Daily Republic: Monday, Dec. 12, 2022

Solano’s 5-year Capital Improvement Plan calls for $142M in projects

Todd R. H ansen THANSEN@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — An updated five-year Public Works Capital Improvement Plan, extended out to 2027-28, has a total of $141.81 million in projects.

“The majority of that is unfunded, and that is how we do it,” Matt Tuggle, the county engineering manager, told the Board of Supervisors last week. “We list projects we want to do . . . and include it in the plan.”

As projects are completed, others are added.

More than $96 million of the projects – mostly in the later years of the plan – are unfunded.

There are also several large multiple-year projects listed, including key projects such as McCormack Road and Benicia Road, both of which are part of the current 2022-23 project list.

The county is beginning Phase 1 of the construction work on Benicia Road, while acquiring right of way

properties to continue its progress on McCormack. The cost of the Benicia project is listed at $1 million. The dollar amount going toward McCormack Road this year is listed at $70,000.

There is about $4.67 million in projects on the 2022-23 list, which includes $4.598 million going toward actual construction projects, including 1.26 miles on Winters Road, from 250 feet north of Campos Lane to 754 feet east of Putah Creek Road. That is the most costly project listed at $1.503 million.

Acquisition of land at the Wolfskill site for a Mankas Corner parking lot is also listed at an estimated cost of $10,000.

The 2023-24 budget is set at $16.075 million, and includes Phase 2 of Benicia Road, $2.4 million as yet unfunded, as well as the actual construction on the parking lot at a cost of $1.5 million, also unfunded.

The project list also

Pacific storm knocks out power in California, set to come east

TRibune ConTenT agenCy

A powerful Pacific storm knocked out power to thousands across California and is threatening heavy mountain snow and flooding rain near the coast before it moves across the country.

The storm could churn tornadoes in the South and drop snow in the East by the end of the week.

Snow piled up in Washington, Oregon and California on Saturday, and an additional 2 feet could fall in the higher peaks of the Sierra Nevada range through Monday, the National Weather Service said. Southern California could get drenched Sunday with as much as 2 inches of heavy rain along the coast and valleys and 6 inches in the foothills.

The storm had knocked out power to 49,411 customers early

Sunday, according to Pow erOutage.us. On Saturday, California’s power grid operator issued a transmission emergency in the Humboldt area because of high winds, rain and heavy mountain snow.

The system will cross the Rocky Mountains, moving into the Great Plains on Monday into Tuesday, and “then it really intensifies,” said Marc Chenard, a senior branch forecaster at the U.S. Weather Prediction Center. There’s an increased risk tornadoes, high winds and thunderstorms will break out across parts of Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi, according to the U.S. Storm Prediction Center.

As the storm moves east it could bring heavy snow, as well as blizzard conditions from Montana to Minnesota, Chenard said.

California group fights eminent domain, racism

Beverly Moore recalls feeling a wave of relief when her family rented a house in Richmond, California after their prior house burned down in the late 1950s.

The one-story wooden house at 502 Enterprise Ave. soon became part of a close-knit Black community. There was a porch and a den filled with books. Moore remembers her mom tending to their fig and pear trees with water from their well. Her mother grew collard greens that she traded with neighbors for fresh-caught fish.

Moore held jobs through her teen years and after graduating from Cal State Fresno, she bought that house for her mother in 1980, relieving her from a lifetime of renting.

“It was a privilege to buy our home for my mom; it was something she was unable to do,” Moore said recently.

But their homeownership was short-lived.

In 1993 the city of Richmond seized the home through eminent

domain to make way for a drainage system linked to the Richmond Parkway, which connects the city with a bridge into Marin County.

The Moore house was the only home on the block that was demolished.

Eminent domain is when a government takes private property for public use, often to construct roads, highways, schools or for some other public purpose. By law the government is required to provide property owners with “just compensation.”

Coveted property

For decades Black families have borne the brunt of these land grabs, with many like Moore saying they had little or no recourse. Eminent domain still poses barriers to Black homeownership today, contributing to the wealth gap.

Often local governments justified these actions by declaring areas “blighted,” a word advocates say became synonymous with low-income, under-resourced neighborhoods “California was at the forefront

of this kind of abuse,” said Bob McNamara, a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice, a national libertarian public interest law firm.

“For a long time California treated the concept of blighted property as basically synonymous with coveted property. It was blighted if they wanted it.”

A study of more than 2,532 “blight” projects nationwide found the projects displaced more than 1 million Black Americans from 1949 to 1973. Those were the years the Federal Housing Act first authorized cities to use eminent domain to clear “blighted neighborhoods,” according to the Institute for Justice, authors of the study.

Black people were 12% of the population but two-thirds of those displaced.

“It changed the whole dynamic of everybody’s life,” Moore said of her family’s experience. “We never had that place to come back to, to land, without that support.”

Today Moore, a retired mental health case manager living in Fairfield, believes she has a chance

Man accused of being Lockerbie bombmaker in US custody, Scotland says

TRibune ConTenT agenCy

EDINBURGH, Scotland — The man accused of being the bombmaker in the 1988 Lockerbie terrorist attack is now in U.S. custody, authorities in Scotland said on Sunday.

Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi was said to be the “third conspirator” behind the downing of Pan Am

flight 103 in 1988. The bombing of Pan Am flight 103, bound from London to New York on Dec. 21, 1988, killed 270 people in Britain’s largest terrorist attack.

Former Libyan intelligence officer Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was previously found guilty of mass murder in the case, in 2001.

A spokesperson for

the Crown Office said: “The families of those killed in the Lockerbie bombing have been told that the suspect Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi is in U.S. custody.

“Scottish prosecutors and police, working with U.K. government and U.S. colleagues, will continue to pursue this investigation, with the sole aim of

bringing those who acted along with Al Megrahi to justice.”

In 2020, Mas’ud was charged by then U.S. attorney general William Barr with being the third person involved in the terrorist attack. At the time, he was said to be in Libyan custody and Barr said U.S. authori-

LiL K aLisH CALMATTERS

My wife Beth had been having some pain in her hip for years and when she finally had it checked out, the doctor told her she had severe degeneration to the point where it was bone on bone. The main things she could do to mitigate the pain –lose weight and change her diet – she had already done. So the only real option to be rid of the pain in her hip was to have it replaced.

She also told her doctor about a pain in her neck she’s had for nearly 28 years, which it turns out was me.

So anyway, last Tuesday she had her surgery at Kaiser Permanente Vacaville Medical Center. It took a couple of hours and after the procedure, I noticed that they had written on her right leg. I mean, I know part of the reason they do that is so they actually replace the correct hip, but it also looked like the surgeon had added his initials, which I thought was awesome. I mean, if I was a surgeon, I would definitely do that and leave a cool little doodle as well. Maybe even add a tiny cartoon like Sergio Aragones used to draw in the margins of MAD magazine.

Tribune ConTenT AgenCy

TAMPA, Fla. — When she wakes up before dawn, Paola Andrea Gutiér rez likes to check her cleaning supplies. Every thing has to be in order: a mop, a bucket, a dozen trash bags, a scrub brush, mirror cleaner.

For four years, she has been cleaning apart ments, offices and public restrooms. Born in Colom bia, Gutiérrez said she had trouble finding work here, partly because she cannot speak English and lacks a formal education.

But she faced another challenge: She was born without her right arm.

To inspire confidence in others, Gutiérrez, 44, started posting videos in Spanish on TikTok and other social platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

She doesn’t have millions of followers. But she has enough to feel like she’s doing something valuable. With her videos accumulating 306,000 likes, she has amassed more than 30,000 followers on TikTok, where she goes by @19paog.

While domestic workers have suffered immensely due to Covid-19, low wages and discrimination, Gutiérrez maintains a positive outlook.

“We have to learn from the circumstances to tran-

They prescribed her some heavy duty painkillers and unlike Yours Truly who fought for the right to party in the 1980s, Beth has never been drunk (or anything else) in her life. I mean, she drank some wine at a church in Italy when she was in college and thought it was, and I quote, “icky.” So while she has to take those strong meds, I took it upon myself to prescribe Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon,” “Led Zeppelin II” and The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s “Axis: Bold as Love” to her and added the instructions to make sure to use headphones and if possible, stare at a lava lamp. Whenever the nurses brought medication or supplies, they scanned the barcode on them and the barcode on Beth’s hospital bracelet. That way they could record everything she received for tracking and payment purposes. Now that she is home, I am taking care of her as she heals and I wouldn’t dream of utilizing such a system. It is a little dehumanizing.

However, since my pooch Chunky Tiberius Wade is not a human (despite what he thinks and writes about in his blog), I

had no qualms against putting a little bracelet with a barcode around his front paw and scanning it every time I give him a Milk Bone or scratch him behind his ears. At the end of the month, I’ll send him an invoice which he will undoubtedly just pee on.

Beth has a walker she uses for the time being and the home health folks showed her how to adjust it to the correct height, how to use it properly and offered tips based on their experience. What they didn’t do is tell her how to trick it out a little bit. If it was my walker, I would decorate it so it resembles either a Star Wars Imperial AT-AT (All Terrain Armored Transport) walker, the 1966 Batmobile, the “Back to the Future” DeLorean complete with a flux capacitor or the Chariot from “Lost in Space.”

There are three things that hip replacement patients are not to do and they are reiterated by every physical therapist who visits. They are: don’t bend your hip more than 90 degrees, don’t turn your surgical leg inward and don’t cross your legs. That’s all well and good, but I have thought of a few more: don’t moonwalk, don’t attempt any field goals beyond 40 yards and don’t try to re-create that dance

scene that little old ladies with walkers do in the play/movie “The Producers.” https://bit.ly/ TPWalkerDance

Beth’s nurse, Yvonne, was very nice and helpful (as was everyone we interacted with) and showed us an X-ray of Beth’s new hardware. I thought it was very cool and asked if I could take a picture of it and she said sure. I said I was going to post it on Facebook, but I would have to make an adjustment to it.

Yvonne told us that a gentleman had had a hip replacement and also was excited about his X-ray and snapped a pic and posted it to his Facebook timeline. Soon thereafter he got a call from his kids who had seen it and told him to remove it immediately. It not only showed his new bionic hip, but also his . . . well, junk.

Just an aside, but why is it called junk? Who started that? I mean, I’ve heard people say “God don’t make no junk,” which I’m pretty sure is not an actual Bible quote – at least not from the King James version. If that’s the case, then where did that body part section come from? It reminds me of the Steve Martin movie “The Jerk” where his mom told him it was his “special purpose.”

But I digress . . . I now help Beth do a number of things and we thought it best to have a system for her to let me know when she needs me if I am in another part of the house. I happen to have one of those little bells like they use at motel front desks, but that would not do if I was in the kitchen washing dishes and listening to Judas Priest. I also have a large cowbell, but it is too annoying and reminds me of early 2000’s Sacramento Kings fans.

Then I was driving down East Tabor Avenue and saw a sign that advertised some specific livestock for sale. So I bought a goat and when needed, Beth pulls his tail, he screams and I come running.

Fairfield freelance humor columnist 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.” No goats were actually purchased or harmed in the writing of this column

what she did.

In Colombia, Gutierrez learned business administration, accounting and marketing by herself, along with some free online courses. She worked as a secretary and call center representative for more than 20 years. She also ran her own small business as a health insurance agent.

In 2013, she decided to open her own nonprofit to help kids and people with disabilities

like her. Gutiérrez called it Fundación Haciéndonos Grandes (Making Us Bigger Foundation).

She collected food, clothing and money to help children with disabilities. In December 2013, she also organized the first inclusive fashion show in Medellín to support more than 50 vulnerable minors.

Leidy Henao, a former volunteer at the foundation, said Gutiérrez has the ability to innovate

and carry out the projects she proposes.

“She is a cheerful person and likes to help others,” Henao said. “She has an enormous personality.”

Gutiérrez decided to move to the United States to live with her husband, a Puerto Rican who now works as a welder in Tampa.

“It was a new beginning,” Gutiérrez said.

scend,” Gutiérrez said in Spanish.

With more than 112,000 domestic workers in Florida, 9 in 10 are women, according to a recent study by the Florida Policy Institute, a local nonprofit organization. Of those, Latinas represent 46% in the cleaning and care industry. The study also found that immigrants are overrepresented in domestic work, with at least 3 in 5 workers (60%) in those jobs.

Gutiérrez jokes about her broken English and the reactions of some people when they see her mopping floors or cleaning mirrors with one arm. Sometimes people don’t

She spent most of her childhood with her late grandmother, Susana, learning to be confident and independent. They talked about the unique challenge she faced.

“As a child you don’t understand why people talk about you, or look at you in a different way, especially when they don’t know you as a human being,” Gutiérrez said. “At the end of the day it’s a good life lesson because you learn to be thoughtful.”

Her grandmother taught her how to clean and how to adapt to the world.

