City News

Members of underrepresented minority groups interested in the sciences may have met a stroke of luck. The Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate is an organization founded in1998devoted to helping underrepresented minority groups gain doctorate degrees in the fields of science,technology,engineering and math.

By the end of June,theGottschalksstore at the U-Mall will be gone completely. The Fresno-based department store filed for Chapter11bankruptcy onJan.14,and bankruptcy court Judge Kevin Carey signed a liquidation orderApr.1in Wilmington,Del.,according to the Associated Press.A liquidation sale began last Friday,and could last from45to90days according to the Sacramento Bee.

The California sales tax went up1percent last Wednesday,and local businesses are worried. “We have so many other things going on that are negative,sales tax really doesn’t help,” said Richard Luna,owner of de Luna Jewelers indowntownDavis. “I don’t care if it’s a penny extra.“

An agricultural pest that caused an environmental uproar on the California coast in 2008 may have made its way to Davis. Yolo County officials announced last week that they found a single light brown apple moth in a monitoring trap in South Davis.

The Yolo Business Ascent Challenge is looking for young entrepreneurs to test the ability of their company to survive in a struggling economy. The challenge kicked off in early March,and continues to look for new and developing businesses to participate.It is sponsored by Golden Capital Network,a company that aims to introduce innovative entrepreneurs to capital,expertise and resources.

A parasitic disease associated with backpackers drinking brackish water has recently been on the mind of the animal community in Davis. At the end of last month,Yolo County warned in a press release that giardia,an intestinal parasite found in humans and animals,had been found in four dogs from a Davis rescue shelter kennel.

The UC Davis Fire Department has been designated as a Yolo County Safe Haven for the surrender of newborns. Although UC Davis is the latest part of Yolo County to join this campaign, the program has existed in the county since September 2003. Other safe haven locations include the fire departments in Davis, West Sacramento and Woodland.

Woodland man sentenced on child porn charges After pleading guilty to possession of child pornography, Woodland resident Robert Sutton was sentenced to 16 months in state prison, Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig announced Wednesday.

Janet Garrison has been biking to work for almost20years. A coordinator at the UC Davis Craft Center,she hauls along art supplies in a big basket on the front of her bike. “Anybody’s lucky where you can ride your bike to work,” she says.

The Sacramento and Davis area will soon see a vast increase in wetlands area. Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area,located between Sacramento and Davis,contains nearly16,000acres of wilderness area.The California Department of Fish and Game along with the California Waterfowl Association are currently working to convert and restore this land into wetland wildlife habitat.

Once a quiet farm town,Woodland is becoming the next retail hot spot in Yolo County. Last year the Woodland Gateway shopping center opened with Target and Costco Warehouse,right off of Interstate5and County Road102,in Woodland.OnApr.18,a number of new stores will help bring the development closer to completion.

Call it generational,blame it on technology or the media,but in any case,satirical news sources are making their mark,especially on younger generations. According to the media public opinion polling company Rasmussen Reports,30percent of young American adults aged18to29think satirical news-oriented television programs like “The Colbert Report” and “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” are taking the place of traditional news outlets.