway, some 84 million Americans were under heat warnings and advisories, and Chinese state media reported the Xinjiang region had logged its hottest-ever temperature.

The three days of talks aim to carve a path for collaboration on climate change through the rocky terrain of the U.S.-

China relationship, amid disputes over human rights, trade controls and Taiwan. They follow on the heels of visits to Beijing by U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken aimed at tamping down tensions between the rivals.

For his part, Chinese climate envoy Xie Zhenhua on Monday cast the talks as a chance to pursue “substantial” outcomes. Simply the

resumption of regular U.S.-China dialogue on climate would be a step forward, experts say.

A positive result would help guard against an unraveling of the relationship the next time it is tested by a wayward balloon or a U.S. official’s visit to Taiwan. The idea is “to help protect against the relationship spinning out of control whenever there’s a geopolitical fracas,” said Thom Woodroofe, founding director

of the Asia Society’s China Climate Hub.

It also would inject momentum into global climate talks four months before the critical COP28 summit in Dubai.

From the 2015 Paris Agreement to a global pact in Glasgow six years later, almost every major recent diplomatic achievement on climate has come only after a U.S.-China pronouncement paved the way.

“It’s always an enormous boon to the multilateral process when the two are talking and finding ways to find new ways to get in alignment and move their engagement forward,” said David Waskow, director of the World Resources Institute’s international climate initiative.

Even as a matter of carbon math, the countries are essential to climate progress. China is the world’s No. 1 greenhouse gas emitter today. But the U.S., currently

See Broils, Page A9

Suisun City began its fiscal year on July 1, after passing a budget in late June. Include was a competitive com pensation package for police offi cers to not leave for other jobs and attract officers.

“These raises will put Suisun City police offi cers at around the median for our comparative agencies. Council also prioritized paying a competitive wage throughout the organization and set all wages to at least 90 percent of the median of competing agencies. These pay raises do come at a cost and labor costs

will be up pretty significantly for this new fiscal year. However, turnover throughout the organization should be reduced, resulting in overall better service to the community,” Folsom wrote.

The Lawler Apartment Homes are slated to open this month. The community offers two- and threebedroom homes at 1120 McCoy Creek Way. City staff has conducted initial inspections for the project and is allowing the owner to begin the leasing process with specific conditions while the remainder of the items is being addressed.

The owners of the Pickering Property, at Railroad and Sunset Avenues have until Thursday to clear the

See Suisun, Page A9

Show me the money: Survey says Fairfield pays lower cable bill than U.S average

Daily Republic Staff DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — A recently released report, “U.S. Cable & Internet Market Size and Household Spending Report 2023,” found the average household in Fairfield spends $1,123 on cable and Internet, 3 percent lower than the U.S. yearly average of $1,161.

The results were released by doxo, a network providing household bill-pay services across the United States.

The data shows 431 towns and cities in California and the average U.S. household’s cable and internet bill has increased by 1.7 percent since 2022.

Specifically for Fairfield, doxo’s data shows that:

Per month, the average household spends $120 on cable and Internet bills, which is 2 percent higher than the U.S. monthly

average of $118.

The average monthly amount spent on Cable and Internet in the state of California overall is $117. Almost 80 percent of households in Fairfield pay for cable and Internet on a monthly basis.

Fairfield residents spend $2,891 a month, or $34,693 a year on the ten most essential household bills which is 41.3 percent higher than the national average of $2,046.

The report breaks it down this way, on an average monthly basis:

n Mortgage: $2.194.

n Rent: 1,808.

n Auto loans: $485.

n Utilities: $339.

n Health Insurance: $329.

n Auto Insurance: $165.

n Cable & Internet: $120.

n Mobile: $101.

n Alarm & Security: $96.

See Cable, Page A9

Joe Raedle/Getty Images/TNS

Attorneys for former President Donald Trump, Todd Blanche (center) and Chris Kise (third right), leave the Alto Lee Adams Sr. United States Courthouse in Fort Pierce, Florida, Tuesday.

FOLSOM

Alex Wong/Getty Images/TNS

Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry at a hearing before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, DC, July 13.

An opportunity years in the making

This Saturday, after being a fan for over 45 years, I’m going to see my favorite band live for the first time. The Isley Brothers will be performing at the California State Fair in Sacramento. All concerts at the state fair are free with admission. Leann Rimes performs tonight, with .38 Special, George Thorogood and the Destroyers, Kool & the Gang, and Trace Adkins coming up.

The Isley Brothers started in the ’50s as a trio of Ronald, O’Kelly and Rudolph Isley. Their first big hit came in 1959 with the iconic, “Shout.” They followed it up in 1962 with “Twist and Shout,” which the Beatles covered in 1963. Years later, Paul McCartney would say without the Isley Brothers the Beatles would’ve

never made it out of Liverpool.

During the early ’60s their new guitarist, a young prodigy named Jimi Hendrix, moved in with the family for two years. But times proved lean. During the Motown years, the Isleys would record just a single hit, “This Old Heart of Mine.”

Years later, after another hit, “It’s Your Thing,” two younger Isley brothers, Ernie and Marvin joined the group along with Chris Jasper, whose sister was married to Rudolph Isley.

Ernie played guitar and drums, Marvin played bass and Jasper was a Juilliard trained pianist/ keyboardist. With the addition, the now six member Isley Brothers became a self-contained band.

The hits started to follow:

“That Lady,” “Summer

Breeze,” “Work To Do,” “Fight the Power,” “For the Love of You,” “The Pride,” “Footsteps in the Dark,” (which was later sampled by rapper Ice Cube for his highest charting single, “It Was a Good Day”) and “Voyage to Atlantis” fueled platinum albums.

In 1983, the Isleys dropped the platinum album, “Between the Sheets,” featuring the eponymous title track that was later sampled by rapper Notorious B.I.G. for his 1994 hit, “Big Poppa.” The Isley Brothers sound is hard to pigeonhole. Their music ranges from doo wop to R&B and funk, with elements of rock. They’re masters of the ballad. Ronald Isley’s iconic buttery smooth vocals epitomizes ‘baby making music’ (which is also the name of one of their albums.)

After the group split into two groups in the ’80s, both

groups had a hit song. Soon after, O’Kelly Isley died and Rudolph retired from music for the ministry.

Ronald Isley collaborated with R&B singer R Kelly, reinventing himself as “Mr. Biggs,” a wealthy, flashy clothed, swagger stick carrying boss of bosses and the Isley Brothers scored more hits like “Busted” and “Contagious.” Ronald usually assumes the persona of the character midway through their concerts. Music is the soundtrack of our lives. Songs take us back to earlier times and experiences. They’re the closest thing we have to time travel. For me, I can’t help but think of my late brother Ken when I listen to the Isleys. It was Ken who first introduced me to the Isley Brothers, as they were one of his favorites.

I’ve been waiting years to hear Ronald Isley’s enchant-

ing vocals live and see Ernie Isley’s nimble fretwork on the guitar. Ernie is probably one of the most underrated guitarists in popular music. A few years ago he toured with Experience Hendrix, with Stevie Ray Vaughn’s drummer, Chris Layton and Hendrix bassist Billy Cox. Would I have liked to have seen the Isley Brothers in 1980 with the full group intact? Absolutely. Now there are just Ronald and Ernie, age 82 and 71, respectively. But they’re still performing at a high level and this weekend they get the opportunity to perform for one of their biggest fans. Join me. Peace.

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

Sailors visit with pups on a mission for mental health

K atrina Dix THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT NORFOLK, Va. —

Machinist’s mate Isiah

Nathan, 19, was one of several sailors on the USS George Washington who stepped away from their duties Thursday to pet the visitors from Mutts with a Mission.

Tucked in a corner of a cavernous area, the dogs and their trainers greeted crewmembers who gave the puppies a quick cuddle or a pat before heading to lunch, receiving new equipment or completing other work. Mutts with a Mission is Hampton Roads’ only accredited service dog provider, and the visit was one of the steps the Navy has taken recently to improve morale on the ship.

Nathan’s favorite was Poseidon, a 4-month-old that reminded him of his dog back home in Louisiana. He joined the ship in March, at the tail end of its six years at Newport News Shipbuilding. He was concerned about working on such a large ship, and he knew it had been through difficult times. There have been nine suicides among its crew dating to 2017, including three in one week in April 2022. But the ship and its crew quickly earned his admiration.

Nathan’s pride was evident as he turned to look up at the massive mural painted above the mingling dogs and sailors.

“Every day, I find something new to love,” he said. Camaraderie has increased with efforts to improve morale, from popular karaoke nights to an upcoming summer picnic for which leadership has reserved a waterpark. But nothing

CORRECTION POLICY

has had a bigger impact, he and others said, than finally getting out of the shipyard. The USS George Washington was redelivered May 25 to the Navy at Naval Station Norfolk.

“I can see people are more lifelike,” he said, “There are more smiles.”

Stuart Reckseit, a 2nd Class air traffic controller who has been with the Washington for two years, said the change in the crew’s dynamic was immediate.

“I saw a lot of people being like, ‘We’re never getting out of here,’” he said. Now that they’ve left the shipyard, they can finally perform the jobs they trained to do, rather than helping out with maintenance and other support tasks.

The warship reached another important milestone when it completed its flight deck certification June 30. It was the first time the ship and the airwing have operated together since the overhaul.

As for the dogs, Leckseit said, their periodic visits always brighten crew members’ days.

“Who doesn’t want to pet a puppy?” he said.

Jo Ofeldt, the organization’s volunteer coordinator, said Mutts with a Mission has made over 70 visits to the fleet this year and has been to the six aircraft carriers on the East Coast at least once.

“You come on a ship and you just hear comments from people like ‘I’ve never seen so many smiling faces,’” Ofeldt said. “People come in who weren’t scheduled to work that day, just to see the dogs.” Participants report substantial improvement

in their mental health in surveys sent out after the events, she said.

The nonprofit has even started a pilot program to bring canines aboard deployed warships. Sage, a 3-year-old female yellow Labrador retriever, is deployed aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford. Another yellow Lab, 2-year-old Ike, has been assigned to amphibious assault ship USS Wasp for its next deployment. When dogs join the ships, mental health professionals are assigned as their handlers.

A visit with the dogs often improves sailors’ mental health by itself – but there’s also been a substantial increase in crew members’ interactions with mental health professionals, Ofeldt said. Whether the canine affection is the draw or the excuse, it seems to have made it easier for sailors to reach out for support.

The Washington hasn’t been assigned a crew dog, but Mutts with a Mission’s visits – which chaplains and resilience counselors often attend – support building a scaffolding for mental health, according to Command Master Chief Randy Swanson, who joined the ship in November.

“The majority of our crew is green,” Swanson said of the roughly 2,900 sailors.

Supporting quality of life and morale needs to be part of everyday operations and is essential to military readiness, he said; there’s no “mission accomplished” when it comes to mental health.

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.

Kendall Warner/The Virginian-Pilot/TNS

U.S. Navy Sailors hang out with a Mutts with a Mission service dog aboard the USS George Washington at Naval Station Norfolk, Thursday.

Suisun City police cite 2022 accomplishments; one homicide

SUISUN CITY — The City Council meeting on July 18 was scheduled to hear the annual report from the police department. Suisun City police report that patrol units handled 25,343 incidents in 2022. Officers created 3,577 case investigations and made almost 1,000 arrests.

There were 3,403 traffic stops, resulting in 1,101 citations and 92 DUI arrests. Patrol officers investigated 284 traffic collisions and booked more than 1,800 pieces of property into evidence or safekeeping.

With a fully staffed department in 2022, a pilot program was launched, allowing one officer each day to be assigned to specific citywide concerns. The officers conducted foot patrols downtown and throughout the city. They focused on traffic enforcement in areas of concern and made regular contact with the homeless.

The investigations divisions followed up on 125 significant cases, including one homicide.

Dispatch handled

9,509 911 calls. Almost 30,000 incidents were created, with 4,522 fire or medical related calls.

In 2022, the department had 19 used of force incidents reported. The department investigated six allegations of misconduct: four from community members via a citizen’s complaint. The remaining two were recognized internally. There were no substantiated complaints for

excessive force. There was one for discourtesy.

“With all the success we had in 2022, we recognize there is still much work to be done,” wrote Chief Aaron Roth.

The report cited examples of 2022 accomplishments, including:

n Enhancing license plate reader system to better investigate crime.

n Completed the implementation of the Racial and Identify Profiling Act.

Highway 12 spill may have been food-grade product

Daily Republic Staff DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

SUISUN CITY — A white liquid on the ground near Highway 12 and Emperor Drive/Lawler Ranch Parkway drew a big response shortly after 12:30 p.m. Sunday.

The city’s fire department responded. Crews were not able to identify the liquid, which required a response from the Solano County Hazardous Material team.

The team was not able to identify the white liquid after completing a number of tests.

During the incident, the team was provided pictures and video that indicated the liquid could be a food-grade product. The team was able to determine that there is no threat to the environment and community.

The majority of the liquid evaporated in the heat. The remaining liquid was contained and cleaned up by Suisun City Public Works.

The Suisun City Fire Department, Fairfield Police, Vacaville Police and the Dixon Fire Department also assisted.

n Investigations had two-full time detective for the first time several years. Goals for 2023 include:

n Maintaining staffing levels.

n Complete statefunded capital improvements, including enhanced station securing and mobile command vehicle.

n Enhance service delivery to the community.

Suisun Fire Department reports 2022 stats

Daily Republic Staff

DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

SUISUN CITY — The city’s Fire Department responded to almost 3,400 incidents in 2022, according to its annual report, which the City Council was set to hear at its July 18 meeting. The average response time being 5 minutes and 22 seconds. The department strives to respond to 90 percent of all calls within

accounted for 2,201 of the calls; vehicle accidents, 113; fire responses, 179; and 114 for false-alarm calls. The busiest month was January. Mondays got the most calls and 5 to 6 p.m. were full of activity. Fireworks enforcement issued six citations, totaling $5,100 in fines collected. There were 16 fire investigations.

A second staffed engine company, offering advance Life Support,

2022, include:

n Hiring a new fire chief.

n Purchase of a “jaws of life” rescue tool.

n Completed the first responder fee project and began collecting the fee.

The goals for 2023 include:

n Plan for future development and the build of a second fire station.

n Enhance fire prevention, public education and community risk reduction.hensive five-year strategic

Police: Missing teen found safe

Daily Republic Staff DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

plan and capital improvement program. The complete report can be found on the city’s website as part of the July 18 city council agenda.

FAIRFIELD — Fairfield Police Dispatch reported Sunday that Brooke Mellomida was located safely and is no longer missing. On Thursday, the 14-year-old was last

seen leaving Regatta Circle and heading to an unknown destination via a rideshare. Fairfield Dispatch was able to ping her phone near Laurel Creek Park and Cement Hill around 4:55 p.m. Friday but could not locate Brooke.

Aaron Rosenblatt/Daily Republic file (2022)

Suisun City Police Officers investigate the railroad tracks near 110 Railroad Avenue after receiving calls of alleged gunshots, Dec. 6, 2022.

