Vanguard Radio October 21: No on P
October 21, 2009 show – The Vanguard interviews two representatives from the No on P side: Mark…
Council Opts Against Third Party Review of DACHA Amid Dire Report
Last night, the Davis City Council opted against a third party review of city actions involving the refinance of DACHA by a 3-2 vote along rather unusual lines. The majority of council, opted instead to focus city efforts on saving DACHA which is critical danger of defaulting on the city’s loan that could cause the homes to go into foreclosure. While it is unclear that the two goals were mutually exclusive, the council majority urged DACHA and Twin Pines to sit down and figure out a repayment schedule that might allow DACHA to continue to make payments on the city’s loan.
Following lengthy discussion, Councilmember Lamar Heystek moved that the council opt for third party review into the actions of the city and a determination of the legality of the refinance and other issues. Councilmember Don Saylor seconded the motion, and argued forcefully that there were enough competing claims and the situation was complex enough warrant a third party, not involved the process, to examine the legality and other issues surrounding the city’s loan of more than $4.15 million.
Protesters Ask Holder To Investigate Yolo and Sacramento DA’s
Around 30 protesters carrying signs and braving a light but steady rain gathered in front of the Sacramento District Attorney’s Office and then marched to the Matsui Courthouse in order to deliver a letter to US Attorney General Eric Holder asking for an investigation into the District Attorneys–Jeff Reisig of Yolo County and Jan Scully of Sacramento County.
Organizer Rev. Ashiya Odeye from the Justice Reform Coalition told the Vanguard late Monday:
Third Party Review Needed into Use of 4.15 Million Dollars of Taxpayer Money
Nearly three weeks ago, the Vanguard brought to light serious problems of potential misuse of approximately $4.15 million in public funds that were used to loan the Davis Area Cooperative Housing Association. In particular the organization is accused of illegally redistributing cooperative funds to its members.
In July of 2008, the city of Davis and the Davis City Council responding to complaints from DACHA members of high monthly carrying charges and unaffordable share costs as well as an audit that showed that DACHA was in financial distress and not sustainable in the long run, provided a loan to help DACHA refinance their debts, reduce their share costs from $22,000 to $6250 and reduce their monthly carrying charges that ran as high as $1800 per month.
Heystek Announces He Will Not Seek Re-Election
At last night’s Yolo County Concilio Awards Dinner, Davis City Councilmember Lamar Heystek made the stunning public announcement that he would not be running for reelection in 2010 citing mainly personal reasons. His announcement stunned many of even his close supporters and leaves the progressive side of the aisle unsure of who will run for the council in 2010 as Mr. Heystek and Mayor Ruth Asmundson’s seat are up for election.
No one has formally announced they are running for the City Council seat, though it is widely believed that Sydney Vergis who finished fourth in 2008 will run again. The Mayor is believed to be seeking a third term, but has not formally announced.
Two Studies Indicate Furloughs May Not Save State Money
Earlier this week, the Senate Office of Oversight and Outcomes released a report that concluded that the furlough savings was illusory at 24.7 facilities, specifically at state hospitals, prisons, and other 24/7 facilities that are under state operation. This finding by itself carries a considerable consequence, but amazingly it is not the only finding of its kind.
But another study done by UC Berkeley’s Center for Labor Research and Education released on Thursday found that:
Guest Commentary: No(P)e on Sprawl
by Fraser Shilling –
When I see the XXL houses in South Davis, Wildhorse, and Mace Ranch, I feel sorry for the people living there. They have bought into this unsustainable idea that living extra-large is somehow a good thing, when all evidence points to that kind of lifestyle choice resulting in an impoverished world and loss of their own happiness. In a different way, I also feel for the students, parents of students, and working people in Davis who are struggling to make all those frayed ends meet. I wonder how people will survive economic decline and find a reasonable place to live. It’s at times like these that I would consider building affordable housing somewhere convenient to Davis’ amenities; housing that is sustainable in terms of size; and housing that doesn’t sit on top of our declining agricultural lands. Unfortunately the newest proposed Measure (P) for housing in Davis does none of these things.
A Look at the Sierra Club’s Endorsement Process of Measure P
Two weeks ago, the Sierra Club announced that they had endorsed Measure P. Like everything in this campaign, that endorsement has trigger a bit of controversy in part because of their reputation as one of the preeminent environmental groups in the nation and indeed globally.
Critics immediately complained about the process by which the endorsement was obtained. Some have suggested this was largely a political decision made at the local level by people beholden to certain developer interests. Others have pointed to the lack of ability of opponents to present their reasons for opposition. Along those lines, supporters contend that the meeting was noticed in the newspaper twice.
Vanguard Radio October 14: Measure P
October 14, 2009 show – The Vanguard interviews three representatives from the Yes on P side: Project…
Word To The Wise: Senior Housing Controversy – The Latest Plan of Attack
By E. Roberts Musser –
I want to make it clear at the outset that I am speaking as a private citizen, and not as Chair of the Davis Senior Citizens Commission. At the October 8, 2009 Davis Senior Citizens Commission meeting, a 62 page staff report was dropped into our laps unannounced as we walked in the door. None of us had seen it before, or anticipated its coming. It was complete news to our City Council Liaison Sue Greenwald and City Staff Liaison Maria Lucchesi, both of whom are extremely supportive of and knowledgeable about our commission’s work.
