July 2012 - Page 2 of 4 - Davis Vanguard

Farmworker Bill Triggers Local Criticism of Yamada

By David GreenwaldJuly 24, 201258 comments

Maria-Isabel The most appalling factor in the death of young Maria Isabel Vasquez-Jimenez in May of 2008 was not the fact that she was 17, not the fact that she had worked nine hours in temperatures that reached 100 degrees inside the vineyard, and it was not the fact that her body temperature had reached 108.4 degrees when she was finally taken to the hospital where she died.

No, it was the indifference her supervisor had to her medical condition. Back in 2008, the Vanguard interviewed Merlyn Calderon of the United Farm Workers for the Vanguard Radio Show and she told us that at the point when her boyfriend noticed that she was in trouble around 3 pm and she collapsed, the supervisor, apparently more concerned with concealing the fact that they had employed a 17-year-old on the farm for 9 hours than her own safety, did not take her to the emergency room.

Op-Ed by Mayor and Councilmember Trumpets Triumphs But Glosses Over Tough Times and Challenges To Come

By David GreenwaldJuly 23, 201238 comments

In an Op-Ed this weekend, Mayor Joe Krovoza and Councilmember Rochelle Swanson looked back on their first two years on the council. As we noted in our commentary on Saturday, the council does have reason to celebrate.

But this piece overall is a puff piece, meant to highlight the positive. There are worthy accomplishments that the council deserves credit for. But overall we see this as a lost opportunity to prepare the public for the tough times and challenges ahead.

New Jersey Court Develops Jury Instruction About Reliability of Eyewitnesses

By David GreenwaldJuly 23, 201229 comments

Franky Carrillo spent two decades in prison after he was convicted of a drive-by shooting in 1992 and sentenced in 1992 to one life term and 30 years to life in prison. Critical to his conviction was the testimony of five eyewitnesses who said that they saw him pull the trigger.

Had we known then what we know now about the fallibility of eyewitness identification, particularly under poor lighting conditions, this travesty of justice may have been avoided.

Sunday Commentary: Bicyclists Who Brazenly Blow Through Stops Signs Put Everyone At Risk

By David GreenwaldJuly 22, 201249 comments

While these days I am no longer an avid bicycle rider, I have been in the past. In fact, when I first came to Davis, I did so in the spring of 1996 via bicycle as I trekked from San Luis Obispo up to San Francisco and then cut over to Davis.

I have long been supportive of Davis’ bicycle culture and tradition, and have supported policies aimed at getting more people out of their cars and onto their bikes, whether it is on their way to school or to work. Moreover, I support road upgrades, such as the Fifth Street Corridor Project, to make our roads more bike- friendly.

Commentary: The Arpaio Conspiracy and What it Means for America

By David GreenwaldJuly 22, 201257 comments

Why am I reading this? I asked myself earlier in the week. I am referring to the report from Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona. He purported to the media that he had conclusive proof that President Obama’s birth certificate was a forgery.

I read the AP reports, I even read some of the more colorful articles by “birthers” or “birther-sympathizers.” I’m still astonished that, for instance, Jeffrey Kuhner, a columnist for the Washington Times, writes, “America may be facing a constitutional crisis. Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Ariz., has made a startling declaration: President Obama’s birth certificate is fraudulent. If true – and I stress if – then this scandal dwarfs Watergate. In fact, it would be the greatest political scandal in U.S. history.”

My View: Council at Recess and Two Years of Improvement

By David GreenwaldJuly 21, 201251 comments

Water, Budget, Process Issues Dominate the PastTwo Years –

I will never forget the first time I met Joe Krovoza. It was 2009, it was just after the Measure P election and he invited me to breakfast at Black Bear Diner. He told me he was going to run for city council, talked to me for an hour and I left there thinking, this guy has no chance to win.

I tell people this story all of the time because I had made a mistake, I had underestimated Joe Krovoza. What I underestimated was his ability to adapt, to learn and to apply. These are critical traits for anyone in public office.