“She was my inspiration, the woman that showed me the way to be strong and reshaped the perception of my condition,” Gutiérrez said. “She told me: ‘You can do whatever you want. Nothing is impossible, believe and you will see.’”

That’s exactly

Tony Wade

The last laugh

Kaethe Hall, 81, of Vacaville, California, passed away on Saturday morning, Dec. 3, 2022, at Pacifica Senior Living in Vacaville.

A private family service will take place at Vaca Hills Chapel. Cremation rights have been accorded.

Kaethe Hall was born on July 10, 1941, in Dusseldorf, Germany, an only child of Hedwig (Zeimet) and Johann Link. Gifted with artistic skills, she graduated from the German school system with two scholarships, one for Business and another for the Arts. She would attend a private school for dress design during 1958 and 1959, yet transitioned to work in the wine production industry for several years to assist in supporting her parents financially.

In 1961, she met and fell in love with Leon E. Gibson, who had been stationed at Spangdahlem Air Force Base. She married and became Kaethe Gibson in 1962, and would cross the ocean for love in 1963 to the United States and eventually become an American citizen. That same year, she gave birth to her only child, Clay A. Gibson, and remained married for 15 years. Leon Gibson remarked in his later years that he owed his career success in life to her incredible support as his spouse.

She would later find love and remarry in 1982 to Lawrence C. Hall, and once again crossed the ocean for love to support her husband’s work with Lockheed Martin for assignments in Bahrain and Germany. Lawrence Hall would also credit his career success to her devotion as his wife.

Matthew Garcia was born in Richmond, California on June 12, 1964.

He loved his family and friends. He loved all kinds of music, but he really enjoyed the Oldies and Motown. His hobbies were old cars and his beloved Ford Mustangs. He was known for his quick wit and ability to make people laugh.

He is survived by his children, Briana Owen (William), JoJo Garcia (Jessica) and Lilianna; grandchildren, Ansel, Landon, Mylah and Lilly; mother, Chris; and brothers, Mike, Marty and Mark.

He is preceded in death by his father Joseph; brother, Joe; daughter Alianza; and son, Matt.

He was very proud of his

A beautiful Lady inside and out, she was an inspiration for leading with eternal grace, poise, laughter, love and kindness that touched the lives of many. She loved gardening and animals, including cats and hummingbirds. She cherished her relationships and kept cards received throughout life.

Meaningful writings that spoke to her included ‘Desiderata’ and a timely passage that read:

‘God saw that you were getting tired, And a cure was not to be, So he put his arms around you, And whispered, ‘Come to Me.’ A golden heart stopped beating; Hard working hands now rest. God broke our hearts to prove to us, He only takes the best.’

Those left to honor her memory include her husband of over 40 years, Lawrence C. Hall; son, Clay A. Gibson and spouse, Gary Collins; as well as Lawrence Hall’s children, Edna HallLove, Terry L. Hall Sr. and Kathy A. Spruill; and cousin, Elisabeth Platz; additionally, her extended family including long-term, loving Friends, Violet and Yvonne Bittner, Elke and Pete Sjoberg, and Heide Trupe.

She was preceded in death by her parents; and first husband, Leon E. Gibson.

The Vaca Hills Chapel in Vacaville is caring for the family. You are welcome to leave notes of condolence or leave words of comfort on the funeral home website at https://www.vacahillschapel.com.

late son Matt Garcia who is a former Fairfield City Council member

was one of the

council

in the state of California at age 21.

Services will be held viewing from 10 a.m. to noon Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2022, at the Fairfield Funeral home, 1750 Pennsylvania Ave., Fairfield. Immediately following, a reception will take place at the Garden Inn Hilton, 2200 The Courtyard, Fairfield, California.

IN LIEU OF FLOWERS THE FAMILY REQUESTS TO PLEASE MAKE DONATIONS TO: The Matt Garcia Foundation, PO Box 3301, Fairfield, California 94533.

Chabad, Vacaville plan 14th Annual Menorah on Main

VACAVILLE — The 14th Annual Menorah on Main takes place from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Sunday in the downtown district at the Town Square at Main and Merchant streets.

The event features greetings from the mayor and other officials, latkes and lattes, and children’s presentations. A Car Menorah Parade will follow to the Chabad House for a Hanukkah holiday party with soup and salad and live entertainment by Gabriel Guevara, a Bay Area multi-instrumentalist who performs a wide variety of music, from Baroque to hard rock.

The celebration is free and open to everyone. For more information, visit www.jewishsolano.com.

Santa visits Vaca neighborhoods with parade

VACAVILLE — The city Parks and Recreation Department will host its second annual Neighborhood Santa, a free parade that passes by 20 neighborhood parks.

The event is scheduled to take place from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday. Plans call for the parade to pass by four parks each night.

“Police, fire and the Police Activities League light up the neighborhood with color and cheer, with a sweet treat for all the children this year. Santa and his elves are excited to celebrate the holiday season together,” the city announced.

Follow Santa’s route using the Santa Tracker at https:// www.ci.vacaville.ca.us/ government/parks-andrecreation/special-events/ neighborhood-santa.

The parade will be canceled in the event of inclement weather, with cancelations posted on social media and the website by 3 p.m.

A dozen government meetings on week’s calendar

FAIRFIELD — A dozen government meetings are on the calendar this week in central and eastern Solano County. Some are online and in-person others are only in-person. Check each agency’s website for more details.

The meetings include:

n Rio Vista City Council, 4 p.m. Monday, special meeting, council chamber, City Hall, 1 Main St. Info: www.riovistacity. com/citycouncil.

n Suisun-Solano Water Authority Board of Direc-

tors, 6 p.m. Monday, 701 Civic Center Blvd., Suisun City. Info: http:// ca-sid.civicplus.com.

n Solano County Board of Supervisors, 8 a.m. Tuesday, County Government Center, 675 Texas St., Fairfield. Info: https:// www. solanocounty.com/ depts/bos/meetings/ videos.asp.

n Solano County Board of Education, 4 p.m. Tuesday, special meeting, Solano County Office of Education, 5100 Business Center Drive, Fairfield. Info: www.solanocoe.net.

n Travis School District Governing Board, 5 p.m. Tuesday closed session, 5:30 p.m. open session, Travis Education Center, 2775 De Ronde Drive, Fairfield. Info: https://simbli. eboardsolutions.com/ sb_meetings/sb_meetinglisting.aspx?S=36030187.

n Rio Vista City Council, 6 p.m. Tuesday, special meeting, council chamber, City Hall, 1 Main St. Info: www.riovistacity. com/citycouncil.

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

n Solano County Board of Education, 6 p.m. Wednesday, Solano County Office of Education, 5100 Business Center Drive, Fairfield. Info: www.solanocoe.net.

n Solano Transportation Authority Board, 6 p.m. Wednesday, board room chamber, 423 Main St., Suisun City. Info: www. sta.ca.gov.

n Solano County Civil Service Commission, 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, County Government Center, 675 Texas St., Fairfield. Info: https:// www. solanocounty.com/ depts/bos/meetings/ videos.asp.

n Fairfield-Suisun School District, 6 p.m. Thursday, first floor board room, Central Office, 2490 Hilborn Road, Fairfield. Info: https:// go.boarddocs.com/ca/ fsusd/board.nsf/public.

n Solano County Planning Commission, 7 p.m. Thursday, 675 Texas St., Fairfield. Info: https://solanocounty.com/depts/ rm/boardscommissions/ solano_county_planning_ commission/agendas.asp.

Meeting set to discuss planned cannabis shop Suisun City

SUISUN CITY — A community meeting is planned at 6 p.m. Saturday for a new cannabis-based business in the city.

Cannabissary Holistic Healing Center plans to open at 1550 Humphrey Drive. Construction is scheduled to start next spring or summer with completion and a grand opening in the summer or fall of 2024.

Members of the community are invited to take part in the community meeting at the Joseph A. Nelson Community Center, 611 Village Drive.

The meeting will also be available via Zoom. The Meeting ID is 820 8944 8652. The passcode is 442715. The meeting is sponsored by Cannabissary. Suisun City staff members are not

scheduled to take part.

Downtown business hosts 10th Annual Famous Toy Drive

FAIRFIELD — Famous Creations will host its 10th Annual Famous Toy Drive on Saturday.

Children can get photos with Santa, do some arts and crafts, get free cocoa and shop; parents can participate in a prize drawing and more.

The event will begin at 11 a.m. at 837 Texas St. Those who attend are asked to bring toys that are new and unwrapped. Every toy someone brings in will earn a ticket for prizes.

For more information, call 707-419-5733.

INSIDE

More Week Ahead stories Page B7.

and

youngest

members elected

Matthew Garcia

Robinson Kuntz/Daily Republic file (2019)

Vacaville Mayor Ron Rowlett and Rabbi Chaim Zaklos, of Chabad of Solano County, light the menorah during the Menorah on Main event in Vacaville, Dec. 22, 2019.

Business wants voters to overturn state’s legislative decrees

Democrats over the past decade have solidified their dominance of the state Capitol and have repeatedly attempted to change how private businesses operate in California. Those efforts have taken many specific forms, including mandates on employee benefits, making it easier for unions to organize workers, and regulating – or even prohibiting – products and services offered to customers.

All such efforts were aimed, their legislative and interest group sponsors said, at expanding equity and accountability for the benefit of workers and consumers.

Whatever their motives, as those efforts proliferate, the affected businesses have done what they could to block or at least modify what was happening. Nevertheless, those seeking more governmental regulation of business practices have scored some major victories and in response, affected businesses have increasingly used referenda to erase new laws or initiatives to repeal or modify them.

Those countermeasures have a mixed record of success, to wit:

n In 2014, the Legislature passed and then-Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation to ban single-use plastic bags for groceries or other consumer goods. An industry referendum to block the new law failed in 2016.

n In 2018, the Legislature eliminated cash bail for criminal defendants. Two years later, the bail bond industry persuaded voters to reject the law.

n In 2019, legislators passed a sweeping law that reduced the ability of businesses to use freelance workers under contract. Rideshare and delivery companies such as Uber and Lyft placed a measure on the 2020 ballot to exempt themselves from the new law. Voters passed it, but it’s since been challenged in court.

n In 2020, the Legislature prohibited the sale of flavored tobacco products, saying they encourage young people to smoke. However, the tobacco industry’s referendum to block the ban was rejected by voters this year.

Corporate use of the ballot to thwart the Capitol’s Democrats is likely to continue.

The fast food industry has submitted signatures for a referendum to overturn the creation of a new agency, dominated by unions and union-friendly appointees, that would set wages and working conditions for fast food employees. If it qualifies, the law would be suspended until voters decide the issue in 2024.

The oil industry is gathering signatures for a referendum to overturn a newly enacted law that would ban new oil wells within 3,200 feet of schools and other public facilities. If it qualifies, it also would go on the 2024 ballot.

Another oil industry referendum is likely if the Legislature passes Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal to impose limits on its profits from gasoline sales and impose financial penalties for exceeding them.

Newsom’s original proposal was an excess profits tax, which would not have been subject to referendum because the state Constitution declares that tax measures cannot be challenged via referendum.

However, non-tax laws, unless passed with two-thirds margins as “urgency measures,” are subject to referendum. If Newsom’s limit/ penalty law is enacted next year as a nonurgency measure, the industry would have a 90-day window in which to qualify a referendum. The law would be suspended until voters had the final word.

The proliferation of business-sponsored ballot measures to overturn what legislators and the governor decree has angered groups, such as unions and environmental and consumer rights organizations, that support more oversight of business practices. They are pressing the Legislature to make the qualification of ballot measures more difficult.

However, Newsom and his predecessor, Brown, have opposed such changes for the simple reason that governors sometimes turn to the ballot themselves to enact laws that the Legislature is unwilling to pass.

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

THE RIGHT STUFF

1855

Letters to the editor

Letters must be 325 words or less and are subject to editing for length and clarity. All letters must include the author’s name, address and phone number. Send letters to Letters to the Editor, the Daily Republic, P.O. Box 47, Fairfield, CA 94533, email to gfaison@dailyrepublic. net or drop them off at our office, 1250 Texas St. in Fairfield.

US voter confidence in need of restoration

As Americans impatiently have waited three weeks and more for the final report of election outcomes, it is time for citizens to contemplate why their confidence level in the election process has deteriorated.

The confidence level (very or somewhat confident) has varied for 20 years between 75% and 59%. Why? Is lack of confidence due to changes in election laws perceived as reducing election integrity? To protect voting integrity, the Constitution limits only state legislatures or Congress to control election procedures. Despite such laws, several state governors or other officials altered procedures approaching the 2020 elections, and none have been disciplined.

The Supreme Court of the United State is currently hearing a lawsuit (Moore v. Harper) related to the ultimate authority of state legislatures to control election procedures. Lack of law enforcement obviously affects citizen confidence.

