January 2011 - Page 2 of 5

Redevelopment Proposal Triggers Potentially Long and Contentious Fight

By David GreenwaldJanuary 24, 201124 comments

This morning’s Sacramento Bee points out that those who own the land and buildings in downtown Sacramento pay an estimated 31 million dollars in property taxes every year. Contrary to popular belief, most of that money does not go to fund schools or the local government.

Rather, 26 of the 31 million dollars goes directly to the city’s redevelopment agency (RDA) which ostensibly uses money to “subsidize development projects, build affordable housing, fix up rundown buildings and beautify streets.”

Defense Challenges the Declarations of Detective Villanueva in the Gang Injunction Case

By David GreenwaldJanuary 24, 20118 comments

We continue to look into the closing statement by the defense on the Gang Injunction case. The defendants argue that that the plaintiffs here failed to substantiate the allegations which led to the original issuance of the preliminary injunction.

One of the key witnesses was Detective Joe Villanueva, who was the original police officer in West Sacramento assigned to the Community Response Team and charged with working on the anti-gang unit.

Commentary: The Voters Will Decide Fate of Local Schools

By David GreenwaldJanuary 23, 201125 comments

I went to the school board meeting on Thursday night, expecting to watch the update on the budget and the final language of the parcel tax that voters would vote on in May, however something interesting happened along the way.

The place was packed with angry parents, and I thought, wow, the parents are upset about cuts to the schools and maybe some of these people are here to protest the parcel tax. Wrong! The parents were upset because the girl’s high school basketball coach was fired.

Commentary: Time for the Court System and DA’s Office to Be Hit with a Dose of Reality

By David GreenwaldJanuary 23, 20118 comments

This week I spent my Tuesday night watching the Davis City Council finally deal with their economic situation and make a move towards a more sustainable future, as they faced dead-on the reality of a decade that saw unfunded liabilities soar while we kept increasing salaries and retirement benefits.

On Thursday it was the school district’s turn, as they listened to one of the most ominous budgets one could imagine and then voted to ask the voters to help.

Wolk Becomes Fifth Candidate For City Council

By David GreenwaldJanuary 22, 201145 comments

When Dan Wolk submitted his paperwork to apply for the Davis City Council vacancy on Friday afternoon – he became the fifth individual to submit his name and easily the most recognizable of the names on the list, if only because he is the son of Senator Lois Wolk.

Dan Wolk, an Attorney for Solano County, was himself a Deputy City Attorney for the City of Davis as he worked under Harriet Steiner at her former law firm.

DA Seeks Prison Time For Artz For Possessing Legal Porn on His Home Computer

By David GreenwaldJanuary 22, 201136 comments

DA Continues to Attempt to Ruin the Lives of Defendants in the Name of Public Safety –

On Friday was the first step in the sentencing hearing for Michael Artz, who was 18 at the time he had sexual relations with a 16-year-old classmate. The DA’s Office had attempted to convict him on a charge of forced oral copulation, but the jury acquitted him of that charge.

He ended up being convicted of two lesser charges, one a statutory rape charge because, as an 18-year-old adult he had sexual relations with his 16-year-old classmate. And the other charge was that of having contact with a minor for the purposes of having sex.

DJUSD Puts Parcel Tax on Ballot As Budget Scenario Puts District on Brink

By David GreenwaldJanuary 21, 201151 comments

If the school district were not intentionally timing the final approval of the parcel tax to coincide with the time that the district’s Chief Budget Officer (CBO) Bruce Colby came forward with the January Budget Update, they could not have had a stronger case put before the public than the one that Bruce Colby put forward – highlighted in technicolor graphics.

Taxpayer Advocate and Former Board Member John Munn remarked that he felt like he was kicking at a house of cards. Indeed, he may have been kind, because unfortunately it is closer to reality to suggest that the district is a house of cards, held together by silly string.

Judge Fall Revokes Plea Agreement for Former CASA Director

By David GreenwaldJanuary 21, 201137 comments

Last summer, to the shock and dismay of many volunteers and board members of CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), an organization that advocates for foster children as they move through the court process, the former Executive Director was given a plea agreement of no prison time after pleading no contest to embezzling $46,000 from the non-profit.

Deputy DA Michelle Serafin filed a motion with the Court to reject the no contest plea entered by the defendant on October 14, 2010, arguing that the plea offer “was based on the belief that the defendant had only one prior arrest that resulted in a misdemeanor embezzlement conviction in Sacramento County.”

Students Look Toward a Change in the Enforcement of the Noise Ordinance

By David GreenwaldJanuary 21, 20113 comments

by Amani Rashid –

Davis, being the college city that it is, has its fair share of “raging” parties; and where there are parties there are noise complaints and that is where the police come in. But what exactly constitutes as too much noise? Who should be held accountable for the noise violation? What is standard protocol for dealing with noise complaints?

These were some of the questions raised at the City-UC Davis Student Liaison Commission meeting last week as they discussed an ASUCD noise ordinance reform proposed by the Director of City-County Affairs Dylan Schaefer, a second year Political Science and Economics double major.

Whistleblower

By David GreenwaldJanuary 21, 20110 comments

See Amy Block Joy as she speaks at the Avid Reader on Friday January 28 at 7:30.

For the back story on her struggle with UC Davis, please see this Vanguard article from June 25, 2010.

