Daily Republic: Monday, Dec. 5, 2022

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James Mark Rippee grew up in Vacaville.

At 24, he was involved in a motorcycle accident that took his sight, his frontal lobe and resulted in mental illness and other health issues that led to 35 years of homelessness.

On Tuesday, he died at a local hospital surrounded by family including his mother and two sisters. He was 59.

“This was always our biggest fear,” said Catherine Rippee-Han son, one of his sisters. “We tried so hard just to keep him alive. There was always a chance he’d die on the streets. He was beaten up, abused, hit by a car, robbed.”

Known fondly by his middle

name, Mark had turned up in an emergency room during the weekend. He was diagnosed with pneumococcal pneumonia and mul tiple organ failure due to delayed hospitalization.

“I was holding his hand when he died,” Rippee-Hanson said.

Who dropped him off at the hos pital remains a mystery, as does most of the last week of his life. Rip pee-Hanson and her twin, Linda Privatte, are slowly but surely piecing together answers that the family sorely needs.

To understand the magnitude of the family’s despair requires dialing back to the past.

The Rippee family has lived in Vacaville for 55 years.

Mark and his sisters were close,

and shared a lot of happy memories.

As Rippee-Hanson recalls, Mark was always happy and extremely friendly.

At 24, his motorcycle crashed into a grain harvester and forever changed his life. He lost both eyes and the part of his brain that reg ulates impulse control, reactions and emotions. He would later develop paranoid schizophrenia, experience bouts of psychosis and develop anosognosia, a condition where he is unable to understand that he has mental illness.

“He had more than 60 surger ies,” Rippee-Hanson said. “His accident was so horrible his doctors said he was a walking miracle.”

Mark would later take to the

Solano Land Trust plans 2 outings open to community

SUISUN CITY —

The Solano Land Trust invites the community to take part a pair of outdoor activities Satur day. The offerings include a workday in the Suisun Marsh and a hike through the Rockville hills.

One is an open space cleanup volunteer oppor tunity from 9 a.m. to noon at Hill Slough Bridge on Grizzly Island.

This is a quarterly activity hosted by the land trust, which this time focuses on the area around the Hill Slough Bridge – from the area of 3532 to 3594 Grizzly Island Road. There is no parking lot. Participants will park off the side of the road and are asked to look for signs and orange cones for where to park, and to carpool if possible.

Those who take part are asked to dress for the

weather – specifically, clothing for cold and/or windy conditions, closedtow shoes, a hat and work gloves – and to keep in mind the hazards that come with cleaning these areas. The land trust will provide trash-grab sticks, trash bags and buckets, latex-free gloves, water, and snacks. Participants should bring sunscreen and bug spray.

Anyone younger than 18 who participates must be accompanied by a parent, guardian or an adult chaperone from the organization with which they are associated, such as a scoutmaster or similar adult leader of a Scouting organization, or the adult leader of a church youth group or volunteer organization.

Questions about the outing should be directed to Andrés Velez at andres@solano

State Parks fully reopens Brannan Island State Recreation Area

Daily Republic Staff

DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

SUISUN MARSH — California State Parks has full reopened of Brannan Island State Recre ation Area after moving to reduced operations earlier this year.

ation, including boating and swimming.

Hours of operation are from sunrise until one hour after sunset, seven days a week.

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The operations of Iran’s “morality police” have effectively been suspended, a top offi cial said, after months of widespread anti-govern ment protests over the death of a young woman in its custody.

Officially called the Guidance Patrol, the police unit has for years stalked major intersec tions and thoroughfares in Iranian cities, arrest ing those it determined were flouting the Islamic Republic’s strict religious dress codes.

The patrols seemed to disappear from Tehran’s streets soon after nation wide protests erupted in mid-September over the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, who fell into a coma after being detained for her attire.

“The Guidance Patrol has nothing to do with the judiciary; it was sus pended by the same institution that formed it in the past,” the semiofficial Iranian Labour News Agency reported, citing Chief Public Pros ecutor Mohammad

All areas of the park will opened to the public Thursday. The public may begin booking camping reservations starting Jan. 1. Park Delta Bay will operate the state recreation area, which includes day-use areas, a boat launch ramp and campground sites.

Brannan Island is a maze of waterways through the SacramentoSan Joaquin Delta located northeast of the San Fran cisco Bay in the Suisun Marsh. The park unit has countless islands and marshes with many wildlife habitats and opportunities for recre

“Thank you to the public for their patience as State Parks searched for a new park operator at Brannan Island State Recreation Area,” Clint Elsholz, Diablo Range District acting superin tendent, said in a press release. “We’re excited for the partnership with Park Delta Bay to bring camping and day-use opportunities back to Brannan Island.”

Park Delta Bay, based in Isleton, currently oper ates 120 campsites and 120 slip marinas at Delta Bay. The facility has been around for about 30 years with the current owner ship for seven years.

State Parks earlier

Hasselback your salmon for a fresh way to eat this tasty fish B2

Renée

Byer/The Sacramento Bee/TNS file

Vacaville, July 27. Rippee died Tuesday.

This year’s (kinda) Grown Up Christmas List

There’s a Christmas song I like called “Grown Up Christ mas List” that was popularized by Christian pop singer Amy Grant. The chorus goes:

So here’s my lifelong wish

My grown up Christmas list not for myself but for a world in need

No more lives torn apart that wars would never start and time would heal all hearts and everyone would have a friend and right would always win and love would never end, no this is my grown up Christmas list

It’s all nice and Christ masy and joy to the world-like and, don’t get me wrong, I do wish all of that was so. But it does kind of sound like when a beauty queen contes tant says she wishes for world peace when in reality what she craves the most is the pag eant’s title, tiara and sash and, if need be, would go all Hunger Games on the other contestants to get them.

So here’s my (kinda) GrownUp Christmas List that I texted to Santa this morning. Yes, I have Santa’s number. Don’t hate, congratulate.

n I want to have a Tony Palooza™. Tony Palooza would be a worldwide gathering of anyone named Tony. Yes, it is navel-gazing on steroids and akin to that scene in “Being John Malkovich” when the title character went inside his own head, but I want it. Some of the celebrities who would attend would include Tony Curtis, Tony Danza, Tony the Tiger, Tony Randall, Tony Soprano, Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath), Tony Stark (Iron Man), Fat Tony (“The Simpsons”), Tony Manero (“Saturday Night Fever”), Tony Gwynn (San Diego Padres), Tony Hawk (skateboarder), Tony! Toni!

Toné! and many more. All the Tonys would be allowed to bring a guest. The only one not invited would be Tony Montana because when ever he brings his little friend it has a way of ruining the party.

n I want an invisi ble plane like Wonder Woman’s. And I mean a real one, not the one my brother Kelvin pretended to give me one year and I made a fool of myself when I went to Travis where he said they landed it and got laughed at.

n I want a complete Acme Products catalog. Now that the world has caught up to Looney Tunes with Amazon Prime, we can have items delivered as fast or faster than Wile E. Coyote did. The catalog will have Rocket-Powered Roller Skates, nitroglycerin, TripleStrength Fortified Leg Muscle Vitamins, a Female Road Runner Costume, an artifi cial rock, giant rubber bands, a jet bike, dehydrated boul ders, Do-It-Yourself Tornado Kit, a Jet-Propelled PogoStick, Earthquake Pills, Roller Skis, Invisible Paint, Explo sive Tennis Balls, instant road, a cactus costume and, of course, anvils, to name just a few items. Actually, you know what? I was going to use those quality prod ucts to see if I could catch a roadrunner, but since I have actually seen a coyote here, but never a roadrunner, that logi cally means they have all been caught already. Never mind.

n I want some free lessons to learn to do things I have never been able to do. This includes roller skating, riding a horse, catching a fish and playing a guitar. It would be extra special to ride a horse that was on roller skates while playing Heart’s “Barracuda” on a Stratocaster with a fishing line attached to its neck that led to a baited hook waiting for a bite in the Fairfield Civic Center pond.

n I want to be Santa Claus again. I dressed up as Kris

Kringle in 1997 for a Christmas party and loved it. I sang Christ mas carols in the first person like: “Here comes me, here comes me, right down my lane” and “You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, I’m tellin’ you why, I am coming to town.”

n I want an ornithophobia (fear of birds) filter for my TV. That way it would automatically do a 30- to 60-second blackout so I wouldn’t have to endure bird-related commercials. The worst offenders right now is the Liberty Mutual one where pie eating contestants are attacked by a flock of seagulls (not the New Wave band) and those stupid (but horrifying) ones with the LiMu emu. Oh, and I never want to see that evil little Twitter bird again, either.

n I want yard inflata bles for obscure holidays. Why should Christmas have all the fun? What about ones for World Sword Swallow ers Day (Feb. 26), National Awkward Moments Day

(March 18), National Super hero Day (April 28) and National Hairball Aware ness Day (April 29)? I want to be able to go up to neighbors and say, “I see your Grinch and Rudolph and I raise you a Gene Simmons (National Stick Out Your Tongue Day, July 19) and a Donald Duck (No Pants Day, May 6).”

n I want a meteorite-resis tant cap. It may sound silly, but it never hurts to be ready for any eventuality. This would have to be specially made as I already checked the Acme catalog for it.

n I want my Roxy Junk Trunk costume tailored. A number of years ago I chal lenged graduates of (to be read in a mocking tone) Fairfield High School to donate a certain some of money to my Ameri can Cancer Society Relay for Life team and I would dress as a FHS cheerleader. They did and Roxy JunkTrunk was born. A picture of me as Roxy next to Fairfield Mayor-Elect Catherine

Moy came up in my Facebook memories last week and it hit me there is no way I could wear that costume now. Not because of pride or dignity (that goes without saying), but because I’ve shed and maintained a 150-pound weight loss for two and a half years. Now, I don’t know when I’ll need my Roxy costume next, but it’s best to be prepared. I mean, it could be needed for a local fundraising event or just because I happen to hear the song “I Feel Pretty” from “West Side Story.”

n I want a “Harry Potter” invisibility cloak. A real one. See the second item, above.

Fairfield freelance humor col umnist and accidental local historian Tony Wade writes two weekly columns: “The Last Laugh” on Mondays and “Back in the Day” on Fridays. Wade is also the author of The History Press books “Growing Up In Fairfield, California” and “Lost Restaurants of Fairfield, California.”

Tony Wade The last laugh

Tree of Memories event offers in-person chance to celebrate loved ones who died

DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — The

Tree of Memories returns this year to an in-person event from 1 to 3 p.m. Sat urday at NorthBay Health’s Green Valley Administra tion Center, 4500 Business Center Drive.

Family, friends and community members gather each year to remember loved ones who have died. The memorial includes music, placing a ceremonial ornament on the tree, a photo slideshow, and a reading of names in memory of those who have died. A small reception will follow the memorial.

The tradition is to give a ceremonial ornament to all who attend to hang on the memorial tree to honor and celebrate the memory of a loved one. Visitors after the ceremony are welcome to retrieve the ornament and take it home to use in their own holiday traditions.

In addition to remem bering those who have died, the ceremony rec ognizes Pearl Harbor Day and the veterans who gave their lives to protect our freedom.

For more informa tion about the Hospice Tree of Memories service, contact Brenda Boyd at 707-646-3517 or bboyd@ NorthBay.org.

Rowland center to mark 81st anniversary of Pearl Harbor attack

VACAVILLE — The Rowland Freedom Center will unveil its new Pearl Harbor display and ded icate a genuine artifact from the USS Arizona on the 81st anniversary Wednesday of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The ceremony will include the first talk in a series of lectures titled “Faces of Freedom.” The topic Wednesday is “Evacuating Afghan istan,” which will focus on the actions of several members of the military during the evacuation, including officers from Travis Air Force Base.

