Sports
Special edition inside
Living
Blue Devil softball looking for greater success
Choosing comfort over camaraderie
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enterprise THE DAVIS
SUNDAY, MARCH 26, 2023
Unusual parasite strain killing sea otters
Redemption story
How college behind bars saved a life By Anne Ternus-Bellamy Enterprise staff writer
Special to The Enterprise
There’s a scene in the Ken Burns PBS documentary series, “College Behind Bars,” where Sebastian Yoon addresses his classmates during a graduation ceremony. Like his classmates, Yoon was a New York prison inmate at the time, having been incarcerated at the age of 16 and serving a 15-year prison sentence for manslaughter. He had obtained his GED at Rikers Island and now, in his early 20s and serving his time at Eastern New York Penitentiary, was participating in the Bard Prison Initiative, a college program operated by Bard College. In this clip, he addressed his classmates, who were receiving their associate’s and bachelor’s degrees. “My fellow graduates, my friends,” he said as he stood on a stage at the prison wearing cap and gown, “let me remind you that we have an obligation to share our stories …” Fast-forward a decade or so,
Upon the children’s return, the family moved from diverse
Four sea otters that stranded in California died from an unusually severe form of toxoplasmosis, according to a study from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and UC Davis. The disease is caused by the microscopic parasite Toxoplasma gondii. Scientists warn that this rare strain, never previously reported in aquatic animals, could pose a health threat to other marine wildlife and humans. The preliminary findings, published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, note that toxoplasmosis is common in sea otters and can be fatal. This unusual strain appears to be especially virulent and capable of rapidly killing healthy adult otters. The rare strain of Toxoplasma hasn’t been detected on the California coast before so is likely to be a recent arrival. Scientists are concerned that if it contaminates the environment and the marine food chain, it could pose a public health risk. At present, no infections with the
See REDEMPTION, Page A6
See OTTERS, Page A2
Courtesy photos
Sebastian Yoon, featured in the Ken Burns PBS docu-series “College Behind Bars,” spoke to Davis High School students on Thursday about how being able to earn a college degree in prison saved his life. and Yoon was doing exactly that, but this time from the stage of the Brunelle Performance Hall at Davis High School. Since that commencement day at Eastern, Yoon had gone on to complete his bachelor’s degree in social studies, finish his prison sentence and begin working at the nonprofit Open Society Foundation, where he works to this day. He’s also working on a master’s degree now through Baruch College.
Davis High School history teacher Kevin Williams brought Yoon to Davis High on Thursday, where he spoke first to students in the afternoon and again to the general public in the evening. His message: Education is power. It saved his life. And it can change the lives of many other inmates, reducing recidivism in the process. ———— Yoon was born to parents who had emigrated to New
York from Korea. His mother left the family when he was 5 and his father, struggling to raise three young children on his own, sent Yoon and his siblings to live with their grandparents in Korea while he worked multiple jobs and saved up enough money to bring them back to the United States.
Nonprofit nears 20 years of service By Aaron Geerts Enterprise staff writer
By Alastair Bland
Since 2003, Grace In Action has been a boon to Yolo County’s homeless and lowincome individuals offering hope, compassion, food and referrals to a litany of local agencies. As this nonprofit approaches its 20th anniversary of service, it’s important to reflect on the decades of effort it’s put into softening the blow to those who’ve fallen on hard times. Like many great organizations, Grace In Action has a humble beginning. So humble in fact, that it literally started out of the trunk of Grace In Action’s founder, Cindy Burger. With a desire to help Davis’ homeless and low-income folks, Burger simply parked her car at the University Covenant Church — then on Anderson Road — opened up her trunk and started passing out water bottles and fresh socks. And with
CalMatters
See SERVICE, Page A7
VOL. 125 NO. 37
State lifts target for 15% water saving as storm nears
INDEX
Business �����������A5 Forum �����������������B5 Obituaries ���������A4 Classifieds ���������A4 Living �����������������B4 Sports ���������������B1 Comics ���������������B5 Events ����������������B7 The Wary I ���������A2
Courtesy photo
Grace in Action executive director Edward Johnson plans lunches with Patti, a volunteer with the organization.
WEATHER Today: Sunny and mostly clear. High 59. Low 34.
With the Sierra Nevada smothered in snow, large swaths of the Central Valley underwater and many Californians weary of water, state officials announced today that they are lifting some drought-related provisions on water use. “Our water supply conditions have improved markedly,” said Secretary of Natural Resources Wade Crowfoot. The state is rescinding its request for voluntary 15% water conservation statewide, which was issued in July 2021, and
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instead, Crowfoot said, shifting to an approach of making conservation a “way of life.” “We need to maintain our vigilance,” he said. “It’s not about going back to normal anymore. It’s really adjusting to a new normal.” Some of the state’s emergency provisions were ended and some were left in place. Wasteful uses of water, such as hosing down sidewalks and watering ornamental grass on commercial property, remain banned, according to state officials.
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