City News

A dollar a day for one year. That’s what the Davis Schools Foundation is asking Davis residents to give to support local K-12 education. Its leaders are hoping to raise enough money to compensate for a $4.25 million cut in the Davis Joint Unified School District’s (DJUSD) budget for 2008-2009. School district trustees are grappling with how to deal with the nearly 6 percent reduction in the budget. They have already voted to shut down Valley Oak Elementary School and are considering closing Emerson Junior High School. They have also notified 112 teachers and administrators that they could lose their jobs.

The Yolo County District Attorney’s office re-filed for a July gang injunction although the court overturned it in April 2007. Jeff Reisig, Yolo County District Attorney, placed a gang injunction to prevent gang activity in West Sacramento in February 2005. The district attorney is saying that this place is horrible and that there is so much crime and that people are afraid to speak up and get out of their homes, said attorney Josh Kaizuka.

Despite a $4 million budget cut, Emerson Junior High School will be taking a joyride on the Ferris wheel. The Davis Planning Commission recently approved a temporary carnival that will take place Apr. 10. This four-day carnival, run by Butler Amusements, will operate at Cannery Park on East Covell Boulevard and J Street as a fundraiser for the Emerson Junior High Parent Teacher Association. It will be a community benefit and a community activity, said Greg Clumpner, chairperson of Davis Planning Commission. We didn’t feel there are any significant impacts for preventing [the fundraiser] from happening.

The California budget deficit has recently sparked a multitude of reactions from California state officials. California Assembly speaker Fabian Núñez recently proposed Assembly Bill 9xxx, which was intended to raise revenues for teachers in order to offset deficits the education system has faced due to recent state budget cuts. The bill planned to tax large oil companies to gain extra funds – however, the bill was turned down by the state assembly Wednesday. While California is facing billions in cuts to schools, big oil companies are raking in record profits – without paying for the oil they take from California, said Núñez in a press release. If red states like Texas, Colorado, and Montana tax oil production to fund the services they value, then so should we.

There is a good chance there won’t be any wild-caught salmon in California this year. The Pacific Fisheries Management Council adopted three options for public review regarding the 2008 salmon season off the coast of California and Oregon at its conference in Sacramento on Friday. Two of the options would completely shut down salmon fishing due to unprecedented low numbers of returning salmon. The council will adopt its final decision in early April after hearing public comment. The concern focuses around California’s Central Valley rivers in which only an estimated 59,100 chinook salmon will spawn this fall – a number that falls far short of the minimum conservation goal of 122,000.

For the next month or two, sheep, lambs and goats will be grazing the tall grass at the Mace Community Ranch Park Habitat Preserve to create a better environment for the burrowing owl indigenous to that area. This is the second year of a no-cost arrangement approved by the city’s wildlife specialist John McNerney between Davis and a local ranching family. In this arrangement, livestock get fed and the city doesn’t have to spend its resources on maintaining the preserve. The benefits of the arrangement is that the city is saving money on using herbicides, and it’s also more integrated pest management by not using pesticides if you don’t need to, said a coordinator from the Parks and Community Services Department, who asked to remain anonymous.

As Senator Barack Obama (D-IL)continues to enjoy a surge of momentum generated by 11 consecutive primary and caucus election victories over rival Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), questions persist over the role Democratic superdelegates will play in determining the party’s eventual nominee. The approximately 796 unpledged party leaders and elected official delegates (PLEO delegates), who are free to cast their own votes at the Democratic National Convention in August, could play the role of tiebreaker if neither Obama nor Clinton emerges carrying the magic number of 2,025 pledged delegates. Currently, Clinton leads Obama in the superdelegate count, 241-181, according to a recent Associated Press survey.

Former UC Davis student Sydney Vergis announced her candidacy for Davis City Council on Feb. 14. Vergis, who majored in economics and environmental policy analysis and planning, has been involved with Davis services and programs since her residency in 2001. She has served on the city’s Business and Economic Development Commission (BEDC), the Davis City Tree Commission and the Yolo County Young Democrats (YCYD).

As former NBA star Kevin Johnson continues his campaign for mayor of the city of Sacramento, local area politicians offered their views on how the race may potentially affect Yolo County. The scheduled June 3 primaryelection, in which the 42-year-old Sacramento native will challenge three-term incumbent Heather Fargo, is important because it will decide the leader of the Sacramento region – the 16th largest media market in the country, said Yolo County District 1 supervisor Matt Rexroad.

TUESDAY Wish I was trailer trash Individual reported trailer was stolen and then recovered on Wake Forest Drive. Sunny side up? Unknown subject egged individual’s front door on Cantrill Drive. Breakup and make up? A backpack and clothing were strewn in front of a window on Anderson Road.

Experts disagree as to whether the country is headed for a recession, but one thing is for sure: 2008 will be a slow year for the economy. The economist definition [of a recession] is three consecutive quarters of negative growth, said Paul Navazio, finance director for the city of Davis.

The Filipina Women’s Network named Davis councilmember Ruth Asmundson one of the 100 most influential Filipinas in the country. Asmundson was presented an award in Washington D.C. at a gala in October. The group’s goal is to double the number of Filipina leaders in five years by having all 100 influential women mentor a young Filipina. The Filipina Women’s Network will hold another event in 2012 for all the mentors and protégés.