The other day I got a chance to spend a few minutes with a group of about twenty young Davis residents that most people in this community do not know exist. In a few months, some of them will become close friends of my daughter.
What I am going to tell you is that 2012 was a real eye-opener for me and that’s a telling comment because, of all issues, this is the one that I am probably most passionate about.
There is irony in what I am about to tell you, because a few months ago I was sitting in Woodland City Manager Paul Navazio’s office, interviewing him for a story, and when we were done, we were chatting. I spend a lot of time in Woodland talking and meeting with people and families of people who get caught up in the legal system. And I really believe that there are two Woodlands – one official Woodland, represented by the all-white-male-Republican city council, and the other a heavily working class, if not impoverished, Woodland that seems very much disconnected from their political leadership.
The reality is that, while Davis is not quite at that level, there are increasingly two Davises. We have the well-educated, upper middle class community that comes to city council meetings, works at UC Davis or in Sacramento, and is well represented on our largely liberal Davis City Council.
But there is another group of people, and I’m not talking about UC Davis students at the moment, that get hidden in the large renter population, that are not nearly affluent or educated.
The first hint of this divide comes in a little fact I learned following the school board candidates forum. Twenty years ago, Davis’ student population was about 75 percent white, now it’s just 57 percent white.
For years we have covered the stark achievement gap in our schools, where whites and Asian students have excelled, but there is a large gap between the achievement of those students versus blacks and Hispanics.
Some suggest that this is simply a reflection of a socio-economic gap. At the city’s event, Breaking the Silence of Racism, Lawson Snipes suggested that, in fact, Davis does not have a racial problem – it has an elitist problem, which manifests itself as a racist problem. Given that 81% of the population voted for the African-American president, Barack Obama, he has a point.
That said, one of the stark statistics that has emerged from district testing is that, when you control for education level of the parent, which is the single highest correlate of academic performance by the student, there is still a statistically significant gap between the performance of blacks and Latinos, versus whites and Asians.
Even among college-educated parents, the children of blacks and Hispanics do worse than the children of whites and Asians.
Why is that? Unfortunately, due to budget cuts and economic crises, I don’t think we really have a great handle on this question.
When the Human Relations Commission had its event about racism, one of the big questions in my mind, other than would anyone show up and who would show up, was who would tell a personal story.
The answer to that surprised me, as well. There were some very notable complaints about the DA’s office. There were some notable complaints about police interactions. There were some interesting comments on a variety of subjects – but the words that hit home were from parents of children of color or of multiracial students, who talked about the school climate.
There were a variety of problems that were laid out, but the message I got very clearly, from listening to the people talk, is that students of color or mixed race felt that they were bullied and treated differently from others. To the point where one person described a grandchild putting on white paint so he or she would look white. Other students transferred out of the district, and functioned better in schools elsewhere in this region.
So we have a group of students that has grown from 25 percent to 42 percent of the population in the last 20 years, but they feel that they are being treated poorly in the school climate.
Might that help us to understand the achievement gap?
The question that now burns into me, of course, is what we can do about this. But what occurred to me as I sat there watching the group of my daughter’s future peers, is that we do not even know this part of Davis.
What connection do these residents have with our city governance, our political process – who is hearing their concerns? We talk about affordable housing in this community, and design small public housing projects for people who make $35,000 to $60,000 – is this reaching that segment of the population? Is that all that we are about?
What little we know, we may have heard in anecdotes early last year, when the school district had meetings on the Montgomery school, which has a rising Title 1 population and declining enrollment, in addition to having a program improvement status.
But these discussions have waned as the district has had to focus on operating budget, parcel taxes and negotiations with the teachers over concessions.
So, as we move forward, one of my goals is to start learning more about this other Davis, a large and growing group of people that have needs in our community that perhaps are not being met.
—David M. Greenwald reporting
[quote]How did we go from my article to sex ed and school lunches? I don’t see either of these issues as critical in our district.[/quote]
[quote]So as we move forward, one of my goals is to start learning more about this other Davis, a large and growing group of people that have needs in our community that perhaps are not being met[/quote]
I think that these issues may be more closely linked, and more critical in our district than you have previously
been aware. I will use the example of ob/gyn care since that is my area of expertise to illustrate how all of these issues are highly important, if not critical, in our district.
