CoHo delayed yet again

The Coffee House director says she has her fingers crossed for an Oct. 11 opening of the new and improved eatery.

Sharon Coulson had hoped to see the Coffee House up and running by the start of fall quarter, but the construction project is taking a little longer than planned.

The Coffee House in the Memorial Union’s west wing has been closed for more than a year. During much of this time, the CoHo has been providing limited food and beverage service in temporary quarters in the MU’s east wing.

In late July, the CoHo shut down the temporary pizza, deli and espresso shops, so the equipment could be moved back to the real Coffee House.

That left the temporary coffee-bakery and CoHo2Go convenience store — and the CoHo staff plans to shut down both of them for good at the close of business today (Oct. 1).

“We are not happy to do so,” Coulson said, “but we cannot sustain both the busy interim facilities and the busy weeklong training.” More than 200 new employees going through training, and part of that training is due to take place at their work stations in the new Coffee House.

Fire Day on the Quad

Campus firefighters announced that they will present their third annual Fire Department Day on the Quad, held in conjunction with National Fire Safety Week.

The free program is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 5, with all students, staff and faculty invited to stop by — and even try out some firefighting skills, like working with hoses and extinguishers. The program also includes a visit by an air ambulance helicopter.

Organizers said Fire Department Day on the Quad gives the campus community an opportunity to learn about the Fire Department’s mission and other services.

Student firefighters are expected to be on hand, for students who may want to learn more about the program — as well as submit interest cards for the next recruitment cycle.

More information is available online or by calling the Fire Department, (530) 752-1236.

Bike auction Oct. 9

Bikes, bikes and more bikes: More than 400 of them — all up for sale Oct. 9 in UC Davis’ first bicycle auction of the new academic year.

The auction venue is sheltered — on the first floor of the west entry parking garage — so interested people should come on out, rain or shine, said David David Takemoto-Weerts, Bicycle Program coordinator.

The Bicycle Program, part of Transportation and Parking Services, or TAPS, conducts an auction like this twice a year, once in the fall and once in the spring — to clear out the program’s inventory of abandoned and unclaimed bicycles.

Takemoto-Weerts said the inventory for the Oct. 9 sale includes bicycles of many types and conditions: cruisers, mountain bikes, road bikes, BMX and a few children’s bikes.

Prices averaged $30 to $40 at the last couple of sales, according to Takemoto-Weerts. Purchases may be made with cash, check, or Visa or MasterCard.

Interested people are invited to view the available bikes starting at 8 a.m. The auction is scheduled to begin at 9 and continue until every bicycle has gone up for bid.

The west entry garage is off Hutchison Drive, just east of La Rue Road.

More information is available by telephone, (530) 752-BIKE (2453), and online.