Community Corner

🌱 Patch AM: How you can join Davis’s Christmas Bird Count on January 2

And check out Crossing Over with Psychic Medium John Edward Live in Sacramento! on the Davis Patch calendar

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Cheers Davis! We’re back, helping you stay up to date with what’s happening. Let's take on the day together! ☕️️

In today's newsletter:

  • How you can join Davis’s Christmas Bird Count on January 2
  • What UC Davis scientists discovered hiding in Caldor Fire’s “miracle” forest
  • What UC Davis expert says about late bloomers beating child prodigies

Also on today's calendar: Crossing Over with Psychic Medium John Edward Live in Sacramento!.

Find out what's happening in Davisfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Today's riddle: What did the balloon say to the doctor? 🤔 (Answer below!)

Weather forecast:

Find out what's happening in Davisfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

  • Sunday: Breezy with periods of rain, with a high of 60 and low of 53 degrees.
  • Monday: Occasional rain and drizzle, temps: high: 58, low: 50.
  • Tuesday: Cloudy; p.m. showers, windy, with a high of 59 and low of 50 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

1. Christmas Bird Count: Vital Community Science and Good Fun Too (davisvanguard.org) — A regional Christmas Bird Count event is coming to Davis and Woodland on January 2, giving locals a chance to volunteer while enjoying winter birdwatching close to home. The piece explains how these counts support long-term bird conservation, improve mental health, and connect communities across the Central Valley and beyond.
   

2. Lessons from the Caldor Fire's Christmas Valley ‘Miracle' (ucdavis.edu) — UC Davis forest ecologists are drawing major lessons from the Caldor Fire’s so‑called “Christmas Valley miracle,” where Lake Tahoe communities narrowly escaped devastation. Their new study finds pre-fire thinning treatments tripled tree survival but warns that unburned fuel piles can erase those gains, offering Davis-area residents insight into how local scientists are shaping wildfire resilience across California’s forests.
   

3. The Downside of Being a Child Prodigy? Late Bloomers May Win in the End. (nytimes.com) — A UC Davis psychology professor emeritus is helping spotlight new research showing that slow‑and‑steady “late bloomers” often outperform childhood prodigies at the very top of their fields. The large study across sports, music, science, and chess suggests kids who sample many activities and develop gradually may be more likely to reach true peak performance later in life.
   

4. Washington rides momentum into matchup with streaking Seattle – [your]NEWS (yournews.com) — A surging Seattle University men’s basketball team comes into Friday’s “Battle for Seattle” fresh off a nail-biting 79-78 win at UC Davis, sealed by a last-second free throw. While the matchup itself is in Seattle, Davis fans just saw the Redhawks escape the Pavilion and can now gauge how that tight home loss stacks up against Washington’s improving, injury-recovering squad.
   

5. NY Times, Others Say California Refinery Closures Will Lead to $8 a Gallon Gasoline by the Summer of 2026 (smobserved.com) — UC Davis economists are offering a more modest forecast on how much California’s looming refinery closures could raise gas prices, estimating about $1.21 more per gallon by mid‑2026. Their view contrasts with dire $8‑plus predictions, suggesting Davis and other California drivers should still brace for higher, more volatile prices but not necessarily the worst‑case spikes some headlines warn about.
   

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💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

  • Hello, I want to thank everyone.
    A month ago I posted that my husband lost his job, but we tried several options and on the 27th he starts a new job through Indeed. After some… (Nextdoor Holmes)
  • I had an owl box in my Sycamore tree, and the City Of Davis guys took it down when they were trimming and claimed they would put it back up and of course they did not.
    It was originally installed by some climbers that I knew. Anybody out there interested in a job replacing my owlbox in a tree. ? (Nextdoor Central Davis)
  • University of California Davis posted a job opening for 2025 - 2026 Lecturer for Department of Animal Science in Davis. Apply here.
  • Woodland Joint Unified School District posted a job opening for Student Teacher Pool (2025-2026 School Year) in Woodland. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Davis here.

Ok Davis! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: I feel lightheaded!
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