Aaron Rosenblatt/Daily Republic file (2022)

A firefighter hoses down a small blaze in a house along the 300 block of Line Street in Suisun City, July 14, 2022.

Courtesy photo

This Suisun City Fire Department social media photo shows a hazardous material incident in the area of Highway 12 and Emperor Drive/Lawler Ranch Parkway in Suisun City.

How far does $60 go at the California State Fair?

Here’s what we got for food and fun

The California State Fair kicked off its annual extravaganza Friday with food and fun under the scorching summer sun.

Going to the fair can be one of the best experiences for families but not always the cheapest one, especially for those with larger groups. Visiting the fair can rack up an expensive bill.

The Sacramento Bee sent a reporter to the fair’s opening day with a $100 budget to see how far that could stretch in fun rides, games and food.

In four hours at the fair, we were able to spend $61 on food and fun. Here’s what we got:

What we spent for $61

After admission ($16 for adults) and parking ($15), we entered the fairgrounds to see how much fun could be had.

Savings alert: If you bring five or more nonexpired, nonperishable items per person and come to the State Fair & Food Festival any time between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. on July 17 and July 24, you can receive a free same day admission ticket, courtesy of SMUD’s Giving Monday at the Fair.

FOOD AND DRINK

When it comes to spending money at a fair,

buying food and drinks is an obvious choice, especially when you’re walking around in 100degree weather.

Our first $12 was spent on a refreshing coconut from Machete-fresh Coconuts. It kept us hydrated as we explored the State Fair’s exhibits.

After some walking, we purchased an $9 jumbo corn dog from Milo’s to fill our hungry bellies. As we ate, we enjoyed some free entertainment on Sky River Casino’s stage.

To satisfy our sweet tooth, we purchased a $10 signature Country Fair Cinnamon Roll.

As we headed into the carnival area of the State Fair, our last food-anddrink item purchased was an $8 pineapple lemonade from Suck It Up. It kept us hydrated as we continued our fun in the sun.

Savings alert: On Wednesdays and Thursdays from 11:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., each food vendor will have one item at $4 as part of “Taste of the Fair.” You can try bite-sized versions of all your favorite foods for just $4 an item, according to the fair’s website.

GAMES AND RIDES

For $22 ($20 in tickets, $2 convenience fee) we bought a wristband that got us 18 tickets for both rides and games. For five tickets, we rode the YOYO.

For 10 tickets, we decided to take our chances in playing a carnival game, which involved popping balloons with a small ball.

As our day at the fair came to a close, we had three tickets remaining. Unfortunately, the only ride open that accepted three tickets was the Dragon Wagon, but we were too tall to ride.

Savings alert:Each Tuesday, kids 12 and under get free admission. In addition, all guests of all ages only pay $2 per Carnival ride, according to the fair’s website.

Meals on Wheels hosting box-fan drive

SUISUN CITY — Meals on Wheels is seeking donations of box fans to be distributed to the program’s recipients.

The event runs through Aug. 31

Fans may be dropped off at 95 Marina Center, between 8 and 5 p.m. weekdays.

They can also be purchased at Meals on Wheels Amazon wish list.

Thursday workshop on Parks, Recreation

FAIRFIELD — The city seeks community input on the Parks, Recreation and Open Space Master Plan.

It was discussed in a city council study session on July 11. City staff and a consultant team provided an overview of the work completed to date and shared results of community engagement efforts over the past three months.

The goal of the PROSMP is to create a comprehensive plan surrounding Fairfield’s parks and recreational programming and park development.

All interested are invited to the first community workshop, 6 p.m. Thursday in Willow Hall, 1000 Kentucky St.

For more information, visit www.fairfield. ca.gov/future.

Mar ia E. Cain

8/5/1936 – 6/29/2023

Other ways to save at the California State Fair

Here are some other days when you can save money:

n Senior Savings Friday: Seniors get in for $10 on Fridays, according to the fair’s website.

n Military, Veteran and First Responder Appreciation Day: On July 27, the fair will be providing free admission for all active duty, reserve and veterans from all branches of the military and first responders.

Vandalism suspects nabbed by police, 700 feet from ravaged ride

FAIRFIELD – At around 9:55 p.m. Saturday, two Fairfield police officers responded to a call regarding a suspicious vehicle in the 1300 block of Gold Hill Road.

Officers located the car, which had both its front and rear plates covered in tape and plastic wrap and

conducted a stop on it near Wedgewood Court. Inside were four males. The driver consented to a search of the vehicle, during which an aluminum bat, black ski mask and a switch blade knife were found.

At short time later, a resident who lives on Fairoaks Court called dispatch to report his

vehicle had been vandalized - the front windshield had been broken and the tires slashed.

The location of the vandalized vehicle was approximately 700 feet from where the officers stopped the car.

A witness said they saw four males, including one with a bat, damage the victim’s vehicle. When the

witness yelled at them, they fled on foot and, a short time later, a vehicle matching the description of the car stopped by the officers and sped away.

Colin Catamura, 20, and Jelani Kelly, 18, both of Fairfield, were booked for vandalism and conspiracy to commit a crime. Two minors, both 17, released to their parents.

Teen bitten by Bay Area rattlesnake airlifted to hospital

Tribune ConTenT AgenCy

Sonoma County Sher-

iff’s officials airlifted a teenager after he was bitten by a rattlesnake at a rural property in Calistoga, officials said.

The boy, 13, was bitten over the weekend, officials said Monday.

The sheriff’s office dispatched its aircraft, Henry-1, to respond to the

In brief

Community Development Block Grant workshop slated FAIRFIELD — The city’s Housing Services Department will host a Community Development Block Grant program workshop for nonprofit organizations.

The event is from 2 to 4 p.m. at 1000 Kentucky St., in the Lakeside Room A. It will provide information about the Community Development Block Grant Program and the upcoming application process.

The CDBG Program exists to develop viable urban communities by providing decent housing and suitable living environments through expanding economic opportunities,

scene, and it arrived in six minutes. The victim was promptly transported to a hospital, officials said. The victim’s condition was unknown as of Tuesday afternoon.

Rattlesnakes are found throughout the Bay Area but their activity usually peaks in late May.

The snakes rely on sunny weather to warm

principally for low-to-moderate income persons.

At the workshop, staff will provide an overview of the CDBG Program, guidelines, expectations

their body temperatures and are especially active in the warmest part of the day, in search of sunshine.

Experts say the best way to avoid getting bitten is to wear closedtoed shoes and long pants whenever setting out on a hike or walking through bushy areas or woodpiles. If you see a rattlesnake, let it cross the trail; never poke it with a stick.

and reporting requirements. Attendees will receive detailed information on the current state of the CDBG Program and technical assistance to prepare them to apply for CDBG funding with the city of Fairfield.

Officials did not disclose the circumstances that led to the teen getting bitten.

In the event of a bite, stay calm and call 911. Lie down so that the bite is at or below the level of the heart, and seek medical treatment as soon as possible. Do not suck, cut, or apply a tourniquet to the wound.

Mrs. Maria Elvira Cain passed away peacefully the early morning of June 29, 2023 with her family by her side Maria was born to Inacio Martins and Maria De Jesus in Terceira, Azores, Portugal. Maria met and married her lifelong love Thornton Cain when he was stationed in the Azores while serving in the US Air Force. They were married 64 years and had six children.

They came to Fairfield in 1967 where she continued to live her whole life as a devoted wife, mother, and later grandmother and great grandmother Maria enjoyed playing bingo, tending to her backyard roses, and most of all her grandchildren. Whenever you saw Maria driving around she would always have her grandchildren with her, as many that could fit in her Cadillac. Maria was a kind, loving and generous lady She loved baking her delicious sweetbread and passing the loaves around to those she loved. Maria was dedicated to her family and that came first above all else. The void left by her absence will be impossible to fill. Maria was loved by many and the world has truly lost a unique and beautiful soul who will be deeply missed by all who knew her Maria is sur vived by her children Maria Lillie Eddings (Reggie), John (Imelda), Maria Teresa Cain (Tony), Tony (Claudia), Maria Malinda Cain, Christopher (Maria) and numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren.

She is preceded in death by her husband Thornton Cain, her parents and all of her brothers and sisters Visitation will be held from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m. on July 20, 2023 at Br yan Baker Funeral home 1850 W Texas St Fairfield CA. Funeral ser vices will be held at 11:00 a.m. on July 21, 2023 at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church 2700 Dover Ave, Fairfield CA. Burial will be at Fairmont Memorial Cemetery, Fairfield, CA. Repast will follow.

Sally Irene Rodeen Calbert

Sally affectionately known as Grammy Sally, or just Grammy, to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, passed away with her family by her side on July 1, 2023. Born in St Helena CA on June 9, 1945 to Wayne and Dorothy Rodeen. Sally was raised in Napa and graduated from Napa High School in 1963.

She was preceded in death by her husband Joe, known by all as Papa Joe, in 2008, as well as her parents and her sisters, Sherr y and Debby.

Sally was the matriarch of her family She was a devoted mother to her two childr en, Christy Harrison (Dave) and Danny Webb (Missy). She loved her role as Grammy and adored her seven grandchildren: Brittany A shley (Wiseley), Tanner (Patti Jo), Brittani, Corey (Sophia), Julia and Caleb (Taylor); and he r great-grandchildren: Jocelyn, Bristol, Colton, Ella and Brooks.

Sally started her career first working at Sears and then later began work as a banker with various institutions, finishing her career with Bank of America. As a banker she loved her co-workers and customers. She always treated them like family and had friendships with many of them well passed retirement Her passions were the color red, classic cars (Hot August Nights), Relay For Life (Papa Joes Pit Crew) and her dog Jack , among other things. She was always sure to include ever yone she knew in her famous Christmas Eve parties. It was said, “If you’re lucky enough to be invited, then you’re lucky enough.”

Sally’s family and friends were dear to her heart as she always put them first, even before herself. She was a force of nature and made things happen.

Ser vices will be held at Br yan Braker on August 12, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. Sally requested that instead of flowers, donations be made to the American Cancer Society

Helping You... Help yourself

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Divorce $399-$699 Living Trusts $599/$699

Sara Nevis/Sacramento Bee file (2022)

Guests ride the Wave Swinger ride at the California State Fair on Sunday, July 17, 2022, at Cal Expo.

Surviving Death Valley at 128 degrees ‘like a blow-dryer in my face’

Los A ngeLes Times

An unfathomable heat descended here on Monday, the hottest place in a rapidly warming world. At the Furnace Creek Visitor Center, a digital thermometer read 123 degrees and counting – within striking distance of the hottest temperature ever recorded on planet Earth.

By midday, the canyons and gorges of the vast park near the border of Nevada shimmered beneath the white-hot sun, but the relentless, eyeball-stinging heat wasn’t enough to stop visitors from braving the danger.

“It feels like a blowdryer in my face,” said Ross Nikides, 31, who had stopped in Death Valley as part of a three-week road trip to see several national parks. “It’s the hottest I’ve ever felt.”

The park on Sunday had soared to 128 degrees, breaking its daily record of 127 degrees set in 2005 and 1972, according to the National Weather Service. It was expected to reach at least 125 on Monday.

The heat can be a killer. Every year, tourists seeking its expansive beauty suffer automobile breakdowns, stray from set paths or become otherwise stranded, and quickly succumb to the elements.

Earlier this month, a man was found dead in his car just 30 yards from North Highway, apparently a victim of 126-degree temperatures the day prior.

The current sizzling temperatures come as a high-pressure heat dome hovers over the American Southwest, driving large swaths of California, Arizona and Nevada well into the triple digits.

“NOT YOUR TYPICAL DESERT HEAT,” the National Weather Service proclaimed, warning that

the heat wave’s long duration, coupled with high nighttime temperatures, is making conditions particularly dangerous.

“Life-threatening daytime heat and overnight temperatures [are] struggling to fall below 100,” the agency’s Las Vegas office said. “This will result in an extreme risk of heat related illness for anyone exposed to the heat for a prolonged period.”

But Death Valley – a long, narrow basin that plunges far below sea level – is tailor-made to bake. Hot air is trapped by surrounding mountains and circulated like a convection oven.

“It’s amazing – I can’t find the words to describe it,” said Olivier Delecluse, 45, who was visiting the park from France with his wife and two kids.

Richard Hancock, 28, had traveled from Birmingham, England, and was en route to Las Vegas with a friend’s bachelor party. The group had sojourned to Badwater Basin, the park’s lowest point and the lowest point in North America, which sits 282 feet below sea level.

“It’s like standing in front of an open oven,” he said of the heat. “I was a bit nervous – is it safe? Is it dangerous? I’m a bit scared of getting a flat tire.”

Sunday’s 128-degree reading was just shy of the 134-degree world record set in 1913, park officials said.

That record has been disputed, with some doubting its authenticity due to outdated tools and recordkeeping, but the World Meteorological Organization and the National Weather Service say it still stands.

The park’s extreme temperatures draw heatseekers from around the world who come to “know how it feels, say they survived,” said public information officer Giovanna Ponce. Dozens of people came to take pictures with the thermometer at the visitor center Sunday and Monday.

Ponce noted that when air temperatures climb to 120 or higher, surface temperatures can sizzle even more, with the asphalt capable of climbing above 200 degrees.

And the hots will keep

Jury convicts California prison guard in ‘code of silence’ trial – but deadlocks on 4 counts

ConTenT AgenCy

Tribune

A Sacramento jury convicted a former California prison guard late Monday of lying to a federal grand jury investigating an assault on an inmate, but deadlocked on four other counts accusing her of trying to get other guards to cover up the attack.

Monday to hear from prosecutors on whether they intend to seek a new trial on those charges.

getting hotter as the burning of fossil fuels continues to heat the planet. Seven of Death Valley’s hottest summers on record have occurred in the last 10 years, Ponce said.

The heat is hard to fathom even for Angelenos baking in temperatures in the high 90s and 100s this week.

Christophe Boetsch, who was visiting Death Valley from Alsace, France, with his wife and three sons, said he had experienced desert heat in Africa, but never anything like the heat on Monday.

Phoenix resident Corinne Yee said that she’s also no stranger to extreme heat, but that the hot air whipping through Badwater Basin was in a class of its own.

Yee and her family were wearing cooling armbands and had packed ample water and sunscreen in their car, and, like most visitors, were keeping outdoor time to a minimum.

The visit is part of a larger road trip, she said. “We’re going up to San Francisco where it’s cooler.”

Brenda Villa was convicted in federal court of perjury before the grand jury, but jurors could not reach unanimous verdicts on one count of conspiracy to commit falsification of records and three counts of falsification of records.

Villa was not present for the assault on the inmate, who died two days later, but was accused of orchestrating a cover-up of how the incident happened.

She is the third former guard from California State Prison, Sacramento, to be charged in what prosecutors say was an example of the “code of silence” among guards inside California prisons.

The other two, Arturo Pacheco and Ashley Aurich, took plea deals and were sentenced to prison terms.

