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Davis Enterprise, The (CA)
Valley lows
School closure, district woes are top story of the year
Claire St. JohnandEnterprise staffEnterprise staff writer
Published: December 30, 2007
Davis didn't see any tiger maulings and no opposition leaders were
assassinated within our city, but the top 10 stories of the year did
have a big effect on residents, both in Davis and in nearby cities.
The
turbulent year at the Davis Joint Unified School District — whose board
voted to close a school, lost a superintendent abruptly and hired a new
one, and welcomed two new colleagues — was voted the top story of 2007
by Enterprise editors and reporters.The
defeat of a sprawling thoroughbred horse-racing and entertainment
complex at the polls in Dixon captured the second spot. And a Woodland
dentist with overly friendly hands was voted the third most interesting
story of 2007, as 27 women came forward with allegations of sexual
battering or similar charges.Some
stories that got their start in 2007 most certainly will wrap up in
2008, while next year's top stories will get their start in front of
the school board, the City Council, on the police beat and anywhere
else people tend to congregate in Davis.No. 1: School troublesIt
was a difficult year — and then some — for the Davis school district.
2007 began with a review of the district's finances by a state team and
ended with uncertainty over the future of a proposed charter school at
Valley Oak Elementary School.In
between, the school board voted reluctantly to close Valley Oak because
of declining enrollment; longtime Superintendent David Murphy was
forced out and a new leader was hired to take his place; two new
trustees were elected; and Davis voters once again renewed the school
district's instructional parcel tax.Although
a Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team didn't identify an
immediate crisis following its review of the district's finances, it
suggested that the district make changes in its business office
operations. The report also noted looming fiscal problems due to
declining enrollment.Declining
enrollment was cited as the cause for the school board's decision to
close Valley Oak in February on a 3-2 vote amid tears and
recriminations.Soon
after, teachers, parents and others started talking about forming a
charter school at the soon-to-be-closed campus on East Eighth Street.In
early March, Murphy abruptly retired and the board installed Interim
Superintendent J. Richard Whitmore. The rapid transition, and the fact
that Murphy will continue to draw his salary into 2008, led to
criticism of the school board, and many described the situation as a
contract buy-out.But
although some letters to the editor threatened that Davis would not
renew an instructional parcel tax in response to negative headlines,
voters came out in support of Measure Q on Nov. 6. They also elected
new trustees Susan Lovenburg and Richard Harris to replace Keltie Jones
and Jim Provenza, both of whom chose not to seek re-election.A new superintendent, James Quezon Hammond, was hired late this year and started in November.The
newly built Martin Luther King High School — a project that was dogged
by design problems and delays — opened in November, and soon after, the
school board considered a petition to create a new charter school at
Valley Oak.It
looks as if 2008 will be another busy year for the school district as
it considers the charter petition — probably in January — and
redistributes Valley Oak students among North Davis, Birch Lane and
Korematsu elementary schools.No. 2: Dixon votes down DownsIn
April, Davis' neighboring city of Dixon rejected a proposed $250
million, 260-acre thoroughbred racetrack, betting parlor and shopping
and entertainment complex in favor of its small-town flavor and history.The
project was proposed for a rural site adjacent to Interstate 80 in
northwest Dixon, close enough to Davis that the Davis City Council got
involved in late 2006, filing a lawsuit in Solano County Superior Court
challenging the traffic studies associated with Dixon Downs.After
the vote came in, with 53 percent of Dixonites against the racetrack,
Magna Entertainment Corp. announced it would sell the property after
sinking millions into the initial purchase and the campaign to get a
racetrack approved.Without
Dixon Downs, the city's hopes for developing the northwest quadrant are
back in flux, Mayor Mary Ann Courville said in August.No. 3: Dentist accusedWoodland
police launched one of Yolo County's most high-profile court cases of
the year with the Sept. 13 arrest of longtime Woodland dentist Mark K.
Anderson on suspicion of sexually battering one of his female patients.Within
days, 26 more women came forward with similar allegations against
Anderson, who was accused of touching or massaging the women's breasts.
Anderson,
48, claimed he was massaging his patients' chest muscles as part of his
treatment for temporomandibular joint disorder, a painful jaw condition.The
case garnered widespread attention, both nationwide and overseas,
prompting a Yolo County judge to impose a gag order. In October, the
Yolo County grand jury indicted Anderson on 21 counts of sexual
battery, 20 of them felonies. He has pleaded not guilty.Meanwhile,
Anderson's license to practice has been suspended, and two of his
alleged victims have filed civil lawsuits against him. His next court
date is set for Feb. 1.No. 4: Struggle for fair payIn
one of the city's biggest protests in recent memory, hundreds of
Sodexho food workers and supporters marched down Russell Boulevard to
raise awareness for their campaign to become UC Davis employees.Twenty-four
protesters were arrested for staging a sit-in at the Anderson Road
intersection and went to court in August, where a judge declined to
dismiss the charges.In
August, Sodexho announced it would raise pay and benefits to be on par
with those paid by the university. The increases will add about $2
million in annual costs for dorm residents.UCD
is the last of the University of California's 10 campuses and five
medical centers still contracting with outside companies to provide
food service. At the Davis campus, about 500 food workers are employed
by Sodexho and approximately 30 custodians work for other private
companies.No. 5: Football fever...or is it heat stroke?After a long wait, UC Davis opened its new, $31 million Aggie Stadium in early September.But
the excitement of a new stadium was overshadowed by the first game
played on the field, which ended with an Aggie loss and dozens of
people sick from the sweltering summer heat made worse by
heat-absorbing artificial turf.Because
the stadium lights weren't yet installed, the first game — against
Division II Western Washington — started at noon instead of 6 p.m.Enterprise
photographer Greg Rihl measured 112 degrees on the field at 12:45 p.m.
