The Davis Enterprise Wednesday, March 9, 2022

enterprise THE DAVIS

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2022

Last two defendants in court for missing teens’ case

Donovan Nielsen became the first participant to receive the COVID-19 clinical trial vaccine candidate at UC Davis Health in 2020. Now, UCD is teaming up with Pfizer for two more studies.

UC Davis Health/ Enterprise file photo

UCD, Pfizer team on booster trials

By Caleb Hampton Enterprise staff writer UC Davis is partnering with Pfizer on two new clinical trials to test the pharmaceutical company’s COVID-19 booster vaccine in healthy adults. The trials will assess the efficacy of different strength booster doses and test possible side effects of a booster shot on the heart.

When Pfizer’s mRNA COVID-19 vaccine was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in August 2021, the recommended course was a two-dose series of the vaccine. Since then, with the emergence of COVID-19 variants like Delta and Omicron, most health experts now recommend a three-dose course of the vaccine.

The FDA has authorized a 30-microgram booster dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine — the same strength as the first two doses — for people 12 years or older. The booster should be taken at least five months after the initial two doses.

“The development and approval of an effective COVID19 vaccine was an important milestone in our fight against COVID-19. But there is still a lot to understand about the virus and the immune response the vaccine creates,” said Timothy Albertson, professor and chair of the Department of Internal Medicine, who is leading both of the new clinical trials at UC Davis. “This includes studying the continued efficacy and possible side effects of the

COVID-19 vaccine.”

UC Davis Health’s Sacramento clinic is recruiting double-vaccinated participants for both of the new clinical trials.

To be eligible, participants should be healthy adults who have received the first two Pfizer doses, but not the booster, and have no history of severe allergic reaction to the vaccine or any of its components.

The first study will assess the immune responses to different doses of the booster shot.

Patients will be randomly assigned to receive either the standard 30-microgram dose of a reduced 10-microgram dose.

They will attend five clinic visits over the course of one year.

“As the pandemic continues, it is important to learn about

By Lauren Keene Enterprise staff writer

High levels of troponin are associated with heart injury.

Participants in this study will receive a booster shot and a placebo injection four weeks apart, with some participants receiving the booster first and others

WOODLAND — Jury selection began Tuesday for the two remaining defendants accused of killing two local teens who went missing back in 2016.

Chandale Shannon Jr. and Jesus Campos have pleaded not guilty to murder, kidnapping and weaponrelated charges in connection with the presumed deaths of Enrique Rios, 16, and 17-year-old Elijah Moore, whose bodies have never been found.

Testimony is expected to begin later this month following the selection of 12 jurors and five alternates, who will hear the four-week trial on a week-on, week-off format.

The trial is the second to be held in the case. The first, back in the fall of 2018, ended with David Ashley Froste’s conviction and sentencing to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

See TRIALS, Page A4

See COURT, Page A5

vaccine safety and the extent of the immune protection provided by a lower booster dose in adults who have received two prior doses,” said Angela Haczku, co-principal investigator on the trials and the associate dean for translational research at UC Davis Health.

The second study will analyze levels of the heart protein troponin I in participants before and after they have received Pfizer’s booster shot.

Sisson updates COVID-19 case data Supervisors put DiSC on

ballot despite loose ends

By Anne Ternus-Bellamy Enterprise staff writer Yolo County’s COVID-19 case rate has declined by 95 percent since the height of the Omicron surge in January, the county’s health officer told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, and COVID-19 hospitalizations have plummeted by 86 percent.

From an all-time high of 242 cases per 100,000 residents per day in January, the case rate hit 12.8 on Monday, said Dr. Aimee Sisson.

Hospitalizations have declined from a high of 29 in January to just four on Monday.

Now, for the first time since mid December, the

VOL. 124 NO. 29

INDEX

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By Anne Ternus-Bellamy Enterprise staff writer

Courtesy graphic

county no longer has high community transmission as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention but is instead in the orange “substantial transmission” category with 90 cases per 100,000 residents per week.

Dropping to the yellow “moderate transmission” category will require fewer

WEATHER Thursday: Sunny and breezy.

High 65. Low 38.

than 50 cases per 100,000 residents per week.

Meanwhile, even as the BA.2 Omicron subvariant makes up a larger percentage of new local cases — nearly 30 percent, according to the UC Davis Genome Center — Sisson said she does not expect

See DATA, Page A5

The Yolo County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday to place the Davis Innovation and Sustainability Campus on the June ballot, but not without some trepidation.

DiSC, which will be Measure H on the June 7 ballot, will require the annexation of county land by the city and issues related to both traffic and tax sharing between the entities remain unresolved.

The city previously adopted a resolution calling for DiSC to go before

voters and requested that the special municipal election be consolidated with the statewide primary election in June.

Normally the county would approve such a request with minimal discussion and on Tuesday the matter was on the board’s consent calendar for that purpose.

But the two county supervisors who represent Davis — Jim Provenza and Don Saylor — wanted further discussion, with Provenza saying he wanted a status report “as to whether

HOW TO REACH US www.davisenterprise.com Main line: 530-756-0800 Circulation: 530-756-0826

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Local

A2 THE DAVIS ENTERPRISE

Briefly Teen hurt in collision with car A 13-year-boy was injured Monday morning after being struck by a car, Davis police said.

Lt. Ilya Bezuglov said the teen failed to obey a stop sign while crossing Alhambra Boulevard on eastbound Fifth Street and was hit by the northbound vehicle shortly after 6 a.m.

An ambulance took the boy to an area hospital after he complained of pain to his head, Bezuglov said.

The driver was cooperative with police.

Sports medicine on ‘Timeout’ On the latest episode of “Timeout Radio,” host Rohan Baxi talks to Dr. Cassandra Lee and Dr. Brandee Waite from UC Davis Health, who are team doctors for Sacramento Republic FC, Sacramento’s professional soccer team.

Lee and Waite talk about what it is like to be team doctors for a major sport and how athletes can keep themselves healthy and fit.

In this episode’s travel segment, listeners will learn about Antarctica — the highest, driest, coldest, and windiest continent.

“Timeout Radio,” hosted by 15-year-old Rohan Baxi, is a radio show and podcast based in Davis for youths. It airs on KDRT 95.7 FM from 5:30 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays and 8 to 8:30 a.m. Saturdays.

About us 2022 Member

And they thought dogs were a problem

I

don’t have enough fingers and toes to count the number of kind folks who have sent me a story that could have happened right here in animal-loving Davis, but actually took place elsewhere.

“A feud between mail carriers, wild turkeys comes to a deadly climax near Sacramento,” screamed the headline in the esteemed Los Angeles Times.

Near Sacramento? Like 14 miles across the Causeway?

Alas, no such luck. Turns out the alleged poultry pummeling took place in the Arden Arcade area of Sacramento County.

Not that Davis is against using officialdom to end the lives of lovable, but sometimes aggressive turkeys, as the sad story of the late Downtown Tom proves.

“For months, mail carriers in the Sacramento County enclave of Arden Arcade have been terrorized by wild turkeys, at times disrupting deliveries,” The L.A. Times reports.

“This week, tensions between the fowl and one U.S. Postal Service worker reached a violent climax when the carrier killed a turkey while on duty, officials said, prompting an investigation by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.”

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It’s unclear from that paragraph whether the carrier or the turkey was on duty that day, but perhaps The Times was short on copy editors when this story was filed. “ ‘On Monday, one of the mail carriers actually had some kind of a stick or something in his vehicle,’ said Capt. Patrick Foy, a spokesman for the Department’s Law Enforcement Division. ‘And when one of the particularly aggressive male turkeys attacked him, he smacked it and killed it.’ “ Added Foy, who was unable to determine what sort of crime, if any, might have been committed, “Our job is to determine what exactly happened and then we fill out a report. We might send it to the district attorney, and the district attorney decides whether or not a crime has been committed.”

The U.S. Postal Service seemed to be a bit less forgiving in its

official statement.

“We have been working with the Department of Fish and Wildlife to mitigate the issue,” USPS said.

Given that the turkey is already dead, I’m not sure what kind of mitigation might be available.

“This allegation is alarming, and if true, is inexcusable and does not reflect the efforts of our more than 650,000 employees who faithfully serve and deliver for America every day.”

O

ddly, in this day and age when everyone is a videographer, so far no concrete video evidence has turned up to explain exactly what happened, although the turkey is no longer able to gobble his side of the story.

Apparently, certain neighbors had been incessantly feeding the turkey in question, causing it to gain so much weight it had attracted the attention of folks at the Guinness Book of World Feathers.

“I kind of know turkeys,” Foy added. “And I just looked at it and I’m like, this is the biggest turkey I’ve ever seen. It probably contributed to the massive size of the turkey in question because it was eating just an unlimited amount of food every day from this

particular household.”

Could it be that a “contributing to the delinquency of poultry” charge will be forthcoming?

Turns out a wildlife officer and a biologist looked into reports of aggressive turkeys in the area and observed four turkeys surround a mail carrier who resorted to swinging his bag in a futile effort to repel them.

I’m not sure what the turkeys thought was in that bag, which no doubt was filled to the brim with PG&E bills.

Our own Downtown Tom, of course, left the mail carriers alone, concentrating instead on cornering folks accessing local ATMs. Until all the details are known, if ever, people are going to continue to take sides, but it’s unlikely this is going to end well for the mail carrier in question. And, obviously, it already did not end well for First Class Tom. Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night nor angry birds stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.

Delivery is especially swift if a 50-pound turkey is giving chase.

— Reach Bob Dunning at bdunning@davisenterprise.net.

