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Tuesday, December 23, 2025
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Baseball Preview

Sports Editor
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Teams: UC Davis at Nevada

Records: Aggies, 20-25; Wolfpack, 30-19-1

Where: Peccole Park – Reno, Nev.

When: Today at 6 p.m.

Who to watch: The Aggies have a secret weapon.

His name? Seth Batty.

The freshman out of Fresno, Calif. is one of the most dynamic players on the UC Davis squad yet he’s only started 27 of the team’s 45 games. His .352 on base percentage ranks fifth among starters while his 10 stolen bases rank first by a wide margin. Aside from above average plate discipline and speed, Batty knows how to manufacture runs as his five sacrifice flies and his six sacrifice hits each rank first on the team.

Today, Batty will look to repeat a solid performance against the Wolfpack. When the two teams met earlier in the season, he went 1-for-3 with an RBI.

Did you know? Wolfpack starting catcher Michael Turay went to Davis Senior High School where he was teammate of Aggie reliever Scott Heinig.

Preview: UC Davis can’t seem to put it all together.

Though their bats have been good enough to win for most of the season, the Aggie pitching and defense has been too erratic to win consistently. It seems that when the starters are on their game, the bullpen falters and when the starters struggle, the bullpen is at its best.

This fact is highlighted by a weekend series against Cal Poly in which the three UC Davis starters combined to go 22.2 innings while allowing only five earned runs. In comparison, the bullpen went 7.1 innings and allowed seven earned runs.

“Those last six outs of the game are the hardest to get,” said coach Rex Peters. “Nobody on our staff wants to go get them.”

While the pitching searches for consistency, the UC Davis sluggers are doing enough to win.

The Aggies have a respectable .363 on base percentage as a team this season and they average to score 5.6 runs per game. The only problem that the positions players may have is defense as they average more than one error per contest.

UC Davis has been focusing on throwing strikes, playing defense and getting timely hits all season. They will need at least two of these three qualities if they hope to beat a tough Nevada squad.

Mark Ling

Aggie Digest: National Letters of Intent edition

Sports Editor
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UC Davis recently signed six players to National Letters of Intent. The 2009-2010 signing class includes four athletes from California and two from out of state.

The two from out of California are Meghan Jordan of Lake Oswego, Ore. and Jordan Majka from Lake Forest, Ill.

The four from The Golden State include Allison Langius of Palm Desert, Calif., Ashley Miller from Tustin, Calif., Lauren Nardi and Carly Voris, both of whom are from San Diego, Calif.

Women’s water polo

The Aggies added four athletes to their roster, including Martinez, Calif. native and Diablo Valley Athletic League Player of the Year Hannah Curan.

The Aggies also received NLI’s from Costa Mesa, Calif. native Katie Jackson and Erin Schlueter of Marin, Calif.

Men’s soccer

The program committed five to NLI’s for the 2010 season, including Ian Palmer of Tuscon, Ariz., who led his high school to the 2007 Arizona state championships.

Women’s soccer

The biggest winner of the spring signings was arguably the women’s soccer squad. The Aggies added eight players including Kiele Argente of San Luis Obispo, Calif., Hannah Hicks from Valencia, Calif. and Mary Beth Mazurek out of Ventura, Calif. UC Davis signed five other players earlier in the year for next year’s squad.

– Jason Alpert

Column: Everyone loves Big Oil

Opinion
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With oil still spewing into the Gulf of Mexico from the wreckage of a BP oilrig, speaking well of oil drilling seems like a losing proposal. The ruptured oil well has caused a great deal of harm to ecosystems and wildlife, and it has also considerably harmed BP and the economy in general. No wonder Big Oil has become a dirty word.

California has taken major steps to stop offshore oil drilling, and there’s currently a ban on the practice. This doesn’t mean, however, that we don’t greatly appreciate their business.

Not only do Californians continue to buy the products that depend on oil, but we’re also quite willing to make oil companies pay for a variety of services through taxation.

There has been a push recently by Representative Albert Torrico (D-Fremont) to enact a new 12.5 percent oil severance tax on offshore oil drillers. This means that any oil extracted from the earth is subject to immediate taxation. He has correctly pointed out that California is the only oil producing state that does not have such a tax. The money raised by this new tax would be tied directly to funding education. With the high profits that oil companies make, this sounds like a bonanza.

The idea of funding education while sticking it to Big Oil sounds too good to be true, and it probably is. There are several notable dangers that could harm not only the California economy, but also the future of education funding.

While it is true that California is alone in its lack of a severance tax, California oil companies do indeed pay a wide range of other taxes including property and corporate taxes. Adding a 12.5 percent severance tax would make California oil drillers among the most heavily taxed in the nation.

While I am sure that few people sympathize with oil companies for being heavily taxed, the effect of those taxes will have a financial impact on average Californians. A major problem with corporate taxes is that they are passed on to the consumer. Corporations collect the taxes, but the funding comes from people who buy their products.

Torrico’s bill exclaimed that this severance tax wouldn’t be passed on to the consumer. There is, however, no way to enforce this. Oil companies will always try to maximize their profits. Imposing new taxes could cause them to fire employees and increase the price of oil. Wage and price controls have a poor history of creating shortages and long lines at the gas pump. I’m sure nothing of that sort will be proposed.

Impact of high oil prices will mean more than just high prices when you fill up your gas tank. Owners of big, gas-guzzling SUVs might recognize the change most directly, but high oil prices raise the cost of all kinds of products.

Anything bought and sold that’s been carried by trucks or oil-producing vehicles could become more expensive. This includes produce and food products as well as other common household items.

Just a few years ago my parents had their carpet cleaned when oil prices were peaking. Normally the total expense was around $200. The incredibly high gas prices at the time provoked the carpet cleaning company to slap on an extra $60 surcharge in order to cover the cost of driving around their truck. This situation caused both parties to lose; my family had to pay out more to have our carpets cleaned and the small carpet cleaning company will lose business because the extra $60 charge will drive some customers away.

