The Davis Enterprise Sunday, February 20, 2022

enterprise THE DAVIS

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2022

Car-wash hearing postponed

Unitrans staff gets two double-deckers ready for service in 2019. Now, a gap in technology will mean that riders will lose the service that predicts the arrival of Unitrans buses around town.

By Anne Ternus-Bellamy Enterprise staff writer

in favor of 4G and 5G. And the Cubic equipment now in use on Unitrans buses will not work with the newer networks.” According to Unitrans, which is run by the UC Davis student government and serves the campus and the city of Davis, the prediction service may continue to work sporadically through the end of February depending on how quickly AT&T decommissions its 3G network across the city. The lag in bus equipment upgrades needed to bring the

A public hearing on a proposed express car wash in South Davis will be pushed to March at the applicants request. The Davis Planning Commission was scheduled to take up the proposal on Wednesday, but the applicants — Evan and Thomas Lyon of South Davis — have requested a continuance to March 9 in order to hold a community meeting ahead of time. That meeting is scheduled for Thursday. The proposed Davis Express Car Wash would be built on a vacant 1.74acre site at the corner of Mace and Cowell boulevards — a location used in recent years by the Boy Scouts for their annual Christmas Tree sales. The Lyons envision a 5,758-squarefoot building on the site that would house a drive-thru express car wash as well as office and equipment rooms and restrooms. The proposal would also include 21 vacuum bays, eight parking spaces, three automated pay stations, a bike washing/repair station, bike parking and a dog wash area. In an email, Evan Lyon said he and his father, Thomas, “have always

See SERVICE, Page A5

See WASH, Page A5

UC Davis/Enterprise file

Running out of service Unitrans riders to lose arrival prediction app for two months By Caleb Hampton Enterprise staff Unitrans bus riders are set to lose the transit system’s arrivaltime prediction service as early as Tuesday, Feb. 22, UC Davis announced Wednesday in a press release. According to the announcement, the prediction service will start to degrade next week and go down completely by the end of February. The service, which reports arrival times for each bus stop to the Unitrans website,

NextBus.com, the UC Davis mobile app and an automated phone line, is expected to be out of commission until late April or early May. “We know this outage is a huge inconvenience,” Unitrans general manager Jeff Flynn said. According to Unitrans, the transit system’s website, which displays predicted bus-arrival times front and center, gets around 5,000 hits every weekday. The temporary outage is

linked to AT&T’s decommissioning of its 3G cellular network and to the unavailability of new equipment needed for buses. “The problem has to do with the wireless transmission of GPS location data from Unitrans buses to Cubic Transportation Systems,” the press release stated. “Unitrans buses are equipped with Cubic technology that works with AT&T’s 3G cellular network. Starting Feb. 22, however, AT&T will decommission its 3G network

Beck considers supervisor run By Anne Ternus-Bellamy Enterprise staff writer With less than four months to go before the June election, the field of candidates seeking to succeed retiring Yolo County Supervisor Don Saylor of Davis continues to change. Three women who initially expressed interest in running for the District 2 seat after Saylor announced in August he would not seek re-election have since dropped out, leaving Davis Vice Mayor Lucas Frerichs as the only confirmed candidate. Winters City Councilwoman Jesse Loren, First 5 Yolo Commissioner Heidy Kellison and Davis attorney

VOL. 124, NO. 22

INDEX

Business ���������� A6 Forum ��������������B4 Obituaries �������� A5 Classifieds ������B7 Green Page ������ A8 Sports ��������������B1 Comics ������������ A7 Living ���������������� A4 The Wary I �������� A2

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Davis resident Juliette Beck submitted signatures in lieu of the candidate filing fee as she weighs a run for Yolo County supervisor. Larenda Dalaini had all announced their interest in Saylor’s seat but have since decided not to run. However, Davis resident

WEATHER Today: Clouds clearing late. High 66. Low 41.

and climate activist Juliette Beck is now considering jumping into the race and submitted signatures in lieu of the candidate filing fee last week. The deadline for filing for the office is March 11, though with the incumbent Saylor not running, that deadline would be extended five days. Beck said this week she is “testing the waters to see if there is the community support for a strong, progressive woman candidate and climate champion in Davis and Winters.” The biggest hurdle ahead of her, she said, is fundraising.

See BECK, Page A2

School board puts its focus on district business issues By Aaron Geerts Enterprise staff writer Thursday, Feb. 17, marked another school board meeting comprised of pertinent updates on the happenings of the school district. Much like in the past few meetings, however, the public comment section was filled with teachers and students vying for a reconsideration of the newly voted on bell schedule for the next school year. Kicking the meeting off was Interim Superintendent Matt Best’s report which included CNN’s own LeShelle May, speaking to Davis High’s Black

Student Union. The accomplished computer engineer spoke about her career path and encouraged the students to maintain their tenacity as they peruse their goals and battle through adversity. Best’s report also included the return of the Korematsu Oral Language Fair, that Harper Junior High’s south field having turf installed and that Sacramento State has named DJUSD as its 2022 District Partner of the Year. Next came the public comment section, and

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See DISTRICT, Page A5

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A2 THE DAVIS ENTERPRISE

Briefly DA’s Citizens Academy is open The Yolo County District Attorney’s is accepting applications to its annual Citizens Academy, an eightweek course designed to involve diverse communities in participating in mutual learning about the criminal justice system. Participants must be at least 18 years old and a resident of Yolo County. The goal is to educate the public and improve relationships and communication between the many different communities in Yolo County and the criminal justice system. Sponsoring agencies include the Yolo County Sheriff ’s Office, California Highway Patrol, Yolo County Probation Department and the Davis, UC Davis, Woodland, West Sacramento and Winters police departments. As of now, the 2022 academy will be held in person at the Woodland Police Department community room. However, if health orders in place during this time frame prohibit indoor gatherings, the academy will be held virtually via Zoom. The eight-week academy meets once a week, usually on Thursday evenings, from 6-8:30 p.m. Classes begin in April and run through June. Applications deadline is April 3. To enroll, contact Wendy Wilcox at 530-666-8356 or via email at wendy.wilcox @yolocounty.org.

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2022

And don’t we all want to feel valued?

“I

t’s University Research Associates. We value your opinion!” exclaimed the message on my phone. “Let us know how you feel about local issues in California.” As thrilled as I was to receive an exclamation point before I’d even had my morning coffee, I generally agree to participate in these unsolicited surveys just to figure out who’s behind them. I mean, a name like “University Research Associates” might play well in a town like Davis, but do they still call it that when they’re polling in places less friendly to higher education? “Hi, we’re Cattle Barons Research Associates. We value the opinion of everyone in Wyoming.” I figured after answering a question our two I’d either be offered cheap carpeting from Georgia or the opportunity to buy a time share among the almond blossoms in Esparto. Question No. 1 — “Do you believe that California is still in a drought?” Actually, what I believe has nothing to do with anything.

Question No. 4 — “The election for California State Controller will be held this year. If the election were held today, for which candidate would you vote: Malia Cohen, Ron Galperin, Lahnee Chen, Steven Glazer.”

We’re either in a drought or we’re not in a drought. All I know is it rained over 5 inches in one day last October and it hasn’t rained at all in January or February. But I still walk out the door with an umbrella in my hand because this is known as the “rainy” season. Question No. 2 — “Over the last six months, have you used less water?” Yes, we used far less water in December than we did in July. “Do you believe you can make any additional changes to use less water?” Certainly. Question No. 3 — “What is the one thing you or your household could do to use less water?” Move to Klamath Falls.

N

ow wait a minute. I was just getting into the drought and water usage and suddenly you spring a question about the state controller on me. To be honest, I have no idea what a state controller even does and I have never heard of any of the people you listed who want this job. When I said I was “unsure,” the next question wanted to now exactly how unsure I was, using 1 to 10 on the Richter Scale. And then they wanted to know if I supported banning forced labor in California prisons, yet another subject I know absolutely nothing about. Made me long for getting back to talking about water and the war between salmon and farmers. Next thing you know they’re asking me how much inflation is impacting my life.

Not much I replied. My gold standard in terms of the economy is the price of a quart-size jar of Best Foods Mayonnaise, the basic building block of life. It hasn’t budged. And the price of a $5 gift certificate to McDonald’s hasn’t changed since I was a little boy. The main problem with this survey was if there was a question I preferred not to answer, I could not go on to the next question without a stern warning that an answer was absolutely required before I could sample the next morsel. After I agreed that my neighbor whose home is constructed completely out of solar panels should not get any more tax breaks than the Three Little Pigs, I was asked about my ethnic background, but “Irish Catholic” was not available. Finally finished, a great big “Thank You!” came my way. Imagine, two exclamation points in one day and the morning is still young. My life is complete. — Reach Bob Dunning at bdunning@davisenterprise.net.

BECK: Every current county supervisor is male From Page A1 “I’m starting late in the game,” she noted. “I’ve made myself a fundraising goal to see if there is the financial support in the community for my race. “I want to see how much I can raise by March 1,” Beck said. Beck, an ecologist, and her husband, Nick Buxton, have lived in Davis since 2008. She has been an active parent volunteer at César Chávez Elementary School and has also spearheaded efforts on climate change, including helping establish the Yolo Climate Action Commission; working to get the Davis Joint Unified School District to meet 80 percent of its energy needs from renewable solar energy; and working to make Yolo County the first agricultural county to set a goal of carbon neutrality by 2030. Enacting effective policies at the county level to address the urgency of the climate crisis is her first priority, she said, and second is ensuring regional government serves everyone in the county in part by addressing inequities. She said she is particularly concerned about the impact of increasing temperatures, power shutoffs, water and food insecurity and wildfire on outdoor workers, children and sensitive populations, including people with asthma and

compromised immune systems. “We have worked hard to bring awareness and the urgency of climate change to our elected leaders, but, frankly, our community is still not doing enough. Working together, I believe Davis and Yolo County can and should step up efforts to advance a just transition to a healthy, equitable, climate-resilient society,” said Beck. Beck said she had not really considered running for office herself, but when Saylor announced his plans to retire, “I was very excited about making sure we had a really strong climate champion to continue the work that we’ve been doing with the climate commission and a really strong woman candidate, making sure that women are well represented in our county.” Currently all countywide elected offices as well as all five Board of Supervisors seats are held by men. The last time a woman served on the Board of Supervisors was more than a decade ago, when Helen Thomson represented District 2 until her retirement in 2010. Beck said when she heard that the women who initially expressed interest in succeeding Saylor had ultimately decided not to run, “I became very alarmed, very concerned.” In conversations with other community members,

she said, “I was asked to run.” “This is a really important race. Everything we do right now matters. Every race matters. It’s super important and I don’t think anyone should just waltz into the position. The sign of a healthy democracy is diversity. That’s why I’m running.” District 2, which Saylor has represented since 2010, includes central and West Davis, as well as the UC Davis campus, but also stretches westward to encompass the city of Winters. “I’d really like to prioritize voter outreach in Winters,” Beck said, “because we need an equity-based approach to our local response to climate change and I’m concerned that as an agricultural county that our small farmers and our family farmers are being hardest hit by the drought… and that has a ripple effect on all the agricultural workers.” “My campaign and this election is also about sparking our imagination for our collective power to solve and address these challenges… what we do in the next eight years is really going to determine how we’re going to live on this planet for the next 100 years. This election is very important for the livability of Yolo County. “All the pieces are there

for us to put together… we just need the political will. We need someone who’s got the leadership to do the hard work of getting people on board with the action,” said Beck. Beck said she would like to hear from community members, to see if there is support for her candidacy. She can be found every Friday at the corner of Fifth and B streets for the youthled Climate Strike Davis demonstrations that take place from noon to 1 p.m. and can be reached via email at juliettebuxtonbeck@gmail.com. Meanwhile, Frerichs, who has served on the Davis City Council since 2012, has his campaign for county supervisor well underway. "I'm humbled by the support I have received from across Davis, Yolo County and throughout the Sacramento region," Frerichs said Friday. "My campaign for Yolo County supervisor received its first contributions on Nov. 1 and, to date, we've received over 300 individual contributions, with 80 percent coming from within Yolo County (and 94 percent coming from the Sacramento region). "I'm honored to work hard every day on behalf of a community that has given me so much," Frerichs added. "And I commit to remaining just as

responsive and accessible as county supervisor for District 2." Last elected to the council in 2020 and currently vice mayor, Frerichs also serves on a number of intergovernmental agencies, including the Sacramento Area Council of Governments; the Capitol Corridor JPA; the Yolo County Transportation District; Valley Clean Energy; and the Yolo Habitat Conservancy. Learn more about his campaign at https://www. lucas4yolo.com ———— The June 7 election will feature numerous county races. In addition to the District 2 supervisorial seat, District 3, represented by Supervisor Gary Sandy of Woodland, will also be on the ballot, as will the offices of district attorney, sheriffcoroner, clerk-recorder/ assessor/registrar of voters and superintendent of schools. Sandy, District Attorney Jeff Reisig, Sheriff Tom Lopez and Clerk-Recorder/ Assessor/Registrar of Voters Jesse Salinas have all obtained or filed candidate paperwork, as has Cynthia Rodriguez, who is challenging Reisig. — Reach Anne TernusBellamy at aternus@ davisenterprise.net. Follow her on Twitter at @ATernusBellamy.

