City News

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 almost 20 years.

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 nearly 16,000 acres 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 Interstate 5 and County Road 102, in Woodland. On Apr. 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, 30 percent of young American adults aged 18 to 29 think satirical news-oriented television programs like "The Colbert Report" and "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" are taking the place of traditional news outlets.

In anticipation of federal stimulus funds, the Sacramento Area Council of Governments board of directors has authorized $76 million for transportation projects in Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties.

The board's decision adds to the $32 million they authorized in February for road rehabilitation. SACOG will also work closely with Placer and El Dorado counties to distribute the estimated $120 million they will receive as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed by President Obama last month.

Homeowners in Yolo County might want to look into their existing flood insurance plan.

Yolo County announced last month that FEMA would be reevaluating the existing flood maps in the area. Due to this restructuring, many Yolo County residents will now be placed in high-risk flood zones.

WEDNESDAY

Imaginary bike riding!

An elderly individual was walking in the bike lane on Pole Line Road at Loyola Drive.

Yolo County's unemployment rate reached 12 percent in February, the second consecutive month in double digits, according to figures released by the Employment Development Department.

The number surpasses both the California rate of 10.5 percent and the national average of 8.1 percent. In other words, nearly one in eight members of the adult workforce in the county is looking for work.

The smoke has cleared in an argument over whether to crack down on smoke shops in Davis that sell what some say is drug paraphernalia.

The Davis City Council decided earlier this month that the city should not pursue a possible ordinance restricting tobacco-related businesses. It was a 3-2 vote, with councilmembers Stephen Souza, Sue Greenwald and Lamar Heystek opposed to moving forward.

Two special Farmers Market offerings are back along with the warm weather: Picnic in the Park and the East Quad Farmers Market.

Held in Central Park every Wednesday evening, Picnic in the Park is similar to the weekend Farmers Market but with a greater emphasis on music and dining.

Davis' one and only head shop has a new home in the heart of downtown.

The owners of D-Zone Novelties, a gift shop that sells tobacco paraphernalia, have moved their business to a larger location at 203 G St. The new place has a new name, too: Illusions.

The phenomenal power of the brain will be in the spotlight this week as part of Brain Awareness Week.

Graduate students and postdoctoral researchers from the Center for Neuroscience at UC Davis will be celebrating the complex organ beginning Mar. 14 with interactive events for Sacramento area residents and local students.

Organizers are hoping that the beauty of the Capay Valley and the chance to get out of the house and get a taste of some regional cuisine will bring local residents out to the 2009 Almond Festival.

In 2000, Diana Levine was administered Phenergan, an anti-nausea drug manufactured by Wyeth, after being treated for migraine headaches with injections of Demerol, a pain medication.