Before the lecture begins, the Rowland Freedom Center will ded icate its new Pearl Harbor display. The ribbon will be cut by World War II Navy veteran Arthur Child, who was part of the crew of the USS Oklahoma and had transferred from the Okla homa in March 1941.

The event starts at 6 p.m. at 300 County Airport Road, Suite 300. Admis sion is free but donations are welcome – or bring a toy for Toys for Tots.

For more infor mation, visit Row landFreedomCenter.org.

Vaca Museum Guild set to stage Holiday Home Tour

VACAVILLE — The return of the Vacaville Museum Guild Holiday Home Tour happens from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. The tour features seven vintage homes, all on Buck Avenue and Main Street.

The museum doors will open at 9:30 a.m. Visitors will be able to park once and walk from place to place, enjoying a variety of styles, from Victorian to Craftsman, including a stately Spanish-style mansion, a beautiful “Winter Wonderland,” a home with 125 Santas, one with the “I’ll be Home for Christmas” theme and a “Quilter’s Cottage,” according to a press release.

The tour will start at the Vacaville Museum, 213 Buck Ave., where visi tors will pick up a map and descriptions of the homes on the tour, and enjoy light refreshments, including homemade pumpkin and cranberry breads, fruits, beverages and other holiday treats.

Tickets are on sale from 1 to 4:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday at the museum, online at vacav illemuseum.org or over the phone at 707-447-4513.

For more informa tion, call the museum or the event chairwoman, Marian Chmieleski, at 707-447-1191.

Vacaville residents may review Centennial Park plans

VACAVILLE — The new, draft master plan for Centennial Park in Vacaville is nearly com plete and the Parks and Recreation Department staff and project consul tant Helix Environmental Planning will present it to residents during a

virtual meeting from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The Zoom link is avail able at the city’s website, cityofvacaville.com. Additional information is available on the Cen tennial Park webpage at cityofvacaville.gov/parks. Written comments and questions may be submit ted to Park Planner Hew Hesterman by email at hew.hesterman@cityof vacaville.com or by letter to 40 Eldridge Ave., Suite 13, Vacaville, CA 95688, prior to or shortly after the meeting.

The goal is to gather feedback and comments on the draft plan to ensure it includes recreation elements that are most desired and appropriate for this 265-acre park site.

Centennial Park is located at 270 Browns Valley Parkway. It cur rently spans 53 acres of developed and undevel oped areas and includes four baseball fields – one lighted; biking, hiking, walking and running trails; four tennis courts; and five soccer fields.

Volunteers welcome to lay wreaths

DIXON — The Sacra mento Valley National Cemetery will soon host its annual wreath-lay ing ceremony.

Winters-based Remember-A-Vet and the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery Support Committee are coordinat ing the ceremony as part of the national Wreaths Across America effort.

Volunteers will help to unload the wreaths from trucks Friday. The wreaths will be placed starting at 9 a.m. Saturday.

Remember-A-Vet is a local organization that raises money and buys wreaths, which are placed on each veteran’s grave. It started in 2006 with 300 wreaths.

The Sacramento Valley National Cemetery is located at 5810 Midway Road. The event is open to the public.

For more information, visit RememberAVet.net.

Sweet Pea’s offers up Winter Wonderland

VACAVILLE — Sweet Pea’s Winter Wonder land welcomes visitors for a festive day filled with visits with Santa, vendors and more.

The day will also include gourmet food trucks, “Nutcracker” bal lerinas and face painting.

The event will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Satur day at 891 Alamo Drive. Visitors can get their pets pictures taken with Santa

from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sat urday and Sunday.

For more infor mation, go to www. sweetpeaspet.com.

Vaca candle vigil to honor lost loved ones

VACAVILLE — The Compassionate Friends will once again host a candle-lighting service to remember those who have died.

The service will begin with a program at 6 p.m. Sunday and the lighting of candles at 7 p.m. at the Hampton Inn & Suites, 800 Mason St.

Participants are asked to send a copy of a photo to have it included with a video for the service. Send photos to Victo ria Cassetta at victoria. cassetta@yahoo.com.

Benicia readies for Christmas parade

BENICIA — Benicia continues to celebrate the holiday season down town with the 28th Annual Christmas Parade and Holiday Market from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

The parade starts at 10 a.m. at First and D streets and ends at H Street. The parade features local marching bands, dancers and the muchanticipated Santa Claus.

The Holiday Market features handcrafted arts and crafts, gourmet items and delicious foods.

For more infor mation, visit www. beniciamainstreet.org.

Live Nativity returns to church

VACAVILLE — Trinity Baptist Church will present the 38th Annual Live Nativity from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Friday through Sunday at 401 W. Monte Vista Ave.

This free Christmas event will include actors, music and live animals.

For more information, call 707-448-5430 or visit tbcvacaville.com.

Grand Victorian Homes Tour returns

VALLEJO — Various homes in Vallejo will be included Sunday in the Grand Victorian Homes Tour.

A two-hour recep tion begins at 2:30 p.m. at USA World Classics Event

Center, 1521 Sonoma Blvd., followed by a selfguided home tours from 3 to 7 p.m.

An after-party is sched uled from 6 to 9 p.m. at Vino Godfather Winery, 1005 Walnut Ave.

For more informa tion go to www.madhatter vallejo.com.

SolTrans hosts open house, asks for toy donations

VALLEJO — SolTrans is partnering with Vallejo Fighting Back Partner ship to “Stuff the Bus” and bring gifts to chil dren in need.

The organizations are asking people to attend the SolTrans holiday open house and bring a new, unwrapped gift as part of the “Stuff the Bus” campaign.

The open house will take place from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Friday at 311 Sacramento St.

SolTrans also is working with Vallejo Art Walk to celebrate “all the festive art” in downtown Vallejo.

Government meetings mark week’s calendar

FAIRFIELD — A number of government meetings will take place this week. Some meet ings are both online and in-person. Check each agency’s website for more information.

The meetings include:

n Suisun-Solano Water Authority Board Exec utive Committee, 9 a.m. Monday, Suisun City Hall, council chamber, 701 Civic Center Blvd. Info: http:// ca-sid.civicplus.com/ AgendaCenter.

n Solano County Board of Supervisors, 9 a.m. Tuesday, County Govern ment Center, 675 Texas St., Fairfield. Info: www. solanocounty.com/depts/ bos/meetings/videos.asp.

n Fairfield City Council, 6 p.m. Tuesday, City Council chamber, 1000 Webster St. Info: www.fairfield.ca.gov/ government/city-council/ city-council-meetings.

n Vacaville Plan ning Commission, 6 p.m. Tuesday, City Hall, council chamber, 650 Merchant St. Info: www.ci.vacaville.ca.us.

n Solano Community College District Governing Board, 6:30 p.m. Wednes day, Solano Community College Administration Building, Denis Honey church Board Room 626, 4000 Suisun Valley Road, rural Fairfield. Info: www. solano.edu/governing_ board/meetings.php.

The Rio Vista City Council meeting sched uled Tuesday has been canceled.

Aaron Rosenblatt/Daily Republic file

Deotha Wolfe places a bell on a Christmas tree during the Tree of Memories ceremony at the NorthBay Healthcare Green Valley Administrative Center in Fairfield, Dec. 7, 2019.

Susan Hiland/Daily Republic file (2021)

The Annual Wreaths Across America event at the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery in Dixon saw hundreds of graves receive wreaths to honor the veterans at Christmastime, Dec. 18, 2021.

High gas prices prompt state lawmakers to consider penalties on oil profits

loS a ngeleS timeS

SACRAMENTO — A new class of California lawmakers will be sworn in Monday and thrust into the middle of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s political fight with oil companies, testing the clout of an industry that spends heavily to influence the Legislature and poten tially affecting gas prices for Californians.

The Democratic gov ernor has accused the oil industry of intentionally “price gouging” consumers at the pump as retribution for the state’s policies to phase out dependence on fossil fuels in an effort to curb climate change. The petroleum industry argues the consequences of those policies and the state’s dependence on a small number of oil refineries drives up gasoline costs.

In response to gas price spikes this year, the gov ernor pledged to back bills to place new mone tary penalties on excessive oil company profits in a special legislative session.

The stakes are particu larly high for lawmakers. The Legislature opens the special session Monday, the same day lawmak ers are sworn into office after oil companies and their trade union allies spent millions of dollars to help elect Republicans and moderate Democrats to the statehouse.

“The fact that the gov ernor put a spotlight on this in a special session means that these are not votes that will be forgot ten,” said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog, which supports Newsom’s effort. “This is going to be a career-defin ing vote for every legislator in the building.”

The sting of high gas prices has been felt all over the world. One week before the Novem ber election, President Joe Biden threatened a similar federal tax on major U.S. oil compa nies unless they increased production. Several Euro pean countries, including the United Kingdom and Spain, have implemented windfall profits taxes while other international governments have shown interest in some form of profit penalty.

Though Newsom first called for “a windfall tax on oil companies that would go directly back to Califor nia taxpayers” on Sept. 30, the governor’s office has yet to publicly release any details of his plan – and is pivoting away from calling it a “tax.” At this point, it’s unclear if Newsom’s proposal will become a nation-leading example of how to successfully imple ment a penalty and drive down gas prices, or more of a political maneuver to bolster his progressive image in a high-profile battle with the industry.

Filling up the tank is particularly costly for Californians, who paid an average of more than $1.50 per gallon above

national prices through mid-November. Price spikes led to record highs of $6.43 per gallon for regular unleaded fuel on June 14 and a differ ence of $2.60 more than the U.S. average on Oct. 4, according to data from the American Automobile Association and the state.

The question of who should shoulder the blame for those gas prices is at the heart of the fight between Newsom and the multibil lion-dollar oil industry.

After Newsom ran an advertisement over the summer in Florida invit ing that state’s residents to move to California because of its more progressive policies on education and reproductive rights, the Western States Petroleum Association responded with its own ads in Florida blaming Newsom for California’s highest in-thenation gas prices.

“California can’t afford Gavin Newsom’s ambition,” the ad said. “Can Florida?”

In California, the oil industry also spent more than $8 million on legis lative races in this year’s elections, state campaign finance records show. An independent expen diture committee funded by Valero, Marathon, Chevron and Phillips 66 notched several big wins in the Assembly but had more mixed results in the Senate.

The special session is the first Newsom has called since taking office in 2019 and allows for bills to take effect faster, 90 days after adjournment, than legislation passed in a regular session.

In a proclamation con vening the special session, Newsom called for legisla tion to deter price gouging by oil companies by impos ing a financial penalty on excessive profit margins, with that money returned to Californians. He also asked for bills to increase transparency and reg ulatory oversight of the industry to evaluate pricing and supply shortages.

Jim DeBoo, Newsom’s outgoing chief of staff, pointed to the industry’s inability to block a series of tough climate bills that Newsom implored the Legislature to approve in August as a precursor to the upcoming battle.

“If you watch what the oil companies have done and the types of wind fall profits they’ve made, this is not a hard decision

point from a political per spective,” DeBoo said in an interview before the election. “It’s kind of like, you’re with the oil com panies or with the people who drive.”

But Newsom’s call for lawmakers to take on the oil industry once again comes after he promised to have their backs in the last fight and then said at a conference in New York that he had to “jam my own Democratic Legisla ture” to pass the package of climate bills.

“Had I not done that all those special inter ests would have prevailed again to deny and delay,” the governor said in comments that he later apologized to lawmakers for making.

Both Senate President Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Lake wood, declined interview requests. Rendon wants to see the governor’s pro posal before commenting, a spokesperson said.

