With a nod to Rob Olson, for giving me a reason to live… I once saw our chancellor Larry Vanderhoef at the ARC wearing a shirt that had a full beer stein on the front baring the words, Are you drinking enough? I’m happy to report that, yes, Larry, I am drinking quite enough. To everyone who supported the Iraq war back in 2002 and 2003: I told you so. I don’t normally praise conservatives for their ideas, but last year’s illegal immigrant capture the flag game was hilarious. If you disagree, you’ve died inside. Leaf blowers, escalators, motion-sensing toilets and Hummers are fucking stupid. Juno is a terrible movie; it’s only possible for an upper middle class white chick living in gentrified suburbia. A black girl living anywhere whose parents make anything isn’t getting anybody to adopt that kid.

team of UC Davis researchers has found that there is no evidence to support any correlation between farm subsidies and obesity in the United States. Their findings appear in the December 2007 issue ofAgricultural and Resource Economics Update published by the University of California’s Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics. A government subsidy is paid to farmers and agricultural businesses with the intention of supplementing their income and maintaining a necessary supply of goods. The extra money ensures that farmers are able to meet quota and guarantees a price floor – a designated minimum that can be charged on a product. But the system of U.S. Farm subsidies has many critics – some of whom believe that subsidies are a key contributor to America’s obesity epidemic.

The Starbucks corporation is being hit with a $105 million lawsuit for breaking a U.S. law barring management from sharing a percentage of the tip jar. The reasoning behind the law is to keep managers who have fewer serving duties from hijacking tips from lower-level employees. Rightly, those managers should not be taking tips that are ultimately not intended for them. The lawsuit objected to Starbucks shift supervisors from taking a share of tips, because it considers shift supervisors to be managers.

The community of West Sacramento is protesting against the need of another gang injunction. Imposing a gang injunction on the area to capture gang members does not get to the crux of the issue — it is a defensive approach lacking long-term effectiveness.     The district attorney’s office asserts that there is a gang problem in West Sacramento, which calls for a second injunction granted by the State Supreme Court. Past cases, such as an injunction to eliminate the Broderick Boys gang in 2005, have been overturned. The new injunction is based on community members voicing how “safe” they feel in their neighborhoods, which is relative to where a person lives and visibility issues. If there is a problem, it is not being addressed using the right means.     A gang injunction involves sending law enforcement into the community to patrol for suspicious persons that fall under specific criteria of a gang member. Only two of the 11 criteria must be observed before placing the individual under injunction and restricting various civil liberties, such as forbidding interaction between the accused and supposed gang members and instilling a 10 p.m. to sunrise curfew. Given the broad spectrum of possibilities of individuals meeting these criteria, which includes only one crime-related criteria, there is great potential for inaccuracy and ambiguous claims.

Those turned off by the lack of interesting, thought-provoking films in theaters these days may now have found a place of refuge. The fifth annual Davis Film Festival kicks off at 7:30 p.m. today at Varsity Theatre with the screening of acclaimed documentary and multiple film festival award-winner Moving Midway. Continuing Friday and Saturday at Veterans Memorial Theatre, this year’s festival features films on topics including art, music, war and human rights. Included in the lineup are short works and feature-length pieces by filmmakers from all around the country.

TODAY Try Before You Buy week 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. Activities and Recreation Center Want to shake it up with belly dance or spin class? See what the ARC has to offer by taking its recreation classes for free this week. Free concert 12:05 p.m. 115 Music This concert features Bharati Soman, soprano, with Margaret Kapasi, pianoand Rachel Howerton, horn. Works by Rachmaninoff, Scarlatti, Reger, Brahms and Schubert.

Correction In Wednesday’s Athletes of the Quarter section, the photos of junior wing Haylee Donaghe and senior gymnast Michelle Kulovitz were mistakenly switched. The Aggie regrets the error.

The Davis City Council race is in full swing for the June 3 election. Candidates Cecilia Escamilla-Greenwald, Sue Greenwald, Rob Roy, Don Saylor, Stephen Souza and Sydney Vergis are running for three available seats. Familiar candidates include current mayor Greenwald and current councilmembers Souza and Saylor. Sydney Vergis Vergis graduated from UC Davis in 2004 with a double major in economics and environmental policy, analysis and planning. She is currently a senior land use planner for Sutter County, where she is responsible for generating a countywide Habitat Conservation Plan and environmental documents. Vergis said she believes the city General Plan update – a guiding city policy document – is a concept for the election as well as the community.

Resolution in support of AB2101, AB2370 Passed resolution in support of AB2101 and AB2370, which provide protections for residents of residential care facilities Updated General Plan housing element Adopt negative declaration for updated housing elementDirect staff to submit draft housing element to State of California

The UC Davis’ Agricultural Issues Center (AIC) has posted an unpublished report titled Agriculture’s Role in the Economy on their website so data analysts and researchers can begin to utilize the information. The report includes information on agriculture in California, particularly its impact on California’s economy. It shows that California farming employs 7.3 percent of the state’s private sector labor force and accounts for 5.6 percent of the state labor income. California agriculture is a significant part of the overall economy and, of course, a vital source for many food products, said Daniel Sumner, a professor of agriculture and resource economics and the AIC’s director. California places in the top 10 of the world’s agriculture rankings, ahead of countries such as Canada, Mexico, Germany and Spain.

If you’ve ever seen a bicycle as flashy as a scraper bike but too agile and swift to be one, you’re probably perplexed. You may wonder why the bike has no brakes or be reminded of an incident in the Quad during finals week involving a cop car, a student on a bike and some handcuffs. Well, I will not be talking about that. I will, however, give you the inside scoop on fixed gears – a flowering hobby set on wheels, mashing through traffic and holding onto the side of your car to stay balanced at a stoplight. It’s the fixie frenzy, and it has spread here to the platinum-rated bicycle city of the nation.

LIVE MUSIC Pilipino Time ’08: Time to Get Happy! Friday, 7 p.m., $10 in advance and $12 at the door Performance Arts Theatre, Davis High School As far as I know, people of all races may attend this Pilipino-intensive performance, and I promise that all will enjoy it! Expect the best from the hip-hop dance squad MK Modern and song by the MK Choir. Other performers include Anak, High Notes and Leejay Abucayan. This event benefits the Pilipino Outreach and Retention Coalition for Education.