Request services with revamped My Davis app

By Anne Ternus-Bellamy Enterprise staff writer

Alex Blackwood, UC Davis/Courtesy photo

Finds at the Varsche Rivier 003 site in the Knersvlate region of South Africa show that humans thrived there 80,000 years ago, despite a tough climate.

UCD looks at origins of creativity

By Kathleen Holder Special to The Enterprises

California News Publishers Association

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2022

Between the time when early modern humans emerged in Africa and when they spread around the globe, they developed complex behaviors that enabled them — and us — to adapt and thrive in new environments.

Those behaviors — toolmaking, thinking and planning — evolved during the Middle Stone Age (315,000-40,000 years ago), but our current understanding of where, why and how the behaviors arose relies on spotty archaeological evidence.

The Middle Stone Age in southern Africa is best known from famous sites along the lush southern Cape Coast, such as Blombos Cave. But new research suggests people in the overlooked desert regions to the north sometimes lived very different, and in some ways more creative, lives.

In an article in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, Alex Mackay of University of Wollongong in Australia, Teresa Steele, professor of anthropology at UC Davis, and colleagues report that 80,000 to 92,000 years ago people occupying a site in the Knersvlakte region of southern Namaqualand, in what is now South Africa, were innovating in multiple ways, including: n Creating unique methods for producing stone tools by heating silcrete rocks to fracture along impurities n Transporting mollusk shells an unusually long distance from the coast n Producing technology from ostrich eggshells, their first known use as a medium for creativity These innovations, found at the Varsche Rivier 003 site, are not present in sites just 65 miles to the south, demonstrating a lack of connections between these contemporaneous populations.

“It might be adaptations in these periods of isolation that helps motivate innovation,” said Steele. However, Steele noted that a few thousand years later after a climatic shift, the occupants of Varsche Rivier 003 and the sites to the south began making the same stone tool industries, highlighting a change toward connections across wider geographic regions.

Culture and climate Steele and her colleagues began excavations in 2009 at the site of an ancient rock shelter in the arid Knersvlakte, a bioregion best known for its quartzgravel plains and endemic dwarf succulents, situated 27 miles east of South Africa’s Atlantic coast and 185 miles north of Cape Town.

Artifacts from the site date to a climate shift beginning about 92,000 years ago, when milder winds and increased summer rainfall made the region more hospitable to humans. After a few thousand years, the climate changed back to more like today, with most of the region’s 7 inches of average annual rainfall occurring in the winter.

But even during the climate shift, the Knersvlakte was a marginal environment, Steele said. “It was a tough place for huntergatherer-herders to make a living, even recently. Even when there was a little bit more moisture on the landscape, it wasn’t lush by any

means. The fact that people 80,000 years ago could thrive there tells us something about human adaptability,” she said.

More research is needed to reconstruct climate change in the region in the past and to shed more light on how the environment shaped innovation and culture, the researchers said.

Co-authors of the paper include UC Davis anthropology graduate student Patricia McNeill, who started with the project as a UC Davis undergraduate, and graduate alumnae Naomi Martisius and Susan Lagle. Martisius is now a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Tulsa, and Lagle is a Fulbright postdoctoral fellow at the University of Haifa in Israel.

Other co-authors are Simon Armitage of Royal Holloway, University of London; Elizabeth Niespolo and Warren Sharp of Berkeley Geochronology Center in Berkeley; Mareike Stahlschmidt of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany; Alexander Blackwood of La Trobe University in Bundoora, Australia; Kelsey Boyd and Corey A. O’Driscoll of University of Wollongong; Brian Chase of University of Montpellier in France; Chester F. Kaplan of Cape Town, South Africa; Marika A. Low of Blackheath, Australia; Ian Moffat and Rachel Rudd of Flinders University in Bedford Park, Australia; and Jayson Orton of the University of South Africa.

— UC Davis News

Have a pothole on your street that needs filling or a street light that’s out?

Concerned about a water leak or graffiti that needs removing?

Davis residents can submit service requests 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the city’s newly revamped service request system, My Davis.

The service request system was updated to streamline service categories to create a better user experience for community members, according to the city.

Visit https://cityofdavis .org/mydavis to submit a comment or request a service. My Davis is also available in the App Store for smartphones.

Since the system was first launched in 2014, more than 11,000 resident requests have been received, including 4,500 just between November

2019 and November 2020.

Among the categories in which service requests can be made are code enforcement, park maintenance, city bills, tree service, street conditions and more. The app and the website system are not meant to be used for reporting emergencies.

“If you have a city service request, My Davis is the most effective and efficient way to report your concern. It enables city staff to log and track the thousands of requests that come in each year,” said Mayor Gloria Partida.

Said Vice Mayor Lucas Frerichs: “The My Davis update includes a customer focused interface with streamlined request categories.

“I strongly encourage community members to download this free app (or visit the website) and let the city know if you have a request.”

On ‘Davisville’: Live music is back as restrictions ease up Special to The Enterprise The expanding return of live music in Davis is welcome news for musicians and audiences, and another sign of the area’s emerging recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

On the latest edition of the KDRT program “Davisville,” guests Danny Tomasello, Sam Misner and Megan Smith talk about the “hodgepodge” return of concerts so far, changes from the pandemic that are likely to endure, the Davis Music Fest this June, and the need for someone to keep track of local music the way that Davis Enterprise columnist Wendy Weitzel tracks local businesses and places to eat.

Misner and Smith are musicians, and Tomasello is the founder and former director of the Davis Music Fest, as well

as the treasurer and a board member of the Davis Live Music Collective. The collective produces the festival.

“Davisville,” hosted by Bill Buchanan, is broadcast on KDRT-LP, 95.7 FM Mondays at 5:30 p.m., Tuesdays at 5 p.m., Fridays at 12:30 p.m., and Saturdays at 8:30 a.m.

The current program will be broadcast through March 19, and is available anytime at https://kdrt. org/davisville or on Apple podcasts.

Living

THE DAVIS ENTERPRISE

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2022 A3

Answers on a postcard, from A to Z Dear Julian, I am so happy to know that you and your kindergarten classmates in Casper, Wyoming are learning about the states that make up the wonderful country where we live. Your mom (who I have known since she was in kindergarten) shared your request for a postcard and I am excited to share.

Here is my postcard with a list of reasons I love California.

I hope you and your family can come visit California someday soon. Until then, have fun learning!

Sincerely, Shelley ———— ll Are Welcome — This is probably my favorite thing about California.

We are a state made up of all different kinds of people from lots of different places. When my kids were younger, there were students from over 40 different countries at their school. Over 40 different languages, customs, celebrations, histories. We welcome everyone.

Blue Jeans — I know that Wyoming is famous for its cowboys and that cowboys wear blue jeans. Guess where those blue jeans were invented? In San Francisco, California in 1873 by a man named Levi Strauss.

Chandelier Tree — California is lucky to have the biggest, tallest trees in the world. The California redwoods grow to be over 350 feet tall and our favorite tree is so big around that you can drive a car right through a tunnel made in the trunk. Its official name is the Chandelier Tree, but we call it the Drive-Thru Tree.

One time when we drove through the tree, we got a flat tire. But that’s a story for another time.

There are lots of D words to describe California — Diversity, Death Valley, Donner Lake — but let’s be honest, Disneyland is the best! And I’ll bet I don’t need to teach you anything about Disneyland.

Eureka! — The California state motto is one word: Eureka!

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It means “I have found it” and was first spoken by Archimedes, a Greek scientist who would be 2,309 years old if he was alive today. Archimedes shouted “Eureka!” when he figured out how to measure the amount of gold in the King’s crown (it’s a long story that involves Archimedes getting into the bathtub and making the water overflow).

“Eureka!” was shouted again about 2,100 years later in 1849 when Californians found gold in the California hills.

Fortune Cookies — What is your favorite treat after eating all your orange chicken from the Hibachi Supreme Buffet at the mall? Yep! A fortune cookie!

Fortune cookies were actually a Japanese tea cookie, but some Chinese immigrants in San Francisco decided they liked them and started to serve them in Chinese restaurants in California.

They made them so famous that you will find fortune cookies in Chinese restaurants all over our country. But guess where you won’t find any fortune cookies? In China! When you come to visit California, go to Ross Alley in San Francisco and you can look through a back door in the alley and watch them making fortune cookies. Fun! Golden Gate Bridge — The Golden Gate Bridge is one of the most famous bridges in the world. It is a big, beautiful suspension bridge that connects the city of San Francisco to Marin County. It is almost a mile long, is painted a bright reddishorange color and is traveled by over 100,000 cars every day. On one side of the bridge is the San Francisco Bay. On the other side is the Pacific Ocean. When you

Courtesy photo

Where else but California? Wish you were here. come visit, you can park your car and walk across the bridge on a sidewalk on the edge of the car lanes.

Highway 1 — If you like road trips, you must come to California and drive Highway 1. The mostly two-lane highway is 650 miles long and runs almost the whole length of California along the Pacific Ocean. You will see Monarch butterflies, elephant seals and blue, gray and humpback whales. I recommend that this ride is best enjoyed in a convertible with the top down and your hair blowing in the wind.

Indio — Indio, Calif., is famous for lots of things, but my favorite is the Indio Date Festival. We are not talking about dates where two grownups go to a movie, eat ice cream and then kiss goodnight. We are talking about a fruit that grows on palm trees. It is the same fruit that you will find in that awful Christmas fruitcake that you get from your great aunt when she comes to visit. They are delicious (when they’re not in the fruitcake). At the famous Date Festival, you can eat all sorts of treats with dates. Our favorite is the date milkshake. If I could send you a date milkshake, I would. But that probably wouldn’t work out very well.

Jelly Belly — I am proud to say that the best jelly beans in the world come from the Jelly Belly Candy Company in Fair-

field, Calif. They make all kinds of flavors like grape soda, bubble gum and peach. There are also some really weird flavors: stink bug, toothpaste and booger. I’m not brave enough to try those.

