Wednesday (Aug. 1) has been declared a Spare the Air day, as a way to alleviate the ground-level ozone pollution that worsens in the sort of hot weather we are now experiencing. And with the official declaration, all rides will be free Wednesday on Unitrans and Yolobus.

Auto exhaust is a major contributor to the pollution — therefore, people are asked to drive less, carpool and use public transit.

The air quality index peaked at 106 on Monday, and the forecast calls for AQI readings of 122 today and 132 on Wednesday. Any reading from 101 to 150 is “unhealthy for sensitive groups,” and any forecast of 127 or higher triggers a Spare the Air.

The declaration comes with a number of advisories, mostly aimed at reducing auto emissions:

• Park your car or drive less (perhaps by combining all your errands into one session). Limit your driving to the morning hours when pollution levels are low. Similarly, if you are biking or walking, you should do so in the morning hours — to limit your exposure to unhealthy air.
• Carpool to work (or work from home, if you can), and to sports and recreation activities.
• Take public transit (rides are free on Unitrans, Yolo Bus and the North Natomas shuttle).
• Refuel your car in the evening — and do not top off.
• Avoid the use of consumer spray products (such as hair spray, furniture polish, cooking spray and bathroom cleaners).
• It’s OK to barbecue, but do not use charcoal lighter fluid.
• Curtail the use of gas-powered gardening equipment.

Shared Services Center reopens

The Shared Services Center reopened around 1:30 p.m. July 30 after having been evacuated that morning because of an electrical fire elsewhere in the building.
 
The small fire occurred on the floor above the center, which leases space in the two-story building at 260 Cousteau Place, off Second Avenue between downtown Davis and Mace Boulevard.