May 2012 - Page 4 of 5 - Davis Vanguard

Esteemed Faculty Group Disagrees with Censure of Katehi

By David GreenwaldMay 10, 201267 comments

KatehiFacesTheCroud_11-21-11-15-1 Not all of the faculty supported the decision by the Academic Senate to censure Chancellor Linda Katehi.

In a letter written by members of the UC Davis Association of the National Academies (National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering and Institute of Medicine) they “strongly protest the resolution passed by the Executive Council of the Academic Senate to censure Chancellor Linda Katehi for her response to the Nov. 18 incident.”

Maguire Picks Up Two Critical Endorsements

By David GreenwaldMay 10, 20127 comments

This week, Judge Dan Maguire received the endorsements of both the Davis Enterprise and Woodland Daily Democrat.

The Davis Enterprise writes, “Yolo County voters have the opportunity on June 5 to send a rousing vote of confidence to a well-respected member of the Yolo Superior Court bench: Judge Daniel Maguire.”

Political Operative James Burchill Appears to Be Behind Attack Mailer

By David GreenwaldMay 9, 201286 comments

The 2012 Davis City Council campaign, which had been fairly dull and predictable, suddenly turned very interesting on Tuesday as voters were sent an attack mail piece purportedly to be against Sue Greenwald and in favor of Stephen Souza.

An independent group, backed by Sacramento-based unions the Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 447, IBEW Local 340 and Operating Engineers Local Union 3, sent out an attack mailer to Davis residents reminding them of Councilmember Sue Greenwald’s publicized incident with former Mayor Ruth Asmundson.

Will Chamber Even Be Able to Use Thousand Dollar Contributions in Council Race?

By David GreenwaldMay 9, 201225 comments

On Monday, the Vanguard questioned the propriety of an entity, West Yost Associates with multimillion dollar contracts with the city, contributing 1000 dollars to the Chamber PAC’s efforts. The question now arises, based on the opinion of City Attorney Harriet Steiner, whether this money can even be used for material or efforts in support of a city council candidate or candidates.

When the Chamber PAC was activated and council candidates were endorsed, the Chamber sent out a press release stating, “Preliminary fundraising efforts have successfully raised donations from numerous businesses and individuals. In order to encourage transparency, the Chamber PAC will be releasing weekly financial disclosures of all money raised and spent to local media outlets.”

Matzat Hearing Delayed To Make Way For Legendary Criminal Defense Attorney Tony Serra

By David GreenwaldMay 9, 201218 comments

On Tuesday, Attorney Alexis Briggs made what may be her final special appearance for Thomas Matzat before Judge Timothy Fall in Yolo County Superior Court. Mr. Matzat was to be arraigned on felony charges that include five felony vandalism and 15 more misdemeanor charges.

On Thursday, Mr. Matzat will be among the 12 defendants arraigned in Department 9 on 20 misdemeanor charges of Penal Code section 647(c) blocking or obstructing a business and one misdemeanor conspiracy charge. The DA has said he will offer a plea for probation and 80 hours of community service.

Union Attack Mailer Targets Greenwald

By David GreenwaldMay 8, 2012112 comments

The gloves are coming off in what was tame Davis Council Election as an independent group backed by Sacramento-based unions the Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 447, IBEW Local 340, Operating Engineers Local Union 3 in Support of Stephen Souza and in Opposition to Sue Greenwald has sent out an attack mailer to Davis residents reminding them of Councilmemeber Sue Greenwald’s publicized incident with former Mayor Ruth Asmundson.

While they are attempting to exploit the well-publicized event from January of 2010, the true target is Sue Greenwald’s fiscal stances and disagreements with the firefighters and other city employee groups on staffing and compensation issues.

A Look At Davis City Council Candidates’ View of Economic Development in Davis

By David GreenwaldMay 8, 20126 comments

Last week the Vanguard asked the Davis City Council candidates what tangible steps can be taken to promote economic viability and jobs in Davis. Reading through the answers, one big realization is that there needs to be a second question in the coming weeks about redevelopment, because in order for the city at this point to do anything but play cheerleader, we will need to find a new funding mechanism.

There are some interesting ideas posed by some of the candidates. To me at this point there are a couple of conversations that I think need to occur with the community.

Teachers Resisting the Call For Shared Sacrifice

By David GreenwaldMay 8, 201242 comments

When voters back in March overwhelmingly approved the renewal of the parcel tax, we warned the voters that this was not going to cover the entire deficit. In addition to the six million dollars funded by the parcel tax, there was another three million structural deficit.

Last week, the situation became heated as a large number of teachers came to the school board meeting to complain about potential plans for a 5.5 percent cut.

More Remedies Needed for Prosecutorial Misconduct

By David GreenwaldMay 8, 20123 comments

One of the big problems that we have identified in the criminal justice system is the lack of accountability that prosecutors have when they commit acts of misconduct. As we have noted in the past, the research done by the Innocence Project in California shows only a small number of prosecutors are sanctioned, even when acts of misconduct lead to cases being overturned.

California is not alone. Researchers have found a similar pattern in Texas.

West Yost Donation to PAC Signals the Rise of Special Interest Influence in Davis City Council Race

By David GreenwaldMay 7, 2012101 comments

The Davis Chamber PACs decision to get involved in the political process and their admirable level of transparency provides an entity like the Vanguard with the opportunity to scrutinize their books. One thing that we would like to avoid is the appearance that they are being punished for doing the right thing in terms of transparency.

