enterprise THE DAVIS
FRIDAY, MAY 21, 2021
Focus turns to vaccinehesitant BY ANNE TERNUS-BELLAMY Enterprise staff writer
Jan. 26-27, 2021, blew down aging wooden backyard fences at hundreds of Davis homes. During subsequent months, many homeowners went into “sticker shock” as they reviewed bids to rebuild the fallen fencing. One busy local handyman, who requested anonymity, told The Enterprise that some customers have postponed replacing the fallen fencing (hoping that lumber prices will eventually come down, at least a bit), while others are exploring other options, like metal fencing. Local homebuilder Don Fouts, preparing to break ground on his long-planned
Yolo County residents who were the most motivated to get a COVID19 vaccine have largely done so as eligibility has expanded in recent weeks. More than half of county residents (52 percent) had received at least one dose as of Sunday, including thousands of 12- to 15-year-olds who became eligible just a week ago. But that still leaves nearly half of county residents unvaccinated and the rate of vaccination has slowed since April. “The decrease in vaccine uptake in Yolo County is due to a decrease in demand among adults,” said Yolo County Health Officer Dr. Aimee Sisson. “Adults who are enthusiastic about getting vaccinated have nearly all been vaccinated already, leaving only those who are lukewarm, hesitant or resistant to the COVID-19 vaccine left unvaccinated.” And Yolo County is not alone. “According to a recent poll conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California, those living in the Central Valley are more hesitant than those living in other parts of California to get vaccinated, with 28 percent indicating they will wait a year before getting vaccinated or won’t get vaccinated at all,” said Sisson. “This
SEE CONSTRUCTION, PAGE A7
SEE HESITANT, PAGE A7
School district officials break ground on the new Willett Elementary MPR. ENTERPRISE FILE PHOTO
Construction sees soaring costs BY JEFF HUDSON Enterprise correspondent An unprecedented spike in the price of construction materials — affecting everything from planks of lumber to PVC piping — is rippling through the economy, and the impacts are being felt locally, nationally and internationally. The big price rise is caused by a variety of factors. The COVID pandemic is a major culprit — temporarily shutting down many sawmills for a time. The pandemic simultaneously triggered a boost in residential remodeling jobs, as many office workers, finding themselves unexpectedly working from
home (while riding herd on children participating in school via distance learning), suddenly decided to proceed with longconsidered improvements to make their crowded house a bit more comfortable.
Natural disasters, like the prolonged February freeze that hit Texas and the American South earlier this year, burst the pipes in untold tens of thousands of homes, triggering a run on plumbing supplies.
The net result is that American lumber prices soared to an all-time high of $1,645 per 1,000 board feet during May 2021 — a 374-percent price increase over the preceding year, according to an early May report by a trio of Wells Fargo economists. (Lumber prices have since come down a few percentage points, but still remain high by historic standards.)
International politics has played a role as well. In 2017, President Trump slapped tariffs on lumber from Canada, which has long sold a variety of wood products to American builders. (Defending the numerous tariffs he imposing on many products from many nations around the world, Trump famously said in March 2018 that “trade wars are good, and easy to win.”) Locally, the big windstorm of
Five honored with Thong Hy Huynh awards
Musical prodigy makes solo debut
BY ANNE TERNUS-BELLAMY Enterprise staff writer
BY CALEB HAMPTON
Thirty-eight years ago, the city of Davis was rocked by a violent hate crime: the racially motivated stabbing death of teenager Thong Hy Huynh on the Davis High School campus.
Enterprise staff writer When Tiara Abraham was 4 years old, her parents noticed she had a knack for singing with vibrato, a style more often found in accomplished opera singers than preschoolers. “They noticed I really enjoyed singing,” she said. Soon after, they signed her up for private singing lessons. Still just 15 years old,
SEE SOLO, PAGE A7
VOL. 124 NO. 61
COURTESY PHOTO
Following her recital, Tiara Abraham poses with her 17-year-old brother Tanishq Abraham, a Ph.D. candidate in the UC Davis biomedical engineering department.
INDEX
WEATHER
Arts . . . . . . . . . .B1 Forum . . . . . . . .B4 Pets . . . . . . . . . A5 Classifieds . . . . A7 Green Page . . . A3 Sports . . . . . . .B1 Comics . . . . . . .B5 Obituary . . . . . . A4 The Wary I . . . . A2
JIN-YING SHAW
Sa Saturday: Sunny. H High 79. Low 51. M More, Page B6
Huynh, a 17-year-old Vietnamese immigrant, died in the arms of a Davis police officer in a courtyard on campus on May 4, 1983. Jay Pierman, was was a 16-year-old Davis High student at the time, was
later convicted of voluntary manslaughter. During the reckoning and soul searching that followed Huynh's death, the school district installed a memorial plaque in the courtyard where he died, and the city established annual awards in Huynh's memory recognizing city residents for their contributions to diversity, community, social justice and equal rights. One of this year’s recipients, Francesca Wright
SEE AWARDS, PAGE A4
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