In my practice with 100% of my patient’s having insurance their care pregnancy care is provided to them seamlessly from positive pregnancy test to post partum visit. All of my patient’s know where their next meal is coming from and where they will be spending the night. However, as a recent case from Communicare of a young woman with a two year old whose “security” consists of knowing she has one more night in her current shelter, no means of self support, and no idea how she will be providing for herself and her two year old as of tomorrow, there are these “other” members of our community who most of us simply do not “see”. So the immediate fate of this mother/ son pair currently depends upon the skills of a single social worker and the availability of funds in a time of relative hardship. In this young woman’s case, prevention of an unintended pregnancy ( for which 50% of the responsibility should lie with the long gone father) would have vastly altered her outlook for a productive independent life.
Sex education, birth control, meals for children whose parents do not have the ability to provide for them even minimally, will determine the needs of the school children of the future. Just because we have not seen these problems as critical in the past here in Davis, I can virtually assure you from sitting on the MCAH advisory board for Yolo county, they are a part of our current problems, and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future.
And what will really help these not so well of families in Davis and Woodland will be to pay from $2,000 to $3,000 more each year for their water and their wastewater treatment, right? It’s all connected David.
Excellent article, David! Here is an excellent, ongoing example of what you are describing:
The Old Mill Stream Laundromat adjacent to the former site of the All Things Right and Relevant thrift store in East Davis is being forced out of business to make space for the expansion of this site for yet another thrift store. The Laundromat is scheduled to be closed by January 1, 2013.
This family owned laundromat has provided 40 plus years of critically needed service to low income/minority families living in nearby rentals along East Eighth Street. Many of these families do not own a car, and family members (primarily mothers) will be forced to lug laundry and small children across town on public transportation to meet the basic human needs of dignity and clenliness.
Preserve the dignity of these families and do not let the Planning Commission and the City Council ignore these people.
from listening to the people talk, is that “””a few””” students of color or mixed race felt that they were bullied and treated differently from others.
So we have a group of students that has grown from 25 percent to 42 percent of the population in the last 20 years, but “””a few””” feel that they are being treated poorly in the school climate.
[quote]but “””a few””” feel that they are being treated poorly in the school climate. [/quote]
No Rusty,
” A few” were willing to stand up, expose themselves to a packed room, be tape recorded, and discuss issues with a highly personal and emotional content in front of a group of strangers. This is certainly not proof that there are not many similar stories involving people who do not feel up to discussing these very painful topics in a public setting.
[i]”For years we have covered the stark achievement gap in our schools, where whites and Asian students have excelled, but there is a large gap between the achievement of those students versus blacks and Hispanics. Some suggest that [u]this is simply a reflection of a socio-economic gap[/u].”[/i]
It’s mostly a reflection of a cultural gap. A secondary factor is the IQ differential, which itself is influenced by cultural variables.
A serious problem is that when one person judges another group’s culture–say he points out that most Asian households take academic achievement much more seriously than do Latino households–he is immediately branded a racist.
This branding of “racism” even happens when the person who points out such cultural defects is himself a part of that same minority group ([url]http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/05/-this-is-how-we-lost-to-the-white-man/306774/#[/url]). Those “uncle toms” are very quickly shouted down.
So the lesson is this: 1) have very low expectations for certain minorities; and 2) never judge them, for fear of being branded a racist.
[i]”… one of the stark statistics that has emerged from district testing is that, when you control for education level of the parent, which is the single highest correlate of academic performance by the student, there is still a statistically significant gap between the performance of blacks and Latinos, versus whites and Asians.”[/i]
There are many problems with this claim, which you have repeatedly made ([url]http://lexicondaily.blogspot.com/2012/12/kings-dodge-big-collapse-to-beat-knicks.html#sf[/url]). The first is that you never really do properly control for the level of education. Just because the parents of different children have baccalaureates does not make them equally well educated. A B.A. from Harvard is not equal to a B.A. from Sac State. Likewise, there are extremely well educated people who never finished high school; and there are others who have that same lack of a diploma who are illiterate. It is ridiculous to think that a person’s level of education can be measured by the very broad strokes you point to.