Jurors told Senior U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb just before 5 p.m. Monday they were unable to agree on the four remaining counts after deliberations that began Thursday following two days of testimony.

“We have come to the conclusion that any further deliberations will not change our vote,” the jury foreman wrote in a note to Shubb.

The judge declared a mistrial on the four counts and set a hearing for next

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Anderson, who tried the case with fellow prosecutor Rosanne Rust, declined to comment afterward, and a spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Phil Talbert had no immediate answer on whether Villa would face another trial. Her attorney, Eric Hintz, also declined to comment in advance of next week’s hearing.

Shubb lauded the jurors for the effort they had put into the case.

“You did your job admirably,” the judge told jurors. “It took you longer in your deliberations than it took the lawyers to try this case.”

Villa, who is not in custody, could face up to five years for the conviction.

The case stemmed from a Sept. 15, 2016, incident at New Folsom during which Ronnie Price, a 65-year-old inmate, was being escorted from one cell to another by three correctional officers.

Price had his wrists handcuffed behind his back when he suddenly stopped walking for a moment and Pacheco yanked his legs backward out from under him.

Price hit the concrete floor face-first and was taken to UC Davis Medical Center, where he died two days later from a pulmonary embolism.

Pacheco pleaded guilty last July to two counts of deprivation of rights under color of law and two counts of falsifying records.

Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Suzanne More, 17, right, pours water on Judith More, 13, middle, her younger sister’s head to help cool her down next to their mother Laetitia Cherbonnel at Zabriskie Point, in Death Valley, Sunday.

Bay Area tech layoffs hit mainly non-tech workers: CBRE report

Tribune ConTenT AgenCy

SAN JOSE — The massive tech layoffs that have jolted the Bay Area job market have primarily affected non-tech employees of the companies that have orchestrated the local job cuts, a new report released Tuesday states.

The new CBRE report — which determined that the Bay Area is the nation’s top region for tech talent — offers a fresh look at the nature of the tech layoffs that have haunted the Bay Area economy for more than 18 months.

“Even as the tech sector’s resilience was tested in 2022, the ( Bay Area) region continues to lead with the largest tech talent labor pool and highest number of tech roles of any U.S. market,” stated the new “Scoring Tech Talent” report from CBRE, a commercial real estate firm.

The CBRE report for the first time examined and compared wages in key tech regions. The Bay Area is paying the highest wages for tech workers.

In 2021, annual tech wages averaged $185,425 in the Bay Area, $172,009 in Seattle and $121,794 in Boston, CBRE determined.

Tucked away in the new report was an overall assessment of the nature of the tech industry layoffs that have occurred in the

Bay Area, a bout of job cuts that began at the outset of 2022.

“Many Bay Area tech employers slowed hiring and made staff reductions, but most layoffs are affecting non-tech roles like marketing, finance and recruiting,” said Chris Shephard, an executive vice president in CBRE’s tech and media practice.

From January 2022 through midJuly 2023, a period of slightly more than 18 months, tech companies have revealed plans to chop more than 26,000 jobs in the Bay Area.

Despite the massive

nature of the job cuts, tech companies appear to be using scalpels rather than butcher knives to trim their workforces and reallocate employees.

“Many companies continue to hold on to their engineering talent,” Shephard said.

Plus, signs have emerged that the Bay Area’s ever-restless technology industry is taking the initial steps to harvest more promising fields.

“We are seeing new start-up companies emerge, a potential sign that we are entering a new cycle,” Shephard said. “Recruiting and retaining

Should nurses with PhDs be called doctor? Lawsuit targets California rule

The WAshingTon PosT

After 14 years in the classroom earning several degrees, Jacqueline Palmer wants to call herself a doctor.

The Lancaster, Calif., nurse practitioner earned a doctorate of nursing practice, the highest degree available in her field, from Chamberlain University. Until last year, Palmer introduced herself as a doctor to her patients, signed her name with “Dr.” and had the prefix embroidered in purple before her name on her clinician’s jacket.

who go through medical school and have a wider scope of practice. Both may diagnose conditions and act as primary care providers, though in some states, including California, nurse practitioners must be supervised by a physician.

tech talent remains a priority for many companies, in addition to creating an attractive office experience for employees.”

Tech companies are thought to be redeploying resources already, CBRE’s report indicated.

“Artificial intelligence has seen a surge in venture capital funding, a positive indicator for the future growth of tech,” said Colin Yasukochi, executive director of CBRE’s tech insights center. “Artificial intelligence has seen a surge in venture capital funding, a positive indicator for the future growth of tech.”

Then Palmer learned that might have been enough to sink her career. In November, prose cutors announced that Sarah Erny, another Cal ifornia nurse practitioner with a doctorate, would pay almost $20,000 in a civil settlement for alleg edly describing herself as a doctor on professional websites and social media.

“I was shocked,” Palmer told The Washington Post.

Under California law, only physicians and surgeons can use the word “doctor” or the prefix “Dr.” In announcing Erny’s penalty, prosecutors said enforcing the restriction is necessary to protect the public from being misled.

Several states regulate the use of the “doctor” title, but California’s law is the strictest in the country, said Donna Matias, the attorney representing Palmer and her co-plaintiffs. It restricts any person from using the word “doctor” or the prefix “Dr.” in signs or advertisements without having a valid certificate as a physician or surgeon.

“If you read the law literally, it appears to prohibit even PhDs and university professors from using the title,” Matias said.

In practice, enforcement of the restriction to such a severe extent is rare, Matias said. But she said the crackdown on Erny, which stemmed from an anonymous complaint, set a chilling precedent.

Tribune ConTenT AgenCy

CalPERS health insurance policyholders will officially see their premiums grow close to 11% on average next year.

The board of administration for the California Public Employees’ Retirement System approved the new rates Tuesday, during the second day of their offsite meeting in Monterey. The vote was split 6-5.

CalPERS provides health insurance for more than 1.5 million people, including roughly 770,000 state and local public employees and retirees, as well as about 770,000 dependents.

The price hikes reflect the larger trend of medical inflation across the country. A combination of rising demand for non-COVID-related health services, high labor costs and a desire to recoup pandemic-era losses have all driven health care providers to raise their prices.

The plan with the highest premium increase is also the state’s most popular: an HMO plan administered by Kaiser

Permanente. The monthly price will rise more than 13%, according to the rates approved by the board on Tuesday. That plan serves nearly 550,000 people.

Members who voted yes were CalPERS Board Vice President David Miller, CalHR Director Eraina Ortega, Jose Luis Pacheco, Kevin Palkki and Ramón Rubalcava. Those who voted no were Yvonne Walker, State Controller Malia Cohen, State Treasurer Fiona Ma, Mullissa Wilette and Gail Willis. Board President Theresa Taylor did not vote.

The board also adopted a new method for riskadjusting its premiums in the future. Currently, PPO and HMO premiums are risk-adjusted separately.

The new policy would, over three years, combine the “risk pools” and effectively raise HMO rates to keep PPO premiums from skyrocketing. Those changes also include an increase of $1,500 in the out-of-network deductible for the state’s popular PPO plans, known as PERS Gold and PERS Platinum.

Prices for those PPO

premiums would have soared 19.25% next year under the current two-pool system. But under the new plan to combine risk pools, those premiums will only go up by roughly 12%.

In contrast, the Kaiser HMO would only increase in price by about 11.75% under the two-pool scenario. Under one pool, the rates were estimated to rise by more than 13%.

CalPERS also offers Medicare Advantage policies and Medicare supplemental plans for those who qualify. Included in the offerings are Medicare supplement plans called PERS Gold and PERS Platinum that cover more than 150,000 seniors. The Gold plan premiums will increase by 3.5%; the Platinum premiums will go up about 7%.

Medicare Advantage plans will also increase by more than 13% on average. The popular Kaiser Permanente Senior Advantage plan, which covers more than 108,000 enrollees, will spike in price by more than 14%.

The rates the board approved on Tuesday are nearly identical to

the preliminary rates proposed in June. The only changes were to two Anthem Blue Cross HMO plans: the Select HMO will only increase by 2.4%, rather than 9.2%, and the Traditional HMO will increase by only 7.3% rather than 7.8%.

California pays about $690 per month toward individual state workers’ plans. The state previously offered an additional $260 health insurance stipend to members of SEIU Local 1000, but the benefit ended when Local 1000’s contract expired June 30.

Open enrollment for 2024 will take place this fall from Sept. 18 to Oct. 13.

Board asks: Can we say ‘no’ to Kaiser price hikes?

Board members and public commenters expressed shock at the significant price hikes across Kaiser Permanente’s plans – most of which were in double-digits. Kaiser’s Senior Advantage Summit plan, which serves about 5,000 Medicare recipients, will jump in price by nearly 15%.

Palmer described her nursing degree and clarified that she was not a physician whenever she introduced herself as a doctor, and her patients understood, she said. But the steep punishment Erny faced rattled herand she felt she shouldn’t face legal jeopardy for describing a qualification she had earned.

So last month, Palmer and two other nurses with doctorates of nursing practice sued the California attorney general and leaders of the Medical Board of California and California Board of Registered Nursing, arguing that they have a right to call themselves doctors. The lawsuit seeks to permanently prevent the state from enforcing the law.

“It’s not an ego trip; it’s not a power trip,” Palmer said. “It’s just validation that I worked hard to get where I am today.”

An attorney representing the state officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Nurse practitioners – registered nurses who have completed a master’s degree and additional training - are distinct from physicians,

Prosecutors alleged that Erny, who holds a doctorate of nursing practice, operated a health-care business with a supervising physician and referred to herself as “Dr. Sarah Erny” on social media.

Erny, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment, was fined $2,500 by the state’s medical board, on top of the legal settlement, according to Palmer’s lawsuit. In an online fundraiser, Erny denied presenting herself as a physician and said she closed her clinic after state authorities began investigating her.

Palmer said she does not want to face a similar investigation. She was so nervous after hearing news of Erny’s punishment that she said she urged her patients to stop calling her “doctor,” over their protests.

“They all have said that they know that I worked hard for it,” Palmer said. “... They know that I’m a nurse practitioner; there was no misconception.”

Palmer and Matias said that other types of health-care professionals who hold doctorates, like chiropractors or dentists, commonly describe themselves as doctorsand should be able to.

Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group

The exterior of the new Google Bay View campus is photographed on Monday, May 16, 2022, in Mountain View.

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‘The Chosen,’ about Jesus Christ, granted waiver to continue filming amid SAG strike

Tribune ConTenT AgenCy

“The Chosen,” a television series about the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, has been granted a waiver to continue filming amid the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike.

The biblical drama, which stars Jonathan Roumie as the Christian deity, had its world broadcast premiere Sunday night on The CW following its Netflix streaming launch. The fourth season of the series is currently filming in Utah.

“Great news! We just received word from SAG that we have been approved for a waiver. We’ll continue shooting on Monday,” the show’s official Twitter

feed announced. According to Deadline, “The Chosen” is the first production to be granted a waiver due to the fact that it doesn’t have major studio backing. Hollywood went on hiatus last week when the 160,000-member labor union joined screenwriters on the picket line after stalled contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). Both SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America (WGA), who began their strike in May, are seeking protections regarding the use of artificial intelligence, better residual pay from streaming platforms.

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

There are now four ‘heat domes’ around the world: Weather watch

BloomBerg neWs

The heat continues across the southern U.S. from California to Florida. Temperatures in Dallas are forecast to reach 106F degrees Tuesday and when humidity is thrown in it will feel more like 110 or more, the National Weather Service said.

“Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors,’’ the weather service said. The need for air conditioning is driving energy demand up. Phoenix, Arizona has reached 110F or higher for 18 consecutive days, tying a record set between June 12 - 29, 1974, the National Weather Service said in a tweet. The forecast for the rest of the week calls for highs of 115 to 116, which will set a new all-time record.

In Mexico, temperatures are forecast to hit 45C (113F) in Baja California and Sonora, and between 40C to 45C in Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Tamauilpas, Campeche and the Yucatán, according to Servicio Meteorológico Nacional.

The heat dome across northern Mexico and the southern US is one of four spread around the world. Another is focused over the North Atlantic. A third in North Africa is causing southern Europe and the Mediterranean to bake. The fourth is in southern Asia.

The land isn’t the only thing that is baking. In the waters off Miami, the Atlantic is currently 88.9F while the air temperature is 85.3, according to the U.S. National Data Buoy Center. So you’d have to get out of the water to cool down.

In other weather news: Europe: The extreme heat blanketing the Medi-

terranean is set to peak in parts of Italy on Tuesday, triggering fresh warnings as temperatures approach Europe’s all-time high and wildfires hit Greece.

Japan: Temperatures in central Tokyo have soared to nearly 9C (16F) above the seasonal average, as the extreme heat blanketing the world continues to smash historical norms.

Five things to know about the current brutal US heat wave

The WashingTon PosT

For more than three weeks, a blistering mass of brutally hot air has been baking the southern United States, toppling records from the Pacific to the Atlantic.

Some cities are facing a dangerous overlap of heat and oppressive humidity. Heat advisories or excessive heat warnings have been issued in 16 states, with the National Weather Service warning that “extreme heat and humidity will significantly increase the potential for heat related illnesses.”

Actual air temperatures in the Desert Southwest will top 120 degrees in spots, while states along the Gulf Coast and Southeast face heat indexes of 110 or more.

Triggering the unrelenting heat is a “heat dome,” or a sprawling ridge of high pressure

that’s bringing hot, sinking air. It has proved to be as stubborn as it is intense, refusing to budge as the Lower 48 deals with its impact for the fourth week in a row. While the heat has simmered back a few degrees in California, it’s building once again over the southern Plains, and shows no signs of going anywhere any time soon. Here are five notable things about this heat.

It’s incredibly long-lasting Heat domes are like any other high-pressure system; they may linger a few days, and then typically saunter eastward or break down as the overarching jet stream pattern changes. In this case, however, the heat dome has been a semi-permanent feature of North America’s weather pattern for weeks on end.

That has manifested in a number of records set, including in Phoenix, which just tied its longestlasting streak at or above 110 degrees. Monday marked the 18th consecutive day to reach or exceed 110. That record will be broken Tuesday, when the high temperature is forecast to hit 117 degrees Tuesday and 118 on Wednesday and Thursday. In fact, weather models suggest that Phoenix could continue to tally 110 degree days nonstop for the remainder of the month.

In Texas, El Paso is entering Day 33 in a row with a high temperature at or above 100. That obliterates the previous record streak of 23 days, which happened during late June and early to mid-July in 1994. Records in El Paso date back to 1887.

See Heat, Page A10

of millions of Americans braced for more sweltering temperatures Sunday as brutal conditions threatened to break records due to a relentless heat dome that has baked parts of the country all week.

India: Heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected to continue in Mumbai and its adjoining areas on Tuesday, according to a bulletin from the India Meteorological Department.

