enterprise THE DAVIS
SUNDAY, JUNE 13, 2021
Housing Element update goes to council BY ANNE TERNUS-BELLAMY Enterprise staff writer
Davis High graduates toss their hats in the air to celebrate their long, strange journey through the school system.
ran through a list of activities the seniors had taken part in, overcoming the limitations of the year, which affected sports, music, drama, fine arts and speech and debate. Davis school board president Joe DiNunzio spoke next, and talked about gratitude, resilience and happiness as key themes. “Each of you deserves a full life however you decide to define and live it,” DiNunzio said. “I’m hopeful that the time you’ve spent with us in small ways and not so small ways have helped you define that path forward. Throughout the year you’ve shown a commitment to compassion, to kindness and to
How much housing to build in Davis, where to put it, who it should serve and how to make it affordable are regular topics of discussion in this city, and frequently contentious ones at that. The last few months have been no different. Faced with a requirement to provide 2,075 additional dwelling units over the next eight years, city staff, commission members and residents have been discussing all of that and the City Council will weigh in on Tuesday. Under state law, all jurisdictions are expected to provide a certain amount of housing serving all segments of their populations and to outline their plans for doing so in a Housing Element that must be updated every eight years. The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) determines statewide projected housing needs and allocates new housing unit targets to regional councils of governments. Locally, that’s the Sacramento Area Council of Governments. Agencies like SACOG then assign a fair share of the region’s housing construction need to each city and county. For Davis, in the midst of preparing the 2021-2029 Housing Element, that comes to 2,075 new housing units. Those 2,075 units are split up by income category, requiring the
SEE JOURNEY, PAGE A4
SEE HOUSING, PAGE A4
OWEN YANCHER/ ENTERPRISE PHOTO
At last, journey’s end Davis High School seniors graduate in two joyous ceremonies BY EDWARD BOOTH Enterprise staff writer Half of the graduating seniors from Davis High School gathered Thursday, and the second half gathered Friday, at the Ron and Mary Brown Stadium for a festive graduation ceremony following a year of COVID-19 restrictions. Attendees wore masks and sat at assigned seats in the football field that was positioned to allow for social distancing. The field was filled Thursday, and the ceremony, as with the others this week, was live streamed for
anyone who couldn’t make it. The ceremony officially began as the blue-robed graduates walked into the stadium and proceeded to the bleachers surrounded by the traditional notes of “Pomp and Circumstance.” The seniors, who filled almost the entirety of the bleachers, settled into their socially distanced seats and the Davis High School Advanced Treble Choir sang the National Anthem in a recording. Then DHS principal Tom McHale took to a central podium and gave the first speech of the night.
McHale began by acknowledging the difficulty of the past year and he asked the crowd to hold a moment of silence for loved ones that have been lost. McHale then thanked many specific groups that had helped make the school year and the graduation possible. He gave a specific shout out to the Support Our Seniors 2021 committee, a group of parents who helped organize “An Enchanted Forest Ball” last month in lieu of an official senior prom, and the carnival-style “Senior Sunday” in the place of the traditional Davis Grad Night celebration. McHale then launched into congratulating the class of 2021 while noting that the seniors’ experience at DHS has been like no other graduating class. He
UCD celebrates students’ persistence BY CALEB HAMPTON Enterprise staff writer UC Davis undergraduate and graduate students took the stage this week in a series of commencement ceremonies that were modified to respect health and safety precautions. The ceremonies, which required participants to show a negative COVID-19 test or proof of vaccination, were some of the first large events held at UC Davis since the pandemic closed down the campus last spring and forced last year’s
graduation ceremonies online. On Thursday, 800 Graduate Studies students celebrated at an in-person ceremony, followed by 600 Graduate School of Management students who celebrated Friday. Roughly 4,400 undergraduates are expected to walk in commencement ceremonies held from Friday through Sunday. The events are limited to 400 students, plus two guests apiece, and staggered |over three days to accommodate all the
SEE UCD, PAGE A3
OWEN YANCHER/ENTERPRISE PHOTO
Graduating senior Alex Curtin walks to the stage Thursday at Da Vinci Charter Academy’s ceremony — the schools first-ever, on-campus graduation event.
Da Vinci grads fly toward the future BY JEFF HUDSON Enterprise correspondent Da Vinci Charter Academy sent about 95 newly minted high school graduates — wearing green caps and gowns (plus facemasks, in keeping with recommended health precautions in this pandemic year) — out into the world on Thursday night, in an out-
VOL. 124, NO. 71
door ceremony at Da Vinci's high school branch on the Valley Oak campus in East Davis. Various speakers referenced the obvious reality that the 2020-21 school year was unlike any other year that Da Vinci students have experienced since the school was launched in 2004 ... and indeed, the
INDEX
Business . . . . . A5 Forum . . . . . . . B2 Op-Ed . . . . . . . .B3 Classifieds . . . .B5 Living . . . . . . . .B6 Sports . . . . . . .B1 Comics . . . . . . .B4 Obituary . . . . . . A4 The Wary I . . . . A2
same could be said for every school in Davis. School board president Joe DiNunzio acknowledged this when he remark to the new graduates, "This was not the senior year you imagined" when entering high school. "But this year, you've drawn on inner strength, and found agility"
SEE DA VINCI, PAGE A3
WEATHER To Today: Sunny aand warmer. High 90. Low 61. H
CALEB HAMPTON/ENTERPRISE PHOTO
UC Davis graduates and their guests made their way from Hutchison Field into The Pavilion on Friday in the first of a series of modified in-person commencement ceremonies.
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