The best way to distinguish among parents is first to measure their IQs and then look at their professions. If you take a black college professor with an IQ of 120 and a white college professor with an IQ of 120, it’s likely that the cultures in which they raise their kids are similar and that their children will perform equally well in school.
“So we have a group of students that has grown from 25 percent to 42 percent of the population in the last 20 years, but they feel that they are being treated poorly in the school climate.”
So Medwoman, if you read this one would think they all feel that way when only a few have actually spoken up. So I agree with you, there are obviously going to be more than the few that spoke at the looking for racism conference that was held in Davis. But that sentence infers that they all feel that way, far from the truth. So what is the definition of a “few”?
Missed it Rich – just returned to computer…thanks
There are many examples of collective indifference concerning “The Other Davis” within our “Upper Quartile” City. “Educated People” within our fair City often just don’t even see (or respond to) ongoing egregious ones such the one summarized in my previous entry. “Rhetoric is cheap, result is dear.”
[quote]What connection do these residents have with our city governance, our political process – who is hearing their concerns?[/quote]
This is the problem of people getting disconnected from the community grid. When I view the situation as a sequence of events, it goes like this:
KE1: Sub-population is expanding
KE2: Sub-population has no spare time to participate in city decision process
KE3: Sub-population concerns are not addressed by city
KE4: Sub-population is suppressed, but few would speak up
Proposals on sex education and birth-control target KE1. For short-term solution that target KE4, I think the community needs to reach out and form some sort of buddy system.
It is wasteful trying to solve a problem without contacting the actual person or family that needs help. People who wants to act on this issue can personally know who those people are and what they need, and help them as individuals rather than as a class of people.
Once the contacts are established, so that each individual/family that had fallen off the community decision grid has a representative (a buddy) who has the time to represent them, KE2 and KE3 will be solved.
Steve Hayes
[quote]The Old Mill Stream Laundromat adjacent to the former site of the All Things Right and Relevant thrift store in East Davis is being forced out of business to make space for the expansion of this site for yet another thrift store. The Laundromat is scheduled to be closed by January 1, 2013.
[/quote]
Steve,
I have some questions about this situation :
1) Who is doing the “forcing” ? Is the lease up on the property ? Has the owner decided on a different tenant ?
2) How is the Planning Commission and or the City Council involved in this matter ?
3) What avenues have been explored to help the owners of the laundromat mitigate their loss and or relocate?
4) What are you recommending as alternatives to the current situation ?
2) How
Rusty49
[quote]So what is the definition of a “few”?[/quote]
I don’t have a good answer to the question of what constitutes “a few”. However, I think that the more relevant question would be, ” how representative are the experiences and feelings of those who spoke of the community to which they belong ?”.
The Enterprise had a story on the Old MIll situation. Goodwill is taking the place of R&R and wants to expand into the laundromat’s space. For subscribers, here’s the link: [url]http://www.davisenterprise.com/local-news/the-wash-mill-spun-out-of-davis-manor/[/url]
[i]”The reality is that, while Davis is not quite at that level, there are increasingly [b]two Davis’.[/b] We have the well-educated, upper middle class community …”[/i]
Speaking of the well-educated ([url]http://lexicondaily.blogspot.com/2012/12/kings-dodge-big-collapse-to-beat-knicks.html#sf[/url]) … If spelling counts, you need to learn that ‘two Davises’ is a plural noun, not a possessive. Fortunately, I was forced to learn orthography and grammar as a boy growing up in this lovely community.
Where is the goodwill of Goodwill?
It seems to me that not so long ago, an effort was made by the city, under admittedly different circumstances to try to help Davis Diamonds.
I am wondering if a similar effort would be of use in this case ?
It’s not like mall owner is kicking out the laundromat and putting in a porn shop. A Goodwill store is going in which I’m sure will also be a hit with the community. The mall owner is in business to enhance his investment. How can City Hall tell the mall owner he/she can’t rent to Goodwill if he hasn’t broken any leases? Maybe the mall owner wants to raise the rent and the laundromat couldn’t afford to pay? Are we going to dictate to all mall owners what stores they can and cannot have in their malls and how much they have to charge?
