enterprise THE DAVIS
SUNDAY, JANUARY 9, 2022
Introducing Palomino Place
THE LAST PIECE OF WILDHORSE.
An infill neighborhood within the existing city limits
providing homes designed, sized, and priced for Davis-based employees, UC Davis faculty, and staff along with a sports/aquatics complex.
Paid for by Taormino & Associates A Davis-Based Housing Provider
More at: www.PalominoPlaceDavis.com
Redistricting drafts go to City Council By Anne Ternus-Bellamy Enterprise staff writer
Superior Court, told CalMatters it was becoming impossible to continue jury trials as COVID19 cases broke out among judicial officers, court staff, lawyers, litigants and jurors. “We’re not dispensing with process, we’re not dispensing with justice,” he said. “It just may be slowed down a little bit. “Having to stop last year at this time when last year’s winter surge occurred was really
It’s been a little over two years since the city of Davis officially moved from at-large to district elections for City Council members. During that time, the city selected a five-district map based on 2010 Census data and held an election in 2020 where representatives for three of those districts were chosen. Now with an election for the remaining two districts coming in November, the council must choose a new map based on 2020 Census data. Two draft maps will go before the council on Tuesday, both of which make minimal changes to the current district boundaries. The primary focus in creating the new maps was accounting for the population growth in District 3, now home to The Cannery, which didn’t exist when the 2010 Census was done. Currently represented by Vice Mayor Lucas Frerichs, District 3 was home to the bulk of the city’s population growth during that decade, growing from 14,281 residents in 2010 to 15,676 residents in 2020. Meanwhile, District 2 to the west, represented by Councilman Will Arnold, saw a population decline, possibly because the census was
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Lawyers address a judge in Madera County Superior Court in Madera on Sept. 29. Larry Valenzuela/ CalMatters
COVID wave upends courts — again By Byrhonda Lyons CalMatters The sharp increase in coronavirus cases is again challenging California’s courts, with judges releasing plans this week to scale back some courtroom procedures as the state experiences the largest spike in COVID-19 since January 2021. In a déjà vu moment that led to a backlog of cases last year, some courtrooms are halting jury trials, moving some court-
room proceedings online and pushing back their calendars. Even so, some smaller counties that are experiencing the worst of the COVID-19 surge are doubling down on masks but aren’t ready to make drastic changes or temporarily send jurors home. “The decision here is between access to justice and public safety,” said David A. Carrillo, executive director of the California Constitution Center. Los Angeles County, the
state’s largest, suspended at least one trial and delayed by two weeks a deadline to begin criminal jury trials. Sacramento County has limited the number of assigned jury trials, lightened calendars and increased distancing requirements. Some counties are going further. Sonoma and Riverside counties are suspending some new jury trials for civil and criminal cases. John M. Monterosso, presiding judge of Riverside County
Omicron surge continues in Davis Davis school board trustees By Anne Ternus-Bellamy Enterprise staff writer The unprecedented surge of COVID-19 cases caused by the Omicron variant continues, with UC Davis, Healthy Davis Together, the Davis Joint Unified School District and Yolo County all reporting record-breaking numbers of new cases in the last week. As a result, UC Davis has delayed the resumption of in-person instruction until Jan. 28 and the Davis school district warned families on Thursday that should existing staffing shortages be exacerbated by the surge, classrooms or entire schools might have to close.
VOL. 124, NO. 222
INDEX
On Friday, the county reported 401 new cases of COVID-19, 214 of them in Davis. Since Dec. 30, the county has reported 1,771 new cases, an average of 221 per day, with a current case rate of 32.3 per 100,000 residents. For the five-day period from Jan. 2-6, Healthy Davis Together reported 1,526 new cases and a test positivity rate just under 9 percent — both all-time highs. Likewise, asymptomatic testing on the UC Davis campus between Dec. 30 and Jan. 6 turned up 1,007 new cases and a test positivity rate of 4.46 percent. For most of the pandemic, the test positivity rate on
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gather as new year begins By Aaron Geerts Enterprise staff writer School is back in session and so is the district as the board held their first meeting of the new year on Thursday, Jan. 6. It was a relatively short meeting, but among the pertinent topics were COVID and the new senior high school schedule. The meeting kicked off on a somber note as a moment of silence was held for Valerie Shaw and Dontae Mejia-Palmer, two DJUSD staffers who passed away over the break. A recurring theme consuming a lot of the meeting’s spotlight was the
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health and safety update of COVID-19 and the safe return of students and staff to school. With a surge in cases, Associate Superintendent Laura Juanitas reported the statistics. “Case number have increased substantially over the past few weeks,” said Juanitas. “We expect the increases to continue into mid-January as a result of holiday travel and social gatherings.” According to Juanitas’ update, COVID cases have increased 18% and the community transmission rate holds firm in the
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campus has been below 0.3 percent. Nearly half of all campus cases during the pandemic were found in the last week. The school district continues to report rising numbers of new cases as well. Just before winter break, there were 17 students and three DJUSD staff members in isolation after testing positive. On Monday, that number had risen to 54 students and eight staff members. By Thursday, there were 222 students and 23 staff members in isolation after testing positive and
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