The governor’s aides have already shifted away from calling his plan “a windfall profits tax.” The administration now refers to it as a “price-gouging penalty,” which would be imposed on profits above a still-to-be-deter mined threshold.

The linguistic change could have a real impact. Passing a new tax requires a two-thirds vote in the Legislature, while impos ing a new penalty requires a simple majority vote. Though Democrats have a supermajority in both houses, caucus members often spilt on economic issues and struggle to muster enough votes to pass new taxes.

Switching the finan cial levy to a penalty also makes it harder for the opposition campaign’s message to take hold. Oil companies have already coined the effort “Gavin’s new gas tax.”

In a recent state hearing on gas price spikes, state regulators said Californians usually pay the highest retail gas oline prices in the nation because of higher taxes, production and environ mental costs, the isolation of the market, more expen sive costs for crude oil and more expensive retail gas oline brands.

The California Energy Commission pointed out that “maintenance issues” at the five refineries in the

state were often related to price spikes. With a limited number of refiner ies in California, problems that take equipment offline offset the balance of supply and demand. Staff said the state is isolated from alternative sources, such as international pro ducers, and price spikes caused by refinery outages last longer than in other places because of delays in backfilling supply.

Companies that operate oil refineries in California declined to participate in the hearing, preventing regulators and expert pan elists from asking detailed questions about decisions that led to price spikes this year. Newsom tweeted a picture of their empty chairs while at the same time blasting the refin ers for making “profits of $63 billion in just 90 days” this fall.

Paul Davis, a senior vice president at PBF Energy, said his company didn’t show up because the governor “politicized it.” PBF, which operates a refinery in Torrance, also can’t have price discussions with their competitors in fear of vio lating federal rules about collusion, he said.

Davis flatly rejected Newsom’s allegation that the industry was inten tionally driving up costs and said his company sat down with the governor’s staff over a year ago and explained that California would suffer supply prob lems with so few refineries operating in the state. He pointed to maintenance issues at refineries as the major cause of the price spikes, in addition to the higher cost of operating in the state.

Refineries are not required to report planned maintenance to the state, which means multi ple refineries can end up unexpectedly reducing production at the same time and lowering supply.

“It was the planned and unplanned maintenance of the refineries starting in the spring, and the lack of imports from around the world to balance it out,” Davis said.

Davis said his refinery could make investments in its facility in hopes of reducing unplanned equipment problems, but without a clear picture of the company’s future in California, it’s hard to justify those highdollar costs.

“I can’t go right now and say we should invest $200 million in the Torrance refinery in 2025 because I can’t tell them I’m going to be in business there in 2030,” Davis said.

Davis said if faced with a cap on revenues, refin eries would either “export the production” to other countries “or not make it,” which he said would drive up in-state prices.

Court disputed the idea that refiners would sell gasoline elsewhere.

Agency reports wayward Solano inmate back in custody

Man had walked away from prison camp in rural Suisun City

Daily Republic Staff

DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

SUISUN CITY — State prison agents have apprehended Raul Mejia, a prisoner who on Thursday walked away from the Delta Conser vation Camp.

Mejia, 22, was taken into custody without inci dent at approximately 5:45 p.m. Saturday in Los Angeles County by Cal ifornia Department of Corrections and Reha bilitation Special Service Unit agents, the state prison system announced Sunday in a press release.

Authorities discov ered Mejia was missing at approximately 7:35 p.m. Thursday during an evening count, the state prison system reports. A search of the camp build ings and grounds was conducted, to no avail.

The prison system’s Office of Correctional Safety, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and local law enforcement agencies were noti fied and assisted in the initial search.

Mejia was received by the state prison system from Los Angeles County in August 2022 with a prison sentence of seven years, eight months for stalking, discharging a firearm in an inhabited dwelling/vehicle and attempting to prevent/ dissuade a witness against testifying.

The Delta Conserva tion Camp is located at 6246 Lambie Road. It

opened in June 1988 and is jointly operated by the state prison system and Cal Fire.

The primary mission of the camp is to provide prison fire crews for fire suppression for Cal Fire’s Sonoma, Lake, Napa Unit and Solano County areas, although crews may also be dispatched through out the state, according to the state prison system’s website. Prisoner hand crews provide a work force for conservation projects. The in-camp Cal Fire project is a Digital Decal Sign Shop, which produces letters, numbers and striping of vehicles for fire and law enforcement agencies.

The state prison system reports that since 1977, 99% of all prison ers who have left an adult institution, camp or com munity-based program without permission have been apprehended.

Raul Mejia

Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times/TNS file

Gas prices seen at a Chevron station in Torrance, Oct. 3.

(707) 427-1386

Man charged with murder in shooting of Migos rapper Takeoff

The WashingTon PosT

The Houston police department announced Friday that a suspect has been arrested and charged in the fatal shooting of rapper Takeoff, one-third of the group Migos.

Patrick Xavier Clark, 33, was arrested Thurs day night and charged with Takeoff’s murder, said Houston Police Chief Troy Finner in a Friday afternoon news confer ence. Cameron Joshua, 22, who was at the scene of the crime, was also arrested Nov. 22 and charged for unlawfully possessing a weapon as a felon. The police would not say whether that weapon was directly con nected to the murder.

“We stood here a month ago and made a

promise that we would get the individual or indi viduals that’s responsible for the murder of Takeoff into custody,” Finner said after thanking the public for its patience as the department worked through evidence.

“We lost a good man,” he added.

Takeoff, 28, whose real name is Kirshnik Khari Ball, was shot and killed on Nov. 1 after a private party at 810 Billiards and Bowling. Sergeant Michael Barrow referred to Takeoff during Fri day’s conference as an “innocent bystander” after an argument ensued outside of the bowling alley following what was described as a “lucra tive” dice game. Takeoff, Barrow said, was not involved in the dice game or the confrontation.

Zits Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

Pearls Before Swine Stephan Pastis

Dilbert Scott Adams

Baby Blues

Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott

Baldo Hector Cantú

Should California tax oil profits?

Gas spike hearing sets stage for contentious debate

Tribune ConTenT AgenCy

SACRAMENTO — Con

sumer advocates and oil industry representatives launched opening salvos Tuesday in a bitter debate over whether oil compa nies are “price gouging” drivers or are themselves actually the victim of Cal ifornia’s green policies squeezing out fossil fuel industries.

The California Energy Commission convened the panel of energy experts, advocates and oil industry representatives to probe a gas price spike in Sep tember that at one point ballooned to an unprec edented $2.60-price gap between what Golden State drivers paid for the average gallon as opposed to the rest of the country.

Tuesday’s hearing in Sacramento was meant to dig into the historic price spike that saw prices top $6.40 a gallon before drop ping Tuesday below $5 for the first time in nearly nine months. But instead of exposing a smoking gun, the commission meeting ultimately revealed that regulators are “completely in the dark,” according to one state analyst, when it comes to critical oil indus try operations that shape the state’s increasingly vol

atile gasoline market.

“Basically it is more authority” that is needed, said Quentin Gee, an analyst for the energy commission.

The hearing comes amid a push by Gov. Gavin Newsom to levy a new “windfall profits tax” on oil companies that will be at the center of a special session in the Legislature this January.

The commission called on state experts to testify on a question that has plagued drivers for decades: Why are gas prices in Califor nia so high?

“What explicitly do we need to be able to understand why there’s a mystery surcharge, why California pays more?” said commissioner Patty Monahan. “I’m wondering if anybody can kind of walk through what they would recommend?”

Gordon Schremp, the commission’s top analyst, outlined a series of condi tions that led to the historic gas price spike, including lower-than-normal gaso line inventories among the state’s oil refiners, lowerthan-normal fuel imports and mechanical hiccups that fueled a supply short age. But Schremp said his agency had no way to access company-level

information to explain why the state’s handful of oil refineries let their invento ries dwindle and decreased their foreign fuel imports despite the supply crunch.

Jamie Court, with Consumer Watch dog, said Tuesday’s meeting – including the panel of experts – echoed the same frustrations Cal ifornia’s drivers have seen for decades.

“I was on the 2000 gas pricing task force,” said Court, who called on the state Senate to issue sub poenas demanding oil company data. “The same six people in the room talking about this stuff isn’t going to get it done.”

CEC Commissioner David Hochschild, a Newsom appointee, com pared the meeting to “looking through a picket fence” with commission ers “seeing only some of what’s on the other side.”

Much of California’s high gasoline costs are explained by the state’s high taxes, environmen tal regulations and special fuel blends that prevent rampant smog from accumulating in cities. Altogether fees – includ ing federal taxes that all states pay – tack on roughly $1.20 to the base price of California gasoline.

Last month, the pain at the pump prompted Newsom to accuse major oil companies of “price gouging.” He announced a special legislative session to pursue a “windfall profits tax” on oil com panies. Newsom said the session would be a “date with destiny” starting on Dec. 5. The legislative hearings are not expected to get underway until January when lawmakers return to Sacramento after the holidays.

Newsom’s push to tax oil refiners’ profits gained steam in recent weeks as major oil companies reported soaring profits in their most recent quarter.

“California oil refin ers reported truly windfall profits in 2022, profits levels they have never reached in the last 20 years,” said Court. “It’s time for the state to set a windfall profits cap on oil refiners so that the Golden State gouge comes to an end.”

For now, the gover nor and state lawmakers are holding any plans for a profits tax close to their chest. Newsom has said revenue from a tax on oil industry profits would “go right back to the taxpayers,” which could look similar to the

$350 gas rebates many Californians received.

Analysts backing the oil industry say a wind fall profits tax would only cause oil refineries to reduce their gasoline supply, leading to more price shocks for consum ers. They say high profits are necessary to back infrastructure invest ments in an industry that saw profits crash during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In “2020 the oil com panies lost hundreds of billions of dollars,” said Michael Mische, a busi ness professor at USC, speaking on Monday at an event organized by Cali fornians Against Higher Taxes. “Today they’re making it back.”

On Tuesday, policy makers’ testy relationship with the oil industry was on display. The commis sion left empty six seats with names of oil industry executives who declined to attend the hearing. On Monday, Newsom blasted the oil industry’s planned no-show as “pathetic.”

Taking their place on Tuesday was the Western States Petroleum Associa tion, a trade group.

“You cannot tax your way out of this problem,” said WSPA President Catherine-Reheis Boyd.

“The only result of a wind fall profit tax will make the problem worse. You are sending the absolute oppo site investment decision . . . to anyone who wants to continue business here.”

Severin Borenstein, an energy economist at UC Berkeley, said Tues day’s meeting is not doing much to further regula tors’ knowledge on the subject, but he says it will “establish a framework and baseline that we can work from.”

Borenstein cautioned lawmakers that the latest gas price spike is only a symptom of a larger problem in the state’s gas market, which he terms the “mystery gas surcharge.” Even after accounting for the state’s high taxes and environmental fees, Cal ifornians pay upwards of 30 cents extra per gallon compared to the rest of the country, according to his analysis.

“We should avoid getting distracted by the spot price spikes, which are short-lived,” said Borenstein during an interview on Monday.

“The much bigger money is the mystery gasoline surcharge. It’s many times larger in terms of draining consumer pockets.”

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/TNS file (2015)

A Chevron refinery in Richmond, March 3, 2015.

Jafar Montazeri.

The comments, which don’t amount to an offi cial dissolution of the unit, follow deadly unrest and protests that have chal lenged Iran’s theocratic leadership on a scale not seen since they took power after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Montazeri’s statement is unlikely to represent a major shift in policy and didn’t address protesters’ demands to scrap manda tory religious dress codes altogether, or deal with a broad list of grievances related to civil liber ties, governance and the rule of law.