Lack of common-sense voter identification requirements is the most visible obscenity to detract from election security. Most, if not all, democratic nations, excepting the United States, require positive ID. The National Council of State Legislatures reports the current status of each state. Eight require photo ID, four require written ID, 10 request written ID and do not require photo ID, 13 request written ID but do not enforce it, and 15, including California, of course, plus the District

COMMENTARY

of Columbia, require no documentation.

States that require photo ID normally provide it without charge. Despite that, opponents of positive ID proclaim that such a requirement is voter suppression of minorities and the poor; an insult to minorities and unsupported by state voter participation records. Impersonation voting, albeit rare, may have a significant effect on voter confidence.

The major damage to election integrity is vote-by-mail. This is not to be compared to absentee voting, which has always been tightly protected.

Many states are delinquent in maintaining accuracy of voter registration. Judicial Watch surveyed 29 states in 2020 and found 393 counties had more voter registrations than voters that lived in their county. Judicial Watch had sued several states and obtained a court order in January 2019 requiring states to restore accurate registration. Solano County had 11% more voter registrations than valid voters. The California attorney general delayed enforcement and compliance is yet incomplete. The prime concern nationally is the total lack of ballot security when thousands of ballots are sent into the mail and the only protection is signature monitoring, which is subjective at best.

Harvesting is the ultimate feature for massive fraud. Remember the Minneapolis police officer in 2020 who found 300 marked ballots in a detainee’s car, or the harvested collection of

2,000 ballots (all marked for the same candidate) in Philadelphia? The opposition says fraud is nonexistent; the obvious answer is that without ballot security, fraud is undetectable. The only solution is to stop vote-by-mail or require fingerprinting.

Proponents of vote-by-mail hold that it increases voter participation. The research to date finds no significant increase. Voting is a citizen duty.

Make Election Day a national holiday.

Electronic voting is a question for many. Reports of voting computer hacking alarm peoples’ confidence.

Solano County, when obtaining bids for voting computers, rejected bids that did not provide a paper ballot.

Data is available to prove every excuse given to justify the above failed actions are lies. Are we not all tired of being told that minorities cannot get an identification card? Perhaps curtailing vote-by-mail might even increase participation as people regain confidence in the duty to vote. Perhaps a penalty for every eligible voter who does not vote is feasible; some nations do.

I close by informing the younger generations who have not enjoyed this luxury: Until recent elections, anyone could go to bed at 2 a.m. following Election Day knowing few elections were undecided.

Earl Heal is a retired Air Force officer, Vacaville resident and member of The Right Stuff committee formerly of the Solano County Republican Central Committee. Reach him at healearlniki2@gmail.com.

McCarthy names leader for China committee

Atop priority for the new Republican majority will be a Select Committee on China, if Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) is elected House speaker, as I expect he will be. This is the most important work the new Congress can do. Jake Sherman of Punchbowl News reported Monday that Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) was McCarthy’s choice to chair the new committee, and McCarthy confirmed that Thursday. Gallagher is a good fit for this huge job. An active-duty Marine for seven years – including two tours in Iraq – Gallagher is a serious student of security studies and international relations with a Ph-D from Georgetown University. As a Senate staffer, he worked for the Foreign Relations Committee, and now serves on both the House Armed Services Committee and Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

At just 38, Gallagher is married with two children and still lives in his native Green Bay. Being a Packers fan – and fan of the Bucks, Brewers and University of Wisconsin Badgers – comes with the territory, but he saves his partisan passions for sports. As a public servant, he is a breath of fresh air, ready to work with anyone, red or blue, to advance Team America against a deadly serious rival.

As the leader of a committee likely to include 10 Republicans and seven Democrats, Gallagher will need to waken Americans to the new Cold War that China has launched over the past 20 years while we dozed complacently. Former President Donald Trump, with his love of tariffs, gave battle in the trade arena. Despite the

turmoil of frequently changing personnel, Trump’s second secretary of state (and first CIA director) Mike Pompeo, and like-minded “China hands” in the former administration, succeeded getting a good part of the Foggy Bottom foreign policy apparatus to focus on the dictatorial power and overweening ambitions of China’s all-but-in-name emperor Xi Jinping.

I am confident Speaker McCarthy will appoint GOP members to the new committee who are true national security experts, skilled in communicating with the public and in working across the aisle. Incoming Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) should do the same with his choices. When I asked him about the Democrats he hoped would be on the committee, Gallagher mentioned California’s Ro Khanna and Virginia’s Abigail Spanberger. Other serious national security Democrats (yes, they exist) include Reps. Jared Golden (Maine) and Seth Moulton (Mass.).

I could tell that Gallagher did not want to get too far ahead of McCarthy in discussing the committee. That’s wise, because the likely future speaker has some delicate diplomacy to do in assuring incoming chairs of standing committees that the new select committee will not threaten their turf. It is a delicate bit of surgery to carve out this mission, but McCarthy knows – and often speaks about – the existential threat to U.S. interests that the Chinese Communist Party poses. Despite President Joe Biden’s expressed hope to avoid a “new Cold War,” we are already in one.

So what will the new committee do?

More specifics of the committee’s membership and goals are likely

to emerge this week. But the Select Committee on China should start by asking C-SPAN to cover every hearing gavel to gavel. These hearings should be held in the evening so Americans can easily watch them.

Gallagher need not descend to the narrative excesses of the Jan. 6 committee. Serious, sustained questioning of key experts will suffice to illuminate the many ways in which China threatens our national security –underseas warfare, cybersecurity, espionage and more. The venerable China hand Michael Pillsbury of the Hudson Institute calls this competition “The Hundred-Year Marathon,” and while it has been underway for decades, the race has reached a critical moment.

Retired Adm. James Stavridis, a former supreme allied commander of NATO, has pledged to provide a reading list for committee members and staff to address the yawning gap in strategic thinking separating American from Chinese leadership.

The stakes could not be higher.

In his 1984 reelection campaign, President Ronald Reagan famously warned of a Soviet “bear in the woods.” A successful Select Committee on China will alert Americans to the “dragon in the sky.” Much of that success depends on Democrats’ willingness to work with Gallagher in common cause. Jeffries can make that happen with the right appointments. I pray that he does.

Hugh Hewitt is a nationally syndicated radio host on the Salem Radio Network. He is also a professor at Chapman University School of Law, where he has taught constitutional law since 1996.

Dan Walters

Earl Heal

Hugh Hewitt

(707) 427-1386

Cruise to receive Producers Guild’s highest honor

Tribune ConTenT AgenCy

Tom Cruise is flying high.

The 60-year-old action star will receive the Producers Guild of America’s highest honor, organizers announced Thursday. It’s Cruise’s first major prize in a big year that saw him release the record-breaking box office blockbuster “Top Gun: Maverick.”

Cruise will be honored at the Feb. 25 ceremony with the 2023 David O. Selznick Achievement Award, which recognizes a producer or producing team for their body of work.

“Beginning with Mission: Impossible, Tom Cruise has developed a talent for producing to match his extraordinary talent as an actor,” PGA

chiefs Donald De Line and Stephanie Allain said in a statement.

Past recipients of the award include Steven Spielberg, Brian Grazer, Barbara Broccoli and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige.

“Top Gun: Maverick,” meanwhile, was named the best film of the year Thursday by the National Board of Review.

Annie Schulhof, president of the long-running New York City-based nonprofit called the movie “a thrilling crowdpleaser that is expertly crafted on every level . . . that brought audiences back to theaters.”

The sequel to the 1986 original also won outstanding achievement in cinematography.

Zits Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

Pearls Before Swine Stephan Pastis

Dilbert Scott Adams

Baby Blues Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott

Baldo Hector Cantú

NorthBay Medical Center earns best hospitals for maternity award

FAIRFIELD — NorthBay Health Medical Center has been recognized as a 2022-2023 “high performing” hospital for maternity care by U.S. News & World Report. It is the highest award a hospital can earn for the magazine’s Best Hospitals for Maternity Care program.

The annual evaluation is designed to assist expectant parents and their doctors in making decisions about where to receive maternity care.

To earn the recognition, hospitals had to excel on multiple quality metrics that matter to expectant families, including complication rates, C-sections, whether births were scheduled too early in pregnancy, and how successfully each hospital supported breastfeeding.

U.S. News evaluated nearly 650 hospitals that

provide labor and delivery services for uncomplicated pregnancies for its 2022-2023 awards. Fewer than half – 297 – received a high performing designation.

“This rating is a testament to the quality care provided by our team,” Heather Troutt, director of Women and Children’s Services at NorthBay Health, said in a company press release. “We want our patients to know that we are fully committed to providing a safe, positive experience for mothers, babies and families by employing best practices across the spectrum of maternity services.”

“We have an exceptional team of caregivers who help welcome hundreds of babies into the world each year, with high-risk pregnancy and neonatal intensive care services if needed,” B. Konard Jones, president and CEO of NorthBay

Health, said in the press release. “This award confirms that our patients can have peace of mind that they are choosing a health care provider with a proven track record of providing both mother and child the most compassionate care and advanced medicine close to home.”

The U.S. News & World Report honor follows the magazine’s July Best Hospitals report that ranked NorthBay Health Medical Center as “high performing” for six specific specialty procedures and conditions: COPD, heart attack, heart failure, kidney failure, pneumonia

and stroke. These ratings singled out care that was significantly better than the national average, as measured by factors such as patient outcomes, according to the NorthBay Health press release.

“High performing” is the highest rating U.S. News awards for these types of care.

The maternity rating, like the other ratings from July, are important in helping patients make decisions on where to receive care, noted the magazine.

The U.S. News Best Hospitals for Maternity Care methodology is based on objective measures of quality, such as C-section rates in lowerrisk pregnancies, newborn complication rates, exclusive breast milk feeding rates, early elective delivery rates and vaginal birth after cesarean rates, among other measures.

Local companies can opt-in to online directory of small Solano businesses

FAIRFIELD — BrandGOV, working in conjunction with Solano County, has kicked off a new venture, just as the holiday shopping season starts.

The program features an online directory of Solano County small businesses and any shopping incentives they offer; a listing of job opportunities at those businesses and at community, government and private sector agencies; and a posting of other neighborhood resources. Shop Solano will soon also include an e-gift card deal where shoppers who buy a $100 card will get a $25 bonus card for free.

“I want to emphasize this is not simply a local shopping-incentive endeavor; it’s much more,” BrandGOV CEO K. Patrice Williams said in a press release. “The program is meant to help increase sales at our local businesses and provide resources, such as job and other community-based information. This can be used to better the health and wellbeing of county residents, increasing their economic stability.”

The company’s

researchers studied the Healthy Places Index –a data tool used to assess health equity issues – to identify at-risk neighborhoods in the county and the businesses located there. As a result, 638 businesses have been placed in the online directory initially and the project’s other resource information is expected to be helpful in underserved communities.

Shop Solano is meant to bring support to these businesses, and their locales, by contributing to their overall economic resilience, stability and fiscal health, according to the press release. Any Solano County business can participate in the program.

Business owners who want to sign up should visit www. shopsolano.org.

Shop Solano is being run as part of BrandGOV’s Empower Solano initiative. The company was hired by the Solano County Health Department to develop and administer the program.

To learn more about the work being done through Empower Solano, how to get involved and to sign up for its newsletter, visit www. empowersolano.com.

Call 707-427-6989

DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

JONES TROUTT

Courtesy photo

northbay Medical Center has been recognized as a 20222023 “high performing” hospital for maternity care by u s

news & World Report. To earn the recognition, hospitals had to excel on multiple quality metrics.

to one day call that land home again.

Last year she reached out to Where Is My Land, an organization that helps Black families across the country regain land taken through eminent domain, fraudulent wills, or other means.

Nearly 500 families have contacted Where Is My Land since the organization launched last summer, said founder Kavon Ward, an activist and poet in Los Angeles.

Hundreds sought help

Demand for the group’s services has been “overwhelming,” she said, adding she is encouraged so many have contacted her.

“I’m happy that there’s hope where there wasn’t,” she said, adding Where Is My Land must be strategic about moving cases forward. “I need there to be realistic expectations.”

For now, Ward said, the group’s three staff members are “taking it slow . . . we can’t go as fast as people are expecting us to unless they want to donate millions of dollars.”

The for-profit organization says it provides advocacy, research and media consulting and charges between $35 a session to $3,333 for the full package of services.

The hundreds seeking Where Is My Land’s help span the United States, Ward said, with most requests coming from the South and the East Coast. There are 40 active cases, including seven in California, Ward said.

“All of (the cases) are racially motivated,” Ward said, “Eminent domain was used in a lot of them, but also just racist white people running people off the land . . . There’s fraud and oil companies taking land and getting away with it. We have courts involved with the theft of it . . . and municipalities and states not doing anything about it, despite seeing that the families have proven evidence that the land belongs to them.”

