Commentary: City Has More Than One Crisis
It remains to be seen if the new version of Nishi proves to be less of a…
Commentary: Council Must Address and Commit to Cost Containment
The Vanguard readers have been focused on the issue of fairness of the proposed tax, now that…
Council Opts against Polling – Lays Out Parameters for Revenue Measures
While city staff had pushed for the council to commission a poll to study voter inclinations, council…
Commentary: Council Should Consider Not Polling on Revenue Measure
This column goes against my instincts both as a former political scientist and someone who has worked…
Sunday Commentary: Are Housing Developments Net Fiscal Losers for the City?
A recent conversation about the fiscal impacts of the student housing project prompted a poster to basically…
Commentary: Next City Manager Must Right City’s Fiscal Ship, Find Way Forward for Economic Development
Following yesterday’s column, the Vanguard received some important feedback on the fiscal state of the city. One…
Monday Morning Thoughts: Two Years of Ignoring Fiscal Challenges Were Costly
As we prepare once again to search for a new city manager, once again it seems we…
Commentary: Thoughts on the Departure of Dirk Brazil and the Needs of the City Going Forward
The statement this week that City Manager Dirk Brazil had announced his retirement, effective January 8, 2018,…
City Looks to Tax Airbnb Rentals
Back in September 2015, the city council discussed the issue of short-term rentals via internet platforms, specifically…
Monday Morning Thoughts: Are Davis Residents Heeding the Warnings?
The Vanguard has spent ten years warning the community about the shortcomings of the budget. In a…
Council Gets Pushback on the Fire Contract
While the council unanimously approved the fire contract, there were two comments – one by Matt Williams…
Every Davis Citizen Should Read New Budget Forecast
By Dan Carson It won’t show up on the New York Times bestseller list. It is unlikely…
Sunday Commentary: When the Police Cannot Follow Up on a Simple Vehicle Theft
There Are Tradeoffs and Consequences When the City Lacks Resources For years I have been arguing the…
My View: Agreement with Fire Was Necessary to Move Forward
In order to understand what has transpired in the last two months, we need to go back…
After Long Impasse, City and Firefighters’ Union Reach Tentative Contract Agreement
It was 2009 the last time the firefighters reached an agreement with the city on a contract…
Commentary: Should We Be Concerned about Comments Made by the New Fire Chief?
Earlier this year, UC Davis exercised its option to opt out of the shared management of the…
Commentary: Defending Double Dipping?
The problem of double dipping into the pension system is a huge problem that the legislature and…
Guest Commentary: Boiling the Frog
by Michael Bisch (Editor’s note: The following ran in April 2014 and is re-published by request of…
My View: Tax Discussion Missing Critical Context
The council had their first discussion this year about taxes and there is already pushback. Part of…
Will the Council Put a Soda Tax on the Ballot This Time?
Last year back in late November the issue of a potential sugar-sweetened beverage tax came up. The…