Kirin alternative

The Woodland Public Library and the Yolo County Office of Education invite all Yolo County students in grades 7-12 to “Adulting 101: Life Skills for Teens.”

The free event will be held on Saturday, Sept. 10, from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Yolo County Office of Education, 1280 Santa Anita Court, No. 100, in Woodland.

Any middle school or high school student in Yolo County can attend and choose up to four workshops to learn about life skills not typically taught in school, including how to start the college application process and how to ace an interview. Other workshops focus on finances, self defense, public speaking, stress management, voting, cooking and more.

“I’m really looking forward to Adulting 101 this year,” said Horacio Rivera, Jr., a senior at Woodland High School. “Last year, I was able to learn a lot about buying a house and car; this knowledge will really benefit me in the future.”

Breakfast will be available and Jersey Mike’s will provide lunch.

Students can register online at https:// woodlandpubliclibrary. com/281/Adulting-101.

For information, contact the Woodland Public Library at 530661-5980. ABOUT THOSE PERSONALIZED PLATES ... I know it's basically chump change, but California does raise money by charging for personalized license plates.

It's an interesting process that's spelled out in detail for those who wish to “protect” Lake Tahoe, improve Yosemite, praise whales, support the arts or honor our veterans.

If you wish to have a personal message on your plates, you have seven spaces to work with, but you can't get a plate with a message that's already taken. For unknown reasons, the number zero may not be used. You can spell out “zero,” but you can't use the actual number 0.

After you list your choice, say “CATLOVR,” you then must explain the “plate meaning” on the form provided. Slipping something nasty past the censors is a game many people just love to play.

Just imagine, the state of California has an employee (or employees), no doubt full-time, whose sole job is to determine if the letters on your personalized license plate request are not going to create a public scandal or force the neighbor's kids to avert their eyes when you park in your driveway in plain sight.

I have noticed that a number of states have attractive and hugely popular specialty plates allowing you to brag about your alma mater, done up in the school colors and frequently including the school mascot.

So far California does not offer such plates. An opportunity missed, for sure.

Go Ags.

EASY MONEY ... It appears that come November we'll be able to vote on legalizing sports betting in California, but some folks in other states are already betting on teams from the Golden State.

According to Jason Anderson's piece in The Bee, “Someone placed a $10,000 bet at Caesars Sportsbook on the Kings to win the NBA championship next season with a potential $7.5 million payout.”

No, we're not talking about the Kings finally making the playoffs for the first time since the invention of the telephone. We're talking about the Kings actually winning the whole deal. Put simply, it's not going to happen. Never in a million years.

Our anonymous gambler just dropped $10,000. No matter that he got a whopping 750-1 odds, which would be an incredible return on his money. However, even odds of a billion-to-one are irrelevant, given that it's a losing bet, period.

Odds don't matter when you have a losing hand. And this, without a doubt, is a losing hand.

I hope this poor sap has money to burn and isn't counting on that $7.5 million to put his kids through Harvard.

Davis High School will also not win the NBA championship

THE READERS ALWAYS

WRITE ... “Writing a regular humor column on Davis must be difficult, so I figured I should give you a hand,” began the guided missive from my friend Richard.

Actually, Rich, Davis is what I'd call a “target-rich environment,” where half the folks have a Ph.D. and the other half think they should. Just when you think you've run out of things to write about, someone arrests a woman for snoring.

“I just got my water bill,” Rich goes on. “All the private utilities and other governments I deal with put a little message on the bill that tells you who to make the check out to. So my water bill should say 'Pay to the order of the City of Davis,' but in the second-mosteducated city in America, there is no such message.”

You can make your check out to me, Richard. I'll be sure it gets to the proper destination. You can trust me on this. — Reach Bob Dunning at bdunning@davisenterprise.net

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DA: West Sac murder suspect ‘wanted to hurt somebody’

By Lauren Keene Enterprise staff writer

WOODLAND — A West Sacramento man “just felt like hurting someone” the day he allegedly attacked and killed a homeless woman last week, according to Yolo County prosecutors.

The random act of violence was detailed during suspect Alfonso Rigoberto Ornelas-Vazquez’s arraignment hearing Wednesday in Yolo Superior Court, where he pleaded not guilty to charges of premeditated murder and use of a deadly weapon in connection with the Aug. 11 killing.

When it came time to discuss bail, Deputy District Attorney Alvina Tzang asked Judge David Reed to keep Ornelas-Vazquez behind bars, calling the defendant a threat to public safety.

