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Sunday Commentary: Soda Tax Deserves a Real Chance on the June Ballot

Posted by David Greenwald
|Date: January 31, 2016
| (35) Comments

Sunday Commentary: Soda Tax Deserves a Real Chance on the June Ballot

On Monday afternoon, a collection of Davis citizens led by Delaine Eastin (Former State Superintendent of ...

On Monday afternoon, a collection of Davis citizens led by Delaine Eastin (Former State Superintendent of Public Instruction), Yolo County Supervisor Don Saylor, and Mayor Pro Tem Robb Davis, Davis Ci ...

January 31, 2016
| by David Greenwald

| (35) Comments

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My View: Parks-Only Tax a Bad Idea

Posted by David Greenwald
|Date: January 30, 2016
| (13) Comments

My View: Parks-Only Tax a Bad Idea

When the Davis City Council met in December, by a 3-2 vote they asked staff to return with options for a ...

When the Davis City Council met in December, by a 3-2 vote they asked staff to return with options for a potential transient occupancy tax (TOT), a potential parcel tax and/or a potential sugar-sweete ...

January 30, 2016
| by David Greenwald

| (13) Comments

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Commentary: Moving in the Wrong Direction on Financial Issues

Posted by David Greenwald
|Date: December 24, 2015
| (29) Comments

Commentary: Moving in the Wrong Direction on Financial Issues

I increasingly find myself in a strange position with regard to city finances and the direction in which ...

I increasingly find myself in a strange position with regard to city finances and the direction in which we should be moving. On the one hand, the Vanguard has been pushing for revenue for roads for a ...

December 24, 2015
| by David Greenwald

| (29) Comments

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My View: The Whole Tax Set Up Was Odd

Posted by David Greenwald
|Date: December 19, 2015
| (10) Comments

My View: The Whole Tax Set Up Was Odd

In the last several days, we have looked into the impact of the soda tax discussion, but there is one ang ...

In the last several days, we have looked into the impact of the soda tax discussion, but there is one angle we have not yet explored and it was one that became apparent from the start – why was the ci ...

December 19, 2015
| by David Greenwald

| (10) Comments

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City Manager Pushes Back on Tax Issue, Claiming Staff Time Crunches

Posted by David Greenwald
|Date: December 18, 2015
| (31) Comments

City Manager Pushes Back on Tax Issue, Claiming Staff Time Crunches

It was a bit surprising, as council was sorting out how to approach a revenue measure, with the deadline ...

It was a bit surprising, as council was sorting out how to approach a revenue measure, with the deadline of February to put it on the city ballot rapidly approaching and faced with four options, that ...

December 18, 2015
| by David Greenwald

| (31) Comments

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Mayor Wolk Backs Off Support of Soda Tax (Video)

Posted by David Greenwald
|Date: December 16, 2015
| (45) Comments

Mayor Wolk Backs Off Support of Soda Tax (Video)

Council had a long discussion on Tuesday related to revenue measures. After hearing from numerous repres ...

Council had a long discussion on Tuesday related to revenue measures. After hearing from numerous representatives of the business community and the beverage industry, Mayor Dan Wolk surprised many by ...

December 16, 2015
| by David Greenwald

| (45) Comments

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Commentary: Council Passes MOUs Without a Word

Posted by David Greenwald
|Date: December 02, 2015
| (112) Comments

Commentary: Council Passes MOUs Without a Word

The Davis City Council’s biggest decision on Tuesday night, with the deepest ramifications for the future ...

The Davis City Council’s biggest decision on Tuesday night, with the deepest ramifications for the future of the city, came and went without a single comment by the council other than Mayor Pro Tem Ro ...

December 02, 2015
| by David Greenwald

| (112) Comments

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Special Commentary: Council Set to Approve $1.1 Million in New Spending on MOUs

Posted by David Greenwald
|Date: November 30, 2015
| (88) Comments

Special Commentary: Council Set to Approve $1.1 Million in New Spending on MOUs

Despite projections from last June showing the precarious nature of the city budget and despite sales tax ...

Despite projections from last June showing the precarious nature of the city budget and despite sales tax figures coming in nearly three percent below the budgeted estimate for 2015-16, the city counc ...

November 30, 2015
| by David Greenwald

| (88) Comments

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Long-Time Police Officer Named New Chief

Posted by David Greenwald
|Date: November 21, 2015
| (5) Comments

Long-Time Police Officer Named New Chief

As the Vanguard reported just over a week ago, there was not much surprise in who would become the next P ...

As the Vanguard reported just over a week ago, there was not much surprise in who would become the next Police Chief. Davis City Manager Dirk Brazil is pleased to announce the appointment of Darren Py ...

November 21, 2015
| by David Greenwald

| (5) Comments

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Is It Inevitable That Darren Pytel Becomes the Next Police Chief?

Posted by David Greenwald
|Date: November 10, 2015
| (28) Comments

Is It Inevitable That Darren Pytel Becomes the Next Police Chief?

For a long time it has seemed that Darren Pytel has been the de facto police-chief-in-waiting in Davis. T ...

For a long time it has seemed that Darren Pytel has been the de facto police-chief-in-waiting in Davis. The only question has been when – not if – current Chief Landy Black would retire. That time fin ...

