June 2011 - Page 3 of 5 - Davis Vanguard

Deputy DA Couzens Again Attempts Dirty Trick

By David GreenwaldJune 17, 201117 comments

Prosecutor Admonished For Withholding Key Evidence to Ambush Defense in Gang Case –

In the year and a half of covering trials, by far the most interesting time is during the break when the judge and jury are outside of the courtroom, and the attorneys are talking amongst themselves.

Add in four defense attorneys in a four co-defendant gang case and the always-volatile Deputy DA Ryan Couzens, and you have the recipe for something extraordinary. Thursday afternoon did not disappoint as the defense took exception to Mr. Couzens’ failure to disclose key evidence that seemed to threaten to derail the case for the time.

Commentary: Council Did the Right Thing, in the Right Way, at the Right Time

By David GreenwaldJune 16, 201111 comments

I told this to someone the other day. I am an optimist by nature. I always hope for the best, but unfortunately experience has taught me to expect the worst, until proved otherwise.

Long before Joe Krovoza and Rochelle Swanson ran for the city council and won, I talked to them about the budget. They told me what I wanted to hear, but their first six months in office were very disappointing. Instead of a strong new majority, we saw a show being run by Don Saylor.

Democrats Send Governor an On-Time, All-Cuts Budget

By David GreenwaldJune 16, 201115 comments

Redevelopment is one of the Programs Slashed –

(Scroll down for separate Redevelopment Article) The big question now is whether Jerry Brown will sign what Democrats themselves are calling an imperfect solution, passed on time without a single Republican vote.

On Wednesday Democrats send Governor Brown a budget package that claimed to close nearly ten billion in the budget deficit, although it includes several tricks and maneuvers that the Governor has said he does not want.

Court Watch: Judge Rosenberg Responds to Budget; Voters Support Changes to Three-Strikes

By David GreenwaldJune 16, 201112 comments

Among the provisions passed by the California legislature was another $150 million in cuts to the courts.

Yolo Superior Court Presiding Judge Rosenberg openly criticized the proposed budget plan which was being pushed through the Legislature on Wednesday. The proposed reductions would impose an additional $150 million, on top of a $200 million across-the-board cut already incurred by the judicial branch, and follows years of reductions to the Judicial Branch budget.

Word To The Wise: To Protest Water Rate Increases or Not to Protest, That Is the 325 Million Dollar Question

By David GreenwaldJune 16, 201119 comments

By E. Roberts Musser –

A Proposition 218 notice is on its way to citizens’ mailboxes, to let everyone know the city plans to significantly increase water rates by approximately threefold. Go to the City of Davis website, then click on the water rate calculator. It will determine what your water bill will look like by the year 2016. Of course that doesn’t really reveal what your City of Davis bill will ultimately be. Sewer and sanitation rates are going to go up as well, but not by nearly as much as water rates. The less water you use, the smaller your total bill should be, since water and sewer rates are based on consumption.

Citizens have a right to dispute the increase in water rates, provided they turn in a written protest to the city by Sept. 6, 2011. If 51% of the ratepayers oppose the rate increases in writing, the city cannot impose the enhanced assessments. However, the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) can turn around and fine the city thousands of dollars per day, for its failure to comply with the new wastewater discharge standards that are now in effect, per the Clean Water Act of 1972. It is the effluent being discharged into the Delta that is at issue here. And unfortunately neither Davis nor Woodland meet the new discharge standards with their current wastewater treatment plant facilities.

ERA OF BUSINESS AS USUAL ENDS IN DAVIS

By David GreenwaldJune 15, 201112 comments

Mayor’s Proposal Supported 5-0 by Council Takes Hammer to the Budget and Puts City On Path to Fiscal Stability –

For two hours it was business as usual with Paul Navazio talking in long sentences about how the city cannot make structural cuts midway through a budget, Stephen Souza arguing that we cannot get to structural savings in this budget and therefore we need to deal with the budget as it is proposed.

Just as it appeared all hope was lost to make the kind of serious structural changes needed in this budget, Mayor Joe Krovoza pulled out a proverbial hammer and hammered the city into this decade.

Court Rules that Judge’s Sexual Orientation Does Not Disqualify From Ruling in Prop 8 Challenge

By David GreenwaldJune 15, 201184 comments

Can an openly gay judge rule on the constitutionality of a same sex marriage ban? That was the question that supporters of Proposition 8 posed before a federal court.

The court, in a 21-page opinion, denied the motion to vacate the judgment. The movers in the suit argued that Judge Walker should have been disqualified from presiding over this case based on “statutes require a federal judge to recuse if, inter alia, the judge has a substantial non-pecuniary interest in the case, or if there is some fact that brings the impartiality of the judge reasonably into question. If the judge does not recuse, a motion for disqualification may be made by a party.”

State Pulls Liquor License of La Finca

By David GreenwaldJune 15, 20117 comments

The Woodland Daily Democrat reported Tuesday that investigators with the California Alcoholic Beverage Control revoked La Finca’s liquor license. La Finca is a popular bar and club in Woodland that has been the location of fights, stabbings and, in March, a shooting that resulted in a murder.

According to ABC officials, the official reason for the liquor license suspension has been that the bar has been operating what they call a “disorderly house” and has been a drain on law enforcement.

Vanguard Analysis: Throw Out Budget, Re-Write It

By David GreenwaldJune 14, 201116 comments

The Vanguard’s analysis of the budget suggests that while Interim City Manager Paul Navazio has attempted to tweak the budget, what is really needed is for the council to throw out the budget, stop the attempts to balance a current year budget with rosy assumptions and nickel and diming tiered approaches, and work on critical structural change.

Our examination suggests that are six critical flaws in the current budget, perhaps a seventh. We made seven short-term suggestions for immediate savings and five suggestions for savings down the line.