In California, Where is My Land is working with seven families who lost property to municipalities in Santa Monica, Hayward, Richmond, Coloma, Palm Springs, Canyon and Napa, Ward said. The team is gathering documents and testimony and working with law firms, though Ward wouldn’t be specific about their strategy, saying the organization faces steep opposition.

“I am grateful that more and more people are educating themselves and are ready to make amends,”

she said. “But at the same time, there are just as many people who are not and who are looking at this attempt to get land back as a huge threat and will do whatever they can to stop the movement.”

Bruce’s Beach

Where is My Land grew out of a local effort to help a Black family in Manhattan Beach regain ownership of a small park called Bruce’s Beach in Los Angeles County.

In the early 1900s, Bruce’s Beach was a haven for Black families who wanted to swim in the Pacific Ocean but were blocked from most other beaches and pools in the county. Originally owned by Willa and Charles Bruce, the beach was a resort with a restaurant and dance hall.

The city of Manhattan Beach seized the property in 1927, claiming it for a public park. But the spot remained undeveloped for decades. The city deeded it to the state, which transferred it to the county, which put a lifeguard station on it.

Now surrounding the park are multi-million dollar luxury homes with ocean views.

“Can you imagine what that land would be worth?” Ward said. “Can you imagine how wealthy that family could have been?”

Before 2020, Ward said, she barely knew the history of Bruce’s Beach. After the national protests in response to the police murder of George Floyd, she held a Juneteenth picnic at Bruce’s Beach where two members of the Bruce family attended.

“I got so upset,” said Ward, 41. “I live in this city where Black people were essentially co-founders and I had no idea.”

Ward began advocating for the return of the land to the Bruces. She spent hours testifying at city council meetings and before the California Coastal Commission about the unjust history of eminent domain, while facing pushback from residents, including some who called the Bruces opportunists and claimed there was no systemic racism in Manhattan Beach.

Racial motivations

Separately state Sen. Steven Bradford – a Democrat from San Pedro who sits on the state’s reparations task force – had begun drafting Senate Bill 796, which would allow the county to return the land to the Bruces.

Legislators unanimously passed the bill, and in September 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed it. L.A. County, while publicly admitting the original land grab was motivated

by racial prejudice, deeded the land back to the Bruce family in what many said was a rare case of a government reversing a multimillion-dollar eminent domain action.

“It is well documented that this move was a racially motivated attempt to drive out the successful Black business and its patrons,” the Board of Supervisors’ motion reads.

Recently the county signed an agreement with Bruce descendants to continue leasing the property for $413,000 a year for two years. Afterward the county could buy it from the family for a price “not to exceed” $20 million.

The fight to return the beach met with some legal resistance. Joseph Ryan, a Palos Verdes resident and retired attorney, filed a lawsuit arguing that the land transfer would constitute “a gift” of public funds and therefore is unconstitutional. The Los Angeles Superior Court rejected Ryan’s suit last April, finding the return of land is not a gift.

In an email to CalMatters, he disputed the history of the eminent domain seizure, and referred to his prior statements in which he called the story of injustice a “myth.”

Making it right

Ward said the property’s return to the Bruces is a sign of progress.

“It’s the first time in this frickin’ country, in this world, that Black people are treated with enough respect for this country to say, ‘You know, what we did, this, it was wrong. We’re going to do what we can to make it right,’” Ward said.

Ward’s advocacy, along with Bradford’s first-ofits-kind legislation, put the issue of Black land dispossession on a national stage. Ward said the campaign was a moment of “perfect alignment” of political will among people in local, state and national political spheres.

“There’s no one-sizefits-all model for any of it,” Ward said. “A lot of it is case-by-case strategy.”

Today her organization pushes for property transfers either legislatively or through the courts, along with drumming up public support.

Families submit claims to the organization’s website and the team’s lead researcher, Kamala Miller, reviews them. A strong case, Miller said, is one with robust documentation of ownership by a family – such as property deeds or demolition notices – or historical evidence of eminent domain in local newspapers or city archives.

Miller, who is a licensed attorney in Washington D.C., said cases like the Bruces’ and the Moores’ – involving land seized for public use and which remains unused – have better shots at transfers than cases where private parties seize land.

“Those are more likely to get a listening ear” than when somebody lives on the property, Miller said.

Bradford agreed, adding that since the passage of SB 796, he has spoken with legislators from across the country hoping for a roadmap for future land transfers involving eminent domain.

“SB 796 is a clear example of what can be done when there’s a will by government entities –whether it’s local, state, or federal – to return land that is currently being controlled by government entities,” Bradford said.

A debt owed

He added that a goal for California’s reparations taskforce is to compile a database of properties taken from Black families. The task force, in general, is examining how Black people have been impacted by systemic racism and how the state can respond through reparations.

Bradford makes a

distinction between reparations and returning stolen land.

“I see reparations as that which was owed and that which was promised,” Bradford said, “so to return that which was stolen is not necessarily reparations. But it’s an example of what we can do in trying to correct some of the historical wrongs, as it relates to the denial and stealing of property that belonged to Black folks.”

Many properties taken from Black families are now owned or occupied by private people or entities, and there are fewer ways to pursue their return, advocates said.

Constance White, who grew up in Santa Monica, said she has asked Where is My Land to help, because the property her family once owned, though publicly owned, is now the site of the Viceroy Santa Monica hotel, part of a multi-billion dollar hotel group.

Back in 1957 her father, Silas White, was weeks away from opening the Ebony Beach Club, a club for Black people. Signs were on the building – and Nat King Cole was to be one of the first members – when the city of Santa Monica seized the property under the guise of building a parking lot for the civic center, she said.

Soon after his business plans were destroyed, Silas White fell ill. He died in 1962.

The city didn’t build the civic center parking lot; it allowed a hotel to be built there instead. According to the L.A. County Assessor, the city of Santa Monica still owns the land, valued at $1.5 million.

Constance White said the city owes her family a debt.

“I want a real great awareness, an apology from the city of Santa Monica,” said White, who is 88. “And since I can’t get the land back, I would think there’s something financial that they would be willing to do.”

Apologies for racism

At a November city council meeting, Santa Monica Mayor Sue Himmelrich and the council issued a formal apology to the African American community, acknowledging the city’s “deed restrictions, prohibitive zoning, and racist realtor practices,” including the use of eminent domain.

The council said it is committed to “ferreting out and overturning systemically racist policies to ensure that the pain caused by several decades of racial injustice and discrimination against African Americans and other people of color is mitigated to the extent possible.”

City officials were not available to comment specifically on White’s case.

George Fatheree, an LA attorney who represented the Bruce family, said Black people won’t be able to litigate themselves out of historical real estate discrimination. Changes in government policies will be necessary.

“It’s a function of decades, if not centuries, of racially discriminatory acts and policies and laws. The idea that the way to address it through one-byone litigation is somewhat myopic,” he said.

In Moore’s case, the city of Richmond paid her $27,000 in 1993 for the house on Enterprise Avenue. The city also helped relocate Moore’s mother to a senior home and her brother to an affordable housing unit.

But that wasn’t enough to remedy the incalculable loss, Moore said; soon after, depression blanketed her mother’s already declining health.

Two decades after the house was demolished, the 6,032-square-foot plot is an empty field of weeds. The city considers it surplus and has put it up for sale. The county assessor valued it at $13,540 in January.

“The real question is whether the previous owner was paid a fair price when the parcel was obtained through eminent domain,” said Tom Butt, Richmond’s current mayor, in an email to CalMatters.

Moore said she and her adult daughter are ready to fight for it. They dream of opening a community garden or a senior center on their family’s plot.

“It brings back so many memories – and they’re fading because the house is not there,” Moore said. “We’re not there. We’re not able to be in our home . . . That was our whole livelihood. When they took the foundation, everything started crumbling.”

ties would work “arm in arm” with their Scottish counterparts.

“Let there be no mistake, no amount of time or distance will stop the U.S. and our Scottish partners from pursuing justice in this case,” Barr said.

Megrahi was released from prison in 2009 on compassionate grounds while terminally ill with cancer, and died in Libya in 2012. In January 2021, his family lost an appeal against his conviction at the High Court in Edinburgh.

Lawyers of Megrahi’s family said the decision to move Mas’ud into U.S. custody may have implications on the miscarriage of justice appeal rejected against the late client.

Lawyer Aamer Anwar said Mas’ud’s confession was extracted by a Libyan law enforcement agent in 2012 while he was in prison in the North African nation – which would not be legally recognized in Scotland or the U.S.

Adding that Mas’ud’s confession could “fundamentally undermine” Megrahi’s case, Anwar said in a statement: “We find it astonishing that the U.S. now claims that

Mas’ud was given $500 by Megrahi to buy clothes to fill the suitcase, but Megrahi then also bought the clothes too.

“We are now trying to imagine the ridiculous situation that Mas’ud will say ‘I bought the clothes’ (presumably from Marys House, Malta) which would fundamentally undermine Megrahi’s case.

“What will the Scottish Crown Office say ‘No you didn’t’ especially as it played a key role in their case against Al-Megrahi.”

The statement added: “For the Megrahi family, this is just another piece in the jigsaw of monumental lies, built on the back

of the Libyan people, the victims of Lockerbie and the incarceration of an innocent man Abdelbaset Al-Megrahi.”

The U.S. Department of Justice said: “The United States has taken custody of alleged Pan Am flight 103 bombmaker Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi.

“He is expected to make his initial appearance in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Additional details, including information regarding public access to the initial appearance, will be forthcoming.”

includes what staff considers to be critical overall and chip seal projects, which they say is why the county roads are among the best in the Bay Area.

Three roads – parts of Kildeer, Lambie and Scally – are scheduled

for overlay work when funding is available, while 21 roads will get the chip seal maintenance. The funded level is $968,000. Maintenance work is a key part of each year’s workplan.

The 2024-25 budget is $37.458 million; the 2025-26 budget is $49.732 million; the 2026-27 budget is $23.796 million; and the 2027-28 budget is

$10.076 million.

Supervisor Mitch Mashburn wanted to know when Highway 113 is going to be addressed, calling it the “worst highway” in the county. He was told the state Department of Transportation has pushed the project back to 2029.

“At least with 113 you have a date, with (Highway) 37, we are looking out decades,”

The work around the Rockville parks was also a highlighted priority for some of the supervisors. There is $650,000 that goes to the crossing project this year.

Updating equipment and corporations yards also are needs, the board was told.

Supervisor Erin Hannigan said.

Lauren Justice/Calmatters

Kavon Ward, CEO and Founder of Where is My Land, at home in Marina Del Ray, Nov. 17.

Hulton Archive/Getty Images/TNS file

In this photo from Jan. 31, 2001, the “shatter zone” portion of the reconstructed fuselage of Pan Am Flight 103, which exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, is on display in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Armijo’s Jericho Johnson has good head on his broad shoulders

M att Miller MMILLER@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — Jericho Johnson has a voice mail on his cellphone that sounds like a little kid pranking a caller.

“What if a college coach calls?” he is asked.

“I should change that,” he says.

“What if Deion Sanders calls?”

“I should really change that,” he adds.

Armijo High School’s junior gets a lot of telephone calls these days. He also gets text messages, a flood of

social media mentions and yes, the occasional old-school mailed letter. The 6-foot-5, 305-pound linebacker is a highly sought after Division I football prospect, likely the No. 1 such talent in the area heading into the 2023 season.

Johnson already has 10 offers on the table: from Miami, Oregon, Oregon State, San Jose State, Colorado, Arizona, Cal, Washington State, Washington and Utah. And he says he’ll take until next December to officially make a decision. He still has all his official visits available.

“Man, it’s a blessing,” Johnson said. “It’s something I never saw coming. People have told me I’m going to be great, but you never expect it to come like this. I appreciate all the opportunities I’ve been given.”

Rodriguez star Leroy Bryant has been a top prospect as well but he made his decision to attend the University of Washington before his senior season. Bryant even had UW head coach Kalen DeBoar at his house this week but the decision in his mind had already been made.

The process is just beginning for Johnson.

Johnson has the mix of speed, size and strength that coaches covet. He was the coMonticello Empire League Lineman of the Year and has been an all-MEL selection as a sophomore and a junior. There are times he can simply push aside offensive foes en route to the backfield.

“It’s been that way since I was a 10-year-old playing Pop Warner for the Solano Warriors,” he said. “I always thought it would be fun to

madness

owners

Bill M adden NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

NEW YORK –Sometime around the midpoint of the baseball owners’ nearly two billion dollar spending spree at the winter meetings in San Diego this week, Billy Eppler got off the phone in the Mets war room and announced to his troops that the earth had just shifted.

Leading up to the meetings, the Mets general manager had devised numerous game plans with his owner Steve Cohen on how to fulfill all of their needs – center field, starting pitching, bullpen – in as prudent a way as possible. They had all but conceded losing Brandon Nimmo to a bidding war that seemed headed for more years than they felt comfortable.