Commentary: Council Gets It Right, But Now They Must Lead the Public Who Must Prepare for the Worst

By David GreenwaldJanuary 20, 201150 comments

On Tuesday night, the Davis City Council took a very huge step on the road toward fiscal responsibility – they acknowledged the problem that we face. That is something that this city failed to do for the last two years since the collapse of the financial markets, and even before that when it was clear that the path that we were on was unsustainable.

Unfortunately, what we face will be a long and very arduous task. There were few specifics laid out on how to fix the problems. Nor do I think there is one simple solution to any one problem that we face. However, at this point that is nitpicking.

What Evidence Is There That Gang Presents an On-Going Threat to West Sacramento?

By David GreenwaldJanuary 20, 20117 comments

“This case is unprecedented,” the defense begins the first of ten briefs submitted, in closing the challenge to the gang injunction case. “No court has ever issued an injunction under the circumstances presented here.”

Do crimes exist in the “Safety Zone”? Yes they do. Are they committed by individuals who are either self-identified or police identified as “Broderick Boys”? There is no disputing it.

The New Fear of Flying: “Porno-Scans” & “Gate Rape”

By Elaine Roberts MusserJanuary 20, 201112 comments

By E. Roberts Musser –

I had occasion to fly between the West and East Coasts over the winter holidays. On the return flight through Baltimore-Washington International Airport, I was one of the “lucky” passengers who was separated from my adult children and “randomly” selected for subjection to extra security measures. As I stood patiently in the long line to go through the new airport scanning machines, the lady in front of me loudly voiced her displeasure: “I paid extra for business class tickets. I shouldn’t have to wait in line like this, or be separated from my husband. I cannot believe how I am being treated. This is just disgusting. Can you believe this?”

As this woman continued to arrogantly complain, an airport security guard began walking through our line, emphatically declaring: “Anyone not cooperating with security measures will be removed from the line and ejected from the airport if necessary. I will remove you from this facility if I am forced to. If everyone cooperates, the lines will move more quickly.”

Council Makes Strong Statement on Pensions and Unfunded Liabilities

By David GreenwaldJanuary 19, 201130 comments

Coming Months Will Be Telling As to Whether Reform is Real or Illusory –

Those who do not believe that the tide has turned on the issue of fiscal sustainability in the City of Davis, only had to watch the workshop on Tuesday night on pensions and unfunded liabilities.

The council may not have hit a home run, but it was a solid double that was a marked improvement over the series of foul balls and swing-and-misses that we had seen in the previous council.

Defense Submits Closing Statements in Gang Injunction Case

By David GreenwaldJanuary 19, 20115 comments

The defense in the West Sacramento Gang Injunction Case deferred making oral closing comments and instead opted to submit a written closing comment, which they did last week on January 14.

While we tend to believe that the plaintiffs in the case, the Yolo County DA’s Office, failed to prove their case, we nevertheless believe that they will prevail in court.

Assault Case Carries Intrigue of Taliban Involvement and Family Feud

By David GreenwaldJanuary 18, 201110 comments

It is a case that began in March of 2004. What began as a family feud, ended in a stabbing with attempted murder charges, and federal involvement as allegations of Taliban operatives and sympathies permeated the case.

The case was set to go to trial for the first time, two years later, in March of 2006, when the prosecutor on the case dropped the bombshell about the involvement of Homeland Security and reams of witness statements that will likely never be seen again.

Water Board to Listen to Challenges to Davis Water Plan

By David GreenwaldJanuary 18, 201114 comments

Today, the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) will hear challenges to Davis’ and Woodland’s water applications.

According to the record, the SWRCB “intends to conduct an evidentiary hearing on the pending water right applications” in which they will “receive evidence relevant to determining whether the State Water Board should approve, subject to terms and conditions, water right Applications 30358A, for the City of Davis (Davis) and University of California at Davis (UCD), and Application 30358B, for the City of Woodland (Woodland).”

Remarks at Davis MLK Day Celebration

By uptownstudiosJanuary 18, 20113 comments

by Joe Krovoza –

It is my pleasure to welcome you to our annual celebration of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Today’s event is sponsored by our Human Relations Commission. I think it worthwhile in this context to recognize their charge. The Commission “seeks to build a community in Davis where: relationships between diverse peoples are valued by all; the voices of the voiceless are heard; discrimination and hate are not tolerated, and citizens can address issues dealing with hatred, discrimination and alienation.”

Thank you to the Commission for sponsoring this annual event.

Appellate Court Throws Out Yolo County Conviction for Pandering

By David GreenwaldJanuary 17, 201131 comments

Back in August of 2008, the Yolo County DA’s Office was trumpeting this as a case of “Yolo County’s Own ‘To Catch a Predator’ ” which resulted in 40-year-old Todd Robert Dixon of Elk Grove being convicted of pandering, for his actions on December 27, 2007 when he solicited a seventeen-year-old girl in West Sacramento to have sex with him in exchange for money.

Now, just over two years later, the conviction has been thrown out due to insufficient evidence that Mr. Dixon committed that specific charge of pandering, and Mr. Dixon is free and cannot be recharged for this crime.

On This MLK Day We Must Refocus on Addressing Issues in Our Own Community

By David GreenwaldJanuary 17, 201129 comments

Last Tuesday, the City of Davis issued a proclamation acknowledging that today is Martin Luther King Day. In the course of introducing the proclamation, Mayor Joe Krovoza mentioned that it was a bit awkward that there was no one there to receive the proclamation.

It seems in the past there has been, although after discussion with city staff, it does not appear to be a formalized process. This is a lost opportunity to honor people in the community worthy of recognition for such an MLK Day.

Month: January 2011