With mandates for how women must dress still in place, removing the Guid ance Patrol also raises questions about how the rules will be enforced, and whether an alternative system will emerge.

In a sign that regula tion of public life will not necessarily be relaxed, Montazeri said that “of course, the judiciary con tinues to monitor behavior in the community.”

In separate comments published in the moderate Shargh newspaper on Sat urday, Montazeri said that the judiciary was working on a draft proposal for amendments to how laws “pertaining to chastity and hijab” should be enforced, referring to the Arabic word used to describe reli gious modesty codes.

“Following recent

events, the relevant bodies are looking for a prudent solution,” he said, adding that Iran’s parliament and the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution plan to reach a decision on how to go forward within 15 days.

According to rights groups, more than 400 people have been killed by security forces in the protests, includ ing scores of children. The United Nations said last month that more than 14,000 people have so far been arrested for taking part and many stand accused of serious offenses that carry the death penalty.

Since 2006, green and white Guidance Patrol minivans have regularly cruised busy streets, espe cially during summer months, arresting passersby, mostly young women, deemed to be improp erly dressed.

Amini’s death sparked a public outcry, and many women began publicly shunning or destroying head scarves that have been compulsory for them since childhood. Many women are now seen out in public in Tehran’s more liberal northern enclaves without head coverings.

Iranian officials have repeatedly accused foreign countries, includ ing the U.S., of instigating the unrest and have vowed to continue their heavy crackdown on protesters.

Last month, the United Nations said it would investigate Iran for human rights violations and called on the Islamic Republic to immediately end its target ing of demonstrators.

Outings

From Page One

landtrust.org.

Registration is required and may be made at https://solan olandtrust.org/events. Select the event, then select the link to the reg istration form.

A nature hike

The other is a nature hike from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Patwino Worrtla Kodoi Dihi Open Space Park in rural Fairfield.

From Page One

this year reduced opera tions at Brannan Island.

American Land & Leisure worked with the depart ment to operate the state recreation area starting in 2013 but ended its opera tions April 1. From June through September, State Parks was operating the boat launch ramp and nearby beach area on Sat urdays and Sundays.

Whether an experi enced outdoor enthusiast or a new one, State Parks advises the public to make use of the recre ation area responsibly and offers some tips:

n Know before you go. Prior to leaving home, check the status of the park unit you want to visit to find out what restric tions are in place. Have a backup plan in case your destination is crowded. Stay home if you’re sick.

n Play it safe. Find

out what precautions you should take when exploring the outdoors, especially if this is your first time visiting the State Park System. If the visit includes water activities, remember to wear a life jacket. Life jackets may be borrowed for free at one of more than 100 local life jacket loaner sta tions throughout the state. To find those sites, visit https://dbw.parks. ca.gov/?page_id=29179.

One of those sites is at Sandy Beach Park along the Sacramento River in Rio Vista.

n Leave no trace. Leave areas better than how you found them by staying on designated trails and packing out all trash. Do not disturb wild life or plants.

Ad ditional safety tips are available online at https://www.parks. ca.gov/?page_id=29142.

For detailed informa tion on Brannan Island State Recreation Area, visit https://www.parks. ca.gov/?page_id=487.

Those who partici pate will have a chance to explore the hills between Suisun Valley and Green Valley and see sweeping views of Solano County and beyond. Scenic blue and live oaks, native wildflowers and what is characterized as “fasci nating geology” make this “a truly unique hike.”

The hike is deemed moderately strenuous and covers 4 to 6 miles. Rain or extreme weather will

Man

From Page One

streets, where he felt most comfortable. And his sisters, concerned for their brother, would be unsuccessful in their attempts to permanently bring him home.

For the past 35 years, his sisters would advocate with city, county, state and federal officials to make Mark’s plight known. But each time they were ultimately dismissed, rebuffed, turned away.

Still, they contin ued, creating the Mark group on Facebook, which has more than 2,000 members. Most are active, helping to track his whereabouts and lend a hand when needed whether a blanket, cloth his condition wors ened, they refused to give showing up at various meetings, making phone calls, writing emails and letters en masse in part nership with community upporters. He required a special conservator ship, they said, adding that, as they are not well off, it’s disappointing that had they been wealthy he could have been helped

“My brother’s life came down to dollars and lots of excuses,” RippeeHanson exclaimed.

The sisters did their best to still care for Mark, despite both being dis abled, and often told him how much the community rallied around him.

And, they always told him how they were trying to help, so he wouldn’t be surprised.

“He knew we were trying to help him,” Rip pee-Hanson emphasized.

Some progress has been made. A documen tary is in the works, and Sen. usan Talamantes Eggman of Senate Dis

cancel the hike.

Participants will meet at the red Ice House at the corner of Suisun Valley and Rockville roads.

Registration is required and may be made at https://solanolan dtrust.org/events. Select the event, then select the link that is marked “Reg istration Required.”

Pandemic precautions

The Solano Land Trust maintains recommen dations established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to slow the spread of the virus that causes Covid-19:

n Avoid entering the facility if you are feeling sick, or have a cough or fever.

n Maintain a minimum

6-foot distance from anyone who is not a house hold member.

n Sneeze and cough into a cloth or tissue or, if not available, into one’s elbow.

n Do not shake hands or engage in any unneces sary physical contact.

n Wearing a face covering is strongly recommended.

was grateful that Mark’s no longer suffering, “yet so angry that the only way for the suffering to be alle viated was to pass into true rest. My heart goes out to all who loved him.”

Kathy Burchett is the mother of a homeless adult with schizoaffec tive disorder.

No help for my son either,” she shared. “How long will it be until I’m in this same boat? I don’t want to know... I’m so sad about Mark. It was as if Mark’s story gave me hope that if his family was able to get through all the red tape, maybe there is hope for my D.

trict 5 is working on a bill to change the definition of the term “gravely dis abled,” which could help others get care.

“There are so many families,” Rippee-Hanson said. “We are not the only ones. They’ve tried every thing, just like we did.”

She expressed sadness that some people didn’t see her brother as human, but merely an inconve nience, “a piece of trash lying in the street.”

Mark, she continued, was a wonderful, funny man who loved nothing more than to make someone else smile.

“He loved his family,” she said in a whisper. “All he ever wanted was a family of his own but he didn’t have that opportunity.”

An outpouring of care streamed across the Mark of Vacaville page.

“Mark was part of our community. Unfortu nately overlooked by the systems that are suppos edly here to protect us, care for us and keep us safe,” wrote Loreli Coles. “But there were many citizens who cared about Mark. We tried to help when we could. I brought food and water to him when I could. I lead by example while my chil dren were with me to show that everyone matters.

“I can’t imagine the suffering Linda, Mark’s sister, and their family have gone through. I only know of their strug gles from Facebook. The frustration and at times hopelessness. But they were always there sup porting, loving and advocating for Mark. I’m sure Mark is in a better place. I imagine free of pain and hardship. Rest peacefully Mark.”

Christina Thomas said the system “let him down in so many ways.”

“God Bless all the people that took care of him out on the streets he called home,” she added. “May his memory be eternal .”

Deborah Arsich shared that Mark’s story needs to be continued.

“His legacy will be improved education to the public regarding the critical need for appropri ate care of our mentally challenged people in this country,” she advised.

“What happened to him is shameful and the strug gle his family has had fighting for him is a sin. Our country must do better! No family should suffer the way Mark and his loved ones have, but sadly there are thousands who are suffering the same way. “

Jen Antoniou said she

“Now with Mark’s passing, I feel as though I’ve lost a big part of that hope.”

Donna Erickson said she hopes that, with Mark’s death, people will now pay attention.

“There are too many other “Marks” out there who need help and are suffering,” she advised.

“Maybe Mark’s suffer ing won’t be in vain, if his death leads the way to improving the very broken mental health care system in this country.”

Michelle Lynn Cornejo said that, as a medical professional, “It was an absolute honor and privilege to be able to take care of someone from my hometown as well as be a “Curbside Care Giver” for Mark. I will miss looking for him to feed him and simply be of some company. “

A GoFundMe has been set up to help with funeral expenses: https:// bit.ly/3FlfCJt.

The community is also asked to attend Tuesday’s meeting of the Solano County Board of Super visors, at 8:30 a.m. at the Solano County Govern ment Center, 675 Texas St. in Fairfield, board chambers.

A vigil and memorial are also in the works.

Robinson Kuntz/Daily Republic file

The Hill Slough Wildlife Area spans both sides of Grizzly Island Road from Highway 12 south for about 2 miles.

Jorg Fleige/Courtesy file photo

A view at the Patwino Worrtla Kodoi Dihi open space, which is managed by the Solano Land Trust.

Renée C. Byer/The Sacramento Bee/TNS file

Mark Rippee shields his face from the sun while trying to take a nap in the shade along Markham Avenue as a pedestrian waits at a bus stop in Vacaville in July.

Griner facing ‘terrible’ life at remote penal colony in Russia

Tribune ConTenT agenCy

The inmates at IK-2 penal colony rise at 6 a.m. each day for a breakfast of milk porridge, bread and tea. Soon they leave their barracks at this aging facil ity about 300 miles southeast of Moscow, in the isolated republic of Mordovia.

Long days are spent in forced labor, working at sewing machines, with only a short break for lunch. By nightfall, prisoners are fed dinner and allowed an hour or less of free time before going to sleep in dor mitories crowded with scores of bunk beds. The routine report edly can stretch for weeks on end with no days off.

It is unclear if one of the newest arrivals – American bas ketball star Brittney Griner – will take part in this strict regimen or receive special treatment, but experts familiar with the crimi nal justice system in Russia paint a worrisome picture.

“Her life will be very diffi cult,” said Marina Alexandrova, a University of Texas associate professor who lectures on the history of Russian prisons. “It will be terrible.”

Among Russia’s hundreds of prisons, the 21 facilities clus tered in Mordovia are especially notorious. Russia Behind Bars, a humanitarian group based in Moscow, alleges that labor condi tions at the IK-2 violate national law, medical care is limited and substandard food provides little sustenance, especially during long, cold winters.

The world got its first look inside such colonies in 2013 when Nadezhda Tolokon nikova, of the punk band Pussy Riot, served time in another part of Mordovia for “hooliganism.”

Tolokonnikova went on a hunger strike and wrote an open letter that said sleep-deprived workers, pushed to their limits by unrealistic production quotas, endured intimidation and beat

ings. Toilets overflowed and inmates were left outside in the cold as punishment.

“As the prisoner saying goes,” Tolokonnikova stated, “’Those who never did time in Mordovia never did time at all.’”

The events that led Griner there began in mid-February

when the 32-year-old Phoenix Mercury center arrived in Moscow to join UMMC Ekater inburg, a club team that pays reported $1 million-plus to play during the WNBA offsea son. Airport authorities searched her luggage and found two vaping cartridges with traces of cannabis oil.

Drug smuggling charges were soon overshadowed by world events as Russia invaded Ukraine, with Griner viewed as a political pawn. The U.S. State Department deemed her to be “wrongfully detained,” opening the way for the Biden admin istration to pursue a prisoner exchange. She was convicted in August, sentenced to nine years and eventually transported to IK-2, where her legal team recently visited.

“Brittney is doing as well as could be expected and trying to stay strong as she adapts to a new environment,” her lawyers said in a statement. “Consider

ing that this is a very challenging period for her, there will be no further comments from us.”

Russian penal colonies are divided into four categories, ranging from lenient to strict. A 2017 Amnesty International report characterized most of these prisons as “among the worst in Europe.”