ANALYSIS

general partner John Middleton, who had earlier signed Taijuan Walker, the Mets’ No. 4 starter last year, for a whopping $72 million over four years, fulfilled his quest for shortstop Trea Turner with an eye-popping 11-year, $300 million deal. Mind you, Cohen had already seen the Texas Rangers stun the baseball fraternity by luring away Jacob deGrom for a five-year deal worth $185 million – when he and Eppler had privately agreed that three years would be their max for the oft-injured two-time Cy Young winner – and now he was steaming.

triBune Content agenCy

SANTA CLARA —

Brock Purdy’s first career start had his dad shedding joyful tears in the Levi’s Stadium stands, and the 49ers’ Faithful shared that sentiment Sunday by chanting “Purdy! Pur-dy!” at times in Sunday’s 35-7 rout of Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

A 28-0 halftime lead made certain Purdy –and the 49ers’ top-ranked defense – would upstage Brady’s rare and perhaps final homecoming to his

native Bay Area.

On the 49ers’ way to a sixth straight win, however, came trouble, in the form of Deebo Samuel getting carted off with an ankle injury, 5 minutes before halftime. It’s the latest, scary injury to a franchise that deployed Purdy as its third starting quarterback this season, a week after losing Jimmy Garoppolo to a potentially season-ending foot fracture.

The 49ers (9-4) must quickly cast aside their

mixed emotions and worthy ego. Thursday night brings their next game, at Seattle’s daunting venue where they’ll face the Seahawks (7-6) to possibly clinch the NFC West crown.

Purdy, as surprisingly impressive as he was in relief last Sunday to beat Miami, put forth a masterpiece Sunday. He became the first of seven quarterbacks in NFL history to win a debut against Brady, a San Mateo native who played only once previously on the 49ers’ field

(a 2016 New England Patriots win).

Afterward, Purdy had to wait his turn in a reception line of 49ers that gathered to shake hands with Brady, a stream that included Fred Warner, Charles Omenihu, Talanoa Hufanga, Deommodore Lenoir and, finally, Purdy, with general manager John Lynch also in the wings.

The 45-year-old Brady rifled 55 passes and completed 34 for 253 yards,

But then Hal Steinbrenner blinked on a ninth year for Aaron Judge and coughed up $146.5 million more than his superstar slugger had originally turned down back in March, and Phillies

Whether they realized it or not, the baseball owners with their contract madness this week in what one high-level MLB official termed “the age of irrationality,” unleashed the spending monster in Steve Cohen, who essentially told Eppler that night: “Screw this. We are not losing Nimmo

Paul Silas, who played for three NBA championship teams, dies at 79

the WaShington PoSt

Paul Silas, a threetime NBA champion known for his rugged rebounding in the 1970s and as LeBron James’s first head coach in the league, died Sunday morning at the age of 79.

ary Celtics broadcaster Johnny Most, he averaged 11.5 points and 12.3 rebounds for those Celtics teams.

larry Stone THE SEATTLE TIMES

SEATTLE – Way back in another life, I covered Deion Sanders for a half-season as a beat writer for the San Francisco Giants. The year was 1995, and the Giants had acquired Deion in a July trade with the Reds, trying to capitalize on his local popularity as a Super Bowl winner that year with the 49ers.

Sanders didn’t make much of an impact on a last-place Giants team and never played again for the 49ers, opting instead to sign with their archrival, the Dallas Cowboys, with whom he won another Super

Bowl the next year. But those of us who covered the team were genuinely surprised at how unlike his image he turned out to be. Dubbed “Prime Time” and “Neon Deion,” Sanders was quiet, reserved and respectful, earning considerable affection from his teammates, a group that included pre-juicing Barry Bonds.

The mellow version of Sanders I witnessed up close is certainly not the one that is rocking the college football world – and shaking up the dynamics of the Pac-12 – as the new coach

at Colorado.

Coach Prime, as he prefers to be called, definitely is trying to stand out these days. And succeeding wildly, with a, well, theatrical introductory news conference, followed by a stunning speech to the Buffaloes squad in which he encouraged players from this past season’s 1-11 team to transfer so he could restock the roster with his guys.

“When I get here, it’s going to be change,” Sanders told them (and everyone who watched the video that was immediately posted on social media). “So I want y’all to get ready. Go ahead and jump in that [transfer]

portal and do whatever you’re going to [do], because the more of you jump in the more room you make.”

Say what you will about Sanders’ style – The New York Times described him this week as “a sports mercenary with a carnival barker’s bearing, a roadside preacher’s panache and a talent for winning” – the Pac-12 just got immensely more interesting with Coach Prime’s arrival.

It has been easy for the rest of the country to write off the conference as a largely irrelevant and mostly inferior brand

Silas’s death, first reported by longtime Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan, was confirmed by the Houston Rockets, for whom Silas’s son, Stephen, is the head coach. According to the Houston Chronicle, Rockets assistant John Lucas is expected to fill in as head coach for Sunday night’s home game against the Milwaukee Bucks. Details about where Silas died and the cause of death were not immediately available.

Paul Silas played for 16 seasons in the NBA, including a stint with the Boston Celtics from 1972-76 when he helped the team win its first championships after the retirement of Bill Russell. Known as “Tall Paul” to legend-

Silas also played for the Hawks in both St. Louis and Atlanta, the Phoenix Suns, the Denver Nuggets and the Seattle SuperSonics, winning a championship with them in 1979 and retiring after the ‘79-’80 season.

He compiled a 387-488 record over 12 seasons as a head coach with the San Diego Clippers, for two stints in Charlotte - first with the Hornets and several years later with the Bobcats - in the Hornets’ first season after moving to New Orleans and for James’s first two seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Silas emerged as a college star at Creighton, setting an NCAA record in rebounding across three seasons and leading the nation with 20.6 rebounds per game in the 1962-63 season. His No. 35 jersey has

It’s contract

from MLB

at winter meetings in ‘age of irrationality’

Matt Miller/Daily Republic

Armijo High School junior linebacker Jericho Johnson is a highly sought after Division I prospect by Cal and nine other schools.

Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group

San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback Brock Purdy (13) celebrates his touchdown throw with San Francisco

49ers’ Kyle Juszczyk (44) against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Sunday.

and we are not stopping there. We will spend what it takes to win.”

With Nimmo’s eightyear, $162 million deal plus the $10 million thrown at David Robertson to fill the set-up reliever hole late Thursday, Cohen had already spent $386 million this offseason to bring his payroll to about $325 million –or nearly $100 million over the first payroll tax threshold of $233 million, and $35 million over the fourth so-called “Steve Cohen” threshold of $290 million for which the Mets will now be taxed at 90% with their top draft pick also moved down 10 slots.

But Cohen obviously doesn’t care. Nor does the Phillies’ Middleton, the Padres’ Peter Seidler, the Rangers’ Ray Davis or a reluctant Steinbrenner, who all blew past or got right up to the $233 million threshold last week. And to think, the owners almost took a lockout last March over the threshold issue.

There are still at least four gigantic contracts out there yet to be

signed – Carlos Correa, who appears to be headed to the Giants, now desperate after losing out on Judge; Dansby Swanson, who many believe will be priced out of the Braves’ comfort zone and most likely land with the Cubs; Carlos Rodon, the top remaining starting pitcher who is said to favor going to the Yankees but won’t get his reported six years, $180 million ask from them; and the latest Japanese prodigy, Kodai Senga, who with multiple teams including the Mets still in pursuit, will likely reap over $100 million despite never having thrown a pitch in the majors.

Suffice it to say, we should not expect any

with a pair of second-half interceptions and a touchdown throw when the Bucs trailed 35-0.

The 22-year-old Purdy completed 16-of-21 passes for 185 yards – all but three passes coming in the first half – and he produced two touchdown passes plus a 2-yard touchdown run. He was not intercepted nor sacked before Josh Johnson got summoned for his 49ers debut in the final minutes.

Purdy’s helpers: start with the 49ers defense, which posted a first-half shutout and then intercepted Brady twice (Tashaun Gipson Sr., Dre Greenlaw). That defense’s hunger to dominate prompted coaches to keep playing NFL sack leader Nick Bosa into the fourth quarter.

Offensively, Purdy did more than just serve as a

property manager on the 49ers’ home turf. He got the ball to the 49ers’ stars, and they delivered, such as two touchdowns from Christian McCaffrey and one apiece by Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, not to mention Purdy’s own 2-yard scoring scramble to open the second quarter for a 14-0 lead.

McCaffrey racked up 119 rushing yards (14 carries) and 34 receiving yards (two catches). Samuel had four carries (21 yards) and four receptions (43 yards) before his departure.

All that combined set this up as one of the worst losses in Brady’s 376 career starts, including 47 in the playoffs and an unparalleled seven Super Bowl wins.

A 28-0 halftime lead might not have seemed too safe to 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, who was the Atlanta Falcons’ offensive coordinator when they lost Super Bowl LI as Brady rallied the New England

more declarations from Commissioner Rob Manfred about poverty among his owners. Between the $900 million bonanza from Disney for the purchase of BAMTech, the extra TV millions coming in from all the streaming deals, the new revenues from selling advertising patches on the uniforms beginning next year, baseball is awash in money and the players should be happy because a whole lot of it appears to be going to them. I’m told the Padres, in the 27th-ranked market, are coming up with all their money by selling off small shares of the club.

So the happy spenders will all declare them-

Patriots from a 28-3 deficit for a 34-28 overtime win.

The 49ers’ lead reached 35-0 by the time Brady avoided his fourth career shutout, with a deflected touchdown pass landing with Russell Gage Jr. 2:48 before the fourth quarter. (A 35-point loss to New Orleans in 2020 remains the most lopsided of Brady’s career.)

The 49ers’ feelgood start came to halt 5:01 before halftime when Samuel’s left leg got bent awkwardly on a carry, which he fumbled. The crowd fell silent, Bucs’ defenders took a knee and left tackle Trent Williams looked beside himself as he walked to the sideline. Samuel required a cart came to drive him to the locker room.

Samuel’s injury initially was announced by the 49ers as a knee issue. Not long after it was corrected in the third quarter to an ankle injury, NFL reporter Jordan Schultz tweeted word

selves winter meetings winners and their fans will surely agree. The one notable loser was the Red Sox, who lost shortstop Xander Bogaerts to the Padres by not even coming close his 11-year, $280 million deal (reportedly they’d topped out at six years). Red Sox GM Chaim Bloom who was brought in from Tampa Bay by Red Sox owner John Henry purportedly to run the team like the Rays, is doing just that. No eight-10-year deals for them, even for their franchise players, which means there is no way they’ll be able to keep Scott Boras-client Rafael Devers as the premier position player on the free agent market next year. Meanwhile, there were questions raised on both of Bloom’s signs at the meetings –the $105.4 million total outlay (including posting fee) for Japanese outfielder Masataka Yoshida, who is said to be below average defensively, and the two-years, $32 million for closer Kenley Jansen, who most scouts think is at the end. Regardless of how those work out, the Red Sox, who also lost out to the Rays on a No. 4 starter Zach Eflin, are now a last-place team.

that “Samuel did not suffer a serious injury and “the team is optimistic he’s okay. Deebo will undergo more tests as a precaution.”

Before this affair was done, multiple injuries took out 49ers’ defenders: Kevin Givens, Deommodore Lenoir, Kerry Hyder Jr., Dontae Johnson and Samuel Womack II. None were serious enough to require a cart-ride to the locker room.

Samuel gained 3 yards on the carry to the Bucs’ 40-yard line before being taken down by Rakeem NunezRoches and Anthony Nelson, with Lavonte David racing in to knock away and recover the football. Samuel scored the 49ers’ first touchdown on a 13-yard run to cap their opening possession. It was his third rushing touchdown of the season, and he followed key blocks by George Kittle and Mike McGlinchey to race down the right sideline.

Monday’s TV sports

Basketball High School

• Christ the King (N.Y.) vs.Sierra Canyon (Ca.), ESPN2, 8:30 p.m.

Football NFL

• New England vs. Arizona, ESPN, 5 p.m.

• MNF Manningcast, ESPN2, 5:15 p.m.

Tuesday’s TV sports

Basketball College Men

• The Citadel vs. North Carolina, ESPN2, 4 p.m.

• Memphis vs. Alabama, ESPN2, 6 p.m.

NBA

• Sacramento vs. Philadelphia, NBCSCA (Vacaville and Rio Vista), 4 p.m.

• Golden State vs. Milwaukee, TNT, NBCSBA (Fairfield and Suisun City), 4:30 p.m.

• Boston vs. L.A. Lakers, TNT, 7 p.m.

Hockey NHL

• Washington vs. Chicago, ESPN, 6 p.m.

• Arizona vs. San Jose, NBCSCA, 7:30 p.m.

Soccer World Cup

Croatia vs. Argentina, Semifinal, 2, 40, 11 a.m.

BASKETBALL

NBA

of football. But Sanders will force people to pay attention by the sheer force of his personality.

Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff, for one, could barely contain his glee, believing the attention Sanders will garner for the conference should help spike the payout of the vital-media rights package he’s in the process of negotiating.

“He absolutely adds value,” Kliavkoff told The Athletic.

And opposing

Pac-12 coaches, though none will admit it, must be wary of Sanders’ recruiting prowess. Colorado has been a reliable conference doormat, with just one winning full season (and seven years of eight or more losses) since joining the Pac in 2011. Speaking to the team, Sanders promised that the turnaround will be immediate – with or without (mostly without) the players to whom he was speaking.

“It’s going to be a different place, a different feel, a different attitude, a different energy, a different work ethic, a different want, a different hunger, a different

desire, a different need, a different capacity. . . . There is not going to be any more mediocrity, period,” Sanders said to the players.

“ . . . Some of y’all that really got it, that really want it, that really deserve it, and you’ve got to play beside a fool that don’t want it, don’t deserve it, that don’t even love it, I promise you it’s my job to get rid of them.”

Sanders – the Buffalos’ fifth full-time coach since 2012 – worked wonders in his three-year stint at Jackson State. He was 23-2 the past two seasons after going 4-3 in his shortened first year during the pandemic.

The Tigers are coming off a 12-0 season for their second consecutive SWAC title, with one more game to come in the Celebration Bowl against North Carolina Central on Dec. 17.

Sanders says he’ll coach Jackson State in that game, but in the meantime he’s doing heavy-duty recruiting for the Buffaloes. The day after he was hired, five-star recruit Winston Watkins, first cousin of Sammy Watkins, flipped his commitment from Texas A&M to Colorado. A top running back prospect, Dylan Edwards, decommited from Notre Dame and is said to be eyeing Colorado.

get to the NFL. I never really understood the full process. Football was something that just came naturally.”

Asked what coaches see in Johnson, his head coach at Armijo, Don Mosley, said it is simply:

“They see a dominant defensive lineman who can get off the blocks and make the plays in the backfield,” Moseley said.

“He also has the transcript that shows he can get the job done in the classroom as well.”

Johnson was credited with 36 solo tackles this season, nine sacks and a fumble recovery. He’s also a great leader and a grounded young man, a child of two ministry leaders at the Building Christian Fellowship in Suisun City where he handles video tech.

“A lot of coaches talk to me and see how I have it together and have a good head on my shoulders,” he said. “My parents raised me right.”

Many recruiting websites give Johnson three

stars out of five. Brandon Huffman of 24/7 Sports, however, recently gave him a fourth star and considers him the top defensive prospect in Northern California in the 2024 class.

“A big-bodied, bigframed defensive lineman who was awesome in a live performance early in the summer and has continued his noticeable progress on the field this fall, Johnson is creating a lot of buzz behind the scenes in the Pac-12 recruiting realm and beyond,” the national recruiting editor wrote on the website.

Johnson said he has no desire to hurry his decision and would like to see who else might make him an offer. Then he wants to go out and have a monster senior season, after a spring in track and field throwing the shot put and discus, a couple of new passions.

“I have a lot of time on my hands,” he said. “I have another year and I want to get through next season. I really want to pursue football but I’m also big on academics. I want to get my degree because football doesn’t last forever.”

utes about their days in Cleveland. “Paul Silas was a champion, trail blazer, and gentle giant.

been retired by the school and he was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017.

Magic Johnson praised Silas for “making a huge contribution to the game of basketball.” Washington Wizards broadcaster Chris Miller and his son Myck both tweeted trib-

I have fond memories of Coach when I was growing up in Cleveland,” Myck tweeted. “He would let me shoot around on the Cavs practice court and gave me tips on how to make left-handed layups.

Rest In Power Coach!”

Chris Miller added, “My heart is heavy today just saw the news that a great man passed away.”

Megan Briggs/Getty Images/TNS

Brandon Nimmo of the New York Mets rounds the bases in the eighth inning against the Miami Marlins at LoanDepot park, in Miami, July 29.

You say ta-may-toe, I say ta-mahtoe; let’s learn from each other

Editor’s note: Annie Lane is off this week. The following column was originally published in 2019.

Dear Annie: I used to date a lady from Australia who was taught to hold her fork in the European/continental style. When she came to visit me in Milwaukee, she noticed my American style. She seemed put-off but didn’t say anything. We had a pending dinner date with mutual friends, and she thought I would be set straight by seeing how other people hold their forks.

When we gathered together, she was surprised that, “You all eat that way!” We both learned about differences from that point on.

She also was intrigued by my frequent use of wiping my mouth with a napkin. “Australians use it once, at the end of eating.” I always saw it as a personal preference. After a while, she confided that she liked my way better. Seems Aussies she knew wiped with sleeves throughout their meals.

Customs and habits can be born by tradition or by physical necessity. There really is no right way or wrong way. Different cultures can have diametrically opposed standards or mores, habits and customs. It’s all in perspective. — I Learned From an Aussie

Dear Learned From an Aussie: I love your openminded perspective on traditions and culture. Learn-

ing about others makes life so much richer and deeper. A large percentage of people in the world don’t use knives and forks at all. Some use chopsticks while others eat with their hands.

Dear Annie: Your readers have great ideas, so I am writing to ask if any of them can help me solve a dilemma.

What can one give someone who needs nothing? I want to remember my friends at Christmas, but they don’t need yet another item. I want something a bit more thoughtful than just a Christmas card.

What do you suggest, and what do your readers suggest? — Gifts for Those Who Have Everything

Dear Gifts: One of the best gifts you can give to the person who has everything is to give to a charity that they are passionate about. That way, you are giving to those in need while showing your friend that you care about them for the holidays. But I like your idea of asking our readers how they deal with this issue.

Dear Annie: I would like to bring to your attention another possible situation garnered by your solution to the person who wrote to you about the new co-worker who accused another employee of sexual harassment. Your response to the person to leave it up to the human resources department was correct.

But let’s imagine that the employee’s complaint was,

Horoscopes

ARIES (March 21-April 19).

Making choices is a brain tax. Whether the choice winds up with a good or bad ending, the decision-making process is work. Recognize the reality of decision fatigue. It counts, and a post-decision relaxation is well deserved.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You benefit from thinking a little broader than the people around you, even if it means getting a bit existential. Considering the airless surface of the other planets known to man, it becomes clear: Everything, even your own breath, is a gift.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). The ring with the bottle, the dart with the target, the intention of finding love with the actuality of love... These things are possible today. Connect the small thing with the big thing and it’s a win.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). There’s an atmosphere of whimsy around you. You enjoy the people around you and are not thinking about what they can do for you so much as their potential as playmates and the potential for fun.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). When comments are offered to you, it is respected information, even if the advice itself is not so good. When people share, it lets you know how they are think-

by Holiday Mathis

ing and has value.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Socializing is fun, and it’s also a job. As a serious person with goals and a purpose, you may be smiling and laid-back, but you’re out there promoting yourself and your agenda at the same time.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23).

Luck is a fickle fairy, disinterested in being courted and vehemently against capture. She lands on what interests her, and none can predict it. So, ignore her. Do your work. She’ll drop in when it suits her.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21).

Arrogance is just fear in a cool disguise. Don’t buy in. You can use this knowledge to your advantage. When someone is being high-handed, take it as a signal to shake their tree, and then stand back and see what falls out.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22Dec. 21). After losing and finding yourself many times, you’ll come to the realization that neither state is better than the other. Being “lost” or “found” is merely a momentary opinion about yourself regarding your surroundings.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19). Your development is a do-it-yourself project. You’ll try something for the first time. Get the best teacher

in fact, made up, and it was a cover for poor work performance. If HR wishes to terminate the employee, they might face a retaliation lawsuit from the newer employee because she filed the original complaint. The HR department must tread carefully because terminating this employee will have to be based upon documented poor performance and written warnings, or an untruth on her application or some other issue specific to the employer’s business.

The problem here is that while HR is documenting the problems, it will appear to the original employees that they are doing nothing because they cannot legally discuss the personnel problems of the new employee. If this employee has filed similar complaints with previous employers, the current HR department might not be able to document that because of nondisclosure agreements.

Problem employees often create circular legal issues for HR. I know this from experience. I have worked in human resources for 25 years, have a master’s degree in HR management, and I am certified as a Senior Professional in HR. —

HR Department Dear HR Department: I always love hearing from professionals in their field. Your letter gives everyone a sneak peek of what is going on behind the scenes in HR.

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

Today’s birthday

There’s a reason you see yourself in a position you haven’t yet achieved, and that reason will be realized. This is for you! Friends aid your rise. Make your intentions known and you will immediately attract the assistance you need. More highlights: Your hospitality and social graces will impress. Family issues resolve. Money arrives unexpectedly. Leo and Aries adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 3, 36, 7, 11 and 19.

around and ask plenty of questions. Learning can be tricky, but it’s nothing compared to unlearning.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20Feb. 18). When it matters to you, you’ll do what it takes, regardless of the discomfort, risk, feedback or anything else. There’s a lot you’re considering that just doesn’t make the category. Trust yourself and the way your mind organizes things.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Among the top perks that come with mastering a skill is the number of decisions you no longer need to make. You don’t have to guess because you already know what to do. You’ll execute with swift confidence. You earned this.

TURKISH DELIGHT FOR BRIDGE PLAYERS

Scrapbooks often contain hidden gems. Looking through mine, I found some deals from the First Bric Dunyasi Bridge Tournament. It was held in Marmaris, a beautiful resort on the Aegean Sea in the southwest corner of Turkey.

This deal is the very first my partner, nine-time national champion Jim Krekorian, and I played. Our

Sudoku

Bridge

TURKISH DELIGHT FOR BRIDGE PLAYERS

Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 grid contains the digits 1 through 9, with no repeats. That means that no number is repeated in any row, column or box. Solution, tips and computer program at www.sudoku.com

Scrapbooks often contain hidden gems. Looking through mine, I found some deals from the First Bric Dunyasi Bridge Tournament. It was held in Marmaris, a beautiful resort on the Aegean Sea in the southwest corner of Turkey.

This deal is the very first my

by Phillip Alder

opponents reached a thin game. A diamond lead would have made our lives easy, but understandably Krekorian led the spade seven. Declarer won the first trick with his nine and cashed the spade ace. Krekorian dropped the 10, his middle remaining spade, in an effort to transmit a suit-preference signal relating to diamonds, the middle of the other three suits.

Next, South finessed dummy’s spade jack; I discarded a low heart. Now South called for the heart two. When I played an “automatic” low heart, declarer gave me no second chance. He won with the king, played a club to dummy’s queen, cashed the spade king and played clubs from the top, claiming nine tricks when the jack dropped on the third round. How should I have known what to do?

When South doesn’t cash the spade king, he must have a dummy entry remaining. That means he must have the club ace and club king. To go with the heart king and spade ace, he couldn’t have the diamond ace as well. I should have shot in with the heart ace and continued with the king and jack of diamonds. With partner holding the vital diamond 10, we would have defeated the contract and gotten the tournament off to a flying, not flat, start.

by Wayne Gould

Bridge

Word Sleuth

Annie Lane Dear Annie

Meredith Blake LOS ANGELES TIMES

After months of anticipation, “Harry & Meghan,” the docuseries about Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, has finally landed on Netflix.

The first three of six total episode arrived Thursday, offering a glimpse into the private world of the notorious ex-royals –and enough provocations to send ardent monarchists clutching for their pearls.

Directed by Liz Garbus, an Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker whose credits include “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” and “The Fourth Estate,” and featuring commentary from friends, family and a host of experts in British culture, the series places Harry and Meghan’s intimate love story within a broader context about the tabloid press, the royal family and the racist history of the British empire.

The first three episodes cover Meghan and Harry’s early romance – kept secret from the press for a few, apparently blissful months in the summer and early fall of 2016 – the press frenzy that commenced when their relationship became public, their engagement a year later, and the frenzied run-up to their wedding in May 2018.

Garbus gives both her protagonists, Harry and Meghan, a clear arc: We hear how Harry’s childhood in the limelight soured his view of the press, particularly after his mother’s death in 1997, and how military service helped ground him as a young adult. We hear how Meghan, as a lightskinned biracial woman, rarely faced the same kind of open racism her mother did and prided herself on being smart and socially conscious, rather than pretty, but later struggled to find rewarding roles as an actor. Garbus uses a rich trove of material, including archival footage, home movies, cellphone videos, personal photos, social media posts and even

text messages, to bring the story to life visually.

“Harry & Meghan” is the first TV project to come to fruition since the the Sussexes signed a lucrative deal with Netflix two years ago (it is also one of five TV shows called “Harry & Meghan” currently listed on IMDb.) It follows Meghan’s podcast, “Archetypes,” which debuted in August amid a flurry of glossy magazine profiles, and precedes the release, next month, of Harry’s memoir, “Spare.”