Tropics: Tropical Storm Don, which had lost power Monday, has once again burst back to life with top winds of 40 mph

as it travels the Atlantic. In the central Pacific Tropical Storm Calvin could clip the Big Island of Hawaii, where tropical storm warnings have been posted. Some areas could get as much as 10 inches of rain. Typhoon

Talim is over land now in China and losing power. Another potential storm could get going east of the

Philippines. Canadian wildfires: Air quality alerts are still out across most of the Northeast, with the exception of New York City, and parts of the Midwest, South and Great Plains. In New York City air quality is moderate as of 6 a.m., according to AirNow.gov.

Ronda Churchill/AFP/Getty Images/TNS

Scott Hughes, of Swansea, Wales, U.K., takes a selfie next to a digital display of an unofficial heat reading at Furnace Creek Visitor Center during a heat wave in Death Valley National Park in Death Valley, on July 16. Tens

Crime logs

FairField

SUNDAY, JULY 16

12:47 a.m. — Trespassing, 1200 block of B. GALE WILSON

BOULEVARD

7:05 a.m. — Vehicle theft, 4900 block of SILVER CREEK ROAD

10:23 a.m. — Battery, 1300 block of HOLIDAY LANE

2:22 p.m. — Battery, SAN MARCO STREET

3:33 p.m. — Battery, 5000 block of SALON DRIVE

3:42 p.m. — Hit-and-run property

damage, 1400 block of TRAVIS

BOULEVARD

3:51 p.m. — Battery, 400 block of SAN JOSE STREET

5:19 p.m. — Indecent exposure, 1600 block of GATEWAY

BOULEVARD

5:59 p.m. — Sexual assault, 1200 block of B. GALE WILSON

BOULEVARD

6:09 p.m. — Indecent exposure, 3000 block of NORTH TEXAS

STREET

8:03 p.m. — Reckless driver, EAST TRAVIS BOULEVARD

8:22 p.m. — Trespassing, 700 block of GEORGIA WAY

9:49 p.m. — Hit-and-run property damage, 3900 block of PARADISE VALLEY DRIVE

MONDAY, JULY 17

12:02 a.m. — Commercial burglary, 1600 block of WEST TEXAS STREET

2:57 a.m. — Battery, 1000 block of BROADWAY STREET

3:13 a.m. — Vehicle burglary, 4700 block of BUSINESS CENTER DRIVE

6:32 a.m. — Vehicle theft, 2300 block of BURGUNDY WAY

6:43 a.m. — Vandalism, 700 block of DELAWARE STREET

6:44 a.m. — Vehicle theft, 1800 block of DOVER AVENUE

8:28 a.m. — Residential burglary, 3700 block of LYON ROAD 8:49 a.m. — Vehicle theft, 100 block of ALASKA AVENUE

1:03 p.m. — Trespassing, 3300 block of NORTH TEXAS STREET

1:17 p.m. — Grand theft, 1300 block of TRAVIS BOULEVARD

1:18 p.m. — Vandalism, 800 block of TAFT STREET

1:25 p.m. — Forgery, 1300 block of HOLIDAY LANE

1:28 p.m. — Trespassing, 1300 block of TRAVIS BOULEVARD

2:56 p.m. — Brandishing a weapon, FAIRFIELD AVENUE

3:39 p.m. — Indecent exposure, 1300 block of HOLIDAY LANE

4:32 p.m. — Reckless driver, 3000 block of TRAVIS BOULEVARD

4:33 p.m. — Battery, 1700 block of WEST TEXAS STREET

4:39 p.m. — Reckless driver, WESTBOUND INTERSTATE 80

4:40 p.m. — Vehicle theft, 1100 block of HARDING STREET

6:49 p.m. — Sexual assault, 1000 block of WEBSTER STREET

8:49 p.m. — Arson, 2100 block of NORTH TEXAS STREET

9:46 p.m. — Vandalism, 1800 block of BRAMBLEWOOD DRIVE

p.m. — Trespassing, 1800 block of BLOSSOM AVENUE

p.m. — Residential burglary, 1700 block of HIGHLAND CIRCLE

p.m. — Trespassing, TRAVION COURT

SuiSun City

n Life Insurance: $85.

The report found Fairfield is the 204th most expensive city in the state.

Suisun City ranks as the 207th most expensive city in the state. Residents pay $2,884 on bills, almost 10 percent higher than the national average.

They are ranked as follows on a monthly basis:

n Mortgage: $1,816.

n Rent: $1,896.

n Auto loan: $429.

n Utilities: $447. Vacaville ranks No. 188 on most expensive city in the state for household expenses,

paying $2,954 on average monthly bills. Broken down as follows:

n Mortage: $2.059.

n Rent: $1,921.

n Auto loan: $484

n Utilities: $556.

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Johns Hopkins-SAIS and former president of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations.

No. 2, has cumulatively released more of the planet-warming pollution than any other nation, after burning fossil fuels for decades to drive its economic growth.

A fragile ‘oasis’

But the work of finding that common ground – unfolding in conference rooms atop the state-owned Beijing Hotel that overlooks Tiananmen

“When you define the competition with China to be existential – the principal long-term threat to American interests and values – every other arena in the relationship becomes conflictual.”

cally difficult for China to move forward on. “That just looks like presenting your homework when the foreign barbarian comes to collect it,” he observed. “It doesn’t look like you’re a geopolitical equal.”

lower trade barriers on its supply chain of goods essential to the energy transition.

11:00 a.m. — Forgery, 3400 block of QUINCEY LANE

11:16 a.m. — Hit-and-run property damage, 1900 block of VICTORIA COURT

12:29 p.m. — Trespassing, 600 block of HILLSIDE DRIVE

12:51 p.m. — Indecent exposure, 1300 block of HOLIDAY LANE

JULY 17

Square – is not happening in isolation. Though diplomats may try to make climate an oasis in U.S.China relations, an oasis surrounded by deserts will eventually “become desertified” too, as Chinese State Councilor Wang Yi observed two years ago.

The core problem is that “each side defines the other as its principal strategic threat,” leaving little room for possible concessions that will be viewed as a capitulation, said David Lampton, a professor emeritus at

Expert observers see a big bilateral breakthrough this week as unlikely. Kerry’s team had hoped China might release its strategy for limiting methane emissions, already drawn up in response to a joint pledge with the U.S. Methane has far more short-term warming impact than carbon dioxide, one reason it has become a top U.S. priority in negotiations with China in recent years, and China committed to developing a joint methane strategy with the U.S. before last November’s United Nations climate talks. Yet while Xie said a draft had been assembled, it was never publicly released.

That tension hangs over all the talks. The Chinese negotiators will be “very sensitive to not looking like they’re making any concessions to the U.S. or the U.S. forced them to do anything,” said Alden Meyer, a senior associate with research group E3G.

Both parties also face an undeniable reality: It’s getting harder to wall off climate as a diplomatic issue, especially in a global competition to build the clean tech of the future. “All the economic issues are now bound up with climate action,” Waskow noted.

There are clashes on the core issues of climate diplomacy, too, from how quickly nations should move to stifle their own emissions to who should pay to help vulnerable countries deal with the ravages of intense storms, droughts and flooding.

Consider China’s surge in building coal power plants. New permits hit a seven-year high last year.

In 2022, China permitted the equivalent of two new coal power plants per week, more than double the year before and six times as much as all of the rest of the world combined.

But Woodroofe said the very fact that the methane plan is foremost on the U.S. wish list makes it politi-

The U.S. imposes tariffs on Chinese-made solar panels and helped advance a Group of Seven plan to bolster critical minerals security seen as a bid to curb China’s dominance as a supplier for the materials used in semiconductors, electric vehicle batteries and other technology. Beijing wants to

Work has begun on the replacement of the damaged median island on Marina Boulevard fronting the Marina Village Apartments site. The re-design will improve vehicular movements on westbound Buena Vista Avenue turning left onto southbound Marina Boulevard.

The Parks and Recreation Department will host is first Parks and Recreation Month Celebration from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at Heritage Park.he event is designed to be a community health fair of sorts and will feature participation from the KROC Center, Solano County Public Health, Solano County Office of Education, Solano Transportation Authority, CalFresh, Innovative Health Solutions,

and many more community organizations.

There will be a kid’s corner for activities, health resources, information from different organizations, a kid’s bike rodeo, and a free raffle. The intent of the event is to promote healthy eating, and movement, and to inform the community of the various resources available to encourage sustainable health.

At the marina, staff continue to pressure wash the docks, pilings, and dock boxes as well as checking on boats regularly. Bellingham Marine completed the dock maintenance and inspection work making necessary repairs, water hose replacement at the guest dock, and balancing the docks.

Sean Alexander Marine assisted with salvaging an abandoned boat. The boat was removed, detoxed, and taken to the dump for disposal. The funding for the removal of the boat will be provided by a grant.

You can read the entire newsletter at https://www. suisun.com/News-articles/ June-Newsletter.

attorney Mark Schnapp, who served as a federal prosecutor in South Florida.

Although that coincides with skyrocketing investments in wind and solar, it is a frustration to the U.S. and other nations that want to move more rapidly to cut greenhouse gas emissions in an attempt to keep warming within the Paris Agreement threshold of 1.5C. The world has already warmed 1.2C since the pre-industrial era site. Failure to comply by the deadline may result in filing an abatement warrant, which would enable the City to address most of the ongoing property issues.

Cannon will be under intense scrutiny by partisan critics and legal observers because she ruled favorably for the former president on appointing a special master to review the FBI’s seizure of classified documents from Trump’s home last year. Her decision, which would have delayed the Justice Department’s investigation, was overturned by a GOP-appointed panel of appellate judges in a scathing ruling.

There’s also another curiosity about the historic case built on an unprecedented 38-count indictment: While Trump and his co-defendant Walt Nauta were arraigned in Miami federal court in June and July, respectively, the case was assigned to the West Palm Beach division of the Southern District of Florida, which includes the decade-old Fort Pierce federal coutthouse.

Fort Pierce is a mostly working-class coastal community of about 48,000 people and serves as the county seat of St. Lucie County, drawing upon a pool of potential jurors in a region that supported Trump in the last two presidential elections.

Last week, in a new court motion, the defense teams for Trump and Nauta urged Cannon to postpone the government’s proposed trial date of Dec. 11 indefinitely, arguing that the Justice Department’s push to prosecute Trump as soon as possible is “untenable” because of the breadth and complexity of the classified documents case.

The motion was also

an effort to seize the narrative, trying to portray the former president’s criminal charges over the handling of classified documents as a politically fraught legal battle between Trump and his successor, Biden, as both pursue another run for the White House in 2024.

Although Trump’s lawyers don’t propose a trial date in their filing, the clear suggestion is to delay any trial for the front-runner for the GOP nomination until after the presidential campaign season next year.

“This extraordinary case presents a serious challenge to both the fact and perception of our American democracy,” Trump’s lawyers Christopher Kise and Todd Blanche wrote in a motion joined by his co-defendant in the case, the former president’s personal aide, Walt Nauta.

“The Court now presides over a prosecution advanced by the administration of a sitting President against his chief political rival, himself a leading candidate for the Presidency of the United States,” they wrote in the motion before U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who is based in the Fort Pierce courthouse. “Therefore, a measured consideration and timeline that allows for a careful and complete review of the procedures that led to this indictment and the unprecedented legal issues presented herein best serves the interests of the Defendants and the public.”

A delay in trial is the big question

Legal experts who have been following the indictment charging Trump with willfully retaining classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and conspiring to obstruct justice with Nauta predicted after it was returned on June 8 by a Miami federal grand jury that the defense would seek to delay the

former president’s trial against the wishes of the Justice Department’s special counsel Jack Smith. His team, in a court reply filed last Thursday, said “there is no basis in law or fact for proceeding in such an indeterminate and open-ended fashion, and the Defendants provide none.”

Experts noted that the key factors on the trial date include not only the unprecedented criminal case against a former president heading into another possible election, but also the fact that Trump is scheduled for another criminal trial next March in New York involving his alleged payment of hush-money payments to a porn actress during the 2016 campaign.

Although it remains unclear how Cannon will decide this critical dispute over the trial date, Cannon has already chosen a government security officer to act as a custodian of the hundreds of classified records that were obtained from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence and club through a subpoena and a search warrant last year. The name of that security officer remains a secret under court seal.

Another crucial issue is where those materials with “top secret,” “secret” and “confidential” markings – about 340 classified documents in total, according to prosecutors – will be stored at the Fort Pierce courthouse or elsewhere in a “sensitive compartmented information facility” for both sides to review them before and during trial. (During his presidency, Trump had a room at his Mar-a-Lago residence designated as a so-called SCIF for him and his top aides to review classified records.)

So far, according to the latest filing by Trump’s lawyers, the special counsel’s team has turned a mountain of evidence: more than

428,300 records totaling 833,450 pages, including 122,650 emails with attachments, 305,670 documents from more than 90 different sources, and 57 terrabytes of compressed raw CCV footage spanning nine months. Defense lawyers have zeroed on that voluminous discovery, along with the daunting task of reviewing classified materials involving U.S. weapons, defense and nuclear programs, as the main reason for requiring more time to prepare for trial.

Trump’s attorneys indicate that they plan to seek dismissal of the 38-count indictment, which includes 31 counts accusing the former president of deliberately withholding classified materials in violation of the Espionage Act, while challenging the special counsel’s legal basis for the historic case against the former president.

“The intersection between the Presidential Records Act and the various criminal statutes at issue has never been addressed by any court, and in the Defendants’ view, will result in a dismissal of the indictment,” Trump’s lawyers Kise and Blanche argue in the court filing, without providing any rationale.

“Additional significant matters include the classification status of the documents and their purported impact on national security interests, the propriety of utilizing any ‘secret’ evidence in a case of this nature, and the potential inability to select an impartial jury during a national Presidential election,” they write in the filing.

“Moreover, the extensive and voluminous discovery, coupled with the challenges presented by the purportedly classified material that has yet to be produced, will require significant time for review and assimilation.”

Heat

All-time records tied

Across parts of Arizona and California, temperatures have even reached all-time records. California’s Death Valley was originally forecast to hit 130 degrees, tying the highest temperature reliably measured at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center in the past 90 years, but Sunday instead featured a high of 128 degrees.

Las Vegas made it to 116 on Sunday, one degree shy of its all time record. The city has hit 117 degrees on five occasions since bookkeeping began in 1937, four of which occurred in the past two decades. On Saturday and Sunday, Reno, Nev., set daily records, coming in at 106 and 108 degrees respectively; the latter also tied the city’s alltime record.

On Monday, Grand Junction, Colo., tied its all-time record of 107; bookkeeping dates back to 1893. Salt Lake City hit 106, also one degree short of tying the all-time record; the city tied the record twice last year. And Gallup, N.M., got to 101 degrees, tying an all-time record and establishing a new July record. Gallup sits at an elevation of 6,647 feet.

It’s more than just a dry heat

In the southwestern United States, the air is dry. That makes it easier to heat pockets of air to record levels. But in the southern Plains, the Deep South and the Southeast, a moisture-rich air mass is contributing to hazardous heat indexes. Heat index is a value used to estimate heat stress on the human body.