David, you’re missing the point. Are you going to tell the mall owner the Goodwill can’t go in because City Hall tells him the community needs the laundromat more for some of the locals convenience? I’m sure there are other areas in Davis that could use a laundromat, are we to tell those mall owners that their next business opening in their mall has to be a laundromat? Where do we stop?
In my experience local government rarely tells business what to do, more often there are discussions and they see what can be done. I think this is an issue that is worth raising and worth discussing. It may turn out there is nothing that can be done and then we have to figure out the next step.
Thank you Don for your response and Davis Enterprise citation. My wife and I occasionally use the Old Mill Stream Laundromat to wash and dry large items such as comforters, blankets and sleeping bags, and we always find it very busy. I doubt that the voices of the many hard-working mothers there doing loads and loads of family laundry while tending to their young children will have much of a chance to be heard by the City before the Manor Mall owner terminates the laundromat lease and closes the “deal” with the new Goodwill Thrift Store Tenant. “The Other Davis” is unseen and unheard!
For whatever it adds to the discussion, I am a fairly prominent leasing agent with a few vacancies, but have not received any calls from the laundromat owners. Maybe they’re working through another agent, but I haven’t heard from them either. The first I heard of this situation is from the Enterprise article. Maybe the customers of the laundromat are low income with low levels of education, or disadvantaged in some other fashion, but is that true of the laundromat owners? They don’t know how to pick up a phone and make a call? And why would you they call the city? Do you call the city first when you need accounting, banking, or any other professional service? Why would you call the city first under these circumstances? I have no idea why the city or the planning commission would play a roll under these circumstances. Talk about a nanny state. Frankly, this sounds like a business opportunity for someone that is interested in filling the void.
-Michael Bisch
Michael, Rich, and David… you all seem to be missing big parts of the story about the laundry closure…
Tenants are generally responsible for site improvements that are necessitated by their use of the property… the gas and electric needs of a laundry facility generally require a major upgrade that would have to be a “start-up” cost of the laundry. Probably not feasible for the current tenant.
Proximity to small apartment complexes, that in all likelihood, because of their age, do not have on-site laundry facilities. They tend not to be large enough units to have one in each unit, even if the renter had the wherewithal to pay for a washer/dryer.
City “economic development” staff probably encouraged Goodwill and the owner to fill a vacant storefront… looks good on both the ‘corporate’ and personal resumes. Collateral damages be damned.
There was a good hardware store in the Eighth Street center in the late 70’s, early 80’s. At that time their products/price and customer service probably tied Hibberts, and surpassed DL&H.
I do not agree that “government” (City) had nothing to do with this. I believe it was encouraged… so much for “economic development” being under the aegis of [b]Community[/b] Development and [b]Sustainability[/b].
Because of relocation costs, the laundry is “history”. My grandparents owned/operated the first “laundromat” in another college town for ~ 20 years. It was a community center, of sorts, for the local residents.
Probably will patronize a Goodwill in the Bay Area, before this “new” one. My spouse already does.
According to the comment at Davis Enterprise, The Laundry Lounge offers free pickup and delivery.
[quote]While it is always sad to see any small business close in Davis, we can attest that unfortunately Davis is not much of a “laundromat town.” We are currently extremely under served for our capacity as a larger laundromat. This is due to the city law requiring apartment building owners to provide laundry facilities on site to their residents. We believe the laundry market in Davis will always struggle to support multiple laundromats. One successful laundromat is much better for Davis’ laundry customers than multiple struggling laundromats, who cannot afford to replace equipment or make necessary upgrades. As, always The Laundry Lounge offers FREE pick up and Delivery to our customers because we understand lugging laundry all over town is a huge burden. We look forward to being able to improve and expand our services to all laundry customers in Davis.[/quote]
[Ref] ([url]http://www.davisenterprise.com/local-news/the-wash-mill-spun-out-of-davis-manor/[/url])
So is this particular problem already resolved?
You are missing the point that there are a lot of low income people in that area, many without cars, and they have no place to do their laundry now.