Another, perhaps overlooked, problem with this new oil severance tax is its direct link to education. Oil drilling has been decreasing significantly, and new laws have been created to further limit the practice. If education funding is tied directly to these taxes it might lead to a short term boost of education revenue, but what about 10 years from now? Becoming dependent on oil severance tax revenues while also trying to drive out oil drillers seems like a bad mix of policies for the future of the state.

Politicians who champion a tax on one of the most loathed businesses in California could become future advocates for Big Oil.

The unpredictability of future oil production and consumption could produce wild swings in revenue. This is, of course, one of the problems that we are facing today. Tax revenue might be coming in smoothly at first, but hit a bump in the road and we drive ourselves off a fiscal cliff.

JARRETT STEPMAN has won the victory over himself. He loves Big Oil. If you want to tell him what you think of Big Oil send him a comment at jstepman@ucdavis.edu.

Column: Say everything

Opinion
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I had a crisis last week when I realized that all of the contemporary Chinese-American fiction writers I can think of are immigrant women, with the exception of Ha Jin. I noticed this after I’d turned in my short story last week, told from the perspective of a Chinese-American immigrant woman talking about the Cultural Revolution.

The story is called “The Swim.” It’s about Chinese refugees during the ’70s who swam from the mainland to Hong Kong. I first heard about it from my parents, who told me stories about a couple from their church who swam to Hong Kong because they were persecuted for practicing western medicine. I later found out it was common around that time in the Guangzhou province. I wondered why I hadn’t ever learned about it.

I told my housemate Paul about it, and he said even his parents swam to Hong Kong to escape the Cultural Revolution. His Chinese name, Hoi-Leong, refers to the moonlight that his father used to measure how far he was from shore when he swam.

My brother Josh was the first one to read the story once I finished it. It was the best story I’ve written to date, and I thought I was the first one to write about Chinese refugees swimming to Hong Kong – until my brother told me over the phone that Lan Samantha Chang had already done it in her novella “Hunger.”

Lan Samantha Chang is the director of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, arguably the best Creative Writing MFA program in the nation. This is also the place that Josh is going to study over the summer with James Alan McPherson, the first short story writer and African American to win the Pulitzer Prize.

Perhaps it’s not a coincidence that Josh got into the program by submitting a story about a Chinese-American woman pastor. The last word makes it original.

“I didn’t tell you about ‘Hunger’ before, because I thought you wouldn’t have written it,” Josh said.

I felt a mix of relief and disappointment when he said it. He quickly snapped into motivational-speaker-Josh and said I shouldn’t be discouraged by unoriginality, but encouraged that a number of people are starting to write about a historical phenomenon few Americans – including the second generation Chinese – are aware of.

It’s as if this were the pain Olympics, where we were all competing with one another to see who could write the one Cultural Revolution story that defines our generation. As if genocides and death counts were all competing against each other to get coverage in the New York publishing industry.

I asked Josh what he thought about Chinese immigrant women monopoly, the most widely read group of all Asian-American fiction today. My theory was that they were able to sensitively talk about political warfare that didn’t involve the U.S. It’s the same reason why the forgiving Toni Morrison is much more widely read than the scathing James Baldwin or Edward P. Jones.

Josh’s theory was a lot simpler, and much more believable: Chinese women are the easiest to exoticize. When he said that, I wondered what my story was doing to challenge that.

Fiction writer Chimamanda Adiche said in a TED talk that the cultures that tell the most stories are the ones with the most power. They get to tell sad stories, happy stories, stories of suffering, stories of courage – each different perspectives that fully communicate the complexity of their culture. As a Nigerian-American writer, she is frustrated that the only stories from her culture that get broadcasted in America are of the poor, the starving, the overseas teenager living off the aid allowance of their first-world parents.

The fewer stories told, the easier it is to put the culture in a box. I thought about the fiction I’ve written over the past few years, and what stories I was telling. Then I thought about the columns I’ve written over the past year, and what stories I was telling about myself.

The fewer stories told, the easier it is to put the writer in a box. What do the cardboard walls I’ve written around me look like from the outside?

GEOFF MAK is disappointed that the best argument the Republicans could come up with against Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan is that she’s gay. E-mail him at gemak@ucdavis.edu if you’ve ever read Nami Mun’s “Miles From Nowhere” and can tell him if it’s worth a read.

Column: A hipster diary

Opinion
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This flap on my fucking finger is killing me. It’s a triangular piece of skin that’s decided to lift itself off of my index finger for no reason. It’s like a rogue piece of skin, deciding to forge a new path away from the fascist regime that was the corner of my nail.

I can’t even tell you how it happened. That’s what’s pissing me off. If I get chlamydia, I can pinpoint the person; if I get malaria, I can tell you a mosquito gave it to me while I was building the Panama Canal. But this skin flap bullshit? I have no fucking clue. Does it harbor anything against me? It’s just hanging out, and throbbing as fuck.

Anytime I use my index finger, I enter into a world of pain. So I generally mark it zero. But aside from my blatant Big Lebowski joke, it really is hard to suffocate this pain. It reminds me of my disgust of industrial sushi at Davis. I’ve heard (from a very reliable source) that the sushi that is sold in the sushi buffets in Davis is usually congealed with mayonnaise. From the California roll to the shredded crab meat roll, they’ve all got that good ‘ol fashioned mayo glue. Now that I think about this, it makes me dry heave: I don’t think I’m ever eating sushi in Davis again. Mayo is fucking disgusting. Ew.

You see, I love good sushi (or at least I think I do) and what that tells me is I’ve fallen in love with mayo and rice wrapped in a crispy avocado skin. What the fucking fuck. I’ve been duped. I’ve been had. How could they do this to me? Where can I get real sushi … but in buffet form? Does this even exist anymore? I feel like I’m posting an ad for casual encounters on Craigslist: it will lead to the same result (pooping v. sex), but the means by which you accomplish your deed matter greatly (eating mayo vs. using Craigslist).