UCD Chancellor May to host last three UC presidents for colloquium pecial to The Enterprise UC Davis Chancellor Gary S. May will host 13-plus years of UC presidential experience at his winter quarter Chancellor’s Colloquium on Thursday, Feb. 24, an in-person program, free and open to the public. Joining him will be Michael V. Drake, who is in his second year as president of the world-renowned UC system; President Emerita Janet S. Napolitano, who served from 2013 to 2020; and President Emeritus Mark G. Yudof, who served from 2008 to 2013. The program, to be held from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in Jackson Hall at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, will include a

conversation and questionand-answer session. See information below on tickets (how to get them), health protocols and parking. The program will not be livestreamed. Possible conversation topics include past, current and future initiatives focused on student access and affordability; how COVID-19 will change higher education over the long term; facilitating discussions and exchange of ideas on challenging topics while also ensuring that students feel welcomed and supported; and perspectives on the value of a college degree, particularly in this era of remote learning. n Free admission, but you will need a ticket, avail-

able in advance and day of the event, from the Mondavi Center box office. Order advance tickets at tickets.mondaviarts. org/7513, 530-754-2787 or 866-754-2787.

n Non-UC Davis affiliates ages 12 and up must show proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID-19 test. See tinyurl. com/3ts3d68p. n

Masks

required

indoors on UCD campus.

n Best parking for the general public: tinyurl. com/y6595ey2, $12 (payment kiosk outside the northeast corner of the garage).

THE DAVIS ENTERPRISE

Local

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2022 A3

How did your garden grow?

Grow some tried and true varieties, and try something new or unusual as well. Shown here: Red Boar tomatoes, one of the openpollinated varieties selected and introduced by Wild Boar Farms, a local farmer and breeder who seeks to combine unique colors, special flavor and good yield in his varieties.

By Don Shor

Special to The Enterprise “I just had the worst tomato year ever! I finally took them out in August. Seemed like nothing else did really well either.” “Had a great year with my tomatoes. So many in October this year, and some even later!”

That expresses the range of feedback I got about last summer’s vegetable garden season. Along with comments such as “I’m definitely planting earlier next year” and “maybe the plants need more shade.” Was 2021 an unusually difficult summer for vegetables? Why did some gardeners do well while others had poor results? In most cases the answers came down to watering.

Summer of 2021 wasn’t unusually hot from a tomato plant’s perspective. We get good fruit set on most varieties when high temperatures are below about 90 degrees F. Our number of days with suitable pollination weather was about normal (about half of our days are suited to tomato pollination in a typical summer here). What really set 2021 apart was how dry the soil was at the start of the season. With about 7 inches of rain total, and very little in late winter, those poor seedlings needed extra water at the start of their growing season. The usual soil moisture remaining from winter rains simply wasn’t there by April when we were setting out tomato seedlings. Then many gardeners under-irrigated as the plants were growing. Drought-stressed tomato plants won’t set or develop fruit well. Gardeners using drip watering systems for their plants seemed to fare the worst simply because they didn’t run them long enough. The low output of some drip emitters requires that the system run for a long time to provide several gallons of water to each plant. Shallow watering kept the plants on the edge of drought stress, and each heat wave led to blossoms dropping off, less vigor, and even sunburn on the fruit. As the soil got drier and drier, the plants did more poorly, and the quantity and quality of fruit was affected. How much should you water tomato plants? A tomato plant is a deep-rooted, robust vine with roots that wish to grow deep

Courtesy photo

By midsummer an indeterminate tomato variety will fill a 6-foot cage, and with sufficient soil moisture it will continue to grow, flower, and produce fruit right through October. Some of the fruit on this vine is now at the breaker stage, so those can be picked if a heat wave is in the forecast and they will ripen indoors. Fruit that is further inside the vine will likely be adequately protected by foliage.

Courtesy photo

and wide. Varieties differ in their vigor and ultimate size. As a rule, to support that growth, you’ll need to give them five to ten gallons of water per week. Why the range? ‘Determinate’ varieties, which stay smaller and tend to finish production early, will grow and yield well with five gallons per week. ‘Indeterminate’ varieties, which grow and produce all season long, need the higher amount because of the greater leaf surface area of the bigger plants. It’s best to water deeply if you can. Watering to wet the soil past the current root zone each time allows the roots to continue growing deeper and wider. My preference is to give a full week’s water at one time, which is easy to do with our typical soils in this area. But if you are planting in a faster draining soil, commonly the case in raised planter beds, you’ll need to water more often. It’s especially important that the plants not be drought stressed in the early summer during the growth, flowering, fruit set and fruit expansion stages. Once fruit starts to ripen, you can gradually water less often if you are primarily just growing a summer crop of tomatoes (as farmers do), and it is true that the flavor can be intensified by strategic lateseason drought. But that also hampers the plant’s ability to continue fruiting into fall, which tomatoes are quite willing to do here. October is always my busiest harvest season for tomatoes. We nearly always get an “August cool down” when the weather pattern shifts and we get some influence from monsoon moisture pushing up from the Gulf of Mexico. With a full-grown vine and lots of flowers by then, a healthy tomato plant can produce dozens of fruit well into fall. Should we plant earlier to beat the heat? There are disadvantages to early planting. Young plants going into cold soil sulk and don’t grow much at first. The first flowers typically drop without setting fruit. The first fruit often get blossom end rot, which correlates with cold soil conditions. My preference is to keep transplanting the young plants up into larger pots until the soil temperatures are warm. Is there anything to be done about summer heat damaging the fruit? Every heatwave brings us lots of samples of sunburned fruit. Tomatoes and bell peppers that are exposed to afternoon sun when the daytime highs are in the 100s can get significant tissue damage on the exposed parts of the fruit. With peppers, I’ve found that all the other sweet peppers are less prone to sunscald than the bell types. The protective layer on the fruit gets thinner when the plant has inadequate soil moisture, and as the fruit matures. Green fruit has maximum cuticle thickness, which then gets thinner as

the fruit ripens. Fully red-ripe fruit has very little protective coating. Pick it before that stage if extreme heat is in the forecast! Shading the plants is likely to reduce yield overall. Tomato plants grow, flower, and yield best in full sun. To minimize direct sun damage to the fruit, harvest strategically. If it’s going to be over 100 degrees and a tomato fruit has reached or passed the “breaker stage,” pick it and bring it inside. Breaker stage is when it’s just beginning to turn from green to yellow. They’ll continue to ripen and develop flavor after being picked.

YOLOdiy

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Bell peppers are susceptible to sunburn on the fruit when we have our common summer heat waves. Most other peppers are less vulnerable in my experience. That includes sweet-flavored garden hybrids such as Gypsy, Italian peppers, Carmen (shown here), as well as hot peppers.

Set the fruit on your kitchen counter, where it will take just a few days to fully ripen. In fact, the fruit will ripen quicker indoors during extreme heat than outdoors, because the tomato plant’s response to very high temperatures is to go into a period of reduced metabolism. The ripening process slows or stops when it’s very hot outside. For greater success in 2022, plant into warm soil, water well and harvest early if necessary. For more information on starting summer vegetables from seed, visit: http://www.redwoodbarn.com/PDF/ Startingvegetableseed.pdf.

Guide for planting seedlings For best results we plant: • Tomatoes in April. Soil temp about 60F; night-time lows above 50 - 55F, daytime highs at least near 80F. Typical calendar date: late April. • Peppers and eggplants in May. Soil temp about 70F; night-time lows about 60F, daytime highs above 85. Typical calendar date: late May. That’s the earliest we like to put them in. My active planting month is May, and I continue to plant all the way through June. We have a very long growing season here. Four tomatoes that I planted last year on the 4th of July each yielded 20 to 40 fruit in October! When and how do you plant the seed? And what about all those other summer veggies? First the how: we start the seeds in a mix of peat moss or coir and perlite or vermiculite. Don’t use garden soil or compost for planting seeds due to the risk of seedling diseases. Your indoor environment can be great for germination but is too low light for young seedlings. Bright light and some air movement yields sturdy seedlings. Avid gardeners find a place outdoors for their young vegetable plants to spend their days, and a spare table to set them on indoors at night. • Peppers and eggplants: start January and February. We use heating pads and grow lights until they germinate, then they go either outdoors into popup greenhouses or outside into a sheltered location where we have heating pads set up. It’s very important to keep them warm at the roots. You can move them outside into a sheltered but sunny location during the daytime and bring them back in each night. At the two-leaf stage we transplant them into 4-inch pots. We start these first because they will take about 10 – 12 weeks from seed to be big enough to plant out in the garden. • Tomatoes: plant seed in March to

early April. They will go to 4-inch pots in about 4 weeks, even up into 1 gallon size if necessary. Keep them moving and don’t let them get rootbound. If you start them early, they will be very tall and gangly when you plant them in the garden. That can be ok (just plant them deeper) but can lead to shock if the nights are below the low 50s. They will take about 4 – 6 weeks from seed to be big enough to plant out in the garden. My tomato plants go in the ground about the third week of April at the earliest. • Other vegetables: Seeds of basil, bush beans, corn, cucumbers, summer squash, and sunflowers can be planted anytime from about early April all the way into late June, some even later. I don’t plant seeds of melons or pumpkins until I’m going to be planting them outside within about three weeks of seeding. They sprout very quickly, grow very fast, and need warm soil. So, we start seeds of those beginning in mid-April and continue through June. Okra needs very warm soil, as do watermelons. So, I start the seed in late April to plant outside in late May or into June. Then the last things I plant are pumpkins and winter squash (a term which refers to the types of squash that we grow in summer and store into the winter, such as Hubbard and acorn squash). I know it’s tempting when we get sunny winter days but try not to start seeds too early. If you do and the plants are getting big, transplant the seedlings to bigger containers so they don’t get rootbound. Don’t plant summer vegetables out into cold soil. It’s better to transplant them up into larger pots while you wait for soil temperatures to become favorable. There will, of course, be plenty of seedlings available at garden centers and hardware stores in spring if you want to skip this step.

Living

A4 THE DAVIS ENTERPRISE

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2022

A walk in silence can help you hear more I t’s 10 a.m. on a Sunday morning and I’m standing in a group of 15 middle-aged and older people who are trying to figure out if it’s OK to talk to each other. We’ve come to historic Wakamatsu Farm, the first Japanese settlement in America, near Placerville, because we signed up for a silent walk. But when is the silence — so contrary to our normal behavior when meeting people — supposed to begin? I know the answer because this is the second time I’ve taken this walk, a choice that turns out to be illuminating and even offers me a new way to look at the COVID pandemic. I greet the people near me out loud and await the opening remarks of our leader who will explain the morning’s activity, also out loud. He confirms the information from the American River Conservancy website, which says, “We welcome you to join us to find relaxation and peace while silently appreciating the beauty of our natural environment.” “Silently” is the key word, the intriguing word, the reason I signed up the first time and the reason a number of my friends

asked me afterwards how I liked it. I couldn’t answer them very well, nor did I manage to write about the experience, so I decided to go a second time. ———— Here’s a question: what counts as silence? The outdoors is peaceful but not silent. I hear birds calling, cows mooing and the wind. Cars disrupt on a nearby roadway. The word “silence,” as applied to this activity, means the absence not of all sound but of human speech. This kind of silence is familiar to me because I spend a lot of time writing words rather than hearing them. Even when I’m not writing, I don’t play music or run the TV, so my house is silent, except when I speak to my husband. And although we talk enthusiastically over dinner, we’re both pretty quiet during the day. The fact is, I need silence pretty desperately in order to live a life that works for me. I have a specific problem: I am unable to read or write or sometimes even think if I hear spoken words anywhere around me. My brain simply refuses to exclude words or ignore them, no matter

how unimportant and forgettable they might be. As soon as I hear words, I am distracted. I don’t know if words disrupt the lives of other people as much as they do mine, but I suspect the answer might be yes, or why would anyone propose silent walks? ———— But my first silent walk didn’t solve the problem. I found that even in silence other humans distract me. We walked singlefile, 6 feet part, which sounds easy, but I kept encountering difficulties. First there was my own brain, trying to figure out the nature of this group, and noticing oddities like the woman who brought a 2-year old. Did she expect him to be silent? Then there was the man in front of me who kept slowing

down. Should I pass him? What is he doing? Oh, he’s reading a tree label. Will the whole group want to do that? I didn’t seem to be in the right meditative state. Even though it was easy to avoid speaking to other walkers, imaginary conversations with them spooled in my head. Shall we pause here? Who made these nice wooden bridges? Do you see the egret? ———— On my second silent walk, other people distract me far less. I choose to be near the back of the line instead of in front. I notice the behavior of the two people ahead of me (they’re big on reading signs) but I don’t keep an eye on the whole group. Instead, I raise my binoculars, keeping my eyes up instead of down, as our leader advises. Raised eyes, he says, lead to positive thinking, something I definitely need ever since COVID-19 disrupted everything more than two years ago. ———— What I’m getting from this second walk, which I didn’t get from the first one, is a comfortable feeling of familiarity. I know when to arrive, where to park,

and what will happen. This pleases me. When I’m going to do something different from usual, and maybe a little difficult, I like the rest of the world around me to be predictable. Maybe that’s why COVID-19 and everything associated with it has thrown me and so many others for a loop. We crave familiarity. We like routine. Add one different item — silence — and that’s fine. Add concerns about when to arrive at the meeting place, when to stop talking, and how fast to walk, and it’s normal to be distracted. Bigger changes, coming in quick succession, like those accompanying COVID (masks, tests, Zoom, vaccines, hospital death counts) and we feel pretty darn uncomfortable. On my second walk I am able to welcome the silence. I know this walk is the perfect length and I won’t get tired. My shoulders are looser. I catch myself smiling even though I am simply staring at the wide-open branches of a big tree. Will living with COVID ever become more like my second walk? — Marion Franck has lived in Davis for over 40 years. Reach her at marionf2@gmail.com.