The game didn't end until 3:09 p.m., and by that time, 85 people needed
treatment for heat-related injuries and eight were sent to area
hospitals.To make matters worse, UC Davis lost to Western Washington, 28-21.No. 6: Wheels of justice roll onOne
of Davis' most notorious murder cases returned to the forefront in
January when the alleged killer of UC Davis sweethearts John Riggins
and Sabrina Gonsalves had his preliminary hearing in a Sacramento
courtroom.Richard Joseph Hirschfield,
58, eventually was ordered to stand trial for the 1980 kidnap-murders,
despite defense challenges to the DNA and other evidence that
identified him as a suspect back in 2002.Riggins
and Gonsalves, both 18, were kidnapped from Davis on the night of Dec.
20, 1980, after ushering at a local children's performance of "The
Nutcracker." Their bodies were found two days later in a ravine near
Rancho Cordova.
Hirschfield,
who has pleaded not guilty, faces the death penalty if convicted. His
trial is scheduled to begin on March 25 in Sacramento Superior Court.No. 7: Murder conviction
A former handyman was sentenced earlier this month to 31 years to life
in prison for the June 2006 murder of retired UC Davis sociology
Professor John Finley Scott, 72.Authorities
said Charles Kevin Cunningham, 48, killed Scott at his rural home west
of Davis after Scott confronted the parolee for stealing and forging
one of his personal checks. Yolo County sheriff's detectives
investigating Scott's disappearance found significant amounts of blood
at Scott's home — suggesting a violent attack — though his body has
never been found.In
addition to his lengthy career at UCD, Scott, an avid bicyclist, was
known for inventing one of the earliest mountain bikes back in the
1950s. He also was instrumental in creating some of the country's first
bicycle lanes.No. 8: New police chief hiredAfter
a nearly yearlong search, the Davis Police Department welcomed its
newest police chief, Landy Black, a 24-year veteran of the Seattle
Police Department.At
his April 9 swearing-in ceremony outside the Davis police headquarters,
the 50-year-old Black pledged to keep Davis a "safe and livable
community" and to improve communication between the police department
and the city it serves.One
of Black's personal efforts toward meeting that goal has been weekly
"walkabouts" in downtown Davis, where he meets with local residents and
merchants to hear their concerns.No. 9: Deadly trainsIt
was a deadly year on the railways in and around Davis, where
train-related accidents claimed the lives of five people — four of them
in a five-day period.Robert
"Barry" Landy, a longtime Davis resident and popular in-line hockey
coach, was killed Feb. 19 when his sport-utility vehicle was struck by
an Amtrak passenger train at an Arboretum Terrace Drive grade crossing.Sacramento
resident Fred Nightbear Iyotte, 26, died Sept. 1 after being struck by
a train while walking on the tracks along Second Street in downtown
Davis. Two days later, a train-versus-vehicle collision at County Roads
105 and 32A claimed the lives of Kahja Lauree Taylor, 35, of
Sacramento, and her 9-year-old daughter, Taylor Ward.On
Sept. 5, 43-year-old David Striler of Dixon was killed when a
southbound Amtrak passenger train struck his vehicle at the Midway Road
crossing in Dixon.No. 10: Davis' bubble deflates, but doesn't popThe
mortgage crisis hit California hard in 2007, but Davis weathered the
downturn fairly well. Houses are staying on the market longer and
selling for lower prices than during the boom of a couple years ago,
but Davis remains an attractive place to live.According
to Coldwell Banker Doug Arnold Real Estate, 460 Davis homes were sold
from January through September 2006. In 2007, 454 homes were sold in
that same time frame.Honorable mentions*
Courageous clerk: Yolo County Clerk/Recorder Freddie Oakley made
national news by issuing "certificates of inequality" to same-sex
couples who sought to marry at the Yolo County Clerk-Recorder's office
on Valentine's Day.*
Tragedy: Davis Enterprise circulation manager Jess Reiter was shot and
killed in March in an apparent carjacking attempt in south Sacramento.
Cousins Rashad Delrico Mack, 20, and Ulysses Peter Walker, 19, both of
Sacramento, were arraigned on murder and attempted robbery charges.*
Big gifts: In the largest donation ever received by UC Davis, the
university announced a $100 million gift from a founder of Intel to
establish a nursing school. The school will be based at the UCD medical
campus in Sacramento. In November, UCD announced a gift of more than
$12.5 million from the estate of Napa Valley native Louise Rossi to the
campus' winemaking and grape-growing program. And in December, UC Davis
broke ground on Gallagher Hall, the new home of the Graduate School of
Management, thanks to a $10 million gift from Allegiant Air Travel
founder Maurice Gallagher Jr., a UCD alum.*
Turkey trouble: Davis' troublesome turkeys gained national fame after
being featured on National Public Radio's "Day to Day" program in
November. By then, the Davis Cemetery turkeys were old hands at media
exposure, having spent a week being chased by cameras from Fox 40 News
and KCRA Channel 3.*
Fraud allegations: The Rumsey Band of Wintun Indians sued its former
advisers, alleging years of embezzlement and fraud. The lawsuit
revealed more discord at Cache Creek following the ouster of Paula
Lorenzo as tribal leader.—
Enterprise staff writer Lauren Keene contributed to this report; reach
her at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 747-8048. Reach Claire St. John at
cstjohn@davisenterprise.net or 747-8057. To comment on this story,
visit www.davisenterprise.com
Copyright, 2007, The Davis Enterprise. All Rights Reserved.
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