Former Judge Jim Stevens Objects to Death Penalty Dinner, Calls It ‘Garbage’

By David GreenwaldJuly 21, 2012105 comments

Last week, the Davis Enterprise kindly ran a story about the Vanguard‘s Death Penalty Event on their front page. That apparently was enough to prompt former Judge Jim Stevens to object.

He wrote in a letter to the editor, “Your recent article on the meeting of death penalty opponents was interesting but full of humbug. I respect the right of others to work for and express their opinion but reserve my right to tell them they are full of garbage.”

Commentary: Is Outsourcing the Best Way to Control Our Costs?

By David GreenwaldJuly 20, 201244 comments

On Tuesday, the city council brought back for discussion the city’s Urban Forest Management Program, to discuss how tree services would be maintained in the face of cutbacks and a transition to more heavily utilize the West Coast Arborist services, which has a contract with the city on a per tree basis.

The focus of that discussion, and for the most part rightly so, was predicated on the notion of maintaining current levels of service in the face of the city cutting costs by going away from in-house staff and toward contracted services by an external group.

Is the FBI Spying On Occupy UC Davis Students?

By David GreenwaldJuly 20, 201265 comments

Is the FBI performing espionage against Occupy UC Davis students? That is the question that the ACLU of Northern California wants answers to, as they have filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the FBI to find out whether and to what extent the feds have been spying on members of the Occupy movement.

One of the big questions is the extent to which the FBI might be involved in UC Davis, where last fall on November 18 local law enforcement engaged in the controversial crackdown of peaceful protesters, following an effort to clear the UC Davis Quad of tents. The resultant operation led to the arrest and pepper spraying of a number of students and subsequent local investigations.

Executing the Mentally Disminished

By uptownstudiosJuly 20, 201217 comments

by Andrea Lyon

Monday, July 23 2012, Warren Hill is scheduled to be executed in Georgia. He was convicted of killing another inmate while serving a life sentence for killing his girlfriend, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. This is despite the fact that Warren Hill is mentally retarded. Georgia was one of the first states to ban the execution of the mentally retarded; but there is a catch. The defendant bears the burden of proving he is mentally retarded beyond a reasonable doubt. This is the only state that requires the defense to bear this burden. Only the Board of Pardons and Parole can stop his execution now.

While a judge has found that Mr. Hill is mentally retarded, with an IQ of only 70, he didn’t find that fact beyond a reasonable doubt but rather by a preponderance of the evidence, which is the ordinary standard in civil matters, more likely than not. And it is on this technical basis that he will be executed. The Georgia Supreme Court voted four to three to reinstate Hill’s death sentence, and at the end of last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta ruled seven to four to uphold that death sentence even though the majority seemed to think it “unwise.”

Commentary: Good Move By Mayor To Appoint Lee to Water JPA (UPDATED)

By David GreenwaldJuly 19, 201218 comments

One of the biggest weaknesses of the Joint Powers Authority has been that the two members serving on it were actually not representative of where the council majority was on the water issue. Stephen Souza and Joe Krovoza were the two strongest supporters and proponents of the water project, at least at the time of the September 6 water rates.

On September 6, the ultimate vote was 4-1, but more as a practical matter, in that Rochelle Swanson and Dan Wolk had supported a one-year rate hike plan, but Sue Greenwald, wanting to go further, did not join them on the vote. As a result, Mayor Pro Tem Swanson and Councilmember Wolk, at that time, joined the 4-1 majority.

Evidentiary Hearing Set in Matzat Vandalism Case Following Judge’s Denial of Motion to Suppress Warrant

By David GreenwaldJuly 19, 20129 comments

On Wednesday, the trial of Tomas Matzat, facing multiple charges of vandalism on the UC Davis campus as part of the Occupy protests, was moved to Judge David Rosenberg’s court, as Judge Tim Fall recused himself without explanation.

Attorney Tony Serra moved to suppress a search warrant of Mr. Matzat’s campus residence, arguing that it “was unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment in that it was a fishing expedition, subject to a facially deficient warrant that was not based on reasonable or probable cause.”