Funders back Center for Caregiver Support program By Craig Dresang Special to The Enterprise

I

t is often said that to care for those who once cared for us is the highest of honors. Apparently, that sentiment also resonates with California Governor Gavin Newsom who last year directed the State to create a “Master Plan for Aging” that includes a focus on caregivers and the resources they need. Months before Newsom issued an executive order that led to a 44-page plan to “build a California for all ages by 2030,” Davis-based YoloCares had already submitted plans to potential funders to create a Center for Caregiver Support. By January of 2022, the organization had secured a combined total of $125,000 from both the Rupe Foundation and Sutter Health to expand existing caregiver support services in Yolo County. Most of the funds will be used to launch the organization’s evolving and quickly growing caregiver program. The program is built on foundation stones that were placed years ago by the former Citizens Who Care, another Yolo County nonprofit that merged into YoloCares three years ago. The merger made it possible for both nonprofits to complete the construction of Galileo Place, a new 9,000-square-foot adult day facility in Davis, and to expand programming and support for caregivers. This new funding will allow YoloCares to more than double the number of

Yolo Crisis Nursery caregivers it assists. Currently, the program supports 65 famlies annually, however, that total is expected to grow by an additional 100 clients (to 165) over the next year. Funding specifically from the Rupe Foundation is being used to provide additional home visits, expand caregiver psycho-social support and education, and offer financial aid scholarships for Galileo Place. Because frail elderly patients (especially those with dementia) frequent hospital emergency rooms (ERs) more often when their caregivers are depressed, programming through YoloCare’s Center for Caregiver Support is designed to: n Improve caregiver wellbeing, confidence, and social engagement. n Improve the experience of the patient through increased social activity, clearer care navigation, and caregiver support/education. n Extend the time a patient can be treated at home. n Reduce ER visits and 911 calls. According to a study published in the September 2019 issue of the Journal of Primary Care & Community Health, multiple factors related to caregiver burden or strain are associated with greater risk of ER use. The findings highlight an opportunity to improve

Courtesy photo

Tanya Yoo, director of palliative and supportive care, says her team is planning a soft opening for Galileo Place by the end of February. The facility boasts multiple family spaces, an art studio, library, the Center for Caregiver Support, and the Mastick Therapy Garden. Funding from the Rupe Foundation will support a host of caregiver classes and groups throughout the year. care delivery for those who are frequent ER users. It also suggests that interventions which consider the needs of family caregivers may contribute to reductions in ER use among older adults. California’s ERs handle about 15 million visits annually which is a 27 percent increase from a decade ago. ER visits per 1,000 residents ranged from a low of 316 in Orange County to a high of 501 in Northern California. In 2020, an estimated 6.7 million Californians provided care for a family

and Simone Beck, which is the most frequent, appearing almost 1600 times?

By Andy Jones Special to The Enterprise 1. Science. Of the more than 700 species of leeches, is the largest number freshwater, marine or terrestrial? 2. Great Americans. What journalist was the only non-NASA recipient of an Ambassador of Exploration award? 3. Unusual Words. What 13-letter noun refers to an action or event that

helps one to make progress? 4. Vacuum Cleaners. Unveiled last year (2021), the latest stick vacuum from Dyson uses what L-word to spot dust you wouldn’t normally otherwise see? 5. Books and Authors. Of all the ingredients in the bestselling cookbook “Mastering The Art Of French Cooking” by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle

Answers: Most are freshwater, Walter Cronkite, steppingstone, lasers, butter — Dr. Andy Jones is the former quizmaster at de Vere’s Irish Pub and author of the book “Pub Quizzes: Trivia for Smart People.” His pub quiz is now seeking a new home. Meanwhile, Dr. Andy is also sharing his pub quizzes via Patreon. Find out more at www.yourquizmaster.com.

member or friend with a serious or chronic illness or disability. According to a study by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, 44.4 percent of those caregivers reported experiencing some level of financial stress due to their roles, and 13.5 percent experienced a physical or mental health problem due to their caregiving work. In the study, which used data from the center’s 2020 California Health Interview Survey, UCLA researchers wrote that caregivers received little financial support for their work: One in

four caregivers in California provided 20 or more hours of care per week, but only 1 in 11 received payment for that work. And according to AARP research, people who care for a family member spend thousands of dollars per year of their own money on caregiving costs. Too often, caregivers have to choose between their own health and financial needs and caring for a loved one. Caregivers need culturally competent options that not only improve their own health and quality of life, but also those of the person for whom they are caring.

Accessible and affordable long-term services and supports, resources and training, and assistance navigating services can significantly improve the lives of caregiving families. Family caregivers are spouses, partners, adult children, other relatives, friends, or neighbors of adults with illness or disabilities. Caregivers are disproportionately female (53-60%), typically middleaged (the average age is 49), however, one in four caregivers are Millennials. By 2030 nearly one-fifth of California’s population will be over age 65 and therefore it is projected that a higher proportion of Californians will become family caregivers. The diverse nature of California residents mean that caregivers are coming from a variety of backgrounds, speaking different languages and operating with different cultural norms. “It is a huge undertaking to provide resources and aid to this highly diverse group,” according to Tanya Yoo, director of palliative and supportive care at YoloCares. Yoo oversees the agency’s palliative care program, Galileo Place, and the Center for Caregiver Support. She says “Thanks to community partners like the Rupe Foundation, Sutter Health, and many individual funders, the organization is positioned to support the growing number, and complex needs, of caregivers well into the future.” — Craig Dresang is the CEO of YoloCares.

Local

THE DAVIS ENTERPRISE

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2022 A5

WASH: Meeting planned for Thursday

DISTRICT: Masking scrutinized

From Page A1

From Page A1

envisioned the completion of the Mace corridor in a manner that would facilitate and invite family use while providing a valuable service to our community. “We, along with my grandparents, five siblings, seven nieces and nephews as well as my wife and two kids all live within two miles of the site,” Evan Lyon said. “We take great pride in being from Davis and intend to use this project as a vehicle to give back to the community that has provided us so much.” But the location of the

proposed express wash has raised concerns among some South Davis residents already frustrated with traffic congestion along Mace Boulevard who now fear an influx of cars heading to the express wash. Community members are invited to a meeting with the applicants on Thursday, Feb. 24, at 7 p.m., at Pioneer Elementary School in the multipurpose room. A zoom option will be available for those who prefer to attend remotely at https:// us02web.zoom.us/j/81450 125599?pwd=aG1nak5nQ Uw4TCsrNmNtT3d-

TY2JiQT09. Meanwhile, 20-day public comment period for the project remains open until Feb. 22. Mail comments to Eric Lee, project planner, at the city of Davis Community Development and Sustainability Department, 23 Russell Blvd., Suite 2, Davis, CA 95616; or email them to elee@cityofdavis.org. Learn more about the proposal at https://www. cityofdavis.org/city-hall/ community-developmentand-sustainability/ development-projects /480-mace-blvd-davisexpress-carwash.

SERVICE: Access may persist as AT&T upgrades From Page A1 prediction service back online is related to supply chain issues that have plagued many industries during the pandemic. “We’ve been working with Cubic for months to get our equipment upgraded,” Flynn said. “But the parts continue to be unavailable. First, there is a lot of demand, and second, the pandemic has interrupted the supply chain.” The prediction service outage will not

affect Unitrans’ A or L lines. Those lines are currently being operated by Yolobus, which works with a different company for bus tracking, which will continue without interruption. Until the prediction service returns for all Unitrans lines, the transit system is advising riders to arrive at their bus stop 3 to 5 minutes before the bus’ scheduled arrival time. “Staff is working hard to try to get the service restored,” Flynn said. “We thank our riders in advance for their patience.”

with it, more discontent and outrage from parents, teachers and students regarding the bell schedule change to be implemented the next school year. Following that came an update presentation by Executive Director of Capital Operations, David Burke on the bond projects taking place around the district. The presentation included the scope of each project, completion rates as well as how the construction is taking place. “In addition to our bond projects, we talked about a tree master plan. We’ve changed the name of that to our Urban Forest Guide. Instead of producing a report, we’re publishing it on the district website,” Burke talked about additional DJUSD initiatives. “The purpose of the Urban Forest Guide, the existing tree inventory and the protection and maintenance of the district’s urban forest, those sections are complete and published. We’re still working on the plans for adding trees to all our school sites.”

Burke also talked about district-wide solar implementation planning as well as the second round of community outreach. “We don’t always get things right and it’s a challenging environment that we all operate in, but I think it’s important to recognize that it’s been an incredible achievement to manage building all these projects,” added trustee, Joe DiNunzio. “Not just with the construction side of it, but with the engagement with the community, with the respect and understanding that it has created challenges on our campuses with staff, teachers and administrators. It’s been phenomenal.” After that came the presentation of the collectivebargaining sunshine proposal. Associate Superintendent, Laura Juanitas detailed the various articles that will be “sunshined” — or made open to the public for comment — but maintained the focus will be on Article 14, salary and fringe benefits. Next came the resolution No. 56-22, ordering the elimination or reduction of

classified positions. Juanitas reported that there will be the removal of 7.4 full time positions of paraeducator, three which were related to PBIS (Positive Behavioral Intervention System). Juanitas also mentioned — in reference Best’s words — many of these positions will be restored. After that came the COVID health and safety update presented by Juanitas. Luckily, the numbers show a steady decline of community transmission. Juantias also reported that there will be a vaccine clinic on Tuesday, Feb. 22 at Holmes Jr. High from 4-7 p.m.. Following the presentation in the comment section, various parents voiced their concerns and grievances with outdoor mask mandates. Meanwhile, others urged the board to keep the indoor mask mandates intact. “I just want to clarify that it is my intention to remove the outdoor mask mandate effective Tuesday (Feb. 22),” Best saud. “Even given we have two sites that under 50 percent (vaccinated).”

Obituaries Stephanie Brown Fehm 1940 — 2022

Stephanie Brown Fehm, a 50-year resident of Davis, died on Jan. 26, 2022, after bravely living with cancer for over two years. Stephanie was born in October 1940 in Pittsfield, Mass., to Barbara (Nath) and Chester Brown. She grew up in Kent, Conn., and spent summers in Campton, N.H., at her beloved family home on Mad River. She attended St. Mary’s School for Girls in Peekskill, N.Y., and later Northampton School for Girls, in Northampton, Mass., from where she graduated in 1958. After graduation, she entered the nursing program at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut from which she graduated in 1961. She continued to practice as a registered

nurse at Yale New Haven Hospital. The family moved to Florence, Italy where her husband, Tony, worked on his Ph.D. in Art History. After returning to the United States, the family settled in Davis, California, and she always returned to New Hampshire for as many summers as possible. In California Stephanie continued to practice nursing and later became a nurse practitioner. She was a member of one of the first classes to graduate from the UC Davis nurse-practitioner program when it was established in the 1970s. Stephanie worked as a nurse practitioner in rural health clinics and in vulnerable communities during her clinical career. She went on to become a

Elaine Fingerett 1951—2021

Elaine Fingerett was a woman with an amazingly broad set of talents, interests, and accomplishments. She was born in Hollywood in 1951 and grew up in the Los Angeles area, graduating from Birmingham High School in 1969. Her first two years of college were at UCLA, but she then found a true home, graduating with a bachelor’s degree from UC Santa Cruz in 1973. In 1974, she began graduate school at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., Alan Hastings was sitting behind her in a class that fall and was immediately smitten. Elaine stood out in Ithaca as the Californian always wearing sunglasses. Already in Ithaca, Elaine displayed her musical talent, singing in a local, successful, rock band, but the late nights and

labor representative for the California Nurses Association until she retired in 2005. Through her hard work, along with all the dedicated people at CNA, nurses in California have safer working conditions, higher salaries, better benefits, and more secure retirements. Stephanie was a life-long FDR Democrat and an ardent women’s rights advocate. Over the years she worked for numerous candidates both on the local and national level. She was passionate about her civic obligation to be an informed voter and an active participant in the democratic process. In retirement she became deeply involved with the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute program in Davis. She served on a variety of committees and enjoyed a host of

smoky bars were not to her liking. Elaine and Alan married in her parents’ back yard in 1977 and in an act of great bravery (and love) Elaine FINGERETT immediately moved with Alan to Pullman, Wash., without ever having seen the city. Elaine finished her master’s degree in botany at Washington State University. Together with Alan, Elaine moved to Davis in 1979. In Davis, Elaine was back in her habitat, Northern California, and she spent the rest of her life there. Riding a bicycle, growing vegetables and fruit, and making good trouble in the name of a variety of progressive causes, Elaine found Davis to be the perfect home. Her day jobs ranged from working in the rape preven-

Aug. 17, 1979 — Jan. 10, 2022 UC Santa Cruz and Sac City, collecting a variety of degrees. An inveterate traveler, he studied and explored the U.S.; North, Central and South America; Europe; and Australia. At 10, he joined his mom and four siblings for a 9,000-mile road trip over 24 states. Returning home, he asked, “So Mom, shall we do the other 24 next summer?” As a teenager, he and a friend were determined to attend a concert in Brazil. They flew to Argentina; managed to make their way to Brazil; attended the concert; and returned home victorious. His entire life he loved anything that tasted spicy. One of his first spoken words was “picante.” He

Stephanie was also an active and devoted grandparent to her three granddaughters. When they were young, she picked them up from school, took care of them when they were sick, and attended every school

tion education program to more than a dozen years at the UC Davis Arboretum. At the Arboretum, she facilitated numerous wonderful public programs and played a central role in the Learning by Leading Program and was adored by all the students. There she incorporated both her scientific and artistic sides, establishing the folk jam at the Wyatt Deck and partnering with many to facilitate programs that emphasized both science and the arts. What is now Davis Shakespeare got its start there with help from Elaine. She retired in 2018. She taught herself accordion (and marimba and ukulele and more) and played her accordion regularly at the Davis Farmer’s market with the Davis Klezmer Orchestra, and more widely with the Freilachmakers, a Sacramento based group. She also played Irish music, and everyone

Josiah York-Carr

Josiah York-Carr, 42, died absolutely unexpectedly in Palm Springs. Cause is still unknown. Although his life was short, it was full. His creative skills led him to be a talented writer, artist, musician, adventurer and entrepreneur. A fifth-generation Californian, he was born in San Francisco. He lived in Modesto the first five years of his life. Beginning at age 3, he asked how to say different phrases in Spanish. Ultimately, the family returned to Davis to facilitate his participation in the Spanish Immersion program. He attended Birch Lane, North Davis, WDI and Emerson, graduating from Davis High in 1997. He studied audio and video engineering at UC Davis,

friends and courses. In one of her OLLI writing classes, she wrote: BROWN FEHM “I would want to be remembered as a good and loyal mother, grandmother, sister, and friend. I hope that I would be remembered as a fair person, one who tried to treat all people equally. It would please me if others would remember me for two absolute rules: never cross a picket line or buy art to match the furniture!”