The best thing about Jelly Belly is that you can take your own self-guided tour through their factory and see how they make the jelly beans. P.S. I don’t think there are real boogers in the booger jelly bean.

Kirby Cove — The second-best place in the entire world to have a picnic is Kirby Cove. It is a picnic area high up on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. From Kirby Cove, you can see the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Bridge, the San Francisco skyline, and whales jumping in the ocean. There are raccoons and deer and lots of places to hike.

Also, bring your marshmallows, because there’s a big firepit where you can make s’mores for dessert. (Oh! The first best place in the entire world to have a picnic? Beartrap Meadow, of course).

Legoland — It is the Land of Legos. If you go, you can stay at a hotel with bunkbeds made from Legos, meet the Mini-Figures and ride a Lego rollercoaster. What more do you need to know?

Mount Shasta — One of our favorite mountains is Mount Shasta. It is a single mountain that rises up out of nowhere. It’s

over 14,000 feet tall and towers over the little town of Weed, Calif. (yep, there is a town called Weed. Isn’t that funny?). Even on the hottest summer day, you can usually see snow at the top.

Whenever we go on vacation, we tell our kids that the first person to see Mount Shasta will win a dollar. There’s another little tiny mountain right next to Mount Shasta. It’s real name is Black Butte, but we like to call it Diet Shasta.

Night sky — Many people in California care a lot about the world around them (just like the people in Wyoming). A few years ago, the people in my town were worried that we had too many street lights that pointed up, making it hard to see the stars at night. So the leaders in the town wrote something called the Dark Sky Ordinance that required special street lights that shined down instead of up. That made it possible to see the stars at night.

Isn’t that nice?

Orange Groves — When you go to the grocery store in Casper and buy a big, beautiful orange, you can thank California. You’ve probably been thanking Florida this whole time, but chances are, that great big juicy orange came from the Golden State. When you travel down the highway to Disneyland, the roads in Southern California are lined with miles and miles of orange groves, trees with dark green leaves and bright happy oranges. It is a sight to see!

Poppies — Our state flower is the California poppy. It is a bright orange flower with delicate petals. California kids grow up believing they’ll go to jail if they pick a poppy. I don’t know if that’s true, but we’re not taking any chances.

Queen Mary — Once upon a time, there was a huge, fancy ship that would take rich and famous people across the ocean to England and then back to the United States. It was built after the Titanic sank into the ocean.

It was bigger, faster and fancier

See HUMBLE, Page A4

Divergent wines to appeal to a new generation

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recent study that’s getting attention in the wine world reports that while wine consumption among “boomers” has remained steady or increased, it’s diminishing in younger generations. Some speculate that craft beer and craft cocktails have provided a needed corrective to the decidedly un-craft nature of Big Wines. I’m not a beer drinker, but I’d certainly choose a wellmade IPA over a glass of over-oaked (and aren’t most cheap reds overoaked?) zinfandel.

Younger (than I — which is a very low bar) drinkers do, though, according to this study, gravitate to more “natural” small production wines.

But the relatively high prices of these wines, especially in restaurants, can deter. Eight dollars for a pint of really good local pale ale, $12 for an elderflower gimlet, or $18 for a (small) glass of Hobo Zinfandel? A second glass seriously increases the evening’s bill.

I’ve used zinfandel as an example in part because the grape has played a big role in our state’s wine industry and it illustrates well the divides of industrial-vs.-small production, manipulated-vs.-“natural,” and fruit bomb-vs.-food wine.

I remember drinking cheap zin as a student then graduating to mid-range bottles — and in those intervening years, the oak and alcohol of this particular red has risen to some mind-boggling heights, whether cheap, mid-range or downright expensive.

There is, for example, a $55 zin on the Co-op shelves with a 15.5% alcohol content and a $30

bottle with 16.1%!

I mentioned zin also because I really like the spiciness of the variety and regret that more alcoholmoderate bottles are so rare. One solution is to look for Italian primitivo.

Primitivo, by the way, is the same grape as zinfandel (proven by, of course, the good folks at UCD), both clones of an ancient Croatian grape whose name I can’t pronounce.

Primitivo’s hardly fashionable; there’s not much of it on wine source shelves and if there is it’s often nondescript. So when I found the Fuso “Calx” Primitivo at Solano Cellars in Berkeley (and if you’ve never been there or to its Vintage Berkeley sibling, you owe yourselves that short trip — you can visit both while you’re in town) and saw the staff description, I was excited.

The blurb: “Have you ever wondered what Hi-C fruit punch would taste like if it took form as a naturally produced, minimally sulfured or manipulated, crushableas-can-be primitivo from Puglia? Well here’s your answer — it would taste like ‘Calx,’ a collaboration between one of our favorite importers and a collective of farmers striving to introduce no-nonsense, authentic wines to the American drinker ... This is gluggable stuff, all snappy red fruit and orange zest, ripping acidity

and a wonderfully light body. Don’t be surprised if this bottle goes fast.”

The bottle got a rousing recommendation from the guy at the desk, too.

This bottle turned out to be the bright spicy wine that’s zin at its best — one that we talked about all through dinner just because it was so unusual and interesting, with a fleeting burst of wild mustard, a wild red berriessummer fig middle and a satisfying finish. (Don’t be put off by that Hi-C fruit punch remark — it tastes nothing like that!)

We drank it with Market Place porcini ravioli (also bought on that Berkeley trip) in homemade red sauce — a perfect and perfectly fun pairing. It was perfect on its own as well; we lingered over the wine long after the food was gone. At $17, I wish I had bought several more bottles.

Alcohol content? 12.5%.

Yes, as Sierra foothills vintners argue, warmer climes often produce more sugary, higher-alcohol wines. But only if you let the grapes sit too long on

the vine; primitivo/zinfandel ripens early (hence the “primitivo” moniker), so the harvest time is especially crucial. Puglia, that far-south area of Italy, is hardly a cool climate, but this primitivo is evidence of what careful planning can do. Another piece of evidence: Craig Haarmeyer’s “Calaveras Zinfandel,” a delicious, elegant Sierra foothills red (grapes picked early) that I wrote about last year, comes in at just 11.7% ($30, Co-op).

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nd I’ve now discovered an equally elegant zin/primitivo, The Divergent Vine Estate 2020 (I do love the name).

At 13% it’s not quite so low in alcohol as the Haarmeyer and at $27 (The Pip) is a bit less expensive.

This one’s labeled primitivo with the claim that this Italian clone has smaller berries than California zin — thus more concentration and structure. Grapes from the Gold Dust Vineyard in Fair Play, the wine was aged in old French oak for 11 months and bottled without filtration.

Grower and non-interventionist winemaker Aaron Bryan made this minerally, berry-rich, spicy red that’s both delicious

and food-friendly (definitely not the case with its fruit-bomb sibs). We drank the bottle with a mushroom pizza, but I’m imagining it with a braised lamb dish — just in time for spring. It’s fairly tannic and has enough bright acidity to cut through fat and enliven just about anything. Aaron describes himself as “an unknownnon-traditionally-trained winemaker trying to make it in the crazy wine industry.” This is his first estate primitivo — a winner.

While you’re splurging on this lovely earthy spring red, balance your budget with a couple of not-sosplurgy ($15) spring wines from The Pip as well. I recommend first a Spanish white — a crisp but lush, dry but flavorful, verdejo made with organic grapes from Vega de Tera winery.

It was wonderful with a dinner of rock-cod tacos, black beans and cabbage en escabeche. Second, try the Italian Le Fraghe Bardolino. This bright, fruity and dry red from the Venice region is also organic.

Nearly as food-friendly as the verdejo, I enjoyed every sip with our minestrone and garlic bread supper.

I’m hopeful that with

increased availability of natural wines and use of wine preservation systems, restaurants can moderate their wine prices and carry more “naturals,” enticing a new generation of wine drinkers. While I have some competition from their Uncle Jakob’s craft beer at Northspur Brewing, I’m working on the grandkids. How can they (delighters in language as all of them are) resist a sip or two from Divergent Vine or Hobo?

— Susana Leonardi is a Davis resident; reach her at vinosusana@gmail.

Local

A4 THE DAVIS ENTERPRISE

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2022

HUMBLE: Trains, boats and Zamora From Page A3 than the Titanic and it never sank. It doesn’t sail on the ocean anymore, but it is parked in the Pacific Ocean near Long Beach, California. You can still stay in the fancy rooms with velvet wallpaper and eat in the restaurants, but you’ll have to pretend about being out in the middle of the ocean.

Railroad — The railroad has a great history in California because when it was finished being built, it connected our whole country together. Finally, people were able to travel across the country and it didn’t take weeks or months.

Also, the railroad made it possible (and still makes it possible) for kids in Wyoming to have a fresh tomato in the middle of January. My favorite thing about the railroad is that my kids can use it to come home from college and that we can use it to travel to fun places. One time, my family took a train trip through California and slept in bunkbeds in a sleeping car. I love trains and you can’t have trains without a railroad, right?

Secret Slides of San Francisco — This one is kind of a secret, so don’t tell too many people. If you go to the Noe Valley neighborhood in San Francisco, you will find the Seward Street Slides. It’s a city park, but tiny, without swings or monkey bars or green grass. Just slides.

Two steep, twisty concrete slides, side by side, built into the side of a hill. They look pretty scary from the top, but, boy, are they fun.

Sit down on your bum,

pull your elbows in and fly down the hill. Bring a piece of cardboard so you don’t wear a hole in your pants.