According to Tzang, the defendant “decided when he woke up he wanted to hurt somebody. He felt courageous. The victim was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

The victim, whose identity had not been released by Yolo County coroner's officials as of Thursday afternoon, was at a homeless campsite between Sacramento Avenue and the nearby railroad tracks when Ornelas-Vazquez allegedly approached her with a 5-foot-long tree branch.

“He began to attack the victim, hitting her multiple times on the head,” continuing to do so after the woman fell to the ground and began coughing up blood, Tzang said. She added that OrnelasVazquez “left her there to die,” but not before photographing her battered body with his cell phone.

West Sacramento arrested Ornelas-Vazquez the next day after receiving tips from community members.

Reed agreed to a no-bail hold in the case, saying Tzang’s description of the crime “provides clear and convincing evidence” of Ornelas-Vazquez's continued public-safety threat. The case returns to court Aug. 29 for further proceedings. — Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenter prise.net. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene.

Chi had a spinal injury at some point while at the farm where she had been found.

A special home needed for Chi, a special-needs kitten

Plea deals resolve ‘ghost gun’ cases

By Lauren Keene Enterprise staff writer

WOODLAND — A Yolo Superior Court judge accepted plea agreements Wednesday from three of the four defendants in a Davis “ghost gun” case.

Demori Fobbs, 21; Dewayne Dixon, 21; and 22-year-old Anthony Broadnax each pleaded no contest to single charges in their case that qualify them for probation sentences.

A fourth defendant, King James Goodwin, 21, didn’t settle his case Wednesday and returns to court Sept. 28 for a preliminary hearing, where Judge Peter Williams will determine whether there is sufficient evidence to proceed to the trial stage.

The men’s arrests stem from an Aug. 2, 2021, traffic stop on L Street in Davis, where officers reported finding assault rifle components and weapon-manufacturing tools in Fobbs’ vehicle.

That discovery led investigators to the J Street apartment Fobbs shared with Dixon, Broadnax and Goodwin, whom police suspected manufacturing “ghost guns” — weapons that are not serialized or registered, and more easily obtained by people prohibited from possessing firearms.

“A search of the apartment yielded a Glock 10 mm pistol with an aftermarket auto sear that could make the gun function in a fully automatic firing mode,” a Davis Police Department news release said at the time.

“Detectives also located a lower receiver for another 9 mm semiautomatic handgun, loaded high capacity magazines and additional tools including 'jigs' and drill presses which are commonly used in manufacturing and modifying firearms components.”

Fobbs, Dixon and Broadnax face sentencing hearings on Sept. 29, after undergoing interviews with the Yolo County Probation Department to determine whether Williams should follow the terms of their plea deals. — Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenter prise.net. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene.

Altered assault rifle lands Pioneer man in jail

By Lauren Keene Enterprise staff writer

Davis police arrested a man who carried an assault rifle in his vehicle earlier this week.

Although the AR-15 was registered in Donnie Louis Wilkins IV’s name, it had undergone several modifications “that made it illegal for him to possess in California,” Lt. James MacNiven said.

According to MacNiven, officers made contact with Wilkins at about 9 p.m. Tuesday while routinely patrolling the parking lot of University Covenant Church on Mace Boulevard, where Wilkins was asleep in the driver’s seat of his running vehicle.

Wilkins, who had a suspended driver’s license, was cooperative and admitted to having the loaded AR-15 when asked if he had anything illegal in the car, MacNiven said.

Wilkins, a 39-year-old resident of Pioneer in Amador County, was arrested on charges of illegal possession of an assault weapon as well as for having a switchblade. Special to The Enterprise

A little black kitten came to the UCD Orphan Kitten project with the request of “can you help this sweet kitten who was injured?”

While OKP is very busy with kitten season currently and fostering plenty of kittens, Chi, as she was later named, had a physical challenge. Yet was clearly very special and needed a chance to be fostered to find her a loving home.

Staff found that little Chi had a spinal injury at some point while at the farm where she had been found. While her front legs and upper body mobility were fine, her hind legs were not functioning. However, Chi’s disability did not diminish her spirit and happy attitude.

Kulani Simafranca, a second-year UCD vet student and OKP volunteer, saw Chi’s sweet and resilient spirit, and stepped up to help Chi. While this adorable and upbeat kitten loves playing and is ever so responsive to people giving her attention, she is a special-needs kitten who needs a special home with someone with the love and ability to care for her.

For more info on Chi, or to meet her for adoption, please contact orphankittenproject@ gmail.com. To donate or learn more about the Orphan Kitten project which is run by UCD vet students, please see their Facebook website at https://www.facebook. com/OrphanKitten Project.