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enterprise THE DAVIS
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2021
Council to consider future of G St. closure
A billboard like this one along Interstate 5 in Woodland could be part of a planned fentanyl public-awareness campaign backed last week by the Yolo County Board of Supervisors.
By Anne Ternus-Bellamy Enterprise staff writer When the pandemic put a temporary end to indoor restaurant dining — and threatened to put many Davis restaurants out of business altogether — the city and downtown businesses collaborated to create Open Air Davis. G Street was closed in two sections to provide outdoor dining areas, temporary use permits were issued, parklets were constructed where there had been parking spaces and Davis residents flocked to the area. “These temporary outdoor uses enabled businesses to continue to operate under emergency conditions and greatly contributed to the survival of many businesses that would have potentially faced closure,” city staff note in a report prepared for Tuesday’s City Council meeting. Even as indoor dining resumed with no capacity limits in June, many residents, some wary of the Delta variant, have continued to take advantage of those outdoor spaces.
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Supervisors back fentanyl effort By Lauren Keene Enterprise staff writer Brilliant, hilarious and kind — those are the words Rich Lee uses to describe his son, Jake Lee. But the 23-year-old Davis native also struggled with depression and anxiety, for which he self-medicated with marijuana, alcohol and sometimes pills. “He was not a drug addict,” Rich Lee says. One night back in April, Jake took what he believed to be a Percocet tablet, a pain reliever that typically contains the opioid oxycodone.
See CLOSURE, Page A7
This pill, however, was laced with fentanyl, a far more potent synthetic opioid that “likely killed him very quickly,” Lee said. “So many people like him are being duped into taking a small killer pill, which sends them to their grave and leaves behind a devastated family and lots of heartbroken friends,” he said of his son, who worked as a waiter while pursuing an English degree. “This can happen to anyone, and anyone’s child.” Lee made his comments last week before the Yolo County Board of Supervisors following a presentation from District
Attorney Jeff Reisig and Health and Human Services Director Karen Larsen on what they described as the county’s fentanyl epidemic. Their purpose was to gauge the board’s support of a publicawareness campaign highlighting the dangers of fentanyl, which is behind an increasing number of overdose deaths in Yolo County and beyond. Citing public health statistics, Reisig noted that fentanyl is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times more powerful than morphine, with a mere two milligrams — “literally a speck on a
penny” — enough to cause an overdose. Meanwhile, 97 percent of street pills seized by police are determined to be counterfeit, and 97 percent of those contain fentanyl — 40 percent having fatal doses, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. “This is what’s causing the massive spike in deaths across our country,” Reisig said.
‘A fatal mistake’ The
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Vote now for Reader’s Choice: Best of Yolo School district to go over Enterprise staff McNaughton Media, owner of The Davis Enterprise, has launched voting for the 2022 Reader’s Choice: Best of Yolo contest. The Reader’s Choice contest is nearing its 30th anniversary in Yolo County and gives newsreaders the chance to spotlight their favorite local businesses across more than 120 categories ranging from Food & Drink to Home Services. The voting period has been expanded by a month this year. Voting is open online and via printed ballots from Nov. 1 until Dec 31. Find your ballot in this paper on Page B6 or visit readerschoose.com to
VOL. 124, NO. 131
INDEX
MANAGEMENT Voted #1
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By Aaron Geerts Enterprise staff writer
Scan this QR code with your smart phone camera to get voting. write-in candidates are welcome. For all returning categories, winners from the last two years are prepopulated in the online ballot options. The contest is powered by https://yolo.directory, McNaughton’s online directory of adventures just beyond your back yard.
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Since 2019, the Davis Joint Unified School District has planned to implement ethnic studies into its curriculum. Now, the DJUSD is ready to roll out a four-year implementation plan for this field of study that coincides with the values of the district. Incepted in 1968, ethnic studies focuses on the historical backgrounds and contributions of Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans and Latino Americans. It also focuses on bolstering cultural humility, self-love and communal solidarity.
After embarking on a process to figure out what ethnic studies would look like at DJUSD, associate Superintendent, Roddy Boonchouy, breaks down the many facets of its implementation. “California has been in discussion and process of what this would look like statewide for about five years now. All the activity at the state level has brought ethnic studies to our attention and is something important,” Boonchouy explained. “We also have strong community advocacy for this. Community members
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register your votes. Changes to the contest this year include new restrictions on business nominations. Starting this year, nominees must be a business based in California. “The aim of this contest is to recognize stellar local businesses and the business people that make them great,” said contest publisher Taylor Buley. “While Starbucks, admittedly, has decent coffee, with this change to focus on local we’re looking to further showcase businesses that represent the best of what Yolo County has to offer.” New categories this year include Best Fries, Electrician and Accountant. Any local business can win and
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