Prosecutors charge Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter A5
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DAILYREPUBLIC.COM | Well said. Well read.
Tri-City NAACP says ‘culture’ of law enforcement needs to change Todd R. Hansen
THANSEN@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET
FAIRFIELD — The Tri-City branch of the NAACP is calling on local law enforcement agencies “to examine the culture within their agencies and implement measures to ensure the safety and well-being of the communities they serve.” The comment is part of a response after the death Jan. 10 of Tyre Nichols, 29. Nichols, according to video footage and statements from investigators, was severely beaten three days earlier by Memphis police officers. “Tri-City NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) is deeply saddened and outraged by the death of Tyre Nichols, a young father who lost his life at the hands of police officers. The fact that officers of the same race carried out the horrific incident as Tyre only highlights that police brutality knows no bounds,” the statement released by Tri-City NAACP President Nikila Gibson said. Nichols, as well as the police officers officials said are involved, are Black. “Police brutality is a systemic problem rooted in the culture of polic-
More info To contact Tri-City NAACP with a civil rights or discrimination concerns, call 707389-6020 or send an email to leagalredress@ tri-citynaacp.org.
ing that the country must address through transparent and actionable plans, holding officers accountable and preventing such incidents from happening in the future,” Gibson said in her statement. “We call on all local law enforcement agencies to examine the culture within their agencies and implement measures to ensure the safety and well-being of the communities they serve. Traffic stops should never result in a death sentence, and criminal acts by those sworn to protect the community should not be ignored.” Gibson said in a phone interview Monday she has specific measures she wants to see implemented, but would not elaborate. She said she wants to give agencies time. For example, she said she has been pleased with the progress the Fairfield See NAACP, Page A8
State saw nearly 20% more deaths since 2020, Covid can’t explain it all Tribune Content Agency Three years after the first Covid cases were detected in the Bay Area, a vexing question persists that can no longer be explained by the terrifying arrival of a deadly novel coronavirus: Why are so many people still dying? Since 2020, California has recorded 130,000 more deaths than in the three previous years, a nearly 20% increase in mortality, the largest sustained spike in more than a century, and the reversal of a decadeslong trend of decreasing death rates. In essence, experts say, that’s 130,000 more burials, cremations, viewings and funerals than there should have been. Those lost lives, referred to as “excess deaths” in the public health world, are the number of deaths over what could be expected based on historical data and demographic trends. Covid-19 – which was first confirmed in California in late January 2020 – is the obvious culprit for the
bulk of them. But officially the virus is blamed for just under 100,000 of those deaths. So why did the other 30,000 Californians die? No single cause explains the momentous change, according to the California Department of Public Health. Since early 2020, aside from Covid, the Golden State has seen the biggest rise in causes of death in drug overdoses, Alzheimer’s disease and alcohol-related conditions followed by hypertensive heart disease, ischemic heart disease, stroke, diabetes, kidney diseases, road injury and homicide. Nationally, Robert Anderson, chief of the Mortality Statistics Branch at the National Center for Health Statistics, is seeing much the same. “It’s those non-Covid excess deaths that are really tricky,” he said. Why are they going up now? “The pandemic certainly is a factor,” Anderson said, “Whether See Deaths, Page A8
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Nicholas Pilch/Courtesy photo
Containment booms are employed as part of a “sheen” mitigation effort on Union Creek at Travis Air Force Base.
Travis AFB could face abatement action over Union Creek ‘sheen’
Todd R. Hansen
THANSEN@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET
FAIRFIELD — Travis Air Force Base could be hit with abatement action by the state Regional Water Quality Control Board for what an agency executive said is an “ongoing discharge” into Union Creek. The base reported a “sheen” was first observed in October 2021; it typically appears after rain events; but added that “due to constant monitoring, testing and mitigation efforts, we are highly confident that there is no threat to public health.” Other agencies have identified the likely source to be aviation fuel. Thomas Mumley, the assistant executive officer for the control board, said that “it’s a given that it (the fuel)” has gone beyond the base boundaries, but the real issue is what the impacts are on the water and creek habitat. Mumley said the federal Environmental Protection Agency has done some water testing, but he is
‘It seems the source is historic, something that has happened in the past.’ — Chris Ambrose, the supervising hazardous material specialist with Environmental Health
not aware of the results. He was scheduled to attend an update on the situation Tuesday night. Mumley said he had to be careful about what he said because of the potential for enforcement action against Travis. Aviation fuel has apparently been known for some time to be the likely cause of the sheen. The specific source of the fuel is unknown and under investigation, but there are suspicions it comes from a prior spill or incident, according to updates provided to the Solano County Environmental
Health Division. “It seems the source is historic, something that has happened in the past,” Chris Ambrose, the supervising hazardous material specialist with Environmental Health, said in a phone interview. Travis officials disagree, reiterating also that there is no active or recent fuel spill. “Travis Air Force Base environmental experts do not believe the sheen is caused by any specific historic incident. However, ongoing investigations continue to develop a conclusive determination of the source. Local, state and federal environmental regulators are aware of the sheen, and are diligently working with Travis (Air Force Base) to fully investigate, determine the source, and resolve the sheen,” Capt. Jasmine Jacobs, of the base Public Affairs Office, stated in an email response Tuesday to a question from the Daily Republic. See Sheen, Page A8
States miss deadline to address Colorado River crisis, pressure builds on California Tribune Content Agency The seven states that depend on the Colorado River have failed to meet a Tuesday deadline for agreeing on a water-use reduction plan, raising the likelihood of more friction as the West grapples with how to manage the shrinking river. In a bid to influence federal officials after contentious negotiations reached an impasse, six of the seven states submitted a last-minute proposal outlining possible cuts to help prevent reservoirs from falling to dangerously low levels, presenting a unified front while leaving out California, which uses the single largest share of the river. Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming called their plan a “consensus-based modeling alternative” that could serve as a framework for negotiating a solution. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation had set an end-of-January deadWEATHER 55 | 36 Mostly sunny. Fiveday forecast on B10.
line for the seven states to reach a consensus. But California officials opposed making evaporation and other water losses in the river’s Lower Basin part of the calculation, as the change would would translate to bigger supply cuts for the state. In announcing the proposal Monday, Tom Buschatzke, director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, called it a key step in the “ongoing dialogue” among the seven states “as we continue to seek a collaborative solution to stabilize the Colorado River system.” John Entsminger, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, said that “while our goal remains achieving a seven-state agreement, developing and submitting this consensus-based alternative is a positive step forward” as federal officials carry out an expedited review to revise the See River, Page A8
Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times/TNS
Water levels in Lake Powell have been dropping during the past 23 years of drought in the Colorado River Basin.
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