Lecia Brooks from the Southern Poverty Law Center came to Davis on Monday to speak about the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, as well as to talk about contemporary issues of race in our society.
The Southern Poverty Law Center came into being in the early 1970s by two white natives of Montgomery, Alabama, Morris Dees and Joe Levin.
Mayor Joe Krovoza used his comments, opening the 2012 MLK Day Celebration in the City of Davis, to condemn the pepper-spraying incident that occurred last November.
“Intolerance does continue, the reasons for us to gather continue as well,” the mayor said to a capacity crowd at the Varsity Theater on Monday. “War still distracts us from creating social justice, at home it still drains our resources. There are many ways in which we will continue to fight intolerance and [fight for] social justice creation in Davis.”
In 2008, I will never forget going to a Davis City Council debate and hearing two incumbent city councilmembers boast that they had balanced the budget with a 15 percent reserve.
Understand that these words were issued in April or May of 2008. By September of 2008, the world would be very different, both in terms of our budgetary reality and in terms of the view on issues like unfunded liabilities and pensions.
Martin Luther King Day is a holy day of sorts for those who are believers and fighters for social justice. For me, for whatever reason, it is also a time for personal reflection. My life in most respects has drastically changed in the last six years, in ways I never would have anticipated.The path that I am on is not the path that I had chosen. That is fine, I would not change anything for the world.
When I was growing up in San Luis Obispo and later attended Cal Poly, the city always had a love-hate relationship with the students. The businesses liked the business they got from students, but the residents of the community considered the students an annoyance who made noise, drank and partied.
Moving to Davis, that element seemed less pronounced. There were active efforts here to make students a greater part of the community, whether it was their inclusion in Neighbor’s Night Out Parties or the UC Davis Liaison Commission.
Because I just can’t help myself… Between the comments last week on the Vanguard and comments this week by Bob Dunning, I will say it now and repeat it until this issue resolves – If your argument for plastic bags at grocery stores boils down to doggy poop, then you’ve lost the debate.
Now, why is that, you ask? Because it is absurd that we have to provide plastic bags at grocery stores because otherwise people will have no way to deal with the waste products that come from the rear side of their canines.
The tax levies about 49 dollars per year per parcel which produces an overall amount of 1.36 million dollars in general fund revenue to the city that is used to offset the cost of parks maintenance costs. According to staff reports, this accounts for about one-fifth of the overall annual park maintenance costs to the city.
Executive Pay For UC and CSU In the past, executive pay limits have not been successful, but given the renewed focus on fee hikes, the Occupy movement and student protests, there is a good chance the latest effort by Senator Leland Yee to introduce legislation to prohibit pay raises for top university administrators during bad budget years, or when student fees are increased, will be successful.
According to the release from the Senator’s office, the bill will also prohibit incoming executives from earning more than 105 percent of their predecessors’ pay. UC and CSU have historically given new administrators more than double-digit pay hikes. In May 2009, the UC Board of Regents approved a $400,000 salary for UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi, which equated to a 27 percent hike from her predecessor.
When Davis contemplated rescinding the city’s rate increases on water, Woodland’s city council came down to the chambers in Davis and expressed their concerns about delays and cost hikes, and even threatened that they would go at it alone.
Now, over a month later, perhaps calmer heads are prevailing as Dennis Diemer, the General Manager of the Woodland-Davis Clean Water Agency, came before the city council on Tuesday night to address concerns about costs and timelines.
Last year at MLK Day in Davis, I expressed concerns about the way that MLK Day had functioned. While there was a great audience for the event, I was increasingly concerned that the diversity that had been notable at previous years’ events had dissipated.
As I wrote last year, the problem I saw was the loss of the community-based outreach that we once had with the Human Relations Commission, prior to it being disbanded and then reconstituted in the summer of 2006. I spoke at length to the council, highlighting my concerns with what had happened since the disbanding of the Human Relations Commission in 2006, and the disengagement of a number of sectors of Davis’ community from the MLK and other events.
In the Marco Topete trial, J
udge Paul Richardson denied the defense’s motion for a new trial or a new penalty phase, or to strike down the death penalty and impose life without parole after allegedly improperly removing a juror who might have had qualms about imposing the death penalty in this case.
However, the defense has filed a new motion this week, after the California Supreme Court for the second time in a month struck down a death sentence due the improper removal of a juror. The next hearing and sentencing date has been moved to early February, with legal experts mixed, at best, as to whether Judge Richardson ruled properly in this matter.
