Lecia Brooks from the Southern Poverty Law Center came to Davis on Monday to speak about the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, as well as to talk about contemporary issues of race in our society.
The Southern Poverty Law Center came into being in the early 1970s by two white natives of Montgomery, Alabama, Morris Dees and Joe Levin.
Mayor Joe Krovoza used his comments, opening the 2012 MLK Day Celebration in the City of Davis, to condemn the pepper-spraying incident that occurred last November.
“Intolerance does continue, the reasons for us to gather continue as well,” the mayor said to a capacity crowd at the Varsity Theater on Monday. “War still distracts us from creating social justice, at home it still drains our resources. There are many ways in which we will continue to fight intolerance and [fight for] social justice creation in Davis.”
In 2008, I will never forget going to a Davis City Council debate and hearing two incumbent city councilmembers boast that they had balanced the budget with a 15 percent reserve.
Understand that these words were issued in April or May of 2008. By September of 2008, the world would be very different, both in terms of our budgetary reality and in terms of the view on issues like unfunded liabilities and pensions.
Martin Luther King Day is a holy day of sorts for those who are believers and fighters for social justice. For me, for whatever reason, it is also a time for personal reflection. My life in most respects has drastically changed in the last six years, in ways I never would have anticipated.The path that I am on is not the path that I had chosen. That is fine, I would not change anything for the world.
When I was growing up in San Luis Obispo and later attended Cal Poly, the city always had a love-hate relationship with the students. The businesses liked the business they got from students, but the residents of the community considered the students an annoyance who made noise, drank and partied.
Moving to Davis, that element seemed less pronounced. There were active efforts here to make students a greater part of the community, whether it was their inclusion in Neighbor’s Night Out Parties or the UC Davis Liaison Commission.
Because I just can’t help myself… Between the comments last week on the Vanguard and comments this week by Bob Dunning, I will say it now and repeat it until this issue resolves – If your argument for plastic bags at grocery stores boils down to doggy poop, then you’ve lost the debate.
Now, why is that, you ask? Because it is absurd that we have to provide plastic bags at grocery stores because otherwise people will have no way to deal with the waste products that come from the rear side of their canines.
The tax levies about 49 dollars per year per parcel which produces an overall amount of 1.36 million dollars in general fund revenue to the city that is used to offset the cost of parks maintenance costs. According to staff reports, this accounts for about one-fifth of the overall annual park maintenance costs to the city.
When Davis contemplated rescinding the city’s rate increases on water, Woodland’s city council came down to the chambers in Davis and expressed their concerns about delays and cost hikes, and even threatened that they would go at it alone.
Now, over a month later, perhaps calmer heads are prevailing as Dennis Diemer, the General Manager of the Woodland-Davis Clean Water Agency, came before the city council on Tuesday night to address concerns about costs and timelines.
Last year at MLK Day in Davis, I expressed concerns about the way that MLK Day had functioned. While there was a great audience for the event, I was increasingly concerned that the diversity that had been notable at previous years’ events had dissipated.
As I wrote last year, the problem I saw was the loss of the community-based outreach that we once had with the Human Relations Commission, prior to it being disbanded and then reconstituted in the summer of 2006. I spoke at length to the council, highlighting my concerns with what had happened since the disbanding of the Human Relations Commission in 2006, and the disengagement of a number of sectors of Davis’ community from the MLK and other events.
Vanguard Believes Leaks From Disgruntled City Employees Driving Some ItThe attacks on City Manager Steve Pinkerton began hot and heavy on December 5, 2011 from Jon Li, even before the city manager had finished a three-month period that saw both the implementation and the revocation of water rate hikes in advance of a massive surface water project.
In a missive directed at the heart of City Hall, attacking both the mayor and city manager viciously, Jon Li, a former city council candidate and longtime resident, accused the new city manager of being “Krovoza’s Lapdog” and suggested that he “flunks his probationary period.”
Ordinance Addresses the Wrong Problem and May Be Unenforceable With Unintended ConsequencesIt was billed as a routine measure by Police Chief Landy Black, giving the city the ability to charge minors who had consumed alcohol. At the same time it was acknowledged only one other jurisdiction has a similar law on its books, and students expressed concerns about profiling and due process concerns.