Tacos — We know everybody likes tacos. But in California, we really love our tacos. At our house, every Tuesday is Taco Tuesday. We have taco trucks that park in gas station parking lots and taco carts on street corners that serve little tiny tacos called street tacos. A few years ago, one California town had a contest called the Taco Trail with 40 restaurants serving tacos. Whoever ate the most tacos won the Taco Trophy.

Universal Studios — Universal Studios is an amusement park in Hollywood with fun rides and characters in costume. It’s a little like Disneyland but instead of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, you’ll meet Scooby Doo, Harry Potter, Curious George and the dinosaurs from Jurassic Park. And you get to learn about how your favorite movies are made.

Valencia Street — One of my favorite streets in the world is Valencia Street in San Francisco. It has alleys with bright, colorful murals, fun bookstores and thrift stores where you can find really crazy stuff. Our favorite place on Valencia Street is The Pirate Store. They sell pirate supplies like eye patches, wooden legs, pirate flags and weird bottles of scurvy treatment.

And where else will you find a supply of Eye of Newt? The Pirate Store is a must-see.

Waves — California has 840 miles of coastline.

That’s a lot of ocean waves.

We have little waves that tickle your toes and big waves that will steal your sand bucket and send it to Japan. We love all of them.

But they are a little bit like the bears in Wyoming.

They can be big and powerful and scary, so we are always careful and we treat them with respect and care.

Exhilarating, exciting, full of experts — California is exhilarating (you can surf big waves, climb majestic mountains, sail the ocean, race on your bicycle), exciting (root for your favorite team — the San Francisco 49ers, the Oakland As, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the UC Davis Aggies), full of experts (there are so many talented people in California who create movies, write books, paint beautiful paintings, work to keep the oceans clean, create new ways to keep people healthy).

Yosemite — There is so much natural beauty in California. One of the most beautiful places is Yosemite National Park. If you go, you will see giant Sequoia trees that are more than 2,000 years old, granite mountains and tall waterfalls.

You can camp, hike, climb mountains and take beautiful pictures. Don’t

forget your camera!

Zamora — Zamora, Calif., is a little town about 20 miles up the road from where I live. It used to have a grocery store, a barbershop, a butcher shop and schools. There aren’t many businesses left there today and the schools closed a few years ago. The kids who live there go to school in a nearby town now. Zamora reminds me so much of lots of little towns in our country. It reminds me of little towns in Wyoming. Once in a while, we’ll drive to Zamora to go to church in their little chapel.

We also love to see the blossoms on the almond trees that grow in Zamora.

One of the nicest things I’ve read in a long time is that, even though the town doesn’t have any businesses or schools anymore, it still has a 4H Club with kids who participate. One person said, “The 4H Club is what keeps our town together.”

Isn’t that great? That struggling little town stays together because of their kids. Probably kids who are a lot like you and your friends. Learning and growing and making our country a better place.

— Shelley Dunning is a Davis resident and a mom of four. Reach her at dunningsm@gmail.com..

Davis Health/Enterprise file photo

UC Davis Health’s Sacramento clinic is recruiting doublevaccinated participants for a pair of new clinical trials.

TRIALS: Fight against COVID keeps going From Page A1 receiving the placebo.

The participants will attend five clinic visits over the course of two months.

The CTSC Clinical Research Center (CCRC), whose staff received the Patient Safety Innovation Award in 2021 for supporting research on COVID-19 vaccines, is providing patient care and research services for

both clinical trials.

“Thanks to our experience in clinical practices and protocols, we at the CCRC are able to ensure the highest quality and integrity of research,” said Christopher Kain, associate director and registered nurse at the CCRC. “We are proud to support our researchers in their quest to fight COVID-19.”

— Reach Caleb Hampton at champton@ davisenterprise.net.

Local

THE DAVIS ENTERPRISE

COURT: Case faced repeated delays From Page A1 Prosecutors say Froste orchestrated and carried out the teens’ killings after Moore robbed him of $300 worth of marijuana in a Woodland parking lot in October 2016, and that Campos, 22, and Shannon, 25, took part in both killings.

Froste’s brother Jonathan, who admitted to playing a role in Moore’s abduction and death, admitted to second-degree murder in exchange for his testimony for the prosecution.

The case experienced repeated delays since David Froste’s conviction, and not only due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Campos, a juvenile at the time of the alleged murders, underwent court proceedings that resulted in his case being elevated to adult court.

Shannon, who according to his attorney and family is on the autism spectrum, twice had his court proceedings suspended when his lawyer cast doubt on his mental capacity to stand trial. Both times, courtappointed psychologists deemed him competent for the proceedings.

Back in November, Shannon was on the verge of accepting a plea deal but ultimately rejected the

Courtesy photos

Enrique Rios, left, and Elijah Moore, as they were pictured in missing-person fliers following their 2016 disappearances. offer, which would have resulted in a sentence of 36 years to life in exchange for his plea to murder and voluntary manslaughter counts.

Campos received a similar offer but also said no, his counter-offers for lesser amounts of time turned down by prosecutors.

———— Many of this week’s prospective jurors are expected to have some knowledge of the high-profile homicide case, which has garnered numerous headlines since the teens’ disappearances nearly six years ago.

It was Rios who vanished first, targeted by David Froste following the parking-lot robbery and a failed search for Moore after he fled, according to prior courtroom testimony and

the defendants’ own statements.

Enraged, Froste took Shannon and Campos — both of whom witnessed the robbery — to Esparto to pick up Rios, Moore’s close friend, promising to take him "to party." But when Rios refused to lure Moore to him, Froste fatally shot the teen.

Several weeks later, the defendants, this time including Froste’s younger brother Jonathan, abducted Moore in a Woodland shopping center, forced him into the trunk of a car and drove him to a rural area near Knights Landing, where the foursome took turns bludgeoning him with a tree branch before David Froste shot him.

Both Shannon and

Jonathan Froste described the killings during jailhouse interviews with The Davis Enterprise following their June 2018 arrests.

"I’m just a witness that didn’t call the police," Shannon said at the time.

"The only reason I didn’t call the police is because David had threatened me. … I know it was the right thing to do, but I didn’t have the courage.”

Jonathan Froste, who spoke with The Enterprise following his September 2018 no-contest plea, promised to “pay for my crimes.”

“I know I took more than a human. I took someone’s son, brother, cousin, nephew, grandson and friend from this world, and now more than ever do I see the damage that I caused,” Froste said, reading from a letter he wrote to the victims’ mothers. "I pray that I will be able to make up for my choices and be able to give back to the world.”

Jonathan Froste is expected to receive a prison sentence of 15 years to life once the case concludes.

David Froste, now 31, is serving his life sentence at Salinas Valley State Prison in Soledad.

— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene.

DATA: Yolo County Jail hit by virus outbreak From Page A1 BA.2 to cause a surge in new cases.

Over the last week, BA.2 increased from 16 percent of cases in Yolo County to 29 percent, though cases overall continued to decline.

“BA.2 is more infectious than the original BA.1 Omicron variant,” Sisson said, “but it does not cause more severe disease nor is it likely to reinfect someone who was already infected with BA.1.”

———— One local population that continues to deal with a surge of cases is the Yolo County jail.

An outbreak began in the Woodland facility in January and resurged in mid to late February, Sisson said, with 82 inmates in custody testing positive, 47 of them since Feb. 10.

“Multiple housing units have been impacted,” said Sisson.

Last week, she said, a state outbreak response team tested all inmates in the jail and will return later this week to test again.

Meanwhile, “movement of inmates within the jail, and between the jail and the court have been reduced to minimize spread of COVID-19,” she said.

County health officials continue to offer vaccinations weekly in the jail.

———— Countywide, there has been slow growth in the proportion of county residents who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as well as those who have received boosters, said Sisson.

“Nearly 70 percent of all Yolo County residents are fully vaccinated against COVID-19,” she said, and “nearly 60 percent of those eligible for boosters have received them.”

Those numbers increased modestly during the Omicron surge.

On Dec. 6, just as the surge was getting underway, Sisson reported that 63.6 percent of county residents were fully vaccinated.

That increased to 66.4 percent on Jan. 10 and 68.5 percent on Feb. 6. As of Monday, the rate stands at 69.5 percent.

Among county residents 65 and older, however, 95 percent are fully vaccinated

and over 75 percent have received their booster shots, Sisson said.

———— The availability of vaccines for nearly everyone ages 5 and up, along with available treatments and, of course, declining case rates, are among the reasons why the state dropped its mandatory indoor masking mandate recently and Yolo County followed suit.

But Sisson acknowledge Tuesday that “not everybody in Yolo County feels comfortable with the transition away from required masking to recommended masking for various reasons.”

However, Sisson said, she is confident “that moving to a recommendation is the right thing to do at this time” in part because of the effectiveness of what’s called “one-way” masking.

“Because we now have masks that both fit and filter well, not everybody has to be masked for somebody at high risk to be well protected against COVID,” Sisson said. “Instead, those seeking increased COVID protection can protect themselves by wearing a mask like an N95, KN95 or KF94 over their mouth and nose with a good seal against their face.

“Not only has one-way masking been protecting healthcare providers against respiratory illness for years, it has been shown to protect against COVID19 in the real world with

members of the general public,” Sisson said. “A recent study done in California found that people who always wore an N95 or KN95 mask in indoor public spaces, were 83 percent less likely to test positive for COVID than those who didn’t wear a mask.”

———— Among those most concerned about the elimination of mask mandates have been individuals who are immunocompromised.

But there are a variety of ways they can protect themselves, Sisson said, beginning with masking but also including vaccinations and new treatments.

First, immunocompromised individuals are eligible for a fourth dose of an mRNA vaccine three months after receiving their third dose, noted Sisson.

