Some Ukrainians have decided to go home A7
St. Patrick’s Day cocktails with Irish whiskey B2
MONDAY | March 14, 2022 | $1.00
DAILYREPUBLIC.COM | Well said. Well read.
FAIRFIELD
1 dead, 2 injured in early morning shooting Daily Republic Staff
DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET
FAIRFIELD — One person was shot and killed and two others were injured in a shooting early Sunday, the city’s first reported homicide of 2022. The shooting was reported shortly after 5 a.m. near the 7-Eleven on the 200 block of East Tabor Avenue. Officers who arrived there found one person dead and two others injured. The injured were taken to a local hospital. The severity of their injuries was not released. East Tabor Avenue was shut down for several hours between North Texas Street and Kidder Avenue while detectives worked to gather evidence and to identify a suspect. The ages, genders and cities of residence were not released for any of the people who were shot. This is the first reported homicide in Fairfield since Nov. 4, when a 19-year-old Benicia man was shot and killed on the 1000 block of Tyler Street in what police describe as a person-to-person vehicle transaction that was initiated online and ended, authorities suspect, with the seller shooting the Benicia man while trying to rob him of the purchase money. Anyone with information about the shooting Sunday is asked to call the Fairfield Police Department at 707-428-7300.
Glen Faison/Daily Republic
A driver leaves a Chevron station in rural Fairfield as gas prices approach – and top – $6 per gallon, Sunday.
Here’s how state lawmakers want to help Californians as they face
high gas prices Grace Gedye CALMATTERS
UKRAINE | RUSSIA CRISIS
Dan Kitwood/Getty Images/TNS
A man wounded in air strikes at a nearby military complex is assisted by medical staff outside Novoiavorivsk District Hospital in Novoiavorivsk, Ukraine, Sunday.
Russia strikes military base near Poland, killing at least 35 Tribune Content Agency LVIV, Ukraine — Bringing the war closer to NATO territory, Russian fighter jets fired dozens of cruise missiles Sunday at a Ukrainian military training base near the border with Poland, killing at least 35 people, injuring 134 others and rattling nerves in western Ukraine’s largest city. Ukraine said its air defenses downed most of the incoming missiles aimed at the base in the town of Yavoriv, known as the International Peacekeeping and Security Center. But at least eight hit the facility, igniting fires that raged for hours and setting off an intense search-and-rescue effort, said Maksym Kozytskyi, head of the Lviv regional administration, who confirmed the death toll. The targeted base, some 11 miles from the Polish border and 26 miles northwest of Lviv, was used before the war for training of Ukrainian troops by NATO forces, and is now a logistical hub and training center for arriving foreign volunteers. Its proximity to the frontier raises the specter that Russia may seek to block a crucial artery for both humanitarian supplies and shipments of weaponry. Russia said Saturday it would consider Western weapons shipments to Ukraine a “legitimate target,” though without suggesting it would strike outside Ukraine’s border. Air raid sirens wailed Sunday in Lviv, which See Russia, Page A8 INDEX Arts B4 | Classifieds B5 | Comics A5, B3 Crossword A4, B4 | Food B2 Opinion A6 | Sports B1 | TV Daily A5, B3
SACRAMENTO — There’s a collective groan, rippling across California, as drivers pull into gas stations and see prices nearing $6. Gas prices per gallon are getting higher across the U.S., but prices in California are soaring higher than any other state, according to the American Automobile Association. The average price of gas Thursday in California was $5.69 – up from $4.68 a month ago – while the national average was $4.32. Much of what has driven up gas prices over the past several months is outside of California lawmakers’ control: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the sanctions that followed, have spiked prices, combined with the fact that demand for oil has ramped up from pandemic lows faster than supply. California’s gas prices tend to be higher than other states in part because of higher taxes for infrastructure and environmental fees. State lawmakers raised the gas tax
by 12 cents after a fraught battle in 2017 to pay for roads, bridges, transit projects and more. Then there’s some amount of higher gas prices in California that’s harder to account for, which Severin Borentein, an energy economist at UC Berkeley, has dubbed the Mystery Gasoline Surcharge. But people are feeling the effects of climbing prices now, and both Democrat and Republican state lawmakers say they want to help. One option is decreasing the state tax on gas suppliers, with the aim of reducing prices. Another, which Gov. Gavin Newsom teased in his State of the State address, is some form of rebate to help defray the higher cost of gas. Here’s how each of those proposals would work, and what they would mean for Californians.
Decrease tax on gas suppliers – but by how much? California taxes gas before it gets sold and uses the money to fund
highway improvements and transit projects. Right now that tax – paid by suppliers – is about 51 cents per gallon, which makes it the second-highest in the nation, after Pennsylvania’s tax. It increases a little bit each year to keep up with inflation. This July the tax is set to go up by about 3 cents per gallon. Gavin Newsom made a modest proposal in January, before Russia invaded Ukraine: Pause the increase for one year. In other words, don’t let the tax go up by 3 cents this year. The Newsom administration described it as an effort “to potentially lower the price of gasoline” and provide some relief to consumers. The proposal is so small “it’s not going to have an effect that anyone will notice,” said Borenstein, the Berkeley economist. Drivers probably wouldn’t notice, but people managing state infrastructure budgets probably would: The plan would cost the state about $523 million in lost revenue. See Prices, Page A8
California mask mandate: Is it ending too soon for little children? Elizabeth Aguilera CALMATTERS
SACRAMENTO — Toddlers and preschoolers who have mostly known a school life with tiny masks may be in for a big lifestyle change now that the state mask mandate for young children has ended. While wearing masks is still strongly recommended, some medical experts worry removing the state mask mandate could be risky for tots. The change shifts the onus of requiring masking to child care and preschool operators, schools and school districts. Schools will no longer be able to bar a student from school for not wearing a face covering. “The wisest thing to do is go from a requirement
to strongly recommending (masks) and recognizing that there may be some places where they want to continue masking and that is OK,” said Dr. Tomás Aragón, state public health officer and director of the California Department of Public Health. “We are leaving it up to the county, district or schools.” Aragón told CalMatters that Friday was selected because by then, state officials had projected infections would have declined even more. It also gave schools and families more time to make decisions or prepare for the change. Parents throughout California have been vocal about wanting the mask mandate in schools lifted. At the Discovery Preschool in Truckee,
WEATHER 69 | 53 Increasing clouds. Five-day forecast on B8.
children have not been wearing masks for a few months, said Courtney Dent, the school’s assistant director, in violation of state guidelines. The Nevada County preschool has 72 students 2 to 5 years old. Dent said some children in January wore masks because of
the surge, but the school leaves it up to families. Masks are required for staff, teachers and parents of children at Discovery Preschool. Other safety measures include taking children’s temperatures when they arrive, not allowing parents into See Mask, Page A8
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