Watsonville Fire Chief Rudy López has announced his retirement. (Tarmo Hannula/The Pajaronian file)
Watsonville Fire Chief Rudy López has announced his retirement after 35 years of service to the community. HIs retirement will be effective Dec. 31.
López began his career in 1990 as a eserve Watsonville firefighter, and advanced through the ranks, serving as firefighter, captain and division chief before stepping up to chief in 2019.
In a press release, city officials said he has been recognized for his commitment to public safety and his pride in serving his hometown.
“It has been the greatest honor of my professional life to serve my hometown of Watsonville,” López said.” I am immensely proud of the dedication, professionalism and courage demonstrated every day by our firefighters and staff.”
Looking ahead, he said he is excited to spend time with his family and pursue personal endeavors.
“Chief López’s many years of service to the Watsonville community are appreciated,” said City Manager Tamara Vides. “He has spent more than three decades with the City, contributing to the work of the fire department and supporting our community’s emergency response efforts. We thank him for his long tenure and wish him the best in his retirement.”
Acting Fire Chief Corey Schaefer will continue to lead the department until a permanent replacement is named.
For some Harlingen residents, the lake at the Tom Wilson Youth Sports Complex has not been the same in over a year.
The lake, located at 3139 Wilson Road, has been receding due to evaporation and a lack of a natural water source. The decreasing water levels have left fish unable to thrive.
To address the problem, the city’s parks and recreation department began pumping water from a newly tapped well into the lake last month.
It’s part of a conservation project fully funded by a state grant.
Crews also installed catfish spawning boxes and structures throughout the lake to give fish a place to hide and grow.
More fish will also be added as part of the project.
The lake is open for anyone to come fish. City officials said fishermen are only allowed to take home five fish of any species.
Those wanting to participate must have a valid fishing license, and city crews and game wardens will be at the lake enforcing the rule.
Jodi Darling Peterson didn’t know all the details of her brother’s work coaching youth basketball with the Boys & Girls Club in Portland. But when she watched Joe Voisine’s teams play, when she watched him on the sidelines, she recognized the most important thing.
“Those kids did not want to let him down,” she said.
That feeling was mutual.
Joe Voisine died on Dec. 8 after an illness. He was just 48.
His legacy echoes in the lives of all the players Voisine coached with the Yellowjackets and Blue Wave, the club teams he coached over the years.
Demitrius Covington, left, played for Joe Voisine, right, at the Boys & Girls Club of Southern Maine. Voisine, who coached the Boys & Girls Club and club teams in Portland for a number of years, died on Dec. 8 after an illness. (Photo courtesy Demitrius Covington)
“He was the guy, man. He was the guy,” Demitrius Covington said of Voisine.
A 2012 graduate of Portland High, Covington was the first captain of the Yellowjackets. He recalled the intense Saturday morning practices where Voisine taught the Yellowjackets to be a brotherhood. To look out for each other. For the guys from Portland’s lower income communities, who went home to places like Sagamore Village, Riverton Park or Kennedy Park, Voisine provided the opportunity to belong to something bigger than themselves that was hard to find.
“He helped so many kids find their way,” said Covington, who served eight years in the Navy. “He was our father figure. Look out for your brother. That’s what he taught us.”
If a player needed a ride, Voisine was the chauffer, Peterson said. If a player couldn’t afford basketball sneakers, Voisine bought them. He grew up a gym rat at the South Portland Boys & Girls Club, going often with his uncle, Peter Darling. Basketball was a passion for Voisine, and he wanted to share it, instill that passion in others.
“Without Joe, I don’t think I’d be the player I am today,” said Terion Moss, who was Mr. Maine Basketball as a Portland High senior in 2018.
When Moss was playing for Voisine at the Boys & Girls Club in middle school, Voisine had him playing with high schoolers, pushing the youngster to appreciate his talent. At the University of Maine at Farmington, Moss became North Atlantic Conference Player of the Year and an All-Region selection by d3hoops.com. He even played a little pro ball in Ireland.
When Moss and Lewis Gaddas didn’t handle a tough loss well, Voisine sat them down and had them talk to Covington about winning and losing with grace.
“That was a big deal for me, to hear that from somebody I looked up to,” Gaddas said.
Voisine took his teams to out-of-state tournaments. For many players, that was their first time outside Maine, Gaddas said. He treated everyone with so much respect. He taught every kid how to play the game, no matter their experience or talent level. If you wanted to play basketball, Voisine wanted you to love it as much as he did.
They had fun, Gaddas said. They gave each other good-natured jabs when Gaddas’ Portland High team played Voisine’s beloved South Portland in back-to-back Class AA state finals in 2016 and 2017.
Now an equipment coordinator for the Boston Celtics, Gaddas was working for the Maine Celtics a few years ago when the team made a run to the G League finals. Voisine reached out to Gaddas with messages of good luck and congratulations.
“He made me fall in love with basketball. He’s a big reason I’m where I am now,” Gaddas said.