The council passed the first reading of the ordinance, under the understanding that the UC Davis Student Liaison commission would weigh in and the matter would come back before the council. This action preserved the ability for the council to get the matter on the books prior to Picnic Day, which appears to be the real target of this measure.
Steve Pinkerton Argues CalPERS Optimistic Projections “Wrong” and “In Complete Denial”
At the Chamber of Commerce’s annual event, Davis City Manager Steve Pinkerton delivered his first State of the City Address. While Mr. Pinkerton would focus heavily on the burning issues, particularly the issue of the budget, he also highlighted some achievements.
Unlike past editions, this one was marked with straight talk, highlighting the positive aspects of the community, but being very honest about the crises that loom, namely in terms of pensions and retiree medical benefits.
In the wake of the California Supreme Court’s decision to uphold 2011 legislation that dissolves redevelopment agencies in California, while striking a voluntary payment arrangement to allow redevelopment to continue, the City of Davis faces critical questions that it must resolve by January 13, even as the drop-dead date of February 1 presents continuing uncertainty.
The city faces two critical choices – it must choose whether to serve as the successor agency upon dissolution of the Redevelopment Agency, and make the determination whether to retain the housing assets and functions of the Redevelopment Agency.
On Tuesday, Davis City Manager Steve Pinkerton will deliver his first state of the city address to the Davis Chamber of Commerce.
The Vanguard spoke with the city manager about his thoughts so far and for the upcoming year. It has been a fast start for the former city manager from Manteca. His first council meeting lasted until 3:30 in the morning, and things have not slowed down since.
All across the country the headlines talk about a mild winter. Here in the valley, not only is the snow pack less than 20 percent of average, but this year has been unusually mild with temperatures hovering at or above the record highs for the date. It is not just California, it is most of the country.Sacramento set a record high on Wednesday at 66 degrees. The next day, the forecast called for not quite a record high, but a high temperature ten degrees above average for the date. Still there is no rain in sight.
This week, the Davis City Council will receive a report updating them on the activities of the Woodland-Davis Clean Water Agency.
The staff report notes: “The Davis City Council rescinded the water rates at the December 6, 2011 meeting that would support the cost of design and construction of the surface water facilities. Therefore, the WDCWA anticipates a delay in issuing the draft request for proposal for the procurement of design and construction services for the project.”
Report by The Davis Wood Smoke Scientific Advisory Committee
The immediately preceding Part 1 of this 2-part series on wood burning in Davis reported how voluntary wood burning restrictions in Davis have proved ineffective in solving the increasing problem of wood smoke in the city (click to see “Why Voluntary Wood Burning Restrictions are Not Working in Davis“) This 2nd article in the series reports the results of the Davis Wood Smoke Scientific Advisory Committee and how they confirm the adverse health impacts that wood burning may have on downwind neighbors. It confirms the appropriateness of restricting wood burning based on projected local weather conditions as previously recommended by the Davis Natural Resources Commission instead of projected regional particulate matter concentrations as currently practiced by the local air quality management district
On Wednesday, the Vanguard had a brief phone interview with Mayor Joe Krovoza, talking about the coming year and what is on the horizon for Davis.
By Alan PryorI read with interest Bob Dunning’s column a week before Christmas when in the midst of his angry tirade against proposed restrictions of single-use bags he proclaimed “that virtually all Davisites are courteous and considerate and don’t burn wood on “No Burn” day“. Well, as often seems the case, Bob Dunning must inhabit an alternate Davis universe from many of the rest of us. As those of us accustomed to taking long walks on winter evenings know well, there are parts of Davis in which an acrid odor of wood smoke is almost continuously present during calm winter nights – even on those nights in which voluntary wood burning restrictions have been called.
A Pall of Wood Smoke has Been Hanging over Davis and Sacramento for Weeks
by John Munn
The Yolo County Taxpayers Association commends the Davis City Council for recognizing the need for a pause in the rush toward higher water rates. Whether we bring in surface water or not, the primary concern of the Taxpayers Association is affordability, and we hope that the design and cost of facilities needed to meet water quality and quantity needs of both Davis and Woodland can now be re-evaluated based what we can afford.