Issuu

Five grilling recipes to get fired up about at home A6

State NAACP honors John Carlos and Tommie Smith B1

MONDAY | June 26, 2023 | $1.00

DAILYREPUBLIC.COM | Well said. Well read.

US officials: Putin was weakened by brief rebellion Washington Post In a rare show of bipartisan agreement, U.S. officials and lawmakers from both parties said Sunday that the brief rebellion against Russia’s defense officials by a Russian mercenary group had weakened Russian President Vladimir Putin – and strengthened the United States’ resolve to continue supporting Ukraine. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the insurrection over the weekend by mercenary Wagner Group forces – as well as how it was ultimately resolved – showed “cracks in the facade”

of Putin’s authoritarian leadership. “What we’ve seen is extraordinary,” Blinken said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. “Think about it this way: 16 months ago Russian forces were on the doorstep of Kyiv in Ukraine, believing they would take the capital in a matter of days and erase the country from the map as an independent country. Now, what we’ve seen is Russia having to defend Moscow, its capital, against mercenaries of his own making.” Wagner Group soldiers had marched See Putin, Page A7

Courtesy Photo

David C. Isom was Fairfield board of trustees president five times over the last 10 years. Pictured from left to right: Superintendent Kris Corey, board members: Helen

Isom bids farewell during last Fairfield school board meeting Susan Hiland

SHILAND@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

Andrea Verdelli/Bloomberg

Antony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State, speaks during a news conference in Beijing, Monday, June 19.

Trump cases present legal crisis for nation K evin Rector

LOS ANGELES TIMES

When he announced the federal indictment of former President Trump for allegedly mishandling classified documents, Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith said there is “one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone.” But that isn’t necessarily true. According to many legal and political scholars and the Justice Department itself, there are different rules for sitting U.S. presidents, including that they cannot be criminally prosecuted while in office. That rule – which is both long-standing and open to debate – is at the center of a staggering legal crisis looming before the nation as the twiceindicted former president seeks a second term. Trump’s precarious legal position as a leading presidential contender has put the federal government’s executive and judicial branches on a high-speed collision course, scholars say, and could lead to political and constitutional crises if not averted by voters.

A Trump victory in the November 2024 general election would not be precluded by the pending charges, potential convictions or even Trump’s imprisonment. And it would test the nation’s separation of powers and the presumed privileges of the presidency like never before. Trump’s reelection could spur court battles over his ability to pardon himself or to direct the Justice Department to dismiss charges against him in any ongoing federal cases, and over his continued vulnerability in ongoing state prosecutions. Those include cases in New York, where he has been indicted, and Georgia, where he is under investigation. If any of the cases are decided before the election, a Trump victory could spark legal battles over the terms of any convictions and whether he would still be subject to them as president. The circumstances are so unprecedented, and the law around presidential privileges so unsettled, that it is impossible to know how all of Trump’s legal and political woes See Trump, Page A7

FAIRFIELD — The Fairfield Board of Trustees said goodbye to board president David C. Isom, who is soon moving to Missouri. A longtime member of the community, he served on the board five separate times as president since being first appointed to the Fairfield-Suisun school board in September 2010, and has added additional four-year terms over the years. "It has been an honor to serve this district and serve the community," Isom said. "I appreciate the trust that was bestowed on me by members of this community." He gave a shout-out to the most important human being in his life, his wife Stephanie. "I know they will be in great hands because of the incredi-

ble leadership team with Kris Corey, who I have grown to appreciate as a leader and a personal friend," he said. School Board Trustee Craig Wilson will be taking up the gavel after Isom leaves. Isom originally came to Fairfield to serve a congregation as pastor for St. Stephen Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in 2007. That gave him a chance to help the community in many different ways. During the farewell, he took the time to honor Annette Williams ,who is a member of his congregation and also helps out at the school district for the last 40 years of service. Superintendent Kris Corey presented Isom with a plaque with a golden gavel (not real gold). Isom was on the board that hired her 10 years ago.

"I think if you look at my cell phone, you will see I have called him the most out of anyone I know," Corey said during the meeting. "This is for all your leadership and direction. We really appreciate your support." Isom’s contributions to the community are many, including SafeQuest Solano naming him as its interim executive director for at least six months back in 2013. SafeQuest is a nonprofit that helps victims of domestic violence and sexual assaults. The office offers several services, as well as a shelter, and is funded by a combination of county, state and grant funds. Isom also served on a steering committee of the University of Minnesota’s Institute on Domestic Violence in the African See Isom, Page A7

Can a $20 million liability fund encourage more ‘good fire’ in state? Alex Wigglesworth LOS ANGELES TIMES

As California grapples with increasingly destructive wildfires due in part to climate change, many experts insist that the state must fight fire with fire and expand the use of controlled burns to clear forests of excess fuel and restore ecosystem health. However, a key barrier to purposely setting fire to forest vegetation has been the inability to obtain insurance coverage for burn operations. Now, a new state program seeks to solve that problem by establishing a $20-million claims

fund to cover damages should a controlled burn escape. “We call this good fire, beneficial fire,” said state Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, who sponsored DODD legislation creating the fund. “It reduces hazardous fuels, which really create the volatility of these fires, particularly with wind and hot days and low humidities.” “Good fire” can refer to prescribed burning – the practice of setting land alight under optimal conditions to reduce vegetation that could fuel a catastrophic wild-

fire – or cultural burning – the controlled application of fire to achieve cultural goals or objectives set by Indigenous practitioners. Cultural burning was practiced in California for millenniums before colonizers forced Native people from their lands and adopted policies to aggressively suppress intentionally and naturally sparked blazes. Forests that had become adapted to fire grew denser, less diverse and more flammable – particularly as climate change

made conditions hotter and drier. The state is now seeking to restore the historical balance by encouraging more intentionally set fires and has set a goal of 400,000 acres a year by 2025. “We really need to restore fire as a process on our California landscape,” said Lenya Quinn-Davidson, director of the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Fire Network and a member of the working group that developed the pilot program. Private liability See Fire, Page A7

— N A PA VA L L E Y —

Dr. David P. Simon, MD, FACS. Eye y Physician y & Surgeon, g , Col. ((Ret.), USAF Services include: • Routine Eye Exams • Comprehensive Ophthalmology • Glaucoma and Macular Degeneration Care • Diabetic Eye Exams • Dry Eye Treatment • Cataract Surgery • LASIK Surgery Now Accepting New Patients!

WEATHER 78 | 54 Five-day forecast on B8.

Tilley, Jack Flynn, Craig Wilson, David C. Isom with wife Stephanie, Judi Honeychurch, Bethany Smith, Student Board Member, Lavani Madadi and Ana Petero.

3260 Beard Rd #5 Napa • 707-681-2020 simoneyesmd.com

Expires 7/1/2023