Daily Republic: Sunday, February 12, 2023 by mcnaughtonmedia

Ceremony honors life of Mayrene Bates A3

MEL Report: Vanden boys win share of league title B6

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DAILYREPUBLIC.COM | Well said. Well read.

Flyway Festival returns with plenty of activities Susan Hiland

SHILAND@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

MARE ISLAND — The breeze had a bite for hikers along the trails Saturday at the 28th San Francisco Bay Flyway Festival, but that didn’t stop people from turning out for the event. The winter festival gives visitors to Mare Island and along the shoreline an opportunity to see migrating birds in the thousands with ducks, geese, hawks and songbirds as they pass through or winter in the San Francisco Bay Area. Myrna Hayes, local festival director and cofounder of the Mare

Island Heritage Trust, was practically bursting with joy at the return of an in-person event after the past few of years dealing with the pandemic. The main part of the festival was held in Building 34 on Nimitz Avenue with excursions by boat and foot happening at other areas. It is a little different than before with activities in several buildings along the docks, hiking along the trails and also presentations that are online. “We were virtual for the last two years,” Hayes said. “Last year we did a hybrid wildlife expo event See Flyway, Page A9

Aaron Rosenblatt/Daily Republic

Automobile traffic flows along Highway 37 in Vallejo, Thursday. A partnership agreement for “near-term

Agencies reach agreement for Highway 37 interim fixes each direction, into an high-occupancy vehicle toll lane. Adding the toll lane would require approval from the California Transportation Commission. Project design and implementation, officials said, will “minimize impacts to existing natural resources and preserve the potential for future conservation and ecological restoration.” The project also includes wetlands restoration and the replacement of Tolay Creek, which will increase tidal connectivity with habitats north of Highway 37. It could take up to 15 years to complete. “It is aimed at reducing peak travel times, where delays approach two hours per day, providing a high-occupancy vehicle lane to make transit service and carpooling a more viable and attractive option, while also addressing nearterm flooding risk on the portion of Highway 37 from Mare Island in

Todd R. Hansen

THANSEN@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

Susan Hiland/Daily Republic

The 28th San Francisco Bay Flyway Festival had plenty of things for people to see and do, including a display of local wild birds at the festival on Mare Island, Saturday.

Covid vaccines are still optional at state’s K-12 schools Will colleges keep requiring? Tribune Content Agency SAN JOSE — College Covid-19 vaccine requirements are facing renewed scrutiny now that California has walked back plans to mandate the shots in K-12 schools and the state and federal governments are ending their pandemic states of emergency. The University of California recently softened its vaccine booster requirement. But immunization mandates continue at public and private campuses across the country, prompting debate as to whether they’re still worth the trouble. Students say that, in some cases, verification procedures tripped up class registration. Dr. Arthur Reingold, an epidemiology professor at UC-Berkeley, notes that UC also requires immunizations for measles and chickenpox, and people still are dying from Covid at rates that exceed those for influenza. As of Feb. 1, there were more than 400 Covid deaths a day across the U.S. “The argument in favor of mandatory vaccination for Covid is no different than the argument for mandatory vaccination for flu, measles and meningitis,” Reingold

said. “For a 20-yearold college student, how likely are they to die? The risk is very low. But it’s not zero. The vaccines are safe, so the argument of continuing to mandate vaccination fits very well with the argument for the other vaccines we continue to require.” But Andrew Noymer, associate professor of population health and disease prevention at UCIrvine, said the mandates are harder to justify for vaccines that don’t stop spread of the virus, especially for young healthy college students at low risk from Covid-19, which mostly afflicts the elderly. “We know people who are vaccinated can still spread it,” Noymer said. “Carrots are better than sticks. There are unintended consequences when people are too draconian, telling a student you can’t register for classes if you’re not vaccinated.” Gov. Gavin Newsom in October 2021 said California would be the first state to mandate Covid-19 vaccines to attend K-12 schools starting the following academic year. But a bill to accomplish that failed, and the California Department

FAIRFIELD — A partnership agreement for “near-term improvements” to Highway 37 was announced this week among several state and regional agencies. “This important partnership fulfills the urgent need to fortify Highway 37 to meet the demands of today while preparing for the longterm challenges of tomorrow with a focus on safety, equity, climate action and economic prosperity,” California Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin said in the statement released Wednesday by the state Natural Resources Agency through District 4 of the state Department of Transportation. The primary focus of the agreement is the estimated $500 million Sears Point to Mare Island Improvement Project. It includes adding a lane in each direction, and converting an existing lane, in

Tribune Content Agency ISTANBUL — The death toll from earthquakes in Turkey and Syria surpassed a staggering 25,000 on Saturday as fewer victims were being found alive, while the work of some rescue teams was interrupted due to security concerns. In Turkey alone at least 21,848 people were killed and 80,097 others injured by the two strong quakes that jolted the region earlier this week, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in the

Şanlıurfa province. In neighboring Syria, 3,553 deaths have been reported so far. The head of the White Helmets aid organization, which works in opposition-held areas of Syria, declared that their search-and-rescue mission was now “finished,” dashing hopes that further survivors might be found. “We did not rescue anyone alive anymore, that is why we moved to the second phase which is the removing of bodies from under

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Vallejo to Highway 121 in Sonoma County,” the statement said. The statement said the improvements to the highway will also improve “the quality of life for lower income workers, including teachers, caregivers and service providers who rely on Highway 37 to access jobs in Sonoma, Napa and Marin counties where affordable housing is in short supply.” Solano County Supervisor Erin Hannigan, who sits on the Highway 37 Policy Committee, said the See Fixes, Page A9

Turkey-Syria quake death toll passes 25,000 as rescue missions near end

See Covid, Page A9

improvements” to Highway 37 was announced this week among several state and regional agencies.

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Men recite a prayer in front of the body of a child killed in an earthquake in the town of Jandaris, in Syria’s rebelheld part of Aleppo province, Thursday. the rubble,” Raed Saleh, the head of the White Helmets told dpa. They tweeted that they have not rescued anyone

since Thursday. Remarkably, however, a handful of rescues were See Quake, Page A9

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