YORK-CARR

exuberantly delved into unusual, exotic and tangy foods. He relished preparing different

meals of ethnic bases. He enjoyed years of playing soccer, finding particular success as a goalie in indoor soccer. He traveled to several states to play in different tournaments. As a fan, he was able to attend two of the Women’s World Cup Soccer games. He reveled in the dance and music of the Brazilians and the thunderous gongs of the Chinese. Josiah was an extremely intelligent, free spirit. He was a complex, vibrant, expressive, opinionated

function and athletic event. She was a powerful support and role model. Stephanie was predeceased by her father (Chester); mother (Barbara); brother (Jonathan); and sister (Katharine). She is survived by her daughter, Gretchen (Ian) Blake, Sacramento, California; her granddaughters, Anna Blake, Portland, Oregon; Allison Blake, Berkeley, California; Elizabeth Blake, Santa Cruz, California; her sister, Susan Norris (Tim), Andover, New Hampshire; and her nephew, Matthew Norris, Seattle, Washington along with many cousins. Stephanie’s family could not have managed her final weeks without the loving care, professionalism, and unwavering support from Lisa Saephan, RN and Vihn Tran at Honest Living. We will be forever indebted. Her family would

got a birthday chorus from her with the ukelele! On the political side, she was an early leader of the Yolo County chapter of the National Organization for Women, worked to make Davis a pro-choice city, pushed to get broad nondiscrimination laws passed in the city, worked to get the plastic bag ordinance passed (helped with a song she wrote and performed) and much more. She ran for Yolo County Supervisor, but did not win. Elaine and Alan together raised two wonderful children, Elaine was a loving mother, passing on her passion for tikkun olam, “repairing the world” to them both. Especially after the children were grown, Elaine and Alan enjoyed travel around the world, finding a particular love for Hawaii which seemed to be a perfect match to Elaine’s sunny disposition and love of music and of nature. Elaine loved going to

Leo. He advocated for and supported the homeless in a variety of ways. After losing his job, he adamantly refused to let the pandemic impede him further in achieving whatsoever he wanted to do. Initially, he visited favorite spots along the West Coast. Then, as he and his partner traveled for thousands of miles together, he was able to share his love of the Southwest, his admiration of Native American art, the excitement he experienced at exploring the surprises on unusual roadways, and the pure joy of being in nature. Josiah is survived by his parents, Phyllis York and James Carr; sisters Mariah (Joey) and Siena (Thiago); brothers Jedediah and Jeremiah “Teddy”; nephew Oliver Morgan-Carr; niece Cecilia Lima; partner Bill

also like to express gratitude and thanks to Mercy Cancer Center, Sutter Home Health, Sutter Hospice and Sutter Davis Medical Group for their commitment and dedication to Stephanie’s care.

Stephanie was a woman of substance, determination, and kindness. She was greatly loved, will be hugely missed, and long remembered.

New Hampshire was always in her heart, and Stephanie’s hope was to get back again for a visit. There will be a summer family gathering and remembrance at Mad River Cemetery, Upper Road, Campton. For all her friends and family in the Davis area, there will be a celebration of her life at a later date. For more information, please email Steph. Brown.Fehm.Celebration @gmail.com.

plays, and to museums, insisting on taking any tour offered.

Elaine will be remembered for her smile, her enthusiasm, her boundless energy, her commitment to justice and community building, and much more. She is survived by her loving husband, Alan, her children, Sara and Toby, her four grandchildren that she adored, and her sister Judy.

Elaine was buried in Davis, with a graveside ceremony, shortly after she died in December after a long illness. Many got to say goodbye in person at the funeral with more on zoom.

If you feel moved to donate in Elaine’ memory, the family suggests either a favorite charity, a radical political cause, or the Elaine R. Fingerett Learning by Leading Endowment at UC Davis, https://give.ucdavis.edu/ AARB/125040.

Holzhauer; boyfriend Kevin Menzel; aunt Kathleen Carriger; cousins Jeff and Christian Carriger; extended family; and cats Homie and Bunny. Celebration of Josiah’s life will be at 11 a.m. on

Saturday, April 9, on the knoll east of the Gazebo in the UCD Arboretum. Please bring your chair. Donations in Josiah’s name to either Davis Community Meals or to Davis SPCA would be appreciated.

Business

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Mexican bakery open, Murillo’s delayed T Terminal Hotel at Second and G streets downtown. When that building was demolished in 2000 to build the Chen Building, the downtown location closed. La Esperanza II, in University Mall, continued until 2009. Many La Esperanza fans like me still crave the Sombrero or smaller Sombrerito: two fried flour tortillas filled with refried beans and shredded chicken or beef, topped with enchilada sauce, cheese, tomatoes, sour cream and guacamole. You can find comparable dishes at the Vacaville restaurants, but they’re called Paco’s Special and Mini Paco. ­———— If you make the trip that way, I recently discovered a newish brewery in Vacaville that’s worth the 20-minute drive from Davis. Solano Brewing Company is at 5500 Weber Road in Vacaville. It opened at that location in 2019 but was closed for an extended period during the pandemic, updating its space for more social distancing. It has a big selection of quality beers in several styles, a huge outdoor lawn with lots of chairs and tables, two covered patios, cornhole and a long firepit. I liked their selection of hazy IPAs and the fact that most of their beers were 6 percent alcohol or lower. Hours are 4 to 9 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, noon to 9 p.m. Saturdays, and noon to 7:30 p.m. on Sundays. There’s usually a food truck too. Visit http://solanobrew. com/. ­———— Speaking of beer, The Gunrock Pub is back open on campus. The bar and restaurant, at the Silo at UC Davis, is open weekdays from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Courtesy photo

Judith Espinoza Healy opened a Mexican bakery in Woodland on Feb. 11. The menu includes pub bites like chips and dips, nachos and fries, and pub grub like burgers and veggie burgers, tri-tip sandwiches, chicken sandwiches, sausages and veggie dogs. Along with wine, it features Sudwerk Brewing Co. beer, which makes a tasty Gunrock Hazy IPA. Visit https://housing.ucdavis. edu/dining/the-gunrock/. ———— Mt. BBQ House is back open. It debuted in mid-January, then inexplicably closed a few days later. It looks like it opened back up in early February. It fills the former Sunrise Restaurant space at 229 G St., and specializes in Chinese and Japanese barbecue, especially cook-atthe-table skewered meat. It also offers appetizers like popcorn chicken, wings, gyoza and fries; seafood; ramen and soup; rice; vegetable dishes; and dessert. Visit https://www.mtbbqhouse.com/.

Let the games begin

Aaron Wedra/Courtesy photo

Melissa and Gretchen Showalter, along with the staff at Davis Cards & Games celebrated the official ribbon-cutting Wednesday at their new location at 1790 E. Eighth St. The Showalters previously told Comings & Goings’ Wendy Weitzel that the new, bigger space would offer more room for events like Dungeons & Dragons, Pokémon and other card-game tournaments. The game store had been at previous location on G Street since 2017.

A Yelp comment by the owner indicated they plan to add outdoor dining. Mt. BBQ House is open from 2 p.m. to midnight Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and 2 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. ———— According to the Sacramento Business Journal, Botanical Solution of Davis has raised $6.1 million to expand development of its patented process that encourages plants to make extracts that can prevent plant disease. It’s looking for a small lab space in Davis or nearby. Visit https://botanical-solution. com/. —­——— A cold-storage facility is being built near Woodland, which would house food distribution companies, the Sacramento Business Journal reports. WoodYard plans to begin construction on the 220,000-square-foot building as

soon as May. It should take about eight months to complete. Developer Jim Donovan recently purchased 14.89 acres on the southeast corner of County Roads 19A and 99, near Interstate 5, for the project. ­———— I keep track of Davis businesses on my Google spreadsheet, which includes more than 325 Davis businesses affected by COVID-19. It’s at https://bit.ly/DavisBusinesses. In it, there are sheets for Restaurants-open, Restaurantsclosed, Coming soon, Businessesretail, Businesses-service, and more. Email me (address below) to suggest updates. — Wendy Weitzel is a Davis writer and editor. Her column runs on Sundays. Check for frequent updates on her Comings & Goings Facebook and Instagram pages. If you know of a business coming or going in the area, contact her at wendyedit@gmail.com.

VCE out to fill advisory committee Special to The Enterprise Valley Clean Energy announced this week the reorganization of its Community Advisory Committee, which now includes “at-large” seats focusing on subject-matter expertise in various professional sectors. VCE is accepting applications for two at-large seats. The CAC is made up of volunteers who reside in Woodland, Davis, Winters or unincorporated Yolo County, and acts as an advisory body to VCE’s Board of Directors and staff, providing feedback on agency policies, procedures and decisions. “As a scientist and someone who loves the outdoors, the urgency to address climate change is clear. Being on the CAC allows me to help VCE succeed in its mission: to provide clean electricity, taking real action on climate change while reinvesting in the community,” said Christine Shewmaker, CAC member, former chair

and founding member of the CAC, city of Woodland. “The CAC is such a valuable resource for the VCE Board of Directors and staff,” noted Mitch Sears, VCE’s Interim General Manager. “CAC members pair a passion for meaningful engagement on local energy issues with a solid business sense, adding important community input to VCE’s decisionmaking.” Applications are currently being accepted. Additional information and the application may be found at the bottom of the page here: https://valley cleanenergy.org/cac-meet ings/. Applicants must be 18 years of age or over. Applicants in underserved communities, or who speak English as a second language are encouraged to apply. All applications and accompanying documents are considered public information and may be disclosed/released pursuant to the California Public Records Act.

Metro/Stock photo

he Mexican bakery Tia Judith Confection opened in Woodland just in time for Valentine’s Day. It filled the space vacated by Zest West Fresh Pastry, 512 Main St. The new bakery made its debut on Feb. 11. It specializes in Mexican confections, especially its tres leches cake, which won double golds at the 2004 Sonoma Harvest Fair. Tia Judith’s owner Judith Espinoza Healy opened her first Mexican bakery in Sonoma County in 1998. In March, Tia Judith will add savory food as well. Its “Mex-Itali” concept ties in Judith’s Mexican heritage with husband Greg Healey’s Italian ancestry. Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sundays. Zest West closed its storefront on Dec. 24, with plans to return to a cottage-food license. ———— It’s taking longer than expected for the new Murillo’s Mexican Restaurant to open in Dixon. I reported late last year that the Murillo family, whose relatives owned the La Esperanza restaurants in Davis, is remodeling a former IHOP at 1435 Ary Lane. Daniel Murillo said his grandmother Frances Murillo — who founded the eateries and owns the Dixon one — is still trying to get it open. His dad Danny owns the original Murillo’s at 633 Merchant St. in Vacaville, which is where I reached Daniel. Frances’ oldest daughter, Linda Psaila, owns the larger Murillo’s restaurant at 1591 E. Monte Vista Ave. in Vacaville. Daniel said work is underway inside of the former Dixon IHOP, adding a bar and redoing the booths. He said it could be open as soon as June. Frances established Murillo’s with her husband Blas, who died in 2016. Blas’ sister and brotherin-law, Genoveva and Martin Ayala, owned our two La Esperanza restaurants. Of the two Davis restaurants, most agree that the best one was the original, in the former

Applications may be submitted via email to Alisa. Lembke@ValleyCleanEner gy.org, or via mail to Valley Clean Energy, 604 Second St., Davis, CA 95616.

