Month: December 2012

Lies My Prosecutor Told Me

Lies My Prosecutor Told Me

By David GreenwaldDecember 4, 20126 comments
san-quentinOne of the more interesting questions has emerged in the sweethearts murder trial, in which Richard Hirschfield, 32 years later, was finally convicted of the murders of two UC Davis students in December 1980.  With the special circumstances conviction, Mr. Hirschfield is now eligible for the death penalty.

But given Mr. Hirschfield’s age, the state of the death penalty system, and the length of time it takes to bring a case from prosecution to execution, even under the best of circumstances, there is simply no way that the convicted killer will ever be executed.

Parking Remains Problematic in Downtown But May Not Be Top Priority

Parking Remains Problematic in Downtown But May Not Be Top Priority

By David GreenwaldDecember 3, 201223 comments
Downtown_Davis1Commentary – Parking issues have frequently been cited as a top problem facing the city’s downtown.  At their October 30, 2012 meeting, the Davis City Council appointed a task force to identify issues and solutions for addressing downtown parking issues.

While the council expressed interest in creating a task force made up of downtown business and the broader community “to identify issues and solutions for addressing downtown parking issues,” the Vanguard is not convinced that parking solutions should be the top priority for the downtown.

Cultivating the Intellectual Discipline of Empathy: How We Hear the Narratives of Others

Cultivating the Intellectual Discipline of Empathy: How We Hear the Narratives of Others

By uptownstudiosDecember 3, 201229 comments

BTSR-2012

by Robb Davis

I attended the “Breaking the Silence of Racism” event at Community Chambers on Saturday – an uncomfortable event in which we told and listened to painful stories with our neighbors in Davis and Yolo County. As I listened to the vignettes (each speaker was limited to about 3 minutes to share their stories), I began to consider not just the content of each but how each struck me in terms of how “real” they sounded to me.  In other words, I began to examine how I was hearing the stories.

When I heard the story of a white man my age (a man I know and respect), about how his biracial grandchildren were verbally abused by students in the Davis school system, my throat clenched and my heart raced.  As the man nearly broke down, I felt I might do the same.  As a grandfather of two (very young) biracial grandchildren I could feel his hurt, anger and confusion and I accepted both the validity of his story and the pain that went with it.

Recent Cases Lead to Questions About When Life Sentences Are Appropriate

Recent Cases Lead to Questions About When Life Sentences Are Appropriate

By David GreenwaldDecember 3, 20128 comments

yolo_county_courthouseThey stood last week in front of the Yolo County Courthouse, a few mothers, less than a month after their sons had been convicted of attempted murder as they shot into an inhabited dwelling.  With the enhancements, it is likely that their sons face 35 to life.

German Vizcarra, 19, Juan Reyes, 21, and Rolando Arismendez, 38, had their trial in late October and were found guilty on all counts.

Sunday Commentary: Eyes Wide-Open, Listening to the Community

Sunday Commentary: Eyes Wide-Open, Listening to the Community

By David GreenwaldDecember 2, 201239 comments

BTSR-2012

When you help to plan an event, the gnawing fear as you gain commitments for people to participate is what if people never come.  In planning the “Breaking the Silence of Racism” event, we added an element of risk by putting forth the idea that the event would not be about the people at the table talking, but rather about letting the community talk and the leaders listen.

And so yesterday it was D-Day, so to speak, as we had planned and promoted the event, but would anyone come?  The answer was a resounding yes.  More than 200 people packed into the Community Chambers.  The line of people waiting to speak was so long that we quickly and briefly huddled outside and decided to prolong the event so that everyone could speak.

National Water News Puts Davis Into Perspective

National Water News Puts Davis Into Perspective

By Matt WilliamsDecember 2, 201226 comments

water-rate-iconby Matt Williams

In conjunction with the 11/13/2012 introduction of S. 3626: Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2012 by Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon, the National League of Cities has published the following report on their website that puts many of the questions about the Davis Woodland Surface Water Project into a broader context.  Rather than providing any editorial comment on the report, I publish it here for your reading and commenting pleasure.

Infrastructure Financing

OVERVIEW OF WATER INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS

“Breaking the Silence of Racism” Today at 1 pm

“Breaking the Silence of Racism” Today at 1 pm

By David GreenwaldDecember 1, 201211 comments

man

There is little doubt that one of the most controversial topics that I have covered on the Vanguard in its six and a half years of existence is the topic of racism.

This past summer an incident, when a noose was hung from the goalposts of the football stadium at Davis High, triggered a lengthy community debate over what should be done and how much attention we should pay to such an incident.

My View: How Responsive is Council, and Should the Council Be to Public Opinion?

My View: How Responsive is Council, and Should the Council Be to Public Opinion?

By David GreenwaldDecember 1, 201233 comments

Public-Comment

In the course of doing my work with the Vanguard, I find myself constantly talking to people, some of them in government and others being private citizens, trying to learn as much as possible about what is happening in the community and searching for stories.

Following one of the votes at Tuesday’s council meeting, I had an interesting conversation with one of the councilmembers who mentioned to me that they really had only gotten feedback from the public in one direction – favoring the staff recommendation as opposed to the opposition.  They inferred from that that the public was largely supportive of the staff recommendation, and that there was limited opposition to it.

This Holiday Season Think of the Davis Vanguard

This Holiday Season Think of the Davis Vanguard

By David GreenwaldDecember 1, 20121 comments

Dear readers:  The Vanguard is a vital community-based organization and news site.  It is a non-profit that depends heavily on reader support.  There are a variety of ways to do so including a direct donation.

There is another very easy way to help.  This holiday season (and throughout the entire year), as you purchase gifts and other products through Amazon.com, a portion of that purchase, at no additional cost to you, can go to the Vanguard.