Griner is incarcerated at one of 35 mid-level or “general regime” facilities devoted to female inmates. IK-2 has a dozen or so nondescript structures, built long and narrow, surrounded by walls and barbed wire.

Like other colonies, IK-2 requires its population to dress in uniform. But unlike institutions for men, where inmate groups informally govern themselves, the women’s facility is run by administrators who can be brutally strict. Alexandrova said inmates “can be punished if their uniform is not buttoned

As the ambitious USMNT exits the World Cup,

WashingTon PosT

The

RAYYAN, Qatar —

To a man, the U.S. men’s national soccer team coaches and players spoke of a bright future, of renewed inter est in the program and regained respect glob ally. Their World Cup ended Saturday with a 3-1 round-of-16 defeat to the Netherlands in a match against a prac ticed opponent that exposed shortcomings and innocence.

Within the ambitious group, though, there was a feeling they had only scratched the surface.

49ers beat Dolphins 33-17, Jimmy Garoppolo injured

Tribune ConTenT agenCy

SANTA CLARA — As unsightly as it was for the 49ers to have another injured quarterback carted off their home field, they won yet again.

Their fifth consecu tive win came Sunday by outlasting the Miami Dolphins 33-17 and overcoming Jimmy Garop polo’s foot injury on the 49ers’ opening possession.

Some 2 ½ months after the 49ers lost Trey Lance to a fractured ankle in the home opener, Garoppolo injured his left foot battling on a thirddown sack Sunday, all of which left Sunday’s game and perhaps many more in the hands of rookie quarterback Brock Purdy.

The 49ers (8-4) are not a quarterback-reli ant team, even if their franchise lore says oth erwise. Defense dictates the direction of this year’s team, with the help of offensive stars Deebo Samuel and Chris tian McCaffrey to come through in timely fashion.

The Dolphins (8-4) committed four turn overs, including a pair in the final minutes to seal their fate. Nick Bosa’s third sack of the game –

he took the NFL lead with 14 1/2 this season – forced a Tua Tagovailoa fumble that Dre Greenlaw recov ered and returned 23 yards for the game’s final score. Fred Warner intercepted Miami backup Skylar Thompson to open the Dolphins’ final possession, with 1:42 to go.

Next up, the 49ers com plete their three-game homestand next Sunday against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buc caneers, who take a 5-6 record into Monday night’s home game against New Orleans.

All due respect to Purdy’s relief performance (25-of37, 210 yards, two touchdowns, one intercep tion), but the 49ers’ most crucial throw came with six minutes left. That’s when coach Kyle Shana han chucked his challenge flag over 20 yards onto the field to rightfully contest a fourth-down conversion catch by the Dolphins’ Mike Gesicki at the 49ers’ 33-yard line. Greenlaw was there to help defend the pass to Gesicki near the Dol phins’ sideline.

Just like last Sun day’s 13-0 shutout

win over the Saints, the 49ers tried salting away the final minutes of victory with running plays, including a 30-yard cutback effort by McCaf frey to the 11-yard line. The Dolphins’ third sack of Purdy and a George Kittle holding penalty backed things up for Robbie Gould, but he banged in his fourth field goal in four attempts Sunday, this final one from 48 yards with 2:03 to go.

McCaffrey had 146 yards from scrimmage (80 receiving, 66 rushing) and Samuel had 58 yards on six receptions to key the 49ers’ offense.

Tagovailoa finished 18-of-33 for 295 yards, two touchdowns and two inter ceptions, with Tyreek Hill catching nine balls for 146 yards and one touchdown.

In his most mean ingful action as a pro, Purdy sometimes threw into tight windows with success, and sometimes he got wild, especially on third down. All in all, it was an acceptable effort from this past draft’s “Mr. Irrelevant” as the 262nd and final player selected (out of Iowa State).

The 49ers’ bid for a fifth straight game with

a second-half shutout came to an end early in the fourth quarter, which opened with a 19-yard catch by Hill and then a 45-yard touchdown grab by Hill, who raced past Charvarius Ward’s oneon-one coverage.

That cut the 49ers’ lead to 23-17 with 14:28 to go, and it gave Miami the momentum it couldn’t get in the third quarter.

Tua Tagovailoa had not thrown an interception in 193 passes before Jimmie Ward and Deommodore Lenoir snagged consec utive throws in the third quarter. The intercep tions led to two Gould field goals, from 43 and 36 yards, to stake the 49ers to a 23-10 lead entering the fourth quarter.

Ten seconds into the game, the 49ers were down 7-0, having allowed former 49er Trent Sher field to zip through their defense for a 75-yard catch-and-run touchdown on Tua Tago vailoa’s quick strike. Safety Tashaun Gipson Sr. was one of several defenders caught out of place, as Sherfield sped past linebackers Fred Warner and Azeez Al-Shaair, and safety Talanoa Hufanga.

Thirteen players who helped form the nucleus are 25 or younger and most are employed by clubs in major Euro pean leagues. Others in that age range, from this roster and the wider player pool, were waiting in the wings.

It’s not just a prom ising group but a tight group, one that par layed chemistry into cohesive performances for much of their stay. Even after the disap pointment of being eliminated, the players remained together late into the night talking about what’s possible in 2026, when the World Cup is staged in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

“Can we win against top teams? Can we perform well against top teams well enough to win? I think this group is close,” Coach Gregg

Berhalter said. “The American public should be optimistic.”

The U.S. team showed it belonged here, going toe to toe with England, pushing the Nether lands and being among five of the 32 countries to go unbeaten in the group stage. The break through moment against the titans of the game, though, remains elusive.

Over 32 years and eight appearances, the U.S. record is 2-13-7 against teams from Europe and South America, soccer’s domi nant continents. In Qatar, the Americans gained draws against Wales and England and fell to the Netherlands.

Baby steps for an ado lescent team.

“They can look forward to a great future,” said Dutch man Denzel Dumfries, who dominated the right flank and posted a goal and two assists. “They can certainly grow into an elite team.”

The first order of busi ness is who will lead the way. Berhalter’s contract expires soon and the U.S. Soccer Federation must decide whether he is the man to take the program to the next level.

That’s assuming Ber halter wants to stay on the job; he could decide to return to the day-to-day demands of coaching a club.

“For the last month, month and a half, I

Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (10) is helped up by 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey

(23) after being injured during a sack against the Miami Dolphins, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Sunday.

Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool/AFP/ Getty Images/TNS file WNBA basketball superstar Brittney Griner sits inside a defendants’ cage before a hearing at the Khimki Court, outside Moscow, July 27.

the focus shifts to what’s possible

Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post file

Coach Gregg Berhalter, defender Walker Zimmerman, midfielder Yunus Musah and the U.S. team salute the supporters following the 3-1 defeat to the Netherlands in the World Cup round of 16.

Hasselback your salmon for a fresh way to eat this tasty fish

A nn M Aloney THE WASHINGTON POST

Ever have a friend who finds little ways to make life easier? She offers clever asides or makes astute observations that result in why-didn’t-I-think-of-that moments. The cookbook “Prep and Rally” by Dini Klein delivers that same feeling: Here’s someone who not only gets it, but wants to help you get it, too.

I found myself nodding and saying “so smart” as I flipped through her cookbook filled with organizing tips, detailed grocery lists, and specific food prep and cooking advice designed to help busy home cooks like Klein, a trained chef and working mother of three, get dinner on the table without sacrificing fun and flavor.

The book mirrors what Klein offers through her Prep + Rally family meal plan service. The gist: Pick four dishes to cook, make a solid grocery list, then spend an hour or so on one day (maybe Sunday) making sauces, sides and recipe building blocks so you can then quickly throw together dinner Monday through Thursday.

Even if, like me, you don’t feel the need to completely revamp your cooking habits, her cookbook delivers some thing you probably do want: fast, make-ahead recipes that don’t feel like retreads.

This hasselback salmon is my favorite example from the book. I chose this recipe from among the many tasty options because as much as I love salmon, I sometimes find myself falling back on buying fillets, pan searing them, and drizzling them with olive oil and lemon. Tasty, but sigh.

This one offered some thing differently delicious, but still quite simple. And you can assemble it the day before, wrap it up nice and tight in the refrigerator and bake it for 30 minutes the next night.

What’s fun about it? Rather than buying individual fillets, you get yourself a 2-pound slab of the fish. Then you hasselback it. That is, you take a sharp knife and make two rows of horizontal slits and one long slit down the center, using care not to cut through the skin under neath. Then you sprinkle it with garlicky parmesan bread crumbs, tucking those savory bits in the slits.

The fish is drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice before it is slipped in the oven to crisp and turn golden. The fatty fish and cheese create a dish that is quite rich, so Klein serves it with a bright, clean-tasting chimichurri-style vinaigrette that also can be made a day or two ahead.

And the final little nugget that made me smile: Klein lightly oils broccoli florets on another baking sheet and tucks that into the oven in the last

15 minutes of cooking time to create a full meal. While the food cooks, you can toss together a green salad, if you feel like it.

But Klein wasn’t finished. Don’t want the cheese or just want a variation? She recom mends spreading a thin layer of honey mustard on the salmon before adding the breadcrumbs for a twist.

This dish, which got raves from my colleagues, is defi nitely now in my weeknight rotation, but it also just might become my next casual dinnerparty main dish. It’s that pretty and that tasty. Try it.

HASSELBACK SALMON

Active time: 20 minutes

Total time: 35 minutes 4 servings

Rather than buying individual salmon fillets, get a 2-pound slab of salmon, make thick slices into the fish and sprinkle with garlicky par mesan breadcrumbs, tucking some in the slits, before drizzling the whole thing with oil and lemon juice. Run it in the oven until the top is crisp and golden. Cookbook author Dini Klein serves it with a chimichurri-style vinai grette, but you could serve it with your

favorite sauce (see related recipe).

If you prefer, you could spread honey mustard on the salmon before adding the breadcrumbs.

Klein also slips lightly oiled broc coli florets on another baking sheet and tucks that in the oven for the last 15 minutes of cooking time to create a full meal (see NOTE).

Make Ahead: The fish can be sliced and seasoned, tightly covered and refrigerated for up to 1 day in advance before baking.

Storage Notes: Refrigerate the cooked fish for up to 2 days and the chimi churri vinaigrette for up to 3 days (the vinaigrette may lose its color).

NOTE: To make roasted broccoli or cauliflower to go along with the fish, line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease it. Arrange 1 pound (about 5 cups) of broccoli or cauliflower florets on the pan, drizzle with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil and toss to coat. Spread the broccoli in a single layer and lightly season with salt and pepper. Transfer the vegetables to the oven about 15 minutes before the salmon is supposed to be done and roast until the vegetables have softened slightly and begun to crisp on top. Serve with lemon wedges and grated parmesan on the side, if desired.

For the salmon:

My strategy for staying in balance during the holiday season can be summed up in one word: soup. I always have a big batch in my refrigerator waiting to be warmed and ladled into deep bowls and eaten with crusty bread for lunch or dinner, or in smaller, mug-sized portions for a quick snack that takes the chill off the afternoon.

I cook some kind of soup almost every week of the year, but during the holidays I make a point of filling my pot with broth or tomato-based varieties that pack in as many vegetables as possible. It’s an ideal coun terbalance for the rich, festive fare of the season, and it always

winds up being exactly what I am craving in between parties. Make a pot of it and relish the belly-warming, comforting boost to your vegetable intake over the holidays.

FALL VEGETABLE SOUP WITH CHICKEN SAUSAGE

Active time: 40 minutes | Total time: 1 hour, 15 minutes 6 servings (about 8 cups) This soup is among my favorites. It’s packed with colorful vegetables –carrots, onion, squash, kale, toma toes – and has tasty bites of chicken sausage in every spoonful. The way its savory and sweet elements play off of each other, plus the bright, piney essence of fresh sage, makes it compellingly, deeply flavorful.

