City News

It’s not illegal to smoke in your apartment, but you may have to look harder to find a landlord who will let you. Landlords in Davis and Woodland are starting to restrict smoking inside private rental units, and the Woodland City Council has passed a resolution in favor of smoke-free apartments. King Properties decided to prohibit smoking in all 300 of the apartments, duplexes, condominiums and houses it manages in Davis. Renters are asked to sign a binding no-smoking agreement as part of their lease, said company president Rebecca King.

The November shooting of 19-year-old Monica Bentley at the Motel 6 in South Davis will be reenacted on an episode of “America’s Most Wanted” set to air Apr. 26 at 9 p.m. on Fox. The show will do a full re-enactment of the stalking and shooting that put Bentley in a wheelchair and nearly claimed her life. “America’s Most Wanted” came to Davis two months ago to film exterior shots for the re-enactment and to conduct interviews. “[The show] spent a lot of money on this,” said Ed Miller, a correspondent with the show. “It’s done with a full-fledged crew; they hire actors and a big-name director who has done a couple Mel Gibson movies.”

MONDAY When a milk carton would be nice Individual reported that daughter did not come home on Sunday night after speaking to her over the phone on Eel Place. I lost mine, can I borrow yours? Individual found partially torn and opened envelope in locked mailbox that contained a baby’s birth certificate on Alegre Way.

Ending nearly two years of searching, the skeletal remains of former UC Davis professor emeritus John Finely Scott were discovered in a shallow grave near his home west of Davis last week, the Yolo County Sheriff Department announced Monday. After receiving information regarding the possible location of the professor’s body, investigators went to the site in question and dug up the skeletal remains Apr. 12, said Michelle Wallace, public affairs officer of the sheriff department. At that point, forensic anthropologists from California State University, Chico working with the investigators took the remains to a lab at the university. DNA analysis performed by the deputy coroner of Yolo County confirmed that the remains were Scott’s, Wallace said.

College students across California are organizing statewide demonstrations against education budget cuts. A coalition group, Students for California’s Future, is organizing demonstrations on Monday, Apr. 21 in Sacramento, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Diego. In Sacramento, students will march from Raley Field in West Sacramento to the steps of the State Capitol, where they will hold a rally and press conference. “This is something that everyone needs to hear, whether or not you’re a student,” said Stephanie Chan, president of Students for California’s Future. “Education just isn’t something we can afford to scrimp on.”

On Mar. 28, Sacramento and 11 other U.S. cities were awarded with a $200,000, two-year Solar America Cities grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. “It’s a very prestigious award we got from the Department of Energy,” said the assistant planner with the Sacramento Development Services Department, Jamie Cutlip. “It’s a great honor and with this money we’ll be able to work on bringing different solar initiatives forward in Sacramento.” Sacramento was chosen as a solar city out of a pool of over 30 applicants because it had been working on a number of policies that support solar power indirectly within the past year, in addition to having solar panels on a number of buildings in the city.

While the complaint is often heard that Davis drinking water is not the tastiest beverage around, the city has not come close to violating any health standards. Meanwhile, the situation in sub-Saharan Africa is a much different story: 1.1 million people die in the region every year from water-related diseases, including cholera and malaria. The 1000 Wells Project Davis chapter is working to raise awareness and funds in order to build wells and infrastructure in various African communities. The organization’s main two weeks of fundraising begins Apr. 19. “Clean water is a fundamental human right and it hurts us to know that there are 1.1 billion people out there that don’t have access to clean water,” said Tiffany Tao, a senior psychology and communication double major and head coordinator of the project.

Approved relocation of F Street bicycle/pedestrian crossing to 200 feet south of its current location between the Art Center and the little league field Approved submission of the city’s claim for Transportation Development Act funds for the 2007-2008 fiscal year Allocated $16,000 to the Bomb Squad Program Authorized staff to advertise for bids on the […]

In the Monday Apr. 14 article “California bill may ban helium-filled metallic balloons,” the first sentence was misleading. Although the bill was passed in committee, the ban will not come into effect unless it is passed by the legislature and signed into law. The Aggie regrets the error.

A public hearing will take place May 6 regarding Davis Proposition 218, a proposed utility rate change that would take effect Aug. 1. “The staff will present why the increase in utility rates is necessary,” said Davis city clerk Margaret Roberts. “They will open a public hearing, and they can speak for or against the hearing. They make their decisions based on the information.” Whenever there is a rate increase, a public hearing is one of the specific steps required by state law, said operations administrator Sue Gedestad.

The State Assembly Education Committee voted earlier this month to hold a bill sponsored by California State Representative Lois Wolk (D-Davis), which aimed to give school districts more flexibility in balancing their budgets during difficult years. As California’s $16 billion budget deficit trickles down into schools, most districts are scrambling to find ways to balance their budgets. Assembly Bill 1908 would allow school districts to transfer unspent funds reserved for specific programs – categorical funds – into the unrestricted general fund for use in balancing the budget during difficult budget years. “While the bill would not provide districts with a complete solution to the huge budget cuts proposed by the governor, it would provide districts with immediate, modest budget flexibility to assist them in difficult budget times such as California is experiencing now,” said Wolk in a press release.

The fifth-annual Chamber of Commerce-sponsored event Celebrate Davis will take place May 15, as a means of informing the community of different businesses, nonprofits and services Davis has to offer. Between 4:30 and 9 p.m. at Community Park located at 14th and F streets, there will be approximately 150 business booths where the expected 8,000 community members will have the opportunity to speak to business owners about their services. “It gives Davis business a chance to get out in the community and talk to Davis residents and consumers,” said Celebrate Davis coordinator Nancy Cole. “Booths will have information on what they do, and it’s just for visibility so people can get to know what services and shops are available in Davis.”