enterprise THE DAVIS
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2022
Ballot blocker: Industry shields itself with votes
Bapu Vaitla, left, takes his oath of office Tuesday in the community chambers. Vaitla, who will represent District 1 on the council, was sworn in by longtime friend and mentor Mark Van Horn, center, and Ethan Wolfe. City of Davis/Courtesy photo
By Ben Christopher and Jeanne Kuang CalMatters For a reported cost of just more than $4 million, California’s fast food industry may have bought itself a two-year reprieve from one of the most contentious state labor laws in recent memory. Last week, a coalition led by the International Franchise Association and national business groups announced it had collected enough signatures to qualify a referendum for the 2024 ballot. If at least 623,212 of the 1 millionplus submitted signatures are valid, that would give voters the opportunity to overturn a first-in-thenation law that would create a state council to set wages and other workplace standards for a large swath of California’s burger-flipping, taco-hawking industry.
See BALLOT, Page A5
Ring in changes New terms, mayor get started By Anne Ternus-Bellamy Enterprise staff writer The mayorship of Davis will pass next month from one graduate of the Davis High School Class of 1997 to another. Will Arnold will become mayor of Davis effective Jan. 3, succeeding current Mayor Lucas Frerichs, who will vacate the council and be sworn in to the Yolo County Board of Supervisors that same day. Arnold
and Frerichs were classmates at Davis High. Arnold has served as vice mayor for much of 2022, a position that Councilman Josh Chapman will assume in January. Both are oneyear terms. The council voted unanimously in favor of that succession plan on Tuesday. Arnold, a lifelong Davis resident, has served on the City Council since 2016, while Chapman was first
elected in 2020 to represent District 5 in South Davis. Both Arnold and Chapman “humbly” accepted their appointments on Tuesday. “I look forward to working with you,” Chapman told Arnold. Former mayor Gloria Partida — who was sworn in Tuesday for a second term on the council — said appointing Arnold “makes the most sense.” She noted the considerations previously laid out
Discord goes on around music program By Aaron Geerts Enterprise staff writer The Davis Joint Unified School District’s renowned music program underwent staffing changes that took effect at the beginning of this school year. The changes, however, are raising concerns from within the community about the program’s future. Before summer break last year, the district sent out an email to parents and students informing them the music programs at Harper Jr. High and Emerson/DaVinci Jr. High schools would be led by one music teacher each. The email said changes were being made to ensure the sustainability and
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Arts ���������������������B1 Forum �����������������B2 Obituaries ���������A4 Classifieds ���������A4 Gift Guide ���������A6 Pet Tales �������������A8 Comics ���������������B5 Movies ���������������B3 Sports ���������������B8
coherence of the music program and that having a single instructor MORENO at each site would be a Music teacher more sustainable staffing model that would reduce the need for traveling teachers. The music program itself comprises of the disciplines of choir, band and orchestra, which had been taught by specialists in the past. Although the educators taking the reins of teaching music at these schools are credentialed to do so, Holmes and Davis High
WEATHER Today: Fost, sunny, late fog. High 53. Low 30.
orchestra director Angelo Moreno has voiced — and continues to voice — his discontent with the changes — he contends that they are leading to the regression of the district’s music program. He is not alone in this regard, as music students and parents have voiced their concerns as well at recent school board meetings. “Emerson has shown a massive decline in enrollment,” Moreno said. “I went there to do my highschool outreach discussions about the audition process for the ninth graders. I walked in and there were only 20 kids in the room when there were 45 last
See MUSIC, Page A4
City of Davis/Courtesy photo
Councilwoman Gloria Partida received a hug from her grandson, who swore her in to her second term on the City Council Tuesday evening. by the council for selecting a mayor included everything from tenure on the council to consensus-building acumen. “Will … has been here for a good chunk of time and that’s clearly on the list,”
See CHANGES, Page A5
City Council gives approval to Downtown Specific Plan By Anne Ternus-Bellamy Enterprise staff writer The long awaited Downtown Davis Specific Plan was unanimously approved by the City Council on Tuesday. The council voted 4-0 (with Councilman Josh Chapman abstaining, as he owns a downtown business) to certify the environmental impact report, amend the General Plan to designate land use downtown as mixed use, and approve a resolution repealing the Core Area Specific Plan and adopting the downtown specific plan instead.
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she said, telling Arnold, “but more than that, I listen to you as you deliberate and make decisions and you’re very good at it and you definitely are great at
Five years in the making, with extensive citizen input, the plan will guide the longterm development of downtown Davis, establishing a vision for downtown and implementing a form-based code for the area. That code will replace existing zoning for properties, making development more predictable by focusing on physical form, rather than uses, for buildings. The plan covers a 32-block area and envisions up to 1,000 new residential units and up to 600,000 square feet of
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See DOWNTOWN, Page A5
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