The topic of senior housing has become a hot button issue of late, as a developer prepares to put forth an application in January of 2010 for an 800 unit senior housing development. This would be only Phase I of a much larger, as yet undefined housing project. The senior housing portion of this project will be located on the southern one third of the site. The large tract of land where this senior housing is being proposed is located where the developer was going to build the controversial and massive 1800 unit Covell Village development – which was soundly defeated by Davis citizens in a Measure J vote by a margin of 60% to 40%.
CHA Continues to Manufacture Support For Covell Village
Two weeks ago we were a bit perplexed that the Council Majority was opposed to commissioning a senior housing survey asking if we wanted to determine the need for senior housing,. Should we not collect survey research data in the form of a phone poll? Amazingly the council majority disagreed with that approach and voted 3-2 to turn down staff’s recommendation to use restricted monies to commission a fair and impartial survey.
What was particularly surprising was that back in June, they seemed willing to utilize data collected by a group called CHA, a front group for the Covell Village developers. However, the council majority fell over themselves, often resorting to using arguments made by right wing organizations to discredit mainstream polling.
Crime Statistics Show Little Sign of Crime Wave in Davis
In light of four high profile shootings in a two month period there were concerns growing in the community that these shootings were a reflection of a rise in crime that threatened the city of Davis. Accordingly, the Vanguard acquired the last two years of uniform crime statistics, the same statistics that the city sends on a monthly basis to the Justice Department.
A cursory examination of these statistics however, show little evidence of an increase in the crime rate in Davis over the last two years. And if anything the categories of burglary and larceny have trended down over that period, assault has remained stable if not a slightly downward trajectory, and motor theft has fluctuated but has at most remained stable if not also a slightly downward trajectory.
Finance and Budget Commission Begins To Look at Fiscal Model
One of the issues that came out of the Finance and Budget’s Commission meeting on September 14 that looked at the fiscal impact of the Wildhorse Ranch project was to review how the city evaluates new developments. The result last night was a two hour discussion that left more questions than answers about how the city evaluates development projects.
I begin with a little background and details on the model itself. The model was first developed in 2004 to analyze the potential General Fund impact of the Covell Village development project but was intended to be flexible and dynamic enough to be used for all major development projects. It consists of three parts–assumptions, revenue calculations and expenditure calculations.
Governor Vetoes Reform of UC and CSU
In the slew of bills signed and vetoed on Sunday, the Governor ended up vetoing three bills sponsored by Senator Leland Yee that would have pushed for serious reforms of UC and CSU including key legislation that would have prohibited executive pay raises during bad budget years at the University of California and the California State University.
Senator Yee:
“It is deeply disappointing that the Governor wants to ensure top executives live high on the hog while students suffer. The Governor’s veto is a slap in the face to all UC and CSU students and the system’s low wage workers. His veto protects the UC and CSU administration’s egregious executive compensation practices and allows them to continue to act more like AIG than a public trust.”
Two Months Later Ajay Dev Case Remains Troubling
On August 7, 2009, Yolo County Superior Court Judge Timothy L. Fall sentenced Ajay Kumar Dev, 42, for his multiple count conviction of the serial molest and rape of his adopted daughter, which allegedly occurred between January 1999 and December 2004. It is one of the longest sentences in Yolo County history.
In June, a jury convicted Dev of 76 felony counts including 23 counts of forcible rape; 23 counts of forcible sexual assault; 27 counts of lewd acts with a minor; and 3 counts of attempting to dissuade a witness. The jury hung on three of the counts and returned not guilty verdicts on 13 others.
Dunning Response Rather Defensive
I contemplated whether or not to let Dunning’s response this morning go. I took an unusual step on Friday morning of asking Davis Enterprise Editor Debbie Davis to have the Davis Enterprise offer a public apology to the young ladies whom Bob Dunning chose to malign in his column last Sunday. She artfully dodged that request, suggesting that Dunning himself would have a response to their letter in today’s column. I was bracing for the worst.
His response comes across as part defensive and part denial. There is no contrition. To believe him, he was misunderstood. Much of it represents an artful play on words in order to make insinuations without taking responsibility for them.
WHAT’S COOKIN’ AT THE DAVIS SENIOR CITIZENS COMMISSION?
By Elaine Roberts Musser (private citizen) – October 8, 2009 PUBLIC COMMENT There was a brief presentation…
More Cuts To City Services Seem Inevitable
On October 20, the Davis City Council will receive some sort of update on the city’s budget situation. It is not clear at this time whether that will merely be an informational item or whether it will include additional action items for consideration.
The majority of this story is informed conjecture based on what we do not and what we expect to result from that.
Dunning’s Column An Insult to Women and Students
The Students Respond –
Earlier this week, when I wrote the column, “In Defense of the College Democrats,” I actually did not know the full background of the students who Bob Dunning was describing in demeaning language. When I was told the whole story, I became incensed and outraged at Bob Dunning. This column is not about Measure P, it is about the insensitive, vile and depraved individual that is Bob Dunning. I do not use these terms lightly and perhaps they are unfair. Perhaps, Mr. Dunning is merely lazy, and does not bother to check his facts.
He writes:
Vanguard Radio October 7: Ajay Dev Case Show II
October 7, 2009 show – The Vanguard interview Albert Bifarelli and Reverend Odeye for a second time…