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THE DAVIS ENTERPRISE

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The Green Page

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2022

What makes an expert bird-stroll leader? F or nine years, volunteer bird experts have led a First Saturday Monthly Bird Stroll for Friends of North Davis Ponds. They’ve never missed a month, showing up rain or shine. Forty-two people of all ages showed up in February and recorded 50 different bird species. And the dedicated leaders have identified more than 200 species at the ponds over the years. Friends of North Davis Ponds began in 2013 and has monthly strolls, advocates, educates, weeds, monitors nest boxes, sponsors clean ups, prunes and special events. I would not have started it without the partnership commitment of Ed Whisler to lead monthly bird strolls. And at our very first meeting, Chris Dunford attended with a long list of birds he had been documenting in the area for over a decade and offered to lead. A year later, Ken Ealy, past president of Yolo Audubon and now vice president also joined in. Joshua Greenfield is our latest and youngest leader. Kelli O’Neill, has become a leader in training, rapidly gaining hours of experience. All of these leaders lend their expertise to multiple groups. What makes for such dedicated leaders willing to patiently educate and share their knowledge with even people new to birding? Forty-two people attended the Friends of North Davis Ponds First Saturday Bird Stroll in February. Jo Ellen Ryan/Courtesy photo ———— Ed Whisler got interested in third grade, watching a “Wild Kingdom” program on bats. “My dad was a researcher in pomology — study of fruits and nuts and he did olive propagation,” Whisler said. “I got to meet all of the wildlife people and got exposed to everything. Finally, my mom started feeding birds in the backyard and that kind of hooked me on birds and we started out sorting juveniles. I knew I wanted to major in wildlife. I took ornithology so my profession and my hobby kind of

merged together. I started my bird list in 1978 when I took ornithology.” His degree is in biological science and concentration in biological conservation. He worked for Forest Service and then went into environmental consulting making impact assessments on developments, the effects of wildlife. He did habitat restoration projects like North Pond and West Pond while working as a consultant with Jones and Stokes. The developer hired his company and he assisted Steve Chainey with the pond design around 1989. Chainey decided to pick up the runoff water from the neighborhood in the Partansky Pond. “There was a concept of a moat to keep cats out and have water remain throughout the year,” he remembers. “But now drought has hit, and we have reduced water use. The Julie Partansky Wildlife Pond, the fenced-in pond, is designed to dry in the summer. The Northstar Pond is more for wildlife habitat. My hope is that we don’t love the ponds to death and keep them in a way where everyone can enjoy them. There was a plan for management of the ponds but over the years, it was not followed.” His favorite bird today is a white-tailed kite. “I like its appearance — white and gray and black and ruby red eyes. They’re gorgeous and you can see them. They hover when they’re hunting which gave them the name angel hawk.” The most amazing thing he saw a North Ponds was when hundreds of white pelicans showed up feeding on carp. ————

Jean Jackman/Courtesy photo

For nine years, Friends of North Davis Ponds volunteer bird experts have led monthly strolls at the North Ponds. Ken Ealy, Ed Whisler, Kelli O’Neill, Joshua Greenfield and Chris Dunford. Chris Dunford identified his first bird on his own at age 7, a ruby-crowned kinglet in Connecticut, where he grew up. “My parents were casual birders,” Dunford said, “so I was exposed early to bird feeders, binoculars, and ‘Peterson’s Field Guide’ — what a gift! My first bird list was for the month of July 1963 on Monhegan Island, Maine. That’s when I became a serious birder, at age 15. I attended Cornell University and got to know the folks at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. “Now I live in Davis — since 1986 — and my favorite birding spot is Bodega Bay. In 2006 I authored ‘Life List: A Birder’s Spiritual Awakening’ inspired by birding Churchill, Manitoba. “Often my favorite bird is the one I’m looking at in the moment. But in the past, I have actually told people my favorite is the common raven — the guttural talk between paired birds, their association with wilderness (even the high arctic in winter), and their smarts and mischievousness. I also tend to love wrens, all the wren species — they’ve got such ‘personality.’ The most amazing thing observed at the Ponds — just the sheer variety of birds seen over the years coupled with the ecological changes in the ponds. By letting them go their own way ecologically, the city has given us a

demonstration of ecological succession — change happens.” ———— Ken Ealy became interested in nature during elementary school years. He became bird-centric while a college sophomore when he was introduced to birding by a new friend and has now been birding over 50 years. His five favorite birds are cinnamon teal, hooded merganser, canvasback, gadwall and black phoebe. He was most amazed to see an osprey make an attempt for a planted trout in the Northstar Pond. “I enjoy, I mean really enjoy, being part of a person’s introduction to nature, and to birdwatching in particular,” Ken said. “For me, the joy is ‘seeing’ the bird, while ‘putting’ the sighting on some list is secondary (but listing does enhance reminiscing). ———— Joshua Greenfield, who started leading for us in 2020, started birding as a hobby when he was a kid, watching his backyard feeders in Ohio. He has an aunt and uncle who are serious birders and he would occasionally go out birding with them. Birding has been a serious hobby for him since 2007 though he has been birding off and on for about 25 years. His favorite bird is the black-capped chickadee, even though they aren’t present in California.

“Probably the most amazing thing I’ve seen at the North Ponds is a varied thrush,” he said, “sitting on a fence along the nature trail and singing, though I’ve also seen a barn owl fly over the Uplands Habitat and land in a tree in the Partansky Pond. I look forward to the strolls every month — even though I’m technically leading, I’m always learning new things from the other leaders and the birders who join us.” ———— Kelli O’Neill, our leader in training, became interested in birding about four years ago while taking the Tuleyome California Certified Naturalist class. On their first outing, to the Sacramento Wildlife Refuge, two sparks occurred — she enjoyed the combined challenge of taking an interesting photo and identifying the species. She has become the organizer for the information kiosk located between the Northstar Pond and the soccer field and enjoys researching a monthly species. Her favorite bird is the cedar waxwing for their silky soft unique color, black mask and cardinal like crest essentially their unique color and features. She admires the corvidae family of birds, like crows, ravens and scrub-jays, for their intelligence. “A young scrub-jay adopted a tennis teaching pro at one of the clubs I play for in Sacramento,” she recounts, “after she gave it a tennis ball which it played with by staying on it as it rolled and pushing it around with its head and beak. It figured out what time my friend arrived at the court in the morning and was there waiting for her knowing fun times with the tennis ball were ahead.” She loved a recent sighting of a sora in the pond and seeing the fuzzy young goslings in the spring just after they fledge the nest. — Jean Jackman is a Davis resident. Her column appears monthly. Got a story, comment, correction? Contact JeanJackman@gmail.com

sports

B Section

Forum B4 Op-ed B5 Dear Annie B7

THE DAVIS ENTERPRISE — SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2022

What’s the fun in booing a robot umpire? I ’m always intrigued with the never-ending attempts to improve the great sport of baseball, which used to be known as the national pastime before folks discovered pickle ball. So, I wasn’t surprised the other day when I saw the headline “Robot umpires inch closer to calling MLB games.” If that doesn’t signal the longawaited End of the World, I don’t know what does. There has been some experimenting with this in the lower level of the minor leagues for the last several years, with mixed results. But now things have become so serious that the Major League Baseball Umpires Association agreed in its labor contract to “cooperate” and even to “assist” commissioner Rob Manfred if

the system is adopted at the Major League level. Already Triple A ball has been designated for this silliness, including Yolo County’s Sacramento River Cats, not to mention the Albuquerque Isotopes, the Reno Aces and my all-time favorite, the Sugar Land Skeeters. At this point, we’re talking strictly about the home plate umpire, whose primary job is to call balls and strikes, dust off the plate with a little whisk broom and put a new ball into play when the previous ball has been knocked out of the park, whether fair or foul. But not to worry, there will still be a real live human being behind the plate, only he or she won’t be calling balls and strikes. Thus, cries of “Kill the ump” will still be appropriate, but presumably not as frequent.

If the concern is over a “ball” or “strike” call determined by the robot, cries of “Unplug the Ump” should be used. The home plate umpire can still decide if the pitcher balked or if the runner from third successfully touched home plate before being tagged, and will even weigh in on things like a check swing. Although in the case of check swings, the home plate umpire frequently defers to the first base

umpire, as many angry San Francisco Giants fans can attest. The robot ump is actually called TrackMan and sits above home plate, using Doppler radar to analyze each pitch thrown. The Doppler can also predict the precise second play will need to be halted by an approaching thunderstorm. TrackMan is able to calibrate the size and stance of each batter and adjust the strike zone for each individual, which only makes sense.

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rackMan feeds its call into the human umpire’s earpiece and there can be no second-guessing, even though there have been complaints that breaking balls have given TrackMan trouble. Then again, aren’t breaking balls designed to be deceptive?

No longer will catchers be able to quickly move the ball into the strike zone to fool the umpire, for TrakMan will have already made the call. Before you decide this is definitely coming to a Major League ballpark near you, this is what MLB’s chief operations and strategy officer, Chris Marinak, had to say about all this. “It’s hard to handicap if or how it might be employed at the Major League level,” he noted, “because it is a pretty substantial difference from the way the game is called today.” Here’s betting it never happens. Fans, after all, want the human element in a game as much as possible, because losers always need something to complain about. — Contact Bob Dunning at bdunning@davisenterprise.net.

A lights-out opening for UCD baseball By Lev Farris Goldenberg Enterprise correspondent Tommy Nicholson had to wait an extra day to receive his first game decision as head coach of UC Davis baseball. Hosting St. Mary’s on Friday for their season opening series, the Aggies trailed 4-2 with three outs to play when the game was postponed due to darkness. The day — which turned to night as the sun sank below the University Credit Union Center — marked a new beginning for Aggie baseball under Nicholson and his new coaching staff. And the wait did not make it any less sweet. “It felt good,” Nicholson said of taking the top step for the first time in his Aggie career. “We’ve been working hard for this day and the guys came out with a lot of energy, they competed, gave themselves a chance to win, and that’s all I can ask for.” It has been a winding journey to this point for Nicholson, who arrived in Davis having spent time coaching at Stanford, Sacramento State and Texas, his alma mater. The new coach was announced in December by UCD athletic director Rocko DeLuca. Having been around so many top-tier programs, how do the first few months at UC Davis compare for Nicholson? “Well, baseball is baseball,” the new coach told The Enterprise. For Nicholson, it’s the players that make a program. “They’ve been ready to go every day, just bringing good energy. And it carried over to today, so that was fun to see.” Davis wrapped up Game One of the three-game weekend slate on Saturday before Game Two.

Left, UC Davis infielder Kyler Arenado tries to make a play on St. Mary’s runner Blake McDonald (28) in Friday’s season opener for Aggie baseball at Dobbins Stadium. Below, first-year head coach Tommy Nicholson looks over his options. The game was called on account of darkness in the ninth inning with the Gaels leading 4-2. Christoph Lossin/ Enterprise photos

In Friday’s nine-and-a-half innings, the Ags and Gaels traded blows early. After St. Mary’s struck first in the top of the second, Davis responded thanks to a leadoff single from Jake Brandel, who eventually scored on a wild pitch. Nate Freeman allowed seven baserunners but bore down to hold St. Mary’s to two runs in five innings of work. The Gaels struck again in the third but Freeman escaped a basesloaded jam on a smooth double play. Trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth, Raul Sandoval launched his first career home run — a towering, one-out shot — to knot the game. Freshman southpaw Bryan Green entered in relief for his

first college appearance and pitched three shutout innings while allowing just one hit. “They did a heck of a job keeping it there and giving our offense a chance to come back,” Nicholson said of Freeman and Green. “So I think that if we can do that and continue to play good defense behind them, we’re gonna be in a lot of ball games.” The Aggie pitchers received plenty of glovework help on Friday, including a diving stab at a line drive by third baseman Kyler Arenado to end the seventh inning and a challenging catch on a pop up to the backstop by catcher Carson Seeman. The Gaels did their part in the field. Davis High product Jonah Henrickson blasted a

ball into the left-field alley but was robbed of extra bases by St. Mary’s center fielder Seth Nager on a diving catch. But for a first outing under the new regime, Nicholson liked what he saw. “I thought they did great. I mean, we threw strikes, we played good defense. A couple of plays we’d like to have back but you know what it wasn’t for a lack of aggressiveness.” Next up for the Aggies is a Tuesday matchup with University of San Francisco at 2 p.m. “The biggest thing is we just stay with the process and continue to get better as the season goes on,” Nicholson said. “Every opportunity that we get out there and play is a chance for us to learn, a chance for us to get better.”

Blue Devil grapplers staying alive in Masters Tournament By Mike Bush Enterprise sports editor STOCKTON — James Davis entered the SacJoaquin Section Masters Wrestling Tournament determined to have a deep run in his 182-pound class. The Davis High wrestler is off to a good start. Davis, a senior, finished the first day of the two-day tournament with a 3-1 record, and improved to 22-4 this season. He started the two-day, double-elimination tournament with a 4-1 decision win over Downey’s Braden Sanchez. Then Rosemont’s Adam Winlin defeated Davis by a 4-2 decision. Moved into the loser’s bracket, Davis roared back to stay alive for Saturday’s tournament with 10-1 and 10-5 decisions. Another Blue Devil who

Mike Bush/Enterprise photo

Davis High’s Andrea Gonzalez (facing camera) tries to break free from Ponderosa’s Sabrina Cunha in their 118-pound match at the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Wrestling Tournament at Stockton Arena on Friday. did well on Friday was Sam Reising (138), who went 2-2. After losing his first match by an 8-0 decision,

Reising bounced back in the loser’s bracket with two wins. The first victory came with a 15-4 decision, and

the following match by pin. AJ Hasson (heavyweight) finished the tournament at 2-2. Hasson

(18-8), a sophomore, won his first match by pinning Escalon’s Sabastia Snow. Then Ponderosa’s Gabriel Johnson posted a 4-3 decision over Hasson. But the Blue Devil responded in his third match with a 15-2 major decision over Bella Vista’s Roman Schitik. But Hasson’s day ended when Turlock’s Ashton Patterson produced a win by pin in the first round. There were six Blue Devil wrestlers who competed on the first day of the Masters Tournament. Joining Davis and Hasson was Aoui Pacheco-Delfino (195). Representing the Davis girls were Booklin Cienfuegos (111) and Andrea Gonzalez (116). Pacheco-Delfino lost his first two matches by pins to be eliminated from

the tournament. Cienfuegos, a freshman, lost her first match by pin. However, the Blue Devil bounced back in the loser’s bracket, won her second match by pin. Cienfuegos’ run was brief, as she lost her next match by an 8-0 decision. Gonzalez lost her first match. She, too, came back with a win in the loser’s bracket but winning by forfeit. Gonzalez’s run ended by losing an 18-1 major decision. The top six in each weight class advance to the California Interscholastic Federation State Wrestling Championships, which will be held at Mechanics Bank in Bakersfield Feb. 24-26. — Contact Mike Bush at mike@davisenterprise.net. Follow on Twitter: @MBDavisSports.

