Occupational Health Services announced a three-week session of Mindfulness Meditation led by Beth Cohen and meeting from noon to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 2, and Thursdays, Feb. 11 and 18, in the Vanderhoef Studio Theatre at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts.

Cohen’s guided meditation program includes meditation/mindfulness techniques; strategies to increase health, energy and focus; methods to manage pain and reduce stress; and discussions about meditation-related topics.

Beginner and advanced practitioners are welcome. Sign-ups are being taken online, via the UC Learning Center (search for “Meditation”). Note: You should register for all three classes. Retirees are welcome to come without registering.

Questions? Contact Stacey Brezing, (530) 752-6094.

Students offer tax preparation assistance

Tax season is here, which means UC Davis’ award-winning coalition of Students in VITA is ready to spring into action to assist low-income people in preparing their tax returns. VITA stands for Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, a free program of the Internal Revenue Service.

Members of UC Davis Students in VITA, like all such volunteers, are IRS-certified.

Last year, the UC Davis VITA contingent helped prepare 337 tax returns worth more than $230,000 in refunds, and earned an IRS Award of Excellence as Partner of the Year, the most prestigious award given to one out of 81 VITA coalitions in the Northern California, Oregon, Nevada region.

UC Davis VITA service is limited to families and individuals making $54,000 or less. The students announced that they will provide tax assistance from Jan. 25 through April 15 (with the exception of March 14-26, due to academic holidays), either once or twice a week at two sites in Davis:

• Mary L. Stephens Library, 315 E. 14th St. — 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays.
• New Harmony Community Center, 3030 Cowell Blvd. — 5-8 p.m. Mondays and Fridays

Appointments can be scheduled on the Students in VITA website. Contact Students in VITA via Facebook or email.

Police Accountability Board to meet Jan. 27

The Police Accountability Board will hold its quarterly public meeting from 7 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 27, in the auditorium at the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, 2279 45th St., Sacramento.

The independent board holds one public meeting in each quarter of the regular academic year. Each public session starts with board member introductions, and information about the board’s purpose and how complaints can be filed. Then the board takes general comments and questions.

The board¹s work on specific complaints is confidential. Independent investigators assist the board, which has the task of making recommendations to the police chief regarding charges of officer misconduct.

The university established the board in May 2014 as a pilot project to develop and promote accountability, trust and communication between the campus community and the Police Department.

The board comprises representatives from these constituency groups: Academic Senate and Academic Federation, Staff Assembly, Graduate Student Association, ASUCD, Student Life and the UC Davis Health System.

2 jailed in book theft

Campus police said they arrested two men last week after they stole books from the temporary bookstore in The Pavilion at the ARC.

Officers said store staff saw the men put books into a backpack and leave without paying, late in the morning of Jan. 12. Police soon nabbed the suspects, Adam Sato, 21, of Redwood City, and James Hoblitzell, 19, of Lodi.

Authorities identified Sato as a UC Davis student and Hoblitzell as a UC Merced student. They were booked at Yolo County Jail on charges of burglary and theft. 

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