You hear that, or similar sentiments, from many of Voisine’s players. He set them on a path of success.
“His biggest lesson was, just try,” Covington said. “The moment we started playing, he gave us confidence.”
Moss is now the gym coordinator at the same Boys & Girls Club in which he played for Voisine. Passing the game on to the next generation. Living Voisine’s legacy.
FARGO — Learning to swim often brings a mix of excitement and fear, from awkward doggy paddling and struggling to float to finally feeling comfortable in the water. Many can recall the early days of clinging to the pool’s edge or feeling overwhelmed without the help of a pair of arm floaties.
But on Sundays at the Hulbert Aquatic Center, traditional whistles and drills are replaced with laughter, patience and encouragement — thanks to AquaFun.
AquaFun is a free, weekly swim program designed to make swimming enjoyable and less intimidating for kids. It is a volunteer-run, youth-led initiative founded by Davies High School senior Justin Jiang, with fellow Davies swimmer Helen Wu serving as a head coach, alongside assistant coaches and sisters Sunisha and Nashatawn Tangpong.
As Jiang puts it, the goal is simple: “to make the water fun.”
Justin Jiang and Helen Wu, pictured on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, at the Hulbert Aquatic Center in West Fargo, are swimmers at Fargo Davies and instructors with AquaFun, a youth-led non-profit organization that teaches youth essential swimming skills.
Chris Flynn / The Forum
Inspired by their own memories of learning to swim, both Jiang and Wu are committed to encouraging kids of all skill levels to give swimming a try — especially those who are “scared to even put their feet in.”
Jiang has been swimming since he was 8 years old, participating in club swimming and now swimming competitively in high school. He started AquaFun about three and a half years ago after a family friend asked him to teach their children how to swim.
Word spread quickly, and what began as lessons for two kids soon grew into a community program helping dozens of children.
Using their years of experience in the pool, Jiang and Wu’s aim to create a welcoming experience — enjoyable for all newcomers and swimmers developing new skills.
Helen Wu and Justin Jiang, pictured on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, are swimmers at Fargo Davies and instructors with AquaFun, a youth-led non-profit organization that teaches youth essential swimming skills.
Chris Flynn / The Forum
AquaFun typically works with up to 15 kids at a time, ranging from about 6 or 7 years old to 11 or 12, and split into groups by age and skill level with Jiang teaching the more advanced swimmers and Wu and the sisters assisting the younger or less experienced children.
“We take all levels,” Wu said, noting Jiang’s observation that “some kids show up and they don’t want to get in.”
Unlike traditional swim lessons, AquaFun instructors embrace a more relaxed atmosphere, focusing on the fundamentals like floating, kicking and comfort underwater before progressing to strokes and harder skills like flip turns and diving techniques.
‘There’s no like yelling or drills,” Jiang said.
“I don’t like yelling,” Wu added with a laugh.
Lessons typically begin with a name game to help the kids feel comfortable with their instructors and fellow swimmers, followed by a group demonstration and skill practice — and always a snack break provided by the coaching crew.
The two are quite the pair — the type of teenagers that are seemingly chill in nature and just looking to have a fun time — and both say that teaching their lessons has made them better swimmers themselves.
“Teaching the little kids like reminds me to do stuff that I don’t do, don’t usually do,” Jiang said.
“Yeah,” Wu agreed. “You think about it more and then you’re like ‘Oh wait, I should work on this too.’”
The program operates entirely on volunteer time and grant funding. Jiang has raised thousands of dollars through science competitions and company grants which cover the lane rentals and snacks and allow AquaFun to remain completely free for families.
Alongside their happiness to volunteer, the pair say the most rewarding part is seeing the swimmers grow and become more confident.
“I remember this one student … at the start she couldn’t like put her head in the water,” Jiang mentioned, “But now, she just went off the high wall.”
“I was so proud of her,” Wu added. “She started when we first started teaching.”
Helen Wu, a state champion swimmer at Fargo Davies, discusses being a teacher on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, with AquaFun, a youth-led non-profit organization that teaches youth essential swimming skills.
Chris Flynn / The Forum
Parents are encouraged to watch, especially if their children are new, but many grow comfortable enough to sit back — or run errands — as their kids gain confidence. Over time, the coaches often see swimmers “graduate” from AquaFun and move on to club teams.
“Most stick around for a while,” Jiang said. “Some of them, after taking AquaFun for a while, they try out a club, and that’s when the intensive training starts.”
The youth swimmers typically transition to club programs around ages 11 or 12, with Fargo-Moorhead being home to several clubs, including the F-M Gators Swim Team at the YMCA, West Fargo Flyers, Moorhead Marlins USS Swim Club and Red Dragon Swimming.
Wu,15, has been swimming since she was 7 years old. She swam in club and has been swimming competitively for the Davies High School girls team since seventh grade. A sophomore, she recently concluded her swimming season in November by claiming the individual 50-yard freestyle state title, as well as claiming third in the 100-yard freestyle.