And those who won’t mount a full response to vaccination or who have allergies that prevent vaccination may also be eligible for Evusheld, an injection of monoclonal antibodies that can protect against infection for several months.

“Evusheld is now available locally in Yolo County,” Sisson said.

Finally, she said, there are at least four treatments for those infected with COVID-19 who are at high risk of developing severe disease: Paxlovid, an oral antiviral pill that must be started within five days of

symptom onset; Sotrovimab, a monoclonal antibody given within seven days of symptoms starting; Bebtelovimab, another monoclonal antibody that must be given within seven days of the onset of symptoms; and Molnupiravir, an oral antiviral given within five days of symptoms starting.

Paxlovid, Sisson said, is 90 percent effective at keeping people out of the hospital, and is now available by prescription at pharmacies in Davis, West Sacramento and Woodland, along with CommuniCare clinics.

In Davis, she cited CVS as a pharmacy with Paxlovid in stock.

Supervisor Don Saylor of Davis said he has “heard anecdotes of people not being able to locate or access those treatments.

“How would you advise someone to be sure they have access to those treatments?” he asked Sisson.

“It depends on which treatment they’re trying to access,” she replied.

“If it’s an oral antiviral because they’ve already been infected, they need a prescription from their healthcare provider and then that healthcare provider can either call pharmacies or go online to the inventory tracking website to see which pharmacies have (them) in stock and direct the prescription there,” said Sisson.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2022 A5

DISC: County works to resolve last issues From Page A1 we’ve made enough progress to consolidate this with our June election.”

Interim County Administrator Chad Rinde said county staff “have been working in good faith with staff from city of Davis since approximately November to work through issues related to land use and tax sharing on Measure H. “There were a number of initial concerns and we’ve been working through those,” he said, citing ag mitigation, drainage, funding support for the library, traffic and tax sharing.

“We resolved a number of those and the residual issues that we’re still left trying to resolve are related to traffic concerns, where city roads and county roads intersect in that area.

“There (is) already presently a high volume of traffic and we want to make sure the project contains effective mitigation,” Rinde said.

A tax sharing agreement must also be reached.

“Those conversations are continuing productively, albeit slow, and we do have meetings scheduled to try to resolve those issues in the next two weeks with the city,” Rinde told supervisors.

He noted that while county policy is to resolve such issues prior to placing an item on the ballot, “we are making steady progress and I would recommend the board approve this item.”

At the same time, he said, “we should signal to the city that the county is interested in concluding these conversations in the near future so they can be resolved and there’s clarity for both the county board and hopefully for the voters before we get close to that vote happening in June.”

Saylor agreed that progress is being made, but said, “it’s short of the bar at this point.

“If we resolve this, then that’s wonderful, and we do want to support our city in advancing their cause, but we’re doing it with some trepidation at this point.”

Supervisor Gary Sandy of Woodland said he was troubled about not knowing “the full status of what the resolution of these different issues will be.

“In other words, we’re being asked to approve a work in progress from what I understand,” said Sandy.

“We do still have the ability to deny the annexation,” said Provenza.

“Our hope is not to do that and to resolve issues, which is why we wanted to resolve things before this was placed on the ballot.”

But the city’s decision

to fast-track DiSC to the June ballot has prevented that, he said.

“We’re going to work diligently, and hearing that the city is working in good faith, I’m comfortable going forward with at least approving the measure to go on our consolidated election ballot,” said Provenza.

Saylor said he agreed but, “I will tell you it’s been a slog.”

The board ultimately voted unanimously to place DiSC on the ballot with Sandy saying, “I will trust that the process and the players will act in our best interests and move forward.”

In response to the concerns expressed by supervisors, Davis City Councilman Dan Carson said, “I am proud that the good-faith negotiations that Mayor (Gloria) Partida and I and our staff have engaged in with county officials over the DISC 2022 project have already resulted in important gains for our community. This includes a $2 million commitment of funds from the DISC applicant to build the long-stalled South Davis county library and their agreement to provide mitigation of agricultural land at an unprecedented three to one ratio as the county sought.

“Our detailed analysis indicates that this project, which will have a $1 billion economic impact across the county, will provide a substantial windfall for the county in both ongoing revenues and fees that will far exceed the cost to the county of providing public services to the project.”

Carson added that, “We reached amicable taxshare agreement with Supervisors Saylor and Provenza over the Bretton Woods and Nishi projects, and we are confident we will achieve the same result for DISC 2022.”

It was less than two years ago — in November 2020 — that the original DISC proposal went before voters and was turned down on a 52-48 vote.

Developer Dan Ramos returned to the city last summer with a slimmeddown version of the proposal that he said reflected community concerns.

“DiSC 2022,” as the latest iteration is named, would bring about 1.1 million square-feet of office, laboratory and advanced manufacturing space, as well as 460 housing units, to open space directly east of Mace Boulevard and north of I-80.

— Reach Anne TernusBellamy at aternus@ davisenterprise.net.

Follow her on Twitter at @ATernusBellamy.

The Green Page

A6 THE DAVIS ENTERPRISE

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2022

Make your gardening help with climate

By Jennifer Gilbert and Dawn Calciano

Environmental

Special to The Enterprise

update

I

f you’re changing or adding to your garden this spring, consider green gardening, the practice of looking at landscaping principles through an environmentally focused approach in order to create a sustainable landscape for years to come. Here are just a few items to consider when greening your garden: n Consider Your Goals. When designing your landscape, keep your goals in mind. Is your goal to grow food? Attract pollinators? Reduce water usage? Have year-round color or create a relaxing outdoor sanctuary?

Thinking through the outcome you wish to achieve with your landscape in advance will help to determine plant selection, irrigation layout and

maintenance needs. n Plan for Stormwater. Consider ways to keep water from running off from your property and into the stormdrain. Retain rainwater on site by redirecting downspouts to landscape areas, incorporating rain gardens, dry creek beds or swales, permeable pavements, and adding rain barrels to your garden. To keep soil and mulch onsite, create borders around your landscape so materials are not washed away by rain or wind. Protect waterways by using natural and less-toxic pest control options (visit OurWaterOurWorld.org for details). n Optimize Water Efficiency.

Consider plants’ water needs.

Hydrozoning (grouping plants by water-usage needs), ensures

that all plants receive the appropriate amount of water. If you haven’t already, consider switching your irrigation system to drip irrigation to provide water directly to plants and reduce runoff. Always check that your irrigation system is functioning properly and repair any broken or misaligned sprinkler heads. n Choose Green Materials.

Green building materials can be incorporated into your landscape. Consider using old fence boards and scrap lumber to build planting beds and use wood chips from tree removal companies for mulch. Other reused, recycled, or sustainable building materials can add character and needed enrichment to your yard while diverting materials that might have otherwise ended up in the landfill. n Build Sustainable Soils.

Ensure the continued health of

your landscape by incorporating compost, manures and/or other natural fertilizers into your soil prior to planting. Use mulch to maintain soil moisture, keep soil and plant roots cool, and reduce weeds. n Make a Home (or a Pit Stop) for Wildlife. Residential landscapes can serve as safe wildlife travel corridors and can go a long way to encourage residency of beneficial species. Consider pollinator plants that help support native bees, butterflies, and birds. Install bat and/or barn owl boxes to keep insects and rodent populations under control. n Reduce Garden Waste.

When choosing plants, consider how much work you want to put into maintaining your landscape and the amount of yard trimmings different landscapes might generate. To minimize

maintenance work, select plants that grow more slowly and don’t require frequent pruning. Be sure to choose the right plant for the space available. n “Leaf ” it Onsite. If you do have leaves and other yard trimmings, consider “leafing” them on site and using them as an alternative to mulch. Instead of bagging grass clippings, try using the mulch feature on your mower.

You can also try composting yard trimmings on site in a backyard compost pile.

Find more green gardening information and resource links at GreenerDavis.org and SaveDavisWater.org.

— Jennifer Gilbert and Dawn Calciano are Conservation Coordinators with the City of Davis; this column is published monthly. Reach them at PWWeb@CityofDavis.org.

Yolo Audubon offers free outings to check out bird life Special to The Enterprise The Yolo Audubon Society will offer two free field trips, as well as a virtual talk on the use of eBird, an online site and app to track birds. All of the events are free and open to the public.

The first field trip is to North Davis Ponds, on Saturday, March 12, with Chris Dunford and friends. The pond at Northstar Park and the Julie Partansky Pond (North Area Drainage Basin) attract a variety of land birds as well as water birds year-round.

The group will meet at 9 a.m. at the 3500 Anderson Road parking lot for a slow-moving stroll around the ponds, and will finish no later than noon. The trip will cater to beginners as well as intermediate-level birders. Participants should bring binoculars. No registration is necessary.

The virtual program, eBird, the Basics, will be presented by club members Emmett Iverson and Zane Pickus on Wednesday, March 16 at 7:00 PM. Those interested should register for the Zoom event at yoloaudubon.org or yoloaudubon.facebook. com. The March 19 field trip will be a complement to this talk.

Since it was launched by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in 2002, eBird has become an important tool for researchers and the largest citizen science project in the world. The data drawn from millions of eBird observations worldwide has become a pivotal tool for studying overall population trends and migration timing. EBird appeals to birders for its ability to keep track of sightings in one easily

be found at ebird.org and accounts are free.

Zane Pickus/Courtesy photo

A northern harrier takes wing. accessible place, information on thousands of species of birds, and the ability to find out about observations of rare birds.

The presentation will focus on the basics, such as creating an account, and creating and submitting

“checklists”. The program will be geared towards those who are interested in getting started with eBird, as well as those who want to get more familiar with features such as the “Species Map” and “Explore Hotspots” pages. EBird can

The second field trip, eBirding the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area, will be on Saturday, March 19, from 7 a.m. until noon. This trip will focus on use of the eBird app. EBird has tremendous value to birders of all levels, and the app makes it easy to create checklists and log bird sightings. Leaders Emmett Iverson and Zane Pickus will be gearing the trip towards those with little eBird experience and the benefits of using the eBird app.

The Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area is a wonderful place see birds and witness the changing season. Ducks will be lingering, shorebirds will be arriving, and there should be plenty of raptors and songbirds to enjoy.

The group will meet at the Davis park-and-ride, behind Ikeda’s Market at 7:00am. Please bring water, snacks, sunscreen, and dress appropriately. No registration is necessary, but participants should create an eBird account and download the eBird app for iOS or Android prior to the trip. Information on how to do this will be presented at the March 16 presentation.

More information on the speakers and the events is available at the websites.

YAS, a chapter of the National Audubon Society, is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to foster an appreciation of birds and conservation in Yolo County. The group offers live and virtual events to educate and inform the public about birds and birdwatching.

DAVIS SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2022

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Indoor mask mandate to be lifted at Davis schools

By Shira Kalish HUB Staff At the March 3 school board meeting, the board voted unanimously to lift the indoor mask mandate at Davis schools beginning on April 11.

The board members made this decision following the announcement that the California indoor school mask mandate will end after March 11. The board chose the April 11 date for DJUSD because it is anticipated that there may be a surge in COVID cases after spring break, and this date falls two weeks after the break.

At the board meeting, before the decision was made, more than 25 parents along with a few students and teachers made public comments both for and against the lifting of the mask mandate.

Many who wanted it lifted claimed that children benefit socially from seeing people’s entire faces.

Suzanne O’Keefe, parent of two children who attend Harper Junior High, said that she believes it is safe to remove the indoor mask mandate due to the high vaccination rate of children and teenagers in Davis.

“We need to see each other smile. We need to restore expression … We need to allow children, the group least at-risk from COVID-19 and seemingly most at-risk from negative psychological damage from the COVID restrictions, the freedom to communicate normally with teachers and classmates,” O’Keefe said.

Some parents claimed that masks are ineffective at slowing the spread of COVID19. Some claimed that COVID-19 is no longer a threat at all.

A parent of children who attend DJUSD schools, who did not share her full name at the board meeting, said that “I am supportive of whatever decision you want to make for yourself and your family, I just believe that you should not have the right to make those decisions for me and my children.”

However, Davis High science teacher Jean-Paul Whittall opposed the idea that masking should be seen as a choice that individuals make for their own comfort and health.

“We set behavioral expectations based on community welfare over personal preference … masking was never about protecting yourself only, but protecting others from what you might be carrying,” Whittall said.

Those who wanted to keep the mask mandate voiced concerns surrounding the safety of students and teachers, particularly those who are most at-risk for severe illness from COVID-19 or who live with vulnerable loved ones.

“What about students who are immunocompromised? We can’t forget about them. What about

students who live with their grandparents? We can’t forget about them. What about students with parents like my mother who work in health care and interact with elderly patients on a daily basis? We cannot forget about them,” junior Anna Kelly said. “If we prioritize personal comfort over public health, what does that say about us as a community?”

Kelly expressed concerns surrounding which students will choose to remove their masks if they are no longer mandated.

“I don’t think it’s beyond reason to acknowledge the fact that those who are most eager to remove their masks tend to be less COVID-conscious in the first place and thus are at a higher risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19,” Kelly said.

One DJUSD parent said that as three out of four people in her household are immunocompromised, the lifting of the mask mandate will be stressful for her family. “(My children) feel safe with the masks. And we are less safe without them,” the parent said.

Kate Boxeth, parent of two children who attend DJUSD schools, believes that removing the indoor mask mandate is inequitable for lower-income students.

“Lower-income families have been disproportionately impacted with higher COVID cases and hospitalizations and deaths …

And so to remove the indoor masking requirement would … (put) our lower income students and their families at a greater risk,” Boxeth said.

Davis High students intern at UC Davis

By Leyla Bolkan HUB Staff

Luis Carvajal/courtesy photo

Members of Latinos Unidos staffing a table at the Davis High Culture Fair earlier this year.

Latinos Unidos seeks to share culture and heritage with Davis High students

By Ayisi Ni HUB Staff Latinos Unidos celebrates Latino heritage and culture on the Davis High campus. The club, restarted by staff and students this year, is looking for new members from all ethnicities.

Paulette Alvarez, an advisor for Latinos Unidos alongside counselor Elizabeth Arroyo, says that the club first started years ago but has not existed at DHS for a while.

“We were like, we need to bring it back up for (Latino) students to have a club about their heritage,” Alvarez said.

Abel Unzueta, a paraeducator and interpreter who helps advise the club

members, says that Latinos Unidos hopes to bring in professionals from all kinds of backgrounds to speak to students about their successes and struggles in navigating the workplace.

“It’s also a safe haven for them in a predominantly white school…where they can feel connected and express themselves,” Unzueta said.

Junior Luis Carvajal, president of Latinos Unidos (and also a reporter for The HUB), wants to expand the club to include more members, as well as students from all ethnicities.

“We have a club fair next week so hopefully we can get more people to join,” Carvajal said.

Junior Alondra Marquez joined

Latinos Unidos just before winter break started. She took initiative in designing club shirts, which they are now working to fundraise for.

“In March, we’re gonna do Kona Ice, so we can get funds so we can do more fun stuff,” Marquez said.

Marquez says that a movie night was canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions, but the club had other opportunities to bond.

“We also went to the Culture Fair and did a little presentation,” Marquez said.

Carvajal says that every DHS student and teacher is welcome to join.

The club wants to encourage nonLatino people to come as well and learn about Hispanic culture.

Davis High students have the opportunity to intern with various departments and professors at UC Davis, as the university campus is so close to DHS. Many DHS science classes, such as Environmental Science and the Biotechnology internship class, work with UCD professors and programs that accept high school student volunteers as part of their research.

Environmental Science teacher Eric Bastin works with UCD professor Jennifer Funk in the plant science department. She directs high school students to help with the research of her graduate students.

Funk sponsored similar internship experiences when she was a professor in southern California and she sought to replicate the experience at UCD. Currently, 10 of Bastin’s students work with Funk’s graduate students.

“It’s an opportunity that students aren’t usually going to get in high school,” Bastin said.

Junior Jared Umphress volunteered to intern as he is interested in environmental science and wanted to know if he would like the research aspect of it.

Right now he is studying how climate change affects native as opposed to non-native plants.

“It benefits my understanding of environmental science because it applies knowledge I have gained from the class that I can understand further by doing research that applies those principles,” Umphress said.

However, Umphress has some struggles with doing the internship. He has had to alter his tennis schedule to one day less a week, which hinders his abilities on the DHS men’s tennis team.

But Umphress says that it is worth it for the field experience, which not many students get to have, as well as being able to figure out if he likes the research aspect of environmental science.

“These are things a lot of times undergraduates at universities don’t even get to do and here are a couple of high school students interning,” Bastin said.

sports THE DAVIS ENTERPRISE — WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2022

UCD women ready for conference tournament Gross wins 200th Big West game in regular season finale

By Mark DeVaughn Enterprise correspondent The last hurrah left UC Davis women's basketball player Sage Stobbart reminiscing over her first college memories.

The season’s final home game saw the Aggies trounce Cal State Fullerton by a 70-42 score at the University Credit Union Center on Saturday. Afterwards, the Canadian import recalled overcoming a bout of homesickness during her freshman year.

“I missed the rain,” said Stobbart, a fifth-year senior from North Vancouver, British Columbia. “It rains a lot where I’m from. I remember the first day where it rained. I just ran outside and was like, ‘oh, my gosh, it feels like home.”

UC Davis (14-12 overall, 8-8 Big West Conference) enjoyed its most dominant performance of the season.

No player on the court looked more comfortable during the victory than Stobbart. The 6-foot-3 post presence scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds. She also dished our four assists in a game the Aggies led 42-15 at halftime.

Cierra Hall scored a game-high 19 points, to go with eight rebounds and five assists. She made all three of her 3-point attempts. Kayla Konrad added 11 points and team-high three steals.

UCD forced Fullerton to miss 16 of its first 18 field goal attempts. When Stobbart drained a 3-pointer late

in the second quarter, the Aggies held a 40-10 lead.

Staying power has proved elusive in 2021-22 for the five-time defending conference champs. Only twice UCD won more than two straight games. The Aggies own a pair of three-game winning streaks.

With Saturday’s win, the Aggies earned the No. 6 seed. This also includes a first-round bye entering the Big West Conference tournament at the brand-new Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nev. On Wednesday at 8:30 p.m., UCD will face No. 3 Long Beach State. The winner will play again Friday at 2:30 p.m. The winner earns an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

Wednesday's game will be the second time in a week between UCD and the Beach. On March 3 at the University Credit Union Center, Long Beach State rallied for a 65-60 win over the Aggies. In their first conference meeting in Fullerton on Jan. 29, UCD posted a 68-58 victory.

“We have a lot of confidence,” Aggie head coach Jennifer Gross said. “We know that playing three games in three days, there’s going to be a lot of different kinds of adversity. We have to be the team that handles it the best.”

The victory gave Gross her 200th Big West Conference victory as UC Davis head coach. A handful of alumni were in attendance. After the game, the video board displayed a montage of former Aggie players congratulating Gross for the milestone victory.

Fullerton won a 69-65 decision in the teams’ first meeting of 2021-22. The Aggies wasted no time in exacting revenge. The home side made 15 of its first 30

See TOURNAMENT, Page B6

Mike Bush/Enterprise photo

UC Davis center Sage Stobbart (11) eyes the basket while Cal State Fullerton forward Nancy PanagiotopoulouAndritsopoulou (2) puts her arms in the air in Saturday’s game at the University Credit Union Center.