Storage note: Refriger ate for up to 3 days.

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided 12 ounces Italian-style chicken or turkey sausage (if raw, casings removed and crumbled;

or if cooked, diced)

1 large yellow onion (12 ounces), diced

2 medium carrots, scrubbed and diced

2 cloves garlic, minced or finely grated

2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage

½ teaspoon fine salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 cups cubed butternut squash (½-inch cubes)

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

One (14.5-ounce) can no-saltadded diced tomatoes, with their juices

2 cups chopped kale leaves

In a large pot over medium-high heat, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil until shimmering. Cook the sausage, stirring occasionally, until browned – 3 minutes for the pre cooked diced sausage and 5 minutes for uncooked sausage crumbles, breaking the crumbles up with the spoon as they cook.

One (2-pound) skin-on side of salmon, bones removed ¾ teaspoon fine salt, divided ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 lemon ¾ cup (2 ½ ounces) finely grated parmesan cheese ½ cup panko

1 teaspoon garlic powder 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (or more as needed) or cooking spray

For the vinaigrette:

1 cup fresh parsley or cilantro, leaves and tender stems ½ cup white wine vinegar

1 3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped ½ teaspoon dried oregano Fine salt

Freshly ground pepper Water, as needed (optional)

Make the salmon: Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat it to 425 degrees.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and transfer the salmon to the sheet, skin side down. Using a sharp knife, make about 15 horizontal slits in the fish ½ – to ¾-inch apart, being careful not to cut through the skin. (The size of the pan and the number of slits will vary depending on the dimen sions of your fillet.) Make one long, lengthwise slice down the center of the salmon, again being sure not to cut through the skin. Season the fish with ½ teaspoon of salt and the pepper.

Finely zest the lemon, reserving the citrus for serving. In a medium bowl, mix together the parmesan, panko, garlic powder, the remaining salt and the zest until well combined.

Sprinkle the panko mixture over the fish, tucking it into the cuts and grooves and lightly pressing it so it sticks to the salmon. Drizzle the fish lightly with oil or spray with cooking spray.

Transfer the fish to the oven and roast for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the fish is golden and crisp on top. The cooking time will vary depend ing on the thickness of the fish and preference for doneness. You can peek at the thickest slits to deter mine if the fish needs to cook longer. Slice the lemon into six wedges.

Make the chimichurri vinai grette: While the fish is roasting, in the bowl of a food processor or in a blender, combine the parsley or cilantro, vinegar, olive oil, garlic and oregano, and pulse to desired chunkiness. If the sauce is too thick, add more oil or water, 2 teaspoons at a time. Taste and add salt and pepper, as needed. (Alternatively, you can finely chop the ingredients by hand and whisk together in a large bowl or roughly chop them and use an immersion blender to puree.)

Serve the fish family-style, with the sauce and lemon wedges on the side.

Nutrition information per serving (3 slices salmon, 2 table spoons chimichurri vinaigrette) | Calories: 298; Total Fat: 23 g; Satu rated Fat: 5 g; Cholesterol: 40 mg; Sodium: 563 mg; Carbohydrates: 6 g; Dietary Fiber: 1 g; Sugar: 1 g; Protein: 16 g

This analysis is an estimate based on available ingredients and this preparation. It should not sub stitute for a dietitian’s or nutrition ist’s advice.

Adapted from “Prep and Rally” by Dini Klein (Harvest, 2022).

539 mg; Carbohydrates: 33 g; Dietary Fiber: 4 g; Sugar: 10 g; Protein: 18 g

This analysis is an estimate based on available ingredients and this preparation. It should not sub stitute for a dietitian’s or nutrition ist’s advice.

From cookbook author and regis tered dietitian nutritionist Ellie Krieger.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the sausage to a plate. Reduce the heat to medium, add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pot, and then add the onion and carrots and cook, stirring occasion ally, until the onion has softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic,

Justin Tsucalas/The Washington Post photos

ABOVE: Hasselback salmon with chimichurri vinaigrette is differently delicious and quite simple to make.

LEFT: Seasoned breadcrumbs are sprinkled over and tucked into the slits in the fish before it is baked.

Ellie Krieger

Nourish

Tom McCorkle/The Washington Post

Fall vegetable soup with chicken sausage.

Feeling blah about your marriage a reason to look for ways to spice it up

Dear Annie: I’m at a stage in my life where personal growth has taken hold in the absence of my husband. My husband is still here and alive, but he frequently travels for work, and I am often left to my own devices for days at a time as a stay-at-home mom of two young boys. I’ve taken to calling these days “idle time,” as if the engine of our mar riage is sitting and idling while he’s gone.

This idle time has left me with ample time for self-reflec tion and personal growth, and I have found myself becoming ambivalent about my marriage and my husband. I do love him and miss him when he’s away, but often I find myself annoyed with him when he is home. I sometimes wish he were on the road again as he inter rupts our routines and takes back the house.

I fantasize about doing this on my own, since that’s basi cally what I do anyway Monday through Friday, 16-20 weeks out of the year. On the flip side, while I enjoy my “me time,” I do not enjoy the chaos of two

little boys on my own and appreciate when I have him home to help, as we have no family in our area to help.

I don’t hate him, and I’m not desperately unhappy, and I feel like divorce is a very severe reaction to just being “meh” about this rela tionship. He’s looking into a new job that would be 100% remote, which might help the situation. Our marriage was stronger than ever during the first 18 months of the pan demic, maybe because he was working from home. Can someone just feel blah about a relationship for a while without taking drastic measures? Or should we divorce so I can get away from a blah marriage? —

Divorce Ambivalent

Dear Divorce Ambivalent: Feeling blah about a marriage is not a reason to get a divorce, but it is a reason to explore ways you can feel more jazzed up or excited about your mar riage. Having young children at home and a husband who is working a lot and traveling can certainly be stressful. Some times, when our needs are not being met, we shut down and

Horoscopes

ARIES (March 21-April 19).

Everyone will get to the future at the same time. No amount of money can make next week come sooner or today last longer. Cherish your time and protect it from anyone who seems to devalue it.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Create routines that will help you succeed. Pay attention to what affects your physi cal and mental energy levels. Your most productive stretches are those that tap into your natural rhythms.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). When the competition gets more intense, so do you. It will actually be a blessing to have a reason to work harder. Your choices will be cut and dried: either advance and achieve, or retreat and watch someone else achieve.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). You’ve received answers you don’t much like, but you don’t have to settle for them indefi nitely. Stay open. No answer is final. Feelings change. In time, “no” could become “yes”; “yes” could become “of course.”

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). One way to make the world more beautiful is to see it that way. You’re on the lookout for vivid moments, and the world will not disappoint. The insight you bring to matters will elevate them. You go deeper; they get higher.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Preparation is the difference between successful work and

by Holiday Mathis

Today’s birthday

Your stellar birthday gift is the eradication of self-doubt. Imagination will thrive in its absence; a vision of possible futures comes together. Pretend like you’re on an improvisation team with your own thoughts and with the people around you.

Relationships get strong, and the team will bring home the gold. Gemini and Scorpio adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 7, 3, 22, 19 and 1.

a waste of time. Make sure you have the right tools for the job. Look into what you’ll need. Getting it right from the start will save you time, energy and money.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23).

Before you can put the impor tant stuff first, you have to know what’s important to you. You’ll get clear on that today. Your No. 1 priority will be handled. The rest is up to the whims of destiny.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21).

When a bee becomes incensed, it stings the offender to its own detriment. Anger is less costly for humans, but it’s still something worth calculating. De-escalate tension whenever possible. Bring calm wher ever you can.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22Dec. 21). Patience isn’t the most exciting virtue, and there

start to have a blah feeling. The best thing you can do for your self is to talk to your husband honestly. Try to remember the good feelings you had when he was home during the pan demic. Whatever you did then, do some of those things together as a family and sepa rately as a couple.

You are feeling lonely, which is understandable, and instead of dealing with those feelings, you are blaming him and looking for the eject button. Talking to him about your feel ings will help alleviate a lot of the confusion in your mind. I’m sure he misses you and the boys a lot when he is away at work. Communication is key. If you have trouble communicat ing directly, you could also seek the help of a professional mar riage counselor.

Remind yourself that the blah feeling won’t last forever and that with the right amount of help, you can start living your life filled with joy and sparks.

Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@ creators.com.

are many who don’t see its appeal. However, those who have patience can win the whole game just by avoiding the mistakes that impatient people make.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19). Your appetites, needs and wishes are changing, so refrain from declaring what you want. Stay lighthearted and experimental for now. You are still learning what’s good for you, what delights you and where those things intersect.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20Feb. 18). When an action is right, it makes you brave. You don’t even have to think about your move. You dive in, and instinct takes it from there. There is no time for fear in the moment of action, though it could creep in after the fact.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Just because you’re not in step with the others doesn’t mean your timing is off. It only means you’re marching to something else. Awareness is key here. What is driving your rhythm? Only you can tell which beat is right for you.

CELEBRITY PROFILES: Walt Disney was born on this day in 1901. The icon of imag ination who fathered The Walt Disney Company and changed the shape of the entertain ment world forever was born under the independent-minded, curious, passionate and worldly influence of Sagittarius.

Write Holiday Mathis at HolidayMathis.com.

A DIFFERENT RANGE GIVES DIFFERENT DATA

If eight players sit around two tables and play preduplicated deals, how often will the two auctions be identical?

Yes, it will primarily depend upon the basic systems being used by the pairs. If they are the same, the probability of identical auctions

Sudoku

Bridge

A DIFFERENT RANGE GIVES DIFFERENT DATA

If eight players sit around two tables and play preduplicated deals, how often will the two auctions be identical?

Yes, it will primarily depend upon

by Phillip Alder

increases. Even so, it will happen less than half the time. Personal style makes such a difference.

Today’s deal was played in an Australian women’s team tournament. At the first table, South couldn’t open one no-trump – that would have shown only 12 to 14 points: the weak no-trump. Instead, she had to start the proceedings with one diamond. This allowed West an easy chance to overcall one heart. North-South then reached three no-trump played by North. East led the heart six, declarer ducking her ace. However, knowing that West had at least five hearts, North won the second round of hearts with her ace.

Now it was a matter of establishing the diamonds without letting West get on lead. North played a low diamond. If East had put up the king, declarer would have ducked in the dummy. But when East played low, declarer won with the ace and led another diamond. With a mixture of luck and skill, the contract was home.

At the other table, the strong-notrump opening kept West quiet. Here, declarer made the error of ducking the first two heart leads. This gave East the chance to be a heroine. On the third heart, she could have discarded the diamond king! Instead, though, East parted with a low club. No doubt she is still ruing the missed opportunity.

UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE

2022,

COPYRIGHT:

by Wayne Gould

Bridge

Word Sleuth

Annie Lane Dear Annie

How did confidential gun permit data get leaked?

California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the state’s gun owners were already warring over the state’s very tight gun control laws when, on June 23, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark deci sion that could threaten the constitution ality of at least some of the restrictions.

Gun owner organizations had sued to overturn some of the state’s laws, such as a 10-round limit on mag azines, and had some success in federal court.

The 6-3 June 23 ruling, overturning a New York law restricting concealed carry permits, signaled that other restrictive laws in other states, including California, were in jeopardy.

Bonta quickly said he wanted the Legislature to keep as many California guns laws on the books as possible. “In the wake of mass shoot ings in Buffalo and Uvalde, and with gun deaths at an all-time high, ensuring that dan gerous individuals are not allowed to carry concealed firearms is more important than ever,” he said in a statement.

