enterprise THE DAVIS
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2021
Thanks to everyone who is making less (or zero) smoke from fireplaces, wood stoves, outdoor fires, tobacco, etc. Decades ago, I used my fireplace a lot, until the time I stepped outside and realized I was harming my neighbors. Thanks to all for understanding that residential smoke is household hazardous waste going into people’s lungs, unhealthy for everyone and it makes some people sick right away. Happy holidays from a huge fan of clean air. Paid for by a Huge Fan of Clean Air for Human Health
jcw@dcn.org
More changes for outdoor dining
A Mace Ranch couple’s Ring camera caught a potential thief scoping out their Prius’ catalytic converter early Thursday morning. He left emptyhanded.
By Anne Ternus-Bellamy Enterprise staff writer
area, to get more identifications and possibly catch them,” Sheri Pieper said. Mark Pieper noted that Davis police were responsive to the couple’s report, receiving a return call from an officer within a half hour. “He was really energized to have some video captured,” he said. Police said the Mace Ranch suspects “looked under the vehicle, possibly to assess what equipment might be needed, and then marked the vehicle prior to leaving the area in a small light-colored sedan.”
Efforts to improve the appearance and function of outdoor dining areas in downtown Davis continue. The city is asking all businesses with temporary use permits that allow them to occupy sidewalk and street space to reapply for new permits and meet a series of conditions aimed at improving aesthetics and safety. Businesses that wish to continue using those outdoor spaces have been asked to submit new applications by Friday, Dec. 17, and beginning Jan. 7, they must take down any tents, easyups and fabric roofing materials. Going forward only canopy structures using the Tojagrid pergola bracket system or something equivalent will be allowed and tin or metal roofs will be required where heaters are used. The requirements are focused on both aesthetics and safety, according to Assistant City Manager Ash Feeney. “We want to have a good aesthetic value and also ensure that where
See THIEVES, Page A2
See OUTDOOR, Page A4
Courtesy photo
Cops: Catalytic-converter thieves are back By Lauren Keene
carrying high value in the metal recycling market. They take just a few minutes to steal and can cost vehicle owners thousands of dollars to replace. Davis residents Sheri and Mark Pieper know the frustration first-hand. They had one catalytic converter stolen in a Sacramento parking lot several years ago, and just this week their Ring security camera captured images of two potential thieves scoping out the Prius parked in their Mace Ranch driveway around 3 a.m. Thursday. “They pulled up three different times in six minutes,” Sheri Pieper said, during which time
Enterprise staff writer Catalytic converter thefts are on the rise once again in Davis, with police receiving more than 45 theft reports over the past month — and nearly half of those in the last few days. “Thieves appear to be targeting Honda Accords and Toyota Prius vehicles, sometimes casing these vehicles and marking them for future theft,” police said in a crime alert bulletin issued Friday. Catalytic converters, which are a part of a vehicle’s exhaust system, are coveted for the precious metals they contain,
one person wearing a red hat and dark clothing came onto their driveway to peek underneath the vehicle. But the couple’s catalytic converter is shielded by a so-called “cat strap,” a heat-sealed strip that runs down the length of the part. While it won’t prevent a theft, it makes it an unwanted time-consuming struggle. “I think they were confused that it had something that was protecting it,” Mark Pieper said. The couple filed a police report and posted their Ring photos on the Nextdoor social media site “to keep the heightened awareness and see if anyone else did see that car in the
County reports more virus deaths Boosters now available for 16and 17-year-olds By Anne Ternus-Bellamy Enterprise staff writer Since Yolo County’s health officer warned of climbing COVID-19 case and test positivity rates on Tuesday, the county has reported 95 new cases and four more deaths. The deaths reported Wednesday included two Woodland residents as well as residents of West Sacramento and the unincorporated area. Since the pandemic began, 263 county residents have died from COVID-19.
VOL. 124, NO. 149
INDEX
The 95 new cases reported since Tuesday were spread across the county, including 19 in Davis, 21 in Woodland and 31 in West Sacramento. The county’s case rate is 8.4 per 100,000 residents, but it is much higher for unvaccinated residents than for vaccinated. While the case rate for vaccinated Yolo County residents is 5.9 per 100,000 residents, the case rate for unvaccinated residents is 25 per 100,000. Statewide, unvaccinated Californians were 7.1 times more likely to be infected with COVID-19 than vaccinated Californians during the week of Nov. 21-27. They were also 12.5 times more likely to be
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Today: Rain all day. High 51. Low 46.
JIN-YING SHAW
hospitalized than vaccinated individuals and 13 times more likely to die from COVID-19. On Friday there were three individuals hospitalized with COVID-19 in Yolo County’s two hospitals, two of them unvaccinated and one vaccinated, according to the county. ———— Healthy Davis Together and the UC Davis Genome Center announced the first local case of the Omicron variant on Thursday, but the Delta variant was responsible for 99 percent of positive samples collected during the week of Nov. 28 to Dec. 4.
See VIRUS, Page A4
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By Aaron Geerts Enterprise staff writer With local businesses as diverse as the community itself, Bizarro World makes a perfect fit for Davis. A haven immersed in nerd culture and niche nuance, this otherworldly place has orbited town for 30 years. Comic books, cards and games are the shop’s bread-and-butter. In fact, it’s from Superman that owner, Dan Urazandi, came up with the name: ‘Bizarro World.’ “Essentially, Bizarro World is a place in the old Superman comics. An imperfect duplicate of Superman did everything wrong, so he decided to
leave Earth and make his own planet. It was square and everything was backwards and different,” explained Urazandi. “When I put the name ‘Bizarro World’ on the banner, comic geeks knew exactly what it meant. If not, it still works because this place is weird and not like the rest of the world.” Bizarro World’s variety of wares span the imagination. Comic books from the ’60s to the present, manga, card games, board games, collectibles, CD’s and vinyl records galore, to name a few. Once through the doors at 223 E St., one can easily find a unique gift for
See BIZARRO, Page A4
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