Opinion

Sacramento Sheriff’s Department should comply with records requests
EditorialJanuary 31, 2019
Sacramento Bee, Los Angeles Times sue for records under SB 1421 The Sacramento Bee and the Los Angeles Times recently filed a joint lawsuit against the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department for refusing to follow a 2018 statute that requires the release of records on deputies who fired their weapons or engaged in misconduct on duty. The […]

Humor: Jeff Bezos looks to virtual assistant, Alexa, to fix his marriage
HumorJanuary 31, 2019
Can Alexa save this marriage? Every day, more information about Jeff Bezos’ infamous affair with Lauren Sanchez hits the news cycle. However, what still remains a secret are the details of his divorce from his longtime wife, MacKenzie Bezos. According to credible sources, Jeff Bezos has been putting all his trust in his virtual assistant, […]

Letter to the Editor: Alumni share their memories of Lower Freeborn
EditorialJanuary 31, 2019
To the Editor: Re “Eulogy for The California Aggie newsroom” by Eli Flesch (guest op-ed, Jan. 10): Reading your column made me remember what a great experience it was to work on the paper, and it sounds like nothing has really changed. Back when I was an Aggie reporter, I remember coming across an old […]

Utility companies spark California fires
EditorialJanuary 31, 2019
Negligence at fault for lost lives, homes, land The Camp Fire in Paradise, Calif. took 86 lives and scorched 153,336 acres last November. Many were displaced when 13,972 residences and 4,821 buildings were destroyed. To date, the Butte County fire is the deadliest wildfire in California. The causes of the fire, however, were not natural. […]

The problem with plastic roads
ColumnJanuary 30, 2019
Counterintuitively, plastic roads increase our dependence on single-use plastics As the global population increases, the production of plastic does as well, with an average increase of 8.4 percent per year. This has lead to an astonishing amount of garbage collected on land, along the coasts and in oceans — culminating into disasters like the Great […]

Humor: Unitrans switches to really long tandem bikes instead of buses
HumorJanuary 30, 2019
If Noah had used this bike during the flood, he could have fit three of every animal After relentless harping by CALPIRG, Unitrans switched to using long tandem bicycles for transporting the good people of Davis. This wheely large undertaking did hit some proverbial bumps in the road. The average Unitrans bus was able to […]

Why farmers must use nitrogen fertilizers efficiently
ColumnJanuary 30, 2019
California has the worst air quality in the nation — mostly due to nitrogen oxide emissions Fertilizers for crops have been an achievement that has propelled society forward: about half the population of Earth is currently fed by the innovation of crop fertilizers. But the magnitude of this tool also has its implications. Plants can […]

Humor: Professor’s classic rant about packing up early works for the first time ever
HumorJanuary 30, 2019
Students actually take notes until professor excuses them A professor became enraged one day when his students began packing up when there were approximately three minutes of class left. He was getting to the most important part of an organic chemistry reaction when he heard a chorus of backpack zippers, shuffling papers and creaking desks. […]

Revisiting the curmudgeonly anger and totally acceptable, politically-incorrect vlugarities of George Carlin
ColumnJanuary 29, 2019
Why Carlin’s jokes work and why today’s PC police might crucify him regardless Benjamin Porter — bbporter@ucdavis.edu As one of my high school English teachers always said: “Technique is content.” For this reason, I think it’s essential for comedians to justify every stylistic choice they make. Too many comedians today are excessively profane, vulgar and […]

Humor: Unitrans J Line skips Alvarado stop to avoid opening top floor of double decker
HumorJanuary 29, 2019
“This bus is no longer in service. Have a good one!” In a monumental decision by first-year bus driver Buster Buseman, the Unitrans J Line skipped the major Alvarado stop on Tuesday morning to avoid opening the top layer of the double decker bus. The decision was made with pressure from Buseman’s charlie at the […]

Humor: UC Davis Love Lab unveils Shah’s-flavored condoms
HumorJanuary 29, 2019
Delicious chicken-over-rice flavored contraceptives promote safe sex among students With STI transmission rates climbing among college students, UC Davis’ Love Lab has taken on the task of promoting safe sex among Aggies. The solution? A partnership with the condom brand Trojan. “We’ve been trying for months, but we’ve finally conceived the perfect way to get […]

Oscar nominated films perpetuate inauthentic storytelling
EditorialJanuary 28, 2019
Academy, industry still has work to do As the Feb. 24 airing of the 91st Academy Awards rapidly approaches, the high-profile film awards show remains quagmired in a space that promotes both genuine progress and a love affair with the Academy’s customary white male dominance. This year, the Academy made a handful of nominations that […]

