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Fairfield-Suisun board considers budget proposal Susan Hiland
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Charles Williams has been a Court Appointed Special Advocate since 2011.
Advocating for youth CASA volunteer Williams finds passion
Amy Maginnis-Honey
Prior to joining CASA, Williams was part of a program at the church he then attended that also worked with young people. Relationships, education and economics were some of the subjects upon which members mentored. Williams has mentored five young men with CASA and stays in touch with them. One entered the Job Corps. The most recent is now 19 and living in St. Louis, working with a relative. The team were paired up when the young man was 17. Williams said when they chat, he places an emphasis on encouraging the teen to think about the future, especially financially. Covid-19 has made personal interaction impossible. Williams said he’s adapted to virtual contact but feels nurturing is done best in person. The first meeting can be a challenge because many of the young men have traveled a rough road. “You have to find that niche,” Williams said. His commitment to them is that he’ll be there, unless he’s dead or in the hospital. Williams employs a reference sheet about listening skills to break
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FAIRFIELD — Charles Williams has invested the past decade in helping young men as a volunteer with Solano County Court Appointed Special Advocates. The father of five takes his responsibilities seriously. The soon-to-be 73-year-old also has a delightful sense of humor that enters the mix. Williams is one of 14 children and the youngest boy. His mother died when he was 14, but the family remained united. The Vallejo resident was working at Shell Refinery in Benicia when a co-worker told him about CASA, whose volunteers advocate for abused, neglected and other identified children within the court system. Among the duties are acting as a liaison with, and at the direction of, the Juvenile Court judge. He stepped up to be part of the solution. “Instead of talking about the problem, do something about it,” Williams said. “Put up or shut up. You have to go do something to make positive changes.”
the ice. In a “disclaimer,” Williams said, “I still work on that.” Physical activity is also key to a successful relationship. One of Williams’ most humorous memories came from the time he took a young man swimming. The teen did not know how to swim. “I tried to help him,” Williams said. He’s also known to shoot hoops with the youth. Honesty is the key to a successful relationship, he said. “I won’t lie to them,” Williams said. And, in return, he asks that they be truthful. “You have a clean foundation and you build from there a level of trust that has to be earned.” Williams also encourages the young men to be individuals and to think for themselves rather than being followers. “To not be a sheep, more of a goat,” he said, in jest. CASA Solano County has 120 volunteers; 23 are male, said Candy Pierce, the organization’s executive director. She praised Williams for his dedication to the nonprofit. He was named the 2020 Volunteer of the Year.
If you would like to volunteer for CASA, learn more at orientations at noon and 6 p.m. Wednesday. Register at https://casasolano.org/volunteer. There’s also a drive-thru crab feed Saturday to benefit CASA. For details, visit https://casasolano.org/fundraisers. Learn more about CASA at https://casasolano.org.
FAIRFIELD — A review last week of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget by the FairfieldSchool School District shows both cause for optimism and concern. Staff shared highlights of the governor’s 2020-21 budget plan for the coming year at the school board meeting Thursday. The discussion was cut short due to time limits for virtual meetings. Michelle Henson, assistant superintendent of Business Services, gave the presentation, which showed that the past year’s $5.6 billion state surplus is gone and the budget reflects a $54.4 billion deficit. But the new proposal shows restoration of funding in the coming years, she said. There are many risks to California’s economy
from various factors for the coming year that include the novel coronavirus pandemic, lack of jobs, rising commercial vacancy rates, troubles in the residential rental real estate market, and a weakening in the ability of small businesses to continue to endure, along with the impact last year’s of wildfires. “These conditions will lead to a decline in revenue,” Henson said. “And budget shortfalls ahead.” School funding levels in California are codified by law. Proposition 98, passed by voters in 1988, establishes minimum school funding levels as a percentage of the state’s overall budget. The school funding law was revised in 1990 by Proposition 111. The Local Control Funding Formula was established in 2013 and, among other See Budget, Page A8
Biden health adviser warns of virus variants Bloomberg News A top health adviser to President Joe Biden warned Sunday that a new variant of the coronavirus circulating in the U.K. will likely become the dominant strain in the U.S. and may lead to future restrictions on inperson gatherings. Michael Oster- BIDEN holm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the nation’s health care
system must prepare for a surge in serious cases such as the one experienced recently in England. “What we have to do now is also anticipate this and understand that we’re going to have to change quickly,” said Osterholm, who’s a member of Biden’s Covid-19 advisory board. “As fast as we’re opening restaurants, we’re likely to be closing them in the near term.” His comments come as some locations, including See Variants, Page A8
Newsom’s virus response rankles fellow Democrats Los Angeles Times LOS ANGELES — There’s an unspoken rule in politics: Don’t publicly criticize your party’s leader. But more California Democratic lawmakers and allies of Gov. Gavin Newsom are beginning to break it as frustration grows nearly a year into the Covid-19 pandemic. “It’s like he’s putting us out to die,” said Sandra Díaz, vice president and political director of SEIU United Services Workers West, which represents janitors, security personnel and other essential workers who were recently removed from the state’s vaccine priority tiers by the Newsom administration. “It’s more important for us as a union to see this get better, no matter who
that upsets.” California Republicans have consistently blasted Newsom’s actions on the coronavirus as they wage a campaign to oust him from office. Yet increasing and loud disapproval from those typically aligned with the governor in response to his evershifting course on vaccine policy and regional stay-at-home orders, his inability to reopen schools and poor communication on major decisions has exposed a vulnerability for Newsom. With the potential of a statewide recall election looming, the unhappiness expressed by Democratic officials and interest groups could be an indication of dissatisfaction among his base. The presence of a campaign
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom addresses a press conference held at the launch of mass Covid-19 vaccination site at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Jan. 15.
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