In Pauls Valley, Okla., there was a heat index of 126 degrees last Thursday, the highest ever observed in Oklahoma over the past 30 years.

On Tuesday, areas west of Interstate 35 in Texas and Oklahoma were predicted to see heat index values of 105 to 110 degrees, with values of 108 to 112 degrees more probable east of the highway. In Corpus Christi, Tex., the heat index is expected to reach up to 120 degrees Tuesday evening. In Florida, it’s been a similar issue. The heat index in Miami has reached at least 100 degrees on a record 37 straight days. Fort Myers has posted its most 90-degree days on record year-to-date.

There’s also a marine heat wave going on

The unrelenting sultry conditions in Florida are linked to bathtub-like warmth off its southwest coast. At Islamorada, where the seas are five feet deep, water temperatures of 94 to 96 degrees Fahrenheit were reported Monday. The hot oceans have been contributing to the extreme humidity in the air;

Islamorada reported a heat index of 117 degrees.

On July 12, Garfield Bight, in the southwest corner of the Everglades in Miami-Dade County, reported a water temperature of 98.1 degrees. Granted, the water is shallow, but it’s still unheard of.

Experts fear the extreme water temperatures may help fuel powerful hurricanes, as well as contribute to coral bleaching.

The heat dome has quadruplets

The heat dome over the United States is not unique. In fact, there are three others globally that have each been setting records:

n In the Atlantic, a combination of factors has been overlapping to favor extreme warmth. Surface high pressure (the Bermuda High) was weaker than average in June, reducing easterly trade winds in the subtropics. That lead to less mixing of surface water that would have churned up slightly cooler waters from below. In turn, the sea surface heated up.

Now, a heat dome is bringing hot, sinking air, warming the ocean further. Atlantic waters in the Northern Hemisphere are at their highest levels on record by far.

n In Europe, a heat dome is bringing temperatures 15 to 20 degrees above average. Rome could hit 108 on Tuesday, beating its all-time record of 105. Just last year, about 60,000 people died in Europe in multiple heat waves, according to a study published in Nature last week.

n And in Asia, a heat dome brought remarkable warmth to China. Sanbao, in far northwestern China, climbed to 126 degrees Sunday. That’s both a new national record (and surpasses the previous record by a wide margin) for China and a global record for any place north of 40 degrees North latitude. While hot weather is a staple of the summertime and periodic extremes can and do happen, the effects of human-induced climate change on the atmosphere are playing a major role in pushing events into record territory.

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Why are NFL running backs now underpaid? B2

Giants finish up with win in suspended game vs. Reds

Evan WEbEck BAY AREA NEWS GROUP

The Giants’ suspended game against the Reds resumed Tuesday afternoon and so did their win streak, as Joc Pederson and Michael Conforto drove in 10thinning runs to help the Giants to a 4-2 victory.

the first

Gonsolin pulled by LA despite five strong innings in New York

FAIRFIELD — Vacav-

ille native Tony Gonsolin went five innings Saturday for the Los Angeles Dodgers but was pulled after five innings by manager Dave Roberts. He had to settle for a no decision.

The 29-year-old righthander allowed just two hits, gave up a solo home run and one walk, and struck out three batters on 54 pitches. But Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register wrote that the statistics did not tell the whole story.

Plunkett said that the

Mets put 13 balls in play and nine of those left the bat at 95 mph or higher, a threshold that according to Statcast is considered “hard hit.” Two of the balls were turned by the Dodgers for double plays. Roberts then decided to step in and make the early change.

“You could see Tony kind of battling with the humidity, the feel of the baseball,” Roberts said to Plunkett. “When you’re looking down at a fresh ‘pen, it just make a lot of sense.”

Gonsolin is now 5-3 with a 3.72 ERA in 14 starts. He has pitched

72 2/3 innings and struck out 57 batters.

n n n Jesse Scholtens got to exchange handshakes with his Chicago White Sox teammates after he closed out an 8-1 win Sunday against the Braves in Atlanta.

The 29-year-old Rodriguez graduate did not pick up the save because of the size of the victory. But he worked one inning, allowed just one hit and no runs and struck out a batter.

Scholtens is now 1-2 with a 3.34 ERA in 12 games. He has made two starts this season and

also has one save. The right-hander has worked in 32.1 innings and has 18 strikeouts.

n n n Catcher and Vacaville native Troy Claunch returned to the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers after a stint on the injured list. Claunch went 0-4 in a 5-1 loss to the Columbia Fireflies ,but he was back to his familiar position behind the plate. He had a short rehab stint in Arizona before returning to the Single-Affiliate of the Chicago White Sox in North Carolina.

See Alumni, Page B10

Armijo grad Justin Duff snaps up opportunity to play football at UTEP

FAIRFIELD — Justin Duff’s football journey from Armijo High School to Contra Costa College to the University of Texas, El Paso, has been – in a word – a snap.

A long snap, that is.

Duff joins the Division I Miners this season as one of three long snappers on the roster in El Paso. It’s a skill he honed during the Covid-19 pandemic when not playing quarterback and defensive end at Armijo.

“I was the quarterback, but after we came back from the Covid year we needed (a long snapper),” Duff said. “It just came natural to me.”

Long snappers, like punters and kicker, are specialists. They take the field four to five times a game, hike the ball 14 1/2 yards back to the punter, at a clip of under a second;

block; and, if need be, run down field and make a tackle. Duff said he can spin the ball between his legs and back to the punter in .72 to .73 of a second, a challenge in itself of aiming at a target upside down.

“Consistency is the main thing,”

Duff said. “It’s best when you don’t see yourself on television. That means you are doing something right. You really have to be perfect.”

The trio of long snappers hang together at practice, and spend some time with the kickers and punters. Duff added, “It’s a small group of guys and we are very competitive with each other.”

Duff is a 2021 Armijo graduate.

He continued his football career at Contra Costa for two years. He started out as a fullback and tight end with the Comets before eventually specializing as the team’s long snapper.

Now he is at UTEP, carrying a 3.71 GPA his first semester, and studying communications and film. He is what the school called a “preferred walk-on,” meaning he has to pay for the classes he attends but get

See Snapper, Page B10

Winning their sixth game in a row, the Giants moved a season-high 12 games over .500 heading into Tuesday night’s regularly scheduled game, which started late after a lengthy rain delay.

Pederson led off the 10th inning with a double off the left-field wall that scored automatic runner Brett Wisely. Then, two batters later, Conforto brought Pederson home with a hard-hit groundball to second base.

Cincinnati’s infield was playing in and Jonathan India threw home to try to catch Pederson but was too late.

Camilo Doval retired the side in the bottom half, striking out India and Joey Votto to earn the save.

Just one inning earlier, Tyler Rogers picked rookie star Elly De La Cruz off second base, taking a bite out of the Reds’ bid for a ninth-inning walk-off. Rogers faked going into his pitching motion and instead continued to step backward, tossing to shortstop Casey Schmitt to begin a rundown. Rogers picked up the win, moving to 3-4 on the season.

“This is something that we’ve worked so hard on, and we know that controlling the running game wins games,” manager Gabe Kapler told reporters after the game, shouting out Rogers and third-base coach Mark Hallberg, who called for the move. “Having an inside move that baserunners will actually buy is a huge emphasis for us.”

Coming off the first complete-game shutout of his career, Logan Webb pitched well but was burned by the long ball in Great American Ballpark.

Who will fill out rest of the 49ers’ receiving corps?

caM inM an BAY AREA NEWS GROUP

SANTA CLARA —

Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk are entrenched as the 49ers’ starters for a fourth consecutive season since Aiyuk was drafted in 2020. Behind them, however, there are plenty of questions entering training camp about how the wide receivers room will shape up.

Aiyuk is building off the first 1,000-yard season of his career, which was followed by the 49ers’ decision this spring to exercise the $14.1 million fifth-year option on his rookie contract. He started all 17 games and was the 49ers’ leading receiver with 78 catches, though his production dipped in the playoffs.

Samuel is rebounding from his self-described “awful” regular season that began with a three-

ANALYSIS

year contract extension in July after tense offseason negotiations. His dual-threat role diminished some with the addition of Christian McCaffrey, but injury still struck as he was carted off with a high ankle sprain during a Dec. 1 win over Tampa Bay. Still, he returned and made an impact in the playoffs that included a six-catch, 133yard performance in the wild-card victory over the Seahawks.

Aiyuk and Samuel should make for the 49ers’ most polished combination of wide receivers in perhaps 25 years, since Jerry Rice and Terrell Owens, the franchise’s last duo to each produce 1,000 yards in a season.

The 49ers will be

See 49ers, Page B10

Fairfield Expos get set to host Western Regionals Aug. 2-6

FAIRFIELD — The Fairfield Expos did not reach the final of the Northern California Area 1 Tournament Monday night, but big things are still ahead for the local summer American Legion baseball team.

The Expos will host the Western Regionals Aug. 2-6 at Laurel Creek Park. The tournament will feature state cham-

pions from California, Hawaii, Texas, Arizona, Utah, Nevada and New Mexico. The Expos have qualified for the Western Regional as the tournament host.

Yuba-Sutter defeated Petaluma 7-2 Monday night for the Area 1 title.

Both those teams advance to the state finals this week at UCLA. The state winner will return to Fairfield and join the Expos for the Western Regionals. The Western Regional cham-

pion will advance to the American Legion World Series Aug. 10-15.

The Expos were edged out of the finals by Petaluma Sunday as the Leghorns came away with a 2-1 victory. Cy Dempsay had two hits for Fairfield, while Jace Parkinson, Aaron Strong, Noah Rodda and Drew Carrington had one apiece. Strong pushed across the Expos’ lone run in the top of the seventh inning.

Grant Genter pitched

four innings against Petaluma and had three strikeouts. Jackson Kolakoski worked the final two innings and struck out one batter.

Fairfield lost its final division game Saturday night to eventual-champion Yuba-Sutter 6-1.

Parkinson and Bryce Alcantara had two hits apiece. Dempsay, Eli Blurton and Strong also delivered hits. Rodda knocked in the Expos only run in the bottom of the

seventh inning.

Trevor Morse pitched 4 1/3 innings for Fairfield against Yuba-Sutter and had two strikeouts. Matty Hague worked the final 2 2/3 innings with four strikeouts.

Tri-Valley All-Star

10s fall to Lafayette

FAIRFIELD — The Cordelia Tri-Valley AllStar 10s had their summer run come to an end with a

5-3 loss to host Lafayette Sunday in the Area 1 Little League Tournament. Lafayette scored five runs in the third inning to secure the win. Cordelia won the District 53 Championship to earn the trip to Lafayette for the sectional finals.

Lathan Carranza went 2-for-2 at the plate for TriValley and had a triple that drove in two runs. Elijah Kelly pitched two innings and was followed by Major Keene and Griffin Hokett.

Courtesy Photo Armijo High School graduate and UTEP long snapper Justin Duff.

Hyosub Shin /ajc.com/TNS

Los Angeles Dodgers’ starting pitcher Tony Gonsolin delivers during

inning at Truist Park in Atlanta, May 24. The Vacaville High School graduate recently pitched five strong innings in New York against the Mets.

CALENDAR

Wednesday’s TV sports

Baseball

MLB

• Boston vs. Oakland, NBCSCA, 12:37 p.m.

• San Francisco vs.Cincinnati, NBCSBA, 4:10 p.m.

Golf

• LPGA, Great Lakes Bay Invitational, GOLF, Noon.

Soccer

Men’s International Friendly

• Manchester United vs. Lyon, ESPN2, 6 a.m.

• Chelsea vs. Wrexham, ESPN, 4:30 p.m.

Women’s World Cup

• New Zealand vs.Norway, 2, 40, 12 a.m. (Thursday).

Thursday’s TV sports

Baseball

MLB

• San Francisco vs. Cincinnati, NBCSBA, 9:35 a.m.

Basketball

The Tournament

• JUCO Products vs. Heartfire, ESPN2, 9 a.m.

• Broad Street Birdsvs.Beale Street Boys, ESPN2, 1 p.m.

• DaGuys STL vs. Purple & Black, ESPN2, 4 p.m.

• B1 Ballersvs. AfterShocks, ESPN2, 6 p.m.

Golf • The British Open, USA, 1 a.m.

• LPGA Euro, La Sella Open, GOLF, 4 a.m.

• Great Lakes Bay Invitational, GOLF, 9 a.m.

• PGA, Barracuda Championship,

NFL running backs underpaid? It has roots with a Rams blunder

Steve HenSon LOS ANGELES TIMES

LOS ANGELES — NFL running backs are like buffalo: wondrous, thunderous, but burdened by a sameness. Rarely anymore does one differentiate himself from the herd.

Furthermore, they are branded with early expiration dates. Exactly one of the 27 running backs who rushed for more than 800 yards in 2022 (the Miami Dolphins’ Raheem Mostert) had celebrated his 30th birthday.

Fifteen rushed for more than 1,000 yards, and teams deemed them interchangeable. Their peak years often are played for free in college, and they are drafted late and tossed aside just as they are due a big paycheck.

Result? The average salary of a kicker ($2.26 million) is greater than that of a running back ($1.81 million) in 2023, according to Spotrac.

Many teams seem to have learned from the Rams’ mistake with Todd Gurley in 2018, when they signed the running back to a four-year, $57 million extension even though he had two years remaining on his rookie contract.

Cristiano Ronaldo calls Saudi league ‘better’ than MLS

triBune Content agenCy

Don’t expect Cristiano Ronaldo to join Lionel Messi in Major League Soccer any time soon.

Ronaldo called the Saudi Pro League he’s now a part of “better” than the MLS, which Messi officially joined over the weekend as a member of Inter Miami CF.

“In one year, more and more top players will come to Saudi,” Ronaldo said Monday, according to ESPN. “In a year the Saudi league will overtake the Turkish league and Dutch league.”

The 38-year-old Ronaldo debuted this year with Al Nassr. Star players including Karim Benzema and Marcelo Brozovic have since joined the Saudi league as well.

The Portuguese-born Ronaldo played for Portugal’s Sporting CP, England’s Manchester United, Spain’s Real Madrid and Italy’s Juventes before signing with Al Nassr. His 2 1/2-year deal with the Saudi club is worth $75 million per year, according to ESPN.

“I’m 100 percent sure I won’t return to any European club,” Ronaldo said. “I’m 38 years old. And European football has lost a lot of quality. The only valid one and still doing good is the Premier League. They’re way ahead of all the other leagues.”

Inter Miami introduced Messi, 35, on Sunday. He took part in his first practice with the team Tuesday and is expected to debut Friday.

Source: Kings sign veteran free agent center Nerlens Noel

JaSon a nderSon THE SACRAMENTO BEE

SACRAMENTO —

The Kings are bringing in another veteran center to bolster a position where they lacked depth during last season’s run to the playoffs.

A league source told

The Sacramento Bee on Tuesday the Kings are signing veteran center Nerlens Noel. The two sides have agreed to a one-year, $3.1 million contract, Noel’s agent, George Langberg of GSL Sports Group, told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Noel, 29, is a nineyear NBA veteran who is known as a rim protector and shot blocker. The 6-foot-11, 220-pound center came out of Kentucky as the No. 6 pick in the 2013 NBA draft after winning Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year.