Sports

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2022

Olympic ice hockey deserves a better ending

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o Olympic ice hockey game, men’s or women’s, should ever end in a shootout. Playing 3-on-3 postregulation generally produces a winning goal sooner than later. n You know it’s a slow day in American sports when the ESPN bottom-screen crawl shows soccer scores from all over the universe. n Why don’t the Sacramento Kings do the right, and smart, thing and make Alvin Gentry the non-interim head coach? Gentry took over from the fired Luke Walton, steadied the ship, saw half the roster traded away, and has still managed to give the franchise a fighting chance at a playoff berth. n With the designated hitter soon to be used in both leagues, one type of player will be in instant demand: A designated hitter who can bunt and move a runner along in the late innings. n Sad stat: 69% of NFL players are Black. Only 35% of

coaches are. That needs to change. n Don’t think this will happen, but ... come July, Tom Brady decides he’s not the retiring type. He says he’d like another season. It won’t happen in New England or Tampa Bay. But what about the San Francisco 49ers? Jimmy Garoppolo will likely be wearing another uniform. Trey Lance may or may not be ready to take over. So why not sign TB12 to a one-year deal, let Lance absorb his knowledge in the quarterback room and take a run at Super Bowl LVII? n Best news of the week: Comrade Weitzel reported in Friday’s edition that Murillo’s will open a branch in Dixon, hopefully by June. It’s only the best Mexican food in this area. n Idle ruminations from last weekend ... yup, for the second straight year, my AFC pick failed to come through.

Joe Burrow, barring injury, and the Cincinnati Bengals will be back in a Super Bowl in three years or less ... likes and dislikes of the halftime show depended largely on how old you are. n If Aaron Rodgers does not return to Green Bay, the only other place he’d likely go to is Denver for a reunion with his Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, now the Broncos head coach. n Condolences to the family and many friends of Jeremy Kahn, who was a friendly face in Bay Area press boxes for as long as this corner can remember, be it San Francisco Giants, Oakland

A’s, 49ers, Raiders, San Jose Sharks, Stanford, Cal, Santa Clara and San Jose State. His sudden death shocked all those he ever came in contact with, including your scribbler. He will be hugely missed. n Back in the 1970s, there was the College All-Star Game, where a group of college kids played against the defending NFL champions. As the dollars, for that time, rose, the game, and interest in it, waned. The same needs to be said now for the Pro Bowl. No one cares. So, scrap it. n The 3-point shot in college basketball is too easy. Better to use the Olympic or NBA distance n Column co-conspirator and one-time Pittsburgh resident John Evenson notes that Sidney Crosby got his 500th NHL goal in his 1,077th game. Former Penguins player and current team co-owner Mario

Lemieux got to 500 in 605 games. Only man faster to 500? Wayne Gretzky in 575. n What is the big deal about having sponsor ads on MLB uniforms? No one’s batting average, onbase percentage, ERA or WAR — wins above replacement — would be affected one bit. In the so far glacier-like pace of negotiations between owners and players on a new collective bargaining agreement, players have already made the sponsor ads concession to owners. It’s now time for the owners, whose revenues are 20% higher since 2018, to do something significant for the players. — The longtime radio and television color man on UC Davis football broadcasts, Doug Kelly is director of communications for Battlefields2Ballfields and managing general partner of Kelly & Associates. Contact him at DKelly1416@aol.com.

Aggie men’s tennis squad nets win against San Francisco Special to The Enterprise After dropping the doubles point, the UC Davis men’s tennis team rallied in single’s play to top host San Francisco 4-3 in a nonconference match at the Goldman Tennis Center. Aggie No. 1 single Andrei Volgin ground out a threeset match, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2, to top Nil Giraldez. Volgin extended his match winning streak to six. At No. 2, UCD’s Ryan Torres defeated Nitzan Ricklis, 6-4, 6-3. UCD junior Brett Brinkman made quick work of Mitch Johnson at No. 4 singles,

UCD roundup 6-1, 6-2, and at No. 5 Ryan Morgan fought back to top Stevie Gould, 6-4, 6-7, 6-4. On Wednesday, Aggie junior standout Volgin was named the Big West Men’s Tennis Player of the Week. The honor is the first of his career and the first of the season for the Aggies. Volginwon his two weekend singles matches at the No. 1 spot, including a victory over Mark Keki to help lead the Aggies to a Causeway Cup win over rival Sacramento State. Volgin then downed James Watt in a

team victory of Saint Mary’s. The Fremont native was in a battle with the No. 38-ranked player in the country — Alexandre Rotsaert of Stanford — nearly taking the first set, falling in a tie breaker and then in the hunt in the second set before the match was unfinished.

Men’s water polo The reigning Western Water Polo Association champions proved their mettle in the pool, now the Aggies are showing what

they’re made of in the classroom as eight members of the UC Davis men’s water polo team were honored as part of the WWPA’s AllAcademic Team for 2021 on Friday. The eight honorees are the most since the 2019 squad had 10 members named to the league’s academic honor roll. Seven of the eight honorees were named to the allacademic team for the first time in their careers in junior Logan Anderson, sophomore Aleix Aznar Beltran, junior Duncan Creed, sophomore Will Nomura,

senior Connor Norton, senior Spencer Towill, and sophomore Aaron Voggenthaler. Meanwhile, senior Nir Gross picked up his third career all-academic honor to go with awards in 2018 and 2019. UCD wrapped up one of its most successful seasons to date in 2021, finishing with a 19-9 overall record and a 7-1 mark in WWPA play while claiming the program’s sixth conference title in school history — and the fourth in the last six years. The Aggies finished the 2021 season ranked No. 5 in the Collegiate Water Polo

Association poll marking the fifth time in the last six years that the program has finished in the top 10 and believed to be the highest the program has reached nationally since 2001. Head coach Daniel Leyson was named the WWPA Coach of the Year for the fourth time in his career, while Wilson (second team), Anderson (second team), and Aleix Aznar Beltran (honorable mention), joined Gross on the WWPA honor roll. Aznar Beltran also earned a spot on the NCAA All-Tournament team along with Gross.

THE DAVIS ENTERPRISE

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2022 B3

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Commentary R&D investments drive innovation in California By Dee Dee Myers Special to CalMatters

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he governor recently signed a package of bills that will boost California’s continuing economic recovery by protecting frontline workers who are impacted by COVID-19 while also investing in those businesses that are creating jobs and providing essential goods and services to our communities. This legislative package, developed in partnership with the Legislature amid the Omicron surge, underscores the important steps California has taken to protect workers and businesses over the last two years since COVID-19 wreaked havoc on our economy. In particular, it restores the tax credit for investments in research and development, including basic research, that are the foundation of California’s unmatched innovation economy. California outpaces all other states in research and development spending, accounting for more than one-fifth of the total U.S. R&D investments and nearly 30% of U.S. patents. These investments helped create many of the incredible, life-changing technologies we now take for granted — smartphones, new pharmaceutical treatments, manufacturing breakthroughs, and even advancements in agriculture and farming, invented here in California. In addition, R&D creates jobs. Many of California’s R&D-supported sectors — such as information technology, life sciences and entertainment — are experiencing rapid job growth, particularly in highly-paid occupations. The investments go beyond basic research. They drive innovation in testing, production and manufacturing. As a result, in addition to the engineers, analysts and lab tech positions that require advanced degrees, R&D also supports new jobs for Californians with a wide range of academic credentials and experiences — everything from maintenance technicians and marketing professionals to office managers and sales associates. California isn’t alone in recognizing the benefits of R&D; 35 other states currently offer their own state-level tax credits. To stay competitive, and ensure the ongoing success of our innovationfueled economy, California needs to help companies commit the resources, time and risk that new ideas and products require. The R&D tax credit does just that.

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n addition to supporting investments in innovation, this early budget action also accelerates additional support for our state’s small businesses, which are the heart and soul of our local communities and the backbone of our economy. n First, the bill eliminates state tax for the federal Restaurant Revitalization Fund and Shuttered Venue Operators grants, which will provide vital savings for restaurants and theaters that continue to struggle due to the pandemic. Their recovery is critical to our state’s economy and to our collective creative culture. n Second, it invests an additional $150 million in the Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program. Last year, the program provided $4 billion in grants to more than 311,000 small businesses in highly impacted sectors, including hospitality, retail, tourism and the arts. These additional funds will allow us to serve thousands more businesses as they recover, bringing back lost jobs and creating new jobs. These investments are all a down payment on the governor’s proposed California Blueprint, which offers a roadmap for how we can continue to tackle short-term crises and long-term challenges. The blueprint calls for billions of dollars to fight COVID-19 and educate and care for all our 40 million residents, prioritizing the safety and security of all Californians, and reinforcing California’s role as a global leader in climate protection, innovation and job creation. Innovation drives our economy — and has fueled our nation’s economic recovery over the last year. Since February 2021, California has created nearly 1 million jobs — an unprecedented achievement. Last December, our state created 25% of the nation’s new jobs. We continue to lead the nation in new business starts with more than 222,000 from January 2020 through March 2021 — more than Texas and Florida combined. During this period, California accounted for nearly 16% of the country’s new business starts. But there’s still more work to be done. And these critical, early budget actions — which extend sick leave for those affected by COVID-19, prioritize research and development and embrace innovation — double down on our faith that we can support our workers and the businesses that create jobs and drive our economy while building a healthier, more equitable and more sustainable future for all of us. — Dee Dee Myers is senior adviser to Gov. Gavin Newsom and director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development.

Forum

State’s newest trend is recalls G eographically, economically, demographically, culturally and ideologically, San Francisco and Shasta County are polar opposites, but their voters have one thing in common: a willingness to throw out officeholders who displease them. A few weeks ago, voters in Shasta County Supervisor Leonard Moty’s district voted to recall the Republican former police chief, who had been accused of being insufficiently critical of the state’s COVID-19 decrees. Recall leaders were tied to the right-wing militia movement. Last week, San Francisco voters recalled three school board members accused of neglecting children’s education in their zeal to promote uber-progressive political causes, such as changing the names of schools to reflect current ideological dogma. The power to recall officeholders, lodged in the state constitution more than a century as a hedge against corruption but rarely used over that span of time, has suddenly become trendy as the COVID-19 pandemic and rising crime rates increase cultural and political polarization. By any rational standard, Shasta County’s Moty is a

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imilar allegations are being hurled at a Boudin predecessor, George Gascón, who is now district attorney of Los Angeles County, and a petition drive to recall him is underway. Boudin, Gascón and several other bluecounty district attorneys have implemented less punitive prosecutorial policies but rising crime rates and increasing public concerns about crime have generated backlash. In the wake of the Shasta County recall, there’s another campaign underway in another rural county, Nevada, with similar dynamics. The Sacramento Bee reported, “In Nevada County, a group of activists allege that officials have overstepped their authority when it comes to COVID-19 contact tracing, lockdowns and other public health measures that ‘violated religious freedoms and individual liberty.’ They’re

seeking to recall the fivemember board for committing ‘crimes against humanity’.” According to the Bee, recall proponents see county supervisors as “part of a corrupt system under Dr. Anthony Fauci that is forcing a dangerous and untested vaccine on the masses, refusing to treat patients with ivermectin, and stripping them of their liberties by monitoring them for contact tracing.” Not surprisingly, the wavelet of recalls has generated suggestions in the state Legislature for changing the process, some to make it more difficult to qualify a recall for the ballot, others that would effectively negate the recall of a governor. Perhaps the recall is being overly used or even misused at the moment, but it remains a valuable check on arrogant officeholders. Changing it could have unanticipated and negative consequences, so we shouldn’t be too eager to make radical reforms. — CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters. For more stories by Dan Walters, go to Commentary.

