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Peña Adobe celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month at park

daily Republic Staff

DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

VACAVILLE — Folklorico Juvenil Danzantes Unidos de Vacaville dancers will help the Peña Adobe Historical Society celebrate National Hispanic American Heritage Month at the society’s open house Friday.

“They are really excited to get together and share their culture with the community,” said Sandra Trujillo, coordinator of the Folklorico group, which was founded eight years ago and is composed of middle school and high school students who will perform traditional dances from different regions of Mexico.

Joining them will be Francisco Pulido, from Rancho El Zapotillo in Dixon, and his horse, Pirate. Pulido will demonstrate his roping and riding skills. Churro My Heart, a Fairfieldbased business, will offer churros.

The event is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Peña Adobe Park.

The park is home to the Mowers-Goheen Museum, with its artifacts from the area’s settlement, as well as the Willis Linn Jepson Memorial Garden and the Indian Council Ground. Volunteers will offer tours of the museum, the adobe and the grounds.

The Peña Adobe is one of the oldest structures in Solano County, dating back to 1842 when the Juan Felipe Peña and Manuel Vaca families settled in Vacaville 180 years ago.

It is located in Lagoon Valley off of Interstate 80, at 4699 Peña Adobe Road. The historical society can be reached at 707447-0518 or by email at penaadobe@gmail.com.

Susan Hiland/Daily Republic file (2021) Members of the Folklorico Juvenil-Danzantes Unidos de Vacaville dance troupe entertain guests at the Pena Adobe Historical Society Fiesta Days celebration, Sept. 4, 2021.

Prop. 31 will let state’s voters decide whether they want to ban flavored tobacco products

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California voters will decide in November whether to uphold or block a law Gov. Gavin Newsom signed in 2020 that banned the sale of certain flavored tobacco products, an effort by antitobacco advocates to stop a youth vaping crisis and weaken the industry’s influence in the state.

Senate Bill 793 would have prohibited retailers in California from selling flavored tobacco products, popular among teens, with exceptions made for hookah, some cigars and looseleaf tobacco. The bill passed the Legislature with bipartisan support, despite intense lobbying by the tobacco industry and other interest groups.

After it was signed, opponents gathered enough signatures from Californians to put the issue on the statewide ballot, which delayed the law’s implementation until voters could weigh in on the new policy. It will appear on the Nov. 8 ballot as Proposition 31.

A “yes” vote means the law will go into effect, while a “no” vote means it won’t.

Proponents of the ballot measure said the new rules would help prevent tobacco use among younger people, who often gravitate toward e-cigarettes that contain what the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls “kidfriendly” flavors such as cotton candy, berry and cherry.

The opposition said the ban would incentivize a black market and remove products that smokers use as a way to quit standard cigarette smoking.

Lindsey Freitas, advocacy director for the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, said passing Proposition 31 is critical to stopping the sale of products she describes as the industry’s way “to hook a new generation.”

“These youth are drawn in by the flavors but hooked by the nicotine,” Freitas said.

A CDC youth survey in 2020 found that 20% of high school and 10% of middle school students reported current e-cigarette use.

“This policy is really about protecting our kids from an industry that sees them as dollar signs and nothing more. If not us stepping up and standing in the way, they will spend millions and millions of dollars to go after them,” Freitas said.

The “Yes on 31” campaign is supported by Newsom, the California Democratic Party, the California Teachers Association and a slew of organizations representing doctors, dentists, nurses and public health professionals. The campaign to pass Proposition 31 has raised more than $6.1 million, according to state campaign finance records.

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and Philip Morris USA are supporting the campaign against Proposition 31, and the California Republican Party endorsed a “no” vote against the initiative. The opposition has raised more than $1.7 million.

These groups argue that the flavored tobacco ban is akin to “prohibition,” and that it was would disproportionately affect those who favor menthol-flavored products, particularly people of color.

They’ve also pointed out Proposition 31’s likely reduction of state tobacco tax revenues. The independent Legislative Analyst’s Office estimates that loss could range from “tens of millions of dollars to around $100 million annually,” depending on if tobacco users stop smoking altogether or simply switch to unflavored products.

Beth Miller, a spokesperson for the “no” campaign, called Proposition 31 a “sweeping ban” on products that are already heavily regulated.

Federal law prohibits the sale of tobacco products to anyone under 21. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has in recent years cracked down on flavored tobacco and e-cigarette products and in April announced a plan to ban the sale of menthol cigarettes. Dozens of California cities have already passed some level of restrictions against the sale of flavored tobacco products.

“What Proposition 31 would do is take this adult choice of what adults want to choose away from them,” Miller said. “We believe that prohibition doesn’t work.”

Miller said the “no” campaign agrees that kids shouldn’t have access to these products but that Proposition 31 would make it harder to enforce the law “because there’s nobody selling underground cigarettes who is going to stop and ask kids for ID.”

The “yes” side has countered those claims by saying some products will still be available on the California market.

“This is not something that is going to ban (all) tobacco products,” said Dr. Michael Ong, chair of California’s Tobacco Education and Research Oversight Committee and a professor in residence of medicine and health policy and management at the University of California, Los Angeles.

“But it’s going to ban specific flavors that unfortunately are addicting kids, and also unfortunately are sustaining addiction among particular populations that is unfair, because they’ve been targeted by the tobacco industry.”