On the other hand, as we noted just last week, the influence of development interests are certainly a matter that should be noted and scrutinized.

Professor Clover Concerned About Academic Freedom and Campus Militarization

By David GreenwaldMay 7, 201241 comments

Few areas have been more controversial than the role played by UC Davis professors in the protests, both leading up to November 18 and following it.

In the Kroll report, many have focused on the line: “Professor Joshua Clover spoke to the group, warning them about cooperating with the administration, urging them to take matters into their own hands and stating, ‘Right now, we’re the law.’ ” Fewer have noted, “The activists ‘went back and forth’ about what to do next. At approximately 4:45 p.m., the activists used consensus-style decision-making to reach the decision to continue to occupy Mrak Hall after it closed at 5:00 p.m. and to ‘use bike locks and chains to lock the building doors open.’ “

Council Candidates on Transportation Issues

By uptownstudiosMay 7, 20122 comments

Today at Bike Forth on 4^th and L, there will be a Transportation Candidates forum at 7 pm. In advance, the candidates were given questions concerning transportation issues.

Davis Bicycles! and the Davis Bike Collective sent five questions to the Davis City Council Candidates concerning transportation issues.

Sunday Commentary: UC Davis Lawsuit Blames Everyone For Bank Fiasco But Themselves

By David GreenwaldMay 6, 201242 comments

If you believe UC Davis, the US Bank fiasco is the fault of everyone but them. Twelve of the protesters will get their second shot at arraignment this week, on a series of misdemeanor charges stemming from their role in the bank-blocking protests that went from January 13 until February 28.

And on Friday, UC Davis filed a lawsuit against US Bank who, after they had to close the bank 27 times early and not open at all three additional times, finally gave up and closed their doors.

Commentary: Why is the Bee Endorsing in Davis City Council Races?

By David GreenwaldMay 6, 201296 comments

I remember a few years ago I had a discussion with a Bee reporter who covered Davis, among other areas – Yolo County and beyond. The point that was conveyed at that time is that the Sacramento Bee does not cover Davis, it covers issues that are interesting to the region. Makes sense.

Looking back since the start of 2011, I was curious how many times the Sacramento Bee had covered City of Davis politics. It was not a whole lot, as one might expect, but perhaps more than I would have expected. It actually covered five different issues.

Stunning Decision: Enterprise Endorses Wolk, Greenwald, and Lee

By David GreenwaldMay 5, 201294 comments

Vanguard Commentary: It Is Still All About the Budget

In a strong message for fiscal responsibility, the Davis Enterprise delivered what can only be viewed by most observers a stunning decision as to whom to endorse, eschewing Chamber favorites Stephen Souza and Lucas Frerich, and ultimately endorsing Dan Wolk, Sue Greenwald and Brett Lee.

The Vanguard learned on Friday afternoon that the primary reason the Enterprise did not endorse Lucas Frerichs was concern over his ability to stand up to city employee groups and take other unpopular and difficult positions during critical junctures.

UC Davis Sues US Bank For Breach of Contract, Yolo Superior Court Will Hear the Matter

By David GreenwaldMay 5, 201229 comments

UC Davis kept indicating that they hoped to solve their dispute with US Bank over the closure of the bank’s Memorial Union branch following seven weeks of closure due to protests. Last week, indications were that negotiations were still ongoing, however that has now changed.

UC Davis has filed suit in Yolo County Superior Court against U.S. Bank for breach of contract. According to UC Davis spokesperson Claudia Morain, “We had hoped to avoid this and we still hope to work this in through a negotiated agreement. We have engaged in more than two months of talks and the bank had said it was going to file suit, so this is something that we do reluctantly.”

UC Releases Draft of Report Responding to Campus Protests

By David GreenwaldMay 4, 20123 comments

The University of California, as expected, has released a report that examines polices and practices related to UC responses to campus protests.

After incidents involving police and protesting students at the Berkeley and Davis campuses last November, UC President Mark G. Yudof directed General Counsel Charles F. Robinson and Christopher F. Edley Jr., Dean of the UC Berkeley Law School, to identify the best practices that could shape responses to such demonstrations in the future.

Vanguard Question: Council Candidates on Economic Development (Update at 4 pm)

By David GreenwaldMay 4, 201277 comments

Every Friday between now and the election, the candidates for Davis City Council will be asked to respond to one hard-hitting Vanguard question on the issues that matter to Davis, or at least to the Vanguard.

Last week the council candidates were given a question on Monday and asked to respond by midnight this morning. For next week, they were given the question this morning, by request of one of the candidates who preferred to have the weekend to work on the answer.

Firefighters Trying to Remake Their Public Image in the Wake of Budget Negotiations

By David GreenwaldMay 4, 20122 comments

Back in April, the City of Davis was able to take advantage of the vacancies in fire management positions to create a separate MOU for the vacant fire management employee positions.

As the staff report noted, “During the last round of negotiations, the previous management incumbents of the Fire Department requested the City pull the Fire positions out of the Individual Management Employees MOU and create a separate contract for these employees.”

Council Candidates Meet for League of Women Voters Candidate’s Forum

By David GreenwaldMay 3, 201219 comments

The Davis City Council Candidates met on Wednesday night for their second major candidates forum, this time hosted by the League of Women Voters. Once again Jean Canary served as moderator of the event.

Per the usual League format, the first part of the forum consisted of a brief opening remark followed by three questions for each candidate. After a break they took audience questions.

Month: May 2012