Dog owners on alert, drought update & more: Your Sacramento evening news roundup
.jpg "Rice farmer Don Bransford walks past a dry ditch on Wednesday, May 4, 2022, that usually brings water to his 1,800 acres of rice fields near Williams. About half of California was “abnormally dry” as of Thursday.")
A Sacramento man was sentenced to prison for a federal gun charge tied to last year’s UC Davis Picnic Day shooting, while Fair Oaks dog owners are on alert after hot dogs stuffed with pills were found near a park.
Meanwhile, California drought conditions showed only slight improvement despite recent storms.
Here are summaries of these and other stories of the day you might have missed:
• Picnic Day shooter sentenced: A federal judge sentenced Joseph Allen Davis, 20, of Sacramento to two years and six months in prison for being a convicted felon in possession of a gun in connection with an April 2025 shooting at UC Davis Picnic Day that wounded three people. Davis still faces state criminal charges in Yolo Superior Court.
• Pills found in hot dogs near Fair Oaks park: Neighbors near Miller Park in Fair Oaks are on alert after hot dogs stuffed with what’s believed to be acetaminophen were discovered. Sacramento County Animal Care Services said there was not enough evidence to launch an investigation but urged pet owners to keep dogs on leash and prevent them from consuming unknown items.
• Fatal crash near Auburn: Two people were killed Thursday in a head-on crash on Foresthill Road near the Auburn State Recreation Area. Both motorists were pronounced dead at the scene, and Foresthill Road was expected to remain closed in both directions.
• California drought update: About 56% of California was “abnormally dry” as of Thursday, with 5% experiencing “moderate drought” — only a 3% improvement from the previous week despite recent storms. Statewide snowpack was at just 20% of average, though reservoir storage sat at roughly 121% of normal levels.
• Folsom traffic upgrades: A $5.7 million project aims to upgrade at least 80 of Folsom’s roughly 120 signalized intersections, many with controllers dating to the 1980s, to improve traffic flow and emergency response times.
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