So I’ve got to maintain some integrity here. Honestly, I have no idea where I’m going with this column and I’m not about to put on any airs: I’m sitting on a Lazy-Boy wrapped in a Snuggie while scratching my mosquito-bitten calves and watching “The Cosby Show” on WGN America. I’m also going to hand in this column two or three hours past my deadline. At this point, I’m assuming my editor won’t fire me because it’s not worth having a blank space run in place of my columns for the next two Tuesdays. Actually, I have no idea … maybe blank space is better. I’m probably fired already.

But I have to hand it to the king of Pudding (or was it Jell-O?): “The Cosby Show” always seems to impart a very Cosby-eque moral system to the viewers. That is, I’m more comfortable with myself now when I decide to replace common words with nonsense syllables. ASHUMBALAZIA.

Speaking of nonsense, I’m making Zataran’s right now. I even used a Soyrizo as the meat so I can safely say I was a vegan for two hours today. Aren’t you proud of me? Fuck yeah. That will totally cancel the $8 bratwurst I had at the Giants game this past Sunday.

In other news, I went to the dentist for the first time in five years (this is nowhere near my friend Loaf’s record – a solid decade without seeing a dentist) and I must happily report that I have ZERO cavities (Loaf had FOUR cavities after his long-awaited dental encounter). BUT…I do have mild periodontitis, which is basically like super gingivitis and can lead to bone loss (Is this correct? Is there a dentist who’s reading this? Ayudame, por favor.).

Seriously, are you still reading this? I’ve just turned this week into my shitty hipster moleskine diary entry for chrissakes and you’re still reading. Wow.

DAVE KARIMI also got a BILLY MAYS (HERE) bobblehead at the Giants game. He is resolving to never open that shit because it might be worth some fucking money someday. He also picked up one of the better cups that people leave on the floor after the game. That shit is even dishwasher safe. Booya. He can be reached at dkarimi@ucdavis.edu.

Editorial: Gmail Privacy

Opinion
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UC Davis halted a two-month long trial of Google’s Gmail earlier this month for faculty and staff due to fears regarding Google’s privacy policies. However, Gmail simply has no peers and is an asset to the UC Davis faculty, staff and student body alike.

The cited cause for concern is that Google uses private information to generate content-related advertisements. As a result, some faculty and staff are worried that their privacy could be compromised.

In addition, Gmail has been subject to international scrutiny after releasing Buzz, its social networking feature. The controversy stems from the fact that it automatically sets up a list of followers based on a private contact list. According to privacy commissioners from 10 different countries, Buzz proves that Google taps into personal information without asking. As a result of these concerns, UC Davis is exploring alternative options including creating its own email system.

While it is encouraging that UC Davis is showing concern over the privacy of its faculty and staff, tangible evidence that Google has breached their confidentiality does not exist. In fact, the Google-based Davis Mail system prohibits the inclusion of both advertisements and Buzz so there is little cause for concern.

It is imperative that both students and faculty possess the best possible e-mail system in order to communicate efficiently. Though Davis Mail will remain on campus for now, a university-created e-mail system used by faculty and staff would likely be far inferior to Gmail. The new system could potentially be less secure than the existing Gmail system.

Rather than overreacting based on fear, UC Davis should attempt to work with Google to address privacy concerns. Any institution of UC Davis’ standards deserves only the highest quality tools.

Yolo Fruit Stand picks fresh produce for locals

Features Editor
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If you drive out Country Road 32b, you’ll pass fields of knee high grass, plowing tractors and a field of strawberries.

Just beyond, on the fringes of Davis, you’ll come across The Yolo Fruit Stand -known to locals for its variety, quality and low prices. The stand is a family-owned business that supplies a wide selection of fresh fruits and vegetables, dried fruits, nuts, honey, eggs, coffee, smoothies, tortillas, wines and other specialty foods to Yolo County.

Maria Tsousis owns the stand with her husband and her family often comes in to lend a helping hand with the business.

Tsousis emigrated from Greece over 30 years ago, and while she’s only owned the stand for three years, her husband has been in the produce business for 30 years.

“People think ‘stand’ and they think it might have a small selection, but then people come in and see all their choices and they like that,” Tsousis said.

Variety is something that Tsousis is very proud of. From peeled garlic to caramel cashew cranberry trail mix to 100 percent squeezed fruit juice, the stand has something for every taste bud.

Tsousis also makes it a point to sell Persian, Italian and Greek foods.

“I cover all the cultures because I have different people come in,” she said.

The wide selection of fruits and vegetables are often locally grown. Farms from Lodi, Dixon, Stockton, Woodland and Davis all provide products for her stand.

“People like that the fruits and the veggies are local,” Tsousis said. “Whatever’s seasonal is local.”

Because Tsousis likes to provide her customers with a choice, she sells both organic and non-organic fruits and vegetables. She also aims to keep prices low for her customers by providing 10 percent off coupons.

Tsousis said even as the owner of the stand, she likes to work the cashier to get to know her customers better.

“The same customers come in … I recognize their faces,” she said. Tsousis teaches high school math and helps out at the stand after school. Treating people with respect is a big part of both her jobs and her life.

“One connects to the other, just like math,” Tsousis said. “You start from the bottom and are nice to workers and customers and that’s how you build a business.”

One regular customer, Chi Chien, a recent Ph.D. graduate from UC Davis, brings his family to shop at the local stand.

Chien called the products “fresh and cheap” and appreciates the agricultural variety.

“We have compared a couple of these [stands], and I think this is the best one,” Chien said.

Chien isn’t the only one who brings his family with him to the fruit stand. Hong Yong Zhang, an employee at the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento brings in his wife and daughter.

