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DHS water polo standout headed to Santa Clara
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— Page B1 More Davis businesses hit by flooding — Page A3
enterprise THE DAVIS
SUNDAY, MARCH 12, 2023
Too much water too soon?
Commission approves U-Mall plan
By Alastair Bland
By Anne Ternus-Bellamy Enterprise staff writer
CalMatters Two winters’ worth of snow has already fallen in the Sierra Nevada since Christmas, pulling California from the depths of extreme drought into one of its wettest winters in memory. But as a series of tropical storms slams the state, that bounty has become a flood risk as warm rains fall on the state’s record snowpack, causing rapid melting and jeopardizing Central Valley towns still soggy from January’s deluges. The expected surge of mountain runoff forced state officials on Wednesday to open the “floodgates” of Lake Oroville and other large reservoirs that store water for millions of Southern Californians and Central Valley farms. Releasing the water will make room for the storm’s water and melted snow, prevent the reservoirs from flooding local communities — and send more water downstream, into San Francisco Bay. The increased flows in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta could help endangered salmon migrate to the ocean.
Rivers in the San Joaquin Valley are forecast to flood today or Saturday. Eleven locations are expected to reach the flood stage, although no “danger stage” flooding is anticipated, according to Jeremy Arrich, deputy director of the Division of Flood Management with the
Nearly three years ago, the Davis Planning Commission voted unanimously against plans to redevelop University Mall into a vertical mixeduse project, citing its focus on student housing, a lack of affordable units and the size and scale of the project — seven stories high. The Davis City Council later reversed that decision, green-lighting hundreds of new housing units at the site on Russell Boulevard, but mall owner Brixmor ultimately decided to return to its original plan — an improved retail site without housing. That plan, which involves demolition of 97,000 square feet of mall space to be replaced with 114,000 square feet of commercial retail and restaurant space, went before the Planning Commission on Wednesday for approval. This time around, the commission voted 5-2 in favor of the new proposal, but not without a number of commissioners, as well as many member of the public, decrying the decision to remove the housing component. Brixmor’s Bill Brown explained that decision, saying efforts to find a
See WATER, Page A5
See U-MALL, Page A5
California Department of Water Resources photo
Department of Water Resources staff conduct the third snow survey of the season at Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada on March 3. So what’s the downside? These same storms are prematurely melting a deep and valuable snowpack that ideally would last later into the spring and summer, when farmers and cities need water the most.
water go from reservoirs. They must strike a balance between holding as much water in storage, as long as they can, while maintaining room in reservoirs for more water later in the season.
The storms have created a tricky situation for officials who manage state and federal reservoirs in California, since they have to juggle the risk of flooding Central Valley communities with the risk of letting too much
“Water management in California is complicated, and it’s made even more complex during these challenging climate conditions where we see swings between very, very dry, very, very wet, back to dry. We’re now
back into wet,” said Karla Nemeth, director of the Department of Water Resources.
Exhibit on figurative art is open By Natalie Nelson Special to The Enterprise
T
his month at the Pence, we’ve been beset by hilarity. Our figurative exhibit has been viewed by hundreds of third- to fifth-graders, as part of our ArtSmart school program. As many of you may be aware, artists tend to learn how to render the body best when it has no clothes on. This can be challenging when it comes to talking about our artworks with students, as their attitudes quickly change to giggles and a complete lack of focus when they see a nude in front of them.
VOL. 125 NO. 31
INDEX
Business �����������A3 Forum �����������������B2 Op-Ed �����������������B3 Classifieds ���������A4 Living �����������������B4 Sports ���������������B1 Comics ���������������B5 Obituaries ���������A4 The Wary I ���������A2
Pence Gallery Thus I’ve heard a tremendous amount of laughter when our groups have been viewing the “Figurative Expose: Art from the California Art Club” exhibit. When I’m leading one of the 25 or so tours we do for school groups, I try to normalize their expression, and not try to embarrass them further. “Oh, so you see that the figure in the painting/sculpture/ photograph doesn’t have any clothes on,” I’ll say. Then I usually try to get them to look at their own skin tone, and to talk
WEATHER Today: Showers all day. High 61. Low 52.
about how many colors they see in it. We usually talk about artist’s training and other things, and how drawing the human body is really challenging, and that pretty much pulls their focus onto other things. I hope that they see figurative painting as more than just people without clothes on — that there’s a narrative, a mood, and an artist’s point of view that are all important to consider. Long story short — I’m including this story to preface how our current figurative exhibit, is more than just naked figures. In
See PENCE, Back page
Courtesy photo
In “Invisible,” Toni Rizzo uses a sinuous pattern in red as the backdrop to the action in the scene.
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