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Vanden employees create a prom shop in a classroom A3

More aggressive Wiggins might help GSW force a Game 7 B1

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DAILYREPUBLIC.COM | Well said. Well read.

Dixon May Fair offering a calm, quiet sensory station Amy Maginnis-Honey

AMAGINNIS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

DIXON — Fairs are not quiet places. Live music, the sound of livestock animals and the train that cruises around the fairgrounds contribute to the noise level. This year, the Dixon May Fair has introduced a quiet room, where anyone can get away from the sounds and relax in front of floating plastic fish, make a fidget toy, read a book under a tree and hear gentle animal sounds. Fair CEO Pat Conklin got the idea from the

New Mexico State Fair’s sensory room. That fair’s CEO shared some comments with Conklin, which convinced her to give it a try. Conklin, and her husband, did most of the construction, including the spinning sensory wheel, where one can touch leather, burlap and fake rabbit hair, to name a few textures. She hopes to hear some of the same sentiments that were heard at the New Mexico State Fair. Comments such as having such a space See Sensory, Page A8

Aaron Rosenblatt/Daily Republic

Anand Patel of Visit Fairfield speaks during a Visit Fairfield tourism event at Caymus-Suisun in Fairfield, Thursday.

Fairfield toasts tourism’s cashbox impact on economy Daily Republic Staff

Vacaville wants to be more than a drive-through city Daily Republic Staff Aaron Rosenblatt/Daily Republic

Fairgoers peruse the food options at the Dixon May Fair, Thursday. Thursday was the fair’s opening day.

VHS student journeys to Texas for NASA internship Susan Hiland

DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

VACAVILLE — More than 60 civic and business leaders on Wednesday heard about what Vacaville offers visitors now, and what it hopes to offer in the years to come. Sitting beneath the 10 candle-stylized chandeliers in the second-floor theater room of the 126-yearold Vacaville Opera House – most certainly a tourism destination in its day, perhaps with a stage fare of the then newly composed, now Puccini classics, “Tosca” or “Madama Butterfly” or the lesser known

“Bluebeard’s Castle” by Béla Bartóla – those attending watched the focus point to the downtown, to the outdoors and to agri-tourism. They also learned that the grip of the Covid-19 pandemic, which put a choke See City, Page A8

Courtesy of Vacaville Museum

DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — Beyond the urban lights and din of the city is a valley of vineyards and winemaking – the identity of Solano County’s agri-tourism. Fairfield lays claim to Suisun Valley, too, and when it comes to tourism numbers, it enjoys the privilege because the valley falls under Fairfield zip codes. More importantly, Suisun Valley has become an attraction that draws thousands of tourists to the region, and therefore into the shadows of Fairfield’s hotels and restaurants and its bigger plans. Mayor Catherine Moy said Fairfield’s bigger plans have a lot to do with the valley’s expansion. She said someday it will be bigger and better than Napa Valley. Of course, Jelly Belly and AnheuserBusch remain staples of Fairfield’s tourism trade, as do a variety of festivals and special events and surrounding outdoor activities. Olive oil also adds flavors to the valley palate and the tourism collective.

Historic photo of the Nut Tree.

See Impact, Page A8

SHILAND@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — Quinn Brown a junior at Vanden High School is looking forward to her summer vacation because she is getting to do something only a few kids get the honor of doing; an internship at NASA. The 17-year-old is a huge fan of science, astronomy and pretty much anything to do with space. “My dad found out about the internship,” she said. “He is very invested in my future and is doing a lot of stuff to prep for my college life.” The program is called Student Enhancement in Earth and Space Science

Jury finds killer of Rodriguez High graduate guilty of murder Quinn Brown courtesy photo

Quinn Brown will be headed to Austin, Texas, this summer for a internship in the NASA SEES Program. (SEES) summer internship, which will be at the University of Texas at Austin’s Center for Space Research. “I’ll be there for two weeks,” she said. Students will work See NASA, Page A8

Daily Republic Staff

DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — A Napa County Superior Court jury on Thursday convicted the man who shot and killed a Fairfield resident nearly three years ago. Nathan Garza, a Rodriguez High School graduate, was working at Safeway in American Canyon on Aug. 16, 2020,

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when he was fatally shot by Christopher “Roly” Young, the Napa County District Attorney’s Office reported. A jury found Young guilty of first-degree murder, and found true the special circumstances of Young GARZA YOUNG “personally and intenlying in wait,” the DA’s tionally discharging a firearm, firing a weapon Office reported. Young was out on bail from a vehicle with the intent to inflict death, and for a pending carjack-

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ing and robbery case in Alameda County, and on probation for felony assault in the same county. “This defendant should never have been out of custody and had the opportunity to senselessly murder Nathan. He was on probation for felony assault from Alameda County See Jury, Page A8

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