“I like to shop here for the fresh produce and the lower prices,” Zhang said.

Jaclyn Golemohammadi, a senior nutritional biochemistry major, comes to shop once a week.

“I buy a lot of produce and when I go to Safeway or the Nugget, it’s really expensive. It adds up really quickly,” Golemohammadi said. “But here, I get great deals on a lot of produce and it’s awesome.”

The Yolo Fruit Stand is about 6.3 miles away from campus and can be seen from Interstate 80 toward Sacramento.

Tsousis’ favorite part of owning Yolo Fruit Stand is hearing happy customers.

“If I talk to the customers or I walk around and I hear someone say ‘It’s amazing’ or ‘I can’t believe it,’ ” Tsousis said. “That’s what makes me happy; that’s what keeps me going.”

KATIE DARFLER can be reached at features@theaggie.org.

Aggie Daily Calendar

Features Editor
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TODAY

House Peer Counseling Center Meditation Classes

10:30 to 11 a.m.

House Peer Counseling Center

Join the HPCC for free meditation classes. Students of all levels and experience are welcome.

Conversations with Author Paul McHugh

4 to 6 p.m.

126 Voorhies

Listen to award winning Bay Area writer Paul McHugh, brought to you by the University Writing Program.

Engineers without Borders Dine for a Cause

5 to 9 p.m.

Uncle Vito’s, 524 Second St.

Join Engineers without Borders and a portion of your food and beverage purchases will be donated to them.

Expression Redefined

6:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Griffin Lounge, Memorial Union

Showcase your talents! Writers, poets, visual artists, musicians, comedians and filmmakers are welcome to display creative workings with Nameless Magazine.

Mobility Open Workshop

10 p.m. to midnight

Pavilion

Head on over to the southeast corner in the Pavilion to work with Mobility in their workshop.

WEDNESDAY

Biological Sciences Networking Fair

11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

North Side of Sciences Laboratory

Get help deciding which life science major is right for you! Find out information about how to obtain internships in your field.

Eighth Annual Excellence in Education Awards Ceremony

7 p.m.

Cabernet Room, Silo

Join the Academic Affairs Commission as they honor teachers with awards for excellence.

Finance and Investment Club’s Third Annual Career Panel

8 p.m.

1002 Giedt

Get a jumpstart on post graduation plans and make valuable connections with successful professionals. Attire is business casual.

Showing of The Matter of Taste

8 p.m.

Wyatt Pavilion Theatre

The department of theatre and dance presents The Matter of Taste. Tickets are $11 presale and $13 at the door for students.

THURSDAY

Prytanean Women’s Honor Society Membership Drive

3:30 p.m.

davisprytanean.org

Are you studying abroad fall quarter? Apply to be part of Prytanean, a scholastic and community service oriented organization for undergraduate women! More information can be found at davisprytanean.org.

Biomedical Engineering Seminar

4 p.m.

1005 Genome and Biomedical Science Facility

The department of biomedical engineering cordially invites you to Dr. Lori Setton from Duke University’s talk about thermally responsive biopolymers for intra-articular drug delivery.

Reading by Carrie Rudzinski and April Ranger

8 p.m.

John Natsoulas Gallery, 521 First St.

Listen to poetry readings as a part of the poetry night reading series.

Showing of The Matter of Taste

8 p.m.

Wyatt Pavilion Theatre

The department of theatre and dance presents The Matter of Taste. Tickets are $11 presale and $13 at the door for students.

Mobility Auditions

10 p.m. to midnight

Pavilion

Audition for Mobility in the southeast corner in the Pavilion!

To receive placement in the AGGIE DAILY CALENDAR, e-mail dailycal@theaggie.org or stop by 25 Lower Freeborn by noon the day prior to your event. Due to space constraints, all event descriptions are subject to editing, and priority will be given to events that are free of charge and geared toward the campus community.

Sewer and water rates expected to go up this summer

City Editor
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While sewer and water rates are expected to go up this summer, the city will first discuss the details of the 2010-2011 General Fund budget.

The Davis City Council voted to postpone a public hearing on the rate increases until May 25, which is also the date for the new fiscal year’s final budget adoption.

The city expects to collect approximately $12 million for sewer and $11 million for water.

If approved, sewer rates will go up by approximately $1.23 per month for the average single-family home during the winter season. Single-family homes currently account for approximately 51 percent of sewer revenues, according to the city staff report.

Water rates would increase by $1.76 per month, for the average single-family home, which accounts for approximately 58 percent of water revenues.

The new rates would be effective Aug. 1.

Sue Gedestad, assistant Public Works director, said the rate increases are necessary to generate revenue for operations and maintenance. Specifically, sewer revenues will fund the Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade Project, a task she said the city has pursued for over six years.

Improvements are necessary at the plant in order to comply with the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit that is issued by the state of California, Gedestad said.

“The permit dictates the quality of the water we are discharging out of the wastewater treatment plant,” she said.

Additionally, water revenues will fund the ongoing Woodland-Davis surface water project.

Water and sewer revenues are collected in funds that can only be used for the respective utilities projects.

Money from the sewer and water revenues will go toward operations, maintenance, repairs and replacements. Sewer revenue will also contribute to wastewater treatment, while water revenue will contribute to the surface water project.

Councilmember Stephen Souza said the postponement to May 25 was made because some councilmembers wanted to examine the operating and management portions of these budgets and see if the rate increases could be lowered.

Ninety percent of the rate increases are associated with capital improvements, while only 10 percent is associated with operations and management.

Souza said the surface water component of the projects would help to lower sewer rates in the coming years.

“That [surface water] that goes down the sewer drain will be better than what we have going down currently,” he said.

Surface water has much lower salinity and alkalinity than groundwater, meaning that in future years the city will not have to pay to remove salt or adjust the pH of sewer water to comply with state regulations, Souza said.