“One successful laundromat is much better for Davis’ laundry customers than multiple struggling laundromats, who cannot afford to replace equipment or make necessary upgrades. “
I would say that a 40 year history as a laundromat qualifies The Old Mill Stream to continue to be the “one successful laundromat” as described above. Since the Quick Clean Center has recently closed, it is even more imperitive that the lease on the The Old Mill Stream be extended. This “particular problem” is far from being resolved! Remember, the “Other Davis” is invisible and unheard!
Edgar: Thanks for your input. If “Not-So-Good” Goodwill was willing to scale back it proposed storefront needs to match those of the former R&R’s site, then the problem would be solved to everyone’s satisfaction. The Laundromat would not be evicted, and the “books” would not be “balanced” on the backs of the hardworking mothers and their families. From my perspective, laundromats are more scarce and meet a more basic human need (cleanliness) than to thrift stores. Hope this helps!
PS All things Right and Relevant moved because they wanted a more upscale layout and image. Dealing with the “Other Davis” can be a bit “messy” and downgrading (bad for the image) don’t you know!
This laundromat closing does seem to me a big problem for that neighborhood. Nearby residents who live in apartment buildings without laundry services are likely locked into leases and depend on the Wash Mill. It is not the case that there are other laundries nearby.
And while I am confident that if the demand is there some entrepreneur will eventually fill it, that does not relieve the interim situation for those who have relied on the Wash Mill.
DG: [i]”You are missing the point that there are a lot of low income people in that area, many without cars, and they have no place to do their laundry now.”[/i]
Perhaps a reasonable alternative, until a new coin laundry opens up in or near East Davis, would be for the owners of The Laundry Lounge (on Hanover Drive near Save-Mart) to provide some sort of paid jitney service for East Davis customers.
Another possible choice would be for the owners of apartment buildings in East Davis which do have laundry services for their tenants to temporarily allow non-tenants to use them during odd hours.
I looked this up on Davis Wiki, and it says that the only other coin-op public laundry in Davis, the Quick Clean Center ([url]http://daviswiki.org/Quick_Clean_Center[/url]) on G Street by the Co-op, has also closed. I think there are some vacancies in that strip mall. Perhaps the owners of the Wash Mill would consider relocating there. That is less than a mile from Davis Manor.
Hello Steve,
Do you happen to know why R&R relocated? I think that it was at a good location at Davis Manor. The new location at 2801 Spafford Street seems a little isolated. Interestingly, near Spafford is Goodwill donation express, and if Goodwill opens at Davis Manor, it is almost like a location swap.
In the short term, what is the problem with using Laundry Lounge?
[u]Situation before:[/u]
Davis Manor Owner: Empty storefront
Old Mill Stream: Struggling
Laundry Lounge: Struggling
Goodwill: Need storefront
[u]Situation after:[/u]
Davis Manor Owner: No empty storefront
Old Mill Stream: Out of business
Laundry Lounge: Absorbs Old Mill Stream customers
Goodwill: Has storefront
What is the Old Mill Stream’s plan?
Edgar: I don’t think the problem is already resolved. We have before owning our own machines, used Laundry Lounge’s service. However, you are not simply paying for the wash, you pay for the labor as well and therefore you pay a given price by the pound. For a low income person that cost is prohibitive.
“What connection do these residents have with our city governance, our political process – who is hearing their concerns?”
It seems to me that becoming active in the political process starts with being active in the community, as opposed to isolating oneself, or being isolated, whatever the case may be. I would be interested in exploring how Davis Downtown might participate in increasing the community involvement of these residents, particularly involving children programs.
-Michael Bisch DDBA Co-Prez
To help these poor, overworked (from my perspective) people, please stop by the Old Mill Stream Laundromat and sign the handwritten petition jointly prepared by the Laundromat owner and her customers to preserve their lease. My wife and I did, and, while we were there, we noticed the impressive investment that the owner continues to make to provide an ESSENTIAL service to this particular community. The Laundromat has a “humble, homey, community center” atmosphere that should be cherished as an asset, and not be extinguished as a liability. Perhaps David can beat Goliath one more time!
In this story, the vaguest point is the “format” that Goodwill requires. does anyone know more detail about the format that requires 6500sf instead of 5000sf? Why does Goodwill need to be that size?
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