Four days later, Bonta’s Department of Justice unveiled a new website aimed at giving the public access to data about criminal justice, including how many Califor nians had concealed weapons permits. Very quickly, however, website users, including some in the media, discovered that if they hit the right button, they could access supposedly confidential personal information about gun permit applicants and holders.

As the data breach unfolded, many gun owners saw it as deliberate retalia tion by Bonta to spoil their celebration of the Supreme Court decision, even though he shut down the leaky website, issued public apologies, promised an independent inves tigation of how it happened and even sent letters to permit holders to “offer my sincer est apology. . . .”

While gun owners’ reaction was under standable, given the years of political and legal wrangling not only involving Bonta but his predecessors, such as Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Gavin Newsom, the juxtaposition of the Supreme Court decision and the gun permit data leak was probably coincidental.

Last week, Bonta released the 61-page report on the data breach investigation by a prominent law firm, Morrison & Foerster, which concluded it was caused by the errors of the ill-trained technician who operated the website, compounded by managerial failure to double-check its integrity.

The law firm said, “improper exposure of confidential personal data by DOJ, while unacceptable, was unintentional and not connected to any nefarious purpose. The investigation found that the data exposure was due to a lack of DOJ personnel training, requisite technical expertise, and professional rigor; insufficiently documented and imple mented DOJ policies and procedures; and inadequate oversight by certain supervisors.”

The detail of what Morrison & Foerster’s team discovered is mindboggling. Repeat edly, the technician, identified only as “Data Analyst-1,” insisted the site did not allow users to access the personal data, but after it was initially shut down and then reopened, the access continued.

The report said “confidential personal data was downloaded approximately 2,734 times, in full or in part, across 507 unique IP addresses,” adding, “The investigation could not accurately determine the number of public visitors who may have only viewed, but did not download, the underlying dataset.”

What occurred June 27 plays like a broken record. Repeatedly – even chronically – Cal ifornia’s state government has attempted to use information technology with poor results.

Systems fail to deliver promised results and/or experience years of delay and immense cost overruns. Just last week, a legislative committee delved into how the Secretary of State’s office spent tens of millions of dollars to upgrade its site for accessing campaign finance reports and it still has a cranky and unreliable system.

That’s the real scandal.

CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how Califor nia’s state Capitol works and why it matters. For more columns by Dan Walters, go to calm atters.org/commentary.

THE RIGHT STUFF

Getting what we pay for or not?

American citizens should get what we pay exorbi tant taxes for. We do not.

Taxes are intended to fund citizens’ constitutionally directed needs and nothing more. State and federal gov ernments should be efficient, effective and as small as pos sible. They should exist solely for citizens’ benefit lest it become an out-of-control monster.

The monster revealed itself in Cal ifornia on May 12. Journalists Nichole Nixon reported the state had an over-collection of $97.5 billion. Will Gov. Gavin Newson and what I call the Democrat Socialist Progressive Peoples Party-controlled Legisla ture return this over charge to the people? Unlikely.

Our philosopher king, Gavin the first, and his merry band of follow ers, the Democratic Party, will object. Most likely there will be a piddling refund with the balance earmarked for spending on whatever will help keep them in power. A case in point, King Gavin is urging California’s Leg islature to levy a windfall-tax capping oil company profits above his selfdecreed ceiling.

In 1835, the French political phi losopher Alexis de Tocqueville chronicled his views in his famous book “Democracy in America.” He listed five values, espoused by Amer icans, which defined our national character: Liberty, egalitarianism, individualism, populism, and laissezfaire capitalism making us different, unique and more successful than other nations.

His overarching fear for America was “The Tyranny of the Majority,”

ON THE LEFT

which could lead to Ameri ca’s demise. The last sentence in his referenced book is: “It depends on themselves whether equality is to lead to freedom or servitude, knowl edge or barbarism, prosperity or wretchedness.”

What are we seeing?

Another political philoso pher, Thomas Hobbs, greatly influenced our Founding Fathers, through his classic work, “Levia than or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Commonwealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil.” His overarching theme was the introduction of the concept of a “social contract” between ruler and ruled. Hobbs rigorously argues civil peace and social unity are best created and achieved with the estab lishment of a commonwealth where all have stakes.

California’s budget for fiscal year 2022 is approximately $301 billion, three time larger than 30 years ago. Are we three times better off? No, we are not. The federal budget is a disaster.

The overblown federal budget for fiscal year 2022 was $6.27 trillion. We had deficit spending of $1.4 trillion overspent on a variety of goods, ser vices and programs most of us neither want nor need. Our fiscally irrespon sibility Congress now wants more. Apparently our morally delinquent politicians can only count votes.

Are we taxed properly? No. Do we see efficient, right-sized gov ernment? No. Our state and federal governments are bloated leviathans supporting a complexity of paper work, inefficiencies and egregious interference in citizens’ private lives.

They lumber along like dinosaurs. Shortsighted, unimaginative, exist ing only for the moment, making demands and then decrying the cost, thinking only of themselves.

How did we get here?

Here are three reasons: One, ballot harvesting. Two, not clearing voter rolls of ineligible and deceased reg istrations as required by the National Voter Registration Act. The act championed by liberal lion Emman uel Cellars (D-NY) intended, oddly enough, to expand legal voter regis tration. Los Angeles has 1.5 million such registrations (see Judicial Watch, et. al. v Dean C. Logan, et. al). Additionally, 11 of 58 California coun ties have registrations exceeding 100% with Solano being one. Three, not requiring verifiable picture iden tification. The argument put forth that “minorities” cannot get photographic identification is absurd, insulting and singularly racist.

We needs picture ID to drive a car, fly commercially, open a bank account, use a credit card, etc. Readily available photographic ID is required for these things but not to vote? Ridiculous. Had enough non sense? A recent voter integrity poll found approximately 80% of Ameri cans favored photographic voter ID.

John Jay, our first Supreme Court chief justice, said: “Distrust natu rally creates distrust, and by nothing is goodwill and kind conduct more speedily changed.” Like what you see?

Jim McCully is a former chairman of the Solano County Republican Central Committee and former regional vice chairman of the California Repub lican Party.

Today’s Republicans are simply ill

Ihad a stimulating discussion Nov. 27 with a high school freshman at a reception after a memorial service.

When he said he really liked history, I felt an imme diate kinship. I thought he would be elevated to hear my comparison of the strik ing parallels between early Chinese and early European history. He remained silent, undoubt edly overwhelmed by the profound impact such a revelation had on him.

We went on to current politics. He stated, “I just wish Congress would do something about global warming. It’s the issue of the century!”

I took exception. “Ah, my friend, it’s not Congress, it’s the Repub lican Party. Just look at what the other party did this year for global warming. The Inflation Reduction Act will make U.S.-generated wind and solar power the cheapest in the world. It also makes us competitive in wind turbine manufacture, hydrogen power and carbon-capture technology. So, it’s not ‘Congress,’ it’s the GOP.”

He remained silent. It occurred to me he was from a swing state. Uh-oh, thought I. But I lurched ahead anyway.

“Do you worry about gun vio lence?” “Yes,” he said, “especially against innocent kids in schools. Con gress just sits there twiddling its thumbs.” “Nay, nay,” said I. “Again, it’s one party that doesn’t see any thing wrong. At least the Dems got a little legislation through this year, and of course, without even one Republi can vote. We’ve had 43 massacres just

this month so far but one party simply doesn’t care. Ah, well . . .,” I sighed. I recovered. “Are you vac cinated?” I asked. “Yes,” came the response. “Good for you. Did you see the recent study on Covid deaths?” “No.” “So some Yale researchers found the actual names and voting records of almost 600,000 Ohio and Florida voters and found that, early in the pandemic, Republican voters had an “excess mortality” rate 22% higher than Democratic voters. But after vaccinations became avail able, that shot up to 153%. People died who would have lived if they hadn’t been told not to get vaccinated.” And then the whammy. “Score another victory for the GOP,” I said.

The poor kid looked exhausted, so I stopped the flogging after concluding, “It’s not ‘Congress;’ it’s the GOP.”

But let’s you and I, dear readers, forge on. Republicans in Fairfield. I know lots of you. You’re normal people. You’re loyal to your party, you’re con servative, but, really! are you OK with what the GOP has become? Not only anti-vax to the point of death, but anti-gun control in the face of mas sacre after massacre, and anti-global warming even in the face of a dried up Mississippi River, shrinking gla ciers across the planet, dead coral, rising seas and more.

I voted Republican for 40 years until the invasion of Iraq at which time the accumulated craziness stank me out of the party. It’s only gotten worse.

So many of our problems thanks to one party. Sure, the Democrats are a pack of cats but they’re a normal political party – trying to do things and solve problems. The other, well, it’s about power and that’s all.

In 2013, before Donald Trump, the Senate came up with a bipartisan immigration bill. Now it’s dead. Better to lash your enemies endlessly than solve the problem.

A new emerging “win” for your party is anti-Semitism. Oh, wonderful. Your probable presidential contender in 2024 had two notorious anti-Sem ites to dinner. Could you have a more public endorsement than that?

One of them, Nick Fuentes, a white Christian Nationalist, has declared he wants to push your party further right. He’s loudly stated in public, “We need a dictatorship . . . . We will force people to believe what we believe . . . . Trump’s got to get in there and never leave . . . . Women shouldn’t vote . . . they need to wear veils in church . . . abortion is a Jewish thing. . . .”

So, conservatives, your leaders are adding anti-Semitism to antiBlack, anti-brown and anti-Muslim. Comfortable with that? Like in the Jan. 6 insurrection, elected Republi cans have spoken out but weakly.

Will you speak out? You can protest the only way the GOP will understand. Reregister as an indepen dent – or no party preference – until the storm has passed.

Jack Batson is a former member of the Fairfield City Council. Reach him by email at jsbatson@prodigy.net.

Dan Walters

Jack Batson

Jim McCully

Matters of the heart come to silver screen this week

FAIRFIELD —

Bring some tissues for a newly released film, which is based on jour nalist Michael Ausiello’s memoir about his 13-year relationship with pho tographer Kit Cowan, who was diagnosed with cancer.

Opening nationwide are:

“Spoiler Alert,” a film in which writer Michael Ausiello (Jim Parsons) embarks on a rollercoaster ride of emotions when his partner Kit Cowan (Ben Aldridge) gets diagnosed with ter minal cancer. This film is rated PG-13.

Opening in limited release are:

“The Whale,” in which a 600-pound man (Brendan Fraser) can’t leave his apartment and is estranged from his teenage daughter, but wants to reconnect. This film is rated R.

“Empire of Light,” set in an English seaside town in the early 1980s. The film explores the magic of cinema and romance and is rated R.

“Father Stu,” a rerelease from earlier in the year, based on the story of Stuart Long who, after an amateur boxing career, moves to Los Angeles dreaming of stardom. While scraping by as a supermarket clerk, he meets Carmen, a Catho lic Sunday school teacher who seems immune to his bad-boy charm. Deter mined to win her over, the longtime agnostic starts going to church to impress her. But surviv ing a terrible motorcycle accident leaves him won dering if he can use his second chance to help others find their way, leading to the surprising realization he is meant to be a Catholic priest. This film is rated PG-13.

“I am DB Cooper,” which is loosely based on a true story. Two bounty hunter brothers encoun

ter an ailing old man named Rodney Bonni field while coordinating his bail after a violent encounter on a dairy farm involving a machete. Close to his sentencing, Bonnifield reveals to the bondsmen he is in fact the infamous DB Cooper, the man responsible for the 1971 plane hijacking in the Pacific Northwest, and the ransom cash is still buried along the Columbia River. Up against the clock with Bonnifield’s prison sen tence looming, the group sets out on a modern-day treasure hunt to recover the money he buried near a river 50 years ago, uncovering bizarre truths about Bonnifield and his connection to the only unsolved plane hijacking in U.S. history. This film is not rated.

