Like many who live in Davis,Paul Mach spends a lot of time on his bike. But unlike most,he gets paid to do so. A UC Davis doctoral candidate in applied mathematics,Mach recently signed a one-year contract with Bissell,a professional cycling teamthat took second at the Tour de San Luis in Argentina last week.

At the beginning of every quarter,students flood the UC Davis Bookstoreto endurelong lines and crowded aisles to purchase textbooks.This winter quarter,the bookstore management had to consider closing down due to an unsafe amount of student shoppers present at the same time. In response to situations like this,the Campus Unions and Recreation Board – a student advisory group – has proposed to renovate the bookstore,as well as other parts of the Memorial Union.

In November of2008,three groups of men inKandahar,Afghanistan rode by and sprayed burning acid onto the faces of about15young girls and female teachers in an apparent attempt to keep them from going to school. The girls were badly burnt and scarred,one was even flown intoIndia to treat her wounds.But I won‘t focus on that in this week‘s article.

As it turns out,TurnItIn isn’t very popular with UC Davis professors. TurnItIn is an online database that checks papers for plagiarized content.UC Davis subscribed to the service on a trial basis during fall quarter,but officials decided it was too costly and ineffective to warrant an institutional subscription.

“Obama! Obama! Obama!” Thousands of people roared their approval of the nextpresidentof the United States.The streets were filled with those eager to witness history.News helicopters hovered overhead and swanky entrepreneurs tempted the swirling crowds with every imaginable form of Obama memorabilia; t-shirts,hatsand even condoms (labeled “Durability you can believe in“).

Since this country’s inception,the ability to state one’s views without fear of persecution from the government has been essential to the formation of a free and democratic society.With the exception of a few blemishes, (seetheAlien and Sedition Acts of1798) politicians have been wise enough not to tinker with the First Amendment,leaving citizens free to speak their minds and express their opinion publicly.

Davis police arrested the owner of a downtown massage business on suspicion of prostitution Thursday. A sting operation revealed that50-year-old Ping Li was using her business,Spring380Massage,for prostitution,said Lt.Thomas Waltz in a press release.An undercover officer went into the business and Li was arrested immediately after agreeing to perform sexual acts inexchange for money,he said.

I once read a study by Webster University Professor Monica Moore,about how women behave and nonverbally communicate with men while flirting.The things women do,either intentionally or unintentionally include subtlety touching the favorite part of their own body,leaning in closely,tossing their hair to expose the neckand glancing.

Dear Aggie Readers, The California Aggie has been forced to make several mid-year budget cuts in order to try and meet our mounting deficit.The most visible of these cuts,and the one likely to affect you the reader most significantly,is the decision to cease production of Friday’s printed issue.The Friday issue will still be available online attheaggie.org.For Aggie sports fans out there,never fear,the Lineup will be moved to Thursday.

In the Jan. 21 issue of The California Aggie, the article “Recyclemania comes to Davis” incorrectly stated that 100 universities nationwide are registered for Recyclemania when actually 503 are participating. The article also stated that the competition ends March 28, but it ends March 27. Additionally, UC Davis started participating in Recyclemania in 2005, not 2004. Last year’s competition included Sproul Hall, Briggs Hall, Tupper Hall and the University Services Building, not just Student Housing as the article reported. The Aggie regrets the error.

Want to go to summer camp, ride horsesor play on a playground and get paid to do it? The City of Davis Community Services Department is holding its Recreational Job Fair on Wednesday, January 28 from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Multipurpose room in the VeteransMemorial Center on 203 East 14th St.

Cal Grant students may be in for a big cut. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger released his2009-2010budget proposal earlier this month.The proposal will change Cal Grant policy and cut all new competitive awards.