by the Davis Vanguard Editorial Board –
Over the years when regular readers of the Vanguard happened to run into one another on the street or at the Farmers Market, asking about the day’s articles and comments in David’s Blog was frequently part of the ensuing conversation. For some the term David’s Blog was both a descriptor and a limitation. In the five years since Matt Williams first posted in July 2007 about a loophole in Measure J we’ve all seen both the Vanguard and David grow, and part of that growth has been a recurring refrain from David that “if the Vanguard is going to be truly valuable to the Davis/Yolo community, it needs to evolve into more than David’s Blog.”
Three months ago, the Vanguard took the most recent step in that evolution by creating an Editorial Board comprised of Robb Davis, Bernie Goldsmith, Tia Will, Matt Williams, Cecilia Escamilla Greenwald and David. Bernie has since had to pursue employment away from Davis, so the Editorial Board currently numbers five.
Why an Editorial Board? The answer to that question is pretty simple. If the Vanguard is going to evolve into something more than David’s Blog, it needs to have more voices than just David’s. To his credit, David knew that and has transformed that knowledge into concrete action.
But creation of an Editorial Board is not enough. If this blog is going to evolve into Your Vanguard it needs more from each of you. This article and the comments it will spawn is an opportunity for each of you to take a bit more ownership of Your Vanguard by thinking about and giving feedback on what topics and stories you would like to see covered more frequently in the Vanguard.
To give you a jump start on what some of those topics and stories might cover, the members of the Editorial Board put together the following list of story topics that the Vanguard has covered. The list is a starting point. If you think of a topic area that isn’t on the list, please jump in and ask that that topic be added. If you see a topic that you feel passionate about, consider writing an article or series of articles about that topic. What better way to make Your Vanguard truly yours?
So here is a list of the issues and issue areas that the Editorial Board came up with as a first pass reflection of the interests of Davis and Yolo County. Which ones resonate for you?
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Davis |
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Budget / Fiscal |
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City Council |
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Civil Rights |
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Economic Development |
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Elections |
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Environment |
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Fire Department |
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Historic Preservation |
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Labor Issues |
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Law Enforcement |
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Open Government |
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Pensions |
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Seniors |
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Water |
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Yolo County |
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Budget / Fiscal / Taxes |
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Board of Supervisors |
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Civil Rights |
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Economic Development – Ag |
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Elections |
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Environment |
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Health / Mental Health |
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Land Use / Open Space |
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Vanguard Court Watch |
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Seniors |
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Social Services / Social Issues |
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Court Watch |
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Budget / AB109 |
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Civil Rights |
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Court Watch |
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Death Penalty |
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Occupy |
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Sentencing |
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DJUSD |
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Budget / Fiscal / Taxes |
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Civil Rights |
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Education |
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Elections |
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Labor Issues |
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Sacramento Region |
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Budget / Fiscal |
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Civil Rights |
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Elections |
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Environment |
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Labor Issues |
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Land Use / Open Space |
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Law Enforcement |
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Miscellaneous |
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State of California |
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Budget/Fiscal |
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Elections |
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Labor Issues |
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Open Government |
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Pensions |
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UC Davis |
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Labor Issues |
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Law Enforcement |
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Research |
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Students |
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Woodland |
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Budget / Fiscal |
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Water |
For those of you who are inclined to write about one or more of those topics, we have kicked around the idea of having some regular “columns.” Just a few ideas on that score have been:
- A periodic “Column Young” from the youth of Davis?
- A periodic “Column Creative” from artists, galleries and/or DaVinci High School students?
- A periodic “Column Blue and White” from the School District and/or its supporters
- A “Column Right” from those who swim against the predominant current in Davis
- A “Column Cool” from supporters of the Cool Davis Initiative
These are just a few ideas. We would love to hear more from all of you . . . after all this is your Vanguard.
In my view, transportation is missing from the list. Unless we change our current system we are never going to create a network of complete streets to serve seniors, school children, their parents, or any of us well. Even here in Davis the car is still king, but every year 75 to 100 people on foot or riding bikes are hit by cars. We had two pedestrian fatalities on City streets within the past year. And look at the 11-year struggle to fix 5th Street, where just over half a mile of a single road accounts for over 10% of all the accidents in the whole City. In 2009 over a third of all the accidents on 5th Street involved collisions with people who were not in the car: 16 pedestrians and cyclists in that year alone. We have dozens of critical streets to improve in Davis, but meet resistance within our system at every turn. The Vanguard can be a powerful voice to overcome that.
I would certainly agree with Steve that transportation should be on the list.
In addition, I would add housing in all its different impacts.
David Thompson