Blue Devils come close to silencing Thunder’s bats

By Mark DeVaughn Enterprise correspondent WEST SACRAMENTO — Facing a quality foe inside a showcase venue, a Davis High baseball standout made an impression Monday night.

But Rocklin posting a 4-1 non-league win at Sutter Health Park left Blue Devil Brian Chin in no mood to talk superlatives. After tossing five solid innings and driving in his team’s only run, the senior focused on what he could have done better.

“It’s frustrating,” Chin said. “I think I hesitated in the (batter’s) box too much.

When you see a good pitch, just swing. I half-checked some swings, which put me deep in the count.”

The game’s final out lingered in his mind. Davis (0-3) had a runner at first — but was down to its last strike — when leadoff man Houston McCray drew a walk. The first pitch Will Ackerman saw plunked him on the shoulder. That loaded the bases for Chin, whose thirdinning RBI double was the game’s only extra base hit.

He fell behind 0-2 before striking out swinging, an apt metaphor for a winless club showing improvement. The Blue Devils looked mostly impressive in the field, with the exception of one sequence.

Rocklin scored two runs on an RBI single to claim a 3-0 lead in the second frame. The play saw a Davis relay throw bounce from third base directly to shortstop. Blue Devils then threw errantly to third, allowing a second to cross.

Davis rebounded with a fine display the following inning. Jack Hyde sent a low liner to right-center, where the Blue Devils’ Brooks Ochoa made a headlong dive. The ball one-hopped in front of the centerfielder — and far away enough to

send Hyde streaking for a double.

But Ochoa threw perfectly to second, where Grafton Shorts’ tag ended the threat. The Blue Devils’ acting coaches noticed.

“Every day we want to get better,” assistant coach Marc Kenner said. “We have a lot of teaching to do, and a lot of learning to do. The kids are getting better. We didn’t get the outcome we wanted, but we got better.”

Blue Devils head coach Ethan Guevin was sidelined with COVID-19 (a mild case, according to assistant Scott Pfeiffer). Davis showed a marked improvement from its last game facing a Sierra Foothill League foe. DHS committed four errors against Granite Bay, which posted a 12-2 win on March 2.

Chin crushed a two-out double in the third inning to score McCray, who drew two talks in his four plate appearances.

That cut the deficit to 3-1.

“We’re far away (from where we want to be), but it’s an improvement. I think we’re moving up, we just have to commit more,” Chin said.

Ackerman singled and reached base three times. Outfielder Collin Carpenter added a single and a walk. The effort wasn’t nearly enough to disrupt Thunder (2-3) ace hurler Brandon Larson. The Stanford-bound righthander struck out 10 and scattered six hits in six innings.

As the game grew longer, Larson got stronger. He struck out seven of the last nine batters he faced. Larson also hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth to score the game’s final run.

Chin struck out four and allowed six hits in five innings. Rocklin’s overall intensity left an impression on him, he admitted.

— Follow Mark DeVaughn on Twitter: @OrangeMarkD.

Mike Bush/Enterprise photo

Davis High pitcher Brian Chin throws toward a Rocklin batter in Monday’s non-league game at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento. The Blue Devils lost to Thunder 4-1.

Local roundup

Aggies split four Capital Classic games Enterprise staff The UC Davis softball team wrapped up the Capital Classic with Causeway rival Sacramento State and Dixie State over the weekend.

Playing the nightcap Sunday, Sacramento State posted a 3-2 win over UC Davis (6-11) in eight innings. The game was tied 2-2 after seven frames.

Four Aggies had a hit each: Sommer Kisling, Delaney Diaz, Sarah Nakahara and Grace Kilday.

The Hornets had 12 hits in the game.

In the circle, Taylor Fitzgerald started for the Aggies, going 4 2/3 innings. Kenedi Brown pitched the rest of the game for UCD, striking out five Hornet batters.

Earlier on Sunday, UCD outhit

Dixie State, which came out with a 6-5 win. The Aggies had 10 hits and Dixie State four. Anna Dethlefson and Kisling had two hits each, along with Aggie teammate Reese Mattley. Sarah Starks had two RBIs for the Aggies.

Brown started the game in the circle for UCD, going 4 2/3 innings, as she struck out six and gave up two hits. Sarah Reineman tossed the rest of the game, also giving up two hits.

In the second game Saturday at LaRue Field, Sacramento State won another close game over UCD, 2-1.

Both teams had four hits each.

Dethlefson and Kisling had a hit each, along with teammates Bella Pahulu and Libbie McMahan.

Marissa Bertuccio went the distance for UCD, striking out six

Hornets and allowed four hits.

UCD played Dixie State in the first game Saturday, also at LaRue Field. The Aggies rallied from a 2-1 score entering the bottom of the sixth inning for a 3-2 win.

Pahulu tripled to right-centerfield to drive in Diaz and Starks.

Pahulu had two hits in the game and Kisling one.

Tyler Denhart went the distance in the circle for UCD, striking out eight and allowed seven hits.

The Aggies return to action Friday, with another doubleheader at Santa Clara University. UCD will play Utah State at 1 p.m. and host Santa Clara at 3:30 p.m.

On Saturday, UCD stays in the Bay Area, and plays another DH at San Jose State. The Aggies play Utah State again at 10 a.m. and host San Jose at 3 p.m.

Republic FC prepare for the new season Enterprise staff SACRAMENTO — To celebrate the beginning of its 9th USL Championship season, Sacramento Republic FC will host a series of events, which include fan experience.

The week will lead into the club’s match on Saturday at Heart Health Park when the boys in Old Glory Red will host El Paso Locomotive FC. On Thursday, a squad of volunteers will travel to Rio Vista to help the veterans at American Legion Post 178 recondition their facility.

As part of the club’s celebration of International Women’s Day, the team will close out the week on Friday with a special All-Girls Soccer Camp in partnership with Land Park Soccer Club. This free clinic is open to girls ages 6-16 and all skill levels.

Participants will learn more about soccer, gain important social and collaborative skills, and have an opportunity to learn about careers in sports from women in Republic FC’s front office.

Registration is open at SacRepublicFC.com/ camps-clinics.

THE DAVIS ENTERPRISE

YOLOlaughs

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2022 B3

Forum

B4 THE DAVIS ENTERPRISE

Commentary

Russia’s path began in Chechnya

Vote to reduce P plastic waste

By Cristina Garcia Special to CalMatters

I

still remember the poster on the wall at Bell Gardens Intermediate School back in 1987: “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.”

The order of those words mattered, our teachers told us: first, reduce everything we can, then reuse what we can’t reduce, and finally we recycle what’s left.

But that’s not how things played out, especially with plastics.

Since those fifth-grade days, plastic production and plastic pollution has grown exponentially. Today we are producing about 300 million tons of plastic waste every year: equal to the weight of the entire human population.

We have utterly failed to reduce, though a notable and ironic exception is many immigrant communities like mine, who were raised, often out of necessity, to stretch the most out of every resource.

Reuse has had limited reach, but has plenty of potential with the right incentives, investments and intentions. YETI bottles are expensive and clean water refill stations are rare even in the nicest new buildings and neighborhoods. But in my Mexicanimmigrant household, we reuse lots. Our Tupperware is reused Country Crock containers. My aunt sends us home with extra pozole and menudo in repurposed yogurt containers.

Because it suited the oil industry, product manufacturers and packaging giants, and fueled by low cost and convenience, we put our emphasis only on the least good choice: recycling. But when it comes to plastic, recycling is a dismal failure. Less than 10% of all plastic ever made has been recycled.

The United Nations Environment Programme is convened in Nairobi with nations and non-governmental organizations from across the world in an effort to produce the world’s first global plastics treaty. Last spring, the UNEP issued “NEGLECTED: Environmental Justice Impacts of Marine Litter and Plastic Pollution” which was jointly authored with California-based environmental justice organization Azul.

The report drew a conclusion that I know all too well from my lived experience: that plastic pollution disproportionately affects marginalized communities and people living near plastic production and waste sites.

We must re-center reduction as a core priority. It’s not enough to reduce the weight of plastics in our packaging, products and foodware, we also must pass policies that mandate a reduction in the number of single-use plastic items that start out as extracted fossil fuels, are processed into packaging and products at polluting plants based in our vulnerable communities. These items show up in our homes as convenient toxins, fill our garbage cans and recycle bins, contaminate recycling streams, pollute our air when incinerated, litter our communities, parks and sacred places.

The Legislature has tried and failed over several years to comprehensively mandate reductions in single-use plastics. But California voters have an opportunity this November to vote for the reductions we urgently need.

I’ve just endorsed the California Plastic Pollution Reduction & Recycling Act, requiring that single-use plastic packaging and foodware in California be reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2030, mandating that plastic producers reduce singleuse packaging and foodware by at least 25% by 2030. The initiative, which has qualified for the November ballot, prohibits the distribution of plastic foam food containers, and funds recycling programs, habitat restoration and environmental cleanup — particularly in communities like mine – by charging a fee to producers of single-use plastic packaging and foodware.

I urge California voters to vote yes in November. Yes to reducing plastics, yes to cleaning up our environment and our communities that have been unfairly burdened by pollution, litter, incineration and illegal dumping, and yes to fighting a key driver of climate change.

— Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, D-Bell Gardens, represents California’s 58th Assembly District. She wrote this for CalMatters, a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s Capitol works and why it matters.

rior to Putin’s punishing push into Ukraine, a pair of previous wars revealed just how the Russian dictator would attack and defeat his western neighbor — a ruthless scorchedearth policy, unhindered by any moral, ethical or economic considerations.