Vanguard Believes Leaks From Disgruntled City Employees Driving Some ItThe attacks on City Manager Steve Pinkerton began hot and heavy on December 5, 2011 from Jon Li, even before the city manager had finished a three-month period that saw both the implementation and the revocation of water rate hikes in advance of a massive surface water project.
In a missive directed at the heart of City Hall, attacking both the mayor and city manager viciously, Jon Li, a former city council candidate and longtime resident, accused the new city manager of being “Krovoza’s Lapdog” and suggested that he “flunks his probationary period.”
Ordinance Addresses the Wrong Problem and May Be Unenforceable With Unintended ConsequencesIt was billed as a routine measure by Police Chief Landy Black, giving the city the ability to charge minors who had consumed alcohol. At the same time it was acknowledged only one other jurisdiction has a similar law on its books, and students expressed concerns about profiling and due process concerns.
The council passed the first reading of the ordinance, under the understanding that the UC Davis Student Liaison commission would weigh in and the matter would come back before the council. This action preserved the ability for the council to get the matter on the books prior to Picnic Day, which appears to be the real target of this measure.
The 18th annual Davis Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration will take place on Monday, January 16, 2012 at 11:30am (an earlier start time than in past years) in the Varsity Theatre, 616 Second Street. The event is free, and community members are encouraged to attend. The program will feature presentations and music to help commemorate the life and accomplishments of Dr. King for civil rights, peace and nonviolence.
The City and the Davis Vanguard are pleased to co-sponsor Ms. Lecia Brooks, the Director of Outreach at the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama, as the Keynote Speaker. The Southern Poverty Law Center is a nonprofit civil rights organization dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry, and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of society. Ms. Brooks leads the Center’s outreach efforts on key initiatives and social justice issues. As outreach director, she frequently gives presentations around the country to promote tolerance and diversity. She also serves as director of the Civil Rights Memorial Center in Montgomery. Ms. Brooks will be sharing her expertise about current racial issues across the country.
Steve Pinkerton Argues CalPERS Optimistic Projections “Wrong” and “In Complete Denial”
At the Chamber of Commerce’s annual event, Davis City Manager Steve Pinkerton delivered his first State of the City Address. While Mr. Pinkerton would focus heavily on the burning issues, particularly the issue of the budget, he also highlighted some achievements.
Unlike past editions, this one was marked with straight talk, highlighting the positive aspects of the community, but being very honest about the crises that loom, namely in terms of pensions and retiree medical benefits.
Arguing that this is not simply a return to business as usual by replicating the failure of CDCR at the county level, the County Board of Supervisors approved the application for the full 148-jail bed expansion, with the understanding that this money would go toward upgrading existing facilities and with the further understanding that Leinberger would be repurposed and, in fact, decommissioned.
The Board was assured that the operational costs of maintaining the smaller Leinberger was equal to the costs of operating the additional 148 beds called for in recommended Option 4.
Former County Clerk Tony Bernhard has filed a writ of mandate with the Yolo County Courts to remove portions of the argument filed by Jose Granda and Thomas Randall that Mr. Bernhard, along with current County Clerk Freddie Oakley, believes to be misleading.
At issue are two excerpts from the Argument against Measure C – the renewal of the Davis School District’s Parcel Taxes that were passed by the voters in Measure Q and Measure W.
In the wake of the California Supreme Court’s decision to uphold 2011 legislation that dissolves redevelopment agencies in California, while striking a voluntary payment arrangement to allow redevelopment to continue, the City of Davis faces critical questions that it must resolve by January 13, even as the drop-dead date of February 1 presents continuing uncertainty.
The city faces two critical choices – it must choose whether to serve as the successor agency upon dissolution of the Redevelopment Agency, and make the determination whether to retain the housing assets and functions of the Redevelopment Agency.
On Thursday, Judge Paul Richardson will formally sentence Marco Topete in a case that has been anything but routine. Back in November, a jury reached a unanimous verdict in the penalty phase, recommending the death penalty for Mr. Topete. However, under 190.4(e) of the California Penal Code, the trial judge makes an independent determination regarding imposition of the death penalty.
At issue was the dismissal of Juror No.11, who sent the court a hand-written note asking to be excused from further deliberation and replaced with an alternate juror. Following the brief inquiry, Judge Richardson made the decision to replace Juror No.11.