November 10, 2015
| by David Greenwald

| (28) Comments

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City Seeks Input on Mace Innovation Center Via Virtual Workshop

Posted by Vanguard Administrator
|Date: October 30, 2015
| (3) Comments

City Seeks Input on Mace Innovation Center Via Virtual Workshop

The City of Davis launched a virtual community workshop for the Mace Ranch Innovation Center (MRIC) proje ...

The City of Davis launched a virtual community workshop for the Mace Ranch Innovation Center (MRIC) project. The community is invited to provide comments on the MRIC project and proposed plans from O ...

October 30, 2015
| by Vanguard Administrator

| (3) Comments

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Commentary: Top Issue and Most Elusive Goal in This Community is Fiscal Sustainability

Posted by David Greenwald
|Date: October 13, 2015
| (45) Comments

Commentary: Top Issue and Most Elusive Goal in This Community is Fiscal Sustainability

This is probably not a fair indictment, but in the last 12 to 18 months, it seems that we have forgotten ...

This is probably not a fair indictment, but in the last 12 to 18 months, it seems that we have forgotten that the city’s fiscal health remains perilous at best. With an improvement in the economy and ...

October 13, 2015
| by David Greenwald

| (45) Comments

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Sunday Commentary: The Vanguard’s View of the Council Accomplishments of 2014-15

Posted by David Greenwald
|Date: July 26, 2015
| (8) Comments

Sunday Commentary: The Vanguard’s View of the Council Accomplishments of 2014-15

This week the mayor published his monthly Mayor’s Corner and called the past year “a year to remember.” ...

This week the mayor published his monthly Mayor’s Corner and called the past year “a year to remember.” He writes, “This month marks the end of this new City Council’s first year — and my first year ...

July 26, 2015
| by David Greenwald

| (8) Comments

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Analysis: Gloves Come Off in Debate Over City Manager

Posted by David Greenwald
|Date: June 30, 2015
| (20) Comments

Analysis: Gloves Come Off in Debate Over City Manager

Last week, we noted and analyzed Rich Rifkin’s column, “Davis City Manager Fails to Lead” (6/24) where he ...

Last week, we noted and analyzed Rich Rifkin’s column, “Davis City Manager Fails to Lead” (6/24) where he wrote, “Next week, Dirk Brazil will mark the start of his ninth month on the job as the Davis ...

June 30, 2015
| by David Greenwald

| (20) Comments

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Analysis: Is It Time to Start Evaluating the City Manager?

Posted by David Greenwald
|Date: June 24, 2015
| (34) Comments

Analysis: Is It Time to Start Evaluating the City Manager?

It is perhaps easy to forget the world of 2008. It was just seven years ago that two incumbents won reele ...

It is perhaps easy to forget the world of 2008. It was just seven years ago that two incumbents won reelection, arguing in essence we had a balanced budget with a 15 percent reserve. Back then, there ...

June 24, 2015
| by David Greenwald

| (34) Comments

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Sunday Commentary: Council Needs To Be Ready to Make More Tough Choices on Budget

Posted by David Greenwald
|Date: June 14, 2015
| (13) Comments

Sunday Commentary: Council Needs To Be Ready to Make More Tough Choices on Budget

In June of 2014, the city was still facing an economic crisis and the voters stepped up delivered what wa ...

In June of 2014, the city was still facing an economic crisis and the voters stepped up delivered what was billed to be a temporary half-cent tax increase. By the fall the city’s financial budget pros ...

June 14, 2015
| by David Greenwald

| (13) Comments

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Analysis: The Unanticipated Power of the Mayor in a Weak Mayoral System

Posted by David Greenwald
|Date: June 11, 2015
| (33) Comments

Analysis: The Unanticipated Power of the Mayor in a Weak Mayoral System

It was a change that caught us off guard as we saw Dan Wolk become mayor last July, replacing Joe Krovoza ...

It was a change that caught us off guard as we saw Dan Wolk become mayor last July, replacing Joe Krovoza as mayor. After all, we have a weak mayoral system that requires three votes to accomplish muc ...

June 11, 2015
| by David Greenwald

| (33) Comments

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Commentary: Not Opposed to Taxes, But We Need a Plan

Posted by David Greenwald
|Date: June 11, 2015
| (13) Comments

Commentary: Not Opposed to Taxes, But We Need a Plan

As we noted yesterday, neither the city manager nor the majority of council members seems to be in the mo ...

As we noted yesterday, neither the city manager nor the majority of council members seems to be in the mood to ask for further concessions from employee groups. However, the budget projections are not ...

June 11, 2015
| by David Greenwald

| (13) Comments

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Analysis: Should City Really Preclude More Employee Concessions?

Posted by David Greenwald
|Date: June 10, 2015
| (24) Comments

Analysis: Should City Really Preclude More Employee Concessions?

Monday night’s Finance and Budget Commission budget discussion got high marks from a number of people who ...

Monday night’s Finance and Budget Commission budget discussion got high marks from a number of people who have typically been critical of the city’s handling of budget matters. However, one remark jum ...

June 10, 2015
| by David Greenwald

| (24) Comments

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Commentary: Critical Analysis Lacking in Recent Coverage of City

Posted by David Greenwald
|Date: June 05, 2015
| (24) Comments

Commentary: Critical Analysis Lacking in Recent Coverage of City

In Davis, the public rarely is in agreement on public policy issues. Often policy differences spark heate ...

In Davis, the public rarely is in agreement on public policy issues. Often policy differences spark heated debate over critical decisions. It has been six months since the Davis City Council hired Dir ...

June 05, 2015
| by David Greenwald

| (24) Comments

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