Council and Community Continue to Wrestle with Pedestrian Safety Features on Fifth St Redesign
Raised Pedestrian Refuge Emerges As Critical Issue – A critical issue now facing the council on the completion of the Fifth Street Design is the issue of pedestrian safety, in particular the median widths and the ability for the city to provide width to act as a safe pedestrian refuge while providing other features, including proper bike lanes.
Interest in providing a wider median area surfaced as a specific issue of some community members, and staff analyzed the impact of widening the median and returned to council.
Analysis – When the district put Measure A on the ballot in early 2011, they thought this was going to be a short-term, one-time emergency fix. And while there were clearly differences of opinion as to the size and the length of Measure A, there was a general belief that within two years the economy would be growing and the need for local revenue to bridge the loss of state funding would be abated.
President Justifies Five Furlough Days Amid Budget Crisis if Prop 30 Fails – In an op-ed in the Enterprise today, Frank Thomsen attempted to explain and defend the position of the Davis Teachers Association, who to this point have resisted efforts by the school district to win concessions in the event that Proposition 30 does not pass.
Governor Jerry Brown has been a bit different his second go-around as governor than he was his first time. Some of that is to be expected in the difference between a man in his 70s versus one in his 30s. But nowhere more stunning is the difference than on the death penalty.
by Jan Woods – 
by Jose J. Granda, PhD 
One of the more interesting pieces of communication this week came from a community member who reminded us of a December 2008 piece that in many ways delineated perfectly “how a seemingly casual accumulation of small quasi-decisions that weren’t really public-vetted actual decisions were crushing and confining our water planning into a straitjacket.”
We can debate how much endorsements matter, particularly newspaper endorsements, but there is little doubt that they can give a campaign a shot of energy. And so Susan Lovenburg and Nancy Peterson get big endorsements from the local newspaper this week.
ANALYSIS: The Demographic Breakdown May Surprise You – One of the audience questions that we asked at Monday’s candidates forum at Harper Junior High was “Why are there so few teachers of color in this district? In the last five years there have been very few teachers of color hired, except at Cesar Chavez for obvious reasons. Shouldn’t there be more parity in the teaching force to reflect the student population?”
The staff report to next week’s WAC meeting and attached letters of correspondence suggest that the West Sacramento water alternative is dead. While Mayor Joe Krovoza believes this is the end of the line for the West Sacramento option, his colleague Brett Lee thinks it is too soon to close the door completely.
COMMENTARY – When the WAC passed a compromise motion in mid-August they were clear that Woodland was their preferred alternative. Indeed, several of the members of the WAC actually would have preferred recommending the Woodland option and moving on.