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Control of socialist heartland at stake in Venezuelan vote

Tribune ConTenT AgenCy

Venezuela’s government risks humiliation Sunday as voters infuriated by fuel shortages threaten to throw out the ruling party in the hot, cattle-farming region where the father of the nation’s socialist revolution was born.

Barinas state in western Venezuela was the birthplace of former President Hugo Chavez, and has been governed by his family for more than two decades. But that legacy came under threat after a voter rebellion in November nearly ousted the ruling party in the gubernatorial election, before the Supreme Court stepped in to halt the vote count that the opposition candidate was leading.

Residents must now choose between Jorge Arreaza, 48, a former foreign affairs minister who used to be married to one of Chavez’s daughters, and Sergio Garrido, 54, a local leader from Venezuela’s oldest political party. The opposition’s candidate from the first round, Freddy Superlano, was banned by the Supreme Court from running again, as was his wife and one other candidate. That left the opposition to field Garrido, their fourth choice.

Polls started to open at 6 a.m. and by mid-morning most were fully operative, with voters saying the process was quick and easy. Electoral centers were heavily guarded by the more than 24,000 security officials. According to an opposition spokesperson, participation had doubled during the first half of the day compared to the

Federico Parra/AFP via Getty Images/TNS The candidate for the governorship of Barinas State for the opposition Popular Will party, Sergio Garrido, votes, Sunday.

November election.

Despite some reports of coercion, including the presence of pro-government checkpoints called “red spots,” and the arrest of at least two opposition activists, no major incidents have been reported. Polls are scheduled to close at 6 p.m., or until there are no more voters standing in line. Preliminary results are expected on Sunday evening.

“We want a change for Barinas,” said Coromoto Pereira, an 80-yearold former nurse, outside a voting center in Barinas city. “We are tired of these people who have already ruled for 21 years. We hope that the results are respected.”

Barinas has been afflicted by blackouts and inflation like the rest of the nation, while the collapse of the currency has led many people to use not just dollars, but Colombian pesos. Locals say it is their inability to find gasoline and cooking gas that’s really stoked anger toward the ruling party.

“For the last four years we’ve had to queue for days just to get 30 liters of gasoline,” said Neir Fernandez, a 48-year-old farmer from Barinas.

President Nicolas Maduro’s socialist regime has spent large amounts of public money to try to hold on to power in Barinas, giving away goods such as refrigerators, mobile phones, school supplies and toys ahead of the vote, local people said. Government food packages are now arriving more frequently and include servings of meat, where previously they tended to mainly include items such as grains and maize flour. Fuel supplies are the best they’ve been in years.

While the government’s candidate speaks at big, well-funded rallies with a stage and large screens, the opposition candidate has given speeches from the back of a cattle truck, in the David versus Goliath contest.

Hugo Chavez’s father and two brothers have governed Barinas since Chavez became president in 1999. But after Gov. Argenis Chavez – a younger brother – performed poorly in the November vote, the ruling party replaced him with Arreaza.

There is also another opposition candidate, Claudio Fermin, which may split the anti-government vote.

The ruling party won 19 of 23 states in November in Venezuelan regional elections, but was stung by the turn of events in its symbolic heartland.

“We have lots of problems with electricity, sewers, water, food and fuel supply,” said Alexis Correa, a farmer in Chavez’s home town of Sabaneta, in an interview.

Opioid: Researchers work on vaccine

From Page A3

collaborators in New York and New Jersey are running the first-ever opioid vaccine trial in humans in the U.S.; they intend to enroll about 45 people to test a vaccine against oxycodone, a commonly abused prescription pain medication.

UW's new center will build on this research and prior animal studies on other drugs like fentanyl and heroin, he said. But Pravetoni admits he'll be up against the same challenges that have bedeviled addiction vaccine development for decades. Clinical trials in people are incredibly expensive – Pravetoni estimates it would take more than $200 million to $300 million to get a vaccine to market — and big pharmaceutical companies have shown little interest in chipping in. "[Researchers] are trained to overcome adversity," he said. "I don't give up."

The starting time is 6 p.m. Tuesday.

The town hall will be broadcast on KSVY Sonoma and streamed live on KSVY.org (audio) as well as on video at https://sd03.senate.ca.gov, www.facebook.com/SenBillDodd, www.youtube. com/user/SonomaTV/ and SonomaTV.org. The event also will be broadcast on KSVY 91.3 FM.

Panelists will take live and submitted questions. Email questions to townhall@ksvy.org.

Dodd represents the state’s 3rd Senate District, which includes all of Solano County as well as Winters in Yolo County.

Raft of gov’t meetings on week’s calendar

The coming week will have numerous regular government meetings that are open to the public. Some meetings will be in person and others online.

The meetings include: n Solano County Board of Supervisors, 9 a.m. Tuesday, County Government Center, 675 Texas St., Fairfield. Info: co.solano.ca.us.

n Travis School District Governing Board, 5 p.m. Tuesday closed session, 6 p.m. open session, Travis Education Center, 2775 De Ronde Drive, Fairfield. Info: travisusd.org. n Vacaville City Council, 6 p.m. Tuesday, council chamber, virtual only. Info: ci.vacaville.ca.us. n Suisun City Planning Commission, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, 701 Civic Center Blvd. Info: www.suisun. com/planning-commission. n Solano County Board of Education, 6 p.m. Wednesday, Solano County Office of Education, 5100 Business Center Drive, Fairfield. Info: www.solanocoe.net. n Solano Transportation Authority Board, 6 p.m. Wednesday, Suisun City Hall, 701 Civic Center Blvd. Info: www. sta.ca.gov. n Solano County Parks and Recreation Commission, 10 a.m. Thursday, hearing room, first floor, CAC lobby, 675 Texas St., Fairfield. Info: www.solano county.com/depts/rm/ countypark/parksnrec/ agendas_n_minutes.asp. n Fairfield-Suisun School District, 6 p.m. Thursday, first-floor board room at Central Office, 2490 Hilborn Road, Fairfield. Info: www.fsusd.org.

Rock: Deadly fall

From Page A3

said. The search for them continued in the early hours of Sunday.

More than 30 people were injured, four of whom remained in hospital on Sunday.

Video images showed some stones falling from a cliff before a large part of the rock came loose completely and toppled onto excursion boats below.

Passengers on a boat farther away can be heard trying to warn others. "Move away from there!" they shouted. "There are a lot of rocks falling." Screams can also be heard.

According to the fire brigade, two boats sustained direct hits, while another two were indirectly struck. All of the dead were on a single boat named Jesus.

Valentine’s Day is here. The Daily Republic would like to share your love and capture memories for a lifetime. On Monday, February 14th the Daily Republic will publish a Valentine’s Day keepsake page which will include a 2.5” x 3.5” ad containing your choice of one of six different logos and a message to your loved ones.

Ad Submission Deadline: Friday, February 4th at 5pm. Include a self-addressed, stamped envelope for return. Or go to https://www.dailyrepublic.com/Tools/LoveLines to submit.

1. 2. 3.

Charlie, I love you to the Moon and Back.

Love, Mom

4.

sample shown approx. actual size 5. 6.

$25

Please supply your Valentine’s name, graphic choice (1-6), and maximum of 15 words of text for your message.

Graphic Choice (from above) _____________________________________________

Message_____________________________________________________________

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