It’s unclear whether public curiosity in the couple remains high enough to sustain such a massive media onslaught. Still, the series pulls back the curtain on royal life enough to keep viewers intrigued (and perhaps inspire a future episode of “The Crown.”)

Here’s a roundup of the juiciest tidbits so far:

Harry and Meghan met on Instagram

“Harry & Meghan” reveals that the couple met in very contemporary fashion: When Harry slid into her DMs.

Well, sort of.

Harry, who seems to have had a private, anonymous account on Instagram, recalls how he was scrolling through his feed when he saw a video featuring a friend (who is not named in the series) with Meghan. Harry was intrigued, even though Meghan’s face was largely obscured by a dog filter.

The friend then reached out to Meghan to see if she would like to meet “Prince Haz.” Meghan was impressed by his feed, which was “just beautiful photography and all these environmental shots, and this time he was spending in Africa,” she says in the series.

Harry and Meghan call each other “H” and “M”

In what may be the series’ most disturbing revelation, the Sussexes refer to each other in conversation as “H” and “M” and almost never seem to call

each other by their complete first names. As in, “I met H when I was in London for Wimbledon.” Or “M was flying in from Toronto for the weekend.”

Also, their friends know them as “Haz and Meg,” and Harry is in Meghan’s phone as “Haz.”

The royal family isn’t big on hugging

Haz and Meg do not openly badmouth Prince William and Kate, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, in the series, but there’s one moment that might be seen as a little shady. Meghan recalls meeting Kate for the first time when William and Kate came over for dinner. She was barefoot and in ripped jeans and, apparently, greeted her future in-laws with a hug.

“I have always been a hugger. I didn’t realize that that is really jarring for a lot of Brits,” she says over footage of Kate politely shaking hands at a formal engagement. “I started to understand very quickly that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside … and that was surprising to me.”

Meghan likens curtsying for the Queen to visiting Medieval Times

Meghan recalls the absurdity of meeting Queen Elizabeth II for the first time with little notice or advice on protocol from Harry. (Get it together, Haz!) In her telling, they were heading to Royal Lodge in Windsor for lunch when Harry casually mentioned his grandmother would be in attendance. She hadn’t been taught to curtsy, so she winged it.

“Americans will understand this. We have Medieval Times, dinner and tournament,” she says, breaking into a giggle as she re-creates a dramatic curtsey reminiscent of an overzealous Ren Faire performer.

“ ‘A pleasure to meet you, your majesty!’ It was so intense.”

THE FALSE-CARD IS REQUIRED

Bridge is full of opportunities for plays that mislead an opponent. Some of these are bare-faced swindles, but others give the opponent a losing option that doesn’t exist without the false-card. On our first board of the second session in Turkey, my partner, Jim Krekorian, didn’t miss the chance

Sudoku

by Phillip Alder

for a mandatory false-card.

After an auction that felt as if it had stopped prematurely, I led the club king. Declarer won with the ace and played a heart to dummy’s jack. Krekorian was ready: He dropped the nine.

Note that if he had played the five, declarer was bound to have continued with the ace, killing my king. She would have drawn trumps, played on diamonds and won at least nine tricks: one spade, five hearts, two diamonds and one club.

When the nine appeared, South was presented with a losing option. She played a low diamond to her queen; then she led the heart queen. She was hoping to pin the 10 in East’s hand. Also, she was allowing for the possibility that East’s nine was a singleton.

Here, though, the play cost South dearly. When the heart ace didn’t drop the 10, South went back to diamonds. Krekorian ducked his ace until the third round, cashed the heart 10 and returned a club. Declarer ruffed and tried a spade to the queen, but East won with the ace and played another club. Now South had only eight tricks: one spade, four hearts, two diamonds and one club.

Keep an eye open for false-carding opportunities.

COPYRIGHT: 2022, UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE

by Wayne Gould

Bridge

Courtesy of Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex/Netflix/TNS Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ takes viewers back to Pandora

FAIRFIELD — Return to Pandora for the next installment of the story of Jake Sully and his newly formed family as they battle against an old threat to the future of their home.

Opening nationwide are:

“Avatar: The Way of Water,” which tells the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri and their children). They must leave their home and explore the regions of Pandora as an ancient threat returns and the family must fight against the humans for the safety of their family and the planet. The film is rated PG-13.

Opening in limited release are:

“The Great Basin,” a documentary that tells the complex story of rural Nevada through the experiences of characters who work, live and play there. The Great Basin is the location of the “Loneliest Road in America” and can be seen as a microcosm of the economic, social and ecological marginalization of 21st-century rural communities. The film is not rated.

“High Heat,” in which

Tidbits

From Page B4

But Harry says the family was initially impressed by Meghan and, more than anything, surprised “that a ginger could land such a beautiful woman.”

Meghan did invite her dad to her wedding

Episode 3 delves into Meghan’s complicated relationship with her father’s side of the family, which became even more strained in the months before her wedding to Harry in 2018. We meet her niece, Ashleigh Hale, who is the biological daughter of Meghan’s half-sister, Samantha Markle, but was raised by her paternal grandparents.

Though Meghan was

an ex-KGB operative turned chef, Ana (Olga Kurylenko), is targeted by the local mafia in a hit on her new restaurant to collect on her husband’s (Don Johnson) debt. Now, Ana must rely upon her lethal skills as she goes on a deadly rampage to take out the entire crime syndicate one-by-one to save her restaurant and survive the night. The film is rated R.

“Mindcage,” in which detectives Jake Doyle (Martin Lawrence) and Mary Kelly (Melissa Roxburgh) seek the help of an incarcerated serial killer named The Artist (John Malkovich) when a copycat killer strikes. The 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 available at www.movie insider.com.

not, by her account, ever close to Samantha, she and Ashleigh became tight as adults. But when Samantha Markle began talking to the press about how she wasn’t invited to the royal wedding, Harry and Meghan had to make the difficult decision to disinvite Ashleigh.

But Meghan says her father, Tom Markle, was always invited to the festivities, and she learned he wouldn’t be coming from TMZ. Though she called him repeatedly to clear the air and find out what was going on, she only heard back from him via text, including a message that seemed suspicious because he used her full name, “Meghan,” even though he always called her Meg.

“I was like, that’s not my dad,” she says. “We knew that his phone had been compromised.”

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

age, disability, familial status, and marital status. Describe the Property Not the Tenant

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NOTICEOFPETITIONTOADMINISTERESTATEOF: KELLIANNLELI CASENO.P051770

Toallheirs,beneficiaries,creditors,contingentcreditors,andpersonswhomayotherwisebeinterestedintheWILLorestate,orbothofKELLIANNLELI. APETITIONFORPROBATEhasbeenfiledbyJAMESLELIintheSuperiorCourtof California,CountyofSolano.

THEPETITIONFORPROBATErequeststhatJAMESLELIbeappointedaspersonal representativetoadministertheestateofthedecedent.

THEPETITIONrequestsauthoritytoadministertheestateundertheIndependentAdministrationofEstatesAct.(Thisauthoritywillallowthepersonalrepresentativetotakemany actionswithoutobtainingcourtapproval.Beforetakingcertainveryimportantactions, however,thepersonalrepresentativewillberequiredtogivenoticetointerestedpersons unlesstheyhavewaivednoticeorconsentedtotheproposedaction.)Theindependent administrationauthoritywillbegrantedunlessaninterestedpersonfilesanobjectionto thepetitionandshowsgoodcausewhythecourtshouldnotgranttheauthority.

AHEARINGonthepetitionwillbeheldinthiscourtasfollows:01/11/23at9:00AMin Dept.22locatedat600UnionAvenue,Fairfield,CA94533

IFYOUOBJECTtothegrantingofthepetition,youshouldappearatthehearingand stateyourobjectionsorfilewrittenobjectionswiththecourtbeforethehearing.Yourappearancemaybeinpersonorbyyourattorney.

IFYOUAREACREDIT ORoracontingentcreditorofthedecedent,youmustfileyour claimwiththecourtandmailacopytothepersonalrepresentativeappointedbythecourt withinthelaterofeither(1)fourmonthsfromthedateoffirstissuanceofletterstoageneralpersonalrepresentative,asdefinedinsection58(b)oftheCaliforniaProbateCode, or(2)60daysfromthedateofmailingorpersonaldeliverytoyouofanoticeundersection9052oftheCaliforniaProbateCode.

OtherCaliforniastatutesandlegalauthoritymayaffectyourrightsasacreditor.Youmay wanttoconsultwithanattorneyknowledgeableinCalifornialaw.

Toallheirs,beneficiaries,creditors,contingentcreditors,andpersonswhomay otherwisebeinterestedinthewillorestate,orboth,of: Beverly Hagle A Petition for Probate hasbeenfiledby: Michelle Morrison intheSuperiorCourtofCalifornia,County of: Solano

ThePetitionforProbaterequeststhat: Michelle Morrison beappointedaspersonalrepresentative toadmi nistertheestateofthedecedent.

ThepetitionrequestsauthoritytoadministertheestateundertheIndependentAdministrationofEstatesAct.(Thisauthority willallowthepersonalrepresentativeto takemanyactionswithoutobtainingcourt approval.Beforetakingcertainveryimportantactions,however,thepersonal representativewillberequiredtogivenoticetointerestedpersonsunlessthey havewaivednoticeorconsentedtothe proposedaction.)T heindependentadministrationauthoritywillbegrantedunless aninterestedpersonfilesanobjectionto thepetitionandshowsgoodcausewhy thecourtshouldnotgranttheauthority.

A hearing on the petition will be held in this court as follows:

DATE: JAN. 23, 2023 TIME: 8:30 a.m.; DEPT.: 4

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SOLANO 600 Union Avenue P.O. Box 5000 Fairfield, CA 94533 Hall of Justice

If you object tothegranting ofthepetition,youshouldappearatthehearingand stateyourobjectionsorfilewrittenobjectionswiththecourtbeforethehearing. Yourappearancemaybeinpersonorby yourattorney. If you are a creditor or a contingent creditor of the decedent, youmustfileyourclaimwiththecourtand mailacopytothepersonalrepresentative appointedbythecourtwithinthe later

Toallheirs,beneficiaries,creditors,contingentcreditors,andpersonswhomay otherwisebeinterestedinthewillorestate,orboth,of: Barbara J. Hagadorn A Petition for Probate hasbeenfiledby: Thomas E. Hagadorn intheSuperiorCourtofCalifornia,County of: Solano

ThePetitionforProbaterequeststhat: Thomas E. Hagadorn beappointedaspersonalrepres entative toadministertheestateofthedecedent. ThepetitionrequestsauthoritytoadministertheestateundertheIndependentAdministrationofEstatesAct.(Thisauthority willallowthepersonalrepresentativeto takemanyactionswithoutobtainingcourt approval.Beforetakingcertainveryimportantactions,however,thepersonal representativewillberequiredtogivenoticetointerestedpersonsunlessthey havewaivednoticeorconsentedtothe pro posedaction.)Theindependentadministrationauthoritywillbegrantedunless aninterestedpersonfilesanobjectionto thepetitionandshowsgoodcausewhy thecourtshouldnotgranttheauthority.

A hearing on the petition will be held in this court as follows:

DATE: JAN. 25, 2023 TIME: 9:00 am; DEPT.: 22

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SOLANO Old Solano Courthouse 580 Texas Street Fairfield, CA 94533

If you object tothegrantingofthepetition,youshouldappearatthehearingand stateyourobjectionsorfilewrittenobjectionswiththecourtbeforethehearing. Yourappearancemaybeinpersonorby yourattorney. If you are a creditor or a contingent creditor of the decedent, youmustfileyourclaimwiththecourtand mailacopytothepersonalrepresentative appointedbythecourtwithinthe later of either(1) four months fromthedateof firstissuanceofletterstoagenera lpersonalrepresentative,asdefinedinsection58(b)oftheCaliforniaProbateCode, or(2) 60 days fromthedateofmailingor personaldeliverytoyouofanoticeunder section9052oftheCaliforniaProbate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law. You may examine the file kept by the court.Ifyouareapersoninterestedinthe estate,youmayfilewiththecourtaRequestforSpecialNotice(formDE-154)of thefilingofaninventoryandappraisalof estateassetsorofanypetitionoraccount asprovidedinProbateCodesection 1250.ARequestforSpecialNoticeformis availablefromthecourtclerk.

Petitioner: ThomasE.Hagadorn 2042SanSalvadorStreet Fairfield,CA94533 707-425-8961 DR#00059936

Published:December9,12,16,2022

YOUMAYEXAMINEthefilekeptbythecourt.Ifyouareapersoninterestedintheestate,youmayfilewiththecourtaRequestforSpecialNotice(formDE-154)ofthefilingof aninventoryandappraisalofestateassetsorofanypetitionoraccountasprovidedin ProbateCodesection1250.ARequestforSpecialNoticeformisavailable fromthecourt clerk.

