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DAILYREPUBLIC.COM | Well said. Well read.
Sources: Hudson to create 2nd vacancy on Suisun council Todd R. Hansen
THANSEN@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET
SUISUN CITY — Councilman Mike Hudson is believed to be stepping down from his Suisun City council post in the near future. Three independent sources – two from the city – have said Hudson has told them of his plans to step down from the City Council before his current term is up. One HUDSON source indicated Hudson will be moving to Utah. There is, in fact, some speculation that he has already relocated to Utah. Hudson called into the Dec. 20 council meeting, but did not disclose from where, and had called in to a past meeting of the Suisun-Solano Water Authority, from Utah,
although he did attend the last agency meeting in November. Hudson, who in an earlier phone interview said he was not ready to make a statement about his plans, has not returned two later calls seeking comment. Changes to the open meeting laws will require any elected official to reveal his or her location when calling into a meeting. Councilwoman Jenalee Dawson, who also phoned in to the last meeting, disclosed she was at home after testing positive for the coronavirus. The City Council is already in the middle of trying to fill a vacancy created when Alma Hernandez was
A divided Supreme Court on Tuesday issued an order that keeps in place the pandemicrelated border policy known as Title 42, allowing border agents to continue turning away migrants seeking asylum at least for months. The court agreed to decide whether Republican-led states can intervene in a lawsuit and defend the policy, which has allowed border agents to swiftly turn back migrants without considering their asylum claims since March 2020. The justices plan to hear oral arguments in February, which would put the court on track to issue an opinion on that question this term, which concludes at the end of June. The Supreme Court made clear in the order that it would not be con-
as 4 inches of rain could fall on northern Solano County through the weekend.
Solano County still below normal seasonal rainfall BUT MORE WET STUFF COMING Todd R. Hansen
THANSEN@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET
See Hudson, Page A9
Supreme Court keeps Title 42 border policy in place for now Tribune Content Agency
Aaron Rosenblatt/Daily Republic photos
Vehicles drive along eastbound Interstate 80 near the Travis Boulevard offramp in Fairfield, Tuesday. As much
sidering the merits of a November ruling by a Washington federal judge, who found that the border policy was issued illegally and ordered it terminated by Dec. 21. If the justices decide to let the states join the case, it could tee up further battles in the lower courts over the legality of the border rule. The order notes that it pauses the lower court ruling but “does not prevent the federal government from taking any action with respect to that policy.” White House Press Secretary Karine JeanPierre said in a statement that the Biden administration “will, of course, comply with the order and prepare for the Court’s review.” She added that the administration is “advancing our preparations to manage the See Border, Page A9
FAIRFIELD — As much as 4 inches of rain could fall on northern Solano County through the weekend, with another series of storms following. Katrina Hand, a meteorologist and forecaster for the National Weather Service in Sacramento, said 1 to 2 inches of rain is expected Wednesday night through Thursday day, and another 1 to 2 inches from Friday into Saturday. Don Ryan, who is retiring as the manager of the Office of Emergency Services, said the Weather Service has
Large puddles accumulate in a Suisun Valley vineyard, Tuesday.
See Rainfall, Page A9
More than 500 salmon making their way up Putah Creek Todd R. Hansen
THANSEN@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET
WINTERS — It has been a comeback year for salmon in Putah Creek. Max Stevenson, the streamkeeper for the Lower Putah Creek Coordinating Committee and the Solano County Water Agency, estimates more than 500 fish are in the creek system. The boards at the Los Rios Check Dam were removed in late October, and the fish have been making their way into the creek ever since. “There are hundreds of salmon in the system and they are still coming up,” said Stevenson, who took over Jan. 10 for long-
Robinson Kuntz/Daily Republic
A salmon swims in Putah Creek near Winters, Dec. 22. time streamkeeper Rich Marovich. “There are probably more than 500.” That after a year in which only four fish are known to have reached the spawning redds after an unusual series of cir-
cumstances led to dozens of salmon dying due to low levels of oxygen in the water. Heavy rains in late October 2021 dislodged loads of organic material and caused an overflow
from the east levee to drain into the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area. When the refuge then used that water to flood rice fields for waterfowl habitat, some of that water spilled into Putah Creek, resulting in low oxygen levels. Salmon are particularly susceptible to oxygen depletion, which is a reason why cooler water temperatures are best. The phenomenon had never been known to happen before. This year, ironically, it is the drought that may have helped bring the fish back to Putah Creek, Stevenson said. That is See Salmon, Page A9
Southwest cancels nearly two-thirds of its flights Tribune Content Agency Southwest Airlines Co. canceled almost two-thirds of its flights Tuesday, remaining hobbled by a massive winter storm that most major rivals were able to recover from with greater ease. Southwest Chief Exec-
utive Officer Bob Jordan called the storm “the largest scale event that I’ve ever seen” in an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Monday evening. He said Southwest plans to operate just over one-third of its typical schedule in the coming
days to allow crews to get into the right positions. Southwest canceled 2,571 flights as of 12:55 p.m. Tuesday, following 2,909, or 71% of its schedule, on Monday and 42% on Sunday, according to flight tracker FlightAware.com. There’s little relief in
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sight, with another 62% of Southwest’s schedule canceled for Wednesday and at least 16% for Thursday – making it difficult to rebook stranded travelers. The DOT said it will examine whether the cancellations were controllable and if the company
is complying with its customer service plan. President Joe Biden weighed in with a tweet as well on Tuesday, noting the thousands of airline cancellations over the holidays without singling out Southwest by name. “Our administration is working
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to ensure airlines are held accountable,” Biden wrote, referring passengers to a Department of Transportation dashboard to see whether they’re entitled to compensation. Southwest apologized for the disruptions,
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See Flights, Page A9