Noel has averaged 7.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.3 steals over nine NBA seasons

with the Philadelphia 76ers, Dallas Mavericks, Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons and Brooklyn Nets. He was an NBA All-Rookie First Team selection in 2014-15 and averaged career highs of 11.1 points and 8.1 rebounds for the 76ers in 2015-16.

Noel appeared in a total of 42 games over the past two seasons with the Knicks, Pistons and Nets. He appeared in 64 games with 41 starts for the Knicks in 2020-21, when he posted averages of 5.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and a career-high 2.2 blocked shots.

Noel will serve as a backup to All-NBA center Domantas Sabonis in Sacramento. The Kings also have veteran center Alex Len and Trey Lyles, a forward who was often used as a smallball center last season.

Neemias Queta is a restricted free agent after two years with the Kings on two-way contract.

The blunder meant the Rams paid Gurley $20 million more than they needed to, especially when knee problems limited his productivity. They cut him in March 2020, when he was all of 25 years old.

The plight of running backs triggered outrage Monday when the Las Vegas Raiders’ Josh Jacobs and the New York Giants’ Saquon Barkley weren’t offered long-term deals and appear destined to play for the one-year $10.1 million franchise tag salary. Jacobs was the NFL’s leading rusher last season with 1,653 yards

and Barkley was fourth with 1,312. The Cowboys’ Tony Pollard, who rushed for 1,007 yards and averaged a robust 5.2 yards per carry in 2022, signed a franchise tag deal.

Among the free agents awaiting an offer – any offer – are three-time All-Pro Ezekiel Elliott and four-time Pro Bowl pick Dalvin Cook.

Their fellow running backs expressed anger and dismay on social media. Referring to Jacobs, Barkley and Pollard, the San Francisco 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey tweeted, “This is Criminal. Three of the best PLAYERS in the entire league, regardless of position.”

The Tennessee Titans’ Derrick Henry tweeted, “At this point, just take the RB position out of the game then.”

The Chargers’ Austin Ekeler, whose nose for the end zone makes him a fantasy favorite, tweeted: “Everyone knows it’s tough to win without a top RB and yet they act like we

are discardable widgets.”

Ekeler, who has yet to rush for 1,000 yards but led the NFL with 38 total touchdowns the last two years, will be a free agent after the 2023 season. He requested a trade this offseason before agreeing to a restructured deal that added $1.75 million in incentives.

At 28, Ekeler is ancient by running back standards, and getting a franchise tag offer a year from now would likely be a favorable outcome for him. It’s been two years since a running back – Nick Chubb of the Cleveland Browns – signed a multi-year contract worth more than $10 million a year. Chubb’s three-year, $36.6 million deal will pay him $10.85 million this season, not much more than the franchise tag number.

After the Gurley episode, the Rams have given shoulder shrugs to running backs. Cam Akers and Sony Michel led the team with decidedly pedestrian rushing totals

the last two years. They top the depth chart again, and Coach Sean McVay seems content, saying of Akers recently on Sirius XM radio, “Cam is going to be a central figure in this offense. I think he’s priming himself to have a great year.”

The Rams must be especially pleased with Akers’ contract. His minuscule four-year rookie deal of $6,173,035 expires at the end of the season – he’ll make about $1.8 million in 2023 – but he will be a restricted free agent because he didn’t play the minimum six games in 2021.

That means the Rams can elect to keep him for another year at a price in the neighborhood of $4 million should he perform as well as he did late last season, when he rushed for more than 100 yards in each of the last three games.

And if they prefer to upgrade, there should be bargain buffalo aplenty on the market.

Family, determination forge teenager Alyssa

Thompson’s World Cup talent

K evin Baxter

LOS ANGELES TIMES

Mario Thompson knew his oldest daughter, Alyssa, was special before she started third grade.

During an orientation for new students at the private Wesley School in North Hollywood, the 8-year-old was matched in a race against the fastest boy in the school. The reason for the race has been lost to time, but not the result: Alyssa smoked the kid.

“The biggest thing I remember is being surprised by how fast she was,” said Marquis Gallegos, who lost the race but went on to become a highly recruited safety who will play football at USC this fall.

“We all knew,” added Alex Smith, a grade-school teammate of Gallegos, “that she was a great athlete and would do great things.”

But it was another 10 years before Thompson really understood the depth of his daughter’s gift and the unique path she would have to blaze if that talent was to be fully realized. It would eventually lead her to turn pro before she’d graduated high school and be named to a World Cup roster less than a month after her senior prom.

“I make this comparison, being very respectful about it,” he said. “But this is like a Kobe, LeBron type of athlete, right? She has the potential to be great. She has the potential to be the best.”

Actually Alyssa Thompson has proven even more precocious than either Kobe Bryantor LeBron James. While James didn’t sign his first endorsement deal until two weeks before graduating high school, Thompson and her sister Gisele, a right back with the U-20 national team, partnered with Nike at 17 and 16, respectively. While Bryant and James didn’t declare for the NBA draft until after high school, Thompson still had a semester to go when Angel City selected her with the No. 1 overall pick in last winter’s NWSL draft. And she was months younger than either Bryant or James when she made her professional debut, scoring five minutes into her first Angel City game.

Thompson beat Bryant and James to the national team as well and will suit up for a World Cup match at 18 when the U.S. opens play in the month-long tournament Friday against Vietnam in Auckland, New Zealand. Only one other woman in American soccer history played in a World Cup at that age.

“Alyssa is absolutely the next generation. And she’s proving that she can hang with this generation as well,” said Alex Morgan, who leads the national team in appearances and goals. “It’s a pretty incredible six months at the age of 18.”

Incredible, yet something for which the Thompsons have long planned. In grade school, Alyssa and Gisele pasted pictures of themselves onto a poster of the 2015 national team they kept in the bedroom of their Studio City home, imagining themselves part of the roster.

The reality came far sooner than expected though. Last fall she was called into a national team training camp, then made her senior international debut, subbing in for Megan Rapinoe, a player she’d long idolized, in the final minutes of a loss to England before a crowd of 77,000 at London’s Wembley Stadium.

“What a turn of events in the last nine months,” U.S. coach Vlatko Andonovski said. “In October, she

was playing youth soccer and now in July she will be on the biggest stage.”

That fall training camp and the 23 minutes she played off the bench in two games didn’t only change Andonovski’s mind, however. It changed the Thompsons’ thinking as well.

“When she got called up to that camp, it did speed up the process,” Mario Thompsonsaid. “In her mind it was like ‘I’m good enough. I know I can make this team.’ But she knew to have a chance to make the World Cup team, she had to perform against women.”

So that became the next step in a meticulous plan Mario Thompson seemed to be making up as he went along. Which he was. Since there had never been another girl like Alyssa –or sisters like her and Gisele, best friends who share a bedroom and a dream of soccer stardom – there was no map for the family to follow.

The plan had been high school graduation, a scholarship to Stanford and then the pros. But Alyssa quickly outgrew that. As principal of an elementary school in the hills above Encino, Mario Thompson knew that special students need to be challenged if they are to thrive. Shouldn’t special athletes be treated

Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times/TNS file (2018)

Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley points for a first down against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Nov. 4, 2018.

Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times/TNS file

Alyssa Thompson, 18, a Harvard Westlake student, is one the US Women’s National Team and will be competing in the World Cup beginning Friday.

Getting junk fees out of our lives

We’ve all experienced it. You hit “Pay” for that concert ticket or hotel room and realize the final tab is actually much higher than the advertised price.

Closer inspection reveals the company you are doing business with has tacked on a slew of questionable fees with vague descriptions like “processing charge” or “convenience fee.”

You realize you’ve been subjected to the old bait-and-switch –and it is maddening.

Unfortunately, if you’re like most people, you go ahead and complete the transaction anyway.

Bill Dodd

But it doesn’t have to be that way. It shouldn’t be that way. Companies should advertise the total cost of goods and services up front, eliminating what is commonly known as junk fees.

That is exactly the idea behind a new bill I’m co-authoring in partnership with Attorney General Rob Bonta and state Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley. Senate Bill 478 would bring transparency to online and other transactions, making it illegal for companies to advertise prices that do not include all required fees or charges other than taxes.

It is a law that is sorely needed in our state. After being approved by the Senate with overwhelming support, the bill is now up for vote in the Assembly.

According to a 2019 survey by Consumer Reports, 85% of Americans reported having encountered a hidden fee in the previous two years. The same study found up to 60% of people reported spending more than they budgeted because of hidden fees in transactions for hotels, air travel, car rentals, telecom and tickets for live events.

In fact, hidden fees cost consumers billions of dollars each year, hurting vulnerable families at a time when every dollar counts. They prevent an accurate comparison of prices, planning or realistic budgeting.

Furthermore, deceptive pricing takes business from honest competitors, removes the incentive for true price competition and leads to inflation in the market in general, without any corresponding benefit to consumers.

The practice has been a boon for sellers, who rake in profits by using technology to hide the true price of goods.

It is a significant issue. And it appears to be proliferating in more and more sectors of the economy. These fees are nothing more than a deceptive way of hiding the true price of something.

President Joe Biden called out the problem in his recent State of the Union speech, emphasizing hidden fees as a matter of national concern. He urged Congress to pass the Junk Fee Prevention Act, federal legislation to target deceptive price advertising, among other things.

In California, which is the world’s fourth largest economy, we pay more than our share of junk fees. And it needs to stop.

Senate Bill 478 would address that, requiring honest price advertising and full disclosure in pricing across the board, protecting California consumers and businesses who are up-front about their prices. It would allow broad civil enforcement of violations under the Consumer Legal Remedies Act.

Because the final purchase price for something shouldn’t be a mystery for California consumers. The price you see should be the price you pay. SB 478 will level the playing field for consumers and businesses by demanding transparency and a fair marketplace for California families.

State Sen. Bill Dodd represents Senate District 3, which includes all or portions of Napa, Solano, Yolo, Sonoma, Contra Costa, and Sacramento counties. You can learn more about the district and Senator Dodd at www.sen. ca.gov/dodd.

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CALMATTERS COMMENTARY

Ending Mono Lake diversions to L.A. would help environment, hurt climate

Jim NewtoN CALMATTERS

California’s effort to secure water supplies is a struggle older than the state itself.

It played out during the Gold Rush, and it defines modern San Francisco and Los Angeles. It has created divisions between north and south as well as east and west. It consumes endless political energy and mountains of literal energy, spent by moving water from the Sacramento Bay Delta to San Jose and Southern California, from the Colorado River to the Los Angeles basin, from the Sierra Nevada to the Bay Area.

In all of that, Mono Lake is a small data point, barely a dot on the state’s vast water map. So why is Mono Lake suddenly attracting attention in water circles?

A coalition of environmentalists and Native American tribes – the Kutzadika’a Paiute have lived in the Mono basin for centuries – are fighting for that water, arguing that Los Angeles, which began diverting streams away from the lake in 1941, should give up its rights and let the lake be. That would allow Mono Lake’s surface level to rise, though it still would confront the more ancient problem of evaporation.

There’s a lot of history behind this struggle, as there is in all matters involving California water. And that early history does not reflect well on the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s stewardship of Mono Lake. After receiving its permits to draw water from the area in 1940, the DWP did so voraciously. The level of the lake dropped by 45 feet from 1941 to 1982.

In 1994, the state water board put a halt to that, limiting the amount the DWP can take in any given year. In the years since, the lake has slowly rebounded, though its condition remains delicate.

Paradoxically, the argument for forcing Los Angeles to end its diversions from the Mono basin now rests largely on the fact that, since 1994, it hasn’t drawn that much water anyway. So, if it’s already prevented from taking more, why not stop drawing this water altogether? To advocates, that seems like common sense; to the DWP, it feels like being punished for having succeeded.

In the big scheme of things, it’s true that the amounts that DWP takes from the Mono Lake basin are tiny (no water is drawn from the lake itself, since it’s briny; the DWP gets its water from four creeks that feed the lake). Today, the DWP withdraws no more than 16,000 acre feet a year, and it often

takes much less than that.

Compared to Los Angeles’ overall usage, that’s a pittance. The city consumes about 500,000 acre feet of water annually, so even in a big year, the water from the Mono watershed amounts to no more than about 3% of the total.

Still, that’s enough water to supply some 45,000 homes or as many as 200,000 people in the denser areas of Los Angeles (San Francisco, with its more tightly packed population and fewer gardens, stretches an acre foot of water to about eight households).

Then there are the birds. Mono Lake is an important way station for migratory birds and a vital shorebird habitat. If the level of the lake falls too low, it exposes land bridges that connect the lake’s major nesting island to shore, allowing coyotes to dart across the bridge and disrupt the birds. That makes keeping the lake level high enough to preserve the islands an important priority.

And yet, despite recent droughts – and even with the DWP’s diversions – the water has not fallen to the level that creates coyote bridges in decades. The level of the lake today is more than 10 feet higher than it was in 1981, according to the DWP.

“There’s nothing even remotely like a land bridge out there now,” Martin Adams, the DWP’s general manager and chief engineer, said in an interview this week.

On the issue of conservation, I asked Adams whether he would walk away from the agency’s water rights in the Mono Lake area if the DWP could find an additional 16,000 acre feet through conservation.

His answer was simple: no.

The DWP’s first priority with conservation, he said, is to cut back on importing water from expensive, environmentally inferior alternatives. If suddenly granted a windfall, “we’ll purchase less water from the Metropolitan Water District,” he said.

That makes good financial sense.

Metropolitan water is expensive – about $750 per acre foot – because it has to be shipped, either from Northern California through the State Water Project or from the Colorado River, where other states and Native American tribes are fighting for their rights.

But it’s not just money. There are environmental ramifications as well, and Martin’s priorities make good environmental sense. Metropolitan water has to be shipped long distances, and as a result, it requires huge amounts of electrical power (water is heavy and very hard to move uphill). In fact, moving water from point to point is

among the largest uses of electricity in California.

Since generating electricity is one of the main contributors to carbon emissions, it’s bad for the climate to move water.

By contrast, the Los Angeles Aqueduct, the genius project of William Mulholland, brings water to Los Angeles from Mono and the Owens Valley by gravity alone. In fact, it generates a bit of power as it flows south. That’s the opposite of spending energy to heave water over mountains from the Bay Delta or the Colorado.

So, financially, it does not make sense for DWP to cut off Mono Lake supplies. And the environmental costs would be mixed: It might shore up bird habitat that is not presently jeopardized, but it would do so at the expense of contributing to climate change.

I ran all of this by Jeff Kightlinger, former general manager of the Metropolitan Water District and one of California’s most highly regarded water experts. Kightlinger doesn’t have a dog in this fight. If anything, a decision by the DWP to abandon its rights to Mono Lake water would help Kightlinger’s former agency, since DWP might be forced to buy more water from Southern California’s giant importer.

Nevertheless, Kightlinger sympathized with the DWP on this one.

