City News

Student borrowing is, slowly but surely, on the rise. While the amount of debt accumulated by graduates of public and private four-year colleges grew relatively slowly, the amount of debt by certain groups in higher education grew rapidly between 2003 and 2008, according to a recent study by the College Board.

Yolo County says it‘s doing all that it can to increase tourism. On Aug.4the Yolo Board of Supervisors adopted a new food facility policy from the Health Department‘s Division of Environmental Health.

Staring on Sept.8,the Mary L.Stephens Branch Library will have a temporary home. The buildingonE.14th Street will undergo renovations that are expected to be completed by mid-2010.In the meantime,the library will be located at2801Second St. The branch closed – and will remain so until Sept.8 – on Aug.15to transfer collections tothe temporary location,which also houses the Explorit Science Center.

One of the longest sentences in Yolo County history belongs to former Davis resident Ajay Kumar Dev. Dev was sentenced on Aug. 7 to 378 years and four months in state prison at the Yolo County Superior Court. Dev was found guilty of repeatedly molesting and raping his 15-year-old adopted daughter between January 1999 and December 2004. He was convicted of 76 felony counts, including 23 counts of forcible rape, 23 counts of sexual assault, 27 counts of lewd acts with a minor, and three counts of attempting to dissuade a witness.

It’s no longer flu season, but a new strain has extended the season into the summer months. Yolo County suffered its first death from the novel H1N1 influenza strain with the loss of Esparto resident Stacey Speegle-Hernandez.

A change in wording can make all the difference,as post-9/11veterans recently discovered.Under the new GI Bill,formally known as Chapter33,the U.S.Department of Veterans Affairscoversstudent fees.This was a problem for private university students,who are generally charged “tuition” rather than fees,because assistance to private university students is based on how much assistance public university students receive.

The number of California’s uninsured children is expected to double in 2009. This year, 1.4 million children currently enrolled in the Healthy Families Program will lose coverage due to recent budget cuts.

A shortage of medical isotopes has doctors across the U.S. postponing important tests, or switching to costlier, time consuming alternatives.

Harper Junior High School’s gymwill betransforming into a consignment shop from Aug.13to16. Worth Repeating,a new Davis company,and the Davis Schools Foundation are partnering to transform the gym into ashop. Worth Repeating organizes children,teen and maternity consignment sales events in the Yolo area.Products sold at Harper’s event will include children’s clothes,toys,baby furniture,bicycles and DVDs.

Davis bats test positive for rabies County health officials are advising caution among local residents after two dead bats found in Davis last week tested positive for the rabies virus. A local resident walking her dog came across seven dead bats near the West Covell Boulevard bicycle overcrossing,where a local bat colony is known to roost.The Yolo County Health Department tested four of the bats and found three were positive for rabies.The other three could not be tested.

What does Miss California 2009 runner-up and UC Davis student Jenna Harvey hope for other than world peace? “That was going to be my answer!” Harvey said. “Other than world peace, I’d say people need to have realistic expectations, get up and do something.” The Miss California contest took place in Fresno on June 27. Kristen Cavender of Orange won the Miss California title. Over 50 counties were represented in the contest.

On Monday, the Davis City Council collaborated with the Davis Downtown Business Association to work out details of a multi-media marketing campaign that would focus on downtown spending. Target contributed $100,000 to the city for public safety, parking and streetscape enhancements as well as other community enhancement projects. Free from restrictions, the city can choose to spend the funds whichever way it sees fit.