Councilmember Lamar Heystek said that with every incremental rate increase, no matter how modest, there is a cumulative effect.

“[The rate increases] could turn into a significant increase five years from now,” he said.

Heystek said that the issue is not about whether one is for or against these projects, but rather evaluating their scope and timing. Heystek favored postponement of the public hearing in order to get a clearer picture on the overall budget.

Students living in apartment complexes in Davis may not necessarily see a monthly water bill.

“Students have to be mindful that they pay water and sewer rates through monthly rent, so it’s just as relevant to them as single-family homes,” Heystek said.

Max Connor, a co-owner of the Laundry Lounge on 1801 Hanover Dr., said the rate increases will make it more difficult to run his small business.

“I am frustrated because [the city’s] only solution is just to tax the taxpayer,” he said. “We have absolutely no say whatsoever.”

While Connor agreed with Souza in that the surface water project will help reduce sewer rates long-term, he said that his business would be adversely affected by the short-term increases to help fund the project.

“I am a small business owner and I can’t wait 15 years for the sewer rates to go down a bit,” he said.

CHINTAN DESAI can be reached at city@theaggie.org.

POLICE BRIEFS

City Editor
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THURSDAY

Buzz-kill

Two individuals were in custody for shoplifting two energy drinks on East Covell Boulevard.

Dear Abby…

A resident on Huerta Place requested to speak to an officer for advice about her minor son.

FRIDAY

JERRY! JERRY!

Police made contact regarding advice about a daughter and her ex on Glide Drive.

Environmentally unfriendly

Someone picked up a planter on G Street and threw it at a business vehicle.

Just bird watching

A male subject with binoculars was seen on Cowell Boulevard and El Cemonte Avenue.

SATURDAY

Berry illegal

A strawberry vendor was selling without a permit on Lillard Drive and Danbury Street.

Too much sun

Someone was reported wandering around and talking to herself on E Street. She appeared to be very sunburned.

Shit happens

A female subject defecated in a store on D Street.

SUNDAY

Made ya look!

Someone was approached by a young female with long blonde hair and said she was trying to get to Oakland and needed money. The respondent left her vehicle to go across the street to a bank to get her a $20. When she returned and gave her the money she realized her purse was missing out of her vehicle on F Street.

Going in circles

A college-aged female with black hair, a black top, a short plaid skirt, black leggings with her arms folded across her chest had been circling around a tree in the respondent’s yard for over half an hour. Her dark-colored bike was lying down. The resident asked if she was okay, and she said yes. She continued circling.

POLICE BRIEFS are compiled by POOJA KUMAR from the public logs of the Davis Police Department and are based on the official version of what happened. The crime blotter is online at cityofdavis.org/police. This segment appears Tuesdays.

County may require cat owners to register

City Editor
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The Yolo County Board of Supervisors is looking at every possible source of revenue to help balance the struggling budget, including requiring cat owners to license their cats.

Though this plan has not been officially proposed, it was brought up for consideration at the May 11 Board of Supervisors meeting.

Control of the rabies prevention program used to be shared between the Yolo County Sheriff’s Department and the Yolo County Health Department, but budget cuts have resulted in decreased funding, and primary responsibility has been moved to the Sheriff’s Department.

Yolo County is a “rabies endemic” area; rabies has been proven to exist in local wildlife.

“This is an essential program,” said Assistant County Administrator Pat Leary. “Overall funding is down significantly, including ‘realignment’ revenue, which helps pay for the rabies program.”

Several other California counties currently require cat owners to license their pets. Instating a cat licensing program would bring revenue with a licensing fee – $1.50 for altered (spayed/neutered) pets and $2.50 for unaltered pets.

“Sacramento County has a cat licensing fee, and it gathers a significant portion of revenue for animal services,” said Yolo County Supervisor Helen Thomson.

The issue is not simply black and white, however.

“Licensing cats is a very emotional issue – people’s hair gets on fire over it,” said Thomson.

Yolo County currently requires dogs to be licensed but not cats. This results in more lost dogs than cats being redeemed, said Yolo County Animal Shelter Manager Vicky Fletcher. If an unlicensed cat is found or hit by a car, for example, there is usually a slim chance that the owner will be notified.

“This would give cat owners the ability to provide identification and ownership of their pet,” Fletcher said. “Cats have a very low recovery rate, which is sad.”

Many members of the Board of Supervisors were skeptical of implementing a cat-licensing program. Supervisor Mike McGowan said he was 97 percent opposed to the issue, and Supervisor Matt Rexroad said he was 99 percent opposed.

“Do we have to license beavers, too?” said Supervisor Duane Chamberlain at the meeting. “Coyotes?”

Thomson is in favor of exploring the issue, however.

“I don’t mind a cat license program, but I need to know more about it,” she said. “We’re looking at every possible source of revenue we can.”

Leary said the county will be analyzing the pros and cons of this issue before making a decision.

“We’ll be talking to other counties who implemented this program or chose not to,” she said.

SARAH HANSEL can be reached at city@theaggie.org.

Stage 2 Amgen Tour of California

City Editor
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The Stage 2 Start of the Amgen Tour of California kicked off yesterday with a festival in Central Park. At 11 a.m., a group of 950 -racers and their entourages – sped through downtown, making their way through Russell Boulevard.

Brett Lancaster for the Cervelo team won the second stage in Santa Rosa after a 110-mile trek.

The course took teams over four categorized climbs, such as the Category 2 Howell and Trinity Grade and Howell Road.

“This has been the highlight of my season today,” said Davis resident Max Jenkins, for UnitedHealthcare Team at the start. At 23 years, Jenkins is one of the Best Young Riders, as determined by Amgen, on the tour.

HTC’s Mark Cavendish, from Great Britain, won Stage 1 on Sunday from Nevada City to Sacramento. Two crashes on the last circuit held back many, including Quickstep’s Tom Boonen.