Word To The Wise: Controversial Proposed Changes to Senior Citizens of Davis Bylaws

By David GreenwaldJuly 19, 201219 comments

By E. Roberts Musser

A controversial issue arose during the June 12, 2012 Davis Senior Citizens Commission meeting. Members of the 501(c)(3) non-profit Senior Citizens of Davis (SCD) came to the Commission, to voice their concerns about major proposed changes to the SCD bylaws approved by the SCD Board. In the current bylaws, SCD had as part of its mission, the requirement of mutual cooperation between SCD and the Davis Senior Center. However, the new proposed bylaws completely omit and do not mention the Davis Senior Center whatsoever.

Of particular concern is the clause about winding down the nonprofit corporation. The current bylaws require that upon dissolution, any remaining assets be used for the purposes of enhancing the programs for older adults offered through the Senior Center. Right now, approximately $560,000 is sitting in SCD accounts. Much of it was donated by a single benefactor, who assumed the terms of the current bylaws would continue to be controlling. The proposed bylaws will now allow any 501(c)(3) non-profit to be the beneficiary of an SCD dissolution – including a nonprofit any SCD Board member might decide to set up in the future.

The USDA Wildlife Services Contract

By David GreenwaldJuly 18, 20124 comments

The Vanguard has acquired a copy of the contract between Yolo County Cities and the US Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services.

According to Deputy City Manager Kelly Stachowicz, the contract is between West Sacramento and the USDA. Davis was not a direct party to the contract but billed by West Sacramento on a quarterly basis.

Council Defers Decision on Payment to Woodland Until Late August

By David GreenwaldJuly 18, 201225 comments

Water Ballot Measure Now Set for March 5, 2013 –

On Tuesday night, the council official delayed the timeline of the city’s water ballot initiative to no later than June 30, 2013, with the targeted date of March 5, in a motion made by Brett Lee and seconded by Rochelle Swanson.

The motion called for a delay of consideration of the city paying its pro rata share of the additional cost to to raise the Regional Water Treatment Facility (RWTF) site out of the floodplain until August 21 when the WAC will hopefully finish their evaluations.

Council Voids Blank Check to USDA

By David GreenwaldJuly 18, 201210 comments

After listening to more than an hour of passionate, often personalized stories from the community about Davis’ values regarding wildlife, Mayor Joe Krovoza had heard enough.

“The city moves to discontinue the use of USDA animal services at this time and direct staff to come back to us with alternatives for wildlife management services in the city,” Mayor Krovoza moved on Tuesday night.

Taking Heat for Farmworkers

By uptownstudiosJuly 18, 201279 comments

By Assemblymember Mariko Yamada During the summer of 2005, my older daughter worked for the Executive Officer…

City Wildlife Specialist Concerned About Killing of Coyotes in North Davis

By David GreenwaldJuly 17, 201250 comments

Anger and outrage are growing in the city of Davis over the decision by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services to have the Yolo County Agriculture Department’s trapper kill five coyotes last month in Davis. A special 9:30 pm public session has been scheduled at tonight’s city council meeting to allow the public to speak out on specifically this issue.

“I am deeply concerned about the taking of the coyotes, and the complete lack of public process and concern for community interests that proceeded the killings,” Mayor Joe Krovoza told the Vanguard in a statement.

City Calls for March 2013 Vote on Water

By David GreenwaldJuly 17, 201237 comments

Council Asked to Take Steps to Preserve the JPA Until the Time Comes to Dissolve It –

Last week, the WAC unanimously voted to delay the city’s water ballot measure until the spring of 2013. This week, the council will meet to formalize the ballot timing for March 5, 2013 as well as set forth other policies.

Under the current plan, the city would also adopt a resolution that authorized the city to pay its share of the additional cost necessary to raise the Regional Water Treatment Facility (RWTF) site out of the flood plain.

Referendum Drive Leads Davis to a Better Path on Water

By David GreenwaldJuly 16, 201235 comments

On September 6, 2011 the Davis City Council in the wee hours of the morning, by a 4-1 vote, voted to move forward with the surface water project with what they called a 14 percent rate hike.

Over the course of the next three months, it became clear that there were serious problems with the rates that were passed on that day. In fact, even Councilmember Dan Wolk appeared to be confused about what was actually passed.

Month: July 2012