City News

Eighth District Representative Mariko Yamada recently placed a new bill on the desk of the governor. AB 647 aims to make information on the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System available to the public. NMVTIS is an online-database that provides car history, such as auto titling, brand data and theft data. The information helps the state, law enforcement and consumers to confirm the car’s background, including previous damages caused by floods or fires, and help recover stolen cars as well.

Sacramento will soon be transforming a dull parking lot into a bustling mini-park called Presley Park. PARK(ing) Day this year will take place on Friday, Sept. 18th on the intersection of J Street and 20th Street in downtown Sacramento.

Consumers in Davis can rest a little easier knowing their representatives have them in mind. The Consumer Federation of California gave Senator Lois Wolk, Fifth District, a 100 percent on the 2009 Interim scorecard for State Lawmakers, while Representative Mariko Yamada, Eighth District, earned the equivalent of 80 percent on her scorecard. Scores are based on key bills the CFC considers important. The interim scorecard provides a preview of how legislators have voted thus far throughout the session. The year‘s final scorecard is released shortly after Congress adjourns for the year.

This Labor Day holiday Yolo County is cracking down on drunk driving.Drunk Driving.Over the Limit.Under Arrest.,the nationalLaborDay enforcement program,was launched on Aug.21,and will last until Sept.4.Yolo has been a part of the AVOID Anti-DUI program since2006.

In response to an escalation in summer burglaries,the Davis Police Department advised residents to take simple precautions to protect their property. Apartments have been scoped out and victimized,since a significant amountof burglariesoccur at apartment complexes and,consequently,where students live.

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.