Remembering journalist Joel Davis, who helped solve one of Davis' most horrific crimes

Joel's tireless work helped our town heal after the brutal deaths of two teenagers

A BRILLIANT JOURNALIST LEAVES US ... You might not have heard of Joel Davis, who passed away recently at the age of 62 after a long struggle with early-onset Parkinson's disease. Nevertheless, Joel was a force for good in our town and elsewhere, who used his reporting skills for the benefit of all of us.

I worked alongside Joel and admired his writing skills and his strong work ethic when he took his first newspaper job at The Davis Enterprise nearly 40 years ago.

It was obvious then that he was destined for greater things.

While he went on to work for more prestigious publications and also taught at both Sacramento State and American River College, the thing that he will be most remembered for was his tireless investigative work that helped solve the 1980 murders of Davis teenagers John Riggins and Sabrina Gonsalves.

Joel's book, "Justice Waits," was instrumental in helping solve a horrific crime that overwhelmed our town with great sadness for two bright lives lost.

Joel won a number of prestigious writing awards over the years, but "Justice Waits" was the crown jewel of his journalistic accomplishments.

Donations in Joel's name can be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, P.O. Box 5014, Hagerstown, MD, 21741, or at give.michaeljfox.org.

He will be missed, but his efforts will be greatly treasured by all of us who knew him.

Columbia School of Journalism

ON PICKING A NEW POPE ... The religious press and even the mainstream press seem obsessed with tossing all sorts of "candidates" our way for Pope Francis' replacement, even though these predictions are invariably wrong.

Still, I smile every time I hear the name of Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa mentioned. I simply can't get over that wonderfully tasty name that rolls off the tongue, even though he would no longer be called that if he became Pope.

For now, though, he's my guy. Unless, of course, there's a Cardinal Mozzarella out there somewhere.

HEALTH ALERT .. For those considering a trip to the most beautiful state in the country, you should know that Utah has now banned fluoride in its drinking water. Utah dentists, of course, are dancing in the street thinking about all the new business this will turn out.

Utah, known for such stunning sites as Zion and Arches and Bryce Canyon, can now add Cavity Canyon to the list.

The next step, of course, will be for the Utah legislature to order massive doses of Vitamin A be added to the drinking water to ward off a measles epidemic.

Tell me again where RFK, Jr. got his medical degree.

THIS GEM FROM OUR SPLENDID ATTORNEY GENERAL, PAM BONDI ... In addressing our exalted leader, the AG noted, "Since you have been in office President Trump, your DOJ agencies have seized more than 22 million fentanyl pills, 3,400 kilos of fentanyl, since your last hundred days, which saved - are you ready for this media? - 258 million lives."

I am not making this up.

Given that the U.S. population is exactly 346,947,50, the president just saved almost every one of us.

Bondi apparently was a whiz in law school, but she likely failed statistics.

Pam Bondi

THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF SPEAKETH: Fresh from a Supreme Court victory concerning his military ban on transgender individuals, President Trump noted that "Adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual's sex conflicts with a soldier's commitment to an honorable, truthful and disciplined lifestyle."

Apparently, the Secretary of Defense's adulterous escapades actually do constitute a commitment to an honorable, truthful and disciplined lifestyle.

There's not a double standard here. Rather, just no standard at all.

ALL DOLLED UP ... Just for the record, I have never received 30 dolls for Christmas.

EVEN MORE DOLL TALK ... According to a chap named Mike Pence, who claims he was once Vice President of the United States - though no one believes him - "Keeping dolls affordable and keeping toys affordable is really a part of the American Dream."

Right up there with homeownership and a chicken in every pot, for sure.

HORSES AND DEMOCRACY ... A dagger went through my heart when I saw last Sunday's headline "Sovereignty outduels Journalism," until I learned that was the result of the Kentucky Derby, not a U.S. Senate race in Kansas.

Reach me at bobdunning@thewaryone.com