The tour was pushed back by a month to avoid the chance of April showers, but raindrops fell on the crowd anyway in the few minutes leading up to the start.

“I promise it’s not going to rain until after 2:30 p.m.,” joked Mayor Ruth Asmundson. “If it does I will resign as mayor.”

Stage 3 begins today at 11:15 a.m. at Ocean Beach in San Francisco, taking racers down Highway 1 on the coastline and ends 120 miles later through the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.

Senators deliberate over ASUCD budget

Campus Editor
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ASUCD began its annual budget hearings last weekend, reviewing the budgets of all units on campus, such as the Bike Barn, AGTV and Picnic Day.

The total operating budget for next year is $10.5 million. Senators will vote on the final budget at their meeting Thursday at 6 p.m. in the Mee Room.

“Many of the [cuts] were more like reallocations to different units,” said Controller Joey Chen, who presented the budget to senators and a management team.

Writers from The California Aggie Campus Desk attended the meetings and compiled a summary of events.

Friday

The senate began with Lobby Corps’ budget. Lobby Corps saw no dramatic change in their subsidy this year. However, the senate amended pay for internal and external directors, lowering their pay from $49 per week to $42 per week and closed the budget.

The senate also closed the budgets for the Coffee House, Refrigerator Services, Bike Barn and Campus Copies/Classical Notes without significant changes.

“I wanted to point out a trend in tonight’s suggestions, and that is that we’ve been pushing to cut student pay,” said senator Levi Menovske said. “We shouldn’t attack the students that are already getting paid significantly less than they should.”

Whole Earth Festival had the same budget as last year’s budget because they won’t know how much income they brought in until all the figures from the festival arrive. Chen suggested tentatively closing the budget and reopening it when the directors can determine better numbers.

The Campus Center for the Environment (CCE) petitioned for an increased budget for the next year. Debate centered on the salaries of four new positions created for the 2010-2011 budget. The unit currently has two paid positions currently filled by three individuals. Proposals were made to cut the program director and add three new spots.

The senate closed discussion for the night and returned to the CCE budget on Saturday.

Saturday

The senate continued budget hearings on Saturday by first considering the budget of Creative Media, which concluded without much deliberation.

The senate then motioned to consider the budget for the Campus Center for the Environment (CCE).

CCE co-director Lauren Jabusch, said it was important to fund the positions, stressing a message of urgency to come to a decision.

“Our core issue is that as a campus is floundering in the environmental sea,” Jabusch said. “It’s becoming apparent we need to do more now, rather than later. I know that three directors or five employees will not save the world but it is a step in the right direction.”

Unable to come to a decision, the senate temporarily closed consideration of the CCE budget and moved to the Tipsy Taxi budget. However, errors on budget printouts created confusion about the pay-rate of Tipsy Taxi dispatchers and manager, at which the senate closed consideration to re-calculate the totals.

Senators then returned to consideration of CCE.

Both Business and Finance Commission Chair Jeff Williams and senator Adam Thongsavat and presented separate budgets. Williams said that his plan would cost less but said he did not know where the money would come from.

Thongsavat’s revised budget eventually passed and the CCE budget was closed.

Next up for discussion was the budget for University Affairs. President Zwald proposed a plan that would remove $800 from the voter registration budget. When Menovske questioned this decision, Zwald reminded the senate of the ASUCD deficit and said that other campus groups do a better job of voter registration for free.

Tensions ran high at one point as Menovske pointed out Zwald’s membership in the Davis College Democrats as a reason that he may want to cut the voter registration budget from University Affairs.

Zwald responded with evident anger at what he described as a personal attack on management. Menovske later apologized.

The senate decided to create a new line item in the budget that would be entitled “elections” and would include money for both voter registration and voting.

The budget for Project Compost was closed fairly quickly without significant changes.

Discussion got heated again when the senate began debating AGTV’s budget. Many senators advocated for the creation of a web-master position to maintain the group’s webpage but cited the deficit as an obstacle that may make it difficult to create a salaried position.

Senator Don Ho and Alison Tanner were some of AGTV’s biggest proponents, each confident that allocating funds for a webmaster would increase sales and income. Ho proposed an amendment to expand AGTV’s budget, which was eventually agreed upon.

The ASUCD Post Office budget was only slightly changed to reflect the post office’s eight-hour workdays instead of seven-hour workdays. The senate also discussed and closed the Picnic Day and the Experimental College budgets without any changes.

The senators discussed the 2010-2011 budget for the ASUCD Book Exchange with Director Tonhu Do.

The initial budget had a $1,531 deficit, which the senate resolved by making cuts in compensation, closing the budget with a $219 surplus and a decreased subsidy by approximately $13,000.

In an effort to avoid problems that arose this time last year, the senate made changes to the Grants budget that allows for the Cross Cultural Center and the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Resource Center to organize community-specific graduation programs. A council will be created to see to the allotment of said funds.

Sunday

Zwald allocated $11,707 for senate reserves – just above the minimum $11,706.90. Senate reserves are mainly comprised of money collected from students as part of their campus-based fees. Zwald said that it seemed logical to cut from senate reserves to fill out the budget cuts since senate frequently has money left over.

In the student government budget, Zwald added a web director and changed the webmaster’s salary into a stipend. The senate voted to make $200 worth of pay cuts to SGAO.

Senators then debated how the surplus money should be allocated to student government commissions.

Sarah Raridon, chair of the Gender and Sexuality Commission (GASC) presented the ASUCD senators with a proposed GASC budget, hoping for an increase in funding.

While the LGBTRC, which works in conjunction with GASC, recently received funds from Chancellor Linda Katehi, Raridon said this new money would only barely cover the costs of what she described as an already struggling resource center.

Senators eventually approved increased funds to GASC. The commission was allocated $1,100 from a budget surplus.

