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Blue Devil Boys take on pesky Huskies.
Stewie needs a new family. — Page A3
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enterprise THE DAVIS
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2023
City Council backs mayor’s statement on Nichols killing By Anne Ternus-Bellamy Enterprise staff writer
The City Council on Tuesday unanimously endorsed Mayor Will Arnold’s statement last week about the killing of Tyre Nichols by Memphis police officers. Nichols was detained on Jan. 7 by those police officers and video released last week shows them kicking and beating him, resulting in his death several days later. The officers have been fired and charged with murder. In his statement on Friday, Arnold said, “the murder of Tyre Nichols at the hands of Memphis police is the latest in a series of horrifying incidents in our country. “The use of excessive force and failing to intervene or render aid are crimes and should be punished as such. This infuriating brutality is unacceptable...” He also said that “public trust is paramount in our public safety system. “The city of Davis and the City Council continue to prioritize initiatives and actions that work toward safeguarding this trust.”
See STATEMENT, Page A5
UC Davis students protest in Davis on Sept. 24, 2021, demanding an end to fossil-fuel use across the UC system. Stephen Wheeler/ Enterprise file photo
Fossil Free UCD gathers steam By Monica Stark Enterprise staff writer “The challenge is that we burn fossil fuel; in particular, we burn a lot of natural gas at UC Davis to run a set of steam boilers and a co-generation plant. In the case of UC Davis, it’s basically like a giant jet airplane engine fired by natural gas that produces both heat we use to make steam and electricity, hence the ‘co’ in cogeneration.” That was Camille Kirk, UC
Davis director of sustainability and campus sustainability planner, as recorded at the Fossil Fuel-Free Pathway Plan Town Hall on Nov. 18.
anthropogenically caused, and the pace is accelerating. It’s urgent, and the time to act is now. Every year that we delay is a year that it gets harder.”
“It’s a wonderful technology, except it runs on natural gas,” Kirk said. “The challenge is not only that we burn fossil fuel, but that science is telling us that this is an accelerating problem, and the science, much of which has been done even here at UC Davis and across the UC, is quite clear on this. It is
Sponsored by the UC Davis Campus Advisory Committee on Sustainability, the town hall shared findings from the committee’s draft of the Fossil FuelFree Pathway Plan. Besides the steam boilers in the co-generation plan, UC Davis has a large fleet; people commute to campus or to UC
Davis Medical Center locations, Kirk explained. “We also fly on planes to accomplish our mission. So that might be field research, going to conferences, meetings, or athletics travel. So we have all these different ways we’re using fossil fuels to accomplish our business purposes every year,” Kirk said. The plan for all of UC Davis, including UC Davis Health, is intended to move most
See FOSSIL, Page A5
Fourth of July fireworks show West Sac freeway shooting: Attempted murder or self-defense? will go on in Community Park By Lauren Keene Enterprise staff writer WOODLAND — An alleged road-rage shooting in West Sacramento last summer was both reckless and negligent, in the eyes of a Yolo Superior Court judge. But whether it amounted to attempted murder may be for a jury to decide. Visiting Judge Stephen Mock dismissed the most serious charge against Akuila Tuikilakila Vabasi on Monday following a preliminary hearing where prosecutors outlined their case against the former Davis resident. Vabasi stands accused of shooting at another vehicle following an Aug. 27, 2022, fender-bender collision on a West Sacramento freeway onramp. The bullet struck, but didn’t penetrate, a natural-gas tank that powered the Honda Civic carrying a family with three children inside.
Mock upheld three other counts of discharging a firearm at a vehicle, assault with a semiautomatic firearm and hitand-run, along with several enhancements for prior criminal convictions. Vabasi, 37, previously pleaded not guilty to the charges. Monday’s hearing included testimony from four California Highway Patrol officers who investigated the shooting, which prosecutors say targeted a Napa family on their way to Apple Hill. As they traveled through West Sacramento, the driver — identified in court documents as “Y.S.” — noticed his fuel running low and searched for a naturalgas station nearby. Unfamiliar with the area, he missed his intended exit and got off on Reed Avenue instead. That’s where the chaos began.
See SHOOTING, Page A4
By Anne Ternus-Bellamy
featured fireworks.
Enterprise staff writer
The council voted unanimously Tuesday to prohibit fireworks in Davis except for the July 4 celebration beginning in 2024, making this year the final year that Celebrate Davis can feature fireworks.
The city’s annual Fourth of July celebration will continue to feature a fireworks display in Community Park. The City Council was evenly divided Tuesday night on whether to continue with fireworks or find an alternative way to end the holiday, and with a 2-2 vote, the status quo held. However, while the city’s July 4 fireworks show will continue, that won’t be the case for Celebrate Davis, the annual event in Community Park hosted by the Davis Chamber of Commerce which has also long
Council members also directed staff to work with the chamber on coming up with alternative entertainment for Celebrate Davis, including a possible drone show with city support.
Councilwoman Gloria Partida had advocated for a drone show for the Fourth of July celebration as well,
See FIREWORKS, Page A5
Enterprise photo
Fireworks lit up the night sky over Community Park in 2019 to close the city of Davis’ Fourth of July festivities. VOL. 125 NO. 15
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