Scare tactics Who hasn’t heard of the person who brags about finishing second in a race while neglecting to mention that there were only two entrants? Roger Niello’s commentary of Wednesday, Feb. 9, “Why single-payer healthcare failed,” is based on such half-truths. To begin with, AB1400, the focus of his article, didn’t “fail” as it was withdrawn by its author and not defeated by a vote of the California Legislature. Niello’s alarm over the “new taxes” proposed to fund AB1400 in its partner bill (Assembly Constitutional Amendment 11) conveniently neglects to mention that this sum would be a significant savings over our current healthcare costs. It would not be “government-run healthcare” as government would take on the administrative functions, not the care itself. Furthermore, the savings would be applied to providing dental, vision, mental health, and long-term care. The state and all of its residents and businesses would benefit from eliminating the redundant and wasteful system in place now. Healthcare is expensive and our private insurance-based system that is profit driven is the most expensive of all. The only way they can perpetuate this lucrative system is to frighten people with half-truths. Don’t fall for it. There is a reason that 17 other countries rely on a single-payer type healthcare system, two of them (Canada and Taiwan) transitioning in the 1980s. Linda Baumann Davis

Current politics I don’t understand. People protest that the mask and vaccination requirements are taking away their freedoms. In that case we should eliminate laws about wearing seat belts, and why not throw out laws about stopping at red lights, as they inhibit complete freedom to do what you want. Vaccines are safe and safeguard public health, and I don’t see the difference from seat belt laws, except vaccines have unfortunately become politicized. The truckers in Canada are theoretically protecting their freedoms, but what about the freedoms of the majority of Canadians to live their normal lives, as well as the workers who find their auto plants shut down due to lack of parts? In a democracy, if you disagree with

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conservative Republican but ran afoul of the hard right’s intolerance of anything other than complete adherence to its demands that Shasta refuse to follow state pandemic directives. Had it not been for the pandemic, the San Francisco school board’s flights of ideological fancy probably would have been tolerated, but parents became incensed about the slow reopening of schools and the board’s decision to stop merit-based enrollments at prestigious Lowell High School. The school board recall was so popular that prominent local politicians, including Mayor London Breed, endorsed it. Breed will name successors to the ousted trio. Although Gov. Gavin Newsom shrugged off a weak effort to recall him last year, most recall campaigns that gather enough signatures to make the ballot succeed, including that of Gov. Gray Davis in 2003

and the occasional drives to oust state legislators. We are likely to see more recall elections soon, including one already qualified with San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin to target. He’s accused of refusing to vigorously prosecute criminal cases brought to him by local police.

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Official legal newspaper of general circulation for the city of Davis and county of Yolo. Published in The Davis Enterprise building, 315 G St., Davis, CA. Mailing address: P.O. Box 1470, Davis, CA 95617. Phone: 530-756-0800. An award-winning newspaper of the California Newspaper Publishers Association.

the laws of the government you’re able to peacefully protest, and make changes at election time, which seems more rational and fair than the mob rule we saw in our country on Jan. 6 and now see in Canada. Someone please explain it to me. Laurie Friedman Davis

Health, the list goes on and on…. Readers should take this into account when assessing the worth of PCRM’s opinions. Paula Clifford, MLA, RLATG, CVT Executive director, Americans for Medical Progress

‘Doctors ...’

Daytime respite center for the unhoused

It’s pretty misleading for the organization criticizing Neuralink’s brain chip studies in animals to refer to itself as a “physicians group” According to the group’s own website, doctors make up less than 10 percent of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine’s membership. On top of that, PCRM’s physician members account for less than 2 percent of all licensed doctors in the United States. Claiming to be a “doctors group” might suggest one’s views are mainstream or that they reflect medical or scientific consensus. In this case, they definitely do not. Studies in animals have been repeatedly deemed necessary by highlyregarded science and medical professionals including the American Medical Association, the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, The National Institutes of

The Davis City Council will soon decide the fate of the new Davis Daytime Respite Center for the Unhoused in our community. I have been documenting the plight of the homeless in Davis for the past several years and can attest to the vital need for such a program. I recently produced a 27 minute video documentary that tells the story of how two local homeless advocates, Lawson Snipes , founder of The Spare Changer, a local homeless publication, and former Davis Mayor Brett Lee, helped conceive and implement the Daytime Respite Center for the Unhoused at https:// vimeo.com/673049470. Viewing of the video, I hope, gives one an appreciation of the planning and thought fullness that went into the design and development of this program. Rich Sequest Davis

Speak out President The Hon. Joe Biden, The White House, Washington, D.C., 20500; 202-456-1111 (comments), 202-456-1414 (switchboard); email: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

U.S. Senate Sen. Dianne Feinstein, 331 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., 20510; 202-224-3841; email: http://feinstein. senate.gov/public/index.cfm/e-mail-me Sen. Alex Padilla, B03 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., 20510;

202-224-3553; email: padilla.senate. gov/public/index.cfm/e-mail-me

We welcome your letters

House of Representatives

Addresses and phone numbers should be included for verification purposes; they will not be published. Limit letters to 350 words. Anonymous letters will not be accepted. We reserve the right to edit all letters for brevity or clarity. Mail letters to The Davis Enterprise, P.O. Box 1470, Davis, CA 95617; bring them to 315 G St.; fax them to 530-756-1668; or email them to newsroom@davis enterprise.net.

Rep. John Garamendi (3rd District), 2368 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C., 20515; 202-225-1880. District office: 412 G St., Davis, CA 95616; 530-753-5301; email: visit https://garamendi.house.gov/contact/ email

Governor Gov. Gavin Newsom, State Capitol, Suite 1173, Sacramento, CA 95814; 916-4452841; email: visit https://govapps.gov. ca.gov/gov40mail/

Op-Ed

THE DAVIS ENTERPRISE

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2022 B5

College blends stone-carving and Dickens Special to The Enterprise

Commentary

t takes years to learn to fashion something out of a block of stone. You may think you have talent, but it isn’t intuitive. You have to study stone carving, take up the mallet and chisel, waste a lot of rock, and gradually turn from novice to craftsman. Likewise, you won’t learn the delights of English literature in a week. It takes time. All of this can be accomplished in one extraordinary place: the American College of the Building Arts in Charleston, S.C. — a jewel of the South with its many antebellum mansions and buildings, making it a place of living history. The college offers a full liberal arts curriculum plus a specialization in one of six building arts: Classical architecture, blacksmithing, timber framing, carpentry, plaster and stone cutting. It owes its existence to Hugo, the Category 4 hurricane that slammed into Charleston and much of the southeast coast in 1989. Many of Charleston’s treasured homes and buildings were damaged.

Then came the second heartbreak: There was a dearth of craft workers who could put Charleston, like Humpy Dumpty, back together again. The shortage was so acute that it took more than 10 years to restore the city to what it had been pre-Hugo. The civic pride of the city asserted itself. A group of shocked citizens vowed they wouldn’t go through that again. They would train fine artisans right there in Charleston. But they didn’t want just a trade school; they wanted a seat of learning and restoration to be part of that learning. They didn’t want to turn out graduates who felt that they had to go through life entering through the back door. No. These would be graduates with a robust degree in liberal arts, as comfortable reading Shakespeare as helping restore a European cathedral built in his day. So, the American College of the Building Arts was born in 1999, and it is flourishing and

By Llewellyn King

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growing. By college-size standards, it is minuscule: 120 graduates this year. But in terms of educational creativity, it is huge. It shines a light that shows the way to a new concept of education: students learning a trade they enjoy, that is highly marketable, and also getting the benefits of four years of liberal arts education. In April 2018, I visited the college to film an episode of “White House Chronicle” on PBS and was captivated. I had never seen anything like it. A slight, young woman working at a 2,000degree forge, making a beautiful piece of decorative ironwork, inspired by one in a French cathedral; a woman, who had a previous career in the Coast Guard, carving stone, with an ambition to work on the National Cathedral in Washington; and a gifted, African American man, a former Marine who had traveled the world, working with big timbers in the framing shop. Because I have an interest in words, I sat in on a literature course wondering secretly whether it was, perhaps, a bit cursory. It wasn’t. The former-

Marine timber-framing student said the literature course, taught by Wade Razzi, who has a doctorate degree from Oxford, was his favorite, and among the authors he loved was Charles Dickens. A friend’s daughter was attracted to the college after learning about it from my television episode. He credits the college with having done wonders for her. She is a star stone carver there, likely headed to work on Liverpool Cathedral. The college is a beacon for these reasons: n It gives its students a sense of purpose they might not have found otherwise: The reward of making something special and durable. n The college accepts men and women, although Razzi told me women were often the stars. Twenty-five percent of the students are women, and they lead in valedictorians. Five percent are veterans. n About a third of the students, within five years of graduating, start their own contracting businesses. This is so prevalent that the college has added accounting courses so that the

young entrepreneurs can keep books. n The college must teach one language, and that is Spanish. In a recent episode of “White House Chronicle” on the college, Razzi said Spanish is taught because it is essential in the building trades, where many workers are from Latin America. One of the college’s biggest challenges is recruiting faculty, Razzi, who also serves as chief academic officer, said in that TV episode. Many faculty members come from Europe to teach arcane-in-America trades such as decorative plaster, stone carving and blacksmithing. Arcane but in great demand from Newport, R.I.’s mansions — called cottages — to Washington’s National Cathedral and the Capitol, to memorial gardens. Artisans are in demand and artisans with liberal arts credentials are something special: Roundly skilled and roundly educated. — Llewellyn King is executive producer and host of “White House Chronicle” on PBS. His email is llewellynking1@gmail. com and you can follow him on Twitter @LlewellynKing2. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.

No legal battles for California’s new election maps By Sameea Kamal CalMatters

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s the clock struck midnight on Feb. 10, 14 people scattered around California collectively exhaled in relief. The 14 are members of the state’s independent citizens redistricting commission who drew 120 new districts for the Legislature, 52 for Congress and four for the state Board of Equalization that voters will use in this year’s election. The commissioners struggled at times to reach consensus, and their mapping was critiqued nearly every step of the way by some experts, advocates, elected officials and the public. But after all the criticism, the commission approved the maps unanimously in late December, and Feb. 10 — the 45-day deadline for anyone to go to court to block the maps — came and went. No one sued. There’s still one more state hurdle to clear: critics have until March 27 to challenge the maps via a referendum — asking voters to reject them — before the new districts officially become effective. But there’s no sign any such costly effort is underway. (The maps could also be challenged in federal court as violating the U.S. constitution or the Voting Rights Act.) “The absence of a state lawsuit challenging these maps is a testament to the effectiveness of California’s open, publicly accessible redistricting process and the design of its independent redistricting commission,” current commission Chairperson Russell Yee said in a statement. “We worked hard to apply the constitutional redistricting criteria and consider testimony from throughout the state, especially from minority communities,” said Yee, a Republican professor and former pastor from Oakland. “While the maps do not please everyone, we believe they are fair and equitable. We would have confidently defended these maps in court, but are thankful we now won’t need to.” The commission did face litigation earlier: An emergency petition filed on Nov. 30 on behalf of some Republican voters alleged that the commission held secret meetings with some interest groups, complained that an analysis of racially polarized voting wasn’t made public and challenged the selection of its legal counsel because the firm had previously worked for Democrats. That emergency petition was denied by the California Supreme Court on Dec. 15. Christian Grose, professor of political science and public policy at the University of Southern California, said that while the failure of prior lawsuits might explain the lack of litigation, so does how the commission did business. “A unanimous vote is a signal that something was done right,” he said. Josue Franco, an assistant professor of political science at Cuyamaca College in San Diego, said the amount of public comment (more than 36,000 entries) as

Miguel Gutierrez Jr./CalMatters photo

The state Capitol building on Jan. 10. California’s nonpartisan redistricting commission allowed the Golden State to dodge the redistricting lawsuits happening elsewhere. well as the failure of the petition, likely warded off more lawsuits. “Any political process is a valve, with pressure being applied. Some have limited valves to open, so no pressure is released. So it builds up and builds up and builds up and explodes in some kind of failure of the process or judicial litigation,” he said. “ When you have processes that are public — allowing people to comment — they’re venting.” “I think the lesson learned for any future commission is: If you continue to be as open and transparent and accessible as possible, you’ll continue to reduce the likelihood of any significant litigation,” Franco added. That’s a bonus for taxpayers: Any of the $4.3 million set aside for litigation that isn’t used goes back into the state’s general fund. The lack of lawsuits is somewhat surprising. After the first time California redistricting was done by an independent commission, in 2011, two lawsuits challenged the final maps, and another questioned the commission’s makeup. And new election districts in other states are being taken to court. On Feb. 7, the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated a congressional map that a lower federal court ruled would disenfranchise Black voters. In December, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Texas, alleging that the maps drawn by a Republican-controlled Legislature and GOP Gov. Greg Abbott disenfranchise Latino voters. In North Carolina, the state Supreme Court threw out new congressional and legislative districts that the justices said were too partisan and ordered the Republican-majority Legislature to draw new ones by Feb. 18. Even in other states where the maps were also drawn by independent commissions, there are lawsuits. In Michigan, state lawmakers say that the new congressional districts would dilute the voting power of minority communities. In Ohio, Black voters went to federal court seeking to block legislative maps. Just before approving California’s maps and delivering them to the secretary of

ICYMI: Our top 5 stories of the week News

n Vehicle crash closes Mace Boulevard: http://wp.me/p3aczg-47Bf n Suspect in Davis road-rage shooting detained: http://wp.me/p3aczg-47vS n Davis duplex fire displaces seven residents: http://wp.me/p3aczg-47Bu

state on Dec. 27, commissioners noted the exceptional challenges they faced during their 18 months of work, including the pandemic and the delay of Census data that compressed their timeline to have new districts in time for the June primary. Meeting deadlines and avoiding lawsuits aren’t the only measures of success. Other assessments could shape what statewide and local California redistricting looks like after the 2030 Census and beyond.

Grading the new lines Ballot measures passed in 2008 and 2010 set the minimum criteria for fair maps: equal population, compliance with the federal Voting Rights Act and compactness of districts, among others. But beyond that, some look at how well the new districts reflect California’s diverse population — with no race or ethnic group making up a majority. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, the number of majority Latino districts increased “significantly,” with six more for U.S. House, three more for state Senate and an additional five for state Assembly – nearly matching the share of the Latino voting-eligible population at 30%.