The senate then closed the budgets for The California Aggie, The Vice President’s fund, UNITRANS, City and County Affairs and the General Administration’s fund.

Chen announced several changes to the KDVS budget, amounting to a $41,467 subsidy. KDVS General Manager Kevin Corrigan was pleased with the budget allotment, which left ASUCD senators with a surplus of $1,056.

Cal Aggie Camp’s budget was somewhat contentious, as both program representatives expressed that the allotted budget for mailing, copying, printing, transportation and the assistant director’s position were inadequate. Upon a proposal from Menovske, the mailing budget was raised from $100 to $150 and the copying and printing budget from $50 to $150 using the surplus funds. Also, undocumented profits from Greek philanthropy contributions added a line item of $3,000, which the Cal Aggie Camp director asked be used to increase the food budget from $10,000 to $13,000. Overall, the subsidy for this unit amounted to $22,124, with senators promising to revisit the possibility of allotting additional funds once the final surplus was determined.

Zwald proposed cutting his own budget by 15 percent, entirely eliminating the Director of Special Projects position and reducing spending on transportation, office supplies and staff pay.

Menosvke sought to increase the $906 budget surplus by potentially eliminating the position of Kevin Pascual, director of public affairs for the executive office.

“It seems as if there are already people that fulfill the duties of [this] position,” Menovske said. “We need to think of ways to increase this surplus so that funds can be redirected to units that need them.”

When asked for his opinion on achieving this goal, Zwald said that as long as the budgets of his staff remained untouched, he would be amenable to a pay reduction or even a complete elimination of his salary.

Senator Abrham Castillo-Ruiz motioned to reduce office of the president line item “administration program expenses” from $1,000 to $500 and line item “services rendered” down to $300 from $600, resulting in a final budget surplus of $1,706.

Castillo-Ruiz motioned to amend the line item for anonymous HIV testing from the previously-allotted $400 to $1205 as well as increase the Ethnic and Cultural Affairs Commission budget by $100.

In addtion, Castilllo-Ruiz motioned to a pay raise totaling $461 for the year, including benefits, for the staff of the AS Papers unit. Menovske was the sole senator in objection, arguing that it was fiscally irresponsible to be increasing the pay for positions in some units while eliminating positions in others.

The remaining $340 surplus was divided between a motion by senator Bree Rombi to allot $200 for the Student Recruitment and Retention Center to host leadership conferences and motions by Thongsavat to give $100 to the Environmental Planning and Policy Commission, as well as $40 to the Internal Affairs Commission. All three motions passed with a 10-1-1 vote, with Ho absent and Menovske in opposition.

Controller Joey Chen proposed an amendment to shave $1,000 off the Tipsy Taxi unit’s budget of $9,010. Juarez motioned for Chen’s proposed amendment, which passed unanimously.

The budget hearings adjourned at 8:36 p.m.

Members of the CAMPUS DESK can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

Senate Briefs

Campus Editor
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ASUCD Senate Meetings are scheduled to begin Thursdays at 6:10 p.m. Times listed are according to the clock at the May 13 meeting location, the Memorial Union’s Mee Room.

Meeting called to order at 6:12 p.m.

Jack Zwald, ASUCD president, absent

Previn Witana, ASUCD vice president, present

Abrham Castillo-Ruiz, ASCUD senator, present, left 6:39, returned 6:41, left 6:49, returned 6:58, left 7:12, returned 7:16, left 7:29, returned 7:31, left 8:04, returned 8:05, left 10:20, returned 10:22, left 11:13, returned 11:16, left 12:05, returned 12:06, left 12:27, returned 12:29

Adam Thongsavat, ASUCD senator, arrived late at 6:15

Alison Tanner, ASUCD senator, present, left at 10:38, returned 10:40

Andre Lee, ASUCD senator, present, left 6:30, returned 6:32, left 10:24, returned 10:29

Bree Rombi, ASUCD pro tempore, present

Don Ho, ASUCD senator, arrived late at 6:17, late from break scheduled to end at 7:30, left 8:03, returned 8:06

Joel Juarez, ASUCD senator, present

Levi Menovske, ASUCD senator, present, left 11:34, returned 11:37

Liz Walz, ASUCD senator, present, returned from break late at 7:29

Osahon Ekhator, ASUCD senator, present, left 8:35, returned 8:37

Ozzy Arce, ASUCD senator, present

Selisa Romero, ASUCD senator, present, left 6:51, returned 6:52, returned from break late at 7:29, returned late from break 10:55, left 12:38, returned 12:44

Appointments and confirmations

Matthew Blair was confirmed director of University Affairs Commission.

Unit Director Reports

Director of Cal Aggie Camp, Wendy Wang, said there are 22 new counselors who underwent training and additional staff members were also added.

Consideration of old legislation

SB #67 authored by Lee, co-authored by Steve Burkel, introduced by Lee, an ASUCD Senate Bill to allocate $11,081.27 from Capital Reserves to purchase Point of Sales (POS) equipment and services for the Bike Barn, passed unanimously.

SB #62, authored by Jeysree Ramachandran, co-authored by Joey Chen, Maemura, Menovske, Kristin Stone, introduced by Juarez, to implement the Long-Range Plan for Cal Aggie Camp, passed unanimously.

SB #64, authored by Ho, co-authored by Josh Mezhvinsky, Daniel Fontaine, introduced by Ho, an ASUCD Senate Bill to allocate $3,799.00 from Capital Reserves to purchase a new Panasonic AG HVX-200 high-definition digital video camera for AGTV, passed unanimously.

SB #69, authored by Tanner, co-authored by Heidi Kuccera, Shawdee Rouhafza, introduced by Tanner, an ASUCD Senate Bill to allocate $420.00 from Senate Reserves to rent the UC Davis Conference Center Ballroom AB&C for the Athletes Townhall Forum, passed unanimously.

