ditor’s note: MUSE offers a monthly feature to highlight artists in and out of Davis that impact our community. This month’s “Five Questions” is with Adam Selzer, the lead singer of the Portland-based folk band Norfolk & Western. Selzer also runs Type Foundry Recording Studio in Portland, where he has worked with M. Ward, Little Wings and The Decemberists. Norfolk & Western will be performing Saturday at the Old Firehouse on campus, along with their Portland friends Weinland and Sacramento’s Silver Darling. For more information on the band, visit norfolkandwestern.org. 1. What’s Norfolk & Western up to currently? We are recording a new record – we recorded some of it in Spain last year and the rest at my studio Type Foundry. We’re leaving today for a short west coast tour – other than that we’re waiting for the sun to come out so we can barbeque tofu. 2. If you could live in any time period in history, which would it be? Any time where people did not have access to use cell phones in public.

UC Davis is harvesting more than just vegetables this spring. The California Lighting Technology Center (CLTC) has recently licensed the commercialization of several inventions that work to reduce the cost and increase the dependability of daylight harvesting systems. The co-exclusive license agreements were with Watt Stopper/ Legrand, a Santa Clara-based company that manufactures energy-efficient lighting controls and sensors, and Axis Technologies Inc., which both designs and manufactures a line of energy-saving and daylight harvesting devices.

The 94th Annual Picnic Day is just around the corner, and the Davis community is sitting at the edge of its proverbial seat. For those unfamiliar with the event, Picnic Day is a campuswide open house that aims to bring together various groups in a celebration of the richness and diversity of student life. But why do people choose to partake in Picnic Day? This answer may vary depending on who you ask. To the faculty and administration, Picnic Day is an opportunity to interact with the students and browse various academic departments to see what they have accomplished. It is also a chance for them to outreach to the community and show what UC Davis has to offer.

State Representative Lois Wolk (D-Davis) has introduced legislation regarding oil spills for inland waters. It comes just months after a cargo ship spilled 53,000 gallons of oil into the San Francisco Bay after colliding into the Bay Bridge. Although it’s commendable that these bills are being proposed and hopefully being passed, they should be put forward before the spills actually take place. This inland oil spill problem has been a constant dilemma. While marine damage gets the majority of the attention, inland oil spills currently make up 75 percent of all spills. So it comes as a shock that this bill was not proposed sooner; inland spills have been an ongoing issue for many years, even before the Costco Busan accident.

Call it magic, call it luck. Whatever you want to call it, the Aggies have it right now. Last week, UC Davis pulled off a pair of 11th-inning comebacks against then-No. 10 Stanford and Big West Conference foe UC Santa Barbara. On Tuesday afternoon, cross-town rival Sacramento State (15-18) became the latest victim, as the Aggies (24-11) rallied for three runs in the ninth to snatch an 8-7 Causeway series-sweeping victory at Dobbins Stadium.

TODAY Gear swap 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Outdoor Adventures Does the spring weather have you itching for adventure? Buy or sell outdoor equipment cheap! Picnic Day Entertainment Showcase Noon to 1 p.m. West Quad Experience a taste of some of the entertainment that will be performing at Picnic Day featuring dance group Danzantes del Alma and band AfterShocker. Physical Therapy info night 5:10 to 6 p.m. 1204 Haring Want to move to the city by the bay? Hear about UCSF and San Francisco State University programs for becoming a doctor of physical therapy. Trivia night 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Silo Café & Pub Show off your knowledge of random factoids! Project HEAL 6 p.m. 2 Wellman Come to the first Project HEAL Meeting of the quarter. Project HEAL is a UC Davis club that works with the Yolo County SPCA and Animal Shelter. Project HEAL helps students to get involved with SPCA and Animal Shelter through volunteer opportunities and animal-related events.

Approved relocation of F Street bicycle/pedestrian crossing to 200 feet south of its current location between the Art Center and the little league field Approved submission of the city’s claim for Transportation Development Act funds for the 2007-2008 fiscal year Allocated $16,000 to the Bomb Squad Program Authorized staff to advertise for bids on the […]

LIVE MUSIC Lee Coulter, Jakob Martin, Aaron Bowen Today, 7:30 p.m. ASUCD Coffee House Who’s got the booty? She’s got the booty and you’ve got the booty voodoo! Headlining tonight is the Australian witch doctor Lee Coulter, who anyone hungry for a little John Mayer with some added spice will eat up immediately. Half-handed Cloud, LAKE, G2 Friday, 7 p.m. Scrambled Egg House If you thought this show was last week, well, I was just kidding. The Berkeley resident John Ringhofer is the original bassist of Danielson but now writes jovial acoustic folk which may be enjoyed by a wide range of listeners. He will be joined by the local UC Davis alumnus G2

Senator Barack Obama’s recent remarks about the predicament of the “bitter” working-class, in many respects, provoked a political firestorm. Some accused him of “condescension,” while others called him “elitist.” In retrospect, as he admitted, his characterization of this demographic probably wasn’t the most incisive. But the reaction to his words speaks more about the nation’s state of fragility than about the candidate’s fallibilities. Uncomfortably, this backlash epitomizes the state our national discourse has fallen to. The question that must be asked, thus, is why has the discourse become so philistine and juvenile?

While the complaint is often heard that Davis drinking water is not the tastiest beverage around, the city has not come close to violating any health standards. Meanwhile, the situation in sub-Saharan Africa is a much different story: 1.1 million people die in the region every year from water-related diseases, including cholera and malaria. The 1000 Wells Project Davis chapter is working to raise awareness and funds in order to build wells and infrastructure in various African communities. The organization’s main two weeks of fundraising begins Apr. 19. “Clean water is a fundamental human right and it hurts us to know that there are 1.1 billion people out there that don’t have access to clean water,” said Tiffany Tao, a senior psychology and communication double major and head coordinator of the project.