City News

Amidst the scramble for federal grant dollars,the city of Davis is looking to upgrade its traffic light system. The Davis Natural Resources Commission recommended the approval of a proposal last Wednesday by city engineers to replace existing city traffic lights with LED lighting,or light-emitting diode lighting.The proposal will be voted on at the Davis City Council meeting on June2before being sent to the federal government for review.

UC Davis student Joshua Rottman and roughly15,000other students nationwide have recently filed a class-action lawsuit after paying for a special presidential inauguration travel package and allegedly not receiving what they were promised.The Virginia-based company,Envision EMI,organized a Congressional Youth Leadership Council program that promised opportunities for students to “bear witness as thepresidentof the United States is sworn into office,” “meet White House officials,congressional staff,political experts,and more,” and “experience the sights and sounds of a jubilant nation during the Inaugural Parade and a Black Tie Gala Inaugural Ball,” according to advertising materials from Envision.

14sex offenders arrested Law enforcement personnel arrested14sex offenders in a task force operation in Solano County on Wednesday. The Region II SAFE Task Force dispersed throughout the county to seek out sex offenders who were violating the terms of their probation or parole,according to a press release.

In Tuesday’s special election, Californians decided against rainy day funds, borrowing money from the lottery, and education funding. With over 60 percent of voters shutting down the first five propositions, the only proposition that will go into effect is Prop 1F, which freezes elected officials’ salaries in deficit years. It passed with support from over 70 percent of voters statewide. Only about 23 percent of registered voters in California voted – about 4 million of the 17 million California registered voters. Similar numbers were found in Yolo County, said Freddie Oakley, Yolo County clerk recorder.

The budget axe has fallen in Yolo County, and health care programs for the indigent are on the chopping block. The Yolo County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to approve cuts to the Yolo County Healthcare for Indigents Program (YCHIP) in order to address the health department’s $1,600,000 deficit. After much debate, the board voted to approve the recommended health services cuts by a 3-2 vote, an action that is expected to save YCHIP $1,500,000 in the 2009-2010 fiscal year.

Yolo County may soon become a model for a new means of voting. Assemblywoman Mariko Yamada is sponsoring AB1228,a bill that would establish a pilot project of all-mail ballot voting in Yolo County,with the hopes of spreading it throughout California.

Research that found users of Facebook tend to have lower grades got a lot of attention last month,but a new study from a different research team is calling that conclusion into question. The initial study,in the form of a draft manuscript from researchers at Ohio State University,found that Facebook users‘ grade point averages were in the3.0to3.5range,compared to3.5to4.0for non-users.Aryn Karpinski,education researcher,told the Chronicle of Higher Education that this suggested a relationship but did not prove causation.

Davis was ranked as one of America’s “Top 25 towns to live well,” according to Forbes Magazine. Davis was ranked 19 out of 25 towns. Forbes defines a town as any area with a population less than 100,000. Towns considered for ranking had to have the power to attract business through their environments and resources. Characteristics such as the number of museums, parks, bars, restaurantsand cultural institutions per capita were considered. Forbes states that these factors indicate a favorable business environment. California towns dominated the list, receiving eight of the 25 spots. Boulder, Colo. received the top ranking. Davis met all of Forbes’ standards.

Tears,laughterand applause united a crowd of casually and formally dressed Davis residents on Saturday who came to celebrate the life of the late former Davis mayor Julie Partansky.The ceremony,held at the Davis Unitarian Universalist Church,combined music,dance,slide shows and personal remembrance speeches from friends.

Bat education series begins soon The Yolo Basin Foundation will host a series of events featuring bats this summer,with the first offering on May28. Each program begins with a presentation on the natural history of the bat as well as an opportunity to view live bats.Participants then carpool to the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area to watch one of the largest colonies in California of Mexican free-tailed bats as it emerges to hunt for insects at sunset.

The California State Senate unanimously approved legislation that would protect integrity of ballots by addressing the use of fraudulent non-English names during elections on May6. Senate Bill288,sponsored by Senator Leland Yee,D-San Francisco/San Mateo,would require candidates who would like an alternative language name on the ballot to be provided a phonetic translation of their name by the county elections office or by the Secretary of State‘s office.

As the number of highway fatalities overall decline,a trend has emerged in the data:Motorcycles are becoming increasingly dangerous. The California Highway Patrol last month released preliminary data suggesting that the number of fatal motorcycle accidents has sharply increased over the past few years,roughly124percent since2003. So far numbers for2008show that over500riders were killed last year in motorcycle collisions.