City News

Measure K's vision has finally materialized. As of yesterday, Davis' new Target store finally opened its doors.

Davis' first big-box store at 4485 Second St. in Mace Ranch will have its grand opening on Sunday. A launch party for special guests was held on Tuesday night and yesterday marked its "soft" opening.

Students are back in town, the campus is filled with activity and the downtown is bustling. These familiar fall changes can only mean one thing. It's that time of year again - Davis Neighbors' Night Out.

From noon to 9 p.m. this Sunday, the community celebration will be in full effect thanks to the efforts of sponsors Associated Students of UC Davis, the University and the City of Davis.

California has reached 12.2 percent unemployment. With the results from a recent monthly study, it seems those numbers won't drop anytime soon.

The Conference Board's monthly Help-Wanted Online Data Series found that in California, online job listings are down about 5.5 percent. In August, job postings in California had been slightly up, but by September only 366,100 listings were posted compared with 387,300 in August.

Over 600,000 children can count on health insurance coverage.

A Sept. 3 vote of 62 to 5 by the California Assembly saved a program that provides health insurance to low income children, including close to 2,000 Yolo County kids.

More time than ever is directed towards the exploration of social networking and its uses.

Online users are spending almost three times the amount of time as the previous year on blogs and social networks such as Twitter, Facebook and Myspace, according to a recent report by the Nielsen Company.

Heated debates have recently risen in Sacramento over whether installing security cameras in public locations will aid crime prevention or invade privacy.

A $614,694 grant from Homeland Security has made it possible for Sacramento to consider installing 32 security cameras throughout the city. In addition, the plan includes four mobile trailers with cameras to provide surveillance for large events and crowds.

On Oct. 12, a month-long community effort to cut back on carbon emissions will kick off in Davis.

"Davis Low Carbon Diet Challenge" will include eco-teams consisting of friends, family and co-workers whose goal is to lose 5,000 pounds of carbon by making more environmentally friendly decisions in their day-to-day lives.

Sudwerk Brewery is ready for Yolo County to be associated with more than just agriculture and cows. It's time for people to think of award-winning brews when they think of Davis, Calif.

Davis' only brewery, Sudwerk, located on Second Street at Pole Line, recently won a gold medal at the California state fair for their pilsner.

Is governing California even possible these days?

Sacramento Bee columnist Daniel Weintraub tackled that question in a speech at UC Davis last week, arguing that hyper-partisanship in the capitol is the number one obstacle to effective state government.

Little Prague is hosting a special celebration this weekend in honor of its 30th anniversary. Tonight and tomorrow, the party will feature prizes, a special menu and reduced prices on drinks and desserts.

Mayor Pro Tempore Don Saylor is kicking off his campaign for Yolo County Supervisor with a neighborhood party.

Congress is giving student aid a facelift this fall - or at least voting on it.

On Sept. 17, the House passed the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act with a majority vote. The act has yet to make it through the Senate.

The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act would change the process by which money for loans and grants is directed within higher education. Essentially, the behind-the-scenes logistics of student aid would change.

Continuing consumers of clove and flavored cigarettes may have to find an alternative.

Sept. 22 marked the official commencement of The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which put a ban on all clove and flavored cigarettes - excluding menthol.

The ban, which is only one component of the act, aims to deter the younger market from smoking, since cigarette companies often market clove and flavored cigarettes to this age group.

Earlier this month, customers were turned away from many locations of the popular fast food chain, Jack in the Box, throughout the state. On Thursday, Sept. 17, much to the confusion of customers, Roseville's Abe Alizadeh - owner of more than 70 Jack in the Box restaurants, 11 T.G.I. Friday's and a plethora of real estate companies - closed his Jack in the Box restaurants due to financial troubles.