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here was less change for other ethnic groups. There are two Asian-majority state Assembly districts, up from one, but no state Senate or congressional districts. There are no majority Black districts. Another measure of fair representation: “influence” districts, where a group makes up at least 30% of voters. While the number of Latino “influence” districts declined, there are two Black influence congressional districts and two legislative districts and six Asian influence congressional districts and 10 legislative ones. While community groups were vocal during the process, some said the final maps attempted to address most, if not all, their concerns. The true test of representation will be

the results of elections this year and in subsequent cycles. A report by the USC Schwarzenegger Institute showed that the 2011 maps largely succeeded in helping to add elected officials of color in California between 2012 and 2020. And while the commission is not permitted to consider the new districts’ impact on incumbents or political parties, another assessment is how politically competitive they become. Party control, based on voter registration, flipped in three congressional, four Senate districts and four Assembly districts. Still, Democrats will likely remain dominant based on the new maps, favored to win 41 congressional seats, 31 state Senate seats and 62 Assembly seats, according to the PPIC analysis. There were also 21 members of Congress, 13 state senators and 20 Assembly members put into the same districts as other incumbents. Adding to the turnover and possibly changing the partisan balance, so far 21 Assembly members and state senators have resigned or have announced they’re not seeking reelection this year. Another seven senators are barred from running again by term limits. “In the 2001 cycle, there was essentially a gentleman’s agreement that enabled everyone to run for reelection and stay in power,” said Jonathan Mehta Stein, executive director of California Common Cause, which pushed for the independent redistricting commission. “This was a process that was exactly the opposite. The commission was literally moving lines and making massively important decisions on a livestream. They’re going to stumble, and thousands of people are going to watch it. But I don’t think I would trade that for a cleaner alternative.”

Lessons from 2010, and for 2030 While this California redistricting was heavily scrutinized, the 2010 commission dealt with its own challenges, including tight timelines and budget restraints. But they also had the advantage of being the first independent commissioners. So another measure of the current commission’s success might be how well it learned lessons from the previous group. Some prior commissioners who followed the 2021 process say the current commission was able to do more public outreach and took advantage of more advanced technology. But some of the same problems remained: time management, a lack of clear guidance on how to assess competing communities of interest and a struggle to be consistent in making decisions. — Sameea Kamal covers the state Capitol and California politics and is also a production assistant for CalMatters. She joined CalMatters in June 2021 from the Los Angeles Times, where she was a News Desk editor

Sports

n Local roundup: UC Davis men’s basketball home game canceled: http://wp.me/p3aczg-47C3

Feature n Bob Dunning: Aggies lend a hand to one of their own: http://wp.me/p3aczg-47I0

B6 THE DAVIS ENTERPRISE

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2022

THE DAVIS ENTERPRISE

Boyfriend goes AWOL Dear Annie: I was in a nine-month relationship up until about a month ago. Without going into a lot of detail, the guy I was seeing decided to ghost me without any warning. We had a great conversation on Thursday, and then on Friday morning, he blocked my calls, emails, etc. I have no idea what happened. Later that Thursday night, I had accidentally FaceTimed him (my phone was in my pocket), and his son answered. Keep in mind I had never met his son the whole time we were together. This is not the first time he has stopped speaking to me for reasons only he knows, but this is the first time he has gone this far. I’m trying to move past what he has done, but I am having a hard time. Even though we dated for only nine months, I talked to him about everything, and we had such great times together. I want to know why he did what he did to get some closure, but I don’t know what to do. Do I need to just let this go? — Ghosted Dear Ghosted: Resist the temptation to speculate. Whatever his reasons are, the end result is the same: He’s not reliable, not communicative and, most importantly, not around. And he is a total jerk in the way he treated you. Write him a letter explaining your confusion and your hurt feelings. Send it to him to get any pent-up feelings off your chest, but don’t expect a response. A guy who disappears typically doesn’t want to be found. If he changes his mind and reaches out to you, and you take him back, it will only be a matter of time before he cuts you off again. That’s him, not you. After writing your letter, run a hundred miles from this guy. ——— Dear Annie: Several years ago, a friend and I took a series of art classes offered by our local senior center. My friend truly excelled and completed two beautiful paintings. I enjoyed the classes immensely but did not do nearly as well. I signed up again this past spring. With a lot of individual help from the instructor, I painted a pretty good painting of my house. I had it framed and hung it on my living room wall. My friend saw it, and on her next visit, she presented me with a painting she did of my house. There is no question that hers is a better rendering of my house, but I want my painting to remain on the wall. When I told her this and refused to switch paintings, she became annoyed and hasn’t spoken to me since. My husband feels I should have hung her picture and taken it down when she left. This friend occasionally stops by unannounced, so I don’t think that is a great solution. What are your thoughts? — I’ve Peeved Picasso Dear I’ve: The painting your friend gifted you was exactly that — a thoughtful gift. This does not give her the right to decide then where it belongs in your home. Find a nice place to keep her painting and share it with her. You can be appreciative and impressed with her painting while also being proud of your own and the progress you’ve made in class. Express this to her as well as another thanks for her gift. It’s far too silly a matter to lose touch over.

Legals@DavisEnterprise.net

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2022 B7

B8 THE DAVIS ENTERPRISE

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2022

Advice for financial success Page 2

l a c Lo

Optimize your home remodel Page 3

Is an ADU right for you? Page 4

Choosing a fireplace Page 6

Caring for your furniture Page 7

Selecting a coffin Page 8

Blue Pine Coffins

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18+ years of thoughtful home remodeling

MAK Design + Build, Inc. is a Davis based residential remodeling company. MAK has spent almost two decades honing their design/build system resulting in numerous award-winning projects. past? It’s interesting, there are great new materials and ways to remodeling services than ever before, as people remain in older housing stock and want more from their homes. How have the last couple of years changed what people need from their homes? Working from home has increased the need for more dedicated, private spaces within people’s homes. There is a lot of homeowner interest in creating separate living spaces (Accessory Dwelling Units) on their property so that folks can entertain visitors or care for their aging loved ones. People are shifting towards more multi-generational living and popular features like barrier-free showers continue to be a beautiful and functional way to accommodate that shift.

How are supply chain issues impacting remodeling? Obviously, everyone is seeing longer lead times for materials, builds our construction calendars around material arrival dates, which might mean waiting a few weeks to begin construction, but saves the homeowner from weeks of living in a construction zone How can I expedite my project? Communicate early, and trust the process. If you have found a designer you trust and you skilled designer listens and is able to foresee issues and identify solutions, it’s their job. Your creative ideas may be perfectly executable within your budget, or they may require drastic and love. Trust your designer and be prepared to pivot when the supply chain, or lot lines, or hidden duct work requires a new solution.

(530) 750-2209 | www.makdesignbuild.com 430 F St. Suite B, Davis, CA 95616 | CL# 840316

BECAUSE YOUR HOME IS IMPORTANT

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Your One Stop Shop At Gallery of Fireplaces, we understand that every homeowner is unique, which is why our method is based on listening to you and your individual needs. We want to make sure that the fireplace that you choose fits you perfectly, and our friendly team is ready and willing to guide you through the shopping process from start to finish. Our showroom will allow you to get a glimpse of how different fireplaces may look in your home. You can talk to our specialists about your home and lifestyle and get advice about which of our products can meet your needs. We make the selection process fun and easy, which is the way that it should be. Gallery of Fireplaces is a

locally owned store, committed to offering the highest quality brands of fireplaces & accessories, grills and outdoor products, offered by an array of manufacturers. While quality seems to be an overused and subjective term, we measure quality by looking at specific product characteristics:

Materials The product uses materials that will ensure that it performs at a higher standard (i.e. hotter, more efficient), higher quality (i.e. heavier gauge steel, longer warranty) or is more attractive (i.e. 24K gold trim, detailed log carving, realistic firebrick).

Reliability We choose manufacturers and products that invest in the best technology and manufacturing processes that will ensure that the product will work reliably for years to come.

Value

Courtesy photo

We are committed to offering product brands and models that improve the value of your life. In addition to quality, we look at price in relation to other products as well as unique and distinctive features that make a product fulfill a particular need better than other products.

The Schulze family, from left, Darrion, Kelley, Damion, Brandon, Greg and Debra Schultze. In addition to installation, we can also help you keep your fireplace functioning correctly. We offer service calls so that you can get help if your fireplace isn’t working the way that it should, and we also pro-

Clean, Efficient Heat Let us enhance the style and comfort of your home! ZONE HEAT, SAVE MONEY! NO POWER, NO PROBLEM!

AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR

385 MERCHANT STREET • VACAVILLE 707-446-9008 • www.galleryoffireplaces.com MON-FRI 10-6 • SAT 10-4 • CLOSED SUN

vide cleaning and maintenance service so that your fireplace stays in tip-top shape. If you’re ready to add a fireplace, insert, or stove to your home, Gallery of Fireplaces is here to help you.

Free In Home Estimate!

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Thank you to all our customers for voting us Solano County's Best of 2021

Enterprise photo/David DeLeon

Elaine Cloutier (owner) and Joe Byrne (sales associate) will be happy to help you find the quality, comfort, style and value in your next furniture purchase. Lainey’s offers a complete selection of quality name brand furniture.

Lainey’s Furniture helps you find and care for the right furniture for your home Whether you are redecorating, moving, or just updating your furniture, the staff at Lainey’s Furniture For Living can help you find just the right items for your home. Lainey’s Furniture carries high quality furniture. Furniture purchases can put stress on your wallet, we want to make sure that our customers get the best value in the furniture that they purchase. To extend the life of your new furniture, Lainey’s recommends the following:

Wood Furniture Use a lint-free cloth with a small amount of polish to to clean and shine your furniture on a regular basis. When choosing a furniture polish, use the same type for each cleaning, either oil- or wax-based, to avoid polish smudges. Wipe in the direction of the grain of the wood whenever possible.

Upholstery Keep upholstered furniture out of direct sunlight as most fabrics will fade. Vacuum surfaces weekly. Flip cushions and pillows regularly so both sides wear evenly. Third-party warranties provide extended care for your upholstery as insurance against damage caused by accidental spills or tears. Some extended warranties (although an added cost) will even send a technician to your home to clean a stain or repair damage.

WE PAY THE SALES TAX! FREE DELIVERY With min. $2500 purchase. Must present coupon at time of purchase. Expires 2/28/2022.

Leather Because leather can dry and crack, it is recommended that you keep your valuable leather furniture at least 2 feet from heat sources and out of direct sunlight. Clean the piece with a damp sponge or soft cloth and dust it regularly. You can also use a quality leather polish. Lainey’s Furniture is family-owned and operated by residents of Vacaville.

395-A E. Monte Vista Avenue, Vacaville

707.449.6385 LaineysFurnitureForLiving.com

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Choosing the right coffin for you By Aaron Geerts McNaughton Media

As if the loss of a loved one isn’t difficult enough, the price of funerals, coffins and other preparations can cost thousands of dollars. With this in mind, and an increasing demand for environmentally friendly burials, Dean and Danielle Newberry created Blue Pine Coffins to make affordability and sustainability a possibility. Inspired by Jewish burials, which are traditionally required to be 100-percent wood and biodegradable, the Newberrys’s coffins are as practical as they are eco-friendly. Made from – if one hasn’t already guessed – Blue Pines, the Newberry’s lumber comes from these trees removed by PG&E. Whether they died from drought or beetle infestation, the trees are cut down solely for fire prevention purposes. “Other people make cardboard coffins, whicker coffins, willow, bamboo and stuff like that,” said Danielle Newberry. “But we’re promoting ours as greener because we’re using lumber from trees being taken down to prevent fires or have died from beetle infestation.” The eco-friendly coffins also adhere to a rising desire for ‘green burials.’ As the Davis Cemetery is one of the only cemeteries in the area that will perform a green burial – with 80% of their funerals being green according to Danielle Newberry – a close association ensued and the environmental consciousness of those who have passed away can live on. “In a green burial, the body is not cremated or embalmed and no chemicals are used. There’s no vault in the ground so the body can biodegrade faster,” Danielle Newberry explained. “That’s a big money saver and it’s better for the environment. It’s also something beautiful you can feel good about. It’s not going to pollute and isn’t detrimental to the environment.” Another unique aspect of Blue Pine

Coffins is the fact they’re all locally made by Dean Newberry himself. Not only that, the coffins are available in different sizes. Many local funeral homes already carry Blue Pine Coffins. If they don’t, Dean and Danielle are happy to sell to the customer and deliver to their funeral home. All funeral homes will accept coffins purchased privately by the customer. When one is in the thralls of sadness

after losing a loved one, it’s these acts of decency and dignity that resonate with those who do business with Blue Pine Coffins. “Danielle and Dean made a coffin for a young, two-year-old boy in our community who suddenly and tragically passed away,” said Rabbi Yanki Hecht in a testimonial. “They were so gracious, flexible and easygoing throughout the

entire process. The effort and care they put into making sure that the little boy received a proper Jewish burial, with a traditional Jewish coffin, was a tremendous comfort to the grieving family.” If one is in need of the Newberry’s services, one can reach them at 530-270-3029, send an email to coffins@dcn.org or check out their website at bluepinecoffins.com.

Blue Pine Coffins • Locally made • NO living trees cut • 100% Biodegradable • Affordable • Ask for a Blue Pine Coffin at your local funeral home • Appropriate for green and Jewish burials

Dean & Danielle Newberry

bluepinecoffins.com • (530) 270-3029 • coffins@dcn.org