VANGUARD RADIO RETURNS!
Vanguard Radio returns this week, Wednesday, September 7 from 5 to 6 pm on KDRT, 95.7 FM…
A Silver Lining in a Cloud Possibly Looming over the Woodland-Davis Clean Water Agency Water Project
By Alan Pryor –
For full disclosure and to allow readers to weigh the merits of the facts later in the article, I have been a long term strong supporter of the Woodland-Davis Clean Water Agency water project. I believe, that we cannot continue to suck more and more groundwater from an aquifer with finite capacity forever.
Decades ago Davis had the chance to acquire surface water rights from Putah Creek and our City Council at that time balked because of the cost. That decision to kick the can down the road was very shortsighted and clearly shortchanged the next generation of Davis citizens. And, as expected, the problem of obtaining sufficiently good quality water for the City is again on our doorstep and we find ourselves at similar cross-roads – only this time with far fewer options.
UC Davis Employee Contends Non-Union Workers Have Received Raises All Along, In Contrast to President Yudof’s Claims
On August 20, the Vanguard reported on the continued audacity of the University of California, who announced that week that they will spend approximately 140 million dollars that was raised from increasing student tuition to give merit raises to thousands of faculty members and nonunion employees earning up to 200,000 dollars.
Carol Crabill, a union-represented staff member in the mathematics department at UC Davis, directs us to her piece that appears in the LA Times this week in response to the Times’ August 18 article on the raises for non-union workers.
Different Story This Time as Goodwin Liu Confirmed For California Supreme Court
It was a lengthy and protracted battle to nominate Goodwin Liu, a UC Berkeley Law Professor, to a seat on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Ultimately he would lose, as Senate Republicans filibustered his nomination and he eventually withdrew.
A little over a year later he will sit on the California Supreme Court, having been confirmed unanimously by the State Commission on Judicial Appointments.
Sunday Commentary: A Land of Misinformation and Denial
Back on August 5, the Vanguard published an article that argued that “City Employees Must Make Concessions or Face Layoffs by September.” As we mentioned on Friday, concessions seem increasingly unlikely now and we are likely looking at 20 to 33 layoffs.
Someone, we do not know who for sure, but we suspect it is a city employee, responded to the August 5 piece, and it obviously warrants a response because it lacks accurate information about the budget and the reasons for cutting the budget beyond simply trying to balance the budget for the 2011-12 fiscal year.
Council to Downwardly Revise Water Rate Increase
For the last few months the council has come under fire due to water rates that were set to triple for residential rate payers. It now appears that the rates the council will vote on have been downwardly revised from nearly tripling the rate of increase, to an increase of 2.2 times the current rate.
The city staff report claims, “The recommended water rates are lower as a result of deferring selected water system investments, updated assumptions about overall financing costs, and cost-sharing a portion of water quality improvements with the sewer fund.”
Water Agency Brings Forward Companies to Build Water Project With Questionable Practices
Should Veolia’s Ties to the Palestinian Controversy Disqualify Them From Building the Woodland-Davis Water Supply Project?
Back in early June, the Clean Water Agency announced that, in an RFQ (Request for Qualifications) process, “three firms have been identified as the most highly qualified to receive the project RFP [Request for Proposal].”
According to the minutes from the meeting, the three firms are CDM Constructors, CH2M-Hill and Veolia Water.
Grand Theft Cans? Recycling Fraud Case Hits Yolo
It was like something out of a Seinfeld episode from seventh season, an episode that originally aired back in May 1996. One of the characters, Newman, learns that bottles and cans can be refunded for ten cents in Michigan, as opposed to 5 cents in other states.
Kramer informs him that it would be impossible to gain profit from doing this, since the travel to Michigan from New York would exact heavy costs in terms of gas, toll booths and truck rental fees. However, Newman becomes obsessed with finding a way to make a scheme work.
Commentary: Options Dwindling For Cost-Cutting Measures As Pinkerton Assumes City Manager Reins
Despite the lack of turnout at Tuesday’s public outreach for the city on the budget, several things were learned that evening which relate to the September 30th deadline to cut roughly 2.5 million in personnel costs.
First, we learned that there appears to be an utter lack of urgency on the part of the city to move forward with this process. Think about it, even if the public outreach meeting were a good idea, would you not undertake it considerably before August 30, a month before the current deadline?
Director of WQCB Says Davis Cannot Delay Water Project
One of the critical questions that has arisen in the battle over water rates are what are the alternatives, if the city is not able to go forward with the water project due to a rate revolt. Advocates of delaying the water project argue that the city may be able to appeal new discharge standards in order to delay the project.
But at least according to one expert, Ken Landau, the Deputy Executive Officer of the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, that is not a possibility. Nor does a recent court decision involving the City of Tracy require the RWQCB to consider economic impact when establishing permit requirements applicable to Davis.
Analysis: Prosecution’s Own Evidence Appears to Undermine Gang Motivation Claims
The prosecution continues to attempt to prove gang charges in the Topete trial. Gang expert Ron Cordova, the gang investigator for the Woodland Police Department, testified on Thursday that Mr. Topete was a Norteño gang member the night of Deputy Tony Diaz’s murder.
From the start, the prosecution has attempted to establish the gang motive as a nexus to get the gang charge that would provide enhancement to the sentencing, in their seeking of the death penalty.
UC Davis Strategy of Hanging Back Outside of the Water Fray Will Cost Davis and Woodland Residents
Originally there were three partners in the Davis-Woodland Water Supply Project (DWWSP), as UC Davis was an active participant in the plan to bring Sacramento River water to replace the reliance on groundwater by Davis, Woodland and UC Davis.
A few years ago they backed out of the partnership, or so we thought, until Councilmember Sue Greenwald posted a statement from Assistant Vice Chancellor for Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability at UC Davis, Davis Sidney England, delivered in January to the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) on the water supply project.
Commentary: What Gil Garcetti Can Teach Jeff Reisig About the Death Penalty
On Monday morning, former Los Angeles District Attorney Gil Garcetti, a lifelong supporter of the death penalty, spoke at a press conference to announce an initiative that would eliminate the death penalty and commute all current death sentences to life without parole.
During his brief appearance, along with other former death penalty supporters turned opponents by the expensive and broken process, he said something that really struck close to home.