Yes, he said, there are issues related to birds, but those mostly seem under control – no land bridges are endangering the nesting areas. And yes, there are gains to made in conservation, but Kightlinger agreed with Adams that it’s hard to see why the DWP would give up a clean water source in the eastern Sierra, where it gets water essentially for free, in return for spending more money and using more energy to buy it from Metropolitan.

“All of these resource decisions involve trade-offs,” he said. “I’m not hearing the compelling argument in this case.”

Could that change? Of course – if the lake levels begin dropping again, putting the birds in danger. Or, if prolonged drought meant that even the DWP’s modest withdrawals from the area’s creeks cut off the supply to the lake and it falls into a downward spiral.

If history is any guide, this fight will drag on for a long time. For the moment, a very wet winter has allowed it to not feel pressing. But it hasn’t gone away.

Jim Newton is a veteran journalist, bestselling author and teacher. He worked at the Los Angeles Times for 25 years as a reporter, editor, bureau chief and columnist, covering government and politics

Talking money with adult children

Dear Annie: I would like to add to your advice to the mom whose 22-year-old daughter wants to move into her own apartment. Based on past experience, “Distressed About Departing Dependent” is worried that her daughter will soon be asking her for money to pay rent, which she is unable to provide. Your advice was to support her in other ways, but “if she asks for cash, tell her no, and stick to it.” The baby bird needs to learn to fly on her own. Good advice, but wrong timing.

As a parent, landlord and former family financial counselor, I would say the time to have the “no cash” talk is well before the daughter gets all excited and signs a yearlong lease. Combine that with helping the daughter develop a realistic spending plan (budget) so she will know what impact paying rent will have on her lifestyle – before signing a lease. There are excellent

ARIES (March 21-April 19).

Privately remind yourself of what you are good at because playing to your strengths will make a new process go smoothly. You’ll give a strong performance at something you didn’t even know you could do.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You set out to make something and the result is very different from your original idea. It’s as though your creation is what it wanted to be: unique and alive, as though it had a hand in its own birth.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21).

It’s an excellent time to conserve your energy by dropping something you were only doing to please a certain person. Don’t try to be likable to all. Be likable to you. You’re the one who must hang out with you the most.

CANCER (June 22-July 22).

As the “apples and oranges” comparison implies, it’s silly to rate completely differing entities against one another. You’ll accept things for what they are and figure out how to best use them for their distinctive and integral qualities.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). The past is still with you in some ways. You’ll be surprised to experience the extent of it today. You’ll hear the script in your head -- lines that have been delivered for years. You can choose to follow or not.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22).

You know how you want to be treated. Treat yourself like that and others get the hint. Semantics can complicate things

Crossword

resources available in bookstores and online.

Then, if the daughter comes asking for rent money, Mom can say no with a clear conscience, and hopefully with no hard feelings all around, as this was all laid out in advance.

One of the best things my mother did for me was to say no when I asked for a loan as a young businessman in my 20s. It forced me to rethink my financial habits and set me up for success in my later years. –

Timing Is Everything

Dear Timing: You make a good suggestion. Thank you for writing. Dear Annie: I just read a response to a letter about an 88-year-old driving a car. Here’s mine.

I became increasingly concerned about my husband driving. He has a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment. We discussed this with his doctor, who ordered a driving eval-

by Holiday Mathis

Today’s birthday

Welcome to your year of auspicious strategy. You are clever and hardworking and will surpass what a mentor wanted for you and pay the guidance forward too. More highlights: a talented team of equals, the chance to make a difference by standing for those who can’t, and expressions of friendship and love that seal bonds for life. Leo and Libra adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 11, 16, 5, 18 and 27.

unnecessarily. If you can say it with action instead of words, things get simpler.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23).

You’re not always in the mood to compete, so when the spirit of competition does land on you, as it will today, use that energy for all it’s worth. Let it fuel and quicken you. Focus on what matters most to you.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21).

There are people who are lost inside a place you know all too well. You’ll educate them and help them find their way. It’s better to assist people in getting their needs met than to try and meet them all yourself.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22Dec. 21). Get a win. Any win will do. Something seemingly insignificant will be enough to level up your mindset by proving to yourself that you’re a person who does what you

uation by an occupational therapist. The OT specializes in doing evaluations for various medical situations to see if a driver is safe, unsafe or can be made safe with adaptations.

My husband’s evaluation left him without driving privileges. It was an emotional blow for both of us, yet he is coping with his typical dignity. We were grateful for the objective evaluation. It wasn’t me telling my husband that he can’t drive. This might be a helpful option for other families.

A relieved and loving wife. –Safe and Sound Dear Safe and Sound: Having an independent expert deliver the bad news to a spouse has so many advantages over having the news delivered by a nagging spouse, even if the nagging is done out of love. Thank you for sharing your story.

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

set out to do.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19). You will succeed best in environments where you know people are rooting for you. If you are struggling, stop and look around. Is there anyone who is making your process more difficult? Progress resumes once obstacles are cleared.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20Feb. 18). You push yourself hard and ask more of yourself than you would dream of asking of anyone else. Assess whether this is compassionate or harsh. Will it lead to burnout? What would happen if you relaxed your demands?

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). You’ve done cool things, but you have no desire to talk about your past glories like some. You know in your heart that the best is yet to come and that’s where you want to put your mind and words today.

CELEBRITY PROFILES: Brian May was working toward his PhD in astrophysics when his band Queen became hugely popular, and he left school to tour. Decades later he finished his doctoral thesis on zodiacal light. May was born when the Sun, Mercury and Venus were in soulful Cancer. His Moon, Saturn and Pluto are in entertaining Leo and natal Mars is in intellectual Gemini. Sidenote: Among an elite group of rocker-scientists is another British “Brian,” the physicist Brian Cox.

Contact Holiday Mathis at HolidayMathis.com

Bridge

by Phillip Alder

Against four spades, West led the heart five: three, 10, jack. South played the spade two: nine, king, three. Declarer called for dummy’s spade four. When East discarded a low diamond, South put in the seven. West won with the jack, cashed the spade ace and led his last spade. South claimed 10 tricks: two spades, one heart, five diamonds and two clubs. How many times did the pendulum swing?

THE CONTRACT RESTS ON A SWING

Assuming no reneges or other misadventures, the result of an occasional contract is predetermined. It will either succeed or fail: all roads lead to the same Roman terminus. At the other end of the spectrum, there are deals on which the outcome goes backward and forward like a pendulum or a ping-pong ball.

First, West could have guaranteed the demise of the contract by leading a minor. Then, East, looking at those strong diamonds in the dummy, should have won the opening trick with the heart ace and returned the heart 10. Now South would have gone down unless able to see all of the cards. After winning the second trick with dummy’s spade king, South should have abandoned trumps. By playing three rounds of diamonds and discarding the heart nine, declarer keeps the contract under control. He will lose only three trump tricks. After winning with the spade jack at trick three, West missed a difficult chance to defeat the contract. If he had guessed what had happened at trick one, he would have continued with the heart queen. Forced to ruff the third round of hearts, South could not have recovered. He would have run out of trumps.

So, the pendulum swung four times.

COPYRIGHT: 2023, UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE

Sudoku by Wayne Gould

© 2023 Janric Enterprises Dist. by creators.com

7/19/23

Fill in the grid so that every

every column and every

THE CONTRACT RESTS ON A

Difficulty level: GOLD

Yesterday’s solution:

SWING

Assuming no reneges or other misadventures, the result of an occasional contract is predetermined. It will either succeed or fail: all roads lead to the same Roman terminus. At the other end of the spectrum, there are deals on which the outcome goes backward and forward like a pendulum or a ping-pong ball.

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

Horoscopes

Word Sleuth Daily Cryptoquotes

Annie Lane Dear Annie

Bomb vs. Bombshell

‘Barbie,’ ‘Oppenheimer’ ready for box office battle

Tribune ConTenT AgenCy

DETROIT — The movie event of the year is two movies, actually: One about the world of one of our most cherished childhood dolls and the other about the development of the atomic bomb.

This weekend, movie fans will head to theaters nationwide to watch Greta Gerwig’s highly anticipated “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s gritty “Oppenheimer.”

What makes the release of these diametrically opposed films unique is the stark difference in essence and storytelling that has managed to capture a huge swirl of buzz for both films – both on their own and together. Ever since their respective trailers were released, moviegoers have been in a frenzy over the two films, creating memes about the premiere day dichotomy, selling Frankenstein shirts of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” merch, and making TikTok predictions about the two films’ plots.

Now the question isn’t really about which of the two films viewers will choose on opening day. It’s more about which movie will they see first.

“I keep hearing ‘Oppenheimer’ is Nolan’s most disturbing and ambitious project, so I think I’m going to need to sit with it for a few days,” said Ishan Biswas, 21, from Farmington Hills. “I really want to have the full experience, so I plan to watch it the night of the premiere.”

Jameel Baksh, 20, from Dearborn, is most anticipating the release of “Barbie.” “I’m definitely excited to see the costumes and set, because it seems so accurate to the toy design,” he said. “Based on the previews, it looks like a feast for the eyes.”

As premiere day fast approaches and fans choose sides, the “Barbenheimer” battle is upon us.

The ‘Barbenheimer’ battle

In one corner we have director Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie,” a comedy set in a pink-colored Barbieland utopia starring our blonde hero, Barbie (Margot Robbie), and her doe-eyed Ken (Ryan Gosling), on a chromatic adventure to find true happiness in the human world.

In the other corner we have Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” a dark thriller with the opposite color scheme, showcasing cold black tones, telling the true story behind J. Robert Oppenheimer’s (Cillian Murphy) single greatest achievement, the creation of the atomic bomb.

Talk about a contrast.

“It is pretty evident that these are two diametrically opposite films,” said Anthony LaVerde, CEO and president of Emagine Entertainment. “But they are high-quality, well-made

Daily Cryptoquotes

films that resonate with a lot of people.”

Since the announcement of “Lady Bird” and “Little Women” director Gerwig as “Barbie’s” steward in 2021, fans have dished their excitement for the film on social media platforms, which hasn’t lost momentum through the two-year buildup to premiere day. Most speculate that part of this buzz has to do with the movie’s marketing, which locally included last week’s free “Barbie”-themed beach party at Campus Martius Park in Detroit.

“There have been plenty of merchandise collaborations, special trailers, social media campaigns and TikTok strategies unleashed upon us over the past few months,” said Ellen PutneyMoore, director of marketing at Ann Arbor’s Michigan and State Theatres. “TikTok has played an incredibly important role in ‘Barbie’s’ marketing strategy, with Barbie filters and tongue-in-cheek references to the phrase, ‘she’s Barbie, he’s just Ken.’”

Things got even more interesting when “Oppenheimer” entered the picture, announcing its premiere on the same day as “Barbie’s.” That’s when fans started addressing both movies’ contradicting color schemes and narrative tones. Although moviegoers were startled by the double feature anomaly, it seemed to lend “Oppenheimer” an extra hand in marketing.

“Credit for the hype over ‘Barbenheimer’ really goes to ‘Barbie,’” said Gitesh Pandya, a box office analyst and editor of Box Office Guru. “That’s the film with more genuine excitement. Its box office is tracking like a major superhero film.”

No matter which movie takes the crown when dusk sets on premiere night, both films have been marketed in a way that has captured the attention of film fans, even overshadowing Tom Cruise’s latest “Mission: Impossible” installment.

“This certainly points to a trend of making these films ‘experiential’ events and the importance of starting marketing buzz earlier than ever,” said PutneyMoore. “Moving forward, I think any marketing team needs to be sure they are building a solid social media strategy for any film, concentrat-

ing particularly on TikTok, and with a focus on letting people create their own content with the film’s branding.”

Premiere day prep

Some fans have come up with carefully calculated schedules for what their routine and movie-watching order will be come Thursday, when both movies in many markets.

Last week, AMC reported that more than 20,000 tickets have been sold for the double feature of the two films, numbers that are expected to go up as Thursday nears.

Rojin Shirwan, 20, a recent University of Michigan graduate, said watching “Barbie” first is a must.

“’Barbie’ is a super fun and silly watch, so I want to relish in some pink and start off with something a little more lighthearted,” said Shirwan. “Then it makes sense to switch to a darker film later on in the night to appreciate ‘Oppenheimer’s’ cinematography and moody acting from Cillian Murphy.”

Others have argued that an “Oppenheimer” screening should come first.

“I’ll definitely watch ‘Oppenheimer’ before ‘Barbie,’” said Akash Dewan, 20, a University of Michigan junior who’s currently an intern at Warner Bros. in Los Angeles. “’Oppenheimer’ will be a lot heavier. Considering it’s rooted in historical fiction regarding World War II and weapons of mass destruction, I have a strong feeling it will not leave the viewer with a very happy ending. Finishing with ‘Barbie’ will allow me to decompress and can serve as a more mindless, colorful experience that will leave me in a good mood and dolled up.”

The spectacle of fan madness surrounding the double feature premiere has left many wondering whether these movies will live up to the anticipation.

While we won’t know the answer until opening night, we have already seen the impact of this discourse on theaters across the country, and Laverde said advance ticket sales have surpassed expectations.

In the latest “Oppenheimer” trailer, Kenneth Branagh’s character, Neil Bohr, utters the

See Battle, Page B6

Word Sleuth

Crossword by Phillip Alder

Bridge

a splinter with a singleton ace rarely being right. With nothing wasted in clubs, South wasn’t willing to stop short of six.

Actually, it isn’t the world’s worst slam because of the secondary diamond fit. However, South’s declarer-play wasn’t up to the task.

After winning the first trick with dummy’s club ace, declarer led a trump from the dummy. When East’s king appeared, South smiled. He won with the ace and cashed the queen, but East discarded a club. Still alive, South ruffed a club in the dummy, played a diamond to his queen and ruffed his last club. Now if only he could have found West with four diamonds, South could have discarded the heart jack and queen before West ruffed in. However, when East followed to the second diamond, South took his best chance, attempting the heart finesse. It lost, though, and West scored two majorsuit tricks.

IF PARTNER OVERBIDS, TRY TO OVERPLAY

It is a well-known saying in bridge that if you bid the spots off the cards, you had better know how to play the spots off as well. On today’s deal, North’s four clubs was a splinter bid. It showed slam interest, spade support and a singleton (or void) in clubs. It was a debatable choice,

There is a way to get home – if you think of it. When East plays the spade king, South lets him take the trick! Suppose East switches to a heart. South wins with the ace, ruffs his two low clubs in the dummy, draws trumps and runs the diamonds. His 12 tricks are three spades, one heart, five diamonds, one club and those two club ruffs.

COPYRIGHT: 2023, UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE

Sudoku by Wayne

Bridge

7/20/23

IF PARTNER OVERBIDS, TRY TO OVERPLAY

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

It is a well-known saying in bridge that if you bid the spots off the cards, you had better know how to play the spots off as well.

On today’s deal, North’s four clubs

Gould

© 2023 Janric Enterprises Dist. by creators.com

Difficulty level: BRONZE

Yesterday’s solution:

Universal Pictures/TNS

Cillian Murphy stars in “Oppenheimer.”

