City News

Thousands of swans and geese migrating from the frozen far north have touched down and chosen to winter at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area, and local birding experts will host a guided tour of the area tomorrow morning.

Back in my day, we had manual skateboards

Two electric skateboards were stolen on Alvarado Avenue.

Sparks, an energy drink made by MillerCoors, is an alcoholic energy drink that combines beer and caffeine into a drink with 6 percent alcohol by volume.

MillerCoors recently came under fire by several state attorneys general because of what they say are the adverse health effects caused by drinking alcohol together with caffeine. The attorneys also expressed concerns about MillerCoors' marketing of the product, claiming it was targeted towards a young and potentially underage crowd.

Dozens of Davis residents have been fuming lately over reports that the city of Davis is considering banning fireplaces in the name of clean air.

Though some discussions of possible wood burning restrictions have included a total ban on traditional fireplaces and wood stoves, the Davis City Council on Tuesday made clear that they were not interested in any immediate ban.

Many college students are using prescription ADHD medication such as Ritalin or Adderall to improve their academic performance, according to a new study.

"The study was prompted by anecdotal reports from students about usage," said coauthor Scott Swartzwelder, a Duke University professor. "My understanding is that the trend is relatively new and escalating."

Fundraisers such as the Dollar-A-Day campaign and Schoolapalooza, as well as the passage of Proposition W in November (a parcel tax specifically aimed at maintaining school programs), have helped to maintain funding for teachers, librarians and science programs.

Mike Genest, director of the California Department of Finance, calls this the most challenging fiscal crisis California has ever faced. The California State Controller is projecting that California will be out of cash by February and the California Department of Finance is estimating a $40 billion budget deficit through the fiscal year of 2009-2010.

If all goes according to plan, the Davis Joint Unified School District may soon sell its surplus property at the Grande School Site in North Davis.

After decades of ownership, DJUSD has finally achieved a tenable design for the 8.83 acre property in collaboration with City Council and surrounding neighbors.

JAN. 3

Santa came late

A purse was dumped on a rooftop on Valdora Street.

Reforesting Davis

Four male teenagers were placing Christmas trees in the middle of the road on J Street and Drexel Drive.

With extremely limited on-campus housing at UC Davis, the Office of Student Housing keeps an eye on the local rental market. Student Housing's 33rd annual survey of the state of the rental market was released late last month.

In the city of Davis, the vacancy rate increased slightly from 0.7 to 0.8 percent and the average cost of rent increased 4.36 percent in 2008.

The reuse of the Hunt-Boyer mansion downtown has become a topic of much discussion among the Davis City Council and local groups.

The Hunt-Boyer mansion is located on the corner of Second and E Streets and is currently used as office space for city staff, but the city wants to put it to better use. City staff are currently working on an analysis of the building and its potential uses.

As construction workers prepare to pour the foundation for a new Target store in Davis, a citizens oversight group is sounding the alarm about a recent discovery of a hazardous substance nearby.

On Tuesday night, the Davis Joint Unified School District school district held its first "virtual town hall meeting." Superintendent James Hammond, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Bruce Colby and School Board President Sheila Allen addressed questions parents, teachers and members of the community submitted beforehand.

Though Proposition 5 was defeated in November by a margin of 20 percent, there are still other state-run programs that use drug treatment as an alternative to prison.

Prop 36 is one such program. Voted into law in 2000, this proposition gives a limited number of people sentenced to shorter prison terms the option to receive drug treatment instead of prison.

The owners of the largest plot of undeveloped land in Davis want to develop it into a mix of housing and industrial office space. The Davis City Council, however, is not so keen on the idea of giving it up for housing. The roughly 100-acre site, known as Cannery Park, is located north of Covell Boulevard and east of F Street. For 38 years it was the site of a cannery operation but has been vacant since 1999. Lewis Planned Communities, the current owner, has been working for four years on a plan to construct 610 residential units and 20 acres of business park offices.