Month: November 2011

Commentary: A Critics View on the School Parcel Tax

Commentary: A Critics View on the School Parcel Tax

By David GreenwaldNovember 5, 201119 comments

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The school board is awaiting the results of a poll to determine the public’s willingness to extend Measures Q and Measures W, passed in 2007 and 2008, respectively.

The board awaits the results of the polling, which would help guide the amount and terms of the next parcel tax on the ballot before the voters in March.  Currently the district receives about $6.5 million from these two measures, which could generate up to $320 from each single family home per year.
PERB to Disallow Davis Imposition of Impasse on DCEA and Orders Backpay for Employees

PERB to Disallow Davis Imposition of Impasse on DCEA and Orders Backpay for Employees

By David GreenwaldNovember 4, 201117 comments

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In a tentative ruling handed down by the Public Employment Relations Board, they ruled that the city improperly canceled fact-finding and imposed the last, best and final offer on DCEA.

PERB ruled: “It has been found that the City violated MMBA sections 3503, 3505, 3506, and 3509(b) and PERB Regulation 32603(a), (b), (c), and (g) when it passed Resolution 10-070 on May 25, 2010, before exhausting the fact-finding process set forth in its local rules.
Appellate Court Throws Out Portions of Amtrak Attack Convictions Due to Overcharging

Appellate Court Throws Out Portions of Amtrak Attack Convictions Due to Overcharging

By David GreenwaldNovember 4, 201123 comments

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It was presented as a seminal case to illustrate the threat that the Broderick Boys  presented for the community of West Sacramento.  In April of 2007, three defendants – Austen Nunes, Pauliton Nunes, and Daniel Bonge went with several others to the train tracks in West Sacramento to drink some stolen beer.

As the train approached, a member of the group stood on the tracks and Austen Nunes threw a rock at the train.  “The train stopped and the angry engineer got off the train. A vicious assault on the engineer followed.”
Man Who Wrongfully Spent 20 Years in Prison, Headlines Tonight’s YJW Event

Man Who Wrongfully Spent 20 Years in Prison, Headlines Tonight’s YJW Event

By David GreenwaldNovember 3, 20110 comments

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Just over six months ago, 43-year-old Maurice Caldwell walked out of the San Francisco Jail a free man, for the first time since his conviction of second-degree murder in a fatal shooting of an individual named Judy Acosta at the Alemany Public Housing Project on June 30, 1990.

“There was only one eyewitness. There were clear problems in her testimony,” said Paige Kenab, supervising attorney at the Northern California Innocence Project, in an interview at the time.
PG&E Dodges Vanguard Questions on Risk of Leaking Distribution Pipes

PG&E Dodges Vanguard Questions on Risk of Leaking Distribution Pipes

By David GreenwaldNovember 3, 20111 comments

pge-pipelineWere it not for the fact that Fire Chief Bill Weisgerber took the time to explain the level of risk to Davis residents, and the difference between the distribution lines which tend to be about 2 inches in diameter in Davis, while the transmission line in San Bruno that led to the catastrophic explosion was 30 inches in diameter, we would be alarmed that PG&E was hiding something.

The residents went public, due to the fact that they feared that PG&E was hiding the ball on this issue.
BREAKING NEWS: Leaking PG&E Gas Lines Generating Concerns For West Davis Residents

BREAKING NEWS: Leaking PG&E Gas Lines Generating Concerns For West Davis Residents

By David GreenwaldNovember 2, 20114 comments

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The Vanguard has learned that residents in the West Davis neighborhood of Stonegate have experienced a series of gas leaks as the result of aging pipelines that apparently PG&E has known to be a problem since the early 1980s.

According to a news release from residents, “PG&E has admitted to homeowners in far west Davis that there is a documented problem with gas leaks in its plastic pipe distribution lines.”

City Contract With Chip Seal Hamstrings Them

City Contract With Chip Seal Hamstrings Them

By David GreenwaldNovember 2, 20118 comments

chip-seal-1.jpgCity Needs to Find Funding Sources For Road Maintenance To Avoid This Problem in the Future

A press release late last week announced that the City of Davis and International Surfacing Systems (ISS) have reached an agreement to address problems with double chip seal installed on several local streets last fall. The double chip seal was originally intended to prevent intrusion of water into the asphalt on the roads and to extend the life of the driving surface.

However, some of the streets that received the double-chip seal raveled, resulting in a rougher surface and reducing the expected life of the seal. In other areas, the double-chip seal became soft and pliable during hot temperatures.
Lawyers for Occupy Sacramento Plan to Sue the City

Lawyers for Occupy Sacramento Plan to Sue the City

By David GreenwaldNovember 2, 201118 comments

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For nearly a month now, Occupy Sacramento activists have been cleared from the park on a nightly basis.  Now three Sacramento area attorneys are representing them, led by Mark Merin, who will receive an award on Thursday night from the Vanguard in Woodland, as Vanguard Outstanding Attorney of the Year.

According to a release, they have argued that their rights to speech and assembly have been violated by the City of Sacramento.  The suit has been filed on behalf of 34 named plaintiffs, including infamous activist Cindy Sheehan.
Is the Move of Whole Foods to the Davis Commons a Threat?

Is the Move of Whole Foods to the Davis Commons a Threat?

By David GreenwaldNovember 1, 2011150 comments

wholefoodsmarketThe Vanguard had been hearing rumblings of this since late last week, but apparently, according to our sources, it is a done deal that Whole Foods Market will attempt to move into the Davis Commons space that was previously occupied by Borders.

The Davis Enterprise reported on the story, that appeared to be little more than a rumor, this weekend.  We have received strong confirmation from several sources that asked not to be identified that the Whole Foods Market does indeed intend to move to the City of Davis.