“To the End,” a doc umentary filmed over four years that captures the emergence of a new generation of leaders and the movement behind the most sweeping climate change legislation in U.S. history. The film follows the rise of Rep. Alex andria Ocasio-Cortez, activist Varshini Prakash, climate policy writer Rhiana Gunn-Wright and political strategist Alexandra Rojas as they grapple with new chal lenges of leadership and power and work together to defend their gener ation’s right to a future. This film is rated R.

For information on Edwards Cinemas in Fairfield, visit www.reg movies.com/theatres/ regal-edwards-fairfieldimax. For Vacaville showtimes, visit www. brendentheatres.com. For Vallejo showtimes, check www.cinemark. com/theatres/ca-vallejo.

More information about upcoming films is avail able at www.movie insider.com.

FF

Zits Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

Pearls Before Swine Stephan Pastis

Dilbert Scott Adams

Baby Blues Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott

Baldo Hector Cantú and Carlos Castellanos

‘What You Need to Know’ about the saga of the dating (?) ‘GMA’ hosts

Christi Carras LOS ANGELES TIMES

Good

Morning affair-ica?

“Good Morning America” co-anchors T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach – both married, to other people – have suddenly become embroiled in a purported cheat ing scandal so juicy it could rival the plot of Apple TV+’s broadcast news drama, “The Morning Show.”

Fervent speculation has been swirling around the nature of the TV journalists’ off-screen relationship this week after rumors of a work place affair surfaced in the tabloids and on social media. On Wednesday, Page Six reported that Robach, 49, and Holmes, 45, have been engaged in “an alleged months-long affair,” while the Daily Mail published pictures and videos of the co-workers getting inti mate with one another in New York City.

The rumored lovers have maintained an affectionate onscreen rapport while cohosting “GMA3: What You Need to Know” since 2020. Known for sharing a love of fitness, they recently docu mented their journey training together for the 2022 New York City Marathon.

To quote the title of Holmes and Robach’s morning news program, here’s “What You Need to Know” about the latest scandal rocking the broadcast journalism world.

When did the alleged affair start?

According to an anony mous source cited by Page Six, Holmes and Robach started secretly seeing each other in March, around the time they began training together for the marathon.

An anonymous ABC News staffer told the tabloid that the pair had been “very careful behind the scenes to keep their affair a secret,” adding that the producers of “GMA” were “shocked to hear” about their clandestine relationship.

However, another anony mous source insisted to People that Robach and Holmes didn’t couple up until after both sep arated from their respective spouses in August. “This was two consenting adults who were each separated,” the source said.

What is the status of their marriages?

Holmes and Robach have each been married to their respective spouses – attor ney Marilee Fiebig and actor Andrew Shue – since 2010.

In contrast to the report in People, Page Six reported that the newscasters both separated from their partners nearly half a year after their alleged affair commenced.

What do the paparazzi photos show?

The Daily Mail printed dozens of pictures of Robach and Holmes cozying up to one another at a bar, grabbing coffee together, holding hands in the backseat of a car, visiting one another’s homes in the Big Apple, etc.

There is also footage of Holmes repeatedly touch ing Robach during a weekend getaway to a private cottage in the Shawangunk Mountains.

What have the co-hosts had to say for themselves?

As of Thursday after noon, Holmes and Robach had not publicly addressed the scandal – and even appeared together on air that day as if nothing had happened.

“Who’s looking forward to the weekend?” Holmes asked at the top of Thursday’s show.

“Uh, me,” Robach replied while raising her hand and smiling for the camera.

(A moment of silence for their third co-host – and now third wheel? – Jennifer Ashton, who sat and smiled through the entire exchange.)

It’s worth noting that Holmes and Robach’s Ins tagram accounts have been deactivated since the story of their alleged cheating broke. However, an old Instagram post from Holmes celebrating his 10-year wedding anniver sary has been immortalized in screenshots that have gone viral on social media, for obvious reasons.

“10 years ago, Marilee Fiebig married me. And despite my best efforts she remained married to me the past 10 years,” he captioned the post. “That’s not hyperbole. I’m not being dramatic. I gave her plenty of reasons, excuses and opportunities to walk her fine a– out of the doooooooor. But instead, with her built-in black woman superpower, she showed a grace and patience that’s incomprehensible.”

How has ‘GMA’ responded?

So far, the ABC program appears to be taking Holmes and Robach’s lead by staying mum on the controversy. A rep resentative for “GMA” did not immediately respond Thurs day to the Los Angeles Times’ request for comment.

Bridge

by Phillip Alder

does work, be in a position to take advantage – as in today’s deal.

South’s sequence showed a balanced hand with a good 22 to 24 points. West led the club six: two, ace, five. Back came the club four. South, trying to generate a second dummy entry, put up his queen, but West defended well, playing low. He knew South had the club seven because if East had had the seven and four, he would have returned the seven, high-low with a remaining doubleton.

South had seven tricks. Needing two more diamond tricks, South cashed the ace and continued with the queen. However, luck was out to lunch. East won with the king and returned the diamond 10. Now South had no way to generate a ninth trick.

FINESSES DO WIN ONCE IN A WHILE

At the bridge table your finesses theoretically work half the time, whereas when you plunge into a bridge book or newspaper column, suddenly finesses win with half the frequency of tax cuts. Why is this? Because writers love to use deals in which taking a tempting finesse is fatal to the contract. However, when a vital finesse

Sudoku

Bridge

Let’s go back to trick one. When East plays the ace, West is marked with the king. (The Rule of Eleven gives you the same answer, that East’s only high club is the ace.) South should unblock his queen under the ace, ensuring that the club jack will be a dummy entry. If East switches to spades, declarer wins in hand, cashes the diamond ace (West might have the singleton king) and uses dummy’s entries to play twice toward his diamond queen-jack. If instead the defenders continue clubs or switch to hearts, declarer takes two diamond finesses.

COPYRIGHT: 2022, UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE

by Wayne Gould

FINESSES DO WIN ONCE IN

is repeated in any row, column or box. Solution, tips and computer program at www.sudoku.com

A WHILE

At the bridge table your finesses theoretically work half the time, whereas when you plunge into a bridge book or newspaper column, suddenly finesses win with half the frequency of tax cuts. Why is this? Because writers

Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images/TNS file

Amy Robach, left, and T.J. Holmes attend the 2022 ABC Disney Upfront at Basketball City in New York, May 17.

down correctly.”

This system has led to cases of torture, accord ing to a 2019 report from the Centre for Eastern Studies in Warsaw. With prison cells reserved for the most-violent criminals, everyone else stays in dor mitories where, critics say, overpopulation vio lates the Russian standard of 21 square feet of space per person.

“In most prisons, the state of repair and the over crowding make it difficult to maintain basic hygiene,” the Warsaw report stated. “This leads to regular out breaks of epidemics.”

Russia’s prison condi tions can be traced to the early 18th century, when Peter the Great saw value in forced-labor camps, Alexandrova said. During the Soviet era, brutal gulags continued to feed the national economy, with colonies devoted to forestry and textile pro duction, often in remote parts of the country.

According to the website for Russia’s federal pen itentiary service (FSIN), standard workdays last 12 hours. Tolokonnikova wrote that inmates at her facility were kept at sewing machines for much longer, making police uni forms, and went a month or more with no days off.

Though FSIN states that labor conditions are determined by the federal labor and criminal execu tive codes, Russia Behind Bars has claimed mis treatment of workers, especially at IK-2.

“Our foundation has led a case on slave labor condi tions in this colony,” Olga Podoplelova, head of liti gation for the organization, said by email. “Women were forced to work double shifts (12-16 hours) without days off, no possi bility to use restrooms.”

Under these demand ing circumstances, inmate nutrition guidelines call for three meals a day with required amounts of meat, fish, potatoes and vegeta bles, FSIN states. Again, critics say standards often go unmet.

Pussy Riot released a song, “Like a Red Prison,”

think about what’s next.”

that includes the line “Balanda! Propaganda!” in reference to a gruel that has been fed to pris oners since the era of the gulags. Alexandrova describes balanda as potatoes and cabbage with some flour to thicken the watery broth.

“Kind of a slop,” the associate professor said. “Low in quality and ter rible taste.”

With colonies located far from metropolitan centers, inmates rely on friends or relatives willing to make the long trip with care packages of food and clothing. Information posted on the FSIN website notes that “those who do not receive support from home are forced to barter for what they need from their cellmates.”

“It’s already a terri ble place for a Russian,” Alexandrova said. “For someone without connec tions, it’s worse.”

As an American, Griner faces additional hardships. Given her notoriety – and physical stature – she will stand out among the inmate population, which could make her more vul nerable to abuse, experts

said. She is also an openly gay woman in a country where the LGBTQ popula tion is persecuted.

The language barrier could be another challenge.

“People in prison learn basic Russian quite easily,” Podoplelova said. “A lot depends on the atti tudes of the administration and other inmates – if they are willing to assist her with learning and communication.”

There is a chance Griner will receive prefer ential treatment given the possibility of a prisoner swap, experts say. The U.S. has reportedly offered to exchange convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout for Griner and Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine imprisoned since 2018 on questionable espi onage charges. Officials might not want Griner returning home with tales of mistreatment.

Podoplelova sus pects that Griner’s fate depends “on the (prison) administration and instructions given to them from the presidential administration.”

CALENDAR

Monday’s TV sports

Basketball NBA

• Indiana vs. Golden State, NBCSBA (Fairfield and Suisun City), 7 p.m.

Football NFL

• New Orleans vs.Tampa Bay, ESPN, ESPN2, 5 p.m. soccer World Cup

• Round of 16: Japan vs. Croatia, 2, 40, 7 a.m.

• Round of 16: Korea vs. Brazil, 2, 40, 11 a.m.

Tuesday’s TV sports

Basketball College Men

• Illinois vs. Texas, ESPN, 4 p.m.

• Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, ESPN2, 4 p.m.

• Maryland vs. Wisconsin, ESPN2, 6 p.m.

• Iowa vs. Duke, ESPN, 6:30 p.m.

• CSU Bakersfield vs. San Jose State, NBCSBA, 7 p.m. NBA

• L.A. Lakers vs. Cleveland, TNT, 4:30 p.m.

just only focused on the World Cup and focused on achieving things with this group,” Berhalter said Sat urday, when asked what his future holds. “The next couple of weeks, I’ll clear my head, I’ll sit down and

Berhalter earned credit for fostering a family atmo sphere, integrating young players and implementing a style that, when effective, brought fun and joy.

On his watch, the United States returned to the World Cup after a compact schedule of qual ifiers and, in the summer 2021, defeated rival

Mexico in the Concacaf Nations League and Gold Cup finals.

Berhalter also received criticism for tactical deci sions and roster and lineup choices – not unlike the scrutiny directed at almost every coach at this level.

In the World Cup, the United States was defen sively sound until Saturday and created numerous

scoring chances, only to lack sophistication and a finishing touch. Single goals against Wales and Iran were well-crafted, and perseverance led to a late score against the Neth erlands, but numerous opportunities went unful filled, namely Christian Pulisic’s golden moment early in Saturday’s game.

• Dallas vs. Denver, TNT, 7 p.m.

soccer World Cup

• Round of 16: Morocco vs. Spain, 2, 40, 7 a.m.

• Round of 16: Portugal vs. Switzerland, 2, 40, 11 a.m.