City News

The U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame held its annual induction ceremony at Freeborn Hall on Sunday. The ceremony marked the first time the event had been held west of the Mississippi River.

The keynote speaker for the event was Levi Leipheimer. Leipheimer won the bronze medal in the road time trial for cycling at the Beijing Olympics. A world-renowned cyclist and native of Santa Rosa, he also placed first overall in both the 2007 and 2008 Amgen Tour of California.

THURSDAY

The joy of music

An individual with a golden retriever threw a guitar at a train on Second Street.

Since John McCain made Joe the Plumber famous in the third presidential debate, Joe Wurzelbacher (his real name) has been enjoying his 15 minutes of fame.

Many local plumbers disagree with his stance, however.

"I think the guy's a clown," said Jeff Wolfe, owner of Jeff's Plumbing Inc. in Sacramento. "They need to get him off the TV."

Friday's article, "'Mixed use' for Cannery Park supported by commission, citizens," incorrectly stated that 92 of the proposed 610 homes at the North Davis site would be price-restricted. In fact, 192 homes will have a range of price restrictions. The remaining 418 homes will be sold at market rates. The Aggie regrets the error.

Matt Gonzalez, former president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and Ralph Nader's running mate for the 2008 presidential election, spoke to students about the election on campus Saturday.

Gonzalez, who returned to private life after narrowly losing the San Francisco mayoral election of 2003 to Democrat Gavin Newsom, is a lawyer and activist known for his anti-corporate and progressive ideas.

Vietnam veteran speaks for peac

Vietnam veteran Mike Boehm will present a slide presentation of his volunteer work in Vietnam on Sunday at 12:30 p.m.

According to a press release, Boehm returned to Vietnam in 1992 to help build a small medical clinic.

Among Davis' ghosts, goblins, trick-or-treaters, pumpkin-carvers and costume-adorners this Halloween were 11 houses of party organizers who took the meaning of the concept "block party" to encompass a hefty portion of the city's college student population.

"Scared Stiff on Radcliffe," a large Halloween block party on Radcliffe Drive, had a turnout of at least 1,000 Friday night, according to the Davis Police Department.

The Business and Economic Development Commission passed a motion Monday night supporting further consideration of a development at Cannery Park that would include both housing and business park space. If approved, a mixed-use development at the long vacant site would create hundreds of jobs and homes, according to a report by an outside consulting firm.

In the midst of an economic downturn it might seem like businesses would be closing, but that is not the case for many new businesses that have recently opened in Davis.

"Davis is a great environment for a business because the UC brings so many college students into town," said Allen Nguyen, general manager of Davis Sushi Buffet at 707 Second St., which opened June 1.

SUNDAY

Day in the life

Two male transients were drinking alcohol, urinating and rummaging through garbage bins on Fifth Street.

Inside voices, please

Neighbors were outside talking loudly on their balcony on Drew Circle.

This is the first major election since the Davis City Council changed the city's political sign rules in January, and the change in policy has led to some serious confusion among apartment managers.

As part of the ordinance passed in January, the council added the following language to city code: "Not withstanding any lease to the contrary, no landlord or lessor shall prohibit a tenant lawfully in possession from posting political signs."

The Yolo County Board of Supervisors' plan to locate a re-entry prison facility in the county has faced strong local opposition.

The Yolo County Farm Bureau, which represents farmers in the county, recently filed a lawsuit against the Board of Supervisors opposing plans to locate the facility in a rural part of the county near the town of Madison. Members of the farm bureau said there are several flaws with the proposed location of the prison facility.

A presentation hosted by Davis Students for Nader two weeks ago raised questions about the possibility of harmful microbes in local soil, but public health officials say the claims are unfounded.

The presentation featured the mother of former Sacramento resident David Bell, who claimed he became ill after working with biopesticides for Davis biotech firm AgraQuest in the late 1990s.

After a year of struggling for a way to pay for everything without cutting programs, the Davis Joint Unified School District is turning to residents.

Measure W on the Davis ballot is a parcel tax that would require homeowners to pay $120 per year and apartment owners to pay $50 per unit per year. The tax would last for three years, and the district's board of trustees could vote to eliminate the tax if they felt it was unnecessary.

In a community that values free speech and open debate, recent political sign thefts have outraged some community members.

The controversy over Proposition 8, which would amend the California Constitution to allow marriage between only a man and a woman, has spilled over into petty theft and vandalism of lawn signs.