TVdaily

Battle

From Page B5

words, “the world is not prepared.” While this line is in reference to the creation of the first atomic bomb, it also wholly encapsulates the excitement of “Barbenheimer’s” opening day.

Breakup and makeup

On top of marketing, these films have capitalized on the media narrative pitting the movies against each other.

Some have claimed that despite Nolan’s composure during the film’s press tour, the Oscarnominated director has privately expressed his unhappiness with the same-day release of both films. Others have claimed that part of this comes from Nolan’s rocky departure from Warner Bros., which produced much of his previous work. It’s believed that Warner Bros. initially considered releasing “Barbie” at a later date, but then settled on July 21.

Although the allegations make sense with Nolan’s relationship with Warner Bros., both films have gained more attention by proving the media wrong, and cast and crew from both films were publicly seen fraternizing with the so-called “enemy.” No matter how the media has portrayed an ongoing box office war, there seems to be no outward animosity between the film teams. Instead, the stars of the two films, as well as the “Mission: Impossible” team, have been actively supportive of one another’s films.

Gerwig and Robbie showed their approval for the competing summer box office hits with a post on “Barbie’s” social media channels, which showed them holding tickets for the “Mission: Impossible” sequel, “Oppenheimer,” and the newest “Indiana Jones” film.

Tom Cruise allegedly pushed exhibitors to put on “Mission: Impossible” ahead of Nolan’s film on large-format screens after losing three weeks of IMAX exclusivity. But he washed away any allegations of bad blood with a tweet showcasing his support for the competing films.

The history of double features

Some of the most iconic films of the century have been released in theaters on the same day.

On June 8, 1984,

“Ghostbusters” and “Gremlins” both hit theaters, sharing similar supernatural themes, and leaving a tough sell for executives. In the end, “Ghostbusters” came out on top, earning $13.5 million during its opening weekend, beating out “Gremlins’” $12.5 million take.

On Nov. 7, 2003, the Will Ferrel movie “Elf” went head-to-head with “Love Actually.” By the end of opening weekend, “Elf” made $31.1 million, leaving “Love Actually” with a mere $6.8 million in ticket sales, although both have gone on to become annual holiday favorites. These double features captured the public’s imagination, but not quite in the way “Barbenheimer” has.

“Often times two major Hollywood films will open on the same day, but the public and the media have really taken an unprecedented amount of interest in ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’ releasing on the same day,” said Pandya. “Studios have often counter-programmed a major male-skewing action movie with a female-skewing rom-com or drama. But the tables have turned in 2023 as this time the female-skewing movie hands down has stronger box office muscle.”

So far, it’s predicted that Gerwig’s comedy will outperform Nolan’s dark drama. “Barbie” is expected to surpass $80 million in ticket sales during its opening weekend, while “Oppenheimer” is expected to generate $50 million.

The box office numbers may not compare to openings for mega blockbusters or franchise films, but for non-sequels, they are significant within the current trend of post-pandemic movie ticket sales.

“Eight of the top 10 grossing movies so far this year are sequels,” said Pandya. “The others are ‘Super Mario Bros.’ and ‘The Little Mermaid,’ which are both based on well-known brands, so ‘Barbie’ fits into that category and I can see it breaking $300 million in North America alone.”

“Oppenheimer” might not climb that high, but it has benefited from the “Barbenheimer” hype.

“A double feature hasn’t been around for years, so it’s a really exciting thought for viewers,” said Emagine’s LaVerde. “I think the ‘Minions’ film last year really took viral social media marketing to a different level and I think this double feature plays off of that marketing success.”

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

the same way?

“As an educator, how do we meet everyone’s needs? Everyone’s needs are different,”

Mario Thompson, clad in shorts and a T-shirt, said on an early summer’s day in his principal’s office, where there are no visible mementos to the athletic achievements of his two oldest daughters.

“Like in the classroom, this kid in kindergarten is reading chapter books. I have some kindergarteners that don’t even know their letters. So how do I meet their needs?

“For my daughter, for Alyssa, how do I meet her needs? How do we maximize her potential?”

The answer: challenge her.

So before Thompson had entered high school, she was playing in a league against girls four years her senior. And after she notched 48 goals and 17 assists in 18 games in her sophomore season at the Harvard-Westlake School, winning Gatorade national player of the year honors, her father pulled her off the team and sent his daughters to play against boys at the L.A.-based Total Futbol Academy, becoming the first girls to do so.

“Playing with the boys, it definitely prepared me to play with the pros,” said Thompson who, at 5-foot-4 and 108 pounds, is the smallest player on the World Cup team. “They’re really physical with me and if I had a bad touch, they’d be on me and just push me off the ball.”

She spent her summers with the Santa Clarita Blue Heat, a semipro team where she played alongside current World Cup teammates Ashley Sanchez and Savannah DeMelo, who were both at least six years older and in college.

“She was amazing,” said Blue Heat owner Carlos Marroquin, a former Guatemalan youth international player whose team still includes Gisele. “She wasn’t the same player as everyone else. She was different.”

One thing that made her different was her relationship with her sister, who is 13 months younger but has already drawn the attention of French superclub Paris SaintGermain. (The girls have a younger sibling, Zoe, who is 11.) While Alyssa and Gisele competed on the field, they were also best friends off it and that relationship drove them on the many afternoons when soccer practice felt more a job than a joy.

“My daughter, she does not eat, sleep and breathe soccer,” said Mario Thompson, 44, who has maintained the 5-7, 180-pound frame he had when he ran track and played football and basketball at Occidental College.

“It’s a unique dynamic where Alyssa and Gisele had each other. It wasn’t just Alyssa by herself. She always had a partner.”

49ers

From Page B1

counting on that duo for impact play, but they also need others to step up behind them. Can newcomers seize backup roles, or will returning players hold them off for playing time this fall?

Let’s sketch out the options:

Danny Gray: We start here because, well, his career seemingly has yet to begin. He had one catch as a rookie, on his lone target after mid-October. The blazing speed is there. Will his routes vary? Will he attack the ball at its high point? The Year 2 leap must happen, and he’s worked all offseason for it.

over again this camp – as a valued receiver.

Chris Conley: How spry are this 30-year-old journeyman’s legs? He didn’t impress in the spring practices open to the media, so he must show he’s more than veteran insurance.

Ronnie Bell: This seventh-round rookie from Michigan started hot in spring workouts, cooled at the end, but could really push for a roster spot, especially if he proves adept on special teams and as a punt returner.

Tay Martin: You want a roster darkhorse? The 6-foot-3 Martin could be it, after familiarizing himself with the offense last season on the practice squad.

With the World Cup looming that wouldn’t be enough though, so the family began exploring other options. Mario Thompson is Black and Filipino and his wife, Karen, an occupational therapist, is Italian and Peruvian, giving Alyssa her choice of four national teams to try out for. But she wanted to play for the top-ranked U.S., the four-time World Cup champions.

Leaving high school and turning pro, allowing Thompson to prove herself against women twice her age, was a better idea. Europe was one possibility, but when Angel City committed two draft picks and $450,000 in allocation money to a three-team trade that allowed it to make Thompson the No. 1 overall selection in the NWSL draft, she signed a three-year contract to stay at home.

That quickly proved to be a wise decision for both the Thompsons and the team. Not only did Thompson score five minutes into her first pro game, a friendly with Mexico’s Club América, but she got another goal 11 minutes into her NWSL debut against NJ/NY Gotham FC three weeks later. Each score was met the same way: with a combination of joy and surprise washing over Thompson’s round, expressive face and a celebration that ended with an exuberant hug for the closest teammate.

National team player

Naomi Girma, who has trained with Thompson and competed against her in the NWSL, said Thompson, who plays primarily on the left wing, poses multiple problems because she’s an outstanding dribbler who isn’t afraid to shoot from tough angles. And then there’s her speed: Last year she clocked 11.69 seconds over 100 meters, making her the fourth-fastest girl in California – despite the fact she hated track.

“Alyssa Thompson is a very dynamic forward,” Girma said. “Something that stands out about her is her acceleration. So you don’t want to get to tight to be beat behind, but you also don’t want to stay too far back.”

“She’s unpredictable,” Andonovski added. “Her creativity and the things that she does on the field are so hard to track

because you never know what she’s going to do.”

Still a World Cup invitation seemed like a longshot until Mallory Swanson, the U.S.team’s leading scorer, tore the patella tendon in her left knee in an April friendly with Ireland. Thompson made her first start for the U.S. three days later. And while she feels for Swanson, who will miss the World Cup, she pushes back on the idea she backed onto the team.

“I am taking advantage of whatever comes my way,” she said. “I feel like I am good enough to be there.”

Carli Lloyd, a two-time world champion and twotime world player of the year who will be a studio analyst for Fox Sports at the World Cup, said Thompson’s skills and awareness belie her age.

“I have been super impressed with the variety of skillset and decisionmaking Alyssa has,” she said. “She has a high ceiling with her talent … but will she be able to block out all the noise and bounce back after challenges arise?”

The biggest challenge could be public expectation, Lloyd warned.

“Let Alyssa be an 18-year-old pro player and enjoy her journey,” she said.

A unique journey charted by her father that, for the moment, has her speeding along the border separating childhood and adulthood, sometimes crossing the line on one side, sometimes careening back the other way. Thompson attended her high school prom, for example, but skipped graduation because her team had a game in Washington, D.C. And after being named to the World Cup roster, she pestered teammates about what she should pack, as if they were going to summer camp rather than on a business trip.

“Best phone call ever,” teammate Lindsay Horan, a World Cup veteran, said with a chuckle.

But it’s a journey she is drinking in. Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak, an assistant coach with the World Cup team, said Thompson is constantly tagging along with teammates to get coffee or hanging back in the meal room to ask questions or

just visit with the other women. Sahaydak, the only other 18-year-old to make a U.S.women’s World Cup team, said that’s a much different experience than she had in 1995.

“I had pictures of Mia Hamm in my binder from People magazine. And the next thing you know, I’m being asked to go into a training camp with her and Michelle Akers,” she said. “Everything happened so fast. I had to pinch myself often to realize I’m surrounded by the best players in the world.”

Sahaydak, 46, said she hasn’t yet shared her experiences with Thompson and isn’t even sure she knows her story. But, Sahaydak noted, there is a big difference between then and now: When Sahaydak left the national team training camp after her first call-up at age 16, she returned to her high school team in Concord, Calif., because there was no professional league for women.

So the Thompsons’ decision to continually challenge Alyssa to play at a higher level was the right one, Sahaydak said.

“The fact that she is playing with pros, already playing with women on a daily basis in preparation for his first World Cup is such a great advantage for her,” she said.

Morgan, who made her national team debut 14 years ago to far less fanfare at the age of 20, looks at Thompson as a precious gem, one that must be polished and protected but never restrained. After all, she’s been exceeding expectations since that first race in the third grade, so while put limits on her now?

“You have to make sure that she feels like she’s learning and growing at the right rate and not at 1,000 miles an hour,” said Morgan, 34. “Because if you thrust her into this spotlight at such a young age, a lot comes with that. What was just second nature for you before, now you’re second-guessing.

“So I think for Alyssa, as much as possible, it’s allowing her to just be her rather than trying to shape her into something that she’s not right now. She’s 18. She’s a teenager.”

Jauan Jennings: The 49ers covet his energy, physicality and knack for converting on third down (“Third-and-Jauan”). If he becomes more surehanded, then more reps should come his way, especially in the red zone. He had one touchdown last year, after five in 2021.

Ray-Ray McCloud: This marks McCloud’s second year with the 49ers as their … what, exactly? Is he more than a punt returner? He had one-catch games 11 times last year, plus a four-catch bonanza vs. Kansas City. With Christian McCaffrey such a nice option in the slot, McCloud needs to prove himself all

Dazz Newsome: He joined the practice squad for last season’s playoff push, so he should channel whatever good luck he brought from that run into his push as a roster longshot.

Willie Snead IV: He came away with no official catches after bouncing between the practice squad and the active roster last season. His 279 career receptions are the most among the 49ers’ wide receivers.

Isaiah Winstead: From Norfolk State to Toledo to East Carolina to Twitter video sensation, Winstead (6-foot-4) must beat the odds and make the most of every rep to garner a practice-squad return.

Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group/TNS file San Francisco 49ers’ Deebo Samuel (19) gets a warm welcome from Tashaun Gipson Sr. (31) and Danny Gray (6) after scoring a 74-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter of their NFC wild-card playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Jan. 14.

Alumni

From Page B1

Claunch is hitting .172 this season with 11 runs scored, 16 hits, two home runs and 12 RBIs.

n n n Vacaville High School graduate David Rodriguez was recently selected in the 15th round by the Atlanta Braves during the recent MLB Amateur Draft.

The right-handed pitcher is 6-foot-2 and 196 pounds. He is also 22 years old. Hernandez went 13-2 this past season at San Joaquin Delta with a 2.29 ERA in 102 innings with 124 strikeouts.

n n n

Two area athletes are listed on the roster of Simpson University’s new football team in Redding. Vacaville Christian’s Dominic Ruff and Rio Vista’s Zachary Davi are ready for the RedHawks’ maiden voyage. Simpson

Snapper

From Page B1

help with room and board.

Duff’s interest in film might have helped his own recruiting cause.

“The head coach watched my film from Costa Costa of my long snapping, and also of me going down to make some tackles,” Duff said. “I use Twitter to market myself and that really helps.”

His roommate is Elijah Boyd, also an Armijo and Contra Costa alum, is on the UTEP roster as a tight end. The two have adapted well to life in the

will play a short scrimmage season this fall before become a full-fledged NAIA program in 2024.

Ruff was versatile for the VCS Falcons in 2023. He rushed 20 times for 207 yards and a touchdown, had 16 catches for 283 yards and two touchdowns, and also threw a 7-yard touchdown pass. Davi played his junior season at Rio Vista in 2019. He had 79 carries for 616 yards and seven touchdowns that season. He had 18 receptions for 343 yards and five touchdowns.

Davi went on to Los Medanos after the Covid-19 pandemic.

n n n Vacaville native Jake Levengood, the senior starting center for the Oregon State football team, was named second team on the Pac-12’s Preseason All-Conference squad on Tuesday. Levengood was an honorable mention selection at the end of last season for the Beavers.

border town.

“It’s a different atmosphere right on the border,” Duff said. “It’s very friendly. I like the professors here. They want you to succeed and the school has a 100-percent acceptance rate, so most graduate. I went on a visit with Elijah and they made me an offer. It was a great feeling.”

UTEP went 5-7 in 2022 and 3-5 in Conference USA action. The Miners open the 2023 season Saturday, Aug. 26, at Jax State in Jacksonville, Alabama. Road trips to Northwestern and Arizona are also featured on the non-conference schedule.

Eric Sondheimer/Los Angeles Times/TNS file (2022)

Harvard-Westlake HIgh School’s Alyssa Thompson, 17 in 2022, received her first callup to the U.S. Soccer women’s senior team.