City News

After18months of looking for work,Woodland resident James Edwards is down but not out. As a commercial fisherman,Edwards says it’s difficult to just go find a fishing job,especially in this economy. After cashing out all his savings and exhausting other options,he has been able to scrape by with the help of public assistance programs like unemployment.

Memories of getting an “I voted” sticker, hanging up a U.S. flag, entering the voting booth, could soon be simply memories past. County clerk-recorder Freddie Oakley is pushing a proposal that would make Yolo County a testing ground for a voting system that operates completely through the mail.

City Council members know they have to make cuts. They just don’t want to make all of them— yet.

Has change really come? Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the California legislature seem to think so.

Gottschalks, Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection under the Chapter 11 law. The company plans to stay open while it seeks a buyer. “While we have aggressively pursued a number of important steps over the past year to improve our performance and reduce costs, the persistent challenges in the economy and recent unexpected reductions to our borrowing capacity as a result of tightening credit markets have left us no other recourse than to pursue a sale of the company under court approval in city as a result of a Chapter 11 proceeding,” said Jim Famalette, Gottschalks chairman and CEO, in a press release.

A batch of contaminated peanuts was the source of a nationwide salmonella outbreak,causing dozens of companies to issue voluntary recalls. The outbreak has been the cause of488illnesses andsixdeaths nationwide as of Jan.23.

By this summer,California Supreme Court judges willdetermine the fate ofsame-sex marriages performed before Proposition8passed last November.UCDavis law professor Courtney Joslinco-authored and submitted a friend-of-the-court briefthis monththat argues that Prop8should in no way affect the validity ofthose marriages.

If you missed itinfall,be sure to catch the historic bike exhibit in Downtown Davis before it closes this February.The display, “Swiftwalkers to Streamliners:Bicycles1823-2008,” features bicycles representing every era of the development of the bicycle.

Change could be coming for colleges and universities in the U.S. – and it’s not chump change.The U.S.House of Representatives is set to vote today on an economicstimulus package that calls for$550billion in domestic spending and$275billion in tax cuts.

A recent Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions study found that44percent of the85top American medical schools surveyed are thinking about increasing the number of open spots for incoming medical students. Of those schools,roughly33percent plan to increase enrollment up to15percent and roughly10percent plan to increase student enrollment by more than25percent.Many of these schools expect to implement these enrollment changes as early as fall2009.

Cal Grant students may be in for a big cut. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger released his2009-2010budget proposal earlier this month.The proposal will change Cal Grant policy and cut all new competitive awards.

Davis police arrested the owner of a downtown massage business on suspicion of prostitution Thursday. A sting operation revealed that50-year-old Ping Li was using her business,Spring380Massage,for prostitution,said Lt.Thomas Waltz in a press release.An undercover officer went into the business and Li was arrested immediately after agreeing to perform sexual acts inexchange for money,he said.