City News

On Tuesday,the Davis City Council continued discussion regarding the redevelopment of Fifth Street,an issue that has been in the works for three years. The council voted to begin community outreach and reassess the various options in the fall.The city is most concerned about the segment of the street between A Street and L Street. Three different proposals were brought up by the city as hypothetical plans of action during the meeting.

Davis residents might be paying more for water in the fall – but don’t blame it on drought. To counterbalance the cost of improving water quality,replacing water supply infrastructure and building a new wastewater treatment facility,the city of Davis is changing water rates for Davis residents that will take effectAug.1.

Construction workers are moving briskly to get the new Target store in East Davis complete and open by October. In the mean time,the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency is ramping up its own efforts to clean up and control contaminants at the Frontier Fertilizer Superfund site to the west of the new Target development.

Low-income refund program deadline nears Low-income homeowners who meet certain qualifications can receive a refund on their Davis Park Maintenance Tax and Open Space Protection Tax for2008-2009by submitting an application to the city by June30. The tax appears on property tax bills.This program is an exemption,not a refund.

The Yolo County Animal Shelter is struggling against parvovirus,a highly contagious canine virus that has killed10dogs in the last month. The last case of the virus was onApr.21and shelter staff believe the outbreak is now under control,said Vicky Fletcher,Yolo County’s chief animal services officer. Parvovirus is a malicious disease that can result in bloody diarrhea,vomitingand a noticeably sick dog.Dogs may also display depression,lethargyand a loss of appetite.The disease may result in death due to dehydration.

On May19Californians will vote on the Lottery Modernization Act,better known as Prop1C. Proposition1C proposes changes to the California lottery system.It would allow the state to borrow$5billion from the lottery to balance the2009-2010state budget and allow future legislation to use the lottery as a resource for future deficits.Prop1C is expected to protect education funding.

In its continued push to make Davis environmentally sustainable,the Davis City Council approved two programs allowing homeowners and new homebuyers to make their homes more energy efficient. Both programs are part of a greater effort by the council to adopt greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets for the city of Davis.

The sun’s coming out,UC Davis students are gearing up for summer,and what better way to celebrate spring than spending a day at the fair? The134th annual Dixon May Fair,operating in this small agricultural community since1875,kicks off Thursday and will last the whole weekend.

California voters will decide on May19if elected officials deserve pay raises in a time of economic decline. Proposition1F would amend the California Constitution to prevent elected state officials from receiving raises in deficit years.The measure defines deficit years as when the state’s reserve fund has a deficit larger than1percent of the state’s general fund revenues.

The possibility of a bike museum moving into a space currently occupied by the teen center has some concerned about the future of teen programs in Davis. City leaders are advocating for the U.S.Bicycling Hall of Fame to be located in a city-owned building on Third and B Streets,where the teen center is currently located.Teen center staff are not thrilled about the prospect of losing their space,however.

Second Street inDowntown Davis is scheduled to get a facelift in the near future,in order to make the area more pedestrian-friendly.The project is likely to be funded by Federal Stimulus money,though official approval is still in the works. Michael Mitchell,senior civil engineer for the city of Davis,said the redevelopmentproject will include severalenhancements of the intersections between CStreet and FStreet.Ultimately,he said,Second Street will look “a lot likeThird Street.“

Few diabetic patients are aware of the difficulties that arise after the disposalof their home-generated sharps. Yolo Country and the California Product Stewardship Council recently received a$197,680grant from the California Integrated Waste Management Board to gotowardthe safe management of sharps.