In the last week, the news has come forward that the Gottschalks department store chain, which filed for bankruptcy in January will be headed for liquidation.
Last week the Davis Enterprise quoted Sarah Worley, the economic development coordinator with the City of Davis saying:
The Vanguard is breaking down the ballot initiatives for the May 19, 2009 special election. We began last week by looking at Proposition 1A. Today we look at Proposition 1B.
Proposition 1B ensures that schools receive $9.3 billion over time, so that the money cut during the current budget crisis is not permanent. The payments to schools will come out of the newly created rainy day fund, but not until 2011-2012 when the state’s fiscal outlook is expected to improve.
The Vanguard has learned that Davis Enterprise Reporter Jeff Hudson, who has covered the Davis School District for ten years, has also been working for Tahir Ahad since August 2008 on an educational newsletter called EdBrief. It was last year that the Vanguard presented a four part series on Tahir Ahad who served as DJUSD’s CBO from 1999 to 2006. During his tenure at DJUSD he used district resources and district personnel to form his company Total School Solutions. As we discovered, Mr. Ahad took district personnel from DJUSD and hired them to work concurrently with his company. This enabled him capital and resources to help start up his company which has now greatly expanded its influence throughout the state.
It was a year ago when the Davis Schools Foundation led the way for this community to come together to save our schools. In a dramatic fundraising campaign, they did what many thought was impossible, they raised $1.7 which along with a better economic picture and some one-time monies, saved the district from steep cuts–up to 114 teaching jobs were saved. Now here we are again, despite the passage of Measure W to provide an addition $2.4 million in school support, we find ourselves facing a similar if less severe problem.
The city actually had some grant money at one point from SACOG but squandered it through inaction.
Last week from March 15-21, 2009 marked "Sunshine Week" across the country. This is the celebration and a reminder of the need to advance the cause of "open government." Since the foundation of the People’s Vanguard of Davis, we have strived to uphold a very simple principle–notion that the public has the right to know what the government is doing and the duty to hold the government accountable. Our focus has primarily been on the city of Davis with extensions into Yolo County, the region, and even the State of California from time to time.
Earlier this month freshman Assemblymember Mariko Yamada announced her support and co-authorship of legislation introduced by Senator Mark Leno that would provide all Californian’s with universal health care.
Said Assemblymember Yamada during the press conference:
March 25, 2009 show – The Vanguard interviewed Frank Pinto from UPTE discussing the labor situation with…
March 18, 2009 show – The Vanguard interviewed Melissa Chandon and Leo Reflands from a grass roots…
March 11, 2009 show – The Vanguard interviewed Rev. John Pamperin and we talked about the Freedom…
March 4, 2009 show – The Vanguard interviewed Rebecca Gill from the ACLU of Northern California for…
Part of the budget deal that was reach back in February put a number of propositions on the ballot. Propositions 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, and 1E were specifically related to the budget itself and their passage in part will determine whether that particular budget was balanced or not. Of course, since that time, the state has announced that regardless of whether these items are passed in May, there is an $8 billion budget deficit. Despite this groups are lining up on both sides of many of these ballot initiatives. Many argue that they are “hastily written in secret with no public hearings or analysis.” The consequences of passage of them would outweigh the benefit of a balanced budget.
Many Comparable Cities Have Gone To Three Person Engines –
IPM Coordinator Calls For Cessation of Usage
The Vanguard on Saturday covered the city’s proposed tobacco ordinance. Good article in this morning’s Sacramento Bee…
On Thursday, the Vanguard followed up on its story from last year on the number of 100K employees in the City of Davis. As the Davis Enterprise reported on Wednesday, the number has risen from 61 to 72 this year. As useful as these data are however, they only tell part of the story. In many ways, in fact, they overstate the magnitude of the problem. We now follow up on Thursday’s story and examine total compensation by department.
On Tuesday night, the council by a 4-1 vote decided to push back consideration of the General Plan update until at least July as the city grapples with a serious budget deficit. The lone dissenter was Mayor Pro Tem Saylor.
Saylor spoke as though he were in a different time from the rest of us.
When a business that sells among other things, tobacco related paraphernalia moved to the prominent location at Second and G in the corner space of the Anderson Bank building some members of the council responded by considering an urgency ordinance to create a conditional use permit prohibiting such businesses from that location. However, it became clear that this would not affect the current occupant who moved to the new location in an expedited manner.
As the staff report reads:
On Thursday night the Davis Joint Unified School District formally passed the second interim budget that would show the Davis school budget balanced through 2010-11. In order to do that, the school district had to send layoff notices to dozens of employees including roughly 40 teachers.
However, the really bad news was delivered by the district’s CBO, Associate Superintendent Bruce Colby toward the end of his presentation. The budget’s ink is barely dry and it is already likely out of date.
Word To The Wise
A Bombshell Was Dropped – What’s Next?
By E. Roberts Musser
In our Davis Senior Citizens Commission meeting on Thursday, March 12, 2009, our City Council liaison Sue Greenwald dropped a bombshell. At least it felt that way to some of us on our commission. Councilmember Greenwald said there was a “cost saving” move afoot to consolidate the city’s commissions – yet again. The rationale behind this move is supposedly to cut down on city staff expense.