Special edition inside
Pride month kicks off with big celebration — Page A4-A8
enterprise THE DAVIS
FRIDAY, JUNE 2, 2023
Crosswalks and controversy
By Monica Stark and Aaron Geerts Enterprise staff writers At the break of dawn on Sunday, dozens of volunteers from the Davis Phoenix Coalition gathered at Central Park to paint the crosswalks for LGBTQ+ Pride Month. While this has been a tradition that began about nine years ago, this year, in addition to the colors of the rainbow, pink and blue have been added in support of the transgender community. Nearing the end, the paint supply was dwindling, prompting a decision to add pink and blue to the rainbow crosswalk on C Street. After a couple of hours of painting, volunteers of all ages posed for photographs to celebrate gender identity acceptance. As the stencils were lifted, volunteers literally jumped for joy in the crosswalks. “We always need more paint, but I think I think this is good,” Gloria Partida, councilmember and Davis Phoenix Coalition founder, said after the painting was complete. “It's just such a happy event, and I think the community really enjoys it,” Partida said. Painting the crosswalks sends a message that the community supports all kids and families, local mother Mily Ron said. “Putting the painting of the
Wendy Weitzel/Courtesy photo
Volunteers spray colored chalk for a rainbow crosswalk at Third and C streets on Sunday as two protesters hold a sign in the background. crosswalk with rainbow or the trans flag colors is sending these messages loud and clear without hurting anybody's feelings. It shouldn't hurt anybody's feelings because there's nothing besides a message that we are supporting and loving. And you're all welcome, and you're all safe.” A graduate student at the Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Davis, Noah Thoron, attended to support the queer
community and also learn a little bit about how sidewalks are painted. When the painting was completed, Thoron said, “It’s just lovely to paint some sidewalks, and also, I love making them more visible for pedestrians.” To one of the two protesters that showed up, Beth Bourne called the colorful crosswalks “a danger to pedestrians, to young children, to the elderly, to people that have limited mobility when
they don't see a crosswalk, as required by our standards of code of what a crosswalk should look like, which is white stripes, on a dark background.” She came to protest the event, stating while she wanted “support gays and lesbians,” she didn’t want children to believe they could be born in the wrong body. Volunteer Mily Ron fears messages like Bourne’s as reflective of our nation going backward and
gay rights stripped. "We are a two mothers family and parenting is very important to me. Kids need unconditional love and not judgment in anything they’re going through. This is what a loving parent does: allow kids to be where they are, whether they are thinking they might be gay or trans.” Also countering Bourne, volunteer Becky Oskin, a long time science writer, said, “There is no scientific basis in published research that says there are only two genders.” A parent of two and a Davis resident for 15 years, Oskin said, “(Davis) is a great place to raise kids, and I love that my kids get exposed to this kind of learning in school. I think it's really important for kids not to feel isolated and alone.” In April, evolutionary biologist Colin Wright held a speaking event at the Mary L. Stephens Davis Library who posited that because there are only two sexes in humans, sex is binary. The talk drew LGBTQ+ activists, including Davis-based attorney Jessica, whose last name is being withheld for her safety. She said her photo was taken that day and posted online with discriminatory slurs. “The First Amendment: there are limitations for hate speech. There are limitations for slander; there are limitations
See CROSSWALKS, Page A6
‘Beautiful souls’: Couple killed in DUI Blue Devils Shine Bright at DHS Senior Awards Night crash remembered at sentencing By Lauren Keene Enterprise staff writer WOODLAND — On the night they perished in a West Sacramento collision, Rasul and Anila Afzili attended a family dinner to celebrate Rasul’s 37th birthday. As they drove home along Jefferson Boulevard, 29-year-old Gabriel Poletti, with a blood-alcohol content more than three times the legal limit and two prior DUI arrests in his past, crossed the center divider and struck their vehicle head-on. Relatives who’d also attended the party happened
VOL. 125 NO. 65
INDEX
Arts ���������������������B1 Forum �����������������B4 Obituaries ���������A4 Classifieds ���������A6 Living �����������������A9 Sports ���������������B1 Comics ���������������B6 Pets ��������������������B5 The Wary I ���������A2
upon the fiery crash scene, at first unaware their loved ones were involved. “Hey, did you see this accident happen?” Qaseem Afzili, Rasul’s younger brother, wanted to ask his brother when he called him. But neither he nor Anila answered their phones. “Something told me to walk down the street and see for myself,” said Afzili, who recalled finding the wreckage of his brother’s car, the mortally wounded couple and their two young children, ages 3 and 7 months, injured but miraculously alive.
WEATHER Saturday: Sunny and warmer. High 92. Low 59.
“It’s something I have to live with forever,” Afzili told Yolo Superior Court Judge Peter Williams on Tuesday, shortly before Poletti’s sentencing to 22 years to life in state prison. It was an outcome to which prosecutors and victims’ relatives objected. Poletti, whose previous DUI conviction exposed him to murder charges in the event of a future alcohol-related crash resulting in death, pleaded guilty last month to two counts each of murder and gross vehicular manslaughter while
See COUPLE, Page A5
By Aaron Geerts Enterprise staff writer
As the class of 2023 nears the end of its tenure at Davis High School, it wouldn’t be complete without the Senior Awards Night that took place on Tuesday, May 30. It was a temperate, spring evening and the Richard Brunelle Performance Hall was filled to capacity with dozens of Blue Devils and even more of their friends and family members. With years of hard work and dedication put into their schooling and extracurricular activities, it was
HOW TO REACH US
www.davisenterprise.com Main line: 530-756-0800 Circulation: 530-756-0826
http://facebook.com/ TheDavisEnterpriseNewspaper http://twitter.com/D_Enter-
finally time for muchneeded recognition.
Unfortunately, principal Bryce Geigle was unable to attend the event, but he kicked off the evening with a video recording singing the praises of this exceptional batch of Blue Devils.
Following suit was the awarding of a litany of different scholarships including the Aaron Aronson Memorial Scholarship, the Armstrong Family Education Scholarship, the Barbara Hubbard Memorial Scholarship, the
See AWARDS, Page A4
WED • FRI • $1