Jiang, 17, has been swimming since he was 8 years old. He started competitively swimming in high school and has been a captain on the Davies boys swim team since his junior year. His senior season started at the beginning of December, but last season, he qualified for state in the 100-yard breaststroke and the 200-yard individual medley.
Sunisha and Nashatawn Tangpong, both swimmers at Fargo Shanley High School, joined AquaFun through their connections with Jiang and Wu in club swimming and now serve as assistant coaches.
Justin Jiang, a swimmer at Fargo Davies, discusses being a teacher on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, with AquaFun, a youth-led non-profit organization that teaches youth essential swimming skills.
Chris Flynn / The Forum
With Jiang preparing for college next year — and hoping to attend someplace warmer than North Dakota — leadership of the program will largely transition to Wu, with Jiang returning to help during the summer.
“I am excited, but a little scared,” Wu said. “I haven’t done it by myself, but I feel like it’ll be good.”
Both coaches hope AquaFun continues to grow and welcome new volunteers. For both Jiang and Wu, fun is at the heart of the program.
“If you’re curious, just try it,” Jiang said. “It doesn’t cost anything. You can show up and see how it feels.”
Dallas–Fort Worth is entering its biggest global sports moment in decades. FIFA has confirmed the region will host nine matches at AT&T Stadium (branded as “Dallas Stadium” during the tournament) as part of the expanded 48-team, 104-match 2026 FIFA World Cup. With the group-stage draw now public and local planning accelerating—from stadium upgrades to fan-festival logistics—this is the window when cities either turn momentum into legacy, or get overwhelmed by it. That urgency is amplified by the economics of modern sports tourism. A 2024 industry report pegged spectator sports tourism at $47.1B in direct spending and $114.4B in total economic impact in the U.S., supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs—exactly the kind of “heads in beds” impact a sports commission is built to chase.
So what does it actually take to land the world’s biggest sporting event—and how did Dallas become the place rights-holders trust to deliver?
That’s the core question explored in this episode of The DLC Drop Podcast, hosted by John Davidson, featuring Monica Paul, Executive Director of the Dallas Sports Commission. Together, they unpack how the Sports Commission recruits events that drive economic impact, why Dallas has been recognized as the No. 1 sports business city in the U.S., and what locals and businesses should expect as World Cup planning shifts from bid-mode to execution.
Key takeaways from the conversation…
What a sports commission really does: Monica explains the “recruit-and-deliver” model—bidding for youth, collegiate, pro, and international events that fill hotels, restaurants, and attractions, while also building community programs and career pathways.
Why Dallas wins bids: The region’s airport access, venue depth, hotel inventory, corporate base, volunteer culture, and a “can-do” host mindset create confidence for rights-holders—plus a track record of executing major events at scale.
World Cup realities for locals and businesses: Expect a massive fan-festival footprint, international visitors (including many without match tickets), and a wave of activations—plus specific rules around public watch parties and FIFA-controlled branding.
Monica Paul is a senior sports industry executive with more than two decades of experience leading event strategy, bidding, and large-scale sports operations at the local, national, and international levels. As Executive Director of the Dallas Sports Commission, she has driven successful bids and organizing efforts for globally recognized events, including the FIFA World Cup, NBA All-Star, NCAA Final Fours, College Football Playoff Championship, and WWE WrestleMania. Her background spans leadership roles with Visit Dallas, USA Volleyball, USA Taekwondo, and Olympic delegations, complemented by board service, academic instruction in sports management, and deep expertise in sports marketing, event operations, and stakeholder engagement.
The Grizzly Youth Academy on Friday celebrated the graduation of its largest class since the program began in 1998.
The ceremony was held at the Madonna Inn Expo Center in San Luis Obispo, where nearly a thousand families gathered to honor the graduates of the National Guard’s Youth Challenge Program.
After completing the intensive five-and-a-half-month program, we caught up with two graduates who reflected on the changes they’ve made and their plans for the future.
“A lot of us came here because we were making mistakes back home,” explained graduate Howard Truong. “We weren’t very proud of ourselves, proud of the decisions we made, so we came here to make a change, and it’s been a long five-and-a-half months for everyone, and I’m sure everyone has put a lot of effort into changing themselves, and it’s going to be really nice to see our families again.”
“I personally plan to go to college after this. I plan to go to independent studies as a 16-year-old. I will graduate in March, and after, I will go to Cuesta College, get my master’s degree, and hopefully become an elementary school teacher,” said graduate Jahleeyah Amos.
The Grizzly Youth Academy is designed to provide military-style structure and support to 16-18-year-olds who have struggled in school due to academic and social problems.
It’s one of only three such academies in California.
RELATED: Grizzly Youth Academy donates over 400 pounds of food to SLO Food Bank
Grizzly Youth Academy donates over 400 pounds of food to SLO Food Bank