Dreamstime/TNS California voters will decide in November 2022, whether to uphold or block a law Gov. Gavin Newsom signed in 2020 that banned the sale of certain flavored tobacco products, an effort by anti-tobacco advocates to stop a youth vaping crisis and weaken the industry’s influence in the state.

Black Lives Matter mural comes to life in Vallejo

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A star-studded lineup of artists made for a festive Saturday on Santa Clara Street, where a determined but joyous crowd put the finishing touches on the city’s much anticipated Black Lives mural.

Organizer Askari Sowonde, a long and difficult wait – as well as a 5-2 city council vote of approval – behind her, was emotional when she saw the turnout for the unveiling of the art.

“You don’t understand how blessed and proud I am that people came out to support,” Sowonde said, speaking through tears. “I think it was Angel Ramos’ mother that she had to go out of town but if she could be here she would be here. One of the other impacted family members, she’s here. And that means so much to me because we are there for them and she’s here for us. The mural, designed by Sowonde as well as Mario Saucedo, Randy Babb, Mishel Deniz Adolph, Atsie Pirtle and Verlannia Manchester, was the centerpiece in an eight-hour block party featuring live entertainment, salsa and music from Jasmine Robinson, David El, Alvon Johnson and Zebra Man.

With two dozen of the city’s most spectacular cars in town, all eyes were still firmly planted on the middle of the street.

One of the other artists, Mishel Deniz Adolph, was glad to see the art come to life.

“It’s been a long two years waiting to do this,” Adolph said. “We’re doing this for the community and we wanted to involve the community. It’s been really difficult to get this done. Askari really had to do double time as people weren’t working here. But to see all the people here today, I mean I’m surprised to see this many people here today. I was on the phone saying, ‘Calling all artists, please come down today! Help us!’ And this is so much more than what I expected.”

Western Railway Museum Pumpkin Patch returns

SuSan Hiland

SHILAND@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

SUISUN CITY — The Western Railway Museum’s annual Pumpkin Patch Festival returns in October.

Special trains will carry passengers out to the pumpkin patch each Saturday and Sunday from Oct. 15-30.

The museum opens at 10:30 a.m. with train departures beginning at 11 a.m.

Pumpkins will be available for purchase at the patch, as well as snacks, drinks and other homemade specialties. There are plenty of activities for the whole family like pumpkin chucking, a petting zoo, tractor rides, a hay fort, pony rides and more.

All proceeds benefit the Western Railway Museum (a nonprofit educational institution) and the Fairfield-Suisun, Cordelia and Dixon Rotary Clubs, whose members will provide lunch for the day as one of their fundraisers for the year.

Western Railway Museum’s Pumpkin Patch Festival admission is $8 to $23. Some activities may require an additional cost.

The museum is located at 5848 Highway 12, Suisun City.

For more information and tickets, visit wrm.org or call 707-374-2978.

Susan Hiland/Daily Republic file (2019) Visitors at the annual Western Railway Pumpkin Patch loved the large hay fort created by Ian Anderson, Oct. 13, 2019.

SolTrans

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according to the press release. Charging takes place while the passengers are loading and unloading. Each charging session automatically ends when the bus pulls away from the pad.

Automatic charging during loading simplifies electric bus operations and lowers operating costs, according to the press release. The bus also has the option to be plugged in to charge away from public view at the SolTrans operations and maintenance facility.

The new bus was funded through the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program with help from the Solano Transportation Authority. The wireless inductive charger was funded with Transportation Development Act funds and a grant from the the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s Transportation Fund for Clean Air program.

The actual cost was not available. The person with the figures was out of the country. One estimate puts the combined cost at more than $2.1 million.

Momentum Dynamics, based in Malvern, Pennsylvania, provides high-power inductive charging for all types of electric vehicles, including buses, taxis, delivery trucks and heavy trucks.

One person killed in midtown Sacramento after late-night shooting along popular block

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One person is dead following an overnight shooting on a popular midtown block home to restaurants, bars and a music spot, police said Sunday morning.

Sacramento Police Department spokesman Officer Chad Lewis said the “investigation remains very active” after officers were called to the intersection of 28th and J streets for a homicide.

Lewis said the shooting occurred before 1 a.m. in front of several establishments on the 2700 block of J Street. Officers believe two shooters were involved, according to Lewis, but no suspect information was available.

Radio calls to dispatchers around 12:45 a.m. indicated officers were seeking a black pickup truck that was seen speeding away from the shooting by witnesses, while police radioed that one person was “down with a gun” along the north side of the intersection. The block — home to Harlow’s nightclub, BarWest sports bar, the Red Rabbit Kitchen and Bar, and Centro Cocina Mexicana – is bordered to the north by James Marshall Park.

Lewis said that the victim was pronounced dead at the scene by Sacramento Fire Department personnel after suffering “multiple gunshot wounds.” He said no other injuries were reported.

The incident marks the third late-night shooting on the city’s grid outside of popular late-night spots.

An April 3 gang shootout downtownaround10th and K streets killed six people and wounded 12. Three suspects — brothers Smiley and Dandrae Martin and Mtula Payton – face murder and other charges in that incident.

On July 4, one person was killed and four were injured after shots rang out in front of the Mix Downtown nightclub at 16th and L streets. A suspect has not been identified in that shooting.