SR #36, authored by Gender and Sexuality Commission (Sarah Raridon), introduced by GASC to support the increase of the GASC’s program budget in order to ensure adequate funding for the Queer Leadership Retreat and Lavender Graduation, failed with a 6-7 vote.

SB #70 authored and introduced by Castillo-Ruiz, co-authored by Nancy Le and Daphne Nguyen to allocate $1,153.00 from Senate Reserves to the Southeast Asian Graduation, passed with an 11-1 vote.

SB #63, authored and introduced by Ekhator, co-authored by Eloyscia Ratliff, to allocate $1,000.00 from Senate Reserves to Black Family Week for Black Family Day 2010 on May 22 failed with a 5-7 vote.

SB #66 authored and introduced by Castillo-Ruiz, co-authored by Mo Torres, to allocate $1,351.00 from Senate Reserves to the Chicano/o and Latina/o Graduation, passed with a 11-1 vote.

SB #71 authored by Quinten Voyce, introduced by Rombi to alter the structure, design and duties of the Outreach Assembly passed with a 11-1 vote.

SB #68 authored by Witana, co-authored by Rombi, introduced by the Internal Affairs Commission, to update the duties of the Vice President and the Senate President Pro-tempore, passed unanimously.

Introduction of New Legislation

SB #X, authored by Tanner, co-authored by Repicky, introduced by Tanner, an ASUCD Senate Bill to create a Special Committee, the Aggie Public Arts Committee.

SR #21 authored by Kimelman,co-authored by Patrizio, introduced by Lee, an ASUCD Senate Resolution to officially support senate Bill#1045 authored by California State Senator Elaine Alquist.

SR #?? Authored by Kimelman, co-authored Patrizio, introduced by Lee, an ASUCD Senate Resolution to officially award the ASUCD Lobby Corps Legislator of the Year Award to California State Senator Jeff Denham.

A bill, authored by Internal Affairs Commission, co-authored by Adam Loberstein, Mahood, Mark Ling, Tanner, Joey Cheng, introduced by Tanner, to implement the Long-Range Plan for The California Aggie.

An ASUCD Senate Bill, authored by Juarez, introduced by Juarez, to allocate $1,204.83 from Senate Reserves to support the continuation of Health Education and Promotion’s (HEP) anonymous HIV testing on the UC Davis campus.

Public Discussion

Lee said proposed bills should have proper quotes and that those without should be “an automatic table.” Lee said everyone has a veto over how much each senator can scrutinize, and can object and state their reason.

Witana said the only way to stop the bleeding of funds through cutting is to start raising fees or to look at where the organization is going.

Menovske said senators should not use members of the public to get on the speaker’s list.

Rombi said senators concerned with scrutiny of their bills should look at other bills with similar intensity.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:33 a.m.

LESLIE TSAN and BECKY PETERSON compiled the Senate Briefs. They can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.

Aggies garner postseason berth

Sports Editor
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After splitting a doubleheader on Friday, UC Davis finished out its historic regular season Saturday with a loss.

The two defeats marked the Aggies’ first Big West Conference series loss this season, and yet, coach Karen Yoder was not shaken.

“I’m so proud of the dedication of the players and their commitment to put the time, energy and effort into bringing this program up to what it is now,” Yoder said. “I’m so appreciative of them, my staff and every player that comes before them.”

Friday – Game 1: UC Santa Barbara 6, UC Davis 0

It just took two long shots in game one for the Gauchos to shut out the Aggies.

Freshman pitcher Dana Waldusky held UCSB scoreless until the third frame.

That’s when Gaucho Jessica Beristianos hit a grand slam to give UCSB the lead.

The Gauchos never looked back as they added a two-run homer in the fifth to make the score 6-0.

Kylie Fan delivered two of the Aggies’ three hits, and Kelly Harman had the other.

Friday – Game 2: UC Davis 4, UC Santa Barbara 3

By virtue of a Cal State Northridge loss in the first game of its series, the Aggies remained one game ahead of the Matadors in the standings despite the loss.

So all the Aggies needed was a game-two win or a Matador loss to clinch both the league title and the NCAA tournament bid.

A game-two win was what they got.

“It challenged us,” Yoder said of the 4-3 comeback. “We’ve done that a number of times this year where we had to battle back at the plate and help our pitchers and scoreboard out.”

After the Gauchos scored a run in the top of the first, Sarah Axelson delivered an RBI-single to tie it in the bottom of the frame.

In the top of the second, UCSB scored a pair of unearned runs to make the score 3-1.

Elizabeth Santana responded with an RBI-triple in the second half of the inning to drive in Harman and bring the Aggies within one run at 3-2.

The Aggies held the Gauchos scoreless for the rest of the game while tacking on two more runs in what would eventually be a 4-3 victory.

Alex Holmes pitched the complete-game victory, allowing the Gauchos to make just five hits while striking out four. The victory boosted Holmes to 16-8 on the season and a perfect 9-0 in conference play.

Saturday – UC Santa Barbara 7, UC Davis 2

UC Davis honored seniors Axelson, Marissa Araujo and Michelle Espiritu on Saturday in the final home game of the 2010 campaign.

In addition to Araujo’s RBI in the fourth inning and game-tying homer in the bottom of the seventh, each senior contributed a hit to the Aggies’ total of eight.

Araujo’s homerun was enough to keep the Aggies alive until the top of the eighth when the Gauchos rallied for five runs.

Despite the loss, Yoder is pleased with her graduating veterans.

“They’re true anchors of our team,” Yoder said. “I’m extremely proud of them in what they’ve contributed to this university, and I’m so happy [the NCAA bid] could happen in their senior year.”

While it was the last home game for three players, the season isn’t quite over yet. The NCAA Tournament begins with 16 four-team regionals this week, followed by eight super-regionals the following week. The winners of the super-regionals advance to the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City June 3 to 9.

GRACE SPRAGUE can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.

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