oloCounty’s2007-2008Grand Jury released its final report last week,detailing its investigations of the Davis Fire Department and theWoodlandJointUnifiedSchool District.The report analyzed and provided recommendations on five instances of wrongdoing or mismanagement by the two agencies.

The National Youth Sports Program, an award-winning youth summer camp held at UC Davis since 1995, will not take place this summer due federal budget cutbacks.

While UC Davis is known for being a high-ranking public school and premier research institution, it can now add being a top recycling campus to résumé.

As drivers put down their cell phones July 1, the UC Davis Health Center began implementing a new rule of its own by declaring a smoke-free environment for its Sacramento campus. A kickoff event took place on the campus to declare the 140-acre site a nonsmoking zone. The health center provided resources for those who want to quit smoking as well as free nicotine gum.

By sunrise on July4the streets of Downtown Davis were filling with cars,bikes and people in spandex.Within two hours,bicyclists were speeding throughthestreetsat speeds over30mph – so fast that spectators had just enough time to read the race numbers pinned to speeding torsos.

Martian soil capable of supporting plant life NASA’s Mars Phoenix Landerdetermined that nutrients required for plant growth are present in a soil a sample taken from theplanet’s northern arctic plain.

SATURDAY Airing dirty laundry An individual broke into a commercial laundry room onArthur Street.

Although Poetry Night at Bistro 33 has been a successful bi-monthly event since its inception in 2006, the work involved with publicizing and promoting the event has become burdensome for UC Davis English lecturer and Poetry Night co-creator and co-host Andy Jones.

To celebrate thisrecent July4weekend,I’m dedicating this column to random thoughts,which I suppose means I’m giving a nod to Rob Olson and consequently Thomas Sowell for the inspiration.

The neon lights flickering the words SUSHI BUFFET stopped mein my tracks. I passed it by on a hazy night of bar-hopping. Could this be? Could Davis really have another all-you-can-eat sushi joint? The next morning, to make sure that I hadn’t imagined it in the midst of a little dancing and a lot of drinking, I did some research on Google to find that the restaurant really does exist!

WEDNESDAY Arboretumtour:walk withWarren Noon to1p.m. Arboretum Gazebo onGarrod Drive ArboretumSuperintendent Warren Robertswill offer a tour of the arboretum and offer information about the plant collections.

The past few years haven’t been very kind to Coldplay. After selling nearly 50 million copies worldwide of their first two critically-acclaimed albums, the guys from London disappointed many with 2005’s X&Y, even getting dubbed the “Most Insufferable Band of the Decade” by the New York Times.