Shortly after the Soviet Union broke up in 1991, Islamists in Chechnya and other Muslim areas of Russia declared independence. For the next several years, there was intermittent fighting, truces and acts of terrorism.

By 1997, Boris Yeltsin decided the price was too high. He signed a peace treaty, ending the First Chechen War. For the next two years, there was quiet in Chechnya. However, Islamists continued their violence in the rest of Russia.

Then Vladimir Putin came to power in 1999 and everything changed. Mr. Putin was determined to exterminate the regime in Grozy and install a Chechen government of his liking.

It took eight years and near-total destruction of the infrastructure in that country in the Caucasus, but eventually Putin got his way. Moscow installed a pro-Russian dictator, Ramzan Kadyrov, in 2007 and declared victory in 2009. Kadyrov has ruled ruthlessly ever since.

It’s unknown how many people died in the Second Chechen War. Every urban area, including Grozny, was devastated. The United Nations declared the capital city, following a two-month siege and nonstop bombardment from land and air, the most destroyed city on earth.

The BBC said Grozny in 2004 resembled Berlin in 1945.

But Mr. Putin was happy.

He did not care how many he killed. He was not worried

L

ike Mr. Assad, the main man in Moscow was not molested by morality. He had a win-at-any-cost mindset in Syria. It worked.

The Russian dictator was not bothered that Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International accused him of war crimes. The Russians bombed hospitals, refugee camps, schools, markets and civilian homes. Putin’s pilots rained explosives on cities the same as they did on opposition fighters.

As with his campaign in Chechnya and more recently in Ukraine, Mr. Putin had his officers deploy thermobaric vacuum bombs against civilian targets — clearly a war crime.

According to the CIA, “The effect of (a thermobaric) explosion within confined spaces is immense. Those

and it likely will fall further.

What that means is every commodity in Russia now costs twice as much as it did in early February and prices will continue to escalate.

S

anctions on Putin’s central bank and his country’s major lending institutions have crippled the financial sector — an economy’s lifeblood — in Russia.

Runs on banks are now widespread.

According to Forbes, “Russian banks are having difficulties meeting all of their obligations in a timely manner, especially as individuals and companies continue to withdraw their deposits from Russian banks.”

Even though it is more food self-sufficient than it was a decade ago — a consequence of trade sanctions imposed after Putin purloined Crimea and waged war in eastern Ukraine — Russia still imports meat, dairy, fruit, nuts, processed foods and beverages.

With a ruble in ruins, Russia won’t be eating well. It’s not unthinkable there will be widespread malnourishment, if not starvation in the near future.

Some have protested and many have been jailed, but popular protest will not put out Putin in a putsch. Most Russians are deathly afraid of their government.

As long as the Ukrainians are armed and fed by their occidental allies, they will keep up the fight. This war could go on a decade or more.

But as long as Vladimir Putin is on his throne, Russia will not back down, no matter the price.

— Rich Rifkin is a Davis resident; his column is published every other week.

Reach him at Lxartist@ yahoo.com.

Non-potable water for trees Even if we get heavy rain in the form of a “March Miracle” (an increasingly unlikely prospect) it is obvious that the third year of this drought will be terrible.

Many of our fellow Davis residents will, no doubt, respond to pleas to curtail or eliminate outdoor watering. This is likely to be damaging or fatal to many city trees (municipal property planted on private lots.)

It’s time for the city government to consider doing what CalTrans and many local governments already do: use recycled, reclaimed or otherwise non-potable water for landscape irrigation.

The city should investigate whether it can qualify for emergency funding or a grant to obtain a tanker truck and temporarily hire a crew (or use the California Conservation Corps.) That would assure the survival of city trees without depleting our drinkable water supply.

William L. Rukeyser Davis

Exercise class you might like In her column in Feb. 7’s Sunday Davis Enterprise, Tanya Perez gave “a little gentle motivation” to find the right place for each of us to get some exercise. For some of us this right place is the PM

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Foy S. McNaughton

R. Burt McNaughton

Taylor Buley

Sebastian Oñate

Co-Publisher

about human rights, refugees, economic losses or poisoning the landscape. Putin wanted Chechnya under his thumb and he got that.

Two years after fighting ceased in Chechnya, civil war erupted in Syria, home to Soviet military bases since 1971. Mr. Putin immediately came to the aid of the Assad dictatorship, providing training, arms and cash.

By 2015, it looked as if Bashar al-Assad was about to fall. Islamists were on the march and controlled most of the country. Vladimir Putin decided he had to save his despot in Damascus, using the same scorched-earth tactics he used in Chechnya.

near the ignition point are obliterated. Those at the fringe are likely to suffer many internal, thus invisible injuries, including burst eardrums and crushed inner ear organs, severe concussions, ruptured lungs and internal organs and possibly blindness.”

Mr. Putin never was concerned about the catastrophe he caused in Syria. He was determined to win. Although millions of Syrians are refugees and most of that country’s infrastructure was pulverized, Mr. Putin got what he wanted. The Assad regime lives on. Russia has its Mediterranean base of power intact.

Certainly in the mind of Russia’s dictator, the outcome in Ukraine will be the same as it was in Chechnya and Syria. If it has to be bloody, if millions have to flee, if every city needs to be destroyed, Putin believes he will win.

What distinguishes the attack on Ukraine from the bellicosity in Chechnya and Syria is the price the Russian people will pay.

In his prior battles, there were no severe sanctions.

This is different. The standard of living in Russia — which is already far lower than that in the European Union — will fall dramatically, even if oil income rises.

Russian stocks have lost nearly all their value. By itself, that might not affect most of the public in Putinland. However, ordinary people work for the companies that are — or were — traded on the Moscow Exchange.

As those companies are no longer able to raise capital or fund operating costs, they will go bankrupt and it’s likely millions of Russians will lose their jobs.

The ruble has lost half its value in the last two weeks

Letters

enterprise President and CEO

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2022

Publisher Editor

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.

Aerobics class taught by the venerable Ann Smalley. We invite you to join us in this city of Davis Rec class, Tuesdays and Thursdays, currently being held at the Davis Senior Center.

Besides the instructor, the other perfect things about this class are: it meets at 6:30 p.m. just when you have had it from a day’s work; it’s part of the Flexpass program so you pay only for classes you attend, it covers everything you have heard that you need: cardio, strength, stretching, relaxation and positive affirmations, and the class is on-going, so just put on your sneakers and come when you can.

My own testimonial is that the class “helped me stay fit even having a tech job that was sedentary — all day at the computer.” Now that I am retired I still get the benefits of staying fit, having a wonderful teacher and being part of a motivating group.

The Flex Pass is available for purchase online (https://www.cityofdavis.org/), in person at the Davis Senior Center, or at Parks and Community Services office in Davis City Hall. Join us!

Patricia Martens Davis

We welcome your letters 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@davisenterprise.net.

Speak out

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

California Senate

President

House of Representatives

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

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; 530753-5301; email: visit https://garamendi. house.gov/contact/email

Sen. Bill Dodd, State Capitol, Room 2082, Sacramento, CA 95814; 916-651-4003; fax: 916-651-4903; email: visit sd03.senate.ca. gov. District office: 555 Mason St., Suite 275, Vacaville, CA 95688; 707-454-3808; fax: 707-454-3811.

U.S. Senate Sen. Dianne Feinstein, 331 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., 20510; 202224-3841; email: http://feinstein.senate. gov/public/index.cfm/e-mail-me Sen. Alex Padilla, B03 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., 20510;

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

California Assembly Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, State Capitol, P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento, CA 94249-0004; 916-319-2004; fax: 916319-2104; email: visit https://a04.asmdc. org/. District office: 600 A St., Suite D, Davis, CA 95616; 530-757-1034

THE DAVIS ENTERPRISE

Legals@DavisEnterprise.net Offer helping hand to spend time with daughter

By Annie Lane

Dear Annie: I am a 72-year-old woman who used to live with my daughter and her family. I moved out last January.

I was asked over to their home when my oldest grandson came home with my great-grandchild in June.

Other than that, I have not talked to my daughter in months.

Am I being foolish to think that she could call once in a while to check up on me?

When I call her, it’s as if she can’t be bothered. If I leave a message, she does not return my calls.

— Missing My Daughter Dear Missing My Daughter: It is understandable that you miss your daughter — the daughter you knew before her life got busy with her own family. My guess is that she is not snubbing you but rather is simply busy. Instead of

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2022 B5

demanding that she call you, ask her what she needs. How can you help her out? Sometimes, when we help others, we are actually helping ourselves. If all that doesn’t work, tell her how you feel and how much you love and miss her.

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

Sports

B6 THE DAVIS ENTERPRISE

Mike Bush/Enterprise photo

Aggie guard Evanne Turner (15) goes up for the shot in Saturday’s Big West Conference game against Cal State Fullerton at the University Credit Union Center.

TOURNAMENT: The victory was ‘surreal’ From Page B2

field goal attempts while also draining 7 of 12 from three-point range in the second period.

“This win was surreal,” said Aggie sophomore guard Evanne Turner, who scored nine points. “The biggest thing was confidence. We're a confident team after a game like this. Our defense will pull us through. We can’t always count on shooting this well, but defense travels well.”

Turner called the seniors “my big sisters.” She said she hopes to continue their legacy in her remaining years with the program.

“I can honestly come to tears talking about each and every one of them,” she explained. “They’re my support system, they’re my family. I’ve learned so much from them: from school to just being a better person in general. They’re the best people you’ll ever meet.”

Stobbart blocked two shots, bringing her season total to 52 and moving her into sole possession of second place on the Aggies' all-time list with 152.

— Follow Mark DeVaughn on Twitter: @OrangeMarkD.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2022