AttorneyforPetitioner GENENEN.DUNN-SBN300855, HUNSBERGERDUNNLLP 14751PLAZADR.STE.G TUSTINCA92780 BSC222618 12/12,12/14,12/19/22 CNS-3650386# THEDAILYREPUBLIC DR#00059966 Published:December12,14,19,2022

TSGNo.:8778374TSNo.:CA2200287681APN:0162-171-280PropertyAddress:350 TULIPSTREETFAIRFIELD,CA94533NOTICEOFTRUSTEE'SSALEYOUAREIN DEFAULTUNDERADEEDOFTRUST,DATED01/12/2009.UNLESSYOUTAKEACTIONTOPROTECTYOURPROPERTY,ITMAYBESOLDATAPUBLICSALE.IFYOU NEEDANEXPLANATIONOFTHENATUREOFTHEPROCEEDINGAGAINSTYOU, YOUSHOULDCONTACTALAWYER.On12/28/2022at09:30A.M.,FirstAmerican TitleInsuranceCompany,asdulyappointedTrusteeunderandpursuanttoDeedofTrust recorded01/16/2009,asInstrumentNo.200900002717,inbook,page,,ofOfficialRecordsintheofficeoftheCountyRecorderofSOLANOCounty,StateofCalifornia.Executedby:NOBUHIRONAKAGAWA,ASINGLEMAN,WILLSELLATPUBLICAUCTIONTOHIGHESTBIDDERFORCASH,CASHIER'SCHECK/CASHEQUIVALENTor otherformofpaymentauthorizedby2924h(b),(Payableattimeofsaleinlawfulmoneyof theUnitedStates)AttheSantaClaraStreetentrancetotheCityHallat555SantaClara Street,Vallejo,CA94590Allright,title andinterestconveyedtoandnowheldbyitunder saidDeedofTrustinthepropertysituatedinsaidCountyandStatedescribedas:AS MOREFULLYDESCRIBEDINTHEABOVEMENTIONEDDEEDOFTRUSTAPN# 0162-171-280Thestreetaddressandothercommondesignation,ifany,oftherealpropertydescribedaboveispurportedtobe:350TULIPSTREET,FAIRFIELD,CA94533The undersignedTrusteedisclaimsanyliabilityforanyincorrectnessofthestreetaddressand othercommondesignation,ifany,shownherein.Saidsalewillbemade,butwithoutcovenantorwarranty,expressedorimplied,regardingtitle,possession,orencumbrances,to paytheremainingprincipalsumofthenote(s)securedbysaidDeedofTrust,withinterestthereon,asprovidedinsaidnote(s),advances,underthetermsofsaidDeedof Trust,fees,chargesandexpensesoftheTrusteeandofthetrustscreatedbysaidDeed ofTrust.Thetotalamountoftheunpaidbalanceoftheobligationsecuredbytheproperty tobesoldandreasonableestimatedcosts,expensesandadvancesatthetimeoftheinitialpublicationoftheNoticeofSaleis$148,894.46.ThebeneficiaryundersaidDeedof TrusthasdepositedalldocumentsevidencingtheobligationssecuredbytheDeedof Trustandhasdeclaredallsumssecuredtherebyimmediatelydueandpayable,andhas causedawrittenNoticeofDefaultandElectiontoSelltobeexecuted.Theundersigned causedsaidN oticeofDefaultandElectiontoSelltoberecordedintheCountywherethe realpropertyislocated.NOTICETOPOTENTIALBIDDERS:Ifyouareconsideringbiddingonthispropertylien,youshouldunderstandthattherearerisksinvolvedinbidding atatrusteeauction.Youwillbebiddingonalien,notonthepropertyitself.Placingthe highestbidatatrusteeauctiondoesnotautomaticallyentitleyoutofreeandclearownershipoftheproperty.Youshouldalsobeawarethatthelienbeingauctionedoffmaybea juniorlien.Ifyouarethehighestbidderattheauction,youareormayberesponsiblefor payingoffallliensseniortothelienbeingauctionedoff,beforeyoucanreceivecleartitle totheproperty.Youareencouragedtoinvestigatetheexistence,priority,andsizeofoutstandingliensthatmayexistonthispropertybycontactingthecountyrecorder sofficeor atitleinsurancecompany,eitherofwhichmaychargeyouafeeforthisinformation.If youconsulteitheroftheseresources,youshouldbeawarethatthesamelendermay holdmorethanonemortgageordeedoftrustontheproperty.NOTICETOPROPERTY OWNER:Thesaledateshownonthisnoticeofsalemaybepostponedoneormore timesbythemortgagee,beneficiary,trustee,oracourt,pursuanttoSection2924gofthe CaliforniaCivilCode.Thelawrequiresthatinformationabouttrusteesalepostponementsbemadeavailabletoyouandtothepubl ic,asacourtesytothosenotpresentat thesale.Ifyouwishtolearnwhetheryoursaledatehasbeenpostponed,andifapplicable,therescheduledtimeanddateforthesaleofthisproperty,youmaycall(916)9390772orvisitthisinternetwebsitehttp://search.nationwideposting.com/propertySearchTerms.aspx,usingthefilenumberassignedtothiscaseCA2200287681Informationaboutpostponementsthatareveryshortindurationorthatoccurcloseintimeto thescheduledsalemaynotimmediatelybereflectedinthetelephoneinformationoron theInternetWebsite.Thebestwaytoverifypostponementinformationistoattendthe scheduledsale.NOTICETOTENANT:Youmayhavearighttopurchasethisproperty afterthetrusteeauctionifconductedafterJanuary1,2021,pursuanttoSection2924mof theCaliforniaCivilCode.Ifyouarean“eligibletenantbuyer,”youcanpurchasethepropertyifyoumatchthelastandhighestbidplacedatthetrusteeauction.Ifyouarean“eligiblebidder,”youmaybeabletopurchasethepropertyifyouexceedthelastandhighest bidplacedatthetrusteeauction.Therearethreestepstoexercisingthisrightofpurchase.First,48hoursafterthedateofthetrusteesale,youcancall(916)939-0772,or visitthisinternetwebsitehttp://search.nationwideposting.com/propertySearchTerms.aspx, usingthefilenumberassignedtothiscaseCA2200287681tofindthedateonwhichthe trustee ssalewasheld,theamountofthelastandhighestbid,andtheaddressofthe trustee.Second,youmustsendawrittennoticeofintenttoplaceabidsothatthetrustee receivesitnomorethan15daysafterthetrustee ssale.Third,youmustsubmitabid,by remittingthefundsandaffidavitdescribedinSection2924m(c)oftheCivilCode,sothat thetrusteereceivesitnomorethan45daysafterthetrustee ssale.Ifyouthinkyoumay qualifyasan“ eligibletenantbuyer”or“eligiblebidder,”youshouldconsidercontactingan attorneyorappropriaterealestateprofessionalimmediatelyforadviceregardingthispotentialrighttopurchase.Ifthesaleissetasideforanyreason,thePurchaseratthesale shallbeentitledonlytoareturnofthedepositpaid.ThePurchasershallhavenofurther recourseagainsttheMortgagor,theMortgageeortheMortgagee sattorney.Date:First AmericanTitleInsuranceCompa ny4795RegentBlvd,MailCode1011-FIrving,TX 75063FirstAmericanTitleInsuranceCompanyMAYBEACTINGASADEBTCOLLECTORATTEMPTINGTOCOLLECTADEBT.ANYINFORMATIONOBTAINEDMAY BEUSEDFORTHATPURPOSEFORTRUSTEESSALEINFORMATIONPLEASE CALL(916)939-0772NPP0418051To:DAILYREPUBLIC11/28/2022,12/05/2022, 12/12/2022 DR#00059460 Published:Nov.28,Dec.5,12,2022

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF: BEVERLY HAGLE CASE NUMBER: P051832

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF: BARBARA J. HAGADORN CASE NUMBER: P051833

Land Trust welcomes residents to Rush Ranch open house

Daily Republic Staff

DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

SUISUN CITY — The Solano Land Trust welcomes area residents to the monthly open house at Rush Ranch in the Suisun Marsh.

Get the Rush features a series of fun, free activities for the whole family from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Guests may visit the blacksmith shop and Pop-Up shops, take Access Adventure wagon rides, and stop by various exhibit tables. All ages and mobility levels are welcome.

The Marsh Walk begins at 10:30 a.m. The park is open until sunset.

The event takes place the third Saturday each month.

Get the Rush and the accompanying Marsh Walk are the final events planned for 2022 at the Solano Land Trust’s various properties.

Registration is required for the Marsh Walk and may be made at https:// solanolandtrust.org/ events. Select the Get the Rush event, then select the link to the registration form.

Rush Ranch is located at 3521 Grizzly Island Road, about 2 miles from Suisun City.

For more information, send an email to cannabis sary@gmail.com.

Santa to make stops at 3 more Fairfield neighborhoods

FAIRFIELD — The

Police Department Santa returns this year with appearances around town.

Police each night post Santa’s schedule and track his progress on the department’s Facebook and Instagram pages.

Trips through the city began early this month with the start timed to coincide with the city’s Christmas kickoff celebration downtown. The storm Saturday washed out that evening’s schedule, which was rescheduled for Monday.

Santa’s remaining schedule includes these stops:

n Monday: Laurel Creek Park, bounded by

Cement Hill Road, Peppertree Drive and Gulf Drive; Villa Court; Grande Circle, in the area of 1950 Grande Circle; and Santa Ana Court.

n Friday: Woodcreek Park, at Woodcreek and Astoria drives; Mankas Neighborhood Park, along the 2800 block of Owens Street; Meadow Glen Park, along Parkview

Terrace; and Rolling Hills Elementary School at 2025 Fieldcrest Ave.

n Saturday: Nelda Mundy Elementary School at 570 Vintage Valley Drive; Oakbrook Academy of the Arts at 700 Oakbrook Drive; Cordelia Community Park off Gold Hill Road; and Cordelia Hills Elementary School at 4770 Canyon Hills Drive.

Will California keep getting hit with storms throughout December? Here’s what to expect

tRibune content agency

The 2022-2023 wet season officially launched for California on October 1, but it may as well have started following midSeptember’s historic rainstorms – these were the precursors that contributed to an early end to the 2022 fire season. The most recent deluge from back-to-back winter storms this December further highlights the active wet season that’s been at play over the Golden State, despite La Niña ‘s attempts to promote drier conditions on the West Coast.

So, will storm tracks stay aimed at the West Coast for the next couple of weeks?

Looking at the latest outlooks from the European weather model, which has done a good job at capturing storm tracks in Northern California since October, the extended range signals the potential for low-pressure systems to continue tunneling into the Bay Area, Sierra Nevada and Central Coast through the end of December. This signal is in sharp contrast to the La Niña pattern that’s conversely kept Southern California on the drier side. So, despite the drying effect that La Niña normally brings to the table, something else is pushing storms into Northern California. And that something is the Pacific-North American Oscillation – or PNA.

The Pacific-North American Oscillation has been ruthlessly paving the way for storms to dip into California by remaining in a negative state. This is important, because whereas a positive state would call for a high pressure sitting over the Gulf of Alaska and blocking any moisture from rolling in, a negative state supports low-pressure systems over the Gulf of Alaska and promotes the onslaught of winter storms that’s transpired over the past couple of months.

The European weather model is signaling that the Pacific-North American Oscillation will

remain negative through the middle of December, but then some uncertainties come up over the holidays. The model and its ensembles all show a wider spread by December 21 and onward, meaning there’s a chance the PNA could flip positive. Should it take that route, that would signal the return of a highpressure system to California’s waters, effectively cutting off winter storms for the rest of the season.

Will that dry outlook likely take hold later in December?

If moisture from the Pacific Ocean gets cut off, storms won’t be able to charge into California with enough energy to bring heavy downpours and snow showers. But that may actually be harder to do if a unique weather setup develops to counteract any changes to the Pacific-North American Oscillation. The European, American and Canadian weather models are picking up on a large area of high pressure forming over the Arctic Ocean. This is important, because high pressure systems in that part of the world have downstream effects on how storms travel across the western part of North America.

If the models’ signature plays out, then this area of high pressure will create a barrier in the atmosphere that will stretch from Greenland to the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. This barrier will force storms that form near Hawai’i to travel east instead of north. In other words, winter storms that would normally reach Alaska’s coast will be redirected just far south enough to impact California through the holidays.

This means the Golden State has a fighting chance to keep this active wet pattern going for the rest of December, despite the drying effects from the weakening Pacific-North American Oscillation and La Niña. All in all, this outlook would lead to some promising returns for California’s reservoirs.

Elizabeth Moorehead courtesy file photo

Michael Muir trains a horse at Rush Ranch, which will host a “Get the Rush” event.

Courtesy file photo

Santa Claus poses for a photo with two children during the Fairfield Police Department’s Operation Santa at Fairview Elementary School in Fairfield, Dec. 2.