Water Rates Counter-Intuitively Will Go Up If We Conserve Water

By David GreenwaldJune 14, 201111 comments

There was a very nice letter to the editor in the Enterprise that argued that costs of water will encourage conservation.

Writes Chris Lambert of Davis, “The negative reactions so far to the Sacramento River water project are a perfect illustration of the Tragedy of the Commons. We are depleting at least two shared resources: the groundwater basin, and the health of downstream aquatic life. This is the inevitable result of too many water users and a limited supply.”

How the City Drastically Reduced Overtime

By David GreenwaldJune 13, 201119 comments

Last week, a Vanguard analysis found that the city had achieved a good deal of savings through the reduction of overtime.

As we noted last week, when we ran our initial study of the 100K Club of Davis, we noted that there were 61 members of that 100K Club of Davis. Of those, 48 were public safety employees and 38 were firefighters.

Yolo County Jury Quickly Convicts Man of Burglary Despite Heavily Circumstantial Case

By David GreenwaldJune 13, 201114 comments

A Yolo County Jury went out just after lunch and came back before 5 pm to convict Oscar Barrientos of two counts – one of first degree burglary and one of grand theft.

Despite these convictions, Mr. Barrientos still likely faces probation, given his age at the time of the crime and his lack of priors. Nevertheless, his conviction was based entirely on circumstantial evidence, most of the pieces extremely flawed to the point where Deputy DA Sulaiman Tokhi suggested that the defense would be that he is the most unlucky person around.

Time to Talk about the “F” Word (Fluoride) in the Woodland-Davis Water Project

By David GreenwaldJune 13, 201118 comments

By Alan Pryor –

Background – At the most recent Woodland-Davis Clean Water Agency (CWA) Board meeting for the planned Sacramento River water import project, it was recommended and approved that West-Yost engineers of Davis be issued an engineering contract to provide design and cost estimates for possible future fluoride addition to the drinking water before the water is delivered to Davis or Woodland.

Before approval of the contract, however, Board member and Davis Mayor Joe Krovoza was explicit in noting that the contract was for engineering and design services only and did NOT constitute an approval of fluoride addition to all waters from the project. He explained that each of the Davis and Woodland City Councils would independently evaluate the need for fluoridation and determine what would be done for each community.

Sunday Commentary: Battle Lines Being Drawn

By David GreenwaldJune 12, 201123 comments

The test of the this new council comes up in the next few weeks. Their first budget will determine whether this is all for show, or whether there is substance to their assertions.

By nature I am an optimist. My heart tells me to expect the best. Unfortunately, my experience has taught me to fear the worst. To throw out one more overused cultural statement before diving into this topic I will suggest that the Who was onto something when they sang, “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.”

A Look At Race and Prison Reform Debate

By David GreenwaldJune 12, 201111 comments

This week, Yolo Judicial Watch covered a typical Yolo County trial in which an Hispanic defendant was judged by a nearly all-white jury that contained no other Hispanics.

We have been trying to get good data on Yolo County juries and defendants, but we can safely, from observation alone, draw one conclusion: Latinos as defendants are over-represented in this county as compared to their population. And Latinos in terms of their representation on juries are under-represented.

New Legislative Maps Threaten Davis and Yolo County Power

By David GreenwaldJune 11, 201117 comments

Since 1996, Davis has been represented in the Assembly by a Davis resident. Starting with Helen Thomson, continuing with Lois Wolk and now Mariko Yamada, a Davis resident has held the Assembly seat in a district that included most of Yolo and Eastern Solano County.

While that was one of the few districts that really made demographical and geographical sense, that is now in doubt with the district maps that were released Friday.

Defense Files Notice of Appeal in Artz Case

By David GreenwaldJune 11, 201110 comments

The case that would never end may have just ended with Michael Artz in custody serving what would appear to be a 270-day jail sentence.

Last August, Michael Artz was convicted of the two lesser counts in his case stemming from oral copulation with a 16-year-old female student, a year behind him at Davis High, and from his ill-advised attempts to reconnect with her nine months later.

Davis Resident Still Searching For Answers in Wake of ICE Raid on Davis Property

By David GreenwaldJune 10, 201119 comments

Davis resident Linda Clark still has gotten no official explanation, apology or even communication from federal officials following a raid of her property in late April, as officials served a warrant apparently looking for child pornography.

“I have had no contact with them since [the incident],” Linda Clark told the Vanguard in a Thursday interview at her Davis home. “Apparently they are aware of my complaint… and [according to News 10] it’s being investigated. But nobody has contacted me.”

EVENT: Party at the Ranch

By uptownstudiosJune 10, 20110 comments

Have fun and make a difference in American democracy at the first West Yolo Democratic Club fundraiser, “Party at the Ranch.”

Scheduled for June 26 at the Richard and Evelyne Rominger ranch in Winters, the party features Mexican food, wine from the Rominger West Winery, music by the Dick Livingston Jazz Duo, and a silent art and artifacts auction.

The War on Drugs = A War on Women and Families

By uptownstudiosJune 10, 20117 comments

by the ACLU

June 2011 marks the 40th anniversary of President Richard Nixon’s declaration of a “war on drugs” – a war that has cost roughly a trillion dollars, has produced little to no effect on the supply of or demand for drugs in the United States, and has contributed to making America the world’s largest incarcerator. Throughout the month, check back daily for posts about the drug war, its victims and what needs to be done to restore fairness and create effective policy.

The “war on drugs” has had a devastating impact on women and families, who have been greatly affected by policies like mandatory minimum sentences, prosecution of low-level drug offenses, increased conviction and imprisonment of those with relationships to drug dealers, and criminalization of women with drug addiction and mental health problems and histories of sexual abuse.

Month: June 2011