City News

Having little Fluffy or Tinkerbell on your lap while you drive might soon be a crime.

The Assembly Appropriations Committee voted Wednesdayto send legislation to the assembly floor that aims to make it illegal for drivers to hold any animal on their lap while driving.

State RepresentativeBill Maze (R-Visalia) first proposed the bill to the Transportation Committee in February. The committee passed it on to appropriations earlier this month to approve the creation of a new $35 traffic fine.

It's that time of year again.

If there's a downside to the beautiful spring weather, the sunny days and warm nights we've been having, it's the mosquitoes. But they are more than just annoying pests - these insects can pose a serious health risk.

To raise awareness about mosquitoes and insect-borne diseases, the Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control District will be hosting its third annual Volunteer Day tomorrow. Volunteers will be canvassing Sacramento and Yolo County with educational materials on how residents can help reduce mosquito populations in their area and protect themselves against West Nile virus.

The Davis College Democrats are holding a city council forum tonight to allow students to question the five Democratic candidates running for the Davis City Council and to familiarize the student body with the candidates' stances on political issues in Davis.

Davis City Council elections are held every two years, with three out of five spots open for this year's election June 3. There are five Democratic candidates and one Green party candidate running for the three available positions.

The three incumbents, Sue Greenwald, Don Saylor, Stephen Souza, and the two challengers, Cecilia Escamilla-Greenwald and Sydney Vergis, will attend the forum to make their policies clear to students and answer questions about their campaign goals.

Don't call them 'meter maids' - the politically correct term is parking control officer.

In big cities like San Francisco, this breed of civil servant is fighting against a fine increase they say would lead to more verbal and physical abuse than they already receive from angry drivers, according to an Apr. 16 article in The San Francisco Chronicle.

Fortunately for parking control officers in Davis, people here seem to be a little calmer despite ongoing parking problems downtown.

Tension is building between some residents and the Davis City Council over whether to start discussion on Measure J.

The landmark Davis law requires voter approval for any urban development on land that is currently designated as agricultural or open-space. It was passed in 2000 and is set to expire in 2010.

It has only been applied once. In 2005, the council approved Covell Village, a 1,864-unit housing development in North Davis. Because it would require annexing agricultural land into the city limits, voters were asked to approve the development. The vote failed 59.9 percent to 40 percent.

So why the problem now?

THURSDAY

Immelman's swift decline

A man was reported as "suspicious" for loitering around Hanover Drive, shirtless and carrying a golf club.

Do. The. Dishes.

A woman reported her roommates were trying to evict her and refused to let her into the apartment.

Starting July 1, state law will require high-risk sex offenders to be monitored at all times via GPS system.

"It's not a bad idea to useGPS system on high-risk sexoffenders," said Yolo County chief probation officer Don Meyer. "It has the option of increasing public safety because we'll know where the sex offenders are 24/7."

The device will be strapped onto the offender's ankle at all times and tracked by the government GPS satellite.

"You have an ankle monitor and a battery pack that sends signals to the satellite which allows the GPS system to pinpoint where that person is," Meyer said.

While one would expect normal car thieves to target the stereo system or items from the glove compartment, the latest underbelly of vehicle theft stems from an item not within the car itself: catalytic converters.

The converter is a device used to reduce the toxicity of emissions from an internal combustion engine. They were first widely introduced in the mid-'70s to comply with tightening Environmental Protection Agency regulations on auto exhaust.

And now, largely due to trace amounts of precious metals within the converters - such as platinum, palladium or rhodium - thefts are on the rise.

Sergeant Glenn Glasgow of the Davis Police Department said law enforcement officials often deal with the thefts in waves, with the latest rash occurring in January.

Kim's Mart, Davis' only Asian market, is undergoing an expansion, which will be complete mid-May.

"We've been [at 636 Fourth St.] for 12 years," said owner Chur Jun. "I have been thinking about expanding for a long time now."

Kim's Mart will inhabit the space two doors down at 628 Fourth St., which was previously Pallen's Martial Arts. When renovations are complete, the grocery will be twice its original size.

"The store is too crowded now," Jun said. "We need more space for people and products."

It's not illegal to smoke in your apartment, but you may have to look harder to find a landlord who will let you.

Landlords in Davis and Woodland are starting to restrict smoking inside private rental units, and the Woodland City Council has passed a resolution in favor of smoke-free apartments.

King Properties decided to prohibit smoking in all 300 of the apartments, duplexes, condominiums and houses it manages in Davis. Renters are asked to sign a binding no-smoking agreement as part of their lease, said company president Rebecca King.

The November shooting of 19-year-old Monica Bentley at the Motel 6 in South Davis will be reenacted on an episode of "America's Most Wanted" set to air Apr. 26 at 9 p.m. on Fox.

The show will do a full re-enactment of the stalking and shooting that put Bentley in a wheelchair and nearly claimed her life.

"America's Most Wanted" came to Davis two months ago to film exterior shots for the re-enactment and to conduct interviews.

"[The show] spent a lot of money on this," said Ed Miller, a correspondent with the show. "It's done with a full-fledged crew; they hire actors and a big-name director who has done a couple Mel Gibson movies."

MONDAY

When a milk carton would be nice

Individual reported that daughter did not come home on Sunday night after speaking to her over the phone on Eel Place.

I lost mine, can I borrow yours?

Individual found partially torn and opened envelope in locked mailbox that contained a baby's birth certificate on Alegre Way.

Ending nearly two years of searching, the skeletal remains of former UC Davis professor emeritus John Finely Scott were discovered in a shallow grave near his home west of Davis last week, the Yolo County Sheriff Department announced Monday.

After receiving information regarding the possible location of the professor's body, investigators went to the site in question and dug up the skeletal remains Apr. 12, said Michelle Wallace, public affairs officer of the sheriff department.

At that point, forensic anthropologists from California State University, Chico working with the investigators took the remains to a lab at the university. DNA analysis performed by the deputy coroner of Yolo County confirmed that the remains were Scott's, Wallace said.

College students across California are organizing statewide demonstrations against education budget cuts.

A coalition group, Students for California's Future, is organizing demonstrations on Monday, Apr. 21 in Sacramento, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Diego.

In Sacramento, students will march from Raley Field in West Sacramento to the steps of the State Capitol, where they will hold a rally and press conference.

"This is something that everyone needs to hear, whether or not you're a student," said Stephanie Chan, president of Students for California's Future. "Education just isn't something we can afford to scrimp on."

On Mar. 28, Sacramento and 11 other U.S. cities were awarded with a $200,000, two-year Solar America Cities grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.

"It's a very prestigious award we got from the Department of Energy," said the assistant planner with the Sacramento Development Services Department, Jamie Cutlip. "It's a great honor and with this money we'll be able to work on bringing different solar initiatives forward in Sacramento."

Sacramento was chosen as a solar city out of a pool of over 30 applicants because it had been working on a number of policies that support solar power indirectly within the past year, in addition to having solar panels on a number of buildings in the city.